Private Library'
UCSB LIBRARY
GLOSSARY
OF
TERMS AND PHRASES
GLOSSARY
OF
TERMS AND PHRASES
EDITED BY THE
REV. H. PERCY SMITH, M.A.
OF BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD, CHAPLAIN OF CHRIST CHURCH, CANNES
LONDON
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH & CO., i, PATERNOSTER SQUARE
1883
CONTRIBUTORS.
THE REV. H. PERCY SMITH, M.A., late Vicar of Great Barton,
Chaplain of Christ Church, Cannes, Editor.
ASSISTED BY
THE REV. SIR GEORGE W. COX, BART., M.A., Rector of Scraying-
ham, author of the " Mythology of the Aryan Nations," etc., and
joint-editor of Brande's " Dictionary of Science, Literature, and
Art."
THE REV. J. F. TWISDEN, M.A., late scholar of Trinity College,
Cambridge, Professor of Mathematics in the Royal Staff College.
C. A. M. FENNELL, M.A., late Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge,
Editor of Pindar.
COLONEL W. PATERSON, late Professor of Military Surveying at the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst.
THE REV. C. P. MILNER, M.A., Vice-Principal of Liverpool College ;
AND OTHERS.
PREFACE.
THE " Glossary of Terms and Phrases " is intended to bring to-
gether such words, expressions, quotations, etc., English or other, as
are among the more uncommon in current literature, and require,
not for the scientific but for the ordinary reader, explanations, for
the want of which the meaning of a sentence or a paragraph, even
the drift of an argument, is often missed ; explanations, moreover,
not to be obtained without reference to, and perhaps tedious search
among, a large and varied number of books, many of them not
easily accessible. In short, the editor indulges the hope that this
Glossary may supply all the information needed by general readers,
who may wish to have a fair understanding of the text of any
work in ordinary English literature.
Of these terms and expressions some are purely, some are more
or less, technical and scientific ; some are simply uncommon ; some
contain allusions mythological, historical, geographical ; some fall
under a very large class, which must be styled miscellaneous ; some
belong to other languages than our own.
But in explaining the words themselves, no attempt has been
made to enter further than is necessary into the nature of the
things named. At the same time, the amount of general
added to glossarial information must necessarily be very different
in different cases. Words, therefore, arc omitted (i) of whose actual
signification there is no doubt this book being a glossary, and not
as it were a miniature encyclopedia; (2) which imply a special
?: PREFACE.
knowledge of the art or science to which they belong ; (3) which,
occurring in writers such as Spenser, Burns, etc., are explained in
glossaries attached to them. It is plain, however, that the exact
limits of an ordinary reader's needs cannot be defined, and there
must be many terms as to the inclusion or rejection of which the
editor must exercise his judgment in a Glossary intended as much
for the mechanics' institute as for the general reader or the man of
education. But his estimate of these needs may, it is hoped, be
not very far wrong, while of the real need of some such Glossary
experience leaves no doubt whatever. As to the etymological
explanations given, it may be well to say that very often the
nearest cognate form simply has been set down not as implying,
by any means, that in all such cases the word has been necessarily
borrowed from the one to the other.
The references given to books are made, as far as it was
possible to make them, to works not difficult of access.
For the explanation of American terms found in the Glossary,
the editor begs to express his obligation to the work entitled
Mr. John Russell Bartlett's " Dictionary of Americanisms."
H, PERCY SMITH.
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS WORK.
abbrev.
=
abbreviation.
(Eccl. Arch.)
Ecclesiastical Architectur
act.
=
active.
(Eccl. Hist.)
=
Ecclesiastical History.
adj.
=
adjective.
[Eccl. L.]
=
Ecclesiastical Latin.
adv.
ss
adverb.
[Egypt.]
=
Egyptian.
[Afgh.]
=
Afghanistan.
[Eng.]
English.
(Agr.)
=
Agriculture.
(Eng. Hist.)
English History.
(Ale hem. )
=
Alchemy.
(En to in.)
=
Entomology.
(Algcb.)
=
Algebra.
(Ethn.)
=
Ethnology.
[Amer.]
=
American.
(Ely m.)
=
Etymology.
(Anat.)
=
Anatomy.
fam.
=
family.
(Ant.)
=
Antiquity.
(Farr.)
=
Farriery.
[Ar.]
=
Arabic.
fern.
=
feminine.
(Arc/i.)
=
Architecture.
(Fetid.)
=
Feudal.
(Archccol. )
=
Archaeology.
fig-
=
figure.
(Arith.)
=
Arithmetic.
[Flem.]
Flemish.
art.
=
article.
(Fortif.)
=s
Fortification.
[A.S.]
ss
Anglo-Saxon.
[Fr.]
=
French.
(Astrol.)
=
Astrology.
freq.
=
frequentative.
(Astron.)
=
Astronomy.
(Fr.Hist.)
=
French History.
(Bibl.)
=
Biblical.
[Gadh.]
=
Gadhelic.
(Biol.)
=
Biology.
[Gael.]
Gaelic.
(Bot.)
=
Botany.
[Case.]
=
Gascon.
[Braz.]
=
Brazilian.
gen.
=
genus.
[Bret.]
=
Breton.
(Geog.)
ss
Geography.
(Camb. Univ.)
=
Cambridge University.
(Geol.)
=:
Geology.
[Carib.]
=
Caribbean.
[Ger.]
=
German.
catachr.
=
catachrestic.
[Goth.]
Gothic.
[Catal.]
=
Catalan.
[Gr.]
=
Greek.
Cels.
=
Celsus.
(Gram.)
SS
Grammar.
[Celt.]
=
Celtic.
[Hayt.]
=
Haytian.
\Chem.)
=
Chemistry.
[Heb.]
=
Hebrew.
[Chin.]
=
Chinese.
(Her.)
Heraldry.
(Chron.)
=
Chronology.
[Hind.]
=
Hindu.
class.
=
classical.
(Hist.)
History.
collat.
=
collateral.
[Icel.]
Icelandic.
(Com.)
=
Commercial.
(Ichth.)
=
Ichthyology.
(Conch.)
=
Conchology.
[Ir.]
=
Irish.
(Conv.)
=
Convocation.
iron.
=
ironical.
corr.
=
corruption.
[It.]
=
Italian.
correl.
=
correlative.
[Jap.]
=
Japanese.
(Crystallog.)
=
C rystallography .
(Jiirisp.)
=
Jurisprudence.
[Cymr.]
=
Cymric.
kingd.
=
kingdom.
d.
=
died.
[L.]
=
Latin.
[D.]
ss
Dutch.
(Lang.)
=
Language.
[Dan.]
=
Danish.
(Leg.)
=
Legal.
deriv.
=
derivative.
[L.G.]
=
Low German.
dim.
=
diminutive.
(Lit.)
Literature.
(Dipl.)
=
Diplomatic.
Lit.
=
literally.
[Dor.]
=
Doric.
[L.L.]
=
Low Latin.
[Dm.)
=
Dynamics.
(Log.)
ss
Logic.
(Eccl.)
=
Ecclesiastical.
(Mag.)
=
Magnetism.
ABBREVIATIONS.
(Mamtf.)
_
Manufactures. (Physiol. )
=
Physiology.
masc.
ss
masculine.
plu.
=
plural.
(Math.)
=
Mathematics.
(Poet.)
=
Poetry.
[M.E.]
=
Middle English.
[Pol.]
=
Polish.
(Mcch.)
=
Mechanics.
[Port.]
=
Portuguese.
(Med.)
=
Medical.
p.p.
=
past participle.
Med. L.
=
Mediaeval Latin.
p. part.
=
past participle.
metaph.
=
metaphorical.
pron.
=
pronounced.
(Meteorol.)
=
Meteorology.
(Pros.)
=
Prosody.
meton.
=
metonymy.
pr. part.
=
present participle.
(Met,:)
=
Metric,
redupl.
=
reduplicate.
(Mil.)
B:
Military.
(Rhet.)
=
Rhetoric.
(Min.)
=
Mineralogy.
(Rom. Hist.)
=
Roman History.
[Mod. Gr.]
=
Modern Greek.
rt.
=
root.
modif.
=
modification.
[PvllSS.]
=
Russian.
(Municip.)
=
Municipal.
[Scand.]
=
Scandinavian.
(Mies.)
=
Music.
(Schol.)
=
Scholastic.
(Myth.)
=
Mythology.
(Scien.)
=
Science.
[N.-Amer.Ind.] =
North- American Indian.
[Scot.]
=
Scotch.
(Nat. Hist.)
=
Natural History.
(Scot. Law.)
=
Scotch Law.
(Naut.)
SB
Nautical.
[Semit.]
=
Semitic.
neg.
=S
negative.
sing.
SB
singular.
neut.
=
neuter.
[Skt.]
=
Sanskrit
Norm. Fr.
=
Norman French.
[Slav.]
=
Slavonic.
[Norw.]
=
Norwegian.
[Sp.]
=
Spanish.
(JVttmis. )
B=
Numismatics.
spec.
=
species.
[O.E.]
==
Old English.
(Stockbrok.)
=
Stockbroking.
[O.Fr.]
BE
Old French.
sub-kingd.
=
sub-kingdom.
[O.H.G.]
=
Old High German.
subst.
=
substantive.
[O.N.]
=
Old Norse.
(Surg.)
=
Surgery.
[Onomatop.]
55
Onomatopoeia.
[Sw.]
=
Swedish.
ord.
=
order.
syll.
=3
syllables.
(Ornith.)
=
Ornithology.
[Syr.]
=
Syriac.
[O.S.]
=
Old Saxon.
[Teut.]
=
Teutonic.
[O.Sp.]
=
Old Spanish.
(Theat.)
=
Theatrical.
(Ost.)
=
Osteology.
(Theol.)
BS
Theological.
(Ostr.)
ss
Ostracology.
transl.
=
translation.
(Oxf. Univ.)
=
Oxford University.
[Turk.]
=
Turkish.
P-
=
participle.
typ.
=
typical.
(Par I.)
=.
Parliamentary.
(Univ.)
=
University.
(Path.)
=.
Pathology. .
v.a.
=
verb active.
[Pers.]
=
Persian.
(Vet.)
r=
Veterinary.
(Phil.)
=L
Philosophy.
v.n.
BS
verb neuter.
(Phys.)
=
Physics.
(Zoo!.)
=
Zoology.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND PHRASES.
ABBE
A. With the Romans, usually stood for the
prsenomen Aulus ; in inscriptions, often for Au-
gustus, A. A. being duo Augusti, A. A. A., tres
Augusti ; in epitaphs, for Annus ; upon voting-
tablets at the Comitia, for Antiquo, / reject
(U.B.) ; in judicial trials, for Absolve, / say
" not guilty" as opposed to C., Condemno, I say
" guilty" _and to N.L. (f.v.). As a numeral,
A is 500, A 5000.
A 1. In Lloyd's Register of Shipping (q.v.),
indicates, to shippers and insurers, a first-class
vessel, thoroughly equipped. A refers to hull,
I to anchor, cables, etc. Hence A I, in slang,
= first-rate.
-a, -ay. Norse suffix. 1. = island in the sea,
as in Staff-a, Colons-ay. 2. = river, as in Gret-a,
Rattr-ay. [A.S. ea, O.H.G. aha, Goth, ahva,
L. aqua, water.} (-ea; ey.)
Ab. Eleventh month of civil, fifth of ecclesi-
astical, Jewish year ; July August.
A.B. (Naut.), i.e. able-bodied ; a first-rate, as
distinguished from an ordinary, seaman.
Aback. (Naut.) Position of sails when the
wind bears on their front. They are Taken or
Laid A. by accident or design respectively.
Abaoot. A spurious word, given in all dic-
tionaries, and said to mean "a cap of State,
wrought up into the shape of two crowns, worn
formerly by English kings. " But both word and
thing are delusions. The true word, Bycooket
[O. Fr. bicoquet, the peak of some kind of lady's
head-dress}, not uncommon up to and after 1500,
after undergoing a series of corruptions, appears
in Spelman's Glossdrium (1664) as "Abacot,"
with the above explanation ; whence it has been
copied from one dictionary into another ever
since. Its primitive meaning probably sur-
vives in the Sp. bicoquin, a cap with two points.
As Henry V. on his bassinet at Agincourt, and
as Richard on his helmet at Bosworth, wore a
gold crown ; so Henry VI. (crowned King of
England and of France) wore at Hedgley Moor
two crowns upon his bycocket but in no sense
as part of it. (See Dr. Murray's Letter to the
AthcntBum, February 4, 1882.)
Abacus. [L., Gr. fij8o|, &&OKOS, a table, slab.}
1. The tablet on the top of the capital of a
column, which supports the entablature. 2. With
Greeks and Romans, a wooden tray for arith-
metical computation ; divided by parallel lines,
and having in the spaces pebbles, representing
units, tens, etc. Similarly, 3, a framework with
parallel wires, strung with beads, to render cal-
culations palpable, used in infant schools ; and
by the Chinese, with whom all calculations of
weights, measures, etc., are decimal.
-abad. [Hind.., dwelling.} Part of names ; as
in Hyder-abad, the abode of Hyder ; Murshed-
abad, etc.
Abaddon. [Heb., the destroyer.} Name for
the angel of the bottomless pit, Rev. ix. u ; in
Milton, the pit itself. (Apollyon.)
Abaft (prefix a, i.e. on, and -baft, i.e. by aft).
(Naut.') Behind the object mentioned.
Abandon. [Fr.] Freedom from restraint,
careless ease of manner.
Abandonment. (A 7 aut.) By a written notice,
conveys to the underwriters an insured ship,
when a "constructive total loss," i.e. so da-
maged that repair would cost more than she is
worth.
A bas le, les. [Fr.] Down with.
Ab assuetis non fit injuria [Leg. L., wrong
does not arise fro in what one is accustomed to\,
i.e. one has no claim at law in respect of a
nuisance or damage which has been long borne
without complaint.
Abatis. [Fr.] (Mil.) An obstacle formed
of trees felled [Fr. abattu] ; their stems being
placed close together in the ground, with the
ends of the branches sharpened and pointed
towards an enemy.
Abattoir. [Fr. abattre, to knock down.} A
public slaughter-house.
A battuta. [It., at the beat.} (Mus.) Revert
to strict time.
Abb. [A.S. ab, and ob.] Yarn of a weaver's
warp.
Abbasides. (Hist.) Caliphs of Bagdad (749-
1258), claiming descent from Abbas, uncle of
Mohammed. To this line belonged Haroun-al-
Raschid, contemporary of Charlemagne.
Abbe. [Fr.] A word applied not only to the
abbots or heads of conventual houses, but to
all persons vested with the ecclesiastical habit
(Littre). Before the French Revolutfon, many
such men rose to eminence in the world of letters
and fashion. The A. commendataires, nominated
AEBO
ABBR
by the king, drew one-third of the revenues of
their abbeys, as sinecurists.
Abbot of Joy. [Fr. Abbe de Liesse, L. Abbas
Lattice.} A master of revels, formerly, in some
French towns.
Abbot of Misrule. In Med. Hist., the
master of the revels ; called in Scotland the
Abbot of Unreason (see Sir W. Scott's
Monastery). (Boy Bishop, The ; Feast of Fools ;
Saturnalia.)
Abbot of the People. Formerly a chief
magistrate among the Genoese.
Abbots, Mitred. In Eng. Hist., twenty-four
in number, ecclesiastical dignitaries, who held
of the king in capite per baroniam, and sat and
voted in the House of Lords.
Abbreviations, Symbols, etc. [Eccl. L. abbrS-
viatio, -nem, a shortening.] jj?, Chr., is an A., 1,
for xf n i ff ' r ^ > 'i excellent (Chrestomathy) ; and,
later, 2, for XpwrrJs, Christ. LXX., Septuagint;
A.U.C., ab urbe condita, in the year from
the building of Rome ; S.P.Q.R., senatus popii-
lusque Romanus, the senate and people of Rome;
S. D. , salutem dicit, sends greeting ; D.D. D. , dono
dedit,dicavit,gave, dedicated, as a gift; D.O.M.,
Deo Optimo Maximo, to God, the Best, the
Greatest ; M.S., memoriae sacrum, sacred to the
memory of ; H.S.E., hie sepultus (situs) est, here
is buried; R.I. P., requiescat in pace, may he
rest in peace ; S.T.T.L., sit tibi terra levis, light
be the earth upon thee; I.H.C. and I.H.S.
are the first three letters, I, H, 2 (I, E, S) which
last was at one time written very like our C
in the Greek IH2OT2, Jesus; A.S., anno sa-
lutis, in the year of our salvation, = anno Do-
mini ; B.V.M., beata Virgo Maria, the blessed
Virgin Mary; S.J., of the Society of Jesus.
Astronomy : 1. Members of the solar system :
0, The Sun ; fl, the Moon ; , Mercury ; ? ,
Venus ; or J , the Earth ; $ , Mars ; If,,
Jupiter; I?, Saturn; $, the Georgian. 2.
Signs of the Zodiac : I. T, Aries, o ; 2. & ,
Taurus, 30 ; 3. n, Gemini, 60 ; 4. 05, Cancer,
90; 5. Si, Leo, 120; 6. TJJi, Virgo, 150; 7.
4, Libra, 180 ; 8. TT|,, Scorpio, 210; 9. $,
Sagittarius, 240 ; IO. yf, Capricornus, 270 ;
II. ?, Aquarius, 300; 12. >, Pisces, 330.
3. Other symbols are : (J , conjunction ; D ,
quadrature ; , opposition ; &, ascending node;
$3 , descending node.
In Bishops' signatures : Cant, or Cantuar. is
Cantuariensis, of Canterbury ; Ebor., Ebor-
acensis, of Eboracum or Eburacum, York ;
Dunelrn., Dunelmensis, of Durham; Winton.,
Wintoniensis, of Wintonia, Winchester ; Sarum,
of New Sarum, i.e. Salisbury; Vigorn.,
Vigornensis, of Worcester ; Oxon., Oxoniensis,
of Oxford ; Exon. , Exoniensis, of Exeter ;
Roffen., Roflfensis, of Rochester ; Cicestr.,
Cicestrensis, of Chichester; Menev., some-
times, for Menevensis, of Menevia, now St.
David's. Similarly, Cantab., Cantabrigiensis,
of Cambridge; Eblan., Eblanensis, of Eblana,
Dublin. Ch. Ch. is Christ Church; C.C.C.,
Corpus Christi College, Oxford; F.T.C.D.,
Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. S.P.G.,
S.P.C.K., C.M.S., A.C.S., are the Societies
for Propagation of the Gospel, for Promoting
Christian Knowledge, Church Missionary,
Additional Curates'; E.C.U., English Church
Union; A.P.U.C., Association for Promoting
Unity of Christendom.
Botany : $ , male ; $ , female ; hermaph.
or bisexual ; $ $ $ polygamous ; $ $f ,
dioecious ; $ - - 3 monoecious ; or Q>
annual ; @ or $ , biennial ; 1, perennial ; T?,
a tree or shrub ; v.v., visum vivum, seen alive ;
v.s., siccum, seen in a dried state ; v.c., cultum,
seen cultivated ; v.sp., sporadicum or sponta-
neum, seen wild.
Chemistry : The chemical symbol for aluminium
is Al ; for silver [L. argentum], Ag ; arsenic, As ;
gold [L. aurum], Au ; boron, B ; barium, Ba ;
bismuth, Bi ; bromine, Br ; carbon, C ; calcium,
Ca ; cadmium, Cd ; cerium, Ce ; chlorine, Cl ;
cobalt, Co ; chromium, Cr ; caesium, Cs ; copper
[L. cuprum], Cu ; didymium, D ; erbium, E ;
fluorine, F ; iron [L. ferrum], Fe ; glucinum,
Gl ; hydrogen, H ; mercury [L. hydrargyrum],
Hg ; iodine, I ; indium, In ; iridium, Ir ; potas-
sium [L.L. kalium, from Ar. alkali], K; lan-
thanum, La ; lithium, Li ; magnesium, Mg ;
manganese, Mn ; molybdenum, Mo ; nitrogen,
N ; sodium, Na (Natron) ; niobium, Nb ; nickel,
Ni ; oxygen, O ; osmium, Os ; phosphorus, P ;
lead [L. plumbum], Pb ; palladium, Pd ; plati-
num, Pt ; rubidium, Rb ; rhodium, Rh ; ruthe-
nium, Ru ; antimony [L. stibium], Sb ; selenium,
Se; silicon, Si ; strontium, Sr ; tin [L. stannum],
Sn ; sulphur, S ; tantalum, Ta ; tellurium, Te ;
thorium, Th ; titanium, Ti ; thallium, Tl ; ura-
nium, U ; vanadium, V ; tungsten, W (Wol-
fram) ; yttrium, Y ; zinc, Zn ; zirconium, Zr.
Of the principal Codices or MSS. of the New
Testament: A. is the Alexandrine, or Codex
Alexandrinus, in the British Museum, probably
fifth century; B., Codex Vaticanus, in the
Vatican, probably fourth century ; C. , Cod.
Ephraemi, at Paris, i.e. of Ephraem the Syrian,
a palimpsest, probably fifth century ; D., Cod.
Cantabrigiensis, or Bezae, at Cambridge, probably
end of fifth century or beginning of sixth
century ; K, Cod. Sinaiticus, found by Tischen-
dorf, 1859, in a monastery on Mount Sinai,
probably fourth century.
On English Coins are: A.C., A.D., A.T.,
Arch- Chancellor, -Duke, -Treasurer; D.G.,
Dei gratia, by the grace of God; F.D., fidei
defensor, Defender of the Faith; S.R.I.,
Sanctum Romanurh Imprium, Holy Roman
Empire; M.B.F. et H., Magnae Britannia;,
Franciae, et Hibemiae, of Great Britain, France,
and Ireland.
In Dignities, Degrees, Professions, etc. : H.M.,
S.M., His or Her 'Majesty, Sa Majeste ; S.A.R.,
S.A.I., Son Altesse Royale, Imperiale, His or
Her Royal, Imperial, Highness; D.N.P.P.,
Dominus noster Papa Pontifex, our Lord the
Pope. K.C.H. is Knight Commander of
Hanover; K.G., K.H., K.M., K.P., K.T.,
K.M.G., are Knights of the Garter, of Han-
over, of Malta, of St. Patrick, of the Thistle,
of St. Michael and St. George; K.B. not now
in use, Knight of the Bath, of which order
ABBR
ABBR
(as of S.I. and M.G.) there are now three
classes, viz. G.C.B. Grand Cross, K.C.B.
Knight Commander, and C.B. Companion ;
C.I.E. is Companion of. the Order of the
Indian Empire; C.S.I., K.C.S.I., G.C.S.I.,
Commander, Knight Commander, Grand Cross,
of the Star of India; L.C.J. and L.C.B. are
Lord Chief Justice, Baron; P.C., Privy Coun-
cillor; H. E.I.C., Honourable East India Com-
pany; S.T. P., Sanctse Theologize Professor, is
the L. translation of D. D. , Doctor of Divinity ;
LL.D., Legum Doctor, Doctor of Laws, the
equivalent in Cambridge and Dublin of the
Oxford D.C.L., Doctor of Civil Law; A. A.
is Associate of Arts ; B. M. , Bachelor of
Medicine; S.C.L., B.C.L., Student, Bachelor,
of Civil Law ; A.K.C., Associate of King's
College ; B. es L. is the French Bachelier es,
i.e. en les, Lettres ; F. R. S. , properly Frater-
nitatis Regise Socius, has adapted itself to the
Eng. translation, Fellow of the Royal Society
similarly, F.G.S., F.L.S., F.R.A.S., F.R.G.S.
are Fellows of the Royal Geolog., Linnsean
Royal Astron. , Royal Geog. , Societies ; R. A.
Royal Academy, Royal Academician ; A. R. A.
Associate of ditto ; P.R.A., President of ditto
A.E.R.A., Associate Engraver of Royal Acad.
M.I.C.E., Member of the Institute of Civil En-
gineers ; M. R.C. S. is Member of the Royal
College of Surgeons; M.R.C.V. S., Member of
Veterinary ditto; F. R.I.B.A., Fellow of the
Royal Institute of British Architects. R.M.,
usually Royal Marines, is, in Ireland, Resident
Magistrate. D.L., Deputy- Lieutenant of the
County ; J.P., Justice of the Peace, i.e. a magis-
trate ; W.S., Writer to the Signet, i.e. one of a
body of legal practitioners in Edinburgh, cor-
responding generally to the highest class of
attorneys in London; M.F. H., Master of the
Fox-hounds ; M. C. , master of the ceremonies.
Amongst Naval A. are : R. N., Royal Navy ;
H.M.S., Her Majesty's ship ; A.B., able-bodied
seaman; C.G., coastguard; C.P., sent by the
civil power; D., in Complete Book, dead or
deserted; D.S.Q., discharged to sick quarters;
F. G. , on a powder cask, fine grain ; and L. G. ,
large grain. (For L. , v. L's, Three ; and v.
A I.) Amongst Military A. are : F.M., Field-
Marshal ; A.D.C., Aide-de-Camp'; Q.M.G.,
Quarter- Master-General ; R.A., R.E., R.H.A.,
R.M., are Royal Artillery, Engineers, Horse
Artillery, Marines ; C.O., Commanding Officer ;
S.C., Staff Corps; S.C., Staff College; R.M.C.
and R.M.A-, Royal Military College, Sandhurst,
and Academy, Woolwich.
In referring to Languages: Sansk., Skr., or
Skt., is Sanskrit; A.S., Anglo-Saxon; O.H.G.
and M.H.G., Old, and Middle, High German;
Pl.D., Platt Deutsch, Low German; O.E.,
O.F., O.N., O.S., Old English, Old French,
Old Norse, Old Saxon; L.L., Low Latin;
Prov. , Proven9al ; *J = root of a word.
Mathematics : Q. E. D. , quod erat demonstran-
dum, which was to be proved ; Q. E. F. , faciendum,
to be done. Letters of the alphabet are used to
denote numbers or numerical quantities ; but
a, b, c, etc., denote constant or known numbers ;
u, x, y, z, variable or unknown numbers ;
m, n, p, etc., simple numerical coefficients, or
exponents : thus, a certain power of a known
number (a) would be written a m ; ab is a X b ;
T, a -T- b ; a > b means a is greater than b ;
a < b, less ; * means a X a X a X a, and the
4 is called an exponent of a ; fj, formerly r,
i.e. L. radix, is the sq. root of a number ; but
tya or a\, %] a or a\, mean the cube root, the
fourth root, of a ; .'. stands for therefore, '.' for
because; cos., tan., log., are cosine, tangent,
logarithm. When the variations of one quantity
(ti) follow those of another quantity (x) the for-
mer is said to be a function, f, F, or <p, of the
latter, written ti = f[x) ; A indicates the finite
change which a variable undergoes, as A;c ; but
if the change is indefinitely small, du, 5u ; 2
means the sum of a number of quantities which
differ from each other by finite differences ; /*
the sign of integration, denotes the total result
of a variation, the rate of which is continually
changing, as the distance described by a body
moving with a velocity that continually varies.
When a group of quantities of the same kind is
considered, it is convenient to denote them all
by the same letter, and to distinguish the mem-
bers of the group by figures, I, 2, 3, etc., to the
right and below, called suffixes ; thus, the group
of forces which keep a body at rest may be de-
noted by P u P 2 , P 3 .
Medicine: A, a, or aa, is ana, i.e. avd, again,
an equal quantity; AAA, amalgama ; F., Ft.,
fiat, fiant, let it, them, be made ; M., sometimes
mampulus, a handful, sometimes misce, mix ;
P., piigillus, a handful; P./E., partes rcquales,
equal parts ; P. R.N., pro re nata, according to
the occasion; Q. S., quantum sufficit, as much
as is sufficient ; R, recipe, take.
Miscellaneous: i.e., id est, that is ; L. S., locus
sigilli, place for the seal ; loc. cit., or I.e., loco
citato, in the passage quoted ; e.g., exempli
gratia, for example ; v.l., varia lectio, a different
reading; cf. is for L. confer, compare; crim. con.,
criminal conversation ; id., idem, the same ; ibid.,
ibidem, in the same place; s. v. , sub voce, or
verbo, under the word, in the dictionary ; s. h. v. ,
sub hac voce, hoc verbo, under this word ; /c.r.A..,
i.e. ical TO. \onra, and the rest, the same as the
L. etc., i.e. et csetera ; q.v., quod vide, i.e. which
see, refers the reader to the word last mentioned ;
p.r.n., pro re nata, according to circumstances,
lit. for the matter or occasion arising ; M., in the
Marriage Service, a printer's correction intro-
duced after 1726, from the Act prescribing the
form of banns, should be N. for Nomen ; D.M.,
Dis Manibus (Manes); ob., obiit, died; A.S.,
anno salutis, in the year of Redemption ; Ca.
Sa., capias ad satisfaciendum (q.v.} ; fi. fa., fieri
facias (q.v. ) ; pxt., pinxit, painted ; nem. con.,
nemine contradlcente, no one saying No, is
= carried unanimously; no., for number, is
the It. numero ; sp.g., specific gravity; c.g.s.
are the Fr. centimetre, gramme^second ; m.s.l.
mean sea-level ; x.d. , exclusive of dividend ;
ult, inst, prox., are mense ultimo, instanti,
ABBR
ABER
proximo, in the last, in the present, in the
next, month; p.p.c., pour prendre conge, to
take leave ; in France, s.g.d.g., sous garantie
du gouvernement, under the guarantee of the
government, i.e. patented ; Ent. Sta. Hall,
entered at the Stationers' Hall ; R.S.O., railway
sub-office, for letters; P.P., fire-plug; N.S.
is New Style, O. S. Old Style, i.e. respectively
after and before the alteration of the calendar
by Gregory XIII. in 1582, adopted in England
1751. Doubled letters indicate a plural; as
LL.D., Legum Doctor; MSS., manuscripts;
reff., references ; N. or M., i.e. N. or NN.,
nomen or nomina, name or names ; and many
others.
Musical: Adg or ad, adagio, slowly ; Ad lib.,
ad libitum ; Ag, agitato, in an agitated, restless
style; All' ott., or All' 8 va , all' ottava, at the
octave higher or lower than it is written ; Al
seg., al segno, to the sign, i.e. go back to the
: ; At, or A tempo, in time (A battuta) ;
C.D., colla destra, with the right hand; C.S.,
colla sinistra, with the left hand ; Cal. , calando,
lit. loweringly, with decreasing tone and pace ;
Can., cantoris, the chanter's, precentor's (side) ;
Cello., violoncello; Cor., cornet or horn; D.,
destra, or droite, right; D.C., da capo, over
again, lit. from the head or beginning ; Dec. ,
decani, the dean's (side) ; D.S., from the sign (see
Al seg.) ; F., forte, loud ; FF., or Fff., or Ffor.,
fortissimo, very loud; F.O., full organ; G.,
gauche, left ; G.O., great organ ; L., left ; L.H.,
left hand ; MM. J = 92, the crotchet-beat being
equal to the pendulum-pulse of Malzel's metro-
nome, with the weight set at 92 (remembering
that, "to be correct, the metronome should beat
seconds when set at 60 " ( Stainer and Barrett,
Dictionary of Music) ; M.V. , mezza voce, with
half the power of the voice ; Obb. , obbligato,
i.e. important, and that cannot be dispensed
with; P., piano, soft; P.F., piii forte, louder;
PP., pianissimo, very soft ; PPP. and PPPP.
are used for pianississimo ; Rail. , rallentando,
gradually slower; R.H., right hand; Ritar.,
ritardando, gradually slower and still slower ;
Riten. , ritenendo or ritenuto, holding back the
pace ; S., senza, without ; : , segno, sign, point-
ing the extent of a repeat ; Sfz., sforzando,
forced, i.e. emphasizing the note or chord ; S.T.,
senza tempo, without definite, marked, time ;
Tern. 1, tempo primo, resume the original pace ;
Va., viola; Vo., viollna ; V. S., void subito, turn,
i.e. turn over, quickly ; with very many others.
Abbreviators. [L. abbrevio, / abridge.'} In
the papal court, condense documents, for the
preparation of bulls.
A. B.C. process of deodorizing impurities, i.e.
by alum, blood, charcoal.
Abd. \_Kr,,servant.'] Abd- Allah, servant of God.
Abderite, The. The laughing philosopher
Democritus, born at Abdera, in Thrace.
Abdiel. [Heb., servant of God.~] The angel
of Jewish tradition, who alone withstood Satan's
rebellious designs.
Abdomen. [L.] In the animal body, the
lower of two cavities, the upper being the
thorax, or chest, and the diaphragm in mam-
malia being the partition between the two. In
insects, it is the last of three portions into which
the body is divided.
Abductor muscles draw away from, Adductor
M. draw back to, the mesial (q.v.) line of the
body. [L. abduco, J draw away, adduco, /
bring to.~\ Muscles which close the valves of
the shell of Lamellibranchiata are called Ad-
ductor M.
A-beam. (Naut.) In a line drawn at right
angles to the vertical plane through the ship's
keel, and passing through the centre of her side.
Abaft the B. , any point within the right angle
contained by this line and the line of the ship's
keel in a direction opposite to her course. Be-
fore the B., neither a- B., nor abaft the B., nor
a}iead (in a line with the keel forward), nor astern
(in a line with the keel aft). Starboard B., on
the right ; Larboard B. , or Port B., on the left
hand, looking forward. Weather B., the wind-
ward ; Lee B., the other side.
Abecedarian hymns. Hymns in which the first
verse or stanza began with the first, and succeed-
ing verses or stanzas with the succeeding, letters
of the alphabet, in imitation of Heb. acrostic
poetry, e.g. Ps. cxix.
Abecedary circles. Rings of letters described
round magnetized needles, by which friends were
supposed to be able to communicate, looking at
them at certain fixed times.
Abelardians. Followers of Abelard, a dis-
tinguished Schoolman of the twelfth century,
whose opinions brought on him the censure of
St. Bernard. (Nominalists.)
Abele (2 syl.}. The Populus alba, white
foplar.
Abelians, Abelites. An African sect, fourth
century, who enjoined the separate state of the
married, to avoid handing down original sin ;
after an assumed example of Abel.
Abelmoschus. [Ar. habb-el-misk, grain of
musk. ] A tropical genus of mallow. The seeds
of A. moschatus are used in perfumery, and in
medicine ; and the pods of A. esciilentus, the
W. Indian ochro or gobbo, mucilaginous and
nutritive, are used in soups.
A bene placito. [L.L.] (Mus.) The time,
amount, of grace notes, etc., left to the choice
and the good pleasure of the performer.
Aber-. Cymric prefix, meaning, like Erse and
Gaelic inver, a meeting of waters, either stream
and stream, or stream and sea.
Aberrant group. [L. aberrantem, part, of
aberro, / stray from.} One differing widely
from the type of the natural group to which
they apparently belong ; e.g. Lemurs compared
with Quadrumana.
Aberration ; Annual A. ; Chromatic A. ; Circle
of A. ; Diurnal A. ; Planetary A. ; Spherical A.
[L. aberratio, -nem, aberro, I stray from.} The
apparent displacement of a heavenly body, caused
by the composition of the velocity of light with
that of the earth. The velocity of light is about
10,000 times greater than that of the earth
in her orbit, so that the stars appear displaced
through an angle of about 2O'5', the displace-
ABER
ABRA
ment taking place in a plane passing through
the star and the direction of the earth's motion ;
this is called the Aberration, and sometimes the
Annual A. The Diurnal A. is a very minute
displacement of a like kind due to the com-
position of the velocity of light with that of the
earth's rotation. When the heavenly body has
a motion of its own, as is the case with a planet,
its velocity has to be taken into account, and
then we have the Planetary A. When a ray of
light undergoes reflexion or refraction, its
Spherical A. is the distance between the geo-
metrical focus and the point in which it cuts the
axis of the reflecting or refracting surface
supposed to be spherical. When white light
passes directly through a lens, the distance be-
tween the geometrical foci of the most and the
least refracted coloured rays is the Chromatic A .
The Circle of Chromatic A. is the smallest circle
through which all the coloured rays pass near
their geometrical foci.
Aberuncate. [L. ab, from, e, out, runco, /
weed. ] To pull up by the roots.
Abhorrers. In Eng. Hist, the name given,
in 1680, to those who expressed abhorrence of
encroachments on the royal prerogative, while
those who demanded the summoning of Parlia-
ment were called Petitioners. It was at this time
that the words Whig and Tory came into use.
Abib. Exod. xiii., xxiii. , xxxiv. ; Deut. xvi. ;
the month of green ears, seventh of Jewish civil
year, but first of ecclesiastical, as being that in
which the Passover fell ; the post-Babylonian
Nisan, March April.
Abies. [L.] Fir; is distinguished in a general
way from Pinus (q.v.} by leaves growing singly
around the stem, by character of fructification,
and by general pyramidal form. Silver fir,
Norway spruce, larch, and cedar of Lebanon,
are representatives of its four natural divisions.
Abigail. A waiting-maid (? from Abigail Hill,
afterwards Mrs. Masham ; rather than from
Nabal's wife; see Latham's Diet., s.v.).
Abiit, excessit, evasit, erupit. [L., he has
gone away, retired, escaped, gone tearing off.]
Originally said by Ciceio of Catiline's precipi-
tate departure from Rome.
Ab initio [L., from the beginning} ; as, pro-
ceedings void ab initio.
Abiogenesis. (Biogenesis. )
Abjuration of the realm. An oath to leave it
for ever. [L. abjtiratio, -nem, a fors^vear^ng.]
Ablactation. [L. ablactatio, -nem, -weaning.]
The separation of an inarched graft from its
parent stock, but not before some union with
the new has taken place.
Ablaqueation. [L. ablaqueatio, -nem.] An
opening of the ground at the roots of trees, to
let in air. Evelyn.
Ablepsia. [Gr. a/3A\J/i'a, blindness, a neg.,
j8Ae'ira>, / see.] Incorrect term for colour-blind-
ness. (Dyschromatopsy.)
Ablepsy. (Dipl.) Wrong reading by a scribe
of that which he is copying.
Abnormal. [L. ab, from, norma, carpenter's
rule, a pattern.] Deviating from rule or law,
e.g. in the development of living things.
Abnormis sapiens. [L.] Wise, but of no sect
or school ; naturally shrewd. Horace.
Abolitionist. One who is for abolishing slavery
immediately and entirely.
Abolla. [L., Gr. ave.fioX-1].] A woollen cloak,
scarlet or purple, worn by Roman soldiers,
opposed to toga, the outer garment worn in
time of peace; hence attributed, derisively, to
the Stoics, whose philosophy was essentially
polemical, controversial.
Aboma Epicrates, Cenchria. [Gr. firucpar-fis,
one who overmasters, /ceyxpt'as, spotted like millet
seeds (/ce-yxpoi).] Boa (J., Ringed B. of Trop.
America. Possesses rudimentary hind legs ; it
was worshipped by the ancient Alexicans. Fam.
Pythomdse.
Abomasus. Fourth stomach of a ruminant.
A bon chat bon rat. [Fr., to good cat good
rat.] The parties are well matched.
Aborigines. [L.] Inhabitants ab origine, pre-
historic. (Autochthones.)
Abortion. [L. abortio, -nem.] 1. An unnatural
expulsion of the foetus after the sixth week and
before the sixth month. 2. In Law, the crime of
producing this by drugs or instruments.
Abortive. [L. abortivus, ab-6rior, I fail to
rise, miscarry.] (Hot.} Imperfectly formed. A.
branches, woody nodules in the bark of some
trees, e.g. cedar.
Abou-Hannes. Spec, of bird, identified by
Cuvier with Ibis Religiosa, Sacred Ibis, of
Egypt. Numenius I., gen. NumenTus, fam.
Scolopacidae, ord. Grallse.
About, To go. (Naut.} To put a ship's head
to the wind, and fill on the other tack. Keady
about and about ship are orders to go about.
Ab ovo usque ad mala. [L.] From the
beginning to the end ; lit. from the egg, the
first dish, to the apples, the last, in a Roman
meal.
Abox. (Naut.} (Brace.)
Abracadabra. An ancient mystic word of un-
known origin ; a charm against fevers, written
on paper, folded up, and worn a certain time
in the bosom, then thrown into a stream. The
word was in the form of an equilateral triangle
inverted, each line being shorter by one letter
than the preceding, and the letter A only re-
maining as the apex. Perhaps Pers. abrasas, a
mystical term for Deity, and Heb. dabar, Divine
Word ; the C is really the S of the word in its
Greek form (Littre). (Abraxas.)
Abrahamites. Bohemian deists of the last
century, who professed the faith of Abraham
before circumcision. Their existence was short.
Abraham Man. An impostor, who per-
sonated " poor Tom of Bedlam," i.e. the harm-
less incurable lunatic, who went about in squalid
dress, singing songs and driving a good trade.
(See Edgar's account of himself in King
Lear.) Shamming Abraham is still slang.
Abramis. [Gr. appa^is.] Gen. of fresh-
water fish ; Europe," W. Asia, N. America ; as
the common bream (Abramis Brama). Fam.
CyprTnidse, ord. Physostomi, sub-class Telost6i.
Abrancbian, Abranchiate. [Gr. a neg.,
j3po-vx' a . gate'] Without gills. Among Verte-
ABRA
ACAN
brates reptiles, birds, and mammals ; among
Annelids leeches and earthworms.
A bras ouverts. [Fr.] With open arms,
Abraxas, or Abrasaz Stones. A word first used
by the Basilidians, a Gnostic sect, as expressing
the number of spirits or deities subject to the
supreme deity, 365. The letters which make
up the word A. stand in Greek numerals for I, 2,
100, i, 60, I, 200 = 365. [Pers. Abraxas or
Abrasas, God.] (Abracadabra.) Stones have
been found bearing this name written, together
with an emblem, the body of a man, or serpent,
or fowL
Abrenvoir. [Fr. from L. adblbrare, to give
drink."] 1. A drinking-place for cattle, etc. 2.
A joint between stones, to be filled in with
mortar.
Abrogation. [L. abrogatio, -nem.] The repeal
of a law by competent authority ; the inversion
of the process by which, in the Roman comitia,
the votes of the curies or tribes were asked for
a measure.
Abscissa. (Co-ordinates.)
Absentee. One who derives his income from
one country, but resides and spends it in
another.
Absentem laedit cam ebrio qui Htigat. [L.]
He injures the absent who quarrels -with a drunken
man ; the absence of sense being tantamount to
personal absence.
Absinthe. An aromatic liqueur prepared from
some of the small alpine species of Artemisia.
Absintbine. The bitter principle of wormwood
[Gr. btylvQiov], Artemisia Absinthium.
Absit. [L.., let him be absent."] Written leave
to be absent for one night from college, during
a term of residence.
Absit omen. [L., may the omen be absent."]
God forbid I
Absolute, Sir Anthony. A character in TJie
Rivals of Sheridan ; generous, irritable, over-bear-
ing. Captain A., a bold, adroit, determined man.
Absolve a doubt or difficult passage, = clear
up, explain. [L. absolve, I unloose."]
Absolvi animam meam, or Hberavi animam
meam. [L.] I have relieved my soul (conscience),
especially by an ineffectual protest.
Absonous. [L. absonus.] Discordant, con-
trary to, not in harmony with.
Absorbents. [L. absorbentes, part, of ab-
sorbeo, / suck up.~\ A system of delicate vessels,
pervading the entire body, whose function is to
take up substances and convey them into the
mass of the circulating fluid. Of these, the
Lacteals [L. lac, milk"] convey the chyle from
the stomach and intestines ; the Lymphatics [L.
lympha, water] absorb all redundant matter
throughout the body (Lymph). A drug which
stimulates such vessels is called absorbent, e.g.
calomel.
Absorbing wells are sunk through retentive
ground into permeable ground, to get rid, by in-
filtration, of liquids thrown in.
Absque imputatione vasti. [Leg. L., without
impeachment of waste."] Said of life tenure ; a
reservation securing tenant against being sued
for (non-malicious) waste.
Abstention. In Politics, refraining from the
exercise of public rights, especially from voting.
Abstersive. [L. abs,from, off, tergeo, / wipe.]
Able to wipe away, cleanse.
Abstinence, Days of. [L. abstinentia, the
holding off from anything."] In the Roman
Church, days on which the eating of flesh is for-
bidden, as distinguished from days of fasting,
when only one meal is allowed during the
twenty-four hours.
Abstraction. (Predicable.)
Abstract number. A number the unit of
which denotes no particular thing ; e.g. twelve
as distinguished from twelve apples.
Abstract of title. {Leg.) Epitome of evidence
of ownership.
Absurdum, Eeductio ad. (Reductio.)
Abudah. In Ridley's Tales of the Genii, a
merchant of Bagdad, driven by a little old hag
to search for Oromanes' talisman.
Abnna. Abyssinian high priest.
Ab uno disce omnes. [L., from one (man)
know all (his) associates^] Take this as a
specimen.
A-burton. (Naut.) Spoken of casks stowed
athwart ship?.
Abuse of process. (Leg.) Obtaining advan-
tage by some intentional irregularity in the form
of legal proceedings.
Abuttal. The boundary of land ; land is said
to abut on this road or that river.
Academics. (Academy.)
Academy figure. A drawing generally made
in black and white chalk from a living model,
as by students at an Academy of Arts.
Academy, Philosophy of, i.e. Platonism. The
Academia (called after its supposed owner, the
hero Academes), being a garden in the suburbs
of Athens, where Socrates discoursed, and Plato
taught for nearly half a century. Hence A. =
seat of learning.
Acadia. Indian name of Nova Scotia.
Acajou. 1. Mahogany ; the word originally
American, and introduced with the article,
eighteenth century. 2. Applied also to the
Cashew nut (Anacardium occklentale).
Acalephae. [Gr. dxaA^Tj, a nettle.'] Sea-
nettles, sea-blubbers, jelly-fish. A class (in
Cuvier's system) of Radiata (q.v.), soft and
gelatinous, mostly with stinging hairs ; e.g.
Medusas.
Acanthlon. [Gr. &Kav9a, a thorn."] Gen. of
flat-spined porcupine ; two species. India and
Islands. Fam. Hystricidse, ord. Rodentia.
Acanthophis. [Gr. &Ka.v9a, a thorn, 6<pts, a
serpent. ~] Gen. of venomous serpents, allied to
vipers, having a horny spur at the end of the
tail. Australia, Moluccas, New Guinea.
Acanthopterygii. [Gr. &Ka.v6a,athorn, irre'p-tif,
-C-yos, a fin.~] Ord. of fish, with some of their
fin rays spinous, as perch. A. Pharyngognathi
have anchylosed pharyngeal bones, and are gene-
rally provided with teeth, as the wrasse ; sub-
class Teleoste'i.
Acanthus. [Gr. &Kav6a, a thorn."] 1. Brank-
ursine, Beat's breech, Bear's foot, type gen. of
Acanthaceae. 2. Sometimes also the gum -pro-
ACAP
ACCO
ducing Acacia vera of Africa (Virgil, Ceo. i. 119,
and Milton, Paradise Lost, iv. 696). 3. (Arch.)
In Cor. and Comp. orders, the foliage of the
capital ; suggested, according to Vitruvius, by
the leaves of some acanthous plant.
A cappella. [It] 1. In old Church style,
unaccompanied, as in the Sistine Chapel. 2.
Alia Breve (q.v.).
Acarus. [Gr. &Kap-t, -la, mite.~\ Gives its
name to fam. Acarida, containing mites, ticks,
water-mites, as cheese-m., itch-m., nose- worm
(Dgmodex folliculorum) ; class Arachnida.
Acatalectio. [Gr. oKOToATj/fTj/cJs, o neg., KOTO-
\riyu, I leave off.~\ In Prosody, a verse in which
a syllable is not wanting at the end. Catalectio
[aTaA.7j/cTjK({s, leaving off"], with one syllable
deficient.
Acaulous. [Gr. o neg., nav\6s, a stem.'] A
term sometimes used in Bot. to mean having no
stem, or a short concealed one.
Accadian. A name denoting the language
of the primitive inhabitants of Chaldrea, found
in cuneiform inscriptions. It is agglutinative.
Accelerating force. [L. acceleio, / hasten.']
Force considered simply with reference to the
rate at which it increases the velocity of a
moving body ; called also the accelerating
quantity, the accelerative effect, and sometimes
merely the acceleration of the force.
Acceleration of sidereal on mean solar time.
When the same portion of time is estimated both
in mean solar units and in sidereal units, the
numerical excess of the latter over the former
is called the Acceleration ; thus, 2 h. 30 m. of
mean solar (ordinary clock) time equals 2 h.
30 m. 24 '64 s. of sidereal time the 24^64
seconds being the acceleration.
Acceleration of the moon's mean motion. A
minute secular diminution in the length of the
lunar month, which becomes appreciable only
after centuries.
Acceleration of a force. (Accelerating force.)
Accent. [L. accentus ; ad, to, cantus, melody J\
1. (Gram.} Stress laid on a syllable in a word,
or word in a sentence. 2. Melodic A. The
relative pitch of syllables according to special
laws in certain languages, as Greek, Latin,
Sanskrit, Hebrew, Chinese. In Greek, there
are three accents : acute (high), as AJybj/ ; grave
(low), as -rbv X&yov ; circumflex (from high to
low), as TTJJ. In French, the accents, acute ' ,
grave \ circumflex A , vary the pronunciation,
not the melodic pitch of vowels.
In Math, a mark put above a letter or figure :
1. To distinguish between quantities that are
alike in certain respects ; thus, in a dynamical
question it may be convenient to indicate a
number of distinct portions of time by the letters
t' , t" , t'" , etc. 2. To indicate the minutes and
seconds of an angle, as 15' 37". 3. Sometimes
minutes and seconds of time are thus indicated.
4. To indicate feet and inches in working
drawings, as 5' 7" f r 5 ft. 7 in.
Acceptance. An engagement by one upon
whom a bill of exchange is drawn, to pay it
when due according to the terms expressed.
Acceptation. [L. acceptilatio, -nem ; lit. a
carrying aivay of the thing received. "\ Acknow-
ledgment of receipt, and release from debt,
though not really paid.
Acceptor. [L.] A drawee who accepts (admits
his liability for the amount of) a bill of exchange
(q.V.).
Accessary, subst, Accessory, adj. [L. accessa-
rius, from accessor, one who draws near to (Du-
cange).] 1. Contributing to a design, or to the
character and quality of a tiling, either in a good
or a bad sense ; especially, 2, one not present at
the commission of a crime, yet in some way
acceding to it, consentient, either before or
after.
Accessio cedit principali. [L.] A maxim of
law; an accessory thing when annexed to a
principal thing becomes part and parcel of the
latter : so the trees go with the soil. Accessio,
in Rom. Law, is a mode of acquisition of
property by natural means ; in Eng. Law,
Accretion.
Accessory stops. (Mns.) Pedals, e.g. couplers,
composition pedals, which act mechanically upon
others, and have no pipes in connexion with
them.
Acciatura. (Appoggiatura. )
Accidence. An elementary book, teaching the
accidents, i.e. modification of words, as by
inflexion, declension.
Accidens, Per. [L.] By an accidental, not an
essential, characteristic; opposed \.o per se : the
sun shines per se, the moon per accidens.
Accident. (Predicable.)
Accidental colours. Colours depending on the
affections of the eye. If after looking steadily at
a coloured window we look at a white wall, we
see a ghost of the window in complementary
colours ; this is an A. image of the window, and
its colours are A. colours.
Accidental point. In perspective, the vanish-
ing point, that is, the point in the perspective
plane where any given set of parallel straight
lines in the object viewed appears to meet. It
is found by drawing a straight line from the
spectator's eye to the perspective plane, parallel
to the given lines. It is called accidental to
distinguish it from the principal point, or point
of sight, which is the point where a perpen-
dicular line from the spectator's eye meets the
perspective plane.
Accipitres. [L. accTpiter, bird of prey.~\ Ord.
of birds. Birds of prey, as eagles, owls, vul-
tures. Obvious external characteristics power-
ful, crooked beak, and talons.
Accite. [L. accltus, summoned."] To summon.
Acclamation. [L. acclamatio, -nem.] In the
language of the Conclave, a pope is said to be
elected by acclamation when he is proclaimed by
the voices of a sufficient number of cardinals at
once; he is elected by A deration "when a cardinal
kneels before him, and the necessary number
follow his example.
Acclimatize. [Gr. K\i/j.a, a climate."] To
accustom a plant or animal to a climate other
than its natural one.
Accolade. [Fr.] The slight blow on the neck
[Fr. col] or shoulder ; as the last insult to be
ACCO
s
ACKE
endured (?) ; which afterwards became an em-
brace in dubbing a knight. (J'adoube.)
Accolent. [L. accolentem, part, of accolo, /
dwell near.] A borderer.
Accommodation. [L. accommodatio, -nem.]
Bill of exchange ; a bill accepted, drawn, or
endorsed by A to accommodate B, who engages
to pay the bill when due, or at least that A
shall not be loser on the bill.
Accost. [L. ad costam, at or to the side.}
Now meaning to address, had an earlier meaning,
to adjoin ; at the shore, land accosts the sea. So
(Her.) Accosted or Cottised, said of a bend, etc.,
when placed between cottises, or narrow bends.
Account, Stockbroking. The fortnightly settle-
ment on the Stock Exchange, when all bargains
not settled off-hand should be concluded ; but vide
Backwardation; Contango; Continuations.
Accoutrements. (Mil.) Belts and pouches of
a soldier. [Fr. accoutrer, to dress -up, perhaps =
L. L. accustodlre, to take care of ; the coustre, or
sacristan, having the care of vestments. Skeat,
Etymological English Dictionary.
Accrescent. [L. accrescentem, part, of accresco,
I grow on to.} (Bot.) Said of an organ per-
sistently growing larger, e.g. a calyx after the
flowering.
Accretion. (Accessio cedit principal!. ;
Accroach. [Fr. accrocher, to hook on to, croc,
a hook.'} To encroach upon royal prerogative.
Accruing costs. (Leg.) Expenses incurred
after judgment.
Accrument. [Fr. accru, part, of accroitre, to
increase.} Addition.
Accubation [L. accubatio, -nem, accubo, /
recline at or near} or accumbent posture ; that of
the Romans who, at meals, reclined on the left
elbow.
Accumulation, Argument by. (Soritic.)
Ace. 1. A unit [L. as]. 2. A card marked
with a single point or figure, as an ace of hearts.
Sometimes = the smallest quantity ; "not an ace."
Acephali. [Gr. a-Ke</>dA.os, not-headed.} (Zool.)
Bivalve molluscs proper (Lamellibranchlata),
as the oyster, clam, and teredo.
Acephali. [Gr. a.Kf<pa\os, "without a head.}
1. An Egyptian Eutychian sect, fifth century,
separated from the Patriarch of Alexandria, who
had subscribed Zeno's Hdnoticon. 2. Said of
bishops exempt from metropolitan or patriarchate
jurisdiction.
Aceracese. An ord. of trees, of which the
common maple (acer campestre) is the type.
Aceric. [L. acdr, -is.] Obtained from the
maple.
Acerose. [L. acerosus, acus, aceris, a pointed
thing.} (Bot.) Needle-shaped, like the leaves
of a fir.
Acerra. 1. A box for incense, at Roman
funerals. 2. An altar on which incense was
burnt.
Acetabulum. [L.] 1. A small cup for vinegar
[acetum] in Roman antiquities ; in Gr. 6|u-
fratyov, oxybaphon (q.v.). 2. (Anat.) The cup-
shaped cavity in the pelvis, into which the head
of the femur is articulated. Acetabuliferous,
having cups or suckers, like cuttle-fish.
Acetarious. [L. acetarius.] Used in salad
[L. acetaria, plu.], as lettuce, etc.
Acetic acid. An acid formed by the oxidation
of alcohol. It derives its name from vinegar
[L. acetum], which is a weak impure acetic
acid. Its salts are called acetates.
Acetone. A volatile, inflammable fluid, also
called pyroacetic acid.
Achaemenidean inscriptions. Records in-
scribed in old Bactrian or old Persian, of a later
period than the Zend-Avesta, relating to Darius
(descendant of Achaemenes) and his dynasty.
Achaian (Achaean) League. A confederacy
of the twelve Achaian towns in the north of the
Peloponnesus, which rose into great historical
importance after B.C. 280. Freeman, History of
Federal Government, vol. i. ch. 5.
Achates. [Gr. ] The Achates of the ancients
was i.q. modern Jasper. (Agate.)
Achates, Fidus, = a faithful companion, as
Achates was of ^Eneas.
Acheenese. or Atcheenese, of Acheen, or At-
cheen. Small independent kingdom in north-
west of Sumatra.
Achene, Achenium. [Gr. aneg., xaf"">> 1 g&P e -~\
(Bot.) Small brittle seed-like fruit, e.g. the so-
called " seed " of the strawberry. (Indehiscent.)
Acheron. [Gr., from a root which has given
the names Acheldus, Axius, Exe, Usk, Usque-
[baugh], whiskey, and many others denoting
water.} A river (i) in Thesprotia, (2) in Italy,
(3) in the nether world of Hades, mistakenly
supposed in this instance to be so named as
flowing with aches, grief, and pains, as if from
&X os i ache, pain, and fifu, I flmv. (Lethe ;
Phlegethon; Styx.)
A cheval. [Fr., on horseback.} (Mil.) Said of
troops placed so that a river or road passing
through the centre is at right angles with the
front.
Achievement. [Fr. achever, to bring to a head
or end.} Any sign, ensign, of deeds performed ;
now corrupted into hatchment.
Achilleine. The bitter principle of milfoil, or
yarrow, Achillea millefolium, ord. Compositse.
Achilles. (Nereids.)
Achlamydeous. [Gr. ^Aa/ivy, a cloak.} Plants
without calyx or corolla, having no floral enve-
lope, e.g. willow.
Achne. [Gr. &x vr li a particle on the surface.}
Small hard inflamed tubercles on the skin. Often
written, incorrectly, acne.
Achromatic. [Gr. d neg. , xP^M a > colour.}
Not showing colour, as A. lenses, A. telescopes,
etc., in which chromatic dispersion is wholly or
nearly corrected.
Acicular. [L. acicula, a small pin or needle.}
(Bot. and Min.) Slender and pointed.
Acidimetry. [L. acidus, acid, and Gr. faeTpftv,
to measure^} The art of measuring the free acid
contained in any liquid.
Aciform. [L. acus.] Of the shape of a needle.
Acinacifonn. [L. aclnaces.] Of the shape of
a. scimitar.
Acmifonn. [L. acinus.] Of the shape of a
grapestone.
Acker, i.e. Eager, or Eagor. (Bore.)
ACLI
ACTI
Aclinic line. [Gr. a neg. , KXivia, 7 make to
slant. ~\ The magnetic equator, or line joining
all those places on the earth where the magnetic
needle has no inclination or dip, i.e. where it is
horizontal.
Acme. [Gr.] (Rhet.) The extreme height of
pathos or sentiment to which the hearer is led
by a climax [Gr. /fA/xaf, a ladder] or series of
impressions, each more intense than the pre-
ceding.
Acoemetae. [Gr. focof/xTji-os, sleepless.] An
order of nuns of the fourth century ; so called
because, in their convents, the offices were said
without interruption day and night. In the
following century an order of monks was estab-
lished at Constantinople, for the like purpose.
Acolyte. [Gr. a.ic6\ovf)os,follmver, O. E. colet.~\
One of the minor ecclesiastical orders who
attends the priest in the ministry of the altar.
Aeon. (JVaui.) A flat-bottomed boat ; Medi-
terranean.
Aconite. [Gr. a.K6vlrov, L. aconitum.] Monks-
hood (Acomtum Napellus), ord. Ranunculacese.
A poisonous plant, with long tapering root, di-
vided leaves, and tall stems bearing racemes of
purple flowers ; cultivated in gardens for orna-
ment and for medicinal purposes ; root sometimes
mistaken for horse-radish, with fatal results.
Acotyledonous. [Gr. a neg., Korv\rfi<av, a
cup-shaped cavity. ~\ (Bot.) Vegetating without
the aid of cotyledons, or seed-lobes ; = Linnsean
Cryptogam ia, e.g. ferns, lichens, mosses.
Acoustics. [Gr. O.KOVO-TIKOS, having to do with
hearing.'] The theory of sound.
Acquest. [L. acquire, I acquire.'] Acquisition ;
in Law, property not inherited.
Acquittance roll [Fr. acquitter, L. adquie-
tare] shows the debts and credits of each non-
commissioned officer and soldier of a regiment,
and is signed monthly by him in acknowledg-
ment of its accuracy.
Acrasia. [Gr. arcpacria, incontinence."] In
Spenser's Faery Queen, an enchantress, personi-
fying want of self-control.
Acre. [L. ager, a field."] An area of 4840
square yards. The Scotch acre is I '27 of an
English acre, the Irish nearly r '62.
Acre-fight. A border combat between the
English and the Scotch.
Acre, God's. [Ger. Gottes-acker.] A burial-
ground.
Acrita [Gr. S/cpiros, not exercising judgment,
i.e. being almost destitute of sensation], i.q.
Protozoa (q.v.}.
Acrito-chromacy. The being unable to dis-
tinguish [Gr. S/cpTros] colour [xpw/ia]. (Dys-
chronmtopsy.)
Aero-. [Gr. &poj.] Topmost, extreme.
Acroama. (Anagnostes.)
Acroamatic, Acroatic. [Gr. aKpoa/j.&T~iK6s, de-
signed for hearing, aKpoa.ofj.ai, I hear, .] The oral
teaching of philosophers, for intimate friends
only. (Esoteric.)
Acrobat. [Gr. aKp6/3a.Tos, from &xpos, high,
fiaivta, I go.~] A rope-dancer ; and so a gymnast
generally.
Acrogens. [Gr. &Kpos, topmost, ylyvopai, -ytv,
I am produced.'} (Sol.) One of the primary
classes of the vegetable kingdom, according to
the Natural system, = the Cryptogams of the
Linnsean. The term applies literally to those
plants whose stems increase by growth at the
summit, e.g. tree-ferns, club-mosses, etc., as dis-
tinguished from the manner of growth of Exogens
and of Endogens.
Acroleine. [L. acrS oleum, acrid oil.~\ A
pungent volatile fluid, produced by the action of
heat on fats.
Acrolith. [Gr. d.Kp6\Wos, from &Kpos, ex-
treme, \i0os, stone."] A name given to the oldest
Greek statues, the body being still of wood and
draped, but the extremities, head, arms, feet,
of marble ; marking the transition into marble
statuary.
Acrom8n6grammaticum. [Gr. S/cpos, extreme,
IILOVOS, only, ypd/j./j.a, a letter."] A poetical com-
position of which every verse begins with the
last letter of the preceding line.
Acronychal. [Gr. d/cptWxos-, happening at
nightfall.'] The rising or setting of a star is
A. when it rises as the sun sets and sets as
the sun rises. The Cosmical rising and setting
is the opposite, viz. the star rises as the sun
rises and sets as the sun sets. Also spelt, incor-
rectly, Acronical.
Acropolis. [Gr.] The citadel, or upper town
of a Greek city.
Acrospire. The slight coil or cun>e [Gr.
a"neipd] at the end \&Kpov] of the germinating
seed, e.g. in barley.
Acrostic. [Gr. d.Kp6o-T"ixv> i> the beginningof
a verse, 2, an acrostic poem.'] A piece of poetry
in which the first letters or, according to modern
use of the word A., the first, or the last, or some
central one of every line, taken consecutively,
make a word or a sentence.
Acroterion. [Gr. aKpurripiov, extremity.']
(Arch.) A short pedestal for a statue, at the
apex and the extremities of a pediment.
Act, Acta. In Rome, records of public pro-
ceedings, as A. populi, Senatus, etc., at one time
published as a kind of newspaper. Hence, in
later times, Philosophical "ir&nsacfiotis," Acts
of Parliament, Fr. acte authentique ; and to keep
an act, i.e. perform a public exercise, for a degree.
Acta Diurna. [L.] The records of the daily
acts of the Senate, published by the order of
Julius Caesar.
Acta Martyrum. [L.] Records of the suffer-
ings of the martyrs. St. Augustine speaks of
these records as being read to the people on their
festival days.
Acta Sanctorum. [L.] A title given to the
records of the lives of saints, the most celebrated
collection being that of the Bollandists. (Sanc-
torale.)
Actes. [Fr.] In Fr. Law, documents (Act),
e.g. A. de deces, de mariage, certificates of
death, marriage.
Actian Games. (Hist.) Games celebrated at
Actium, on the Ambracian Gulf, in honour of
Apollo, and renewed with increased splendour
by Octavius after his victory over M. Antonius.
Actinia. [Gr. cta-rfc, &KTIVOS, a ray of the sun.']
ACTI
10
ADDI
Sea-anemone, giving its name to fam. Actmidoe,
class Actlnozoa, sub-class Ccelenterata.
Actinic rays. [Gr. Htcris, d<cT?i/os, a ray of
the sun.'] The rays of the spectrum by which
chemical changes are produced, as in photo-
graphy.
Actinograph. [Gr. aatrls, yp<jxi>, I write.] An
instrument for registering variations in the in-
tensity of the actinic rays.
Aetinolite. [Gr. dtcris, \l8os, a stone.'] A
crystallized mineral, green ; a prismatic variety
of hornblende.
Actinometer. [Gr. dxris, utrpov, measure.'}
An instrument for measuring the intensity of the
sun's radiant heat.
Action. [L. actio, -nem.] (Mil.'] An engage-
ment of minor proportions to those of a battle.
Action of a moving system, or Quantity of
Action, is a quantity proportional to the average
kinetic energy of the system during a certain
time, multiplied by the time. (For Action and
Reaction, -vide Eeaction.)
Act of God, By the. In Law ; caused by
something beyond human control, as a lightning
stroke, a hurricane.
Actuality. [L. actualis, belonging to an act.]
Real existence of some state, quality, or action ;
opposed to Potentiality (q.v.), and to that which
is Virtual (q.v.}.
Actuary. [L. actuarius.] 1. In the Roman
courts, an officer who drew up contracts and
other instruments in the presence of the magis-
trate. 2. The registering clerk of Convocation.
3. A calculator of the value of life interests,
annuities, etc.
Actum est de. [L.] All is over with.
Actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea. In
Law ; the act does not make a man a criminal,
unless the intention be criminal.
Aculeate. [L. aculeus, a sting, sharp point. ]
(Bot.) Covered with prickles, which are cellular;
while thorns or spines grow from the wood, and
are stiff shortened branches.
Acuminate leaf [L. acumen, a point] has a
projecting, tapering point, e.g. the common
reed ; Acute being simply pointed.
Acupressure. (Med.) The occlusion of an
artery by the pressure [L. pressura] of a netdle
[acus] in such a way as to arrest the circulation
through, or the hemorrhage from it.
Acupuncture. (Med.} Pricking [L. punctura]
of the affected parts with a needle [acus], for
remedial purposes.
Acute disease [L. acutus, sharp] is opposed to
Chronic; acute sound or accent to grave ; acute
angle is less than, obtuse more than, 90.
Acuyari (Bot.) The wood of the Icica
altissima, a resinous tree of Guiana.
Adactyle. [Gr. dneg., SdWCAos, finger, toe.]
(Zool.) Without separated toes, as the horse.
Adage. [L. adagium.] A proverb.
Adagio. [It.] (Mus.) Slowly, leisurely.
Adamant. [Gr. dSa/xav, dneg., 5a/ida>, I tame.]
1. With the Greek poets, the hardest metal, it
is not certain what. 2. The diamond. Adamas,
both in Gr. and in L., has both meanings.
Another form of the word is diamond, through
Fr. diamant ; and another is Fr. aimant, a load-
stone.
Adamantine spar. Brown sapphire. (Co-
rundum. )
Adamites. A name applied to sects which,
in the early Christian centuries, and again in
the twelfth and fifteenth, professed to imitate
Adam's primitive state of innocence.
Adam's apple. The prominence in men's
throats, made by the top front angle of the
thyroid cartilage of the larynx. (Thyroid. )
Adam's needle. (Yucca.)
Adams, Parson. A poor curate and scholar
in Fielding's Joseph Andrews; type of a
thoroughly simple manly Christian.
Adam's Peak. A mountain in Ceylon,
associated with the name of Adam and of
Buddha, whose supposed foot-print, seen near
the summit, attracts yearly thousands of
pilgrims.
Ad amussim. [L.] Lit. to the carpenter's
rule; exactly.
Adansonia. (Baobab.)
Adar. [Heb., (?) fire, splendour.] Esth. iii.,
ix. ; sixth month of Jewish civil, twelfth of
ecclesiastical year ; February March. Ve-adar,
i.e. additional A. intercalary month.
Adatis. A fine cotton cloth of India.
Adawlut, Sudder. (Sudder.)
Ad Calendas Graecas [L., to the Greek
Calends], i.e. never. (Calends.)
Ad captandum. {L.., for catching.] Addressed
to prejudice, fancy, ignorance, rather than to
well-informed reason.
Ad crumenam, Argnmentum. [L., argument
to the purse.] An argument addressed to one's
power of or interest in spending.
Adda. Small burrowing lizard (Scincus offi-
cinalis), supposed to be remedial in leprosy and
all cutaneous diseases. Arabia, Egypt, Nubia.
Addendum. [L., a thing to be added] In
mechanics, the distance by which the teeth of a
toothed wheel project beyond the pitch circle.
Adder. [A.S. nsedre, an adder, properly
nadder, a swimming or water-snake ; some refer
it to A.S. attor, poison.] (Bill.} Four Heb.
words are in the Authorized Version represented
by adder or asp. I. Pethen, the cobra. 2.
Shphlphon, the cerastes, or horned viper. 3.
Akshub, a species of viper. 4. Tsiphoni, cocka-
trice (Isa. xi. 8), perhaps the cerastes.
Adder's tongue. (Bot.) Ophioglossum vul-
gatum, the type of an order of ferns ; so named
from the shape of the spike into which the
spore-cases are collected.
Addicti. (Nexi.)
Addiction. [L. addictio, -nem.] In Rom.
Law, the assignment of goods or slaves to another
by sale or the legal sentence of the praetor.
Addison's disease (described by Dr. Addison,
of Guy's Hospital), or Bronzed skin. A state
of anaemia, languor, irritable stomach, etc.,
associated with disease of the supra-renal
capsules.
Additament. [L. addftus, added.] An addition.
Addition. [L. additio, -nem.] (Her.) Any
mark of honour added to a coat of arms.
ADDL
ii
ADMI
Addled Parliament. A Parliament of 1614;
so called because it had passed no Acts before it
was dismissed by James I. (Parliament.)
Addlings. (Naut.) Savings of pay. In Lin-
colnshire phrase, to addle is to earn.
Addorsed. [L. ad, to, dorsum, a back.~\ {Her. )
Back to back.
Adductor. (Abductor.)
Adelantado. [Sp., one who is promoted. ~\ A
governor of a province in the Spanish kingdom.
Adelphi. A district south of the Strand, close
to Charing Cross ; so called from the architects,
four Scotch brothers [Gr. d5e\<of] Adams.
Adelphia. (ot.) Linnsean name for a col-
lection, a brotherhood [Gr. dSeAcfxfc, a brother]
of stamens united by filaments in a bundle. If
all are in one bundle, Linnsean class xvi., the
plants are Monadelphia ; if in two, class xvii.,
Diadelphia ; if in three or more, class xviii. ,
Polyadelphia.
Ademi jeu, voix. [Fr.] With half the power
of the instrument, the voice.
Ademption. [L. ademptio, -nem, a taking
away, a seizure."] (Leg.) Alienating the subject
of a legacy during testator's life.
Aden-, Adeno-. (Med.) Having to do with a
gland [Gr. d5^].
Adept. Skilled. [L. adeptus, one who has
acquired, i.e. the art of alchemy ; part, of
adipiscor, I acquire.]
Adessenarians. [L. adesse, to be present^
(Eccl. Hist.) Persons holding that there is a
real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, but
denying that it is effected by transubstan-
tiation.
Ad eundem. [L.] Said of a graduate of one
university admitted to the same degree [graclum]
at another.
Adhesion. [L. adhsesio, -nem, from adhsereo,
/ stick to.~\ 1. The force of attraction exerted
between the surfaces of bodies in contact. 2.
(Surg. ) The reunion of parts that have been
severed. 3. (Path.) The morbid union of parts
naturally separated, but contiguous.
Ad hoc, Argumentum [L., argument for this],
i.e. of particular not general application.
Ad hominem, Argumentum. [L., argument
to the man.] Addressed to a man's special interest
or feelings.
Adhuc sub judice lis est. [L.] The matter
in dispute is not yet decided ; is still under the
judge.
Adiabatic curves. [Gr. dStdp&ros, not to be
passed. ] Show the relation between the volume
and pressure of vapour when no heat is allowed
to pass in or out of the vessel containing it.
Adiantum. [Gr. dSiavTov, unwetted, d neg.,
Siaivw, I wet.] A gen. of ferns ; so called by
the Greeks because the leaves are not readily
wetted by water. The number of the spec, is
very great. (Maidenhair.)
Adiaphorites, -ists. Melanchthon's party, who
assented to Charles V.'s Edict, the Augsburg
Interim, A.D. 1548, settling things indifferent
[Gr. dSid<popos] until certain differences could
be settled by a Council.
Adiaphorous. [Gr. aStdtyopos.] 1. Indifferent.
2. (Chan, and Med.~) Not acting one way or
the other, e.g. not as acid or as alkali.
Ad interim. [L.] In the mean while.
Adipocere. [L. adeps, fat, ceia, wax.] A
fatty, waxy result of the decomposition of animals
in moist places or under water.
Adipose tissue. [L. adeps, soft fat, opposed
to sebum, hard fat.] An aggregation of minute
spherical closed vesicles of fat.
Adit. [L. aditus, an approach.] A horizontal
entrance to a mine.
Adjective. (Substantive, Nouns.)
Adjective colours [L. adjectlvus, that which
is added] require some base or mordant to fix
them for dyeing.
Adjustment. (Naut.) Insurance ; the process
by which the net amount receivable under a
policy is determined.
Adjustment of compass. 1. The rearranging
of deranged parts of it. 2. Compensation, i.e.
the correction, by observation, of the error in
the deflexion of the needle caused by the attrac-
tion of the ship, or of objects in her.
Adjutant. [L. adjuto, / assist.] An officer,
lieutenant or captain, acting as assistant to the
commanding officer ; charged with instruction
in drill ; with the interior discipline, duties, and
efficiency of the regiment ; the control of the
staff-sergeants and band ; and having the charge
of all documents and correspondence, as well
as being the channel of communication for all
orders.
Adjutant bird. (Argala.)
Adjutant-General. A field officer or general
officer, performing similar but superior duties to
those of an adjutant (q.v.), for a general com-
manding either a division (q.v.) or a whole
army.
Ad Ie5nes. [L., to the lions.] A cry often
raised against those of the early Christians who
would not sacrifice to the deified Caesar.
Ad lib., i.e. ad libitum. [L.] At pleasure.
Admeasurement. The art or practice of
measuring according to rule.
Adminicular. [L. adminiculum, a prop, ad,
to, manus, a hand.] Supporting, helping.
Adminlculum. [L., a prop, support.] Generally
used = evidence in support of other evidence.
Administration, Letters of. 1. Granted by the
Probate Court, formerly by the ordinary, to one
appointed to distribute the effects of an intestate
person. 2. In Politics, the A. is the executive
power, as distinguished from the constitution ;
but is generally used as = the Cabinet or the
Ministry.
Admirable Crichton. (Crichton.)
Admirable Doctor, The. Doctor Mlrabilis,
Friar Roger Bacon (1214-1292).
Admiral. [O.Fr. amirail, Ar. amir, prince,
chief.] Formerly often = the leading vessel in a
fleet.
Admiral ; Vice-A. ; Rear-A. ; A. of Fleet.
(Bank.) In the Newfoundland fisheries, the first
three vessels to arrive are the A., Vice- A., and
Rear-A., respectively.
Admittatur. [L.] In some American colleges,
a certificate of admission ; let him be admitted.
ADMO
ADVO
Admonitionists. A name denoting those
Puritans who, in 1571, sent an "admonition"
to Parliament, condemning everything in the
Church of England which did not harmonize
with the doctrine of Geneva.
Admonitions to Parliament, First and Second.
A volume of addresses, drawn up under Cart-
wright (1535-1603), sometime Margaret Pro-
fessor at Cambridge, bitterly denouncing Church
doctrine and discipline. Bishop Cooper, of Win-
chester, answered in an Admonition to the People
of England, at Whitgift's suggestion.
Admortization. [L. ad, to, mortem, death."}
In feudal times, reduction of property to mort-
main (q.v.).
Adnate. [L. adnatus, grown to."} (Bot.) Grow-
ing to anything by the whole surface, e.g. an
ovary united to the side of a calyx.
Ad nauseam. [L.] To a sickening degree ; lit.
to sea-sickness [Gr. vavaia, vavs, a ship}.
Adobe. [Sp. adobar, Fr. adouber, to prepare,
dress."} A sun-dried brick.
Adolescence. [L. adolescentia, adolesco, /
grow up."} The period between fourteen in males,
twelve in females, and twenty-one years of age.
Adonic verse. The last line of a Sapphic
stanza, consisting of a dactyl and a spondee.
Adonize. To deck one's self like Adonis, the
darling of Aphrodite (Venus), who died from a
wound inflicted by the tusk of a wild boar.
Aphrodite changed his blood into flowers :
hence the name Adonis given to a gen. of ord.
Ranunculaceae.
Adopter, or Adapter, (Chem.) A two-necked
receiver, placed between a retort and another
receiver, increasing the length of the neck of the
retort, and giving more space to elastic vapours.
Adoptians. A name given to the followers of
some Spanish bishops in the eighth century, who
maintained that as to His humanity Christ was
only the adopted Son of the Father. Milman,
History of Latin Christianity, bk. v. ch. i.
Adoration. (Acclamation.)
Adpressed. (Bot.) Brought into contact with-
out adhering.
Ad quod damnum. [L.] A writ to the sheriff,
to inquire to what damage to the king or the
public the granting of certain liberties might be.
Ad rem. [L., to the thing.} To the purpose,
point.
Adscititious, Ascititious. [L. adscisco, sup.
adscltum, / receive, adopt.} Taken in so as to
complete ; supplemental.
Adscriptus glebae. [L.] One who is attached
to the soil ; a serf.. (Villein.)
Adsum. [L., / am here.\ Answer to one's
name at some schools, as at Charterhouse
" calling over " or " roll-call."
Adullamites. A term applied by Mr. Brigh
in the session of 1866 to Mr. Horsman and the
members who joined him in his objections to th
Reform Bill then before the House of Commons
in reference to the action of David in the cav
of Adullam (i Sam. xxii. I, 2).
Adulterine guilds. Unchartered trading
societies, acting as a corporation and payinj
annual fines.
Adumbration. [L. adumbratio, -nem, an out-
ine, sketch in shadow."} An imperfect account.
Adunation. [L. adunatio, -nem.] A making
nto one.
Aduncity. [L. aduncita, -tern.] (Zool.) Hook-
dness, crookedness, as in the beak of the eagle
>r claw of the tiger.
Ad unguem. [L.] To a nicety ; lit. to the
nail, with which sculptors tested the smoothness
}f surface in their finished works.
Adust. [L. adustus, aduro, I scorch."} Burnt
up, scorched.
Ad valorem. [L.] In Finance, a term denot-
ng the market value of commodities imported
and liable to a customs rate, varying according
o the quality of the article or the measure of its
supply.
Advanced guard. A detachment preceding the
main body of troops on a march, for the purpose
of guarding against surprise.
Advanced works. Constructed beyond the
jlacis of a fortification, but still capable of
aeing defended from the body of the place.
Advance money. (A r aut. ) Wages advanced
to a sailor previous to his embarkation. To work
ip the dead horse is to clear off this advance.
Advance note. (Naut.) A written promise to
pay a part of a sailor's wages ar a given time after
iiis sailing. It was negotiable ; but it ceased to
be so after August l, 1881, by 43 and 44 Viet.,
c. 1 6.
Adventitious. [L. adventicius, foreign,
strange."} 1. Added from without, not inherent
in the thing itself ; as the dread of an idol. 2.
(Bot.) Appearing in an unusual way, e.g. root
fibres from the stems of ivy, banyan. 3. (Med. )
Foreign to the structure or tissue in which it is
found.
Adventure, Bill of. (Com.) A signed
declaration that shipped goods belong to another
person who takes the hazard of transport.
Adversaria. [L. , i.e. scripta, writings, turned
adversus, towards one's self.] A commonplace
book ; memoranda lying in front of one.
Adversifoliate. [L. adversus, opposite, folium,
a leaf."} (Bot.) Having opposite leaves. (Alter-
nate.)
Advertise. [L. ad, to, verto, / tum.~\ To
give notice or information to.
Advertisements of Elizabeth. May, 1566.
Injunctions, monitions, for attainment of uni-
formity in public worship ; having the force of
law, according to Ridsdale judgment, May, 1877;
but this decision is questioned, and the matter
not unlikely to be reconsidered.
Advice. [L. ad, to, vlsum, opinion, through
O.Fr. a vis, It. avvlso.] Commercial and
journalistic notice, information.
Ad vivum. [L.] To the quick.
Advocate. In Theology. (Paraclete.)
Advocate, Lord. Chief Crown lawyer in
Scotland.
Advocates, Ecclesiastical. (Doctors' Commons.)
Advocatus diaboli [L., It. Avvocato del
diavolo.] Devil's advocate. One who brings
forward every possible objection to a proposed
canonization, and is answered by A. Dei ; hence
ADVO
.ESCU
= one who brings a charge in order to give
opportunity of vindication.
Advowson. [L. advocatio, -nem, the act or
relation of adv#catus = pa.tronus.~\ (Eccl.) The
right in perpetuity to present to a living ; appen-
dant, when annexed to land ; in gross, when it
has become separated.
A dynamic illness. [Gr. & neg., SiWui?,
pmuer.~} (Med.) Illness characterized by want
of power.
Adytum. [L., Gr. &Svrov, not to be trodden."}
The shrine of an ancient temple ; called Secos
in the temples of Egypt. Cf. Holy of holies.
Adze, Addice. [A.S. adese, an axe ; cf. L.
ascia, Gr. a$vf\.~\ Wood too rough, or not con-
veniently placed, for planing, is dressed with an
A. , a mattock-like instrument, with blade arch-
ing inwards, the edge being at right angles to
the handle.
JEchmalotarch. [Gr. aixufawros, taken -with
the spear, &px <a > I rule."} (Hist.) The governor
of the captive Jews in Chaldasa and elsewhere,
called by the Jews themselves Rosch-galuth or
Resch Glutha, chief of the Captivity.
.ffidile. [L. sedllis, from sedes, a building.']
A Roman magistrate who had charge of build-
ings, public works, theatrical performances,
games, and markets, and of the registers
of legislative measures. There were first two
Plebeian /Ediles ; afterwards two Curule (q.v.)
/E. were added.
JEgilopS. [Gr. alyi\<aty, goal-eyed."] 1. (Med.)
An ulcer in the eye. 2. A grass supposed to
have the power of healing this disease.
JEgmetan marbles. Figures pre-Phidian
from pediment of a temple of Athena in /Egina,
now restored, in the Glyptotheke at Munich.
They represent the goddess and eight chief
heroes of the Trojan war.
JEgis. [Gr. aiyis."] The mythic shield of
Zeus (Jupiter), covered with the skin of the
goat Amalthsca, which had nursed him, and
given by him to Athena, who by fixing on it
the head of Medusa gave to it the power of
petrifying all who looked at it. (Gorgon.)
.ZEgrescit medendo. [L.] Lit. he grows worse
by the healing; the remedy makes matters worse.
Virgil.
.ffigrotat. [L., he is sick."} He cannot attend
examination for honours, lectures, hall, etc.
Aei-parthenos. [Gr., ever virgin.'} A title of
the Virgin Mary.
Ael, Eal, Al, i.q. all [A.S. eal] ; as Aelwin
= all-conquering ; Albert, all-bright, illustrious.
JElf- = help, Aelfwin = helping in victory.
[A.S. helpan, to aid."]; also = elf, as /Elfgifu,
gift of the elves, like the Gr. Nymphodoros.
JEmilian Provinces. (Emilian.)
JEneid. The great poem of Virgil, relating
the wanderings of /Eneas after the fall of Troy,
and his settlement in Italy. As compared with
the genuine epic poems which have sprung from
the traditions of the people, the /E. is an arti-
ficial epic.
.ffiolian. Anything relating to the Greek wind-
god Aiolos, /Eolus, the guardian of the winds,
which he kept pent up in bags in his vast cave.
JEolian attachment. [L. /Eolus, god of winds."}
Converts a piano into a wind instrument by
bellows attached to the pedal. (.2Eolian harp.)
JEolian harp. Eight or ten strings of catgut
in unison, stretched across a light wooden box,
placed in a current of air and producing
harmonic sounds.
JEolian mode. (Greek modes.)
JEolic. In Gr. Hist., a name by which some
tribes were known who did not belong to the
Doric or Ionic stock.
JEolipile, Eolipile. [L. /Eolus, god of winds,
pila, a playing-ball, a globed} A hollow
globe mounted so as to be capable of rotation
round a diameter, containing water and furnished
with two nozzles in opposite directions at right
angles to a diameter and at opposite ends of it.
When the water is heated, jets of steam come
out of the nozzles, and make the sphere turn
round the diameter, round which it is free to
move. Often spelt Eolipyle, incorrectly.
JEons. [Gr. aliavfs, ages.~\ By this name
the Gnostics, referring to an order of time
in their generation, designated the genealogies of
superior intelligences, among these being the
Demiurge [5-n/j.iovpy6s~\, or creator of the world
out of matter, who was regarded as proceeding
from the evil principle.
JEra, Era. [L.] In Chronology, the amount
of time reckoned from some given epoch, the
Christian era dating from the birth of Christ.
(Hegira; Nabonassar, Era of; Yezdigerd, Era
of.)
.ZErarian. [L. geranus.] A Roman citizen
who had become a mere payer of money [aes,
seris] for the support of the State ; in other
words, had been degraded to the lowest rank.
(Proletarian.)
2Erarium. [L.] The public treasury of the
Roman plebs, or commonalty.
Aerated waters. Charged with gas, usually
carbonic acid, under pressure.
Aerial perspective. [L. aerius, from aer, air."}
The art of expressing the relative distance of
objects in a picture by such faintness of colour
as may answer to the amount of air or distance
between them and the spectator.
Aerodynamics. [Gr. a.rjp, atpos, air, Svva.fj.is,
power.~] The science of air currents or winds.
Aerography. [Gr. a-ftp, air, ypd<fxa, I write,
draw."} The science of describing the atmosphere.
Aerolith, -lite [Gr. a-ftp, the atmosphere, \i6os,
a stone}, or Meteorite [perta/pos, high in the
air}. A body, stony or metallic, which, coming
within the earth's attraction, and ignited by
friction with the atmosphere, appears as a
"falling star."
Aerophytes. (Epiphytes.)
Aery. (Eyry.)
JEruginons. [L. geruginem, copper rust. ,] Par-
taking of verdigris, rust (carbonate) of copper.
.ZEsculapian. Anything relating to /Esculapius
[Gr. Asklepios], son of Apollo, worshipped as
the god of surgery and medicine.
.ffisculns. [L.] A gen. of plants, ord.
Hippocastaneae ; the best known species is the
/E. Hippocastanum, horse chestnut.
JESIR
AGAR
JEsir. (Asuras.)
Aesthetic. [Gr. alfffhinicAs, belonging to per-
ception or feeling^\ In Art, having reference to
the feeling and perception of the beautiful, as
distinct from objective knowledge.
JEstlmatio capitis. [L., the value of an
individual life."] King Athelstan fixed a tariff
of fines, pro s., i.e. according to the rank of the
wounded or slain ; and in Justinian's Institutes
the punishment of an injuria was to be graduated
according to the rank and the worthiness of the
injured.
Aestivation. (Vernation.)
JEtheling. [A.S., from sethel, noble.~\ In
Eng. Hist. ; before the Norman Conquest, the
presumptive heir to the crown.
Aetheogamous. [Gr. o^07js, unusua!, yd(j.os,
marriage.} (Bot.) Unusually propagated.
JEthiops mineral [Gr. Aieioty, an Ethiopian.'}
A black sulphide of mercury.
JEthrioscope. [Gr. cXOpios, clear, o-/coWco, I
view.'} An instrument showing the changes of
temperature produced by a clear or clouded
sky.
-ZEthusa. [Gr. aWovcra, burning."} Fool's
parsley ; JE. cynapium, ord. Umbelliferae.
JEtiology. [Gr. atria, a cause, \6yos, a dis-
course.'} (Med.) The doctrine of the causes of
disease.
.ZEtolian League. (Gr. Hist.) A league of the
^Etolian tribes to the north of the Corinthian
gulf. Freeman, History of Federal Government.
Affeer. [O.Fr. affeurer, from feur, Sp. fuero,
an assize, tax.} (Leg.) To fix a sum for a fine.
Afferent. [L. afferentem, part, of affero,
from ad, to, fero, I bear."} 1. (Anat.) Carrying
from the surface to the centre, as opposed to
efferent. 2. (Physiol.) Afferent, sensory, or excitor
nerves, convey sensational impressions from the
various parts of the body to the ganglionic
centres ; Efferent or motor nerves convey from
these centres to the muscles the impressions
which call forth contraction.
Affidavit. [L.L., he has sworn to.} An ex-
parte written statement, made on oath or solemn
affirmation before an authorized magistrate, as
evidence to be laid before a court or a judge.
Affiliated societies. In Politics, societies
depending on a central society, from which they
receive directions.
Affinity. [L. affinita, -tern.] 1. Relation by
marriage ; C0nsanguimt}'[L,.consang\iimta., -tem],
by blood. 2. (Zool. and Bot.} A. expresses
a marked resemblance in important organs ;
Analogy referring to less important organs or to
outward form. 8. (Chem.) The tendency of
different substances to enter into chemical com-
binations with each other.
Affix. [L. afflxus, part, of affigo, from ad, to,
fixus, part, of flgo, 1 fix.} (Gram.) An element
added to the beginning (Prefix) or end (Suffix) of
a word.
Afflatus. [L. ] Inspiration.
Affluent. [L. afHuentem, part, of affluo, /
flow or stream to.} A smaller or secondary
river, flowing into a larger or primary river, or
into a lake. An important affluent is called a
tributary, as the Drave of the Danube, the
Jumna of the Ganges.
Afforage. [Fr.] A duty paid in France on
the sale of liquors.
Afforest. [L.L. foresta, a wood.} To con-
vert ground into forest ; the converse being to
disafforest.
Affreight. [O.H.G. freht, a cargo.} To hire
a ship for conveyance of goods.
Affrontee. (Her. ) Facing each other.
Affusion. [L.L. affusio, -nem, a pouting upon.}
Baptism administered by the pouring of water
is called baptism by affusion, as distinguished
from baptism by immersion, in which the whole
body of the baptized is plunged under water.
Afore. (Naut.) Contrary of Abaft (q.v.).
A fortiori. [L.] All the more ; lit. by a
stronger argument.
Afrancesados. [Sp.] The Spanish party
which attached itself to the cause of the French
(1808-1814).
Afrit. [Ar.] An evil genius in Arabic
mythology. (Jin. )
Aft. (Naut.) I.q. Abaft (q.v.).
After-birth. (Placenta.)
After-body. (Naut.) That part of a ship
which is abaft her greatest width.
After-damp. (Fire-damp.)
Aftermath. [A. S. aefter, after, mae$, a
mowing, mawan, to mow ; cf. mead ; L. meto,
etc.] The second crop on permanent grass-
lands.
After-piece. A short, light play, performed
after the principal piece of a theatrical enter-
tainment.
Aga. (Effendi.)
Agacerie. [Fr.] Provoking coquetry. Littre
refers Fr. agacer, to provoke, to Norm, agasser,
to chase away with clamour, hence to irritate.
Agallochum. (Aloes-wood.)
Agama. Gen. of lizards, giving its name to
the fam. Agamldcz, closely allied to, and the
Eastern representatives of, the Iguanida of
the western hemisphere. This fam. contains the
flying dragons (Draco) of E. India and the
Indian Archipelago.
Agami. Gold-breasted trumpeter of S.
America. Gregarious bird, about the size of
the pheasant, easily tamed (Psophia crepitans).
(Psophldse.)
Agamous. [Gr. ayapos, unwedded.} (Bot.)
Having no visible organs of fructification.
Agapffl. [Gr. dydirt], love.} The love-feasts
of the early Christian Church. They were held
in the church in connexion with the Lord's
Supper, but not as a necessary part of it. They
were ultimately forbidden on account of the
irregularities to which they led.
Agapemone. [Gr. (u>vi], abode, aydirrj, love.}
A fanatical conventual establishment set up near
Bridgewater, about 1849, by "Brother Prince,"
a clergyman, calling himself Witness of the First
Resurrection.
Agapetae. [Gr. ayairriTos, beloved.} (Eccl.
Hist.) In the first centuries, women under vows
of virginity, who attended on the clergy.
Agar. [Malay word.] Edible seaweed.
AGAR
AGNO
Agaric. [Gr. aya.piK6v, tree fungus.] A large
gen. of fungi, with fleshy cap on a stalk, of
which A. campestris, common mushroom, may
be taken as a type.
Agastria. [Gr. d neg., yaff-r^p, a stomach.'}
(Physiol.) Devoid of internal digestive cavities.
Agate. [L. achates.] 1. (Geol.) Found in R.
Achates, Sicily. Chalcedonic nodules and geodes
in amygdaloidal lavas. Algerian A. is a calca-
reous stalagmite. 2. A small printing type.
Agathodaemon. [Gr. ayaBoSai/jLvv.] The good
genius or spirit, probably at first only an epithet
of Zeus (Jupiter).
Agave. [Gr. ayavSs, admirable, .] A gen. of
plants ; American ; ord. Amaryllidacese ; e.g.
American aloe.
Agenda. [L., things to be done.~\ 1. A list of
things to be considered at a public meeting. 2.
Matters of duty, Credenda being matters of faith.
Age of Eeason. The age in which reason is
supposed to exclude faith, and which was thought
to have been reached by the triumph of the
French Revolution.
Ager Publicus. [L.] The territory of the
Roman state acquired by conquest ; Ager Ro-
manus being the original territory.
Ages, The four. An old tradition represents
the existence of mankind as starting with a
Golden Age, in which the earth yielded its
fruits of its own accord, and pain and sickness
were unknown. This was followed by the Silver
Age, the men of which were punished for their
impiety to the gods. After which came the
Brazen and the Iron Ages, each worse than the
preceding. Between these two last the Hesiodic
theogony inserted the Heroic Age, or the age of
the heroes who fought at Troy.
Agger. [L.] 1. In a Roman camp, the
earth dug out from the fossa, or trench, and
placed on the bank ; on its outer edge was the
vallum, or stockade. 2. A mound erected be-
fore the walls of a besieged city to sustain the
battering engines.
Agglomerate. [L. agglomeratus, agglomero,
/ collect into a body.'} (Geol.) With Lyell =
accumulations of angular fragments showered
round a volcanic cone or crater.
Agglomerative languages. Such as tend to
combine many elements into one long aggluti-
nated or inflected word, as the dialects of
American Indians.
Agglutinative languages. The languages of
the nomadic Turanian tribes, in which the modi-
fying suffixes are glued on to the root. To this
family belongs the Basque language of S. France
and N. Spain. (Aryan languages. )
Aggregate. [L. aggrgatus, flocked together!}
1. A mass formed of homogeneous particles
clustered together, as distinguished from a com-
pound. 2. (Bot.) Flower, one of several florets
within one calyx or receptacle, e.g. daisy, chry-
santhemum. 3. (Geol.) A rock, the components
of which can be separated mechanically, as
granite.
Aggregate corporations. (Corporations.)
Aggregations, Various. Apiary of bees [L.
apiarium]. Army of rats. Band of robbers,
smugglers. Bevy of girls, larks, quails, roes.
Brood of chickens. Burrow of conies. Clack of
women. Clutch of eggs. Colony of rooks, or
rookery. Colutnbary of pigeons [L. colum-
barium, a dove-cote}. Corey of partridges [Fr.
couvee, brood~}. Crew of sailors, wretches. Cry
of falcons. Drove of horses, asses, camels, pigs,
geese. Eyry (q.v.) of hawks, eagles. Fall of
woodcocks. Flight of geese, wild ducks, wood-
cocks, starlings. Flock of sheep, geese, turkeys,
pigeons, fieldfares, sparrows. Fry of small
young fishes, of children [Fr. frai, spawn}.
Gang of workmen, navvies, gipsies, thieves,
convicts. Herd of deer, cattle, goats, swine,
swans7 Horde of brigands. Kennel of hounds
[Fr. canaille]. Mnv (q-v.) of falcons. Muster
of peacocks. Nest of wasps, hornets, rabbits.
Nide or Nye of pheasants [Fr. nid, L. nidus].
Pack of hounds, wolves, grouse. Plump of
spears. Pod of seals, sea-elephants. Pride of
lions. Rascall of boys. Rout of wolves. School
of whales. Shoal of fish [A. S. scolu]. Siege of
herons [Fr. siege, a sitting}. Singular of boars.
Skein of wild geese. Skulk of foxes. Slouth of
bears. Sounder of wild swine. String of red
deer or of horses. Stud of horses, greyhounds.
Swarm of insects. Whisp or Walk of snipes.
Vaccary of cows [L. vacca, a COT.V}. Vespary of
wasps [L. vespa, a wasp\. Warren of rabbits.
Yard of poultry.
-agh, -auch. [Cf. Erseachadh, field.'} A level
place, as in Balbaugh.
Agila wood. (Aloes.)
Agio. [It.] Generally, the difference between
current and standard moneys ; also, the premium
paid by one who prefers payment in a metal
other than that which he can legally claim. So
in France, there is an A. on gold.
Agiosimandrum. [Gr. ayiofr^^avrpov.^ In
the East, a wooden instrument used in sum-
moning the people to the church instead of
bells.
Agiotage. [Fr.] Manoeuvres for raising or
lowering the price of funds.
Agistment. [Fr. giste, gite, L. jacita, a
lying-place, lodging.} 1. The taking in of cattle
to pasture. Tithe of A., tithe upon profit made
by A. 2. {Naut. ) An embankment to keep out
the sea or a river.
Aglet, Aiglet. [L. acus, a needle, dim. acicula,
Fr. aiguille, aiguillette.] The tag of a point
of the lace or string formerly used for gathering
together the different parts of a dress.
Agnail, Angnail. Probably two distinct words
run into one (?). 1. A swelled gland in the groin
[L. inguen, ingumalia, Fr. angonailles]. 2. A sore
under the nail [A. S. ang-ncegle, troubled nail}.
Agnate. [L. agnatus.] In Rom. Law, re-
lated on the father's side. Cognate [cognatus],
on the father's or the mother's.
Agnition. [L. agnitio, -nem.] An obsolete
word for ackncnvledgment.
Agnoetse. [Gr. ayvotai, 1 am ignorant of.~\
Heretics : 1. Fourth century, who questioned
the omniscience of God. 2. Others, sixth cen-
tury, who held that Christ knows not when the
day of judgment shall be.
AGNO
16
AILU
Agnomen. [L.] All Romans of good family
bore three names : Prcznomen, of the individual ;
Nomen, of the doss, gens ; Cognomen, of the
house, or familia ; e.g. Publius Cornelius Scipio.
A fourth, Agnomen, was sometimes added on
account of some personal distinction, e.g. Afri-
canus. Some even had a second A. [Cf. Fr.
prenom, a Christian name.]
Agnosticism. [Gr. d neg. , yv<affrut6s, profess-
ing knowledge (yvwffis).'] The theory that man
has insufficient evidence or insufficient power for
judgment concerning Divine truth.
Agnus castus. [L.] A shrub, the Vltex agnus
castus of botanists, the branches of which were
strewed by matrons on their beds at the Thes-
mophoria, a festival of Demeter (Ceres).
Agnus Dei [L., Lamb of God.'] In the
Roman Church, cakes of wax are so called,
which are stamped with the figure of a lamb
bearing the banner of the cross.
Agog = a-going, i.e. on-going ; on the alert.
Agonic line. [Gr. o neg., yu via, an angle.']
The line joining all those places on the earth
where the magnetic needle has no declination,
or variation, i.e. deviation from the true N.
Agony column of an advertisement sheet,
generally the second, headed by notices of dis-
appearances and losses, mysterious appeals and
correspondence.
Agora. [Gr. , from ayfipta, I bring together. ,]
The market-place, and so the "forum," of a
Greek town.
Agouti. Gen. of rodent, ranging in size
between the hare and the rabbit ; speckled
brown fur, long hind legs. Trop. America
and Islands. Dasyprocta, fam. Cavudse, ord.
Rodentia.
Agrarian laws. [L. leges agrarise.] (Rom.
Hist. ) Laws proposed or carried by the plebeians
against the patricians, with reference to the dis-
tribution of public lands acquired by conquest.
Agreement. (Naut.) The master of a vessel
exceeding eighty tons must enter into an A. in
a special form with each of his crew carried
from a British port.
Agricultural Holdings Act, of 38 and 39 Viet.,
has for its object the securing to tenants com-
pensation for unexhausted improvements.
Agricultural Returns. A yearly return of the
acreage in Great Britain under cultivation, and
of the nature of the crops, distinguishing meadow-
land, orchards, gardens, and woods, supplying
also the number of horses, cattle, sheep, and
pigs-
Agrimony. [L. agrimonia, properly arge-
mSnia.] (Sot.) A. Eupatoria, ord. Rosacese, is
a common wild plant, with long spikes of small
yellow-scented flowers, and unequally pinnate
leaves ; it is much used in " herb teas."
Agrostemma. [Gr. ayp6s, a field, a-ri^ma., a
crown.] A gen. of Caryophyllacea ; Lychnis A.
Githago being the well-known corn-cockle.
Agrostis. [L., Gr. &ypuffris.] A gen. of
grasses, known by the name of Bent grasses,
having numerous spec.
Agrypnotics. [Gr. &ypwvos, sleepless.~\ Tend-
ing to prevent sleep, e.g. strong tea.
Ague-cake. A tumour arising from enlarged
spleen, sometimes following protracted ague.
Ague-cheek, Sir Andrew. A meek docile
simpleton in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
Ahead. (Naut.) Abeam.
Ahold. (Naut.) An old term for bringing a
ship close to a wind and holding it.
Ahriman. In the Zend-Avesta, or sacred books
of the Persians, the evil god or principle is called
Angro-Mainyus (spirit of darkness), a word of
which Arimanes and Ahriman are the Latin and
English forms. This evil god was opposed
to Spento-Mainyus (spirit of light), a name for
Ahuro-mazdao, or Ormuzd, in Skt. Asuro-
medhas [Gr. /MJTJS, wisdoni], the wise spirit,
or Supreme and good God ; the strife between
these two principles being the dualism which
characterizes the theology of Zoroaster.
AhulL (Naut.) 1. The condition of a
vessel with bare poles, and helm a- lee (q.v.).
2. Abandoned and drifting,
Ai. 1. (Aye-aye.) 2. The three-toed sloth
(Bradypus tridactylus) ; S. America ; ord.
Edentata. 3. Spec, of wild dog (Dasicyon
Silvestris) ; Guiana, occasionally domesticated
by Arecuna Indians.
Aid. [Fr. aide, L.L. adiuda, L. adjuvo, /
help.~\ Originally a benevolence ; afterwards an
exaction from a tenant to his lord, in cases of
emergency.
Aide-de-Camp. [Fr.] An officer on the per-
sonal staff of a general ; in the field carrying
orders, at other times acting as secretary. 2.
The sovereign also appoints A. to herself, who
rank as colonels, from amongst distinguished
officers.
Aide-toi et le ciel t'aidera. [Fr.] Help thyself
and Heaven will help thee. The motto of a
French political society, whose influence with
the middle classes helped to bring about the
Revolution of 1830.
Aiery, Aire, Airy. (Eyry.)
Aigrette, Egret. [O.H.G. hiegro, L. aigro-
nem, heron, Fr. aigre, aigrette.] 1. Gen. of
lesser white heron. 2. (Bot.) I.q. pappus
(q.v.). 3. Head-dress of feathers, or plume-like
ornament.
Aiguilles. [Fr., L. acicula, a needle. ~\ Sharp,
lofty, serrated peaks ; e.g. A. Vertes, A. Rouges,
Mont Blanc.
Aiguillette. [Fr. dim. of aiguille, L. acicula,
a needle. ,] Shoulder-knot composed of long gold
cords with tags, formerly worn on the right
shoulder by generals and some staff and cavalry
officers, now only by Queen's aides-de-camp.
Ailantus. A tree, native of China, with very
long pinnate leaves, naturalized in S. Europe,
upon the leaves of which some silkworms feed
(A. gland ulosa). Ord. Simarabaceae.
Ailettes. [Fr., little wings.~\ Small leathern
armour worn by knights, thirteenth century,
behind or at the side of the shoulders, probably
both as protection and a mark for followers ;
seen in brasses, stained windows, etc.
Ailurus. [Gr. at\ovpof, the wavy -tailed one.]
Chitwa, Panda, Wali, a cat-like animal,
with rich chestnut and black fur, allied to the
AIRC
ALBU
bears. Thibet and Himalayas. Fam. JElundx,
ord. Carmvora.
Air-chamber. A cavity in pumps, fire-
engines, and other hydrostatic machines, con-
taining compressed air for keeping up a con-
tinuous flow of the water by its elastic force.
Called also an Air-vessel.
Air-engine. An engine moved by heated
or compressed air.
Air-gun. An instrument for propelling bullets
or other missiles by the force of condensed air.
Air martyrs. (Pillar saints ; Stylites.)
Air plants. Popular name for orchids when
first introduced into England.
Air-pump. 1. An engine for exhausting air
from a closed space, or receiver, so as to obtain
a more or less perfect vacuum. 2. A pump for
removing from the condenser of a steam-engine
the condensed steam, the water that has pro-
duced the condensation, and any air that may
have got into the condenser.
Airt. Direction ; the point from which the
wind blows. \_Cf. Ger. ort, place]
Air thermometer. (Thermometer.)
Aise. (?) A linen napkin to cover the chalice.
Ait, Eyot. [A.S. ey, island] An islet in a
river or lake.
Aitchbone. Properly edgeboneot the rump ; i.e.
presented edgewise, when dressed.
Aix-la-Chapelle, Peace of. 1. A treaty relating
to the Spanish Netherlands, made in 1668,
between Louis XIV. and Carlos II. 2. A second
and better-known treaty, between Great Britain,
France, Germany, Holland, and Spain, confirm-
ing previous treaties, was signed in 1748.
A Jove principlum. [L., the beginning (is]
from Jupiter] Said of a grand opening to a
narrative or poem.
Ajutage. [L. adjuto, / assist.] 1. The
brass nozzle placed at the end of a tube for
regulating the discharge of the water which
forms a fountain or jet d'eau. 2. A short tube
of a tapering or conical form placed in the side
of a reservoir to facilitate the discharge of the
water.
-al. Often ends Shropshire names ; said to be
Cymric = high, e.g. Erc-al.
A1-. At the beginning of a word or name :
- 1. Often Arabic for the, e.g. Alcoran = the
1 Koran (Alcoran). 2. White, Celtic, as in Aln
for al-aon, white river, All-wen, Al-an, All-an,
All-en, all meaning white rivers.
Alabarches [Gr.], perhaps more properly
Arabarches. The chief magistrate of the Jews
at Alexandria.
Alabaster. [Gr. a\d0a<rrpos.] 1. Gypsum,
massive sulphate of lime. 2. Anciently, a sub-
translucent, yellowish, banded, calcareous stalag-
mite, like the "Algerian agate," was called A.
A la carte. [Fr.] According to the card. Of
meals = as specified in bill of fare.
Aladdin. In the Arabian Nights' Tales, a poor
widow's son, who gets a magic lamp and ring,
on rubbing either of which, a djin appears ready
to work miracles for the rubber, like the ring of
Gyges.
A la lanteme. [Fr., to the lamppost.} A
French phrase for execution by Lynch law;
a cry of the Revolution.
A la mise en scene. [Fr.] Lit. according to
the getting up of the play.
A la mode. [Fr.] According to the fashion.
Alamoth. [Heb.] Title of Ps. xlvi., and in
I Chron. xv. 2O. Virgins, probably = "for
altos or sopranos " (Speakers Commentary}.
Al Araf. [Ar. arafa, to distinguish.} The
Mohammedan Limbus, or Limbo, for spirits
who are excluded both from paradise and from
hell.
Alarm-post. Rendezvous for troops on the
occurrence of any sudden danger, announced by
bugle-call or beat of drum.
Alastor. [Gr. aAatrroip, the avenging deity. \
An epithet of Zeus.
A latere. (Legate.)
Alb. [L. albus, white.} (Eccl.) A linen vest-
ment, fitting closely to the body, and tied by a
girdle.
Albany. (Albyn.)
Albarium opus. [L.] In Roman architecture,
probably a superior kind of stucco.
Albata. One of the many white [L. albus]
metals made at Birmingham.
Albati. [L.] Christian hermits, who came
down from the Alps, A. D. 1399, to Italy,
dressed in white, living on the highways, sorrow-
ing for sins of the age ; dispersed by Boniface IX.
Albigenses. Certain religionists, numerous
and influential, in and near Alby, S. France,
twelfth century, protesting against Roman cor-
ruptions, but charged with Paulicianism.
Albino. 1. White negro of the African coast ;
so named by the Portuguese voyagers. And 2,
generally, persons having white skin and hair and
redness of eyes, from absence of pigment cells.
The same thing is found in cats, rabbits, birds,
and elephants. Albinism, the state of an A.
Albion. [L. albus, white, or some Celtic
equivalent.] England, said to be so named from
the white cliffs seen from the French coast.
Albion, New. The name given by Sir F.
Drake (1578) to California.
Albis, Dominica in. [L., the Lord's day in
white (robes}.} A name for Low Sunday, or the
Sunday following Easter Day, because then the
persons baptized on Easter Eve laid aside their
white garments. (Quasimodo.)
Albite. [L. albus, white.} Soda-felspar.
Albugo. [L., whiteness.'} A dense whitening
of the cornea of the eye, generally resulting from
an inflammatory attack.
Album. [L.] In Rome, an official white
tablet, on which the Pontifex Maximus recorded
the events of the year ; or praetors wrote edicts ;
or senators' names were enrolled ; hence its
modern meaning, a blank book for inscriptions,
photographs, etc.
Album calculum addere. [L.] To put (into the
urn) a white stone ; to approve.
Album Grsecum. [L., Greek white.] The
white faeces of dogs, chiefly bone-earth, used
in tanning.
Albumen. [L., white of egg] 1. One of the
protein [Gr. n-pajroj, first} or elementary sub-
c
ALBU
ALEX
stances of the animal body, represented by white
of egg, serum in the blood, etc. ; others are
fibrin, represented by muscular tissue ; casein is
the basis of cheese [L. casus] ; legumin is in the
seeds of all leguminous plants. 2. In Plants,
Perisperm, or Endosperm [Gr. irtpl, around,
<ti>$oi>, within, ffirepiM, seed]. A substance found
in some seeds between the coat and the embryo
which it is to nourish ; e.g. flour of com.
Alburnum. [L.] Sap-wood, immediately
below the bark ; opposed to heart-wood, or
duramen [L., hardness].
Albus liber. [L.] Title of an old compila-
tion of the laws and customs of the city of
London.
Albyn, Albin. [Alp, or alb, which seems to
be Celtic for high ; ynys, Cymric for island.}
The Highlands of Scotland, or Scotland
generally. Albany is an old name for Scot-
land.
Alca. [L.L. auca, goose, i.e. avica, from avis ;
so It. oca, Fr. oie.] Auk, gen. of marine web-
footed birds ; wings very short, used for swim-
ming under water. N. Temp, and Arctic zones.
Fam. Alcidae, ord. Anseres.
Alcabala. (Hist.) A heavy tax on sales of
property, imposed in Spain and the Spanish
colonies, and payable as often as the land was
sold.
Alcaic verse. A metre, consisting of a stanza
of four lines attributed to the Greek poet Alcseus.
Alcaide, Alcalde. [Sp., Ar. kada, head.]
Military governor of a fortress or gaol. (Al-
gTiazil.)
Alcarraza. [Sp., from Ar. alcurrar, an earthen
jar.} A porous earthenware vessel, used for
cooling water by evaporation.
Alcedinidae. (Alcedo.) Kingfishers. Fam. of
birds universally distributed, having only one
American gen. Ceryle, ord. Plcarise.
Alcedo. [L., kingfisher.'] Alcyon, Halcyon;
gen. of Alcedinidae (g.v.).
Alces. [From O.G. elch, elhe ; cf. Gr. d\K-fi,
an elk, and perhaps d\itii, strength.] Elk,
moose ; largest of deer kind, dark brown.
N. of Europe, Africa, and America. Gen. and
spec. Alces, fam. Cervidse, ord. Ungulata.
Alceste. Hero of Moliere's Le Misanthrope ;
type of stern unconventional uprightness.
Alchemy. [A word compounded of the Ar.
defin. art. al, and Gr. x^M' a -] The supposed
art of the land of Chemi, or Ham, its object
being the production of the precious metals,
into which it was thought that the lower metals
might be converted.
Alcinous. [Gr. 'A\Ktv6os.] In the Odyssey,
the King of the Phaacians.
Alcluyd. Old name of Dumbarton. [(?) Alt,
steep place, cluyd = Clyde; cf. clith, Gaelic,
strong."]
Alcmanian metres. Those introduced by
Alcman of Sparta, lyrist, the earliest Greek
poet of love-song, seventh century B.C. ; espe-
cially the iambic trimeter brachycatalectic, or
iambic of five feet.
Alco. A name for some varieties of shepherd's
dog. Peru and Mexico.
Alcoran. [A.r., the book.~] The Mohammedan
scriptures, which are said to have been dictated
to Mohammed by the angel Gabriel.
Alcornoque bark. An astringent bark, generally
cork, used in tanning.
Alcove. [Ar. el kauf, a tent, Sp. alcoba.]
A recess, in a bedroom, for the bed ; and so,
any recess, for books, etc. ; a covered garden
seat.
Alcyonidae. [Gr. a\Kv6veiov, a zoophyte, like
the nest of the kingfisher, a\nv<S>v, -6vos. ] Fam.
of Alcyonaria, or Asteroid Polypes, as Alcyoni-
um, "Dead men's fingers."
Aldehyde, i.e. <z/cohol de/iydrogenatus, deprived
of its hydrogen, partly. A pungent volatile
liquid, consisting of two atoms of carbon, four
of hydrogen, and one of oxygen ; i.e. alcohol
minus two atoms of hydrogen. Brande and
Cox, Dictionary of Art and Science.
Alderman. [A.S. ealdorman, elder-man."}
The original title of the officer afterwards called
earl ; also of the chief magistrates of minor
districts ; now applied to the municipal officers
in a borough next in order to the mayor.
Aldine editions. Editions of the classics pub-
lished by the three Manutii, the eldest of whom,
Aldo-Manuzio, set up a press at Venice in 1490.
(Elzevirs.)
Ale. A rustic merry meeting ; as Church-
ale, Whitsun-ale. (Church-ales.)
Alea belli. [L.] Lit. the hazard of 'war.
Ale-conner, or -kenner, -taster, -founder.
Gustator cervisiae, taster of beer ; one who
"kens " good ale ; in very ancient times chosen
in each manor, and sworn to examine the purity
and price of ale, and to present defaulters.
Alectryomancy. Divination [Gr. /xai/rei'a]
by means of a cock [a\eKTpv<av]. Grains of corn
being placed upon letters of the alphabet, pro-
phetic words were formed out of the letters
underlying the grains which he picked up.
A-lee. (Naut.) The position of the helm,
when the tiller is put down to leeward, i.e. away
from the wind.
Alegar. Vinegar made from sour beer. (A
catachrestic word ; cf. Peterloo, q.v.)
Alemanni. (?) All men. Germans, probably
a confederacy of different tribes, within the limits
of the Rhine, Main, and Danube ; first heard of
A. D. 214, in Caracalla's treacherous massacre.
Alembic. [Ar. al, and ambeeg, a corrupt
form of Gr. &nfti, a cup.'] A form of still, now
obsolete.
Alexandrian Codex. (Codex.)
Alexandrian School. A school for learning of
all kinds, instituted at Alexandria by Ptolemy,
son of Lagos. It became especially celebrated
for its grammarians and mathematicians.
Alexandrine. An Eng. iambic of twelve
syll., e.g. the last line of the Spenserian
stanza, in imitation of the French heroic verse,
first employed in a French translation of a Latin
poem, The Alexandriad ; or (?) in an original
work on A. the Great. English Cyclopedia,
i- 195-
Alexiphannio = antidote. [Gr. a.
from oAe'lw, I keep off, tpapfj.cucoi', poison.}
ALER
ALLE
Alexiterics, properly Akxeterics. [Gr. d.\(fr-
r'ftpios, able to keep off.] Preservatives against
poison.
Al fresco. [It.] In the open air.
Algae. [L. alga, seaweed.] (Bot.) A tribe of
Cryptogams, comprehending seaweeds and
fresh -water submersed spec, of similar habits,
besides some terrestrial spec.
Algaroba. [Sp., Ar. kharoob.] The bean
tree of the Mediterranean, with sweet pods
(Ceratonia siliqua) ; called also St. John's Bread,
as if it were the "locust" of Matt. iii. The
pods are also used in tanning.
Algaroth, Powder of. An oxychloride of
antimony, discovered by Algarotti of Verona.
Algebra. [Ar. al jebr'e al mokabalah, restora-
tion and reduction^ The science of general
numerical operations and results ; a generalized
arithmetic ; whereas in arithmetic the operations
are performed on, and the results are expressed
in, specific numbers (i, 2, 3, etc.) ; in A. the
operations are performed on, and the results
are expressed in, general numbers (a, b, c, etc.)
connected by the symbols (+, , etc.) of ele-
mentary operations (addition, subtraction, etc.).
Algor. [L., coldness.] (Med.) A sudden
chill ; Rtgor, if attended with shivering.
Algorithm. [Corr. from Ar. al khowarezmi ;
originally the tables used in trigonometry, which,
in the thirteenth century, came to mean Arith-
metic in Arabic numerals : see Littre, Supple-
ment.} The Arabic notation of numbers ; the
science of calculation by nine figures and zero.
Alguazil. A Spanish officer answering to the
English bailiff. The name is Arabic, as is that
of Alcalde, or the Kadi, the magistrate or judge.
Alhambra. [Ar. al hamra, the red castle.] The
palace of the Moorish kings in Granada, begun
1248, completed 1313. Resigned to Ferdinand
and Isabella by Boabdil, 1492.
Alias. [L.] Otherwise.
Ali Baba. In the Arabian Nights' 1 Tales, a
man who enters the cave of the Forty Thieves
by means of the magic word Sesame. (Sas-
safras; Saxifrage.)
Alibi. [L. , elsewhere."] Not near the scene of
a crime at the time of committal.
Alicant, or Vino tinto, from its colour. Wine
of Alicante, in Spain.
Alidad. [L. L. alidada, Ar. al, the, hadat,
rule.] The index of an instrument which is
capable of an angular motion ; rarely used, ex-
cept of the line of sights of an azimuth compass.
Aliena optimum frui insania. [L.] It is an ex-
cellent thing to profit by another's error.
Alienation in mortmain. The making over of
lands, tenements, etc., to a religious or other
corporate body. (Mortmain.)
Aliena vivere quadra. [L.] To live from
another's table; i.e. as a parasite, sponge.
Juvenal.
Alien priories. (Hist.) Inferior monasteries
in England, belonging to foreign religious houses.
Alignment. [Fr. aligner, to dress in line, L.
llnea.] (Mil.) Manoeuvre by which the same
relative parts of any body of troops are brought
into the same line.
Alimony. [L. alimonium, sustenance, from
alo, I nourish.] Allowance made to a wife out
of her husband's estate during or after a matri-
monial suit.
Aliped. [L. ala, wing, pes, pedis,_/W.] Wing-
footed, as the bat.
Aliquando bonus dormitat Homerus. [L.] Lit.
now and (hen our friend Homer goes to sleep ; i.e.
there are dull passages in the best works.
Horace.
Aliquot part. [L. aliquot, some, several. ] A
part of a whole, expressible by a fraction having
unity for its numerator ; thus u. 8d. is an aliquot
part of i, viz. T ' 5 .
Alisma plantago. [Gr. &\ifffj.a.] (Bot.) Water-
plantain ; once thought a cure for hydrophobia ;
the gen. A. being typical of ord. Alismaceae.
Alizarine. The chief colouring agent in
madder [Sp. alizari] ; now obtained from coal-tar.
Alkahest. An imaginary universal solvent of
the alchemists.
Alkali. [Ar. al qali, kdp] Any caustic base
which changes red litmus to blue. Fixed
A., potash and soda; volatile A., ammonia.
(Caustic.)
Alkalimetry. [Alkali, and Gr. ^erpe'co, /
measure.] The art of measuring the amount of
pure alkali contained in commercial potash or
soda.
Alkaloids. So called from their power of
forming definite salts with the acids ; substances
remarkably affecting the human system ; having
alkaline properties in a low degree ; mostly
vegetable, as morphia, strychnine, nicotine, caf-
feine ; but there are animal A. also, as urea,
kreatine.
Alkanet [Fr. arcanete], or Bugloss. (Anchusa.)
Dyer's A., the root of which yields the line
red dye for colouring oils, wax, etc.
Alkanna, or Al-henna. (Henna.)
Alkermes. A cordial distilled from bay leaves
and various spices, and flavoured with syrup of
kermes and orange-flower water.
Alia breve. [It] In Mus., = the notes in-
dividually to be made shorter, i.e. the pace to
be quicker than usual. It is a kind of common
time marked C used in church music, each bar
being = a breve = 2 semibreves = 4 minims,
but the minims being played as if they were
crotchets. The division of the bar into two
parts each = two minims is called alia cappella
time. But the use of the term is not always
clear.
Allah. [Ar.] God: as Allah Akbar, God is
great ; akin to Heb. El.
Alia prima. A method of painting in which
the colours are applied all at once [It] to the
canvas, without retouching.
Allegory. [Gr. a\\rryopia, from &\\os, other,
dyopfvu, I speak.] Expansion into narrative of a
sense-representation of some moral or spiritual
truth, of which the leading idea would be a
Metaphor; as Pilgrim's Progress; Parable being
a kind of A., but more concise and didactic ;
Fable, again, differing as admitting the non-
natural, e.g. trees and animals talking.
Allegro. [It, gay, cheerful.] (Mus.) A
ALLE
ALMA
quick movement. Allegretto, dim. of A., not
quite so quick. A. assai, fast enough, quicker
than A. A. con brio, -with spirit ; con fuoco,
with fire.
Allemande, i.e. German dance. Introduced
from Alsace, temp. Louis XIV. ; a kind of slow,
graceful waltz, the arms entwined and detached
in the different steps.
Allerion. [L. L. alario, -nem, from ala, a wing.}
(Her.) An eagle displayed, without beak or
feet.
All-fours. In cards, a game of chance in which
four points maybe made : (i) by highest trump ;
(2) by lowest ; (3) by knave of trumps ; (4) by
majority of pips from tricks taken.
All-hallows, All-haUowmas, Hallowmas. Old
English names for All Saints' Day, November I.
Allice. [Ger. alose, else, ils ; cf. L. alausa,
alosa, a fish found in the Moselle (?) ; probably
a Gallic word.] The larger (two feet long)
of the shads, the other being the twaite. Like
herring, but larger. British waters. Gen.
Clupea, fam. Clupe'idae, ord. Physostomi, sub-
class Teleostei.
Alliciency. [L. allicio, I allure.} The power
of attraction, e.g. in a magnet.
Alligation. [L. alligatio, -nem, a bending or
tying to.} (Arith.) A rule by which the value of
mixtures is found from the known values and
quantities of the component parts.
Alligator apple. (Costard apple.)
Alligator pear. (Avocado. )
Alligator water. The brackish, white, and
muddy water at the mouths of tropical rivers.
Alliteration. [L. ad, to, litera, a letter.} The
recurrence of the same letter, generally at the
beginning of words, for rhetorical effect ; e.g. in
Ancient Mariner, " The fair breeze blew, the
white foam flew. " Laborare est orare = Work
is worship. (Assonance.)
Alliterative poems. Poems in metres, the
rhythm of which depends on the recurrence of
sounds in the initial letters of words. To this
class belong the old English poems, such as
Piers Ploughman's Vision. The practice was
maintained as late as the sixteenth century.
Allium. [L.] (Bot.) A gen. of bulbous plants,
ord. Liliaceae, to which belong onion, leek,
shallot, garlic, chive.
Allocate. To set apart, as if to a particular
place [L. ad locum]. Generally applied to sums
of money, fees, "allowances."
Allocator [L. , it is allowed} = the amount of
an attorney's claim, after the costs have been
taxed. (Taxing-masters.)
Allochroite. [Gr. fiAAos, other, xpo'o* colour.}
A variety of garnet, with iron, exhibiting a
variety of colours. (Garnet. )
Allocution. [L. allocutio, -nem.] 1. An address,
especially of a Roman imperator to his army,
or of the pope to the Sacred College. 2.
Bidding Prayer (q.v.).
Allodiom, Allodial tenure. Land held by a
man in his own right, and free from all feudal
burden : opposed to fee, fief, feud. Some con-
nect with O.N. odal, Dan. Sw. odel, an estate,
and Gothic alldha, odhol, ancient inheritance.
Others with A. S. leod, the people. Blackstone
jives all, whole, and odh. Ger. od, property.
Wollaston, that of which a man has the all, or
all-hood. (Frank-aleo.)
Allonge. [Fr. allonger, to lengthen} 1. (Leg.}
Slip attached to a bill of exchange for super-
numerary endorsements, if there is no more
room on the bill. 2. To make a "lunge," in
fencing.
Allopathy. [Gr. &\\os, other, iriQos, suffering,
affection^} A name given to the ordinary prac-
tice by homceopathists. (Homoeopathy.)
Allophane. [Gr. &\\os, other, <t>aivofj.ai, I ap-
pear^ A mineral, one of the aluminous silicates,
of which clay is another ; the proportion of
water large ; pale blue, green, brown ; changed
in appearance before the blowpipe.
Allotment. (Naul.} That portion of the pay
of a sailor, or marine, on foreign service, allotted
monthly to his wife and family.
AUotropy. [Gr. dAAorpoWw, / am change-
able.} (Chem.) The same element sometimes
exists, no extraneous substance being added, in
various forms, which exhibit different properties.
So, ozone is an allotropic form of oxygen.
Phosphorus is a remarkable example ; sulphur
also.
Alloy. A combination of two or more metals,
except when one of them is mercury. Originally
such debasement of metal as is according to law
[Fr. a loi].
Allspice, or Jamaica pepper. The berry of a
handsome tree, Pimenta officinalis ; S. America
and W. Indies ; ord. Myrtacese.
All the Talents. The Fox and Grenville
Coalition Ministry, formed on the death of Mr.
Pitt, January, 1 806.
Ail-to brake. Judg. ix. (To-brake.)
Allumette. [Fr. allumer, to kindle.} A match.
AUnvion. [L. adluvio, -nem, flood, from ad, to,
luo, lavo, I wash.} Land added to an estate by
alluvial deposit from sea or stream.
Alluvium. [Neut. of L. alluvius, alluvial.}
Earth, etc., brought down by rivers and floods,
and deposited upon land not permanently sub-
merged ; e.g. many river-plains, meadow-lands.
Allux. Allex. ('Hallux. i
Allworthy, Mr. In Fielding's Tom Jonts ;
type of modest worth and benevolence.
Allyl. A hypothetical substance, supposed to
exist in oil of garlic [L. allium].
Almack's. A suite of rooms, in King Street,
St. James's, London ; so called as having been
built by a Scotchman named Macall, who trans-
posed his name. Balls of a very exclusive
character were held in these rooms, which are
now known as Willis's.
Almagest. [Ar. form of Gr. /iryrroj, greatest.}
The Arabic name for Ptolemy's work, The Mathe-
matical Construction of the Heavens, which con-
tains a complete account of the state of astro-
nomy in his time the first half of the second
century and from which is drawn a large part
of our knowledge of ancient astronomy.
Alma Mater. [L.] Fostering mother ; generally
applied to one's university or school.
Almanac. [Ar. al manack, the diary.} A
ALMA
ALTO
calendar wherein are noted down the days, weeks,
and months of the year ; the most remarkable
phenomena of the heavenly bodies, etc. In the
Nautical A. are given the daily positions of the
sun, moon, planets, and certain stars, the lunar
distances of certain stars for every third hour
of Greenwich mean time, and other information
of a like kind very useful to travellers by land
and sea.
Almanach de Gotha. Published yearly at Gotha
since 1764, and giving a large amount of in-
formation upon the principal affairs, political
and statistical, of every civilized country.
Almandine. Red transparent varieties of iron
and garnet (q.v.).
Alme, Al-mai. [Ar. almet, instructed, alam, to
know.} Singing girls of Egypt, who live in
bands, and attend marriages, funerals, etc., sing-
ing pathetic ballads ; something like the Roman
praeficse. (Ambubaiae.)
Almery. [Fr. armoire, L. armarium, a cup-
board.} An older form of the word ambry
(q.v.} or aumbry.
Almohades. (Almoravides.)
Al molino, ed alia sposa, sempre mancha
qualche cosa. [Sp.] A mill and a wife always
want something.
Almonry, A room in which are kept the alms
gathered for the poor. In many monasteries the
almonries had special endowments. [Fr. aumone,
Gr. \fri/j.o<Tvj>r), an alms.}
Almoravides. An Arab dynasty of N.W.
Africa, founded in the eleventh century. They
overthrew the Almohades in Africa and Spain
in the following century.
Almuce. (Amice.)
Almug, I Kings x. ; Algum, 2 Chron. ii. [? A
com of Indian name valguka.] Probably red
sandal wood (Pterocarpus santalinus).
Alnager. [L. ulna, an ell.} (Eng. Hist.}
A sworn officer, whose duty it was to examine
into the assize of cloth and collect the alnage
duty on cloths sold.
Alnaschar. A poor delf-seller in the Arabian
Nights' Tales, whose dream of wealth vanishes
on his smashing a mirror, which is really his
basket kicked over in waking.
Aloadae. (Mars.)
Aloes. The bitter inspissated juice of several
species of Aloe, succulent plants with fleshy,
prickly margined leaves, and erect spikes of red
or yellow flowers. The lign aloes [L. lignum
aloe's] of Scripture (Numb. xxiv. ; Ps. xlv.) is
the resinous wood of Aquilaria agallocha, a drug
once generally valued for use as incense.
Alogians. [Gr. a neg., Adyoj, the WORD.]
Heretics, second century, who denied the Divine
Logos, or Word ; they attributed St. John's
Gospel to Cerinthus.
Alogon. (Neat.)
Alonsine. (Alphonsiue Tables.)
Alp. Any lofty mountain, particularly the
mountains of Switzerland. Also, a mountain
pasture. The word is found in Albion, Albyn,
Albania, etc. (Southern Alps.)
Alpaca. A stuff made of the wool of the
alpaca, mixed with silk or cotton. (Auchenia.)
Alpenstock. [Ger.] A staff used by moun-
taineers.
Alphonsine Tables. Tables of the motions of
the sun, moon, and planets, in A.D. 1253 and
subsequent years, by Alphonso, King of Castile.
Alquifou. [Fr. alquifoux.] A lead ore, used
for green varnish on pottery.
Al Rakim. In the legend of the Seven Sleepers,
a dog who has care of all letters and corre-
spondence.
Al root. A red dye-stuff used in India.
Alsatia. Once a name for Whitefriars, an
asylum for debtors and those who had broken
the law.
Al-sirat. [Ar.] The path, narrow as a
sword-edge, over the abyss of hell, to the Mo-
hammedan paradise.
Altaic. [From Altai Mountains in N. Asia]
Generic name for the Tungusic, Mongolic,
Turkic, and Samoyedic groups of agglutinative
languages.
Altarage. [L. obventio altaris.] Profits arising
to the parish priest, for services at the altar.
(Obvention.)
Altar tombs. Tombs in churches, which in
shape resemble an altar.
Al-taschith. Title of Pss. Ivii., Iviii., lix., and
of Ps. Ixxv. , which is similar in spirit, i.e. destroy
not ; alluding to David's answer to Abishai
(i Sam. xxvi. 9).
Alterative. Medicine modifying a morbid
condition by gradual change.
Alter ego. [L., another /.] A second self.
Alter Idem [L.], a second same one ; an intimate,
true friend.
Alternate. [L. alternatim.] In Bot., placed
on opposite sides of an axis, but on different
levels, as the leaves of laurel, etc. ; or between
other bodies of the same whorl, or of different
whorls, as the stamens of an umbellifer, between
the petals, and A. with them. A. leaves are
distinguished from opposite, which are set on the
same level ; e.g. jessamine, which is, therefore,
an adversifoliate plant.
Alternate angles, etc., lie on opposite sides
of the same straight line, as in Euclid, i. 27.
Alternate generation. That process of repro-
duction in which one impregnation supplies two
or more generations, called Nursing generations.
Reproduction by impregnation then recurs.
Probably it is an internal budding or fission.
Most striking in Hydrozoa, but EntSzoa and
Molluscoids supply instances.
Althaea. [Gr. a\6aia, marsh mallow, &\8w, 1
heal.} (Bot.) A gen. of plants, ord. Malvaceae;
including marsh mallow, hollyhock.
Altimetry. [L. altus, high, Gr. ^rptta, J
measure.} The art of measuring heights by
instruments.
Altis. [Gr.] The sacred enclosure of Zeus
at Olympia.
Altitude and azimuth instrument, or Alt-
azimuth, instrument. (Azimuth.)
Altitude of a heavenly body. [L. altitude,
height.} The angular distance of its centre above
the horizon measured on a vertical circle.
Alto-relievo. (Mezzo-relievo.)
ALTR
22
AMBR
Altruism. The doing to another [It altrui]
as one would be done by ; opposed to egoism.
The term for the so-called religious system
adopted by Comte. (Comtism; Positivism.)
Alula. [L.] Winglet, dim. of ala, wing.
(Wing.)
Alum. [L. alumen.] Sulphate of alumina,
combined with sulphate of potash or some other
alkali. Roman A. is extracted from volcanic
rocks near Naples. A. ore, an aluminous slate,
containing sulphide of iron.
AlnmTna. Sesquioxide of aluminium, the
chief constituent of clays.
Aluminium. [L. alumen, alum.] (Min.)
A bluish- white metal obtained from alumina,
remarkable for its lightness. A. bronze is a
gold-coloured alloy of copper and aluminium.
Alumnus. [L.] Pupil, nursling.
Alure. [L.L. allorium.] (Arch.} A gang-
way or passage.
Aluta. [L.] Leather softened by means of
alum.
Alva-marina. Dried sea-weed [L. alga marina],
used for stuffing mattresses.
Alveolar. [L. alveolus, dim. of alveus,
channel. ] Relating to sounds formed by bring-
ing the side and tip of the tongue near or up to
the upper gums before articulating the consonant
(q.v.) or vowel (<f.v.).
Alveolar processes of the maxillary bones.
Those from which the teeth spring.
Amacratic. [Gr. apa, together, Kpdros, strength.]
Concentrating actinic rays to a focus ; also termed
amasthenic [tfyto, together, aQevos, strength],
Amadis. The name of several heroes of
chivalric poetry, the chief of whom was A. the
Lion, Knight of Gaula, i.e. Wales.
Amadou. German tinder, prepared from a
fungus of the cherry, ash, etc., BSletus igniarius.
[ Amadouer, to coax ; cf. esca, L. and It. , mean-
ing both bait and touch-wood]
Amalfian Code. A collection of marine laws,
compiled by the people of Amalfi, in Italy, about
the eleventh century. (Oleron, Laws of; Wisby,
Ordinances of. )
Amalgam. [Gr. ndXaypa, a thing softened.]
A combination of metals, into which mercury
generally enters, rubbed together while in a
powdery state, afterwards becoming hard ; gene-
rally used for filling up the cavities of decayed
teeth, and for purposes of repair.
Amaltheia, Horn of. [Gr. djtaAflejo.] The
horn of the goat which suckled Zeus (.SSgis), and
from which flowed Nectar. Hence, a horn of
plenty, or cornucopiae.
Amantium Iras amoris integratio est. [L.]
Lovers' quarrels are the renewal of love. Terence .
Amanuensis. [L.] Originally a slave copyist ;
a manu, from, or by means of, the hand ; as a
pSdibus, a footman; ab epistolis, a secretary, etc.
Amaranth. 1. (Poet.) [Gr. a/j.dpavros, un-
fading, from d neg., fj.apa.ivta, I make to wither.]
2. (Bot. ) A gen. ( Amaranthus) to which belong
love-lies-bleeding, cockscomb, etc.
Amaritude. [L. amaritudo.] Bitterness.
AmarylHdacese (Amaryllis). (Bot.) An ord. of
plants, mostly bulbous, and with poisonous pro-
perties ; to which belong narcissus, daffodil,
snowdrop, amaryllis, Guernsey lily, agave, etc.
Amaryllis. Proper name of women in Latin
poetry ; meton., a rustic lass.
Amassette. [Fr.] A horn instrument used to
collect [Fr. amasser] a painter's colours on the
stone during the process of grinding.
Amasthenic. (Amacratic. )
Amate. To make, or to be, stupid, senseless.
[Cf. Ger. matt and Fr. mat, dull, languid ; and
It. matto, mad.]
Aniati. Meton. for a violin. In Cremona,
seventeenth century, the Amati family were
famous makers of violins ; even surpassed by
one of their pupils, Straduarius, also of Cremona.
Amaurosis. [Gr. dfMvpuo-^, a darkening.]
Blindness, arising not from injury, but from a
paralysis of the retina.
Amazonian. As applied to fighting women,
extraordinarily strong ; from the Amazons.
Amazons = Sisters. [Gr. a/xowi> being one
nourished at the same breast ; cf. d$f\<p6s, one
from the same womb. ] The legend of Scythian
women, who removed the right breast that they
might use the bow, arose from the error of d
being considered privative instead of copulative.
Amazon stone. Green felspar from Siberia.
Ambarvalia. [L., from amblre arva, to go
round the fields] Religious feasts of the Romans,
in which the victims were led round the fields.
They were celebrated by the twelve Arval
Brothers (Arvales Fratres), at the end of May.
Ambassador. [Fr. ambassadeur.] A foreign
minister of the first grade, representing person-
ally the dignity of his sovereign, and communi-
cating with the sovereign or head to whom he is
sent. England sends A. to France, Russia,
Austria, the German Empire, and the Sultan.
Ambassy. [Hind.] A State howdah (q.v.),
with a canopy.
Amber. [Ar. anb'r, introduced at the time of
the Crusades.] A fossil resin, washed by the
Baltic out of a Tertiary lignite formed of Plnus
succmifera. Also found on east coast of Eng-
land, between Southwold and Aldeburgh.
Ambergris. [Fr. ambre gris, grey amber.]
Found on the sea, or shore, of warm climates
chiefly ; a fatty substance, morbid (?), in the in-
testines of the sperm whale ; used as a perfume,
and to flavour wine.
Ambidextrous. [L. ambo, both, dextra, the
right hand.] 1. Using the left hand as usefully
as the right. 2. Shuffling, untrustworthy,
equally ready to take either of two sides.
Ambisexual words. [L. ambo, both, sexus, a
sex.] Equally applicable to either sex; so
damsel [O.Fr. damoisel, L. domimcellus],
girl, man, and L. homo, were all of them
originally both masc. and fern.
Ambitus. [L.] Of a tone, in plain song, is
its compass ; the ascent and descent between its
extreme limits.
Ambo. [L., Gr. &/J.PQ>V.] A kind of pulpit in
the choir, from which the choir sang, Epistle
and Gospel were read, and sometimes sermons
preached.
Ambreada. [Fr. ambreade.] Artificial amber.
AMBR
AMMO
Ambrosia. [Gr., immortal] The food of the
Olympian gods, which preserves them from
death. Called by the Hindus Amrita. (Nectar.)
Ambrosian Office. One partly composed, partly
compiled, by St. Ambrose, at the end of the
fourth century ; it withstood all attempts to sub-
stitute the Roman order; confirmed by Alexander
VI., 1497-
Ambrosin. Early Milanese coin, with figure
of St. Ambrose on horseback.
Ambrotype. [Gr. &/J.&POTOS, immortal, TUTTO?,
type.} A photographic picture on glass, the
lights of which are in silver, and the shades
formed by a dark background seen through the
glass.
Ambry, Almery, Aumery, Aumbry. [Fr. ar-
moire, L. armarium, a closet for, L. arma,
utensils.} 1. A niche or cupboard near an altar,
for utensils belonging thereto. 2. A larger
closet for charters, vestments, etc.
Ambubaiae. [L.] Syrian singing women, who
performed in public at Rome.
Ambulance. [Fr.] Hospital waggon follow-
ing troops in the field. Hospitals attached to
an army, with their staff of surgeons, etc. , have
lately been called Ambulances.
Ambulance classes. Formed in connexion
with the Ambulance Department of the Order of
St. John of Jerusalem, in England ; to teach so
much of anatomy and medicine as may serve to
give first aid to the sick and injured the ap-
parently drowned, poisoned, hung, suffocated,
etc. pending the arrival of a doctor.
Amedians. An Italian congregation of the
fifteenth century, united by Pius V. with the
Cistercians. They are also called Amis de Dieu
(Amedieu), Friends of God.
Ameer, Amir. (Emir.)
Amelia, from which character Fielding's novel
is named, = a tender and true wife.
Amen. [Heb.] So be it ; verily.
Amende honorable. [Fr.] An open, unre-
served acknowledgment of error ; formerly, in
France, a confession of offences against some
laws of order or morality, made by the criminal,
kneeling, in open court ; sometimes in his shirt,
with torch in hand, and rope round the neck.
Amenity. [L. amcenitatem.] Pleasantness ;
amenities often ironical for bitter, abusive re-
marks.
A mensa et thoro. [L., from board and bed.] A
legal separation ; husband and wife no longer
living together, but the marriage tie remaining.
Amentaceae. [L. amentum, a thong.] (Eot.)
Catkin-bearing tribe, a nat. ord. ; willow, alder,
white birch, etc. , are genera.
Amenthes, Amenti. (Osiris.)
Amentia. [L., folly, madness.] As now ap-
plied, is = congenital imbecility. (Dementia.)
Amercement, Amerciament. A fine imposed
by a court of justice, the offender being at the
mercy [Fr. mercie] of the king or other lord.
Merces = penally, or a fine as an alternative
punishment, being a mercy. Amerce, to punish
by fine (Deut. xxii.).
American organ. A musical instrument, the
chief characteristic of which is that the air is
sucked through the reeds into the bellows, not
blown from bellows through reeds as in a
harmonium.
A merveille. [Fr.] To perfection.
Ametabolia. [Gr. a/j.tTa./3o\os, unchangeable.}
In wingless insects (Aptera), absence of observ-
able metamorphosis (q.v.).
Amethyst. [Gr. d,ue'0u<rT09, not drunken, as
supposed to guard the wearer against drunken-
ness.] 1. A purple variety of rock-crystal.
2. Oriental amethyst, purplish sapphire.
Amharic language. (Semitic.)
Amianthus. [Gr. a^iav-ros, undefiled.] Moun-
tain flax, a delicate kind of asbestos (q.v.}
sometimes woven into cloth ; easily cleansed by
fire, if soiled.
Amice, Amictus, Amicia, Almutium, Almuce,
Aumusse. [L. amlcio, / clothe.] A square
linen collar worn over the shoulders and neck
by priests in the early Church. The "grey
amice" is a cape of fur, now sometimes worn
over the arm.
Amicus curias. [L., a friend of the court.] A
member of the bar, not retained in the case,
who makes a suggestion for the benefit of the
court.
Amidine. The soluble part of starch.
Amidships. 1. The centre point of the line
of a ship's greatest length or breadth. 2. The
centre part of a ship.
Amiens, Peace of. A peace made between
England and France, 1802, leaving France
practically paramount on the Continent, and
tending to the exaltation of Napoleon, who now
became consul for life.
Amis de Dieu. (Amedians. )
Amman. [Heb.] A Jewish measure of length,
from the elbow to the end of the middle finger ;
a cubit.
Ammergau Play. At A., a village in the ex-
treme S. of Bavaria, a dramatic representation
of the Crucifixion is given once in every ten
years. One of the very few remaining examples
of the mysteries (q.v.), once the only kind of
dramatic performance, and so popular from the
eleventh century to the end of the fourteenth
century.
Ammodytes. [Gr. d/j./j.o-o'vTrjs, sand-bttrrower,
a kind of serpent.] (Zool.) Sand-eels, sand-
launces ; small, silvery, eel-like fishes ; the latter
spec, is the smaller. Fam. Ophidndae, ord.
Anacanthini, sub-class Teleostei.
Ammonia, Volatile alkali, Spirits of harts-
horn. (First procured from sal ammoniac.)
A gaseous alkali, the oxide of a hypothetical
metal, ammonium. A. is a compound of one of
nitrogen and three of hydrogen ; obtained in this
country chiefly from pit-coal and refuse animal
substances, hence the word hartshorn ; and A.
because obtained from camels' dung burnt near
the temple of Jupiter Ammon.
Ammoniac, Sal. (First made, it is said, from
camels' dung, near the temple of Jupiter
Ammon.) Chloride of ammonium. Ammoniac
gum, a resinous gum from Persia, used in
medicine.
Ammonites. (Geol.) Fossil molluscs, cephalo-
AMMO
AMUL
podous, allied to the nautilus ; in shape like the
curved horn of Jupiter Ammon ; characteristic
of the Trias (of Alps), Lias, and Oolite.
Ammonium. (For deriv. -vide Ammonia.) A
quasi-metal, consisting of four equivalents of
hydrogen and one of nitrogen ; not yet obtained
by itself, but known in an amalgam with
mercury.
Ammophlla [Gr. &U/J.QS, sand, <f>i\fta, I love],
or Arundo Arenaria. 1. Sea-reed, sand-reed
the Marum, Marrum, of English and Scotch
laws valuable as fixing shifting sand. 2.
(ntom.) Sand-wasps.
Amnesty. [Gr. durnffrta, a forgetting] A
pardon of political offences, e.g. at the Restora-
tion ; or, as part of a treaty, of offences com-
mitted in war.
Amoeba [Gr. dpoiftSs, interchangeable], or Pro-
teus animalcule. Microscopic fresh-water A.,
consisting of a living, structureless, albuminous
substance (sarcode, protoplasm), of no particular
shape, but protruding any part as a pseudopodion,
to serve as a hand or a foot, and extemporizing
any part as a mouth and digestive cavity. Sub-
kingd. Protozoa.
Amoebean ode. [Gr. a,uoialoy, alternate.]
One sung by two persons in alternate strains,
e.g. Virgil, Eel. i., iii., etc.
Amomnm. [L., Gr. S/tw^ov.] (Bot.) A gen.
of plants, ord. Zingiberacese, yielding aromatic
seeds, as grains of paradise, cardamom ; mostly
tropical.
Amorphous rocks and minerals. (Geol.) Those
which have not de terminate form [Gr. yuop<^] or
structure.
AmorphozSa. [Gr. &fj.op<pos, unshapen, $aov,
an animal] Sponges, the skeletons of amcebi-
form bodies, which invest them when living.
Sub-kingd. Protozoa. (Amoeba.)
Amortissement. [Fr., from amortir, to deaden]
The extinguishing of debt, as by a sinking
fund.
Amortize. [Fr. amortir, to deaden] Aliena-
tion of lands in mortmain.
Amour propre. [Fr.] Self-love, often = self-
respect.
Amphibalom. (Chasuble.)
Amphibia, Amphibians. [Gr. dfntpiftios, double,
lived] (Zool.) Vertebrates, when immature,
possessing gills, which in maturity are in the
Perennibranchiates supplemented, and in the
Caducibranchiates superseded, by lungs. They
are classified as follows : Ord. i., Pseudophidia
[Gr. i^evS^y, false, o(pi8iov, a small snake] ;
Caeciliadae [L. caecilia, a kind of lizard, cjecus,
blind], worm-like animals, burrowing in tropical
marshes. Ord. ii., Batraclria Urodela [fidrpaxos,
a frog, oitpd, a tail, SrjAos, -visible], as newts.
Ord. iii., Batrachia Anoura \o.v neg., oi>pd, a
tail}, as frogs.
Amphiboly. [Gr. o/x<f>ioAj'a, a.fjL(pi^d\\a>, I toss
to and fro] Ambiguity.
Amphibrachys, Amphibrach. In Prosody, a
foot, v - w , having one long syll. and a short
[Gr. &paxvs] one on each side of it [dfjL<pl], e.g.
amare ; the converse of AmpMmacer.
Amphictyonio Council. [Gr. a^iK-rvoixs,
meaning most probably dwellers round about]
Any council of Greek confederated tribes. The
most important was that of the twelve northern
tribes, which met alternately at Delphi and
Thermopylae.
Amphigore. Nonsense verse, as Pope's Song
by a Person of Quality. [Fr. amphigoure, non-
sense, rigmarole; an eighteenth century word,
origin unknown.]
Amphimacer [Gr. d/*<piju.apos , long both ways],
or Creticus. A foot, --, having one short
syll. and a long [/ua/cpo's] one on each side [d/j.(pi],
e.g. digmtas ; the converse of Amphibrachys.
Amphipnenst. [Gr. d/u^n, twofold, irvfvffTiis,
a breatlier.] Perennibranchiate, tailed, Batra-
chians, as Proteus angulneus (q.v.).
Ampbiprostyle. [Gr. a/^f, on both sides, irp6,
before, errOAos, a pillar] Having a portico at
each end ; said of a temple.
Amphisbaena, Amphisbaenidae. [Gr. aju<J'j-
fiatva, a 4cind of serpent going both ways] (Zool.)
Fam. and gen. of snake-like, footless, burrowing
lizards. Spain, Asia Minor, N. and Trop.
Africa, and Trop. S. America.
Amphiscii = living in the Torrid zone, and
casting a shadow [Gr. CTKIO] on both sides [cyupls],
sometimes north, sometimes south. ['A/KJHCTKJOS
in class. Gr. is shaded around, or on both sides]
Amphitrite. 1. (Zool.) Tubicolous annelid.
(Tubicolae.) 2. In Myth, (Nereids).
Amphluma. (Zool.) Gen. of eel-like Amphibia,
with rudimentary feet. Southern U.S.A. Ord.
Batrachia Urodela.
Amphora. [L.] A clay pitcher, two-handled
[Gr. aatpi, on both sides, tpepai, I carry], used as
a liquid measure. Gr. =9 gall. ; Rom. = 6. Also
as a cinerary urn.
Amplexicaulis, Amplexicaul. [L. amplector,
I embrace, caulis, a stem.] (Bot.) Said of a leaf,
which at its base embraces the stem ; e.g. upper
leaves of shepherd's-purse (Capsella bursa-
past5ris).
Amplification. [L. amplificatio, -nem, from
amplifico, / make large] (Rhet.\ An enrich-
ment of discourse by epithet and image and
graphic detail ; word-painting, (Anxetic.)
Amplitude. [L. amplitude, wide extent] The
angular distance of a heavenly body, when rising
or setting, from the east or west points of the
horizon. If the angular distance is taken from
the magnetic east or west, it is the Magnetic A.
Ampulla. [L., cf. amphora, a two-handled
jar] 1. A narrow-necked, globular, two-handled
bottle, for unguents ; and (Eccl.) for oil at coro-
nations. 2. (Anat.) The globular termination
of one of the semicircular canals of the ear.
Ampyx. [Gr. fi^7ru|.] A head-band or fillet
worn anciently by Greek women of rank.
Amrita. (Ambrosia.)
Amuck. A Malay, in a mad fit of rage or
revenge, runs "amuck," amok, seeking the life
of any one he meets, until he is killed by their
efforts at self-preservation.
Amulet. [L.L. amuletum, Ar. hamalet = a
thing suspended] A talisman ; a gem, ornament,
figure, scroll, etc., worn to avert evil. Oriental,
Egyptian, Jewish, Greek, Roman, modem.
AMY
ANAL
Amy. [Fr. ami, friend.] (Naut.) A friendly
alien serving on board ship.
Amygdalese. [Gr. dfj.vySd\ov, Fr. amande,
almond.} (Bot.) A sub-ord. of Rosacese, including
peach, plum, cherry, etc. ; with fleshy fruit and
resinous bark.
Amygdaloid. [Gr. &fj.vySd\ov, almond, eTSos,
shape^\ (Geol.) A variety of igneous rock, in
which are embedded almond-shaped bodies,
agate, calcspar, or zeolites, filling holes once
occupied by steam.
Amylaceous. Of the nature of starch [L.
amylum].
Ana. [Gr. &vd, again.} In prescriptions, or
a, = equal quantity.
-ana. Originally neut. plu. ; e.g. Scaliger-ana,
Benthami-ana, = loose thoughts, sayings, and
leading passages of S. or B., collected.
Anabaptist. [Gr. dvapa-n-Tifa, I rebaptize.]
1. One who, denying infant baptism, is for
rebaptizing adults. 2. Fanatical lawless sect,
sixteenth century, in Germany.
Anabas. [Gr. &va.-&aiv<a, to go up, second aor.
part. ava.0ds.] (Zool.) Perca scandens, climbing
perch. Its pharyngeal bones are so modified
as to retain moisture for its gills, enabling it to
remain long out of water, when it travels con-
siderable distances, and, according to some,
climbs trees. Fam. Percidse, ord. Acantho-
pter^gii, sub-class Teleostei.
Anabasis. [Gr., a going up.} A work in which
Xenophon relates the attempt of Cyrus the
younger to wrest the Persian crown from his
brother, and his consequent march or ascent to
the field of Cunaxa, where he was slain.
Anabathml. Certain Greek antiphons, the
words being from Pss. cxx. to cxxxiv., or the
Songs of Degrees (q.v.). [Gr. &va.pa0/j.ol, LXX.]
Anableps. [Gr. d/o^Ae7r&>, / look up.} Star-
gazer. (Zool.) A gen. of fresh-water fish, about
twelve inches long, having eyes with double
pupils, and frequently swimming with the head
out of water. Trop. America. Fam. Cyprino-
dontiadae, ord. Physostomi, sub-class Telostei.
Anacanthini. [Gr. dv-dicavdos, without spines.}
(Zool.) Ord. of fish without spinous rays to the
fins, as the cod and sole.
Anacards, or Cashew tribe. (Bot.) An ord. of
woody plants, W. Indies and S. America, yield-
ing acrid resin, used as varnish ; as sumach,
pistachio, mango.
Anacharsis, melon. = a traveller. A. a famous
Scythian traveller, who visited Athens in the
time of Solon ; and the only barbarian who ever
received the Athenian franchise (see Herod., iv.
46, 76). (Seven Eisbis.)
Anachoretse, Anchorets. [Gr. avaxiep-nrfo, a
dweller apart.} Hermits dwelling alone and
apart from society ; a Canobite [itoivdfKos] being
one who lives in a fraternity [itoiv6s 0ios, life in
common}.
Anachronism. [Gr. avaxpoviffpSs, from a,t>d,
back, xpdvos, time.} A confusion of time, repre-
senting things as coexisting which did not co-
exist ; e.g. ancients painted in modern costume.
(Parachronism.)
Auaclastios. (Dioptrics.)
Anacoluthon. [Gr. dfaKo\ov6of, not folloiinng. ]
In Gram., a term denoting the want of strict
sequence in a sentence, the members of which
belong to different grammatical constructions.
Anaconda, Anacondo, Anacunda. (Zool.} One
of the largest snakes, non-venomous, killing its
prey by constriction. Trop. America. Fam.
Pythonidse.
Anacreontic verse. An iambic of three and a
half feet, spondees and iambuses, an anapaest
being sometimes substituted for the first foot ;
that of Anacreon of Teos, an amatory lyric poet,
sixth century B.C.
Anadem. [Gr. avaSri/na., d^a-Seoi, / bind or tie
up.} A fillet, wreath.
Anadiplosis. [Gr. dvafiiirXuxris, a redoubling.}
The repetition of a word in the last sentence as
the starting-point, exegetically, of a new thought,
as, "The mouse ran up the clock; the clock
struck ; " etc.
Anadromous. [Gr. dfaSpo/ji-fi, a running up.}
Fish which at certain seasons leave the sea for
rivers, as the salmon, are sometimes so termed.
Anadyomene. [Gr.] An epithet of Aphrodite,
or Venus, as coming up [a.vaSvo/j.fvrf\ from the
sea, or springing from its foam.
Anaemia. [Gr. dva.ifj.ia., from av neg., aT/xa, blood.}
Morbid poverty of blood, and the condition
consequent.
Anaesthesia. (Pathol.) Insensibility [Gr. dvai-
o~Qr]fTia, from a.v neg. , alcrBdvofiai, I feel} ; is opposed
to Hypercesthesia [\nr4p, above}, unnaturally acute
sensibility.
Anagallis. [Gr. dvayaXKis.} (Bot.) A gen. of
plants, ord. Primulacese ; of which the type is the
pimpernel, or shepherd's weather-glass.
Anaglyphic, Anaglyptic. [Gr. avd, up,
yKvfytii, I engrave.] Embossed, in relief; sunk
work being Diaglyphic [Sid, through}. Ana-
glyptography, the art of giving an embossed ap-
pearance to engravings.
Anagnostes. A reader [Gr. avayvtaar^s,
dva.ytyv<jiffK(a, I read] at meals, amongst the
Romans ; the thing read or sung being Acrodma
[ditpodoftai, I hear}.
Anagram. [Gr. dvdypafj.fj.a.] A transposition of
letters of one word or more, so as to make a new
word or new words ; a connexion in meaning
being sometimes preserved ; e.g. dptr-f], fparrii ;
Horatio Nelson, honor est a Nilo.
Anagraph. [Gr. dvaypa^.] A transcription,
copy of a record, etc.
Anal. (Zool.} Near the anus ; e.g. anal fin.
Analecta. [Gr., from dva-\fyca, I gather up.}
Literary fragments, selections.
Analemma. [Gr. dvd\rj/j.fj.a, a thing taken up.}
1. The orthographic projection of the great
sphere on the plane of a meridian or of the
solstitial colure (q.v.}. 2. An astrolabe (q.v.).
8. = L. substructio, a base ; e.g. for a sun-dial.
Analeptics. [Gr. dva\T]imK6s, fit jor restor-
ing.} Restorative medicine or diet.
Anal glands. In Comp. Anat., organs, pre-
senting every grade of glandular structure,
secreting substances, sometimes attractive, as in
the civet ; sometimes repulsive, and applied to
purposes of defence ; e.g. the sweet fluid ejected
ANAL
26
ANCH
by some aphids, the acrid vapour of "bom-
bardiers," the inky fluid of some molluscs.
Analogue. [Gr. dvd\oyos, proportionate.] A
term indicating general organic similarity : the
tapir is an A. of the elephant ; a gill, of a lung.
Sometimes, less strictly used, as the " wing " of
a bat ; but the wing of a bird, compared with
an arm or with the paddle of a whale, is a
Homologue [6fi.6\oyo$, agreeing], a relatively
similar development.
Analogy. [Gr. dvaXoyla, proportion.] 1. A
method of argument founded on similarity of
relations, where induction is not complete. 2.
Title of Bishop Butler's work in defence of re-
vealed religion. 3. Proportion : the equality or
similarity of ratios ; thus, the ratio of 2 Ibs. of
butter to 3 Ibs. is equal or similar to the ratio of
4 in. to 6 in., consequently the two ratios form
an analogy or proportion.
Analysis. [Gr. dvaXvffis, dva-\vu, I unloose, .]
1. Resolution of a whole, logical or material,
into its parts ; opposed to Synthesis [ffwOeffts,
from ffvv, together, Oeffis, a placing.] A., from
examining facts, arrives at principles ; S. assumes
principles, and proceeds to work out results.
2. In Physics, the resolving of a compound sub-
stance into its constituent parts ; it is called
proximate when the substance is resolved into
components which are themselves compound ;
ultimate, when it is resolved into its elements.
Qualitative A . determines the nature, Quantita-
tive A. the amount, of the various ingredients.
Volumetric A. is a method of quantitative A. by
the use of measured volumes of reagents of
known strength. (For Spectral A., vide Spectral.)
3. The solution of geometrical problems, by
treating them as particular cases of more general
problems ; a process commonly performed by
the aid of algebraical equations ; whence alge-
braical geometry is often called analytical
geometry. 4. In Language, the substitution, as
in English, of prepositions, auxiliaries, etc., for
inflexions.
Analyzer. The part of a polariscope by
which, when light has been polarized, its pro-
perties are tested.
Anamnesis. [Gr.] Plato held that knowledge
was a reminiscence [avdfj.vrtffis] of the knowledge
possessed in some former state.
Anamorphosis. [Gr., a. forming anew.] 1. The
process taking place in a certain toy, by which
the true form of an object is obtained from a
distorted picture by reflexion in a properly
curved mirror. 2. (Nat. Hist.) Change in form
(usually progressive), traceable from species to
species, either contemporaneous or successive.
Ananas. A Brazilian name ; the plant which
produces the pine-apple (Ananassa satlva).
Ananke. [Gr. dvdyitri.] (Myth.) Necessity.
Anapaest. [Gr. dvdirato-ros, struck back, re-
sounding^ A metrical foot, ^ - , as, " Not a
drum | ... not a fu | nral note ; " perhaps
meaning a dactyl reversed.
Anaphora. [Gr., a carrying back.] In Rhetoric,
a repetition of a word at the beginning of con-
secutive clauses or verses; e.g. "Sic vos non
vobis," etc.
Anaptyxis. [Gr. dvdwrv^if, an unfolding.]
(Etym.) The insertion of a vowel between two
consonants in a word, as in Eng. borough,
Goth. burg.
Anarthropoda. [Gr. &v-ap6pos, unarticulate,
JTOVS, ir65os,"a/o0t.'] (Anniilosa.)
Anarthrous. [Gr. HvapBpos, from iv neg., &p6pot>,
a joint, the article.] 1. (Zool.) Without joints, e.g.
a mollusc. 2. (Gram.) Without the article,
6, r), r6.
Anasarca. [Gr. dva. o-dpica, throughout the
flesh.] (Physiol.) A collection of serum in the
cellular tissues of the body and limbs ; pop.
dropsy.
Anastasius, or Afemoirs of a Modern Greek,
written at the close of the eighteenth century.
The celebrated Oriental romance of Mr. Thos.
Hope.
Anastatica. [Gr. dvdffr da-is, resurrection.]
Rose of Jericho, Resurrection flower, Mary's
flower, a small woody annual (A. hidrochuntica),
ord. Crucifdrae. Its flower, dried up into a small
ball, will, for years after being gathered, ex-
pand, if wetted, and close again.
Anastatic printing. The printing of en-
gravings, etc., which are first steeped in an acid,
then pressed on a zinc plate. The acid, eating
away the plate where not covered by an oily
ink, leaves the engraving in relief.
Anastomosis. [Gr., opening as by a mouth.]
1. (Anat.) The junction of blood-vessels, being
generally the branches of separate trunks. 2.
(Bot.) The growing together of two parts meet-
ing from different directions.
Anastrophe. (Inversion.)
Anathema. [Gr.] Properly a thing dedicated
or devoted. Hence = under a ban or curse.
(Maranatha; Eaca.)
Anathema. [Gr. dVafojjta.] A thing dedicated,
in a good sense ; Luke xxi., and class.
Anatidae. [L. anatem, duck; cf. O.E. ened,
enid, Ger. ente.] (Zool.) Fam. of web-footed
birds, as ducks ; cosmopolitan ; ord. Anseres.
Anatomy. [Gr. dvarofi-f), dissection.] Formerly,
often ( i ) the thing dissected, (2) a skeleton.
Anatomy of Melancholy, by Robert Burton
(1576-1640). A remarkable work, with a singu-
lar charm, professing to analyze and to remedy
M. ; quaint, learned, and abounding in quota-
tions from authors, medical and other.
Anatron. [Ar. al-nitrun, from Gr. virpov,
soda.] Glassgall (q.v.).
Anbury, Ambury. 1. In horses and cows, a
soft, bloody tumour. 2. From the shape, a
disease in turnips, Club-root, or ' ' fingers and
toes."
Anchoret. (Anachoretse.)
Anchors. [L. anchora, Gr. &yicvpa, an an-
chor.] Bower, the four large equal-sized anchors
kept ready for use on board ship. They are : Best,
or Starboard B., and Small or Port B., in the
bows ; Sheet A. and Spare A., kept to starboard
and port, abaft the fore-rigging. Stream A., a
third of the size of the B. A. Kedge, smaller than
a Stream. Grappling A., or Grapnel, a boat's
anchor, with four flukes. The Floating A., a.
fourfold piece of canvas, on an iron frame,
ANCH
AXGE
suspended in the water, so as to diminish a
ship's drift to leeward.
Anchor watch. A portion of the watch con-
stantly on deck while a ship is at single anchor,
ready to attend to it, let go another, set head-
sails, etc., as required.
Anchusa [Gr. &yxov<ra, alkanet], Bugloss
[f}ovy\uff<Tos, ox-tongue}. (Bot.) A gen. of plants,
ord. Boraginaceae ; including Dyer's alkanet, or
Anchusa tinctoria.
Anchylosis. [Gr. ay/cCXoxTtj, a crooking, con-
traction of limbs.} (Med.) Unnatural union of
two bones, resulting in more or less stiffening ;
applied to joints.
Ancien regime. [Fr., the old rule.} The system
maintained by the French monarchy and aris-
tocracy before the Revolution.
Ancient. Corr. of ensign [L. insigne].
Ancient demesne. Lands named in Domes-
day Book as Terra Regis.
Ancientry. Antiquity of lineage.
Ancients. [Fr. anciens.] Gentlemen of the
Inns of Court and Chancery.
Ancilia. [L.] Shields ;i.e. the shield of Mars
which fell in Numa's time, and eleven others
made like it that the true one might not be
stolen; carried yearly round the city, which
could not be taken while the shield was in
Rome. Corssen derives from an, on both sides,
cile = cut out, root skar, to cut, the A. being
panduriform (<?.v.).
Ancillary. [L. ancilla, a handmaid] Sub-
servient to ; assisting.
Ancipital. [L. anceps, ancipitis, an for
amphi, on both sides, caput, a head.} (Sot.)
Two-edged, compressed, so as to form two op-
posite angles or edges ; e.g. stem of iris.
Ancipitis usus. (Contraband.)
Ancon. [Gr. ayKdv, a bent arm] 1. A
corner or quoin of a wall. 2. A bracket support-
ing a cornice.
Ancony. [Gr. ayitwv] A bar of iron un-
wrought at the ends.
Anccra. [It. i.q. Fr. encore, once more, lit.
to this hour ; L. hanc horam.] A call for the
repetition of a song.
Andabatism. [L. andabata, a gladiator, who
wore a helmet without holes for the eyes.]
Lit. blindfold fighting ; uncertainty, wild argu-
ment.
Andante. [It.] Going, i.e. evenly ; (Mus.) in
rather slow time.
Andirons, also written Aundirons and Hand-
irons. Fire-dogs. An ornamental standard of
iron, with a cross-bar, used to support the logs
of a wood fire.
Aadreada Forest. The southern and central
parts of Sussex in the period before the'Norman
Conquest.
Andrew. In nautical parlance : 1. A man-
of-war. 2. The Government, and Government
authorities.
Andrew, Cross of St. (Cross.)
Andrews, Joseph. Fielding's novel and its
hero, a virtuous footman.
-andria. [Gr. dv-ftp, a man, o.i>Sp6s.} (Bot.) The
first eleven of the twenty-four (Linnsean) classes
into which vegetables are primarily divided, are
characterized solely by the number of stamens.
Mon-andria = having I stamen; Di-, 2 ; Tri-, 3 ;
Tetr-, 4 ; Pent-, 5 ; Hex-, 6 ; Hept-, 7 ; Oct-,
8 ; Enne-, 9 ; Dec-, 10 ;_ Dodec-, 12 to 19.
Classes 12 and 13 are Ikos-andria, with 20
[dfjcoiri] or more inserted on the calyx ; and Poly-,
20 or more inserted on the receptacle. Gyn-
andria [yvvi], a woman} have a column, i.e. an
insertion of stamens on the pistil.
Andrceceum. [Gr. dv-np, dv8p6s, a man, olKtiov,
neut. adj., domestic.} (Bot.) The male system of
a flower.
Androgynous. [Gr. avSpoywos.} Having
characteristics of both sexes.
Anele. [A.S. ele, oil.} To give extreme
unction.
Anelectric. [Gr. dv neg., and electric.] A
body not easily electrified by friction.
Anelectrode. [Gr. dvd, up, and electrode
(q.v.).} The positive pole of a galvanic battery.
Anemia. (Anaemia.)
Anemometer. [Gr. &ve/j.os, wind, neTpov,
measure] An instrument for ascertaining and
registering the pressure of wind.
Anemophllous flowers. Those which are
fertilized by the action of the wind carrying the
pollen from one to another. [Gr. &vep.os, 'wind,
<pi\f<i>, I love.}
Anent, Anenst. [A.S. on efen, on even, on
even, on a level -with] Over against, close by,
concerning.
Anenterous. [Gr. a neg., evrepa, bowels.]
Having no alimentary canal.
Aneroid barometer. [Gr. d neg., v-npos, wet,
flSos, form, as not making use of mercury.] A
cylindrical metallic box, partially exhausted of
air, with a top made to yield very easily under
varying external pressure ; the motion of the top
is transmitted to a pointer which shows its extent,
and therefore the variation in the atmospheric
pressure producing it.
Anethum. (Anise.)
Aneurism. [Gr. avvpv<Tpds, a widening]
(Med.) A pulsating tumour, consisting of an
artery preternaturally enlarged. (Varix.)
Anfractuous. [L. anfractus, a bending round]
1. Winding about. 2. (Bot.) Sinuous, doubling
abruptly in different directions.
Angeiology, Angiology. [Gr. ayyelov, a
vessel] (Anat.) Knowledge of the vessels of the
body.
Angel. [Gr. &yyt\os, New Testament, an
angel] An old coin worth ten shillings, marked
with the figure of an angel.
Angel Doctor. (Doctor.)
Angel, Order of Golden. An order of knight-
hood, said to have been instituted by Constan-
tine. It was revived by the Emperor Charles V.
Angelica. [Gr. dyyf\iic6s, from its pro-
perties (?).] (Bot.) A gen. of plants, ord. Umbel-
liferse ; the hollow stalks of A. Archangelica are
candied and eaten.
Angelical hymn. (Eccl.) In the Eucharistic
Office, the hymn beginning with the words,
"Glory be to God on high;" L. "Gloria in
Excelsis."
ANGE
28
ANIO
Angelology, Demonology, of a people, or
period. The current belief respecting angels
and evil spirits. [Gr. &yye\os, New Testament,
angel ; Saifuav, New Testament, evil spirit, ,]
Angelot. [Fr.] A small rich Norman cheese
(originally stamped with a figure of St. Michael).
Angelus bell. The bell rung at the time
appointed for the recitation of the Ave Maria,
or the angel's annunciation to the Virgin.
^ Angevin. Belonging to Anjou.
Angina pectoris. [L., tightening of the chest.}
(Med.) A nervous disease of the heart, attended
with sudden excessive pain in the lower part of
the chest ; ascribed to a bony degeneration of
the cardiac vessels.
Angiosperms. [Gr. dyyetov, a vessel, ffirepjia,
seed.} (Bot.) Such exogens as have seeds enclosed
in a seed-vessel ; Gymnosperms [yv/j.v&s, naked]
being those whose seeds are perfected without a
seed-vessel.
Angle ; Acute A. ; Dihedral A. ; Obtuse A. ; A.
of friction ; A. of incidence ; A. of reflexion ; A. of
refraction ; A. of traction ; Bight A. ; Solid A. ;
Visual A. [L. angulus, an angle, corner.} The
difference of direction of two intersecting straight
lines. When the adjacent angles made by two such
lines are equal, each angle is a Right A. ; an Acute
A. [acutus, sharpened} is less, and an Obtuse A.
[obtusus, blunted} is greater, than a right angle.
A Dihedral A. [Gr. Si'eSpos, not in its class,
sense, but as if = having two bases, sides} is that
contained by two intersecting planes ; a Solid A.
is the angular space at the vertex of a pyramid
enclosed by three or more plane angles meeting
at a point ; the Visual A. of an object is the
angle subtended at the eye by the line joining
its two extreme points ; the A. of repose is the
A. of friction (Friction). (For A. of incidence,
rejlexion, refraction, traction, vide Reflexion ;
Eefraction; Traction.)
Angle-iron. Pieces of iron of an angular form,
used for joining, at an angle, the plates of which
tanks, etc., are built up.
Angle of leeway. The difference between the
seeming and the actual course of a ship when
sailing near the wind.
Anglia, East. Name for Norfolk with Suf-
folk and Cambridgeshire.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. A narrative, in the
Anglo-Saxon language, extending from Caesar's
invasion to the death of Stephen, 1 1 54. A very
important work, mostly in prose ; the work,
apparently, of many successive hands ; the latter
part, at least, by contemporary authors with
the events related.
Anglo-Saxon language : English language.
While no exact date, of course, can be assigned
to the change of Anglo-Saxon into English, it
has been proposed by the late Mr. T. Shaw, in
Student's English Literature, p. 17, to arrange,
approximately, the chief alterations under the
following epochs : i. Anglo-Saxon, from A.D.
450 to 1150. 2. Semi-Saxon, from A.D. 1150 to
1250; from the reign of Stephen to the middle
of that of Henry III. 3. Old English, from A.D.
1250 to 1350, the middle of the reign of Edward
III. 4. Middle English, from A.D. 1350 to 1550,
the reign of Edward VI. 5. Modern English,
from A.D. 1550 to the present day. Dr. Morris
gives a somewhat different division : I. A.D.
45O to IIOO. 2. A.D. IIOO tO I25O. 3. A.D.
1250 to 1350. 4. A.D. 1350 to 1460. 5. A.D.
1460 to the present time ; under the titles of
English of the First Period ; of the Second Period,
etc. (Morris's English Accidence, p. 48).
Angola cat; A. goat. (Angora.)
Angora cat. [Gr. 'Ayicvpa, now Angora, in
Asia Minor.] Variety of cat, with long silky
fur, and frequently with eyes of different colours.
Felis catus Angorensis (Linnaeus, BufTon).
Angora cloth. Made from the silky wool of
the goat of Angora, ancient Ancyra, Asia Minor.
(Tentmaker.)
Angora goat. (A. cat.) Variety of goat, with
long silky hair, generally white.
Angostura bark ; A. bitters. The bark of the
Gulipea cusparia, a S. American tree, common
around Angostura, in Columbia.
Angsana. A red gum from Hindostan, like
dragon's blood.
Anguilla. [L. dim. of anguis, snake, Gr.
&yx**- vs t ee ?-\ Gen. of fish, as the common eel ;
only gen. found in fresh water of fam. Mursemdae,
ord. Physostomi, sub-class Teleostgi.
Anguis. [L., Gr. x is -] (Zool.) Properly a
snake of the constrictor kind ; but designating a
gen. of footless lizards, as A. fragilis [~L., fragile},
the blind-worm, fam. Scincidae.
Angular velocity. The rate at which a body
turns round an axis.
Angus. Division of Scotland, from Saxon to
Stuart periods, nearly coincident with County
Forfar.
Angusticlave. The tunic of the Equites, with
narrow [L. angustus] purple stripe [clavus] ;
opposed to Laticlave [latus, broad} t that of the
senators.
Anhelation. [L. anhelo, I pant} Difficulty
of breathing.
Anhydride. [Gr. &v neg., vSponSris, watery.}
Any oxygenated compound, which by reaction
with the elements of water forms an acid.
Anhydrous. [Gr. &v-v$pos, wanting water.}
Deprived of, or not containing, water. An
anhydrous acid is called an anhydride.
Anicnt. In the Indian rivers, a dam with
bottom sluice, which regulates irrigation.
Aniline. [First obtained from indigo, Ar. an
nil.] A colourless liquid, the source of many
brilliant dyes ; which, or some of which, readily
absorb moisture from the air, so that the dyed
substances keep moist.
Anima mundi. [L., the soul of the world.}
With some early philosophers, a force, not
material, but of the nature of intelligence, the
source of all sentient life.
Anime, or African copal. A gum-resin ob-
tained from an African tree, Trachylobium
Hornemannianum ; nat. ord. Leguminosse.
Animus. [L., intent.} In libel, malicious
purpose.
Animus furandi. [L.] The intention of stealing.
Anion. [Gr. aviw, going up, from dvti, up,
and le'i/eu, to go.] The element which goes to
ANIS
29
ANON
the positive pole, when a substance is decom-
posed by electricity. (Cation.)
Anise, or Aniseed. [Ar. anisun, Gr. aviaov and
dvrjOov.] Fruit of Pimpinella anlsum (nat. ord.
Umbelliferse), which is among the oldest of
medicines and spices ; aromatic stimulants and
carminative ; used as a cattle medicine.
Anisette. [Fr.] A cordial flavoured with
aniseed.
Anisodactyla. [Gr. folaos, unequal, SO.KTV\OS,
finger or toe. } (Zool.) Having an uneven number
of toes, as the feet of the horse among Ungulata.
Anjou. Old province of France, capital
Angers.
Anlace. A short dagger, worn in the four-
teenth and fifteenth centuries.
Annandale. The larger and eastern part of
Dumfriesshire, from Norman to Stuart periods ;
the less and west part being Nithsdale.
Annat. [L. annus, a year.'] A half-year's
stipend due by Scotch law, A.D. 1672, to a
minister's next of kin, not to his estate, after
his death.
Annates [L. annus, a year], or First-fruits, A
moiety of the full value of one year's profits at
first of every vacant bishopric, afterwards of every
other vacant benefice also, claimed by the pope,
as a beneficiary fee ; afterwards by Henry VIII. ;
given by Queen Anne to the Governors of Q. A. B.
(q.v. ), for augmentation of the maintenance of
poor clergy. The valuation is that of Liber
Regis (q.v.), A.D. 1535.
Annealing. [O.E. anaelan, to kindle.} 1.
The melting and gradually cooling of glass or
metal, to remove brittleness. 2. The heating of
glass or tiles, to fix colours.
Annelids. [Fr. annelides, id., from L. anellus,
dim. of anulus, a ring.] (Zool.) Annulose, or
ringed worms, distinctly segmented, as leeches
and earth-worms.
Annex. [L. annexus, part, of annecto, 7
join on to."\ 1. A room or gallery adjoining a
larger covered area, especially in exhibition
buildings. 2. A paper joined to a diplomatic
document.
Annihilationists [Eccl. L. anmhilo, / bring
to nothing] understand the death which is the
wages of sin to be a gradual extinction of all
existence.
Annomination. [L. ad, to, nomen, a name.}
Emphatic opposition of words of same sound, but
different sense or use; e.g. "The parson told
the sexton, And the sexton tolled the bell," "And
leaves begin to leave the shady tree." The tone
of a piece alone determines whether A. = pun-
ning or not.
Annona. [L.] Yearly produce ; and so a
contribution of corn due from a Roman pro-
vince for the use of the army and the city.
Annotta, Annotto, Arnotto, Eoucou. A thin
yellowish-red coating of waxy pulp, which covers
the seeds of Bixa orellana. It is separated and
used for colouring cheese, etc.
Annual Begister. Published since 1759, gives
principal events of importance, political and
miscellaneous, in the year.
Annual Ketnrns, H.M. Navy. A report of (i)
sailing qualities of ship ; (2) state of crew ; (3)
progress of young officers in navigation. Sent
to the Admiralty from every ship on commission.
Annuent muscles [L. annuo, / nod to]
throw the head forwards.
Annular eclipse. (Eclipse.)
Annulata, Annulates. [L. anniilata, ringed,
from annulus, a ring.} (Annelids.)
Annulate. [L. annulatus.] Having ringed
form or marks ; e.g. an antelope's horn.
Annulet. 1. (Arch.} A small flat fillet
encircling a column ; e.g. those under the Doric
capital. 2. (Her.} A ring [L. annulus] borne
l) as a charge, or (2) as difference in the fifth
son's escutcheon.
Annuloida, or Echmozoa. Provisional sub-
kingd. of Invertebrates, including fichino-
dermata (as star-fish) otherwise reckoned with
the Radiata ; and Scolecida (as the tapeworm
and vinegar eel), otherwise reckoned with the
Annulosa.
Annulosa, [L. annulus, a ring.} Sub-kingd.
of certain Invertebrates, which are composed of
definite ringed segments, " somites " [Gr. ffca/j.a,
a body}, and containing (l) Arthropoda, or Arti-
oulata, with jointed locomotive appendages, as
crabs, barnacles, spiders, centipedes, and insects ;
and (2) Anarthropoda, without such appendages,
as spoon-worms, leeches, earth-worms.
Annulus et baculum. [L.] The bishop's ring
and pastoral staff, given in granting investiture.
Annunciation, Order of the. An order founded
in Savoy, 1535, as the order of the Collar, by
Amadeus VI. ; received its present name from
Charles III.
Annus mirabllis. [L.] Year of wonders,
1666, i.e. of the Great Fire, and of our successes
over the Dutch. Title of a poem by Dryden.
Anoa. (Zool.) Gen. and spec, of wild oxen,
allied to buffalo, but small. Celebes, sub-fam.
Bovinre, fam. Bovidse, ord. Ungulata.
Anode. [Gr. &vo$os, a way tip, from dvd, up,
656s, a way.] The positive pole, or path by
which the current enters a body being decom-
posed by electricity.
Anodyne. [Gr. dvuSvvos, dv neg. , oSvvrj, pain. }
A sedative, narcotic, etc., which assuages pain.
Anolis. (Zool.} Gen. of lizard with expansile,
coloured throat. Trop. America to California.
Fam. IguanTdse.
Anomalistic year. (Year.)
Anomaly, Eccentric ; Mean A. ; True A. [Gr.
dj/w/ioXia, irregularity, anomaly. } The True A.
of a planet is its angular distance, measured at
the sun, from perihelion. The Eccentric A. is
a like angle measured from perihelion to the
planet's place referred (by a perpendicular to the
axis) to the circle described on the major axis of
its orbit (Ellipse). The Mean A. is a like angle
measured to the place the planet would occupy
if it moved on the circle with its mean velocity.
Anomoeans. [Gr. dv6/*oios, unlike.] Arians,
fourth century, who held the essence of the Son
to be unlike that of the Father, and rejected
the term Homoiousios. (Homoausians.)
Anon. [A. S. on an = in one, i.e. instant.}
1. Quickly ; as in Matt. xiii. 20. 2. Sometimes.
ANON
ANTH
Anona. (Bot.) The custard apple ; type of ord.
Anonaceae, W. Indies and S. American trees,
aromatic, and yielding delicious fruit.
Anonymous. (Pseudonym.)
Anoplotherium. [Gr. &voir\os, unarmed, Oripiov,
beast.} (Geol.) An extinct pachyderm, between the
swine and ruminants ; tuskless, two-toed, grami-
nivorous. There are some spec, of Tertiary age.
Anorexy. [Gr. dvopt^ia, from dv neg. , 8p(i s,
desire.} Loss of appetite.
Anorthite. [Gr. dv neg. , bpQ-i], sc. ywvia, right
angle.} (Min.) A variety of lime-felspar ; named
from its cleavage.
Anorthoscope. [Gr. dv neg., op06s, straight,
OKoirfta, I behold, ,] Produces interesting figures,
etc., by means of two discs rotating rapidly
one before the other ; the anterior opaque with
vertical slits, the other transparent with dis-
torted figures. (Zoetrope.)
Anosmia. [Gr. dv neg., 007^, smell.} Loss
of the sense of smell.
Anostomas. [Gr. &vv, upward, orSfia, mouth.}
(Zoo/.) Gen. of fish, freshwater, with under jaw
so projecting that the mouth seems placed ver-
tically. Trop. America. Fam. Characinidse,
ord. Physostomi, sub-class Telostei.
Another place. (Parl.) The conventional
way, in either House, of referring to the other.
Anoura. [Gr. av neg., ovpd, a tail.} (Zool.)
The third ord. of Amphibia, tail-less Batrachians,
as frogs.
Ansated. Having handles [L. ansae].
Ansae of Saturn's rings. Projections resem-
bling handles [L. ansae].
Anse de panier. [Fr., basket handle.'} Ellip-
tical arch of a bridge.
Anseres. [L. anser, goose, gander, Ger. gans,
Gr. xV-1 (Zool.} Ord. of web-footed and lobate-
footed birds, as ducks, grebes. Cosmopolitan.
Answer the helm, To. To obey the rudder.
Anta, Antae. [L.] The end of a wall ter-
minating in a pillar ; the terminations of the
ptromata, or side walls, of a temple, when pro-
longed beyond the face of the end walls.
Antaeus. [Gr. 'Avrcuos.] (Myth.) A giant,
invincible so long as he remained in contact
with the earth. Heracles (Hercules) lifted him
and crushed him in the air.
Antagonist muscles. [Gr. dvraytavto'T-fis, one
who contends against.} In their actions op-
posed to each other ; e.g. the form of the mouth
in health is due to such combined action ; the
opposite is seen in paralysis.
Antelgics [Gr. &\yos, pain}, i.q. Anodynes
(f.V.).
Antanaclasis. [Gr., a reflexion, an echo.}
(Rhet.} The pointed use of the words of a
previous speaker in a different sense.
Antarctic. (Zone.)
Antarthritic. [Gr. dpQplris, sc. v6ffos, joint
disease.} Counteracting gout.
Antatrophio. Overcoming or counteracting
atrophy.
AntebracMum. The forearm [made up of L.
ante, before, and brachium, which is sometimes
the whole arm, sometimes the lower arm from
the fingers to the elbow].
Antecedent. (Conditional proposition ; Katio.)
Antediluvian. 1. Before the Flood [L. ante
diluvium]. 2. Old-fashioned, very antiquated.
Antefixes. (Arch.) Carved blocks.
Antelucan [L. antelucanus] worship, i.e.
be/ore daylight [ant lucem].
Antenate. [L.] Born before the union of
English and Scottish crowns (James I.), and so
not English in law ; post-nate, bom after, i.e.
claiming the rights of native English.
Antenicene. Before the Council of Nice or
Nicsea, in Bithynia, A.D. 325.
Antepagment. [L. antepagmentum.] Door-
ways or architrave of doorway.
Antepaschal. Relating to the time before
Easter [ITo<rx a > the Passover}.
Antepast. A foretaste [L. ante, before, pastus,
a feeding}.
Antependinm. [L. ante, before, pendeo, to
hang.} The frontal or covering of the altar, in
churches, usually made of cloth, silk, or velvet,
and embroidered.
Antepenultimate. [L. ante, before, psene,
almost, ultimus, the last.} The last but two ;
generally said of a syll. or a letter.
Antepilani. [L.] In the Roman legion, the
Hastati and Principes, as being drawn up
before the Triarii, who were armed with pila,
long spears.
Anteport. Outward gate or door [L. porta].
Anterides. [Gr., props.} (Arch.) Buttresses.
Antero-posterior. Forwards from behind ;
e.g. compression of the skull.
Antesignani. [L.] In the Roman legion, the
Hastati, as standing in front of the standards
[ante signa].
Anteversion. [L. anteversio, -nem.] (Afed.) The
tilting forwards of a part which is naturally in-
ferior. Ketroversion, the backward and downward
depression of a part naturally superior.
Antevert. [L. antverto, / go before, place
before} Prevent.
Anthelion. A bright spot, connected with a
halo, nearly opposite to the sun [Gr. ai/e^A.ior].
Anthelix. [Gr. di/9eX|.] Antihelix, the
curved ridge of the external ear within the
helix (q.v.}.
Antnelmintic. [Gr. eX/xicj, a worm.} (Med.)
Destroying or removing worms.
Anthem. (Antiphon.)
Anthemis. [Gr. dvdepls, chamomile.} (Bot. ) A
gen. .of plants, ord. Composite, of which the
Chamomile (q.v.) (A. nobilis) is the type.
Anther. [Gr. dv(hip6s, flowery} (Bot.) That
part of the stamen which is filled with pollen ;
the pollen-case.
Antheridia. [Dim. coined from anther. ] (Bot.)
Organs of Cryptogamous or flowerless plants,
supposed to represent anthers of Phanerogamous
or flowering plants.
Anthesterion. [Gr. bvOta-riipuav.] Eighth
Attic month, beginning 197 days after summer
solstice.
Antho-. [Gr. HvQos.] Flower.
Anthocarpoos. (Bot.) Having flowers [&i>6os]
and fruit [/capiros] in one mass, as the pine-apple.
AnthSdium [Gr. &vf)<t>$T)s, like flowers}, or
ANTII
ANTI
Capitulum [L., little head}. (Bot.) The head of
flowers of a composite plant, as daisy, aster,
chamomile.
Antholites. [Gr. &v6os, a flower, \i6os, stone.}
(Geol.) Fossil inflorescence ; e.g. of the Carboni-
ferous period.
Anthologium. [Gr. av6o\oyia, a nosegay.} In
the Greek Church, a book, in two six-monthly
parts, containing the offices sung through the
year on special festivals.
Anthology. A collection by an editor of
Greek epigrams and other short poems ; the first
known being that of Meleager, circ. B.C. 100.
There are also others, Arabic, Indian, Persian,
Chinese, etc.
Antholysis. [Gr. &v0os, a flower^ \vffis, a re-
solving.} (Bot.} Defined by Dr. Lindley, " the
retrograde metamorphosis of a flower ; as when
carpels change to stamens, stamens to petals,
petals to sepals, and sepals to leaves, more or
less completely."
Anthorismus. [Gr. avBopiff^s, from tori,
against, 6pifa, I define.} (Rhet.) A counter-
definition.
Anthdzoa. [Gr. avdos, a flcnver, ftaov, an
animal.} (Zool.) I.q. Actmozoa (Actinia), corals
and sea-anemones, sub-kingd. Cselenterata.
Anthracite [Gr. avBpa^, coal, charcoal}, Blind-
coal, Glance-coal, A black, light, lustrous sub-
stance, burning slowly, without flame, with
intense heat ; a natural carbon, formed by pres-
sure and heat from coal.
Anthracotherium. [Gr. &vdpa, coal, Orjpiov, a
wild beast.} (Geol.) An extinct pachyderm, near
to swine ; its remains first found in Ligurian
brown coal or lignite.
Anthrax. [Gr. &vdpa, coal, a carbuncle^ A
malignant boil ; a cai'buncle.
Anthropography. [Gr. &vQp<airos, man, ypdcpee,
I write.} A description of the physical character
of man ; his language, customs, distribution on
the earth, etc.
Anthrdpolatrae. [Gr. avdpoairos, man, \arptid,
worship} Man-worshippers ; name given to the
orthodox Christians by the Apollinarians, who
denied Christ's perfect humanity.
Anthrdpolites [Gr. avQpuTtos, man, Af0os,
stone} = fossil human remains ; e.g. in the coral
sand of Guadaloupe.
Anthropology. The science of man [Gr.
avBpcoTTos] under every aspect of his nature.
Anthropometry. [Gr. avOpuiros, man, fierpov,
measure.] The systematic examination of the
heights, weights, etc., of human beings, in con-
nexion with other physical characteristics, and
with age, race, locality, occupation, etc.
Anthropomorphites. [Gr. av6pa>ir6nop<pos, in
human form} Persons who regard the Deity
as having a human shape. The name is applic-
able to heathens generally, and to some Chris-
tian sects.
Anthropopathy. (Rhet.) The ascription to
God of human passion [Gr. iraQos].
Anthropophagy. [Gr. avOpuiroQayia.] Can-
nibalism.
Anthurium. (Bot.) A gen. of Araceae, one of
which (A. Scherzerianum) is much grown in hot-
houses under the name of the Flamingo plant ; it
has a large scarlet spathe and a twisted spadix,
and is very handsome.
Antiarin. Poisonous principle of the upas
tree ; the gum resin being used for poisoning
arrows. (Upas.)
Anti-attrition. A preparation of black lead
and lard with a little camphor, which lessens
friction in machinery. [Coined from Gr. avri,
against, and L. attritio, friction^
Anti-bacchius. (Bacchius.)
Anti-burghers. (Burghers.)
Antical, Anticous. [L. anticus, that which is
before.} (Bot.) Placed in the front part of a
flower, i.e. furthest from the axis.
Antichlore. [Gr. avri, against, and chlorine
(q.7>.).] Any substance used to remove the excess
of chlorine from bleached rags.
Antichthones. [Gr. from avri, opposite to,
Xfltav, the earth, the ground.} Inhabitants of
opposite hemispheres.
Anti-civism. A spirit hostile to the rights of
felloiv-citizens [L. elves].
Anti-climax. (Climax.)
Anticlinal line [Gr.avri, against, x\iv<a, I make
to bend}, or Saddleback. (Geol.) The ridge line, or
axis of elevation, from which strata dip in oppo-
site directions. Synclinal [ffvv, together}, the
furrow line towards which they dip.
Anticor. [Fr. anticreur.] A swelling of the
breast, opposite the heart.
Anti-Corn-Law League. An association
formed in 1836, chiefly through the energy of
Richard Cobden, to procure the repeal of the
laws regulating or forbidding the exportation or
importation of corn. These laws were abolished
in 1846.
Anticum. [L., in front} The front or en-
trance of a church.
Anticyra. Name of two Greek towns famed
for hellebore, an old remedy for lunacy ; melon.,
a retreat for those who act madly (vide Horace,
Sat. ii. 3, 83).
Anti-dactyl. An anapaest (q.v.).
Antidote. [Gr. avriSorov, from avri, against,
518ov.ii, / give.] That which counteracts evil
effects.
Anti-friction wheels or rollers. Placed be-
tween two surfaces which pass over each other,
to convert a rubbing into a rolling contact.
Anti-gallicans. (Natit.) Extra backstays.
(Stays.)
Antigraph. [Gr. avnypa<p-fi, a reply, a copy.]
A copy, transcript.
Anti-helix. (Anthelix.)
Anti-hypnotic (more correctly Anthypnotu).
[Gr. virvSia, I lull to sleep} Preventive of sleep.
Antilegomena. [Gr. from avnKeyta, I gain-
say} Things spoken against ; books at first not
admitted to be canonical 2 Peter, James, Jude,
Hebrews, 2 and 3 John, and Apocalypse.
Antilibration. [Coined from Gr. avri, opposite
to, and L. libratio, a levelling.] Of words,
sentences, counterbalancing.
Antilithic. [Gr. \l6os, a stone.] Preventive
or destructive of gravel or urinary calculi.
Antilogarithms, Table of. [Gr. avri, over
ANTI
ANTO
against, and logarithm (q.v .).] The number cor-
responding to a logarithm. A Table of A. gives
a series of logarithms, each differing from the
one before it by a unit in a certain decimal
place, and the numbers corresponding to them.
Antiloimio. Preventive of plague [Gr. \ot/j.6s].
Antimacassar. [Coined from Gr. CUT/, against,
macassar, a hair oil, named from a district in
the island of Celebes.] A fancy-work cover for
a chair-back or sofa.
Antimony. [Ar. alithmidun.] A brittle bluish-
white metal. In commerce, its native tersulphide
is called antimony, the metal itself regulus of
antimony. White A. is the native oxide. Glass
of A. is an artificial oxysulphide.
Antinephritic. Counteractive of kidney disease
[Gr. f<ppiTts],
Antinomians. [Gr. avri, against, v6/j.os, law.]
Opposers of law. This name was applied by
Luther to John Agricola and his followers, on
the ground that they denied to the Law all au-
thority as a rule of life, and asserted the entire
uselessness of good works (Solifidians). Gene-
rally the word is regarded as designating those
who hold that the wicked actions of the elect
are not sinful.
Antinomy. [Gr. avri, opposite, vopos, law.]
1. A law opposed to another law. 2. The natural
contradiction of logical conclusions about matters
beyond experience, as that of the doctrine of
eternal necessary causation, and the doctrine
of a personal First Cause absolutely free.
Antinous. [L.] A beautiful Bithynian
youth, deified after his death by the Emperor
Hadrian. Hence the name is applied sometimes
to denote singular beauty in the young.
Anti-paedobaptist. One who opposes infant
baptism. (Psedobaptist.)
Antiperiodio. Preventing a fit [Gr. irep/o8os]
of intermittent fever ; as quinine does.
Antiperistaltic. Opposing peristaltic motion
(q.v.).
Antiperistasis. [Gr. avri, against, ireplffrayis,
a standing round.} Opposition to one quality
by a contrary quality, by which the former be-
comes more intense ; as quicklime is heated
by cold water, or as one ethical extreme seems
to beget the other. A principle of A. was once
imagined as existing in nature.
Antiphlogistic. [Gr. <p\oyiar6s, set on fire.]
Checking inflammation.
Antiphon. [Gr. avri<p<avos, from avri, and
tjxavfl, voice.] Corr. into Anthem, the meaning
also being changed. 1. In Gr. Mus., = unison.
2. (Eccl.) Antiphonal singing, i.e. side answer-
ing side, as in cathedrals. See something of this
kind, Exod. xv. 21 ; I Sam. xviii. 7.
Antiphonal, or alternate singing. (Antiphon.)
Antiphonar. In the unreformed ritual, the
book of invitatories (q.v.), responsories (q.v.},
verses, collects, and whatever else is sung in
the choir ; but not the hymns peculiar to the
Communion Service. (Gradual. )
Antiphrasis. [Gr., from </>pa<m, a speaking.]
The use of words in an opposite sense to the
proper one ; e.g. Jeddart justice, i.e. hanging first
and trying afterwards.
Antipope. One who assumes the office of pope
in the Latin Church without a valid election.
The antipopes belong chiefly to the fourteenth
and sixteenth centuries.
Antipyretic. [Gr. irvptrds, fever] Remedying
fever.
Antiquitas saeculi, juventus mundi. [L.]
Ancient times were the world's youth ; what is
very old to us is very young in the history of the
world.
Antirrhinum, Snapdragon. (Bot.} A gen. of
plants which has, as it were, two noses [pivt s]
opposite, in allusion to the shape of the flowers.
Ord. Scrophulariacese.
Antiscii. [Gr. avrifftcios, throwing a shadow,
ffKid, the opposite way.] Living on opposite
sides of the equator.
Antiscorbutic. Preserving from scurvy [scor-
butus] (q.v.).
Antiseptic. Preventing putrefaction [Gr. <r^in,
/ make rotten].
Antispast. A four syll. foot, , =
iambus + trochee, and so, one drawn in dif-
ferent directions [Gr. avriffiraffros] ; as Alex-
ander, reducetur.
Antistasis. [Gr.] A party, faction, political
opposition.
Antistes. [L., one who stands before another.]
Chief priest, prelate.
Antistrophe. (Strophe.)
Antithesis. [Gr., opposition, change, trans-
position] 1. Contrast, in word or sentiment, as
" sSlitudmem faciunt, pacem appellant." 2. In
Gram., change of letter, as illi for olli. (Meta-
plasm.)
Anti-trades. Winds extending from the trade-
wind regions to near the poles ; very variable ;
but their general direction is towards the
poles. In the N. regions, S.W. currents of
air prevail, called the S.W. Anti-trades; in
the S. regions, the prevalent winds are from
the N.W., forming the N. W. Anti-trades. (See
a useful manual of Physical Geography by
S. Skertchly.)
Antitype. [Gr. avrlrvtros] Answering to the
type or figure [TUITOS] ; as "Christ our Pass-
over" (i Cor. v.).
Antizymic. [Gr. avri, against, tyyci\, leaven.]
Preventing fermentation.
Antlers. [Cf. Fr. andouiller and entoillier, the
first horns, (?) ante, before, ceil, eye (vide Littre).]
The male Cervidae, or true deer (and, in the
case of the reindeer, the females also) have solid
bony horns or antlers, shed yearly. Beginning
with a single "dag," they add a fresh "tine,
or " tyne," on each renewal till the eighth year,
after which the additions are less regular. (Deer,
Stages of growth of.)
Antoecians. [Gr. dvri, and olos, a house.] In
Geog., those who live under the same meridian
but on opposite parallels of latitude.
Antonine, Itinerary of. An ancient geo-
graphical work, giving the distances on all the
provincial roads, and from post to post, through-
out the whole Roman empire. (Itinerary.)
Antonines. Antoninus Pius, Roman emperor,
and his successor, M. Aurelius A. ; types of good
ANTO
33
APLU
rulers (A. D. 138-180) ; reign of first peaceful, of
second victorious.
Antonine, Wall of. From Firth of Clyde to
Firth of Forth ; built about A. D. 140.
Antonomasia. [Gr.] The use of an epithet,
patronymic, etc., instead of a proper name, as
the "Son of Peleus," the "Iron Duke," the
"Sick Man," for Achilles, Wellington, the
Turkish sultan.
Antony, Cross of St. (Cross.)
Antony, Fire of St. A name for erysipelas.
Antrustions. Among the Franks, personal
dependents of the kings and counts ; so called,
beyond doubt, from the trust placed in them.
They were also known as Fideles, faithful, and
Leudes, people.
Anubis. An Egyptian deity, Kneph, with
the body of a man and the head of a dog.
Anus. [L.] The opening at the lower ex-
tremity of the alimentary canal.
Anversois. The inhabitants of Antwerp
[Fr. Anvers].
Aonlan. 1. Boeotian, Aonta being part of
Bceotia. 2. Belonging to the Muses ; Mount
Hdlicon, and its inspiring fountain, Agarippe,
in Aonia, being sacred to the Muses.
Aorist. [Gr. d6purros, indefinite.] In Gram.,
the tense which leaves undefined the time of the
action denoted by it.
Aorta. [Gr. dopr-fj, deipca, /raise.] The main
trunk of the arterial system, from which every
artery of the body arises, except those which
supply the lungs.
A outrance. [Fr. ] To the uttermost.
Ap. Welsh prefix to names = son of, as in Ap
Thomas, P-rice (Ap Rhys), P-ugh (Ap Hugh).
Apagogical argument. [Gr. diraytayr), in the
sense of a leading 'away, not = abduction in
scientific logic.] Proves indirectly, by proving
that the contradictory is impossible, e.g. Euclid,
bk. iii. 9, 10, II, etc.
Apanage. (Appanage.)
Apantliropy. [Gr. diravOpcciria, from dtr6,from,
&v6p<airos, man.] Aversion to society.
Apateon. [Gr. d-n-arddi, I deceive] (Geol.) One
of the oldest known salamandroid Amphibia
from the coal measures. (Batrachia.)
Apatite. [Gr. dirardw, I deceive.] Native
phosphate of lime, frequently found in greenish
six-sided prisms, and resembling other minerals.
Apaturia. [Gr. dwarovpia, from d = apa, to-
gether, and irarptd ; cf. Adelphi ; Amazons.] An
Athenian festival, denoting the meeting of the
people in their Phratries. (Phratry.)
Apaume. [Fr. paume, palm.'] (Her.) Having
a hand opened, so as to show the whole palm.
A-peek, A-peak, i.e. on peak. (Naut.) When
a ship is directly over her anchor it is A-peek.
Short-stay P. and Long-stay P. when the cable
is in a line with the fore and main stays respec-
tively.
Apellaeans. (Eccl. Hist.') A sect of the second
century, who are said to have maintained that
the body of Christ perished at His ascension.
Apetalous [Gr. d neg., irtra\ov, a leaf]
flowers = having calyx, as anemone, but not
corolla ; or having neither, as in willows.
Aphaeresis. [Gr. dfyatpecrts, a taking away.]
In Gr., the cutting out of a letter or syll. at
the beginning of a word. (Metaplasm.)
Aphaniptera. [Gr. d neg., (paivw, / show,
irrepov, a wing.} (Entom.) Ord. of insects with
no perceptible wings, as fleas.
Aphasia. [Gr. d neg., <t>dcns, a saying.] Loss
of memory for the names of things, which
things are, nevertheless, in themselves as well
understood as before.
Aphelion. [Gr. diro, from, ri\ios, the sun.] The
point of a planet's orbit most distant from the sun.
Aphemia [Gr. d neg., <b~h/J.r), a speaking], i.q.
Aphasia.
Aphid, Aphis. Plant-louse, gen. of Hemi-
pterous insects, with enormous number of spec.
Females parthenogenetic to the ninth generation.
(Parthenogenesis.)
Apalogistic. [Gr. a<p\6yta-Tos, from d neg.,
<p\oyi<a, I set on fire] Burning without flame.
Aphonia. [Gr. d neg., cpcavr], voice.] Loss of
voice.
Aphorism. [Gr. dfyopiir^s, a definition, dw6,
from, Apifa, / mark off by limits.] A short
comprehensive maxim.
Aphrodite. (Anadyomene.)
Aphthae [Gr. afyQai, alterations, thrush,
(?) airrca, I set on fira], or Thrush. A disease,
mostly of infancy, characterized by small white
ulcers on the tongue, palate, and gums.
Aphyllous [Gr. &(pv\\os, from d neg. , <pv\\ov,
a leaf] plants = plants not having leaves ; e.g.
mushroom.
Apiacese. [L. a.pmm, parsley.} (Hot.} Another
name for Umbelliferse.
A piacere. [It.] At pleasure.
Apiary. [L. apiarium, apis, a bee] A place
where bees are kept.
Apices juris non sunt jura. [Leg. L.] Nice
points of law are not laws ; i.e. laws deal with
broad principles, not with minute details.
Apician food. (ApTcius, a notorious epicure
of Rome, in the time of Tiberius.) Expensive,
luxurious.
Apicillary. At or near the apex.
Apiculate. (Bot.} Abruptly pointed. [Api-
culus, dim. coined from L. apex, a point, summit.]
Apiocrinite. [Gr. &TTIOV, a pear, xpivov, a lily. }
(Geol.) A pear-shaped encrinite (q.v.) ; found in
Oolite ; near allies are found in the chalk, and
exist now.
Apis. In Egyptian religion, a bull which was
supposed to represent the god Apis. By the
Greeks it was called Epaphos, and was said to
be the son of lo. (Osiris.)
Aplanetic. [Gr. d neg., irAdi/TjTi/cJs, disposed
to wander.] When light, diverging from a point,
enters a refracting medium having a surface so
formed that the rays converge accurately to a
point, the surface is A.
Aplastic. [Gr. d neg., irAacrtro), I form, shape.]
Not easily moulded.
Aplomb. [Fr., lit. perpendicularity, \ plomb,
according to the plummet] Stability, self-
possession.
Aplustre. [L., Gr. &<P\CUTTOV.] The carved
stem, with its ornaments, of a Roman ship.
APNCE
34
APOT
Apnoea. [Gr. &TTVOM, from 4 neg., rWa>, /
breathe.} A suspension of respiration, in real or
apparent death.
Apocalypse. [Gr. a.TtoK<i\v\l/ts, an unveiling.}
The title of the last of the canonical books of the
New Testament. The term Apocalyptic litera-
ture is applied to works treating of this book.
Apocalyptic writings, The. Portions of
Scripture which teach by visions, like in character
to the Apocalypse ; as Daniel and 2 Esdras.
The A. number is 666 (Rev. xiii.).
Apocarpous pistil. [Gr. forJ, away from,
KopTr6s, fruit.] (Bot.) One in which the carpels
(q.v. ) remain distinct; e.g. ranunculus. (Syn-
oarpous.)
Apocope. [Gr. airoKoirf), a cutting off] ( Gram. )
Loss of the beginning, more often of the end,
of a word. (Metaplasm.)
ApocrMarius. [Gr. a.ir6itpiffis, an answer,
decision.] (Eccl. Hist.) The representative at the
imperial court of a foreign Church or bishop ; at
length = papal nuncio.
Apocrypha. [Gr. a.Tr6Kpv<f>a, things hidden, .]
Claiming to be in the canon, but put away ; or
as " read not publicly, but in secret " (Preface
to A., 1539).
Apocrypha of New Testament. The Pseudo-
Gospels, or Apocryphal Gospels. (Gospels.)
Apode, Apoda. [Gr. &TTOVS, gen. oVoSoj, foot-
less.] A term which has been variously used :
with Cuvier, = the eel family ; with others, =
sand-eels ; with some old authors, the Ophio-
morpha, including Caecilias ; with Mr. Darwin,
one of the orders of Cirripedia ; with others,
again, some worm-like animals linking the worms
to Echinoderms. It has also been applied to
some intestinal worms, etc. Birds of paradise
were so called, when known only by their
skins.
Apodictic. [Gr. airoSewcTi/crfs, aTro-Sei/ccu/iii, /
show forth.] In Aristotle and some moderns,
demonstrative, not empirical, judgment.
Apodosis. (Protasis.)
Apody Cerium. [L., fromGr. cwroSuT^ptoi'.] An
undressing-room in Roman baths.
Apogee. [Gr. rb 071-070101', from air6, from, 777,
the earth.] The point of the moon's orbit furthest
from the earth. When the earth is in aphelion,
the sun is sometimes said to be in A.
Apollinarians. (Eccl.) The followers of
Apollinaris, Bishop of Laodicea, who in the
fourth century maintained that the Logos sup-
plied the place of the human soul in Christ.
The doctrine was denounced by the Council
of Constantinople, A.D. 381.
Apollinaris water. Effervescing mineral water
from Apollinarisberg, on the Rhine, near Bonn.
Apollo. (Phoebus Apollo.)
Apollo Belvidere, i.e. in the Belvidere of the
Vatican. A Greek work, found at Antium, 1503.
Apollyon. [Gr. &iro\\vw, I destroy.] 7"he
destroyer. (Abaddon.)
Apologue. [Gr. ait&\oyos.] A fable, gene-
rally with special application ; e.g. the belly and
the members.
Apology for the Bible, etc. = a defence.
[Gr. airo\oyia., a defence, speech in defence.]
Apologetics, the scientific defence of Christianity ;
cf. I Pet. iii. 15.
Apomuios Zeus. [Gr. 'Air6/j.vios, from and,
from, pvia., a fly.] Averter of flies. (Beelzebub ;
Muiagros.)
Aponeurosis. [Gr.] (Anat.) Expansion of a
muscle into a tendon \ytvpov].
Apopemptic poem. [Gr. a.Troire/j.iiTiK6s, vale-
dictory.] Addressed to one about to leave his
country on a jonrney ; e.g. Horace, Od. i. 3.
Apophthegm. [Gr. a.ir6q>Qtyfi.a..} A terse,
sententious saying ; a maxim.
Apophyge. [Gr. airo<pvy{), a flying off.]
(Arch.) A curve connecting a shaft with a
fillet, either at the top or at the bottom of a
column (Brande and Cox).
Apophysis. [Gr. air6<t>v<ris.] (Anat.) A pro-
cess or prominence of a bone ; e.g. for the in-
sertion of a muscle. (Bot. ) A fleshy tubercle ;
e.g. from which an urn moss grows.
Apoplexy. [Gr. d7ro7rA.rj|fa, from &iroir\-hcrff<i>,
I strike off or dovun.] A sudden extravasation of
blood or serum in the brain, characterized by
loss of sensation and voluntary motion.
Aposidpesis. [Gr.] A figure in Rhetoric, by
which a sentence breaks off abruptly, leaving
the hearer or reader to supply the rest, as, " Quos
ego Sed " (Virgil).
Apostasy. [Gr. airoffraats.] Defection ; fall-
ing away from a faith or an allegiance.
Aposteme. [Gr. a.Tr6ffrri/j.a, an interval.] A
separation of purulent matter, an abscess ; corr.
into Apostume and Imposthume.
Apostil. A marginal to a book or document.
(Fr. apostille, a = ad, and post ilia, sc. verba.J
(Postil.)
Apostle spoon. Of old silver : the handle ending
in the figure of an Apostle ; generally presented
at christenings.
Apostles. (Ndut.) (Knight-heads.)
Apostolical Canons, and (2) Ap. Constitutions.
Two collections (?) Antenicene, authorship
unknown of rules concerning Christian duty,
Church constitution, government, ministry,
worship ; the latter ascetic, and exalting the
priesthood excessively.
Apostolical Majesty, His. A title of the
King of Hungary, who is also called Emperor
of Austria. Pope Sylvester II. so named St.
Stephen, first King of Hungary, after his con-
version ; crowned A.D. 1000.
Apostolic Fathers, i.e. contemporary with, or
living just after, the apostles ; they are five :
Clement of Rome, Barnabas, Hermas, Ignatius,
Polycarp.
Apostolici. (Apotactici.)
Apostrophe. [Gr.] 1. (Rhet.) A sudden
breaking off from the previous method of an
address, in order to address, in the second
person, some person or thing absent or present.
2. (Gram.) The mark (') of a letter or letters
omitted ; as o'clock.
Apotactioi. [Gr. airoriiffffoiMi, I renounce],
Apostolici. A sect of the third century, revived
in the twelfth century ; they professed to renounce
marriage, wealth, etc.
Apothecium. [Gr. oTroflrj/o?. a store-house.]
APOT
3.5
APSE
(Bot.) A flat disc, containing theasci of lichens;
often called a Shield.
Apotheosis. [Gr.] Deification.
Apotome. [Gr.] In Geom., the difference
between two lines represented by numbers, one
or both of which are quadratic surds.
Apozem. [Gr. aw6^ffj.a, from air6, from, off,
fe'o>, I boil.} A decoction.
Appair, v.a. to impair, and v.n. to become
worse. [Fr. a- pire, to worse.]
Appalement. [Fr. palir, to grow pale.} De-
pression, from fear.
Appanage. [L.L. appanagium, an allowance
for bread (panis).] (Feud.) An allowance to the
younger branches of a sovereign's house from the
revenues of the country. A district thus con-
ferred was called panagium.
Apparel. [Preserving the meaning of prepara-
tion in Fr. appareil, appareiller, to make things
matched, pared, L.L. pariculus.] (Naut.) Masts,
yards, sails, ground gear, etc. Apparelled,
fully equipped.
Apparent, Heir. Certain heir, in whom, if
he live, the succession vests absolutely ; opposed
to H. Presumptive, i.e. presumed, in the absence
of A., and dependent upon contingencies.
Apparent time. (Time.)
Apparitor. [L.] 1. An attendant on a Roman
magistrate or judge, to receive orders, etc. 2.
In ecclesiastical courts, an officer who attends in
court, receives the judge's instructions, cites
defendants, sees to the production of witnesses
(see Canon CXXXVIIL).
Appaume. (Apaume.)
Appellant. [L. appellantem, appealing."} (Leg.)
A party appealing from the judgment of an
inferior court. His opposer is Respondent.
Appellate jurisdiction. (Leg.) Power of a
judicial body or a judge to hear appeals from
the decision of inferior courts. In England, the
House of Lords has A. J.,but modified by the
Judicature Act.
Appendiculate. [L. appendix, an addition.}
(Bot. ) Added appendage, or appendicle ; accom-
panying, but not essentially ; e.g. stipules, ten-
drils, hairs, etc.
Appends. [Fr., L.L. appendicium.] A shed,
pent-house, upon columns, or brackets.
Appian Way. Made by Appius Claudius the
censor, A.U.C. 442, from the Porta Capena, at
Rome, through the Pontine Marshes to Capua ;
afterwards extended to Brundusium (Brindisi).
Applegath's machine. The first vertical-
cylindrical printing-machine ; used for the Times
since 1848.
Apple, Prairie. (Bread-root.)
Apples of Sodom. (Sodom, Vine of. )
Applique. [Fr.] In needlework, a pattern cut
out from one foundation, and applied to another.
Appoggiatura. [It. appogiare, to lean upon.}
(Music.) A note of grace or embellishment, leant
upon, and borrowing one-half from the time of
the more important note which it precedes, and
with which it is now very often written as incor-
porated. It differs from the Acciatura [It. acciare,
to mince}, which is simply a grace note, without
any recognized time.
Appraise. [Fr. apprecier, L. pretium, value.}
1. To value goods sold under distress (q.v. ).
2. To praise.
Apprecation. [L. apprecor, / worship.}
Earnest prayer.
Apprehension, Simple. [L. apprehensio, -nem,
a seizing on.} (Log.) The notion of objects as
received by the mind. It is said to be incomplex
when it is of separate objects ; complex when of
objects related to each other.
Apprentice. [Fr. apprendre, to learn.} (Leg.)
Formerly a barrister under sixteen years' stand-
ing ; after which he might be a Serjeant-at-law.
Appropriation. [L. adpropriatio, -nem, from
proprius, proper.} (Eccl.) Perpetual annexa-
tion of a benefice to a corporation sole or aggre-
gate, i.e. a parson, college, etc. Impropriation
[improprius, unsuitable}, the holding by a layman
of the profits of ecclesiastical property.
Appropriation Clauses, The. An expression
common in the discussions in Parliament, 1833-
38, referring to certain proposed methods of
dealing with the Irish Church temporalities.
Approver. In Law, one who, being arraigned
for treason or felony, confesses the indictment,
and takes an oath to reveal all treasons or fe-
lonies known to him as committed by others.
Approximations, Successive. A series of
numbers which approach more and more nearly
to the actual numerical value of a quantity ; thus,
the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of
a circle is expressed more and more nearly by
the following numbers : 3, f, ?f, etc., and these
are S. A. to its actual value.
Appui. [Fr., L.L. appodiare, to support,
podium, an devoted place, a balcony.} A
support.
Appurtenances. (Law.) Things belonging or
appertaining to another thing as principal.
Apres moi (nous) le deluge. [Fr.] After me
(us) the flood.
A primo. [L.] \JA.from the first.
A principle. [L.] From the beginning.
A priori [L.] reasoning is from the former,
i.e. the known fact, principle, law, intuitive con-
ception, to the result ; so from knowledge of
astronomy an eclipse is predicted. A posteriori,
from the latter fact or event, etc., we reason back
to its cause ; as from the fact of an eclipse, to its
cause and explanation.
Apron, or Stomach-piece. (Naut.) A strength-
ening timber, shaped to fit the sides of the
bows, scarfed to the fore dead-wood knee (q.v.),
slanting upwards, and fitting to the stem above
the end of the keel.
A propos de bottes. [Fr.] Lit. in reference to
boots = having no connexion with the matter.
Apsaras. [Skt. apa, L. aqua, wafer.'] The
Nymphs of the Rig Veda.
Apse, Apsis, or Absis. [Gr. tyis, an arch..}
1. (Arch.) The end of the choir of a church,
whether it be circular, polygonal, or even rect-
angular. In the early Christian churches, the
bishop's throne was placed in the apse behind the
altar, and upon the axis of the church. Usually
the word is taken to mean any polygonal termi-
nation of a building. 2. (Astron.) A point in
APSI
ARBI
a planet's orbit where it moves at right angles to
the radius vector ; the apses are the aphelion
and perihelion, and the line joining them is the
line of apsides.
Apsldal. Belonging to an apse.
Apsides, Line of. (Apse.)
Apteral. [Gr. & neg., irrtpAv, a wing.}
(Arch.) A building without lateral columns, and
therefore not peripteral (q.v.).
Apterous. [Gr. fr-irrepos, un-winged.} Wing-
less, as the kiwi, or apteryx of New Zealand,
among birds, and the flea among insects.
Apteryx. [Gr. d neg., irre'pv|, wing.'} (Zool.)
Fam. and gen. of birds, about two feet high, with
brown, hair-like plumage, and rudimentary wings.
Kiwi, New Zealand. Ord. Struthiones.
Aptote. [Gr. &TTTUTOS, not fallen or declined.]
In Gram., a noun without distinction of cases ;
indeclinable.
Apuleius. (Golden ass.)
Apyretio. [Gr. a neg., irvperds, fever.} Free
from fever.
Apyrous. [Gr. &irvpos, from d neg., irvp,fire.}
Incombustible, unsmelted.
Aquafortis. [L., strong water.} Nitric acid. A.
regia, a mixture of one of nitric acid, to two or
more of hydrochloric acid ; royal water, because
dissolving gold, the king of metals. A. Toffana
(prepared by a woman so named), or Aquetta,
little water, a celebrated poison used in Rome
about the end of the seventeenth century ; (?) a
solution of arsenic.
Aqua marina. [L., sea-water. } Aquamarine,
some blue and sea-green varieties of beryl (q.v.}.
Aquam perdere. [L.] To lose time; lit. the
water of the water-clock, Clepsydra (q.v.),
which regulated the length of speeches. .
Aquarius. [L.] The water-bearer ; the eleventh
sign of the Zodiac, through which the sun moves
in January and February. Also, one of the
twelve Zodiacal constellations.
Aquatinta. [L. aqua tincta, water-dyed.} A
mode of etching on copper, producing imitations
of drawings in India ink, bister, and sepia.
Aque. [Cf. Aeon,] A Rhine boat with flat
sides and bottom.
Aqueous humour of the eye occupies the
anterior chamber of the eye, i.e. the space
between the cornea and the front of the lens.
Aqueous rocks. In Geol., rocks derived from
the action of water. These include the whole
series of fossiliferous rocks in all parts of the
world.
AquIlaB. [L. for deTtfytara, parts adorned
with (Gr. aTo) eagles.} (Arch.) The pediment
of a Grecian temple.
Aquila non capit musoas. [L.] An eagle does
not catch Jlies.
AquUegia. [L., water-gatherer, in the hollow
of its leaves.] (Sot. ) Columbine, a gen. nearly
related to aconite ; ord. Ranunculacese.
Aquilo. [L., root ak = sharpness.} The north
wind.
Aquitaine. Old province of France, S. of Brit-
tany and Anjou.
-ar. [Indo-Europ.] 1. Name or part name of
rivers = flowing (?), e.g. Ar-ar, Ar-ay, Ar-bach,
Tam-ar, Aar(?). 2. Celtic = at, on, e.g. Armorici,
on (by) the sea, Armagh, on the plain, Aries
(Ar-laeth), on the marsh.
Arab, Street. A homeless child in a city.
Araba. In Turkey, plain rough cart, or box,
on four wheels, drawn by bullocks.
Arabesque. Properly of an Arabian or
Saracenic style, in which the decorations of
walls consist of fruits, flowers, and foliage,
curiously interlaced. But the term is also ap-
plied to styles more or less resembling it, which
existed long before the rise of the Saracenic.
Arabian Nights' Tales. (Thousand and One
Nights.)
Arabii. An Arabian sect in Origen's time,
who believed the soul to be dissolved with the
body by death, but given back at the resurrection.
Arab'in. Chief constituent in gum-arabic.
Arabo-Tedesco. [It., Arab-German} A term
sometimes used to denote Byzantine art, and the
combination of Moorish and Gothic art in N. Italy.
Araceae, or Aroidece. (Bot.) An ord. of plants,
of which arum is the type gen.
Araohis. [Gr. dneg., pa-xis, a backbone.} (Hot.)
A plant, ord. Legumin., cultivated in warm parts
of America, Asia, Africa ; which matures its
pea-like, oily, edible fruits underground.
American name, Mandubi ; also called Pea-nut
or Monkey-nut,
Araohne. [Gr., a spider.} A Lydian girl,
changed to a spider for vicing with Athena in
weaving ; meton., a good weaver.
Arachnidae. [Gr. apdxv-n, a spider; cf. L.
aranea.] (Zool.) Class of Annulosa or Arthro-
poda, including mites, spiders, and scorpions.
Arasostyle. [Gr. apcu6o-Tv\os, with columns
far apart.} (Arch.} A building, of which the
columns are separated from each other by four
or five diameters.
Araeosystyle. (Arch.} A building in which
the columns are arranged in pairs, with space
of three diameters and a half between the pairs.
Aragonite. (Min.) Prismatic carbonate of
lime ; abundant in a ferruginous clay in Aragon.
Arak, Arrack, Araki, Raki. [Ar. arak =
exudation} A spirit distilled from various sub-
stances fruits, rice, palm sugar ; but principally
from the juice of the Areca palm.
Aramaic languages. The northern branch of
the Semitic family of languages, which includes
the Chaldee and Syriac dialects.
Araneous. [L. araneosus, aranea, a spider ;
cf. Gr. dpdxvrj.] Cobweb-like, e.g. the membrane
enclosing the crystalline humour of the eye.
Arango. [Native name.] A rough carnelian
bead, used in trading with Africans.
Arare lltus. [L.] Lit. to plough the sea-shore;
to labour in vain.
Arbalist. [O.Fr. arbaleste, cross-bow, L.
arcubalista.] Cross-bow formed of a wooden
stock with a bow of steel, and fired by means
of a small lever.
Arbiter bfbendi. [L.] Master of the drinking-
feast. ( Symposiarch. )
Arbiter elegantiarum. [L.] A master of the
ceremonies ; an authority on matters of etiquette
and taste.
ARBO
37
ARCH
Arbor. (Shaft.)
Arbor Dianae. [L. for tree of Diana, i.e. silver.]
Tree-shaped crystals of silver. Similar crystals
of lead are called arbor Saturni [L., tree of
Saturn].
Arboretum. [L.] A place set apart for the
special cultivation of trees [arbores] of different
kinds.
Arborization. A tree-like appearance ; of
blood-vessels, or in minerals, etc.
Arbor vitse. [L.] (Bot.) Thuja, a gen. of trees,
ord. Comferse, allied to the cypress ; evergreens,
with compressed or flattened branchlets.
Arbuscular. Like a shrub or small tree [L.
arbuscula].
Arbutus. [L.] (Bot.) A gen. of evergreen
shrubs, ord. Ericese ; its fruit a rough berry with
five many-seeded cells. A. unedo, the straw-
berry-tree, is a characteristic feature of the rocks
at Killarney.
Arc. [L. arcus, a bow.'] A portion of a
curved line ; as an arc of a circle. Sometimes
called an Arch.
Arcades ambo. [L.] Virgil, Eel. vii. 4, both
Arcadians ; simple shepherds, both of them ;
often used unfavourably, a pair of them.
Arcadia, The Countess of Pembroke's. Sir
Philip Sidney's romance, published A.D. 1590.
Arcadian simplicity, etc. Like that of
Arcadia, in Peloponnesus, mountainous and cen-
tral, therefore not conquered by the Dorians,
nor open to the sea, nor to other states.
Arcana. [Neut. plu. of L. arcanus, hidden.}
Mysteries (q.v.}.
Arcani Discipllna. [L., discipline of the secret. ,]
A name given to a supposed system in the
primitive Church, by which its most important
doctrines were divulged only to a select class ;
called also the Economy, or the principle of
reserve in the communication of religious
doctrine.
Arc-boutant. [Fr. bouter, to set, push.] A
flying buttress.
Arch. [L. arcus, a bow.] In Building, a struc-
ture disposed in a bow-like form, the materials of
which support each other by their mutual pres-
sure. An arch described from a single centre is
semicircular. If from two centres, each at the
spring of the arch, it is equilateral. If the centres
are without the spring, it is an acute-angled
A. If they are within it, it is obtuse-angled.
Arches of three and four centres are lower than
arches described from two centres, and are used
chiefly in the Later Continuous or Perpendicular
work of this country. The Tudor arches are
chiefly of this kind. A segmental A. is one, the
curve of which is less than a semicircle. A
stilted A. is one which starts from a centre or
centres placed above the capital. Foil arches are
those which are foliated in outline without a
rectilineal A. to cover them. Ogee arches are
those which have their sides formed of two con-
trasted curves.
Arch-. [Gr. &px>> / rule.] First or most
prominent.
Archseolitbic. (Prehistoric archaeology.)
Archaeology. [Gr. apxaios, ancient, \6yos }
discourse.] The scientific study of antiquities of
art, etc.
Archaeopteryx [Gr. apxalos, ancient, 7TTepi;, a
wing] macroura [^aKpts, long, ovpd, tail]. (Geol.)
A fossil bird, very rare, about the size of a rook,
with some twenty free caudal vertebra 1 . Oolite
of Solenhofen.
Archaism. [Gr. apxaicr/j.6s, imitation of the
ancients.'] The employment of antiquated words
and phrases.
Arch-chancellor. Under the Empire, an
officer who presided over the secretaries of the
court.
Arch-chemic. A name applied by Milton to
the sun, as having the greatest chemical power.
Arches, Court of Arches. [L. Curia de arciibus.]
(Leg. Eccl.) Court of appeal, whose judge
(dean) used to sit in the Church of St. Mary-le-
Bow (so called from the arcus, arches, bows, on
which the steeple was reared). (Court, Christian.)
Archetype. [Gr. apxtTinros.] 1. The original
idea of the work as it exists in the workman's
mind before its execution. With Plato, the
cosmos as it existed before creation in the Divine
Mind. (Ideas.) 2. In Palaeography, an older
MS. to which extant MSS. can be traced, not
being the original author's MS.
Archil. (Litmus.)
Archilochian verse. The dactylic semipenta-
meter, - w | - - ~ | - ||, much used by
Archilochus of Paros, circ. 700 B.C. ; said to be
the earliest Greek lyrist, and to have invented
iambic verse ; bitter and satirical ; hence "Archi-
lochian bitterness," and " Parian verse " (Horace,
Art. Poet., 79).
Archimago. [As if from a Gr. word apx'^ayos,
meaning chief -wizard] In Spenser's Faery
Queen, an impersonation of Hypocrisy and
Deceit.
Archimandrite. A title of the Greek Church,
equivalent to abbot in the Latin ; the word
mandra, in the language of the Lower Empire,
signifying a monastery.
Archimedean screw (said to have been in-
vented by Archimedes while in Egypt). A pipe,
with one end in water, wound spirally round
a cylinder which is held in an inclined position ;
when the cylinder is made to turn on its axis
water is raised along the pipe. There are several
forms of this machine.
Arching, or Hogging. (Naut.) The falling
of the stem and stern of a vessel when broken-
backed.
Architectonic. [Gr. apx^fKroviKos.] Like or
pertaining to a master builder [apxiTtKraiv]. A.
art, or science, one which organizes all that is
beneath it.
Architrave. (Order.)
Architricllnos. (Symposiarch.)
Archives. [L. archivum, from Gr. a.pxf'tov, a
public building, town hall, etc.] 1. Places for
public records. 2. The records themselves.
Archivist, a keeper of A.
Archivolt. [It. archivolto, vault, arch.] 1.
An arched vault. 2. Renaissance term for the
ornamented band of mouldings round the vous-
soirs (q.v.) of a classical arch ; sometimes the
ARCH
ARGE
mouldings occupying the face and soffits of a
mediaeval arch.
Arch-lute. A double-stringed theorbo (y.v.),
an Italian instrument, with fourteen notes, the
lowest being the bass G, for accompanying bass
voices ; very powerful ; about five feet long ; em-
ployed by Corelli, Handel, etc.
Arch-marshal. [Ger. erz-marschall.] Grand-
marshal of the empire ; a dignity once attached
to the Elector of Saxony.
Archons. [Gr., a ruler.] The chief magis-
trates in ancient Athens, chosen yearly, nine in
number : the first called Eponymos, as giving his
name to the year ; the second, Basileus, king, as
being the high priest ; the third, Polgmarch, ruler
in war, as commanding the army. The other
six were called Thesmothetas, setters forth of the
law.
Archontics. A sect of the second century ; so
called from the Gr. &px'> a ruler, as holding
strange notions respecting the Deity and the
origin of the world.
Arcite. In Chaucer's Knighfs Tale, Emily's
lover, killed by a fall in the lists just as he had
won her hand.
Arcograph. [A word made up from L. arcus,
a bow, and Gr. ypd<p<a, I write.] An instrument
for describing arcs of circles in cases in which
compasses cannot be used.
Arctic Zone. (Zone.)
Arctomys. [Gr. &PKTOS, bear, pvs, mouse.]
(Zool.) Marmot, gen. of Rodent, something like
a rabbit ; several spec, in Europe, Asia, and N.
America, at high altitudes. Fam. Sciuridae,
squirrel- kind.
Arcturus. (Myth.) (Kishis, The Seven. )
Arcuate. In the form of a bow [L. arcus].
Arcuation. [L. arcuatio, -nem, an arching,
arcading.] The bending of branches into the
ground as layers, which take root and become
separate plants.
Arcubalist. (Arbalist.)
-ard. An element in names. 1. Celtic, high ;
e.g. Ard-rossan, Liz-ard. 2. Teutonic, strong
[Goth, hardus, A. S. heard], as in Godd-ard
Bern-ard ; exceeding in, as in slugg-ard, drunk-
ard, dot-ard.
Ardassine. Very fine Persian silk.
Arden, The Forest of. The scene of cheerful
exile and of love-making, in Shakespeare's As
You Like It.
Are. [Fr., L. area, an open space.] One
hundred square metres or 119-6033 square yards.
Area. [L., an open space.] The extent of the
surface of any plane figure ; to find the A. of a
plane figure or of a curved surface (as of a
sphere) is to find the square, or the number
of square units, having the same extent as the
figure or surface.
Aread, Arede. [A.S. aredan, rsed, counsel.]
To declare, direct, explain.
Areca, Areek. A beautiful gen. of palms,
ord. Palmaceae. A. catechu produces the belel-
nut, universally chewed in E. India. (Arak.)
Areek, i.e. on-reek. [A.S. rec, Ger. rauch,
smoke] Reeking.
Arefy. [L. areo, I am dry.] To make dry.
Arena. [L., sand.] 1. The sanded floor of
the amphitheatre ; and so the floor or body of a
public building. 2. (Metaph.) Contest ; place
of contest or debate, etc.
Arendator. [L. I/, arrendo, I pay rent] A
contractor with the Russian Government for
rents of farms.
Areng. A palm of the Indian Archipelago,
yielding sago, and from which the palm wine is
made.
Areola. [Dim. of L. area.] A small space ;
interstice ; variously applied in Bot. and Anat. ;
and, especially, to the coloured ring round the
nipple, or mammilla.
Areolar tissue, formerly called Cellular T.
That which is found investing and forming the
basis of all tissues.
Areolate. Divided into small spaces [L.
areolas].
Areometer. [Gr. apcuos, thin, fifTpov,
measure.] A hydrometer (q.v.).
Areopagltica. (Areopagus.) Milton's speech
for the liberty of unlicensed printing, addressed
to Parliament, 1644.
Areopagus. [Gr. "Apeios irdyos.] A court of
judicature at Athens ; so called as meeting on
the Hill of Ares. Its power was greatly in-
creased by Solon.
Arete. [L. arista, in the sense of 3. fish-bone.]
The narrow ridge of a mountain rock. (Arris.)
Arethusa. (Ortygia.)
Aretine ware. Ancient red pottery of Aretium
(Arezzo) ; made, on the decline of Greek and
Etruscan work, of a darker red and higher finish
than the Samian (q.v.).
Aretinian syllables : Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La,
Si. (Sol fa.)
Aretology. The science of moral virtue
[Gr. ape-H)].
Argala. (Marabou.)
Argali (Mongolia). Wild sheep.
Argan. In Moliere's Le Malade Imaginaire,
the hypochondriacal hero.
Argand lamp. (From M. Argand, the in-
ventor.) A lamp having a ring-shaped burner
covered by a chimney, so that the flame has a
current of air both on the inside and the outside.
Argemone. [Gr. apyentavt].] (Bot.) A small
gen. of plants, natives of Mexico, ord, Papa-
vSraceae. A. mexicana has seeds narcotic, pur-
gative, diuretic, and yielding a valuable oil to
painters. It is often a noxious weed in the
tropics.
Argent. [Fr., from L. argentum, silver.]
(Her. ) White or silver, represented in engrav-
ing by a plain white surface.
Argentan. German silver [L. argentum] ; an
alloy of two parts of copper, one of nickel, one
of tin.
Argenteus Codex. (Codex.)
Argentine. [L. argentum, silver] (Mtn.) 1. A
white variety of crystallized calcareous spar,
laminated, and somewhat siliceous. 2. A white
variety of shale.
Argentine Bepublic. A confederation occu-
pying the valley of the Rio de la Plata, S.
America.
ARGH
39
ARMA
Arghool. An Egyptian wind instrument, a
kind of flute made of a cane or bundle of canes ;
there are different kinds.
Argil. [L. argilla.] Clay, or the pure earth
of clay, trisilicate of alumina.
Argillaceous. (Geol.) Clayey, having the
characteristics of clay [L. argilla]. A. rocks,
having clay as the principal ingredient ; e.g. clay,
shale, loam, marl, etc.
Argillite. [L. argilla, clay.'] Clay-slate.
Argive. In the Iliad, the collective name
of the tribes who followed Agamemnon to the
attack of Troy.
Argo. (Argonauts. )
Argol. The crust deposited inside wine-casks.
It is an impure salt of tartar, and is used in
dyeing, etc.
Argonauta. [Gr. apyovavrns, a sailor in the
Argo.] (Zool.) Paper-nautilus, gen. of mollusc.
Female (poulpe) occupies single-chambered shell,
unattached ; and advances by ejecting jet of
water. Male is smaller (not one inch long), and
has no shell. Ord. Dibranchiata, class Cephalo-
poda.
Argonauts. (Gr. Myth.) The chieftains
who went with Jason in the ship Argo to Col-
chis, to recover the golden fleece of the ram
which had borne away Phrixus and Helle from
Orchomenos.
Argonyn, Argnesyn. One in charge of galley-
slaves.
Argosy. (Probably from the mythical ship
Argo.) A merchant-ship, generally from the
Levant.
Argot. [Fr ] Slang, cant phraseology. Ori-
gin of the word unknown.
Argument. [L. argumentum.] (Log.) The
reasoning involved in the premisses and con-
clusion of a Syllogism.
Argumentum ad hominem. [L. ] An argument
pressed home for personal application. A. ad
ignorantiam, one founded upon your adversary's
ignorance. A. ad vfrecundiam, one addressed
to the sense of shame. A. baciilinum [coined
from L. bacillus, a stick], an appeal to force.
Argus, or Argos Panoptes. [Gr., the bright,
all-seeing one.] In Gr. Myth., the being with a
thousand eyes, guardian of the horned maiden
lo, i.e. the moon ; killed by Hermes, the mes-
senger of the morning. The eyes of Argus are
the stars.
Argute. [L. argutus.] Subtle, acute.
Aria. [It.] The air of a song.
Ariadne. In Gr. Myth., the daughter of
Minos, and wife of Dionysus or Bacchus.
Arians [Arius, Alexandrian priest] denied the
three Persons in the Holy Trinity to be of the
same essence, affirming the Word to be a
creature; condemned by Council of Nice, A.D.
325-
Ariel [Heb. , lion of God, or (?) hearth of God],
i.e. Jerusalem (Isa. xxix.).
Ariel. In Shakespeare's Tempest, a good
spirit who works wonders for Prospero.
Aries, First point of. The vernal equinox
(Equinox). The Ram (Aries) is the constellation
in which the vernal equinox was situated in the
Gr. corr. of Ahri-
[L. hanolus, a sooth-
by melody as distin-
time of Hipparchus ; but now, in consequence
of precession, the bright star of the Ram is about
30 to the east of the first point of Aries.
Arietta. [It.] Dim. of Aria.
Aril, Arillus. [L. L. arilla, a piece of red cloth. ]
(Bot.) A covering to the seed, derived from
expansion of the placenta ; the mace of the
nutmeg. Adj., Arillate.
Arimanes, Areimanios.
man (q.v.).
Ariolation, Hariolation.
sayer.] Soothsaying.
Arioso. [It.] Marked
guished from harmony.
Arista. [L.] (Bot.) The Awn, the pointed
beard issuing from the glume, or floral scales of
grasses ; probably lengthened rib of the envelope
of the flower. Aristate, having an A. [Awn,
(?) a contraction of L. a vena, oats ; or cf. Gr.
> chaff.]
Aristarchian criticism. Bold and severe, like
that of the Alexandrian grammarian, Aristar-
chus, circ. 160 B.C. He edited Homer, and
obelized numerous verses [Gr. 6/3f\6s, a pointed
instrument] ; an horizontal line, , being
used to denote a spurious passage ; hence to
obelize, to mark something censurable in a book
by a dagger t in the margin.
Aristocracy. (Oligarchy.)
Aristogeiton. (Harmodius.)
Aristolochia. [Gr. api<rTo\6xfia and -x ia -]
(Bot.) Birth-wort, a gen. of plants, found mostly
in hot countries ; ord. Aristolochiaceas ; her-
baceous plants or shrubs, often climbing.
Aristology. [Gr. &pi<nov, the dejeuner.] A
facetious word = science of breakfasts or
luncheons.
Aristophanic. In the style of Aristophanes ;
witty and humorous, but highly personal and
somewhat coarse.
Aristotelian. Of or after Aristotle [Gr. 'A/>-
<rroTf\r]s], the great analytical philosopher of
Greece, the first European to systematize logic,
ethics, metaphysics, and to study natural philo-
sophy practically. (Causes.)
Aristotle's lantern, i.e. shaped like a lantern,
and described by A. A unique arrangement,
in the mouth of the globular sea-urchin, of five
three-sided teeth set circularly, which triturate
food.
A rivedersi. [It.] Till -we meet ; (good-bye)
till we again see each other ; so Fr. au revoir ;
Ger. auf wiedersehen.
Ark of the covenant. In the Jewish taber-
nacle, a coffer under the mercy-seat, containing
the golden pot of manna, with Aaron's rod and
the tables of the covenant.
Arkose. (Geol.} Debris of granite, reconstructed
into a rock. [A most unsatisfactory term ; said to
be from a supposed Gr. adv. apuSis, sifficiently,
i.e. to resemble granite ; or from &pKos, another
form of &PKTOS, the north ; because first studied
in Sweden !]
Aries. [A.S. carles.] Earnest money, to
bind a bargain. (Fessen-penny.)
Armada. [Sp., armea.] In Eng. Hist., the
fleet with which Philip II. of Spain proposed to
ARMA
40
ARRA
conquer England. Called by the Spaniards the
" Invincible A."
Armatoli. A Greek national militia, known
in the Middle Ages, and in the war of the Greeks
rising against the Turks.
Armature. [L. armatura.] 1. Body armour.
2. The pieces of soft iron placed at the extremities
or poles of magnets to preserve their magnetic
power. 3. Iron bars used as supports for the
columns or other parts of a building.
Armed. (Her.) Having horns, beak, talons
etc., differing in colour from the body.
Armenian Liturgy. (Liturgy.)
Armenians. Christians of Armenia, the first
country in which Christianity was recognized as
a national religion, in the fourth century ; at a
later time adopted Eutychian (q.v.) or Mono-
physite heresy.
Armeria. (Thrift.)
Armida. The fair enchantress in Tasso's
Jerusalem Delivered (transl. by Fairfax, A.D.
1600), who detained Rinaldo in voluptuous ease.
Her chief means of captivating was a magic
girdle.
Arnuger. [L., bearing weapons.] {Her.) An
esquire ; one having a right to armorial bearings.
Armilla. [L., bracelet] (Ornith.) Circular
mark at base of tibia of birds. Armillated, pro-
vided with an A.
Armillary sphere. [L. armilla, a circidar
ornament, bracelet.] An astronomical instrument,
consisting of a set of concentric rings representing
the meridian of the station, the ecliptic, and a
meridian of celestial longitude, with an auxiliary
circle turning round the points representing the
north and south poles, and carrying the poles of
the ecliptic. It was formerly used, e.g. by Tycho
Brahe, for observations made out of the plane of
the meridian.
Armillus. Jewish name for final Antichrist.
[(?) Gr. 4prjfj.d-\aos, waster of the people, for
pTjjuwT)7s AaoC.J
Arming. (Naut.) Tallow placed on a sound-
ing-lead, to pick up objects from the sea-bottom.
Arming-press. A bookbinder's tool.
Armings. (Naut.) Red cloths, hung fore
and aft on holidays by foreigners.
Arminians. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Arminius, a Dutch divine of the sixteenth cen-
tury, who opposed the doctrine of an absolute
predestination of the elect. They were also
called Remonstrants, from a writing which they
presented in protest against this doctrine to the
States of Holland in 1609.
Armistice. [L.L. armistitium.] A suspension
of hostilities by agreement.
Armorio, or Breyonec. Language of Brittany,
representing the Gadhelic or first great Celtic
branch of the two which came westward across
the Continent. It is still spoken by a million and
a half of French subjects. Armorica = the land
upon the sea (Taylor's Words and Places).
Armour-clad. (Naut.) A ship having her
sides covered with iron or steel plates.
Armourer. 1. One who makes arms. 2.
One who has the care of arms.
Armours. (Top A )
Army Discipline and Eegulation Act. Passed
by Parliament in A.D. 1879, to supersede the
Mutiny Act (q.v. ) and Articles of War (q.v.).
Army Service Corps includes the present
Commissariat, Transport, and Ordnance Store
Departments of the Army.
Arnaa, Arnee, Ami. The Indian buffalo,
nearly seven feet high, black, inhabiting forests
at the base of the Himalayas. Bubalus, Buftalus.
Sub-fam. Bovlnce, fam. Bovidse, ord. Ungulata.
Arnica, Leopard's bane. (Bot.) A gen. of
plants, ord. Compositse. Tincture of A. montana,
used in medicine, as a remedy for bruises. A
handsome perennial, with yellow marigold-like
flowers ; native of mountains of Europe.
Arnoldists. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Arnold of Brescia, who, in the twelfth century,
protested against the abuses of the papal court.
He was burnt at the desire of the English pope,
Adrian IV. (Nicolas Breakspear).
Arnot, Arnut, i.e. Earth-nut. (Pig-nut.)
Arnotto. (Annotta.)
Aroba. [Ar. ar-rub.] The fourth part.
Aroideae. (Araceae.)
Aroint tb.ee. Aroyn.\.=gnawed. [Fr. ronger,
according to Richardson.] Generally considered
=begone, and etym. unknown ; but Skeat, Etym.
Diet., gives Icel. ryma, to make room ; rime ta,
make room, becoming rynt ye by an easy cor-
ruption.
A Eoland for an Oliver. A phrase equivalent
to "Tit for tat," a blow from Eoland being
equal to one from his fellow-paladin Oliver.
(Paladin.)
Aroph, i.e. Aroma philosophorum, one of
several pretentious titles of medicine used by
Paracelsus and others, who pretended to possess
the elixir of life, etc.
Arpeggio. [It., harping.] The playing of
the notes of a chord not together, but in rapid
succession, as on a harp.
Arpent. [L. arepennis, a Gallic word, a half-
acre] The old French acre ; the A. de Paris
was 32,400 French square feet or jj of an English
acre ; the A. des eaux et forets or mesure roya'e
was 48,400 French square feet, or about li
English acres.
Arquebus. [Fr. arquebuse, introduced from
It. archibuso.] The first invented firelock, with
match fixed in cock, and fired by a trigger lifting
the pan to ignite the priming. It was supported
on a rest whilst being fired.
Arquifoux. [Sp. arquifol.] A Cornish kind
of lead-ore, which gives a green varnish to
pottery ; " potter's ore."
Arra. (Arrha.)
Arrack. (Arak.)
Arragonite. (Aragonite.)
Arraigns, Clerk of. [O.Fr. aresner, arraison-
ner, from ad rationem, to account] Assistant or
deputy to the clerk of assize, who calls over the
jury pannel, recites charges, and generally acts
as chief officer of the court.
Arrant, i.q. errant, and so, thorough -going (?) ;
or with Wedgewood, cf. Ger. arg, Dan. arrig,
Eng. arch, mischievous, troublesome.
Arras. Hangings for rooms, covered with a
ARRA
ARTI
pattern like wall paper (first woven at Arras, in
France) .
Arrayer, or Commissary of Musters, Title
given early in the fifteenth century ; a militia
inspector, of which there were two in each
county, perhaps the precursor of the modern
lord-lieutenant.
Arrearage. [Fr. arriere, behind^ The un
paid remainder of a debt.
Arrect. [L. arrectus, part, of arrigo, / set up.}
. Set up straight, attentive.
Arrectary. [L. arrectaria, plu., upright posts.}
An upright beam, e.g. of a cross.
Arrectis auribus. [L.] Lit. with pricked-up
ears ; all attention.
Arrentation. [L.L. arrendo, / let for rent,
Fr. arrenter.] Licensing an owner of forest
land to enclose by low hedges and small ditches
under a yearly rent.
Arreoy. In Tahiti, an association (described by
Cook and by Ellis) of the principal persons of
both sexes, regarded as married to one another ;
connected with almost universal infanticide
(Lubbock, Prehistoric Times, p. 487).
Arreptitious. [L.L. arrepticius, arripio, /
seize.} Seized in mind, possessed, irrational.
Arrest. [O.Fr. arrester, to stop, arrest, L.L.
adrestare.] Confinement of an officer pending
judicial inquiry as to misconduct. He is re-
quired to give up his sword whilst under A. , and
his word of honour is trusted as to not leaving
his quarters.
Arrestation. The act of arresting.
Arrha. [L.] Earnest money ; a law term.
" If but a penny, it is emptionis, venditionis,
contracts argumentum " (Blackstone, Com-
mentaries).
Arride. [L. arridSo, / smile at, please. } To
please.
Arriere. [Fr.] Of an army, the rear. A. ban
(Ban). A. pensee, mental reservation.
Arriere-flef. [Fr.] (Hist.) A feudal term,
answering to the English sub-infeudation (q.v.).
Arris. The edge of a stone, or piece of wood
[Fr. arete].
Arroba. [Sp. and Port. ] Weight and measure.
(Aroba.)
Arrogation. [L. arrogatio, -nem, from ad, to,
rogo, / ask. } Adoption of a person of full age,
[sui juris] ; because the consent of the comitia
curiata at Rome had to be asked.
Arrondissement. [Fr.] A city ward or an
electoral district. (Prefect.)
Arrow-headed writing. (Cuneiform letters.)
Arrow-root. Starch of the tuberous root-stock
of maranta, especially Arundmace'a of W.
Indies. Ord. Marantacese. The native Indians
used it with success against the poison of their
arrows ; hence the name.
Arsenic. [Gr. a.pff(vm6v, strong.} (Min.) A
brittle steel-grey metal. The white arsenic of
commerce is its trioxide, which is also called
arsenious acid, and forms salts called arsenites.
Arsenicismus. Poisoning by arsenic.
Ars est celare artem. [L.] The aim of art
is to hide art, i.e. to leave no trace of the work-
man. (Artis.)
Arshine. A Russian measure of length equal
to 2 ft. 4 in. ; also Arc/line and Arschine.
Arsis and Thesis. [Gr. &pais, a lifting up,
Qeffis, a laying down.} With the old Greek
orchestric musicians, the raising of the foot on
short syllables, and the lowering on long. In
Latin and modern prosody, arsis is = metrical
accent, or "ictus" stroke, i.e. the stroke of the
foot on the ground which marked it ; thesis being
of the weak syllable. But A. and T. having been
used sometimes of metrical scansion, sometimes
of accent or elevation of voice, much difficulty
has arisen. (See Stainer and Barrett, Dictionary
of Musical Terms.)
Ars longa, vita brevis. [L.] Art is enduring,
life is short.
Arson. [L. ardeo, I burn, am on fire.} The
maliciously setting fire to a building ; substantive
to Incendiary.
Ars Poetica. [L.] The poem of Horace on
the "art of poetry."
Art and part. [From artifex et particeps,
contriver and partaker} (Scot, f.aw.) Contriv-
ance and participation in a crime.
Artegal. In Spenser's Faery Queen, the
champion of true justice.
Artemis, Arrows of. Arrows which never
miss their mark. Artemis, in Gr. Myth., is the
sister of Apollo.
Artemisia. (Bot.) Extensive gen. of plants,
ord. Composite, many species intensely bitter ;
e.g. A. absinthium, wormwood.
Arterial system includes all the arteries from
the origin of the aorta to the beginning of the
capillaries.
Arteriotomy. [Gr. aprripla, an artery, rc/iva,
I cut.} The opening of an artery.
Arteritis. Inflammation of an artery.
Artery. [Gr. aprrjpia.] A ramification of the
aorta. Arteries carry the blood from the left ven-
tricle of the heart to the tissues. Veins, most of
them, carry back blood from the capillaries, en-
larging as they proceed, and pour it into the right
auricle of the heart. Arteries, being found void of
blood after death, were anciently considered as
air-ducts ; hence the erroneous notion of the word
being derived from d-fip, air, and Trjpeco / keep.
Artesian wells. [Long known in Artois, L.
Artesia.] Borings or pipe-wells which allow
water to come up to or near the surface in
places where it has accumulated in basin-shaped
strata.
Arthritis. [Gr. ] 1. Inflammation of a joint
\&pQpov}. 2. Gout.
Arthropoda. [Gr. &p6poi>, a joint, irovs, Tro86s,
afoot.} (Annulosa.)
Arthur, King. The great hero of British
tradition, the son of Uther Pendragon, and the
husband of Guenevere whose love for Lancelot
marred the harmony of the society of knights
who feasted at his Round Table. He was slain
by his son Mordred, but the story went that
he would come forth alive in due time to rescue
his country from thraldom.
Articles of War. Certain regulations made by
the sovereign and confirmed annually by Parlia-
ment in the Mutiny Act, for the government of
ARTI
ASCI
all persons subject to military discipline. (Army
Discipline and Begnlation Act.) The same
rules are applied to the army since 1879, but
changed in construction.
Articles, Statute of the Six. (Six Articles.)
Articulata. [L., jointed, from articulus, dim.
of artus, joints, limbs.} (Annulosa.)
Articulation. [L. articulus, dim. of artus, a
joint.} (Anat.) The joinings of bones. (Sot.)
The connexion of the parts of a plant by joints ;
e.g. grasses, canes. (Node.)
Articuli cleri. [L.L.] Statutes relating to
the clergy, passed on their petition.
Articulo mortis, In. [L.] At the point of
death.
Artificial grasses. Green crops, such as clover,
sainfoin, lucerne.
Artillery. [L. ars, artis, used, like machine
Gr. jiijxoH} in the sense of any engine of war.]
I Sam. xx. ; instruments, bows and arrows.
Artillery, Boyal Marine. Formerly a part of
Royal Marine Regiment, now a separate corps.
Artiodactyla. [Gr. &pno?, even, OOKTV\OS,
finger or toe.} (Zoo/.) Division of Ungulata;
having an even number of toes, as the deer.
Artis est celare artem. [L.] It is the pro-
vince of art to conceal art. (Ars.)
Artiste. [Fr.] One who uses knowledge or
power of any kind dexterously ; e.g. as of
dancing, cooking, etc.
Art of war. The efficient arrangement and
ordering of troops under every circumstance,
and the control of all military appliances.
Arundelian marbles. A collection of statues,
inscriptions, etc., brought to England from
Greece in 1627, by the Earl of Arundel, many of
which are now at Oxford. (Parian Chronicle.)
Arnndo. [L., reed.} (Sot.) A gen. of grasses ;
tall, growing in wet places, and with hard,
almost woody, culm. A. dSnajc of S. Europe,
the tallest of European grasses ; six to twelve
feet high ; with thick, hollow, woody culms,
used for reeds of clarionets, fishing-rods, etc.
Arusha. (Erotic.)
Aruspices, Haruspices. [L.] Roman sooth-
sayers, who professed to foretell the future by
examining the entrails of sacrificial victims. The
last part of the word contains the root spec, to see;
the former part may be from haruga, a victim.
Aruspicy. The art of prognosticating. (Aru-
spices.)
Arval Brothers. [L. Fratres Arvales, brothers
of the fields] Amongst the ancient Latins, a
college of twelve priests, dedicated to the service
of Ceres, in whose honour they carried victims
round the fields in the festival hence called
Ambarvalia.
Arvicola. [L. arvum, arable land, colo, 1
inhabit.} (Zool.) Vole, gen. of small rodents, like
rats and mice ; allied to the beaver ; as water-rai
and short-tailed field-mouse. Fam. Muridse.
Arvil supper. A funeral feast in N. of England
Aryan. [Skt. arya, nobte.} General name o:
the family of nations of Europe and Asia to
which the Celts, Teutons, Sclavs, Italians,
Greeks, Persians, and Hindus belong ; = Indo
European.
Aryan languages. The dialects spoken by
he various branches of the Aryan family of
mankind. They are all inflexional that is, the
root and the termination may both be modified
or corrupted, in contrast with the Turanian or
Agglutinative languages, in which the root must
remain unchanged.
As. [L.] 1. Roman copper coin weighing
lalf a Roman ounce, about 0-487 of an avoirdu-
s ounce from B.C. 217 to A.D. 14 about
worth about So". 2. A Roman pound, about
'7375 of an avoirdupois pound ; also called
libra.
Asa dulcis. [L., sweet asa.} A drug sold
among the ancients for its weight in gold, as
tiaving all but miraculous virtues ; from the
Thapsia, a gen. of ord. Umbelliferse.
Asa foetida, or Assa f. [L. , fetid asa.} A drug,
the gum resin of the root of the Narthex or
Ferula Asa foetida of Persia, N.W. India, etc. ;
ord. Umbelliferae.
Asarotos. [Gr.] With the ancients, a room
paved in mosaic, so as to look as if unswept
[olicos acrdpcaros}, and as if with crumbs, etc.,
lying about.
Asbestos. [Gr., unqutnched, indestructible by
fire] A form assumed by some homblendic
minerals, as actinolite, tremolite, etc. ; a fibrous
mass of parallel capillary crystals ; such as
Mountain flax.
Ascarides. [Gr. iffKapis, -ioos, a maw-worm.}
The common round worms inhabiting the in-
testines of man and some other mammals. Ord.
Nematoda [vrj/jiar-do^s, thread-like}, class Scole-
cida [<r/c$A.7), a worm], sub-kingd. Annuloida.
Ascendant. The sign of the Zodiac which is
rising above the horizon at the time of a child's
birth.
Ascension, Bight. The arc of the equinoctial
between a star's declination circle and the first
point of Aries, measured from that point from
west to east.
Ascensum, Per. [L., by ascent] By distilla-
tion in a retort, so that the vapour ascends.
Ascetic. [Gr. ao^K^TtKos, belonging to disci-
pline] One who leads an austere, solitary, de-
votional life ; e.g. Essenes and Therapeutae
among the Jews, and monks of Egyptian and
Syrian deserts in early Christian times.
ASCI. [Gr. affKoi, plu. of d<r/cds, a leathern
bag] (Sot.) Certain spore-cases of lichens and
fungi.
Ascians, Askians. [Gr. Ha-xios, shadeless]
Inhabitants of the Torrid zone, who, when the
sun is in the zenith, cast no shadow.
Ascidians [Gr. affKioiov, a small leather
bottle], Tunlcata. A class of marine Molluscoida,
resembling a double-necked leather bottle, of a
leathery or gristly nature. In A., some have
seen a stage of evolution from Mollusca towards
Vertebrata.
Ascldium. [L.] A petiole or leaf-stalk which
has become leaf-like, and of which the margins
are folded in so as to form a kind of urn or
pitcher, is, if closed, an ascidium [Gr. d<r/'8(oj/,
a small leather bottle] ; if open e.g. the pitcher-
plant an ampulla [L. , a narrow-necked bottle].
ASCI
43
ASPO
Ascites. [Gr.] Dropsy of the abdomen [from
acr/cds, a leather dag, the abdomen].
Asolepiad verse. Metrum Asclepiadeum, in-
vented by Asclepiades, Greek poet, some time
after Alcseus and Sappho. A choriambic verse,
of which there are many variations ; as "Maecenas
atavis," etc. (Horace); "Sic te, diva potens
Cypri " (Horace) ; "Grato, Pyrrha, sub antro "
( Horace) ; and others. (Choriambus.)
Ascraean Poet, The. Hesiod ; born at Ascra,
near Mount Helicon, in Bceotia, circ. B.C. 850.
Aseptic. [Gr. d neg., <r^iro, / make rotten.]
Not liable to decay.
Asgard. In Teut. and Scand. Myth., the abode
of the ^Esir, the gods whose name answers to
the Asuras of the Rig Veda, from the root as,
to breathe, hence to be.
Ashera. [Heb.] The word translated grove,
in the Authorized Version of the Old Testament,
2 Kings xxiii. 7, etc. It answers to the Linga of
Hindus and the Phallos of the Greeks.
Ashes. Commercial name for alkalies such as
pot-ash, wood-ash, etc.
Ashlar, Ashler, Aslure, Estlar. (Arch.) The
name for hewn or squared stones used in building.
Ashtoreth, Astarte. Chief female Phoenician
divinity ; Ashtaroth (plu.), images of A.
Asia, in New Testament, the western part of
Asia Minor, about = Mysia, Lydia, Caria ;
which became a Roman province, Asia Propria,
when Attalus III. left all his dominions to the
Romans, B.C. 133.
Asialia. Deficiency of saliva [Gr. a(a\ov\.
Asianism. A florid style of rhetoric, mostly cul-
tivated in Asia Minor ; opposed to Atticism, the
correct, natural style of the best Athenian orators.
Asiarchs. [Gr. 'A(ncipx a '-] Acts xix. 31 ; offi-
cers chosen annually by the cities of Asm (q.v.) ;
having the charge, and bearing the expense, of
public games, of religious and theatrical
spectacles, etc. ; thus sometimes called "Apx je P f ^-
Asiatic Societies. Of Calcutta, Bombay,
Ceylon, and others, founded in Europe, arose out
of the Calcutta Society formed under Warren
Hastings, at Sir W. Jones's desire, for the
purpose of "inquiring into the history, civil and
natural ; the antiquities, arts, sciences, and
literature of Asia."
Asinego. [Port.] Young ass; simpleton.
Asitia. [Gr.] (Med.) Not in its proper
sense of want of food, but = loathing for food
[d neg. , fflros, food].
Asklepios. (JEsculapian.)
Asleep. (Naut.) Said of a sail just filled
with wind.
Asmodeua. The unclean spirit mentioned in
Tobit iii. The word is a corr. of the
Aeshma-daeva of the Zendavesta.
Asomatous. [Gr. , from d neg., (rcapa, body]
Bodiless, unsubstantial.
Aspalathus. [Gr. aa"ir<i\a.6os.] Ecclus. xxiv. ;
a prickly shrub, yielding fragrant oil.
Aspect. [L. aspectus, appearance.] (Astron.)
The angular distance of one planet or star from
another ; it was either conjunction, opposition,
trine, quadrate (quartile), or sextile, according as
the angle was o, 180, 120, 90, or 60.
Aspectant. [L. aspectare, to gaze at. ] (Her. )
Facing each other.
Aspergilliform. (Bot.) Shaped like a brush
[L. L. aspergillum].
Aspergillum. [L. aspergo, / sprinkle.} A
kind of brush used for sprinkling holy water.
Asperiloliae of Linnaeus. [L. asper, rough,
folium, a leaf\ = Boraginacece.
Aspersion. A sprinkling [L. aspersio, -nem] ;
as distinct from Immersion. (Affusion.)
Aspersively. By way of aspersion, censure,
slander [L. aspergo, I sprinkle, stain].
Aspersorium. (Benitier.)
Asphalt. [Gr. &ff<paX-ros. ] A solid bitumen,
produced by the agency of heat and pressure
upon lignitic and coal-bearing strata ; generally
black, and more or less lustrous ; found at the
Dead Sea, or Lacus Asphaltites ; in Trinidad ;
Texas ; Val Travers and Seyssel, Switzerland ;
and other places.
Asphodel meadows. (Myth.} The meadows
of Elysium, adorned with asphodels, flowers of
the lily kind. (Elysian.)
Asphodelus, Asphodel. [Gr. dcr^tJSeAos.] (Bot.)
the gen. of Liliaceae, having fleshy roots, long
narrow leaves, and a simple or branded scape,
bearing close racemes of white star-like flowers.
A. albus was formerly common in gardens, and
is very ornamental.
Asphyxia. [Gr. a<T<pvia, lack of pulse] (Bot.)
A temporary cessation of respiration and circula-
tion ; often applied to a state arising from air
either vitiated or insufficient.
Aspic. [Gr. aa-nis.] 1. An asp. 2. Savoury
meat jelly, containing pieces of meat, fish, etc.
3. A gun carrying a 12 Ib. shot.
Aspidium. (Bot.) Shield fern ; a gen. of
Ferns, of which common male-fern is the type ;
formerly including ferns in which the dot-like
son were covered by a roundish cover, or, as it
were, shield [Gr. atrirls].
Aspidorhynchus. [Gr. derm's, a shield, /5i/yX*>
a beak, snout.] (Geol.) A gen. of fossil Ganoid
fishes ; with long bony covering to the upper
jaw ; in the Lias and Oolite.
Aspirate. [L. ad, to, spiro, / breathe.] 1.
(Etym.) A mute or momentary consonant, with
a breath immediately following it, as in Irish
tfhoy, for boy. Such consonants are common
in Eastern languages. The chief are k'h, g*h,
fh, d'/i, p'h, b'/i, ch'h, fh. 2. (Surg.) To
evacuate the fluid contents of a cavity, such as
an abscess or the pleural cavity of the chest, by
a hollow needle, or canula, connected with an
exhausted air-chamber.
Aspiration. [L. aspiratio, -nem.] (Etym.) The
change of an unaspirated consonant to an aspirate
(q.v.), as of Se/cojuai to Attic Se'xo/uat (x = kh) ;
or the addition of a breath (an h sound) before a
word that began with a vowel, as in London and
Bucks, e.g.
Asplenium. [Gr. &<nr\rivos, without splem,
for the affections of which it was a supposed
cure.] Spleenwort, a gen. of plants, ord. Ferns,
including asplenium, adiantum nigrum, common
spleenwort, wall-rue (Kuta-muraria), etc.
Asportation. [L. asportatio, a carrying away. ]
ASSA
44
ASSO
(Naut.) The illegal taking away of a ship or
cargo ; removal of goods, essential to larceny.
Assai. A beverage much used on the Amazon,
prepared from the assai palm fruit.
Assapan. (Zool.) Scluropterus volucella.
(Flying squirrel.)
Assart, Essart, [L.L. assartum, from ex, out,
sarrio, I hoe.} The offence of total destruction
of trees or shrubs in a forest.
Assassin. Originally one of a military and
religious order of Ismailites (q.v.), formed in
Persia by Hassan-ben-Sabbah, in the latter part
of the eleventh century, and so called from their
immoderate use of haschish, an intoxicant made
from Indian hemp (Cannabis).
Assassination Plot A plot for a Jacobite
rising in England, together with an invasion
from France, to be followed by the assassina-
tion of William III. ; entrusted to Sir G. Barclay.
Conspirators executed March, 1696.
Assation. Roasting [L. asso, 7 roast].
Assault [O.Fr. assalt, L. assaltus, from ad,
to, saltus, a leaping.} Rapid attack over open
ground on any fortified post.
Assaying. [Fr. essai, a trial, from L.L.
exaglum, a standard -weight, .] The determi-
nation of the quantity of any metal in its ore or
alloy.
Assegai Short spear used by natives of S.
Africa, with a very thin shaft of about five feet in
length and an iron blade secured by a strip of
raw hide. When used for throwing, the blade
is convex on one side and concave on the
other, for the purpose of transmitting a rotary
motion.
Assegai tree. Curtisia faginea a Cape tree
ord. Coruaceae, of which the shafts for javelins
or assegais are made.
Assembly. [Fr. assembler] 1. (Hist.) The
four legislative bodies of the first French Revo-
lution : i. The Constituent A., 1789-91. 2.
The Legislative A., 1792. 3. The Convention,
1792-95. 4. The Corps Legislatif, 1795, which
appointed the Directory. (Consul) 2. (Mil.)
Bugle-call for collecting together the whole of
the officers and soldiers of a regiment.
Assembly, General The highest court of the
Presbyterian Church, having both lay and clerical
elements, and possessing supreme legislative and
judicial authority in all matters purely ecclesi-
astical.
Assembly of Divines, i.q. Westminster A.
(q.v.).
Assentation. [L. assentatio, -nem, assentor,
I flatter.] Insincere, flattering assent.
Asses' Bridge, Pons Asinorum [L.], i.e. the first
difficulty in geometry ; the fifth proposition of
book i. of Euclid, the figure somewhat suggestive
of a bridge.
Asses, Feast of. (Fools, Feast of.)
Assessor. [L. from adsideo, ad, near, sedeo, 7
sit.] 1. A person who sits near judges in court,
to advise them or take part in their decisions. 2.
A valuer of property for taxation or rating.
Assets. [Norm. Fr. assetz, Fr. assez, enough,
from ad, to, satis, enough.} 1. The entire pro-
perty which can be realized for distribution
among creditors. 2. (Leg.} The chargeable
property of a deceased person.
Asseveration. [L. asseveratio, -nem, assevero,
I affirm strongly.} Strong, positive assertion.
Assibilation. [L. ad, to, slbilo, 7 hiss. } The
change of t or d, k (c} or g to a sibilant (s, sh, z,
Fr. /), before a.y, i, or u (v), as in Eng. -shun
or -shon for -tion, Attic cru, thou, for TV.
Assideans [Gr. ' Ao-tSoToi], i Mace. vii. 1 3 ;
i.q. Chasidim [Heb., the pious}. A Jewish party
(? bound by some vows as to external obedience),
brought into prominence at the Maccabaean
rising ; devoted, in after times, to ceremonial.
Assident signs [L. assideo, 7 sit by} of a
disease, are those usually, but not necessarily
and always, concomitant.
Assientos. [Sp., agreements.} (Hist.) Treaties
made by Spain with Portugal, France, and Eng-
land, for supplying her American colonies with
negro slaves from Africa.
Assignats. [L. assignatus, allotted, assigned.}
Paper money issued by the French Government
during the Revolution, on security of unsold
Church property, lands of emigrant nobles, etc.
Assignee, Assign. [L. assignatus.] A person
appointed by or for another, to transact the
business connected with property in place of the
appointer. Lessees are assignees by deed, exe-
cutors and trustees in bankruptcy by law.
Assimilate. [L. assimulo, 7 make like to.}
To change into like substance, as we assimilate
food, etc.
Assimilation. [L. adsimilatio, -nem.] (Etym.)
The process or tendency by which different
sounds in a word come to be pronounced more
like to each other ; as " cubburd " for cup-board
(vide also Sandhi).
Assistant. [L. assisto, 7 assist.} (Mil.) The
officer holding the appointment next under the
deputy to the head of any branch of the army.
Assize [O.Fr. assis, (i) an assembly of judges,
(2) a tax}, is, in Scotland, the jury, fifteen in
criminal cases. The word also denoted formerly
(1) a royal ordinance, as the Assize of Jerusalem ;
(2) an ordinance regulating the price of victuals,
assisa venalium ; (3) Grand A., a jury of sixteen
knights, by whom a writ of right was tried.
Assizement [Norm. Fr. assize, L. assessio, a
sitting by or near.} Inspection of weights and
measures.
Assize of Jerusalem. A code of laws drawn
up in iioo, under Godfrey of Bouillon, for the
administration of the Latin kingdom of Palestine.
Association. [L. adsociare, to join with.} In
Psych., the tendency by which later objects or
states of consciousness recall earlier objects or
states with which they have some connexion.
This principle has been applied by Hartley,
Mackintosh, Bain, and others, to explain our
more complex emotions, and especially what are
termed our moral sentiments.
AssoiL To soil, stain. [L. (?) assolo, post-
class., 7 throw to the ground, solium ; or (?) cf.
souiller, L.L. suculare, to wallow like a pig}
Assoil, AssoiMe. [O.Fr. assoiller, L. absolvere,
to acquit.} Assoilment, acquittal.
Assommoir. [Fr.] A weapon for dealing the
ASSO
45
ASTR
death-blow to animals. Hence, any overwhelm-
ing event.
Assonance. [L. assono, / resound to.~\ Like-
ness of sounds ; e.g. see Mrs. Browning's Dead
Pan. (Alliteration.)
Assuetude. [L. assuetudo.] Custom, habit.
Assument. [L. assumentum, assuo, I sew on.]
A patch, something added on.
Assumpsit. [L., he undertook.] (Leg.) An
action, or a verbal promise, or agreement.
Assumpt. In argument, an assumption ; a
thing granted. [L. assumo, I take to myself.}
Assumptive arms. Those assumed without
sanction of the Heralds' College.
Assurance. [L.L. assecuro, / make safe.} In
Law, a contract for the payment of a certain sum
on the occurrence of a certain event.
Assurgency. [L. assurgo, I rise up.} A rising
upward.
Assurgent. [L. assur-gent-ein, rising up.}
(Her. ) Rising from the sea.
Astacolites. [Gr. doTa<cos, a lobster, \idos, a
stone.} (Geol.) A name formerly given to fossil
remains of the long-tailed or lobster-like Crus-
taceans.
Astacus. [L., Gr. ao-rands, lobster or crab.] 1.
Gen. of insects (Fabric). 2. Gen. of long-tailed
Decapod Crustaceans, as river crayfish ; giving
its name to fam. Astacidse, as lobsters. Sub-
kingd. Anniilosa.
Astarte. 1. A Phoenician goddess, called in
Old Testament, Ashtoreth. (Ostara.) 2. (Zoo/.)
A gen. of bivalve molluscs N. and Arctic Seas
fam. Cyprinidae, class Conchife'ra.
Astatic. [Gr. d neg., 'IffT-npi, place or weigh]
Without weight, imponderable.
Astatic needle. [Gr. d neg., ffTa.Tiico's, causing
to stand.} An instrument formed of two equal
magnetic needles with their poles turned opposite
ways, so that its motion is uninfluenced by the
earth's magnetism.
Asteism. [Gr. do-rei'tr/u^s.] Witty, humorous
conversation ; good-natured banter.
Aster iadae. (Asteroidea.)
Asterisk. [Gr. AarepiffKos, a little star.]
Originally the mark *, by which the early gram-
marians noted omissions, additions, or anything
remarkable in manuscripts. (Aristarchian.)
Asterism. 1. A group of stars, whether form-
ing a constellation or not. 2. A marking with
an Asterisk. [Gr. aoYcpur/ufc, the same in both
meanings.]
Astern, (Naut.) (A-beam.)
Asteroid. (Planetoid.)
Asteroidea. [Gr. do-repoetSijs, star-like.] (Zoo/.)
Ord. of star-fishes, whose arms are an immediate
continuation of the central disc. It contains five
families : Asteriadse [Gr. aareplas, starred], As-
tropectinidae [L. astrum, a star, pectmem, a
comb], OrSastridse, Asterinldse [Gr. dor^p, a
star], Brisingidse ; class fechinodermata. The
name Astriadse is also given by some authorities
to corals with star-like polypes.
Asterolepis. [Gr. airr-fip, a star, \firis, a scale]
(Geol.) Gigantic Ganoids, with star-like mark-
ings on the dermal plates of the head ; in the
Old Red Sandstone.
Asterophyllites, [Gr. lurr^p, sfar, <pv\\ov, leaf,
\iOos, stone.] (Geol.) Fossil plants from coal
formations.
Asthenic diseases. [Gr. d neg., crOevos,
strength.} (Med.) Diseases characterized by
great loss of power.
Astigmatism. [Gr. d neg., <TTiy/j.a, a mark.]
1. The fact that, after reflexion or refraction, the
rays, which before formed a pencil, no longer
pass through a common point. 2. (Med.) A
defect of the eye, which, not having the normal
spherical form, cannot see a lucid point, e.g.
a puncture in a card, as a point [a-rly^a], or
cannot see it continuously, but more or less as an
elongation.
Astolpho. A boastful paladin of Charlemagne,
noted for a magic horn.
Astor, J. Jac. Fur trader, founder of A.
Library, New York ; richest American of his
time ; died 1848.
Astraea. [L., Gr. acrrpaia.] 1. A daughter of
Zeus and Eos, or, as others said, of Themis,
law, who sojourned on earth during the Golden
Age, and was then placed among the stars.
2. (Geol.) Gen. of coral, studded with star-like
polypes.
Astraea Redux. [L.] Astrtza returning; title
of Dryden's poem, celebrating the Restoration.
Astragal (Bead-moulding.)
Astragalus. [Gr. ao-rpayaXos.] (Anal.) The
ankle-bone, one of seven composing the tarsus ;
that on which, through the tibia, the weight of
the body first falls.
Astral. [L. astrum, a star.] Starry ; star-
like ; having to do with the stars.
Astrict. To bind, compel [L. astringo, /
draw tight, p. part, astrictus].
Astringents. [L. astringo, / draw tight.}
Medicines which contract organic fibre, and
diminish excessive discharges.
Astrolabe. [Gr. affTp6\a@os, from &<rrpa, stars,
\a(j.&dvia, I take, receive.] 1. An instrument
closely resembling the armillary sphere (q.v.).
2. A stereographic projection of the sphere on the
equator or on a meridian.
Astrology, Apotelesmatic; Judicial A.; Natural
A. [Gr. aff-rpoXoyia. ] 1. The science of astronomy.
2. More commonly a superstition embodied in
rules by which it was supposed that a man's
fortune could be predicted from the configura-
tion of the heavenly bodies at the time of his
birth ; sometimes called Apotelesmatic [diroTe-
\ffffj.ar'iK6s, belonging to completion] or Judicial
A., to distinguish it from Natural A., which
essayed to trace the dependence of the weather
on the heavenly bodies.
Astronomy, Physical; Plane A.; Spherical A. [Gr.
dcrrpovo/j.la, from &crrpa, stars, ve/j.d>, I class.] Ihe
science which treats of the magnitudes, distances,
arrangements, and motions of the heavenly
bodies ; their constitution and physical condition ;
and their mutual actions on each other, so far as
can be inferred from observed facts. Physical A .
deduces the observed movements of the members
of the solar system, from the general laws of
dynamics and the special law of universal
gravity. Formal, or Plane, or Spherical, A.
ASTR
46
ATMO
treats of the methods and principles of making
and reducing astronomical observations.
AstropheL [Gr. &o-Tpov, a star, <pi\e<a, I love]
A Grecized form of " Phil. Sid.," i.e. Sir Philip
Sidney, in Spenser's elegy.
Astrophic. [Gr. d neg., trrpoifyfj, turning,
stroph.] Not divided into strophe and anti-
strophe, with or without epode ; said of a lyric
poem of continuous rhythm.
Asuras. [SkL, beings.} In the Rig Veda, a
general name for the gods, from the root as, to
be, answering to the Teut. yEsir.
Asylum. [Gr. a<rv\os, safe from violence, from d
neg., ffv\du, I plunder] 1. A sanctuary, place
of refuge ; and so, 2. For the blind, etc., a place
of protection.
Asymptote. [Gr. affiifjarruros, not falling
together.} (Math.) A line which a branch of a
curve continually approaches, but never actually
touches ; commonly a straight line ; but there are
A. curves : thus, certain spirals have A. circles.
Asynartete. [Gr. dcnW/jTrj-ros, not joined
together] (Gram.) Clauses or sentences not
grammatically connected.
Asyndeton. [Gr. aa-vrStTos, not conjoined.]
(Rhet. ) The omission of connecting particles, as
" Veni, vidi, vici ; " the union of clauses by many
such particles being Polysyndeton [iro\vs, many],
a word formed by analogy, the Greek word being
Polysynthe'lon \Tro\vffvv9erov, much compounded],
AtabaL A Moorish tabor, kettledrum.
Atabeks. A title given to rulers of several of
the small principalities into which the empire
of the Seljuk Turks became divided ; eleventh,
twelfth, and thirteenth centuries.
A tactic. [Gr. d neg., TUKTIKOS, able to manage]
Marked by Ataxy ; i.e. (i) irregularity in bodily
functions ; or (2) want of co-ordinating (q.v.)
power in movements.
Ataman. (Hetman.)
Ataraxia. Freedom from mental disturbance
[Gr. dTapa|j'o, from d neg., rapd<r<T<a, I disturb] ;
perfect calmness. The great end aimed at by
Epictetus.
A-taunto, or All a-taunto. (Naut.) The con-
dition of a ship, when the masts are in position
and fully rigged.
Atavism. [L. atavus, an ancestor] In
animals and plants, the reappearance in a
descendant of some ancestral peculiarity. (Be-
version.)
Ataxy. (Atactic.)
Ate. [Gr., mischief, hurt.] In the Iliad, the
spirit of mischievous folly, whom Zeus seizes by
the hair and hurls from Olympus. With the Attic
tragedians, the spirit which exacts vengeance for
bloodshed, and to which even Zeus is compelled
to submit. (Erinyes; Fates.)
-ate, -ite. (Chem.) Terminations denoting
the presence of oxygen, as sulph-ate, sulph-z/V, of
potassium. Each of these salts consists of sulphur,
oxygen, potassium, but a salt in -ate contains
more oxygen than the salt in -ite.
Atelettes. (Hatelettes.)
Atelier. [Fr.] Workshop ; also a studio.
[O.Fr. astelier, L. hastellarius, a place for
making hastellae, splints]
Atellan Fables, i.e. Plays, Atellanae Fabulae,
or Ludi OscL Ancient rustic comedies of Atella,
in Campania ; played as interludes, or after-
pieces, on the Roman stage. A kind of har-
lequin, exciting laughter by his old Oscan dialect,
is probably the prototype of the modern harlequin
or clown.
Ateshaja. The place of 'fire ; i.e. of blue flame
of naphtha, issuing from the soil, about a mile in
diameter, on W. of Caspian Sea ; visited by the
Persian fire-worshippers.
Athanor. [Heb. tannur, an oven.] With
the alchemists, a self-feeding furnace of equable
heat.
Atharva Veda. (Veda.)
Atheling, .ffitheling = heir-apparent or pre-
sumptive. [A.S. .<Ethel, Athel, Ethel = noble ;
and -ing, the usual A.S. patronymic = son]
Athenaeum. [Originally, temple of Athena]
1. A school at Rome, founded by Hadrian. 2.
A literary association. 3. The building used
for it.
Athenian Bee, The. Plato.
Athermanous. [Gr. d neg., (JepjtoiW, / make
warm] Opaque to radiant heat.
Atheroid. In shape like an ear of corn [Gr.
a.O'flPt gen. aOepos],
Atheroma, [Gr.] A tumour having matter
like gruel [dWjpTj].
Athlete. [Gr. dflATjT^js, from &6\os, a contest]
(Gr. Hist.) One who took part in the public
games, especially in the Pentathlon, which con-
sisted of boxing, wrestling, throwing quoits,
leaping, and running. (Palaestra.)
Athwart. (Naut.) Across the line of a ship's
course. A. her hawse (Hawse). A. ship, from
side to side ; in opposition to fore and aft.
Atlantes. [Gr., plu. of Atlas (q.v.}] Greek
columns, shaped like men, as supports of enta-
blatures ; the Romans used the name Telamones
[r \an<iavfs]. (Caryatid.)
Atlantis. An island mentioned by Plato as
having existed in the Atlantic Ocean, beyond the
pillars of Heracles (Hercules), and as having
been submerged by earthquakes. (Thule.)
Atlantis, New. Lord Bacon's imaginary
island, also in the Atlantic, with a philosophical
commonwealth, devoted to art and science.
Atlas. 1. (Myth.) A brother of Prometheus.
He held up the pillars which support the heaven,
and was turned into stone when Perseus held
before him the face of the Gorgon Medusa.
Hence Atlas Mountains, Atlantic Ocean. (Gor-
gons, Promethean.) 2. (Anat. ) The first of the
cervical vertebrae. 3. A kind of Indian silk or
satin, curiously inwrought with gold and silver.
Atmology. [Gr. OT/X^S, vapour, \oyos, dis-
course] The part of meteorology which treats
of aqueous vapours.
Atmolysis. [Gr. arfjuAs, vapour, \vffts, a loos-
ing] The separation of the constituents of a
mixed gas by passage through a porous sub-
stance.
Atmometer. [Gr. arfj.6s, ncrpov, measure.]
An instrument for measuring the rate of
evaporation.
Atmosphere. [Gr. dr/ios, <r<(xupa, a sphere.]
47
ATTR
The pressure of the air per unit of area on the
surface of the earth ; as, a pressure of three
atmospheres, i.e. a pressure three times as great
as that of the atmosphere on the earth, or one
at the rate of about 45 Ibs. per square inch.
Atmospheric dust. (Meteoric dust.)
Atmospheric engine. A primitive sort of
steam pumping-engine ; the piston in the first
place was forced up by steam, and then, the
steam being condensed within the cylinder, was
forced down by atmospheric pressure.
Atmospheric line. The line of an indicator
diagram which would be traced out by the
pencil if the steam pressure within were exactly
balanced by the atmospheric pressure without.
Atmospheric railway. A project for loco-
motion, the movement being produced by
atmospheric pressure against a surface which
has a vacuum on the other side.
Atocha grass. [Sp.] (Esparto.)
Atoll. [Maldive word.] A coral island, con-
sisting of a circular rim, surrounding a circular
piece of salt water.
Atom. [Gr. firo^tos, indivisible.} 1. One of
the ultimate portions into which matter is divi-
sible, and which are assumed to be incapable of
further division. 2. A molecule (q.v.).
Atomic philosophy. [Gr. o neg., T^U-J/W, /
divide.] The theory that all things were made
by the concourse of indivisible, eternal atoms,
[&TOfwi, at] of different shapes ; held chiefly by
the Greeks Leucippus, Democritus (B.C. 460-
361), Epicurus (B.C. 342-270).
Atomic theory. In Physics, every element con-
sists of indivisible particles called atoms, of size
and weight invariable in the same element. The
atomic weight of an element is the weight of one
of its atoms as compared with the weight of an
atom of hydrogen ; this is also called its combin-
ing weight.
Atomy = an atom.
Atonic. [Gr. a neg., rovos, tension.] (Med.)
Marked by atony, i.e. want of energy.
A tort et a travers. [Fr.] At cross pur-
poses.
Atrabilarian, Atrabilious. Melancholy [L.
atra bilis, black choler, an imaginary secretion,
with the ancients].
Atra cura, Post equitem sedet [L.] Black
care sits behind the horseman m knight (Horace) ;
i.e. care attends the great and successful.
AtramentaL Of the nature of ink [L. atra-
mentum].
Atreto-. [Gr. Hrptiros, not perforated] (Anat.)
A-trip. (Naut.) An anchor is A. when it
breaks the ground in weighing. Sails are A.
when ready for trimming. Yards are A. when
in position, and ready to have the stops cut for
crossing. An upper mast is A. when ready for
lowering.
Atrium. [L.] The hall, or principal room
in a Roman house.
Atropa. [Gr. Hrpoiros, inflexible.] (Bot.) A gen.
of plants, ord. Solanacese. A. belladonna [It.,
beautiful lady], the deadly nightshade, is a
tall shrubby plant, with large egg-shaped entire
leaves, dull purple bell-shaped flowers, and
shining black berries ; it is very poisonous, and
is employed in medicine.
Atrophy [Gr. arpo(f>ia, a wasting away] of
:he body ; defective nutrition.
Atropism. (Med.) The state induced by con-
tinual use of Atropa, i.e. of belladonna.
Atropos. [Gr., inflexible.] (Myth.) One of
the three Fates (q.v.).
Attache. [Fr.] One attached to an embassy.
Attachment. [It. attaccare, to fasten.] (Leg.)
1. A writ or precept for apprehension of a
person for contempt of court. 2. An order for
the securing of a debtor's goods or debts due to
him. 3. = Woodmote, the lowest of the three
ancient forest courts.
Attagen. [L., heath-cock, or perhaps god-
wit.] (Frigate-bird.)
Attaghan. (Yataghan.)
Attainder. [Fr. atteindre, from attingere, to
touch.] The status of a criminal condemned to
death ; corruption of blood.
Attar, Otto, TJttar. [Ar. itr, perfume.'} A
strong-smelling essential oil obtained from roses.
Attemperate, adj. [L. attempero, I fit, adjust.]
Properly adapted, proportionate to.
Attenuants. [L. attenuantes, making thin.}
(Med. ) Diluent medicines, rendering the humours
less dense and viscid.
Attestation. [L. attestatio, -nem, testimony.}
In the army, a recruit's voluntary oath of alle-
giance to the sovereign, taken before a justice of
the peace.
Attic Bee. (Athenian Bee.)
Attic faith, Attike pistis. (Punica fides.)
Atticism. [Gr. 'ATTj/rjoytos.] Concise, grace-
ful diction.
Attic salt. Wit, elegance, like that of the
Athenians.
Atticus. A name given to Addison, by Pope,
after A., the intimate friend and correspondent
of Cicero.
Attire. [Ger. zier, adornment.} (Her.) The
horns (of a stag).
Attle. [O.E. adl, ailing.] Mining rubbish,
consisting of valueless pieces of rock.
Attollent [L. attollo, / lift up] muscles, or
Levator muscles [levo, / raise], raise some part ;
e.g. upper eyelid.
Attorneys. (Solicitors.)
Attraction. [L. adtractio, -nem, / draw to-
gether. ] The tendency which each of two bodies
has to make the other approach it. When the
bodies are at sensible distances, there is the A.
of gravitation, or in other cases magnetic and
electrical A. ; at minute or insensible distances
there are cohesive A., capillary A., etc.
(Gravity; Magnetism.)
Attrahent medicine [L. attraho, / draw
towards] draws the fluids to the place where it
is applied.
Attrap. To put trappings upon.
Attribute. [L. attributum, a thing ascribed, a
predicate.] 1. In Art, a distinguishing symbol,
as a trident, of Neptune ; a gridiron, of St.
Giles. 2. (Log.) A quality, furnishing matter
for a predicate ; as the justice of Aristldes.
Attrition. [L. attritio, -nem, attro, I rub
ATYP
AUPI
against.} 1. A wearing away. 2. (Theol.) Grief
for sin, not yet change of heart.
Atypic. [Gr. o neg., TV-ITOS, pattern, type.}
Having lost its typical character.
Atzereth. [Heb.] The name given, in later
times, to the Day of Pentecost ; meaning, pro-
bably, a closing festival ; and originally applied
to the "holy convocation," "the solemn as-
sembly, " held on the day after the week of the
Feast of Tabernacles.
Aubade. [Fr. aube, dawn, L. alba.] 1. Open-
air morning concert ; a kind of huntsup (q.v.).
2. Sometimes, rough music.
Aubaine, Droit d'. In Fr. Law, the right of
the sovereign to succeed to the goods of a
deceased foreigner, not naturalized. Aubain, a
foreigner, in O.Fr. is said to be alibi natus.
Auberge. [Fr.] An inn ; originally herberge,
i.e. a military station, from Ger. heriberge. So
the Ger. herberg has similarly changed meaning
(Littre).
Aubin. [Fr., probably from L. ambulare, to
walk.} An amble ; Canterbury gallop.
Auburn. Oliver Goldsmith's Deserted Village.
Auchenia. [Gr. auxeVios, of or belonging to
the neck (at>x^")-] (Zool.) Gen. of Camelida;,
smaller than true camels. S. America. Two spec,
(llama and alpaca) domesticated, the former in-
troduced into Australia.
Au courant. [Fr.] Lit. keeping up with the
stream with what is passing ; acquainted with it.
Audentes or Audaces fortuna juvat. [L.]
Fortune favours the bold.
Audi alteram pattern. [L.] Hear the other
side.
Audit. [L. auditus, hearing, examination.}
\. Periodical investigation of the accounts of a
firm or society, by or for them. 2. A banquet
in connexion with the above in colleges.
Audita querela. [L.] After listening to the
complaint.
Auditorium. [L., lecture-room, audience.}
The part of a theatre or assembly-room designed
for the audience.
Au fait. [Fr.] Lit to the fact ; conversant
with the circumstances, at home in a subject.
Au fond. [Fr.] At bottom.
Augean. Filthy, like the stables of Augeas,
King of Elis, which Hercules cleansed.
Augite [Gr. currf, a bright light}, or Py-
roxene. (Geol.) A black or green mineral ; one
of the principal in many lavas and dolerites ;
nearly allied to hornblende.
Augment. [L. augmentum.] (Gram.) Syllabic
A., a vowel prefixed to past tenses, as ?-<i/, Skt.
0-bhut, he became. Temporal A., lengthening
of an initial vowel in past tenses, as edit (edo),
Skt. ada (root ad), he has eaten.
Augmentation. [L. augmentum, from augere,
to increase.} (Her.) A charge added to a coat of
arms, as a mark of honour.
Augmentation of moon's semi-diameter. [L.
augmentatio, -nem, an increasing.} The excess of
the angle subtended by the moon's semi-diameter,
as seen by a spectator at any instant, above what
it would be if seen by a spectator at the same
instant in the position occupied by the earth's
centre ; it is this latter angle which is given for
every day of the year in the Nautical Almanac.
Augmentations, Court of, of the king's
revenue ; consisted of a chancellor and thirty-
two other members, with its seal, and full power
to dispose of abbey lands and buildings most
profitably to the king ; A.D. 1538.
Au grand complet. [Fr.] In full muster ;
none wanting ; entire completion.
Augsburg Confession. (Confession of Faith.)
Augsburg Interim. (Interim.)
Augurs. [L. augures.] Roman soothsayers,
who professed to read the future in the flight,
the cries, or the numbers of birds, as seen on the
right hand or the left (Sinister). In so doing
they were said to take the auspices (Aruspicea).
Augurs, The two. (Cato.)
Augusta. [L.] The title of the wife of the
Roman emperor.
Augustan age. The reign of Octavius,
commonly known as Augustus ; rendered illus-
trious by the writings of Virgil, Horace, and
other great poets, and by the labours of great
lawyers in codifying the civil law.
Augustan history. A series of histories of the
Empire, ranging from A.D. 157 to 285.
Augustine, or Austin, Friars. One of the
minor mendicant orders ; first entered England
A.D. 1252 ; famous disputants. Keeping of
Augustines meant the performing an act for M.A.
degree at Oxford. (Orders, Mendicant.)
Augustines, Austin Canons, Black Monks
(wearing a black hood over the white rochet).
A religious order in the Roman Church, follow-
ing the supposed rule of St. A., established or
remodelled in the eleventh century ; their disci-
pline something between monastic and secular.
Augustinians. Divines who, professing to
follow St. Augustine, have held that grace is
absolute rather than conditioned.
Auk. (Alca.)
Aulaeum. [L.] The curtain of a theatre.
Aula Regis. [L.] The court of justice of the
king, i.e. before the king himself ; the origin of all
our courts (Stephen's Blackstone, bk. v. ch. iv.).
Aularian. A member of a hall [L. aula] at
Oxford, as distinguished from a college.
Auld lang syne. Time long past, lang syne
being the Scottish form of long since.
Auld Reekie. Edinburgh, i.e. the old town,
often reeking with dirt and smoke ; cf. Ger.
raiichig, smoky. (Areek; Gardiloo.)
Aulic Council. [Gr. auXiwJj, of the court,
av\-fi.~\ The Reichofsrath, the second chamber
under the Empire ; at first the personal council
of the Emperor Maximilian, 1501. This council
and the Reichskammergericht, or Imperial
Chamber, were the two supreme courts. (Emperor ;
Empire. )
Aulnager. (Alnager.)
Aumbry. (Ambry.)
Au naturel. [Fr.] In its natural state.
Anne. [Fr.] An ell ; of different lengths in
different places ; not in use now. [O.Fr. alne,
L.L. alena ; cf. ulna.]
Au pied de la lettre. [Fr.] To the foot of
letter ; literally.
AURA
49
AUTO
Aura. [L., air.] 1. A supposed electric ema-
nation from a body, forming an atmosphere
round it. 2. (Path.) The sensation of air
breathing or blowing ; e.g. that from below up-
wards, sometimes before an attack of hysteria or
epilepsy.
Aurantlaceae. (Bot.) An ord. of plants, of
which the gen. Citron [Gr. itl-rpov] includes
orange, lime, shaddock, etc. [from Ar. naranj,
Eng. orange, Latinized aurantium].
Aurea Legenda. (Golden Legend.)
Aurella. [L. aurum, gold, from its colour, as
chrysalis, Gr. xpuffaA\fs, from xP^ ff ^ s > g?d-\
(Entom.) 1. Chrysalis ; the gold-coloured pupa
of certain Le'pidopte'ra. 2. Spec, of Lucernarida,
or Umbrella Hydrozoa (sea-blubbers), sub-kingd.
Cselenterata.
Aureole. [Fr., L. aureolus, dim. of aureus,
golden, from aurum.] 1. A golden halo. 2.
The glory round the heads of saints in pictures.
(Nimbus.)
Au reste. [Fr.] As to what remains to be
said ; in L., quod restat.
Aureus. [L.] A Roman coin.
Au revoir. (A rivedersi.)
Auric acid. Sesquioxide of gold [L. aurum].
Its salts are called Aurates.
Auricle. [L. auricula, dim. of auris, an ear.]
1. (Anat.) That part of the ear which projects
from the head. 2. Auricles, two upper cavities
of the heart. 3. (Zool.) Gen. of Pulmoniferous
Gasteropoda (G. with lungs, as the snail).
Malay and Pacific Islands only ; but fossil in
Europe. Fam. Auriculidae, ord. Pulmomfera,
class Gasteropoda.
Auricled. [L. auricula.] Having ear-like
appendages.
Auricular confession. (Eccl.} Lit. confession
made into the ear [L. auricula] of the
priest. One of the seven sacraments of the
Latin Church. The need of such confession was
formally laid down by the Fourth Council of
Lateran, 1215. (Penitence; Penance.)
Auriflamme. The ancient royal banner of
France. The origin of the word is uncertain ;
but some suppose it to be from the L. auri
flamma, a golden flame. It was at first the
banner of the abbey of St. Denis. By some it
is said to have been lost at Agincourt ; others
affirm that it was last seen in the reign of
Charles yil.
Auri pigmentum. (Orpiment.)
Auri sacra fames. [L.] Accursed hunger for
gold.
Aurochs. [Ger. auer-ochs, L. urus, a Celt,
word, Caesar ; the wild ox.] The wild Polish
and Caucasian Bison, six feet high, grey and
brown, with shaggy mane and shoulders. Bos
bonassus, fam. Bovidse, ord. Ungulata.
Aurora. The Latin goddess of the morning,
called by the Greeks Eos. (Eos, Tears of.)
Aurora borealis [L., northern dawn], or
Northern light. An appearance of streams of
light shooting up from the northern horizon ;
probably due to an electrical disturbance in
the upper regions of the atmosphere ; though
most frequent in high latitudes N. or S. It
is seen from time to time in all parts of the
earth.
Aurum musivum. [L.] Mosaic gold, a bi-
sulphide of tin.
Ausculta fill [L., hearken, my sen], or Greater
Bull. Pope Boniface VIII. 's censure of Philip
of France, reasserting the claims of the Lesser
Bull (q. v.) ; burnt publicly at Paris, January,
1302.
Auscultation. [L. auscultatio, -nem, from
ausculto, I listen.] The investigation of disease
by means of hearing, with or without an instru-
ment.
Auspices. (Augurs.)
Auster. [L.] The hot south wind. Austral,
southern. Australasia = S. Asia. (Winds.)
Austrian Netherlands. About the middle of
the eighteenth century, comprised most of Bel-
gium and Luxemburg.
Aut Caesar aut nullus. [L.] Lit. either C&sar
or nobody ; either supreme success or nothing
at all.
Authentic [Gr. av6evTii<6s] = authoritative.
Bishop Watson distinguishes between an A.
work, i.e. containing a true statement of facts ;
and a Genuine, i.e. coming from him whose
name it bears. But this is not accurate. Arch-
bishop Trench (Select Glossary) points out the
true opposite to authentic, warranted, viz. oSeV-
ITOTOS, not owned, anonymous. (Effendi.)
Authentic Doctor, The. Gregory of Rimini,
died A.D. 1357.
Authentic modes. The earlier existing modes
in plain song, on which the Plagal were con-
structed. (Greek modes.)
Authentics. (Rom. Law.) An anonymous
collection of fustinian's novels.
Autocephali. [Gr. avroKetyaXoi, from avrAs,
self, K((pa\-fi, head.] (Eccl.) (i) Metropolitan
bishops not under a patriarch ; also (2) bishops
immediately under a P. and having no M.
Autochthons. [Gr. avroxOoves.] The Greek
name for the aborigines of any country. The
Athenians claimed to be such.
Autocrat. [Gr. avroKpartap.] (Hist.) An
Athenian general, invested with full powers,
like the R. Consul with his imperium. Hence
any despotic sovereign, as the Czar of Russia.
Auto da Fe. [Sp., Act of Faith.] In Spain,
Portugal, and their colonies, a solemn delivery
of heretics by the Inquisition to the civil power,
for punishment.
Autogenous. [Gr. av-r6s, self, yevvdca, I
generate.] (Anat.) Developed from a distinct
centre.
Autography. [Gr. avr6s, self, ypd<po>, I
write.] A process in lithography, by which the
characters on paper are made to inscribe them-
selves on the stone.
Automatic. [Gr. avr6fj.a.ros, self -moving, self-
moved.] Properly, anything which has the power
of regulating its own actions. Applied wrongly
and unfortunately to things which have not this
power. Human actions, as springing from free-
will, are the true automatic actions.
Automatism. Properly free volition. Wrongly
used to denote the modern theory respecting
AUTO
AVOI
actions in which each condition follows on the
last by suggestion and without will.
Automaton. [Gr.] A puppet, called from its
resembling that which is really an automaton, or
self-movtd thing. (Automatic.)
Automedon. [Gr., self -ruling.] In the Iliad,
the charioteer of Achilles. Hence any one
skilled in driving.
Autonomy. [Gr. avrovofj.(a, from avrds, self,
v6fj.os, law.} Self-government of a state.
Autopsy. [Gr. avro^la, from avr6s, self, fyu,
a seeing.} Personal inspection ; often = post-
mortem examination.
Autoschediastical. [Gr. avTocrxf8MMm/e<fa,
from avroffxe Sios, hand to hand, gen. applied to
fight, fray.] Extemporaneous, impromptu.
Autotypography. (Nature-printing.)
Autre-fois acquit. (Leg.) At other time
acquitted ; having been tried already.
Autumnal equinox. (Equinox.)
Auvergne, Arverni. An old province of France,
comprising the departments of Cantal, part of
Haute-Loire, and Puy-de-D6me.
Auxetic. [Gr. aw|rjTi/tJs.] 1. Making to
increase. 2. (Rhet.) Given to amplification
(f.v.) ; in Gr. avfrais.
Auxiliary scales. (Music.)
Auxiliary screw. (Naut.) A vessel rigged
for sailing, and also fitted with a screw-propeller.
Ava. [The native name.] A fermented drink
made from the root of the long pepper by the
South Sea Islanders.
Avalanche. [Fr.] A huge mass of snow
which descends from the higher parts of moun-
tains into their valleys [L. ad vallem, whence
Fr. avaler, to descend],
Avale. To descend, sink. (Avalanche.)
Avalon. (Avilion.)
Avant-projet. [Fr.] Rough draft.
Avanturine. (Geol.) A variety of quartz, re-
flecting light from fine spangles of mica ; re-
sembling A. glass, which is brown-red and
spangled, and was invented accidentally [Fr. par
aventure] by the falling of copper filings into
melted glass.
Avast! [Cf. It.basta, enough ! hold !] (A T aut.)
Hold hard ! stop !
Avatar. [Skt., a descent.] (Hind. Myth.) The
descent or incarnation of a deity for a special
purpose. Thus there are ten avatars of Vishnu.
Avaunt ! = begone ! lit. forward. [Fr. avant,
L. abante.]
Ave ! [L., hailthou /] Short for Ave Maria !
the invocation to the B.V. Mary beginning
thus.
Avebury, Abnry. A village twenty-five miles
north of Salisbury, remarkable as having the
largest so-called druidical temple in Europe.
Ave Caesar! morituri te salutamus. [L.] Lit.
Hail, Caesar ! we, just about to die, greet thee ;
address of gladiators to the Roman emperor
before they fought.
Avellane. (Her.) Composed of four filberts
[L. avellanae] enclosed in their husk.
Avon, or Herb benet. (Bot.) A plant [Fr.
benoite], aromatic, tonic, astringent ; Geum
nrbanum, ord. Rosaceae.
Avenaceous. Having to do with oats [L.
avena].
Avenage. [L. avenagium, from avena, oats.]
Payment of rent by a farmer in oats, i.e. in kind.
Average. [L.L. averagium.] (JVaut.) 1. The
contribution borne by the ship and cargo, or
portions thereof, for anything done to ensure
safety. 2. The quotient obtained by dividing
the sum of a set of numbers by the number of
the numbers.
Avernus. [L.] A bituminous lake in Cam-
pania, with high banks, supposed to be con-
nected with the infernal regions. Hence the
expression of Virgil, " Facilis descensus Averni,"
for the downward course which is not easily
retraced.
Averroism. (Monopsycbism.)
Averse feet. [L. aversus, turned away.] Feet
of birds, when set so far back that the bird sits
upright ; e.g. auks.
Avertin. [Fr., L. averto, / turn away, es-
trange] 1. A form of vertigo, especially a
vertiginous disease of sheep. 2. A popular
term for a crazy, sullen state, breaking out
into occasional fury.
Aviculidae. [L., dim. of avis, bird] Wing-
shells ; fam. of molluscs, properly with wing-like
extensions at the hinge, as pearl oysters. Warm
and tropical seas. Class Conchiffira.
Avignon berries. Yellow berries of the buck- _
thorn, used in dyeing (from Avignon, in France).
Avilion. In the Arthurian legends, the spot
where Arthur was buried. Said to be Glaston-
bury.
A vinculo matrimSnii. [L.] From the bond of
marriage ; a total divorce.
Avis. [Fr.] A notice, advice, i.e. k vis [L. ad
visum], according to the view of him who gives it.
Aviso, Awiso. (Naut.) An advice-boat.
Avizandum. (Scot. Law.) To take time to
consider judgment.
Avocado pear, Alligator P. (Bot.) Persea gratis-
sima, ord. Lauracese ; a tree of the warm parts
of America ; its fruit, which is like a large pear
in shape, and contains a large quantity of firm
buttery pulp, is called Vegetable marrow, or Mid-
shipman's butter.
Avocet. [Fr. avosette, It. avoselta.] (Ornith.)
Spec, of black and white wading bird, about
eighteen inches in length, with long, upcurved
bill. Now rare in Great Britain. Gen. Rd-
curvirostra [L. re-curvus, recurved, rostrum,
beak], fam. Scolopacidae, ord. Grallse.
Avoidance. [L.L. ex-viduare, to empty, whence
Eng. avoid] (Leg.) 1. The period when a
benefice is void of an incumbent ; opp. to
Plenarty. 2. The setting aside an opponent's
pleading by introducing new matter. 3. (Parl.)
A formal mode of dismissing a measure without
decision on its principle, as "that this Bill be
read this day six months."
Avoirdupois [Fr., to have weight] ; also
written Averdupois. The system used in England
for expressing the weight of all heavy articles,
and all metals except gold and silver. The
fundamental unit of mass is the pound avoirdu-
pois. (Pound.)
AVON
AZRA
Avon, Afon. [Celtic, river or water.'} Name
or part of name of many rivers.
Avowry. (Leg.) The plea of one who
justifies the fact of having taken a distress in his
own right when sued in Replevin.
Avulsion. [L. avulsio, -nem, from a, from,
vello, / fear.] (Leg.) Land taken from one
estate and added to another by inundation or
change of a river's course.
Avvooato del diavolo. (Advoeatus dialoli.)
Away there! (Naut.) The mode of giving
an order to a boat's crew on a man-of-war.
A-weather. (Naut.) When the tiller is to
windward, the contrary of A -lee (q.v.).
A-weigh. (Naut.) (A-trip.)
Awn. (Arista.)
Axil, Axilla. [L. axilla, armpit.} (Bot.)
The upper angle formed by the separation of a
leaf from its stem. Adj., Axillary, that which
grows at that angle.
Axillary thermometer. A thermometer placed
under the armpit, sometimes in the mouth or
elsewhere, to ascertain Jhe heat of the body.
Axiom. [Gr. dl/ojjua.] In Geom., a proposition
which it is necessary to take for granted, and
which therefore admits of no demonstration ; as,
" the whole is greater than its parts."
Axis. [L.] (Anat.) The second vertebra of
the neck, upon which the Atlas moves.
Axis ; Major A. ; Minor A. ; A. of a lens ; A. of a
'telescope. [L., axle-tree ; hence the axis of the
earth.} 1. The line within a turning body round
which the rotation takes place, and which remains
at rest during the rotation. 2. A line with refer-
ence to which all the points of a body or curved
line are symmetrically arranged ; as, the axis of
a cylinder, the axis of a parabola. The A. of a
lens is the line passing through the centres of
its surfaces. The A. of a telescope or microscope
is the axis of the object-glass, with which the
axis of the eye-piece should coincide. (For
Major A. and Minor A., vide Ellipse.) 8. (Bot.)
The root and stem of the whole plant. The
plumule and radicle are the axes of growth,
around which all other parts are arranged.
Axis of a crystal. Through any point within
a crystal let planes be drawn parallel to its faces
and cleavage planes ; any three lines of intersec-
tion of these planes are axes of the crystal, pro-
vided they are not in one plane. The positions
of the faces can be determined with reference to
the axes, and if known with reference to one set
of axes, they can be determined with reference
to any other set. In most cases, however, one
particular set is selected and spoken of as the
axes ; thus, if any three intersections are
mutually at right angles, they would be called
the axes of the crystal.
Axle. [L. axis, Gr. S|a>v.] 1. An axis. 2.
A cylindrical shaft on which a wheel or other
body turns, or which turns with the wheel on
the bearings. An axis is a geometrical abstrac-
tion, an axle its concrete realization. (Shaft.)
Axle-box. A peculiarly formed journal-bear-
ing, by which the weight of locomotive engines
or railway carriages is transmitted to the axles,
and within which the axles turn.
Axolotl. [Mexican.] Slredon [Gr. SeipTjScoi/,
siren, q.v} pisciforme [L. piscis, fish, forma,
form]. (Zool.) Tailed Batrachian, retaining or
losing its gills according to circumstances.
Possibly it is the larval stage of a salamander.
It is twelve or fourteen inches long. Mexican
lakes.
Ayah. An Indian native waiting-maid or nurse.
Aye-aye. [Onomatop.] (Zool.) 1. A quad-
rumanous animal, somewhat resembling a large
squirrel, and with its mammae on the abdomen ;
"one of the most extraordinary of the mammalia
now inhabiting the globe " (Wallace) ; classed in
a fam. by itself. Madagascar. Cheiromys
Madagascanensis [Gr. x e 'P> hand, /j.vs, mouse],
sub-ord. Lemuroidea, ord. Primates. 2. I.q.
Ai (q.v.).
Aye, aye, sir (A r attt.) " I understand." As
an answer from a boat, it shows that a com-
missioned officer is in her. The addition of a
ship's name indicates a captain, and of "flag," an
admiral.
Ayegreen. The houseleek [L. sempervivum
(?.).].
Ayrshire Ploughman, The. Robert Burns.
Ayuntamiento. [Sp.] The council of a town
or village ; also called justicia, concejo, cabildo,
regimiento.
Azamoglans. Foreign children brought up
among the Turks as Mohammedans and soldiers.
Azazel. Lev. xvi. 8, 10; transl. scapegoat, but
meaning quite uncertain.
Azi-dahaka. (Zohak.)
Azimuth. [Ar. as-samt, a way or path.]
(Astron.) The arc of the horizon intercepted
between the meridian and a vertical circle drawn
through the centre of a heavenly body ; it may
be reckoned from the north point, but in
northern latitudes it is most convenient to
reckon it from the south point westward from
O up to 360. The Magnetic A. is a similar
arc measured from the magnetic meridian ; it
is, in fact, the bearing of a point from the
magnetic south.
Azimuth and altitude instrument. An instru-
ment consisting of a horizontal circle moving
round a vertical axis in fixed supports, and a
vertical circle moving round a horizontal axis
which is rigidly attached to the former axis. The
vertical circle carries a telescope whose axis
coincides with a diameter. The altitude and
azimuth of a heavenly body can be observed by
it when properly adjusted.
Azimuth compass. A compass furnished with
sights for observing the bearing of points from
the magnetic north or south.
Azoic rocks. [Gr. d neg., o>^, Hfe-l (Geol.)
Non-fossiliferousj destitute of life. This term,
and Hypozoic = under [VTT] life, are obsolete as
systematic terms. (Neozoic.)
Azote. [Gr. a. neg., fa-f], life.}. Nitrogen,
which does not support life.
Azoth. Paracelsus' panacea, or elixir of life.
Azrael. [A Semitic word.] With Jews and
Mohammedans, the angel of death, once visible
to those whom he took away, now invisible, by
reason of Mohammed's prayer.
AZTE
BACK
Aztecs. A dwarfish people of considerable
civilization, in the high-land of Anahuac, in S.
America ; now extinct. Two children, said to
belong to this race, were exhibited in London in
1853 ; but Professor Owen pronounced them to
be dwarfs, probably from S. America.
Azulejo. An enamelled tile. The Moors in-
troduced this kind of work into Spain in the
eighth century ; examples of A. of the thirteenth
century are found in the Alhambra.
ACT line. A coal-tar dye, giving a fine blue
colour with a shade of red in it.
Azure. [Pers. eazur, blue.} (Her.) The blue
colour in coats of arms, represented in engrav-
ing by horizontal lines.
Azure stone. (Lapis lazuli.)
Azurite. 1. (Lapis lazuli.) 2. Blue carbonate
of copper.
Azygous. [Gr. &vyos, not paired.} (Anat.)
Said of muscles, bones, etc. , that are single.
Azymite. One who uses unleavened [Gr.
&&/JLOS] bread in the Eucharist. So the Latins
and others have been termed by the Greek
Church.
B.
B is used as an abbreviation for before, as
B.C., before Christ ; or for bachelor, as B.A.,
Bachelor of Arts. Among the Greeks and
Hebrews, B denoted 2 ; among the Romans, 300,
with a dash over it, 3000. It is also the name of
one of the notes hi the musical scale, answering
to the French Si.
Baal, Bel. [Heb., lord, master.] The Semitic
sun-god, worshipped as the embodiment of mere
power. (Moloch.)
Baalzebub, Baalzebul. (Muiagros.)
Babes or Children in the Wood. Children of
the "Norfolk gentleman" of an old favourite
ballad. Their guardian uncle hired two ruffians
to kill them ; one, relenting, slew the other, and
deserted the children, who, dying in the night,
were covered with leaves by robin redbreast.
(Cf. the "Two Wanderers," in Grimm's House-
hold Stories.)
Babies in the eyes. Reflexions of one's self in
the eyes of another.
Babington's Conspiracy (named from one of
the number). That of some English gentlemen,
with some priests of an English seminary at
Rheims ; one John Savage was hired to kill
Queen Elizabeth, and an insurrection was to be
raised, aided by a Spanish invasion. Fourteen
were executed, September, 1586.
Babism, Babi. Persian pantheistic heresy from
Mohammedanism, founded, A.D. 1843, by Seyud
Mohammed AH of Shiraz.
Bablah bark. [Pers. babul, a mimosa.] The
shell of the fruit of a kind of mimosa, used in
dyeing drab.
Baboon. [Cf. Fr. babouin, from the same root
as Ger. bappe, thick-lipped (Littre).] (Zool.)
Gen. of monkey, with dog-like nose, bare
(frequently bright-coloured) nasal callosities,
generally short tail ; some (as mandrill) very
large. Africa. C^nocephalus, fam. Cyiiopi-
thecidae, ord. Primates.
Baboon, Louis = the French, in Dr. Arbuth-
not's John Bull. (Bull, John.)
Bacca, or Berry. In Bot, = succulent fruit,
having seeds in a pulpy mass ; e.g. gooseberry,
grape, potato-berry ; the hawthorn raspberry
rose, not having true berries. Adj., Baccate,
Baccatcd.
Baccalaureat. The first or lower degree in
any faculty conferred in universities.
Baccarat. A gambling game at cards.
Bacchanalia. [L.] A festival to Bacchus, god
of wine, at which the celebrants were called
bacchanals.
Bacchanalian. Relating to Bacchus or Diony-
sos, a Semitic deity representing the powers of
the Cosmos generally, whose orgiastic worship
was introduced into Greece against strong oppo-
sition from the people. The name Bacchus,
which appears as Bocchus, the title of the Maure-
tanian kings, is a corr. of Malchus, Malek,
Moloch (Brown, Great Dionysiak Myth, ii. 100).
Bacchante. [Fr.] A female worshipper of
Bacchus ; hence a termagant.
Bacchius. [Gr. 0aKx*<os.] In metre, a foot,
- - ; e.g. Ulysses. Anti-bacchius being the
opposite to B., i.e. - - ; e.g. dllecte (q.v.).
Bacchus. (Bacchanalian.)
-bach. [Cymric, little.] Part of names, as
Penmaen-bach.
Bachelor [L.L. baccalarius, from which this
word has been obtained] denotes z.farm servant;
hence, as some have supposed, any young man ;
and so a younger student, or one who has re-
ceived a lower degree in any faculty, e.g. B.A.,
B.D., as distinct from M.A. and D.D. The
word also denotes a lower knighthood, which
some have explained, however, as = bas cheva-
lier (?). The Latinized baccalaureus gave rise to
the notion which explained the word as = baccis
laureis donatus, crowned -with a laurel wreath
(see Littre and Brachet, s.v.).
Bacile, Bacino. [It., basin.} A glazed plate,
of uncertain origin, encrusted upon church walls
in Italy. B. Amatorio, a faience plate, with
a portrait and posy.
Bacillariae. [L. bacillum, dim. of baculum, a
staff".} A small group of Didtdmaceiz. (Desmi-
diaceae.)
Back. [D. bac, a tray or bowl] A large
vessel used in brewing.
Back-bond. (Scot. Law.) A deed of declara-
tion of trust.
Backing, i.q. endorsement. B. a warrant, en-
dorsement by a justice of a warrant granted in
another jurisdiction.
BACK
S3
BALA
Backing and filling. (Naut.) Getting to
windward by sailing and backing alternately,
with a favourable tide, in a channel too narrow
for turning.
Back-lash. The space allowed for play be-
tween the teeth of wheels, to enable them to
work in either direction without wedging them-
selves.
Back-painting. A method of staining the backs
of mezzotinto prints affixed to glass, so as to give
them the appearance of stained glass.
Back-pressure. The resistance offered by the
air and waste steam to the motion of the piston
of a steam-engine.
Back-raking a horse. The removal of hard-
ened faeces by the greased hand and arm.
Backs. Leather made of the strongest oxhides.
Backshish, Bakshish. [Ar.] A gratuity.
Back-sight. In levelling along a line, suppose
the staff to be held at points A, B, C, D, etc.,
successively, the level is first placed between
A and B, then between B and C, then between
C and D, and so on ; in these positions the
surveyor looks back to A, B, C, etc., and for-
ward to B, C, D, etc., and in each case reads
the staff; the former readings are called back-
sights, the latter fore-sights.
Back-staff. An instrument formerly used for
taking the sun's altitude at sea.
Backstays. (Stays.)
Back, To. (Naut.) To go stern first.
Backwardation. (Stockbrok.) Consideration
paid on settling day by bears (q.v.), for carrying
over their bargains. (Continuations.)
Back-water. 1. Water held back by a dam
or other obstruction. 2. Water thrown back by
the turning of a water-wheel, and moving up
stream.
Back water, To. In rowing, to work the oar
the reverse way.
Baconian method = inductive ; Lord Bacon,
although not the inventor, having been first to
lay down rules of experiment and observation.
Bacteria. [Gr. Panr-ripta, a staff,} (Zool.)
Short, staff-shaped, microscopic organisms, of
disputed origin and nature, found in organic
infusions, but not appearing if, after boiling, none
but thoroughly filtered air is admitted. They are
accompanied by thread-like vibriones [L. vibro,
/ vibrate], and are, after an interval, succeeded
by active, single-ciliated, spherical monads, per-
haps the larvue of infusoria (q.v.).
Badaud. [Fr.] idler.
Badenoch. District in Inverness, at foot of
Grampians.
Badger. [Heb. tachash ; Exod. xxv. 5, etc.]
(Bibl. and Zool.) 1. Probably Dugong (q.v.), or,
as some, the badger [cf. L. taxus, Ger. dachs].
2. A licensed dealer in corn, etc.
Badger-bag. (Naut.) He who represents
Neptune when a ship crosses the line.
Badigeon. [Fr., stone-coloured; origin un-
known.] A fine plaster, for filling holes in
statuary.
Badinage. [Fr. badiner, to jest.} Trifling ;
playful talk, " chaff."
Badminton. 1. Outdoor game with battledores
and shuttlecocks. 2. Also a drink, a kind of
claret-cup.
Baffling winds. (Naut.) Shifty W.
Bagala. [Ar., mute.] (Naut.) A high-
Sterned vessel of Muscat, of from 50 to 300 tons,
built rather for carrying than sailing.
Bagasse. [Fr.] (Cane-trash.)
Bagatelle. [Fr., little bundle, O.Fr. bague.]
1. A trifle. 2. A game played on a long
board with nine holes at further end, with balls
and cue.
Bagaudae. A name given to peasants in Gaul,
who rose against the Romans in the third
century.
Bagnes. [Fr.] Hulks, convict prisons.
Bag on a bowline, To. (Naut.) To fall off
one's course.
Bagshot-sand. (B., village in Surrey.) The
lowest series of strata in the Middle Eocene
group of the English Tertiaries.
Baguette. [Fr., a wand.] (Arch.) A small
round moulding. (Bead-moulding.)
Bahadur [Pers.] = worshipful.
Bahr. [Ar., sea.} Lake,' large river, as Bahr
Tubairyeh, the Sea of Tiberias or Lake of
Galilee.
Baidar. (Naut.) An Arctic canoe manned
by six or twelve paddles.
Bailee. One who is in temporary possession
of goods committed to him in trust.
Bailey. [L.L. ballium, Fr. bailie.] A castle
court between the walls surrounding the keep.
In the Old Bailey, London, the name survives
after the castle has disappeared.
Bailie. In Scotland, a municipal magistrate
= alderman.
Bailiwick. [Fr. bailli, bailiff, and Saxon vie
= vicus, street or dwelling. ] The district within
which authority is exercised ; so a county is the
B. of a sheriff, or a particular liberty is the B. of
some lord.
Bairam. The Mohammedan feast which fol-
lows the Ramadan, or month of fasting. Owing
to the use of the lunar months, these periods range
round the whole year in a cycle of thirty -three
years.
Bajaderes. Indian dancing women, who may
be compared with the Ambubaiae.
Bajocco. [It.] A papal copper coin, worth
about a halfpenny ; said to be from bajo, bay-
coloured ; cf. "a brown," slang for a penny or a
halfpenny. No longer current.
Bajulus. [L.] Lit. one who carries anything.
(Eccl.) Bajulus aquse, the bearer of holy -water
in processions.
Baker's dozen. Colloquial for thirteen.
Bal-, Balla-, Bally-. [Gaclhelic baile, an abode.}
In Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, = stockade,
abode, enclosure, as in Bal-moral, Bally-shannon;
cf. bailey [L. ballum, Eng. waif], Taylor,
Words and Phrases.
Bala-. Cymric name or part of name ; effluence
of a stream from a lake, as Bala.
Balance of power. A fictitious diplomatic
phrase, = absence of any specially predominant
power ; disturbance of the status quo in Europe
is said to affect the B. of P.
BALA
54
BAMB
Balance of watch. The part which, by its
motion, regulates the beat.
Balandra. (Naut.) 1. A lighter. 2. A kind
of schooner. 3. A Spanish pleasure-boat.
[Sp. form of Eng. bilander (q.v.), D. bijlander,
Fr. belandre.]
Balanoid. In shape [Gr. elSos] like an acorn
Ba.anus. [Gr. &d\avos, an acorn.~\ Acorn-
shell ; cessile Cirriped Crustacean, affixed by
head to rock, etc., protected by calcareous shell.
Larva (Nauplius) and pupa free. Gives its name
to fam. Balanidse.
Balas ruby. (Ruby.)
Balaustin. [Gr. j8aA.oi;<moi/, wild pomegranate
flower. .] (Bot.) A term applied to pomegranate-
like fruit ; i.e. with leathery rind, and drupes
arranged in cells within.
Balcar. (Balkers.)
Baldachino [It.], Baldachin, Bawdeqnin. A
canopy, originally of rich silk from Baldacco, i.e.
Bagdad ; hence a piece of furniture fixed over
the principal altar of a church or carried over
sacred persons or things ; the modern form of
Ciborium, The most celebrated is at St.
Peter's, Rome.
Balder. The white sun-god of Teut. Myth.
The first syllable of the name is found in Bjel-
bog, the pale or white spirit. (Tschernibog.)
Balderdash. 1. Senseless talk, jargon. 2. A
trashy worthless mixture of liquor. [Accord-
ing to Latham, from Welsh balldorddus, imperfect
utterance ; cf. Gr. ftarTO\oyfw, Qarrapifa, and L.
balbutio.]
Baldric. [L.L. baldrellus.] 1. A girdle used
by feudal warriors. 2. A bell-rope. 8. The
leather strap connecting the clapper with the
crown of the ball. 4. Broad leather belt cross-
ing the body, for suspending the sword from the
right shoulder.
Baldwin's phosphorus. (Phosphorus.)
Bale. [Goth, balwjan, torquere (Richard-
son).] Writhing, misery, calamity. Bale-fire, a
fire signalling alarm.
Bale, Selling under the. Selling goods
unopened, wholesale. [Bale, a package, Fr.
bale, one of the many variants of the word
which in Eng. is ball.}
Baleen. [Fr. baleine, L. balaena, Gr. $d\au/a
and <j>d\ri, Scand. hvalo, and Eng. whale.}
Whalebone, the horny laminae through which
the whale strains its food.
Balinger, or Balangha. (Naut.) 1. A small
sloop. 2. A barge. 3. A small war-ship with-
out forecastle, formerly in use.
Baling-strips. Strips of thin iron for binding
bales.
Balister. A cross-bow. [L.L. balistarius,
i.e. arcus. ] (Arcubalist ; Ballista.)
Balistraria [L.], Arbalestria [L.], Arbalis-
teria [L.]. Narrow apertures in the walls of
a fortress, for the discharge of arrows from the
cross-bow ; often cruciform ; thirteenth, four-
teenth, and fifteenth centuries.
Balk. [A.S. basic.] 1. A strip or ridge of
land purposely left out in ploughing. 2. Spelt
also baulk ; the squared trunk of the fir ; a large
beam of timber ; cf. Ger. balken, a beam.
[Query : Are these two words or only one with
some radical meaning of straightness, whence to
balk = (i) to check, disappoint ; (2) to heap up
in a ridge ? Cf. a billiard ball "in balk."]
Balkers. Watchers on heights for shoals of
herring.
Ballast. [Of doubtful origin.] (Naut.)
Weighty materials, as iron, gravel, casks of
water, carried below to keep a vessel's centre of
gravity down. A ship in B. = laden with B.
only. Shifting of B. is its getting out of its
proper position through rolling.
Ballatoon. (Naut.) A small Indian schooner
without topsails.
Ballerina. [It] A female dancer.
Ballet. [It. palletta, a little ball.} 1. (Her.)
A roundlet or small disc. (Pallet.) 2. A theatrical
representation by means of movements and
dances accompanied by music.
Ball-flower. (Arch.) An ornament shaped
like a globular flower, frequently used in build-
ings of the Geometrical and Continuous styles
of English architecture.
Balling process. The process by which salt-
cake is converted into ball-soda. The furnace
used is called the balling furnace. (Salt-cake ;
Black-ash.)
Ballista, Balista. [L., from Gr. &d\\w, I
throw.} A large military engine, used by the
ancients for throwing stones, etc., as the
Cdtdpulta, a kind of powerful cross-bow [Gr.
Ka.TaTre\Ti)s], was for heavy darts, arrows, etc.
Its construction, of which there were several
varieties, is not very well known.
Ballistics. [From Ballista (q.v.).} The
doctrine of the motion of projectiles in a resisting
medium, such as the air.
Balloen. (Naut.) A Siamese State galley,
shaped as a sea-monster, with from 140 to 200
oars.
Ball-soda. (Black-ash.)
Balluster has been corr. into banister. [It. ba-
lestriera, a loop-hole for (he cross-bow (L. balista);
afterwards applied to the columns themselves.]
Balm, Common. A plant with lemon-scented
leaves and stem, which yield oil of B. ; Melissa
officmalis, ord. Lab. An infusion of B. is a
popular remedy in fevers.
Bal masque. [Fr.] Fancy ball.
Balneum. [L.] Among the Romans, in the
singular, a private bath, as distinguished from
the Balneae, or public baths.
Balsa. S. American float or raft, resting
partly on air-tight skins ; for landing goods
through a heavy surf.
Balsam. [Gr. /3d\<r&./jiov.~\ A vegetable pro-
duct, containing benzoic acid. Balsams of Peru
and of Tolu are S. American balsams, used as
stimulants and expectorants. Canada balsam
and balsam of copaiba (Canada balsam ; Copaiba)
are not true balsams, but oleo-resins.
Balsamo, Jos. A famous charlatan and mes-
merist of the last century ; also called Cagliostro.
Balzarine. A light material of worsted and
cotton for ladies' dresses.
Bambino. [It., a child.} A representation
BAMB
55
BAXX
of the infant Jesus ; sometimes, but not neces-
sarily, wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Bambocciata. [It., from bamboccio, a puppet,
from bambo, an infant (Bambino).] A picture,
generally grotesque, of common rustic life, such
as those of Peter van Lear, seventeenth century,
nicknamed the Cripple [It. il Bamboccio].
Bambusa, Bamboo. Arborescent grasses, Asiatic
and American, having many spec.
Bampton Lectures. Founded by Canon B. ;
a yearly course of eight sermons at St. Mary's,
Oxford, by the Lecturer of the year ; since 1 780.
Ban-. [Gaelic and Erse, white.] Name or
part name of rivers, as Bann, Ban-don.
Ban. 1. [In Slav., master.} Lords of some
frontier provinces were so called ; the Ban
being the Viceroy or Governor of Croatia.
Banat, Bannat, the lordship of a B. (Tabernicus.)
2. [Fr.] A national levy of soldiers in feudal
times. Lever le ban et I'arriere ban, a summons
of the feudal lords and the tenants under them;
arriere ban being a corr. of heribannum, from
Ger. heer, an army.
Ban, Banns. [H.G. bannan, to publish a
decree.] Originally simply a proclamation, as in
Gaelic and modern Welsh ; hence banish, ban-
ditti ; ban in the sense of a curse ; ban, a levy ;
banns of marriage.
Banana. (Plantain.)
Banco. [It.] 1. (Leg.) 2. In Commerce,
Bank money, standard money ; as opposed to
the inferior coinage which may be current ; and
which was received, in early banking times, at
this its intrinsic value only. B. now refers
generally to the Hamburg bank accounts, which
are not represented in corresponding coinage.
Banco, Bane, Sittings in. [L.L. bancus, bench.]
Sittings of a superior court of common law
as a full court.
Band ; Crossed B. ; Direct B. ; Endless B. A
broad leather strap having its ends joined and
passing over two wheels fixefl on parallel shafts,
to communicate the motion of the one to the
other. The term is also applied to cords and
other wrapping connectors. A band is some-
times called an Endless B. , and is either direct,
when its straight parts are parallel, or crossed ;
a direct B. makes the wheels turn in the same,
a crossed B. in opposite, directions.
Bandanna. 1. Peculiar silk handkerchief made
in India. 2. Similar calico printing in England.
Bandeau. [Fr.] A band or fillet, principally
as a head-dress or part of a head-dress.
Banded. (Her. ) Tied with a band.
Bande Noire. [Fr.] German foot-soldiers,
part of the Grand Companies employed by
Louis XII. in his Italian wars: they carried
a black ensign when a favourite general died.
The name was similarly borne by other soldiers,
both French and Italians ; it was given also,
in the first French Revolution, to some societies
which bought confiscated property of the Church,
of emigrants, etc.
Banderol. [Fr. banderolle, from It. bande-
ruola.] Flag about two feet square, for signalling,
and also for marking the points during military
manoeuvres.
Bandfish. Gen. of fish (Cepola), of ribbon-
like form. One spec, colour red, length about
fifteen inches (C. rubescens) [L. , reddening],
British ; most others, Japanese. Fam. Cepo-
lidse, ord. Acanthopte"rygii, sub-class Teleostei.
Bandicoot. [Telinga, pancli-koku, pig-rat.]
Fam. of rat-like insectivorous marsupials.
Australia and islands. Peramelldce [coined
from Gr. Trrjpot, a pouch, L. meles or melis, a
marten or badger],
Banditti, [tt.] Properly, persons put under
a ban and outlawed. But the word has now
much the same meaning as robber. (Ban.)
Ban-dog ; i.e. band-dog ; any large watch-
dog, kept tied up.
Bandoleers. Small wooden cases covered
with leather, for holding the charges of a musket,
and suspended from a shoulder-belt. [Fr. ban-
douliere, from It. bancloliera.]
Bandore, Pandore. [Gr. iravSovpa.] A kind
of lute with twelve wire strings. The word has
been corr. into Banjo.
Bang, Bhang. A narcotic made of the larger
leaves and seed capsules of Indian hemp ; i.q.
Hasch ish . (Assassin. )
Bangle. 1. A plain, or somewhat plain, metal
bracelet. 2. To waste by little and little, to
squander carelessly ; in Dr. Johnson's time a
colloquial word only.
Bangorian Controversy, The. Upon the rela-
tions of civil and ecclesiastical authority, between
Bishop Hoadley of Bangor, and W. Law,
author of Serious Call, with others, A.D. 1717.
Bangor Use. (Use.)
Bania, or Bunnea. [Hind.] A money-le ider,
banker.
Banian. A merchant class among the Hindus ;
mostly very strict in observance of fasts : hence
"Banian days," in nautical slang, days on
which meat is not served.
Banjo-frames. (Naut.} Frames by which
screw-propellers are raised on deck, and in
which they work.
Banked fires. (Naut.} Fires draw i forward,
and covered with ashes, so as just t > keep the
water in the boilers hot.
Banker. (Naut.) A vessel emp oyed on the
Newfoundland Bank, i.e. in cod-fi ,ajry.
Bank Holidays. Easter Monda -, Monday in
Whitsun week, first Monday in August, and
December 26.
Bank money. (Banco.)
Bank rate. The variable rate at which the
Bank of England advances money.
Bank stock. Shares in the property of a bank,
especially Bank of England.
Ban lieue. [L.L. banleuca, ban (q.v.), and
leuca, Celtic, a league, an indefinite amount of
territory] Land outside the walls of a town,
but subject to its law.
Bannatyne Club. Instituted 1823, by Sir W.
Scott ; its object the printing in a uniform
manner of rare works of Scottish history,
topography, poetry, etc. Geo. B., antiquary,
collector of " Ancient Scottish Poems," 1508.
Bannerer. In mediaeval times, bore the
banner of the city of London in war.
BANN
BARD
Banneret. A feudal lord who led his men to
battle under his own banner. The privilege of
so leading them was often awarded on the
battle-field to those who had there distinguished
themselves.
Bannering. Beating the bounds [L. L. banna].
Banner ole. (Banderol)
Bannlmus. [L.L., we banish. ,] Form of ex-
pulsion from Oxford University.
Bannock. In Scotland, a home-made cake,
generally of pease-meal, or pease and barley
mixed, baked on a girdle, i.e. circular iron plate.
Banquette. [Fr., a bench, dim. of banque, a
bank, from It. banca.] (Fortif.) Low bank of
earth, placed on the inside at a suitable height,
to enable the defenders to fire over the parapet.
Banshie. In Irish Myth., a phantom in female
form, supposed to announce the approaching
death of living persons, and answering to the
Grey spectre or Bodach Glas of Scotland (Scott,
Waverley, ch. xxx.).
Banstickle. Spec, of stickleback, three-spined.
Gastferosteas [Gr. ycurrfip, belly, otrreov, bone],
fam. Gastgrosteidae, ord. Acanthopterygii, sub-
class Teleostei. (Stickleback.)
Bantine Table. [L. Tabula Bantma.] A
bronze tablet, with an Oscan inscription of thirty-
three lines, found A.D. 1793, near Bantia, in
Apulia.
Banting. One who diets himself to prevent
fatness, or the diet of such, from W. Banting,
notorious (A.D. 1863) for having thus become
thin.
Bantling. [Probably = handling, an infant
in swaddling clothes.] A child ; melon., an
author's pet work.
Banyan tree of India. Ficus IndTca, ord.
tirtlcacese ; a native of most parts of India.
Baobab, or Adansonia digitata (Adanson, Fr.
naturalist). Monkey -Bread, Sour Gourd, an ex-
traordinary tree of Trop. Africa, nat. ord. Bom-
bacese ; the only spec, known ; in Humboldt's
opinion, ' ' the oldest organic monument of our
planet."
Bapbic. Belonging to dyes or dyeing
[Gr. jSo^i].
Baphomet. [Corr. of Mahomet.] Some kind
of figure or symbol, which the Templars were
accused of using in magical rites.
Baptistery. [Gr. PaimffT-fipiov.] 1. A part of
a church, or a separate building, for baptism by
immersion. 2. A canopied enclosure containing
the font.
Bar. (JFfer.) An ordinary bounded by two
horizontal lines drawn across an escutcheon, so as
to contain one-fifth part of it. In popular
language, Bar sinister = Baton (q.v.).
Bar, Confederation of. An unsuccessful asso-
ciation of some Polish nobles, formed at Bar,
1767, for the purpose of freeing their country
from foreign influence.
Bar, Trial at. Trial before the judges' of the
superior court instead of at nisi prius (q.v.),
generally before a special jury.
Baragouin. [Fr.] Jargon, gibberish ; origin-
ally the Bas-Breton language, of which the words
bara, bread, and gwin, wine, occurred most
frequently in conversations between the Bas-
Bretons and the French (Littre, Brachet).
Barataria. Sancho Panza's island-city, in
Don Quixote. [Sp. barato, cheap.~\
Barb. An Arabian or Barbary horse.
Barba. [L., beard.} (Bot.) A sort of down
found on the leaves of some plants. Barbate,
having a B.
Barbados leg. (Elephantiasis.)
Barbarian. A word used by the Greeks to
designate all who were not Greeks. It represents
the Skt. varvara, applied by the Aryan invaders
of India to the negro-like aboriginal inhabitants
whom they found there. Another Greek form
of the word is Belleros. (Bellerophon's letters.)
Max Miiller, Chips, vol. ii. Bellerofhon.
Barbecue. A beast, especially hog, stuffed
and roasted whole. [ (?) Fr. barbe a queue, snout
to tail.}
Barbed horse. [Fr., L. barba, a beard.} Com-
pletely equipped with armour. Barb means a
hooked point, armour for horses.
Barbel. [O.Fr.. L. barbellus, dim. of barbus,
id., from barba, a beard.} Numerous gen. of fish,
with four barbules, two at tip of nose, two at
corners of mouth. Europe, Asia, Africa ; one
spec. British. Barbus, fam. Cyprlnidse, ord.
Physostomi, sub-class Teleostei.
Barberini vase. (Portland vase.)
Barberry. [Ar. barbaris, L.L. berberis vul-
garis.] 1. Ord. Berberideae ; a British shrub
with racemes of yellow flowers ; the fruit is used
as a preserve. 2. Another kind, B. aquifbllum,
is the well-known plant of English shrubberies.
Barber-surgeons. Corporations with certain
privileges, from Edward IV.'s time, 1461, till
1 8 George II. dissolved the connexion. The
barber's pole still represents the ribbon wound
round the arm before blood-letting.
Barbet. [Fr., dim. of barbe, beard.} 1. The
poodle dog, especially the small breed. 2.
(Bucconidae.)
Barbette. [Fr., barbe, beard, parce que le
canon fait la barbe, rase 1'epaulement (Littre).]
Elevation of earth placed in salient works of a
fortification to give guns freer range, by being
fired without embrasures.
Barbican. Masonry fortification, formerly
used to protect the drawbridge leading into a
town ; also as a watch-tower. [Fr. barbacane,
Ar. barbak-khaneh, a rampart ; introduced, like
many other military words, by the Crusaders.]
Barbiton. [Gr. frapfKros and -ov.} Some
kind of lyre, seven-stringed, used by the ancient
Greeks.
Barca-longa. [Sp.] 1. A Spanish coasting
lugger, undecked and pole-masted, and fitted
with sweeps for rowing. 2. A Spanish gun -boat.
Barcarolle, Barquerolle. [Fr. barque, a bark.}
Song of Venetian gondoliers, or one of the same
character.
Barcone. A short lighter ; Mediterranean.
Bard. [L.L. bardae.] Horse-trapping, armour.
Bardesanites. In Eccl. Hist., the followers of
Bardesanes, in the second century, who regarded
the devil as a self-existent being. (Ahriman.)
Bards. .(Minstrels.)
BARE
57
BARO
Bare-bone. Lean, so that the bones show.
Barebone's Parliament, (Hist.) A nickname
for the council summoned by Cromwell, 1653,
from Praise-God Barebone, one of the members.
Bareges [Bareges, H. Pyrenees], or Crepe de
Bareges. Mixed tissues for dresses, usually of
silk and worsted ; made really at Bagneres.
Bare poles, Under. (Naut.) With no sails
set.
Barge [see Bark; L.L. barga], Captain's,
or Admiral's. A man-of-war's boat for the
use of those officers. State ., a large boat
sumptuously fitted. 7'radtng B. (variously
named) is flat-bottomed, and usually fitted with
a spritsail and a mast to lower ;-used on rivers
and canals. Also an east-country vessel pecu-
liarly constructed. Bread-B., the bread or
biscuit tray or basket.
Bargeboard. Probably = Verge '-board ; the
ornamental woodwork carried round under a
gable roof.
Barguest. [Guest, another form of ghost,
Ger. geist.] A horrible goblin, toothed and
clawed, in the N. of England ; supposed to
shriek at night.
Barilla. [Sp.] Impure carbonate of soda,
alkali produced by burning salsola (q.v.}.
Barium. [Gr. fiapts, aeavy.] A malleable
yellowish-white metal, the basis of the alkaline
earth baryta.
Bark. (Cinchona tree.)
Bark, or Barque. (Barque.)
Barkantine, or Barquantine. A three-masted
vessel, carrying only fore-and-aft sails on her
main and mizzen.
Bark-bound. Having the bark too firm or
close for healthy growth.
Barker's mill. An elementary kind of turbine.
It is capable of rotation round the axis of a
vertical tube having two horizontal tubes or
arms at the lower end, the whole being like an
inverted T ; there are openings in the horizontal
tubes near their ends, but on opposite sides ;
water flows down the vertical tube and comes
out at these holes in two horizontal jets ; the
reactions of the jets form a couple which causes
the mill to turn in a direction opposite to the
jets.
Barking smack. A smack hailing from Barking
Creek, in Essex.
Barlaam and Josaphat. A very popular me-
diaeval religious romance, in which the hermit
B. converts the Indian Prince J. Originally
Sanskrit, but transl. into many languages.
Barlaamites. (Eccl. Hist.) Followers of
Barlaam, a Latin monk of fourteenth century ;
known chiefly from their controversy with the
Quietist monks of Mount Athos (Gibbon, Roman
Empire, ch. Ixiii.).
Barley. Pot B., of which the husk only has
been removed : Pearl B., of which the pellicle
also has been removed, and the seed rounded.
Barley-corn, John, or Sir J. A humorous
personification of malt liquor; from an old tract,
The Arraigning and Indicting of Sir J. B., Kt.
Barley-mow. A heap of stored barley. (Mow.)
Barmecide feast = unreal, imaginary : such as
the Barmecide prince first set before the hungry
Schacabac in the Arabian Nights' Talcs.
Barmote, Barrmote, Barghmote, Berghmote.
[A.S. berg, hill, gemote, assembly. \ A Derby-
shire court for miners.
Barnabee. Popular name for the lady-bird.
Barnack stone. (Bath-stone.)
Barnacle goose. Spec, of goose, about two
feet long, plumage black, white, and grey.
Temperate regions. Gen. Barnicla, fain.
Anatidse, ord. Anseres (Lepas.) They were
supposed to be produced from shells found on
certain trees in Scotland and elsewhere. This
absurd notion rose from a confusion of the name
with that of the cirriped Barnacle, the bird being
originally called Hlbernicula, as being found in
Hibernia (Ireland), then Bernicula, and lastly
Barnacle (Max M tiller, Lectures on Language).
Barnacles. 1. [From the likeness to spectacles.]
Pincers enclosing the muzzle of a horse, to keep
him quiet for any slight operation ; the Twitch
(q.v.} is better. 2. Spectacles ; (?) a corr. of
binocle, as binnacle also is ; or (?) connected
with obsolete bernlein, of the same meaning ;
and this with beryllus.
Barometer; Aneroid B.; Marine B. ; Mountain
B, ; Siphon B. ; Wheel B. [Gr. ySapos, weight, /ueV-
pov, measure.} An instrument for measuring the
pressure of the atmosphere. It consists of a tube
containing mercury, about thirty-four inches long,
held in a vertical position, with its open end dipping
into a basin of mercury ; the space within the
upper part of the tube being a vacuum, the height
of the column above the surface of the mercury in
the basin is an exact measure of the atmospheric
pressure. In the Siphon B. the lower end of the
tube is bent up, instead of clipping into a basin of
mercury. In the Wheel B. the motion of the
mercurial column, due to changes in the atmo-
spheric pressure, is communicated to a hand which
shows the variations on an enlarged scale. The
Marine B. is a barometer hung on gimbals, and
otherwise protected from disturbance caused by
the ship's motion, firing of guns, etc. The Moun-
tain B. is adapted for being carried from place
to place by travellers ; from the readings of a
barometer at two stations, the vertical height of
the one above the other can be inferred, since,
all other circumstances being the same, the
weight of a column of air of that vertical height
equals the difference between the weights of the
barometric columns at the two stations. In an
Aneroid B. {q.v.} the variations in the pressure of
the air are measured by the movements of the
elastic top of a small box, which are com-
municated to a hand like the hand of a clock.
Barometz fern. [Russ. boranez, little la?nb.]
Scythian lamb; the prostrate hairy rhizome of
the Dicksonia barometz, whose appearance has
given rise to many fabulous stories.
Baron. (Hist.) Lit. the man of the liege
lord or king. This title displaced that of Thane
in this country on the full establishment of the
Feudal system after the Norman Conquest, the
Ceorls and Thralls being now known as Freemen
and Villeins.
Baron and Feme, or Femme. 1. In Norm.
BARO
BARY
Fr. Law, = man and wife. 2. (Her.) Husband
and wife. When one shield bears the husband's
arms on the dexter side and the wife's arms on
the sinister side, it is said to be parted per pale,
baron and feme.
Baron of beef. A double sirloin.
Barony, in Ireland, = hundred, orwapentake,
in England.
Baroscope. [Gr. 0dpos, -weight, fficoirew, I be-
hold^ An instrument for showing that bodies
are supported by the buoyancy of air, in the
same manner as they are by that of water,
though in a much less degree.
Barouche. [F., from L. birota, a two-wheeled
carriage."] A four-wheeled carriage, having a
top that can be raised, and front and back
seats facing each other, each seat holding two
persons.
Barque, Bark. [A word common to most
Aryan languages ; L. barca, through It. or Sp.
barca.] Generally any small ship, square-sterned,
without headrails ; but especially a two or three
masted vessel with only fore-and-aft sails on her
mizzen-mast. Bark-rigged, having no square-
sails on the mizzen-mast.
Barra-boats. Vessels of the Scotch Western
Isles, sharp at both ends, and with no floor, so
that their transverse section is V-shaped.
Barracan. [Ar. barrakan, a coarse gown.] A
coarse strong camlet, used for cloaks, etc.
Barracoon. Dep6t for slaves newly captured.
[Fr. baraque, from It. baracca, barracks; and
Gael, barrachad, a hut, barrach, branches of trees
(Littre).]
Barras. [Fr.] The resin of the Pinus mari-
tima ; the base of Burgundy pitch. [Having a
barred or streaked appearance when dried, Fr.
barre (Littre).]
Barrator, Barretor. One guilty of Barratry.
Barratry. \_Cf. It. barratrare, L.L. baratare,
to cheat, O.Fr. barat, barete, fraud, quarrel.]
(Leg.) 1. Exciting others to suits or quarrels. 2.
Fraudulent conduct towards owners or insurers
of a ship by master or crew.
Barrel [Fr. baril] of beer, is thirty-six
gallons.
Barrel-bulk. (Naut.) A measure of capacity
= five cubic feet. Eight barrel-bulk = one ton
measurement.
Barren flowers bear only stamens without a
pistil, as in the cucumber.
Barret-cap. [Fr. barrette.] A cap formerly
worn by soldiers.
Barrier Treaty. (Hist.) A treaty, made 1715,
between the Emperor, the King of England, and
the States-General of the United Provinces,
giving to the latter the right of holding certain
fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands.
Barring-out. ' ' A savage licence practised in
many schools to the end of the last (i.e. seven-
teenth) century," " the boys taking possession of
the school when the vacation drew near, and bar-
ring out the master." (See Johnson's account,
in his Life of Addison.)
Barrique. [Fr., L.L. barrica, connected with
baril (Littre).] A French barrel of wine or
brandy, of different capacity in different places.
The barrique of Cognac is 45 '22 English gallons,
and is divided into 27 veltes.
Barris. Spec, of Baboon (q.v.).
Barrow. [A.S. beorg, beorh, a hill, mound;
cf. burgh, borough, Gr. -irvpyos, a tower.] 1. A
burial-mound. [L. tumulus, a mound tomb.]
2. Intrenched hill, for a fenced town.
Barrulet. (Her.) A diminutive of the bar,
being one-fourth its thickness.
Barry. [Fr. barre, barred.] (Her.) Covered
with horizontal stripes alternately of two tinc-
tures. (Bar.)
Barry Cornwall. Properly Barry Peter Corn-
wall ; a pseudonym and anagram of Bryan
Waller Procter, poet.
Barry Lindon. An Irish adventurer and
gambler ; hero of Thackeray's tale so named.
Bar-shoe. A horseshoe with a complete ring
of iron forming a bar across the opening ; dis-
tributing the pressure, and relieving a tender
part. (See Stonehenge on the Horse, p. 563.)
Bar-shot. Used sometimes in naval warfare
for destroying masts and rigging ; a bar with a
half-ball at each end ; in shape like a dumb-bell.
Barter. [O.Fr. bareter, It. barattare ; words
meaning both to barter and to deceive. ] Originally,
the simple exchange of one commodity for
another ; secondarily, = loss of credit. Mr.
Huskisson, in 1825, said that the panic placed
England within forty-eight hours of B. ; i.e. of
such loss of credit that its notes would not
have been received, or its coin, except for its
intrinsic value as an article of exchange.
Bartholomew, St., Massacre of. (fr. Hist.) A
terrible massacre of the Huguenots in Paris,
August 24, 1572, in which the Admiral Coligny
was the first victim. Similar massacres took
place at the same time in the larger French
towns.
Bartizan. A small overhanging turret, a stone
closet, projecting from an angle at the top of a
tower, or from a parapet, or elsewhere ; as in
mediaeval castles.
Barton. 1. A grange, courtyard. [A.S. bear
= crop, or bere, barley, and tun or ton, en-
closure] 2. A certain combination or system of
pulleys.
Barton, Elizabeth, Holy Maid of Kent,
brought forward as a prophetess, denounced the
divorce of Henry VIII. and his second marriage,
and was executed for high treason, 1534.
Barn. A woolly substance from the leaves of
Saguerus saccharifer, a sago palm ; used in caulk-
ing ships, stuffing cushions.
Barwood. A red African wood used for dye-
ing and turner's work (imported in short bars).
Baryta, Barytes. [Gr. apOT7?s, heaviness]
Oxide of barium ; an alkaline earth, grey,
poisonous ; the heaviest of known earths.
Barytone, Bariton. (?) Of heavy low tone
[Gr. J3apvs rovos], as compared with tenor.
1. A voice in compass, and still more in charac-
ter, something between tenor and bass. 2. The
Viola de bardone, or V. di fagotto of Haydn,
now obsolete. 3. In Pros., having the low
melodic accent, which is not generally marked.
(Oxytone.)
59
BASS
Basalt. [L. basaltes, probably an African
word, = hard dark marble.} Hard dark-coloured
rock, of igneous origin, often columnar and hexa-
gonal, from geometric cracks in cooling.
(F issur es-of-r etreat . )
Basanite, Touchstone, Lydius lapis, or Lydite.
A black siliceous schist, on which pure gold
rubbed leaves a certain mark. [Gr. fSaffavos, a
touchstone.]
Bas bleu. [Fr.] A Blue-stocking.
Bas chevalier. A knight of the lowest rank
of knighthood. (Bachelor.)
Bascinet, Basinet, Basnet. Mediaeval hel-
met, light, somewhat basin-shaped, introduced
temp. Edward I. [Fr. bassin, a basin.'}
Base. [Gr. fidais, a step.] 1. (Her.}
(Escutcheon.) 2. (Chem.} A body which unites
with acids to form salts ; as silver unites with
nitric acid to form the salt called nitrate of silver.
8. (Dyeing.} A substance used as a mordant.
Base-ball. The national game of the U.S. of
America, somewhat like our rounders ; so
called from the four bases, one at each corner of
a square, whose side is thirty yards ; the first,
second, and third being canvas bags, painted
white, filled with some soft material, and the
home base marked by a flat plate painted white.
(See full account, English Cyclopedia, i. 255-)
Base-court. [Fr. basse cour.] 1. The outer
court of a feudal mansion, containing the stables,
accommodation for servants, etc. 2. (Leg.} An
inferior court not of record, as court-baron,
court-leet.
Base-fee. (Leg.} An inheritable freehold
terminated on some special qualifying contin-
gency, such as the fall of a certain tree, failure of
issue under an entail, the ceasing to be lord or
tenant of a certain manor.
Base line. 1. In Perspective, the line where
the plane of the picture intersects the ground
plane. 2. In Surveying, an accurately measured
line on which a network of triangles is con-
structed, whose angular points are conspicuous
places, and whose distances from each other are
calculated from the base and measured angles
only.
Base of operations. The portion of country,
sea-coast, river, or the strong towns, either on
the flanks or rear of an army in the field, from
which its resources are drawn, and to which it
can retreat in case of reverse.
Bashaw. Pasha = head or master; a Turk-
ish title of honour, given to viceroys, provincial
governors, generals, etc. : hence a swaggering
bully.
Bashi-Bazouks. Irregular troops in the
Turkish service.
Basic. (Chem.) Relating to, or acting as, the
base of a salt.
Basil. 1. [Fr. basane, from Ar. bithanet.]
The skin of a sheep tanned. (Bezel.) 2. [Fr.
basile, from base.] The angle to which the edge
of a cutting tool is ground.
Basil, Liturgy of. (Liturgy.)
Basilian Order. (Orders, Religious.)
Basilic (Anat., Med.} = most important or
excellent ; lit. king-like [Gr. j3a<riAl/cosJ.
Basilica. [Gr. f}affi\ticfi, i.e. ffrod, a royal
portico in Athens, which gave the idea (?).] 1.
A public court of justice and of exchange, in
Rome, with wide porticoes, and a raised tribunal
at the end ; whence arose the form of a church,
with nave, aisles, chancel. Some Basilicas
became churches. 2. In Jurisp., the name of a
digest of laws in sixty books, by the Byzantine
Emperor Basilius, 867-880 ; chiefly an adapta-
tion of Justinian's Code.
Basilidians. In Eccl. Hist., a Gnostic sect,
who maintained the mystical system of Basileides,
and asserted that Simon of Cyrene suffered on
the cross in place of our Lord.
Basilikon Doron. [Gr., a royal gift.] The
title of a book written by James I. of England for
the benefit of his son Henry, Prince of Wales.
Basilisk. [Gr. fiacnXiaitos, dim. of /Ba.(n\evs,
king.] (Zoo!.) Name applied to gen. of
American lizard, fam. Iguanidre ; one spec, has
a crest or crown. (Bib I.} (Cockatrice.)
Basin, River. The whole area drained by a
river and its tributaries.
Baskerville editions. Much admired as
specimens of printing. John B., typemaker, of
Birmingham, raised the art of printing to a
degree of perfection previously unknown in
England ; died 1775.
Basket-fish. The starfish.
Basle, Confession of. The Calvinistic Con-
fession of faith, drawn up in 1530, and called
also the Helvetic Confession.
Basque. A language still spoken in the
Spanish and French Pyrenees, belonging, like
the Finnic, to the Agglutinate or Turanian
group, called by the people Escuara ; the same
root appearing in "Basque," "Escuara," "Es-
quimaux," and "Gascony."
Bas-relief. (Basso-relievo.)
Bass, Bast. The inner fibrous bark of the
lime tree, of which the Russian matting used in
gardens is made. Bast is also obtained from the
leafstalks of two Brazilian palms, Attalea funi-
ffira and Leopoldinia Piassaba ; and Cuba bast
from the inner bark of Paritium elatum.
Basset. [Fr. bassette.] A game of cards,
invented at Venice, fifteenth century ; introduced
into France, seventeenth century ; forbidden by
Louis XIV., after he had lost largely by false
cards.
Basset, Bassetting edge. (Min., Geol.) When
a slanting vein or bed shows itself at the surface,
its edge is called the Basset-edge, or outcrop.
Basset horn. A rich melodious kind of
clarionet, between a clarionet and a bassoon,
embracing nearly four octaves.
Bassia. A gen. of trees, ord. Sapotacese ;
tropical. One kind, the Indian butter tree, yields
from its pressed seeds a white, fatty, lard -like
substance, keeping fresh for many months ;
another, the African butter tree, yields the Galam
butter mentioned by Mungo Park, an important
article of commerce in Sierra Leone (Treasury
of Botany, i. 127, and Chambers' Encyclopedia).
Bassinet. [Dim. of Fr. bassin, a basin,
possibly a corr. of Fr. berceaunette.] A
hooded cradle, of wickerwork.
BASS
60
BATT
Bassoon. A kind of bass oboe of four tubes
bound together [It. fagotto, i.e. a bundle}, of rich
tone, very valuable to the composer. Double
B., introduced 1784, reached an octave lower,
but did not answer ; its place is supplied by the
serpent.
Bassora gum. (Sometimes shipped from
Bussorah. ) A gum, said to be the exudation of
almond and plum trees ; by some supposed to be
the produce of a cactus or mesembryanthemum.
Basso-relievo. (Mezzo-relievo.)
Basta. [It., enough.} (Music.) When the
leader stops some performer.
Bastard eigne. [L.L. basta, bastum, pack-
saddle, muleteer's bed; cf. O.Fr. fils de baste;
for termination, cf. -ard; for eigne, cf. O.Fr.
aisne, ainsne, eldest, Fr. antne, L. ante natus.]
An eldest illegitimate son whose mother is after-
wards married to the father.
Bastard-wing. (Wings.)
Bastille. [Fr.] 1. Any fort or tower outside
the walls of a city. 2. More particularly the
fortress, so called, built originally outside the
city of Paris, and destroyed by the people, 1 789.
Bastinado. [Sp.] 1. An Eastern punishment,
of beating the soles of the feet. 2. Generally,
cudgelling, beating.
Bastion. [Fr., It. bastione.] Interior work
in permanent fortification, consisting of two faces
joined together in a salient angle, with two
flanks retired from their other extremities. A
demi-bastion has one face and one flank.
Baston. (Baton.)
Basuto. A S. African tribe, lying between
Natal and the Orange River Free State.
Bat. 1. Shale. 2. Cotton wool in sheets.
3. A piece of brick less than half its length.
Batardean. [Fr., dim. of O.Fr. bastard, a
dyke.} (Fortif.) Wall placed across a wet ditch
to retain the water ; provided with sluices and
surmounted by a conical turret to prevent access
along the top.
Batata, Patata. Batatas edulis. (Sot.) A
convolvulaceous plant with tuberous edible
roots, the sweet potato ; its name now transferred
to the Solanum tuberosum.
Batavian. [L. batavus, adj.] Dutch ; Batavi,
the Batavians, Hollanders.
batch, -bach (Mercia), -beck, -bee (Northum-
bria). Part name of streams = brook [Norse
beck], as Wood-batch, Birk-beck (birch-brook).
Bateau. [Fr., L.L. batus, from A.S. bat.]
1. A heavy, flat-bottomed, sharp-ended boat,
used on Canadian rivers and lakes. 2. A
peculiar kind of army pontoon.
Bat-fowling. Catching birds at night by a
light within a .net, to which they fly when the
bushes are beaten ; hence the term.
Bath. A Hebrew liquid measure = ephah, a
dry measure (see Ezek. xlv. n). (Cab.)
Bath Col, Bath Kol. [Heb., daughter of the
voice, = secret inspiration, post-prophetic, upon
which most Jewish traditions were founded.] A
fantastic divination of the Scriptures, like Sortes
Virgilianse (q.v.).
Bath-metal. An alloy of nine parts of zinc to
thirty-two of copper.
Bath, Order of the. (Hist.) An English
order of knighthood, instituted by Henry IV.
and revived by letters patent of George I.
Bathos. [Gr. pdBos, depth.} An absurd
descent from lofty to mean thoughts or language ;
a more than anti-climax, e.g. "And thou, Dal-
housie, thou great God of War, lieutenant-
colonel to the Earl of Mar."
Bath-stone. Fine-grained, cream-coloured,
Oolitic limestone, from the Lower Oolite of the
West ; easily wrought, hardening with exposure,
not very durable. From Oolitic strata come also
Caen stone, Kettering stone, Portland stone,
Barnack rag, etc.
Bathyblus. [Gr. 0a0vs, deep, &ios, life.} Pro-
fessor Huxley's proposed term for a very low
form of life found in ooze dredged from the
Atlantic ; one not yet widely accepted.
Batiste. Fine linen cloth of French make ;
so called from the first maker of it, Batiste of
Cambray.
Bat-man. [Fr. bat, pack-saddle, L. bastum.]
Soldier-servant of a non-commissioned officer ;
also one who attends an officer's horse, or the
bat -horses provided with pack-saddles for carry-
ing the tents and light baggage of troops.
Baton. [Fr.] 1. (Music.) i. A conductor's wand.
2. In written music, a pause of two or more
bars. [From the same root as batir, Gr. Qaffrafciv,
to hold in one's hands, etc.] 2. (Her.) An abate-
ment in coats of arms to denote bastardy, a kind
of diminutive of the bend sinister. (Bend.) 3.
Staff of a field-marshal.
Batrachia, Batrachians. [Gr. fia-rpaxos, a
frog.] 1. The second and third ord. of
Amphibia, comprising B. urodela (Tailed B.),
as newts, and B. anoura (Tailless B.), as frogs.
2. Animals having the external characteristics of
frogs.
Batrachomyomachy. [Gr. ^arpaxofj.vo/j.axia,
from fta.rpa.xos, a frog, JJLVS, mouse, fj-axn, a fight}
The so-called Homeric poem describing the
battle of the frogs and the mice a satire on
the Trojan war and on the action of the gods
in that struggle.
Batta. [Hind, bat, a weight} Certain extra
pay allowed to troops in India to cover excep-
tional expenses.
Battalion. [Fr. bataillon, from It. batta-
glione.] Body of infantry commanded by a
lieutenant-colonel, and composed of a variable
number of companies, but with a complete staff.
Battel. Adj., fruitful, fertile ; v.a. to make
or to become fat or fertile ; cf. bait, bit, bite,
according to Richardson.
Battel, or Battle, Wager of. (Wager.)
Batteloe. An Indian vessel, lateen-rigged.
Battels. [Said to be from A.S. bat, to in-
crease, and dael, deal or portion} Accounts due
to a college from a member for food supplied,
and other expenses.
Batten. [O.E. bat, a staff ; cf. Fr. baton,
cudgel ; (?) Gr. Pao-rdfa, I carry (Diez).] A
strip of wood ; a small plank.
Batten-down hatches, To. ( Naut. ) To fasten
tarpaulins over them by battens, i.e. long, thin
strips of wood nailed down.
BATT
6l
BEAL
Battering walls. (Arch.) The walls of a
building whose sides converge.
Battery. [Fr. battre, to beat.} 1. Any number
of guns grouped together, and having a separate
equipment and organization of gunners. 2. The
fortification behind which guns are mounted.
Battery, Electric. A group of electric jars, so
arranged that they can be charged and dis-
charged as one machine. A galvanic or voltaic
battery is an arrangement for producing an elec-
tric current by chemical action.
Battle of the Books. (Boyle Controversy.)
Battle of the Spurs. (Hist.) The name given
to the victory of Henry VIII. at Guinegate,
1513, from the hasty flight of the French.
Battle of the Standard. (Hist.) The name
given to the battle of Northallerton, 1138, in
which David I. of Scotland was defeated by the
English.
Battology. [Gr. fidrros, onomatop. for stam-
merer^ Stammering talk, senseless repetition
(Matt. vii. 7). But there is said to have been a
poet, Battus, who composed in this style.
Battue. [Fr.] The beating or shooting down
of game which has been driven to one spot by
a circle of beaters. (Tinchell.)
Battuta. [It., a beat.} In Music, the
measuring of time by beating.
Baubee. [Said to be Fr. bas billon, bad copper
coin.] In Scotland, a halfpenny ; first applied
to a copper coin of James VI.
Baulk, Balk. [A.S. bale, a beam.} Joist
placed between the pontoons of a military bridge
to support the flooring.
Bavaroy. [Fr. Bavarois, Bavarian.} A kind
of cloak, originally of Bavarian make.
Bavieca. The steed of the Cid.
Bavins. [O.Fr. baffe, a faggot.} Brush faggots.
Bawboard, i.e. larboard. (A-beam.)
Bawdequin. (Baldachino.)
Bawn. In Ireland, an earthwork round a
house or castle ; an enclosure with mud or stone
walls for the protection of cattle.
Bawson, Bawsin, Bawsand. The badger, as
having white streaks on a dark face [from Ar.
ablaq, fern, balqa, a pie-bald (horse)]. ( Vide
Devic's Supplement to Littre's Dictionary, s.v.
" Balzan.")
Bay. \Cf. Fr. aboyer, L. baubor, Gr. Paiifa,
Ger. bellen, to bark.} To bark loudly and in
an hostile manner.
Bayaderes. (Bajaderes.)
Bayard. 1476-1524. The Chevalier sans
Peur et sans Reproche, who distinguished him-
self in the Battle of the Spurs. A type of the
ideal knight.
Bayard. 1. A bay horse. 2. The name of
more than one noted horse of old romance.
Bayardly. [O.Fr. bayard, a gaper.} Blindly
unreasoning, stupid ; like the leap of Bayard in
terror.
Bayberry Candleberry, Wax-myrtle. (Bot.)
Myrica cerifgra, small spreading shrub of N.
America, ord. Amentacese ; its drupes covered
with wax, used for candles.
Bay-cherry. Name of the common laurel,
Crasus lauro-cerasus, when first introduced into
England about the beginning of the seventeenth
century.
Bayes. Champion of rimed (rhymed) drama
(meant for Dryden) in Tlie. Rehearsal, a farce
ascribed to George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham.
Bayeux Tapestry. (JJist.) A piece of needle-
work, 214 feet long, 19 inches broad, said to
have been wrought by Matilda, wife of William
the Conqueror, representing the history of the
invasion of England in 1066. Still preserved
at Bayeux.
Bayou State. State of Mississippi, from its
creeks (bayous).
Bay State. Massachusetts.
Bay, To stand at, To be brought to. [Fr. aux
abois, lit. at or to the barking. (Bay.)] Spoken of
a hunted animal when, as a last resource, it turns
round and faces the baying hounds. Fig., to turn
upon one's enemies when unable to escape them.
Bazaras. A flat-bottomed boat used on the
Ganges ; it sails and rows. Corr. into budge-
row.
Bdellium. [L.] Gen. ii. 12; probably pearls
or some precious stone. LXX. has &v6pa, [Gr.,
carbuncle}. B. [Gr. j68eAA.ioj/] is the transparent
gum of the Borassus flabelliformis ; of no great
value, and not likely to be meant here (Speaker's
Commentary).
Bdellometer. [Gr. /35e'\A.a, a leech, /ueVpov, a
measure, as if = artificial leech.] A cupping
glass with an exhausting syringe.
Beaches, Eaised, Shingle B. Accumulations
of water-worn stones, piled up by wave and tide,
in exposed districts, the sand, etc., being swept
onwards to more sheltered parts ; e.g. Northam,
N. Devon. When to this movement is added a
lateral tide current, they move along the coast as
Travelling B. ; e.g. Chesil Bank \cf. Ger. kiesel,
flint, pebbles}, on the Dorset coast.
Bead. An Old Eng. word, signifying prayer.
Hence bidding the beads, i.e. the desiring the
prayers of the congregation. The word is also ap-
plied to the perforated balls on a string, by which
prayers are told or counted. (Chaplet; Rosary.)
Beadle. (Bedell.)
Bead-moulding. (Arch.} A moulding, the
vertical section of which is semicircular. Called
also Astragal.
Bead-roll. The list of dead persons for whom
mass was to be said. Hence any list. " Fame's
eternal bead-roll" (Spenser).
Beadsmen, or Bedesmen. Persons maintained
by alms, professedly for the purpose of praying
for the dead. Hence the word came to mean
simply almsmen.
Bead-tool. A cutting tool, having a curved
edge, for making beading.
Bead tree. (Bot.) Persian lilac, Pride of
India; Melia [Gr. fj.e\ta\, Azed arach ; an ash,
of which one spec, resembles a gen. of the nat.
ord. Meliacas.
Beagle. A small hound used for hare-hunting.
Beaker. [Ger. becher.] A well-annealed thin
glass tumbler, used by chemists for boiling, etc.
Beal. \Cf. ball, and many similar words.]
(Med.~) To suppurate, to come to a head. Beal-
ing formerly = pregnant.
BEAM 62
Beam-engine. A large iron lever, capable of
movement round a central axle ; by one end it
is attached to the piston-rod of a steam-engine ;
by the other it works a pump or drives the main
shaft. A steam-engine in which a beam is used
for transmitting the steam power is a Beam-E.
Beam, Before the. Lee, weather. (A-beam.)
Beam-compasses. A rod on which are two
sliding points, adjusted by screws, by which
greater distances can be set off or transferred
than by an ordinary pair of compasses.
Beam-ends. (Naut.) A ship is on her beam-
ends when heeled over so much that the deck
is nearly perpendicular ; beams being the trans-
verse, timbers the vertical, parts of a ship's frame
work.
Beamfleet. The north part of the estuary of
the Thames.
Beam tree. [The word beam, Ger. baum, a
tree, is common to many Aryan languages.]
White beam is a tree from twenty to forty feet
high ; a native of almost all parts of Europe.
Pyrus aria, ord. Rosaceae ; having very hard
wood, used for cogs ; with scarlet fruit in autumn.
Bean-cod. A small Spanish or Portuguese
fishing-boat, sharp forward, with a curving bow,
usually lateen-rigged.
Bean goose. (Zool.) Wild goose, Anser frus,
Anas segetum ; about thirty-four inches long,
plumage brown and grey. N. Temp, and
Arctic regions. Gen. Anser, fam. Anatidae, ord.
Anseres.
Bean-King's Festival. A German social rite,
derived from France. A cake, in which a bean
has been hidden, is cut on the evening of Three
Kings' Day (q.v.) ; the recipient holds a c$urt,
etc., and gives the next year's festival : a sup-
posed relic of the Roman Saturnalia.
Bear. A term used for a speculator who sells
stocks or shares, speculatively, which he does not
possess, in the hope of being able to repurchase
again at a lower figure, and thereby make a pay-
ing transaction of the concern. (Bull.)
Bear, Bere. l.q. Barley.
Beard. {Printing.} The part of a type be-
tween the shoulder of the shank and the face.
Beardil. The loach.
Bearing. (Meek.) 1. A cylindrical hole, in
which a shaft is supported and on which it
moves. 2. A surface which guides the motion of
the piece which it supports.
Bearing the hell. Taking the lead, gaining
the first place ; an expression said to have been
derived from the giving a small bell of gold or
silver to the winner at a horse-race, early in the
seventeenth century.
Bear-leader. 1. One who leads about a dancing
bear. 2. Hence, by meton., a facetious term for
a discreet person in charge of a youth of rank
in travelling, etc.
Bearnais, Le. Henri IV. of France and
Navarre ; born at Pau, in the Beam, 1553.
Bear's-hreech. [L.L. branca, claw.} (Acan-
thus; Brankursine.)
Bear's-foot. 1. Bear's-breech. 2. Helleborus
foetidus, ord. Ranunculaceae.
Bear, To (Naut.) N. or S. t etc., is to be in
BEBT
a line with the named point of the compass.
B. dawn upon, to approach from windward.
B. up or away, to go to leeward. B. up round,
to put her right before the wind. B. off from or
in with the land, to sail from or towards the
shore. B. sail, to carry canvas well.
Beasts, Wild, of the desert. [Heb. isiim.]
Hycenas. Isa. xxxiv. 14.
Beasts, Wild, of the island. [Heb. iyim.]
Jackals. Isa. xxxiv. 14.
Beatific. [L. beatiffcus.] Making happy or
blessed. B. vision, that seeing of God which is the
blessedness of heaven.
Beatification. Papal declaration that a cer-
tain deceased person may be honoured by a
particular religious worship without incurring the
penalty of superstitious worship.
Beatitudes. [L. beatitude, blessing.} 1. The
nine sentences of blessing with which the Ser-
mon on the Mount begins (Matt. v. 3-11). 2.
In the Greek Church, hymns commemorating
the saints.
Beating the hounds. (Perambulation.)
Beating the hush. (Met.) 1. From fowling,
= having all the labour, while another catches
the birds and has all the gain. 2. From hunt-
ing, = not going straight to the point of dis-
cussion ; as hunters move in a roundabout way,
not straight to the object.
Beating to windward. (Naut.) Getting to
windward by tacking in a heavy wind. (Tack.)
Beati possldentes. [L., happy are they who
have.} A phrase of much the same meaning as
the saying that "possession is nine points of the
law."
Beatrice. Dante's saintly love, and guide
through Paradise.
Beats. The alternations in the intensity of
the sound produced by two notes nearly in
unison.
Beau Brummel. George Bryan B., friend and
companion of the Prince Regent ; died insane,
1840.
Beau ideal. [Fr.] Conception of perfection.
Beau monde. Lit. the fine world ; the world
of fashion.
Beau Nash. Master of the ceremonies at
Bath in the last century.
Beauseant. (Bawson.) The black-and-white
banner of the Templars.
Beaute de diahle. [F 'r., Jiend' 's beauty.} Beauty
that suggests no goodness of character ; beauty
symptomatic of disease ; or the fugitive beauty of
early youth.
Beaux yeux. [Fr.] Lovely eyes.
Beaver. 1. [Fr. baviere, baver, to slobber, be-
cause when down it occupied the place of a
child's bib.} Part of a helmet covering the
mouth, and movable on pivots at the jaws ;
being let down, it enables the wearer to drink.
2. An amphibious rodent quadruped, of the gen.
Castor. N. America. The name is found in
many of the Aryan languages.
Bebirine. A tonic and febrifuge, like quinine
in action, from the bark of the biburu or green-
heart of Guiana (Nectandra rodiaei), a valuable
timber tree ; ord. Lauraceae.
BEBI
BEGH
Bebisation. (Solmization.)
Becoabunga. (Brooklime.)
Beccafico. [It., fig-pecker, Fr. becque-figue,
Ger. feigen-drossel.] A name applied to almost
any warbler (Sylvia), or other small garden bird,
when fat.
Bechamel. A fine, white broth, named from
the Marquis of Bechamel, steward of Louis XIV-
Beche-de-mer. [L. beca, fern, form of beccus.]
Lit. sea-spade (Holothuroidea). (Trepang.)
Beohic remedies. (Med.) For the relief of
cough [Gr. /3^|, adj. j8jjx<*c(fe].
Beck. A brook [cf. Ger. bach, a brook, and
perhaps Gr. irrjyf], a spring] ; as in Wans-beck-
water, where the place has received three names
of the same meaning, and kept them all (cf. Bala-
lake).
-beck, -bee. (-batch.)
Becket's Crown. The circular or apsidal
building to the east of the choir in the Cathe-
dral of Canterbury is so called.
Bed. [A word common to the Teut. and
Scand. languages.] (Mech.) The foundation or
fixed part of a machine.
Bedchamber, Lords of the. Officers, generally
twelve, of the royal household, under the groom
of the stole, during a king's reign, waiting in
turn upon the sovereign.
Bedeguar. [Ar.] A shaggy excrescence on
the wild rose, produced by a gall insect (Cynips
rosse) ; once considered diuretic, more recently
a vermifuge.
Bedell. [L.L. bedellus, A.S. bydel, mes-
senger.] In the university and elsewhere, the
officer who attends the vice-chancellor. (Bead.)
Bedford Level. A tract on the east coast,
nearly = the Fens ; so called from the Earl of
Bedford, who, with others, made the first suc-
cessful effort to drain it in 1634.
Bedford Ministry. In 1 763, a mixed Ministry
of the followers of Grenville (First Lord) and
Bedford, with Halifax and Sandwich as Secre-
taries of State.
Bedight, Dight. [A.S. dihtan, to arrange.}
Adorned, dressed out.
Bedlam, i.c. Hospital of St. Mary of Beth-
lehem ; converted into an asylum by the city of
London, after the dissolution of monasteries.
B. beggars, its out-patients, real or pretended.
(Abraham man.)
Bed of justice. [Fr. lit de justice.] A pro-
ceeding by which the French kings were able
to override the rejection of their decrees by the
Parliament, by mounting their throne, called
lit, and causing the decrees in question to be
registered in their presence the Parliament
usually entering a protest.
Bedouin, Beduin. [Ar. bedawi, dwellers in
the desert] Nomad Arabs ; said to be descended
from Ishmael ; and aboriginal Moors, who have
become settled Arabs.
Bedstraw, Ladies' B., Cheese rennet (Galium
verum). [Gr. yd\iov, yd\a, milk.} (Hot.) A
branched herb, with whorled leaves and small
yellow flowers in numerous dense panicles ; ord.
Rubiacese.
Beebee, Bibi. [Hind.] Lady.
Bee-bread. A brown substance, the pollen
of flowers, collected by bees as food for their
young.
Bee-eater. Fam. of birds, mostly in Africa
and the East. One British spec., Merops aplaster
[Gr. fj.epo\f/, articulate-voiced, L. apiaster, apis,
a bee], eleven inches long, brown back, greenish
blue quill feathers.
Beef-brained, Beef-witted. Heavy-headed ;
dull of apprehension.
Beef-eater. [Corr. of Fr. buffetier.] A yeo-
man of the king's guard, whose place was once
near the table or side-board [bullet] at cere-
monial feasts.
Beef-wood of Australia. Hard, heavy timber,
like raw beef in colour, of the Casuarina.
Bee-glue. (Propolis.)
Bee hawk-moth, Bee-moth. Scsia apiformis,
(Entom.) A moth with rapid flight, and bee-
like wings and body ; feeds on the poplar. Ord.
Lepldoptera.
Bee in one's bonnet, To have a. To be rather
mad.
Beeld refuge. [A.S. byld.] Place of shelter.
Bee-line. A direct line, like that of bees
returning to the hive or nest from their utmost
distance ; a faculty ascribed to their power of
sight.
Beelzebub. (Apomuios; Muiagros.)
Bees, Fable of the, or Private Vices made Pub-
lic Benefits. A poem by Bernard Mandeville
(1670-1733). An attempt to show that human
passions and evil tendencies work unconsciously
towards the welfare of society, which, as at pre-
sent constituted, is inconceivable without them.
He w>as opposed by Bishop Berkeley.
Beestings. (Biestings.)
Beetle. 1. [A.S. bytl.] A wooden mallet for
driving in wedges, stakes, etc. 2. [A.S. beotan,
beotjan, to threaten.] To hang over or forward,
as of cliffs or eyebrows.
Beetling. [O.E. bytl, a mallet.] The pro-
duction of figured fabrics by means of corrugated
or indented rollers.
Beetrave. Beetroot [from Fr. bette-rave,
beta, beet, and rapa, turnip}.
Beffana. [Corr. of Epiphania.] An old
woman, the fairy of Italian and German children,
who puts presents or else ashes into children's
stockings on Twelfth Night, while she is look-
ing out for the returning Magi, whom she missed
as they returned home "another way."
Eeffroi. (Belfry.)
Before the mast. The working seaman, as
distinguished from an officer.
Beg, Bey. A Turkish title of State officers,
= prince, chief; not very definitely used.
Beggar of Bethnal Green, The Blind. Henry
de Montfort, in disguise after the battle of
Evesham. Percy gives the ballad of Bessie, his
daughter.
Beggar's Opera, The. A play by John Gay.
Beghard. Societies of laymen in Germany,
France, and the Netherlands, first appearing in
the thirteenth century, subsisting mostly by men-
dicancy, and little esteemed ; disappearing in the
latter part of the fourteenth century. But the
BEGL
64
BELL
correct use of the word is uncertain, and their
history very obscure. [L.L. beggardus, Flem.
beggen, Eng. ^(Littre).] (Orders, Mendicant ;
Tertiaries.)
Begler-beg = a chief of chiefs, governor-
general of a province, next in rank to the Vizier.
(Beg.)
Beguinages. Societies of women, called
Beguines, in Holland, Belgium, and Germany,
not bound by vows ; their mode of life, like that
of the Beghards (q.v.), neither clerical nor lay.
Their principal institution is at Ghent.
Beguines. (Beguinages.)
Begum. In India, a princess or lady of high
rank.
Behemoth. Job xl. ; the hippopotamus. [(?) An
Egyptian word ; if Heb., = great beast, or beast
of beasts. ]
Beit. [Ar., i.q. beth, Heb., tent or hut.}
Abode or abodes. Beit al may be a temple
or town of
Belay, To. (Naut.) To fasten a rope by
taking several turns round a cleat, belaying-pin,
etc. B. there! stop !
Belaying-pins. Wooden pegs or short iron
bars.
Belcher. A blue handkerchief with white
spots ; named after a pugilist.
Beldam. [Fr. belle dame.] Originally a term
of respect, especially to elders, has come to
mean hag.
Belemnite. [Gr. &f\(fjivov, a dart.] Popularly
Thunderbolts and St. Peter's fingers ; the conical,
internal-shell remains of a gen. of extinct
Cephalopodous molluscs.
Bel esprit. [Fr.] A sprightly, clever writer
or conversationalist.
Belfry. M.H.G. ber vrit, a watch-tower,
became berfredus, berfroi, beffroi, i.e. a mov-
able breaching tower used in sieges ; then, from
the resemblance, a turret, and more particularly
a bell turret ; written belfry, though having
nothing really to do with bells.
Belial, Sons of. A general name for worth-
less persons, as men of recklessness or lawless-
ness ; this being the meaning of the Heb.
word represented by Belial, which is certainly
not a proper name, although the etymology is
uncertain. As Beliar (2 Cor. vi.), it is per-
sonified, = Satan.
Belinda. Pope's name for Arabella Fermor
in The Rape of the Lock.
Bell. 1. (Arch.) The capital of a. Corinthian
or Composite column, without the foliage ; which
is like a bell reversed. 2. (A'aut.) Watch.
Bell, Acton, Currer, Ellis. Names assumed
by Anne, Charlotte, Emily Bronte, authoresses.
Belladonna. [It., beautiful lady.] Deadly
nightshade, common in hedges ; a spec, of
Atropa, ord. Solanaceae. Most spec, are poisonous.
Bella, horrida bella. [L.] Wars, dread wars.
Bell and Lancaster system, i.e. that of
mutual instruction, by aid of the boys them-
selves ; first used 1790, by Rev. Dr. B., in E.I.C.
Madras schools, there being no qualified ushers ;
perfected by L. as the monitorial system, in Eng-
land, in the next generation.
Bellannine. (Cardinal B., died 1621.) A
stoneware jug, big-bellied, with a bearded face
on its neck ; sixteenth century ; made in Holland.
Bell-bird. (Zoo!.) 1. White bird, about as
large as a pigeon, with a black protuberance from
its forehead, about three inches long, usually
pensile, but erected when the bird utters its note,
like the toll of a church bell. Trop. America.
Fam. CotingidBe, ord. Passeres. 2. Spec, of
Honey-eater, with a note like the tinkling of a
small bell. Australia. Fam. Meliphagidse [Gr.
fne\i, honey, ipaye'tv, to eat], ord. Passeres.
Bell, book, and candle. A mode of excom-
munication, chiefly between the seventh and
tenth centuries, in the R. C. Church. After
sentence read, the book is closed, a lighted
candle thrown to the ground, and a bell tolled
as for one dead.
Bell-crank. A bent lever, with its arms nearly
at right angles to each other, for changing the
direction of the motion of a link when that
motion is of limited extent ; it resembles the
crank placed at the corner of a room, where the
bell wire goes off at right angles to its first
direction.
Belle Alliance. [Fr.] A farm, the centre of
the French position, at Waterloo.
Belle de nuit. [Fr., beauty of the night.] The
Marvel of Peru (Mirabilis Jalapa).
Belles lettres. [Fr.] Polite literature ; litera-
ture of refining, elevating character generally ;
not with reference to subject-matter.
Bell' eta dell' oro. [It.] The fair age of gold.
Belle etage. [Fr.] The best story in a house,
the second.
Bellerophon's letters. Letters which carry the
death-warrant of the bearer ; the Greek story
being that Proetus, whose wife had conceived for
Bellerophon a passion like that of Potiphar's wife
for Joseph, and with the same consequences,
sent B. to lobates, King of Lycia, with letters
requesting him to put B. to death. (Barbarian.)
Bell-flower. Popular name for the cam-
panulas.
Bellibone. A woman beautiful and good. [A
corr. of Fr. belle et bonne.]
Bellic, Bellique. Warlike. [L. bellicus, per-
taining to war, and, in poetry, warlike]
Bellis. [L. bellus, pretty.] (Bot.\ A gen. of
plants, ord. Compositae. B. perennis, the com-
mon daisy.
Bellman. A name applied to watchmen in
the streets.
Bell-metal. 80 of copper to 20 of tin ; some-
times 77 to 23. (Bronze.)
Bell of arms. (From the generally round
shape.) (Mil.) Separate building for storing
the arms of a regiment.
Bell-ringing. Changes rung on 3 bells are
Rounds; on 4, Changes or Singles; on 5,
Doubles or Grandsires ; on 6, Bobs minor; on
7, Triples ; on 8, Bobs major ; on 9, Caters ;
on lo, Bobs royal ; on II, Cinques; on 12,
Bobs maximus. A bell is set when having the
mouth upwards ; at handstroke, when set up
so far only as that the tuffing or sallic is
held by the ringer ; at backstroke, when rung
BELL
BENE
round so far that the end of the rope is held.
Treble is the highest, Tenor the lowest, of
a set. Position of rounds, is that of B. struck
thus 12345 ; in any other order, they are in
changes. 5000 changes are a peal ; any smaller
number a touch or flourish, i.e. a practice rather
than a performance. A bell is going tip when
changing its position from that of treble in
rounds towards that of tenor, e.g. the treble in
12345, 2I 435> 2 4 r 3S 5 and down, vice versa.
Place-making is striking two blows in succession
in any one place, e.g. No. 4 in 15432, 51423.
Bob and single, called out by the conductor,
produce certain changes in the courses of the B.,
other than those caused by the fact of the treble
leading. In Stedman's method (1640) the prin-
ciple is that three B. should go through their
changes, one bell coming down from behind to
take its part in the changes, and one going up
behind to take its part in the dodging. (See
Troytes' Change- Ringing}
Bellona. [L.] The Latin goddess of war.
Bell tent. Conical dwelling of canvas, sup-
ported on one pole in the middle.
Bell the cat, To. To run a great risk for
others, from the fable in which an old mouse
proposes that a bell should be hung on the cat's
neck that the mice may have warning.
Bellua, or Belua, multorum capitum (Horace).
The many -headed monster ; the mob.
Belluine. Beastly, brutal. [L. bellulnus,
bellua, a beast, generally = a monster, brute]
Bell-wether. The leader of a flock, which
wears a bell ; meton. the leader of a subsequent
party.
Belly. [A.S. bselg, a pouch.] (Naut.) 1.
The swell of a sail. 2. The hollowed part of a
shaped timber. To B. a sail is to fill it with
wind, with bellying canvas, going free. B. to the
breeze, the sails filling with wind. B. to wind-
ward, carrying too much sail.
Belomancy. [Gr. Pe\o/jiavrta.] Divination
\fj.avTfia\ by the flight of arrows \fie\os, an
arrow], sometimes differently marked, and taken
at random from the quiver.
Belong. [Gr., a sharp point.} (Gar-fish.)
Belphoebe. A chaste, beautiful huntress in
Spenser's Faery Queen ; meant for Queen Eliza-
beth as woman. (Gloriana.)
Belt. [L. balteus.] A Band.
Beltane, Belteine, Bealtine. [Ir.] Said to
mean (it can scarcely be doubted, erroneously)
fire of Baal, the worship of whom is supposed to
have exisited in these islands in the remotest
Druidical times ; name of a festival once ob-
served in Ireland and the Scotch Highlands.
Belted Will. Lord W. Howard, Warden of
the Western marches, seventeenth century.
Beluga. [Russ. name.] Gen. of whale, white
whale. Arctic and Australian seas. Fam. Del-
phlmdae, ord. Cetace'ae.
Belus. The Grecized form of the Syrian Bel.
(Baal.)
Belvedere. [It. bello, beautiful, vedere, to see.]
A room above the roof of a house, for fresh air
and prospect.
Belvedere, Apollo. A beautiful statue of
Apollo, found towards the end of the fifteenth
century, in the ruins of Antium, and placed in
the Belvedere of the Vatican (q.v.) at Rome,
whence it has its name. Perry, Greek and
Roman Sculpture.
Bema. [Gr., a step, a place for stepping.] 1.
The tribune or pulpit for speakers in a Greek
assembly. 2. (Eccl. Ant.} The raised plat-
form containing the altar, with the seats of the
bishop and clergy. (Apse ; Pnyx.)
Bembridge beds. (Geol.) A division of the
Upper Eocene, principally developed in the Isle
of Wight. The Bembridge limestone is the
equivalent of the Montmartre deposits, and
yields remains oT some species of palseotherium,
etc. i
Bemol [Fr.] (Music) is U, a flat note, i.e. the
^-like sign which makes flat [mol]. Ger. mol is
minor, from the difference between major and
minor thirds ; dur or durum, hard, is in
mediaeval music natural, and so major as
compared with moll, or L, mollis, soft.
Ben-. [Gael., mountain] Part of Highland
names, as Ben-more, great mountain.
Benbow, John, Admiral, 1650-1702, kept up
for four days, off St. Martha, W. Indies, a run-
ning fight with a superior French force, when
almost deserted by the rest of his squadron,
August, 1702. He died of his wounds in
November of the same year.
Bencher. Senior members of Inn of Court,
who have control over students for the bar.
Benchmare. [(?) Welsh pwncmawr, big
point] The broad arrow.
Benchmark. In Surveying, shows the starting-
point of a long line of levels, and is affixed to
permanent objects, showing exactly where the
level was held.
Bench warrant. (Leg.) A warrant, signed by
a judge or two justices, for the apprehension of
one against whom a true bill has been found, or
who has committed contempt of court.
Bend. (Her.) An ordinary bounded by two
parallel lines drawn from the dexter chief to the
sinister base. If charged with any device, it
occupies one-third part of the shield ; if un-
charged, one-fifth. Figures occupying its place
are said to be in bend. A bend sinister has the
lines drawn from the sinister chief to the dexter
base. (Escutcheon.)
Bendlet. (Her.) A diminutive of the bend,
being one-half its thickness.
Bends. (Naut.) (Wales.)
Bend, To. (JVaut.) To fasten ropes together, or
to an anchor. B. a sail, fasten it to its yard,
or stay, ready for setting.
Bendy. (Her.} Covered with bands alter-
nately of two tinctures, slanting like a bend.
Benedick = a confirmed bachelor, who
marries after all, as B. marries Beatrice, in
Much Ado about Nothing.
Bene decessit. [L., he has left satisfactorily]
Certificate of good conduct on leaving a college
or school.
Benedictines. (Eccl. Hist.} An order of
monks distinguished for their learning. They
follow the rule of St. Benedict, who founded his
BENE
66
BERR
first house at Subiaco, early in the sixth century.
To this order belonged Pope Gregory the Great
and the monks whom he sent to England under
Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury.
Milman, Hist, of Latin Christianity^ ,bk. iii. ch. vi.
Benediction. [L. benedictlo, -nem, a speaking
well of.} 1. Any form of blessing. 2. In the
Latin Church, specially the blessing of the people
with the reserved sacrament, which is held up
by the priest in the monstrance.
Benedict medicines = gentle remedies j op-
posed to Drastic, heroic.
Benefice, popularly a living, is, according to
Coke, "a large word," = "any ecclesiastical
promotion whatsoever." (Beneficium.)
Beneficiary. Holding a dependent, feudatory
office ; without independent power.
Beneficium. 1. Under the Romans, a grant of
land to a veteran soldier. 2. At the beginning
of the feudal system, an estate conferred by the
sovereign and held under him, which as a
hereditary thing became a fief. 3. (Eccl.)
A living, preferment ; on the assumption of
its being held under the pope as a superior
lord.
Beneficium invito non datnr. [L.] A benefit
is not conferred against one's will.
Benefit of clergy. [L. privilegium clencale.]
Withdrawal of the clerical order, and eventually
of all who could read, from civil to ecclesiastical
tribunals in all capital charges except high
treason. Not wholly abolished till 7 and 8
George IV.
Benefit societies, or Friendly 8. Associations
for mutual benefit among the labouring class,
a small weekly payment insuring a certain
weekly sum during sickness ; in some cases a
payment at death ; also in some cases a pension
after a certain age.
Bene meritus. [L.] Well-deserving.
Benet, Herb. [Fr. benoite.] (Aven.)
Benevolence. [L. benevolentia, good will.}
(Eng. Hist.} A tax levied by the sovereign,
under the name of a gratuity. No voluntary aid
can now be raised on behalf of the Crown with-
out authority of Parliament, the breach of this
condition being declared illegal by the Bill of
Bights.
Bengal-lights. Used during shipwreck, =
nitre 6, sulphur 2, tersulphuret of antimony I.
Benign, Benignant growths, etc. [L. bdnignus.]
(Med.) Local growths, not returning if removed,
not destructive of life ; opposed to Malignant [L.
malignus], cancerous and destructive of life.
Benison. [O.Fr. beneison, benai^on, L.
benedictionem.] A blessing ; cf. malison, orison,
i.e. maledictionem, orationem.
Benitier. [Fr.] A vessel for holy water, as
a font ; an aspersorium or sprinkler, or a stoup
attached to a wall.
Benjamin, Benzoin. [Fr. benjoin, from Ar.
loubban djaoni, Japanese incense.] A dry
fragrant balsam obtained from the benjamin
tree, and used for making incense, etc.
Benjamin tree. Corr. of Benzoin (q.v.).
Ben, Oil of. A clear sweet oil, much used
in chemistry, perfumery, and by watchmakers ;
obtained from the seeds of the Moringa
pterygosperma, a tree of E. Indies and Arabia.
Ben trovato. (Si non e vero.)
Bents, or Bent grass. A term of general
significance, applied usually to the old stalks of
various grasses.
Benzoic acid. An aromatic acid prepared from
benzoin. Its salts are called benzoates.
Benzoin. (Benjamin.)
Benzole, Benzine, Benzine collas. (Benzoin.)
Bicarburetted hydrogen, a colourless liquid,
obtained from coal tar. It dissolves fats, and is
a source of aniline.
Beowulf. An Anglo-Saxon epic, of great
literary and philological value. [Beo or Bewod,
with the old Saxons, the harvest month ; pro-
bably the name of a god of agriculture (Cham-
bers's Encyclopedia}]
Berberis. (Barberry.)
Berceaunette. [Dim. of Fr. berceau, a cradle.]
A wicker basket with a hood over the head, used
as a cradle.
Berceuse. [Fr., a cradle song, from berceau,
a cradle, L.L. bersa, ivickerwork hurdle.]
Bereans. An obscure Scottish sect, A.D.
1773, who professed to reject all religion, except
credence of the written Word ; claiming to be
like B. (Acts xvii. n).
Berengarians. Followers of Berengar, Arch-
deacon of Angers, eleventh century, who pro-
tested against the current doctrine of the Real
Presence ; recanted j retracted ; and again re-
canted.
Bergamot. [Port, bergamota.] (Bot.) 1. A
name borne by very many different kinds of pear,
not having, however, any common distinctive
character ; from Bergamo, Lombardy. 2. Also
a garden name for Monarda didyma.
Bergamot orange. (Bot.) A fragrant spec.
(Bergamia) of Citrus, ord. Aurantiaceae ; its
greenish-yellow rind contains an essential oil.
Berg-mehl. [Ger.] (Geol.) Mountain meal,
Tripoli, Polier schiefer, Kiesel-guhr, Diatoma-
ceous earth, etc. Recent and Tertiary deposits of
whitish fine powder, almost entirely from the
frustules or siliceous cell-walls of Diatomacese ;
some varieties are mixed with food, increasing
the bulk, and, perhaps, slightly nutritious ; used
for polishing metals. Found in Norway, Tripoli,
Richmond, U.S., Mull, Dolgelly, Mourne Moun-
tains, etc.
Bergmote. [A.S. berg, hill, mot, gemot,
meeting] Court for decision of matters con-
nected with mining.
Berlin. A four-wheeled covered carriage,
seating two persons (invented at Berlin).
Berm. [Fr. berme, pathway on a bank, from
Ger. berme.] (Fortif., Mil.) Narrow level space
left outside a rampart or parapet, to diminish
the pressure of earth on the escarp of the ditch.
Bernardines. (Feuillans.)
Bernicia, Berneich. The north part of North-
umbria in the Saxon period.
Berniole goose. (Barnacle goose.)
Bernoose. (Bournouse.)
Berretta. (Biretta.)
Berry. (Bacca.)
BERR
67
BIAD
-berry, -berie, -bery. [L.L. beria, a large open
field.] Part of names, as in Dol-berry, a word
made up of two synonyms. (Dol-, Dal-.)
Bersaglieri. Sharp-shooters ; riflemen of the
Sardinian army, introduced 1848.
Berserkers. [Icel.] In Icelandic tradition,
wearers of bearskins acks or coats ; noted for
their frantic outbursts of rage. (Grettir Saga.)
Berth. (Naut.) 1. A sleeping-place on board
ship. Hence, 2, the place where a ship lies.
3. A place to which any one is appointed. To
give a wide B., to keep well away from anything.
Bertholletia. (Brazil nuts.)
Beryl. [Gr. fi-f)pv\\os.] (Geol.) A mineral,
hexagonal, of various shades of green and blue,
found in Primary rocks of O. and N. World ;
consists of silica, alumina, and glucina. Amongst
its varieties are emerald and precious B., or Aqua-
marine.
Beshrew tb.ee = be thou syrewe [A.S., sor-
rowed, vexed] ; hence = I curse thee, wish thee
evil.
Besprent. Besprinkled. [A.S. besprengan,
to sprinkle over.]
Bessemer steel. Steel made by passing a blast
of air through molten cast iron, so as to get rid
of the carbon and silicon, and then adding
enough pure cast iron to supply carbon for the
formation of steel. (Named after the inventor.)
Bessus. In Beaumont and Fletcher's King and
no King, a cowardly captain.
Bestead. To be in stead or in place ; and so,
1. To profit ; 2. To be circumstanced "hardly
bestead" (Isa. viii. 21). But this should rather
be translated = hardened, hardening them-
selves (Speaker's Commentary}.
Bestiaires. [Fr.] Written books, of the
eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, de-
scribing the animal world, real and fabled, with
drawings and symbolical explanations, in prose
and in verse, Latin and English.
Bestow. Sometimes to bury ; so Felix-stow,
burial-place of Bishop Felix.
Beteem. 1. To deign, think fit, to suffer. \Cf.
A.S. tamian, to tame ; or D. betaemen, to be
suitable (Wedgwood).] 2. [A.S. tyman.] To
teem ; to bear abundantly.
Betel, Piper betel. A spec, of Piper, ord. Pi-
peracese, the leaves of which are chewed by the
inhabitants of many parts of India with the nuts
of the Areca (q.v.} catechu. B. nut. (Areca.)
Bete noire. [Lit. black beast.] A bugbear ;
something one dreads or shrinks from.
Beth-, Bedd-. [Cymr.] 1. Grave, as in Bedd-
gelert, grave of St. Kelert. 2. Beth- [Heb.], house,
as in Beth-el, house of God.
Betise. [Fr.] Stupidity.
Beton. The French name for concrete ; but as
the mode of preparing it is very different, it is
well to retain the use of the two names.
Betony. (Bot.) Native plant, Stachys betonica,
ord. Labiatae ; formerly much used in medicine ;
a popular remedy still for some complaints.
Better equity, To have. To be second incum-
brancer of an estate with security, if there be a
prior incumbrancer without.
Betty, sometimes Bess. A thieves' instrument
for wrenching doors, drawers, etc. ; a jimmy
instruments of all kinds being frequently personi-
fied, as spinning-jenny, boot-jack, etc.
Betiila. [L.] (Bot.) Gen. of Amentaceous
trees, ord. BetulaceEE. B. alba, the common
birch. B. papyracea, Canoe B. or Paper B. of
N. America, is very valuable, on account of its
durable bark, used for boxes, thatching, canoes,
etc.
Bever. [Fr. breuvage, for bevrage, L. bibe're.]
With labourers, a drinking between meals, gene-
rally at eleven o'clock, elevens, and at four
o'clock, fours.
Bevil, Bevel. [Fr. biveau.] A kind of car-
penter's square that may be set to any required
angle. A B. angle is any angle except a right
angle and half a right angle.
Bevile. (Bevil.) (Her.} A chief broken or
opening like a carpenter's bevel.
Bevil-wheels. Two portions of cones on which
teeth are cut so as to work together and trans-
mit motion from one axis to another intersecting
it and inclined to it at any angle. These axes
coincide in direction with the axes of the cones ;
and the wheels move on each other just as two
cones would do if rolling on each other.
Bevis of Hampton (Southampton), Sir. A
knight of romance (Drayton's Polyolbion,\&.. ii.).
Bewpar. (Naut.} (Buntine.)
Bewray. [A.S. wregan.] To accuse, to show,
to make evident ; cf. Ger. regen, to stir.
Bey. (Murza.)
Bey, Beg. A Turkish or Tartar title, meaning
lord, prince, or chief.
Bezan. [Fr.] A white or striped cotton
cloth from Bengal.
Bezant. 1. A gold coin struck at Byzantium,
current in England in the time of Edward III.
(Dinar.) 2. (Her.} A golden disc, named from
the Byzantine coin so called.
Beza's Codex. (Codex.)
Bezel, Basil. [Fr. biseau, a slant, bevil.]
The slope or angle to which the cutting edge of
a tool, e.g. a plane, is ground ; a sloping edge to
a frame, or to that which is set in it ; the ledge
in a ring which secures the stone.
Bezique. A game of cards, generally played
by two persons.
Bezoar stones. [Pers. pad, relieving, curing,
zahr, poison.] Concretions found in the first
stomach of some ruminants, especially goats ; of
hair, fibre, stony matter ; once thought alexi-
pharmic.
Bezonian. [It. bisogno, want.] A beggar,
low fellow.
Bhagavadgita. [Skt., sacred poern] An ex-
position of Brahmanic doctrine in a dialogue be-
tween Krishna and Arjuna in the Mahabharata.
Bhang. (Haschish; Assassin.)
Bhisti. [Hind.] (Water-carrier.)
Bhowani. (Thugs.)
Bi-. [L. bis, bi-.] As a prefix, implies that
something is doubled, as a bichloride is a salt con-
taining twice as much chlorine as the chloride.
Biacuminate. [L. bi-, two, acuminatus,
pointed] (Bot.} Having two diverging points.
Biadetto. (Bice.)
BIAN
68
BIFI
Bianchi and Neri. [It., White and Black}
Parties or factions in the Florentine Republic in
the fourteenth century. Dante belonged to the
Bianchi, and, being banished, wrote his great
work in exile.
Biaurioulate. [L. bi-, two, auricula, ear.]
1. (Anat.) Said of the heart ; having two
auricles or cavities. 2. (Bot.) Having a pair
of earlike leaflets.
Bibasio. [L. bi-, two, and Gr. pd<ris, base.}
Capable of combining with two equivalents of a
base.
Biberon. [L. bibgre, to drink.} A water-pot
with one or more conical or cylindrical spouts.
Bibiri, or Beebeeree, of Guiana. Commonly
called the Greenheart. A kind of Nectandra, ord.
Lauraceae ; a large tree of sixty or seventy feet,
yielding the bibiru bark, a tonic and febrifuge ;
and, more particularly, a very valuable timber
for ship-building, strong and durable, cutting
into great lengths, placed in the first class at
Lloyd's, called the twelve-year class.
Bible, English. The first Bible in English was
that translated by Wyclif, about A.D. 1360.
The first printed English Bible is that of Tindal,
who was assisted by Coverdale. After Tindal's
death, the work was carried on by John Rogers,
who dedicated the book to Henry VIII., under
the assumed name of Thomas Matthews : hence
commonly called Matthews' Bible. Tindal's
version, amended by Coverdale and examined
by Cranmer, who wrote a preface for it, was the
first Bible set forth by authority, and is known
as Cranmer's Bible, or the Great Bible. The
paraphrase of the New Testament by Erasmus
was set forth in an English version in 1547, a
copy being ordered to be placed in every parish
church. In 1560 some English exiles published
at Geneva a translation, with marginal readings,
which is thus known as the Geneva Bible. The
great English Bible, commonly called the
Bishop? Bible, was printed in folio in 1568, the
translation having been made by the bishops and
others engaged to aid them, acting under the
authority and supervision of Archbishop Parker.
In the following year this translation was
published in 8vo, the chapters being divided
into verses as in the Geneva Bible. The folio
reprint of this version, in 1572, is known as
Parker's Bible. A Roman Catholic translation
of the New Testament was published in 1584, at
Rheims, and is hence called the Rhemish Bible ;
a second, giving the Old Testament also, was
published at Douay in 1609-10. In 1603 King
James L, at the Hampton Court Conference,
ordered a new translation to be made. Forty-
seven translators were engaged upon it. This
Bible, commonly called King James's Bible, or
the Authorized Version, was published in 1611.
A revised version of the New Testament, as
given in the Authorized Version, was published
in 1881. (Breeches Bible.)
Bible in Spain, 1844, describes the personal
adventures of George Borrow, travelling in
Spain as agent of the Bible Society.
Biblia pauperum, or B. pauperum Christi. The
books of the poor of Christ, i.e. the preaching
clergy ; a kind of mediaeval picture-book, of
forty or fifty pages, each giving, with a text, some
leading event of human salvation. A similar
book in rime was Speculum Humana Salva-
tidnis. These were amongst the first books
printed.
Bibliomancy. Divination [Gr. fiavreia] from
passages in the Bible [&i&\iov, a book} taken at
random. (Sortes Virgilianse.)
Bibliomania. A passion for possessing old
or rare books. [Gr. fii$\iov, a book, pavia,
madness.}
Bibliophile. [Gr. fii$\(ov, a book, <t>ixt<a, I
love.} A lover of rare editions, curious copies,
etc. , of books.
Bibliopole. [Gr. fr/SAioTrcuAijs.] A bookseller.
Bibulous. [L. blbiilus.] Able to imbibe fluid
or moisture ; as sand.
Bicalcarate limb. [L. calcar, a spur.} (Bot.)
Furnished with two spurs.
Bicameral. [L. bi-, two, camera, a chamber}
Having two legislative chambers.
Bicarinate. [L. bi-, two, carlnatus, keeled.}
(Bot.) Having two elevated ribs or keels on the
inner side, as some Pales (q.v.) have.
Bice. [Ger. beis.] A pigment, blue and green,
known to artists from early times ; native car-
bonate of copper ; artificially prepared also.
Hambro' blue, Paul Veronese green, etc., are B.
Biceps, Bicipitous. (Anat.) Having two
heads [L. capita] or origins, as a muscle ; having
a double insertion.
Biche. [Fr. ; cf. Ger. bitze, Eng. bitch ; vide
Littre (s.v.).~\ Hind, roebuck.
Biconjugate. [L. bis, twice, conjugatus, joined
together} (Bot.) Having a pair of leaflets on
each of two secondary petioles.
Bidale, i.e. Bid-ale. An invitation to drink at
a poor man's house, and make a subscription for
him there. (Bead.)
Biddery-ware. Metallic ware, made at Biddery,
in India.
Bidding Prayer [A.S. biddan, to pray},
sometimes Allocution, before the sermon, e.g. at
the universities, and in cathedrals, specifies certain
persons and objects to be prayed for, by Canon
LV. and by very ancient custom.
Bidding the beads. (Bead.)
Bidet. A little nag. [Fr. bidet, from Gael,
bideach, diminutive.}
Bidpai, Fables of. (Hitopadesa.)
Bien chaussee. [Fr.] Wearing neat boots.
Biennial. [L. biennium, a space of two years.}
1. Occurring every two years. 2. (Bot.) Re-
quiring two seasons for flower and fruit, then
dying.
Bienseance. [Fr.] Decency, propriety.
Biestings, Beestings. (Colostrum.)
Bifarious. [L. bifarius, twofold.} Generally
in Anat. pointing two ways, and in Bot. arranged
in two rows.
Biffin, Beaufin. A spec, of apple grown in
Norfolk ; said to be so called from its likeness
to the colour of raw beef. The apples are
slowly dried in an oven and pressed for keeping.
Bifid. [L. bifidus, bi-, two, findo, / cleave.}
Cleft, divided into two part of the way down.
BIFI
69
BILL
Bifilar magnetometer. [L. bi-fllum, lit. a
double thread.] A bar magnet suspended hori-
zontally by two threads of equal length, and so
adjusted that each supports half the weight, is
the essential part of a Bifilar magnetometer or
Bifilar ; when the bar turns, the threads be-
coming inclined to the vertical, it must rise, and
thus the magnetic force is compared with the
weight of the magnet.
Biforate. [L. bi-, two, foro, / bore, pierce.}
Having two perforations.
Bifurcation. (Crystal.)
Biga. [L,.] A two-horse chariot.
Bigaroo, Bigaroon. [Fr. bigarreau, from bi-
garre, streaked = white and red.} The large
white-heart cherry.
Big Ben. The great bell at Westminster.
Bigendians, in Lilliput, made it a matter of
conscience to break their eggs at the big end ;
heretics in the eyes of the orthodox Little-
endians. (See Gulliver's Travels.)
Bigenous shoot. [L. bi-, two, genitus, be-
gotten.} (Bol.) Midsummer shoot ; a second
feeble shoot of leaves in summer.
Bigg, Big, or in Scot. Bere. (Bot.) Hordeum
hexastichon. A grain hardier than barley, and
ripening more rapidly.
Biggin. [Fr. beguin.] A cap or hood ; lit.
like one worn by a Beguine (q.v.).
Bight. [Cf. Goth, biugan, bend, D. bogt,
Dan. bught, a bend, bay.} A bend in a coast-
line, an open bay.
Bight of a rope. Any part not an end.
Biglow, Mr. Hosea. Pseudonym of James
Lowell, author of satirical poems against slavery.
Bignonia. (Abbe Bignon, temp. Louis XIV.)
(Bot. ) The Trumpet floiver, typ. gen. of ord.
Bignoniacese ; trop. or sub-trop. ; elegant climb-
ing plants ; the stems used as ropes.
Bijouterie. [Fr., jewellery^ Small articles of
vertu.
Bijugous leaf. (Bot.) [L. bijiigus, two yoked
together, doubled.} A pinnate leaf having two
pairs of leaflets.
Bikh, Bish, Vish, Atavisha. Hindu name for a
most destructive vegetable poison, Acomtum ferox.
Bilabiate flower. [L. labium, a lip.} (Bot.)
Having parts in two separate parcels or lips, as
the snapdragon and dead-nettle.
Bilamellate. [L. lamella, a small plate of
metal.} (Bot.) Formed of two plates or layers,
e.g. stigmas, placentae, etc.
Bilander. [D. bijlander, Fr. belandre.]
Small flat-bottomed merchant vessel used on the
coast of Holland, keeping close by land.
Bilateral contract. (Leg.) One by which
both parties [L. latera, sides}, enter into obliga-
tions towards each other, as a C. of sale.
Bilateral symmetry. (Med.) Said of organs
situated on each side of the mesial line (q.v.).
Bilberry, Common, or Bleaberry. [Blueberry
(?) cf. Ger. blaubeere.] Vacclnium myrtillus, ord.
Vacclniaceae. A small bush with dark berries,
used for tarts, etc. Other spec, are whortle-
berry, cowberry, etc.
Bilbo. (Made at Bilbao, in Biscay.) A rapier,
sword.
Bilboes. (First made at Bilbao, in Biscay.)
Long iron bars with shackles sliding on them
and a lock at the end ; used to confine the feet
of prisoners on board ship.
Bilge, or Bulge. [Cf. ball, bole, bowl, belly,
and many other like words having the idea of
roundness or swelling.} The bottom of a vessel,
where it is nearly flat, on each side of her
keel. B. -water, rain or sea water collected in
the B.
Bilingual. [L. bilinguis.] Speaking in, or
written in, two languages.
Biliteral. [L. bi-, two, lltera, letter.}
Consisting of two letters ; as the roots i, go (the
smooth breathing before an initial vowel being
counted), ki, move. 2. Containing two consonants
of roots belonging to languages with syllabaria.
(Syllabarium ; Triliteral.)
Bilk. To cheat, disappoint, deceive ; originally
a slang word : some connect it with balk.
BUI. [A.S. bile, the /;/// of a bird.] Used as
a weapon by yeomen of the time of Plantagenets ;
consisting of a curved blade with spike at top
and back, mounted on a six-foot staff.
Billet. [Fr. billet, a note ; the medieval L.
billa being the class, bulla.] 1. (Her.) An
oblong shape, resembling a letter or brick. 2.
Quarter compulsorily provided for troops, by the
inhabitants of a country, including the provision-
ing of them at a fixed rate.
Billet-doux. [P'r.] A love-letter.
Billet-moulding. (Arch.) A round moulding
cut in notches so as to resemble billets, or pieces
of stick.
Bill in equity. Plaintiff's statement, written
or printed, addressed as a petition to the Court
of Chancery.
Billingsgate. Coarse rough language (like
that of B. Market).
Billion. With French and other continental
arithmeticians, a thousand million, not as with
us a million million ; so a trillion is a thousand
billion, etc. (Numeration.)
Bill, or Declaration, of Slights. (Hist.) The
declaration of the Lords and Commons of Great
Britain, presented to the Prince of Orange,
February, 1688, setting forth the rights and
privileges of the people which had been violated
by James II, This Bill became law November,
1689. (Petition of Right.)
Bill of exchange. A negotiable security in the
form of a written request signed by A (drawer)
that B (drawee) will pay C (payee) the sum
mentioned, by endorsement. C can assign the
bill to D (endorsee or holder), and D to another,
ad lib.
Bill of health. A certificate given to the
masters of ships clearing out of port, certifying
the state of health in the vessels at the time of
their leaving.
Bill of indemnity. A name given to laws
passed for the relief of persons who have acted
in an illegal manner.
Billon. [Fr. copper coin, origin unknown.]
A composition of gold or silver with a larger
quantity of copper ; once common in France,
from about 1200; coined or something very
BILL
70
BISC
like it by Henry VIII. and by Elizabeth, for
Ireland. The groschen of N. Germany is of B.
Billot. [Ft., a block of wood.] Gold or silver
in bars or masses.
Billyboy. A kind of sea-barge on the E.
coast.
Bimaculate. Marked with two spots [L. bi-,
two, macula, a spot}.
Bimana. [L. bi-, two, minus, hand.} (Zool.)
Two-handed. The human race, viewed as pos-
sessing two hands on the anterior extremities.
Bimbashi. A Turkish provincial dignitary.
Bimestral. [L. bi-mestris.] (Sot.) Lasting
for two months only.
Bimetallism, Theory of. The theory that the
national, and if possible international, standard
of value should be not that of silver only or of
gold only, but a mixed standard of gold and
silver, the relative value of the metals being
determined; and this probably being 15^: I,
" which has been maintained for nearly the
whole of the present century by the French
bimetallic arrangement " (Nineteenth Century,
June, 1881).
Bims. Slang for inhabitants of Barbadoes.
Binary ; B. arithmetic ; B. logarithm ; B. star.
[L. bini, two each.} Two ; double. In B. arith-
metic the radix is 2, so that all numbers can
be expressed by two symbols, viz. I and o ; for
in B. arithmetic 2 plays the part which 10
plays in ordinary arithmetic ; thus, nooi, which
in the latter would mean lXio 4 -r-lXio* + l,
means in the former IX2 4 +IX2 3 +I, or 25.
In B. logarithms the base is 2. A B. star is
a double star whose constituents revolve round
a common centre of gravity.
Binate. [L. bini, two apiece.] (Sot.) Growing
in pairs.
Bin, Bing. 1. Properly a heap ; and so 2, a
receptacle for things stored. Wedgwood com-
pares Sw. binge, and O.N. bunga, a heap ; and
Fr. bigne, a bump, tumour.
Bind. A miner's term for shales in the coal-
measures.
Bindweed. Popular name for wild convol-
vulus.
Bing. [Dan. binge.] A heap of alum thrown
together to drain.
Binnacle, Bittacle. [Corr. of Fr. habitacle,
L.L. habitaculum, a place, habitation, for steers-
man and pilot.] The case or box on deck, in
which the compass and a light are placed.
Binomial theorem. [Fr. bindme, L. bis, twice,
Gr. vo/jrfi, distribution.] A formula for express-
ing any power of the sum of two numbers
by means of a sum of the powers and pro-
ducts of powers of the numbers severally ; thus,
(a + ) 15 = a' 5 +i5 u + io$a l W +, etc.
Bio-. [Gr. &ios, life.]
Biogenesis. [Gr. /3fos, life, yevearis, generation.]
Generation of (all) life from living germs, op-
posed to spontaneous evolution of life from dead
germless matter, on Bastian's theory. (Abio-
genesis.)
Bio-geology. [Gr. $los, life, 777, earth.] The
science which treats of the distribution of plants
and animals over the globe and the causes of
that distribution. (See Kingsley, Health and
Education, p. 173.)
Biology. The science of life [Gr. &ios], and of
the forces and phenomena of life ; these including
the sciences of Zool. and Bot.
Biolytic. [Gr. \va>, I loose.] Tending to
destroy life.
Biotaxy. The arrangement [Gr. TO|IS] or
classification of animate beings according to
their outward organization.
Biparietal diameter. [L. paries, -etis, a
wall.] (Anat.) The diameter between the
parietal bones ; applied to the cranium.
Biparous. [L. pario, / bring forth.] Bring-
ing forth two at a birth.
Bipeltate. [A word made up from L. bi-,
two, and Gr. TreArTj, pelton, a shield.] Pro-
tected as by a double shield or buckler.
Bipinnate. [L. bi-, two, pinna, a feather.]
(Bot.) Twice pinnate ; e.g. the frond of bracken.
Bipontine editions of classics. Published A.D.
1779, at Deuxponts, or Zweibrucken, a town of
Rhemish Bavaria, formerly capital of an in-
dependent duchy. [L. bi-, two, pons, pontis, a
bridge.]
Bipupillate. [L. bi-, two, pupilla, the pupil
of the eye.] (Entomb) Applied to a spot with
two differently coloured dots, on the wing of a
butterfly.
Biquadratic. [L. bis, twice, quadratus,
squared.] Of or belonging to the fourth power
of a number ; in a B. equation, the fourth is
the highest power of the unknown quantity ;
as x* "jx = 103.
Bird-bolt. An arrow broad at the ends, for
shooting birds.
Bird-cherry. Prunus padus, native tree, with
long white racemes of flowers ; ord. Rosacese.
Bird-lime. A glutinous substance from the
boiled middle bark of the holly ; it may be
obtained also from the mistletoe.
Bird of paradise. A gen. of birds, Paradi-
seidae, fam. Corvidse. The males are character-
ized by gorgeous accessory plumes, springing
in some spec, from the sides or rumps, in
others from the head, bust, or shoulders. The
natives usually cut off their legs : hence the
notion of their being legless (Butler, Hudibras).
New Guinea and neighbouring islands.
Bird's-eye. A kind of tobacco, cut so that the
sections of the stalk resemble a bird's eye.
Bird's-nest. (Nattt.) A look-out place at the
masthead.
Birds' wings. (Wings.)
Bird-witted. Desultory in thought, flighty,
having no concentration.
Bireme. [L. biremis, bi-, two, remus, an
oar.] A vessel with two tiers of oars ; trireme,
one with three tiers ; so quadrireme, quinqui-
reme, with four, with five tiers.
Biretta. [L.L. birretum, a cap.] A square
black cap, rounded at the top, worn by priests.
Birk, Birken. Birch, birchen.
Birmingham system. (Caucus meeting.)
Birthwort. (Aristolochia.)
Biscuit [Fr., from L. bis coctus, twice cooked ;
cf. Ger. zwieback] is, in pottery, somewhat a
BISD
7'
BLAG
misnomer. The first baking, to preserve shape
and texture, gives the likeness, in colour and
texture, to ship biscuit ; the second firing vitri-
fies the glaze, and brings out the metallic colours.
Bis dat qui cito dat. [L.] He gives twice who
gives promptly.
Bise. [Fr.] A cutting N. wind prevalent on
the northern shores of the Mediterranean.
Bisect. [L. bi-, two, seco, / cut.] To divide
into two equal parts.
Bisetous. [L. bis, twice, setosus, bristled,
seta, a bristle.] Having two bristles.
Bishop. As a drink, hot port wine flavoured
with lemon and cloves.
Bishop Barnaby. The may-bug or lady-bird.
Bishopping the teeth of horses. A method of
passing off an aged horse for a six -year-old.
The nippers are shortened to the required length,
and an oval cavity is scooped in the corner
nippers, which is then made black by burning.
Bishops' Bible. (Bible, English. )
Bishops' Book, or Institution of a Christian
Man. A primer of doctrine and instruction, A.D.
1538; the culminating point of the Reformation
during the reign of Henry VIII. (Blunt's Preface).
Bishops in partibns. (In partibus infidelium.)
Bisk, Bisque. [Fr. bisque.] Soup of several
kinds of meat boiled together.
Bismillah. [Ar. ] A form in use with Moslems ;
in the name of God.
Bismuth. [Ger. wismuth.] A metal, crystal-
line, reddish-white, brittle ; found native in Corn-
wall, Germany, Sweden, France, and combined
with oxygen, sulphur, arsenic ; useful in the arts
and in medicine.
Bisoma. [L. bi-, two, Gr. ffZ^a, body.} A
sarcophagus, or urn, or coffin, to hold two bodies.
Bison. [L. bison, Gr. ffiffiav.] 1. Gen. of
Bovidae. 2. Spec. Aurochs (q.v.), and American
bison.
Bis peccare in bello non licet. [L.] One
cannot make more than one mistake in war ; i.e.
one mistake is (generally) fatal.
Bisque. 1. [Fr.] Unglazed porcelain. 2.
[Fr. (?) It. bisca, a gaming-house^ A term differ-
ently used in different games, meaning odds, an
advantage given to one player over another.
Bissextile. Leap year, i.e. L. annus bissextus
or bissextllis ; so called because in the Julian
calendar the 24th of February (ante-diem sextum
Kalendas Martias) was reckoned twice over in
the leap year.
Bister, Bistre. [Fr., origin unknown.] A pig-
ment, warm brown, prepared from soot of wood,
especially beechwood.
Bistoury. [(?) Pistoia, where they were made.]
A small surgical knife.
Bisulcate. [L. bi-, two, sulco, I furrow.}
1. Having two furrows. 2. (Zool.) Cloven-
footed, with two-hoofed digits.
Biting in. Eating away, by an acid, the
parts of the plate not covered by the etching
ground. (Etching.)
Bitter end. (Naut.) The part of a cable
abaft the Bitts.
Bittern. 1. A bitter compound of quassia,
etc., for adulterating beer. 2. The liquor left
after salt has been crystallized out from sea-
water.
Bittern, Bittour. [Etym. unknown ; cf. Fr.
butor, L.L. bitorius ; bos taurus seems to be an
error (Littre).] Night-feeding gen. of heron
tribe, distinguished by greater length of toe, and
by being feathered to the tarsus. Cosmopolitan ;
three spec, found in Great Britain. Gen.
BStaurus, fam. Ardeidae, ord. Grallx.
Bitter-sweet. (Bot.) Solanum dulcamara.
Ord. Solanacere. A common hedge climber,
with potato-like violet flowers and red berries.
Bitts. [Dan. bitte, Fr. bitte.] (A T aut.) Two
upright pieces of timber in the fore-part of a
ship, to which cables are fastened. There are
minor B., as the topsail-sheet 13., to which the
topsail sheet is fastened.
Bitumen. [L.] Includes the liquid mineral
substances, naphtha, petroleum, etc., as well as
the solid mineral, pitch, asphalt, mineral
caoutchouc, etc. (Asphalt.)
Bituminous shale. Thin-bedded clays, suffici-
ently rich in hydrocarbon to yield paraffin, etc.,
by distillation.
Bivalve. [L. bi, two, valvse, doors.} Possess-
ing two valves, or doors ; term applied to shells
of certain molluscs, as cockles and small Crus-
taceans.
Bivouac. [The French form of Ger. beiwache,
by-watch] In warfare, the halting of soldiers at
night in the open air.
Bixa. (Annotta.)
Bizarre. [Sp. bizarro, valiant] Capricious,
fantastic. Originally, valiant ; then, angry,
headlong ; lastly, strange, capricious.
Bjelbog. (Tschernibog.)
Black Act. A statute passed, 9 George L,
against the Waltham Blacks, who infested the
forest near Waltham, Hants. The Act was
repealed in 1828.
Black art. Mediaeval name for necromancy, as
if derived from L. niger, black.
Black-ash. A mixture of impure carbonate
and sulphide of sodium, obtained from salt-cake
(q.v.) by roasting it with chalk and coal.
Black Assize. A name given to an assize at
Oxford in 1577, from a pestilence which broke
out while it was held.
Black-band. A valuable carbonaceous iron-
stone in the coal-measures of Scotland and
S. Wales.
Black Book of Admiralty. 1. A book of
ancient Admiralty statutes and ordinances.
2. A mythical record of offences.
Black cap. Assumed by a judge, that he may
be in full dress.
Black chalk. A kind of shale or clay-slate,
containing much carbon ; used for drawing, and
ground down for paint ; in Carnarvonshire, Isle
oflslay, Spain.
Black Country. The district between Bir-
mingham and Wolverhampton, full of coal-pits
and furnaces.
Black Death. (From black spots on the body).
The Oriental plague which desolated Asia and
Europe in the middle of the fourteenth century.
Black dose, or draught. Sulphate of magnesia
BLAC
72
BLAT
and infusion of senna, with aromatics to render
it palatable ; Epsom salts.
Black flux. A mixture of charcoal and carbo-
nate of potash. (Flux.)
Black Friars. A mendicant order, called
from their habit, B. F. in England ; in France,
Jacobins, as living in Rue St. Jacques ; Preach-
ing F., from their office of converting Jews and
heretics ; and Dominicans, as founded by St.
Dominic, a Spaniard, early in the thirteenth
century.
Black game. Heath-fowl ; opposed to red
game, as grouse.
Black-hole. Place of solitary confinement for
soldiers.
Black Hole of Calcutta. (Hist.) A dungeon
in which Suraj-u-Daula, 1756, shut up 146
English prisoners taken in the defence of the
city, of whom all but sixteen were stifled to
death.
Black-lead, Plumbago, properly Graphite,
into which no lead enters. A greyish-black
mineral, chiefly carbon, but containing alumina,
silica, etc. ; used for making pencils.
Black-letter. The old English or Gothic
letter, generally used in manuscript writing
before the introduction of printing, and continued
in types to the end of the sixteenth century, and
in many instances later.
Black-letter saints' days. In the Calendar
of the Book of Common Prayer, the commemo-
ration days of saints whose names are not
rubricated, and for whom no special Collect,
Epistle, and Gospel are provided.
Black list A list of the insolvent, bankrupt,
swindlers, etc., printed for the private use and
protection of the trading community.
Black mail An impost in the Highlands
and bordering Lowlands of Scotland, in the
earlier part of the eighteenth century, submitted
to as a compromise with robbers. (Mails.)
Black Monday. 1. The cold Easter Monday
of 1360, April 14 ; when many of Edward III.'s
soldiers died before Paris. 2. The first Monday
of work after holidays.
Black Monks. (Augustines.)
Black quarter, Black spald, Quarter eviL
An apoplectic disease in cattle, especially
young cattle ; caused by rich pasture on stiff
und rained soil, by change from poor to rich
pasture, etc.
Black Eod, Usher of the. Chief gentleman -
usher to the sovereign ; summons the House of
Commons to the Peers when the royal assent is
given to Bills ; takes into custody any peer guilty
of breach of privilege. He belongs to the Order
of the Garter.
Black Rood of Scotland. "A piece of the
true cross," in ebony gilt, brought in the eleventh
century by the wife of King Malcolm, and left
as an heirloom of the Scottish kingdom. It was
lost by David II. at Durham, and was placed in
the cathedral, whence it disappeared at the Refor-
mation.
Black rubric, i.e. a statement, not really a
rubric or direction. The declaration at the end
of the Communion Office, respecting kneeling :
in rubricated Prayer-books printed black; in
others printed in Roman type, not in italics.
Blacks. 1. A kind of ink for copper-plate
printing, made by charring the refuse of a wine-
press. 2. (Bianchi and Neri.)
Black ships. Indian vessels built of teak.
Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of
England. Published 1765-69. Originally lectures
at Oxford, by Blackstone, the first Vinerian
Professor of Law ; appointed judge, 1770.
Black Watch. The 42nd Regiment, into
which companies were enrolled, 1737, who had
watched the Highlands, dressed in dark tartan.
Bladud. In British legend, the father of King
Lear. He is said to have built the city of Bath,
where he was cured of his leprosy by its medi-
cinal waters.
Blague. [Fr.] Humbug, brag, intended to
mystify ; its earlier meaning, a tobacco-pouch.
Littre refers to Gael, blagh, to blow, inflate.
Blaize. (Fake.)
Blanc coursier. [Fr., white horse.] The
herald of the Order of the Bath (from the white
horse of Hanover).
Blanch-holding. (Scot. Law.) A tenure for a
peppercorn duty.
Blanching. 1. Whitening metal for coinage.
2. Coating iron plates with tin.
Blanching-liquor. A solution of chloride of
lime for bleaching.
Blanchisseuse. [Fr.] Washerwoman.
Blanket [Fr. blanchet.] Woollen cloth to
lay inside the tympans in printing.
Blanketeers. Were to have marched, taking
blankets, etc., with them, to petition for reform,
to the Prince Regent in London, March, 1817.
(Peterloo.)
Blank verse. The unrimed heroic verse of
five feet, or ten syllables, each foot being in
general either an Iambus or a Spondee.
Blarney stone, To have kissed the. To be
extremely persuasive, to be an adept at soft
sawder. Cormack Macarthy, Lord of Blarney,
duped Carew, A.D. 1602.
Blase. Satiated, cloyed ; etym. unknown.
Littre compares blaser, to burn, blaze, a pro-
vincial use of which is = dessecher, to dry up,
from excessive use of stimulants.
Blast, Blast-pipe. The waste steam from
a high-pressure engine is driven through the
Blast-pipe into the chimney, and, causing a
partial vacuum in the smoke-box, increases the
draught through the furnace.
Blastema. [Gr.] 1. (Anat.) The albuminous
formative element in animal tissue. 2. (ot.)
The axis of an embryo.
Blast-furnace. A furnace for smelting iron
ores, an operation requiring a very high tem-
perature, which is obtained by a strong blast of
air forced into the furnace from beneath.
Blasto-. [Gr. P\affTOs, bud, sprout.]
Blastoderm. [Gr. Se'p/io, skin] The germinal
membrane of the ovum.
Blastogenesis. In plants, multiplication by
buds. [Gr. jSAao-TT/ and -TOS, bud, sprout,
ytVeiris, origin]
Blatant. Onomatop. roaring, bellowing ;
BLAT
cf. blare, blatter. B. Beast is Rumour or Slander,
of "vile tongue" and " hellishe race" (Faery
Queen, bk. vi.).
Blateroon. [L. blatro, -nem.] A babbler,
idle talker.
Blatter. [L. blatero, verb.] To prate, talk idly.
Blazonry. [Fr. blason, a coat of amis.] The
art of painting or describing coats of arms-
according to heraldic rules.
Bleb, Blab, Blob. Originally a drop of water, a
blister ; generally an air-bubble in glass, ice, etc.
[Cf. Ger. blahen, to swell.]
Blechnum. [Gr. ^A^x 6 ""-] (Bot.) A gen. of
plants, ord. Ferns. B. boreale, Hard fern, the
only British spec. Common in woods.
Blee. [A.S. bleoh, blewan, to blow, bloom.]
Complexion, colour.
Blench. [Collateral form of blanch, to grow
pale] To avoid, elude, start from.
Blende. [Ger. blenden, to dazzle.] (Mm.)
Zinc B., Garnet B., Black-jack. 1. Properly
sulphide of zinc ; in Cornwall, Cumberland,
etc., and many parts of Europe and N. America.
2. Popularly applied to many other lustrous
minerals.
Blenn-. [Gr. jSAecvo, phelgm, mucus] (Med.)
Bless [akin to bliss, blithe], from the action
of the hand in making -f- , sometimes = to
brandish.
Blessed thistle . (from its supposed medicinal
virtue). Carduus benedictus of old writers and
of Med. ; gen. ord. Compositae.
Blets. [Fr. blet, overripe] Spots of decay in
apples, pears ; the work of a low form of fungus.
Bleu du roi [Fr., king's blue.] In china, a
deep cobalt blue.
Bleu, Oros. [Fr.] The darker variety of B.
du roi.
Bleyme. In a horse, inflammation between
the sole and bone of the foot. [(?) Corr. of Fr.
flegme, Gr. <f>\fy^a, inflammation]
Blindage. Building of strong beams leaning
close together against a wall, or against another
set of beams, and covered with fascines and earth,
for the protection of troops and stores.
Blind-coal. (Anthracite.)
Blind-fish. (Hag.)
Blind Harry. Scotch minstrel of fifteenth
century. Author of the romance of Wallace.
Blind hockey. A gambling game with cards.
Blindman. At the General Post Office, a
decipherer of illegible or misspelt addresses.
Blind story. (Eccl. Arch.) A name for the
Triforium, or second story above the Pier arches,
and below the Clerestory.
Blind- worm. Anguis fragilis [L., fragile
snake]. Harmless spec, of footless lizard, fre-
quently taken for venomous snake. Fam.
Scincidoe.
Blink, The dazzling whiteness about the
horizon, caused by reflexion of light from fields
of ice.
Blistered steel Steel produced by heating to
redness bars of pure iron, surrounded by
powdered charcoal, etc., till they have absorbed
sufficient carbon. When taken out, the bars are
covered with blisters.
73 BLOW
Blister-fly. [O.E. blaesan, to blcm< ; cf. Ger.
blase, blister, D. bluyster, id.\ Spanish fly, Can-
tharis vesicatoria [Gr. Ka.v6a.pis, name of various
beetles, L. vesica, a bladder, blister]. A beetle,
about one inch long, green, with gold reflexions ;
rare in England. Ord. Coleoptera.
BlocJL [A Tetit. and Scand. word.] 1. Two
or more pulleys or sheaves placed side by side
on a common axle in parallel mortices cut in a
properly shaped piece of wood. 2. (Naut.) A
pulley made in four parts : (i) the shell, or out-
side ; (2) the sheave, or wheel ; (3) the pin, or
axle ; (4) the strop, a piece of rope or iron by
which the block is made fast. Building B.,
tranverse pieces of timber to support a ship when
building, or in a dry dock.
Block-house. (Fortif.) Covered fieldwork,
composed of trunks of trees, with a shell-proof
roof of earth.
Block machinery. A system for manufacturing
the shells and sheaves of blocks for ship tackle,
set up in Portsmouth Dockyard by Sir M. I.
Brunei, 1802-8, and at Chatham in 1807.
Blomary. The first forge through which iron
passes, after it is melted from the ore. (Bloom.)
Blonde. [Fr. blond, fair.] A fine kind of
lace, made of silk (from its colour).
Blood and Iron, The Man of. Prince Bismarck.
Blood money. Money earned by giving in-
formation or by agreeing to help in bringing a
capital charge against another.
Blood murmurs. (Med.) Heard in certain
portions of the arterial system, especially in
cases of anaemia (q.v.).
Blood-root of N. America, or Puccoon. (Bot.)
Sanguinaria Canadensis, ord. Papaveraceae ; its
fleshy root-stalk and its leaf-stalks abound in
a red juice ; acrid, narcotic, emetic, purgative ;
much used in United States.
Blood-stone. (Heliotrope.)
Bloodwit. [From A.S. blod, blood, wyte, pity.]
A fine for bloodshed.
Bloody Assizes. Those held by Judge Jeffreys
in 1685, after the suppression of Monmouth's
rebellion.
Bloom. 1. [A Teut. and Scand. word.] A
clouded appearance, like the bloom on fruit,
sometimes assumed by the varnish on a painting.
2. [From O.E. bloma, a mass] A mass of crude
iron from the puddling furnace, while undergoing
its first hammering.
Bloomer costume. A dress for females, de-
vised in America in 1848, approaching as nearly
as possible to that of men. The attempt to
introduce it into England was unsuccessful.
Blooming. (Shingling.)
Blowing lands. (Agi'.) Lands liable to have
their surface blown away.
Blow-pipe. An instrument which, by driving
a blast through a flame, concentrates its heat on
any object. The oxy-hydrogen blow-pipe is one
in which a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen
used for the blast instead of air.
Blowsalinda. In Gay's Shepherd's Week, a
rustic lass.
Blow the gaff, To. (Naut.) To let the cat
out of the bag.
BLUB
74
BODY
Blubber. [Akin to blob, bleb, drop, lump.}
1. A bubble. 2. The oil-bearing fat of whales
and other fish.
Blue and Green factions. (Factions.)
Bluebell (Bot.) Wild hyacinth (Scilla nutans)
or Campanula rotundifolia.
Blue-book, The, on any subject, is the report
or paper published by Parliament ; in blue paper
covers.
Bluebottle. (Bot.) Of corn-fields, sometimes
cultivated for its coloured flower-heads ; Cen-
taurea cyanus, ord. Compositse.
Blue-gowns in Scot. or King's Bedesmen,
i.e. praying for him ; and receiving a small
bounty, with a blue gown, and badge " pass and
repass ; " and so = privileged mendicants, such
as Edie Ochiltree (Walter Scott, Antiquary).
None appointed since 1833 ; all have now died
out.
Blue-John. The blue variety of fluor-spar.
Blue Laws. A derisive name for certain
regulations in the early government of New
Haven plantation, which punished breaches of
good manners and morality; "blue" being an
epithet applied to the Puritans, after the Restora-
tion.
Blue Mantle. The second pursuivant (so
named by Edward III., from the French coat
which he assumed, being blue).
Blue-peter. [Origin doubtful.] (Naut.) A
blue flag with a white square in the centre.
When flown at the foretop masthead, it indicates
that the vessel is ready to sail.
Blue-pill. (Med.) Pilula hydrargyri ; mercury
in the metallic form, very finely subdivided ;
mixed with conserve of roses, to form a pill.
Blue-stocking. A literary lady, but pedantic,
unpractical. About 1781, B. S. Clubs, accord-
ing to Boswell, arose, of literary persons of both
sexes ; at which Mr. Stillingfleet, gravely dressed
and in blue stockings, was one of the most
constant.
Bluff. The precipitous face presented by a
high bank to the sea or to a river.
Blunderbuss. 1. A noisy blunderer. 2. A
short, wide-mouthed, noisy gun.
Boa. [L. boa and bova, a serpent; or a
water-snake, said to suck cows.] Name of a
non-venomous gen. of serpents, killing its prey
by constriction. Trop. America. Fam. Pytho-
nidse.
Boabdil. (BobadiL)
Board, By the. (Naut.) Almost level with the
deck. Board and board, side by side, and touch-
ing. Board. (Leg.)
Boart, Bort, Carbonado. Black diamond,
rarely in perfect crystals ; used for boring, etc.
(Diamond.)
Boast To block out stone into a simple,
rough boss-like form, leaving the carving, etc.,
for future work, the rough projection itself being
Boatila. (Naut.) A flat -bottomed narrow-
sterned boat. Gulf of Manar, between Ceylon
and India.
Boatswain. [From boat, and swain = A.S.
swan, a lad.] (Naut.) The officer of the first
lieutenant ; he gives no orders, but reports de-
fects, and has charge of the ship's rigging,
anchors, etc. He also pipes hands to their
duties. B. captain, nickname for one thoroughly
acquainted with his duties. B. 's mate, assistant
to B.
Bobadil. An Anglicized form of the Ar.
Abu Abdallah, or father of Abdallah. Also
written Boabdil. (Matamoros.)
Bobadil, Captain, In Ben Jonson's Every
Man in His Humour, a bragging coward.
Bobbin. [Fr. bobine.] A wooden pin or reel
for winding thread on.
Bobbinet \i.e. bobbin net]. A kind of
machine-made lace.
Bobibation, (Solinisation.)
Bobo'link, Rice troopial, Rice bird, Reed
bird, Reed bunting (of U.S.A., not that of
Britain). (Ornith.) Butter bird of Jamaica,
Skunk bird of Cree Indians. Gen. and spec, of
American Hang-nests ; migratory ; length, seven
or eight inches ; plumage, black, white, and
yellow. Gen. DolTchonyx [Gr. So\"txos, long,
ovv\, claw], fam. Icteridse, ord. Passeres.
Bobstay. (Stays.)
BocaL [Gr. 0avKa\is, a water-cooler.] A
cylindrical glass vessel with a wide short neck.
Bocardo. The building at Oxford in which
Cranmer was imprisoned, by which Ridley and
Latimer passed on their way to be burned in the
city ditch opposite Balliol College, October 16,
I 55S- So named from an impracticable figure
in Logic.
Bocasine. [O.Fr. boccasin.] A sort of fine
buckram.
Bocca. [It., mouth] In glass-making, the
round hole through which the glass is removed
from the furnace.
Boccaccio. (Decameron.)
Bocedisation. (Solmisation.)
Booking. A kind of coarse baize made at
Bocking.
Bocland. [A.S.] Land held by book,
charter, or deed, and so continuing in perpetual
inheritance, while the Folc-lands, at the end of a
given term, reverted to the community. The only
burdens on Bocland were those of the Trin5da
Necessitas, that is, the duty of contributing to the
costs of war, and the repair of castles and bridges.
Bodach Glas. (Banshie.)
Bod-, Bos-. A house ; part of Cymric names, as
in Bod-min, Bos-cawen.
Bode's law. (Astron.) An arithmetical for-
mula, expressing approximately the distances of
the planets from the sun.
Bodleian Library. The L. of the University
of Oxford ; so called from Sir Thomas Bodley,
1597, its restorer and benefactor.
Body. A term used for the paste as mixed for
manufacturing pottery or porcelain.
Body colours. Water-colours mixed with
white, consistent, opaque ; opposed to trans-
parent tints and washes.
Body of the place. (Mil.) Enceinte or circuit
of a fortress, comprising the interior rampart
immediately surrounding the town fortified.
[Enceinte is L. incincta, pregnant.]
BOED
75
Boedromion. [Gr.] Third Attic month,
beginning fifty-nine days after the summer
solstice.
Boeotian = stupid, dull, foggy-minded, as the
inhabitants of Boeotia ' ' crasso are nati "
(Horace) were said to be, untruly.
Bog-butter. In Ireland, a peculiar substance,
seventy-four per cent, carbon, formed by de-
composition of peat ; in colour and consistency
like butter ; liquid at 124 F.
Bogle. (Bogy.)
Bogomiles. [Slav. Bog, God, miloric, have
mercy.} A Bulgarian sect of the twelfth century,
who are said to have been Manicheans.
Bog-spavin. (Spavin.)
Bog-trotter. One of the lower Irish peasantry,
who traverse bogs with singular speed and
safety, and often elude justice.
Bogue, To. (Naut.) To drop off a wind.
Used only of clumsy craft.
Bogus. [Amer.] Spurious ; originally of
counterfeit coin.
Bogy, Bogle. (Myth.) Fairies or super-
natural beings, amongst whom are included the
Brownies, who answer to the Latin Lares, or
household spirits. (Puck.)
Bohemian. 1. A gipsy. 2, One of unsettled
habits, mentally. [Fr. Bohemien, as coming
into France from Bohemia ; cf. gypsy ; i.e. enter-
ing Europe by ^Egyptus, a district at the mouth
of the Danube.]
Bohemian Brethren. A sect which sprang up
in Bohemia in the latter part of the fifteenth
century. In 1535 they renounced Anabaptism,
and were united first with the Lutherans and
afterwards with the Zuinglians. The Moravians
seem now to be their nearest representatives.
(Taborites.)
Bohemian glass. 1. A hard, scarcely fusible
lass, consisting of silicates of lime and potash.
. Ornamental glass, containing in addition
silicate of alumina.
Boidae. (Boa.)
Boiling point. The temperature at which a
given substance passes into vapour, and beyond
which its temperature cannot be raised under
given circumstances of atmospheric pressure,
purity of the substance, etc. ; the B. P. of a
thermometer is the temperature of steam arising
from boiling water under a pressure of 29'9O5
inches of mercury.
Bold boat. (Naut.) One that stands a sea
well.
-bold, -bottle. A house; part of A.S. or
Norse names. [A.S. botl, house, bytkan, to
build.}
Bole. 1. The stem of a tree, from the idea of
roundness ; cf. v. to boll, Ger. bollig, bowl, ball,
etc. 2. [Gr. 0<\os, a clod, earth.} (Geol.) An
earthy mineral, like clay in structure, of silica,
alumina, and red oxide of iron ; found amongst
basalt and other trap rocks of the O. and N.
World. Armenian B. is used in colouring an-
chovies.
Bolero. (Said to be name of inventor.)
.Spanish dance, in triple time, with marked
rhythm, representing various phases of love.
BOMB
Boletus. [L.] An extensive gen. of Fungi,
resembling agarics, but having, beneath the cap
or pileus, not gills but pores or small tubes ;
some are edible.
Bolio. [Hind.] Indian river boat, longer
and narrower than a budgerow. (Bazaras.)
Bollandists. (J. Bolland, 1643.) A succes-
sion of associated Jesuits, in Antwerp, who
published Acta Sanctorum, 1643-1794 ; the
work, more than once interrupted, is now carried
on by aid of the Belgian Government.
Boiled. Exod. ix. ; generally understood to
mean rounded, swollen ; i.e. in the seed-vessel.
[D. bol, bolle, a head; cf. ball, bowl, bulla,
etc.] Johnson, loc., gives " to rise in a stalk ; "
Speaker's Commentary, "in blossom."
Bolognese school. A school of painting, the
first being founded in the fifteenth century by
Marco Troppo, its great master being Francia ;
the second, in the sixteenth, by Bagnacarallo ;
the third, at the end of the same century, by
the Caracci.
Bolsover stone. Yellow limestone of B., in
Derbyshire, of which the Houses of Parliament
are built ; a combination of carbonate of mag-
nesia with carbonate of lime.
Bolster, i.e. boltster. A smith's tool, used for
punching holes and making bolts.
Bolter. A kind of sieve, which bolts or sifts
coarser from finer parts of meal. [Cf. Ger.
beutelen, to shake, to bolt, and L. pulto, I strike,
knock.} Bolting, the act of sifting.
Bolt-head. A glass globe with a long, straight
neck, used by chemists in distilling.
Bolt-rope. (Naut.) The rope round the edge
of a sail.
Bolus. [Gr. fttaXos, clod, lump of earth} A
medicinal preparation in a large, soft mass, to
be divided into pills.
Bomba, King, i.e. the Liar King. Ferdinand,
King of the Two Sicilies. B. is the puff of the
distended cheek, expressive, in Italy, of disbelief
of the thing said.
Bombardier. [Fr. bombarder, to bombard.}
Non-commissioned officer in the artillery, ranking
immediately after a corporal.
Bombardier beetle. (Entom.) Brachinus cre-
pitans, one of the ground beetles (Carabidae).
When handled, it discharges a volatilized acid
with an explosion. Common in England. Ord.
Coleoptfira.
Bombardo. [It.] A wind instrument of
former times, large and rude, upon which the
modern oboe, clarionet, etc., have been im-
provements.
Bombardon. A large brass bass wind instru-
ment, having a tone somewhat like that of an
ophicleide.
Bombasin, Bombazine. [L. bombycinus, made
of silk or of fine cotton} A fabric, of silk and
worsted mixed.
Bombast. [Gr. &6fj.&v, silkworm, raw silk.}
Padding ; and so turgid language.
Bombastes Furioso. The hero of a burlesque
opera, by Rhodes, in ridicule of modern tragedy,
Bombax. [Gr. &6(j.pv, silk, with which
cotton was at first confounded.] (Bot.) A
BOMB
76
gen. of plants, B. ceiba, common silk-cotton
tree.
Bombidae, Bombus. [Onornatop. > c f- similar
words in Gr., L., Fr., It. ; Ger. hummel, Eng.
humble-bee.] (Zoo/.) Humble-bees, Bumble-bees.
Fam. of bees with thick hairy bodies, making
nests underground. Ord. Hymenoptera.
Bomb-ketch. (Ketch.)
Bombolo. [It. bombola, a bottle] A glass globe
with a short neck, used in refining camphor.
Bombycidae, Bombyx. [Gr. jS^/tof.] (Entom.)
Silkworm moths. Sub-fam. of Lpidoptera.
Bombycilla, Bombycivora. [Gr. 04u/fo, silk-
worm, L. voro, 1 devour.] (Ornith,) Names
applied by Brisson and Temninck respectively
to a portion of fam. Ampelidae, including Bohe-
mian chatterer. (Chatterer, B.)
Bombycmous. Silken, in colour like a silk-
worm. (Bombasin.)
Bona Dea. [L., the good goddess] A Latin
goddess, whose rites were celebrated only by
women.
Bona fide. [L.] With good faith, fair and
straightforward.
Bonair. Complaisant, yielding. In the
espousals of the Sarum Manual, a wife promises
to be " bonere and buxum" (Debonair.)
Bona notabilia. In Law, goods exceeding ,5
in value, belonging to a person dying in another
diocese.
Bonassus. [L. bonasus, Gr. &6vaaos.]
(Aurochs; Bison.)
Bona vacantia. [L.] In Rom. Law, goods
lying ownerless ; in Eng. Law, goods in which
the king only claims a property : royal fish,
shipwreck, treasure trove, etc., personal property
of an intestate who leaves no next of kin.
Bon avocat, mauvais voisin. [Fr.] A good
lawyer is a bad neighbour.
Bond. [A.S.] (Arch.) The arrangement of
materials in a wall "tied" together in a
way which shall show harmony of structure ;
known as English and Flemish B. (Stretcher.)
Bondager. [A.S. bonda ; cf. Icel. bondi, a
husbandman] (Hind.)
Bond-stone. One reaching through the whole
thickness of a wall, and so binding together its
two faces.
Bond-timber is worked into a wall longitu-
dinally ; to tie the work as it is setting, and
permanently.
Boneblack. Animal charcoal, made by cal-
cining bones in closed vessels.
Bone-caves. (Caves.)
Bone earth. The ash left when bones are
burnt, consisting chiefly of phosphate of lime ;
used as manure and for cupels.
Boneset. (Comfrey.)
Bon Gaultier. Pseudonym of Professor
Aytoun, author of Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers,
and Theodore Martin, who published a volume
of ballads under this name.
Bon gre, mal gre. [Fr.] Willing or unwil-
ling, L. nolens volens ; gre, accord, being from
L. gratum.
Bon homme Jacques. [Fr.] A name given to
the peasantry of the Jacquerie (^.7'.).
Boniface. In Farquhar's Beaux' Stratagem,
an ideal innkeeper.
Bonito. [Sp.] Two spec, of Tunny fish.
(Zoo/.) (i) Thynnus Pelamys. (2) Scomber
Rochei, about two feet and a half long, mottled
blue back, white belly ; this has four dark lines
lengthwise each side of the belly. May be
caught with artificial flying-fish. Mediterranean
and Atlantic, occasionally British coasts. Fam.
Scombridse, ord. Acanthopterygii, sub-class Te-
leostei.
Bon marche. [Fr., good market, cheapness]
Adopted as the name of the vast business of the
late Achille Boucicaulti
Bonne. [Fr.] Nursemaid, nursery governess.
Bonne bouche. [Fr.] A dainty morsel.
Bonnet. [Fr. bonnet, cap, L.L. boneta, some
kind of cloth.] 1. (Mil.) Small raised work of
two faces, placed on the salients in fortification,
to increase the height of the parapet. 2.
(A not.) Retictilum [L., little net], Honey -comb
bag. Second stomach of a ruminant. 3. (Naut.)
(Preserving the original idea of Fr. bonnet, stuff;
etymology unknown.) A piece of canvas, laced
to the bottom of fore-and-aft sails in a light wind.
Bonnet laird. Owner of a cottage and an
acre or two of land ; who wore, till lately, the
old braid bonnet of the Lowland Scottish
peasantry, broad, round, blue, with red tuft.
Bonnet piece. A beautiful native gold coin of
James V. of Scotland ; with bonnet instead of
crown .
Bonnet rouge. [Fr.] The red cap of Liberty.
(Liberty, Cap of.)
BonnibeL [Fr. bonne et belle.] A girl fair
and good.
Bono Johnny. Pigeon English (q.v.) for Eng-
lishman.
Bon ton. [Fr., good tone.] Good breeding.
Bonus. [L., good.] A premium or advan-
tage. In Insurance, a share of profits given to
policy-holders.
Bon vivant. [Fr.] A free liver.
Bonze. (Talapoins.)
Bonzes. The European name for the priests
of the religion of Fo or Buddha in the Chinese,
Birman, and Japanese empires. [Skt. bandya,
i.e. vandya, deserving praise]
Booby-hatch. (Naut.) A smaller companion,
lifting off in one piece.
Bookland. (Bocland.)
Book of Sports. Proclaimed at Greenwich by
James I., May, 1618, sanctioning certain amuse-
ments for Sunday after service ; revived by
Charles I., 1633 ; ordered by Lords and Com-
mons, 1643, to be publicly burnt.
Boom. 1. (Naut.) [Cf. beam, Ger. baum, a
tree or pole] A long spar used to extend the
foot of a sail. B. forwards, carry all possible sail.
B. off, keep off with spars. To top one's B.,
start off. Booms of a ship. (Decks.) 2. Any
obstacle across a river or harbour, for protection
in war, as spars, an iron chain, etc.
Boomerang. Bow-shaped Australian missile,
of hard wood, for war, sport, or chase, about two
inches and a half broad, two feet long ; with
one side flat, the other rounded. On failing
BOON
77
BOTT
to strike its mark it returns in its flight to the
thrower.
Boon. [Gael, bunach.] The refuse from
dressed flax.
Boot and saddle. (Mil.) Preparatory trumpet-
call for cavalry mounted parade.
Bootikin, Boot, Boots. Used judicially in
Scotland not after 1690. A case of wood for
the leg, into which wedges were driven, to ex-
tort confession.
Boots. (Cinderella.)
Booty. In Ireland, one of nomadic, unsettled
life.
Borachio. 1. A bottle or cask. [Sp. borracha,
a pig-skin bottle.} 2. A drunkard.
Borage, Common. A spec. (Officlnalis) of
Borago, a gen. of plants, ord. BoragineEe,
growing wild in many parts of Europe. Its
flowers and leaves are used in flavouring claret-
cup.
Borassus flabellifonnis, or Fan palm. [L. fla-
bellum,. a fan.] (Bot.) The only spec, of the gen.
B. or Skt. Tala,or Palmyra, the finest of palms ;
the sap yields palm wine, or toddy, and sugar.
Borax. [Heb. borak, white.} Biborate of
soda, used as a flux arid in soldering. (Boron ;
TinoaL)
Border justice. Jeddart justice, hanging first
and trying afterwards. (Antiphrasis.)
Bord-service. Tenure of bordlands, from which
is maintained the lord's board or table.
Bordnre. [Fr.] (Her.} A border round an
escutcheon, containing the fifth part of the
field.
Bore. [Ger. bor.] (Want.) A tidal wave of
great height, confined to certain rivers and inlets
of the sea, e.g. Severn. It comes suddenly with
a peculiar roar, and returns as suddenly. In the
Petticodiac, Bay of Fundy, it is seventy-two
feet high.
Boreas. [Gr.] The N. wind, or rather
N.N.E. ; Aquilo. (Wind.)
Borecole, or Sprouts. A variety of Brassica
obe'racea, ord. Crucifgrse. [Corr. of broccoli (?).]
Boree. An Irish dance.
Borel, Borrel. [O.Fr. burel, coarse cloth for
peasantry, L. burra.] Rude, illiterate, clownish.
Borer-fish. (Hag.)
Born alive. In Law, manifesting life after the
extrusion of the whole body.
Boron. An infusible element of a dark olive
colour, resembling carbon in its properties. It
was first obtained from boracic acid, its trioxide,
the salts of which are called borates. (Borax.)
Borough English. A mode of descent in some
ancient boroughs and manors, in which the
owner's youngest son, or his youngest brother
(if he has no issue), is the heir. (Gavelkind.)
Borrowing days. Three days of April, which
before the change of style were April i, 2, 3,
and so seemed more properly to belong to
March.
Borsholder. [A.S. burh-ealdor.] (Hist.) The
elder or chief of a borough or tything.
Bort. The smaller fragments removed from
diamonds in cutting them. (Boast.)
Borten. A narrow wooden staff.
Bosa. [Pers. boza.] An Eastern drink made
from fermented millet seed.
Boscage. Underwood, land covered with
thickets. [Fr. bocage, O.Fr. boscage, boscati-
cum, from L.L. boscus, wood.} Jlosky, contain-
ing thickets, copses.
Boshes. [Ger. boschung, slope.} The lower
part of a blast furnace, sloping inward to the
hearth.
Bos in lingua. [L.] An ox is on his tongue,
i.e. some weighty reason for silence (or, less pro-
bably, a bribe, a coin stamped with an ox) ; cf.
f3ovs 7rl y\diffffri (/Eschylus, Again., 36).
Bosjesman. The Dutch name for some African
tribes, akin to the Hottentot, called by the Eng-
li^Ji Bushmen.
Bosky. (Boscage.)
Boss. [An Amer. word.] 1. A master work-
man ; said to be D. baas, master. 2. One who
is superior, in any way, to his fellows.
Bossage. (Boast.)
Bot. [Gael. botus, boiteag, a maggot.}
(Entom.) Larva of botfly. CEstrus eijui [Gr.
ola-Tpos] deposits its eggs on the horse's hairs ;
by his licking the place they are transferred to
his intestines, where they are hatched. (E. bovis
burrows in the skin of the cow. (E. ovis infests
the frontal sinus of sheep. Ord. Diptera.
Botanomancy. Divination [Gr. ^avrtia} by
means of plants, flowers [ftordvri, herb, grass},
practised by the ancients to discover their loves ;
and by Teutonic nations ; e.g. Marguerite and
the star-flowers in Faust.
Botargo. [Sp. botarga.] A sausage, made
with mullet roe, inducing thirst.
Bote. [A.S. bot, from betan, to repair^ 1.
Necessaries used off an estate for its mainten-
ance ; as hay-bote, wood for repairing hedges.
2. Reparation, as in bootless.
Botelliferous sponges. Having straight swelled
branches. [L. botellus, dim. of botfilus, a sausage.}
Bothie. [Gael, bothag, a cottage.} This word
has come to mean a house or barrack of lodgings
for unmarried labourers in E. and N.E. parts
of Scotland.
Botree of Ceylon, Peepul of India. Flcus
religiosa, somewhat like the banyan ; held sacred
by Buddhists, planted near every temple.
Botryo'idal. (Bot., Mm.) Having the shape
or likeness [Gr. eZSos] of a cluster of grapes
\fi6rpvs}.
Bottcher ware. (From its discoverer.) A
kind of reddish-brown pottery, unglazed, but
polished by a lathe, and afterwards covered with
a dark varnish and painted or gilded.
Bottom. (Naut.) Hull of a ship ; put by
Synecdoche (t].v.) for the ship itself; thus,
British B. means British ship, Dutch B. Dutch
ship, etc.
Bottom, Nick. The silly conceited weaver
with an ass's head, with whom Titania in
Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream fell
in love.
Bottomry. Hypothecation of a vessel (a
bottom) as security for money lent, which is lost
to lender if the vessel be totally lost.
Bottonny. [Fr. bontonne.J (Her.) Having
BOTU
BOWC
each arm terminated with three semicircular buds
[Fr. boutons], arrayed like a trefoil.
Botullfonn. [L. bolulus.] Shaped like a
sausage.
Bouge. [(?) Fr. bouche, a mouth; cf. bonne
bouche, a dainty morsel.] Victuals, allowance of
food.
Bouget [Fr.] {Her.) An ancient vessel for
carrying water.
Bought, or Bout, of the plough. [A.S. beogan,
bigan, bugan, to bend ; cf. bight ; Dan. bagt,
a bay, Ger. biegen, to bend.] The course of the
plough both up and down the space cultivated.
Bought-note. Transcript of a broker's signed
entry of a contract given to the seller. Said-
note, ditto to the buyer.
Bougie. [Fr., a -wax-candle, first made at B.,
in Algiers.] (Med.) A small rod, metal or
other, for distending contracted mucous canals
in various parts of the body.
Boulder-clay. (Geol.) An important member
of the Glacial deposits, Northern drift, Erratics,
etc., of the post-Tertiary system. The glacial
beds, produced from glaciers, coast -ice, and ice-
bergs, differ in the several parts of England.
They comprise the Lower B. clay (a sandy clay,
with pebbles and boulders of granite, greenstone,
grit, etc.), the Middle drift of sands and gravels,
and the Great Upper B. clay. Arctic shells occur
in some places. In Scotland, the Till, a dark
clay with boulders of old hard rocks, is the chief
member.
Boulders, Erratic blocks. (Geol.) Large an-
gular or subangular masses of rock, often striated,
which have been carried by ice to great distances
from the parent rocks.
Boule. [Fr.] Inlaid work in wood, gilt-metal,
or tortoiseshell ; so called from a cabinet-maker
or ebeniste of the time of Louis XIV., whose
name has been corrupted into Buhl.
Boulevard. [Fr., O.Fr. boulevart, from Ger.
boll-werk, a fortification] Formerly a broad
rampart, but now any open promenade in a
town.
Bouleversement [Fr.] An upsetting, over-
turning of one's plans ; bouleverser, to make to
turn [L. versare] like a ball [bulla].
Boulimy, Bulimy. [Gr. oi/Aj/Jo, excessive
hunger.] Ravenous insatiable appetite ; a disease,
lit. ox-hunger [ftovs, an ox] ; so /-rush, 0.r-daisy,
Aorse-chestnut, horse-laugh, etc., = on a large
scale. (Bucephalus.)
Boulogne sore-throat Original name some
twenty-five years ago for diphtheria (q.v.).
Bounty Board. The trustees, governors, of
Queen Anne's Bounty. (Queen Anne's Bounty.)
Bounty money. Gratuity given to soldiers
after their enlistment.
Bouquotin. [Fr.] The ibex (q.v). [(?) Dim.
of bouc, buck; or (?) corr. of bouc-estain, the
Ger. stein-bok.]
Bourd. [Fr. bourde, a falsehood, sham.] A
jest.
Bourdon. [Fr.] 1. A droning bass sound ;
a burden or drone accompaniment, as in a bag-
pipe. 2. A stop on an organ, or imitation of it
on a harmonium.
Bourgeois. 1. [Fr.] Properly, any member
of a borough or burg, i.e. a fortified town [Gr.
irvpjos, a lofty place, or stronghold] ; hence
akin probably to the Teut. berg, a hill. (Bour-
geoisie.) 2. (Probably from the inventor.) A
kind of type, as
London.
Bourgeoisie. [Fr.] The class of citizens
including the merchants, manufacturers, and
master tradesmen.
Bourgeon. [Fr. subst. bourgeon, from O.H.G.
burjam, to lift, push] (Sot.) To sprout, put
forth buds and leaves.
Bourn, i.q. Burn. A stream, rivulet. [A.S.
byrna ; cf. Ger. brunnen, a well, spring]
Bourne. [Fr. borne.] Limit, boundary.
Bournouse. [Ar.] 1. A large woollen mantle
with hood, N. African. 2. An adaptation of
it worn in France and England, after the con-
quest of Algeria.
Bourree. [Fr.] A jig, in common time ; often
employed formerly as one of the movements of
a sonata.
Bourse. [Fr.] A purse, and so, Exchange.
[L. byrsa, Gr. /3upra, a hide]
Bouse. (A r aut.) To haul up with pulleys.
B. up the jib, to tipple.
Bow eTrJ y\u>ffa~r). (Bos in lingua.)
Boustrophedon. [Gr., from fiovs, ox, <npi$<a,
I ttirn] A stage of writing among the Greeks,
in which the words were written alternately from
right to left, and from left to right, after the
fashion of ploughing. This stage was inter-
mediate between the Semitic form, which went
only from right to left, and the European form,
which goes only from left to right.
Bout A turning, winding, one of several
similar turns ; cf. bow, bough, and obsolete
bought, viz. a bending, twisting.
Boutade. [Fr.] A whim, freak ; from a sense
of attacking, pushing [bouter, to push].
Boutique. [Fr.] A shop ; corr. formed from
apotheca, a store-house [Gr. diro^/cr;].
Boutisale. A sale where things go for as little
as in the sale of booty.
Bouts-rimes. [Fr.] A social amusement ;
rimed endings are given,and verses constructed
by each person present.
Bovate. (Carucate.)
Bovey-coaL (B., in Devon.) A variety of
lignite (q.v.), of the Tertiary age.
Bovidae. [L. boves, oxen] Hollow-horned
Ruminants. A fam. of R., comprising sheep,
goats, antelopes, oxen, and buffaloes. Absent
from Madagascar and adjacent islands, Australia,
New Zealand, and Polynesia, Central and S.
America, and adjacent islands. Ord. Ungulata.
Bow bells. The bells of Bow Church, in
London, mentioned in the legend of Whittington
as cheering him with the chime, "Turn again,
Whittington, Lord Mayor of London." Those
born within the sound of Bow bells are called
Cockneys (q.v.).
Bow china. That made at the earliest (1730)
English porcelain manufactory ; having various
marks anchor, dagger, arrow, bow and arrow ;
moulds, etc., transferred to Derby about 1776.
BOWC
79
BRAG
Bow-compass pen. The instrument or pen
used in mechanical drawing, with a ruler or
straight edge for inking-in straight lines, is a
Bow-pen ; when one leg of a compass is re-
placed by a bow-pen we have a Bow-compass,
which is used for inking-in circles. The bow-
compass is often called simply a Bow, and the
bow-pen simply a Drawing-pen.
Bowdlerism. (From Bowdler's family edition
of Shakespeare.) Literary prudery.
Bower. [Ger. bauer, knave.] The best card
in the game of euchre.
Bower anchors. (Anchors.)
Bowers. [A.S. bur.] In the house of an Old
English noble, separate sleeping-chambers for
the ladies, built apart from the great wooden
hall, in the berths of which the men slept. (Tun.)
In Scotland, a bouroch is a shepherd'shut. (Cf.
Byre.)
Bowie-knife. [Amer.] A large clasp-knife,
called after Colonel Bowie, a Western trapper.
Bowline. (Naut.) The rope by which the
^weather edge of a squaresail is kept taut for-
ward, when sailing on a wind.
Bowling, Tom. A British sailor in Smollett's
Roderick Random, and in a popular song.
Bow of a ship. (Naut. ) The part towards the
stem, from where the planks arch inwards. Bold
B. a wide, Lean B. a narrow, one. On the port
B. or Starboard B., within an angle of forty-five
degrees, contained by the line of the ship's
course and a line drawn from the stem forward
to the left or right respectively.
Bowsprit, sometimes written Boltsprit. (Naut.)
A large spar extending over the bows. Beyond
it are the jibboom and flying-jibboom.
Bowtell, Boutell, Bottle, Boltell (? like a bolt).
An old term for a round moulding, or bead ;
also for the small shafts of clustered pillars,
jambs, mullions, etc. ; the Eng. term for the
torus and astragal of classical architecture.
Parker's Glossary of Architecture.
Bowyer. One who uses a bow ; formerly,
also, a maker of bows.
Box-hauling. (Naut.) A method of turning
a vessel in a small space by putting her helm
a-lee, bracing the head yards aback, squaring
the after yards, taking in the mizzen or spanker,
and then, as she comes to the wind, hauling the
sheets of the headsails to windward. As she
gathers stern-way, the helm is shifted and sails
are trimmed.
Box the compass, To. (Naut.) To repeat its
thirty-two points, backwards and forwards, and
to answer any question about them.
Boyard, Boyar. General name for Slavonic
fief-holders by tenure of military service.
Boyau. [Fr., lit. an intestine; O.Fr. boyel,
L. botellus, a sausage.] (Mil.) Trench by which
the besiegers approach under cover in a zigzag
direction towards a fortress.
Boy Bishop, The. 1. St. Nicholas, Bishop of
Myra, in Lycia, famed for early piety ; patron
saint of boys and scholars. 2. One of the
choristers, chosen yearly, in mediaeval times, to
act the part of a bishop in mimic ceremonies ;
buried in bishop's robes if he died a B. B. The
tomb of a B. B. may be seen in Salisbury
Cathedral.
Boycotting. An excommunication, ordering
tradesmen to refuse supplies to a purchaser.
(From an Irish landlord, named Boycott, who
was so treated in 1880.)
Boyle Controversy. Respecting the so-called
Epistles of Plialaris ; their genuineness main-
tained, 1695, by Hon. C. Boyle, afterwards Earl
of Orrery, with the help of Atterbury ; disproved
by Bentley. Dean Swift, who took the wrong
side, satirized the B. C., in his Battle of the
Books.
Boyle Lectures. Founded by Hon. R. Boyle,
in defence of Christianity ; eight delivered yearly
since 1692.
Boyle'slaw. (Hon. R. Boyle, 1627-1692.) The
fact that the volume of a given quantity of gas
varies inversely as the pressure per square inch
that it exerts, provided the temperature con-
tinues constant ; thus, if the volume is halved,
the pressure per square inch is doubled.
Brabantine. Relating to Brabant ; old name
of the middle of Belgium, between the rivers
Scheld and Meuse.
Braccate. [L. braccce, breeches.] (Ornit/i.)
Having feathers descending from the tibia and
concealing the feet.
Brace. [Fr. bras, an arm, L. brachium.] A
slanting piece in a trussed partition or roof,
designed to give stiffness to the joints ; a brace
is commonly in a state of compression.
Brace, To (N~aut. ), yards, bring them to either
side with the Braces, i.e. ropes, one at each end
of a yard, -either fastened to it or rove through
blocks. To B. sharp, to bring the yards as
nearly as may be in a line with the keel, and
still hold a wind. To B. a-box, to B. them
square.
Brach. [Fr. braque, from Ger. braccho.] A
kind of hunting dog.
Brachelytrous, Brachyelytrous. [Gr. ppaxvs,
short, f\vTpov, a sheath or covering.] (Entom.)
Insects whose elytra do not cover more than
one-third of the abdomen, as Devil's coach-
horse, Staphylmus olens.
Brachiate branches. [L. brachium, an arm.]
(Bot.) Standing opposite to each other, nearly
at right angles to the stem from which they
proceed.
Brachiopoda, Brachiopods. (Zoo/.) Bivalve
jnolluscoids, with dorsal and ventral valves ; as
Terebratulse, or lampshells [L. brachium, an
arm, Gr. irovs, iroti6s, a foot] ; a misnomer.
Called also Pallio-branctis, i.e. mantle-gills [L.
pallium, a mantle, Gr. fipdyxia, gills], the mantle
serving for gills.
Brachistochrone. (Curve.)
Brachy catalectic. ( Catalectic. )
Brachycephalic. [Gr. $p&xvs, short, and
Kt(pa\-ti, head] A term applied by some to
skulls whose transverse diameter is more than T 8 5
of their longitudinal diameter. Such are gene-
rally the skulls of the Turanian nations. Skulls
which exhibit a less proportion between the two
diameters are known as Dolichocephalic [Gr.
> long].
BRAC
80
BRAS
Brachygraphy. [Gr. 0poxs, short, jpoi<pw, I
write.} Shorthand, stenography.
Brachylogy. [Gr. Ppaxv\oyla.] Brevilo-
quentia, in a writer especially of Attic Greek
conciseness, pregnancy of expression ; as, ^re-
Xeuro ts VVK-TO. [Gr.], ended into the night ; i.e.
lasted into the night, and then ended (Thucyd.).
Brachypterous. [Gr. fyaxfo, short, a-repo'v,
wing.] Birds whose closed wings do not reach
the base of the tail ; as auks, penguins, etc.
Bracklesham beds. (B., in Hants.) A highly
fossiliferous member of the nummulitic series,
and equivalent to the Middle Bagshot sands.
Bract [L. bractea, thin plate of metal.] The
leaf or leaflet at the base of the flower-stalk ;
dim. Bracteole [bracteola].
Brad-, Broad-. Part of Saxon names, as in
Brad -ford ; i.e. broad ford,
Brady pus. [Gr., from po8i5s, slow, wots,
foot.] Gen. of sloth, arboreal mammal, about
two feet lon. Trop. America. Fam. Brady-
podidae, ord. Edentata.
Braggadocio. In Spenser's Faery Queen, the
braggart and impostor.
Brahmanas. (Veda.)
Brahmans, or Brahmins. The first or highest of
the four castes of Hindus. The priesthood is
confined to this caste, which is said to have pro-
ceeded from the mouth of Brahm, the seat of
Wisdom. (Caste.)
Braiard. A promising growth of seed, etc.,
[A Scot, word.]
Braid. Generally, as by Dr. Johnson, under-
stood as deceitful, fickle, with the notion of
entangling (cf. brede, to deceive, obsolete) ; but
by Wedgwood (s.v. " Bray ") = resembling ;
" Frenchmen so braid," in Diana's speech in
All's Well that Ends Well, being = thus
mannered.
Braidism (i.e. so called after Mr. Braid).
Hypnotism (q.v.).
Braille. [Fr.] (Invented by Louis Braille,
a blind Frenchman.) A method of writing
words or music for the blind, by means of raised
dots only, the number and position of which
denote the required character. Simple, inex-
pensive ; largely used on the Continent.
Brails. [O.E. brayle ; O.Fr. braiel ; Ir. brog,
a girdle, breeches, breeks.] (Naut.) Ropes working
in pulleys, and fastened to the outer leech of
a sail, by which it can be trussed up close to the
mast and gaff, or to the stay.
Brake, All to-. Judges ix. To-brake is perf.
of to-breken ; all or al being an adv. = utterly ;
and " all to-brake his skull "is, therefore, broke
it utterly in pieces. To is a particle common
in O.E., meaning asunder ; it is sometimes in-
tensive, as to-bite, to-cleave, etc. (see Morris's
English Accidence, p. 226).
Brake, Break [akin to L. frango, frac, -turn,
Gr. p-fiyvv/jii, POKOS, Ger. brechen], -block; Clip-B. ;
Friction-B. ; Slipper-B. An instrument for ar-
resting or regulating the motion of a body, as a
train ; the Brake-B. is the piece pressed (by
levers, atmospheric pressure, etc.) against the
circumference of the wheel of a railway car-
riage ; a Slipper-B. is pressed by levers against
the top of the rails, so as to take some of the
weight off the wheels, and cause a considerable
friction ; in the Clip-B. the two sides of the rail
are gripped. The Friction-B. is a band of
wrought iron surrounding, without touching, a
wheel (as in a crane, etc.), until by pressure on
the end of a lever it is made to clasp the wheel
with a great and easily regulated friction. All
these brakes act by friction. There are also
Atmospheric Brakes, Continuous B., Pump-B.,
Fan-B,, etc.
Brake, Common bracken. (Bot.) Pteris
aquillna ; the most abundant British spec, of
the ord. Filices, ferns ; covering large spaces,
sometimes in parks, heaths, hillsides.
Bramah's press. (Hydraulic press.)
Bran. Fingal's dog.
Brancard. A horse litter ; originally a Fr.
word, a brancard being a branche stripped
of its leaves, a stick, a shaft ; then a litter made
of crossed sticks. Brachet, Etym. Diet.
Brancher. [Fr. branchier, probably from
branche, in the sense of a branch (Littre) ; It.
branca, talon, brancare, to gripe.] A young
hawk that has begun to perch.
Branchiae. [L., Gr. &pdyx ia -] (Anat.) Gills ;
an apparatus for breathing in amphibia and
fishes, containing cartilaginous leaflets, through
which the blood, circulating, Js purified by the
oxygen contained in water.
Branohlopoda. [Gr. Ppdyxia, gills, trovs, irdtios,
the foot] (Entom.) Div. of small Crustaceans,
breathing by their feet, as Daphnia pulex, branch-
horned water-flea, common in ponds. Sub-class
Entomostraca.
Brandenburg Confession. A document drawn
up to end the disputes occasioned by the Con-
fession of Augsburg. (Confession of Faith.)
Brangle. [Fr. branler, to move, shake (?), or
obrandiller, to brandish (?) or be-wrangle (?), or
perhaps a modification of wrangle.] To dispute,
menace, quarrel.
Brank. Buckwheat. [Brace or brance, a
Gallic term for some kind of white corn.]
Brank, Branks, Scold's bridle. A hoop of
iron, with hinges at the sides, a plate of metal
projecting inwards, and a padlock at the back ;
passing over the head and gagging the tongue.
Formerly a punishment for scolding women, and
sometimes for immorality. [Cf. Brank in Scot-
land, and Teut. pranghe, = a bridle.] Hence
Branks, in Scotland = mumps.
Brankursine. [L.L. branca ursina, bear's
claw, Ger. biiren klau.] (Acanthus.)
Bransle. [Fr.] Corn into Brawl ; a country-
dance of the time of Queen Elizabeth.
Brash. (Pyrosis.)
Brash, Shivers, Rubbles. ( Geol. ) Masses, layers
of angular fragments of rock, often derived from
an underlying rock.
Brass. 1. [A.S. brses.] An alloy of copper
and zinc ; misused sometimes in old writings for
Bronze, as in Exod. xxxviii. 2, and elsewhere ;
sometimes for Copper, as in Job xxviii. 2, and
elsewhere. 2. A brass sleeve, or Bush.
Brassage. A deduction, in former times, from
the value of the coin, for the expense of coinage
BRAS
cSl
BREC
said to be from bras, an arm, as if brachiorum,
labour.
Brassart, Brasset. [Fr. brassard, from bras,
an arm.] The piece of armour which protected
the arm above the elbow.
Brasses, Monumental. Slabs of brass, bearing
in outline the effigies of the dead, or some other
device. The earliest known is that of Sir John
d'Abernon, who died 1277, and was buried at
Stoke d'Abernon, in Surrey.
Brasset. (Brassart.)
Brassioa. [L., cabbage.} (Bot.) A remarkable
group of plants, ord. Cruciferae, including common
cabbage, borecole, turnip, rape, etc., and pro-
bably the mustards. Brassicacea is, with some,
another name for Cruciferse.
Brattice, Bretise. 1. Corn of bretage, any
boarded defence, as a testudo, parapet [Fr.
bretesche] ; now, 2, boarding round machinery
or in a mine ; 8, any partition between an up-
cast and a down-cast shaft. [Scand. bred, Ger.
brett, D. berd, a plank or board (Wedgwood).]
Brattishong, Brandishing, Bretise, Bretise-
ment. A crest, battlement, or other parapet.
[Fr. breteche.] (Brattice.)
Bravest of the Brave. Marshal Ney's title
with the French army, after the defeat of the
allied Russians and Prussians at Friedland,
June 14, 1807.
Bravo. Formerly in Italy, especially in Venice ;
a hired assassin, who undertook any danger for
money. Plu., Bravi.
Bravura. [It., dash, brilliancy] (Music.}
An air containing difficult passages, with a large
proportion of notes, requiring volubility, ac-
curacy, and spirit in the execution.
Brawling. [Fr. brouiller, to embroil ; or (?)
Fr. bransle, branle, from branler, to shake] In
Church Law, the molestation of a clergyman or
preacher during any ministration in any place
licensed for service.
Braxy, Braxes, Bracks. In sheep, generally
a plethora or a disease of the intestines, caused
probably by food too nitrogenous ; lasting from
one to six hours ; marked by staring look,
laboured breathing, and convulsions. But the
term is used vaguely.
Bray, Scot. Brae ; (?) cf. brow. Raised
ground, bank, overlooking ground used in forti-
fication.
Bray, Vicar of. Lived, according to tradition,
from Henry VIII. to Elizabeth ; according to the
song, from Charles II. to George I. ; trimming to
suit Court religion and retain his benefice.
Brazen Age. (Ages, The four.)
Braziline, Breziline. The colouring matter in
Brazil wood.
Brazil nuts. The seeds, in a large woody
shell, of the magnificent Bertholletia excelsa
(from Berthollet, chemist) of the Orinoco and
N. Brazil ; 100 to 120 feet high.
Brazil wood. Dark red and yellowish brown,
valuable in dyeing, the produce of Csesalpinia
echlnata and other spec. S. America and
W. Indies. Brazil is said to be named from
B. W., of which the old native name was Braxilis
(see Chambers's Encyclopedia).
Brazing. Soldering with an alloy of brass and
zinc.
Bre-. [Celt., promontory.'] Part of names,
as in Bre-don.
Breach of close. (Leg.) Wrongful entry of or
trespass on another's land, whether enclosed or
not.
Breadalbane. District of Scotland in Tudor
period, mostly included in W. Perthshire.
Bread-fruit. The fruit of Artocarpus incTsa
[Gr. &PTOS, bread, Kapv&s, fruit], a native of the
South Sea Islands and parts of Indian Archi-
pelago : about the size of a child's head ; when
baked, like the crumb of a wheaten loaf.
Bread-root of N. America, or prairie apple,
Psoral^a esculenta [Gr. i//o>paAeos, warted], i.e.
having tubercles. A papilionaceous plant, grown
along the Missouri, with tuberous carrot-like
farinaceous roots.
Breadth. That treatment of the subject
painted which shows at once the leading idea,
without over-finish of details.
Break. A large four-wheeled carriage, with
a straight body, seats for four, with calash top,
and seats for driver and footmen.
Break bulk, To. (A 7 aut.) To open the hold
and begin to unlade the ship.
Breakers. (Naut.) 1. Waves breaking over
reefs, etc., either at or immediately below the
surface of the water. 2. Small casks used on
board ship.
Break-ground. (Mil. ) The opening of the first
trench of a siege.
Breaking the line. (Naut.) Advancing in
column, and cutting the enemy's line in two ;
then enveloping one half with the whole fleet ;
e.g. Rodney's defeat of the French off Dominica,
April, 1782.
Break-water. A structure such as a mound,
a wall, etc., placed near the mouth of a harbour,
to break the force of the waves coming in.
Bream, To. (Naut.) To clean a ship's bottom
by fire.
Breast. [A Teut. and Scand. word.] The
curved trough extending from the sluice to the
tail-race, within which a breast-wheel turns, and
which prevents the escape of water from the
buckets until they are over the tail-race.
Breastplate of Jewish high priest ; described
Exod. xxviii. 15, et seq.
Breast-plough. A kind of plough, driven by
the breast, for cutting turf.
Breast-summer. (Bressumer.)
Breast-wheel. (Water-wheel.)
Breastwork. Earthen parapet sufficiently low
to admit of being fired over from the level of the
adjacent ground.
Breath figure, Boric figure. A likeness of
itself, impressed by a coin, etc., on a plate with
which it has been left nearly or quite in contact.
An electrical B. F. is formed by passing an
electric current from the coin through the plate.
Ry breathing on the plate these figures are ren-
dered visible. [L. ros, ror-em, dew.]
Breccia. [It.] (Geol.) Angular breakings of
pre-existing rock, not far distant, cemented into a
new rock ; rounded pebbles form Conglomerate.
G
BRED
82
BRID
Breda, Declaration of. (Hist.) . A document
sent by Charles II. from Breda, 1660, promising
that no man shall be disquieted for differences of
opinion in matters of religion which do not dis-
turb the peace of the kingdom.
Brede. [A.S. bredan.] Another form of
braid, to knit together, weave.
Breeches Bible, or Geneva B., 1557. Trans-
lated there by English divines, in Queen Mary's
reign. So called from the word used in the
translation of Gen. iii. 7, "made themselves
breeches." (Bible, English.)
Breeching-rope for gun. (Naut.) A rope,
one end fastened to a vessel's side, the other to
the breech of a gun ; long enough to allow the
gun to be run in and loaded, and to stop ex-
cessive recoil.
Breech-loader. Firearm, with its barrel open
at the stock, through which aperture the charge
can be inserted.
Breem. [A.S. bremman, to be violent ; (?) cf.
Gr. /3pe/j.u>, L. fremo.] Furious, excessive,
fierce.
Breeze-fly. [Onomatop. ; cf. Ger. bremse,
O.E. brimse, briose.] (Entom.) Gad-fly, Cleg,
Dipterous insect, with blood-sucking females.
Tabanus bovmus [L. bovinus, belonging to oxen],
fam. Tabanidse.
Bregma. [Gr., from /Spe'xw, f moisten.] The
top of the head, because in infancy this part is
longest in hardening.
Brehon laws. Ancient Irish laws ; so called
from a word signifying judges ; some being as
old, perhaps, as the first centuries of the
Christian era. (Pale.)
Breme. To bring forth young abundantly ;
to teem.
Brentford, The two Kings of, = once rivals,
now reconciled ; like the two kings in the
Rehearsal, a farce by George Villiers, Duke of
Buckingham.
Bressumer, Breast-summer. [Fr. sommier, a
pack-saddle, a lintel.] (Arch.) A beam or sum-
mer, like a lintel, but supporting the whole front,
or nearly so, of a wall ; e.g. over a shop-front.
Bretage, Bretise. (Brattice.)
Bretexed. Embattled. (Brattice.)
Brethren, Elder and Younger. (Trinity
House.)
Bretigny, Peace of. A treaty between France
and England, 1360, by which Edward III.
renounced his pretensions to the crown of
France. (Salio law.)
Bretwalda. In O.Eng. Hist., the title of an
office which assured a certain supremacy to one
of the Anglo-Saxon princes. According to
Beda, the first who held this office was Ceaw-
lin, the grandson of Cerdic.
Breve. [L. brevis, short, as compared with
long(q.v.) and with maxim (q.v.).] (Music.) The
average whole note of the sixteenth century, as
the semibreve is of our own time. "It is certain
that a sound lasting four beats may be expressed
and has been expressed by six different forms
the maxim, the long, the breve, the semibreve,
the minim, the crotchet" (Hullah, quoted by
plainer and Barrett).
Brevet. [Fr., from L.L. brevetum, L. brevis,
short.] (Mil.) An honorary rank conferred on
officers in the army above that which they hold
in their own corps.
Brevete. [Fr.] A patentee, from brevet, a
patent.
Breviarium of Alaric. A collection of laws,
Roman and Teutonic, for the Goths in Italy.
Breviary. [L. breviarium.] An abstract of
various books before used ; a daily office of
prayer, praise, and instruction in the Roman
Church, made up of: (i) Vespers, at sunset. (2)
Compline [completorium], about 9 p.m., a com-
pleting of the day's devotion. (3) Nocturns, or
Matins, at midnight. (4) Lauds, or Matin
Lauds, before break of day. (5) Prime, at sun-
rise, or at six o'clock. (6, 7, 8) Tierce, Sex/,
None, every third hour afterwards. Recited
daily, by all ecclesiastical persons, in public or
private, at some time ; at the canonical hours
by many religious orders.
Breviary of Quignon. A breviary, published
at Rome by Cardinal Quignonex, in 1536. It is
said to have been used in the compilation of the
Book of Common Prayer of the Church of
England.
Breviate. [L. breviatum, from brevio, I abbre-
viate.] An abstract summary abridgment.
Brevier. A kind of type, as
Inclusive.
Breviloquentia. (Brachylogy.)
Brevipennate. [L. breves pennse, short
wings] (Ornith.) 1. Swimming birds whose
wings do not reach to the tip of the tail.
2. With Cuvier, short-winged birds, as the
ostrich.
Brevis esse laboro, obscurus fio. [L.] / try to
be concise, and I become obscure (Horace).
Brewer of Ghent. Jacob van Artevelde,
popular leader in Flanders, who declared for
Edward III. ; murdered in a tumult at Ghent,
1345-
Brewis. 1. Pieces of bread, soaked in gravy.
2. Broth, pottage ; from A.S. briw, brewis, A.S.
breowan, to brew ; or (?) cf. Welsh briw, broken ;
and Eng. bribe, which originally, both in Fr.
and in Eng., meant a sop, a hunch of bread.
Breziline. (Braziline.)
Brezonic, i.q. Armoric. Language of Brit-
tany.
Briarean. Like the giant Bnareos, Briareus,
with his hundred arms.
Bric-a-brac. [Fr.] Odds and ends ; old
stores, articles of curiosity ; a word formed from
de brie et de broc, one -way or another (see
Littre, s.v. " Broc").
Brickie. Vessels and graven images (Wisd.
xv. 13), easy to break, brittle, as the word is
now written.
Brick-nogging. (Arch.} Brickwork carried
up and filled in between timber framing.
Brick tea. Tea made into cakes, with fat,
etc. ; used in Thibet.
Bride of the Sea. Venice, whose doges every
year, on Ascension Day, were married to the
Adriatic, throwing a ring into the sea ; on the
BRID
BROA
first occasion, as a privilege, granted by Pope
Alexander III., 1177, when the League oJ
Lombardy had defeated the Emperor Frederic
Barbarossa.
Bridewell. A house of correction. B., a
palace, built 1522, by Henry VIII. , to receive
Charles V. ; given, 1533, to the city as a house
of correction. Near the well of St. Bridget, or
Bride, between Fleet Street and the Thames.
Bridge. (Girder; Skew; Suspension; Tabu-
lar.)
Bridge of Sighs. (Hist.) The Venetian Porta
de Sospiri, leading from the lower part of the
ducal palace to a prison, the door of which is
now walled up.
Bridge water Treatises, " On the Power,
Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as manifested in
Creation," by eight different authors ; for which
;8ooo was left by Earl of B., 1829.
Bridlegoose, Judge. In Rabelais's Pantagruel,
Juge Bridoye ; he decides causes by dice.
Bridle-port. (Naut.) A port in the bows for
taking in Bridles, i.e. the upper part of moor-
ings.
Briefs [L. brve, a document, epistle} and Bulls
[bulla, a boss, the seal of lead]. 1. Pontifical
letters : (i) less ample and solemn, more like
letters to individuals, or to bodies ; (2) solemn
decrees of the pope, as head of the Roman
Catholic Church. They differ in many ways
(see Hook's Church Dictionary ; English Cyclo-
pczdia, i. 365). 2. In Prayer-book, Church
Briefs, or Queen's Letters, letters patent, au-
thorizing collections for charitable purposes ;
now discontinued.
Brig [an abbrev. of brigantine} is a two-
masted, square-rigged vessel. B. schooner (Her-
maphrodite).
Brigade. [Fr. brigade, from It. brigata.] 1.
Body of troops, composed of from two to four
battalions of infantry, with a relative proportion
of cavalry and artillery. 2. In the artillery
branch alone, B. corresponds with a battalion
of infantry. 3. The officer who commands a
B. in the English army is called a Brigadier.
4. In the French army, a Brigadier means a
corporal.
Brigadier. (Brigade.)
Brigandine. Jer. xlvi. 4 and li. 3 ; coat of
mail, equipment of a brigand ; formerly = a
light-armed soldier. [It. and Med.L. briga,
strife.}
Brigantine. [It. brigantine, akin to brigand,
a piratical vessel.} A vessel rigged as a brig,
except the mainsail, which is like a schooner's.
Bright's disease. A name for several forms of
disease of the kidneys ; with urine generally
albuminous, and other important signs of
structural change. First described by Dr. Bright,
of Guy's Hospital.
Brigue. To contest, canvass. (Brigandine.)
Brilliant diamond. So called from the effect
of the facets, 56-64 generally, with upper octa-
gonal face, into which it is cut ; only a good
stone being thus treated. Rose D., broad in
proportion to their depth, have a flat base, with
two rows of triangular facets, and six upper-
most, uniting in a point. Stones still thinner
are cut as Table D.
Brills. [(?) Cf. Ger. brille, spectacles.} The
hair on the eyelids of a horse. Johnson.
Bring-to, To. (A r aut.) To bend or fasten a
sail to a yard. B.-to a ship, to stop her way by
letting the sails counteract each other. B.-to an
anchor, to let go the anchor. To bring up, to
come to an anchor.
Bring up with a round turn, To. (Naut.) 1.
To stop a running rope by taking a turn round a
cleat, etc. 2. To do a thing effectually, but
suddenly. 3. To bring a man to his senses by a
rating.
Brioche. [Fr., connected withbroyer, to crush
(Littre).] 1. A kind of cake. 2. A circular
sofa-cushion.
Brisket. The breast-piece of meat ; probably
the same word as breast [A.S. brest, or =
breast-steak}.
Bristol board. A thick, stiff paper, for draw-
ing ; first made at B.
Bristol Boy. The poet Thomas Chatterton,
who died at eighteen, A.D. 1770.
Bristol diamonds. Bright crystals of colourless
quartz (q.v.), found near B. and elsewhere ;
called also Cornish D., Bagshot D., Irish D.,
Diamants d'Alenfon, etc.
Bristol riots. The most prominent of the
riots which have occurred at Bristol took place
in 1831, during the agitation for reform in Parlia-
ment. The city was set on fire, and many houses
were burnt.
Brisure. [Fr. briser, to break.} (Fortif.) Break
in the rampart of a fortress, where the enceinte is
withdrawn to form a concave flank.
Britannia metal averages, of tin 851 parts,
antimony 10^, zinc 3, copper i.
British gum. A brown, soluble substance,
formed by heating dry starch, and used for
stiffening calicoes, etc. It is also called Dextrine,
from its power of rotating a polarized ray of
light to the right [L. dextra].
British seas. (Quatuor Maria.)
British ship. One owned by a British subject,
registered, and flying the flag.
Britomart. The impersonation of chastity,
in Faery Queen, bk. iii.
Britzska. [Pol. bryczka, dim. of bryka,
freight-waggon} A long, four-wheeled travelling
carriage, with a movable hood.
Briza. (Bot. ) A gen. of grasses, belonging to
the tribe Festucese ; amongst them are the
quaking grasses.
Broach. [Fr. broche, a spit, L.L. brocca.]
The morse or clasp of a cope is sometimes so
called.
Broach spires. Spires, the junction of which
with the tower is not marked by any parapet or
other division.
Broach-to, To. Unintentionally to let a ship
come head to wind.
Broad arrow, /Jv [origin quite uncertain], de-
notes Crown property ; is used also to mark
Ordnance Survey stations, and property under
arrest by Customs' officers ; and, in other ways,
BROA
84
BRUN
by Government officials. It is illegal 9 and 10
William III., 1698 to use, for private owner-
ship, the B. A. Said by some to have been
suggested by the three nails of the cross.
Broad Bottom Administration. That of H.
Pelham, 1744 ; a grand coalition of all parties of
weight, in which nine dukes were placed.
Broadcloth. Fine woollen cloth, over twenty-
nine inches broad.
Broad gauge. (Gauge of railways.)
Broad pennant. (Flag.)
Broadpiece. The name of any coin wider than
a guinea.
Broadside. 1. Any large page printed on one
side of a sheet of paper ; and, strictly, not
divided into columns. 2. (Naut.) The side of
a ship above the water. The simultaneous dis-
charge of all the guns from the whole side.
Broadsword. Straight, double-edged sword,
with a broad blade.
Brobdingnagian. Gigantic. (Gulliver's Travels.)
Brocade. [Fr. brocher, to prick, to figure.]
A thick silk stuff, with a raised pattern.
Brocage, Brokage, Brokerage. The business
of a broker.
Brocard. In Fr. a taunt, jeer; in Eng. a
principle, maxim [Brocard, Bishop of Worms,
author of Regula Eccles., eleventh century
(Littre)].
Brocatel. [Fr. brocatelle.] A kind of imita-
tion brocade made of cotton.
Brochure. [Fr. brocher, to stitch.} A
pamphlet, a short treatise.
Brock. [A.S. broc.] The badger, Mles
taxus, gen. Melenmse, fam. Mustelidae, ord.
Carnivora.
Brocken spectre, Brockengespenst. The
shadow of objects, magnified, thrown at sunset
upon the mists of the Blocksberg, the highest
summit of the Harz Mountains.
Brocket. [Fr. brocart, id., from broche,
spike.} (Deer, Stages of growth of.) A small
spec, of deer (Subulo), with horns consisting of a
single dag. S. America.
Brog. A kind of bradawl.
Brogue, Brog. 1. A rude coarse shoe of the
early Irish and Scottish Highlanders. 2. By
melon. = the pronunciation of the wearer.
Brokage, /.</. Brocage.
Broken-backed. (Naut.) (Arching.)
Broken wind. In a horse, a rupture, in-
curable, of some of the air-cells ; from inflamma-
tion, too much chaff, exertion just after feeding,
etc. ; expiration has become a double effort, in-
spiration being still a single one.
Brokerage. Commission charged to investors
by brokers, for ordinary shares and stocks.
Bromby. [(?) Name of person or place from
which its progenitors escaped.] The wild horse
of Australia.
Brome, Bromus. [Gr. Ppopos, a kind of oats.}
A gen. of grasses, belonging to the tribe
Festueeae. About eight spec, are natives of
Britain.
Bromio acid. (Chem.) An acid composed of
bromic and oxygen, the salts of which are called
Bromates, (Bromine.)
Bromine. [Gr. j8pw/tos, stink.} A liquid,
reddish-brown element, found in sea-water.
Bronchi. [Gr. ^p^-^o^, windpipe.} (Anat.) The
bifurcations of the trachea, or windpipe, and
their division into smaller tubes ; ramifying into
the lungs. Bronchitis, inflammation of the
bronchial tubes.
Bronchocele. [Gr. K^Arj, a tumour.} (Med.)
Goitre, Derbyshire neck; a swelling in the fore
part of the neck, being a morbid enlargement
of the thyroid gland.
Bronchotomy. The making an opening into
the air-passages to prevent suffocation. (Bronchi.)
Bronze. An alloy of copper and tin, i.q.
Gun-metal, Bell-metal, etc., with sometimes a
little zinc or lead ; i.q. Gr. x"^"^ and L. ses ;
used from very remote antiquity.
Bronze, Age of. (Prehistoric archaeology.)
Brooch. A painting all in one colour, as a
sepia painting.
Brooklime. (Bot.) Plant common in ditches,
with opposite leaves and small blue flowers.
Beccabunga veronica, ord. Scrophulariaceae.
Broom at masthead. Shows that the vessel
is for sale. B., To. (Bream.)
Broom-rape, Orobanche. [Gr. opofiiiyxTi, from
Spopos, bitter vetch, &yx a ) I strangle.} (Bot.)
Parasitical gen. of plants, ord. Orobanchese.
Brose. Boiling broth, or water, poured on
oatmeal, pease-meal, stirred into a lumpy con-
sistency. (Brewis.)
-brongh. (-bury.)
Brown-coal. (Lignite.)
Brownie. In Scotland, a character like Robin
Goodfellow and the Ger. kobold ; a good-
humoured goblin in farmhouses, who drudges
for the family when they are in bed. (Bogy.)
Browning. The process of colouring gun-
barrels, etc., brown, to keep off rust.
Brownists. Certain Puritans of the sixteenth
century, follower of Robert Browne, who
denounced all Church government, and the
use of all forms in prayer, etc. (Independents.)
Brown spar. (Geol.) Certain crystallized
varieties of dolomite ; reddish, brownish ; owing
to oxide of iron.
Bruin. [D.] Quasi-personal name for the
bear [brun, the brown one], in the mediaeval
popular Ger. epic, Reinecke the Fox.
Brumaire. [Fr., foggy, misty, L. bruma,
winter.} The second month in the calendar of
the first French Republic ; October 22 Novem-
ber 20.
Brumal. [L. brumalis.] Belonging to winter
or winter solstice [bruma].
Brummagem. [Corr. of Birmingham, " Ber-
mingeham " in Domesday Book.] A sham
article.
Brunonian theory. That of J. Brown, M.D.,
Edinburgh, 1733-1788, that life is sustained
during health by external exciting agents in
equilibrium ; if these agents exhaust excitability
too rapidly, asthenic diseases (q.v.) arise, re-
quiring alcohol ; if excitability accumulate,
sthenic diseases [Gr. a6evos, strength} arise, re-
quiring opiates.
Brunswick-green. Oxychloride of copper.
BRUS
BUDE
Brush-Wheel. Wheels working under incon-
siderable forces, like toothed wheels, but in
which sliding is prevented by bristles or buff
leather on the circumferences.
Brusquerie. [Fr.] Abruptness, bluntness of
manner.
Brussels sprouts. A cultivated variety of
cabbage, having the stem covered with little
close heads.
Brutte. [Fr. brouter, to eat the shoots or
brouts.] To browse.
Brutum fulmen. [L.] A harmless thunder-
bolt, i.e. a great but ineffectual threat ; the first
meaning of L. brutus being unwieldy, ponderous ;
cf. Gr. api5s, PpiBvs.
Bryology. [Gr. fyvov, tree-moss.] (Bot.) The
science of mosses.
Bryony, Common. [Gr. &pvd>i/r).] The only
British spec., Dioica, of the gen. Bryonia, ord.
Cucurbitacese ; the root purgative, and used for
bruises.
Bryozoa. [Gr. Ppvov, moss, uoi>, animal.']
(Entom.) An ord. of compound polypes, which
incrust foreign bodies like moss, as the Flustra,
or sea-mat.
Bryum. [Gr. $p$ov.] A gen. of mosses ;
abundant in Britain.
Bubalus. [L., which .originally, like Gr.
&ov/3ii\is and -os, meant a kind of antelope, but
came to mean, i.q. urus.] Buffalo. Gen. of
hollow-horned ruminant, wild and domesticated.
Africa and India (as the Arnaa, q.v.), and S.
Europe. Sub-fam. Bovinse, fam. Bovidse, ord.
Ungulata. Not to be confounded with Bison.
Bubble, South Sea. (South Sea Company.)
Bubbles. Financial or commercial projects
started to cheat investors.
Buccaneers. Associated pirates, mostly Eng-
lish and French, of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, in the Caribbean Sea, who attacked
Spanish ships and settlements. The Caribbee
boucan is a. place for smoke-dried meat ; so B. =
meat-preserving W. -Indian settlers. The French
called themselves filibuster, i.e. freebooter.
Buccina famae. [L.] The trumpet of fame.
Buccinator. [L., trumpeter.} Muscles in the
substance of the cheek, the contractions of
which force out the cheeks when distended with
air.
BucconldBB. [L. bucca, the puffed cheek ; if
there was the It. word buccone, it would mean
the big puffed cheek.] (Ornith.) Puff-birds,
brabers. Fam. of climbing and fly-catching
small birds, like kingfishers, but dull-plumaged.
Trop. America. Ord. Picarise.
Bucentaur. [Gr. fiovs, an ox, Kevravpos, a
centaur.] An imaginary monster, the name
being chiefly known as that of the galley of the
Venetian doges, in which, by the dropping of a
ring into the water, they yearly espoused the
sea in the name of the republic. (Bride of
the Sea.)
Bucephalus. [Gr. flowtyoAoy, bull-headed.]
The horse which Alexander the Great broke in,
fulfilling, it is said, the condition of the oracle
necessary for gaining the Macedonian crown.
Buchan. District of Scotland from Saxon to
Tudor period, north part of Banffshire and
Aberdeenshire.
Buchanites. Vicious fanatics in W. Scotland,
A.D. 1783, followers of Mrs. or Lucky Buchan,
who gave herself out as the woman of Rev. xii.
The last is said to have died in 1846.
Buck. [Cf. Fr. bouc, Ger. hock.] The male
of several animals connected with sport, as
fallow deer and ferrets. Buck, To, to soak linen
in a solution of wood ashes. [Gael. adj. bog,
soft, moist ; but see Wedgwood.]
Buck, Complete. (Deer, Stages of growth of.)
Bucket. The vessels on the circumferences
of an overshot wheel which contain the water
by whose descent the wheel is turned.
Buck-eye, A. 1. = belonging to Ohio, where
the buck-eye, or /Esculus Ohiotensis, American
horse-chestnut, is abundant (Webster). 2. In the
horse, a too convex cornea, causing indistinct-
ness of the image falling upon the retina ;
congenital.
Bucking. 1. [Ger. bochen, to beat.] Crushing
ore by hammering it on a flat plate. 2. (Capriole.)
Buckle. [(?) Fr. boucle, the boss of a shield,
or (?) A.S. bugan, to bend ; cf. bough.] To
bend, shrivel up, as scorched paper ; or become
hollow from pressure, as a weakened wall.
Buckler. [Fr. boucle, L. bucula, boss of a
shield.] Shield of stout leather, worn on the
left arm and sometimes studded with metal
bosses.
Buokra. With negroes, = a white man ; in
the language of the Calabar coast, a demon,
a powerful and superior being. Webster.
Buckram. [Fr. bougran.] A coarse linen
cloth, stiffened with glue.
Buckwheat [Ger. buchweizen], i.e. Beech-
wheat, the seed being like beech-mast ; a plant
valuable as food for game, growing on very
poor soil. Fagopyrum esculcntum, ord. Poly-
gonacese.
Bucolics. [Gr. &ovKo\iit6s, pastoral.] Poems
which were supposed to be the songs of herds-
men, as the Eclogues of Virgil.
Bucrania. [Gr. {iovKpavia, from fjpvs, ox,
Kpaviov, skull.] (Arch.) Ornaments in the shape
of an ox's head, on the walls of buildings.
Buddha. (Buddhism.)
Buddhism. A religion which numbers a large
majority of the whole human race as its ad-
herents. The name Buddha (or the enlightened,
from the same root with L. videre, and Eng.
wit) was given to the traditional founder, Gau-
tama, whose system was publicly recognized
by Asoka in the third century B.C. Buddhism
was expelled from India by the Brahmans, be-
tween A.D. 500 and 700. It teaches especially
the necessity of separation from the world by
prayer and contemplation, in order to exempt
the soul after death from renewed imprisonment
in matter, and to secure for it Nirvana, i.e.
absorption into the divine essence from which
it sprang.
Budding. In Zool., i.q. gemmation (q.v.).
Buddie. [Ger. butteln, to shake.] A large
trough for washing ore in.
Bude light. A very bright light made by
BUDG
86
supplying an argand gas-jet with oxygen (first
used at Bude, in Cornwall).
Badge. [L. bulga, a leathern bag.} Lamb-
skin fur.
Budget ow. (Bazar as.)
Budget. [Fr. bougette ; and this from Gael,
bouge, whence L. bulga, a leathern bag.] 1. A
portable bag ; and so, 2, a stock store. 3. The
yearly statement of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer.
Buffa. [It., funny.] Comic ; as aria buffa,
opera buffa.
Buffalo chips. Dry dung used as fuel.
Buffer, Buffing apparatus. A plate or cushion
projecting from the frame of a railway carriage.
Buffers are placed in pairs at each end of the
carriage, and are fastened by rods to a spring of
flat steel plates or other material under the
framework, to deaden the concussions caused
when the velocity of part of the train is checked.
The buffers, rods, and springs are sometimes
called the Buffing apparatus or Buffing ar-
rangement.
Buffet. [Fr.] Counter for refreshment.
Buffet a billow, To. (Naut.) To go against
wind and tide.
Buffy coat. (Med.) On blood drawn in a
diseased condition, a crust of greyish corpuscles,
the red particles sinking.
Bug, Bugbear. A spectre or some other
frightful appearance ; cf. Welsh bwg. (Puck ;
Bogy.)
Buggy- A name used in India for a light
vehicle, with four wheels and one seat, drawn
by one horse.
Bugle. [Lit. the horn of a bugle ; L. bucula,
a young cow.] Military trumpet without keys,
used for sounding the different calls in an infantry
regiment.
Bugloss. (Anchusa.)
Biihlwork, Boulework, Boolwork. (Boule.)
Buhr-stone, Burr-stone. (Geol.) A siliceous
rock, hard, cellular ; very valuable for millstones ;
the best from the Paris basin.
Build a chapel, To. (Naut.) Suddenly to
turn a ship by careless steering.
Bui. [Heb.] I Kings vi. 38 ; month of rain,
second of civil, eighth of ecclesiastical, Jewish
year ; the post-Babylonian Marchesvan ; October
November.
Bulb. [L. bulbus, Gr. /SoAfltk.] (Bot.) Pseudo-
B. [Gr. tyevSfa, false] e.g. some orchids is an
aboveground tuber, the stem being thickened by
deposit of bassorine (q.v.).
BulbuL [Pers. name for nightingale.] 1.
Fam. of birds, Fruit-thrushes, Pycnonotidse
[Gr. itvKv6s, thick, vunos, back.] Popularly
confounded with the nightingale, Curruca lus-
cmia. Africa and the East. 2. With Byron and
Moore, the nightingale.
Bulimus, properly Bulinus. (Zool.) A very
extensive gen. of Pulmoniferous molluscs, most
abundant in Trop. S. America. Fam. Helicidse
(snails).
Bulimy, Bulimia. (Boulimy.)
Bulkheads. (Naut.) Wooden or metal par-
titions between decks to separate one part from
another. Compartment B. , extra strong bulkhead,
separating the vessel into water-tight compart-
ments. By this means a vessel (although struck
and filling) may be kept afloat, the water being
unable to get through the compartment bulk-
heads to the rest of the vessel.
Bull. 1. (Briefs.) 2. A term used for a specu-
lator who buys stocks or shares in the hope of
selling at a higher figure, thereby taking a cheer-
ful view of things ; being the exact opposite of
the Bear, who takes a gloomy view of the
situation. 3. Irish bull, a sentence expressing
ideas which a moment's consideration shows to
be incompatible and their conjunction absurd.
Bulla. [L.] A boss or stud, mostly of gold,
worn by noble Roman youths, till 1 7, and then
consecrated to the Lares, at the putting on of
the toga virilis.
Bullace. [Prunus insititfa, plum, as if = used
for grafting (?).] A wild plum.
Bull and Mouth. Sign of an inn, i.e. Bou-
logne mouth, or harbour.
Bullarlum, Bullary. A collection of bulls.
(Briefs.)
Bull-dog, or Muzzled bull-dog. (Naut.) 1.
The great gun in the wardroom cabin. 2. Main-
deck guns.
Bull-dogs. University proctor's servants, who
arrest or summon disorderly persons in the
streets, and chase students if they run from a
proctor.
Bulletin. [It. bulletina.] Originally a gene-
ral's despatch ; report of the health of some royal
or eminent person ; sometimes a document from a
scientific society.
Bullet-tree, Bully-tree. (Sot. ) A tree of Guiana,
a spec, of Mimusops, ord. Sapotacese ; having
very solid heavy wood, and cherry-like delicious
fruit.
Bullet-wood. (Bullet-tree.)
Bullhead, Millers thumb. (Zool.} Large-headed
fish, four or five inches long, dark brown, with
spotted sides and white belly. Fresh-water
streams; Europe. Cottosgobio, fam. Trighidse,
ord. Acanthopterygii, sub-class Teleostel.
Bullion. [Fr. billon, copper, .] Uncoined gold
and silver after smelting, often in bars or ingots.
Bull, John, = the English ; from the History
of John Butt ; or, Law is a Bottomless Pit, by Dr.
Arbuthnot, friend of Swift and Pope ; a political
jeu d'esprit, satirizing national quarrels ; Lewis
Baboon being the Frenchman, Nick Frog the
Dutchman.
Bull, Papal. (Briefs.)
Bull's-eye. (Naut.) 1. A 'block made with-
out a sheave. 2. Hemispherical pieces of ground
glass to admit light below. 3. The central point
of a target.
Bull, Wild. [Heb. to, or t6 ; Isa. li. 20.]
(Bibl.) Spec, of large bovine antelope, pro-
bably AlcSphalus bubalis.
Bulrush, i.e. large rush. If any particular
one be meant, it is Scirpus lacustris, ord.
Cyperacese ; its root astringent and diuretic,
once used in medicine. The name is often
applied to Typha latifolia.
Bulwark. [Ger. bollwerk, a fortification^ 1.
BUMB
BURL
Any artificial defence to keep off invaders. 2.
In a ship's sides, it means the protection raised
above the upper deck to keep off the waves.
Bum-bailiff. [Bound (?) and L.L. bailivus,
porter, lit. walker, errand-runner ; root ba, go.]
Sheriff's officer, who serves writs and arrests for
debt.
Bumboat. A clumsy boat used in traffic
between shore hucksters and vessels.
Bummaree. 1. In Billingsgate, one who
buys from the salesmen and retails bonne maree
[Fr.], good fresh fish. 2. In a bad sense, a middle
man who makes too much out of both producer
and consumer.
Bumpkin, Bunking, or Bormkin. (Naut.)
1. A small boom ; one projects over each bow
of the ship, to extend the clew of the foresail to
windward. 2. Those on the quarters for the
blocks of the main brace. 3. A small outrigger
over the stern of a boat, on which a mizzen is
usually extended.
Bungalow. In India, a kind of rural villa or
house, generally of one story, but of all sizes
and styles.
Bunkum, Buncombe. 1. = Constituent body,
as distinguished from Congress. A tedious
member for Buncombe, U.S., once, as members
left the House, continued the speech which " B.
expected." Hence, 2, mere speech-making.
Bunsen's burner. A tube in which, by means
of holes in the side, the gas becomes mixed with
air before consumption, so that it gives a non-
luminous, smokeless flame.
Bunt. 1. (Smut.) 2. Of a sail, the middle part,
made slightly baggy (as it were bent) to gather
wind. 3. In a furled sail, that part which is furled
over the centre of the yard. B .-lines, ropes to
turn up the foot of a course, or topsail, forward,
and thus diminish the effect of the wind.
Bunter. A woman who picks up rags, and so
a low woman. Bunts are perhaps bent or
broken bits (Richardson).
Buntine, Bunting. Thin woollen material, of
which ships' flags and signals are made (to bunt
being to sift meal ; the loose open cloth used is a
bunting-c\ofa. Wedgwood).
Buoyancy; Centre of B. [Fr. bouee, origin-
ally baje, a buoy ; fastened by a chain or rope,
L.L. boja.] The upward pressure of a fluid on
a body wholly or partly immersed in it, which
equals the weight of the fluid displaced. The
centre of gravity of 'the immersed part of the
body supposed of uniform density, i.e. of the fluid
displaced, is the Centre of B. (Rankine, 122, 123).
Bur, Burr, Conurion. [Fr. bourre, hair, [flock.]
(Bot.) 1. The rough fruit of the burdock, Arctium
lappa, ord. Composite, abundant in waste
places throughout Europe. 2. Rough edge left
in turning, engraving, etc., metal. 3. The lobe
of the ear. 4. The rough annular excrescence
at the root of a deer's horn. All these, with
similar words, from Gael, root borr = protrude,
swell. Wedgwood .
Burdelais, Burlace. A sort of grape (Johnson).
Burden, or Burthen. (Nattt.) The amount of
tons weight which a ship can carry ; rather less
than twice her tonnage.
Burden. [Fr. bourdon, the drone stop in an
organ.] 1. Of a song, the refrain at the end of
each stanza. 2. The bass of the bagpipe.
Bureaucracy. Government by officials. [Coined
from Fr. bureau, a writing-table, an office, and
Gr. KpoLTos, porucr, ride.]
Burette. [Fr., dim. of O.Fr. bure, a bottle.]
1. A cruet. 2. A graduated glass tube, used by
chemists for pouring out measured quantities of
liquid.
-burg, (-bury.)
Burgage holding. Scotch tenure by which
lands in royal boroughs are held of the sovereign
under service of watch and ward.
Burgage tenure. Tenure of old borough
lands, site of houses, of a lord for rent ; a kind
of free socage.
Burgee. (Flag.)
Burgeon. (Bourgeon.)
Burghbote. An ancient impost for maintain-
ing the defences of a city.
Burgers ; Anti-burghers. The Session Chamber
of Scotland, A.D. 1745, who were for election v.
patronage, but divided (1747) as to the lawfulness
of the oath taken by burgesses, to which the A.
objected. Reunited in 1820, they are now the
United Presbyterian Church.
Burgh-mails. (Scot. Law.} Yearly payments
to Crown, like Eng. fee-farm rents.
Burghmote. The old English name for the
borough court.
Burgomaster, Biirgermeister. [Ger. and D.]
Chief magistrate of a municipal town, = mayor.
Burgonet, Burganet (Bourgogne), [O.Fr.
bourguignote.] Burgundian helmet.
Burgoo. With sailors, oatmeal gruel seasoned.
Burgrave. [Ger. burg-graf.] Under the
Empire, a castellan having the right of private
justice and of imposing taxes, etc.
Burgundy. (From Burgundi, a tribe of Van-
dals.) There were two kingdoms, Upper and
Lower B., before A.D. 1032 ; a third, nearly the
same as the province of B., from A.D. 880-1361 ;
it then became a dukedom. Upper B. became
Franche-Comte. B. forms the departments of
Yonne, Cote-d'Or, Saone-et-Loire, and Aix in
the E. of France.
Burgundy pitch. The purified resin of the
spruce fir, used for making plasters.
Buridan's ass. The ass between two bundles
of hay. John Buridan, Schoolman, fourteenth
century, propounded the problem that if the
bundles be equidistant from the ass, he will
starve from indecision, or else of two equal
attractions one is greater, or, thirdly, the ass has
free-will.
Burin. 1. A graver, the principal instrument
used in engraving on copper. Used, 2, meton.
= a style, a clear B., a soft B. \Cf. bore, L.
fbrare, Gr. irdpos, etc.]
Burking. A name for the practice of provid-
ing subjects for medical dissection, from a man
named Burke, who in 1820 obtained some by
murder. Hence to burke is to bring anything
suddenly or violently to an end, and hush it up.
Burl. [Fr. bourre, hair, flock, bourreler, to
rack.] To dress cloth, clearing it of the knots.
BURL
BUTT
Burlace. (Burdelais.)
Burleigh's nod, Lord. In Sheridan's Critic,
Lord B. says nothing, but gives his head a shake,
to which Puff gives an absurd amount of
meaning.
Burletta. A comic operetta. [It. burlare, to
jest, from which also burlesque, .}
Barling. (Burl.)
-burn, -bourne. [A.S. byrna, Ger. brunnen.]
Stream ; part of Saxon names, as in Ty-burn,
Brox-bourne.
Burnet, Common. (Bot.) Sanguisorba offici-
nalis, ord. Rosaceae ; a native plant. Poterium
sanguisorba is salad B., once grown for salads.
Burning-house. The furnace in which tin
ore is burnt to remove the sulphur.
Burnish. [Fr. brunir, to polish.} To polish ;
as a neut. verb, to grow bright. (Varnish.)
Burnisher. A tool with smooth hard round
surface, generally agate, for rubbing and bright-
ening gold leaf.
Burnt-ear. In com. (Smut.)
Burrel. A pear, the red butter pear. (Bury
pear.)
Burrock. [A.S. burh, beorh, hill, -ock, dim.
suffix.] A small dam or weir for fishing pur-
poses.
Bursars. [L.L. bursarius, a purser.} 1. In
the English universities, the treasurers of col-
leges and halls. 2. In the Scottish and foreign
universities, persons aided in the costs of their
residence by grants from a burse or fund set apart
for that purpose. Bursary, in Scotland, the
grant or exhibition thus received.
Burschenshaft. [Ger.] An association formed
in 1815, among students in German universities,
for the liberation and union of Germany.
Burt. [Cf. Ger. butte, D. bot, aflat-fish.}
(Zool.) Fish of turbot kind, fam. Pleuronectidse,
ord. Anacanthmse, sub-class Teleostei.
-bury, -burg, -burgh, -brough, -borough, -berry.
[Goth, baurgi-s, O.S. burg, A.S. byrig, fortified
post.} Part of Teutonic names. Often marks
site of a camp ; -bury is distinctively Saxon.
Bury pear, i.e. Beurre, as if butter pear.
Busby. (Mil.) The head-dress worn by
hussars, artillerymen, and engineers in the army,
and consisting of a fur hat with a bag hanging
from the top on the right side.
Bush. [A Teut. and Scand. word.] The
brass or white metal lining of the bearing of an
axle or journal box, with which the revolving
piece is actually in contact, and which takes the
wear caused by friction.
Bushel. [Fr. boisseau, L. buscellus, a vessel
for -measuring grain} A measure of eight gallons
or 22l8'2 cubic inches ; a Winchester B. was
2 1 50 '4 cubic inches, and a heaped B. one third
more.
Bushman. (Bosjesman.)
Bushranger. One who roams about the woods ;
generally in a bad sense, as an escaped criminal.
Buslris. In Egypt. Myth., a being of whom
the most contradictory accounts are given by
ancient writers, some speaking of him as a king,
others affirming that the name meant simply the
tomb of Osiris.
Busk. To prepare, get one's self ready.
Buskin. [Gr. K.66opvos, and L. cothurnus.] 1.
The high-soled boot, reaching to the middle of
the leg, worn by tragic actors. 2. By meton.
= tragedy; so soccus, the flat-soled shoe of
comedians and slaves, = comedy. [Cf. Flem.
brosekin, from which also It. borzacchino, and
Fr. brodequin.]
Busking. (Naut.) 1. Piratical cruising. 2.
Beating to windward along, or standing on and
off from, the coast.
Buss. 1. A kiss [L. basium]. 2. (Naut.)
A two-masted Dutch fishing-boat, from 50 to
70 tons burden. 3. A herring-boat (British),
from 10 to 15 tons.
Bustard. [L. avis tarda, slow bird, Sp.
avutarda or abutarda.] (Ornith.) Fam. of birds.
Inhabits open districts in E. hemisphere. Two
spec, occasionally visit Great Britain : (i) Otis
[Gr. arts, the eared one} tarda, Great bustard,
about forty-five inches long ; plumage of male
white, pale chestnut, and black. (2) Otis tetrax,
Little bustard, about seventeen inches long, black
throat, with white collar and gorget. Ord.
Grallae.
But and ben. A Scotch term, applied to the
two rooms of a cottage, kitchen and parlour,
opposite to each other ; the speaker considers
himself as being in but.
Butcher-bird. (Shrike.)
Butcher's broom. Formerly used for sweeping
blocks ; a native plant, in bushy places and
woods, shrubby, evergreen ; Ruscus aculeatus,
Butt. 1. Of beer, is 108 gallons. 2. [Fr.
butte, rising ground, knoll.} Earthen mound
placed behind a target for the purpose of check-
ing the further progress of balls.
Butte. [Fr.] An isolated high hill ; origin-
ally the rising knoll on which the butt or mark
stood.
Butter and eggs. Popular name for Narcissus
incomparabilis of the Mediterranean, common
in gardens ; also for the toad-flax (Linaria
vulgaris), in allusion to the two shades of yellow
in the flowers.
Butter-box. (Naut.) 1. A lumpy brig. 2.
A Dutchman.
Butter of antimony, tin, zinc. (Chem.) The
trichloride of antimony, bichloride of tin, chlo-
ride of zinc, being semi-fluid buttery substances.
Butter tree. Indian B. , the kernels of which
yield a firm, white, rich butter, keeping fresh
for months. Bassia butyracea, ord. Sapo-
tacese. The African B., or Shea, is B. Parkii.
Button. The round mass of metal left in a
cupel after fusion.
Button's. A coffee-house in Russell Street,
Covent Garden, where wits assembled in Ad-
dison's time.
Buttress. [Fr. buttee.] A projection from a
wall, giving it greater strength ; so called from
its butting or pushing. Flying buttresses, i.e.
buttresses connected by an arch either with
other buttresses or with the wall of the building,
seem first to have been used in the Lancet or
Early English style. (Geometrical style.)
BUTT
89
CABL
Butts. 1. The stoutest part of tanned ox-
hides, used for harness, etc. 2. A kind of door-
hinges (from being screwed on to the part which
butts against the casing).
Butyric acid. An acid found in butter [L.
butyrum],
Buxom. In O.E., bough-some [cf. Ger.
biegsam, compliant, obedient, easily bowed, and
so flexible, brisk, lively ; but the word may be
connected with the Scand. pege, a maiden],
(Bonair.)
By. In competitions, the position of the
odd competitor drawn without a match in a
heat or tie.
-by. [Norse, abode, village, O.N. by, I dwell,
bu, dwelling-place ; cf. A.S. buan, to dwell, Gr.
Qv, make to be, become.] Part of names in Danish
and Norwegian districts.
By-and-by. Mark vi. 25 ; Luke xxi. 9 ; imme-
diately. [Gr. ^!auT?}s, eufle'cos.] (Presently.)
By-blow. An illegitimate child.
By-law, Bye-law. [Cf. Sw. by-lag.] 1. A
law for a particular " by," or town ; and so, 2,
laws for any special association, as a particular
railway, (-by.)
By, or Surprise, Plot. A plot, formed in
1603, for seizing James I., and compelling him
to grant free exercise of religion ; so called to
distinguish it from the Main Plot, formed at the
same time by George Brooke and others for
placing Arabella Stuart on the throne.
Byre. [A.S. bur, a cliainbcr, from buan, to
dwell ; cf. bower. ~\ Cow -shed.
Byssin. [Gr. /3v<r<ros, a fine flax.] Made of
bysse, or fine linen.
Byssus. [L., Gr. iWos, a fine flax.] With
Greeks and Romans, as with us, the bundle of
silky filaments by which many bivalves adhere
to rocks, etc. The beautiful silky B. of the
Pinna was once woven into cloth, highly valued.
Byzant. (Bezant.)
Byzantine architecture includes the several
styles from the foundation of Constantinople,
A.D. 328, to its conquest by the Turks, 1453.
Its typical ecclesiastical form, a Greek cross with
central cupola and apse, was fixed by the church
of St. Sophia at Constantinople, now the Great
Mosque.
Byzantine empire. The E. Roman, Eastern,
or Greek empire.
Byzantine historians. Greek historians, living
between the sixth and fifteenth centuries. Their
works were collected and published by order of
Louis XIV., in thirty-six vols., folio.
c.
C. This letter is used in ancient MSB. as an
abbrev. for Caius, Caesar, Consul, Civitas, etc. ;
in the Roman law courts it was the sign of con-
demnation, in contradistinction to A, for Absolve,
/ acquit, the former being therefore called Litera
tristis, the latter Litera salutaris. As a numeral,
it denotes 100.
Caaba. The temple of Mecca ; so called from
the black stone worshipped there before the
time of Mohammed, and now seen in the north-
east corner of the building. The stone is pro-
bably an aerolite.
Cab. Mentioned only in 2 Kings vi. 25 ; the
smallest dry measure with the Jews ; according
to Josephus, = about two quarts.
Cabal. [Fr. cabale.] In Eng. Hist., a name
given to the five Cabinet ministers of Charles II.
Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley,
and Lauderdale 1667-74, because the initials
of their names happened to form the word.
Cabala. A Hebrew word, denoting the
general body of tradition interpreting the
canonical books in their figurative as well as
their direct sense, the Masorah, or unwritten
tradition, setting forth its literal meaning.
(Pharisees; Sadducees; Talmud.) As dealing
with the secondary meanings of Scripture, the
Cabala became associated with magic, and the
Christian Cabalists made a profession of divining
by combinations of scriptural characters. (Sortes.)
Caballine. [L. caballinus.] 1. Belonging to
a horse [caballus]. 2. As a subst. , horse-aloes.
Cabaret. [A Fr. word, of unknown origin,
with various meanings.] 1. A set of tea-things ;
properly, including a china tray. 2. A tavern,
public-house.
Cabas. [Fr.] A flat basket,
Cabbage. To steal pieces of cloth, said of
tailors ; hence to pilfer generally.
Gabbling. Breaking up flat masses of iron to
be reheated and wrought into bars.
Cabinet-picture. A small picture, generally of
a finished character, suitable for a small room
[Fr. cabinet].
Cabirl. [Gr. Ktifitipoi.] Mystic deities, specially
worshipped in the northernmost islands of the
jEgean. Like that of Bacchus or Dionysos, their
worship was introduced from Syria, and their
name is identified with the Hebrew word
Gibborim, the mighty ones (Brown, Great
Dionysiak Myth]. (Bacchanalian.)
Cable. (Naut.) The rope, or chain, to
which an anchor is made fast. A shot of C., two
spliced together. C. length in charts, i.e.
accurately = 607^56 feet, or -^ of a sea mile.
C. distance, roughly about 600 feet. In making,
600 to 690 feet. A cablet, 720 feet. Ditto,
hawser laid, 780 feet. Cables are named after
the anchor with which they are used, as Stream
cable.
Cable-moulding. A bead -moulding, in later
Norman work, cut in imitation of the twisting
of a rope.
Cable's length, sometimes Cable-tow. Gene-
rally, 1 20 fathoms = 720 feet.
Cabling. A round moulding frequently
CABL
90
CADU
worked in the flutes of columns, pilasters, etc.,
in classical architecture. Parker's Gloss, of
Architecture,
Cablish. [Gr. Kcn-a/SoX^, a throwing down,
through Fr. accabler, to overwhelm.'] Brush-
wood, windfalls of wood.
Cabob. [Pers. cobbob, roast meat.~\ A small
piece of meat roasted on a skewer.
Caboched, Cabashed. [Fr. caboche, head.}
(Her.) Full-faced, and without neck.
Caboose, more correctly Camboose. [D.
kombnis, a cook's room.~\ (Naut.) The kitchen
of a merchant ship.
Cabriolet. [Fr., from cabrioler, to bound.} A
one-horse carriage, having a hood and a seat for
two persons.
Cacsemia. [Gr. KOK^S, bad, ofjuo, blood.} A
bad state of blood.
Cacao, or Cocoa. The ground seeds of the
TheobrSmaC., ord. Sterculacese. InW. Indies,
Brazil, etc. They contain a peculiar principle,
called Theobromine.
Cachalot. [From the Catal. quichal, Sp.
quircal, a tooth (Littre).] (Zool.) Physeter ma-
crocephalus [Gr. <f>vffriTT)p, a blower, /to/cpo/ce-
<t>a\os, long- headed}, one of the largest Cetacea,
yielding ambergris, as well as spermaceti, but no
whalebone.
Cachectic. [Gr. Kaxe|fa, a bad state or habit
(KO.KT] e|js) of body.} In a state of cachexia.
Cache-man. [Fr., hide husband.} Slang for an
epergne, or large flower-stand, on a dining-table.
Cachepot. [Fr. cacher, to hide, pot, a pot.}
An ornamental case to hold a flower-pot.
Cachet, Lettres de. [Fr.] In France, before
the Revolution, letters under the private seal
[cachet] of the king, used at first to interfere
with the ordinary course of justice, and after-
wards for the illegal detention of citizens.
Cachinnation. [L. cachinnatio, -nem, cachinno,
/ laugh aloud ; cf. Gr. Karyx.aXajia : onomatop.]
Loud, excessive laughter.
Cachiri. A liquor like perry, made in Cayenne
from the manioc root.
Cacholong. (Geol.) A beautiful hard white
opaque mineral, probably a variety of opal ; from
river Cach, Bokhara, cholong, (?) precious stone,
in Kalmuc. Faroe Islands, Greenland, etc.
Cacholot, or Spermaceti whale. (Cachalot.)
Cacique, Carique. [Hayt. word, adopted by
the Sp.] A name for chiefs of Indian tribes of
Central and S. America.
Cacochymy. [Gr. K<ut6s, bad, x c M<k, juice,
liquid.} (Med.) Bad condition of the juices or
humours.
Cacodemon. [Gr. /ccc/coSm/icoc, from KO.K&S, bad,
Sai/j.wv, as used in New Testament.] Evil spirit.
Cacodyl. [Gr. KaKtaStis, stinking, 8\r;, stuff.}
(Chem.) An inflammable liquid, prepared from
zinc and chloride of arsenic, and acting as a base.
Cacoetb.es [Gr. rb KaKoyOfs, ill habit} scri-
bendi. An itch, or passion, for scribbling.
Cacography. 1. Bad handwriting [Gr. nants,
bad, ypdtjxa, I write}. 2. Bad spelling; opposed
to Orthography [op6os, straight, right}.
Cacophony, Cacophonia. [Gr. Kcuc6s, bad, <t><avn,
sound, voice.] 1. An ill-sounding effect in words.
2. Harshness in musical effect. 3. (Med.) A
depraved state of voice.
Cadastral Survey. [Fr. cadastre.] A survey
of an extensive tract of country, made with exact
instruments, such as the Ordnance Survey ; origin-
ally, one serving as a register [L. capitastrum],
regulating the imposition of taxes on real
property.
Cadaver. [L.] A corpse.
Caddis worm, Case worm. Larva of Phry-
ganetdse [Gr. (ppvyavov, a faggot}, Neuropterous
(or (?) Trichopterous) insects ; living under water
in tube constructed of fragments of rush, stone,
etc.
Caddow, Caddess, Cadow. The young of the
crow. Richardson mentions the suggestion caw,
and daw or dow.
Cade. [L. cadus.] A cask.
Cade lamb. [(?) Fr. cadet ; or cf. Dan. kaad,
wanton, frolicsome (Wedgwood).] A pet lamb,
a somewhat spoilt child.
Cadence. [L. cadere, to fall.} 1. (Her.)
Family descent ; cadency. 2. (Music. ) The close
of a musical passage or phrase. If harmonized,
a Perfect C. is when the chord of the key-note
is preceded by the chord of the dominant ; a
Plagal C. is when the key-note is preceded by
the chord of the subdom., major or minor. All
other cadences are termed imperfect.
Cadene. [Fr. cadene, from L. catena, chain.}
An inferior Levantine carpet.
Cadet. [Fr. cadet, younger, L.L. capitettum,
little head.} Formerly meant the younger
branches of any noble family, but now applied
to young gentlemen who are being trained for
the profession of arms. Naval C., one training
for a midshipman on board a man-of-war.
Cadi, Kadee. [Ar., a judge.} (Alcaide.) With
Mohammedan nations, a judge, who passes
sentence in all cases of law ; in India, chief
judge ; in the dominions of the Ottoman sultan,
subject to the mufti.
Cadis. [Fr.] A coarse serge.
Cadit qusestio. [L.] The matter for discus-
sion falls to the ground ; there is an end of it.
Cadmeian victory. [Gr. KaSpeia vlay.] A
victory won to one's own ruin, referring to the
story of the armed men who sprang up when
Cadmus sowed the dragon's teeth, and who slew
each other ; or, as some have said, to the fratri-
cidal war of Eteocles and Polyneikes, the sons
of (Edipus.
Cadmia. [Gr. Kafyeia.] The old name for
Calamine.
Cadmium. [Gr. KafyJa.] A soft white metal,
generally found in zinc ores, such as calamine.
C. yellow, used as a pigment, is its sulphide.
Cadogan. A teapot, filled from below.
Cadre. [Fr., frame, outline, from It. quadro.]
The nominal establishment of officers of a
regiment.
Caducary. [L. caducus, fatting.} (Leg.)
Relating to lapse, escheat, forfeiture, or con-
fiscation.
Caducous. (Myth.) The staff of Hermes. The
word is probably a Latinized form of the Gr.
, or herald's staff.
CADU
CALA
Caducibrancbiate. [L. caducus, liable to fall,
Gr. &pdyx ia > gills-} (Amphibia.)
Caducity. [L. caducus, falling or fallen.}
1. A tendency to fall ; e.g. Bot., in the petals of
the cistus. 2. Feebleness.
Cadus. [L.] A large jar, especially of earthen-
ware, for wine.
Caeeuban wine. The choicest Roman wine
before the age of Augustus.
Caecum. [L. csecus, blind.} A blind sac or
bag ; in man, the first portion of the colon.
Caedmon. An Old English poet of the seventh
century, who sang of the mysteries of creation
and redemption in alliterative (q.v.} verse.
Cselatura. [L.] The Roman term for work-
ing raised, or partly raised, figures in metal.
Caen stone. From the quarries of C., Nor-
mandy ; a member of the Oolitic group. (Bath-
stone.)
Caer-. \Cf. Erse cathair, fortress.} Part of
Cymric names, as in Caer-marthen.
Caesarem vehis, Fortunamque ejus. [L.]
Thou carriest C. and his fortune. An apo-
strophe spoken to the ship in which C. sailed ;
applied to any vessel, carriage, train, etc.,
carrying some one precious in the eyes of the
speaker.
Caesarian operation (Pliny's belief being that
Caesar was named "a cseso matris utero ").
Extraction of the foetus by incision of the ab-
domen. The same story is told of Macduff, and
of many of the large group of Fatal children.
Caesarism. The theory of irresponsible de-
spotism.
Caesium. An alkaline metal, having a pair of
blue [L. caesius] lines in its spectrum.
Caestus. [L. caedo, I strike, slay.} A Roman
pugilist's leather strap of bull's hide, often
weighted with balls of lead or iron, bound round
the hands and arms ; a gauntlet.
Caesura. [L., a cutting, called also TO/^J and
comma, Gr. ic^ujua.] In Pros., a pause or me-
trical break near the middle of the line, caused
by the separation of the first syllable of a foot,
forming the last of a word, from the next syllable,
which forms the first of another word ; as in the
Latin hexameter, e.g. "Arma virumque cano |
Trojae qui primus ab oris."
Caetera desunt. [L.] At the end of an in-
complete copy of a work : the remainder is
wanting.
Caeteris paribus. All other things being equal ;
e.g. C. P. a preference to natives of , in
awarding a scholarship.
Caffeine. [Fr. cafeine, from cafe, coffee.} The
essential principle of coffee and tea, also called
theine [theine, from the, tea}. (Alkaloids.)
Caftan, Kaftan. [Turk, gaftan, a robe of
honour.} A robe, cloak, presented by the
sultan to visitors of distinction, especially to
ambassadors.
Cage. [Fr. cage, L. cavga.] (Meek.) A
piece put over a valve, which, while giving the
valve freedom of motion, prevents it from being
displaced.
Cagliostro. (Balsamo.)
Cag-mag. [(?) Onomatop. from the effort of
eating.] Coarse, tough meat ; properly a tough
old goose.
Cagots. Gipsy-like people (? descendants of
ancient leper communities ?) in Beam and other
parts of Gascony ; once badly treated, and still
socially degraded. Similar are the Caqueux in
Brittany, and the Colliberts in Poitou, Maine,
Anjou. [Ca, Prov. = canis, dog (I. Taylor).]
Cahar. [Hind.] Palanquin-bearer.
Cahier. In Fr. Hist., a report of certain
assemblies and their proceedings ; e.g. of the
States-General, clergy, etc. ; lit. a writing-book,
of four leaves [L. quaternum].
Caimacan. (Kaimakan.)
Cainites. Gnostics of the second century,
who held Cain to have been the work of a
mighty power, Abel of a weak one ; and that
the way to be saved was to make trial of all
things, evil as well as good.
Cainozoic, Csenozoic. (Neozoic.)
Caique, or Kaique. A small vessel of the
Levant. The Constantinople skiff, fast but
crank, whose traditional wave-line is the same
as the one reckoned a triumph of modern marine
architecture.
C_a ira. [Fr., that will go on, i.e. succeed.}
The refrain of the Carillon National, or Revolu-
tionary song of 1 790.
Caird. [Ir. ceard.] A tinker, vagrant, tramp.
Cairn. [Gael, kaern, a heap.} 1. A heap of
stones, piled in memory of the dead over stone
chests, urns, etc., containing their remains;
Keltic. 2. Similar heaps used as marks in
trigonometrical surveys ; called in S. Africa a
pile. (Tumulus.)
Cairngorm stone. (Geol.) A brown or yellow
quartz crystal, having a little oxide of iron or
manganese ; when brown-black it is called
Morion. In C. Mountains of Aberdeen ; near
Orleans ; in Brazil. (Quartz.)
Caisse. [Fr., L. capsa, a chest, case.} Case,
strong box, cashier's office. Livre de C., Compte
de C., cash-book, cash account. C. d'amortisse-
ment, sinking fund.
Caisson. [Fr. caisson, waggon, caisse, a chest,
L. capsa.] 1. (Arch.) Sunk panels, lactinaria,
of flat or arched ceilings, etc., or of Soffits. 2.
A flat-bottomed frame of large timbers, used for
laying the foundations of a bridge. 3. Case
containing receptacles for shells, when they are
buried for explosion. 4. Ammunition-waggon.
Cajeput oil. The pungent, aromatic, volatile
oil of the Melaleuca C. of the Moluccas; ord.
Myrtaceae.
Calabar, or Ordeal, bean. The seeds of
Physostigma venenosum, a plant resembling our
scarlet runner, but with a woody stem ; employed
as an ordeal in W. Trop. Africa in the case of
persons suspected of witchcraft.
Calabar skin. The skin of the Siberian
squirrel.
Calabash [Sp. calaboza] ; for goblets, cups,
etc. 1. The hard shell of the fruit of the
Trop. American tree Crescentia, ord. Big-
noniacese. 2. Vessel made of a dried gourd.
Caladlum. [Gr. Ka\d.0ioi>, basket.} A gen.
of plants, ord. Aroideae. W. Indian and S.
GALA
92
American. Cultivated in hot-houses for their
beautiful spotted leaves, etc.
Calamanco. [Sp. calamaco.] A glossy woollen
stuff.
Calamander wood. (Coromandel wood.)
Calamary. [Gr. na.KafiLa.piov, pen-case, /coAo/xos,
reed, pen.~\ Not to be confounded with Cala-
maria, which is a gen. of dwarf ground-snakes.
(Squid.)
Calambac. (Eagle-wood.)
Calamboor. [Pers. halambak.] A fragrant
aloe-wood used by cabinet-makers.
Calamiferous plant. Producing a hollow,
knotted stem like a reed [L. calamus].
Calamine. [L. calamus, a reed.~\ (Min.)
Carbonate of zinc ; adhering in a reed-like form
to the base of the furnace when smelted.
Electric calamine is native trisilicate of zinc,
which is electric when heated. (Cadmia.)
Calamint. [Gr. KoAa/A^r/.] (Bot.) A gen. of
plants, ord. LamiacSse, to which belong cat-mint,
basil, thyme, etc.
Calamite. [L. calamus, a reed.'] (Geol.) A
frequent and characteristic gen. of fossil plants,
found chiefly and abundantly in the coal-mea-
sures ; resembling Equiseta.
Calamus. [L., reed.} 1. A gen. of grass-like
palms, E. Indian mostly, which furnish the
rattan canes of commerce. 2. In Exod. xxx.
23 ; Song of Sol. iv. 14 ; Ezek. xxvii. 19 ; the
sweet cane ; probably the root-stock of an aro-
matic reed, the Acorus [Gr. &Kopos] calamus.
Calamus root. Used with oils of cloves,
lavender, rosemary, in aromatic vinegar ; the
rhizome of Acorus [Gr. &Kopos] calamus, or Sweet
flag, ord. Aroidese. Brought from Asia in the
fifteenth century ; now naturalized in Europe.
Calando. [It. calare, to decrease.] (Music.)
Decreasingly, both as to sound and as to time.
Calandra. [Gr. Ka\avSpa, a kind of lark.] 1.
(Ornith.) A short-billed lark, the largest
European spec. (Cuvier). 2. (Entom.) C.
grdndrfa [L. granum, grain], C. Sryzce [opvfa,
rice], etc., Corn weevil, Rice W., etc. Gen. of
weevils, RhyncSphora \p6yx os i snout, <popetv,
wear], long-snouted beetles, whose larvae are
destructive of corn, rice, etc.
Calash. [Slav, kolaska.] 1. A four-wheeled
carriage, opened or shut by a movable hood. 2.
The hood itself. 3. A large hood, protecting
the head, for going out at night ; worn by
ladies.
Calathlform. Of the shape of a basket [L.
calathus].
Calatrava, Order of. An order of Spanish
knighthood, instituted by Sancho III. of Castile,
1158.
Caloaire grossier. [Fr., coarse limestone.] (Geol.)
A member of the Middle Eocene of the Paris
basin, and representative of Bracklesham Eocene,
is composed of fossil marine molluscs and fora-
minifera, and is the building stone of Paris.
Calcaneum, or Os oalcis. [L.] The heel-bone.
Calcar. [L. calcaria, limekiln.] An oven
used for calcining sand and potash in glass-
making.
Calcarate flower. Having a spur [L. calcar].
A hollow projection from the base of the petals ;
as in larkspur and some orchids.
Calcareous. [L. calcarius, of or belong to
lime] (Geol.) Containing a considerable amount
of lime.
Calceolate. (Hot.) Of the shape of a slipper
or small shoe [L. calceolus] ; e.g. calceolaria.
Calcination. (Calx.)
Calcitration. [L. calcitro, / kick] The act
of kicking.
Calcium. A malleable pale yellow metal, the
basis of lime [L. calx].
Calcium light. A white dazzling light ; that
of the melting at red heat, under a current of
air, of calcium, a metal present in various com-
pounds of lime [L. calx, calcis].
Calcography, [L. calx, lime, Gr. ypd<pfiv, to
write] The art of drawing with chalk.
Calc-sinter. [Ger. sinter, dross] Incrustations
deposited by siliceous and by calcareous springs
are Silicecrus sinter and Calc-sinter.
Calc-spar, Calcareous spar, Calcite. (Geol.)
Crystallized carbonate of lime ; found in nu-
merous forms and degrees of purity.
Calc-tuft, Calcareous tuft. Chemically, nearly
i.q. marble ; but cellular, spongy, generally
friable ; sometimes good for building, e.g. the
Travertine at Rome.
Calculating-machine. A mechanical con-
trivance by which arithmetical operations (ad-
dition, multiplication, etc., of numbers) can be
performed. Napier's rods (or Napier's bones)
are an early form of machine for multiplying and
dividing numbers. Another was Pascal's. Of
later forms, the best known is Babbage's C.-M.,
which is, strictly speaking, a difference machine,
i.e. it is adapted for calculating a series of
numbers separated from each other by a common
difference ; by means of subsidiary contrivances,
the common difference can be varied ; the
machine is therefore adapted for the calculation
of mathematical tables, such as tables of the
logarithms of numbers, etc. Another well-
known modern machine is that of M. Thomas,
of Colmar.
Calculus. [L., a small stone] (Med.) A
hard, stony secretion in any part ; most frequently
applied to a concretion in the bladder.
Calculus of finite differences ; Differential C. ;
Integral C. ; C. of variation. A collection of rules
or theorems applicable to calculations performed
with certain defined classes of magnitudes.
Conceive two magnitudes connected in such a
manner that a change in the one necessitates
a corresponding change in the other, e.g. the
radius and the area of a circle. Any corre-
sponding changes which these two magnitudes
undergo are called their differences. If these
differences are finite, a collection of theorems
may be formed having reference to the relations
existing between them, and such a collec-
tion of theorems is called the C. of finite
differences. If the differences are indefinitely
small, such as would occur when the change
takes place continuously, we have the Differential
C. The theorem of the Integral C. relates to
the total finite result of a continuous change,
CALD
93
CALL
the rate of which at each point is known, i.e.
to the determination of functions from their dif-
ferential coefficients. These and similar calculi
are commonly carried out into numerous details ;
and, in particular, most treatises on the Diffe-
rential and Integral C. explain the applications
of these calculi to questions of geometry, etc.
It is not unusual to speak of the differential
and integral calculus as The C., on account of
its numerous applications to physical questions,
most changes in nature being continuous. (For
C. of -variation, vide Iso-.)
Calda. [L. and It.] Warm spiced wine and
water.
Caldariurn. [L.] In the Roman baths, the
chamber containing the warm bath.
Caldas, Caldelas. In Spain and Portugal,
warm springs, from which many places are
named ; e.g. C. da Rainha, etc.
Caleche, Calash. [Fr. caleche.] A light
carriage for four, with movable top and sepa-
rate seat for driver.
Caledonia. Scotland, north of Firths of Clyde
and Forth, under the Romans.
Calef acient . [L. calSfacientem , making warm . ]
Causing a sensation of warmth ; e.g. a mustard
poultice.
Calembeg. A kind of olive-green sandalwood.
Calembour. [Fr.] A pun: " le nom de
1'abbe de Calemberg, personnage plaisant de
contes allemands," Littre ; who compares es-
piegle, sprightly, harmlessly mischievous, espie-
glerie, sharp saying a word which passed into
Fr. from a translation of the life of Till Eulen-
spiegel, Owl's Looking-glass, a German, circ.
1480, famous for petites fourberies ingenieuses.
Calendar, Julian, Gregorian. (Calends.) 1.
A register or list of things, as a C. of State
papers. 2. A book or table containing the
order and sequence of all the days of the year ;
an almanac ; an Ephemeris [Gr.]. In \h& Julian
C. the year is = 365 days ; but every fourth year
has an additional day, = 366 days. In the
Gregorian or Reformed C. , three of these additional
days are omitted in the course of 400 years ; so
that only 97 years in the 400 are 366 days long.
The rule is that the year consists of 366 days
when its number is divisible by 4, as A.D.
1880, 1884, etc. ; but it consists of 365 days when
its number, though divisible by 4, consists
exactly of centuries and is not divisible by 400 ;
thus, A.D. 1900 will have only 365 days, but
A. D. 2000 will have 366 days.
Calendars, The three. In the Arabian Nights' 1
Tales, sons of kings disguised as begging der-
vishes.
Calendering. The process of passing linen or
calico between cylinders, so as to flatten out the
threads and give a closer texture.
Calends. [L. calendse.] In the Roman
calendar, the first days of each month. The
Greek month had no Calends : hence the phrase
" Greek Calends " is equivalent to the 3Oth of
February, iron., = never.
Calenduline. Mucilaginous matter found in
the leaves of common marigold (Calendula
officlnalis).
Calenture. [Sp. calentura.] An ardent fever,
mostly attacking seamen when sailing into hot
climates, the sufferer often imagining the sea a
green field ; the term nearly obsolete.
Calfat. (Naut.) (Caulk.)
Calf s skin = part of a fool's dress, in Shake-
speare's time.
Cali. (Kali.)
Calibre. [(?) Fr. of the sixteenth century,
equalibre, L. sequilibrium ; Littre suggests
Ar. kalib, a form, mould.~\ 1. The bore of a
gun, diameter of a bullet. 2. Melon, quality,
power. C. of a ship, the known weight repre-
sented by her armament. 3. To calibrate a
thermometer-tube is to ascertain the size of its
bore.
Calidore, Sir. [Gr. Ka\6s, fair, Swpov, gift.]
In Spenser's Faery Queen, type of courtesy,
meant for Sir Philip Sydney.
Caliduct. [L. calulus, hot, duco, / lead.~\ A
flue for hot air or water. (Caloriduct.)
Caligation. [L. callgalio, -nem.] Darkness,
mistiness.
Caligorant. In Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, a
giant entangled in his own net, and captured by
Astolpho ; type of a sophistic heretic.
Caligraphy. Not so correct as Calligraphy
(q.v.).
Calila and Dinma. (Panchatantra.)
Calin. [Fr.] An alloy of lead and tin, used
by the Chinese for tea-canisters, etc.
Calipash and Calipee. (Callipash.)
Caliph [Ar. khalif] = a lieutenant or deputy,
i.e. of Mohammed ; a lille at first given to the
sovereigns of the Muslim Arabs, as successors,
vicars, spiritually, of the prophet ; but generally
applied to certain dynasties only of Mohammedan
sovereigns.
Caliphat. In the Hist, of Islam. 1. The
office of the successor and vicegerent of Moham-
med. But the question of the true representation
of the prophet has been often fiercely debalecl.
(Abbasides; Fatimites; Ommiad Caliphs; Shia;
Suni.) 2. The counlry subject to ihe caliph.
Calippio. (Cycle.)
Calisaye bark. One of the best kinds of
Peruvian bark, valuable as a source of a quinine.
Caliver. An old word for a musket (q.v.).
(Another form of Calibre.)
Calixtines. 1. A branch of Hussites ; called
also Utraquists, who demanded the cup [L.
calix] for the laity, or administration in each
part [in utraque parte] of Ihe sacraments.
2. Followers of George Calixtus, or Callisen,
Lutheran divine, seventeenth century, who was
for reuniting Roman Catholics, Lutherans, etc.,
on the basis of the Apostles' Creed.
Calk. [Probably from L. calco, / tread in,
stuff.~\ 1. To slop wilh tow the seams, or leaks,
of vessels. Calkers, Ezek. xxvii. 9. 2. I.q. cal-
culate [L. calculus, a pebble}. Calkings, i.e.
calculations, as of nativities, etc.
Calk, Calkin. In the heel [L. calx] of a horse-
shoe, a sharp-pointed armature to prevent slip-
ping on ice, etc.
Call. 1. A demand from shareholders of a
public company for an instalment if the capital
CALL
94
CAMA
is not all paid up. 2. (Stockbrok.) (Put and
call.)
Callidity. [L. callldita, -tern.] Shrewdness ;
lit. as of a practised, hardened person [callum,
thick skin}.
Calligraphy. [Gr. Ka\\iypeuf>la, from K<i\\os,
beauty, yp^fpu, / write.} Good, beautiful hand-
writing.
Calliope. [Gr., beautiful-voiced.] The Muse
of epic or heroic poetry.
Callipaah and Callipee. [(?) Corr. of Carapace
(g.v.), or (?) of Calabash.] 1. The turtle's upper
and under shell respectively. 2. The green fat
of the one, and the yellow flesh of the other, in
Chelone viridis, green turtle.
Calliper-compasses ; Callipers. Compasses with
bowed legs for measuring the diameters of
cylinders. (Calibre.)
Callisthenics. Gymnastics, exercises of
strength [Gr. crfcVos], only to develop grace
[Kd\\os] ; not as feats of strength or activity.
Callisto. (Moses.)
Callosity. [L. callSsita, -tern.] Hardness of
skin. (Callidity.)
Callow. [O.E. caluw, colo; (?) cf. L. calvus,
bald.] Unfledged, tender, as young birds in the
nest. t
Calluna. [Gr. KO\\VVU, I make beautiful.]
(Sot. ) A gen. of plants, ord. Ericese, having one
spec. Vulgaris, Common heath.
Callus. 1. New bony growth, uniting fractured
ends. 2. Sometime's i.q. callosity.
Caloric. The (imaginary) principle of heat
[L. calor] ; it was supposed to be a fluid sub-
stance diffused, but unequally, through all
bodies, and producing the sensible effect of
heat.
Caloridnct. [L. calorem, heat, duco, I lead.]
A better form than Caliduct (q.v.).
Calorifere. [Fr., L. calor, heat, fero, I bring.]
A stove.
Calorimeter ; Calorimetry. [L. calor, heat, Gr.
H^rpoif, measure.] An instrument for ascertain-
ing the quantity of heat required to raise a given
quantity of a given substance from one specified
temperature to another, or to make it change its
state, e.g. from ice to water, or from water to
steam. Calorimetry is measurement of quantities
of heat, which must be distinguished from mea-
surement of temperature.
Calotte. [Fr.] A skull-cap, worn by eccle-
siastics.
Calottistes [Fr.], or Regiment de la Calotte.
A bold satirical society (temp. Louis XIV.), who
sent to any public character who had made
himself ridiculous, a calotte or skull-cap for the
weak part of his head.
Calotype. [Gr. Ka\6s, fair, rtnros, type.] A
method of photography in which a negative
picture is obtained on paper covered with iodide
of silver.
Caloyer. [Mod. Gr. ita\6yfpos, good old man,
from Ka\6s, good, ytpiav, old man.] A general
name for monks of the Greek Church. There
are also C. nuns. All follow St. Basil's rule
only.
Caltha. [L.] (Bot.) A gen. of plants, ord.
Ranunculacese ; the marsh marigold (C. palustris)
is a well-known British plant, with large yellow
cup-shaped flowers, blooming in marshy places
in early spring.
Caltrop. [A.S. coltrseppa.] 1. (Bot.) A
small prostrate plant, Tribulus terrestris. Ord.
Zygophyllacese. In S. Europe. It has prickly
fruit, dangerous to the feet of cattle. 2. (Mil.)
An iron instrument, with four points so arranged
that, three being in the ground, the fourth pro-
jects upwards. Used for harassing the enemy's
cavalry, as by Bruce at Bannockburn.
Cakunba root. The bitter tonic root, large,
fleshy, deep yellow, of the Jateorhiza palmata of
Mozambique. Ord. Menispermaceae.
Calumet, or Peace-pipe, of N. -American
Indians, with long reed stem and marble bowl ;
smoked, by representatives of both sides, in
making a treaty.
Calvary. [L. calvarium, a skull = Gr.
Kpavlov (Luke xxiii. 33).] A representation of
the Passion, with the figures of St. John and the
B.V. Mary, generally life-size, in a church or
on some eminence.
Calver. To shrink, when cut, not falling in
pieces ; said of fish, especially salmon, prepared
in a particular way, when fresh and firm.
Calville. A kind of apple. White winter C.,
grown on the Continent, is a choice variety.
Calvinists. (Eccl.) The followers of Calvin,
the head of the Reformed Church in Geneva, in
the sixteenth century. (Sublapsarians.)
Calx. [L., quicklime.] A term derived from
the alchemists, = the products of calcination,
i.e. of the heating or roasting the various metallic
ores.
Calyculus. [L., dim. of calyx (q.v.).] 1.
(Bot.) A partial involucre, containing but one or
perhaps two flowers. 2. The external bracts of
a capitulum, when they form a distinct ring or
rings. Treas. of Botany. Adj., Calyculate.
Calyon. [Fr. caillon.] Flint, pebble stone,
used in building houses, walls, churches, e.g. in
eastern counties.
Calypso. [Gr. KaAw^.] In the Odyssey, a
nymph or sea-goddess who detains Odysseus
(Ulysses) for seven years on his way home to
Ithaca. She is the Venus of the Tanhaiiser
legend, and the Fairy Queen in that of Thomas
of Ercildoune.
Calyptra. [Gr. /coAuirrpa, a woman's veil.]
(Bot. ) The hood of a moss.
Calyx. [L., Gr. jccUv{, the cup of a floiver.]
The external envelope of a flower.
Calzoons. [Corr. of Fr. cale9on or It. calzoni.]
Drawers.
Cam. [A Gael, word.] 1. Crooked. [Cf.
Kdfj.irT<t>, I bend, L. camurus, crooked.] The rivers
Cam ; More-cambe, crooked sea, one of which
the coast takes many bends. 2. (Mech. ) A
single tooth which either rotates continuously or
oscillates, and drives a sliding or turning-piece
either constantly or at intervals.
Camaieu. [Fr.] A painting executed in
different shades of one colour only ; and thus
resembling a cameo (g.v.).
Camail. [Fr., Prov. capmail ; L. caput,
CAMA
95
head, and maille, a mesh, L. macula.] 1. A
coat of mail, covering head and shoulders.
2. A clerical short cloak, like in shape, but
longer.
Camaldulites. Benedictine monks, established
at Camaldoli, in the eleventh century.
Camaraderie. [Fr.] Good fellowship.
Camarilla. [Sp., L. camera, a chamber.] A
small room or audience chamber of the king ;
and so = his secret cabinet.
Cambel and Triamond. Inpersonations of
friendship, Spenser's Faery Queen, bk. iv.
Camber. [Fr. cambre, arched. ] The con-
vexity on the upper side of a beam, to prevent its
bending under the weight it has to sustain.
Camber, To. [Gr. icd/tima, I bend, L. camurus,
crooked.] 1. To curve planks. 2. (Naut.) C.
backed keel, one slightly arched, but not enough
to constitute actual arching (g.v.). 3. A C., a
place for storing and cambering timber.
Cambistry. The science of money exchanges.
[L. cambiare, to barter, whence Fr. changer.]
Cambium. [L. cambio, / exchange.] 1. A
viscid secretion in spring, between the bark and
alburnum (q.v.), the supposed material of new
wood and bark. 2. A (supposed) restorative of
bodily wear, residing in the blood.
Gamboge. (Gamboge.)
Cambrai, League of. An alliance, 1508,
between the pope, the emperor, France, and
Spain, against Venice.
Cambrai, Peace of. A treaty between France
and the emperor, 1529.
Cambrasine. [Fr. cambresine.] A kind of
fine linen, like cambric (Cambrai, the place of
manufacture).
Cambria. Old name of Wales ; land of
Cymry.
Cambrian, Cumbrian. Professor Sedgewick's
term for some of the oldest known fossiliferous
rocks, underlying the true Silurian ; occurring
extensively in Wales (Cambria) and in Cumber-
land.
Cambuscan. The model king in Chaucer's
Squire's Tale. (Canace.)
Camden Society. (In honour of Wm. Camden,
buried at Westminster, 1623.) Publishes early
historical and literary remains.
Came. Lead cast into thin rods, used for
framing the glass of casements.
Camel. [Gr. /ccfytijAos, a Semit. word.] 1.
(Zool.) A ruminant. The two spec, of this
en. are the common camel and the Dromedary.
. (Naut.) A wooden case enclosing a ship, to
float it over shallows.
Camelopard. [Gr. KayurjAo-ircipSaAts, from
K<i/j.i]\os, a camel, irdpSa\is, a pard, panther, etc.]
{Zool.} Giraffe [Ar. zurafa] ; a ruminant. The
tallest extant quadruped, and the only spec, of
its gen. and fam. Nubia and adjacent south-
west open country of Africa. Ord. Ungulata.
(Wrongly pronounced cameleopard.)
Camelot. The city in which Arthur had his
court and his Bound Table.
Camelus saltat. [L.] The camel is darning;
said of one doing something very unlike his usual
habits.
Camenae. [L.] Latin deities whose names,
as shown by the forms Carmentis and Carmenae,
were connected with [carmen] song. Hence
they were identified with the Greek Muses.
Cameo. [Fr. cama'ieu and camee, It. cameo,
and L.L. camseus.] Carving, in relief, of shells;
and of agate, onyx, sard : opposed to Intaglio,
an incising ; as fora seal.
Camera, In. [L.] In a chamber, privately.
Cameralistics. [L. camera, a chamber.]
Science of public finance.
Camera lucida. [L., a bright chamber.] An
optical instrument invented by Dr. Wollaston,
in 1807. Originally a four-sided prism of glass
set in a brass frame ; used by artists for obtaining
an accurate outline of a distant object. The
faces are inclined at such angles that, when it is
placed in a proper position, light from the object
after two internal reflexions forms, on or more
strictly behind the paper, an image which the
artist can then trace.
Camera obscura. [L.] A darkened chamber
or box, in one of the walls of which is placed a
convex lens or combination of lenses, by
means of which the image of an external object
can be formed on a screen placed in a proper
position ; in the form used by photographers
it is often spoken of simply as a Camera.
Camerel, Cambrel. A wooden notched crook,
by which large pieces, of meat are hung. [Cf.
cam (q.v.) and L. camurus, crooked, in E. Ang.
croom]
Camerlengo = Chamberlain. The pope's
Minister of Finance, and of civil affairs gene-
rally ; temporary head of the Church " sede
vacante ; " sole head in things temporal ; assisted
by other cardinals in things spiritual.
Cameronians. 1. (Richard Cameron, killed
1680.) Resisting Charles II. 's attempts to settle
Church government, became a definite sect,
after 1688 ; a very small body now. 2. The 26th
Light Infantry ; raised from the Cameronians
in 1688.
Camisards, The. (Fr. Hist.) Insurgents in
the Cevennes Mountains, at the beginning of the
eighteenth century ; so called from the white
shirt or jacket which they wore to recognize
each other by night. (Dragonnades.)
Camlet. [Fr. camelot, from Gr. Ka/uTjAeorr), a
camel's skin.] 1. A fine cloth made of goat's
hair. 2. A similar cloth made of wool mixed
with linen or cotton.
Camouflet. [Fr. ; origin very uncertain ; see
Littre (s.v.).] 1. A puff of smoke in the face.
2. An affront. 3. A small mine established from
the galleries of a besieged fortress, in the wall of
an enemy's gallery, for the purpose of blowing
in the latter.
Camous, Camoused, Camoys. [(?) Cf. L.camus,
Gr. Kti/j.6s, a muzzle.] Depressed, as the negro's
nose.
Campagna, Campagna di Roma. [It.] An undu-
lating, unhealthy, uncultivated plain surrounding
Rome, including the larger part of the ancient
Latium ; the ground almost entirely volcanic.
Campagnol. [Fr. campagne, country.] (Zool.)
A kind of field-mouse, Arvlcola arvalis.
CAMP
96
CANE
Campanile. The Italian name for a bell-
tower, the structure in Italy being usually or
often detached from the church.
Campanology. [L.L. campana, a bell, and Gr.
\6yos, discourse.] Knowledge of bells and of the
art of ringing.
Campanulate. (Sot.) Shaped like a bell
[L.L. campanula].
Campeachy wood. (Logwood.)
Campeador. [Sp.] A champion.
Camp equipage. Includes the tents, bedding,
implements, and utensils used by an army when
encamped.
Camp fight. Trial of a cause by duel or combat,
Camphene, Camphilene. An artificial camphor
obtained from turpentine.
Camphine. A spirit of turpentine obtained
from the Pinus australis of the S. States of
America. Used for burning in lamps.
Camphire. [Heb. copher, Gr. icinrpos.] In
Song of Sol. i. 14 and iv. 13 ; a small shrub,
Lawsonia Inermis, with white and yellow sweet-
scented flowers ; its leaves yielding the henna of
the Arabs, used to dye the nails, palms, etc.
Camphor. [Ar. kafru.] A solid essential oil,
distilled from the wood of the Laurus camphora.
Malay, Borneo, Sumatra, or hard C., is found in
masses in the Dryobalanops aromatica. By some
chemists all volatile oils which are concrete at
ordinary temperatures are called Camphors.
Campion. (Bot.) The English name for the
spec, of the gen. Lychnis, ord. Caryophyllacese.
Campo Santo. [It., Holy field.] 1. A ceme-
tery ; especially, 2, one for persons of dis-
tinction ; so called from that of Pisa.
Camus, Camis. A light tunic. [L. camisia, a
night-gown ; whence Fr. chemise.]
Camwood. A red dye-wood, mostly from
Sierra Leone ; used also in ornamental turnery ;
from a leguminous shrub, Baphia nitida.
Can, Ken, Kin. [Cf. Gael, cenn, head.] Part
of a name, as in Ken-more, Can-tire.
Canaanite. Matt. x. 4 ; a misprint for Can-
anite ; most likely from Heb. kana, to be zealous,
and = Zelotes, Luke vi. 15, the Zealot (q.v.).
Canace. A model woman, daughter of Cam-
buscan (q.v.) ; owner of the mirror which showed
the true or false lover, and of the ring which
explained the language of birds.
Canada balsam. An oleo-resin from the balm
of Gilead fir, Abies balsamea, which grows
abundantly in Canada and Northern U. S. It is
used for making colourless varnish.
Canada clergy reserves. One-seventh of all
lands in Upper C., and of those of the townships
in Lower C. ; with which in 1853, by 16 Viet.,
the Legislature was empowered absolutely to
deal, life-interests being untouched.
Canaille. [Fr., mob, rabble, It. canaglia, lit.
a pack of dogs.] The likeness in form and mean-
ing to L. canalicolae is accidental.
Canakin. [Dim. of can.] A cup, or small can.
Canaliculate. (Sot. and Anat.) Channelled,
having a small passage or furrow [L. canaliculus].
Canard. [Fr., a duck.] A French satirist of
the last century told a story of a number of ducks
which devoured their companions as each was
killed, until one only remained, with the flesh
of all in his stomach. This story, made up in
ridicule of travellers' tales, was revived more
recently for the same purpose in America, and
the word has thus come to denote an extravagant
tale or hoax.
Canariensis. (Bot.) A common garden name
for Canary creeper (Tropaeolum peregrinum).
Ord. Geraniacese.
Canaries. A lively dance of former times, in
f time, imported, it is said, from the Canary
Islands ; though probably it had been exported
thither previously from Normandy by Bethen-
court, who invaded them in the fourteenth cen-
tury (Eng. Cyclop.). To canary is an obsolete
verb.
Canary, or Sack. Wine made in the C.
Islands.
Canary wood. (From the colour.) A light
S. -American wood used for cabinet-work, etc.
Canaster. [Sp. canasta, a basket.] A coarse,
dry smoking tobacco, originally brought from S.
America in rush baskets.
Can-buoys. (Naut.) Large, cone-shaped
buoys over shoals, sunken vessels, etc.
Cancelier. [Fr. chanceler, to stagger, reel.]
To waver in flight ; to turn upon the wing ; said
of a hawk.
Cancellate. [L. cancelli, plu., railings, a lat-
tice.] (Bot.) Consisting of a network of veins.
Cancelled ticket. (A r auf.) One with the
corner cut off for bad conduct, still valid, as
showing the time of a sailor's past services.
Cancelli. [L.] 1. Rails in a basilica sepa-
rating the court from the audience ; whence the
Eng. chancel. 2. A gate of rails or lattice-work.
(Carceres.)
Candelabrum. [L.] Candlestick or lamp-
holder.
Candent. [L. candentem, glowing with heat.]
In a state of white heat.
Canderos. A clear white Indian resin.
Candidates. [L. candidatus, clothed in white.]
Applicants for public offices in Rome ; so called
either from their then wearing a white toga or
putting white marks on their dress.
Candide. Hero of Voltaire's Candide, a cynical
optimist indifferent to accumulated misfortunes.
Candleberry. (Bayberry.)
Candlemas Day. The festival of Purification
of B.V. Mary; numerous candles having been
used, in reference (?) to Luke ii. 32. (Hypa-
pante.)
Candle-waster. One who keeps late hours, as
spendthrift or as student.
Candock. A weed that grows in rivers.
Johnson.
Candour, Mrs. In Sheridan's School for Scandal,
a slanderous gossip, " with a very gross affecta-
tion of good nature and benevolence."
Candroy. A machine used in preparing
cotton cloths for printing.
Candy. 1. A weight of 20 maunds, either in
Madras or Bombay. 2. A dry measure of 24^
English bushels.
Canella. [Fr. cannelli, dim. of canne, cane.]
(Bot. ) White cinnamon, or Whitewood bark, the
CANE
97
CANT
bark of the young branches of C. alba, of W.
" Indies and S. America ; stomachic and stimulant
tonic.
Canephori. [Gr. Kavti<t>6poi.} In Gr. Ant.,
figures bearing on their heads baskets with the
materials for sacrifice. (Caryatides.)
Canescent. [L. canesco, / grow white.}
Growing white.
Cane-sugar. The non-fermenting sweet ele-
ment in cane, maple, beet-root, etc. (Glucose;
Sucrose.)
Cane-trash. The dry splinters, used as fuel,
into which sugar-canes are turned after their
third compression, in sugar-making ; called also
Bagasse, from Sp. bagazo, a residuum.
Cangica wood. A yellowish-brown S. -Ameri-
can wood, used for cabinet-work, etc.
Canicular [L. canicula, belonging to the Dog-
star] period; C. year. The C. year was the
fixed year of the Egyptians, of 365^- days,
reckoned from one heliacal rising of the Dog-
star to another, as distinguished from the
wandering year of 365 days, by which they
regulated their festivals. (For C. period, -vide
Sothic period.)
Canidia. [L v ] A sorceress in Horace.
Canister-shot. Cylindical tin cases containing
a number of shot which scatter as they are dis-
charged from the gun.
Canker. [L. cancer, crab.} 1. In the horse's
foot, a fungoid growth between the hoof and
the sensitive part. 2. In the dog's ear, inflam-
mation of the lining membrane. 3. (Bot.)
(Bedeguar.)
Canker-worm. [Heb. yeleg.] (Bibl.) Larva
of locust.
Cannabis sativa. [L., Gr. Kavvaflis.] Common
hemp.
Cannel-coal, i.e. candle-coal. Coal of a kind
not lustrous, nor soiling the fingers ; compact,
breaking conchoidally ; burning readily, giving
out a clear yellow flame, without melting.
Cannibals. Devourers of human flesh, called
by the Greeks Anthropophagoi. The origin of
the word is uncertain : it may be a corruption of
the name Caribbee.
Cannon or Shank of a horse's leg. [L. canna,
a reed.} The front and largest bone of the three
between the knee and the fetlock, the two
smaller and hinder bones being splints.
Cannon-ball tree. Couroupita Guiancensis. A
Trop. American tree. Ord. Myrtaceae ; so
called from appearance of fruit.
Cannuck, Cunnick, Canuck. [Amer.] Nick-
name for a Canadian.
Canon. [Gr. KO.V&V, a rule.} 1. Any rule or
principle, as the canons of criticism. 2. Laws and
ordinances of ecclesiastical Councils : whence the
C. law made up of them. 3. The C. of Scrip-
ture, the authorized catalogue of the sacred
books. 4. In cathedral and collegiate churches,
one who performs certain services in the church,
and is possessed cf certain revenues connected
with them. 5. In Music, a perpetual fugue, the
production of harmony by the parts, each of them
taking the same melody, but beginning it at
separate times. Tallis's Evening Hymn is a C.
of two parts. 6. In Printing, a large type, seldom
used except in posting-bills. 7. (Math.} A
general rule or formula for the solution of mathe-
matical questions. 8. A table of the numerical
values of sines and tangents of angles was called
the Trigonometrical C. 9. The solar table con-
structed by Hipparchus to show the place of
the sun with respect to the fixed stars was called
the C.
Canon. [Sp. ; one of very many words meaning
a hollow, or tube-like form ; e.g. Gr. Kavva, L.
canna, cane.} A deep gorge or ravine between
high and steep banks worn by a stream of water.
The term is in common use in the territories of
the U.S. bordering on Mexico.
Canonical hours. The name given to the
seven hours for devotion, imposed on the clergy of
the Latin Church by Canon law, namely, matins,
with lauds, prime, terce, sext, none, vespers,
compline. (Breviary.)
Canonization [Eccl. L. canon, a list or roll},
which succeeds beatification (q.v.), enrols a de-
ceased person among the saints.
Canon Law. Regulates the discipline of the
Church of Rome ; being made up of various
books of Decretals (q.v.), decrees of popes,
and Canons of Councils.
Cant, Cantle. [Fr. chanteau, L.L. cantellus.]
1. A corner, an edge. 2. The hind bow of a
saddle. 3. Verb, (i) to raise, or rise, on the edge
or corner, e.g. to decant ; (2) to cut off the angle
of a square building ; (3) to edge in, put a
border ; cf. Ger. kante, corner, border.
Cantab. One who belongs or has belonged
to the University of Cambridge [L. Canta-
brigiensis].
Cantabit vacuus coram Iatr5ne viator. [L.]
A traveller with empty pockets will whistle before
the highwayman; poor folks have no fear of
thieves, burglars, etc.
Cantaliver. (Arch.) A block or bracket sup-
porting a balcony or cornice.
Cantaloupe, or musk-melon. Cultivated at the
papal villa of Cantaluppo.
Cantata. [It., L. canto, I sing.} Properly a
short lyric drama, with airs, recitatives,
choruses ; e.g. Purcell's Mad Bess ; but the
word is now used indefinitely.
Canteen. [Fr. cantine, from L. quintana, a
camp market (Littre).] 1. Sutler's establishment
provided in barracks for the use of the soldiers.
2. A vessel for containing food, attached to a
soldier's knapsack. 3. A chest for holding the
different table requisites of an officer.
Cantera. (Naut.) A Spanish fishing-boat.
Canterbury. A low wooden stand with
divisions for holding music, etc.
Canterbury gallop, or Canter. A slow gallop,
like that of the pilgrims, ambling to Canterbury.
(Canter, if from canterius, a gelding, would have
appeared in continental languages.)
Canterbury Tales. By Chaucer (died 1400) ;
are told, each of them, by some one of a party
of pilgrims at the Tabard Inn, Southward, on
their way to the shrine of St. Thomas of Canter-
bury ; and give various pictures of English life
of the time.
CANT
98
CAPI
Cantharides. [Gr.Kdvctpos,ica.v6apl$os.] (Entom.)
A coleopterous insect, of the fam. Cantharidse ;
called also Spanish fly. The blister-fly (q.v.)
of the apothecary.
Canthus. [Gr. Kcu>96s.] The corner of the
eye.
Canticle. [L. canticulum, dim. of cantkum,
a song.] A name used to denote the songs or
psalms introduced into the Order for Morning
and Evening Prayers in the Prayer-book. The
Song of Solomon is sometimes spoken of as
Canticles.
Canting heraldry. A coat of arms or motto,
containing a pun on the name of the bearer ; as
the device of a broken spear for Brakspeare, or
the motto " Ver non semper viret " for Vernon.
Cantire. Gael. = headland. (Can.)
Canto fermo. (Cantus firmus.)
Canton. [Fr.] (Her.) A square figure,
occupying one-third part of the chief, generally
on the dexter side.
Cantonments. [Fr. canton, a district.] (Mil.)
Permanent station, where troops of all arms are
massed together away from the native in-
habitants.
Cantoon. Fustian, with a fine cord visible on
one side, and a saling surface of yarns on the
other.
Cantoris side. [L., of the chanter.] In a
cathedral, that of the precentor ; opposed to that
of the dean [Decani], who is generally on the
south.
Cantor Lectures. (Dr. C., died 1861.) Three
courses of six each, in connexion with Society
of Arts, covering a wide range of subjects.
Cantrap. A Scand. word, denoting a spell or
incantation ; hence spiteful mischief.
Cantred, Cantref. [Welsh.] A district of a
hundred [cant] villages [tref, a village].
Cantus firmus [L.J, Canto fermo [It.]. (Music.)
1. In chanting, the chief melody, the air ;
which, now taken by the sopranos, was once
sung by the tenors. 2. The subject or theme of
counterpoint.
Cantus planus. (Plain song.)
Cantwara. [Cant-, a British tribal name ;
wara, Teut., host.] Man of Kent.
Caniila. [L. cannula, dim. of canna, a reed.]
In Surgery, a metallic tube ; a portion of the
surgical instrument trochar and canula. (Aspira-
tion.)
Canzone. [It., L. cantionem, a singing.] A
kind of lyric poem, adopted with alterations
from the poetry of the troubadours in Italy, in
the thirteenth century ; divided, like the Greek
strophic ode, into stanzas. The dim. canzonet,
a kind of C. in short verses, a favourite form
with the poets of the fifteenth century. Canzonet
also means a short song ; sometimes, like the
Neapolitan and Sicilian C., a rondeau.
Caoutchouc. [Native S.-Amer. name.] India-
rubber, gum elastic, a vegetable compound found
in all plants with a milky juice, especially in
the moraceous, euphorbiaceous, arto-carpaceous,
and others. Ficus elastica of India, Siphonia
elastica of S. America, yield it largely.
Cap. (A r aut.) A strong piece of timber or
iron fitted to a masthead (having two holes in
it, one round and the other square) to confine
an upper mast to a lower.
Capability Brown. A successful landscape
gardener of last century ; much given to using
the word C.
Capacity. [L. capacitatem.] The solid contents
of a body. The Thermal C. of a substance is
the number of units of heat required to raise a
unit weight of the substance one degree of tem-
perature.
Cap-a-pie. [O.Fr. (de) cap a pie, from head
to foot.] Said of a man when fully armed.
Caparison. [O.Fr. caparason, from Sp.
caparazon, L.L. caparo, hood.] A cloth over
the saddle of a horse, often richly ornamented.
Capax doli. [L.] Capable of deceit. (Callidity.)
Capel Court. Where the members of the Stock
Exchange meet, is, by meton., often used as =
Stock Exchange.
Capelmeister, Kapellmeister, Maestro di
Capella. [Chapel-master.] Director, often com-
poser, of music, and choir-trainer in a royal or
ducal chapel ; a post of honour and importance.
Palestrina, Handel, Bach, Haydn, Mendelssohn,
and other great musicians were C.
Capercailzie, Capercali, Caperkally. [Horse
of the woods (Pennant).] (Ornith.) Wood-grouse,
cock of the wood. Male, three feet long ; wings,
from tip to tip, four feet. Female much smaller,
and with plainer plumage. N. parts of Europe
and Asia. Lately reintroduced into Scotland.
Tetrao urogallus, fam. Tetraomdge, ord. Gallinae.
Cape, To. (Naut.) To keep a course ; e.g.
How does she C. ? i.q. How is her head? [L.
caput].
Capias. [L.] You are to seize; writ of arrest
for debt. (Mesne process.)
Capias ad satisfaciendum, commonly called
Ca. sa. A writ of execution taken out by a
plaintiff after having recovered judgment against
the defendant, whom the sheriff is therein
directed to keep and bring on a day named to
Westminster, that the plaintiff may have satisfac-
tion for his demand ; ' ' issuable now in a very
limited class of cases, viz. where imprisonment
for debt or final judgment is still permitted "
(Brown, Law Dictionary).
Capillaire. Syrup of maidenhair fern, pre-
pared from Adiantum capillus Ve'ne'ris, and
also from the fragrant root-stock of an American
spec., Adiantum pedatum ; and flavoured with
orange flowers.
Capillary [L. capillaris, pertaining to the hair,
capillus] action; C. attraction ; C. repulsion; C.
tubes. Tubes of very fine bore are called C. tubes.
When a C. tube of glass is dipped into water, it
is found that the water rises in the tube above
the level at which it rests outside ; the force of
adhesion of water to the glass being greater than
the cohesion of the parts of the water to each
other. The like is true of other liquids and
tubes, provided the liquid can wet the tube.
These are instances of C. attraction. That term
is, however, applied more generally to all cases
in which the surface of the liquid is raised above
its general level where it is in contact with a
CAPI
99
CAOU
substance which it can wet. If the cohesion of
the parts of the liquid to each other exceeds the
force of adhesion of the liquid to the solid as
in the case of mercury and glass there is de-
pression instead of elevation ; and in this case
there is said to be C. repulsion. The term
C. action is = C. attraction or repulsion.
Capillary vessels. 1. (Anat.) A network of
minute vessels, connecting the veins and the
arteries. 2. C. leaves (Bot.), hair-like ; e.g.
fennel.
Capita aut navim. [L.] With Roman boys,
= head or tail ; lit. heads of the two-faced
Janus on one side of the as, or ship on the other.
Capital. {Mil.} An imaginary line bisecting
the salient angle formed by the two faces of any
fortification.
Capite censi. [L., reckoned by the head.}
Roman citizens, who from poverty paid no taxes.
(Proletarians.)
Capite, Tenure in. (Leg.) Temtre in chief,
of lands held directly from the Crown ; they are
now held in common socage.
Capitol. [L. capitolium, the head of the city. ]
In ancient Rome, the great temple of Jupiter on
the Tarpeian Mount.
Capitularies. [L. capitula, little chapters;
articles of instruction from bishops to their
clergy.] A term applied to ordinances issued
by the Frankish kings, many of them concerned
with the government of the Church.
Capitulum. [L., a little head.] (Bot.) The
head of flowers in a composite ; e.g. the daisy.
Capnomancy. With the ancients, divination
[Gr. ftavrela] from the smoke [Kairv6s] of victims.
Capoo. Cotton too short and fine to spin,
used as cotton wool.
Capoch, Capouch. [Fr. capuce.] 1. A monk's
hood. 2. The hood of a clerk.
Capo di Monte China Manufactory. Formerly
near Naples. Articles were made in coloured
relief (1736-1821). The moulds and marks are
now in use at La Doccia, near Florence.
Caponniere. [Fr., from Sp. caponnera, a
fattening-coop.] (Mil.) Covered passage pro-
tected by stockade work and earth, sunk across
the dry ditch of a fortification, which is also
utilized for its defence.
Capote. [Fr.] A long cloak with a hood.
[Dim. of Fr. cape, a cape, cloak ; this being,
according to Littre, the Picard pronunciation of
chape, It. cappa, L.L. capa, a cope, from
capere, as containing the whole body.]
Cappadine. The last part of the silk which
cannot be wound off the cocoon.
Cappagh brown. (Geol.) A bituminous earth,
found at Cappagh, near Cork. It contains oxide
of manganese and iron, and is used as a pigment
in oil-painting.
Cap-paper. 1. A coarse brown paper, used
for making caps to wrap sugar, etc. 2. Foolscap.
Capped hock, or elbow. (Spavin.)
Capreolate. [L. capreolus, a tendril.'} (Bot.)
Having tendrils, or spiral claspers, for support.
Capriccio [It., freak, fancy], or Fantasia.
A musical piece, fanciful and unrestrained in
subject and treatment.
Capricorn. (Zodiac.)
Caprification. [L. caprtflcatTo (Pliny).] 1.
In the Levant, the maturation of figs, by placing
over them branches of the -wild fig, capri-
flcus, on which are insects, which, puncturing
the fruit, are said to hasten the ripening. 2.
The shakings of male flowers from wild dates
over the cultivated palm. (01 fertilization, see
Herod., i. 193.)
Caprifoils. The honeysuckle family, Capn-
foliacese, LonicereEe.
Caprifole. [O.Fr.] The wild climbing vine.
Capriole. [L. capreolus, a wild goat.] A leap
of a horse from all fours at once, upwards only,
with a kick of the hind legs ; called by Austra-
lians, bucking.
Capstan, Cabestan, Capstern, etc. [Perhaps
from L. capistrum, Sp. cabestro, L. capere, to
seize, hold.] (Naut.) A machine for lifting the
anchor, usually a flat-headed cylinder revolving
on an iron pin, with square holes cut in the side
of its head, into which bars are inserted, radiat-
ing from the centre, and so giving great leverage.
Capsule. [L. capsula, a small box or chest. ,]
1. (Bot.) Any dry, many-seeded fruit opening
by valves or pores, as foxglove, poppy. 2.
(Physiol.) Any membranous, bag-like expansion,
investing a part. 3. (Chcm.) A small saucer,
used for melting ores, etc. 4. Metallic covering
for the corks of bottles.
Captain, Navy. (Bank.)
Captain's cloak. The thirty-sixth Article of
War ; so called from its sweeping character.
Captation. [L. captatio, -nem, a catching at.]
The act or the disposition of courting favour or
popularity.
Caption. [L. captio, -nem, a taking.] (Leg.)
That part of an instrument which shows its
authority.
Capucha. (Capoch.)
Capuchin Friars. A seceding order of Fran-
ciscans, established by Clement VII. ; when the
pointed cowl (Capoch) was added to the F.
habit.
Capulet. In a horse. (Spavin.)
Capulets and Montagues. In Shakespeare's
play of Romeo and Juliet, rival houses of nobles
of Verona.
Caput Jejunii. [L. , head of the fast. ] A name
for Ash Wednesday, and sometimes for the
Wednesday preceding.
Caput mortuum. [L., dead head.] 1. In
Hist., this word denotes the residuum of a
traditional narrative after all the supernatural or
extraordinary incidents have been cast aside.
What remains may be possible or likely, but
rests on no evidence. (Euemerism.) 2. With
the old chemists, the inert residue of the dis-
tillation and sublimation of different substances :
its symbol being a death's-head sxid. cross bones.
Capybara. (Zoot.) Hydrochcerus [Gr. vSdp-lis,
watery, xolpos, hog], water-hog, the largest known
existing rodent ; three to four feet long ; the
water-horse (i.e. D. water-haas, water-hare) of
Demarara. Banks of rivers in Trop. S. America.
Fam. Cavudae, ord. Rodentia.
Caqueux. (Cagots.)
CAR
CARD
Car-. [Cymr., city, fortified post. ,] Part of
names, as in Car-lisle. (Caer-.)
Carabas, The Marquis of. The title assumed
by the young miller in Puss in Boots ; hence
any arrogant, pretentious parvenu.
Carabine. (Carbine.)
Caracal. [Turk., black-ear.] (Zoo/.) Spec, of
(or (?) gen. allied to) lynx, as large as a bull
terrier ; reddish brown. S. Asia and Africa.
Caracal melanStis, fam. Felidse, ord. Carmvora.
Caracana. ( Ornith. ) Carrion hawks. Trop.
America. Pandion (Cuvier). Gen. Polyborinae
[Gr. iro\v&6pos, much-devouring\, fam. Fal-
comdae, ord. Accipitres.
Carack, Carrak, or Carrick. (Galleon.)
Caracol. 1. A half-turn to right or left, of a
horseman. 2. A winding staircase. [Sp.
caracol means both of these ; also a snail.}
Caracoli. An alloy of gold, silver, and copper,
used for cheap jewellery.
Caracora, or Caracol. (Naut.) Of Borneo and
Eastern isles, a kind of prahu (q.v.).
Caracteres de civilite. [Fr.] In Printing, the
cursive characters used in the sixteenth century,
by the printer Granjon, of Lyons.
Carafe. [Fr., from It. caraffa, a decanter.] A
water-bottle.
Caragheen. (Carrageen.)
Caraites. A Jewish sect, which adheres to the
letter of Scripture, and rejects the rabbinical
interpretations and the Cabala.
Carambole. [Fr.] A cannon in billiards ;
origin unknown.
Caramel. [Sp. caramello.] The brown mass
which cane-sugar becomes at 420 heat ; used to
colour sugar, coffee, malt, spirits, etc.
Caramoussal. (A r aut.) A Turkish merchant
ship, with pink stern. (Pink.)
Carapace. [From Sp. carapacho ; another
form of the Catal. carabassa, a calabash.'] (Zoo!.)
Upper shell of tortoises and turtles, of lobsters,
etc., and of certain infusoria. (Chelonidae.)
Carat. [Gr. Kepdnov, a small horn-shaped
seed, a carat.] 1. A weight of four grains of
barley ; the jeweller's C. at Vienna is O'2o6o85
grammes = 3-19 grains. In London, for
diamonds, the ounce troy is divided into 151^
carats, making a C. 3*17 grains. 2. As applied
to gold, the ounce is divided into 24 C., and if
of the twenty-four parts by weight, two, three,
four, etc., parts are alloy, the gold is said to be
twenty-two, twenty-one, twenty, etc., carats
fine.
Caravan. A Persian word, denoting a com-
pany of travellers associated for self-defence in
crossing deserts or other dangerous regions.
Four regular caravans yearly visit Mecca.
Caravansary, properly Caravanserai. An
unfurnished public building for the lodgment of
a caravan on its journey.
Caravel, Caravela. (Carvel.)
Carbasse, or Karbaty. A Lapland boat.
Carbazotic acid. (Carbon and azote.) (Chem.}
Picric acid (q.v.).
Carbine. [Fr. carabine, from It. carabina.]
Short musket used by cavalry and artillerymen.
One regiment of English cavalry retains the
name Carbiniers, but the term has lost its
former acceptation.
Carbolic acid. (Chem.) An oily liquid ob-
tained from coal-tar, used as a disinfectant.
Carbon. [L. carbo, a coal.] (Geol.) A non-
metallic element, existing in a pure state as
diamond or charcoal.
Carbonaceous rocks. ( Geol. ) Containing fossil
carbon largely ; e.g. shales of central Devon-
shire.
Carbonado. [Sp., from L. carbonem, coal,
charcoal.] Meat cut across for broiling.
Carbonari. [It., from L. carbo, -nem, char-
coal.] A secret association first instituted amongst
the charcoal-burners of Germany, who found it
necessary in the vast forests of that country to
aid one another against robbers and enemies by
conventional signs known only to themselves,
their oath being called " The Faith of Charcoal-
burners." In the early part of the present
century the association, having spread to France
and the Netherlands, was extended into Italy,
where its object was the expulsion of the Aus-
trians and union of the people of the peninsula
into one state, an object which has been attained
by the establishment of the Italian kingdom.
Carbone notare. [L.] To mark -with charcoal.
(Creta notatus.)
Carbonic acid. ( Chem. ) Dioxide of carbon ; a
suffocating gas. Its salts are called carbonates.
Carboniferous [coal-bearing] system (Geol.) =
Palaeozoic strata, resting upon the Devonian, and
covered by the Permian ; a vast series of beds
of sandstone, limestone, shale, and coal.
Carboy. A large glass bottle, cased in wicker,
for holding vitriol, etc. ; cf. Fr. carafe, Sp.
carabba, etc. ; probably an Eastern word.
Carburation. The uniting of anything with
carbon. (Blistered steel.)
Carburet, Carbide. (Chem.) A compound of
carbon with another element.
Carcanet. [Fr. carcan, an iron collar.] A
collar of jewels.
Carcass. [Fr. carcasse, from It. carcassa.]
(Mil.) Shell filled with a highly inflammable
composition, which, on being fired against
buildings, speedily ignites them through three
holes in the metal.
Carcass of a ship. (JVauf.) The keel, stem
and stern posts, and the ribs.
Carcelage. [L.. career, a prison.] Prison fees.
Johnson.
Carcel lamp. (From the inventor.) A lamp
in which the oil is raised through tubes by clock-
work.
Carceres. [L. plu. of career, prison.] In
Roman race-course [circus], stalls with gates
[cancelli], whence the chariots started.
Carcinoma. [Gr. KapK(fcafj.a, KapKivos, cancer.]
(Med. ) A variety of cancer ; a form of malig-
nant disease.
Cardamine. [Gr. KdpSa/j.ov, cress.] (Bot.) A
gen. of Cruciferae. C. pratensis, the cuckoo
flower, or ladies' smock, a common spring
meadow flower.
Cardamoms. [Gr. KapSd/jna/jiov.] (Bot.) The
aromatic capsules and seeds i.f several kinds of
CARD
CARO
amomum, especially of Amomum (or Eleltavia)
cardamomum, native of the Malabar coast.
Cardiac. [Gr. xapSia, the heart ; the extremity
of the stomach, nearest the heart.'} 1. Cordial,
invigorating. 2. Relating to the heart. 3.
(Meet.) Plexus, a system of ganglia connected
with the heart and great blood-vessels.
Cardialgia. [Gr. /capSia, heart, &\yos, fain.']
(Med.) Neuralgic affection of heart.
Cardinal. [L. cardinalis, from cardmem, a
hinge.} (Eccl. Hist.) The title of the seven
bishops of Rome, and of the clergy of the
twenty-eight principal churches of the city, who
composed the College of Cardinals. This college
now has generally seventy members.
Cardinal bird. (Ornith.) Also called Cardinal
grosbeak, a sub-fam. of the Fringillidse.
Cardinal numbers ; C. points ; C. signs ; C.
winds. The numbers which answer the question,
"Howmany?" i.e. one, two, three, etc., are C.
numbers. The C. points of the horizon are the
N., S., E., and W. points ; the two former are
the points in which the meridian cuts the horizon
near the north and south poles of the heavens
respectively ; the two latter those in which the
prime vertical cuts the horizon near the points
where the sun rises and sets respectively. The
C. signs of the Zodiac are Aries, Libra, Cancer,
and Capricorn. The C. winds are those which
blow from the C. points of the horizon.
Cardinal virtues. Temperance, fortitude, jus-
tice, prudence.
Carding. [L. carduus, a thistle.'} Combing
out wool or flax to prepare them for spinning.
Carduus benedictus. (Blessed thistle.)
Careen, To. [L. carina, keel.] (Naut.) To
incline to one side, so as to show the bottom.
Careme. [Fr., O.Fr. Quaresme, L. Quadra-
gesima.] The forty days of Lent ; hence Lent.
Carent vate sacro. [L.] They are -without a
sacred bard (Horace). No poet has sung their
praises and made their name live.
Carex. [L., sedge.] (Bot.) A gen. of grassy,
rush-like plants, of which there are many native
spec, in Britain ; ord. Cyperacse.
Carfax. As at Oxford, a place where four
roads meet [L. quatuor furcas].
Cargason. [Sp. cargazon.] Sometimes used
as = cargo.
Caribou. [Native name.] An American var.
of the reindeer. Tarandus, fam. Cervidse, ord.
Ungulata.
Caries. [L.] Destructive softening of bone.
Carillon. Chimes played by instruments or
finger-keys ; properly on four bells [L.L. quad-
rilionem].
Carina. [L., a keel.] The union in a keel-
like form of the two oblique front petals of a
Papilionaceous flower ; e.g. sweet-pea.
Carinatse. [L. carina, keel.] (Ornith.) Birds
with a keel to their breastbone, flying birds.
Cariole, Carriole. [Fr. carriole, L. carrus, a
cart.] A small light open carriage.
Cark. [A.S. care, care, cearig, anxious, fear-
ful.] Anxious care, worry.
Carline, Caroline. A silver Italian coin,
named from Carlo (Charles) VI. of Naples.
Carlines. [Fr. carlingue, It. carlinga.] (Naut.}
Small timbers let into the beams, and joining
them. On the C. and athwart the vessel are
placed ledges, to which the deck planking is
nailed. Carline knees ai e what would be beams
if a hatchway did not intervene. They support
the deck.
Carline thistle. (Bot.) Carlma vulgaris, ord.
Compositse ; common in chalky parts of Great
Britain. (Carolus, i.e. Charlemagne, to whom
an angel is said to have shown the root, as a
remedy for plague in his army.)
Carlisle table, or Table of mortality. (Life
assurance.)
Carlock. (Charlock.)
Carlovingian kings. (Carolingian kings.)
Carmagnole. (C., in Piedmont, home of the
Savoyard players.) 1. A song and dance, popular
in the French Revolution ; hence, 2, a dress worn
by the Jacobins. 3. Turgid and fanatical reports
of French successes in the field.
Carmelites, White Friars. Hermits gathered
for safety in the twelfth century to Mount C.
Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, gave them rules,
confirmed by Honorius III., A.D. 1224. They
left the Holy Land after peace between Frederick
II. and the Saracens. (Orders, Mendicant.)
Carminatives. (Med.) Allay, as if by a charm
[L. carmen], spasmodic pain in the bowels, and
expel flatus.
Carmine. [L.L. carmesinus, from Ar. karmesi,
the kermes insect.] A red pigment prepared
from the cochineal insect, chiefly used in water-
colour painting.
Carnation. [L. ca.ro, carnis, flesh.] The
flesh tint in painting.
Carneian Apollo. The name for Apollo as
worshipped at Sparta, probably connected with
that of Ashtaroth Karnaim, or the horned
Astarte, of the Phoenician tribes.
Carnelian. (Chalcedony.)
Carnify. To make flesh [L. carnem facere]
by assimilation of food; L. carmfico being to
execute.
Carnival, Carnaval. [In Med. L. carnis leva-
men, carnelevamen, solace of the flesh.] A feast
before the fast of Lent.
Carnivora. [L. carnem, flesh, voro, I devour.]
Flesh-eaters, an ord. of Mammals comprising
Pinmgrada (seals and walruses), PlantTgrada (as
bears), and UigitTgrada (as cats and dogs).
Carnosity. (Med.) A fleshy overgrowth.
Carob. (Algaroba.)
Caroche. [Fr. carrosse, It. carrozza.] A
carriage, coach.
Carol, Carolle, was originally a dance [L.
choreola, dim. of chorea] ; then any song of
rejoicing, especially a Christmas hymn. Wedg-
wood prefers corolla, dim. of corona, = a round
dance; quoting a "karole" of stones, i.e. a
circuit, from Robert of Brunne.
Caroline. (Carline.)
Carolingian kings. (Hist.) The dynasty of
Frank kings ; so called from Charles the Great
(Charlemagne), son of Pepin.
Carolus. [L., darling, dim. of cams, dear ;
hence Charles.] An old coin worth 235.
CARO
GARY
Caroteel. A large cask, in which dried fruits,
etc., are packed.
Carotids. [Gr. KaptariSft, from Kap6u, I make
drowsy, as compression of C. does.J (Med.)
Two great arteries of the neck, which carry
blood to the head.
Carous. (A'aut.) A kind of gallery in ancient
ships, fitted on a pivot, and raised by ropes and '
pulleys, so as to be swung out-board, and to
render it easier to board another vessel.
Carpal. Pertaining to the wrist [L. carpus].
Carpe diem. [L.] Enjoy the day ; use the
present time.
Carpel. [Gr. Kapv6$, fruit.'} (Bot.) One of
the cells of an ovary.
Carpocratians. In Eccl. Hist., the followers
of Carpocrates, who is called by Eusebius the
father of the Gnostic heresy. His system was
based on the assertion that men cannot free
themselves from the power of evil except by
compliance with evil ; in other words, that the
only road to righteousness is through iniquity.
Carpolite. [Fr. carpolithe, Gr. itapirfa, fruit,
\l8os, stone.} (Geol.) Petrified fruit.
Carpology. That part of botany which
relates io fruit [Kapir6s], i.e. to the structure of
seeds and seed-vessels.
Carrageen, Carageen, Irish moss. Chondrus
crispus, a seaweed not a moss on the rocky
shores of most parts of Europe, and of Eastern
N. America ; yielding a nutritious jelly. Ord.
Algae.
Carrara marble. A white saccharine lime-
stone, from Monte Sagro, near Carrara ; about
sixty miles S.W. of Modena.
Carreau. [Fr.] Heavy .^ware-headed arrow,
which, with coeur [heart, i.e. courage], pique
[pike], and trefle [trefoil], are the originals of
the diamond, heart, spade, and club of playing
cards.
Carriage, i Sam. xvii. 22, Gr. o-Ktinj in LXX.,
is baggage ; so Acts xxi. 15, airoo-Kfvao-d.iJi.fvoi,
" we took up our carriages."
Carrick. [Erse carraig, crag, rock.~\ Part of
Gadhelic names, as in Carrick-fergus.
Carriere. [Fr ] Career, course.
Carronade. (First made at the Carron Iron
Works, Scotland.) (Mi!.) Short, light iron gun
without trunnions, and having a chamber with
slight windage. They are fastened by a loop
underneath.
Carron oil, Linseed oiL Equal portions of
lime-water and of linseed oil, shaken together ;
in use for nearly a century for burns, etc. , at the
C. Works.
Carrousels. [Fr.] A kind of knightly exer-
cise, common in all countries of Europe till the
beginning of the eighteenth century ; in imitation
of the tournament.
Carrows. In Ireland, needy strolling gamesters.
Carry away, To. (Want.) To break, as "a
rope has carried away," i.e. has broken. To
carry on, to carry all sail, even if dangerous.
Carse. [Cymr. kors, fen.~\ In Scotland,
low lands adjoining rivers ; sometimes only the
level alluvial land ; sometimes used to include
undulations at a greater distance. i
Carstone. A hard ferruginous Cretaceous
sandstone in the E. counties.
Carte, A la. (A la carte.)
Carte blanche. [Fr., white card.} 1. A blank
paper signed, and given to another to fill up as
he likes ; and so, 2, unconditional authority.
Carte de visite. [Fr., visiting card.} Com-
monly used to denote photographic portraits of
the size of a visiting card.
Cartel. [Fr. cartel, from It. cartello.] 1. Agree-
ment between hostile forces for the exchange of
prisoners. 2. A challenge. 3. A ship bearing
a flag of truce, or carrying prisoners of war for
exchange.
Cartesian geometry. (Co-ordinates.)
Cartesian philosophy. That of Des Cartes,
French philosopher (born 1596, died 1650).
Carthamine. (Chem.) The colouring matter of
safflower [L.L. carthamus]. Alkalies change it
from red to yellow.
Carthusians. 1. A very rigid monastic order,
founded A.D. 1086, by St. Bruno, at Chartreuse,
near Grenoble ; one of their houses being
Charterhouse, in London, a corr. of Chartreuse.
2. A Carthusian, one educated at Charterhouse.
Cartilage. [L. cartilage.] Gristle, a smooth
elastic solid in the body, softer than bone.
Cartilaginous fishes. [L. cartilagmosus,
gristly.} (Chondropterygii.)
Cartoon. [It. cartone, pasteboard, or large
paper.} A sketch or drawing for fresco or
tapestry. The word is specially applied to the
seven well-known compositions of Raphael, at
Hampton Court.
Cartouch. [Fr. cartouche, from L. carta,
paper.} 1. (Aft I.) Wooden case, with holes for
the reception of each charge for any firearm. 2.
(Arch.) Oval or oblong enclosure in hieroglyphic
inscription. (The It. cartoccio, and its deriva-
tive Fr. cartouche, have both meanings.)
Cartulary, Chartulary. [L. chartiilarium.] A
collection of charters belonging to a corporation,
civil or eccles., or to a family ; very common in
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Carucate, or Plough-land. [L. carruca, some
sort of four-wheeled carriage.] An ancient
division of land, not fixed, but as much as would
employ a plough and team during the year ;
more or less, according to the soil. Where oxen
were used, a similar division was an Ox-gang or
Bovate [L. bovem, an ox}.
Caruncule. [L. caruncula, dim. of caro,
flesh.} 1. (Med.) A small fleshy growth, natural
or morbid. 2. (Bot.) A wart or protuberance
round or near the hilum of a seed.
Carvage, Carve. One hundred acres of plough
[L.L. carruca] -land.
Carvel. A light lateen-rigged vessel, un-
decked. Spain and Portugal. C. -?'// ship or
boat, one the planks of whose sides do not
overlap.
Caryatides. [Gr. KapvdnSes.} In Gr. Arch.,
figures of women employed instead of columns
to support entablatures. Male figures so used
were called Telamones, and sometimes Persians.
(Canephori.)
Caryophyllaceous. (Bol.) Anat. ord. of which
GARY
103
CAST
the type is the common pink (Dianthus caryo-
phyllus) : the corolla has five petals, with long
narrow claws. [Gr. Ka.p\i6q>v\Xov, lit. nut leaf,
the clove tree. ]
Caryopsis. (Bat.) A dry, one-seeded fruit,
and so far having the appearance [Gr. w|/js] of
a nut [KapiJov], with no distinction between
seed-coat and pericarp ; e .g. a grain of wheat,
barley.
Ca. sa. A writ addressed to sheriff, rapias
ad jatisfaciendum, you are to seize with a view to
satisfaction ; under which a man was imprisoned
until he made satisfaction (for debt).
Cascabel. Reverse end of a cannon ; that part
which lies behind the base ring.
Cascarilla. An aromatic bark yielded by more
than one species of Croton (q.v.).
Case. 1. (Reliquary.) 2. (Natit.) A ship's
planking outside ; casing ( i ) the covering of the
beams, and (2) a bulkhead round a mast.
Casehardening. The process of converting
the outer surface of iron goods into steel, by
heating them in charcoal.
Casein, Caseine. The nitrogenous substance
contained in milk and cheese [L. caseus].
(Albumen.)
Casemate. [Fr. case-mate, from Sp. casa-mata,
casa, a house, mata, to slay.~\ {Mil.} Vaulted
masonry chamber made shell-proof under a ram-
part for the lodgment of troops and guns.
Caserne. [Fr., barracks, from Sp. caserne.]
Cashew-nut. [Fr. acajou, name of the tree.]
The fruit of a tropical tree, Anacardium occi-
dentale, nat. ord. Anacardiacese.
Cashier. 1. [Fr. casser, to annul, L. quassare.]
(Mil.) To dismiss an officer from the service
with disgrace. 2. [Fr. caissier, caisse, a case or
chest. ,] A keeper of money.
Cashmere, Cachemere. Textile fabric, made
of the downy wool at the roots of the hair of the
Thibet goat ; first made in the valley of C., in N.
India.
Cask, i.q. Casque. A helmet [probably L. cadis-
cus, dim. of cadus, an earthen vessel].
Caskets. (Naut.) (Gaskets.)
Cassandra's prophecies. Prophecies which are
iustified by events, but which no one believes
when uttered. The story was that Phoebus
Apollo sought to win the love of Cassandra,
daughter of Priam, and gave her the gift of pro-
phecy, but, when she resisted him, laid on her
the doom that her predictions should be always
verified, but never credited. (Paris, Judgment
of.)
Cassareep. A condiment made from the juice
of the manioc plant. (Cassava.)
Cassation. Reversal of judicial sentence [L.
cassare in Cod. Just, being = cassum reddgre,
to render null and voia].
Cassava, or Manioc. (Bot.) Manihot utilis-
sima ; Trop. American plant, ord. Euphorbia.
From its large roots, when dried and powdered,
a very nourishing food is obtained, of which
tapioca is a preparation.
Casse paper. [Fr. casser, to break into frag-
ments, L. quassare, to shatter.'] In Printing,
broken paper, the two outside quires of a ream.
Cassia. Exod. xxx. 24 ; an ingredient in the
anointing oil, aromatic bark of more than one
kind of cinnamomum.
Cassimere. [Fr. casimir.] A thin twilled
woollen cloth.
Cassinette. [Sp. casinete.] A stuff made of
cotton warp and woollen woof.
Cassiterides. [Gr.] Islands which produce
tin. Supposed by some to he the Scilly Islands,
by others the Isle of Wight, or the coasts of
Cornwall.
Cassius, Purple of. (From Cassius, a German
of the seventeenth century.) A stannate of gold
and tin, used for painting china.
Cassolette. [Fr.] A box with a perforated
lid to emit perfumes.
Cassonade. [Fr., from O.Fr. casson, a large
chest. ] Unrefined sugar (imported in chests).
Cassowary. [Malay kassuwaris.] An ostrich-
like bird of the gen. Casuarius. It is a native
of Malacca, Java, and the neighbouring islands.
Cast. A tube for conveying metal into a
mould.
" Castagnac Capt." Said of states in Turkey ;
all patched together.
Castalian spring. (Parnassus.)
Caste. [Sp. and Port, casta, perhaps from
L. castus, pure.] A name denoting the heredi-
tary classes into which the population of Hin-
dustan is divided. According to the book
containing the ordinances of Menu, the four
castes sprang severally from the mouth, arm,
thigh, and foot of Brahma. These are (i) the
Brahmans ; (2) the Kshatryas, or warriors ; (3)
the Vaisyas, or merchants ; and (4) the Sudras,
or tillers of -the soil. But the Sudras were pro-
perly outcasts, the Aryan conquerors of India
belonging to the three castes only.
Castellan, Chatelain. In the Middle Ages,
the keeper, warden of a castle [L. castellum, Fr.
chateau].
Castellany. The lordship attached to a castle ;
its authority and extent of jurisdiction.
-caster. [L. castra, fortified camp.} Part of
names of towns in England, as in Don-caster.
Casteth. The steamy air rising from a shaft
cm winter mornings.
Cast-horse. One which has been pronounced
unfit for further retention in the military service.
Castigatory. [L. castigo, / chastise.] (Cuck-
ing-stool.)
Castile. Old kingdom of Spain, all except
Navarre, Aragon, and Granada, afterwards New
C., Old C., two provinces.
Casting. The warping of wood by weather,
etc.
Casting accounts. (Naut.) Sea-sickness.
Castle of Indolence. A poem by Thomson ;
an enchanter entices the unwary into the C. of
L, where they lose all strength and good aspira-
tions.
Cast-offs. Landsmen's clothes.
Cast of the lead, To get. (A'aut.) (Heave.)
Castor. Beaver ; slang for hat ; made of fur,
before the invention of silk hats.
Castor and Pollux. [Gr. /cacn-cop and iro\v-
StvK'fis.] 1. Mentioned in Acts xxviii. n, under
CAST
104
CAT A
the title Dioskouroi, or the twin sons of Zeus,
as the figure-head of a ship. In the heavens,
they reappear as the constellation Gemini. In
Gr. Myth., they are brothers of Helen. (Paris,
Judgment of.) 2." A pair of electric flames seen
on the mastheads of vessels, etc., at sea, as
being twin lights.
Castor-oil plant. (Bot.) Ricinus communis
(ord. Euphorbiacese), much grown lately for its
ornamental foliage. The well-known oil is
made from the crushed seeds.
Castor ware. Roman pottery made near
Castor, Northamptonshire ; ornamented with
reliefs usually of a different colour from the
ground.
Castrametation. [L. castra, plu., a camp, me-
tatio, a measuring.} (Mil.} The art of laying
out an encampment for T troops, on the principle
that they may occupy the same frontage as when
drawn up in order of battle.
Casual poor. Vagrants and travellers wanting
casual shelter and relief.
Casual suffix. (Gram.} Terminations form-
ing cases [L. casus] of nouns.
Casuist. [L. casus, a falling, a condition.}
(Tkeol.) One charged with the decision of cases
of conscience.
Casuistry. The science of the treatment of
conscience, with its rules and principles in prac-
tice. (Cf. Jeremy Taylor, Ductor Dubitantium ;
Bishop Sanderson, Cases of Conscience.)
Casula. (Chasuble.)
Casus belli. [L.] A case for war; a suffi-
cient ground for going to war.
Casus omissus. [L., omitted case.} (Leg.)
Point unprovided for by statute.
Cat. (Naut.) A strong vessel of about 600
tons (usually a collier or timber-ship), built on
the lines of a Norwegian, but having a deep
waist, narrow stern, projecting quarters, and no
ornamental figure-head.
Catataptists. A word formed on a false
analogy [from Gr. Kard, against, and Pavrlfa, I
baptize}, and applied to all who deny the neces-
sity of baptism, or oppose that of infants.
Catachresis. Lit. a misuse [Gr. Kardxpycns]-
1. In Etym., as alegar, Peterloo, in imitation
of vinegar, Waterloo ; and oftener, 2, in Rhet.,
a strained use of words; as in Hamlet, act iii.,
"or to take arms against a sea of troubles."
Cataclysm. [Gr. KaraK\va/j.6s.] An inunda-
tion ; a sudden bursting of waters.
Catacombs. [L. L. catacumbae ; but the origin
of the word is doubtful.] (Arch.) Passages
excavated in the soil, with recesses or chambers
for graves or bone-houses. At Rome, the cata-
combs were also used as places for worship
during the times of persecution.
Catacoustics. [Coined from Gr. Kara, back, in
composition with verbs of motion, a.KovffriK&s,
relating to hearing} The science of reflected
sounds, a branch of acoustics (q.v.).
Catadioptric. [Gr. Kurd, down, and Sioirrpt/c^s,
from SioTrrpov, spying-glass.} Relating to the
reflexion and refraction of light, as a C. tele-
scope, i.e. a reflecting telescope.
Catafalque. A decorated temporary structure
used in funerals ; originally a place from which
to see a show. [L.L. scadafaltum, from which
come also echafaud, and its Eng. equivalent
scaffold.} (See Brachet, s.v. " Echafaud.")
Catalan. Belonging to Catalonia. (Naut.) A
Spanish fishing-boat.
Catalectic. [Gr. Kara\riKriic6s, deficient.} In
Gr. and L. Prosody, a verse wanting one syllable
of its proper length ; if wanting two syllables, it
was Brachycatalectic. (Acatalectic.)
Catalepsy. [Gr. Kcn-oA^is, a seizing, cata-
lepsy, a variety of hysteria.] (Med.) A suspen-
sion of sensation and volition ; the limbs and
body remaining as they are placed ; a condition
of the body resembling death.
Catallactics. [Gr. Kara\\aKriKOs, from /caroA.-
\dffffta, 1 exchange.} The science of exchanges ;
political economy.
Catalogue raisonne. [Fr.] List of books,
with a short account of the character of their
contents.
Catalysis. [Gr. Ka-rdXvais, from Karri, down,
\vetv, to loose.} (Chem.) The influence by
which (as some chemists have thought) sub-
stances are decomposed and recomposed, by the
contact of substances which do not enter into
actual composition with the original elements,
as in the formation of ether from alcohol through
sulphuric acid. Webster.
Catamaran. 1. A kind of raft, of three planks
lashed together, the middle serving as a keel,
used on the Coromandel Coast, Brazil, W.
Indies. 2. Bonaparte's floating batteries, for
invading England, were so called. 3. An old
hag.
Cat-a-mountain. [Sp. gato montes.] (Zool.)
One of the wild Felidse, not accurately defined ;
with Ray, the N. -American lynx.
Catanadromous. [Gr. Kara, down, aj/o-SpOyU^,
a running up J\ A term which has been applied
to fish which descend and ascend rivers to and
from the sea, as the salmon.
Cataphract. [Gr. Kardtppanros, mailed.} 1. An
armed horseman. 2. A coat of mail ; armour.
Cataphrygians. (Montanists.)
Cataplasm. [Gr. /caTarrAoer/xa.] A poultice.
Catapult. [L. catapulta, Gr. Karaire\T7)s.] A
kind of huge cross-bow for throwing stones,
javelins, etc. (Ballista.)
Cataract. [Gr. KarappdKrijs, a fall of water.}
In the eye, an opaque condition of the crystalline
lens or its capsule.
Catarrh. [Gr. Kardppoos, a flowing down, a
catarrh.} A cold, with running from the head.
Catasterism. [Gr. KaTao-repio-/j.6s, a placing
among the stars.} Of Eratosthenes, a list of 475
principal stars according to their constellations ;
published about sixty years before the time of
Hipparchus.
Catastrophe. [Gr., a sudden turn or end.}
1. The change or final event of whatever kind,
in a drama or romance. 2. A calamitous change,
more or less sudden.
Catastrophic changes. ( Geol. ) Those brought
about by abrupt, sudden action ; opposed to
Uniformitarian, the result of steady, continuous
action.
CAT A
105
CATH
Catastrophist. (Uniformitarian.)
Catawba. A light, sparkling wine, made near
Cincinnati, U.S., from a native grape.
Catch a crab, To. (Naut.) To be knocked
backwards by one's oar catching water too much
when rowing.
Catchpole. A bailiff, to catch, if necessary,
the/<?// or head \cf. Fr. happe-chaire, catch-flesh}.
Catch-work. (Agr.) A series of nearly
parallel channels on a slope to be irrigated,
catching and redistributing the water succes-
sively.
Catechism. [Gr. Karrix*<>>> to sound in one's
ears.} Instruction by word of mouth, specially
by question and answer. In Eccl. Hist., the C.
of Nowell, Dean of St. Paul's, taken mainly
from that of Poynet, Bishop of Winchester, was
approved by Convocation in 1563. Overall's C.
added the questions and answers on the sacra-
ments. The C. known as the Assembly's Larger
C., drawn up by the Westminster divines, was
approved by the Church of Scotland in 1648. A
snorter form of this C. was prepared at the same
time.
Catechists. [Gr. /caTijx to " T ^ s KaTrjxrjT^s.] An
order of men appointed to catechize candidates
for baptism in the primitive Christian Church.
The catechetical school of Alexandria, to which
Origen belonged, was widely celebrated.
Catechu. (Sot.) A watery extract of the bark
of Acacia catechu and A. suma, of E. Indies,
ord. Legum. containing large quantities of
tannin.
Catechumen. [Gr. Karr)xov/j.evos, taught by
word of mouth. \ 1. One who is being instructed
in the rudiments of the faith, before baptism ;
a neophyte. 2. A beginner in any kind of
knowledge.
Categorematio. [Gr. Karrty6ptifj.a, a predicate.}
In Logic, any word capable of being employed
by itself as a Predicate. Such are all common
nouns. (Syncategorematic.)
Categorical proposition. In Logic, a propo-
sition which affirms or denies absolutely the
agreement of the Subject with the Predicate, as
distinguished from one which does so condition-
ally or hypothetically.
Category. [Gr. Karriyopia.] In Logic, a class
under which a family of predicables may be
ranged. The complete number of categories
would thus embrace the whole range of human
thought and knowledge. Aristotle framed ten
categories which may be reduced to four sub-
stance, quality, quantity, relation ; but many
other schemes have been put forth, none of which,
perhaps, can be regarded as final.
Catelectrode. [Gr. KO.T&, down, and electrode.]
The negative pole of a galvanic battery.
Catena. [L., a chain.] A regular uninter-
rupted succession.
Catena Patrum [L., a chain of the Fathers],
i.e. a series of passages from the F., elucidating
some portion of Scripture, as the Catena Aurea
of Thomas Aquinas.
Catenary curve. (Geom.) The curve formed
by a cord hanging between two points of sus-
pension not in the same vertical line.
Cateran, Caterran [Gael.] = robbers, banditti ;
so Loch Katrine, originally Loch Cateran.
Cater-cousin. Cousin in the fourth [Fr.
quatre] degree.
Caterpiller. [Heb. khosil ; i Kings viii. 37,
etc.] (Bibl.) Probably locust or its larva.
Caterwauling. [Probably onomatop.] To
make a noise like cats, or any other offensive
or quarrelsome noise.
Cates. Provisions, delicacies. [Said to be a
corr. of delicates, or dainty meats ; more probably
from Fr. acheter, to buy, formerly acater, L.
ac-capitare, originally to receive as rent.']
Catfall. (Naut.) A rope used in hoisting the
anchor to the cathead.
Cat-fish. (Ichth.) Sea-cat, Wolf-fish, Anarrhi-
chas lupus ; carnivorous, naked fish living at the
bottom of shallow seas and tidal waters. W.
Indies. Gen. Anarrhichas, fam. Blennidae, ord.
Acanthopterygii, sub-class Teleostel.
Catgut is made from the intestines of sheep.
[ (?) Corr. of cord-gut, or of gut-cord.]
Cathari. [Gr. KaOapoi, pure.'} (Eccl. Hist.)
An Eastern sect, probably the same as the
Paulicians. (Novatians.)
Catharists. [Gr. KaBapifa, I cleanse."] Mani-
chaeans (q.v.) who professed especial purity ;
holding matter to be the source of evil, renounc-
ing marriage, animal food, wine.
Cat-harpings. (Naut.) Ropes keeping the top
of the shrouds taut.
Cathartic [Gr. KadapriKos, from KaQaipv, I
cleanse, purge] remedies purge more mildly ;
Drastic, more severely [SpaariK6s, effective,
drastic].
Cathay. An old name for China ; Cathay or
Khitai being the Mongolian and Russian name
for North China ; as Chin was the Indian and
Portuguese name for South China.
Cathead. (Naut.) A curved timber, which
passes through the bulwark forward, and from
which the anchor is suspended (when being
hauled up) clear of the vessel's bows.
Cathedrals of the New Foundation. The
cathedral churches of sees founded by Henry
VIII., from funds obtained by the suppression
of the monasteries, the cathedrals of the sees
already established being called henceforth the
C. of the Old Foundation. The new sees were
those of Westminster, Oxford, Peterborough,
Bristol, Gloucester, and Chester.
Cathedrals of the Old Foundation. (Cathedrals
of the New Foundation.)
Catherine wheel, or Rose window (q.v.).
St. C., an Alexandrian of royal descent, con-
fessing Christ at a feast appointed by the
Emperor Maximinus, was tortured on a wheel,
and put to death, A.D. 307.
Catheter. [Gr. Ka0eT^p, Ka6itj/j.i, I send down.}
A surgical instrument for emptying the bladder.
Cathetometer. [Gr. KdOeros, adj., let down or
in, subst. a phimbline, pt-rpov, a measure.} An
instrument used for the accurate determination
of differences of level, e.g. the height to which
a fluid rises in a capillary tube above the ex-
terior free surface. It consists of an accurately
divided metallic stem which can be made vertical
CATH
1 06
CAUT
by means of three levelling screws on which the
instrument stands. On the stem slides a metallic
piece carrying a telescope like the telescope of
a theodolite whose axis can be made horizontal
by a level. The telescope is first directed to one
object, and moved by a delicate screw till a
horizontal wire in the focus of the eye-piece
coincides with the image of the object ; the stem
is then read. The process is repeated for the
second object. The difference of the readings
is, of course, the difference of the levels of the
objects.
Cathode. [Gr. tcdOOSos, descent.} The nega-
tive pole, or path by which the current leaves
a body which is being decomposed by electricity.
Catholes. (Naut.) Two holes astern, above
the gun-room ports, through which hawsers may
be passed.
Catholic emancipation removed all civil dis-
abilities from Dissenters, 1829.
Catholic Majesty, Most. Title of the kings of
Spain.
Cat-in-pan, (?) To turn. "A cunning which
lays that which a man says to another as if
another had said it to him " (Bacon, quoted by
Johnson) ; to be a turncoat, to change sides
unscrupulously.
Cation. [Gr. Karluv, going down, from tcard,
down, Ifvai, to go.} The element which goes to
the negative pole when the substance is decom-
posed by electricity. (Cathode.)
Catlings. Catgut strings.
Catoptrics. [Gr. Ka.Tonrrpin6s, having to do
with a mirror, Kdroirrpov.} The part of optics
which treats of the formation of images by
mirrors and other reflecting surfaces, and of
vision by means of them.
Cato Street Conspiracy. A conspiracy formed
in 1820 by Thistlewood and others, for murdering
the ministers, seizing the Bank, and setting fire
to London.
Catraia. (Naut.) Pilot surf-boats of Lisbon
and Oporto, about fifty-six feet long by fifteen
feet broad, propelled by sixteen oars.
Cat-rig. (Naut. ) Vessels rigged with a large
fore-and-aft mainsail only, set on a boom and
gaff, and having the mast stepped near the stem.
Suitable for light winds only.
Catsalt. A fine granulated salt.
Cat's-eye. (Min.) A variety of quartz, trans-
lucent, yellowish, greenish, and greyish-brown.
Found in Malabar, Ceylon, etc.
Cats'-paw. A dupe who does perilous work for
another, as in the fable the cat's paw was used by
the monkey to pull the chestnuts out of the fire.
Caucasian races. An incorrect term, = what
is now divided into Aryan, or Indo-European,
and Semitic ; most of the Caucasian tribes being
Turanian (q.v.).
Caucus meeting. 1. A general meeting of
party. In 1770, a fray between some British
soldiers and Boston ropemakers resulted in
democratic meetings of ropemakers and caulkers ;
called by the Tories caucus meetings. 2. In
England now sometimes called the Birmingham
system the management of all electioneering
business by a representative committee of voters.
Caudate. (Sot.) Prolonged into a kind of
tail [L. cauda].
Caudle, Mrs. A nagging wife, who delivers
Curtain Lectures ; by Douglas Jerrold.
Caul. (Perhaps a modification of cowl.) 1.
Membrane sometimes covering the face of a
child, at birth. 2. The omentum, or fatty net-
work in which the bowels are wrapped. 3.
Small net for the hair.
Caulk, To. [Akin to L. calcare, to ram in
with the heel, Gael, calc, to drive, ram.} (Aaut.)
1. To go to sleep in your clothes, lying on deck.
2. To fill in cracks or seams with oakum or
other material driven in tight.
Caulker. 1. One who caulks, or pays the
seams. 2. A morning dram. Caulker's seat, a
box slung over the ship's side, in which a caulker
sits and works. (Pay.)
Caulopteris [Gr. Kav\6s, stem, irrepfc, fern}
(Geol.) = fossil tree-fern stems; Carboniferous
system.
Causa (i) cognoscendi [L.], the cause of our
knowing a fact ; (2) essendi, the cause of the
fact itself; e.g. (2) "the ground is wet, because
it has rained ; " but (i) "it has rained, because
the ground is wet," i.e. this is how we know it.
Causa latet, vis est notissima. [L.] The cause
does not appear, the effect is most evident (Ovid).
Cause celebre. [Fr.] An important or inte-
resting trial, which has become historical.
Causerie. [Fr.] Chat, gossip.
Causes. With Aristotle and the logicians,
are four : Material, that out of which the effect
is produced ; Efficient, that by which, as the
agent ; Formal, that according to which, as
the regulating idea ; Final, that for which, as
the purpose. Thus, of a cup, cause I is the
clay ; 2, the maker ; 3, the design intended ; 4,
drinking.
Causeuse. [Fr. causer, to talk, chat, L.
causari, to defend a cause, discuss.} A small sofa.
Causeway, Causey. [Fr. chaussee.] A raised
pathway or road for crossing wet land.
Caustic. [Gr. KavffrlK6s, burning.} 1. In
Optics, the curve (or surface) formed by the
intersection of consecutive rays reflected from a
mirror or other reflecting surface. The bright
curve seen by lamplight on the surface of a cup
of milk is the caustic formed by the intersection
of the rays of light reflected from the inside of
the cup. A C. is also formed by the intersection
of consecutive rays refracted through a lens or
other refracting substance. 2. Lunar. (Lunar
caustic.) 3. Any medicament producing an
eschar (q.v.).
Cautel. [L. cautela.] Caution, proviso.
Cautela, Ex abundanti, or pro majore. [L.]
In Law, out of greater caution ; to make certainty
more certain ; as when, in a legal instrument,
some provision is inserted, which the law would
itself imply as being just and equitable under
the circumstance. Brown's Law Dictionary.
Cautery. Searing by hot iron [L. cauterium,
Gr. icavr-fipiov, branding-iron}.
Cautio. [L.] Security, in law or contracts.
Cautionary. Given as a security ; so caution
money paid at matriculation.
CAVA
107
CEXA
Cavalier. [Fr. cavalier, from It. cavaliere.]
1. (Foriif.) A raised work placed in the interior
of and corresponding in shape with a bastion.
2. A mounted knight.
Cavaliere servente. [It.] A man who dis-
plays devotion to a married lady.
(Ja va sans dire. [Fr.] That is taken for
granted ; lit. that goes without saying.
Cavatma. [It., short air.] Properly an air
of simple, gentle character, having one move-
ment ; sometimes preceded by a recitative.
Cavea. [L.] The semicircular space for
spectators in a Roman theatre.
Caveat emptor. [L.] Let the purchaser
beware ; e.g. let him take reasonable care that
his purchase is really what he expects.
Cave canem. [L.] Beware of the dog ;
frequently inscribed on Roman vestibules.
Cavendish. Tobacco mixed with molasses
and pressed into cakes.
Cave ne litteras Bellerophontis adferas. [L.]
Take care you do not bring Bellerophon's letters.
Cavers. Persons stealing ore from Derbyshire
mines.
Caves. As spoken of in Geol., are generally
excavations made by water along the fissures of
limestones ; in France, Switzerland, Bavaria,
Belgium, S. Wales, Devon, Derbyshire, York-
shire, etc. ; sometimes containing relics of animals
and men inhabiting them in long-past ages.
Caveson. [Fr. caveson, Sp. cabeza, L.L.
capitium.] A kind of bridle or noseband, used
in breaking in a horse.
Caviar. [Fr. and Port.] Salted roe of
sturgeon and other fish ; a Russian luxury.
Cavity. (Naut.} The displacement of water
caused by a vessel floating in it. Centre of C.,
Displacement, Immersion, or Buoyancy is the
mean centre of such part of a ship as is under
water, i.e. considering the whole as homoge-
neous.
Cavo-relievo. [It.] A kind of carving in
relief, where the highest surface is level with the
plane of the original stone, giving an effect like
the impression of a seal in wax. (Alto-relievo.)
Cavy, Cavia, Cobaia. [Brazilian name.] (Zool.)
Aperea. Gen. of fam. CaviTdse ; as the guinea-
pig, Restless cavy. S. America. Ord. RSdentia.
Cawker. (Caulker.)
Cazique. (Cacique.)
Cecity. Blindness [L. caecitatem].
Cecropian. Anything relating to Cecrops,
Kekrops, a mythical king or founder of Athens.
Sometimes applied to the bees of Hymettus,
with the general meaning of Attic or Athenian.
Cecutiency. [L. csecutio, / am blind or nearly
blind, ,] A tendency to blindness.
Cedant anna togae. [L.] Let arms give way
to peace ; the military to the civil.
Qedilla [It. zediglia, dim. of zeta] c in Fr.
before a, o, u; showing that c is pronounced
soft ; as soup c on.
Celadon. 1. In Thomson's Summer, lover of
Amelia, who is killed in his arms by lightning.
2. Sea-green porcelain.
Celandine. [Gr. x^'S^/iov.] 1. (Bot.) Chell-
donium majus, the only spec, of the gen. C.,
ord. Papaveracere ; a glaucous annual, with small
yellow flowers and orange-coloured juice ; not
uncommon ; its flowering once thought to be
connected with the coming of the swallow
[xeAiSoS;']. 2. C. of Wordsworth and other
poets, as also of Theophrastus, Dioscorldes, and
Pliny, is the Ranunculus ficaria or pilewort,
allied to buttercup.
Celature. [L. cselatiira, carving.] Emboss-
ing, or the thing embossed.
-cele. [Gr. K-fi\ri, a tumour. \ (Mcd.)
Celeres. [L.] In old Roman tradition, a body
of cavalry instituted by Romulus, divided into
the three centurions of Ramnes, Titienses, and
Luceres.
Celestial Empire. A name often used in
speaking of the Chinese empire.
Celestines. An almost extinct order, founded
in the thirteenth century by Pietro di Morone
afterwards Celestine V. ; a branch of the Bene-
dictine.
Celibacy. [L. cselebs, unmarried ; probably
from ca-, a particle of separation, and the root
which has given the Teut. leib, the body, as
in Z?/-guards ; similar formations being seen in
the L. csecus, codes, blind or one-eyed, from
ca- and ac, oc, the root of oculus, Ger. auge,
the eye, and in the Eng. ceorl = ca-eorl, churl,
halt = ha-lith, deprived of or maimed in a lith
or limb, and half = ha-leib, with divided or
separated body. The I,, cselebs would therefore
closely represent the Eng. half (Bopp, Com-
parative Grammar).] (Eccl.) The condition of
unmarried life, imposed as a necessary obligation
on all the clergy of the Latin Church, and by
the Greek Church on all who are not married
before receiving holy orders.
Cell. [L. cella.] 1. Of an ancient temple,
the naos or enclosed space within the walls ;
hence a room in a monastery, prison. 2. (Biol. )
A definite portion of sarcode, or protoplasm, con-
taining a nucleus [L., a kernel] ; whether or not
assuming the form popularly called a cell.
Cellarer, Cellarist. In a monastery, i.q. a
bursar.
Cellulares. (Boi.) The simplest plants, formed
of cellulose (q.v.) ; e.g. fungi.
Cellular tissue. 1. (Bot.) Coherent cells,
not united into continuous tubes or vessels. 2.
(Med. ) (Areolar tissue.)
Cellulose. (Chem.) 1. A compound of carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen C. 24, H. 29, O. 10 ;
the basis of vegetable tissue. 2. The colourless
material of the woody fibre of young plants,
which forms the walls of the cells [L. celliilse].
Celts. Weapons of stone or bronze, wedge-
shaped or socketed, used by the early inhabitants
of Europe (? connected with the name Celts ;
or (?) with a supposed L. celtis or celtes, a
chisel ; cf. Welsh cellt, a flint. Evans's Stone
Implements').
Cementation. [Eng. cement.] The process
of heating a solid body surrounded by the powder
of other substances, so that without fusion its
nature is changed by chemical combination.
(For an instance, vide Blistered steel.)
Cenacle. [Fr. ] 1. A guest-chamber [L.
CENA
108
CENT
ccenaculum]. 2. A picture of the Last Supper ;
and, especially, Leonardo da Vinci's is so called.
3. Reunion of literary men, intimate, and with
some degree of mutual admiration .
Cena, Coena. [L.] The chief meal of the
Romans, dinner rather than supper. The fashion-
able hour in the Augustan age was from 1.30
to 2.30 p.m.
Cenci, Beatrice. Heroine of Shelley's The
Cenci, executed at Rome for conspiring against
her unnaturally brutal father's life.
Cendres, Jour de. [Fr., L. dies cinSrum,
day of ashes.} French name of Ash Wednesday.
Ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute. [Fr.]
Lit. it is but the first step which costs; the first
effort, the first outlay, is the chief difficulty.
Cenobites. (Coenobites.)
Cenotaph. [Gr. KevordQiov.] Lit. an empty
tomb [Kfv6f rd<t>os] ; a monument only, the body
being elsewhere.
Censors. [L. censores.] In Rom. Hist., two
magistrates appointed for eighteen months out
of each lustrum, or period of five years, for the
purpose of taking the register of the citizens.
(Lustration.)
Cent. 1. A hundred [L. centum], as five per
cent., i.e. five in the hundred. 2. A coin used
in the U.S., made of copper or copper and
nickel = -j-^ of a dollar, or about a halfpenny.
Cental. A new English weight = 100 Ibs.
avoirdupois.
Centaurs. [Gr. KeWovpos, Skt. gandharva.]
(Myth.) Beings, half man, half horse, who are
said to have lived in Thessaly.
Centaury. (Bot.) Erythraa Centaurium ; ord.
Gentianaceae. A British plant, with numerous
small bright pink flowers, frequent in dry places,
and collected for use as a tonic.
Centenary. [L. centenarius.] 1. A hundred
of anything; as a C. of years. 2. The hundredth
anniversary.
Centesimation. The picking out of every
hundredth [L. centesimus) person ; cf. Deci-
mation.
Centiare; Centigramme; Centilitre; Centimetre.
[Fr.] Measures of the hundredth part of an
are, gramme, litre, metre respectively. (Are ;
Gramme; Litre; Metre.)
Centigrade. (Thermometer.)
Centime. The hundredth [L. centesimus]
part of a franc (g.v.).
Centimetre. The hundredth part of a metre,
i.e. of 39^ inches ; about = f of inch, nearly.
Centner. 1. In Prussia, 1 10 Ibs. or 220 marks,
equal to about H3'4 Ibs. avoirdupois. 2. The
Zollverein C. is 50 kilogrammes, or noj Ibs.
avoirdupois.
Cento. [L., Gr. Kftnfxav, a patchwork cloak."}
1. Patchwork. 2. A collection of verses from
one or more poets, so arranged as to form a
distinct poem.
Central force. An attractive or repulsive force
which originates in a determinate point of space,
and acts round that point in such a manner that
its intensity at any point of space depends on the
distance only and not on the direction ; thus,
gravity is a C. F.
Centre [L. centrum, Gr. Ktvrpov] ; C. of a
curve; C. of gravity; C. of gyration; C. of
inertia ; C. of a lens ; C. of mass ; C. of oscilla-
tion; C. of percussion; C. of position; C. of
pressure ; C. of a surface. A term used vaguely
to mean the middle point or part of anything.
The C. of a curved line or surface is the point
(if there be one) which bisects all straight lines
that are drawn through it and are terminated at
both ends by the line or surface, such as the C.
of a circle, ellipse, sphere, spheroid, etc. The
C. of gravity is that point of a body through
which the force of gravity on the body will act,
in whatever position it may be placed ; conse-
quently, if that point is supported the body will
rest in any position. It must be remembered,
however, that this definition presupposes that
the forces exerted by gravity on the parts of the
body act along parallel lines. The C. of gravity
is called also the C. of inertia, and sometimes
the C. of mass and the C. of position. The C.
of gyration is a point into which, if all the
particles of a rotating body were condensed, its
moment of inertia, with reference to the axis of
rotation, would continue unchanged. The C.
of oscillation is that point of an oscillating body
at which, if all the particles of the body were
condensed, the small oscillations would be
performed in the same time as the actual small
oscillations of the body. The C. of percussion
is the point of a rotating body at which it must
strike an obstacle, so that there may be no jar on
the axle or hinges. It coincides in position with
the C. of oscillation. The C. of pressure of a
plane surface immersed in a fluid is the point in
which the resultant of the pressures of the fluid
meets the surface. This term is sometimes used
to denote the metacentre (q.v.). The C. of a lens
is a point fixed with reference to the lens having
this property : if the part of a ray of light within the
lens tends towards the centre, the parts outside of
the lens are parallel. In the case of an ordinary
double convex lens, the centre is within it.
Centrebit. A tool for boring circular holes.
Centrifugal force. [L. centrum, centre, fugio,
I fly from.} When a body moves in a circle
there is a second body, which may be called the
guiding body, and whose place is commonly
the centre, by whose action the moving body is
deflected from its rectilinear course and caused
to move in the circle ; the reaction which it
exerts against the guiding body is the C. F. of
the moving body. When a stone is whirled
round in a sling it endeavours to leave the hand
that guides it ; and by that endeavour stretches
the sling, and stretches it more the faster it
moves. The stretching of the sling is due to
two forces, the action of the hand and the re-
action of the stone ; the latter is the C. F. of
the stone.
Centring. A temporary wooden support for
vaults, arches, etc., while building.
Centring, Error of. In astronomical instru-
ments it commonly happens that the centre of
the divisions of the divided circle is not exactly
coincident with the centre on which the circle
itself turns although great pains are taken to
CENT
109
CERT
attain coincidence. This being so, the reading
taken at a fixed point past which the divided
circle turns will differ from the true reading by
the E. of C. When this error is small, its effects
are completely avoided by taking the arithmetical
mean of two readings made with reference to
two fixed points at opposite ends of a diameter.
Called also Error of Eccentricity.
Centripetal force [L. centrum, centre, peto,
1 seek] is the force by which bodies are every-
where drawn, impelled, or at all events tend,
towards some point as to a centre. Such a
force is gravity, in virtue of which bodies tend
towards the centre of the earth ; or the force of
magnetism, by which iron is drawn towards a
magnet. The term is used by Newton for what
is now more commonly called a Central force.
Centrobaric. [Gr. KevTpov, L. centrum, centre,
fidpos, weight. ,] Appertaining to the centre of
gravity. There are cases in which the attraction
exerted by a body (A) according to the law of
gravity on another body (B) is reducible to a
single force in a line which always passes through
a point fixed relatively to the second body. In
this case the second body (B) is said to be C.
relatively to the first (A). When this is the
case, the second body (B) is also C. relatively to
every attracting mass, and it attracts all matter
external to itself as if its own mass were collected
in that point. It has been proposed to call this
fixed point the Centre of gravity of the body (B),
and to distinguish by the name C. of mass or C.
of inertia the point which is usually called the C.
of gravity.
Centroclinal, or Cycloclinal, strata. [L.
centrum, a centre, Gr. KVK\OS, a circle, K\lv(a, I
make to slant. ,] (Geol.) Strata dipping inward
concentrically, like basins one within another ;
e.g. Forest of Dean coal-field.
Centrolinead. [L. centrum, centre, linea, a
line.] An instrument for drawing lines con-
verging to a centre which is outside of the paper
on which the lines are to be drawn.
Centumvir. [L.] Hundred-man ; member of
a committee or court of a hundred.
Centuriators of Magdeburg. (Magdeburg,
Centuriators of.)
Centuries. [L. centurise.] In Rom. Hist.,
the divisions, supposed to be each of 100, in
which the people voted in the Comitia, or meet-
ing of Centuries. In the Legion the C. was
one-half of the Maniple, and the one-thirtieth
part of the Legion.
Cepaceous. (Bot.) Having the character of
an onion [L. csepa] in shape or smell.
Cephalalgic remedies are for fain [Gr. &Xyos]
of the head [/c<ctA.^].
Cephalaspis. [Gr. Ke<$>a.\4\, a head, cur-iris, a
shield.} (Geol.) A fossil fish, with bony body-
shield shaped like a cheese-knife ; found by
Hugh Miller in the Old Red Sandstone.
Cephalic. Relating to the head ; generally
medicines for affections of the head.
Cephalopoda, Cephalopods. [Gr. /fe^cU^, head,
irovs, vo56s,fwt.] (Zool.) Highest class of mol-
luscs. They have eight or more arms ranged
round the head and provided with suckers ; most
are naked, as the cuttlefish, but nautili have
shells.
Ceramic. [Gr. Kepa/Mxds, of pottery. \ Relating
to pottery.
Cerastes. [Gr. Ktpdffrris, horned, from Kepas,
horn ; cf. L. cornu.] (Zool.) The horned viper, a
venomous viperine snake. Egypt and adjacent
parts. About two feet long ; greyish colour.
Cerberus. [Gr. Kfp0epos.\ (Myth.} The
three-headed dog which guards the entrance to
the kingdom of Hades, the fellow-monster
being Orthros. These two names are found as
Carvara and Vritra in the Rig Veda.
Cerdonians. The followers of Cerdon [Gr.
KepSwp], who in the second century maintained a
system of Dualism, combining with it the
opinions of the Docetae. (Ahriman.)
Cere. [L. cera.] 1. Wax. Cercd, waxed.
Cere-cloth, one smeared with wax, or similar
matter; unless this is A.S. sore-cloth, a cloth
for sores. Cerement \\-,.\i. cerementum], a waxed
winding-sheet. 2. (Ornith.} The naked space
at the base of the bill of some birds.
Cereals. [L. cerealis, relating to Ceres, god-
dess of agriculture.] (Bot. } Grasses cultivated
for their edible seed : wheat, barley, oats, rye,
maize or Indian corn, rice, millet. ^
Cerebel, Cerebellum. [L. dim. of cerebrum,
the brain.] The under and posterior portion of
the brain.
Cerebration, Unconscious. The non-voluntary
working out and reproduction of ideas, under
certain nerve conditions.
Ceres. [L.] (Myth.) The Latin goddess
answering to the Greek Demeter. (Eleusinian
Mysteries.)
Cerevisia. [L., a Gallic word.] In old legal
statutes and elsewhere, beer.
Corinthians. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Cerinthus, who in the first century propounded
opinions agreeing essentially with those which
were set forth by the Cerdonians in the second.
Cerium. A rare greyish-white metal, named
after the planet Ceres.
Cernuous. [L. cerniius, looking downwards,
probably from an old cer = Gr. xdpa, the head
(as in cer-vix, the neck, which carries, vehit, the
head) and nuo, nutus, nod.~\ (Bot.) Hanging
down at the top, drooping ; e.g. a snowdrop.
Cerography. [Gr. uripbs, wax, ypdtyeiv, to
write.] Engraving on a copper plate coated
with wax, from which a stereotype plate is
taken.
Ceroplastic art. [Gr. K-qpoir\a<rriK6s, from
Kr]p6s, wax, ir\dfffffiv, to mould.] The art of
modelling in wax.
Certent et cygnis ululae. [L.] Let owls too vie
with swans; i.e. if bad authors vie with good ones.
Certification. [L. certus, sure, facere, to
make.] (Scot. Law.) Assurance to a part of
the consequences of non-appearance in court or
neglect of a court order.
Certiorari. [L., to be more fully informed.]
(Leg.) Name of a writ commanding an inferior
court to return the records of a case before it, so
that such case may be removed into a court of
equity.
CERT
no
CHAI
Certosa. [It., corr. of Carthus-ia.] 1. A
Carthusian monastery. 2. A burying-ground.
Cerumen. [L. cera, wax.} A secretion of the
ear.
Ceruse. 1. Carbonate of lead, commonly
called white lead. 2. A white-lead cosmetic
preparation. [Fr. ceruse, L. cerussa, with same
two meanings.]
Cervical. Belonging to the neck [L. cemcem].
(Cernuous.)
Cervine. [L. cervlnus, from cervus, deer, the
horned beast.] Relating to deer.
CespititiouB. Made of turf [L. csespes,
caespltis].
Cespitose. [L. caespitem, a sod, a knob.}
(Dot.) Growing in tufts.
Cess. [L. census, rating.} Assessment or tax.
Cessante causa, cessat et effectus. [L.] The
cause ceasing, the effect also ceases ; a saying of the
scholastic logicians, "cause" being used in its
fullest sense ; e.g. the flatness of the metal does
not cease when the hammering ceases : but cause
includes the ductility of the metal, as well as the
blow of the hammer.
Cessante ratione legis, cessat ipsa lex. [L.]
On the reason for a law ceasing, the law itself
ceases (to exist).
Cessavit. [L., he has ceased.} In Law, a writ
issued when a tenant has ceased to perform the
conditions of his tenure.
Cesser. [L. cessare, to cease.} (Leg.) 1. Neg-
lect of service. 2. As in proviso for C., ter-
mination of trusts.
Cession. [L. cessi5, -nem, a giving up.} (Eccl.)
Of a living, the giving it up, upon appointment
to some dignity which cannot be held with it.
-cester, -Chester. [L. castra, fortified camp.}
Part of Saxon names, as in Wor-cester, Dor-
chester, Chester, Chester-field.
C'est fait de lui. [Fr.] It is all over with him.
C'est le crime qua fait la honte, et non pas
1'echafaud. [Fr.] It is the crime that makes the
disgrace, and not the scaffold.
Cestoids. [Gr. Kfffrfa, girdle, 75os, form.]
Intestinal worms, like the tapeworm.
Oestrum. [L., Gr. Kfffrpov.} A graving-tool,
used by the ancients in encausting painting.
C'est tout egal. [Fr.] It is all the same.
Cestui-que trust. [Norm. Fr.] (Leg.) Equit-
able owner of estate legally vested in a trustee.
Cestui-que use. [Norm. Fr.] The enjoyer of
equitable or beneficial interest in estate legally
held by the feoffee to uses (q.v.).
C'est une autre chose. [Fr.] That is another
thing.
Cestus. (Caestus.)
Cestus. [L., Gr. Ktffr6s.} A girdle ; es-
pecially the girdle of Venus.
Cestvaen, Cistvaen, Kistvaen. An enclosure,
like three sides of a box, with a stone cover,
often found in barrows, generally at the east
end ; for burial, generally, and covered with
earth ; perhaps in some instances made for
other purposes. [A hybrid word ; K/OTTJ, chest,
Welsh maen, stone (Latham).]
Cetacea. [Gr. KTJTO?, sea-monster.} (Zool.)
An ord. of mammals without posterior feet,
adapted to an aquatic life, warm-blooded, with
horizontal tail ; including whales, narwhals,
dolphins, porpoises.
Ceteracn. (Bot.) A gen. of polypodiaceous
ferns, of the group Aspleniae ; to which belongs
the common Scale-fern.
Cevenol. An inhabitant of the district of the
Cevennes Mountains, France.
C. G. 8. unit. (Dyne.)
Chace. The extreme length of a cannon.
Chaconne [Fr.], Chacona [Sp. , from Basque
chocuna, pretty}. A slow, graceful dance in
triple time, Spanish ; generally in a major key.
Passacaglia, a similar dance, being generally in
a minor. P. has been treated classically, by
Bach.
Cnacun a son gout. [Fr.] Every one accord-
ing to his own taste.
Chadband, Eev. Mr. In Dickens's Bleak
House, a hypocrite.
Chaeronean, Cheronean, sage. Plutarch, born
at Chseroneia, in Bceotia, where he spent most of
his life.^
Chaetodon. [Gr. x a ' T7 ?> hair, oSouy, -6vros,
tooth, = having rows of bristle-like teeth.] (Ichth.)
Gen. of fish, with deep, compressed bodies and
strongly marked colouring. The beaked C.
catches flies by squirting water at them. Trop.
seas. Fam. Squamipennes, ord. Acantho-
pterygii, sub-class Teleostei.
Chafery. [Fr. chaufferie, from chauffer, to
heat.} A forge where iron is wrought into bars.
Chafing-dish. [Fr. echauffer, to chafe.} A
portable vessel of hot coals, for heating anything.
Chafing-gear. (Naut.) Anything put on
r igg' n g or spars, to prevent them from being
rubbed or worn.
Chafron. [Fr. chanfrein, from L. camus, Gr.
Krifji6s, a muzzle, and Fr. frein, a bit, curb ; a re-
duplication by which a rare word is explained
by a commoner one (see Littre, s.v.).} Iron
mask, frequently with a spike on the forehead,
worn by a war-horse.
Chagigah. [Heb., festivity.} A voluntary
peace offering made by private individuals, at
the Passover, from the flock or the herd.
Chain, Gunter's. (Gunter's chain.)
Chain-moulding. In the Norman style, a
moulding resembling a chain, common on Nor-
man window and doorway arches.
Chain-pump. A machine for raising water.
It consists of an endless chain passing over two
wheels, one above and the other below the
water, the former being worked by a winch ; to
the chain discs or buckets are attached ; the
chain with the buckets is made to pass upward
through a tube, and thereby brings the water up
when the winch is turned. (Chain-wheel.)
Chain-rule. A rule in arithmetic for working
a sum in compound proportion = double rule of
three.
Chains, Chain-wales, or Channels. (Naut.)
Blocks of wood fastened to the outside of a
ship a little aft of the masts, to which the
Chain-plates (iron plates, the lower end fastened
to the ship's side, the upper provided with fixed
dead-eyes) are attached, by which they are kept
CHAI
CHAM
off so as to carry the shrouds clear of the bul-
wark. In the chains, stationed between two
shrouds to cast the lead.
Chain-wheel. A machine the reverse of the
chain-pump. In it, the water falling down
the tube communicates motion by means of the
brackets to the upper wheel, which therefore
becomes a prime mover ; in much the same way
that a water-wheel, or turbine, is a prime mover.
Chalaza. [Gr. x d\ a a , hail.} (Bot.) The
point of union, at the base of an ovule, between
the nucleus and integuments.
. Chalcedony (abundant near Chalcedon, on the
Asiatic side of the Bosphorus). (Geol.) A beauti-
ful variety of silica, sub-translucent, milk-white
or coloured. Agate is laminated C. ; C. red,
yellow, white, is Carnelian, called from the red
kind [It. carniola, carne, flesh] ; rich red is
Sard ; C., in layers, is Onyx. C. of Rev. xxi. 19
= carbuncle ; but includes also Chrysocolla, or
Native verdigris, an ore of copper, sometimes
called copper emerald. King, Precious Stones.
Chalcography. [Gr. -X.O.XK&S, copper, ypaipeij/,
to write. .] Engraving on copper.
Chaldee language. The language of the Jews
after the Babylonish captivity, being a Hebrew
dialect, differing little from the Syriac, or old
Assyrian. (Aramaic languages.)
Chaldee Paraphrases. Running commentaries
on the Old Testament, called Targums.
(Talmud.)
Chaldron, or Chalder. [L. caldarium, a vessel
for hot water.} An old dry measure, latterly
used as a measure for coals and coke. A chaldron
of coals was 36 heaped bushels, or about 27 cwts.
Chalet. [Fr.] Summer hut for Swiss herds-
men ; also Swiss wooden houses generally.
Chalk. [A. S. cealc, L. calx, calcem, lime-
stone.} A white earthy limestone, largely com-
posed of coccoliths and globigerlna ; the upper-
most Secondary formation in England and in
France ; 1000 feet thick ; represented in Germany
by sandstones, etc. (Foraminifera.)
Challenge. Exod. xxii. 9 ; claim. [O.Fr.
chalonge, L. calumnia.]
Challenge of jurors. An exception or objection
against those empannelled ; ( I ) a challenge to
the array being against the whole number, on
account of partiality, or for some other reason ;
(2) a challenge to the polls being against one
or more individuals.
Challis. A fine twilled woollen fabric.
Chalumeau, Chalameau. [Fr., whence Eng.
shawm ; L. calamellus, dim. of calamus, a reed.}
Pastoral reed-pipe ; the lower notes of the
clarionet are said to have a C. tone.
Chalybean steel = steel of the best make ; the
Chalybes of Asia Minor having been famed
as workers in iron.
Chalybeate waters. [Gr. xcUvtfr, x^.flos,
hardened iron.} Mineral waters in which the
iron predominates.
Cham. (Khan.)
Chama. [Gr. x^A"?> a Cockle, a gaping shell.]
(Zool.) Giant clams, fam. of Conchifgra,
Bivalve molluscs. Tropics.
Chamade. [Fr., It. chiamare, L. clamare,
to cry out.} The beat of a drum, or the sound
of a trumpet summoning the enemy to a parley.
Chamaeleon. (Chameleon.)
Chamber. [L. camera.] The cell in a mine
or gun, where the powder is deposited.
Chamberlain, Lord, or King's C. An officer
of very high standing in the royal household
(formerly an influential member of the Govern-
ment), a member of the Privy Council. He has
also to do with the licensing of certain theatres
and new plays ; inquires into the status of
persons desiring to be presented ; issues the
queen's invitations, etc.
Chamberlain, The Lord Great. Holds a here-
ditary office, very ancient, and once very impor-
tant. He has the government of the palace at
Westminster, receives upon solemn occasions
the keys of W. Hall ; prepares the Hall for
coronations, State trials, etc. ; has charge of the
House of Lords during the session.
Chambers, Judges'. Rooms where judges sit
for despatch of business which does not require
a court.
Chambre ardente. [Fr., burning-chamber.}
(Hist.) The court instituted by Francis I. for
trying and burning heretics.
Chambre des Co*mptes. [Fr.] A French court,
before the Revolution, for the registration of
edicts, treaties of peace, etc.
Chameleon. [Gr. x a ' uc "^ e ' a " / > ground-lion, a
lizard which was supposed to change its colour.]
1. (Min.) Manganate of potassium, the solution
of which changes colour from green to purple.
2. (Zoo!.) A gen. of saurian reptiles, popularly
supposed to live on air, and to change its colour
at will. It lives on insects, and the modifica-
tions of colour are produced by the varying
proportions in the pigments contained under the
rete mucosum, or coloured layer of the skin.
Chamfer. [Fr. chanfrein.] (Arch.} The edge
of any right-angled object cut a-slope or on the
bevel. (Chafron.)
Chamois. [Heb. zomer.] (Bibl.) Probably
Moufflon (q.v.).
Chamomile, Camomile. [Gr. ^a.^a.(^-t]\ov, earth-
apple.} (Bot.) Anthemis nobilis (ord. Compo-
sitse), a herb with finely divided leaves and daisy-
like flowers, the latter used in fomentations, etc.
Champarty, Champerty. [L. campus, field,
partem, part or share.} (Leg.) A bargain be-
tween A, a party to a suit, and B, a third party,
that B maintain the suit on condition of a share
of the object of the suit if A win.
Champ clos, Au. [Fr.] Lit. in closed field, =
in judicial combat or in tournament.
Champ de Mai. [Fr.] (Hist.) The assembly
of the Champ de Mars was, under Pepin and some
of his successors, held in May, and so called.
Champ de Mars. [Fr.] (Hist.) A public
assembly of the Franks, held in the open air
yearly in March. The name of the open space
in Paris of this name was probably suggested by
the Campus Martius at Rome.
Champignon. [L. campinionem, as growing
in the campus, or open field.} (Bot.) A small
kind of Agaricus, or mushroom (Agaricus
oreades).
CHAM
CHAR
Champion. [Fr., Sp. catnpeon.] (Feud.)
One who appeared in the wager of battle to
fight in behalf of another. In Eng. coronations
the king's champion appeared to defend his right
against all assailants. For this service he held
the manor of Scrivelsby in grand serjeanty.
Champ leve. [Fr., raised field. ~\ A process of
cutting down a metal plate, so that the pattern is,
left raised, and the interstices afterwards filled
with enamel.
Chancel. (Arch.} Literally, a place enclosed
within cross-bars [L. cancelli]. Hence the
sanctuary of a church.
Chancellor. [L. cancellarms.] 1. (Hist.)
Under the Roman emperors, a notary, or scribe ;
so called from the cancelli, or rails, within
which he sat. 2. (Eccl.) The principal judge of
the consistory court of a diocese. 3. The Lord
High C. of England, the highest judicial officer of
the kingdom (Seal, Great; Speaker). 4. Anciently,
ecclesi-ecdicus, Church lawyer, an ecclesiastical
officer, learned in Canon law, who holds courts
for the bishop ; advises and assists him in
questions of ecclesiastical law. 5. C. of a cathedral,
generally a canon, has general care of the litera-
ture and schools belonging to it ; sometimes also
lectures in theology. 6. C. of university, the
supreme authority of a British university, gene-
rally a nobleman or statesman.
Chance-medley. [Fr. chaude, hot, melee,
fray.} (Leg.) A casual affray ; also the slaying
an assailant in sudden self-defence, or hasty slay-
ing of one committing an unlawful act.
Chancery. \Cf. Fr. chancellerie, from chan-
celler, chancellor.} Original seat of chancellor,
royal chaplain and amanuensis, keeper of the
royal conscience. Under Edward I. arose
the extraordinary intervention, between private
parties, of the king as the sole source of equity.
By Lord Selborne^s Judicature Act, 1873, the
Court of C. became the C. Division of the
Supreme Court of Judicature, while equity rules
are to override common law when they are at
variance, so that a fusion of law and equity is
attempted. (Cancelli.)
Chances. (Probability.)
Chandoo. An extract of opium, for smoking.
Changeling. 1. Something left, especially a
child, in the place of another. 2. A fool, sim-
pleton. 8. One given to changing sides, want-
ing in fixity.
Change-ratio, C. -wheels. If A and B are
two parallel axes connected by toothed wheels
which work with each other, then A's velocity
of rotation will bear to B's a ratio depending on
the number of teeth in the wheels. Now, if it be
required to change this ratio from time to time
into some other assigned ratio, this can be done
by furnishing the axes A and B with wheels, the
sums of whose pitch radii are equal, and on whose
circumferences are cut a proper number of teeth ;
the wheels are placed on the axles in such a
manner that when A is shifted to the right or left
on its bearings by one definite distance, one pair
of wheels is brought into action ; by shifting it
through another distance a second pair of wheels
is brought into action, and so on. These wheels
are called C. -wheels, and the corresponding
ratios of the velocities of rotation of the axles
the C. -ratios. Suppose the wheels on A have
60, 36, and 72 teeth respectively, and those on
B, 120, 144, and 108 ; when the first pair is
brought into play, A's velocity has to B's the ratio
of 2 T I ; when the second pair, 411; when the
third, 3 : 2. These ratios are the C.-ratios.
(/hanks. Conch-shells.
Channel-gropers. (A'aut.) Vessels kept on
service in the Channel. Applied formerly to
those on the look out for smugglers.
Chansons. [Fr., song.} Short lyrical com-
positions sung by the Troubadours.
Chanticleer. The cock [Fr. chante-clair,
sing clear}, in Reinecke the Fox (q.v.\
Chantry. [Fr. chanter, L. cantare, to sing.}
A chapel or altar, with endowment for a priest
to offer Masses for the soul of the founder or
others.
Chap-books. Various old and now scarce
tracts, miscellaneous, of inferior manufacture,
sold by chapmen ; at one time the only popular
literature ; treating of religion, historical per-
sonages, weather, dreams, ghost stories, etc. ;
dating from early part of the seventeenth cen-
tury, and succeeded by the still inferior Penny
C. B., which included stories of humour and
roguery. (Cheap-jack.)
Chapeau bras. [Fr.] A kind of cocked hat,
which could be flattened and carried under the
arm [bras] ; worn by regimental officers till
about 1812.
Chapelle ardente. [Fr.] A chapel, lit with
many candles placed round a catafalque, or bier,
in the funeral rites of the Latin Church.
Chapelle de fer. [Fr., L.L. capa or cappa,
a cape.} Close-fitting iron skull-cap; formerly
the head-piece for both infantry and light horse.
Chapellet. [Fr. chapelet.] A pair of stirrup
leathers with stirrups.
Chaperon. [Fr. chape, L. cappa, a hooded
cloak, whence, by melon., its usual meaning.]
1. A hood. 2. A hood or cap worn by knights
of the Garter.
Chapiter, Chaptrel. [Fr. chapitre, O.Fr.
chapitle, L. capitulum.] The capital of a
column, as in Exod. xxxvi. 38 and elsewhere.
Chaplet. [Fr. chapelet.] In the Latin Church,
a string of Beads on which prayers are counted.
(Rosary.)
Chapman. [A.S. ceapan, to buy; cf. Ger.
kaufmann.] A trafficker, especially a buyer.
Chapt. Jer. xiv. 4 ; cracked, gaping open,
from the heat ; to chap (probably the same word
as chip, chop, etc.) being to cleave, to crack.
Chapter. [L. capitulum, from caput, head.}
The assembly of the dean and canons, forming
the council of the bishop, in a cathedral church ;
or of a superior abbot and his monks in conven-
tual houses.
Chapter House. (Arch.) The room in which
the Chapter holds its meetings.
Char. [Celt, cear, red.} (Ichth.) Spec, of
salmon, about twelve inches long, back brown,
belly yellow. European lakes. Salmo salvellnus,
S. umbla, Ombre chevalier of Lake of Geneva.
CHAR
CHAS
Char, Chare. 1. [A. S. eyre, a turn.} An oc-
casional job or turn at work, a separate employ-
ment. 2. To hew, work. Charred stone [Fr.
carre, L. quadratus], hewn stone. (See Parker's
Glossary of Architecture.}
Char-a-bancs. [Fr.] Pleasure-van.
Charact, Charect. [Gr. x a P aKr 'hpi stamp, im-
press.] 1. Distinctive mark. 2. An inscription.
Characteristic of a logarithm. (Index.)
Charade. [Fr., Prov. charada, L.L. carrata,
cart-load.] An enigma consisting of equivocal
descriptions of the idea conveyed by the parts
and the whole of a word which is to be guessed.
The description may be verbal or dramatic.
Charadrudae. [Gr. x/> a fy"<k> bird frequent-
ing clefts, 'xa.pi^pa.i, xapaercrejy, cleave.] (Ormth.)
Fam. of birds of the plover (Charadrius) kind.
Cosmopolitan. Ord. Grallse.
Charah. An Afghan knife or sword.
Charbon. [Fr., coal, charcoal ; cf. carbuncle,
from L. carbunculus.] (Vet. Surg.) A malig-
nant pustule.
Chard. 1. A kind of white beet. 2. The
foot-stalk and midrib of white beet, and some
other plants, blanched.
Charegites. [Ar., rebel.] A name given to
the sect by one of whom the Caliph Ali was
murdered, A.D. 66 1. (Assassin.)
Charge. 1. (Her.) Any figure borne on an
escutcheon. 2. (Eccl.) Bishop's or archdeacon's
address to clergy. 3. A vigorous military
attack ; the explosive materials in a mine or
gun.
Charge d'affaires. [Fr.] A foreign minister
of the third grade.
Charge de Marseille. An old French corn
measure, still used ; equal to about 4/4 English
bushels.
Chariness. [A.S. cearig, chary, careful.]
Scrupulous carefulness, circumspectness.
Charism, Charisma. [Gr. xap" r M a -] (Eccl.} A
special gift or talent, e.g. of healing ; I Cor. xii. 28.
Charites. [Gr.] (Graces.)
Charity-sloops. The ten-gun brigs built at the
beginning of this century. Said to have been
intended to give employment to officers ; hence
their name.
Charivari (?). 1. In France, formerly, a mock
serenade, with pans, kettles, etc., rough music.
2. Any uproar expressive of dislike. 3. Satirical
political papers, as the C. of Paris.
Charlatan. [It, ciarlatano, ciarlare, to prattle.]
A quack ; one who pretends to knowledge.
Charles's Wain. The constellation of the
Greater Bear ; the term is, however, generally
limited to the seven stars which are most con-
spicuous in that constellation. (Bishis.)
Charlock. (Bot.) A wild mustard, Sinapis
arvensis, ord. Cruciferse.
Charon. [Gr.] (Myth.) The ferryman who
rows the dead across the Stygian lake in the
under world. (Styx.)
Charpie. [Fr., lint, past part, of O.Fr. charpir,
L. carpere, to pluck.] A substitute for lint,
made of small pieces of old linen.
Charpoy. [Hind.] A pallet-bed.
Charqui. [L. caro cocta, cooked flesh.] Lean
beef dried in the sun ; corr. into Eng. jerked
beef.
Chart. [L. charta, paper, that which is
written upon paper.] There is no clear distinc-
tion between a map and a chart. Either is the
delineation on a plane surface of the relative
positions of a number of points on the surface
of the terrestrial or of the celestial globe.
Thus we speak of a chart of a coast or of a
celestial chart.
Chart, or Sea-chart. (Nant.) A sea-map,
i.e. a projection of some part of the sea and
neighbouring coast, with the harbours, bearings,
lights, known depths, currents, and kinds of
bottom, etc., carefully marked. The coast-line
is shaded seaward in maps, and landward in
sea-charts.
Charta, Magna. [L.] The Great Charter of
the realm, signed by King John, 1215, renewed
by Henry III., providing against the unlawful
imprisonment of the subject and the imposition
of taxes without the consent of the Council of the
kingdom.
Charta de una parte. [L.] (Leg.) A deed-
poll (q.v.).
Chartse Libertatum. [L.] Magna Charta and
Charta de Foresta, the latter consisting of
forest laws confirmed by Edward I.
Charte. [Fr.] 1. A document containing a
statement of constitutional law ; and especially,
2, that of Louis XVIII., 1814, acknowledging
the rights of the nation.
Charter, To. (Naut.) To hire a vessel under
a Charter-party, i.e. a deed, or written agree-
ment. A general ship is one which ships goods
from others than charterers.
Charterhouse. [Fr. Chartreux.] A college in
London, founded by Thomas Sutton ; once a
monastery. (Carthusians.)
Charter-land. (Bocland.)
Charter-party. A written agreement by
which a shipowner lets the whole or a part of a
ship to a merchant for the conveyance of goods,
and the merchant pays an agreed sum by way of
freight for their carriage.
Chartists. In Mod. Eng. Hist., those who
maintain what is called the People's Charter,
of six points : universal suffrage, vote by ballot,
yearly Parliaments, payment of members, abo-
lition of property qualification, and equal electoral
districts. Of these the second and the sixth
have become law.
Chartulary. (Cartulary.)
Charybdis. (Scylla; Incidit.)
Chase. [Fr. chasse, a reliquary, L. capsa.]
An iron frame in which type is wedged, before
being placed in the press for printing.
Chase-ports. (Naut.) The gun-ports in the
bow and stern.
Chasidim. (Assideans.)
Chasing. [Fr. enchasser.] Working raised
figures on metal.
Chasse marees. French coasters of the Chan-
nel. Bluffly built, and generally lugger-rigged,
with two or three masts and a topsail.
Chassepot. A rifle introduced into the French
army before the Franco-German war.
I
CHAS
114
CHER
Chasseur. [Fr., from chasser, to hunt, L.
captare.] Light infantry soldier in the French
army ; Chasseur a cheval being the name for
light cavalry.
Chasuble, Chasfble, Chesible. [L. casula, casu-
bula.] (Eccl.) A vestment representing the
Roman paenula, which was circular, with a hole
to admit the head in the centre. Modern use
has left it oblong, so as to expose the arms. It
is prescribed as the vestment in the rubric of the
first Prayer-book of Edward VI.
Chateau. [Fr., L. castellum.] In France, a
gentleman's country seat, which in feudal times
was generally fortified as a castle.
Chateaux en Espagne. [Fr., castles in Spain.}
Romance castles, castles in the air.
Chatelaine. [Fr.] 1. The mistress of a man-
sion. 2. An ornament with chains for hanging
useful articles to a lady's waist.
Chatelains. (Vavassors.)
Chatoyant. [Part, of Fr. chatoyer, to have a
play of colours, ,] Having an undulating lustre,
like the eye of a cat [Fr. chat]. (Cat's-eye ; Na-
creous.)
Chats, Chit. Twigs, young shoots. Chatwood,
little sticks fit for fuel.
Chattah. [Hind.] An umbrella.
Chattels. [L.L. catalla, cattle, O.Fr. chaptal,
from capita, heads.] (Leg.) Goods not in the
nature of freehold or part and parcel thereof.
Personal C. belong immediately to the owner's
person, as most movable goods. Real C. also
appertain to some lands or tenements in which
the holder has use or interest, as a box with
writings of land or issue out of some immovable
thing, as a lease.
Chatterer, Bohemian. (Ornith.) Bohemian
tuaxwing, European representative of fam.
Ampelldae [Gr. &nirf\os, vine] ; about the size
of a starling, with chestnut-coloured crest, and
horny appendages to the wings, like red sealing-
wax. Ord. Passeres.
Chatterers. ( Ornith. ) Cotintd<z ; an extensive
fam. of birds, characteristic of Trop. America,
as the umbrella bird. Ord. Passres.
Chauffer. [Fr. chauffer, to heat.} An iron
stove.
Chausses. [Fr., drawers.} Close-fitting chain-
mail for legs and feet.
Chauvinism. (From Chauvin, the veteran of the
First Empire, in Scribe's Soldat Laboreur.) Idola-
try of French military prestige of the Napoleonic
idea.
Chavender, Chevin. [L. capitonem, a big-head
fish.] (Ichth.) Chub, spec, of fresh-water fish,
Great Britain, Leuciscus cephalus [Gr. \tvKiaKos,
the white mullet, ice^aAos, a large-headed sea
fish (? a mullet)], fam. Cyprinldae, ord. Physo-
stomi, sub-class Tleostel.
Chay-root. [Sp. chaya.] An Indian root used
as a red dye.
Cheap, -cheap. Purchase market ; Saxon name
or part name, as in Cheap-side, West-cheap,
Chipping Norton, Chippen-ham, Copen-hagen.
Cheap-jack. Popular name for a Chapman.
Cheaters, Escheators. Collectors of Crown
escheats (q.v), often oppressive and fraudulent ;
hence the verb to cheat is said to come ; but cf.
A.S. ceat, L. captio, deception.
Cheeky. (Her.) Covered with alternate squares
of two different tinctures, like a chess-board.
Cheek. (Fortif.) The side of an embrasure.
Cheeks. 1. The two solid parts upon the
sides of a mortise. 2. The side walls of a lode.
Cheer, Be of good. In Gospels and Acts ; be
of good countenance. [Fr. chere, Gr. /capo, a
head or face.} Spenser, Fairy Queen, pt. ii. 42.
Cheetah. (Zool. ) Hunting leopard, Felis jubata
(maned) or Cynselurus, dog-cat, as being in form
and habit a sort of connecting link, though a
true feline ; long domesticated, and employed in
the chase. Africa and S. Asia ; in Persia called
Youze.
Chef. [Fr.] Chief, head-cook ; i.e. chef de
cuisine.
Chef d'ceuvre. [Fr.] Master-piece; lit. head of
work.
Cheiromys. (Aye-aye.)
Cheiroptera. [Gr. xfio, hand, vrfpAv, wing.}
(Zool.) Bats; an order of mammals with a
patagium [L., border or stripe, irarayetov] or
membrane, which enables them to fly, connecting
the fingers and toes, and the fore and hind limbs
on each side, and sometimes the hind limbs and
tail. They are insectivorous, carnivorous, or
frugivorous. Universally distributed.
Cheirotherium. Hand-beast [Gr. xfy>, &npiov}.
(Geol.) A wild beast, whose hand-like footprints
appear on Red Sandstone, probably a Laby-
rinthodont reptile [Gr. \a.&vpu>6os, a labyrinth,
otiovs, a tooth, from the peculiar internal structure
of the teeth].
Chelate. (Nat. Hist.) In shape like a claw
[Gr. _ X T)A4].
Chelonia. [Gr. ^\.^vi\, tortoise.'} (Zool.) The
fifth ord. of reptiles ; tortoises and turtles.
Chelonidae. (Chelonia.) (Zool.) Sea-turtles.
Chelone viridis, Green T. (Atlantic), supplies
soups, etc. ; Hawk's-bill T. (Indian and Pacific),
tortoiseshell.
Chelsea china. China ware made at C., 1745-
1784 ; leading marks, anchor or triangle ; moulds
transferred to Derby.
Chemic. A solution of chloride of lime for
bleaching.
Chemin des rondes. [Fr.] In old fortifications,
a broad pathway concealed by a hedge or wall
formed outside the parapet, to enable officers to
go their rounds.
Cheng. A Chinese musical instrument, a kind
of small organ ; a bundle of tubes held in the
hand and blown by the mouth.
Cher em. (Niddin.)
Cheroot. A kind of cigar, made in Manila
and elsewhere.
Cherry-laurel. (Bot.) Primus laurocerasus.
A common shrubbery plant, in no way connected
with the true laurel (Lauras nSbilis). Water
distilled from the leaves is used in flavouring,
and cases of poisoning have resulted from its
employment.
Chersonesus. [Gr. xfpadvriffos, a land island.}
A long peninsula, like the Thracian coast on the
N. side of the Hellespont.
CHER
CHIE
Chert (formerly Chertz ; cf. Ger. quarze).
( Gcol. ) A granular siliceous rock ; either of ( I )
pseudo-morphosed granular limestone, as in the
Carboniferous limestone ; or (2) cemented sponge-
spicules and sand, as in the Upper and Lower
Greensands.
Cherubic hymn, or Seraphic hymn. (Ter-
Sanctus.)
Cherubim. [Heb.] 1. An order of angels,
with attributes resembling those of the Seraphim.
2. Two symbolical figures placed on the mercy-
seat of the ark, in the tabernacle and temple.
Chervil. A culinary vegetable, used in soups
and as a garnish, especially in some parts of the
Continent. Anthriscus cserefblium (Pliny, for
X<Mpf<!>v\\ov), ord. Umbelliferae. Naturalized in
England.
Che sara, sara. [It.] What will be, will be.
Chesil Bank. (Beaches.)
Chess. Plank laid on the platform of a
pontoon bridge to form the roadway.
Chessel. The wooden vat in which cheese is
pressed.
Chessom earth = "mere mould, between the
two extremes of clay and sand." Bacon, quoted
by fohnson.
Chess-tree. (Naut.) A piece of oak with a
hole in it, or an iron plate with thimble-eyes,
fastened to the top sides of a vessel for passing
the maintack through, so as to extend the clue
of the mainsail to windward.
Chester, -Chester, (-cester.)
Chest of Chatham. An ancient institution for
wounded and injured seamen of Royal Navy.
Re-established by Queen Elizabeth in 1590,
maintained by a proportioned contribution from
the pay of each seaman and apprentice, called
Smart money.
Chevage, Chiefage. [From Fr. chef, head,
L.L. chevagium.] A kind of poll tribute formerly
paid by villeins to the lord of the manor.
Cheval glass. [Fr. chevalet, an ease!.] A
large mirror swinging in a frame.
Chevalier, Bas. [Fr.] A knight of the lowest
grade, or a young knight, knight bachelor.
(Bachelor.)
Chevalier d'industrie. [Fr.] One of the swell
mob, a swindler.
Chevaux de frise. [Fr., first used in de-
fensive warfare in Friesland.] Beams of wood
transfixed by pointed stakes or sword-blades, as
temporary barriers to a passage.
Chevelure. [Fr.] Head of hair.
Cheveril. [Fr. chevre, a goat.] Kid leather;
adj., pliable, yielding, in a bad sense.
Chevisance. [O.Fr.] (Leg.) 1. An unlaw-
ful bargain or contract. 2. An indirect gain in
point of usury. 3. An agreement or composition,
especially between debtor and creditor.
Chevron. [Fr., L.L. caprionem, a goat.~\
1. A rafter. 2. Zigzag moulding, Norman, like
a pair of rafters. 3. (Her.) An ordinary in
the form of a pair of rafters. 4. (Mil.) Dis-
tinguishing stripes, denoting rank, on the sleeve
of a non-commissioned officer's coat.
Chevy Chase. Old ballad founded on the
battle of Otterburn, Northumberland, 1388, in
which the Earl of Douglas was killed, and
Henry Percy (Hotspur), son of the Earl of
Northumberland, taken prisoner.
Chewing of oakum, or pitch. (A r aut.) Ex-
pressive of leakage caused from insufficient
caulking.
Chi. The Gr. %> a mark used anciently by
the Greeks, in reading, to note passages as
spurious ; but %> X with points on each side,
noted excellent [Gr. xP 7 7 (7T< ^] passages.
(Chrestomathy.)
Chiaro-scuro. \lt., clear-obscure.] In Painting,
the proper disposition of lights and shadows.
Chiasm. [Gr. x iacr M^ J j a marking with x-]
1. (Chi.) 2. A crosswise arrangement of words
or clauses, as " Begot by butchers, but by bishops
bred."
Chiasma. [Gr. xiacr^a, the mark of x-} T ne
crossing of the fibres of the optic nerve.
Chibbal. [Fr. ciboule, L. caepulla.] A kind
of small onion.
Chibouque. [Turk.] A Turkish pipe.
Chic. [Fr.] In Mod. Eng. slang, = style,
the correct thing. In Fr. (i) originally sharp-
ness in practice ; now (2) a term of the workshop
= rapid, easy execution, e.g. in painting. Littre
inclines to think (i) an abbrev. of Chicane ; and
(2) a distinct word, the Ger. schick, arrangement,
despatch.
Chica. [Sp.] 1. A popular Spanish and S.-
American dance ; said to be Moorish ; hence
jig(?}- 2. A fermented liquor made from maize.
3. Red colouring matter, used by the Indians,
from the wood of the climbing Bignonia C. of
the Orinoco.
Chicanery. Sophistry, sharp practice ; origin-
ally, dispute over the game of mall [Byz. TU/CC{-
vwv] ; then, over lawsuits.
Chicard. The harlequin of the modern French
carnival.
Chiches. [Fr. chiche, L. cicer.] Chick-pease.
Chichevache and Bycorne. Two fabled mon-
sters, of whom B. feeds on obedient husbands
and is very fat, C. on patient wives and is almost
starved.
Chicks. [Hind.] Venetian blinds in India.
Chicory, Succory, Common. (Bot.) Cichorium
intybus, ord. Compositae ; a perennial plant,
wild in England and most parts of Europe,
having long carrot-like roots, for the sake of
which it is cultivated.
Chief. [Fr. chef, L. caput, head.} (Her.) An
ordinary occupying the upper part of an escut-
cheon, and containing one-third part of the field.
(Escutcheon.)
Chief, Examination in. (Leg. ) First question-
ing of a witness in the interest of self of the party
who calls said witness ; opposed to cross-exami-
nation and re-examination.
Chief Baron. (Leg.) Presiding judge in Court
of Exchequer (y.v.) of Pleas at Westminster.
Chief-rents. (Quit-rents.)
Chiefrie. A small rent paid to a lord para-
mount.
Chievanoe. [(?) Fr. achevance, a finishing,
bringing to an end, L. caput, O.Fr., chief.] The
extortion of unfair discount in a bargain.
CHIF
116
CHIR
Chiffonier. [Fr.] 1. A collector of rags and
odds and ends. 2. A wooden stand, furnished
with shelves for odds and ends or bric-a-brac. 3.
An ornamental sideboard with drawers.
Chignon. [Fr.] The nape of the neck; hence
a mass of hair, often chiefly false, worn at the
back of the head.
Chigoe. (Entom.) Jigger, Sand-flea ; wingless
insect breeding under the human skin (Pulex
penetrans).
Child, Childe. 1. Old title of an eldest son
while heir-apparent or while candidate for knight-
hood, as Childe Rowland. 2. A young man ; e.g.
Song of the Three Children. 3. In Elementary
Education Act, 1876, one between five and
fourteen.
Childermas. [A.S. childa-maesse daeg.] In-
nocents' Day, December 28.
Child- wife. 1. Formerly, a wife who has
borne a child ; now, 2, a very young wife.
Chiliad. [Gr. -)(l\ia.s.] A thousand in num-
ber ; a cycle of a thousand years.
Chiliarch. Commander [Gr. ap\fc] of a thou-
sand [x^ to O men. ,
Chiliasts. [Gr. %i\uufrai, from x' A '' a
thousand.] Believers in a millennium, or blissful
reign of the saints on the earth for a thousand
years after the final judgment. Papias, Bishop of
Hierapolis, in the second century, is said to have
been the first who held this opinion.
Chill; Chilled shot; Chilled wheel. When
castings of iron are rapidly cooled, they become
extremely hard ; the iron is then said to be
chilled, and the mould in which such iron is cast
is called a chill. Chilled shot is shot for heavy
ordnance, made of chilled iron. A Chilled wheel
is a wheel of a railway carriage whose tire is
hardened by chilling ; such wheels are exten-
sively used in U.S.
Chilled. 1. Varnish is said to be chilled,
when through dampness a bloom (q.v.} appears
on a picture. 2. (Caaehardening.)
Chilli [Sp. chili.] The pod of the cayenne
pepper.
Chiltern Hundreds. A tract extending through
part of Bucks, and of Oxford. The steward was
an officer appointed by the Crown to preserve
order there. A member of Parliament, as he
cannot strictly resign, vacates his seat by ac-
cepting a nominal office under the Crown, such
as this stewardship. The hundreds are Burnham,
Desborough, and Stoke, once forest-land infested
by robbers.
Chimaeridae. [Gr. x^M a 'P a > a monster with a
lion's head, a goafs body with second head, and a
serpent for a tail ; hence a monster generally.]
(Ichth. ) Fam. of shark-like fishes ; N. and S.
Temperate latitudes. British spec., Chimsera
monstrosa, Rabbit-fish, King of the herrings,
Sea-cat ; three feet long, white with golden-brown
markings, large head, whip-like tail. Ord. H616-
cfcphala, sub-class Chondropterjfgii.
Chimera. [Gr. xV<pa.] A monster slain by
Hipponoos, who is also called Bellerophon. (Bel-
lerophon's letters.) The word meant simply
goats of a year old, strictly winterlings ; and as
the sun slays the winter, the creature slain would
be a chimera. It now means commonly a wild
fancy or an object impossible of attainment.
Adj., Chimerical.
Chimere. [Fr. cimarre, It. zimarra.] The
upper robe of satin, black or red, with lawn
sleeves attached to it, worn by bishops of the
English Church.
C'nimin. [Fr. chemin, L.L. caminus, way,
road.} (Leg.} Away. Private roads are either
C. in gross, when a person holds the road as pro-
perty ; or C. appendant, as when a person cove-
nants for right of way over another's land to his
own.
Chiminage. [Fr. chimin (q.v.).] (Leg.)
Toll due by custom for way through a forest.
Chimming. [Ger. kimme, the edge of a cask.]
Dressing ore in a tub or keeve.
Chimney money, or Hearth tax. An impost
levied in the reign of Charles II., and abolished
in that of William III. and Mary.
China clay. A clay found in the west of
England, used for making china. China stone
is a kind of granite used for glazing fine pottery.
China grass. Grass cloth., a fine glossy
fabric, made from the fibre of .the Brehmeria
nlvea of Assam ; not a grass, but allied to the
nettle ; ord. Urtlcaceae.
Chinampas. (Floating islands.)
Chinche. [L. clmlcem.] 1. (Entom.) A bug.
2. (Zool.) Chinchilla, burrowing gregarious
rodents of the high Andes of Chili and Peru ;
of about fourteen inches in length, with long
hind legs, valued for their soft grey fur. Fam.
Chinchillidae, ord. Rodentia.
Chincough. [(?) Onomatop. similar names
occurring in other languages.] Whooping-
cough.
Chine and chine. Casks stowed endways.
Chinese white. Oxide of zinc, used as a
pigment.
Chinse, To. To caulk slightly or tempo-
rarily, by working in oakum with a knife.
Chintz. [Hind, chhint.] A cotton cloth,
printed in five or six colours.
Chioppine. [O.Fr. escapin, It. scapino, sock.]
A kind of clog or patten, once worn by ladies.
Chippendale. Furniture inlaid with coloured
woods (made by Chippendale, in the last
century).
Chippers. Women who dress the best ore in
lead-mines.
Chipping. (Cheap.) A market-place ; part of
A.S. names, as in Chipping Norton, Chippen-
ham, w Copen-hagen.
Chlragra. (Med.) Gout in the hand [Gr.
Xfip-dypa, as iroo-dypa, gout in (]it. a trap for} the
feet].
Chirk. [Cf. Prov. Ger. schirken, to chirp.]
To chirp ; Loc. Amer. adj. , cheerful. Onomatop.
of various sounds of birds and insects.
Chirograph. [Gr. x'p<>7p<?>oi/, a thing written
with the hand, a bond.] A diplomatic document,
in two copies, on one sheet, between which was
written chlrogrdphum, or some such word, so
that through this word cut lengthwise the parch-
ment might be divided into authentic duplicates.
Chirographist. [Gr. x e ty> a hand,
CHIR
117
CIIOR
write.} One who tells fortunes by palmistry, i.e.
by inspecting or reading the lines of the palm.
Chirology. [Gr. x 1/ P> a hand, \6yos, dis-
course.] Deaf-and-dumb language.
Chiromancy. [Gr. x t P f J - ai ' r ^ a -] Divinations
by the lines of the hand. (Palmistry.)
Chiropodist. [Coined from x e ^P> hand, irovs,
iroStfe, foot.] One who cuts nails and treats
corns, etc.
Chiroptera. (Cheiroptera.)
Chirurgeon, now abbrev. into Surgeon. [Gr.
Xeipovpy6s, working by the hand, a surgeon.}
Chisleu. Ninth month of the sacred, the third
of the civil, Jewish year; November December.
Chit. [Hind., a written document of any kind.]
(Naut.) A note. Formerly one given by a
divisional officer, authorizing the purser to supply
" slops ; " has to be presented to the purser.
CMtine. [Gr. x a ^ T7 7> hair, mane.] A sub-
stance allied to horn, of which the skeletons of
insects and crustaceans are formed ; in insects it
forms the elytra also, and some internal organs ;
and in some annelids the loco-motor bristles.
Chiton. [Gr. -xl-riav. ] A tunic, with or without
sleeves, fastened with a girdle or zone [Gr.
<6i/ij]. The Ionic C. reached to the feet.
Chitonidae. [Gr. x^", tunic.] (Zoo/.) Fam.
of gasteropodous molluscs, the only known in-
stance of a protecting shell of many portions
not valves, but overlapping plates.
Chitterling. 1. A short frill. 2. The frill-like
small intestines of the hog.
Chittim, Xittim. The Island of Cyprus was
known to the Phoenicians and Jews by this name.
Its chief town, Kition, was a great emporium
for the Phoenician slave-traders. Numb. xxiv.
24, and elsewhere.
Chitty face. [Fr. chiche-face. ] A mean-
faced fellow.
Chiun. Amos v. 26 ; generally regarded as
the name of an idol. The word may also mean
the pedestal or support of an image.
Chive, or Give. [L. csepa, an onion.] (Bot.)
Allium Schcenoprasum, ord. Liliacese.
Chivey. (Naut.) A knife.
Chladni's figures. (Nodal figures.)
Chlamyphore. [As if Gr. x^a^So^poy, x*-
/i5s, mantle, <popew, I wear.] (Zool.) Gen. (two
spec. ) of armadillo ; small. La Plata and Bo-
livia. Chlamydophorus, fam. Dasypodidse, ord.
Edentata.
Chlamys. [Gr. x^"M^ s -] An oblong outer
garment, a mantle.
Chloral. (Chem.) A colourless, pungent liquid,
obtained by the action of chlorine upon a/cohol.
Chloric acid. ( Chem. ) An acid obtained from
chlorine. Its salts are called Chlorates.
Chlorine. {Chem.} A greenish-yellow [Gr.
X^fpos] gas; one of the elements.
Chloroform. (Chlorine and formyl, it being a
terchloride of formyl.) A powerful anaesthetic,
composed of oxygen, hydrogen and chlorine.
Chlorometry. [Gr. x^- &) P^ s > yellowish green,
fitrpov, 'measure.] (Chem.) The process of
testing the bleaching power of any combination
of chlorine.
Chlorophyll. [Gr. x^ w P^ s > green, <t>v\\ov, a
leaf.} (Chem.) A substance to which green
leaves owe their colour ; minute, somewhat
waxy granules floating in the fluid of the cells.
Chlorosis. [Gr. x^P '^] ! (Bot.] I.q.
Etiolation (q.v.). 2. (Aled.) Green sickness, a
disease arising from deficiency of red corpuscles
in the blood.
Chlorous acid. ( Chem. ) An acid containing
equal parts of oxygen and chlorine.
Chocolate gale. (Naut.) A smart wind from
N.W. of Spanish Main and W. Indies.
Choir organ. (Organ.)
Choke-damp. (Fire-damp.)
Choke-pear, Choke-plum. A harsh pear,
scarcely eatable ; and so, metaphorically, a
silencing, sarcastic speech.
Choke the luff. (Naut.) To get the fall of a
tackle between the block and the leading part,
so as to prevent it from running through the
block. Slang for to be silenced, and to get a meal
to stay hunger.
Choki. [Hind, chaukt, guard-house."] A cus-
tom-house or police-station in India ; hence
chokl-dar, an officer of customs or police.
Cholagogue. [Gr. x^ 0i 'Y ai 7^ s -] (Med.) A
medicine which increases the flow of bile.
Cholesterine. [Gr. arepfos, solid.} A fatty
constituent in bile [XATJ], the basis of biliary
calculus.
Choliambic. [Gr. x w ^ a f-^ os > a halting iam-
bus.] An iambic trimeter, acatalectic verse
[senarius] ; the fifth foot always being an iambus,
the sixth a spondee. Also called Scazonic (q.v.).
Chondro-. [Gr. x6"P os > cartilage.} (Anat.)
Chondropterygii. [Gr. x ov ^P os > gristle,
irrepv, fin.] (Ichth.) Sub-class of fish, with
cartilaginous skeletons, comprising chimseras,
sharks, and rays.
Chopine. (Chioppine.)
Choragic monument. (Gr. Arch.} A monu-
ment in which the tripod bestowed on the
Choragus who best performed his office was
publicly exhibited, as those of Lysicrates and
Thrasyllos at Athens.
Choragus. [Gr. xP L y s > leader of a chorus.]
At Athens, a citizen who defrayed the cost of
the public choruses in the great yearly dramatic
exhibitions. The office was a Liturgy.
Chord. [L. chorda, Gr. xP^i cord.] The
straight line joining two points of a curve, as a
chord of a circle, of an ellipse, etc.
Chorea. [Gr. xP e "*> a dancing.} (Med.) St.
Vitus's dance ; a nervous affection characterized
by irregular and involuntary muscular move-
ments.
Chorepiscopus. [Gr. x c p- 7n ' (r ' f0 ' ros > country
bishop.] In the early and mediaeval times, most
likely = suffragan bishop, having delegated
authority only, like present Bishops of Notting-
ham or Dover ; but doing the work also now done
by archdeacons, rural deans, and vicars-general.
Choreus. [Gr. xp" os > i- e - ^ovs, a metrical foot
belonging to the chorus.} 1. I.q. trochee. 2.
With later metrists, i.q. tribrach.
Choriambus. [Gr. xP^ a M0 s - ] (Pros.) A
foot, = a trochee + an iambus, - ^ ~ - ; as
anxitas, Heligoland.
CHOR
118
CHRO
Chorion. [Gr. x^P iOV > a caul.] (Physiol.)
Outer envelope of the ovum; the membrane
enveloping the foetus.
Choroid. Like a chorion, in the multiplicity
of its vessels ; e.g. the choroid coat, one of the
internal tunics of the eye.
Chorus. [Gr. X P<M ^ n tne Greek theatre, a
band of singers and dancers who performed the
odes introduced into each drama.
Chouans, Chouanerie. 1. A name given, in
1830, to certain insurgent royalists of the west
of France during the Revolution of 1793; and
used again in 1832. 2. Applied also to the
adherents of the elder branch of the Bourbons.
[(?) Chouan, a screech-owl, as if describing
nocturnal predatory habits ; or as being the nick-
name of Cottereau, one of their leaders. Chouan
has been corr. into chat-huant (Littre, s.v.).]
Chough. Cornish chough, red-legged crow.
Choule. I.q. jowl. [(?) A.S. ceole, the jaw ;
or Fr. gueule, L. gula.]
Chow-chow. [Chin.] A kind of Indian mixed
pickle.
Chowder. A stew of fresh fish, pork, onions,
etc. C. beer, a fermented liquor ; an infusion of
black-spruce and molasses.
Cflowry. [Hind, chaunry.] A fly -flapper.
Chrematistics. [Gr. xPW T """riflrj.] That part
of political economy which has to do simply with
money [xp^MaTa].
Chrestomathy. [Gr. xp i n ffT l JL ^ fia -} A collec-
tion of choice passages, excellent [xpl<rr<$s] for
any one to learn [^a6e?i/] in acquiring a language.
Chriemhild, Kriemhild. [Ger.] Heroine of
the Nibelungen Lied ; changes from a type of
gentle womanhood to a revengeful fury on her
beloved husband's murder.
Chrism. [Gr. xP^ ff f- a > unguent.] Consecrated
oil used at baptism, confirmation, ordination,
orders, and extreme unction, in the Roman and
Greek Churches. Chrismatory, a small vessel
forC.
Chrisome. A white vesture, in token of
innocence, placed at baptism on the child, to
keep the oil [Gr. XP'^M * an unction, New
Testament] from running off. Chrisome-child,
one shrouded in its C., because dying between
its baptism and the churching of the mother ;
sometimes incorrectly used to mean one dying
before baptism.
Christ-cross row. Cris-cross row, the alphabet
arranged in the form of a + , with A at the top
and Z at the foot ; in old primers.
Christians of St. John. (Sabians.)
Christmas tree. Among the Teutonic nations,
the stem of a tree, generally fir, lit up with
candles, and bearing gifts which are tied on to
the branches. It represents, in all likelihood, the
world -tree Yggdrasil.
Christmas rose. Common in gardens, bloom
ing in winter and early spring. Helleborus
mger, ord. Ranunculaceae.
Christology. Discourse respecting the nature
and work of Christ ; the doctrine of the Person
of Christ.
Christopher North. Nom de plume of Jonathan
Wilson, Professor of Moral Philosophy at Edin-
burgh, 1820, and writer in Blackwood ; author
of Noctcs Ambrosiana.
Christ's thorn. (Bot. ) Paliurus aculeatus, ord.
Rhamnacese ; of S. Europe and W. Asia ; a
deciduous thorny shrub. Another Paliurus bears
the name of C. T. also, i.e. Zizyphus Splna
Christi, used for hedges ; a native of countries
bordering on the Mediterranean and of W. Asia.
Opinions differ as to the identification of the
"thorns" of Matt, xxvii. 29.
Chromate. (Chromium.)
Chromatic. [Gr. xpiafMTlitds, florid, relating
to colour.] 1. Having semi-tonic intervals, other
than those of the diatonic scale. C. scale, one
of successive semi-tones throughout. 2. In Gr.
Music. (Diatonic.)
Chromatic dispersion. (Dispersion of light.)
Chromatrope. [Gr. XP^M ) colour, rpoirfi, a
turning.] An optical toy, consisting of a revolv-
ing disc, painted with circles of various colours.
Chromatype. [Gr. xP^M a ) a colour, TVTTOS,
type.] A photographic process in which the
picture is obtained on paper treated with bichro-
mate of potash.
Chrome (i.e. Chromium) green. Oxide of
chromium. C. orange and yellow are chromates
of lead. C. red is generally made of red lead.
Chromium, Chrome. [Gr. XP^A""> colour. ~\ A
whitish brittle metal, very difficult to fuse ; pro-
ducing many compounds, from which colours
are obtained. Chromic acid is derived from it,
the salts of which are called Chromates.
Chromo-lithograph. [Gr. xPMa, colour,
Ai'flos, a stone, ypdtyu, I draw.] Reproduction
of pictures by the use of coloured inks in
lithography.
Chronic disease. [Gr. xP OI '" f< k> relating to
time.] One of continuance, of permanent
recurrence ; as opposed to Acute, i.e. more
severe, rapid in progress, and short in duration.
Chroniclers, Bhyming, more properly Biming.
A series of early English verse writers, which
became conspicuous at the end of the thirteenth
century.
Chronogram. [Gr. xp*^ 05 ) time, ypdfj./j.a,
writing, from ypd<pd>, I write.] An inscription
of which such letters as are Roman numerals,
if added, make up a specific date ; as on a medal
of Gustavus Adolphus, struck 1632 : " Christ Vs
DVX ; ergo trIVMphVs ; " whereof the capitals
make MDCXVVVVIL, i.e. MDCXXXII.
Chronograph. [Gr. xpdvos, time, ypd<f>eiv, to
write.] A watch so contrived that the second
hand marks the dial when required, as at the
beginning or end of a race.
Chronograph, Electro-chronograph. [Gr.
Xp&'oy, time, ypd<f>w, 1 write.] An instrument
for showing instants and intervals of time
graphically. It consists of an electro-magnetic
recording apparatus put into communication
with the pendulum of an astronomical clock in
such a manner that the circuit is broken at a
certain point of each oscillation, and in con-
sequence the seconds' beats of the pendulum are
indicated by a series of equidistant breaks or
points in a continuous line described on a roll of
paper to which a uniform motion is given by
CHRO
119
CIDA
machinery. The instant of the occurrence of a
phenomenon such as the passage of a star
across one of the wires of a transit instrument
can then be indicated by a dot made by similar
means amongst the equidistant dots which
denote the seconds. There are other Electro-
chronographs or Chronoscopes used in researches
on the velocities of shot, etc.
Chronometer. [Gr. xp^ vos > time, fierpov,
measure.} A very accurate portable time-keeper.
A ship's C. is a large C. hung on gimbals, and
designed to show the Greenwich mean time
wherever the ship may be.
Chrononhotonthologos. A pompous character
in H. Carey's burlesque of the same name.
Chronoscope. [Gr. XP^ VOS > time, aKoitelv, to
observe.] 1. An instrument to measure the
duration of luminous impressions on the retina.
2. An instrument for determining with great
accuracy short intervals of time. The chrono-
graph is also called a C.
Chrysaor. (Pegasus.)
Chryselephantine. Made of gold [Gr. xpv ff 6s]
and ivory [eXe'^cw] ; like the celebrated statue of
Zeus at Olympia by Pheidias.
Chrysoberyl. [Gr. xP C(r <k> gold, &-ftpv\\os,
beryl.} (Min.) A hard green or yellowish-green
semi-transparent gem, of which nearly 80 per
cent, is alumina, and nearly 20 per cent, is the
rare earth glucina. Found in Ireland, Brazil,
Ceylon, etc.
Chrysolite. Gold-stone [Gr. xpv ffos \iOos.]
(Geol.) A name applied to the paler and more
transparent crystalline variety of olivine, silicate
of magnesia and iron. In volcanic rocks, Au-
vergne, Vesuvius, Mexico, Egypt, etc. (Topaz.)
Chrysology. [Gr. xpv ff ds, gold, \6-yos,
reckoning.} Branch of political economy which
concerns the production of wealth and money.
Chrysolyte of Rev. xxi. 20 [Gr. x.pvff6\Wos]
is probably the Oriental topaz, a yellow variety
of the true sapphire. King, Precious Stones, etc.
(Topaz.)
Chrysoprase, Chrysoprasus [Gr. xp^ffos,
gold, trp&aov, a leek}, i.e. yellowish-leek-green
or apple-green variety of Chalcedony. In Lower
Silesia and Vermont. C. of the ancients, un-
certain. C. of Rev. xxi. '20 is probably the
Indian chrysolite (q.v.). King, Precious Stones.
Chrysotype. [Gr. xpv ff & s i gold) TVTTOS, type.]
A photograph taken on paper prepared with
chloride of gold.
Chuck. The piece fixed to the mandrel of a
turning-lathe for holding the material that is to
be shaped in the lathe ; there are fork chucks,
eccentric chucks, oval chucks, etc.
Chuett, Chewett. Pie or pudding made of
small pieces of meat ; to chew = to compress, to
crush, to break up.
Chuff. A coarse clown. Chuffy, blunt,
surly.
Chukra. Iron quoit with sharp edge, six or
eight 'inches in diameter, used as a weapon of
offence in India.
Chunam. The Indian name for lime.
Chupkun. [Hind.] A native's vest in India.
Church-ales. Annual festivals formerly held in
churchyards or near a church, on the anniversary
of its dedication, or at Easter, or Whitsuntide ;
as Easter-ales, Whitsun-ales, Churchwardens'
brewed ale ; the profits were appropriated to
church repairs. Church-ales grew into fairs, often
noisy and riotous. Long discontinued, they are
now represented by village fairs, wakes, etc.
Churchdom. Institution, government of a
church.
Churches, Bobbers of. Acts xix. 37 [Gr.
lfpoffv\ovs] ; retains an earlier use of the word
church as applied to any kind of temple.
Churl. (Earl.)
Chyle. [Gr. x A< k> juice, chyle.'} (Med.) A
milky fluid into which chyme is converted, and
which is absorbed into the lacteals. Adj.,
Chylaceous. Chylo-poietic organs, those which
have to do with making [Gr. iroirjTiK^s-] chyle.
Chyme. [Gr. x^M^i juice, chyme, or chyle.]
(Med.) The pulpy mass into which food is con-
verted by the action of the stomach.
Cibormm [Gr. /a/SaJpioi/, a cup], corr. into
Severey. (Arch.} 1. A bay or compartment of a
vaulted ceiling. 2. A vaulted canopy over an
altar.
Cicada. [L.,td.] (Entom.) Tree cricket. Gen.
of Hemipterous insects ; of which the male has a
remarkable musical apparatus at the base of the
abdomen. Hot countries mostly. Sub-ord.
Homoptera.
Cicala, i.q. Cicada.
Cicatrice. [L. cicatrix, -cem.] (Med.} A. scar.
Clcatricula. [L., a little scar.] 1. The point
of germination in an egg. 2. The same as
the scar, in a seed.
Cicerone. (From the orator Cicero.) So
called from his garrulity, a guide to art
treasures in Italy ; and, generally, a guide of
the same kind anywhere.
Cichorium. [L., Gr. /cixopa, succory.] (Bot.)
A gen. of Composite, including the chicory and
endive ; having ligulate florets and a milky juice.
Cicisbeo. [It.] A term applied to a knot of
ribbons attached to a fan or a sw T ord-hilt ; and
so to a cavaliere servente, one of a class of per-
sons who dangled at the side of married ladies
with the devotion of lovers. The practice, sup-
posed to be drawn from ages of chivalry, is now
nearly extinct.
Ciconla. [L., stork.} (Ornith.) A widely
spread gen. of the stork family, to which it
gives the name of CTconrTdse. Two spec., the
Black S. (C. nigra) and the White S. (C. alba)
occasionally visit Britain. Ord. Grallas.
Cicurate. [L. ciciiro, I make tame.] To tame
an animal, to render harmless, e.g. something
poisonous.
Clcuta. [L.] (Bot.) A deadly gen. of Um-
belliferce ; C. virosa, the Cowfane, or Water
hemlock, dangerously poisonous, occasionally
found wild in England by the side of ditches
and ponds.
Cid, Romance of the. A Spanish epic poem,
relating the exploits of Cid [Ar. seid, a lord]
Roderigo, or Ruy Diaz, known also as El Cam-
peador, the Champion, in the eleventh century.
Cidaris. [Gr. KtSapis.] 1. A Persian head-
CIDE
CIRC
dress, or turban. 2. The mitre of bishops. 3.
The triple tiara of the pope.
-cide = slayer, as in regicide, parricide [L.
cxdo, I slay ; in comp. -cldo].
Cider originally meant strong liquor, i.q. Gr.
fftxtpa, in LXX. and New Testament ; so trans-
lated by Wiclif in Luke i. 15. [Grecized from
Heb. shakar, to be intoxicated.]
Ci-devant. [Fr.] Hitherto, formerly ; ci being
ici, here, and devant, before [L. de abante].
Cilia. [L. cilium, an eyelash.} (Dot. and
Zool.) Hairs, hair-like, fringe-like processes.
Ciliary motion. [L. cilia, eyelashes.} (Zool.) A
rapid, vibratile motion of a multitude of minute
hair-like processes of the epithelium, even when
detached, in all animals, except the Articulata.
Its mechanism and source unknown ; independent
both of the vascular and the nervous systems.
Cilioious. Of cilicium [L.], i.e. cloth made
of the soft under-hair of the Cilician goat, or of
similar material. (Tentmakers.)
Cimmerian darkness. Like that of the fabled
Cimmerii, who lived beyond the ocean in per-
petual gloom, "enveloped in mist and cloud"
(Odyssey, xi. 14). Another mythical tribe of Cim-
merii dwelt in caves between Baiae and Cumse.
Cf. Cymry, Cimbri, Cumbri.
Cinchona tree. (Bot.) Of S. America, ord.
Rubiacese ; an important gen., native of the
tropical valleys of the Andes, and now much
cultivated in India ; yielding the medicinal bark
known as Peruvian bark, Jesuits' B., Quin-
quina, etc.
Cinohonine. An alkaloid obtained from Cin-
chona bark.
Cincture. [L. cinctura, a girdle.} 1. (Eccl.)
A band or cord by which the Alb of the priest
is tied round the body. 2. (Arch.) The fillet
which separates the shaft of a column from the
capital or the base.
Cinderella. In popular stories, the girl who,
like Boots, sits among the ashes, but is the
future bride of the king.
Cinematics. (Kinematics.)
Cinereous, Cineritions. [L. cinereus, cing-
ricius.] Resembling ashes in form or in colour.
Cingalese. Of or belonging to Ceylon.
Cinnabar. [Gr. Kiivi&api, some red vegetable
dye.] The native red sulphide of mercury, from
which the pigment vermilion is obtained.
Cinnamon-stone. A variety of lime-garnet ;
the finer specimens valuable. In Scotland, Ire-
land, Ceylon, N. America, etc. (Garnet.)
Cinque-cento. [It. for five hundred.] The style
of art which arose in Italy after the year 1500.
Cinque-pace. [Fr.] A lively dance, i.q.
galliard.
Cinque ports. Sandwich, Dover, Hythe,
Romney, Hastings, to which afterwards, before
the reign of Henry III., were added Winchelsea
and Rye ; a separate jurisdiction in some respects
from the counties of Kent and Sussex ; originally
after the battle of Hastings, erected into a kind of
county palatine, under a Warden at Dover Castle.
Cion, i.q. Scion. [Fr. scion, from scier, to saw,
L. secare.]
Cipango, Zipangri. A marvellous island in
the Eastern seas, described by Marco Polo ;
sought for by Columbus, etc.
Cipherhood. [Ar. sifr, empty; cf. ciffro, L.
zephyrus, a gentle -wind] The condition of a
cipher, worthlessness.
Ciphering. The continued sounding of an
organ pipe when no note is down, from derange-
ment of the mechanism.
Cippus. [L.] A small low pillar, used as a
milestone, landmark, or gravestone.
Circean. Belonging to Circe, one of the
moon-goddesses of the Odyssey, who can turn
men into swine. She is thus the magician or
sorceress.
Circensian games. (Circus.)
Circinate. [L. circinatus.] In Bot., rolled
together downward, as in the foliation of ferns.
Circle ; Antarctic C. ; Arctic C. ; C. of declina-
tion ; Galactic C. ; Great C. ; Horary C. ; Hour C. ;
Meridian C. ; Mural C. ; Reflecting C. ; Repeat-
ing C. ; Small C ; Transit C. ; Vertical C. 1.
The line traced out by a point moving in
one plane at a constant distance from a fixed
point. 2. The figure enclosed by this line.
Of circles on a sphere those whose planes
pass through the centre of the sphere are Great
C. ; those whose planes do not pass through the
centre are Small C. The Arctic and Antarctic
C. are parallels of latitude as distant from the
north and south poles respectively as the tropics
are from the equator, i.e. about 23 28'. Vertical
C. are great circles passing through the zenith
and nadir ; they are therefore at right angles to
the horizon. Hour C., or, C. of declination, are
circles on the great sphere passing through the
poles of the heavens. The Galactic C. is the
great circle of the heavens to which the course
of the Milky [Gr. ya\oKTtKos] Way most nearly
conforms. A Meridian C., or Transit C., is a
metal circle with its circumference or limb
divided into degrees, minutes, etc., fastened to
an astronomical telescope whose axis coincides
with one of its diameters. It is adjusted so as
to move round its axle in the plane of the meri-
dian. It serves for the simultaneous deter-
mination of the right ascensions and polar
distances of heavenly bodies. A Mural C.
(q.v.) [L. muralis, belonging to a wall] resembles
a transit circle, but is mounted in such a manner
as to serve only for the determination of the
polar distances of heavenly bodies. A Reflect-
ing C. is an instrument constructed on the same
principle and destined for the same uses as a
sextant, but it is more complete, as the graduated
circle is entire and the divisions are carried all
round it. A Repeating C. is an instrument
designed for the accurate measurement of angles.
By a certain mechanical contrivance the obser-
vation of the angle is repeated many (say ten)
times, and then the arc that is read off is ten
times the required angle. The errors in the
final result are of two kinds : (i) errors of
observation, these tend to neutralize each other
when the observations are numerous ; (2) the
error in the final reading, this is divided by the
number of observations, i.e. by 10 in the case
supposed. It might, therefore, be expected that
CIRC
CIVI
an angle would be determined by this instrument
with extreme accuracy ; but practically the
repeating circle has not been found to answer
the expectation that was formed of it. The
Horary C., or Hour C., on a sun-dial, are the
lines which show the hours.
Circle of TJlloa. (Ulloa.)
Circuit. [L. circuitus, agoing round.] The
continuous path of an electrical current.
Circuits. [L. circuitus, from circum, about, eo,
I go.} (Leg.) Eight districts visited by judges
twice or thrice a year for assize, by commissions
of the peace, of oyer and terminer, of general
gaol delivery, and of nisi prius. The C. are
the Northern, Home, Western, Oxford, Midland,
Norfolk, North Wales, South Wales. The
Scotch C. are Southern, Western, Northern.
Circular argument. In Logic, an argument
which arrives at a conclusion stated or involved
in the major premiss of the syllogism.
Circular notes. Drafts issued by bankers to
an intending traveller, and accompanied by a
printed letter of indication, bearing his signature
and introducing him to certain foreign bankers
who will cash a C. N. if signed in their presence
and upon production of the letter.
Circular poets. (Cyclic poets. )
Circum-. [L., around, about.'} Often used as
prefix.
Circumambient. [L. circum, around, ambio,
/ encompass.] Encompassing on all sides ; as
e.g. air.
Circumcelliones. [L., from circum, around,
cella, hut, cottage.] Donatist Christians of the
fourth century, fanatics who went from town to
town, professing to reform manners, redress
grievances, liberate slaves. Given to violence,
and, in desire of martyrdom, to self-destruction.
Circumcursation. [L. circumcurso, / run
about.] A running about ; a rambling, inco-
herent method.
Circumferentor. [L. circumfero, / carry
round.] A particular form of surveyor's compass.
Circumforaneous. [L. circumforaneus.] Stroll-
ing about in the market-place [L. forum] ; attend-
ing fairs, etc.
Circumgyration. [L. circumgyro, / turn
round, gyrus, a circle.] The act of turning
round and round.
Circumlocution Office. In Dickens's Little
Dorrit, a fictitious public office ; a satire upon the
delays and roundabout ways of Red tape (q.v.).
Circumstantial evidence. (Leg.) Evidence
not of the fact to be proved, but of circumstances
from which, when proved, the fact may be more
or less satisfactorily inferred or presumed.
Ciroumvallation. [L. circumvallo, I surround
with a wall.] In ancient sieges, an earthen
embankment thrown up round a town to prevent
succour from without. An inner bank, or Con-
travallation, was also raised to guard against
sorties -from the place.
Circus. [L.] (Arch.} A long building at
Rome, semicircular at one end, in which the
races, called Ludi Circenses, were held. By the
Greeks such buildings were termed Hippodromes.
Cirque [Fr.], i.q. Circus.
Cirripedia, Cirripeds, Cirropoda. [L. cirrus,
a filament, pedem, afoot.} (Zoo/.) Filament-
footed; the lowest class of Crustaceans, as the
barnacle.
Cirrus. [L. cirrus, a curl.] Long streaks of
white cloud, spreading in all directions. Cirro-
cumulus and cirro-stratus are combinations of
this cloud with cumulus and stratus (qq.v.}.
Cisalpine Republic, A.D. 1797 to 1802. A
state formed in N. Italy west of the Apen-
nines, under the protection of Napoleon 1. It
merged into the Italian Rep., which in A.D. 1805
become Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy.
Ciselure. [Fr.] The chasing of metals.
Cist. [Gr. Kto-rtj.] Mystic chest. Like the
baskets carried in the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Cistercians. A monastic order, founded at
Citeaux (Cistercium), in Burgundy, towards the
end of the eleventh century, as a reformed and
stricter branch of the Benedictines.
Cistus. (Rock-rose.)
Cital, i.q. Recital.
Citation. [L. citiltio, -nem, a calling out.]
1. Summons to appear at a court of visitation of
clergy. 2. Quotation of something said or
written.
Cithara. [L.] Ancient lute, something like
a guitar, which is the same word.
Citharista. [L.] played the cithara only;
Cttharcedus sang while playing.
Cithern, Cittern. [Gr. KW&pa, a kind of lyre.]
A kind of guitar with eight wires.
Cities of the Plain. Sodom, Gomorrah,
Admah, Zeboim, and Bela or Zoar.
Citizen-King. Louis Philippe, elected, A.D.
1830, constitutional monarch of France.
Citric, Citrine. [Gr. x'npov, citron.} Belong-
ing to lemons, limes, etc.
Citric acid. [L. citrus, the citron tree.] An
acid formed from lemon or lime-juice.
'City. [Fr. cite, L.L. citatem, i.q. civitatem.]
A town incorporated, which is or has been the
see of a bishop ; as London, Bath, Westminster.
City of the Sun, transl. of the Syrian name,
Baal-bee. A ruined city in Ccele-Syria : with
the Greeks and Romans, Heliopolis, which also
means City of the Sun.
Ciudad. [Sp., i.q. It. civita.]
Gives, i.q. Chives.
Civet. [Pers. zabad.] The brown, musky
secretion of the civet cat.
Civet cat. (Zool.) A long-tailed African
carnivore (not a cat), black and white, three feet
and a half long, secreting "civet" in a pouch
beneath the arms. Viverra civetta, fam. Viver-
ridae. Other spec, secrete a similar scent.
Civic crown. [L. corona clvica.] Of oak
leaves, for saving a Roma* citizen's life ; called
also quercus civllis.
Civil Bill Court. (Leg.) In Ireland, analogous
to County Court.
Civil death. The being dead in lain was the
result once of entrance into a monastery, or of
abjuration of the realm ; now, of outlawry for
treason, or felony, or other cause. Hence the
use, in conveyance, of the term natural death.
Civilian. 1. Properly, one learned in the civil
CIVI
CLEA
or Roman law. Hence a member of the College
of Doctors of Law in the English Ecclesiastical
and Admiralty Courts. 2. Popularly, one not
belonging to the army or the navy.
Civil law. 1. The law of particular states or
cities, municipal law. 2. Lq. Roman law,
especially as consolidated by Justinian. (Corpus
Juris Civilis.)
Civil list. Annual sum of .385,000, granted
by Parliament at the sovereign's accession, for
maintenance of royal household and establish-
ment, together with ^1200 per annum for pen-
sions to such as have a special claim on the
country, as men distinguished in literature and
science, or their relations. The sovereign, on
accession, surrenders the hereditary revenues of
the Crown, and is freed from all obligations in
reference to expenses for war or the civil ad-
ministration of the country.
Civil Service is = all duties performed for
and by the State, not being naval or military.
C. S. estimates are all State expenses not in the
Army and Navy E.
Civism. Citizenship ; citizen-like conduct.
Clack-valve. (Valve.)
Clairvoyance. [Fr., from clair, clear, voir, to
tee.] An extraordinary power of sight, said to
exist in the mesmerized, in other parts of the
body than the eye.
Clam, Clem. In the dialect of Lancashire,
hungry.
Clamp. [D. klampen, to fasten together. ,] A
mass of bricks heaped up for burning, or of ore
for smelting, etc.
Clamp, Clamping-screw. (Ash-on.) To clamp
is to fasten the movable arm of an astronomical
instrument ; this is done by pressing a piece of
metal against the fixed part of the instrument by
means of a clamping-screw. It is usual to set
the instrument very nearly in the position it is
finally to take, and then to clamp it ; the final
adjustment is given by means of the tangent, or
small motion screw, which generally forms part
of the clamping apparatus.
Clancular. [L. clancularius.] Conducted with
secrecy fclam, secretly].
Clapboard. A stave for making casks.
Clapdish. A wooden bowl or dish, with noisy
lid, used by beggars to attract attention.
Clapper. [Fr. clapier.] A burrow for rabbits.
Clapperclaw. To scold [from clap and claw].
Claque. [Fr. claquer, to clap.] Preconcerted
applause to gain success for a public performance.
In Paris, claqueurs have been organized and
trained for the last fifty years.
Clarence. (Called after the Duke of Clarence.)
A close four-wheeled carriage with a single seat.
Clarencieux. (Originally herald to the Duke
of Clarence.) The second king-at-arms in the
Heralds' College.
Clarendon, Constitutions of. A statement of
the relations between the civil and the temporal
powers, subscribed at Clarendon, near Salisbury,
by the bishops, 1164; Becket, the Archbishop
of Canterbury, alone refusing.
Clarendon Press. The printing-press of the
University of Oxford.
Clare, St., Order of. An order of women in-
stituted by St. Francis, in 1213, and so called from
the first abbess, Clara of Assisi. The nuns are
called Minoresses and Poor Clares.
Clarichord. (?) A corr. of clavichord (q.v.) ;
or (?) some kind of harp.
Clarum et venerablle nomen gentlbus. [L.]
A renowned name, and one reverenced by (distant)
peoples.
Clary water. A cordial made with flowers of
Clary (Sal via sclarea), a plant of the same gen.
with sage ; a native of S. Europe.
Clasper. (Bot.) A tendril.
Claudication. [L. claudico, / limp.] Lame-
ness ; inequality of muscular power in the two
legs.
Claustral. Relating to a Cloister.
Clausum fregit. [L., he broke the close.] In
Law, = he committed a trespass ; he made, in
whatever way, an unwarrantable entry on
another's soil.
Clavam Hercule extorquere. [L.] To wrest
the club from Hercules ; to attempt impossibilities.
Clavate. (Clovate.)
Clavated. [L. clava, a club.] Club-shaped ;
growing thicker towards the top.
Clave9in. [Fr.] A harpsichord. Clave9inist,
a performer on it. C. is clam-cimbalo, or keyed
dulcimer ; cimbalo (denoting, perhaps, a cymbal-
like ring) having once in It. been = dulcimer.
Clavichord. [L. clavis, a key for tuning ;
chorda, a siring.] A musical keyed instrument,
mediaeval, used till middle of the eighteenth
century, soft-toned, with muffled strings pressed
by brass pins projecting from the keys ; the
origin of the spinet.
Clavicle. [L. clavicula, a small key.] (Anat. )
The collar-bone, somewhat like an ancient
key.
Clavier. [L.L. claviarius, clavis, a key.]
(Music. ) A key-board, whether manual or pedal.
Claviform, Clavate. Shaped like a club [L.
clava].
Clavigerous. [L. claviger.] Bearing a dub
[clava] or a key [clavis].
Clavus hystericus. [L.] (Med.) An acute
pain of the head, as if a nail [L. clavus] were
being driven in.
Claw. (Bot.) The narrow end of a petal.
Claw, or Claw off. (Naut. ) To beat slowly
and with difficulty off a lee shore to avoid ship-
wreck.
Claymore. [Gael, glai-mor, great sword ; cf.
L. gladius major.] Long, straight, double-edged
sword with a basket-hilt ; at one time much
used by the Highlanders of Scotland ; about
three feet and a half long, and weighing six or
seven pounds.
Clean ship. (Nawt.) A whaler without either
fish or oil.
Clearance. (A r aut.) The written permit of
the custom-house to allow a vessel to clear out,
or sail.
Clearers. Spectacles whose glasses are weak
convex lenses.
Clearing House, City. The place (at corner
of Post Office Court, Lombard Street) where
CLEA
123
CLIN
each London banker (for himself or as corre-
spondent of country banks) sends daily bills and
drafts drawn on other bankers. The C. clerks
strike balances at the end of each day, make out
each banker's account, and settle differences
by transfer to and from accounts kept for the
purpose by C. and bankers with the Bank
of England. Thus transactions amounting to
millions are settled without employing money.
Clearing House, Eailway. The place where
railway companies, which do business in common,
have their shares of expenses and receipts ad-
justed on the principle of the City C. (g.v.).
Clear-story. (Clerestory.)
Cleats, Gleets. (Naut.) Pieces of wood to
which ropes are fastened. Fixed pegs or pieces
of wood, to fasten ropes upon, or prevent their
slipping.
Cleavage. (Geol.) Planes of natural division,
(i) in minerals, due to original constitution ; (2)
in slate, to a superinduced structure, lateral pres-
sure having squeezed all the unmixed particles
into parallel position (Sorby). Schist has im-
perfect cleavage.
Cleavage-plane. (Geol.) Crystals have a
tendency to separate along certain planes whose
directions are determinate ; any one of these
planes drawn through an assigned point is a
Cleavage-plane.
Cleavers. [Ger. klebkraut.] (Bot.) Goose-
grass, catchweed.
Cleche. [Fr. cleche.] (Her.) A cross voided.
Clef. [L. clavis, a key.} A sign giving the
name and pitch of the notes, as, G or treble clef,
C or tenor, F or bass.
Cleg. A common name, in some parts, for
horse-fly.
Cleishbotham, Jedediah. Sir W. Scott's ficti-
tious editor of Tales of My Landlord, the flogging
schoolmaster.
Cleistogamous flowers. [Gr. K\eurr6s, closed,
ydfios, marriage.} Those which do not open,
and are consequently necessarily self-fertilized.
Clematis. [Gr. /cA.7j^aT(y, dim. of K\?i/j.a, a
twig.} (Bot.) Common Traveller's joy, Old
man's beard, a native climbing hedge shrub, with
sweet white flowers. C. vitalba, ord. Ranun-
culaceae.
Clementines. A collection of Decretals (q.v.)
and Constitutions published by Pope Clement V. ,
in the Council of Vienna, A. D. 1308, followed in
1317 by the Extravagantes of John XXII.
Clepsydra. [Gr. from /cAe'irreo, / steal, vScop,
water.} A water-clock, the principle being that
of the hour-glass of sand ; used to time speakers
in law courts.
Cleptomania. [Gr. KAeVrw, / steal, pavta,
madness.] A mania for stealing, without motive
or purpose.
Clerestory, perhaps Clear-story. (Arch.) The
range of windows in Gothic churches or build-
ings, interposed between the main roof and the
roof of the aisles.
Clergy, Benefit of. (Benefit of clergy.)
Clerical error. A mistake in copying.
Clericis laicos. [L.] Title of the famous bull
of Pope Boniface VIII., 1295 > severing Church
property from all secular obligation, and de-
claring himself .the one trustee of all the property
held by clergy, by monastic bodies, and by
universities. Milman's Hist, of Latin Chris-
tianity, vii. 60.
Clerks to the Signet. (Signet.)
Cleromancy. [Gr. Khrjpos, a lot, ^avreia., divina-
tion.} Divination by throwing dice and seeing
how they turn up.
Clevy. A cross-piece at the end of the tongue
of a waggon, etc.
Clew. (Naut.) Of a sail. (Clue.)
Cliche. [Fr., stereotype ; clicher being another
form of cliquer ; cf. Ger. klinke, latchet.} 1.
The impression of a die in melted metal. 2.
Stereotype.
Click. 1. (Eatchet.) 2. Consonants occurring
in African languages, as Hottentot and Zulu,
formed by separating the articulatory organs after
or with sucking in of breath, all other consonants
involving emission of breath. The varieties are
guttural, palatal, and dental, of which the two
last sound not very unlike English tch.
Client. (Patron.)
Clientele. [Fr.] 1. The condition of a client.
2. The body of clients with whom a lawyer,
banker, broker, etc., have to do.
Clifford, Paul. Hero of Lytton's novel, P. C.,
a romantic highwayman, who marries a lady and
reforms.
Climacteric. [Gr. K\lfj.a.KTT]piK6s, having to do
with a critical time, from KAiyua/cT^p, the round
of a ladder, a climacteric.} 1. A critical time in
life, supposed to be every seventh year ; the
sixty-third year being the Grand C. 2. The
period of cessation of menstrual life.
Climatology. The science which deals with
the conditions determining climate.
Climature. An obsolete word for climate.
Climax. [Gr., a ladder.} (Rhet.) The
placing of a series of propositions before a
nearer in such an order that the impression shall
increase in intensity, until it reaches the Acme.
The opposite process is called Anti-climax.
(Bathos.)
Clinch. [Cf. Ger. klinke, latch, from a Teut.
word comes Fr. clinche. ] Lit. a holdfast;
metaph. a pun or double entendre.
Clincher, or Clinker built. A ship or boat,
the planks of whose sides overlap. Iron ships
thus built are called lap-jointed.
Clinic, Clinical. [Gr. K\iv"iic6s, pertaining to
abed (K\(vt\).} 1. (Eccl.) Of baptism, adminis-
tered to one on a sick-bed. 2. (Med. ) Confined
to the bed by illness ; of lectures, delivered at
patients' bedsides.
Clinker, Humphry. Hero of Smollett's novel
of the same name.
Clinkers. [Ger. klinker.] 1. Bricks run to-
gether and glazed by great heat. 2. Lumps of
slag.
Clinkstone (i.e. ringing musically when struck),
or Phonolite. [Gr. Qvrfi, sound, \(6os, a stone.}
A compact fissile ock of the trachyte family,
usually bluish -grey or brownish ; composed
almost entirely of felspar.
Clinometer. [Gr. K\(V<J>, I make to slant,
CLIO
124
CLYD
fitrpov, measure.] An instrument for measuring
the dip of mineral strata.
Clio. [Gr. K\f(u.] (Myth.) The Muse of
history.
Clip. To fly or move more rapidly ; a term
in falconry.
Clipper. A fast sailer. C.-built, i.e. on the
model of the sharp-built, low-lying, rakish (g.v.)
American schooner.
Clique. [Fr.] A knot of exclusive persons,
a small party.
Cloaca. [L., a sewer.] 1. C. Maxima,
ascribed to Tarquinius Priscus, the most famous
of many Roman drains and sewers, which carried
rain and foul water into the Tiber. 2. (Zool.)
In birds, reptiles, many fishes, and some mammals,
a pouch for the excretions of the intestinal canal
and of the generative and urinary organs.
Clock. [A word common to Teut. and Scand.
dialects.] 1. The C. in ordinary use, supposed
to be perfectly adjusted, shows local mean time ;
the astronomical C., used in observatories, shows
local sidereal time. (Time.) 2. In a stocking,
figured work at the ankle. 3. Proper name for
beetle.
Clockard. (Belfry.)
Clock-calm. (Naut.) Dead calm.
Clog almanack, Him stock, or Prime staff.
A primitive kind of calendar ; a square piece of
wood, containing three months on each of the
four edges ; the days are shown by notches,
every seventh large sized ; certain marks and
symbols denote the golden number or the cycle
of the moon ; saints' days are marked by symbols
of the several saints. Used till end of the seven-
teenth century ; some perfect, as at Oxford.
[(?) A.S. ge-logian, to place, regulate.}
Cloisonne. [Fr., partitioned, L.L. closionem,
a partition.] Enamel inlaid between narrow
partitions of metal.
Cloister. [L. claustrum, from claudo, I shut.]
A covered walk in conventual or other buildings.
The members of monastic houses are said to be
cloistered.
Clonio. [Gr. K\6vos, disturbance.] (Med.)
Having a quick, convulsive motion.
Close. (Her.) Having the wings folded or
closed.
Closed works. (Mil.) Those in field Fortif.,
which are entirely surrounded by earthworks,
affording an equal cover in all directions from
the fire of artillery.
Close harmony. (Open harmony.)
Close-hauled. (Naut.) Sailing as nearly as
possible in the direction from which the wind
blows. To do this, the sails are C., i.e. brought
nearly in a line with the ship's course. Called
also on a taut bowline, and on a wind.
Close-reefed. (Naut.) With all the reefs of
the sails, which are set, taken in.
Close time. A portion of the year during
which it is forbidden to kill game or fish, while
breeding.
Closet. (Her.) A diminutive of the bar,
being one-half its size.
Closet play. A drama to be read, not per-
formed.
Closh. [Fr. clocher.] Skittles or ninepins.
Cloth in the wind. (Naut.) 1. Sailing so
near the wind that the sails shake. 2. Tipsy.
Clot-poll, Clod-poll. A blockhead.
Cloture. [Fr. , from an assumed L. clausitura,
an enclosing.] With other meanings, has that
of summary termination, definite closing of a
subject ; especially the termination of discussion
by enforced silence, by shutting up an obnoxious
speaker.
Cloud, Palace of St. Built in 1572, by Jerome
de Gondy ; purchased by Louis XIV., 1058;
purchased again from the Orleans family by
Louis XVI., 1782, as a residence for Marie
Antoinette.
Clough, Claugh, Cleugh. [Cf. A.S. cleofan,
to cleave, cleft, O.N. kljufa, Gr. y\d(f><a, y\v<f>o>,
L. glubo, scalpo, sculpo, 2 hollow out ; cf. D.
kloof, narrow valley.] 1. Part of A.S. names,
as in Claugh-ton, Buc-cleugh. 2. A sluice for
letting water gently off warped lands. (Warp.)
3. A hollow in a hill-side.
Clout. [O.E. clut, a little cloth.] An iron
guard-plate on an axle-tree.
Clout, Colin. 1. Spenser's name for himself.
2. Character in Gay's Pastorals.
Clovate. Like a clove or nail [L. clavus] in
shape ; of a shell.
Clove. Of wool, half a stone, or seven pounds.
Cloy. (Spike.)
Cluhbing. (Naut.) Drifting down a current
with an anchor out, so as to be able to steer. C.
a fleet, manoeuvring it so as to get the first
division to windward.
Club-haul, To. (Naut.) In tacking, as soon
as the wind is out of the sails, to let go the lee
anchor, which brings the vessel's head to the
wind ; then, as she pays off on the other tack,
the cable is cut, and the sails trimmed for that
tack : done only in extreme cases, and when
otherwise the ship is expected to miss stays.
Club law. Law of force majeure (q.v.).
Club-moss. (Lycopodium.)
Cluck. (Click.)
Clue. [A Teut. and Scand. word, akin
perhaps to L. globus and glomus.] (Naut.) The
lower corner of a squaresail. C. garnets, C. lines,
tackle for hauling up the C. to the yards in
lower and upper sails respectively. From C. to
earing, i.e. from one extremity to the other ;
thoroughly.
Clugniacs. A reformed order of Benedictines ;
so called from the Abbey of Clugny, on the
Saone. Milman, Hist, of Latin Christianity,
bk. viii. ch. 4.
Clunch. Popularly, stiff indurated clay ; more
strictly, the harder chalk, such as is used for
stonework in chimney-places, in the inside of
churches, etc.
Clutch. 1. In machinery, a projecting piece,
whereby one shaft can be rapidly connected or dis-
connected at pleasure with another shaft. 2. The
number of eggs for a hen to hatch at a time.
Clyde, Clwyd, Cloyd, Clydach. [Celt.] River
names ; cf. Gael, clith, strong.
Clydesdale. Old name of Lanark County,
from the Norman to the Stuart period.
CLYP
125
COCK
Clypeate. (Bot.) Like a round shield
[L. clypeus].
Clyster. [Gr. KKwr-fip.} A liquid injected
into the lower intestines.
Co-. 1. (Math.) Frequently an abbrev. of
Complement (q.v.), as in co-sine, co-latitude. 2.
[L., together.} Frequent prefix to words, espe-
cially of L. origin.
Coacervate. [L. coacervatus, heaped up, from
con-, together, acervus, a heap.} 1. To pile, to
heap. 2. Piled, heaped.
Coadjutor. [L. co-, and adjutor, a helper.}
(Eccl.) The assistant of a bishop or prelate.
In the Latin Church, such assistants are generally
bishops of sees in partibus infidelium. (Titular
bishops.)
Coagulum. [L.] A curd, a clot.
Coak. The round piece forming the middle of
a wheel.
Coal-whipper. Labourer who unloads coal
from the hold of a ship.
Coamings, or Combings, of hatches. A raised
wooden ledge, preventing water on deck from
getting into the hold.
Coan of Cos. Fine and transparent like the
ancient textures woven in Cos (Kos).
Coarctation. [L. coarctati5, -nem, from
coarcto, / confine, from co- (q.v.), arctus, close,
narrow.} 1. Contraction of the dimensions of
anything. 2. Restraint of liberty. 3. (Physiol.)
The encasing and complete concealing of parts.
Coat-card. Playing-card with a coated figure
on it, king, queen, or knave ; corr. into Court-card.
Cob. [A.S. cop, cob, Ger. kopf, head ;
borrowed from Celt. ; cf. Cymr. cop, cob, top.}
1. A lump. 2. Clay and straw for making walls.
3. A stout, short-legged weight-carrying horse.
4. [Amer.] The receptacle on which the grains of
maize grow. 5. The spider cobweb = spider's web
Cobalt. [Ger. kobalt.] (Mm.) A brittle,
reddish-grey metal. Cobalt bloom is the native
arsenate. Cobalt glance, the sulpharsenate. Co-
balt blue is a pigment compounded of alumina
and cobalt. Cobalt green is a pigment contain-
ing iron and cobalt.
Cobb, Cobble. [A.S. cuople, Ger. kiibel, tub.}
A fishing-boat.
Cobbing. (Naut.) Beating with a flat piece
of wood, called \hecobbing-board; an old punish-
ment.
Cobbles. Large pebbles or round stones, used
for paving.
Cobcal. A sandal worn by ladies in the East.
Cob-loaf. (Cob.) A loaf rounded at the top,
not baked in a tin.
Cob-rake. An instrument used in washing
crushed lead-ore from mud.
Cob-wall. Wall made of clay and straw.
Coca. (Bot.) The dried leaf of a wild Peru-
vian tree, Erythroxylon (red wood). Coca, a
stimulating narcotic, very pernicious to mind and
body. Its cultivation extensive and very lucrative.
Cocagne. [Fr.] Pays de C., Country of
Cockayne, an imaginary place or condition, in
which every one has an abundance for eating and
drinking, without the trouble of getting it. [L.
coquere, to cook ; Picard. couque, a kitchen.}
Cooculus Indicus. [L., little Indian berry.}
(Bot.) The black, kidney-shaped, intoxicating,
poisonous berry of a climbing shrub, gen. Ana-
mirta, otd. Menispermacese, used in adulterating
beer.
Cochineal. [Fr. chounille, Sp. cochinilla,
dim. from L. coccus, scarlet.} A scarlet dye-
stuff, consisting of the dried bodies of insects
found on several kinds of cactus in Mexico.
Cochin leg. One affected with elephantiasis ;
common at Cochin, Malabar Coast.
Cochlea. [L., a snail, snail's shell.} (Anat.)
Spiral structure in the bones of the ear.
Cochleariform. Of the shape of a spoon [L.
cochlear], pointed at one end for drawing out the
snail [cochlea], and bowl-shaped at the other.
Cochleary, Cochleated. Screw-shaped.
Cochleate. (Bot.) Like the bowl of a spoon
[L. cochlear] ; e.g. pods of Medicago maculata.
Cochon de lait. [Fr.] Sucking-pig; man of
a pink-and-white complexion.
Cock-and-bull story. A highly exaggerated
account of a trifle, or a long story invented
merely to suggest an idea ; so called from a
particular tale of the kind.
Cockatrice. Isa. xi. 8, and elsewhere ; crested
serpent, basilisk. Imaginary ; a device in
Heraldry.
Cockayne. (Cocagne.)
Cock-bill. (Naut.) Anchors perpendicular to
the cat-head, cables hanging perpendicular, and
yards set slantwise to the deck (a sign of mourn-
ing) are a-cock-bill.
Cook-boat, or Cogge. (Naut.} A small river
or in-shore boat. A yawl.
Cocker. [(?) Akin to cook, as coddle, origin-
ally parboil.} To fondle, coddle.
Cocker, According to. Edward C., arithme-
tician of the time of Charles II.
Cockets, or Coquets. [From quo quietus, words
of the old L. form.] (Naut.) 1. A custom-
house warrant, allowing shipment of certain
goods. 2. Slang name for fictitious ship's papers.
Cocket-bread, i.q. Sea-biscuit.
Cook-feather. Of an arrow, the F. at right
angles to the direction of the notch.
Cock Lane ghost. (C. L., Smithfield.) The
work of "a naughty girl of eleven," to which
Dr. Johnson was " weak enough to pay serious
attention," going " with some friends at one in
the morning to St. John's Church, Clerkenwell,
in the hope of receiving a communication from
the perturbed spirit." Macaulay's Biography.
Cockle. 1. A stove for drying hops. 2. [A.S.
coccel.] Popular name for Lychnis githago.
3. In Job xxxi. 40, Bao shah, translated
"wild grapes" in Isa. v. 2; some foetid weed,
perhaps some kind of arum.
Cockney. This name for a citizen of London
is as old as the twelfth century, being found in
some verses attributed to Hugh Bagot, Earl of
Norfolk, in the reign of Henry II. (Cocagne.)
C. school, a nickname which J. G. Lockhart
hoped to give to a school of writers, including
Shelley, Keats, Hazlitt, and Leigh Hunt, whom
he thought vulgar.
Cockpit. (Naut.) The part of a man-of-war
COCK
126
COEX
inhabited by the midshipmen, under the lower
gun-deck, and near the after hatchway. Fore C.,
where, in large ships and during war, the boat-
swain and carpenter have their cabins leading to
their storerooms and the magazine.
Cocktail. 1. An American kind of drink,
chiefly spirit or wine. 2. (?) For cocked tail, like
a sorry nag ; poor, worthless.
Cock to .ffisculapius, To sacrifice a. The dying
Socrates bade a pupil do this on his behalf, pro-
bably to signify his belief in the continuance of
life after death, the cock being the bird of
the morning, and ^Esculapius being the great
healer.
Cocoa. (Cacao.)
Cocoon. [Fr. cocon, id., from coque = L.
concha, a shell.} 1. The silky covering of the
pupa of many insects, and of the eggs of spiders.
2. The chitinous capsules containing the eggs of
leeches and earthworms. (CMtine.)
Cooote. [Fr.] Fast woman.
Cocoa-wood. The wood of the cocoa, palm.
Cocytus. [Gr. KtaKvrds, lamentation.} (Myth.)
One of the rivers of the infernal regions, denot-
ing deep and clamorous grief.
Coda. [It., tail.} 1. The tail of a note. 2. A
few chords or bars added to show the conclu-
sion of a piece, generally of contrapuntal ; of
music. Dim. Codetta.
Codeine. [Gr. KuStia, a poppy head. } One of
the alkaline substances found in opium.
Codez. [L.] 1. A manuscript, originally as
being written on the bark of a tree ; cf. L. liber,
Eng. book = beech. The most ancient MSS.
containing parts of the Old and the New Testa-
ments are : The C. Alexandrinus, sent to Charles I.
by Cyrillus Lucaris, Patriarch of Constantinople,
and now in the British Museum ; the Vatican
MS. ; both belonging probably to the fifth cen-
tury. The C. Sinaftlcus, discovered by Tischen-
dorf, in 1844, in the library of St. Catherine's
Monastery on Mount Sinai, may, perhaps, be
somewhat older, if its genuineness, which there
seems no reason to doubt, may be admitted.
The C. Cottonidnus, also in the British Museum,
and containing portions of the first and the
fourth Gospels, may belong to the end of the
fourth century. The C. Bezce, in the University
Library at Cambridge, has been supposed by
some to be the oldest of all known MSS. of the
New Testament, and contains the Gospels and
Acts with some omissions. (Abbreviations.) 2.
(Leg.} A code of laws, as the C. Gregorianus,
Theodosianus, Justinianus. (Corpus Juris Civilis.)
Codez Alexandrinus. (Codez.)
Codex Argenteus. [L., Silver Volume.} The
MS. containing the Gothic translation of the
Gospels by Ulphilas. Formerly at Stockholm,
now at Upsala.
Codez Aureus. [L., Golden Volume.'} An
important Latin MS. of the Gospels, in the
Town Library at Treves ; (?) eighth century.
Codez Bezae. (Codez.)
Codez Cottonianus. (Codez.)
Codez Sinaiticus. (Codez.)
Codez Vaticanus. (Codez.)
Codices of New Testament. (Abbreviations.)
Codicil [L. codicilli, small tablets, short
writing; dim. of codex.] A supplement to a
will, adding to, explaining, or revoking its pro-
visions.
Codilla. [L. caudicula, a little tail.} The
coarsest part of flax.
Coefficient, Literal; Numerical C. [L. con-,
together; efficio, effect.} The number prefixed
to an algebraical symbol to show how many
times the number denoted by that symbol is to
be taken. Thus, if x denotes any number,
known or unknown, lox signifies a number that
is ten times x, and 10 is said to be the coefficient
of x in the expression icxr. A coefficient is not
necessarily a whole number ; it may be a frac-
tional or incommensurable number, or even a
number which is a combination of algebraical
symbols, so that there are literal coefficients as
well as numerical coefficients.
Coehorn. 1. Distinguished Dutch engineer,
contemporary of Vauban, 1632 to 1704 A.D.
2. Small mortar invented by him, throwing an
eight-pound shell.
Ccelatura. [L., chasing.} The Roman term for
working raised or half-raised figures in metal.
Ccelenterata. [Gr. /coIXos, hollow, evrepa, the
bowels.} (Zool.) Sub-kingd. of Invertebrates,
comprising part of Cuvier's Radiata, as corals
and sea-anemones. In C. the mouth opens into
the body-cavity, which may, perhaps, be con-
sidered as an intestinal canal.
Cffillae, Celiac. [Gr. KoiAio/c<5s.] Pertaining
to the cavity of the belly.
Ccelum, non ammum. mutant qul trans mare
currant. [L.] They change their climate not
their mind who wend across the sea (Horace).
Coemption. [L. coemtio, -nem, from coemo,
/ buy up. } Purchase of an entire estate or quan-
tity of goods.
Ccenaculum. [L.] Dining-room, usually an
upper chamber among Romans. (Cenacle.)
Coena Domini, In. [L. , in the Supper of the
Lord.} (Eccl. Hist.} The name of a papal bull,
setting forth the rights claimed by the popes
over icings and their subjects, and anathematiz-
ing all who impugn them. It was so called as
being read annually on Holy Thursday.
Ccenaesthesis. [Gr. KOIV-TI aXo-Qijffis.] Lit. com-
mon feeling.
Coenobites, Cenobites. [Gr. Koiv60ioi, living
in common.} Persons living under rule in a
community, as opposed to solitaries, Anchorets,
or hermits.
Coercive, Cgercitive, force. [L. coercere, to
compel.} The force which renders a body slow
to acquire and part with magnetism.
Coercion Act. Of Lord Grey, 1833, gave the
Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland power to suppress
any meeting or association which he thought
dangerous to peace, to declare any district dis-
turbed, and to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act,
with other powers. A Coercion Act was passed
in the session of 1881.
Coeval. [L. cosevus, from con-, with, sevum,
age.} Of the same age.
Coexistent vibrations. The simple harmonic
vibrations of different periods, by whose coexist-
COFE
127
COLL
ence any complex vibratory motion of a body
can be represented.
Cofering. [D. koffer, a box.] Putting a ridge
of clay round a mining shaft to keep out water.
Coffer. [Fr. coffre.J (Arch.) A sunk panel
in vaults or domes.
Cofferdam. [D. koffer, a box, dam, a drain.~\
A water-tight enclosure formed of timber erected
on the bed of a river; from the space thus
enclosed the water is pumped out, leaving it
clear for the erection of a pier, an abutment, a
wharf, or other such work.
Coffin-bone. [L. os pedis, bone of the foot.] In
a horse, a small spongy bone in the middle of
the hoof, very liable to disease.
Coffle. [Ar. kafala, caravan.] A gang of
slaves on the way to market.
Cog; Cog-wheel. [Welsh cog, a short piece of
wood.] 1. When the teeth of wheels are sepa-
rate pieces let into mortises, they are called
Cogs; and the wheels are Cog-wheels. 2. A
rough square pillar left to support the roof of a
mine.
Cog a die. To cheat [Welsh coeglaw, to
deceive] with dice.
Cogge, Coggle, or Cog. (Cock-boat.)
Cogito, ergo sum. [L.] / think, therefore I
exist ; Descartes's famous reason for asserting the
fact of self-existence.
Cognate. (Agnate.)
Cognition. [L. cogmtio, -nem, the becoming
acquainted with.] In Moral Phil., one of the
three phenomena of Consciousness, and = the
faculties of knowledge ; the others being Feeling
= capacities of pleasure and pain ; and Desiring
and Willing = effort in action ; according to
Kant, and, after him, Sir W. Hamilton.
Cognizance, Cognisance. [O.Fr., from L.
cognoscentia, knowledge.] (Leg.) 1. The judicial
hearing of a cause, judicial knowledge. 2.
acknowledgment of a fine. 3. The pleading of
bailiff or agent as defendant in Replevin. 4.
(Her. ) An heraldic badge, worn by a retainer
(whereby his lord was known).
Cognizee, Cognisee. [L. cognosce, / acknow-
ledge ; cf. connoiseur.] (Leg.) One to whom
a fine of land is acknowledged, the acknowledger
thereof being the cognizor.
Cognizor, Cognisor. (Cognizee.)
Cognomen. (Fraenomen.)
Cognoscenti. [It.] Well-informed (plu.);
knowing ones.
Cognovit. [Leg.L. C. actionem, he hath
admitted (the justice of) the action.] A defend-
ant's written confession that he has no available
defence.
Cohobate. [L.L. cohobare, cohobatum.] To
distil over again.
Cohorts. (Centuries; Legion.)
Coif. [Fr. coiffe, L.L. cofea, cuphia, kuppa,
kuppha, mitre ; cf. A.S. cop, top, head.] A kind
of cap, the badge of serjeants-at-law.
Coign, Coigne, Coin, Quoin. [Cf. L. cungus,
wedge.] A jutting point, an external angle.
Coin. (Mil.) Wedge [L. cunus] used for
elevating or depressing heavy guns.
Coir. The fibrous covering of the cocoa-nut.
Coistril. [O.Fr. coustillier, groom, lad.] 1.
An esquire's attendant. 2. A young fellow.
Col. [Fr.] Lit. neck ; a high pass over a
shoulder of a mountain or between two ridges.
Colander. [L. colo, / strain.] A strainer,
often a tin vessel with the bottom and lower
part of the sides perforated.
Colbertine. (Named after M. Colbert.) A
kind of net lace.
Colcothar. (Word invented by Paracelsus.)
Sesquioxide of iron, used as jewellers' rouge.
Colder. (Agr.) Short broken ears or pieces
of straw thrown ofifin threshing ; eaten by cattle.
Coldshort. Brittle when cold.
Coleoptera. [Gr. Ko\e6-n-Tfpos, sheath-winged.]
(Entom.) Beetles ; ord. of insects with many
thousand spec. ; four-winged, the first pair con-
verted into elytra, and the second, when not in
use, folded crosswise under the first. They are
divided into four sections, according to the num-
ber of joints in the so-called tarsus, heel Tri-
mera, Tetramera, Pentamera, and Heteromera ;
as ladybirds, weevils, cockchafers, and blister-
beetles, respectively.
Coleraine Co., i.q. Londonderry.
Coliseum. [L. Colosseum, from Gr. Ko\oo-ff6s,
a huge figure ; cf. col, hill.] The Amphitheatre
of Vespasian, at Rome.
Collaborateur, fern, -trice. [Fr.] Fellow-
worker, assistant.
Collar. [L. collum, the neck.] 1. (Arch.) A
horizontal piece of timber connecting two rafters.
2. In machinery, a circular projection on a shaft,
made to give it a bearing, so that it may not be
shifted by a force applied in the direction of its
length.
Collate. [L. collatus, part, of confero, 7
compare.] 7b compare, especially diplomatically
to set down the various readings of different MSS.
Collation. [L. collatio, -nem.] (Eccl.) Ap-
pointment to a benefice by a bishop as patron
or by lapse. (Institution.)
Collectanea. [L. collectaneus, belonging to a
collection.] A collection of excerpts, an an-
thology, miscellany.
Collects. [L.L. collecta, from colligere, to
bring together.] Short and comprehensive
prayers, found in the Liturgies of all Churches.
College. [L. collegium.] (Hist.) Any so-
ciety bound by the same laws or customs. In
Europ. Hist., the term is applied especially
to societies of persons belonging to universities.
These are generally independent foundations,
under the superintendence of a visitor.
College of Cardinals. (Cardinal.)
College of Electors. The society of princes
who had a. voice in the election of the emperor.
(Electors.)
College of Heralds. A society dating from the
time of Edward III., and consisting of three
kings-at-arms, Garter, Clarencieux, and Norroy ;
six heralds, and four pursuivants.
Collegiates. (Meunonites.)
Collet. [Fr.] That part of a ring in which
the stone is set.
Colletic. Of the nature of glue [Gr. K6\\a].
Collibert. (Cagots.)
COLL
128
COLU
Collimating eye-piece; Collimation, Error of;
Line of C. ; Collimator. The Line of collima-
tion is the imaginary line joining the optical
centre of the object-glass to the intersection
of the wires in the field of view of an astro-
nomical telescope. When the axis on which the
telescope turns is not exactly at right angles to
the line of collimation, the defect from the right
angle is called the Error of C. This error
is corrected by viewing a distant object, first
when the telescope is in a certain position,
and again when the axis of rotation has been
reversed on its bearings. It may also be cor-
rected by means of an eye-piece so constructed
that the observer can see at the same time the
wires in the field of view, and their image formed
by reflexion in a basin of mercury ; this is called
a Collimating eye-piece. The error can also be
corrected by the use of a small telescope floated
on mercury, the wires in whose field of view
serve as a distant object ; this instrument is called
a Collimator. (Collimation should have been
written from the first, Collineation ; a false reading
of colli mare, in a passage of Cicero, for collitieare
con, together, lina, a line having caused
the error. See Littre, s.v.)
Collodion. [Gr. toA.Ac68ijj, glue-like.} A
solution of gun-cotton in a mixture of ether and
alcohol. It is used in photography.
Colloid. [Gr. Ko\\a, glue, eTSoj, form.} Any
substance which in its solid form is not crystal-
line ; as gelatine, glass, etc.
Colluvies. [L.] Refuse, filth.
Collyridians. [Gr. Ko\\vpis, a roll of bread.]
\Eccl. Hist.) A sect of the fourth century, in
Arabia and Thrace ; so called from their offering
cakes in honour of the Virgin.
Collyrium. [L., Gr. /coAAupa, a kind of pastry.}
Eye-salve, eye-lotion.
-coin. [L. colonia, a Roman colony.} Part
of names, as in Lin-coin, Coln-ey Hatch, Col(n)-
chester.
Colocynth. [Gr. KoAo/cucflr?, a gourd.} (Med.)
A purgative ; dried powdered pulp of the C.
gourd, Bitter apple, or Coloquintida. Common in
Asia, Africa, Spain. Gen. Cucumis, ord. Cucur-
bitaceae.
Cologne, Three Kings of. The three Magi,
whose bodies were said to have been taken to
Constantinople ;. thence to Milan; thence, A.D.
1164, to Cologne ; and who are popularly known
as Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior.
Cologne earth. (From Cologne, in Germany. )
A violet-brown bituminous earth, used as a water-
colour.
Colon. [Gr. K6\ov, misspelt KU\OV.] 1. Part
of the great intestine, from the coecum to the
rectum. 2. A stop in punctuation, marked thus
[ :] ; showing a pause longer than the semicolon,
marked [;], and shorter than the period, or full
stop, marked [.].
Colony. Acts xvi. 12 ; a colonia [L.] ; a foreign
town, to which had been granted the rights and
privileges of Roman citizenship.
Colophon. [Gr., top, finishing stroke.} In
MSS. and old books, usually at the end, the
scribe's or publisher's notice of the title of a
work, his own name, date, and place of issue ;
now given on the title-page.
Colophony. (From Colophon, a town in
Ionia.) The dark resin obtained by distilling
turpentine.
Colossus. [Gr. KoAooWs ; cf. col, hill.} A
statue larger than life. In Hist., the most
celebrated of these statues were the Colossus at
Rhodes, absurdly supposed to have bestridden
the harbour ; and the Colossus of the Sun, set up
at Rome by Nero before the Golden House. The
Flavian Amphitheatre, known as the Colosseum,
is said to have been so called, as being built on
the site where this figure had stood.
Colostrum. [L.] First milk secreted after
confinement.
Colour ; Colour-blindness ; Colours, Comple-
mentary ; C. of thin plates ; Primary C. ;
Scale of C. The sensations produced by dif-
erent kinds of light are Colours. The Primary
C. are red, green, and violet (or blue).
Sometimes red, yellow, and blue are (erro-
neously) called the three primary colours ; and
sometimes there are said to be seven primary
colours, but in that case certain compound
colours are called primary. When any two
colours mixed in proper proportions produce
white, they are Complementary ; as, red and
green, or blue and yellow. Colour-blindness is
insensibility to one or more of the primary
colours. The commonest form is " red-blind-
ness," or insensibility to red, whether as a separate
colour or as mixed with others. To a person
who is red-blind, all colours are blue or green, or
combinations of them. The C. of thin plates
are produced by the interference of light reflected
from the upper and under surfaces of the plate ;
such are those seen in soap-bubbles. Newton's
scale of colours is the succession of colours due
to successive variations in the thickness of these
plates, and is exhibited in the coloured rings
formed when two lenses are pressed together.
Colourable. [L. color, colour; in Rhet.,/r^-
text, a plea which prim& facie implies some right
in an opposite party.] Specious, evasive.
Colportage. [Fr.] Hawking; distribution by
colporteurs, hawkers especially of religious pub-
lications.
Colstaffi, [Fr. col, the neck.} A staff for
carrying burdens on the shoulders of two persons.
Colt's-foot. (From the shape of the leaves.)
(Sot.) A native plant, in clayey and moist chalky
places throughout Europe. TussTlago farfara ;
ord. Compositse [L. tussis, a cough, the leaves
being used to relieve asthma and cough, either
by smoking or by decoction].
Columbse. [L.] (Ornith.) Ord. of birds, com-
prising the pigeons and doves (Columbidae) and
the three spec, of dodo (DIdidse), all of which
latter are extinct. Some authorities class the
Columbae and Gallinae together, under the name
of Rasores, Scratchers.
Columbarium. [L., lit pigeon-cote.} 1. A
dovecote. 2. A tomb, with niches in the sides
for sepulchral urns.
Columbary. (Columbarium.)
Columbia, Federal Republic of. Name some-
COLU
129
COMM
times applied to the United States of America ;
from Columbia, the district containing Wash-
ington.
Columbier. Drawing-paper thirty-four and a
half inches by twenty-three and a half.
Columbine. (Aquilegia.)
Columbium, Tantalum. First found in N.
America.
Column. [L. columna, a pillar. } 1. (Bot.)
The combined stamens and styles forming a
solid central body, as in orchids. 2. (Mil.)
Massed formation of troops, showing a small
front. 3. (Order.)
Colure. [Gr. at it6\ovpoi, i.e. ypafj./jiat, the
colures, the docked, truncated, lines.] The decli-
nation circles on the great sphere which pass
through the equinoctial and solstitial points are
called the equinoctial colure and the solstitial
colure ; they divide both the celestial equator
and the ecliptic into four equal parts.
Colymbidse. [Gr. KoXvpfris, a sea-bird, diver.}
(Ornith.) Divers ; fam. and gen. of sea-birds.
Northern regions. Ord. Anseres.
Colza. [Sp.] A kind of cabbage whose
seeds yield oil for lamps.
Colza oil. (Colza.)
Coma. 1. [Gr. KOfiy, hair.} The luminous,
nebulous substance surrounding the nucleus of
a comet. The nucleus, with the coma, forms the
head of the comet. 2. [Gr. KUfj.a, sleep, lethargy.}
A profound insensibility, resulting from cerebral
compression, or some narcotics, as opium.
Comatose. More or less in a state of Coma.
Comatula rosacea. [L. comatulus, having
the hair delicately curled, rosaceus, rose fashion.}
(Sot.) Feather star. A small and very beau-
tiful, and the only British spec, of the fam. of
Crinoids [Gr. Kpivov, a lily, elSos, appearance}.
Radiated Echinodermata ; free when mature ;
stalked when young, in which state it has been
described as an independent spec., Pentacrinus
Europseus [irevre, five, Kpivov, a lily}.
Comazants. St. Elmo's fires.
Comb. A toothed instrument for separating
and cleansing flax, etc.
Combe, Comb, Coombe. [Cf. Welsh cym,
hollow, ravine.} A dry ravine or gully at the
head of a valley.
Combers, Grass. (Naut.) Farm labourers
who have volunteered as seamen.
Combination. In Crystallog. , a figure bounded
by the faces of any number of forms.
Combination-room. The common room in
which the fellows of a college meet.
Combinations. (Math.) Of different things,
are the different collections that can be made of
them without reference to the order in which
they are arranged. If there were ten balls
marked i, 2, etc., it would be possible to select
three of them (e.g. 2, 7, 8 ; 5, 4, 9, etc.) in 120
different ways ; there are, therefore, 120 combi-
nations of ten things taken three and three
together.
Combings. (Coamings.)
Combing sea. A rolling wave ready to turn
over.
Combining weight. (Atomic theory.)
Comessation. [L. L. comessatio, L. comissatio,
-nem, Gr. K<a/j.a.fa, 1 revel.} A revelling.
Comet. [Gr. Kop.-ti'r^s, long-haired, a cornet.}
A body having a nebulous appearance, moving
in the planetary regions under the influence of
the sun's attraction.
Comfit. [Fr. confit, from L. confectum.] A
dry sweetmeat.
Comfrey [L. L. confirma, = a strengthener},
in O.E. Bonesct. (Bot.) A gen. of plants,
Symphytum, ord. Borageaceoe; natives of Europe
and N. Asia ; formerly esteemed as a vulnerary
(q.v. ). Prickly C. (S. asperrimum), a native of
the Caucasus, a tall rough plant, is much spoken
of as food for cattle.
Comitia. (Centuries; Plebiscite.)
Comitia of tribes. (Plebiscite.)
Comity of nations. [L. comit, -atem, conr-
teousmss} The mutual recognition of each other's
laws, wherever they are applicable ; e.g. extra-
dition (q.v. ).
Comma. [L., from Gr. K6/j,/*a, clause, a thing
cut off.} 1. The smallest stop in punctuation,
dividing clauses ; its sign is [ , ]. 2. A short
clause. 3. In Music, a very small interval,
about the ninth of a tone. 4. Pros., = Caesura
(q.v.).
Commandant. (Mil.) The chief executive
officer commanding a garrison or combined
detachments of troops.
Commandary. A manor or chief messuage
with land and tenements thereto pertaining,
belonging to the Priory of St. John of Jerusalem,
governed for the use of the society by a com-
mander.
Commander. (Navy.) (Rank.)
Commander of the Faithful. [Ar. Emir al
Mumenin.] A title of the caliphs, assumed by
Omar. (Miramamolin.)
Commandery, Commandry. (Preceptories.)
Command of a work. (Mil.) Relative, the
height above a work, in front of it ; Absolute,
the height above the level of the ground. C. of
fire, when an effective fire can be delivered over
the heads of the defenders of a work without
injury to them ; C. of observation, when not.
Commedia, La Divina. (Divine Comedy.)
Commedia dell 1 Arte. [It.] The Italian popu-
lar comedy.
Comme il faut. [Fr. , as it shoiild be.} Proper,
appropriate.
Commemoration. At Oxford, the annual
festival in honour of the benefactors of the
university. (Encaenia,)
Commemorative symptoms. [L. commemoro,
/ remind of.} (Med.) Indicate some previous
condition of the patient.
Commencement. At the University of Cam-
bridge, the day from which all degrees conferred
for a year preceding date, and on which they
are confirmed by recitation before the congrega-
tion of the Senate.
Commendam, In. [L.L.] In Canon law,
one to whom the custody, without profits, of a
void benefice was for a time committed, held it
for a trust ; but by various devices the holding
of a living thus became the means of enjoying
K
COMM
130
COMP
pluralities, with their revenues. Sometimes
bishoprics insufficiently endowed were thus
assisted. Commendams abolished 6 and 7 Wil-
liam IV.
Commendatory letters. (Liters formatae.)
Commensurable. [L. commensurabilis, that
can be measured with another.] Two magni-
tudes are said to be commensurable when a
third magnitude (called their common measure)
can be found of which the two are exact mul-
tiples. The ratio of two C. magnitudes is ex-
pressed by a vulgar fraction. Thus, \\ foot is
C. with ij yard, their common measure being
\ foot, and their ratio being expressed by T 5 g .
Comme BUT des roulettes. [Fr.] As though
on wheels ; metaph. of matters which proceed
smoothly and quickly.
Comminuted fracture. (Med.) Said of a bone
broken info several pieces [L. comminutus, part,
of verb comminuo].
Comminution. [L. con, thoroughly, minuo, /
make (minor) less.} 1. Reducing to very small
particles. 2. Continuous removal of small
particles.
Commissariat. (Mil.) Department in charge
of Government stores and arrangements for sup-
plying provisions and transport. The officers
are Commissaries.
Commissary. [L.L. commissarius, commis-
sum, a trust.} 1. One who, under the bishop's
commission, exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction
in particular causes and in parts of a diocese
inconveniently distant from the B.'s principal
Consistory Court. In the Clementine Constitu-
tions, "officialis foraneus." 2. (Commissariat.)
Commissary of Musters. (Arrayer.)
Commission. [L. commissum, a thing en-
trusted.} Authority from the sovereign, con-
tained in a document, for the exercise of certain
specified powers. Military commissions were
until lately under the sign manual.
Commission, Putting a ship in. In the Navy,
hoisting the pennant ; after which the crew are
under martial law. Generally used to mean
fitting her out for a voyage after she has been
laid up.
Commissioned officers. (Navy.) Lieutenants,
and upwards.
Commissure. [L. commissura, -a joining to-
gether.} Place of union of two parts, a closure,
seam.
Commis voyageur. [Fr.] A commercial tra-
veller.
Committee of the House of Commons. One
to which a Bill, after the second reading, is
referred. It may be either a selected one
or a C. of the whole House, i.e. one formed of
every member, the Speaker quitting the chair,
sitting and debating as the rest, another member
being appointed chairman.
Commode. [Fr.] 1. Head-dress of women.
2, Chest of drawers, bureau, night-stool.
Commodore. [Probably contr. from It. com-
mandatore, a commander.} 1. (Bank.) 2. The
convoy-ship, carrying a light in her top.
Commonage. A joint right on common land
or water. The most important of these right
s that of pasturage. Among other similar rights
is that of cutting turf, called C. of turbary ; of
cutting wood, called C. oiestoners ; and of fishing,
called C. of piscary.
Commoner, The Great. William Pitt, after-
wards Earl of Chatham, Secretary of State,
I75 6 -
Commoners. (Pensioners.)
Common law. (Leg.) Sometimes opposed
to Statute law, and = unwritten law, sometimes
to Civil and Canon law, often to Equity, some-
times to Lex mercatoria. Unwritten law includes
general and particular customs, and rules and
principles not expressly and specially authorized
by the Legislature.
Common measure. (Commensurable.)
Common Prayer, Book of. The first English
Prayer-book, known as the first Prayer-book of
Edward VI., was put forth in 1549, with the
approval of Convocation and Parliament. His
second Prayer-book was issued in 1552, without
the sanction of Convocation. A third book,
differing little from the second, was put forth in
1559 by Elizabeth, who in 1560 issued a book
in Latin for the use of the universities. The
last revision took place in 1661, after the Savoy
Conference. A Prayer-book for use in Scotland
was issued in 1635.
Common purple, or Purpura. [L.] (Conch.)
Purpura Idpillus ; like a small whelk, white
with reddish-brown bands. One of the molluscs
secreting that which furnished the Tyrian purple.
Common and widely distributed. Fam. Buc-
cinidae, ord. Prosobranchiata, class Gastero-
poda.
Common sense. [Gr. KOIVOS vovs, L. commu-
nis sensus.] A supposed sense, which was the
common bond of all others ; a judge and con-
troller, to which they referred the sensations
which they themselves received indifferently and
unintelligently.
Commonwealth of England. (Hist.) The
name given to the form of government estab-
lished in England on the death of Charles I.
Commorant. [L. commoran, -tem, p. part,
of com-, moror, I tarry.} Abiding, dwelling in
a certain place.
Commune. [Fr. commun, L. communis, com-
mon.} 1. One of the small districts into which
France is divided. 2 The name given to the
insurgent socialists of Paris, 1871.
Communication. In strategy, a line of C. is
any practicable route between the different por-
tions of the same army.
Commutation Acts, Tithe, i.e. 6 and 7 William
IV. and others. By these there has been sub-
stituted for tithe a rent-charge payable in money,
but varying on a scale regulated by averages of
the price of corn wheat, barley, and oats for
the seven years preceding.
Commutator. [L. commutatio, -nem, an inter-
changing.} A contrivance for reversing or stop-
ping an electric current.
^Compaginate. [From p. part, of L. compa-
gino, I join together, from pagina, page, leaf.]
Unite, hold together, connect.
Companion. (Naut.) 1. The framing and
COMP
COMP
sashlights on the quarter-deck, or round-house.
2. In small merchantmen, the hood over the
cabin staircase. C. ladder, that by which the
officers ascend to, and descend from, the quarter-
deck. C. way, the stairs, etc., leading to the
cabins.
Company. [Fr. compagnie, one of the same
district (L. pagus).] (Mil.) Separate body of
infantry, commanded by a captain, and possess-
ing its own interior economy.
Company, John. Nickname of the East India
Company.
Comparative grammar. The science which
determines the relations of kindred languages
by examining and comparing their grammatical
forms. It could scarcely be said to exist until
European grammarians became acquainted with
Sanskrit, the ancient language of the Aryans of
India.
Comparative mythology. The science which
compares the popular traditions and beliefs of
different countries, for the purpose of classifying
them and determining their origin and the mode
of their growth. This science has come into
existence since the discovery of the Sanskrit
language and literature by European scholars,
and without it it would perhaps have been im-
possible.
Comparative science. Short for comparative
study of a particular science, i.e. its study with
a view to the comparison of genera and species
and the registration of points of similarity and
difference, whence general conclusions may be
drawn by induction. It is opposed to descriptive
or mere analytical science.
Comparison, or Simile. (Rhet.) The com-
paring of one thing with another in some point
common to both. It differs from Metaphor only
in form, the latter only implying, while the
former states the likeness.
Compartment bulkheads. (Bulkheads.)
Compass, Azimuth ; Mariner's G. ; Prismatic C. ;
Surveying C. The Azimuth. C. is a magnet, to
which a properly divided circular card is at-
tached, mounted by means of a double suspen-
sion by gimbals ; it is furnished with a line of
sights, or some equivalent contrivance, which,
being directed to the sun, enables the observer
to determine its bearing from the magnetic
north ; by means of an observed altitude of the
sun and a calculation based thereon, its bearing
from the true north at the same instant can be
found ; by comparing these two results, the
bearing of the magnetic north from the true
north can be inferred, i.e. the direction of the
magnetic meridian at that time and place can be
found. In the Mariners C., the Prismatic C.,
and the Surveying C., which are modifications
of the same instrument, the approximate con-
stancy of the direction of the magnetic needle
over a considerable tract of sea or land is ap-
plied to the determination of directions with
sufficient accuracy for many purposes of naviga-
tion and surveying. In the prismatic C., a pris-
matic lens is used to show the wire and gradua-
tion lines below it in the same field of view, so
that the observer obtains the reading without
losing the coincidence of the wire with the
distant object.
Compassionate allowance. Pensions given since
the Crimean war to the children of deceased
officers left in reduced circumstances, till they
attain a certain age.
Compass-roof. (Arch.) An open-timbered roof,
also called Span-roof.
Compass-timbers. (A T ant.) Those which are
carved or shaped.
Compellation. [L. compellatio, -nem, an ac-
costing.} Appellation used in addressing a person
or persons.
Compensate ; Compensation balance ; C. bar ;
C. pendulum. An instrument designed for
exact measurement is said to be compensated
for temperature, or simply to be compensated,
when its parts are combined in such a manner
that the points on which the measurement de-
pends continue fixed relatively to each other,
although the parts severally expand or contract
with the ordinary changes of temperature.
For the exact measurement of distance, a brass
and a steel bar, of precisely the same length
at o C., are riveted together at the middle ; at
each end a metal tongue, a few inches long, is
loosely riveted to both, and projects at right
angles to the bars. In consequence of the un-
equal rates of expansion of brass and steel, points
properly chosen on the tongues will remain fixed
at a constant distance apart, though the tem-
perature vary. The measurement is effected by
means of the fixed points. The instrument is a
Compensation bar. The compensation of the
balance-wheel of a chronometer is effected by
an application of the same principle. (For C.
pendulum, vide Pendulum.)
Compensation. [L.compensatio,-nem.] (Gram.)
The lengthening of a vowel to make up for the
loss of part of a consonantal group (and, as some
hold, also to make up for the loss of a syllable) ;
as \eycav for \eyov(rs), 6tis for 6e(vr)s.
Competentes. [L., qualified.'} Those of the
catechumens (q.v. ) who were immediate candi-
dates for baptism.
Competition Wallah. A candidate for an ex-
amination for a Government office in India.
Compitalia, Ludi compitalicii. [L.] A yearly
Roman festival in honour of the Lares compitales,
celebrated in the winter.
Complacence. [L. complaceo, / am very
pleasing.} In Moral Phil., = moral esteem; a
love for that which is itself benevolent.
Complain, To. (Naut.) To creak, as masts,
etc.
Complement ; Arithmetical C. [L. comple-
mentum, that which completes.} When two
angles together make up a right angle (or 90),
the one is said to be the C. of the other.
When the sum of two numbers is 10, the one is
the Arithmetical C. of the other.
Complement, Moon in her. (Her.) The full
moon.
Complementary colours. (Colour.)
Complete Angler. A treatise on fishing,
with descriptions of river scenery ; reflexions
on God'/s goodness ; and charming dialogue.
COMP
132
CONG
A book unique in its way; by Izaak Walton
(1593-1683).
Complete-book. (Naut.) A book containing
full information concerning every one on board
serving for wages ; as to name, age, place of
birth, rating, time of entry, etc.
Compline. (Breviary ; Canonical hours.)
Complutensian Polyglot Bible. Printed at
Alcala, in Spain (Complutum), A.D. 1514 and
1515 ; the work of Cardinal Ximenes.
Compluvium. [L.] A square open space in
the middle of a Roman atrium (q.v.), towards
which the roof sloped so that the rain [pluvia]
fell into a tank [impluvium] below.
Compo. (Naut.) The portion of wages paid
monthly to a crew.
Component. (Composition.)
Compony. [Fr. compone.] (Her.} Composed
of a row of squares alternately of two tinctures.
Composing. Placing types in proper order for
printing.
Composing-stick. A small frame, held in the
hand, wherein the compositor sets up the lines
of type.
Compositse. [L.] (Bat.) The largest known
nat. ord. of plants, having several florets collected
into a head or a common receptacle ; e.g. dahlia,
daisy, aster.
Composite ship. (Naut.) One built partly of
wood and partly of iron ; having an iron frame
and wooden planking.
Composition. [L. composltio, -nem, from
p. part, of compono, I arrange."} (Leg.) 1. An
amicable arrangement of a lawsuit. 2. An agree-
ment for the remission of tithes on some con-
sideration in lieu thereof. 3. A private arrange-
ment with creditors, they agreeing to accept part
payment in satisfaction of their claims. (Tithes.)
Composition of forces ; C. of proportion ; C. of
ratios; C. of velocities. The determination in
magnitude and direction of the single force
equivalent to two or more given forces is the
C. of those forces ; the single force thus found
is their resultant ; and they are the components
of the resultant. The terms Composition, Compo-
nent, and Resultant are similarly applied to
velocities. When two or more ratios are ex-
pressed numerically, the ratio which the product
of their antecedents bears to the product of their
consequents is said to he the ratio which is com-
pounded of those ratios. When four magnitudes
are proportional, it may be inferred that the first
and second together are to the second as the
third and fourth together are to the fourth ; this
inference is said to be drawn by composition or
simply componendo.
Compos mentis. [L.] In full possession of
mental powers.
Compost. [L. com-positus, placed together.']
Manure made by mixing dung and urine, especi-
ally the latter, with leaves and earths of various
kinds, according to the use which is to be made
of it.
Compostella, The Order of. (Hist.) An order
of Spanish knighthood, founded in the twelfth
century, for the purpose of protecting the road
to the shrine of St. James at Compostella.
Compos voti. [L.J Having obtained (or grati-
fied) a ivish.
Compotier. [Fr. compote, L. composita.] A
dish for preserved or stewed fruits.
Compound. In India, the precincts of an
English residency.
Compounder. ( Univ. ) A master of arts who
pays down a sum in lieu of all annual college
and university fees, for keeping his name regis-
tered as a member of the college and Senate.
Compound flowers, i.q. Composite. (Bot.) C.
leaf, one divided into separate leaflets ; e.g. ash.
Compound householder. One who is occupier
of a ratable tenement in common with others.
Compressor muscles. Such as compress the
parts on which they act.
Compte rendu. [Fr. ] A report of an officer
or agent.
Comptoir. [Fr.] Counter, counting-house.
Comptroller. [Fr. controleur, from contre-
role, L. contra-rotulus, counter-register. ,] An
examiner of accounts, or reports, or returns.
Compnrgation. [From L. compurgare, to
purify, ,] In Eng. Hist., an ancient mode of
trial in civil and criminal cases, which allowed
the accused to clear himself by his own oath
confirmed by the oaths of eleven of his neigh-
bours. (Jury, Trial by.)
Comtist. In Philosophy, a follower of Auguste
Comte. (Positivists. )
Comus. [L. , Gr. KOJ/UOS, band of revellers, song
of 'ditto, ,] 1. The chorus which sang a triumphal
or complimentary ode in Greece, and the friend
who accompanied it. 2. (Myth. ) A winged
youth, god of festivity. Milton, in Comus a
Masque, makes him a vile enchanter. 3. (Naut.)
Class of ships (like C. and five others, beginning
with letter C, now, or lately, in construction) ;
steel-clad battle-ships ; steel replacing the stout
iron plates hitherto used.
Conacre. In Irish usage, the subletting by
a tenant of a portion of his farm for a single crop.
Con amore. [It.] Lit. with love ; with en-
thusiasm, zeal.
Concave, Double ; Concavo-plane ; Concavo-
convex. (Lens.)
Concentric. [L. con-, together, centrum, a
centre.] Curves and surfaces which have a
common centre are C. (Centre.)
Concept. [L. conceptus, conceived.] (Log.)
The result of the act or the process of mental
representation, as distinguished from the process.
Conception. [L. conceptio, -nem, a conceiv-
ing.] (Log.) The mental act by which we
combine a number of individuals together by
means of some mark or character common to
them all.
Conceptualists. (Nominalists.)
Concession. [L. concessio, -nem, from con-,
cedo, I grant, give up.] (Finance.) Permission
conceded by a government to a person or com-
pany to undertake enterprises, such as mining,
making canals or railways ; generally subject to
fixed conditions and limitations.
Concetti. [It., conceits.] Ingenuities of thought
or expression, jeux cT esprit, etc., introduced in
serious composition ; the production mostly of
CONG
133
CONK
the sixteenth century ; generally in false taste.
It., Sp., and Fr., and, e.g. Donne and Cowley,
Eng.
Conchoid. [Or. o'7X*7> a muscle-shell,
form.] Shell-shaped.
Concha. (Naut.) The wreckers of the
Bahama reefs.
Conch-shell. [L. concha, Gr. K^XTJ, Skt.
gankha, shell- fish.} (Zool.) Sea-trumpet (Triton
variegatus) ; twelve inches or more long ; white,
mottled with brown and yellow ; inside, white,
streaked with black. Used as trumpet by South
Sea Islanders and Australians, who bore a hole
about one-fourth the distance from the tip, and
blow it as a flute. Warm seas. Fam. Muricidse,
ord. Prosobranchiata, class Gasteropoda.
Conciator. [It. conciatore.J The person who
dispenses and mixes the materials in glass-making.
Concierge. (Ostiarius.)
' Conciliation Act. Lord North's, 1777, after
Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga, granted all
American demands short of independence.
Concilium Regionale. [L.] A district court.
Concinnity. [L. concinnitas, from concinnus,
neat, well-arranged, from con-, with, cinnus, lock
of hair.} Internal harmony, proper adjustment
and proportion of parts.
Concision. [L. conclsio, -nem.] Phil. iii. 2
[Gr. KoroTtyc^], amputation, mere cutting off,
not the true Circumcision [irepiroyu^].
Conolamatum est. [L.] Lit. the (dead man 1 s}
name has been called ; as the Romans did when
a death was ascertained ; all is over.
Conclave. [L., from con-, with, and clavis, a
key.] (Eccl. Hist.) The name given to the
College of Cardinals, especially when shut up in
the Vatican for the purpose of electing a pope.
(Cardinal.)
Conclusion. [L. conclusio, -nem.] (Log.)
The proposition inferred from two former pro-
positions, termed the premisses of the argument,
or Syllogism.
Concordat. [L. concordare, to "agree together. }
An agreement ( I ) originally as to mutual rights
of bishops, abbots, priors, etc. ; (2) between the
pope and some temporal sovereign, regulating
things ecclesiastical in the dominions of the
latter.
Concordia discors. [L.] A discordant concord ' ;
harmony between things naturally at variance.
Concrete. [L. concretus, solidified. } A mixture
of lime, sand, and gravel, which dries into a
solid mass.
Concrete number. [L. concretus, grown to-
gether, hardened.} Numbers are said to be con-
crete when the units of which they are com-
posed have a particular name ; as seventeen men,
twenty-five apples, etc.
Concrete term. (Log. ) A term used when
the notion of a quality is regarded in conjunction
with the object that furnished the notion, as
wise. The quality regarded in itself is denoted
by an Abstract term, as wisdom.
Condensation ; Condense ; Condenser. [L. con-
densatio, -nem, from densus, thick, close.} To con-
dense, (i) to make (or become) closer or more
compact ; as when we speak of condensed air.
In this sense, Condensation is opposed to Rare-
faction. But (2) frequently it implies that the
substance condensed undergoes a change of
state, as when gases or vapours are condensed
into the liquid or solid form. The Condenser of
a steam-engine is the vessel into which the steam
is withdrawn from the cylinder, and in which it
is condensed by the injection of cold water.
Condenser. 1. An instrument for reducing an
elastic fluid into a smaller volume. 2. An instru-
ment for concentrating electricity.
Condensing engine. (Steam-engine.)
Conder. (Balcar.)
Condictio. In Rom. Law, a personal action ;
Vindicatio being a real action.
Condignity. [L. con-, with, dignus, worthy.}
(Theol.) A scholastic term of the Thomists,
denoting that men by divine grace may become
worthy of eternal life as a reward for their
holiness. (Congruity.)
Conditional proposition. (Log.) A pro-
position asserting the dependence of one cate-
gorical or positive statement on another, the
former statement being called the antecedent, the
resulting proposition the consequent.
Conditioned, The philosophy of the. Sir W.
Hamilton's expression in reference to the
inability of the mind to apprehend or to reason
about the abstract and the infinite.
Condottieri. [It., leaders. } In It. Hist.,
mercenary adventurers of the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries, who commanded bands, or
even small armies, whose services they sold.
Conduct. 1. As at Eton, etc., a chaplain;
as being, 2, an imperfect member of a corporate
body [L. conductus, i.e. hired, salaried}, for
certain services, but not taking part in the general
management.
Conduction of heat. The flow of heat from
the hotter to the colder parts of a body, or from
the hotter to the colder of two bodies in contact.
Conductivity, Thermal. The quantity of heat
which passes in a unit of time through a unit of
area of a wall of a given substance ; the wall
being a unit thick, and its opposite sides having
temperatures which differ by a unit. As thus
defined, the T. C. of silver is about four times
that of brass, and ten times that of iron.
Conductor. [L.] 1. (Mil.) Warrant officer
of the Army Service Corps. 2. (Phys. ) A sub-
stance that transmits heat, electricity, etc.
Conduit. [Fr., from L. conductus, part, of
conduce, I lead together.} (Arch.} Properly a
passage giving secret communication between
apartments. Also a pipe or passage for dis-
tributing water.
Condyle. [Gr. KdvSvkos, the knuckle, or
similar knob of any joint] (Anat.) The rounded
head of a bone.
Condy's fluid. (From inventor.) A mixture
of manganate and permanganate of potash.
Cone [Gr. KWVOS, math, cone, a fir-cone} ;
Conical surface. 1. (Math.) (i) The solid
generated by the revolution of a right-angled
triangle round its perpendicular ; (2) more
generally, a solid whose surface is generated
by a straight line which moves so as always to
CONE
134
CON I
pass through a fixed point, and to conform to
some other condition, such as to pass through a
given curve whose plane does not contain the
point. The surfaces of these solids are often
called Cones, though, strictly speaking, they are
Conical surfaces. 2. (Bot.) A dense spike of
female flowers, -covered with woody scales ; e.g.
fir.
Coney. [O.Fr. conil, L. cunlculus ; said to be
originally Sp.] (Zoo!.) 1. The rabbit (Ldpus
cunlculus). 2. In the Bible, the Shaphan, or
Aschkoko (Hjfrax Syriacus) ; gregarious pachy-
derm, like the marmot in appearance and size ;
spec, of a single gen. forming fam. Hyracoidga ;
in some points apparently resembling the gen.
Rhinoceros. Syria and Africa.
Confarreation. [L. confarreatio, -nem.] An
ancient solemn form of marriage with the
Romans, bread [far] being sacrificially offered
in the presence of the Pontlfex Maxlmus, or
Flamen Dialis, and ten witnesses ; its dissolution
being Diffarredtio.
Confederation, Germanic. (Hist. ) An alliance
of German states, formed at the Congress of
Vienna, 1815, and designed to supply the want
of the ancient imperial government dissolved
in 1806.
Confederation of the Rhine. A league of
several German states, formed in 1806, by
Napoleon, who made them declare themselves
separated for ever from Germany, and united
by offensive and defensive alliance with France.
Dissolved in 1813.
Conference, (fftst.) A name applied some-
times to meetings for theological discussion, as
the Hampton Court Conference, 1604 ; the
Savoy Conference, 1660.
Confervas, Confervaceae. [L. conferva, a water-
plant supposed to have healing power.] (Bot.)
Simple tubular jointed spec, of algae, inhabiting
fresh water.
Confession, Auricular. (Auricular confession.)
Confession and Avoidance. In Law, an ad-
mission of the truth of the allegation, in part at
least ; followed by reasons against drawing the
legal consequence drawn by the opposite side.
Confession of Faith. (Eccl. Hist. ) A formu-
lary setting forth the opinions of a religious com-
munity, as the Nicene Creed. The word is
applied especially to the Lutheran and other
Protestant expositions of belief, as the Augsburg
Confession, 1530; the General Confession of the
Scotch Church, 1581 ; the Westminster Con-
fession, 1643.
Confessor. [Eccl. L.] 1. One persecuted, and
ready to lay down his life for the gospel, but
not actually martyred. 2. One authorized to
hear confessions.
Confirmation of a bishop. The election of a
B. by congl efelire having been certified to the
king, the royal assent goes to the archbishop,
with direction to confirm and consecrate. He
subscribes fiat confirmatio ; and the vicar-
general then cites to Bow Church all opposers ;
and thus, after certain details, the election is
ratified.
Confluence ; Confluent. [L. confluens, flowing
into another river ; hence, Coblenz = con-
fluentes.] The point of junction where two
rivers meet ; the smaller is then a confluent of
the larger river.
Conformable strata ( Geol. ) = lying one upon
another in parallel order. Unconf arm able = over-
lying another set at a different angle ; the latter
condition indicating lapse of time.
Conformity, Declaration of, z>. to the Liturgy
of the Church of England. Required of all
persons who are to be licensed or instituted to
an ecclesiastical charge.
Confrere. [Fr.] Fellmu-member of a fra-
ternity ; intimate associate.
Confucianism. The system of the Chinese
philosopher, Kong-fu-tzee, Confucius (about
B.C. 550). It was confined to Ethics, to the
exclusion of all religion. (Taouism. )
Conge. [Fr., leave.] Permission, leave of
absence, discharge, your de C., holiday. [L.
commeatus, authorization, permission.]
Conge d'elire, or eslire. [Fr.] Leave to
choose, especially the sovereign's licence to a
dean and chapter to elect a bishop to a vacant
see.
Congener. [L. , from con-, with, genus, generis,
kind. ] One of the same genus or kind.
Congenital. [L. congenttus, born -with.] Be-
longing to a person from birth.
Congeries. [L. , from con-, together, gero, /
carry.] A collection into one mass, a heap.
Congestion. [L. congestio, -nem, a crowding.'}
An undue determination of blood, or other fluid,
to an organ.
Congiary. [L. congiarium.] A present of
corn made by Roman emperors to the people,
measured by the gallon [congius].
Conglomerate . ( Breccia. )
Congou. [Chin, kung-foo.] A superior black
tea, having large leaves.
Congregation. [L. congregatio, -nem, from
con-, and grex, a flock.] 1. At Oxford and Cam-
bridge, the assembly of masters and doctors, for
transacting the ordinary business of the uni-
versity ; and at which degrees are given. 2. In
the Latin Church, any company of religious
persons forming subdivisions of monastic orders ;
a committee of cardinals for transaction of the
business of the see of Rome.
Congregationalists differ little from Inde-
pendents, except in admitting a communion of
Churches.
Congress. [L. congressus, a stepping to-
gether.] (Hist.) 1. A meeting of the sovereigns
of states, or their representatives, to arrange
international matters. 2. The title of the national
legislature of the United States of America.
Congruity. [L. congruita, -tern, agreement.]
( Theol. ) A term used by the Scotists to denote
the necessary bestowal of divine grace on those
who so live in their natural state as to be fit re-
cipients of it. (Condignity.)
Conic sections. The curves formed by the in-
tersection of a cone with a plane. They are of
three kinds Ellipses, Hyperbolas, and Para-
bolas, according to the direction of the cutting
plane. A point traces out a conic section when
CONI
135
coxs
it moves in such a manner that its distance from
a fixed point bears a constant ratio to its per-
pendicular distance from a fixed line. The fixed
point is called the focus, the fixed line the directrix
of the conic section.
Conicoid. [Gr. KwvlKds, conical, eTSos, form.~\
A surface of the second degree, i.e. one of the
class of surfaces which correspond to the conic
sections in plane geometry.
Conine. [Gr. Kwt>ewi/, hemlock.] An alkaloid
obtained from hemlock.
Conirostrals, Conirostres. [L. conus, cone,
rostrum, bill.'} (Ornith.) Conical-billed birds.
A large tribe or fam. of Passeres, or Insessores,
in those systems which characterize birds by the
form of their bills. It includes larks, crows,
starlings, hornbills.
Conistra. [Gr. Kovlffrpa, a place covered with
dust (KOV(S).] An arena, the pit of a theatre.
Coninm. [Gr. K&veiov.] (Hot.) A gen. of
plants, ord. Umbelliferse, of which C. maciilatum
(spotted in stem) is common hemlock. Found in
Britain and in Europe generally, in waste
places, by the sides of ditches, etc.
Conjee. (Naut. ) Rice-gruel.
Conjugate; C. diameters; C. foci. [L. con-
jiigatus, joined together in pairs, jugum, a pair.]
1. (Math, and Phys.) When points, lines,
planes, etc., in pairs, are related in such a
manner that the first stands to the second in
a relation precisely similar to that in which the
second stands to the first, they are often said
to be Conjugate. C. foci of a lens are two
points such that light diverging from the first
is concentrated by the lens at the second ; they
are conjugate, because light diverging from
the second will be concentrated by the lens at
the first. If there be two diameters to an ellipse
or hyperbola such that the first is parallel to the
tangents drawn through the extremities of the
second, then it follows that the second will be
parallel to the tangents drawn through the
extremities of the first, and the diameters are
called C. diameters. 2. (Bot.) Growing in
pairs.
Conjunction ; Inferior C. ; Superior C. [L. con-
junctio, -nem, a joining together.] 1. (Astron.)
When two planets have the same heliocentric
longitude, they are in Conjunction ; but when
the earth is one of the planets, the other planet
is said to be in C. when it passes behind the
sun, i.e. when its geocentric longitude equals
that of the sun. If, however, the planet is an
inferior planet (Venus or Mercury), this conjunc-
tion is distinguished as a Superior C. ; and when
either of these planets passes between the sun
and the earth, they are at Inferior C. 2. ( Gram. )
A part of speech expressing the relation of pro-
positions to each other.
Conjunctiva [L.], i.e. membrana. The mucous
membrane which, lining the eyelids, is continued
over the eyeball.
Conjunctive mood. (Gram.) The modification
of the verb which expresses the dependence of
the event intended on certain conditions.
Conn, Con, or Cun, To. (Naut.) To direct
the steersman. Cannings are reckonings.
Connate leaves. [L. connatus, born at the
same time with.] (Rot.) United at the base by
adhesion, c.ff. the leaves of the yellow-wort
(Chlora perfoliata), the stalk of which is there-
fore perfoliate (y.v.).
Connecting-rod. (Crank.)
Connivent. [L. connlveo, / close together,
wink.] 1. Inattentive. 2. (Anat. and Bot.)
Lying close together, converging ; e.g. the anthers
of a borage blossom C. around the style.
Connoisseur. [Fr.] A person thoroughly ac-
quainted with a subject, especially with an art ;
a skilled critic.
Connusance, Conusance. [Fr. connoissance.]
1. (Leg.) Cognizance. 2. (Cognizance.)
Conoid; Conoidal surface. [Gr. Kcoi/oeiSr/s,
cone-shaped.] 1. The surface generated by a
straight line which passes at right angles through
a fixed straight line, and is guided in its motion
by a given curve is a C. surface or a Conoid.
2. Formerly, any one of the surfaces formed by
the revolution of the conic sections round a
principal axis, i.e. round a line drawn through
the focus at right angles to the directrix. (Conic
sections.)
Conquistador. [Sp.] One of the Spanish
conquerors of Peru and Mexico.
Conscia mens recti. [L.] A mind conscious
of rectitude ; a good conscience.
Conscience clause. A clause introduced into
the Revised Code for national education in 1860,
for parishes where only one school is needed. It
provided for the admission of Dissenters, and
exempted them from the religious teaching of
the school.
Conscript. [L. conscriptus, enrolled.] (Mil.)
One taken by lot to serve in the army under a
Conscription.
Conscript Fathers. [L. Patres Conscript!.]
(Hist. ) The senators of ancient Rome.
Conscription. [L. conscriptio, -nem, a written
list.] (Hist.) Compulsory enrolment for mili-
tary service by land or sea. In ancient Rome
the conscription was made by the will of the
consuls, who selected as they pleased. In France
it is determined by lot.
Consectary. [L. consectarius.] Consequent
deducible, to be inferred.
Consecutive intervals. (Music.) Similar inter-
vals in sequence, as C. fifths, octaves ; forbidden
generally when between the same two parts.
Consecutive symptoms, or Sequelae, occur
after or during the decline of a disease without
being directly connected with it. (Sequela.)
Conseil d'Etat. [Fr., Council of State.] The
French House of Commons.
Consenescence. [L. consgnesco, I grow old.]
Growing old, decay from age.
Consensual. [L. consensus, consent.] Resting
on mutual consent as a C. contract ; e.g. marriage.
Consensual actions. Instinctive reflex actions
of animals, the result of impressions made on
the sensory ganglia, as distinguished from the
cerebrum. Carpenter's Afent. Phys., p. 81.
Consentes, Dii. [L.] The name by which the
Romans spoke of their twelve great deities Juno,
Minerva, Ceres, Vesta, Diana, Mars, Venus,
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136
CONS
Mercury, Neptune, Vulcan, Apollo, and Jupiter
the father of all. Also called Dii complices.
Consequent. ( Condit: onal proposition ; Eatio. )
Conservancy. [L. conserve, / take care of.]
A board which takes care of a river and regulates
the traffic.
Conservation of areas; C. of energy; C. of
force; C. of momentum; C. of motion of centre
of gravity; C. of motion of rotation; C. of mo-
tion of translation; C. of vis viva. It is a
fundamental principle of Physics that the total
energy of any body or system of bodies is a
quantity which can neither be increased nor
diminished by any mutual action of these
bodies, though it may be transformed into any
of the forms of which energy is susceptible.
Thus some of the mechanical or kinetic energy
of the system may disappear, to be replaced
by an exact equivalent of heat. This principle
is termed that of the C. of energy. The term C.
of force is sometimes used as equivalent to the
C. of momentum ; but more commonly it is used
(though inaccurately) as equivalent to the C. of
energy. The term C. is used in several con-
nexions in the science of dynamics. Thus it
is proved that, in the case of a body acted on by
any forces, the motion of the centre of gravity is
the same as if all the mass were collected at the
centre of gravity and all the forces applied to it
unchanged in magnitude and direction, while the
motion of rotation round the centre of gravity is
the same as if that point were fixed and the
forces unchanged. These theorems are called
the principles of the C. of the motion of the
centre of gravity, and of the motion of rotation.
The C. of momenttim is the theorem that, if the
particles of a system are acted on only by their
mutual attractions and repulsions, the sum of the
momenta estimated in a given direction is con-
stant. The C. of areas is the theorem that, in
the last case, if the mass of each particle is mul-
tiplied by the area (referred to any given plane)
which it describes round a fixed point, the sum
of these products will be proportional to the time
of description. Kepler's second law is a par-
ticular case of the C. of areas. The term C. of
vis viva is also used.
Conservatoire. [Fr.] A school especially of
music, a museum.
Consignee. [Fr. consigne, L. consignatus,
signed.] One to whom goods (a consignment)
are sent, the sender being the consignor, who
consigns or delivers them on trust to the carrier.
Consistentes. [L.] In the ancient Church,
the last order of penitents, standing with the
faithful after dismissal of the rest, joining in
common prayer, and seeing the oblation offered,
but not offering nor communicating.
Consistory Courts. (Court, Christian.)
Consolato del mare. [Sp.] A code of mari-
time laws compiled for the old kings of Aragon.
Console. [Fr.J (Arch.) C. table, a table or
slab supported by brackets.
Consols. Stock in the English Funds, con-
sisting of different kinds of annuities severally
consolidated into capital, bearing interest at three
and three and a half per cent, for ever.
Consomme. [Fr.] Gravy or jelly-soup.
Consonant. [L. consonantes, from con-, with,
sono, / sound.] (Gram.) A sound in speech
produced by an opening action of the articulatory
organs, and which must be sounded with a vowel
(q.v.). As adj., in harmony with, agreeing with.
Constable. [Fr. connetable, from L. conies
stabuli, count of the stable.] (Hist.) A title
which is supposed to have originated in the
Lower Empire. The Constable of ranee was
the first dignitary under the Crown. In Eng-
land, the permanent office of Lord High Con-
stable was forfeited by the attainder of the Duke
of Buckingham, in 1522.
Constable of the Tower. Governor of the
Tower of London, who is one of the senior
generals in the army ; the appointment having
been anciently one of high importance and trust.
Constans, Type of. (Type of Constans.)
Constant. [L. constan, -tem, part, of con-
stare, to stand together.] In Math., a quantity
or number whose value in regard to any
question or class of questions is fixed. Con-
stants generally serve to define the relations ex-
isting between variable magnitudes. Thus, if s
denotes the number of feet through which a body
will fall in / seconds, it is known that s = l6/ 2
(approximately) ; here the constants, 16 and 2,
serve to define the relation existing between the
variable magnitudes s and t.
Constantia. A red wine made at the place so
called, near Capetown.
Constantino, Donation of. An alleged gift to
the pope by the Emperor Constantine after his
conversion, conveying to him the city of Rome
and the whole Western Empire. The document
is supposed to be a forgery of the eighth century.
Milman, Hist, of Latin Christianity, bk. i. ch. 2.
Constellation. [L. constellatio, -nem.] (As-
tron. ) A group of stars. The division of stars
into constellations is purely arbitrary. The large
stars within the group are distinguished as a, ,
etc. ; as, a Leonis, J3 Aquilse, S Ursse Majoris,
etc.
Constituent Assembly. In Fr. Hist., the first
of the national assemblies of the Revolution.
Dissolved in 1791. (Assembly.)
Constrictive. [L. constrictlvus, constringo, /
draw together. ,] Able to bind together, astrin-
gent.
Construct ; Construction. [L. constructus,
part, of construdre, to put together.] To draw
by geometrical rules ; as " to construct a figure
similar to a given rectilineal figure." Mathe-
matical problems are in many cases solved by
algebraical processes ; but it frequently happens
that the steps of the process correspond to the
drawing of certain lines on paper, by means of
which a line or other magnitude can be deter-
mined which serves as a solution of the problem.
Under these circumstances the problem is said
to be solved by C.
Constructive. (Marine Instir.) Taken for
certain. A constructive total loss is reckoned
when salvage is highly improbable, and, on
abandonment of all claim to salvage, owners
recover against underwriters as for total loss.
CONS
137
CONT
It also occurs when it would cost more than a
ship's value to repair her. (Abandonment.)
Consualia. (Ludi circenses.)
Consubstantial. [L. con-, with, substantia,
substance.} (Theol.) This word translates the
Greek homoiousios, used in the Nicene Creed
to denote the oneness of substance between the
Father and the Son. (Homoiousian.)
Consubstantiation. ( Theol. ) The name given
to the Lutheran doctrine that, while the bread
and wine in the Eucharist retain their natural
substance, the body and blood of Christ are at
the same time transfused into them, and thus
that both substances are partaken of together.
(Transubstantiation.)
Consul. [L.] 1. The two supreme magis-
trates of Rome after the expulsion of the kings
were called Consuls. They held office for one
year. (Autocrat.) 2. In France, the title was
conferred in 1 799 on the persons entrusted with
the provisional government of the country after
the dissolution of the Directory. 3. It is also
given generally to public officers who act on
behalf of foreign states partly in a diplomatic
and partly in a commercial character.
Consulars. [L. consulates.] Roman citizens
were so called after having served as consuls.
Consultation, Writ of. In Law, a writ by
which a cause, removed into the King's Court by
Prohibition out of the ecclesiastical court, is
returned thither again.
Contadino. [It.] Peasant, countryman.
Contagium animatum, or vivum. A living
disease germ ; a mediaeval expression, antici-
patory of the modern germ-theory of contagion.
Contango. (Stockbrok.) The commission
charged to bulls for carrying over a bargain from
one settling day to the next, if stock has fallen
in price since he bought. (Continuations.)
Contemporanea expositio est optima et for-
tissima in lege. [L.] An exposition delivered at
or near the date (of a law or deed) is the best and
most powerful in law.
Contents. (Naut.) A document containing
a merchantman's destination, cargo, etc., which
must be delivered to the custom-house before
sailing.
Conterminous. [L. contermlnus, from con-,
together, terminus, boundary.} Having the same
bounds, bordering upon, contiguous.
Contestation. [L. contestatio, -nem, a calling
to witness.} 1. A contesting, a controversy. 2.
Attestation.
Continental system. (Hist.) The name given
to the plan of the first Napoleon Bonaparte, for
excluding English merchandise from all parts of
the Continent.
Contingent. [L. contingens, -tem, part, of
contingere, to concern.} (Mil.) 1. Allowance
made to captains for repair of arms, pay of clerk,
purchase of documents, the keeping each soldier
efficient in kit, and as compensation for risk of
taking charge of public money. 2. Establish-
ment of troops organized, equipped, and kept in
efficiency, at the disposal of a neighbouring
superior state.
Continual proportion. If there are any mag-
nitudes such that the first bears to the second the
same ratio that the second bears to the third,
and the second to the third the same ratio that
the third bears to the fourth, and so on, the
magnitudes are said to be in a Continual m Con-
tinued P.
Continuations. (Stockbrok.) The carrying
over of a time bargain from one fortnightly
settling day to another, for which a commission
is charged, called contango if a buyer defer set-
tlement, backwardation if a seller defer
Continued fever. Abating, but never entirely
intermitted. (Intermittent fever.)
Continued fraction. A fraction whose nume-
rator is unity and denominator a whole number
plus a fraction ; this fraction has for its numerator
unity and its denominator a whole number plus a
second fraction of the same form as the preceding,
and so on ; as
7 +
- which equals ^L
I 183'
Continued product of three or more numbers
is obtained by multiplying the first by the
second, their product by the third, and so on.
Thus the continued product of 7, 12, and 15, is
1260.
Continuity ; Equation of C. ; Law of C. ; Con-
tinuous. A variable magnitude is said to change
continuously when it passes from, one assigned
value to another without breaks or jumps. If
we suppose the magnitude to be always on the
increase or decrease between the assigned values,
it changes continuously when it passes succes-
sively through every intermediate value. The
Law of C. is the doctrine that no change
in a natural phenomenon takes place with per-
fect suddenness or abruptness ; thus the gaseous
and liquid states of matter may be made to pass
one into the other without any interruption or
breach of Continuity. The Equation of C. in
hydro-dynamics is an algebraical or symbolical
statement of the fact that at any point of a fluid
in motion the rate of diminution of the density
bears to the density the same ratio that the rate
of increase of the volume of an infinitely small
portion bears to the volume of the portion at the
same instant.
Continuous lines. (Mil. ) Any series of field
works without break or interval.
Continuous style. (Arch.) More commonly
called Perpendicular. (Geometrical style.)
Contorted. [L. contortus, part, of contorqueo,
I whirl rottnd.} (Bot.) Twisted so that all the
parts have a similar direction ; as the segments
of an oleander flower.
Contour line. [Fr. contour, contour.} 1. (Geog.)
A line on a map showing all those points on the
surface of the ground which are at an assigned
height (say 100 feet or 200 feet) above the sea-
level. 2. (Mil.) Represents the intersection
of a horizontal plane with the surface of a hill.
Contra audentior ito. (Ne cede mails.)
Contraband. [L. contra, against, bannum,
public prohibition.} Goods, such as munitions
of war, belligerents' property, which neutrals are
CONT
138
COOR
prohibited from importing or exporting to or
from a belligerent's ports.
Contra bonos mores. [L.] Against good con-
duct, against morality.
Contradictory propositions. (Log.) Propositions
which have the same term differing in quantity
and quality, Contrary propositions being two
universals with the same terms the one negative,
the other affirmative.
Contranitency. [L. contra, against, nltor, 7
strive.] Resistance to force employed.
Contrary motion. (Music.) (Motion.)
Contrary propositions. (Contradictory pro-
positions.)
Contrate-wheel. A Crown-wheel.
Contr avail at ion. (Circumvallation.)
Contrectatio rei alienee ammo furandi est
furtum. [L.] The touching of another's property
with intention of stealing is theft.
Contredanse. [Fr., corr. into country-dance.]
An English dance ; the performers being in two
lines opposite to [L. contra] each other.
Contretemps. [Fr.] Lit. against time; an
unexpected accident.
Control. [Fr. controle, O.Fr. contre-role, a
counter-roll, a duplicate, for verification.] (Mil.)
Department having entire charge of all payments,
stores, quarters, and equipage of an army.
Contumacy. [L. contumacia.] Obstinate dis-
obedience to the rules and orders of a court, or
neglect of a legal summons.
Contusion. [L. contusfo, -nem, from contundo,
/ bruise, crush.] (Med.) An injury without
apparent wound, caused by a fall, blunt weapon,
etc.
Conundrum. A kind of riddle involving an ab-
surd comparison, by means of a punning answer,
between unlike things.
Conusee. (Cognizee.)
Convection; Convective. [L. convectio, a
bringing together.] When a heated body is
placed in or near a fluid, the neighbouring part
of the fluid has its density diminished, and, as-
cending, is replaced by some of the colder part of
the fluid, which in its turn grows warm and
ascends ; a current is thus set up which is called
a C. current, and the heat is said to be diffused
by C. C. currents may be set up by other means,
as when electricity is the thing carried, e.g. when
a conductor ending in a fine point is strongly
electrified, the particles of air near the point will
be charged with electricity, and then carried to-
wards any surface oppositely electrified. This
constitutes a Convective discharge of electricity.
Convener. [L. con-, together, vgnio, / come.]
A Scotch county official.
Conventicle Act, First, 1664, made liable to
fine and imprisonment any over sixteen years of
age present at any exercise of religion not allowed
by the Church of England, where there were five
persons more than the household. C. A., Second,
1670, modified these penalties, but gave part of
the fine to informers. (Declaration of Indul-
gence.)
Convention. [L. conventio, -nem, a coming
together.] (Hist.) 1. An assembly of national
representatives meeting under extraordinary
circumstances, without being convoked by legal
authority. Such was the Parliament which re-
stored Charles II. in 1661, and the Parliament
which, in 1688, declared that James II. had ab-
dicated the crown. 2. In Fr. Hist., the as-
sembly which proclaimed the republic in 1792.
(Assembly.)
Convergent series. [L. con-, together, vergo,
/ incline.] A series such that the sum of its
first n terms cannot be made to exceed a certain
assigned number, however large n may be ; e.g.
I +a + ? + B + TS + etc - > cannot be made to ex-
ceed 2, however many terms may be taken.
Conversazione. [It.] A social gathering for
conversation, especially one at which experts
and amateurs in literature, art, or science meet.
Convex, Double ; Convexo-concave ; Convexo-
plane. (Lens.)
Conveyance. [L. convSho, / convey.] (Leg.)
An .instrument which assumes the transfer of
property to a living person.
Conveyancing. (Leg. ) The art or science of
the alienation of property.
Convocation. [L. convocatio, -nem, a calling
together.] (Eccl. Hist.) The Council of the
Church, consisting of the clergy of a province
summoned by the archbishop. Edward I. first
summoned convocations in England for the pur-
pose of obtaining subsidies from them. The
power of taxing their own body was taken from
them in 1664, when the clergy were allowed to
vote in elections of knights of the shire. The
House of Convocation in the University of
Oxford is the assembly which ratifies decrees and
statutes.
Convoy. [Fr. convoi, L.L. conviare, to escort. ,]
1. (Mil.) Guard accompanying stores and
baggage for their protection. 2. (Naut.) A
merchant fleet under the protection of armed
vessels. 3. The armed vessels themselves. 4.
A drag to check carriage-wheels in descending a
hill.
Convulsionists, Convulsionaires. [Fr.] Fana-
tical Jansenists, in France, early in the eigh-
teenth century, exhibiting contortions resembling
the movements of all kinds of animals. (Dancing
mania.)
Coolies, Coulies. Originally the name of one
of the hill tribes of Hindustan ; many of these
being employed as labourers and porters in Bom-
bay, etc. The word C. became = porter ; but
it is used now to denote emigrant labourers from
India and China to other countries.
Coom. [Ger. kahm, mildew.] Soot or coal-
dust.
Coomb. [(?) Cf. L. cumulus, a heap.] A dry
measure of four bushels, or half a quarter.
Coomings. (Coamings.)
Cob'ptation. [L. cooptatio, -nem, from con-,
together, opto, / choose.] Election of fresh
members to a board or college by the existing
members.
Co-ordinate axes; C. geometry; C. planes.
Co-ordinates ; Origin of C. ; Oblique C. ; Eectan-
gular C. ; Spherical C. If a point in a plane is
taken and through it are drawn two lines or axes
which are then produced indefinitely both ways,
COOR
139
CORA
the plane is evidently divided into four portions.
Suppose a point taken anywhere in the plane,
its position relatively to the two straight lines or
axes can be defined thus : Through the point
draw a line parallel to the one axis to cut the
other ; the line thus drawn is called the ordinate,
and the intercept the abscissa. If the lengths of
the abscissa and ordinate are known, the position
of the point is known, provided it be known in
which of the four portions of the plane it is
situated. If, however, the signs + or pre-
fixed to the abscissa indicate that it is measured
to the right or left of the fixed point, and the
same signs prefixed to the ordinate indicate that
it is to be measured up or down, it is plain that,
the signs and magnitudes of the ordinate and
abscissa being known, the position of the point is
determined without ambiguity relatively to the
axes. The ordinate and abscissa are called the
C. of the point, the axes or lines of reference are
called C. axes, and the point through which they
both pass is called the Origin of C. ; when the
axes are at right angles to each other the C. are
rectangular, when otherwise the C. are oblique.
The position of a point in space may be defined
by an extension of the same method with
reference to three C. planes. The position of
a point on the surface of a sphere may be
similarly defined by arcs of two great circles
which are called its Spherical C. , e.g. the latitude
and longitude of a place on the earth's surface
(as commonly defined) are the spherical co-
ordinates which fix its position. C. geometry is
an application of algebra to geometry, based on
the determination of the position of a point by
means of its co-ordinates. It is sometimes called
Cartesian geometry, from the name of its inven-
tor, Des Cartes. (For Polar co-ordinates, vide
Radius-Vector.)
Co-ordinating power of the brain brings mus-
cular movements into harmony; it is absent,
e.g. , in intoxication.
Copaiba, Copaiva, Capivi. [Braz. cupauba.]
An oleo-resin from a Brazilian tree of this name.
It is used medicinally and in oil-painting.
Copal. An Indian resin (Mexican, copalli),
much used for artists' varnish.
Coparcenary. [L. co-, with, O.Fr. par$on-
nere, from L. partior, I share.} (Leg.) Joint-
ownership of an inheritable estate without par-
tition, by two or more persons possessing equal
title, their several claims descending to their
respective heirs. C. differs from joint-tenancy
(q.v.) and tenancy in common (q.v. ), inter alia,
in origin, kind of seising, and methods of dissolu-
tion ; also from joint-tenancy in not involving
benefit of survivorship (jus accrescendi).
Coparcener. Co-tenant by descent.
Cope. [L.L. cappa, a cape.] 1. (Eccl.) A
semicircular vestment worn by the clergy in
processions. The rubric of the first Prayer-book
of Edward VI. enjoins its use by priests adminis-
tering the Holy Communion as an alternative with
the vestment. 2. The top of a founder's flask.
Copeck. (Rouble.)
Cophetua, King. A legendary king in Africa,
in Percy's Reliques, who married a beggar-maid.
Coping of a wall. (Arch.) The covering
course, often sloping on the upper surface to
throw off water.
Coppel. (Cupel.)
Copperas. [It. copparosa, from L. cupri rosa,
rose of copper.} Sulphate of copper, iron, or
zinc, accordingly as its colour is blue, green, or
white, respectively.
Coppice, Copse. [O.Fr. coupeiz, from couper,
to cut.] Wood grown to be cut every few
years.
Coprolite. [Gr. itdirpos, dung, XiQos, stone.}
Fossilized excrements, chiefly of saurians and
sauroids ; popularly misapplied to all the phos-
phatic nodules dug up for artificial manures.
Copts. Properly the people from whom the
country of Egypt received its name. More par-
ticularly the Monophysite or Jacobite Christians
of Egypt, who use the Liturgies of Basil, Cyril,
and Gregory.
Copula. [L., a battd.] (Log.) The part of a
proposition which affirms or denies the predicate
of the subject. In strictness, the only copula is
the present tense of the verb to be, with or with-
out the negative sign.
Copy. Paper twenty inches by sixteen. In
Printing, a technical term for an author's manu-
script.
Copyhold. (Leg.) A lease tenure nominally
at the lord's will but really free by custom.
C. is a parcel of a manor which has a court,
and must have been demisable by copy of
court-roll from time immemorial. The manor
court as relating to copyholders is a customary
court.
Coq-a-1'ane. [Fr. , a cock on an ass.} A story
without any connected transition ; d'un sujet a
un attire (Littre) ; probably the original meaning
of cock-and-bull story.
Coquecigrue. [Fr.] As explained by Littre,
an imaginary animal, sometimes C. de mer ; the
word being variously used : e.g. the coming of the
C. (Rabelais) is = never ; He is a C. = one
who romances ; It is a C. = nonsense, false-
hood ; originally meaning a kind of rest-harrow,
a sticky troublesome weed.
Coquilla nut. [Sp. coquillo, dim. of coco, a
cocoa-nut.} A Brazilian fruit, with a hard brown
shell used in ornamental turning.
Coracle. [Welsh corwgh, from cwrwg, round
body.} A very light boat of leather or oil-cloth
stretched over wicker-work ; used by a single
person.
Coracoid bone. [Gr. /copa/cu-eiSrjs, crow-like,
as resembling a crow's bill.] A bone in birds,
answering to the coracoid process of the scSpiila
in mammals.
Coracora. (Koracora.)
Coralan. (Naut. ) A small open boat of the
Mediterranean, used for coral-fishing.
Coral wood. (From the colour.) A fine red
wood, used in cabinet-making.
Coram non judice. [L.] Before one who is
not a judge ; i.e. in a court not having juris-
diction.
Coram populo. [L.] Before the people.
Coran. (Alcoran.)
CORA
140
CORO
Cor Anglais, English horn. [L. cornu, a
horn.] (Music.') 1. The tenor hautboy. 2.
A reed-stop in an organ.
Coranto. [It. correre, to run, Fr. courante,
courir.] 1. A kind of country-dance, quick, in
triple time ; Italian. 2. In Handel's and other
lessons for the harpsichord, a courante is gene-
rally introduced as one of the movements.
Corban. [Heb., an offering or gift.} Among
the Jews, anything offered to God, especially in
fulfilment of a vow. Any one might thus inter-
dict himself from assisting any one, even parents
in distress (Matt. xv. 5).
Corbel. [Fr. corbeau.] (Arch.) A projecting
bracket, supporting a superincumbent object,
or receiving the spring of an arch. A corbel-
table is a parapet or cornice resting on a series
of corbels.
Corbel-table. (Corbel.)
Corbie steps. (Arch.) Small battlements
running up the sides of gables.
Cord. A pile of wood eight feet long, four
high, and four broad, containing 128 cubic feet.
(From the cord with which it is measured.)
Cordate. (Bot. ) Shaped like a heart [L. cor,
cordis] ; e.g. leaf of violet.
Cordeliers. The Friars Minor, or Minorites,
of the order of St. Francis ; so called from the
cord tied round the waist. The name was also
assumed by a Parisian revolutionary club, of
which Danton and Marat were prominent
members.
Cordon. [Fr., from corde, a string, L. chorda.]
(Mil.) 1. Line of troops spread out for obser-
vation. 2. A band of stonework placed along
the top of a revetement. 3. Ribbon, twist.
Cordon bleu. [Fr.] Lit. blue ribbon, a first-
rate cook.
Cordovan. Goatskin leather from Cordova,
in Spain.
Corduroy. [(?) Fr., corde du roi, king's cord.}
A thick cotton stuff with corded or ribbed
surface.
Cordwainer. [Fr. cordonnier.] A shoemaker,
originally a worker in Cordovan leather.
Cores. Baked earth placed in the centre of a
mould to form a cavity in the casting.
Corf. [Ger. korb, (?) L. corbis, large basket.}
A large basket used for coals in mines.
Coriaceous. Like skin or leather [L. corium]
in texture.
Coriander. [Gr. Kopiawov.} (Bot.) Exod.
xvi. 31 ; Coriandrum sativum, ord. Umbelliferse ;
yielding round aromatic fruits ; wild in Egypt
and Palestine ; but much cultivated also.
Corinne. Heroine of Mad. de StaeTs novel
Corinne, who pines away on being deserted by
her lover.
Corium. [L., skin, leather.} (Physiol.) The
part of a mucous membrane which is below the
Epithelium.
Conn. (Bot. ) A fleshy underground stem, re-
sembling a Bulb, but not scaly ; e.g. crocus.
Cormontaigne. French engineer who invented
a system of fortification at the beginning of the
eighteenth century.
Cornbrash. (Geol. ) A coarse shelly limestone,
Oolitic ; a brash [cf. breccia], i.e rock broken
up by frost, etc., and good for corn-fields.
Cornea. [L.] (Anat.) The transparent disc
forming the anterior of the eye, set in the scle-
rotic ; somewhat horny [corneus] in texture.
Cornel, or Dogwood. (Bot. ) A bushy shrub in
hedges and thickets (Cornus sangumea) ; type
of ord. Corneae.
Corner. [L.L. cornerium, from L. cornu, a
horn, an end. } (Stockbrok. ) A combination of
speculators with a view to influencing prices by
getting all available supply of a stock or com-
modity into a few hands.
Cornet. [L. cornu, a horn.} 1. A kind of horn
or trumpet with keys, formerly much used in
Church service ; in the King's Chapel especially,
and in several cathedrals. 2. (Mil.) Formerly,
a commissioned officer of the cavalry, who carried
the standard.
Cornice. (Order.)
Corniche, The [Fr.], or Cor niche Road. From
Genoa to Nice, along the Riviera di Ponente ;
narrow, like a ledge or cornice ; very beautiful,
and, in places, 1600 feet above the sea.
Corniculated. [L. corniculum, a little horn,
dim. of cornu.] 1. (Anat.) Having processes
like small horns. 2. (Bot. ) Shaped like a small
horn.
Coring. The process of forming gunpowder
into grains.
Comings. [Eng. corn.} The small shoots in
malt.
Cornish, or China stone. ( Geol. ) Disintegrated
rock, consisting of quartz, felspar, and a talcose
mineral. Cornish, or China clay, artificially pre-
pared kaolin (q.v.) from Cornwall. (Peh-
tun-tze.)
Corn laws. Laws for the supposed protec-
tion (?) of British agriculturists, prohibiting im-
portation of foreign corn for home use unless
prices rose above a fixed rate ; abol. 1846.
(Anti-Corn-Law League. )
Cornopean, or Cornet-a-piston. A small brass
instrument, modern, like a trumpet, but shorter,
with valves or pistons, to produce a complete
chromatic scale.
Comstones. ( Geol. ) Calcareous concretions in
the Old Red Sandstone of Herefordshire and
Scotland, often containing fossil fishes (pteri-
chthys, etc.), and yielding lime for agriculture;
hence the name.
Cornucopias, incorrectly Cornucopia. [L., horn
of plenty.} A representation of a horn full of
fruit and flowers, an emblem of abundance.
Cornwall, Barry. Nom de plume of Bryan
Waller Procter, poet, of whose name Barry Peter
Cornwall is an anagram.
Cornwall, Duchy of. Hereditary title and
estate of the eldest son of the reigning sovereign
of the British empire.
Corody, Corrody. [L.L. corrodium, corredium,
It. corredare, to fit out, furnish.} (Eccl.) 1. A
defalcation from a salary, for some other than
the original purpose ; e.g. an allowance given to
a servant by the king, from a monastery which
he had founded ; and generally, 2, allowance of
food, clothing, lodging.
CORO
141
CORS
Corolla. [L. , a small wreath, or crown, dim.
of corona.] (Bot.) The inner whorl or envelope
(composed of petals) surrounding the organs of
fructification ; popularly called the flower.
Coromandel wood. A red, hazel-brown varie-
gated wood, from the Coromandel or eastern
coast of India, used for making furniture.
Corona. [L., a wreath, crown.] 1. A lumi-
nous appearance of concentric coloured rings
sometimes seen round the sun and moon ; pro-
bably caused by diffraction of light due to the
moisture in the atmosphere. 2. The circle of
light which appears to surround the dark body
of the moon during a total eclipse of the sun.
8. An aurora borealis in the form of a circle
round the magnetic pole.
Corona castrensis, or vallaris. [L.] Crown
given to the first sealer of the rampart [vallum]
of a foe's camp [castra].
Coronach, Cronach. [Gael. , akin to Eng. croon,
etc.] Funeral dirge among the Irish and Scottish
Celts.
CorSnse, Os. [L.] (Anat.) Bone of the shape
of a coronet, in the horse ; one of the phalangeal
bones of the foot ; below the os suffragmis (q. v. ).
Coronal. [L. coronalis, from corona, crown.}
1. A crown, wreath. 2. Adj., pertaining to a
crown.
Coronary substance. In a horse, a fibro-
cartilaginous band between the skin of the leg
and the hoof, liberally supplied with blood ;
necessary to the formation of horn ; attached to
the upper part of the coffin-bone.
Coroner. [L. coronator.] (Hist.) The title
of an office established before the Norman Con-
quest, the holder, as his name shows, being
especially the officer of the Crown. His functions,
which extended to property generally as affected
by the rights of the Crown, are now practically
confined to the holding of inquests on those who
die or are supposed to die a violent death. He
is also the sheriff's substitute when the sheriff
is interested in a suit.
Coronet. In a horse. (Coronse, Os.)
Corozo. Nut of a kind of palm, whose con-
tents harden into a white, close-grained substance
known as vegetable ivory.
Corporal. [L. corporalis, relating to the body.]
1. (Eccl.) A linen cloth used for covering
the consecrated element of bread after com-
munion. 2. (Mil.) A non-commissioned officer,
the lowest whose rank is defined, and distin-
guished by two stripes on the sleeve above the
elbow. A soldier acting as C. has one stripe,
and is called a Lance-C.
Corporation. [L. corpus, a body.} (Hist.)
A body of persons capable of receiving and
granting for themselves and their successors.
Corporations may be either sole, as a king, a
bishop, a parson ; or aggregate, as colleges in the
universities, the municipalities of towns, etc.
Corporation Acts. 1. Acts regulating munici-
pal corporations. The Corporation and Test Act,
passed 1661, was repealed 1828. 2. The popular
name of the statute 25 Charles II., c. 2, which
ordained that all persons holding any office,
military or civil, should have taken the oath of
allegiance, and should in the previous year have
received the Eucharist according to the rites of
the Church of England.
Corporeal hereditament. Any subject or item
of real property.
Corposant, or Compsant. [It. corps santo,
holy body.] (Naut.) (Castor and Pollux. )
Corps. [Fr., L. corpus, a body.} (Mil.) A
body of troops ; is now used as = an army com-
plete in itself, under separate commander, an
army C.
Corps diplomatique. [Fr., diplomatic body.]
The assemblage of ambassadors and diplomatic
persons at a court.
Corpse. (Naut.) Slang for a party of marines
on board ship.
Corpse candle. A light seen in churchyards,
etc., caused by gas evolved from the decaying
bodies.
Corpus Christi. [L. , the Body of Christ.]
(Eccl.) In the Latin Church, a festival in
honour of the Eucharist, instituted by Urban IV.,
in 1264, and celebrated on the first Sunday after
Trinity Sunday.
Corpuscle; Corpuscular. [L. corpusciilum, a
little body.} The ultimate particles by the aggre-
gation of which the ordinary forms of matter are
supposed to be composed are called Corpuscles.
The mutual forces which the corpuscles exert on
each other and to which their aggregation is due
are called Corpuscular forces.
Corpus delicti. [L. , the body of the crime.]
The subject of a crime which forms an essential
part of the proof of most crimes.
Corpus Juris Civllis. [L.] The imperial or
civil Roman law consolidated by Justinian.
Its four parts are Institutiones, Digesta or
Pandecta, Codex Repetitse Prselectionis (nine
books, together with Jus Publicum, three books),
and Novelloe.
Corral. [Sp.] In S. America and colonies,
a yard or stockade for cattle.
Correi. [Scot.] A hollow on a hillside.
Correlation. [L. con-, with, relatio, relation.]
Reciprocal relation. Correlative terms, in Logic,
are such naturally and expressly, as parent off-
spring. Such terms as white and black are
relative only.
Corrigendum, plu. corrigenda. [L.] A thing
or things to be corrected.
Corrosive sublimate. (Sublimate.)
Corrugated. [L. corrugatus, wrinkled.] Bent
into parallel furrows and ridges.
Corruption of blood. An immediate conse-
quence of attainder, both upward and down-
ward ; so that neither inheritance nor transmis-
sion of land was any longer possible. By 3 and
4 William IV. abolished as to all descents hap-
pening after January I, 1834. Brown's Law
Dictionary.
Corruptio optimi pessima. [L.] The cor-
ruption of that which is best is the worst of all
corruption ; the greater the height, the lower
the fall.
Corsair. [L.L. corsarius, from L. currere,
cursum, to run.} (Naut.) A pirate, especially
of Barbary.
CORS
142
COTT
Corsnedd. [A.S.] The morsel of execration,
a form of ordeal among the English before the
Norman Conquest. A piece of bread or cheese
was supposed to cause convulsions to the guilty
who tried to swallow it. (Cf. the story told of
the death of Earl Godwine, father of King
Harold.)
Cortege. [Fr.] A train of attendants, a pro-
cession.
Cortes. [Sp.] (Hist.) The old assembly of
the states in Leon, Aragon, Castile, and Por-
tugal ; the Spanish Parliament.
Cortical. 1. Having the nature of bark [L.
corticem]. 2. Acting as an external covering,
as the C. layer of the cerebrum.
Cortile. [L.L.] (Arch.) A quadrangular
area, open or covered, surrounded by domestic
buildings or offices.
Corundum. [Hind, korund.] (Min.) Some-
times termed Adamantine spar; a mineral, cry-
stallized or massive, of alumina, nearly pure ; the
hardest known substance next to the diamond.
Tinted varieties of precious C. are sapphire and
ruby. China, India, America, etc.
Coruscation. [L. coruscatio, -nem.] A flash,
a flashing.
Corvee. [Fr.] (Hist.) The obligation of the
inhabitants of a district to perform certain ser-
vices, as the repairing of roads, etc. , for the sove-
reign or the feudal lord. (Trinoda neoessitas.)
Corvette. (Naut.) A flush-decked war-ship
with one tier of guns.
Corybantes. (Cybele.)
Corydon. [Gr. Kopvbtav.] Name of a cowherd
in Theocritus' fourth idyll, borrowed by Virgil,
representing a rustic swain generally.
Corymb. [Gr. K&pv^os, a highest point, a
cluster of flowers.] (Bot.) An inflorescence, of
which the axis develops lateral pedicels, elon-
gated so as to make the flowers level, or nearly
so ; e.g. centaury. Compound C., if the pedi-
cels are branched. (Cyme.)
Coryphaeus. [Gr. Kopvtyaios.] A leader in the
dance, or a conductor of a chorus.
Coryza. [Gr. K6pva.] A cold in the head
[icdpvs], with running at the nose ; e.g. catarrh.
Cosas de Espaua. [Sp.] Customs or -ways
of Spain, e.g. a bull-fight. The phrase has
not the meaning of the French Chateaux en
Espagne.
Coscinomancy. [Gr. Koemvo - fiavrfla, sieve-
divination. The practice of divination by ob-
serving the rest or motion of a suspended sieve.
Cosecant; Cosine; Cotangent. (Trigonometrical
function.)
Cosmical. [Gr. K0ff/juic6s, from K^O-^OS, universe,
order.] Pertaining to the universe, or to the
solar system as a whole.
Cosmical rising and setting. (Aoronychal.)
Cosmogony. [Gr. Koffpoyovia, creation or origin
of the world.] The science of the origin of the
universe.
Cosmography. [Gr. KdcrpoypaQla, universe-
description.] The science of describing the
constitution of the universe and the mutual
relation of its parts, or a description of the
universe.
Cosmopolitan. [Gr. K6o-/j.o-iro\trris, world-
citizen.] Pertaining to a citizen of the world,
free from ties or prejudices due to a special home
or country.
Cosmorama. [Gr. n6fffj.os, world, opa/j.a, sight,
spectacle.] An exhibition through lenses of scenes
in various parts of the world, with arrangements
for making the pictures look natural.
Cosmos. [Gr. /cdoytos, order, harmony, used
by Pythagoreans first for the universe.] The
universe, or the essential principle of order in
the system of the universe.
Cossack. Tartar irregular horseman.
Cosset. [A.S. cote, house, sittan, to sit.] 1. A
lamb reared by hand in the house. 2. A pet.
3. To C., to pet, to fondle.
Costa. [L.,arib.] (Bot.) The midrib of a
leaf.
Costal. [L. costa, a rib.] Pertaining to the
ribs.
Costeaning. [Cornish cottas stean, dropped
tin.] The discovery of lodes by sinking pits
in their vicinity transversely to their supposed
direction.
Costermonger. [Costard, a kind of apple, for
O.Fr. custard, custard ; cf. Welsh caws, curd,
and A.S. mangere, dealer, from mangian, to
trade ; cf. L. mango, dealer, slave-dealer.] Huck-
ster of fruit.
Costrel. [Welsh costrel, L.L. costrellus, (?)
from costa, side, or canistra, basket.} An earthen
or wooden bottle with ears for slinging it at the
side.
Coterie. [Fr.] A set of persons connected
by common interests, who often enjoy each
other's society, and are more or less exclusive.
Cothurnus. [L., for Gr. ic68opvos.] The high-
soled boot laced up the front, worn by Greek
tragic actors ; originally a hunting-boot, a buskin.
Coticular. [L. coticula, small whetstone (cos,
cotis).] Belonging to or fit for whetstones.
Co-tidal lines. Lines drawn across a map of
the ocean, to show at what places the times of
high tide are the same.
Cotillon. [Fr. cotte, cotille, a petticoat.} A
lively dance, something like a country-dance ;
name and special character given to it in France.
Cotswold. [A.S. cote, mud hut, weald,
forest.} A range of low hills, mostly in Glouces-
ter, in which the Thames rises ; noted for a breed
of sheep.
Cottabos. [Gr.] A Greek game, in which
liquid was tossed out of a cup into a metal dish
so as to make a peculiar sound.
Cotter. A wedge used for connecting certain
parts of machinery. If a shaft have one end
enlarged and formed into a socket which the
end of a second shaft fits, the two may be firmly
held together by a wedge driven into a properly
formed hole passing through both, and then
they will act as a single shaft. The wedge
is a C.
Cottier. [Leg. L. cotarms, from A. S. cote or
a like Teut. word.] A cottager who holds in free
socage (q.v. ) for a certain rent and occasional
personal service [metayer] ; the rent is often a
fixed proportion of the yield of the land.
\
COTT
143
Cottise. [Fr. cote, a rib, L. costa.] (Her.)
A diminutive of the bend, being one-fourth its
size. A bend between two cottises is said to be
cottised.
Cottonade. A stout, thick cotton fabric.
Cotton Famine. The cessation of work in the
mills of Lancashire ; no cotton arriving whilst
the American ports were closed, 1861-65.
Cotton-gin. A machine for separating the
cotton fibre from the seed.
Cottonian Library. The remains of the library,
containing records, charters, and other MSS.,
founded by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1570-1631),
given to the nation 1 700, placed in the British
Museum 1757.
Cotyla. [L., for Gr. KOT^ATJ.] Originally a
cup, then a liquid measure = half a pint nearly.
Cotyledon. [Gr. Korv\r)$iev, a cuplike hollow.]
(Bot.) The seed-leaves or seed-lobes of the
embryo.
Cotyliform. [Gr. KOTI^ATJ, cup, L. forma,
form.] Hollowed like a cup, as the thigh-bone
socket.
Couac. [Onomatop.] The quack of inartistic
blowing of the clarionet or hautboy.
Couch. 1. A preliminary layer of size, etc.,
in painting or gilding. 2. A layer of barley for
malting, when spread out after steeping.
Couchant. [Fr.] (Her.} Lying down with
the head erect.
Couching. [Fr. coucher, to put to bed.] (Med.)
Pushing downwards, by a needle, of the
cataractous lens into the vitreous humour.
Couguar. Puma, or American lion, not a
lion (Felis concolor) ; the " painter," i.e. panther
of N.-American farmers.
Coulisse. [Fr.] A side scene in a theatre, a
space between the side scenes.
Coulter. [O.E. culter, a knife, from L., id.]
Knife-like iron of the plough, cutting the soil in
a vertical plane.
Coumarin. (Bot. ) A camphor-like sweet sub-
stance, the cause of perfume in the tonquin-bean
of perfumers, the Coumarou of French Guiana,
the woodruff, the sweet vernal grass, and other
plants.
Council, Privy. The chief council of the Eng-
lish sovereign. Its jurisdiction is mainly appel-
late, appeals from all parts of the empire being
made to it in the last resort. The Star Chamber
and the Court of Requests were formerly com-
mittees of the P. C.
Counsels of perfection. ( Theol. ) In the Latin
Church, counsels of holiness not applicable to
all, but binding on those who undertake to
follow them. These are poverty, chastity, and
obedience.
Count. [L. comes, a companion.] (Hist.) In
most of the European states, a title corresponding
to that of the British earl. Under the Byzan-
tine empire, the ten highest of the forty-three
duces, dukes, or great military commanders,
were called comites, counts, or companions of
the emperor.
Counter-approach. (Mil.) Trench made by
the garrison of a besieged place beyond their
fortifications, to check advance of the besiegers.
Counter-battery. (Mil.) Guns employed by
besiegers to silence the guns of a fortress.
Counter-drawing. [Fr. centre, over against.]
Copying by means of transparent paper.
Counterfort. (Mil.) Buttress of masonry
placed behind a revetement as a support.
Counter-guard. (Fortif.) Work constructed
in front of and parallel to a bastion or ravelin,
covering its faces.
Counter of ship. (Naut. ) That part abaft the
stern-post.
Counterparts. (Original.)
Counterpoint. [It. contrappunto.] The art
of composing music in parts.
Counter-proof. An impression of an engraving
obtained by pressing plain paper on a freshly
printed proof, so as to give a reversed copy.
Counterscarp. (Mil.) Outer side of the ditch
of a fortification. (Escarp.)
Countersign. (Mil.) Secret word or sentence
entrusted to sentries for preventing any but au-
thorized persons passing their posts. (Parole, 2.)
Countersink. A bit for widening the upper
part of a hole, so as to receive the head of a
screw.
Countervail. [L. contra valeo, I am worth on
the other hand.] Esth. vii. 4 ; to compensate for.
Count of the Saxon shore. [L. comes littoris
Saxonici.] During the Roman occupation of
Britain, an officer whose jurisdiction extended
from what are now the coasts of Norfolk to those
of Sussex. According to some, he had to guard
the country from the invasion of Saxons ;
others hold that he had the government of Teu-
tonic inhabitants already settled in this country.
Count Palatine (Hist.) represents the
comes palatii of the empire, who originally held
office in the court, but afterwards obtained
within his own district the jurisdiction which
the comes palatii had in the palace. Hence the
German title pfahgraf, English palsgrave,
(Paladins.)
Count-wheel. The wheel which causes a clock
to strike the hours correctly.
Coup. [Fr., blow, stroke.] C. de bonheur, a
piece of good luck ; C. du del, a special provi-
dence ; C. d'essai, a first attempt ; C. d'ltat, a
stroke of policy, an unexpected State measure
more or less violent ; C. de grace, stroke of
mercy, finishing stroke ; C. de main, bold sudden
stroke or surprise ; C. cTceil, glance, prospect ;
C. de theatre, an unexpected sensational event,
something done for effect ; C. de pied de Cane,
the kick of the ass, given to the dying lion, a
contemptible insulting of fallen greatness ; C.
de vent, sudden squall. [Coup is L. colpus,
a later form of colapus, or colSphus, a blow with
the fist, a box on the ear, Gr. Kd\a<pos.]
(Jarnac.)
Coup d'oeil. [Fr. ] View taken in at a glance.
Coup de soleil. [Fr.] A sun-stroke.
Coup de theatre. [Fr.] Theatrical stroke ; an
unexpected event or manoeuvre, a piece of clap-
trap.
Coupe. [Fr. for cut off.] 1. The front com-
partment in a French diligence; also in some
railway carriages. 2. (Her. ) Cut off short.
COUP
144
COVE
Couple. [L. copula.] 1. Two equal forces,
acting on a body in opposite directions along
parallel lines. A C. tends merely to cause rota-
tion in the body on which it acts. 2. One of the
pairs of plates of two metals which compose a
voltaic battery.
Couple-close. (Her.) A dim. of the chevron,
being one-fourth its size.
Coupler. In an organ, mechanical appliance
for connecting manuals with each other or with
pedals.
Coupling-box. A hollow cylinder, into which
the ends of two shafts fit and are fastened, for
the purpose of connecting them in a line.
Coup manque. [Fr.] A miss ; a wrong move.
Coupon. [Fr.] An interest or dividend
warrant.
Coupure. [Fr., a cutting, couper, to cut.}
(Mil.) Retrenchment made across the terreplein
of a fortification, to prevent the enemy, when in
possession of one end of a rampart, from having
access along the whole face.
Courant. [Fr.] (Her.) Running.
Courbaril. [Native name.] A S.- American
resin used for varnish.
Coureau. [Fr.] (Naut.) 1. A yawl of the
Garonne. 2. A narrow channel.
Course, A ship's. ( Naut. ) The C. is estimated
by the angle which it makes with the meridian,
and is reckoned either in points of the compass
or degrees; e.g. if she sails N.E., her C. is
four points or forty-five degrees.
Courses. (Naut. ) The sails hanging from
the lower yards. Trysails are, and lower stay-
sails may be, included in the courses.
Court, Christian, Curia Christianitdtis, = the
ecclesiastical courts as a whole, distinguished
from civil ; these being in the Church of Eng-
land theoretically six in number. 1. The Arch-
deacon 's C., the lowest, held wherever the arch-
deacon, either by prescription or by composition,
has jurisdiction, the judge being called the
official of the archdeaconry. 2. The Consistory
C. of each bishop, held in his cathedral, for trial
of all ecclesiastical causes within the diocese ;
the bishop's chancellor or commissary being
judge. 3. The Prerogative C., at Doctors'
Commons, for proving wills, granting adminis-
trations upon the estates of intestates in certain
cases. 4. The Arches C. (held anciently, till about
1567, in the Church of St. Mary de Arciibus, or
Le-Bow), the supreme court of appeal of the
archbishopric of Canterbury in all ecclesiastical
causes except those of the Prerogative C., the
judge being the official principal of the arch-
bishop. 5. The C. of Peculiars, of Archbishop
of Canterbury, subservient to and in connexion
with that of Arches. 6. C. of Delegates, the
judges being delegated, under the great seal, to
sit pro hoc vice, upon appeals to the king. But
its powers now, in England, are transferred to
the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ;
and those of the others, in a great degree, to
the Courts of Probate, Divorce, and Matrimonial
Causes. (See Hook's Church Dictionary.}
Court-baron. [L. curia baronis.] 1. The court
in which the barons who held of the king in
grand serjeanty exercised both civil and criminal
jurisdiction. 2. (Leg.) A manorial court, not of
record, for the maintenance of services and duties
of tenure, and determining petty civil cases not
concerning more than forty shillings debt or
damage.
Court-card. (Coat-card.)
Court-leet. [A.S. leod, Ger. leute, people.'}
(Leg. ) A court of record held once a year by
the lord of a hundred or manor, on grant by
charter for the viewing of Frankpledges, and
presentment and punishment of trivial mis-
demeanours.
Couscous. An African dish, chiefly consisting
of meat and millet-flour.
Coute que coute. [Fr.] Cost what it may
cost ; at all hazards.
Couvade. [Fr. couver, to brood.} A custom
practised among negroes, American Indians, and
in the Basque country, which compels the hus-
band to take to his bed when his wife bears a
child, lest harm happening to him should extend
to the infant also.
Covenanters. [From L. convenio, through
Fr. convenant.] (Hist.) Those of the Scottish
people who signed or expressed their adherence
to the covenant of 1638.
Covenants, Scottish. These were chiefly
two. 1. National C., subscribed at Edinburgh,
A.D. 1638, embodying the Confession of Faith
of 1580 and 1581 ; caused by Charles I.'s
attempt to enforce Episcopacy. 2. Solemn
League and C., ratified by General Assembly
at Edinburgh, A.D. 1643 ; an endeavour to en-
force Presbyterian uniformity in the three king-
doms, an army being sent into England against
Charles. Subscribers bound themselves to
mutual defence, and to the extirpation of
popery, prelacy, superstition, heresy, schism, and
profaneness.
Coventry, Peeping Tom of. (Peeping Tom.)
Coventry, Sending to, Putting into. Exclud-
ing from all social intercourse ; said to be derived
from the Cavaliers forcing inoffensive Puritans
to go to the Puritan stronghold, Coventry.
Cover. [L. coopdrio, / cover.} (Mil.) Any
screen from direct observation, concealing from
an enemy's fire.
Covered way. (Mil.) Road on the immediate
exterior of the ditch in a regular fortification,
following its course, and covered by the glacis.
Covering party. ( Mil. ) Detachment of armed
troops placed in front of the trenches for the
protection of the working party.
Coverley, Sir Eoger de. A genuine English
country gentleman in the Spectator, by Addison
and Steele, full of ingenuous weaknesses and un-
obtrusive virtues.
Covert-baron. (Leg.) Married, under the
protection of a husband [L.L. baron].
Coverture. [O.Fr., from couvir, Eng. cover,
It. coprire, from L. coopeilre, to cover.} (Leg.)
The state of a married woman, as she and her
property are under the power and protection of
her husband, except in so far as his common law
rights are limited by marriage settlement or
the Married Woman's Property Act (1870).
COVI
145
Covin. [O. Fr. covine, from convenir, L. con-
venire, to come together, agree, ,] A collusive
agreement between two or more persons for the
injury of another.
Cow-pox, Vaccinia. [L. vaccmus, of or from
a cnv (vacca).] (Med.) An eruptive vesicular
disease, of which the morbific matter was first
obtained from the cow ; caused by vaccination ;
a prophylactic of small-pox.
Cowrie, Cowry, Gowry. [Hind, kauri.] Cy-
pncidre, fam. of gasteropodous molluscs. All
seas. C. moneta, money C., is used in parts of
India and Africa as coin.
Coxarian. Relating to the hip-joint [L. coxa].
Coxendix. [L.] The kip, the hip-bone.
Coxwain, Cockswain. (Naitt.) One who
steers, or pulls the after oar in a boat, and, in
the absence of an officer, commands it. (Boat-
swain.)
Crab. A kind of crane (q.v.).
Crab, or Crab-capstan. (Naut.) 1. A wooden
cylinder, the lower end passing through the
deck and resting on a socket, the upper end
having four holes through it at different heights
for the reception of long oars ; used to wind in
a cable or any weight. 2. A portable winch
for loading and unloading timber-ships, etc.
Crabbed. [From crab, sour, rottgh, as in crab-
apple, crab-faced ; akin to cramp, as in cramp-
bark.] Sour, harsh, rough, difficult, vexatious.
Crabbing to it. (Naut. ) Carrying too much
sail in a breeze, so as to crab, i.e. drift to lee-
ward.
Crabbier. (Krabla.)
Crackle, Cracklin (i.e. crackling) china. A
kind of china covered with a network of veins or
fine cracks, artificially caused by unequal expan-
sion of body and glaze. (Body.)
Cradle. [O.E. cradel.] A steel instrument
used in preparing the ground of a mezzotint
plate.
Cradlings. (Arch.) The timber ribs in arched
ceilings or coves to which the laths are nailed in
order to receive the plastering.
Craig and tail. (Geol.) A conformation of hill,
which has a precipitous front on one aspect, the
opposite being a gradual slope, as the Castle
Rock at Edinburgh.
Craik, or Crake. A diminutive of carrick
(q.v.).
Crambe repetita. [L.] Cabbage repeatedly
served up (Juvenal) ; i.e. stale repetitions.
Crambis. [Gr. Kpafi@is, caMage-czterpillar. ]
(Entom.) The common grass-moth of meadows
in summer, or Veneer. Gen. of Lepidopteia
nocturna, fam. TmSidoe.
Crambo. " A play at which one gives a word,
to which another finds a rhyme " (Johnson). By
an easy transition, we get the game of Dumb C.
Cramp. [A word common to many Teut.
languages. ] An instrument consisting of a piece
of iron bent at the ends with a screw at one end
and a shoulder at the other, used for compressing
closely the joints of frameworks, and for other
purposes.
Cramper. (Naut.} Yarn or twine fastened
round the leg, as a cure for cramp.
Cramp-fish. (Torpedo.)
Crampings. (Naut.) Fetters and bolts for
offenders.
Cramp-rings. Rings formerly used on the
supposition that they could cure cramp and
epilepsy, especially if they were blessed by
sovereigns. (King's evil. )
Crance. (A"ant.) The cap of the bowsprit,
through which the jibboom passes.
Crane. [A.S. cran, Gr. ytpavos, L. grus.]
A machine (so called from its likeness to the
long-reaching neck of the bird) for raising weights
by means of a rope or chain passing from an
axle, on which it can be wound up, over a pulley
placed at the end of an arm (the jib) which is
capable of horizontal motion round a vertical
axis.
Cranial. Relating to the cranium [L.], or
skull [Gr. Kpaviov].
Crank [a Teut. and Scaml. word] ; C.-pin.
A piece capable of turning round a centre,
connected by a link, called a connecting-rod,
with another piece which moves backwards and
forwards. A Crank is used to convert an alter-
nating motion into a continuous circular motion,
or vice versa. Thus the alternate motion of the
piston is converted by the crank into the con-
tinuous motion of the driving-wheel of a loco-
motive engine. The cylindrical piece which
joins the crank-arm to the connecting-rod is
called the C.-pin.
Crank, or Crank-sided. (Xaitt.) Easy to
capsize.
Cranmer's Bible. (Bible, English. )
Crannoge. In Ireland and Scotland, a Lake-
dwelling.
Cranny. 1. A Portuguese or native office
clerk or subordinate employe of the Indian
Government. 2. An iron instrument for forming
the necks of glasses.
Crantara. [Gael, creantarigh, cross of shame.]
The fiery cross which was passed from place to
place in the Highlands of Scotland to rally the
clans.
Crapaud, Johnny. Lit. Johnny Toad ; nick-
name of Frenchmen.
Crapula. [L. , Gr. Kpanrd\ri.] The sickness
and headache consequent on drunkenness.
Crare, or Grayer. (Naut.) An old name for
a heavy merchantman.
Crash. [L. crassus, coarse.] A coarse linen
cloth.
Crasis. [Gr. Kpacris, a mixing.] 1. (Gram.)
A mixing of two words by the coalescence of the
final and initial vowels into one long syllable, as
fju> olSa into eyifiSa., rb dvo^a into rovfo/j-a, rb
avrb into ravrb. (Synaeresis. ) 2. Temperature,
constitution, as if a result of a mixing of various
properties.
Crassamentum. [L. crassus, thick. ] The thick,
red, clotty part of blood, from which the thin
watery part, serum [L., whey] separates during
coagulation.
Crassa Minerva. (Minerva. )
Crassa negllgentia. [L.] Gross, criminal
negligence.
Crassulaceae. [L. crassus, thick, fat ; the leaves
CRAT
146
CRES
being fleshy.] (Bot.) Houseleeks, a nat. ord.
of polypetalous exogens ; succulent, growing in
very hot, dry, open places of temperate regions ;
many cultivated for their beautiful flowers.
Crataegus. [Gr. Kptircuyos.] (Bot.} C.
oxyacantha ; hawthorn, may bush. Ord.
Rosaceze. ['O{yy, sharp, &Kavda, thorn.]
Cratch-cradle, Caf s-cradle. [Cratch = crib,
manger; cf. Fr. creche, fromTeut. kripya, crib.]
A game played by two persons holding an endless
string symmetrically in the fingers of the two
hands, and taking it off each other's hands so as
at once to form a new pattern.
Crater. [L., fromGr. KparTjp, a mixing-bowl.'}
1. A large kind of antique bowl. 2. The mouth
of a volcano.
Crateriform. (Bot.} Shaped like a bowl
[Gr. Kpar-fip] ; e.g. flower of cowslip. Cynthi-
form, more contracted at the orifice, like a
cup [tcvaQos] used in drawing wine from the
Kpar-fjp : e.g. flower of buttercup.
Crau. Between Aries and Marseilles, a
singularly stony plain, " Campus lapideus " of
the ancients, of 30,000 acres, covered with rolled
boulders and pebbles, once deposited by the
Rhone, Durance, etc. ; partly barren, partly
irrigated by the Canal de Craponne, and very
productive.
Cravat. [Fr. cravate, Croatian.] A neck-
cloth. The French took this piece of dress
(1636) from the regiment le Royal Cravate, which
was dressed in the Croat fashion. The Croats
(Cravates) are a Sclavonic people in the south-
east of Austria.
Craw. [Ger. kragen, neck.] Crop.
Crawl. [Cf. D. kraal, an enclosure.] An
enclosure of hurdles or stakes in shallow water
for fish.
Crawling off. (Naut.} Slowly working off
a lee shore.
Cream of lime. The scum of lime-water.
Cream of tartar is purified tartar (from its rising
to the top like cream).
Cream ware. Pottery of that colour made
by Wedgwood and others. Queen Charlotte
gave to Wedgwood's the name of Queen's
ware.
Creance. [Fr. creance, credence.] A small
line tied to an untrained hawk when lured.
Creatine. [Gr. Kpeas, -OTOS, flesh.] A crystal-
lized substance obtained from the flesh of
animals.
Creazes. The tin in the middle part of the
buddle.
Creche. [Fr., Prov. crepcha, O.Sax.
cribbia.] Lit. a crib, manger ; a public nursery
for children.
Credat Judseus. [L.] Let a Jew believe if;
an expression of incredulity, Jews being thought
very superstitious by Romans.
Credence table, or Credential. [Perhaps from
It. credenzare, to taste meats or drinks before
they are offered to another.] (Eccl.) A table or
shelf on one side of the altar, for receiving the
utensils needed in the celebration of the
Eucharist.
Credit foncier. [Fr.] Credit on land, in
France ; a company for lending money on
security of landed property.
Cree. A tribe of Indians in Canada, north-
west of Lake Winnipeg.
Creed of Pius IV. A creed put forth in 1564,
summing up the doctrines laid down by the
Canons of the Council of Trent.
Creel. [Gael, craidhleag, basket; cf. Gr.
KaA.a0o?, L. corbis, from root kar, bend.] Osier
basket for carrying fish in Scotland.
Creeper. (Naut. ) A small grapnel for getting
things up from the bottom of rivers, harbours,
etc.
Creese. Dagger with a wavy blade, used as a
weapon by the Malays.
Cremaillere line. [Fr. cremaillere, a pot-
hook, the O.Fr. cremaille being L. cramaculus
(Brachet).] (Mil.) Intrenchment composed of
alternate long and short faces, to give a certain
amount of flanking defence.
Cremation. [L. crematio, -nem, from crmo,
/ burn.] Burning ; especially the disposal of
dead bodies by fire.
Cremona. Meton. for violin. (Amati.)
Crenate. [L. crena, a notch.] (Bot.) Raving-
rounded notches, as the margin of the leaf of
ground ivy. Serrate [serratus, serra, a saw],
saw-edged, as a rose leaf. Dentate [dentatus,
dens, a tooth], having pointed notches, and con-
cave spaces between them, as the leaves of
speedwell.
Creneau. [Fr., from L. crena, a notch, dim.
crenellum.] Narrow slit made for firing through
in old castle walls.
Crenellate. [Fr. creneau.] (Arch.} To furnish
a building with battlements ; hence to fortify.
In the twelfth century, licences to crenellate
were permissions to build a castle.
Crenelle. Properly the embrasure of a battle-
ment. Hence the battlement itself.
Crenelled. In Nat. Hist., having notches.
(Crenate.)
Creole. [Sp. criollo.] In S. America and
W. Indies, generally an individual born in the
country, but of a race not native ; more particu-
larly one born in the country, of pure European
blood ; not an emigrant ; not the offspring of
mixed blood, such as a Mulatto (white father
and negro mother) or a Mestizo (white father
and Indian mother).
Creosote. [Gr. Kpe'as, flesh, aw&iv, to pre-
serve.] An antiseptic fluid, obtained from the
oil of distilled wood tar.
Crepitus. [L.] In Surg., the grating or
crackling of ends of bone against each other, in
a case of fracture.
Crepuscular. [L. crepusculum, twilight, early
dawn] 1. Like to or characterized by the
half-light of late evening or early dawn. 2.
(Nat. Hist.} Flying only at those times.
Crescent. (Her.} A waxing [L. crescens]
moon, with its horns turned upwards. It is
borne (l) as a charge, (2) as the difference in
the second son's escutcheon.
Crescit amor nummi quantum ipsa pecunia
crescit. [L.] The love of the shilling grows as
much as the growing hoard of money.
CRES
147
Crescive. [L. cresco, / grow.} Possessing
the active power to grow or increase.
Cresselle. [Fr. crecelle, a rattle.} (Eccl.) A
wooden instrument used in the Latin Church
instead of bells before Church services during
Passion Week ; a temporary return, probably, to
primitive custom.
Cresset. [Fr. croisette, little cross, with which
tombs were once adorned.] An open burner on
a pole to serve as a torch or beacon.
Cresting. (Arch.) An ornamental bordering
in stone or metal work, running along the ridge
of a roof or a canopy, etc.
Cretaceous system. [L. cretaceus, chalk-like,
creta, chalk.~\ (Geol.) The uppermost of the
Secondary group ; consisting, in England, of the
gault, greensand, and chalk.
Creta notatus. [L.] Marked with chalk ; of
a lucky or well-omened day ; the unlucky day
being marked with charcoal [carbo]. Hence the
phrase of Horace, " Creta an carbone notandus."
Creticus. [Gr. KprjrtKos.] In Metre, a foot,
- w , as diliges, nightingale. (Amphimacer.)
. Cretin. In Switzerland and other mountainous
countries, one in a state of idiocy or semi-idiocy,
with more or less of deformity, often goitre.
C., probably another form of chretien, as if =
innocent. So Fr. benet, benedictus, silly, which
again is Ger. selig, blessed.
Cretonne. (From the first maker.) A kind of
chintz for covering furniture, etc.
Creux. [Fr. for a hollow.} An intaglio (q.-v.}.
Crevet. [Fr.] A goldsmith's crucible.
Crewel-work. [Crewel is for clewel, from
clew; cf. Ger. kleuel.] Coarse embroidery
worked with worsted.
Cribbage. A game at cards, in which the score
is marked on a board, and its four great points
are to make fifteens, flushes, flush sequences,
and pairs.
Cribble. [Fr. cribbler, to sift, crible, sieve,
from L.L. criblus, from L. cribrum, sieve.] To
sieve, to sift.
Cribration. [L. cribro, I sift.} A sifting.
Cribriform. Like a sieve [L. cribrum], per-
forated.
Crichton, The Admirable. James C., a Scotch
gentleman of rare learning, wit, beauty, and
accomplishments in the sixteenth century. He
took the degree of M.A. at Paris when fourteen
years old, and was murdered in his twenty-third
year.
Cricoid. (Anat.) Ring-shaped [Gr. Kptieos, a
ring}, lowest cartilage of the larynx ; its lower
margin parallel to the first ring of the trachea.
Crimen laesse majestatis. [L.] Lese-majesty ;
the crime of injured majesty; high treason.
Criminal letters (Scot. Law) answer to
English indictment by a private prosecutor.
Criminate. [L. criminor, I accuse.} To accuse,
to prove guilty.
Crimp. {Cf. .Ger. krimmen, to seize with the
claws or beak.} One who entrapped persons for
impressment into the British navy. The word
is also applied to those who get hold of seamen
on landing, ply them with liquor, get all they can
out of them, and ship them off again penniless.
Crimson. [Kermes, the cochineal insect, Hub.
tola, a worm ; Isa. i. 18. ] (/>'/<>/.) Cochineal.
Homopterous insect, from which the dye is
obtained.
Crined. [L. crinis, hair.} (Her.) Having
hair different in colour from the body.
Cringle. [A Tent, and Scand. word.] A short
piece of rope containing a thimble worked into
the bolt-rope.
Criniere. [Fr. , from crin, horsehair, L.
crinis.] Plate armour worn on the neck of a
war-horse.
Crinoid. Shaped like a lily [Gr. Kpivov}.
Crinoidea. [Gr. Kplvov, a lily, elSos, form.}
Fossil echinoderms, with lily-shaped radiated
disc on a jointed stem (encrinite, pentacrinite,
etc. ).
Crispin, St. The patron saint of shoemakers.
Criss-cross (Christ-cross). 1. A mark like t .
2. A game played on slate or paper with the
figure 4-F a ls called Noughts and crosses.
Criss-cross row. (Christ-cross row.)
Cristate. Having a tuft or crest [L. crista].
Crith. The weight of a litre of hydrogen.
Crithomanoy. [Gr. Kpl9o-fj.avTeia, from Kpld-f},
barley, /navTeia, divination.} Divination by
inspecting barley cakes or barley meal sprinkled
on a sacrificial victim.
Critical angle of a transparent medium, one
whose sine equals the reciprocal of the .refractive
index. Thus the refractive index of water is *,
and the angle whose sine is f is about 48 36' ;
this is therefore the critical angle for water. If a
ray of light moving in water makes an angle
with the vertical exceeding this angle, it cannot
get out of the water into air, but is totally re-
flected internally at the surface. The like is
true of all transparent media.
Grizzle, [Ger. grieselig, speckled.} A rough-
ness on the surface of glass which clouds its
transparency.
Croat. (Cravat.)
Crochet. [Fr.] A fancy fabric made by loop-
ing wool or thread with a small hook (crochet).
Crockets. {Arch.} Ornaments resembling
foliage, running up along the edge of a gable or
pinnacle. The word is probably connected with
crook, a curve.
Crocking. Blackening with soot or crock.
Crocodile's tears. Hypocritical, forced ex-
pressions of grief.
Crocus of antimony. ( Chcm. ) Oxysulphide of
antimony, of the colour of saffron [L. crocus].
Crocus of Mars is sesquioxide of iron, known
also as jewellers' rouge (Colcothar).
Croft. [L. crypta, Gr. Kpvrnrj, crypt.} 1. A
covered way, an underground chamber. 2. A
small enclosed field.
Croissant, Cross. (Her.) A cross the ends
of which terminate in crescents [Fr. croissants].
Crome, Groom. A crook, a hooked staff.
Cromlech. (Archccol.) A horizontal slab
resting on two or three or more rude upright
stones, once called " Druidical altars," now
admitted to be places of sepulture ; surrounded
by a circle of rough upright stones, and formerly
often covered with earth. Found in Britain ; in
CRON
148
CROW
France, especially in Brittany, and there called
Dolmhis [Gael, daul, table, maen, stone}, and
elsewhere in Europe ; in N. and S. America ;
Hindustan, etc. [Welsh cromlech, an inclined,
an incumbent flagstone (Skeat).]
Crone. [Celt, crion, to wither.} (Sheep,
Stages of growth of.)
Croodle. To cower down, to lie close.
Crook-rafter. (Knee-rafter.)
Croon. [Scot.] To hum or murmur in a low
tone [ff. Eng. groan}. (Coronach.)
Crop. 1. Ore of the best quality when prepared
for smelting. 2. [A.S. crop; cf. Gael, crap, a
knob.} The receptacle which opens put of a bird's
gullet, and in which its food is softened.
Croquet. [Fr.] 1. An almond biscuit, a
small portion of some meat encased in a biscuit-
like crust. 2. An outdoor game in which
wooden balls are knocked through hoops with
a wooden mallet on a smooth lawn.
Crore. [Hind.] Ten millions of rupees.
Cross. [L. crux, Ger. kreuz.] 1. (Eccl.)
Among the many forms assumed by the cross, the
most important are: (i) The Greek cross, with
equal limbs. (2) The Latin, with a transverse
beam one-third shorter than the vertical. (3)
the Maltese, or eight-pointed cross. (4) Cross of
lona, or Irish cross, a Latin cross with a ring
over a part of the vertical and transverse limbs.
(5) Cross fleitry, having fleur-de-lis at the three
upper extreme ends. (6) Cross fitcJie, crossletted
on the three upper ends, and pointed at the
bottom, representing, it was said, the Crusader's
sword. (7) St. Andrew''* cross, or the Cross
saltire, shaped like the letter X. (8) St.
Anthony's, or the Tau crass, shaped like the
letter T. (Crux simplex.) 2. (Her.) An
ordinary consisting of two broad stripes, one
horizontal, the other vertical, crossing each other
in the centre of the escutcheon.
Cross-birth. (Med.) A delivery when the
child's head is not first presented.
Cross-bow. Short bow fixed horizontally in a
stock for shooting arrows. Used as late as the
time of Elizabeth by some of the English army.
Cross division. This logical error is when the
members into which a class is divided do not
exclude each other. Man is divisible, according
to race, into Caucasian, Mongolian, Ethiopian ;
according to religion, into Christian, Moham-
medan, Jew, and Pagan ; but a division into
Christian, Jew, Mongolian, /Ethiopian even if,
as a fact, every man could be ranged under one
only of these four classes would be a C. D.,
because not dividing " man " upon one principle
of division only, whether of religion, race, or
any other.
Crosse, La, or Lacrosse. A Canadian game,
learnt from the N.- American Indians; played
with a crosse, or battledore, five or six feet long
(across which strips of deer-skin are stretched,
but not tightly), and an indiarubber ball, eight
or nine inches in circumference ; the object be-
ing to drive the ball (which is not handled, but
picked up by the bent end of the battledore),
through a goal, like that used in football.
Crossettes. [Fr.] (Arch.) Small projecting
pieces in the stones of an arch, which hang upon
the adjacent stones.
Cross-examination. (Leg.) Examination of
a witness by or for the side which did not call
him or her, generally but not necessarily after
examination-in-chief (Voir dire), to make the
witness alter or amend or throw discredit on his
own evidence or give evidence in favour of the
other side. In C. E. leading questions are
allowed.
Cross-fertilization. (Fertilization of flowers.)
Cross-fire. In which the range of any firearm
sweeps across a space already grazed by fire.
Cross-hatching. [Fr. hacher, to cut.} Draw-
ing a series of lines across each other at regular
angles so as to increase the depth of shadow in
engraving.
Cross-head. The piece which connects the
piston-rod and the connecting-rod of a steam-
engine. It consists of a socket to which the
piston-rod is keyed, and a journal or two journals
on which the connecting-rod works. The cross-
head is connected with the guiding apparatus
which maintains the rectilineal motion of the
piston-rod.
Crossjack-yard. (Naut. ) Pronounced crojeck-
yard. (Yards.)
Crosslet. [Dim. of cross.] (Her.) Having its
arms terminated with small crosses.
Cross-trees. {Naut. ) The timber laid across
the upper ends of the lower and top masts, the
former supporting the top, and the latter ex-
tending the top-gallant shrouds.
Croton. [Gr.] (Bot.) A gen. of plants, ord.
Euphorbiacece ; many having important medical
properties. C. tiglium, a small tree of the
Moluccas, Ceylon, and other parts of E. Indies ;
very actively and dangerously drastic, yielding
C. oil.
Crouch ware. Salt-glazed stoneware, made
at Burslem and elsewhere, 1690-1780. Some-
times called Elizabethan.
Crouds, Shrouds. (Arch.) An old name for
the crypt of a building, as in Old St. Paul's.
Croupier. [Yr., partner.} At a gaming-table,
the dealer or dealer's assistant.
Croupiere. [Fr., from croupe, crupper.'} De-
fensive armour covering the haunches of a horse
down to the hocks.
Crowdie. (Naut.) Cold meal and milk mixed,
or a mixture of oatmeal and boiled water with
treacle, or sugar and butter.
Crowfoot tribe. (Bot.) I.q. Ranunculacese.
Crown or Demesne lands. (Hist.) Lands,
estates, or other real property belonging to the
sovereign or the Crown, acquired by purchase,
succession, forfeiture, or in other ways. The
practice of granting Crown land to subjects in
perpetuity was abolished by Parliament, 1702.
Crowner. (Coroner.)
Crown-glass. Glass composed of silicates of
soda and lime ; made by blowing a large bubble
and twirling it when reheated till it becomes a
flat disc.
Crown-paper. (From the original water-mark. )
Paper twenty inches by fifteen. Double crcnvn
is thirty inches by twenty.
CROW
149
CRYS
Crown-saw. A saw formed by cutting teeth
on the edge of a hollow cylinder.
Crown-wheeL A wheel with teeth set at right
angles to its plane, and therefore parallel to the
axis of rotation.
Crown- work. (Mil.) Large outwork placed
beyond the enceinte of a fortress, consisting of
two fronts with long branches enclosing the
ground in rear. It may broadly be considered
as a double hornwork (tj.v.).
Crow-quill. A nomt de plume of Alfred H.
Forrester, the humourist ; born 1805.
Crow's-foot. (Mil.) The Roman tribulus or
caltrop ; an obstacle against cavalry, a small
block of wood with four iron spikes inserted,
one always projecting upwards as it lies on the
ground.
Crow's-nest. (Naut.) A shelter for the look-
out man at the top-gallant masthead.
Crucet-house. "A chest short and narrow,"
and not deep, "with sharp stones," in which a
man was placed and crushed. (See Mrs. Armi-
tage's Childhood of the English Nation: Horrors
of Stephen's Reign.)
Crucible. [L. L. crucibulum, as being formerly
marked with a "f ; or (?) from criicio, / torture,
metals having been formerly spoken of as tor-
tured to yield up their virtues.] A vessel for
heating and fusing glass, metallic ores, etc.
Crucifers, or Cabbage tribe, Cruciferse (i.e.
bearing flowers like a Maltese cross), Cruciatae,
Brasslcaceae [L. brasslca, cabbage}. (Bot.) A very
extensive nat. ord. of plants, including mustard,
turnip, cabbage, wall-flower, stock, etc., of some
2000 spec. ; absent from parts excessively cold
or tropical.
Crude form, ( Gram. ) Professor Key's name
for the Stem of an inflected word.
Crural. [L. crus, cruris, a leg.'] Pertaining
to or like the thigh or leg.
Crusades. [Fr. croisade, from L. crux, crueis,
a cross.] (Hist.) Expeditions undertaken by
men who bore on their arms the symbol of the
cross, under a vow to wrest the Holy Sepulchre
from the unbelievers.
Cruse. [Cf. kroes, akin to crock, Ger. krug,
pitcher. ,] A small vase or bottle.
Cruset. [Fr. creuset.] A goldsmith's crucible.
Crushroom. A hall in a theatre where the
occupiers of boxes or stalls can wait for their
carriages.
Crustacea. [L. crustata, id. , crusta, a crust or
shell.'} (Zool.) Class of Arthropoda (Annulosa),
with external skeleton of chitine, breathing by
gills or surface, possessing more than eight legs ;
as the crab. (Chitine.)
Crutched Friars (or Crouched Friars) =
Crossed Friars. [Crouch ; cf. O.E. cross, is akin
to crotch and crutch, It. croce, L. crux, gen.
crucis. ] Part of a street in the City of London,
near Mark Lane.
Cruth, Crwth, Crotta, corr. into Crowd. A
kind of harp or violin, six-stringed, anciently
introduced into Ireland and thence into Wales.
C. or some such instrument was used by the
Druids in accompaniment ; hence Crowther,
CrowJer, = a fiddler.
Crux simplex. A single upright piece, without
transom. JJcciiss<ifa, or S/. Andrews, like a
decussis, i.e. X ; Commissa, or .V. Anthony's, T
worked on his cope ; Immissa, or Latin Cross, + ,
with place for title specifying the crime. (Cross.)
Cry. [Fr. cri, 1'rov. crida, from L. quiritare,
freq. of queror.j Afar, a lung way. A C. of
flayers company ; a C. originally = a pack
of hounds.
Cryophorus. [Gr. Kpvos, icy cold, <psp<a, I bear.'}
An instrument for showing the cold produced by
evaporation. It consists of a glass tube with a
short bend at each end, to which are fastened
glass bulbs (A and B) which the tube serves to
connect. The bulbs can therefore be placed
inside two basins or tumblers on a table. One
bulb (B) is partly filled with water, and, as the
air has been withdrawn and the instrument her-
metically sealed, the other bulb (A) and the tube
are filled with vapour of water. If the tumbler
in which the bulb A is placed be filled with ice,
the vapour in A is condensed, and the vacuum
thus formed is filled with vapour from the water
in B; but this in turn is condensed, and thus a
rapid evaporation of the water in 15 is set up.
In this process so much of the heat of the water
in B is rendered latent that its temperature
rapidly falls, and at last it is converted into ice.
Crypt. [Gr. KPVTTTOS, hidden.} (Arch.) The
hidden part of a building, that is, the foundation
story, supporting the main fabric.
Crypteia. [Gr. /cpt/7rreia.] (Gr. Hist.) A
system of espionage carried out in Sparta. Ac-
cording to some its object was to keep down the
numbers of the Helots by secret murder ; but this
is not likely.
Cryptogams. [Gr. tepvirrds, hidden, ya.fj.os,
marriage.] (Bot.) Linnrean Class xxiv. , flower-
less plants. Phienogams [<paivw, I make t'o
appear], or Phanerogams [Q&vtpds, manifest},
being flowering plants, having the organs of
reproduction visible, (-andria.)
Cryptograph. An esoteric style of writing
cypher, which beneath the outward form of
statement contains another concealed\Gr. Kpuirrds]
meaning for the uninitiated ; so in some stories
of the Talmud the rabbis are thought to have
inculcated polemical views which could not
safely have been given in an undisguised form.
Cryptography. [Gr. Kpu-mos, secret, ypd<p<a,
I write.] The art or practice of writing in
cypher.
Cryptology. [Gr. KpvwTos, hidden, \eyta, I
speak.] The art of obscure speech, of enigmatical
utterances, as those of the Delphic oracle.
Cryptoporticus. [L.] A covered passage, a
vaulted hall.
Crystal [Gr. KptitrraMvos, clear ice, rock-crystal] ;
Attractive C. ; Biaxial C. ; Negative C. ; Optic axis
of C. ; Positive C. ; Repulsive C. ; Uniaxial C. A
solid, which may be either natural or an artificial
product of chemical operations, bounded by plane
surfaces and exhibiting when broken a tendency
to separate along planes which cither are parallel
to some of the bounding planes or make given
angles with them. In a crystal exhibiting double
refraction, there will be one or two directions
CRYS
'5
CULT
along which the refracted ray passes without
division (or bifurcation) ; these are the Optic
axes of the C. If there are two such direc-
tions, as in topaz, the crystal is Biaxial ; if only
one, as in Iceland spar, it is Uniaxial. Of uni-
axial crystals, those are positive or attractive in
which the extraordinary ray is more refracted
than the ordinary ray ; those are negative or
repulsive in which the contrary is the case.
Crystalline. Mineral or rock made up of indis-
tinct crystals, sparkling, shining, but not crystal-
lized in one crystal. Sub-crystalline, the same,
but in a less degree.
Crystallization, Water of. The water which
a salt takes into combination in order to assume
a crystalline form.
Crystallized mineral. [Gr. KpvffTa\\os, ice,
crystal.} Presenting a certain definite geometric
form.
Crystallography. The mathematical doctrine
of the forms of crystals.
Crystalloids. [Gr. icpwrroAAos, ice, eTSoy,
form.} Substances capable of crystallization, as
opposed to Colloids.
Crystallotype. [Gr. KpwrraAAoy, ice, rinros,
type.} A. photograph on glass.
Ctenoid. [Gr. icrtls, KTfvds, a comb.} (Ichtk.)
\Yith Agassiz, an ord. of fishes, with scales im-
bricated and having toothlike pectinations on the
hinder margin ; e.g. perch. This mode of classi-
fication of fishes, however, is very imperfect.
(Ichthyology.)
Cube; C. root; Cubic equation; Cubic foot,
yard, etc. A Cube, in Geometry, a solid with six
square faces ; in Arithmetic, the product of
three equal numbers is the cube of one of
them ; thus, 64, or 4 x 4 X 4, is the cube of 4.
The C. root of a given number is that number
which, when cubed, produces the given num-
ber ; thus 4 is the cube root of 64. A Cubic
foot, yard, etc. , is a space whose volume equals
that of a cube whose edge is a foot, yard, etc.,
long. An equation which, after reduction to its
simplest form, contains the cube of the unknown
number is a Cubic equation ; as x* $x = 53.
Cubicular. [L. cubicularius, from cublculum,
bedchamber.} Pertaining to or like to a bed-
chamber.
Cubilose. [L. cublle, bed, lair, nest.} The mu-
cous secretion, in some of the swallow tribe, of
which the Chinese edible nests are entirely made.
Cubit. [L. cubitus, the elbow as leant upon,
a cubit.} An ancient measure of length, in use
particularly amongst the Jews. The length of
the Common C. was I'8i7 foot; that of the
Sacred C. was 2 '002 feet. The Great C. was as
long as six common cubits.
Cucking-stool {Ducking-stool, or Choking-stool).
(Bucking-stool.)
Cuckold. [L. cuculus, a cuckoo.} One whose
wife is unfaithful.
Cuckoo. [Used to transl. Heb. shachaph, to
l>e lean.} (Bibl.) Lev. xi. 16; probably includes
gulls and terns, Larldae.
Cuckoo flower, or Ladies' smock. (Rot.) Car-
dumine pratensis, ord. Cruciferne ; also Lychnis
fl' ciiculi, as coining with the cuckoo.
Cucullate. [L. cucullus, a hood.} (Bot.)
Hooded, rolled inwards, so as to conceal any-
thing within ; e.g. flower of monkshood.
Cucullus non facit monachum. [L.] The
cowl does not make the friar. (L'habit.)
Cucurbit. [L. ciicurblta, gourd.} A gourd -
shaped vessel used for distillation.
Cucurbitaceous. (Bot. ) 1. Resembling a gottrd
[L. ciicurblta]. 2. Belonging to ord. Cucurbi-
taceje, or gourd tribe.
Cudbear. (Introduced by Dr. Cuthbcrt
Gordon.) A violet powder made from lichens,
used as a dye.
Cuddy. (Naut.) 1. The small cabin of a
barge, or lighter. 2 V In ocean-going vessels,
the cabin under the poop-deck. 3. The little
cabin of a boat.
Cue. [O.Fr. coue, Fr. queue, from L.
cauda, a tail.} 1. A twist of hair like a tail at
the back. 2. (The at.) The last words of an
actor's speech, which tell the next speaker when
to begin ; hence a part to be played immediately,
a hint or prompting. 3. A straight, tapering rod
used for playing billiards.
Cuerpo. [Sp., body.} To be -walking in C.,
to be without proper body clothing, to be un-
protected.
Cuffey. A nickname or name for negroes.
Cui bono ? [L. ] Lit. to -whom is it for a
good ? who will be the better for it ?
Cuilibet in sua arte perlto credendum est.
[L.] In his mvn art the skilled man must be
trusted ; a legal maxim of frequent application
in estimating the value of evidence.
Cuirass. [Fr. cuirasse, from It. corazza.]
The breast and back plate of armour.
Cuisine. [Fr.] Kitchen department, style
of cooking.
Cuissart. [Fr., from cuisse, thigh, L. coxa.]
Armour covering the thigh.
Cujusvis hominis est errare. [L.] Any man
may make mistakes.
Culdees. [Probably Gael, gille De, servants
of God, words corresponding to the L. cultores
Dei, from which it was mistakenly thought to be
derived.] An Irish religious order, said to have
been instituted by Columba, who founded the
monastery of lona in the sixth century.
Cul-de-sac. [Fr.] Bottom of the bag ; a street,
road, or lane which has no egress at one end.
Culex. [L.,zV/.] (Entom.) Gen. of dipterous
insects. Male (harmless) has plumed antennce ;
female sucks blood.
Culinary. [L. cullnarius, from ciillna (colina),
a kitchen, from root kak, to cook.} Belonging to
the kitchen or to cookery.
Gullet. [From Eng. cull, to pick out.] Broken
glass, used as an ingredient in making fresh glass.
Culm. 1. [L. culmus, a stalk, especially of
grain.] The straw of grasses. 2. [Welsh cwlm.]
A hard, slaty coal.
Cult. [L. cultus, tending, worship.} A system
of religious belief or worship.
Cultch, Cutch. Rough stones and the like,
laid down to form an oyster-bed.
Cultirostrals, Cultirostres. [L. cultcr, knife,
rostrum,/''///.] (Oniil/i.) Knife-billed birds ; a
CULV
CURS
tribe or fam. in those systems which characterize
them by the form of their bills. It includes
herons, cranes, storks, etc.
Culverin. [Fr. couleuvrine, couleuvre, a
snake, L. coluber.] (Mil.) The first kind of
cannon of great length invented when the system
of hooping (q.v.} was discarded.
Cumber (Luke x. 40, Trepifo-iruTo, and xiii. 7>
Ka-rapyei) retains its earlier sense \cf. Ger.
kummern], to cause distress, not simply to be
an encumbrance.
Cumbria. Name of the district comprising
Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Lancashire,
from the Saxon to the Plantagenet period.
Cumbrian. (Cambrian.)
Cum grauo salis. [L.] With a grain of salt ;
said of accepting a statement with doubt or
reservation.
Cumin, Cummin. The fruits of a small annual
umbelliferous plant [L, cummum, cyminum],
native of the East, mentioned in the Old and
New Testaments (Isa. xxviii. 25,27 ; Matt, xxiii.
.23) ; used in many places as a carminative, and
sometimes mixed with food.
Cum multis aliis. [L.] With many others,
or other things.
Cumulative. [From L. cumulatus, p. part, of
cumulo, / heap /.] Formed by accretion or
addition. A C. argument is a series of considera-
tions of which each suggests some conclusion
without proving it, but which taken together form
a proof of more or less validity.
Cumulus. [L,, a heap.] Thick white clouds,
ragged and broad at the base, ascending in the
form of peaks. Cumulo- strattis is a compound
of this cloud with stratus {q.v.}. Cumulo-cirro-
stratus is the same as nimbus (q.v.}.
Cunabula. [L.} Cradle, earliest abode, origin.
Cunctando restituit rem, TJnus homo nobis.
[L.] One man restored our power by delaying ;
said by Ennius of Q. Fabius Maximus, who, by
declining to engage, but hanging about Hannibal
in the Second Punic War, weakened his force
seriously.
Cunctator. [L.] The Delayer; title of Quin-
tus Fabius Maximus. (Cunctando.)
Cunei. [L.] The wedge-shaped blocks of
seats in a Roman theatre or amphitheatre.
Cuneiform. [L. cuneus, wedge, forma, shape. ,]
Wedge-shaped. (For C. inscriptions, vide
Arrow-headed.)
Cuneiform letters. The name given to the
inscriptions found on old Babylonian and Persian
monuments, the characters being formed like a
^vedge [L. cuneus]. This is the oldest form of
syllabic writing known.
Cunette. [Fr.] Drain run down the middle
of a dry ditch to carry off any water.
Cupel, or Coppel. [L. ciipella, a small cask,
dim. of ciipa.] A small flat crucible used in
assaying metals ; made by pressing moistened
bone-ash into circular steel moulds.
Cupellation. The assaying of silver, etc., by
melting it with lead in a cupel exposed to the
air. The lead, being oxidized, dissolves the im-
purities, and all but the pure metal is absorbed
by the cupel (<j.v.).
Cupid. [L. cupiclo, desire.'] The Latin name
of the god of love, who was called by the Greeks
Eros.
Cup-leather. The leather which serves as a
packing to the ram of a hydraulic press. It pre-
vents the water from oozing out between the
ram and the cylinder when force is applied to
the machine.
Cupola. [It.] In Arch., a dome.
Cupping. [Fr. couper, to cut, rather than
from the shape of the glass used.] Bleeding, by
incisions with a scarifier made in a surface to-
wards which blood has been drawn by the ex-
haustion of the air in a cupping-glass.
Cupric, Cuprous. [L. cuprum, copper.'} Con-
taining copper. Cuprous contain a larger pro-
portion of copper than cupric salts.
Cupule. [L. cupiila, a little tub.} (Bot.} A
small cup, formed by the bracts of an involucre
cohering round the base of the fruit ; e.g. an
acorn.
Curacoa. A liquor flavoured with orange
peel (made in Curacoa}.
Curare cutem. [L.] To take care of the skin ;
to take care of the health, especially by bathing
and gymnastic exercises.
Curari, Ourari, Urali, Wourali, Woorara. The
arrow-poison of S. -American Indians, which
destroys the powers of motion, leaving those of
sensation intact. Used by vivisectors for experi-
ments on dogs and other animals, which are thus
put to excruciating agonies.
Curate. In Prayer-book, one having the cure
[L. cura, care] of souls.
Curator. [L.] Superintendent, custodian.
Cure. [Fr.] Parish priest.
Curetes. (Cybele.)
Curia. [L.] The name usually applied to the
temporal court of the Roman see.
Curiosa interpretatio reprobanda. [L.] A
legal maxim, Ingeniously subtle interpretation
should be rejected ; for the framer of the law, etc. ,
is not likely to have intended it.
Curioso. [It.] A person of great curiosity ;
sometimes Virtuoso.
Curious. [L. curiosus, careful, inquisitive,
from cura, care.] Exhibiting care or skill,
abstruse, recondite.
Curmudgeon. A corr. not of corn merchant
but of cornmudgin, i.e. corn-mudging, = corn-
hoarding or corn-withholding. Hence a nig-
gardly, grasping fellow (Skeat).
Currach. [Welsh cwrwg.] A skiff formerly
used in Scotland. (Coracle.)
Curra-curra. (Naut. } An extremely fast boat
of the Malay Islands.
Currency. [L.L. currentia, from currens,
running, current.] 1. Circulation, general es-
timation. 2. Circulating medium of exchange
of publicly recognized value.
Currente calamo. [L.] IVith floiving pen ; of
rapid composition.
Current-sailing. Calculating a ship's course
as affected by a current.
Curriculum. [L.] A course; often used of a
course of studies.
Curse of Scotland. A name for the nine of
CURS
152
CUSP
diamonds in cards, for the origin of which many
reasons have been assigned, no one perhaps
being of more value than the rest. One of these
assigns it to the nine lozenges on the shield of
John Dalrymple, Earl of Stair, concerned in the
massacre of Glencoe. Chambers's Encyclopedia.
Cursitors. [L., from cursus, course.] (Leg.)
Clerks of course, clerks of the Court of Chancery,
who made out original writs, now done in the
Petty Bag Office.
Cursive. [From L. curro, I run.} Running ;
said of writing in which the letters of a word are
all connected and the strokes generally slant ;
in MSS. opposed to Uncial (q.v.).
Cursorius. [L., pertaining to running.]
(Ornith.) A gen. of birds, fam. Glarfiolidae
[L. glarea, gravel}. Pratincoles and Coursers.
India, Africa, and S. Europe. Ord. Grallae.
Cursory. [L. cursorius, from cursor, runner.]
Hasty, careless, superficial.
Curtain. [L. cortina, in mediaeval sense of an
enclosed court, a rvall between two bastions.]
(Fortif.) The part of a_rampart which connects
the interior extremities of the flanks of two
adjacent bastions.
Curtal friar. A term used by Sir Walter
Scott, in Ivanhoe, as equivalent to irregular clerk
or hedge priest, and^applied by him to Friar
Tuck, of Copmanhurst. He may have coined
the phrase to denote a pious monk with a frock
shortened for convenience of moving about.
Curtana. [L. curtus, cut short.] The point-
less sword of mercy, called the sword of Ed-ward
the Confessor, borne naked before British sove-
reigns at their coronation. (Sword of State.)
Curtate distance. [L. curtatus, shortened.]
The C. of a planet from the sun or earth is its
distance measured along the ecliptic, i.e. the dis-
tance from the centre of the sun (or earth) to the
point in which the ecliptic is met by a perpen-
dicular drawn to it from the centre of the planet.
Curtein. (Curtana.)
Curtesy of England. (Leg.) The right of a
'husband, under certain conditions, to hold during
his life the lands of his wife after her death.
Curtilage. [L.L. cortilagium, curtilagium,
from L.L. cortile, curtile, dim. from L. cohors,
cohortis, a yard.} (Leg.) A yard belonging
to a dwelling-house.
Curule magistracies. (Hist.) In ancient
Rome, the highest offices of the State, the
holders being allowed to sit on ivory chairs,
selltz curilles, when discharging their functions.
Curvature [L. curvatura, a bending} ; Centre
of C. ; Circle of C. ; Double C. ; Radius of C. ; C.
of surfaces. When a moving point traces out a
curved line, its direction changes from point to
point ; the rate of this change of direction at any
point per unit length of the curve is the Curva-
ture at that point. The Circle of C. at any
point of a curve has the same curvature as that
of the curve at that point ; the centre and radius
of C. are the centre and radius of this circle.
So far it has been supposed that all the points of
the curve lie in one plane. When this is not
the case, the curve is tortuous, and is said to
have Double C., or more strictly cut~vainre and
tortuosity ; the helix or thread of a screw is a
curve of double C. The C. of a surface at any
point will depend on the direction in which the
C. is considered ; e.g. in the case of a common
cylinder there is evidently no curvature parallel
to the axis, while at right angles to the axis the
C. is the same as that of the circular base of the
cylinder.
Curve, Brachistochronous ; C. of equal pres-
sure ; Tautochronous C. The curve along which
a body will descend from one point to another
in the shortest possible time is the Brachisto-
chronous curve [Gr. ftpdxiffros, shortest, xpdvos,
time}, or the C. of shortest descent. When a
curve is such that a body descends along it to
the lowest point in the same time from what-
ever point it starts, it is said to be a Tauto-
chronous C. [<5 av-rds, the same}, or a C. of equable
descent. Curves of Lqual pressure are such that,
when a body descends along them, the pressure
against the curve is the same at all points.
Curves, Method of. When one quantity un-
dergoes a series of changes depending on the
progress of another quantity, this dependence
can be expressed to the eye by means of a curve.
Suppose it were required to register the varia-
tions in the height of a barometer throughout the
twenty-four hours of a day. A sheet of paper
can be placed on a cylinder in a vertical position,
and made to revolve uniformly by clockwork ; if
a pencil point pressed against the paper rises and
falls with the mercury in the barometer, it will
plainly trace out a curve on the paper. Now,
suppose the paper to be un warped, a horizontal
line on it, if properly divided, will show the pro-
gress of the time throughout the day, and vertical
lines drawn from the horizontal line to the curve
will show the corresponding heights of the
barometer. The variations in the heights of the
barometer are thus completely represented by this
method, which is one instance of the Afethod of
curves. Indicator curves, adiabatic lines, co-
tidal lines, etc. , are other instances of a method
which admits of application in every branch of
physics.
Cusefonn. (Naut.) A Japanese long open
whale-boat.
Cushat. [O.E. cusceat.] The quest, ring-
dove, or wood-pigeon.
Cushion of a horse's foot. (Frog.)
Cushion capital. (Arch.) Capitals shaped in
the form of large cubical masses projecting over
the shaft, and rounded off at the lower corners.
Cusp. [L. cuspis, a point.} 1. (Arch.) A
projecting point in the foliation of arches or of
tracery of any kind. 2. (Geom.) A singular
point on a curve, at which two of its branches
have a common tangent in such a manner that,
if we suppose the curve traced out by a point, it
moves up to the cusp along one branch and
then moves back along the other. 3. (Astroii. )
Either point of the horns of a crescent moon or
planet. 4. (Anat.) The point or projection on
the summit of the crown of a tooth. (Cuspidate.)
Cuspidate. [L. cuspis, cuspulis, a spear.}
(Bot.) Rounded off, with a projecting point in
the middle ; e.g. many species of bramble.
CUST
153
CVCL
Custard apple. (Anona.)
Customary freehold. (Leg.) (Privileged
copyholds.)
Custos moruiu. [L.] Guardian of morals.
Custos rotulorum. [Leg. L.] Keeper of the
rolls ; the principal justice of the peace in a
county, who has charge of the rolls and records
of the sessions of the peace.
Cutch. Catechu (q.v.).
Cutchery. A Hindu court of justice.
Cut Ms painter, To. (Naut.) 1. To die. 2.
To go off suddenly or secretly. (Painter.)
Cuticle. [L. cuticiila, dim. of ciitis, skin.']
(Physiol.) The insensible external layer of the
skin ; the epidermis, or scarf-skin.
Ciitis. [L., skin.] (Physiol.) The true skin,
condensed areolar tissue. C. anserina, Goose-skin,
or goose-flesh ; a roughness of the skin, produced
by cold or fear.
Cnt of the jib. (Naut. ) 1. The look of a ship.
2. Metaph. of a person.
Cutter. (Naut. ) A small vessel with a single
masl and straight, running bowsprit, carrying a
large fore-and-aft mainsail and jib ; also a gaff-
topsail, and a stay-foresail. C. brig, a vessel
with squaresails, fore-and-aft mainsail, and a
jigger-mast. Ship's C., a ship's boat, broader,
deeper, and shorter in proportion than the barge,
or pinnace, and more fitted for sailing.
Cuttle, Captain. A one-armed retired sea-
captain in Dickens's Dombcy and Son, ingenuous,
eccentric, and kindly; often saying, "When
found, make note of."
Cuttle-fish. Sepiadse, fam. of dibranchiate
cephalopods (q.v.), with traces of a shell, and
rudiments of internal skeleton. All seas.
Cutty. [Gael, cut, a short tail, Eng. scut ;
cf. L. cauda, tail.] A short clay pipe.
Cutty-stool. A seat or gallery in a Scotch
kirk, painted black, on which offenders against
chastity were compelled to sit and make pro-
fession of penitence, and to be publicly re-
buked.
Cuvette. [Fr.] A large clay pot, in which
the materials for plate-glass are melted.
Cyan-, Cyano-, = blueness. [Gr. /ci/dvos, a
dark blue substance ; of what kind (?).]
Cyanogen. [Gr. KUO.VOS, blue, yevvav, to beget.]
A gas composed of one part of nitrogen and two
of carbon.
Cyanometer. [Gr. icvavos, blue, nerpov,
measure.] An instrument for measuring the
degree of blueness in the sky.
Cyanotype. [Gr. KiWos, blue, TVTTOS, type.]
A photograph of a blue colour, developed by
ferrocyanide of potassium.
Cyathiform. Having the shape [L. forma] of
a cyathus. (Crateriform.)
Cyathus. [L. , from Gr. Kvados, a cup.] A
cup especially for drinking.
Cybele. [Gr. KU^'ATJ.] (Myth.) An Asiatic
goddess, whose rites were celebrated with great
excitement by her priests, who were named
Corybantes, Curetes, Galli, etc. Lord Byron
makes the penult of the name long, thus making
it answer to the Greek form Kybebe. (Baccha-
nalian ; Dionysian.)
Cycadaceae, Cycads. (Hot.) The Cycas tribe, a
nat. ord. of chlamydeous dicotyledons ; small
palm-like trees or shrubs, with cylindrical un-
branched trunks, pinnate leaves, and dioecious
flowers. Natives of tropics and temperate parts
of Asia and America.
Cyclades. [Gr. Kur/\a5es.] The group of
islands in the archipelago east of Euboea and
Attica, round [eV KVK\O>] Delos.
Cycle [Gr. KVK\OS, a ring, circle] ; Calippio
C. ; C. of indictions; Lunar C.; Metonic C. ; C.
of operations; Eeversible C.; Solar C. 1. The
continual recurrence of a set of events in an
assigned order. 2. The period during which
the occurrence of one set takes place. The
Solar C. consists of twenty-eight Julian years,
after the lapse of which, on the Julian system,
the same days of the week would always return
to the same days of each month throughout the
year. The Lunar C. consists of 235 lunations,
which do not differ from nineteen Julian years
by quite an hour and a half. Consequently, if
in any one period of nineteen years the days of
the occurrence of all the new moons (or full
moons) are noted, they will be found to recur
on or very near to the same days in the same
order in the next period of nineteen years, and
so on. These nineteen years constitute a
Lunar or Metonic C. , the fact of the recurrence
having been discovered by Meton, an Athenian
mathematician, circ. 432 B.C. The Golden
A'umber of a year denotes its place in the lunar
C. The Calippic C. (Calippus, of Cyzicus, circ.
320 B.C.) was designed as an improvement on
the Metonic C., and consists of seventy-six years,
or four Metonic C. The adoption of this C. in
combination with the Julian calendar brings the
succession of new moons back to the same day,
and nearly the same hour of the day. C. of
indictions, a period of fifteen years, used in the
courts of law and in the fiscal organization of
the Roman Empire under Constantine arid his
successor ; it was thus introduced into legal
dates as the Golden Number was introduced
into ecclesiastical dates. To find the /; im;
number or year of the solar C., add 9 to the
number of the year A.D. and divide by 28 ; to
find the Golden Number or year of the lunar C.,
add I and divide by 19 ; to find the indiction,
add 3 and divide by 15 : the remainder, if any,
is the required year ; if none, the year is the
twenty-eighth, nineteenth, and fifteenth of these
C. respectively. C. of operations, in thermo-
dynamics, a series of operations by which a
substance working in a heat-engine (as steam in
a steam-engine) is finally brought to the same
state in all respects as at first. When a C. of
operations can be gone through first in a given
order, and then in the reverse order, the cycle
is said to be a Reversible C. If a heat-engine
were capable of performing a reversible C. of
operations, it would be dynamically perfect.
Cyclica. [Gr. KVK\"IK.OS, circular.] (Entoin.)
Section of coleopterous insects, Tetramerous
(Coleoptera), as longicorn, beetles, and weevils.
Cyclic chorus. [Gr. KVK\IOS x"P s -] The
chorus which danced round the altar of Diony-
CYCL
154
CZAR
sius (Bacchus) in a circle, in contrast with the
square choruses of the tragic drama.
Cyclic poets. (Hist.) The supposed authors
of those poems which treated of the heroic and
mythological ages of Greece. The Iliad and
Odyssey were at first included in this epic cycle,
which was arranged at Alexandria in the second
century B.C.
Cycloid. [Gr. Ku/cAoeiS^s, in class. Gr. cir-
cular.] The curve which is traced out in space
by a point on the circumference of a circle,
which rolls in a plane along a straight line.
Cycloid fishes. [Gr. KVK\OS, a circle.} An
ord. with Agassiz, having C. scales, i.e. formed
of concentric layers, not covered with enamel,
and with margins not toothed ; e.g. herring,
trout.
Cyclone. [Gr. KVK\6<n, I make to whirl round. ]
A storm which combines a rotatory with a pro-
gressive motion.
Cyclopean. (Arch. ) Ancient buildings are so
termed in which the walls are composed of large
stones laid without any mortar, as at Mykenae
and Tiryns.
Cyclopes. [Gr. KvK\wwfs.] (Myth.) A race
f gigantic beings who are represented in the
Odyssey as shepherds, having only one eye in
the midst of their forehead. Such was Poly-
phemus, from whom Ulysses made his escape.
They are described also as forging the thunder-
bolts of Jupiter, and they are supposed to have
raised the buildings called Cyclopean.
Cyclopteris. [Gr. KVK\OS, a circle, vrfpis,
fern.] (Geol.) Applied to two dififerent kinds of
fern-like fossil plants, with rounded leaflets, (i)
from the coal-measures, (2) Oolite.
Cylinder. [Gr. Kv\iv$pos, a cylinder.] The
part of a steam-engine in which the piston is
driven alternately up and down by the steam.
Cymar, Simar. A light covering, a scarf.
(Chimere. )
Cymbiform. (Bot. ) Of the shape of a boat or
skiff [L. cymba] ; e.g. glumes of canary grass
and other grasses.
Cyme. [Gr. KV^O., a young sprout.] (Bot.) An
umbel-like inflorescence ; a panicle, of which the
pedicels are unequal in length, and the flowers
thereby brought to nearly the same level ; e.g.
elder.
Cymric, Kymric. [Welsh.] Division of Celtic
(Keltic) ; often includes the kindred Cornish and
Armorican dialects.
Cynanche. [Gr. /ciW-yx*?* from KVWV, a dog,
and &yx&, I squeeze tight.] Has been corr. into
Quinsy. C. clericorum, i. q. Dysphonia clericorum.
Cynanthropy. The malady of a [Gr.
Opwiros] a man [HvOpwiros] who fancies himself a
dog \_KVW]. Cf. Lycanthropy.
Cynegetios. [Gr. KUJ/TJTTJTIK^ (TX^?).] Art
of hunting with dogs.
Cynics. (Hist.) A sect of Greek philosophers ;
so called, it is said, from their snarling and surly
humour, the name being derived from KVWV, a
dog. It was founded by Antisthenes, a disciple
of Socrates ; and Diogenes belonged to it.
Cynosarges. [Gr. Kw6aapyes.] (Hist.) An
academy in the suburbs of ancient Athens, in
which Antisthenes taught. (Cynics.)
Cynosure. This word has been supposed to
denote a dog's tail, from Gr. Kw6aovpa : but the
first syllable of this word, as of Cynosarges, has
probably nothing to do with Kixav, a dog. It was
applied by some philosophers to the constellation
of the Lesser Bear, and has hence come to mean
any point of special attraction.
Cy pres. [O.Fr.] (Leg.) As war as possible ;
a rule of approximate construction if strict con-
struction be impossible or involve public harm.
Cyprinldae. [Gr. Kvirpis, name of Aphrodite,
from Kvirpos, Cyprus.} (Zool.) Fam. of bivalve
molluscs. Universally distributed. Class Con-
chifera.
Cyrenians. (Hist.) The followers of Aris-
tippus, a disciple of Socrates, who founded a
school at Cyrene, a Greek colony on the north
coast of Africa, and whose opinions approached
those of Epicurus.
Cyst. [Gr. KVCTTIS, the bladder, a bag.} (Med.)
An abnormal development in shape like a pouch,
or sac. Cystitis, inflammation of the bladder.
Cystoid, like a C., in appearance.
Cystalgia. Pain [Gr. &\yos] in the bladder
[KVO-TIS],
Cytherea. [L., Gr. KvOfpeia.] A Greek name
for Aphrodite, Venus, from the island of Cythera,
where she had a well-known temple.
Cytlsus. [In L., a kind of clover.] (Bot.)
Broom ; one of many allied gen. Ord.
Legumin5sse, sub-ord. Papillonacese. Common
Broom, C. scoparius, from L. scSpse, plu.,
twigs, a broom.
Czar, Zar, or Tsar. A title given by many
Slavonic tribes to their chiefs. Ivan II. adopted,
in 1579, the title of Czar of Moscow. The wife
of the czar is called the Czarina, and the eldest
son of the emperor is the Czaroiuitch.
Czarina. (Czar.)
Czarowena. Wife of the czarowitch, Princess
Imperial of Russia.
Czarowitch, Czarowitz. (Czar.)
D
155
DA
D.
D. 1. As a Roman numeral, signifies 500 ;
and among Roman writers, stands for Divus,
Decimus, etc. D.M. , in Roman epitaphs, is
for Diis Manibus. 2. In naval affairs. (Ab-
breviations.)
Da oapo. [It.] (Music.) From the beginning,
= revert to the commencement of a subject.
D'accord. [Fr.] Agreed, in harmony.
Dacoits, Daooos. In India, thieves who go
about the country in gangs. They prefer gene-
rally to rob without violence, being thus chiefly
distinguished from the Thugs.
Dactyl. [Gr. SO,KTV\OS, a finger.} (Pros.) A
metrical foot, of a long syllable followed by two
short ones. (Spondee,)
Dactylioglyphy. [Gr. SajcruAios, a ring,
'yXvfyeiff to engrave.} The art of engraving
gems.
Dactyliomanoy. [Gr. SaKTv\to-/j.avreta.} Fin-
ger- ring-divination.
Dactylology. [Gr. SctaruAos, finger, \6yos,
speech.} The art of talking on the ringers by
means of a manual alphabet, chiefly practised by
the deaf and dumb.
Da dextram mlseris. [L. ] Offer your right
hand to the wretched.
Dado, [It.] (Arch.') 1. The part of a pe-
destal, called the die, in the middle between the
base and the cornice. 2. The wainscoting of a
wall, which would be supposed to represent the
dado of the pilasters arranged round it.
Daedalean. [Gr. SatSaAea.] An epithet ap-
plied to works of art cunningly wrought ; from
the mythical Daedalus, whose name describes
him as the skilful worker. Daedalus is said to
have built the labyrinth in Crete for the Mino-
taur. He escaped from the island on wings
which he had made ; his son Icarus, flying with
him, fell into the sea and was drowned.
Daemona daemone pellit. [L.] He drives out
one devil by another.
Dagh. [Turk.] Hill, mountain.
Daguerreotype. (M. Daguerre, inventor,
1839.) One of the earliest successful forms of
photography. A copper plate is silvered and
polished, and by the action of vapour of iodine
covered with a film of iodide of silver. A picture
of the object is then formed on the surface by
means of a camera obscura. As iodide of silver
is decomposed by sunlight, the silver surface will
be restored where the lights of the picture fall,
but the film of iodide of silver will remain where
the shadows fall. The result thus obtained is
rendered visible and permanent by vapour of
mercury, which easily combines with and tar-
nishes the plate where the silver is exposed to its
action.
Dahm. (Naut.) A decked Indian or Ara-
bian boat.
Daily progress. (A'ant.) A return made daily
by a vessel as to progress of equipment while in
port.
Daimio. When the Shogunate, or authority
of the Tycoon, was abolished by the Mikado of
Japan, the daimios (or barons) resigned their
fiefs into the hands of the latter, with whom the
whole power of the state has rested since 1871.
Daireh. [Turk.] The Khedive of Egypt's
private landed estate.
Dais. [Fr.] 1. The raised platform at the
upper end of a dining-hall. 2. The upper table
on its platform. 3. The seat, sometimes with
canopy, for guests at this table. 4. The canopy
over the seat of a person of dignity.
Daker, Dakir, Dicker. [L.L. dacra, decara, L.
decuria.] 1. A number of ten units. 2. A score.
Daker-hen, The moor-hen.
Dakoity. The system of Dacoit robbery.
-dale, -dell. [Cf. Ger. thai, valley, O.H.G.
tal, A.S. clal, O.N. dais, Gr. 66\os, excavated
chamber, Skt. dharas, deep place.'} I'arl of
Saxon names, meaning valley, as in Annan-dale,
Arun-del.
D'Alembert's principle (French mathematician,
1717-1783) in Dynamics asserts that when a
system of rigidly connected particles moves
under the action of any forces impressed on it
from without, forces equal to the effective forces,
but acting in exactly opposite directions, applied
at each point of the system, would be in equili-
brium with the impressed forces.
Dalesman. Inhabitant of a valley, especially
of the dales of the north of England.
Dalgetty, Dugald. A mercenary soldier in
Scott's Legend of Moutrosc, bold, shrewd, un-
scrupulous, and pedantic.
Dalmatic. A gown or robe with sleeves, worn
by deacons in the Latin Church over the alb.
It represents a dress imported into Rome from
Dalmatia by the Emperor Commodus.
Da locum melioribus. [L.] Give place to
your betters.
Dalriadio. (Dalriada, old name of Antrim.)
Pertaining to Antrim.
Daltonism. Colour-blindness (q.v.); so called
from Dalton, the chemist, who was colour-blind.
Dalton's theory. The atomic theory. (Atomic
philosophy. )
Damage feasant. [O.Fr. damage faisant,
doing damage, L.L. damnaticum faciens, from
damnum, damage.} (Leg.) Doing injury, tres-
passing.
Damara, Dammar gum. [Malay damar.] A
resin from the Indian Archipelago, used for
making varnish.
Damask. A stuff woven with raised figures
(originally made at Damascus).
Damaskeen. (Damascus, where first made.)
Iron or steel inlaid with gold or silver.
Damasse. [Fr.] A Flemish linen in imitation
of damask.
Damassin. [Fr.] A kind of damask worked
with gold and silver patterns in the warp.
Dame. (Madam.)
DAME
Damelopre. [D. damloper = bilander (</. v.),
from dam, dam, loopen, to run ; cf. Ger. laufen.j
(Naut.) A flat-floored Dutch vessel, formerly
used for carrying heavy cargoes over shallows.
Damenisation. (Solmisation.)
Damna minus consueta mo vent. [L.] Loss
to which otie is unaccustomed affects one (espe-
cially).
Damnant quod non intelligunt. [L.] They
condemn what they do not understand.
Damnonia. Name of Cornwall and Devon in
the time of the Roman occupation.
Danmosa hereditas. [L.] An inheritance or
legacy which entails loss.
Damocles. A courtier whom Dionysius L,
Tyrant of Syracuse (B.C. 405-367), allowed to
take his place and state at a banquet, but had
a sword hung over him by a hair, to illustrate the
dangers incident to wealth and power.
Damon and Pythias. 1. Two Pythagoreans of
Syracuse, in the time of Dionysius I. , famous for
their close friendship, which made them each
willing to die for the other. 2. Damon, shep-
herd in Virgil's eighth Eclogue ; hence any rustic
swain. The Damon of Eel. iii. is the master of
a goatherd Tityrus.
Damosel. (Ambisexual words.)
Dampers. In a piano, pieces of wood covered
with cloth, and (when the loud pedal is not used)
checking the vibrations of the wires when struck.
Dan. [O.Fr. don, Sp. don, It. donno, from
L. dominus, master, .] An old title of respect,
like sir, as Dan Geoffrey (Chaucer) in Spenser.
Dance Macabre. (Dance of Death. )
Dance of Death. In a series of woodcuts, said
to be by Hans Holbein. Death is represented as
dancing with persons of all kinds from Adam
downwards. This dance is sometimes called the
Dance Macabre, perhaps from St. Macarius. It
was painted on the north end of the cloisters of
Old St. Paul's, London.
Dancette. (Her.) Zigzagged, generally with
three projections.
Dancing mania, which spread through a large
part of Middle Europe in the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries, a wild delirium, with re-
ligious delusions. Similar were the tarantism
of S. Italy, the leaping ague of Scotland, the
dance of St. Weit (St. Vitus), and many other
phenomena.
Dandie. [Hind.] A boatman.
Dandies. (Naut.) The rowers of the Ganges
hufaervutt (q.v.).
Dandin, George. The hero of Moliere's play
G. D., a rich French bourgeois, whose marriage
into a noble family brings him endless disagree-
ables, whereupon he continually exclaims, " Tu
1'as voulu, George Dandin ! " (" You would have
it so, George Dandin ! ").
Dandiprat. Child, little fellow, dwarf.
Dandy. (Naut. ) A sloop or cutter having
a jigger-mast, which carries a lugsail.
Dandy Dinmont. A Lidclesdale farmer in
Scott's Guy Mannering, who has given a name
to a celebrated breed of long-backed Scotch
terriers.
Danegelt. In Eng. Hist., a tribute of twelve-
pence laid by the Danes upon the Anglo-Saxons
for every hide of land throughout the country.
Danelagh, Danelaw. [A.S. Dene-lage.]
(Hist.) A name applied to the part of England
beyond "VVatling Street, as the region in which
the Danish law remained in force after the peace
of Wedmore, by which the Northmen evacuated
Wessex and the part of Mercia south-west of
Watling Street, A.D. 878-880. Freeman, Norm.
Conquest, vol. i. ch. 2.
Daphne. The Greek word for laurel. The
nymph who fled from Apollo was said to be so
called, because she was changed into a laurel
bush.
Darby and Joan. Representatives of a happy
old married couple, hero and heroine of a ballad
of the end of the eighteenth century. The
originals were claimed by Healaugh, a village in
the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Daric. [Gr. Sapei/co's.] Greek name of a
Persian gold coin.
Darien scheme. A disastrous speculation for
forming an entrepot between the Eastern and
Western hemispheres (16951-1701), put forth by
W. Paterson, founder of the Bank of England,
who was fully convinced of its practicability.
Macaulay, Hist, of England.
Darks. (Naut. ) Moonless nights.
Darning the water. (Naut.) Blockading a
port by cruising off it.
Darogah. [Hind.] A superintendent, overseer.
Darraign, Darrain. [O.Fr. desrener, L.L.
deriitionare, from ratio, -nem, reason.] (Leg.)
To clear an account, to settle a controversy.
Darrein. [Cf. Fr. dernier.] Last.
Darsena. [It. , from Ar. dar-9ana, a place of
construction.] (A r aitt.) An inner harbour. A
wet dock (Mediterranean).
Dasymeter. [Gr. 5o<rvs, dense, /tei-peli', to
measure.] An instrument for measuring the
density of gases.
Basypus. [Gr. 8a<rwot>s, hairy-foot. ~\ (Zool.)
Originally the hare ; it now gives a name to
the armadillo family ,_Dasypodidge. Central and
S. America. Ord. Edentata.
Easyure. [Gr. Savvs, hairy, otpd, tail.] (Zool.)
Fam. of rapacious marsupials, Native cats (as
the Tasmanian devil, Dasyurus ursinus), rang-
ing in size from a mouse to a shepherd's dog.
Australasia.
Datary. [It. datario.] In the pope's court,
an officer a prelate, sometimes a cardinal
who receives petitions concerning the provision
of benefices. He dates a petition, if registered,
writing "Datum Ronue," etc. ("Given at
Rome," etc.).
Data tempore prosunt. [L.] Timely gifts
are beneficial.
Datisca yellow. A permanent vegetable dye,
used in Cashmere.
Datoo. 1. West wind in Straits of Gibraltar.
2. A Malay mark of rank.
Datum, plu. BaLa. [L. p. part. neut. of do, /
give.] An admitted fact or proposition which
forms a ground for an inference or deduction.
Datum-line. [L. datum, a thing given.] In
levelling, the horizontal line drawn on the pic-
DAUK
157
DKI'-A
ture of a section of the ground to which the
heights of all points on the surface are referred.
Dauk, Dawk. [Hind.] The mail-post.
Dauphin. The title of the heir-apparent of
the French crown before the Revolution. It had
been borne by the Counts or Lords of Vienne, in
Dauphine, from the twelfth century or earlier,
and was probably of heraldic origin.
Da veniam lacrymis. [L. ] Grant indulgence
to tears.
Davits. [Fr. davier.] (Naut.) Pieces of
timber or iron projecting over a ship's side or
stern, from which the boats are suspended.
Fish-D., that by which the flukes of an anchor
are raised clear of the vessel to the top of the
bow ; doing this is called fishing the anchor.
Davy lamp. (Invented by Sir Humphry
Davy, 1778-1829.) A lamp used by coal-
miners. Instead of glass a wire netting surrounds
the candle. When a stream of sub-carburetted
hydrogen (fire-damp) passes through a fine wire
netting, it may be ignited on one side without
the flame passing back to the other side of the
netting. Consequently, when the lamp is in air
charged with fire-damp, the flame of the candle
ignites only the gas within the lamp ; the out-
side gas does not ignite till the wire becomes
white hot. (Geordy lamp.)
Davy's locker, or Davy Jones's locker. A
sailor's phrase, denoting the depths of the sea.
The name Davy is akin probably to devil [Ger.
teufel]. (Old Nick.)
Dawk-boat. (Naut.) A mail-boat (Indian).
Day. (Naut. ) Is reckoned from noon to
noon, i.e. from one observation to the next.
D.-book, old name for log-book.
Day, Apparent solar ; Astronomical D. ; Civil
D. ; Lunar D. ; Mean solar D. ; Sidereal D. The
Apparent solar D. is the interval between two
successive transits of the sun's centre across the
meridian. The average length of a very large
number of apparent solar days is a Mean solar
D. The Astronomical solar D. is reckoned
from noon to noon ; the Civil D. from midnight
to midnight. The interval between two succes-
sive (superior) transits of a given star is a
Sidereal D. ; it is the interval of time in which
the earth makes one revolution on her axis, and
is 3 mins. 55 '91 sees, of mean time shdrter than
a mean day. The sidereal D. begins when the
first point of Aries is on the meridian. The
interval between two successive transits of the
moon is called a Lunar D. Its average length
is about 54 mins. of mean time longer than a
mean day.
Day-fly. (Ephemeridae.)
Day-rule. (Leg. ) A permission to a prisoner
to leave prison for the purpose of transacting
necessary business.
Daysman. Umpire, arbiter deciding between
two parties after judicial hearing (Job ix. 33).
Day at one time = (i) law day, also (2) day for
the meeting of an assembly.
Days of grace. (Grace, Days of.)
Day's work. (Naut.) The reduction by
trigonometry of the ship's courses and distances
from noon to noon, after allowing for currents,
leeway, etc., and so determining her latitude and
longitude, i.e. by dead-reckoning.
Dead-angle. Space between any two lines of
intrenchment not swept by musketry fire.
Dead-colouring. The first layer of colouring,
generally grey ; so called because not seen when
the painting is finished.
Dead-eye, or Dead man's eye. (A T auf.) Flat,
rounded pieces of wood with one or more holes
in them, through which a lanyard (or small rope)
is passed, so as to get a purchase.
Dead-freight. (Leg.} Freight paid by a
merchant, who. does not ship a full cargo, for the
part not shipped.
Dead-heat. The result of a contest in which'
two or more competitors are equally first.
Dead horse. (N'aut.) (Advance money.)
Dead-lights. (Want.) Wooden shutters fitted
into cabin windows.
Dead-lock. 1. A lock without a spring or
latch, which can only be worked with key. 2.
Metaph. a standstill in negociations or opera-
tions.
Dead-men. (Naut.) Reef or gasket ends
left dangling from a yard, when a sail is furled
in a slovenly manner.
Dead-points. Those points of the circle de-
scribed by the end of a crank at which the
crank and connecting-rod are in the same
straight line. In this position the driving power
has no tendency to turn the crank, which is
carried past the dead-points only by the inertia
of the machine.
Dead-reckoning. (Day's work.)
Dead-ropes. (Naut.) Ropes not passing
through a block.
Dead-set. 1. Attitude of a pointer giving
warning of game. 2. A conspiracy to cheat at
cards.
Dead-wood. (N'aut.) Blocks of timber fayed
on to the upper side of the keel, and at the ex-
treme ends, to a considerable height one upon
another. Dead-wood knees, the top pieces of
dead-wood fore and aft, shaped so as to fasten the
keel to the stem and stern.
Dead-works, Upper, or Supernatant works.
So much of a laden vessel as is above water.
Deal. [A.S. dtelan, to divide.] As in Exod.
xxix. 40 ; a portion.
Deal beach, Rolled upon. (N'aut.} A pock-
marked man ; also called Cribbagc -faced.
De alieno corio liberalis. [L.] Liberal at
another's expense ; lit. from another's skin.
Dean of Christianity. (Decani.)
Dean of Faculty. (Decani; Faculty Court.)
Dean of the Arches. (Decani.)
Dean of the City. (Decani.)
De asini umbra disceptare. [L.] To dispute
about an ass's shadow ; to indulge in idle, useless
disputations.
Death in the pot. Poison which has ac-
cidentally found its way into an ordinary meal
(2 Kings iv. 40). (Sodom, Vine of.)
Death-watch. (Entom, ) Gen. of small beetle
(Anoblum), which calls its mate by tapping with
its mandibles. Fam. Ptinidse.
Debacle. [Fr.] A breaking up of river ice ;
DEBE
I-5S
DECK
a sudden violent flood carrying all before it ;
lit. an unbarring [bacler, to bar with a wooden
bar, baculus].
Debellation. [L. debellare, to utterly over-
come in war.} Utter subjugation, the carrying
of a war to an utterly successful issue.
Debenture. [From L. debeo, I ou>e.] A
deed-poll charging property with repayment of
money lent at a given interest. Public com-
Snies often raise money by D. The interest on
stock is a primary charge on the company's
property.
Debenture stock. (Debenture.)
Deblai. [Fr. deblayer, to clear away, L.L.
"debladare, to clear afield.] Excavation from
which the materials remblai [Fr. remblayer, to
embank] have been obtained for constructing
fortifications.
Deboisement. [Fr.] Clearing off of wood
fbois].
Debonair. [Fr. debonnaire, de bon air, of
good appearance. (For the history of the word
air, see Littre and Wedgwood.)] Graceful,
gentle, courteous.
Debouch. [Fr. deboucher, to clear, uncork,
bouche, a mouth, L. bucca.] To pass through
the outlet, or debouchure, of any defile.
Debruised. (Her.) Having an ordinary
placed across it.
Debutant, -ante, fern. [Fr.] One who makes
a debut, or first appearance, especially on the
stage.
Decade. [Fr. decade, L.L. decada, from
$fKds. -ados, a number of ten.] A sum or aggre-
gate numbering ten, especially a period of ten
years.
Decagon. (Polygon.)
Decagramme ; Decalitre ; Decametre. [Gr.
Se'/ca, ten, and Fr. gramme, etc.] Measures of
ten grammes, ten litres, and ten metres respec-
tively. (Gramme; Litre; Metre.)
Decameron. [Gr. Se'/ca /Atpuv, of ten parts, or
tiexhufpos, lasting for ten days.] A famous col-
lection of stories by Boccaccio (fourteenth cen-
tury), supposed to be told in ten days ; whence
Chaucer, Shakespeare, etc., got material.
Decani. [L.] (Eccl.) St. Augustine speaks
of the chief of ten monks as a Decanus. Hence
the dean of a cathedral church is one who is
supposed to preside over ten canons or preben-
daries at least ; and a Decanus Christianitatis,
or Dean of Christianity, was so called as having
jurisdiction over a district of ten churches. He
was also known as Urban Dean, or Dean of the
City. Thus, also, the Deans of Faculty in
universities presided over their respective
faculties, and maintained discipline. The Dean
of the Arches is the judge in the metropolitan
court of Canterbury, this court having been
anciently held in the Church of St. Mary of the
Arches, or le-Bow.
Decapoda. [Gr. 5eca, ten, irovs, irof>6s,foot.]
(Zool.) 1. Cephalopods with ten suckers, as
cuttlefish. 2. Crustaceans with ten thoracic feet,
as crabs.
Decarburation. The freeing of any substance
from [L. de] carbon. (Bessemer steel.)
Decastich. [Gr. 8 oca, ten, orf*", lines.} A
verse or poem of ten lines.
Decasyllabic. [Gr. 5'/ca, ten, <rv\\a.&ri, syllable.}
Of ten syllables.
Deccan. A district of high tableland in
Central Hindustan, between the Nerbuddah and
the Kistnah.
Decemvirs. [L. decemviri, ten men.} (Hist.)
This name, applying to any body of ten men, is
used especially to denote the commission of ten
appointed to revise the laws of Rome in the
3O2nd year after the foundation of the city. As
the result of their work, they are said to have
put forth the laws of the Twelve Tables.
Decennary. [L.L. decennarium, from dcen-
nium, from decem, ten, annus, year.] 1. A
period of ten years. 2. The day which ter-
minates such a period or begins the next.
Deoheanoe. The French term for Forfeiture.
Deciduous. [L. de-clduus, that falls down or
off.} 1. (Nat. Hist.) Shed during the lifetime
of the creature. 2. (Bot. ) D. trees, not ever-
green.
Decies repetita placebit. [L.] Though re-
peated ten times, it will be pleasing.
Decigramme ; Decilitre ; Decimetre ; Decistere.
[L. decimus, tenth, and Fr. gramme, etc.]
Measures of the tenth part of a gramme, litre,
metre, and stere respectively. (Gramme ; Litre ;
Metre; Stere.)
Decimal ; Circulating D. ; D. fraction ; D. no-
tation ; D. place ; Eecurring D. ; Repeating D.
Reckoned by tens. The D. notation is that in
common use for expressing numbers by units,
tens, hundreds, etc. A D. is a fraction ex-
pressed by an extension of the decimal notation,
by tenths, hundredths, etc. ; thus, 273-^5 is
expressed by 273 '568, i.e. 200 + 70 + 3 + TO +
TOT ~t~ TIKHJ 5 according as a number stands for so
many tenths, hundredths, thousandths, etc., it
stands in the first, second, third, etc., D. place.
It is found that by this notation all numbers can
be expressed either exactly or to any assignable
degree of approximation. When after any
assigned place a decimal consists of a group
of digits repeated to infinity in the same order ;
as, 2 '5 1 8348348 34, etc., it is a Circulating, or
Recurring, or Repeating D. ; the group of digits
repeated is the Repetend.
Decimation. [L. ddclmare, to deci mate . ] 1. The
selection of every tenth man for punishment, as
after mutiny of Roman soldiers under the empire.
2. A destruction of one in ten, or ten per cent.
Deck-, or Round- house. A cabin on the deck,
with gangways on each side.
Decks. In a line-of-battle ship (three-decker) :
Poop-D., that which reaches from the mizzen-
mast to the tarn-ail. The Upper or Spar Z>.,
from stem to stern, divided into Quarter-D.,
that part abaft the mainmast ; Waist or Booms,
between the fore and main masts. Forecastle,
from the foreshrouds to bows. Main-D., or
Gun-D., the whole length of ship below the
spar-D. ; then the Middle-D., succeeded by
LoTver-D. and Orlop-D. In a two-decker, the
Middle-D. is omitted. Flush- D. is one con-
tinued the whole length of a vessel
DECL
159
DEFK
Declaration for liberty of conscience. (Seven
bishops.)
Declaration of Indulgence, The, by Charles II. ,
March 15, 1672, suspended all penalties against
Dissenters. (Conventicle Acts; Five-Mile Act.)
Declension. [L. declmatio, -nem, Gr. TTTOJO-IS,
slanting, inflexion.] (Gram.) The indication by
change of form or auxiliary words (prepositions)
of the relation of the idea of a noun to other
ideas expressed in a sentence. (Aptote.)
Declination ; D. circle ; Magnetic D. ; Parallel
of D. [L. declmatio, -nem, a bending aside.]
The circle drawn through the poles of the great
sphere which passes through the centre of a
heavenly body is its D. circle ; its D. is its an-
gular distance north or south of the celestial
equator measured on its declination circle ; its
Parallel of D. is the small circle drawn through
it parallel to the celestial equator. The Magnetic
D. at any place is the angle between the direc-
tion of the magnetic north and the meridian; i.e.
the bearing of the magnetic north east or west
of true north.
Declinometer. [Eng. decline, Gr. fierpov, a
measure.] An instrument for measuring the
declination (q.v.) of the needle.
Decollation. [From L. decollare, to take off
from the neck (collum).] Beheading ; especially
used of the martyrdom of St. John Baptist.
Decor inemptus. [L.] Unbought grace.
Decree nisi. A decree in the first instance of
divorce or nullity ; to be made absolute in six
months, unless cause to the contrary be shown
in the mean time.
Decreet. [L. decretum, p. part, of decerno,
I decree.] (Scot. Law. ) Final decision of a court.
Decrement. [L. decrementum, decrease.]
{Her.) The wane of the moon.
Decrements. [L. decrementa, diminutions.]
Charges in battels at Oxford for wear and tear
of table furniture, etc.
Decrepitating salts. [L. de, and crepitare, to
crackle.] Salts which crackle when heated.
Decrescent, Moon. (Her.) A waning [L.
decrescentem] moon, having its horns turned to
the sinister side.
Decretals. [L. decretalis, decretum, a decree.]
1. A portion of Canon law, the decrees or written
answers of early popes upon disputed questions.
So the Romans had regarded the responsa prii-
dentum when unanimous, as law ; and the em-
peror's opinion, afterwards, when all legislative
power became centred in him. 2. (Hist.) This
name is specially used to denote the collection
of letters and decrees of the twenty popes from
Clement to Melchiades, published during the pon-
tificate of Nicholas I., 858-867. These spurious
decretals, which were certainly completed after
829, assert the papal supremacy, and contain the
whole Roman system of dogma and discipline.
Milman, Hist, of Latin Christianity.
Decus et tutamen In armis. [L.] An orna-
ment and protection in battle (Virgil) ; of a
breast-plate.
Decussate. [L. dgcusso, / divide by X , the
sign of dgcussis, ten.] (Bot.) Crossing at righ
angles ; e.g, the leaves of Pimelea decussata.
Decypher, Decipher. [Fr. dechifiYer, Tt. deci-
erare.] To interpret secret writing (cipher), or
llegible writing, or unknown language, as that of
Etruscan or cuneiform inscriptions.
Dedecorant bene nata culpae. [L.] Faults
iisfigure natural advantages.
Dedication, Feast of. The annual feasts, com-
memorating the dedication of churches, were in
:his country called wakes, i.e. vigils or eves. In
lis instructions to Augustine, Gregory the Great
allows the yearly celebration of these feasts in
churches made out of the heathen temples. The
custom was kept up to the seventeenth century,
when the Puritans raised their voices against it ;
and although it has fallen into disuse in some
counties, it is still observed generally in the north.
De die in diem. [L.] From day to day.
Dedimus potestatem. [L.] (Leg.) We have
given the power ; a writ or commission to a private
person or private persons to forward some act
pertaining to a judge or court.
Deduction. [L. deductio, -nem, a bringing
down.] A proposition in geometry, the proof
of which can be deduced from Euclid's pro-
positions.
Deed-poll. (Leg.) A deed (with a polled edge
as opposed to an indenture; q.v.), executed by
one party only, manifesting the grantor's act and
intention, when he undertakes certain obligations
without any being imposed in return on the
grantee.
Deemster, Doomster. [A.S. dom, doom.] The
title of judges in Jersey and in the Isle of Man.
In Scotland, an officer so named reads out the
sentence awarded by the court.
Deep. (Naut.) More than twenty fathoms.
Deep-sea line. A sounding apparatus for use
in the deep sea.
Deer, Stages of growth, of. [O. E. deor ; cf.
Ger. thier, Gr. 0-fjp, L. fra. ] The young of the
Red deer (Cervus el&phus) is termed a calf, and
becomes in successive years a Brocket, a Spade
or Spayed, a Staggard, a Stag, and a Hart. The
corresponding terms in the Fallow deer (Dama
vulgaris) are Fawn, Pricket, Sorrel, Scare, Buck
of the first head, Complete buck. The young of
the Roe (Capreolus caprsea) is termed a Kid,
and becomes successively a Gird and a Hemuse.
(Antlers.)
De facto. [L.] A legal phrase, denoting
possession without reference to title ; de jure
denoting right of title without reference to pos-
session.
Defalcation. [L. defalcatio, -nem, defalcare,
from falx, falcis, sickle.] A cutting off or de-
duction, especially unlawful abstraction by an
employe or officer of money entrusted to him.
Defeasance. [From O.Fr. defesant, Fr. defai-
sant, pres. part, of defaire, to undo.] 1. A
defeat. 2. A rendering null and void. 3. (Ltg. )
Defecate. [L. defaecare, to cleanse from dregs
(faeces).] To purify, make clear, clarify.
Defender of the Faith. This title (in L., Fidei
Defensor) was bestowed by Pope Leo X. (1521)
on Henry VIII., for the publication of his book
against Luther. On the suppression of the
monasteries, the pope withdrew the title, which
DEFE
1 60
DELI
was afterwards bestowed on the king by Parlia-
ment (1544)-
Defensio Populi Anglican!. [L. , Defence of the
English People.} Milton's pamphlet, written
in justification of the execution of Charles I.,
in answer to Salmasius, i.e. De Saumaise, a
very learned man, employed by Christina of
Sweden to write an invocation of divine ven-
geance upon the Parliament.
Deferent. (Epicyle.)
Deferred stock. Stock on which no interest
is paid until the holders of preference and ordin-
ary stock have received interest at the rate of so
much per cent.
Defervescence. [L. defervesco, / cease boiling.}
A growing cool, a subsiding from a state of ebul-
lition or agitation.
De fide. [L,., of the faith.] (Eccl.) Essential.
Defilade. [Fr. defiler, to file off.} (Mil.) To
arrange the heights of the earthworks of fortifica-
tion so as to conceal the interior from the fire of
an enemy.
Deflagrate, To. [L. deflagrare, to be burned
tip.} To cause to burn with sudden and spark-
ling combustion.
Deflagrator. [L. deflagrare, to be burned up.}
A kind of voltaic battery used for producing
great light and heat.
Denuvium. [L.] A flowing vt falling off , as
of the hair.
Defterdar. [Turk., book-keeper.} The Turkish
Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Degage. [Fr.] Unembarrassed, at ease.
Deglutmate. [L. deglutlnare, to unglue, from
gluten. To separate by moistening or warming,
to unglue.
Deglutition. [From L. degluttio, / swallow
down.} 1. The act of swallowing down. 2. The
power of swallowing.
Degradation. 1. (Geol.) Gradual waste and
removal, as of hill, rock, etc. 2. (P/iys.) D. of
force or energy, the change of a small quantity
of force of a higher intensity into a larger quantity
of lower intensity.
Degrade. [L. L. degradare, to make to step
(gradi) down (de).] 1. In the University of Cam-
bridge, to put off competition in an examination
for a degree with honours for a year or more, on
some plea to be approved by the authorities. 2.
(Her. ) To terminate in steps.
Degree [L.L. degradus, a step, degree} ; D. of
an equation ; D. of latitude ; D. of the meridian.
1. The 36oth part of the circumference of a
circle. 2. The angle subtended at the centre
by that part. If two stations are taken on the
same meridian such that the directions of the
plumb-lines at them, when produced, contain an
angle of 1, they are said to be a D. of latitude
apart ; the length of the arc of the meridian
between them is a D. of the meridian ; the length
of a degree of the meridian is greater near the
poles than near the equator. The D. of an
equation is the highest power of the unknown
quantity, e.g. x 3 jx + 6 = o is an equation of
the third degree.
Degree in University. (Faculty; Eegent
masters.)
Fifteen songs of, or psalms of, Ps.
cxx.-cxxxiv. inclusive. A very obscure term.
(?) Chanted on the return from Babylon ; (?)
written for pilgrims going up to feasts at Jeru-
salem ; (?) chanted upon the fifteen steps leading
from the court of the women, in the temple, to
the court of the men of Israel ; so LXX., " 'fiSr;
TUV ava&ad/j.wi'."
De gustibus non est disputandum. [L., we
must not dispute about tastes.} There is no ac-
counting for tastes.
Dehiscent fruits. [L. dfihisco, I part asunder. }
(Bot. ' Opening by a suture, which allows the
seeds to escape ; e.g. legumes. Indchisc ent,
when the sutures do not give way at the ripen-
ing ; e.g. nut, wheat.
Dehors. [Fr.] Foreign to, outside.
Deianeira. (Nessus, Shirt of.)
Dei gratia. [L., by the grace of God.} A
formula commonly used in describing the title
of a sovereign ; first used by the clergy.
Deipara. [L.] Translates the Greek Theo-
tokos, mother of God ; the title of the Virgin
Mary in the Eastern Church.
Deipnosophists. [Gr. Aeiwo-croc/JioTcu, supper-
philosophers.} The characters in Athenseus's
(third century) work of the name, in which he
professes to record the learned table-talk of
Galen, Ulpian, and others.
Deira. A large district of Northumbria in
early Eng. Hist.
Dejeuner. [Fr., from L. de, from, jejunium,
a fast.} A morning meal, breakfast.
Dejure. (De facto.)
Dekoyts. (Dacoits.)
Delai Lama. (Lama.)
Delation. [L. delatio, -nem, an informing
against.} An information, a charging with a
crime.
Del credere. [It.] Guaranty or warranty by
a factor of the solvency of a purchaser.
Dele. [L.] Erase, remove from the text ;
commonly used (or d only) in correcting proofs
or the press.
Delectable Mountains. In Bunyan's Pilgrim's
Progress, mountains whence the Celestial City
could be descried.
Delegates, Court of. (Court, Christian.)
Delenda est Carthago. [L.] Carthage must
be destroyed ; the continual contention of the
elder Cato.
Delete. [L. deletus, p. part, of deleo, I destroy,
erase.} To blot out, remove from a text.
Delft ware, Delf. Coarse earthenware made at
Delft, in Holland.
Delian problem. (Duplication.)
Delibation. [L. delibatio, -nem.] A tasting, a
slight trial.
Delicately. In its older sense, wantonly [Gr.
airaraXSiffa, I Tim. v. II].
Delimitation. [L. de, off, limitare, to enclose
by boundaries, from limes, limitis, limit.}
Settlement of frontiers or boundaries.
Deliquescent salts. [L. dellquesce're, to melt
away.} Salts which melt by attracting moisture
from the air.
Delirant reges, plectuntur Ichlvi. [L.] TJie
DELI
161
DF.MO
chiefs act madly ; the Achcean people are
punished.
Deliration. [L. deliratio, -nem, madness, de-
lirium, from delirare, to draw aside the furrow
(lira).] Delirium, mad delusion.
Delitescence. [L. delltesco, / hide away.']
(Mcd. ) Sudden subsiding of a tumour or disease
generally.
Delivery. [Fr. delivrer, L.L. deliberate, to
deliver, from de, from, liberare, to make free
(liber).] (Leg.} Of a deed, an actual or im-
plied handing it over.
Delia Crusca. [It., of the sieve.'] The
Academia della Crusca was founded in Florence
in 1582, and is now incorporated with the Ac.
Florentina. The dictionary published by this
academy established the Tuscan dialect as the
standard of the Italian language.
Delia Cruscan. Name of a class of silly
poetasters at the close of the eighteenth century,
borrowed by one of the members as signature,
from the Florentine academy, Delia Crusca.
Della Robbia ware. (From inventor's name. )
Terra-cotta bas-reliefs, thickly enamelled with a
tin-glaze ; made at Florence, circ. 1400-1530 ; in
France, circ. 1530-1567.
Delos. (Ortygian shore.)
Delphi. (Parnassus.)
Delphic. [Gr. AeA$ot.] Oracular, ambiguous.
Delphic oracle. The oracle Apollo at Delphi,
the most celebrated in Greece for the wisdom or
the ambiguity of its answers.
Delphin Classics. [L. delphinus, dolphin.
(Dauphin.)] Name of an edition of the classics
prepared for the Dauphin of France, afterwards
Louis XV.
Delphinidae. [Gr. SeA^n's, dolphin.] (Zool.)
Fam. of carnivorous cetaceans, as the porpoise.
Universally distributed.
Delta. A triangular tract of alluvial land or
mud ; so called from its likeness to the shape of
the fourth letter in the Greek alphabet, A. The
largest deltas are those of the Mississippi, Ganges,
Nile, Rhone, Po, and Danube.
Deltoid muscle. The triangular-shaped muscle
of the shoulder, in shape [e?8os] like a delta, A.
De mal en pis. [Fr. ] from bad to worse.
Demarch. [Gr. S^fiapxos, from STJ/UOS, district,
&PXeiv, to rule.} The mayor of a Greek town-
ship.
Berne, (Demos.)
De medietate linguae, A jury. [L., of a moiety
of one's own tongue.} One of which half are
foreigners, if they can be found ; a privilege of
foreigners indicted for felony or misdemeanour.
Dementia. [L. , madness.} In Path.. = diminu-
tion, through injury or disease, of mental powers
which had been fully developed. (Amentia.)
Demesne. [O.Fr. demaine, Fr. domaine, L.
domlnium, property.] That part of an estate or
manor retained by a lord in his own occupation.
Demi-bastion. (Bastion.)
Demi-gorge. (Fort.) Line from the interior
extremities of a face or flank of a work in forti-
fication, to the capital (q. v.).
Demijohn. [Fr. Dame Jeanne, Lady Jane,
from Demaghan, a town of Khorassan, renowned
for glassware.] A large glass jar or bottle with a
small neck, covered with wickerwork.
Demi-lune. [Fr. , half -moon.'} (Tort if.} In
primitive fortification, a semicircular work, now
occupied by the rave 'in (</.?'.).
Demi-monde. [Fr., Iialf -world.} Those on
the outskirts of the fashionable world. The word
got a disreputable sense during the reign of
Napoleon III.
De immmis non curat lex. [L.] The la::'
docs not concern itself about trifles ; otherwise an
undignified use would be made of its courts, ami
petty litigation encouraged.
Demi-rilievo. [Fr. clemi, half, and It. rilievo,
relief.} Carving in which the figures are half
raised from the background.
Demise. [Fr. demise, from demettre, L.
demittere, to lay or lei down.} 1. (Leg.} A
transfer, grant by lease. 2. Hence the death
of a sovereign, upon which the kingdom is at
once transferred to the successor, as signified by
the phrase, " The Icing never dies."
Demission. [L. demissio, -ncm, a Idling
down.} A lowering, abatement, depression.
Demi-tint. Half-tint, that is, the colour of an
object neither in the full light nor full shade.
Demiurge. [Gr. o'-ri/j.iovpyos, work ing for th,:
people, from S^ios, of the people, epyai', to work.\
1. The maker of the universe employed by the
Supreme Divine Mind according to Plato's Ti-
mseus, regarded by Neoplatonists and Gnostics
as the source of all evil. In the Zoroastrian
system, the Demiurge is Ahriman. 2. A magis-
trate in some Feloponnesian states, as Mantinea
and the Achaean League.
Demi-vill. [Fr. demi, half, vill, Fr. villc, It.
villa, township.] A township containing only
five freemen. (Frankpledge.)
Demivolt. [Fr. demi, half, volte, It. volta,
from voluto, I turn.} An artificial motion of a
horse, in which he gives a half-turn with the
fore legs raised.
Democrats. (Amer. Polit.} One of the two
great political parties in the U.S. (Republicans.)
Demogorgon. [Gr. SaL/j.<av, deity, yopyds,
terrible to behold.} A terrible embodiment of
supreme power in the superstitions of the first
centuries of our era ; mentioned by Milton in
Paradise Lost.
Demoiselle. [Fr.] (Damosel.)
Demon. A word now used to denote evil
spirits. The Greek word which it represents is
supposed to mean simply wise or intelligent ;
and in the Iliad and Odyssey there is practically
no distinction between gods and demons. In
the Hesiodic Theogony, the men of the Golden
Age become after their death guardian demons
of the earth. Demons afterwards were classified
as good and bad, and ultimately were regarded
only as evil. The Latin genii answered in some
respects to the Greek demons ; but the Genius
or guardian of each man was as mortal as
himself,
Demonetize. To withdraw money from
currency, or in any way deprive it of current
value.
Demonology. (Angelology.)
DEMO
162
DEPO
Demonstrator. [L., one who points out.] An
exhibitor of dissected parts ; a teacher of
anatomy.
De mortuis nil nisi bonum. [L.] Nothing
but good (should be said) about the dead.
Demos. [Gr.] 1. The people, especially the
sovereign people of ancient Athens ; often
treated as a person by the comic poets. 2. The
Demoi of Attica were districts or boroughs, into
which the members of the tribes were divided.
Commonly called Denies by English writers.
Demosthenic. Pertaining to or like Demos-
thenes, of exalted eloquence or patriotism.
Demotic. [Gr. 8rjju.oTiK<{y, belonging to STJ^TOI,
private citizens, commoners.} D. character,
a simplified form of the hieratic character of
Egyptian writing. (Enchorial.)
De motu proprio. [L.] At his own instance ;
of one who is the real as well as the technical
promoter of a suit or measure.
Dempster. [A.S. deman, to judge, deem, and
-ster, suffix denoting agent.] (Old Scot. Law.)
The officer whose duty it was to pronounce the
sentence or judgment of the court. (Deemster.)
Demulcent medicines, etc. [L. dgmulceo, /
caress.} Soothing, diminishing irritation.
Demurrage. [O.Fr. demourer, Fr. demeurer,
L. demorare, to delay. } (JVaut.) An allowance
made by a freighter to owners of a ship detained
in port longer than agreed upon in the contract
of affreightment.
Demurrer. 1. (Demurrage.) 2. (Leg.) A plead-
ing by a defendant (generally in a civil suit),
which, admitting the facts of the opponent's case,
takes exception to the indictment, information,
or evidence, and asks the court to decide if such
case stands in law. The chief heads of exception
are to the jurisdiction of the court, to the person
of the plaintiff, to the substance or form of the
bill.
Demy. [L. dlmidius, half.} 1. A scholar (half
a fellow) of Magdalen College, Oxford. 2. A
kind of paper about twenty-two inches by seven-
teen.
-den. [(?) Celt.] Part of names, as in Ar-
den, meaning deep, wooded valley in a forest.
Denarii de caritate. [L.] Pence of charity ;
oblations made anciently to cathedral churches,
by parish priests, going with some of their pa-
rishioners to visit them ; these became, in time, a
settled charge.
Denarius. [L.] A Roman silver coin con-
taining ten, afterwards sixteen, asses, = eight-
pence or nearly thirteen-pence. The aureus D.
= twenty-five silver D.
Dendrite, Dendritic. [Gr. SevSpfrris, of or
belonging to a tree, StvSpov.] (Gcol.) Branching
crystallization or oxidation on the surfaces of
fissures and joints in rocks ; mistaken, some-
times, for fossil plants.
Denier. (Livre.)
Denis, Abbey of St. The burial-place for the
French kings from A.D. 775.
Denizen. [O.Fr. deinzein, from deinz, = L.L.
de intus,/hwz ivithin (Skeat).] 1. An adopted
citizen or subject. 2. A resident in a foreign
country. 3. Dwellers in, inhabitants.
Denominations, The Three. An association of
Dissenting ministers of London and Westminster,
A.D. 1727 ; Presbyterian (now Socinian), Inde-
pendent, and Baptist.
Denominator. (Fraction.)
Denoument. [Fr. denouer, to untie, L. de,
and nodare, to knot.} The discovery, the cata-
strophe of a drama or plot, a scene of discovery
or detection in real life.
Denshiring. Dressing land with ashes of burnt
stubble, turf, or parings of top soil.
Density [L. densita, -tern] ; Specific D. The
Density of a substance is the quantity of matter
in a unit of its volume. Specific D., or Specific
gravity, of a substance is the ratio which the
weight of any volume of it bears to the weight
of an equal volume of some standard substance ;
which for solids and liquids is commonly dis-
tilled water at some specified temperature, e.g.
60 F. or 3-94 C.
Dentation. [L. dens, dentis, tooth.} Formation
of the teeth.
Dentirostrals, Dentirostres. [L. dentem, tooth,
rostrum, bill.} (Ornith.) Tooth-billed birds, a
tribe or fam. in those systems which characterize
them by their bills. It includes shrikes and
thrushes.
Dentition. [L. dentitio, -nem.] The time, the
symptoms, of cutting teeth.
Deobstruent. [L. de, from, obstruo, I stop up.}
Medicines removing obstruction.
Deodand. [L. Deo dandum, to be given to God.}
In English jurisprudence, a practice, now abol-
ished, of inflicting a fine in cases of homicide on
the chattel which was declared to be the cause
of the death.
De omnibus rebus et quibusdam aim. [L.] On
all things and some others.
Deontology. [Gr. rb $4ov, gen. Seovros, that
which is binding, right.} J. Bentham's name
(1747-1832) for his system of morality, based
upon what Dr. Priestley had defined as the object
of government, " the greatest happiness of the
greatest number."
Deorum cibus. [L.] Food for the gods.
Department. [Fr. departement.] In Fr.
Hist. , the name given by the Constituent Assembly
to the eighty-three new divisions into which the
whole French territory was divided ( 1 787-90).
Departure. (A 7 aut.) 1. The difference in
longitude made good by a ship from the meridian
from which she departed. 2. The bearing of
an object from which a voyage commences.
Depectible. [L. de, and pecto, S COHIO oft] Of
tenacious cohesion, viscous.
Depilatory. [L. depllo, I pull out hairs (pili).]
Of use for removing superfluous hair.
Depletion [L. depleo, / empty out} = blood-
letting.
Deploy. [Fr. deployer, to unroll.} (Mil.)
When troops from a close formation are extended
into line.
Depolarization; Depolarize. A ray of polarized
light falling at a certain angle on a plate of glass
is found not to be reflected ; but if a double re-
fracting substance is interposed before the ray
reaches the glass, it is now reflected, and is said
DEPO
161
DKSV
to be Depolarized ; this result is clue to the com-
bination of the first polarization with a second.
If the interposed substance be a very thin plate,
the light, if originally white, becomes coloured,
the colour varying with the thickness and posi-
tion of the plate.
Deponent. [L. depono, / lay down, depose ]
1. (Leg.) One who makes an affidavit, a
witness. 2. (Gram.) D. verb, one which has a
passive form but an active or intransitive sense,
as sSquor, 1 ' follcnv ; moror, / tarry.
Depositary. [L. depositarius.] One with
whom any property is deposited in trust. De-
pository, the place in which it is so deposited.
Depot. [Fr. depot, deposit, L. depositum.]
(Alii.) 1. A storehouse. 2. Establishment for
the collection of war material. 3. A reserve for
the training of officers and men for the service
companies.
Deprecations. [L. depre"catio, -nem, from
precor, / pray.] In the Litany, the sentences
which begin with the word " From."
Depression of a heavenly body. Its angular
distance below the horizon measured on a vertical
circle.
Depression of the dew-point. The number of
degrees that the dew-point is below the tempera-
ture of the atmosphere.
De principatibns. (Machiavellian.)
Depurate. [L. de, thoroughly, puratus, p. part.
of puro, / cleanse.] To free from impurities or
alien matter.
Deputies, Chamber of. [Fr. Chambre des
Deputes.] In Fr. Hist., the lower of the two
legislative chambers under the monarchy, from
1814 to 1848.
Deputy-lieutenant. The deputy of the lord-
lieutenant of a county. There are several in
each county. A uniform attaches to the office.
Deracinate. [Fr. deraciner, from racine, root]
To pluck or dig up by the roots.
Deraign, Derain, Dereyn. (Darraign.)
Derbyshire neck. (Goitre.)
Derbyshire spar, i.e. abundant in D. lime-
stone. (Fluor-spar.)
Derelict. [L. de, and relictus, utterly aban-
doned] 1. (Naut.) A vessel forsaken at sea. 2.
Of lands, suddenly left bare by retirement of the
sea, i.e. generally by raising of the coast-line.
De rigeur. [Fr.] Necessary according to
etiquette.
Deringer. [Amer.] A kind of pistol named
from the original maker.
Derm. [Gr. Sepjuo, skin.] The true skin,
lying under the ret mucosum, which is covered
by the epiderm.
Dermaptera. [Gr. 8/p^.a, the skin, irrfp6v, a
wing] (Entom.) Earwigs, ForficulTdse. Insects
having leathery elytra. Ord. OrthoptSra.
Dermatology. (Dennis.)
Dennis. The vascular layer of the skin [Gr.
5ep/ua] ; the cutis vera, or true skin. Dermal,
relating to the D., or equivalent outer covering.
Dermatology, an account of the skin, its functions,
diseases, etc.
Dernier resort. [Fr.] Last resource, last resort.
Derogatory. [L. derogatorius, detracting
from] (Leg.) D. clause in a will, a secret
clause known only to the testator, with a condi-
tion that no future \\ill not containing this clause
word for word shall be valid.
Derrick. A crane on which the jib can be set
at different angles with the crane-post.
Dervise, Dervish. This Persian word, signify-
ing poor, denotes certain classes of so-called
religious persons among the Mohammedans, some
living in monasteries, others as hermits, and
belonging to many orders.
Descant. In medieval times the addition, at
first improvised, afterwards written, of parts to
a subject ; the tentative beginning of modern
harmony.
Descensum, Per. [L. for by descent] P>y
distillation through a pipe from the bottom of a
crucible, so that the vapour descends.
Description-book. (Xant.) Contains age,
place of birth, and description of each of crew.
Descriptive geometry. A part of practical
geometry, treating of the representation of points
and lines in space by means of their orthographic
projections on two planes at right angles to each
other.
Deshabille. [For Fr. deshabille, undress,
morning dress] A careless light toilet, undress.
Desiccation. [L. desicco, / dry up] A
thorough drying up.
Desired. [Fr. desirer, L. clesTdcrarc, to regret
the loss of] Mourned for, regretted, missed
(2 Chron. xxi. 20).
Desmidiaceae. [Gr. Secr^a's, -8os, a bundle,
5eo>, / bind] One of the lowest groups of or-
ganic life, propagated by budding and subsequent
fission, distinguished by their green colour, and
non-siliceous composition from the Diatonidceir,
which contain much silex. Found in ponds and
streams. It is disputed whether they are animal
or vegetable.
Desmology. [Gr. Seo-^Js, a band, bond] That
part of Anatomy which has to do with ligaments.
De son tort. [Fr.] Ofhisoii'ii wrong; said
of a stranger who ventures to act as executor.
Des Poblados. [Sp.] (Poblados.)
Desponsation. [L. desponsatio, -nem, from
desponsare, intens. of despondere, to betroth]
Act or ceremony of betrothal.
Despumation. [L. despiimare, to take froth
off, from s^vxtOi, froth, foam] The actor pro-
cess of skimming off scum or froth.
Desquamation. [L. de-squamo, / make to
scale off] A separation of the cuticle in small
scales, e.g. after scarlatina.
Destrictorium. [L.] A chamber in the
Roman thermae for the rubbing and scraping
down after the perspiration.
Desudation. [L. desudatio, -nem.] A violent
sweating.
Desuetude. [L. desuetiido, disuse] Disuse,
discontinuance of custom or practice.
Desultores. [L., vaultcrs] Men who leapt
from one horse to another when riding, especially
equestrian performers in the circus.
Desynonymize. Words at first synonymous
must in time shade off into somewhat different
meanings, and are said to D. (Synonym.)
BETA
164
DEVO
Detached work. (Mil.) Such fortifications as,
being beyond the body of the place, have to
depend on their own garrison for protection.
Detachment. Small body of troops sent to
garrison a post away from their regiment.
Detail of duty. (Mil.) Roster (q.v.) of the
numbers of each rank with the names in turn
for military duty.
Detent. (Ratchet.)
Detenu, ue. [Fr.] Prisoner.
Detergent medicines [L. detergeo, / wipe
away] cleanse ulcers, wounds, etc.
Determinable freeholds. (Determine.)
Determinant. (Math.) When i numbers
satisfy -n linear equations, the algebraical ex-
pression obtained by their elimination is the
D. of that set of equations. The properties of
determinants form an important branch of modern
algebra.
Determine. [L. determine, / put bounds
(termini) to.} (Leg.) To bring to a conclusion ;
e.g. if a widow have an estate granted to her
during widowhood, her marriage determines the
estate. Estates held for life only subject to a de-
termining contingency are determinable freeholds.
Determining bachelor. A bachelor who will
be entitled to the degree of master at the end of
the current term.
Determinism. The theory, in its extreme form,
of heredity ; that every organism is mainly deter-
mined is what it is by aggregation of inherited
qualities and tendencies, influenced by circum-
stances. Experientialism, less absolutely, holds
experience to be the foundation of all knowledge ;
and all primary beliefs (e.g. personal identity,
uniformity of nature, etc.) to be generalizations
of our own or others' experience. Intuitionalism
holds them to be instinctive, naturally implanted,
and spontaneously developed. (As to Exp. and
Int., vide Carpenter's Ment. Phys., pp. 226, 227.)
Detonating tube. [L. detonare, to thunder. \
A stout glass tube used for exploding gaseous
mixtures by electricity.
Detractor muscle. [L. detraho, I draw away. }
(Anat. ) One which draws the part to which it is
attached away from some other part.
Detriment, Moon in her. [L. detrimentum,
loss.} (Her.) An eclipsed moon.
Detriments. [L. detrimenta, plu., rubbing off,
damages, from detero, / rub off.} College charges
at Cambridge, for wear of table linen, etc.
Detritus. [L. , part, of det6ro, / rub or -wear
away.} (Geol.) Accumulations of wasted rock-
surfaces.
De trop. [Fr.] Lit. too muck ; and so, in
the way, not wanted.
Detumescence. [L. detumesce're, to cease
swelling.} Diminution of swelling, subsidence.
Detur digniori. [L.] Let it be given to one
more -worthy.
Deus ex machlna. [L.] A scholastic phrase,
borrowed from the stage, where gods might be
represented as flying in the air. It was applied
to philosophers who, when unable to solve a
difficulty by ordinary means, resorted to the aid
of a supernatural power.
Deus nobis hsec otia fecit. [L.] A God has
provided this ease for us (Virgil, Ed. i.) ; motto
of the Chelsea pensioners.
Dentero-canonical. . [Gr. Sevrepoj, second,
KavoviK&s, canonical.} (Theol.) . Books read as
lectures in the Church, without being included in
the canon of -Scripture. The term was also
applied to those books of the New Testament
which were not at first generally received. (Anti-
legomena.)
Deuteroscopy. [Gr. Sevrepos, second, ffKOTtfca,
I sec.} 1. Second sight. 2. A second, less
obvious meaning not seen at first.
Devastavit. [L.] (Leg.) Lit. he has wasted;
a waste of property by an executor or adminis-
trator.
Developable surface. One described by the
motion of a straight line in such a manner that
it could be unrolled and laid flat without tearing
or stretching ; a cone is a developable surface.
Devexity. [L. devexita, -tern, from deveho, /
carry down.} A bending down, a sloping, a
curving downwards.
Deviation of the plumb-line. The angle at
any station between the actual direction of the
plumb-line and the perpendicular drawn at that
place to the mean surface of the earth assumed
to be an ellipsoid.
Devil. (Naut.) The seam next to the water-
ways. D. to pay, and no pitch hot (Naut.} =
the troublesome water-seam to fill in with pitch,
and none ready ; a troublesome job, and no one
ready to undertake it. [D., a nickname for the
water-seam ; pay being the O.Fr. empoier, to
daub -with pilch.} (Pay.)
Devil and bag o' nails. Sign of an inn ; i.e.
Pan and the Bacchanals.
Devil-cart. One with a pair of large wheels
and a long trail (q.v.), for the purpose of con-
veying logs of timber.
Devil's advocate. (Advocatus diaboli.)
Devil's coach-horse. (Entom. ) Black cocktail,
Staphyllnus oleus, of same fam. as the small one
which gets into the eyes, ord. Coloptera.
Devil's Wall. A huge Roman wall about 368
miles long, begun in Adrian's time, extending
from Ratisbon on the Danube to below Cologne
on the right bank of the Rhine, and completing
the northern frontier of the empire.
Devil-worshippers. (Jezids.)
Devise. [Fr. deviser, from divide, divide,
p. part, divlsus, to sort into parcels.} (Leg.)
Properly to transmit real property by will, as
bequeath is used of personal property ; but D.
also = bequeath.
Devoir. [Fr.] Duty, respects, becoming act
of civility.
Devolution. [L.L. devolutio, -nem, act of
rolling down, from L. devolvo, act. and neut.,
/ roll off, away.} 1. A power claimed by the
pope of appointing to a see, if the chapter
appoint an unworthy person, or neglect to
appoint. 2. Act of rolling down. 3. A pass-
ing on to a successor.
Devonian. ( Geol. ) The marine equivalent of
the Old Red Sandstoiie, typically developed in
Devonshire ; often applied also to the Old Red
Sandstone, and to both together.
DEWE
165
DIAL
Dewel, Dole, Dool, Dowel. [O.E. drel, a
portion, dtelan, to divide ; cf. Ger. theilen, D.
deelen, id.} A post, stone, or strip of un-
ploughed land marking a boundary.
Dewlap. Loose flesh which hangs from the
throats of oxen.
Dew-point. When a body is in process of
cooling, its temperature, at the instant when
dew begins to be deposited on it, is the dew-
point in that particular state of the atmosphere.
Dexter. [L., right.} (Her.} The right-hand
side of an escutcheon, which is, of course, to
the left hand of a person facing it.
Dextrine. 1. British gum. 2. (Bot.) Starch,
in its soluble condition, during its conversion
into sugar for the nourishment of plants ; e.g. in
germinating barley. At 400 F. , viewed by polar-
ized light, starch has the property of turning the
plane of polarization to the right [L. dextra].
Dextrose. [L. dextra, right, ,] Grape-sugar,
which turns the plane of polarization towards
the right. (Polarization.)
Dey. 1. [From Turk, dai, maternal uncle.]
Title (misnomer) of the ruler of Algiers ; pro-
perly, title of the commander of the Janizaries.
2. Scotch for dairy -maid. [Cf. Prov. Eng.
day-hotise, day-woman, O.Swed. doggja, Gr.
6rj-o-9ai, Goth, daldjan, to suck.]
Dhirzee, Dirzee. [Hind.] A tailor,
Dhobee, Dobee. [Hind.] A washerman.
Dhole, Bed dog, Kholsun, (Zoo/.) Spec, of
wild dog, light bay colour, the size of a small
greyhound ; hunts almost silently, in packs.
Western Ghauts, and other mountainous parts
of India. Cu5n diikhuensis, gen. Cuon, fam.
Canldae, ord. Mammalia.
Db.ouy, or Dhouey. (Douey.)
Dhotee. [Hind.] A native's waist-cloth in
India/
Dhow. An Arabian vessel (of from 150 to
250 tons burden), about 85 feet long by 20 feet
9 inches in beam and II feet 6 inches deep,
carrying small cargoes, fitted for defence, and
rigged with a single mast forward, carrying a
large lateen, whose yard is the length of the
vessel, the tack fastened to the stem, the hal-
yards leading to the taffrail.
Di-. (Chcm.) (Bi-.)
Di-, Dis-. 1. L. prefix, = in twain, in dif-
ferent directions ; also used as a negative, as in
displease. 2. Gr. prefix [Sis, twice], = contain-
ing two chemical equivalents.
Diabetes. [Gr., from Sid, through, fia.ivia, I
go.] (A fed.) A disease of the general system,
characterized by excessive hunger and thirst,
with great increase of urine containing almost
always more or less of sugar ; its true antecedents
still obscure.
Diachylon, commonly pron. Diaculum. [Neut.
of Gr. 8idxv\os, thoroughly juicy, succulent.]
Common healing plaster, of red oxide of lead
and olive oil.
Diaconicum. [Gr. fiia.KoviK.6v, serviceable.] In
Greek Church, a vestry, sacristy, or credence
table.
Diaooustics. [Gr. Si(d), through, bito6w, I
hcar.\ The branch of acoustics which treats
of the passage of sounds through different
media and of consequent refraction ; also called
Diaphonics.
Diacritical. [Gr. 5iaKpirtK6s, able to distin-
guish.] D. marks, marks in type or writing,
added to letters or combinations of letters to
give them a special pronunciation, as the cedilla
under c in French, to show it is to be sounded
as s. , e.g. facade ; and the hyphen or dots (marks
of diaeresis) in proem, pro-em.
Diaculum. Corr. of D iacli ylon (q.i\).
Diaeresis. [Gr. 5icu'pe<m, separation.] (Gram.)
The resolution of a diphthong or a contracted
syllable into two syllables.
Diaglyptio. [Gr. Sid, through, y\v<pw, I
chisel.] Pertaining to carving in intaglio ; op-
posed to Anaglyphic, or carving in relief.
Diagnosis. [Gr. Sidyvuxris, a distinguishing,
discerning.] (JMcd.) Distinction of the charac-
teristics of different diseases, especially the
discriminating knowledge of a particular case,
from a study of all particular circumstances taken
together.
Diagometer. [Gr. Siiryeiv, to transmit, /jLtrpov,
a measure] An instrument for measuring the
power of bodies to conduct electricity.
Diagonal scale. [Gr. Siayuvios, diagonal] A
scale on which, by means of lines drawn obliquely,
distances can be read off true to the hundredth
of an inch (or other unit) by means of subdivi-
sions a tenth of an inch long. It is to be found
engraved on most ivory protractors.
Dialect. [Gr. SiaAe/cros, speech, local variety
of speech] Variety of speech. There is no
fixed distinction between a D. and a language,
but generally D. is preferred for varieties of
speech which are comparatively limited in area
or literary importance, or for the form of speech
of a member of an ethnological family descended
from a mother language.
Dialectic. [Gr. SiaAewn/cTj.] A name used by
Plato as synonymous with metaphysics, or the
highest philosophy. It is applied in a narrower
sense to that portion of logic which treats of
modes and rules of reasoning.
Dialectics. [Gr. 5iaAeicT(/cos, pertaining to
discourse] 1. Platonic, though invented by Zeno,
the method of scientific investigation by question
and answer, involving the classification of par-
ticulars under generals and generals under uni-
versals, and the reverse process of division. 2.
Aristotelian, the art of maintaining a tenet in
conversation. 3. Kantian, the science of illusory
phenomena.
Diallage. [Gr., interchange.} (Rhet.) A
figure of thought under which several arguments
are brought to establish one point, the L. con-
summatio.
Dialogism. (Rhet.) The reporting, in the
third person, of a dialogue between two or more
speakers.
Dialysis. [Gr. 8 id-Ma LS, dissolution.] 1.
(Gram.) Diuresis. 2. (Rhet.) Asyndeton. 3.
The separation of the crystalloids from the col-
loids in a solution containing both, by the diffu-
sion of the former into w.Hcr through paper
parchment. (See Graham's Chemistry,}
DIAM
1 66
DICH
Diamagnetic. (Paramagnetic.)
Diamagnetic body. [Gr. Std, across,
magnet.] A body tending, when suspended
between the poles of a magnet, to place itself at
right angles to the line joining those poles.
Diameter ; Apparent D. [Gr. Sidfierpos.] Any
chord drawn through the centre of a central
curve or surface, as a diameter of a sphere. The
angle subtended at the eye of the observer by
the diameter supposed not to be foreshortened
of a heavenly body is its Apparent D.
Diamond necklace, The affair of the. A plot
by which the name of Marie Antoinette, wife of
Louis XVI., King of France, was tarnished, on
the supposition that she was privy to the intrigue
by which the Countess of Lamotte Valois ob-
tained possession of a diamond necklace bespoken
for Mad. du Barry by Louis XV., and at that
time in the hands of the queen's jewellers.
Diamond type. [Fr. diamant, (?) from Gr.
&Sa/j.as, unconquerable. ] A kind of printing type,
as
CompandTe.
Dianoetic. [Gr. Sia-vofo/jMt, I think over.}
Pertaining to the discursive comparative ana-
logical faculty.
Dianthus. [Gr. Swu/O^y, double -flowering,
variegated.] (Bot.) A gen. of plants, ord.
Caryophyllaceae, of many spec., annual and pe-
rennial, as pink, carnation, sweet william, etc.
Diapason. [Gr. Sia -waffuv, i.e. xp5w',
through all t/ie strings.] (Gr. Music.) 1. An
octave. 2. In an organ, D. or principal, certain
important stops extending usually through the
whole compass. (Open diapason.)
Diaper. Figured linen cloth. [Mr. Skeat
traces the word to the O.Fr. diaspre, O.It,
diaspro, jasper, rejecting the derivation from
d'Vpres, of Ypres, the clothworking Flemish
city.]
Diapering. [Fr. diaprer, to diaper.] Orna-
menting with flowers or arabesques, repeated in
squares or other regular patterns.
Diaphanous. [Gr. 5ia<pairf)s.~\ Transparent.
Diaphdnics. [Gr. Sid, through, <ptavfw, I
sound.] Diacoustics (q.v.).
Diaphoretic. [Gr. $ia(popiiTiK6s.] Promoting
perspiration.
Diaphragm [Gr. 5id<ppayfM, Suuppayrifju, I
barricade], or Midriff \\.. midrife, hrife, intes-
tine], (Anat.) The transverse muscle in mam-
malia generally, separating the cavity of the
thorax or chest from that of the abdomen or belly.
Diastase. [Gr. Sido-rao-is, separation.] (Client.)
A nitrogenous substance formed in germinating
seeds, which by fermentation converts starch into
sugar.
Diastem-, Diastemato-, = longitudinal division,
fissure. [Gr. Sidffrrifia, interval, severance.]
Diastole. [Gr.] 1. (Gram.) The lengthen-
ing of a short syllable, opposed to Systole. 2.
(Pliysiol.) Dilatation of the heart and arteries
on the entrance of blood ; opposed to Syst5le
[<rv<TTo\-fi, <rva-Tf\\(i>, I draw together], contrac-
tion, or Systaltic, action : these being the first
and second heart-sounds, and both together mak-
ing one rhylhm.
Diatessaron. [Gr., through four.] (Eccl.
Hist.) A name given to harmonies of the
Gospels. The earliest, now lost, was the work
of Tatian in the second century.
Diathermal [Gr. 5iddep/ju>s, warmed through] ;
Diathermanous [Gr. SiaOep/j.a.ii'ia, I -warm
through]. Capable of transmitting radiant heat ;
thus, rock-salt is diathermanous.
Diathesis. [Gr., disposition] (Med.) Con-
dition of the system generally, with the idea of
predisposition to some kind of disease.
Diatomaceae. [Gr. Staro/uos, cut in two, the
individual consisting of a double frustule, and
easily separable from the rest of the series.]
Simple organism of protoplasm, with delicate
siliceous crust, developed in long linked strings.
(Desmidiaceae.)
Diatonic scales. [From Gr. SKXTOWKO'C, but
with different meaning.] 1. The major and minor
of modern music. D. melody = using no notes
not found in the D. scale. Opposed to Chromatic.
2. The Sidrovov ytvos, the simplest of three
genera of music with the Greeks. (For explana-
tion, see Diet, of Greek and Roman Antiquities.)
Diatribe. [Gr. Siarplp-h, wearing away, pass-
ing of time, discussion.] A continuous discourse ;
especially a sustained flow of invective, an
elaborate attack. Usually pronounced as a word
of three syll. in English.
Dibasic acid. [Gr. Sts, twice, fidffis, base.]
(Chem.) Any acid containing two atoms of
hydrogen in its composition.
Dibbs. 1. Slang for ready money. 2. A
small pool. 3. An old game, Greek and English,
of throwing up the small bones of the legs of
sheep and catching them on the palm, then on
the back of the hand.
Dl ben vertant. [L.] May the god give a
good turn to affairs.
Dibranchlata. [Gr. Sfy, double, ^pdyx^ gills.]
(Ichth. ) 1. Cephalopods with one pair of gills, as
cuttle-fish. 2. Cirripeds with one pair of gills.
Dicast. [Gr. Sr/ccwrnijs, a judge.] One of the
5000 free citizens at Athens who were yearly
balloted for and sworn in to serve as judges in
the law courts. A judicial panel consisted of
many dicasts, often of 500 or more ; they voted
by ballot on the verdict, which the majority
decided.
Dichogamons flowers. [Gr. 5ix, apart, yd/j.os,
marriage.] Those in which the anthers are
developed before the pistil, and vice versa.
Dichoraeus. [Gr. Si-xopeios (TTOUS).] (Afetr.)
A double choraeus or trochee ; thus, , as
willy-nilly, emlnere'.
Dichotomy. [Gr. SIXOTO^/O, a severing.] 1.
(Astron.) The moon's dichotomy is when she
is at half-moon at the end of her first and third
quarters. 2. (Log.) The division of a class
into two sub-classes, opposed to each other by
contradiction, as Earl and Chnrl, male and
female, living and dead, fire and not fire. 3.
A division of the more general into two more
particular subdivisions ; a Pythagorean method
adopted by Plato ; thus the political is divided into
the legislative and the judicial (i.e. so far as
theory is concerned).
DICK
167
DIFF
Dicker. 1. [Cf. L.L. dacra, dicora, probably
from a Celt, form, the number ten.} Half a score,
especially of hides. 2. [Amer.] A petty bartering.
Dicotyledonous plants. (Bot. ) Those of which
the embryo is furnished with two cotyledons
opposite to one another ; corresponding to
xogens (q.v.).
Dictator. [L.] In Rom. Hist., an extraor-
dinary magistrate invested with absolute power
for six months.
Dictum. [L.] Expressed opinion Q* command.
(Obiter dictum.)
Dictum de omni et nullo. [L.] In the Aris-
totelian logic, the assignment of an object to its
class, or the placing of one class under another
class, so that whatever is true of the class shall
be true of every member included in the class.
Didactic. [Gr. 8i8acTi/c<fc, from 8i5c<rK, /
tcach.~\ A name applied to any writings which
treat of the rules or principles of any science or
art, but more especially to poetry of an ethical or
reflective character, and to poems embodying a
scientific treatise, as the Phenomena of Aratus,
De J\erum Natura of Lucretius.
Didactyle. [Gr. $i$a.KTv\os, Sis, truice, SO.K-
TV\OS, finger, toe.~\ (Zoo/.) Two-toed.
DidelpMa. [Gr. Sis, twice, Sf\<t>vs, uterus. ~\
Having a double uterus. The second sub-class
of mammals, containing the marsupials, as the
kangaroos and opossums.
Didelphyidae. (DidelpMa.) The true opos-
sums. Trop. America. Ord. Marsupialia (q.v.).
Die. (Dado.)
Diegesis. [Gr., from Sid, throtigh, riytofj.a.1,
I lcad.~\ Narration, statement of a case.
Dielectric. [Gr. Sid, through, and electric.]
A non-conducting body.
Diem perdldi ! [L.] I have lost a day! ex-
clamation of the Roman emperor Titus, after
passing one day without doing anything for his
subjects' good.
Dies cinsrum. [L., day of ashes. .] Ash
Wednesday.
Dies dolorem minuit. [L.] Time abates grief .
Die-sinking. Engraving a steel die for the
stamping of coins or medals.
Diesis. [Gr.] In Gr. Music, at first a semi-
tone, afterwards came to mean a quarter-tone,
or a third of a tone ; (?) from a sense of dissolving
the note [Sitiftui],
Dies non. [L. (sc. juricus).] Not a court-
day ; a day on which no legal proceedings go
on and no business transactions are completed,
or if so are invalid.
Die-stock. A contrivance to hold the dies for
cutting screws.
Diet. [L.L. dieta, from dies, a day, Ger.
Reichstag.] The chief national assembly of the
Empire, summoned twice each year by the
Emperor; also of other states, as Hungary,
Switzerland, etc.
Dieu et mon droit. [Fr., God and my right. "\
The motto of the royal family of England. First
assumed by Richard I.
Dicu et son aete. [Fr., God and His act.}
The act of Clod ; said of an inevitable accident.
DifFarreatio. (Confarreation.)
Difference. [L. differentia.] 1. (/&;-.) A
mark added to a coat of arms to distinguish
different branches of a family or different sons
of one house. 2. In Logic, the predicable, which
distinguishes the subject from all others from
the point of view in which it is then regarded.
The genus, with this difference, is said logically
to make up the species. (Predicable.)
Differences. (Slockbrok.) The sums lost and
won in speculative time-bargains, being the
difference between the price of the stock or
shares concerned agreed to on the day of pur-
chase and the available price on settling day.
Differentia. (Differentiation.)
Differential ; D. calculus ; D. coefficient ; D.
motion ; D. screw ; D. thermometer ; D. wind-
lass. If the magnitude of one quantity depends
on that of a second quantity (as the volume of a.
sphere on its radius), so that if the second quan-
tity is increased that of the first will be increased
(or diminished) ; the ratio which the increment
of the first bears to that of the second when they
are indefinitely small is the D. coejj;cic:it of the
first quantity with respect to the second. The
indefinitely small increments, considered as
separate magnitudes, are Differentials. (For
D. calculus, vide Calculus.) When a compa-
ratively quick motion is made to communi-
cate a slow motion by means of the difference
of the velocities of two pieces, it is said to com-
municate a D. motion. Thus, in the D. 7i ///</-
lass, the barrel consists of two cylinders of nearly
equal radii, the weight is fastened to a pulley in
the loop of a rope whose ends are fastened to
the cylinders and wound round them in opposite
directions ; on turning the winch the rope is
wound on to one and off the other cylinder ; so
that the rope in the hanging loop is shortened
(or lengthened) by the difference between the
lengths wound on and off. A heavy weight
attached to the pulley is thus slowly raised with-
out unduly weakening the barrel. The same
principle is applied in the D. scren.'. The J).
thermometer is an air thermometer with two
bulbs, for ascertaining the difference between the
temperatures of two substances or places, when
the actual temperature of each is not required.
Differentiation. [From L. differentia, differ-
ence.} 1. (Log. ) Exact definition by the differ-
entia, or characteristic peculiarity essential to
classification, of a species. 2. (Diol.) The de-
velopment in evolution of specific distinctions.
3. Resolution of a homogeneous aggregate into
its heterogeneous constituents. 4. (Math.) The
process of finding differential coefficients.
Diffraction of light. When a small opaque
body is placed in light radiating from a point, its
shadow is found not to be its true geometrical
projection, but to be surrounded by iris-coloured
fringes. The light, therefore, docs not proceed
in accurately straight lines past the edges of the
body, and is said to be diffracted by them.
Diffraction is one kind of interference of light.
Diffusion. [L. diffusio, -nem, diffundere, to
shed abroad.} The action by which gases or
fluids become intermixed when in contact.
Diffxision of gases. The tendency of two or
1 68
DINA
more gases in contact to intermingle with each
other.
Digamy. [From Gr. Si-, Si's, twice, yd/j.os,
marriage.} Marriage by one who has lost his
first wife.
Digest. [L. dlgesta, neut. plu. p. part, of digero,
/ arrange} A systematically arranged work on
law ; especially Justinian's fifty books.
Digester. A strong closed vessel for heating
water above boiling point.
Digesting. Softening by heat and moisture.
Digests. [L. digestus, brought into order. }
(Hist.) Compilations of the Roman law; the
best known being that of Justinian, which is also
called the Pandects, or general collection, from
the Greek words imp, all, and ScxctrOai, to receive.
Digit. [L. dlgitus, a finger.] 1. Any one of
the ten numerals. 2. The twelfth part of the
diameter of sun or moon. The term is used in
estimating the extent of an eclipse, e.g. when
three quarters of the diameter of the sun are
hidden by the moon, nine digits are eclipsed.
Digitalis, Foxglove (Folks' glove, i.e. Fairies'
glove). (Bot.) A gen. of plants, ord. Scrophu-
lariacese. D. purpurea, Common F., native of
Britain, is much valued in medicine, and grown
as an ornamental plant.
Digitate leaf. (Palmate.)
Digitigrada, Digitigrade. [L. digitus, finger,
toe, gradior, / u<alk.~\ (Zool.) Carnivorous quad-
rupeds which walk upon their toes, as the cat.
Digladiation. [From dlgladlari, to fight hand-
to-hand, from dis-, apart, gladius, nvord.} Sharp
contention.
Digna canis pabulo. [L.] A dog deserves
food ; it is a poor dog that does not deserve a
crust.
Digraph. [Gr. Si-, Sis, twice, ypa<po>, I -write.}
A combination of two letters to indicate a single
articulate sound, as oo in book, ch and ie in
chief.
Digression. (Parecbasis.)
Dihedral angle. (Angle.)
Diiambns. [Gr. Si-, Sis, twice, fa/i/3os.] (Metr.)
A double iambus ; thus, v. - - , as amrenitas.
Dii consentes. ( Consent es, Dii.)
Dikast. (Dioast.)
Dike, Dyke. [O.E. die, (i) a mound, (2) a
trench, something dug ; cf. D. dijk, Fr. digue,
an embankment.} In the south of England, a
ditch, with or without a bank ; in the north,
a stone fence.
Di laneos pSdes habent. [L.] The gods have
fed of wool ; i.e. the approach of their vengeance
is unheard.
Dilaniation. [From L. dllaniare, to tear in
pieces.} The act of tearing to pieces.
Dilapidation. [L. dllapMatlo, -nem, a wasting,
lavishing.} The result of neglect, on the part of
an incumbent, to repair the chancel, glebe house,
or any other edifices of his living ; or of wilful
waste, committed or suffered to be committed
upon glebe, woods, or any other inheritance of
the Church.
Dilettante. [It.] An amateur devotee of fine
art and antiquities.
Diligence. [Fr., L. diligentia.] 1. A heavy
stage-coach, used in France. 2. (Scot. Lau.)
Process of arrest or seizure for debt, or com-
pulsory production of evidence.
Dilligrout. Pottage formerly made for the
sovereign on the day of coronation.
Dill-water. For relief of flatulence and griping
in children, in which oil of dill is used, which is
obtained from the seeds of the common dill
(Anethum graveolens).
Diluvial agency. [L. diluvium, an inunda-
tion.} (Gcol.) Powerful exceptional agency of
water ; opposed to Alluvial.
Dilving. Washing tin ore in a canvas sieve in
a tub of water, so that the waste runs over the
edge of the sieve.
Dimanche. The French form of the Latin
Dominica [sc. dies], the Lord's day.
Dime. A silver coin used in the U.S., a tenth
[Fr. dime, L. dficima] of a dollar.
DI melius- [L.] May the gods grant it (sc.
dent) better ; Ovid goes on -quam nos moneamus
talia quenquam, than that I should give such
advice to any one.
Dimension. 1. In Geom., length, breadth,
and thickness are the three dimensions of space.
2. In Algebra, each of the letters which occur in
a product is a dimension of the product ; e.g.
x*y 3 is a product of five dimensions, or of the
fifth degree.
Dimeter. A verse having two metres [Gr.
Sinerpos], or four feet ; as an iambic D., e.g.
Horace, Epod. i. x.
Dimetrio system. [Gr. Si/j.erpos, of two
measures.} In Crystallog., the pyramidal system
(q.v.).
Dimidiated. [L. climidiatus.] Halved.
Dimidium facti qui coepit habet. [L.] He
who begins has half his task (done) ; well begun,
half done (Horace).
Dimidium plus toto. [L.] The half is more
than the whole ; the golden mean is best, a Latin
version of Hesiod's " IIAeoc %tru itcurrAs."
Diminished. (Music. ) Made less than minor ;
e.g. C natural to B flat above being a minor
seventh, the C sharpened would make a di-
minished seventh, i.e. by a semi-tone.
Dimissory letters. In the ancient Church :
1. L. to clergy about to leave one diocese and
settle in another, granting the bishop's leave to
depart. 2. In the Church of England now,
D. L. are a licence from a bishop in whose
diocese a candidate for holy orders has a title
to another bishop, granting leave to ordain.
(Literse formatae. ) Dimissorice (sc. literac),
Roman law, a written notice, remitting a case to
a superior judge.
Dimity. [Gr. SI/JUTOS, of double thread.} A
stout white cotton cloth ribbed or figured.
Dimorphism. [Gr. Sluoptyos, two- formed.}
Crystallization of a substance in two different
systems ; thus carbonate of lime in some forms
crystallizes as Iceland spar in the rhombohe-
dral system, and as aragonite in the prismatic
system.
Dimsel. (Naut.) A standing water, too
large for a pond and too small for a lake.
Dinar. A modern Eastern corr. of the L.
DING
169
DIPT
Denarius, a coin originally worth ten asses, and
answering to the Gr. Drachma, the value being
about that of the modern franc-piece. In the
English New Testament, the Gr. Syvdptoi' is
translated by the word penny.
Dinghey, or Dingy. 1. A small Bombay boat
with sail and paddles. 2. The boats of the
Hooghly. 3. A small extra ship's boat.
Dingo. (Native name.) Variety of dog, about
two feet high, reddish brown, wild, savage, hunts
in packs. Australia. Believed to be an im-
portation.
Dinmont. (Sheep, Stages of growth of. )
Dinmont, Dandy. (Dandy.) A store farmer,
in Scott's Guy Mannering, whose name attaches
to a valuable breed of long-backed Scotch
terriers.
Dlnornis. [Gr. Seivos, terrtble, opvis, bird.]
(Ornith.) A gen. of very large birds, tribe Bre-
vlpennes, of New Zealand ; local name, moa ;
extinct since seventeenth century (?).
Dinosaurians. [Gr. Sew6s, ffavpos, lizard. ]
(Geol.) A group of gigantic reptiles, chiefly of
the saurian type and of high-class organization.
From the Lias to Cretaceous. Iguanodon, me-
galosaurus, etc.
Dinotherium. [Gr. Seiv6s, 0r]pioi>, beast.]
(Gaol.) Huge pachyderm, with tusk-like incisors
and proboscis ; found in the Miocene of France,
Germany, etc. ; its true zoological position un-
ce'rtain.
Diocletian aera, or 2Era of martyrs, is counted
from the beginning of the reign of Diocletian,
A.D. 284.
Dicecesis. (Faroikia. )
Dioecious. (Monoecious.)
Dionysia. [Gr. Aiorucria.] Festivals of Diony-
sus. There were four in the four shortest months :
(i) The Lesser, or Rural; (2) Lencea ; (3) An-
thesteria ; (4) City, or Great, D. Comedies and
tragedies were performed at these festivals.
Dionysian. [Gr. AtovixnaKos.] Relating to
Dionysus, son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Semele
daughter of Cadmus of Thebes. He is said to
have brought from the East the orgiastic worship
with which he was honoured. He is known
also as Bacchus. (Bacchanalian.)
Diophantine analysis or problems. (Diophan-
tus, mathematician, of Alexandria.) Question in
indeterminate equations, involving squares or
cubes of the unknown quantities, as to divide
a given square number into two other square
numbers ; thus, lj 2 = 8 2 + I5 2 .
Dioptrics. [Gr. Sioirrpi/c^y, having to do with
a mirror (SioTrrpov).] The part of optics which
treats of the refraction of light ; it includes the
formation of images by lenses and combinations
of lenses.
Diorama. [Gr. Sid, through, Spa/ua, a mew.]
A painting seen from a distance through a large
opening, and having the effect heightened by
light directed on its surface or shining from
behind through the transparent portions.
Diorite. [Gr. Siopifa, I distinguish.'} (Geol.)
An igneous rock (greenstone, etc.), composed of
felspar and hornblende.
. Diorthotic. [Gr. SiopOwriKfa, from Gr.
I correct, from Sid, tJtrough, opOos, upright.]
Pertaining; to correction or emendation.
Dioscuri, Dioskouroi. [Gr.] Sous of Zeus.
(Castor and Pollux. )
Diota. [Gr. Siwros, two-eared.] A large
amphora with two handles.
Dip. 1. The inclination of the magnetic
needle to the horizon. (Dip of the horizon.) 2.
(Geol.) The inclination of strata'from the ho-
rizon, measured by the angle it makes with the
plane of the horizon ; the strike [Ger. streich,
stroke] being the line of outcrop of a stratum,
and at right angles to its 1).
Dip, Dipt ware. Pottery ornamented by ex-
pressing coloured clays, in arborescent or other
forms, upon the article as it turns slowly on a
lathe.
Diphtheria, Diphtheritis. [Gr. SupBfpa., pre-
pared leather.] A form of very fatal sore throat,
occurring epidemically, with low dangerous
fever and formation of a fal.se membrane upon
the surface of the mucous membrane of the
fauces.
Diploma. [Gr., lit. a letter folded double.]
In Rome, formerly a State letter of introduc-
tion for travellers, a magistrate's grant of
some privilege ; now any document conferring
authority, and especially a licence to practise
physic or surgery.
Diplomatics. [Gr. 5iVAco/xa, anvthing folded
double.] The science which deciphers and de-
termines the dates of ancient writings. Its
principles were fully developed in the great
work of Mabillon, De Re Diplomatic^ 1681.
(Palaeography.)
Dipnoi. [Gr. S'I-TTVOOS, double-breathing.]
(Zool. ) J\hid-fishes, a sub-class of fish, containing
three gen. of one spec, each, by some reckoned
amphibia. Ceratodus [icfpas, -O.TOS, a /torn,
oSous, a tooth], an Australian spec., presents
characteristics suggesting the combination of the
sub-classes Teleostel, Dipnoi, and Ganoidei
under the last name.
Dip of the horizon; Magnetic D. The angle
at the eye of the observer between a plane at
right angles to the plumb-line, and a line drawn
to a point on the visible horizon or line which
seems to bound the ocean. When a magnet is
suspended so as to swing freely round a
horizontal axis at right angles to the magnetic
meridian, it comes to rest at a certain definite
inclination to the horizon ; this angle (which is
different at different places) is the Magnetic D.
Dipolarization. (Depolarization.)
Dipping needle. A magnetic needle so sus-
pended as to show the magnetic dip.
Dipsomania. [Gr. 5fya, thirst, /uacia, mad-
ness.] A thirst for stimulants not to be con-
trolled.
Diptera. [Gr. Si-irrfpos, two-winged.] (Ento/n.)
Ord. of insects with two wings, the hind pair
represented by short halteres, balancers, as house-
flics and gnats.
Dipteros. [Gr. S'nr-repos, from Si for Sis, twice,
trrfp6v,winff.] (Arch.) A rectangular temple or
building with a double row of supporting columns
on all sides. (Peripteral.)
DIPT
170
DISP
Diptych. [Gr. Siirrvxos, folded double.] A
tablet of wood, metal, or other substance, folded
like a book of two leaves. Used at first for
registers. The diptychs of the Greek Church
contain on one side the names of the living, on
the other those of the dead, which are to be re-
hearsed during the office.
Direct motion. (Music.) (Motion.)
Direct motion of a planet. (Proper motion.)
Directorium. [L.] (Ercl.) A book of rules
for the performance of the sacred offices, as
Directorium Anglicanum.
Directory. 1. A book of regulations for
divine worship, drawn up in 1644 by the
Assembly of Divines in England, an'd set forth by
the Lords and Commons to be used instead of the
Prayer-book. 2. The* name given in 1795 to
the executive body of the French republic,
overthrown four years later by Bonaparte.
(Assembly.)
Directrix. 1. (Conic sections.) 2. In Solid
Geom., when a surface is described by a moving
line which slides on one or more fixed guiding
lines, any one of the fixed lines is called a
Directrix.
Direct taxation. (Indirect taxation.)
Dirge. A contraction of L. dirige, direct,
which occurs in the first nocturn of the Office for
the Dead. Hence (i) music for that office, (2)
any mournful tune.
Dirige. (Dirge.)
Diriment. [L. dlrlmo, / take away, annul. ]
D. impediments to a marriage are absolute bars
which would make it void ab initio.
Dirt-beds. (Geol.) Layers of black dirt, old
vegetable soil, in the Lower Purbeck beds, with
numerous fossil cycadeous stems standing up-
right, and coniferous trunks lying down.
Diruit, sedificat, mutat quadrata rotundis.
[L.] //<-' pulls down, builds up, changes square
for round.
Dis. (Pinto.)
Dis-, Di-. [L.] Prefix denoting separa-
tion, hence used with privative and negative
force.
Disabling Statutes. Acts of Parliament re-
straining and limiting rights and powers.
Disafforest. To throw open forest ground to
the public, or to enclose it for cultivation.
Disaggregation. [L. dis-, prefix of separa-
tion, and aggrego, / bring to the flock (grex,
i-rcgis).] Distinction of an aggregate into com-
ponent parts.
Dis aliter visum. [L.] The gods determined
e'lieiivise.
Disbar. To expel from the bar, a power
vested in benchers of the four inns of court, sub-
ject to appeal.
Disbench. To expel from the position of a
bencher, a power vested in the benchers of an
inn of court.
Disboscation. [L. dis-, priv. prefix, and
L.L. boscus ; cf. Fr. bosquet, thicket, from Teut.
bosk, Eng. bitsh.~\ The bringing woodland into
cultivation or pasturage.
Discalced clerks of the passion. (Passionists.)
ii>ee ant di*cede. [L.] Learn or go.
Disceptation. [L. disceptatio.] Debate, dis-
cussion.
Discharged living. (Eecl.) One released
under 6 Anne from payment of firstfruits.
Discharger. An instrument for discharging a
Leyden jar.
Disciplina, Arcani. (Arcani Disciplina.)
Discobolus. [Gr. SKT/CO/SO'AOS.] A quoit-
thrower. A celebrated bronze statue of Myron,
fifth century B.C., of which several marble copies
exist.
Discoid. [Gr. SiffKo-eiS^s, quoit-shaped.] Of
the form of a disc.
Discommon. 1. (Univ.} Of a townsman, to
make it punishable for persons in statu pupillari
to have any dealings with him, a power of the
collective heads of houses. 2. (Leg. ) To make
no longer comm6n or commonable, as of land by
enclosure.
Discontinuous. Not continuous. (Continuity.)
Discovert. (Leg.) A widow, a woman not
in coverture.
Discovery. [L. dis-, neg. prefix, and cooperlre,
to cover.] (Leg.) 'A bill of D. in equity prays
that the court compel the defendant to disclose
facts or discover (give access to) documents
material to the plaintiffs case, provided such
discovery be not perilous to the defendant.
Discrepancy. [L. discrcpantia, discordance.]
Disagreement, variance.
Disembody. To deprive a military force of its
arms and accoutrements, and release them from
service for a limited period.
Disembogue. To discharge.
Disesteem. To feel no esteem for, to deprive
of esteem.
Disherison. [L. dis-, neg. prefix, and Fr.
heriter, from L. hseres, heir.] The act of de-
barring from inheritance.
Disintegrate. To break up a whole into com-
ponent parts, to deprive of cohesion, of unity.
Disjecti membra poetae. [L.] The limbs of
the dismembered poet (Horace).
Disjunctive. [L. disjunctivus, from dis-, neg.
prefix, and jungo, I join.] 1. (Gram.) Express-
ing an opposition or separation of ideas, as the
D. conjunctions : but, else, although, unless, lest,
either or, neither nor. 2. (Log.) Involving
opposition or separation of ideas, as the D.
syllogism: "It is either good or bad, or
both ; but it is not bad, therefore it is not both,
therefore it is good."
Disk. [Gr. S'KTKOS, a round plate, quoit.]
(Sot.) A fleshy circular organ enlargement
between the stamens and ovary, as in spindle-
tree (Euonymus).
Dislocation of memory. (Path. ) The curious
effects upon it of injury, disease, or decay.
Dislocations, Slips. (Geol.) Displacements
of stratified rocks from their original sedimentary
position by fracture. (Fault.)
Dismal Swamp. About thirty miles north to
south by ten miles of country around Lake
Drummond, chiefly in Virginia, partly in
Carolina, U.S.
Dispark. To throw or lay open, as a Park,
Dirpxrt. [(?) Fr. disparite, disparity.] The
DISP
171
DIVE
excess of half the diameter of the base ring of a
gun over half the diameter of ,the muzzle.
Dispauper. To disqualify from suing in forma
pauperis one who has been admitted to sue thus,
either because he has subsequently acquired pro-
perty or for any other sufficient cause.
Dispensatory, i.q. Pharmaeopceia (q.v.).
Dispensing power. (Hist.} The power of
the English sovereign to dispense with penalties
on things forbidden by law but not by moral
obligation. James II. regarded this power as
authorizing him to dispense with tests against
Roman Catholics and Dissenters.
Dispersion of light, or Chromatic D. of light.
The separation of a pencil of rays of white light
into rays of coloured light by means of a prism
or other refracting medium.
Displacement. (Naut.) (Cavity.)
Displayed. [Fr. deployer.] (Her.) Having
its legs spread and wings expanded.
Dispondeus. [L.] A double spondee ; thus,
, as desolatie.
Disseisin. [Fr. dissaisin.] A deprivation of
actual seisin (q.v.) by force or fraud, a turning
out of an owner in actual possession of a freehold.
Dissepiment [L. disseplmentum, dissepio, /
hedge off], or Septum [L., an enclosure]. (Bot.)
A vertical partition, division into cells, of com-
pound fruit ; e.g. wallflower. (Loeulus.)
Dissidents. [L> dissidentes, sitting apart.]
(Hist.) Dissenters in Poland from the Roman
Catholic or established religion, who were
allowed the free exercise of their faith. After
the partition of the country, they were placed on
the same footing with the members of the Latin
Church.
Dissilient. [L. dissilio, / start asunder.]
Starting open, opening with elastic force.
Dissimilation. [L. dis-simllis, unlike.]
(Gram.) Change of one of two contiguous
similar or identical sounds, or avoidance of the
juxtaposition of such sounds, as ridrjfj.1. for 0i(%u,
equester for equetter, vdrietas not variitas.
Dissipat evius curas edaces. [L.] Wine dis-
perses gnawing cares ( Horace).
Distaff. [O.E. distaef.] A cleft stick for
holding the bunch of flax, etc., from which the
thread was drawn in hand-spinning.
Distemper. [Cf. dis-ea.se, </w-order.] 1, In
dogs, an affection, typhoid, contagious, of the
upper air-passages ; somewhat like strangles in
horses, and scarlatina in children. 2. In horses,
D. means influenza, an epidemic catarrh, severe,
attended with great weakness. 3. In cattle,
sometimes, epizootic (q.v.), pleuro-pneumonia
(q.v.). 4. [It. tempera.] Painting on a dry
surface of plaster, etc., with colours mixed in
some aqueous vehicle, such as size.
Distich. [Gr. S(<TTJXOS, of two rows, or
verses.] In poetry, a rhymed couplet.
Distillation. [L. distillatio, -nem, distillare,
to drip down.] The process of heating a sub-
stance so that it gives off a vapour afterwards
condensed by cold.
Distinguishing pendant. A special flag to dis-
tinguish signalling-ships in a fleet or squadron.
Distrait. [Fr.] Preoccupied, absent.
Distress. [O.Fr. destresse, from dibtrictus, p.
part, of distringo (distrain).] The act or fact of
distraining.
District. [L.L. dist rictus, a crossing over.]
(Mil. ) Province occupied by troops commanded
by one general officer. England is divided into
nine, Scotland one, Ireland three, Channel
Islands two.
Distringas. [L., that you distrain.] (Leg.)
A special writ of execution addressed to a sheriff,
issued against a corporation aggregate ; or to re-
strain transfer of slock or payment of dividends
by the Bank of England.
Ditheism. [Gr. Si-, Sis, twice, 0eo's, god.]
Belief in two gods. (Dualism.)
Dithyramb. [Gr. SiQupaupos.] A kind of
lyric poetry, in honour of Dionysus Bacchus,
then of the other gods also ; cultivated especially
at Athens ; degenerating from its wild lofty
style, D. became = bombast (origin of the
word unknown, but perhaps akin to Gr. Opia/j.-
fios, L. triumphus).
DI tibi dent annos. [L.] May the gods give
thce years.
Ditrochaeus. [L., for Gr. Sn-po'xeios.] A foot
consisting of two trochees. (Dichorseus.)
Dittany, Common or Bastard, or Fraxinclla.
(Bot.) Native perennial of S. Europe, cultivated
in England; Dictamnus fraxinella, ord. Riitacea:;
containing a quantity of lemon-scented oil, and
giving off enough from its erect, rose-coloured,
sometimes white, raceme, to take fire from a
light. I), of Crete, a febrifuge, is the woolly
labiate Origanum diclamnus, growing abun-
dantly on Mount Dicte.
Dittay. [From L. dictare, to assert, freq. of
dlcere, to say.] The matter of a charge or in-
dictment against an accused person, in Scotland.
Taking up D., collecting the information neces-
sary for trial.
Dittology. [Gr. SirTo\oyia.] A double reading
or interpretation of a text.
Ditty-bag. A sailor's bag, to hold smaller
necessaries. D.-box, that in which he keeps his
valuables.
Diurnal motion ; D. circle; D. aberration. The
apparent daily motion of the heavenly bodies,
which is due to the rotation of the earth on its
axis. Consequently each star seems to describe
a circleits 1). circle in the course of a day.
(P'or D. aberration, vide Aberration.)
Divan. [Pers. diwan, a book of many leaves,
a council.] 1. A council. 2. A council-cham-
ber. 3. A salon with cushioned seats. 4. A
cushioned seat or sofa along a wall.
Divaricate. [L. dlvaricatus, splayed, spread
asunder, from di- for dis-, apart, and varus,
awry, grcnvn apart.] 1. Widely divergent. 2.
To diverge widely.
Divellent. [L. divellens, -ends, p. part, of
dlvello, / pluck asunder.] Drawing asunder,
pulling apart, tending to separate.
Divergent series. (Math.) A series such that
the sum of its first n terms can be made to ex-
ceed any assigned number, however great, by
taking n large enough ; e.g. I + i + 5 + \, etc.,
is a divergent series.
DIVE
172
DOEJ
Di Vernon. The heroine of Scott's Rob Roy,
in whom beauty, courage, straightforwardness,
and purity of heart are singularly blended.
Diversions of Purley. Written by Horne-
Tooke, 1786, et seqq. A series of dialogues on
language.
Diversum vitio vitium prope majus. [L.]
The opposite of a vice is almost a greater -vice ;
e.g. asceticism is often as selfish as self-indul-
gence.
Dives agris, dives positis in fenore nummis.
[L.] Rich in lands, rich in money laid out at
interest (Horace).
Divide. (Math.) To mark with graduation
line, as to divide the arc of a sextant. Dividers,
compasses used in mechanical drawing.
Divide et impera. [L.] Divide and rule ;
if you can bring about disunion and disintegra-
tion in a people, you can easily keep it in
subjection.
Dividend. [L. dividenclum, sum to be divided.]
(Finance.) 1. Amount available to be paid to
creditors or share or stock holders, by pro rata
division. 2. The sum paid to each, the share
determined by such division. 3. The percentage
on the debt or capital so divided.
Divi divi. A Central-American plant, the
pods of which are used in tanning and as a
mordant.
Divine Comedy, La Divina Commedia. The
immortal work of Dante, or Durante Alighieri
(1265-1321); divided into Inferno, Purgat or to,
Paradiso ; a vision of Torment, Expiation,
Bliss ; with powerful invective against existing
corruptions in Church and State ; entitled by
Dante La Commedia, because ending cheerfully,
Divina being an addition of after-times.
Divine Doctor, The. Title of Jean Ruysbroek
(1294-1381), a celebrated mystic and schoolman.
Divine Legation of Moses. Bishop Warbur-
ton's work, in answer to the deistical works of
Shaftesbury, Tindal, and others.
Divining-rod. A rod, usually hazel, forked at
the top, used by those who pretend to find water
or metals by occult means.
Division. (Mil.) Two or more brigades (q.v.)
of an army.
Divot. [Scot.] (Feal and dust.) A thin
turf used for roofing cottages.
Dixie, Dixie's Land. An ideal paradise in the
Southern states. In the popular mythology of
New York City, Dixie was the negro's paradise
on earth in times when slavery and the slave-
trade were flourishing in that quarter. Dixie
owned a tract of land on Manhattan Island, and
also a large number of slaves ; and his slaves
increasing faster than his land, an emigration
ensued, such as has taken place in Virginia and
other states. Naturally, the negroes who left it
for distant parts looked to it as a place of un-
alloyed happiness, and it was the "Old Vir-
ginny " of the negroes of that day. Hence
Dixie became synonymous with an ideal locality,
combining ineffable happiness and every im-
aginable requisite of earthly beatitude. Bart-
ktt's Americanisms.
Djerran. A Turkish barber-surgeon.
Doa. (Nant.) A Persian trading-ship.
Doab. 1. Two rivers ; the Skt. equivalent to
the Gr. Mesopotamia, L. Interamna. 2. Applied
particularly to the district between the Jumna
and the Ganges.
Doccia. A pottery and porcelain manufactory
near Florence, established 1735 ; where Capo di
Monte and Delia Robbia ware are largely
imitated.
Docetae. [Gr. SOKTJTC"-] In Eccl. Hist., those
who maintained that Christ suffered in appearance
only. (Cerdonians; Cerinthians.)
Dochmiao. [Gr. 5<5xA" OJ > athwart, name of a
foot in prosody.] (Pros.) A measure of which
the type is an iambus followed by a cretic ; thus,
w^. v _, as </A.oi vavBarai : but it admits of
about thirty variations.
Docimastic art. [Gr. SoKi/uffetP, to test."] The
art of assaying metals.
Docket, Docquet. 1. A small piece of paper or
parchment containing a summary or abridgment
of a greater writing. 2. A register of cases in a
court. 3. A label tied to goods, containing the
name of owner or consignee or the name of place
of delivery.
Dock herself, To. (Naut.) To settle in the
mud.
Dock-warrant. Certificate of the possession
of goods stored in a dock ; they are negotiable,
so that the rightful holder is owner of the goods
specified.
Doctissimus Romanorum. [L.] Most learned
of the Romans ; title of the grammarian Varro.
Doctor. [L., a teacher.] A word first used
as a title of learned distinction in the twelfth
century. With some further epithet it has been
applied to many of the schoolmen and divines of
the Middle Ages. Thus, Thomas Aquinas is the
Angelic or Universal Doctor ; William of Ock-
ham, the Invincible ; Alexander of Hales, the
Irrefragable; St. Bernard is the Mellifluous ;
Roger Bacon, Mirabilis or Wonderful ; Thomas
Bradwardine, the Profound; Bonaventura, the Se-
raphic ; and Duns Scotus, the Subtle Doctor.
The four Greek doctors are Athanasius, Basil,
Gregory Nazianzen, and Chrysostom. The
four Latin are Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine of
Hippo, and Gregory the Great.
Doctrinaire. [Fr.] Given to applying favourite
doctrines in practice ; one who applies abstract
principles of a special study in practical matters,
regardless of the logic of facts.
Doddrat. [Cf. dodipoll, stupid person.] 1. A
sort of hockey-stick. 2. A stupid fellow.
Dodder. (Hot.) A plant parasitic on furze,
heath, thyme, etc., with red thread-like stems,
somewhat resembling catgut. Cuscuta epithy-
mum, ord. Convolvulaceae.
Dodecahedron. (Polyhedron.)
Dodecasyllabic. Consisting of twelve [Gr.
StaSeKa] syllables [<rt/AAa/3at].
Dodo. A recently extinct bird of the pigeon
kind, weighing forty or fifty pounds. Plumage
grey and brown, wings aborted. Mauritius.
Dldus Ineptus, fam. and gen. Dididae, ord.
Columbce.
Doe, John. The fictitious plaintiff in an eject-
DOES
173
DOMI
ment, abolished, with equally fictitious defendant
Richard Roe, in 1852, by the Common Law
Procedure Act.
Doeskin. A close, twilled cloth.
Doff. [From do, in old sense " put," and off.}
To put off, either of a dress or a suitor or
claimant. (Don.)
Dog. The carrier of a lathe.
Doge. [L. dux, ducis, a leader.'} The supreme
magistrate of the Venetian republic. The office
had its origin towards the end of the seventh
century. The same title was also given to the
chief magistrates of Genoa. (Bucentaur. )
Dogfish. (Ichth.} Small sharks. Several
British spec. Eighteen to thirty-six inches long ;
horny eggs ; familiar as Mermaids' purses, Sea-
purses. Scyllium and Pristiurus, fam. Scylliidos,
prd. Piagiostomata, sub-class Chondropterygii.
Dogger. [D., codfish.'} Dutch fishing-smack
about 150 tons, generally two-masted, used in the
Dogger Bank fishery.
Doggy. A colliery superintendent, under a
butty.
Dog-star. The star a Canis majoris, or Sirius ;
the brightest of the fixed stars ; it is due south at
midnight at Greenwich about the 1st of January,
and at an altitude of about 22.
Dog-tooth moulding. (Arch.) An ornament
in the form of four leaves arranged pyramidally
and placed in a hollow moulding. Frequently
seen in late Romanesque and Early English or
lancet-work.
Dog-vane. (Vane. )
Dog-watch. ( Watch. )
Dogwood. A small kind of underwood, used
for butchers' skewers, etc.
Doit. [D. duit.] A small Dutch coin.
Dolabriform. (Hot. ) Of the shape of a hatchet
[L. dolabra] ; e.g. leaves of some mesembry-
anthemums.
Dolce far niente. [It.] A phrase denoting the
pleasure of doing nothing, with reference gene-
rally to previous strain of work.
Doldrums. 1. Sailor's name for the region of
calms near the equator. 2. Ennui, listlessness.
Dole. [A.S. doel, division, Ger. theil, Goth,
dailis.] 1. A distribution, or dealing out. 2.
A portion given. 3. A boundary mark.
Dolerite. [Gr. $o\tp6s, deceitful.'} An igneous
rock (lava, etc.) composed of felspar and augite.
Doli capax. [L.] (Leg.) Capable of crime.
Dolichocephalic. (Brachycephalic.)
Dolium. [L., avery large jar. ~\ (Zool.) Gen. of
whelk, Apple tun-shell, barrel-shaped and with
short spire. Mediterranean and Pacific.
Dollar, i.q. Thaler. (Joachims-thaler.) A
silver coin, having different values in different
countries. In the U.S. its full weight is 416
grains, of which 37 1 grains are pure silver. It
;s the unit of money value in the U.S., and is
worth about 4?. zd. The Spanish duro, or hard
dollar, has about the same value. The Prussian
thaler is worth about 2s. lid. ; the rix-dollar of
Bremen, about 3^. 4^., etc.
Dolmen. [Turk, dolaman.] A long gown
worn by Turks.
Dolmen. (Cromlech.)
Dolomite. (M. Dolomicu.) (C,V,V.) A crystal-
line variety ofmagnesian limestone.
Dolphin. (JVaut.) A buoy, or a post on a
quay or beach, to make fast to. J). of the mast,
a strap of plaited cordage fastened round the
lower yards. D. -striker, a short gaff spar under
the bowsprit-end, suspended perpendicularly for
guying down the jibboom.
Dolus an virtus, quis in hoste requirat 1 [L.]
Whether craft or valour, n<ho as/cs in the case of
a foe? (Virgil).
Dolus malus. [L., evil craft. 1 (Leg.} Fraud;
opposed to dolus bonus, honest stratagem.
-dom. [From A.S. dom, judgment, state ; cf.
6ffj.a, deposit, district, Skt. dhaman, dwelling-
place, lain, condition, from root dha, to place,
lay, do.} Termination of words, meaning state
condition ; answering to -tJntin in German.
Dom. [L. dominus, -master."} 1. In the
Middle Ages, a title of the pope, and afterwards
of dignitaries of the Latin Church and of certain
monastic orders. 2. The German word for
cathedral [L. domus].
Domdaniel's cave. A cave sometimes supposed
to be near Babylon ; the imaginary abode of evil
spirits, genii, and enchanters.
Dome-book, (-dom.) A book of local customs
as to judicial proceedings, Liber Judiciulis ; com-
posed under King Alfred ; lost since Edward IV.
Domesday-book. This book, called Liber
Judicidrius or Censudlis Angliic, and drawn
up by order of William the Conqueror, contains
a general survey of English lands, describing the
amounts under the several forms of culture, and
giving, in many cases, the number of the inhabit-
ants, free or bond.
Domett. A mixed woollen and cotton cloth.
Domicile. The place which the law regards
as that of a man's abode [L. domicilium],
Domiciliary. [L. domicilium, private resi-
dence, regular abode."} A D. visit, a visit of
officers by authority to search a private dwelling.
Dominant. [L. dominans, -tis, governing.}
(Music.) 1. The fifth above the key-note. 2.
In Greg. Music, the prevailing note in the re-
citation.
Dominant tenement. (Leg.) In relation to
servitudes, the tenement in favour of which the
service is constituted.
Dominica. (Dimanohe.)
Dominica in Albis. (Albis, Dominica in; Quasi-
modo.)
Dominical letter [L. Dominica, sc. dies, the
Lord's day}, or Sunday letter. The days of the
year are marked in the calendar by the letters
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, repeated in order, the
1st of January being marked A. The letter
written against the first Sunday in any year is
the Dominical letter of that year. The 2Qth of
February has no letter.
Dominicans. Friars of the order of St. Do-
minic, instituted in the thirteenth century.
(Orders, Mendicant.)
Dominie Sampson. The awkward but devoted
tutor, who has failed to pass his ordeal as a
preacher ; a well-known character in Scott's
Guy Mannering,
DOMI
174
DOUB
Dominion of Canada, = all British N. America
except Newfoundland. In February, 1867, upon
the combined principles of federation and local
self-government, Ontario and Quebec, i.e. Upper
and Lower C, with New Brunswick, were formed
into one dominion, under a governor-general,
Senate, and House of Commons. Afterwards
were added Manitoba, British Columbia, Prince
Edward's Island.
Domino. [It.] 1. A long cloak with a hood,
worn at masquerades. 2. A kind of mask.
Dominus. [L.] (Univ.) Title attached to
the degree of bachelor.
-don. [Celt, dun, a hill fort.] 1. Part of
names, as in Lon-don, Dun-mow. 2. Name or
part name of rivers, as the Don and the Ban-
don.
Don. [Sp., from L. dominus, lord, master.]
1. The Spanish form of Dom, sir, mister. 2.
(Univ.) A fellow of a college or a professor in
the university. 3. To D. [from do, in old sense
of " put," and on], to put on, assume. (Doff.)
Donation of Charlemagne. (Hist.) ' A gift
made to the pope, A.D. 774, by Charles the
Great, of the powers which he had by conquest
over the Lombard kingdom and the exarchate
of Ravenna. It confirmed the Donation of Pepin ;
but the extent and conditions of the gift are not
known. Milman, Hist, of Latin Christianity,
bk. iv. ch. 12.
Donation of Pepin. (Hist.) The presentation,
by the Frank king Pepin to the pope, in A.D.
755, of the keys of the chief towns in the exar-
chate of Ravenna, which he had wrested from the
Lombards.
Donations of Constantino. A clumsy and au-
dacious forger}', circ. A.D. 760, granting from C.
to the pope and his successors " palatium nostrum,
et urbem Romam, et totius Italiae et occidentalium
regionum provincias, loca, civitates," etc. ; when
the seat of empire was transferred to Constanti-
nople. (See Milman, Hist, of Latin Christianity,
bk. i. 72.)
Donatists. (Eccl. Hist.) A religious faction,
raised in Africa early in the fourth century by the
Numidian bishops opposed to Cecilianus, Bishop
of Carthage. Two persons named Donatus are
mentioned as leaders of this party. The name
Circnmeelliones was given to the bands of country-
people who took up arms in their cause.
Donative. [L. donativum, a largtss.] 1. Lar-
ess given by a Roman emperor to his soldiers.
. A kind of advowson ; when the king, or a
subject by his licence, founds a church or chapel
which shall be in the gift or disposal of the
patron, and vested absolutely in the clerk by
mere donation, without presentation, institution,
or induction.
Donatory. [From L. clonator, a donor, or for
donatary, L.L. donatarius, from p. part, of don-
are, to give.] (Scot. Law. ) A donee of the Crown
and recipient of escheated property.
Donax. (Arnndo.)
Donee. [Fr. donne, L. donatus.] The object
of a gift or donation.
Donga. A ravine with steep sides (S. Africa).
Donkey-engine. A small steam-engine used
as subsidiary to a large engine, pumping water
into its boilers, etc.
Donkey frigate. One carrying twenty-eight
uns, and having an upper deck.
Donna. [It., L. domlna.] Title of ladies.
Dono dedit. [L.] He gave as a gift.
Don Quixote. (Quixotism.)
Donzel. ' [It. donzello, O.Fr. donzel, from L.
domfnicellus, dim. of dommus.] A young squire
or knight's attendant.
Doolah. A passage-boat of Canton river.
Dooley, Dhoolie. Covered Indian litter,
carried by a pole on men's shoulders, for the
sick and wounded.
Dop. The copper cup which holds diamonds
while being polished.
Dorax. A renegade Portuguese in Dryden's
play Don Sebastian.
Doroas. (Dragon.)
Dorcas Societies make or collect and distribute
clothing to the poor (Acts ix. 39).
Dorey. A flat-floored, W. -Indian boat of
burden.
Dorian mode. (Greek modes.)
Dormant. [Fr.] (Her.) Lying down with the
head resting on the fore paws, as if asleep.
Dormer window. (Arch.) A window placed
in a gable projecting from a sloping roof.
Dornock. A stout figured linen (made at Dor-
nock, in Scotland).
Dorsal. [L. dorsum, back.] Of or belonging
to the back, as dorsal fin in fishes.
D'Orsay, Count. A celebrated French beau
and politician, friend of Napoleon III.
Dorsibranchiate [L. dorsum, the back, Gr.
a, gills], Nbtobranchidta \yS>-ros, the back,
a, gills]. Annelids having gills along
their backs, as the sea-mouse (Aphrodite).
Dort, Synod of. An assembly of Protestant
divines, who, at D. , near Rotterdam (A.D. 1618-
19), decided in favour of absolute decrees, and
excommunicated the Arminians.
Dorture. [From L. dormio, I sleep.] A
dormitory of a convent.
Dos a dos. [Fr.] Back to back.
Dositheans. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Dosltheus, who, in the first century, seems to
have given himself out as the Messiah.
Dossal, Dorsal. [L. dorsualis, on the back.]
That which hangs on the back of anything. The
cloth or hanging behind an altar. (Eeredos.)
Dot. [Fr. ] Dowry, tocher, heiress's property.
Dotation. [From L. dotare, to endow, give a
marriage portion (dos, dotis) to.] 1. Act of
bestowing a dowry. 2. Endowment.
Dotheboys' Hall. The "Yorkshire school"
kept by Squeers, in Dickens's'JVic/io/as Nickkby,
where boys were beaten, made drudges of, and
starved.
Dotted Bible. A folio edition of the Bible,
published in London, 1578.
Douane. [Fr.] Custom-house.
Douanier. French custom-house officer.
Douay Bible. (Bible, English.)
Double a ship, To. (A T aitt. ) To line or case
her with planking not less than two inches
thick.
DOUP.
PR AC',
Double-banked. (A T aut.) A boat where two
men sit on one thwart, either each to an oar or
both to one. Double-hankers, sixty-gun frigates,
with guns along the gangway.
Double Cabinet. (King's Men.)
Double consciousness. A morbid condition,
in which the patient imagines himself, at times,
more than one person ; or, without knowing it,
has two independent sets of observation and
recollection ; thought to be connected with un-
conscious cerebration (q.v,), but not yet ex-
plained.
Double entendre. [Fr.] Double meaning;
a speech capable of a questionable construction
as well as an innocent one.
Double entry. A system of book-keeping, in
which the cost price of each article or item sold
is entered by the selling price, or whereby the
debit and credit of each transaction is exhibited.
Double quarrel. (Duplex querela.)
Double star. Two stars which appear as one
to the naked eye, and are seen as two only
when looked at through a telescope of some
power. The brightest star of the Twins (a
Geminorum) is a double star. There are many
others.
Doublet. [O.Fr. doublet, dim. of double,
double, pair, from L. duplus.] 1. A throw of two
identical numbers with dice. 2. Doublets, a game
in which a list of words is formed, containing the
same number of letters, each of which only
differs in one letter from the next, the first and
last being given : thus, turn cat into dog cat, can,
tan, ton, don, dog. 3. A pair of words arising
out of the same root, but differing somewhat in
form and meaning ; so from L. abbreviate
(through the Fr. ), abbreviate and abridge ; Fr.
Noel and natal; endroit and indirect. (Variants.)
4. A waistcoat. 5. A counterfeit gem, formed
of two pieces of crystal with a colour between
them. 6. A word or phrase accidentally re-
peated in printing.
Doubling. The lining of the mantle borne
about an escutcheon.
Doubloon. A Spanish coin, worth about ,3 5-r.
Spelt also Doblon. The modern doblon is, how-
ever, worth five hard dollars, or about 2Os. lod.
Doubly oblique prismatic system. In Cry-
stallog., consists of those crystals whose axes
contain unequal angles, and whose parameters
are unequal ; when transparent, they are optically
biaxial, as blue vitriol.
Douce pere. [Fr.] One of the twelve peers
[douze, pairs] of French romance.
Douceur. [Fr., sweetness.] A present, es-
pecially one intended to mollify or corrupt.
Douche. [Fr.} A jet of water used in
bathing.
Douey. (Naut.) A one-masted, flat-bottomed
vessel, of the Coromandel coast.
Dough-boys. (Naut. ) Hard dumplings boiled
in sea-water.
Dough-faces. A contemptuous nickname ap-
plied to the Northern abettors of negro slavery.
The term generally means a. pliable politician,
one who is accessible to personal influences anc
considerations. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Doulocracy. [C,r. 5ouAo-/cpaTi'a. ] Slave-govern -
nent, government by slaves.
Dove's dung. Chiryonini, 2 Kings vi. 25 ;
some kind of pulse, called in Arabic dove's dung
or sparrow's dung ; or perhaps the root of OrTn-
thogalum umbellatum ; or (?) some kind of fuel ;
or (?) to be understood literally.
Dovetail. When two boards are to be joined
neatly and securely with their faees at right
angles to each other, wedge-shaped projections
are cut on the one piece which exactly fit notches
cut in the other. The joint thus formed is called
a dovetail, from the shape of the notches and
projections.
Dowel (corr. of Dovetail}. [Fr. douille, socket.]
A small wedge or piece of wood driven into the
joints of brickwork, to which other pieces of wood
may be fastened by nails ; a vertical iron rod
fixed into a wall ami also into a body which is
to be attached securely thereto, as a cross on
the wall of a church. (Coak.)
Dowlas. [(?) O.H.G. dwahilja, towel (</.'.).]
Coarse linen cloth.
Down-haul tackles. Those used to prevent
lower yards from swaying while being struck.
Downs, The. A road for ships, six miles long,
off Kent, between N. and S. Forelands.
Down with the helm. (A'aitt. ) Put the tiller
to leeward.
Dow-purse. A sum of money presented by
the bridegroom to the bride, in some parts, on
the wedding night.
Doyen. [Fr. , L. decanus.] Meaning a dean,
is often colloquially the senior member of an
associated body.
Dozen ; Baker's D. ; Devil's D. ; Long D. [Fr.
douzaine, L. duodccim.] Twelve. A Baker's D. ,
^ Devil's D., or a. Long D. , = thirteen.
Drab. [O.E. drabbe, dregs.] A wooden box
for holding salt when taken out of the boiling-pan.
Drabler. Extra canvas to deepen a Bonnet.
Drachma. (Dinar.)
Draconic. Exceedingly severe ; said of laws,
regulations. Draco is said to have been author,
or perhaps compiler, of the first written laws
[6(fffj.oi] of Athens, which made death the
penalty of almost all crimes. But the word is
unfair ; the legislation of D. , as far as we know
it, being a mitigation of existing law.
Draft. 1. (Leg.) A rough copy of a docu-
ment. 2. (Com.) A written order for the
payment of money, i.q. a bill of exchange.
Dragoman. [L.L. dragomannus, drogamen-
dus, from Ar. tardjuman (Targum), more rarely
truchman and trudgman.] An interpreter in
Turkey and the Levant.
Dragon. [Gr. Spacco^, keen-sighted, Heb.
tan, Job xxx. 29, etc., tanan, to extend.] (Bidl.)
1. A beast of the desert, most probably the
jackal. 2. [Tannin, Ps. cxlviii. 7, has same
root as, but is different word from, tan, as above. ]
(Bibl.) An aquatic animal. (Leviathan ami
Whale.) 3. With the Greeks, any creature with
keen sight, the gazelle being called from the
same verb Dorcas. 4. A noxious serpent,
especially in Myth., those which cause drought.
(Sphinx.)
1 7 6
DRUM
Dragonet, Skulpin. Name of two British spec.
of fish, Gemmeous D. (Callionymus lyra)
[Or. Ka\\t<avitnos, beautiful-named} ; and Sordid
D. (C. Dracunculus), nine to ten inches long,
with large pectoral and ventral fins. Fam.
Gobiidse, ord. Acanthopterygii, sub-class Te-
leostel.
Dragonnades. Persecutions of the French
Protestants by Louis XIV. and Louis XV. ; so
called because dragoons were employed in them
against the people.
Dragon's-blood. A resin which exudes from
the fr.uit of a palm (C&lamus draco), native of
Malaya, used in varnish.
Dragon's teeth. (Cadmeian victory.)
Drag-ropes are attached to guns to assist in
moving them on an emergency. D. issued to
our cavalry are lassoes.
Drakkar. (Naut.) A pirate boat formerly
used by the Normans.
Dramatis persons. [L.] The actors in a
play. (Person.)
Drapier's Letters. Those of Dean Swift,
writing under this pseudonym in an Irish paper,
to warn the Irish against giving gold and silver
for Wood's halfpence, i.e. .180,000 worth of
bad copper, which W. Wood was by patent
empowered to coin.
Drastic medicines. Especially purgatives ;
acting powerfully [Gr. Spaa-rtKos].
Draught. 1. (Mil.) Detachment of soldiers
from the depot reinforcing the main body. 2.
(Ncmt. ) Of a vessel, her depth in the water.
Draught-house. 2 Kings x. 27 ; cesspool. So
draught, Matt. xv. 17 [Gr. ocpeSpcoco].
Dravidian. Name of a family of agglutinative
non-Aryan languages, in Central India, such as
Tamil and Telegu.
Draw, To (as a sail). To fill.
Drawback. A term used to signify the paying
back of duties previously levied on goods upon
their exportation.
Draw-bar; D.-hook; D.-spring. The hooks
which carry the coupling connecting one railway
carriage with another are Draw-hooks. The
D.-bar is the prolongation of the hook by
which it is fastened to the buffer spring, when
only one spring is used for buffers and draw-
hook ; or to the D.-spring, when each buffer
and draw-hook has its own spring.
Drawcansir. The braggart in Villiers's The
Rehearsal,
Drawer. The person who creates a draft or
bill of exchange.
Drawing-room. (Levee.)
Draw-plate, or Wire-drainer'' s plate. A steel
plate furnished with a graduated series of conical
holes, through which wire can be drawn suc-
cessively till its thickness has been reduced to
the required amount, without subjecting it to a
force that would break it.
Dresden china. A delicate, semi-transparent,
highly finished china.
Dreykb'nigstag. With the Germans, Twelfth
Night ; Three Kings' Day, i.e. the three Magi
of tradition Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar.
Drift, Northern D. (Boulder-clay.)
Driftland, Drofland, Dryfland. (Leg. ) Yearly
rent paid by tenant for the right of driving
cattle through a manor.
Driftsail. A sail allowed to drag in the
water to check drifting.
Driftway. A passage between two shafts in
a mine.
Drill. [Ger. drillich.] 1. A coarse linen or
cotton cloth. 2. A borer. 3. An agricultural
implement.
Dripstone. (Arch.) The Moulding placed over
doors, windows, archways, etc., to carry off rain.
It is also called weather-moulding, water-table,
label, and Hood-moulding.
Driver. 1. (Mech.) A piece which com-
municates motion to another piece ; e.g. when
two toothed wheels work together, the one
which communicates motion is the D. , and the
one which receives the motion is the Follower.
2. (Sails.)
Driving notes. (Music.) In syncopated pas-
sages, the notes which send on the accent to
that part of the bar which is not generally
accented.
Driving-wheels of a locomotive engine. The
wheels which are connected by means of a crank,
etc., to the pistons, and communicate motion
to the train.
Drofland. (Driftland.)
Drogheda, Statute of. (Poyning's Law.)
Drogher. (Naut.) A small vessel of the W.
Indies, to take off sugar, rum, etc., to ships.
Lumber- D. is a W. -Indian coaster.
Droit d'aubaine. (Fr. Law.) Right of the
king to the property of an alien at his death.
Dromio. Name of twin brothers exactly like
each other, in Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors.
Dromoes, Dromos, Dromonds. Vessels of large
burden, ships of war.
Drop-scene. The painted sheet let down in
front of the stage of a theatre, between scenes
and acts of a play.
Drosera [Gr., dewy\ Sundew. A gen of.
curious little plants, Exogens, ord. Droseraceae,
natives of Britain, having leaves covered with
viscid red glandular hairs, in which insects are
caught, the plant being thus nourished. Mr.
Darwin's researches upon the sundew are well
known.
Drosky. [Russ. drozhki.] A low, open, four-
wheeled carriage.
Drosometer. [Gr. 8p<5<ros, dew, neTpfTv, to
measure. ,] An instrument for measuring the fall
of dew.
Drown the miller, To. (Naut.) To put too
much water into wine, etc.
Druggers. (Naut.) Small French vessels of the
Channel ports, which carried fish to the Levant,
and brought back spices, etc.
Drugget. [Fr. droguet.] A coarse, thick
woollen cloth, stamped on one side with figures.
Druidical altars. (Cromlech.)
Drum. 1. A cylinder revolving on its axis,
on to which (or off from which) ropes are wound.
2. (Arch.) The upright part of a cupola, above
or below a dome ; generally the part below it.
3. A large social gathering at a private house ;
DRUM
177
DULC
(?) from the phrase, "John Drum's entertain-
ment " (Shakespeare).
Drum, Sacred. Among Laplanders, formerly,
a kind of necessary household god in every
family ; a hollowed section of fir or beech,
covered with skins on one side, hung with rings,
beaten with a reindeer's horn ; divination was
by the movement of the rings.
Drum-Alban. Formerly name of the Gram-
pian Mountains.
Drum-head court-martial (the D. serving as
an impromptu writing-table). One held in the
field, for treachery, plundering, killing the
wounded, or other gross offence ; the sentence
is carried out on the spot.
Drum-major. The non-commissioned officer
in charge of drummers and their instruction.
Drumming. In mercantile phrase, means the
soliciting of customers. It is chiefly used in
reference to country merchants, or those sup-
posed to be such. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Drummond light. A light produced by heat-
ing a piece of lime in the flame of a jet of oxygen
and hydrogen (invented by Captain Drummond).
Druses. A people of the Lebanon, reaching
as far as Baalbec, Regarded by the Maronites
as atheists. Some, styling themselves Okkals, or
Spiritualists, make great claims to purity. .
Dryads. (Gr. Spvds, SpvdSos. ] In Myth., tree-
nymphs ; also called Hamadryads.
Dryasdust, The Eev. Dr. Representative of
dry, dull learning, in some of Scott's prefatory
letters before his novels.
Dry ducking. Suspending a person a short
distance above the water. D. flogging, flogging
with clothes on.
Dryfland. (Driftland.)
Dry goods. Cloths, stuffs, laces, etc., as dis-
tinguished from groceries.
Dry light. [L. siccum lumen.] The clear,
bright light of the intellect, not heated by pas-
sion nor clouded by prejudice.
Dry pile. A voltaic pile, in which the liquid
is replaced by leather or paper, and which is
chiefly used for electroscopes.
Dry point. Etching with a sharp needle with-
out the use of acid.
Drysalter. 1. A dealer in drugs and chemicals.
2. Originally a dealer in cured meats, pickles, etc.
D. 8. Q. (Naut.) (Abbreviations.)
Dualism. The (i) concurrent or (2) antago-
nistic working of two principles in the same
object-matter; as (i) matter and spirit, or (2)
the Manichcean idea of good and evil in outward
nature. (Ahriman.)
Dub. To strike, as with the flat sword, in
making a knight ; (?) the last affront he was to
endure, like the blow of liberation from a Roman
master in the manumission of a slave. [Dub
and the Fr. adouber, with It., Sp., L.L., and
other forms, probably from Ger. dubban, to
strike (Littre).]
Du Barri. (Pompadour.)
Dubber. [Hind, dabbah.] A bottle of leather.
Dubbing. [O.E. dubban, to strike.] A greasy
dressing for leather.
Ducat. The Dutch and Austrian ducats are
gold coins worth about Q.f. 4^. ; the Neapolitan
D. is a silver coin worth about $s. 4</. The
first coined ducats were Sicilian, in the twelfth
century, bearing the inscription, " Sit tibi,
Christe, datus, quern Tu regis, iste Ducatus,"
i.e. Diichy.
Ducatoon. A half-ducat, worth about 5*.
Duces tecum. [L. ] You shall bring with you ;
name of a subpoena requiring a person to bring
into court as evidence any written instrument, etc.
Duck. [Ger. tuch, cloth. ] A light canvas,
used for sails, etc.
Duck at the yardarm, To. An old punishment
in the French navy. A rope is passed through a
block at the yardarm, to one end a cross-piece
of wood is fastened, and the prisoner sits lashed
on it ; he is then hauled up to the yardarm, and
dropped into the sea as often as ordered. D.
up, haul up a sail when it hinders seeing how to
aim a gun, or to steer.
Duck-billed platypus. (Ornithorhynehus.)
Ducking-stool, or Cucking-stool, Coke-stool,
Gogin-stool, Castigatory, Trcbuckct. A stool in
which common scolds were tied and soused
in water ; from the fifteenth to the eighteenth
century.
Ductor Dubitantium. A treatise on questions of
casuistry, by Bishop Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667).
Ducts. [L. ductus, a leading.'} (Bot.} Tubular
vessels marked by transverse lines or dots.
Duddeen. [Ir.] A very short clay pipe.
Dudder. A hawker of cheap goods (duds).
Duds. (Naut. ) Clothes or personal property.
Duenna. [Sp.] 1. The chief lady-in-waiting
of the Queen of Spain. 2. An elderly chaperone
or governess.
Duessa, or Fidessa. In the Faery Queen,
"clad in scarlet red," Falsehood ; signifying the
faith of Rome, not without reference to Mary
Queen of Scots, as representing Romish hostility
to Elizabeth. D. is the double one, Truth being
Una (q.v.}.
Duff. [Eng., dough.] A stiff flour pudding.
Duffle. [D. duffel.] A coarse woollen cloth,
with a thick nap.
Dugong. [Malay duyong. ] Sea-cow, an
aquatic herbivorous mammal, similar to, but
three times as long as, the manatee. (Manatidae.)
Indian Ocean, including the Red Sea.
Dug-out. A canoe made of a hollowed tree.
Duke Humphrey, To dine with. To get no
dinner at all ; said to refer to D. H.'s walk in
Old St. Paul's, a promenade for the dinnerless.
D. H., son of Henry IV., was reported to have
been starved to death.
Duke of York's School, or Royal Military
Asylum, Chelsea, opened 1803, for 700 boys
and 300 girls, children of deceased soldiers. The
girls' school has been discontinued.
Dukes. Gen. xxxvi. ; leaders of the people
[L. diices] ; so Solinus is D. of Ephesus, in
Comedy of Errors ; Theseus D. of Athens, in
Midsummer Nighfs Dream.
Dulcarnon. Name for "The Asses' Bridge,"
the fifth proposition of the first book of Euclid.
Dulce est desipere in loco. [L.] 'Tis sweet
to play the fool in season (Horace).
DULC
178
DURA
Duloe et decorum est pr5 patria mori. [L.]
// is sweet and honourable to die for one's country
(Horace).
Dulcimer. [It. dolcimela, as if dolce, siveet,
(if\os, song.] 1. In Dan. iii. , probably bagpipe,
Heb. sumphoniah, LXX. avfujxavia. 2. D., the
origin of the piano ; an ancient instrument, found
in some form almost everywhere ; is at first a
flat piece of wood over which, on raised con-
verging strips, strings are stretched, which are
struck by hammers held in the hand.
Dulcinea. The rustic love of Don Quixote.
Dulla. [Gr. 5ov\tia, slavery. ] In the Latin
Church, three degrees of worship are dis-
tinguished : D., the reverence paid to angels
and saints in general ; Hyperdulia, the special
veneration paid to the Virgin Mary ; and Latria,
the service of God only.
Dulocracy. (Doulocracy.)
Dumb-craft. (Naut.) 1. Lighters, lumps,
etc., without sails. 2. The screws used in
lifting a ship.
Dum bene se gesserit. [L-] While he shall
behave himself well, during good conduct.
Dumb-waiter. A set of circular shelves turn-
ing on a pivot, on which dishes and table
necessaries are placed, and brought within reach
by turning it.
Dum loquimur fugit aetas. [L.] While we
are speaking time is flying.
Dumose. [L. dumus, a thorn or bush.] (Bot.)
Of compact, bushy shape.
Dumous. [L. dumosus.] Full of brushwood.
Dump. An old dance, somewhat slow ; named
(?) from a trick of the players striking the lute
with the fist at intervals.
Dumpage. 1. Fee paid for dumping rubbish
from carts. 2. The right of dumping, i.e. un-
loading a cart by tilting.
Dumpy level. A short instrument fitted with
a telescope, for taking levels.
Dum splro, spero. [L.] While I breathe 1
hope.
Dunce. A word said to be derived from Duns
Scotus Erigena, the Subtle Doctor (Doctor) ; on
the principle by which a bully is called Hector,
and a blockhead Solomon, that is, from the rule
of contraries.
Dunoiad, The. Pope's satire on " dunces," i.e.
on his critics (cf. Byron's English Bards and
Scotch Reviewers').
Dunder. The lees of sugar from which rum is
made.
Dunderhead. (Naut.) 1. The devil. 2. A
stupid fellow.
Dune. [Gael, dun, hill.} (Geol.) A hillock
of drifted sand.
Dun-Edin. Name for Edinburgh in Scotch
peetry.
Dunes. [Akin to A.S. dun, downs.'] Low
hills of blown sand, which skirt the shore in
Holland, Spain, and other countries.
Dunging. Immersing calico in a bath of
cowdung and hot water.
Dungiyah. (Naut.) An Arabian coaster, with
great beam and a flat bottom, trading between
the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Malabar.
Dun-head. (Naut.) The after-planking of
E. -country barges, making the cabin.
Bunkers. (Origin of name unknown.) A
sect of Baptists, formed under peculiar rules in
Pennsylvania, in 1724.
Dunkirks. Dunkirk pirates.
Dunmow flitch. A prize for any married
couple who will swear that they have not
quarrelled or repented of their marriage within a
year and a day of its celebration ; instituted at
D., in Essex, 1244, by Robert Fitz waiter.
Dunnage. Anything packed amongst the
cargo to keep it from shifting, or placed below a
dry cargo to keep it from bilge-water. D.
battens, a second floor, slightly above the other,
to keep the cargo, etc., dry in case of a
leakage.
Duodecimals ; Duodenary. In Duodenary
arithmetic the base is 12, just as in ordinary
decimal arithmetic the base is 10 ; e.g. in the
former, 257-81 stands for 2 x I2 2 + 5 X 12 + 7
+ T 8 5 + 751 ; just as in the latter it stands for
2 X io 2 +. 5 X 10 + 7 + fs + TCI- Practically, a
partial use of the system is made in Duodecimals,
where the subdivisions of the foot are reckoned
by twelfths : I foot =12 primes, I prime =12
seconds, etc.
Duodenum. [L. duodeni, twelve each. ~\ (Anat.)
The first of the small intestines in immediate
connexion with the stomach ; about twelve
inches in length.
Duos qui sequitur lepores neutrum capit. [L. ]
He who follows t^vo hares catches neither.
Duplex querela. [L.] A process, by which
an appeal from an ordinary who refuses institution
to a benefice is made to his next immediate
superior ; who may grant it if the grounds of
refusal seem insufficient.
Duplicate. (Original.)
Duplicate of a ratio. If three magnitudes are
in continued proportion, the ratio of the first to
the third is the duplicate or double of the ratio
of the first to the second. The duplicate of
the ratio of two numbers is the ratio of their
squares ; thus, 16 : 25 is the duplicate of the
ratio of 4 : 5.
Duplication. [L. duplicatio, -nem, from du-
plico, / make double."} (Lang.) The process
by which one word or form develops into two .
different meanings becoming attached to dif-
ferent pronunciations (or spellings), as custom
and costume from O.P'r. coustume.
Duplication of the cube. The Delian problem,
viz. to find by elementary geometry the edge of
a cube whose volume is double that of a given
cube. Under the conditions the problem is
insoluble. It can be solved to any degree of
nearness by extracting the cube root of 2. It is
a particular case of the problem of inserting two
mean proportionals between two given magni-
tudes ; i.e. given a and b find x and_y such that
a : x :: x :y and x :y ::y : b.
Dura mater. [L.] The outermost, as Pia M.
is the innermost, covering enveloping the general
nervous mass of the brain. Matres, because once
imagined to give rise to the other membranes of
the body.
DURA
179
DYSF.
Duramen. (Alburnum.)
Durandal. The marvellous sword of Orlando
or Roland in romance. (Excalibur.)
Durante bene placito. [L.] (Leg.) During
the sovereign 's good pleasure.
Durbar. [Hind, darbar, audience-hall.] A
levee held by a chief or a representative of the
British empire in India.
Burden, Dame. A notable housewife of an
English popular song.
Duress. [O.Fr. duresse, from L. duritia,
hardrust.~\ 1. Restraint of liberty. 2. (Leg.)
State of compulsion by wrongful imprisonment
or threats of confinement, murder, mutilation,
or mayhem, which makes a contract voidable.
Durmast. (Bot.) The sessile-cupped, or short-
stalked oak, Quercus sessilifl5ra ; this and the
common O., pedunciilata, having stalks, being
two spec., or varieties of the same spec. Com-
mon throughout Europe.
Dustooree. [Hind.] Custom, duty on goods.
Dutch auction. A sale in which goods are
put up at a price higher than their vahie, lower
prices being gradually named till some one
buys.
Dutch caper. A light-armed P. privateer of
the seventeenth century,
Dutch clinker. [Ger. klinker.] A hard brim-
stone-coloured brick, made in Holland. Dutch
fink is chalk or whiting dyed yellow, used for
paper-staining. Dutch rush, a rough kind of
rush used for scouring and polishing. Dutch
gold, leaf, foil, mineral, or metal, is an alloy of
eleven parts of copper and two of zinc, rolled or
beaten into thin sheets.
Dutch eel-skuyt. (Naut.) A flat-bottomed
sea-boat with lee boards, cutter-rigged and round-
looking, with two water-tight bulkheads for
keeping live fish.
Dutchify, To. (Naut.) To turn a square stern
into a round one.
Dutch pump. The punishment of drowning,
for one who did not pump hard. D. reckoning,
a bad day's work, everything wrong.
Dutch school. A school of painting, charac-
terized by accuracy of representation and coarse
homeliness of subject. Its chief painter was
Rembrandt.
Duty of a steam-engine. The number of foot-
pounds of work done by a steam-engine in con-
sequence of the consumption of an assigned
quantity of coal, generally a bushel (eighty-four
or ninety-four pounds) or a hundredweight.
Duumviri. [L.] A body of two persons
who fill an office. D. sacromm, the two
keepers of the Sibylline books in ancient Rome.
Duvet. [Fr.] Down, wool, nap.
Dux femina facti. [L.] A -woman the atithor
of the achievement (Virgil, of Dido).
Dyad. [Gr. Svds, the number two.] A metal
one atom of which replaces two of hydrogen in a
compound.
Dyas. (Permian system.)
Dying Gladiator. A celebrated statue in the
Capitoline Museum ; the figure of a Gaul, with
Celtic torques or necklace. (See Byron, Childt
Harold, canto iv. 140. )
Dying man's dinner. (Xaut.) Food hurriedly
eaten when a vessel is in great danger.
Dyke. [A.S. die, D. dijk ; cf. Gr. Te?x<>y, wall,
Skt. dehi, rampart, mound. ] A mound or wall
of earth, as the Devil's Dyke, near Newmarket.
(Dike.)
Dykes. [An older form of ditch, from A.S.
dician, to dig.] (Geol.) Solidified walls of
molten material filling up, from below, fissures.
in stratified rocks ; D. meaning walls or fences,
in Scotland.
Dynam. [Gr. Sfoafus, jtoiver.] A unit, some-
times used for measuring the rate at which an
agent does work, viz. the work done when a
kilogramme is moved against gravity through one
metre in a second of time. 76 dynams = I
horse-power.
-dynamia. [Gr. 5vvafj.is, power, in sense of
excess.] (Sot.) The Linna:an xiv. and xv.
classes are Di-dynamia, having four stamens, two
longer than the others. Tetra-dynamia, having
six stamens, four being longer than the others.
(-andria. )
Dynamic. [Gr. ^V&HIK&S, powerful, effective.]
(Lang.) Intended to express change of meaning
or the reduplication (q.v.) of the root in forms
which express completed action.
Dynamics. 1. The science which determines
the motion of a body when the forces applied to
it are not in equilibrium (I'oisson). 2. The
science which treats of the action of force, com-
prising two divisions : Statics when the forces
maintain relative rest, and Kinetics when force
produces acceleration of relative motion (Thomp-
son and Tait). In the former sense D. is exactly
equivalent to the subdivision Kinetics, when D. is
used in the latter sense.
Dynamite. [Gr. 5vva.fj.ts, power.] A combi-
nation of three-fourths of nitro-glycerine with
one-fourth of powdered silica ; of a pasty consis-
tency ; exploded by a percussion cap, which
brings both percussion and fire to bear.
Dynamometer. [Gr. Svva/Ais, poiver, nerpov,
measure.] An instrument for measuring ( I ) force,
as a spring-balance ; (2) force and motion and
therefore work, as the steam-indicator.
Dynasty. [Gr. SwaoTeia, from SvvaffTfvfiv, to
be a SCcacrTTjs, ruler, from 8vva/j.ai, I have power. ~\
A succession of rulers of the same race or line,
as the ^Ethiopian D. in ancient Egypt, the
Bourbon D. in France.
Dyne. A unit of force [Gr. Svcd/m], viz. the
force which, acting for one second on a mass of
one gramme, produces a velocity of one centi-
metre a second. It is called a C. G. S. unit.
Dynevor. The southern division of Wales in
the Saxon period.
Dys^. [Gr. Svtr-.] A prefix in some compound
words, with a general notion of badness, harsh-
ness, unfavourableness ; the opposite being tl, well.
Dyschromatopsy. [Gr. Svo--, with difficulty,
Xpw/"a, -ros, colour, fyts, appearance.] Colour-
blindness.
Dysentery. [Gr. SvffevrepCa, from Svff-, fvrepa,
bowels.] A disease of the mucous membrane of
the colon ; with marked fever, great pain, bloody
stools, etc.
DYSP
180
EAST
Dyspepsia. [Gr. Svffirt^ia, from 5u<r-, TreWcu, I
cook, digest.] Impaired or difficult digestion.
Dysphonia clerlcorum [Gr. Svaifxavia, rough-
ness of sound}, Clergyman's sorethroat. A general
name for those various affections of the throat
to which public speakers and singers are liable.
(Cynanche.)
Dyspnoea. [Gr. Svffirvota, from Svff-, irvtia, I
breathe.] Difficulty of breathing.
Dytiwu*. [Dim. of Gr. SOTTJJ, a diver.] \
Water-beetle, Pentamerous (i.e. five-jointed)
aquatic coleoptera.
Dyvnorint. An old name for the north of
Devonshire.
Dyvour. (Scot. Law.) Bankrupt.
Dwarf incarnation. (Myth.) The Avatar of
Vishnu as Hari, the new-born sun, who in two
strides becomes a giant, and in three accomplishes
his course.
Dwergar. (Pygmy.)
E.
E. The fifth letter in the Greek and other
allied alphabets ; denotes, as a Latin number,
250. In Music, it marks a note of the scale
corresponding to the mi of the French and
Italians.
-ea, -ey. [Cf. ay, a, oe ; A.S.] Part of
names, meaning island, as Chels-ea, Cherts-ey.
Eagle. 1. [Fr. aigle, L. aqufla.] A gold coin
of the U.S., of the value of ten dollars ; so called
from its bearing on the reverse the figure of the
American eagle. There are also double-eagles of
twenty dollars, as well as half and. quarter eagles.
Bartlett's Americanisms. 2. [Nesher, Micah i.
1 6, etc.] (Bibl.) Spec, of vulture, great griffon
V. (Gyps fulvus), four feet long, plumage yel-
lowish brown, with nearly black quill feathers
and white frill.
Eagle, or Spread eagle. (Naut.) A man
fastened to the shrouds by his extended arms
and legs ; an old punishment.
Eagle-stone. (Nodule.)
Eagle-wood (eagle being the Malayan name
agila). Agallochum aloexylon, a very fragrant
wood, yielding incense, burnt from very early
times in India and in China.
Eagre, Eager, or Hygre. (Bore.)
Ealdorman. (Alderman.)
Eame. [A.S. earn, Ger. oheim.] Uncle.
Ean. (Tean.)
Eanling. (Yeanling.)
Ear, Earing. [L. aro, Gr. ap6ta, I plough.]
Gen. xlv., I Sam. viii., etc. ; ploughing, any
manner of preparing ground for seed.
Earings. (Naut.) Small ropes by which the
upper corners of sails are fastened to the yard.
Earl. [Norse jarl.] At first any person of
noble race, eorl ; all others being included in the
class ceorl, or churl. (Celibacy; Ealdorman.)
Earles-money. [Earles, from Fr. arrhes, L.
from a Phoenician word.]
arrha, security,
Earnest money.
Earles-penny.
Earl-marshal.
The same as Earles-money.
(Marshal.) The hereditary
head of the Heralds' College.
Early English style. (Geometrical style.)
Ear-mark. The mark made on the ear of a
horse, cow, pig, or sheep by its owner ; and
hence the token or signal by which a thing is
known. So used also in the north of England.
The laws of several of the states require the ear-
mark of every proprietor to be recorded with
the town clerk, as evidence for reclaiming strays,
etc. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Earnest. In commercial transactions, the
paying down any part of the price of goods, if
it be but a penny, on the delivery of any portion
of the goods ; which, according to Blackstone,
is called in the civil law, arrha [L., earnest], and
interpreted to be " ernptionis, venditionis, con-
tractse argumentum," a proof of a real buying
and selling.
Earsh. (Earing.) Grass that grows after
ploughing.
Ears of a boat. (Nattt.) The pieces of timber
forward at the same height as and outside of the
gunwale of a boat.
Earthsbine, Earthlight. The faint light on
the dark part of the disc of the moon in her first
or fourth quarter, due to the sunlight scattered
from the earth, which would render the earth
visible to a spectator in the moon.
Easel. [Ger. esel, donkey.] An artist's frame
for holding the canvas on which he is painting.
Easement. [Fr. aisement.] In Law, accord-
ing to the old writers, " a service or convenience
which one neighbour hath of another by charter
or prescription without profit ; " having reference
to rights of way, watercourses, ancient lights,
etc. ; e.g. a right to divert or pen back a stream,
or to pollute it, or the air, to a certain extent.
Similar are the Servitutfs of Roman, and the
Servitudes of French and Scotch laws. (See an
exhaustive account in Brown's Law Dictionary.)
Ease the helm. (Naut.) Put it a little down.
Eassel and Wessell. Lowland Scotch for east
and west. (See Scott's Guy Alannering, ch. i.)
East Anglia. Name of Norfolk, Suffolk, and
Cambridgeshire in early English history.
East Country. (Naut. ) Countries bordering
on the Baltic.
Easter eggs, i CEufs de Paque.)
Easter ling. (Sterling.)
Eastern Empire. The Greek or Byzantine
empire, 395-1453-
Eastern States. The six states of New
England, in America Maine, New Hampshire,
Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and
Connecticut.
East India Company. A chartered English
company, originally founded in i&oo for trading
EAST
181
EC LA
with India. Since 1748 it acquired great politi-
cal power, and at the time of its political anni-
hilation (1858) it governed as subject or tributary
the vast empire of India, which then passed to
the Crown.
Eastminster. Original name of the cathedral
church of St. Paul's, London.
East Sea. Old name of the Baltic.
Eat the wind out of a vessel, To. To steal
to windward of an opponent by very smart
seamanship.
Eau de Luce. [Fr.] A compound solution of
ammonia, mastic, and oil of amber, used as a
remedy for snake-bites (invented by Luce).
Ebb ; Ebb-tide. The reflux of the tide towards
the sea.
Ebbsfleet. The channel between the Isle of
Thanet and Kent in the Saxon period.
Ebenaceous. [From L. ebenus, ebony.] Con-
sisting of or like ebony.
Ebionites. (Eccl. Hist.} A sect of the first
century, who, holding opinions resembling those
afterwards maintained by the Arians, insisted on
the observance of the Mosaic Law and rejected
the authority of St. Paul.
Eblis. Arabic name of the prince of the rebel
angels exiled to the infernal regions for refusing
to worship Adam.
Ebonite. [Eng., ebony. ~\ A hard, black,
elastic compound of indiarubber and sulphur,
also called vulcanite.
Ebony. 1. A punning name given to W.
Blackwood, original publisher of Blackwood's
Magazine, by James Hogg, the " Ettrick Shep-
herd." 2. Nickname for Blackivood's Magazine.
Ebridae Insulae. Name of the Hebrides under
the Romans.
Ebullition. [L. ebulllre, to boil over.] Boil-
ing^or effervescence.
Ecarte. [Fr.] A game at cards, generally
played by two, in many respects like whist, but
if the hands dealt contain bad cards the players
may throw out [ecarter] cards and take others in
their place from the pack till one is satisfied.
Ecbasis. [Gr. fK^atns, from IK, out, fiaiixa, I
go.] (Rhet.) A figure by which a necessary
consequence from a proposition concerning the
matter in hand is exhibited ; e.g. " Education
lessens crime, therefore excess of crime shows
defective education."
Ecbatic. (Ecbasis.) (Gram.) Relating to or
indicating a result or consequence.
Ecbole. [Gr. ^/cjSoMj, a throwing out, from
iK,from, /3d\\u>, to throw.] (Rhet.) A digres-
sion in which a person is introduced speaking
in his very words.
Eccaleobion. [Gr. ^K/caAew, / evoke, 0ios,
life.] A hatching-machine.
Eccentric [Gr. tKKevrpos, out of the centre] ;
E. chuck ; E. gear ; E. strap ; E. rod. 1. The
apparent proper motion of the sun is nearly
accounted for by supposing him to move uni-
formly in a circle whose centre does not coin-
cide with that of the earth. Such an orbit
whose centre does not coincide with the centre
of motion was called an E. in the old astro-
nomy. 2. (Mech.) A modified crank convert-
ing the circular motion of the main shaft into an
alternating rectilinear motion for working the
slide-valves of a steam-engine. It consists of a
circular disc or sheave keyed on to the shaft,
with whose axis the centre does not coincide ;
this disc is embraced by a hoop, the E. strap,
furnished with an arm, the E. rod ; the disc can
slide within the hoop, and consequently, if the
arm is properly guided, its end moves backwards
and forwards when the shaft is turned. The E.
gear is the whole of the E. apparatus. An E.
chuck holds a piece in a lathe in such a manner
that the tool cuts on it E. circles.
Eccentricity. 1. Of an eccentric circle, the
distance from the centre of the orb to the centre
of motion. 2. Of an ellipse, the distance from
focus to centre, or ratio of that distance to semi-
major axis.
Eccentricity, Error of. (Centring, Error of.)
Ecchymosis. [Gr. eVxtytoxm.] Livid spots in
the skin, made by extravasated blood in or
under the skin ; e.g. a black eye.
Ecclesiastical Polity, Laws of. Richard
Hooker's great work, 1594, in defence of the
Church against Puritans.
Ecclesiology. [Gr. e'/c/cAtjcria, a church, \6yos,
discourse.] The science which studies all matters
relating to the fabrics of ecclesiastical buildings
their furniture, decorations, etc.
Ecdysis. [Gr. 6/e-SS.m, a stripping off.]
Putting off the skin, as is done by snakes.
Echelle. [Fr., L. scala.] Musical scale.
Echelon. [Fr., the step of a ladder, echelle,
L. scala.] (Alii.) Tactical movement by which
a battalion moves either directly or obliquely to its
front, by each company marching in a parallel di-
rection to, but not following the one preceding it.
Echidna. [Gr., the throttler, properly of con-
strictors.] (Zool.) Australian hedgehog, Porcu-
pine ant-eater. One of the two gen. of the ord.
Monotremata (the other being the Ornithorhyn-
cus) containing two spec., E. hystrix and E.
setosa. Australia.
Echinite. [Gr. txfvos, sea-urchin.] (Geol.)
Any fossil echinoderm, related to Echinus.
Echinodenn. [Gr. e'x?ros, sea-urchin, 5fp/j.a,
skin, shell.] (Zool.) A class of Annuloida,
having an integument firm, coriaceous, or crus-
taceous, and very generally spinous, like the
sea-urchin.
Echinus. [Gr. e'xiVos, a hedgehog.] 1. (Arch.)
A kind of moulding under the capital of an Ionic
column, of which the chief feature is a row of
egg-shaped ornaments in relief. 2. (Zool.) Sea-
urchin, sea-hedgehog. Gen. of class Echlnoder-
mata, having its rays connected, and their tips
turned in, so as to form a hemispheroidal
envelope of its leathery integument, which be-
comes a shell with upper and under orifices.
Eckhardt, The faithful. An old man of Ger-
man legend, who drives folk indoors on Maunday
Thursday, to save them from the terrors of a pro-
cession of the dead. Tieck made E. a faithful
servant who perished to save his master's children
from the temptations of fiends.
Eclaircissement. [Fr.] A clearing up, a dis-
covery.
EC LA
182
EDRI
Eclat. [Fr.] Brilliant effect.
Eclectics. [Gr. fK\tKTut6s, picking out.} Pro-
perly, any who borrow from other systems of
thought to complete their own. In this sense
Plato and Aristotle, and perhaps all thinkers, are
eclectics. But the name was specially applied in
the second century to the New Platonists of Alex-
andria. (Neoplatonism.)
Eclectic school. [Gr. tK\fK.riK&s, picking out.}
(Bolognese school.)
Eclipse [Gr. eic\tityis, a forsaking, an eclipse] ;
Annular E. ; Lunar E. ; Partial E. ; Solar E. ;
Total E. A Solar E. is the obscuration of the
sun caused by the moon passing between the sun
and the spectator, and is partial or total accord-
ing as the sun is partially or totally obscured at
the place where the obscuration is greatest. If
at any place the whole disc of the moon is seen
against the sun, so as to appear surrounded by a
ring of light, the E. is annular. A Lunar E. is
the partial or total obscuration of the moon
caused by her partial or total immersion in the
earth's shadow.
Ecliptic. The circle on the great sphere along
which the sun appears to move round the sphere
in the course of a year ; its position is marked
out in the heavens by the signs of the Zodiac.
The earth's actual motion in her orbit to which
the sun's (apparent) proper motion is due takes
place in the plane of the E.
Ecliptic limit. The angular distance from a
node, or the point of intersection of her orbit
with the sun's orbit, within which the moon
must be at conjunction with the sun for an eclipse
to be possible. As these orbits are inclined, it
follows that when the new moon is more than a
certain distance (17) from a node, she passes
above or below the sun, and there is no solar
eclipse visible anywhere on the earth ; and when
the full moon is more than a certain distance
(11) from a node, she does not dip into the
earth's shadow, and there is no lunar eclipse.
Ecloge, Ecloga. A choice collection [Gr.
4it\oyJi] of authors. Eclogce, elegant extracts ;
and by the grammarians the Bucolics of Virgil are
also called Ecldga, Eclogties, or BucoUcon E.,
collections of Bucolics.
Ecole Polytechnique. (Polytechnic School.)
Economic botany. [Gr. olKovo^ia, management
of a household.'] B. as concerned with all arts
which supply human needs or comforts.
Economy. (Reserve.)
Economy, The. (Arcani Disciplina.)
E converse. [L.] (Log.) Conversely; said of
a proposition formed from another proposition
with transposition of the subject and predicate,
as " Queen Victoria is the Queen of England."
Ecorche. [Fr., flayed.] A representation of
an ^animal flayed so as to show the muscles, etc.
Ecossais. [Fr.] Scotch.
Ecphasis. [Gr. e/c<pd<m, from ^r, out, <prifj.i, I
speak, say."] An open statement.
Ecphoneme. [Gr. ^K^cij/Tj^a, exclamation."]
(Gram.} A note of admiration, thus !
Ectasis. [Gr., a stretching out, from IK, out,
Ttivta, I stretch.] (Pros.) Lengthening of a
short syllable ; which was generally, however, the
going back for once to the original length of a
vowel which had become short in course of time.
Ecthesis. [Gr. eicdecris, an exposition."] (Hist.)
A decree of the Emperor Heraclius, A.D. 639,
drawn up to put an end to the Monothelite con-
troversy. Withdrawn by the Emperor Constans,
who in 648 issued his Type, by which he imposed
silence on both sides.
Ecthlipsis. [Gr. /c0Atyts, a squeezing out,
from (?<c, out, and 6\(fieiv, to press."] (Pros.) The
elision in Latin of a syllable consisting of a.
vowel followed by m, as, " O et prsesldi(um) et
dulce decus meum " (Horace, Od. i. 2).
Ectypal. [Gr. e, from, rfaos, stamp, pattern,
model.} Copied, imitated.
Ectypography. [Gr. IK, out, TUB-OS, type,
ypd.<t>fiv, to -write."] Etching in relief.
Ecurie. [Fr.] A stable.
Eczema. [Gr. eKfe/*a, from KE'W, J 'boil out or
over.] An eruption of small aggregated vesicles
on various parts of the skin.
Edda. This Norse word, signifying Grand-
mother, denotes the collection of the most ancient
Scandinavian poetry. Of the two Eddas the
Older, ascribed to Ssemund Sigfusson, is sup-
posed to have been reduced to writing about
the end of the eleventh century. The New Edda,
bearing the name of Snorri Stirluson, about two
centuries later, is an abridgment of the Older
Edda, the parts being also rearranged. Thorpe.
Eddish, Earsh. [A.S. edisc, from ed, again;
cf. L. at, yet, Gr. TI, yet, still.] Grass which
grows again after mowing or reaping, aftermath.
Edelweiss of the Alps. Leontopodium alpi-
num, ord. Composite.
Edema. [Gr. <rfSj/ia.] A swelling; adj.,
Edematous.
Edentata. [L. e-dentatus, having the teeth
knocked out.} (Zool.) An ord. of mammals,
some entirely toothless, as the great ant-eater
(Myrmecophaga jubata) ; all destitute of in-
cisors, as the sloth (Bradypus).
Edessa. A principality on the Euphrates,
north and north-east of Aleppo, in the time of
the Crusades.
Edible nests. (Cubilose.)
Edict. [L. edictum, that which is spoken out.}
In Rom. Hist., the ordinances of the Praetors,
who on taking office laid down their rules for
regulating the practice of their courts.
Edict of Milan. A proclamation issued by
Constantine, A.D. 313, securing the civil and
religious rights of Christians.
Edict of Nantes. A proclamation issued by
Henry IV. of France, 1578, securing to Protest-
ants the free exercise of their religion. Revoked
by Louis XIV., 1685.
Edition de luxe. [Fr.] A very beautifully
got up edition of a work.
Editio princeps. [L.] The original printed
edition of ancient works, often of great value to
critical scholars, as being records of readings
of manuscripts since lost.
Edredon [Fr.], i.q. eider-down ; formerly
ederdon, from Ger. eider-dune.
Edrisites. A dynasty ruling in Fez in the
ninth century.
EDUC
183
EL AS
Educt. [L. eductum, p. part, of e-duco, /
bring out.] That which is educed or brought
to light.
Edulcoration. [L. e, out of, dulcorare, to
sweeten.] The act of cleansing by repeated
affusion of water.
Edward VI.'s first Prayer-book. (Common
Prayer, Book of.)
Edward VI.'s second Prayer-book. (Common
Prayer, Book of.)
Eerie. [Scot.] Wild, weird.
E, Ex. L. prefix, = from, out of, and with
intens. force ; added to official titles, it denotes
one who used to hold the office indicated, as
ex-premier.
Effective. [L. effectivus, from efftcio, 7
effect. ] (Com.) Specie or hard cash, opposed
to bills or paper money.
Effective force. (Dyn. ) The force that must
be applied to a detached particle to make it
move in precisely the same manner as that in
which it actually moves when forming part of a
moving system.
Effendi. A Turkish corr. of the Greek word
av6fi>Tr)s, meaning lord or superior, and applied
to civil functionaries as opposed to military, who
are called Agas.
Efferent. (Afferent.)
Efflorescence. [L. effloresce, I 'blossom forth. ,]
(Min.) The appearance of a whitish saline
crust on material changed by the atmosphere
from a crystalline to a powdery state ; e.g. alum
in caves, sulphate of iron on pyrites, etc.
Effodiuntur opes irritamenta malorum. [L.]
Riches the incentives to evils are dug out of the
ground.
Egalite. {Ft., equality.] Name taken (1792)
by Louis Philippe Joseph, Duke of Orleans.
Egesta. [Things carried off or out (L. egestus).]
Excretions ; matters thrown from or out of the
bodies of animals.
Egger. (Eggs.) (Entom.) Lasiocampa, gen.
of moth, spec. L. quercifolia, popiilifolia, etc.,
according to the trees, etc., which it affects.
Sub-fam. Bombycidae, ord. Lepldoptera.
Eggs, Easter. (CEufs de Paque.)
Eggs, Mundane. (CEufs de Paque.)
Eggshell china. China turned down in a
lathe till little but the glaze is left.
Ego. (Subjective and objective.)
Egoism. [Coined from L. ego, 7, Fr. ego-
isme.] 1. (Metaph.) Subjective ideality; the
tenet which limits knowledge to personal expe-
rience and existence to its phenomena. 2. Self-
love, habitual reference to self.
Egress. [L. egressus, agoing out.] (Astron.)
The end of a transit of Venus or Mercury when
it is seen to pass off from the sun's disc.
Egret. [Fr. aigrette, id., O.H.G. heigro,
L.L. aigronem, O.Fr. hairon, Fr. heron.] The
white heron ; found in both hemispheres. Two
spec., the Great E. (Ardea alba) and the Little
E. (A. garzetta), occasionally found in Britain.
Fam. Ardeidae, ord. Grallse.
Egrette. (Aigrette.)
Egyptology. The scientific study of Egyptian
antiquities and language.
Eiconoclastes. [Gr. eucwp, an image, K\dw, I
break. ] Milton's answer to Eikon Basilike (q.v.).
Eider-down. The down of the eider-duck
Sw. ejder].
Eidograph. [Gr. e/5os, form, ypaQeiv, to
write.] ^An instrument for copying drawings.
Eidolon. [Gr., an image.] 1. A form, phan-
tom. 2. (Scient.) A baseless theory.
Eigne. (Bastard eigne.)
Eikon Basilike. [Gr., image of the king.]
(Hist.) A Portraiture of His Sacred Majesty
in His Solitude and Sufferings, ascribed to
Charles L, but probably written by Gauden,
Bishop of Exeter. The recent discovery in the
Record Office of a prayer in Charles I.'s writing,
identical with one in E. B., has reopened the
question. The Daily A'cu>s, April 24, 1880,
argues in favour of the authorship of W.
Dugard, High Master of St. Paul's, but more
recent criticism tends to confirm the authorship
of Gauden.
Eire. (Eyre.)
Eirenikon. [Gr., peaceful.] A name for works
designed to reconcile opposite schools in politics
or theology, by showing that the points on which
they agree are more in number than those on
which they differ, or that their differences are
not fundamental.
Eisteddfod. [Welsh eisteclcl, to sit.] 1. An
assembly or session of Welsh bards, with com-
petition in native poetry and music ; the judges
commissioned by Welsh princes, and, after the
conquest, by English kings. The last commis-
sion was issued in 1568. 2. By a late revival,
meetings held in Wales for recitation of prize
poems, performances on the harp, etc.
Ejectment. [From L. ejicio, 7 eject.] A
mixed action to recover possession of real
estate and damages and costs for wrongful
withholding, the best method of trying a title
to landed estate. The action lies against a
tenant, the plaintiff being either a claimant to
the estate or his legal representative (as trustee
or guardian), or the landlord for forfeiture by
nonpayment of rent.
Eke; also A. S. ec, ecan, akin to L. aug-ere,
to increase, prolong.
Elan. [Fr.] Vehement impulse, such as is
supposed to characterize French soldiers when
entering into action, as contrasted with the
quieter but more steady endurance of the English.
Elastic [Gr. eAdrJs, e \affr6s, beaten out] curve ;
E. fluid ; E. limits. The E. curve is the figure
assumed by the longitudinal axis of a slender
flat spring of uniform section under the action of
two equal and opposite forces. Air and other
gases are called E. fluids, because when a portion
of gas is enclosed it expands or contracts freely
when the containing space is enlarged or dimi-
nished. The E. limits of a given substance are
the extreme amount of the strain (elongation,
compression, etc.) that the substance can undergo
without permanently altering its form.
Elasticity ; Modulus of E. ; Perfect E. ; etc.
The tendency of a strained (elongated, com-
pressed, distorted) body to return to its original
volume and form when the straining forces cease
ELDE
184
to act. The E. is perfect when the body, having
been brought into a certain state of strain by the
action of certain forces, requires the continued
action of those forces to keep it in that state of
strain. The Modulus of E. of any substance is
a column of the same substance capable of pro-
ducing a pressure on its base, which is to the
weight causing a certain degree of compression
as the length of the substance is to the diminu-
tion of its length. The modulus of E. is fre-
quently given in pounds per square inch of the
cross-section of the compressed prism.
Elder Brethren. Name of the Masters of the
Trinity House.
Eldest Son of the Church. A title of the Kings
of France.
El-Dorado. [Sp., the golden region.'] The
name given by the Spaniards in the sixteenth
century to a country supposed to lie between the
Orinoco and Amazon rivers in S. America. It
is now applied to any fabulous lands of bound-
less wealth.
Eldritch. [Scot.] Ghastly, weird, fiendish.
Eleanor crosses. Memorial crosses erected on
the spots where the bier of Eleanor, wife of
Edward I., rested on its way to Westminster,
the last of these halting-places being at Charing
Cross.
Eleatic philosophy. (Hist. ) The philosophic
system of Xenophanes, in the sixth century B.C.
It was confined to what he regarded as the only
objects of real knowledge, namely, the ideas of
God, or of being as it is in itself and as con-
trasted with the world of changing phenomena.
Elecampane. (Bot.) Large-leaved yellow-
flowered plant, Inula helgnium [Gr. t\4viov\,
ord. Composite. Native of damp meadows
in Mid. and S. Europe ; rare in Britain. Its
root once much used in medicine.
Election. (Theol.) (Arminians.)
Electors [L. electores, choosers], under the
Empire, were princes having a voice in the
election of the Emperor. The Elector of Hesse-
Cassel is the only one who still retains the title,
the rest having become kings, grand-dukes, etc.
(Emperor ; Empire.)
Electro-biology. [Gr. faticrpov, amber, 0ios,
life, \6yos, discourse.] A word used to mean a
kind of induced reverie.
Electro-chronograph. (Chronograph.)
Electrode. [Gr. JjA.e/crpoj', and o$os, a may.]
The surface through which the electric current
enters the substance to be decomposed, in
electrolysis.
Electrolysis. [Gr. fj\tKrpov, and \vais, a
loosening.'] The decomposition of a body by an
electric current. Electrolyte, a -body capable of
being thus decomposed.
Electro-magnet. A mass of soft iron tempo-
rarily magnetized by being placed within a coil of
wire through which an electric current passes.
Electro-plating. Precipitating a coating of
silver, etc., on some other metfel by voltaic
agency.
Electuary. [L.L. electarium, elingo, / lick
out.] A medicinal compound of the consistency
of honey, into which honey, sugar, etc., enter.
Eleemosynary. [L.L leemosunarius, adj.,
from Gr. 3\erifi.offvi>ri, alms.} 1. Relating to
alms. 2. Subsisting on alms.
Elegiac. [Gr. e'A.7e<d/cos, adj., from e\fjf"iov,
a distich, consisting of a (dactylic) hexameter and
a pentameter, the commonest metre of e\tyoi,
songs of 'mourning. ,] 1. Plaintive, expressing sor-
row or complaint. 2. (Metr.) Consisting of
t \eytM (see above).
Elegit. [L., he has chosen.} Name of a writ
bidding the sheriff give the judgment-creditor
the lands and tenements belonging to or occu-
pied by the debtor, to be held and enjoyed until
the debt is paid. The property is said to be
extended on an E. (Extend.) Before the right
of entry is given, the sheriff empannels a jury to
value the debtor's goods and chattels in case
they may satisfy the debt.
Elegy. [Gr. e\eyos.] A song of mourning,
a lament. (Elegiac.)
Element. [L. efementa, plu., first principles.']
1. A substance which cannot by any known
means be split up into any simpler form of
matter. (Abbreviations, Chemistry.) 2. (Math.)
An indefinitely small portion of a curved line, of
a surface, or of a solid.
Elementary mathematics. A term frequently
used to denote those parts of mathematics which
can be treated without systematic reference to
infinitesimals or limits.
Elemi. A resin used for varnish.
Elenchus. [Gr. I \eyxos.] (Log.) 1. Con
vincing argument in refutation, especially re-
ductio ad absurdum or ad impossible. 2. Dis-
proof, refutation.
Elephant. Drawing-paper measuring twenty-
eight inches by twenty-three (from its size).
Elephantiasis [Gr. eXe^cwTicuns, from e'Ae^as,
an elephant], or Barbados leg. 1. A disease com-
mon in hot countries, the skin becoming livid,
rugous, tumid, especially in the leg, which becomes
an elephant's leg, i.e. large, misshapen. 2. E.
Gr&corum, a blood disease, in which the skin
becomes thick, rugous, and insensible, with
falling off of all hair except from the scalp,
hoarseness of voice, and disfiguration of the
countenance ; giving rise to the term Satyriasis
[ffa-rvpiaffis ; which, however, in Gr. was dif-
ferently applied].
Eleusinian Mysteries. ( Gr. Hist. ) A festival
held yearly at Eleusis, near Athens, in honour of
Demeter, or Mother Earth. The ceremonial set
forth the revival of nature in the spring-time, as
the return of the maiden (Kore) Persephone
(Proserpine) from the kingdom of Hades, who
had stolen her away from the plain of Enna in
the late autumn.
Elevation. [L. elevare, to raise up.} 1. Of a
gun, the angle made by the axis of its bore with
the horizontal plane. 2. The representation of
a building or other body on a vertical plane, by
means of perspective or some other ordinary
projection.
Elevation, Angle of ; E. of the pole. The
Angle of E. of a point is the angle, in the ver-
tical plane passing through the point and the
eye, between a horizontal line and a line drawn
ELEV
IS:
EMBA
from the eye to the point. The E. of the pole
at any station is the arc of the meridian between
the (elevated) pole and the (rational) horizon.
It measures the latitude of the station.
Elevator. 1. A mechanical contrivance for
lifting grain, etc., to an upper floor ; also a build-
ing containing one or more elevators 2. A
mechanical contrivance now in use at large hotels
for carrying guests to the upper stories. Bart-
lett's Americanisms.
Eleve. [Fr.] Pupil.
Elgin marbles. A collection of statues and
other works, derived chiefly from the ruins of the
Parthenon at Athens, brought to England by Lord
Elgin, 1814, and now deposited in the British
Museum. (Parthenon ; Arundelian marbles. )
Elia. Nom de plume of Charles Lamb.
Elia, Essays of. Chief literary work of Charles
Lamb (died 1835).
Elimination. [L. e-limmo, I take out of doors. ~\
(Math.) The process of finding the equation
which connects certain numbers, when two
equations are given connecting those numbers
and one more number which is commonly un-
known. By an extension of the process, n
unknown numbers can be eliminated from n + I
equations.
Eliot, George. Nom de plume of Mrs. Cross,
nee (Marian) Evans, author of "Adam Bede,"
etc. (died December, 1880).
Eliquation. [L. eliquare, to strain.] The
separation of silver from copper by adding
lead, and then melting out the silver and lead
together.
Elision. [L. elisionem.] (Gram.) Thecutting
off or the suppression of a vowel at the end of a
word, as in Greek, Latin, and Italian poetry.
Elisors. [Fr. eliseurs, choosers.'] Two clerks
of the court or two other persons of the county,
sworn to choose a jury if the sheriff and coroners
are challenged as partial, etc. Their choice
cannot be challenged.
Elite. [Fr.] The select few, the pick.
Elixation. [L. elixo, I thoroiighly boil.} De-
coction.
Elixir. [Ar. el-ikser.] 1. The philosopher's
stone, for transmuting metals into gold. 2. A
tincture for prolonging life.
Elizabethan ware. (Crouch ware.)
Elizabeth's Prayer-book. (Common Prayer,
Book of.)
Ell. [D. eln, O.Fr. alne ; cf. L. ulna, Gr.
u\fvrj, forearm.'} 1. English, 45 inches. 2.
French, aune de Paris, 44 French inches or 46-9
English inches.
Ellandonan. District near Kintail, in Ross-
shire, in the Tudor period.
Ellipse. [Gr. f\\ei^is, a deficiency.} (Math.)
The plane curve described by a point which moves
in such a manner that the sum of its distances
from two fixed points (the foci) remains the same
in all its positions. It is a central curve, and its
greatest and least diameters are called its major
and minor axes. (Conic sections.)
Ellipsis, Ellipse. (Gram.) An omission of
words the meaning of which is implied, as,
" He struck me, not I him,"
Ellipsoid [Gr. e\\ei\j/is, an ellipse, elSoy,
form} ; E. of revolution. A. solid (resembling an
egg) all whose plane sections are ellipses or
circles. An E. of revolution is formed by the
revolution of an ellipse round its greatest or least
diameter ; it is often called a Spheroid, which in
the former case is said to be prolate, and in the
latter oblate.
Elliptic compasses are made for the descrip-
tion of ellipses, as ordinary compasses for the
description of circles.
Ellipticity of the earth. The figure of the
earth is very nearly that of an oblate spheroid ;
the equatorial being the greatest diameter, the
polar the least. The ratio which the excess of
the equatorial above the polar diameter bears to
the equatorial diameter is called the E. of the
earth, and is very nearly I : 300.
Elmo, Fire of St. A name of the electric
glow known as Castor and Pollux.
Eloge. [Fr.] A funeral oral ion.
Eloigne, Eloine, Eloign. [Fr. eloigner, from
L. elongare.] To remove to a distance.
Elongation, The angular distance of a planet
from the sun.
Eloquent Doctor, The. Doctor Facundus,
Peter Aureolus, Archbishop of Aix, fourteenth
century.
Elul. The twelfth month of civil, sixth of
ecclesiastical, Jewish year ; August September.
Elutriate. [L. elutriare, to wash off, from
eluo, as Pliny uses it.] To cleanse or free from
alien matter by washing, especially of an aggre-
gate of heavy particles, from which lighter
particles are to be disengaged.
Eluxation. [L. e, out, luxatio, -nem, disloca-
tion.} Dislocation of a joint.
Elvan. A name for felspathic dykes or veins
in Cornwall.
Elves. (Myth.) An old English word, de-
noting probably beings inhabiting the waters.
(Demons ; Fairies ; Nymphs.)
Elydoric. [Very badly coined from Gr. e\a.iov,
oil, vStap, wafer.] A mixture of oil and water-
colour painting.
Elysian. [Gr. ii\6fftoi>.] Relating to Elysium,
the region to which the souls of the good were
carried after death. It was supposed to be in
the west, beyond the columns of Herakles
(Hercules).
Elytrum. [Gr. t\vTpov, a cover, e\vca, to
cover, ,] (Entoin.) The anterior wing of a beetle,
etc., converted into a horny (chitinous) sheath
for the hinder one.
Elzevirs. Books beautifully printed are some-
times compared to Elzevirs, that is, to works
published by the family of Elzevir, properly
Elzevier, at Amsterdam and other places, in the
seventeenth century. (Aldine editions.)
Em (M). The portion of space occupied by
the letter M ; used as a unit in measuring
printed matter.
Embargo. [Sp., from embargar, to arrest,
detain.} An order preventing vessels leaving
port, a detention in port.
Embarras de richesse. [Fr.] A perplexing
superabundance of riches,
EMBA
1 86
EMPII
Embattled. (Her.') Having an outline like
the battlements of a tower. Embattled grady, or
battled embattled, signifies that each side of each
battlement rises by degrees, like a flight of steps
[L. gradus].
Ember days. [L. quatiior tempora, four
times, passing into ember through the form
quatember, D. temper, Sw. tamperdagar, ymber-
dagar.] Fast-days, occurring at the times in the
year appointed for ordinations, being the Wed-
nesday, Friday, and Saturday after the first
Sunday in Lent, Whit Sunday, September 14,
and December 13.
Emblements. [O.Fr. embleer, It. imbiadare,
to sow -with corn (Fr. ble, It. biado) ; cf. A.S.
blaed, short, leaf, fruit, Ger. blatt, leaf, re-
motely akin to L. flos, flower, bloom, Gr. ^Ae'eir,
to teem.~\ Growing crops of vegetable produc-
tions which are planted or sown with a view
to speedy return, as grain, root crops, or vege-
tables, not trees, shrubs, or grass.
Embless de gentz. [O.Fr.] Old Parliamen-
tary rolls, stealings from the people.
Embody. (Mil.) To incorporate for service
troops previously enrolled.
Embolism. [Gr. ^u/3oA.i<r/t(k, insertion, or
^uj8<5Ai<r/xa, a thing inserted ; cf. Fr. embolisme.]
1. Intercalation, insertion of days, or months,
or years between consecutive corresponding
divisions of the ordinary modes of reckoning.
2. The time inserted as above.
Embonpoint. [Fr., in good case. ~\ Plumpness,
fulness of figure.
Embossing. [Prefix em, = L. in, and Ger.
butz, point.'} Working figures in relief, whether
by casting, cutting, or stamping.
Embouchure. [Fr.] A mouth, an opening,
as of a defile, a river, etc.
Embowed. (Her.) Curved like a bow.
Embracery. [Norm. Fr. embraserie.] An
attempt to bribe or corrupt a jury.
Embrail. To use the Brails.
Embrasure. [Fr., of doubtful origin (Littre).]
Opening cut in a parapet through which a gun
can be fired whilst the gunners are protected.
(Crenelle.)
Embrocation. [Gr. ^uj8pe'xo, / make to soak
in.~\ (Med.) 1. The rubbing of a diseased part
with medicated liquid. 2. The liquid itself.
Embryology (Anat.) traces the develop-
ment of life in the foetus, or embryo [Gr. epPpvov,
from Iv, within, Ppvw, I grow in fulness] from
the first to the time of birth.
Emerald. A kind of type, as
Christmas.
Emerald green. Arsenite of copper, a pigment
of this colour, very poisonous.
Emerald Isle. Name of Ireland, from the
exceeding greenness of the vegetation, caused by
the damp climate.
Emeril. [Fr., from Gr. aptpis, emery.} A
glazier's diamond.
Emeritus. [L.] 1. A Roman soldier was so
called after serving his full time. 2. Hence
any one who has reached the end of his term
of office.
Emerods. Deut. xxviii. 27 ; I Sam. v. ', cdrr.
of Haemorrhoids.
Emery. [Fr. emeri, It. smeriglio, Gr. ff/j.vpis.]
A granular variety of Corundum (y.v.), generally
mixed with iron ore ; chiefly imported from
Naxos ; found also in several parts of Europe,
Asia Minor, America, and India; crushed and
sifted to various degrees of fineness.
Emeute. [Fr., of doubtful origin (Littre).]
Disturbance, riot.
Emication. [L. emicatio, -nem, a springing
forth.] A flying off in drops, sparks, or any small
particles, a sputtering.
Emigre. [Fr., an emigrant.] A political
refugee.
Emile. J. J. Rousseau's ideal of a perfectly
trained youth.
Emilia. 1. Heroine of Chaucer's Knighfs
Tale. 2. lago's wife, in Shakespeare's Othello.
Emilian Provinces = the Romagna (g.v.), to-
gether with the duchies of Parma and Modena ;
through which the ancient Via ALmilia, a con-
tinuation of the Via Flaminia, or great northern
road, passed ; formally annexed to Sardinia,
1860.
Eminent domain. (Leg.} The right of a
government to take the land of private persons
into public use.
Emir, Amir, Ameer. [Ar., commander.] 1. An
Arabian ruler. 2. One of Mohammed's descend-
ants. The khalifs took the title of Emir-al-
Mumemin, Chief of the Faithful, corr. in the
West into Miramamolin.
Emmett's Kebellion. Napoleon having by his
agents excited discontent in Ireland against the
Government, E., son of a Dublin physician, after
interviews with the first consul at Paris, planned
a general rising, July 23, 1803. It ended in little
more than a. city riot.
Empalement. [Fr.] (Her.) Conjunction of
two coats of arms in one escutcheon, parted by
a vertical line down the middle. (Pale.)
Empannel. (Leg.) The writing on a parch-
ment schedule by the sheriff the names of jurors
summoned by him.
Empawn. To pawn (q.v.), to pledge.
Emperor. (Hist.) This word, which repre-
sents L. imperator, denoted the military authority
of the consuls. On the fall of the republic, the
title was conferred first for a term of years, then
for life on Octavius (Augustus) ; and by it his
successors were known. Hence the emperor is
properly the head of the Roman world. The
imperial power conferred, A.D. 800, by Leo III.
on Charles the Great (Charlemagne) was only a
revival or extension of the Western Empire. As
assumed by some sovereigns in modern times,
it is a mere arbitrary title. (Aulic Council.)
Emphysema [Gr. fu<J>6<n7;ua, an inflation],
or Pneumatosis [Gr. , inflation]. (Med. ) A collec-
tion of air in the cellular membrane, arising
sometimes spontaneously, but generally from
some wound which affects the lungs ; rarely,
the effects of certain poisons.
Emphyteusis. [Gr. ep.-$vrfvais, in-planting.]
(Rom. Law.) A new ownership planted on the
real dominion, when lands or buildings are let
EMPt
187
EXDE
for yearly rent for a long term or even in per-
petuity. E. included the letting of agri vectlgdles.
The tenant was Empliytcitta.
Empire, The. This phrase denotes strictly the
Roman Empire, afterwards called the Holy
Roman Empire. (Emperor.) But it is also
applied to any widely extended dominions of a
single power, as the British empire.
Empiricism. 1. Knowledge which is non-
scientific, and founded upon experience [Gr.
f/mreipia] only. 2. In a bad sense, = quackery.
Emplastic. [Gr. 3/ji-ir\a.ffriK6s, pertaining to
plastering.} Adhesive, suitable for a plaster.
Emplastrum. [Gr. t/j.Tr\a<rT6v, a thing smeared
over ; in Galen, ep.ir\affrpov. ] Medicaments of
an adhesive character spread upon leather or
other texture and applied to the body.
Emplead. [O.Fr. emplaider.] To indict, to
Emporium. [Gr. e/jurdpiov.} Mart, port, depot.
Empressement. [Fr.] Impressive exhibition
of anxiety, eagerness, heartiness.
Emprise. [O.Fr. ; cf. It. impresa, ^tnder-
taking, from in (Fr. en, em) and prendre (Fr.
prendre), to take.~\ Enterprise.
Empusa. [Gr. fpirovaa.} A donkey-footed
[OVOKU>\OS, ovotrKf\ts] hobgoblin sent by Hecate,
or identified with Hecate ; a horrible phantom.
Empyrean. [Gr. epirvpos, epirvpios, from ec,
in, irvp,fire.} A sphere of fire, supposed to exist
above the sphere of air, because the element of
fire being lighter than that of air, it would
naturally occupy the highest place.
Empyreuma. [Gr. i/j.irvpev/j.a.] The smell or
taste of animal or vegetable substances burnt in
a close vessel.
Empyreumatic. [Gr. e^irvpev^a, thing set on
(lv)fire (jrvp-).} Like burnt animal or vegetable
substances in taste or smell.
Emulsion, Mulching. As used by gardeners
= manuring.
Emunctories. [L. emungo, / blow the nose.}
Parts of the body where things excrementitious
are collected for ejection.
En-. Prefix : 1. Fr. en-, from L. in, in, on,
into, against (and with intens. force), as in en-
treat ; with Teut. words, as in en-thrall. 2. eV,
in, on (and with intens. force), as in en-tonic. 3.
Teut. for A.S. on, cf. avd, up, as in en-lighten.
Enaliosauria [Gr. eVaAios, marine, cravpos,
lizard} (Geol.) = great fossil aquatic lizards, as
ichthyosaurus, plesiosaurus, etc.
Enallage. [Gr., interchange,] (Gram.) Inter-
change of words or of modes of inflexion
between words of a sentence, as [L.] Virtus est
vltium fuge're, to flee vice is virtue, for Virtutis est
vltium fuge're, or Virtus est fiiga vitiorum.
Enamel. [Fr. email.] An opaque or semi-
transparent glaze.
Enarmed. (Her.) Armed.
En arriere. [Fr.] In the background.
Enarthrosis. [Gr. 4vapQp<affis, &pdpov, a joint.]
(Anat.) A ball-and-socket joint, the head of
one bone being received into the concavity of
another, as in the hip and shoulder joints, ad-
mitting an extensive range of motion. Gingly-
mus [L., Gr. 7177X0^0*], a true hinge-joint,
two or more prominences fitting into correspond-
ing concavities, as the ankle-joint, and giving
no lateral motion.
En attendant. [Fr.] While waiting.
En avant. [Fr.] Onwards, in advance.
En bloc. [Fr.] In a mass, collectively.
Resolutions at a meeting are sometimes carried
en bloc, instead of being discussed one by one.
Encaenia, Encenia. [Gr. tyKaivix, Eccl. Gr.,
feast of dedication.} At Oxford University, a
Commemoration of benefactors. (Dedication,
Feast of.)
Encaustic tiles. [Gr. tyKava-rtKos, from (=7-
Kaifiv, to burn in.~\ Ornamental tiles, the colours
of which are fixed by burning them in.
Enceinte. [Fr.] 1. (Mil.) (Body of the place,)
2. Pregnant, with child.
Encephalo-. [Gr. tyKe<pa\os.] The brain.
Enchiridion. [Gr. eyxeipiSiov, manual, from
eV, in, x e ' L P> hand.} 1. Manual, handbook. 2.
A dagger.
Enchorial. (Rosetta stone.)
Enclitic. [Gr. tyK\triK6s, from eV, on, K\IVW,
I lean.} (Gram.) A word, generally a particle
or pronoun, which cannot be used without a
preceding word, the accentuation of which it
often alters, as the L. interrogative -ne : audisne ?
do you hear? but aiidis, you hear.
Encomiastic. [Gr. ^yKWfu.taffr'iKds, concerned
in praise, from iyK(a/^.iov, encomium.} Laudatory,
panegyrical, full of praise.
Encomium. [Gr. ^jKca^iov (sc. tiros), an ode
sung by a KOJ/XOJ, band of revellers, in praise of a
victor or distinguished man.] Elaborate praise,
panegyric, laudation, eulogy.
Encore. [Fr., from L. hanc horam, this hour.}
A word used in demanding repetition of music.
Encratites. [Gr. tyKpar-hs, temperate.} (Eccl.
Hist.) A Gnostic sect, which condemned mar-
riage.
Encrinite, Stone-lily. [Gr. KP'IVOV, lily.} (Geol.)
A crinoid (q.v.), with cylindrical stem; abundant
in the Muschclkelk. Allied forms abound in
many Palaeozoic limestones, and some also in
Secondary rocks.
Encyclical. [Gr. yitvK\ios, circular.} A
circular letter, whether from a Council, pope, or
bishop (see Acts xv. 23).
Encyclopaedia. [Gr., from tyicvKXtos (in a
circle), wauSeia (education) ; in late Gr., the circle
of arts and sciences. } A work containing a general
survey of all branches of knowledge in general
articles on arts and sciences and special articles
on particular objects.
Encyclopaedists. (Hist.) The French writers
whose works prepared the way for the Revolu-
tion are sometimes so called.
Encysted tumour. [Gr. eV, in, KIHTTIS, the
bladder.} Enclosed in a sac or cyst.
Endeavour. [Fr. en devoir, in the phrase, Se
mettre en devoir de faire, lit. to place one's self
in the task of doing, to set one's self to do ; O.E.]
To cause or make to try, originally with reflexive
pron., as in " E. ourselves," in the Ordinal and
elsewhere in Common Prayer-book.
Endeavour one's self. (Endeavour.)
Endemic, Endemial. Disease peculiar to the
ENDE
1 88
ENGL
people [Gr. Sn/j.ot'] or country ; naturalized and
always existing there.
Endermic, Endermatio. Remedies rubbed
into the skin [Gr. Stp/j-a] or applied after the
removal of the cuticle.
End for end. (Nattt.) Reversing logs,
spars, etc., e.g. if you shift a rope end for end
in a tackle, the fall becomes the standing part,
and vice versd ; also if a running rope runs out
through a block, or a cable runs entirely out, it
is end for end.
Endless band; E. ssrew. A band, strap, or
belt with its ends fastened together, placed over
two pulleys so as to embrace a part of the cir-
cumference of each and stretched tightly enough
to enable it to take hold of them and com-
municate motion from one to the other. An
E. screw is a screw mounted so as to be capable
of rotation only, which gives motion to a re-
volving follower, or wheel furnished with
properly shaped teeth cut on its circumference,
which work with the thread of the screw.
Endobranchiata. [Gr. evtiov, within,
gills.] (?) Tectibranchiate, as tornatella.
Endocarp. [Gr. ev$oi>, within, Kapirts, fruit.]
(Pericarp.)
Endogenite. (Geol.) Fossil stem of endogenous
structure. Endogenites, a special fossil plant of
the Wealden strata.
Endogens. [Gr. evSov, within, ylyvo/jLai, ytv-,
I am produced.] (Bot.) Growing by additions
to the inside, the outside being the oldest and
hardest part ; as grasses, lilies, palms. Exogens,
by additions to the outside [eo>], with separable
bark and concentric heart-wood ; as forest trees.
Endorse, (f/er.) A diminutive of the pale,
being one-fourth its size.
Endorsement. (Indorsement.)
Endosmosis ; Exosmosis. [Gr. frSov, within,
{w, without, &(r/j.6s, a thrusting.] In the
passage of fluids of different densities through
animal or vegetable membranes or porous solids ;
Endosmosis is from the outside to the inside,
Exosmosis from the inside to the outside.
Endromis. [Gr.] 1. A strong hunting-shoe.
2. A thick rug worn after running [5p6nos],
Endymion, Sleep of. Deep and dreamless
sleep. The phrase refers to the Greek myth of
Endymion, the darling of Selene (the moon).
En effet. [Fr.] In effect.
Enema, pron. enema. [Gr. o/e/ia, from eViTj/xi,
I send in.] An injection, clyster.
Energetics. [Gr. ivepynriKts, active.] The
science which treats of the various transforma-
tions of Energy.
Energumens. [Gr. ^vfpyov^evoi, worked in or
upon by others.] A general name for all persons
under demoniac influence. In the primitive
Church they formed a distinct class, and were
under the direction of exorcists.
Energy [Gr. Ivfpyeia., action] ; Actual E. ;
Intrinsic E. ; Kinetic E. ; Potential E. Capacity
for doing work. Actual or Kinetic E. is the
capacity of a body for doing work in virtue of
its velocity, and is proportional to its mass
multiplied by the square of its velocity. The
Intrinsic E. of a body is the work it can do in
virtue of its actual condition, without receiving
energy from without. Potential E. is the
capacity of a body for doing work in virtue of
its position relative to other bodies, or of its
parts to each other ; e.g. when the weight of a
clock has been wound up it has potential energy
due to its position ; so the mainspring of a watch,
when wound up, has potential energy due to its
configuration.
En famille. [Fr., in family.] Without
ceremony.-
Enfant gate. [Fr.} A spoiled child.
Enfants perdus. [Fr., lost children.'] A
forlorn hope (q.v.).
Enfant terrible. [Fr.] Lit. terrible child ;
one given to making inconvenient remarks,
more or less clever, and mostly personal, to the
confusion of present company.
Enfant trouve. [Fr.] A foundling.
Enfeoffment. [From L.L. infeoffare, to invest
with a feud or fee. ] The act of or instrument
of investment with a feud or fee (q.v.}.
Enfilade. [Fr., from enfiler, to thread.] (Mil.)
Fire from a gun or musket raking a line of
troops or the interior of the parapet, and at
the same time grazing its whole length.
En fin. [Fr,, at the end.] Finally.
Enfranchise. To make free, to invest with a
franchise.
Engaged columns. (Arch.) Columns, or
shafts, of which a portion is attached to or con-
cealed by the wall. They never stand out less
than half their diameter.
Engaged wheels. Toothed wheels working
with each other.
Engagement, The, substituted by Cromwell's
Parliament for subscription to the Covenant,
bound all who ministered to swear "to be true
and faithful to the Government established,
without king and House of Peers."
En gar9on. [Fr.] In bachelor fashion.
Engineer [from L. ingenium, native talent or
power, through Fr. ingenieur] ; Civil E. ; Me-
chanical E. ; Military E. ; Boyal E. Originally
one who manages engines, but now used in
several connexions. A constructor or designer
of the larger kinds of machines and engines is
a Mechanical E. One who designs and erects
structures subservient to the use of engines is
also an Engineer ; a Civil E., if the engines are
for civil uses, as locomotive engines ; a Military
E., if the engines are for warlike uses, as heavy
guns. Hence nearly every kind of structure,
roads, bridges, canals, fortifications, are raised
by engineers, and works preliminary to their con-
struction are performed byE. Military engineers
in England are called Royal E., because their
works are carried on under royal authority.
There are also Gas E., Marine E., Mining E.,
Sanitary E., Telegraphic E., etc. ; but in some
of these cases the word engineer has no mean-
ing, and is merely a name by which some men
choose to call themselves.
England, New. (New England.)
English. A kind of type, as
Irish.
ENGL
189
EXTE
English pale. The portion of Ireland to
which, for some centuries after its invasion by
the English under Henry II., the dominion of
the latter was confined.
Englishry. William the Conqueror, to check
the assassination of his unpopular Normans, laid
under a heavy amercement the hundred in which
an assassinated person was found ; and he was
presumed to be Norman, unless four nearest
relations proved his E.
Engobe. [Fr., from verb engober ; Littre
compares s'engober, to stuff one's self with food,
in Normandy.] A layer of Slip (q.v.), for semi-
liquid paste, applied to the surface of pottery.
Engoulee. [Fr., from en, in, and gueule,
mouth.~\ {Her.) Having the end in the throat
of an animal.
Engrail. [Fr. engreler, from grele, hail.~\ 1.
To spot as with hail, to indent or make jagged
at the edges. 2. {Her.) To border by a line
formed of small semicircles with the points
turned outwards.
En grand seigneur. [Fr.] In the style of a
grandee, in great state.
En gros. [Fr.] Wholesale.
Engross. [L.L. ingrossare, to make large. ~\
1. To increase in bulk. 2. {Leg.) To write
out fair, in large hand (a deed or instrument).
3. (Com.) To buy up as much as possible of
anything, in order to sell at advanced rates ; to
forestall. 4. Hence to occupy wholly, to take
up all one's attention.
Enhanced. [O.Fr. enhausser, to exalt.'} {Her.)
Placed higher than usual on an escutcheon.
Enharmonic. [From the E. scale in Gr. Music,
yevos tvapfuvutw, which admitted a quarter-
tone between E and F.] 1. Having intervals
less than semi-tones ; thus, an E. scale would
have more than the twelve piano-divisions of the
octave, and give separate sounds for G$ and
A&. But, 2, E. modulation or change, is a
change of the name only of the note, i.e. a
treatment of notes theoretically different as if
really the same ; e.g. of A b as if it were G {.
3. For E. Gr. Music a short statement of which
would probably mislead reference must be
made to such works as Stainer and Barrett's
Dictionary of Music.
Enlarge, To. (Naut.) Said of the wind when
it gets more astern.
Enlarger Testate. (Leg.) A kind of release
by which ulterior interest in an estate is con-
veyed to a particular tenant.
Enlightened or Illuminated Doctor. Raymond
Lully (1235-1315), a very distinguished school-
man, whose system, Ars Lulliana, undertook to
show that the mysteries of faith were not con-
trary to reason.
Enmanche. [Fr. manche, sleeve.'] (Her.)
Covered with a sleeve ; said of the chief when
lines are drawn from the middle point of the top
to the lower corners.
Ennui. [Fr. , perhaps from L. in odio, in
hate, = hateful.] Listlessness, from lack of em-
ployment, want of interests, or satiety, indiffer-
ence to pleasures and excitements. (Tedium
Ennuye, fern. ee. [Fr.] One suffering from
tnnui {q.v.).
Enoch, Book of. A book wriiteri probably in
the century preceding the Christian era. It
was lost after the time of Jerome, who mentions
it ; but two Ethiopic copies were discovered by
Bruce, the African explorer. A passage from
this book is quoted in the Epistle of St. Jucle.
Enodation. [L. enodatio, -nem, from .e nod are,
to free from knots (nodi).] Clearing from knots,
solution, untying
En petit comite. [Fr., in a small company. \
In a snug little party.
En plein jour. [Fr.] In open day.
En rapport. [Fr.] In agreement with, in
harmony with, especially of connexion by mes-
meric influence, secret sympathy or private
understanding.
En revanche. [Fr. , in return.'} To make
amends.
Enrollment, Enrolment. [From en- and roll.]
Recording, registration, record, register. Differs
from enlistment, as not necessarily implying
consent to military service.
Ensanguine. [En- and sanguine (verb or
subst.).] To stain deeply or widely with blood.
Ensconce. To cover by a Sconce, to hide
securely.
Ensemble. [Fr.] A whole, a complete col-
lection of parts taken [L. in simul] together.
Ensient, Enseint. (Leg. ) Enceinte (q.v.), -
child.
Ensiform. [L. ensis, a sword, forma, form.]
(ot.) Like a straight, narrow sword-blade ; e.g.
iris-nag.
Ensign. [Fr. enseign, one carrying military
decorations, L. insignia.] (Mil.} The title,
until lately, of an officer of infantry upon receiv-
ing his first commission.
Ensigned. [L. insigne, a badge.] Adorned.
Ensilage. [Fr.] The name given to the
method of preserving Indian corn or other
fodder in a green state for winter feeding.
Ensue. [O.Fr. ensuer, L. in-sequor.J To
follow after.
Entablature. (Order.)
Entail. 1. {Arch.) The O.E. form of the
It. intaglio, denoting any kind of carved or
moulded decoration. 2. An estate or fee limited
to particular heirs or descendants. (Tail.)
Entanglement. A military obstacle, stems of
trees half cut through and the upper parts
picketed down to the ground, or strong wire
twisted round top of pickets a foot in length.
Entasis. [Gr.] {Arch.) The almost imper-
ceptible swelling of the shaft of a column in the
Greek orders.
Entelechy. [Gr. iVreA^'xeia.] The actual
being of a thing, as opposed to simple capability
or potentiality.
Entente cordiale. [Fr.] {Dipl.) Cordial
understanding, generally between countries and
statesmen.
Enteric. [Gr. tvrtpa, bowels.] Intestinal.
E. fever, i.q. typhoid.
Enter short. (Bank.) To note down par-
ticulars of bills paid in to customers but not due
ENTE
190
EPAC
on a previous column, not putting the amounts
into the cash column until paid. If the banker
becomes bankrupt, the customers are entitled to
their bills so entered or to the proceeds if paid.
Entete. [Fr.] Wrong in the head [tete],
obstinate, vain, captivated.
Enthymeme. [Gr. ivQv^na.] (Rhet.) 1. A
syllogism of which the premisses relate to the
contingent in the sphere of human action. 2.
Often wrongly used for an incomplete syllogism,
i.e. with one premiss suppressed.
Entire. [Fr. entier, L. integer, whole.']
Among brewers, beer combining the qualities of
different sorts, so that it can be drawn at once
without after-mixture.
Entire contract. (Leg. ) A contract wherein
everything stipulated for on one side must be
performed as condition of everything being per-
formed on the other side.
Entireties, Tenancy by. (Leg.) Tenancy of
a man and wife to whom an estate is conveyed
or devised during coverture, and who are seised
per tout, each of the whole estate.
Entomology. [Gr. e-rofj.ov, an insect, \6yos,
an account.'} The science of insects, including
other articulated animals, though possessing
more than six legs, undergoing no proper meta-
morphosis, and not having compound eyes.
Entomostraca. [Gr. evrofjiov, ioffTp6.Kov, a
shell.] Small Crustacea, of low type, some bi-
valved, such as Cypris, Cy there, Estheria, etc.,
others provided with a carapace. Common in
very many formations ; e.g. Cypridiferous Weal-
den clay.
Entourage. [Fr.] Surroundings, associates.
Entr* acte. [Fr.] 1. The interval between the
acts of a play. 2. Any entertainment provided
at such times.
Entrance. (Naut.} The shape of the bow
below water where it meets the sea. Also the fore
foot : it is opposed to the run.
Entrechat. [Fr., caper.] Rapid piece of
execution in dancing.
Entre chien et loup. [Fr., between dog and
wolf.] Said of twilight.
Entree. [Fr.] 1. Right of entering, privilege
of visiting. La grande E., admission on a
formal footing ; la petite E., on a footing of
intimacy. 2. A made dish of the course before
the joint or piece de resistance.
Entre les deux vins. [Fr., bet-ween the two
wines.] Neither quite sober nor quite in-
toxicated.
Entremets. [Fr. entre, between, mets, a dish.]
1. Side dish, the chief dishes being entrees, the
joints being known as pieces de resistance ; but
originally, 2, short allegorical or dramatic enter-
tainments held during feasts. (For their con-
nexion with the Crusades and the modern opera,
vide Stainer and Barrett, Dictionary of Music.)
Entre nous [Fr.], Inter nos [L.]. Between
ourselves, in confidence.
Entrepot. [Fr., warehouse.} Magazine for
goods meant for exportation.
Entrepreneur. [Fr., contractor.'} Especially,
one who brings out musical and theatrical per-
formers.
Entresol. [Fr., between the floors.} A part of
a building on a level between those of two
floors, especially the ground and first floors ; a
suite of rooms approached from a landing on a
flight of stairs. (Mezzanine.)
Enucleate. [L. enucleo, / take out (e) the
kernels (nuclei).] To explain, clear up, solve.
Enure. (Inure.) 1. To habituate, to accustom.
2. (Leg.} To take place, to be available.
Envelop. (Math. ) The line or surface which
touches each of a family of lines or surfaces ;
thus, if a great number of equal circles are drawn
with their centres on the circumference of a given
circle, the envelop is two circles concentric with
the given circle.
Envelope. [Fr. enveloppe, envelopper, to
wrap up.} (Fortif.} Earthwork constructed to
shelter some weak point in the ground before
a fortification, without being brought into the
general scheme of defence.
En verite. [Fr.] In truth, really.
Envenneil. [Fr. en- and vermeil, vermil,
vermilion.] To dye red.
Environment. [Fr. environner, from en- and
viron, circuit, from L.L. virare, to turn about.]
Of any organic being, the aggregate of circum-
stances by which it is surrounded.
Envoi, Envoy. [Fr. envoye, sent.] An
address to readers or to the work itself, at the
end of a literary work.
Eocene. [Gr. TJWS, morn, KCUVOS, new.] (Geol.)
That on which the dawn of life appears, i.e.
the lowest group of the Tertiary. Miocene [/jLewv,
less] = Middle Tertiaries, as having a smaller
percentage of recent species than Pliocene [irXtiov,
more] Upper Tertiary group. Pleistocene
[wAsiiTTos, most] being = post-Tertiary ; its
organic remains belonging almost wholly to
existing species.
Eblian accumulations. (Geol.) Formed by
the drifting of winds [^Lolus, god of winds] ;
called also Sub-aerial.
Eolian mode. (Gregorian modes.)
Eos, Tears of. Eos was, in Gr. Myth., the
dawn. When her son Memnon was killed,
her tears are said to have fallen from the sky in
the form of morning dew.
Eozo'ic rocks. [Gr. yds, morn, ^, life.]
The oldest fossiliferous rocks ; the Laurentian and
Huronian of Canada, Bohemia, etc.
Eozoon. [Gr. T/WS, morn, (fiov, an animal.]
A foraminiferal organism of the Eocene rocks,
E. Canadense.
Ep-, Eph-, Epi-. Gr. prefix, e'ir/, = to, on,
over, in addition to, against, and with intens.
force.
Epact [Gr. ^/ue'pat fircucToi, days added, intro-
duced] ; Monthly E. ; Annual E. The Monthly
E. is the excess of the calendar month above
the lunar month. The Annual E., the excess of
the solar year above the lunar year of twelve
synodical months. The E. of any given year in
the lunar cycle is the number of days of the
moon's age on the 1st of January ; thus, during
the present century, when the golden number is
5 the epact is 14 ; in the year 1847, the golden
number was 5, and it appears from the nautical
EPAG
191
EHG
almanacs for that year that the age of the moon
at noon on January I was fourteen days.
Epagogio. [Gr. tvaycayiK^s.] The same as
Inductive.
Epanadiplosis. [Gr., added repetition.] (Rhet.)
The repetition of the first word of a sentence at
the end, as, ' ' Oh, Sophonisba ! Sophonisba,
oh!"
Epanalepsis. [Gr.] (Rhet.) Recurrence to
the same word or phrase.
Epanaphora. [Gr. eiravaQopd.] (Anaphora.)
Epanastrophe. [Gr. t-navaarpo^-fi.] (Rhet.)
Repetition of the end of a clause at the beginning
. of the next, as, " The public blame the butchers,
the butchers try to shift the responsibility on to
the farmers ;" or as, " The mouse ran up the
clock, the clock struck ' one,' " etc.
Epanodos. [Gr., return.~\ (Rhet.) 1. Re-
petition of a clause of a sentence with its parts
(which maybe slightly altered) in inverted order.
2. A return to subjects already mentioned to-
gether for separate treatment.
Epanorthosis. [Gr. eTrav6p6oiais, correction.]
J (Rhet.) An effective correction of something
just said, as, " Hisfau/t, perhaps I should rather
say, crime" etc.
Epaphos. (Apis.)
Epaulement. [Fr. epaulement, ^paule, a
shoulder.] (Mil.) Open, covering parapet,
thrown up merely for the concealment of troops.
Epaulette. [Fr., from epaule, shoulder, L,
spatula. ] Bullion ornament worn on the top of
the shoulders by commissioned officers. Abo-
lished for the English army in A.D. 1854, and
now replaced by a bullion cord.
Epenetic. [Gr. jrati/6TiWs, from firaivos,
praise.] (Rhet.) Laudatory or encomiastic
oratory.
Epenthesifl. [Gr., an insertion.] In Gram.,
the insertion or doubling of a letter in a word.
(Metaplasm.)
Epergne. [Fr.] An ornamental stand for the
centre of a dinner-table ; the centre-piece of a
dinner or dessert service.
Epexegesis. [Gr.] Explanation. (Exegesis.)
Ephah. (Omer.)
Ephemeridae. [Gr. ^--fifjiepov, an insect living
for a day.] Neuropterous insects, of which the
may-fly or day-fly is the type.
Ephemeris. [Gr. ecp-Tj^uep/s.] 1. (Astron.) (i)
A statement, in the form of a table, of the position
of a planet on each day of the year ; as the
ephemeris of Mars. (2) A collection of these and
similar tables, published from year to year,
as The A T autical Almanac and Astronomical
Ephemeris. 2. A journal, diary. 3. A record
of events arranged according to the day of the
year on which they have occurred.
Ephod. A sacred robe of the Jewish high
priests, afterwards worn by ordinary priests.
On the part of the ephod which covered the
shoulders of the high priest were two large
gems, each bearing the names of six of the
tribes. The ephods of the ordinary priests were
of fine linen.
Ephors. [Gr. ecpopot, overseers.] (Hist.) Chief
magistrates in many Dorian states of ancient
Greece. Those of Sparta arc the most pro-
minent.
Epicede, Epicedlum. [Gr. ^iK^eiov.] An
elegiac funeral song.
Epicene. [Gr. erri/co^os-.] (Grain..'] Common
to both genders of a word, which does not change
its masc. or fern, grammatical gender whether it
stands for male or female, as L. aqulla, fern.,
eagle.
Epichireme. [Gr. eVIxe'pw-] (Rhet. and
Log:) An attempted proof, a proposition of
which the premisses need proof, and to which a
reason for their adoption is appended.
Epic poems. [Gr. twos, a iuord or tale.]
Popular poems relating events belonging to
national tradition or mythology. Such are the
///flifand Odyssey of the Greeks, the Mahabha-
rata and Ramayana of the Hindus, the Shah-
nameh of Firdusi, the Nibelungcn Lied of the
Germans, etc. (JEneid.)
Epicranium. [Gr. S'TTJ, it fan, Kpaviov, the skull.]
(Anat.) The seal]).
Epicurean, Anything supposed to resemble
or to belong to the philosophy of Epicurus, who
taught at Athens in the third' century B.C., and
whose system is popularly regarded as making
pleasure of a sensual sort the main end of life.
Epicuri de grege porous. [L.] A hog of
Epicurus' s herd.
Epicycle. [Gr. iviKVK\4<e, I revolve.] In the
ancient astronomy, a mode of representing the
apparent motion of a planet was that of suppos-
ing it carried round by the revolution of a small
circle called the E. whose centre moved uni-
formly along the circumference of a large circle
the deferent Avhich was supposed to have the
earth in its centre. If necessary, a second E.
was imagined to which the first was a deferent.
Epicyclic train. [Gr. einKVK\tca, I revolve.]
A train of mechanism the axes of which are
carried by a revolving arm or frame. Such
trains are used in various orreries, in the bobbin
and fly-frame, etc.
Epicycloid. [Epicycle (q.v.\ and Gr. e/5oy,
form.] The curve traced out by a point on the
circumference of a circle which rolls without
sliding on a fixed circle with which it is in ex-
terior contact the two circles being in the same
plane. If the circles are in interior contact, the
curve is a Hypocycloid.
Epideictic. [Gr. eTriSei/m/ofc.] (Rhet.} Per-
taining to public exhibition or showing off
[e7n8eits, from firiSfiKvvca, I make a show] of
speeches neither forensic nor deliberative, such as
panegyrics, funeral orations, etc.
Epidemic disease. [Gr. lirl, upon, STJ/JLOS, the
people.] One attacking many persons at the
same time and in the same place ; opposed to
Sporadic (q.v.}.
Epidermis. [Gr. ^iSepfiis, from fal, upon,
Sep/jia, skin.] Cuticle.
Epidote. [Gr. 4iriSo<rts, increase, the base of
the primary form exhibiting an increase in some
secondary forms.] A green mineral ; silicate of
alumina with lime, iron, and manganese.
Epigastrium. [Gr. etnyaarpiov, from M,
upon, yaffrfip, the belly.] (Afed.) The upper
EPIG
192
EQUA
part of the abdomen ; popularly the fit of the
stomach.
Epiglottis. [Gr. eVryAwrTts, from iiri, upon,
y\tarrls, the glottis, mouth of the windpipe.}
(Med.) Cartilage covering the opening of the
windpipe in deglutition.
Epigonotikon, Epigonation. [Gr.] (Eccl.) A
lozenge-shaped ornament hanging from the right
side of the girdles of Eastern bishops and other
dignitaries ; in the West, used by the pope only.
Epigram. [Gr. tiri-ypa.tt.fj.a., in-scription, from
iiri, on, ypdtpta, I write.} 1. A short, lively, and
pointed poem, generally satirical. 2. A saying in
the style of such poems. 3. A Greek inscription.
Epigraph. [Gr. ^iriypeuf^i, inscription.} 1.
An inscription. 2. A quotation placed before a
book or chapter as a motto.
Epigraphy, Epigraphe. [Gr. fviypai^, in-
scription.} The study of inscriptions.
Epilogue. [Gr. eiriKoyos.} An address to
the audience at the end of the play. (Prologue.)
Epimetheus. (Prometheus.)
Epinglette. [Fr., from epingle, a pin, L.
spinula.] (Mil.) Iron pricker for piercing the
canvas covering of the charge for a cannon.
Epiphora. [Gr. 3-irupopd, a defluxion.} In-
voluntary constant trickling of tears. (Stillicide.)
Epiphysis. [Gr. M<f>vffis, an on-growth.}
(Anat.) At the end of the long bones ; an ossi-
fication from a separate supplementary centre.
Epiphytes [Gr. M, upon, QVTOV, a plant}, or
Aerophytes [oi?p, air}. (Bot.) Air-plants;
generally orchidaceous, attached to trees, but
nourished almost entirely by the air. Parasites
[irapdalros, one -who lives at another's table}, e.g.
mistletoe, feed upon other plants.
Epiplexis. [Gr., striking at.} (Khet.) Per-
suasive upbraiding. .,
Epiploce. [Gr. tirai\oKit, a plaiting on to.}
(Rhet.) Statement of several particulars in a
gradation of importance.
Episode. (Episodical.)
Episodical. [Gr. eVejo^Sioi/.] Anything of
the nature of a digression or incidental narrative
not essential to the main plot of a poem, the
episode of the Greek drama being originally
the portion of dialogue between the songs of
the chorus.
Epistaxis. [Gr., from tnio-rdfa, I bleed at the
nose.} (Med.} Hemorrhage from the nose.
Epistola non eruhescit. [L. , a letter does not
blush.} You can write things, especially in ask-
ing favours, which you cannot so easily say.
Epistoler. The reader of the Epistle in the
Communion Office.
Epistrophe. [Gr. ftriffrpo<pJi, a turning to.}
(Rhet.) The ending of several consecutive
clauses or sentences with the same emphatic
word or phrase.
Epistylium, Epistyle. [Gr. iiriarv\iov, from
ivl, on, a-rv\oi, pillars.} The lintel resting on
pillars of a building, the architrave.
Epitasis. [Gr., a stretching.} 1. The tighten-
ing of the strings and raising of the pitch, of
instrument and voice, &i>f<rn being the slack-
ening. 2. The thickening of the plot of a play ;
the tension, as it were, of the main thought.
Eplthalainium. [Gr. iiri6a\<ifj.ios, nuptial.}
A nuptial song or ode, such as those of Theo-
critus and Catullus.
Epithelium. [Gr. 4wi, and 6i}\4\, the nipple.}
(Anat.) The thin cell-tissue investing the nipple,
lips, mucous membranes, etc., investing the
closed cavities also, e.g. the great serous mem-
branes, the ventricles of the brain, the interior
of the heart.
Epitrite. [Gr. eTriTpiTor, one and a third, as
4/03.] A metrical foot of four syll., any one of
them being short ; a combination of spondee =
four beats with trochee or iambus = three.
Epitrochoid differs from an Epicycloid (q.v.)
in this, that the describing point is within (not
on) the circumference of the rolling [Gr. evi-
rpoxos] circle.
Epizoa. [Gr. e-al, upon, wov, an animal.]
Haustellata, crustacean parasites attaching
themselves to the bodies of fish.
Epizootic diseases. [Gr. iirl, upon, (wov, an
animal.} (Med.) Attacking brute animals at
the same time. (Epidemic disease.)
E pluribus unum. [L.] A unit formed out
of many ; motto of the United States.
Epoch. [Gr. eirox^l, a check, a point of time. }
In Phys. Astron. , the moment of time when a
planet is at some precisely determined point of
its orbit.
Epode. [Gr. eirwS^s.] 1. In the strophic
choruses of the Greek drama, the strain following
the strophe. 2. Horace's E. are = added to the
Odes. (Strophe.)
Eponymous, Eponym. [Gr. eirwi/vfios, giving a
name.} In Gr. Hist., the gods or heroes were
so called whose names were borne by Greek
cities. Thus Athene was the eponym or name-
giver of Athens. (Archons.)
Epopee. [Gr. eiroiroita.] Epic writings ; an
epic poem.
Epopts. [Gr. eVoTrraf.] (Hist.) All persons
initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Epsom salts. Sulphate of magnesia.
E' pursimuove. [It., yet it moves.} Words
said to have been whispered by Galileo, when
abjuring the Heliocentric theory of astronomy.
Equal temperament. (Music.) (Temperament.)
Equant. [L. part, of sequans, making even.}
In order to represent the observed motions of
the planets, Ptolemy supposed that in certain
cases the deferent was eccentric, and the motion
in it uniform, not about the centre, but about
another ^>oint, the Equant. (Epicycle.)
Equation [L. sequatio, -nem, an equalizing} ; E.
of centre ; E. of a curve ; E. of payments ; E. of
time; Personal E. (Math.) When two algebraical
expressions are connected by the sign of equality,
the whole is called an E. The E. of a curve
(or curved surface) is the algebraical relation
between the co-ordinates of any of its points.
E. of payments is a rule for answering such
questions as the following : A owes B several
sums of money falling due at different dates, and
bearing interest from those dates ; at what time
must the whole be paid in a lump, that neither
party may sustain loss ? In Astronomy, E. often
means the quantity by which the actual value at
EQUA
193
any instant of a variable magnitude must be
increased or decreased to make it equal to its
mean value at that instant. The E. of time is
the number of minutes and seconds to be added
to or taken from the apparent solar time at an
instant to make it equal to the mean solar time
at that instant. The E. of the centre is the
difference between the true and the mean longi-
tude of a planet at any instant. The Personal
E. of an observer is the constant error of his
observations, due to the individual peculiarities
of his organs of perception.
Equator; Celestial E. ; Magnetic E. 1. (Geog.)
The great circle on the earth's surface which is
equidistant from the poles, and divides the
earth into a northern and a southern hemisphere.
Strictly speaking, the equator is an irregular line
which is very nearly a circle and still more nearly
an ellipse. 2. (Astron. ) The great circle of the
great sphere, which is at every point 90 distant
from either pole of the heavens ; called also the
Equinoctial and the Celestial E. ; its plane coin-
cides with that of the equator of the earth,
supposed to be a sphere or spheroid. The Mag-
netic E., the line joining a series of points near
the equator at which there is no magnetic dip.
Equatorial. If a telescope can turn freely
round a fixed axis (A) at right angles to its
direction, it will plainly sweep over a single
great circle of the heavens or, at least, so much
of it as is above the horizon. Now suppose this
axis (A) to be firmly fixed at right angles to a
second axis (B) which can turn on fixed pivots
at its ends. The telescope can now be made to
sweep over the whole heavens in successive great
circles, which will all pass through a point in the
prolongation' of the axis B. Now suppose that
this axis (B) is fixed in a direction parallel to the
earth's axis ; the telescope will now be able to
sweep over the whole heavens along great circles
passing through the poles (declination circles).
Such a telescope is said to be equatorially
mounted, and, if supplied with properly gradu-
ated circles, is called an E. The axis (B) can
be turned on its pivots by clockwork, so that
when the telescope is set on a particular star,
its motion is the same as that of the star, which
will therefore remain as if fixed in the field of
view as long as it is above the horizon.
Equatorially mounted. (Equatorial.)
Equerry. [Fr. ecuyer, from L.L. scutarius,
shield-bearer, ] 1. An officer of State, under the
Master of the Horse. 2. A personal attendant
of royal or princely personages.
Equinoctial; E. colure; E. gales; E. points.
The celestial equator. The E. points are the
points in which the celestial equator cuts the
ecliptic. The E. gales are the winds which are
believed to be prevalent about the time when
the sun, in virtue of his proper motion, passes
through the equinoctial points, in the spring and
autumn. (For E. colure, vide Colure.)
Equinox [L. sequinoctium, the time of equal
days and nights], Autumnal ; Vernal E. That
equinoctial point through which the sun passes
from the southern to the northern hemisphere is
the Vernal E. ; so called because it takes place
about the 2ist of March, in the (northern)
spring ; that through which the sun passes from
the northern to the southern hemisphere is called
the Autumnal E., because it takes place about
the 23rd of September, in the (northern) autumn.
Equipage. [Fr. equiper, O. Fr. esquiper, to
fit out, properly to rig a ship, Goth, skip.]
(Mil.) Different requisites for enabling an army
to move from one place to another.
Equipollent. [L. ccquipolleo, to have like
value.] In Log., propositions equivalent in
substance, though differing in expression.
Equates. [L., horsemen.'] In ancient Rome,
a class of citizens who served on horseback in
the army.
Equity follows law, sEqiritas scqintur Icgcm
[L.], i.e. the courts of equity follow, in con-
struing documents and determining rights, the
same principles as the courts of common law,
but with some important exceptions.
Equivalent. [L. ajquus, equal, valC-re, to
avail.] (/!/.) The weight of a substance that
in a compound will replace one atom of hydrogen.
Equivocal chords. (Music.) Common to two
or more keys, the resolution of them being
therefore uncertain.
Equivocal generation. Apparently spon-
taneous. E. symptoms, belonging to several
diseases.
Equivoque. [Fr.] An ambiguity.
Equuleus. [L.] A sharp-edged plank, on
which the victim is placed astride as on a horse.
Era. (Gelalaean era; Nabonassar, Era of;
Sothic period; Yezdigard, Era of; Yugs.)
Eranian, Iranian. Name of the family of
languages comprising Zend, Old Persian, and
Armenian.
Erased. [L. erasus, scraped off ] (Her.} Torn
off so as to leave a jagged edge.
Erasmus's Paraphrase. (Bible, English.)
Erastianism. The undue or disproportionate
exercise of secular authority in things spiritual.
(Erastus, physician to Elector Palatine Frederick
III. died at Bale, 1583 writing against ex-
cessive use of censures, has been supposed to
hold that all ecclesiastical authority should be
subordinate to civil.)
Erato. [Gr.] The Muse who presided over
love poetry.
Erbium. (Yttrium.)
Erd-kunde [Ger., earth-lore} "Knowledge
of the face of the earth and its products," for
which the only "English name" is "physical
geography." Kingsley's Health and Education.
Erebus. [Gr. "Ept^os.] Popularly any place
of darkness, a hell. In Gr. Myth., E. was a
son of Chaos and Darkness.
Eremacausis. [Gr. ypena, gently, and /cawnr,
a burning.] (Chem.) The gradual decay of
organic compounds ; that of slow combustion, or
oxidation, at ordinary temperatures.
Ergot. [Fr., the spur of a bird ; origin un-
known.] 1. The soft horny stub behind a horse's
pastern. 2. Ergot of rye and other grains ; a
morbid condition of the ovary, which becomes
dark and like a long spur ; caused by a minute
fungus ; sometimes administered as a medicine..
o
ERIC
194
ESCU
Eric, Eriach. [Ir. eiric.] (Ir. Law.) A fine
paid to the relatives of a murdered person.
Erin. Early and poetic name of Ireland, in
Its Latin form lerne.
Erin-go-bragh ! Ireland for ever !
Erinyes, The avenging. In Gr. Myth., the
beings who exact vengeance for bloodshed are
so called. Thus the Erinyes of Clytemnestra
haunt her son Orestes. The Erinys is the
Skt. Saranyu (the morning, whose light reveals
the hidden things of darkness).
Erl-king. [Ger. erl-konig.] A destructive
goblin of the Black Forest, especially fatal to
children ; subject of a poem by Goethe. The
legend is borrowed from Norse sagas.
Ermine. [L. pellis Armenia, the fur of the
Armenian rat.] (Her.) A white fur with black
tufts. Ermines is a black fur with white tufts.
Erminois is a golden fur with black tufts.
Erminites is a white fur, with black tufts having
a red hair on each side.
Erminia. Heroine of Tasso's Jerusalem
Delivered.
Ermin Street. The Roman street or road from
London to Lincoln.
Erosion. [L. erosio, -nem, a gnawing away.'}
( Geol. ) A wearing away ; e.g. a valley iorn.ed
gradually by water-erosion.
Erotic. [Gr. fywrucds, from epois, love.] 1.
Anything relating to love. 2. The works of
poets and others who write of love, as of Sappho,
Anacreon, Ovid, etc. In Gr. Myth., Eros is
one of the great cosmogonic powers. The name
reproduces that of the Vedia Ariisha, the new-
born sun, described as a child with wings.
Erpetplogy. (Herpetolcgy.)
Erratic. [L. erraticus, roving.] (Geol.) Carried
from its original site by water, ice, etc. ; said of
blocks, gravel.
Erse. Irish ; Erse language, a division of the
Gadhelic branch of Celtic.
Erst. [A.S. serest, superl. of XT, ere; cf.
Ger. erst,y?rj/.] First, at first, long ago.
Eructation. [L. eructatlo, -nem.] A belch-
ing ; loud, sudden ejection of wind from the
stjmcch.
Erudition of any Christian Man, The Necessary.
(King's Book.)
Erysipelas. [Gr. tpS<nVeAas, usually derived
from tpv8p6s, red, and TrePUa, skin.} (Med.)
Inflammatory and febrile disease of the skin,
with diffused redness and swelling, largely
affecting face and head ; sometimes epidemic.
Called also Ignis sacer, the Rose, St. Anthony's
fire.
Escalade. [Fr., from It. scalata.] (Mil.) To
climb the walls of a fortress by means of ladders.
Escalloped. Edged or covered with curves in
the form of a sca//a/>-she\\.
Escapade. [Fr.] A breath of propriety t a
freak.
Escapement ; E.-wheel. The part of a clock
or watch which oscillates with the pendulum or
balance and enables it to escape at each beat
from the action of the wheelwork, the motion
of which produced by the weight or main-
spring it thus regulates, is the E. The E.-
whed is the wheel on which the pendulum acts
directly, and which is under the continuous
action of the weight or mainspring. Called also
Scapement and Scape-wheel. .
Escargatoire. [Fr. escargotiere.] A nursery
of snails [escargots].
Escarp. [Fr. escarpe, from It. scarpa.]
(Fortif.) Slope beyond a parapet or rampart,
forming the inner side of the ditch.
Escarpment. [Fr. escarpe, the outward slope
of a fortification.] The abrupt steep face of a
hill.
Eschar. [Gr. ^ff-^&pa., fireplace, eschar.] (Med.)
Dry slough caused by burning or by caustic.
Escharotu, producing eschar.
Eschatoiogy. [Gr. f<rxaros, last, \6yos, word.]
1. ( Theol. ) The general body of opinions set
forth respiting the last things leading to the
consummation of the divine kingdom. 2. =
terminology, TO eo-xara being the terms of a
proposition.
Escheat. [O.Fr. eschet ; cf. Fr. echeance,
escheat.] Corruption of blood. It differed from
forfeiture in operating on inheritance, not merely
on rents and profits.
Escheator. (Escheat.) (Old Law.} A county
officer appointed by the Lord Treasurer to make
inquest of titles by escheat.
Eschevin. The head man of an ancient guild.
Eschew. [O.Fr. eschever, eschiver, Fr.
esquiver, from Teut. form akin to O.H.G.
skiuhan, Ger. scheuen, avoid, shun, Eng. shy]
Flee from, shun, avoid, escape.
Escobar. A great Spanish writer on casuistry.
Escot. (Scot.) An old tax in boroughs and
corporations, paid towards the common mainten-
ance.
Escritoire. [O.Fr. ; cf. Fr. ecritoire, from
L. scriptorius, pertaining to -writing.] A writing-
desk.
Escrow. [O.Fr. escroue, escrowe, scroll (q.v.).]
A sealed writing delivered by A to C, to be held
until B performs some condition, upon which it
becomes an absolute deed, and C hands it over
to B, for whose benefit it purports to be drawn.
Escuage. [O.Fr.] Scutage (q.v.).
Escurial, or Escorial. A royal palace in Spain,
about twenty-two miles from Madrid, begun by
Philip II., in 1563.
Escutcheon. [Fr. ecusson, L. scutionem, dim.
of scutum, shieli/.} 1. (Her.) A
shield on which armorial bearings
are painted. If it be divided into
three equal parts by horizontal lines,
the upper part is called the chief,
the lower part the base, and the
middle part the fess. A is called
the dexter chief, B the middle chief, C the
sinister chief, D the honour point, E the fess
point, F the nombril [Fr., L. umbiliculus] or
navel point, G the dexter base, H the middle
base, 1 the sinister base. An E. of pretence is
the small shield in the centre of his own, on
which a man bears the coat of arms of his wife,
if she is an heiress (to show his pretension to her
lands). 2. (A'attt. ) The place in a ship's stern
where her name is.
ARC
D
F.
F
G H I
ESK
195
ESTU
Esk. Celt, name of rivers \cf. Gael, and
Erse uisge, water, as in whisky ; Welsh vvysg,
Jt. Usk ; also Ex, Exe, Axios, Axe, Ox-,
Wash, Wis-].
Eskdale. Name of the north-east part of
Dumfriesshire in the Stuart period, formerly part
of Annnndale.
Eamarch bandage. Brought out by Professor
E. , German, in the Franco-German war ; used
by Ambulance classes (q.v.} ; simple, and most
valuable as first aid to the injured, pending the
arrival of a doctor ; may be used in thirty-two
different ways. A yard of calico, cut diagonally,
makes two E. B.
Esmond, Henry. Hero of Thackeray's novel
Esmond, a chivalrous Jacobite of Queen Anne's
reign.
Esnecca. Royal yacht, or perhaps transport,
of the twelfth century.
Esnecy. [From O.P'r. aisne.] (Leg.) The
right of the eldest coparcener to choose first in
the division of the inheritance.
Esoteric. (Exoteric.)
Espalier. [Fr., from It. spalla, shoulder.} A
tree, trained to spread on stakes or poles, or
along a wall.
Esparto. [Sp., from Gr. <nrdpros.] A kind of
Spanish rush, used for making cordage, paper,
etc.
Espials. (Naut.) Night watches in dock-
yards and harbours ; usually a boat told off for
the purpose.
Espieglerie. [Fr.] Roguishness, archness.
(Calembour.)
Espionage. [Fr.] Employment of spies, ob-
servation by spies.
Esplanade. [Fr., from It. splanata.] (Mil.)
Open spaces left between glacis of citadel and
town, to prevent latter from being used as cover
in attacking former.
Espousals. [L. sponsalia, from spondeo, 7
pledge} Contract of marriage, betrothal. In
the Eastern Church, betrothals precede mar-
riage, and are binding, as they are in Germany.
Esprit de corps. [Fr.] Loyal attachment to
a body of which one is a member, zeal for one's
order.
Esprit fort. [Fr.] Advanced thinker, bold
spirit.
Eoquiline. [L. Esquilinus (collis).] The
Esquiline Hill on the east of Rome.
Esquire. [Fr. ecuyer, escuyer, L. scutarius,
one who carries a knight's shield (scutum).]
A gentleman bearing arms under the rank of
knight. A captain's commission confers the title.
Esquisse. [Fr.] The first sketch of a picture
or model of a statue.
Essay on Education. That of John Locke
(1632-1704); important, as having mainly con-
tributed to the change by which a more enlarged
and liberal education replaced the universal and
excessive attention to mere philology ; and by
which the appeal to a pupil's conscientiousness
replaced tyrannical authority.
Essay en the Human Understanding. The
most celebrated and most important work of
John Locke (1632-1704); the first application
of the inductive method to the consideration of
mental phenomena ; which arc traced to sensa-
tion and reflexion only ; in opposition to the
doctrine of innate ideas.
Esson&D. A sect of Jews, mentioned by Philo
and Josephus as leading a life of solitude and
contemplation, as believing in the life to come,
and interpreting all the Scriptures allegorically.
Esosntial notes. (Music.) The key-note, third,
and fifth.
Essential oil. [L. esscntia, the very being.'}
A volatile oil to which a plant owes its charac-
teristic odour.
Essoin, Essoign, Assoign, [O. Fr. essoine, L.L.
sonia, cxciise, exoniare, essoniare, toexcuse.} (Leg. )
Excuse for non-appearance to answer an action,
etc., by reason of illness or other just cause.
Essorant. [Fr. s'essorer, to soar, L. ex-aurare.]
(Her.) With outspread wings in act to fly.
Estafette. [Fr.] A courier who takes mes-
sages, etc., as one of a system of relays, an
express messenger.
Estaminet. [Fr. ; " origin unknown," Littre,
who gives, as conjectures, etamine, stuff, of the
tablecloth; Ger. stramm, in sense of fatigued ;
Flem. stamenay, from stamm, family stock, as
if = familiar gathering.] A tap, smoking-room.
Estanques. Weirs or kiddles in rivers.
Estates of the realm, Three. Clergy, nobles,
and commons.
Est modus in rebus. [L. ] There is a medium
in all things.
Estoilee. [O.Fr. estoile, star.} Having the
form of a star, generally four-rayed.
Estoliiand. Name given to a great tract of
Arctic N. America by imaginative persons in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Est operas pretium. [L. ] // is worth -while.
Esto perpetua. [L.] B; thou everlasting ;
addressed to Venice by Paul Sarpi.
Estopiila. [Sp.] A long lawn or mixed linen
fabric made in Silesia.
Estoppel. [From O.Fr. estoper, L.L. stup-
pare, to stop up -with tow (L. stuppa).] (f^g.)
A conclusive admission which bars further
pleading on the point or points concerned, as
that one who disputes a title is the possessor's
tenant, and therefore debarred from disputing
the title.
Estovers. [From O.Fr. estoffe, Fr. e'toffe,
stuff ; cf. Ger. stoff, material.} (Leg.) Neces-
saries of life, sustenance, alimony.
Estrade. [Fr. estrade, Sp. estrado, It. strato,
L. stratum, a parchment, a coverlet, from root of
sterno, / spread out.} A level space, a level
dais in a room.
Estreat. [O.Fr. estrait, from L. extractum,
extract.} (Leg.) The true extract, copy, or note
of a writing or record, especially of recognizances,
fines, amercements, etc., entered on the rolls or
a court.
Estrich, Estridge. (Ostrich.)
Estuary. [L. EEStuarium, a part of the coast
covered at flood-tide only.] (Ceog.) An inlet at
the mouth of a river into which the tides of the
sea enter ; as the estuary of the Severn.
Estuation. (Bestuation.)
ETAB
EUEM
Etablissement. [Fr.] Establishment, institu-
tion, shop.
Etagere. [Fr.] A whatnot, a piece of furni-
ture with several shelves or stages.
Etappen. [Fr. etape, rations, formerly estaple,
L. stapiila.] The arrangements for establishing
depots and forwarding supplies along the com-
munications of an advancing army.
Etat major. [Fr.] Staff, staff office.
Etching. [Ger. atzen, to eat or corrode. ]
Producing designs on metal or glass by corrod-
ing it with strong acid, the rest of the surface
being protected by a coating of wax called the
etching-ground.
Etesian winds. [Gr. ^Tt\ar[<u. (&ve^.ot), yearly
winds.] Monsoons, especially north-west winds
which blow in the ^Egean Sea for forty days
after the rising of the Dog-star.
Ethanim (i Kings viii.), or Tisri (g.v.). First
month of civil, seventh of ecclesiastical, Jewish
year, September October.
Ethelo-proxenos. (Proxenos.)
Ether. [L. aether, Gr. alMip, the upper air.]
1. (Phys.) A medium of perfect elasticity and
extreme tenuity, supposed to pervade space, and
to propagate undulatory movements which affect
us with the sensation of light and radiant heat.
2. (Chem.) A light volatile liquid obtained by
distilling alcohol.
Ethics. [Gr. i\9iK6s, from ijflos, moral temper.]
The science which treats of the nature and laws
of voluntary actions in man, and so seeks to
determine his moral duty. Ethics therefore and
morals denote the same thing.
Ethiopian language. (Enoch, Book of.)
Ethiops mineral. (JEthiops mineral.)
Ethnography. [Gr. eOvos, race, ypd<j>ca, I
write.] The descriptive branch or view of
ethnology (q.v.).
Ethnology. [Gr. ZQvos, race, \6yos, account.]
The study of the characteristics, relations, and
origin of the various races of mankind.
Etiam periere ruinae. [L.] Even the ruins
have perished.
Etiolation. [Fr. etioler, L. stipiilare, from
stipiila, a stalk.] (Bot.) Blanching, natural or
artificial.
Etiology. (.Etiology.)
Et monere et moneri. [L., to warn and to
be warned.] Both to give and to receive advice,
reproof ; with Cicero, one of the essential marks
of friendship.
Etrennes. [Fr.] New Year's gift, Christ-
mas-box.
Etruria, Kingdom of. 1. Constituted under
the ancient name out of the territory of Tuscany,
from 1801 to 1814. 2. Name of the chief pottery
district in Staffordshire ; so called owing to the
celebrity of the ware of ancient Etruria.
Etruscan language. The speech of the people
of ancient Etruria. It is probably a Turanian
dialect. Taylor, Etruscan Researches.
Etsba. [Heb.] A Jewish measure of length,
= a finger's breadth.
Ettrick Shepherd, The. Name given to the
Scotch poet, James Hogg (1772-1835), a shep-
herd in the forest of Ettrick, Selkirkshire.
Et tu, Brute ! [L. ] You too, Brutus ! said by
Cnesar on seeing his friend Brutus among his
assassins.
Etymologicum Magnum, Etym. Mag. A
large Greek etymological lexicon, compiled in
the eleventh century, useful, but necessarily quite
untrustworthy as to derivations.
Etymology. [Gr. (Tv/jLo\oy(a, from erv/jLOv,
etymon (q.v.), \6yos, account, discourse.] 1.
(Lang. ) The branch of philology, or of the science
of language, which traces the history of special
words and inquires into their early forms, mean-
ings, and elements. 2. (Gram.) Classification
of the inflexional changes exhibited by the
words of a language, and of phonetic changes
from the earliest recorded forms of the language.
Etymon. [Gr. ervpov (Ion. Gr.), that which
is real.] (Lang.) 1. The original sense of a
word determined by tracing its derivation. 2.
The original form of a word as restored approxi-
mately by the comparative method. 3. A primi-
tive item of speech, a radical.
Eu- [Gr. e5, well.]
Eucalyptus. (Bot. ) A large gen. of Austra-
lian trees, known as gum-trees. E. globulus is
much planted in S. Europe as a preventive of
malaria and fever. Ord. Myrtaceae.
Eucharist. [Gr. fvyo^ia-rka, thanksgiznng.]
(Theol.) The sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
(Consubstantiation ; Sacrament ; Transubstantia-
tion.)
Euchelaion. [Gr., oil used with prayer.] In
the Eastern Church, penitents conscious of
grievous sins are anointed with .oil which is
consecrated once a year by the bishop. (Extreme
Unction.)
Euchologium. [Gr. evxo\oyloi', a prayer-
book.] (Eccl.) The chief liturgical book of the
Greek Church, containing everything relating to
religious ceremonial. Euchologium sometimes
= (Rom.) Missal or Breviary.
Euchre. A German and American game of
cards, in which the knave of trumps, the right
bower [Ger. baur, knaz-e], is the highest card.
Eudiometer. [Gr. tiitiia, fazrweatfier, ft.fr pt'iv,
to measure.] An instrument invented for analyz-
ing air, or determining the proportion of oxygen
present. Its use is now extended to the analysis
of various gases.
Eudoxians. (Eccl. Hist.) A branch of the
Arians, who adopted the opinions of Eudoxius,
Bishop of Antioch, in the fourth century.
Euergetes. [Gr., a benefactor^ A title be-
stowed by the Greeks on some who deserved
well of the State, and applied especially to some
of the Egyptian Ptolemies ; Luke xxii. 25. A
title common on the coins of the Syrian kings.
Euemerism, Euhemerism. The system by
which Euemeros, a Sicilian author of the time of
Alexander the Great, converted mythology into
plausible historical narrative by setting aside all
unlikely, or impossible, or extraordinary incidents
recorded in ancient traditions. Thus Zeus, or
Jupiter, became a mortal man who, for benefits
done to his fellows, was after his death worshipped
as a god. We find the germs of this system both in
Herodotus and in Thucydides. (Caput mortuum.)
EUGU
EVIC
Eugubine, Euguvine, Tables. Seven tablets
inscribed with prayers and formulas in Umbrian,
the ancient dialect of N.E. Italy; probable date
as early as the third century B.C. Found at
La Schieggia, near Ugubio, the ancient Eugu-
bium, 1444.
Eulenspiegel, Tyll. [Ger., Tyll Owl-glass.}
Hero of a popular comic German tale of the
fifteenth or sixteenth century, a mechanic of
Kneittingen, in Brunswick.
Eulogise. [Gr. ev\oyiai, blessings.} The Greek
name for the Pants benedictus, pain beni, or
bread over which a blessing is pronounced in the
Latin Church, and distributed to those who are
not qualified to communicate.
Eumenides. (Myth.} This Greek word,
meaning gentle, was a name given to the Erinyes,
as it was supposed, by the figure of speech called
Euphemism. In later times it denoted the
three Furies Allecto, Megsera, and Tisiphme.
(Erinyes.)
Eunomians. (Eccl. Hist.} The followers of
Eunomius, who maintained an Arianism more
extreme than that of his friend Eudoxius.
(Eudoxians.)
Eupatrids. [Gr. evTrdrptSat, -well -fathered.'}
(Hist.} The dominant class in ancient Athens,
answering to the Patricians at Rome.
Euphemism. [Gr. einpri/j.ia-fj.6s.} (Rhet.} The
substitution of a word or phrase for another
which may give offence. Thus the Furies, it
was said, were called Eumenides, and the Black
Sea Euxine [Gr. 6&ti/or], or hospitable.
Euphony. [Gr. evfyuivia., good sound, from eS,
well, (paivfi, sound.} (Gram.) Agreeable sound,
the avoidance of disagreeable combinations of
articulate sound in speech.
Euphoria. [Gr. ev<popia, the power of bearing
easily. } A feeling of bodily well-being.
Euphrosyne. [Gr.] One of the Graces.
Euphuism. (Hist.} An affected style of
speaking and writing in vogue in the time of
Queen Elizabeth, and carried fo its height by
John Lilly in his work called Euphues [Gr.,
graceful}.
Eupoda. [Gr. fti-irovs, -iroSoy, -well-footed.}
(Entom.) Fam. of tetrSmerous beetles.
Eurasian. A half-breed between a European
and an Asiatic parent.
Eureka! properly Heurtka! [Gr. eSp^na. ! I
have found!} Said by Archimedes when he dis-
covered the principle of specific gravity ', hence
used in connexion with any discovery.
Euroclyddn. [Gr. evpoK \vSa>v. ] This word,
probably denoting a storm from the east, is men-
tioned in Acts xxvii. 14 ; but there are many
readings, one of them being Eurakyfon, the
north-east wind [L. Euraqullo].
Europa. [Gr. *vp<Snn\.} (Myth.) The daugh-
ter of the Athenian Agenor, and sister of Cad-
mus. She was carried over the sea to Crete by
Zeus in the form of a white bull, and there
became^ the mother of Minos, Rhadamanthys,
and ^Eacus.
Eurus. (Wind.)
Eury. The linen-room in the royal house-
hold.
Eurydice. (Myth.) (Orpheus.)
Eurypterus. [Gr. tvpvs, broad, -mepAv, wing,
Jin.} (Ichth.} A fam. of extinct crustaceans,
with broad swimming feet; ranging from the
Upper Silurians to the coal-measures.
Euskarian. Dialect of the Basques, non-
Aryan inhabitants of the Pyrenees.
Eustaohian tube leads from the tympanic
cavity of the ear to the pharynx. (Eustachius,
its discoverer, Italian anatomist, died 1574.)
Eustathians. (Eccl. Hist. ) The followers of
the monk Eustathius, whose opinions were con-
demned by the Council of Gangra in the fourth
century.
Euterpe. (Muses.)
Euthanasia. [Gr., from tv, well, 6o.va.Tos,
death.} Easy death.
Eutychians. (Eccl. hist.) The followers of
Eutyches, abbot of a monastery at Constanti-
nople, a vehement opponent of Nestorius. The
latter asserted that there were two distinct
natures in Christ, the former that His human
nature was merged in the divine. (Nestorians.)
Evacuation Day. The day on which the
British army evacuated the city of New York
(November 25, 1783), the annual return of
which has been celebrated in that city for nearly
a century. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Evangelical Prophet, The. Isaiah. (Prot-
evangelion.)
Evangelic Doctor, The. Wye 1 if, the Reformer.
Evaniadffl (so termed by Dr. Leach ; etym. ?).
(Entom.) Gen. of hymenopterous insects, parasi-
tical in cockroaches, blattidse.
Evaporatometer. (Atmometer.)
Evection. [L. evectio, -nem, a carrying out
or forth.} (Astron.} The greatest of all the
inequalities of the moon's motion, due to the dis-
turbing influence of the sun, which causes a
variation in the form and position of her orbit
considered as an ellipse ; so that she is some-
times as much as i 20' 30" before or behind
her position as it would have been had her
elliptic motion been undisturbed.
Evelyn's Memoirs. Published 1818; a Diary
of events carefully observed from 1641 to 1706 ;
with much other curious and valuable matter ;
by John Evelyn, of Wotton, scholar, author,
and a very perfect country gentleman, of the
highest Christian character. Sir Walter Scott
" had never seen a mine so rich." (Sylva.)
Evening gun, The. (Naitt.} Fired in summer
at nine, in winter at eight o'clock.
Evening star. The planet Venus when she
sets after the sun.
Even keel, On an. (Nant. } Said of a vessel
drawing the same depth of water at the stem and
stern.
Evens, or Vigils. The evenings or nights
before certain holy days of the Church, the word
Vigil being used when the evening is a fast.
Every inch of that. (Naut.) Belay without
easing the rope. Every rope an end, coil down
running rigging, etc. ; also, see every rope clear
for running.
Eviction. [L. evictio, -nem, from e, out pf,
vinco, I conquer.} (Leg.) 1. Recovery of pro-
EVIL
198
EXEG
perty by a judicial process. 2. Expulsion from
a tenement by the landlord.
Evil eya. According to an ancient and widely
spread superstition, some peisons have the
power of injuring those upon whom they look.
The idea formed part of the Gr. paffKxvia, and
of the L. fascinatio ; it is the Kakomati of
modern Greece, the Malocchwoi Italy ; and the
belief exists in Turkey, Egypt, Ireland, Scot-
land, and some parts of England. (See Virg.,
Ed. iii. 103.)
Eviscerate. [L. eviscerare.] 1. To take out
[e] the bowels [viscera], to disembowel. 2.
(Afetaph.) To deprive of matter or strength.
Evolute. (Involute of a curve.)
Evolution. [L. evolutio, -nem, an unrolling.}
1. (Arith.) The process of extracting the roots
square root, cube root, etc. of numbers. 2.
(Biol.) A development of more complex from
more simple-organization. In Darwin's theory,
which ascribes physical and moral phenomena
to continuous E., breaches of continuity are
explained by the hypothesis of natural selection.
8. (Mil.) Execution of a tactical movement.
Evovae. A word used = the ending of a Gre-
gorian tone ; e, u, o, u, a, e, being the vowels of
"sEcUlOrUm, AmEn."
Ewe-necked horse. Having the neck not
arched, but somewhat hollowed out ; as seen in
the sheep, goat, etc.
Ewrar, Ewary. An officer in the royal house-
hold, who attended with ewer for the washing
of hands after meals. Forks were not used till
at least as late as Elizabeth's time.
Ex-. 1. L. prefix = out, out of, from, tho-
roughly. 2. Celt, name of rivers ; Rom. Isca
(cf. Esk).
Ex abundant! cautela. [L.] From excessive
cautim.
Exacorbats. [L. exacerbare, from ex-, intens.
acerbus, siur.] To irritate, exasperate.
Exacerbation. [L. exacerbo, / exasperate.}
1. Bitterness of spirit. 2. (Med.) Aggravation
of the symptoms of disease.
Ex aequo et tono. [L.] In equity and good
conscience.
Exaltadco. [Sp., exalted.} In Sp. Hist., the
liberal party in politics.
Exaltation. [L. exaltatio, -nem.] (Med.}
Morbid activity of the brain.
Examination. [L. ex, out of, anima, breath,
life.} Want of life, real or apparent.
Exanthematcus diseases. [Gr. ftdvfhi/M, (i)
efflorescence; (2) cutaneous eruption.} (Med.)
Eruptive.
Exarch. [Gr. e|opxos.] The title of the
viceroys of the Byzantine emperors in the Italian
and African provinces. The E. for Italy was
known as the E. of Ravenna. (Donation of
Pepin ; Donation of Charlemagne.)
Escalibur. In the Arthur legend, the sword
which Arthur alone is able to draw from the
stone into which it had been fixed, thus proving
his title to the kingdom. It answers to Gram,
the sword of Odin ; to Durandal, the sword ol
Roland ; to the Glaive of Light in the Scottish
story of Esaidh Ruadh (Campbell, Tales of the
West Highlands) ; the sword of Apollo, Chrysaor,
and many others,
Ex cathedra. [L.] From the chair of pro-
fessor or bishop ; i.e. rpoken with authority.
Exceptio probat reguiam do rebus non exccp'dQ.
[L.] A special exception to a rule proves it (to
holi) concerning things not (specially) excepled.
A legal maxim, of which the first three words
are often misapplied as meaning "the fact of
there being an exception proves the existence of
a rule," or "an exception is essential to every
rule."
Excerpt. [L. excerptum, thing plucked out.}
An extract, a selected passage.
Exchanges, Theory of. In Heat, the doctrine
that when bodies are in the same region all
radiate heat, the hotter bodies radiating more
heat, the less hot less heat ; so that an exchange
of heat takes place between them.
Exchequer. [O. Fr. exchequier, L.L. scac-
carius, chtss-boaid.} 1. Court of E. Chamber,
a superior court of revenue ; so called from a
checked cloth originally on the table. 2. The
public treasury. 3. A treasury generally, pos-
sessions in money.
Exchequer bills. Bills of credit issued by
authority of Parliament, bearing interest per
diem according to the usual rate at the time.
First issued, 1696.
Exchequered. (A'aut.) Seized as contraband.
Marked with broad arrow.
Excise. [O. E. accise, L.L. accisia.] 1. A
charge or impost on certain articles of home
production and consumption, as malt, alcohol,
hops, or on trade licences. 2. Revenue raised
by taxing inland commodities or traders, i.e. by
indirect taxation.
Exciting causo of disease ; its immediately
preceding cause, as distinguished from predispos-
ing cause.
Exclusion, Bill of. (Hist.) The bill intro-
duced into Parliament during the reign cf
Charles II., for the purpose of excluding the
Duke of York, as a papist, from the succe.-sion.
Excommunication. [Eccl. L. excommuni-
catio, -nem.] A censure, casting the offender
out of the communion of the Church ; the Lesser
E. depriving of sacraments and public worship,
the Greater, of all society of the faithful also.
Ex concesso. [L.] From what is admitted.
Excoriate. [L. excoriare, from ex, off, corium,
skin.} To wear off the skin, to remove skin by
striking, rubbing, or the use of acrid substances.
Excursus. [L., a running forth.} An essay
on a special point appended to a section of a
book.
Exeat. [L., let him depart.} A permission
or order without which no person in statu
pupillari may go out of residence at a university
or college, or from a religious house.
Executive City, Ihe. Washington. Bartlett's
Americanisms.
Exedra. [Gr.] (Eccl. Ant.} A building
distinct from the main body of the church, as a
cloister, baptistery, sacristy, etc.
Exegesis. [Gr., a narrative, explanation,
from ^{, ouf,Tty4o)juii, I lead.} Exposition, inter-
EXEQ
199
EXPI
pretation, especially of sacred or classical
works.
Exequatur. [L. , let him execute (the duties of
the office). .] Instrument recognizing one as con-
sul or commercial agent for Government, and
conferring his authority.
Exequies. (Exsequies.)
Exergue. [Fr.] In Numismatics, the lower
limb of a coin or medal, marked off by a straight
line from the rest of the surface, where the date
is placed.
Exfoliation. [L. exfolio, I strip of leaves.'}
A throwing off of dead from living tissue ; e.g.
a separation of a dead portion of bone.
Exhaustion, Method of. 1. (Math.) A geome-
trical method used by the ancient geometers for
proving indirectly the equality of certain mag-
nitudes and ratios. Suppose it can be proved
that A 4- x is greater than B, and that A y is
less than B ; and suppose that, consistently with
this, it can be shown that x and y can be dimi-
nished till their magnitude is exhausted, and they
at length become less than any magnitude that
can be assigned ; then it can be inferred that
A must equal B. 2. (Log.) When it is known
that A, or B, or C, or D, or E was the doer,
and it has been proved that not A, B, C, or E
did it, it follows that D did it.
Exhibit. [L. exhlbitum, n. p. part, of ex-
hibeo, I exhibit.} Something shown to a witness
when giving evidence which is referred to by
him in his evidence.
Exhibition. [Leg. L. exhibitio, -nem, main-
tenance. } ( Univ. ) Yearly allowance for mainten-
ance given to students who do not thereby
become scholars on the foundation of the college.
Exigant. [L., let them demand.'} (Leg.)
Name of a writ calling on the sheriff to have a
defendant, who non est inventus, demanded at
five county courts or five London hustings, after
which, unless he appear, he is outlawed.
Exigeant, -ante. [Fr.] Exacting.
Exigi facias. [L., do thou cause to be de-
manded.'} (Leg.) I.q. exigant.
Exinanition. [L. exinanitio, -nem, from ex-
inanlre, to empty."} 1. Privation, emptiness,
humiliation. 2. (Med.) Bodily emptiness and
exhaustion.
Exit [L.] He, or she, goes out.
Ex mero motu. [L., on mere impulse.'} Of
one's own will.
Exodla. [Gr.] In ancient Rome, burlesques
acted after other plays. With the Greeks the
Exodion was the final chorus in a tragic
drama.
Ex officio. [L.] By virtue of office.
Exogens. (Endogens.)
Exomis. [Gr.] A sleeveless tunic hanging
from the shoulder [cD/ws], worn in ancient
Greece by women, slaves, and poor men.
Exon. An officer of the yeomen of the Royal
Guard.
Exorcism. [Gr. topKKTiJ.6s.] The adjuration
by which evil spirits were bidden to depart from
the Energumens.
Exordium. [L.] A beginning, introduction
of a work; its first meaning being the u-arp of
a web; from orclior, I weave \cf. Gr. opSe'oj, /
begin a w,/>, up5rj.ua, a ball of worsted}.
Exoriare aliquis (ncstris ex otsitus ultor)
[L. ] = Oh for sonit' deliverer! lit. ( h, mayest
thou rise tip, some one or other, out of our bones,
i.e. descendants, as an avenger ! (Virgil).
Exosmose. (Osmose.)
Exostosis. [Gr. e|o<TTco<m. ] A morbid
growth of bone ; e.g. splint, in a horse.
Exoteric. [Gr. ^(artpiKot, outward.} The
published writings of Aristotle were called
E., that is, designed for the people. These
had the form of dialogues. The treatises which
he prepared for his pupils were termed Esoteric ;
but the notion that these conveyed mysterious
doctrines not to be found in the others has no
foundation.
Expansion. [L. expansio, -nem, an extending.}
1. In Algebra, when a succession of terms of
which one does not contain x, and the others are
multiples of jc, jf", x*, etc., is found whose sum
equals an assigned function of x, that function is
said to be expanded in ascending powers of x.
Thus, if the function is (i + a-) 10 , the expansion
is i + i o,r + 45-r 2 + i2Cu-' ! +, etc. 2. In the
steam-engine, if the connexion between the
steam in the cylinder with that in the boiler is
cut off when a portion only of the stroke is com-
pleted, the engine is said to work by E., because
through the remainder of the stroke the piston
is urged forward by the force \vhich the steam
exerts in the act of expanding.
Ex parte. [L.] On one side.
Expectation of life. 1. The mean or average
duration of life (q.v. ). 2. More exactly, the
probable life, or the number of years more which
a person of given age has an even chance of
living. According to the Carlisle Table, a
person twenty years old has an even chance of
living 44 '8 years more.
Expectation Week. (Eccl.) The interval
between Ascension Day and Whit Sunday ; at
which time the apostles waited for the promise
of the Comforter.
Ex pede Herculem. [L. ] (You can judge of )
Hercules from his foot ; as Pythagoras is said to
have calculated Hercules' height from the length
of the Olympic foot. The saying implies that you
can judge of the whole by the part. (Ex ungue
leonem.)
Expense magazine. (Mil.) Contains the
immediate supply of ammunition for the batteries
of a siege, and is formed under the parapet.
Experimentaiism. (Determinism.)
Experimentum crucis. [L.] A decisive ex-
periment ; so called, according to Lord Bacon,
because, like a cross or finger-post, it shows men
which of two ways they are to go along.
Expert. [L. expertus, experienced.} One
who has scientific knowledge of a subject ; said
especially of witnesses on matters of science,
handwriting, etc.
Experto crede. [L.] Believe one who has tried.
Expilation. [L. expilatio, -nem, from expllo,
I plunder.} A plundering, ravaging, pillaging.
Expiration. [L. exspirare, to breathe out, ta
die.} (Leg.) Reversion of a fee to the lord on
EXPL
EYEG
the failure of the intestate tenant's family, or
formerly when a tenant had been attainted of
treason or murder. In England, estates escheat
to the Crown if heirs fail one who holds of the
Crown, by E.
Expletive. [L. expletlvus, from expleo, I fill
out,} 1. A word or phrase inserted in a sentence,
which has no meaning, but often serves the
function of emphasis ; e.g. the old certes. 2.
Hence euphemistic for an oath or coarse ex-
pression.
Explicit. [For L. explicttus est liber, the
book is finished.} A word formerly put at the
end of books, as Finis is now. (Colophon.)
Exploitation. [Fr., from exploit, exploit, pro-
duct , from L. explicitus, unfolded, exhibited.}
A turning to account, exhibiting, etc.
Explosive. [L. explosus, p. part, of explode,
/ drive out by dapping.} In Lang., relating
to or produced by explosion ; as JS. sounds,
E. consonants, of which the commonest are
k (q), ch, t, p, g, j, d, b, with their aspirated
forms and the sptrftus lenis. They are also
called momentary or shut sounds, being incap-
able of prolongation, and produced by the open-
ing action of the articulatory organs which are
previously in contact so as to stop the emission
of breath.
Exponent. In Algebra, the index of a power ;
thus, x is the exponent of a*. Exponential series,
the expansion of a? in ascending powers of x.
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. In the
Latin Church, when the Host is exposed for the
devotion of the people, it is watched night and
day with prayers.
Ex post facto. [L.] By an after act.
Expression. Jn Algebra, a collection of alge-
braical symbols ; as, ^atb + y.
Exprobration. [L. exprobratio, -nem, from
exprobro, / consider a shameful act (probrum).]
Severe reproach, condemnatory censure.
Exsequies. [L. exsequiae, from ex, out, root
of sequor, I follow.} Funeral procession, cere-
monies of burial.
Exstipulate leaves. (Bot.) Leaves from
which Stipules are absent.
Ex tempore. [L., from the occasion (time).}
Off-hand ; said of speaking or preaching im-
promptu, without book or paper to refer to.
Extend. (Mil.) A light infantry movement,
in which skirmishers take up stated intervals.
Extension. [L. extensio, -nem.] 1. (Med.)
Of a fractured or dislocated limb, pulling it
strongly in order to reduce it. 2. (Mech.) The
property of a body in virtue of which it occupies
a portion of space.
Extensor muscle. [L. extendo, / stretch
cut.} It extends the part on which it acts.
(Flexor muscle.)
Extensum. [N. P- part, of extendo, I stretch
out.} (Eccl.) The full written text from which
a brief is drawn up. Hence in extenso, as
opposed to an abstract.
Exterminate. In Algebra, to eliminate.
Extillation. [L. ex, out, stillare, to drop.}
(Distillation.)
Extispicious. [L. extispicium, from exti-spex,
entrail inspector.} Pertaining to divination by
inspection of entrails [exta].
Extradition. [L., from ex, out, and traditio,
-nem, a giving up, from trans, over, do, I give.}
Delivering up, in a foreign country, a person ac-
cused of non-political crime to the authorities of
his own country for trial, usually according to
an international convention.
Extrados. [Fr., from L. extra, beyond, dor-
sum, the back.} (Arch.) The external curve of
the arch. (Intrados ; Soffit.)
Extramural. [L. extra, beyond, munis, a
wall.} Beyond or outside the walls.
Extravagants. [L. extravagantes.] The de-
cretal epistles of popes after the Clementines, at
first ranged without, not included in, Canon law.
But the collection called Common Extravagants
was embodied in the Canon law, A.D. 1483.
Extravaganza. [It. ] A musical or dramatic
piece of great wildness or absurdity.
Extravasated blood. [L. extra, beyond, vas,
vasis, a vessel.} (Med.) Forced out of its pro-
per vessels into the surrounding tissues ; e.g. in
discolouring bruises. (Ecchymosis.)
Extra vires. [L.] Beyond one's powers.
Extreme, or Extreme term. (Proportion.)
Extreme Unction. In the Latin Church, the
last of the seven sacraments. Administered to
the dying, only when all hope of recovery is
given up. The oil is consecrated by a bishop
yearly on Maunday Thursday. (Euchelaion.)
Extrinsic. [L. extrinsecus, from without.}
Unessential, not given by nature, adventitious,
coming from without ; correl. to Intrinsic.
Extrusion. [L. extrusus, p. part, of extrudo,
I push out.} A thrusting or driving out.
Ex ungue leonem. [L.] From the claw, a
small but characteristic thing, judge of the lion ;
so Ex pede Herculem, from the foot, or foot-
print, judge of Hercules.
Ex uno disce omnes. [L.] From one learn
the character of all.
Exuviae. [L., from exuo, I divest myself of.}
Originally the shed skin of the snake ; now
(Med., Bot., Geol.) the outward parts of animals
or plants which are shed, or cast off; skin,
shells, slough, etc.
-ey. Part of Anglo-Saxon names, = island,
as in Romn-ey. (-ea.)
Eyalet. [Turk.] A Turkish principality, a
district under the government of a pasha of the
first class.
Eyas. [O.E. nyas, nias, Fr. niais, stupid,
silly, L. mdacem, fresh from the nest (nidus).]
1. A young hawk just taken from the nest. 2.
An infant.
Eye. (Nat. ) The loop of a shroud or stay
placed over the mast. A collar generally. Eyes
of a ship, or E. of her, the foremost part in the
bows, the hawse-holes.
Eye-glass, Eye-piece ; Erecting E. ; Inverting
E.; Negative E. ; Positive E. The eye-piece of
a telescope is the combination of lenses to which
the eye is applied, and which serves as a micro-
scope for magnifying the image formed by the
object-glass or reflector. In astronomical tele-
scopes, an Inverting E. (Ramsden's or Huy-
FACT
ghens's) consisting of two lenses is commonly em-
ployed ; the object is seen through it inverted.
When Ramsden's eye-piece is used, the image is
actually formed by the object-glass before it is
viewed by the eye-piece, and it is called a Posi-
tive E. The rays converging from the object-
glass are intercepted by Huyghens's eye-piece
before the image is actually formed, and it is
called a Negative E. In terrestrial telescopes
the eye-piece commonly consists of four lenses
through which the object is seen upright ; this
is an Erecting E. In some telescopes the image
formed by the object-glass is seen through a
single lens, which is called an Eye-glass.
Eye-teeth. The canine, or two upper cuspi-
date, of which the fangs extend far upwards in
the direction of the eye.
Eyot, Ait, Eight. [Dim. of -ey.] A small
island in a river.
Eyre. [Fr., from L. in, iiincre, on the jour-
ney.'} Court of justices itinerant.
Eyry, more properly Aery, An eagle's nest.
[Icel. ara-hrei<5r, hrer&r corresponding to our
wreath, but used in Icelandic in the special
sense of a nest. Akin to Icel. are, an eagle, are
the Sw. orn, A. S. earn, /icr^in, (jr. opvis, all
containing the root AR, to raise one's self. The
word has, therefore, nothing to do with egg, as
if it were an eggery. Skeat, Ely in. Diet, of Eng.
Lang.) s.v. " Aery."]
P. With the Romans, was used as an abbre-
viation of Filius in letters and inscriptions, as
M. F. = Marci Filius, son of Marcus. In Eng.
usage, it was employed in branding, the letter
denoting the word " Felon : " the custom was
abolished by law in 1822.
F's, The three. Of the Irish Land League :
Fair rent, Fixity of tenure, Free sale.
Faber quisque fortunae suae. [L.] Every
one is the architect of his own fortune (Sallust).
Fabian policy. (Rom. Hist. ) The policy of
avoiding engagements, by which Q. Fabius
Maximus is said to have foiled Hannibal in the
Second Punic W r ar. (Cunctando.)
Fables of Bidpai, or Pilpay. (Hitopadesa.)
Fabliaux. [Fr.] The metrical tales of the
Trouveres, or poets of the Langue d'oil, or
northern French dialect.
Fabula quanta fui ! [L.] What a subject for
town-talk have I been !
Faburden, i.e. Faux bourdon [Fr.], or Falso
bnrdone [It.]. An early method of harmonizing
Plain Song (q.v.}. (Bourdon.)
Facade. [Fr. ; cf. It. facciata, from L. fades,
front, face."} The whole front aspect of regular
architectural building, the front elevation.
Face. (Mil.) Of a bastion in fortification,
means the two ramparts which meet in a salient
angle and terminate at the shoulders.
Face of a crystal. Any one of its bounding
planes ; a cleavage-plane is always parallel to a
plane which is or may be a face of a crystal.
Face of workings. The portion of a coal-
seam which is in process of removal.
Facetiae. [L.] Witty, humorous sayings or
writings, pleasantry, droll phrases.
Facets. [Fr. facette, dim. of face."] 1. Small
faces or surfaces into which the surface of a stone
is divided by angular cuttings. 2. The faces of
a natural crystal.
Facial angle. In Ethn., the angle between a
straight line from the opening of the ear to the
bottom of the nose, and another straight line
from the most forward central point of the fore-
head to the corresponding point of the upper
jaw. The higher the average cerebral develop-
ment in man, the larger is the average F. A.
Facies, non uxor, amatur. [L.] Her face,
not the wife herself, is loved.
Facile est impermni in bonis. [L.] Riding
over good people is easy.
Facile princeps. [L.] Easily first. Pre-
eminent.
Facill saevitia negat. [I,.] IVith good-
humoured cruelty she refuses (Horace).
Facilis descensus Averni. [L.] (Avernus.)
Facing-sand. A compound used for the sur-
faces of moulds in founding.
Facmus majoris abollas. [L.] A crime of a
longer cloak, i.e. of a philosopher.
Facmus pulcherrimum. [L.] A most noble
deed.
Fack. (Fake.)
Fa9on de parler. [Fr. , a faslnon of speaking.}
A mere trick of speech.
Fac-simile. [L., lit. make a copy.'} An exact
copy, especially of handwriting or printed work.
Facta canam, sed erunt qui me finxisse lo-
quantur. [L.] / will sing of facts, but there
will be some to say I have romanced (Ovid).
Factions. In the ancient games of the Circus,
parties distinguished by their colours. To the
earliest, the red and the white, were added
afterwards the blue and the green ; and the four
were supposed to represent the four seasons.
By others the blue and green were regarded as
denoting the conflict of the earth and the sea.
These factions were causes of serious disturb-
ances in Constantinople. Gibbon, Roman Em-
pire, ch. xl.
Factitious. [L. facticius, made by art, from
factus, p. part, of facio, I make, do.\ Artificial,
unnatural.
Factor; Prime F. [L., a maker.} 1. (Math.)
Numbers which when multiplied together
produce a number are its factors. When they
are prime numbers they are called its Prime E.
A number may be divided into factors in several
ways, but into prime factors in only one way ;
e -S' 3 ! 5 can be divided into 15 X 21, or 5 X 63,
FACT
FALD
or 45 X 7 ; but in prime factors it is = 3 X 3 X 5 X 7.
2. In Com., an agent or commission merchant,
especially in foreign ports. 3. In Scotland, a
bailiff or steward to an estate.
Factorial. A product whose factors are in
arithmetical progression, as 3 X 5 X 7 X 9, whose
F. is 945-
Factory. 1. A place where factors, ;>. com-
mercial agents, reside. 2. The collective body
of such agents.
Fac-totum. [L., lit. do the whole."} One who
performs service of all kinds.
Factum. [L.] (Leg.) 1. A person's act and
deed. 2. Anything stated or proved.
Factum obiit, monumenta manent. [L.] The
event has passed away, memorials thereof remain
(Ovid) ; motto of London Numismatic Society.
Faculty. [L. facultas, ability, power.~\ 1.
Permission, authority, privilege. 2. A body
possessed of authority and privileges ; as the
graduates in a special department of learning,
or the members of a learned profession. 3. A
special department of knowledge or a learned
profession ; as the F. of Divinity, Law, Medi-
cine. In Scotland, the Dean of F. is the pre-
sident of the F. of advocates, or barristers.
Faculty Court, The. Belongs to the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury ; not holding pleas, but
granting rights to pews, monuments, etc., and
dispensations to marry, to eat flesh on prohibited
days, to hold two or more benefices, etc.
Fadaises. [Fr.] Nonsense, rubbish. Brachet
derives Fr. fade, insipid, from L. vapldus, flat,
savourless ; Lit tre from fatuus.
Fadladeen. Grand -chamberlain of the harem
in Moore's Lalla Kookh.
Faery Queene. The title of the celebrated
poem of Edmund Spenser, the first part of
which was presented to Queen Elizabeth in
1590. It contains a double allegory, illustrating
the triumph of Holiness over Sin ; and also that
of Truth over Falsehood, in the history of the
Reformation.
Faex populi. [L.] Dregs of the people.
Fafnir. In Northern Myth., the dragon who
guards Brynhild and her treasure on the glisten-
ing heath. (Python; Volsunga Saga.)
Fag. A lying servant in Sheridan's Rivals.
Faggot votes. Votes obtained by splitting up
a property into a number of small holdings just
large enough to confer the qualification. \Vhen
this is done by those who pretend to have an
identity of interest with the voters of a consti-
tuency, though they have none, only for the
temporary purpose of excluding a certain candi-
date, the practice is considered dishonourable.
Fagin. An old Jew trainer of young thieves
in Dickens's Oliver 7wist.
Fagotto. (Bassoon.)
Faience [Fr.], and sometimes Faenza fit.].
Glazed and coloured earthenware, called in
Italy Majolica ; in France, faience. (From a
town in the province of Ravenna, the original
place of manufacture.) Known also as Raphael
ware, from Raffaelo Ciarla of Urbino, in the six-
teenth century.
Faikes, Fakes. (Geol.) In Scot., = shaly
sandstone, of irregular composition ; bituminous
shale being Blaize.
Faillis. [Fr. faillir, to fail.'] In Her., a
fracture in an ordinary, as if a splinter were
taken from it.
Faineant. [Fr.] Do-nothing.
Faints. The impure spirit which comes over
first and last in distilling whisky.
Fairies. [Fr. fee, It. fata, from L. fatum,
fate ; not connected seemingly with the Pers.
peri, pronounced by the Arabians feri.] Ima-
ginary beings, belonging chiefly to the mytho-
logy of the Celtic tribes of Wales, Scotland,
and Ireland. They are small in size, and are
sometimes seen by human eyes. Mortals have
sometimes been decoyed into fairyland, as in
the case of Thomas the Rimer of Ercildoune.
Fairservice, Andrew. A coldly calculating,
selfish, but somewhat humorous Scotch gardener
in Scott's Rob Roy.
Fairway. (A'auf.) The navigable channel
of a river or harbour. Pilot's F., one requiring
a pilot.
Fairy rings. Green circles or segments of
circles sometimes seen in grass, caused by
agarics growing from a centre and fructifying at
the circumference, but popularly ascribed to the
dancing of fairies.
Fait accompli [Fr., accomplished fad.} Some-
thing definitively settled or achieved.
Faitour. [Norm. Fr. ; cf. O.Fr. faiteur, from
L. factor, doer.] An evil-doer.
Fake, Fack, or Falk. (JVaut.) One of the
circles forming the coil of a rope.
Faking. The cutting of slits or slices in a
dog's ear, altering its configuration, often in a
very slight degree indeed ; a dishonest attempt
to add to the number of points required in
estimating the excellence of a dog.
Fakirs. [Ar., poor.] In the East, enthusiasts
who renounce the world and give themselves up
to religious austerities. (Dervi-e.)
Falbalas. [Fr.] Finery, f ripper); fal-lalls.
(Furbelow. )
Falcated. [L. falcatus.] Shaped like a scythe
[fal-cem].
Falcon. (Musket.)
Falconet. In fifteenth and sixteenth centuries,
the smallest kind of cannon, the ball weighing
from one to three pounds, the gun from five to
fifteen hundredweight.
Falcula. [L., dim. of falx, sickle.] (Ornith.)
The compressed curved talon of a bird of
prey.
Faldage. [L.L. falda, a fold.] (Leg.} An-
ciently, the privilege of setting up folds for sheep
in fields within the limits of a manor, for the
purpose of manuring them.
Faldistory. [L. faldistorium.] The bishop's
seat or throne, in the chancel ; the chair in
which he sits to address the candidates at or-
dinations.
Faldstool. [L.L. faldestolium, perhaps from
L.L. falcla, a fold.] A small desk at which the
Litany is recited. (Fauteuil.)
Faldworth. (Leg. } One of age to be reckoned
in a tithing or decennary (q. v. ).
FALE
203
FAXN
Falernian wine. Of the Falernian district in
Campania ; .highly prized in ancient Rome.
Folk. (Fake.)
Falkland. Hero of W. Godwin's novel Caleb
Williams, driven by passionate love of fame to
crimes revolting to his nature.
Falk laws. (Ur. F., minister of justice.) In
Prussia, in 1873, made the sanction of the State
necessary for the exercise of all religious func-
tions ; and required, before ordination by a
bishop, an examination implying previous educa-
tion at a public university ; so as to keep out of
the Church foreign or other anti-national
tendencies.
Fall. The fall of the leaf; autumn. Bartlett's
Americanisms,
Fall, a fall ! The whaler's cry when a whale
is harpooned.
Fallacior undis. [L.] More treacherous than
the waves.
Fallacy. [L. fallacia, from fallo, / deceive.'}
In Log. and Rhet. , any argument \\ hich pro-
fesses to settle a question while really it does
not. Logical fallacies are strictly those only
which are so in dictione, in the words, i.e. in
which the conclusion does not follow from the
premisses. If the premisses themselves are un-
sound, the fallacy is said to be 'extra dictiotiem,
i.e. in the matter, and thus to be beyond the
province of logic.
Fal-lalls. Bits of finery.
Falling off, (Naut.) The turning of a ship's
head to leeward, especially when sailing near
the wind or lying by ; the opposite of Griping,
or Coming tip to the wind.
Falling sickness. Popular name for epilepsy.
Falling star. (Aerolith.)
Fallitur augurio spes lona ssepe suo. [L.]
pair hope is often cheated by its own augury
(Ovid).
Fall of a tackle. (Want.) The loose end;
i.e. the end one hauls upon.
Fallor? an arma sonant? [L.] Am I mis-
taken ? or do 1 hear the clash of arms ? (Ovid).
Fallow. [A. S. fealu, yellowish; cf. pale, L.
pallidus.] Originally land left for a year with-
out cropping, and without culture beyond one or
two ploughings ; now generally represented by
turnips and clover, or dispensed with. (Rotation
of crops.)
False keel. (Naut.} An additional keel
below the main one.
False kelson, or Kelson rider. (!\ T aut. ) A
piece of timber fastened lengthways to and
above the main kelson.
False ribs. In Anat., the five inferior, of
which the last two are the floa ting ribs.
False stratification, Drift bedding. In Geol. ;
so called when a stratum is made up of smaller
bids [L. stratula] set oblique to its upper and
lower horizontal planes, by the shifting tides and
deposition of sand over a bank or beach edge
from a higher to a lower level.
Falsi crimen. [L.] (Leg.) Fraudulent subor-
nation or concealment with intent to deceive, as
by perjury, false writing, or cheating by false
weights and measures.
Falstaff, Sir John. A fat, sensual, cowardly,
humorous braggart in Shakespeare's Merry
Wives of Windsor and Ifcnrv 11'.
Falcum ia vino, falsura in' omni. [L. ] False
in one point, false in all.
Fama nihll est celsiius. [L.] Nothing is
swifter than rumour (Livy).
iames optimum condimentum, [L.] Hunger
is the best sauce.
Familiar. [L. familiaris, from familia,
family. ,] An attendant demon or evil spirit.
Familiars of the Inquisition. Officers and
assistants of the I., often from the nobility, to
whom great privileges were granted for appre-
hension of accused persons ; the king himself
being protector of the order.
Familists, Family of Love. Enthusiasts of
the latter part of the sixteenth century, an off-
shoot of Dutch Anabaptists ; who denied Christ's
Person, the Resurrection, etc., interpreting
Scripture mystically.
Family Compact. A treaty, signed at Ver-
sailles, August, 1761, between Louis XY T . and
Charles III. of Spain, as a mutual guarantee
of protection ; no one external to the house of
Bourbon was to be admitted.
Fan. (A/cch. ) A leaf of a wheel whose
revolution produces a current of air.
Fanal. [Fr., from L. L. fanale, Gr. $a.vos,
bright.} A lighthouse or its light.
Fanatic. [L. fanaticus, from fan inn, a temple."}
A word applied at first to priests of Cyteie or
other deities, who performed their rites with
extravagant wildness. Htnce zealots cr bigots
in religion. (Bacchanalian.)
Fancy stocks. A species of stocks which are
bought and sold to a great extent in New Yoik.
Unlike articles of merchandise, which may be
seen and examined by the dealer, and which
always have an intrinsic value in eve;y fluctua-
tion of the market, these stocks are wholly
wrapped in mystery. JS'o one knows anything
about them except the officers and directors of
the companies, who, from their position, are not
the most likely men to tell the truth. They
serve no other purpose, therefore, than as the
representative of value in stock gambling.
Nearly all the fluctuations in their prices are
artificial. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Fandango. [Sp.] A lively Spanish dance,
in -| or % time, the dancers wearing castanets ;
probably brought into Europe by the Arabians,
to whom it was known in remote ages.
Fanfare. [Fr., from Sp. fanfa, bragging.]
A flourish of trumpets. Fanfaronade, bragging.
Fanfaron. [Fr., Sp. fan fan-on.] Swagger er t
blaster, bully, blusterer. (Fanfare.)
Fang. 1. A sheriff's officer in Shakespeare's
Henry IV., pt. ii. 2. A niche in the side of
an adit or shaft for ventilation.
Fang, With the. [A.S. fang, a taking or
thing taken; cf. Ger. fang and v. fangen.]
With the stolen property on his person. The
phrase was once common, and is still used, in
Scotland.
Fanning-machine ; F.-mill. A machine for
separating chaff from grain.
FANT
204
FATH
Fantasia. [It., fancy, imagination, Gr.
jxu'T&ffia.'] In Music, much the same as Capriccio
(y.v.), but generally involving more execution
Fantoccini. [It.] Puppets which move by
machinery so as to act dramatic scenes ; a set of
marionettes.
Fantods. (IVaut.) Crotchety orders, fancies,
of officers, nicknamed jib-and-staysail-jacks.
Fan vaulting. (Arch.) A form of vaulting,
much used in the Perpendicular or Continuous
style of English architecture, the ribs radiating
like a fan from the spring of the vault. The
finest specimens are those of King's College
Chapel, Cambridge, and Henry VII. 's Chapel,
Westminster.
Faraday's wheel (Phenakistoscope.)
Farandole. [Fr., from Prov. farandolo, from
Sp. farandula, comic acting.'} A popular dance
of Provence and neighbouring parts of Italy ;
lively, and sometimes associated with great
popular excitement.
Farcy, in horses. [L. farcio, / cram.] Inflam-
mation, with ulceration of the absorbent glands
and vessels of one or both hind limbs ; infectious,
and generally an accompaniment of glanders.
Fardel-bag. [Fr. fardeau, burden.] The third
stomach of ruminants, in which the food is fully
softened.
Farding-deal, i.q. Farthing-deal. [(?) From
A. S. feor%ung, fourth part.] The fourth part
of an acre of land ; also corr. into Farundel.
Fare-crofts. (Naut.) Vessels formerly plying
between England and France.
Farina. [L,., flour.] Starch.
Farleu. 1. (Leg-) Money paid in lieu of a
heriot (q.v.). 2. Often the best chattel as dis-
tinguished from the best head of cattle.
Farmer George. A nickname of George III.,
from his plain dress, homely manners, and saving
habits.
Faro. An old game of cards.
Farouche. [Fr.] Shy, wild.
Farrago. (Olla podrida.)
Farse. [L. farsus, p. of farcio, I stuff up.]
Explanations in the vernacular tongue, intro-
duced into various parts of the offices of the
Latin Church, as the Kyrie, the Epistle, etc.
Farthingale. [O.Fr. verdugalle, vertugalle,
Sp. vertugado, from verdugo, a rod or shoot of a
tree, Sp. verde, L. viridis, green] A hooped
petticoat, a set of hodps to make the petticoat
stand out, something like a crinoline.
Farthing-land. (Farding-deal.) A measured
portion of land, quantity not known.
Farundel. (Farding-deal.)
Faryndon Inn. An old name of Serjeants' Inn.
Fasces and Secures. [L.] (Hist.) Bundles
of wooden rods, with an iron axe protruding from
them ; an ensign of authority of the superior
Roman magistrates, carried before them by
officers called Lictors.
Fascet. An iron rod on which glass bottles
are carried to the annealing furnace.
Fascia. [L., band, bandage.] In Anat. , a
tendinous expansion or covering of the muscles.
Faseiation, a bandaging. Fasciate (Bot.),
banded.
Fascicled, Fascicular, Fasciculated. [L. fascis,
a bundle, dim. fasciculus.] United or growing
in bundles, tufts ; e.g. the roots of a dahlia.
Fasciculus. [L.] A little bundle ; hence any
small collection of things which may be thought
of as tied together, such as writings, etc.
Fascination. [L. fascmatio, fasclno, Gr.
/Satr/caiVw, / enchant, akin to <f>77jitf.] The sup-
posed influence of the evil eye ; but, more
properly, charming through incantations.
Fascine. [Fr., from L. fascis, plu. fasces, a
bundle of sticks.] (Mil.) Faggot of brushwood
for forming the revetment to support earth.
Fas est et ah hoste doceri. [L.] It is lawful
to be taught ei'en by a foe.
Fast. (Evens.)
Fast and loose pulleys. Two pulleys set side
by side, one fast and the other loose, on a shaft
driven from another shaft by means of a band.
When the band is shifted by a fork from the fast
to the loose pulley, it no longer turns the shaft ;
and vice versd.
Fasten-penny, Fessen-penny. The money,
usually a shilling, given by the farmer to fasten
the engagement of a servant hired at a Mop (q.v.).
Fastern's Eve. A Scotch name for Shrove
Tuesday.
Fasti [L.] 1. (Hist.) The records of the
ancient Roman state. 2. The poem of Ovid,
so called, gave an account of the Roman year.
3. Sc. dies, days on which legal business could
be transacted. 4. A calendar, almanack.
Fastigiate. [L. fastigium,'a top, gable.] (Bot.)
Narrowing towards the top, as the Irish yew.
Fatal children. In folk-lore, a group of
children, often born immediately before the
death of their mothers, destined to bring ruin
on their parents, and to rise to greatness or
sovereignty.
Fata Morgana. [It.] A phenomenon of
mirage, supposed to be brought about by the
queen of the fairies, the Morgan le Fay of the
Arthurian legends and the story of Olger the
Dane.
Fata distant. [L.] TJie Fates stand in the
way.
Fata volentem ducunt, nolentem trahunt.
[L.] T7ie Fates lead the willing, drag the un-
willing.
Fates. [L. fatum, the spoken word.] In
Myth., the beings who determine the destiny of
men. They were supposed to be three Clotho,
the spinner ; Lachesis, the al loiter ; and Atropos,
the unchangeable, who cuts the thread of human
life. By the Greeks they were called Mrerae ;
by the Latins, Parcas, pitiful. (Eumenides ;
Euphemism; Noras.)
Fatetur faclnus is qui judicinm fugit. [L.]
He acknowledges guilt who flees from trial.
Father. (Naut.) He who constructs a ship
for the navy.
Father of Equity, The. Lord Nottingham.
(Chancery.)
Father of History. Herodotus, Greek his-
torian, born B.C. 484, at Halicarnassus, in Caria.
He describes the struggle for supremacy between
the Persians and the Greeks.
FAT 1 1
205
FECU
Fathom. [A.S. fsethm, D. vadem.] A
measure of length = two yards.
Fathom, Count Ferdinand. The villain of
Smollett's novel of that name.
Fatidical. [L. fatidicus^from fatum, destiny,
and root of dico, I tell.'} Prophetic, foretelling.
Fatigue duty. [L. fatigo, I weary.'} (Mil.)
Any duty entailing labour, other than military,
upon a soldier.
Fatiloquist. [From fatiloquens, from fatum,
fate, and loquor, / speak.} A foreteller of
destiny, a fortune-teller.
Fatimites. Caliphs reigning in Egypt, claim-
ing descent from Ali, A.D. 910-1171. (Shiahs.)
Fatlute. A mixture of pipe-clay and linseed
oil. (Luting.)
Fattore. [It] A bailiff or steward to an
estate ; the Scottish factor.
Fatuous. [L. fatuus.] Silly, senseless.
Faubourg. [Fr., suburb.} A corr. of for-
bourg [L.L. foris burgum], the part outside
the city wall.
Faucal. [From L. fauces, plu., opening of the
throat, pharynx.} (Lang.) Articulated in the
pharynx, or top of the larynx, above the vocal
chords ; as the splritus lenis, or deep gutturals ;
e.g. the Heb. caph.
Fauces. [L.] The opening of the mouth into
the pharynx.
Faucet. [Fr. fausset ; origin unknown.] A
tube for drawing liquor from a cask.
Fault. (Geol.) Any fissure in a rocky crust,
accompanied with a raising or a lowering of
strata on either side. (Dislocations.)
Faun. (Fauna.)
Fauna. A name derived from the Fauns, or
rural deities of Rom. Myth., and used to
denote the animals peculiar to a country.
Fausse-braie. [*., false coat,\\t. breeches, L.
bracoc.] (Fortif.) A work of low relief, with
parapet, constructed on exterior of rampart of
enceinte of fortress, to give a grazing fire.
Fausse Riviere. [Fr., false river.} A lake
of Louisiana, once the bed of the Mississippi,
which, about 1714, took a shorter course to the
sea.
Faust. Goethe's student, who makes a com-
pact with the devil Mephistopheles, to regain a
period of youth and sensual gratification.
Fausted. Refuse lead ore reserved for another
dressing.
Faustus, Dr. Marlowe's sorcerer, a vulgar
Faust, with the addition of a familiar spirit.
Faute de mieux. \r.,for want of something
belter.} Failing some better arrangement.
Fauteuil [Fr.], formerly Faudesteuil [L.L.
faldestolium], 1. An armchair. 2. A seat in
the French Academy. (Faldstool.)
Fautor. [L., from faveo, I favour.} A sup-
porter or abettor.
Fauvette. [Fr. fauve, Ger. falb; its colour
being light brcnvn, inclining to olive.] Garden
warbler, small olive-brown migratory bird.
Curruca hortensis, sub-fam. Silvilnse, fam. Sil-
viadae, ord. Passgres.
Faux pas. [Fr., L. falsus passus, false step.}
A mistake, an ill-bred act or speech.
Favel, To curry, is to curry the chestnut
horse ; to pay particular attention to one
with whom we would stand well ; corr. into
" currying favour." Farel [Fr.] is = chestnut
horse ; and ciiny is the Fr. corroyer, to curry
(leather), from Fr. corroi, L.L. conredium, a
hybrid word, = cum, with, and redum, arrange-
ment ; cf. Flem. reden, to arrange, and A.S.
rgedan, to regulate.
Faveolate, Favose. Honeycombed [L. favus,
a honeycomb}.
Favete linguis. [L.] \}A. favour with your
tongues ; i.e. be silent, so as to utter nothing un-
propitious during a religious solemnity.
Favour, To curry. (Favel.)
Fawn. [Fr. faon, originally the young of any
beast ; formerly fe'on, L. fix-tunem, from foetus,
brood.} (Deer, Stages of growth of.)
Fay, Fairy. Llf, sprite. (Fairies.)
Fay, To. (Naut.) To join pieces of wood
with no perceptible space between them.
Fay-fena. (A'aut.) A galley of Japan, carrying
thirty oars.
Faytour. (Faitour.)
Feal and dust (Scot. Law), = Eng. right of
turbary for fuel, and turf for roofing.
Feal and leal. (Leg. ) Faithful and loyal, as
tenants by knight's service swore to be to their
lords. [Feal is O.Fr., from L. fklelis, faithful.}
Fearn. (Naut.) The windlass of a lighter.
Fearnaught, or Dreadnaught. (A 7 aut.) A
stout, woollen felt, used for port linings, etc.
Feast of Fools. (Fools, Feast of.)
Feast of Weeks. (Pentecost.)
Feateous. [O.Fr. faitice, fetis, well made,
from L. facticius, made by art.} Dexterous,
skilful, neat.
Feather. [Ger. feder, Gr. irrtpov, a feather.}
1. A ridge on an axle fitting a groove in the
eye of a wheel, to ensure their turning together.
2. (Naut.) A vessel cuts a feather when she
makes the water fly F. fashion from her bow.
To F. an oar, in rowing, is to turn it horizontally
when clear of the water.
Feather, White. (White feather.)
Featly. [From O.E. feat, O.Fr. fait, well
made, neat, from L. factus, p. part, of facio, /
make.} Dexterously, skilfully, gracefully, neatly,
prettily.
Feaze, To. (Naut.) To untwist a rope, to
make it into oakum.
Febrifuge. [L. febris, fei*er, and fiigo, I put
to flight.~\ (Med.) That which drives away or
mitigates fever.
Februation. [L. februatio, -nem.] Purifi-
cation.
Fecket. (Naut.) A guernsey.
Feciila. (Bot.) 1. Starchy, nutritious sub-
stance of tubers, as potato, arrowroot. [L.
fflecfila, dim. of faex, sediment, salt of tartar,
deposited as a crust and used as a drug (Horace,
Sat. II. viii. 9).] 2. Any kind of starch. 3.
Chlorophyll, the green colouring matter of
plants.
Fecund! calices quern non fecere disertum?
[L.] Whom have not brimming fuj>s made elo-
quent ? (Horace).
FEDE
206
FEMO
Fedelini. [It.] A small kind of vermicelli.
Federal currency. The legal currency of the
United States. Its coins are : The gold eag!e of
ten dollars ; the double-etrjle, twenty dollars ;
half and quarter calcs, of proportionate value.
The silver djllar, of one hundred cents ; its half,
quarter, tenth, and twentieth parts. The coin
of ten cents in value is called a Mine ; that of five
cents, a half-dime. The lowest coin in common
use was the copper, now supplanted by the
nickel, cent. Half-cent coins have been made,
but few or none of late years. Bartlett's Ameri-
canisms.
Federal government. [L. fsedus, a treaty, .]
A government by the union of several states,
each of which surrenders a portion of its sove-
reign power to the central authority ; as that of
the Swiss cantons. Freeman, Hist, of Fed.
Government.
Federals. Name of the loyal Americans in
the civil war of North against South, 1861-1866.
Fea. [O.Fr. fie, fiee, fieu, fief, fied, fief,
feu, feod, feud.] (Leg.) 1. Property, pos-
session. 2. A fief, a manor held in possession
by some tenant of a superior. 3. An estate of
inheritance held ultimately from the Crown. 4.
In America, an estate transmissible to heirs
held absolutely.
Fee. [A. S. feoh, cat lie ; cf. Goth, faihu,
money, O.H.G. vihu, beast, money, L. pScus,
pScu, head of cattle, pe'ciilium, small pi ivate pro-
perty held by husband's, father's, or master's
consent, pdcunia, money, riches.] 1. Remunera-
tion for professional services, honorarium. 2.
A perquisite, a douceur paid to officers or
servants.
Fee-base. (Base-fee.)
Feed; F.-heater; F.-motion; F.-pipe; F.-
pump. In Mech., \.o feed a machine is to supply
it with the material on which it operates. A F.
or a F.-motion is the part of the machine which
brings the material up to the working point.
In the steam-engine, the F.-pipe supplies the
boiler with water, which is raised by a F.-pnmp,
in most cases from a F.-heater, i.e. a reservoir
in which the water is heated by waste steam.
Feeder. (Float.)
Feeding-part of a tackle. (Naut.) The part
which runs through the block ; opposed to Stand-
ing-part.
Feed of grass. (Naut.) Supply of vege-
tables.
Fee-farm rant. (Leg. ) Rent reserved on
granting an estate in fee, of at least a fourth of
the annual value of the lands at the time of
reservation.
Feel the helm, To. (Want.) Spoken of a
ship when she steers quickly ; also when she
gets enough way on to answer the helm.
Fee-simple. (Leg.) A freehold estate of
inheritance absolute and unqualified, enjoyable
in all hereditaments as well as in personalty.
(Fee.)
Fee-tai 1 . [L.L. feoclum talliatum.] A free-
hold estate limited to a particular line of descent.
Feigned diseases. (Med.) Real, but volun-
tarily induced or aggravated.
Fel-. (Field.)
Felicitate. [L.L. fellcitare.] To wish a per-
son joy, as one may even wish for a successful
rival ; to congratulate [congratulari] being to
unite cordially in the joy.
Felidae. [L. felis, tat.'] (Zoo!.) Digitigrade
carnivora of the cat kind, specially distinguished
by retractile claws and lacerating teeth, ranging
from the cat to the lion and tiger. Found
everywhere, except W. Indies, Madagascar and
adjacent islands, Australasia, and Polynesia.
Felix faustumque sit. [L.] May it be happy
and blest.
Fell. [Goth, filla, A.S. fel, fell, Ger. fell,
L. pellis, Gr. irt\\a, from palna.] Skin, hide
of a beast.
Fell. [Ger. fels, Dan. fjald, mountain, rock.]
A barren, rocky hill.
-fell. Pait of names of hills [of Norw. origin,
from a form akin to field, hillside, as in Snae-
fell].
Fellah, plu. Fellahin, Fellaheen. A peasant in
Egypt, a cultivator of Egyptian soil.
Fellmonger, formerly called also a Glover.
[A.S. fel, a skin; cf. L. pellis, Gr. WAAa, a
hide] One who prepared skins for the leather-
dresser, by separating the wool from the hide.
Fellow. [Perhaps O.E. felau, Norse felagi, a
partner in goods] The title of members, or the
higher members, of colleges in the universities,
who form the governing body of the college,
and divide a large portion of its net revenues.
Hence, generally, the members of any society.
Fellow-commoner, in Cambridge, or Gentle-
man commoner, at Oxford. A resident in
college, in statu pupil lari, allowed on payment
of extra college fees to live at the Masters of
Arts', etc., or Fellows' table; now almost ex-
tinct in both universities.
Fellowship. In Arith., a rule for dividing
profits and losses amongst partners.
Felly. [Ger. felge.] The rim of a wheel.
Felo de se. [L. , felon concerning himself.]
(Leg.) One who commits suicide, being of
sound mind.
Felspar. [(?) Ger. feld-spath, field-spar, i.e.
found on the ground ; or fels-rock, as being
common in granite or on mountains.] (Geol.)
A very abundant mineral, silicate of alumina
with soda, potash, lime ; of various colours ; an
ingredient of nearly all igneous and of many
metamorphic rocks.
Felstone, Felsite. A rock composed wholly
or largely of felspar.
Felucca. [Ar.] (Naut.} 1. A narrow-decked
vessel of the Mediterranean, with one, two, or
three masts, carrying- lateen sails. 2. A small
Mediterranean craft, with six or eight oars,
in which the helm may be shipped at either
end.
Femme-couverte [T.eg. Fr.], also Feme-
covert. Married woman. (Covert-baron.)
Femme sole. [Leg. Fr.] Single ivoman,
spinster, or widow.
Femora. (Triglyph.)
Femoral. [L. femur, the thigh.] (Anat.)
Relating to the thigh-bone.
FENC
207
FETL
Fence-month. (Leg.) Fawning-month of deer,
when they may not be hunted.
Fence-time, or Close-tint;. The breeding-time
of fish or game, when they should not or must
not be caught or killed.
Fencible. (Mil.) Soldiers formerly enrolled
for a limited time for service in a particular
country ; t e.g. Malta Fencibles.
Fencing. Buying stolen goods much below
their value. Pence, one who so buys them.
Fenders. [Abbrev. for defenders."} (A r aut.)
1. Planks placed to prevent the chafing of a
ship's sides by things being hoisted on board.
2. Pieces of old cable, etc., put over the side to
prevent one vessel from touching another, or the
side of a dock, etc.
Fend off, To. (Naut.) To keep a vessel from
coming into contact with anything, by means of
spars, fenders, etc. Fend the boat, keep her off
the ship's side.
Feneration. [L. feneratio, -nem, from feneror,
I lend on interest (fenus).} Lending on interest,
usury.
Fenestrae. [L., -windoivs."} (Anat.) Of the
ear, two holes in the cavity of the tympanum.
Fenestral. [From L. fenestra, windjw.] Of
or pertaining to windows or a window.
Fenians. [Perhaps from Finn (Fingal) and
his Feni, a militia.] An association of Irishmen
formed in America, in 1865, with the professed
purpose of separating Ireland from England.
Fenks. The refuse of whale-blubber, used in
making Prussian blue.
Fenrls. In Myth. (Loki.)
Fens. [A.S. fen, Goth, fani, O.H.G. fenna,
marsh, mud.] Marshy land, especially the re-
claimed marsh-land of W. Norfolk, N. Cam-
bridgeshire, S.E. Lincolnshire, intersected by
the rivers Cam and Ouse, Nen and Welland.
Feoffee. [Fr. feoffe.] (Fee.) One to whom
a corporeal hereditament is "given, granted, and
enfeoffed."
Ferae naturae. [L., of wild nature.} Wild
animals, as rabbits, hares, deer, game, and
savage kinds of beasts ; they are not absolute
property, but landowners or privileged persons
have a qualified property in them while they
remain within the limits of their land or liberty.
Feral. [L. feralis, from fera, wild animal.}
Wild descendants of domesticated spec.
Ferlae. [L.] 1. (Hist.) Latin for festivals.
The most important were the Ferise Latlnee,
celebrated on the Alban Mount by all the Latin
states. 2. (Eccl. ) In the Latin Church, any days
which are not feasts ; ordinary weekdays.
Ferial. [From ferise, holidays."} In the Latin
Church, not festive, of or pertaining to non
festal days.
Feriation. [L. feriatus, keeping holiday.} A
keeping holiday.
Feridun. (Zohak.)
Feringhee. The Oriental name for European :
probably from the Varingii, Warings, Norsemen
who took service at Constantinople under the
Byzantine emperors ; or, as some think, from
the Franks.
Fernan-bag. (Naut.) 1. A small ditty-bag,
used for carrying tobacco, etc. 2. A monkey's
pouch.
Ferracute. A pagan giant of chivalric
romance, slain by Orlando.
Ferrara. A kind of sword made at F., in
Italy ; an Andrew F. being one of the make of
Andria di F., especially prized.
Ferret. l.[Heb. anaza, in Lev. xi. 30.] (Bibl.)
Unidentified ; perhaps a Lizard. 2. [Fr. for a tag,
dim. offer, iron.'} The iron used to try whether
molten glass is tit for working. 3. A narrow
kind of tape.
Ferretto. [It. ferretto cli Spngna, little iron of
Spain.} Copper calcined with brimstone or
white vitriol.
Ferric salts. [L. ferrum, iron.} (Chan.)
Salts containing iron. Ferrous contain a larger
proportion of iron than _/!; ;v<: salts.
Ferrotype. [L. ferrum, iron, Gr. TVITOS,
type.} A photograph taken with ferrous salts.
Ferruginous. [L. ferruglneus, from ferrugcv
iron rust.} J.q. chalybeate (q.v.).
Fertilization of flowers. (Hot.) This is accom-
plished by the contact of the pollen with the
stigmatic surface. Cross-fertilization, the fer-
tilizing of a blossom by pollen from another
blossom on the same plant or on a different
plant of the same spec. This is often effected
by means of insects, who, in their search for
honey, carry the pollen from one blossom to
another. Mr. Darwin's researches into the sub-
ject are well known.
Fervens diff'iclli Mle tumet jecur. [L.] My
liver is inflamed and swollen loith biU from ill
temper (Horace).
Fescennine verses. (Rom. Hist.) Recited
extemporaneously by the youth of Latium and
Etruria, first, it is said, at Fescennia, a town
of Etruria, at rustic festivals ; playfully abusive ;
out of which grew Satire, the only native poetry
of Italy.
Fescue. [L. festuca, a stalk.} An important
gen. of grasses ; Meadow F. , Festuca pratensis,
being one of the most valuable for pasture.
Fesa. [L. fascia, a girdle.] (Her.) (Es-
cutcheon.)
Fessen-penny. (Fasten-penny.)
Festina lente. [L. , hasten gently. } More haste,
worse speed.
Fetch of a bay, or gulf. (A r aut.) The line
between the points enclosing it.
Fete-champetre. [Fr.] An outdoor enter-
tainment, a large garden-party.
Fetials. [L. fetiales.] (Hist.) The heralds
of ancient Rome, whose duty it was to declare
war and conclude peace, (later patratus.)
Fetish, Fetishism. [Fr. fetiche, Port. feiti9o,
charm, from L. facticius.] The worship of
material substances stones, weapons, plants,
etc., prevalent amongst barbarous nations, es-
pecially those of negro race ; tribes, families,
individuals, having their special F. "It is,
perhaps, not so much a worship of natural
objects, ... as a system of incantation by a
sorcerer class " (Kingsley, At Last, p. 2^7).
(Obi.)
Fetlock. The lock, tuft of hair, that grows
FETT
208
FIEL
behind the pastern-joint (q.v.) on the feet of
horses.
Fettle. [O.E. feat.~\ 1. In Athletics, order,
condition, preparation. 2. (A T aut.) To fit,
repair, put in order ; also used as a threat.
Fetwah. [Ar.] A written judgment of a
Mohammedan mufti on a point of law.
Feu. In Scot. Law, = feud, fee, limited,
however, to vassal tenure, wherein the return
service is payment of grain, or money.
Feuar. In Scot. Law, one who holds a Feu.
Feudal system. (Hist.) A system in which
the sovereign is regarded as the proprietor of all
lands, the holders paying him homage and
swearing featly or faith. The chief is thus
suzerain, and the tenant is his vassal.
Feu-de-joie. [Fr., lit. fire of joy.] (Mi!.)
Troops in line firing in the air in succession, to
commemorate any occasion of rejoicing.
Feu d'enfer. \r.,fire of hell. ~\ A very hot
fire from firearms.
Feuillans. (Eccl. Hist.) A religious order,
branching off from the Bernardines, and estab-
lished at Feuillant, in Languedoc. The Club
des Feuillans was a revolutionary society in
Paris, in 1791-92.
Feuillemort. [Fr. feuille morte, dead leaf.'}
The colour of a dead leaf.
Feuilleton. [Fr., dim. of feuillet.] 1. Part
of a newspaper devoted to light literature,
criticism, and belles lettres, etc. 2. An article
on light literature ; a part of a novel published
in a journal.
Fez. [Turk.] A brimless cap of cloth or
felt.
Fiacre. [Fr.] A kind of hackney coach in
France, a four-wheeled cab ; the first carriages
for hire in Paris having been stationed at the
Hotel de St. Fiacre, 1640. F., an Irish saint
of the sixth century, is in France the patron
saint of gardeners.
Fiametta. [It., little flame.} Boccaccio's
name for his lady-love.
Fiance, fern. -ee. [Fr., betrothed.} Intended
husband or wife.
Fiar. In Scot. Law, the person in whom
the property of an estate is vested, subject to
the estate of the life-renter.
Fiars. A term used in Scotland to denote
the regulations fixing the price of grain yearly
in the different counties.
Fiasco. [It., a flask."} A failure in singing,
acting, etc. (See, for an ingenious account of
the word, Stainer and Barrett, Musical Diction-
ary ; and cf. ampulla, meaning lit. bottle, meton.
bombast.)
Flat. [L., let it be done.~\ An effective com-
mand to action ; a decisive or operative decree,
especially a divine decree which involves its own
immediate realization.
FibriL [L. fibrilla, a coined dim. of fibra, a
fibre, filament."} A minute or terminal fibre.
Fibrine. [L. fibra, a fibre, filament.'} In
animals and plants, an organic compound, closely
resembling albumen and caseine ; distinguished
by the very delicate filaments in which it appears
when dissolved in fluid. (Albumen.)
Fibula. [L.] 1. A brooch, a buckle. 2.
(Anat.) The small bone of the leg, attached to
the outer side of the tibia, or great bone of the
leg ; long and slender, and somewhat resembling
the pin of a brooch.
Fico. [It, a fig.} An action expressing con-
tempt ; the placing of the thumb between two
fingers.
Fid. (A T aut.) 1. A square bar of wood or
iron passed through a hole in the foot of an
upper mast, the ends of which rest on the
trestle-trees to support the weight of the upper
mast. 2. A wooden pin to open the strands of
a rope. 3. The piece of oakum placed in a gun-
vent. 4. Fid of anything ; a quid, or small
thick piece. When the F. has been inserted in
the mast and the mast-rope slackened, the mast
is Fidiied.
Fiddle. (Naut.) Small cords to prevent
things rolling off a table at sea. F. -block, one
having two sheaves, the lower one being the
smaller. F. -head, one finished by a scroll turn-
ing aft, in contradistinction to a Scroll-head, which
turns forwards.
Fiddler's Green. A nautical Mohammedan
paradise.
Fiddlewood. [Fr. fidele, trusty*"} A hard
W. -India wood used for carriage wheels, etc.
Fidei commissum. [Leg. L.] Property given
by testament to one person who is obliged by
operative words of request to transfer it to a third
person ; trust property.
Fidel Defensor. (Defender of the Faith.)
Fide jussores. In Rom. Law, sureties for any
one on bail, came in Eccl. L. to mean sponsors ;
called also Sponsores susceptores [Gr. avdSoxoi,
Eng. gossips (?>. God-sibs, or relations in God),
Godparents]. The term Fide jussores is now used
for bail sureties in the Instance Court of the Ad-
miralty. Admiral Smyth's Sailor's Word-Book.
Fidessa. (Duessa.)
Fiduciary. [L. fiduciarius, from fiducia,
trust, from fidus, trusty. ,] 1. (Leg.) One who
holds property in trust. 2. In Theol., one who
denies the necessity of good works, insisting on
faith only.
Fidus Achates. [L., faithful Achates.} The
trusty follower and tried friend of ^Eneas (Virgil,
neid) ; hence any staunch friend.
Fief. [L.L. feodum, from Goth, faihu, A.S.
feoh, cattle ; hence other goods, especially money ;
hence property in general.] An estate in lands
held of a feudal superior. (Fee.)
-field, -feld, as part of geographical names,
is the A.S. feld, a clearing in forest-land, where
trees have been felled ; as in Cuck-fiekl, Fel-sted.
Field. [A.S. feld.] (Her.) The whole sur-
face of an escutcheon.
Field fortification. (Mil.) The throwing up
of such works as are required for retrenching
villages, camps, and posts, in aid of temporary
operations in the field.
Field officer. (Mil.) Every officer holding
the rank of colonel, lieut.-colonel, or major in
:he army.
Field of the Cloth of Gold. (Hist. ) The name
jiven, from the splendour of the ceremony there
FIEL
209
FINF
observed, to the spot, between the French towns
of Ardres and Guines, where Henry VIII. with
Wolsey met Francis I. (1520).
Field-piece. (Mil.) Light artillery (drawn by
horses) which takes part in the evolutions of
troops.
Fieldwork. (Mil.) Any earth or stockade
work constructed for the protection of troops in
the field.
Fieri facias. [L., cause than to be made.}
(Leg.) A judicial writ, commanding a sheriff
to levy the amount of debt or damages recovered
in the Queen's courts by execution on goods
and chattels.
Fi. fa. (Fieri facias.)
Fife-rails. (Naut. ) The rails above the bul-
wark of poop and quarter-deck, and round the
mainmast.
Fifth-monarchy men. (Hist.) A faction or
sect which regarded the protectorate of Crom-
well as the foundation of a fifth monarchy
(succeeding those of Assyria, Persia, Greece,
and Rome), in which Jesus Christ would reign
visibly for a thousand years. (Millennium.)
Figala. (Naut.) An E. -Indian boat, having
one mast, and paddles.
Figaro. Beaumarchais's barber of Seville, and
in Le Manage of F. t a valet de chambre. An
adroit, unscrupulous intriguer.
Figger. (Naut.) A Smyrna trader.
Figgie-dowdie. [Figs and dough.] (Naut.)
A kind of plum -pudding.
Fighting-lanterns. (Natit.) Used in night
actions, generally one to each gun.
Fighting-sails. (Naut.) In sailing-ships,
usually the courses and topsails only.
Fighting-water. (Naut.) Casks of water,
dashed with vinegar, placed on the decks, for
use in action.
Fights. (Naut.) Wastecloths hung about a
ship, to hide men from the enemy. Close-fights,
i.q. close quarters.
Figurant, fern. -ante. [Fr.] An inferior
operatic dancer; fern., a ballet-girl.
Figurate numbers. (Math.) Such as can be
written as fractions in which numerator and de-
nominator are factorials of the same number of
factors having unity for a common difference ; the
first factor in the denominator is unity, but in
the numerator it may be any number whatever ;
7.8.Q
e.g. -j- = 84, which is a F. N. (Factorial.)
Figure. [L. figura, shape, form.'] 1. (Naut.)
The principal ornament at a ship's head. F. -
head, a carved bust or figure at the prow. 2.
(Rhet.) An effective mode of expression, which
deviates from the plainest form of utterance.
There are F. of thought, as a simile ; and F. of
language, as antithesis, chiasmus. Figures
affect clauses and sentences, while a Trope affects
a single word.
Figured. (Her.) Bearing a human face.
Figured bass. In Music, with numbers above
and below, is a kind of musical shorthand,
indicating the harmony.
Filacer, Filazer, Filizer. [Fr. filace, from L.
fllum, thread.'} (Leg.) An officer of superior
courts, who filed original writs, etc., and issued
processes thereon. The office is now abolished.
Filadiere. (Naut.) A small, flat-bottomed
boat of the Garonne.
Filature. [Fr.] A reel for winding off silk
from cocoons.
File. [Fr. file, thread, L. filum.] (Mil.)
The front and corresponding rear rank man of
any double rank of soldiers drawn up in line.
Filiated colleges. Educational institutions,
residents at which can proceed to degrees at the
filiating (i.e. adopting, as L. filius, a son) uni-
versity upon examination only.
Filibuster. A freebooter, of which word it is
a corr. Hence the Sp. filibote, flibote, a fast-
sailing vessel. (Buccaneer; Flute.)
Filiform. (Bot.) Slender and round, like a
thread [L. filum] ; e.g. stem of dodder.
Filigree. [Fr. filigrane, from It. filigrana, L.
filum, a thread, granum, a grain, i.e. bead.]
Network of silver wire adorned with beads.
Filioque. (Nicene Creed.)
Filius mulieratus. [L.L.] (Leg.) Eldest
legitimate child of a woman who cohabited with
her husband before marriage.
Filius nullius. [L. , son of nobody.'] Illegiti-
mate child or son of an obscure person.
(Hidalgo.)
Filius popiili. [L,., son of the people.} Illegiti-
mate child.
Filler, Fill-horse. (Thiller, Thill-horse. )
Fillet. [Fr. filet, thread.} (Her.) The
diminutive of the chief, being at most one-fourth
its size. The chief being divided into four equal
horizontal strips, the lowest strip would be the
fillet.
Fillibeg, Philabeg. [Scot. Gael, filleadh beag,
little plaid (Latham, s.v.).} A kilt, or kind of
petticoat reaching only to the knees, worn by
the Scotch Highlanders.
Fill the mainyard, To. (Naut.) To fill the
main-topsail, after it has been aback.
Filoselle. [Fr., L. L. folasellum, firosellum,
It. filugello ; corr. of a dim. of L. filum,
thread.} A coarse-twisted floss silk.
Fimbria. [L., a fringe.} (Anat. and Bot.)
A fringe-like part, or process ; e.g. the margin
of a pink.
Fimbriated. [L. nmbriatus, fringed.} (Her.)
Having a border of a different tincture.
Finality John. Nickname of the late Earl
Russell, who thought the Reform Billof 1831 final.
Fine. [L. finis, end.} (Leg.) 1. A lump
sum paid to a landlord on entrance into tenancy
or on renewal of a lease. 2. An assurance by
record (often with four terminal proclamations
in the Court of Common Pleas) of a transfer of
property founded on a fictitious pre-existing right
the transferer being called the deforceant,
conusor, or recognizer ; the recoverer the plain-
tiff, conusee, or recognizee.
Fine-drawing. Sewing up a rent so that the
seam is not visible.
Fine metal. White cast iron.
Finesse. [Fr.] Artifice, acuteness, nicety,
trickery.
Fin-foot. (Zool.) Water-bird, about thirteen
FINF
210
FISH
inches long, with lobated feet like grebes.
America, Africa, and Borneo. Sub-fam.
Hellornlthmse [Gr. i}\ios, sun, 6pvi-s, -Qos,
bird], fam. Rallidse, ord. Grallas.
Fingers and toes. (Anbury. )
Finial. [L. finis, an end.] (Arch.} The
top or finishing of a seat, pinnacle, or gable.
(Crockets.)
Finis coronat opus. [L.] The end crcnvns the
work.
Finner. (Zool. ) Gen. of whales with dorsal
fin and skin furrowed. Temperate and cold
latitudes. Ord. Physalus.
Finnic. (Lang.) Name of a northern Tura-
nian or agglutinative group of languages ; also
called Norse.
Finos. [Sp.,fine.] Second best Merino wool.
Fiord. [Norw. form of the word frith or
firth.] A narrow inlet of the sea, penetrating
far inland.
Fioriture. [It.] (Music.) Florid passages in
melody or accompaniment.
Fir-borne, Fire-bare. [(?) Ger. feuer, fire,
baum, tree.] Old names for a beacon.
Fire, Greek. (Greek fire.)
Fire and lights. In Naut. slang, the master-
at-arms.
Fire-annihilator, Phillips's. A contrivance
for extinguishing fire by pouring in streams of
carbonic acid, sulphurous acid, and other gases
which do not support combustion. Drops of
sulphuric acid are made to fall from a bottle,
when broken, upon a mixture of chlorate of
potash and sugar ; and the intense combustion
of the sugar fires a surrounding mixture of char-
coal, nitre, and gypsum, and dense volumes of
the above-mentioned gases are evolved. Cham-
bers's Encyclopedia.
Fire-ball. 1. A luminous meteor, like a large
shooting star. (Elmo, Fire of St ; Castor and
Pollux.) 2. (Mil.) Globular framework of iron
containing an inflammable composition projected
from mortars during the night to discover the
positions of the trenches of besiegers.
Fire-bill. (Naut.} The placing of officers and
men at fixed stations in case of fire. F.-booms,
spars to keep off burning ships, etc. F.-screens,
pieces of fearnaught put round hatchways in
action.
Firebote. (Leg.) Necessary fuel allowed to
be taken off the land by tenants.
Fire-box ; F.-tubes. The chamber of a loco-
motive engine in which the fire is placed is the
Fire-box ; the tubes passing through the boiler
which convey the heated air from the fire to the
smoke-box are F.-tubes.
Fire-clay, Fire-brick. A nearly pure silicate
of alumina, able to retain its form against a
great degree of heat, owing to the absence of
lime, etc., which would act as a flux. The
clay-bed, or seat-earth, underlying nearly every
coal-seam, is good fire-clay ; its carbonaceous
blackness goes off with burning.
Fire-damp, in mines ; or Marsh gas, as being
generated in bogs, etc. Light carburetted hydro-
gen ; After-damp, Choke-damp, or Stythe, being
the carbonic acid gas formed by the explosion.
Fire insurance. (Life assurance.)
Fire-raising. In Scotland, arson.
Fire-ship. (Naut. ) A ship fitted with grap-
pling irons, and filled with inflammable materials,
to set fire to the enemy's ships.
Fire-swab. A mop of rope-yarn, wetted, and
used to cool a gun and mop up loose powder.
Fire-water. The name given by some of the
Indian tribes to ardent spirits. Bartlett's Ameri-
canisms.
Fire-worshippers. (Gnebers.)
Firkin. [Dim. of four ; cf. farthing, fir lot.]
1. Of ale, nine gallons. 2. Of butter, fifty-six
pounds. 3. Of soft soap, sixty-four pounds.
Firlot. [Said to be A.S. feortha hlot, fourth
lot, or part.] An old Scotch dry measure,
= a quarter of a boll, which latter varies in
quantity according to the locality and the article
measured ; but in the case of oats is = six
bushels.
Firman, or Ferman. [Pers.] In Persia and
the Turkish empire, any mandate of the sove-
reign, from an ordinary passport to an instru-
ment conveying extraordinary privileges. (Hatti-
sherif.)
First-fruits. (Annates.)
First intention. (Intention.)
First-pointed style. (Geometrical style.)
Firth-guild. [A.S. ferd, army, and guild
(q.v.).] An association of a hundred men to
carry out a deadly feud or avenge manslaughter.
Fiscal. [L. fiscalis, from fiscus, money-
basket, emperor's privy purse.] 1. Pertaining
to the public treasury. 2. (Scot. Law.) A
public prosecutor in petty criminal cases.
Fish, Fish-piece. A long spar, round on one
side, hollowed on the other, bound to masts or
yards to strengthen them. To F., to strengthen
them thus. To F. the anchor, to turn it upside
down for stowing.
Fish-beam; F.-bolt; F.-joint; F.-plate. A
Fish-beam is one flat at top and curved below,
being thickest in the middle like a fish's belly
so as to offer at all sections a resistance bear-
ing a uniform ratio to the bending moment ;
the beam is thus equally strong at all sections.
A F.-joint fastens two rails end to end, by
means of F. -plates, which are flat pieces of iron
an inch thick placed on each side of the rails
and fastened by four screw-nuts and bolts, called
F. -bolts, two of which pass through the foot of
the one rail, and two through the head of the
other.
Fisherman's ring, In Latin, Anniilus piscd-
toris. A seal of the pope ; its device being St.
Peter in a boat casting his net.
Fisherman's walk. (A T aut.) A very small
space ; "three steps and overboard."
Fish-fag. (A'aut.) 1. A woman who carries
a fish-basket. 2. A slattern.
Fish-fights, Siamese. The Ctenops pugnax, a
small fre.-vh-water fish, is kept for this purpose ;
exhibitions of fights between these are licensed,
yield considerable revenue, and are connected
with desperate gambling.
Fishing hawk. (Osprey.)
Fish-stew. [Low Ger. stauen, to stop, to make
FISS
211
a dam (stau).] A pond for rearing and fattening
fresh-water fish.
Fission. [L. fissio, -nem, a splitting.] Re-
production by division of the parent, either
partial, as in many corals, or complete, as in
some hydrozoa.
Fissiparous. [L. findo, sup. fissum, / cleave,
pario, / beget."] Dividing into parts, eacli of
which is a reproduction of the original. (Gem-
mation.)
Fissiped. [L. fissi-pdem.] Cloven-footed,
as deer ; a division of Ungulata.
Fissirostrals, Fissirostres. [L. fissus, split,
rostrum, bill."} (Ornith.) Wide-billed birds ; a
tribe or fam. in those systems which characterize
birds by their bills. It includes swallows and
goat-suckers.
Fissures-of-retreat. (GeoL) 1. In granite and
basalt, due to contraction in solidifying from a
molten state. 2. In septarian nodules (<f.v.), to
solidification from a soft wet state ; so also mud-
cracks, i.q. sun-cracks, found fossil, are F.
Fistula. [L.] 1. A shepherd's pipe, generally
a Pan's pipe. 2. (Med.) A tubular ulcerous
channel, with constant discharge.
Fitch. [O.K. fitchew, polecat.] The fur of
the polecat.
Fitches. Isa. xxviii. 25 ; the same word as
vetches [L. vicise].
Fitchett, Fitchew. (Polecat.)
Fitchy. (Her.) Sharpened to a point, so
that it might be fixed [Fr. fiche] in the ground.
Fits of easy transmission and reflexion.
Newton supposed that the molecules of light in
their progress through space pass continually
into alternate states which recur periodically at
equal intervals. In one of these it is disposed
to obey the reflective forces of the body which it
meets ; it is then in a Fit of easy reflexion. In
the other state it is disposed to obey the re-
fractive forces of the body, and is then in a
Fit of easy transmission. Newton proposed
by this means to account for the colours of thin
plates.
Fitter. A skilled workman who exactly ad-
justs the parts of a machine to each other before
it is finally put together.
Fitz-. Part of names, = son of [for Norm.
Fr. fiz, = Fr. fils, from L. filius] ; often form-
ing surnames of royal bastards ; as Fitz-James,
Fitz-William, Fitz-Herbert.
Five-Mile Act, Oxford Act. (Eccl. Hist.} An
Act passed, 1665, ordaining that, except in
travelling, no Dissenting teacher who had not
submitted to the declaration required by the
Act of Uniformity should approach within five
miles of any corporate town.
Five points. (Eccl. Hist.} Five doctrines
debated between Calvinists and Arminians :
(i) Particular election; (2) particular redemp-
tion ; (3) total depravity of human nature ;
(4) irresistible grace ; (5) final perseverance.
Fives. A game in which a small hand-ball is
hit by the hands before the second bound against
the front or side walls of a three-sided court ;
played sometimes with one wall only.
Five-share men. (Nanl.} Men who enter on
whalers, etc., and agree to take a share of the
proceeds of the voyage as pay.
Fixed air. An old term for carbonic acid gas,
from its existence in a fixed state in limestone,
etc.
Flag. [From flag, to droop or flutter (Skeat).]
(Naut.) Taking a Flag to be oblong, the Cornet
is a swallow-tailed F., in signalling called a
Burgee ; which, otherwise, tapers either to a
point (and is then, in signalling, a Pennant] or
to a pair of swallow-tails, which latter is the
shape of a Broad pennant. In the R.N., a
Pennant, Whiff, or Whip is flown at the inn^-t-
head, and is lengthened according to a ship's
Flag-time, i.e. period of foreign service. The
leading British nautical flags are as follows :
1. The National /'. , viz. (i) the Union Jack,
a combination, heraldically incorrect, of the
crosses of St. George, St. Andrew, and St.
Patrick, with a broad white border ; and (2) the
Red Ensign. 2. The Blue E. , restricted to the
Naval Reserve, certain Government services, and
Royal Yacht Clubs. 3. The White E. with a
red cross, or St. George's E., is restricted to the
R.N. and the R.Y. squadron. Each E. bears in
the upper corner next the mast the U.J., the use
of which, undifferenced, is similarly restricted to
the R.N., where it is flown in the bows, but by
the admiral of the fleet at the main. 4. Ad-
mirals, Vice-A., and Rear-A. fly the old English
colour, or St. George s Jack, i.e. plain white with
plain red cross, at the main, fore, and mizzen,
respectively; formerly they flew the R., the
W. , and the B. E. respectively; rank in each
division being further denoted by the mast at
which each E. was flown. A commodore flies a
Broad pennant at the main or fore, according
to his class ; all of a lower rank fly the ordinary
White E. at the peak or flagstaff. 5. The
Pennant, flown by all ships in commission,
White for the R. N., and Blue for armed Colo-
nials, etc., bear a St. George's cross next the
mast. There are many other British flags appro-
priated to various services, colonies, and de-
pendencies ; as the Royal Standard, showing that
one of the royal family is on board ; the Red
E. with the Dominion arms in the fly for
Canada ; the Green, Red, White Tricolour
(horizontal), with the U. J. in the upper corner
next the mast, for Heligoland. Some foreign
merchantmen's flags are subjoined. War and
governmental F. vary, sometimes very widely,
from merchantmen. France: blue, white, red.
Italy: green, white, red. Belgium: black,
yellow, red. Portugal ' : blue, white ; all vertical,
and reckoned from the mast outward. Holland:
red, white, blue. Russia: white, blue, red.
Germany: black, white, red. S/>ain: yellow,
red, yellow, red, yellow. Austria : red, white,
with two coats of arms, half red and half green.
Greece: five blue, four white, with Jack in corner ;
all horizontal, and reckoned from the top down-
ward. Denmark: red with white cross. A'or-
way : red with blue cross, and Jack in corner.
Sweden : blue with yellow cross, and Jack in
corner. U. S. A. : red ami white hori/.ontal
stripes, with white stars on blue ground in corner,
FLAG
212
FLEM
corresponding in number to the states in the
Union. Turkey: green, with white crescent on
red central disc. Egypt: red, with white cres-
cent and three stars. The terms Flag and Pen-
nant are sometimes used to denote admiral and
commodore, respectively.
Flagellants. [L. flagellantes, from flagello, /
whip, scourge."} Fanatics who, first at Perugia,
A.D. 1260, and elsewhere through Italy, then, at
intervals, in many other parts of Europe till the
sixteenth century, found in self-scourging a vent
for wild religious feeling. Milman, Hist, of
Latin Christianity, bk. vi. 334.
Flagelliform. (Bot. ) Shaped like the thong
of a whip [I,, flagellum].
Flagellum. [L., a scourge, a young shoot.~\
(Bot.) A vegetating node, a runner; e.g. straw-
berry.
Flagrante delicto. [L. , -while the offence is hot. ]
In the very act.
Flag share. The admiral's share, one-eighth,
in prizes.
Flake-white. The purest white lead, in flakes
or scales, used in oil-painting.
Flambeau. [Fr., a torch.'] A large wax-light
for illuminations.
Flamboyant. [Fr.] (Arch.) The French term
for the style of architecture answering to the
Flowing English, from the^7a^-like forms of the
tracery. (Geometrical style.)
Flamen. The Latin title for the priests of any
particular deity, as distinguished from priests in
general. '
Flamingo. [Sp., from its colour.] (Zoo/.) A
gregarious, wading bird, five or six feet high.
Full plumage, red, with black quill feathers.
Tropical and Southern countries, but not Austral-
asia ; occasionally S. Europe. Phoenicopterus
[Gr. <poii/lK6-irTfpos, crimson-iuing~\ ruber, gen.
P., fam. Phcemcopteridse, ord. Grallae.
Flamingo plant. (Anthurium.)
Flaminian Way, Via Flaminia. Made by C.
Flaminius, B.C. 221 ; led from Rome to Ari-
minum ; continued to Milan, as the Via ./Emilia.
(Emilian Provinces.)
Flanche. (Her.) An ordinary bounded by
two circular arcs projecting, one from each side
of an escutcheon. A Flasque is of the same
shape but wider, and a Voider wider still.
Flancois. [Fr. flanc, flank, L. flaccus, as
being the wiak, flabby part (Littre).] Cover-
ing of armour for the flanks of a horse.
Flaneur. [Fr. flaner, to slroll about. ~\ A
lounger, idler, man about town.
Flandrin. [Fr.] 1. A Fleming, or man of
Flanders. 2. As a nickname, a lanky, meagre
fellow.
Flange; F.-beam; F. -joint; F.-rail; F.-
wheel. A projecting edge or rib. A Flange-joint
consists of projecting pieces on two shafts or
pipes, by which they may be securely bolted
together end to end. A F.-rail has a projecting
edge on the outside, so that a wheel with a flat
tire may not slip off it. Railway cars have
F. -wheels, the flange being the projecting part,
of larger diameter than the rest of the tire, which
restrains the wheel from leaving the rail. A
F.-beam has along its length a flange at its upper
and under side, the part between them being
often thin (and called a web), so that the re-
sistance it offers to bending is mainly exerted by
the flanges. (Flank.)
Flank, probably from L. flaccus. (Flancois.)
1. (Mil.) Either extremity of a line of troops.
2. (Fortif.) The rampart at the extremity of a
face of a work.
Flanked angle. A salient in fortification,
defended by a cross-fire from some other work.
Flash. Burnt sugar and capsicums for colour-
ing spirits.
Flashing signals (Naut.) are effected by dots
and dashes as in electric telegraphy. At night
a white light is exposed and quickly covered
for a dot, and left longer exposed for a dash.
In the daytime the dots and dashes are indicated
by collapsing cones.
Flask. [Ger. flasche, bottle.'} The box in
which moulds for castings are made.
Flasket. [Welsh fflasged.] A long shallow
basket.
Flasque. (Flanche.)
Flat aback. (Naut.) Sails so much aback as
to give stern-way.
Flat-fish. (Pleuronectidse.)
Flatting. [Probably Fr. flou, softness of touch
(Flou).] 1. A mode of painting, which leaves
the work without gloss. 2. A method of gilding,
where it is unburnished but covered with size.
3. Rolling out metal into plates.
Flavescent. [L. flavescentem, p. part, of
flavesco, 1 grow yellow (flavus).] Turning yellow.
Fleam. [L.L. fldbotomum, fletum (Phlebo-
tomy).] (Vet.) A short lancet projecting from
the side of a straight piece of steel, used by
percussion for bleeding horses and cattle.
Fleche. [Fr., an arrow, M.H.G. flitsch.]
1. (Mil.) A work in the shape of an arrow,
at the foot of a glacis, covering the communi-
cations with advanced works. 2. (Arch.) A
slender spire.
Flecherra. (Naut.) A swift despatch-vessel ;
S. America.
Flectere si nequeo supgros, Acheronta movebo.
[L. ] If I fail to bend the gods above, I will stir
up hell below (Virgil). (Acheron.)
Fleece, Order of the Golden. An order of
European knighthood, founded by Philip. III.,
Duke of Burgundy, 1430. (Golden fleece.)
Fleet. A. S. name or part name, = channel
[Norse fliot ; cf. A.S. fleotan, to float}, as in
Fleet Street, Pur-fleet.
Fleet marriages. Until A.D. 1754, mutual
consent alone sufficed for legal civil marriage in
England ; but a full marriage as to Church
communion and its important consequences bear-
ing upon baptism, legitimacy, probate of wills,
etc., required a priest. Numberless secret mar-
riages had been performed in "lawless churches,"
i.e. in churches claiming exemption from the
ordinary's jurisdiction ; amongst them Fleet
marriages by clergymen imprisoned in the Fleet.
Abolished by Lord Hardwicke's Act, A.D. 1754.
(See Eng. Cycl., ii. 1016.)
Flemings. [Cf. O.E. flecm, outlaw, from
FLEM
213
FLUC
A.S. flean, to slay.] The tribe which gave its
name to Flanders ; perhaps = outlaws or their
descendants.
Flemish. Of or from Flanders.
Flemish account. In Naut. parlance, one
showing a deficit.
Flemish school. A school of painting, estab-
lished by the brothers Van Eyck, at Ghent
and Bruges, early in the fifteenth century, and
marked by excellence of drawing, colour, and
chiaro-scuro. Rubens, Vandyke, and Teniers
were the great masters of the second period.
Flensing. [Dan. flensen.] Cutting up the
blubber of a whale.
Flesh traffic. (Want.) Slave-trade'.
Fleta, sea Commentarium Juris Anglican!.
[L.] (Leg. ) A treatise on the whole law, after
Bracton and Glanville, composed in the reign of
Edward I.
Fleur-de-lis. [Fr.] 1. The lily of the royal
arms of the French kings, represented in a form
more like that of the head of a javelin. 2. In
Her., used (i) as a charge, or (2) as difference in
the sixth son's escutcheon.
Flexor muscle. [L. flecto, I bend.} It bends
the part on which it acts. (Extensor muscle.)
Flexure, contrary, Point of. (Singular point.)
Flight. A Dutch canal-boat.
Flint-glass. Glass composed of silicate of
potash and oxide of lead, used for table glass
and for optical instruments.
Flint implements. Instruments of various
kinds; weapons, arrow-heads, knives, and
when fixed to wooden handles hatchets, etc.,
used by primitive and by savage man.
Flipper. (A r aut.) The fin or paw of seals,
etc. ; melon, the hand.
Flitter-mouse. [Ger. fleder-maus.] The bat.
(Cheiroptera.)
Float. 1. The channel which distributes
water for irrigation. 2. A wooden trowel used
in plastering.
Float-board. A board fastened radially to
an undershot water-wheel, or to a paddle-wheel
of - a steamer, to give the water a hold for
turning the wheel or propelling the steamer.
Floating anchor. (Anchors.)
Floating coffins. A nickname of the old ten-
gun brigs. Unseaworthy vessels.
Flpating islands. In lakes and slow rivers ;
sometimes a collection of driftwood and alluvial
soil, e.g. those carried out fifty to a hundred
miles from the mouth of the Ganges ; sometimes,
as in Scotland and Ireland, masses of floating
peat ; others appear and disappear, e.g. one
in Derwentwater ; some, as the Moating Gardens
of Cashmere, and the Chinampas of Mexico, are
artificial, and very ancient. (Bafts.)
Floating ribs. (False ribs.)
Floccillation. [L. floccillus, coined dim. of
floccus, wool.~\ A delirious picking of the bed-
clothes before death.
Flock. [L. floccus.] The refuse of cotton
and wool, used for stuffing mattresses, etc.
Flogging the glass. (Naut.) Shaking the
half-hour glass, by which the bells are regulated,
to make the sand run quicker.
Flood anchor. (Naut.) The anchor used
during the flood-tide.
Floor. (Naut.) The bottom of a ship;
strictly, what rests on the ground when a ship is
ashore.
Flora of a country or geological epoch =
the plants belonging to it. (F., the goddess of
flowers.) (Fauna.)
Fioralia, Florales Ludi. [L., floral games.'}
A Roman festival in honour of Flora, from
April 28 to May 2, conducted by the /Ediles,
and celebrated with theatrical performances, and
much general licence.
Floreal. Eighth month of French first Re-
publican calendar, from April 19 to May 20.
Florin. A coin having different values in
different countries : the Austrian florin (or gulden)
is worth about zs. ; the Bavarian F. or G. about
is. 8</. ; the Polish F. about 5 \J. (Originally a gold
coin struck at Florence, in the thirteenth century,
having on one side the head of the Baptist, on
the other a lily : called from the city, or from
the flower (?).)
Flory. [Fr. fleuri.] (Her.} Adorned with
fleurs-de-lis.
Floss. [L. flos, flower} 1. Untwisted fila-
ments of silk, used in embroidery, etc. 2. A
glassy scum floating on iron in the puddling
furnace.
Flota. The Spanish word for fleet, applied
to the ships sailing under convoy from Cadiz, or
other ports, to the Transatlantic possessions of
Spain.
Flotant. [Fr. flottant.] (Her.} Floating in
the air.
Flotation, Plane of. [Fr. flot, a wave, L.
fluctus. ] The imaginary section of a body made
by a plane coinciding with the surface of the still
water in which it floats.
Flotsam, Flotson (i.e. floating). Derelict or
shipwrecked goods floating on the sea ; as dis-
tinguished ffomyetsam, otyetson [L. jactationem,
a throwing over}, goods thrown over and sunk ;
Lagan [i.e. lying ; cf. Ger. legen, to lay}, goods
sunk with the wreck, or attached to a buoy, as a
mark of ownership.
Flou. [Fr.] A term in painting, meaning soft-
ness of touch ; formerly^?!?, the Flem. flaun, or L.
fluid us (Littre) ; but are not these connected ?
Flower-Girl Brigade. A society of flower-
girls in London, founded by Lady Burdett Coutts,
1879, which seeks to improve their condition
by regulating the supply of flowers, the con-
ditions, places, etc., of sale, with fixed payment
or commission.
Flower of the winds. (Naut. } The compass,
as drawn on maps and charts.
Flowers of sulphur ; F. of zinc. Sulphur, or
white oxide of zinc, condensed from sublimation ;
so called from their appearance.
Flowing sheet, With a. (Naut.} With the
wind at about right angles to a ship's course.
Flowing style. (Geometrical style.)
Fluctuation. [L. fluctuatio, -nem, a wavering
motion.} (Med.} Undulation of fluid in any
cavity of the body, as distinguished by proper
manipulation.
FLUE
214
FOCU
Fluent. [L. fluentem, p. part, of fluo, Iflow^
(Math.) A quantity whose value changes con-
tinuously ; thus the length of the path described
by a moving point changes continuously with the
time. In Newton's language, a F. is what is
more commonly called an Integral.
Flummery. [Welsh llymry, a kind of oat-
meal gruel.] 1. Pap. 2. Metaph. silly talk,
finniking ornament.
Fluorescence. If we look through a solution
of sulphate of quinine . at the end of the solar
spectrum which is beyond the violet rays and
dark to the naked eye, we see a blue-coloured
light, arising from a lessening of the refrangi-
bility of the rays beyond the violet rays ; i.e. the
solution reduces the rate of the ethereal vibrations
to within the limits at which they produce the
sensation of light. This phenomenon which
can be exhibited in several forms is called F.
Fluorine. A colourless gas, one of the ele-
ments, occurring in fluor-spar.
Fluor-spar [a word coined from L. fluo, 7
flmu ; i.e. useful as a flux in fusing iron ore], or
Derbyshire spar (q.v. ).] (Min.) Fluoride of cal-
cium, calcium fluorine ; a mineral common
in some metalliferous lodes.
Flush at cards. A hand in which all the
cards are of one suit.
Flush-deck. (Decks.)
Flute, Armed en. [Fr.] (Naut.) Partly
armed, as a flute, fluyt, or fly -boat (q.v.) might
be. (Filibuster.)
Fluviatile. [L. fluviatilis, belonging to a
river (fluvius).] (Geol.) 1. Produced by river
action. 2. Of or belonging to rivers.
Flux. [L. fluxus, a flowing.] Any substance
used to promote the fusion of minerals.
Fluxion. [L. fluxio, -nem, aflcmnng.~\ (Math.)
The rate of change per unit of time of a Fluent,
i.e. of a magnitude whose value changes with the
time ; thus the velocity of a moving point at
any instant is the F. of the length of the path
described up to that instant. A F. is the name
given by Newton to what is now commonly
called a differential coefficient.
Fluxions, Method of. A mathematical method
invented by Newton, equivalent to the differ-
ential and integral calculus subsequently pro-
mulgated by Leibnitz.
Fly; Fly-wheel. A Fly consists of two or
more vanes set on an axis to prevent the ac-
celeration of the velocity of a falling weight by
means of the resistance (which increases very
rapidly with the velocity, and soon becomes
equal to the weight) offered by the air to their
motion. A F. -wheel is the heavy wheel keyed
to the main shaft of a steam-engine ; it serves as
a store of energy to keep the angular velocity
of the shaft uniform.
Fly-away, Cape. A cloud-bank mistaken for
land ; i.q. Dutchman's cape.
Fly-boat. (Fiate ; Filibuster.) (A 7 /.) 1. A
Dutch vessel, from 300 to 600 tons burden, flat-
bosomed and high-sterned. 2. A fast canal-
boat.
Fly-by-night. (A r anf.) 1. An extra sail like
a Studding-sail, used in sloops when before a
wind. 2. A spare jib set from topmast-head to
the yardarm of a squaresail.
Flyer. A venture. To take a F. in stocks is
the expression used in Wall Street when persons
not stockbrokers, or dealers in stocks, occasion-
ally make a venture. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Flying buttress. (Arch.) A buttress, shaped
like an arch, springing from a mass of masonry
on the external wall, and abutting against the
springing of another arch. The flying buttresses
of Amiens and Cologne Cathedrals are among
the finest specimens.
Flying camp. Troops leaving their quarters,
with provisions for two or three days and a
limited amount of baggage, for the purposes of
training under canvas and of constantly moving.
Flying colours, With (Mil.), = victorious ; to
exhibit the colours or flags of a regiment being
considered somewhat of a display suited to
important occasions. Only certain regiments
may march through London with F. C.
Flying Dutchman. (Naut. ) 1. Spectre ship
supposed to haunt the Cape of Good Hope. 2.
Any phantom vessel.
Flying-jib. (Sails.)
Flying-jibboom. (Bowsprit.)
Flying-kites. (Naut.) The lofty sails, as sky-
sails, royal studding-sails, and those above them.
Flying-light. (Naut.) Crank from insuffici-
ent ballast or cargo.
Flying-sap. (Mil.) Intrenchment formed on
open ground by placing a row of empty gabions
on end touching one another, and filling them
as rapidly as possible from the earth immediately
behind them.
Flying squirrel. [From Gr. o-iti-ovpos, shadcnu-
tailed, through L.L. dim. sciuriolus, Fr. ecureuil.]
(Zool.) Two gen. of squirrels, Sc!uroptrus (flat-
tailed) and Pteromys (round-tailed), having the
skin of their flanks so modified that, when they
extend their legs, it extends correspondingly,
enabling them to glide from tree to tree. Some
spec, measure nearly three feet across. Sciuro-
pterus is found in E. hemisphere from Lapland to
Borneo, and in W. hemisphere from Labrador
to California ; Pteromys in E. hemisphere only,
from Himalayas to Borneo.
Flying-to. The ship's head coming up to the
wind very quickly.
Fly of a flag. (Hoist.)
Fo. 1. The Chinese name for Buddha. 2.
The dog of Buddha, the lion-like animal often
forming the knob of a China vase-cover.
Focal length. 1. Of a lens" or mirror, the
distance from the surface to the principal focus.
2. Of a telescope, that of the object-glass.
Focus [L., a hearth]; Actual F.; Geometrical
F. ; Principal F. ; Virtual F. 1. In Optics, the
point to or from which rays falling on a lens or
mirror converge or diverge after refraction or
reflexion ; in the former case the F. is Actual,
as the rays meet in the focus ; in the latter
Virtual, as the rays proceed as if they diverged
from the focus. When the incident rays are
parallel to the axis, the point is a Principal F.
If the surfaces of lens or mirror are spherical,
the convergence to a point is accurate only on
FCEDU
FORE
the supposition that their extent is indefinitely
small ; the focus is always determined on this
supposition, and when it is necessary to draw
attention to the approximate character of the
determination it is called a Geometrical F. 2.
(For Focus in Geom., vide Ellipse; Hyperbola;
Parabola.)
Foedum inceptu, foedum exitu. [L. ] Dis-
graceful in the outset, disgraceful in the issue
(Livy).
Foanum habet in cornu. [L.] Lit. he has
hay on his horn ; said of a dangerous head of
cattle ; he is a dangerous character (Horace).
Foatus. [L.] The unborn child, from the
time of quickening.
Fog. [L. L. fogagium, forest winter pasture.]
(Agr.) Grass not eaten down in summer. To
F. is to shut pasture early in May, and to feed it
from November or December till the next May.
Fogram. [(?) Catachr. from Grogram (Grog).]
(A r aut.) Indifferent liquor.
Fbhn. [Ger.] In Switzerland, the moist
south wind of spring ; the L. Favonius (Horace,
Od. I. iv.). (Pan.)
Foil arches. (Arch.)
Folcland. [A. S.] Land of the people,
either held in common or parcelled out to in-
dividuals for life under the sanction of the free-
men in their local meetings (folc-gemote). It was
assignable to freemen and to thegns. (Bocland.)
Fold. [A.S. falod.] Originally an inclosure
of felled trees. .
Folio. [L. folium, leaf.] A book formed of
sheets so folded as to make two leaves each.
Folk-lore. The popular tales, traditions, and
superstitions of a country ; often of high antiquity.
Folkmote. [A.S. folc-mot.] Any public
meeting of the folk of a given place or district,
and varying with the latter in importance.
Follicle. [L. follis, a bag, dim. folllculus.]
1. (Anat.) Small hollow gland of the skin, or
mucous membrane. 2. (Bot.) A carpel not
having dorsal suture, and dehiscing by the
ventral suture.
Folliculus aeris. [L., air-bag.] Formed by
the duplicated lining membrane at the large end
of a bird's egg.
Follower. In Machinery. (Driver.)
Followers. In sea phrase, men allowed to be
taken by a captain in the navy when he changes
his ship.
Fomes. [L., fuel.] (Med.) Any substance
retaining contagious effluvia.
Fonda. [Sp.] An inn.
Fondus. [Fr. fondre, melted.] A style of
printed calico, etc., in which the colours melt
or shade into one another.
Fontange. [Fr.] A knot of ribbon on a
head-dress, a top-knot (introduced by Mdlle. de
F., 1679). Brachet, Etym. Diet.
Fonticulns. [L., little fountain, dim. of fons.]
(Med. ) An issue.
Fools, Feast of. (Hist.) A feast celebrated
anciently in French churches on New Year's Day ;
a survival, probably, of the Roman Saturnalia.
Foolscap. Paper twenty-seven inches by
seventeen.
Fools' paradise. (Limbo.)
Foot-pound. A unit of work the work done
when a pound weight is raised vertical]}' one foot.
Foot-ropes. (A 7 aut.) (Horse.)
Foots. Settlings of oil, sugar, etc., at the
bottom of a hogshead.
Forage. [Connected with fodder and /array,
L.L. foderare, to demand foder-age for man and
horse (Wedgwood).] (Mil.) 1. Allowance of
oats, hay, and straw, given to horses. 2. The
searching for provisions of any kind is called
Foraging. 3. The undress head-covering of a
soldier is a F.-cap.
Foramen. [L. ffiro, / bore, pierce.] 1. An
opening, hole. 2. (Bot. ) The small orifice in
the integument of the ovule.
Forammifera. [L. foramen, ah aperture, fero,
I carry.] 1. (Zool.) Ord. of Rhizopnda (mouth-
less ProtozSa, capable of emitting pseudopodia, i.e.
extensions for prehension and locomotion), with
a test, or shell of carbonate of lime or of cemented
sand-grains, filled, and sometimes in voted, with
sarcode. The pseudopodia are emitted from the
mouth of or through holes [foramina] in the
shell, which is sometimes simple, and sometimes
compound like that of the Pearly nautilus. Sub-
kingd. Protozoa. (Amoeba.) 2. (Geol.) Their
remains are found in the sands and ooze of exist-
ing seas, and in very many sedimentary strata,
especially Fusulina limestone, chalk, Nummulitic
limestone, Miliolite limestone.
Force [L.L. fortia, strength, from fortis,
strong] ; F. of inertia ; Living F. Any cause
which changes or tends to change the state of a
bod}' as to rest or motion ; it is measured by the
quantity of motion (i.e. the momentum) which
it generates (or would generate if constant) in a
unit of time. This word is often used loosely
and even inaccurately. F. of inertia is the re-
action of a body against another body by whose
action its velocity is changed in magnitude or
direction. (For Living F., vide Vis viva.)
Forced men. (A T aut. ) Men serving on board
a pirate from compulsion.
Force majeure [Fr.] is used as = a power
against which one can do nothing. Sauf les
cas de F. M., except in the case of impossibilities.
(Vis major; Forlorn hope.)
Forceps. [L.] A pair of pincers or tongs.
Forcing-pump. A pump with a solid piston
or plunger, and two valves in immediate con-
nexion with the barrel ; one opening upwards at
the top of the suction-pipe, the other outwards at
the junction of the exit-pipe. On the upstroke
water comes up the suction-pipe into the barrel,
on the downstroke it is forced out of the barrel
into the exit- pipe, and so to the cistern. The
one valve keeps the water from returning out of
the barrel into the suction-pipe, and the other
out of the exit-pipe into the barrel.
Fore-and-after. (Newt. ) 1. A cocked hat
worn peak in front. 2. A schooner without any
squaresails, or with only a crossjack-yard.
Fore-and-aft sails. (A'aut.) Any sails not set
on a yard.
Forebear. Ancestor, ancestress.
Forecastle. In a man-of-war, the upper deck
FORE
216
FORU
before the after fore-shroud ; in a merchantman,
the seamen's cabin forward. Top-gallant F.,
a raised deck extending from the bows to the
foremast, which it includes.
Foreclose. [L.L. foris claudgre, to exclude
from.} (Leg.) To take over property on which
one holds a mortgage upon non-fulfilment of the
mortgagor's agreement ; to apply for the ex-
tinction of the mortgagor's equity of redemption.
Foreclosure. A dosing off or shutting off of a
mortgagor from all right or equity of redemp-
tion. (Foreclose.)
Forefoot. (A T aut.) The curved timber which
joins the stem and keel.
Forel, Forril. [O.Fr. forel.] Sheepskin pre-
pared for binding, for drums, etc.
Forelock. (A'aut.) An iron wedge driven
through a bolt to hold it in its place.
Foremast-man. (Before the mast.)
Forensic. [L. forensis, belonging to the
forum.] Pertaining to courts of justice and law ;
e.g. F. medicine (q.v.).
Forensic medicine, i.q. Medical jurisprudence.
Medicine as bearing upon questions arising in
law courts of death, or injury, sanity, legiti-
macy, etc.
Fore-peak. (Naut.) 1. The narrowing part
of a vessel's hold. 2. The part under the lower
deck, close to the bows.
Fore-sheets of a boat. (A T aut.) The part
afore the bow oar.
Fore-sight. (Back-sight.)
Forestall. [A.S. foresteallan.] (Leg.) To
buy up goods before they get to the market
stalls, with intent to push up prices.
Forest courts. Old courts for governing the
royal forests. They were : Woodmote, held by ver-
derers every forty days, to try offences against vert
or venison ; court oj regard, every third year, for
expeditation of mastiffs ; sweinmote, thrice a year
before the verderers and a jury of sweins (free-
holders) ; justice seat, before the justice in eyre.
Forest fly. Hippoboscus [Gr. liriro^offK^s, horse-
feeding}. (Entom.) Gen. of dipterous insect,
round-bodied, producing its young advanced to
the pupa stage. Gives name to fam. Hippo-
boscidae ; forest flies and sheep-ticks.
Forest-marble and Fuller's-earth Oolite.
(Geol.) Thin-bedded Lower Oolitic strata in the
we>t of England, yielding roofing-stone, fuller's
earth, etc.
Forfeiture. [L.L. forisfactura, expulsion or
outlawry."] (Leg.) Punishment annexed to
some illegal act or negligence in the owner of
real property, by which his interest in it is trans-
ferred to another.
ForgaveL (Leg.) Quit-rent.
Forged Decretals. An imposture of the ninth
century, ascribed to Isidore Mercator ; a spu-
rious collection of D., professedly of above
thirty successive popes of the first three centuries.
They make the papal power supreme over
bishops, give appeal to Rome in all cases, from
all parts of the world, etc. (Decretals.)
Fork. (Fast and loose pulleys.)
Forkers. (.A ant. ) Thieves or receivers of dock-
yard stores ; or dealers in them when stolen.
Forlorn hope. [A.S. for-loren, lost utterly '.}
(Mil.) Formerly the officers and men who
volunteered to lead the way in some specially
dangerous assault ; a work now carried out by
those next for duty. {Hope, D. hoop, Ger.
haufen, Eng. heap, is body of men.} (Force
majeure; life Guards.)
Form [L. forma] ; Hemihedral F. ; Holohe-
dral F. Form, in Crystallog., consists of a face
and of the other faces which by the law of
symmetry must coexist with it ; the Holohedral
F. [Gr. o\os, whole, 'iSpa, seat, base} of a system
are such as possess the highest degree of sym-
metry ; the Hemihedral F, \TUU-, halj] are
obtained from the holohedral by the omission in
certain ways of half the faces.
Forma pauperis, In. [Leg. L.] In the charac-
ter of a destitute petitioner.
Formation. [L. formatio, -nem, a shaping.}
(Geol.) Strictly, subordinate to System, and =
special groups of strata.
Forme. [L. forma.] In Printing, the type
from which an impression is to be taken,
arranged and secured in a chase (q.v.).
Formic acid. An acid obtained originally
from red ants [L. formicse].
Formication. [L. formica, an ant.} A feel-
ing like that of ants creeping over any part.
Form-line. A line used in surveying to give
the outline of the shapes of hills, and to mark
the points where the changes in the slopes take
place.
Formula. [L.] In Math., a rule or theorem
expressed by means of algebraical symbols.
Formulary. [L. formula, forma, a form.}
(Eccl.) 1. Any book containing the ceremonies,
rites, or offices of the Church. 2. Any writing
containing an official oath.
Forsan et hsec olim meminisse juvabit. [L.]
Perhaps it will one day be a pleasure to remember
this too (Virgil).
Fortem posce animum. [L.] Pray for a
brave spirit (Juvenal).
Fortes creantur fortibus et bonis. [L.] The
brave spring from the brave and good (Horace).
Fort-major. (Mil.) Performs duties in a
garrison for the commandant, analogous to those
which an adjutant does in a regiment.
Fortunes iilius. [L.] A (favourite) child of
fortune.
Fortuna fortes adjuvat. [L.] Fortune helps
the brave (Terence).
Fortuna multis dat minium, nulli satis. [L.]
Fortune gives too much to many, enough to none.
Fortuna non mutat genus. [L.] Fortune does
not change the breed (Horace).
Fortunatus. Hero of a popular German story,
who had an inexhaustible purse, and a wishing-
cap which took the wearer instantly to any part
of the world ; these two miraculous possessions
proved F.'s ruin. (Hermes.)
Forty thieves. (Naut.) Forty line-of-battle
ships which were built at the beginning of the
century, and turned out badly.
Forum. [L.] In Rom. Ant., any open space
in front of buildings, especially before sepulchres.
There \\erefora for merchandise, as well as for
FOSS
217
FRAN
judicial and civil purposes. Especially the
large market-place at Rome, where courts of
justice were held, public speeches made, and
money transactions carried on.
Fosse. [Fr., from L. fossa, a ditch.] In
Fortif., the ancient term for ditch.
Fossil lightning. (Fulgurites.)
Fossils. [L. fossilis, dug up] A word now
applied to petrified organic remains, but formerly
these were termed "extraneous fossils," and
minerals were the real F.
Fossway. One of the great Roman roads,
from the south-west of Cornwall, by Tetbury,
Coventry, and Leicester, to Lincoln.
Fothering. (Naut.) Stopping a leak by pass-
ing a prepared sail over it ; i.q. Thrumming.
Fougass. [Fr. fougasse, L. focus, a fire-
place.] (Mil.) Small mine, not more than ten
feet underground, ignited from surface ; con-
taining merely a bursting charge, loaded shells,
or a heap of stones, to destroy a small work or
check an assault.
Foul anchor. (Naut.) An anchor is foul, or
fouled, (i) when it hooks anything under water,
as the cable of another vessel ; (2) when the slack
of the cable gets round its stock, or fluke. The
Admiralty badge is a F. A. of the second kind.
Foulard. [Fr.] A thin fabric of silk or silk-
cotton ; origin of the word unknown.
Foul berth. (Naut.) When two ships are so
anchored that they and their cables cannot swing
clear.
Foumart. (Polecat.)
Fount, Font. [Fr. fonte, from fondre, to cast.]
A complete set of printing types of one size.
Four-centred arch. (Arch.)
Fourchee. [Fr.] (Her.) Having the ends
forked or branched.
Four-course shift. (Rotation of crops.)
Fourierism. A system of socialism ; so called
from Charles Fourier, of Besa^on, its pro-
mulgator, who died in 1837.
Fowler's service. (Rowan.)
Fox. [Heb. shu'al.] (Bibl.) Includes the
jackal.
Foxing. 1. Turning sour ; said of beer. 2. Co-
vering boots, etc. , with new front upper-leather.
3. The appearance of spots upon paper.
Fox-tail. (Bot.) An important gen. of grasses,
of which Alopecurus pratensis, ord. Gramineas
[Gr. a\mr(Kovpos, from aAcSnT/l, a- fox, ovpd, a
tail], is one of the best for pastures and for
lawns.
Foyer. [Fr.] (Theatr.) The green-room.
[L.L. focarium, a fireplace] (i) A fireplace;
then (2) a home ; then (3) a particular room.
Foying. (Naut.) Going off to ships, with
provisions, or to aid them.
Foyst. (A'aut. ) O\dna.meforl?rig-antine(g.v.).
Fracas. [Fr. fracasser, to shatter, It. fracas-
sare.] Noisy interruption, quarrel in public,
disturbance.
Frache. In glassworks, a flat iron pan, in
which glass vessels are put, to be placed in the
oven.
Fracted. [L. fractus, broken] (Her.) Having
a part displaced, as if broken.
Fraction. [L. fractio, -nem, a breaking.] In
Arithmetic, one or more aliquot parts of unity.
A F. can be expressed only by two whole num-
bers, one to denote the parts into which the unit
is divided, and the other to show how many of
these parts are taken to form the F. The first
of these numbers is called the denominator, and
the second the numerator.
Fra Diavolo. [It., Brother Devil.] 1.
Michele Rezza (1740-1806), Calabrian bandit
and guerilla chief against the French. 2. Name
of a bandit in Auber's opera of that name.
Fradubio. [It. fra, between, dubbio, doubt]
In Spenser's Faery Queme, a type of the un-
decided in that day in the matter of Rome and
the Reformation.
Frail. [Norm, fraile.] A rush basket.
Fraise. [Fr., a fringe, from Sp. fresco.]
(Mil.) Pointed stake, a row of which, inclined
downwards, is placed along the upper edge of a
ditch, to increase difficulty of an assault.
Frame of a machine. The part which sup-
ports the moving pieces.
Franc. The French unit of money. It is a
coin made of nine parts of pure silver and one of
copper, and weighs five grammes; = lod., nearly.
Francesca of Rimini. One of the women
whose doom is related by Dante, in his Inferno.
Franciscans. One of the four mendicant
orders founded by St. Francis of Assisi, in 1209.
(Dominicans; Orders, Mendicant.)
Franconia. Name of a German province
before 1714, now almost included in N.W.
Bavaria.
Franc-tireur. [Fr., lit. free-shooter] Ir-
regular sharp-shooter, generally raised from
amongst the dependents of the French country
gentry during the late war with Germany ; a
revival of a kind of soldier common in the
Middle Ages.
Frangas non fiectes. [L.] You may break,
you will not bend (Juvenal).
Frangipanni. [It.] A scent, derived from a
W.- Indian flower.
Frank-aleu. In feudal language, land acknow-
ledging no superior ; hence not a tenure. (Allo-
dium.)
Frankalmoigne. [Norm. Fr.,/ra? alms.] A
gift of lands to those who were consecrated to
the service of God, upon the condition that
Masses and divine service be said for the grantor
and his heirs ; the only way, anciently, of alien-
ating without an heir's consent lands which had
come by descent ; and the tenure by which,
mostly, Church lands are held now by corpora-
tions sole or aggregate (q.v.).
Frankenstein. Mrs. Shelley's student, who
makes a soulless monster, endowed with a kind
of human life, but debarred by its hideousness
from sympathy. By a series of horrible crimes,
it inflicts a terrible vengeance on the author of
its wretched being.
Frank-fee. Freehold lands exempt from all
services except homage.
Frankfort black. A German pigment obtained
from calcined vine branches.
Frankincense. Exod. xxx. 34 ; a constituent
FRAN
218
FRES
of incense, the fragrant gum of three spec, of
Boswellia (see Speaker's Commentary, and
" Boswellia " in Eng. Cycl.}.
Frank letters, To. To send them free of
postage. Members of either House of Parlia-
ment could do this, by signing their names out-
side. In January, 1840, when the penny post
was introduced, the privilege was abolished.
Franklin. [O. E.] A bailiff or steward of an
estate.
Frank-marriage. (Leg.) A kind of tenure
by which tenements were held when given to a
man and his wife, she being daughter or cousin
to the donor, for them and the heirs of their
body, with no service except fealty.
Frankpledge. (Feud.} A surety given by a
lord for his tenants, or by a tything for its mem-
bers, making the lord or the tything responsible
for the were, or money payment of offences com-
mitted by those who might abscond. The
tythings, as thus pledged, were called Frith-
borhs, peace-boroughs. This word became cor-
rupted into Friborhs, and the Normans hence
invented the phrase Frankpledge. (Leet, Conrt.)
Franks. A Germanic confederacy of tribes,
freemen, who established themselves in and gave
the name to France.
Frank-tenement. (Leg.) A freehold estate
held under tenure of (l) knight-service, (2) of
free socage.
Frap. (Naut.) A boat for shipping salt
(Mayo, Cape de Verde). To F., to brace tightly
together. To F. a ship, to pass a large rope
round her four or five times, so as to strengthen
her ; also, to snap your fingers, and to beat
[Fr. frapper].
Frater consanguineus. [L.] A half-brother
by the father's side ; F. uterinus, by the mother's.
Fraticelli. [It-, brethren.} (Eccl. Hist.) A
Franciscan sect founded in Italy in the thirteenth
century. At the Reformation they embraced
the doctrines of Luther.
Frau. [Ger.] Wife, Mrs.
Fraulein. [Ger.] Young lady, Miss.
Fraunhofer's lines. First examined by F., of
Bavaria (died 1826). A great number of very
narrow dark lines crossing the solar spectrum at
right angles to its length. (Spectrum analysis.)
Fraxinella. (Dittany.)
Fray. [Fr. effrayer, L. exfrigidare.] Deut.
xxviii. 26 ; to affray, scare.
Freebench. (Leg.) Dower of a widow out
of copyholds, to which the custom of some
manors entitles her ; generally a third for life.
The right does not attach till the husband's
decease, while the right to dower attaches at
marriage.
Free-board. (A T aitt.) A ship's side from the
water-line to the gunwale.
Free-borough, men. (Leg. ) The great men,
who were exempt from frankpledge.
Free cities, German. Hamburg, Bremen,
Lubeck, Franfort-on-the-Maine; sovereign mem-
bers of the German confederation.
Freedmen. In Gr. and Rom. Hist., persons
set free from slavery. (Libertines.)
Freehold. (Leg.) 1. Tenure in free socage,
originally feudal, now the only free lay mode of
holding property, only the honorary services
of grand serjeanty being retained after the Re-
storation. 2. An estate in real property held in
fee simple, fee tail, or for life.
Free imperial cities. In Europ. Hist.,
cities which acknowledged no head but the
emperor, and were thus virtually independent.
Some of these cities formed themselves into
leagues. (Hanseatio League.)
Free lance. An independent person ; metaph.
from the mercenaries of the Middle Ages, who
offered their services to any side.
Freeman. (Leg.) 1. One born or made free
of certain municipal privileges and immunities.
2. One having a franchise. 3. An allodial pro-
prietor.
Free-martin. A cow-calf, twin with a bull.
Freemason. Properly a guild or fraternity of
builders, the word being not improbably a con-
traction for "freestone" mason. In the Middle
Ages this guild was especially patronized by the
see of Rome ; and to this fraternity we owe
probably the stately magnificence of our great
churches and cathedrals. In Scotland the Abbey
of Kilwinning was built by the freemasons in
the thirteenth century ; and the Kilwinning and
York lodges are the most ancient in Scotland
and England. A severe Act was passed against
the association by the Parliament of 1425, but
it seems to have remained inoperative ; and
Henry VII. was succeeded by Cardinal Wolsey
as Grand Master of the order. The first grand
lodge in London was formed in 1717; the first
French lodge, in 1725 ; the first American, in
1730; the first German, in 1735.
Free ship. (Naut.) A pirate, in which all
share plunder equally.
Free socage. (Leg.) Plough-service, a free
tenure of property originally distinct from the
military tenures of knight-service or tenure in
chivalry, grand serjeanty, and cornage ; and
comprising petty serjeanty, tenure in burgage,
and gavelkind.
Free- warren. (Leg.) Royal franchise granted
for the care of beasts and fowls of warren.
Freezing point. (Thermometer.)
Freight. [Ger. fracht.] 1. The sum paid for
the use of a vessel, or carrying of goods. 2. The
load itself.
Fremden-blatt. [Ger.] List of visitors.
French-berries. Buckthorn berries, which
give a green or purple dye.
French-chalk. A kind of hardened talc, used
for drawing lines on cloth, etc.
French white. Pulverized talc.
Fresco. [It., fresh, L. frigidus.] Painting
on fresh plaster with water-colours.
Freshen, To. (A T aut.) To move anything so
as to lessen the strain, to relieve a certain part
or to give it a different effect ; as to F. a hawse,
to F. ballast.
Freshet. [From fresh.} A river swollen by
rain and rushing to the sea with a current wider
and more rapid than usual.
Freshman. ( Univ. ) An undergraduate
student in his first year of residence.
FRET
219
FRIU
Fret. 1. (Arch.) An ornament consisting
of small fillets cutting each other at right angles.
2. (Her.) An ordinary consisting of two
diagonal bands, called laths, interlaced with a
mascle. An escutcheon cross-barred with many
interlacing laths is called Pretty.
Frets. [Fr. ferrette, an iron clamp.} (Music.)
Small projections across the finger-board of
guitars, etc. ; by pressure of the finger upon
them the vibrating length, and therefore the
pitch, is regulated.
Fretwork. In woodwork, a pattern sawn out.
Freya. (Thor.)
Friar. [Fr. frere, L. frater, brother.} A
general name for the members of any religious
order, but applied especially to the mendicants.
(Orders, Mendicant.)
Friborough, Frithburgh. (Frankpledge.)
Fricandeau. [Fr.] A ragout or fricassee of veal.
Fricative. [From L. fricatus, a rubbing.}
(Lang.) A continuous consonant, for which
the articulating organs are approximated during
emission of breath just before the separation
which completes the consonantal articulation.
In English the principal fricatives are sh, zh (s
in pleasure), y, r, I, n, th, s, z, f, v, w, in.
Friction [L. frictio, -nem, for fricatiS, -nem,
a rubbing] Angle of F. ; F. brake ; Coefficient
of F. ; F. cones ; F. coupling ; F. rollers ; Roll-
ing F. ; F. wheels. Friction is the tangential
resistance offered by one body to the sliding
of another body over it. Coefficient of F.,
"the ratio of the tangential resistance to the
normal reaction of a body against another body
which is sliding, or on the point of sliding over
it. Angle of F., an angle so taken that its
(trigonometric) tangent equals the coefficient of
friction. Rolling F., the resistance offered by
one body to the rolling of another over it, due
to the mutual compression at the point of con-
tact. F. coupling, a mode of connecting two
pieces by their friction when liable to sudden
changes of force or velocity ; e.g. by a turn of
a screw a number of metal plates carried by
one piece may be pressed against a number of
wooden plates, and then the connexion between
the pieces is established by a force equal to the
friction multiplied by the number of contacts
between the plates ; another kind is a pair of
F. cones, viz. a solid cone on one shaft fitting
into a hollow cone on the other. F. rollers are
placed under a heavy body that is to be moved
forward, so as to substitute rolling friction for
the much, greater resistance of ordinary friction.
For a like reason an axle is sometimes placed
in the angle between each of two pairs of F.
wheels instead of being placed on two fixed
supports. (For/'', brake, vide Brake. )
Friends, Society of. More generally known
as Quakers (q.v.).
Friends of God. (Hist.) A secret brother-
hood, not organized, formed in the fourteenth
century, by certain who held that union with
God was not to be limited by the observance of
particular ordinances. Milman, Hist, of Latin
Christianity, bk. xiv. ch. 7. (Quakers.)
Frieze. 1. (Arch.) (Order.) 2. Coarse
woollen cloth, with a nap on one side ; perhaps
originally = cloth of Friesland.
Frigate. [Sp. fregfita, a word of uncertain
origin.] In the Navy, ranks after a line-of-
battle ship. Formerly built for swift sailing, and
carrying from twenty-eight tosixty guns. F. -built,
with raised quarter-deck, and forecastle. Vessels
having a flush-deck are galley-built.
Frigate-bird. (Omith.) Frcgetta, gen. and
spec, of birds ; adult male about three feet long
and eight across ; black with red pouch. Tro-
pical seas. Fam. Pelecanidte, ord. Anseres.
Frigatoon. (Naitt.) 1. A square-slerned
Venetian vessel with only main and jigger
masts, and a bowsprit. 2. A sloop of war,
ship-rigged.
Frigidarium. [L.] The cooling-room in a
Roman bath.
Friling, Freoling. A freeman born.
Frimaire. [Fr. frimas, hoar-frost.'} Third
month of the first French Republican calendar,
from November 21 to December 20.
Fringes of shadows. (Diffraction of light.)
Fringillidae. [L. fringilla, finch.} (Ornith.)
Finches, an extensive fain, of small, short-billed
birds, ord. Passeres. Some authorities class the
Emberizidre [Ger. ammer, emberiu], buntings,
among them ; others exclude the Australian
finches, so called.
Friponnerie. [Fr. fripon, a gourmand, then
a cheating trickster ; friper, to rumple, to gulp
down.} Rascality, trickery.
Frisian. Of Friesland, north of Nether-
lands. F. dialects are Low German.
Frisket. [Fr. frisquette.] 1. A light iron
frame which turns down over the sheet to be
printed, to hold it firm and keep the margin
clean and fresh [Fr. frisque (Littre)]. 2. The
paper with which wood-engravers, when taking
a proof of their work, cover that portion of the
woodcut which is not cut away, but which forms
no part of the engraving.
Frit. [Fr. fritte, It. fritta, fried.} 1. Semi-
vitrified earthenware, often pounded and used
for glaze. 2. The material for glass, after cal-
cination, but before fusion.
Frith-. [A.S. frithn, O.H.G. fridn, Ger.
friede.] Peace. (Frankpledge.)
Frith gilds, i.e. Peace clubs. Voluntary asso-
ciations of neighbours for purposes of order and
self-defence, general throughout Europe in the
ninth and tenth centuries ; on the Continent
roughly met and suppressed ; in England recog-
nized, as aiding social order. Green's Hist, of
English People, p. 191.
Frithman. Member of an association for the
keeping of the peace.
Frithsoke, Frithsoken. [A.S.] (Leg.) The
right of liberty of frankpledge.
Fritillary. [L. fritillus, dice-box.} (Bot.)
Snake's-head, Fritillaria meleagris, ord. Lilia-
cex ; a native 'bulbous plant, with chequered
tulip-shaped flower ; in meadows and pastures,
throughout Europe.
Friuli, corr. of FSrum Julii. Not marked in
modern maps, once capital of Venetia ; after-
wards a Lombardic duchy ; ceded at the fall of
FROG
220
FULL
Venice (1797) to Austria; in extent = modern
province of Udine.
Frog. 1. [Possibly a corr. of fork, which it
resembles in shape (Skeat) ; but the Greeks
also called it fidrpaxos, frog.} Projection in
the hollow part of a horse's hoof. 2. Strip of
leather attached to the waist-belt for carrying
the sword or bayonet. 3. Loops of braid which
hang from the undress coats of some officers.
Froglanders. (Naut.) Dutchmen.
Froissart, Chronicle of, i.e. by Sire Jean
Froissart A very valuable, abundant, and
lively record of contemporary character and
manners, from 1326 to 1400, i.e. about = reigns
of Edward III. and Richard I[. ; the greater
part derived from his own life at the courts of
Edward and Philippa, of David Bruce, with
the Black Prince in Aquitaine, with the Duke
of Clarence in Italy and Amadeus of Savoy
(Chaucer and Petrarch being his companions),
with the Duke of Brabant, Count of Blois, and
Richard II. It is written in Anglo-Norman
French.
Frond. [L. frons, frond, -em, a lea/.] (Bot.)
A combination of leaf and stem, as in many
algae and livenvorts ; also applied to ferns.
Fronde, War of the. [Fr. fronde, a sling.}
In Fr. Hist., the war waged by the partisans
of the Parliament against the government of
Cardinal Mazarin in the reign of Louis XIV.
Frondeurs. [Fr.] The supporters of the
Parliament in the war of the Fronde.
Fronti nulla fides. [L.] ( There is) no trust-
worthiness in outwatfl features (lit. brow)
(Juvenal).
Front of fortification. The part constructed
on one side of a polygon, consisting of the face
and inner flanks of two collateral bastions with
their connecting curtain.
Frou-frou. [Fr.] A rustling ; as of leaves,
of silk, etc. ; onomatop.
Fructidor. [Fr., a mongrel word, from L.
fructus, />#, and seemingly Gr. Scapov, a gift.]
The twelfth month in the French Republican
calendar, August 18 to September 16.
Fructification. In Bot., the parts of the
flower ; or the fruit and its parts.
Fructuary. [L. fructuarius, productive, enjoy-
ing usufruct, from fructus, fruit, enjoyment}
(Leg.) One who has use of the produce of pro-
perty, one who enjoys the usufruct.
Fruit. [L. fructus.] That part of a plant
which consists of the ripened carpels and the
parts adhering to them.
Frumenty. [L. frumentum, wheat.] Food
made of wheat boiled in milk and sweetened
and spiced.
Frump, To, = to mock ; to insult. A very
old word, occurring in the dictionaries of Cot-
grave and Minshew. "I was abas'd and
frumped, sir " (Beaumont and Fletcher). This
old word, though long out of use in England,
still lingers among the descendants of the first
settlers in New England. Bartlett's American-
isms.
Frustum. [L., a piece, bit.] The portion of a
solid in most cases of a pyramid or cone
which is left when the top is cut off by a plane
section.
Fucites, Fucoids. [L. fucus, rock-lichen,
wrongly translated seaweed.} (Geol.) Seaweed-
like impressions, occurring in many strata ;
often due to tracks and burrowings of worms
and small crustaceans.
Fucivorous. [L. fucus, or rather Gr. tyvnos,
seaweed, voro, / devour.] Eating seaweed.
Sheep in Iceland are F.
Fud. Woollen waste.
Fuer. [L. fugere, to flee.} (Leg.) Flight ;
fuer in fait, actual flight ; fuer in ley, non-ap-
pearance when called in a county court.
Fueros. [Sp.] (Hist.) The name given to
the rights and privileges of certain Spanish sub-
jects. It corresponds to the O. Fr. for or fors,
and may come from the L. forum, or from Sp.
fuera, without. These privileges especially dis-
tinguish the Basque provinces.
Fu-fu. (Naut.) Barley and treacle made
into a kind of pudding.
Fugitation. [From L. fiigito, I flee, freq. of
fugio, I flee.] In Scot. Law, sentence of forfei-
ture of goods pronounced against one who does
not obey a citation to answer a charge in court.
Fugit hora. [L.] Time is flying.
Fiigit irrevocable tempus. [L.] Time is
flying, not to be recalled (Virgil).
Fugleman. [Ger. flligelmann, from fliigel, a
wing.} (Mil.) 1. Specially well-drilled soldier
posted in front of a battalion to give the time to
the others in performing the musket exercises.
2. Leader, guide, director in general.
Fugue. [Fr., L. fuga, a flying.] (Music.) A
contrapuntal composition, not easily defined.
The parts, not beginning at once, follow or
pursue one another at intervals. A short theme
or melody generally begins ; then follows the
answer, i.e. the same theme a fifth higher or a
fourth lower. The third part gives the original
subject in the principal key but an octave higher
or lower, and is also followed by its answer.
The themes are treated with freedom and variety,
and recur at diminished intervals of time.
Fuit Ilium. [L.] Troy has been, t.e. ceased
to be.
Fulcrum. (Lever.)
Fulguration. [L. fulgiiratio, -nem, from fulgur,
lightning.'} The sudden brightening of a metal
in assaying as the last impurity is driven off.
Fulgurites. [L. fulgur, lightning.} Vitrified
sand-tubes, mostly vertical, twenty feet or more
in depth, produced by lightning through sand ;
called sometimes Fossil lightning.
Full and by. (Naut.} Sailing as near as pos-
sible to the wind without letting the sails shake.
Full-bottomed. (Naut. ) A ship designed to
carry a large cargo.
Full due. (Naut.) 1. For good, for ever,
complete. 2. As an order, = belay.
Fuller's earth. A compact, friable, unctuous
clay, not plastic, falling to pieces in water ; often
greenish ; absorbing grease, and once much used
in fulling. In Oolite (Somerset) and Cretaceous
and Neocomian systems (Surrey).
Fuller's Worthies of England and Wales.
FULL
221
FUTII
Biographical notices of eminent Englishmen, an
abundant treasure of curious stories and observa-
tions, by Thomas Fuller, a royalist clergyman,
and "a wise and learned humourist" (1608-
1661).
Fulling. [L. fullo, a fuller.] In Manuf.,
scouring, cleansing, and thickening cloth by
beating it with hammers in a mill.
Full man. (A T aut.) In coasting vessels, i.q.
A.B. (q.v.}.
Fulmar. (Ornith.) A gen. of birds, fam.
Procellariidae (petrel kind), ord. Anseres. A
spec, supplying food and oil inhabits St. Kilda,
Hebrides ; it is about twenty inches long ;
plumage grey above, white below, white head
and neck.
Fulminating [L. fulmmare, fulminatum, to
lighten] gold, silver, mercury. Explosive com-
pounds formed of the oxides of these metals
combined with ammonia or nitrogen.
Fumage. [L. fumus, smoke.] A chimney
tax or hearth money ; abolished in the reign of
William III.
Fumarole. [It., from L. fumare, to smoke.]
An opening in a volcanic region, from which
steam and gaseous vapours escape.
Fumitory, Common. (Bot.) A wild plant,
Fumaria officinalis, ord. Fumariacese, exhaling
an unpleasant smell like smoke [L. fumus].
Funambulist. [L. funambulus, rope-dancer,
from funis, rope, ambulo, / walk.] A rope-
dancer, a performer on the rope.
Fund, Sinking. (Sinking fund.)
Fundamental laws. (Organic laws.)
Funds. [L. fundus, bottom, depth.] Origin-
ally the taxes or funds appropriated for the dis-
charge of the principle of Government loans
upon terminable annuities ; now the various
stocks constituting the public debt, of which far
the largest part consists of three per cent. Con-
sols, i.e. Consolidated annuities, formed from the
throwing together of several separate stocks
(1751).
Fungibiles res. [Leg. L.] Movable goods
which can be replaced so that the difference
could not be distinguished, they being estimated
by weight, number, or measure.
Funicular polygon. [L. funiciilus, a slender
rope.] The form assumed by a thread supported
at both ends when weights are fastened to dif-
ferent points of it.
Funiculus. [L., a little cord.] (Bot.) The
stalk by which some seeds are attached to the
placenta.
Funny. (JVaut. ) A long, narrow, clinker-
built boat, propelled by one sculler only.
Funny-bone. Not a bone at all ; popular name
for the sensation produced by pressing on the
ulnar nerve as it passes between the inner con-
dyle of the humerus and the olecranon process
of the ulna.
Furbelow. [Fr. falballa, a word traced to the
time of Louis XIV., of unknown origin; ac-
cording to Menage, a word invented in a joke
(see Littre, s.v.).] A flounce, a plait, on any part
of a dress.
Furcam et flagellum, Per. [Leg. L., by gal-
lows and whip.] The lowest servile tenure,
when the lord had power of life and limb over
the bondman.
Furcifer. [L.] Among the Romans, one
who had to bear the fuira, a two-pronged in-
strument in shape like the letter V, for carrying
burdens. Hence any low rascal or scoundrel.
Furies. (Erinyes ; Eumenides.)
Furlong. [Corr. of furrow-long] The eighth
part of a mile, or 220 yards.
Furlough. [D. verlof, have.] (Mil.} Leave
of absence granted to a non-commissioned officer
or soldier.
Furniture. [Fr. fourniture.] 1. In Printing,
wood or metal pieces to place around the type
in "locking up," i.e. tightening in the chase,
or iron frame, the types when ready for printing.
2. (A T aut.) The rigging, sails, spars, etc., pro-
visions, and every article with which a ship is
fitted, including boats.
Furor arma ministrat. [L.] Rage supplies
weapons (Virgil).
Fuse. [Fr. fusee, originally a spindlfful of
thread, L. fiisata, and so any pipe-shaped
hollow.] (Mil.) Funnel-shaped tube of beech
wood rilled with a composition of gunpowder,
fixed into the side of a shell for the purpose of
causing it to explode at a regulated time after
leaving the gun.
Fusee. [Fr. fusee, a spindhful Q{ thread, L.
fusata.] Of a watch, the conical wheel round
which the chain passes in a spiral groove to the
barrel containing the mainspring. It is designed
to equalize the action of the mainspring by
enabling it to act at a greater leverage as its
force is diminished by its gradual unwinding.
Fusel. [Ger. fusel, bad liquor.'] A poisonous
alcohol found in new spirits.
Fusible metal. An alloy of one part of bis-
muth, one of lead, two of tin. It melts at a heat
below the boiling point of water.
Fusiform. (Bot.) Of the shape of a spindle
[L. fusus], thickest in the middle and tapering
upwards and downwards, as the root of a radish.
Fusil. (Her.) An ordinary shaped like a
spindle [L. fusus] or elongated lozenge.
Fusil. [Fr. fusil, hammer of a gun.'] (Mil.)
Short musket formerly carried by sergeants and
certain regiments called Fusiliers.
Fust. (Naut.) A low, roomy, armed vessel,
fitted with sails and oars, used as a tender to
galleys. Also a scampavia (q.v.), barge, or
pinnace.
Fustet. [Fr., dim. of O.Fr. fust, fur, forest
wood, L. fustis, a long piece of wood. ] The wood
of a shrub (Sumach) of S. Europe, which yields
a fine orange colour.
Fustian. [O.Fr. fustaine, from Fostat, i.e.
Cairo, where it was made.] A kind of coarse
twilled cotton stuff, including corduroy, vel-
veteen, etc.
Fustic. [Fr. fustoc and -tok.] A W.-Indian
wood used in dyeing yellow. Young fustic is
another name for Fustet.
Futhorc. Ancient Runic alphabet ; its first
six letters are /, H, th, o, r, c. Isaac Taylor,
Greeks and Goths.
FUTT
GALE
Futtocks, or Foot-hooks. (Naut.) The pieces
of timber composing a ship's frame. There are
four or five in each rib. Those next the keel
are Ground F., or navel- timbers, the others
Upper F.
Futurition. [Fr.] Future state.
Fyrd, Fyrdung. The militia. (Trinoda ne-
cessitas.)
Fyrdwite. (Leg.) Fine for neglecting to join
the fyrd.
G. Was used by the Romans as an abbrev. for
Gens. G.L. stood for Genius loci, and G.P.R.
for Gloria populi Romani. As a numeral, it
denoted 400.
Gabardine, Gaberdine. [It. gavardina, a word
of Celt, origin.] A coarse frock, a smock. (The
O.Fr. galleverdine, galvardine, suggest farthin-
gale, q.v.)
Gabarre. (Naut.) French store-ship ; formerly
a lighter.
Gabart, Gabbert, or Gabert. (Naut.) A kind
of lighter on Scotch rivers and canals.
Gabel. [A.S. gafel, perhaps from gifan, to
give.] Any impost or tax. In France the gabelle,
when used by itself, came to denote especially
the duties on salt ; otherwise it was spoken of as
the Gabelle de vins, de drape, etc. (Gavel.)
Gabelle. (Gabel.)
Gabion. [Fr., from It. gabbione, and this
from gabbia, cage.} (Fortif.) Strong cylindrical
basket without top or bottom, three feet high by
two feet in diameter. Gabions are filled with
earth, and used for supporting earthworks in a
steep position.
Gable, or Gabulle. (Naut.) Old name for a
cable.
Gad. [O.Fr. gad, goad or sting.} A pointed
wedge used by miners.
Gad-fly. [O.E. gad, a point, a goad.}
(Breeze-fly.)
Gadhelic. (Lang.) Keltic languages are di-
vided into Cymric and G., which latter includes
Erse, Gaelic, and Manx. (Keltic languages.)
Gad-yang. (Naut.) Cochin-China coaster.
Gaelic (Gaidheal, Gael). The dialect of the
Scotch Highlands, a branch of the Gadhelic divi-
sion of Celtic (Keltic). (Erse.)
Gaff. [Ir. gaf, Welsh caff, a hook, grapple.}
(Naut. ) The spar which extends the upper end
of fore-and-aft sails, other than stay and sprit
sails. The end next the mast is the jaw, the other
end the peak. The jaiv is semicircular and fits
on the mast, to which it is secured by the jaw-
rope, which has wooden balls, called trucks,
strung on it to lessen the friction.
Gaffer. [A corn of gramfer, as gammer is of
grammer, the west of England forms of grand-
father and grandmother (Halliwell, quoted by
Skeat).] Old fellow, once a title of respect.
Gaffoldgild. (Leg.) Payment of custom or
tribute (gafol). (Gavel.)
Gaffoldland, Gafol-land. Property subject to
Gaffoldgild.
Gafol. (Gavel.)
Gage. [O.Fr. ganger.] (Naut.) The depth
to which a ship lies in the water. A ship to
windward of another has the Weather- G., to lee-
ward the Lee-G., of her.
Gage. [Fr. gage, L.L. gadium, vadium, from
Teut. vadi, akin to L. vas, gen. vadis, surety ;
cf. Ger. wette, bet, A. S. wedd, pledge, from root
vadh, carry home ; cf. Skt. vadhu, youjig wife.}
Pledge. Estates in G. are held in vivum vadium,
vifgage (q.v.), or mortuum vadium, mortage
(q.v.).
Gage d' amour. \r., pledge of love.'} Love-
token.
Gaillardise. [Fr.] Excessive merriment ; in
the plu., indecent jokes, from Fr. gaillard,
sprightly; cf. Cymr. gall, strength, Gael, galach,
courage.
Gained day. (Naut.) In the navy, when the
globe is circumnavigated to the eastward (by
which a day and night are gained) pay is given
for that day.
Gain the wind, To. (Naut. ) To get to wind-
ward of another vessel when both are going to
windward.
Gair-fowl. [Celt, gairan, to call.} (Ornith.)
The great auk. (Alca ; Auk.)
Galactometer, Lactometer. [Gr. yd\a, yd-
\a,KTos, milk.} An instrument for testing the
specific gravity of milk.
Galahad, Sir. The pure knight of King
Arthur's Round Table, who found the Holy
Grail. (Sangreal.)
Galanga. [Ar. khalaudjau.] An aromatic
root from India or China, used as a spice.
Galatea. (Nereids.)
Galaxy. [Gr. yaXa^ias, from yd\a, milk.} The
Milky Way, a faintly luminous belt surrounding
the heavens, which is found on telescopic exa-
mination to consist of stars scattered by millions
on the black ground of the heavens. Its general
direction is that of a great circle whose northern
pole is in R. A. 12 hrs. 47 mins. and N.P. D. 65.
Galbanum. [Heb. helbenah, Gr. x a ^^- vr l-]
Exod. xxx. 34 ; the gum-resin yielded by two or
more spec, of Ferula, ord. Umbelliferae, from
which was obtained one of the ingredients of the
" holy perfume."
Gaibulus. [L., a cypress cone} (Sot.) Any
small cone with scales all consolidated into a
fleshy ball ; as juniper.
Gale. (Leg.) Periodical payment of rent.
(Gavel.)
Galena. [L., lead ore, Gr. yax-hvi).} Native
sulphide of lead ; the most abundant and pro-
ductive of lead ores.
Galenic. Relating to the doctrines or methods
GALE
223
GALL
of Galenus, physician at the court of Rome. He
died circ. A.D. 200.
Galenists. 1. (Eccl. Hist.} A subdivision of
the Waterlandians. 2. (Med.} The followers
of Galen, a physician of the second century, and
opposed to the alchemists. (Alchemy.)
Galenites. (Mennonites.)
Gale of wind. (Naut.) Hard or Strong G.,
number 10 in the scale of wind-force. Stiff G.,
not so strong. Fresh G., still less strong, one in
which reefed topsails may be carried, when on a
wind. Top-gallant G., when not too strong to
allow these sails. to be carried. Gentle G., when
royals and flying-kites may be carried ; number
of force, 4. To gale away, i. q. to go free.
Galeopithecus. [Gr. ya\ft), weasel, irifh)Kos,
ape.] (Zoo/.) Flying lemur (so called). Fore
and hind legs and tail connected by skin ex-
tension. . It is doubtful whether it should be
placed in fam. Lemiiroidea, ord. Primates, or
at head of ord. Insectivora, though a vegetable
feeder. They are nocturnal and arboreal, and
sleep hanging by their tails. One spec. , Malacca,
Sumatra, Borneo ; another, Philippines.
Galere. [Fr., a galley.] 1. Vogue la G., = come
what will ; lit. let the galley or penal-ship row,
as the consequence. 2. Que diable allait-il faire
dans cette G. ? What business had he to get into that
mess ? from Moliere's Fourberies de Scapin ; the
reiterated question of Geronte, when S. tells him
the trumped-up story that his son Leandre has
been enticed on board a Turkish galley, and will
be carried as a slave to Algiers, unless a ransom
of 500 crowns is paid within two hours.
Galette. [Fr. galet, O.Fr. gal, a pebble.}
French pastry, biscuit.
Galilee. The cathedrals of Durham, Lincoln,
and Ely have appendages called by this name ;
but beyond their name these buildings have little
in common. These Galilees, which may have
had some connexion with discipline, were all
built in the latter part of the twelfth and the
early part of the thirteenth centuries.
Galimatias. [Fr., (?) L.L. ballimatia, cymbals ;
but see Littre (s.v. ).] A confused mixture (of
language), gibberish, utter nonsense.
Galipot. [Fr. ; origin of the word unknown.]
A white resin from pine or fir trees.
Galium. (Bedstraw.)
Gall. 1. [L. galla, an oak-apple, gall-nut '.]
A vegetable excrescence on the oak. 2. [A.S.
gealla, L. fel, Gr. x*4] Bile.
Galleon, or Galion. [L.L. galea, a gallery.]
(Naut.) Formerly a war-ship, with three or
four batteries ; now the largest Spanish ships
trading to the W. Indies and Vera Cruz. Portu-
guese vessels trading to India resemble these,
and are called Caragues. The Carracks were
jjal Icons fitted for fighting as well as commerce ;
they had great depth, and were chiefly Spanish
and Portuguese.
Galleot, or Galliot. (Naut.) 1. A small
(Galleon) galley, carrying one mast and from
sixteen to twenty oars. All the men carried
muskets, as she was designed for chasing only.
2. A Dutch or Flemish trader, having a main-
mast carrying a square mainsail and a mizzen-
mast far aft, very round in the ribs, and nearly
flat-bottomed. 3. A bomb-ketch. (Ketch.)
Gallery. [Fr. galerie, from It. galena.] 1.
(Mil.) Underground passage of a mine leading
from the entrance to the Chamber. 2, (A 7 aut.)
A balcony projecting over the stern, from the
admiral's or captain's cabin, and extending the
breadth of the vessel. Qitartcr-G., in large ships,
a kind of balcony with windows, on the quarters.
Galley. (Galleon.) (Naut.) 1. A low vessel,
with one deck, propelled by sails and oars.
2. An open rowing-boat of the Thames, pulling
six or eight oars ; used by the Thames police,
etc. 3. A clinker-built, fast-rowing man-of-war's
boat, larger than a gig, and appropriated to the
captain. 4. A ship's kitchen. 5. In Printing,
a ledged board which receives the types from
the composing-stick.
Galley-nose, etc. (A- ant.) The figure-head.
Galley-packets, unauthenticated news. Galley-
pepper, soot or ashes in food. Galley-stoker, an
idle skulker.
Galli. (Cybele. )
Galliard. [Fr.] (Gaillardise.) One full of
animal spirits.
Galliard, Gaillard. [Fr., a jovial fellow
(Gaillardise).] An ancient dance in J time, by
one couple only ; the origin of the minuet, but
more lively.
Gallias,'or Galeas. (Naut.) A heavy, low
trading-vessel.
Gallic acid. An acid obtained from gall.
Gallican Church. The distinctive title of the
Church in France, which maintains a certain de-
gree of independence in respect of the Roman
see. The liberties of this Church, first asserted
in the Pragmatic Sanction of 1438, were defined
and confirmed by the Propositions of the Galli-
can Clergy, promulgated in 1082. The Gallican
Church suffered a very severe defeat in the early
part of the French Revolution, when its leaders
sided to a considerable extent with the party of
progress, and accepted the " civil constitution "
of the clergy. The Concordat made by Napoleon
with Rome had no tendency to reconstitute the
Gallican Church as it had stood in the eyes of
the famous Bossuet, who drew up the Declaration
of 1682. Since the time of the Concordat with
Bonaparte, the influence of the Ultramontane
party seems to have increased steadily.
Gallican Liturgy. (Liturgy.)
Gallicism. [From Galli, ancient Celtic in-
habitants of France and N. Italy.] A French
idiom or mode of expression.
Galligaskins. Large open hose, worn origin-
ally by seafaring Gascons. Wedgwood regards
the word as a corr. of Greguesques, a Greekish
kind of breeches, worn at Venice.
Gallimatias. (Galimatias.)
Gallimaufry. [Fr. galimafre'e ; origin un-
known.] 1. A hash of various meats. 2. A
ridiculous medley. (Farrago; Olla podrida.)
Gallmae, Gallinaceous birds. [L. galllna, a
hen.] Poultry and game birds (except bustard,
woodcock, and snipe), sometimes called Rasdres
[L., scrapers] from their scratching habits, and
made to include Columbidae.
GALL
224
GANG
Galllvats. (Naut.) Armed Indian row-boats,
generally from fifty to seventy tons.
Gallon. [A word of unknown origin.] A
measure of capacity. The English imperial
gallon is the volume of ten pounds of distilled
water weighed in air at temperature 62 Fahr.,
the barometer standing at 30 inches ; it con-
tains 277*274 cubic inches (or 277-27 cubic
inches). The old wine G., fixed by 5 Queen
Anne, contained 231 cubic inches; the old ale
G., 282 cubic inches; the old com G., 268 '8
cubic inches, which was in fact the Winchester
G. as fixed by I William and Mary ; there
was also an old wine G. containing 224 cubic
inches.
Galloon. [Fr. galon, from galonner, to lace
with gold, silver, silk, etc.] 1. A kind of orna-
mental ribbon, usually interwoven with gold or
silver threads. 2. Cotton or silk tape for bind-
ing hats, etc.
Galloway. 1. A S. -Scottish full-sized pony,
a clever hack generally, with some Eastern
blood ; seldom above fourteen hands. The
breed lost, and the term obsolete. 2. Applied
also to a breed of cattle ; large and black.
Gallows. [A.S. galgo.] (Naut.) Cross-pieces
(for stowing booms, etc.) on the bitts by the
main and fore hatchway. Called also Gallowses,
G.-bitts, G. -stanchions, and G.-tops.
Galoche. [Fr., L. calopedia, in mediaeval
writers, a -wooden shoe, Gr. Ka\oir68iov (Brachet).]
An overshoe, galoshe.
Galore. [Erse gu leor, enough.] In plenty,
in abundance. An old word, found in Irish
ballads ; now obsolescent.
Galvanism. (From Galvani, the discoverer.)
Electricity developed by chemical action between
different substances without friction.
Galvanized iron. Iron coated with zinc. The
best sort receives first a thin coat of tin by gal-
vanic action.
Gamba. [It., leg, shank.} (Music.) 1. Viol di
G., an old instrument, a sort of viol, smaller than
the violoncello, six-stringed, held between the
knees. 2. An organ stop, somewhat like a
violoncello.
Gambe. [O.Fr. gambe, now jambe ; cf. Gr.
KOJUTTT), a bending.} (Her.) A leg.
Gambeson [etym. uncertain], or Wambeys.
Quilted tunic, stuffed with wool, worn under a
shirt of mail.
Gambet. [It. gambetta, dim. of gamba,
shank.} (Ornith.) Red-shank, with imperfect
plumage. Totanus calldris, fam. Scolopacidse,
ord. Grallse.
Gambler. (Native name.) An astringent ex-
tract from a Malayan plant used in tanning.
Gambit. [Fr. gambit, from It. gambetto =
croc-en-jambe, lit. a mean trick (Littre).] In
chess, an offered and accepted sacrifice in open-
ing a game, to give the first player a good
position.
^ Gamboge. A yellow gum-resin, from Cam-
bodia, in India, used as a pigment.
Gambrel. [O.Fr. gambe, for jambe, legs.} A
crooked stick, used by butchers for suspending
slaughtered animals.
Gambroon. [Sp. gambron.] A twill linen
cloth for lining.
Game. [A.S. gamen, gomen, sport, O.H.G.
and O.N. gaman, joke.} In England (i and
2 William IV., c. 32), includes "hares, phea-
sants, partridges, grouse, heath or moor game,
black-game, and bustards;" and (25 and 26 Viet.,
c. 114) also "the eggs of game, woodcocks,
snipes, rabbits." In Scotland, G. is not so
clearly defined ; but the difference is trifling,
mainly of importance in dealing with each sepa-
rate Act. In Ireland, G. includes " deer, hares,
pheasants, partridges, grouse, landrails, quails,
moor-game, heath-game, wild turkeys, or bus-
tards." Stonehenge's Brit. Rural Sports.
-gamia. (Bot.) (Cryptogams; Polygamia.)
Gamin. [Fr. ; etym. unknown.] A street
Arab, urchin.
Gammarma. [L. gammarus = cammarus,
Gr. Kafj.fj.apos, a crab or shrimp.} (Zool.) Small
crustaceans, as the sand-hopper (Talitrus locusta)
and fresh-water shrimp (Gammarus pfuex).
Gammer. [For etym., vide Gaffer.] Old
woman, once a title of respect.
Gammer Gorton's Needle. A comedy of rustic
life, the earliest English comedy, probably, but
one ; circ. 1565 ; (?) by J. Still, afterwards
Bishop of Bath and Wells. Humorous, but some-
what coarse (see Shaw's Student's Eng. Lit.).
Gammon, To. [O. Fr. gambon, from gambe, a
leg.} (Naut.) To pass a lashing over the bow-
sprit, and through a hole in the cut-water in a
peculiar manner, so as better to support the
foremast stays.
Gamp, Mrs. Sarah. A vile nurse in Dickens's
Martin Chuzzleunt.
Gamut, Gammut. [O.Fr. gamme.] (Music.)
The series of seven sounds which constitute the
musical scale, said to be from " gamma "(y,
third letter of the Greek alphabet), which desig-
nated the first of the parallel lines upon which
the notes were placed by Guido Aretini ; but
vide Sol-fa.
Gang (from the gang, or course, taken
this being the earlier meaning of the word).
(Agr.) A party of labourers provided by a
middle-man.
Gang-board. (Naut.) 1. (Gang-way.) 2. A
plank used for getting in and out of boats, where
the water is shallow.
Gang-casks. (Naut.) Used for bringing off
water in boats, and holding about thirty-two
gallons.
Ganger. (Agr.) The middle-man who pro-
vides a Gang.
Ganglion. [Gr. ydyy\iov, a tumour under the
skin.} (Biol.) A knot or enlargement, some-
times a central mass, of nerve-trunks. Gang-
lionic system. (Sympathetic.)
Gangue. [Fr. , from Ger. gang, mineral vein,
Eng. a going or course.} The stony matter in
which veins of ore are found.
Gang-way. [From M.E. gang, a way, with the
word way unnecessarily added, after the sense of
the word became obscured ( Skeat) ; cf. Wans-
beckwater.] 1. (Naut.) In deep-waisted vessels,
the narrow platforms next the sides, which con-
GANN
225
GARR
nect the quarter-deck and forecastle, sometimes
called G. -board. 2. The openings in a vessel's
side, or bulwarks, by which one enters and
leaves. To bring to the G., to flog a seaman,
lashed to the grating. 3. (Par/.) The passage
across the House of Commons, below which
junior and independent members sit.
Gannet. [O.E. ganot, sea-fowl; cf. gander,
Ger. gans, L. anser, Gr. x^"-\ (Ornith.) Gen.
of birds, found in all climates. British spec.
(Solan goose, Sula alba), about three feet long,
nearly all white ; young, black, streaked, and
spotted with white. Fam. Pelecanidce, ord.
Anseres.
Gannister. [Local term.] A compact siliceous
sandstone, used in the formation of furnaces ;
found under certain coal-beds in N. England.
Ganoidei, Ganoids. [Gr. yav<a5ris, from yduos,
brightness, eTSos, appearance, of a bright appear-
ance^ (Ichth) Sub-class of fish, mostly with
ganoid,/.^, enamel-covered, bony scales, bucklers,
or spines, and heterocercal tails, as the sturgeon,
and gar-pike. Dr. Giinther now combines the
sub-classes TelSostel and Dipnoi with the
Ganoidei. (Dipnoi.)
Gant-line. (Girt-line.)
Gantlope, Gauntlope, Gauntlet, and Gantlet,
To run the. [Sw. gatlopp, from gata, a street,
lane, and lopp, a course ; cf. Eng. leaf, loafer,
Ger. laufen, to run.] To run, stripped to the
waist, between two rows of men, each of whom
had a knotted cord, knittle, originally a gauntlet,
with which he struck the offender as he passed.
Gantois. [Fr.] An inhabitant of Ghent.
Ganymede. [Gr. raw/xif}5r)$.] This word,
which is sometimes used to denote any beautiful
youth, is in the Iliad the name of the son of
Tros, who is said to have been carried away by
an eagle to Olympus, where he became the cup-
bearer of Zeus, or Jupiter.
Gaol delivery. A commission to judges, etc.,
to try and deliver (to freedom or punishment)
every untried person in gaol, on their arrival at
the assize town.
Garancise. [Fr. garance, madder :] An extract
of madder for dyeing.
Garb. [Fr. gerbe ; cf. L. carpere, Gr. Kapir6s,
fruit, Ger. herbst, Eng. harvest.] (Her.) A
sheaf.
Garble, To. (Want.) To mix rubbish with a
cargo stowed in bulk.
Garbler of spices. [Ar. girbhal, a sieve
(Skeat).] An old officer in London city, who
may enter places where spices and drugs are
sold, and garble (clean) them.
Garboard-strake, or Sandstreak. (Naut.) The
planks upon a ship's bottom next the keel, and
rebated into it, and into the stern and stern-
posts.
Garijon. [Fr. ; origin of the word very un-
certain.] Lad, waiter ; in Irish gossoon.
Gardant. [Fr. , guarding.} {Her.) Turning
its head to gaze full-faced.
Garden City. Chicago ; so called from the
number of its gardens.- Bartlett's Americanisms.
Gardiloo ! [Corr. of Fr. gare a 1'eau ! look out
for the water!] In Edinburgh, formerly, a cry
to passengers to beware of slops about to be
thrown out of window.
Gare ! [Fr. ; cf. Eng. be?*-, O.H.G. waron,
to take care. .] Look out!
Gar-fish. [O.E. gar, a lance} (Ichth.) Sea-
pike, Mackerel guide ; about two feet long, bluish-
green back, white belly, elongated jaws, homo-
cereal tail. British coast. Belone vulgaris,
fam. Scombresocidae, ord. Physostomi, sub-class
TeleosteT.
Gargantua. The giant of Rabelais's romance
of that name, with a vast mouth and swallow.
Garish, Gairish. [From gare, to stare, a
variant of M.E. gasen, to ga^e, by the frequent
change of s to r (Skeat).] Excessively bright,
staring, flaunting.
Garland. [A word of uncertain origin.]
(Naut.') 1. A rope collar round the head of a
mast, used to prevent chafing the shrouds, and
for other purposes. 2. A wreath, made by
crossing three small hoops covered with ribbons,
etc., hoisted on the wedding day of any of the
crew. 3. A net, with a hoop at top, used for
keeping food in.
Garnet. [A corr. of granat, from the colour
and shape of the seeds of the pomegranate,
L. granatum.] 1. (Min.) A common mineral in.
some metamorphic and igneous rocks ; the
several varieties being (i) Lime-G. (Grossular,
etc.); (2) Magnesia G. ; (3) Iron-G. , Precious
and Fire-G., Pyrope, Carbuncle, and Common
G. ; (4) Manganese G. ; (5) Iron-lime G. ; (6)
Lime-chrome G. The best come from Bohemia,
Pegu, Ceylon, and Brazil. 2. (A'aut.) A pur-
chase fixed to a ship's mainstay, and used for
lifting cargo in and out.
Garnish. [A word of O.L.G. origin, seen
in A.S. warnian, to betvare of (Skeat).]
(Naut.) 1. A large amount of carving, etc.,
about a ship. 2. Money, formerly exacted by
pressed men from newly pressed men coming on
board.
Garnishee. [For etym., Tide Garnish.] (Leg.)
One warned not to pay a debt to one indebted
to a third person.
Garniture. [Fr.] Embellishment, ornament,
furniture, decoration. (Garnish.)
Garous. [Gr. ydpov, L. garum, a highly
flavoured condiment prepared from fish.} Of the
nature of garum.
Gar-pike. [O.E. gar, a lance, pic, a point, of
Celtic origin (Brachet) ; cf. Fr. brochet, pike,
from broche.] (Ichth.) Bony pike, gen. of ganoid
fish, several feet long, covered with scales,
elongated jaws, heterocercal tail. N. America
to Mexico and Cuba. Lepidostetis, fam. Lepkl-
ost<5i, ord. Holostei.
Garrooka. (Naut.) Native name for a fishing-
vessel in the Persian Gulf.
Garrote. [Sp.] 1. A mode of execution by
strangling with an iron collar (fixed to a post),
which is gradually tightened. 2. To seize by
the throat from behind, as- robbers frequently
do.
Garruli. [L., chattering.} (Ornith.) Gen. of
jays ; sub-fam. Gamtlinae, fam. Corvkla', ord.
Passeres.
Q
CART
226
GAVE
Garter. [Fr. jarretiere, from jarret, the ham.}
(Her.) 1. A diminutive of the bend, being one-
half its size. 2. The principal king-at-arms.
Garter, Order of the. The highest order of
English knighthood, said by some to have been
founded by Richard I., while others accept the
story which assigns it to Edward III. and the
dropping of the Countess of Salisbury's garter.
The order was, however, either founded or re-
stored by the latter sovereign.
Garter-fish. (Ithth.) Scabbard-fish; various
spec, of fish, some five feet long. British spec.
silvery colour, gen. Lepldopus [Gr. \ev-is, -iSos,
a scale, vovs, a foot}, fam. Trichiarida? [0pi,
rptx&s, hair}, ord. Acanthoptdrygii, sub-class
Teleostei.
Garters. (Naut.) Ship's irons, bilboes.
Garth. [From A.S. gyrdan, to surround.} 1.
(Leg.) An inclosure round a building, a close.
2. A dam or weir.
Garom. [L., from Gr. ydpov.} A dainty
sauce of small fish preserved in brine.
Gasconade. [Fr. gasconnade.] Bragging talk ;
said to have been characteristic of the Gascons,
the Vascones, Basques of Navarre.
Gaskets. (Naut.) Cord, etc., wound round
a furled sail.
Gaskin, shortened from Galligaskins. In a
horse, the lower thigh of the hind legs, the part
just above the hock, corresponding to the fore-
arm of the front legs.
Gas-pipe. In Naut. slang, a breech-loading
rifle.
Gassing. Burning off the small fibres of cloth
by passing it through gas-jets.
Gasteropoda, Gasteropoda. [Gr. ytun-^p, -fpos,
belly, itovs, iroS6s, foot.} Class of land and water
molluscs, with single shell or naked, progressing
by ventral disc, by vertical fin, or by tail, as
snail, whelk, sea-lemons (Doris), Carinaria [L.
carlna, ktel\.
Gastriloquist [a mongrel word, made up of Gr.
yaffTTjp, the belly, and L. loquor, / sfeak}, i.q.
Ventriloquist.
Gastritis. Inflammation of the stomach [Gr.
Gastroiator. [From Gr. ycur-r-lip, stomach, belly,
AaTpijs, worshipper.'} One "whose god is" his
"belly."
Gastromancy. [Gr. yacrriip, belly, fiavrtla,
dh'ination.} 1. A kind of divination by sounds
from the stomach. 2. Divination by appear-
ances in round transparent vessels.
Gastronomy. [Gr. ycurriip, stomach, v&nos,
law.} The art of promoting the welfare of the
stomach, generally confounded with the art of
luxurious feeding.
Gas-water. Water which has been used for
purifying gas ; called also Gas-liqucr.
Catchers. The after-leavings of tin.
Gate. In founding, the channel leading to the
mould from the sprue, or hole into which the
metal is poured.
Gate, or Sea-gate, To be in a. (A'atit.) Used
of two ships thrown one on board the other by
a wave.
Gate, To. (L'niv.) To order a person in
statu piipilldri not to leave his college or lodg-
ings after a certain hour of the day for a time, as
a punishment.
Gate of Janus. ; Janus. >
Gate of Tears. Straits of Bab-el-mandeb, a
transl. of the Arabic name.
Catling gun. (Mil.) A gun composed of a
series of six barrels arranged round a central
shaft, each being fired almost simultaneously by
an independent revolving lock.
Ganch, Gaunch. To kill, as in Turkey, by
dropping a man on to hooks, and so leaving him
to die.
Gancherie. [Fr., from gauche, the left hand.}
Awkwardness.
Gaudy. [L. gaudium, gladness.} (Oxf. Univ.)
A college feast-day.
Gauge [a word of uncertain origin ; in L.L.
gaugstum] ; Broad G. ; Narrow G. ; Bailway-G. ;
Kain-G.; Salt-G.; Steam-G. ; Tide-G.; Vacuum-G. ;
Water-G. ; Wind-G. To gauge a cask is to as-
certain the quantity of liquor it contains or is
capable of containing. Gauge, a measure or
standard ; generally used as part of a com-
pound word. A Raihcay-G. is the distance be-
tween the two rails on which the train runs,
viz. 7 feet in Broad-G., and 4 feet 8J inches
in Narrow-G., lines. A Steam-G. measures the
pressure of steam in a boiler; a Water-G., the
depth of water in a boiler ; a Salt-G. , the quantity
of salt in the water in a boiler. A Vacuum-G.
measures the pressure of the air or vapour in the
condenser of a steam-engine or the receiver of
an air-pump. A Rain-G. measures the quantity
of rain that falls at a given place in a given time ;
a Tide-G., the height of the tide at any instant
or the variations of height during any assigned
time; a Wind-G., an anemometer, the force of
the wind, e.g. in pounds per square foot.
Gauge. [O.Fr.] A kind of plaster used for
mouldings on a ceiling.
Ganger. Surveying officer under the Board of
Excise.
Gaul. [L. Callus.] Celtic inhabitant of what
is now France.
Gault, Gait. ( Geol. ) Provincial name for clay ;
but applied, more strictly, to the cretaceous
clay below the chalk at Folkestone and else-
where.
Gauntlet. [O.Fr. gantelet, from gant, Sw.
wante, a gloz-e.} 1. Glove covered with scales,
with metal cuff. Running the G., formerly a
military punishment, the offender being forced
to pass between two lines of men facing inwards,
each of whom struck at him as he passed.
Throwing down the G. was formerly a challenge
to fight in the tilting ring. At the coronation of
an English sovereign, the hereditary champion
thus challenges any one who disputes the right
of succession. 2. (A'ant.) A rope round a vessel,
fastened to the lower yardarms, for drying ham-
mocks. (Gantlope.)
Gavel. [O.Fr. gavelle, It. gavella, handful.]
A small heap of loose wheat or other cereal.
(Gabel; Gabelle.)
Gavel, Gabel. [A.S. gafol, gaful, Fr.
gabelle, from L.L. gabella, gabulum, from
GAVE
227
O.H.G. geban, A.S. gifan, to give.} (Leg.)
Tribute, toll, tax.
Oavelgeld. (Leg.) Payment of tribute or toll.
Gavelkind (kind of land which yields gavel,
not military service). [A.S. gafol, tribute
(Gabel; Gabelle).] A mode of descent more
general before the Conquest, and still retained in
Kent, by which the land of the father is at his
death divided equally among his sons, or of a
brother among his brothers, if he has no sons
of his own. (Borough English.)
Gavial. (Zool.) Gen. of crocodile ; long-
snouted. Ganges, Borneo, and N. Australia.
Gavot, Gavotte. [Fr.] 1. A dance, stately
and spirited, popular in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries ; originally a dance of the
Gavotes or people of Gap, Hautes Alpes. 2.
Tune written for the dance, or whose measure
and rhythm were suggested by it ; e.g. those of
Bach, Handel, etc. A G. properly begins on
the second half of the bar.
Gawain, Sir. King Arthur's nephew, a knight
of the Round Table.
Gay science. (Troubadour.)
Gaze, At. (Her.) Standing still and turning
its head to gaze full-faced.
Gazette. [It. gazzetta, a Venetian coin worth
about f </., the price of the first paper at Venice.]
A newspaper or journal, especially official. The
G. is the London Gazette, containing all State
proclamations, appointments and promotions of
officers, notices of dissolution of partnership and
of bankruptcy.
Gear [a Teut. word] ; Gearing ; G.-chain.
Gearing, a means of transmitting motion par-
ticularly by toothed wheels ; two wheels are
in G. when their teeth are engaged together,
and out of G. when disengaged so that the one
can no longer drive the other ; the terms are
also applied to any driver and follower, however
connected. A G.-chain is an endless chain
whose links are adapted to work with the teeth
of wheels so as to transmit motion from one to
the other. Spelt also Geer, Geering, etc.
Gears. (Jeers.)
Geez. (Lang.) An early Abyssinian dialect,
also called Ethiopian.
Gehenna. [Gr. -yeewa.] Means in Hebrew
the valley of Hinnom, where the Jews burnt their
children in the fire to Moloch. In the English
Authorized Version of the Scriptures, it is trans-
lated by hell. By mediaeval writers it was used
generally in the sense of pain and suffering.
Hence the verb gehenner, to torture, which has
passed into the Mod. Fr. gener, to annoy. In
India the word has assumed the form Jehanum.
Geist. [Ger.] Great intellectual gifts, genius,
vivacity, spirit.
Gelalaean era. The era, fixed to March 15,
1079, drawn up in the reign of Malek Shah
( 1072-1092), one of whose titles was Gelaleddin,
Glory of the Faith. Gibbon, Roman Empire,
ch. Ivii.
Gellywatte. [Gael, geola, a ship's boat; cf.
Dan jolle, a yawl, and the modern corr. into
jolty-boat.] (JVaut.) An old term for a captain's
boat.
Gemara. (Talmud.)
Gemel. [L. gemelli, twins.'} (Her.) Double.
Gemini. (Castor and Pollux.)
Gemmation. [L. gemma, a bud.} Reproduc-
tion by buds, inside or outside an animal's body,
developing into independent beings, attached to
or separated from the parent, as in sea-mats
(Flustra) or in tapeworm (Tsenia). (Fissi-
parous.)
Gemote. [A. S.] Meeting.
Gendarme. [Fr.] Formerly a man in armour,
and written gent d'arme ; but now a policeman
of a military character. The gendarmerie of a
country is a police force organized and disci-
plined on military principles.
Gene. [Fr.] Boredom, annoyance. (Gehenna.)
General Assembly. (Assembly, General.)
General average. (Xaut.) A claim upon
owners and cargo by those whose property has
been sacrificed for the general good.
General Confession of the Scotch Church.
(Confession of Faith.)
General ship. (Charter, To.)
Generatrix. [L. llnea, the line that produces.}
The point or line whose regulated motion de-
scribes a line or surface.
Genet. [Sp. gineto, a 'light horseman} I.q,
Jennet, A small breed of horses ; Spain.
Genet. [Ar. djerneith.] I.q. Genette. Gen.
of sub-fam. Viverrlnse, sharp-nosed, long-tailed,
with spotted or striped fur, and with feeble
musk-secreting apparatus. S. Europe, Africa,
and adjacent parts of Asia. Fam. Viverridse,
ord. Carnivora.
Genethliac. [L. genethliacus, from Gr.
yv40\ri, a birth.} 1. Belonging to nativities,
calculated according to the rules of astrology.
2. A birthday poem.
Genethliacs. In ancient Rome, those who
told fortunes by means of the stars presiding over
a man's birth. They were sometimes called
Mathemattci, from the diagrams which they
used.
Genetical. [Gr. yevtrlicos, from root of yi-
yvofjia.i, I become, come into being.} Relating to
origin, genesis, mode of production, line of
descent.
Genette. (Genet.)
Geneva. [Fr. genievre, juniper, L. juniperus.]
A spirit distilled from grain, and flavoured with
juniper berries.
Geneva Bible. (Bible, English.)
Gen. fil. [For L. generosi filius.] Son of a
gentleman.
Geniculate stem. [L. gemciilum, a little knee.}
(Sot.) One which bends suddenly in the middle,
like a knee ; e.g. stem of knot-grass.
Genii. The ginn or djinn of Eastern nations,
beings created from fire, whose abode is Ginnis-
tan, the Persian Elysium, are sometimes so
called. (Genius.)
Genista. [L.] A gen. of leguminous plants,
Planta genista, Whin, the gen of the Celts,
genet of the French ; the badge of a race of Eng-
lish kings, but it is not known what kind is
meant perhaps the common broom.
Genitive case. [L. genitlvus, relating to
GENI
228
GEOM
genus.] (Gram.) That inflexion of the noun
which denotes relation or procession.
Genius. [L.] In the Old It. Myth., a guardian
spirit, whose life ceased with that of the person
whom he guarded. (Hamadryads.)
Genius Kci. {L.] The genius or presiding
deity of a place, the pervading spirit, influence
of associations, etc., of a place.
Gennet, Order of the. An order of knight-
hood, founded by Charles Martel after his victory
over the Saracens at Tours, in 726 ; so called
from the gennet, or wood-martin, to denote the
aid supposed to be given by St. Martin of Tours
in the battle.
Genoese Republic. The free government of
Genoa (X.W. Italy) at various times from 1000
to 1815, especially from 1000 to 1326, and 1428
to 1694.
Genouillere. [Fr., knee-piece, from genon, a
knee, formerly genouil, L. geniculum.] (Fortif.)
The part of the parapet between the sole of an
embrasure and the terreplein of a battery.
Genre. [Fr.] As applied to Painting, is
perhaps = a familiar every-day life treatment
of a subject, not in itself an important one ; as
opposed to the sacred, classical, severe, typical.
G., not reproducing simple essential charac-
teristics, emphasizes minor details. Similarly,
Uickens's treatment of a character, as contrasted
with Shakespeare's, may be called G.
Gens de condition. [Fr.] People of quality.
Gens d'eglise. [Fr.] Churchmen, ecclesiastics.
Gens de guerre. [Fr.] Military men.
Gens de lettres. [Fr.] Men of literature.
Gens de robe. [Fr.] Men of the law.
Gentile. [L. gentilis.] With the Latins this
word denoted all who belonged to the same gens,
or class, in which many families were united-
After the rise of Christianity, it came to signify
those who adhered to the old religions, as did also
the Gr. tOriicds, ethnic, or heathen. (Apaturia.)
Gentleman-at-arms. One of a corps composed
of retired officers or those who have formerly
served in the army, marines, militia, or yeomanry
(although civilians were formerly admitted),
forming the sovereign's body-guard on State
occasions. Established in A.I). 150-
Gentleman commoner. (Fellow-commoner.)
Gentoo. (Port, gentio, heathen.] A Hindu or
Brahman.
Genus. In Logic. (Difference.)
Geocentric theory. [Gr. yri, the earth, Kevrpov,
fc-ntre.] (Astron.) The theory which makes
the earth the centre of the movements of the
heavenly bodies, the earth herself being supposed
Jo be at rest. (Heliocentric theory.)
Geode. [Gr. yttaSris, earthy.} (Geol.) A
rounded hollow nodule, popularly potato-stone,
the interior of which is often lined with crystals.
(Nodule.)
Geodesic line; G. survey; Geodesy [Gr.
-ff.ui5a.iaia, a dividing of the earth, from yy, earth,
Saica, I dh'ide]. A Geodesic .fw/Tvr is a survey of
a large tract of country conducted with extreme
exactness, for the purpose of determining the
form and dimensions of the earth. Geodesy, a
matic account of the methods of observation
and calculation used in a geodesic survey. A
Geodesic or Geodetic line is the shortest distance
between two points on a given surface, measured
along the surface.
Geognosy. [Gr. 77), earth, yvGxris, knowledge.]
1. Study of the actual condition of the earth's
crust, without reference to its causes, history,
etc., which latter belongs to Geology. 2. With
some, i.q. Geology.
Geograffy. In NauL slang, a drink made by
boiling burnt biscuit
Geography [Gr. yfcoypcHpia, from 7?}, the
earth, ypdtyw, I draw or describe] ; Astronomical
G. ; Physical G. ; Political G. A delineation or
description of the earth. Astronomical G. treats
of the methods by which the relative positions of
points on its surface, and its form and magnitude,
are determined. Physical G. treats of the forms
of continents and seas, rivers and mountains,
climates and products ; Political G., of the ap-
propriation of the surface of the eajth by com-
munities of men,
Geomancy. [From Gr. -yew-, stem in compo-
sition of 77), the earth, and ftayreia. divination.]
Divination by figures and line of points, origin-
ally marked on the ground.
Geometrical style. (Arc/i.) The style in
which window and other tracery is composed
entirely of pure geometrical figures, as the circle
or the spherical triangle. This style succeeded
the Early English, or Lancet, or First Pointed
style, and is itself also known as the Second
Pointed, or Middle Pointed. It was followed by
the Flowing style, in which the window tracery
is carried up from the mullions to the arch in
soft wavy lines ; and this in its turn was succeeded
by the Continuous, or Perpendicular, known also
as the Third Pointed, in which the lines of the
tracery are carried up to the window arch in
straight lines.
Geometry [Gr. yew/jLerpia, land-measuring,
geometry} ; Algebraical G. ; Analytical G. ; Co-
ordinate G. ; Descriptive G. ; Elementary G. ;
Higher G.; Modern G.; Plane G.; G. of position;
Practical G. ; Solid G. ; Spherical G. ; G. of three
dimensions ; G. of two dimensions. Geometry is
the science of space, or the science which treats
of the position, form, and magnitude of bodies or
portions of space. If the bodies are on a plane
the science is Plane G., or G. of two dimensions ;
if they :ire not in a plane, Solid G., or G. of three
dimensions ; if they lie on the surface of a sphere,
Spherical G. The part of the science which can
be deduced from the axioms and definitions of
Euclid's Geometry, and involve the properties
of straight lines and circles only, is Elementary
G. ; all beyond this belongs to the Higher G.
The division between elementary and higher G.
is, however, sometimes drawn a little differently
from this. For Algebraical, or Co-ordinate, G.,
ride Co-ordinate ; this kind of geometry is often
called Analytical G., because the use of general
symbols enables us to prove propositions by an
analysis of algebraical expressions that are more
general than the propositions themselves.
Modern G. is a collection of methods invented
in recent times and in most cases depending on
GEOP
229
GIHP,
a combination of algebra with G. to facilitate
, the discovery and proof of geometric truths.
G. of position is a branch of modern G., relating
to the conditions under which three or more de-
fined straight lines will have a common point,
three or more defined points will range in a
straight line, and the like. Practical G. is a
body of rules for the actual delineation of the
problems of G. ; in Its higher branches it fur-
nishes rules for the delineation on paper of con-
structions in solid space, and then is subdivided
into Linear perspective, Descriptive G., Ortho-
graphic and other kinds of Projection (q.v.).
Geoponics. [Gr. ywn-ovtKos, from ytunrtivos,
husbandman, from yew-, stem in composition of
77), earth, and irovos, labour J} Science of tillage,
of agriculture.
Georama. [From Gr. 777, earth, Spa/j.a, view,
spectacle.} A hollow globe on the interior surface
of which the earth's surface is depicted so that
one standing near the centre of the sphere gets
a comprehensive view of the geography.
Geordy lamp. A lamp, similar to the Davy
lamp, > invented at the same time by George
Stephenson.
George, A. In Her. , a figure of St. George on
horseback, worn by the knights of the Garter-
George Eliot. Norn de plume of Miss Marian
Evans, afterwards Mrs. Cross (died December,
1880).
Georgics. [Gr. ra yecapyiKti, things belonging
to husbandry, from 777, earth, and epyov, work.}
A poem of Virgil ; so called as treating of
agriculture and farm management generally.
Georgium sidus. .[L.] (Planet.)
Geoscopy. [From Gr. yeo>-, stem in, composition
of yn, earth, and ff/coWor, / look at.} Inspec-
tion of the earth, study of the results of such
inspection.
Gerbil. (Zool.) Gen. of mouse (Leaping
mouse), with long hind legs, like the gerboa,
but classed in fam. Muridae. Several spec.
Africa and Asia, (Gerboa.)
Gerboa. [Heb. and Ar. 'akbar, id.} (Zool.)
Several spec, Europe, Asia, and Africa ; one spec.
N. America. Fam. Dipodidas, ord. Rodentia.
Tliis fam. includes the Spring-haas, or Cape
Leaping hare (Helamys Capensis), about the
size of the common hare ; it will leap eight or
nine yards at a bound. (Gerbil.)
Geri and Freki. In Myth., the wolves of
Odin.
German. [L. germanus, -a, having both parents
the same, said of brothers and sisters. ] Nearly
related by blood, closely akin.
Germane. (German.) Closely allied, appro-
priate, relevant.
German school. Of Painting, a school marked
by careful and matter-of-fact truthfulness. Its
head was Albert Durer (born 1471).
German silver. An alloy of copper, zinc, and
nickel (resembling the product of an ore at
Henneburg, in Germany).
Germinal matter = albumen (q.v.} ; so called
from the belief that albumen alone is concerned
with generation and nutrition.
Gerontocomium. [From Gr. ytpwif, -arras, old
man, and Kofj.fia, I take care of.} A hospital or
asylum for old people,
Gerund. [L. gerundium, from gero, / bear.}
(Gram.) A verbal adjective in Latin, used for
the oblique cases of the infinitive mood, and so
bearing, the function of case-government, like the
verb; stem ending is -nd ; as, Urbem videndi
causa, for the sake of seeing the city.
Gerundive. [L. gerundlvus, from gerimdium,
gerund.} (Gram.) A verbal adjective, ending
in Latin in -ndus, etc., serving as a present
participle passive, and as a " participle of neces-
sity," or future participle passive ; as, Urbis
videndce causa, for the sake of seeing the city ;
Urbs videnda est, or, urbem videndum est, the'
city must be (is to be) seen.
Gerusia. [Gr. yepovala, an assembly of elders.]
In Gr. Hist., the Spartan senate.
Gesta Romanorum. [L., deeds of the Romans. \
An olla podrida of mythical stories, monkish
legends, romances, classical tales, ghost stories,
etc., gathered from all sources and translated
into Latin, some of which furnished themes to
Chaucer, Shakespeare, and others ; light reading
for monks on winter evenings (see Collier's
Eng. Literature}. (Panchatantra.)
Gests. (Minstrels.)
Gesture language. A term expressing the
communications of savages by gestures which
represent not letters but ideas. Tylor, Primitivt
Culture.
Geysers. [Icel., raging.} Spouting fountains,
boiling, intermittent ; produced by rain and
snow-water subterraneously heated in the neigh-
bourhood of Mount Hecla.
Ghaut. [Hind, ghat, a mountain pass, gate.}
1, A mountain pass. 2. A range of mountains,
especially along the Malabar (W.) coast of India.
3, Steps down to a river.
Gheber. [Pers. ghebr, infidel.'} (Gueber.)
Ghee. [Hind, ghi.] A butter made ol
churned curds, used in India, and used in sacri-
fice by Brahmans.
Ghetto. [It.] The Jews' quarter in Rome.
Gbibellines. In It. Hist., the party which
maintained the supremacy of the Emperor over
the Italian states. (Guelfs.)
Gbirdawar, Girdwar. [Hind.] Inspector or
superior officer of police.
Ghoul. [Pers.] An evil being of Eastern
legend, supposed to prey on corpses.
Ghrime-sail. (A r aut.) Old name for a smoke-
sail, i.e. one so hoisted as to prevent the smoke
from the galley blowing on to the quarter-deck.
Ghyll. (-gill.) Mountain torrent, gulley, goil.
Giallolino. [It., yellow.} (Massicot.)
Giaour. A Turkish word, meaning infidel,
and denoting all non-Mohammedans, especially
Christians.
Gib. Quasi-personal name of a cat (Chaucer,
Romance of Rose, 6204).
Gibberish. [From the old verb gibber, formed
as a variant of jabber, and allied to gabble (Skeat).]
Utter nonsense, unintelligible jargon.
Gibbous. [L. gibbus, humped, gibbons.} Said
of the moon or of Venus when more than half
the disc is bright.
GIBI
230
GIRT
Gibier. [Fr. giboyer, to hunt ; origin un-
known.] Game, wild-fowl. Gibier de potence,
a gallon's bird.
Gibraltar. (Pillars of Herakles. )
Gier-eagle. [Heb. racham, the tender one,
from its affection to its young.] (Bibl.) Lev.
xi. 18 ; the Egyptian vulture, Neophron percno-
ptrus. Fam. Vulturidse, ord. AccTpitres.
Giffard injector. A contrivance for introducing
water into a boiler without pumping. A pipe
comes from the top of the boiler, out of which
a jet of steam issues into a vessel containing
water, by which part of it is condensed ; a
partial vacuum is thereby formed near the end
of the pipe. As steam (or any air or gas) enters
a vacuum with a very great velocity, the un-
condensed part of the steam enters the water
with a great velocity, and thus sets up a cur-
rent of water warmed by steam, which, being
directed into a second pipe, is injected into the
water in the boiler. The velocity of this current
is sufficient to keep the water in the boiler from
flowing out along the second pipe.
Gift-rope. (Guest-rope.)
Gig. [A word of Scand. origin, the root being
perhaps ga, to go, which seems to be redupli-
cated (Skeat).] (Naut.) A narrow, clinker-
built ship's boat, adapted for expeditious rowing
or sailing
Gigantology. [Gr. 71705, -O.VTOS, a giant, and
\6yos, an account.} An account of giants, study
of, or a treatise on, giants.
Gigot. [Fr. gigue, a leg; origin unknown.]
Leg of mutton, piece of meat.
Gil Bias. Hero of Lesage's romance of the
name.
Gild. [A.S. and Goth. ; cf. Ger. gilde, corpora-
tion.} (Leg.) Tax, tribute, contribution. (Guild.)
-gill. Norse part of names in Lake district,
= ravine, as in Stock-gill ; Scottish -goil.
(Ghyll.)
Gillie. [Gael, giolla, boy.} A Highland at-
tendant.
Gilpin, John. Hero of a humorous poem by
Cowper.
Gilpy. In Naut. parlance, a hobble-de-hoy.
Gimbal, or Gimbol, sometimes Gymbol-rings.
[L. gemellus, twin.} A mode of suspension by
which a chronometer, a compass, etc., remains
horizontal in spite of the oscillation of the ship.
The chronometer is hung within a ring on an
axis coinciding in direction with a diameter ; the
ring is suspended inside a second ring on an
axis coinciding in direction with a diameter at
right angles to the former ; the second ring
(which may be a box or case) is suspended on
an axis at right angles to the second and parallel
to the first axis. If the third axis is tilted, the
second, and with it the first, remains horizontal ;
if the second axis is also tilted, still the first
remains horizontal. Now, any oscillatory move-
ment of the ship whatever is equivalent to
movements round two axes at right angles to
each other, and therefore cannot do more than
tilt both the second and third axes ; so that
under all ordinary circumstances, the first axis
will remain horizontal.
Gimcrack. [O.K. gim, neat, crack, braggart.}
A dainty toy, a trivial piece of work.
Gimmer. [Icel. gymbr.] (Sheep, Stages of
growth of.)
Gimp. [O.Fr. guimpe, the pennon of a lance.}
A kind of braiding used in trimming furniture.
Gin [Fr. engin, L. ingenium, (i) skill, (2)
in later L. , a war-engine} ; Cotton-G. ; Whim-G.
Gin is a contraction of the word engine, and is
used in connexions in which the very general
sense of that word has nearly dropped out of
sight. Thus, a certain engine of torture is a
G. ; a tripod with block, and tackle, and wheel,
and axle for lifting cannon is also a G. ; a horse-
capstan is a Whim-G., i.e. a turning engine ; an
engine for separating the seed from the cotton is
a Cotton-G. (Engineer.)
Ginevra. An Italian bride in S. Rogers's
poem of the name, who hid in an oaken chest,
and, the lid closing on her, was buried alive.
Gingerbread hatches. (Naut.) Sumptuous
quarters. G. work, gorgeously carved ship's
decorations.
Gingham. [Fr. guingan, said by Littre to be
a corr. of Guingamp, the town where such
fabrics are made.] Cotton fabric, originally
made, it is said, in India.
Gingival. Relating to the gums [L. ginglva,
a gum}.
Ginglymus. (Enarthsosis.)
Ginseng. [Chin, yansam.] A medicinal root
used in China.
Gip, To. ( Naut.} To take entrails out of fish.
Giraffe. (Camelopard.)
Girandole. [Fr., It. girondola, L. gyrare, to
g)>rate.} As commonly used, a branched chan-
delier ; meaning also circular displays of jets
d'eau, and of fireworks.
Gird. (Deer, Stages of growth of.)
Girder ; G.-bridge. A Girder is a long rectangu-
lar structure, consisting of two beams, one above
and one beloV, built up of plates of wrought
iron riveted together ; the two are connected,
not by a continuous web, but by strong bars
arranged obliquely and dividing the intervening
space into triangles. In a G.-bridge the space
between the piers is spanned by two or more
parallel girders, which support the roadway.
Girdle of Venus. The magic cestus of Aphro-
dite, which subdues all to love.
Girdwar. (Ghirdawar.)
Gironde, The. In Fr. Hist., a revolutionary
party, the members of which are called Giron-
dists, from the department of La Gironde, which
returned three of its chief leaders to the Legis-
lative Assembly of 1791. (Assembly.)
Girrock. (Gar-fish.)
Girt. In Naut. language, a ship moored so
taut by two distant anchors that, when she
tries to swing, she is caught by one cable while
doing so, is girt, i.e. lies with side or stern to
wind or current.
Girt-line, or Gant-line. (A r aut.) A rope
passed through a single block at the head of a
lower mast, by which rigging and riggers are
hoisted up. The first rope fitted to a vessel
when rigging her.
GISE
231
GLEI)
Gisement. (Leg.) Cattle taken in to graze
at a certain price ; also the said price. (Agist-
ment.)
Gist. (Giste of action.)
Giste of action. [Fr. giste, L.L. gista, i.e,
jacita, from L. jaceo, I lie.} (Leg.) The cause
for which an action lies ; hence Gist, the main
point in some matter ; that on which it turns.
(Agistment.)
Gitano. [It.] A gypsy.
Gittith, " to the chief musician upon G." Ps.
viii. , Ixxxi., Ixxxiv. ; some instrument or strain
of music for stirring occasions of praise, but it
is not known what. G. perhaps '= of Gath
(vide Speaker's Commentary}.
Gizzard. [Fr. gesier, L. gigeria, plu.] (Anat.)
The muscular division of the stomach, in birds,
below the liver, on the left side of the abdomen,
resting on the intestines ; in which food is tri-
turated by sand, gravel, etc.
Glabrous. [L. glaber.] (Bot.) Smooth,
having no hairs.
Glace. [Fr. glacer, to glaze, L. glacia, a secon-
dary form of glacies, ice.] Glazed.
Glacial. [L. glacialis, icy.} Having a cry-
stalline appearance, as glacial acetic acid.
Glacial epoch. (Geol.) A time, succeeding
the formation of the Pliocene strata, of arctic
condition in the now temperate latitudes of
Europe, giving rise to the Glacial drift, or boulder
formation. (Boulders.)
Glacier. [Fr., from L. glacies, ice.} A stream
of ice [Fr. glace], which moves slowly down a
valley below the limit of perpetual snow, and
is continually fed from the snow-fields above
with snow which is compressed into ice in its
descent.
Glacieres [Fr. glace, ice], Ice-caves. Caves,
chiefly in the Alps, full of ice ; not connected
with any glacial system, the surface of the earth
being much above freezing point.
Glacis. [Fr.] (Fortif.) The outside of a
fortress where the superior slope of the parapet
of the covered way is gently produced till it
meets the level of the surrounding ground with-
out giving cover to the assailant.
Glades. Everglades ; tracts of land at the
south, covered with water and grass. Bartlett's
Americanisms.
Gladiators. [L. gladiatores.] Swordsmen,
employed by the ancient Romans to fight at
funerals, and appease by blood the manes of the
dead. They were afterwards introduced into
the public amphitheatres..
Gladio succinctus. [L., girt with the sivord.]
So an earl was said to be, as having jurisdiction
over his county ; of which the sword was the
symbol.
Glair. White of egg [L.L. clarium ovi,
clarus, clear} or any similar viscous sub-
stance.
Glaive of Light. (Excalibur.)
Glamour. [Scot.] A bewitching influence
on the eyes, making them see things differently
from ordinary healthy sight.
Glance. [Ger. glanz, lustre.} (Geol.) A
term applied to certain coals and metallic ores
which are lustrous ; e.g. copper-glance, glance-
coal or anthracite (q.v. ).
Gland. [L. glans, galans, akin to Gr.
f3d\avos, an acorn.} A loose piece of brass
forced down on the packing of a stuffing-box
(e.g. the stuffing-box at the top of the cylinder
of a steam-engine, through which the piston-rod
works) by two or more bolts for compressing
the packing so as to prevent leakage.
Glanders. In horse, mule, and ass ; an in-
flammation, often acute and dangerous, of the
glandular system, especially of the nasal mucous
membrane ; contagious, sometimes, to man, and
even fatal.
Glands. [L. glandem, an acorn.} 1.
(Physiol.) Various organs, which produce the
chief secretions; e.g. lachrymal, mammary, liver,
kidneys. 2. Some, being ductless, i.e. with no
excretory opening, as the spleen, though called
G., are not true G. 3. (h'ol. ) Elevations of
the cuticle, containing generally acrid or
resinous substances.
Glass. [One of a vast number of words con-
taining the root gal, to shine.} (A T aut.) A half-
hour sand-glass, used on board ship to measure
time by ; e.g. three glasses = an hour and a
half. Half-minute and quarter-minute glasses
are used to measure the running out of the log-
line.
Glasse, Mrs. Name or nom de plume of the
authoress of the first English cookery-book.
Glass-gall. The scum which collects on
melted glass.
Glassites. (Sandemanians.)
Glass-paper. Paper covered with powdered
glass, used for polishing.
Glass-soap. Black oxide of manganese, or
any other substance used to take away colour
from glass.
Glauber's salts. Sulphate of soda (discovered
by Glauber).
Glaucdpis. [Gr. y\avK.5nris, gleaming-eyed.}
1. (Entom.) Gen. of Sphinx moth, fam. Zygx-
nidse [vyaiva, some kind of shark}. 2. (Ornith.)
Brush-bird, about the size of a magpie ; plumage,
brown with white stripes lengthwise on back ;
red wattles. Australia. Gen. Anthoczera [(?)
&vQos, flower, Kaip&<a, I weave], fam. Meliphagi-
Irae [jtxEAt, honey, (paye'tv, to eat}, ord. Passeres.
Glaucous. [L. glaucus, bluish-grey} (Bot.)
Covered with bloom ; e.g. a plum.
Glaucus. [Gr. y\avK<is, gleaming:} (Zoo/.)
Sea-lizard ; nudibranchiate mollusc, dark blue
back with white stripe, white belly, class
Gasteropoda.
Glaze. [Akin to Glass.] A substance which,
being applied to or deposited on the surface of
pottery or porcelain, vitrifies with heat, and
unites with the body. Salt, or flint combined
with lead or tin, is the chief G.
Glazer. A wheel covered with emery, used
for polishing cutlery, etc.
Glazing. Applying a very thin layer of colour
over another, to modify its tone.
Glede. [O.F. glida, glidan, to glide.} 1.
(Kite.) 2. (BiM.) Buzzard, Biiteo, fam. Fal-
idtC, ord. AccTpilres.
GLEE
232
GNOS
Gleemen. In Old Eng. Hist., itinerant
singers, who after the Norman Conquest were
called Minstrels.
Glen. [A.S. ; cf. Welsh glyn, Gadh. gleann.]
Narrow valley, retired hollow between hills or
through raised ground.
Glenlivet. A superior Scotch whisky (from
the place where it is made).
Glenoid. [Gr. y^voetS^s, from y\i\VT], the
(shallow) socket of a joint.] (Anat.) Pertaining
to a shallow articular cavity.
Glimmer. (Glass.) The miners' name for
mica ; so called from its sparkle.
Glissade. [Fr.] A sliding.
Gloaming. [Akin io gloom.] Twilight, dusk.
Globe-rangers. A Naut. nickname for the
Royal Marines.
Globular chart ; G. projection. The Globular
projection of the circles of a sphere is the same
as the stereographic, except that the point of pro-
jection is removed from the sphere by a distance
equal to the sine of 45. A chart drawn on this
projection is a G. chart. The ordinary map, in
which the surface of the world is represented on
two circles, is save for a few convenient inac-
curacies a G. chart of the eastern and western
hemispheres.
Glomeralls. A name applied at Cambridge
University to commissioners appointed to
arrange disputes between gownsmen (students)
and townsmen.
Gloriana. Spenser's Queen of Fairyland,
meant both for Glory and for Queen Elizabeth,
who is also called Belphoebe and Britomart.
It was a court fashion to address her as Gloriana,
Oriana, Astrsea, Cynthia, etc.
Gloss. [Gr. y\wffffa, language, word.] 1. In
the Rhet. of Aristotle, a word which needs ex-
planation. Hence, 2, an interpretation, com-
ment, generally attached to the text and so mar-
ginal or interlinear ; especially remnants of old
Welsh and Irish language preserved on Latin MSS.
Glossary. [L. glossarium, from Gr. y\>aaa,
language, word.] 1. A collection of difficult
words or terms in a book or author explained.
2. A limited dictionary of special terms and
words, as of an author, a science, a dialect.
Glosso-. [Gr. y\>ffffa, the tongue.]
Glossology. [Gr. y\ia<Tffa., language, word,
\6yos, account.] 1. The science of interpreting
words and terms. 2. = Glottology.
Glottis. [Gr. 7\&>TTi's.] (Physiol.) The chink
or aperture in the larynx for breathing and
speaking, somewhat like a small tongue in shape.
Glottology. [Gr. yXSiTTa., language, \6yos, ac-
count.] The science of language in the most
comprehensive sense.
Glover. (Fellmonger.)
Glubdubdrib. The fictitious island in Swift'
Gulliver's Travels, where sorcerers evoked the
spirits of the dead.
Glucina. [Gr. y\vKvs, sweet.] (Geol.) Oxide
of glucinum, a rare earth, and a constituent o
emerald and beryl.
Glucinum. A rare white metal, resembling
aluminium in its properties. Its salts have i
sweet [Gr. y\vicvs] taste. It is sometimes callet.
Beryllium, because it exists in the beryl. Other
names are Glycinum, Glycium.
Glucose. [Gr. y\vitvs, sweet.] Grape-sugar;
he fermented product of starch, cane-sugar, and.
woody fibre.
Glnmdalclitch. The little girl of nine years
old, only just forty feet high, who took care of
[Swift's) Gulliver in Brobdingnag.
Glume. [L. gluma, a husk.] (Bot.) The
chaff, bracts, of the grasses.
Glycerine. The siveet [Gr. y\vittp6s] principle
of oils and fats. A clear, viscid liquid, which
never dries at ordinary temperatures.
Glyn-. Part of Welsh names, = glen, as in
Glyn-neath.
Glyptography. [Gr. y\v(f>o>, I engrave, ypdipw,
I write.] The taking an electrotype cast of an
etching, to be used as a block to print from.
Glyptodon. [Gr. y\virr&s, carved, oSous,
gen. o$6vTos, tooth, i,e. having fluted teeth.]
(Zool.) An edentate gen. of fossil animals,
allied to the armadillos.
Glyptography. [Gr. y\vTrr6s, carved, ypd<peii>,
to write. ] The art of engraving on gems.
Glyptotheca. [Gr. yKvirrfa, carved, 617/07, a
store] A building in which sculptures are pre-
served ; as the Glyptothek at Munich.
Gnatho-. [Gr. yv&Qos, the jaw.] In Anat.
Gnatho. [Gr. yvoBiav.] A representative
parasite in Terence's Eunuchus.
Gneiss. [Ger.] (Geol.) A name for the
lowest series of stratified (metamorphosed)
Primary rocks ; compounded, like granite, of
quartz, felspar, and mica. Some gneiss is a
metamorphic rock of much later age.
Gnome. [Gr. yvu^, a maxim, wise saying.]
A brief and weighty sentence, a maxim, as
" Know thyself."
Gnomes (properly Gnomons, from Gr.
yv&fjuav, knowing). Elemental spirits who, ac-
cording to the Cabalistic writers, inhabited the
earth, and who were regarded as goblin dwarfs.
Gnomic poets. [Gr. yvcafui(6s, dealing in
maxims.] Greek poets, whose works consist
chiefly of short precepts or reflexions, as those
of Theognis and Solon.
Gnomon. [Gr. yvce/juaj>, the gnomon or index
of a sun-dial, a carpenter's rule] 1. (Geom.) Let
a parallelogram be divided into four others by
lines parallel to the sides and intersecting in a
diameter ; if one of the parallelograms, across
which the diameter passes, be removed, the
figure formed by the remaining three is a G.
2. (Astron.) A pillar, the length of whose
shadow on the level ground was used by the
ancient astronomers for finding the altitude of
the sun. 3. (Dialling:) The style or pin of a
sun-dial, whose shadow marks out the hours.
Gnomonical projection. A representation of
the circles of a sphere on a tangent plane, the
projecting point being at the centre.
Gnomonics. The art of constructing dials.
Gnostics. [Gr. yvuvrtKo's, from yvucris, kncnu-
ledge] (Eccl. Hist.) Properly, persons laying
claim to or possessed of knowledge. More
particularly, those who in the first centuries of
the Christian era maintained doctrines similar in
GNU
233
coxn
their essential features to those of Zoroastrianism.
(Ahriman.) Matter to them was simply the pro-
duct of evil ; and this conclusion brought them
sometimes to great asceticism, and sometimes to
the grossest licence. The Gnostics, as time
went on, split into various sects, distinguished
rather by differences in their cosmogonical
systems than by any real divergence of principles.
Among these were the Basilidians, Carpocratians,
Cerdonians, Cerinthians, Valentiiiians, and
others.
Gnu. [Hottentot gnu or nju (Littre).] (Bot.)
A gen. of antelope, with mane, and bull-like
head. S. Africa. Gen. Catoblepas [Gr. harco,
dcnun, P\eir(a, I look], sub-fam. Alcelaphinse,
fam. Bovidae, ord. Ungulata.
Goaf. [Welsh gob, a heap.] The waste place
or material in a colliery.
Go-ashores. In Naut. slang, a sailor's best
clothes.
Goat, Wild. [Heb. ago.] (Bibl.) (Ibex.)
Goat and Compasses. Sign of an inn ; i.e.
"God encompasses us."
Goat-sucker. (Ornith.) An almost universally
distributed fam. of night-flying, insectivorous
birds, with enormous gape of beak ; plumage,
moth-like in colouring, owl-like in texture. The
British spec., Night-jar, Night-hawk, Moth-hawk,
is between ten and eleven inches long. Gen.
Caprimulgus, fam. Caprimulgidse [L. capri-
mulgus, goat-milker^ ord. Picarise (Cuvier,
Fissirostres, ord. Passeres).
Gobelin tapestry. French tapestry ; so called
after Giles Gobelin, a well-known dyer in the
reign of Francis I.
Gobe-mouche, or Gobe-moucb.es. [Fr. gober,
to gulp, mouche, a fly.} 1. The fly-catcher, a
bird ; hence, 2, a silly gossip, ready to swallow
any news.
Gobudae. [L. gobius, Gr. ica/Sids, a kind of
fish, sometimes identified with gobio, the
gudgeon, which, however, belongs to ord. Phy-
sostomi.] (Ichth.) Fam. of carnivorous fresh
and salt water fishes temperate and tropical
waters as Gobies, Dragonets, and Perioph-
thalmus [Gr. irfpi-o<p6a\fj.os, properly round
the eye, but here meaning with eyes that look all
round}. This last gen. (Africa and the East)
hunts its prey on the mud. Ord. Acantho-
pterygii, sub-class Teleostel.
Godown. A storehouse, E. India.
God's acre. [A.S. secer, L. ager, field.} The
churchyard.
Goelette. [Fr.] (Naut.) 1. A schooner.
2. A war-sloop.
Goffering. [Fr. gaufrer, to figure cloth, gaufre,
a honey-comb ; cf. Eng. wafer-cake. ] Plaiting
or fluting frills.
Gog and Magog. Two symbolical warriors
noticed in some books of the Old Testament.
In the Apocalypse they denote the enemies of the
Christian faith ; and in the Koran the names are
in like manner used to mark the opponents of
Islam. Two wooden giants in the Guildhall,
London, are also known by this name.
Going through the fleet. (Naut. ) Being
t'jvved in a launch from vessel to vessel (the
drummers playing the rogue's march), and re-
ceiving a certain number of lashes alongside-
each.
Goitre.] Fr.] Swollen neck ; i.q. Kronchoccle
(f.V.).
Gold-beater's skin. A delicate membrane,
prepared from the peritoneal membrane of the
ox; pieces of gold are interleaved with leaves of
G. for further beating, after the process of
attenuation by vellum leaves.
Golden Age. (Ages, The four.)
Golden apple. (Paris, Judgment of.)
Golden ass. (Psyche.)
Golden Bull. [L. aurea bulla, the seal at-
tached having been encased in gold.} 1. In
Ger. Hist., the edict by which Charles IV.
settled the law of imperial elections, the un-
certainty of which had had the effect of placing
the decision, mostly, in the hands of the pope ;
enacted at Nurnlx-rg and at Met/, 13^6. 2.
Any papal bull sealed in gold.
Golden fleece. In Myth., the fleece of the
golden ram which bore Phrixus and Ilelle to
Colchis. (For Order of G. F., ride Fleece.)
Golden Gardens. The Great and Little Schiitt,
about half-way between Vienna and Pesth,
islands inclosed by the dividing waters of the
Danube. Other large tracts of soil are similarly
formed by the D.
Golden Horn. "The harbour of Constanti-
nople . . . obtained, in a very remote period,
the denomination of the G. H.," expressive of
" the curve which it describes," and " the riches
which every wind wafted from the most distant
countries." Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the
Rom. Empire, ch. xvii.
Golden Legend. A collection of lives of
saints, compiled under the title A urea Legcnda,
by Jacobus de Voragine, in the thirteenth century.
Golden rose. A rose of beaten gold, blessed
by the pope on Mid-Lent Sunday, and usually
sent by him as a gift to some female sovereign.
Golden wedding. The fiftieth anniversary of
the wedding of a couple, who are both still
living in wedlock.
Golf. [Akin to Sw. kolf, a bolt, Ger. kolbe,
a club.} 1. A Scotch game, in which a small
ball is knocked into a set of holes in the ground,
in as few strokes as possible. 2. (Her.) A
purple roundlet or disc.
Gomascites. (Eccl. Hist.} The Calvinistic
followers of Francis Gomas, in the Dutch
Church of the seventeenth century.
Gomashtah. [Hind.] An E. -Indian factor or
agent.
Gombron, or Gombroon ware. (From G.,
otherwise .Bunder Abbas, opposite Isle of
Ormuz, in the Persian Gulf.) Persian fayence,
and, according to some, Chinese porcelain im-
ported via G.
Gomphosis. [Gr. yofj.<j>6ca, I nail.} (Anat.)
A nailing, an articulation with immobility, or
nearly so ; as that of teeth in the alveolar
processes.
Gomuti. [Malay.] A fibre, resembling black
horsehair, obtained from the Gomuti palm.
Gondola. [It.] (Naut.) 1. The well-known
GONE
234
GOUT
boat used in Venice. It is about thirty feet
long and four wide, nearly flat-bottomed, sharp
and high at the stem and stern, always painted
black, and usually propelled by one long oar,
which is plied by the gondolier, standing. 2.
A six or eight oared boat of other parts of the
Italian coast.
Gone. In Naut. phraseology, carried away.
Gone-goose, an abandoned ship, or one given
up as lost.
Gonfalon. [It. gonfalone.] (Gonfanon.)
Gonfanon. [O.H.G. guntfano, from gundja,
combat, fano, banner (Littre).] 1. Small pennon
attached to the lance, of the eleventh century ;
restored to lancer regiments of the Army of
Occupation, 1815. 2. The banner of the papal
army, shaped like the LaMrum.
Goniometer [Gr. ytavia, an angle, fterpov, a
measure} ; Beflecting 0. An instrument for
measuring the angles between the faces of
crystals. In the Reflecting G. the measurement
is effected by observing the angle through which
a crystal must be turned in order that the images
of a signal A, formed by reflexion on two faces,
may successfully coincide with the signal B.
Goniometry. The measurement of angles.
The goniometric functions of an angle are its
trigonometric functions (q.v.).
Gooroo, Curd. [Hind., Skt. guru.] Spiritual
teacher,
Goosefoot. Chenopodium [Gr. xfo, goose, and
KOVS, irotfa,foot}. (Bot.) A gen. of weedy plants,
ord. Chenopodium ; on dunghills and waste
places, known as fat hen, Good King Henry,
etc., to which belongs the Quinoa of Peru
(?*')
Gopher. (Zool.) A fam. of rodents (Pouched
rats), with food-carrying pouch projecting from
each cheek, and some with long hind legs like
Gerbils (q.v.). American Rocky Mountain region,
mostly. Saccomyidse. Not to be confounded
with the marsupial Pouched mice (small Dasy-
uridae) of Australia.
Gopher wood. Gen. vi. 14 ; untranslated ; the
meaning is mere matter of conjecture.
Gor-cock. (Gair-fowL)
Gor-crow. The common crow ; from gore, in
the sense oijilth ; compare the provincial name
midden crow, and vide Middings.
Gordian knot. (Hist.) A knot said to have
been made by Gordius, a Phrygian king, and so
intricate that no one could untie it. Alexander
the Great, it is said, cut it with his sword.
Gordon riots. Anti-popery riots, incited or
headed by Lord George Gordon, 1 760.
Gore. [O.E. gar, lance.} (Her.) An abatement
denoting cowardice. It is bounded by two
curved lines meeting in the fess point.
Gorge. [Fr., from L. gurges, a whirlpool, a
throat.} 1. (Mil.) The contracted space be-
tween the interior extremities of the faces or
flanks of a fortification. 2. A narrow passage
between two hills.
Gorged. (H c r.) Wearing a crown or the
like round the throat [Fr. gorge].
Gorget. (Gorge.) (Mil. ) A piece of metal
armour protecting the neck and throat, after-
wards modified into a crescent-shaped ornament
suspended on the chest and worn by the officer
on duty.
Gorgonidae. [Gr. Topy<av, the Gorgon, a
monster of fearful (yopy6s) aspect.] Sea-shrubs ;
arborescent corals, as Corallium rubrum, Red
coral. Fam. Alcyonaria, ord. Zoantharia, class
Actinozoa, sub-kingd. CoelenteYata.
Gorgons. [Gr. ropyovts.} (Myth.) In the
Hesiodic theogony, three sisters, of whom one
was Medusa, whose head turned to stone all
who looked on it. (JEgis.)
Gos-hawk. [O.E. gos-hafoc, goose-hawk.}
(Ornith.) A short-winged British hawk, used
mainly for ground game. Male, eighteen inches
long, female, twenty-four inches. Plumage,
grey-brown above, white dashed with black
below ; young birds, gentil falcons, are more
of a red colour. Astur palumbarius [L., hawk
used for doves (palumbes)], sub-fam. Accipi-
trinae, fam. Falcontdse, ord. Accipltres.
Gospeller. The minister who reads the Gospel
in the Eucharistic Office.
Gossip. [A.S., from God, and sib, kindred.}
This word now denotes only a tattler, or busy-
body. Anciently it was applied to sponsors, as
contracting a spiritual kinship with the baptized
child ; and in some parts it still retains its
original meaning of a godparent. Similarly
commere [Fr., a godmother} has acquired the
meaning of a gossip.
Goth. In modern phrase, a representative of
tasteless barbarism.
Gotham. Three wise men of Gotham ; they
"went to sea in a bowl,' ; it is said. G. is a
village in Nottingham, with a reputation for
folly ; said to be due to absurd customary services
attached to land tenure there ; but the stories
told of the men of Gotham are to be found
almost everywhere.
Gothamist. Wiseacre, silly blunderer. (Go-
tham.)
Gothenburg system. That by which the
municipal body is the only proprietor of public-
houses in the town, and the only trader in
liquor ; the publican being their salaried ser-
vant, and having no interest in the amount of
drink consumed.
Gothic language. A Low German dialect,
preserved in the translation of the Bible made
by Ulphilas in the fourth century for the Goths
of Moesia ; preserved in a single MS. (fifth
century) now at Upsala, in Sweden.
Gothic styles. (Romanesque styles.)
Gothic version. The version of the Scriptures
made for the use of the Goths by Ulphilas in
the fourth century. (Gothic language.)
Gouache. (Guazzo.)
Gouge. [Fr.] A chisel with a semi- cylin-
drical blade.
Gourmand. [Fr. , a glutton ; origin unknown ;
(?) onomatop.] One fond of high living, but
deficient in taste as to food.
Gourmet. [Fr.] A dainty lover of luxurious
food, a fastidious devotee of the pleasures of the
table.
Gout. [Fr., L. gustus, taste.} Taste, relish.
GOUV
235
GRAN
Gouvernante. [Fr., governess.] G. de menage,
housekeeper.
Governor. [L. gubernator, Gr. KvfSepvav, to
steer.} 1. (Mil.) An officer placed in supreme
authority, both civil and military. 2. (Meek.}
A contrivance for regulating the supply of steam
to the cylinder, so as to prevent the motion of
the piston from exceeding a certain assigned
rate. The commonest form (Watt's) consists
of two heavy balls at the end of arms fastened
by hinges to a vertical spindle turned by the
machine ; as the speed of the rotation increases,
the distance between the balls increases, and
motion is given to the end of a lever connected
with a valve in the steam-pipe, which is thereby
partially closed.
Gowrie Conspiracy. An alleged attempt on
the part of the son of the Earl of Gowrie,
executed for his share in the Raid of Ruthven,
to get possession of the person of James VI.
(1600).
Goyenda. [Hind.] Informer, police agent.
Grab. (Naut. ) An Indian coasting-vessel of
150 to 200 tons, generally two-masted.
Grace. Of a university senate, an act or
decree of such a deliberative body.
Grace, Days of. (Leg.) Time of indulgence
granted to an acceptor for the payment of his
bill after it has become due, if not payable at
sight or on demand. The number varies in
different places, but Sundays are always reckoned.
Grace-cup. The cup passed round after a
formal dinner in a college and elsewhere, where-
with the. feasters drink, standing, to the opposite
and left-hand men, who also stand, and also
sometimes to an institution or benefactor's
memory.
Grace notes. In singing or playing, orna-
nlental, not necessary, turns, shakes, etc.
Graces. [L. Gratise. ] In L. Myth., the
Gratise answered to the Greek Chantes, of whom
Hesiod names three. They are embodiments
of beauty. The name is found in that of the
Sanskrit Harits, the horses of the sun ; so called
as gleaming with ointment or light.
Gradgrind, Thomas. A thoroughly practical
utilitarian in Dickens's Hard Times.
Gradient. The rate of ascent or descent of a
road ; generally spoken of as a gradient of I in
so many ; as, I in 10, i.e. one foot of vertical
rise or fall to every ten feet of horizontal dis-
tance.
Gradin, Gradine. [Fr."| Seats of a theatre or
amphitheatre, arranged one above another.
Graduale, Gradual, Grail, Grayle. 1. In the
Rom. Church, a book containing the musical
portions of the Mass. 2. An anthem between
Epistle and Gospel, sung while the deacon as-
cends the steps [L. gradus] of the altar.
Graeca fides. [L., Greek loyalty.] Treachery,
duplicity. (Punica fides.)
Grail, The Holy. (Sangreal.)
Grain. [L. granum, a small seed, corn.] 1.
The -f-gVoth part of a pound avoirdupois. The
grain was originally the weight of a grain
[granum] of barley. 2. A red dye made from
kermes (formes).
Graining. 1. Painting in imitation of the
grain of wood. 2. A process in leather-dress-
ing, by which the skin is softened and the grain
is raised.
Grains of paradise, Meleguetta pepper. Seeds
of the Amomum grana paradisi, one of the
ginger family, from Guinea ; used to give
fictitious strength to spirits and beer. Brewers
who possess them, and chemists from whom they
buy them, are liable to heavy fines, ^"500 and
^200.
Grakle. [L. graculus, jay or jackdaw.]
(Ornith.) A designation given by some to
certain birds of the starling kind (Sturnus),
peculiar to the eastern hemisphere, as those of the
gen. Pastor [L., feeder] and Acridotheres [Gr.
axpis, -iSos, locust, 0?jpaa>, / hunt], in common
with others of the fam. Icleridse [iKrepos, jaun-
dice, according to the notion that the sick re-
covered on seeing the bird, and it died].
Grallse, Grallatores. [L., stilt walkers, from
grallre, stilts.] (Ornilh.) Wading and running
birds, an ord. ranging from the snipes to the
bitterns and flamingoes.
Gram. 1. (Excalibur.) 2. An Indian grain
on which horses are fed.
Gramarge. [Fr. grimoire, conjuring-book.]
The art of divination.
Gramercy. [Fr. grand' merci.] Great thanks.
Grammalogue. A -word [Gr. Ao'yos] written
(especially in phonographic shorthand) as a letter
[ypdpjjia], i.e. represented by a single sign, as
& and.
Grammar, Comparative. (Comparative gram-
mar.)
Gramme. [Fr.] The weight of a cubic centi-
metre of distilled water, at a temperature of 4 C.
(39-2 Fahr.) ; it equals 1 5 '43235 grains.
Grampus. [Fr. grand (?) or gras (?) poisson,
large or fat fish.~\ (Ickth.) Gen. of dolphin.
The Common grampus (sometimes thirty feet
long, with black back and white belly) ; attacks
the whale. Ranges from North Sea to Cape
of Good Hope. I.q. Thresher or Killer, fam.
DelphinTdse, ord. Cetacea.
Grampus, Blowing the. (Naut.') Sluicing
any one with water.
Granadilla. [Sp. , dim. of granada, pome-
granate.'] The fruit of a climbing vine, found
in Brazil and W. Indies.
Grand Alliance. (Hist.) A league formed
against Louis XIV., by Holland, England, the
Emperor, Spain, and Saxony, 1689-1694 ; re-
newed between the Emperor, Great Britain,
Holland, Prussia, and Hanover, 1701.
Grand coup. [Fr.] Great stroke, great hit.
Grand division. (Mil.) Tactical formation,
in which two companies stand abreast.
Grandee. [Sp. grande de Espana.] The
highest title of Spanish nobility. (Hidalgo.)
Grandiloquent. [From L. grandi-loquus,
grandly speaking.] Bombastic in style of speech.
Grandison, Sir Charles. The title of a novel
by Richardson. On the hero thus named For-
tune lavishes all her gifts. Hence persons of
superlative grandeur and good luck are some-
times so called.
GRAN
236
GREE
Grand jeu. [Fr.] The full play, or strength,
of an organ or harmonium.
Grand Lama, Llama. Buddhist high priest of
Thibet, regarded as divine.
Grand larceny. (Petty larceny.)
Grand serjeanty. An old mode of tenure by
military service, or an equivalent payment.
(Tenure.) It has now become freehold, though
some honorary services are retained.
Granite. [It. granlto, formed of grains.}
(Geol.) Strictly and typically, formed of quartz,
felspar, and mica. Most is igneous, but some of
metamorphic character : in the latter case passing
into gneiss ; in the former, into syenite.
Granitic rocks (Geol.) = granite proper,
graphic granite, syenite, gneiss, and others,
more or less like G. in character and appear-
ance.
Grant. [O.Fr. graanter, craanter, creanter,
from L. credo, / believe.} (Leg.) Originally a
deed transferring incorporeal hereditaments and
expectant estates where transfer by livery of
seisin was impossible. This conveyance is now
the usual mode of transferring real property, and
if uses are superadded, it is called G. to uses.
(Seisin.)
Grantee. (Leg.) One to whom a grant is
made.
Granth. The scriptures of the Sikhs, the
writings of gurus, beginning with Nanek, in
the fifteenth century.
Granular casts. (Path.) Granular matter
adhering to kidney tubecasts; found in the
urine, denoting chronic disease in the kidneys.
Granulating. [Fr. granuler.] Forming into
small masses or grains.
Granulation. [L. L. granulum, a little grain.']
In healing of wounds and ulcers, minute red
vascular particles, the materials of new texture.
Grape-shot (general shape of bunch of grapes).
(Mil.) Projectile composed of layers of shot,
either arranged in a canvas bag round an iron
pin on a circular plate or without the canvas
bolted between four plates.
Grape-sugar. (Glucose.)
Graphic. [Gr. ypaQutos, pertaining to writing
or delineation.} Clearly and vividly described,
expressed, or delineated.
Graphic method. The Method of curves
(< } .v.).
Graphite. [Gr. ypd<pn>, I writ/,] Black-lead
(q.v.).
Graphitoid. [Graphite, and Gr. eTSos, faring
Resembling graphite, or black-lead.
Graptolite. [Gr. ypavros, 'written, \t6os,
stone.} 1. With Linnaeus, appearances on stone,
as of drawings, maps, vegetable forms. Now, 2,
fossil zoophytes Silurian resembling the sea-
pens of our own seas.
Grasseye. [Fr.] (Jang.) Pronounced with
a guttural trill or uvula vibration, as the Fr. r.
Grasson, Grassum. [A.S. gearsum.] A fine
paid on the transfer of a copyhold estate.
Gratis. [L.] For thanks (only), for nothing.
Gravamen [L.] A grievance, inconvenience ;
in conversation, the substantial part of a com-
plaint.
GraveL [Fr. gravier, O. Fr. grave, rough sand
mixed with stones.] Irregular, subangular stones
of hard rock, left by rivers and lakes. Shingle
consists of pebbles.
Graver. An engraving tool.
Graving. (Naut.) Cleaning a ship's bottom,
and coating it with tar or the like.
Gravitation. The mutual force by which any
two particles of matter in the universe attract or
tend to draw each other together. The force is
directly proportional to the two masses and in-
versely to the square of the distance ; i.e. it is
represented by the formula, .
Gravity, Centre of. (Centre.)
Gravity, Specific. (Density.)
Great Bear. In Astron. and Myth. (Eishis,
The Seven.)
Great Bible. (Bible, English.)
Great Cham, or Khan. The supreme ruler of
Tartary.
Great circle. (Circle.)
Great-circle sailing (or Tangent sailing).
That method of navigation by which a ship's
course is directed along the arc of a Great circle
(q.v.), that being the shortest distance between
two points on the globe's surface.
Great Commoner, The. William Pitt, after-
wards Earl of Chatham.
Great Divide, The, The Rocky Mountains,
which constitute the chief watershed of N.
America.
Greater Bull. (Ausculta fill)
Greater Excommunication. (Excommunica-
tion.)
Great Forty Days. Those between the Re-
surrection and the Ascension.
Great Mogul, The. Title of the Mohammedan
emperors of Delhi, of Mongolian race.
Great organ. (Organ.)
Great Seal of England. The seal, in the
keeping of the Lord Chancellor, used for giving
the royal assent to all charters, commissions,
grants of land, letters patent, franchise, liberties,
etc. Privy Seal, in the keeping of the Lord
Privy Seal, that used for sanctioning issues of
treasure.
Great tithes. (Tithes.)
Greave. (Alii.) Armour to protect the legs.
Greaves, Graves. The sediment of melted
tallow.
Grebe. [Ger. grebe, from Mod. Gr. y\dfios,
a gull (Littre, Devic's Supp.) ; or Celt, krib,
a crest (Skeat's Etym. Diet. ?).] (Ornith.) A
universally distributed fam. of diving-birds, with
lobated feet set so far back that the bird has a
difficulty in walking. The dab-chick is the most
familiar British spec. Fam. Podicrpidze [L.
pSdicem, fundament, caput, head}, ord. Anseres.
Grecian. 1. A boy of the head class at Christ's
Hospital. 2. A Greek scholar. 3. A Jew who
knew Greek (Acts vi. i).
Grecian steps. At Lincoln and elsewhere.
A corr. of grcsen steps, grese being the O.E.
form of Fr. clegre, L. gradus, a step. Gresen
steps is, therefore, a tautology.
Greek Calends, or Kalends. (Calends.)
GREE
237
GRIM
Greek Church. The same as the Eastern or
Orthodox Church. (Nicene Creed.)
Greek cross. (Cross.)
Greek fire, i.e. used in defence against the
Saracens by the Byzantine G. , who, circ. A.D.
673, learnt its use from Callinlcus of Heliopolis,
as it is said. Its composition supposed to be of
nitre, sulphur, naphtha ; highly inflammable,
and said to burn under water. Its use spread
through W. Europe in time. Grecque, through
the form Creyke, becomes cracker.
Greek modes, or scales, or divisions of the
interval between two octaves, were fifteen, the
Principal, or Authentic, being five : viz. Dorian,
from D to D, with us ; Ionian, or Jastian, E &
to E b ; Phrygian, E ; JEolian, F ; Lydian, F #.
From these were constructed all the Church
M. of Plain song, Plagal [Gr. ir\ayios, oblique,
indirect} M. being added, formed from Authentic,
by taking the fourth below as a new key-note.
Thus, Hypo-Dorian is our A. Authentic M.
were also distinguished as Hyper- ; e.g. Dorian
is i.q. Hyper-Dorian. (But Hyper- has not
uniformly this meaning.)
Greenbacks. Legal tender notes. The national
paper-money currency of the U.S., first issued
on the breaking out of the late civil war. The
backs of notes so issued by the Government,
and by the national banks, are printed in green,
mainly for the purpose of preventing alterations
and counterfeits. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Green Cloth, Court of. A court having juris-
diction over all matters of justice in the king's
household ; abolished in 1849.
Green-eyed monster. Jealousy.
Greenheart. (Bibiri.)
Green Man and Still. Sign of an inn ; i.e.
herbalist and distillery.
Greensand ( Geol. ) = ( i ) Upper greensand,
or G. proper, and (2) Lower, or Neocomian
(q.v.), which two are divided by the gault. The
lower part of the Cretaceous system, of which
the chalk is the upper ; containing, in some
beds, numerous greenish specks of glauconitic
silicate of iron.
Green sickness. Popular name for Chlorosis
(q.v.).
Greenstone, Diorite. A variety of trap rock,
found in masses and dykes, associated with
various other rocks.
Grego. [It. Greco, Greek.'] A short cloak of
coarse cloth, worn by Levantines.
Gregorian Calendar. (Calendar; New Style.)
Gregorian epoch. The epoch of the Grego-
rian Calendar.
Gregorian modes, or tones (collected and ar-
ranged by Gregory the Great, circ. A.D. 600).
Certain Church modes, chants, melodies, of
Plain song, taken, as is generally held, from the
Greek modes (<}.v.), or from some diatonic system
common to Hebrew and to Greek music, and
thence derived to the early Church.
Gregorian telescope. A particular kind of
reflecting telescope, named after its inventor,
Professor Gregory, and described by him in
Optica Front ota, 1 660. (Telescope.)
Grenade. [Sp. granado.] (Mil.) A large
shell or bomb. A liand.-G., barely two pounds
in weight, used for throwing against storming
parties, at a distance of about twenty-live yards.
The tallest soldiers, when formed into compa-
nies or regiments by themselves, are called
Grenadiers, having been raised for this duty by
Charles II.
Grenadillo, Granilla. [Sp.] A pale W.-
Indian cabinet wood.
Grenadine. [Fr.] A thin silk for dresses,
shawls, etc.
Gres. [Fr., sandstone, gritstone, O.II.G. gries,
gravel.] Stoneware.
Gres de Flandre ; so called. Stoneware, ap-
parently German.
Gresham Lectures. Free scientific lectures
delivered in the City of London, under the will
of Thomas Gresham.
Gretna-Green marriages. Marriages cele-
brated at Gretna Green, being the first plaee
across the Scottish border that could be reached
from Carlisle by persons wishing to avail
themselves of the facilities afforded by the Scot-
tish law of marriage. Such marriages are no
longer celebrated, a residence of twenty-one
days being now required in Scotland as in Eng-
land.
Grettir Saga. The Icelandic story of a hero
whose exploits answer to those of the Greek
Herakles. (Berserkers.)
Grex venalium. [L.] A venal throng
(Suetonius).
Greybeard. In Pottery. (Bellarmine.)
Grey Friars. Franciscans ; so called from the
colour of their habit.
Greyhound. [Heb. zarzir mathnaim, girded
of the loins.} (Bibl.} Prov. xxx. 31; probably
horse (vide margin of Authorized Version).
Grey spectre. (Banshie.)
Greystone. (Trachyte.)
Greywacke. [Ger. grauwacke, grey, coarse
rock.] An indurated argillo-arenaceous rock,
sometimes gritty; Silurian and Cambrian, chiefly.
But the term is not strictly defined.
Grice. [(?) Fr. gris, grey.] A young wild
boar, or domestic pig, or badger.
Gridiron. (A T atit.) A timber frame, between
high and low water marks, for a ship to rest on,
to allow an examination of her bottom.
Griffin. 1. [Gr. ypvty] A fabulous being of
mediaeval fiction and romance, but answering
practically to the dragon of the Gardens of the
Hesperides, or of the Glistering Heath in the
Volsung tale. (Saga.) 2. [Anglo-Ind.] New-
comer to India. 3. An heraldic animal, with a
lion's body and an eagle's head and wings.
Grilse. Salmon in second year, returned from
sea.
Grimalkin. 1. Quasi-personal name of a
(properly she-)cat. 2. Name of a familiar of one
of the witches in Macbeth. Graymalkin suggests
the idea of a cat such as assists at the orgies of
witches, in connexion with a witch-song beginning
" Grauwolcken," Grey clouds. Dr. Latham and
others say gri-malkin = grey scarecrain. Richard-
son quotes, "Grimalkin's a hell-cat ; the devil
may choke her" (Ballad of Alley Croker). [Mai-
GRIM
238
GUAR
kin is for Moll-kin, dim. of Moll, Mary, with
suffix -kin.]
Grime's Dyke. Wall of Antoninus, from the
Forth to the Clyde.
Grimgribber. [(?) Fr. grimoire, a conjuring-
book.} The jargon of legal sophistry.
Grimm's law. (Lang.) The generalization
of Jacob Grimm, as to the change of early ex-
plosive consonants in Teutonic about the first
century, and a further partial change, especially
in dentals, in O.H.G. Represented as three
stages in column, we have
Early stage : GH ; g ; k : DH ; d ; t : BH ; b ;
Teut. ch. :g; k ; h(g):d; t;M(d):b; p;yTb)
O.H.G. ch. : k ; ch, hh ; h (g) : t ; z,sz; d : p;/(b) ;/(v, b)
Small capitals are aspirates, italics are spirants,
or breathings. There is scarcely any passage
from spirants in O.H.G., except from the dental
th, which seems to have been distasteful.
Grindery. Shoemaker's materials.
Griping. (Naut.) (Falling off.)
Griqnas. A S. -African race, sprung from
Dutch settlers and Hottentot women.
Grisaille, En. [Fr.] Ornamented with de-
signs in grey.
Griselda. The very patient wife in Chaucer's
Clerke of Oxenfortfs Tale.
Grisette. [Fr.] 1. A coarse grey dress. 2.
A woman who wore it.
Grison, Grisonia, vittata. [Fr. grison, gris,
re y-\ (Zool.) An animal of the weasel kind,
about two feet long, light grey back, black belly ;
playful when tamed, but mischievous. Galictis,
sub-fam. Mustellnae, fam. Mustelidae, ord. Car-
nivora.
Grist [O.K.] That which is ground in a mill.
Grit = any stone made up of particles more
or less angular (mostly siliceous), cemented to-
gether, as shell-grit, which is calcareous ; mill-
stone grit, siliceous.
Groat. [D. grote schware, great S. five
little schware.] Any great or large coin. An
old English silver coin, equal to fourpence of
our present money.
Groats. [O.E. grotz, meal of wheat or barley.]
Oats deprived of the hulls, or outer coating.
Grocer's itch. A kind of Eczema (q.v.) on
the hand, from the irritation of sugar.
Grog. 1. Rum and water, introduced as a
regular navy drink by Admiral Vernon, called
" Old Grog" from his grogram cloak. 2. Any
mixture of spirits and water.
Grog, Old. Admiral Vernon, who took Puerto
Bello, New Granada, in 1739 ; known by his
grogram cloak ; originator of grog.
Grogram. [O.Fr. gro-grain, coarse grain.'} A
coarse stuff", made of silk and mohair.
Groins. [Connected with Icel. grein, Sw.
gren, Dan. green, a branch or arm.} (Arch.)
The lines formed by the intersection of arches
crossing each other at any angle.
Grolier. (From the inventor.) A kind of
decoration for bookbinding, consisting of a
scroll, embracing curves, semicircles, and angles.
Grommets, or Grummets. (A T aut.) Rings of
rope, used to fasten the sail to a stay, and for
other purposes.
Groningenists. (Eccl. Hist.) A subdivision
of the sect of Anabaptists.
Groom of the Stole. In the royal household,
the first lord of the bedchamber ; so called from
the long robe, or stole, worn by the sovereign on
State occasions.
Gros. [Fr.] Thick, strong ; used in many
compound words for silk goods, as gros-de-
Naples, etc.
Groschen. [Ger., dim. of gross, and originally
= any somewhat thick or large coin.] A German
coin ; 30 silver G. = 24 good G. = I thaler.
Grossierete. [Fr.] Coarseness, vulgarity.
Grotesque. [Fr., It. grottesco, in grotto style.}
Quaint, irregular, whimsical.
Grotius. Of Delft, Holland, the great pub-
licist of Europe (born 1585).
Groundage. Wharfage.
Ground bass. (Music.) A bass passage of four
or eight bars, repeated frequently, each time
with a variation of melody and harmony.
Ground-tackle. (Naut.) Anything used in
anchoring or mooring a ship.
Grow, To. (Naut.) Used of the direction of
the cable towards the anchor ; thus : " The cable
grows on the port bow " means that it inclines
to the left side.
Grub Street. Near Moorfields, where many
literary hacks lodged in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. It is now Milton Street.
It supplies an epithet for worthless authors and
their works.
Gruesome, Grewsome. [Scot.] Ugly, fright-
ful.
Grummet. (Grommets.)
Grumous blood. [L. grumus, a little heap of
earth.} 1. Thick, clotted. 2. (Bot.) Knotted,
clubbed.
Grundy, Mrs. A dame often referred to by
Dame Ashfield, in Morton's Speed the Plough, as
to " What will Mrs. Grundy say ? " Hence the
name stands for respectable English society and
its censorious propriety.
Grypdsis. [Gr. ypvnwru, a crooking.} A
growing inwards of the nails.
Guacharo. [Sp., screamer ; cf. It. guajare, to
yell.} (Steatornithidae.) G. caves, in the valley
of Caripe, Venezuela, the haunt of the G., a
remarkable nocturnal bird, described by Hum-
boldt ; of ord. Insessores, tribe Fissirostres, and
referred to Caprimulgidae ; but widely differing
from Insess., as being strong-billed, frugivorous.
From the fat of the young a valuable oil or
butter is obtained.
Guachos. Half-breed inhabitants of the
Pampas of La Plata, of Spanish and native
American extraction.
Guanches. The aborigines of the Canary
Islands ; now extinct.
Guano deposits. Of Pacific and other tropical
islands ; the droppings of sea-fowl, with their
skeletons and eggs, bodies and bones of fishes,
seals, and other animals ; 60 to 120 feet deep ;
a valuable manure. The word is Spanish.
Gnarana. A kind of chocolate made from a
Brazilian plant.
Guardacosta. [Sp., coastguard.} (Naut.) 1.
GUAR
239
GULF
War-vessels formerly employed in the preventive
service on the coasts of S. America. 2. Spanish
revenue-vessels are still so called.
Guard-boat. (Naut,) 1. A boat used in har-
bour to see that officers and crews are on the
alert, by rowing amongst the men-of-war. 2.
One employed to enforce quarantine.
Cfuardian of the spiritualities. The person or
persons in whom resides the ecclesiastical juris-
diction of a diocese, when a see is vacant by
death or translation.
Guardians of the poor. (Poor laws.)
Guard-mounting. (Mil.) Form of parade
preparatory to guards leaving the inspection-
ground for their respective posts.
Guardo. [Sp.] (Naut.) A guard-ship, or
man belonging to one. G., a trick upon a lands-
man, generally in a guard-ship.
Guard-ship. (Naut.) A man-of-war, stationed
in a harbour to superintend marine affairs there,
and inspect nightly vessels not in commission.
In fleets, each ship takes the guard in turn for
twenty-four hours, commencing at 9 a.m., and
during her tour of duty hoisting the Union Jack
at the mizzen.
Guava. (Bat.) Fruit of the Psidium pomi-
frum and pyrifgrum ; extensive gen. of Myrta-
cese, of Trop. America only.
Guazzo. \\i., gouache.} A very durable kind
of distemper painting.
Gubbio ware. Fayence made or finished at
Gubbio, in Italy, about 1518-1537. Noted for
its ruby and other metallic lustres.
Gudgeon. The iron piece at the end of a
wooden shaft on which it turns ; as the gudgeon
of a water-wheel.
Guebers. This word, meaning infidel (Giaour),
is applied by the Mohammedans to the worship-
pers of fire, who in India are called Parsees, as
having come originally from Persia. Their
sacred books are the Zendavesta.
Guelfs. (It. Hist.) In the twelfth century,
the Welfs, or Guelfs, dukes of Bavaria, were
constantly at war with the house of Hohen-
stauflfen, whose chief adversary in Italy was the
pope. The popes thus became the heads of the
Guelf party, as opposed to the Ghibellines, or
supporters of the emperor ; and the struggle
between the two became a contest between the
spiritual and temporal powers.
Guenevere. (Arthur, King.)
Gueridons. [Fr.] Loo-table.
Guerilla. [It., dim. of guerra, O.H.G. werra,
war.} One of a band of men carrying on
irregular warfare and subsisting by plunder.
Guerre a la mort. [Fr.] War till death.
Guerre a 1'outrance. [Fr.] War to the (bitter)
end.
Guest-rope, or Guest-warp. One carried to an
object at a distance, either to warp a vessel or
make a boat fast. Guest-warp-boom, a swing-
ing spar outrigged from a vessel's side, to
fasten boats to.
Guicowar. [Hind.] Lit. cowherd ; title of
the sovereign of Gwalior. Also written Gaik-
ivar.
Guide-pulley. A pulley used to alter the
direction of a belt and enable it to transmit
force from one axle to another to which it is not
patallel.
Guides, or Guide-bars. The pieces in which
the cross-head of the piston-rod slides, and by
which the motion of the rod is kept parallel to
the cylinder.
Guidon. [Fr., from guider, to guide ^ (Mil.)
Standard of a regiment of heavy dragoons ; light
dragoons not carrying them in the English
army.
Guidones, or Guides. Priests established by
Charles the Great (Charlemagne), at Rome, to
aid pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem.
Guild. [A. S. gildan, to fay.} A brother-
hood or society, religious, social, commercial,
acting with funds contributed by the members.
In the Middle Ages there was a general tendency
to the formation of such societies in all trades.
Ultimately the guild became coextensive with
the corporate body of the town or borough.
(Gild.)
Guillemets. [Fr. , from name of inventor.]
Quotation marks or inverted commas.
Guillemot. [Fr.] (Ornilh.} Gen. of rock-
inhabiting, diving sea-birds. The common
guillemot of Great Britain, with black and white
breast, is about eighteen inches long. Gen.
Uria [Gr. ovpia, water-bird}, fam. Alcldse, ord.
Anseres.
Guillotine. The French instrument of de-
capitation, introduced, or improved, by Dr.
Guillotin, who died 1814.
Gnimauve, Pate de. [Fr.] A lozenge made
of the root of the marsh-mallow [guimauve].
Guimbarde. [Fr. , originally a waggon ; etym.
unknown.] Jew's-harp.
Guinea-fowl. (Named from locality whence
introduced.) An African bird, domesticated in
Great Britain, and acclimatized in America and
W. Indies. Gen. Numklinae [L. A'umidian},
fam. Phasianidse [Gr., of the P/iasis river}, ord.
Galllnae.
Guinea-grains. Grains of paradise (brought
from Guinea).
Guinea-pig. [(?) Corr. of Guiana.] The rest-
less cavy. (Cavy.)
Guinea-worm, Filar ia draczinculus, or Me-
dinensis. A parasite. In hot climates, e.g.
Arabia, Upper Egypt, Guinea, etc. ; especially
affecting the leg ; from a few inches to three or
four yards long.
Guipure. [Fr.] 1. Originally a thick thread
or cord, over which is twisted a thread of silk,
gold, or silver ; applied, 2, to thread-lace, with
G. reliefs ; and so, 3, to all lace without grounds,
the various patterns of which are united by
brides, i.e. irregular uniting threads. Mis.
Palliser, History of Lace.
Guisards. In Scotland, masquerade actors,
answering to morrice-dancers in England.
(Morriee-dance.)
Gulden. (Florin.)
Gules. [Fr. gueule, a throat.} (Her.} The
red colour in coats of arms, represented in en-
graving by vertical lines.
Gulf. (Univ.) To give a common pass
GULF
240
GWEN
degree to a candidate who has been examined
for honours.
Gulf Stream. A warm oceanic current, which
originates in the Gulf of Mexico, passes through
the Straits of Bahama, skirts the coast of N.
America, and then widens out and crosses the
Atlantic mainly in a north-easterly direction.
Gulliver's Travels. The title of a romance by
Dean Swift, relating the adventures of Gulliver
in Lilliput, the land of pygmies ; Brobdingnag,
the land of giants ; Laputa ; and the land of the
Houyhnhnms, in which horses are the head of
creation, while a degraded race of human beings,
called Yahoos, are their servants. The last of
these narratives seems to be a fierce outburst of
scorn for mankind. The first is a satire referring
to the court and politics of England, Sir Robert
Walpole being represented by the premier
Flimnap. The third is levelled at the abuses
of philosophical science by pretenders or charla-
tans. The second is of a more general character,
exhibiting human action and feeling as they
might appear to beings of enormous size and of
cold reflecting dispositions.
Gum tragacanth. The gummy exudation
from the stems of several Eastern spec, of
Astragalus ; used as a demulcent, and for im-
parting firmness to lozenges and pill-masses.
Gum-tree. (Eucalyptus.)
Gun-boat (Naut.) A war- vessel, of small
draught, and carrying one or more guns in the
bow ; now propelled by steam, but formerly by
sails and sweeps.
Gun-cotton. Cotton soaked in sulphuric and
nitric acids, and then dried ; used as gun-
powder.
Gunfire. (Naut.) Morning, at daybreak ;
evening at 8 p.m. winter, 9 p.m. summer.
Called "the admiral falling down the hatch-
way. "
Gunge. [Hind.] A granary, depot, a whole-
sale market ; as Ranee-gunge, the queen's market.
Gungnir. [From the root of gang, to go, as
in Rolf the ganger, or walker.} In Teut.
Myth., the spear of Odin.
Gunjah. Dried hemp, from which the re-
sinous juice has not been removed.
Gun-lod. (Naut.) An explosive fire-ship.
Gun-metaL An alloy of about nine parts of
copper and one of tin, for making cannon, etc.
Gunnel (Gunwale.)
Gunner of a ship. A warrant officer, who has
charge of guns and stores belonging to them,
and instructs the crew in their use.
Gunny. [Hind, gon, sack.} Coarse sacking,
used in India for rice-bags, etc.
Gunroom, The. (Naut. ) In large vessels, is
situated at the after end of the lower gundeck,
and partly occupied by junior officers ; in small
ones, below the gundeck, and is the lieutenants'
messroom. In frigates, stern-ports are cut
through the gunroom.
Gunten. (Naut.) A merchant-vessel in the
Moluccas.
Gunter's chain ; G. line ; G. scales. The chain
commonly used by surveyors ; it is sixty-six feet
long, and consists of a hundred links ; ten
chains make a furlong, ten square chains an
acre. "When lines are measured in chains and
links, areas can be calculated decimally. G.
scales show the logarithms of numbers, of the
sines, tangents, etc., of angles ; they are used
for finding products and quotients of numbers,
and for solving triangles, by measuring distances
with a pair of compasses, on the same principle
that multiplication of numbers is performed
by addition, and division by subtraction, with
the aid of a table of logarithms. The scale
which gives logarithms of numbers is called G.
line.
Gunwale, or Gunnel. (Naut.) Strictly speak-
ing, the plank placed horizontally upon the
timber-heads, so as to cover them, but often
used for plank-sheer, i.e. the uppermost plank
in a vessel's side. G. of a boat, a binder going
round the uppermost plank. G.-to, having the
G. level with the water.
Gurgoyle. [Fr. gargouille, a water-shoot.}
(Arch.) Spouts for carrying off water, often
shaped in the form of human or other heads and
bodies. The word is akin to our gargle and
gurgle.
Gurjun. A thin Indian balsam or oil.
Gurnard. [O. Fr. gournauld, grougnaut, id.
(Cotgrave), Fr. grogner, L. grunnio, I grunt ; cf.
Fr. grondin, Ger. knurrhahn, id., horn grunting
when taken.] (fchth.) Widespread gen. of fish,
mostly salt-water, head and cheeks protected by
bony plates ; one spec, flies. Several British spec.
Trigla, fam. Triglidae, ord. Acanthopterygii.
Gurrah. [Hind, gorha.] A plain coarse
Indian muslin.
Gusset. [Fr. gousset.] A square patch
doubled over the ends of a seam to secure
them.
Gustus, Gustatio. [L.] The first part of a
recta coena ; of lettuces, eggs, shell-fish, etc., to
whet the appetite.
Gutta cavat lapidem. [L. ] The drop hollows
out the stone (Ovid). Non vi sed ssepe cadendo,
not by force but by freqttent falling.
Guttapercha. [Malay gutta, gum, percha,
the tree from which it is procured.] A concrete
juice resembling indiarubber.
Gutta serena. [L.] The drop serene of Mil-
ton, i.q. Amaurosis (q.v.) ; so called because the
cornea remains bright and transparent.
Guttural. [L. guttur, throat.} An articulate
sound pronounced with the back of the tongue
and the back of the palate ; also called back
palatals. The commonest are k, g, gh, ng, ch t
as in Ger. raxh, kh (x)-
Gutty. (Her.} Sprinkled with drops [Fr.
gouttes].
Guy. [Sp. guia, a guide.} (Naut.) Guy-rope,
1. One used to steady or guide anything. 2. A
large rope, slack, and extending from masthead
to masthead, to which a tackle is fixed for load-
ing or unloading a vessel.
Guyon, Sir. Type of temperance, in Spenser's
Faery Queene, bk. ii.
Guze. (Her.} A sanguine (blood-coloured)
roundlet or disc.
Gwent, Kingdom of. A Celtic kingdom com-
GWYN
241
HABE
prising Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire.
G. = champaign land.
Gwynedd. [Welsh.] Old name of the counties
of Carnarvon, Denbigh, and Flint.
Gwyniad. [Welsh gwyn, white.] (Ichth.}
Schelly, fresh-water herring, like the herring.
Spec, of Coregonus, fam. Salmonidse, ord. Phy-
sostomi, sub-class Teleostel.
Gyall. (Zool.) E.-Indian jungle ox (Bos fron-
talis) ; supposed original stock of humped breed.
Gybe. (Jibe.)
Gynmasiarch. [Gr. yvnvafflapx *-] (^ r - Hist.}
The officer who had charge of the gymnasia.
(Liturgies.)
Gymnasium. [L., Gr. yvfuvafftov] 1. An
open space covered with sand, for the purpose
of athletic games. 2. Buildings for the general
training of the young. The most famous gym-
nasia at Athens were the Lycasum and the
Academy.
Gymnodontes. [Gr. yv^v6s, naked, oSovs,
otidvTos, a loolh^\ (Ichth. ) Fam. of fish, Globe-
Jishes, Sun-fishes. Temperate and tropical seas,
occasionally Great Britain. Ord. Plectognathi.
Gymnogens, or Gymnospermous plants. [Gr.
yvfjLvds, naked.] (Bot.) In Lindley's system,
flowering plants, with exogenous stems and
naked seeds ; a separate class, of which Coniferce,
Taxacese, Cycadaceae, and Gnetacese are orders.
Gymnosophists. [Gr. yvnvoffotyiffrai, naked
philosophers.] The Greek name for Fakirs and
Dervises, from their ascetic habits.
Gymnotus. [Coined from Gr. yv^vds, naked,
van-as, back.] Gen. and spec, of fish, Electric
eel, five to six feet long. Marshes of Trop. S.
America. Fam. Gymnosidse, ord. Physostomi,
sub-class Tele'oste'I.
Gynaeceum. [Gr. yvvaiKeiov, from yvvaiK-,
stem of yw-fi, woman.] Female apartments.
Gynaeco-. [Gr. yvirfi, a woman, gen. ywcuttis.]
GynsBCOcracy. [Gr. yvvaiKOKparia, rule of
women, from yvvaut-, stem of yvv-fi, woman, and
KpaTf<o, I rule.] A constitution under which a
woman is or can be sovereign.
Gynandrous. (Bot.) Having stamens, style,
and ovary, all in one body ; e.g. orchids.
-gynia. [Gr. yvv-fi, a woman.] (Bot.) Each
of the twenty-four Linnsean classes is divided
into two or more orders ; in the first thirteen
depending on the number of pistils. Monogynia
have one pistil; iJi-, 2; Tri-, 3; Tetrn-, 4;
Penta-, 5 ; Hexa-, 6 ; Hepta-, 7 ; Deca-, to
Dodeca-, 12 ; Poly-, many.
-gynous. [Gr. 761/17.] (Bot.) Refers to the
styles of a flower.
Gyp. (Camb. Univ.) A college servant.
Gypsies. [A name which is said to be a corr.
of the word Egyptian, but of which the Ger.
zigeunes, the Russ. tzigan, the It. zingaro, the
Sp. gitano, seem to be cognate forms.] A vagrant
people, called by the French Bohemians, who
appeared in Western Europe early in the
fifteenth century, and who form everywhere a
distinct race. Many still live in England,
dwelling in camps or carts, and exist by fortune-
telling, selling brooms, baskets, etc., and beg-
ging. Some are dishonest, but seldom towards
those who show them kindness. They call them-
selves Romany.
Gypsum. [L. , Gr. 7^05, chalk.] Sulphate
of lime + water, very widely diffused in strata
essentially differing. Plaster of Paris is G., the
water being driven off by heat.
Gyrate. [L. gyro, T turn in a circle (Gr.
yvpos).] To revolve round a (frequently moving)
point or axis, to move in a spiral or circle, to
rotate.
Gyration [L. gyro, / make to turn round in a
circle] ; Centre of G. ; Radius of G. Rotation ;
the Radius of G. is the distance from the axis
to the Centre of G. (For Centre of G., vide
Centre.)
Gyres. [L. gyms, Gr. yvpos.] A revolution,
a turn of circular motion.
Gyr-falcon. [Ger. geier-falk, hawk-falcon]
(Ornith.) Largest of true falcons; plumage,
dull brown when young, nearly pure white when
mature ; difficult to train. N. Europe and N.
America. Falco gyrfalco, sub-fain. Falconlnse,
fam. Falconidse, ord. AccipTtres.
Gyron. [O.Fr.] (Her.) An ordinary bounded
by two lines drawn from the fess point, one to
an angle of the escutcheon and the other to the
middle point of an adjacent side. An escutcheon
divided into eight equal triangles by lines drawn
through the fess point is called gyronny.
Gyroscope. [Gr. yvpos, a circle, incoWw, /
behold.] A machine, made in several forms, to
exhibit the composition of rotatory motions.
Gyves, Gives. [Welsh gefyn.] Fetters,
H.
H. Was used by the Latins as an abbrev.
of Hom6, Hares, etc. As a numeral, it ex-
pressed 200. In music it is used by the Germans
to designate our B fiat.
Haaf-boat. [Dan. hsev, the sea.] (Naut.)
One used in the deep-sea fishery of the Shet-
lands and Orkneys.
Habeas Corpus. [L.] (Leg.) Name of several
writs, of which the most famous is H. C. ad
subjiciendum, addressed to any one who detains
a person in custody, commanding him to have
the body to ansiver ; i.e. to produce in court,
that the rightfulness of such detention may
be considered. It is issued by the Lord Chan-
cellor or any vacation judge, unless a due
committal of the prisoner be proved. It is the
great safeguard of personal liberty. Date of
H. C. Act, 1679.
Habemus confitentem reum. [L.] Lit. we
have the accused person confessing ; in argument,
K
HABE
242
HALF
= here is an important admission on the
opposite side.
Habendum. [L., to be had, gerundive of ha-
bo, J have.} (Leg.) That part of a deed which
determines the amount of interest conveyed.
Habitants, Habitans. [Fr.] French farmers
of Lower Canada.
Habitat [L., he inhabits.} The totality of
stations occupied by any given organized being.
Habitue, -ee. [Fr.] One accustomed to
frequent a place ; as an H. of a theatre, public-
house, etc.
Hacbish, Haschisch. An intoxicant, made
from Indian hemp (Cannabis), from remote times,
in the Levant. (Assassin.)
Hachure lines, or Hatching. [H. in Fr.,
hatching, hache, a hatchet.} On maps, short
broken strokes ; the shading of sloping ground.
Hacienda. (Eanch.)
Hackery. [Hind, chhakra, cart.] A Bengal
street cart, drawn by oxen.
Hackney. [Fr. hacquenee, ambling nag.} 1.
A nag. 2. A horse for hire. 3. A H. -coach,
a coach and horse for hire ; first used in London,
1634.
Hactenns invidiae respondimus. [L.] Thus
far have -we made answer to envy (Ovid).
Hadan. (Muezzin.)
Hades. [Gr. 8175, also afSijs.] (Gr. Myth.)
The land of the deaxl, possibly as being unseen.
Hence the king of that land, the husband of
Persephone. The name may be compared with
that of Hodr, the slayer of Balder. (Eleusinian
Mysteries.)
Hades, Helmet of. (Tarnkappe.)
Hading. [Ger. halde, dope.} The angle at
which a vein of ore is inclined to the vertical.
Hadj. The Mohammedan pilgrimage to
Mecca and Medina. Those who have per-
formed the pilgrimage are called Hadji.
Hadji (Hadj.)
Hadrian's Wall, or the Wall of Severus,
ran from Wallsend (Wall's End), near New-
castle, to Carlisle.
Haema-, Haemat-, Hsemato-. [Gr. oT/io, blood,
gen. a'1/j.aros.]
Haemal Pertaining to the blood [Gr.
blood-vessels.
Haematite. [Gr. alfia, blood.} (Geol.) Red
and brown kidney-iron ore ; native peroxide oi
iron, found in veins and masses ; impure
Limonite ; earthy, Jtuddle ; crystallized, Specular
iron ore.
Haematuria. (Med.) Bloody urine [Gr.
oftpov].
Haemony. Comus, 629, et seqq., "A smal
unsightly root," with "bright golden flower . . .
of sovran use 'gainst all enchantments, mildew,
blast, or damp, or furies." (Moly.)
Haemoptysis. (Med.) Spitting [Gr.
of blood [al/ia].
Haemorrhage. [Gr. alfi.oppS.yia, from afua
and a root of p^yvvfii, I break.} (Med.) Flow
of blood from a ruptured vessel.
Haemorrhoids. [Gr. alfj.oppoi$es, sc. <f>Ae'e
blood-discharging veins.} (Med.) Bleeding piles
corr. into Emerods.
Haemostatic. [Gr. o-roTl/tds, causing to rest.}
Med.) Stopping haemorrhage.
Haeretico Comburendo. [L.] The title of the
writ which handed over the person of the heretic
o execution by burning.
Heeret lateri letalis arundo. [L.] The deadly
shaft remains fixed in her (his) side (Virgil) ; of
the wounds of passion.
Haffle. To speak unintelligibly, as "a
lafnin' callant" (Scott's Guy Manner ing ) ; to
prevaricate.
Hafiz. The great lyric poet of Persia.
Hag. (Ichth. ) Myxine, Borer, etc. ; spec, of
worm-like, eyeless fish, twelve to fifteen inches
long, which works into the inside of other fish,
and eats them away. Gen. Myxinidoe [Gr.
jTvos, slime-fish], ord. Marsipobranchii, sub-
class Cyclostomi.
Hagadoth. [Heb., legends, narrations.] A
collection of legendary matter, Halachoth [rules'],
one of traditional customs, belonging to the
oral law of the Jews, and eventually reduced
to writing. (Talmud.)
Haggis. [Scot.] A pudding of sheep's or
lamb's entrails, chopped fine, with suet, herbs,
leeks, and spices, boiled in the paunch.
Hagiographa, [Gr.] Sacred writings.
Hagiology. Biography of the saints [Gr.
07101].
Ha-ha, Haw-haw. (Haugh.) A sunk fence,
a fence in the middle of a depression, so that it
cannot be seen at a short distance.
Haigh, Hay. [Cf. D. hang, inclosure, Ger.
hagen, to fence.} A place surrounded by a hedge
for purposes of chase, as Rothwell Haigh ; so
Haye Park, Horse-hay.
Haik. [Ar.] A piece of woollen or cotton
cloth worn over the tunic by Arabs.
Hail, To. [A word containing the root of
call.} (Naut.) To H. from a place, to belong
to it. To H. a vessel, to inquire whence it
comes and whither bound.
Hainault (Geog.) A province of the Nether-
lands (S.), now partly in France, partly in
Belgium.
Hakim. [Ar. ] Wise man, physician.
Halachoth. (Hagadoth.)
Halbert. [Fr. hallebarde, from It. alabarda.]
A kind of pike, formerly carried by sergeants,
having under the spear-point a hatchet at one
side and a hook at the other.
Halcyon days. Fourteen days of winter, when
the kingfisher [Gr. O^KVUV], it was thought,
builds its nest, and the sea is calm.
Hale. [Cf. O.H.G. halon, holon, Ger. holen,
to draw, pull.] To pull, tug, tow.
Haler. (Punt.)
Half-deck. (A r aut.) 1. The space imme-
diately below the quarter-deck, between its fore-
most part and the steerage. 2. The steerage.
3. A H. -decked vessel is one not decked through-
out.
Half-press. The work done by one man at a
printing-press.
Half-topsails, Under. (A r aut.) When only the
upper half of a ship's topsails is visible ; i.e. about
twelve miles off.
HALT
243
HAND
Halibut. [A.S. hali, holy, but = flat-fish,
(fchth.) Halibut, one of the largest of flat-fishes
five to seven feet long. British and Northern
seas. Hippoglossus [Gr. iirir6y\cacrffos, like a
horse's tongue] vulgaris, fam. Pleuronectidae, ord.
Anacanthini, sub-class Teleostei.
Halldom. [A.S. haligdom, Ger. heiligthum.
1. Holiness. 2. The holy or consecrated thing,
as a relic. 3. The place where it is preserved.
Hence, 4, a sanctuary ; or, 5, the possessions ol
a religious house, as the Halidom of the Abbey
of Melrose (Scott). 6. An oath sworn by the
holy thing or place.
Hallamshire. Sheffield and the neighbouring
district.
Hallel [Heb., praise]^ or Paschal hymn of
the Jews, consisted of Ps. cxiii., cxiv. , cxv., the
first portion sung in the early part of the feast ;
and Ps. cxvi., cxvii., cxviii., sung at the con-
clusion of the supper (see Matt. xxvi. 30).
Halliards, Halyards, or Haulyards. [From
hale of haul, and yard.] (Naut.) The ropes,
or tackles, by which sails are hoisted and lowered
upon their yards, etc. ; in lower sails called
jeers. The cross-jack and spritsail yards are
generally shmg.
Hall-mark. The official stamp of the Gold-
smiths' Company or other public assayers, on
genuine gold and silver articles.
Hallowe'en. The evening of October 3 1 , being
the eve or vigil of All-hallows, or All Saints'
Day, November I ; devoted once in England to
amusements, in Scotland to customs somewhat
superstitious. (See Burns's Halltnve'en,}
Hallucinations. [L. halluclnor, I wander in
mind, dream.] Morbid conditions, in which, no
impression having been made upon the senses,
the object is believed to be existing. H. are
often felt to be H., being different from delusions,
and consistent with sanity, as in the case of Ber-
nadotte, Swedenborg, etc.
Hallux, Hallex, Allux, Allex. [L.] (Anat.)
The great toe. The class, forms are allex and
hallex.
Halm. (Haulm.)
Halo. [Gr. a\cas, a halo.'] 1. A coloured circle
often seen in the colder months of the year sur-
rounding the sun or moon at distances of about
22 and 46 from their centres ; such circles are
probably caused by refraction of light through
elementary crystals of snow in the atmosphere ;
they are frequently attended by secondary circles.
2. A bright ring surrounding the heads of saints
in pictures.
Haloscope. An instrument for exhibiting phe-
nomena resembling halos.
Halsfang. (Healfang.)
Halyards. (Halliards.)
-ham, Ham-. \Cf. Goth, haims, home, Ger.
heim, indosure, geheim, home, Eng. ham-let,
Gr. KUI/J.TJ, village, KV/JLO.I, from root KI, be quiet. ,]
Part of A.S. names, as in Ing-ham.
Hamadryads. [Gr. anaSpvdSes.] (Myth.}
Nymphs who were supposed to live and die
with the trees which they guarded. (Genii.)
Hamburg white. A pigment composed of two
parts of baryta and one of white lead.
Hanieln, Piper of. (Orpheus.)
Hamesucken, Homesoken. [Cf. Goth, sakan,
to quarrel.] (Scot. La-,i>.) The offence of
wrongfully assaulting a man in his own house.
Hamiltonian system (James Hamilton, mer-
chant, died 1831). Reactive against the exces-
sive study of grammar before reading or speaking
languages, took the pupil at once to the language
itself, which he learnt, if with a teacher, by word-
for-word translation, or if alone, by interlinear
translation ; the grammatical and the practical
knowledge being gained simultaneously.
Hamitic. (From Ham, son of Noah.) (Lang.}
The N. -African family of languages, including
Egyptian (Coptic), Berber (Libyan), Ethiopian.
Hammerbeam. (Arch.) A horizontal piece
of timber, acting as a tie at the feet of a pair of
principal rafters, but not extending so as to con-
nect the opposite sides.
Hammercloth. [Of uncertain origin.] A cloth
which covers the coach-box.
Hammerslag. The coating of oxide formed
on heated iron, which is removed by hammering
the metal when cold.
Hampton Court Conference. Held by James
I., A.D. 1603, at H. C., first between the king
and the representatives of the Episcopalian party,
then between these and the representatives of the
Puritans, for the settlement of disputes. (Mil-
lenary Petition.)
Hamster, Cricetus frumentarius. [Ger.] (Zoo/.)
A destructive, burrowing rodent, about fifteen
inches long, with greyish-fawn back, black
belly. N. Europe. Earn. Muridce.
Hamstring. To cut the tendons of the ham.
Hanaper. [A. S. hnap, a cup, or bowl. ] (Leg. )
A treasure, = exchequer.
Hanaper, or Hamper, Clerk of the. An officer
of the Court of Chancery, who received all money
due to the king for the seals of charters, patents,
commissions, and writs, and the fees due to the
officers for enrolling and examining them.
Brown, Law Dictionary.
Handfasting. In the border country formerly,
the living as man and wife for a year and a day,
after which came either separation or marriage.
(See Scott's Monastery.)
Handicap. 1. A game at cards, something
like loo, in which the winner of one trick has to
hand f the cap, i.e. put in the pool, a double
stake, the winner of two tricks a triple stake, and
o on. (See Pepys's Diary, September 18, 1660.)
J. A race in which less weight or distance or
more time is given to competitors, in presumed
aroportion to their inferiority, so that, theoreti-
cally, the worst has as good a chance as the best.
Handmast-spar. (Naut.) A round mast.
H.-M.-piece, a small round mast. H. -spike, a
capstan bar, round, with square head.
Handsaw, in phrase, " Not know a hawk from
a H.," is for Heronshaw, Hernshaw.
Handsel. 1. Something delivered [A.S. sel-
an, syllan, to handover] into the hand, especially
a first payment, or gift, or purchase, or use, re-
arded as an omen. 2. (Leg. ) Earnest money.
Handsomely. In Naut. language, gently.
Handspike. (Am. ) Wooden lever for slightly
HANG
244
HARP
moving the trail (q.v. ) of a gun in taking aim, or
for raising any kind of weight.
Hanging Gardens. Of Nebuchadnezzar's
palace, at Babylon ; raised terraces, supported
on piers of brickwork. Said to have been built
for his Median queen, Nitocris, to remind her,
in the unbroken naked plain, of her native hills
and woods.
Hangnail. (Agnail)
Hank. [Dan. , a handle} A parcel of two or
more skeins of yarn or thread tied together.
Hanks, hoops or rings, with which the fore part
of a fore-and-aft sail is confined to its stay.
Hankey-pankey. Professional cant, specious
talk, properly the chatter of conjurers to divert
attention from their doings.
Hank for hank. (Naut.) Used of two ships
beating together in racing, etc.
Hannibalian War. (Punic Wars.)
Hansard. 1. Reports of Parliamentary pro-
ceedings (named from the publisher). 2. (From
Hanse.) Citizen of a town belonging to the
Hanseatic League.
Hanseatic League. (Hist.) A confederacy
of the Hanse towns on the coasts of the Baltic,
formed in 1239. It numbered at one time eighty-
five cities.
Hanse towns. [O. H.G. hansa, association."]
(Geog.) Towns of the Hanseatic League, for
defence of commerce, formed in the thirteenth
century ; the chief being Lubeck, Hamburg, and
Brunswick. The two first and Bremen now
constitute this league for hansa.
Hansom. (From the inventor. ) A light two-
wheeled carriage, with the driver's seat elevated
behind.
Harakiri. The Japanese suicide, especially
upon being insulted, which entails the suicide of
the insulter.
Haras. [Fr., a stud, from Ar. faras, a horse.}
Stud for horses for the use of an army.
Hard. (Naut.) 1. H. a -lee, when the rudder
is to windward ; or the order so to place it. 2.
H. a-vueather, or up, when the rudder is to lee-
ward ; or the order so to place it. 3. H. a-port,
when the rudder is to starboard ; or the order so
to place it. 4. H. a-starboard, when the rudder
is to port ; or the order so to place it. 5. A
hardy seaman is said to be H. a-weather.
Hard dollar. (Amer. Finance.} Silver dollar ;
opposed to Soft, i.e. paper, dollar. Name of the
U.S. party which advocates resumption of specie
payments.
Hardle, Hartle. To prepare a dead hare or
rabbit for carriage in the hand or on a pole, by
cutting the tendon Achillis immediately above
the hock in one hind leg, and making between
the tendon and the bone in the other an incision
through which the first foot is passed beyond the
hock, the projection of which prevents the foot
from slipping back.
Hard paste. (Paste.)
Hards. Tow.
Hardware. Ware made of metal, as cutlery,
fenders etc.
Harem. [Ar. h&rxm, forbidden, or sacred.} In
Eastern houses, the rooms set apart for women.
Hariolation. [L. hanolatio, -nem, from hario-
us, diviner (Haruspices).] Divination, sooth-
saying.
Harits. (Graces.)
Harl. [O.G. harluf, rope.} The threads of
icmp or flax.
Harlequin. [It. arlechino.] Originally a
droll, greedy rogue of Italian comedy, servant
of Pantaleone, and lover of Columbina ; now a
dancing masked magician of Christmas panto-
mime. (Scaramouch.)
Harmattan. [Afr.] A dry, hot wind, blowing
from the interior of Africa towards the Atlantic.
Harmodius. An Athenian, who, with his
friend Aristogeiton, murdered Hipparchos, the
son of Peisistratos, and so led to the downfall of
the family of the PeisistratidaL
Harmonia. [L., Gr. ap^ovia.] (Med.) A
joining together of bones, e.g. the nasal, by simple
apposition.
Harmonic [Gr. T\ apfioviicfi, the musical, i.e.
science] ; Acute H. ; Grave H. (For Harmonic
or Acute H., vide Tone.) The Grave H. is heard
in certain cases when two perfectly just notes
are sounded together depending on the difference
of their pitches ; thus when the middle C and
its major third (whose pitches are as 4 : 5) are
sounded together, a veiy faint C two octaves
lower (whose pitch is as 5 4 = i) is heard ;
it used to be considered that this note was due
to the coalescence of the beats into a continuous
sound, but now it is thought to be due to the
fact of the vibration having a finite, though very
small, extent.
Harmonic function; H. motion; H. progres-
sion. If a point moves uniformly in a circle, the
foot of the perpendicular let fall from it to a
fixed diameter has a simple Harmonic motion;
the algebraical expression for such a motion is
a Simple H. function ; the sum of two or more
S. H. functions is a Complex H. function. The
motions which occasion sound, light, etc., can
be represented by H. F. (For H. progression,
vide Progression.)
Harmonics. [Gr. ap/j.oviit6s, skilled in
harmony.} Tones of a vibrating body given off
in addition to the original tone ; e.g. the octave,
the fifth above the octave, the double octave, etc.,
of a note struck on the piano. (Nodes ; Tone.)
Harmost. [Gr. ap^oa-r^s.} (Hist.) A
magistrate sent out from Sparta to govern a
conquered state. We hear also of Theban
harmosts.
Harness. [Harnais, the full fitting out of a
knight and his horse, formerly harnas, a Celt,
word (Brachet).] I Kings xx. u, and else-
where ; body-armour of a soldier.
Haroun-al-Kaschid. The caliph of the
Arabian Nights' Tales, a despot who used to
mingle with his subjects in the streets of Bagdad,
in disguise. He was a contemporary of Charles
the Great (Charlemagne).
Harpagon. Moliere's VA-vare, an utter
miser.
Harpies. [Gr. apirviat, from dpirca, apirdfa, 1
seize.] In Gr. Myth., the storm-winds. In
Hesiod they are described as the beautiful
HARP
245
HAUS
daughters of Thaumas and Electra. In Virgil
they are of repulsive ugliness, and insatiably
greedy.
Harpings, or Harpens. (Naut.) 1. That
part of the wales which incloses the bow, and
is made extra thick. 2. The pieces of oak, bolted
to the shape of a vessel, which hold the fore and
after cant-bodies together, until planked ; but
generally applied to those at the bow. Cat-ff.,
ropes crossing from futtuck-staff to futtuck-staff,
below the tops.
Harpocrates. The Greek form of the
Egyptian words Har-pi-chruti, or Horus the
Child, who is represented as a naked boy sitting
on a lotus flower, with his finger in his mouth.
Harpoon. [Fr. harpon.] A long spear with
a flat, barbed head, for striking large fish.
Harpsichord. [Corr. of Fr. harpe-chorde.]
A stringed instrument, in shape like a grand
piano, sometimes having two manuals one loud,
the other soft ; the sound independent of the
degree of pressure, and produced by plectra
moving the wire ; compass about four octaves.
Harpy. [Or. "A/nrina.] (Her.) An heraldic
animal, with a woman's head and breast and a
vulture's body and legs.
Harpy eagle. (Harpies.) (Ornith.) Largest
of eagles, three feet and a half and upwards in
length. Plumage (adult), back slate-coloured,
belly white ; it has a frill and two-pointed crest,
which it can raise at pleasure. Central and S.
America. Thrasaetus, sub-fam. Accipitrinse, fam.
Falc5nidse, ord. Acclpitres.
Harridan. [Cf. Fr. haridelle, knacker, jade.~\
Shrewish old hag.
Harry, To. [A.S. herian, to ravage as an army
(here, Goth, harjis).] To pillage, ravage, worry.
Hart. [O.E. heort.] (Deer, Stages of growth
of.)
Hartshorn. An impure carbonate of ammonia
obtained by distilling hart's horn or any kind of
bone.
Haruspices. (Aruspices.)
Harveian Oration. One annually delivered in
London, in honour of Harvey, discoverer of the
circulation of the blood.
Harvest-moon. The moon near the full at
about the time of the autumnal equinox, when
the daily retardation of its rising is partly
counterbalanced by its comparatively rapid
motion in north declination, so that it rises for
several days together at about the time of sunset.
Haschish. (Assassin; Hachish.)
Hassock. [Scot.] Lit. tujt of grass. 1.
Hence besom, or piece of turf for a seat. 2. A
kneeling cushion for church or chapel.
Hastate leaf. [L. hastatus, bearing a hasta,
spear.} (Bot.) Halbert -shaped, like an arrow-
head with the barbs at right angles ; e.g. Atri-
plex bastata.
Hastati. [L., from hasta, a spear.] The
first ranks of the Roman legion, consisting of
young men armed with spears. Behind these
stood the Principes, and behind these the Triarii.
(Antepilani; Antesignani.)
Hatch. [O.E. haca, the bar of a door.] 1.
An opening into a mine, or in search of one ;
from the /w'/V/^-gate, which kept cattle from
straying (Taylor, Words and Places). 2. Part
of names near old forests, as Colney Hatch.
Hatch-boat. (A T aut.) A small pilot-boat,
with a deck mainly composed of hatches, i.e.
movable coverings of the hold.
Hatchel. [Ger. hechel.] (Heckle.)
Hatchet, To bury the. To forget past quarrels,
as the N. -American Indians bury the tomahawk
when peace is made.
Hatchet-face. A lean, miserable, ugly face.
Hatching. [Fr. hacher, to chop.} Shading
by cross lines with pen or pencil. (Hachure lines.)
Hatchment. [Corr. from achievement.'} A
square frame bearing the escutcheon of a dead
person.
Hatchways. (Naut.) The openings in the
decks of a vessel, through which access is gained
to the lower decks and hold.
Hatelettes. [Fr.] Morsels of meat cooked
on a spit.
Hatt. Short for Hatti-sherif.
Hatti-sherif. An edict signed by the hand of
the sultan himself. (Firman,)
Hatto, Bishop. Devoured by rats in his castle
in the Rhine, for hoarding grain and burning a
barn full of poor people in a time of scarcity ;
as told by Southey.
Hauberk. [O.G. halsberge, A.S. healsborg,
from hals, the neck, and bergen, to hide.~\ A
jacket of chain-mail, with a hood, and sleeves
reaching below the elbow.
Hand ignara mali, miseris succurrere disco.
[L.] A 7 ot ignorant of evil, I learn to help the
wretched. Words put by Virgil into the mouth
of Dido.
Haugh. [Scot. ; cf. haw, A.S. haef, inch-
sure, haga, hedge, Ger. haj, hedge, inclosurc,
Dan. hauge, garden.] A low-lying meadow.
Haul her wind, To. (A r aut.) A vessel coming
up to the wind is said to H. her wind.
Hani in, To. (Naut.) To sail closer to the
wind, so as to approach, to H. off, so as to
get away from, an object.
Hanling-down vacancy. (Naut.) One caused
by the promotion given to a flag midshipman
or lieutenant, when an admiral hauls down his
flag. Hauling sharp, having only half-rations.
Hanlm, Halm. [O.E. healm, haulm, or straw,
cf. Ger. halm, Fr. chaume, id., L. calamus, Gr.
K&\S./uLij, a stalk, straw, or reed.] (Agr.) Stalks
left after reaping or after gathering the seeds of
culmiform crops.
Haulyards. (Halliards.)
Haurient. [L. hauriens, drinking.} (Her.)
In a vertical position, with the head upwards.
Hansmannize. To renovate a city with ex-
travagant magnificence, as Hausmann did Paris,
under Napoleon III.
Haustellate. (Zool.) Provided with an haus-
tellum (q.v.).
Haustellum. [Dim. from L. haustrum, id.,
haurio, / draw water, etc.] Apparatus for
pumping or sucking, in the mouths of certain
crustaceous insects, as Epizoa (q.v.).
Hanstorium. [L. haurio, / draw out, draw
water.} A sucker.
HAUT
246
HECA
Hautboy. [Fr. hautbois, *>. instrument of
wood, bois, having a shrill, haut, sound.] (Oboe.)
Hauteur. [Fr.] Loftiness of manner.
Haut gout. High seasoning.
Haut mal. With the French, = severe form
of epilepsy ; distinguished from Petit mal, the
ordinary form.
Haversack. [Fr. havre-sac, knapsack, origin-
ally a bag for oats (Ger. haber).] (Mil.)
Wallet used by soldiers for carrying their day's
provisions.
Havildar. [Hind.] Sergeant of Sepoy troops.
Havilee. [Hind.] Superior house in India,
of brick or stone ; flat-roofed, on one story
raised from the ground.
Haw. (Haugh.) 1. Hedge, inclosure. 2.
Berry of the hawthorn, i.e. hedgethorn.
Haw, or Nictitating membrane (q.v.), of horse,
dog, etc. A cartilage lying just within the
inner corner of the eye, but capable of being
thrust outwards, so as partially to cover it when
irritated by dust, etc.
Hawk's bell. (Arch.) A name considered
by Mr. Parker more appropriate than Ball-
fiower (Glossary of Architecture, voL i. 53).
Hawse. [From A.S. halse, the neck.} 1.
That part of the bow where the H. -holes for
the cable to pass through, are. 2. The position of
the cables when a vessel rides with both anchors
out, one to starboard and the other to port. 3.
The space between a vessel at anchor and the
anchor. Bold H., the H. -holes high above
the water. H. -full, pitching bows under.
Hawser. [I.e. a raiser, to hawse being to
raise, Fr. haulser, hausser, It. alzare.] A cable-
laid rope, not so large as a cable, but larger than
a tow-line. H.-laid rope, made of three or
four strands of yarn, considered proportionately
stronger than cable-laid rope, which is made of
small ropes more tightly twisted. H.-laidroTpe
is used for rigging, etc. ; cable-laid in water, etc.
Hazo casemate. (Mil.) An earth-covered
masonry chamber placed on the terreplein of a
work, for the protection of guns firing through
embrasures (q.v.) of a parapet, and acting also
as a traverse (q.v.).
Hay. (Haigh.)
Haybote. Hedgebote, an allowance of wood
to a tenant for repair of fences.
Hayward (i.e. hedge-guard). An officer who
has to take care of hedges and impound stray
animals.
Headborough. (/>-.) In frankpledge, the
chief of the ten pledges or freemen of a tithing,
or decennary ; also called Borowhead, Borsholder,
Tithingman, etc.
Headland. (Agr.) The upper part of land
left for the turning of the plough.
Head-quarters. (Mil.) Station of a general
commanding.
Headsails. (JVaut.) All those set on a fore-
mast, bowsprit, jib, and flying-jibbooms.
Healds. The harness for guiding the warp-
threads in the loom.
Healfang, Halsfang. [A.S., a catching of the
neck.~\ The old English name for the pillory.
Hearth money, Hearth penny. A chimney
tax (Fnmage) levied from the reign of Charles
II. to the Revolution.
Hearth tax. (Chimney money.)
Heart-sound. (Diastole.)
Heart-wood. (Duramen.)
Heat. [A word common to many Aryan
languages.] (Racing.) When all competitors
cannot walk, run, or row together, they race in
divisions, which races are called heats. The
various winners then race with each other.
The deciding race is the final H. In coursing
and wrestling, the term tie is used.
Heat-apoplexy, i.q. popularly Sunstroke.
Undue determination of blood to the brain, from
exposure to the heat of the sun or other intense
heat.
Heath. [Her. avar.] Jer. xvii. 6; xlviii. 6;
Juniperus sabina, a dwarf juniper, in barren,
rocky places of the desert.
Heave, To. [Ger. heben, to lift.} (Naut.) To
throw overboard, to cast, as to H. the log ; to
haul, drag, prize, etc., as, to H. at the anchor.
To H. tlie log, to ascertain a ship's velocity by
aid of the log-line and sand-glass. To H. the
lead, to ascertain the depth of water with the
hand lead-line. To get a cast of the lead is to
ascertain it with the deep-sea lead and line.
Heave down, To. (Naut.) To careen a ship
by purchases on the masts. To heave keel-out,
to careen a vessel so much that the keel shall be
out of water.
Heave offering. (Wave offering.)
Heave-to, To. (Naut.) 1. To bring-to (q.v.)*
2. In a gale, to set only enough sail to steady the
ship.
Heavy marching order. (Mil.) That of a
soldier equipped and carrying, besides his arms
and ammunition, complete kit, and great-coat,
amounting altogether to about sixty pounds ; to
which are occasionally added a blanket .and
three days' provisions.
Heavy spar, Hepatile, Bologna spar. (Geol.)
Native sulphate of barytes (q.v.), common in
many mining districts ; used as a white paint,
and in adulterating white lead.
Hebdomadal. [From Gr. f&So/uis, the number
seven, a week.} Weekly, as in Oxf. Univ., the
H. Council, the board elected by the Senate to
prepare and regulate university business, which
meets at least once a week during term.
Hebe. \Gi., youth.} (Gr. Myth.) The cup-
bearer who handed round nectar to the gods at
their banquets. She answers to the Latin
Juventas.
Hebetation. [L. hebetatio, -nem, dulness, from
hebes, hebetis, blunt, dull.} A making or a being
dull, blunt, stupid.
Hebetude. [L. hebetudo, bluntness.} Insensi-
bility, dulness.
Hecate. [Gr. fKdrij, fern, of Hecatos, the far-
shooter.} (Gr. Myth.) A goddess who repre-
sents the moon ; not mentioned in the Iliad or
Odyssey, but described by later writers as a
daughter of Perses and Asteria.
Hecatomb. [Gr. e/caT<fyi$?j.] A sacrifice of a
hundred [I/card^] oxen [&6es] ; hence a great
sacrifice to a god or gods.
HECK
247
1 1 ELI
Heck. [Akin to hook.'} An apparatus by
which the threads of warps are separated into
sets for the heddles.
Heckle, Hackle, Hatchel. [Ger. hechel, dim.
of D. haak, hook.} A comb for separating the
coarse parts of flax or hemp from the fine.
Heckling. [Scot.] Worrying, putting ques-
tions to a candidate for Parliament.
Hectare. [Fr., from Gr. tKarov, a hundred,
Fr. are, L. area.] A French measure, equivalent
to 2 '47 1 1 English acres. (Are.)
Hectic fever. [Gr. l/cn/cds, belonging to the
habit (e).] Constitutional, long-continued,
more or less intermittent ; often attending the
termination of organic disease.
Hectogramme, Hectolitre. [Fr.] Measures
of a hundred grammes and litres respectively.
(Gramme; Litre.)
Hedclle. (Healds.)
Hedonic sect. [Gr. y$oviK.6s, pleasant."} A
name sometimes given to the Cyrenaic school of
philosophy, founded by Aristippus, circ. B.C. 424.
They are said to have despised speculative and
mathematical studies, making pleasure [^SofTj]
and a general sense of quiet engagement the
basis of their ethical system.
" Heel. (Naut.) 1. Where the keel and stern-
post join. 2. The lower end of a mast, bow-
sprit, boom, or timber. To H., to incline to one
side. H.-knee, the shaped timber which con-
nects the keel with the stern-post. H.-rope
that which is fastened to the H. of spars (other
than topmasts) to ship them.
Heelball. A composition of bees-wax, tallow,
and lampblack, used for blackening leather.
Heel-tool. A tool used by turners for the first
rough shaping of a piece of iron.
Hegemony. [Gr. r)ye/j.ovia.] The presidential
or guiding power possessed by a state over other
states in alliance with it. Such H. was claimed
by Athens and Sparta over the members of their
respective confederacies.
Hegira. (Hist.) The Mohammedan era,
marked by the flight of Mohammed from Mecca
to Medina, A.D. 622. It is strictly lunar.
Heights of Abraham, The. Above the city of
Quebec ; here Wolfe defeated Montcalm, and
Quebec fell into the hands of Britain (Sep-
tember, 1759).
Heimskringla. (Saga.)
Heir. [O.Fr., from L. hseres.] (Leg.) One
entitled to succeed to an estate of inheritance.
In Scotland H. is also applied to successor to
personal property. There are eight kinds of H. :
1. H. -apparent, who must succeed if he live long
enough. 2. //. by custom, by peculiar custom,
as Borough English, gavelkind. 3. H. by de-
vise, made H. only by will. 4. H. general, H.-
at-law, in whom right of inheritance lies after a
possessor's death, a term applicable to most
heirs on succession. 5. H.-presumptive, who
will succeed unless one be born with better right.
6. H?eres sanguinis et heredltatis, H. of blood
and inheritance, a son who can be disinherited.
7. H. special, e.g. by custom or entail. 8. Ul-
timus hseres, last heir. (Escheat.)
Heirloom. [From heir, and A.S. geloma,
goods.'} (Leg.) A movable or personal chattel,
as an ornament, weapon, or piece of furniture,
which by special custom goes with the inherit-
ance, though an owner while living may dispose
of it.
Hektemorians. (Thetes.)
Heldenbuch. (Minnesingers.)
Helen. (Paris, Judgment of.)
Helena. (Metcorol.) (Castor and Pollux.)
Heliacal. [Gr. rj\iaKos, belonging to the SUM.']
(Astron.) The H. rising or setting of a heavenly
body takes place at nearly the same time as that
of the sun. A star rises heliacally when it is
seen to rise before the sun, i.e. just after it
emerges from the rays of the neighbouring sun.
Helioea. [Gr. r/Aicua.] In Athenian Hist.,
the chief of the ten courts among which the
Dicasts, or jurymen, were distributed.
Helicon. (Pegasus.)
Heliocentric theory. [Gr. ?jA<os, the sun,
Kfvrpov, centre.] (Astron.) That which makes
the sun the centre of the motions of the planets,
including the earth, and explains the apparent
movements of the heavenly bodies by the rota-
tion of the earth on her axis, and her motion
round the sun in her orbit ; it was propounded
by Aristarchus of Samos, in the third century
B.C., and established by Copernicus, DC Rev.
Orb. Ccelest. (1543). (Geocentric theory.)
Heliochromy. [Gr. ri\ios, situ, xpcS/xa, colour.]
A process of photographing objects in their
natural colours.
Heliogram. [Gr. TJAIOS, the sun, ypdQu, I
write] A sunshine message.
Heliography. [Gr. ?)Aw, the sun, ypdtyw, I
write] Photography.
Heliometer. [Gr. T?I\IOS, the sun, /nfrpoi>,
measure.] A large telescope mounted equato-
rially, whose object-glass is divided along a
diameter, the parts being mounted in separate
frames capable of relative motion produced and
accurately measured by a screw ; each half
forms its own image ; the images are seen side
by'side through the eye-piece, and can be moved
by the screw. It is used for the exact measure-
ment of small astronomical distances, e.g. the
diameter of a planet, the distance between the
components of a double star, etc.
Heliostat; Heliotrope. An instrument for
throwing the reflected light of the sun in any
required direction.
Heliotrope (A/in.), or Blood-stone. A deep-
green stone ; a jaspery variety of silica, with red
spots, caused by oxide of iron. (Heliostat.)
Helix. [Gr. e'\j|, adj. and subst., spiral.] 1.
(Mech.) A spiral line of the same form as the
thread of a screw ; right-handed, when it
ascends from the right hand to the left hand
of a person standing within the coil ; left-
handed, when it ascends in the opposite direc-
tion. 2. (Anat.) The reflected margin of the
outer ear. 3. (Arch.) The curling volutes
under the flowers of a Corinthian capital. 4.
(Zoo/.) Gen. of pulmoniferous mollusc. Cosmo-
politan ; more than 2000 spec. Gives its name
to fam. Helicidue, snails, with 6000 spec. Class
Gasteropoda.
HELL
248
HERC
HellanodlcaB. [Gr. 'E\\dvo$"iKai, judges of the
Hellenes.] The two judges at the Olympian
games.
Hellenism. [Gr. 'EAA^Fier/t^s, imitation of
"E\\rives, Greeks.} 1. Greek civilization adopted
and reacted on by aliens, especially after Alex-
ander the Great's death ; adj. , Hellenistic. 2.
The best civilization of unmixed independent
Greece (Hellas), as the word is used by Grote
and others ; adj., Hellenic.
Hellenistic Greek. The Greek used by Jewish
writers. It differed from other Greek chiefly in
its frequent use of Oriental metaphors and
idioms.
Hellenists. [Gr. "EKKtiviffral.] In the New
Testament, a body, including not only pro-
selytes of Greek, or foreign, parentage, but also
Jews who, settling in foreign countries, adopted
the forms of Greek civilization and the use of
the common Greek dialect.
Helm. 1. [O.E.] A heavy cloud on the brow
of a mountain. Helm wind is the wind attend-
ing such a cloud. 2. [A. S. helma.] (Naut.)
The tiller, which was always rigged in- board, and
in the phrase, " Helm a-lee," etc., is still always
so understood. 3. Applied to the rudder, and
the wheel or other means used to turn it.
Helmet of Hades. (Tarnkappe.)
Helminthology. [Gr. f\p.ivs, a worm, \6yos,
discourse.] The natural history of worms.
Helots. [EiXtfiroj.] (Hist.) The slaves of
the Spartans, supposed to be so called from the
Laconian town Helos ; but the name probably
merely denotes captives. They resembled the
medieval serf in being attached to the soil.
(Villein.)
Helve. [A.S. hielfa, O.H.G. helbe ; cf.
Gr. Ko\dir-T<a, I peck, chisel] 1. Head of an
axe or hatchet. 2. Handle of an axe or hatchet.
Helvetic Confession. (Basle, Confession of.)
Hemerobaptists. An ancient Jewish sect ; so
called from their washing daily [Gr. Jjfj.fpa, a
day] as a religious solemnity. Perhaps the
same as the Sabians.
Hemiopsia. [Gr. fai-, half, fyis, eyesight]
(Med.) Faulty vision, the patient seeing only
half an object.
Hemiplegia. [Gr. form ^firA.r/|io, from itfu-,
half, and ir\f;|is, a striking] (Med.) Paralysis
of one side. Paraplegia [7rapa7rA.7j/a, itapd, by the
side of], paralysis of the lower half of the body.
Hemiptera. [Gr. i)/j.i-, half, irrepov, a wing]
(Entom.) Rhyncdta. Ord. of insects, containing
three sub-orders : Homoptra, as aphides and
cicadas ; Hgtgroptera, as land and water bugs ;
Thysanoptera, the gen. Thrips, destructive in
green-houses, etc.
Hemisphere of BerSsus (Babylonian astro-
nomer). A hollow hemisphere, with its rim hori-
zontal, and having the end of a style as the
centre : the shadow of this point on the concave
surface would show the zenith distance of the
sun. It was used, however, as a sun-dial.
Hemistich. [Gr. ij/xwrfxto".] A half-verse ;
e.g. either half of a pentameter. The unfinished
verses in the sEneid, as bk. i. 534, 636, are
called H.
Hemuse. (Deer, Stages of growth of.)
Hendecasyllabio. [Gr. eV5e/ca, eleven, o-v\\a0-li,
syllable] A verse of eleven syllables, e.g. that
of Catullus, " Passer delicias mese puellse," or
a heroic verse lengthened by a syllable, as in It.,
Ger., and Eng. verse.
Henna. [Ar. huina.] A paste made of
pounded leaves, used by Asiatics for dyeing
their nails, etc., of an orange hue. (Campbire.)
Heno theism, (Monotheism.)
Henoticon. [Gr., capable of uniting.] (Eccl.
Hist.) The Edict of Union, issued A.D. 482,
by the Emperor Zeno, with the view of ending
the Monophysite controversy by avoiding ex-
pressions offensive to either side (Milman, Hist,
of Latin Christianity, bk. iii. ch. l).
Henricians. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Henry, an Italian monk of the twelfth century,
who rejected infant baptism, and declaimed
against the vices of the clergy (Milman, Hist,
of Latin Christianity, bk. ix. ch. 8).
Henri Deux ware (Henri II. of France). A
peculiar ware of fine pipe-clay, inlaid with
coloured pastes, in arabesques, interlaced letters,
and other devices, and enriched with reliefs of
lizards, masks, etc. It appears to have been
made temp. Francis I. and Henri II., in Touraine)
at the chateau of Oiron, the chapel of which is
paved with tiles of identical composition. Only
fifty-three pieces are known.
Hepar. [Gr. ^irop, liver] (Chem.) Liver of
sulphur.
Hepatic. Belonging to the liver [Gr. fJTop,
gen. ijiraTos].
Hephaestus. [Gr. ^fyaurros] (Myth.) One
of the Greek gods of fire.
HephthemimeraL [Gr. 6<(%u;U6p7Js, containing
seven (kirrd) half- (rip-t-) farts (jte'pTj).] (Pros.)
Of or after three feet and a half.
Heptachord. [Gr. eirrd, seven, xP^> string]
(Music.) 1. A series of seven notes. 2. A
seven-stringed instrument.
Heptarchy. [Gr. firrd, seven, &px&, I govern]
(Eng. Hist.) A division of England into seven
kingdoms Kent, Sussex, Wessex, Essex, East
Anglia, Mercia, Northumberland, which are
supposed to have existed at the same time with
and independently of each other. In point of
fact, this was never the case.
Hera, or Here. (Gr. Myth.) The wife of
Zeus, or Jupiter, and Queen of Olympus ;
answering to the Latin Juno.
Heracleids. In Gr. Myth. Hist., the de-
scendants of Heracles, or Hercules, who are
supposed, after a long series of conflicts, to have
divided the Peloponnesus between them.
Heracles. (Gr. Myth.) The hero called by
the Latins Hercules.
Heralds, College of. (College of Heralds.)
Herbal. [From L. herba, herb, plant.] 1. A
book on plants. 2. = Herbarium.
Herbarium. [L.L.] 1. A collection of
dried herbs [herbae], a hortus siccus. 2. A book
for dried specimens of plants.
Herculean. Belonging to or like Hercules,
who represented the Greek Heracles, a hero of
invincible strength, whose life was a series of
HERE
249
HESS
labours, set down by later poets as twelve in
number. The Latin Hercules, or Herculus,
was properly a god of boundaries and fences,
and had nothing to do with the Greek Heracles.
Hereditament. [L.L. hsereditamentum, from
L. hgereditas, heirship.\ Inheritable property
or rights of which any property is susceptible.
Corporeal hereditaments are lands ; incorporeal
H., rights arising out of lands, of which the
chief are advowsons, tithes, commons, ways,
offices, dignities, franchises, pensions or coro-
dies, annuities, and rents.
Hereford Use. (Use.)
Heresiarch. [Gr. aipf&iapx *-] The leader of
a party, usually of a religious sect.
Heretoch. [A.S., Ger. herzog.] The old Eng-
lish name for the persons chosen at the Folkmote
to lead the armies of the kingdom.
Heriot. [From A.S. here, army, geatu,
supply.] Originally the horse and habiliment
of a deceased tenant, given as tribute to the lord ;
then the tenant's best beast (averium) or best
dead chattel (or money in its stead).
Heritor. (Scot. Law.) A landholder in a
parish.
Hennas. [Gr. tp^o?.] In Gr. Hist., small
shafts, with the top shaped into a head, perhaps
of Hermes, set up on the side and at the
crossing of roads.
Hennaion. (Trouvaille.)
Hermann's Consultation. (Theol.) A treatise
drawn up by Hermann, Archbishop of Cologne,
for the purpose of bringing about a reformation
of doctrine and ceremonies. An English trans-
lation of the Latin work was published in 1547.
Hermaphrodite. (Anat. and Bot.} Partaking
of the characteristics of both sexes (Hermaphro-
dites, supposed son of Hermes and Aphrodite).
Hermaphrodite, or Brig-schooner. (Naut.)
Two-masted vessel, carrying fore-and-aft sails
only on mainmast, and square-rigged, but with-
out a top, on foremast.
Hermeneutae. [Gr. epfjLrjvfvrai, interpreters.]
In the public worship of the ancient Church,
translated one language into another ; the minis-
trant and the people being often unacquainted
with each other's tongue.
Hermeneutics. (Hermes.)
Hermes. (Gr. Myth.) The messenger of the
gods, to whom, in Acts xiv. 12, St. Paul was
likened, as being "the chief speaker." In the
Rig Veda the name occurs in the form of
Savarna, a word denoting the dawn, with the
fresh morning breeze. Hermes is thus the god
of the moving air, which can either discourse
sweet music or fill the forests with its roar. As
messenger of the gods, he is the interpreter of
secrets. Hence Hermeneutics, the science of
interpretation, especially as applied to the
Scriptures. (Caducous ; Petasus.)
Hermes Trismegistus. Neoplatonic name of
the Egyptian god Theuth, the inventor of letters
and the arts and sciences, to whom many works
were ascribed which really belong to the fourth
century A.D.
Hermetically sealed. Said of a glass so
closely stopped that no exhalation can issue
from its contents. The neck of the vessel is
heated by a blow-pipe till on the point of melt-
ing, and then nipped with hot pincers. (Her-
metic art.)
Hermetic art, Alchemy. So called from
Hermes Trismegistus, its supposed discoverer.
Hermit. [Gr. eprjjtuTTjs.] One who dwells in
deserts. (Eccl. Hist.) A solitary, as opposed
to those who live in common under rule. (Coeno-
bites ; Eegulars ; Seculars.)
Hernia. [Gr. epvos, sprout.] Protrusion of
an internal organ, or a part of it from its natural
cavity, through an abnormal or accidental
opening.
Hernshaw. (Handsaw; Heronshaugh. )
Heroic Age. (Ages, The four.)
Heroic treatment, or remedies. [Gr. ypu'CKos,
belonging to heroes.] (Aleii.) Violent, as opposed
to mild, benignant.
Heron-shaugh, -shaw (Egret.) [Shaugh, or
shaw, a wood.] 1. A wood where herons breed.
2. The heron. (Handsaw. )
Herpes. [Gr. e pints, from e'pirai, / creep.]
(Med.) A skin-disease, with clustered vesicles
on an inflamed base, ending in desquamation ;
not contagious.
Herpes zoster. [Gr. faffri]p, a girdle.] The
shingles [L. cingulum, a girdle], vesicular patches
of which usually go about half-way round the
waist.
Herpetology. [Gr. IpireroV, a reptile, \6yos,
an account.] The science of reptiles, the third
class of vertebrates, cold-blooded, with nucleated
corpuscles, never provided with gills. Dr.
Giinther classifies them as follows :
Orders. Examples.
T. Ophldla [Gr. , Serpents,
dim. of u'0if , a
serpent].
2. Lacertilia [L. Lizards,
lacerta, a li-
zard}.
3. Rhyncocepha- The Hatteria, Tua-
lina [Gr. jivf\os, tara of New Zea-
a snout, Kf>u\>;, land (one gen.
a food}. one spec.).
4. Crocodilia. Crocodiles.
Sub-classes.
I. Squamata [L.,
scaly].
5. Chelonia (q.v.). Tortoises.
II. Loricata [L.,
provided 'with
a breastplate].
III. Cataphracta
[Gr. KaTaQfjoLKTa,
clad in full
armour],
Herring-bone masonry. In Arch., masonry
with rows of stones or bricks laid sloping in
different directions in alternate rows.
Herschell. (Planet. )
Hership. (Scot. Law.) The crime of forcibly
carrying off cattle.
Hervarar Saga. (Saga.)
Hesperides, Gardens of the. (Myth.) A region,
much like that of Elysium (Elysian), where the
nymphs called by this name keep the golden
apples given to Hera on the day of her marriage.
Hessian. 1. A hireling, a mercenary poli-
tician, a fighter for pay. Derived from the tra-
ditional dislike toward the Hessian soldiers
employed by England against her American
colonies in the war of the Revolution (Bartlett's
Americanisms). 2. A half-boot, with tassels.
HESY
250
HIER
Hesychasts. [Gr. ijo-vxao-rai.} The Quietists
of Mount Athos. (Barlaamites.)
Hetaeria. [Gr. eraipfia.] A Greek word, de-
noting any association. In Mod. Hist., it belongs
to two societies, which had much to do with the
liberation of Greece from the power of the sultan.
Hetero-. [Gr. ertpos, other, different, }
Heterocercal, Homocercal. [Gr. ertpos, other,
different, 6p6s, the same, nepitos, tail.} (Zool. and
Geol.) In existing fishes, the tail is, 1, simple,
e.g. eel ; or bifurcate, e.g. roach ; or rounded,
e.g. gilt-head ; these all being Horn. Or it is, 2,
Het., i.e. unequally bilobate, e.g. shark, ray,
sturgeon, i.e. not symmetrical, the vertebrae run-
ning along the upper lobe. All strata older
than Oolite have Het. only ; in and above
Oolite are mostly Horn. (Ichthyology.)
Heteroclite. [Gr. eTtp6n\lTos, differently de-
clined.} (Gram.) 1. A term applied to terminal
forms which have a different declension from the
form to which they are referred, as, L. jug^ra,
neut. plu. (third decl.) of jugerum (second
decl.), an acre. 2. A noun variously declined,
i.e. having forms of different declensions, as,
domus, house, domo, domos (second decl.),
domibus, domus (fourth decl.).
Heterodynamic words. Spelt alike, but [Gr.
frepo-5wa.ft.os] of different power or meaning ; as
school [L. schola], and school of whales [A.S.
sceol] ; Fr. loner [L. locare], and loiter [L.
laudare].
Heterogeneous. [Gr. trtpos, other, yevos,
kind, gender.} 1. Different in kind, having
elements or component parts of different kinds.
2. (Grant.) Nouns varying in gender, as L.
tapes (masc. ), tapete (neut. ), a carpet.
Heterogenesis. [Gr. ertpos, different, ye-
vfffis, production.} The production of offspring
very unlike to the parent, and showing no ten-
dency to revert to the parental type.
Heterographic. [Gr. ertpos, other, ypdtyw,
I write.} Using the same combinations of
written letters to express different sounds, as
English spelling does, according to which -ough
stands for seven different sounds e.g. in \wugh,
though, through, thorough, cough, enough, ought.
Heteroptera. (Hemiptera.)
Hetman. [Russ. ataman, Ger. hetmann.] A
Cossack commander or chief.
Heurtoir. [Fr., from heurter, to strike, run
counter to.} (Mil.) A piece of timber laid
along the head of a platform to prevent the
wheels of the gun-carriage from damaging the
interior slope of the parapet.
Hexachord. [Gr. ?|, six, \opS4, string.}
(Music.) A series of six notes.
Hexagon. (Polygon.)
Hexagonal system. [Gr. edy<avos, hexagonal.}
In Crystallog., a name sometimes given to the
rhombohedral system (q.v.).
Hexahedron. (Polyhedron.)
Hexameter. (Pentameter.)
Hexapla. [Gr., sixfold.} (Theol.) The com-
bination of six versions of the Old Testament by
Origen, viz. the Septuagint, those of Aquila,
Theodotion, and Symmachus, one found at
Jericho, and one at Nicopolis.
Hexastich. [Gr. e|o<mx0S'] A piece of
poetry of six lines.
Heybote. (Haybote.)
Heyloed. A burden laid on tenants for repair
of fences.
Hiatus. [L., a gaping, a cleft.} 1. (Pros.)
A meeting of vowels, concursus vocalium, as
in ille ~ amat. 2. In Lit., a missing passage in
the MS. of an author.
Hiawatha. The hero of N. -American In-
dian civilization such as it is or was ; his legend
is told by Longfellow.
Hibernacle. [L. hlbernaculum, winter quar-
ters.} A protection or shelter during winter.
Hibernate. [From p. part, of hibernare, to
pass the winter.} 1. To winter. 2. To pass
the winter in repose or seclusion, like bears, etc.
Hibernicism. [Hibemia, L. for Ireland.} An
Irish mode of expression, an Irish bull.
Hie et ubique. [L.] Here and everywhere.
Hie jacet. [L.] Here lies; beginning of
many Latin epitaphs.
Hickory. [L. juglans, walnut.} (Bot.) The
wood of several spec, of H. , a gen. of N. -Ame-
rican trees, allied to walnut. Ord. Juglandaceae.
Hickory, Old. General Jackson, President of
U.S.
Hie ver assiduum. [L.] Here is perpetual
spring (Virgil).
Hie victor cestus artemque repono. [L.]
Here on my victory I give up my cestus (q.v.) and
my art (Virgil) ; quoted in reference to retire-
ment from active pursuit of an art or profession.
Hidage. A tax formerly paid to the sovereign
on every hide of land.
Hidalgo. [Sp. hijo d'algo, son of somebody.}
An obsolete title, which denoted Spanish noble-
men of the lower class. (Grandee.)
Hidden fifths; H. octaves. (Music.) A se-
quence like in character to consecutive fifths,
octaves, and giving to the ear almost the im-
pression that they have been actually played,
when they have not. (For a full explanation, see
examples given in theoretical works on music. )
Hidebound. 1. (Anat.) Morbidly tightened
in skin. 2. (Bot.) Bark bound ; the bark not
swelling enough with the growth of the tree.
8. (Met.) Close, harsh, penurious.
Hide of land. [L.L. hida.] A measure of
variable size; (?) 120 acres, or 100, or even
much less ; at first, probably, = enough for one
household ; A.S. hid, or higid, being another
term for hiwisc ; cf. A.S. hi wan, domestics
(Skeat, Etym. Diet.).
Hidgild, Hidegild. Money (Gild) paid by a vil-
lein or servant to save his hide (skin) a whipping.
Hidrosis. [Gr. i$p6<a, I sweat.} (Med.) Ex-
cessive perspiration.
Hiemation. [L. himatio, -nem, a wintering. }
Shelter from the cold of winter.
Hieratic. [Gr. lfpariK6s, priestly} The sa-
cerdotal style of Egyptian writing, especially on
papyri, half-way between hieroglyphics and a
syllabarium, or alphabet. (Demotic.)
Hierocracy. [Gr. Itp6s, sacred, Kparew, f
rule.} Government by ecclesiastics, as in Jeru-
salem after the Captivity.
HIER
251
HI1T
Hieroglyphics. [Gr. !fpoy\v<j>iK6s, from Itpos,
sacred, and y\v<f>ta, I engrave.} Sculpture-writ-
ing, or writing by pictures, in which ideas are
represented by visible subjects. The likenesses
of these objects were in course of time modified,
until they assumed the forms of letters in the
Phoenician, Greek, and Roman alphabets.
Hierogram. [Gr. Iep6s, sacred, ypd^fMa, written
letter, from ypd^w, / write.} A specimen of
hieratic or hieroglyphic writing.
Hierology. [Gr. Up6s, sacred, \6yos, an
account.} The study of sacred writings, espe-
cially of Egyptian inscriptions and other writings.
Hieromnemon. [Gr.] In Gr. Hist., the name
of one of the two deputies sent to the Amphi-
ctyonic Council by each city belonging to the
confederacy.
Hieronymites. A religious order, with St.
Jerome [L. Hieronymus] tor its patron, and fol-
lowing him in fixing their convents in moun-
tainous and solitary positions.
Hierophants. [Gr. lfpo<f>ain-f)s, a shower of
sacred things} (Hist.) The title of the priests
who initiated candidates at the Eleusinian
Mysteries.
Higgle. \Cf. haggle, cut in pieces, from
hack.] 1. To hawk provisions. 2. To carry on
petty discussion over a bargain.
High and Low Dutch. The Teutonic dialects
spoken by the German peoples on the upper and
lower course of the Rhine. English, as having
been brought to this country from Anglia, Fries-
land, and Jutland, is a Low German dialect.
High-blowing. In some horses, a habit of
forcible and rapid expiration ; not to be con-
founded with roaring.
High Celebration. The celebration of the
Eucharist with full apparatus of choir and music,
known in the Roman Church as High Mass,
in distinction to Low Mass, or celebration by
the priest alone with a single attendant.
High Commission, Court of. (Hist.) A court
erected by Elizabeth, without power to fine or
imprison. Under Charles I. it became a court
for trying ecclesiastical offences of all kinds, and
was abolished by the Long Parliament.
Highfaluten, Highfaluting. [Amer.] High-
flown language, bombast. There can be little
doubt of its derivation from " highflighting "
(Bartlett's Americanisms). It is also used in
East Anglia.
Highfliers. A nickname given to the bigoted
and extreme maintainers of the doctrine of pas-
sive obedience, in the middle of the seventeenth
century.
High German. [Ger. HochDeutsch.] (Lang.)
The dialects of S. Germany ; opposed to Low
German [Platt Deutsch] of N. Germany, the
Netherlands, and England.
High-low. A boot just covering the ankles.
High Mass. (High Celebration.)
High-pressure steam. (Steam.)
Hight. [Pres. tense and pass. part, of A.S.
hatan, to call, name, be named ; cf. Ger. heiszen,
to call, name, be said, mean, Goth, haitan, O.N.
heita ; the past tense is hole.] Called, named.
Hikenhilde Street. Heykenylde Strete, from
St. David's, by Worcester, "Wycmnbe, Birming-
ham, Lichfield, Derby, Chesterfield, York, to
Tynemouth.
Hilary Term. One of the legal English terms,
appointed by statute to begin on the iith and
end on the 3ist of January ; so called from
January 13 being a black letter day in remem-
brance of Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, circ. 350 A. D.
Hilum. [L.] (Bot.) The scar on a seed
when separated from the placenta.
Himyaric inscriptions. Inscriptions found in
Arabia, in the oldest form of the language
spoken in S. Arabia.
Himyaritic. (Lang.) Name of dialects of
S.W. Arabia ; not now spoken.
Hinc illae lacrimse. [L.] Hence those tears.
Hind, Hine. [O.K. hina, a male domestic.}
(Agr.) A farm labourer hired by the year. lie
hires at the yearly fair one or more bondagcrs
(females), who keep house for him, and whose
services he lets to the farmer. Hinds with girls
of their own are now preferred, and extra
women-workers are hired by the fanner direct.
Hindi. (Lang.) Dialect of the Hindus of the
north-west provinces of India, akin to Sanskrit
(Indo-European), but much corrupted, and mixed
with Persian words.
Hindley's screw. An endless screw, the
threads of which are cut on a solid whose sides
are terminated by arcs of jthe same radius as that
of the toothed wheel with which it works ; in
this machine several teeth are at work at once,
and the pressure on each is diminished by being
distributed.
Hindustani. (Lang.) Speech of the Hindus,
also called Urdu ; a variety of Hindi, with an
admixture of Arabic and Persian. The modern
Aryan dialects of India are roughly classed as
Hindi, Mahratti, Bengalee.
Hinny. The offspring of the horse and the
ass.
Hipped roof. (Arch.) A roof in which two
sides at least must intersect.
Hippo-. [Gr. '/TrTro-, horse.} Part of names, as
hippo-centaur.
Hippocampus [from resemblance to Gr. liriro-
Kafnros, a sea-horse}, Major and Minor. (Ana/.)
Two long, curved eminences or convolutions of
the brain.
Hippocras. Aromatic, medicated wine, vinum
Hippocratis. (Hippocrates, a Greek physician,
fifth century B.C.)
Hippocratic face; i.e. described by Hippo-
crates. That seen in death, or after long illness
or excessive hunger ; pale, sunken, contracted,
with pinched nose, hollow temples, eyes sunken.
Hippocrene. [Gr. iimoKp-rivn, a horse-foun-
tain.} A fountain at the foot of Mount Helicon,
supposed to have been laid bare by the hocf of
the horse Pegasus. (Muses.)
Hippodrome. [Gr. faWSpojuos.] (Arch.) A
place for horse exercise. The most celebrated
hippodromes were those of Olympia and
Constantinople. (Circus.)
Hippogryph, Hippogriff. A fabulous animal,
partly horse [Gr. ttritos}, partly griffin [-ypttyj ;
a winged horse.
HIPP
252
HOLO
Hippophagy. [Gr. 5Wos, a horse, fyaytiv, to
eat.} The eating of horseflesh.
Hippurite. (Geol.) 1. Fossil plant of the coal-
measures, resembling the common Maris-tail
[Gr. liritovpis] of stagnant waters. 2. A large
coarse shell of the chalk, related to chema.
Hirst, Hurst. (Geog.) A wood, especially as
part of names, as in Chisel-hurst.
Hirsute. [L. hirsutus, hair ; cf. horreo, 7
bristle, am horrid, Eng. grisly, Ger. grau,
horrible. ,] Hairy, shaggy. _
Hispanicism. [L. Hispanus, Spaniard.} A
Spanish mode of speech.
Histology. [Gr. iVrdj, a loom, \6yos, dis-
course.] (Anat. and Bot.) The description and
classification of tissues.
Histriomastix. A title coined by Prynne, a
barrister of Lincoln's Inn [from the L. hister,
histrio, an actor, and Gr. fida-n^, a scourge], for a
treatise, published in 1634, against stage-plays,
dancing, and public amusements generally.
Histrionic [L. histrio, an actor] affection. A
spasmodic affection of the muscles supplied by
the facial nerve.
Histrionic art. A name for the dramatic art,
from the old Etruscan word hister, an actor.
Hitch. (Naut.) A knot by which ropes are
joined together and made fast. There are
many kinds. (Knot.)
Hithe. [A.S. hydh.] Port, landing-place,
especially as part of names ; as Green-hithe,
Lambeth (Lamb-hithe).
Hitopadesa. [Skt., a friendly instructor.] A
collection of fables, commonly called by the
name of Bidpai, or Pilpay. Part of this collec-
tion, under the title Calila and Dimna, has found
its way into Europe.
Hobble-de-hoy. (Hoyden.)
Hobbler. [A.S. hobeler.] 1. A man of Kent,
a "hoveller," partly smuggler, partly unlicensed
Silot. 2. A man who tows a vessel from shore.
. One who watches a beacon. 4. (Leg.) A
feudal tenant, bound to serve as a light (hobby)
horseman or bowman.
Hobby. [Dan. hoppe, a mare, Fris. hoppa ;
cf. L. caballus, a nag.] 1. A nag. 2. A
horse's head on a stick. 3. A subject or plan
which one is always riding, as a child might
a toy horse.
Hobiler. [(?) Cf. hobin, an ambling horse,
hobil, a light, quilted surcoat (?), hobby, a small
horse (?).] Light cavalry soldier fourteenth
century to sixteenth century armed with lance,
and mounted on a small horse ; principally
employed on reconnoitring duties. (Hobbler.)
Hobson's choice. A case admitting of no
alternative, choice between one thing and no-
thing. (From Hobson, a Cambridge horse-
dealer, who would not let out any horse out of
its regular turn.)
Hoc age. [L.] Do this, attend to this, very
nearly i.q. " Attention ! "
Hoc erat in votis. [L.] This is what he
kept wishing for ; as, e.g. a busy man might
desire, and at length obtain, literary leisure.
Hoc juvat et melli est. [L.] This pleases
and is as honey.
Hock, Hough. [A.S. hoh, the heel, the ham.]
The joint between the knee and the fetlock, in
a horse's hind leg. Hock-joint, the hinge formed
by tibia and astragalus.
Hocketter, Hocqueteur. A knight of the post*
a decayed man, a basket-carrier (Cowell).
Hocus. 1. To drug, especially with narcotics ;
of liquor. 2. To cheat, hoax.
Hocus-pocus. [Said to be corr. of L. hoc est
corpus, this is the body, in the Canon of the
Mass.] A piece of trickery.
Hodge. [Corr. of Roger} 1. Gammer Gur-
ton's goodman. 2. Any simple rustic.
Hodgepodge, Hotchpotch. [Fr. hochepot,
shake-pot.] A mixture of divers ingredients, a
medley, a farrago, olla podrida,
Hodograph. [Gr. 656s, a way, ypdjxa, I
draw.] The diagram of the velocity of a moving
point. If a line fixed at one end is always
parallel to the direction, and has its length pro-
portional to the velocity of the motion of the
point, its moving end traces out the H.
Hog, Hoggaster, Hoggerel, Hogget. (Sheep,
Stages of growth of.)
Hogden. (Hoyden.)
Hogging. (Naut.) (Arching.)
Hog-in-armour. (Naut.) An iron-clad.
Hogmanny [Said to be from Norm. Fr.
au gui menez, lead to the mistletoe.} The Scotch
name for the last night of the year.
Hogshead. A measure of capacity. The
hogshead of wine is 63 gallons. The word is
often used vaguely for any large cask containing
wine ; thus the H. of hock is 30 gallons ; of
claret, 46 gallons ; of tent, 52 gallons.
Hog-wallow. [Amer.] On some of the
Western prairies, but particularly those in Texas,
the ground has every appearance of having been
torn up by hogs ; hence the name. Bartlett's
Americanisms.
Hoist. (Naut.) The perpendicular height of
a sail or flag ; in the latter opposed to the Fly,
i.e. its breadth horizontally from the mast.
Hoisting. (Naut. ) Taking up a command,
as admiral. H. the pendant, commissioning a
ship.
Hold. (Naut.) The interior of a vessel,
between the floor and lower deck, in a war-ship.
That portion of a vessel, below the deck, con-
structed for carrying cargo, in a merchant-ship.
Hold on the slack. (Naut.) Do nothing.
Hold water, To. (Naut.) In rowing, to hold
the oar in the water, as if stopped in the middle
of a stroke.
Holibut. (Halibut.)
Holiday. (Naut.) Any part left unpainted,
untarred, or the like.
Hollock. A sweet wine used in the sixteenth
century.
Holograph. [From Gr. S\os, whole, all, and
ypa<p<a, I write.] (Scot. Law.) A deed entirely
in a grantor's handwriting, held valid without
witnesses.
Holothurpidea. [Gr. 6\o8ovpiov, a kind of
zoophyte, tlSos, appearance.] Sea - cucumbers,
Trepangs, Beches-de-mer. (Zool.) Ord. of worm-
like, leathery-coated Echlnodermata. One spec.,
HOLS
253
HOMO
Holothuria argus, is a Chinese delicacy. Sub-
kingd. Annuloi'da.
Holster. [D., O.H.G. hulst, a saddle^ A
leathern case for pistols, carried in the front of
the saddle.
-holt. [A.S., Ger. holz, a wood.} The ending
of the names of many places in England which
were originally in the forests. (Hurst.)
Holy Alliance, The. A league of the chief
sovereigns of Europe, formed after the defeat of
Napoleon at Waterloo. It became practically
an engagement to uphold all existing govern-
ments.
Holy Coat of Treves. A coat kept at Treves,
which is said to be the garment worn by Christ
at the Crucifixion. Many coats, for which the
same claim is made, are kept in other places.
Holy Maid of Kent. (Nun of Kent.)
Holy Eood, or Holy Cross, Feast of the. The
commemoration of the exaltation of the cross,
September 14, in the calendar of the Latin
Church.
Holystone. (Naut.) A kind of sandstone
used to clean and whiten the decks.
Holy Thursday. Ascension Day.
Homage. [L.L. homagium, the service of
the man or vassal of a feudal chief.] The
act acknowledging feudal dependence. Liege
homage was rendered to the person of the sove-
reign, and could not be renounced ; simple
homage bound the vassal only while he held a
fief.
Home Circuit (Leg.), or South-Eastern Cir-
cuit, = Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Herts, Surrey,
Kent, Sussex. (Circuits.)
Home Counties. (Circuits.)
Homeric poems. A title generally used to
denote the Iliad and Odyssey, and the hymns in
honour of Apollo, Hermes, and other Hellenic
deities and heroes.
Homerids. [Gr. 6/j.ripiSai.] A family or guild
of poets or rhapsodists of Homeric poetry, in
Chios, claiming personal descent from Homer.
Home Kule (vide Fortnightly Review, Feb-
ruary, 1880). A scheme which proposes a
national Parliament Queen, Irish Lords, and
Irish Commons legislating for and regulating
all internal affairs of Ireland, with full control
over Irish resources and revenues ; under con-
dition of contributing a just proportion to im-
perial expenditure ; the Imperial Parliament
alone dealing with foreign and colonial ques-
tions, and the defence of British possessions.
Home Rulers. Those who wish to carry out
the scheme of Home Rule.
Homesoken. (Hamesucken.)
Hominy. [N.-Amer. Ind. auhuminea, parched
corn.] Crushed maize cooked by boiling.
Homo-. [Gr. fywfe, the same.] One and the
same.
Homocercal. [Gr. 6/j.6s, the same, KtpKos, a
tail.} (Ichth.) Having a tail consisting of
symmetrical lobes, as the perch. (Heterocercal.)
Homoeo-. [Gr. fytoios, like.]
Homoeopathy. A system of treatment which
professes to remedy by setting up a similar
affection [Gr. S/JLOIOV irdQos], so as to assist nature
rather than combat disease. Its motto is " Si-
milia similibus curantur."
Homogangliate. [Gr. 6/j.6s, one and the same,
y<iyy\iov, a plexus of the tier; vs.] (Bio/.) Having
the nervous system arranged symmetrically.
Homogeneous. [From Gr. 6fj.6s, same, ytvos,
kind.] 1. Having the same nature, similarly
constituted. 2. Consisting of identical or similar
constituent parts or elements.
Homographic. [From Gr. 5/j.6s, same, ypd^ca,
I write.] Expressing the same sound always by
the same distinctive sign ; said of certain systems
of spelling. Opposed to Thcterographic.
Homoioptotdn. [Gr. 6/j.ot6TrrwTov, with similar
(6/j.oios) cases (irrdofffis).] (A'/iet.) The ending
of consecutive clauses with words in the same
case or inflexion generally.
Homoiousion. [Gr. 6/j.otovffios, from Spoios,
like, ovffia, substance, essence.] A term assert-
ing the likeness of substance in the Son and the
Father, which some Arians wished to substitute
for the term Homoousion [6/j.6s, the same},
(Anomoeans.)
Homoiozoic zones. Belts on the earth's sur-
face, marking similar [Gr. o/uoios] forms of
animal life [C&>op, an animal].
Homologate. [From L.L. homologare, from
Gr. <5/xoA<>7e?j', to agree.] (Scot. Z.aw.) To ratify
an act previously void, voidable, or defective.
Homologous. (Math.} In a proportion, the
antecedents of the ratios (i.e. first and third
terms) are like or H. terms ; and so are the con-
sequents (i.e. second and fourth terms). The
corresponding sides of similar figures are II.
because they would enter the proportions formed
between the sides as H. terms, i.e. two similar
sides would be both antecedents or both con-
sequents.
Homologue. (Analogue.)
Homology. (Comp. Anat. and Bot.) Corre-
spondence or equivalence of certain parts with
reference to an ideal type or to similar parts,
homologucs, in other organisms ; e.g. arm, wing,
seal's fore foot. (Analogue.)
Homomorphous. [From Gr. 6fj.6s, same, fj.op(prj,
shape.} Similar or identical in shape.
Homonymous. [Gr. bfjuaw^os, from 6p<$s,
same, ovopa, name.] Having different meanings ;
said of a word used more than once, or of either
of two words identical in sound but differing in
sense, as " the being of a being; " fee = re-
muneration, for faihu, head of cattle ; fee = estate,
for feodum.
Homonymy. (Metaphor.)
Homoousion. [Gr.] The term in the Nicene
Creed, asserting the consubstantiality of the Son
with the Father. (Homoiousion.)
Homophagy. Misspelling for Omophagy
[Gr. w/j.o(payia], the eating of raw flesh [wftds,
raw, and fyaytiv, to cat].
Homophones. [Gr. <5/u<ty>coj/oy.] In Lang.,
words or syllables having the same sound,
although written with various combinations of
letters. Such words abound especially in some
monosyllabic languages of Asia.
Homoptera. [Gr. 6fj.6s, one and the same,
TTTfpdv, a wing.] (Hcmiptera.)
HOMO
254
HORN
Homo stun ; human! mh.il a me alienum puto.
[L.] / am a man ; I think nothing human
void of interest to myself.
Homo trium literarum. [L.] _/ man of
three letters, i.e. fur [L.], a tluef.
Homo unius libri. [L.] A man of one
book.
Homunoulus. [L.] A little man; dim. of
homo.
Honey-dew. 1. (Bot. ) A clammy, saccharine
substance, on the leaves and stems of some trees
and herbaceous plants ; the sap of the plant,
flowing, probably, from the punctures of aphids,
etc. ; probably, also, from other causes, as the
ruptured tissue; in warm, dry weather. It falls,
sometimes, in drops, abundantly. 2. An exu-
dation of aphids themselves, different from but
mingling with that of the plant.
Hong. [Chin.] A mercantile house or fac-
tory in Canton, for foreign trade, or a national
department therein.
Honi soit qui mal y pense. [Fr.] Shame be
to him -who thinks ill of it ; motto of the Order
of the Garter.
Honorarium. [L,., a fee.] The word is often
used delicately, to avoid the actual mention of
money (post-class. = a present, a douceur, given
by one admitted to some post of honour).
Honorarium jus. (Civ. Law.) The law of
the praetors and the edicts of the sediles of
ancient Rome.
Honour. [L. honorem.] 1. (Leg.) A seigniory
of several manors held under one baron or lord
paramount. 2. At Whist, the ace, king, queen,
or knave of trumps. 3. ( Com. ) To H. a bill or
cheque, etc., to admit the claim of the drawer,
or the drawee.
Honour point. (Escutcheon.)
Honours of war. (Mil. ) Vanquished troops,
when permitted to march out, carrying their
arms with them, from a besieged town, drums
beating and colours flying, are said to have
capitulated with H. of W.
Hood-moulding. (Arch.) The moulding which
throws off the rain from tracery or protects it
from dust. (Dripstone.)
Hookah. [Ar. hukkah.] An Oriental tobacco-
pipe, with a long flexible stem from the mouth-
piece to a closed vessel containing water, into
which the stem from the bowl passes, so that the
smoke is drawn through the water. It is an
elegant form of Hubble-bubble.
Hooker, or Howker. (Naut.) 1. A small
fishing or pilot boat. 2. An endearing term for
one's ship, as, " My old hooker."
Hooke's law. The fact that, initially, the
elongations of elastic bodies are proportional to
the forces producing them.
Hookland. Land ploughed and sown every
year.
Hooped guns. (Mil.) First system on which
large guns were constructed, of staves, hooped
together with metal rings like a cask.
Hope. [Perhaps a Celt, word.] A valley.
Hoplitcs. [Gr. ^wArrcu, from '6ir\a, arms.]
(Hist.) The heavy-armed infantry of the Greek
armies. (Phalanx.)
Hoppo. [Chin.] A collector, an overseer of
commerce.
Horse. [L., Gr. 8>pat.] (Myth.) The god-
desses (i) of the seasons, (2) of the hours of the
day.
Horary circle. (Circle.)
Horas numero non nisi serenas. [L.] /
count but the sunny hours ; a motto for a sun-
dial.
Horde. The Tartar word denoting the en-
campment of the nomadic tribes.
Hordeolum. [L. hordeolus, a stye in the eye,
dim. of hordeum, barley.] (Med.) A stye.
Horizon [Gr. opifav, defining, limiting], Ap-
parent ; Artificial H. ; Celestial H. ; Dip of the
H. ; Rational H. ; Sensible H. ; Visible H. The
Rational horizon of a station is the plane drawn
through the centre of the great sphere at right
angles to the direction of the plumb-line at the
station. If the radius of the earth is taken to
have sensible magnitude, there is a Sensible H.
parallel to the former, and passing through the
station. The circle in which these planes cut
the great sphere is the Celestial H., or the
Horizon. The circle which bounds the visible
part of the earth or ocean is the Visible or
Apparent H., and is sometimes called the Sen-
sible H. (For Dip of the H., vide Dip.) An
Artificial H. is a little trough of mercury. An
observer measures the angle between a star and
its image formed by reflexion in the mercury,
and thus obtains the double altitude of the star.
Hornbeam. (Bot.) A tree, with a hard white
wood, much used by turners, wheelwrights, etc.,
Carpmus betiilus, ord. Amentacese ; attaining
great height and beauty in some parts of
Europe.
Hornbill. (Ornith.) Isolated fam. of birds,
Buce'rotidse [Gr. jSoiWpwy, ox-, z.^.-huge-, horned],
with huge bills having on the upper mandible a
bony excrescence, in some spec, nearly as large
as the bill, which in the Rhinoceros H. is ten
inches long. Ord. Picariae.
Hornblende. [Ger. horn, horn, blenden, to
dazzle.] (Min.) A silicate of lime, magnesia,
iron, and manganese ; a dark-green or black,
lustrous mineral, frequent in syenitic and dioritic,
trappean, and metamorphic rocks ; with horn-
like cleavage.
Horn-book. A child's first lesson-book was
once a thin board, about the size of a slate, on
which were the letters of the alphabet, the Arabic
-numerals, and sometimes the Lord's Prayer ;
protected by a transparent plate of horn.
Homer, Little Jack. Supposed to have been
sent to Henry VIII., by the Abbot of Glaston-
bury, with a pie full of deeds of manors, one of
which, "a plum," he abstracted.
Hornpipe. 1. An old wind instrument, "of the
shawm or waits character," the open end or bell
of which was sometimes made of horn ; but it
may have been so called from its curved shape ;
called in Wales, Cornwall, Ireland, and Brit-
tany, the Pib-eorn, pib or piob being i.q. pipe,
and corn being i.q. horn. 2. A dance of English
origin; called from the instrument played.
Stainer and Barrett, Dictionary of Musi,-.
HORN
255
HOUR
Horns. [Cf. L. cornu, Gr. nepas, neparos.}
(Antlers.)
Horns of a dilemma. A metaphor for grave
practical difficulties when of two or more courses
of action both or all appear equally imprudent
or dangerous ; borrowed from the argument so
called, in Logic [Gr. SfA/tyjiijua], in which an
adversary is caught between two difficulties.
Hornstone. (Geol.) A variety of compact
quartz ; hornlike as to appearance and degree
of transparency.
Hornwork. (Fortif.) Outwork consisting of
two half-bastions connected by a curtain, with
long branches directed for defence on the faces
of a work in rear of it.
Horoscope. [From Gr. tipa, a time, a season,
and ffKoirew, I observe} 1. The sign of the
Zodiac rising at the time of a child's birth.
2. A figure of the twelve signs of the Zodiac,
wherein was marked the position of the heavens
at the time of the child's birth, from which
astrologers made predictions as to his fortunes
in after life.
Horoscopy. The calculation of nativities.
Horresco referens. [L.] I tremble as I relate.
Horror of a vacuum. An imaginary prin-
ciple by which the action of pumps, siphons,
suckers, etc., was thought to be accounted for ;
the real explanation being the pressure of the
atmosphere. The theory was Aristotle's.
Hors de combat. [Fr.] Out of the combat,
disabled from action.
Hors d'o3uvres. [Fr.] From a meaning of
accessory, not essential, 1. The lesser details
in a painting of figures. 2. Sometimes, side-
dishes.
Horse-. As a prefix, = large, coarse, of its
kind, as H.-play, -laugh, -mint, -muscle,
-mackerel, i.e. the scud ; so Ox-, as Ox-hunger,
-daisy ; compare Gr. nriro- and j8ou-.
Horse. (Naut.) 1. A foot-rope fastened at
both ends of, and hanging below, a yard, for
the men to stand on when reefing, etc. 2.
Various large ropes in the running rigging. 3.
The iron bar across the deck on which the
sheets of a fore-and-aft sail travel. 4. A cross-
piece, upon standards, on which booms, boats,
etc., are lashed.
Horse-furniture. (Mil.) The caparison of a
military horse.
Horse latitudes. Those between the westerly
winds and trade-winds, i.e. in the tropics, ap-
proximately ; subject to long calms.
Horse-power ; Actual H. ; Indicated H. ; No-
minal H. A unit for estimating the rate at
which an agent works. It works with one
horse-power when it performs 33,000 foot-
pounds of work per minute. The Nominal H.
of a steam-engine is estimated by its dimensions.
The Actual or Indicated H. is that of the steam
on the piston in the actual working of the engine,
and is ascertained by the steam-indicator.
Hortative. [L. hortativus, from horto, 7
advise.} (Gram.) Expressive advice or exhor-
tation ; term given to what used to be called
the imperative use of the Latin subjunctive
mood.
Hortus siccus. [L., a dry garden.} A col-
lection of plants or botanical specimens, dried
and pressed ; a herbarium.
Horus, Hor Apollo. (Harpocrates.)
Hosanna. [Ileb., save, I beseech then.} A
word much used by the Jews in their Hosanna
Rabba, or Feast of Tabernacles.
Hose. [A. S. hose.] (Printing.) A case con-
nected by hooks with the platin, for keeping it
horizontal and lifting it from the forme.
Hospitaller. [L.L. hospltalarius.] One resid-
ing in a monastery, to receive strangers and the
poor. Knights //., a religious order, formerly
settled in England, founded circ. A.D. 1092,
who, to protect and provide for pilgrims, had
built a hospital at Jerusalem ; much favoured by
Godfrey of Bouillon and Baldwin of Jerusalem ;
called also K. of St. Joint of Jerusalem, K. of
Rhodes (1310) after settling there, and after loss
of R., K. of Malta, where the chief of the
order still existing under this title resides.
(Orders, Religious.)
Hospodar. [Slav.] An officer formerly ap-
pointed by the sultan for the government of
the Christian principalities of Moldavia and
Wallachia.
Host. [L. hostia, a "victim.'} In the Latin
Church, the Eucharistic elements after conse-
cration.
Hostel. [L.L. hospitalis, from hospes, a
stranger, or guest.} 1. A place of lodgment for
sttidents at the universities. 2. A detached
building forming part of a college.
Hostiarius. The title of the second master in
some endowed schools, as at Winchester. If
the word be another form of L. ostiarius, a
door-keeper, the modern usher may be derived
from it.
Hotblast. A current of heated air driven by
blowers into a furnace.
Hotchpotch. (Hodgepodge.)
Hot-cockles. A game in which one is
blindfolded, and guesses who strikes him or
touches his hand \cf. Fr. game main chaud, hot
hand}.
Hotel de ville. [Fr.] Town hall, city hall.
Hotel Dieu. [Fr., hostel of God.} The prin-
cipal hospital in a French city.
Hot-pressed. Pressed while heat is applied,
so as to receive a glossy surface.
Hound-fish. (fc/ith.) Smooth-hound, Ray-
mottthcd dog. A small British shark, about
eighteen inches long ; eatable. Squalus mus-
telus, fam. Carchariidae [Gr. Kapxapias, a kind
of shark, Kapx.&pos, jagged}, ord. Plagiostomata,
sub-class Chondropterygii.
Hour-angle ; H.-circle ; H.-line ; H. of longi-
tude ; H. of right ascension ; Sidereal H. ; Solar
H. The twenty-fourth part of a solar day is a
Solar hour ; of a sidereal day, a Sidereal H. The
H. -angle of a heavenly body at any instant is
the angle at the instant between the meridian
and the declination circle of the heavenly body
The H. -lines on a sun-dial indicate the hour oi
the day when the shadow of the style coincides
with them. An H. of longitude or of right
ascension is merely 15; thus, longitude 2 hrs.
HOUR
256
HUM A
15 mins. E. is the same as longitude 33 45' E.
(For H.-circle, vide Circle.)
Houri. [Ar. hur al oyun, black-eyed.] A
Mohammedan nymph of paradise; "a higher
and purer form " of which idea " we ?ee in the
Valkyries of Norse Myth., who guide to the
Valhalla the souls of all heroes dying on the
battle-field." Cox's Aryan Mythology.
House. 1. In Astrology, any one of the
twelve parts into which the whole circuit of the
heavens was divided by astrologers. 2. (Naut. )
To enter "within board." To H. an ttpper
mast is to lower it and to secure its heel to the
lower mast. To H. a gun is to run it in and
secure it. To H. a ship is to cover it with a
roof when laid up. Housed in, built too narrow
above, "pinched."
House-boat. One fitted with cabins, and
suited for towing only.
Housebote. (Leg. ) An allowance of wood to a
tenant for repairs and fuel ; also called Estovers.
House-carls, or Thinga-men. (Hist.) A force
embodied by the Danish Cnut, King of Eng-
land, receiving regular pay, and forming the
germ of a standing army. Under Cnut they
may be regarded as a sort of military guild, with
the king at their head. Freeman, Norman
Conquest.
Household Troops, or the Guards. Six regi-
ments : three of cavalry 1st and 2nd Life
Guards, and the Horse Guards, or Oxford
Blues ; and three of infantry Grenadiers, Cold-
stream, and Scots Fusiliers.
Housel. [A.S. husul, offering.] The conse-
crated bread in the Eucharist.
Housemaid's knee. From kneeling on hard,
damp stones ; inflammation of the bursa, or sac,
between the knee-pan and the skin, resulting in
the effusion of fluid.
House of Keys. In the Isle of Man, an as-
sembly, composed of twenty-four principal com-
moners of the island, having both a legislative
and a judicial character.
Housing, or House-line. (Naut.} Line,
smaller than rope-yam, and used for swinging
blocks, etc. H. of a lower mast, the part
below deck. H. of a bowsprit, the part within
the knight-heads.
Houyhnhnms. (Gulliver's Travels.)
Hove. 1. (Naut.) H. down, or out, i.q.
careened. H. off, got clear of the ground. H.
up, hauled up into a slip, etc., on a gridiron.
H. in sight, just come into view. H. in stays,
position of a vessel in the act of going about.
H. short, when the cable is taut. H. well
short, when a vessel is nearly over her anchor.
H. to = brought to, etc. 2. (Agr.) Used of
cattle swollen with eating green food.
Howadji. [Ar.] Traveller, merchant.
Howdah. [Hind, haudah.] A seat for one or
more on the back of an elephant or camel.
Howe, How. [Cf. haugh, Norse haugr, mound,
M.H.G. houc, Ger. hiigel, hill.] A hill.
Howel. [Fr. hoyau, a mattock.] A tool used
for smoothing the inside of a cask.
Howitzer. [Ger. haubitze.] (Mil.) Short,
light kind of ordnance, with a chamber, used
principally for projecting shells nearly horizon-
tally.
Howling dervishes. (Dervise ; and see
Catherine and Craufurd Tait, p. 516.)
Hoy. [Dan. hoy, Ger. heu.] (Naut.) A
vessel carrying goods and passengers from point
to point along a coast, or to and from ships.
Hoyden. A clownish, ill-bred girl ; originally
applied, and more frequently, to men ; the same
word as heathen [D. heyden], lit. dwellers on
the heath, rough, wild. (See Trench, Select
Glossary.)
Hub. [Ger. hub, heaving.] The central part
of a wheel.
Hubble-bubble. (Hookah.)
Hub of the Universe. Wendell Holmes's name
for Boston State-House. Hub = protuberance,
nave of a wheel.
Huckaback. A kind of linen with raised
figures on it, for table-cloths and towels.
Huddock, The. The cabin of a keel, or coal-
barge.
Hudibras, Sir. Presbyterian knight ; S. But-
ler's poem (1663), ridiculing Puritan doctrine
and manners.
Hue and Cry. 1. An ancient process for the
pursuit of felons, which the common law pro-
vided, and may still make use of, as it seems,
although unnecessary in these days. 2. Gazette
published by authority, containing the names of
deserters, persons charged with crime, and other
particulars of police news.
Hufkyn. [(?) Ger. hauptchen, dim. of haupt,
head.] Iron skull-cap formerly worn by
archers.
Huggins, Muggins. Names implying preten-
tious vulgarity.
Huginn and Muninn. In Teut. Myth., the
two ravens who sit on the shoulder of Odin, as
symbols of wisdom [from the words hugr,
thought, and munr, mind, as in Menu ; Minerva ;
Minos ; and man].
Hubertsbnrg, Peace of. (Seven Years' War.)
Huguenots. [Perhaps from Ger. eidgenossen,
oath-associates, corr. into Eignots.] A distin-
guishing name of French Protestants from the
time of Francis I.
Huissier. [Fr., from L. ostiarius, door-
keeper.] (Leg.) The usher of a court.
Hulk. [A.S. hulce.] (Naut.) Usually an
old vessel unfit to go to sea, used for stores,
etc. ; e.g. a Sheer H., one fitted with sheers (q.v.).
Hull. [A.S. hule.] (Naut.) The body of a
ship, without masts, etc. To H., (i) to hit with
shot ; (2) to drift without rudder, sail, or oar.
To strike H., to take in all sails, and lash the
helm a-lee ; called also To lie a-hull. Hull-to,
situation of a ship lying a-hull. Hull-down,
said of a ship when only masts and sails are
above the horizon.
Hulsean Lectures. Originally twenty, now
eight, sermons delivered yearly at Cambridge,
under will of Rev. J. Hulse (A.D. 1777).
Hum. A cloudy appearance on well-annealed
glass.
Humanitarians. A name for Arians, as be-
lieving Christ to be a mere man.
HUMA
257
IIYAL
Humanum est errare. [L.] It is human to err.
Humble Access, Prayer of. The first prayer
in the Canon in the Eucharistic Office.
Humble-bee. (Bombidae.)
Humeotation. [L. humectatio, -nem, irriga-
tion^ The steeping of a medicine in water ;
the application of moistening remedies.
Humeral. Connected with the shoulder [L.
humerus].
Humetty. (Her.) Having those parts cut
off which would touch the edges of the
escutcheon.
Hummelling barley. Removing the awn from
the grain after threshing, by a hummeler, a set
of blunt knives passing frequently through the
grain.
Humming-bird moth, Macroglossa stelldtdrum
[Gr. /j-aicpos, long, yXSiffaa., tongue, L. stellatus,
set with stars']. (Entom.) A moth with pro-
boscus long enough to suck the honey from
flowers without alighting. Fam. Sphingidse.
Hummums, Hammams. [Ar. hammam, bath.']
Baths, especially Turkish.
Humour. [L. humSrem.] Galen and later
physicians believed the human temperament to
be made up of the choleric, the phlegmatic, the
sanguine, and the melancholy ; and the tem-
perament of the individual to be caused by the
prevalence of one or other of these humours
over the others.
Humphrey, Duke. (Duke Humphrey.)
Hundred. (Eng. Hist.) A division of a
county, for the administration of justice. (Coiirt-
baron ; Court-leet ; Wapentake.)
Hundred Days, The. In Fr. Hist. , the time
which elapsed between the return of Napoleon
to France from Elba, and his defeat at Waterloo,
1815.
Hundredor. A man of a hundred, fit to serve
on a jury, liable for damage caused by felonious
rioting.
Hundredweight. One hundred and twelve
pounds.
Hundred Years' War. (Salic law.)
Hungary water. A distilled water from rose-
mary flowers.
Hunger traces. Lines of depression across
the nails, the result of want of food, or of
deficient nutrition of nail-tissue during some
previous disease.
Hunks. A miser, a niggard.
Hunter, Hunting watch. A watch having its
glass protected by a metallic cover.
Hunter's screw. A kind of differential screw.
(Differential.)
Hunting cog. When two toothed wheels are
to work together, the larger wheel is commonly
made to have one tooth more than the just
number, to prevent the same teeth continually
working together ; this extra tooth is the H. C.
Huntingdonians. Members of the Countess
of Huntingdon's connexion, formed by George
Whitefield when, after his separation from the
Wesleys, he became her chaplain.
Hunt's up. Noisy music in the early morn-
ing, like that which rouses to a hunting expe-
dition. (Aubade.)
Hurdy-gurdy. An old instrument of four gut
strings, set vibrating by a resined wheel, to
which a handle is attached ; two strings forming
a drone bass ; the other two, acted upon by keys
pressing them at different lengths, giving the
tune.
Hurly-burly. [From O.E. hurl, tumult]
Tumult, commotion.
Hurricane. [A Carib. word huracan, whence
Sp. huracan, Fr. ouragan, etc.] A storm com-
mon in the W. Indies, in which the wind is
furious and liable to sudden changes of direction.
Hurricane-deok. A light deck above the
others. Hurricane-house, any temporary build-
ing on deck.
Hurst, Hirst. A word with the same meaning
as Holt in the names of places in England.
Hurtle. [Fr. heurter, to strike.] To clash,
to rush noisily.
Husband, or Ship's husband. (Naut.) An
.agent to receive money, retain claims, make
payments, advance, and lend, in matters relating
to the vessel ; but not to insure or borrow.
Husgable. (Leg.) House rent (Gabel) or
tax.
Hushing. Damming up water and then letting
it rush down so as to lay bare new surfaces of
ore.
Hush-money. A bribe to prevent the giving
of inconvenient information.
Hussites. (Eccl. Hist.) Followers of John
Huss, of Bohemia, a very zealous advocate of
Wyclif's opinions (A.D. 1407) ; burnt alive (A.D.
1415) by decree of the Council of Constance.
Hussy. [Huswif, housewife] A pert or
worthless girl.
Hustings. (Hus-thing.)
Hus-thing. [A. S., from hus, house, thing,
assembly, or council] (Eng. Hist.) A court
held in a house, as distinguished from one held
in the open air. Anciently the chief municipal
court of the City of London. Hence, incor-
rectly, the modern Hustings. (Thing.)
Hutchinsonians. The followers of Hutchinson,
who, rejecting Newton's theory of gravitation,
maintained the existence of a plenum,
Huttonian or Plutonic theory (Dr. H., died
1797) accounts, by internal heat, for the eleva-
tion of strata, and many other phenomena ; the
Wefnerian (Werner, of Saxony, died 1817) or
Neptunian theory supposes a universal dissolu-
tion and suspension of mineral substances in
water.
Hyad.es. [Gr. imSes, from Zsw, to rain]
(Myth.) Daughters of Atlas, who wept so
violently on the death of their brother Hyas
that the gods took them to heaven, where they
form a cluster of five stars on the face of
Taurus. (Pleiades.)
Hyaline. [Gr. v&Mvos, crystal, of glass] 1.
Crystal, glassy. 2. A crystal surface, as of the
sea.
Hyalitis. [Gr. va\os, glass] (Mcd.) In-
flammation of the vitreous humour of the eye.
Hyalography. [Gr. oAos, glass, ypd(j>o>, I
write] The art of engraving on glass.
Hyalotype. [Gr. Sa\os, glass, rviros, type]
S
HYBR
258
HYGR
A positive photograph on glass, copied from a
negative.
Hybrid. [L. hybrida, hibrida.] 1. Produced
by mixture of species or genera ; mongrel, as a
mule. 2. Compounded of elements belonging
to different languages ; said of a word, as demi-
god.
Hycsos. (Shepherd kings.)
Hyd. (Hide of land.)
Hydatid. [Gr. vS&rls, a watery vesicle]
1. Morbid cysts in various parts of the body.
2. Cyst-like entozoa.
Hyde. (Hide of land.) A measure of land.
Its contents are uncertain.
Hydr-, Hydro-. [Stem, in composition, of
Gr. SSwp, water.]
Hydra. [Gr. O'Spo, a water-serpent ; so named
from its reproduction by artificial division, as the
Lernaean hydra produced two heads for every one
cutoff.] 1. (Zoo/.) Gen. and ord. of fresh-water
polypes, consisting of a tube with tentacles at
one end. It is reproduced sexually and by
budding, and, if artificially divided, every seg-
ment becomes a perfect polypite. Sub-kingd.
Ccelenterata. 2. (Myth.) A monster supposed
to infest the marshes of Lerna. As fast as one
head was cut off by Heracles (Hercules), two
sprang up, until the hero cauterized the necks.
The story probably refers to the bubbling up
and drying away of springs in marshes.
Hydrant. [Gr. vSpatvu, I irrigate] A pipe
or spout by which water may be drawn from the
mains.
Hydrargyrus. [Gr. vSpdpyvpos.] Quicksilver.
Hydraulic cement. [Gr. v8pav\iic6s, pertaining
to a water-organ.] A cement, containing silicate
of aluminia, and hardening under water.
Hydraulic press ; called also the Hydrostatic
P. and Bramah's P. A machine in which the
force applied to a small piston is transmitted
through water to a large piston ; as the pressure
per unit of area is the same in both cases, the
whole pressure on the large piston is to that on
the small piston in the ratio of their areas. The
principle of the machine was known .to Pascal ;
it was practically realized by-^Bramah, who
invented a leather collar which enables the
pistons to work water-tight.
Hydraulic ram. A machine in which the
momentum produced by the fall of a stream from
a small height is made to raise a small column
of water to a much greater height.
Hydraulics. (Hydraulic cement.) As com-
monly used, is the science of the motion of water
in pipes, canals, etc. , i.e. under the circumstances
in which the science subserves the purposes of
engineering. (Hydrodynamics.)
Hydro-. (Chem.) (Hydr-.)
Hydro-carbons are naphtha, pgtrole'um, asphalt,
bituminous substances generally ; as being com-
posed of hydrogen and carbon in some propor-
tion or other.
Hydrodynamics. [Gr. iSdp^s, watery, Swapis,
power.] Commonly means the theory of the
motion of fluids. Sometimes used as a general
term for the science of the effects of force applied
to a fluid medium, the subdivisions being
Hydraulics, or Hydrokinetics, when the fluid is
in motion, Hydrostatics when it is at rest.
Hydrography. [Gr. vSap-ijs, -watery, ypd<f>co, I
describe.] The branch of geography which relates
to the construction of maps of the boundaries of
land and water, and of the configuration of land
below water as indicated by soundings, whether
in the deep sea, in shoal water, or in rivers.
Hydrokinetics. (Hydrodynamics.)
Hydromancy. [Gr. vtipopavTis, a water-
prophet] Divination by water, of which there
seem to have been many modes.
Hydromel. Honey [Gr. ^<=Ai] diluted with water.
Hydro-metallurgy. [Gr. SSaip, water, and
metallurgy.] Assaying or reducing ores by liquid
reagents.
Hydrometer. [Gr. vSap-fis, watery, /teVpov,
measure] An instrument which indicates the
specific gravity of a liquid by the depth to which
it sinks, or by the weight required to sink it to
a certain depth, in that liquid.
Hydropathy. Water-cure, = the treatment of
disease [Gr. irdOos, affection] by cold water, out-
wardly and inwardly.
Hydroscope. [Gr. v5a>p, water, ffKoirelv, to
look.] The same as Hygrometer.
Hydrostatic balance ; H. paradox ; H. press.
A balance arranged for ascertaining the weight
of a body suspended in liquid, the balance and
weights being in the air. H. paradox, the ill-
chosen name of an instrument which exhibits the
fact that a comparatively light column of water
can support a heavy weight in virtue of the
fundamental laws of the transmission of pressure
through a fluid. (For H. press, vide Hydraulic
press.)
Hydrostatics. The science which treats of the
equilibrium of fluids under the action of forces,
and of the pressures which they exert on or
transmit to the sides of the vessels containing
them or the surfaces of bodies in them. (Hydro-
dynamics.)
Hydrotherapeutics [Gr. flepcwrewo, I treat me-
dically], i.q. Hydropathy.
Hydrothermal agency (Geol.) = that of heated
water [Gr. vSap^s, watery, 6fp/j.6s, hot].
Hydrozoa. [Gr. vSpa, hydra, faov, an ani-
mal.] (Zool.) Class of Ccelenterata, of which
the Hydra (q.v.} is the typical form.
Hydros. [Gr. vSpos, a water-serpent, vSap^j,
watery.] (Zool.) Gen. of fresh- water snakes
(Linnaeus).
Hyetograph. [Gr. faros, rain, ypd(fxa, I
write.] The science of the geographical distri-
bution of rain.
Hygieia. [Gr. vyleia, health] (Myth.] The
Greek goddess of health, the daughter of
Asklepios, or ^Lsculapius. Hence Hygiene, the
science of matters relating to health ; by some
used especially of diet, and generally what used
to be called non-naturals (q.v.) of the sick.
Hygiene. (Hygieia.)
Hygrometer. [Gr. vypos, wet, fitrpov, mea-
sure.] An instrument for ascertaining the pro-
portionate amount of moisture in the atmosphere.
In Daniell's H. the measurement is effected by
an observation of the dew-point, on the principle
HYGR
259
HYPO
of the cryophorus ; in De Saussure's H., by the
variations in the tension of a hair in different
states of the atmosphere.
Hygrometrio. [Gr. vyp6s, wet, peTpov, mea-
sure.} Showing the degree of moisture in the
air ; e.g. the H. property of seaweed, or of the
Anastatica (q.v.).
Hygroscopic. [Gr. vypts, wet, moKew, I be-
hold.} Having the property of readily imbibing
moisture from the atmosphere and thereby serv-
ing as an indicator of its state as to dryness or
dampness.
Hymen. [L., Gr. 'T/t^i/J (Myth.) The god
of marriage.
Hymeneal. Anything relating to marriage
(Hymen), as a song or.an ode.
Hymemum. [Gr. vp.lviov, dim. of \>IJ.T]V, a
membrane.} (Bot. ) The membrane of the gills
of fungi, where the spores are placed.
Hymeno-. [Gr. v^iiv, v^fvos, a membrane.}
Hymenoptera. [Gr. u(i.ei>6-irTepos, membrane-
winged.} (Entom.) Ord. of insects with mem-
branous wings, as bees ; ovipositor frequently
modified into a saw, an awl, or a sting.
Hynden. An association of ten men, from
whom, in case of deadly feud, the consacramen-
tals (sworn avengers of blood) were chosen. H.
were subdivisions of firth-guilds.
Hyo'id bone. (Anat.) Between the root of
the tongue and the larynx ; in appearance [Gr.
elSoj] somewhat like the Greek letter v.
Hypeethral. [Gr. viraiQpios, from viro, under,
oj07Jp, air.} (Arch.) A building or temple not
covered by a roof.
Hypallage. [Gr. inra\\a,yfi, a change^ In
Gram, and Rhet, an inversion in which, while
the same sense is conveyed, the predicates are
transferred from their proper subject to another ;
as, " Dare classibus austros," to give wind to the.
fleets (Virgil), instead of, to give the ships to the
wind.
Hypapante. The Greek name for the Purifi-
cation of the B.V. Mary ; the meeting [Gr.
vtraTravT-fi, post-class.] of Simeon and Anna with
our Lord.
Hypaspist. [Gr. viraarirtffT-fis, from faro, under,
atriris, shield.} A shield-bearer.
Hyper-. [Gr. inrep, L. s-uper, Skt. upar-i,
Goth, ufar, Eng. over, Ger. iiber, over, above.}
1. Gr. prefix, denoting over, beyond, or excess,
as in hyper-critical, overcritical. 2. (Chem.)
(Per-.)
Hyperaemia. (Med.) Superabundance of blood
[Gr. aifia] in the capillaries ; congestion.
Hypersesthesia. (Anaesthesia.)
Hyperbaton. [Gr. virtpfiaTov, from virtp, over,
and root of $a.(vta, I go.} (Gram.) A reversing
of the proper natural order of words so as to
separate words or clauses which should be
together.
Hyperbola. [Gr. wep/SoA.^, excess, from virep,
over, and root of /3oAAw, / t/irmv (Ellipse).] 1.
(Math.) One of the Conic sections. It is described
by a moving point, the difference of whose dis-
tance from two fixed points (its foci) is always
the same ; it consists of two distinct parts con-
tained within the opposite angles formed by two
straight lines ; it continually approaches but
never actually meets these lines, which are called
its asymptotes. 2. (Khet.) An exceedingly
exaggerated representation of one's meaning, as,
" He is able to pierce a corselet with his eye"
(Shakespeare).
Hyperbole. (Hyperbola.)
Hyperboreans. [Gr. oi "r-n-fppopeioi.] (Myth.)
Literally, those who dwell beyond Boreas, or
the North Wind, a region supposed to be much
like Elysium, or the Gardens of the Hesperides.
Hence Hyperborean comes to mean "happy."
(Elysian.)
Hypercatalectic. [Gr. vTrepKara^KT'iKos, from
virep, over, Kara^K-rlK^s, catalectic (<f.v.).} (Pros.)
Having a syllable or two beyond the stated
metre ; said of verses.
Hyperdulia. (Dulia.)
Hypericum. [Gr. inrfpeiKov and fare'piKop.]
St. John's wort, the (only) British gen. type of
ord. Hypericiniae.
Hyperion. [Gr. "ffrepiwv.] A Greek name
for the sun as he ascends the heavens before
noon.
Hypermetrical. [Gr. virep, over, ^rpov, mea-
sure.} (Pros.) Having a redundant final syl-
lable, which in Latin ends in a vowel or m,
and is elided with the initial vowel of the next
line.
Hypertrophy. [Gr. rp^ca, I nourish.} 1. A
condition arising from greatly increased nutrition.
2. An enlargement of any part, which still re-
tains its natural organization and action.
Hyphen. [Gr. v<p' fi>, in one.} A short line
to show that two words or parts of words are to
be connected.
Hypnotic [Gr. virvwTiK6s, inclined to sleep}
medicines. Causing sleep.
Hypnotism [Gr. inrv6ca, I put to sleep}, or
Braidism (discovered by Mr. Braid). Artificial
somnambulism ; induced by gazing for several
minutes on a bright object near to and just above
the eyes.
Hypo-. [Gr. inr6, under, (i) in point of
situation, (2) somewhat in degree.] (Chan.)
A prefix denoting that the compound contains
less oxygen, as hyponitrous acid, which contains
less oxygen than nitrous acid.
Hypobole. [Gr. viro^o\-f], from inr6, ttnder, and
root of 0aAAco, / throw.} (Rhet.) Anticipation
of several objections to one's own argument.
Hypocaust. [Gr. v-nA-KwaTov} (Arch.) A
chamber of hot air with fire [naiw, I burn}
under [viro} it.
Hypochondria, Hypochondriasis. [Gr. rb
viroxo'vSpioi', the part under ihe cartilage (x<ifSpos)
of the breast-bone.] Extreme nervous sensibility,
with symptoms of disordered digestion, much
gloom and melancholy, and great suffering from
imaginary ailments ; but there are distinct
varieties.
Hypocycloid. (Epicycloid.)
Hypodermic. [Gr. bird, beneath, Se'p^a, skin.}
Existing under the skin, or applied there.
Hypodiastole. [Gr. viroSiaffro^rj, from vv6,
under, StairToArj, diastole (</.v.).} A mark to
distinguish certain Greek pronouns followed by
HYPO
1C
an enclitic, as rd,re, 8,T, from similar com-
pounds, as r6rf, Sri.
Hypogene [Gr. inrd, from under, yewd<a, I
produce} (Geol.) = nether-formed; granite,
gneiss, and other crystalline rocks, supposed
never to have been formed, or at least to have
taken their present aspects at the surface.
Obsolete term.
Hypostasis. [Gr. uWa-rotrtj.] (Theol.} The
Greek Fathers use this word to denote the dis-
tinct personality of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Ghost. The Latin Fathers felt themselves
obliged to retain the word, because substantia,
which translates it, was used by them to denote
the essence or being common to each of the
hypostases of the Godhead.
Hypostatic union. The union of Christ's
human nature with the divine ; constituting two
natures in one person.
Hypotenuse. [Gr. T\ vTrorelvovaa, the subtend-
ing line.] The side of a right-angled triangle
opposite to the right angle. Spelt incorrectly,
Hypothenuse.
Hypothec. [Gr. inro&fiK-n, fledge, deposit,
mortgage, from inr6, under, and root of TiO-n/M, I
placed (Scot. Law.) Security in favour of one
creditor, especially a landlord, over the property
of his debtor.
Hypothecation. (Hypothec.) (Leg.) The act
of pledging property as security for debt or
demand, without transfer of possession of
personal property, as by giving bottomry bonds.
Hypothetical baptism. If the priest cannot
ascertain, from the answers of those who bring
a child to baptism, whether it has been really
baptized or not, he is to baptize it hypothetically,
or conditionally, saying, "If thou be not already
baptized, I baptize thee," etc.
Hypotrophy. [Gr. vtr6, under, rpf^xa, /
nourish.} State of deficient nourishment.
Hypozoic. (Neozoic.)
Hypsometer; Hypsometry. [Gr. vtyos, height,
Hfrpov, measure.} Hypsometry, the measure-
ment of heights ; the word generally implies
that the measurement is effected not by a
triangulation, but by a portable instrument such
as an aneroid or mercurial barometer. In an
Hypsometer, advantage is taken of the fact that
the boiling point of water is lowered when the
atmospheric pressure is reduced, to effect the
measurement of heights by observing the tem-
perature of the boiling point of water.
Hyracoidea. [Gr. iipa| (Hyrax), e?5os, kind.}
(Zoo/.) Ord. of mammals, containing but one
gen., Hyrax. (Coney, 2.)
Hyrax. [Gr. %pa%, L. sorex, whence Fr.
souris.] (Coney, 2.)^
Hyssop. [Heb. ezob, Gr. vvatairos.} Exod. xii.
22, and elsewhere ; probably the thorny caper,
Capparis spmosa.
Hysteria. [Once supposed to be connected
with the womb (Gr. ixnepa.).} (Med.) Includes a
vast number of symptoms known as nervous dis-
orders, all dependent upon a peculiarly suscep-
tible state of the nervous system. (Hysterical
joints.)
Hysterical joints. (Neuro-nrimesis.)
Hysteron-proteron. [Gr. vcrrfpov-Ttporfpov,
latter-former.} (Rhet.} Inversion of the natural
order of ideas or logical propositions ; a putting
of the cart before the horse.
Hystrix. [Gr. Strrpi, id.} (Zool.) The porcu-
pine, giving its name, Hystricidse, to the fam. of
true porcupines, with quills generally long and
hollow, and with non-prehensile tails. S.
Europe, N. Africa, India, China, and adjacent
islands. Ord. Rodentia. The Cercolabidae,
tree porcupines, of America are a closely allied
fam., but Cercolabes (S. America) has a pre-
hensile tail.
Hythe. (Naut.) A pier or wharf for loading
or unloading at. (Hithe.)
I.
I. As a Roman numeral, denotes I ; and, if
placed before V or X, it diminishes by a unit
the number expressed by those letters.
Iambics. [Gr. 1a.fj.fios.} Metres in which the
feet are chiefly of two syllables, of which the
first is short, as amant.
latro-. [Gr. Ia.rp6s.} A physician.
Ibex [L.] ( Steinbock [Ger.], fiock-goat.
(Zool.) Capra ibex, an Alpine and Pyrenean
spec., moderately gregarious. The adult male is
about two feet eight inches high at the shoulder ;
reddish brown in summer, grey in winter ; the
horns are sometimes three feet long. Sub-fam.
Caprinae, fam. Bovidse, ord. Ungulata.
Ibidem. [L.] In the same place ; written
biid. or ib. , and used in references to a passage
or book which has been already quoted.
Ibi omnis effusus labor. [L.] There all his
labour luas lost (Virgil) ; of Orpheus when he
lost Eurydice.
Ibis. [L., Egypt, phib, Gr. ?*.] (Ornith.)
1. Numenius I., Sacred L ; spec, of birds, about
two feet high, white, with black pendent
secondaries. Migratory between Ethiopia and
Egypt. Gen. Numenius, fam. Scolopacidae, ord.
Grallse. 2. Gen. of birds, as Scarlet ibis. Trop.
and N. Temp. America. Fam. Plataleldse, ord.
Gralloe.
-ic, -ous. (Ckem.) 1. Terminations of the
names of the hydrogen salts as chloric acid,
which is chlorate of hydrogen ; chlorous acid,
which is chlorite of hydrogen, (-ate, -ite.) 2.
Terminations distinguishing the salts (-ous) in
which the combining power of a metal's atoms
is partly expended on uniting them with one
another, from those (-ic) where this power is
ICEA
261
IDEA
wholly employed in combining them with
atoms of another body, as, ferrous, ferric salts.
Ice-anchor. (Naut.) A curved iron bar,
hooked into ice.
Iceberg ; I.-field ; I.-floe ; Ground-I, ; I.-island ;
Pack-I. An Ice-floe is a large mass of floating
ice ; if it is so thick as to rise high above the
sea-level, it is an Iceberg. An I.-field is the
frozen surface of the sea when it extends on all
sides further than the eye can reach, called also
Pack-I. ; if its limits are within sight it is an
I.-island. Ground-I. is ice formed at the
bottom of running water. Icebergs have
generally been detached from glaciers ; ice-
fields, ice-floes, etc., are merely the frozen sea-
water.
Ice-blink. A bright appearance, caused by
the reflexion of light from ice below the
horizon.
Ice-boat. (Naut.) A sledge-boat fitted with
a sail, used on the ice.
Ice-caves. (Glacieres.)
Iceland-spar. (Geol.) Finest, most transparent
variety of calc-spar ; found in large crystalline
masses in I. trap-rock.
Ich dien. '[Ger., / serve.} Motto of the
Prince of Wales's coat of arms, assumed from
that of the King of Bohemia at the battle of
Cressy.
Ichnites. [Gr. Tx" os > a footstep.} (Geol.) A
general term for fossil footprints. Ichnology, that
part of Geol. which has to do with I. Ornith-
ichnites are such as have been referred to birds
[opvis, opvlQos}.
Ichnography. [Gr. 1x vos > footstep, ypaQw,
I describe.} The ground-plan of a building,
Ichor. [Gr. JX^P.] The watery part of blood.
1. (Myth.) The element flowing through the
veins of the gods. 2. (Med.) Thin, aqueous,
acrid discharge, as distinguished from proper
pus.
Ichthyolites. [Gr. \x^s, a fish, \i6os, a stone.}
(Geol.) Fossil remains of fishes.
Ichthyology. [Gr. iypfa, a fish, \6yos, an
account.} The science treating of fish, their
classification, etc. In this work the classifica-
tion of Dr. Giinther's British Museum Catalogtie
has been adopted (as by Mr. Wallace in his
Geographical Distribution, etc.), and not his later
arrangement, which fuses the first three sub-
classes under the name of Ganoidel. This is,
however, indicated by brackets.
Sub-class.
I. TeleostSr [Gr.
T6\6OT, perfect,
oo-Ttoi', a bone].
II. Dipnoi.
III. Ganoidei.
Orders.
1. Acanthopterygii (y.v.).
2. Acanthopterygii Pharyngo-
gnathi [Gr.0npi7f,-y7os,/^
pharynx, "/vdOos, the jaw].
3. Anacanthini (?.z'.).
4. Physostomi [Gr. <pv<rau>, to
blow, o-Tojua, the mouth],
5. Lophobranchii [Gr. A6^>os, a
tuft, flpdfxia., gills].
6. Plectognathi [Gr. irXcKros,
clasped, yvdOo';, the jaw],
j. Sirenoi'dei [Gr. aeipjjv,
(Siren), <3o5, appear-
ance].
( 8. Holostei [Gr. oA-oo-reos,
] wholly bone],
j 9. Chondrostei [Gr. \ovipot,
\ gristle, utrr^ov, bone].
Sub-class.
IV. Chondro-
pterygii.
V. Cyclostomata
[Gr. KWC\OS, a
circle, o-TO/ua,
the mo.itt/i].
VI. Leptocardii
[Gr. AeTTTor,
slender, xap&ia,
the heart].
Orders.
/io. Holocephala LGr. o\os,
whole, K(ijia\ij, the head].
11. Plagiostumata [Gr. 7r\a7<o9,
slanting, aro/j.a, -aro9, the
mouth],
Sub-ord. Selachoi'dei [Gr.
<re\axo-e$i'j9, like the
<T(' \axos-, kind of Chon-
drosteous fish].
Sub-ord. Batoidei [Gr.
/3aro?, the ray, e<dos, ap-
-. pearance].
12. Marsipobranchii [Gr. jucip-
errTrof, a pouch, /3pa7X'<*
gills].
13. Cirrostijmi [L. cirrus, a curl,
Gr. ffTo/j.a, the mouth].
Ichthyomancy. [Gr. IxOvs, a fish, navreia,
divination.} Divination by inspection of fish.
Ichthyophagy. [Gr. lxdvo<payia, from i'x0^,
a fish, fyuyelv, to eat.} The practice of living on
a diet of fish.
Ichthyopsida. [Gr. Ix^s, a fish, o^ts, appear-
ance.} (Zool.) Fish, and amphibians when
classed together as Branchiate vertebrates, i.e.
as V. possessing temporary or persistent gills.
Ichthyosaurus. [Gr. lx&vs, a fish, a-avpos, a
lizard.} (Geol.) A gen. of extinct marine
reptiles, resembling saurians, fishes, and, in
some respects, cetacea. Triassic to Cretaceous.
Ichthyosis. [Gr. t'x^s, -vos, a fish.} (Med.)
A disease in which the skin assumes somewhat
the appearance of fish-scales.
Icb.tb.ys. [Gr. , a fish.} In Eccl. Art, the
emblematic fish, the word exhibiting the initials
of the words lesous CHristos, THeou Yios,
Soter, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savimir.
Iconium, or Bourn, The kingdom of. A large
portion of Asia Minor, contiguous to the Eastern
Empire about the time of the Crusades.
Iconoclasts. [Gr. eiitdv, an image, /cA.ao>, 1
break.} Image -breakers of the eighth century.
The I. movement began with the Emperor
Leo III.'s edict, A.D. 726, forbidding the honour
paid to sacred images. Upon this subject the
East and West have been divided ever since.
Iconography. [Gr. etKovoypatpia, sketch, de-
scription.} A name denoting works descriptive
of monuments of art, as Didron's Iconographic
Chretienne.
Icosahedron. (Polyhedron.)
Icteric, Icterical. (Med.) 1. Relating to
Jaundice [Gr. frcrepos], affected with it. 2. Pre-
venting jaundice.
Ictus. [L., stroke.} (Pros.) Stress of voice
or a prolongation of a syllable of a word or
measure, which coincided with a prominent
rhythmic beat, as in the case of the first, third,
and fifth arses (Arsis) of a hexameter verse.
-Id. [Gr. e/8os.] Appearance, form, as
Typho-id, Aro-id-ese, Cteno-id.
-ide. (Chem.) A termination denoting a
compound of two elements, as chloride of iron,
a compound of chlorine and iron.
Idealogue. [Gr. ISta, idea, and root of Ae-ycn,
I tell.} A theorist, a speculator.
Ideas. [Gr. Itiiat, forms, or shapes.} In the
IDEM
262
ILIA
Platonic philosophy, the eternal prototypes of
being, and the efficient cause of all that is. Of
these ideas there is necessarily an indefinite
number, for since every generic and specific con-
cept is according to Plato substantial, there
must be as many ideas as there are genera and
species. Zeller, Plato and the Older Academy.
I demens, et saevas curre per Alpes, ut pueris
placeas et declamatio fias. [L.] Go, madman
(i.c. Hannibal), rush over the horrid Alps, that
you may delight lads and be made the subject of
school themes (Juvenal, Sat., x.).
Idem per idem. [L. ] The same by the same ;
of an illustration or reference which really adds
nothing to the consideration of a case.
Idem velle et Idem nolle. [L.] To have the
same likes and the same dislikes, the same tastes
and the same aversions ; Sallust's account of
firm friendship.
Identity, Personal. The sameness of the con-
scious subject throughout the several stages of
existence. The fact which, in strictness of speech,
is the only fact absolutely known to each man is
that he is a conscious thinker ; all other facts
being learnt only by inference from this one.
This consciousness, which it is impossible to
define, constitutes P. I. (Individuality ; Mono-
psychism.)
Ideographic characters. [Gr. iSeo, an idea,
ypd.<jxo, I vttrite.} Written characters which
express notions, instead of the arbitrary signs of
an alphabet. Such are the Chinese, and such
also were the Egyptian, Hieroglyphics.
Ideographic writing. (Phonetic writing.)
Ideology. [Gr. <8e'a, a form, or idea, AJ-yos,
discourse.} The science of mind. The term was
first used by the disciples of Condillac, who
developed the sensational philosophy of Locke.
(Sensational school.)
Ideo-motor movements. Muscular movements
arising from simple ideas apart from emotion.
(See Carpenter's Mental Physiology, p. 1 24. )
Ides. [L. idus.] One of the three divisions
of the old Roman month, being near the middle
of it. The Ides of March, on which Caesar was
assassinated, has become an expression for an
unlucky day.
Id genus omne. [L.] All that class
(Horace).
Idio-electric. [Gr. tSios, peculiar, and electric.]
Naturally possessing electric properties.
Idiom. [Gr. i5iw/j.a, a peculiarity, from fStos,
one's own, private, peculiar.} 1. A mode of
expression peculiar to a language, dialect, or
smaller division of speech ; e.g. " world without
end." 2. The general character or system oi
expression of a particular language.
Idiopathy. [Gr. tStos, private, vdOos, affectioti.}
1. Peculiar sensibility. 2. (Med.) A diseased
condition, primary, not symptomatic of or fol-
lowing upon any other.
Idiosyncrasy. [Gr. iSioo-vyKpaa-la, from IfSi
one's own, a\>v, together, and npaais, mixture.]
Constitutional peculiarity, e.g. as shown in effects
of medicine, food, etc., and of other agents, dif-
ferent from the effects generally produced.
Idiot. (Idiotai)
Idiotai. [Gr.] In the primitive Church, a
name for laymen as being private persons ; also
For monks not in holy orders.
Idlers. (Naut.) On a man-of-war, those
excused from the night watches ; also civil
officers.
Idle-wheel. A wheel introduced between a
driver and its follower, to make the latter revolve
in the same direction as the former without
changing the ratio of their velocities.
Idols. [Gr. etSw\a, false appearances.] So
Bacon, in the Novum Organon, calls the custom-
ary sources of error in men's reasoning. They
are : 1. /. Tribtis, I. of the Tribe, errors common
to the whole human race. 2. /. Specus, I. of the
Cave, arising from the circumstances within
which the individual is, as it were, inclosed his
nationality, age, religion, etc. 8. /. Fori, I. of
the Market-place, arising from popular, careless,
undefined phrase. 4. /. Theatri, I. of the
Theatre, arising from false systems of thought,
attractively disguised and presented.
Idrosis. Should be Hidrosis (q.v.).
lerne. Old name of Ireland.
Igneous [L. ignis, fire}, or Pyrogenous [Gr. *vp,
fire}, rocks are divided into plutcnic, trap-
pean, volcanic, as to general character, not by
exact lines of demarcation.
Ignis fatuus. \L.., foolish fire.} Light appear-
ing by night over marshy grounds ; so called
from misleading travellers.
Ignis sacer. (Erysipelas.)
Ignoramus. [L.] 1. We are ignorant ; an
ignorant person. 2. (Leg.) We ignore; formerly
written on a bill thrown out by a grand jury.
Now "not a true bill," or "not found," is
used.
Ignorantia non excusat legem. [L.] (Leg.)
Ignorance is no plea against tfie law.
Ignoratio elenchi [L.] An ignoring (or
inability to understand), a refutation, of one's
position.
Igndtum per ignotius. [L.] What is un-
known by what is more unknown ; of an explana-
tion or illustration which is more obscure than
what is to be explained.
Iguana. (Zool.) Gen. of lizard, with pendu-
lous dewlap. S. America and W. Indies. Some
spec, (as I. tiiberculata, four feet to five feet
long) much esteemed as food .
Iguanodon (i.e. like iguana, in teeth [Gr.
otiovs, a tooth}) . (Geol.) Extinct gigantic herbi-
vorous dinosaurian reptiles. Wealden strata,
I.H.S. (Abbreviations.)
Ikenild Street. (Hikenhilde Street.)
II a la mer a hoire. [Fr.] He has the sea to
drink ; he has undertaken a gigantic enterprise.
II a le vin mauvais. [Fr.] He is quarrelsome
in his cups.
H faut attendre le toiteux. [Fr.] We must
wait for the lame man ; we must wait for con-
firmation of a hasty report.
Iliac. (A fed.) Relating to the Ilia [L.], or
lo-ucr buwels.
Iliad. [Gr. 'IXioy.] A Greek poem consisting
of twenty-four books, relating to incidents
belonging to the war of Troy.
ILIA
263
IMI'E
Ilias malorum. [L.] A (whole) Iliad of dis
asters.
Ilk. 1. [Scot.] Each; the A.S. felch, each
2. [Scot., A.S. ylca, the same.} Of that I. = o
that same (named) place, of one whose name i:
the same as that of his estate.
Illaqueate. [From p. part, of illaqueo, / en
tangle, from in, in, laqueus, a noose.} To en
tangle, ensnare.
Illative conversion. In Logic, a conversion
in which the truth of the converse follows from
the truth of the proposition given.
Illi robur et aes triplex circa pectus erat, qui
fragilem traci commisit pelago ratem primus
[L.] He had oak and threefold brass about his
breast -who first entrusted a frail bark to the re-
morseless sea (Horace).
Illuminati, [L., enlightened.} 1. In the
early Church, the newly baptized. 2. I., or
Allumbrados, a Spanish sect, which spread into
France about A.D. 1675 to T 735 claiming a
special illumination, which needed mental prayer,
but not good works or sacraments.
Illuminating. [Fr.] Ornamenting a manu-
script with drawings in body colours and gold.
II vino e una mezza oorda [It.], -wine and
an open heart = In vino veritas [L.], wine brings
out the truth.
II y a des reproches qui louent et des louanges
qui medisent. [Fr.] There are censures which
praise and praises which defame (Roche-
foucault).
Image. The figure formed of any object at
the focus of a lens or mirror ; e.g. the picture in
a camera obscura.
Imaginary Conversations. The title of a work
of Walter Savage Landor (died 1864).
Imaginary quantity or expression. In Algebra,
one which involves the square root of a negative
number, as V(~3)-
Imam, or Iman. A title (i) of the successors
of Mohammed, (2) of the inferior order of
ministers in Islam. (Mushtahids. )
Imbibition. [L. imbibo, / drink in.] The
interpenetration of a solid by a fluid.
Imbricated. [L. imbricatus, covered with
gutter-tiles} (Bot.) Overlapping, as tiles on a
roof ; e.g. Araucaria imbricata.
Imbroglio. [Fr.] An entanglement, an in-
tricate plot, a complicated embarrassing state of
things.
Imbued. (Her.) Wetted [L. imbutus] with
blood.
Imitatores, servum pecus. [L.] Imitators, a
slavish herd.
Immaculate conception. In the Latin Church,
a term which denotes the conception of the
Virgin Mary without the taint of original sin.
Immanent acts. [L. immaneo, / remain in}
In Moral Phil., are such as produce no effect
outside the mind ; as e.g. simple, intellectual
operations ; Transitive acts being such as pass
on, have an effect upon, external objects.
Immersion. [L. immersio, -nem.] Baptism
by the dipping of the whole body under the
surface of the water.
Immolation. [L. immolatio, -nem.] (Rom.
Ant.) A ceremony in which some corn or frank-
incense was thrown on the head of the victim
in a sacrifice, together with the >/iola, or salt-
cake.
Immovable feasts. Feasts the recurrence of
which does not depend on the day on which
Easter falls ; for instance, Christmas Day,
Circumcision, Epiphany.
Impact. [L. impactus, p. part, of impingo,
I make to strike against.) A blow ; the word is
often used in mechanics as an abbreviation of
the words impulsive action (q.v. ).
Impalement. [Eng., pale.} (Her.) The
division of a shield into two by a line passing
vertically through the centre, as a pale does.
Impanation. [L. in, and panis, bread.} A
word conveying a meaning akin to that of
Consubstantiation.
Impannel, Impanel. (Empannel. )
Impar congressus Achilli. [L.] Uneqiially
matched with Achilla (Virgil).
Imparl. (Leg.) To get leave from a court to
settle a litigation amicably.
Imparlance. (Leg.) 1. Time to plead. 2.
Leave to plead at another time, without the
assent of the other party.
Imparsonee. A parson inducted into a bene-
fice.
Impartible. A word used by Blackstone in
the sense of indivisible, as if from part ; by
others, as if from impart, with the meaning of
" capable of being imparted or communicated."
Impasting. [It. impasto.] 1. The laying on
of colours thickly. 2. An intermixture of lines
and points in engraving, to represent thickness
of colouring.
Impasto. [It. pasta, paste} The thickness
of the layer of colour on a picture.
Impatronization. [From patron.] Absolute
seigniory, full possession, a putting into full
possession.
Impeachment. [From L. impetere, to prose-
cute.} A process against persons charged with
treason or other public crimes. The House of
Commons has the power of exhibiting articles of
impeachment against any peer or commoner.
The evidence required is that of the ordinary
courts of justice. (Attainder.)
Impeachment of waste, Without. In Law,
implies, in one to whom an estate is granted for
.ife or a term of years, power to cut timber, etc.,
and do many things not allowable to ordinary
:enants ; abuse of which is preventible by injunc -
ion of Court of Chancery.
Impedimenta. [L.] Baggage, luggage.
Impenetrability. [From L. in, not, and pene-
rabilis, penetrable} In Physics, the property of
matter in virtue of which one body excludes
other bodies from the space it occupies.
Imperatorial. [L. imperatorius.] Pertaining
o the office of a Roman general, who after a
;reat victory during the republic received the
pecial title imperator, which afterwards, from
>eing one title of the Roman emperors, came
o be the distinctive title.
Imperial. [Fr. imperiale.] 1. An outside on
a diligence. 2. A case for luggage carried on
IMPE
264
INC A
the top of a coach. 8. Paper thirty inches by
twenty-two.
Imperium. [L., command.] In Rom. Hist.,
the absolute power conferred by the Comitia, or
assembly, of Curies, on the consuls, as com-
manders-in-chief of the armies of the republic,
so long as they were not within one mile of the
walls of the city.
Imperium et llbertas. [L.] Empire and
freedom ; misquoted by Earl Beaconsfield, No-
vember 9, 1879 ; (?) from Cicero's fourth Philip-
pic, " Cum (D. Brutus) . . . populique R.
libertatem imperiumque defenderit ; " or (?)
" Res olim dissociabiles miscuerit (Nerva), prin-
cipatum ac libertatem " (Tacitus, Agr. t 3).
Imperium in imperio, [L.] An absolute
rule within an absolute rule ; power assumed in
opposition to constituted authority.
Impermeable. [From L. in, per, through,
and meare, to go.~\ Not allowing a passage, im-
penetrable.
Impersonal verbs. (Gram.) Those verbs
which are used only in the third person, their
subject being the proposition which they serve
to introduce.
Impetigo. [L., skin eruption, impeto, /
attach.] (Med.) Humid or running tetter, a
disease of the skin, in which pustules appear,
burst, and dry up in little yellow masses ; not
accompanied by fever, nor contagious.
Impetration. [L. impetrationem.] Obtain-
ing by earnest petition. It was applied espe-
cially to the preobtaining from the Roman see
of benefices belonging to lay patrons.
Impetus. Momentum (q.v.).
Impiger, iracundus, inexorabilis, acer. [L.]
Restless, full of fury, pitiless, eager for the fray
(Horace, of Achilles).
Implnvium. [L.] The aperture in the centre
of the ceiling of the atrium of a Roman house,
towards which the roof sloped so as to conduct
rain [pluvia] into the reservoir [compluvium]
below.
Imponderable fluids. Hypothetical fliuds
without weight ; their existence was imagined in
order to render the phenomena of heat, mag-
netism, electricity, etc., more conceivable.
Imposing-stone. In Printing, the stone on
which the pages or columns of types are imposed
or made into formes.
Imposthume. Corr. of the word Aposteme
(q.v.).
Impound. [From in, and pound.] (Leg.) 1.
To place a suspected document in the custody
of the law. 2. To place in a pound or safe place
of custody, especially stray cattle.
Impresario. [It.] One who gets up and
manages concerts and operatic performances.
Imprescriptible. [It. imprescrittibile, from
L. in, per, through, scribere, to write.] 1. Not
capable of being lost or impaired by neglect,
as certain rights are. 2. Not depending on
external authority, self-evidencing, as mathe-
matical axioms.
Impress. To force into the service of a coun-
try. It has been more applied to the naval than
the military branch.
Impressed force. In Dyn., the forces acting
on a body from without ; thus, if a body is hung
up from a fixed point and allowed to swing, the
impressed forces are its weight (gravity) and the
reaction of the fixed points.
Impress-gang. (Press-gang.)
Impression. 1. Colour which is laid on as a
ground. 2. Any coating of a single colour.
Imprimatur. [L., let it be printed.] 1. A
licence to print some work, granted by those
with whom the censorship of the press rests.
2. Wrongly used as = approval, sanction.
Imprimis. [L.] Among the first, in the first
place.
Imprint. Whatever is printed on the title-
page, especially the date, printer's name, etc.
Impromptu. [L. in promptu, in readiness, in
sight,] Off-hand, without preparation.
Improperia. [L.] In the Latin Church, the
Reproaches, a Good Friday anthem.
Impropriation. (Appropriation.)
Improvlsatore. [It., from L. improvise, unex-
pectedly.] A person who is able to recite verses
without preparation. After the revival of letters,
Italy possessed improvisatores in Latin as well as
in Italian.
Impudicity. [L. impudlcitatem, from in-
neg., pudicus, modest.] Immodesty.
Impulsive action. The mutual action between
two bodies, when it is so large as to cause a
sensible change in their velocities in an insensibly
short time ; as that between a hammer and the
nail it drives, or a cricket-bat and the ball it
strikes. (Impact.)
-in, more commonly -ine (Chem.), = the
active principle of ; as achillein, nicotine.
In-, im- before labials, ir- before r, il- before /.
1. L. prefix = on, in, into, or intensive \cf. iv,
tv'i, Teut. in]. 2. L. privative or negative pre-
fix [cf. o, av-, Teut. un-], as in in-grate, un-grate-
ful, im-proper, il-logical, ir-rational.
In-and-in. 1. The name of a gambling game,
played by three persons with four dice. 2.
Of cattle, breeding from animals of the same
parentage.
Inanition. [It. inanizione, from L. inanis,
empty,] Depletion, starvation.
Inappetency. [It. inappetenza, from L. in-
neg., and appetens, desirous of, greedy.] Lack
of appetite, indifference.
In aqua scrlbis. [L.] You are writing on
water.
Inarticulate. [L. in- neg. , articulus, a joint.]
(Nat. Hist.) Not jointed, or articulated.
In artlculo mortis. [L.] At the point of
death.
Inauguration. [L. inauguratio, -nem.] The
ceremony by which the Roman augurs conse-
crated a person or thing to the service of the
gods. It is now commonly, but very wrongly,
used to denote the beginning of any undertaking.
In-board. (Nattt.) Within the ship ; opposed
to Out-board.
Inca, or TJnca, The title of the ancient kings of
Peru, whose empire was overthrown by Pizarro.
Incalescent. [L. incalescentem, from calor,
heat.] Grpwing warm, increasing in heat.
INCA
265
ix Dr.
Incameration, [Fr. , from L. in, and camera,
a chamber.] The uniting of lands, revenues,
etc., to the pope's domain.
Incandescent. [L. incandesce, I glow.] White
hot, having a more intense degree of heat than
if red hot.
In capite. [L.] (Leg.) In chief; said of
tenancy immediately from the lord paramount.
Incarnadine. [Fr. incarnadin, It. incarnatino,
from L. in, in, caro, carnis, Jlesh.] 1. Flesh-
coloured, of the colour of a carnation. 2. To
dye red, raw-flesh-coloured.
Incarnation. (Med.) The making of new
flesh [L. carnem] in the healing of wounds. /-
carnative, or Sarcotic [Gr. ao.pK.dui, I make into
flesh}, causing I.
Incessu patuit dea. [L.] The goddess was
manifest by her gait.
Inch. [L. uncia.] The twelfth part of a foot,
or the thirty-sixth part of a yard ; the French
inch, which was the twelfth part of the Paris
foot, was I "06578 English inches ; the French
cubic inch was therefore I '2 1 06 English cubic
inches.
Inch-. In Scotland, a prefix to the names of
some small islands, as Inch-marnock, Inch-keith;
so Inis, in Ireland, to some islands, and to
towns on lakes or rivers, as Inis-hark, Innis-
killing. [(?) Cf. f fjff os, an island, and L.
insula.]
Inchoate. [L. inchoatus, p. part, of inchoo,
7 begin.} Just begun, incipient, incomplete.
Incidence, Angle of. The angle between the
direction of a ray of light just before reflexion or
refraction, and the perpendicular to the surface
of the reflecting or refracting body.
Incidit in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charybdim.
[L.] He falls upon (the rock) Scylla wkm^eager
to avoid (the whirlpool) Charybdis ; out^R" one
peril into another as great.
Incineration. The reducing of a substance
into ashes [L. in cmeres].
Incisor teeth. [L. incldo, 7 cut into.] Four
front teeth in each jaw, for cutting or dividing
food.
Incivism. [Fr. incivisme, from L. in- neg.,
civis, a citizen.} Lack of love for the state of
which one is a citizen.
Inclave. [Fr. enclave, a boundary.] (Her.)
In a form resembling the parts of a dovetailed
joint.
Inclination. [L. inclinatio, -nem, a bending.]
In Mag., the angle which the magnetic needle
makes with the plane of the horizon ; i.e. the
dip of the needle.
Inclination of the orbit of a planet. The
angle between the plane of the orbit and the
plane of the ecliptic.
Inclined plane. A plane inclined at a greater
or less angle to the horizon. It is reckoned a
mechanical power, because a weight can be raised
along it by agents who would be unable to lift
the weight directly.
Inclinometer. [L. incllnare, to incline, Gr.
pfrpov, measure.] An apparatus to determine
the vertical component of the magnetic force.
Incluse, or Recluse. [L., shut up.] (Ecd. Hist.)
Hermits in single cells, on the doors of which
the seal of the bishop or abbot was impressed.
In coana Domini. [L., at tlic Lord's Supper,}
The title of a celebrated papal bull, giving ex-
tracts from different constitutions of popes, and
declaring the rights claimed by the see of Rome
from Gregory VII. 's time, with anathema against
those who violate them ; read once at least every
year in all Roman churches.
In commendam. (Commendam, In.)
Incommensurable. [L. incommensurabilis,
that cannot be measured with another.} Not
having a common measure ; e.g. a side and a
diagonal of a square are incommensurable, be-
cause no line, however small, can be found
which, being an aliquot part of the one, is an
exact aliquot part of the other.
Incompossible. (Lag.} -Said of two or more
things possible separately, but not conjointly.
Incomprehensible. [L. incomprehensibilis.]
That which cannot be confined in space. This
is the sense in which it is used in the Athanasian
Creed.
Inconcinnity. [L. in- neg., and concinnity
(q.v,).] Want of harmony or agreement.
Inconsonancy. [L. in- neg., and consonant,
sounding with.] In Music, discordance.
Incorporating languages. (Agglomerative
languages ; Polysynthetic.)
Incorporeal. [L. incorporeus, from in- neg.,
corpus, a body.] (Leg.) Not capable of actual,
palpable seisin or possession, as rights, dig-
nities, etc. I. chattels, = I. rights incident to
chattels, as patent rights, copyrights.
Incremation. (Cremation.)
Increment. [L. incrementum, an addition,
increase.] In Rhet., an amplification without a
strict climax.
Increment [L. incrementum, increase] ; Incre-
ments, Method of. (Math.) The amount by which
^ variable magnitude increases under specified
circumstances. x The Method of I. is the calculus of
finite differences. (Calculus of finite differences.)
Increscent, Moon. (Her} A waxing [L. in-
crescentem] moon, having its horns turned to
the dexter side.
Incubation of a disease. [L. incubatio, -nem, a
brooding] (Med.} The period between its con-
traction and the appearance of distinct symptoms.
Incubi (Succubi.)
Incubus. [L., nightmare, from inciibo, 7
brood] 1. Fairy demon. 2. Nightmare, a sen-
sation of pressure on the chest and of an im-
possibility of moving, speaking, or breathing.
8. Melon, a load, weight, discouragement.
Incunabula. [L.] Swaddling clothes, birth-
place, origin, beginning.
In curia. [L.] (Leg.) In court.
Incus. [L., an anvil] (Anat.) From its
shape, a small bone of the middle ear.
Indefinite proposition. In Log., a proposi-
tion with a common term, but without any sign
to show whether it is distributed or undis-
tributed, i.e. the universal or particular ; as,
"Barbarians can be civilized." Here it is in-
definite whether all be meant, or some.
Indehiscent. (Dehiscent fruits.)
INDE
266
INDI
Indemnify. [L.L. indemmfico, from indem-
nis, without damage, loss (damnum), and root of
facio, / make.} 1. To secure against loss, harm,
10, I make.\ 1. lo secure against loss, narm,
punishment. 2. To compensate for past loss
or expense.
Indenizen. To naturalize. (Denizen.)
Indent, sometimes Requisition. (Mil.) Offi-
cial document demanding the supply of stores for
Government consumption. (Indenture.)
Indentation. [L. dentem, a tooth.} In Print-
ing, the act of beginning the first line of a para-
graph further in from the margin than the other
lines (called a common indentation), or of begin-
ning the second line and those following it further
in than the first line (called a hanging indentation.)
Indenture. [From indent, to make notched
like teeth (dentes).] (Leg.) A deed recording
mutual obligation, of which two or more parties
have duplicates ; so called from the duplicates
having originally been written on one skin, which
was divided by a jagged cut, so that the cor-
respondence of the two halves was manifest at
once. (Deed-polL)
Independence, Declaration of. A document
drawn up by the second Congress of the United
States of America, May, 1776, and declaring
the colonies absolved from all allegiance to
Great Britain.
Independents. In Eccl. Hist., a sect which
maintains that every congregation forms a Church
or independent religious society in itself, and
therefore condemns anything like a national
establishment of religion.
Indeterminate analysis; I. coefficients; I.
equation ; I. problem. If two (or more) un-
known quantities enter an equation, for every
value of the one there will be generally a corre-
sponding value of the other ; such an equation,
not serving to determine either, is an Indetermi-
nate equation. A problem whose algebraical state-
ment gives rise to such an equation is an I. problem.
It may happen that the solutions of such an
equation may be limited by a condition, e.g. that
only positive integral values of the unknown
quantities are admissible ; the rules for finding
such values, if any, are the subject of /. analysis.
The method of /. coefficients consists in assuming
the form of the expansion of a function, and
using the assumption as a means of finding the
value of the terms successively.
Index [L., a discoverer, a sign} ; I. error ; I.
of a logarithm; Refractive I. (Math.) The
number denoting the power to which a given
number is raised ; e.g. in a* the number 5 is the
Index of the power to which a is raised. The 7.
of a logarithm is its integral part or characteristic.
The /. error of a sextant is the reading when
the planes of the fixed and movable mirrors are
parallel ; in which case the reading would be
zero if the instrument were in perfect adjust-
ment. (For Refractive /., or /. of refraction,
vide Refraction.)
Index Expurgatorius. [L.] A book issued at
Rome, specifying erroneous or heretical passages
to be expunged from the literature of the day.
Index Prohibitorius. [L.] A book kept at
Rome, containing a list of works which, owing
to their errors, the faithful are not allowed to
read.
Indian ink. (Sepia.)
Indian red. A fine purple ochre.
Indian summer. The short season of pleasant
weather usually occurring about the middle of
November ; so called from the custom of the
Indians to avail themselves of this delightful
time for harvesting their corn. Bartlett's Ameri^
canisms.
Indian yellow. A golden yellow pigment,
used as a water-colour.
Indicative mood. (Gram.) That inflexion of
the verb which expresses a simple or uncon-
ditional judgment.
Indicator ; I.-diagram ; Steam-I. The Steam-
indicator is an instrument for showing the
actual pressure of the steam on the piston of a
steam-engine at any point of the stroke. It
consists of a small cylinder in which a small
piston works against a spring of known power.
When steam from the cylinder of the steam-
engine enters the indicator, its pressure and its
variations are shown by the compression of the
spring. The rod of the indicator's piston is made
to carry a pencil, the point of which touches
a paper wrapped round a roller, whose motion
follows that of the engine ; the curve thereby
traced out during an up-and-down stroke or re-
volution is the I.-diagram ; it serves as an exact
register of the working of the engine during one
stroke.
Indicator muscle. [L. indico, / point out.}
The extensor of the index or forefinger.
Indices of the face of a crystal. If the parts
of the axes cut off by the face be multiplied by
certain positive or negative whole numbers, lines
are drained proportional to the parameters ;
the whole numbers are the indices of the face.
Indicia, plu. [L.] (Leg.) Discriminating
marks, tokens.
Indiotion. [L. indictio, -nem, a declaring.} In
Chron., a cycle or period of fifteen years, used in
the courts of law and in the fiscal organization of
the Roman empire under Constantine and his
successors, and thence introduced into legal dates.
The year of I. corresponding to any year of our
era is found by adding 3 to the date, and divid-
ing the sum by 15. The remainder is the year
of I. Thus 1880 was the eighth year of the
1 25th I. (Cycle.)
Indictment. [Fr. , L. indico, I proclaim, from
in, among, dlco, I tell.} 1. (Leg.) A written ac-
cusation of a crime of a public nature, preferred
to and presented by a grand jury. 2. (Scot. Law.)
The form of process against criminals' trial at
the instance of the Lord Advocate. (Criminal
letters.)
Indifferently. In Prayer for Christ's Church
militant ; impartially, without distinction [L.
indiffigrenter],
Indigitate. [L.L. indigitare, from in, and
digltus, finger.} To point out, indicate.
Indigo. [L. Indlcum, the Indian dye.} A
vegetable dye-stuff of a deep blue colour, made
in the E. and W. Indies.
Indirect taxation. Taxation by duties laid on
INDI
267
INFE
articles of consumption ; direct taxes, as the in-
come tax, being levied on the taxpayer personally.
Indium. A soft grey metal, discovered by two
indigo lines which it shows under spectrum
analysis.
Individuality. In moral science, the person-
ality of each man. According to Bishop Butler's
philosophy, this personality is indivisible, and
therefore immortal. (Monopsychism ; Identity,
Personal.)
Individuate. [L.L. individuatus, p. part, of
individuo, from in- neg., dlvfduus, divisible.] 1.
To distinguish as an individual from other mem-
bers of a spec. , to reduce to single instances. 2.
To cause to exist as an individual whole.
Indivisibles, Method ot Nearly the same
thing and applicable to the same class of
questions as the Method of exhaustion (q.v.).
Indo-European. In Ethn., a term denoting
certain nations of Europe and Asia, which have a
common origin. The name Aryan is now gene-
rally substituted for it.
Indolence. [L. indolentia, an invention of
Cicero's in transl. dirafleio.] Painlessness.
Indolent. [L. in- neg. , doleo, / am in pain.]
(Med.) Not suffering pain.
Indorse. (Endorse.)
Indorsement. [L. in, and dorsum, the back.]
The writing of a name on the back of an accept-
ance or bill of exchange. This is done by the
holder of a bill on receiving payment, or when
he hands it over to another. The word is used,
very wrongly, to denote assent or approval
generally.
Indra. In the Rig Veda, the sun-god, who,
by conquering Vritra, the demon of drought, lets
loose the rain. Indra thus speedily became the
supreme deity.
Induction. [L. inductio, -nem, a leading into]
1. (Phys.) The property by which a body,
charged with electricity or magnetism, causes or
induces it into another body without direct con-
tact. 2. (Eccl.) The act of putting an incum-
bent, after institution (g. v. ) , into actual possession
of the church and of all temporalities. 3. (Log.)
The raising of individuals into generals, and of
these into still higher generalities. 4. (Math.)
A method of proof applicable to cases in which
a theorem is to be shown to hold good in an in-
definitely great number of cases, which may be
arranged as first, second, third, etc. Suppose
that by any means the theorem is shown to hold
good in the first case, and further that it can be
proved to hold good in any case if it hold good in
the preceding case : this constitutes the proof ;
for as the theorem is true in the first case, it
must also be true in the second case, therefore
in the third case, therefore in the fourth, and
so on. This form of proof is called a Mathe-
matical I.
Inductive. (Log.) Belonging to induction [L.
inductio, -nem, a leading in], the process which
raises individuals into generals, and these into
still higher generalities.
Indulgences. [L. indulgent ia.] A power
claimed by the Latin Church of granting re-
mission for a certain term, either on earth or in
purgatory, of the penalties due to sin. The
practice was introduced in the eleventh century,
as a recompense to those who incurred the perils
of the Crusades. Indulgences are said to be (i)
Plenary, or complete ; or (2) Partial.
Indults. [L. indultum, an indulgence] In
the Church of Rome, patronage of benefices
granted to certain persons by the pope ; e.g. to
kings, emperors, the Parliament of Paris.
Indurated [L. induro, / harden} (Gcol.) =
hardened by the action of heat or otherwise.
Indusium. [L., an under -garment] (J3ot.)
The membrane overlying the sori of ferns.
Inequality. [L. in- neg., a:qualis, equal] In
Astron., any variation in the motion of moon or
planet from that which it would have if it moved
in strict accordance with Kepler's laws. In
the case of a planet, such inequalities are due to
the attraction of other planets ; in the case of the
moon, to the attraction of the sun.
Inerrancy. [L. in- neg., errare, to wander]
A word rarely used, denoting freedom from error.
Inertia; Inertiae, Vis. [L., inactivity] The
indifference of a body to a state either of rest or
of motion. The tendency of a body to continue
in the same state of rest or of uniform motion in
a straight line, except so far as it is compelled to
change its state by the action of external forces.
The resistance it offers to such change is its Vis
inertia.
Inescutcheon. (Her] A small escutcheon
borne as a charge in a man's escutcheon.
In esse. [L.] In actual existence ; in posse
being said of that which may at some future
time be.
In extenso. [L.] In full, without abridgment.
In extremis. [L.] In desperate circumstances,
at the last gasp.
Infair. [A.S. infoere, entrance.] The " re-
ception " party or entertainment of a newly
married couple. West and South. Bartlett's
Americanisms.
Infandum, regma, jubes r'l.l'vare dolorem.
[L.] Thou biddest me, queen, i enew an un-
speakable woe (Virgil) ; said by /Eneas when
Dido asked him to tell of the fall of Troy.
Infangenthef, Infangthef. [A.S.] The privi-
lege of judging thieves taken on their manors or
within their franchises, granted to certain lords. !
Infante, Infanta. [Sp.] The title of the
younger sons and daughters of a Spanish sove-
reign ; more anciently given to the children of
all Hidalgos. The word childe was used in the
same way in England.
Infantry of the line [L. infantem, used in
the Middle Ages in the sense of boy or servant,
who went on foot ; hence infant eria became the
name of foot-soldiers in general], or Eegulars,
consist of the foot-soldiers comprised in the
regiments numbered I to 109, with the addition
of the Rifle Brigade. These numbers have been
lately replaced by territorial titles.
Infeoffment. (Scot. Law.) The act or instru-
ment of feoffment. (Sasine.)
Infgriae. [L.] Sacrifices offered by the an-
cients in honour of the dead.
Inferior planet. (Planet.)
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268
IXLT
Infeudation, (Fee.) (Leg.) 1. A placing in
possession of a freehold estate. 2. A granting of
tithes to a layman.
Infibulation. [L. infibulare, from fibula, a
buckle.] The act of clasping, or confining as
with a padlock, etc.
Infinitesimal An indefinitely small quantity.
The /. calculus is equivalent to the differential
and integral calculus. (Calculus of finite differ-
ences.)
Infinitive mood. In Gram., the inflexion of
the verb which expresses the mere conception
of the subject, without affirming or denying it.
Inflamed. (Her.) Adorned \riihjtamts.
Inflatus. [L.] An inspiration, an access of
inspiration.
Inflexion. [L. inflexio, -nem, a bending, from
in, and flexum, sup. of flecto, / bend.] (Lang.)
1. A grammatical change of words to express
different relations, including declension of nouns
and conjugation of verbs, and generally deriva-
tion by addition of suffixes and prefixes. 2. A
suffix or prefix.
Inflexional languages. (Aryan languages.)
Inflexion of light ; Point of I. The change
in direction which rays of light seem to ex-
perience in passing near the edge of an opaque
body. (Diffraction of light) A Point of I. of &
curve is one at which the branches on either
side of it are bent in opposite directions, and at
which the tangent cuts the curve.
Inflorescence. [L. infloresco, I begin to blos-
som.'] (Bot.) The flowering of a plant, generally ;
the commonest forms being spike, raceme, panicle,
corymb, cyme, umbel, capitulum (qq.v.).
Influenza. [It., as if from the influence of the
stars.] Severe epidemic catarrh, due to some
atmospheric peculiarity (?), with serious febrile
symptoms and rapid prostration ; affecting
animals as well as man.
Infoliate. [L. in, folium, a leaf.] To cover
with leaves or with forms resembling leaves.
In foro conscientiae. [L.] (Leg.) At the
tribunal of conscience.
Infra. [L.] Below, under, further on in a book.
Infra dignitatem. [L.] Beneath one's dignity ;
also, infra dig.
Infundlbulum. [L., funnel, from infundo, /
pour in.] (A not. and Bot.) Applied to certain
parts having a funnel shape. Adj., Infundibuli-
form ; e.g. convolvulus.
Infusoria. [L. in-fusus, a pouring in, infu-
sorium being properly the vessel used.] (Zool.)
Minute, mostly microscopic, ProtSzoa, possess-
ing a mouth and digestive cavity ; frequently
developed in organic infusions. Some authorities
reckon Diatom acese as I., and not as plants ;
some place here the Rotifera, which are annu-
loids.
-ing. Teut. patronymic suffix, as in Wok-ing,
Birm-ing-ham ; or topographic, as Bromley-ings,
men of Bromley.
Ingannation. [It. ingannare, to deceive, over-
reach^ A cheat, imposture, deception.
Inge. [A.S. ing.] A meadow, a pasture.
Ingenuas didlcisse fldeliter artes. Emollit
mores nee sinit esse feros. [L.] To have dili-
gently studied liberal accomplishments refines the
manners and does not allow them to be boorish.
Ingesta. [L. ingestus, carried in.] (Med.)
Things introduced by the alimentary canal.
Ingot. [Fr. lingot.] A mass of gold, silver,
etc., cast in a mould.
Ingrain. 1. Dyed with grain, or kermes.
2. Dyed in the grain. 3. Ingrain carpet, a
double or two-ply carpet. 4. Triple ingrain
carpet, a three-ply carpet.
Ingressa. (Introit.)
Ings. (Agr.) Saltings, or tidal salt-water
marshes.
Inguinal. Relating to the groin [L. inguen,
inguinis].
Inheritable. [L. in, hseres, an heir.] (Leg.)
1. Capable of being transmitted through blood.
2. Capable of being an heir or conferring heir-
ship.
Inhibition. [L. inhibitio, from inhibgo, /
restrain, from in, in, habeo, / hold.] 1. (Leg.)
A writ from a higher court, forbidding a judge
of an inferior court to proceed with a case. 2.
(Scot. Law.) A process to restrain sale of land in
prejudice of a debt, or a writ to prohibit giving
credit to a wife. 3. A writ from a bishop, pro-
hibiting another bishop or clergyman from under-
taking any ecclesiastical duties in his diocese.
Inhoc, Inhoke. A corner of a common field
ploughed up and sowed.
Inhumation. [L. in, humus, the ground^
The act of burying.
Initiated. [L. initiati.] 1. Persons made ac-
quainted with any mysteries, as with those of the
heathen world. 2. In the primitive Christian
Church, the baptized.
Injected parts. [L. injicio, / throw in.]
(Path.) Having an increased quantity of blood
in the vessels.
Injection; I.-cock; I.-pipe. The cold water
thrown through a rose at each stroke of the
piston into the condenser of a steam-engine, to
condense the waste steam and form a vacuum.
It is thrown through the I.-pipe from the I.-cock.
Injunction. [L. injunctio, -nem, a command,
from injungo, I enjoin.] (Leg.) A writ of an
equity court, requiring a party to do or refrain
from doing certain acts. A common I. restrains
a suitor from prosecuting his legal rights in a
court of common law.
Injunctions of Queen Elizabeth. (Advertise-
ments of Elizabeth.)
Injuria [L.] is, in Law, the opposite to jus,
and = everything done without a right to do it.
Inkle. A kind of broad linen tape.
Inlagation. [L.L. inlagatio, from A.S. lagu,
law.] (Leg.) The restoring an outlaw to legal
rights, inlawing.
Inlagh. [O.E.] (Leg.) A person protected
by law ; opposed to utlagh, outlaw.
Inland. (Leg.) Demesne land ; opposed to
Outland, let to tenants. I. has, as adj., Inlantal.
Inlier. (Geol.) An exposure of a lower
stratum through a locally denuded overlying
stratum ; often in broken anticlines.
In limlne. [L.] At the threshold, by way of
preliminary.
INLO
269
INST
In loco parentia. [L.] In the place of a
parent.
In medias res, Buere. [L.] To rush into the
middle of the subject (Horace).
In medio tutissimus ibis. [L.] Thou wilt
go most safely in the middle.
Inner house. (Scot. Law.} Chambers of the
first and second divisions of the Court of
Session.
Innings. (Leg.} Land recovered from the sea.
Innis. [Gadh.] (Inch-.)
Innisfail. An old name of Ireland, = island of
destiny.
Innis Forda = long island. Celt, name of
Lewis and N. and S. Uist.
Inns of Chancery. Institutions consisting
chiefly of attorneys, formerly occupied by clerks
who studied the framing of writs which belonged
to Cursitors. They are appendages of the Inns
of Court.
Inns of Court. Four institutions for the en-
rolment and instruction of law students the
Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn,
Gray's Inn. The Benchers have the right of
admitting persons to practise at the Bar.
In nubibus. [L.] In the clouds.
Innuendo. [L., by nodding.} 1. An in-
direct hint. 2. (Leg.) Used in pleadings to
indicate the application of alleged libels or
defamations to certain parties or subjects.
Inoculation. [L. inoculo, / engraft.} 1.
(Med.) Communication of a disease by a specific
poison introduced into the blood, especially that
of small-pox. 2. (Bot.) Insertion of buds under
the bark for propagation. 3. The placing frag-
ments of turf at short distances on prepared
ground, to grow together and form a lawn.
Inoperoular. Having no covering, or lid
[L. operculum].
Inosculation. [L. in, into, osculatio, a kissing,
an inosculation.} (Anat.) Generally i.q. Ana-
stomosis (q.v.), but sometimes A. denotes union
of vessels by minute ramifications, I. a direct
communication by trunks.
In pari materia. [L.] In similar subject-
matter ; where the same rules and method of
reasoning apply.
In partibus infidelium. [L. , in the parts of the
infidels.} In the Latin Church, a phrase applied
to those bishops who serve in other dioceses
than those of which they bear the title.
Inpeny and Outpeny. (Leg.) Customary
payments on alienation of tenants, etc.
In personam. [L.] (Leg.) (In rem.)
In petto. [It.] In reserve ; lit. in the breast.
(Cardinal)
Inpignoration. [L. in, in, pignoro, 7 pledge,
from pignus, pignoris, pledge.} The act of
pawning, or depositing as a pledge.
In posse. [L.] (Leg.) In possible being,
potential. (In esse.)
In propria persona. [L. ] In one's own person.
In puris naturalibus. [L.] In a simple state,
of nature, naked.
Inquest. [O.Fr. enqueste, from L. inquislta,
p. part, of inquire, I inquire} (Coroner.) Grand
/., grand jury. /. of office = inquiry by the
proper officer into matters affecting Crown or
State interests in property.
Inquinate. [L. inquinatus, p. part, of inquino,
I defile.} To pollute, befoul.
Inquiry, Writ of. (Leg.) A process addressed
to a sheriff, ordering him with aid of a sworn
jury to ascertain the quantum of damages after
an interlocutory judgment let go by default.
Inquisition. [L. inquisltio, -nem, a seeking
for} In Latin Christendom, a court armed with
special powers for inquiry into offences against
religion. The first I. was set up in S. France
after the conquest of the Albigenses in the
thirteenth century.
In rS. [L.] (Leg.) In the matter of.
In rem. [L.] (Leg.) On the subject-matter ;
said of a civil action as to the status of some
particular subject-matter, not for recovery of
damages against a person in personam.
Insanire juvat. [L.] It is pleasant to play
the fool.
Inscribe. [L. inscribe, I write on.} (Geom.)
To draw one figure within another, so that their
boundaries are in contact at certain points ; e.g.
a circle is inscribed in a rectilineal figure when
its circumference touches each side of the figure ;
a rectilineal figure is inscribed in a circle when
every angular point of the figure is on the cir-
cumference of the circle.
Insect-fertilization. (Fertilization of flowers. )
Insectivora. [L. insecta, insects, voro, /
devour.} (Zool.) Insect-eating, an ord. of
Mammalia (q.v.), also of birds.
Insectivorous plants. (Bof.) Such as Venus's
fly-trap, consume and assimilate the insects
caught ; " their recognized number is greatly on
the increase " (Report of British Association,
1879, p. 368).
Insessores. [L.] (Ornith.) Perching-birds,
i.q. Passeres.
In Situ. [L.] In the (original) site or position.
Insolation. [L. insolatio, -nem.] Exposure to
rays of the sun.
In solido. [L.] (Leg.) In the whole, of a
joint contract.
Insomnia. [L.] (Med.) Sleeplessness, rest-
lessness. (Jactation. )
Insouciance. [Fr.] Affectation of carelessness.
Inspeximus. [L., we have inspected.} 1. The
first word of an old charter, a royal grant. 2.
An exemplification of the enrolment of a charter
or of letters patent.
Inspissated. [L. inspissatus, p. part, of
inspisso, / thicken.} Thickened, as fluids by
evaporation.
Instance Court of Admiralty. (Leg.) The
Court of Admiralty when not a prize court. I. =
process of a suit.
Instanter. [L.] (Leg.) Instantly, at once.
Instantly. Luke vii. 4 ; Acts xxvi. 7 ; earnestly
[Gr. ffTTOvSaieas, tv sVrei/f fa]. (Presently.)
In statu quo. [L., in the state in which.} In
the same condition or state as prevails at any
specified time. I. S. Q. ante, in the stale or con-
dition which prevailed before a specified cause of
modification, as war, negotiations, etc.
Instauration. [L. instauratio, -nem, from in-
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270
INTE
stauro, / repair, renew.} Renewal, restoration,
renovation.
Institute. [L. institutus, appointed, from in,
in, statuo, I place.} (Scot. Law.) A person to
whom an estate is first given by destination or
limitation.
Institutes. [L. institutiones.] A treatise on
the elements of the Roman law, published by
order of Justinian, a month before the Pandects,
in four vols., containing ninety-eight titles, com-
posed by Trebonianus Dorotheus and Theophi-
lus, chiefly from Gaius's Institutiones.
Institutes, of Lord Coke, four vols., 1628.
The first vol., known as Coke upon Littleton, is
a comment on a treatise on tenures ; the second
vol., a comment on old Acts of Parliament ; the
third vol., on pleas of the Crown ; the fourth
vol., an account of various courts.
Institutes of the Christian Religion. Calvin's
great work ; first edition, 1536.
Institution [L. institvitio, from instituo, 7
ordain, appoint}, sometimes called also Investi-
ture [investio, I clothe}. Verbal admission of a
clerk to a benefice by the bishop. (Collation.)
Institution of a Christian Man, or Bishops'
Book. A book of instruction in faith and duty,
by a committee of the bishops and other divines
(May, 1537).
Instrumental case. (Gram.) (Locative case.)
Insucken multures. (Leg.) Quantities of
corn paid in by those who are thirled to a mill.
(Thirlage.)
Insuetude. [L. insuetudo, from in- neg.,
suetus, p. part, of suesco, / become used.} Ab-
sence of use, habit, custom.
Insulate. [L. insiila, an island.} In Ther-
motics, to protect a hot substance in such a
manner that none (or at least very little) of its
heat or electricity is transferred to other bodies.
Insulse. [L. insulsus, "without salt, from in-
neg., salsus, p. part, of salo or sallo, I salt.} In-
sipid, dull, tasteless, lacking salt (metaph.).
Insulsity. The state of being Insulse.
Intaglio. [It., from intagliare, to cut in.} A
carving in which the figures sink below the
background.
Intakers. (Leg.) Receivers of stolen goods.
Integral [L. integer, whole} ; I. calculus ; In-
tegration. (Math.) When the differential co-
efficient of a function is given, the process of
finding the function itself is Integration, and
when thus found the function is called an In-
tegral. (For /. calculus, vide Calculus of finite
differences.)
Integument. [L. inte'gumentum, a covering.}
1. (Anat.) The skin, membrane, shell, which
covers any part. 2. (Bot.) The cellular skin of
seed, leaf, stem.
Intelligence Department. (Mil.) A branch
of the War Office, lately established, for collect-
ing, classifying, and arranging all information
with regard to the physical and political geo-
graphy of our own and of every country with
which we are ever likely to be hostilely engaged,
together with their resources in men and war
material.
Intempesta nocte. [L.] At dead of night.
Intendment of law. [L. intellectio legis.]
(Leg. ) The intention or true meaning of a law
or legal instrument.
Intenerate. [L. in, tener, tender.} To make
tender. Rare.
Intentio mentis. {L.} Close attention of
mind.
Intention, first and Second. (Log.) A dis-
tinction drawn between acts of thought relating
to an object out of the mind, as mountain,
stream, etc., which are first intentions, and those
in which the mind expresses its own states of
consciousness, as generalization, abstraction, etc. ,
which are second intentions*
Intention, first, Healing by, is when a wound
heals without suppuration. By second, when
after suppuration.
Intentio sacerdotis. [L., the meaning of the
priest} In the Latin Church, the validity of
the sacraments is made to depend on the con-
dition that the priest, while he confers them,
has at least the intention of doing what the
Church does.
Intercadence. [L. inter, bet-ween, cado, I fall.}
(Med.) An occasional supernumerary beat in
the arterial pulsations.
Intercalation. [L. intercalo, / proclaim the
inserted days.} The insertion of days out of the
ordinary reckoning.
Inter canem et lupum. [L.] ' Twixt dog and
wolf, twilight.
Intercept. (Math.) The part of a line in-
cluded between two points.
Intercessio. [L.] In Rom. Law, the becom-
ing surety. (Fide jussores.)
Interdict. [L. interdictum, a prohibitory
decree} An ecclesiastical censure, forbidding
spiritual services of every kind.
InterfaciaL [L. inter, facies, a face.} In-
cluded between two plane surfaces, an inter-
facial angle being formed by the meeting of two
planes.
Interference. The coexistence of two undu-
lations in which the length of the wave is the
same. At certain points of the medium two
such undulations may cause the vibrating par-
ticles to move with the sum of the movements
due to the undulations severally, at other points
with their difference. In the case of light, this is
equivalent to saying that at some points the light
is much stronger, at others much weaker, than
that which is due to either undulation separately.
Diffraction fringes and many other phenomena
of light are explained by L
Interfretted. [L. inter, between, and fret.]
(Her.) Interlaced.
Inter hos vivendum, et moriendum, et, quod
est durius, tacendum ! The words of some con-
temporary of Galileo, quoted by Lacordaire.
Such are they amongst whom one has to live and
to die, and, what is harder still, to keep silence !
Interim. [L., in the mean time} (Hist.) A
decree is so called which was issued in 1548 by
the Emperor Charles V., for the purpose of re-
conciling the opinions of the Protestants and
the Catholics.
Interior planet. (Planet.)
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271
INTR
Interlacing arches. (Arch.) Arches, usually
round ones, intersecting each other. The inter-
lacing of round arches exhibits a succession of
highly pointed arches.
Interlocutory. [L. inter, between, loquor, /
speak.} Decided in the course of an action, but
not finally determinate. In common law, judg-
ment by default when only damages are sought
is I. before the writ of Inquiry.
Interlude. [L. inter, between, ludo, I play.}
Music played between the verses of a hymn or
song, the acts of a drama, etc.
Interludes. [L. inter-ludo, I play in the midst
of.} Grotesque, merry performances, which,
arising out of the Moralities (q-v.), made an ap-
proach towards the regular drama ; held during
the Reformation controversy in England ; each
side ridiculing the other ; well-known persons,
events, corruptions, being ridiculed on the stage.
Interlunar. (Astron.) Belonging to the time
when the moon is invisible between old and new
moon.
Intermittent fever. [L. intermitto, in neut.
sense, I cease for a while.} (Med.) Ceasing for
a time and then returning, the patient not suffer-
ing in the intervals.
Intermittent springs. An example of the
common siphon. If, towards the bottom of a
subterranean region, the water which eventually
appears as a spring escape by an ascending
siphon-like passage, the flow will continue till
the reservoir be nearly emptied. Between this
time and the rising of the inflowing water to
the highest point of the siphon the spring will be
intermittent. Examples, the Great Geyser, and
the Sabbatic River of Josephus and Pliny, near
Tripoli, now the Neba el Fuarr (Thomson, The
Land and the Book, p. 263).
Internal forces. (Dyn.) Are exerted be
tween the parts of a moving system ; thus, if
Jupiter and its satellites are regarded as forming
a system, e.g. moving together round the sun,
the mutual attractions between Jupiter and the
satellites would be I. F. In like manner the
cohesive forces which bind together the parts of
a solid body are I. F., when the motion of the
body as a whole is under consideration.
Internecine. [L. inter, between, neco, I kill.}
Mutually destructive, causing mutual slaughter,
i.e. between kinsfolk, fellow-citizens, fellow-
countrymen.
Internode. [L. internSdium.] (Bot.) The
space between two nodes [nodus, a knot} or
points from which normal leaf-buds issue.
Internuncius. [L.] A papal envoy sent to
inferior states. (Nuncio.)
Interpellation. [Fr. interpeller, to call upon,
to challenge.} In the French Senate, a direct
challenge to some particular members to give
information, in answer to some question or
charge, etc.
Interpleader, Bill of. If the same claim be
made on a person by more than one party, he
can seek relief by B. of L, praying that the
claimants may contest their rights inter se.
Interpolate. [L. interpolo, / polish here and
there, patch up.} 1. (Astron.) To find value
of a function intermediate to values already
Duncl ; thus, when the sun's right ascension at
very Greenwich noon is given, its value at any
other time is found by Interpolation. 2. The
nsertion, in a MS. or any writing or literary
work, of spurious words and passages.
In terrorem. [L.] For the purpose of terri-
fying.
Intersect. [L. inter, seco, I cut.} (Math.) To
meet and cut mutually, said of lines, surfaces, etc.
Interstellary. [L. inter, stella, a star.}
Lying among the stars, i.e. beyond the solar
;ystem.
Interstitial. [L. interstitium, a space between.}
(Anat.) Occurring in the interstices of an organ.
Interstratified. (Gcol.) Laid clown at the
same time with, and among, other strata.
Interval, Intervale. Low or alluvial land on
the margins of rivers. Bartlctt's Americanisms.
Intervertebral substance, or cartilage. (Anal.')
A layer of elastic, chamois-leather-like cartilage,
acting as a buffer, and preventing any jar be-
tween the vertebra;. The re-expansion of it adds
sometimes half an inch to the height of the body
when a good night's rest has succeeded to a day
of fatigue ; and its gradual contraction and
diminishing moisture shortens the body in old
age.
Interview. To question, to obtain informa-
tion by questioning, to " pump a person for the
purpose of obtaining secrets." Bartlett's Ameri-
canisms.
Intestate. [L. in- neg., and testatus, p. part.
of tester, / make a will.} (Leg, ) Without having
left a will, or testament.
In the wind. (Naut.) Said of a vessel thrown
nearly head to wind. All in the W., with every
sail shaking.
Intinction, Communion by. The administering
of the consecrated elements in the Eucharist
mingled. This is the practice for the laity in
the Eastern Church.
Intone. [L. intono, / call out loudly.} To
recite the prayers on one note generally G and
sing the suffrages and Litany ; to monotone
being to keep to one note only throughout.
In totidem verbis. [L.] In so many words.
Intrados. [Fr., from L. intro, within, and
dorsum, the back.} (Arch.) The lower line of
anarch. (Extrados; Soffit.)
Intransitive verbs. (Gram.) Verbs denoting
actions the effects of which do not pass on to an
object.
In transltu. [L.] On the passage, often
from the owner of goods to the consignee.
Intrinsic. [L. intrinsecus, on the inside.}
Inward, internal, genuine, inherent, essential.
(Extrinsic.)
Introit. [L. introitus, entry.} (Eccl.) Verses
chanted at the entry of the clergy into the choir
for the celebration of the Eucharist. In the
Ambrosian ritual, Ingressa.
Intromission. [From L. intro-mitto, / send
within (intro).] (Scot. Law.) The assuming
possession, etc., of property belonging to another.
Introsusception. 1. (Intussusception.) 2.
(Path.) The deposition, interstitial ly, of those
INTK
272
IRIS
particles which replace the waste of a living
body.
Intrusive rocks. [L. intrude, / thrust into.}
(Geol.) Igneous rocks which have thrust them-
selves in sheet-like masses, vertical, oblique, or
flat, through or between sedimentary strata,
affecting them on both sides, or above and
beneath ; some igneous rocks are contemporary
and interstratified with sedimentary strata, alter-
ing only the strata 'beneath them.
Intuitionalism. (Determinism.)
Intumescence. [L. intumescentem, swelling.']
The process of swelling.
Intussusception, Introsusception. [L. intus,
intro, within, susceptio, -nem, undertaking.} 1.
When one portion of the bowel is forced into
another, either above or below, and is contracted
byit ; as one part of a glove-finger into an adjacent
part, sometimes, in withdrawing the hand. 2.
The taking into the system of some foreign
matter. In sense (i) sometimes called Invagina-
tion [vagina, a sheath\.
Inuline. A substance intermediate between
jam and starch, found in many roots, especially
elecampane [L. inula].
Inure. [Norm. Fr. enurer, from L. inaugiirare,
to consecrate, establish, open.] (Leg.) To take
effect.
Inusitation. [L. in- neg., usitatum, wonted,
commonly used.] Neglect of use. Rare.
Invagination. (Intussusception.)
Invected. [L. invectus, carried in.] (Her.}
Bordered by a line formed of small semicircles
with the points turned inwards.
Invention of the Cross. [L. inventio Sanctse
Crucis.] The day commemorating the discovery
of the cross by Helena, mother of Constantine,
May 3, 326.
In ventre de sa mere. A Fr. Law term.
Every legitimate child in the womb of its mother
is so termed, and is in law, for many purposes,
supposed to be born : e.g. it may receive a
legacy, a devise of lands, and this equally with
children of the same family born before, etc.
Inver-. (Aber-.)
Inversion. [L. inversio, -nem, Rhet., a trans-
posing of words.] (Music.) 1. The various
transpositions, having a common root, of the
component parts of a chord are called I. 2. Of
intervals, is by making the octave below of the
upper note into the lower, or the octave above of
the lower into the higher ; so a fifth becomes a
fourth, and a fourth a fifth, etc. 3. Of subjects
or phrases. (Per recte et retrd.)
Invertebrate, Invertebrates. [L. in- neg.,
vertebrata (q.v.).] (Zoo/.) Animals without a
backbone, as the oyster, beetle, starfish, hydra.
Investiture. [L. vestis, a garment.} (ffist.)
1. The delivery of a fief by a lord to his vassal,
with certain ceremonies. 2. The endowment
of a bishop with the temporalities of his see.
(Institution.)
Invincible Doctor. (Doctor.)
Invincible ignorance. [L. invincibilis, un-
conquerable.} Is said, in Moral Phil., to be (i)
in itself, e.g. an act of the insane ; (2) in itself,
but not in its cause, as an act of the drunken.
In vino veritas. [L.] In -wine there is truth.
Invita Minerva. [L.] Against Minerva's
will (Horace) ; said of work composed without
signs of talent, Minerva being goddess of wisdom.
Invitatory. [L. invitatorius.] Some text
chosen for the occasion of the day, used
anciently before the Venite, which is also the
Invitatory Psalm.
In viridi observantia. [L.] In fresh obser-
vation ; seen recently, and by many.
Invoice. [Fr. envois, plu., sendings, things
sent ; cf. lettre d'envoi, letter of advice of goods
sent.] (Com.) An account of particulars of
goods sent by a seller, with prices and charges
annexed.
Involucre. [L. involucrum, a wrapper.]
(Sot. ) A whorl of bracts on the outside of a
calyx or flower-head, which wraps up the unex-
panded flower.
Involute of a curve. The curve described by
the end of a thread unwound from that curve,
the part of the thread that leaves the curve
being kept straight during the unwinding. The
curve from which the thread is unwound is the
Evolute.
Involution. The squaring or cubing of a
number, or raising it to any other power.
Iodine. [Gr. IwSrjs, violet-like, from the colour
of its vapour.] (Chem.) A bluish-black solid,
of metallic lustre ; one of the elements.
Ionian mode. (Greek modes.)
Iota. [Gr. Kara, i, Heb. yod.] The smallest
letter of the Phoenician and Greek alphabets ;
and so, a jot, a smallest part.
lotacism. (Iota.) (Lang. ) A tendency in a
language to change other vowels to the sound of
iota, It. i, as in modern Greek.
Ipse dixit. [L., Gr. ourbs <^r/.] He himselj
said. Plato applied the Greek phrase to the
sayings of Socrates.
Ipsissima verba. [L.] The -very identical
words.
Ipso facto. [L.] (Leg.) By the very fact.
Irade. [Ar. irada, -will, desire.] In Turkey,
an imperial decree.
Iridectomy. [Gr. ?pis, the iris, e/cro/u^, a cut-
ting out] The cutting out of the segment of the
iris, for an artificial pupil.
Iridescent. Having colours like the rainbow
[L. iris, iridis].
Iridium. [L. iris, the rainbow.} A rare
white metal, generally associated with osmium in
connexion with platinum. (From the iridescence
of some of its solutions.)
Iris. [Gr. Jpis, rainboiv, iris.] 1. (An at.) A
thin flat membranous curtain of the eye hanging
in the aqueous humour and before the lens ;
perforated by the pupil for the transmission of
light. 2. (Myth.) The messenger of the Olym-
pian gods, connected especially with the rainbow.
Irish cross. (Cross.)
Irish deer. A large cervine animal, allied to
the fallow deer, and now extinct ; found in peat-
bogs in Ireland and the Isle of Man.
Irish elk. Probably not an elk. (Irish deer.)
Irish pennants. (Naut.) Ropeyarns, loose
reef-points, etc., hanging about a ship.
IRMI
273
ISO
Irmin Street. (Ermin Street.)
Iron Age. (Ages, The four ; Prehistoric
archaeology.)
Iron Cross. A Prussian order of knighthood,
instituted by Frederick William III.
Iron crown. The crown of the ancient Lon-
gobardian kings ; said to have been the gift of
Gregory the Great. A plain fillet of iron, said
to be a nail of the true cross, encircled by a
jewelled hoop of gold, kept in the cathedral of
Monza.
Iron Duke. The first Duke of Wellington.
Iron Gate, Demir Kapi, four miles below
New Orsova. A broad plateau of rock, 1400
yards wide, over which the Danube formerly so
rushed as to bar the ascent to all vessels draw-
ing more than two feet and a half. Recent
blasting has enabled vessels of eight or nine
feet draught to pass at certain seasons of the
year.
Iron Mask, Man of the. A prisoner who,
having been imprisoned in He Ste. Marguerite,
afterwards died in the Bastille, 1703. M. Taine,
1} Homme en Masque de Fer, satisfied himself that
this prisoner was Mathioli, minister of the Duke
of Mantua ; but although his arguments are
strong, they have been disputed, and the mystery
is scarcely cleared up.
Irons. (JVaut.) A ship is in irons when so
brought up into the wind that she loses steerage
way and will not come round of herself.
Ironstone. (Geol.) 1. Highly ferruginous sand-
stone, as in the Neocomian greensand of Surrey.
2. Beds and nodules of clay ironstone, or carbon-
ates of iron, more or less argillaceous, abundant
in clays associated with vegetable remains, as in
the coal-measures, Wealden, etc.
Ironwood, i.e. very hard and very heavy. A
name given to several different woods in different
countries.
Irony. [Gr. elpwveta, from etpwv, one who dis-
sembles, as saying less than he thinks.] (Rhet.}
According to Aristotle, irony was an artful repre-
senting of things as less than they really are.
The ironical man was thus one who hid his own
qualities. The irony of Socrates was employed
to lead into contradictions or absurdities those
who affected to take for granted the argu-
ments of the speaker. The word now denotes
a subtle kind of sarcasm, in which seeming
praise really conveys disapprobation.
Irradiation. [L. in, and radius, a ray.] The
apparent enlargement of bright objects seen on
a dark ground ; it is generally, perhaps always,
an affection of vision.
Irrational expression. In Algeb., one of
which the root cannot be extracted, a surd.
Irrefragable. [Fr. irrefragable, L.L. irre-
fragabilis, from L. in- neg., refragor, / oppose.]
Not to be argued against, unanswerable, incon-
trovertible.
Irrefragable Doctor. (Doctor.)
Irremeable. [L. irremeabilis, from in- neg.,
re-, back, meare, to go.] Allowing no return (as
he waters of the Styx).
Irresolvable nebula. (Nebula.)
Irritability of plants. (Bot.} A name for
the imperfectly understood "sleep of plants,"
occurring mostly at night ; ciliary motion of the
spores of many cryptogams ; the action of sen-
sitive plants, and of Vcnus's fly-trap, etc., and
many similar phenomena ; more or less found in
every plant.
Irritant. [From L. irritus, null, fromin- neg.,
ratus, established] (Leg.) Making null and
void. (Poison.)
Irvingites. The followers of Edward Irving,
of the Scotch Kirk, who in 1830 claimed utter-
ances of unknown tongues. They style them-
selves The Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Their Liturgy, formed in 1842, was enlarged in
1852.
Isagogic. [Gr. etWywy^, introduction.] In-
troductory.
Isatine. [Gr. IcraTis, ivoad.] A yellow crys-
talline substance obtained by the oxidation of
indigo.
Ischial, Ischiatic, Sciatic. [Gr. iV%ia5iK<5s.]
Having to do with the hip ['V%io^].
Isfendyar. (Kustem.)
-ish. [Teut. -isk, Gr. -HTK-O, -io-K-Tj.] Dim.
suffix, as in redd-ish, rather red.
Ishtar. The Assyrian goddess Ashtaroth.
(Astarte.)
Mac-worship. The worship of the Egyptian
goddess Isis, the wife of Osiris and mother of
Horus. (Harpocrates.)
Isidorian Decretals. (Forged Decretals.)
Islam. [Ar., submission.] The collective
name for all who believe in the mission of Mo-
hammed.
Islands of the Blessed. In Myth., a region
corresponding to Elysium (Elysian), the Hyper-
borean gardens, and the Gardens of the Hespe-
rides. (Hyperboreans.)
Isle of Saints. Name of Ireland in the
Middle Ages.
Ismaelians. A Mohammedan sect, formed in
the tenth century into a secret association, from
which sprang the society of the Assassins.
Iso- [Gr. to-os, equal to] ; Isobaric ; Isochro-
nous ; Isoclinal ; Isodynamic ; Isogonic ; Iso-
metrical projection ; Isoperimetrical problems ;
Isothermal. A prefix signifying equality, much
used in forming scientific words, especially in
the case of lines which represent graphically
equality of phenomena ; thus, lines drawn on a
map to show places where the average barometric
pressures are equal, are Isobaric lines; places
where the needle has the same dip are shown
by Isoclinal lines ; places where the magnetic
intensity is the same are shown by Isodynamic
lines ; places where the deviation of the magnet
is the same, by Isogonic lines ; where the mean
annual temperature is the same, by Isothermal
lines. Isoperimetrical problems relate to such
questions as finding the greatest area inclosed
by a given perimeter. The questions are com-
prised in the calculus of variations. (Calculus
of finite differences.) Isochronous [xpfoos, time],
performed in equal times ; e.g. a cycloid is an
isochronous curve because the oscillations of
bodies moving in equal cycloids are performed
in equal times whether the arcs described be
T
ISOB
IWIS
long or short, Isometrical projection is a species \
of perspective, in which the edges of a cube j
are represented as of equal length, and the
measurements of the three visible faces equal
in all respects.
Isobar. [Gr. 1<ros, equal, &dpos, weight.} An
isobaric line. (Iso-.)
Isocardia. (Zool.) [Gr. fcros, equal, KapSla,
heart. ] Heart-shaped molluscs with equal valves,
as cockles. Class Conchlfera.
Isochimenal lines, where the average -winter
[Gr.xr^ta], and Isotheral lines, where the average
summer [depos], temperatures are equal.
Isoclinal line. [Gr. loos, equal, n\iveiv, to
incline.'] A line passing through all the places
where the magnetic needle has the same incli-
nation, or dip.
Isodynamic. [Gr. fcros, equal, Swapis,
force.] Pertaining to, or showing, equality of
forces.
Isogonic line. [Gr. laos, equal, ywvla, angle.']
A line passing through all the places where the
magnetic needle has the same deviation from
the true N.
Isohyetose lines. [Gr. Iffos, equal, i>fr6s,
rain.] Lines connecting those places where the
mean annual rainfall is the same.
Isomeric. [Gr. foos, equal, fitpos, part.] Con-
sisting of the same elements in the same propor-
tion, but differing in physical qualities and in
the size of its molecules.
Isometrical perspective. I.q. Isometrical pro-
jection. (Iso-.)
Isomorph. [Gr. tffos, equal, popifrfi, form.}
(Geol.) A substance having the same crystalline
form as another.
Isomorphism. [Gr. taos, equal to, like, /xop<|>^,
form.] The crystallization in very nearly the
same form of substances whose chemical compo-
sitions differ by one element, as carbonate of
lime and carbonate of magnesia.
Isonomy. [Gr. Iffovofnia..} An equality of
rights and privileges under equal [fcros] laws
\v6fJLOs].
Isosceles. (Triangle.)
Isotheral, or Isothermal. (Isochimenal lines.)
Issuable. (Leg.) On or in which issue may
be taken, as I. terms, Hilary and Trinity, in
which issues (single material points of law or
fact) are made up for the assizes.
Issuant. [O.Fr.] (Her.) Rising out of.
Issue, or Fonticulus. [L., a small spring.}
(Med.) A small ulcer produced and continued
artificially, by the insertion of some round
body.
Issue price. (Finance.) The real price at
which shares, bonds, or stock are sold on their
first issue above or below the nominal value.
Isthmian games. One of the four Greek
national festivals, anciently celebrated on the
Isthmus of Corinth every other year, from B.C.
585 probably till about A.D. 312, in honour of
Poseidon ; said to have been founded by
Theseus, in place of the nocturnal festival of
Melikertes (q.v.). The games were like the
Olympic, the prizes being garlands of pine
leaves, and dried.
Italia irredenta. [It.] Unredeemed Italy ; i.e.
Trent, Trieste, and whatever else once belonged
to Italy, but does not now.
Italian pink A transparent pigment prepared
from the juice of yellow berries or from quer-
citron bark precipitated upon whiting.
Italic Version. [L. Vetus Itala, i.e. Old
Italic.} The Latin translation of the Scriptures,
generally used until St. Jerome's time, who,
dissatisfied with it, made the new translation
known as the Vulgate, which by degrees ob-
tained universally in the Latin Church.
Itch, Scabies, Psora. (Med.} A contagious
vesicular disease of the skin, due to the presence
of the itch-mite.
ItobiL Province on east of south coast of
Asia Minor about the time of the Reformation.
-ite. (-ate.)
Item. [L., also.} 1. An additional particular.
2. A hint.
Ite, missa est [L., go, it is sent.} The last
words of the Roman Mass. The origin and
meaning of the expression is not known.
Iteration, [L. iteratio, from itero, J repeat,
from iterum, again.} Repetition.
Itihasas. The name given to the two
great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and Maha-
bharata.
Itinerary. [L. iter, itingris, a journey.} A
work, naming places and stations to be met
with along a particular line of road, as the Latin
itineraries, the most important of which is that
of Antoninus. The /. of Jerusalem describes
the journey between Bordeaux and the holy
city.
-itis, -my. Termination of Gr. adj., fern.,
as paxifis, i.e. v&aos, disease of the spine \fo.x is \ >
rickets (q.v.).
Ivan Ivanovitch. A fictitious personage, re-
presentative of Russian character, as John Bull
of English.
Ivory black. A pigment formed of ivory
charred in closed vessels.
Iwis not I wis, as if = I know, but an
adv., meaning certainly [A. S. gewis, certain].
275
JAXI
J.
J. The same letter as I. It is only within
the last century that any distinction has been
made in their forms.
Jacchus. (Zoo/.) The marmorets, Hapalidas,
a fam. of platyrrhine monkeys, about the size of
squirrels. Trop. S. America.
Jachin and Boaz. [Heb., probably He will
establish, in strength.] Two brazen pillars "in
the porch " of Solomon's temple (i Kings vii. 2) ;
or, more likely, isolated columns " at the
porch" (see Speakers Commentary, v. 15)-
Jacinth. Of Rev. xxi. 20 [Gr. va.Kiv6o<>\ ;
probably the true sapphire. King, Precious
Stones.
Jack. 1. (fchth.) A pike, Esox lucius, under
three pounds weight. 2. (Natit.) (Flag.) 3.
The cross-trees. J.-staff, that on which the
Union Jack is hoisted at the bowsprit cap.
Jack ; J.-sorew. A portable machine for lifting
heavy weights through small distances ; when
worked with a screw it is a J. -screw.
Jackasses. (Naut.) Rough and heavy boats
of Newfoundland.
Jack-boots. (Mil.) Long cavalry boots, such
as are worn by our Life Guards.
Jacket. A covering of a non-conducting
substance put over a hot body to keep the
heat in.
Jack-in-the-green. The principal character
of the mummers who go about in England on
May-day.
Jack Ketch. (Ketch, Jack.)
Jack-pudding. A zany, a merry-andrew.
Jack-stones. Bedded masses of clay iron-
stone in the S. -Welsh coal-fields. Penny-stones
are similar, but smaller, in Coalbrookdale, etc.
Jacobin Club. (fr. Hist. ) A society of pro-
minent members of the First Assembly ; so
styled as holding their meetings in a suppressed
Jacobin monastery. Hence the word Jacobin
came to be synonymous with revolutionary.
Jacobins. In Eccl. Hist., the French Do-
minicans were so called, as having their chief
convent near the Rue St. Jacques, in Paris.
Jacobites. 1. (Eccl. Hist.} The Mono-
physite Christians of Syria ; so called from Jacob
Baradzi, who revived their belief and ritual in
the sixth century. 2. (Eng. Hist.) The parti-
sans of the Stuart dynasty after the Revolution
of 1688.
Jacobus. A gold coin worth 25^., struck in
the reign of James I.
Jaconet. [Fr. jaconas.] A thin cotton fabric
between cambric and muslin.
Jacque. [Fr. jaque.] English archer's
leather tunic, made of overlapping flaps.
Jacquerie. (Hist.) A revolt of the French
peasantry, which occurred during the captivity
of their king John in England, in 1356 ; so
called from Jacques Bonhomme, a title of de-
rision applied by the nobles to the peasants.
Jactation, Jactitation. [L. jacto, jactito, /
toss about.~\ (Mcd.) A tossing about in bed,
great restlessness. (Insomnia.)
Jactitation. [L. jactlto, / boast ^\ In Law, a
false boasting. J. of marriage, the giving out
that one is married to some other, by which a
common reputation of their marriage may en-
sue. It has been applied also to a false claim to
a seat in church ; also to a false claim to tithes.
Jade. [Fr. jade.] A term applied to three
different minerals having some resemblance in
colour ; they have been generally termed ne-
phrite (q.v.). 1. Jadeitc, allied to the epidotes ;
China, Mexico. 2. Oriental J., allied to horn-
blende ; China, Australasia. 3. Oceanic J.,
allied to pyroxene ; New Caledonia and Mar-
quise Isle.
J'adoube. [Fr.] In chess, = I touch this piece,
to put it better in place, not to move it. (Dub.)
Jaganath. (Juggernaut.)
Jaggery. [Hind, jagri.] Dark coarse sugar
made of the juice of the cocoa-nut palm.
Jaghir. [Hind.] An assignment of the rent
and revenue of an Indian district to a military
chief by the English Government. Jaghir-dar,
the holder of a J.
Jaguar. [Sp.] (Zoo!.) Felis onca, the American
leopard, like but larger than that of Asia and
Africa.
J'ai jete la manche apres la cognee. [Fr.]
I have thrown the helve after the hatchet. " We
have burnt our ships."
Jail delivery. (Gaol delivery.)
Jalousie. [Fr.] A Venetian blind.
Jambs. [Fr. jambe.] (Arch.) The side
pieces of any opening in a wall, supporting the
piece that discharges the weight of the wall
above them.
Jamdari A kind of figured Indian muslin.
James, Palace of St. Built by Henry VIII.,
on the site of a leper hospital founded in I too.
It became a royal residence after the destruction
of Whitehall by fire, 1698.
James, St., of the Sword. (Hist.) An ancient
military order in Spain and Portugal.
Jamma. [Hind.] Rent paid to the Govern-
ment of India.
Jam proximus ardet Ucalegon. [L.] Already
is neighbour Ucalegon^s house) on fire (Virgil);
said of dangers affecting others which we fear
will reach ourselves.
Jam redit et Virgo ; redeunt Saturnia regna.
[L.] Already too is the virgin returning, the
Saturnian rule returns (Virgil) ; i.e. Astraa,
goddess of justice and the Golden Age.
Jam satis! [L.] Hold, enough!
Janissaries, Janizaries. [Turk, yeni-ischeri,
new troops.} The militia of the Ottoman empire,
established probably by Orchan in the fourteenth
century, and supplied chiefly by the capture of
Christian slaves. It was suppressed, after a
terrible struggle, in 1826.
Janitor. [L.] Door-keeper, porter.
JANS
276
JETS
Janaenists. A body of French Roman Catho-
lics, who, following Jansen, Bishop of Ypres,
formed a considerable party in the latter part of
the seventeenth century. In their opinions they
leant to Calvinism. They were defeated in their
celebrated controversy with the Jesuits.
Janta, A machine used in India for raising
water for the irrigation of land.
Januis clausis. [L.] With closed doors ; in
secrecy.
Janus. f_L.] (Myth.} A god whose name is
the masculine form of Diana. The gate bearing
his name was open in times of war, and shut only
when the Roman republic was at peace.
Japanning. 1. Painting and varnishing wood,
metal, etc., after the Japanese manner. 2.
Lacquering.
Jardiniere. [Fr., gardener's wife.] A pot or
vase for plants.
Jarnao, Coup de. [Fr.] An attack unfair,
unexpected, fatal ; like the dagger-stab in the
leg which J. gave Chateigneraie in the ju-
dicial combat fought (1547) before Henri II. ;
" manoeuvre perfide, deloyale " (Littre).
Jasher, or Jashar, Book of A book, referred
to in the Books of Joshua and Samuel, of
which nothing further is known with certainty.
Home, Introd. to Study of ttu Bible ; Donald-
son, Jashar.
Jasper. [Gr. fcur-iris.] (Min.) An amorphous
silica ; red, brown, yellow, green, often banded ;
the result of igneous and hydro-thermal action
on clays. (For J. of Rev. xxi. 19, vide Plasma.)
Jasper ware. A compact hard paste, capable
of a high polish, and of being tinted throughout
by metallic oxides ; invented by Josiah Wedg-
wood.
Jaunting-car. An Irish vehicle, on which
the passengers ride sideways, sitting back to
back.
Javelin. [Fr. javeline, from It. giavelina.]
Short spear or large dart, thrown by the hand.
Javelin-men. Yeomen retained by the sheriff
to guard the judge of assize.
Jaw, Jaw-rope of a gaff, or boom. (Gaff.)
JazaiL [Afgh.] Long gun sometimes ten
feet with narrow stock, used by the natives of
Afghanistan.
jazerant. [O.Fr.] A frock of linked or
twisted mail, somewhat lighter than the hauberk.
Jean. (From the town of Genoa.) Twilled
cotton cloth.
Jean Jacques. Forenames of the French
philosopher Rousseau (1712-1778).
Jean Paul. Nom de plunie of the German
author J. P. Friedrich Richter (1763-1825).
Jedburgh justice. (Jeddart justice.)
Jeddart justice. Hanging first and trying
afterwards.
Jeers. (Naut.) (Halliards.)
Jehovist. 1. One who holds that the vowel
points in the word Jehovah are the proper
vowels ; in opposition to those who insist that
they are the vowels of the word Adonai. 2. The
supposed writer or writers of those passages in
the Pentateuch in which the word Jchoi'ah
occurs, as distinguished from the Elohist writer
or writers, who use the word Elohim to denote
the Deity.
Jehu. By meton. = a fast driver (see 2 Kings
ix. 20).
Jejunum. [L., fasting, hunger.] (Med.)
The second portion of the small intestine,
generally found empty after death.
Jelba, or Jerba. (Naut.) A large coasting-
boat used in the Red Sea.
Jemadar. [Hind.] (Mil.) Native commis-
sioned officer of Sepoy troops, ranking with
lieutenant.
Jemmy Ducks. (Naut.) The ship's poulterer.
Je ne sais quoi. [Fr.] / knmv not -what.
Jenkins's Ears, Fable of. Burke's name for a
story which excited the English people against
Spain, 1739; that of one J., whose sloop had
been searched in Jamaica by a Spanish guarda-
costa, and his ear, as he said, torn off; with an
assurance that the king would have been similarly
treated.
Jennet (Genet.)
Jeofail. [For Fr. j'ai failli, / have failed.]
(Leg.) An oversight in pleadings or other legal
proceedings.
Jerboa. (Gerboa.)
Jereed. (Jerreed.)
Jeremiad. A name suggested by the Lamenta-
tions of Teremiah, but applied satirically to
stories or speeches full of absurd pictures of
exaggerated or imaginary evils.
Jerked beef. [Corr. of Fr. charcuit, cooked
flesh] Beef cut in thin stripes and dried in the
sun.
Jerkin. [Dim. of the D. jurk, a frock.] A
jacket.
Jerquing a ship. (A r aut.) The searching on
the part of the custom-house for concealed goods
in ships professedly unloaded.
Jerreed. Blunted Turkish javelin, darted
from horseback with great force and precision.
Jersey. 1. The finest wool. 2. A jacket of
coarse wool.
Jerusalem, St. John of, Knights of. (Orders,
Religious.)
Jerusalem Itinerary. (Itinerary.)
Jessant. [O.Fr.] (Her.) Springing up.
Jesse window. (Eccl. Arch.) A window ex-
hibiting a Jesse tree, or the genealogy of our
Lord from Jesse, father of David. A window
in the church of Dorchester, near Oxford, shows
this tree worked in stone with the aid of the
mullions.
Jester. (Minstrels.)
Jesuits. (Hist.) The Society of Jesus,
founded by Ignatius Loyola, in 1 534, on the basis
of implicit submission to the commands of the
holy see.
Jet [(?) A.S. geotan, to pour ; cf. Ger. giessen,
id] A large, wooden-handled ladle for taking
water out of a pond, and the like.
Jet, Gagate. [Gr. rdyaTijy, Gagas, a Lycian
river] A peculiar form of pitch-coal, electrical
when rubbed. Whitby J. is from the Lias.
Jet d'eau. [Fr.] Water-spout.
Jetee. [Fr.] Pier, jetty.
Jetsam, Jetson. (Flotsam.)
JETT
277
TOHX
Jettison, or Jetsen. [L. jactationem.] (Naut.)
The act of throwing things overboard.
Jetty. [Fr. jetee.] (Arch.) iA projection
from a building, overhanging the wall below.
Shakespeare, Macbeth, uses the form/w^y.
Jeu de main, jeu de vilain. [Fr.] A practical
joke is a vulgar joke.
Jeu de mots. [Fr.] A play on words.
Jeu d' esprit. [Fr.] Witticism, a piece of
wit ; lit. a sport of the mind.
Jeu de theatre. [Fr.] A stage trick.
Jeunesse doree. [Fr.] Gilded youth.
Jewellers' rouge. (Colcothar.)
Jew's-harp. 1. Guimbarde, yew's-trump.
A small lyre-shaped, sweet-toned instrument ;
the metal tongue is set vibrating by the finger
while blown upon with the mouth. Jew here is
only a corr. of Fr. jeu, sport or play. 2. (Naut.}
A shackle so shaped, and used to join a chain-
cable to the anchor.
Jezids, Yedzidis. A fanatical sect, belonging
to the mountainous country near Mosul ; their
opinions being seemingly a mixture of Mo-
hammedanism, Manichaeism, and Zendism. By
the Turks they are regarded as devil-worship-
pers.
Jheel. [Hind.] A shallow lake.
JhouL [Hind.] Elephant housings.
Jib. (Naut.) A large triangular sail set on a
stay and extending from the outer end of the
jibboom towards the fore-topmast head. In
cutters and sloops it is set on the bowsprit. A
sail jibs when it flies over from one side to the
other. (Crane.)
Jib-and-Staysail Jack. (Naut.) An inex-
perienced and fidgety officer.
Jibber the kibber. (Naut.) To tie a lantern
to a horse's neck and check one of his legs, so
that the light should move like that of a ship,
and decoy vessels on shore.
Jibboom. (Bowsprit.)
Jibe. (Naut.) To shift a sail from one side
of the vessel to another.
Jibing, or Gybing. (Naut.) Shifting the
boom of a fore-and-aft sail from one side to the
other.
Jib-topsail. (Naut.) A fore-and-aft topsail,
jib-shaped. J.-traveller, an iron ring which
runs on the booms, and to which the tack of the
J. and its guys are fastened. J.-tye, the rope
by which the J. is hoisted.
Jig, Gigue [Fr.], Giga [It.]. 1. A lively
dance, by one or more dancers, of the same
kind as bolero and chica ; but varying much
in different countries from a somewhat sober
to a wild dramatic movement. 2. A movement
which grew out of jig tunes, the origin of the
last movement of the sonata. [(?) From jig,
gigue, a kind of fiddle, English, mediaeval ; or
(?) i.q. chica (y.v.) ; or are all these the same
word ?]
Jigger. (Naut,) 1. A light tackle for hold-
ing on the cable when being hove in, and for
other purposes. 2. A small sail rigged to a mast
and boom over the stern, y.-mast, an ad-
ditional aftermost mast. (Chigoe.)
Jigging. [Ger. schocken, to shake.} Shaking
a sieve full of ore in water, whereby the lightest
and least metallic pieces are brought to the top.
Jilalo. A large Manila outrigged passage-
boat.
Jimmart. [Fr.] The imaginary offspring of a
bull and a mare.
Jimmy. A short crowbar used by burglars.
Jin, Djin. Demons or spirits in Arabian folk-
lore.
Jingo (in vulgar expletive " T5y T. ; " said
to be for by St. Gengulphus). One of the war
party, 1877, 1878, among Lord Beaconsfield's
supporters; so called from the phrase " By J.,"
in one of the music-hall war-songs.
Jinjal. Very small cannon, used in India by
the natives.
Jo. [Scot.] Sweetheart.
Joachims-thaler, or Thaler, whence Low Ger.
dahler^ Eng. dollar. An excellent coinage of
ounce-pieces of silver from the mines of Joachims-
thai, coined by the Counts of Schlick about the
end of the fifteenth century, and which became
a pattern coinage.
Jobber. One who buys or sells for others.
Jobbing-house. [Amer.] A mercantile estab
lishment, which purchases from importers and
sells to retailers. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Jockie. (Minstrels.)
Joco di mano, joco villano. [It.] (Jeu de
main.)
Jodeln [Ger.], Jodie [onomatop.]. With the
Swiss and Tyrolese, a peculiar manner of sing-
ing in harmonic progressions, with natural and
falsetto voices rapidly alternating.
Joggle-joints. (Arch.) Joints fastened by
jogs, or knots, the surfaces of the adjacent stones
being mutually indented. (Eabbeting.)
Jogues, Yugs. Mythical eras of immense
length in the chronology of the Hindus,
answering to the Ilesiodic ages in Greek my-
thology.
John Company. So the Indian natives, unable
to realize government by a society, called the
E. I. Company, which ceased September I,
1858 ; the Queen being proclaimed Sovereign of
India, with Lord Canning as first Viceroy.
John Doe and Richard Roe, In Law, fictitious
personages, plaintiff and defendant, generally in
actions of ejectment ; previous to the passing of
the Common Law Procedure Act, 1852. They
were employed to save certain niceties of law.
(See Stephens's Commentaries.)
John Dory. [(?) Fr. jaime-doree, yellow-
golden, or doree with John prefixed, or the Gasc.
jan, i.e. cock (?).] (Ic/ith.) Marine fish, with
deep compressed body, elongated spines to first
dorsal fin, olive brown with yellow tinge.
British. Zeus [Gr. fads] faber, fam. Scorn -
brkloe (mackarel kind), ord. Acanthopterygii,
sub-class TeleosteT.
John O'Groat's House, more correctly Johnny
Groafs. (John Grot, chamberlain to the Earl of
Caithness, circ. 1500.) On Dungansby Head, at
extreme north-east point of Scotland ; (?) built for
travellers to and from the Orkneys ; now a small
green knoll. (For its traditions, see Chambers's
Encyclopedia. )
JOHN
278
JUDI
Johnsonese, Johnsonian English. Refer to
Johnson's use of long, pompous words from the
Latin ; the structure of sentences being plain.
Joint-stock. Stock held in company, divided
or divisible into shares transferable at the
pleasure of any stockholder.
Joint-tenancy. (Leg.) A tenure of the same
estate in unity of title, interest, and possession by
two or more persons each of which is seised per
my et per tout, with accession of the rights and
interests of a deceased joint-tenant or joint-
tenants to the survivors or survivor. J. must
subsist ab initio by the estate vesting in the
joint-tenants at the same time. (Coparcenary ;
Jos accrescendi ; Tenancy in common.)
Jointure. [Fr. , from L. juncture, a joining,
from jungo, / join.] (Leg.) Strictly a joint
estate limited to husband and wife, generally
a sole estate limited to the wife inuring on the
husband's death, vested in herself for her own
life at least, expressly in satisfaction of her
whole dower.
Joists. (Arch.) The timbers of a floor to
which the boards or laths of the ceiling are
fastened.
Jolly. (Naut.) A soldier. Royal J., a
marine. Tame J., a militiaman. J.-boat,
clinker-built and tubby, about four feet beam
by twelve feet long. J. -jumpers, sails above
the moonrakers. J. Roger, the pirate's flag,
skull and cross-bones white, on a black ground.
Jonathan, Brother, = the people of the
United States. Washington, when in difficulty,
often said, " We must consult Brother Jonathan,"
*'.<?. J. Trumbull, Governor of Connecticut, in
whom he had great confidence, and whose name
became a byword. (See Bartlett's American-
isms. )
Jonath-elem-rechoMm. In title of Ps. Ivi.,
"the dove of silence of the far ones," "the
silent dove among aliens," the name of a tune (?) ;
the tune and the circumstances of David being
connected.
Jongleur. (Troubadour.)
Jornada, [Sp.] A march or journey per-
formed in a day. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Joseph. [Fr.] 1. Thin tissue paper. 2. Thin
silvered paper.
Joss. [Corr. of Sp. and Port. Dios, God.] A
Chinese deity or idol ; hence Joss-house, a
temple.
Jot or tittle. Matt. v. 18 : Jot [Gr. iSna] is
Heb. yod, the smallest letter of the alphabet ;
tittle [xtpaia], a horn-like mark, a small stroke
distinguishing, e.g., E from F.
Jourdain, H. Hero of Moliere's comedy,
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, a rich tradesman who
desires to acquire accomplishments and fashion-
able manners late in life. He talked prose with-
out knowing it, not knowing the meaning of the
word "prose."
Jour de Pan. [Fr.] New Year's Day.
Journal. [L. diurnus, of a day, daily.] 1.
(Naut.) The log-book, or log, i.e. a ship's daily
register of winds, weather, course and distance,
and of all matters worthy of record. 2.
(Mech.) The part of a rotating piece oi
nachinery or of a shaft which is supported by
the frame of the machine ; it works in a J. -box.
The support of a journal is not necessarily fixed ;
thus a crank-pin is a journal.
Journey. [Fr. journee, a day's length, L.
diurnus ; cf. It. giorno.] An agricultural
labourer's day's work, especially in ploughing.
Journeyman. [From Fr. journee, a day, a
day's work.] 1. A man who works for hire by
the day. 2. One who works for hire for any
time or by any term.
Jousts. [It. giastrare, Fr. jouster, to tilt.]
Popular military games of the Middle Ages.
Jovial. [Fr. jovialis, pertaining to Jupiter
(gen. Jovis).] 1. (Astral. ,) Under the influence
of the planet Jupiter. 2. Merry, full of animal
spirits, gay. 3. (Alchem.) Pertaining to tin.
Jube (so called from the form " Jube, domne,
benedicere," uttered before the intoning of the
Gospel). The French name for the Eood-loft,
or rood-screen.
Jubilee year. [L. jiibilo, I shout for joy, Heb.
yobel, to rejoice.] The grand sabbatical year of
the Jews, which was to be celebrated after
every seven septenaries of years, as a year of
general release of all debtors and slaves. In
modern times, the word has been applied to
celebrations recurring at intervals of half or of a
quarter of a century.
Judaic. [L. Judaicus, of Judaea.] Jewish.
Juddock. (Ornith.) The jack-snipe, Scolopax
gallinula, fam. Scolopacidae.
Judex damnatur cum nocens absolvitur. [L.]
(Leg.) The judge is condemned -when a guilty
person is acquitted. Motto of the Edinburgh
Review.
Judge-Advocate. (Leg.) An officer appointed
to attend courts-martial, to provide accommoda-
tion for the court, to summon witnesses, to
administer oaths to them and the court, to
advise the court, to see that the prisoner is
properly defended, and to send minutes of pro-
ceedings to the J.- A. -General, an officer ap-
pointed by letters patent under the Great Seal,
who can himself attend courts-martial, all other
J.-A. officiating at home being his deputies.
Jndge-Advocate-GeneraL The adviser of the
Crown in naval and military law.
Judgment [Fr. jugement, L. judicium.]
(Log.) The mental operation which decides
whether two notions resulting from simple
Apprehension agree or disagree. It must, there-
fore, be either affirmative or negative.
Judicature, Supreme Court of, consists of (i)
the Court of Appeal, and (2) the High Court of
Justice. ( I ) Sits in two divisions, one at West-
minster, the other at Lincoln's Inn ; the former
takes appeals from the Common Law Division ;
the latter from the Chancery Divisions, including
bankruptcy appeals. (2) Consists of Queen's
Bench and Probate-Divorce, and Admiralty
Divisions. (See Charles Dickens's Dictionary
of London.)
Judicature Act Lord Selborne's, 1873,
unified the various high courts of law into the
Supreme Court of Judicature.
Judicial Committee of Privy Council, established
JUDI
279
JUKI
3 and 4 Will. IV., consists of a Lord President,
the Lord Chancellor, and certain judges, being
P. Councillors. Under 34 and 35 Viet., and
under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 39 and 40
Viet., four are paid members. In ecclesiastical
appeals, the archbishops and bishops, or some
of them, attend, either as members or assessors.
The court also receives appeals from the colonies,
India included, " and, generally, appeals in all
other matters in which the Crown's intervenion
is rather executive than judicial." Brown, JLaw
Dictionary.
Judiciary. [L. judiciarius, from judicium, law
court, from jiidex, gen. icis, judge.] Pertaining
to judgments or law courts.
Judicium Dei [L.] In former days, the re-
sult of an appeal to the judgment of God, by
means of various ordeals, single combat, etc.
Juffs. [Russ. youft.] Tanned ox-hides.
Bloomed juffs are red hides, having flower-like
spots upon them.
Juggernaut, properly Jaganath. [Skt, lord
of the world^\ The name under which Brahma is
worshipped, especially at Pooree, in Orissa, the
image on the great festival being dragged along
in a huge car.
Juggler. (Minstrels.)
Jugular veins. (Anat.) Two on each side of
the neck [L. jiigulum] by which the blood is
brought from the head.
Julep. [Ar. jelab, a reddish medicinal drink,
made of fruit, etc., from Pers. gul, rose, ap,
wafer.] A sweet, cooling drink.
Julian calendar. (New Style.)
Julian period consists of 7980 (= 28 X 19 X 15)
Julian years, after which the years of the Solar,
Metonic, and Indiction cycles come round again
in the same order ; the year of each cycle was
I on B.C. 4713; the J. P. begins on the 1st of
January in that year. The use of the J. P. first
brought light and order into chronology.
Jump a claim. In Western parlance, is to
endeavour to obtain possession of the land, or
' " claim," which has been taken up and occupied
by a settler, or " squatter," in a new country.
Bartlett's Americanisms.
Jumper. A long borer, used by one person to
prepare a hole for blasting.
Juncate. (Junket.)
Juncite. [L. juncus, a rusk.] (Geol.) Fossil
stems, rushlike in appearance ; their affinities
uncertain.
Jungada. (Naut.) A kind of raft, with
mast and tilt, used on the coast of Peru.
Jungle. [Hind, jangal, desert, forest.] Land
covered with trees and brushwood or coarse
vegetation, affording cover to wild beasts.
Jungle fever. [Hind, jungal, wooded swamp.]
A kind of intermittent fever, appearing in the
jungle districts.
Junior. [L. junior, younger, comp. of
jiive'nis.] (Leg.) 1. A barrister under the rank
of Q.C. or serjeant. 2. The younger in standing
of two barristers engaged in a case. 3. An
officer of the bar on circuit.
Junius. Pseudonym of the writer of a series
of political letters in the Public Advertiser,
1769-1772) attacking royalty and great men
connected with the Government. The authorship
of these letters, which are believed by Macaulay
and others to have been written by Sir Philip
Francis, is still a vexed question.
Junk. [L. juncus, a rush, of which ropes
were made.] (Naut.) 1. Hard salted beef supplied
to ships. 2. Piece of old cables or cordage cut
up for various purposes. 3. The flat-bottomed,
square-bowed vessels of China, having big sails,
water-tight compartments, and a deep rudder.
Junket, Juncate. [L. L. junciUa, a cream-cheese
made in a basket of junci, rushes.] 1. A cream-
cheese. 2. Any dainty. 3. A feasting on the
sly.
Junta. A grand Spanish council of State. In
England the word J. was used as an equivalent
for Cabal, or faction.
Jupe. [Fr.] Petticoat, skirt.
Jupiter. (Planet.)
Jupon, Juppon. [Fr. jupon.] 1. A tight-
fitting, sleeveless jacket, reaching to the hips, of
silk or velvet over several thicknesses of other
stuff, embroidered with the wearer's arms, and
ending in a rich border. 2. A petticoat.
Jurassic. In continental Geol., = Lias and
Oolite"; the rocks of the Jura being analogous to
the typical Lias and Oolite series of England,
" black " (lowest), " brown " (middle), " white "
(uppermost) "Jura."
Jurat. [L., he swears.] (Leg.) 1. Memo-
randum of time, place, and person before whom
an affidavit is sworn. 2. An officer for the
government of some corporation, not unlike an
alderman. The bailiff in jersey has twelve jurats
as assistants.
Juratores sunt judices facti. [L.] (Leg.)
Jurors are the judges of matters of fact.
Juratory caution. (Scot. Law.) A kind of
caution (security) offered by a complainer who
cannot offer any better.
Juravi lingua, mentem injuratam gero. [L.]
/ have sworn with my tongue, I have a mind
unsworn (Cicero). Gr. 'H yXiaacr' O/J.U/JLOX' ri 8s
(ppTjv avw/jioTos (Euripides).
Jure divino. By divine right ; as opposed to
J. ecclesiastico, J. humano, J. gentium. The
ministry, sacraments, are J. D.
Juridical. [L. juridicus, relating to adminis-
tration of justice, from jus, right, law, and root
of dico, / say.] Pertaining to judges, judg-
ments, or courts of law. J. days, those on which
courts can lawfully sit for the administration of
justice.
Jurisconsult. [L. jurisconsultus.] (Leg.) One
learned in the law, especially Roman law.
Jurisdiction. [L. jurisdictio, -nem, adminis-
tration of justice.] (Leg.) 1. The extent of the
power of a court to hear and determine causes,
2. The extent of the power and authority of a
government or an officer to execute justice.
Juris et de jure. [L.] (Leg.) Of law and
from law ; of a conclusive presumption.
Jurisprudence. [L. juris-prudentia.] The
science of law, especially of Roman law.
Jurist. [From L. jus, juris, law.] A civil
lawyer, a student of civil law.
JURO
280
Juror, Withdrawal of a, is, in effect, as if
no action had been brought.
Jury, Trial by. Trial by a judge in presence
of twelve men, selected for the purpose, to
pronounce on the conclusiveness or inconclu-
siveness of the evidence laid before them. The
old compurgators were in strictness nothing more
than witnesses to character. (Compurgation.)
Jury-mast (said to be for injury-mast, one
put in place of an injured mast). (Naut.) A
temporary mast, or substitute for one.
Jury-rudder. (Naut.) Any contrivance for
steering a ship when the rudder is disabled.
Jus accrescendi. The right of survivorship,
or, as it is called, Accrual, in joint-tenancies.
Jus albinatus. [L.L.] (Leg.) (Droit d'au-
baine.)
Jus Angldrum. [L.] Laws and customs of
the West Saxons before the Norman Conquest.
Jus Clvfle. [L., civil law.} The whole body
of law of any state applying to the citizens
[cives] ; especially the whole body of Roman
law, founded on leges, enactments of law.
Jus ex injuria non oritur. [L.] (Leg.) A
right does not arise out of a wrong.
Jus gentium. [L., law of nations.} The
common law of all mankind, founded on
naturalis ratio, natural reason.
Jus non scriptum. [L.] The unwritten law ;
of humanity, social interest, public opinion ; in-
troduced by custom, with the tacit consent of
the legislator.
Jus postliminii. [L.] 1. The right of re-
turning home, and resuming former privileges ;
the right of a citizen of Rome who, having been
made a slave, resumed his rights under a fiction
that he had not been in captivity at all. 2.
" The right of restitution after -recapture, as
applied in maritime law" now (Brown, Law
Dictionary).
Jussi. (Native name.) A delicate fibre obtained
from Manila.
Jus sumraum saepe summa malitia est. [L.]
Extreme legality is often extreme wickedness
(Terence). (Summum jus.)
Juste milieu. [Fr., the just mean.} The term
used to express Louis Philippe's system of
government, which began with Casimir Perier
after the revolution of 1830.
Justice Clerk, Lord. The second highest judge
in Scotland, and, in the absence of the Lord
Justice-General, the presiding judge of the Court
of Justiciary.
Justice-General, Lord. The highest judge in
Scotland ; called also Lord President of the
Court of Session.
Justice seat (Forest courts.)
Justiciary, High Court of. (Scot. Law.) The
supreme criminal tribunal of Scotland.
Justify. [L. Justus, right, facere, to make.}
In Printing, to form even or true lines of type
by proper spacing.
Justinian, The English. Edward I.
Justinianist. One who studies the civil law
codified by order of Justinian.
Justum et tenacem propositi virum. [L.] An
upright man and firm in his resolution (Horace).
Jute. A fibrous material like hemp, imported
from Bengal.
Juverna. An old name of Ireland.
Z. After it had almost entirely disappeared
from the Latin orthography, was retained in
certain abbreviations ; thus, K. for Cseso, K. or
Kal. for Calendae, KA. for Capitalis, K.S.,
Carus suis.
Kaaba. The great temple at Mecca ; so called
from the black stone worshipped there before
the time of Mohammed probably a large
aerolite.
Kadi. (Cadi)
Kaimakan. In the Ottoman empire, a deputy
or governor, of which there are generally two
one residing at Constantinople, the other attend-
ing the grand vizier as his lieutenant.
Kaims, Kames. (Geol.) Ridges of post-
Glacial gravel and sand, at the ends of valleys,
like embankments From a few yards to twenty
miles long ; twenty to sixty feet high. So called
in Scotland ; known as Eskirs, or Escars, in
Ireland.
Kaique. (Caique.)
Kalani. An Oriental notary public and public
weigher.
Kaleidoscope. [Gr. KO.\OS, beautiful, elSos,
form, ffKovfu, I behold.} A well-knowta toy in-
vented by Sir D. Brewster, in which elegant
coloured patterns are formed by the symmetrical
distribution of the images formed by successive
reflexion at two or three mirrors inclined to each
other at angles of 6o a .
Kalends, Kalendae. (Calends.)
Kalewala. The Finnic epic poem, which
is ascribed to Wdindmoinen.
Kalmucks, Kali. A tribe of Tartars.
Kami. The Japanese name for the gods who
formed their first mythical dynasty.
Kamptulicon. [A word coined from Gr.
Ka.fjcnr6s, flexible , TU\TJ, a pad, or v\rt, matter.}
A kind of floor-cloth made by mixing cork,
wool, etc., with melted indiarubber, and spread-
ing the mixture on canvas.
Kaneh. [Heb., cane, or reed.} A Jewish mea-
sure of length, for measuring on a large scale ;
as in Ezekiel's vision of the temple and its mea-
surement (ch. xl., et seq.).
Kanjia. (Naut.) A Nile passenger-boat.
Kantian. Relating to the philosophy of Im-
manuel Kant (1724-1804).
Kaolin. [Chin, word.] Porcelain clay ; a dull
opaque clay, o f various shades of white ; arising
KAPE
281
KEYS
from decomposition of felspar. A large tract
near St. Austell, on rotting granite, supplies
Worcester, etc.
Kapellmeister. (Capelmeister.)
Kara. A Tartar word, meaning black ; used
also in the sense of tributary, as the Kara
Kalpacks.
Karaites. (Caraites.)
Karaman. Province of Asia Minor about the
time of the Reformation ; north of ItcMl.
Karbaty. (Carbasse.)
Karmathians. A Mohammedan sect of the
ninth century ; so called from its founder,
Karmata.
Karmina. (Upadana.)
Karroo. Hottentot term for immense undulat-
ing plain, about 2000 feet above the sea, north
of the Black Mountains of Cape Colony ; of rich
clay soil, but unwatered.
Kat. (Cat.)
Hatching oil. A very clear oil made of
ground-nuts, used in India for cooking.
Kate. [Hind.] A plantation, afield.
Kayak. Fishing-boat of the arctic regions.
Kazic. A fishing-boat of Shetland.
Kazy. [Hind.] A Mohammedan magistrate
in India.
Keblah, Khebli. (Kiblah.)
Keokle, or Cackle. (Naut.) To cover a
cable spirally with old rope.
Kedge, or Kedger. (Anchors.)
Kedgeree. An Indian dish of fish and rice.
Keel. [A.S. ceol.] (Naut.) 1. A low and flat-
bottomed Tyne boat for carrying coals to col-
liers. 2. The principal timber quasi-backbone
of a ship. To give the K., to careen.
Keel-haul, To, or Keel-rake. (Naut.) To
drop a man into the sea on one side of a vessel
and haul him up on the other; dragging him
under the K.
Keelson, or Kelson. (Naut.) An internal
keel above the floor timbers, and immediately
over the keel.
Keep (that which keeps or protects). The
innermost and strongest tower of a castle, in
which treasure and prisoners of importance could
be most carefully guarded.
Keeping-room. [Prov. Eng.] A common
sitting-room, not the parlour, but the second best
room. New England. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Keesh. Flakes of carburet of iron on the sur-
face of pig iron.
Keeve. [O.E. cyf.] A large vat used for fer-
menting liquor or dressing ores.
Keil, or Bed clay. A deep red peroxide of
iron, used in marking.
Kelp. [O.Fr. kilpe.] The ashes of burnt
seaweed.
Kelpie. [Scot.] A horse-shaped water-sprite,
which is supposed to forewarn any one destined
to be drowned in the vicinity of the noises and
lights which it gives forth.
Kelson rider. (False kelson.)
Kelt Salmon after spawning.
Kelter. [Celt, celtoir, dress, matter.'} 1.
Order, condition. 2. (Naut.) In good order ;
applies to ships and men. (Kilter.)
Keltic languages. 1. Cvniric class: i.e. (i)
Welsh ; (2) Cornish ; '(3) Bas-Breton. 2.
Gadhelic : (i) Erse, or Irish ; (2) Gaelic, spoken
in Scotch Highlands ; (3) Manx, in Isle of
Man. Morris, English Accidence.
Kemp, Kempty. Coarse rough hair in wool,
injuring its quality.
Kennaquhair. [Scot., ken not where.} A
fabricated name of an imaginary locality ; cf.
Ger. weissnichtwo. (Utopia.)
Kent, Holy Maid of. (Holy Maid of Kent.)
Kepler's laws. (Johann K. , born near Stutt-
gart, 1591, died 1630.) Certain laws relating
to the motion of the planets, viz. : 1. They
describe ellipses round the sun, which is in one
of their foci. 2. The line joining a planet and
the sun traces out equal areas in equal times.
3. The squares of their periodic times are as the
cubes of their major axes.
Keramic, or Ceramic, art. [Gr. r/ /cepcyn/d?,
the (art) which has to do with Kfpau.os, potter' 's
earth.} Pottery. KZrameikos, or Cerainicus, in
Athens, the potters' quarter.
Kerlanguishes. [Turk., swallows.] (Naiit.)
Fast sailing-boats of the Bosphorus.
Kermes. [Ar. for cochineal insect, from Skt.
karmi, worm.] Dried insects used as a scarlet
dye-stuff.
Kermes mineral (from its scarlet colour).
An amorphous trisulphide of antimony used in
medicine.
Kern. [Erse cearn, warrior.] 1. A foot-
soldier in Ireland or the Scottish Highlands.
2. (Leg.) Kernes, idlers, vagabonds. 3. In
Printing, that part of a type which hangs over
the body or shank.
Kerosine. [Gr. ic-npds, wax.] An oil ex-
tracted from bituminous coal.
Kerseymere. (Cassimere. )
Ketch. [Fr. caiche, Sp. queche, D. kits.]
(Naut.) A galliot-built vessel, with main and
mizzen masts, of from 100 to 150 tons burden.
K.-bomb, one built very strongly, and carrying a
master.
Ketch, Jack. Common name for the hangman
in England ; said to have been the name of that
officer in the reign of James II., or a corr. of
Jacquett's, from the name of the lord of the manor
of Tyburn.
Kettle-boiling sound. (Med.) One of the
chest-sounds heard at the beginning of phthisis.
Kettle-bottomed. (Naut. ) Flat-bottomed.
Kettle-drums. Basins of copper or brass, with
parchment stretched over the top.
Keuper of Germany [Ger. kupfer, copper] =
uppermost division, red sandstones and marls,
with salt and alabaster ; of the Triassic period.
Kevels, or Cavils. (Naut.) Large cleats, or
pieces of timber above the rail, for belaying
ropes to, etc. Kevcl- heads, ends of top timbers,
rising above the gunwale, and used as kevels.
Key; K.-seat. (Afech.) A small wedge for
fixing wheels, pulleys, etc., to their shafts. The
recess into which the key is driven is the K.-seat,
called also K.-bed and K.-way.
Key-stone. The middle or uppermost voussoir
of an arch.
KHAL
282
KING
Khalif. (Caliph.)
Khamseen. [Ar., fifty} A hot southerly wind
in Egypt, because it blows for fifty days after
Easter.
Khan. [Turk.] 1. King, chief. 2. An Oriental
inn or caravanserai.
Khansaman-jee. [Hind.] Head-butler in India.
Khedive. 1. [Turk.] Title of the Forte's
viceroy in Egypt. 2. [Pers.] Khediv, prince,
sovereign.
Khidmut-gar. [Hind.] A footman in India.
Khi-lin. (Kylin.)
Khotbah. [Ar.] A Mohammedan form of
prayer, used in the great mosques on Friday at
noon.
Kiaboooa wood. 'Amboyna wood.
Kibble. [Ger. kiible.] A bucket in which ore
is raised from a mine.
Kibe. \Cf. Skt. root jambh, from gabh, to
snap, bite, said to be Welsh cibwst, from cib,
cu Pi g ws t malady, as if rounded, swelling
malady (Skeat, Etym. Diet.).] Chilblain, as if
frost-fafe.
Kibitka. [Russ.] A rude kind of waggon
without springs, used by the Tartars j also used
as a hut.
Kiblah. The point to which Mohammedans
turn when praying. This point was at first
Jerusalem ; but Mohammed afterwards changed
it to the Kaabah at Mecca. Muir, Life of
Mahomet, ch. x.
Kickshaw. [For Fr. quelque chose, anything
whatever.} 1. Some fancy thing, hard to give a
name to. 2. A fancy dish.
Kicksywicksy. A gibberish word, first used
by Shakespeare, seemingly to denote restless-
ness, and applied contemptuously to a wife.
Kid. 1. A faggot or bundle of heath and furze.
2. (Deer, Stages of growth of.)
Kiddow. (Guillemot.)
Kieve. [Ger. kufe.] A large tub for washing
ores.
Kiftis. (Naut.) A large Indian boat fitted
with cabins on either side.
-Ml-. Erse part of names, meaning hermit's
cell or church, as in Kil-kerran, Church of St.
Ciarran ; Icolm-kill, Church of Island of St.
Columba.
Kilhamites. (New Connexion Methodists.)
Killas. Local name for a Cornish group of
schistose Devonian rocks, much altered near the
granite, the elvan, and other dykes ; in which
lies a great part of the mineral wealth of Corn-
wall.
Kilogramme ; Kilolitre ; Kilometre. Measures
of a thousand [Gr. \l\io\\ grammes, litres, and
metres respectively. (Gramme; Litre; Metre.)
Kilter. ( Used still in Suffolk. ) Out of kilter,
in a bad condition ; out of shape. Halliwell
notices the word kelter as provincial in Eng-
land ; and Barrow uses it with the prefixed
" out of : " " If the organs of prayer are out of
kelter, or out of tune, how can we pray?"
(Barrow's Sermons}. Bartlett's Americanisms.
(Kelter.)
Kimeridge clay. (K., near Weymouth, where
the beds terminate.) (Geol.) A fossiliferous
clay of the Upper Oolite, containing a bitumi-
nous shale, called Kim-coal.
Kindergarten. [Ger., lit. children's garden}
In Germany, a kind of infant school, where
children of all classes of society, not yet old
enough for school, .are taken care of, generally
from nine o'clock to one ; with systematically
arranged amusements, more or less instructive.
Kindfest. [Ger., child-feast} 1. The Feast
of Holy Innocents. 2. In N. Germany, a day
once kept in memory of the invention of the
child Jesus in the Temple.
Kinematics, Cinematics. [Gr. K(VI\^O., a move-
ment given. } The science of motion in its purely
geometrical relations, without reference to the
forces producing it.
Kinesipathy. [Gr. K.(vr\ais, movement, iraOos,
affection.} Treatment of disease by appropriate
movements, exercises of the limbs.
Kinesis. Any kind of morbid affections of
movement [Gr. Klvritris].
Kinetics. [Gr. KivriTitcds, fit for moving.} The
science which determines the motion of bodies
due to the action of forces.
Kineton, Battle of. Now always spoken of as
B. of Edgehill, October 23, 1642 (see Claren-
don's Hist, of Rebellion}.
King-at-arms. {Her.} An heraldic officer
whose business it is to declare war, arrange
coronations, etc. ; the chief of the three Garter
kings-at-arms. Clarencieux and Norroy superin-
tend the provinces south and north of the Trent
respectively.
King-bird. (Ornith.} Spec, of shrike, eight
inches long, black and grey, with red crest.
America. T^rannus intrepidus [L., intrepid
tyrant}, sub-fam. Tyranmnse, fam. Tyrannidse,
ord. Passeres.
King James's Bible. (Bible, English.)
King Log. The log sent to the frogs in
^Esop's fable, when they asked Jupiter for a king.
King-post. (Arch.} The middle post of a
roof, supported by the tie-beam and reaching to
the ridge. (Strut.)
King's Book. 1. (Liber Eegis.) 2. A Neces-
sary Erudition of any Christian Man, A.D.
1543, put forth under sanction of King (Henry
VIII.) and Convocation ; a revision of the Insti-
tution, etc., or Bishops' Book (q.v.}.
King's evidence (or Queen's). One who,
having been an accomplice in some crime, con-
fesses, offering all the evidence he has to give ;
generally pardoned, but not absolutely entitled
to pardon ; admissible by the judge as a witness
in the trial of fellow-criminals.
King's evil. Popular name for scrofula, once
believed to be curable by a royal touch. Clovis
touched, A.D. 481 ; and English sovereigns
Edward the Confessor to Anne and Prince
Charles Edward at Holyrood, 1745. An Office
for the ceremony appears in our Liturgy as late
as 1719.
King's Men, King's Friends. A cabal, sepa-
rating the court (of George III.) from the Ad-
ministration, controlling the ministry, "intercept-
ing the favour, protection, and confidence of the
Crown, . . . coming between them and their
KING
KNTC,
importance in Parliament, . . . the whole system
called the Double Cabinet" and "throwing
everything more and more into the hands of the
interior managers." Burke, Present Discontents.
King's Quhair, i.e. Quire. A collection of
love- verses of great beauty and merit, written by
James I. of Scotland (assassinated A.D. 1437),
in imitation of Petrarch.
King Stork. The stork sent by Jupiter to
rule the frogs, when dissatisfied with King Log
(q.v.). K. S. began at once to gobble up his
subjects.
King's yellow. Orpiment.
Kingwood. A violet-streaked Brazilian wood
used in turnery, etc.
Kino. [E. -Indian word.] An astringent ex-
tract obtained from certain tropical trees.
Kiosk. [Turk.] 1. An open Turkish sum-
mer-house, consisting of a roof supported on light
pillars. 2. Such a structure used as a news-
paper stall or flower stall in Paris, etc. [Pers.
and Turk, kouchk, a "belvedere" (Littre).]
Kipper. A salmon split open, salted, and
dried or smoked.
Kips. The skins of young animals for tanning.
Kirk. The Scottish form of the word Church,
connoting also the Presbyterianism of the Estab-
lishment.
Kirschwasser. [Ger., cherry '-water, ] A
spirituous liquor made by fermenting the sweet
and small black cherry.
Kirtle. [A.S. cyrtel, Dan. kiortel.] A jacket
or short gown, a mantle, an outer petticoat.
Kifih. A substance like plumbago, which
forms in a blast furnace.
Kismet. [Ar., it is decreed.] Mohammedan
expression of resignation to what is fated.
Kissing-crust. A projecting piece of upper
crust which has touched another loaf in baking.
Kist. [Hind.] An instalment of tax or rent
paid by ryots in India to Government.
Kit. 1. (Mil.) The whole of the necessaries
carried by a soldier in his knapsack. [For K.
in the sense of a collection, a brood, cf. D.
kudde, a flock, Bav. kiitt, and Ger. kette, a
covey of partridges (Wedgwood).] 2. A small
violin, about sixteen inches long, used by dancing-
masters ; (?) carried in the kit or pocket. K.
is in Fr. pochette.
Kit-oat. Canvas measuring twenty-nine inches
by thirty-six, for portrait-painting.
Kit-Cat Club. Circ. 1688 ; at first simply con-
vivial, afterwards in Queen Anne's reign exclu-
sively political, its members devoted to the
Hanoverian succession ; among them were
Addison, Steele, Walpole, etc. (Christopher
Cat supplied the club with mutton pies.) Sir
G. Kneller, a member, accommodated a new-
sized canvas to the height of the walls ; hence
Kit-cat, = three quarters' length.
Kitchen-middings, Kjdkken-middings (Mid-
den), Shell-mounds, of Denmark. Refuse-heaps
Neolithic containing all kinds of household
objects, either thrown away or lost ; but not any
remains of extinct animals, nor any trace of
metal.
Kite. [Welsh cud, O.E. cyta, (?) from its
chiding cry.] 1. (Orni/h.) Miivus vulgaris
[L., common kite], a bird of the sub- fain.
Aquilinse, twenty to twenty-six inches long ;
reddish-brown forked tail. Fam. Falconidje, ord.
Accipitres. 2. (Ichth.) Rhombus [Gr., dia-
mond-shape] vulgaris [L., common}, the brill,
a fish of the fam. PleuronecthUu, smaller than
turbot ; colour light^ and dark brown, speckled
with white. Ord. Anacanthini, sub-class Tele-
ostel.
Kiteflying. [Amer.] An expression well
known to mercantile men of limited means or
who are short of cash. It is a combination
between two persons, neither of whom has any
funds in bank, to exchange each other's cheques
which may be deposited in lieu of money, taking
good care to make their bank accounts good
before their cheques are presented for payment.
Bartlett's A mericanisms,
Kith.. [A.C. cyiS, Ger. kunde, acquaintance,
knowledge, from A. S. cunnan, to ken, know.]
Acquaintance, people whom one knows.
Kit's Coty House. A well-known cromlech
(q.v.) between Maidstone and Rochester.
Kittiwake. (So named from its cry.) Spec,
of gull, fifteen or sixteen inches long; plumage
grey and white, varying with age and season,
hind toe rudimentary. Widely distributed.
Larus tridactylus [Gr. rpels, three, SaK-ruAos,
finger, toe], gen. Larus [Gr. and L., gull], fam.
Laridse, ord. Anseres.
Kiwi-kiwi. (Native name.) (Apteryx.)
Klaus, Peter. A German goatherd of Sitten-
dorf, whom a magic draught sent to sleep for
twenty years.
Kleptomania. [Coined from Gr. K\firrw, /
steal, pavia, madness.] A morbid desire to steal,
in persons neither poor nor uneducated.
Kloof. [Boer.] A cleft, or rocky ravine, in
S. Africa.
Knapsack. [(?) Ger. knappe, a journeyman,
sack, bag.] (Mil.) Waterproof receptacle car-
ried on the back or loins of an infantry soldier,
to contain spare clothing and necessaries.
Knee. In ship-building, is an angular piece of
wood or iron, connecting the deck-beams with
the ribs of the vessel.
Knee ; K.-timber. A knee. In K.-timber, the
bend has been produced naturally in the growth
of the tree.
Knee-rafter, Crook-rafter. (Arch.) A rafter
of which the lower end is crooked downwards
to rest more firmly on the wall.
Knife-board. The outside seat along the
front of an omnibus, with the driver's box in the
middle ; so called from the shape of the foot-
board.
Knight-heads. (Naut.) 1. Two large timbers
for supporting the bowsprit, rising above and on
each side of the stem, i.q. Bollard timbers. 2. In
merchant ships, the bitts supporting the ends
of the windlass, on the main-deck. 8. The
lower jear-blocks, which were formerly bitts with
sheaves in them.
Knight of the shire, K. of Parliament. A
county M.P. ; town members being Burgesses.
Knight-service. (I-cg-) Tenure in chivalry,
KNIG
KYLE
created by investiture with a Knighfs fee of
twelve plough-lands, i.e. 800 or 680 acres, worth
20 a year, the tenant giving homage, fealty,
and forty days' military service a year, and
eventually other harassing services. This tenure
did not always imply the amount of land
mentioned.
Knight's fee. (Knight-service.)
Knights Hospitaller, K. of St. John "of Jeru-
salem, K. of H nodes, K. of Malta. (Hospitaller.)
Knittles. (Naut.) Small lines used as points
for reefing, etc.
Knobkiri. A club varying in length from one
to six feet, terminated by a knob, and used, the
smaller ones as missiles, by the natives of
S. Africa.
Knob-stick. A man who does not belong to
a trades-union, and who works during a strike.
Knot [Akin to L. nodus.] (Naut.) 1. K, to
be tied. (Hitch.) 2. K. on the log- line is the
-r^gth of a Geog. or Naut. mile. Hence the
number of knots run per half-minute gives the
number of miles per hour, which are conse-
quently termed knots, and = 2025 yards ap-
proximately.
Knott. In names of places, = a small round
hill, as in Ling Knott.
Knout. [Russ.] A whip, consisting of a
handle two feet long, a leather thong four feet
long, with a metal ring at the end to which the
striking part is attached, i.e. a flat tongue of
hardened hide two feet long. It is used for
torturing human beings.
Know-nothings. Founded, 1853, by an ex-
midshipman, Ned Buntline. A secret, exclusive,
political order ; none to be admitted whose
grandfathers were not American natives ; in
answer to every question, they "knew nothing."
They maintained (i) repeal of all naturalization
laws ; (2) none but native Americans for office ;
(3) a pure American common school system ;
(4) war on Romanism. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Knubs. Waste silk formed in winding off the
threads from a cocoon.
Knur, Knurl, Knar. [Cf. Ger. knorren.] 1.
A knot, a hard lump. 2. A slender club used
in the Yorkshire game of K. and spell.
Koala. 1. A name for the jackal in the
Marathi language. 2. (Wombat.)
Kobold. A German word denoting a spectre,
and answering to the Eng. goblin.
Kobus. (Zool.) A gen. of cervicaprine ante-
lope. Trop. Africa.
Koff. (Naut.) A large Dutch coaster, two-
masted, with spritsails.
Koodoo, Kudu. (Zool.) Tragelaphus strepsi.
ceros, one of the handsomest of bovine antelopes.
African highlands, from Abyssinia seawards.
Fam. Bovidse, ord. Ungulata.
Kookrie. Broad-bladed knife, with concave
edge and sharp point, used for all purposes by
the Ghoorkas of the Himalayas.
Kopeck, or Copek. [Russ.] The hundredth
part of a rouble, and = i farthing of English
money.
Koppa. Name of a letter of the oldest Greek
alphabets, which fell into disuse. It is preserved
in Latin, etc., as q; cf. Heb. koph. It is
written Q, and was used by the grammarians
to represent the numeral 90. (Sampi.)
Koprology. [Gr. Kfapos, dung, \6yos, dis-
course.} The doctrine of the evil effects of animal
or vegetable decomposition of any kind.
Koracora. (Naut.) A Molucca vessel, com-
mon in the Malays, broad-beamed, with high
stem and stern, and an outrigger.
Kosmos. [Gr. <c<5o>os.] (Cosmos.)
Koth. A shiny earthy substance, ejected from
some S.- American volcanoes.
Koumiss. [Native word.] A spirituous drink
distilled from mare's milk, used by the Tartars.
Kowtow, Kootoo, Kotou. [Chin.] A bowing
to the earth in deferential self-abasement.
Kraal. [D.] In S. Africa, an inclosure, a
collection of huts in a stockade.
Krabla. (Naut.) A Russian vessel, used in
the Arctic fishery.
Krang, Kreng. The fleshy part of a whale
after the blubber has been removed.
Kremlin, The. A palace at Moscow, begun
1367 ; fortified 1492. Burnt during the occupa-
tion of Napoleon I., 1812; rebuilt, 1816.
Krems. Crems, Kremnitz white. A white
carbonate of lead (from Crems, in Austria).
Kreosote, Creosote. [Gr. Kpeas, flesh, a&fa, I
preserve.} A principle in pyroligneous acid and
all the tars, having the property of preserving
animal matter ; used externally and internally.
Kreutzer. [Ger.] The sixtieth part of a Ba-
varian and the hundredth part of an Austrian
florin ; formerly stamped with a cross [Ger.
kreuz].
Kriss-Kringle. [Ger. Christ Kindlein, the
Infant Christ.} The German for child is kind,
of which the diminutive is kindlein or kindchen.
This, in some parts of Germany and in Pennsyl-
vania, has been formed into kindel, and the
children are promised gifts at Christmas from
" Christ-Kindel." Bartlett's Americanisms.
Kroomen, or Crew-men. (Naut.) Fishmen.
An African tribe, British subjects, Cape Palmas ;
they get in wood and water where the climate
is dangerous for Europeans.
Kruller. A curled crisp cake fried in fat.
Kshatrya. (Caste.)
Kudos. [Gr. cC5os.] Honour, glory.
Kufic letters. The characters of the ancient
Arabic alphabet ; so called from Kufa, a town on
the Euphrates.
Kulian. [Hind.] A kind of pipe for smoking.
Kummerbund. [Hind.] A girdle.
-kund. [Hind.] Part of names, = province,
as in Bundel-kund.
Kupfer-schiefer. Copper-slate. (Geol.) A
member of the Permian system in Germany ; a
source of copper from time immemorial ; repre-
sented in England by the marl-slate of Durham.
Kutkubala. A mortgage-deed in India.
Kyanizing. (From Kyan, the inventor.)
Saturating wood with a solution of corrosive
sublimate, to preserve it from dry-rot.
Kyle. A district extending across the middle
of Ayr county, from the Norman to the Stuart
period.
KYLE
285
LACT
Kyley. [Austral.] A boomerang.
Kylin. A Chinese four-footed scaly monster,
with dragon-like head and serrated back, sup-
posed to bring good luck.
Kyloes. 1. Ferries between the mainland and
western isles of Scotland. 2. The cattle from
those districts.
Zyrie, The. [Gr. Kvpif, O Lord!} 1. A term
applied to the Lesser, or Short, Litany ; and
sometimes, 2, applied also to the expanded form
of Kyrie elecson, which forms a responsory to the
ten commandments in the Book, of Common
Prayer. (Litany ; Liturgy.)
Kyriological. [Gr. KvpioXoymos, describing
literally.'} A term denoting that class of
Egyptian hieroglyphics in which a simple pic-
ture represents the thing meant ; in contrast with
tropical or symbolical representation.
L. As an abbrev. among the Romans, stood
for the prsenomen Lucius ; sometimes also for
lex, latum, libens, libertus, etc. The form
L.L. S. denoted a Sestertium. As a numeral, it.
stands for 50.
Laager. [Boer.] A temporary defensive in-
closure, formed of waggons, in S. Africa.
Labadists. (Hist.) A sect of the seventeenth
century ; so called from Jean Labadie. They
resembled the Quietists.
Labarum (?). The standard of Constantine,
made in commemoration of the alleged vision of
the cross in the heavens ; said to have been a
lance, with transverse rod, from which hung a
purple veil ; above it, a golden crown encircled
the monogram XP, i.e. CHR. The word was
also written Laborum, as the Gr. forms are
\a/3ap<)v and AajSwpop.
Labdacism. [L. labdacismus, from \6&5a,
\<i/j.p8a, AA, LI.} (Lang.) 1. Frequent repeti-
tion of L. 2. A wrong pronunciation of L ; as
when pronounced like //, ly, yy.
Label. [L. labellum, a little lip.} 1. (Her.)
A Fillet, with three or more pendants, borne as
the difference in the eldest son's escutcheon.
2. (Arch.) (Dripstone.)
Labial. [L. labia,a/z'A] (Lang.) Articulated
with the lips ; as the vowels u (oo), o, and the
consonants /, p-h, b, b-h, m, the Mod. Gr. <p,
Ger. w.
Labialization. (Labial.) (Lang.} The ten-
dency to change or the process of changing ar-
ticulate sounds to labials or labiodentals ; as i.e.
Skt. atvar to Goth, fidvor, Eng.ybur ; Skt. gaus
to &ovs, bos, ox.
Labiate [L. labia, a lip} plants. (JBot.) An
ord. of exogens, with corolla divided into upper
and lower lips ; as rosemary, dead-nettle, snap-
dragon, etc.
Labiodental. [L. labium, a lip, dens, -tern, a
tooth. } Pronounced by co-operation of the lips
and teeth.
Labiolingual. [L. labiae, lips, lingua, tongue.'}
Sounds articulated by rounding or slightly pro-
truding the lips, while the tongue takes some
vowel position ; w, hw. Perhaps u, o, are better
called L. than labials.
Labor onmia vincit improbus. [L.] Obstinate
labour conquers everything (Virgil).
Laborum dulce levamen. [L.] Sweet soothing
of my toils (Horace).
Labouring force. Mechanical work. (Work.)
Labrador felspar, Labradorite. (Geol.) A
lime-felspar, with beautiful chatoyant play of
colours.
Labrador series. (Laurentian.)
Labyrinth. [Gr. \a$vpiv6os.\ 1. Properly a
place full of inextricable windings, as the L. of
Daedalus. (Daedalean.) 2. (Anal.) The in-
ternal ear, the cochlea and semicircular canals ;
so called from their complexity. 3. A system
of canals through which water is transmitted
so as to carry off and deposit in certain places
the ground ore of a metal.
Labyrinthodon. (Cheirotherium.)
Lac. [Hind.] One hundred thousand rupees.
Lao. [Pers. lak.] A resinous substance,
produced mainly on the banyan tree, by the
puncture of a small insect. Stick lac is the sub-
stance in its natural state, incrusting small
twigs. When broken off and boiled in alkali,
the residuum is called seed lac. When melted
and reduced to a thin crust, it is called shell lac,
or shellac. Barbados lac is petroleum from the
W. Indies.
Lacerta. [L., a lizard.} (Zool.) Gen. of
lizard, giving name to fam. Lacertidoc, land-
lizards, and to ord. Lacertilia.
Lacertus. [L.] (Anat.) The upper muscular
part of the arm.
Laches. [Fr. lacher, to slacken.} In Law,
negligence, delay ; e.g. in an heir to enter ; a
ground for refusing relief in courts of equity.
(Vigilantibus.)
Laconism. A short and pithy sentence or
adage ; so called from the Spartans (Laconians),
whose speech was thought to be characterized by
such sayings.
Lacquer. A solution of shell lac in spirit,
with gamboge, etc., forming a yellow varnish for
brass and other metals.
Lacrosse. (Crosse, La.)
Lacryma Chfisti. [L., tear of Christ.} A
dark red Italian wine, much praised.
Lacrymatory. [L.L. lacrymatorium, from
lachryma, Gr. SaKpvfia, a tear.} (Ant.) A name
given to small, narrow-necked vessels found in
ancient sepulchres, which were supposed to con-
tain the tears of the mourners, with the ashes of
the dead.
Lactation. [L. lacto, / suckle.} Suckling ;
the act or the period.
LACT
286
Lacteals. (Absorbents.)
Lactic acid. An acid procured from milk
[L. lac].
Lactometer. A hydrometer made specially
for finding the specific gravity of milk, and
thereby determining its value.
Lactose. [L. lac, lactis, milk.] Sugar ob-
tained by evaporating milk.
Lacuna. A small opening, gap, hiatus.
Lacustrine. Belonging to a lake [L. lacus].
(Lake-dwellings.)
Lade. (Naut.) To L. & boat, i.q. to bale it
out, or empty it of water. L.-gorn, or L.-pail, a
bucket with a long handle, to L. with.
Laden. (Naut.) Having a full cargo. L. in
bulk, with the cargo not inclosed in casks,
bales, etc., but loose in the hold.
Ladia. (iVaut.) A clumsy Russian boat, used
for inland carrying trade.
Ladino. (Lang.) A mixed Latin dialect of
the Upper Engadine, distinct from Romansch.
Ladr one-ship. [It., robber, L. latronem.]
(Naut.) Strictly a pirate, but used by the
Chinese to signify a man-of-war.
Lady. [A.S. hlaefdige.] The wife of the lord,,
A.S. hlaford, perhaps = hlafweard, -warder of
bread. Max Muller, Lectures on Language, 2nd
series.
Lady Bountiful. A benevolent old lady in
Farquhar's Beaux 's Stratagem, who goes about
making all kinds of cures.
Lady chapel. A chapel dedicated to the
honour of the Virgin Mary, often placed to the
east of the choir or chancel of churches.
Lady Huntingdon's Connexion. (White-
fieldians.)
Lady of the gunroom. (Naut.) The gunner's
mate.
Lady's smock, i.e. our Lady's smock. (Cuckoo
flower.)
Lagado. In Swift's Gulliver's Travels, a city
famous A its academy of projectors, who plan
scientificroipossibilities.
Lagan. (Flotsam; Ligan.)
Lager beer. [Ger. lager, store, bier, beer."\
A German beer, which is kept in store for some
months before drinking.
Lagging. The clothing of steam boilers, etc. ,
to prevent radiation of heat.
Lagomys. [Gr. \aytas, hare, /tuy, mouse.]
(Zool.) Calling hare, or pika. Gen. of moun-
tain rodent, giving name (Lagomyidae) to a fam.
of which it is the only gen., ranging from the
size of the rat to that of the guinea-pig. Ural
Mountains, Himalayas, Siberia, Rocky Moun-
tains.
Lagoon, or Lagune. [L. lacuna, a natural
cavity, a pool.] 1. The sea-water inclosed by
the ring of coral land which forms a coral island.
2. The lagoons at Venice are the channels
formed by the sea between the marshy places
near the city.
La grande nation. [Fr.] The great nation ;
i.e. the French.
Laid paper. Writing-paper having a surface
as it were inlaid with lines. It is called cream-
laid or blue-laid from its colour.
Laid-to. (Naut.) Sometimes used for have-
to ; but, when laid-to, the sails are kept full.
Laissez aller. [Fr.] Let go.
Laissez faire. [Fr.] JM do.
Lake-dwellings ; Crannoges, Ireland and Scot-
land ; Pfahlbauten, Pile-dwellings, Switzerland.
Fortified islands, stockaded villages, built upon
piles ; stone and bronze ages, and perhaps iron.
(See Herodotus, v. 1 6, an account of Lake
Prasias. )
Lakes. [Fr. laque.] Insoluble compounds
of animal or vegetable colouring matter, with
hydrate of alumina or other metallic oxide.
Lake school. Originally a contemptuous, now
a recognized, name for the school of poets of
whom Wordsworth, Southey, Coleridge, were
the most eminent ; they lived chiefly at the
English lakes.
Lallation. [L. lallare, to sing, lullably ; cf.
Gr. \a\ew, to prattle.] (Lang.) Pronouncing /
instead of r, A. for p, as Alcibiades was said
to do.
Lama. A Mongol name for priests in general.
The Grand Lama, who resides at Lassa, in
Thibet, is called the Delai Lama. (Talapoins.)
Lambdacism. (Labdacism.)
Lambeth Articles. Nine Calvinistic state-
ments, drawn up at Lambeth, 1595, by Arch-
bishop Whitgift and others.
Lambeth degrees. Those conferred, in any
of the faculties, by the Archbishop of Canter-
bury.
Lambrequins. [Fr., a Flemish word for a
veil or mantle. (Her.) The mantling of an
escutcheon.
Lamellibranchiata, Lamellibrancbiates. [L.
lamella, dim. of lamina, a plate, Gr. fipdyx'*,
gills.] (Zool.) Conchtfera, Acephala, headless
bivalve molluscs, with lamellar gills, as oysters.
Lamellirostrals, Lamellirostres. [L. lamella,
dim. of lamina, a plate, rostrum, a bill]
(Ornith.) A tribe or fam. of water-birds (e.g.
ducks), viewed as characterized by small laminae,
or plates, set round the margin of their man-
dibles.
Lamia. [L,- and Gr.] Imaginary beings of
Gr. and L. Myth., resembling Vampires.
Lamiidae (from their strange appearance).
(Lamia.) (Entom.) Subdivision of Longicorn
beetles, living on timber trees.
Lamina, [L., a thin layer.] (Bot.) The
blade of a leaf; the upper part of a clawed
petal ; e.g. pink.
Laminated. [L. lamina, a thin layer.]
Divisible into thin layers or plates.
Lammas Day. August i, one of the four cross-
quarter days, a festival of the Romish Church
in memory of St. Peter's imprisonment.
(? Lattermath, or Loaf-mass, A.S. hlaf-msesse,
thanksgiving for firstfruits of corn, or from the
custom of bringing a lamb alive into the church
at High Mass this day, John xxi. 15.)
Lammergeier. [Ger., lamb-vulture.] (Ornith.)
Bearded vulture, Gier eagle. (Bibl.) Largest
bird of prey of Old World; greyish brown,
dashed with white above, nearly white below.
Gypaetos [Gr. 7wf, vulture, a.rr6s, eagle] bar-
LAMP
287
LA PI
batus [L., bearded], sub-fam. Vulturinse, fam.
Vultiiridse, ord. Accipitres.
Lampadephoria. [Gr., a torch-bearing.}
(Hist.) A celebrated torch-race at Athens. If
the torch of the runner, who had to hand it on
unextinguished to another, went out, he lost the
race.
Lampas. In horses, inflammation of the bars
of the mouth, especially in young horses, while
shedding teeth or putting up the tushes, some-
times from overmuch corn after a run at grass ;
the mucous membrane of the mouth swelling
and projecting below the level of the nippers.
Lampoon. [Fr. lampon, a drinking song.]
A satire pointed with a strong personal feeling
against individuals, as distinguished from the
Satire, directed against vice and folly.
Lampshells. (ZooL) TVrebrdt&lidtz [L., dim.
of terebra, borer] ; fam. of bivalves, having un-
equal but symmetrical valves, pierced at the
beak, and full of minute holes. Earliest known
form of animal life. All seas. Class Brachio-
poda.
Lan-. (Llan-.)
Lanate, Lanated. [L. lana, wool.] Having
woolly hair.
Lance. (Mil.) Long spear at one time
eighteen feet, now nine feet three inches some-
times ornamented with a flag ; used by cavalry.
Five regiments of light cavalry are at present so
armed.
Lance-corporal. (Corporal.)
Lancelot. (Sangreal.)
Lanceolate leaf. [L. lanceolatus, having a
lanceSla, small lance.] Like a lance-head ; e.g.
the lanceolate pinnate frond of lady-fern.
Lancet style. (Geometrical style.)
Lanchang. A proa of Malay, carrying from
twenty-five to thirty men.
Lancinating pains ; opposed to dull or
aching (wrongly formed from lancea, a lance).
(Med. ) Piercing as if with a sharp instrument.
[Lancination properly means tearing in pieces ;
L. lancino, / tear, rend. ]
Landamman. [Ger. landamtman, country
office-man.] 1. The President of the Swiss
Federal Diet. 2. The chief magistrate of some
Swiss cantons.
Landau (first made at Landau, in Ger-
many). A four-wheeled carriage, whose upper
part can be opened and thrown back.
Landes. [Fr., Ger. lande.] Waste lands,
especially the desolate unproductive tracts on
the Bay of Biscay, between the Gironde and the
Pyrenees.
Landgrave. [Ger. landgraf.] A title as-
sumed by some German counts in the twelfth
century, to distinguish themselves from the in-
ferior counts under their jurisdiction. This was
the origin of the Landgraves of Thuringia and
Elsas (Alsace).
Landlouper. [Cf. Dan. landlooper, country
runner, Ger. laufen, to run.] A vagrant, a
vagabond, land-lubber.
Landsman. (Naut.) The old rating for a
man who had never been at sea before, now
rated second-class ordinary.
Landsturm. (Levee en masse.)
Landwehr. [Ger., land-defence.] Militia.
Langued. (Her.} Having a tongue [Fr.
langue] different in colour from the body.
Langue d'oc. (Lang.) The dialect of Pro-
vence, also called Romance ; opposed to the less
Roman Langue d'oyl of Frankish-Gaul. The
former used oc [L. hoc] where the latter used
oyl [illud]. (Troubadours,)
Langue d'oyl. (Langue d'oc ; Trouveres.)
Laniard, Lannier, or Lanyard. [Fr. laniere, a
thong or strap.] (Naut.) Pieces of rope or
line made fast to anything as a handle, or to
secure it.
Lamidae. [L. lanius, a butcher.] (Ornith.)
Shrikes, butcher-birds. Fam. of Dentirostrals,
ord. Passeres.
Lanista. [L.] A trainer of gladiators.
Lansquenet, Lasquenet. [Ger. landsknecht,
country boy.] 1. Originally a German camp fol-
lower, a German mercenary foot-soldier. 2. A
game at cards ; called also Lambskinnet.
Lantern. [L. lanterna.] In Eccl. Arch.,
the central tower of a church is so called when
it is open internally to the top, as in Canterbury
Cathedral and York Minster.
Lantern, or Lantern-wheel. Consists of two
parallel discs with equidistant holes cut in them
near their circumferences ; into these holes cylin-
drical wooden pegs are passed, so that the whole
forms a sort of cage ; the wheel or cage thus
formed serves as a follower to work with an
ordinary driving toothed wheel.
Lantern of Aristotle (described by A.). In-
ternal skeleton of globular sea-urchin, carrying
five incisor teeth like those of rodents.
Lanthanum, Lantanum, Lantanium, Lantha-
nium. A metal found with cerium, whereby its
properties were at first hidden [Gr. XavQavtiv, to
lie hid].
Lanuginous. [L. lanuginosus, from lanug-
inem, soft down, woolly substance, from lana,
wool.] (Anat. and Sot.) Downy.
Lanx. [L.] A platter, a dish.
Laocoon. [Gr.] (Myth.) A Trojan priest
who tried to dissuade his countrymen from ad-
mitting the wooden horse within the walls of
Troy, and who was crushed by the folds of an
enormous snake which destroyed his two sons
with him. The story has gained celebrity from
the ancient sculpture representing it, which is
now in the Vatican.
Lap. A piece of soft metal used to hold (as
in a lap) powder for cutting gems or polishing
cutlery. It is usually in the form of a revolving
wheel.
Lapidary. [L. lapid, -em, a stone.] One who
cuts, polishes, and engraves precious stones.
Lapides Judaici. [L.] Stones of Judaa,
siliceous accretions, sometimes shaped exactly
like little loaves of bread (see Matt. vii. 9 ;
Luke iv. 3).
Lapis lazuli, Lazulite. [It. azzuolo, dark blue. ]
A mineral, crystalline and massive, of beautiful
azure or ultramarine ; much used anciently
for engraving, etc. ; found in many parts of the
world ; (?) the sapplurus of antiquity. (For
LAPI
288
LATE
different statements of analysis, see English
Cyclopedia.)
Laplthae. [Gr. \cnrt6cu.] A mythical people,
who are said to have had many contests with
the Centaurs.
Lapping. [O.E. to lap, = to wrap.] Wrap-
ping material used by calico-printers.
Lapscourse. (Lobscouse.)
Lapse. [L. lapsus, a slip.~\ (Eccl.) The
omission of a patron to present to a benefice
within six months of avoidance ; the right then
devolves to the bishop. If bishop omit, then to
archbishop ; if archbishop, then to the Crown.
Lapstone. A stone held in the lap, on which
shoemakers beat leather.
Lapsus calami. [L.] A slip of the pen,
Lapsus linguae. [L.] A slip of the tongue.
Laputa. In Swift's Gulliver's Travels, an
aerial island, moved and guided by a huge load-
stone, and full of absent-minded philosophers.
Lapwing. [Heb. duklphath ; Lev. xi. 19.]
(Bibl.) The hoopoe, Upupa gpops; about
thirteen inches long, buff, barred with black and
white, buff crest tipped with black. Fam.
Upupidse, ord. Passeres.
Laquais. [Fr.] Footman, lackey.
Laquais de place. [Fr.] Cicerone, guide.
Laquear. [L.] (Arch.) A ceiling, with
hollowed or depressed compartments divided by
spaces or bands, a fretted ceiling ; originally one
of the depressed compartments themselves.
Larboard. (A-beam.)
Larbolins. (Starbolins.)
Larceny. [L. latrocinium.] Theft, abstrac-
tion and appropriation of personal property
belonging to others, a species of felony. L.
under the value of I2d. used to be called petit;
otherwise, grand.
Larding money. Paid yearly by tenants of
Bradford Manor, Wilts., for liberty to feed their
hogs with the mast of the lord's wood.
Lares. [L.] (Myth.) 1. The Latin house-
hold gods, regarded as the spirits of deceased
ancestors. 2. Latin gods of the city, the roads,
etc., an extension of the same idea to the country
generally. (Penates.)
Largess. [Fr. largesse, L. largitio, from
largus, large."} Bestowal, a gift. Commonly
used in the knightly language of the Middle
Ages.
Lariat. [Sp. la reata.] A rope made with
thongs of raw hide twisted or braided, and some-
times of sea-grass, used for catching and picket-
ing wild horses or cattle. Some writers incor-
rectly say a riata. It is also called a lasso.
Bartlett's Americanisms.
Laridae. (Larus.) (Ornith.) Gulls and
terns ; fam. of shore-birds. Universally dis-
tributed. Ord. Anseres.
Larmier. [Fr.] (Arch) A dripstone, to
carry off the rain [larmes, tears of water]. The
same as Lorymer.
La royne le veult. The old Norm. Fr. used
by the Clerk of the Parliaments in giving, on
behalf of the Queen, her royal assent to Acts
is : to Acts granting public money, commonly
called Money Hills, " La royne remercie ses bons
sujets, accepte leur benevolence, et ainsi le
veult," The Queen thanks her good subjects,
accepts their aid, and assents ; to all other public
Acts, and to such private A. as Railway Com-
pany A., Acts for towns and gas, water, etc.,
simply " La royne le veult," The Queen assents ;
to A. affecting private individuals, their rights,
estates, naturalization, etc., " Soit fait comme il
est desire," Be it done as desired ; upon a
petition demanding a right, whether public or
private, " Soit droit (the right) fait comme il est
desire."
L'art pour 1'art. [Fr.] Art for art ; said of
the practice of an art or science for its own
sake, without regard to any object or result.
Larus. [L., Gr. \apos.] (Ornith.) Gull.
Large and universally distributed gen. of Larida
(q.v.).
Larva. [L., a ghost, a mask.] (Entom.)
An insect as it emerges from the egg ; e.g. a
caterpillar.
Larvae. [L.] The name given by the Romans
to the spectres of the dead.
Laryngoscope. [Gr. Aapu-yl, and <r*coW, /
look at.] An instrument, having two mirrors,
for viewing the larynx.
Laryngotomy. [Gr. \apvyyoro/jila, \dpvy^,
larynx, rofi-fi, a cutting.] The operation of
opening or cutting into the larynx.
Larynx. [Gr. \dpvy.] The organ of voice
itsparts many and complex between the trachea,
or windpipe, and the base of the tongue.
Lasciate ogni speranza, voi, che 'ntrate. [It.]
Abandon all hope, ye who enter ; ending of in-
scription over the gate of hell (Dante's Inferno,
canto iii.).
Laskets. (Naut.) Small lines sewn to the
bonnets and drablers, to secure them to each
other and the bonnets to the sails.
Lasks. 1. Indian cut stones. 2. Diarrhoea
(in old books).
Lassitude. [L. lassitude, from lassus, akin to
laxus, loose.] Probably a state of relaxation;
hence the sense of heaviness or weariness.
Lasso. [Sp. lazo, from laqueus, a noose.] A
rope ending in a noose, used for catching wild
horses, etc. (Drag-ropes.)
Lasting. A very dtirable woollen stuff.
Latakia. A superior kind of tobacco, for
cigarettes, etc., from Latakia (Laodicea), in
Syria.
Latching keys. (Naut.) Loops on bonnet's
head-rope, for lacing it to the sail.
Lateat scintillula forsan. [L.] Perhaps a
tiny spark (of life) may lie concealed ; of the ap-
parently drowned. Motto of the Royal Humane
Society.
Laten sail. [Fr. voile latine.] (Naut.) A
triangular sail, having its foremost leech bent to
a yard, which hoists obliquely to the mast.
Latent heat [L. lateo, / lie hid] of a sub-
stance is the quantity of heat required to convert
a unit of mass of that substance from the solid
to the liquid (or from the liquid to the gaseous)
state without change of temperature.
Lateran. A church at Rome, originally a
palace of the family of the Laterani, seized by
LATE
289
LAUR
Nero and made an imperial residence ; bestowed
by Constantine on the popes. Eleven Councils
have been held in this basilica.
Lateran Councils. A term especially used of
five C. held in the Church of St. John Lateran,
at Rome; the last (1215), under Innocent III.,
established the Roman doctrine of the Eucharist,
using the word " transubstantiation." But
L. C., with Dr. Hook and others, = "all the
Councils of the Roman Church."
Laterem lavas. [L.] You are washing a
brick ; i.e. an unburnt brick ; you are making
bad worse.
Laterite. [L. later, d brick.} (Geol.) Dis-
integrated gneiss, generally red ; e.g. the indu-
rated, reddish clayish alluvium in many parts of
India.
Latet anguis in herba. [L.] A make lies
hidden in the grass.
Latex. [L., a liquid of any kind.] (Bot.)
The fluid of vegetation ; the sap.
Lathbrick. A long slender brick like a lath,
on which malt is placed in the drying kiln.
Lathe; Engine-L. ; Foot-L.; Hand-L. ; Power-L.
A machine for turning wood or metal. A
Foot-L. is worked by the foot acting on a
treadle. An Engine-L., or Power-L., is worked
by steam-power, and has an automatic feed for
bringing the substance to be shaped up to the
cutting tool. In a Hand-L. the cutting tool is
brought up to the material and guided by the
hand.
Lathes. [(?) A.S. gelathian, to assemble.]
Kent has from an early time been divided into
five territorial divisions called L., each of them
containing several hundreds : they formerly had
distinct courts superior to the hundred courts.
Lathrending. The business of making laths.
Lati-. [L. latus, broad.}
Latin. [L. latlnus, of Latium.} (Lang.) The
language of Rome and Latium.
Latin Church. (Eccl. Hist.} A name given
to the Church of Rome and the Churches in
communion with it, as distinguished from the
Eastern Church, Orthodox, or Greek.
Latin cross. (Cross.)
Latitat. [L., he keeps hid.} (Leg.} Name of
writ by which a person was summoned into
King's Bench (abolished in the reign of William
IV.) to answer a personal action, he in all cases
being supposed to be in hiding, so that he could
not be found in Middlesex.
Latitude [L. latitude, breadth} ; Astrono-
mical L. ; Circle of L. ; Geocentric L. ; Heliocen-
tric L. 1. (Astron.} The angular distance of a
heavenly body from the ecliptic, measured along
a great circle a Circle of L. at right angles to
the ecliptic : if the earth is supposed to be at the
centre, the latitude is Geocentric ; if the sun, Helio-
centric. 2. (Geog. } The Latitude, or Astronomical
L., is the angular distance of the zenith from the
equinoctial, measured along the meridian ; as the
earth is not a sphere, this is not the same as the
Geocentric L. , or the angle made with the equator
by a line joining the station to the earth's centre.
Latitudinarians. (Eccl. Hist.} A body of
English divines in the reign of Charles II., op-
posed both to the high tenets of the ruling party
in the Church, and to the extreme notions of the
Dissenters. Their position was defended by
Fowler, Bishop of Gloucester.
Latria. (Dulia.)
Latro latrunciilus. [L.] A draughtsman ;a
man, a pawn, in chess.
-latry = luorship, as in ulolatry, Mario/a/;^/
[Gr. \arpeia, service, worship}.
Latten. [Fr. laiton, It. latta, a sheet of tinned
iron.] 1. Sheet brass. 2. Thin iron plates
coated with tin.
Latter-day Pamphlets. By Thomas Carlyle ;
a very severe attack upon the political Govern-
ment of England ; written in 1850, and suggested
by the revolutionary events of 1848.
Latter-day Saints. Mormons (//.z>.) ; so styled
by themselves. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Lattermath. The same as Aftermath.
Latus clavus. [L.] The broad purple stripe
down the front of a Roman senator's tunic.
Laudato ingentia rura, Exiguum colito. [L.]
Commend large estates, cultivate a small one.
Laudator temporis acti. [L.] An admirer of
past times (Horace).
Laudatur ab his, culpatur ab illis, [L.] He
is praised by these, blamed by those.
Laudi spiritual!. [It.] The origin of madri-
gal music, certain motetts, psalms, etc., brought
out at Rome by desire of St. Philip Neri, A.D.
I5 6 3-
Lauds. (Canonical hours.)
Laughing-gas. Protoxide of nitrogen ; so
called because, when inhaled in small quantities,
it causes excitement, often accompanied with
laughter. Used as an anaesthetic by dentists.
Launch. (Xaut.) 1. The largest boat of a
man-of-war, corresponding to the long-boat of
a merchantman, but longer, lower, and more
flat-bottomed. 2. Steam-L. , a swift boat of
light draught.
Launders. [Fr. lavandier, a washerman.}
Tubes, gutters, etc., for the conveyance of water
in mines.
Laura. [Gr.] The inclosure or precincts of
a monastery in the Eastern Church. The ancient
lauras of Palestine were collections of cells for
hermits, who lived without any common monastic
rule (probably connected with \a^vpiv6os).
Laureate. [L. laureatus, crowned with laurel.}
The dignity of poet-laureate, bestowed in the
fourteenth century on Petrarch, is said to have
been suggested by the tradition of the crowning
of Virgil and Horace with laurel wreaths in the
Roman Capitol. In England, poets-laureate
were sometimes created by the universities as
well as by the king.
Laurel crown. Placed on the brow of a con-
queror or hero, as an emblem of victory.
Laurentian (covering the country north of
the St. Lawrence, Laurentius). (Geol.) Highly
metamorphosed rocks, crystalline, fossiliferous ;
gneiss, schist, marble, conglomerate, and graphite,
with trap-dykes, metallic ores, etc. Anterior to
the oldest Cambrian and Silurian ; the oldest
known fundamental series of the stratified
rocks. Divided theoretically into the Upper
u
LAUW
290
LEAP
Laurentian or Labrador series, and the Lower
Laurentian.
Lauwine. (Poet.) An avalanche ; Ger. Lau-
wine.
Lava. [It.] Any rock-material which flows,
melted, from a volcano ; usually either felspathic
(as pumice) or augitic (as black lava).
Lavacrum. [L.J (Eccl. Arch.) A name for
the Piscina.
Lavaret. 1. (Gwyniad.) 2. A name given
to Salmo oxyrrhyncus [Gr. o^p-pvy\os, sharp-
snouted}. North and Baltic Seas.
Lavatory. [L. lavatorium, from lavo, / wash.]
A washing-place.
Laver. [(?)Acorr. ofulva, sedge.} (Bot.) Name
of some edible seaweeds, especially Porphyra
vulgaris and P. laciniata, or Sloke [L. lacinia, a
lappet], the fronds of which furnish Purple L. ;
and Ulva latissima, Green L. Stewed or pickled,
and eaten With various condiments, especially in
the Hebrides. Porphyra, because of the purple
[Gr. irop<pvpfos] or violet colour produced by
spores, which fill the whole frond.
Laverock [O.K. laferc], abbrev. to Lark. Sky-
lark, Alauda arvensis [L. , lark of the cultivated
fields], Europe, Asia Minor, and N. Africa.
Gen. Alauda, fam. Alaudidae, ord. Passeres.
Law, Grimm's. (Grimm's law.)
Law, -law. [A.S. hlaw, an elevation.'} (Geog.)
Rising ground.
Law ; Laws of motion. 1. (Phys.) A general
proposition which enunciates any of the unvary-
ing coexistences or sequences observed in
natural phenomena ; e.g. the law of the reflexion
of light is that the angles of incidence and re-
flexion are in the same plane and are equal. In
some cases these laws are known by the names
of their discoverers, as Kepler's L., Boyle's L.,
Hooke's L., etc. 2. (Math.) The L. of a
series is the rule in accordance with which its
successive terms are derived. The Laws of
motion are three fundamental facts concerning
motion and the forces which produce it, enunci-
ated by Newton in the Introduction to the
Principia, under the head of " Axiomata sive
Leges Motus."
Law-calf. A pale buff leather, used for bind-
ing law-books.
Laxative. [L. laxo, / unloose. .} Gently
aperient.
Lay, To. (Naut.) To come, or go. As to
lay out on a yard is to go out towards the yard-
arms.
Lay brothers. Persons in convents who are
under the three vows but not in holy orders.
Lay days. (Naut.) Those allowed for load-
ing or unloading.
Layer. (Agr.) Clover, etc., sown and cut with
barley, its aftergrowth supplying green food.
Lay figure. A large wooden doll, having
joints, so that it can be placed in any attitude,
and used by artists as a model to hang drapery
on, etc.
Lay-stall. 1. A place where rubbish is laid.
2. A place in which cows are kept, as sometimes
in London.
Lay-to. (Lie-to.)
Lazar. (Lazzaroni.)
Lazaretto (Lazarus, New Testament). [It.]
In foreign seaports, a building for the reception of
those suffering from contagious, especially pesti-
lential, disease, and of their goods.
Lazarists. (Eccl. Hist.) A body of mission-
aries founded by St. Vincent of Paul, 1632 ; so
named from occupying the Priory of St. Lazarus,
at Paris.
Lazarus, St., Order of. A military religious
order, established for the care of lepers in lazar-
houses, especially in the Holy Land.
Lazy-bed. (Agr.) System of cultivating
potatoes in beds from four to six feet wide, sepa-
rated by spaces twelve or eighteen inches wide,
to supply soil for earthing up the crop.
Lazy-guy. (Naut.) A small tackle which
keeps the spanker-boom steady in fine weather,
Lazy-painter, a small rope used to secure a boat
in fine weather.
Lazzaroni. [It.] The poorer classes at
Naples ; so called from the Hospital of St.
Lazarus, which served as a refuge for the des-
titute in that city.
Leach. [O.E. leah.] 1. Wood ashes through
which water passing imbibes the alkali. 2. The
tub in which this process takes place.
Lead. [O.E.] Red lead is a compound of
oxide and dioxide of lead, used in glass-making
and as a pigment. White lead is carbonate of
lead, a common pigment. Sugar of lead is
acetate of lead, which has a sweet taste.
Lead or Leads of a rope. The direction or
directions in which it is led.
Lead, Sounding. A leaden weight, attached
to a line marked in fathoms, used to ascertain
depths. (Marks and deeps.)
Leader. (Anat.) A colloquial synonym of
tendon.
Leading note. (Music.) (Subtonic.)
Leading-part of a tackle. (Naut.) That
leading from block to block.
Leading question. In Law, one which sug-
gests the answer : these may be asked in cross-
examination only.
League. Three miles, generally three nautical
miles, or ^ of a degree. The length of the L.,
like that of the mile, is different in different
countries ; e.g. the old French L. (lieue com-
mune) is 5 ' s of a degree, but the nautical league
(lieue marine) was the ^ of a degree, and the
postal league (lieue de poste legale) 2000 toises.
League, Hanseatic. (Hanseatic League.)
League, The Holy. (/<>. Hist.) A political
association of the Roman Catholic party in the
reign of Henri III., 1575, for the overthrow of
the Protestant power.
League of Cambrai. (Cambrai, League of.)
League of the Public Weal. In Fr. Hist., an
alliance formed by the Duke of Britanny and
others against Louis XL, 1464. (Public Weal,
War of the.)
Leannoth. In the heading of Ps. Ixxxviii.,
for singing, for humbling, probably = requiring
some accompaniment suitable to a psalm of deep
affliction (Speaker's Commentary), (Mahalatb.)
Leap year. (Year.)
LEAS
291
LEJE
Lease. [L. laxare, to loose ; cf. Fr. laisser.'
To let, to demise for a reserved rent by a grant
or contract termed a lease, either for life, for a
term, or at will.
Leash. 1. A thong, loose string [Fr. laisse,
L. laxa.] 2, A L. of birds, three, a brace and
a half.
Leasing. [A.S. leas, empty, false.] Ps. iv. 2;
lying.
Leasing. [Ger. lesen, to gather.] Gleaning.
Leather-stocking. Natty Bumppo, a back-
woodsman in Cooper's novel The Pioneers.
Le bon temps viendra. [Fr.] The good time
ivill come.
Lecanomanoy. [Gr. Ae/cc^, bowl, /*ai/Te
divination.] Divination by throwing three
stones into a basin of water, with an invocation.
Leoca gum. (From Lecca, in Calabria.) A
gum obtained from the olive tree.
Lectlca. [L.] A litter.
Leotionary. In the English Prayer-book, the
list of lessons [L. lectiones] from the Old and
New Testaments to be read at Morning and
Evening Prayer daily.
Lectisternium. [L., from lectus, a bed, and
sternere, to spread.] (Hist.) An ancient Roman
religious ceremony, in which the statues of the
gods were, in times of disaster, placed on
couches, the gods themselves, it was supposed,
taking part in it.
Lectus genialis. [L.] The marriage-bed,
guarded by the Genius.
Lecythus. [Gr. \^Kvdos."\ An oil-Jlask.
Led-captain. (JVaut.) A parasite, a hanger-
on to a rich or titled personage.
Ledger. [A.S. leger, a bed, a laying down ;
cf. Ger. lager, Boer laager, Goth, ligrs.] (Com.)
A book in which accounts are finally entered,
summed, and recorded from the journal, waste-
book, etc.
Ledger lines. (Music.) Short additional
lines above and below the ordinary stave, origin-
ally drawn in " light " coloured lines [Fr.
leger, light] ; so a ledger is lit. a book with
light marginal lines.
Lee. [A word common to many Aryan lan-
guages, denoting a sheltered place.] (JVaut. )
The side away from the wind. Z. boards,
strong frames of plank, fastened one to each
side of flat-bottomed sailing-vessels, lowered,
when on a wind, and giving a gripe of the water.
L. gattge, To have the, to be to leeward of
another vessel.
Leech. A physician [A.S. Isece, a physician,
a reliever of pain, from lacnian, to heal]', the
medicinal L. being the same word.
Leeches. (JVaut.) The edges of a sail. L.-
lines, ropes fastened to the leeches of the main-
sail, foresail, and crossjack, used to truss up
those sails. L.-rope, the vertical part of the
Bolt-rope (q.v.).
Lee-hatch, Take care of the. (JVaut.) Don't
let her go to leeward of her course.
Leer. A furnace for annealing glass.
Leet. [A.S. leod, Ger. leute, the people, or
the lewd.] A court for preserving the peace by
the system of Frankpledge.
Lee tide. (Nant.) One running in the direc-
tion in which the wind blows. Opposed to
Weather tide.
Lsewardly. (JVaut.) A vessel inclined to
bag to leeward. Opposed to M'catherly.
Lee-way. (Nant.) The drift of a "vessel to
leeward. Angle of L.-IV., the deviation of her
true from her apparent course, owing to L.-W.
Left-handed marriage. (Morganatic marriage,)
Leg. (JVaut.) 1. The run made upon a single
tack. 2. A cringle to a leech-line.
Legacy. [L. legare, to bequeath.] (Leg.) A
gift of personal property by will.
Legal memory. Distinguished from living
memory, dates from 1189, the year of Richard
I.'s return from Palestine.
Legates. [L. legati.] In ancient Rom. Hist.,
(l) ambassadors : (2) officers who accompanied
the proconsuls and praetors into their provinces,
or aided the general in the management of his
army. (3) Officers exercising powers committed
to them by the pope, in foreign countries or
courts. (Nuncio.)
Legato. [It.] (Afusic.) Played or sung slur-
ringly, glidingly, smoothly ; opposed to Staccato.
Leg-bail, To give, means to escape from
custody, to run away.
Legend. [L. legenda, things to be read.] 1.
Any book is a legend ; but the word \vas applied
more especially to, 2, the records of saints and
martyrs, passages from which were read out in
the services of the Church. Such was the Golden
L., drawn up by Jacobus de Voragine, in the
thirteenth century. The term is now often used
to denote, 3, fictitious or doubtful narratives of
any kind.
Legerdemain. [Fr., lit. light of hand] Used
as subst., = slight of hand, tricks requiring a
light, quick hand.
Leghorn. A kind of plait for bonnets, etc.,
made of the straw of wheat cut while green and
dried (first made at Leghorn, Livorno).
Legion. [L. leglo, -nem.] The largest division
of the Roman army, consisting originally of ten
cohorts = thirty maniples = sixty centuries =
from 4200 to 6000 infantry ; with 300 cavalry.
Legion of Honour. (Fr. Hist.) An order of
merit, both military and civil, instituted by
Napoleon Bonaparte, when First Consul.
Legis constructio non facit injuriam. [L.]
(Leg. ) The construction of the lain does injury
to no man ; i.e. laws are to be interpreted and
applied equitably.
Legree. A cruel slave-dealer in Mrs. Stowe's
novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Legume. [L. legumen.] (Sot.) A plant having
two-valved fruit, dehiscing by sutures on the face
and back, like the pod of a pea, bearing its seeds
on the ventral suture only. Legnminoste, a very
extensive nat. ord., including peas, beans, lupins,
clover, acacia, tamarinds, etc.
Legumes. [Fr.] Vegetables.
Leigh, (-ley.)
Lejeu ne vaut pas la ohandelle. [Fr.] The
%ame is not worth the candle ; the reward of
success does not compensate one for the trouble
jestowed on winning it ; the thing doesn't pay.
LEL
292
LETT
L. E. L. Letitia Elizabeth Landon, afterwards
Mrs. Maclean, a writer of verses (1802-1838).
Leman, Lemman. A sweetheart ; formerly
leofmon [A.S. leof, beloved, man, a person, a
human being]. (Lief.)
Le mieux est I'ennemi du bien. [Fr.] The
test is the enemy of the good ; in pursuing greater
advantages we lose present advantages.
Lemma. [Gr. \rnjLfia, (0 a thing taken, as a
premiss, L. sumptio ; (2) a summary of contents.]
(Math.) A subordinate proposition introduced
as a digression into a mathematical book, in ex-
planation of the methods used in proving the
propositions which form the subject of the book ;
thus the lemmas or lemmata of the first sec-
tion of the first book of the Principia explain
the method of proof adopted by Newton in the
propositions of the second and subsequent sec-
tions which make up his subject : he introduces
other lemmas as he goes on.
Lemnian earth. A kind of bole from Lemnos ;
formerly sold in small cakes as a medicine.
Lemniseate. (Math.) The curve traced out by a
point moving in such a manner that the product
of its distances from two fixed points is constant.
Its form nearly resembles that of a figure of eight
(8), and is somewhat like a. fillet [Gr. \ijij. V'KTKOS].
Lemons, Salt of. (Chem.) Binoxalate of potash,
used for removing ink-stains.
Le mot d'enigme. [Fr.] The word of the riddle ;
the key to the puzzle or mystery.
Lemur. [L., a ghost.} (Zool.) A gen. ofstrep-
sirrhine [curved-nostril], generally small quadru-
manous mammals, giving the name Lemuroidea
to a sub-ord. of ord. Primates, specially charac-
teristic of Madagascar, and apparently indicating
a former connexion with India.
Lemures. [L.] (Myth.) Spirits of the dead,
which, in the belief of the Romans, had the
power of hurting the living. (Lamia; Larvae.)
Lens. [L., a lentil.} (Math.) A piece of
glass, such as a common magnifying glass, or
other transparent medium, generally of a circular
form, bounded by two surfaces of revolution
which have a common axis. In most cases
these surfaces are portions of spheres, or one of
them is plane. A lens has a positive focal length
when thinnest, a negative focal length when
thickest, in the middle. According to the posi-
tion of the centres of the spheres, the former
lenses may be double-concave, plano-concave
(concavo-plane), or convexo-concave ; the latter
may be double-convex, plano-convex (convexo-
plane), or concavo-convex.
Lent. The great fast of the Christian
Church ; so named from the A.S. lencten, Ger.
lenz, spring.
Lenticular. [L. lenticularis, like a little lentil.}
Having the form of an ordinary magnifying
glass, or double-convex lens.
Lentigo. [L. lens, a lentil.} Freckles.
Leonine City, Leonina Civitas. Pope Leo IV.,
circ. 850, walled round part of the Vatican Hill
and plain beneath, giving the new suburb to
some Corsican families as a refuge from the Sara-
cens. In 1146 Eugenius III. began a palace
near the Church of St. Peter for the papal
residence, which has grown into an immense
mass of buildings, known as the Vatican.
Leonine verse (invented by one of the Popes
Leo, or by a monk Leomnus). Latin hexameter
or pentameter, riming in the middle, as
" Daemon languebat, monachus tune esse volebat ;
Ast ubi convaluit, mansit ut ante fuit."
Leonnoys, Lionesse, Lyonnesse. A fabulous
country, contiguous to Cornwall, of chivalric
romances.
- Lepas, Lepadldae. [Gr. Aras, a limpet, as
clinging to Ae'iras, a bare rock.} (Zool.) Bar-
nacles, cirropod (i.e. filament-footed) crustaceans,
with a stalk or peduncle supporting the rest of
the animal in a calcareous shell.
Lepldodendron. [Gr. Aeiri's, a scale, husk,
StvSpov, a tree.} (Geol.) An important gen. of
fossil plants ; arborescent Lycopodiaceas.
Lepidoptera. [Gr. Xeiri's, -iSos, a scale, vrfp6y,
awing.} (Entom.) Ord. of insects, with four
wings, usually covered with microscopic scales.
Moths and butterflies.
Leporidae. [L. leporem, hare.} (Zool.) Fam.
of rodents ; hares and rabbits. Only one gen.,
many spec. Characteristic of N. hemisphere ;
a few in Africa, none (till introduced) in Aus-
tralia.
LeptO-. [Gr. Xi-mAs, fine, thin.}
Le roi est mort; vive le roi ! [Fr.] The king
is dead ; long live the king! illustrating the
absolute continuity of hereditary government.
Lesbia. Catullus's name for his mistress.
Lese majeste. [Fr.] High treason. (Leze
majesty.)
Les extremes se touchent. [Fr.] Extremes
meet.
Lesion. [L. Iggsio, -nem, an injuring.} (Med.)
Injury, derangement, structural or functional.
Lessee. (Leg.) One to whom property is let
on lease.
Lesser Bull, The. That of Pope Boniface
VIII. (1303) to Philip of France, claiming
collation to benefices, and asserting the king's
subordination in temporals as well as spirituals.
Its genuineness doubtful, but rendered probable
by the fact of the authenticity of Philip's an-
swer. Milman, Hist, of Latin Christianity, bk.
vii. 113.
Lessor. (Leg.) One who lets property to
another on lease.
Let (as used in Collect for Fourth Sunday
in Advent, and often in legal conveyances). To
impede, keep back [A.S. lettan, to hinder, to
make Iset, late, slow}.
L'etat c'est moi. [Fr.] The State is myself.
Lethe. [Gr., forgetfnlness.~\ (Myth.) The
river of Oblivion, of which they who drank, as
they entered the land of the dead, forgot their
former lives.
Letterpress. Printed words, as distinguished
from engravings.
Letters. Classical and polite literature,
arts.
Letters of marque. A commission granted
to private persons in time of war to make prize
of the enemy's ships and goods ; so named as
authorizing the capture of property beyond the
LETT
293
LEXP
Mark or frontier of the power which grants
commission.
Letters of orders. A certificate given by a
bishop, that he has ordained a certain person
priest or deacon.
Letters of reprisal I.q. Letters of marque (q.v.).
Letter-wood. The wood of a tree found in
Guiana, having black spots m it like letters.
Lettio. (Lang.) Name of a group of Indo-
European languages, near akin to Sclavonic,
including Old Prussian, Lithuanian, and Livo-
nian, or Lettish, all round the bend of the Baltic.
They show some of the most ancient Aryan
forms.
Lettish. (Lang.) Livonian. (Lettio.)
Lettre de change. [Fr.] Bill of exchange.
Lettres de cachet. [Fr.] Seated letters, espe-
cially of a royal order for the imprisonment, etc.,
of an obnoxious person.
Leucaemia. [Gr. \fvic6s, white, aTpa, blood.~]
(Med.) A want of colouring matter in the
blood ; but, according to some, an excess of
the white corpuscles.
Leuco-. [Gr. Xev/f^y, white."]
Levant. [Fr., sc. soleil, the rising sun.] A
name given to the eastern portion of the Medi-
terranean, which is bounded by Asia Minor on
the north and the Syrian coast on the east.
Levanter. A strong easterly wind of the
Mediterranean.
Levator muscle [L. levo, I raise] raises that
to which it is attached. (Attollent.)
Levee. [Fr. , from lever, L. levare,. to raise.]
Ceremonial visits paid to distinguished persons,
strictly speaking, at their rising. At present
the assemblies at which the sovereign receives
gentlemen, the Drawing-room ' being for both
ladies and gentlemen.
Levee en masse. [Fr.] A summons to the
whole people to defend the country from inva-
sion ; called by the Germans Landsturm.
Level [L. libella, levef] ; Carpenter's L. ;
Mason's L. ; Spirit-L. ; Surveyor's L. An instru-
ment for finding a horizontal line. A Carpenter's
or Mason's L. consists of two pieces set square ;
one of them is made vertical by a plumb-line,
and then the other is horizontal. A Spirit-L.
consists of a glass tube sensibly straight, but in
reality slightly bent, so that if produced it would
form a ring of very large radius. It is nearly
filled with spirits of wine, only a bubble being
left ; when it is held in such a position that the
ends of the bubble are equally distant from the
middle point, the tube or more strictly a tan-
gent to the axis of the tube at its middle point
is exactly horizontal. A Surveyor's L. consists
of a spirit-level attached to a telescope in such
a way that the tangent aforesaid is parallel to
the axis of the telescope ; the whole is capable
of being mounted on a tripod stand.
Levellers. (Eng. Hist.) A party in the army
of the Long Parliament, which announced their
intention of levelling all ranks. They were put
down by Fairfax.
Levelling-staff. A graduated staff used in
connexion with a surveyor's level. If the level
is placed between two points A and 13, and the
readings of the staff, held erect first at A then
at B, are taken, their difference is the difference
in the level of A and B.
Leven. Name of rivers ; from Celt, llevn,
smooth.
Lever [L. levator, one who lifts'] ; Arms of
L. ; Bent L. ; Double L. A rod or bar (e.g. a
crowbar or a poker) caused by a power to move
round a fixed point (or fulcrum) and thereby
overcome a resistance or raise a weight. The
distances from the fulcrum to the points of
application of power and weight are the arms
of the lever. If the arms are not in a straight
line it is a Bent L. Many simple machines
consist of a combination of two levers (e.g. a pair
of nut-crackers, a pair of scissors, etc.) ; these are
called Double levers.
Leverage. The mechanical advantage of a
lever; it is measured by the ratio which the
length of the arm of the power bears to that of
the weight.
Leviathan, published 1651, in favour of mon-
archical government. The best known work of
the metaphysician, Thomas Hobbes. (Oceana.)
Leviathan. [Heb.] 1. The crocodile. 2,
The grampus, or Mediterranean rorqual. 3,
Job iii. 8 ; apparently the astrological dragon,
as professedly raised by magicians. In Autho-
rized Version, L. is here rendered "their
mourning."
Levigate. [From levigare, to make smooth
(levis).] 1. To smooth, to polish. 2. To grind
to powder, to comminute, to pulverize, the pro-
cess being called Levigaticn.
Levirate. [L. levir, Gr. Sarip, brother-in-law .]
A word used to denote the Jewish custom by
which the brother of a deceased husband was
bound to marry his widow.
Levulose. [L. laavus, left.] (Dextrose ;
Polarization.)
Lewdness, Acts xviii. 14 [Gr. paoL6vpyrjfj.a],
retains an earlier sense of ignorant recklessness ;
"lewd fellows," in a somewhat stronger sense,
translates irovrjpoiis, in ch. xvii. 5. [Ger. leute,
the people; cf. the word "vulgar," from L.
vulgus, the common people.}
Lewis, Lewisson (a word said to be first used,
temp. Louis XIV.). A contrivance for enabling
hold to be taken of a mass of stone that is to be
raised by rope or chain. A hole is cut in the
stone, which widens downward ; into this the L.
is put, consisting of two inverted wedges separated
by a plug, to which they are fastened by a pin.
Lex appetit perfectum. [L.] (Leg.) The
law aims at perfection.
Lex loci contractus. [L.] (Leg.) The lain.
of the place of the contract ; meaning some
times where the contract is made, sometimes
where the contract is fulfilled.
Lex meroatoria. [L.] (Leg.) Mercantile or
commercial ?aw ; European.
Lex non scripta. [L.] (Leg.) Unwritten
law ; the common law of England, which origi-
nated in custom and rests on precedents.
Lex prospicit non respicit. [L.] (Leg.) The
law regards the future, not the past ; i.e. as to its
operation.
LEXS
294
LICIT
lex Boripta. [L.] (Leg.) Written or statute
law.
-ley. Part of A.S. names, = pasture in a
forest, as in Hors-ley ; also -leigh-, -lea-, -liegh,
Belgian -loo [A.S. leah, lying-place], as in Leigh-
ton, Had-leigh, Ven-loo.
Leyden jar (invented at Leyden). A glass
jar, coated within and without with tinfoil
nearly to the top, and used for accumulating
electricity. It is furnished with a brass knob at
the top, through which it is charged.
Ley gager. (Leg.) A wager of law; one
who begins a suit.
Leze majesty. Any crime committed against
the sovereign power of the State ; from L. crimen
lasce majestatis, or the charge of injury done to
the majesty of the Roman people. (Lese majeste.)
L'habit ne fait pas le moine. [Fr.] It is not
the dress, the. cowl, which, makes the friar.
(Cucullus.)
L'hypocrisie est un hommage que le vice rend
a la vertu. [Fr.] Hypocrisy is a homage which
vice renders to -virtue (Rochefoucault).
Liaison. [Fr., L. Hgatio, -nem, a binding.]
1. In Fr. grammar, a tie by which the ter-
minal letter of a word is carried on, so as to
form one sound with a vowel following. Thus
in the word pied, foot, the d is silent ; but in
the phrase pied-a-terre the d is joined on,
though with a softened sound, to the vowel
following. 2. A connexion, acquaintance,
generally of a dishonourable kind.
Liane. [Fr., Norm, liaune, the clematis,
probably another form of lien ; Her, to bind, L.
ligare.] A general name for the woody twining or
climbing plants which abound in tropical forests.
Lias, i.e. Lyers. (Geol.) A series of argilla-
ceous and calcareous strata, the basis of the
Oolitic or Jurassic system.
Libavius, Fuming liquor of. (Chem.) Dichlo-
ride of tin, used in dyeing.
Libel. [L. libellus, a writing, dim. from liber,
a book.] (Leg.) 1. A written statement or hint
tending to damage, disgrace, or cast ridicule on
a person. 2. An immoral, treasonable, or sedi-
tious writing. 3. (Scot. Law.) The form of a
complaint, the ground of a charge.
Libellers. [L. libellus, a little book, libel.}
Authors of the Marprelate libels (1586-1593).
(Martin Marprelate.)
Liber. [L., (i) bark, and hence (2) book.]
(Bot.) The newly formed fibrous layer of bark ;
the bast-layer.
Liber Albus. [L., the white book.] The name
of an ancient book on the laws and customs of
the City of London.
Liberator, The. A term sometimes applied to
Bolivar, also to O'Connell.
Liberavi animam meara. [L.] (Absolvi aui-
mam meam.)
Liber feudorum. A code of feudal law, pub-
lished at Milan, 1170, by order of the Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa.
Liber Eegis [L.], King's Book, or Vdlor Ec-
clesfastfcus. A return made, 26 Henry VIII., of
the " firstfruits of all dignities, benefices, and
promotions spiritual," and of the "annual
pension of the tenth part of all possessions of
the Church, spiritual and temporal," due " to
the king and his heirs," as supreme heads of the
Church of England.
Liber Sententiarum. (Master of the Sentences.)
Liberties. (Leg.) Districts exempt from the
sheriff's jurisdiction.
Libertines. 1. Acts vi. 9 ; Llbertinus, in Rome,
the son of a freed slave. 2. In Church Hist., a
name given in England to the Anabaptists in
the sixteenth century.
Libertus, Liberta, fern. [L.] A manumitted
slave, in reference to his late master.
Liberty. A privileged district, having certain
rights and immunities ; very frequently the
modern representative of some former ecclesias-
tical jurisdiction ; e.g. the L. of Bury St.
Edmund's.
Liberty, Cap of. A symbol suggested seem-
ingly by the representations of the Roman
goddess Libertas, who held a cap in one hand.
In England Britannia is sometimes represented
as bearing such a cap, blue with a white border,
on a spear. In France a red cap was chosen as
the badge of the Jacobin Club.
Liberty and Necessity, Letter on. A work of
the great metaphysician, Thomas Hobbes (1588-
1679).
Liberty of Prophesying. By Bishop Jeremy
Taylor ; the first formal declaration of the duty
of toleration ; and this in the year 1647.
(Prophesy.)
Liberty Wilkes. John W., brewer: M.P. for
Aylesbury, 1757 ; founder of the North Briton,
the attacks of which drove Bute from the
ministry. Elected several times for Middlesex,
but the elections were declared void ; an im-
moral and violent man, but most popular,
especially during imprisonment, as the champion
of "liberty." Released, and, in 1774, lord
mayor, and for many years M.P. for Middlesex
(born 1727, died 1797).
Libidinous. [L. llbidinosus, from libiclinem,
pleasure, lust] Lustful, lecherous.
Libra, First point of. The autumnal equinox.
(Equinox; Aries, First point ol)
Libration [L. llbro, / set swaying, lit. some-
thing which is in equilibritim] of the moon. An
apparent oscillatory movement of the moon, in
virtue of which she does not always present
exactly the same face to the earth ; so that on
the whole we see a zone a few degrees in breadth
on all sides of the border beyond the exact
hemisphere ; this is partly due to the moon's
motion round her axis being uniform while her
motion in her orbit is not uniform, and partly
to her axis of revolution not being exactly per-
pendicular to the plane of her orbit.
Licentiate. [L. licentia, licence, from licet, it
is lawful] One licensed to practise profession-
ally any art or faculty.
Licet. [L.] // is lawful.
Lichen, L. tropicus. [Gr. \ti^v, lichen] 1.
(Bot.) A very extensive ord. of cryptogams, allied
to fungi and algae, growing on the bark of trees,
on rocks, etc. 2. (Afcd.) Prickly heat, a papular
eruption of the skin, with itching and stinging.
295
LIGU
Liohenine. A starchy substance extracted from
Iceland moss or lichen.
Lich-gate. [A.S. lie, Ger. leich, a corpse.} The
covered gate at the entrance to churchyards,
beneath which the bearers of the coffin may
rest.
Lictors. (Fasces and Secures.)
Lidford law = Jeddart justice (q.v.).
Lieder ohne worte. [Ger., songs -without
wjrds.} Instrumental pieces with marked song-
like melody throughout.
Lief. [A.S. leof, liof, O.E. lefe, leve, Ger.
lieb, Goth. Hubs; cf. L. libet, lubet, it is pleasing,
Skt. root of lubh, to desire.} 1. Dear, beloved.
2. Adv., gladly, readily.
Liege. [Fr. lige, L.L. ligius, Prov. Fr. litge,
Ger. ledig, empty, free, M.H.G. lidig, freed,
loosed.} (Leg.) 1. Bound by (originally free)
tenure to be feal and loyal to a lord, subject.
2. Sovereign, by misinterpretation of liege lord,
i.e. lord of liegemen.
Liege homage. (Homage.)
Liege lord. [L.L. ligeus, from L. ligare, to
bind, unless it be lord of the leute, leet, lew d, folk
or people.} A feudal superior, to whom his liege-
men owe vassalage. (Leet ; Court-leet.)
Liegh. (-ley.)
Lien, or Lienis. [L.] (Anat,) 77ie spleen.
Lien. [Fr. lien, L. ligamen, a tie, from ITgo,
I tie.} (Leg.) Right to retain provisionally
another person's property which is in a man's
possession until the owner satisfies certain de-
mands of the possessor.
Lie-to, To. (Naut.) In a gale, to keep a
vessel nearly head to wind, under little canvas.
(Bring-to, To.)
Lie under arms. (Mil.) To rest as a soldier
ready accoutred touching his arms, ready for
action at a moment's notice.
Lieutenant. (Bank.)
Life assurance. A bargain or contract essen-
tially such as follows : A pays B a sum (or
premium) annually during the continuance of a
certain status (say, the life of C), on condition
that B makes A a certain payment (the sum
assured) on the determination of the status (say,
the death of C, in which case C's life is assured
for that sum). For making the bargain a certain
rate of interest is fixed on, and the probability
must be ascertained of the status existing at the
end of the first, second, third, etc., year ; when
this is done, the probability is also known of the
determination of the status in the course of any
given year. From these data the present values
of the premiums and of the sum assured can be
found, and, if the bargain is fair, the two are
equal. Practically the office, i.e. the party B,
makes a profit by calculating the fair premium at
a low rate of interest, as 3 per cent., and by
adding a loading, i.e. a certain percentage, as
20 or 25 per cent., to the fair premium. The
probability of C's life lasting for one, two, three,
etc., years is ascertained by means of tables
derived from actual observation, showing the
number who die in each successive year of those
who were alive and of the same age at a given
time ; such arc the Carlisle Table, the North
ampton Table, the Table of the Twenty Life
Assurance Companies, etc. Called also Life in-
surance. Fire insurance is a similar bargain,
except that the status is the existence of a house
or some like thing ; and it determines by its total
or partial destruction by fire.
Life Guards. The />0</j'-guard of a sovereign ;
in German leib-garde. (Celibacy.)
Life-lines. (Naut.) Lines stretched from gun
to gun, and about a ship, for men to cling to in
bad weather. Also from the lifts to the masts,
to enable men to stand securely when maiming
yards.
Lifting. On Easter Monday and Tuesday ; an
old custom, still lingering in some counties. A
record is preserved in the Tower of fees paid at
the lifting of Edward I. in his bed, on an Easter
Sunday morning (English Cyclopedia, iii. 262).
Lifts. (Naut. ) Ropes from the masthead to
the extremities of a yard.
Ligaments. [L. ligamentum, a bandage.}
(Anat.) The bands, or cords, of white fibrous
tissue which, in the formation of the joints,
connect the bones together.
Ligan, Lagan. [From ligamen, thing tied ;
cf. Prov. liam.] Goods thrown overboard, but
tied to a buoy or float to mark their position.
(Flotsam.)
Ligature. [L. ligatura, a binding.} 1. (Med.)
A cord or thread for tying blood-vessels to pre-
vent hemorrhage. 2. In Printing, two or more
letters cast on the same body ; as /, ffi,ffl.
Light, To. (Naut.) To move or lift any-
thing.
Light-bob. (Light infantry.)
Lighten. In the 7> Deuin, light, alight ; the
Latin is " fiat misericordia Tua super nos."
Lighter. (Naut.) A large Hat-bottomed boat,
used to carry goods, etc., to and from ships.
Light infantry. Soldiers specially instructed
for skirmishing movements. In addition to
separate regiments so called, each regiment had
formerly one company so trained, until it became
the duty of the whole army to perfect themselves
in every part of tactics. A L. I. soldier was
called a Light-bob.
Light-mill. (Radiometer.)
Lights. Popular name for the lungs, from
their light, spongy appearance [cf, the Ger.
name, die leichte leber, the light liver}.
Light sails. (Naut.) Those above top-gallant
sails, the studding-sails, and flying-jib.
Lign aloes. (Aloes.)
Lignite [L. lignum, -wood}, Wood-coal,
Broiun-coal. (Geol.) Wood fossilized ; not so far
converted into coal as to lose its woody texture ;
often earthy, sometimes as bright as coal, burn-
ing with a disagreeable odour. In thick beds
in Germany, Hungary, and ^Nebraska; Tertiary
and Cretaceous.
Lignum vitse. [L., wood of life.} A very
hard wood, that of the Guaiacum officlnale, of
W. Indies and S. America, and perhaps of other
spec. ; used for making ships' blocks, and also
furnishing gum guaiacum used in medicine.
Ligiila. [L., /.</. lingula, dim. of lingua, the
tongue.} (Entoni.) Upper lip of insects.
LIGU
296
LINE
Xiguorists. (Bedemptorist.)
Ligure. [Gr. \iyvptov, (?) from Liguria, Heb
leshem.] In the breastplate of Aaron (Exod
xxviii. 19) ; probably amber.
Ligurian = Genoese. The Ligures were an
Italian people in Gallia Cisalplna, Liguria being
= modern Piedmont, Genoa, and Lucca.
Lillibullero. A song popular during and after
the reign of James II. Webster.
Lilliput. A country of little people, one-
twelfth of the human stature, in Swift's Gulliver's
Travels.
Limaoeous, [L. Umax, slug.} Of the nature
of a slug.
LImae labor et mora. [L.] The tedious labour
of the file (Horace), i.e. of correcting and re-
vising literary work.
Lunation. [L. lima, a file.] Filing.
Limax. [L., id.~\ (Zool.) Slug; gen. of pulmo-
niferous gasteropod, shell rudimentary or absent ;
gives its name to fam. Llmacidse. Not found
in S. America or greater part of Africa.
Iamb. [L. limbus, A.S. lim, border, edge;
whence the idea of extremity or projecting part,
as in a limb of the body or of a tree.] (Astron.)
1. The edge of the disc of a heavenly body, as
the upper or lower limb of the sun. 2. The
graduated arc of an astronomical instrument ;
as the reading of the limb of a sextant.
Limbat. A cool north-west wind which blows
in Cyprus from 8 a.m. to noon or later.
Limber. (Mil.} Carriage on two wheels, with
the ammunition-boxes, bearing the trail (q.v.)
of the gun-carriage, to which the horses are
harnessed for the removal of the latter. L. is
properly a shaft \cf. Fr. limon].
Limbo. (Limbos.)
Limbus. [L., a hem.] With the schoolmen,
a border-lake flowing around hell, where souls
awaited the resurrection ; including : 1. L.
Puerorum, of unbaptized infants. 2. L. Patrum,
of the patriarchal Fathers of the Church. 3.
Purgatorium, where the better sort are being
cleansed ; and, with some, 4, L. Fatuorum, of
lunatics. (See Milton, Paradise Lost, iii. 495 ;
and Fairy Queene, I. bk. ii. 32.)
Lime-juice contains citric acid ; that of the
Citrus acida ; specific against sea-scurvy.
Limestone. A general term, = all rocks of
which the base is carbonate of lime, i. e. lime +
carbonic acid, (i) Mostly constituted of the
organic Calcareous shells and structures of mol-
luscs, crinoids, corals, etc. (2) In some cases,
of chemically deposited carbonate lime ; as
travertine.
Limit [L. limes, llmitis] ; Inferior L. ; Superior
L. (Math.) A fixed magnitude to which a
variable magnitude can be made to approach so
that their difference shall be less than any
assigned magnitude, but to which it can never
be made exactly equal ; e.g. by diminishing the
base of an isosceles triangle, either angle at the
base continually approaches equality with a right
angle, and the difference between it and a right
angle can be made less than any assigned angle,
but it never actually equals a right angle. A
right angle is therefore the limit of tlds angle.
If the limit is greater than each of the variable
magnitudes, it is a Superior L. ; if less, an In-
ferior L.
Limitations, Statute of. (Leg.) Limiting the
time within which actions have been brought,
e.g. to recover property, to forty years for real
property, and six years for debts, damages, and
other personal claims (only one or two years
against public officers, etc.).
Limited liability. (Com.) The having the
liability of the shareholders to discharge the
obligations of the public banking or trading to
which they belong limited to the full amount of
the share or shares which they are respectively
registered as holding. Hence in a L. L.
company, when all calls are paid, shareholders
can only lose their investment.
Limner is the same word as Illuminator,
obtained through the Fr. enlumineur. It
means usually a portrait or miniature painter.
Limoges. A kind of surface enamelling
(perfected at Limoges, in France), adorned by
small transparent globules placed over silver
tinsel so as to look like gems.
Limonite. (Haematite.)
Limpet. [Gr. AeVas.] (Zool.) Strictly the
fam. Patellidae [L. patella, cup], of which the
common tent-shaped limpet is a type. Popularly
L. includes also Fissurellidse [fissura, fissure],
Keyhole L., whose shells have a fissure;
Calyptrseidse, Bonnet L., whose apex is curved ;
and Dentaliadae [dens, dentis, tooth], Tooth-
shells, shaped like an elephant's tusk. This last
is found in N. Atlantic, Mediterranean, E. and
W. Indies ; the rest inhabit all seas. Ord.
Prosobranchiata, class Gasteropoda.
Linchpin. [Ger. liinse.] The small pin put
at the end of an axletree to hold on the wheel.
Lincoln, Use of. (Use.)
Lincoln green. A green cloth formerly made
at Lincoln.
Linctus. [L., licking, from lingo, I lick.] A
thick treacly syrup, for coughs and sore throat.
Line, The; Equinoctial L. ; Meridian L.
(Gtog.) The Equinoctial line, often called
The line as when we speak of crossing the
line is the earth's equator. A Meridian L. is
a line drawn at any station to show the direc-
tions of true north and south, i.e. the direction
of the meridian of the station.
Line. In measurement, = one-twelfth of an
inch.
Linear equation. An equation containing- the
first powers only of the unknown quantities.
When such an equation contains two unknowns,
t represents a straight line.
Linear leaves. [L. llnea, a line.] (Sot.) Long
and narrow ; e.g. grasses, pinks.
Line-of-battle ship. Formerly a vessel of not
.ess than seventy-four guns. Rating by mere
number is superseded under the present system
of heavy guns.
Line of beauty. The ideal line formed by a
raceful figure.
Line of defence. (.17/7.) The distance of any
mint in a fortification from the work that flanks it.
Line of force, A line whose tangent at each
LINE
297
LITIT
point is in the direction of the resultant electrical
force at that point.
Lines. (Mil. ) 1. Series of fieldworks mutu-
ally defending one another. 2. Rows of open
barracks are sometimes so called.
Ling. \Cf. Norw. laanga, D. leng, id.~\
(Ichth.) Sea-fish, usually three or four feet
long, back grey, belly white. British seas.
Lota molva, fam. Gadidae, ord. Anacanthini,
sub-class Teleostei.
L'ingenu. [Fr.] The frank, ingenuous
(character).
Linguadental. (Lang.) Pronounced by the
joint use of tongue and teeth [L.. lingua, denies].
Linguae centum sunt draque centum, Ferrea
vox. [L.] (Rumour) has a hundred tongues, a
hundred mouths, a -voice of iron (Virgil).
Lingua Franca. 1. A jargon of the Mediter-
ranean, with an Italian basis, which arose in the
galleys of Algiers and the Levant, used for com-
munication between Europeans (Franks) and
Mohammedans. 2. Any jargon of mixed speech.
Linguals. [L. lingua, a tongue.'} (Lang.)
Sounds in the articulation of which the tongue
is essentially concerned, including gutturals,
palatals, cerebrals, dentals.
Linguistic. [From L. lingua, speech, tongue.'}
The science of language, glottology.
Liniments. [L. limmentum.] Medicaments
of an anodyne or stimulating character, to be
rubbed [linlre, to besmear} into the skin.
Link. [Akin to Gr. \i/x"os.] A torch made
of tow and pitch.
Link [Sw. lank, Ger. gelenk] ; L.-motion ;
L.-work. 1. The yjg part of a Gunter's chain,
i.e. T 6 6 5 of a foot. 2. In Mech., a rigid bar or
piece connecting two rotating or oscillating
pieces by means of pins, which it keeps at a
constant distance during the motion. All such
combinations of jointed work, cranks and con-
necting-rods, parallel motions, etc., are L.-
work. The combination of pieces by which
the motion of the slide-valve of a locomotive or
other steam-engine can be adjusted or reversed
during the motion of the engine, is a L.-motion.
-linn-. [Celt.] Part of names, = still pool, as
in Lin-coin, Kil-lin, Lynn.
Linoleum. [L. llnum, linen, oleum, oil.}
A kind of floor-cloth.
Linseed. The seed of flax (Llnum usitatis-
simum).
Linsey-woolsey. A stuff made of linen and
wool, mixed.
Linstock. (Mil. ) A staff about three feet in
length, for holding a match [Ger. lunte] for firing
artillery.
Lint. [O.E. linct,y?au-.] Linen scraped into
a soft substance, used for dressing wounds.
Llnum. [L.,flax.} (Bot.) A gen. of plants
which gives name to the Linaceae, or Lme?e.
flax-worts, a nat. ord. of dicotyledonous plants ;
abundant in Europe and N. Africa. The flax of
commerce is L. usitatissimum, most in use.
Lionced. (Her.) Adorned with lions 1 heads.
Lionoel. [Fr. lionceau.] (ffer.) A young
lion.
Lionesse. (Leonnoys.)
Lion's share. An antiphrasis (i/.z 1 .) for the
whole, being that due as his own private share,
+ that due to the king of the beasts, + that
which he dared the other beasts who joined in
the hunt to take.
Liparous. \Gr. TCnrupos, fatty, sleek.} (Afed.)
Abounding in fat.
Lip-language. A system of communication by
moving the lips without sound, used in prisons,
workshops, etc., and, particularly, in communi-
cation with deaf-mutes.
Lippitudo. [L., from lippus, blear-eyed, sore-
eyed.} (Med.) An inflamed condition of the
margins of the eyelids.
Liquation. [L. liquare, to melt.} (Client.) The
process of separating or melting out, by a regu-
lated heat, a more fusible metal from one less
fusible.
Liqueur. [Fr.] Preparation of distilled spirit,
sweetened and flavoured with herbs, spices, etc.
Liquidation. [L.L. liquulatlo, -nem, from L.
liquidus, clear.} (Com.) The act of clearing
up the affairs of an insolvent company or person.
Liquor. In Brewing, means water.
Liquor of flints. A solution of silicate of
potash, called also fusible glass.
Liripipe, or Liripoop. This word, meaning a
tippet or stole, is said to be a corr. of the L.
cleri ephippium, the clergy's caparison.
Lis-. [Gadh.] Part of names, = earthen fort,
as in Lis-more.
Lisbon. A sweet white wine, produced in
Estremadura, and shipped from Lisbon.
Lis pendens. [L.] (Leg.) A pending suit.
List. [O.E.] A strip forming the border of
cloth or flannel.
List, To have a. (A'aut.) To lean on one
side, as, She has a list to fort, means she lies
over on the port side.
Litany, The Lesser, or The Short. [Gr.
KiTOLVfia, an entreating, a Litany.} A prelude
to prayer, as the Doxology is to praise ; a name
given from very early times to Kyrie eleeson,
Christe eleeson, Kyrie eleeson, which, translated
Lord, have mercy -upon its ; Christ, have, etc.,
occurs in Morning and Evening Prayer soon
after the Creed, and in the Litany just before
the Lord's Prayer. (Kyrie, The.)
Lit de justice. (Bed of justice.)
Litera canma. [L.] The dog's letter, i.e. R.
Liters formatse. (Litterae formatae.)
Litefae humaniores. [L.] (L'nh'.) The
more refined, i.e. higher, literature or learning.
Literal contract. (Leg.) A written agree-
ment signed by contracting parties.
Litera soripta manet. [L.] The written
letter abides ; i.e. one cannot avoid the respon-
sibility for what we have committed to writing.
Literates. [L. literati.] A name usually
applied to those who are admitted to holy orders
without having obtained a degree at one of the
universities.
Literatim [L.] Letter by letter. (Verbatim
et literatim.)
Litharge. [Gr. \i6dpyvpos, from \iOos, a stone,
&pyvpos, silver. } (Caciii.) A brownish-red oxide
of lead. (Massicot.)
LTTH
298
LIVR
Lithium. [Gr. \i6os, a stone.} A white metal,
the lightest solid known. It was supposed to
exist only in minerals or stones.
Litho-. [Gr. xiflos.] 1. A stone. 2. (Med.)
Calculus.
Litho-fracteur. [Fr., stone-breaker, a coined
word.] (Chem.) A professedly protected form
of nitro-glycerine, which is mixed with gun-
cotton, the elements of gunpowder, and other
substances; first made, 1871, at Cologne.
Lithoglyphic, Lithoglyptic. [Gr. \i6os, a stone,
y\v$u, I engrave.] Pertaining to the cutting
and engraving of gems.
Lithography. [Gr. \lQos, stone, ypd<f>w, I
write.] The art by which impressions are
obtained from designs made with a greasy
material on stone, so that they alone take the
printer's ink.
lithologieal. [Gr. \t8os, stone, \6yos, dis-
course.] (Geol.) Relating to the characteristics
of a rock in itself, or of a group of rocks, without
reference to relative age, fossil contents, etc.
Lithe-photography. [Gr. \t8os, stone, and
photography (q.v.).] The art of producing
prints from lithographic stones by means of
photographic pictures developed on their sur-
faces.
Lithotint. [Gr. \i6os, stone, and Eng. tint.]
A picture produced in colours from a lithographic
stone.
Lithotomy. [Gr. rop-fi, cutting.] (Surg.)
Operation of cutting for stone [\i'0oj] in the
bladder.
Lithotrity. [L. te"ro, / bruise, sup. tritum.]
The operation of breaking a stone \\iQos] in the
bladder.
Lithotypy. [Gr. \i6o9, stone, TVTTOS, type.]
The process of pressing into a mould taken from
a page of type, a composition which hardens into
a stony substance.
Litmus. [Ger. lackmus.] A deep-blue dye,
obtained from the lichen Roccella. Paper stained
by it (blue litmus paper) is turned red by acid ;
and litmus paper thus reddened (red litmus
paper) is turned blue by alkali. Hence they
are used as tests. Litmus papers are used gene-
rally for testing urinary and cutaneous secretions.
Litotes. [Gr. XiWrTjs, smoothness, simplicity.]
A figure of speech by which a matter is under-
stated, generally more or less sarcastically ; as to
say of a very ugly man that he is not the best-
looking we have ever seen. It is a species of
Irony in the ancient sense of the word. Called
also Aleiosis [jueioxm, a lessening, extenuation],
Litre. [Gr. \irpa, L. libra.] A cubic deci-
metre, equal to 1 760773 pint ; say, a pint and
three-quarters English.
Litterae formatae. [L.] Letters written in a
particular form, and with distinguishing marks,
in the ancient Church, were : 1. Commendatory,
or Systatic (q.v.), to persons of quality, or of
doubted reputation ; to travelling clergy. 2.
Communicatory, Pacifical, Canonical, to all in
communion with the Church. 3. Dimissory (q.v. ).
Litterateur. [Fr.] One versed in literature,
and at the same time a writer.
Little-endians, (Bigendians.)
Little England. Name given to Barbados by
the inhabitants.
Little-go. In the Universities of Oxford and
Cambridge, the first university examination,
which all students must pass ; called officially
Responsions, or the Previous Examination.
Little Nell. A type of childish purity, in
Dickens's Old Curiosity Shop.
Littleton. (Institutes.)
Littoral deposits, etc. [L. lltoralis.] (Geol.)
Belonging to the shore [littus], not to the deep sea.
Littus ama; altum alii teneant. [L.] Hug
the shore ; let others stand out into the deep.
Liturgicum. [Gr. XfirovpyiKov.] In the
Eastern Church, a book containing the three
Liturgies of Basil, Chrysostom, and the Pre-
sanctified.
Liturgy, Liturgies. [Gr. \ttrovpyla, a public
work.] 1. (Hist.) At Athens, certain public
services, exacted of the wealthier citizens, were
called liturgies. 2. (Eccl.) The office for the
celebration of the Eucharist. The Liturgies of
Christendom fall into five classes: (i) Of St.
James, or Jerusalem ; (2) St. Mark, or Alex-
andria ; (3) St. Thaddaeus, or the Eastern ; (4)
St. Peter, or Rome ; (5) St. John, or Ephesus.
For each of these there are further subdivisions.
Among them may be mentioned the Ambrosian,
or that of Milan ; the Ancient British ; the
Gallican ; the Mozarabic, which is still used in
one chapel of the Cathedral of Toledo; the
Liturgy of Sarum. (Use.)
Liturgy of St. Peter. (Liturgy.)
LItuus. [L.] (Rom. Ant.) 1. The Augur's
staff, used in quartering the heavens. 2. A
curved trumpet.
Liver of sulphur. (Chem.) A liver-coloured
substance, chiefly composed of trisulphide and
sulphate of potash.
Liver of antimony. (Chem.) An impure
oxysulphide of antimony.
Livery. [L.L. livrea, from L. libgratio, de-
livery.] (Leg.) 1. The act of delivering or re-
ceiving Seisin. 2. A feudal term for the bestowal
of an estate, on his coming of age, upon an heir
left a minor at his father's death, the profits
during the minority having been taken by the
lord, who now gave the land outre-le-main, <ntt
of his own hand. 3. Writ by which possession
is obtained. 4. (Municip.) A free guild or
company in the City of London, the members of
which have a peculiar dress, livery [O.Fr. livre'e,
(clothes) handed over (for a servant)].
Livery-man. A freeman of the City of London
and member of one of the City companies.
Livid sky. (Naut.) The peculiar black -purple
hue assumed by the sky before an easterly gale.
Livraison. [Fr., from L.L. liberatio, -nem.] A
part of a book printed and delivered by itself, a
number, in a series.
Livre. [Fr., L. libra, a pound.] 1. The old
French money of account was 12 deniers = I sou;
20 sous = I livre (tournois). For the conversion
of livres into francs, the legal rate was 81 livres
= 80 francs. 2. The old French pound ; Livre
usuelle = 500 grammes ; Livre poids de Marc
= 489*5058 grammes, or 7554^ grains troy.
LIXI
299
LOCO
Lixiviation. [L. lixivius, made into lix, licis,
lye.} The washing of wood ashes in water, so
as to extract the saline and soluble particles of
cinders, etc.
Llan- [Cymr.], = inclosure, church ; part of
Welsh names, as in Llan-beris. So Ian, in
Cymric, part of Scotland, as Lan-rick.
Llanos. [Sp., from L. planus.] Vast treeless
plains of Texas, New Mexico, S. America.
Lloyd's. (Com.) 1. A society of imdenvriters
(q.v.) ; so called from Lloyd's coffee-house. The
rooms are now in the Royal Exchange. This
society is the great centre of maritime registration
and intelligence. 2. Austrian L., at Trieste, a
general commercial and industrial company.
Lloyd's List, the daily gazette edited by a com-
mittee of L.
Lloyd's Register of Shipping contains, in
addition to the names, class, and other
particulars relating to vessels classed by the
society, the names, dimensions, etc., of all
vessels of one hundred tons and upwards
registered in the United Kingdom, and of ships of
large tonnage owned abroad. Vessels are classed
by the society under the following letters :
A A in red, /, E, I F, and 2 F- The
figure I following the class letter shows that the
equipment is complete and efficient, while a
instead of I shows that it is deficient in quantity
or defective in quality. Vessels classed A are
new, or continued, or restored to the class. Iron
vessels are classed A so long as they are found
by survey to be in an efficient condition to carry
dry and perishable goods to all parts of the
'world. Composite vessels are under certain
conditions classed A for a term of years ; but
for all A vessels satisfactory evidence must be
first produced of date, build, and place of build-
ing. Iron vessels constructed for special
purposes may be classed A for such purposes.
Numerals prefixed to the letter A> thus : 100 A,
90 A etc-, down to 75 A 5 and also the letter A
cr B within A> thus : /&? /^K> relate to iron
vessels, and show the rules under or equal to
which they were built ; as does also */&. >
while /{\ shows an iron vessel of A class, but
not built under the rules. A in red denotes
wooden vessels, not eligible to be classed Ai
but fit to carry dry and perishable goods to any
part of the world. / denotes wooden vessels
fit to carry dry and perishable goods on short
voyages, and other goods to any part of the
world, and also iron vessels classed A prior to
the 1st of July, 1879, and at the expiration of the
term of years for which A has been granted.
Those classed E are wooden vessels fit to carry
cargoes not subject to sea damage on any
voyage. Those classed I F and 2 F are foreign-
built vessels classed by the society before the
1st of July, 1876 : I F, fit to convey dry and
perishable cargoes to all parts of the world ; 2 F
to do so on shorter voyages. The character S
is no longer used.
Loach. [Cf. Fr. loche, id.} (Ichth.) Fresh-
water fish, about four inches long, lives under
stones, has six barbules to the mouth. Europe,
India, Japan. Gobitis, fam. Cyprinldse, ord.
Physostomi, sub-class Teleostcl.
Load. 1. Of timber, fifty cubic feet. 2, Of
hay, thirty-six trusses.
Loading. (Life assurance.)
Load-line. (Nant.) That below which a loaded
ship is not to be immersed. Four-fifths of total
depth from deck ; indicated by a horizontal line
through the centre of a disc painted on her side.
Loadmanage, Lodemanage. Hire of a load-
man.
Loadstar, Lodestar. Leading star, guiding
star ; Pole-star ; Cynosure.
Loafer. [D. loopen, Ger. laufen, to run ; cf.
interloper.] In the middle states of America,
a vagabond.
Loam-moulding. [Eng., loam.} A mould for
casting metal, formed by sweeps without a
pattern. (Sweep.)
Lobate, Lobated. [Gr. \ofios, lobe.} (Ornif/i.)
A term applied to the feet of certain water-birds,
as grebes, in which the toes, instead of being
connected, are provided on each side with
membranes which open in striking and close in
retracting.
Lobbs. Underground stairs in a mine.
Lobscouse, or Lapscourse. (Naut.) A sea-
dish, made of salt meat, biscuit, potatoes, onions,
spices, etc., minced and stewed.
Lobster-boat. (Naut.) Clinker-built, bluff,
and fitted with a well to keep the lobsters alive.
Local attraction. 1. In Mag., an attraction
at a given place exerted by objects in the neigh-
bourhood causing a magnet to deviate from
the magnetic meridian of the place. 2. A L. A.
may be exerted on a plumb-line by the gravita-
tion of a heavy mass, e.g. a mountain, and cause
it to deviate from the direction proper to the
mean form of the earth in its neighbourhood.
Locale. [Fr.] Place, locality.
Local option. The consent of a community,
or stated proportion thereof, to some proposed
legislative act, as a prerequisite to the action of
the Government.
Locataire. [Fr.] Tenant, lodger, lessee.
Locative case. In Gram., the case expressive
of locality. Such a case existed originally in all
Aryan languages, and it survives in Greek and
Latin ; but likeness of form has led grammarians
to confuse it with other cases, to the great mis-
leading of the learner.
Loch, Lough. [Scot., Cymr. llwch, L. lacus,
lake.} Lake.
Lochaber axe. Large kind of hatchet, used by
the Highlanders as a weapon.
Lookout. (Strike.)
Lockram. A sort of coarse linen (from
Locronan, in Brittany).
Lockstitch. A kind of sewing in which each
stitch is secured, or locked, before the next is
made.
Loc-man, or Loco-man, (ffaut.) Old name
for a pilot.
Loco citato [L.], Loc. cit. In the passage
quoted.
Loco-fooos. Name given in 1834 to the
U.S. Democratic party, because they relit Tain-
LOCO
300
LOLL
many Hall with L. matches, after the lights had
been extinguished by the other party.
Locomotive engine. (Steam-engine.)
Loculus. [L., a little compartment, dim. of
locus.] (Bot.) A cell, especially of the ovary ;
adj., bi-, tri-, etc., multi-locular. (Dissepiment.)
Locum tenens. [L., holding a place.} Any
deputy or substitute. From this phrase is
derived the Fr. lieutenant.
Locus. [L., place.} (Math.) When all the
points in a line (or surface), and no others,
satisfy a certain condition, that line (or surface)
is the L. of the points ; e.g. a circle is the L.
of all points that are equidistant from a fixed
point.
Locus in quo ante. [L., place in which
before.} The position occupied prior to specified
operations or negotiations; without ante, the
present position.
Locus pcenitentiae. [L., a place (or chance) for
repentance.} Power of drawing back from a
bargain before the performance of any confirma-
tory act.
Locus sigilli. [L.] The place for the seal ;
shown by " L. S." in copies of instruments.
Locus standi. [L., a position to stand in.}
A tenable ground in argument.
Locutory. [L. lociitor, a speaker.} A synonym
of parlour, or the speaking-room, in monasteries.
Lode. [O.E. lad, course, from laedan, to lead.}
1. A vein of ore. 2. A cut or reach of water.
Lodemanage, or Lodemanship. (Nattt. ) Hire
of pilot ; also Pilotage, or Seamanship. L.-ship,
a. pilot-boat, used also for fishing, temp. Edward
III.
Lodesman. A pilot.
Lodestar. (Loadstar.)
Lodged. [Fr. loge.] (Her.) Lying on the
ground with head erect.
Lodgment. (Mil.) A permanent footing
established in an enemy's works, and artificially
protected from his fire.
Lodia. (Naut.) A large White-Sea trading-
boat.
Loess, Lehm, Loam, Flood-mud. [Ger.
losen, to loosen.} (Geol.) A loamy fluviatile
deposit, yellowish, chiefly argillaceous, with
abundant land and fresh-water shells ; in the
valleys of the Rhine, Danube, Mississippi ;
Pleistocene.
Lofty ships. A name formerly given to all
square-rigged vessels.
Logarithm [Gr. \6ya>v apidpAs, the numbe)- of
the ratios} ; Base of L. ; Sugg's L. ; Common
L. ; Hyperbolic L. ; Naperian L. ; Table of L.
The Logarithm of a number is the index of the
power to which a given number (or base) must be
raised to equal that number. Thus, to the base
io, the L. of icoo is 3, because io 3 = 1000.
When logarithms are calculated to the base io,
they are Common L., or Brigg's L. The L. of
the natural numbers (say, from I to 100,000),
arranged in order, form a Table of L. The use
of such a table consists in this, that numbers
may be multiplied and divided by the addition
and subtraction of their logarithms. The in-
vention of L. is due to Napier, of Merdiison,
who used a base (27182818) which made the
calculation of logarithms less hard. L. calculated
to that base are called Naperian L., and some-
times Hyperbolic L., because the area of any
portion of a hyperbola is expressed by means of
them.
Log-board. (Naut.) Two boards shutting up
like a book, on which the mate of the watch
writes in chalk the particulars to be copied into
the log-book. (Journal.)
Loge. [Fr.] Opera-box.
Logement garni. [Fr.] Lodgings, furnished.
Loggan. (Rocking-stones.)
Loggerhead. An iron ball, fitted with a long
handle, used to heat tar, etc.
Loggia. [It., from L. locus, place.} A
gallery or porch adorned with paintings.
Logistic arithmetic ; L. logarithms. [Gr.
\oyurriKSs, skilled in calculating.} These
logarithms are adapted for calculating the fourth
term of a proportion in which the terms are
hours, minutes, and seconds, or degrees, minutes,
and seconds ; they are used to shorten the last
step in the calculation of a longitude from an
observed lunar distance. The term L. arithmetic
is sometimes used to denote arithmetical opera-
tions performed on numbers sexagesimally
divided ; hence the name L. logarithms.
Log-line and Log-ship. A small line, about
a hundred fathoms long, divided into sections of
forty-two feet (properly forty-seven feet four
inches), called knots, and fastened to the log-
ship. Its use is to estimate the rate of a vessel
sailing, by observing how many divisions, or
knots, run out in a given time after the log-ship
has been thrown over, and about fifteen fathoms
have run out.
Logogram. [Gr. \6yos, and ypdfj./j.a, a letter.}
A word-letter, or phonogram, as i.e. for id est.
Logography. [Gr. frdyos, word, ypatyca, I
write.} A method of printing, in which each
type is a whole word instead of a single letter.
Logogriph. [A word made up of the Gr.
\oyos, and ypl<pos, a fishing-net.} A sort of
riddle.
Logomachy. [Gr. \oyofj.axia, word-fight, from
\6yos, word, and root of /j.dxou.a.1, I fight.} A
war of words, a contention about nothing more
than words.
Logotype. [Gr. \dyos, word, r^nros, type.}
A single type containing two or more letters ; as
fi,ffl. (Ligature.)
Logwood. A dark-red dyewood from Central
America, imported in logs ; that of the Hcema-
toxylon, a leguminous tree, a native of Cam-
peachy Bay.
Lohengrin. In mediaeval tradition, a mysteri-
ous knight married to a wife who is forbidden to
ask his name. The command is disobeyed, and
the knight vanishes. The story is counterpart
of that of Psyche and Eros.
Loimio. [Gr. Aoi/zo'y, a plague.} (Med.)
Relating to pestilential disorders.
Lok, or Loki. In Norse Myth., a deity cor-
responding to the Persian Ahriman.
Loligo. [L.] (Cuttle-fish.)
Lollards. A religious sect in Germany, early
LOME
in the fourteenth century, differing in many im-
portant points from the Church of Rome. The
followers of Wyclif were also called L. [(?)
lullen, to sing in a murmuring strain ; cf. L.
lallare, and lull, with suffix -hard].
Lombard. This word was formerly used in
England to denote bankers and money-lenders,
Italian merchants from the cities of Lombardy
being the great usurers of the Middle Ages. A
street in the city of London still bears their
name.
Lombard school. (Bologncse school.)
London clay. (Geol.) Brown or dark-blue,
tenacious, fossiliferous clay, with occasional no-
dules of greenish sand, gypsum, etc. ; Tertiary,
Eocene ; next below the Bagshot sands.
London Stone. A name given to the stone
now embedded in the south wall of St. Swithin's
Church, Cannon Street ; supposed to have been
a chief milestone of Watling Street, one of the
fifteen main Roman roads in England.
London waggon. (Naut.) The tender for-
merly used to convey pressed men from London
to the receiving ship at the Nore.
Lone Star. The state of Texas, whose flag
bears a single star in its centre. Bartlett's
Americanisms.
Longa est injuria, longse ambages. [L.]
Long drawn out are my wrongs, long (will be)
the windings of the narrative (Virgil).
Longanimity. [L.L. longanimitas, from lon-
gus, long, animus, mind.} Long-sufferance,
endurance, patience.
Longbeard. (Bcllarmine.)
Long-boat. \Naut.) The principal boat of a
merchantman, fitted with masts and spars.
Long-bow. (Mil.) Weapon with which the
English archers were first armed, measuring six
feet, and shooting a shaft or arrow of three feet.
To ensure proficiency, strenuous laws as to its
practice were made in England.
Longcloth. Cotton cloth, opposed to Broad-
cloth.
Longe absit. [L.] Far be it from (me, us).
Longicorn beetles, Longuorma. [L. longus,
long, cornu, a horn.} (Entom.) An enormous
family of tetramerous beetles, containing 1488
gen., 7576 spec., subdivided by English entomo-
logists into Prionidae, Cerambycidse, and La-
miidse. Vegetable feeders.
Longipalpi. [L. longus, long, palpus, a
touching softly, hence the instrument with which
this is done.] (Entom.) BrachSlytrous beetles
with maxillary palpi (i.e, filaments attached to
the chewing jaws) almost as long as the head.
Longipennate. [L. longse pennse, long wings.}
( Ornith. ) Swimming-birds whose wings reach
to or beyond the tip of the tail.
Longirostrals, Longirostres. [L. longus, long,
rostrum, bill.} Wading-birds with long bills ; as
woodcocks.
Longitude [L. longitudo, length} ; Geocentric
L. ; Heliocentric L. 1. (Geog.) The longitude of
a place is the arc of the equator intercepted
between its meridian and that of a standard sta-
tion, as Greenwich, Paris, etc. It is generally
reckoned east or west from o up to 180 ; but
it is often reckoned in time, and then I hour of
longitude equals 15. 2. (As/ron.) The longi-
tude of a heavenly body is the arc of the ecliptic
intercepted between the first point of Aries
(Aries, First point of) and its circle of latitude.
It is generally reckoned from o v up to 360 in
the direction of the sun's proper motion, i.e.
from west to east. If the earth is supposed to
be at the centre, the longitude is Geocentric ; if
the sun, Heliocentric.
Long-jawed. (Naitt.) Said of a rope when
so strained and untwisted that it will coil both
ways.
Long note. In ancient musical notation, =
two breves. (Breve.)
Long Parliament The last Parliament sum-
moned by Charles I., 1640 ; dissolved by Crom-
well, 1653, having been purged of its Presby-
terian members, in 1648, by Colonel Pride, the
members allowed to remain being called the
Rump.
Long primer. A kind of type, as
Large.
'Long-shore men, or alone;-. The humbler,
rougher men employed about the docks and
shipping in the Thames and other rivers.
Long-sighted eye. One wanting in refractive
power, and consequently unable to see objects
distinctly unless at a distance exceeding the
normal least distance of distinct vision, i.e. eight
inches. (Presbyopia.)
Long-togs. [L. toga.] (Naut.) Landsman's
clothes.
Long Vacation. (Leg.) From August 10 to
October 24, Common Law ; October 28, Chan-
cery ; Univ., from the end of Easter term to
October, more than three months.
Lonicera. (Lonicer, Ger. botanist, died 1586.)
(Bot.) A gen. including all honeysuckles; type
of ord. Caprifoliacere.
Lool. A vessel to receive the washings of
ores.
Looming. [O.E. leomian, to shine.) The
indistinct magnified appearance of objects as
seen in certain states of the atmosphere.
Loom of an oar. (A'aul.) The handle.
Loop. [Ger. luppe, an iron him p.} The
pasty mass of melted ore taken out of the fire for
forging.
Loophole. (Mil.) Narrow rectangular aper-
ture made in masonry or wooden walls for the
purpose of firing through with musketry.
Loover ways. Boards placed at an angle like
a Venetian blind, so that air is admitted, but not
the wet. (Louvre.)
Lorcha. A fast-sailing Chinese vessel, armed.
Lore. [A.S. lar, from Iceran, to teach, akin to
learn.} That which is learnt, knowledge of any
kind. The word is used especially in the phrase
folk-lore, or lore of the people, their traditional
tales, superstitions, etc.
Loretto cups. Small cups made of clay mixed
with dust from the Santa Casa of Loretto, rudely
painted with a representation of Christ, or of the
Virgin and Child, and inscribed Con fol. di.
S. C. (i.e. Con polvere di Santa Casa).
LORE
302
LUBB
Loretto, Holy House of. The house in which,
according to the tradition, the Virgin Mary was
born, and which was conveyed by angels from
the Holy Land to Italy in the thirteenth century.
Lorgnette. [Fr.] An opera-glass,
Lorlca. [L.J A leather cuirass, a corselet of
thongs.
Loricate, Lorioates. [L., provided ivith a
breastplate.} (Zoo!.) The fourth ord. of reptiles,
protected by bony plates. (Herpetology.)
Lorimer, Loriner. [O.Fr. lormier, L. lorum,
a thong.'] A maker of bits, spurs, and other
metal work for harness.
Lorry. A waggon with very low sides, for
carrying heavy goods.
Lory. [Hind, and Malay.] (Ornith.) Gen. oi
brush-tongued paroquets, gay-plumaged, mostly
scarlet ; Austro-Malayan Islands. Lorius, fam.
Trichoglossidse [Gr. Opil;, rpi^s, hair, y\ua-ffa,
tongue], ord. Psittaci.
Lorymer. (Larmier.)
Losel. [A.S. los, loss, destruction.} A waste-
ful fellow, scoundrel.
Losenger. [O.Fr. losengier, It. lusinghiere,
from L. laudare, to praise, hence to flatter :]
A deceiver, a cheat.
Lost day. (Naut.) The day lost when the
globe is circumnavigated westward. (Gained
day.)
Lothario. A voluptuary in Rowe's Fair Peni-
tent, a representative of those who make love to
married women.
Lothian. The part of Scotland containing the
counties of Haddington, Edinburgh, and Lin-
lithgow, respectively called the East, Mid, and
West Lothian.
Lotman. (Naut.) Old name for a pirate. ;
Lotophagi. [Gr. \tcroQdyos.] (Myth.) Ttfe
eaters of the lotus, a fruit the taste of which l^d
people to forget their country and friends and to
remain idle in the lotus-land.
Lotus. [Gr. \wrds.] 1. In class. Gr., the
name of several plants (e.g. a kind of trefoil,
water-lilies, etc.) quite dissimilar and often
confounded. 2. (Bot.) A gen. of plants be-
longing to the nat. ord. Leguminosae ; L. corni-
culatus is the common bird's foot trefoil of
pastures and dry banks in Great Britain.
Lotus-eaters. (Lotophagi.)
Loud voice. Hn Prayer-book, = not "secreto,"
as in the unrerornied service, nor with the
mystic voice [Gr. /^J<N;tKws] of the Greek Church.
Lough. (Loch.) N.
Louis-d'or. [Fr.] A' -gold coin, first struck
under Louis XIII., 1641, and commonly called
a twenty-franc piece.
Louis Quatorze. This phrase is often used to
denote the style of ornamentation for houses,
furniture, etc., fashionable in the time of Louis
XIV. of France.
Lound. (Naut.) Calm, absence of wind.
Loup-garouz. (Lycanthropy.)
Louvre. [(?) Fr. 1'ouvert, the open; but not
from the palace known as the Louvre, the origin
of which name cannot be determined.] 1. A
lantern. 2. A turret for the escape of smoke
or for ventilation. 3. The celebrated museum
and gallery of Paris, connected with one of the
most ancient palaces of France.
Louvre-boarding. (Luffer-boarding.)
Love, Family of. (Eng. hist.) A sect of the
sixteenth century, holding opinions much like
those of the Anabaptists.
Love-feast. (Agapae.)
Lovelace. A consummate voluptuary and foe
to female virtue, in Richardson's History of
Clarissa Harlowe.
-low. [A.S. hlaw, a mound, rising ground.}
Part of names, as in Mar-low ; cf. -law on Scot.
Border, as in Hood-law.
Low and aloft. (Naut.) Every sail set.
Lowbote. (Leg.) Recompense for a man
killed in a tumult.
Low Celebration. In the Latin Church, Low
Mass, or Mass performed by a single priest, with
a server.
Lower-case. In Printing, small letters, types
(as distinguished from capitals) kept in the lower
case ; abbrev. to I.e.
Lower Empire. A name sometimes applied
to the Roman empire in the East, from the
establishment of Constantinople as the im-
perial city to its capture by the Turks in 1453.
(Emperor ; Empire.) Lower means later in
time ; so Gr. tcarta.
Lowestoft China Manufactory. Established
1756, for pottery and soft-paste porcelain. Hard
paste introduced about 1775, and continued till
about 1800. It has no distinctive mark, but
roses are its most characteristic ornaments.
Low German. (Lang.) Platt Deutsch, name
of the dialects of N. and W. 'Germany, the
Netherlands, and Anglo-Saxon.
Low-pressure engine. (Steam-engine.)
Low-pressure steam. (Steam.)
Low Sunday. The first after Easter ; probably
a corr. of Laudes, the first word of its Sequence,
" Laudes Salvatori," etc. ; because the Introit,
from the first word of which the Sunday was
commonly named, was on this day the same as
on Easter Day, viz. "Resurrexit."
Low wines. The product of the first distilla-
tion.
Loxodromio [Gr. Xo|(/s, slanting, 3/>o'/zor,
course] curve, or Rhumb-line. A curve drawn
on a sphere so as to make a constant angle with
all the meridians it cuts. A ship which sails on
a given course (e.g. south-west) describes a /..
curve.
Lozenge. [Fr. losange.] (Her.) A diamond-
shaped figure, used (i) as an ordinary, (2) as the
escutcheon whereon is painted the coat of arms
of a maiden or widow. An escutcheon covered
with alternate lozenges of two different tinctures
s called Lozeng}>.
L's, Three. In Naut. talk or slang, formerly
lead, latitude, look-out ; held to be sufficient by
hose who despised nautical astronomy. Ad-
miral Smyth's Sailors' Word-Book.
Lubber-land. (Naut.) The happy land of
sailors' dreams, where all is play and no work.
Lubber's -hole, the space between the head of
a mast and the top. Lubbers-point, the mark
n the compass-bowl in a line with the ship's
LUCE
303
LUNA
head. (For Lubber, or Landlubber, -vide Land-
louper.)
Luoernam olet. [L.] It smells of the lamp ;
it bears signs of nightly study.
Lucifer. [L., light-bearing. ,] 1. In the
classics, the morning star. 2. In Med. Theol.,
Satan. " Hillel," in Isa. xiv. 12, meaning
the morning star, and translated "Lucifer,"
is from the verb hallal, meaning to shine,
but also to be proud. The fall of Hillel, being
taken to refer to the fall of some proud angel in
connexion with the fall of Babylon, was held to
typify Satan and his kingdom. (See note to
" proud Lucifera," Faery Queene, I. bk. iv. 12.
Clarendon Press series.) (Phosphorus.)
Luoiferians. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers
of Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari, who in the
fourth century refused to hold communion with
clergy who had held Arian doctrines.
Lucri causa. [L.] For the sake of gain.
Luotation. [L. luctationem, from luctor, /
struggle.] Effort to overcome difficulties.
Luciimo. [Etrusc.] One inspired ; and so a
priest or prince.
Luous a non luoendo. (Antiphrasis.)
Lud, General. Name of the supposed leader
of the artisans who endeavoured (1811) to stop
the introduction of machinery by riot. They
were called Luddites.
Ludere par impar. [L.] To flay odd and
even (Horace).
Ludi. [L.] Games.
Ludi Apollmares. [L.] Roman games in
Jionour of Apollo, instituted by the advice of the
Delphic oracle after the battle of Cannae, B.C.
212, and held in the Circus Maximus yearly,
July 6, conducted by the Praetor Urbanus.
Ludi Capitolini. [L.] A Roman festival to
celebrate the departure of the Gauls, B.C. 387.
Ludi Circenses ; L. Consuales ; L. Romani ; L.
Magni. [L.] The most important Roman games,
celebrated yearly, September 4-12, in honour of
Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, or of Census and
Neptunus Equestris, in the great Circus, super-
intended by the Curule /Ediles. Races, athletic
contests, sham rights, and the cavalry exercise
called Ludus Troicz, performed by Roman
youths, were carried on. (Consus was supposed
to be a deity presiding over counsels and secret
plans ; but his name is probably connected with
that of the Consentes Dii.)
Ludi Liberales, or Liberalia. [L.] A Roman
festival corresponding to the Greek Dionysia,
celebrated March 17, when Roman youths of
sixteen years old received the toga virilis.
Ludi Saeoulares, Tarentini, Taurii. A Roman
festival in honour of the infernal deities during
the republic ; during the empire, also of the
great gods and Vesta, Hercules, Latona, .and
the Fates (Parcae) ; celebrated at first on great
public emergencies, afterwards at intervals of
many years (especially after the establishment of
Augustus's supremacy), in the part of the Campus
Martius called Tarentum, and with games,
theatrical entertainments, and sacrifices through-
out the city.
Luff; or Loofe. [D. loef, wind, Ger. luft.]
(Naut. ) 1. The order to come more into the
wind. 2. The air, or wind. 3. Abbrev. for
Lieutenant. 4. The fullest part of the bows.
5. The weather leech of a sail. L. and lie =
hug the wind, or sail as nearly as possible to it.
L. and touch her, try how near the wind she
will come. L. into a harbour, shoot into it,
head to wind, gradually. L. round, or L. a-lce,
go on to the other tack.
Luffer-boarding, properly Louvre-boarding.
Sloping boards in the apertures of a louvre,
belfry, etc., to admit air but to shut out rain.
Lug, Lugg, L.-worm. Sand-worm, Arenicola
piscatorum [L. arena, sand, colo, / inhabit, pis-
cator, a fish erman]. (Zool.) An errant annelid
found on the seashore.
Lugete Veneres lubidinesque. [L.] Mourn,
ye Venuses and Loves ; the first line of the poem
of Catullus on the death of Lesbia's sparrow.
Lugger. (A r auf.) A boat, or small vessel,
rigged with lugsails.
Luggnagg. An island in Swift's Gulliver's
Travels, where some of the inhabitants are
cursed with an immortality of old age and decay.
Lugsails. (Sails.)
L'ultima che si perde e la speranza. [It.]
The last thing that is lost is hope.
Lumber. Timber sawed or split for use.
Lunibricidae. [L. lumbrlcus, an intestinal or
earth-worm.\ (Zool.) Earth-worms. Annelids
progressing by means of chitinous bristles. (Chi-
tine.)
Lumbrlous. [L.] (Zool.) An intestinal worm ;
earth-worm.
Lumen juventffl purpureum. [L.] The ruddy
glow of youth (Virgil).
Lump. (Naut.) A heavy lighter used for
carrying anchors, cables, etc., about a harbour.
Lumpers. (A T ant.) 1. Men who load and
unload ships. 2. In the north, men who fur-
nish a ship with ballast.
Lumpkin, Tony. A representative hobblede-
hoy, in Goldsmith's comedy She Stoops to Conquer.
Lunar ; L. cycle ; L. distance ; L, month ; L.
observation ; L. table ; L. year. A Lunar dis-
tance is the distance of a star from the bright limb
of the moon. The measurement of this angle is a
L. observation, or simply a Lunar ; with appro-
priate calculations it enables the observer to
determine his longitude, and ascertain the error
of his chronometer, which is designed to show
Greenwich time. A L. month is the interval
from new moon to new moon ; twelve of them
make a L. year, which is equal to 354 days
8 hrs. 48 mins. L. tables enable the astro-
nomer to calculate the true position of the
moon at any instant past or future. The tables
which facilitate the calculation of the Greenwich
mean time from an observed L. distance are
sometimes called L. tables. (For L. cycle, vide
Cycle.)
Lunar caustic. [L. luna, moon, the alche-
mists' name for silver.] ( Client. ) Fused nitrate
of silver.
Lunation. The interval of time from one new
moon to the next, a lunar month or period of
29 days 12 hrs, 44 mins.
LUNE
304
LYXX
Lone. Name of rivers, from alauna, L. for
Celt, al avon, white -water.
Lone. (Math.) Any one of the four portions
into which the surface of a sphere is divided by
two great circles.
Lunette. [Fr., dim of lune, moon.'} 1.
(Arch.) An opening in a concave ceiling to
admit light. 2. ( Mil. ) Fieldwork of the shape
of a bastion, but formerly used also as outworks
in permanent fortification. 3. A kind of con-
vexo-concave lens for spectacles (from the
shape). In Fr., lunettes means spectacles.
Luni-solar. Resulting from the joint action
of sun and moon, as L.-S. precession, L.-S.
tides, etc.
Luntra. (Felucca.)
Lupercalia. [L.] A Roman festival in honour
of Lupercus, an agricultural god, invoked, it is
said, as a protector against wolves [lupus, wolf}.
Lupuline. [L. lupulus, dim of lupus, the hop.}
The bitter extract of hops.
Lupum auribus tenere. [L., to have a wolf
by the ears.] To be unable to hold on and
afraid to let go ; to be in a state of difficulty
whichever way one acts.
Lupus. [L., wolf.} Once called Noli me
tangere [L., touch me not}. (Med.) A malignant
disease of the skin, closely allied to cancer, and
very destructive.
Lupus in fabula. [L.] The wolf in the
fable, whose appearance deprived speakers of
their voice ; said of one who appears unex-
pectedly when he is being talked about.
Lupus pilum mutat, non mentem. [L.] The
wolf changes his hair, not his disposition.
Lurca. (Naut.) Old name for a coasting-
vessel of the Mediterranean.
Lurcher. A variety of dog, allied probably
to shepherd's dog and to greyhound ; used
generally by poachers.
Lure. [Fr. leurre, and this from the O.G.
luoder (Littre).] In Falconry, a bunch of
feathers attached to a cord and tassel, having in
the centre of the feathers a split piece of wood,
with some meat. The hawk, fed constantly
thus, is enticed back after an unsuccessful chase.
Lusiads. [Port. Os Lusiadas.] The great
epic poem of Portugal, written by Camoens,
published in 1571, the subject being the estab-
lishment of the Portuguese power in India.
Lust-huis. [D., pleasure-house.'} A little de-
tached room or arbour for summer and autumn
evenings, numbers of which overlook public
roads and canals in Holland.
Lustration. [L. lustratio, -nem. ] A purifica-
tion by water, connected with sacrifices and
other rites a Roman ceremony for winning the
favour of the gods. A general lustration of the
people was held by the Censors at the end of
every five years ; hence the period itself came to
be known as a lustre, lustrum [from luo, the Gr.
\OIKO, to wash].
Lustre. [Fr.] A metallic film over the glaze
of pottery, so thin as to be iridescent.
Lustre of years. (Lustration.)
Lusus naturae. [L.] A freak of nature.
Lute. A kind of guitar, with from four to
six pairs of strings, said to be Sp. laud, Ar.
el'ood.
Lutescent. [L. luteus, yellow^ Of a yellowish
hue.
Lute-stern. (Pink.)
Lutestring (corr. from Lustring). A plain
stout silk for ladies' dresses.
Lutetia. Old Latinized name of Paris.
Lutherans. The followers of Martin Luther.
( C onsub st antiation. )
Luting. [L. lutum, mud.} Closing the joints
of a vessel submitted to heat by means of a
clayey mixture called lute.
Luxation. [L. luxatio, -nem, from luxo, /
dislocate.} (Med.) Dislocation, displacement of
a bone or other part.
Lycanthropy. [Gr. \vKav6pta-nla, from Au/cos, .
a -wolf, and &v6p<oiros, a man.} 1. A kind of
madness, in which a man supposes himself to be
a wolf, and acts accordingly. 2. The supposed
assumption of the form of wolves by human
beings. These human wolves were called by
the French loup-garoux, by the old English
were-wolves, by the Germans wehr-wb'lfe. (Were-
wolves. )
Lycaon. [Gr. \VKOS, wolf.] (Zool.) Canis
pictus, Fennec, Megalotis \jj.eyd\a. S>ra, great
ears}, hunting dog, reddish brown patched" with
black and white ; connects hyaenas and dogs,
having the feet of the former (four toes on each
foot), the teeth and bones of the latter. It
hunts in packs. S. Africa. Gen. Lycaon, fam.
Camdse, ord Carnivora.
Lyceum. [L., Gr. \viceiov, the temple of
Apollo Lykeios.j 1. A gymnasium with covered
walks in the east suburb of Athens (named after
the neighbouring temple of Apollo L.), where
Aristotle gave his lectures ; hence, 2, any higher
school. (Gymnasium.)
Lych-gate. (Lich-gate.)
Lychnoscope. [Gr. \\>xvos, a light, and
ffKcnrfw, I see.] (Eccl. Arch.) An aperture in
the wall of a chancel, through which persons
outside might see the priest celebrating at the
altar.
Lycopodium. [Gr. \vxos, a -wolf, and irouj,
vo56s, a/oo/.] (Bot.) A gen. of native plants,
type of ord. Lycopodiaceae, or Club-mosses, vas-
cular acrogens, plants with creeping stems or
corms, and leafy branches resembling moss.
Lydianmode. (Greek modes.)
Lydius lapis, Lydian-stone. (Basanite.)
Lye, Ley. [O.E. leah.J Water impregnated
with alkaline salt imbibed from the ashes of
wood.
Lym, Lym-hound. [Fr. limier, a dog held in
a leash, O.Fr. Hem, L. ligamen, band.] The
bloodhound. (Ban-dog.)
Lymph. [L. lympha, water.'} (Med.) The
fluid contained in the lymphatic vessels ; often
applied, especially, to the fluid used in vacci-
nation.
Lymphatics. (Absorbents.)
Lynch law. Irregular justice administered by
the people ; so called, it is said, from a Virginian
farmer named Lynch.
Lynx. [Gr. \t/7.] (Zool.) Gen. of Felidse,
LYON
305
with tufted ears and short tails. N. hemi-
sphere ; except Caracal (q.v.}, which may perhaps
be considered a separate gen.
Lyon King-at-arms. Chief heraldic officer
for Scotland ; title derived from lion rampant in
the royal escutcheon.
Lyonnesse. (Leonnoys.)
Lyons, Poor Men of. (Hist.} The followers
of Peter Waldo, a merchant of Lyons (circ.
1160), commonly known as Waldensians.
Milman, Hist, of Latin Christianity, bk. ix.
ch. 8.
M.
M. As an abbrev., stands for the prseno-
men Marcus ; sometimes also for magister,
monumentum, municipium. M' stands for the
praenomen Manius. A Tuscan symbol like the
letter was used to denote 1000, and was formerly
supposed to be the letter itself.
Maash. (JVaut.) A large Nile trading-vessel.
Mab. In the mythology of the English poets
of the twelfth and following centuries, the queen
of the fairies. Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.
Mabby. A potato spirit used in Barbados.
Mao. A Scotch word signifying son [from
the same root with Gr. fifyas, great, Ger.
magaths, magd, a maid or grown-up girl, much,
muckle, etc.].
Macadamize. To construct roads by forming
a crust with layers of stones broken into angular
pieces of small size, each layer being consolidated
before another is placed on it. This process,
which was known long before in Europe, has
received its name in England from J. L. Mac-
adam, who died in 1836.
Macarius, St. (Dance Macabre.)
Macaroni. [It.] Long slender tubes of a
paste, chiefly of wheat flour.
Macaronic. A ludicrous distortion or adapta-
tion of modem words to Greek and Latin in-
flexions and metre ; invented by Theoph.
Folengo, in Italy, sixteenth century ; with a
gross macaroni-like mixture of classical words,
as in the schoolboy verses, ' ' Trumpeter unus
erat, qui coatum scarlet habebat," etc. The
Polemo-Middinia of Drummond is a specimen.
Macassar oil. A kind of hair- oil originally ob-
tained from Macassar, in the island of Celebes.
Macaw. (Ornith.) Gen. of birds like par-
rots, but with featherless cheeks. America.
Gen. Ara, fam. Conurfdse [Gr. KWVOS, cone,
ovpd, tail], ord. Psittaci.
Maccaboy. A kind of snuff (from a district in
the island of Martinique).
Mace. [It.] The aril a body which rises
up from the placenta and encompasses the seed
of the nutmeg, used as a spice.
Mace. [Fr. masse, a mass, lump, L. massa.]
(Mil.) A weapon used by cavalry; a species of
club, with large fixed head, or hanging loose by
chains. In the first form it is still used as an
ensign of authority.
Macedonians. In Eccl. Hist., the followers
of Macedonius, who in the fourth century
denied the distinct .personality of the Holy
Ghost.
Maceration. [L. maceratio, -nem.] The act
of softening substances by steeping them in cold
water.
Machiavellian. Popularly used as = having a
character of craft or duplicity in politics.
Machiavellism. The system of government
propounded by Machiavelli (1469-1527) in his
treatise called The Prince. The term is generally
used in a disparaging sense.
Machicolation. [Fr. machicoulis, origin un-
known, latter part con, with couler, to trickle
(Littre).] Projection supported on corbels over
the gateway of a castle, through the floor of
which stones, scalding water, and molten lead
were thrown on the heads of the assailants.
Machine. [L. machina, any military engine.]
Name given to any kind of engine used for bat-
tering or assisting in the attack of walls, before
the invention of gunpowder.
Machine-tool. A machine driven by steam
power, capable of adjustment to an automatic
feed for shaping metal by cutting.
Mackerel-boat. (Naut.) One clinker-built,
with large foresail, spritsail, and mizzen.
Macmillanites. A Scottish sect, representing
the Covenanters of the seventeenth century ; so
called from John Macmillan, who adopted their
principles and became their leader and spokes-
man. They are also known as the Reformed
Presbytery, and as Mountain or Hill People.
Macrame. [Fr. Micareme, Mid-Lent, when
priests' robes are trimmed with it.] In lace, a
kind of work principally applied to ornamenting
towels, etc. ; a long fringe is left at each end, for
the purpose of being knotted together in geo-
metrical designs. Mrs. Palliser, History of Lace.
Macro-. [Gr. /j.a.Kp6s, long.]
Macrocosm. [Gr. ^a/cpo's, large, nda-pos, world.]
The universe as opposed to Microcosm [/j.iKp6s,
small], the world of man.
Macrometer. [Gr. pa.Kp6s, long, /^.erptca, I
measure.] An instrument for measuring inac-
cessible objects by means of two reflectors on a
common sextant. Webster.
Macrura. [Gr. fj.aKp6s, long, ovpd, a tail.]
(Zool.) Long-tailed decapod crustaceans; as
shrimps and lobsters.
Macte virtute. [L., happy in thy virtue.]
Good luck to you.
Maculae. [L., spots.] (Med.) Detached dis-
coloured spots or patches in the skin, some from
textural change, generally pigmentary.
Macule. [L. macula, a spot.] In Printing, a
blur, causing part of the impression to appear
double.
x
MADA
306
MAGN
Madame; Mademoiselle. The Fr. forms of
the L. mea domina, my lady, mea dominicilla,
my little lady ; the latter being brought by abra-
sion into the Eng. damsel and miss.
Madder. [O.E. maddre.] A reddish root,
furnishing dyes and pigments.
Madefaction. [L. madelacio, I make wet.]
(Med.) I.q. humectation (q.v.}.
Madeira. A rich wine made in the isle of
Madeira.
Madeira nut. A kind of thin-shelled walnut
from Madeira.
Madjoun. (Majoun.)
Madge-howlet. \Cf. O.Fr. machette.] An owl.
Madonna. [It. for L. mea domina, my
lady.] The Italian term for the Virgin Mary.
Mad Parliament. (Oxford, Provisions of.)
Madrephyllia. [Gr. na$ap6s, moist, q>b\x\.ov,
leafage.] Mushroom corals, fungise.
Madrepore. [Fr.] Gen. of coral, giving its
name to fam. Madreporidae, and to Madrepo-
raria, the great bulk of recent, coral-making zoo-
phytes, as the Brainstone C. Ord. Zoantharia,
class Actmozoa, sub-kingd, Ccelenterata. (Gene-
rally connected with madre, spotted ; but Littre
gives It. madrepora, from madre, mother, Gr.
TtSipos, tuft-stone.)
Madrigal. [Fr., from It. madriale, L.L. ma-
triale, some kind of song (Littre).] 1. Seems
to have been originally a theme for the poet im-
provising ; then, 2, the harmonizing of such
songs as had become popular ; lastly, 3, as
perfected in England, part-music, with distinct
phrases or melodies, not mere concord of sounds,
as a glee may be ; while motett [It. moto, theme,
movement], once synonymous with madrigal,
came to denote movements intended for the ser-
vices of the Church, and these became anthems.
Maecenas. The friend and patron of Horace
and Virgil ; hence any patron of men of letters,
as Sir Philip Sidney e.g. was of Edmund
Spenser.
Maelstrom. [Norw., mill-stream.] (Geog.}
An eddy or race on the Norwegian coast,
exaggerated, like Scylla and Charybdis, into a
terrific whirlpool, sucking down everything
coming within its reach.
Maeso-Gothic. Belonging to the Mseso-Goths,
or Goths settled in Maesia.
Maestro di Capella. (Capelmeister.)
Magdeburg, Centuriators of. Certain Luthe-
ran writers so styled themselves, who in the
sixteenth century compiled, at Magdeburg, a
history of the Church down to the Reformation.
Magellanic clouds. (Astron.) Two nebulous
or cloudy masses of light, resembling portions
of the Milky Way, conspicuously visible to the
naked eye between 18 and 24 from the South
Pole, and covering areas of about forty-two and
ten square degrees respectively.
Magenta (from the battle of Magenta, soon
after which it was invented). An aniline dye of
red colour tinged with violet.
Magged. (A r auf.) 1. Worn and stretched
rope. 2. Reproved.
Magians. [Gr. jucryo?, perhaps from the
Pehlevi mog, or mag, a Driest,] The hereditary
priests among the ancient Persians and Medians.
Zoroaster is said to have been the great reformer
of their order. (Ahriman.)
Magic, Natural ; M. square. The art of em-
ploying the natural properties of things to pro-
duce effects that were thought magical ; as the
effects produced by the magic lantern. A M.
square is a square divided into nine, or sixteen, or
twenty-five, etc., smaller squares, with a number
written in each, such that the sum of the three,
or four, or five, etc., numbers in every horizontal,
or vertical, or diagonal, row is the same ; as
Magilp. A mixture of linseed oil and mastic
varnish, used as a vehicle in oil-painting.
Magister ad Facilitates. (Master of the
Faculties.)
Magister Equitum. (Master of the Horse.)
Magister Sententiarum. (Master of the Sen-
tences. )
Magistery. A precipitate produced by dilu-
tion with water.
Magistral. [Sp.] Roasted copper pyrites
used in reducing silver ores.
Magistral line. [L. magistralis, belonging to
a master.] (Mil.} The one first traced on the
ground, giving the outline of fortification works.
If the ditch has a retaining wall, it shows the
summit of the escarp ; in other cases, the line of
crest of the parapet.
Magistral remedy. [L. magister, master.]
(Med.) 1. A sovereign remedy. 2. A remedy
according to circumstances for a particular occa-
sion, and so = extemporaneous, not one of the
Pharmacopoeia.
Magma. [Gr. , a kneaded mass.] Any pasty
mixture of mineral or organic matters.
Magna Charta. (Charta, Magna.)
Magna est veritas et praevalebit. [L.] Truth
is great and will prevail.
Magna est vis consuetudinis. [L.] The force
of custom is great. (Mos pro lege.)
Magna Graecia. Name given to that part of
S. Italy which was thickly planted with Greek
colonies Sybaris, Croton, Tarentum, Rhegium,
etc.
Magnas inter opes inops. [L., poor in the
midst of much wealth (Horace).] A miser.
Magnates. [L.L.] In Hungary, and formerly
also in Poland, the title of the noble estate in
the national representation.
Magnesia. An alkaline earth, the oxide of
magnesium (originally found near Magnesia, in
Lydia) ; the medicine being carbonate of M., a
white, tasteless, earthy substance, mildlyaperient.
Epsom salt, i.e. formerly found in springs near E. ,
MAGN
307
MAID
is sulphate of magnesia. Magnesia alba is a mix-
ture of carbonate and hydrate of magnesium.
Magnesian limestone, i.e. having more than
twenty per cent, of carbonate of magnesia, is, in
Geol., = Permian limestone of Durham, and
Zechstein of Germany ; the middle member of
the Permian system in England and Europe.
Magnesium. A white malleable metal, the
base of magnesia.
Magnet [Gr. \i8os Mdyvrjs, Magnesian stone,
magnet} ; Electro-M. A body, commonly a
piece of steel, which has the property of attract-
ing pieces of iron to its poles or ends. An
Electro-M. is a magnet formed of a core consist-
ing of a rod, or bundle of rods, of wrought iron
round which an electric current circulates. If a
bar of steel is used as a core instead of soft
wrought iron, it retains its magnetic power after
the current has ceased to circulate. In this way
magnets are commonly made, though certain
kinds of iron ore, called lodestones, are natural
magnets ; and magnets used to be made by
touching steel needles with a lodestone.
Magnetic battery; M. compensator; M. ele-
ments ; M. field ; M. needle ; M. poles ; M. storms.
A Magnetic battery is a number of magnets joined
so that their similar poles come together and
strengthen each other. A M. compensator is a
magnet put in the neighbourhood of the compass
of an iron ship, to neutralize the ship's permanent
magnetism. The M. field is the region sur-
rounding a magnet and so modified by it that
another magnet brought within the region is
acted on by the force of the magnet. A M. needle
is a long thin magnet suspended so as to move
freely in a horizontal or vertical plane (i.e. as a
declination or dipping needle). The north pole
of a magnet is that which turns towards the
North Pole of the earth ; as unlike poles attract
each other, the magnetism of the north pole of a
magnet is of the same kind as that of the South
Pole of the earth. The north and south poles
here spoken of are the M. poles of the earth, i.e.
points at which the earth would exert no direc-
tive power on a declination needle ; they do not
coincide with the geographical poles of the earth.
M. elements are the infinitesimally small magnets
of which magnets are supposed to be made up, in
the mathematical theories of magnetism. (ForM.
azimuth, M. declination, M. storm, etc., vide
Azimuth; Declination; Storm, Magnetic; etc.)
Magnetism ; Terrestrial M. The force of at-
traction or repulsion exerted by a magnet on
other magnets. Terrestrial M. is the magnetic
force exerted by the earth, which is, in fact, a
magnet.
Magnetism, Animal, or Mesmerism (q.v.), (once
thought to have some analogy to the M. of the
lodestone). A supposed emanation by which
one person can act upon the body and mind of
another, controlling both action and thought,
the effect being that of " expectant attention"
(see Carpenter's Mental Physiology, ch. xvi.).
Magneto-electric induction; M.-E. machine.
The phenomenon of a momentary electric cur-
rent produced in a coil of wire by its motion
within a magnetic field. In a M.-E. machine
the motion is so arranged that a succession of
these momentary currents is made to coalesce
into a continuous current in one direction.
Magneto-electricity. Electricity developed
by the action of a magnet.
Magnifying-glass. A lens with a negative
focal length, in most cases a double-convex lens.
Magni nominis umbra. [I,.] The shadow of
a great name (Lucan) ; said of a man who
without ability in himself inherits a great name,
or of one who has survived or lost his reputation.
Magni refert quibuscum vixeris. [L.] It mat-
ters much with whom you live. (Noscitur e sociis.)
Magnis excidit ausis. [L.] He failed in a
great enterprise (Ovid) ; said of Phaethon.
Magnum bonum. [L., a great good.'} The
name given to a kind of plum and to a kind of
potato.
Magnum est vectigal parsimonia. [L.] Econo-
my is (in itself} a great revenue.
Magnus Apollo. [L.] A great A folio ; said
of one distinguished in art or science. (Apollo.)
Magot. (Zool.) The most common gen. of
Eastern monkeys, found also in N. Africa and
Gibraltar. Some spec, have long tails ; others,
as the Gibraltar monkey or Barbary ape, have
none. Macacus, fam. Cercopithccidce.
Manabharata. [Skt., the great (war of) Bha-
rata.~\ A long Indian epic poem, relating to the
civil war between the Kurus and the Pandus.
Mahadeva, Mahadeo. [Skt., the great god,
Gr. p.eyas 6eos.] (Myth.} A Hindu deity who
may be identified with Siva in the later Tri-
murtti or Trinity.
Mahadi. The twelfth Imam.
Mahalath, "to the chief musician upon M. ;"
Ps. liii., Ixxxviii. ; probably = sickness, i.e. in-
dicating a melancholy tune as appropriate
(Speaker's Commentary}. (Leannoth.)
Mahaleb. [Ar. mahleb.] A kind of cherry
whose fruit affords a violet dye.
Mahlstick. [Ger. malen, to paint, stock,
stick.} A stick used to support an artist's hand
while painting.
Mahone, Mahonna, or Maon. (Awit.) An
obsolete flat-bottomed Turkish ship of burden.
Mahound. A contemptuous name for Mo-
hammed or Mahomet ; hence an evil spirit or
devil. Often coupled with Termagant.
Maia. A word denoting motherhood (?) or
increase [is not May the increasing month, as
April is the opening month (aperire)?] ; common
to many Aryan languages. In Gr. Myth., M. is
the mother of Hermes. In Eng. , May.
Maiden. An instrument, resembling the Guil-
lotine, formerly used in Scotland for the behead-
ing of criminals. Hence to fciss the maiden was
to be put to death. (Scavenger's daughter.)
Maiden assize. An assize in which there are
no prisoners for trial.
Maidenhair. (Bot.} Adiantum capillus Vene-
ris, ord. Filices, ferns ; found on moist rocks,
old damp walls, etc. Rare in Britain, abundant
in S. Europe.
Maid Marian. This term is thought by some
to be a corr. of Mad Morion, the boy of the
Morrice-dance, so called from the helmet which
MAID
308
MALA
he wore. The corr. of the words led to the
change of the sex.
Maid of Kent, Holy. (Barton, Elizabeth.)
Maihem, Mayhem. (Leg.) The offence of
injuring another so as in any way to affect his
fighting power.
Mails. In Scot. Law, the rents of an estate.
Payments made by owners of lands, for protec-
tion of their property to the chiefs of marauding
clans, were termed black mail.
Maine liquor law. A law first enacted in the
state of Maine about 1844, forbidding the sale of
intoxicating drinks except by an agent specially
empowered by the local magistrate, or by muni-
cipal authority. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Mainotes. Pirates of the yEgean Sea.
Mainpernor. [Fr. main, hand, pernor =
preneur, one who takes. ~\ [L.] A surety for a
prisoner's appearance in court at a given time.
(Mainprise, Writ of.)
Main Plot. (Bye, or Surprise, Plot.)
Mainprise, Writ of. (Leg.) One of the means
of remedying the injury of false imprisonment ;
directed to the sheriff, commanding him to take
sureties for the prisoner's appearance (usually
called Mainpernors), and to set him at large.
Sail might imprison or surrender before the
stipulated day ; but M. were simply sureties for
appearance on the day. Again, B. were sureties
in the special matter only, but M. were bound
to produce him to meet all charges whatsoever.
Brown, Law Dictionary.
Maintenance. (Leg.) An offence punishable
by imprisonment, is, according to Mr. Justice
Stephen, " the act of assisting the plaintiff in
any legal proceedings in which the person giving
the assistance has no valuable interest, or in
which he acts from any improper motive. "
Maintenance, Cap of. A cap of dignity formed
of red velvet lined with ermine.
Mainyard men. In Naut. parlance, those on
the doctor's list.
Maison de sante. [Fr., a house of health.} A
private hospital.
Maitrank (i.e. May -drink). A popular drink
in Germany, prepared by throwing young shoots
of woodruff (Aspfirula odorata) into light white
Rhenish wine, and allowing it to stand for a few
hours.
Maitre d'hotel. [Fr.] A house-steward.
Maize. (Zea.)
Majesty. [L. majestas.] Properly the sove-
reign dignity of the Roman people. (Leze
majesty.)
Majesty, Apostolical. A title bestowed by the
pope, A.D. looo, on the Duke of Hungary.
Majesty, Catholic. A title bestowed by Alex-
ander VI., 1491, on Ferdinand and Isabella of
Spain.
Majesty, Most Christian. A title of the French
kings, who were also styled Eldest Sons of the
Church.
Majesty, Most Faithful. A title of the kings
of Portugal, bestowed by Pope Benedict XIV.
on John V.
Majolica. A soft enamelled pottery, in-
troduced into Italy from Majorca, and distin-
guished by coarseness of substance and elaborate
design.
Majorat. [Fr.] In the law of many conti-
nental nations, the right of succession to property
according to age. (Mayorazo.)
Major-domo. [L. major doinus, the greater
officer of the house.] This title, modified in later
times into mord-dom, denotes seemingly three
offices : (i) the chief officer of the prince's
table ; (2) the mayor of the palace ; (3) the
count or prefect of the palace, afterwards the
Seneschal.
Major e longinquo reverentla. [L.] Respect
is greater at a distance ; answering to the
phrases, " Familiarity breeds contempt ; "
" Distance lends enchantment to the view;" and
" No man a hero to his own valet."
Majoun, Madjoun. A preparation of hemp,
used as an intoxicating drug by Orientals.
Majuscules and Minuscules. [Fr.] In Print-
ing, capital letters and small letters.
Make ready. ( Mil. ) The old word of com-
mand for bringing a soldier's musket to full cock.
Making-iron. A tool like a grooved chisel,
used in caulking ships.
Malabric. The language of Malabar, in the
presidency of Madras.
Mala causa silenda est. [L.] When your
cause is bad you should say nothing (Ovid).
Malacca cane. A brown mottled cane for
walking-sticks, from a palm growing in Malacca.
Malachite. [Gr. yuaAax??, mallow, the leaf of
which has a like colour.] Native green carbo-
nate of copper, used for jewellery, etc.
Malacology. [Gr. (j.a\a.K<is,s0ft, \dyos, accottnt.]
The science of molluscs and molluscoids, which
are soft-bodied, unsegmented animals, with one,
two, or three nervous ganglia, and (usually) an
external skeleton, or shell. They are classified
as follows :
MOLLUSCA PROPER, TRUE MOLLUSCS.
Class.
Cephalopoda.
Gasteropoda.
Orders.
I. Dibranchlata [Gr.
bit, twice,
gills}.
II. Tetrabranchiata
[Gr. ^er^apa.-,_faur].
I. ProsObranchlata Whelks.
[Gr. jrp6<ra>, for-
ward}.
II. PulmOnTfera [L. Snails,
pulmo, -nis, lungs,
fero, I carry}.
Examples.
Octopus [Gr. OK-
TIUJTOUC, eight-
footed}, Paper
nautilus.
Pearly nautilus.
PteropSda.
Lamellibran-
chiata, or
Conchifera
[L. concha,
shell, fero, /
carry}, Bi-
valves.
III. 5pisthobranchi-
ata [Gr. oiriaOe, be-
hind}.
IV. Nucleobranchi-
ata [L. nucleus,
dim. of mix, kernel,
Gr. Bpd-tx'a, gills}
or Heteropoda [Gr.
Tpof, other}.
Bubble-shells,
Bullidae [L.
bulla, bubble},
and sea-le-
mons, Dorldae.
Carinaria.
CleodCra, Hya-
lea.
Cockles, oysters.
MALA
309
MALY
MOLLUSCOIDA, MOLLUSCOIDS.
Class.
Brachiopoda.
Tunicata.
Examples.
Lampshells.
Ascidians [Gr.
aaKos, leather
bag}.
PolyzOa. Sea-mats, Flus-
tra.
Malacopterygii. [Gr. /taA.oK<fc, soft, irrfpvt,,
-vyos, Jin.] (Ichth.) In Cuvier's system, fish
with soft rays in the paired fins ; as the carp.
Malacostracans. [Gr. naXaK-AarpaKos, soft-
shelled.'} (Zool.) Crustaceans with crust soft
as compared with those of molluscs, though not
so as compared with those of other crustaceans.
(With Aristotle, = Crustacea generally.)
Malades imaginaires. [L.] Those who fancy
themselves ill, hypochondriacs. Le Malade
Imaginaire is the title of a comedy by Moliere.
Maladie du pays. [Fr.] Home-sickness.
(Nostalgia.)
Maladresse. [Fr.] Awkwardness, clumsiness.
Mala fide. [L.] With bad faith. (Bona fide.)
Mala gallina, malum ovum. [L., a bad hen,
a bad egg.] Things will produce their like.
Malagash, Malagasy, Madegasse. People of
Madagascar ; of which island the native name
is Madecasse.
Mala mens, mains animus. [L.] A bad head,
a bad heart.
Malapert. [O. Fr. apert, L. apertus, open ;
hence intelligent; hence malapert, unskilful,
ill-bred.] Generally denotes pertness, impu-
dence, forwardness.
Malaprop, Mrs. A character in Sheridan's
play of the Rivals. She is always using wrong
words which resemble the right ones more or
less. So named from Fr. mal a propos, not to
the purpose.
Mal a propos. [Fr.] Unseasonable, ill-timed.
Malaria. (Miasma.)
Malayala. A dialect of the Malabar language.
Malebolge. [It.] The eighth circle of Dante's
Inferno.
Mal-entendn. [Fr., misunderstood.] A mis-
apprehension.
Male-suada fames. [L.] Hunger tempting to
evil (Virgil).
Malignants. [L. malignus, of a bad kind.]
(Eng. Hist.) A name applied by the Round-
heads or Puritans to those who refused to take
the Solemn League and Covenant.
Malignant tumours, etc. (Benign.)
Malingerer. (JVaut. ) One who shams illness
to shirk work.
Malingery. [Fr. malingre, ailing, from mal,
and hingre, O.Fr. =L. segrum, sick.] A feigning
of illness ; strictly, in shirking military duty.
Mali principii malus finis. [L.] A bad be-
ginning will have a bad ending.
Mails avibus. [L.] With bad birds, i.e. with
bad omens.
Malitia supplet setatem. [L.] A maxim of
the law, referring to infants between seven
and fourteen : malice makes up for want of
age ; i.e., in the particular case, the premature
criminal intelligence of the child shows him to
have been fully aware of what he was doing.
On the other hand, the evidence of a child intel-
ligently and religiously brought up, though primd
facie not to be received, may be received upon
the principle, Sapientia supplet retatem ; gene-
rally applied to children of seven and under.
Mall. [L. malleus, hammer.'] A heavy
wooden hammer. (Maul.)
Malleable. [L. malleus, hammcr.~\ Capable
of being spread out by hammering.
Mallemaroking. (A'attt.) Seamen visiting
each other, and carousing on board Greenland
ships.
Mallenders, Sallenders. ( Vet. ) In the horse,
scurfy eruptions M. in the flexure at the back of
the knee, S. at the bend of the hock.
Malleolus. [Dim. of L. malleus, hammer.']
(Anat.} The ankle. M. interntis, the termina-
tion of the tibia ; externus, that, of the fibula ;
forming the outer and inner prominences of the
ankle.
Malle-poste. [Fr.] Mail-coach or post,
mail.
Malleus. [L., hammer.] (Anat.) The most
external of the bones of the ear, attached to the
membrana tympani ; striking upon the incus
\anvil\.
Mallum. [L. L.] In the usage of the Teutonic
nations, the place for the meeting of the people,
each leading state in the empire having its own
place of assembly.
Malm. A yellow kiln-baked brick.
Malmsey. [Fr. malvoisie.] A strong, sweet
wine.
Male cum Platone errare quam cum aliis recte
sentire. [L.] / had rather be wrong with Plato
than right with any one else (Cicero).
Malta, Knights of. (Orders, Eeligious.)
Maltese cross. (Cross.)
Maltha. [Gr. /uaA0a.] A viscid mineral
pitch.
Malthusian theory. The theory of Malthus,
1798, that population would soon outrun the
means of subsistence, unless held back by the
external checks of vice, misery, and moral re-
straints ; the argument being that population
increases in a geometrical, food in an arithme-
tical, ratio.
Malum in se. [L.] A thing wrong in itself,
a violation of moral law ; as stealing. (Malum
prohibitnm.)
Malum prohibitum. [L.] A law phrase, for
things or acts which become wrong only as being
prohibited by enactment ; as the importation of
goods into a country, when so prohibited, be-
comes smuggling.
Malum vas non frangitur. [L.] Worthless
vessels are not broken.
Malus in uno, malus in omnibus [L.], or Falsus
in uno, etc. (Leg.} A man if bad, if dis-
credited as a witness in one matter, is the same
in all matters ; a maxim in Law ; a great exag-
geration, and not much acted upon, in fact.
Malvaceous. [L. malva, mallow.] 1. Mucila-
ginous. 2. Belonging to the ord. Malvaceae, or
mallow tribe.
Malversation. [Fr., from L. male, ill, ver-
sari, to be occupied.] Ill behaviour, especially
MAME
MAND
in reference to dishonesty, corruption, and em-
bezzlement.
Mameliers. [Fr. mameliere, from mamelles,
the breasts.} Metal plates protecting each side
of the chest ; fourteenth century.
Mameluke. [Ar. memalik, a slave.'] The
name of the male slaves imported from Circassia
into Egypt. In the thirteenth century they were
formed into an armed body of guards, who
dethroned the Sultan Touran-Shah, setting up
one of their own number in his place. They
then governed Egypt for 263 years. They
were finally destroyed by Mehemet Ali, 1811.
(Janissaries.)
Mamertine Prison. Two horrible dungeons
were so called, which were set apart for State
prisoners in ancient Rome.
Mammalia, Mammals. [L. mamma, breast.]
(Zool. ) The highest class of vertebrates, briefly
characterized by suckling their young, and by
having hair upon the whole or part of their skin
or hide, at some age or other. In the classifi-
cation of them we have followed that adopted
by Mr. Wallace, Geographical Distribution of
Animals.
Examples.
Monkeys and lemurs.
Bats.
MCnSdelphla,
Man.
^Ord. I. Primates.
Ord._II. Cheiro-
ptera.
Ord.III. Insectl-
vora.
Ord.IV. Carnivora
Pinnigrade.
Plantigrade.
Digitigrade.
Ord. V. Cetacea.
Ord. VI. Sirenia.
Moles, hedgehogs,
and shrews.
and
Ord. VII. Ungu-
lata.
Ord. VIII. Pro-
boscidea.
Ord. IX. Hyra-
coidea.
Ord. X. R5den-
t!a.
Ord. XI. Eden-
tata.
Didelphla. Ord.XII. Marsu-
pialta.
Ornlthodelphla. Ord. XIII. M5-
notreniata.
Seals.
Bears.
Otters, cats,
dogs.
Whales and dolphins.
The dugong and
manatee.
Horses,swine,camels,
oxen.
The elephant.
The hyrax.
Mice, beavers, porcu-
pines, hares.
Sloths, armadilloes,
ant-eaters.
Kangaroos.
Ornithorhyncus and
echidna.
Mammetry. Any false religion, idolatry ;
Mammet, an idol, being a corr. of Mahomet,
with whose religion the mediaeval Church was
brought most closely into contact.
Mammillated. Having projections like small
nipples [L. mammillae].
Mammodis. [Hind, mahmudi, praiseworthy.]
Coarse, plain Indian muslins.
Mammoth. (Geol.) Of Siberia and N.
Europe, the fossil elephant (Elephas primige-
nms), larger than existing elephants and covered
with dense, shaggy hair.
Man, Isle of, battery. (A r auf.) The battery
of three guns mounted on a ship's turret ; from
the triplicity of the arms of the island.
Manakin. (Ornith.) Fam. of birds, mostly
with gay plumage. 'J rop. S. America. Fam.
Pipridae, ord. Passgres. Some unite these with
the Cotingldae, Chatterers, including Rupicola
[L. rapes, rock, colo, / inhabit}, Cock of the
rock.
Man-at-arms. (Mil.) Designation fourteenth
to sixteenth century of heavy cavalry soldier
fully equipped in armour.
Manatee, Manatus. (Manatidae.)
Manatidse. (Zool.) Sea-cows; two gen. form-
ing ord. Sirenia Manatus, the manatee of the
Atlantic, and Halicore, the dugong of the Indian
Ocean ; aquatic herbivorous mammals, which
may have given rise to the belief in sirens, etc.
The dugong is distinguished from the manatee
by its forked tail and by its size, being sometimes
twenty-six feet long, whereas the manatee is
only nine or ten feet in length. Ryiina, a third
gen. and spec, recently inhabiting theN. Pacific,
is believed to be extinct.
Manbote. In O.E. Law, the compensation to
be paid for killing a man. (Wergild.)
Manche. [Fr.] 1. An ancient sleeve with
long hangings. 2. In Geog., La M. is the
English Channel.
Manche. Of Mangalore, Calicut, etc., a flat-
bottomed boat for landing cargoes ; its planks
sewed together with coir -yarn.
Manchester school. That of Mr. Cobden, Mr.
Bright, and other leaders of the Anti-Corn-Law
League. In 1838 Mr. Cobden carried in Man-
chester a motion to petition Parliament for the
repeal of all duties on corn ; the abolition of the
corn laws in 1846 was in great part due to Mr.
Cobden's lectures, etc., as Sir R. Peel acknow-
ledged.
Manchineel tree. (Bot.) Hippomane man-
9anilla, ord. Euphorbiaceae of W. Indies and
Trop. America ; one of the most poisonous of all
vegetable productions ; a drop of its white juice,
used for arrows, will burn the skin. A large
handsome tree, its wood valuable.
Manciple. [O.Fr. mancipe, with / inserted,
as in participle for participe, from L. manceps.j
A steward, especially in colleges in the univer-
sities.
Mandamus. [L., we command. ~\ A writ from
the Court of Queen's Bench, directed to any per-
son or corporation within the Queen's dominions,
requiring them to perform certain acts.
Mandarin. The Portuguese term [from L.
mandare, to command] for the official order of
nobility in China.
Mandarining. Giving an orange colour to
silk or woollen goods by the action of dilute
nitric acid.
Mandat. [Fr.] A post-office order.
Mandatary. [L. mandatarius, from mando, /
command.} One to whom a charge is given.
Mandible. [L. mandibiila, from mando, /
chew.] (Anat.) A jaw, the organ of mastication.
Mandibulate. [L. mandibula, a jaw, from
mando, / chew.] (Entom.) Insects provided
with mandibles [biting jaws] to their last stage
as beetles.
Mandoline. [It. mandolina.] An Italian
fretted guitar, like an almond [mandola] in
shape, of which there are several varieties ;
played with a plectrum in the right hand, the
left being used to stop the strings.
MAND
MANS
Mandrake. [Gr. fj.avSpa.y6pa.?.] Gen. xxx. 15 ',
Cant. vii. 13 ; probably Mandragora off icinalis, a
peculiar plant, with a large dark-coloured fleshy
root divided into two or three forks, somewhat
like the human body ; poisonous (except the
orange-coloured, pulpy fruit) and narcotic, so that
to have eaten mandrake was, with the ancients,
to be stupid. It was said to shriek when torn up,
and its fruit was supposed to cure barrenness.
Mandrel, Mandril. [Fr. mandrin ; origin un-
known.] The spindle which carries the chuck
of a lathe, and the pulleys by which the turning
motion is communicated to the chuck.
Mandrill. (Baboon.)
Mandubi. (Arachis.)
Manducation. [L. manducare, to chew.} A
term applied to the eating of the element of
bread in the Eucharist.
Manege. [Fr., It. maneggio.] 1. The art of
training and managing horses. 2. Riding-school.
Manes. The general name given by the
Latins to the spirits of the dead. The word
means good or kind. They were commonly
identified with the Lares. (Larvae ; Lemures.)
Mangabey. (Zoo!.) Gen. of monkeys, White-
eyelid monkeys, with long tails. W. Africa.
Cercocbus, fam. Cercopitheddse.
Manganese. (Min. ) A metal, greyish-white,
brilliant, heavy, very hard, non-magnetic ; not
known native, on account of its powerful affinity
for oxygen.
Mange in horses, dogs, cattle, and Scab in
sheep. Diseases resulting from the attacks of
minute mites or acari ; very similar to itch in the
human subject [Fr. manger, to eat, consume ;
so Fr. demanger, to itch}.
Manger. \Naut.} The front part of the
bows, by the hawse-holes, in a man-of-war, sepa-
rated from the rest of the deck by a high comb-
ing, called the manger-board, so that water
shipped through the hawse-holes may not come
on to the decks.
Mange-tout. [Fr., one who eats all.] A spend-
thrift.
Mangle-wheel; M.-raok. Mechanical con-
trivances for converting a continuous circular
motion into an alternating circular or rectilinear
motion ; they are used in mangles. The axis
carrying the pinion is capable of a small motion,
and, under the guidance of a groove, works alter-
nately on interior and exterior teeth in the case
of the wheel, and above and below a set of
projecting teeth in the case of the rack.
Mango. (Native name, Mangho.) (Sot.)
Fruit of Mangifera Indica, a gen. of tropical
Asiatic trees, included among the Anacardiaceae ;
in some varieties, highly prized.
Mangonel. [It. manganella.] (Mil.) An
ancient engine of war, similar to the Trebuchet.
Mangostan, Mangosteen. [Malay mangglstan. ]
A delicious Eastern fruit, of the size of a small
apple ; that of Garcinia mangostana.
Mangrove. [Probably an abbrev. of mangle
grove, the Malay name.] A tree of the gen.
Rhizophora, inhabiting tropical shores, and
known for the dense groves which it forms even
down to the water itself.
Manheim gold. Brass, consisting of four parts
of copper to one of zinc.
Manibus pedibusque. [L., with hands and
feet.] Tooth and nail.
Manichseans. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Manes, who, in the third century, tried to com-
bine Christianity with Eastern systems of philo-
sophy. He thus adopted the system of Dualism
(Ab.ri.man), and set forth opinions much like
those of the Cerinthians, Cerdonians, Carpocra-
tians, and other Gnostics.
Manichaeism. (Manichaeans.)
Manifest. [L. mamfestus, open.] In com-
mercial navigation, a document delivered to the
officer of customs by the captain of a ship,
giving a detailed list of the cargo in his charge,
with the names of the places where the goods
were shipped, and to which they are addressed.
Manilla. [Sp., from L. manus, hand.] 1. A
bracelet worn by Africans. 2. A piece of
copper shaped like a horseshoe, used as money
in W. Africa.
Manioc. (Cassava.)
Maniple. [L. manipulus, from manus, a hand.]
(Eccl.) Originally a handkerchief, now only a
symbolical ornament, attached, in the Latin
Church, to the left arm of the celebrant at Mass,
and perhaps used at one time for cleaning the
sacred vessels.
Maniples. (Centuries ; Legion.)
Manitou. [Algonkin manitu or manito, a
spirit, a ghost.] A spirit, god, or devil of the
American Indians. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Manjesty. (Munjeet.)
Manliana imperla. [L.] Manlian orders ; so
called from Titus Manlius, who, being Dictator,
is said to have ordered his son to be scourged
and beheaded for fighting contrary to his
orders.
Manna. A sweetish secretion of several
species of ash in S. Europe (supposed to resemble
the manna of Scripture).
Mannite. Crystallized sugar obtained from
manna.
Manoeuvre. [Fr., lit. work of the hand, L.L.
manuopera.] (Mil.) Movement, either tactical
or strategical, so disposed as by superior intelli-
gence or practice to surpass the combinations of
an adversary.
Man of Ross. So called by Pope, Moral
Essays. J. Kyrle, who, with ^500 a year only
of his own, and money given by others, built
churches and hospitals, largely assisted the poor,
sick, aged, orphans (died at Ross, Hereford-
shire, 1754, aged 90).
Manometer, or Manoscope. [Gr. pawfc, rare
(in consistency), ptrpov, a measure, er/coWw, /
behold.] (Chem.) An instrument for measuring
the elastic force of gases and vapours ; in most
cases either by observing the height of the
column of mercury which the force can support,
or the degree of compression which it produces
in a given quantity of air.
Mansard roof. (Arch.) So called from its
inventor, a French architect, who died in 1666.
A curb roof sufficiently lofty to admit of an
attic being lodged in it.
MANS
MARG
Hanse. [L.L. mansus, a dwelling.] The
Scotch name for a parsonage house.
Man ship, To. (Naut.) To man the yards
as a salute.
Manslaughter. In Law, the killing of a man
without malice, express or implied.
Mantelet. [Fr. mantelet, short cloak.} (Mil.)
Square metal shield erected on a wheeled stand
for protecting sappers from musketry fire.
Mantiger. [Gr. /taprixcfyas, an imaginary
beast, the word being a corr. of the Pers. mard-
khora, man-eater.] (Zool.) A large monkey
or baboon.
Mantilla. [Sp.] A kind of Spanish veil
covering the head and shoulders.
Mantis. [Gr., a diviner ; also, a kind of
locust or grasshopper, with long fore legs in con-
stant motion.] (Entom.) Gen. of orthoptrous
insects, frequently resembling the twigs and
leaves on which they live, called Praying insects,
from the way in which they hold "their great
raptorial front legs. "
Mantissa. [L. mantlsa, mantissa, an addition,
a make-weight. ] The decimal part of a logarithm.
Mantle. [L.L. mantellum, Fr. manteau.]
(Arch.) The piece lying horizontally between
the jambs of the chimney.
Mantling. The drapery or mantle hanging
from the helmet around the escutcheon.
Mann. (Menu, Laws of.)
Manual. Of a piano or organ, the key-board
for the hands [L. manus], distinguished from
pedals [pedes, feet].
Manual exercise. (Mil.) Established musket
drill of a soldier, exclusive of firing.
Manubrium. [L., a handle.] (Anat.) The
upper bone or portion of the sternum, or breast-
bone.
Manumission. [L. manumissio, -nem.] In
Rom. Law, the freeing of the slave by the master,
who took his hand and said, " I will that this
man be free " [Hunc hominem liberum esse volo].
Manx. Belonging to the Isle of Man.
Manzera. (Naut.) A cattle -boat of the
Adriatic.
Maon. (Mahone.)
Map. (Projection.)
Maple sugar. Sugar obtained in the woods
of the N. United States and Canada by evapo-
rating the juice of some spec, of Acer, more
especially A. saccharinum.
Mapp Fair. (Mop.)
Marabou. (Native name, Senegal.) (Ornith.)
Gigantic African stork, furnishing plumes so
termed from under side of tail. Leptoptilos [Gr.
\fin-6s, delicate, irrl\ov, plumage] marabou, fam.
Ciconndse [L. ciconia, stork], ord. Grallse.
Indian spec. , the adjutant, L. argala.
Marabout. Mohammedan devotee. (Dervise.)
Marabut. (A T aut.) A bad-weather sail in
use on galleys.
Maran-atha. i Cor. xvi. 22 ; an Aramaic ex-
pression, the Lord cometh ; to be separated by a
full stop from "Anathema." (Raca.)
Maranta. (Arrow-root.)
Maraschino. [It. marasca, a sour cherry.] A
delicate liqueur distilled from cherries.
Marasmus. [Gr. napacrn.6s, fj.apa.lvw, I make
to wither] (Med.) Wasting away of the body,
atrophy.
Maravedi. A Spanish coin, called after the
Marabites (Almoravides), an Arabian dynasty,
which ruled in Spain. It was at first made of
gold, but is now of copper. It is the thirty-
fourth part of a real, and is worth about a
twelfth of a penny
Marble. (Geol.) A limestone (popularly any
stone) that will receive a fine polish ; usually
metamorphic.
Marc. [L.L. emarcus, a kind of vine.] The
refuse of pressed grapes.
Marcassin. [Fr.] (Her.) A young wild boar.
Marceline. [Fr.] A thin silk tissue used for
lining ladies' dresses.
Marcescent. [L. marcescentem, decaying,
withering.] (Bot. ) Fading, or withering, with-
out falling off.
March Decrees, of 1880. By this name the
decrees abolishing non-authorized religious com-
munities in France are becoming known.
Marches. [A. S. mearc, mark, boundary.] 1.
The borders or frontiers of any district ; espe-
cially applied to the boundaries between Eng-
land and Scotland and between England and
Wales. Marquis, Markgraf, and other similar
titles were = governors of M. So Earl of
March, i.e. of the Welsh M. ; where, in the
Middle Ages, considerable authority was exer-
cised by Marchers, petty kings. Hence to march
with. An estate marches with another when
they have a common boundary. 2. The eastern
provinces of the Papal States (q.v.), from Rimini
to the Tronto, about no miles along the Adriatic.
Marchpane. [It. marzapane.] A sweet spiced
bread.
Marcid. [L. marcidus, marceo, / wither]
Lean, wasted away.
Marcionites. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Marcion, who, in the second century, adopted
the Oriental notion of two opposing principles
of good and evil (Ahriman), and imagined that
between these existed a third power, neither
wholly good nor wholly evil, who was the
creator of the world and the author of the Jewish
dispensation. (Gnostics.)
Marcle. [O.Fr.] (Her.) A lozenge voided.
(Lozenge ; Voided.)
Marcosians. A Gnostic sect who are said to
have derived their name from an Egyptian
magician named Marcus.
Mare clausum. [L.] A sea closed to naviga-
tion, from whatever cause.
Maremma [It.], corr. of Maritfma. A
name given to a vast extent of malarious low-
lands on the W. coast of Italy ; especially ap-
plied to those of Tuscany and the Papal States
(q.v.).
Mare's-tail (from its shape). A long streaky
cloud indicating rain.
Marforio. (Pasquinade.)
Margent, like Marge, is a variant of margin,
a border or edge [L. marginem].
Marginalia. [L.] Notes on the margin, and
elsewhere on the page, made in reading a book.
MARG
313
MARS
Margrave. (Marches.)
Margravine. The wife of a Margrave.
Marie Antoinette. (Diamond necklace.)
Marigold window. (Rose window.)
Marigraph. [L. mare, sea, Gr. ypd<f>u, I
write, or draw.] A machine for registering the
height of tides.
Marine acid (because obtained from salt ; L.
marinus, sea-). (Chem.) Hydrochloric acid.
Marine engine. (Steam-engine.)
Marine glue. A mixture of tar and shellac.
Marines. [L. marinus, belonging to the sea. ]
In the English army, a body of men enlisted to
serve as soldiers, if needed, on board ship. First
raised in 1664. It consists of four divisions of
light infantry, and one of artillery.
Marish. Ezek. xlvii. 1 1 ; the same word as
marsh [Fr. marais, L.L. mariscus].
Maritime law. (Oleron, Laws of; Wisby,
Ordinances of; Amalfian Code.)
Mark, or Marc. 1. [A.S. marc.] A sum of
13.?. 40". 2. In the new German coinage, which
is legal throughout the empire, a mark is a third
of a thaler ; the twenty-mark gold coin is worth
about iqs. "jd. 3. A weight, which in Prussia
is 3609 grains troy ; it is half a Cologne or
Prussian pound, and a little more than an Eng-
lish half-pound avoirdupois. 4. The territory
of a primitive Teutonic community, ruled by a
king, ealdorman, or some other elective or here-
ditary leader. Such are Denmark, Finmark, etc.
(Marches.)
Mark, St., Order of. A Venetian order of
knighthood, called after St. Mark, the patron of
the republic.
Marks and deeps. (Naut.) Marks are the
fathoms marked on the hand lead-line, and are
placed at two, three, five, seven, ten, thirteen,
fifteen, seventeen, and twenty fathoms ; Deeps,
the fathoms between the marks. In sounding
nine fathoms, the leadsman calls, " Deep nine,"
but at a marked fathom, as ten, he calls, ' ' Mark
ten. "
Marl. [Marga, Gael, and Latinized by Pliny ;
whence L. margula, O.Fr. marie.] (Geol.) A
mixture of lime and clay in various proportions ;
in clay-marl, clay predominates ; in marl-clay,
lime. Shell-marl contains fresh-water shells.
Marl, To. (A r aut.) To serve a rope with twine,
etc., securing each turn with a peculiar knot, so
that, some turns being cut, the others hold.
Marline. (Naut.) A small loosely twisted
two-stranded line or string. M.-holes, holes
made in sails for marling the bolt-rope to the
sail, instead of serving it. M.-spike, an iron
pin tapering to a point, and used for knotting,
splicing, etc. M.-spike hitch, the knot used in
marling, with the aid of a M.-spike.
Marmala. [Port, marmelo, a quince.~\ A
scent distilled from the Bengal quince.
Marmoratum. [L.] (Arch.) A cement com-
posed of powdered lime and marble.
Marmot. [Fr. marmotte, originally mar mon-
tain, L. murem montanum, mountain rat.] (Arc-
tomys.)
Maronites. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Maron, an adherent of the Monothelites. They
inhabit the mountains of Libanus and Antili-
banus, in Syria, and formed a separate sect from
the seventh to the twelfth century, when they
were reconciled to the see of Rome.
Maroon. 1. [Fr. marron, a chestnut.] Brown-
ish crimson. 2. (A T aut.) To put on shore a
sailor or passenger on a desert island, and there
leave him. Alexander Selkirk was marooned
on the island of Juan Fernandez, 1704-1708.
Maroons. [Probably a corr. of Sp. cimarron,
wild, savage (Littre').] Runaway negroes, such
as those who, when Jamaica was conquered by
the Spaniards, abandoned by their masters,
occupied some of the mountainous parts. The
Maroon wars in Jamaica occurred in 1730 and
1795-
Marque, Letters of, and reprisal, which, ac-
cording to Blackstone, are synonymous "the
latter a taking in return [Fr. reprise, from v.
reprendre], the former the passing the frontiers
\cf. Eng. the marches ; and the words Marquis,
Margrave], in order to such taking ; may be
obtained in order to seize the bodies or goods
of the subjects of the offending state, until satis-
faction be made, wherever they happen to be
found." (Letters of marque.)
Marquee. [(?) Distinguished, part, of Fr.
marquer.] Large State tent, generally decorated
with flags.
Marqueterie. [Fr. marqueter, to checker, a
frequentative of marquer.] Marquetry ; inlaid
work, of differently coloured pieces of wood,
ivory, shell, etc.
Marquetry. (Marqueterie.)
Marquis, Marquess. (Marches.)
Marrow Controversy. Arose out of the Mar-
row of Modern Divinity, the work of a Puritan
soldier, temp. Commonwealth; a highly "evan-
gelical " work, condemned by the Assembly,
1720 at that time a very worldly body but not
by the judgment of the people. Substantially
the same controversy which led to the expul-
sion of the Rev. Eben. Erskine, 1733 (who had
denounced recent Church legislation), and to the
forming of the Secession Church ; and to that of
the Relief Church also, 1758, which asserted the
right to elect its own minister. By the amalga-
mation of S. and R. Churches was formed the
United Presbyterian Church, 1847.
Marry. Indeed, truly. Said to be from the
Virgin Mary, owing to the constant invocation
of her name.
Mars. 1. The Latin god of war. The word
means the crusher or pounder, and the root is
found in the names of the Greek Ares, the
Indian Maruts, or storm-winds, the Greek Alo-
adas and Molionids, and of Thor Mib'Jnir. 2.
(Astron.) (Planet.)
Marseillaise (played, when but little known,
by a body of troops entering Paris from Mar-
seilles'). A hymn which has played an important
part in French and other revolutions ; words
and music (almost certainly) by Rouget de Lisle,
a French officer quartered in Strasburg in 1792.
Marshal. [Ger. marschall, from O.H.G.
mara, horse, and scalh, servant, L.L. mare-
scalcus.] A title denoting many high offices in
MARS
3'4
MAST
European countries. The office of Marshal of
England, which seems to have been instituted
by William the Conqueror, is now hereditary in
the dukes of Norfolk.
Marshalling. [Eng. marshal.] Arranging
according to the rules of heraldry, (i) persons in
a procession, (2) coats of arms of distinct fami-
lies in one escutcheon.
Marshalsea. [L. sedem, seat.'] In Law, the
see or court of a marshal. The King's Bench
Prison in Southwark was so called.
Marsh poison, or Marsh miasma. (Miasma.)
Marsupialia, Marsupials. [L. marsupium,
Gr. fndpff"nros, -lov, pouch.] (Zool.) An ord. of
mammals, with an external abdominal pouch, in
which the young are nurtured after an exception-
ally short period of gestation ; e.g. the kangaroo.
The opossums of N. America are the only gen.
found out of Australia and adjacent islands,
where few mammals of other orders are indi-
genous.
Martagon. [Fr. and Sp., It. martagone.]
(Bot.) A kind of lily.
Martel de fer. [Fr.] Iron hammer, carried
at the saddle-bow, perhaps replacing the battle-
axe ; sixteenth century.
Martello towers. [So named probably from
It. martello, a hammer.~] 1. Towers built on
some of the Mediterranean coasts and elsewhere,
as a defence against pirates. 2. Towers which
have on their summit a gun fixed on a traversing
platform.
Martial law. A phrase used to denote arbi-
trary and absolute power, exercised by a military
officer over the lives, persons, and property of
individuals, in cases of great emergency.
Martinet. Severe military disciplinarians are
so named, it is said, from Colonel Martinet,
who, in the reign of Louis XIV., invented a whip
for the scourging of soldiers.
Martingale. [Fr. ; said to be from Martigftes,
in Provence.] 1. A strap fastened to a horse's
girth, passing between his fore legs, and ending
in two rings through which the reins pass. 2.
(Naut.) A rope extending from the jibboom
end to the dolphin-striker, to keep the jibboom
down.
Martin Marprelate. The fictitious author of
a series of tracts, denouncing episcopal govern-
ment (1588).
Martinmas. The festival of St. Martin, Bishop
of Tours ; November 1 1 ; third of the four cross-
quarter days.
Martinmas summer. The short period of calm,
warm weather often experienced about the time
of St. Martin's festival.
Martinus Scriblerus, Memoirs of. Intended
satirical treatises on all the abuses of human
learning, by Pope, Swift, and Arbuthnot : the
project was only partly carried out.
Martlet. [Fr. martinet.] (Her.) A marten
without legs, borne (i) as a charge, (2) as a dif-
ference in the fourth son's escutcheon.
Martnets. [Fr. martinet.] (A 7 aut.) The
leech-lines of a sail, said to be topped, when the
leech is hauled up close to its yard.
Martyrology. [Gr. pdprvs, a witness, \6yos,
discourse.] Properly, any record relating to the
acts and deaths of martyrs. The Martyrology of
Eusebius has been lost. Fox's Book of Martyrs
relates the sufferings of the English reformers.
Gallonius's De Sanctorum Martyrum Crucidtibus
is a popular book on the Continent.
Marum, or Marrum. (Ammophila.)
Maruts. (Mars.)
Marver (corr. from Marble). A hollowed
plate, for shaping glasswork when blown.
Marzolet. (Naut.) An Indian boat, built of
bark, and caulked with moss.
Maschil. A title of Ps. xxxii. and twelve
other psalms ; meaning uncertain, probably
instruction. So LXX. ffweatus, and Jerome
erudttio,
Mash. [Ger. maischen, to mash.] A mixture
of ground malt and warm water for brewing.
Mashallah ! [ Ar. ] God be praised !
Mask. [Fr. masque, L.L. mascha, a witch.]
1. Masquerade, mummery. 2. Dramatic per-
formance by masked actors, as Comus.
Masked battery. (Mil.) One concealed by
woods or otherwise, of which the existence is
only disclosed on its opening fire.
Masked troops. (Mil.) Having their powers
of offence neutralized by being watched and
checked by a superior force.
Maslach. A preparation of opium used by
Turks.
Maslin, (Meslin.)
Masorah. (Cabala.)
Mass. [L.L. missa.] The Eucharistic Office
in the Latin Church ; so named, it is said, from
the words of dismissal, "Ite missa est ; " but
this is doubtful.
Mass. In Physics, the quantity of matter in
a given body ; it is proportional to the weight.
If two bodies exactly counterpoise each other in
a perfectly just balance, they have equal masses.
Masseter. [Gr. na.affi]Tj\p, /j.a<r(rtiofj.ai, I chew.]
(Anat.) The muscle which raises the lower jaw.
Massicot. [Fr., from masse, a mass, because
obtained in small masses.] (Chem.) Yellow
oxide of lead, obtained by heating lead in a
current of air. When fused and allowed to
crystallize, it forms litharge (q.v. ).
Mast. [A.S. mast.] (Naut.) If made of a
single spar, is called a Pole-M. ; if of more
than one, a Built-M., or Made-M. The lower
masts are as follows : The Fore-M. is the most
forward, and is next in size to the Main-M.,
which is abaft the F.-M. If there is a third
lower M., it is placed, abaft the Main-M., and is
called the Mizzen-M. Top-masts are those im-
mediately above the fore, main, or mizzen
respectively. Top-gallant M. are those above
Top-M., and Royal M. are those above Top-
gallant M. Top-gallant and Royal M. are
often only one. All upper masts are named after
their respective lower M. ; as, Main-top M., the
one above the Main-M. M. -curlings are the
large ones on each side of a lower M. M.-coat,
a piece of canvas fastened round a M. to pre-
vent water from soaking in between it and the
decks.
Master. [A.S. master, magester, L. magister.]
MAST
315
MAUD
(Naut.) Of a merchantman, the captain; of
a man-of-war, an officer ranking with and after
lieutenants according to date, but junior in com-
mand to all lieutenants. It is his duty to navi-
gate the vessel under the captain, but he reports
to the first lieutenant, who gives the necessary
orders. He is also charged with stowing stores,
etc. M. and commander, former designation of
a commander. (Bank.)
Master-gunner. (Mil.) Non-commissioned
officer of the highest grade in the artillery, and
corresponding with a warrant officer in the navy.
He generally has separate charge of the guns
and ammunition in a detached fort.
Master of Arts. [L. magister.] In the uni-
versities, the highest degree in the faculty of
Arts ; the most ancient of all academical titles.
Master of the Faculties, Magister ad Facili-
tates. The archbishop's officer in the Faculty
Court (q.v.).
"Master of the Horse. 1. In Rom. Hist., an
officer, styled in L. Magister Equf turn, elected by
the Dictator to serve under him during his dic-
tatorship. 2. Nobleman in the sovereign's
household in charge of the equerries and horses.
Master of the Sentences, Magister Senten-
tiarum. Peter Lombard, Bishop of Paris, one
of the founders of scholastic divinity, author of
Liber Sententiarum, i.e. sentences and extracts
from the Fathers, illustrating doctrines (died
1164).
Masters. (Leg.) Subordinate officers of the
superior courts of law and equity in England.
The office of Master in Chancery was abolished
in 1853.
Masters, Little. Certain German engravers
of the sixteenth century (from the extreme
smallness of their prints).
Mastersingers. A class of German poets in
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, chiefly at
Niirnberg, formed into regular corporations.
Hans Sachs belongs to this society.
Master Thief. (Hermes; Rhainpsinitos, The
Treasures of ; Treasure.)
Mastic. [Gr. fiaa-rix'n, from fj.affnx<i<i>, I
chew, because formerly chewed in the East.]
1. A yellow resin obtained from a Levantine
tree, and used for artists' varnish. 2. A cement
used for plastering walls.
Mastiok (History of Susannah, ver. 54), or
Lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus). (Bot.) Evergreen
bush, yielding a fragrant gum ; in Palestine and
other Mediterranean countries.
Mastodon. [Gr. juaerrdr, a teat, oSovs, tooth.}
(Geol.) An extinct gen. of gigantic proboscidian
pachyderms, with large conical mammiform
points to the molars, before they are worn down ;
mostly in Tertiary fresh-water deposits.
Mastdid. [Gr. fiaaros, the breast, tiSos, appear-
ance] 1. Like a nipple. 2. Like the structure
of the breast.
Mast-rope. (Naut.) That by which an
upper mast is hoisted or lowered.
Masulah, or Massolah, boats. Madras boats,
from thirty to thirty-five feet long, by ten to eleven
feet wide, propelled by twelve oars, double
banked, and steered by a man in the stern with
a long oar; built of planks sewed together with
coir-yarn.
Matador. [Sp. , a slayer, probably from L.
mactator, from mactare, to sacrifice.} The man
who gives the death-blow to the bulls wounded
in the Spanish bull-fights.
Matamoros. A slayer of Moors, as the
Sp. matador is the slayer of the bulls {I., mac-
tator tauri] in the arena ; hence a swaggerer
or braggadocio, like Captain Bobadil in Ben
Jonson's play, Every Man in His Humour.
Matchlock. (Mil.) The first kind of musket ;
the priming being ignited by a match attached
to an iron finger, and brought down to the touch-
hole by the thumb of the right hand.
Mate. [A Teut. and Scand. word.] (Naut.)
The officers of a merchant-vessel below the
captain, viz. first or chief M., second, third, and
fourth M.
Mate. (Native name.) Paraguay tea; the
dried leaf of the Brazilian holly.
Matelote. [Fr. matelot, a sailor.} A dish
composed of many kinds of fish.
Mater artium necessitas. [L.] Necessity the
mother of arts, or inventions.
Materfamilias. [L.] The mother, or mistress,
of a family.
Materia medica. [L.] (Med.) The science of
the materials used in alleviation or cure of disease.
Materiem superabat opus. [L.] 77ie "work
was better than tlie material.
Mathematici. (Genethliacs.)
Mathematics [Gr. /j.a97]fj.ariKos, relating to TO
/uaflTjyuaTct, the sciences'} ; Pure M. ; Mixed M.
The general term used to denote a body of
sciences treating of (i) number; (2) position,
size, form ; (3) motion ; (4) force ; i.e. arith-
metic, geometry, kinematics, and dynamics (or
mechanics). It is usual to apply the term Pure
M. to arithmetic and geometry, with all their
developments, and the term Mixed M. to
kinematics and dynamics, and the various
branches of physical science to which they are
applicable, as astronomy, optics, sound, heat,
electricity, etc.
Matins. (Canonical hours.)
Matrass. [Fr. matras.] An egg-shaped vessel,
with a tapering neck, used by the old chemists.
Matriculation. [L. matrlcula, a roll or
register.] Denotes especially the enrolment of a
name on a member's entrance into a university.
Matrix. [L. , womb.} 1. The original
die used for a coin or medal which has to be
represented in relief. 2. The substance in
which metals or gems are found embedded. 3.
One of the five simple colours in dyeing black,
white, blue, red, and yellow.
Matt. [Ger., dull.} (Chet/i.) Crude black
copper, reduced but not purified from sulphur,
etc.
Mattamore. (Matamoros.)
Matter, Dead. In Printing, type which has
been used in printing, and is ready for distri-
bution. Live matter is type which has been set
up, but not yet printed from.
Matthews' Bible. (Bible, English.)
Maud. A shawl wrap, made of undyed wool.
MAUG
MECH
Mangre. In spite of, notwithstanding [the
Fr. malgre, from mal, bad, gre, will, L
gratum].
Maul, or Mall. [L. malleus.] (Naut.) An
iron hammer, having one end pointed. Top-M
has an iron handle with an eye, by which it i
fastened to the masthead.
Maund. [Hind, man.] Ah E. -Indian weight
The Madras M. is 25, and the Bombay M
28 pounds avoirdupois ; in Bengal, the Factory
M. is 74, and the Bazaar M. 82 T ^ pounds avoir
dupois.
Maundies. The Queen's purses of money,
with other gifts, given every Maundy Thursday
to poor recipients, equal in number to the years
of life to which she has attained.
Maundril. [Fr. mandrin.] A coal-miner'
pick, with two points.
Maundy money. Coins of fourpence, three-
pence, twopence, and one penny in silver ;
coined for the purpose of being given away by
the sovereign on Maundy Thursday.
Maundy Thursday. Thursday before Easter ;
Dies mandati, the day of the command, i.e.. to
"love one another" (John xiii. 34); or from
maunds [Fr. mande], baskets of gifts, anciently
presented by Christians to one another.
Maunjee. [Hind.] A native boatman of the
Hooghly.
Maur, St., Congregation of. (Hist. ) A learned
body of the Benedictine order ; so called from a
village near Paris, where they were established,
1618. It numbered at one time more than a
hundred houses.
Mausoleum. [L.] 1. A tomb built (circ.
B - c - 353) i n memory of Mausolus, King of
Caria, and reckoned among the seven wonders
of the world. 2. Any splendid sepulchre.
Mauvaise honte. [Fr.] Bashfulness, shame-
facedness, awkward shyness.
Mauvaise plaisanterie. [Fr.] A sorry joke,
a scurvy jest.
Mauvais pas. [Fr., a bad step.] A difficulty,
a scrape.
Mauvais quart d'heure. [Fr., a bad quarter
of an hour.] A moment of great distress.
Mauvais sujet. [Fr. , a bad subject. ] A worth-
less fellow, a scoundrel.
Mauvais ton. [Fr., a bad tone.] Want of
good breeding, ill manners.
Mauve. [Fr., mallou>.~\ A pale lilac colour,
obtained from aniline.
Mavis. [Fr. mauvis, id., L.L. malvitius,
possibly as doing harm, malum, to the vine,
vltis (Littre).] (Ornith.) Song-thrush, Turdus
musicus, fam. Turdidse, ord. Passres.
Maw. [A.S. maga, Ger. magen.] (Ornith.)
Stomach, the craw of birds.
Mawmetry. (Mammetry.)
Maw-seed. The seed of the opium poppy
(Papaver somniferum), given to birds as medicine.
Mawworm. (Tartuffe.)
Maxilla. [L.] Jaw, jawbone.
Maxim. [L. maximus, greatest. ] In ancient
Music, a note = two long notes or four breves.
(Breve.)
Maxima debetur puero reverentia. [L.] A
child should be treated -with the greatest reference
(Juvenal).
Maximum. [L., greatest.] When a variable
magnitude increases up to a certain value and
then decreases, that value is a maximum. A
M. is not necessarily the greatest value of the
variable. (Minimum.)
May. (Maia.)
Mayflower. (Pilgrim Fathers.)
Mayor. [L. major, greater.] The chief muni-
cipal officer of a borough, after the Norman
Conquest, answering to the older Portreeve or
borough reeve. In France, the title is now
given to the first municipal officer of each
commune.
Mayorazo. [Sp., from L. magistrates.] In
Spain, the inheritance of property on condition
of its being transmitted unimpaired to the next
heirs. In Germany, this kind of entail is known
as Majorat.
Mayor of the palace. (Major-domo.)
Mayor of the staple. (Staples.)
Mazarine. (From Cardinal Mazarin.) A deep
blue colour.
Maze. In the herring trade, = 500 herrings.
Mazurka. A Polish dance, lively, in f or f
time.
Mazzinians. The extreme party of progress
in Italy ; so called from Joseph Mazzini (1805-
1872), who founded the societies of Young Italy
and Young Europe.
Mead. [O.E. medu.] A fermented drink
made of water and honey.
Meadow-sweet. (Spiraea.)
Meaking-iron. (Naut.) The tool with which
old caulking is taken out of the seams.
Mealie. In S. Africa, Indian com.
Meal of milk. [A.S. mael, a fixed portion ;
cf. Ger. mal, a time.] That given at a single
milking.
Meal-Tub Plot. A pretended plot, in con-
nexion with the Popish Plot of Titus Oates ; so
called from the alleged discovery by Dangerfield
of the papers relating to it in a meal-tub (1679).
Mean, or Average, duration of life. The
average of the number of years lived by a large
number of persons after they have reached a
certain age ; thus, according to the Carlisle
fable, of people twenty years old the mean dura-
ion of life is 41 '5 years more.
Meander. To wind along ; from the rounding
course of the river of this name in Asia Minor.
Mean value ; M. term ; M. time. The Mean
ahie of two or more numerical quantities is
heir sum divided by their number ; called also
he Arithmetical M. (For Mean or M. term,
de Proportion ; for M. time, vide Time.)
Mease. [A word containing the root of
measure.] The number of 50x3 ; as a mease of
mackerel = 500 mackerel.
Meatus. [L.] (Anat.) An opening or pas-
age ; e.g. M. audltorius, the auditory canal.
Mea virtute me involve. [L.] / -wrap my-
elf in my virtue (Horace).
Mechanical philosophy; M. powers. The
Mechanical powers are the simple machines
ever, wheel and axle, pulley, inclined plane,
MECH
317
MEGA
screw, and wedge ; by which a man is enabled
to overcome a resistance greater than the force
exerted by himself. They are, of course, some-
times otherwise applied. M. philosophy is a
doctrine which explains the phenomena of
nature by the mutual action of bodies on each
other ; the term "body "including minute bodies,
i.e. corpuscles or molecules.
Mechanics ; Applied H. ; Celestial M. Pro-
perly the science of machines ; but as commonly
used it means the science of the motion and rest
of bodies as produced by forces, and includes
the four divisions of statics, hydrostatics, dyna-
mics, and hydrodynamics. This nomenclature
is not universally accepted (vide Dynamics).
Applied M. treats of the application of the
general doctrine of M. to works of human art.
Celestial M. treats of the application of the
general doctrine of M. to the motion of the
heavenly bodies under the force of gravity : it
is the name given to physical astronomy by
Laplace.
Mechanism. The branch of kinematics which
treats of the forms of machines considered as
modifiers of motion.
Mechanists. [Gr. wxtivi], machine.} Philo-
sophers who refer all changes in the universe to
merely mechanical forces ; as opposed to the
Dynamical philosophers, who assert a living
power in nature antecedent to all phenomena.
Mechlin lace (from Mechlin, in Belgium).
Lace with hexagon mesh of three threads, in
which the pattern is worked.
Mccdnium. [L.] 1. Inspissated juice of the
poppy. 2. First faeces of infants. [Gr. fjLt]K<aviov,
from /urj/ccoj', a poppy, has both meanings.]
Medea. In Gr. Myth., the daughter of the
King of Colchis, by whose aid Jason obtains
the Golden Fleece (Argonauts), and who slays
her two sons when Jason proves faithless to her.
Mediaeval. [From L. medium sevum, the
middle age or period.] Belonging to the Middle
Median line, Mesial line or plane. [Gr.
fitffos, L. medius, middle. } An imaginary longi-
tudinal division of the body into two equal
parts.
Mediastinum. [L. mediastmus, standing in
the middle.] (Anat.) (i) A middle partition,
especially (2) that formed in the thorax by. the
approximation of the two pleurae.
Mediation. [L. mediare, to halve. ~\ In chant-
ing, that which remains in the former half of a
verse, after the reciting note.
Mediatization. The grouping of the smaller
German sovereignties with larger neighbouring
states after the dissolution of the Empire in
1806. This had often been done before, the
word meaning that they were thus made
mediately, instead of immediately, dependent
on the empire. As the empire was at an end,
the term was now used inappropriately.
Medical jurisprudence, i.q. Forensic medicine.
The application of the principles of medical
science in aid of legislation, or of the administra-
tion of justice, as in cases of lunacy, poisoning,
etc., or of the preservation of the public health.
Medicine, in the languages of the American
aborigines, translates not only medicine proper,
but anything the operation of which they do not
understand ; anything mysterious, supernatural,
sacred. Hence, At. man, the doctor and con-
jurer of the American Indians ; M. bag, of
remedies and charms ; M. feast, i.e. religious
festival, and M. hut, in which it is held, etc.
Bartlett's Americanisms.
Medicine chest. In the navy, one containing
sufficient for one hundred men for the cruise.
Medietate linguae, De. A jury de M. /.. was
one consisting one-half of Englishmen, one-half
of foreigners, when either plaintiff or defendant
was a foreigner ; abolished 1870.
Mediety. A middle state [L. medietatem]
between two extremes.
Medio tutissimus Ibis. [L.] You will walk
most safely in the middle (Ovid), by avoiding
extremes. The Aristotelian doctrine was that
virtue was a mean [Gr. jUecroTTjs].
Medium. [L. medius, middle, mean.} 1.
The substance with which the dry colours are
ground and mixed for an artist's use ; as oil,
water, etc. 2. Paper twenty-three inches by
eighteen.
Medjidie, Order of the. Instituted in 1852,
by the Sultan Abdul Medjid.
Medoc. Name of a French wine (from Medoc,
in the Gironde).
Medulla oblongata. [L.] (Anat.} The pro-
longation of the spinal cord, or Medulla splnalis,
into the cavity of the skull.
Medullary. (Med. ) Relating to or consisting
of medulla = (i) marrow, (2) pith.
Medullary rays. (Bot.} Those radiating
from the centre of exogenous stems cut trans-
versely. They are cellular plates or processes,
connecting pith with bark, and forming the
" silver grain."
Medusa. [Gr. ^.e'Soucra, one mho rules.]
(Myth.) (Gorgons; Pegasus.)
Medusae, Medusidae. [Gr. jue'Sowro.] (Zoo/.)
Most of the jelly-fishes, or sea-nettles (Aca-
lephse), are thus termed ; some, however, and
perhaps all, are the generative buds of a
hydrozoan.
Meecbing, Micbing. [Fr. mechant.] Skulk-
ing, shirking, mean ; an old Shakespearian word
still occasionally heard in New York and New
England. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Meerschaum. [Ger. meer, sea, schaum, foam.}
A silicate of magnesia, used for making tobacco-
pipes.
Meet her. (Naut. ) The order to stop a ship
from turning more in any direction.
Megaceros. [Gr. fJ-fyas, great, Ktpas, horn.]
(Geol.) M. Mbernicus, the gigantic fossil
Irish deer (not elk) ; in post-Tertiary lacustrine
deposits, and in caverns. Ireland, Isle of Man,
Scotland, England, European continent.
Megalesian games. Roman games held in the
Circus in honour of Cybele, the mother of the
gods, under the title of ^ jj.fyd\ri 6fos, the great
goddess. (Mahadeva.)
Megalicb.tb.ys. [Gr. neyas, great, i'xflus, a
fish.] (Geol.) A gen. of fossil crosso-pterygian
MEGA
MENS
[Gr., fringe-ivinged\ ganoid fishes ; more es-
pecially of the Sauro-dipterine [Gr., sauroid-
two-finned] family [Kpoffffoi, a fringe, irrfpv^, a
wing, Siirrepos, two-winged].
Megalitbio monuments [Gr. /ie-yas, great,
\l6os, stone] (Arch&ol.) = cromlechs, dolmens,
and menhirs, or stone pillars, often monoliths.
Megalo-. [Gr. /te'yas, fern. /j.fyd\t), great.]
Megalosauras. [Gr. fj-fyas, great, aavpos,
lizard.} (Geol.) An extinct gen. of gigantic rep-
tiles, carnivorous, terrestrial ; in Oolite of Oxon
and Normandy ; Purbeck and Wealden shales.
Megarian school. The school of philosophy
established by the disciples of Socrates at
Megara, to which they retreated after his
death.
Megass. (Bagasse.)
Megatherium. [Gr. peyas, great, Q-npiov,
beast.} (Geol.) Gigantic extinct mammal, her-
bivorous, allied to sloths and ant-eaters. S.
America.
Megrim. [Fr. migraine, headache, Gr. ^ui-
Kpavia, pain on one side of the head, from ^/ii-,
half, Kpaviov, the head.} 1. Neuralgic pain, inter-
mittent, affecting one side of the head. 2. In a
horse, vertigo ; as when, at work, especially in
the hot sun, he reels, and perhaps falls, the
circulation through the brain being disturbed,
usually by the presence of tumours.
Meiosis. (Litotes.)
Meistersingers. (Mastersingers ; Singers of
Germany.)
Melada. [Sp., candied.} Crude undrained
sugar, as it comes from the pans.
Melancholia, Melancholy. A form of insanity
[Gr. fie\ayxo*.ia\, arising, it was thought, from
an excess of black bile {jj.f\aiva x^]-
Melancholia, Non est magnum ingenium sine.
[L.] An old proverb, quoted by Lacordaire :
No great character is free from melancholy.
Melanic. (Xanthous.)
Melanismus. [Gr. \t.s\o.vi$u>, I am black, ,]
Tendency to blackness^of skin.
Melanesia. [Gr. p.\a.vtaffis, a becoming block."}
A malignant disease, with blackish morbid
deposition in different parts of the body.
Melanotype. [Gr. jue'Aos, black, r&iros, a
type.} A photograph taken on an iron plate,
coated with collodion.
Melasma. [Gr. yueA.ao>ta, black or livid spot.}
A cutaneous disease, especially at old age, with
dark spots or patches, sometimes ulcerous.
Melchisedekians. (Eccl. Hist. ) Several sects
have been so named from their opinions re-
specting the character and office of Melchisedek.
Among them were the Theodotians in the third
century.
Melchites. (Eccl. Hist. ) The Syriac, Egyptian,
and other Christians of the Levant were called
Melchites, or Royalists [from the Syr. melee,
a king}, by the Jacobites, or Eutychians, because
they submitted to the imperial edicts relating to
the Council of Chalcedon. They are governed
by a patriarch resident in Damascus.
Meletians. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Meletus, Bishop of Lycopolis, in Egypt, who
was deposed by a Synod at Alexandria on the
charge of sacrificing to idols during the per-
secution of Diocletian.
Melikertes. The Greek form of the Syrian
Melkarth, the king, a name given to the sun-
god ; also known as Moloch. (Melchites.)
Mellifluous Doctor. (Doctor.)
Melodrama. [Gr. /ne\os, melody, SpS/^o, a
drama.] A sensational dramatic performance,
the main story given in speaking, but the striking
incidents being accompanied by music, vocal
and instrumental.
Melotype. A photographic process, in which
the picture need not be at once developed.
Melpomene. [Gr., the shtger.] One of the
Muses, commonly called the Moise of tragedy.
Melusine. In the tradition^ of S. France,
one of the many mysterious beings who undergo
a periodical transformation, by which the lower
part of the body becomes serpentine. In this
state she must not be seen by her husband. If
she is so seen, she vanishes for ever. (Lohengrin ;
Psyche.)
Melwel. (fchth.) A kind of cod-fish.
Membered. '(Her.) Having the beak and
legs different in colour from the body.
Memnon's harp. The statue called by the
Greeks Memnon, at Thebes, in Upper Egypt, was
supposed to emit sounds, like that of a harp, at
the rising of the sun. Hence the phrase.
(Eos, Tears of.)
Memorabilia. [L.] Things noteworthy. The
L. title of the memoirs of Socrates by Xenophon,
called in Gr. 'Airo/j.vrifwvf6/j.ara.
Memoria teohnica. [L.] An artificial system
of memory.
Mendicant orders. (Orders, Mendicant.)
Menhir. [Gael, maen, stone, hir, long.]
(Arch.) A standing stone or pillar ; a memorial,
probably of some event ; the majority being
tombstones. So Gen. xxxi. 51; Exod. xxiv. 4 ;
Josh. iv. 21.
Meningitis. [Gr. fi.f)i>iy, a membrane.}
(Med.) Inflammation of the membranes of the
brain.
Meniscus. [Gr. ^vio-Kos, a little moon.] A
lens convex on one side and concave on the
other, but thicker in the middle than at the
edges. (Lens.)
Mennonites. The Anabaptist followers of Men-
non Simonis, a Frisian, in the sixteenth century.
In their objection to oaths and to war they re-
semble the Quakers. From the M. one offshoot
is that of the Galenites, called after Galen, a
physician of Amsterdam, and answering to the
" Bible Christians " of this country. Another is
that of the Collegiates, so called as coming
together in meeting-houses, where all had the
right of expounding the Word of God.
Menology. [Gr. /j.^t>, a month, \6yos, account.]
A monthly calendar of saints, martyrs, con-
fessors, commemorated.
Mens conscia recti. [L.] A mind conscious
of its uprightness.
Mens sana in corpore sa.no. [L.] A sound
mind in a sound body (Juvenal).
Menstruum. [L. menstrtius, monthly, from
the belief that the moon had influence on the
MENS
319
MESO
powers of dissolvents.] Any fluid which dis-
solves a solid body.
Mensuration. [L. mensuratio, -nem, a mea-
suring.} The branch of geometry which gives
rules for finding the lengths of lines, areas of
surfaceS,~and volumes of solids.
Mentor. In the Odyssey, a friend and adviser
of Telmachus. Hence any counsellor.
Menu. [Fr.] Bill of fare.
Menu, Laws or Institutes of. The most
celebrated code of Hindu law, religious and
civil, said to have been revealed by Menu, or
Manu, son of Brahma. The name reappears in
that of the Cretan lawgiver Minos.
Meo perioulo. [L.] At my risk.
Meo sum pauper in sere, f L.] lam poor with
my own money (Horace) ; i.e. I am not rich,
but I owe nothing. Debt is in L. aesalienum,
other per son J money.
Mephistopheles. The name of the devil in
Goethe's Faust.
Mephitio. Containing mephitis, pestilential
exhalation, destructive of life. Carbonic acid
gas is called mephitic air.
Mephitis. [L.] Any noxious vapours or
smell ; so called from the Latin goddess Mephitis,
who was invoked for protection against hurtful
odours.
Mercaptan. [Mercury, and L. capere, to
seise.] A liquid composed of sulphur, carbon,
and hydrogen (from its energetic action on
mercury).
Mercator's chart or projection. (Named after
Gerard Kauffman, which in L. = Mercator,
trader.') A map of the world in which the
meridians are represented by parallel straight
lines, and the equator by a straight line at right
angles to them ; the parallels of latitude are,
therefore, of the same length as the equator, and
the degrees of latitude are lengthened out so as
to maintain their due proportion ; consequently
there is a very great magnification in the areas
near the poles. The map is useful to navigators,
as the ship's course can be laid down on it in a
succession of straight lines.
Meroator's sailing. (Naut.} Calculating a
ship's course from Mercator's chart, on which
the true proportions of latitude and longitude
are intended to be indicated, while their true
measurements are sacrificed.
Mercenaries. [L. mercenarius, from merces,
pay.} Soldiers who sell their services for money.
By the Greeks they were termed Xenoi, or
foreigners. (Condottieri.)
Merchant bars. Finished bars of iron fit for
the market.
Mercurius Aulicus, M. Kusticus, and M.
Clvicus ; i.e. Court Mercury, Country M., Town
M. Short papers somewhat like the Tatler
and Spectator of later days "conveying cheap
and easy knowledge," published "in the Civil
War," to raise and fix the prejudices of the people.
Johnson, Life of Addison.
Mercury. 1. [L. Mercurius, from merx,
mercari, to traffic, .] A Latin god of commerce
and gain. He had nothing to do with the
Greek Hermes, and the Roman Fetials refused
to allow their asserted identity. 2. A brilliant
white metal, liquid at ordinary temperatures. 3.
(Planet.)
Mercy-seat. The golden lid of the ark of
the coz'enant (q.v.).
Mere, M. baulk. [O.N. mocri, a boundary.}
A boundary, especially the space left unploughed
as such in common lands.
Meridian [L. meridies, noon} ; First M. ; Mag-
netic M. 1. (Astron.) The Meridian of a place
is the great circle passing through the poles and
the zenith of the place. Z. (Geog.) The line (which
is nearly a circle and still more nearly an ellipse)
in which the surface of the earth is cut by a
plane passing through the poles and the place.
The First M. is that from which longitudes are
reckoned. In English reckoning the first M.
is that of Greenwich. The Magnetic M. of a
place is the direction of the magnetic needle at
the place when free to move round a point in
a horizontal plane, and uninfluenced by local
attraction.
Meridional parts, Table of. Gives the length
of the arc of the meridian measured from the
equator, corresponding to every degree and
minute of latitude on a Mercator's chart. It
is used in showing a ship's course on a Mercator's
chart.
Merino. A thin twilled fabric of merino wool.
Merk. An ancient Scotch coin, i.q. mark.
Merlin. A magician in the story of King
Arthur.
Merlon. [Fr. and Sp.] (Mil.} The part
of a parapet left standing between two embra-
sures as cover to the men and guns. [Fr. , from
a slight resemblance to merle perche, a perched
blackbird (Liitri).}
Merovingian kings. (Hist.} The dynasty of
Frank kings, beginning (481) with Clovis (Hlud-
w ig)> grandson of Meroveus (Merwig), and end-
ing with Childeric, deposed by 1'epin, 752.
(Bois Faineants.)
Merry dancers. The Northern lights, from
their undulatory movements.
Merry men of May. (Naut.) Currents
caused by ebb-tides.
Mesa. [Sp., table, L. mensa.] Throughout
the whole region bordering on Mexico, this
Sp. word is used for a high plain or table-land.
Bartlett's Americanisms.
Mesentery. [Gr. juetreWepoc.] The broad
fold c& \hs. peritoneum (q.v.).
Mesial line. (Median line.)
Meslin. [O.Fr. mesler = Fr. meler, to mix,
L.L. misculare.] (Agr.) Wheat and rye
mixed.
Mesmerism. (Mesmer, German physician,
died 1815.) (Magnetism, Animal.)
Mesne. (Leg. ) A word meaning middle, inter-
mediate, intervening. So M. lord, a lord of a
manor, with tenants under him, and a superior
lord over him ; M. process, any writ between
the commencement of the action and the final
process or execution ; M. incumbrances, liabilities
arising between two given periods, etc.
Mesothet. [Gr. ptffos, middle, riQijui, I place.}
That which placed, as it were, between two
MESO
320
METE
opposite points, two things apparently con-
tradictory, practically reconciles them ; thus
action, or duty, is the M. of free-will and
necessity.
Mesozoic. (Neozoic.]
Mespilus. [Gr.jieo-7rfA.Tj.] (Bot.) The common
medlar, M. Germanica, ord. Rosaceae.
Messenger. (A T aut.) An endless rope, or
cable, extending from the capstan to the cable,
by which the latter is hauled in.
Messidor. [Fr., from L. messis, harvest, .]
The ridiculous name given to the tenth month
in the French Republican calendar. It formed
part of June and July. (Vendemiaire.)
Mestino, Mestizo. In Sp. America, the child
of a Spaniard or Creole and a native Indian.
(Mulatto.)
Meta-. [Gr.] As a prefix, denotes next, after,
beyond, reversely, etc.
Metacentre. [Gr. /IT(, next afterwards,
Kfvrpov, centre.} If a vertical line is drawn
through the centre of gravity of a floating body
in its position of rest, and if when the body is
slightly displaced a vertical line is drawn through
the centre of gravity of the fluid displaced by
the body in its new position, the point of inter-
section of the line at first vertical with the
second line is the M. If the M. is above the
centre of gravity, the flotation is stable. The
displacement is supposed to take place round
a line passing through the centre of gravity of
the plane of flotation, and this line must be
a principal axis of the plane if there is to be
aM.
Metacism. An incorrect form for Mutacism
(q.v.}.
Metagenesis. [Gr. ft-f-rd, in compos, reversely,
yfvfais, generation.} Development of the in-
dividual, when its parts and organs are not
changed into the corresponding parts and organs
in the new stage.
Metal. [L. metallum.] 1. In organ pipes,
means spotted M. 2. In road-making, stone.
3. In the artillery, ^w-metal.
Metallic paper. Paper coated with a solution
of lime whiting and size, to be written on with a
pewter pencil.
Metallic tractors. Used thirty or forty years
ago, but rejected now ; small pointed metallic
bars, drawn over diseased parts, and supposed to
cure or relieve by magnetism ; invented by Dr.
Perkins.
Metalloid. [Gr. /itroAXoi', metal, ifoos, form.}
Any element resembling a metal in its chemical
properties ; an inflammable non-metallic element,
as sulphur.
Metallurgy. [Gr. ^-raX\ov, metal, ^pytiv, to
work. ] The art of working metals.
Metamorphic rocks. [Gr. pcnyMpfA^ /
transform.] (Geol.) 1. Altered, whether much
or little, from their original form ; especially,
2, those exhibiting a change to crystalline
structure.
Metamorphosis. [Gr. /j.era-fi.6p>p(i>(ns, a change
of form.} (Zool.) A change seriously altering
the form and habits of an animal after exclusion
from the egg ; as that of the caterpillar passing
into a chrysalis, or of the chrysalis into a
butterfly.
Metaphor. [Gr. /jicra<f>opd, transference.] A
short similitude, sometimes conveyed by one
word, and without any sign of comparison. M.
is of two kinds : (i) Radical, when, for instance,
a root which means to shine is used to furnish
names for the fire, the sun, the spring of the
year, the brightness of thought, and a hymn of
praise ; (2) Poetical, when a noun already made,
and assigned to one definite object, is transferred
to another, as when the sun's rays are called his
hands or fingers. The result of this process
would be Homonymy [6fj.cavvfj.os, of the same
name} and Polyonymy [iro\vcayvfj.os, -with many
names] ; by the former of which objects quite
distinct from each other would receive the same
name, while the latter would furnish a vast
number of names for the same object. These
two principles are the chief sources of mythology.
Metaphor is said to be broken when a second
metaphor, faultily, is introduced ; as in Shake-
speare's "To take up arms against a sea of
troubles."
Metaphysics. (Dialectic.)
Metaplasm. [Gr. fj.tr air\afffi.^s, from ir\dffaea,
I form.} {Gram.} Any alteration in the letters
or syllables of a word. This may take place
in three ways by adding or taking from their
number, or by resolving them, (i) Addition at
the beginning of a word is called Prosthesis
[Gr.] ; in the middle, Epenthesis [Gr.] ; at the
end, Pardgoge [Gr.]. (2) The taking away of
letters at the beginning is Aphceresis [wpaipttris] ;
in the middle, Sync5pe [ooiyicoirtj] ; at the end,
ApocSpe [airoKoirJi] ; by contracting the vowels,
Syn&resis [ffvvaipeffts]. (3) The change of one
letter for another is Antithesis [Gr.] ; and the
transposition of letters is Metathesis [Gr.].
Metastasis. [Gr. /*6T<{<rTd<ry, a change of
place.] (Med.} A change in the seat of a disease.
Metatarsus. [Gr. nerd, next after, -rapats,
the fiat of the foot.} (Anat.) The part of the
foot which is between the tarsus and the pha-
langes or toes, composed of five bones.
Metathesis. (Metaplasm.)
Metayer. [Fr., L. medietarius.] In the south-
west countries of Europe, a form of tenure in
which the tenant pays a part of the produce
to the landlord. (Thetes.)
Metempsychosis. [Gr. nerfntyvxiaa-is.] The
migration of the soul through several successive
bodies ; a special doctrine of the Pythagoreans.
Meteor. [Gr. /tereajpos, high in air.} A body
in the sky, of a flowing and transitory nature,
such as shooting stars, halos, rainbows, auroras.
Meteoric dust, or Atmospheric dust. Dust,
with which the air high above the earth's sur-
face is almost certainly impregnated ; mostly
iron ; often found in snow and on high buildings.
Storm-dust is a mixture of fine particles of
quartzose and volcanic sand, with diatomacese,
etc., according to Professor Ehrenberg.
Meteoric iron. Metallic iron, as found in
meteorolites.
Meteoric paper. A paper-like substance,
found floating in the air, of confervoid origin.
METE
321
MICA
Meteoric shower. When shooting stars appear
in considerable numbers at nearly the same time
they form a M. S. They generally do this about
August 10 and November 13.
Meteorite. (Aerolith.)
Meteorolite. [Gr. futTtoopos, high in air, \i6os,
stone.] A mass of earthy and metallic matter
that has fallen from the sky to the earth.
Meteorology. [Gr. ne-rtupos, high in air,
\6yos, discourse.} The science treating of the
various states of the atmosphere as to pressure,
temperature, moisture, motion, etc., and their
influence on climate, wind, and weather.
-meter. [Gr. (ifrpov, a measure.] An instru-
ment for measuring ; as a Gas-M., Water-M., etc.
Metheglin. [Welsh meddyglyn, liquor.]
Mead (q.v.).
Methodist New Connexion. A branch of the
Wesleyan Methodists, called also Kilhamites,
after Alexander Kilham, who asserted, first, the
right of the Methodists to have their own hours
of worship, and to receive the sacraments from
their own ministers ; and, secondly, the right of
the laity to share in the government of the body
to which they belonged. Apart, therefore, from
questions of order, there is no difference between
the Old Connexion and the New. The dis-
tinction lies only in the degrees of power which
each allows to the laity.
Methodists. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
John Wesley. But many orders so called have
withdrawn from this connexion. (Hunting-
donians ; Methodist New Connexion.)
Method of curves. (Curves, Method of.)
Method of exhaustion. (Exhaustion, Method
of.)
Methylated spirit. Alcohol mixed with ten
per cent, of methyl [Gr. perd, after, u'Ar;, wood},
or wood-spirit.
Methystic. [Gr. /ie0um/c<fc, intoxicating.}
(Med.) Substances causing intoxication or exhi-
laration.
Metcecs. [Gr. jueToi/co<, sojourners.} (Hist.)
Resident aliens at Athens, who formed a large
class of the inhabitants, lying under many dis-
abilities and burdens.
Metonio cycle. A cycle of nineteen solar
years, in which the new moons fall on the same
days as in the previous cycles. Invented by
the Athenian Meton, in the fifth century B.C.
Metonymy. [Gr. jj.fTtavvp.la, change of name.}
(Rhet. ) A figure by which the name of an idea
or an object is substituted for that of another to
which it has some relation, as sceptre for sway or
dominion.
Metope. [Gr. tttrtirn.] In Gr. Arch., the
space between the Triglyphs in the frieze of the
Doric order.
Metre. [Fr. , Gr. fifrpov, measure. ] The fun-
damental unit of length in the metric system ;
originally designed to be the ten-millionth part
of an arc of the meridian, reaching from the pole
to the equator. It is, in reality, like the yard,
an arbitrary distance, viz. the distance between
the two ends of a certain platinum rod at the
temperature of melting ice. Its length is
39'3779 inches or I '09363 yard.
Metric system. A system of measures having
the metre for its fundamental unit.
Metro-, [Gr. fj.fr pov, a measure.]
Metrology. [Gr. fj.4rpov, a measure, \6yos,
an account.} System of weight.-, and measures.
Metronome. [Gr. fj.fr pov, measure, j/y'^oy,
law.} Clockwork, measuring the relative dura-
tion of notes by a pendulum, to which a balance-
rod is attached, on which the various grades of
time are measured ; a movable weight regulates
the speed. The sign J = 132, means that that
number of crotchets would be played in a minute.
Metropolis. [Gr., mother-city.} 1. Originally
the parent state from which a colony has sprung.
2. The city in which the archiepiscopal see of a
province is established. Thus Canterbury is the
metropolis of England. 3. In modern and less
correct usage, the chief city or capital of an in-
dependent state.
Metropolitan. 1. With the Greeks, one whose
see is a civil metropolis. 2. With others, one
who, by virtue of his see, presides over other
bishops ; such sees are Canterbury, Dublin,
Calcutta, Capetown, etc. (See " Consecration of
Bishops," in Prayer-book.)
Meum et tuum. [L.] Mine and thine.
Mew. [O.E. msew, Ger. me we, mowe, (?)
from its cry.] (Ornith.) Sea-mew, the gull,
Larus canus \\^.,g>'ey].
Mew. A cage, or inclosure, especially for
trained hawks, or an aggregation of them [Fr.
meute, pack, L. L. mota, troop mobilized, L.
movere, to move].
Mew. [Fr. muer, L. mutare, to change.] 1.
To moult, as hawks. 2, To shed horns, as stags.
Mew. To inclose, confine. Mew, a prison,
place of confinement ; originally, in Falconry,
a place for falcons ; afterwards for horses, as Mews
in London. [Generally derived from O.Fr.
mue, a changing, a place for moulting, L.
mutare, to change. But "in Eng. the sense
of cage is the oldest ; whence mew, to inclose "
(Skeat, Etym. Diet.). (?) Is the L.L. muta, a
disease, with moulting, possibly, earlier still ?]
Mezzanine. [It. mezzano, middle.} (Arch.)
A story of small height introduced between two
higher ones. This would answer to the Triforium
in the so-called Gothic buildings.
Mezzo-relievo. [It.] Sculptured work, in
which the projection is equal to half the true
proportions. When more than half, it is Alto-
relievo ; when less, it is Basso-relievo.
Mezzo termmo. [It.] A middle term ; a stop-
gap, a compromise.
Mezzotint. [It. mezzo, half, tinto, tint.} A
kind of engraving, produced by scratching the
whole surface of the plate, and then scraping
and burnishing those parts where the lights
should come.
Miasma [Gr. ^iaa^a, pollution], or Contagion.
1. Effluvium, noxious emanation, from the bodies
of the sick. 2. Marsh M., or Malaria [It., bad
air], is from vegetable decomposition, under
certain conditions of heat and moisture.
Mica. [L. mlco, I shine.] (Geol.) A mineral,
one of the silicates of alumina, with potash or
Y
MICH
322
MILI
magnesia, a constituent of granite, of gneiss, and
mica-schist ; metallic in lustre, divisible into
flakes, and elastic. Often mechanically mixed
in sandstone and shale. Muscovite is a potash
mica ; Biotite is a magnesian mica.
Michael, St., Order of. A French order of
knighthood, instituted by Louis XL, 1469.
Miching. (Meeching.)
Michtam. Title of Ps. xvi., lvi.-lx., = a
"golden psalm," as in the margin, and accord-
ing to the rabbis (Speaker's Commentary).
Micro-. [Gr. /j.iKp6s, small.]
Microcosm. (Macrocosm.)
Microcosmio salts. (Chem.) A triple salt of
soda, ammonia, and phosphoric acid, originally
obtained from human urine.
Micrometer. [Gr. juiK^Jf, small, [nerpov, a
measure.] An instrument for measuring small
distances or angles. It consists of a spider line
(or wire) placed in the focus of a telescope (or
microscope) and moved by a screw with a
graduated head. It is first brought into optical
contact with a fixed wire, and then with a second
point ; the difference of the two readings of the
screw-head gives the distance from the fixed wire
to the point in terms of fractional parts of a turn
of the screw. The absolute value of a turn of
the screw is found from the number of turns
per inch, or by applying the micrometer to an
object of known length.
Microphone. [Gr. puitpdt, small, ty&vri, voice.]
An instrument for magnifying small sounds by
means of electricity.
Microscope [Gr. fiutpds, small, ffKoirtw, I
view] ; Compound M. ; Electro-M. ; Oxy-hydro-
gen M. ; Photo-electric M. ; Simple M. ; Solar M.
An instrument for rendering minute objects dis-
tinctly visible ; it may be a single lens or sphere,
and in that case is a Simple M. ; but more com-
monly the term is applied to the Compound M. ,
which is a combination of lenses duly mounted,
consisting of an achromatic object-glass and an
eye-glass (or eye-piece consisting of two lenses)
for viewing the image formed by the object-glass.
The Electro or Photo-electric, the Oxy-hydrogen,
and Solar microscopes are instruments made on
the same principle as the magic lantern ; they
receive their special name from the kind of light
employed.
Midas. (Myth.} A Phrygian king whose
touch turned everything to gold, and who ob-
tained deliverance by washing in the river Pac-
tolus, which has ever since had a golden hue.
The tale points to the illuminating power of the
sun, whose light is quenched when he reaches
the water-level in the evening. Midas has also the
ears of an ass. This is mentioned as a punish-
ment for his preferring Pan, or Marsyas, to Phoebus.
Midden, Mixen. [A.S. midding, id., A. S. meox,
mix, dung ; " dunghill," Luke xiv. (Wyclif's
translation) ; so myxen.] Dunghill, dustheap.
Midclings. (Midden.)
Middle Ages. (Hist.) A vague term, denot-
ing the time of transition from the conditions ol
the ancient to those of the modern world. They
are assumed by Hallam to begin with the sixth
and end with the fifteenth centuries.
Middle-latitude sailing. (Naut.) Calculating
a ship's course by the mean of the latitudes of
the points of departure and arrival respectively.
Middleman. One who goes between the
original owner, or producer, and the public ; e.g.
in trade, taking orders for work, which he then
lets out to others ; or in agriculture, hiring land
in large tracts, and then letting it again in smaller
portions.
Middle Pointed style. (Geometrical style.)
Middle term. (Log.) That term in a Syllo-
gism with which the two extremes of the con-
clusion are severally compared.
Middle tint. A mixed tint in which bright
colours never predominate.
Middle watch. (A r aut.) From 1 2 (midnight)
to 4 a. m. Middle-watcher, the snack taken by
the officers of middle watch about 2.30 a.m.
Midgard. In Northern Myth., the middle
garden or earth, embraced by the branches of
the tree Yggdrasil.
Midlothian. (Lothian.)
Midrash. (Scribes.)
Midrib. (Sot.) Of a leaf, the central line, a
continuation of the footstalk.
Midriff. (Diaphragm.)
Midshipman. (Bank.)
Midwife. [(?) Ger. miihe, labour pains, weib,
woman.] One who assists women in childbirth.
Mikado. (Tycoon.)
Mile. [In L. mille passuum, a thousand
paces passus being the distance between the
place where a foot is set down, and the place
where the same foot is set down the next time,
about five feet.] The Statute M. is 1760 yards.
Geographical or Nautical M. = a sixtieth of a
degree of longitude measured on the equator,
and therefore about 2029 yards. Seamen erro-
neously call minutes of longitude miles.
Mileage. Allowance for travelling, so much
per mile.
Milesian. 1. Properly an inhabitant or native
of the ancient Greek city Miletus ; but sometimes,
2, a native or inhabitant of Ireland, descended,
according to the tradition, from a Spanish king
Milesias, whose sons conquered the island some
twenty centuries B.C.
Miliaria, Miliary fever. A disease associated
with great heat of the skin and an eruption like
the seed of millet [L. milium],
Miliolite limestone. [L. milium, millet seed.]
(Geol.) The Calcaire grossier of Paris, largely
composed at places of Miliola, one of the fora-
minifera (q.v.}.
Military honours. Reception of superiors by
troops by lowering flags and saluting. When
an officer or soldier is buried with M. H., the
body is attended to the grave by his comrades
in military order, either guns or musketry being
fired over the grave, according to his rank.
Military law. (Martial law.)
Military position. A piece of ground so
selected as to bring out most advantageously the
powers of the different branches of the service
of which an army is composed, and which the
general has at the time at his command.
Military road. One of superior construction,
MILI
323
MINX
such as those formed by the Romans, accessible
in all weathers for troops, with their guns, bag-
gage, and supplies.
MUitat omnis amans. [L.] Every lover is a
soldier (Ovid).
Militia. [L., military service,] In the seven-
teenth century, before the formation of a standing
army, = the entire military force of the nation.
The term is now applied to a force raised either
by ballot or voluntarily from the population, for
home service in the protection of the country ;
occasionally embodied, for purposes of drill, in
time of peace.
Milknippers of a horse : his first, as distin-
guished from his permanent, teeth ; shed at
various times between the ages of three and
four.
Milk of lime. A milky mixture of lime and
water.
Milkwort, Common. (Bot. ) A small perennial
plant, Polygala vulgaris, ord. Polygalese [Gr.
tro\vs, much, yd\a, milk\ ; abundant in Britain
in dry places ; its flowers purple, pink, white,
sometimes brilliant blue.
Milky Way. (Galaxy.)
Mill. [O.E. miln.] That part of ironworks
where puddled bars are converted into merchant
iron.
Millboard. Stout pasteboard.
Mill-dam ; M.-head ; M.-race ; M.-tail, etc.
A Mill-dam serves to keep back the water of
the stream in a sort of reservoir, so that in its
descent it may turn a water-wheel, turbine, etc.
The stream from the reservoir which acts on
the wheel is the M.-race ; the stream formed by
the water that has turned the wheel is the M.-
tail, or Tail-race, or Tail-water. The M.-head
is the vertical height through which the water
falls in turning the wheel.
Millenarians. (Chiliasts.)
Millenary Petition. [L. millenarius, belonging
to a thousand.] One presented to James I.,
A.D. 1603, by (some few hundreds short of) a
thousand Puritan ministers, for relief in certain
ceremonies ; and objecting to some parts of the
Church service, and to the state of Church dis-
cipline.
Millennium. [L.L.] The space of a thousand
years spoken of in Rev. xx. 4.
Millerole de Marseille. [Fr.] A measure of
capacity, still used as equal to sixty-four litres, or
about fourteen English gallons.
Miller's thumb. (Bullhead.)
Milliard. [Fr.] A thousand million.
Millier. [L. milliarium, a thousand of.~\ A
thousand kilogrammes, nearly equal to a ton
weight.
Milligramme ; Millilitre ; Millimetre. Mea-
sures of the thousandth part of a gramme, litre,
and metre respectively. (Gramme ; Litre ;
Metre.)
Milling. The grooves on the edge of a coin.
Milling-tool. A roller, with indented surface,
for making grooves in metal.
Mill-rind. (Her.) The iron placed in the
centre of a millstone to protect the hole from
wearing out.
Millstone grit. (Ceo I.) An English division of
the Carboniferous system ; a coarse conglome-
rate, yielding stone for building, millstones, fire-
stones ; N. counties of England and X. and S.
Wales.
Milreis. A Portuguese coin, worth about $s.
The gold coin of five milreis is worth 1 3.?. I i\d.
Mime. [L. mimus, Gr. /M/J.OS, a mimic.]
Anciently, a kind of dramatic entertainment,
resembling the modern farce or vaudeville.
Mimir, Well of. In Northern Myth., the
well or fountain at which Odin, wishing to drink,
was obliged to leave an eye in payment.
Mina. [L. , Gr. fj-va.] An ancient Greek
weight and coin, varying in different states.
The coin contained 100 drachmas, and was
worth about ^3 of our money.
Minaret. [Ar. menarah, a lantern.] In Mo-
hammedan mosques, a turret used for summon-
ing the people to prayers, and thus serving the
purpose of a belfry. (Muezzin.)
Minauderie. [Fr.] Mincing, affected manners.
Mineral, Mineralogy. [Fr. miner, to mine.]
1. A rock (q.v.), in Geol., is regarded chemically,
as resolvable into certain primary elements or
minerals. 2. These, in Min. , arc regarded
as being pure or impure, soft or compact,
earthy or crystalline, and exhibit certain cleav-
age, fracture, lustre, optical and other sensible
properties.
Minerva. The Latin goddess answering to
the Athena of the Greeks. The name denotes
intellectual power as well as bodily energy, as
is shown by the connexion of the Gr. yueVos with
the L. mens, Skt. manas, Eng. mind. Hence the
phrase Sus Minervam, a pig teaches Minerva,
the fool instructs the wise. To do a thing
tenui or crassd Minerva is to do it poorly or
awkwardly.
Minerva Press. In Leadenhall Street, the
source from which issued, during the latter part
of last century, a great quantity of mawkish
weak novels, and which, by means of circulat-
ing libraries, gained a factitious popularity.
Minever. [O.Fr. menuver, from menu, small,
vair, a kind of///;-.] A fine white fur.
Minie-rifle. (Mil.) One carrying a bullet
invented by Minie, a French officer, which has
a cup inserted in a cavity in its base ; on its
being projected, the charge expands the bullet
into the grooves of the rifle, thus giving great
accuracy of flight.
Minims, Order of the. [L. minimi, the least.]
Instituted in the fifteenth century by St. Francis
of Paul. Their name indicated their lowliness,
and their rule was of the strictest kind.
Minimum. When a variable magnitude de-
creases down to a certain value and then increases
again, that value is a minimum. A M. is not
necessarily the smallest value of the variable.
Minion. [Fr. mignon, dainty.] A kind cf
type, as
General.
Minium. [L.] Red lead. (Lead.)
Minnehb'fe. [Ger.] This word denoted the
courts of love, well known in the history of
MINN
324
MISE
chivalry. These courts, in which ladies acted
as judges, were held periodically in Signes,
Avignon, Pierrefeu, and Lille.
Minnesingers. Love-singers, the earliest
school of German poets, who imitated the
Proven9al troubadours. Their verses are written
in the old Swabian dialect. Among their works
is the great national epic, called the Aibelungen-
lifd, and the lays of the Heldenbuch, or book of
heroes.
Minorites. Friars belonging to the order of
St. Francis. (Franciscans.;
Minorities, Representation of. In Politics,
the means for giving effect to the opinion of the
minority. The modes generally suggested are
twofold : ( I ) that each elector shall have two
votes when three candidates can be returned, or
(2) one vote when two are to be elected. To
these must be added the suggestion of Mr. Hare,
that the elector should be empowered to choose
the constituency in which he shall record his
vote.
Minoresses. (Clare, St., Order of.)
Minos. In Gr. Myth., a king of Crete, and
one of the judges of the infernal regions.
(Menu, Laws of.)
Minot. [Fr., from mine, a corr. of hemine,
L. hemlna, Gr. rnj-iva, which last was about one
gallon.} An O.Fr. measure, the forty-eighth
part of a muid [L. modius], and a little larger
than an English bushel.
Minotaur. [Gr. nwtLravpos.} (Myth.) A
monster, half man, half bull, said to be the off-
spring of Pasiphae, wife of Minos. (Labyrinth.)
Minster. [Ger. minister. Gr. fiovcKn-fipiov.]
Originally, in this country, an outpost of the
Church, maintained by priests living under rule.
Thus every station in the advance made by the
colleagues of Augustine received the name of
monastery or minster, and retained it after
secular priests had taken the place of the
monks.
Minstrels. [Fr. menestrel, from O.G. minne,
love.] In the Middle Ages, an order of men
who seem to have been the successors to the
Minnesingers, scalds, and bards. But they soon
degenerated. The chanter of the gests [L. gesta,
things done, feats}, or acts of kings, became a
gesticulator or jester ; the jongleur of Provence
[L. joculator] sank into the juggler or jockie.
(Gleemen ; Scald.)
Mint. [Gr. (j.lv0a, L. mentha.] (Bot.) A
herb of the nat. ord. Labiatse, used for flavouring.
Mint. [L. Moneta, a name of Juno, in whose
temple money was coined.] A place for coining
the national money.
Minuet. [Fr. menuet.] 1. A slow, graceful
dance, which had its origin probably in Poitou,
and in the seventeenth century ; by two persons,
in 3 time ; consisting of a coupee, a high step,
and a balance, and having short steps [pas
menus] ; a coupee being when, one leg being
a little bent and raised from the ground, a
motion forward is made with the other. 2. A
musical movement, originally an accompaniment
to the dance.
Minute-guns. (Mil. and Naut.) Guns fired
at intervals of a minute, as a sign either of dis-
tress (as of ships) or of mourning (as at funerals).
Minutiae. [L.] Petty details, trifles.
Miocene. (Eocene.)
Mib'lnir. The crushing or pounding hammer
of Thor. (Mars.)
Miquelets. In Sp. Hist., partisan troops
raised chiefly in Catalonia ; first heard of in the
seventeenth century.
MirafcUe dictu. [L.] Wonderful to tell.
Miracle. (Prodigy.)
Miracle-plays. Plays representing events re-
corded in the Bible. They were common in the
Middle Ages. The miracle-play of the Passion
is still performed at Ober-Ammergau, in Bavaria,
once in every ten years.
Mirage. [Fr. mirage, mirer, to aim at.] A
reflected picture of distant objects, seen in
peculiar states of the atmosphere. If two trans-
parent media of different densities are in contact,
a ray of light in the denser medium, inclined at
a small angle to the common surface, will not
pass into the rarer medium, but will be reflected
internally. It is probable that when the M.
is seen the atmosphere is arranged in layers
of different densities, varying nearly discon-
tinuously, so that light proceeding from objects
in the lower strata suffers internal reflexion,
and forms for the observer the images which
constitute the M. ; just as in a long, low
room, ceiled with looking-glass, he would see
both the end of the room and its inverted image ;
or in other cases, where the observer and the
object are above the heated stratum, he sees it
and its image as if formed by reflexion in water.
Miramamolin. (Emir.)
Mirmillones. [L.] Among the Roman
gladiators, the opponents of the Retiarians ;
so called from the embossed fish [Gr. /upjuvAoj]
which they .wore on their head piece.
Mirrour for Magistrates, published 1559. A
poem, very important in English literature, and
very popular in its day, begun by Thomas Sack-
ville, Lord Buckhurst ; completed by Baldwyne
and Ferrers, and others. The first poetical use
made of chronicles like Hollinshed's, etc., by
which English history, written hitherto in
monkish Latin, had recently become known to
the people ; its plan being to give an account of
all the illustrious, but unfortunate, characters,
from the Conquest to the end of the fourteenth
century ; one of the sources from which Shake-
speare drew.
Mirza. This word, a corr. of the Pers.
Emir-zadah, sons of the prince, is the common
style of honour, when put before the name ;
coming after it, it signifies prince.
Mischia. (Scagliola.)
Mischna. (Talmud.)
Miscreant. Until lately, often = mescreant
[Fr. mecreant], unbeliever ; not morally evil.
Misdemeanour. In Law, any indictable
offence not of a felonious character ; as libel,
seditious acts, etc.
Mise of Lewes. The name given to the treaty
between the English barons and the royalists
after the battle of Lewes, May, 1264.
MISE
325
MODI
Miserere. [L., have mercy.} 1. The fifty-
first psalm ; so called from the first word with
which it begins in Latin. 2. (Arch.) The under
portion of the seat of a stall, generally richly
carved, and often with grotesques, so contrived
that it may turn up when wanted as a support
in long standing.
Misericorde. [Fr., pity, either the cry for
pity, or (?) ironical.] Dagger worn by knights
for stabbing to death those who had fallen.
Misfeasance. [O.Fr. mes, wrong, feasance,
doing, from L. facere, to do.] In Law, a tres-
pass or wrong done.
Misnomer. In Law, a mistake in a name,
or the substitution of one name for another ;
which has no effect, as a general rule, if the
subject-matter, or person, is certain or ascertain-
able notwithstanding. Brown, Law Dictionary.
Mispickel. [O.G.] (Chem.) A greyish white
ore of iron combined with sulphur and arsenic.
Misprision. [From Fr. mepris, negligence,
contempt.] In Law, (i) any Misdemeanour
which has not a specific name ; (2) contempt, or
neglect, in not disclosing crimes, as of treason
or felony. (Treason, Misprision of.)
Missal. [L.L. missale. ] The book contain-
ing the ritual for the celebration of Mass in the
Latin Church.
Missa sicca. [L., dry Mass.] A form of Mass
said on days on which there is no consecration.
Missing vessel. (Naut.) One which, not
having been heard of for six months in Europe,
or twelve elsewhere, is held to be lost.
Missouri Compromise. A name popularly
given to an Act of Congress passed in 1820,
and intended to reconcile the two great sections
that were struggling, the one to promote, the
other to hinder, the extension of slavery. By
this Act, it was determined that Missouri should
be admitted into the Union as a slave-holding
state, but that slavery should never be established
in any state to be formed in the future lying
north of lat. 36 30'. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Miss stays, To. (Naut.) Instead of going
about, to fall back on the old tack.
Mistico. (Naut.) A small vessel of the
Mediterranean, between a felucca and a xebec.
Mistral [as if maestrale, the master wind],
Mistraou, Maestral, the Caurus or Corns of the
Romans, Maestro of Italy. A north-west wind
on S. coast of France and up the Rhone as far
as Valence ; sudden, violent, bitterly cold, parch-
ing, painful to eyes and face, especially prevalent
from the end of autumn to the beginning of
spring.
Mithriac worship. In Rom. Hist., the wor-
ship of the Persian sun-god Mithras, the Mitra
of the Rig Veda ; introduced into Rome about
the time of the fall of the republic.
Mithridate. An antidote to poison, an alexi-
pharmic. Mithridates Eupator, King of Pontus,
succeeding to the throne B.C. 120, when eleven
years old, and constantly fearing conspiracy, is
said to have invented and constantly taken some
very efficacious antidote to poison. A poetical
term.
Mitrailleuse. [Fr.] A French gun, the
principle of which is much like that of the
English Gatling gun.
Mitre, or Mitre-joint ; M.-wheels. A joint
such as that formed by the skirting- board at the
corner of a room ; the pieces are cut at a certain
angle (e.g. 45) so as to match when put together.
Two bevilled wheels with an equal number of
teeth, and with axes at right angles to each other,
are M. -wheels.
Mitred abbots. (Abbots, Mitred.)
Mittimus. [L., we send.} In Law, (i) a writ
by which records used to be transferred from one
court to another ; (2) a document, signed by a
magistrate, committing an offender.
Mixed actions. In Law, suits partaking of
the nature of real and personal actions. Now
abolished except in actions for ejectment.
Mixed chalice. A term used to denote that
some water is used with the wine in the celebra-
tion ofVthe Eucharist.
Mixtion. [Fr., from mixtio, -nem, a mixing.']
A mixture for affixing gold-leaf to wood or dis-
temper pictures.
Mizzen. (A'aitt.) The spanker or driver.
M.-mast. (Mast.)
Mnemosyne. [Gr. /j.vrifiO(rvvr], memory.]
(Myth.} The mother of the Muses.
Moabite Stone. An inscribed stone found
among the ruins of Dibon, in 1868, and unfor-
tunately broken by the natives, owing to the
mismanagement of the Europeans, who wished
to get possession of it. Almost the whole of the
inscription has been recovered from the broken
pieces. The stone was set up by Mesha, King
of Moab, who rebelled against Jehoram (2 Kings
iii. 4, 5), about B.C. 890.
Mobcap. A cap for women, tied under the
chin by a very broad band.
Moccasin. (Native name.) An ornamental
deerskin shoe without a sole, used by N. -Ameri-
can Indians.
Mock-heroic. The treatment of a common-
place subject in a pompous and grand style ;
Burlesque being the treatment of a lofty subject
in a low style.
Mocking-bird. (Ornith.} Spec, of thrush,
Mimus polyglottus [Gr. , mimic of many tongues] ;
nine inches long, ashen brown, with white in
wings and tail. America. Fam. Turdldas, ord.
Passeres.
Mocmain truss. One stuffed with M., a sub-
stance growing on the silk-cotton tree.
Modality. In Log., a term denoting proposi-
tions in which the meaning of the copula is
qualified by some word or phrase.
Modal Trinity. (Sabellians.)
Moderators, Senior and Junior. In the Uni-
versities of Oxford and Cambridge, officers
appointed yearly to perform certain duties con-
nected with examinations ; so called from having
originally moderated or presided in the exercises
of undergraduates in the schools for the degree
of Bachelor of Arts.
Modes. (Greek modes ; Gregorian modes.)
Modicum. [L.] A moderate, sometimes a
small, amount of anything.
Modillion. [Fr.] (Arch.) A projecting bracket
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HOME
under the Corona of the Corinthian and Com-
posite, and sometimes also of the Roman Ionic
orders.
Modiste. [Fr.] Milliner.
Module. [L. modulus.] (Arch.} A mea-
sure for regulating the proportions of an order,
equal to the semi-diameter of a column.
Modulus [L. , a measure or standard} ; M. of
elasticity ; M. of logarithms ; M. of a machine ;
Young's M. A measure of comparison. It
commonly means the number expressing the
ratio of two variable magnitudes which have a
constant ratio. The M. of a machine is the
number expressing the ratio which the mechanical
work done usefully at the working point bears
to that expended at the driving point of the
machine. The M. of a system of logarithms is
the ratio which the logarithm of any number
on that system bears to the hyperbolic logarithm
of that number. When a rod of given material
is stretched by a force, the elongation bears to
the length the same ratio that the force bears
to a certain force called the M. of elasticity (or
Young's M.), which serves to measure the re-
sistance offered by the material to elongation.
Its value is generally estimated in pounds per
square inch ; thus, in the case of steel, the M.
is about thirty million pounds per square inch.
Modus decimandi, or Modus. (Tithes.)
Modus in rebus. [L.] A medium (or mean)
in all things (Horace),
Modus operand!. [L.] The method of setting
to work.
Modus vivendi. (Vivendi modus.)
Mcerae. (Fates.)
Moffi A silk stuff made in Caucasia.
Moghrebins, Mograbians. A name, meaning
men of the west, applied formerly to Turkish
infantry composed of peasants from N. Africa.
Mogul, Great. The sovereign of the empire
founded in India by the Mongol Baber in the
fifteenth century. The last titular emperor was
banished to Burmah in 1858, for his share in the
mutiny of 1857.
Mohair. [Ger. mohr.] A stuff made of the
long silky hair of the Angora goat, a native of
Asia Minor.
Mohammedanism. The religion of Mohammed.
(Islam.)
Mohur. [Pers.] A gold coin worth fifteen
rupees ; it is of the same weight and fineness
as a rupee, i.e. 180 grains, of which 165 are pure
gold ; it is therefore worth 2<)s. zfad.
Moidore. [Port, moeda d'ouro, coin of gold. }
A gold coin of Portugal, worth about 1 "]s.
Moire. [Fr.] Moire antique is watered silk.
Moire metallique is tinplate to which is given a
crystalline appearance by sponging it with dilute
nitro-hydrochloric acid.
Molasses. [Sp. melaza, from L. mel, honey.}
The brown syrup which drains from sugar in
the process of manufacture.
Mole. [Heb.] (Bibl.) 1. Isa. ii. 20;
Chphor-per6th, the digger of holes, apparently
a blind burrowing rodent ; not our mole, but
probably the mole-rat (Spalax typhlus). 2.
Lev. xi. 30 ; Tinshamth, probably a lizard.
Molecule. [Scholastic L. moleciila, dim. of
moles, a mass.} One of the finite number of
parts into which a given quantity of matter
would, it is supposed, be ultimately resolved if
the process of division could be carried far
enough. Molecules are of different kinds ; but
it is believed that those of any one kind are
all exactly alike, and are unchangeable and
indestructible. Each M. is held to be composed
of a crowd of atoms moving in a sort of double
circulation or vortex.
Moleskin. A soft, shaggy fabric of silk or
cotton, like the fur of a mole.
Moline, Cross. [L. molina, a mill.} (Her.)
A cross resembling the iron which supports the
upper millstone, borne (i) as a charge or (2) as
a difference in the eighth son's escutcheon.
Molinism. (Eccl. Hist. } In the Latin Church,
a system of opinions respecting grace and pre-
destination not unlike those of the Arminians ;
so called from the Jesuit Molina, who drew up
the propositions on which it rests, in 1 588.
Molinosism. A name given to the doctrine
of the Quietists, from the Spanish enthusiast
Molinos, in the seventeenth century.
Molionids. (Mars.)
Mollah. The title of the higher order of
judges in the Turkish empire. (Mullah.)
Mollusca. [L. molluscus, soft.] (Malacology.)
Molly Maguires. 1. Members of a secret
society in Ireland. 2. A society in Pennsylvania,
in character similar to the Ribbon Society of
Ireland, so far as they dealt with agrarian
troubles ; composed almost entirely of Irishmen ;
combining against mine-owners and overseers,
as they had combined against landlords and
agents. Murders were committed, and great
quantities of coal and other property destroyed
by incendiarism. Ten were executed in June,
1877. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Moloch. The highest deity of the Phoenicians.
The word, which means king, occurs in the
composition of many Hebrew names, as Melchi-
zedek, Melchishua, and in many forms through-
out the Semitic world. (Bacchanalian.) This
god was appeased by sacrifices of infants thrown
into the fire under his image.
Molossus. [Gr. /uoA.o<r<nSs. ] In Pros., a foot
consisting of three long syllables.
Molossus. [Gr., of Molossia, in Eplrus.] 1.
The fine Molossian hound from Eplrus (Virgil,
Georg. iii.). 2. The bull-dog, Canis familiaris
molossus. 3. The Thibet dog, C. F. M.
Thibetanus. 4. The name of three gen. of short-
headed bats, Noctilionidae ; Trop. America.
Molten grease. In horses, a kind of dysen-
tery ; the discharge of hard foecal matter being
brought about by a mucous secretion.
Moly. [Gr. /*&JA.D.] A fabulous herb ; so
named by the gods ; with black root and white
blossom ; given by Hermes to Ulysses, as a
counter-charm to the spells of Circe (Odyssey,
bk. x.). (Haemony.) 2. (Bot.) Allium M., a
kind of garlic.
Molybdenum. [Gr. no\vfi$a.iva, a leaden ore.}
(Min.) A brittle white metal.
Moment [L. momentum, movement, a moving
MOME
327
MONO
cause] ; M. of a couple ; M. of a force ; M.
of inertia ; Virtual M. The Moment of a force
with respect to a point is the product of the
force and the length of the perpendicular let
fall from the point on the line along which the
force acts. The term M. of a force with respect
to a line and a plane is also used. The M. of
a couple is the moment of either force about a
point in the line of action of the other force.
The M. of inertia of a body with respect to a
given axis is the sum of the products formed by
multiplying the mass of each particle by the
square of its distance from the axis. (For
Virtual M., vide Virtual.)
Momentum [L.], or Quantity of motion, is the
product of the mass of a body and its velocity.
The word is often used vaguely for the force or
impetus of a moving body.
Momiers. [From Fr. momerie, mummery.}
(Hist.) A name applied since 1878 to some
sections of the Evangelical party in Switzerland
and in parts of France and Germany. On the
withdrawal of the penal enactments against
them in 1831, they lost influence and gradually
disappeared.
Momus. [Gr. fj.>/j.os.] In the Hesiodic theo-
gony, a child of night, and the god of raillery
and ridicule.
Mon-, Mono-. (Chem.) A prefix, denoting
that a salt contains one [Gr. /j.6vos] atom of the
element thus marked ; as a mono-sulphide, which
contains one atom of sulphur in each molecule.
Monad. [Gr. ^ovas, a unit.} 1. A metal, one
atom of which replaces one of hydrogen in a
compound. 2. (Bacteria.)
Monarchians. [Gr. /j.6vapxos, ruling alone.}
A name applied to those who, in the third
century, were charged with ditheism, or the
worship of two Gods, or who could not define
the subordination of the Son to the Father.
Their opponents branded them as Patripassians.
Milman, Hist, of Latin Christianity, bk. i.
ch. i.
Moncrieff carriage. (Mil.} By means of which
a gun, with a balancing weight, is withdrawn
by its own recoil after each discharge below the
parapet, thus avoiding the exposure from using
embrasures.
Monetization. The act or process of con-
verting bullion into money. So Demonetization,
the withdrawal from use, as currency.
Moneyers, Company of. A company which,
until 1837, superintended the manufacture of the
money of the realm at the Mint.
Mongolia. A name used to denote a large
portion of the Asiatic continent to the north of
the Himalayas.
Moniliform. [L. monile, a necklace.} (Bot.}
Having many successive swellings, like a string
of beads ; e.g. pods of sea-kale.
Monitor. [L. , one who warns. ] (Naut. ) A
heavily armoured steamer, of light draught, and
small freeboard, carrying her armament in one
or two plated revolving turrets, which are situ-
ated on her open decks.
Monk. In Printing, a blotch from types which
have received too much ink.
Monkey. 1. (Naut.) A small trading-vessel
of the sixteenth century. M. -boat, a half-decked
boat of the Thames above London Bridge. M. -
spars, reduced masts, etc., used in training-ships
for boys. 2. The weight of a pile-driver.
Monkey-nut. (Arachis.)
Monkey-wrench. A wrench with parallel
jaws, capable of adjustment by a screw.
Monmouth cap. (Xaut.} A flat worsted cap,
worn formerly by sailors.
Mono-. [Gr. fj.6vos, one only.}
Monobasic acid. [Gr. /J.QVOS, one, fidais, base.}
( Chem. ) Any acid containing one atom of hydro-
gen in its composition.
Monocardian. [Gr. KapSia, lieart.} (Anat.)
Having a single heart ; e.g. some reptiles ; all
mammalia having a double heart.
Monochlamydeous. [Gr. ,uoVos, one only,
Xha.fj.vs, a mantle.} (Bot.} Never having both
calyx and corolla ; e.g. the goose-foots.
Monochord [Gr. TO ^ovdx.op'Sov, tJic one-
stringed instrument, the monochord], or Sono-
meter [made up of L. sonus, sound, and Gr.
fierpov, measure} (Phys.) 1. An instrument
for ascertaining the relation between the various
notes of the musical seale, and the rate of vibra-
tion by which they are respectively produced.
A catgut or wire, placed over a sounding-board
and fixed at one end, is carried over a pulley
and stretched by a certain weight ; it rests on
two bridges, one of which is fixed, while the
other, sliding to and fro, varies the length of
string between the bridges, as shown by a divid-
ing scale. By varying the' weight, the tension
is increased or diminished. The string can thus
be adjusted to yield a given note, and the number
of vibrations perceived can be calculated from
the stretching weight and the length and weight
of the strings between the bridges. 2. With
the Pythagoreans, the scale was measured phy-
sically and arithmetically by a tuning-string,
called the M.
Monochromatic lamp. A lamp whose light
is of only one [Gr. ^vov} homogeneous colour
Monochrome. [Gr. /*6vos, one, xpcv/j.a, colour.}
A painting in various shades of only one colour.
Monoclinal. [Gr. /J.QVOS, one only, K\'IVI, I
make to bend.] (Geol.} A set of strata dipping in
only one direction.
Monoclinic system. [Gr. fj.Avos, one only,
K\lv<a, I make to slant.} (Crystal/eg.) The
oblique prismatic system (q.v.).
Monocotyledonous plants. (Bot. } Having but
one cotyledon (q.v.} ; coextensive with Exogens
(q.v.}, which term is now more frequently used.
(Dicotyledonous plants.)
Monocular. [Gr. /t<Ws, one only, L. ociilus,
eye.} One-eyed; adapted for vision with one
eye.
Monodactylous. (Zool.) Having only one finger
or toe [Gr. Sa/cruAos].
Monodelphia. [Gr. p.6vos, single, 8t\<pvs,
uterus.} (Zool.} Having a single uterus. The
highest sub-class of the class Mammalia, con-
taining all but the Marsupials and Monotremata.
Monody. [Gr. /j.ov(?8ia, a solo.] A poem in
MONCE
328
MONT
which the mourner is supposed to bewail by
himself, as opposed to pastoral elegies in dia-
logue.
Monoecious. [Gr. fidvos, one only, O!KOS, house,
family.] (Bot.) Linnaean class xxi., having
stamens and pistils on the same plant, but in
different flowers ; Dioecious [81-, two~\ in class
xxii. , on different flowers, and on separate plants.
(-andria.)
Monogamist. [Gr. (jLovoyafios.] Is used some-
times to denote, not one who marries one
husband or wife at a time, but one who objects
to all second marriages, like the Vicar of Wake-
field.
Monogastric. Having but one stomach [Gr.
Monogram. [Gr. /j.6vos, alone, ypdpfia, a
letter.] A cipher, giving the initials of a name,
intertwined with each other.
Monograph. [Gr. /JLOVOS, one only, ypdtjxe, I
write.] A treatise, strictly confined to a single
subject.
Monolith. [Gr. /j.6i>os, one only, \t6os, stone.]
A large single block of stone, artificially or
naturally cut out ; like many of the old menhirs
(q.v.} and obelisks.
Monologue. [Gr. pdvos, one, \6yos, a dis-
course.] A soliloquy. The word is also used
to denote an entertainment in which one per-
former takes all the parts, after the fashion of
C. Mathews, Woodin, etc.
Monometrio system. [Gr. rfvos, one only,
fifrpov, measure.] (Crystal/og.) The octahedral
system (q.v.}.
Monomial. [As if mono-nomial ; vide Bino-
mial theorem.] (Math.} An algebraical expres-
sion consisting of a single term, i.e. not of parts
connected by the signs plus or minus.
Monopathy. [Gr. fj.ovoird.dtia, from irdBos,
affection.] (Med.) 1. Suffering in some one
organ or function only. 2. Sole or individual
suffering.
Monopetalous. [Gr. /j.6vos, one only, Ktra.Xov,
leaf.] (Bot.) Having all the petals united into
one body by their edges ; e.g. convolvulus,
heath, campanula.
Monophysites. [Gr. povoQva'iTai, from pdvos,
alone, and tyiiais, nature.] A name given to all
who asserted that there was only one nature
in Christ. (Eutychians ; Monotnelites ; Nes-
torians.)
Monopoly. [Gr. novoirwXia, from ircaXtta, /
sell.] Interference with free exchange by royal
or other enactments assuring the trading in
certain articles to privileged persons or to the
Crown.
Monopsychism. [Gr. n6vos, alone, tyvx-f], life-]
The doctrine that the constructive reason is one
individual substance, one and the same in all
persons ; whence it follows that individuality
consists only in bodily sensations which are
perishable, so that nothing which is individual
can be immortal, and nothing that is immortal
can be individual. This tenet of the numerical
unity of the soul of mankind was the principle
of Averroism. (Identity, Personal ; Individu-
ality.)
Monopteral. [Gr. /uWn-Tepos, with but one
wing.] (Arch.} A temple without a cella.
Monorime, less correctly Monorhyme. A com-
position in verse, in which all the lines end with
the same rime.
Monotheism. [Gr. fj.6vos, one only, t6s, God.]
The worship of one God, to the distinct denial
of all other gods ; Henotheism [efs, gen. ev6s,
one in number, a single one] being the worship
of single gods (or of one at a time), and Poly-
theism the worship of many deities which
together form one divine polity under the con-
trol of one supreme god. Max Miiller, Hibbert
Lectures, p. 289.
Monotnelites. [Gr. ^ovoQeXri-rai, from fj.6vos,
alone, and 6e\ca, I will.] A name given to all
who, while they allowed the distinction of the
two natures in Christ, asserted that the divine
will left to His human will no action or efficiency
of its own.
Monotremata, Monotrematous. [Gr. n.6vos,
single, Tprjfia, hole.] (Zool.) An ord. of mammals,
coextensive with the sub-class Ormthodelphia,
having but one outlet for all natural purposes.
It is peculiar, both in existing and in extinct
animal forms, to Australia, and consists solely
of the Ornithorhyncus and the Echidnas (qq.v.}.
Monotriglyph. (Arch. ) In the Doric order,
the intercolumniation embracing one triglyph
and two Metopes in the Entablature. (Order.)
Monoxylon. [Gr. fj.ov6v\os, in ancient Gr.
made from a solid trunk.'] (Naut.) A boat
worked with one oar ; Ionian Islands.
Monroe doctrine. That of President M.
(1823), "the principle, in which the rights
and interests of the U.S. were involved, that
the American continents, by the free and in-
dependent condition which they have assumed
and maintained, are henceforth not to be con-
sidered as subjects for future colonization by any
European power;" and, further, that the U.S.
would consider "any attempt of the Allied
Powers to extend their system " (that of the
Holy Alliance) "to any portion of this hemi-
sphere as dangerous to our peace and safety."
Bartlett's Americanisms.
Monseigneur. [Fr.] A title given in France
to dukes, peers, archbishops., etc., the simple
monsieur being the title of the eldest brother of
the king.
Monsoon. [Fr. mousson, from Malay mosseem,
a year.] The wind which blows in the Indian
seas in a nearly constant direction, from about
N.E. for six months (November to March), and
then from about S.W. for the next six months
(April to October).
Monstrance. [L. monstro, / show.] In the
Latin Church, a vessel in which the host is
exhibited to the people through a circle of crystal
surrounded by rays of gold and silver.
Montanists. (Reel. Hist.) The followers of
Montanus, who, in the second century, asserted
that he had received from the Holy Ghost
special knowledge on points not made known
to the apostles, refused to communicate with
persons guilty of great crimes, and held it un-
lawful to fly in times of persecution. He also
MONT
329
MORI)
condemned second marriages, and enjoined the
observance of three Lents. One of his most
celebrated adherents was Tertullian. As
Montanus was a Phrygian, his followers are
sometimes called Phrygians and Cataphrygians.
MontdePiete. [Fr., hill of piety. 1 1. A name
for certain benevolent institutions on the Con-
tinent for lending money to the poor at low rates
of interest. 2. Pawnbroker's office.
Monte. [Sp.] A game of chance, played
with cards, of which the Spanish Americans are
excessively fond. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Montem. An old Eton custom ; its origin
obscure. Every third year the whole school
marched in a sort of semi-military array to a
mound [L. ad montem] a mile and a half from
the college, and money, called salt [(?) salarium,
salt money, allowance], was collected for the
captain of the school. Traced by some to the
election of the boy-bishop by school-fellows ;
by others to the solemn initiation of new boys
into the Eton mysteries, at the mound still called
Salt Hill, by an actual partaking of salt, and a
making of epigrams upon them [sales, witticisms],
The last M. was in 1844.
Montgolfier balloon. A fire balloon (first
made by the brothers Montgolfier).
Month [L. mensis, Gr. priv ; \d\vi], moon, as
the measurer of time, Skt. ma, to measure] ;
Calendar M. ; Full M. ; Hollow M. ; Lunar M. ;
Sidereal M. ; Synodic M. ; Tropical M. Calendar
months are merely artificial parts of the
calendar year, January, February, etc. The
mean of the intervals from one new moon (i.e.
from one conjunction) to the next is the Synodic
or Lunar M. ; its length is 29 days 12 hrs. 44
mins. 2 '8 sees. The T'ropical M. is the mean
interval between her leaving and returning to the
first point of Aries ; its length is 27 days 7 hrs.
43 mins. 4^5 sees. The Sidereal M. is the
mean interval between her leaving and returning
to a given point in the heavens, i.e. it is the
tropical month corrected for precession ; its
length is about seven seconds longer than the
tropical month. A Full M. is one of thirty
days ; a Hollow M., one of twenty-nine days.
These terms were used in the distribution of the
months throughout the Metonic cycle.
Monton. [Sp. monton, a heap.'] A heap of
ore.
Montpensier marriages. Two marriages which
took place in 1846, the one between the Queen
of Spain and the Duke of Cadiz, the other be-
tween the Infanta and the Duke of Montpensier.
These marriages had been the subject of much
diplomatic action between the courts of England
and Spain, and that of Louis Philippe, King of
the French, who desired that the husband of the
Spanish queen should be a Bourbon, while the
English Government urged that he should be a
prince of Coburg.
Monumentum aere perennlus. [L.] A monu-
ment more lasting than brass ; spoken by Horace
of his fame as a poet.
Mood. [L. modus.] 1. (Gram.) The form
of the verb which describes the manner of our
conception of an event or fact as certain, con-
tingent, possible, etc. 2. (Log.) The designa-
tion of the three propositions of a syllogism
according to their quantity and quality.
Moon-culminating sbars come on to the meri-
dian a little before or after the moon, and at
nearly the same place. 'Hie observation of
transits of the moon and of a few of these stars
on one night serves to determine the longitude
with great exactness.
Moon-rakers. (A'aut.) (Sails.)
Moonshee. [Hind, munshi, a luritcr, or secre-
tary.'] A teacher of languages, especially in
India.
Moor, To. (Naut.) To ^fasten a vessel by
two cables ; sometimes, to fasten her to moor-
ings (q.v.).
Moor-ill. A kind of dropsical ailment in
horses, especially when turned out in marshy
ground ; a swelling of the lo\ver side of the
body, after lying clown at night, and of the legs
during standing.
Moorings. [D. maarcn, cable, whence Fr.
amarre, amarrer, demarrer.J Heavy anchors and
cables placed in harbours, etc., for ships to moor
to. Swinging Al ., when only two M. ; All-fours,
when bow and stern M. are used.
Mop, Statute Fair. [L. mappa, a toiuel, etc.,
cloth used in cleaning the floor ; hence a mop.~\
Yearly fair for hire of agricultural servants ;
now dying out ; formerly called Mapp Fair.
Moplahs. The Mohammedan inhabitants of
Malabar.
Mopusses. In Naut. slang, money.
Moraine. [Cf. L. L. morena, a stockade.}
(Geol.) Masses of rock and rubbish brought by
glaciers down from the mountains. When
deposited at the end of a glacier, the mass is a
terminal M. ; when at the side, a lateral M. ;
and when along the middle of a glacier formed
by the junction of two or more glaciers, a
medial M.
Moralities. [L. moralis, relating to manners.]
A general term for the theatrical exhibitions of
the Middle Ages, including Mysteries and
Miracle-plays.
Moravians, or United Brethren. These are
said to be the followers of Count Zinzendorf, in
the last century, and to be so called because the
first converts were furnished by some Moravian
families. The society itself claims to have had
its origin in the days of Methodius and Cyrillus,
two Greek monks, by whom Bulgaria and Mo-
ravia were converted from heathenism. They
profess a general agreement with the Augsburg
Confession of Faith.
Morbidezza. [It., delicacy.'] The painting of
flesh with its natural delicacy and softness of
tint.
Morbus pedicularis. (Pedicularia.)
Morceau. [Fr., from L. L. morsellum, a
mouthful.] (Music.) A somewhat short, simple
piece, or extract from longer and more impor-
tant pieces.
Mordant. [Fr., biting.'] Any substance
having an affinity for fibrous material and for the
colouring matter, and therefore fixing dyes.
Mordred. (Arthur, King.)
MORE
330
MORT
Moreen. [Ger. mohr.] A stout woollen stuff
used for curtains, etc.
More majorum. [L. ] After the ways of our
forefathers.
Morendo. [It.] (Music.) Dying away.
Moresque (i.e. Moorish). In Painting or
Sculpture, a kind of arabesque ornament, in
which fruits and flowers spring out of each other,
without the introduction of any animal figures.
More suo. [L.] After his own fashion ; in a
good, or, perhaps oftener, a bad sense ; just like
him (her, or them).
Morganatic marriage, also called Left-handed
marriage. A marriage between a man of supe-
rior and a woman of lower rank, the contract
being that the children shall not follow the con-
dition or inherit the possessions of the father.
[(?) Goth, morgjan, to shorten.]
Morgan le Fay. In the Arthur legend, a half-
sister of Arthur. In the story of Olger the
Dane, she is the fairy queen who bears Olger
away to her home.
Morgue. [Fr.] In French towns, the place
where the bodies of persons found dead are
exposed, in order to be recognized by their
friends.
Morians' land. In Authorized Version,
Ethiopia, = the black-a-moor.
' Morigeration. [L. morigerationem, from mos,
moris, manner, custom, behaviour, etc., and
gdro, I bear or carry. ] Obedience, obsequious-
ness.
Morion. [Fr., from Sp. morra, the round of
the head.] Musketeer's helmet, with rounded
top and turned-up brim, somewhat like a wide-
awake.
Mormonites. The followers of Joseph Smith,
an American of Vermont, settled in the state of
New York. The sect receives its name from his
religious romance, entitled The Book of Mormon :
an Account written by the Hand of Mormon, upon
Plates taken from the Plates of Mormon, and
printed at Palmyra, New York, in 1830. In
1844 the establishment of the Mormons at
Nauvoo, in Illinois, was sacked, and Joseph
Smith murdered by a mob. In 1848 they es-
tablished themselves in Great Salt Lake City, in
the territory of Utah. They are specially dis-
tinguished as upholders of polygamy, which is
said to have been authorized by " a revelation
on the patriarchal order of matrimony, and
plurality of wives," made to Joseph Smith in
1843-
Mormons. (Mormonites.)
Morne. [Fr. mortne, stillborn.] (Her.) A
rampant lion without teeth, tongue, or claws.
Morning gun. (Gunfire.)
Morning star. The planet Venus when she
rises before the sun.
Morning watch. (JVaut.) That from 4 a.m.
to 8 a.m.
Morocco. [Fr. marroquin.] A fine leather
made from goat's skin and tanned with shumac.
Morosoph. [Gr. /j.up6cro<j>os, foolishly wise.]
One who has a certain amount of learning with-
out method, or patience, or humility.
Morpheus. [Gr.] (Myth.) The Greek god
of sleep ; so called as being the shaper [Gr.
fj.op((rfi, L. forma] of dreams.
Morphology. [Gr. MO^^TJ, form, shape.] The
doctrine of the identity, 1, (Bot.) of the same
organs under different modifications, e.g. of
petal, sepal, tendril, etc., with leaf; 2, (Comp.
Anat.) of the same organ in different individuals,
e.g. phalanges in man, and membranous wing of
bat, etc.
Morrice-dance, or Morris-dance. Originally
Moresco or Moorish dances ; said to have been
introduced into England by Edward III. The
performers danced with bells on their feet.
Morse. [L. morsus, from mordeo, I bite.] A
clasp. More particularly, the clasp of a cope.
(Pectoral.)
Mors janiia vitae. [L.] Death is the gate of
life.
Mors ultima linea rerum. [L.] Death is the
limit of (earthly} things or concerns (Horace).
Mortal sins. [L. mortalis, deadly.] With
the Church of Rome, "sins gross, knowingly,
wilfully, deliberately committed." Venial sins
[venialis, pardonable] are ' ' those of ignorance
and negligence, and such as are considered small
in their nature."
Mortar. [Fr. mortier, L. mortarium, a mor-
tar.] (Mil.) Thick short gun placed on a
bed, for throwing shells at a good elevation ; the
trunnions (q.v. ) are at the breech, and the cham-
ber is shaped as the frustum of a cone.
Mortgage. [Fr., from mort, dead, and gage,
pledge.} In Law, an absolute conveyance of an
estate from the borrower to the lender, with the
condition that, if the loan be repaid within a
stipulated time, the estate shall be reconveyed.
Mortier. [Fr.] A cap of State anciently
worn by kings of France.
Mortification. In Scot. Law, a term with
much the same meaning as Mortmain.
Mortise [Fr. mortaise ; origin unknown] ; M.-
joint ; M.-lock ; M. and tenon ; M. -wheel. A
rectangular hole cut in a piece of timber to receive
a tenon or rectangular projection at the end of a
second piece. The M. and tenon form a M. -joint
and connect the pieces at right angles. A
M.-lock fits into a rectangular hole or mortise,
cut in the thickness of a door. A M. --wheel is a
cast-iron wheel with mortises in its circumference
to be fitted with wooden teeth or cogs.
Mortling. [Fr. mort, dead.] Wool taken
from a dead sheep.
Mortmain. [O.Fr.] An alienation of real
property to any corporation or fraternity ; so
called because the lands fell into a dead hand,
i.e. one incapable of performing the services
required of tenants.
Mortua manus. [L.] (Mortmain.)
Mortuary. [L. mortuarium, money paid at
death, soul-shot.] In times preceding the Nor-
man Conquest, a gift left at death to the parish
church, as a recompense for personal tithes for-
gotten or withheld during lifetime, afterwards
distinguished into Dead M., as money, etc., and
Live M., i.e. the best beast, or the second best
when the best had gone for a heriot to the lord
of the manor.
MOSA
MO US
Mosaic. [Fr. mosaique, from Gr. /uowrejos,
L. muslvus, belonging to the Muses ; the word
being thus another form of music.'} Ornamental
work, consisting of small pieces of glass, stone,
etc., harmoniously inlaid.
Mosaic gold. 1. Bisulphide of tin, a gold-
coloured powder ; or, 2, an alloy of equal parts of
copper and zinc, used for jewellery.
Moses. (Naut.) A flat-bottomed boat in
which hogsheads of sugar are taken off to vessels
in the W. Indies. Moses 1 law, piratical name
for thirty-nine lashes on the bare back.
Moslings. Thin threads of leather shaved off
in dressing skins.
Mos pro lege. [L.J Custom stands for /aw ;
so Gr. vdpos means (i) custom, (2) law.
Mosque. [Ar. mesjed.] The name for a
Mohammedan place of worship. The common
form of the mosques has been suggested by Jus-
tinian's great church of Santa Sophia at Con-
stantinople, minarets and outer buildings being
added at will.
Mosquet. (Musket.)
Moss-troopers. (Hist.) Marauders of the
Scottish and English border ; so called from the
character of the country over which they trooped
in bands to plunder.
Most Christian King. A title of the kings of
France, given first to Clovis by Pope Anastasius ;
most of the Western princes being Arians.
Motacilla. [Said to be L. moto, / keep
moving, act.} (Ornith.) Wagtail; geri. of
birds. W. hemisphere and N.W. America.
Fam. Motacillidse, ord. Passeres.
Motazalites. (Separatists.)
Mot d'ordre. [Fr.] Watchword. Bon mot,
smart, witty saying. Mot a mot, word for word,
a literal saying.
Motes. ( Folkmote ; Wittenagemote.)
Motett. (Madrigal.)
Mother Carey's chickens. (Petrel.)
Mothering Sunday, Mid-Lent, or Refresh-
ment S. On which day there was once a custom
of visiting the cathedral or mother church with
offerings ; but Mothering has now come to mean
visiting parents. (Simnel bread.)
Mother liquor. [Ger. mutter.] The im-
pure residue of a solution from which crystals
have been obtained.
Mother-of-pearl. Shell material of many
molluscs, e.g. oysters ; iridescent, owing to the
microscopic undulatory alternations of the car-
bonate of lime and membrane which compose it.
Motif. [Fr.] The leading thought of an
artist's work.
Motion. (Music. ) 1. Similar or Direct, when
two or more parts move in the same direction.
2. Contrary, when towards or away from each
other. 3. Oblique, when one part moves while
another is stationary.
Motion, Perpetual. That of a machine which
would keep itself in motion and do work for
ever, if such a thing were possible.
Motion, Quantity of. Momentum (q.v.).
Mot pour rire. [Fr.] A jest, or joke.
Mots a double entente. [Fr.] Properly,
words with a double meaning. (Equivoque.)
Mots d'argot. [Fr.] Slang phrases, thieves'
language.
Moufflon. [Littre suggests Ger. muffel, a dog
or other animal with large hanging lips.] (Zool.)
Gen. of large, horned, wild mountain sheep, as
the argali of Siberia (A. caprovis), four feet high,
with horns six inches in diameter at base, and
long in proportion ; supposed original of domestic
breeds. Corsica, Sardinia, Crete, Asia, Rocky
Mountains, and California.
Mould-board. (Agr.) The curved surface in
the plough, which throws the soil on one side.
Moulding. In Gr. and Rom. Arch., those
members of an Order which are shaped into
curved or flat forms. These are eight : ( i ) Filet,
(2) Astragal, (3) Torus, (4) Scotia, (5) Echinus,
(6) Cyma recta, (7) Cyma reversa, (8) Cai-etto.
Mouldings. In Goth. Arch., a name for all
fhe various outlines given to the angles of subor-
dinate parts of buildings, as cornices, capitals,
bases, etc.
Mound. [L. munclus. iwrld.} (Her.) A
globe encircled with a band and surmounted by
a cross, held by sovereigns as a mark of dominion.
Mountain, The. [Fr. La Montague.] In Fr.
Hist., a party of Jacobins in the Convention of
1793 5 so called as occupying the highest rows
of seats, the moderate men choosing the lower
places in the centre, hence called the Plain.
Mountain or Hill People. (Macmillanites.)
Mountain cork, Mountain leather. (A/in.)
Felt-like minerals, formerly supposed to be de-
composed hornblendic rock, but now known as
a distinct mineral pilolite.
Mountain flax. (Amianthus ; Asbestos. )
Mountain limestone, i.e. appearing in the
escarpments of Derby, Yorkshire, Fife, etc. , or
Carboniferous limestone, i.e. a marked feature
in the C. system. (Geol.) A very distinct
group of rocks, of the C. series ; British Isles,
Europe, Asia, and America ; marked by peculiar
corals, encrinites, shells, in great abundance ;
beds of limestone, with shale, thin seams of
coal, and gritty sandstone.
Mountain meal. (Berg-mehl.)
Mountain train, (Mil. ) A battery consisting
of peculiarly light field-guns, with carriages
easily taken to pieces and broken up into mode-
rate mule burdens, for operating amongst hills
or in country devoid of roads.
Mourning. (A 7 aut.) The ensign and pennant
half-mast, the yards topped awry or a-peek, or
alternately topped an-end, are signs of mourning.
The sides painted blue or rubbed with ashes,
etc., instead of white, indicates deep mourning.
In the navy, a ship is thus painted on the death
of her captain, and the flag-ship on that of the
admiral ; in the merchant service, on that of
the owner.
Mouse. 1. [Heb. 'akbar ; Lev. xi. 29, etc.]
(Bibl.) Includes rats and jerboas (q.v.). 2. [Cf.
muscle, i.e. musculus, little mouse.} (Naut.)
(i) A knot or knob, made of twine, etc., wrought
on to the collars of stays, to prevent the running
eye from slipping. (2) A match for firing a
mine. (3) A mark upon ropes, to show when
squared or brought home. To M. a hook, to
MOUS
332
MULT
put a turn or so cf twine round the pointed neck
of a hook to prevent its coming unhooked. To
raise a M. , to cause a lump by a blow.
Mousseline de laine. [Fr. for wool muslin.]
A very light woollen fabric.
Movable fea.ts. Feasts, the recurrence of
which is determined by the time when Easter
falls.
Movement. 1. The internal parts, springs,
wheels, etc., of such machines as clocks, watches,
etc. 2. Any mechanism by which the motion
of one piece is transferred in some determinate
way to another piece.
Mow. A Teut. and Scand. word, denoting a
place for storing hay or grain.
Moya. [Sp.] Volcanic effusion of foetid sul-
phurous mud.
Mozarabic Liturgy. An early Liturgy of Spain,
where the Christians were mixed up with Moots
and Arabs. (Liturgy.)
Mozarabs, Mozarabes. Christians living under
the government of the Moors in Spain.
MS. Abbrev. for L. manu scriptum, -written
by the hand, manuscript ; also for L. memorise
sacrum, sacred to the memory.
MSS. Abbrev. for L. manu scripta, manu-
scripts.
Mucilage. iBassora gum.)
Mucronate. [L. mucro, -nem, a dagger."]
(Bot.) Having an apex with a small and sharp
projection, noticeable apart from the general
contour of the margin ; as some leaves of plants
have, e.g. Lathyrus pratensis.
'Mudian, 'Mujian, or Bennudian. (Xaut.) A
boat, peculiar to the Bermudas, of from two to
twenty tons burden. Its stem and keel form a
curved line, so that it draws much water aft ;
usually decked, and carries lead or iron ballast :
rigged with a single mast in the bows, and
setting a three-cornered mainsail, the hoist of
which is sometimes three times the length of
the keel ; its only other sail being a small fore-
sail or jib. Unequalled in sailing to windward
in smooth water.
Muezzin, Mueddin. [Ar.] General name for
the officers of the mosques who sing from the
minaret the call, " Hadan," to prayers, "Namaz, ''
at the five canonical hours.
Muffineer. 1. A dish for keeping muffins hot.
2. A salt-box, in the form of a pepper-caster, for
salting muffins.
Muffle. [Fr. moufle.] A "small earthen oven
for heating the alloy, etc., before adding it to
the silver and gold in the cupel (q.v.}.
Muffle the oars, To. (Naut.) To put matting,
etc. , round them, so that they should not rattle
in the rowlocks.
Mufti. 1. Turkish title of a doctor of the law
of the Koran. The M. of Constantinople, the
chief functionary of the Turkish Church, repre- j
sents the sultan in spiritual matters, as the !
grand vizier does in temporal. 2. With officers '
in the army, = plain clothes.
Muggletonians. In Eng. Hist., the followers
of one Muggleton, a tailor, who, in the seven-
teenth century, asserted that he and his associate, ,
Reeves, were the two last and greatest prophets
of Jesus Christ. A few of their adherents still
remain. They were opposed chiefly by the
Quakers Fox and Penn.
Muiagros. [Gr.] A god of Elis ; so called
as catching or destroying flies, thus answering
exactly to the Semitic Baalzebub. (Apomuios
Zeus.)
Muid de Paris. [Fr., L. modius, a peck,
and in a general sense, measure, amount.] An
old French measure of capacity containing about
51 bushels. It was subdivided thus : I muid =
12 setiers = 48 minots = 144 boisseaux.
Muirburn. In Scotland, setting heath on fire.
Mulada. [Sp.] A drove of mules. Bartlett's
A mericanisms.
Mulatto. The offspring of a European and
a negro. That of a white and a mulatto is
called a Quadroon ; of a white and a quadroon,
a Mustee ; of a white and a mustee, a Mustafina.
(Creole.)
Mulching. Dressing tree roots with litter.
(Emulsion.)
Mule, M.-jenny. A machine for spinning
cotton, invented by Crompton ; first completed,
1770.
Mull. [Welsh moel, a hill.] A snuff-box
made of the small end of a horn.
Mull. A thin soft muslin.
Mullah. The Tartar form of the word
Mollah ; but the priests of Tartary so called have
not precisely the same rank or office.
Muller. [Ger. mullen, to rub.] A flat-
bottomed pestle used for grinding artists' colours.
Mullet [Fr. molette, towel of a spur.]
(Her. ) A star with five points, borne ( I ) as a
charge, (2) as the difference in the third son's
escutcheon.
Mullion. (Arch.) The upright bar which
divides the lights of a window. (Transom.)
Multae terricolis linguae, ccelestibus una. [L.]
The inhabitants of the earth ha-ve many languages,
those of heaven only one. In Gr. the line runs,
rioXAol fj.tv dvijTuis y\ujffai n'la 5' adavarolffi.
Multiple ; Common M. ; M. point ; M. star.
Any number divisible by a second number is a
Multiph of that second number. Any number
divisible by each of two or more numbers is
their Common M. A M. star is a group of
three or more stars separated from each other by
a few seconds, and appearing to the naked eye as
one star. (For M. point, vide Singular point.)
Multiplicand ; Multiplication ; Multiplier.
Multiplication (in arithmetic) is the process by
which we find the result of adding together a
given number of equal numbers ; any one of the
equal numbers is the Multiplicand ; the number
of times it is taken is the Multiplier.
Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit. [L.]
He died mourned by many good men (Horace).
Multivalve. [L. multus, many, valvae, fold-
ing doors.] (Zoo/.) Composed of many pieces ;
as the shell of many cirripeds and of the chiton.
Multoca. The code of laws by which Islam
is governed, and which cannot be overruled
even by the decrees of the sultan.
Multum. An extract of quassia and liquorice,
used for adulterating beer.
MULT
333
MUSI,
Multum in parvo. [L.] Much in little.
Mum. [Ger. mumme.j 1. A strong kind of
beer. 2. [Onomatop.] Slang for silence.
Mummy. [Ar. mumia, from mum, wax.}
In Egypt, a dead body preserved in a dry state
from putrefaction. This practice of embalming
was much in vogue amongst the early Christians,
and seems to have been only gradually aban-
doned.
Mumps. (Parotitis.)
Mumpsimus, It is said of some priest that
he insisted on reading mumpsimus for the L.
sumpsimus, we have received, in the prayer after
Communion. Hence the word came to denote
the obstinacy of ignorance.
Munchhausen, A. Any incredible traveller's
story, Baron Munchhausen being the hero of a
series of astounding adventures in a tale written
by Raspe.
Mundane egg. (GBufs de Paque.)
Mundic. (Chem.) Iron pyrites or arsenic
pyrites.
Munduc. (Naut.) A sailor who pulls up
the diver and oysters in the pearl fishery.
Mundungus. In Naut. slang, bad, rank, and
dirty tobacco.
Mungo. Waste wool, etc., used for making
inferior cloth.
Mungo Park, surgeon, of Selkirkshire, traveller,
and writer of his travels (1771-1805).
Municipal corporation. The body of burgesses
or freemen of a city, as a self-governing society,
constituted by royal charter.
Municipality. [L. munus, an office, and capio,
/ take.} A society the members of which
are capable of holding office. In Rome the
name muntccps was given to strangers who
became incorporated with the Roman people
without acquiring the right of citizenship. The
word municipal is now often used to mean (i)
the local government of a district, (2) the law of
particular districts or provinces.
Muniment. [L. munimentum, a defence, a
protection.} A document kept by an individual
or by a corporate body, in proof of the right to
certain property, privileges, etc.
Munjeet. [Hind, manjit.] A kind of mad-
der from the E. Indies.
Muntz's metal. (From the inventor. ) An alloy
of three parts of copper and two of zinc, used
for sheathing vessels.
Mural circle. [L. muralis, belonging to a
wall.} A large graduated circle, to which is
fixed an astronomical telescope, the axis of the
latter coinciding with a diameter of the former.
It moves in the plane of the meridian on a
strong horizontal axis let into a massive pier or
wall, and secured by screws so as to be capable
of adjustment. It is used in connexion with
a transit instrument for making the observations
which determine the exact position of the
heavenly bodies on the great sphere. The
transit instrument serves to determine their right
ascensions, the M. C. their declinations.
Murexide. [L. murex, the purple fish.} A
purple salt of ammonia.
Murex trunculus. [L., and L. dim. of trun-
cus, truncated.} (Conch.} One of the dye-
secreting molluscs, giving its name to the Tyrian
purple. Fam. Muricldce, orcl. Prosf>l>ranchlata,
class Gasteropoda.
Muriated. Coated with chloride (formerly
called muriate) of silver.
Muriatic acid. [L. miiria, brine.} (Chem.)
Hydrochloric acid.
Muridse. [L. murem, mouse.} (Zool.) Fam.
of rodents, as rats and mice. None indigenous
in the Australasian Islands or Polynesia.
Murrain. [O.Fr. morine, beast' 's carcase,
mourrir, to die. } Exod. ix. 3; Ps. Ixxviii. ; some
kind of cattle plague.
Murrey. (Her.) A mulberry [L. morum]
colour.
' Murrhine vases. [L. Murrhlna vasa.] Ancient
small vases coming from the East ; probably of
opalescent glass.
Murzas. The second class of the hereditary
nobility among the Tartars, the first class being
called Beys. (Mirza.)
Muscae volitantes. [L., flitting flies.} (Med.)
Black spots appearing before the eye.
Muscatel. [Sp. moscalet.] A rich spicy
grape.
Muschelkalk. [Ger., shell-lime.} (Geol.)
Compact greyish limestone, with abundant
remains of molluscs and encrinites ; the middle
member of the Triassic period, or New Red
Sandstone. \V. Europe ; absent from England.
Muscidae. [L. musca, ifiy.} (Entom.) Fam.
of dipterous insects, including house-flies and
blue-bottles.
Muscovado. [Sp. mascabado, spoilt.} Raw
sugar.
Muscovy glass = Potash mica, Muscovite;
plates of it being still used in some parts of
Russia for windows.
Muses. [Gr. /j.ovcrai.] (Myth.) Goddesses
presiding over music, poetry, and art. Later
poetry described them as nine in number.
(Mnemosyne.)
Musette. 1. A small bagpipe, once much
used in different parts of Europe. 2. Melody,
like the soft sweet tunes played on a M. 3. A
reed-stop on the organ.
Mushtahids. In Persia, high priests who
represent the vicegerent of the Imam.
Musk. [Ar.] A fragrant brown substance
secreted by the male musk-deer, musk-rat, etc.
Musket. This name for a modern firearm is
derived from the mosquet, or sparrow-hawk ;
so called from its dappled [L. muscatus] plumage.
The names of other birds used in falconry were
applied, on the disuse of that sport, to firearms.
Thus the falcon became the name of a heavier
sort of artillery ; the Fr. sacre and Eng. saker,
a hawk, also denoted a gun ; and the It.
terzuolo, or hawk, is also a small pistol. Max
Miiller, Lectures on Language.
Muslin. Fine cotton cloth, with a downy
nap, brought originally from the town of
Mosul.
Muslin, or Dimity. (Naut.) (Flying-kites.)
' Muslinet. [Fr. mousselinette.] A coarse
cotton cloth.
MUSP
334
MYST
Muspelheim. In Norse Myth., the domain
of devouring fire. (Niflheim.)
Musrole. [Fr. muserolle, from museau,
muzzle.} The nose-band of a horse's bridle.
MusseL [L. musculus, a little mouse, used,
like Gr. juvs and Fr. souris, to mean both a
muscle of the body and also a shell-fish. ~\
( Conch. ) Fam. of bivalve molluscs ; universally
distributed. Mytilidae, class Conchifera.
Mussel, Pearl. British. (Conch.) Unfo mar-
garitlferus [L. unio, a pearl, margarita (Skt.
manjari, pearl), fgro, / carry] ; broader than the
common M. British rivers. Fam. UmSnidae,
class Conchiftra. There is also a Chinese P. M.,
Dipsas plicatos.
Mussulman. [Ar. muslim, a believer.} A
general name for the followers of Mohammed.
Mustafina. (Mulatto.)
Mustang. [Sp. mesteno.] The wild horse
of the prairies, descended from the stock intro-
'duced into America by the first Spanish colonists.
He is of various colours, a cream colour and
piebald being quite common. Mustangs are
found in the greatest numbers on the rich prairies
of S. -W. Texas. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Mustee. (Mulatto.)
Mustelidae. [L. musteda, -weasel.} (Zool.)
Fam. of digitigrade carnivora, as weasels, otters,
badgers. Absent from Madagascar, Australasia,
Polynesia.
Muster. [Fr. monstrer, to show.~\ (Mil.)
Monthly parade, at which all officers and men
have to appear, as a guarantee that none are
entered on the M.-roll who are not entitled to
pay.
Mutacism. [Gr. nvTOKio-fj.6s.] Too frequent
pronunciation of m, substituted for other letters,
(lotacism; Lambdacism.)
Mutatis mutandis. [L.] All necessary
changes having been made.
Mntato nomine, de te fabula narratur. [L.]
Change the name, and the tale is told of yourself
(Horace).
Muth-labben. In title of Ps. ix. ; an obscure
term, probably the name of some well-known
melody (Speaker's Commentary).
Mutiny Act. [Fr. mutin, mutinous.} (Mil.)
An Act passed annually by Parliament for the
raising and keeping a standing army (which
otherwise is illegal), and for punishing mutiny,
desertion, and other offences against military
discipline. (Army Discipline and Regulation
Act.)
Mutiny of the " Bounty." A mutiny against
Captain Bligh, commander of the Bounty, 1789.
The crew sent Bligh adrift and took the ship to
Pitcairn's Island, which they colonized.
Mutule. [Fr., L. mutulus.] (Arch.) A pro-
jecting block worked under the corona of the
Doric cornice.
Mylodon. [Gr. /i\os, a millstone, oSovs, a
tooth.'] (Geol.) Huge fossil ground-sloths,
having molars with flat grinding surfaces ;
Pleistocene. S. America.
Mynchery. The O. E. name for a nunnery,
the nuns being called mynchcns, the feminine
of monk.
Myography. [Gr. /JLVS, muscle, ypd<f>ca, I
describe. ] The describing of the muscles.
Myopia. [Gr. fj-ixairia, fivta, I close, &ty, the
eye.} (Med.) Short-sightedness; the eye dis-
cerning objects at less than eight inches.
Myotomy. [Gr. fj.vs, a muscle, TO/^J, cutting.}
(Anat. ) The dissection or dividing of a muscle.
Myriad. [Gr. nvpids.] Ten thousand ; but
the word denotes only a confused mass, like the
L. mille, and throws light on the early count-
ing powers of the Greek and Latin tribes.
Myriapoda. [Gr. /j.vpi6-irovs,-o$os, ten-thousand-
footed.} (Zool.} Millipedes, centipedes. Class
of Annulosa with not less than eighteen legs,
having all their segments nearly alike, the head
excepted.
Myrica, Sweet-gale, Bog-myrtle. (Bot.) Fra-
grant native plant, type of Myriacese ; ord.
Amentaceae. M. of Virgil is tamarisk, TamSrix.
Myrmidons. [Gr. tj.vp/j.i5ovfs. ] (Myth.) The
followers of Achilles, who never act except at his
bidding. The Greeks, perhaps Wrongly, con-
nected the word with fj.vpfj.-r), an ant, and invented
a story to explain it. It is now used much in
the same sense as Bravo.
Myrobalanus. [Gr. (j.vpo-f}a\avos, from nvpov,
an unguent, /3oAai/os, an acorn.] A dried
Indian fruit like a prune, used in dying and
tanning.
Mystagogue. [Fr., from Gr. pvffraycoyds .]
One who initiates in, or interprets, mysteries.
Mysteries. [Gr. (*.v<a, / am closed, fj.vtw, I
initiate in secrets, /XUO-TIJS, one who is initiated,
fj.vo-T-fipiov, that in which he is initiated.] 1.
(Hist.) Ritual celebrations connected with secret
doctrines. The M. of the ancient world
differed much in character, some being of a
sober, others of a frenzied, type. (Eleusinian
Mysteries.) 2. (Eccl. Hist.} This name is
given to a species of dramatic composition, with
characters and events drawn from sacred history.
In all these plays, however solemn might be
the treatment of the subject, two persons, the
Devil and the Vice, were always held up for the
amusement of the people. Among the earliest
of Biblical plays is a Greek tragedy on the
Passion, by Gregory Nazianzen. A German
abbess, named Hroswitha, composed some
dramas of this kind in the tenth century.
(Miracle-plays ; Moralities.)
Mystery [Gr. pva-rhpiov}, Eph. iii. 3, and
elsewhere in New Testament. Not something
above human comprehension, e.g. the origin of
evil, but a secret, which, when revealed, is no
longer a M.
Mystical tau. The Egyptian T-shaped
emblem, which was regarded as the symbol of
life.
Mystics. [Gr. /j.v<rrtK6s, secret.} 1. Theo-
logians who, like Clement of Alexandria and his
pupil Origen, deal chiefly with the allegorical
and mystical meanings of the Scriptures. 2.
Those who aim at tranquil contemplation as an
end to be preferred in life to all philosophical or
other studies. These were called also Quietists.
Among the most prominent of these were the
Spanish priest Molinos (Molinosism), and in
MYTH
335
NAN 1C
France, Mme. Guyon and Fenelon, a bishop of
Cambrai.
Myth. (Naut.) Land, or anything else by
which the course can be directed by sight.
Myth, My thus. [Gr. /ui)0os.] A saying, re-
lating originally to the phenomena of the out-
ward world, be they of sight, or sound, or any
other. These sayings, applied to the conditions
of human life, grew up gradually into stories,
which have furnished materials for the epic
poems of the Aryan and other races. Thus the
sun was said to see all things, hence to be wise.
It was also said that he was compelled to ascend
the heaven, and then to come down again.
From this sprang the story of Sisyphos, the wise
[o-fyos] man, condemned to heave to the top of
a hill a ball, which immediately rolled down
again. Solar myths are myths or sayings re-
lating to the sun ; Lunar myths relate to the
moon, etc., almost all sensible objects giving
rise to phrases or sayings which pass into mythi-
cal tales. Thus the saying that the moon
wanders through the sky amongst the myriad
stars grew into the myth or legend of St. Ursula
(Horsel, Ursel, being a name for the moon-
goddess) and her train of eleven thousand virgins.
The task of analyzing and comparing these myths
belongs to the science of Comparative mythology.
Mythology. (Metaphor.)
Mythology, Comparative. (Comparative
mythology.)
Mythopoeia [Gr. fj.v6o-rroi6s] (Myth.) =
making, producing, phrases which grow up
into mythical narratives.
Mytilus. [Gr. fn.vrt\os, from /j.vs, muscle.}
(Mussel.)
N.
N. A letter common to all known languages,
but in some of them interchangeable with many
other letters. As an abbrev., it is used for
north, and for the L. numero, number ; some-
times also for natus, nefastus dies, ngpos,
nomine. N.B. stands for L. nota bene, mark
well; N.L. for L. non liquet, it is not clear ;
etc.
Nablum. A Jewish musical instrument, of
the form of which little is known. Josephus
merely says that it was played upon by the
ringers.
Nabob. A corr. of the Hind, word Nuwab,
denoting one who has gained wealth in the East
and uses it ostentatiously. (Nawab.)
Nabonassar, Era of. An astronomical era,
assigned to the beginning of the reign of
Nabonassar, the alleged founder of the Baby-
lonish empire, B.C. 747.
Naca, or Nacelle. (Naut.) A French boat,
without mast or sail, dating from the twelfth
century.
Nacarat. [Fr.] 1. A pale orange colour.
2. Fine linen or crape dyed this colour.
Nacodah. (Nakhadah.)
Nacre. [Fr., from Pers. nigar, painting.}
The hard lustrous internal layer of shells.
(Mother-of-pearl.) Adj., Nacreous.
Nacreous. (Nacre.)
Nadir. [Ar. nazeer, opposite.] (Astron.)
The point vertically beneath the observer at any
given station, in which the plumb-line produced
downward would meet the great sphere.
Naevus [L. ], N. maternus, Mother-spot. A con-
genital mark or morbid growth on a part of the
skin. Some are mere discolorations, others
warty, having excrescences ; but most of them
of excessively vascular tissue, or a dense network
of veins raised above the skin.
Nag's Head Consecration. (Eccl. Hist.) A
story circulated by Roman Catholic writers that
Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury
1559-1576, was consecrated at the Nag's Head
tavern, in Cheapside. The official register shows
that he was consecrated at Lambeth.
Naiads. [Gr. NaiaSes, akin to vd.ca, I flow,
va.vs, a ship, L. nare, to swim, Skt. sna, to
wash.} (Gr. Myth.) Nymphs inhabiting
fountains, rivers, and streams.
Naiant. (Her.) In a horizontal position, as
if swimming [Fr. nageant].
Naick. (Mil.) Corporal of sepoy troops.
Nail. As a measure of length, the sixteenth
part of a yard, two inches and a quarter.
Nail a gun, To, /.//. Spike.
Nainsook, A thick jaconet muslin, formerly
made in India.
Naissant. [Fr., being bom.} (Her.) Rising
from the centre of an ordinary.
Naivete. [Fr. naif, fern, na'ive, simple, in-
genuous, L. natlvus.] Simplicity, artlessness.
Naked flooring. (Arch.) The open timber-
work supporting a floor.
Nakhadah, or Nacodah. (Naut.) An
Arabian sea-captain.
Namaz. (Muezzin.)
Name. Of a ship, includes that of the port of
registry.
Naming a member. A member of the House
of Commons, having been called to order, and
persisting in disregarding the rules of the House,
may be named by the Speaker, who leaves him
to the censure of the House : the member must
then withdraw.
Nanism. [Gr. vavos, L. nanus, a dwarf.}
The condition of a dwarf.
Nankeen. A buff-coloured cotton cloth,
chiefly manufactured at Nankin, in China.
Nankin Porcelain Tower. It was of brick
cased with porcelain, and was 261 feet high,
built A.D. 1403-1424; destroyed by the Tae-
pings, 1853.
Nankin ware. (Exported from Nankin.)
The blue and white Oriental china.
NANT
336
NAUC
Nantes. A kind of brandy (made at Nantes,
in France).
Nantes, Edict of. (Edict of Nantes.)
Nacs. [Gr.] In Gr. Arch., this word,
which is the same as our nave, denoted the part
of a temple inclosed by the walls, the front part
being called pronaos, the part in the rear being
the opisthodomus, L. posticum.
Naphtha. [Gr., Pers. nafata, to exude.'] 1.
A bituminous, volatile, inflammable product of
distillation from carbonaceous shales and pit-
coal. 2. The native hydro-carbon petritteum,
or rock-oil, native naphtha.
Napier's bones or rods. A mechanical con-
trivance, invented by Napier of Merchison, for
multiplying and dividing numbers : one of the
earliest calculating-machines.
Napiform root. (Bot.) Of the shape of a
turnip [L. napus] ; e.g. swede, and some
radishes.
Naples yellow. A gold-coloured pigment
used in oil-painting, composed of the oxides of
lead and antimony.
Napoleon, Code of. The great code, drawn up
by order of Napoleon Bonaparte, consolidating
the revolutionary laws already in existence. It
is both penal and civil ; but the term is more
generally used to designate the latter.
Narcissus. [Gr. Nap/cj(r<ror.] (Myth.) A
beautiful youth, said to have been loved by the
Echo, and to have been turned into the flower
narcissus after his death. But the name denotes
simply lethargic sleep.
Narcotic. (Poison.)
Narcotico-acrid. (Poison.)
Narcotics. [Gr. vapKortK^s, producing vdpK-ri,
stiffhi -ss, numbness. ] (Med.) Hypnotics ; soporific
medicines, diminishing the action of the nervous
system, relieving pain, and producing sleep.
Nard. (Spikenard.)
Narration. [L. narrationem.] (Rhet.) The
second division of an oratorical discourse, stating
the facts from which the conclusions are to be
drawn. (Exordium; Peroration.)
Narrow gauge. (Gauge.)
Narthex. [Gr.] In Eccl. Arch., the first
section or division in the Roman basilicus, to
which the women, the rnergumens, and the
lapsed were restricted. (Exedra.)
Narwhal. [Ger. narwall, nose-whale.~\ (Zool.)
Sea-unicorn ; gen. and spec. (Monodon mono-
cfiros) forming fam. Monodontldse, ord. Cetacea.
The lower jaw is toothless ; the teeth in the upper
jaw are rudimentary, except that the left canine
in the male projects eight or ten feet in a straight
line with the animal's body, which is about
fifteen feet long. This is, no doubt, the unicorn's
horn, once held to be an antidote to poison.
Nasal. [L. nasus, nose.~\ (Mil.) Projecting
iron <w-guard, vertical, sometimes sliding ; in
head-piece of eleventh and twelfth centuries.
Nasturtium. (Sot.) Properly a gen. of
Cruciferse, of which the water-cress (N. offi-
cmale) is the type ; but applied commonly in
gardens to Tropaeolum majus.
Nasute. [L. nasutus, from nasus, nose.]
Quick-scented ; hence critically nice, captious.
Natalitia. [L.] Birthdays.
Natant. (Naiant.)
Natatores. [L. , swimmers.] (Ornith.)
Swimming-birds, i.q. Palmipedes [L., palm-,
i.e. broad-, footed] or Anseres.
National debt. The amount owed by a state
to those who have advanced money for expenses
incurred by the Government over and above its
ordinary income. In England the first loan of
a permanent character arose out of the chartering
of the Bank of England, 1694, when its capital
of ;i, 200,000 was lent to the public at eight
per cent, interest ; the Crown reserving power of
repayment, but not allowing a corresponding
right of demanding payment.
National Guard. In France the civilians who
armed themselves to keep order during the first
revolution.
Natrix. [L., swimming.'] (Zool.) A gen. of
snakes, having no poison fangs. Common ringed
snake of England, N. torquata, is a spec.
Natter-jack. (Zool. ) One of the two spec, of
British toads, about three inches long, with a
yellow line down its back, and black bars on the
legs ; seldom approaching the water, except in
the breeding season. Bufo calamlta, gen. Bu-
fonidse, ord. Anoura, class Amphibia.
Natural death. (Civil death.)
Naturalism. A word used somewhat vaguely
to denote ( i ) the mere state of nature, especially
the pure influence of nature, when rightly under-
stood, upon art as e.g. in Wordsworth ; (2) the
theory which denies the possibility of super-
natural agency in the life of man ; and (3) the
doctrine which asserts that the universe is ruled
by forces not originating in an intelligent will.
Naturalistic school of poets, etc. (Naturalism.)
Natural numbers; N. philosophy; N. sines,
cosines, etc. (Math.) The A T atural numbers are
the series of integral numbers, beginning with
unity, i.e. I, 2, 3, etc. JV. sines, cosines, etc., of
angles, are the actual sines, cosines, etc. , of angles
from o up to 90 ; they are in most cases calcu-
lated for every minute, and arranged in a tabular
form ; so called to distinguish them from their
logarithms, which are Logarithmic sines, cosines,
etc., and which are most commonly employed
in astronomical and other calculations. A 7 ".
philosophy, the term used by Newton for the
investigation of laws in the material world, and
the deduction of results not directly observed.
Natural order. (Bot. ) One belonging to the
natural system of classification, and exhibiting
affinities really existing ; as distinguished from
an artificial arrangement made for the student's
convenience.
Naturam expellas furca; tamen usque recurret.
[L.] You may thrust out nature with a pitch-
fork ; but it will find its way back (Horace).
Natura naturans. Natura naturata. [L.]
Nature as a forming power. Nature as a formed
result.
Nature-printing. The art of taking impres-
sions from plants on soft metal, and from these
taking an electrotype plate, by means of which
impressions are multiplied.
Naucrary. [Gr. vav a a.] In Gr. Hist.,
NAUL
337
NECR
naucraries were political divisions of the Athenian
people, the naucrarians [vavKpapot] being simply
householders. After the time of Solon each
naucrary was called on to provide one war-ship,
and thus the word came to be connected with
vavs, a ship, and the navy ; though akin rather
to the verb vaita, I inhabit.
Naulage. [Gr. vcw\ov, L. naulum, passage
money.] (Naut.) A freight or fare.
Naulum, [L., Gr. vav\os, passage money.] In
Gr. and Rom. usage, a piece of money put into
the mouths of the dead to enable them to pay
Charon for taking them over the Styx.
Naumachla. [Gr., a sea-fight.] In ancient
Rome this word was applied to the representa-
tions of sea-fights exhibited for the amusement of
the people, who were ranged on seats along the
banks as in an amphitheatre.
Nausea. [Gr. vavala, ravy, a ship.'} Sea-sick-
ness, inclination to vomit.
Nautical Almanac. (Ephemeris.)
Nautilidse. [Gr. i>avT-i\os, sailor.] Pearly
nautilus. (Conch.) Fam. and gen. of mollusc
with chambered shell. Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Ord. Tetrabranchiata, class Cephalopoda.
Naval Reserve. Merchant seamen and fisher-
men, enlisted for service in the navy if required,
and annually trained.
Nave. [O.E. nafu.] The centre of a wheel.
Navel point. (Escutcheon.)
Navicular disease. In the horse, inflammation
arising from a strain of the strong flexor tendon
of the foot, where it passes over the navicular
bone a beat-shaped bone [L. navicula, a little
ship], the upper of two rows of the carpus [L.,
wrist],
Navigation laws. Enactments securing to
home shippers a monopoly of the carrying trade,
either by prohibiting the importation of goods in
foreign vessels, or by levying differential duties
on such goods. The English N. L. have been
repealed, and new regulations substituted by the
Acts of 1849 and 1853.
Naviget Anticyram. [L.] Let him sail to
Anticyra (Horace), to be cured (of his madness)
by the hellebore which grows there.
Navire. [Fr.] An order of knighthood in-
stituted by St. Louis, King of France, 1269; so
called, perhaps, because the knight's collar had a
ship pendent from it.
Navvy. [Abridged from navigator.'} A labourer
on canals for internal navigation ; hence a
labourer on railways, embankments, etc.
Navy agents. Certain firms appointed to
see to the receipt, etc., of an officer's pay, prizes,
etc.
Nawab, Naib. [Hind.] A deputy or ruler of
a province in the empire of the Moguls, under
the subahdar, the ruler of a subah, or larger pro-
vince.
Nazarenes. 1. The name given in the East
by Moslems and Jews to Christians, as followers
of Jesus of Nazareth. 2. A sect of the second
century, which tried to combine Judaism and
Christianity, and thus resembled the Ebionites.
Nazarite, more properly Naziritc. In Old
Testament Hist., one bound by a vow to be set
apart for the service of God. The dedication
was usually for a definite term ; but Samson is
called a Nazirite for life.
Nealed-to. (Naut.) Said of a shore having
deep soundings close in.
Neap. 1. The tongue or pole of a waggon.
2. A prop for the front of a cart, etc.
Neaped. (Naut.) Said of a ship left aground
by the spring-tides in a harbour, so as to have to
wait for the next springs before she can go to
sea or be floated oft".
Neapolitan sixth. (Music. ) A chord composed
of a minor third and minor sixth occurring on
the subdominant of a minor key ; e.g. (in C
minor) F j^, A f?, D fr, with F in the bass. Its
derivation is matter of dispute.
Neap-tides take place shortly after the first
and third quarters of the moon, when the differ-
ence between high and low tide is least.
Near, and No near, also No higher. (A 7 aut.)
Don't let her come up to the wind. (Off.)
Neat. According to Wedgwood, any brute
animal, from A.S. ne witeen, like the Gr. alo-
gon, an irrational creature. The Greek word
is now limited to horses, the English to cattle.
Skeat, Etym. Eng. Diet., refers neat to A.S.
niotan, to use, employ, enjoy.
Nebula [L. , vapour, cloud] ; Irresolvable N. ;
Resolvable N. (Astron.) A patch of faint
diffused light in the stellar regions. A Resolvable
N. is one which, when viewed through a powerful
telescope, is seen to consist of a group of bright
points to be, in fact, a cluster of stars. Of the
other, or Irresolvable A 7 ., some are probably
masses of incandescent gas ; others groups of
bright points too small to be seen individually.
Nebular hypothesis. (Astron.) The hypo-
thesis that the sun and planets have been gradu-
ally condensed into their present state from that
in which their matter formed a huge cloud. It
is favoured by many eminent astronomers, and
by some is regarded as an ascertained fact.
Nebulosity. [L. post-class. nebul5sitas, misti-
ness.] (Astron.) The faint mist observed to
surround certain stars.
Nee deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus.
Let not a god be brought in, unless the knot be one
which really needs his aid to untie it (Horace).
Necessaries. (Mil.) Include such articles as
a soldier is required to keep up at his own ex-
pense, in the way of underclothing, small im-
plements, and cleaning materials
Necessitarians ; Necessarianism. The doctrine
of necessity is that liberty can be predicated only
of actions done in consequence of volitions ; but
not of the volitions themselves ; of which last
motives, they say, are the cause; while the doctrine
of liberty is that motives are not the cause, but
the occasion. Calvinists have generally been N.
Necessitas non habet legem. [L.] Necessity
owns no law.
Nechiloth. (Nehiloth.)
Neck-mouldings. In O.E. Arch., the mould-
ings which connect the capital with the shaft.
Nee mirum. [L.] And no wonder.
Nee plurlbus impar. [L.] A match for many.
Necrology. [Gr. vtKp6s, dead, and \6yos.] A
NECR
338
NEOZ
name sometimes applied to lists of deceased
benefactors of cathedrals, monasteries, etc.
Necromancy. [Gr. vfHponavTeia.] Divination
by means of the dead.
Necropolis. [Gr., a city of the dead.} A term
applied to ancient burial-places in Egypt, but
most unfitly to Christian cemeteries [KOI^T^OIOV,
a sleeping-place],
Necrosis. [Gr. veKputris, deadness.} 1. (A fed.)
Mortification of bone. 2. (Bot.) A disease of
plants, seen in the black spots of leaves, fruit, etc.
Nee soire fas est omnia. [L.J We may not
know all things (Horace).
Nectar. [Gr. j/ejcrop.] (Myth.) The drink
of the Olympian gods. The word agrees in
meaning with Ambrosia. (Soma.)
Nectary. [L. nectar, nectar, the drink of the
gods.] (Bot.) Formerly vaguely used, now =
any honey-secreting or honey-receiving organ of
a flower ; e.g. spur of columbine.
Nee. [Fr.] Born ; fem. of ne, part, ofnaitre,
to be born ; nee Williams = whose maiden name
was W.
Needle. [O.E. noedl.] A slender bar of mag-
netized steel, which, when properly suspended,
points N. and S. on the compass. (Magnet.)
Needle-gun. (Mil. ) Rifle fired by its trigger
striking a needle into the percussion cap, fixed
to the bottom of the cartridge.
Needles. (Geol.) 1. Detached masses of rock,
separated by water erosion from their cliffs or
shores ; e.g. off Isle of Wight. 2. 1.q. aiguilles
(q.v.).
Neese. [A.S. niesan.] 2 Kings iv. 34 ; Job xli.
1 8 ; to sneeze, which is a later form of the word.
Ne exeat regno. [L., let him not go out of the
kingdom.} (Leg.) A writ formerly confined to
political and Stale purposes, sometimes resorted
to now in equity, where one is about to leave the
country so as to frustrate or hinder the recovery
of an equitable demand.
Negative. A photograph upon glass, in which
the light portions of the original are represented
in some opaque material, and its dark portions
by the transparent ground.
Negative electricity is electricity in a degree
below the natural amount for a given body.
Negative eye-piece; N. quantity; N. sign,
The Negative sign is the minus sign, or sign of
subtraction ; e.g. 18 II = 7. N. quantity, a
number with the negative sign prefixed. Such a
quantity, by a simple extension of the primary
meaning of the sign, is understood to be measured
in a direction opposite to that which is regarded
as the standard direction ; as, on a thermometer,
8 means 8 below zero. (For N. eye-piece,
vide Eye-piece.)
Negative proposition. [From L. nego, 7
deny.} In Logic, one which denies the agree-
ment between the subject and its predicate.
Neginoth. In title of Ps. iv., vi., "denotes
an accompaniment of stringed instruments "
(Speaker's Commentary).
Neglect. (A'atit.) In complete-book, a charge,
not exceeding ^3, against a seaman, for ship's
stores lost overboard or damaged by gross
carelessness.
Negotiable instruments. In Law, bills of ex-
change, promissory notes, and other documents
on which the right of action passes by assign-
ment notified generally by endorsement.
Negro-head. (Cavendish.)
Nebiloth. In title of Ps. v. , "probably means
an accompaniment of flutes " (Speaker's Com-
mentary).
Nematoneura. [Gr. vf/fia, -aros, a threa<1,
vfvpov, a nerve.} (Zool.) Div. of Radiata of
Cuvier, with a traceable nervous system ; as the
sea-mats, Flustra.
Nem. con. A contraction for [L.] Nemtne
contradicente, no one contradicting.
Nem. diss. A contraction for [L.] Nemme
dissentiente, no one dissenting.
Nemean games. One of the four great Greek
festivals common to the Greek cities generally,
celebrated at Nemea, in the north-east part of
the Peloponnese.
Nemesis. [Gr., distribution.} 1. In (he Iliad,
this word denotes any cause of anger or righteous
wrath. In the Hesiodic theogony, it is the name
of a daughter of the night, who gradually be-
comes the punisher of the favourites of Fortune.
2. Retributive justice.
Nemo me impune lacesset. [L.] No one shall
provoke me with impunity. Motto of the Order
of the Thistle of St. Andrew.
Nemo mortalium omnibus horis sapit. [L.]
No one of mortal men is wise at all times.
Nemo repente fuit turpissimus. [L.] No one
ever becomes -utterly bdtf all at once.
Nemo solus sapit. [L., no one is wise by
himself alone.} "In the multitude of counsellors
there is safety."
Nemo tenetur seipsum accusare. [L.] A maxim
in Law : No one is bound to accuse himself, convict
himself ; a witness need not answer questions
tending to criminate himself.
Neocomian rocks = Lower greensand + Ather-
field clay, Wealden, and possibly Purbeck beds ;
largely developed near Neuchatel (Neocomium).
Neo-Latin languages, l.q. Romance : French,
Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Wallachian, and
Roumanian.
Neolithic. (Prehistoric archaeology.)
Neologists. [Gr. v4os, nno, \6yos, discourse.}
A name given in the last century, by orthodox
German divines, to the theologians who then
applied novel systems of interpretation to the
Scriptures.
Neophyte. [Gr. vtoQvros, newly planted.}
In the primitive Church, any newly made con-
vert.
Neoplatonism. The philosophy of the school
which sprang up at Alexandria under Philon, or
Philo Judseus, in the first century, and was more
fully developed by Ammonius Saccas and Plotl-
nus, a century later. It may be described as
an effort to reconcile the Platonic philosophy
with the language of the Old Testament.
(Eclectics.)
Neozoic. [Gr. vtos, new, ar(7> life.} (Geol.)
Life-periods being taken, rather than rock-
systems, as the true Geol. divisions, we have : 1.
Cainozoic [Kaa>6s, fresh} = Tertiary and Post-
NEPE
339
NEUR
Tertiary epochs. 2. Mesozoic [ufVos, middle] =
Secondary ; or Cretaceous, Oolitic, and Triassic.
3. Paltzozoic [ira\aids, ancient} = Primary ; or
Permian, Carboniferous, Devonian, Silurian,
Cambrian, and Laurentian. Another mode ol
division is : 1. Neozoic Post-Tertiary or pre-
sent epoch, Tertiary, Cretaceous, Oolitic, and
Triassic. 2. Paleozoic = Permian, Carbonifer-
ous, Devonian, Silurian, Cambrian, and Lauren-
tian. As any rocks may become metamorphic,
that term is not now applied to a division or
system ; and, as the oldest known rocks (gneiss)
have been stratified, and may once have been
fossiliferous, the terms Azoic [a neg., w^, Hf e ]
and Hypozoic \vw6, beneath] are no longer used as
systematic.
Nepe. A square piece of blanket, used by
N. -American Indians as a sock.
Nepenthe. [Gr. vriirevO-fis, without sorrow.]
1. (Myth.) A magic potion given by Helen to
the guests of Menelaos. 2. Any remedy for
grief or pain.
Nephew, Job xviii. 19, = L. nepos, grand-
child, descendant ; so I Tim. v. 4, nephews [Gr.
fK-yovd]. Niece once, similarly, like neptis, meant
descendants, both male and female.
Nephr-, Nephro-. [Gr. ve<pp6s, kidney, .]
Nephrite, Jade, Axe-stone. A mineral, com-
posed of silica (one-half), magnesia (a fourth),
lime, iron, alumina ; with coarse splintery frac-
ture ; tough, translucent at the edges ; greenish ;
slightly greasy to the touch ; cut into implements,
ornaments, images, charms, etc. ; once thought
to cure complaints of the kidney [Gr. ve<j>p6s].
Tartary, New Zealand, etc. (Jade. )
Neplus ultra. [L., do not go beyond.] Used
often in the sense of the impossibility of going
further, as " the ne phis ultra of artistic per-
fection."
Nepotism. [L. nepos, nepotis, d nephew.']
\j&. fondness for nephew's. Hence undue attach-
ment to kinsfolk, showing itself in abuse of
patronage or in other ways.
Neptune's sheep. In Naut. parlance, crested
waves.
Neptunian rocks = stratified or aqueous ;
opposed to igneous, volcanic, or Plutonic.
(Huttonian.)
Ne puero gladium. [L.] Do not trust a boy
with a sword.
Neque semper arcum tendit Apollo. [L.]
Apollo is not always bending his bow (Horace).
There are times of rest from toil.
Ne quid nimis. [L., do nothing in excess.]
Beware of overdoing anything. So Gr. /j.t]Sfv
&yav.
Nereids. [Gr. iujprjfSes.] (Gr. Myth.)
Daughters of Nereus, the god of the sea. Am-
phitrite, Galatea, and Thetis the mother of
Achilles, were among their number. (Naiads;
Nymphs.)
Nereus. (Nereids.)
Neri. (Bianchi and Neri.)
Neroli. [It.] A scent obtained by distilling
the flowers of the bitter orange.
Nerves [Gr. vevpov, sinew, nerrc}, Nine pairs
of. Their order being that of their transmission
through the foramina at the base of the skull,
from the front backwards, (i) Olfactory; (2)
Optic ; (3) Motores oculorum ; (4) Pathetic ;
(5) Trifacial ; (6) Abducentes ; (7) Portio dura,
or facial ; Portio mollis, or auditory ; (8) Glosso-
pharyngeal, Par vagum, called also pneumo-
gastric, + spinal accessory ; (9) Hypoglossal.
Nescit vox missa reverti. [L.] The word
uttered cannot be unspoken (Horace).
Nessun maggior dolore Che ricordarsi del
tempo feliee Nella miseria. [It.] No one greater
grief is there in one's misery than to remember
happy times (Dante).
This is truth the poet sings,
That a sorrow's crown of sorrow is remembering happier
things.
Tennyson, Locksley Hall.
Nessus, Shirt of. In Gr. Myth., the garment
dipped in the blood of the centaur Nessus, sent
by Deianeira to Heracles (Hercules), whose
death it caused by eating his flesh away.
Nestorians. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, in the
fifth century, who forbade men to entertain any
combined notion of the divine and human
nature in Christ. Nestorius was opposed in the
Council of Ephesus, A.D. 431, by Cyril of
Alexandria. His opinions spread far Eastwards ;
in the West they were met by the opposite
theories of Eutyches. (Eutychians; Monophy-
sites; Monothelites.)
Ne sutor ultra crepidam. [L., let not the
cobbler go beyond his last.\ Things not under-
stood should" be left alone.
Net. [Fr. net, from L. nit id us, shining
(Wedgwood).] {Com.) 1. Things pure and un-
adulterated. 2. What remains after the Tare
lias been taken out of merchandise. 3. The
price obtained by any commodity after deducting
all tare and charges.
Nethmims. In Old Testament, the hewers of
wood and drawers of water for the priests and
Levites, an office to which the Gibeonites are
said to have been condemned by Joshua.
Net profit. (Net.)
Netting. (Naut. ) Boarding N. runs along
the gunwale, and is carried some height up the
rigging to prevent an enemy from jumping on
joard. Splinter N. is a horizontal net, about
twelve feet above the quarter-deck, stretched
rom the main to the mizzen mast, to prevent any
one from being injured by falling spars, etc.,
n action.
Nettle-cloth. A thick japanned cotton stuff
used as a substitute for leather.
Nettle-rash. (Urticaria.)
Nettles. (Naut.) (Knittles.)
Neumes. [(?) Gr. irvevpa, breath.'] (Music.)
Certain marks, accents, directions seven in
number as to raising or lowering the voice,
which grew out of the old accents, acute, grave,
circumflex ; used from eighth or ninth to twelfth
century; the foundation of modern musical
notation.
Neur-, Neuro-. [Gr. vtvpov, a iienv."] Neural,
laving to do with the nerves.
Neuro-mimesis. [Gr. vtvpov, neti'e,
NEUR
340
NIEL
imitation.'} Sir J. Paget's substitute for the
term Hysterical joints ; a nerve-condition which
simulates joint-disease, especially at the hip and
knee.
Neuroptera. [Gr. vtvpov, a nerve, in-tp6v, a
wing.} (Entom.) Ord. of insects, with four
membranous, reticulated, net-like wings ; as
dragon-flies, Libellulldse.
Neurosis. [Gr. vevpa, nerves.] (Mecl.) A
proposed substitute for the word Hysteria.
Neutral axis. A beam bent by forces applied
transversely is found to be stretched below a
certain line and compressed above it ; that line
which is neither stretched nor compressed is the
N. A. of the beam.
Neutral salt. A salt in which none of the pro-
perties either of the acid or base are perceptible.
Neutral ships. In Com., ships belonging to
neutral states engaged in trade with the ports of
belligerents.
Neutral state. A country which binds itself
not to give aid or support to either of two belli-
gerents, and in its turn is not to be molested.
Neutral tint. A grey water-colour composed
of blue, yellow, and green, in various proportions.
Neuvaine. [Fr.] In the Latin Church, prayers
offered up for nine days for some specified pur-
pose. In Latin, Novena.
Neve. [L. mvata, fern, of nivatus, part, of
nlvo, / coat with snow.] In a glacier, snow
melted, but not yet compressed, etc., into ice
by regelation.
New Connexion Methodists. Wesleyans who
withdrew with Alexander Kilham from the old
society on account of the great powers given to
the Conference. Hence called Kilhamites.
Newel. [O.Fr. noial, nual, from L. nucalis,
belonging to a ^(nux, nucis).] {Arch.) The
upright post round which the steps of a circular
staircase wind.
New England. The settlement established by
the Pilgrim Fathers. It was the nucleus of
Massachusetts, from whence were developed
gradually New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecti-
cut, and Rhode Island. In 1643 these settle-
ments formed the first American Confederation.
Newgate Calendar. A series of memoirs of
great criminals.
New Jerusalem Church. (Swedenborgians.)
New Learning, The. A name sometimes
given to the revival of letters at the close of the
fifteenth century.
New Eed, i.e. Sandstone, = Triassic, above the
Permian and Carboniferous series ; the Old Red
being below. The Permian formerly was in-
cluded in N. R.
New Style. In Chron., the calendar of
Gregory XIII., correcting the errors of the Old,
or Julian, Style or calendar. The change was
made in 1582, when the day after October 4 was
called October 15. It came into use in England
in 1752, when the day after September 2 was
called September 14.
Newtonian philosophy ; N. telescope. New-
ton's view of the system of the world, as opposed
to that of Descartes. (For N. telescope, vide
Telescope.)
Newton's rings. The rings of colour pro-
duced when two slightly convex lenses are
pressed together ; they are one case of the .
colours of thin plates.
Newton's scale of colour. (Colour.)
Nexi. [L., bound.'} Amongst the ancient
Romans, free-born persons bound to a creditor
for debt, and compelled to serve him until the
debt was discharged. The condition of the man
so bound was called Nexnm.
Next friend of an infant or of a married
woman. In Law, one who institutes suits in
equity, acting in them on behalf of either infant
or one under age, or for a married woman, and
being responsible for the costs.
Niaiseries. [Fr.] Follies, sillinesses, non-
sense. Fr. niais is the L. nidacem, a fledgling.
Nibelungen, Lay of the. The oldest of all
existing German epic poems, known as the
Nibehmgen-lied. (Minnesingers. )
Nibelungen-lied. (Nibelungen Lay of the.)
Nicaragua wood. A red dye-wood brought
from Nicaragua.
Nicene Creed. In Eccl. Hist., the creed drawn
up by the Council of Nice, A.D. 325, and com-
pleted by the Council of Constantinople, A.D.
381. The words filioque were added after a
Patre by the Western Church, early in the fifth
century.
Nick. (Printing. ) A notch in the shank of
a type, for holding it by.
Nick, Old. A popular name for the devil.
The name denotes a water-spirit, Nix, Nixie
[Gr. V7?x c "> to swini}. So Old Harry is derived
from Ahriman. (Naiads ; Nymphs.)
Nickel. [Ger., from kupfer nickel, base
copper, as it was thought to be a base ore of
copper.] A brilliant white metal strongly mag-
netic.
Nick Frog. (Bull, John.)
Nicolaitans. One of the earliest Christian
sects, mentioned in the Apocalypse, where they
are described as inclining to the licentious prac-
tices of the Gentiles.
Nicol's prism. (Prism.)
Nicotine. The chief alkaloid contained in
tobacco (introduced into France by Nicot,
1550).
Nictating, Nictitating, membrane. [L. nicto,
I 'wink.'} (Anat.) In birds, amphibia, and some
mammals, the suspensory muscle of the eye,
which is thrust forth and drawn back, so as to
sweep away irritating particles.
Niddin. (Hcb.) The minor excommunication
among the Jews, the next being the chereni, and
the most severe the scammatha.
Nide. [Fr. nid, from L. nidus, nest.] A
brood of pheasants.
Nidification. [Fr., from L. nidificare, nidus,
nest, facib, I make.] The art of building a nest,
including also the hatching and feeding of young.
Nidorosity. [L. nldor, smell as of roasting,
boiling.] Eructation, with the taste of undigested
roast meat.
Niello. [It.] Filling a pattern cut on gold or
silver with a melted black composition, and
afterwards scraping and burnishing the metal
NIFL
NIZA
so as to present the effect of a black drawing
thereon.
Niflheim. In Norse Myth., the home of the
Niflungs or Nibelungs, or children of the mist
\cf. Gr. ve<t>e\ri, L. nebula, a cloud] the dreary
realm beneath the earth, ruled by the goddess
Hel. (Nibelungen, Lay of the; Yggdrasil.)
Nigged ashlar. (Arch.) A mode of dressing
stone, in which the face is left rough. Also
called Hammer-dressed.
Night-hawk. [Heb. tachmas ; Lev. xi. 16.]
(Bibl. ) Probably spec, of owl.
Night-jar. (From nocturnal habits and cry.)
(Goat- sucker.)
Night Thoughts. A poem by the Rev. Edward
Young (1684-1765), in blank verse ; consisting
of nine nights of reflexion upon life, death,
immortality.
Nihil album. [L., -white nothing.] White
oxide of zinc (from the extreme lightness of its
particles).
Nihil erat quod non tetigit : TiihiT quod tetigit
non ornavit. [L.] He (touched) handled every-
thing, and all that he handled he adorned.
Nihil est ab omni parte beatum. [L.] There
is not/ting absolutely happy (Horace).
Nihil est in intellectu quod non prius in sensu.
[L.] There is nothing in the intellect which did
not exist before in the senses the addition of Des-
cartes to this dictum being nisi ipse intelleetus,
except the intellect itself.
Nihilism. [L. nihil, nothing, = ni filum, not a
thread.] Nothingness ; hence the doctrine that
nothing can be known. Russian nihilism seems
to be a protest against all faith, order, law.
Nil admirari. [L.] To wonder or feel
astonishment at nothing; the cool and phleg-
matic temper recommended by Horace as the
most likely to ensure human happiness.
Nil ad rem. [L.] Nothing to the purpose.
Nil oonscire sibi ; nulla pallescere culpa. [L. ]
To be conscious of no wrong ; to grow pale at no
charge (Horace). Sir R. Walpole quoted this
in the House of Commons as "Nullz pallescere
culp^." Pulteney, afterwards Earl of Bath,
pointed out the mistake. Walpole offered a bet
of a guinea, which on a reference to the book
was lost. Pulteney remarked that it was pro-
bably the only money he had given in the House
which had not caused a blush both to the giver
and the receiver.
Nil desperandum. [L.] Never despair.
Nil fuit unquam sio impar sibi. [L.] Nothing
was ever so unlike itself (Horace) ; spoken of
inconsistent and self-contradictory characters.
Kill. Shining sparks sent off from melted
brass.
Nil mortalibus arduum est. [L., nothing is
difficult for men (Horace).] Men will attempt
anything.
Nilometer. A graduated pillar on an island
opposite to Old Cairo, for marking the daily rise
of the Nile. The first pillar was set up A.D.
715, the second in 860.
Nil sine magno Vita labore dedit mortalibus.
[L.] Life yields nothing to men without hard
toil (Horace).
Ni 1'un ni 1'autre. [Fr.] Neither the one nor
the other.
Nimbus. [L.] 1. A dark, heavy rain-cloud.
2. In Eccl. Art, a circular disc round the heads
of saints and angels. (Aureole.)
Nimis poeta. [L.] Too muck a poet.
Nimium ne crede colori. [L. , do not trust too
much to colour (Virgil).] All is not gold that
glitters.
N'importe. [Fr. , no matter.'] Nevermind.
Niobe. [Gr.] A mythical name commonly
known through the sculptured group at Florence,
called " Niobe and Her Children." She is said
to have wept herself to death when her children
were killed by Phoebus and Artemis. The story,
as well as her name, expresses seemingly the
melting of the winter's snows. \Cf. Gr. viceroy,
falling snow. ]
Niobium. [From L. Niobe, daughter of
Tantalus.] (Tantalum.)
Ni plus ni moins. [Fr.] Neither more nor
less.
Nippers. (A T atit.) Sound yarns taken from
condemned rope and marled together. Selvagee
N., a stronger kind of N. (Selvagee.)
Nippers of a horse. The six front teeth above
and six front teeth below ; next to these are the
tushes, i.e. canine teeth.
Nipter. [Gr. vnrrrip, a washing-vessel (John
xiii. 5).] The washing of feet on Good Friday
in the Greek Church. The office is in the
EuchSlogium (q.v.).
Nirvana. (Buddhism.)
Nisan. Post-Babylonian name for A bib
(q.V.].
Nisi prius. [L., unless before.'] A legal fiction
which ordered causes to be tried at Westminster
unless they were previously tried by the judges
in the counties to which they belonged, as, in
fact, was always the case. The nisi prius pro-
viso has been disused since 1852.
Nisroch. The hawk-headed god of the Assy-
rians.
Nitre. [Gr. virpov.'] (C/iem.) Nitrate of
potassium, also called saltpetre. Two acids are
derived from it, nitric and nitrous, the salts of
which are called nitrates and nitrites respectively.
Cubic nitre is nitrate of soda, which crystallizes
in cubes.
Nitrification. [Nitre, and L. facere, to make.]
The artificial production of nitre.
Nitrogen. [Gr. virpov, nitre, yewau, I beget.]
(Chem.) A colourless gaseous element, which
will neither burn nor support life. It forms
nearly four-fifths of the atmosphere.
Nitro-glycerine. A singular liquid, discovered
in Paris, 1848, obtained by the action of a mix-
ture of nitric and sulphuric acids on glycerine ;
the sulphuric acid being simply an agent in
bringing about the chemical union of the other
two ; used in various blasting agents. (Dyna-
mite; Litho-fracteur.)
Nix. (Nick, Old ; Undines.)
Nizam, properly the Viceroy of the Great
Mogul. The title of one of the native sove-
reigns of India, derived from Nizam-ul-Mulk
(Moloch), who, in the beginning of the eighteenth
NL
342
NOMI
century, gained possession of the Mohammedan
conquests in the Deccan. (Nawab.)
N.L. Written upon a tablet after a judicial
trial in ancient Rome, is = L. non liquet, it is
not clear, not proven.
Nobel. The lion in Reitu-cke the Fox (q.v.).
Noble. An O.E. coin, value 6s. &/., in the
reign of Edward III.
Noblesse oblige. [Fr.] Nobility imposes on
us the duty of noble conduct.
Nocet differre paratis. [L.] Delay injures
those who are ready,
Nocet emta dolore voluptas. [L.] Pleasure
bought at the cost of pain is mischievous
(Horace).
Noctes ccenaeque Deum. [L.] Nights and ban-
quets of the gods (Horace).
Noctilio. [L. noctem, night.} (Zool.) Gen.
of bat with long incisors, giving its name to fam.
NoctilionTdse. Mostly found in Trop. America.
Ord. Cheiroptera.
Noctiluca. [L., night-shining.} (Zool.) Phos-
phorescent marine animalcule. Class Infusoria.
Nocturns. [L. nocturnus, nightly.} In the
Latin Church, a nightly office, which now forms
part of the Matins.
Nodal figures ; N. lines ; N. points. [L. nodus,
a knot.} The points or lines of a vibrating body
which remain at rest during the vibration, are its
N. points and lines. In the case of a vibrating
plate, these lines and points are shown by strew-
ing sand on it before it is set in vibration ;
during the motion the sand becomes heaped on
the N. lines, and forms N, figures, or the figures
of Chladni of Wittenberg (1756-1827), who was
the first to investigate them.
Noddy. (From its stupid inactivity ; cf.
booby.) (Ornith.) Widely distributed spec, of
tern, fourteen to fifteen inches long. Buff head,
brown body. Sterna stolida. (Sternidae.)
Node [L. nodus, a knot} ; Ascending N. ; De-
scending N. ; Line of nodes. 1. (Geom.) The
oval made by the intersection of one branch of a
curve with another, as either loop of a figure of
eight. 2. (Astron.) Either of the points in
which the orbit of a planetary body intersects
the ecliptic. The Ascending N. is that through
which the planet moves from south to north of
the ecliptic ; the other is the Descending N. The
straight line joining these two points is the Line
of nodes.
Node. [L. nodus, a knot.} In Bot., the situa-
tion on a stem where any lateral member grows
out ; e.g. leaf or leaf-scale ; the part of the axis
between two successive nodes being an Inter-
node.
Nodes. [L. n5dus, a knot. } (Music.) Fixed
or nearly fixed points, at which a sonorous string
divides itself into vibrating segments, which pro-
duce the harmonic sounds.
Nodule. [L. nodulus, dim. of nodus, a knot.}
(Geol.) A round or oval mass of rock-matter,
segregated from the surrounding matrix, either
with or without a nucleus ; e.g. N. of ironstone,
flint, cement-stone, agate. When the fissures
formed by contraction are filled up with mineral
matter, the N. becomes a scptarium [septum, an
inclosure}, or Ludus helmontii j when it is
hollow, it is a geode. An eagle-stone has an irony
crust and ochreous centre.
Noetians. (Eccl. Hist. ) The followers of the
Ephesian Noetus, the master of Sabellius (Sabel-
lians). As acknowledging only one Person in
the Godhead, they were charged with holding
that the Father had suffered on the cross.
(Patripassians.)
Nogging. [Eng. nog, a square piece of u>ood
to support the roof of a mine.] A partition of
scantlings filled with bricks.
No higher. (Naut.) (Near.)
Noils. [Fr. noyau, a core, or kernel.} Short
pieces and knots of wool, separated by comb-
ing them.
Nola, or Campana. A bell. Bells are said to
have been introduced into churches by Paulinus,
Bishop of Nola, in Campania. Hence A. S.
cnyllan, to knoll, sound a knell.
Nolens volens. [L., willing or umvilling.}
Whether he will or not.
Noli me tangere. [L., touch me not.} 1.
(Lupus.) 2. (Bot.) Elegant wild plant, spec, of
Impatiens balsam, ord. Balsamineae.
Nolition. [A word coined from L. nolo, I am
unwilling, = non volo.] The opposite of
Volition.
Nolle prosequi. [L.] In Law, an acknow-
ledgment on the part of the plaintiff that he
will not further prosecute in a suit, either as to
the whole or as to some counts in the declaration.
Nolo episcopari. [L.] / do not wish to be
made a bishop ; now applied commonly to those
who affect a reluctance for promotion which they
do not feel. Said in one or two historical in-
stances ; but not said, as is often fancied, by
all to whom bishoprics are offered.
Nolumus leges Angliae mutari. [L. ] M'c do
not choose the laws of England to be changed.
Nomads. [Gr. vo^dSts, from VOJJL&S, pasture.}
A general name for roving tribes, such as still
inhabit the vast country of Mongolia.
No-Man's Land. (Na^lt.) A space amid-
ships, between the after part of the belfry and
fore part of the boat in the booms, used to keep
blocks, ropes, etc.
Nombril [Fr., navel} point. (Escutcheon.)
Nom de guerre. [Fr., name of war.} An
assumed name for purposes of literary con-
troversy.
Nom de plume. [Yi., pen name.} An assumed
name by which an anonymous author's writings
are known as coming from one man ; e.g. Boz.
Nome. [Gr. yo/ioi, from vejiuc, 2 divide.}
(Hist. ) The Greek name for the provinces into
which the ancient empires of Egypt and Persia
were divided.
Nomen. (Praenomen.)
Nomenclature. [L. nomenclator, one who
calls out names. } A word denoting the language
peculiar to each science or art.
Nominalists. [L. nominalis, relating to a
name.} The followers of John Roscelin, of
Compiegne, who, in the eleventh century, asserted
that general terms have no corresponding reality,
being mere words or names and nothing more.
NOMI
343
NOXS
This doctrine caused great alarm among the
Schoolmen, who had thus far believed that all
that was real in nature depended on those
general notions which described their essences.
Roscelin was compelled to retract his opinions ;
but they were taken up by Abelard, who went
with a body of his followers to Paris, and brought
about the founding of the celebrated university
in that city. The next Nominalist after Abelard
was William of Ockham, who may be styled a
Conceptualist, since he allowed to general terms
a kind of subjective reality, as the signs of an
actual process of thought, although they were
neither distinct objects of consciousness nor
realities in nature. Those who affirm that they
are neither and deny to them this subjective
reality, are Realists. (Schoolmen.)
Nominal partner. In Law, one who allows his
name to appear as having a share in a concern in
which he has, in fact, no interest, and thus sub-
jects himself to its liabilities.
Nominis umbra. (Stat magni nominis umbra.)
Noruocanon. [Gr. v6fnas, law, Kou/iav, a rule.]
(Eccl. Hist.} A work in which the canons of
the Church are compared with the imperial laws
on the same subject. The best known of such
works is that of Photius, Patriarch of Con-
stantinople.
Non-age. In Law, the being under the age at
which a person is qualified to do certain acts
which he could not legally do before that age ;
e.g. thirteen is non-age for the choice of a
guardian ; twenty is non-age for the alienation of
lands.
Nonagesimal. [L. nonagesimus, ninetieth, .]
The highest point of the ecliptic at any time, i.e.
the point which is 90 from its intersections with
the horizon.
Nonchalance. [Fr.] Coolness.
Non-commissioned officer. (Mil.) One raised
from the ranks, without the intervention of royal
authority, to perform the subordinate duties of
the army.
Non-committal. The not pledging one's self
to any particular measure ; a political term in
frequent use. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Non compos mentis. [L.] The legal phrase
for one mentally incapacitated for the manage-
ment of affairs.
Non-condensing engine. (Steam-engine.)
Non-conductor. A substance through which
electricity or heat passes with difficulty or not
at all.
Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum.
[L., it is not every one who can go to Corinth
(Horace).] Luxuries are not within the reach of
all.
Non eadem est setas, non mens. [L.] / am not
of the same age or the same habits of thinking (as
in times past) (Horace).
Non ego. (Subjective and objective.)
Nonequideminvideo,mirormagis. [L.] For my
part I feel more astonished than envious (Virgil).
Nones. [L. nonrc.] In the old Latin calendar,
a division of the month ; so called because they
fall on the ninth day before the Ides. (Canonical
hours.)
Non est ad astra mollis a terris via, [L. ]
There is no soft (easy} road from the earth to the
stars (Seneca).
Non est inventus. [L. , he is not found. ] The
old legal phrase in the sheriff's return to a writ
of capias or arrest, when the defendant was not
forthcoming.
Non-feasance. The legal phrase for the offence
of omitting what ought to be done. (Dolce far
niente ; Bois Faineants.)
Non ignara mali. (Haud ignara mali.)
Nonjurors. Clergy not swearing allegiance to
William and Mary, and holding that the Stuart
family had not been lawfully deposed.
Non magni pendis quia contigit. [L.] You
think little of it because it was a windfall
(Horace).
Non missura cutem, nisi plena cruoris, hirudo.
[L. ] A leech not likely to loose its hold until it is
gorged with blood (Horace).
Non multa, sed multum. [L., not many
things, but much,] Excellence rather than
variety.
Non-naturals. Of the sick, with the old
physicians, things not entering into the com-
position of the body, but necessary to existence ;
as air, food, motion, rest, sleep, retentions and
excretions, affections of the mind. Hooper's
Medical Dictionary.
No ! no ! The answering hail of a boat having
a midshipman or warrant officer on board.
Nonobstante. [L., notwithstanding.'} InO.E.
usage, a licence from the Crown for doing
something which, although permissible by com-
mon law, was restrained by Act of Parliament.
(Dispensing power.)
Non omnia possumus omnes. [L.] 1 1 r c can-
not all do everything (Virgil).
Non omnibus dormio. [L. , lit. / am not
asleep to every one.] I choose for myself whose
faults to wink at and whose to correct.
Non omnis moriar. [L., / shall not all die
(Horace).] I shall leave a name behind me.
Nonpareil. [Fr. nonpareil, unequalled.'} A
small kind of printing type, as
Easter.
Non plus. [L. , not more.'} A phrase used
when a man can say no more in answer to an
argument, and is therefore put in a fix, or non-
plussed.
Non possumus. [L., we cannot.} We cannot
even take the matter into consideration.
Non quo, sed quomodo. [L. , not by what means,
but how.~\ The doing of the work is more im-
portant than the agent.
Non ragionam di lor, ma guarda e passa.
[It., let us not discourse about them, but look
(thou) and pass.] So Virgil answers Dante's
questions about the lost souls, as he leads him in
the Inferno (canto iii.).
Non sequltur. [L.] // does not follow.
Spoken of conclusions not warranted by the
Premisses. (Syllogism.)
Non sibi, sed patriae. [L.] Not for himself,
but for his country.
Non sine dis animosus infans. [L.] A child
NONS
344
NOVE
whose strength and spirit are a gift from the gods
( Horace).
Non sum qualis eram. [L.] I am not what
I -was.
Non tali auxllio, nee defensoribus istis tempos
eget. [L.] It is not that kind of help, nor de-
fenders like these, that t/te time needs (Virgil) ;
but different men, better resources, higher
principles of action.
Non tangenda, non movenda. [L.] Things
not to be touched or moved.
Ndnnm prematur in annum. [L.] Keep -what
you have written for nine years before you pub-
lish it (Horace).
Non vi, sed saepe cadendo. [L.] (Gutta cavat
lap idem.)
Noon ; Apparent N. ; Mean N. ; Sidereal N.
Apparent noon is when the apparent (i.e. the
actual) sun, Mean N. when the mean sun, Side-
real N. when the first point of Aries, is on the
meridian of the station at which the time is
reckoned.
Norbertines. (Premonstratensians.)
Norimon. A Japanese palanquin.
N. or M. (Abbreviations.)
Normal. [L. normalis, belonging to a car-
penter's square (norma).] (Geom.) A perpen-
dicular line ; particularly the line perpendicular
to the tangent at the point of contact with the
curve.
Normal schools. [Fr. ecole normale, L.
norma, a rule, pattern.'} Institutions where
teachers are taught, the principles of their pro-
fession and trained in the practice of it.
Norns. (Scand. Myth.) The Fates. Their
names were said to be Urd, Werdand, and
Skuld, or Past, Present, and Future ; but this is
evidently the notion of later times.
Norroy. [North king, from Fr. nord, north,
roi, king.] (Her.) The third king-at-arms (pre-
siding over the provinces north of the Trent).
North, Magnetic ; N. point ; N. Pole ; N. star.
The North Pole: 1, (Geog.) the point between
Asia and Greenland, in which the axis of rotation
meets the surface of the earth ; 2, (Astron.) the
point in the heavens vertically over the North
Pole of the earth, situated in the prolongation
of the earth's axis. The N. point is the point in
which a vertical circle drawn through the North
Pole cuts the horizon. Magnetic N., the point
near the north point to which a magnet points.
The N. star (called also Pole-star, Polaris, o
Ursse Minoris, and Cynosura), a star of the
second magnitude, situated about i 20' from
the North Pole.
North, Eising of the. A name given to the
rising, in 1569, of Roman Catholics under the
Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland ;
dispersed by the Duke of Sussex.
Northampton Tables, or Tables of Mortality.
(Life assurance.)
North Briton. (Liberty Wilkes.)
Northern lights. (Aurora borealis.)
Nos besoins sont nos forces. [Fr.] Our needs
constitute our strength.
Noscitur e sociis. [L., he is known by his
society.] Birds of a feather flock together.
Nosing. (Arch.) The projecting moulding
on the edge of a step.
Nosology. [Gr. v6<ros, disease, \dyos, dis-
course.] Scientific classification of diseases.
Nostalgia. [Gr. voo-Ta\yew, I am home-sick,
I feel pain (&\yos) in pining for a return
(rdoros).] Home-sickness, a disease supposed
to be common amongst the natives of mountain-
ous countries, when away from their homes.
Nostalgic. [Fr.] (Nostalgia.)
Nostrum. [L., our own] Our special in-
vention. Often applied to quack medicines.
Nota bene. [L.] Mark well. The abbrev.
is N.B.
Notables. In Fr. Hist., the deputies of the
states under the Ancien regime. They met for
the last time in 1786.
Notanda. [L. ] Things to be noted.
Notaries, Apostolical and Imperial. Notaries
appointed by popes and emperors by virtue of
their supposed authority over the realms of other
princes. The imperial notaries were forbidden
by Edward II. to reside in England.
Note. [L. nota, a mark, sign.] (Phys.) The
musical sound produced by a string or other
vibrating body, consisting of the fundamental
tone and its harmonics ; the latter are of slight
intensity, but impart quality or timbre to the
fundamental tone, and any one of them can be
heard as a distinct tone by means of a properly
chosen resonator.
Notionable. Anything existing in notion or
fancy only, unreal, imaginary.
Notitia. [L.] 1. A roll or register, as a list
of gifts to a church or monastery. N. forbandi-
toria is a deed of renunciation. 2. The collective
amount of what is known on some special sub-
ject ; as Notitia EuchSristica.
Notos. (Wind.)
Notre Dame. [Fr.] Our Lady; the Blessed
Virgin.
Nougat [Fr., from L. nux, nut.] A sweet-
meat made of almonds and honey.
Noun. (Nominalists.)
Nourritnre passe nature. [Fr.] Good breed-
ing is of more consequence than birth.
Nons. [Gr. ] Mind ; often used by itself as
equivalent to the vulgar word Gumption.
Nous avons change tout cela. [Fr.] We have
changed all that ; as the pretended doctor says,
in Moliere's Medecin Malgre Lui, backing out
of the blunder that " the heart is on the right
side."
Nous verrons. [Fr., we shall see.] Time will
show.
Novatians. The followers of Novatianus, a
Roman presbyter, who, in the second century,
insisted that the lapsed should never be re-
admitted to the communion of the Church.
When his opponent, Cornelius, was elected
Bishop of Pvome, Novatianus set up a sect of his
own, styled Cathari or Puritans.
Novels. [L. Novella Constitutions, New
Constitutions.] In Rom. Law, supplementary
constitutions of some emperors, as of Justinian,
which appeared after their collections of law had
been made public. (Pandects. )
NOVE
345
XUT
Novena. [L.] (Neuvaine.)
Novensiles. A word of uncertain origin, used
by the Latins as the name of the nine Etruscan
gods who had the privilege of hurling thunder-
bolts.
Noverint, The trade of. Once = the occupation
of a lawyer's clerk ; writs usually beginning
Noverint universi, let all men know.
Novice. [L. novitius.] A person admitted
into a religious house for the probation termed
the novitiate.
Novissima verba. [L.] Last (lit. newest}
words.
Novitiate. (Novice.)
Novnm Organon. New Instrument [Gr.
tipyavov] ; Bacon's work, explaining his method
of inductive reasoning.
Novus homo. [L., a new man.] In Rom.
Hist., a man who was the first of his family to
obtain a curule magistracy (q.v.).
Nowed. (Her.) Having the tail twisted like
a knot [Fr. noeud].
Nowel. [Fr. noyau, a kernel.] The core or
inner wall of a mould for casting large cylinders.
Noyades. [Fr.] In Fr. Hist, the name of a
mode of massacre by which the victims were sent
adrift in a boat with a hole driven through
the bottom.
Noyau. [Fr., a kernel.] A liqueur flavoured
with the kernels of peach stones.
Nuances. [Fr. nue, a cloud, L. nubem.]
(Music. ) Light and shade in expression.
Nucifraga. [L. nucem, nut, frango, / break.]
(Ornith.) Nut-cracker; gen. of birds. Greater
part of Europe and Asia. Sub-fam. Corvinas,
fam. Corvidae, ord. Passeres. One spec. (N.
CaryocStactes [Gr. Kapvo-KccrdicTris, nut-cracker])
occasionally visits England. General colour
brown, white spots ; wings and tail brown.
Nucleus. [L., a small nut, kernel, dim. of
mix.] 1. (Astron.) The central part of the head
of a comet. 2. (Bot. ) The centre of an ovule.
Nudibranchiata, NudibrancMates. [L. nudus,
naked, Gr. jBpo7x> gills-] (Zool.) Molluscs
with unprotected breathing organs, as Doris,
sea-lemon.
Nudum pactum. [L., a nude fact.] In Law,
a naked contract, without any consideration.
Nugse canorse. [L.] Melodious trifles ( Horace).
Nuggets. The larger lumps of gold, found in
the gold-diggings. They are always waterworn.
Nugis addere pondus. [L., to give weight to
trifles (Horace).] To make mountains out of
mole-hills.
Nulla aoonlta bibuntur fiotllibus. [L., people
do not drink poison out of earthenware (Juvenal).]
The danger is for (hose who drink out of gold
and silver.
Nulla bona. [L., no goods.] No assets.
Nulla dies sine linea. [L. , no day without a
line.] For the artist, no day without practice in
drawing. For all, no day without toil.
Nulla est sincera voluptas. [L.] ho pleasure
is unalloyed (Ovid).
Nullah. The Hindu name for small rivers
and streams, or for their channels when dry.
Nulla pallescere culpa. (Nil consciro sibi. )
Nullipore. [L. nullus, none, porus, a passage ;
i.e. once thought to be coral without pores.]
(Geol.) Lime-bearing seaweeds, helping to form
some Tertiary limestones, as in Malta and
near Vienna ; used as building-stones.
Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri.
[L. , not bound to swear by the words of any
master, (Horace).] Free and independent in
thought and word.
Nullius in bonis. [L. , in or belonging to the
goods of no one.] Unclaimed, or ownerless,
property.
Nullum tempus occurrit regi, or Ecclesiae.
[L.] A Law phrase, denoting that the rights of
the Crown, or of the Church, cannot be put into
abeyance by lapse of time (time does not bar the
right of the king or of the Church).
Number. [L. munerus, Gr. VO/JLOS.] 1. Any
particular aggregate of units. (For Abstract N.,
Cardinal N., Prime N. , etc., Tide Abstract num-
ber ; Cardinal numbers ; Prime meridian ; etc. ) 2.
(Naut. ) Ships are distinguished by numbers for
signalling. Losing the N. of one's mess, dying
suddenly, killed, or drowned.
Numeration. The art of naming numbers.
The chief words employed for this purpose are the
names of the digits, ten, a hundred, a thousand,
and a million. Words for expressing numbers
more than a million are of somewhat uncertain
use ; e.g. a billion means, in England, a million
millions, in the U.S., in France, etc., a thousand
millions.
Numerical equation ; N. value. In a Numerical
equation every quantity except the unknown
quantity is a particular number, as x* fx 3 +
4* 2 5 = 0. The A 7 ", value of an algebraical
formula is the number obtained by substituting
numbers for their equivalent algebraical symbols
which compose the formula, and reducing the
result to its simplest form ; thus if s = % ft 2
when/= 32 and t = 5, the N. V. of s is 40x3.
Nummulite. [L. nummus, money.] (Geol.)
A gen. of fossil foraminifera, circular, coin-like ;
their shells forming large masses of N. lime-
stone. Eocene.
Nunc aut nunquam. [L.] Now or never.
Nuncio. [It., from L. nuntius, a messenger.]
A papal envoy accredited to a foreign court.
Nuncupative will. [L. nuncupo, / name]
In Law, a will delivered by the testator by word
of mouth. By Eng. usage, this mode of making
a will is allowed only to soldiers and seamen on
active service.
Nundinse. [L.] The old Latin market days ;
so called as recurring every ninth day.
Nun of Kent, Holy Maid of K. Elizabeth
Barton; she denounced Henry VIII. 's separation
from Catherine ; executed, with others, at
Tyburn.
Nunquam minus solus quam cum solus. [L.]
Never less alone than when alone ; said of true
philosophers.
Nuremberg, Peace of, July, 1532, signed by
Charles V., granted liberty of conscience to
Protestants. (Smalcald, League of.)
Nursing generation. (Alternate generation.)
Nut. [Akin to L. mix.] A small block of
NUTA
346
metal or wood pierced by a cylindrical hole
within which is cut the worm of a female screw
to work with the screw cut on a bolt.
Nutation. [L. nutatio, -nem, a nodding.} 1.
(Astron. ) A small and slow gyratory movement
by which, if subsisting alone, the Pole would
describe among the stars, in a period of about
nineteen years, a minute ellipse, whose longer
axis is about 19" and shorter 14". Its effect is
to produce a small periodic variation in the
motion of the equinox and in the obliquity of the
ecliptic. 2. (Med.) Constant involuntary shak-
ing of the head.
Nutrid skins. [Sp. nutria, L. lutra, Gr.
tvvtyis, an otter.} The fur of a Brazilian animal
resembling a beaver.
Nuz vomica. [L., disgusting nut.} The seed
of a tree growing on the Coromandel coast, from
which strychnine is obtained.
Nyctea. [Gr. v\>t, -KTOS, night.} (Ornith.)
Sncnvy owl ; gen. and spec. N. America and
N. Europe. Fam. Strigidse, ord. Acclpitres.
Nycthemeron. [Gr. wx^ntpov.} (Astron. )
A space of a night and a day.
Nye. (Nide.)
Nylghau. [Pers. nil-gao, blue cow.} (Zool.)
A ruminant ; gen. and spec, of bovine antelope,
the largest of its kind, more than four feet high
at the shoulder ; male, slate blue, with horns ;
female, reddish grey, without. India. Portax,
sub-fain. TragelaphuKe, fam. Bovidae, ord. Un-
gulata.
Nympho-lepsy. 1. The being caught by a
nymph [Gr. VVH<$>O-\T}ITTOS}, fascinated by the
actual sight of one ; and 2, generally a state of
rapture, the Muses being often called nymphs.
Nymphs. [Gr. vu^a.i.'] (Gr. Myth.} At first
female inhabitants of the waters ; afterwards of
trees and forests also. (Dryads ; Hamadryads ;
Naiads; Nereids.)
0.
0. Of this letter the Greeks had two forms
one equivalent to the short, the other to the
long, pronunciation of this letter in other
countries. Among the Irish the letter O prefixed
to a name is equivalent to Fitz in England,
meaning son. O in Music is the semibreve.
Oaf. [Collat. form of elf.} A changeling.
A child left by the fairies in place of one taken
away by them. Hence a dolt or blockhead.
Oak leather. A kind of fungus spawn, found in
old oaks ; sometimes used for spreading plasters.
Oakum. [O.E. acumba.] Loose hemp formed
by untwisting old ropes.
Oases. [Gr. , probably a Copt, word.] Fertile
spots found scattered in the great sandy deserts
of Africa ; owing their richness to the springs
which abound among them.
Oast-house. [D. ast, est, a kiln; the word
probably imported with the cultivation of hops
(Wedgwood).] Kiln for drying hops.
Oath of Allegiance. [A.S. ath.] Binds to
faithful and true allegiance to the sovereign.
0. of Supremacy or of the Qtteen's Sovereignty,
in substance abjures the doctrine that princes
excommunicated or deprived by the pope may
be deposed or murdered ; and declares that no
foreign person or state has any jurisdiction in
England. (See the "Ordering of Deacons.")
Obbligato. [It., bound, made necessary.}
(Music.) Accompaniment which cannot be dis-
pensed with.
Obeah. (Obi.)
Obedience, Passive. In Politics, the absolute
submission supposed by some to be due to the
sovereign.
Obelisk. [Gr. o&e\la-icos, dim. of oj8fA.o's, a
spit, pointed instrument.} 1. In Printing, a
dagger (t) referring to a note in the margin, or
at the bottom of the page. 2. (Aristarobian
criticism.)
Obelize. (Aristarchian criticism.)
Obelus. (Obelisk.)
Oberon. In Med. Myth., the king of the
fairies. The name was originally Auberon,
Alberon, the first syllable of which reproduces
the O.G. alb, our elf, fairy. (Elves.) It occurs
in the Heldenbuch (Minnesingers) in the form
Alberich, or Alban.
Obi, Obeah. The name of a kind of witch-
craft among the negro tribes of W. Africa, an
Obeah-man or -woman being one who practises
O. , advising in sickness and other emergencies ;
selling charms, philtres, etc. ; and skilled in the
art of poisoning, "the most practically impor-
tant element in O." (Kingsley, At Last, p. 288 ;
Tylor, Primitive Culture). (Fetish.)
Obiit sine prole. [L.] Died without issue.
Often given under the initial letters O.S.P.
Obiter dictum. [L.] A thing said by the ivay,
incidentally, in passing, not expressive of de-
liberate judgment ; generally applied to some
opinion of a judge which is not judicially de-
cisive, not of the essence of the matter which
has been argued before him.
Obits. [L. obitus, death.} In the Latin
Church, a service for the repose of a departed
soul.
Object; Objective. (Subject; Subjective and
objective.)
Object-glass. The lens at the end of the tube
of a microscope or telescope which is turned
towards the object to be viewed.
Oblate. [L. oblatus, offered.} (Eccl.) A
person who makes a donation or assignment of
his property to a religious community, either per-
manently or for a definite time.
Oblate spheroid. (Ellipsoid.)
Oblation. [L. oblatio, -nem, an offering.} In
the Eucharistic Office of the Latin Church, the
Lesser 0. is the offering of the bread and wine
OBLI
347
OC1IL
in the offertory ; the Greater 0. is that of the
elements after consecration.
Oblique. [L. obliquus, oblique.] (Georn.) In-
clined at any angle not a right angle, as an O.
angle, O. co-ordinates, etc. The great sphere is
said to be oblique when a pole is not in the
zenith or horizon of the spectator.
Oblique motion. (Music.) (Motion.)
Oblique prismatic system. ( Crystallog, ) Con-
sists of those crystals which have one axis at
right angles to the other two, which are not at
right angles to each other ; when transparent,
they are optically biaxal ; as oxalic acid.
Oblique sailing. (Naut.) The application of
oblique-angled plane triangles to ascertain a
ship's position at sea by means of objects observed.
Oblong. (Quadrilateral.)
Obmutesoenoe. [L. obmutesco, / become
dttmb.] Loss of speech.
Oboe, or Hautboy (q.v.). A flute-like instru-
ment, at first the simple pastoral chalumeau or
reed-pipe, now, after various improvements, a
kind of clarionet, but with double reed, beauti-
fully expressive. Oboist, performer on the O.
Obrine. A Polish military order of the thir-
teenth century ; called also the Order of Jesus
Christ.
Obrok. A Russian word used in two senses :
(i) for a rent paid by the peasants ; (2)
for the poll tax paid by those who, being de-
pendent on lords, have been sent out to learn
some manufacture, or have of their own will
quitted their feudal abode.
Obscurantism. The condition of one who
wishes to keep things dark or who opposes the
progress of knowledge.
Obsecration. [L. obs^cratio, -nem, prayer.]
In the Litany, the suffrages which begin with
the word "By."
Observants. (Recollects.)
Observation. [L. observationem, from observe,
I mark.] 1. (Nat. Phil.} The exact determi-
nation of the circumstances of phenomena whose
occurrence is independent of human contrivance ;
thus astronomy is a science of observation,
chemistry of experiment, though a chemist ob-
serves (in a less technical sense) the phenomena
whose occurrence he has brought about. 2.
(Naut.) Ascertaining the time, or longitude,
also the lunar distances, by taking the altitude
of the sun or other heavenly body with a quad-
rant or sextant.
Observatory. A building containing, and con-
structed for facilitating the use of, instruments
for observing certain kinds of natural pheno-
mena ; as a magnetic O . When used without
qualification, the word commonly means an
astronomical O.
Obsession. [L. obsessio, -nem, a besieging.]
The state of a person besieged by evil spirits, as
distinguished from one who is internally pos-
sessed by them.
Obsidian. [Gr. btytavfa.] (Geol.) A native
glass, volcanic, more or less felspathic ; of various
colours, generally black ; ornamental, and used
for knives, arrows, lances, and for looking-
glasses in Mexico and anciently.
Obsidional crown. [L. corona obsidionalis.]
In Rom. Hist., a crown granted to the general
who raised the sisge [obsidionem] of a be-
leaguered place.
Obsolescent. [L. obsolesccntem, part, of ob-
solescere, to wear out ', fall into disuse.] Said of
words or things going out of use.
Obstacle. [L. obstaculum, a hindrance.]
(AH I.) Any artificial impediment erected for
the interruption of the movements of troops,
either in their march or more frequently so
placed as to demoralize them within point-blank
range of an enemy.
Obstetrics. [L. obstetrix, a midwife.] The
practice of midwifery, or the delivery of women.
Obstruent [L. obstriientes] medicines. Those
which close up the orifices of ducts or vessels.
(Deobstruent.)
Obtrectation. [L. obtrectationem, from ob-
trecto, / detract through envy.] Slander,
calumny.
Obtuse angle. (Angle.)
Obvention. [L. obventio, -nem, a falling to
one's lot.] 1. An incidental advantage. 2.
(Eccl.) An offering. (Altarage.)
Ocarina. [It.] A musical instrument of terra
cotta pierced with holes ; Italian. Seven make
a set.
Occsecation. [L. occrcco, / make bli nd. ] The
making or becoming blind.
Occident. [L. occldentem ; lit. the setting
sun.] _ The West.
Occipital. Pertaining to the occiput [L.], or
back of the head.
Occlusion. [L. occludo, / shut tip.] The
retention of gases within solid bodies.
Oocultation. [L. occultationem, a concealing.]
(Astron.) The hiding of a star or planet by the
moon passing between it and the spectator ; or
of a satellite by its primary.
Ocoultation, Circle of perpetual. The circle
or the great sphere for a given station which
separates the part that comes above from the
part that never comes above the horizon ; thus,
for a station in latitude 51 N. the circle of per-
petual occultation is the parallel of declination
of 39 S. ; no star whose declination exceeds
39 S. ever coming above the horizon.
Occult sciences/ [L. occultus, hid.] A general
name for the pretended sciences of the Middle
Ages, such as Alchemy, astrology, and magic.
Occupy till I come. Luke xix. 13 ; Gr. irpay/j.a-
Ttvffao'Oe, retains an idea, surviving in the word
occupation, of using, trading with what one
possesses.
Oceana, published 1656, by James Harring-
ton. An elaborate project for establishing a
pure republic upon philosophical principles ; of
which the basis is an elective administration in
which the various offices are held by a system
of rotation ; his theory being a counterpart to
Hobbes's Leviathan (i].v.~).
Ocelot. [Mex. ocelotl.] (Zoo!.) Gen. of
tiger-cats, Felis pardalis, spotted like leopards.
Trop. America.
Ochlocracy. [Gr. ox^oKparia, mob-rule.] 1.
A political state in which the mob has gained
OCHR
348
OFFI
illegal power ; or, 2, one in which the laws give
too much power to the people.
Ochreate. A misspelling for Ocreate (q.v.).
Ochres. [Gr. &xp6*i p&k~] (Geol.) Clays
coloured with oxides of iron, sometimes pul-
verulent ; sometimes in thick beds ; e.g. Shot-
over, Oxford, Canada. Siena earth is from
S., in Tuscany.
Ocreate. [L. ocreatus, greaved.] (Bot.)
Having an ocrea, a sheath-like stipule through
which the stem passes, formed by consolidation
of two opposite stipules ; e.g. polygonum.
Octagon. (Polygon.)
Octahedral system. [Gr. oTae5poj, eight-
sided.] (Crystallog.) Consists of those crystals
which have three axes at right angles to each
other and equal parameters ; when transparent
exhibiting only ordinary refraction ; as fluor-spar.
Octahedron. (Polyhedron.)
Octave. [L. octavus, eighth.} In Church
usage, the eighth day after a feast, the feast
itself being included. (Quinzaine.)
Octavo. [L. octavus, eighth.'} A book com-
posed of sheets folded so as to make eight
leaves.
Octochord. [Gr. OKTI&, eight, xopbfi, string.]
An eight-stringed instrument ; e.g. lute.
Octopus. [Gr. oicrdi-Trovs, eight-footed] (Zoo!.)
Gen. of cephalopod with eight arms, giving its
name to fam. Octopodidae ; found in all temperate
and tropical seas.
Octoroon. [L. octo, eight.] The offspring of
a white and a Quadroon, i.e. having one black
great-grandparent, or one-eighth black blood.
(Mulatto.)
Octroi. [Fr. , from L. auctoritatem, authority.]
Originally any right granted to a subject by the
sovereign. In later times the word has denoted
especially the taxes levied by the corporations of
French towns on all articles of consumption
brought within the barriers.
Ocular. [L. ocularis, relating to oculus, eye.]
( Optics. ) The eye-piece of telescope or micro-
scope.
Odalisques, properly Odaliks. Female slaves
employed in the odas or chambers of the sultan's
harem.
Odeion. (Odeum.)
Odeum, properly Odeion. [Gr. iSeW.] At
Athens, a building for musical rehearsals before
the celebration of the great festivals.
Odin, Woden. The all-father of the Teutonic
nations. The name is retained in Wednesday,
Wednesbury.
Odisse quern laeseris, proprium human! est
ingenii. [L.] It belongs to human nature to
hate one whom you have injured (Tacitus).
Odometer, properly Hodometer. [Gr. 6$6s,
a way, fierpov, measure.] An instrument for
measuring distances ; as e.g. by registering the
number of turns of a carriage-wheel.
Odont-, Odonto-. [Gr. bSovs, o$6vro , a tooth]
Odontograph. [Gr. oSovs, oSovros, a tooth,
ypd(pa>, I describe.] An instrument for describing
the teeth of wheels.
Odyle. "A new imponderable," which Baron
von Reichenbach professed to have discovered ;
a force pervading all nature, having, like mag-
netism, positive and negative poles ; known to
"sensitives" by sight, smell, feeling. But see
Carpenter's Mental Physiology, p. 159, and else-
where.
(Ecumenical. [Gr. otKovfj.eviK6s, belonging to
the inhabited world, universal.] In Eccl. Hist.,
anything with universal authority. Thus (Ecu-
menical Councils are Councils resting on the
authority of the whole Church, as being repre-
sented in it. Some patriarchs of Constantinople
styled themselves CEcumenical, in opposition to
the claims of Roman bishops.
(Edema. (Edema.)
(Edipus. [Gr. OiSiirovs.] In Gr. Myth., a
king of Thebes, who solved the riddle of the
Sphinx, and so became noted for extraordinary
wisdom.
CEgir. (Ogre.)
(Enanthio. [Gr. oivdv6ri, the flower of the
wild vine.] Having the characteristic odour of
wine.
(Enothera. [Gr. olvoO'fipas, some plant with
roots smelling like wine (divos).] (Bot.) Even-
ing primrose, O. biennis ; ord. Onagrariae.
(Enone. (Paris, Judgment of.)
(Esophagus. [Gr. otVo^xfryoj.] (Anat.) The
gullet ; the tube leading from the pharynx to
the stomach.
(Eufs de Paque. [Fr., Easter eggs] A sur-
vival of the old custom which regarded the egg
as a symbol of the re-creation of the world in
spring. In the Vedic theogony, Brahma pro-
duces himself from the great mundane egg, out
of which all living things come into existence.
Oferlanders. (A T aut.) Small vessels of the
Rhine and Metise.
Off. (Naut.) 1. Opposed to Near ; as nothing
off, keep her to the wind. 2. From ; as on and
off a shore, i.e. towards and away from it. 3.
Abreast of or near, as off the Nore. 4. In
driving, the Off side is the right ; the Near side
is the left.
Offal, once written off-fall. Properly, any-
thing that falls off, whether valuable or not.
O.-wood is sold by auction in H.M. dockyards.
Office, Holy. A name by which the Inquisi-
tion is sometimes called ; properly, i.q. the Con-
gregation of the H.O., established by Paul III.,
A.D. 1542, to which the direction of the Roman
tribunal of the I. is subject.
Office found. In Eng. Law, an inquiry in-
stituted by officers of the Crown when events
have occurred by which the Crown becomes
entitled to take possession of real or personal
property.
Office of Judge promoted. (Eccl.) The insti-
tution of a suit in the Court of Arches (q. v.) by
the sending letters of request signed by the
bishop of the diocese in which the suit has
arisen.
Official. [L. officium, duty.] In Canon law,
the deputy of a bishop or abbot. The chief
official of the bishop is his Chancellor.
Officinal. [L. officlna, a shop.] 1. (Med.)
Made according to recognized prescriptions. 2.
(Bot.) Used in medicine.
OFFI
349
OLYM
Officinalis. [L. officina, a workshop, labora-
tory.} As an epithet in Bot. ; used in medicine.
Offing. (Naut.) To seaward, beyond an-
chorage. To keep a good 0., to keep well clear
of the coast.
Off-reckonings. (Mi!.) Certain margin in
expense allowed to the full colonels of regiments
in providing the clothing and accoutrements for
their men.
Off-set. In Surveying, a short distance mea-
sured at right angles to the chain-line, for which
purpose an Off-set staff is used.
Offward. (Naut.) Leaning away from the
shore ; spoken of a ship aground. The ship
heels 0. and lies with her stem to the 0. , means
inclined and with her stern to the sea.
Ogee. [Fr. ogive.] (Arch.) A moulding
which is partly convex and partly concave.
Ogee arch. (Arch. ) An arch formed on each
side by two contracted curves. Common in
Continuous or Perpendicular work. By an
ogival arch the French mean simply an arch
struck from two centres. (Arch.)
Oghams. The name of the characters in cer-
tain old Irish inscriptions. They are adapta-
tions of the Runic alphabet to the needs of
writing on wood, the runes or letters being
expressed by a convenient notation consisting of
notches cut with a knife on the edge of a squared
staff instead of being cut with a chisel on the
surface of a stone. Isaac Taylor, Greeks and
Goths, p. 109.
Ogival, Ogive. (Ogee arch.)
Ogre. A man-devouring monster, a bugbear.
Ogir was the Norse god of the sea. Grimm
regards the word as akin to the Goth. 6g, fear,
horror. The name came to denote any object
of overpowering terror.
Ogygian deluge. The flood of Deucalion is
sometimes so called as occurring in the reign of
the mythical Ogyges.
Ohm. (From the Danish electrician, Ohm.)
The unit of electrical resistance, equal to a force
capable of lifting ten million grammes one foot
in one second.
Oidium. [(?) Gr. wiSiov, a dim. coined from
Gr. u>6v, an egg.] (Bot.) A gen. of naked-
spored fungi, of which O. Tuckeri is that con-
nected with the vine mildew. O. albicans grows
on the mouth, fauces, and oesophagus of infants.
Oil-box, Oil-cup. A cup containing oil placed
above a hole or passage through which the oil
passes to lubricate the bearing of an axle or
other moving part of a machine.
Oil-cake. Compressed husks of rape seed,
etc., from which oil has been extracted.
Oil-cloth. Cloth oiled or painted, for covering
floors.
Oil of vitriol. Sulphuric acid, from its oily
appearance.
Okkals. (Druses.)
Old Catholics. A body of Latin Catholics
who refused adhesion to the decree of the
Vatican Council respecting papal infallibility.
One of the most eminent members of this body
is Dr. Dollinger, of Munich.
Old Dominion. The state of Virginia, pro
bably because V. was the original name of all
the English colonies in America. Bartlett's
Americanisms.
Old Foundation, Cathedrals of the. (Cathedrals
of the New Foundation.)
Old Harry. (Nick, Old.)
Oldhaven beds. (Geol.) Sands, oyster-beds,
and pebbly strata lying on the Woolwich beds
in the S.E. of England.
Old Man of the Mountain. The European
name for the sheikh of the Assassins.
Old Nick. (Nick, Old.) Butler, in Hudibras,
erroneously ascribes it to Nicholas Machiavelli.
( Macbiavellism. )
Old Eed. (New Bed.)
Oldsters. (Naut.) Midshipmen of four years,
master's mates, etc.
Old Style. (New Style.)
Oleflant gas. [L. oleum, oil, fieri, to become.'}
Carburetted hydrogen, containing two atoms of
carbon to four of hydrogen (which, combined
with chlorine, forms an oily compound).
Oleograph. [L. oleum, oil, Gr. ypdtyw, I
write. ,] A picture produced in oils by a process
resembling lithography.
Oleomargarine. An article made from fat,
grease, and oily substances ; large quantities of
which find their way to market in various Euro-
pean countries, where it is sold as butter.
Bartlett's Americanisms.
Oleron, Laws of. A code of maritime law ; so
called from the Isle of Oleron, and compiled
not later than 1266. (Amalfian Code; Wisby,
Ordinances of.)
Olibanum. [Gr. \lfiavos, the frankincense
tree.] A fragrant gum -resin, used in incense.
Oligarchy. [Gr. &\tyapxia.] A state in which
only a few out of one class exercise supreme
power, in contrast with an aristocracy, in which
the whole class of nobles rules.
Olitory. [L. olitSrius, olus, oleris, vegetables.'}
Belonging to a kitchen garden.
Olive-Branch Petition. Sent, in 1775, D 7
"Congress" of the "United Colonies" to
George III., as a last appeal. Not received, as
coming from an illegal body.
Oliver. A small lipped hammer worked by
the foot.
Olivine, Green-earth. (Geol.) An olive-green
magnesian earth and crystals (chrysolite), com-
mon in volcanic rocks.
Olla. [Hind.] A palm leaf for writing upon.
Olla podrida. [It., L. olla putrida, rotten jar. ]
1. A hotch-potch, a pot-au-feu, into which all
kinds of scraps are thrown and stewed ; and so,
2, literary odds and ends, stories, anecdotes,
collected together, having no reference to any
subject or plan ; so farrago [L.] a medley, lit.
mixed food of spelt [L. far].
Olney Hymns. Published 1776 ; the joint
work of John Newton, Curate of Olney, Bucks.,
and the poet Cowper.
Olympiad. [Gr. 6\v/j.ir<is.] In Chron., the
interval of four years between each celebration
of the Olympic games, forming the common era
of Greek computation, and beginning, it was
said, B.C. 776.
OLYM
350
OPEN
Olympic games. The greatest of the Greek
Panhellenic festivals, celebrated once in every
four years at Pisa, or Olympia, in Elis. The first
recorded victory is that of Coroebus, B.C. 776.
Omasum. [L., a paunch.] (Anat.) Third
stomach of a ruminant.
Ombrometer. (Bain-gauge.)
Omens. [L. omma.] Accidental signs, sup-
posed to betoken future events. (Augurs.)
Omentum. [L., a caul.] A broad band of
membrane, connecting two or more of the ab-
dominal viscera, the chief being the great O., or
caul, a network of fatty tissue.
Omer. Exod. xvi. 36 ; " the tenth part of an
ephah," which was an Egyptian measure, and,
according to Josephus, = six cotylre, or half-
pints ; but "the measures varied at different
times " (Speaker's Commentary).
Ommiad caliphs. In Moham. Hist., the
caliphs who succeeded Mrawiyah, son of Abu
Sophian, who gained the caliphate after the mur-
der of Ali. (Abbasides ; Shiahs ; Sounites.)
Omne vivum ab ovo. [L.] All life comes forth
from an egg; a supposed axiom of biology, in
former times, (OZufs de Paque.)
Omnia munda mundis. Unto the pure all
things are pure (Titus i. 15).
Omnia prsesumuntur rite esse acta. [L.] A
maxim in Law : all acts are presumed to have been
rightly done ; i.e. all acts preliminary to some act
proved in itself to be legal ; e.g. a marriage
having been proved, the church in which it took
place will be presumed to have been consecrated
for sen-ice.
Omnium. [L., of all.] A term formerly used
on the Stock Exchange to denote the various
kinds of stock created on the negotiation of a
loan by Government which provided for the ex-
tinction of the debt partly by consols, partly by
stock bearing high interest, and by annuities.
Speculations in all these jointly were known as
omnium.
Omophagous. [Gr. upoQiiyos, from oytJs, ra-v,
(payf7v, to eat.] Eating raw flesh.
Omphal-, Omphalo-. [Gr. o/x<j>oA<fe, L. umbili-
cus, the navel.]
Omrah. [Ar., a chief.] One of twenty-four
councillors of the Great Mogul. Emir, Amir,
Ameer, are other forms of the same word.
(Miramamolin.)
On a bowline, or On a wind. (A"aut.) Sail-
ing close-hauled in the direction from which the
wind comes.
Oncin. [L. uncus, a hook.] A weapon having
a hook and spike on a long handle ; somewhat
like a boat-hook ; eleventh century.
Oneirocriticism. [Gr. bvfipoKpnut&s, from
ovfipos, a dream, Kplvw, I jtidge.] The so-called
science of interpreting dreams.
Onges. (Ceo/.) The solid rock which bounds
a vein of ore.
Onomasticon. [Gr., from ovo/j.a, a name.] A
dictionary or commonplace-book ; as that of
Julius Pollux.
Onomatopoeia. [Gr. ovoiwroiroiiiffis.] A word
denoting properly the making of names, but
more commonly applied to words expressing by
their sound the thing signified ; as cuckoo, pee-
wit, etc.
On se fait a tout. [Fr.] One gets used to
anything.
On the beam. (JVauf.) At right angles to
the keel, and without the ship. On the bow.
(Bow of a ship.) On the quarter, within the
angles contained by a line drawn right astern
and four points on either quarter.
Onus probandi. [L.] The burden of proving
is said in Law to lie generally on the party who
maintains the affirmative of the question in dis-
pute.
Onycha. [Gr. &w\, tivvxos, a finger-nail, etc.,
named from its resemblance, Heb. shecheleth
(Exod. xxx. 34).] (Sibl.) Theoperculum[L., lid]
of some gasteropodous mollusc (probably of fam.
StrombTdse) abundant in the Red Sea ; said to
be at this day employed in the composition of
perfume (Speaker's Commentary).
Onychitis. Inflammation of the nail [Gr.
8vv%, ovvxps],
Onyx. [Gr. <5W|, finger-nail.] (Mtn.) A
piece of agate with layers of chalcedony, one of
which is flesh-coloured : but the dark and white
layers of artificially prepared agates are often
used.
Ooid, Ooi'dal. 1. Like an egg [Gr. w6v] in
shape ; or, 2, as having albumen.
Oolite [Gr. u>6v, an egg, and \i06s], or Boe-
stone. (Geol.) A variety of limestone, with roe-
like grains cemented together. 0. group, Oolitic
or Jurassic system, = Lias + Oolite + the Pur-
beck.
Oolong. [Chin., green dragon,"] A variety of
black tea, possessing the flavour of green tea.
Oomiak. (Naut.) A sealskin boat; Green-
land.
Ooze. [From a root from which have sprung
many families of words having a common mean-
ing of moisture ; as Exe, Usk, Aix, and eaux,
i.e. aquas; Uisgah (whisky), etc.] 1. The
liquor of a tan-vat. 2. In Geol., e.g. O. of the
Atlantic, a fine, whitish, sticky mud-chalk in pro-
cess of formation, and now accumulating over
wide areas, eighty per cent, being the calcareous
deposit of globigerinos and various other minute
organisms.
Opal. [L. op&lus.] (Min.) A mineral, hydrate
of silica, chatoyant ; allied to chalcedony, but
amorphous, and containing more water. Precious
O., containing ten per cent. There are many
varieties. Stalagmitic in fissures of volcanic
rocks ; Hungary, Mexico, Queensland.
Open, or Dispersed, harmony (Music) is of parts
separated by intervals as wide as may be. Close
H. is of parts brought near to one another.
Open diapason, or Principal. (Music.) In
organs, the chief open foundation stop, generally
of metal ; in the pedals generally of wood.
Open hawse. (Naztt. ) With two anchors out
and the cables not crossed.
Open list. (A'aut.) A ship's book, contain-
ing the names of officers and crew, by which
rations are issued and the crew mustered.
Open order. (A'aut.) More than a cable's
length apart.
OPEN
OPUS
Open verdict. After an inquest, is = a declara-
tion of the jury that there has not been produced
sufficient evidence for any decision.
Open work. (Mil. ) One which is not pro-
tected at the gorge (q.v.), by a parapet or
obstacles, from a sudden attack.
Opercu-lar, -late, -lated. (Nat. Hist.) Having
a lid or cover [L. operculum].
Operculata. (Zool.) Molluscs possessing an
operculum (q.v.).
Operculum. [L., covering, from operio, /
cover.] 1. (Conch.) The horny or nacreous
plate, more or less completely closing the mouth
of the shell in certain gasteropodous molluscs.
2. (Bot. ) The lid of anything, as in the pitcher
of Nepenthes ; especially applied to the spore -
case of urn-mosses.
Ophicleide. [Gr. o<j>ts, a serpent, K\fis, a
key.] A large brass wind instrument, modern,
orchestral, powerful ; its compass being three
octaves from double B b.
OpMdia, Ophidians. [Gr. oQiSiov, dim. of
il<pis, a serpent J\ (Zool.) The first ord. of rep-
tiles, serpents.
Ophiomancy. [Gr. o<t>is, a snake, pavrtta,
divination.'] Divination by means of serpents,
as from the number of their coils or of the vic-
tims which they devour.
Ophion. [L. and Gr. bfyioiv.] Probably the
"noufflon (q.v.) of Sardinia.
Ophir. A country with which the ships of
Solomon carried on an extensive trade. It was
perhaps the island of Ceylon, which was named
Abhira.
Ophitffl. [Gr. &$is, a snake.] An early
Christian sect, of Gnostic origin, which wor-
shipped the serpent as the author of all sciences.
Ophthalmia. Inflammation of the eye [Gr.
Opiricus. An heraldic animal having wings
like a griffin, and a short tail like a camel.
Opisthocomi. [Gr. dwurdd -Kopos, back-haired.]
An ord. of birds consisting of one gen. contain-
ing one spec. The hocco of Guiana, a gre-
garious bird about the size of a peacock ; plumage
brown. Equatorial America. It may indicate
the former existence of a group of birds other-
wise extinct.
Opisthodonms. (Naos.)
Opisthograph. [Gr. biriff&<lypa.$os, written on
the back.] In Gr. and Rom. Ant., any roll of
parchment or paper, written over both on back
and front.
Opisthotonos. [Gr. birtffddrovos, Med. Gr.,
drawn backwards, from Siriffde, from behind,
and reiixa, I stretch.] The being drawn back by
tetanic spasms of the muscles of the back.
Opium. [L. , Gr. S-iriov.] The concrete
juice of the white poppy.
Opobalsam. [Gr. on-o/JoAo-a/toj'.] Balsam of
Gilead.
Opodeldoc. [A word coined by Paracelsus.]
1. A kind of plaster for external injuries. 2.
A saponaceous camphorated liniment.
Opopanax. [Gr.] A foetid gum-resin im-
ported from Turkey.
Oppilation. [L. oppilo, / stop up.] (Med.)
Obstruction of the passages by increased secre-
tion or foreign matter.
Opposite leaves. (Bot.) Two only, and
developed on the same plane ; e.g. pink, jasmine.
Alternate, one a little above or below the other ;
e.g. rose, laurel.
Opposition. [L. oppositionem, from oppono,
I oppose.] (Astron.) Two heavenly bodies are
in O. when their geocentric longitudes differ by
180, i.e. when they are diametrically opposite
to one another with reference to the earth.
Opprobrium. [L.] Reproach, combined with
contempt or disdain.
0. P. Riots. When Covent Garden Theatre,
rebuilt after the fire, was opened in 1809, the
prices for admission were raised. Riots followed
for the restoration of the O. P., or old prices.
Ops. (Saturn.)
Opsiometer. An optometer (q.v.).
Optical angle ; 0. axis ; 0. centre. The Optical
axis of a doubly refracting crystal is that direc-
tion along which a ray of light passes without
undergoing bifurcation. (For O. angle, vide
Visual angle ; for 0. centre, vide Centre of a lens.)
Optics [Gr. i] oTTTucrj, the science of the laws of
sight] ; Geometrical 0. ; Physical 0. The science
of light and vision. In Geometrical optics
the properties of mirrors and lenses are deduced
from the laws of reflexion and refraction of light,
and these properties are applied to explain the
construction of telescopes, microscopes, etc. In
Physical 0., the phenomena of reflexion, refrac-
tion, polarization, interference, etc., of light are
traced back to their physical cause, viz. the un-
dulatory motion of the ether.
Optimates. [L.] (Hist.) The Roman no-
bility, as distinguished from the plebeians.
Optimism. (Theodicaea.)
Optimist. One who takes the best, most hope-
ful, view of a matter; Pessimist, the exact con-
trary : both being somewhat unpractical. [L.
optlmus, best, pessimus, worst.]
Optimus Maximus. [L., Best and Greatest.]
Latin epithets of Jupiter, indicating his greatness
and goodness.
Option. [L. optic, -nem, a choosing.] On the
Stock Exchange, a percentage given for the
option of selling or buying stock in time bargains
at a certain price.
Optometer. [From a Gr. root OTTT-, seeing,
pt-rpov, measure.] An instrument for determin-
ing the distance or limiting distances of most
distinct vision, and hence for finding the focal
length of a lens proper for a long-sighted or a
short-sighted person.
Opus magnum. [L., great work.] A phrase
denoting works which are monuments of vast
labour and research, as the Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire, by Gibbon.
Opus operantis. [L. , the work of the worker.]
(Theol.) The effect of the celebrant's intention
in the administration of sacraments. (Intentio
sacerdotis.)
Opus operatum. [L., work done.] (Theol.) A
term denoting the effects of sacraments irrespec-
tive of the dispositions of those who receive
them.
OR
352
ORDI
Or. [Fr., from L. aurum, gold.} (Her.) The
metal gold in coats of arms, represented in
engraving by small dots.
Ora. [A.S., metal or money.} O.E. money.
The greater and lesser O. in Domesday-book are
estimated at twenty and twenty-six pence. In
Sw. and Dan. , the word also denotes a measure
of land.
Oracle. [L. oraculum, from os, a mouth.}
1. An answer given by heathen deities to those
who consult them. 2. The place at which such
answers are given, as the O. of Delphi, of
Dodona, etc.
Oragious. [Fr. orageux, orage, a storm, L.
auraticum, aura, a breeze.} (Naut.) Tempestuous,
or stormy.
Oramby. (Natit.) A State barge of the
Moluccas ; some row 100 paddles. (Koracora.)
Orange. 1. (Her.) A roundlet or disc of an
orange colour. 2. (Geog.) A town and small
district [L. Arausion, -em] giving the title of
Prince of Orange.
Orangemen. (Hist.) The name of an Irish
society, instituted in 1 795, to uphold Protestant
ascendancy.
Orarium. (Stole.)
Oratorians, or Priests of the Oratory. A title
specially given to the congregation of regular
clerks founded by St. Philip Neri at Rome, early
in the sixteenth century. The Oratory at Paris,
founded by Cardinal de Berulle, in 1611, pro-
duced many eminent men, among them Male-
branche and Massillon.
Orb. [L. orbis, a circle.} An emblem of
sovereignty, consisting of a globe surmounted by
a cross.
Orbicular leaf. [L. orbiciilus, a small disc.}
(Sot. ) Circular, or nearly so ; it is generally
peltate ; e.g. the garden nasturtium (Tropseolum).
OrbiliuB. By melon., = a schoolmaster; the
name of Horace's master, who was fond of
flogging [L. plagosus] (Ep. ii. i. 70).
Orbit. [L. orbita, a rut, an orbit.} 1.
(Astron.) The path described by a planet or
other heavenly body round its primary ; as the
orbit of Jupiter or of one of the components of
a double star. 2. (A not.) The cavity in which
the eye is embedded ; formed, in man, by seven
orbital bones.
Orchestra. [Gr. op-^aT^a., from opxv*a, /
dance.} 1. In the Gr. theatre, a circular level
space in front of the spectators, for the evolu-
tions and dances of the chorus. 2. The place in
a concert-room or theatre for the band ; or, by
melon., 3, the full band itself.
Orchil, Orchilla weed. (Archil.)
Ordeal. [L.L. ordalium, Ger. urtheil, judg-
ment.} The referring of the guilt or innocence
of the prisoners to the judgment of God. The
O. was at first under Ihe special proleclion of
Ihe clergy, whose subsequent opposition tended
lo bring il inlo disfavour. Among Ihe mosl re-
markable ordeals was the trial by the Eucharist,
in which il was supposed lhal Ihe guilly person
would be choked by Ihe Host, as Godwin, falher
of King Harold, was ihoughl lo have been ; the
ordeals of hot water ; of carrying a heated iron
bar in the hand ; of stepping over red-hot plough-
shares ; etc.
Ordeal bean. (Calabar bean.)
Order. [Fr. ordre.] 1. (Nat. Hist.) A group
inferior to class and sub-class ; superior to family,
tribe, genus, elc. 2. (Arch.) A syslem of parts
in cerlain established proporlions, delermined by
Ihe office which each has lo perform, the whole
consisting of (i) column and (2) entablature.
Of ihese Ihe former is subdivided into base,
shaft, and capital ; Ihe laller into Ihe archilrave,
frieze, and cornice. The classical orders are the
Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Com-
posite.
Orderly. (Mil. ) Officer or soldier appoinled
to await the orders of a superior officer, to attend
on him personally during his tour of duty; or
one who exercises special duties whilst his
comrades are unemployed. O.-room is the
commanding officer's office in a regiment.
Order of the day. In Parl., a question pro-
posed to the House may be superseded by
moving ' ' for the order of the day lo be read. " If
this is carried, the orders are read and proceeded
on in the course in which they stand. But this,
in its turn, may be superseded by a motion to
adjourn. (Previous question, Moving the.)
Orders, Mendicant. Religious bodies of per-
sons under vows to subsist by begging. The chief
mendicant orders were those of the Dominicans
and the Franciscans. The Carmelites and Augus-
tinians are also to be reckoned among them.
Orders, Eeligious. Societies bound by a rule
of religion. They may be (i) monastic, (2)
military, or (3) mendicant. The monaslic
orders were distinguished by the rule to which
they adhered ; as Ihe Benedictines, Ihe Basilians,
Ihe Augustinians. Of Ihe military orders Ihe
most prominent were (i) those of St. John of
Jerusalem, or the Knights of the Hospital,
known afterwards as Knighls of Rhodes and
Knighls of Malla ; (2) Ihe Knights Templars,
and (3) the Teutonic Knighls (Teutonic Order).
The chief mendicanl orders are Ihe Dominicans
and Ihe Franciscans.
Orders in Council. 1. Orders by Ihe sovereign,
wilh Ihe advice of the Privy Council, having Ihe
force of law, dealing generally with mailers of
trade, revenue, public health, etc. , as to which
Parliament has delegated ils authority to the
Queen in Council ; but also, 2, in times of
emergency war, deficient harvest, etc. going
beyond the already delegated powers, in expecta-
tion of future Parliamentary proleclion.
Ordinal. [L. ordinale.] 1. The book con-
laining Ihe forms of making, ordaining, and
consecrating of deacons, priests, and bishops.
2. A book containing Ihe rubrics of Ihe Mass.
Ordinal numbers [L. ordinalis, ordinal}
answer Ihe queslion, "In what order?" as,
first, second, third, etc.
Ordinance, Self-denying. (Hist.) A resolu-
tion of the Long Parliament, in 1644, by which
its members bound themselves not to take
certain offices, especially commands in the army.
The result was the slrengihening of Ihe Inde-
pendenl parly at the expense of the Presbyterian.
ORDI
353
Ordinary. [L. ordinarius, an overseer who
keeps order.] 1. (Eccl.) One who has, in his
own right, immediate jurisdiction. 2. (Leg.)
In the Civil Law, a judge empowered to take
cognizance of causes in his own right, not by
delegation. In Eng. Law, the term is applied
to ecclesiastical judges only. 3. In the Court
of Session in Scotland, a single judge sitting in
the outer house to decide causes in the first
instance. 4. (Her.) A part of an escutcheon
contained by straight or other lines. It is the
most ordinary species of charge. The ho-
nourable ordinaries are the chief, pale, bend,
bend sinister, fess, bar, chevron, cross, saltier
(q.v.). The other ordinaries are called subor-
dinate.
Ordinary, Laid up in. (Naut.) Laid up out
of commission.
Ordinary seaman. (Naut.) One who can make
himself useful aloft, etc., though not an A. B. (q.v.).
Ordinate. (Co-ordinate axes.)
Ordnance. [Gens d'ordonnances, the ordinary
men of arms of France, the artilliers, i.e. cross-
bowmen, etc., first reduced, under orders, by
Charles VII., 1444 (Richardson; see Brachet,
s.v. "Artillerie").] (Mil.) 1. . Any kind of
cannon. 2. The Board of O. (now abolished)
had the charge of barracks and their furniture as
well as of all O.
Ordnance corps. (Mil.) Royal Artillery and
Engineers.
Ordonnanoe. [Fr.] In Arch., the general
arrangement of the plan and the superstructure
of a design.
Ore. [A.S. or.] Metal combined with other
substances ; opposed to Native metal.
Oreads. [Gr. bpetdSfs.] (Myth.) Nymphs of
the mountains. (Dryads ; Naiads ; Nereids.)
Oreichalcum, [Gr. <5pet'xaAKos, mountain
bronze.] With the Greeks and Romans, a mixed
metal, of which the basis was brass ^ but its
precise composition is not known.
Orembi. (Oramby.)
Orestes. (Pylades and Orestes.)
Organ. [Gr. Spyavov, an implement, musical
instrument.] (Music.) If complete, is a combi-
nation of five instruments: 1. Choir 0., having
more delicate stops for accompanying the voice,
the manual being the lowest. 2. Great 0.,
having pipes more in number, larger, and louder
voiced, for grand effects, the manual being second
from the bottom. 3. Swell O., inclosed in a
shutter box, or Venetian swell, opened and
closed by a pedal. 4. Solo 0., a separate
manual for fancy stops, as cremona, vox humana.
5. Pedal 0., played by the feet.
Organical description of a curve. [Gr.
6pyavti<6s, produced by an instrument.] (Math.)
Description by an instrument ; as of a circle by
a pair of compasses.
Organic laws. Laws affecting the fundamental
principles of the constitution of a state. Ac-
cording to some French writers, O. L. are posi-
tive enactments, sanctioned by punishments,
while the fundamental laws on which they rest
are merely declaratory.
Organography, or Organology. [Gr.
an instrument.] (Sot.) Study of the structure
of the organs of plants.
Organon. [Gr., instrument.] A name for a
work laying down rules for the direction of the
scientific faculty, either generally or with refer-
ence to some special department of science ; as
the Organon of Aristotle or of Bacon.
Organzine. [Fr. organsin.] Fine silk twisted
like a rope with different strands.
Orgasm. [Gr. opya.fffj.os, from bpydw, I TiVell.]
(Med.) Immoderate excitement.
Orgeat. [Fr., from orge, barley. ~\ A liquor
extracted from barley and sweet almonds.
Orgies. [Gr. opyta.] Originally any religious
rites or performances. The word was afterwards
applied especially to the Dionysiac Mysteries,
and then to mysteries in general. (Bacchanalian ;
Eleusinian Mysteries.)
Orgoglio. [It., pride.] "A hideous giant,"
brutal and ignorant, born of Earth and Wind,
foster-child of Ignorance ; an impersonation of
Pride (Faery Queene, bk. i. c. vii.).
Oriel. [Fr. oriol, L.L. oriolum.] (Arch.) A
projection from a building, or a recess within it ;
(?) cf. orillon.
Orient. [L. orien, -tern; lit. the rising sun.]
The east.
Orientation. [L. oriens, the rising (sun), the
east.] (Eccl.) The deviation from the true east
in the direction of a church or chancel. There
is a theory that churches had their choirs or
chancels facing the point at which the sun rose
on the day set apart for their dedication.
Oriflamme. (Auriflamme.)
Origenists. (Eccl. Hist.) Followers of
Origen. (Catechists.) They asserted that Christ
was the Son of God by adoption (Adoptians),
and denied the endlessness of punishments.
Original. 1. In Art, a work done by the
artist himself, not copied by another. When
the artist copies his own work, this copy is called
a duplicate, or Replica. 2. In Law, the part of
an indenture executed by the grantor, where the
several parts are interchangeably executed be-
tween the parties, the other parts being called
counterparts.
Origin of a muscle. (Anat.) Its more fixed
attachment.
Orillon. [Fr., from oreille, an ear, L.
auricula.] (Fortif.) Rounded "prolongation of
the face of a bastion at the shoulder angle, to
conceal a gun in the extremity of the flank.
Oriole, Golden. [L. aureolus, dim. of aureus,
golden, through Fr. oriol, which has now the
def. art., and has become loriot.] (Ornith.)
Spec, of bird, about ten inches long ; plumage,
black and yellow. S. Europe, occasionally Great
Britain. Oriolus galbula [L. galbus, yelloiv],
gen. Oriolus, fam. Orlolidce, ord. Passres.
Orion. [Gr.] (Myth.) A mighty giant and
hunter who, after his death, was placed amongst
the stars. The name is probably Semitic.
Orlando Furioso. (Ehodomontade ; Eoland.)
Orle. [O.Fr., a margin.] (ffer.) An
ordinary composed of a narrow band following
the outline of the escutcheon at some distance
from the edge.
2 A
ORLO
354
ORTH
Orlop, or Orlop-deck. (Decks.)
Ormolu. [Fr. ormoulo.] A variety of brass,
25 parts of zinc + 75 of copper, more golden in
colour than ordinary brass ; improved sometimes
by a gold lacquer. Also called Mosaic gold.
Ornaments. (Eccl. ) Of the church and of the
minister, are the "ornamenta," i.e. fittings,
apparatus, whether ornamental or not.
Ornaments Bubric. That beginning "And
here it is to be noted," immediately preceding
the order for Morning Prayer.
Ornithichnite. (Ichnites.)
Ornithodelphia. [Gr. Spvis, XpvlOos, bird,
$f\<pvs, uterus.] (Zool.) Having a uterus re-
sembling that of birds. The third and lowest
sub-class of mammals. ( Yonotremata.)
Ornithology. [Gr. bpvi8o-\6yos, treating of
birds.~\ The science of the natural history of
birds and their classification. The latter is
somewhat unsettled. We have followed that
adopted by Mr. Wallace, in his Geographical
Distribution of Animals, as below.
Examples.
Including the great mass of the
smaller birds crows, finches, fly-
catchers, creepers, honey-suckers,
etc.
Including woodpeckers, cuckoos,
toucans, kingfishers, swifts, etc.
Parrots only.
Pigeons and the dodo.
Grouse, pheasants, curassows, mound-
builders, etc.
The hocco only.
Eagles, owls, and vultures.
Herons, plovers, rails, etc.
Gulls, ducks, divers, etc.
Ostrich, cassowary, apteryx, etc.
Orders.
I. Passeres.
II. Plcariae.
III. Psittaci.
IV. Columbae.
V. Galllnae.
VI. Opisthocomi.
VII. AccipTtres.
VIII. Grallae.
IX. Anseres.
X. StruthiOnes.
Omithomancy. [Gr. opvis, a bird,
divination,] Divination by the flight of birds.
(Augurs.)
Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. [Gr. gpvu, -0os,
bird, pvyx os > snout, beak, trapdSolos, contrary to ex-
pectation.} (Zool. ) Platypus [r\arvs, broad, TTOVS,
foot], Duck-bill, Mullingong ; a billed, ovovivi-
parous, aquatic, burrowing mammal, eighteen
to twenty inches long, with soft dark fur, some-
what like an otter. Australia. Ord. Monotre-
mata.
Orology. Study of mountains [Gr. Spas, moun-
tain],
Oromazdes. The same as Ormuzd. (Ahriman.)
Orometer. [Gr. 6pos, a mountain, nerpov, a
measure.] An instrument for measuring hills in
military surveying, combining all the necessary
scales and tables for carrying out the different
processes.
Orpheotelestae. [Gr. 3p<pcoTe\eo-Tai.~] InGr.
Hist., an obscure sect, the members of which
went about undertaking to release people from
their sins by songs and sacrifices.
Orpheus. [Gr., Skt. Abhu and Ribhu, names
for the sun and the storm-wind.] (Myth.) A son
of the river CEagrus and the Muse Calliope, whose
name has become a proverbial expression for the
power of music. Men, beasts, trees, stones, and
rocks all moved to the sound of his harping ;
and at his bidding, the ship Argo descended
gently into the water, when the Argonauts
were unable of themselves to stir it. The three-
headed dog Cerberus, which guarded the gates
of Hades, could not resist the spell ; and Hades
himself, under the same influence, allowed him
to lead away his wife Eurjrdice,*who had died
from a snake-bite, and who all but returned to
dwell with him in the upper world. Orpheus
reappears in The Piper of Hameln (Browning),
and both are the singing winds.
Orphic Mysteries. (Hist.) Mysteries cele-
brated by certain societies, seemingly ascetic,
which at the first rise of Greek philosophy
assumed the name of Orpheus.
Orphrey, or Orfray. [O.Fr. orfrais, L.L.
auriphragium.] A fringe or band of gold, some-
times richly embroidered, sewn on Albs, Dalma-
tics, and altar frontals.
Orpiment. [L. auripigmentum, pigment of
gold.] (Chem.) Trisulphide of arsenic, a bright
yellow pigment. It is also called yellnv arsenic,
or kings yellow. Red orpiment is another name
for realgar (q.v.).
Orpin. [Fr., stoneerop.~\ A yellow colour
resembling these flowers.
Orpine. (Bot. ) A kind of stonecrop, SSdum
telSphium [Gr. rf\4<piov], ord. Crassulacese (Se-
dum).
Orrery. A toy for showing children the mo-
tions of the planets ; called after the Earl of
Orrery, the Hon. C. Boyle of the Battle of the
Books (q.v.).
Orris. [Corr. from Orphrey s.] A pattern
work of gold or silver.
Orris-root, Orrice-root. [Corr. from Iris.]
The violet-scented rhizome of Iris florentina and
I. germanica ; sometimes called Iris-root.
Orsedew. Dutch gold. (Dutch clinker.)
Orthoclase. (Geol.) Common felspar, Potash
F. ; because it has a flat straight cleavage [Gr.
opfrfi K\dffis],
Orthodox Church. [Gr. opOo5oos, of right
belief.} (Eccl. Hist.) The title of the Eastern
or Greek Church.
Orthoepy. [Gr. 6p66s, right, exact, eiros, word.]
In Gram., properly the right use of words, but
generally applied to prosody as dealing with
their proper pronunciation ; as Orthography
deals with their proper representation.
Orthognathic. [Gr. opd-fi, sc. yuvia, a right
angle, yvdOos, a jaw. ] Having a facial right
angle, nearly ; having a skull the front of which
scarcely projects beyond the jaw ; opposed to
Prognathous [irp6, in front of], having a prominent
jaw.
Orthogonal. [Gr. bpQoy&vios, rectangular.]
Any line taken down a hill at right angles to a
system of contours (y.v.). (Orthographic.)
Orthographic projection of a line or lines
[Gr. 6pd6s, straight upright, ypd^u, I draw}
Its representation on paper obtained by letting
fall from each point of the line a perpendicular
to the plane of the paper ; or, it is the perspec-
tive representation of the line (or lines) made on
the suppositions that the eye is infinitely distant
and the plane of the paper at right angles to the
direction of vision.
Orthography. [Gr. op86s, ypd<p<a, I write.]
ORTH
3SS
OSTR
1. (Gram.) The method of denoting sounds by
visible signs. (Orthoepy.) 2. (Arch.) A geometri-
cal drawing of a building in elevation or section.
Orthopaedic. [Gr. 6p66s, straight, TTCUS, waiSo's,
a child.} Relating to the correction of deformity
in children.
Orthoptera. [Gr. opOS-irrepos, upright-winged.]
(Entom.) Ord. of insects, properly with four
wings ; the fore pair generally leathery, the hind
pair folding like a fan, as grasshoppers ; some-
times wingless, as female cockroaches. The
earwigs, dermaptera, belong to this ord.
Ortolan. [Fr., from L. hortiilanus, a gardener,
belonging to a garden.] (Ornith.) A migratory
bunting, length about six inches ; plumage,
brown, black, green, and buff. S. Europe, occa-
sionally Great Britain. Embeiira hortulana, sub-
fam. Emberiridae, fam. Fringillidce, ord. Passeres.
Ortygia. (Ortygian shore.)
Ortygian shore. In Shelley's poem Arethusa,
the eastern shore of Sicily, near Syracuse. The
island of Delos was also called Ortygia, or the
quail-land, the quail [in Skt. vartika, the return-
ing bird] being one of the birds which come
with the first return of spring. It thus became
one of the names of the dawn, and was applied
to Delos [Gr. Afj\os, the bright land], in which
Phoebus and Artemis were born.
Orus, or Horns. (Harpocrates.)
Orvietan. A supposed antidote to poison,
ascribed to a mountebank of Orvieto, in Italy.
Oryctology. Study of objects dug up [Gr.
opwcrJs], whether Archseol. or, more particularly,
Geol. ; but the term is not often used.
Oschophoria. [Gr.] An Athenian festival in
honour of Dionysus and Athena ; so called from
the carrying of oo^at, or vine branches with
grapes.
Oscillating engine. (Steam-engine.)
Oscillation, Centre of. (Centre.)
Oscillum. [L., a little face ; dim., through
osciilum, of os, mouth, face.] A term applied to
faces or heads of Bacchus, suspended in vine-
yards, to be turned in every direction by the
wind ; supposed to make the vines fruitful in the
quarter towards which they looked (see Virgil,
Georg. ii. 388).
Osculating circle [L. osculans, -tis, kissing] ;
0. plane ; at any part of a curve, passes through
three consecutive points of the curve ; its radius
is the radius of curvature. The 0. plane passes
through three consecutive points of a tortuous
curve (or curve of double curvature), such as the
thread of a screw.
Osculatorium. (Fax.)
Osiandrians. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Osiander, who differed from Luther and Calvin
as to the efficient cause of justification.
OB innommatnm. [L., bone without a name.]
(Atiat.) Each lateral bone of the pelvis; that
apparently single bone into which the three
ossa ischium, ilium, and pubis, i.e. hip-bone,
haunch-bone, and share-bone grow.
Osiris. In Myth., one of the chief deities of
Egypt, brother and husband of Isis, and more
especially the judge of the dead. As such he
was called Rhot-amenti, of which the Grecized
form is Rhadamanthys. He was worshipped
under the form of the bull Apis. (Serapis.)
Osmometer. [Gr. wff/j.6s, impulse, ^i-rpov,
measure.] An instrument for measuring the
amount of osmose (q.v.).
Osmose. [Gr. uo-/j.<is, impulse.] The action
by which two fluids become intermixed through
an intervening membrane or other porous sub-
stance. The flow towards the fluid which in-
creases in volume, generally the denser, is called
endosviose, the other current cxosmosc.
Osmium. [Gr. oV/t?;, a smell. ] A brittle grey
metal, from the acrid odour of its oxide.
Osnaburgs. Coarse linens, originally imported
from Osnaburg, in Germany.
O.S.E. (Ob'iit sine prole.)
Osprey. [L. ossifraga, /tone-breaker ; cf. Fr.
orfraie.] (Ornith.) Ossifrage, Fishing hawk,
Bald buzzard ; spec, of bird, about twenty-two
inches long ; whitish head, brown back, white
belly ; gen. Pandlon. Universally distributed,
except south part of S. America. Fam. Pandl-
onidas, ord. AccTpitres.
Osseous. [L. 6s, ossis, a lion:;.] Bony.
Osseous fishes. [L. osseus, bony.] (Ichth.)
In Cuvier's system, one div. of fishes, the other
being Chondropterygii. O. F. are divided into
Acanthopterygii and Malacopterygii (q.v.).
Ossian's poems. Poems said to have been
written by Oisin, or Ossian, a Scottish bard of
the third century, and published by MacPherson,
in 1760. The controversy as to their genuine-
ness went on for nearly half a century, and
ended much to the discredit of MacPherson's
assertions. The materials of the poems, how-
ever, seem to be undoubtedly ancient, and were
probably obtained by him orally in the Scottish
Highlands.
Ossicle. [L. ossiculum, dim. of os, a bone.]
A small bone. Ossiculated, furnished with small
bones.
Ossifrage. [Peres (Lev. xi. 13), the breaker.]
(Bibl. ) (Lammergeier. )
Ossuary. [L. ossa, bones.] A charnel-house,
a tomb.
Os suffraginis. [L.] (Anat.) The joint in
the hinder leg of a quadruped, which is bent
back ; the pastern.
Ostara. (Myth.) An ancient German deity
whose name reappears in our word Easter, and
may be connected with that of the Semitic
Ashtoreth, or Astarte.
Osteology. [Gr. o<rreov, a bone.] That part
of anatomy which treats of bones and bone
tissue, their chemical and physical properties ;
their shape, growth, articulation, etc.
Osteria. [It.] An hostelry.
Ostiarius. [L., a doorkeeper.] 1. (Eccl.) In
the Latin Church, the last of the four minor
orders. (Hostiarius.) 2. (Rom. Hist.) Among
the ancient Romans, a slave stationed at the
door of a house, like the French concierge.
Hence Eng. usher.
Ostracism. [Gr. oVrpa/cjoyirfs.] In Athenian
Hist., a vote by which, if given by at least 6000
citizens, the person condemned by it had to go
into exile for ten years. The name of the
OSTR
356
OVER
person subjected to O. was written by each voter
on a shell [offrpanov]. Only one citizen could be
so banished at a time ; and if more than 6000
votes were recorded against two or more citizens,
the one who was condemned by most votes was
alone banished.
Ostracoda. [Gr. o'o-rpcuc-uS'fis, potsherd-like, ,]
(Zool.) Small bivalve crustaceans, as Cyprides,
common in fresh water.
Ostreidse. [L. ostrea, oyster.} (Zool.) Fam.
of molluscs, oysters and scallops. Cosmopolitan.
Class Conchifera.
Ostrich. [O.Fr. ostruche, L. avis struthio,
Gr. oTpovS/aw.] (Ornith.) Struthio camelus.
The largest of birds, from six to eight feet high.
The quill feathers of the wings and tail furnish
plumes. Deserts of Africa and Arabia. The
S.-African O. (S. australis) is sometimes reckoned
a distinct spec. The American ostriches (Rheas)
inhabiting the S. -American plains are much
smaller. Ord. Struthiones.
Os vespertilionis [L.], i.e. bone with ex-
tended wings, like a bat; former name for
sphenoid bone (q.v.).
Otalgia, Otalgy. [Gr. ovs, UTOS, the ear, &\yos,
pain.] Ear-ache.
Otarudae. [Gr. urapiov, dim. of oSs, wr6s,
ear.] Otaries, eared seals ; pinnigrade car-
nivora, sea-lions and bears, able to use their
hind limbs freely. Northern parts of N. Pacific,
and corresponding south latitudes. Ord. Car-
mvora.
Otic. [Gr. &TMOS.} Of or for the ear [o5s,
ur6s}.
Otitis. Inflammation of the ear [Gr. o5s,
O>T 6i\.
Otolith. [Gr. o3s, w-rds, the ear, \i6os, a
stone.} A loose chalky secretion in the auri-
cular sacs of Artictilata (q.v.), especially fishes,
indicating, probably, the direction and degree of
sound.
Otorrhoea. [Gr. ots, ur6s, the ear, p4w, I
flow.} Discharge of the ear.
Ottava rima. [It.] The stanza of eight lines
always employed by the romantic and narrative
poets ; that to which Spenser added the Alexan-
drine, as a ninth.
Otto. (Attar.)
Ottoman empire. The empire of the Ottoman
race of Turks.
Ottoman race. (Ethn.) The youngest branch
of the great Turkish family or stem ; so called
from Othman, who ruled them from 1299 to 1326.
Oubliette. [Fr., from oublier, L. obllviscor,
I forget.} A dungeon open only at the top, for
persons condemned to imprisonment for life or
to a secret death.
Ouches. 1. In Exod. xxviii. 25 ; ornaments
of gold, collets, probably of cloisonnee (y.v.)
work, according to Speaker's Commentary. 2.
With Shakespeare and others, jewels generally.
[Richardson assigns the same meaning and use
to (i) nouche, Fr. niche, notch ; and (2) ouche,
Fr. oche, a notch, ocher, to ait into.}
Ounce. [L. uncia.] 1. The twelfth part of a
pound troy. 2. The sixteenth part of a pound
avoirdupois. The ounce troy = ij%, nearly
ij'g, ounce avoirdupois. 3. The fluid ounce is
the sixteenth part of an imperial pint, and by
weight is reckoned 546! grains, or \\ ounce
avoirdupois.
Ourology. The knowledge of disease, as
learnt from the urine [Gr. ofipov].
-ous. (-ic.)
Out-board. (Natit.) Outside a vessel; opposed
to In-board.
Outlawry. (Leg. ) Exclusion from the protection
of the law, depriving the outlaw of the power of
bringing actions, and confiscating his property
to the Crown. Inflicted, generally, for non-
appearance to an indictment, or for absconding
after judgment, leaving the judgment debt unpaid.
Outlier. 1. (Geol.) An isolated portion of
stratified rock ; separated by denudation from
the main rock. 2. One who resides away from
the place of his office or duty.
Outpeny. (Inpeny.)
Out-ports. (Nant.) Those on the coast. All
in the United Kingdom other than London.
Outre. [Fr.] In Art, exaggerated or over-
strained in form or colour.
Outrecuidance. [Fr.] Excessive opinion of
one's self; from verb outrecuider, L. ultra,
beyond, cogitare, to think.
Outrigger. (Natit.) 1. A strong beam
passed through the ports, lashed to the gunwale,
and guyed to bolts at the water-line and the
masts, to counteract the strain on them during
careening. 2. A boom projecting from a vessel,
to hang boats by. 3. Any spar rigged out-
board, as the bumpkin, or boomkin. I. A log
of wood, etc., rigged out from the side of a
canoe or narrow boat, to prevent it from capsiz-
ing. 5. A light rowing-boat, having its row-
locks out-board, supported on iron stays.
Outspan. [Ger. spannen, to yoke, to put to.}
To release oxen from the yoke.
Outworks. (Mil.) All parts of a permanent
fortification in front of the inside rampart, but
more or less defended by it.
Oval chuck. A lathe chuck constructed to
hold the piece to be turned in such a way that
the cutting tool traces an ellipse instead of a
circle.
Ovation. [L. ovatio, -nem.] (Hist.) The
inferior triumph granted to successful Roman
generals. (Triumph.)
Overcasting. Sewing by running the thread
over a rough edge.
Overies, St. Mary. The ancient name of St.
Saviour's Church, Southwark. (?) St. Mary of
the Ferry, as given by Stowe, in his Chronicles ;
(?) over-ey, i.e. over the ivater, as given by
Camden, in his Britannia. Mrs. Boger, South-
"Mark and its Story, p. 5-
Overlap. (Geol.) The extension of one
stratum or set of strata beyond the limits of the
lower strata. Very important, as showing that
the area of deposition was widening, probably
by subsidence ; if accompanied by unconformity,
it is an evidence of great lapse of time, accom-
panied by disturbances.
Overseers of the poor. Officers annually nomi-
nated by the parish vestry, and appointed by
OVER
357
magistrates at petty sessions ; their duty being
to provide relief for indigent parishioners out of
funds collected by them according to a rate
made at a vestry meeting. (Poor laws.)
Overshot-wheel. (Water-wheel.)
Overstory. (Arch.) The same as Clerestory.
Ovolo. [It.] (Arch.) A moulding, whose
profile is the fourth part of a circle.
OvoviviparouB. [L. ovum, egg, vlvus, living,
pario, to produce young.] Producing young
from eggs, but hatching them before birth.
Ovule. [As if from a dim. of L. ovum, an
e SS-\ (Bot.) A rudimentary unfertilized seed.
Owenites. (ffist.) The followers of Robert
Owen, of Lanark, who maintained the principle
of the community of property.
OwL [Heb. bach-hayya 'anah.] (Sibl.) Lev.
xi. 1 6 ; probably the ostrich.
Owler. (Naut.) A smuggler, more particularly
of wool.
Owling. In Law, the transportation of sheep
or wool out of the kingdom. The statutes re-
lating to this offence have all been repealed.
Owl-glass. (Eulenspiegel, Tyll.)
Ox, Wild. (Sibl.) Deut. xiv. 5. (Bull,
Wild.)
Oxalic acid. [Gr. 3a\ls, sorrel.'} A poisonous
acid, found in vtood-sorret, etc. Its salts are
called Oxalates.
Oxford, Provisions of. (EccL Hist.) Enact-
ments of the Council held at Oxford (called by
its enemies the Mad Parliament), 1258, to
remedy the grievances which had arisen from
the evasion of the obligations imposed on the
king by the Great Charter. (Charta, Magna.)
Oxford Act. (Five-Mile Act.)
Oxford clay. ( Geol. ) Dark-blue and greyish
clays and shales ; fossiliferous, with clayey lime-
stone nodules. Middle Oolite.
Ox-gang. (Carucate.)
Oxide. [Fr.] A compound of oxygen with
a base.
Oxygen. [Gr. o'|i5s, add, yewdta, I generate. ~\
A gaseous element, supporting life and flame,
and originally supposed to be an essential part
of every acid.
Oxymel. [Gr. ov/j.e\i, from ovs, sharp, and
ftf\i, honey] A mixture of vinegar and honey.
Oxymoron. [Gr., pointedly foolish] (Khct.)
The application of paradoxical epithets to the
subject of a proposition, often involving a kind
of contradiction ; as if we were to speak of the
cruel kindness of indulging children.
Oxytone. [Gr. O^VTOVOS.] In Gr. Gram., a
word having the acute accent on the last syllable.
Oyer. [O.Fr., L. audlre, to hear.} In Law,
a defendant, before pleading to an action on a
bond, might crave O. of the instrument on which
the action was brought, i.e. demand to hear it
read. O. was abolished in 1852.
Oyer and terminer. In Law, the commis-
sions for hearing and deciding causes, under
which assizes are held in the different counties.
Oyes! (Oyez!)
Oyez! [Fr., hear ye!] The cry of Norman
ushers in courts of justice, metamorphosed by
English criers into " O yes ! "
Oyster, Pearl. [Gr. tfo-Tpfov, L. ostreum.]
Avicula margaritifera ; furnishes pearls, and the
best mother-of-pearl. "W. coast of Ceylon, Coro-
mandel, Algeria, Columbia, Panama. Fam.
Aviculidce, class Conchlfera.
Ozaena. [Gr. ofaiva, from oo, I smell.'] Fcetid,
purulent discharge from the nostrils.
Ozokerit. [Gr. 8fa, I smell, Kijp6s, wax,]
A substance like resinous wax, found in Mol-
davia, and used in making candles.
Ozone. [Gr. <?&>, / smell.} Oxygen in a
peculiar state, in which its powers are intensi-
fied and it becomes perceptible to the smell.
P.
P. A consonant of the labial series ; is, as we
might expect, interchangeable with b in nearly
all known languages. As an abbrev., it stands
in Latin for Publius ; and it is sometimes
used, in medicine, for Pugillus, the eighth part
of a handful ; p. re. stands for partes asquales,
or equal parts ; and P. in Music is piano, or
soft.
Pabulum. [L.] Lit. food ; and so material
for thought, learning, instruction.
Pace, Geometrical. [L. passus, Fr. pas.] The
distance from where one foot is put down to
where it is put down again ; and so a measure
of five feet.
Pace tua. [L.] With your good leave.
Pacha. (Pasha.)
Pachacamac. The ancient Peruvian name for
the Creator of the universe.
Pacha's standard. A horse's tail fixed on a
lance. (Pasha.)
Pachyderm. [Gr. -na-xys, thick, S'pM a > skin.\
(Zoo!. ) Thick-hided ; with Cuvier, = hoofed non-
ruminant mamalia ; e.g. elephant, hippopotamus,
tapir, pig, horse.
Pacific* litterae. (Dimissory letters.)
Pacification, Edicts of. In Fr. Hist., edicts of
French kings in favour of their Protestant sub-
jects, as the Edict of Nantes.
Pack. Of wool, is 240 Ibs.
Packfong. [Chin.] German silver.
Pack-ice. Ice in the state of large floating
pieces.
Packwax, Pax wax(1). (Anal.) A large strong
sinew in the neck of quadrupeds ; the ligamentum
nuchse, ligament of the nape of the neck.
Facte de Famine. In Fr. Hist., an associa-
tion, in the reign of Louis XV., for raising the
price of corn by exporting it and by reintroduc-
ingit at a vast profit.
Pactolus. [Gr. naKru\6s.] A river of
PADD
PALE
Lydia, which was said to bring down golden
sands.
Padding. The impregnation of cloth with a
mordant.
Paddle. An instrument for stirring the sand
and ashes in a glass furnace.
Paddlewood. A light strong wood from
Guiana, used by the natives for paddles, by us
for cotton-gin rollers.
Paddy. Rice still in its husk.
Paddy-boat. (Naut.) A Ceylon boat for
carrying rice and other necessaries.
Paddy's hurricane. In Naut. slang, not wind
enough to extend a flag.
Padishah. A title of the Turkish sultan and
of the Persian shah.
Padrone. [It.] (Naut.) The master of a
Mediterranean craft.
Paduan. (Naut.) A Malay pirate armed
with one gun forward and another aft.
Paduan coins. Coins forged by Cavino and
Barsiano, the artists employed on the pope's
medals from Julian III. to Gregory XIII., 1550-
1572.
Paduasoy, corr. into Fr. pott de soie. A silk
stuff, originally made at Padua.
Paean, [Gr. ica.ii.v.'] Among the Greeks, (i)
a hymn in honour of Apollo ; (2) a war-song
before or after battle. Hence any exulting or
triumphant cry.
Paedo-. [Gr. <uy, ratios, a child.]
Paedobaptists. [Gr. -xcus, a child, &O.TCTI&,
I baptize.} Those who hold that baptism should
be administered in infancy. (Anabaptist.)
Paenula. (Chasuble.)
Paeon. [L., Gr. irduav.] A metrical foot of
four syllables, three short and one long. P. is
primus, secundus, tertius, quartus, according to
the position of the long syllable ; e.g. - ~ ,
Paganism. Properly, the condition of a pagan,
or inhabitant of a country district. (Paynim.)
Commonly, the religious state of the whole
human race except of those who are Christians,
Jews, or Mohammedans.
Page. A word of uncertain origin, applied to
youths in the service of noble or royal per-
sonages.
Pagination. [L. pagina, page] The marking
of the pages of a book.
Pagoda. [Pers. but-kadah, house of gods.]
1. (Arch.) A temple containing an idol. 2.
The name of a coin, both gold and silver.
Pahi. (Naut.) Large war-canoe of Society
Isles.
Paigle, Pagle, Peagle. [Probably epingle,
"the style and stigma being stuck, as a pin,
into the germ " (Latham).] The cowslip.
Paillasse. [Fr. paille, straw.] An under-
mattress of straw.
Painim. (Paynim.)
Pains and Penalties, Bill of. A process for
punishing State offenders out of the ordinary
course of justice. The last instance was the Bill
passed by the House of Lords against Queen
Caroline, 1820, but not carried into the House
of Commons.
Painter. 1. (+Yaut.) A rope in the bows of
a boat to make her fast with. 2. (Zool.) (Cou-
guar.)
Pair. [L. pares, equal.] Of stairs, cards,
organs, = a set ; so "Peers," in House of Lords,
a body of equals, in deliberation.
Pair off. When two voters opposed to each
other agree to abstain from voting, and thus
neutralize each other, they are said to pair off.
Palace. (Alhambra; Cloud, Palace of St.;
Escurial ; James, Palace of St. ; Kremlin, The ;
Stephen, Palace of St. ; Tuileries ; Vatican ;
Versailles, Palace of ; Whitehall ; White
House.)
Palace Court. A court of justice, established
by Charles I., for trying personal actions within
a liberty extending to twelve miles round White-
hall. Abolished 1849.
Paladins. 1. Properly, officers of the palace,
the L. comites palatii, counts of the palace, or
palatlni, of the Byzantine court. 2. In early
French romances, any lord or chief. Hence
especially the heroes or warriors of Charles the
Great (Charlemagne).
Palaeocrystio Sea. That around the Poles, a
sea of ancient frost, or ice [Gr. ita\ai6v Kpvos].
Palaeography. [Gr. iea\ai6s, old, ypaQw,
I -write.] The science of deciphering ancient
inscriptions. (Diplomatics.)
Palaeolithic. (Prehistoric archaeology.)
Palaeontology. [Gr. iraKaios, ancient, ovra,
being.] That part of Geology which deals
with organic life, of plants and of animals, their
remains, and (e.g. ichnites) their records.
Palaeotherium. [Gr. dijplov, a beast] (Geol.)
A gen. of extinct pachyderms ; in size from that
of a sheep to that of a horse, in appearance and
probably in habits like the tapir, but much
slimmer. Eocene ; England.
Palaeozoic. (Neozoic.)
Palaestra. [Gr. -ira\alo-rpa, from iraXaioi, I
wrestle.] A place or school for wrestling. In
Greece, the palaestra was a part of the Gymna-
sium.
Palama. [Gr. iroAa/Mj, palm of the hand.]
(Zool.) Membrane or web between the toes of
web-footed animals.
Palanquin. FJavan palangki.] A covered
litter borne on men's shoulders.
Palatals. The letters d, g, j, k, I, n, q ; so
called from the organ chiefly used in pronounc-
ing them.
Palatinate. The name of two German states,
called the Upper and Lower Palatinates, which
remained under the same sovereign till 1620.
The word means properly the lordship of a
palatine (Paladins). Hence the Ger. pfalzgraf
and the Eng. palsgrave.
Palatine. (Tavernicus.)
Pale. [Fr. pal.] (Her] An ordinary
bounded by two vertical lines, and containing
the middle third part of the escutcheon.
Pale, The, or Within the Pale. In Ir. Hist.,
that portion of Ireland within which the domi-
nion of the English was for some centuries con-
fined after the conquests of Henry II.
Pales, Paleae. [L.] (Bot.) Chaff-like scales,
PALE
359
TAX
such as the inner scales of the flower of
grasses.
Palestine, Palestina. Exod. xv. 14; Isa. xiv.
29 ; Joel iii. 4 ; is simply Philistia, the country
along the coast, held by the Philistines.
Paletot. [Fr.] A loose overcoat.
Palette. [Fr.] An oval tablet, with a thumb-
hole for holding it, on which a painter lays and
mixes his colours.
Palfrey. [Fr. palefroi.] An easy-going road-
ster, especially for a lady or an ecclesiastic.
Falillogy. [Gr. ira\i\\oyta, from ira.Kii', again,
and A eya), I speak.'} (Rhet.) The repetition of
a word or a phrase, for the sake of greater im-
pressiveness, as "The living, the living, he shall
praise Thee."
Palimpsest. [Gr. TTOXI'/^O-TOS, rubbed again.}
A parchment from which one writing has been
erased to make room for another. In this way
many valuable ancient works have been lost. A
few have been recovered from the writing by
which they had been overlaid.
Palindrome, Falindromic verses. [Gr. iroAiV-
Spo/jLos, running back, running backwards and
forwards. ,] Words or verses which may be
read backwards as well as forwards ; as " Roma
tibi subito motibus ibit amor," Rome, to thee
love will suddenly come -with its tumults ; "Signa
te signa temere me tangis et angis." The
matter of such verses must always be worthless.
Paling-board. One of the outside slabs
sawed from the four sides of a tree to square it
(used for palings).
Palingenesis. [Gr., from ird\tv, again, and
ytveffis, birth.} In Theol., regeneration.
Palinode. [Gr. iraAij/wSi'a.] In poetry, a re-
cantation, or withdrawal of invectives expressed
in a previous poem.
Palisades. [Fr. palissade, It. palizzata.]
(Mil.) Row of triangular wooden stakes about
ten feet long with six-inch faces, sunk upright in
the ground for one-third of their length, and
placed about three inches asunder.
Palissy ware. Made at Saintes and Paris by
Bernard de P. and his assistants, temp. Henri II.-
Henri IV. Characterized by coloured reliefs,
especially of fish and reptiles. The moulds are
still in use.
Palkee. [Hind, palkf.] A palanquin.
Pall. (Her.) A charge shaped like a Y, in
imitation of the ecclesiastical pall. (Pallium.)
Palladium. [Gr. ira\\d8ioi>.] 1. A wooden
statue of Pallas, supposed to be the safeguard
of Troy. Hence any special safeguard or de-
fence, as of trial by jury, or a free press for the
British constitution. 2. A rare, steel-grey metal,
very infusible (from the planet Pallas, discovered
a year earlier).
Pallas. In Gr. Myth., a name of Athena,
probably as the virgin goddess [Gr. WA.XO|, a
Maiden}.
Pallet. [Fr. palette.] 1. (Her.) A diminutive
of the pale, being one-half its size. 2. A gilder's
tool for taking up and applying gold-leaf. 3.
The projecting piece at the end of a clock es-
capement, by which it acts on the scape- wheel.
Palliobranchiata. (Brachiopoda.)
Pallium. [L.,ac?oa/,\] (Ecct.) A vestment
sent from Rome to archbishops on their accession
to their sees. It has now become a mere white
woollen band, worn round the shoulders, with
one end hanging in front, the other on the back.
Palm. (Nanf.) 1. The face of an anchor-
fluke. 2. A flat piece of metal set in leather or
canvas, and fastened in the palm of the hand,
for forcing a needle through canvas.
Palm, Order of the "Fruitful. A German
society, formed 1617, dissolved 1680, for pre-
serving and cultivating the German language.
Palmair. [Fr. palmaire, relating to \hcpalm
of the hand.] (Naut.) 1. Old name for a
rudder. 2. A pilot.
Palmam qui meruit ferat. [L.L.] Let the
deserving bear the palm (the prize of victory).
(Olympic games.)
Palmary. [L. palmarius, deserving the palma,
prize.} Pre-eminent, palmy, chief.
Palmate leaf [L. palmatus, shaped like the
palm of the hand (palma)], or Quinate [qulni,
five each}. (Bat.) One with five lobes, as marsh
cinquefoil. Digitate [dfgitatus, having fingers},
one with five leaflets, more or less, radiating
separately from each other from one point, as
cinquefoil, tormentil.
Palmers. (Hist.) Crusaders returned from
the East ; so called from the palm branch M'hich
they commonly carried with them.
Palmerworm. [Heb. gazam (Joel i. 4), one
who bites off.} (JBibl.) Larva of locust.
Palmetto State. S. Carolina, the arms of
which contain a palmetto. Bartlett's Ameri-
canisms.
Palmiped. [L. palma, a palm, hand.} Web-
footed.
Palmistry. [L. palma, the hand.} The divi-
nation which professes to tell a man's fortune by
the lines on his hands or ringers. Called by the
Greeks xfipo/j.avreia, Chiromancy.
Palpebral. [L. palpebralis, from palpebra,
eyelid.} (Anat.) Pertaining to the eyebrow.
Palpi. [L. palpus, a touching softly, hence
the instrument with which this is done.] (Entom.)
Feelers attached to the mouths of insects, spiders,
crustaceans, and acephalous molluscs.
Paludamentum. [L.] In Rom. Ant., a
military cloak, worn by generals.
Paly. (Her.) Covered with bands alter-
nately of two tinctures, vertical like a pale (q.v).
Pamban manche, or Snake-boat of Cochin.
(Natit.) A canoe, from thirty to forty feet long,
cut out of a solid tree, and propelled by paddles,
double-banked. Used on the rivers and back-
waters of Cochin.
Pamela, or Virtue Reivarded. Richardson's
novel, 1740. P. is the virtuous, persecuted
servant, who becomes the wife of her rich young
master.
Pampas. The treeless plains of Patagonia
and La Plata.
Pampero. A dry north-west wind, blowing
from the Andes to the coast over the Pampas.
Pamplegia. [Gr. irav, all, the whole, ir\r)yh,
stroke, bloiv.} General paralysis. (Hemiplegia.)
Pan. [Gr.] (Myth.) A rural deity, de
PANA
360
PANN
described as playing on his harp among the
reeds and rushes. His name was supposed to
be the same as the word -aav, all ; but it really
represents the Skt. Pavana, the soft puffing
breeze [L. Favonius], which discourses only sweet
music. (Orpheus.)
Pan. A mixture of areca nut, betel, and lime,
chewed by Asiatics.
Panacea, [Gr. vafdKfia, healing all.} (Myth.)
A daughter of Asklepios, or ^Esculapius. Hence
any supposed remedy for all diseases.
Panache. [Fr.] A plume worn on the
helmet.
Panagia. [Gr., All-lady.} The blessed Virgin.
Pan-Anglican Synod. A Synod with represen-
tatives from all Churches in communion with the
Church of England.
Panathenaic festival. (Hist.) Two great fes-
tivals of the inhabitants of Attica, in honour of
Athena, were so called ; the greater celebrated
once in five years, the lesser every third year, or
perhaps yearly. In the former, the Peplos, or
sacred robe of the goddess, was hung like a sail
on a vessel like a ship, and carried to the
Acropolis, where it was placed on her statue.
Panchatantra. [Skt.,jfev AM& .] An ancient
collection of tales in Sanskrit. The Persian
translation, called the Book of Calila and Dimna,
is attributed to Bidpai, or Pilpay. Another set
of tales, called the Story of the Seven Sages, was
also translated into Persian from Sanskrit ; but
the Sanskrit original has not been discovered.
These stories found their way into Europe, and
were reproduced in collections such as the Gesta
Romanorum, in which they were made to answer
a strictly theological purpose. (Hitopadesa.)
Pan coupe. [Fr. pan, skirt, fiat front.}
(Mil. ) The junction of the two adjacent superior
slopes of a parapet at the salient of a work,
when cut flat for the purpose of enabling a frontal
fire to be brought on the capital (q.v.).
Pancratium. [Gr. irayKpdriov, a complete
victory^} A kind of athletic contest, in which
wrestling and boxing were united.
PancrSas. [Gr. irdyKpeas.] (Anat.) Sweet-
bread, a conglomerate gland across the posterior
wall of the abdomen, secreting a fluid which is sup-
posed to render absorbable the oily parts of food.
Pandects. [Gr. TrovSe/cToi, plu. of iravStKTrjs,
all -receiving.} The great compilation of Roman
law executed under Justinian, sixth century.
(Digests.)
Pandemonium. [Gr. vav, all, Satfiuv, a
demon.} Milton's name for the "high capital
of Satan and his peers."
Pandits. 1. Learned Brahmans in India.
2. Pretenders to learning.
Pandora. [Gr. -KO.V, all, $u>pov,agift.} (Myth.}
According to Hesiod, the first woman ; so
called as being given to men by all the gods.
Being presented to Epimetheus, she lifted the
lid of the box on his threshold, and let loose all
the evil things shut up in it.
Pandora's box. (Pandora.)
Pandore. (Bandore.)
Pandour. A Hungarian foot-soldier in the
Austrian service. They were originally raised
in the mountainous districts of Lower Hungary,
near the village of Pandur. Webster, Eng.
Did.
Panduriform leaf . (Bot.) Oblong, contracted
in the middle, something like a fiddle [L.
pandura] ; e.g. leaves of Rumex pulcher.
Panegyric. [Gr. \6yos trwiiyvpiKos, a speech
to a general assembly, from -jravriyvpis.] 1. An
oration in praise of an individual or of a body
of men, especially at the great games. The
P. of Isokrates was composed for the Olympic
festival, but was not recited. 2. (Eccl.) Sermon
in honour of particular saints.
Panel. [O.Fr.] 1. (Arch.) A compartment
with raised margins, as in ceilings, wainscotings,
etc. 2. In Law, a roll on which are written the
names of those who are to serve on a jury.
3. In Scot. Law, the defendant in a criminal
cause is called pannel (Wedgwood, Diet, of
Etymology, s.v. " pane," " pannel "). 4. A thin
board for painting a picture on. 5. A heap of
ore dressed ready for sale. 6. A square section
of a coal-seam worked separately. 7. A portion
of solid rock left unworked in a mine.
Panem et Ciroenses. [L.] Bread and the
Circensian games ; that is, popular indulgences
which the mob insist on receiving. (Circus.)
Pangaia. (Want.) E. -African vessel, resem-
bling a barge. Its planks are fastened by
wooden pegs, and sewed with twine. It sets
one sail made of cocoa-nut leaves.
Pangloss. A poor and conceited pedant in
Colman's play of The Heir-at-Law ; the name
implying a knowledge of all tongues [Gr. -yXuxraa}.
Panic. Any sudden and groundless alarm.
This meaning of the word is explained by the
myth, that on the Indian expedition of Bacchus,
Pan, being surrounded by his enemies, so scared
them with the echoes of a rocky valley that they
all instantly fled.
Panic, Commercial The crisis produced
when the bounds which separate overtrading
and rash speculation from legitimate com-
mercial risk have been passed. When bankers
contract their accommodation, the discounter
draws on the resources of the Bank of Eng-
land, which attempts to check such applica-
tions by raising its rate of discount. If the rate
be raised to a height which causes a collapse of
credit, large bankruptcies follow, and the result
is a panic ; traders of undoubted solvency, and
possessed of a capital more than able to meet all
claims, being often involved in the calamity.
Panicle. [L. paniciila, a tuft, panicle, dim.
of panus, a bobbin-thread.} (Bot.) A compound
raceme, the inflorescence loosely rising from
branched pedicels ; most common in grasses.
Panini. The most celebrated of the San-
skrit grammarians ; his work being even now
the standard of Sanskrit grammar ; many cen-
turies B.C.
Pannag. Ezek. xxvii. 17 ; occurs nowhere
else, and is left untranslated. The Syriac Version
renders it "millet;" Ewald, "sweet-wares."
Fiirst inclines to the name of a fertile place
perhaps Pingi, mentioned in the Mishna, between
Baalbec and Damascus. Speaker's Commentary.
PANN
PARA
Pannyar. (Naut.) Kidnapping negroes on
the African coast.
Panopticon. [Gr. irav, all, oirrofj.ai, I see.]
A name coined by Jeremy Bentham for his
model prison, in which the cells were so arranged
that the inspector could see each prisoner at all
times without being seen himself.
Panorama. [Gr. -nav 8pa.fj.ci, all view.} A
circular painting exhibited on the walls of a
building of the same form.
Fan's pipes, Pandean pipes. A combination
of pipes graduated in length and tone ; the
upper ends open, level, played upon by the
mouth ; the lower ends closed. Very ancient.
Lq. ffvpiya.ndjistu/a; the first idea of an organ.
Panstereorama. [Gr. irav, all, a-rfpe6s, solid,
opd/j.a, a view.'] A model of a town or country
erected in cork, wood, or any other solid sub-
stance.
Pantagruelism, The theory or practice of the
medical profession, from Pantagruel, a character
of Rabelais.
Pantaloon. [It. pantalone.] A chief character
in pantomimes.
Pantheism. [Gr. irav, eos, God.} In
Philosophy, the theory which makes God and
the universe in its totality, identical ; and by
inference denies the existence of a conscious
mind outside of nature.
Pantheon. [Gr.] A temple dedicated to all
the gods. Such was at Rome the structure
ascribed to Agrippa, son-in-law of Octavius
(Augustus).
Pantile. A tile with a curved surface.
Pantisocraoy. [Gr. iras, iravrds, all, foos, equal,
KpaTtia, I govern,} A fanciful scheme of equal
government, that is, of socialism, suggested by
some enthusiastic admirers of the French Revo-
lution, amongst whom at one time were Southey
and Coleridge.
Pantograph. [Gr. iras, iravr6s, all, the whole,
ypatyw, I draw.} An instrument for producing
enlarged or reduced copies of drawings.
Papal States. Formerly, an irregular group
of states, Z-shaped, the northern and eastern
portions, Romagna and The Marches, being con-
nected by a strip across the Apennines with the
southern, or States of the Cfnirch. Romagna
annexed formally to kingdom of Sardinia, 1860;
the rest to kingdom of Italy, 1870.
Papeterie. [Fr.] An ornamental case con-
taining writing-paper, etc.
Papier-mache. [Fr., chewed paper, .] Paper
pulp, or sheets of paper glued and pressed
together, for making mouldings, trays, etc.
Papilionaceous plants. [L. papilio, a butter-
fly.} (Sot.) Those leguminous plants which
have the pea-like, five-petalled flower, i.e.
vexillum, standard, the large P. at the back ; alae,
wings ; and carina, keel, which is made up of
two petals, generally united by their lower
edges.
Papilionides. [L. papilionem, a butterfly.}
(Entom.) Butterflies, Lepidopte'ra with knobbed
antennje, Rhopalocera [Gr. p6ira\ov, a chib}.
Papillae. [L., pimples.} 1. (Anat.) Minute
conical processes at the surface of the true skin,
in several parts ; highly vascular and nervous,
and actively concerned in the sense of touch. 2.
(Bot.) Certain cellular growths on the margin
or upper surface of the fronds of ferns.
Pappus. [L.] The seed-down by which the
fruit of some plants, especially Composite, is
carried through the air ; e.g. dandelion.
Papyri. [L.] Scrolls written on a surface
made from the stalks of the Egyptian plant
papyrus.
Papyrine. [Fr. papyrine, made of paper.]
Parchment paper. (Parchment paper.)
Papyrography. [Gr. Trd-rrvpos, papyrus,
ypd<pd>, I write.} Printing from pasteboard
covered with a calcareous substance, instead of
the stone used in lithography,
Papyrus. [Gr. irdirvpos.] (Bot.) A gen. of
plants, ord. Cyperacece. P. antiquorum, a
water-plant, from whose soft cellular flower-
stem the most ancient "paper" was made.
Paque. The French form of the word Pascha,
meaning Easter.
Par. [L., equal.] The exact correspondence
of a public security or stock with the sum which
it represents. Absolutely safe investments will
always be at par, if the capital value is not likely
to be increased or diminished.
Parable. In Ezek. xx. 49, ' ' Doth he not speak
P. ?" Ps. Ixxviii. 2 ; Numb, xxiii, 7 ; Job xxvii. I,
and many other passages, is = riddle, mysterious
or strange language. So Jotham's "parable"
in the heading of Judg. ix. (which is not a
parable but a fable) is = his riddle, his perplex-
ing question ; (?) because parables, being words
to the wise, were often riddles ; or (?) Gr.
irapafioX-i], in its occasional meaning of obliquity.
Parabola. [Gr. irapaf)o\Ti, a placing beside,
and so a parabola, because its axis is parallel lo
the side of the cone.] (Math.) The curve
obtained by cutting a cone by a plane parallel to
a tangent plane. It would be traced out by a
point moving in such a way that its perpendicular
distance from a fixed line equals its distance from
a fixed point, its focus.
Parabolani. [Gr. irapa$o\T], a venture, risk.]
In the ancient Church, officers who attended
upon the sick ; ready also to engage in quarrels
between Church and State ; e.g. that between
Cyril and Orestes of Alexandria.
Paraboloid. [Gr., parabola, tltios, form.}
(Math.) The solid generated by the revolution
of a parabola round its axis of symmetry.
Paracelsists. Followers of the quack or
empiric Paracelsus, who, in the sixteenth century,
opposed the traditionary doctrines of the schools
of Hippocrates and Aristotle. *
Parachronism. [Gr. irapd, beside, xpovos, time.]
An error in chronology, which assigns too late a
date to any event.
Parachute. [Fr., from parer, to ward off,
chute, fall.} An umbrella-shaped machine, for
breaking the fall of anything let drop from a
balloon.
Paraclete. [Gr. irapdK\r)Tos, an advocate.]
The Holy Spirit, as the Comforter of mankind.
In the early ages, some believed that the
Paraclete would appear corporeally on the earth.
PARA
362
PARA
Hence Simon Magus, Manes, Montanus, and
others pretended to be this expected Paraclete.
(Manichseans ; Montanists.)
Paradigm. [Gr. irapdSetyjjLa, art example, ,]
(Rhet.) Any illustration, including parable and
fable.
Paradise. (Parvise.)
Paradise of fools. (Limbos.)
Parados. [Fr., from parer a dos, to parry
behind.] (Fortif.) Embankment of earth to
protect the occupiers of a fortification work
from the fire of an enemy in their rear.
Paradox. [Gr. 7ropa5oos, contrary to opinion.']
A proposition which seems to be absurd, or
inconsistent with previous experience or
previously ascertained truths, although it may
turn out to be perfectly well founded.
Paraffin. [L. parum afFTnis, but little akin,
i.e. chemically indifferent, resisting strong acids
and alkalies.] A hydro-carbon, from distilla-
tion of wood, peat, bituminous shale, coal ; very
abundant in beech-tar.
Paragium. (Appanage.)
Paragoge. (Metaplasm.)
Paragon. [Fr.] 1. A model, or pattern, with
the connotation of special perfection. 2. A kind
of type, as
Cape.
Paragraph. [Gr. Trapaypa^, a line drawn in
the margin^ A mark used in printing ; thus : ^f
Faraleipsis. [Gr., from ira.pa.\eliru, I leave on
one side.} (Rhet.) The artfully displayed
omission of details, in order to rouse the
emotions of the hearer.
Paralipomena. [Gr., things left on one side.}
The name given in the Septuagint to the two
Books of Chronicles, as supplementing those of
the Kings.
Parallactic instrument. (Parallax.) An
ancient instrument for observing the zenith
distances of stars.
Parallax [Gr. irapd\\ais, the mutual inclina-
tion of two lines forming an angle} ; Annual P. ;
Binocular P.; Diurnal P.; Equatorial P.;
Geocentric P.; Horizontal P. Parallax is the
change in the angular position of a point when
seen first from one station and then from another.
When a point is viewed by one eye and then by
the other (without moving the head), the change
in the direction in which it is viewed is a P., and
is sometimes called a Binocular P. The Diurnal
or Geocentric P. of a heavenly body is the
difference at any instant between its position as
seen by the spectator, and its position as it would
be seen by a spectator having the same zenith
occupying the position of the centre of the earth.
The Diurnal P. is commonly called simply the
P. of a heavenly body. The Horizontal P. of a
heavenly body is its P. when on the spectator's
horizon ; it is the angular magnitude of the
earth's radius as seen from the heavenly body.
In the case of the moon, this angle is reckoned
with respect to the radius of the earth's equator,
and is called the moon's Equatorial horizontal P.
The Annual P. is a small change of position
observable in a few nxed stars when seen from
different points of the earth's orbit ; it is the
angle subtended at the star by a radius of the
earth's orbit.
Parallel [Gr. irapa\\r)\os, side by side,
parallel]; P. motion; P. of declination; P. of
latitude. Two straight lines are Parallel when,
being in the same plane, they may be produced
indefinitely in both directions without meeting ;
planes are P. when, being produced indefinitely
in all directions, they never meet. The P.
motion is a piece of linkwork connecting the
end of a piston-rod to the end of the beam of a
steam-engine in such a manner that the end of
the former, while moving up and down a straight
line, causes the latter to move backwards and
forwards in a circular arc ; the force being
transmitted, whether a pull or a push. P. of
latitude, (l, Geog.) a small circle parallel to the
earth's equator; (2, Astron.) a small circle on
the great sphere parallel to the ecliptic. P. of
declination, a small circle on the great sphere
parallel to the celestial equator.
Parallel. (Mil.) Large trench with covering
parapet embracing the fronts of a fortification
to be attacked, and serving as a communication
between the different approaches.
Parallel. (Naut.) Latitude. P.-sailing, sail-
ing due E. or W.
Parallelepiped. (Math.) A solid contained by
six parallelograms.
Parallelism. [Gr. 7rapoAA.7jA.os, side by side.}
In Hebrew poetry, the rhythm obtained by
expressions balancing each other, as, "The
Lord is my light ; whom shall I fear ? the Lord
is the strength of my life ; of whom shall I be
afraid?"
Parallelogram [Gr. irapa\\rt\6jpafj./j.ov, a
parallelogram} ; P. of forces ; P. of velocities.
A four-sided figure whose opposite sides are
parallel. If two adjacent sides represent in
magnitude and direction two forces (or velocities)
acting on (or moving) a particle at the angular
point, the single force (or velocity) equivalent to
the two is represented in magnitude and direc-
tion by the diagonal drawn through that angular
point. This theorem is called the P. of forces
(or velocities).
Parallel-veined leaves. (Bot.) 1. Those of
endogens generally ; the veins running straight
to the margin, from and parallel to the midribj
as grass, lily. 2. Reticulated venation [L. re-
ticulum, dim. of rete, a net}, that of exogens
generally ; the veins leaving the midrib at
greater or less angles, and giving off other veins
again ; as oak, rose, laurel. 3. Furcate V. [L.
furca, a fork}, that of acrogens generally ; the
veins leaving the midrib as in No. 2, then
dividing in a forked way ; as in ferns.
Paralogism, Paralogy. [L. Trapa\oyio-fj.6s, from
irapd, beside, and \6yos, reason.} In Logic,
reasoning which is false in form, i.e. in which the
conclusion does not follow from the premisses.
(Syllogism.)
Paralysis, Palsy. [Gr. ira.pd\v<ns, trapa.\vo/j.cu,
I am disabled at the side.} (Med.) A loss,
more or less complete, of the power of motion,
PARA
363
PARE
and, in some cases, of sensation also. (Hemi-
plegia; Famplegia; Paraplegia.)
Paramagnetic bodies. [Gr. irapd, alongside of,
\l6os yiayvfiTrjs, a magnet.] Such as iron,
nickel, manganese, etc. A bar of either of these
substances tends to place itself in a direction
parallel to that of a magnet in its neighbour-
hood. The direction of their magnetization is
the same as that of the field in which they are
placed. Other bodies, as bismuth, zinc, etc.,
have the direction of their magnetization opposite
to that of the field ; these are Diamagnetic
[8ja, through, across] bodies.
Paramatta (from Paramatta, in Australia).
A fabric resembling merino, made of worsted
and cotton.
Parameter. [Gr. iropoyuerpeo), / measure by
something else.] 1. (Math.) Any one of the
constants which connect the variables of an
equation. If the equation represents a curve,
the parameters distinguish curves of the same
kind from each other ; thus (x a)* + (y bf
= c* is the equation to a circle ; a, b, c, are the
parameters, and for different values of them we
have circles of different sizes in different posi-
tions. 2. (Crystallog.) The parts of the axes
cut off by any one face or cleavage plane, or
any three lines proportional to them, are the
parameters of the crystal.
Paramos. Mountainous districts in S. America,
in which a damp cold prevails perpetually.
Paramount. (Faravail.)
Para nut (from Para, in Brazil). The Brazil
nut.
Paranymph. [Gr. vapdwuQos.] A bridesman.
Faranzello. (A r aut.) Small, pink-sterned
vessel, with lateen mainsail and mizzen, and
large jib ; Mediterranean.
Parapet. [Fr. parapet, from It. parapetto,
parare, to cover, petto, the breast.] (Fortif.)
Bank of earth covering men and guns behind it ;
its interior slope very steep, and the superior or
upper one declined gently outwards, to facilitate
the operation of firing from behind it.
Paraphe. [Through Fr. parafe, initials, or
a flourish, and L. paragraphus, from Gr. irapct-
ypaQos, a mark made by the side.] An arbitrary
addition to a signature or monogram.
Paraphernalia. [Gr. Trapdtptpva, from <pepvfi,
a dowry.] In Law, the apparel, jewels, etc., of
a wife, regarded as belonging to her in separate
property.
Paraphrase. [Gr. irapd<ppa<ris.~\ (Rhet.) The
rendering of a passage in easier and simpler
language.
Paraphrase of Erasmus. (Bible, English.)
Paraphrases, Chaldee. (Chaldce Paraphrases.)
Paraplegia. [Gr.] (Med.) Paralysis of one-
half of the body, taken transversely. (Hemi-
plegia.)
Parasang. [Gr. irapao-dyyijs, Pers. farsang.]
A Persian measure of length, somewhat exceed-
ing our league, according to Herodotus. Others
make it twice this length.
Paraselene. [Gr. -napd, beside, o-eX^vTj, moon.]
A meteor which consists in the simultaneous
appearance of several moons. (Parhelion.)
Parasite. [Gr. n-apa.tmos, from Trapa, by, and
or'iros, food] One who lives by eating at the
table of a patron. Hence a flatterer or fawner.
Parastatae. [Gr. TrapaffTdrrjs, one who stands
near another.] (Arch.} Pilasters or square
pillars, standing out from the wall along which
they are arranged.
Parataxis. [Gr.] In Gram., the ranging of
propositions one after the other, without marking
their dependence or interconnexion,! as is clone
in Syntax.
Parathesis. [Gr. Trapadecns, a putting beside.]
The printed matter contained within brackets.
Paravail. In Feud. Law, the inferior who
holds of the superior lord or paramount. The
words were suggested by the contrast of moun-
tain and valley.
Parbuckle. (Naitt.) To lower or raise any
cylindrical object, by making fast the bight of a
rope to a post, and passing the ends under and
over the object, and hauling upon or slacking
them, as it is required to raise or lower the
object. Casks are often thus lowered into cellars.
Parcae. (Fates.)
Parcel, To. (Nan/.) To wind fared! ing, i.e.
tarred canvas, round a rope.
Parcel gilt. Partially gilt.
Parcener. [O.Fr. parconnier, from L. pars,
partis, a portion.] In Law, a coheir, or one of
two or more persons to whom an estate descends
jointly, and by whom it is held as one estate.
Parchment paper, Vegetable parchment. A
substance like parchment, made by immersing
bibulous paper in sulphuric acid and water.
Parclose, or Perclose. [L. per, through,
clausus, part, of claudo, / shut] A barrier,
separating a chancel, chapel, or tomb from the
rest of the church.
Pardon. [Fr.] In Law, the regal preroga-
tive of pardoning offences against the Crown or
public, with certain exceptions. P. cannot be
pleaded to a Parliamentary impeachment so as
to stop the inquiry.
Parecbasis. [Gr.] (Rhet.) The Greek word
for the Latin digressio, digression.
Paregoric. [Gr. Ttap-nyopiK&s, consoling.']
(Med.) Mitigating pain.
Parembole. [Gr.] (Rhet.) The insertion of
a paragraph in the middle of a sentence, in order
to explain something. Also called Paremptosis.
Paremptosis. [Gr. , from napd, by the side of,
Iv, in, irTwa-ts, a falling.] (Parembole.)
Parenchyma. [Gr. Tropeyx 8 /" ) a thing poured
in beside, and in Gr. Med. = the substance of
lungs, liver, etc., as if formed separately from
muscular flesh.] 1. (Med.) The substance,
basis, of a glandular organ. 2. (Hot.) Cellular
tissue, showing hexagonal cells when cut across,
filling the spaces between the veins of leaves.
Parenthesis. [Gr. TrapfvOeo-ts, a putting in
beside] A mark used in printing ; thus ( ),
inclosing words in a sentence which may be
omitted without injury to its grammatical con-
struction.
Pares cum paribus facilllme congregantur.
[L.] Birds of a feather flock together.
Par excellence. [Fr.] Pre-eminently.
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364
PARO
Parget, Pargetting. [From L. paries, parietis,
a wall.} (Arch.) Plaster-work, decorated with
figures in relief or sunk in the surface.
Parhelion. [Gr. irapfaios, near the sun.] A
mock-sun. Halos are usually attended by a
horizontal white circle, with brighter spots near
their intersection with this circle ; these spots
&K parhelia. (Paraselene.)
Pariah. (Farias.)
Parian. A fine porcelain clay, used for making
statuettes, etc. (from its resembling Parian
marble).
Parian Chronicle. A chronological register,
giving the chief events in Gr. Hist, to about
the middle of the third century B.C., found in
the island of Paros, and now included in the
English collection of Arundelian marbles.
Parian verse. Iambic verse, Archilochus, the
first great master of it, having been a native of
the island of Paros.
Parian ware. A delicate yellowish white
ware, nearly approaching porcelain, invented
about 1845. It shrinks seventy-five per cent, in
firing.
Parias. The lowest class of inhabitants in
some parts of India, who have no caste. The
word is sometimes applied to all who do not
belong to the four Hindu castes, the members
of which are an extremely small minority of the
population. Hence pariah = any outcast.
(Caste.)
Parietal parts. [L. paries, parietis, a wall.}
1. (Anal.) Those which inclose cavities; e.g.
P. bones form the sides and upper parts of the
cranium. 2. (Bot.) Growing from the lining
of anything ; e.g. the placentce of the poppy,
from the walls of the ovary.
Paring and burning. (Agr.) Paring the
root-matted surface off land, and then burning
it to prepare the soil for ploughing.
Paripassu. [L., with equal pace.} Evenly,
or together.
Paris, Judgment of. This phrase refers to
the myth of the golden apple which, as not
being bidden to the feast, Eris, the Greek
goddess of strife, threw down on the banquet-
table at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, with
an inscription denoting that it was a gift for
the fairest. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite at
once asserted each her claim. Zeus appointed
Paris, son of the Trojan Priam, and husband
of CEnone, the judge ; and the prize was by him
adjudged to Aphrodite, who promised him the
fairest of women as his wife. This woman was
Helen, whose abduction by Paris from the house
of Menelaos led to the war between the Greeks
and the Trojans, and the destruction of Ilion.
Parish. [Gr. irapoiKia, a neighbourhood.}
Originally a civil division ; then the district or
diocese of the bishop ; afterwards an eccle-
siastical division of a town or district placed
under the ministry of one pastor. In England
they are mentioned as early as the reign of
Edgar, 970.
Parisian Massacre. (Bartholomew, St., Mas-
sacre of.)
Park. [Fr. pare, an inclosiirc, L.L. parcus.]
The artillery P. is the place where the guns
and tumbrils are collected in a camp ; and the
engineer P. the depot for intrenching tools,
pontoons, and engineer stores.
Parker's Bible. (Bible, English.)
Parliament. (Addled Parliament; Conven-
tion ; Long Parliament ; Mad Parliament ; Par-
liament, Devil's ; Parliament, Drunken ; Parlia-
ment, The Good ; Provisions of Oxford. )
Parliament, Barebone's. (Barebone's Parlia-
ment.)
Parliament, Devil's. The Parliament con-
vened at Coventry [by Henry VI., 1459. So
called as having attainted the Duke of York and
his supporters.
Parliament, Drunken. The Parliament as-
sembled at Edinburgh, 1661.
Parliament, Long. (Long Parliament.)
Parliament, Mad. (Provisions of Oxford.)
Parliament, Privilege of. This term denotes
the privileges of the several members of either
House, enjoyed by virtue of their seats. To a
great extent they are customary ; and the
Houses themselves are the only tribunals by
which questions arising on this subject can be
tried. Among these privileges are freedom of
speech in debate, and freedom from arrest in
civil suits. The Lords possess further the privi-
lege of voting by proxy and of entering protests
against measures of which they disapprove.
Parliament, Bump. (Long Parliament.)
Parliament, The Good, 1376. Opposed and
set itself to reform the corruption and mis-
government of Edward III. at the decline of his
life ; banished Alice Perrers, etc. ; marking a
new stage of opposition to illegal government.
Parliament-heel. (Naut. ) Spoken of a vessel
slightly careened by shifting the ballast, etc., so
as to clean the exposed part of her bottom.
Parmenianists. (Eccl Hist.) The Donatists
were sometimes so called, from Parmenianus,
Bishop of Carthage, one of their chief leaders.
Parnassus. A mountain in Greece, sacred to
Phcebus and the Muses. On its southern side
was Delphi with its oracle, and the Castalian
spring. Hence steps to Parnassus denotes helps
towards proficiency in poetry.
Parnassus, Grass of. (Bot.) Beautiful bog
plants (said to have been produced on Mount
P.). Parnassia palustris, ord. Droseracece,
common in bogs, especially among mountains of
N. Britain.
Par nobile fratrum. [L.] A noble pair of
brothers (Horace).
Parochia. Corr. of PSrada. (Paroikia.)
Parody. [Gr. irapcfb'ia.] A composition in
which grave or serious writings are burlesqued
by exaggerating their characteristic features.
Prose writings are seldom parodied.
Paroikia. [Gr. irapoiKia.} At first a congre-
gation of strangers (i Pet. ii. ll) ; a bishop
being set over the P. , and eirfer/coiros and irapoiKia.
being correlative terms, while Dixccsis [5iof-
xi\ais\ = a parish. But in the seventh or eighth
century parish churches being frequently founded
in villages, parochia (q.v.) came to mean the
presbyters cure, and dicecesis, diocese.
PARO
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Parole, Parol. [Fr. parole, L. parabola.] 1.
In Law, word of mouth, a parol agreement being
contrasted with a written one. 2. In military
language, the verbal pledge of a prisoner to
reappear when called for. 3. Secret watchword
given only to commanders, to enable parties to
pass the guards in a camp. (Countersign.)
Paronomasia. [Gr.] (Rhet.) The use of the
same word in different senses in a single sen-
tence, or the opposition to each other of words
similar in sound. A kind of play, or punning.
Paronymous. [Gr. irap(avv/j.os.] (Gram.)
Words of similar derivation ; as man, mankind,
manhood.
Parotitis, or Humps. (Med.) Inflammation
of the parotid gland [Gr. irapuTts, from irapd,
near, and o5s, wr6s, the ear],
Parqueterie. [Fr. parquet, the bar of a court
of justice, wooden flooring.] Parquetry, inlaid
wooden flooring.
Parr. [Perhaps Gael, bradan.] A small fish
found where salmon congregate. Whether it be
young salmon, or a spec, of trout, has been
doubted.
Parrals, or Parrels. (Naut.) Bands of rope
or iron collars on which the yards travel up or
down a mast. P. -ropes, etc. , various devices for
fastening yards to masts.
Parricide. [L. parricida, from pater, a father,
csedo, / kill.] Properly the murder or mur-
derer of a father, but often extended to the mur-
der of any near relation, and in some countries
to that of distinguished and sacred persons.
English law treats it as simple murder.
Parsee. (Guebers.)
Parsing. In Gram., the resolution of a sen-
tence into its parts [L. partes].
Parson. [L. persSna ecclesise.] In Law, one
who has full possession of the rights of a paro-
chial church, and, as such, is a corporation sole.
(Hector.)
Parted, Parly. [O.Fr. parti, divided.'] (Her.)
Divided by a line or lines in the direction of one
or more of the honourable ordinaries ; as, parted
per pale and per bend sinister, which signifies
that the escutcheon is divided by a vertical line
down the middle (per pale), and a diagonal line
from the sinister chief to the dexter base (per
bend sinister).
Parterre. [Fr . ] The pit in a French theatre ;
so called because originally meaning that ground
which spectators stood upon in front of a stage
erected in the yard of an inn, where formerly
performances often took place. So pit recalls
the fact of representations often taking place,
with us, in cockpits.
Parthenogenesis. [Gr. irapBevos, a virgin,
ytvetris, origin.] Professor Owen's term, mean-
ing (i) the production of successive procreative
generations from a single ovum, the partheno-
genetic individual being either sexless or virgin
females ; meaning also (2) propagation by a
plant or animal by self-division, by gemmation
from within or without, or by any other method
than impregnation.
Parthenon. [Gr.] The temple of the virgin
s] Athena, on the Acropolis at Athens.
The chief sculptures taken from it form the Eng-
lish collection known as the Elgin marbles.
Parthenopaean Kepublic. Naples.
Parthian retreat. The Parthians were able
to discharge their arrows while riding at full
speed from the enemy. Hence a Parthian
retreat is one which practically prevents pursuit.
Particeps crinunis. [L., a sharer of guilt,]
(Leg. ) An accessory to crime.
Participants. [L. participate, to share.] An
order of knighthood founded bySixtus V., 1586,
in honour of the Virgin of Loretto. It soon
came to an end.
Particle. [L. particula, a small part.] In
Math. Phys. , a portion of matter having mass
and position, but so small that its dimensions do
not come into consideration.
Particular Baptists. (Particularists.)
Particularists. (Theol.) Those who hold
the doctrine of particular reprobation and salva-
tion. Such are the Particular Baptists. (Uni-
versalists.)
Particular propositions. In Logic, proposi-
tions which affirm or deny anything of only cer-
tain members of a class ; as, " Some men are
truthful" or "are not truthful."
Partidas, Las Siete. [Sp., The Seven Parts.]
An ancient Spanish code of laws drawn up in
the thirteenth century ; so called from the num-
ber of its chief divisions.
Partington, Mrs. Speaking of the rejection of
the Reform Bill, in 1831, by the House of Lords,
Sydney Smith compared the Lords to Mrs.
Partington trying with her mop to keep out the
waves of the Atlantic. The incident is said to
have occurred at Sidmouth in a great storm
which flooded Mrs. Partington's house, with
many others.
Partisan. [Fr. pertuisane, L. pertundere,
pertusum, (o pierce.] A kind of pike with which
officers were armed in some regiments as late as
the time of Marlborough.
Partners. (JVaut.) Thick plank-frames
round the masts, capstan, etc., to support them,
bolted to the deck-beams.
Part owners. In Law, persons holding pro-
perty (chiefly in ships) in shares, without liability
for each other's engagements.
Partridges. (Naut.) Grenades fired from
mortars.
Partridge-wood. A Brazilian variegated wood
used in cabinet-work.
Parturition. [L. parturio, 7 am in labour.]
A bringing forth of young.
Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.
[L.] A mouse is the outcome of a mountain's
labour (Horace).
Party wall. (Arch.) A wall built upon the
joint lands of two tenants or owners.
Parvise, or Paradise. [The L. paradlsus, and
Gr. irapdSfiffos, Skt. paradesa, represent the
Heb. pardes, Ar. firdans.] 1. A church porch.
2. A room over the porch. 8. An open space
before the entrance of a church,
Parvum parva decent. [L.] Small things
become the humble man.
Paschal. Relating to the Pascha, or Passover.
PASC
366
PATC
Paschal cycle. The cycle which determines
when Easter falls.
Pas de Calais. [Fr.] Straits of Dover.
Pas de souris. [Fr., mouse-steps.} (Mil.)
Masonry steps from a ditch up the counterscarp
to the ground above, placed in the most pro-
tected angles.
Pasha. In the Turkish empire, a title of
honour bestowed on the ministers and officers
of the sultan, more especially on the governors
of provinces termed pashaliks. The higher
pashas have three horse-tails carried before
them as standards, the lower have two ; and are
hence known as pashas of two tails or three tails
respectively.
Pasigraphy. [Gr. iras, a!/, ypdfa, I write.} A
word invented to denote the imaginary language
which is one day to be written and spoken by all
nations. This was the idea of Leibnitz and of
Bishop Wilkins in the time of Charles II.
Paspy, i.e. Passe-pied. [Fr. passe, L. passus,
a step.} A kind of minuet, in triple time, of
French origin, popular in Queen Elizabeth's
time and for some time after.
Pasqueflower. (Bot.) A gen. of plants, ord.
Ranunculaceae ; Anemone pulsatilla, a native of
our chalky pastures ; having violet -blue flowers
about Easter-time [Paque, formerly Pasque].
Pasquinade. [It. pasquinata.] A satire or
libellous criticism ; so called from a statue of a
gladiator, dug up at Rome, and named by the
people Pasquino. To this statue and to another
called Marforio, satirical placards were affixed at
night. These frequently bore the form of a dia-
logue between the two statues, and reflected on
the Roman Church and court.
Pasquino and Marforio. (Pasquinade.)
Passacaglia. (Chaconne.)
Passant. [Fr.] (Her,} Passing or walking.
Passaree, or Passarado. (Naut. ) A rope by
which the clews of the foresail are hauled out to-
wards tail-blocks on the booms, so as to extend
its foot when before the wind with lower stud-
ding-booms out.
Passed boys. \Naut.~) Those who have
passed through a training-ship.
Passement. [Fr.] In the history of lace, a
term applied as far back as the beginning of the
seventeenth century to every variety of lace.
Mrs. Palliser, History of Lace.
Passe-partout. [Fr.] 1. An engraving of
an ornamental border, on metal or wood, the
centre of which was cut out to allow the insertion
of another engraving to which the border formed
a frame. 2. A master-key.
Passeres. (Ornithology.)
Passe-volant. (Naut.) 1. A Quaker, or
wooden gun. 2. Any movable big gun.
Passim. [L., everywhere. ,] In all parts of a
book.
Passionists. A congregation styling them-
selves Discalced Clerks of the Passion, founded
by St. Paul of the Cross, 1728, for the purpose
of giving retreats and holding missions.
Passion Sunday. The Fifth Sunday in Lent,
being the Sunday before Palm Sunday ; often
so called by the Latins especially (Wheatly) :
Passion Week being the last week in Lent, com-
mencing with Palm Sunday ; called also Great
Week and Holy Week.
Paste. [It. pasta.] 1. In pottery or porce-
lain, clay as prepared and mixed ready for use.
It is distinguished into Hard P. and Soft P. ; e.g.
stoneware bottles and ordinary flower-pots re-
spectively, in pottery. Similarly in porcelain,
S. P. can, H. P. cannot, be easily cut with a
file ; but the line is a difficult one to draw.
H. P. stands heat better than S. P. does. Glazes
generally vary in hardness with the pastes. 2.
Artificial gems ; glass containing an extra pro-
portion of metallic oxide.
Pasteboard. A stout substance, formed of
sheets of paper pasted together and pressed.
Pastel. [Fr.] 1. A coloured crayon. 2. Woad.
Pastern, Pastern-joint. [Fr. pasturon; and
this from pature, a tethering-cord for animals
pasturing.] That part of the leg of a horse be-
tween the joint next the foot and the hoof.
Johnson.
Pasticcio. [It., a pasty.} 1. In design, a
patchwork from two or more originals ; also, a
picture imitating another artist's style and colour-
ing. 2. In literature, a medley. (Compare Far-
rago ; Olla podrida.)
Pastille. [Fr.] A small cone, made of benzoin
and other aromatic substances, for fumigating a
room.
Paston Letters. A valuable collection of
original letters of the Paston family in Norfolk,
ranging from the reign of Henry VI. to that of
Henry VII. inclusively.
Pastorale. [It. , pastoral.} (Music.) A melody
or set composition, generally in time ; of
simple, rustic character ; the words, if any, re-
lating to pastoral life or incident.
Pastoral Epistles. In the New Testament,
I and 2 Tim., and Epist. to Titus.
Pastoureaux. [O.Fr., shepherds.} (Hist.)
Peasants who took up arms, during the absence
of St. Louis of France on his Crusade, under
a Cistercian monk, who called himself Jacob,
Master of Hungary. Another insurrection, so
named, broke out seventy years later.
Pastourclles. (Troubadours.)
Patache. (Naut.) A Portuguese tender,
armed and swift, for carrying treasures ; 200 to
300 tons burden.
Patallah. (Naut.) An Indian baggage or
cattle boat.
Patamar. (Naut.) Old class of Indian advice-
boats, swift and roomy, about 76 feet long by
21 feet broad, and 1 1 feet deep, with a prow-
stern.
Patavinity. [L. patavlmta, -tern.] The use
of provincial idioms in speech is sometimes so
called, from the fact that the historian Livy, who
is said to have had this fault, was born at the
provincial town of Patavium (Padua). It cannot,
however, be said that Livy's faults have ever
been pointed out clearly.
Pataxos. (Naut.) A small Spanish boat,
formerly used as an advice-boat.
Patchouly. [Hind.] A scent distilled from a
Malayan plant.
PATE
367
PAUP
Fate, Dure, Tendre. (Paste.)
Patella. [L., a small dish.} (Anat.) The
knee-cap ; a sesamoid (q.v.) bone, heart-shaped;
the apex being downwards, anteriorly convex.
Paten. [L. patena.] (Eccl.) The stand or
saucer on which the chalice rests ; or the plate
in which the bread is placed, in the Eucharistic
Office.
Patent. [L. patentem, open.} An act of
the executive, by which some exclusive privilege
is granted to an individual or a company ; so
named as being in the form of an advertisement
to all men. Political or other privileges, such
as those which constitute a man a bishop or a
peer, are thus granted.
Paterfamilias. [L.] The father or head of a
family.
Paterines. [L. Paterinl.] (Eccl. Hist.) A
name given to the Western Manichaeans (Milman,
Hist, of Latin Christianity, bk. ix. ch. 8), and
also by the married clergy of Milan to the
monkish party in the controversy respecting
clerical marriage (ibid., bk. vi. ch. 3).
Pater noster. The Latin name of the Lord's
Prayer, from its first two words.
Pater patratus. [L.] The chief of the
Fetials.
Pater patrlae. [L.] Father of his country.
Pathology. [Gr. ira,0o\oyinr], sc. T^XJ/TJ.] The
art or science which treats of diseases.
Patibulary. Belonging to a Patibulum.
Patibulum. [L.] 1. A fork-shaped yoke
placed on the neck of criminals, to which the
hands were tied. 2. The transom of a cross.
Patina. [L.] In Numismatics, the fine rust
with which coins become covered by lying in
peculiar soils, and which is regarded as orna-
mental. It varies greatly in colour, and is, in
fact, a natural varnish, not producible by any
human art.
Patois. [(?) Corr. from an older form, patrois,
L.L. patriasis, belonging to patria, country ;
hence the speech of nations.] A French word,
used generally to denote dialects of the lower
classes. Applied also to local dialects ; e.g. the
French of the Channel Islands or of Provence.
Patonce. [Fr. patte d'once, leopard" s paw.}
(Her.) Having its ends terminated in leopards'
paws.
Patres Conscripti. (Conscript Fathers.)
Patria potestas. [L.] In Rom. Law, a
father's control over his legitimate and his
adopted children; at first giving him their
property, and even power of life and death ;
but much diminished afterwards, especially under
the emperors.
Patriarch. [Gr. iraTpiapx^ frorn irar-fip, a
father, and &px<*> I rule.} A name given, in Acts
vii. 8, to the sons of Jacob ; but more especially
applied to the bishops of the most important
cities of the Roman empire, as Rome, Con-
stantinople, Antioch, Alexandria.
Patriarchal, Cross (because carried before
patriarchs). A cross formed of an upright piece
with two smaller cross-pieces more than half-
way up, the higher cross-piece being the shorter.
Patricians. [L. patres, fathers.} (Hist.}
The original body of Roman citizens, known as
\hQ populus [Gr. ir6\ts], as opposed to the /Mr
[irA7j0os], the inferior crowd, which gradually
acquired civic rights.
Patrick, St., Order of. An Irish order of
knighthood, founded by George III., in 1783.
Patripassians. [L. pater, father, patior, /
suffer.} (Eccl. Hist.) Those who held that it
was the Father who suffered at the Crucifixion.
(Noetians; Sabellians.)
Patris est films. [L., he is his father's son.}
A chip of the old block.
Patrol [Fr. patrouille, formerly patouille,
from It. pattuglia, a night watch.} (Mil.) A
party of soldiers who, in field operations, are
constantly moving along the line of advanced
sentries, searching for intelligence, and keeping
up the communications. In garrison they pre-
vent soldiers from creating disturbances in the
streets.
Patron. [L. patronus, from pater, father.}
In ancient Rome, the correlative term to Client.
Patronage. In Eccl. Law, the right of pre-
sentation to a benefice.
Patronymic. [Gr. irarpiiivv/j.iK6s, from Trarrjp,
and Svona, a name.} A name designating a
person by reference to an ancestor immediate or
remote, as Pelides for Achilles, son of Peleus,
etc.
Patroon. [D.] An owner (patron) of land,
with rights of entail under the Dutch govern-
ments of New York and New Jersey.
Pattee, Cross. [Fr. patte, from patte, a paw.}
A cross formed of four equal arms, growing
much wider towards the ends.
Pattern. [Fr. patron.] A full-sized model of
a metal casting, commonly made of wood, and
in several pieces, by which the mould is formed
for receiving the melted metal. (Ratchet.)
Pauldron. Overlapping plates of metal,
working on rivets, covering the shoulder [Fr.
epaule] at the exposed junction of the body and
arm pieces.
Paulianists. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Paul of Samosata, Bishop of Antioch, in the
third century, who held Sabellian opinions.
Fanlicianism. (Paulicians.)
Paulicians. (Eccl. Hist. ) A Christian sect,
which seems to have arisen in Armenia in the
ninth century, and to have adopted the name of
Paulus, one of their leaders, to disavow con-
nexion with the Manichaeans. Their opinions
are known only from the accounts given by their
opponents, who charge them with dualism
(Ahriman). A colony of Paulicians spread west-
wards, and has been supposed to be connected
with the Albigenses.
Paullo majora canamus. [L.] Let its sing a
higher song (take a higher range) (Virgil).
Pauls, or Pawls. [Welsh pawl, a pole, or stake.}
(Naut. ) Pieces of wood or iron fastened to the
capstan, or windlass, and falling into notches, so
as to prevent it from recoiling.
Paunch. [Fr. panse, L. panticem.] The
first stomach of ruminants.
Paune. [N.-Amer. Ind.] (Pone.)
Pauperes Christi. (Biblia pauperum.)
PAUP
368
PECU
Pauperis, In forma. [L.] (Leg.) The court
has power, under certain circumstances, to
admit a man to sue or defend in the character of
a poor person, counsel and attorneys being
granted free of charge. (Dispauper.)
Pauperism. In Law, the condition of those
who are dependent for their maintenance on the
aid of the public, this aid being supplied by
funds raised by rates levied on the ratable value
of landed property, and on tithes and rent-charges.
The first statute for the relief of the poor was
passed in the reign of Edward VI., 1547.
(Overseers of the poor.)
Pavan. [(?) L. pavo, a peacock.] A slow and
stately dance, still in use in Spain.
Pavise. [Fr. pavois.] In mediaeval warfare,
a large shield used by troops assailing the walls
of fortresses.
Pavoninse. [L. pavo, -vein, peacock.] (Ornith.)
Birds of the peacock sub-fam. (as the Argus
pheasant). India, Thibet, China, and islands.
Fam. Phasianldae, ord. Gallinse.
Pawn. [L. pannus, a cloth, a piece of cloth-
ing being the readiest article to give in pledge.]
Something given as security for the repayment
of money.
Pawn. [O.Fr. pieton, a footman] One of
the least valuable pieces in chess. (Peonage.)
Pax. [L.] 1. (Myth.) The Roman goddess
of peace. 2. A small image of the Saviour, to
which the people, on leaving the church, gave
the kiss of peace. 3. A metallic plate with a
crucifix engraved on it, called also osculatorium,
used for the same purpose.
Pax vobiscum. [L.] Peace be with you.
Pay, To. [Fr. ^OIK, pitch] (Naut.) To P. a
seam, to pour pitch and tar, etc., into it after
caulking. (Devil.) To P. a mast or yard, to dress
it with oil, varnish, etc. To P. a ship's bottom,
to cover it with tallow, sulphur, resin, etc. To
pay [Fr. payer, L. pacare, to satisfy} away,
or out, to slack a rope off. To P. off, to fall off
from the wind. To P. rotind, to turn her head.
Pay-dirt. In America, auriferous earth rich
enough to pay the labour of extracting the metal.
Similarly, Pay-rock, quartz, or other rock that
will pay for mining. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Paynim, or Painim. [L. paganus, belonging
to a pagus, or country district] A word used
in the Middle Ages to denote all who were
not Christians, but applied especially to Mo-
hammedans.
Pays de Cocagne. [Fr.] A land like Utopia,
or El-Dorado. (Cocagne.)
Peace of God. (Truce of God.)
Peak, or Peek. (Afaut.) The top outer corner
of a sail extended by a gaff. To P., to raise
the gaff, or a lateen yard, nearer the per-
pendicular. To stay P. , or ride a short-stay P.
(A-peek.)
Pea-nut. (Arachis.)
Pearl. A kind of printing type, as
'. Proportion.
Pearlash (from its appearance). A partially
purified carbonate of potash, obtained by calcin-
ing the commercial potashes (q.v.}.
Pearl-edge. A projection on the side of some
ribbons ; also a narrow kind of thread edging to
be sewed on lace.
Bearl-powder, or Pearl-white. Subnitrate of
bismuth, used as a cosmetic.
Peasants' War. In Germany, a struggle of
peasants headed by Munzer, who demanded
community of goods (1524-25).
Peat. [O.E. bete, to mend or kindle a fire]
(Geol.) Decomposed vegetable matter, spongy,
fibrous or homogeneous, accumulated in moist
places, on mountains, and in plains.
Pebble. [A.S. pabol.] Round or oval stone,
water-worn on a beach.
Peccant. [L. peccantem, offending] (Med.)
Morbid, injurious to health.
Peccary. (Native name.) (Zoo!.) American
representative of swine. Two spec., one about
the size of a small pig, the other rather larger ;
gregarious. Paraguay to Texas. Dicotyles,
fam. Scudse, ord. Ungulata.
Peccavi. [L,., I have sinned] I confess.
Pecopteris. [Gr. 7re'/co>, I comb, irrepis, a fern]
(Geol.) Comb-fern, a fossil gen. of ferns, with
fronds divided into comb -like leaflets ; allied to
the living Pteris, bracken. Very abundant in the
coal-measures ; also in Jurassic.
Pecora. [L., cattle] Linnaean name for
ruminants.
Pectinate. (Bot.) Divided into close, narrow,
straight segments, like a comb [L. pecten, pec-
tmis] ; e.g. leaf of water-milfoil.
Pectine. [Gr. ift]itr6s, fixed, congealed] Ge-
latinous gum of ripe fruits and vegetables ; vege-
table jelly.
Pectoral. [L. pectoralis, from pectus, the
breast] A covering for the breast ; sometimes
applied to the morse, or clasp, of a cope.
Pectoriloquy. [L. pectus, -oris, the chest, loquor,
/ speak] (Med.) The clear sounding of the
voice from that part of the chest to which the
stethoscope is applied.
Pectous. [Gr. irt}KT As, fixed, compacted] Co-
agulated ; passing from the colloid to the more
crystalline condition.
Pectus facit theologum. [L.] It is heart, not
head, that makes a divine.
Peculation. Strictly, the stealing of Peculium;
but often used to mean embezzlement or malver-
sation generally.
Peculiar. In Eccl. Law, jurisdictions not
under the Ordinary of the diocese. Such are
the peculiars of archbishops, bishops, deans,
chapters, and the like.
Peculiar People. A modern sect, which takes
its stand on the literal interpretation of texts in
the Epistle of St. James and other parts of the
New Testament, and on this ground objects to
medical treatment of the sick.
Peculiars. Parishes exempted by the pope
from episcopal jurisdiction ; by an oversight not
restored at the Reformation, but remaining under
the sovereign, or, by custom or purchase, under
some other person ; now in nearly all dioceses
abolished.
Peculiars, Courts of. (Court, Christian.)
Peculium. [L., lit. property in cattle (pecus).]
PEDA
369
TELL
In Rom. Law, the savings of a son or slave with
the consent of the father or master.
Pedagogue. [Gr. iraiSayuiyo's, from ircus, boy,
and ay<ay6s, leader.'} 1. Properly a slave who
conducted his master's sons to school, and was
charged with the care of them generally. 2. A
schoolmaster.
Pedal curve. (Math.') The curve described
by the point of intersection of a line moving so
as always to touch a given curve with the perpen-
dicular drawn to it from a fixed point.
Pedalmaschi. A Turkish officer, who looks to
the interests of the sultan in cases of legacies.
Pedestal. [L. pes, pedis, afoot.} (Arch.}
The substructure to a column or a wall, the
height varying from a quarter to one-third of
the height of the column with its entablature.
(Order.)
Pedicel. (Peduncle.)
Pedlcularia. [L. pgdiciilus, a louse.'} General
term for skin-disease, when caused by lice, i.q,
Phtheiriasis.
Pedioulus. [L.] A foot-stalk ; but Pedtciihts,
Pedicellus, and Peduntulus are = the crawling
insect.
Pediment. [L. pes, pedis, a foot.} (Arch.)
The triangular mass, answering to a gable, over
the front of a building, portico, etc. It is fre-
quently filled with sculpture, as in the Parthenon.
(Elgin marbles. )
Pedometer. [L. pes, pedis, afoot, Gr. /j-erpov,
measure.] An instrument, like a watch, for
registering the number of steps taken in walking ;
and so of measuring the distance walked.
Pedropee. (Naut.) Setting one foot on a
seam, kicking the other backwards and forwards,
and then setting it down in front of the former.
A test of being sober.
Peduncle. [As if pgduncula, a coined dim. of
L. pes, pedis, afoot.} (Bot.) A flower-stalk.
Pedicels [pedlculus], the small branches into
which a P. is sometimes divided.
PeeL 1. [Fr. pelle, L. pala, a shovel.} A
broad iron shovel with a long wooden handle,
used by bakers. 2. A T-shaped piece of wood
with a long handle, for hanging up the sheets
of a book to dry, etc. 3. [Celt.] (Geog.) A
stronghold.
Peep. As in Isa. viii. 19 ; to cry like a little
bird [L. pipio, I chirp}.
Peeping Tom. In the Coventry legend, the
lad who saw the Lady Godiva as she rode
through the town. The incident belongs to the
story of the Master Thief.
Peep o' Day Boys. In Ir. Hist., insurgents,
in 1784, who visited the houses of their enemies
at daybreak.
Peepul. (Botree.)
Peer. [L. par, Fr. pair, eqiial.} 1. In com-
mon law, those who belong to the same rank of
life, trial by jury being said to be trial by peers
or equals ; a relic of feudal usage, by which all
classes were banded together for self-defence and
the settling of quarrels. 2. In a more limited
sense, the highest class in a country, as the peers
of France or of England. (Paladins; Parlia-
ment, Privilege of.)
Peert, Peart. Brisk, lively, (?) a corr. of pert.
An old word, still provincial in some parts of
England ; used in America both in a good and
in a bad sense. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Pegasus. [Gr. irriyaa-os, said to be so named
as appearing first near the -nrjyai, or fountains,
of the ocean.] 1. (Myth.} The horse which,
with Chrysaor, the lord of the golden siwrd,
sprang from the head of Medusa, the mortal
Gorgon. This horse Bellerophon caught, and
on it rode to encounter the Chimera. A blow
of_its hoof is said to have discovered Hippo-
crene, the horse-fountain, on Mount Helicon,
during the contest of the Muses with the PierT-
des, the nine daughters of Pieros. 2. (Zoo/.)
Pacasse, or Pagasse. Spec, of buffalo. \V. and
Central Africa.
Peh-tun-tze. [Chin, peh-tun, white paste, with
the dim. tze added.] Strictly, the fusible mate-
rial of China paste (Pegmatite of some authors),
felspar partly decomposed ; vaguely, any white
material made up in small bricks, and used in
the manufacture of porcelain.
Peine forte et dure. [Fr., strong and hard
pain.} (Hist.) The name for the practice of
pressing with weights of iron prisoners who
refused to plead or answer.
Pekin. A word used in France by soldiers to
denote contemptuously all who are not military.
Pekinade (from Pekin). A woollen stuff with
silk stripes, for covering furniture.
Pekoe. [Chin, pikhaou.] A fine black tea
formed of the leaf-buds picked before they expand.
Pelagians. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Pelagius, a British monk of the fifth century,
who asserted that men inherit no depravity, and
that their own powers are sufficient for their
justification. The condemnation of Pelagius
by Innocent I. was reversed by his successor
Zosimus, who afterwards, in obedience to an
imperial rescript, anathematized his doctrine.
Eighteen bishops refused to condemn Pelagius
unheard, and appealed to a General Council.
Among these was Julianus, of Eclana, the re-
puted founder of Semi-Pelagianism, which as-
serted the necessity of divine grace for the
practice of holiness.
Pelerine. [Fr. , as being worn by pilgrims,
pelerin, It. pellegiino, L. peregrinus, from
per, across, agrum, field.} A long cape with ends
coming down in front.
Pele towers. Small towers or defences on the
Scottish borders, properly pile towers, pile being
used in the sense of fortress. (Peel.)
Pell. [L. pellis, a skin.} 1. The skin or
hide. 2. A roll of parchment.
Pellagra, [From L. pellis, the skin ; after the
analogy, probably, of pod-agra, chir-agra.] The
name of a loathsome skin-disease, accompanied
with mental phenomena, amongst them melan-
cholia, often suicidal ; once thought to be en-
demic in N. Italy, and to arise from the use of
maize as almost the only food ; but now known
to be due to a combination of poverty, insuffi-
cient nourishment, filth, toil, etc.
Pellet. [Fr. pelote, a ball of thread.} (Her.)
A black roundlet or disc.
21
PELL
370
PENG
Pellicle. [L. pellicula, a small skin.] A thin
skin or film, especially one formed on the surface
of solutions during evaporations.
Pellitory. [L. pSrldtaria, pSries, a wall.} (Hot.)
1. Wall pellitory ; native plant, P. officinalis,
ord. Urticacese ; with small reddish flowers, and
black shining fruit ; on old walls, heaps of rub-
bish. 2. P. of Spain, Anacyclus pyrethrum,
ord. Composite ; allied to chamomile, a power-
ful irritant ; valued in medicine.
Pells, Clerk of. An officer of the Exchequer,
who made certain entries on parchment rolls
[O.Fr. pel, skin, L. pellis] ; the office a sinecure
place for life, worth 3000 a year, tenable with a
seat in the House of Commons ; abolished 1834.
Pelops. (Tantalize.)
Pelotage. [Fr.] Bales of Spanish wool.
Pelt. [Ger. pelz.] The skin of a beast with
the hair on. Pelt-wool, wool plucked from the
pelts of sheep after they are dead.
Peltasts. [Gr. TreATaaraj.] (Hist.) Ancient
Greek infantry, light armed ; so called from
carrying the ire'Arrj, or target.
Peltate leaf. [L. peltatus, furnished with
a small light shield (pelta).] (Bat.) Having
the stalk inserted in the middle, like an arm
holding a shield ; e.g. pennywort, garden nas-
turtium.
Peltry. [Fr. pelleterie.] The furred skins of
animals.
Pelvis. [L. , a basin.} (Anat.) The bony ring,
composed of the two ossa innoirimata (q.v.) and
sacrum and coccyx ; which contains various
viscera, and transmits the weight of the spinal
column to the lower extremities.
Pemmican. (N.-Amer. Ind. name.) A far-
famed provender in the wilds of N. America,
made by pounding the choice parts of the meat
very small, dried over a slow fire or in the frost,
and put into bags made of the skin of the slain
animal, into which a portion of melted fat is
then poured ; with proper care it will keep a
long time. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Penal servitude. In Law, the punishment
now substituted for transportation beyond the
seas.
Penance. (Penitence.)
Penang lawyer. In Naut. slang, a cane.
Fenarth beds. (Rhaetic formation.)
Penates. [L.] The ancient Latin household
gods ; so called as guarding the penus, or store
of food. This general term included the Lares.
There were P. of the state or city, as well as of
families.
Pencel. [L. penicillum, a little tail.} (Naut.)
A small streamer, or pennon.
Pencil. Until comparatively lately kepts its
classical meaning of a painter s bruih [L. peni-
cillum].
Pencil of rays. An assemblage of rays pro-
ceeding from a luminous point.
Pend, Penock. Oil-cake (so called in India).
Pendant. [L. pendeo, / hang.} 1. In Eng.
Arch., (i) a polygonal piece of stone or timber,
richly ornamented, hanging from a vault or roof.
Some of the most elaborate specimens are those
in Henry VII. 's Chapel, Westminster. (2) A
part hanging from the label resembling the drops
in the Doric frieze. (3) A companion picture or
work of art. 2. (Naut.) (i) I.q. Pennant.
(Flag.) (2) Single or double ropes, to which
blocks or tackles are attached. (3) Rudder P.,
ropes fastened to the rudder by chains to pre-
vent its being lost if unshipped.
Pendente lite. [L.] Pending a suit, or trial.
Pendentive. [Fr. pendente, from L. pendeo,
I hang.} (Arch.) The portion of a vault be-
tween the arches of a dome.
Pendulum [L. pendfilus, hanging} ; Ballistic
F. ; Compensation P. ; Compound P. ; Conical
F. ; Gridiron P.; Mercurial P.; Simple P. A
suspended body that swings backwards and for-
wards. If the body is treated as a particle, and
the thread by which it is suspended as weightless
and perfectly flexible, the combination, which is
purely ideal, is a Simple P. Any actual swing-
ing body is a Compound P. The time of oscil-
lation of a compound P. is found by ascertaining
the length of the corresponding simple P. The
end of a line as long as the simple P. drawn
from the point of suspension through the centre
of gravity is the centre of oscillation ; so long as
this point remains fixed, the time of oscillation
will be unchanged. A P. whose parts are so
contrived that the centre of oscillation remains
fixed when the parts expand or contract by
change of temperature, is a Compensation P. If
the compensation is effected by suspending the
bob from a system of parallel bars of steel and
brass, it is a Gridiron P. ; if by suspending a
vessel containing mercury by a steel rod, it is a
Mercurial P. When the bob is made to move
continuously in a circle, so that the rod describes
a conical surface, we have a Conical P. Such a
contrivance is competent to regulate the motion
of clockwork, though it is not a swinging body.
The Ballistic P. is used for determining the
velocity of shot ; it consists either (i) of a
suspended block of wood into which the shot is
fired ; the velocity being inferred from the arc
through which the block is observed to swing ;
or (2) of a framework suspended on knife-edges
and carrying the gun ; the velocity of the shot is
inferred from the arc of the gun's recoil.
Penelope's web. (Myth.) A web woven
each day by Penelope, the wife of the absent
Odysseus (Ulysses), in the Odyssey, and undone
each night ; as a device for baffling her suitors,
who were told that she would choose one of
them as her husband when the web was finished.
Fenests. [Gr. veveffrcu, labourers.} (Hist.)
The ancient Thessalian serfs, who answered to
the Spartan Helots.
Penetralia. [L.] The recesses or inmost
parts of a temple, house, or other building.
Penfish. (Squid.)
Penguin. [Celt, pen gwenn, white head, from
the white patch or line between the bill and the
eye, the head itself being black.] (OrnitJi.} Fam.
of Southern birds corresponding to auks (Alcidas)
in the North. Their wings are flippers, serving
as paddles in the water, and sometimes as fore
legs on the land. Fam. Spheniscidte, ord.
Anseres.
PENT
371
Penitence, Penance. [L. pcenitentia.] In the
Latin Church, (i) one of the seven sacraments ;
(2) also the works enjoined on the penitent by
his confessor.
Penitential Psalms, The Seven. Ps. vi.,
xxxii., xxxviii., li., cii., cxxx., cxliii.
Penitentiaries. 1. In the ancient Church, pres-
byters appointed to receive private confessions,
in aid of, not in prejudice to, public discipline.
2. In foreign cathedrals, a confessor appointed
by the bishop.
Penitentiary, Grand. An officer of the Roman
Church, usually a cardinal, commissioned by the
pope to grant absolution in cases reserved for the
papal authority, such as dispensations for mar-
riages, etc.
Penitents. [L. pcemtentes.] Certain re-
ligious fraternities in the Latin Church have
been so called, the most prominent being the
White Penitents, who appeared in N. Italy in
1399 ; so called from their white dress.
Pennant. (Flag.)
Pennant-ship. (Naut.) 1. A commodore's
ship. 2. A Government ship. 3. A merchant
ship in a convoy, delegated to assist in keeping
it together.
Pennon. [Fr., from L. penna, a feather.}
In the Middle Ages, the pointed flag of a knight
who had not reached the dignity of banneret.
Pennoncelle. The little streamer at the head
of the lance of a mounted lancer.
Pennyweight. The weight of the silver penny
in the time of Edward I. , equal to the twentieth
part of an ounce troy.
Pensionary, The Grand, of Holland. (Hist.)
The prime minister of the states of the province
of Holland. His office was for five years, and
he might be re-elected.
Penstock. Any wooden tube for conducting
water.
Pent-. [Gr. ireVre, five.]
Pent-, Penta-. (Che in.) A prefix denoting
that a salt contains five atoms [Gr. ireWf, five]
of the element thus marked ; as a pent-oxide,
pcnta-chloride, which contain five atoms of
oxygen, chlorine, in each molecule. ,
Pentacrinite. [Gr. ireWe, five, Rfivov, lily.]
(Geol.) A fossil crinoui (q>v.), with pentagonal
stem. Lias and Oolite principally. Pcntacrinus,
the living representative.
Pentagon. (Polygon.)
Pentalpha, or Solomon's seal. A Pythagorean
symbol ; magical ; mentioned by Lucan ; found
on Jewish stonework and on Greek coinage. A
five-pointed star, as if made by five Greek alphas :
"Solomon's," on account of the magical powers
widely attributed to him in the East.
Pentameter. [Gr. TtfvrdiJLfrpos, of five mea-
sures.] A verse consisting of five feet, and, with
a preceding verse of six feet called the hexa-
meter, making up the elegiac couplet.
Fentapolis. [Gr., with five cities.] The
Greek name for any district or region with five
cities. But the most prominent was the Pen-
tapolis of Cyrene, in Africa. Compare De-
capolis.
Pentaptych. A painting having many leaves ;
as the altar-piece of Van Eyck in the Church of
St. Bavon, in Ghent. (Diptych; Triptych.)
Pentateuch, [Gr. TlfVTartvxos, from ireVre,
five, revxos, in post-Alex. Gr., a book.] A
name given by the LXX. translators to the five
books, in one volume, of Moses ; the Jewish
name being Torah, the Lain.
Pentathlon. [Gr. , from ireWe, five, <H0\os,
a contest.] The collective name for the five
chief bodily exercises of the Greeks running,
leaping, quoit-throwing, javelin-hurling, and
wrestling. The Latin term is Quinquertium,
Penteconter. (Trireme.)
Pentecost. [Gr. -ir^vT^Koff-rus, fiftieth.] A
Jewish feast ; so called as being kept on the
fiftieth day after the Feast of the Passover ;
that is, the I5th of the month Nisan, and on the
next day after the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
As coming seven weeks after the Passover, it
was also called the Feast of Weeks.
Penult. [L. prcne ultima, almost last.] In
Gram, and Pros., the last syllable but one of
a word.
Penumbra. [L. pcene, nearly, umbra, shadow. ]
The shadow of an opaque body, as the earth or
moon, illuminated by a large distant body, as
the sun, consists of two conical regions : the one,
that within which no ray of light enters, viz.
the Umbra ; the other, which is entered by rays
from part only of the sun, is the Penumbra.
Peonage. [Sp. peonaje, from peon, one who
goes on foot.] A form of servitude intro-
duced into Mexico after the Spanish Conquest.
(Pawn.)
Peotta. (Nant.) A small vessel of the
Adriatic, propelled by sails and oars.
Peplus. [L., Gr. 7T7rA.oj.] An upper garment
worn anciently by Greek women. The P. of
Athena was carried yearly in procession at
Athens, and presented to the goddess, (Pan-
athenaic festival.)
Pepper-corn rent. The merest nominal rent,
as an acknowledgment of tenancy, in the case of
lands held rent free.
Pepper-pot. A W. -Indian stew of vegetables
and cassareep.
Pepsine. [Gr. TreVrco, / cook, digest.] A
special organic matter of the gastric mucous
membrane, and obtainable from it, on which its
digestive power depends.
Pepys' Memoirs andDiary. (Samuel P., 1632-
1703.) Written in a kind of cypher after his
retirement from the Secretaryship of the Ad-
miralty ; a most curious and minute picture of
contemporary persons and manners.
Per-. [L., through.] (Chem.) 1. Prefixed
to salts in -ate, denotes increase of oxygen, as a
per-chlorate, which contains more oxygen than
the chlorate. Hyper- [Gr. virep, over] has also this
force. 2. Prefixed to salts in -ide, denotes a
maximum of the element thus marked, as
per-chloride of iron contains more chlorine than
any other chloride of iron.
Perambulation of parishes, i.e. of boundaries,
to keep them in remembrance, or Beating
bottnds, is made, in some parishes, about
Ascension Day, by the minister, churchwardens,
PERA
372
PERI
and some parishioners. Originally psalms and
prayers were used. (Bogation days.)
Perambulator. [L. perambiilo, / it-averse.]
1. A way or distance measurer, a kind of ho-
dometer. (Pedometer.) 2. A child's carriage,
propelled from behind.
Per annum. [L.] By the year, yearly.
Per centum. [L.] By the hundred.
Percidae. [L. perca, a perch.'] (Ichth.) Fam.
of carnivorous fishes, as the common perch, fresh
and salt water. Universally distributed. Orel.
Acanthoptgrygii, sub-class Teleostei.
Per contra. [L.] On the other side ; a com-
mercial term.
Percussion. [L. perciitio, I strike.} (Med.)
The tapping of the surface of the body, especially
the chest, to learn, by the sound, the condition
of some internal organ below the part struck.
Percussion, Centre of. (Centre.)
Percy's Beliques of Ancient English Poetry,
published 1765. A collection of old minstrel
ballads of the Middle Ages, many existing in
MS. only, then for the first time systematically
examined ; by Bishop Percy, friend of Johnson ;
valuable in itself, and very important, as a
main cause of the revolution in English taste
and literature, which replaced artificial classicism
by romance.
Per diem. [L.] Daily.
Pere-la-Chaise. The most important cemetery
of Paris ; so called after the confessor of Louis
XIV., who had a house on its site.
Perennial. [L. pgrennis.] (Bot.) Opposed to
Annual and to Biennial, subsisting for a number
of years, though dying down yearly ; e.g. tubers
and bulbs.
Perennibranchiate. [L. perennis, perennial,
Gr. &pdyx"t, gills.} (Amphibia.)
Pereunt, et impiitantur. [L.] A common
motto on sun-dials : they, i.e. the hours, pass
away, and are placed to our account ; i.e. we
have to give account of them (Martial).
Per fas et nefas. [L., by fair means or foul.]
By hook or by crook ; through thick and thin.
Perfect number. (Math.) A number equal
to the sum of its divisors, including unity ; as,
28 = i + 2 + 4 + 7 + 14.
Perfervidum ingenlum. [L.] A too vehement
or enthusiastic temper.
Perfidus ille Deo, sed non et perfidus orbi.
[L., a man faithless to God, but not faithless to
the -world also.} So the Christian poet Pruden-
tius speaks of Julian the Apostate as being
"a lover of his country," and one who "de-
served the empire of the world " (vide Gibbon's
Decline and Fall, ch. xxii., ad fin.).
Perfoliate stem. (Bot.) One which apparently
pierces, goes through the leaf\\^. per folium] ; in
reality the lobes of the leaf are not only am-
plexicaul (q.v.), but grow together where their
margins come in contact. P. leaf, one through
which the stem passes ; e.g. yellow-wort, chlora.
Pergunnah. [Hind, pargana.] In British
India, a district comprising several villages, and
forming part of a zillah.
Peri. [Pers. perl, masc. and fern. (?) from
per, a wing = winged (Littre).] A fairy, good
genius, offspring of fallen spirits excluded at
present from paradise. (Fairies.)
Peri-. [Gr. irepi, around.]
Perianth. [Gr. irepi, around, &vOos, a flower.]
(Bot.) A floral envelope, in which calyx and
corolla, though often both present, are not easily
distinguished ; e.g. crocus, tulip, lily.
Peribolos. [Gr., from irepi, around, /3oA.\o>,
/ cast.] (Arch.) The walled inclosure of a
temple.
Pericardium. [Gr. r'b irepindpSiov.] (Anat.)
The membrane which surrounds the heart
[/capSia].
Pericarp. [Gr. irepi, around, itapir6s, fruit.}
(Bot. ) All that is around the fruit or the ripened
seed; i.e. usually the Epicarp [eiri, upon} or
outermost layer ; with Mesocarp, the middle
[fnfffos], and Endocarp [evSov, within], the
innermost. In peach, cherry, plum, M. is the
fleshy part, End. is the stone.
Perichondrium. [Gr. x^"8pos, cartilage, ]
Fibrous tissue, investing the cartilages.
Periolinal. [Gr. irepi, around, /cXiVco, I bend.]
(Geol.) Dome-shaped strata dipping away out-
wards in every direction, like basins placed one
over another. (Quaquaversal strata.)
Pericope. [Gr. ireputoirfi, a section.] (Theol.)
A passage of the Bible extracted for the purpose
of reading in any portion of the ritual.
Pericranium. [Gr. f) ireputpavios, sc. xi'rdjv,
clothing] (Anat.) The membrane which invests
the bones of the skull [icpaviov].
Periculosae plenum opus aleae. [L.] A task
of dangerous hazard (Horace).
Peridot. [Ar. feridet, a precious stone] A
variety of chrysolite. (Topaz.)
Peridrome. [Gr. irepi5pofj.os, from itepi, around,
Spfaos, a course.] (Arch.) In a Peripteral
temple, the space between the walls of the cella
and the columns.
Perigee. [Gr. irepiyetos, about or around the
earth.] The point of the moon's orbit nearest
the earth.
Perihelion. [Gr. irepi, about or around, ri\tos,
the sun] (Astron.) The point of the orbit
of planet or comet nearest the sun.
Perijove. [Gr. irepi, around, L. Jovem, Jupi-
ter.] (Astron.) The point in its orbit at which
any one of his satellites is nearest to Jupiter.
Periko. (Naut.) Bengalese boat of burden,
undecked.
Perils, or Perils of the sea. (Naitt.) Not
dangers, but accidents, unpreventable by care
and skill of the master and crew.
Perimeter. [Gr. irepi^erpos, the line forming
a circumference.] The length of the sum of the
sides of any inclosed space.
Per incuriam. [L.] By an oversight, through
want of care ; e.g. the Act which substituted the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for the
Court of Delegates created, per inc., a new
Final Court of Appeal in spiritual causes.
Period. [Gr. irepioo'os, a circuit.] 1. (Rhet.)
A sentence, the meaning of which cannot be fully
apprehended before its close. 2. (Math.) When
an algebraical or numerical expression consists
of a number of groups of terms, or when it has
PERI
373
TERR
a number of groups of values, each group con-
sisting of the same elements in the same order,
any one group is a P. ; as in the number
2*5732732732, etc., the group 732 is a period.
3. The time in which an harmonic motion goes
through one complete set of changes. 4. In
Printing, a completed sentence ; hence a full
stop.
Periodical colours. Such as recur according
to a fixed scale ; as in Newton's rings, and other
interference phenomena.
Periodic function ; P. time. One whose suc-
cessive values keep on recurring in the same
order. The P. time of a planet is the time in
which it makes one complete revolution.
Perioacians, or Ferioikoi. In Gr. Hist., the
freemen of the Laconian townships, as distin-
guished from the genuine Spartiates, or citizens
of Sparta itself.
Periosteum. [Gr. irepiJoreos, from trepl,
around, bareov, bone.] (Anat.) Membrane
which invests the bones generally.
Peripatetics. [Gr. 7repraT?jTi/c<{s.] The philo-
sophers of the school of Aristotle, who instructed
his pupils in a Trfpivaros, or covered walk, of
the Lyceum at Athens, but not, as has been sup-
posed, walking up and down during the whole
time of instruction.
Periphery. Circumference [Gr. irepiQepfia],
Periphrasis. [Gr.] (Xhet.) The use of
several words to denote a single object, which for
whatever reason it is thought better not to name.
Periplus. [Gr. TrepnrAous.] 1. Lit. a sailing
round, or circumnavigation. 2. The narrative
of such a voyage as the Periplus of Scylax*
(Skylax), in the time of Augustus, and of Cosmas,
called Indicopleustes from his voyages to the
East.
Peripteral. [Gr. irepforrepos.] (Arch.) A
building surrounded with a wing, aisle, or pas-
sage. With the ancient Greeks, a temple sur-
rounded by a single row of columns, those with
two rows being called dipteral.
Peris. (Peri.)
Periscians. [Gr. irepia-Kios, from irepl, and
ffKia, shadow.] In Geog., the inhabitants of the
Arctic and Antarctic circles, whose shadows
describe an entire circumference in their summer
season.
Periscopic. [Gr. Treptcr/coTrew, / look round.]
Viewing on all sides.
Periscopic spectacles. Those furnished with
meniscus lenses to increase the distinctness of
vision when objects are viewed obliquely.
Perissodactyla. [Gr. irepi<r<ro-5d/cTv;\.os, id.]
(Anat.) Having an odd number of toes, as the
horse, all being inclosed in a single envelope ;
a div. of Ungvilata.
Peristaltic [Gr. irtptffTa\TtK6s, clasping and
compressing'] action. (Mcd.) Especially of the
bowels ; that vermicular action, of alternate con-
traction and relaxation, by which their contents
are propelled throughout.
Peristyle. [Gr. irepurrvXiov, from iff pi, around,
(rrOAos, a column.'] (Arch.) A court, or clois-
ter, with columns on three sides.
Peritoneum. [Gr. ir*piT6va.iov, ir
stretch around.} (Ana/.) A large serous mem-
brane, more or less investing all the viscera lying
in the abdominal and pelvic cavities, and then
reflected upon the walls of the abdomen.
Perkinism (Dr. Perkins, inventor). The use
of metallic tractors (</.z<.).
Permanent rotation, Axis of. (Principal
axis.)
Permian system (developed in district of Perm,
Russia) (Geol.) = Lower New Red Sandstones +
magnesian limestones, marlslate, etc. ; in Germ,
called Dyas [Gr. 50ay, a group of two] ; cf.
the word Triassic.
Permissu superiorum. [L.] With the leave
of the superiors ; a phrase used in the Latin
Church for books issued with authority.
Permitte Divis caetera. [L. , leave the rest to
the gods (Horace).] Do your duty, and trust the
rest to God.
Permutations of things. The different orders
in which they can be arranged ; as, ab, ba, ac, ca,
be, cb, are the permutations of a, b, c, taken two
and two together.
Per my et per tout. In Law, joint-tenants
are said to be so seised, i.e. by the half and by
all ; each having entire possession of every
parcel of land as well as of the aggregate
whole.
Pernancy. [Norm. Fr. pcrner.] (Leg.) The
receipt or enjoyment of the profits of an estate,
the receiver being called the Pcrnor.
Pernoctation. [L. pernocto, I pass the night.}
1. (Med.) Passing the night in sleeplessness.
2. ( Theol. ) In watching and prayer.
Pernor. (Pernancy.)
Peroration. [L. perorationcm, a speaking
through; i.e. reaching the end of a speech.]
The last part of an oration, containing generally
a summary and application of the arguments.
Perpendicular. [L. perpendlculum, adj. -ari.s,
a plumb-line.] (Fortif.) The line drawn in-
wards at right angles to the centre of each side
of the polygon till it strikes the lines of defence
(q*v.) drawn from the angles of the polygon.
Perpendicular style. The latest style of
genuine English architecture ; also called Con-
tinuous. Its later or Debased form immediately
preceded or accompanied the Renaissance, or
classical revival. (Geometrical style.)
Perpendt stone. (Arch.) A stone which goes
through the walls ; also called Perpender, Per-
pend.
Perpeyn wall. A pier or buttress, built in
Perpendt ashlar.
Per recte et retro. (Music.) Lit. by forward
and backward ; said when the order may be
reversed ; e.g. Crotch's chant in G, the third
part being = first (and the fourth = second)
played backwards. (Inversion.)
Perron. [Fr. , for pierron, from picrre, a stone,
Gr. irerpa.] (Arch.) An external staircase,
steps leading to a first story.
Perruquier. [Fr.] One who makes perukes,
or wigs.
Perry. 1. [Fr. poire, from poire, a pear.} The
fermented liquor made from pears. 2. In Naut.
slang, a sudden squall.
PERS
374
PETI
Per saltum. [L.] By a leap (as when any
one is promoted to a high dignity without
passing through the intermediate grades).
Per se. [L., by itself.] In itself.
Persephone. [Gr.] (Myth.} The daughter
of Demeter, and wife of Hades. (Eleusuuan
Mysteries.)
Persian berries. A kind of yellow berries
used in dyeing.
Persian!. [It.] Venetian blinds.
Persian powder. The pulverized flowers of
Pyrellivum carneum, a native of the Caucasus ; a
valuable insecticide ; used in Russia, Persia,
Turkey, Britain, France.
Persian ware. A fine fayence (Gombroon)
approximating to porcelain brilliantly enamelled.
Persicot. [Fr., from L. persiciim, a peach.]
A liqueur made of the kernels of stone fruits.
Persiflage. [Fr. persifler, from per, the L.
per, an intens. particle, and siffler, to hiss,
whistle, L. sibflare, through a popular form
sifilare, according to Brachet.] Bantering,
quizzing.
Persia. A kind of dye obtained from lichens.
Persistent. [L. persist entem, remaining.]
(Bot.) Not falling off; as the petals of St. John's
wort, Hypericum.
Person. As in Acts x. 34 and elsewhere, " re-
specter of persons ; " the part or rdle in a play, L.
persSna being (i) a mask, (2) a part acted ; so
also Gr. irpocrwirov, i.e. with God the question is
not what person each sustains, but how.
Trench, Select Glossary.
Personable. 1. Graceful, or well formed, in
body. 2. In Law, able to maintain pleas in
court.
Personal equation. (Astron.) The correction
to be applied to an astronomical observation on
account of the peculiarities of the nervous system
of the observer at the time of observation. In
virtue of these organic peculiarities, one observer
will note the occurrence of a phenomenon (such
as the bisection of a star by a wire of a transit
instrument) some tenths of a second earlier or
later than another would note it.
Personal identity. (Identity, Personal.)
Personate flower. [L. persona, a mask.]
(Bot.) A labiate with compressed lips ; e.g. snap-
dragon.
Personnel. [Fr.] The body of persons em-
ployed in any occupation, as distinguished from
the materiel on which they work.
Perspective [L. perspectlvus, belonging to close
inspection], Aerial ; Isometrical P. ; Linear P.; P.
projection. The geometrical art of representing
on paper the appearance of a solid body as seen
by a single eye in a given position. If lines sup-
posed to be drawn from the eye to the boundaries
of the body are cut by a plane, their points of
intersection with the plane give the required re-
presentation, or its P. projection. The position of
the eye is the point of sight, or projecting point ;
the plane which in most cases is supposed to
be vertical is the plane of projection or of the
picture. Aerial P. refers to the gradations of
colours according to distance. (For Isometrical
P., -vide Iso-.)
Perth, Five Articles of. Voted by the Scotch
bishops at the General Assembly at Perth, 1618,
to serve as a basis for Liturgy and Canons.
Perturbation. [L. perturbatio, -nem, disorder.]
(Astron. ) An inequality in the motion of moon
or planet not included in the expression of
Kepler's laws, and arising, in the case of
primary planets, from their mutual gravitation ;
and in the case of the moon, from the unequal
attraction of the sun on the earth and moon.
Peruvian bark. I.q. cinchona (q.v.).
Peschito. [Syr.] The earliest Syriac version
of the Scriptures ; so called as being simple and
literal, rendering word for word. Introduced
into Europe in the sixteenth century.
Pessimism. (Theodicaea.)
Pessimist. (Optimist.)
Pestalozzian method of teaching. So far as
it can be given in a few words concrete, and
by means of objects themselves ; with graduated
lessons, personal study of individual children
and their separate minds, character, etc. To no
one has primary instruction been more indebted
than to Pestalozzi, of Zurich (1745-1827).
Petal. [Gr. vera\ov, a leaf.] (Bot.) One
of the parts of a corolla when this is made up
of many pieces ; when all in one piece, it is styled
monopetalous.
Petalism. [Gr. TreToAjoytos, from ire-ra.\ov, a
leaf.] In Gr. Hist., the Syracusan form of what
at Athens was known as Ostracism, leaves being
used by the voters instead of shells. The exile
also lasted only five years instead of ten.
Petard. [Fr.] (Mil.) Metal explosive case
formerly used for blowing open gates.
Petasus. [Gr. WTOO-OS.] (Gr. Ant.) A
broad-brimmed hat, used by travellers. Such
a hat with wings is an emblem of Hermes.
Petate. ( C entral Amer. name for a palm mat. )
Dried palm leaves or grass used for plaiting into
hats and mats.
Petechiae. [It. petecchia, L. petlgo, an erup
Hon.] (Med.) Purple spots of effused blood,
like flea-bites, in the skin, appearing in some
severe fevers, as typhus.
Peter-boat. (Naut.) A Thames and Med way
fishing-boat, about twenty-five feet by six feel,
shallow with sharp stem and stern, with a fish-
well amidships.
Peterloo Massacre. The dispersal by the
military of a large meeting, chiefly of operatives,
held in St. Peter's Field, Manchester, July 16,
1819, to agitate for Parliamentary reform. (P.
a sarcastic name, suggested by Waterloo.)
(Blanketeers.)
Peter's fish. A haddock ; so called because
the spots on either side are supposed to be the
mark of St. Peter's fingers impressed on the fish
which he caught to pay the tribute.
Peter's pence. Originally a voluntary offering
by the faithful to the Roman see. Afterwards
levied from every house, under the name of
Romefeoh, or Romescot. In this country the
impost was finally abolished under Henry VIII.
Petiole. [L. petfolus, a little foot, a stalk.]
(Bot.) A leaf-stalk ; which, with the blade or
limb, makes up the leaf.
PETI
375
Petit bourgeois. [Fr.] A second-rate citizen.
Petitioners and Abhorrers. (Abhorrers.)
Petition of Bight. An enactment of the Par-
liament of 1628 ; so named to make it clear
that the franchises or rights specified in it were
not newly gained, and that the statute merely
explained the existing constitution. (Bill, or
Declaration, of Bights.)
Petitlo principii. [L., a demand of the prin-
ciple.'} (Log.) A begging of the question ; that
is, the treating of a proposition as already proved,
when it is only a premiss of the Syllogism by
which it is to be proved.
Petit litterateur. [Fr.] A dabbler in litera-
ture.
Petit maitre. . [Fr., a little master.'} A cox-
comb.
Petit mal. [Fr.] (Haut mal.)
Petit soins. [Fr., small cares.] Little atten-
tions.
Petrel. [(?) Dim. of Peter, as seeming to walk
on the waves ; cf. Ger. Peter's vogel.] (Ornith.)
A cosmopolitan gen. of sea-birds, as the stormy
petrels, Mother Carey's chickens; about six inches
long ; black, with white on wings and rump. Pro-
cellarfa, fam. ProcellarWdoe, ord. Ansres. " The
most aerial and oceanic of birds," yet one spec.
(Puffiniiria Berardi, Tierra del Fuego) has the
appearance and habits of the auk, or grebe.
Petrine Liturgy. That of St. Peter, or the
Roman. (Liturgy.)
Petrobrusians. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers
of Peter Brueys,'or De Bruys, who in the twelfth
century denounced the vices of the clergy, and
gained many disciples in S. France.
Petroleum springs. [L. petra, rock, oleum,
oil.'} Naphtha, etc. ; liquid bitumens found in
several parts of Europe, in Persia, W. Indies,
and in profuse abundance in U.S. and Canada.
Petty average. (Naut.) Charges for tow-
ing, etc., borne partly by ship and partly by
cargo.
Petty bag. A little bag or sack in which some
of the writs issuing out of a court or office of
Common Law (which, with the Court of Equity,
made up the Court of Chancery) were originally
kept. Other writs issuing out of the same
court (i.e. of Common Law) were generally kept
in a hamper. Whence the Hanaper Office.
(Hanaper.)
Petty jury. In Law, the jury who give their
verdict in criminal cases for which a true bill
has been found by the grand jury.
Petty larceny. The stealing of goods below
the value of one shilling, thefts of larger amounts
being known as Grand larceny. The distinction
was abolished in 1807.
Petty officers. (Naut.) Sailors of first class,
ranking with non-commissioned officers in the
army.
Petty sessions. As distinguished from Quarter
sessions, a court constituted by two or more
justices of the peace.
Petuntse. [Chin.] (Peh-tun-tze.)
Peutingerian table, or map (so called from
Conrad Peutinger, who first made it generally
known). A map of the ancient Roman roads ;
supposed to have been drawn up early in the
third century.
Pewter. [Ger. spiauter.] An alloy of four
parts of tin and one of lead.
Pfahlbauten. File-diMllin^s. (Lake-dwell-
ings.)
Pfennig, [Ger.] A coin worth about an eighth
or a twelfth of a penny ; in X. Germany the 5 J g th
part of a thaler ; in S. Germany the 5 ' 4D th part
of a florin or gulden.
Phseacians. [Gr. <paiaKes.] (Myth.) In the
Odyssey, the inhabitants of an island called
Scheria, whose ships have the powers of thought
and speech, and perform their voyages without
rudder, tackling, oarsmen, or sails. They are,
in other words, the dwellers in Cloud-land, and
are, in fact, the clouds.
Phsenogams. (Cryptogams.)
Phaethon. [Gr., clear-shining.'} (Myth.)
The child of the sun, Helios, who, being en-
trusted with his father's chariot, lost control
over the horses, who, approaching too near the
earth, scorched it up. lie was killed by a
thunderbolt of Zeus.
Phalanger. [From phalanx (i/.z 1 .).] (Zool.)
A marsupial quadruped, of gen. Phalarista.
Australia, Tasmania, etc. Nocturnal in habits,
and living in trees.
Phalanges, [Gr. 4>a\ayyes.] (Anal.) In
men and animals, the small bones of the fingers
and toes.
Phalanstery. [Fr. phalanstere, said to be
from Gr. tpd.Xa.yf,, phalanx, arepeos, firm.'} The
dwelling of a Fourierite association, maintaining
community of property and goods.
Phalanx. [Gr.] The order of battle in which
the Greek Hoplites were usually drawn up.
Phalaris, Epistles of. A collection of forged
letters, ascribed to Phalaris, tyrant of Akragas
(Agrigentum), in Sicily ; known chiefly through
the controversy on the subject of their spurious-
ness, between Bentley, and Boyle who maintained
that they were genuine.
Phanariots. Greek officials of Constantinople ;
so called as living in the Phanar, the quarter of
the city in which the patriarch resided. Fin-
lay, Hist, of Greece, iv. 252.
Phanerogams. (Cryptogams.)
Phantasmagoria. [Gr. (pavraapa, an appear-
ance, ayeipui, I bring together.'} An exhibition
of images thrown on a screen by a magic lantern.
Pharisees. [Ileb. perushim, separated.} A
religious party among the Jews, who held that
God revealed to Moses an oral law (Masorah),
which had been handed down by tradition, to
supplement the written Law, and that this oral
law declared the continuance of life after death
and the resurrection of the dead. (Sadducees.)
Pharmacopoeia. [Gr. <pdpiJ.a.Kov, a drug, irouu,
I make.} An authoritative work, giving direc-
tions for the preparation of medicinal substances.
Pharos. 1. An island at the mouth of the
harbour of Alexandria, on which a lighthouse
was erected. 2. Any lighthouse.
Pharynx. [Gr. 0fyvy{, throat, pharynx.}
(Anat.) That part of the alimentary canal which
lies behind the nose, mouth, and larynx.
FHAS
PHOS
Phase. 1. (Astron.) A change of appear-
ance [Gr. <f><<m] of moon or planet caused by a
larger or smaller portion of its illuminated surface
being visible. 2. (P/iys.) The propagation of
a wave-motion through a medium is due to each
particle in succession being caused to make
small oscillations like those of a pendulum ;
the P. of the motion of a particle is the
fractional part of the time of one oscillation since
it last passed through its position of rest in the
direction of the wave-motion.
Phasianidae. [Gr. Qaurwts, pheasant, the
bird of t fie Phasis, or Rheon, in Colchis, now
Faisz-Rhioni, in Georgia.] (Ornith.) Fam. of
birds comprising pheasants, peacocks, guinea-
fowl, turkeys, and jungle-fowl. Almost cos-
mopolitan, but chiefly E. Asia. Ord. Galllnse.
Pheiditia. [Gr.] A later name for the
Spartan Syssitla.
Phenakism. [Gr. QevaKto-fufs, from Qevaxr],
false hair.] Saying what is not meant, cheating.
Phenakistoscope. [Gr. <t>eva.Kiar-f}s, a cheat,
oTcoWw, I look at.] A toy, in which advantage
is taken of the persistence for an appreciable
time of an impression on the retina, to make a
succession of pictures imitate the movements
of animals. There are several toys founded on
the same principle, called by different names,
as the Thaumatrope [Oavfta, wonder, rpoir'f], a
turning], the Zoetrope \5>ov, an animal] or
Wheel of life, Faraday's wheel, etc.
Phenio acid. [Gr. $oiin$ t purple red.] (Chem.)
Carbolic acid.
Phenicine. [Gr. <jx>ivt, red.] A purple
powder obtained from indigo.
Phenix. [Gr. <j>oivi.] (Myth.) A marvellous
bird, said to live 500 or 600 years in the desert,
and then to kindle its own funeral pyre, from
which it emerged with a new life. It thus
became a symbol of immortality. But this story
is told with many variations.
Pheon. [O.Fr.] (Her.) A cross-bow bolt,
shaped like a broad arrow-head.
Phigaleian marbles. A part of the collection
in the British Museum, known as the Elgin
marbles. They were discovered near the site
of the Arcadian town Phigaleia.
Philabeg. (Fillibeg.)
Philhellene. [Gr. <f>jAe'a>, / love, "EAATjj/es,
Greeks.] One strongly attached to the cause of
Greece in the present day.
Philibeg. (Philabeg.)
Philippics. 1. Orations of Demosthenes
against the policy of Philip, King of Macedonia
and father of Alexander the Great. 2. The
name was applied to the speeches by which
Cicero drove Marcus Antonius from Rome ; and
hence, 3, to severe invectives generally.
Philistinism. A word used to describe the
supposed lack of sweetness and light in inferiors
by those who think themselves superior.
Philoctetes, Arrows of. (Myth.) Weapons
without which Troy could not be taken, and
which had belonged to the hero Heracles
(Hercules).
Philology. [Gr. <pt\o\oyia, love of words.]
The study of language, especially for purposes
of science, which chiefly rests on the comparison
of languages the method used being that of
Comparative philology.
Philosopher's stone. A stone by which, when
obtained by a long series of processes, the al-
chemists believed that they would be able to
transmute the baser metals into gold.
Philter, Philtre. [Gr. <f>l\rpov.] A drug
or potion supposed by the ancient Greeks and
Romans to have the power of exciting love.
Phlebotomy. [Gr. <p\ffioTopia, from <j>\efy,
(patio's, a vein, rotf, cutting.] (Med.) The
opening of a vein for blood-letting.
Phlegethon. [Gr., burning.] (Myth.) One
of the rivers of the infernal regions ; called also
Pyriphlegethon, flaming with fire.
Phlegmatic. [Gr. <f>\fj/j.a, (i) inflammation,
(2) as its result a cold watery humour.] 1.
Abounding in phlegm. 2. Cold, sluggish, not
easily excited.
Phlegraean Plains. The volcanic region of
Campania, in Italy, was so called. The Greek
Phlegra denotes any burning land.
Phlogiston. [Gr. QXoyiffTov, neut. adj., in-
flammable.] An imaginary principle of com-
bustion, resident in matter, and accounting for
combustion. (Stahlianism.)
Phocidae. [Gr. ^K.I\, seal.] (Zool.) The seal
family, aquatic carmvora.
Phoebus Apollo. [Gr. *o?/3oj ' \ir6\\wv.] The
sun-god of the Greeks, born in Delos, the bright
land, ruling in Lycia, the land of light, and
having his great sanctuary at Delphi, under
Mount Parnassus. His face and form were
represented as the perfection of beaut}', no razor
being suffered to touch the golden locks (rays)
which streamed over his shoulders. (Ortygian
shore.)
Pholas. [Gr. <pw\ds, lurking in a hole (4>eo\eo's).]
(Zool.) Gen. of bivalve molluscs, giving its
name to fam. Pholadidse (piddocks and ship-
worms), boring holes in wood and stone. Class
Conchifera.
Phonetic spelling. [Gr. Qwtrfi, a sound.] 1. A
system which aims at spelling the words of all
languages precisely according to their sound.
The difficulty seems to be to arrive at an agree-
ment as to the signs which are to represent these
sounds, and 2, to ensure uniformity, and 3, per-
manence, in vowel-pronunciation.
Phonetic writing. Writing in which signs
represent sounds, as distinguished from ideo-
graphic, in which signs represent objects. (Hie-
roglyphics.)
Phonolite. (Clinkstone.)
Phonology, Phonetics. [Gr. ^WVTJTIKOS, having
to do with (pcovf), sound, the sound of the voice.]
The science of articulation ; the science of vocal
sounds in their relation to language.
Phosphor. 1. (Astron.) The planet Venus
when appearing as the morning star [Gr. <pua--
<t>6pos, i.e. the light-bringer]. 2. (Chem.) One
of the elements, resembling yellow wax, very
inflammable. Baldwin's phosphorus, fused
nitrate of lime, which, after exposure to the sun,
emits light in the dark. Cantoris phosphorus, a
substance possessing the same properties, and
PHOS
377
PICA
made by exposing calcined oyster-shells and
sulphur to a red heat.
Phosphorus. (Phosphor.)
Photinians. (Eccl. Hist.) Followers of Pho-
tlnus, who, in the fourth century, maintained
opinions akin to those of the Cerinthians,
Ebionites, and Sabellians.
Photography. [Gr. 4>s, gen. <pa>r6s, light,
ypd(pw, I write.] The art of producing a picture
by the agency of light.
Photolithography. [Gr. </>?, <p<ar6s, light,
and lithography.] A mode of lithographing in
which a photographic picture is taken on the
prepared stone.
Photometer. [Gr. <f>>s, ^>on6s, light, fj.trpov,
a measure.] An instrument for measuring the
intensity of a light with reference to some other
light taken as a standard.
Photophone. Professor Graham Bell's instru-
ment which, by the agency of a beam of light
[Gr. <pus, <po>r6s], reproduces sounds and articu-
late speech \$xavi\, sound, voice] in distant places.
This invention has lately led to the discovery
that light may not only be made to convey
sounds, but actually to produce them by its
action upon most known substances.
Photosphere. [Gr. (pus, light, afyaipa, sphere.']
(Astron.) The luminous envelope surrounding
the sun.
Photozincography. [Gr. <pws, ^>an6s, light,
and zincography.] Printing from prepared zinc
plates, 'on which a photograph has been taken.
Phratry. [Gr. <pparpia, a brotherhood, or clan."]
In Gr. Hist., the union of a certain number of
families by the bond of a common worship. It
answered to the Latin gens. The union of a
certain number of Phratries on the same prin-
ciples formed a Phyle, or tribe ; and the like
union of tribes constituted a Polis, or city, Latin
popufas. (Apaturia.)
Phrenetic. [Gr. <J>pe>aTi/c(fe.] A madman ; a
frantic person is lit. suffering from phremtis.
Phrenic. Relating to the diaphragm [Gr.
<$pT]v, <t>pev6s],
Phrenltis. [Gr. ^pew-is.] (Meningitis.)
Phrygian mode. (Greek modes.)
Phrygians. (Eccl. Hist.) An early Christian
sect ; so called as abounding in Phrygia, and
following the teaching of Montanus. (Montan-
ists.)
Phtheiriasis. [Gr. <j>0fipia.ffis, tj>9flp, a louse.}
(Pedicularia.)
Phthisis. [Gr. </>0r(m, tfteiw, I decay. "\ (Med.)
Pulmonary consumption.
Phycology. Study of seaweed [Gr. QVKOS].
Phylactery. [Gr. <t>v\aKri)ptoi>, from (pv\do-aa>,
I guard.] An amulet or preservative. The
phylacteries of the Jews consisted of slips of
parchment inscribed with verses of the Law,
worn during prayer on the arm and between the
eyes (Exod. xiii. 9).
Phylarch. [Gr. (p6\apx s > ^ ie ruler, of a
<pv\r), or tribe, ,] An Athenian officer who super-
intended the registering of the members of each
tribe.
Phyle. (Phratry.)
Phyllodium. [Gr. <f>v\\w5iis, like a leaf
(<t>v\\ov) .] (Bot.) A petiole transformed into a
leaf-like body ; e.g. the Australian acacias.
Phyllome. [Gr. <pv\Kw^a, foliage.'] A term
lately introduced into Botany, including all dis-
tinct lateral members borne upon stems or
branches. Bettany, Practical Botany.
Phylloxera. [Gr. <t>v\\ov, a leaf, ^p6s, dry,
parched.} A grub which, attacking the roots of
vines, eventually destroys whole vineyards.
Physical force. Any force which is sufficiently
defined as a cause that changes or tends to change
the state of a body as to rest or motion. (For
P. astronomy, P. geography, P. optics, vide
Astronomy ; Geography ; Optics.)
Physics. [Gr. (pixriKos, having to do with
nature.} 1. The laws of the phenomena of
matter. 2. A general term for the group of
sciences mechanism, mechanics (kinematics,
dynamics), heat, sound, light, electricity, and
magnetism.
Physiography. [Gr. <fO<m, nature, ypdcpw, I
describe.} A systematic account of the particular
phenomena of nature.
Physiology. [Gr. <j>vais, nature, \dyos, dis-
course.} The science which treats of the pheno-
mena of life in animals and plants.
Physostomi. [Gr. ^vffa, a /'ladder, crro'^a, a
month.} (le/ith.) The fourth order of tele-
ostean [re\eios, perfect, ba-riov, bone} fishes, in-
cluding cat-fishes, carps, herrings, eels, and
more than twenty other families.
Phytelephas. [Gr. tyvrov, a plant, e'Ae'^os,
ivory.} Vegetable ivory, being the hardened
albumen of the Cabcza de Negro or Jagna, a
gen. of palm-like plants inhabiting S. America.
Phytoglyphy, Phytography. [Gr. QVTOV, a
plant, y\v<t>w, I engrave, ypdtpw, 1 draw,}
Nature-printing.
Phyto, -logy. (Bot.) Treats of plants in
general ; -tomy, of their anatomical structure ;
-graphy is the art of describing them. [Gr.
fyvT6v, a plant, \6yos, discourse, TO/J.TJ, a cult ing,
ypdtpu, 1 write.}
Piacular. [L. piacularis.] Expiatory ; having
power to appease.
Pia mater. (Dura mater.)
Piarists. [L. Patres Scholarum Piarum, Fathers
of pious schools.} An order devoted to educa-
tion, founded at Rome by Casalanzio, a Spanisli
nobleman, in the seventeenth century.
Piassava. [Port.] Fibre from a kind of Bra-
zilian palm, used for brooms, etc.
Piaster, Piastre. An Italian coin worth about
3-f. yd. ', a Spanish piaster, or hard dollar, is worth
4^. 2d. ; the Turkish piaster is worth about 2d.
Piazza. [It.] (Arch.) A square open space
surrounded by buildings.
Pibroch. [Gael, piobaircachd, piobracht, the
pipe summons.} The music of the bagpipes, but
not the bagpipe itself. Every clan had its own
pibroch.
Pica. [L., a magpie.} (Med.) Morbid de-
praved appetite for things unfit for food.
Pica. A kind of type, as
Yonng
(from its being used to print the/jv (Pie) or table
PICA
PIGE
of daily services in the old Roman service-
book).
Pica, Small ; Double P. Two kinds of type,
as
French.
Dutch.
Picador. [Sp.] A horseman who excites and
irritates the bull at a bull-fight.
Picard. (Naut.) A Severn trading- vessel of
old time.
Picards. (Hist.) The followers of the Fle-
mish Picard, who, in the fifteenth century, gave
himself out as the new Adam, and professed to
restore the state of primeval innocence.
Plcariae. [L. plcus, woodpecker. ,] (Orni-
thology.)
Piccalilli. [Hind.] An E. -Indian pickle.
Piccaroon. [A picker, i.e. stealer.] 1. A
thief or swindler. 2. A pirate-ship.
Piccary. (Naut.) Petty piracy.
Piccolo. [It., little.] (Music.) 1. A wooden
stop in an organ, two feet in length, of clear,
bright tone. 2. A flute, of which the notes are
an octave higher than those of the common flute.
3. A small piano is sometimes called a P.
Kcidae. [L. picus, woodpecker.'] (Ornith.)
Woodpeckers. Widespread fam. of birds, but
not found in Australia. Sub-ord. Scansores,
ord. Plcarue.
Pickage. (Stallage.)
Picked out. Relieved with stripes of a different
colour \cf. Fr. pique, spotted].
Pickerel. [Dim. of pike, a kind of fish, from
Celt, pic, a point, from its pointed jaws ; cf.
Fr. brochet, id v and broche, spike.] (Ichth.) A
small pike. Esox liicius, fam. EsocWje, ord.
Physostomi, sub-class Telfiostei.
Pickerie. (Naut.) Old word for stealing.
Under this name theft was punishable by
duckings.
Picket. (Mil.) Short stake [Fr. piquet]
(which came to mean also cavalry, whose horses
were fastened to the same P.) for driving into
the ground to secure horses, tents, and revet-
ments, or to mark out fieldworks.
Picklock. A superior kind of selected wool.
Pickthank. One who thrusts himself into
matters with which he is not asked to meddle ; a
flatterer or talebearer.
Pick up a wind, To. ( Naut. ) To get from one
trade-wind to another with the least amount of
calm possible.
Picric acid. [Gr. iriitpts, bitter.] (Ckem.) A
bitter acid used as a yellow dye.
Picromel. [Gr. irucpos, bitter, fj.e\i, honey.]
A sweetish-bitter substance existing in bile.
Picts' Wall. One of the barriers raised by the
Romans to prevent the incursions of the Scots
into S. Britain.
Piddock. (Pholas.)
Pie. 1. In Printing, a mass of unsorted types.
2. The table used before the Reformation for
finding out the service for the day. The word
is of doubtful origin, some referring it to Gr.
7riVa|, a tablet ; others to the Litera Picata, the
large black letter marking the beginning of each
new order in the service. (Pica.)
Piece de resistance. [Fr.] 1. The substantial
joint in a dinner ; a piece to cut and come again.
Hence, 2, the important piece in a theatrical en-
tertainment, as distinguished from what is before
and after ; and generally, 3, the principal thing
in a day's business or pleasure.
Piece goods. Dry goods sold by the piece,
as longcloths, sheetings, etc.
Piecener. [Eng. piece.] A workman who
supplies rolls of wool to the slubbing-machine.
Piece of eight. A hard dollar, or Spanish
piaster (q.v.), worth about 4-r. zd,
Pieces justificatives. [Fr.] A French phrase
for passages cited at the end of a work in sup-
port of the author's statements or conclusions.
Pied-a-terre. [Fr.] Foot on earth.
Pie poudre court. In Law, a court for de-
ciding on the spot disputes arising at fairs and
markets ; called in L. curia pedis pulveris, etc. ,
from the dusty-footed dealers [O.Fr. pied poul-
dreux] who frequented it. Now disused.
Pier arches. (Arch.) The main arcade of a
church, supporting the Triforium and Clerestory.
Pierced. (Her. ) Having a round hole through
the middle.
Pierides. [Gr.] According to some, a name
of the Muses, from Mount Pieros, in Thessaly.
Others speak of them as the daughters of Pieros,
King of Emathia, who were worsted in their
rivalry with the Muses. (Pegasus.)
Pierrier. [Fr. pierre, a stone, L. petra.]
(Mil. ) A kind of cannon once used for throwing
stones.
Piers Ploughman. Two poems, the one called
the Vision, the other the Creed, of Piers the
Ploughman, are supposed to have been written
by Robert Langland, in the fourteenth century.
They are in the old English alliterative verse,
and speak very plainly of the ecclesiastical abuses
of the time. Milman, Hist, of Latin Chris-
tianity, bk. xiv. ch. 7.
Pietantia. [L.L. of the Middle Ages.] Thezest
or relish given to make the rest of the fare more
palatable ; from which, probably, the modern
pittance, meaning the whole of a donation, which
is nevertheless small in amount.
Pietists. Certain reformers of the Lutheran
Church in the seventeenth century were so called,
as wishing to awaken a more religious spirit and
greater strictness of life. Their efforts led to the
growth of the more vehement and enthusiastic
school, which found its great interpreter in the
mystical Jacob Bohm or Behmen.
Pietra commessa. \\.\.., joined stone.] Inlaying
with veneers or precious stones.
Pietra dura. [It., hard stone.] Ornamental
work in coloured stones, representing fruits,
birds, etc., in relief.
Piezometer. [Gr. iritfav, to press, ^.l-rpov,
measure.] An instrument for measuring the
compressibility of liquids.
Pigeon English. A jargon employed by
Chinese at Hong-Kong and elsewhere, in their
intercourse with the English. It is said to be a
corr. of Business English.
PIGI
379
1'IXX
Fig iron. (Sow.)
Figment. [L. pigmentum, paint. ~\ (Anat.)
Colouring matter of any tissue ; e.g. in freckles ;
in the skin of dark races ; in the P. nigrum, on
the inner surface of the choroicl coat of the eye.
Pignoration. [L. pignorationem, from pignus,
pignoris, a pledge.'} The act of pledging or
pawning.
Pignut. (Hot.) Root of Bunium [Gr. fiovviov]
flexuosum, ord. Umbelliferae ; like a small potato,
with aromatic, sweet taste. Found in S. and W.
Europe, and plentiful in Britain.
Pike. [Fr. pique, a thing peaked.] (Mil.)
Arm of many infantry soldiers down to the
end of the seventeenth century. An ash-handled
spear, surmounted by a steel head, and protected
for a distance of four feet by metal plates ; length
fifteen to sixteen feet.
Pilaster. [It. pilastro.] (Arch.) A square
engaged pillar, projecting from the wall, usually
about the fifth part of its width.
Pile. [Fr. poll.] The nap of cloth, velvet,
etc.
Pile. [L. pilus, a stake."] (Her.) A wedge-
shaped ordinary formed by lines drawn from the
dexter and sinister chief to the middle base.
(Escutcheon.) Swords or other charges arranged
in this shape are said to be borne in pile.
Pile arms. (Mil.) To rest three muskets
against one another by securing their ramrods ;
preventing the necessity of laying them on the
ground.
Pile-driver. An engine for driving in Piles.
Pile-dwellings. (Lake-dwellings.)
Piles. (Arch.) Pieces of timber or iron,
used for supporting the foundations of a building
or the piers of a bridge.
Pileus. [L., a cap.} (Bot.) The cap of a
mushroom.
Pilgarlic. ' ' A sneaking or hen-hearted fellow "
(Johnson). "One who peels garlick for others
to eat," enduring hardships while others enjoy
themselves (Wedgwood). (For a full account
of this disputed word, see Latham's Johnson's
Eng. Diet.)
Pilgrimage of Grace. A rebellion in the N. of
England, 1536 ; headed by Aske, and caused
chiefly by the dissolution of the smaller mon-
asteries. So called because the insurgents bore
banners displaying the five wounds of the
Saviour. Scroop, Archbishop of York, who
joined them, was executed in 1537.
Pilgrim Fathers. Nonconformists, who, sailing
from Southhampton in the Mayflower^ landed
at Plymouth, Massachusetts, December, 1620.
Pill. [Cf. L. pellis, skin.] As in Gen. xxx.
37, 38 ; Isa. xiii. ; to peel, to take off the rind :
but pill, = to plunder, is Fr. piller, It. pigliare, a
military term.
Pillared saints. (Stylite saints.)
Pillars of Heracles, or Hercules. The name
by which the Greeks and Romans knew the
Straits of Gibraltar, the pillars being the two
hills AbTla on the African side, and on the
European Calpe, which has received its present
name, Gibel al Tarik, or the Rock of Taric,
from the Arab general who destroyed the Gothic
monarchy of Spain in the person of Roderick.
(Heracles.)
Pillau. [Turk, pilaw.] A Turkish dish of
boiled rice and mutton fat.
Pillory. [Fr. pilori, perhaps from pilier, a
pillar.} A wooden instrument which exhibited
the head and person of a criminal to public view
and insult. (Healfang.)
Pillow; P.-block. 1. [O.K. pihvc, L. pulvlnus.]
A block with a cylindrical hole for supporting
a revolving axle or journal. 2. Pillow of a
plough is a wooden cross-piece for raising or
lowering the beam. 3. [Fr. pelu, hairy.] A
plain, coarse fustian. 4. (Nant.) The timber
on which the inner end of the bowsprit rests.
Pilosity. [L. pilosus, hairy.] Hairiness of
surface.
Pilot. [D. piloot.] A man experienced in
the channels, currents, shoals, etc., who IMS
charge of a ship's course. Branch /'. , one who
holds the authority of the Trinity House to act
as such. P. 's anchor, one used to drop a vessel
down a stream, or in a tideway. l\'s fairiuay,
or water. (Fairway.)
Pilpay, Fables of. (Hitopadesa.)
Pimento. [Sp. pimiento.] Allspice.
Pina cloth. A soft yellow material for ladies'
dresses, made from the fibre of the ////c-apple
leaf.
Pinacotheca. [Gr. Tn.vo.KoQi]Kt], from -nival-, a
tablet, 01 picture.] In ancient Arch., a place for
the exposition of paintings. The National
Gallery at Munich is named Pinakothek.
Finax. [Gr.] A tablet ; hence a register.
Pinchbeck (made known by a man so named).
An alloy of copper and zinc, somewhat like
Mosaic gold, first made in 1783.
Pinch-gut. In Naut. slang, a niggardly purser.
P.-G, pay, short allowance money.
Pine-needle wool. A fibre from the buds and
leaves of pine.
Pinion. [Norm. Fr. pignon.] A small toothed
wheel made to work with a rack, or with a
larger wheel ; as rack and pinion, wheel and
pinion.
Pink. 1. (Ifhth.) The salmon in its first
year. (Peel; Grilse.) 2. (Naut.) A narrow-
sterned ship, with a small square part above.
Pink-stern, a very narrow Severn boat.
Pinking. Cutting in small scallops or angles.
Pink salt. A double chloride of tin and
ammonium, used as a mordant.
Pin money. In Law, an annuity settled on a
married woman for personal expenses.
Pinna. \\j., feather.} (Zool.) Gen. of bivalves
with silky threads, byssus [Gr. fivavos, fine flax]
of extraordinary size, thrown out by the foot.
Fam. AvfcuUdae, class Conchlfera.
Pinnace. [Fr. pinasse, It. pinazza.] (Naut.)
1. A ship's boat, carvel-built and schooner-rigged,
smaller than the barge, and fitted for rowing.
2. French-armed P., mounting a long twenty-
four pounder, from sixty to eighty tons burden,
and carrying a hundred men.
Pinnacle. [L. pinnacula, dim. of pinna, a
turret.] (Arch.) A small pillar, square or
polygonal, at the angles of a tower, or on the
38o
PITC
buttresses between windows, ending pyramidally
at the top, and generally ornamented with
foliage. The P. of the temple, mentioned in
the narrative of the temptation (Matt. iv. 5), was
a wing of the building, overhanging a steep
valley.
Pinnate leaf. [L. pinnatus, furnished with a
feather (pinna).] (Bot. ) One divided into several
pairs of leaflets ; e.g. ash. Bipinnate, when
each leaflet is again so divided ; e.g. mimosa.
Pinnatifid [findo, / cleave'], divided in a pinnate
manner nearly to the midrib ; e.g. leaf of oak.
Pinnatifid. (Pinnate leaf.)
Pinnatiped. [L. pinnatus, finned, pedem,
foot.~\ Aquatic birds with membranes on each
side of the toes.
Pinner. The loose lappet of a head-dress.
Pinnigrade, Fianipedla. [L. pinna, fin, grk"-
dior, / walk, pedem, foot.~\ (Zool.) Aquatic
carnivora ; as seals.
Pinnock. (Ornith.) Tomtit, Parus.
Pinole. [Sp.] An aromatic powder used in
Italy for making chocolate.
Pintail duck (from its pointed tail). (Ornith.)
Sea-pheasant ; length about twenty-six inches ;
plumage variegated ; tail long. Migratory in
Great Britain. Daflla Scuta [L., sharp], or caud-
acuta [L., sharp tail], gen. Dafila, fam. Anatidoe,
ord. Anseres.
Pintles, properly Pin-tails. (Naut.) Hooks
by which the rudder is hung.
PInus. [L., a pine tree.} (Bot.) A gen. of
trees, ord. Coniferae, as now limited is dis-
tinguished by leaves in all kinds evergreen,
needle-shaped, growing in pairs, threes, fours,
or fives, with membranous sheath at the base ;
e.g. Scotch P., Canadian red P., stone P.,
etc.
Piny, Piny tallow. A vegetable tallow ob-
tained from the seed of an Indian tree, Vatera
Indica.
Piny varnish. A resin obtained from the bark
of the above tree (Vatera Indica).
Pioneer. [Fr. pionnier, from pion, a pawn, a
foot-soldier, L. pedonem.] (Mil.) One of a small
party of soldiers who precede each regiment on
the march, furnished with digging and cutting
implements to clear away obstacles.
Pip, Chip, or Koup. A disease of poultry,
generally of young poultry, especially chickens,
turkeys, and pheasants ; sometimes attacking
many, old and young ; considered highly con-
tagious ; a kind of influenza.
Pipe, Boll of the. A record of the revenue,
beginning from the reign of Henry II. The Pipe
Office was abolished 1833.
Pipe of wine. About two hogsheads ; a pipe
of port is 115 gallons, of sherry 108 gallons,
of Sicilian 93 gallons, etc.
Piper of Hameln. (Orpheus. )
Pipette. [Fr., a little pipe.} A small glass
tube with a bulb in the middle, used by chemists
for transferring liquids.
Piping. 1. A kind of fluted trimming for
ladies' dresses. 2. [L. pipio, / chirp.} In
horses, a kind of whistling ; a noise produced
by contraction of the opening of the larynx.
Pipistrelle. [Fr., it. pipistrello.] (Zool.) A
kind of bat, fam. Vespertllionidae.
Pique. Hard-spun white twilled stuff for
dresses.
Piquet. (Picket.) (Mil.) Two detachments
of troops who protect the camp from surprise,
the outlying one being at a considerable distance
in front, with double sentries pushed beyond it ;
the inlying one remaining accoutred in camp,
ready to turn out in support.
Piragua, or Pirogue. (Naiit.) A canoe
hollowed from the trunk of a tree, called in N.
America, a dug-out.
Pirameter. [Gr. iretpa., trial, ptTpov, measure. }
(Mech.) An instrument for measuring the power
required to draw a carriage.
Pirling. Twining, as horsehair, for fishing-
lines.
Pirn. A bobbin on which yam is wound.
Pirogue. (Piragua.)
Pis aller. [Fr.] A last resource, a make-
shift. [Pis, a comp. and superl. from L. pejus.
The reader who is interested in philology should
consult both Littre and Brachet, s.v. "aller;"
which is most probably L. adnare, to come,
originally, by water ; as Fr. arriver is, originally,
to touch the shore, L. adripare, and so to reach a
thing, generally.]
Pisciculture. [L. pisces, fish, cultura, cul-
ture. ~\ The artificial propagation and nurture
of fish.
Piscina. [L., a fish-pond.} (Eccl. Arch.)
A water-drain near the altar, on the south side.
Sometimes double.
Piscis. [L., afish.} (Ichthys.)
Pisolite. [L. pisum, pea.} (Geol.) Oolite
roe-stone (q.v.) when the concretions are larger,
resembling peas.
Pistachio. [It. pistacchio.] The almond-like
kernel of the nut of a kind of turpentine tree
imported from Sicily.
Pistil. [L. pistillum, a pestle.} (Bot.) The
female organ of a plant ; a slender column com-
posed of ovary, style, and stigma.
Piston [Fr. piston, L. pistonem, from pistare,
to pound] ; P.-rod. (Mech.) A short, solid cylin-
der which exactly fits a hollow cylinder, as that
of a pump or steam-engine ; it is connected by
a P.-rod to a point outside the cylinder, by
which in some cases it is moved, and which iri
other cases it moves.
Pita. [Sp.] The strong white fibre of the
American aloe, used for making cordage.
Pitch ; P. circle ; P. line ; P. of rivets ; P. of a
screw ; P. of a wheel. When two toothed
wheels work together, their motion is the same
as that of two circles on the same centres moving
by a pure rolling contact ; the circle correspond-
ing to either wheel is its Pitch circle or P. line ;
each tooth of the wheel is partly within and
partly projects beyond the pitch circle. The P.
of a wheel is the distance from one side of a
tooth to the same side of the next tooth, i.e. the
distance occupied by one complete tooth and
space measured along the pitch circle. The P.
of a screw is the distance between two consecutive
turns of the thread measured parallel to the axis.
PITC
PLAN
The P. of rivets is the distance from centre to
centre of any two adjacent rivets.
Pitched market. One in which the articles
are not sold by sample, but produced in bulk.
Pitch of a saw. The slope of the face of the
teeth.
Pitch of a tone. (Acoustics.) Its sound as
determined by the number of (double) vibrations
made by the body and therefore by the particles
of air.
Pithecoid; e.g. skull, apelike [Gr. irf0rj/cos,
an ape],
Pitons. [Fr., a screw-ring, a peak.] Conical
hills, in W. Indies ; a French term ; origin un-
known.
Pitot's tube. An instrument for measuring
the velocity of a stream, consisting of a funnel
with a vertical tube ; the funnel being presented
to the stream, the water rises in the tube to a
height nearly corresponding to the velocity.
Pit-pan. (Naut.) A flat-bottomed canoe of
the W. Indies and Spanish Main.
Pittacal. [Gr. irlrra, pitch, Ka\6s, beautiful.}
A substance like indigo, obtained from wood-
tar.
Pittance. (Pietantia.)
Pituitous. Full of phlegm [L. pituita],
Pius IV.'s Creed. (Creed of Pius IV.)
' Pivot. [Fr. ; origin unknown.] 1. (Mil.}
Flank round which the troops move in executing
military evolutions. 2. (Mech.) The end of an
axle which presses endwise against its bearing.
Pivot-man. (Mil.) The soldier who marks
the centre while a line is wheeling.
Pivot-ship. (Naut.) In evolutions, is the
one on which a new line or formation is made.
Pizzicato. [It.] To be pinched, twitched
with the ringer, not played with the bow j said
of violin-strings.
Place aux dames. [Fr.] Room for the
ladies.
Placebo. [L., I shall please.] 1. In the Latin
Church, vespers for the dead ; so called from the
first antiphon to the psalms. 2. A medicine
which pleases and quiets, but does not otherwise
benefit the patient.
Placebrick. A poor kind of brick, ill burnt,
through being on the outside of the kiln.
Placenta [L., a cake], or Afterbirth. 1.
(Med.) A temporary organ, spongy, vascular;
developed, in mammalia, during pregnancy, and
forming the connecting vascular medium between
mother and ovum ; expelled shortly after the
birth. 2. (Bot.) A process of the ovary, to which
the ovules are attached.
Place of a heavenly body. (Astron.) Its
position as defined (i) by its right ascension
and declination ; (2) by its longitude and lati-
tude.
Place of arms. (Mil.) Enlargement at the
salient and re-entering angles of the covered way
of a fortress.
Placita. [L.] In the Middle Ages, courts
in which the sovereign took counsel on affairs of
the state ; termed Generalia, as including both
clergy and laity.
Placoid fishes. [Gr. ir\of , TrAd/cJs, a fiat sur-
face.] (Ichth.) With Agassiz, an ord. including
all cartilaginous fish, except the sturgeon ; their
scales e.g. shark, dog-fish, being hard plates,
laid together in the skin ; not imbricated.
(Ichthyology.)
Plagal cadence. [(?) Gr. ir\'a.yios, oblique,
indirect.] (Music.) 1. When the major or minor
of the subdominant precedes the concluding
chord of the tonic. 2. Plagal modes. (Greek
modes.)
Plagiarism. [L.L. plagium, kidnapping, or
stealing.] The using of the thoughts or words
of another without acknowledgment, in literary
composition.
Plagihedral crystal. [Gr. Tr\&yu>s, oblique,
e'Spa, seat, base.] As quartz, which commonly
takes the form of a six-sided prism terminated
by a pyramid. In some cases the solid angles at
the junction are replaced by secondary planes
obliquely placed ; the form of crystal is then
said to be plagihedral, and may be right-handed
or left-handed according to the direction of the
secondary planes. This difference in the form
of the crystals corresponds to a difference in their
action on polarized light.
Plague. Originally a blow, stroke, calamity
[Gr. TrArjy^, L. plaga] ; so in the Bible and in
Prayer-book frequently ; e.g. the P. of the death
of the firstborn ; " P. of rain and waters."
Plaid. [Gael, plaide.] A striped or variegated
stuff worn by the Highlanders of Scotland.
Plain song. [L. Cantus firmus.] (Music.) A
kind of chant of Jewish and of early Christian
worship, extremely simple, admitting double
measure only, and notes of equal value. These
Church modes, which have affected the character
of all the best Church music ever since, were,
as regards structure, substantially one with the
ancient Greek modes (q.v.).
Planchette. [Fr., a small board, ov plane. \ A
heart-shaped piece of wood, so prepared, it was
said, as to guide the hand of any one writing
upon it to answers on subjects beyond his powers
of discernment or knowledge.
Plane; True P. [L. planus, level.] (Math.)
A surface, supposed to be capable of indefinite
extension, such that the straight line joining any
two points in it lies wholly in the surface. A
True P. is a mechanical approximation to a theo-
retically true P., invented by Sir J. Whitworlh,
and produced by working on the principle that,
if three bodies having faces A, B, C, such that
if A and B can be brought by superimposition to
coincide point by point with C and likewise with
each other, all three are true planes.
Plane of picture ; P. of projection ; P. of re-
flexion; P. of refraction. The plane on which
the picture is supposed to be drawn in the va-
rious kinds of projection is called the Plane of
the picture, or the P. of projection. The P.
of reflexion (or refraction) is the plane which
contains "the incident and reflected (or refracted)
rays.
Plane of site. (Mil. ) One supposed to pass
between the summit of a height and any terre-
plein (q.v.).
Plane sailing. (Naut. ) Navigating by means
PLAN
382
PLAT
of plane right-angled triangles, i.e. on the sup-
position that the earth is a plane, and that the
meridians and lines of latitude are equidistant,
parallel straight lines, at right angles to each
other.
Plane scale. A flat piece of ivory, metal, or
wood, on which are engraved various scales of
equal parts, e.g. of inches or parts of an inch ;
it also contains scales for the construction of
angles of any number of degrees, and of their
chords, sines, etc.
Planet [Gr. ir\a.vt}rj}s, a wanderer ] ; Ex-
terior P. ; Inferior P. ; Interior P. ; Primary P. ;
Secondary P. ; Superior P. A heavenly body
revolving round the sun in an orbit, not greatly
differing from a circle ; as seen from the earth
planets are distinguished from the fixed stars,
partly by their appearance, but chiefly by their
visibly changing their place among the stars
when observed on successive nights for a few
days or weeks together. A Secondary P. re-
volves round a Primary P., and with the primary
round the sun ; as the moon revolves round the
earth, and with the earth round the sun. The
Interior or Inferior planets are those which
revolve within the earth's orbit Mercury and
Venus ; the Exterior or Superior planets, the
rest, which revolve outside.
Plane table. A drawing-board, graduated at
the edge so as to show in degrees the angle at
the centre, with a movable rule furnished with
sights ; for plotting on paper in the field the
lines of a survey.
Planetarium. An orrery (q.v.).
Planetary nebula. (Astron.) A nebula
having a near and in some cases a perfect resem-
blance to a planet ; presenting the appearance
of a disc round or slightly oval ; in some cases
quite sharply terminated, in others a little hazy
or softened at the border.
Planetoid. [Gr. Tr\a.v^rt]s, e?8os, form.]
(Astron.) One of the small planets (Vesta,
Ceres, etc.) whose orbits are situated between
those of Mars and Jupiter. Called also Asteroids
and Minor planets.
Planimeter. [L. planus, level, Gr. p-irpov,
measure.] An instrument for finding mechani-
cally the area of any inclosed plane drawn on
paper.
Planishing. [O.Fr. planir.] Rendering level
by light blows of a smooth hammer, called a
planisher.
Planisphere. [L. planus, level, Gr. a^alpa,
sphere.] (Astron.) 1. A stereographical pro-
jection of the great sphere ; by a proper delinea-
tion of the stars at a given place, a movable
circle placed on the picture can be made to show
the positions of the stars at any hour of any
night relative to the zenith and horizon of that
place. 2. Any projection of the great sphere on
any plane.
Plank-sheer. (Gunwale.)
Planometer. [L. planus, level, Gr. fuerpov,
measure.] A plane hard surface used as a stan-
dard gauge for ascertaining whether surfaces are
accurately plane.
Plantagenet. The surname of the English
kings who reigned between Stephen and Henry
VII., from the sprig of the broom plant [Fr.
plante de genet], which they bore as their
device.
Planta genista. (Genista.)
Plantain. [From L. plantaglnem.] (Bot.)
A plant of gen. Plantago, with many spec.
The most remarkable of these are the Musa
paradisiaca, or banana, and the M. sapientum,
or plantain.
Plantar. Relating to the sole of the foot [L.
planta].
Plantation. [L. planta, a plant.] 1. For-
merly = Colonies. 2. In new and especially in
hot or tropical countries, a name applied to an
estate appropriated to the production of staple
crops, as the sugar-cane, cotton, rice, tobacco,
coffee, etc. (Bartlett's Americanisms).
Plantigrades. [L. planta, sole, gradior, /
walk] (Zool.) Carnivora walking on the soles
of their feet ; as bears.
Plaque. [Fr.] A flat plate of metal, on
which enamels, etc., are painted.
Plash, or Pleach. [O.Fr. plesser, to make a
hedge, L. plico, Gr. irA.e'/c&>, I weave.] (Agr.) To
entwine branches ; to cut partly through the
stems forming a hedge, bend them down, and
interweave them with the hedge.
Plasma. [Gr., anything moulded, or shaped]
(Mm.) Chalcedony coloured green by some
metallic oxide, probably copper or nickel ; a
semi-transparent jasper. P. is the faffins of
Rev. xxi. 19 (King, Antique Gems).
Plastography. [Gr. TrAaoWs, moulded, ypdtyu,
I draw] The art of forming figures in plaster.
Plaster of Paris. Anhydrous sulphate of lime,
obtained by burning gypsum, large beds of
which exist near Paris.
Plastic clay. [Gr. ir\affnitds, fit for mould-
ing] Such as can be used for pottery and
china-ware. The best in England are the white
clay of the Bracklesham beds, the mottled clay
of the Woolwich and Reading series, and the
fire-clays of the coal-measures.
Plastron. [Fr., a breast-plate; cf. It. piastrone,
from piastra, a plate of metal, a dollar] 1. The
under shell of tortoises and turtles. 2. A leather
pad worn on the breast by fencers.
Plate. [Sp. plata, silver] (Her.) A silver
rouncllet or disc.
Plateau. [Fr., a plateati, tray, formerly
platel, from plat, flat.] (Geog.) An extensive
plain at a considerable height above the sea ; a
table-land.
Plate-glass. Glass composed of silicates of
soda and lime, made by blowing a long cylinder,
removing the ends and cutting open the side,
and spreading it when reheated on an iron table.
Plateiasmus. [Gr. ir\arfiaff/j.6s, from Tr\arvs,
fiat, or broad.] A broad dialect or accent, a
brogue.
Platelayer. A workman who lays down the
rails and fastens them to the sleepers of a rail-
way.
Plate-mark. A mark on gold and silver plate,
to show the place and date of manufacture, and
fineness of metal.
PLAT
383
PLUM
Plate-metal. White cast iron.
Platen. In a printing-press, the part which,
under the influence of the lever, gives the im-
pression to a sheet.
Plate tracery. (Arch.) The earliest form of
tracery, in which the surface of the window is
flat, with openings pierced through it.
Platform. (Fortif.) 1. Flooring of wood or
stone at the bottom of the interior slope of a
parapet, to prevent the gun-carriage wheels from
sinking into the ground. 2. In the American
use(= general political plan), an older Eng. use
survives ; that of (i) ground-plan of a building,
(2) general pattern or principle [It. piatta forma].
Platinum, Platina. [Sp. plata, silver.] (Min.)
A hard, whitish metal, very heavy and not easily
acted on by acids. Platinum black is platinum
in the form of a black powder. Spongy platinum
is the metal in the form of a porous brown mass.
Platonic bodies. (Polyhedron.)
Platoon. [Sp. peloton, a large ball, a crowd.]
(Mil.) This word formerly meant a very small
body of soldiers ; it is now applied only to firing
exercise with a musket or rifle.
Platycephalous. [Gr. ir\<irvs, broad, flat,
Kf<pa\-i]> head.] Broad-headed.
Platypus. [Gr. irXaru-irovs, broad-footed.]
(Ornithorhynchus paradoxus.)
Playte. (Naut.) Old name for a river-boat.
Pleach. (Plash.)
Pleading. [Plea, Fr. plaid, a plea, a sitting
of the court, is the L. pla'cltum.] The technical
terms, though now little in use, are these : The
plaintiff's cause of complaint is the declaration,
and the defendant's answer the plea ; plaintiff
then makes his replication, to which defendant
answers by rejoinder ; upon which follow plain-
tiff's stir-rejoinder, and defendant's rebutter,
answered by plaintiff's sur-rebutter.
Please the pigs. [A.S. piga, a maiden.'} If it
please the Virgin.
Plebeians. [L. plebs, Gr. ir\rj9os, the multi-
tude.] Roman citizens not included in the
patrician class, who for a long time kept the
whole power of the State wholly in their own
hands. (Client; Tribune.)
Plebiscite. [L. plebiscitum, a decree of the
plebs] 1. In Rom. Hist., a law passed by the
comitia, or assembly of tribes. 2. In Mod.
Fr. usage, a popular vote taken to ratify a
measure already resolved upon, as the election
of an emperor.
Plebs. (Patricians.)
Plectrum. [L., Gr. ie\TJKrpot>.] A quill or
similar piece of ivory, wood, metal, for twitching
the strings of some musical instruments.
Pledget. [Cf. plug, Ger. pflocke.] (Med.)
A small mass or tent of lint.
Pleiades. [Gr.] (Myth.) Seven sisters, as-
signed to many parents. Of these seven six are
visible ; the disappearance of the seventh is ac-
counted for in various ways. They are sisters of
the Hyades.
Pleiosaurus. [Gr. irKtiov, more, cravpos, a
lizard.] (Geol.) A marine reptile, intermediate
between plesiosaurus and ichthyosaurus.
Pleistocene. (Eocene.)
Plenarty. [L. plemta, -tern, fulness.} The
state of a church when full, having an incumbent;
as opposed to Avoidance.
Pleonasm. [Gr. ir\fova<r[j.6s, excess.] 1. (fi/ief.)
Any redundant phrase or expression. 2. (Med.)
Overgrowth in quantity or in number of parts.
Pleroma. (Valentinians.)
Plesiosaurus. [Gr. irA.7j<n'oy, near /o, cravpos,
a lizard, i.e. more like a reptile than is ichthyo-
saurus.] (Geol.) A singular gen. of fossil sea-
reptiles. Remains occur in the Lias, Oolite,
and Cretaceous strata.
Plethora. [Gr. vKriOupt], ir\T]8w, I am full.]
(Med.) Redundancy of blood, general or local.
Pleurae. [Gr. irtevpd, rib, side] (Anat.)
Two independent serous sacs, inclosing the
whole of each lung, except where the vessels
enter ; and reflected upon the inner surface of
the chest.
Pleurisy. [Gr. TrAevpmy.] (Med.) Inflamma-
tion of the pleura ; Pleura-pneumonia, of the
pleura and lungs [irvfvfjLovfs] together.
Pleuronectidae. [Gr. TrAeupa, rib, side, vnx^t
I swim.] (Ichth.) Fain, of salt-water fishes,
ord. Anacanthmi, found on all coasts. One
side is brown, or mottled, resembling the
sea-bottom on which they live, the other is
white ; the spine being wrung round near the
head, bringing both eyes on the upper side ; e.g.
flounder and turbot.
Pleuro-pneumonia. (Pleurisy.)
Plevin. [Fr. plevine.] An obsolete word,
denoting a warrant of assurance.
Plexus. [L. plecto, I plait, braid.] (Anat.)
Portions of nerves, or of vessels, interwoven.
Plinth. [Gr. Tr\iv8os, a brick] (Arch.) The
projecting face at the bottom of a wall imme-
diately above the ground.
Pliocene. (Eocene.)
Plot. (Geo/n.) To draw to scale, particularly
the plan of a field or other area that has been
surveyed.
Plotting. (Mil.) Laying down on paper with
the aid of instruments the observations which
have been taken in surveying.
Plough. Monday. Anciently, Monday after
Epiphany, first day of work after Christmas
holidays.
Plumassier. [Fr.] A dealer in feathers [Fr.
plume, L. pluma].
Plumatella. [L. pluma, down.] (Zoo!). Lopho-
pus [Gr. \<$</>os, crest, irovs, foot] ; the first dis-
covered Polyzoon, very common fresh-water
mollusc, with plume-like tentacles visible to the
naked eye. Class Polyzoa.
Plumbago. [L. plumbum, lead.] Black lead
as used in pencils. It is a form of carbon.
Plumbing. [L. plumbum, lead.} The art of
working in lead, as laying lead pipes, etc.
Plumbism. [L. plumbum, lead] (Med.) Lead-
poisoning ; aggregate of symptoms arising from
handling lead preparations.
Plummer-block. A. pillow-block (q.v.).
Plumming. [Eng. plumb-line, from L. plum-
bum, lead.] Finding by means of a compass
which way a lode inclines, where to sink an air-
shaft, etc.
PLUM
384
POIN
Plumule. [L. plumiila, dim. of pluma, a soft
feather, down.] (Bot.) The rudimentary stem
of the embryo plant ; the rudimentary root being
a radicle [radicula, rootlet, dim. of radix].
Plunger. (Mech.) A solid cylinder used in
forcing-pumps, etc., instead of a piston and
piston-rod.
Plurality. In Eccl. Law, the holding of
more than one benefice ; the holder being a
Pluralist.
Plurative. In Log., = more than not. (i)
"Men are mortal," i.e. all men, is a universal
proposition. (2) ' ' Men have made great dis-
coveries," i.e. some men, is particular. (3)
"Men are prejudiced," i.e. more [pliires] than
not more than half are prejudiced, is plura-
tive. From two P. as premisses though not
universals, but particulars a particular-conclu-
sion may sometimes be drawn ; thus, " Five-
sixths of the army were Persians ; five-sixths of
the army fled : therefore some Persians fled."
( Vide Archbishop Thomson's Laws of Thought. )
Plush. [Fr. plucher.] 1. A stuff with a
velvety nap on one side. 2. (Naitt.) Grog is
served out in a tot or tott (a cup rather under
half a pint), so that there is an overplus from each
mess, which, under the name of P., is given to
the cook of the day for his trouble.
Pluto. [Gr. ir\o{rra>v, wealthy.} (Myth.} The
name of Hades, as lord of the treasures of the
under world.
Plutonic. (Igneous ; Neptunian rocks.)
Plutus. [Gr. irAoOros, wealth.} (Myth.) In
the Hesiodic theogony, the giver of wealth to all
whom he approaches. His wish, it is said, was
to befriend only the wise and good ; but Zeus
blinded him, that he might bestow his gifts at
random.
Pluviale. [L.] A cope, used originally as a
defence against rain.
Pluviometer. [L. pluvia, rain, Gr. ^trow,
measure.} A rain-gauge.
Ply. [Fr. pli, a fold.} A fold or thickness
of web, as a three-ply carpet, which consists of
three cloths woven together.
Ply, To. (Naut.) 1. To carry for hire on
short trips. 2. To work to windward. To P.
an oar, to row.
Plymouth Brethren. A name applied to a
body of Christians, who admit the title only
as describing their individual state, maintaining
that they exist only to protest against sectarianism.
Some among them lay stress on the doctrine of
a community of goods.
Pneumatic action. [Gr. irvev/MTiKos, belonging
to -wind (irvfvua).] In an organ, lightens the
touch by the liberation of compressed air, which
then rushes into a small bellows placed near the
key.
Pneumatics. [Gr. Tn/fiiyuaTiKo's, belonging to
wind, air (Tn/ev/ia).] The doctrine of the equili-
brium of elastic fluids.
Pneumatic trough. A small tank fitted with
a shelf, used for collecting gases [Gr. ITJ/SUJUOTO]
over water or mercury.
Pneumatomachi. [Gr. iri/ev/j.aTO/jidxoi.] (Eccl.
Hist.) A name of reproach for those who, in
the fourth and fifth centuries, denied the divinity
of the Holy Ghost. (Macedonians.)
Pneumatosis. [Gr. irvev/j.a.Tiacris, inflation.}
(Med.) A collection of air in the cellular mem-
brane. (Emphysema. )
Pnyx. [Gr. vvv.} In ancient Athens, the
place for the popular assembly, on sloping
ground to the west of Areopagus. The Bema,
or tribune on the north side, faced the Acropolis,
and commanded a view of the sea in the rear.
P.O. (Naut.) Petty officer.
Poak. The waste from the preparation of
skins.
Poblados. [Sp.] Inhabited regions of S.
America, as distinguished from those uninhabited,
Des Poblados.
.Poco curante. [It.] One who cares little.
A devil-may-care.
Podagra. [Gr.] Gout in the feet.
Podesta. [It., from L. potestas, power.} The
chief magistrate of the Italian cities in the
Middle Ages.
Podoscaph. [Gr. vovs, iroSos, a foot, ffKatpos,
a ship.} Small boats worn on the feet, for
walking on water.
Poe. (Native name.) A food made of the
baked roots of the taro plant, used in the Sand-
wich Islands.
Poecfle. [Gr. TJ -aoiKiXt), sc. o-rocL] A portico
or hall at Athens, adorned with paintings by
Polygnotus, representing the battle of Marathon.
Poeta nascitur, non fit. [L.] A poet is born,
not made.
Poetaster. [Fr. poetastre.] A petty poet,
a pitiful writer of verses.
Poetical metaphor. (Metaphor.)
Poet-Laureate. [L. laureatus, crowned with
laurel.} Most European sovereigns have assumed
the right of nominating a court poet ; the first
example being that of Petrarch, made P.-L. at
Rome. In England, Poeta Laureatus was
originally a graduate in rhetoric j one such
would be made King's L. The P.-L. is an
officer of the royal household, in the Lord
Chamberlain's department.
Poignard. [Fr. , from poing, the fist, L. pugnus. ]
A kind of dagger.
Point [L. punctum] ; P. of sight ; Project-
ing P. 1. A mark of position which has no
magnitude. 2. Used in several connexions
with a meaning plain from the context ; as, zero
point, equinoctial point, point of contrary
flexure, etc. (For P. of sight, or Projecting P.,
vide Perspective.)
Point, Principal.
Point. (Switch.)
Point d'ap;
L. appodiare.
ment (q.v.) upon w
2. Genera
(Accidental point.)
r., support, from appuyer,
ic place in an align-
lilitary formation
urn, point of
is executed,
support.
Pointed architecture. The styles^of architec-
ture in which the pointed or two-centred Arch is
systematically used, in contrast with the Roman-
esque styles, which are marked by the use of the
round arch. (Geometrical style.)
Point-lace. Lace wrought with a needle.
POIS
385
POLI
Poison. [Fr., from L. potio, -nem, a drink.]
Any substance which, through the blood, has a
noxious or deadening action upon living beings
is : 1. Irritant exerting a direct local action
upon the stomach, if it gets so far ; as arse'nic.
2. Narcotic causing paralysis of "the brain ; as
morphia. 3. Narcotico-acrid first irritant, then
acting on the nervous system ; as strychnine,
some fungi, etc.
Poisson d'Avril. [Fr. (i) mackerel, (2) April
fool.] Of explanations offered, Littre does not
mention any, probably thinking none satisfactory.
Poitrinal. (Mil. ) Armour for a horse's chest
[Fr. poitrine].
Polacoa, or Polonaise. (Mutic.) 1. A Polish
national dance, in % time, of slow movement.
2. A melody more or less similar in character.
Polaore. (JVaut.) A Mediterranean ship or
brig, without tops or cross-trees.
Polar axis; P. circles ; P. clock ; P. co-ordinates ;
P. distance ; P. forces. ( Geog. ) The Polar axis
of an equatorial instrument is that axis of rotation
which, by adjustment, is made parallel to the
earth's axis. P. circles, the Arctic and Antarctic
circles, i.e. parallels of latitude whose angular
distances from the Poles are the same as the
obliquity of the ecliptic, viz. about 23 28'. P.
clock, an instrument for telling the time of day
by observing the direction of the plane of polariza-
tion of the scattered sunlight from the regions
near the Pole. P. distance, the distance of a star
from either Pole, measured along a declination
circle. P. forces are conceived to act with equal
intensity in opposite directions at the ends of an
axis of molecules. (For P. co-ordinates, vide
Radius-vector.)
Polaris. (North star.)
Folariscope. An instrument for polarizing
light and analyzing it when polarized.
Polarity. [L. polus, the pole.} That condition
of a body in virtue of which it exhibits opposite
properties or powers in two opposite parts or
directions.
Polarization [L. polus, the North Pole] ;
Angle of P. ; Circular P. ; Elliptical P. ; Plane
of P. ; P. of light ; Plane P. When a ray of
light passes through a crystal of Iceland-spar it
is in general divided into two rays, each of which
has certain characteristic properties, in virtue of
which they are said to consist of polarized light.
One of these properties is that a ray of polarized
light will not pass through a second crystal of
Iceland-spar held in certain definite positions.
Any process by which light acquires these pro-
perties is the Polarization of light. When light
is reflected at a certain angle (which in the case
of glass is 54 35') it becomes polarized ; this
angle is the Angle of P. The properties of
polarized light can be deduced with great exact-
ness from the supposition that the undulatory
motio'ri of the ether takes place in such a way
that its particles move in parallel lines at right
angles to the direction in which the light is pro-
pagated ; such light is said to be in a state of
Plane P. A plane at right angles to the direc-
ibn of the vibration is the Plane of P. If two
ys of plane polarized light combine under
certain circumstances, the particles move in
circles or ellipses (having their major axes parallel
to each other) in planes at right angles to the
direction in which the light is propagated ; such
light is in a state of Circular, or Elliptical, P.
Polarizer. The part of a polariscope which
polarizes light ; it may be a surface from which
light is reflected at the polarizing angle, or a
portion of a doubly refracting crystal by passing
through which the light is polarized.
Polders. [D.] Non-tidal marshes in the Low
Countries, artificially drained by a series of canals
at successively higher levels, by which they arc
also irrigated when required.
Poldway. Coarse sacking.
Pole [L. polus, a pole, the N. Pole] ; Magnetic P.
1. (Geog.} One of the points in which the axis
of rotation meets the surface of the earth. 2.
(A strati.) One of the points vertically over the
poles of the earth, round which the great sphere
seems to revolve. 3. (Geotn.) One of the
extremities of the diameter drawn at right angles
to the plane of a circle on a sphere (also Tide
Eadius-vector). 4. (Phys.) One of the opposite
points in which a polar force is exerted ; as the
poles of a battery, of a magnet, etc. (For Magnetic
P., vide Magnetic battery.) 5. Of the face of a
crystal, the end of that radius of the sphere of pro-
jection which is drawn at right angles to the face.
Polecat. [D. pool-kat, O.Fr. pulent, pullent,
stinking.] (Zool.) Piitorius foetidus ; an animal
of the weasel kind (Mustelfdce), about two feet
long, dark brown on back, lighter beneath. Ord.
Carnivora. I.q. Fitchett, or Foumart (1 foul
marten).
Folemarch. [Gr. iro\tfi.a.pxos, a chief in war.]
A name for military commanders generally. At
Athens, the P. was the third of the nine Archons.
Polenta. [L. , pearl barley. ] An Italian dish,
of boiled chestnut or maize-flour.
Pole-star. (North star.)
Police Gazette. A journal containing the names
of prisoners convicted of crime, of absconders, of
persons for whom search is being made, as well
as deserters from the army. (Hue and Cry.)
Policy. 1. Applied to life insurances, this word
is said to be a corr. of the Gr iro\v-n-Tvxov,
or tablet folded into many leaves, used when
the Diptych was too small. It is found in
the transitional forms puleticum and pollegium.
2. (Naut. ) The written contract of insurance
against sea-risks. Interest P., where the in-
surer has an assignable, Wager P., where he
has no substantial, interest in the thing insured.
Open P., where the amount of interest is not
specified, but has to be ascertained in case of a
loss. Valued P., where the goods or ship is
insured for a specific amount.
Poling. Stirring molten copper with a. pole of
green wood, to purify it of oxygen.
Polis. (Phratry.)
Politesse. [Fr.] Politeness.
Political economy. [Gr. TTO\ITIKOS, of or
belonging to the State, oiKovo/uio, house-manage-
ment.} The science which seeks to determine
the nature and properties of the forces which act
on the social faculties of man, so far as the
2 c
POLL
386
POLY
results of these may be estimated by some re-
cognized standard of value. It deals, therefore,
with laws which are beyond the control of the
human will, and with consequences which follow
inevitably from those laws. The modern system
of political economy must be ascribed to Adam
Smith, whose Wealth of Nations was published
in 1776.
Pollack. (Ichth.) Fish of the cod tribe,
olive-brown back, white sides, yellow-mottled.
British seas. Merluccius pollachius, fam.
Gadidse, ord. An&canthmi, sub-class Teleostel.
Pollard. [Cf. D. polle, head.} 1. (Zoo/.)
A stag that has cast his horns. 2. The chub,
or sometimes the miller's thumb ; large-headed.
3. A mixture of bran and meal. 4. A tree which
has been polled, or had its head cut off.
Polled cattle. [Cf. D. polle, head.} Hornless
cattle.
Pollen. \L., fine flour, or dust.] (Bot.) The
fertilizing powder emitted by the anthers.
Poll-evil. In a horse, .a painful swelling on
the poll, fluctuating to the touch ; from the head
suddenly lifted and struck against a beam, etc.,
or from straining against the halter.
Pollicitation. [L. pollicitatiSnem, from polli-
citari, to promise.] In Civil Law, a promise
which has not been accepted by the person to
whom it is made.
Poll tax. A tax levied on the heads (polls)
or persons of all members of the State, with the
exception of the very poorest.
Pollux. (Castor and Pollux.)
Polo. An Eastern game, much played in
Tartary ; introduced into England in 1872, by
some Indian officers ; may be described as hockey
played on horseback.
Polonaise. (Polacca.)
Polony. (From Bologna, in Italy.) A dry
sausage made of meat partly cooked.
Poltergeist. [Ger.] A hobgoblin, supposed to
show his presence by the clattering of pots and
pans.
Poltroon. [Fr. poltron ; connected by some
with Eng. bolster, as denoting one who lies
lazily in bed ; but by others referred to L.
pollice truncus, one maimed in the thumb, in
order to disqualify himself for military service.]
A coward, a dastard.
Polverine. [It. polverino, powder.] The
ashes of a plant brought from the Levant, used
for making white glass.
Poly-. [Gr. iro\vs, many, much.]
Polyarchy. [Gr. iro\vap x la.] The rule of
many (whether nobles or commoners) ; as
opposed to Monarchy.
Polychromy. [Gr. vo\vxpv/J.os, of many
colottrs.] (Arch.) The employment of colour
in adorning the surface of buildings or works
of art.
Polygamia. [Gr. iro\vs, many, ya^o?, mar-
riage.] (Bot.} Linnaean class xxii. ; plants in
which the spec, have male, female, and her-
maphrodite flowers on the same or different
individuals.
Polygastrica. [Gr. iroXw, many, yaffrr,p,
yaorTtpos, the Idly.] Lq. Tnfii^rta (i].v.).
Polyglot. [Gr. iro\vy\carTos, many-tongued.]
A word generally applied to Bibles printed with
;he text in various languages. (Hexapla.)
Thus the edition of Cardinal Ximenes, called
omplutensian, as printed at Complutum, or
Alcala, in Spain, has the text in four languages.
Among such editions are also the Flantin
[Antwerp, 1572) ; the Polyglot of De Sacy
[Paris, 1645) ; the English, or Walton's Poly-
_lot (1657). Flutter's Polyglot (Nuremberg,
1599) contains twelve languages.
Polygon [Gr. iro\vyaivo>, having many angles] ;
Eegular P. A plane figure having more than
four sides and angles ; it is Regular when
its has equal sides and angles ; it is called
pentagon, hexagon, octagon, decagon, etc.,
when it has respectively five [TreWe], six [e'],
eight [OKTU], ten [5e;ca], etc., sides.
Polygonal numbers. If an arithmetical series
whose first term is unity be written down, and
the sum of the first two, first three, first four,
etc., terms be taken, these sums are a series of
P. N. ; the order being two more than the
common difference of the arithmetic series.
Thus, if the series is I, 5, 9, 13, 17, etc., the
corresponding polygonal numbers are 6, I5> 28,
45, etc. ; and as the common difference of the
arithmetical series is 4, the P. N. are, in this
case, hexagonal (4 + 2 = 6).
Polygon of forces. If any number of forces
act on a particle, and lines be drawn parallel
and proportionate to the forces, each line from
the end of the one drawn before it, and in the
same direction as the force acts, the line required
to make the figure a complete polygon represents
the resultant of the forces ; this proposition is
called the P. of F.
Polygraph. [Gr. Tro\vypa<p6s, writing much.]
An instrument for multiplying copies of a writing.
Polyhedron. [Gr. iro\ve8pos, having many
sides.] A solid bounded by many plane faces ;
a Tetrahedron is contained by four equilateral
triangles ; a Hexahedron, or cube, by six squares ;
an Octahedron, by eight equilateral triangles ; a
Dodecahedron, by twelve regular pentagons ; an
Icosahedron, by twenty equilateral triangles.
These five are the regular solids or bodies, or
Platonic bodies. [Terpa-, four; e, six; OKTU,
eight ; 8c68e/ea, twelve; etnoai, twenty.]
Polyhymnia. [Gr. ^oKv-v^via..] (Myth.) The
Muse of lyric poetry.
Polymerism. [Gr. iro\vs, many, ^fpos, part.]
(Chon.) The principle by which a series of
chemical compounds exists having a common
formula.
Polymorphic genera. [Gr. -noXv-nopfyos, multi-
form.] (Zool.) Protean G. ; those G. in which
individual differences exist to such an extent
as to make the determination of species and
varieties almost impossible ; e.g. the , snail
(Helix).
Polymorphism, [Gr. iro\vs, many, nop<pii,
form.] (Crystallog.) The case, of rare occur-
rence, in which a substance crystallizes in more
than two different systems.
Poly onymy . ( Metaphor. )
Polype. (Zool.) The Poly/oa and Coelent
POLY
POOR
rata are frequently thus termed ; the name
properly belongs to the Actlnoz5a ; e.g. sea-
anemones.
Polypide. (Polypus.). The separate zooid of
a Polyzoon.
Polypite. [Formed from Gr. iroXv-irovs
footed, polypus. ] The separate zooid of*a
zoon.
Polyptycha, plu. [Gr. TTOXVTTTVXOS, having
many tablets.] 1. Account-books, registers ;
especially, 2, Eccl. registers of goods belonging
to churches, with copies of charters, etc. (Policy.)
Polypus. [Gr. irokv-irovs, many -footed. ] (Polype;
Octopus.)
Polystyle. [Gr. iro\ixrrv\os.] (Arch.) A
building with many columns.
Polysyndeton. (Asyndeton.)
Polysynthetio. (Agglomerative languages.)
Polysyntheton. (Asyndeton.)
Polytechnic School. [Gr. iro\i/TfX"Of, with
many arts.] (Hist.) A school, so called, was
set up in Paris, in 1794, by a decree of the
National Convention. By Napoleon Bonaparte
it was converted into a school of preparation
for the artillery and for civil and military
engineering.
Polytheism. (Monotheism.)
Polytype. [Gr. TTO\VS, many, TVTTOS, a tvpe.]
A fac-simile copy in metal of an engraved block,
matter in type, etc., for printing from.
Polyzda. [Gr. iroXvfaos, properly long-lived,
but here consisting of many animals. ] Bryozoa
[&pvov, a kind of mossy seaweed, (taov, an
animal] ; applied by Busk, after Thompson,
to the lowest class of molluscoids, as Flustra,
sea-mats, and Plumatella, the other classes
being Brachiopoda, or Palliobranchlata, and
Tunlcata.
Pomace. [L. pomum, an apple.] Apples or
similar fruit crushed by grinding. (Pommage.)
Pomander. [Corr. from Fr. pomme d'ambre,
apple of amber.] A round box containing per-
fumes, formerly carried by ladies.
Pome. [L. pomum.] (Bot.) A fruit, like
apple, pear ; the pulpy mass made of calyx with
epicarp and mesocarp ; the endocarp being scaly
with separate seed-cells. (Pomum, though often
transl. app.'e, is = fruit generally. )
Pomey. [Fr. pomme, an apple.] (Her.) A
green roundlet or disc.
Pommage, Pummice. [Fr. pomme, an apple,
L. p5mum, a fruit.] The pulp of apples crushed
for making cider. (Pomace.)
Pommee. [Fr. pomme, an apple.] (Her.)
Having the ends terminated in knobs like apples.
Pommel. [Fr. pommeau.] 1. The knob on
a sword-hilt. 2. The protuberant part of a
sacldle-bow.
Pomo3rium. [L.]' In Rom. Ant., a space
of ground, within and without the walls of a
city, kept clear of buildings by virtue of special
consecration.
Pomona. [L.] The old Italian goddess of
fruit trees and fruit. (Vertumnus.)
Pompadour. (Rose de Pompadour.)
Pompet, Pumpet. [O.Fr. pompette.] In
Printing, a ball, formerly used for inking types.
Pompholyx. [Gr. Tro^JAt^, a bubble.]
Flowers of zinc. (Flowers of sulphur.)
Pomum Adami. (Adam's apple.)
Poncho. [Sp.] A cloak worn by Spanish-
Americans, like a blanket having in the middle
a hole for the head.
Ponderanda sunt testimonia, non numeranda.
[L.] Testimonies should be -weighed, not counted,
the quality being of the first importance.
Pone, more correctly written Faune. Food
consisting of Indian meal made into dough and
baked ; so called by American Indians. To be
distinguished from the Asiatic Pan, which is also
sometimes written farcn.
Pongee. A poor kind of Indian silk.
Pons AsinSrum. [L.] T/ie asses' bridge;
a name given to the fifth proposition of the
first book of Euclid, as being the first difficulty
met with ; and perhaps from ils figure.
Pontac. (From Pjntac, in S. France.) A
kind of constnntia made at the Cape.
Pontec. [Fr. pomil.] An iron instrument
for holding glass in the process of manufacture.
Pontiff. [L. pontifex.] The highest sacerdotal
title of the ancient Roman;. The chief of the
pontiffs was styled Pontifex Maximus. Tho
word has nothing to do, as was supposed, with
the making of bridges (pontes facere), but is
only another form of pompifex, the ordcrcr of
processions and other religious rites. The title
is now given to the pope only.
Pontifical. [L. pontificalis, from pontifex, a
Latin form of pompifex, one ivho arranges pomps,
i.e. processions or ceremonies.] In the Latin
Church, a book containing the ceremonies relat-
ing to bishops and prelates.
Pontoon. [Fr. ponton, L. pontonem.] 1.
(Ndttt.) A large, flat-bottomed boat, fitted
with cranes, etc., for careening vessels. 2.
Portable boats for making temporary bridges.
3. (Mil.) A boat, cask, or cylindrical metal
vessel ; one of the floating piers of a portable
military bridge for the passage of rivers ; each
raft being completed and joined to the next one
by baulks (q.v.) and chesses (q.i'.).
Pood. A weight of forty Russian pounds, =
36'! 14 English pounds avoirdupois.
Poojah. [Hind.] Ceremonial prayer before
an image.
Pooler. An instrument to stir a tan-vat.
Poonac. Cocoa-nut oil-cake.
Poonwood. An E. -Indian wood, light and
porous, used for ship-building.
Poop. [L. puppis.] (NiUit.) The highest
and aftermost part of the hull. /'. or P. -deck.
(Decks.) P. -lantern, distinguishing mark of
flag-ship at night. P. -royal, a short deck above
the aftermost part of the P. -deck in the largest
French and Spanish men-of-war, called also
Top-gallant P.
Pooped. (Naut.) Caught by a sea which
breaks over the stern, when running before the
wind.
Poor laws. Laws for the relief of the poor.
By those of Elizabeth, the poor were entitled to
relief in the parish where they had their Settle-
ment. By the amended law of 1833, the smaller
POOR
388
PORT
parishes were classified into unions, e;
ministered by a board of guardians of th
subject to the rules of the Poor Law
The funds needed are raised by poor
assessed on the ratable value of real properq^
(Overseers of the poor.)
Poor rates. (Pauperism; Poor laws.)
Pope Joan. A woman who was supposed by
some to have been elected pope on the death
of Leo IV., A.D. 855. The story has been dealt
with effectually by Dr. Dollinger in his Papst-
Fabeln.
Popinjay. [Ar. balbarga, parrot; cf. Fr.
papegai, Sp. papagayo, It. pappagallo, parrot.]
(Omit A.) 1. Green woodpecker ; length about
thirteen inches, plumage mainly green and
scarlet. Europe and Asia. Picus viridis, gen.
Picus, fam. Picidae, ord. Plcariae. 2. Collo-
quially, the parrot.
Popish Plot. (Meal-Tub Plot.)
Poplin. [Fr. popeline.] A stuff made of silk
and worsted.
Popliteal, Poplitic. Having to do with the
knee [L. poplitem].
Popliteal region or space. (Med.) That
behind the knee-joint [L. poplitem, the ham of
the knee],
Poppyheads. (Arch.) The carved finials on
the upright ends of stalls or seats in churches
are sometimes so called.
Populus. (Phratry; Plebs.)
Populus vult decipi: decipiatur. [L.] The
people like to be fooled: let them be so.
Porbeagle. [Perhaps connected with Prov.
pore, and Fr. barbillon, spec, of sharks.} (fchth.)
A spec, of shark, Lamna comubica. Also
written Probeagle.
Porcelain. [It. porcellana.] A translucent
substance composed of kaolin and peh-tun-lze
(qq.v^fc (Paste.)
Porism. [Gr. Tr6pifffM, a corollary.] A pro-
position affirming the possibility of finding such
conditions as will render a certain problem
capable of innumerable solutions. Euclid wrote
three books of porisms, which are lost, and the
question what he meant by a P. has been much
discussed.
Porphyrogenitus. [Gr. iropQvpoyfvvijros.] One
born in the purple, i.e. in an apartment of the
palace lined with porphyry. A term in the
Byzantine court for a child born to the reigning
emperor.
Porphyry. [Gr. irop<f>vpa, purple, i.e. the red
of Egyptian porphyry.] (Geol.) 1. Strictly, a
felspathic rock with crystals of felspar. 2. Any
rock in which crystals are embedded in a com-
pact base ; e.g. porphyritic granite, porphyritic
trap, augite porphyry, etc.
Porporino. [It.] A mixture of quicksilver,
tin, and sulphur, formerly used instead of gold
in painting.
Porrigo. [L., scurf.] (Med.) Ringworm, a
pustular and contagious affection of the scalp.
Port. (A-beam.) P. the helm, = put the tiller
towards the left side of the vessel.
Portage. A carrying place over land between
navigable waters or along the banks of rivers,
round waterfalls or rapids, etc. ; a word uni-
versal in N. America. Bartlett's Americanisms.
,. Portate. [L. portatus, carried.] (Her.) Borne
not erect but athwart an escutcheon.
tcullis. [Fr. porte-coulisse, a sliding-gate.]
Strong iron grating with projecting
along the bottom, sliding in grooves in
jateway of a castle, through which it can be
dropped when necessary.
Porte, The Sublime. The official title of the
Turkish government ; said to be derived from
Bab Humayoon, a gate of the palace at Broussa.
(Seraglio.)
Porte cochere. [Fr.] Gate for carriage-
entrance, by a road leading through the front of
the house to the back.
Portefeuille. [Fr.] A Portfolio.
Portemonnaie. [Fr.] A pocket-book for
carrying money ; a purse.
Porteous Eiots, in Edinburgh, 1736. After
the execution of Wilson, a smuggler, the mob,
sympathizing, attacked the soldiers with stones.
Captain P., firing upon them, was tried and
condemned to death. Reprieved by Queen
Caroline, he was hung by the mob. P. R.
were made interesting by Sir Walter Scott's
Heart of Midlothian.
Portfire. (Mil.) A composition of fine gun-
powder pressed into a paper tube, used as a
match for firing guns.
Portfolio. [L. L. portiforium ; a small book of
prayers, which may easily be carried out of doors,
portari foras.] Often, by melon., = secretary-
ship.
Portiere. [Fr.] A curtain filling a doorway,
or dividing two rooms.
Portitores. (Publicans.)
Portland stone. (Bath-stone.)
Portland vase. A cinerary urn, found in a
tomb arbitrarily assigned to the Emperor Alex-
ander Severus. It passed from the possession
of the Barberini at Rome into that of the Port-
land family, who in 1810 placed it in the British
Museum. It was found about 1550 in a sarco-
phagus in the sepulchral Monte del Grano, near
Rome. It consists of two layers of glass, the
upper one white, the lower dark blue, cut
(cameo-fashion) into a design of seven figures.
It originally belonged to the Barberini family.
It has been copied by Tassie in plaster of Paris,
and by Wedgwood in jasper.
Portlast, or Portoise. (A T aut.) The gun-
wale (q.v.).
Portmen. (A 7 auf.) 1. Inhabitants of the
Cinque Ports. 2. Spanish burgesses.
Portreeve, or Portgrave. [A.S.] The chief
magistrate in the ancient English seaports.
Port Royalists. Members of the Convent of
the Port Royal des Champs. The house was
suppressed by Louis XIV. as a stronghold of
the Jansenists. Among the distinguished men
connected with it are Pascal, Arnauld, and
Tillemont. The school-books published by
the Port Royalists long maintained their repu-
tation.
Ports. [L. porta, a door, or opening.] (Naut.)
Square holes in a ship's side, for firing guns
TOSE
POT.M
through or loading a cargo. Gunroom P. are
in the stern ; Bridle P. , in the bows.
Pose. [Fr., placed.} (Her.) Standing still
with all his feet on the ground.
Position ; Angle of P. ; Geometry of P. ; P.
micrometer. A rule for solving certain arith-
metical questions in which an assumed number
(or numbers) is used instead of the unknown x of
algebra. The Angle of P. is the angle made with
a fixed line by the line joining two neighbouring
stars. The angle of P. in the case of double stars
and the like is measured by a P. micrometer.
(For Geometry of P., vide Geometry.)
Positive. A photograph corresponding in its
lights and shades with the original, instead of
their being reversed as in a negative.
Positive electricity is the electricity which a
body contains above its natural quantity.
Positive quantity; P. sign. In Algeb., a
quantity affected with the Positive sign, or sign
of addition ( + ); as, + ab. (For P. crystal,
P. eye-piece, vide Crystal; Eye-glass.)
Positivism. (Positivists.)
Positivists. The followers of Auguste Comte,
the founder of a philosophy called Positivism,
which limits itself strictly to human experience,
and therefore ignores the life to come and the
relations of man with God. For practical pur-
poses the school is merely negative.
Posse comitatus (i.e. cum potestate). In Law,
the power of the county, which the sheriff may
raise in case of riot or other opposition to the
course of justice.
Possession. (Obsession.)
Possidentis in aequali jure melior est con-
ditio. (Leg.) When the rights of plaintiff and
of defendant are equal, the latter is considered
to have the better case.
Possunt, quia posse videntur. [L.] Lit. they
are able, because they seem to be able ; they suc-
ceed who are credited with probability of success.
Post. A large kind of writing-paper.
Postal. In America, a post-card.
Post-captain. Formerly, title of a naval cap-
tain of three years' standing. Disused.
Posted. (A T aztt.) Promoted to the rank of
captain R. N. A term no longer in use.
Posted-up. Well-informed ; a metaphor from
commercial activity.
Post-entry. In Com., a supplemental entry
made by a merchant who finds that his entry of
goods already weighed and measured is too
small.
Postern. [Fr. poterne, formerly posterne, L.
posteiula, a secret passage.} (Mil.) Covered
passage leading under a rampart from its terre-
plein to the ditch in front.
Post hoc. [L.] After this.
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc. [L., after this;
sj owing to this.} The assumption of cause and
effect, where there may be only sequence.
Posticum. (Naos.)
Postil. [Said to be from L. post ill-a, after
them.} (Eccl.) A homily or sermon delivered
after and upon a lesson from Scripture.
Postlimimum, or Jus postliminii. 1. In the
Middle Ages, the act by which a citizen, de-
parting to another land, reserved his rights in
his own country for resumption on his return.
2. In National and Civil Law, the right by
which prisoners of war regain their freedom on
the ending of hostilities.
Postmaster. At Merton College, Oxford, a
scholar ; corr. of porlionista, one who has a
share [L. portio] of the endowment.
Post meridiem. [L.] P.m. ; afternoon.
Post-mill. A windmill standing on a post, so
that it can be turned round.
Post-mortem examination. [L.] An exami-
nation of the body after death.
Post-note. In America, a bank-note intended
to be transmitted to a distant place by mail,
payable to "order ; " not, like a hank-note, to
" bearer." Bartlett's Americanisms.
Post-obit. [L. post obltum, after death.} A
bond given to secure a sum of money on the
death of some given person.
Post prandium. [L.] After dinner : thus, a
post-prandium speech.
Postscenium. [L.] (Arch.) The part of a
theatre behind the scenes.
Postscriptum. [L., written after.} A post-
script ; abbrev. , P.S.
Post tenebras lux. [L. , after darkness, light. }
After a storm, a calm.
Postumiana imperia. [I..] A phrase with
the same meaning as Manliana imperia.
Potash, Potassa. [Eng. pot ash.] (Chem.)
Oxide of potassium. Caustic potash is hydrate
of potassium. The commercial potashes are
impure carbonate of potash, obtained from wood
ashes by lixiviation and evaporation.
Potassium. A soft, silvery-white metal, ob-
tained from potash.
Potato-stones. (Geode.)
Poteen. [Ir. poitin, a small pot.} Irish
whisky illicitly distilled.
Potent. (Her.) A fur covered with small T
figures, like a crutch [Fr. potence], ranged in
lines. When the heads of each line of crutches
touch those of the next line, it is called counter-
potent.
Potential. [L. potentia, force. ~\ The work
required to move a unit of mass from a certain
point to an infinite distance against the attraction
of a body is the P. of the body on that point.
If the mass of each particle of the body be
divided by its distance from the point, their sum
is the P. of the body at the point.
Potential, Electrical. [L. potentia, power.}
The degree of electrical tension at any point,
depending on the amount of electricity there
relatively to that at adjacent points.
Potential qualities. In scholastic philosophy,
qualities existing in a body in potentia only,
without any actual development.
Fotichomanie. [Fr. potiche, a porcelain vase,
manie, mania.} The process of coating the
inside of glass vessels with engravings or paint-
ings, to make them look like painted china.
Pot-metal. 1. A kind of stained glass, the
colours of which are incorporated with it while
fused. 2. A poor kind of brass used for casting
cocks, etc.
POTO
PR/EN
Potoroo, Pottoroo. Native name for a small
marsupial, the kangaroo rat ( Hypsiprymnus !
minor) ; brownish black ; a little more than two
feet long, including the tail. Australia.
Pot-paper. Paper fifteen inches by twelve
and a half.
Potteries, The. A populous district, about =
forty-eight square miles, of which Burslem may
be taken as the centre, at which place Wedg-
wood was born, 1 730.
Potting. Putting sugar in casks for draining.
Pot-waller, Pot-walloper, Pot-wabbler. Before
the Reform Act of 1832, in constituencies such
as Ilchester, Old Sarum, etc. ; one who proved
himself a housekeeper, and so an elector, by
boiling a pot over a fireplace erected in the air ;
to " wallop " meaning to sway, to move to and
fro like boiling water.
Pouch. [Cf. Fr. poche, A.S. pocca, Eng.
pocket, etc.] (Mil.) A leather case in which
ammunition or percussion caps are carried and
kept dry.
Pouches. (Naut.) 1. Small compartments in
the hold, for stowing corn, etc. 2. Bulkheads to
prevent grain, or such like cargo, from shifting.
Poudrette. [Dim. of Fr. poudre, powder.'}
Dried nightsoil mixed with earth and used for
manure.
Pouldron. [(?) Fr. epaule, shoulder. ] (Mil.)
Shoulder-piece of a set of armour.
Poulpe. [Fr., from polypus (q.v.).] (Argo-
nauta ; Octopus.)
Pounce. [Fr. pouce, pumice.] Powdered
sandarach, used to prevent ink from spreading
on paper.
Pound. [Akin to L. pondus, weight.] 1. The
pound avoirdupois is the British standard unit of
mass ; the quantity of matter in any body is one
P. avoirdupois when in a perfectly just balance
it would exactly counterpoise a certain lump of
platinum, kept in the Exchequer Office, called the
standard P. 2. A P. troy {which is the same as
a P. in apothecaries* weight) is \\\ of a P. avoir-
dupois. 3. A piece of money, of gold, of a
certain degree of fineness (viz. 22 carats), 1869
of which weigh forty pounds troy. 4. The P.
now common in Germany is half a kilogramme.
5. Nearly every principal city in Europe had
its own P. ; thus at Amsterdam it was 7636, at
Cologne 7218, at Madrid 6544, at .Paris 7561,
at Venice 73^8, English grains ; and in some
cities two or three different pounds were used
for different purposes, as at Amsterdam and
Venice.
Pound. (A'ant.) Water fenced so as to keep
fish from getting away. -Pou?id-and-pint idler,
the purser.
Pour comble do bonheur. [Fr.] To complete
one's happiness or hick.
Pour enccurager les autres. [Fr.] To en-
courage the >\st.
Pourparler. [Fr.] A parley, or consultation.
Pourparty. [Fr. pour, fir, parti, part, party.]
(Lfg.) A divided share.
Pour passer le temps. [Fr.] fly tray of
pastime, or of killing time.
Powder, To. In Naut. shng, to salt slightly.
Pcnvdering-tub, pickling-tub. Powder-monkey,
the boy who carried cartridges ; now P.-man.
Power. [Fr. pouvoir.] 1. (Algeb.) The
result of multiplying a number by itself two
or more times ; so the fourth power of 5> cr
5*, is 5 X 5 X 5 X 5, or 625. 2. (Mech.) The
work done by an agent at the driving point
of a machine. 3. The agent that does the
work; as steam-P., water-P., etc. 4. (Optics.)
The degree of magnification produced by a
lens, microscope, etc. A P. -loom is a loom
driven by steam or water power. (For Horse- P.,
vide Horse-power; for Mechanical P., vide
Mechanical.)
Power of attorney. In Law, an instrument
by which a party empowers another to act for
him, either generally or for a specified purpose.
Pow-wow. 1. The name given by the early
chronicles to the feasts, dances, and other public
doings of the Red men, preliminary to a grand
hunt, a council, a war expedition, and the like ;
and so, 2, in political talk, any noisy meeting,
with more of clamour than of counsel. Bart-
lett's Americanisms.
Poy. [Akin to poise, L. pensare, to -weigh.]
A rope-dancer's pole.
Poyal. [Sp.] A striped stuff for covering
chairs, etc.
Poyning's Law. Known also as the Statute of
Drogheda. An act of the Irish Parliament, 1495,
containing provisions for the orderly government
of the inhabitants of the Pale, and for strength-
ening the power of the Crown.
Pozzolana. Volcanic ashes (from Pozzuoli, in
Italy), used for making a kind of mortar which
hardens under water.
Praam. (Pram.)
Praeconization. [L. prseconem, a crier;
herald.] A summoning, a general publishing ;
a " call of the House " of Convocation.
Praecordia. [L.] The parts about the heart.
Praedial tithe. (Tithes.)
Praefeet. [L. prasfectus, set mer.] (Rom.
Hist.) The title of certain superior officers in
their own departments. Among them were (i)
the P. of the city, who had the Imperium during
the absence of the consuls from Rome ; (2) the
Pratcrian P., who commanded the Praetorian
cohorts; (3) the Prcefectus Vigilum, or captain
of the Roman night-watch ; and others. The
Governor of Egypt was also called P.
Praelector. [L.] A reader or lecturer, in the
universities or elsewhere, his lectures being
called preelections.
Praemunlre. (Leg.) 1. A kind of contempt
against the king, with severe penalties attached.
2. The writ Praemoneri facias, i.e. cause the
offender to be warned to appear. Several
statutes of P. have been passed to restrain
Romish clergy, to enforce oaths of allegiance
or supremacy, etc.
Prsenomen. [L.] Among the Latins, the
name which distinguished the individual from
his gens pr clan and his. family, the former of.
these two coming between the preenomen and
the latter which was called the cognomen.
Sometimes a fourth name, called agnomen,
PR.ER
391
marked some characteristic feature or fact. Thus
in Publius Cornelius ScIpTo Barbatus, Publius is
the pnenomen, Cornelius the gentile, and Scipio
the family name, the agnomen Barbatus dis-
tinguishing him by his beard. So Fr. prenom,
Christian name.
Prae-raphaelite. In Painting, a term applied
to a modern revival of the art of the fifteenth
century, before the time of Raphael. Its main
principle is said to be a faithful representation of
all natural forms.
Prerogative Court. (Court, Christian; Pre-
rogative Court.)
Praetexta. (Toga.)
Praetor. [L., one who goes before.] The
original title of the Roman Consuls. The office
specially so called was, according to Livy,
instituted after the election of the first plebeian
consul, the patricians refusing to ratify the
election unless a praetor and two curule oediles
were elected by way of compensation out of their
own body. A century later, a second P. was
appointed to judge in suits between Roman
citizens and foreigners, and was hence called P.
Peregrinus, the former being now called P.
Urbamis. Two more were added subsequently
for Sicily and Sardinia and for Spain. (Curule
magistracies.)
Praetorian cohorts. (Rom. Hist.} A body of
guards, instituted by Octavius (Augustus), in
nine cohorts, three of which were stationed
in Rome. Tiberius brought them all to Rome,
and placed them in a permanent camp. Their
constitution was entirely altered by Severus ;
they were deprived of their privileges by Diocle-
tian, and suppressed by Constantine.
Praetorium. [L.] The head-quarters of the
Praetor.
Praetor Peregrinus. (Praetor.)
Praetor Urbanus. (Praetor.)
Pragmatic Sanction. In the later Roman
empire, a public or solemn constitution, dis-
tinguished from the simple rescript referring to
a particular case. Among the important instru-
ments which have borne this name are the
ordinance of Charles VII., assuring the liberties
of the Gallican Church, and the Pragmatic Saric-
. tion of the Emperor Charles VI., which caused
the Bavarian war of succession, 1 740.
Prahu. [A Malay word.] (Naut.} Larger
Malay war-ship, from 55 to 156 feet long,
manned by 76 to 96 rowers, and 40 to 60 fighting
men, carrying small brass guns, and very swift.
Prakrit. A later form of Sanskrit, spoken by
the general body of the people. It thus became
the source of the modern Indian vernaculars.
Pram, or Praam. (Naut. ) Dutch and Baltic
lighters. Some, mounting heavy guns, were
used by the French for harbour defence.
Pramantha. (Promethean.)
Pratique. [Fr.] (A 7 au(.) Licence to trade
or land, after quarantine, or oa production of a
clean bill of health.
Praxeans. (Eccl. Hist.} The followers of
Praxeas, who, in the second century, put forth
the opinions of the Monarchians, Sabellians, and
Fatripassians.
Praying insects. (Mantis.)
Praying-wheel. An instrument used by
Buddhists for the mechanical oltering of prayers.
The wheel revolves with the wind or is turned
by the hand or by water-power, and as the
written prayers come round, they are supposed
to count as offered by the writer or the owner.
Prayers on strips of parchment are fastened to the
twigs of bushes and trees, for the same purpose.
Pre-adamites. Eastern legends speak of
nations existing before the creation of Adam,
and of dynasties of kings who ruled over
them.
Prebend. [L. prabenda, to Iv gn'eii.'] The
share of the estate of a cathedral or collegiate
church to be received by a prebendary.
Prebendary. (Prebend.)
Precentor. [L. pracentor.] The leader of a
choir. In most cathedrals of trie Old Founda-
tion, the P. ranked next to the dean. In
the more modern foundations, the P. is usuallv
a minor canon.
Preceptories. Benefices held by Knights
Templars, who were created by the Grand
Master Prceceptores Tcinpli. It is said that
there were sixteen P. in this country. Similar
foundations among the Knights Hospitallers
were called Commanderies,
Precession [from L. preccssum, sup. of precedo,
I go before] ; P. of the equinoxes ; Luni-solar P. ;
Planetary P. A slow movement of the axis of
the earth, in virtue of which the points of inter-
section of the equator and the ecliptic (the
equinoxes) move in the direction opposite to that
of the sun's proper motion at the rate of about
50" a year. It is therefore called the Precession
of the equinoxes. It is due mainly to the fact
that the attractions of. the sun and moon on the
earth do not pass accurately through its centre.
The part of the whole phenomenon due to this
cause is therefore called the Luni-solar P. ; a
small part of it is due to the attraction of the
planets, which produces a very slow oscillation
of the plane of the ecliptic, and is called the
Planetary P.
Precious metals. A general name for gold
and silver.
Precipitate. [L. precipitatum, sup. of pre-
cipitare, to t/ircnv down headlong] (Client.}
Any substance thrown down to the bottom of
a solution by the addition of another liquor.
Red precipitate, mercuric oxide. White precipi-
tate^ an ammoniacal chloride of mercury.
Precis. [Fr.] A precise [L. pra-cisus, cut
doii'Jt], i.e. abridged statement or summary ;
an abstract.
Predicable. [L. prrcdTcabilis, that may be said
of anything.] (Log.} Any term which may
be applied to explain other terms. The notions
expressed by such terms are the results of the
process called abstraction. The terms them-
selves are distributed under five classes genus,
species, difference, property, and accident.
Predicaments. (Log-} General heads,
siitnma genera, under which all terms may be
arranged. Also called Categories.
Predicate. (Log.} In a proposition, the
PKEU
392
PRES
term which is affirmed or denied of the subject.
(Predicable.)
Predorsal. [L. prae, before, dorsum, the back.}
(Anat.) Situated in front of the back.
Predy, or Priddy. (tfaut.) Get ready [Fr.
pret, L. praestus].
Pre-emption [L. prae, before, emptio, -onem,
a buying], or Prerogative of purveyance. 1. A
right of the Crown to buy up, at an appraised
valuation, before others, and without the owner's
consent, provisions, etc., for the king's needs;
and to impress carriages and horses for the king's
business on the public roads. 2. A term now
used in a few instances ; as of the right some-
times given in a mortgage-deed to the mortgagee,
of having the refusal, if the property should be
sold.
Preen. [O.E. preon, a bodkin.] A forked
instrument used in dressing cloth.
Pre-existence. In Philosophy, the idea,
insisted on by Plato, that the human soul has
existed in former conditions before being joined
with the body. He argued especially from the
rapidity with which children learn, and which
could only be explained as an effect of reminis-
cence, or Anamnesis. This notion is propounded
by Wordsworth in his Ode on the Recollections of
Childhood.
Prefect. (Prsefect; Prefets.)
Prefets. [Fr.] Local officers of departments
and cities in France, with powers exceeding
those of our sheriffs, the arrondissements or
districts of departments being under Sons-prefets
appointed by the prefets.
Prefix. [L. praefixus, fixed before.] (Gram.)
The first element in a compound word, as is pre
in prefix. (Affix.)
Prefloration. [L. prae, before, flor-em, a
f(nuer. ] A term preferred by many botanists to
.Estivation, expressing the condition of the floral
members in the flower-bud, before the expan-
sion of the flower. Bettany, Practical Botany.
(Prefoliation.)
Prefoliation. [L. prae, before, folium, leaf.]
A term preferred by many botanists to Vernation,
as expressing the condition of leaves in the leaf-
bud before its expansion, their mode of folding,
etc. (Prefloration.)
Pregnant instance. Evidence or argument im-
plying more than appears on its surface.
Prehistoric archaeology is divided as to pe-
riods : 1. ArchcEolithic [Gr. op^oTos, ancient,
going back to the beginning, \ldos, stone], = that
of the Tertiary (Mortillet) ; with a problematic
variety of stone implement fashioned by fire and
breakage rougher than the chipping which cha-
racterizes the age. 2. Paleolithic [irdAairfs,
ancient], = that of the Drift ; age of chipped
tools, with the mammoth, cave-bear, woolly-
haired rhinoceros. 3. Neolithic [vtos, new],
later Stone age, of ground and polished
weapons and instruments, gold ornaments. 4.
Bronze age, = of bronze used for arms and all
cutting instruments. 5. Iron age, = of iron
instead of bronze for arms, knives, and bronze
for ornament only. But the ages of stone, of
bronze, and of iron were, in different places, co
existent. Indeed, in some countries the stone
age still continues, the people being unacquainted
with the use of metal. (See Lubbock, Pre-
historic Archeology.)
Prelate. [L. praelatus, preferred.] (Eccl.)
A term denoting the order of bishops, and in-
cluding, in the Latin Church, those who have
episcopal rank.
Prelumbar. [L. lumbus, a loin.] (Anat.)
Situated in front of the loins.
Premices. [L. primitiae.] (Eccl.) Firstfruits.
Premier coup. [Fr., first stroke.] (Alia
prima.)
Premisses. [L. praemissa, sent before.] (Log.)
The two propositions or antecedents in a Syllo-
gism, from which the conclusion or consequence
follows.
Premonstratensians. Regular canons, insti-
tuted 1120, by St. Norbert (whence also called
Norbertines), at Premonstratum [L. , pointed out,
it was said, by the Virgin], in Picardy. They
were also called White Canons, from the colour
of their dress.
Prendre la lune aveo les dents. [Fr., to seize
the moon with one's teeth.] To perform or at-
tempt to perform impossibilities.
Prepense. [L. prse, before, pendo, I weigh.]
In Law, an epithet to malice, denoting its
deliberateness.
Prepotent. (Biol.) Inherently, antecedently
efficacious ; e.g. the pollen of a distinct variety
may have a P. effect over a flower's own pollen.
Pre-raphaelite. (Prae-raphaelite.)
Prerogative Court. [Lit. having, L. praero-
gativa, preference.] The court which had the
jurisdiction now transferred to the Court of
Probate.
Prerogative of purveyance. (Pre-emption.)
Presanotified, Mass of the. In the Eastern
and Latin Churches, a Mass in which the ele-
ments used have been consecrated in a previous
Mass. (Liturgy.)
Presbyopia. [Gr. irpfff&vs, an old man, &ty,
the eye.] Long-sightedness, inability to discern
objects as closely as in former years. (Long-
sighted eye.)
Presbyterians. (Eccl.} The name given to
those who reject episcopal government in the
Church.
Presbyters. [Gr. irpe<rirrepos, elder.] An
order of ministers in the Christian Church, men-
tioned in the New Testament as being charged
with the care of distinct congregations.
Presbytery. [Gr. 7rpeo-j3uTepIc<k, belonging to
the elders.] (Arch.} The space between the
altar and the easternmost stalls of the choir,
answering to the Solea of the ancient basilicas.
Prescriptive. [L. praescriptio, a. prescribing
(Leg.) for title, or the right so acquired.] Ac-
quired by or consisting in immemorial use.
Presently. [Fr. presentement.] Matt. xxi. 19
[Gr. 7rapaxpi?M a ] ar >d elsewhere in the Bible,
immediately.
Presentoir. [Fr.] A shallow cup with a tall
and rich stem.
Present value. The sum of money reckoned
at an agreed rate of interest which must be paid
PRES
393
down in lieu of a sum that becomes due at a
certain future time. If, as in payments con-
nected with life assurance, the future payment is
contingent, the present value is the sum above
determined, multiplied by the probability of the
contingency.
Press-gang. A name denoting the detach-
ments of seamen ' in the royal navy who were
formerly empowered to seize on any seafaring
men in time of war, and compel them to serve
on board the king's ships.
Pressure. (Meek.) 1. A force counteracted
by another force or forces so that no motion is
produced. 2. A stress or distributed force so
exerted as to cause compression ; as atmospheric
pressure, fluid pressure, etc.
Prest. [Cf. Fr. pret, ready, formerly prest,
L. praestus.] (Nattt.) Quick, ready, etc.
Prest man, one willing to enlist for a stipulated
sum ; opposed to Pressed man. (Press-gang.)
Prester John. A mysterious personage, said
to have lived in the twelfth century, as the Chris-
tian king of an immense empire in Asia, being
at the same time a priest. Some have supposed
that he was Joyhoul Wang Khan, who was
killed in a battle with Gengis Khan, 1203. It is
also said that the name Prester John was applied
in the West to a dynasty of Tartar sovereigns.
Prestidigitation, meaning leger-de-main,
seems to be a corr. of Prestigiation [L. prses-
tigioe], suggested by It. presto, ready, and L.
digitus, finger,
Prestige. [Fr.] Lit. the repute of skilful
jugglery, or prestidigitation, or, more correctly,
prestigiation.
Prest money. Money paid to men on enlisting,
because they thereby hold themselves prest, i.e.
ready to march at command.
Presto. [L. praesto, at hand, ready.] In
Music, fast. P. assai, very fast. Prestissimo,
very fast indeed.
Presumptions, Doctrine of. Another name for
circumstantial evidence.
Pretender. (Eng. Hist.) The name applied
to the princes of the Stuart family who laid
claim to the English Crown after the revolution
of 1 688. The line was closed (1807) with the
death of the Cardinal of York, who styled him-
self Henry IX.
Preterist. [L. prseteritus, past.] 1. One who
lives in the past rather than in the present. 2.
One who regards the Apocalypse as a series of
predictions which have been already fulfilled.
Preux chevalier. [Fr.] A gallant knight.
Prevent. [L. prsevenio, I go before.] 1. To
anticipate, as in Ps. cxix. 148, and passim.
2. To assist, as in Collect, "Prevent us, O
Lord," etc. ; to go before and clear the way.
Preventer. (Narit.) A strengthener, or ad-
ditional rope, etc., used to assist the ordinary
ones.
Previous question, Moving the. In the House
of Commons, a method of avoiding a direct vote
Aye or No, or amendment. The Speaker is
about to put a question to the vote ; but a mem-
ber may raise the question whether it is desirable
to decide one way or the other. This latter
becomes a previous question, taking precedence
of the main question, and the Speaker must put
it to the House, " That the question be now
put." By negativing this, the House shelves
the question for that day. Affirming this, the
House must at once vote Aye or No, without
amendment, debate, or adjournment.
Priam. (Paris, Judgment of.)
Prick, To. (Naut.) To P. a sail,io stitch
down the centre of a scam. To P. for a soft
plank, to choose one to sleep upon. P. her ojf,
to find and mark a vessel's position upon a chart.
Pricket (?) having pointed horns. (Deer,
Stages of growth of.)
Prickly heat. Popular name of Lichen tropi-
cus (</.v.).
Prick-song. Music written, not extemporane-
ous ; notes having been originally [L. puncta]
points ; cf. counterpoint.
Priddy. (Predy.)
Pride's Purge. (Long Parliament.)
Priedieu. \Vr.,pray God.] A kind of desk
at which to kneel.
Priest. [Gr. Trpefffivrepos.] A later form of
the word Presbyter.
Prill. [Fr. briller, to shine.} 1. A solid
piece of virgin metal in a mine. 2. The button
of metal from an assay.
Prillion. [Fr. brillant, shining.] Tin ex-
tracted from the slag.
Prima donna. The first female singer at the
Italian Opera.
Prima facie. [L.] At first sight.
Primage. An allowance paid to the seamen
and master of a ship by the shipper or consignee,
for the loading of goods.
Primary assemblies. (Hist.) Assemblies in
which every citizen has the right of speaking and
voting, as distinguished from representative par-
liaments, which are Secondary assemblies. Such
assemblies are necessarily practicable only in
small states, as in the ancient Greek republics.
Primary colour. [L. primarlus, principal.]
One of the three primary colour-sensations, viz.
red, green, or violet. The popular notion that
the primary colours are red, yellow, and blue,
is erroneous as to mixtures of light, though it
has a certain approximate truth with regard to
pigments.
Primary rocks. [L. primarius, of the first
order.] In the early days of Geol., = non-
fossiliferous, opposed to Secondary or fossili-
ferous. Now the Paleozoic are = Primary, being
the first met with in the ascending scale. The
actual primitive rocks are not supposed to exist
now, having been all worn away or altered.
Primate. [L. primas, primatis.] A prelate
of superior dignity. The Archbishop of York is
P. of England, and the Archbishop of Canter-
bury P. of all England.
Primates. [L. prlmatem, principal.] (Zool.)
The highest class of mammals next below man
(if he is not included), having pectoral ma mm re
(except the aye-aye), and opposable thumbs on
one pair at least of the limbs ; as monkeys and
lemurs. Linnaeus includes men (Bimana) and
bats (Cheiroptera).
PRIM
394
PRIS
Prime. 1. (Mech.) A steam-engine is said
to P. when water passes from the boiler into the
cylinder along with the steam. 2. {Eccl.}
(Canonical hours.)
Prime meridian ; P. mover ; P. number ; P.
vertical. Prime meridian, or First meridian.
(Meridian.) P. mover, an engine which serves
to transfer energy from those bodies which
naturally develop it, to those by whose means it
is to be employed ; as the steam-engine, which
transfers the energy of steam to the machinery
of a cotton-mill, etc. P, number, one which
cannot be resolved into factors less than itself ;
as 17, 23, 29, etc. P. vertical, a vertical circle
at right angles to the meridian ; it passes through
the zenith and through the east and west points
of the horizon.
Primer. [L. primarius.] A book of primary
or elementary instruction. A primer of the Salis-
bury Use was printed in I5 2 7- Primers may at
first have been mere spelling-books for children,
but the lessons were taken from the office-books
of the Church. In course of time, they came to
be Prayer-books, containing different selections
according to the choice of the compiler. King
Henry VIII. 's P., published in 1545, was one of
many such books which appeared in his reign
and in those of Edward VI. and Elizabeth.
Primer, Long ; Great P. Two kinds of type,
as
Oxford, Oxford,
respectively.
Primer seisin. [Norm. Fr.] The ancient
prerogative by which the Crown possessed, for a
year, the lands and tenements of which a
tenant-in-chief died seised, if the heir was of
full age, and if not, until he was of age.
Prime staff. (Clog almanack.)
Priming. The first colour laid on canvas as
a ground.
Priming and lagging of the tides. The varia-
tions in defect and excess of the interval between
two successive high tides from its mean value.
Primitise, [L.] Firstfruits, which amongst
all ancient peoples were set apart as devoted to
the deity. (Premices.)
Primitive circle. In the projection of the
sphere, the circle on whose plane, produced if
necessary, the surface of the sphere is repre-
sented ; the plane is the plane of projection.
Primitive Methodists. (Ranters.)
Primordial. [L. primordium, a first beginning.]
( Geol. ) A name given to a zone, in the Lower
Silurian, once thought to have the oldest
fossils.
Primrose. Properly the daisy, whose name
has nothing to do with rose. It is really the
primirole [Fr. primiverole, It. prima verola,
dim. of prima vera, the early spring}. Primirole
became Anglicized first into primerok, then into
primrose.
Primum mobile. [L. , the first thing that can
be set in motion.} In the Ptolemaic astronomy,
the outermost, generally reckoned the ninth,
sphere of the heavens ; by revolving round the
earth, which was placed in its centre, it gave
motion to the other spheres (viz. those of the
sun, of the moon, of each of the five planets,
and of the fixed stars), to which the heavenly
bodies wese supposed to be fastened.
Primus inter pares. [L.] First among peers.
Prince of the Captivity. (.ZEchmalotarch.)
Princeps Senatus. [L.] The first, or chief,
in the Roman senate. This title served as the
foundation of the imperial authority of Octavius
(Augustus) and his successors.
Prince's metal. An alloy, composed of three
parts of copper to one of zinc ; in imitation of
gold ; also called Prince Rupert's metal.
Prince's wood. A W. -Indian wood, like satin-
wood, but darker.
Princettas. A worsted fabric, sometimes with
a cotton warp.
Principal axis. If a body is made to rotate,
and then withdrawn from the action of all ex-
ternal forces, the axis of rotation will, in general,
be continually shifting within the body ; but
there are, at least, three lines at right angles to
each other, round either of which it will continue
to rotate, if the rotation is communicated to it
round that line. These three lines are called
principal axes, or axes of permanent rotation.
Principals. (Arch.) The assemblage of
timbers forming the support of a roof.
Principes. (Hastati.)
Princlpia. [L., beginnings, principles.} The
shortened title by which Newton's great work,
Philosophies Naturalis Principia Mathematica, is
known ; the publication of which, in 1687, is
the most remarkable epoch in the history of
science.
Principiis obsta. [L. , meet things at the out-
set (Ovid ) . ] Make a stand against the beginnings
of actions, habits, etc., if you would avoid evil
results. A stitch in time saves nine.
Prink. [Akin to prank.} To dress for show,
or in a foppish and finical manner.
Prisage. In O.E. usage, the right of taking
for the revenue two tuns of wine out of twenty
from every ship importing twenty tuns or more
into England.
Priscillianists. In Eccl. Hist., the followers
of Priscillian, a Spanish bishop, put to death in
A.D. 382, by Maximus, tyrant of Gaul. Their
opinions are said to have been Manichsean.
Milman, Hist, of Latin Christianity, bk. ii.
ch. 4.
Prism [Gr. irpicr/j.a, a thing sawn, a prism} ;
Achromatic P. ; Nicol's P. 1. (Geom.) A solid
whose sides are parallelograms and ends similar
and equal figures in parallel planes. 2. (Optics.)
A wedge-shaped piece of glass. When a ray of
sunlight passes through such a prism, it is bent
from its original direction and decomposed into
several coloured rays. An Achromatic P. con-
sists of two prisms of different kinds of glass
(e.g. crown-glass and flint-glass) joined together,
with their edges turned opposite ways, and with
angles so adjusted with reference to their re-
fractive indices, that a ray of light passing through
them, though bent from its original direction, is
not decomposed into rays of coloured light. A
P. is an instrument that can be used
PRIS
395
either as a polarizer of light or an analyser of
light already polarized. If a ray of light is
made to pass through a crystal of Iceland-
spar, two polarized rays with different re-
fractive indices are obtained ; but if it is cut
at a suitable angle, and the parts joined by a
layer of Canada balsam a transparent substance,
with a refractive index intermediate to those of
the two rays one of the polarized rays is in-
ternally reflected, and only one polarized ray
gets through. Such a crystal, properly mounted,
is a Nicol's P.
Prismatic system. ( Crystallog. ) Consists of
those crystals which have three rectangular axes
and three unequal parameters ; when transparent,
they are optically biaxal ; as topaz.
Prismoid. [Or. irp(afj.a, a prism, elSos, appear-
ance.] A solid, whose ends are quadrilateral
figures in parallel planes, and sides trapezoids.
Prismoidal formula. A rule for calculating
the volume of a prismoid. The calculation of
the volumes of railway cuttings and embank-
ments depends on this formula.
Privateer. (Letters of marque.)
" Privilege ! Privilege ! " The loud cry raised
at Charles I., as he returned from the House of
Commons, January 4, 1642, whither he had gone
in person to arrest five members.
Privileged copyholds. (Leg. ) A superior kind
of copyhold, commonly known as customary free-
hold, the tenant holding by copy of court roll,
and not at the will of the lord.
Privilegium clerioale. [L.L.] (Benefit of
clergy.)
Privy Chamber, Gentlemen of the. The officers
of the royal household.
Privy Seal, Lord. The officer of State who
has charge of the privy seal of the sovereign,
used for pardons, charters, etc., before they
come to the Great Seal. (Chancellor, 3.)
P.B.N. (Med.) = [L.] pro re nata, according to
the occasion.
Proa, Flying. A narrow canoe, about thirty
feet long and three wide, used in the Eastern
seas, and constructed on the principle of an out-
rigger. (Prahu.)
Pro aris et focis. [L., for our altars and
hearths.] For God and our country.
Probabilism. [L. probabilis, likely.] (Theol.)
The theory which regards it as allowable to
follow a probable opinion on doubtful points,
even though another should be more probable.
Hallam, Literatiire of Europe, pt. iii. ch. 4 13.
Probabilists. Those who maintain the theory
of Probabilism.
Probability ; Calculus of P. ; Theory of P. A
numerical estimate of our judgment as to the
happening of an event. If we reduce all events
of the same kind to a certain number of cases,
which in the existing state of our knowledge (or
ignorance) we judge equally possible, and
determine the number of cases favourable to the
happening of the event ; the ratio of this number
to the whole number of possible cases is the
probability of the happening of the event. If we
throw a die, there are six possible cases, all, as
far as we know, equally probable. The proba-
bility that either three or four will turn up is
therefore \ or \ ; as there are two favourable
cases out of six. The rules for calculating P. in
various cases, and the investigation of those rules,
form the Calculus of probabilities, or the Theory
of probabilities.
Probable error. From numerous measures of
a given magnitude all being made under
equally favourable circumstances, e.g. by the
same observer with the same instrument a cer-
tain number can be calculated in regard to which
it can be affirmed that it is an even chance, that
the error in any one measure is less than that
number, whether in excess or defect. This num-
ber is the P. E. of the measures individually ; it
serves amongst other things as a test of the
degree of accuracy attained under the circum-
stances.
Probable life. (Expectation of life.)
Probang. (I\icd.) A flexible piece of whale-
bone with rounded end, e.g. of sponge, to force
down anything stuck in the gullet.
Probate of a will. In Law, the exhibiting of a
will by the executor before the proper court, this
court being the High Court of Justice in the
Judicature Act, 1873.
Probeagle. (Porbeagle.)
Problem. (Proposition.)
Pro bono publico. [L.] For the public weal.
Proboscidea. [Gr. 7rpo/3o<r/as, -i5oy, elephant's
trunk, from irp6, before, /3o<r:co, / feed, eZSoy,
kind.] (Zoo!.) The eighth order of mammals,
consisting of the two spec, of elephants.
Process. [L. processus, Cels.J (Anat.) A
protuberance, eminence of a bone or of any other
part.
Proces verbal. [Fr.] (Leg.) An authentic
minute of an official act, or statement of facts.
Proconsul. [L.] In Rom. Hist., an officer
with consular command, but without the office,
which he may have filled during the previous
year. The provinces at first governed by Praetors
were afterwards put under proconsuls and pro-
preetors, who entered on their government imme-
diately after the expiration of their office as
consuls or prsctors.
Procris, Kephalos (Cephalus) and. A well-
known pair in Myth., Procris, whose name
signifies the sprinkled dew-drops, being the
daughter of Herse, the dciv, and Kephalos, the
head of the sun, who unwittingly slew her with
his spear ; as the sun dries up the dew, which
he is said to love.
Procrustes, Bed of. In Gr. Myth., a bed to
which the robber Procrustes [Gr. irpoKpov<m)s,
the stretcher] adapted the limbs of his victims by
force. Hence an instrument of torture.
Proctors. [L. procurator.] 1. In the English
universities, two Masters of Arts, who serve as
the chief magistrates of the university police,
and with legislative authority. 2. In Convoca-
tion, the representatives of the clergy ; so called
as having been entrusted with the assessment of
taxes granted by that body. 3. In the Eccl.
courts, pleaders who conduct causes for payment.
Procuration. [L. procurationem, a taking
care of.] A pecuniary composition fjom an
PROC
396
PROP
incumbent, instead of the provision due to an
ordinary when holding a visitation. (Synodals.)
Procurator. [L.] (Hist.) A Roman magis-
trate, who looked to the revenue of a province,
and to suits in connexion with it. Sometimes
he also governed the province, as Pontius Pilate
governed Judaea ; Jn which case he could inflict
the penalty of death.
Procurator, Fiscal. The public prosecutor of
the inferior courts of Scotland.
Procurenr-General. Under the Fr. monarchy,
the public advocate of the Crown.
Prodigy. [L. prodigium.] Among the Romans,
any strange or inexplicable event or phenomenon,
all such being regarded as signs of the will of
the gods.
Prodomus. [Gr. TrptSofMs.] (Arch.) The same
as the Pronaos. (Naos.)
Proem. [Gr. irpooipiov, an opening, from oljuos,
a path.} The Greek term synonymous with the
Latin preface.
Pro et contra, Pro et con. [L., for and
against.] On both sides.
Profanum vulgus. [L., the common herd
(Horace).] Lit. the crowd who stand in front of
the temple, and are not admitted within it.
Profile. [Fr. profil, from It. proffilo.]
(Fortif.) A section made by a vertical plane
at right angles through the direction of the
works. When the cutting plane strikes at an
oblique angle, it is simply a section.
Pro forma. [L., for form's sake.] Formally.
Profound Doctor. (Doctor.)
Prognathous, Prognathic. (Orthognathic.)
Progresses. [L. progressus, a going forward.]
In the O.E. phrase, the State journeys of royal
personages.
Progression, Arithmetical ; Geometrical P. ;
Harmonical P. A series of numbers are in
Arithmetical progression when each is greater
(or less) than the one before it by a constant
difference ; as 7, 10, 13, 16, etc. ; in Geometri-
cal P. when each is obtained from the one before
it by multiplying it by a constant number (or
fraction) ; as 5, 15,45, 135, etc. ; in Harmonical
P. when any three consecutive numbers are such
that the first has to the third the same ratio as
the excess of the first above the second has to
that of the second above the third ; as , I, f, f,
etc. When strings, in other respects alike, have
their lengths in harmonic P. , the frequencies of
their vibrations on which the pitches of their
tones depend are in arithmetical P.
Progressive atrophy. Fatty degeneration.
Pro hac vice. [L., for this turn.] For this
time.
Prohibition. [L. prohibltiSnem, a hindering.]
(Leg.) A writ to forbid any court from pro-
ceeding in a cause then depending, on suggestion
that the cause does not properly belong to that
court.
Projectile. [L. projectum, sup. of projicio, 7
cast foi-th.] (Mil.) Shot or bullet fired from
any firearm.
Projection. (Globular projection ; Gnomonical
projection ; Mercator's projection ; etc.)
Prolate spheroid. (Ellipsoid.)
Prolegomena. [Gr., things said before.] 1. A
prefatory dissertation prefixed to a work ; or 2,
an introductory treatise on a subject to be dealt
with at length hereafter.
Prolepsis. [Gr., an anticipation.] (Rhet.) A
figure by which the speaker anticipates objections
to his arguments.
Proleptic. [Gr. TrpoXijTrri/crfs.] 1. Anticipative
historically; e.g. "the Duke of Wellington, at
Assaye," etc., is said proleptically, for he was
not then D. of W. 2. In point of thought, and
by way of presentiment as opposed to experience.
Proletarians. [L. proletarius.] (Rom. Hist.)
In the constitution ascribed to Servius Tullius,
citizens who, being unable to pay for admission
into the lowest class, could offer only their
children for the service of the state. Hence,
generally, the destitute. (Capite censi.)
Prolocutor. [L., not in class, sense of advocate,
but = speaker. ] The president of the Lower House
of Convocation of Canterbury.
Prologue. [Gr. irp6h.oyos.] 1. In the early
Greek dramatists, all before the first chorus ;
afterwards, 2, a monologue, or an address to
the audience, introductory of the main action of
the play. (Epilogue.)
Promethean. Relating to Prometheus, in Gr.
Myth., the being who gave men fire, and thus
raised them from the lowest depths of misery.
For thus aiding them he was chained on the
crags of Caucasus, where an eagle gnawed his
liver. By the Greeks the word was supposed to
denote forethought [irpo, before, juijris, wisdom],
and accordingly they invented Epimetheus, as an
embodiment of after-thought. (Pandora's box.)
But it only reproduces the Hindu Pramantha, or
wooden churn for kindling fire from dried pieces
of wood. Co*, Mythology of the Aryan Nations,
433-
Prometheus. (Promethean.)
Promptuary. [L. promptuarium, from pr5mo,
/ draw, a store from which things may be
drawn.] Any summary or handbook in which
subjects are arranged so as to be ready for use.
Pronaos. [Gr.] (Arch. ) The front porch of
a temple. The same as the Narthex of the early
Christians. (Naos.)
Pronator muscles. [L. prono, / bend for-
ward.] (Anat.) Those which turn the palm of
the hand downwards ; Supinator, upwards
[suplno, / lay backwards],
Proof. [A.S. profian, to prove.] A trial im-
pression from types, taken for corrections ; called
also proof-sheets. .Engravers' proofs are the first
impressions taken from a plate, as being in-
spected by the engraver. India proofs are those
taken upon India paper. Proofs before letters
are those taken before any writing is engraved
upon the plate.
Proof spirit. A mixture of pure alcohol and
water in the proportion by weight of 100 parts
of alcohol to 103 '09 of water.
Propaedeutics. [Gr. irpoircu8fv<a, I instruct
beforehand.] A word applied in Germany to
preliminary instruction in any art or science.
Propaganda. [L.] (Eccl. Hist.) The congre-
gation de propaganda fide, as a missionary society
PROP
397
in the interests of Latin Christianity, was estab-
lished at Rome by Gregory XV., in 1622. The
word is often used to denote associations for
spreading hurtful opinions.
Propemptikon. [Gr. , from jrpoirffj.irta, I send
forward. } A poem addressed to one about to
set out on a journey.
Proper. (Her. ) Having its own [Fr. propre]
natural colour.
Proper motion. Of the sun or planets, that by
which they change their apparent positions rela-
tively to the fixed stars ; the sun's P. M. takes
place along the ecliptic in the opposite direction
to the diurnal motion of the heaven, and in the
same direction as that of the earth's actual rota-
tion, viz. from west to east ; a planet's P. M.
is direct when in the same direction with, and
retrograde when in the opposite direction to,
that of the sun.
Properties. In the language of the theatre, =
all accessories to scenic illusion ; costume,
scene-paintings, machinery, etc.
Property. (Log.) A predicable denoting
something involved in the essence of the species,
as rationality in man.
Prophesy; Prophet. [Gr. irpo^TTjj.] A
prophet is ( I ) properly one "who speaks for or
in the name of another. This is the highest
meaning of the word in the Old and New Testa-
ments. "Thou, child, shalt be called the
prophet of the Highest." It is also used (2) to
denote the foretelling of events still future ; and
(3) the working of wonders: "After his death
his body prophesied ; " (4) a state of excite-
ment or ecstasy (i Sam. x.); (5) singing to
musical instruments (i Chron. xxv. 3); (6) the
exercise of superhuman knowledge (Matt. xxvi.
68) ; (7) the extraordinary gift, so named, in the
Acts and in the Epistles of St. Paul.
Prophesy ings. Religious exercises of the
clergy, temp. Queen Elizabeth, " clerical meet-
ings " in market towns, for exposition [Gr. irpo-
<f>T)Tfta] of Scripture, under a moderator ; abused,
and, under Canon LXXII., restrained.
Prophylactic. [Gr. trpo(f>v\a.KTtK6s, from irpotyv-
\dffffca, I keep guard before.} (Med.} Precaution-
ary, preventative ; e.g. belladonna is P. against
scarlatina. Subst., Prophylaxis.
Propolis. [Gr. irp6iro\ts, (i) space in front of
a town, (2) propolis, } Reddish-brown, aromatic,
gummy substance, collected from wild poplar
and other trees, with which bees close up crevices
in their hives and strengthen the margins of the
cells of the comb.
Proportion. [L. proportionem.] The relation
existing between four magnitudes when the ratio
of the first to the second equals that of the third
to the fourth ; the first and fourth magnitudes
are the extreme, the second and third the mean,
terms of the P.
Proportional ; P. compasses ; Directly P. ;
Fourth P. ; Inversely P. ; P. logarithms ; Mean
P.; Reciprocally P. ; Third P. Of two variable
magnitudes, the first is Proportional, or Directly
P., to the second : when any two values of
the former have to each other the same ratio as
that of the corresponding values of the latter ;
thus, at a given time and place the length of a
man's shadow is proportional to his height,
because the ratio of the heights of any two men
is the same as that of the lengths of their
shadows. They are Inversely or Reciprocally
P. when the ratio of the first to the second value
of the former magnitude equals that of the
second to the first value of the latter magnitude ;
as in equal triangles the base is reciprocally P.
to the height. If three magnitudes are given,
a fourth P. will be such that the first bears
to the second the same ratio that the third
bears to the fourth. If three magnitudes are
given, the first bears to the second the same ratio
that the second bears to the Third P. If two
magnitudes are given, the first bears to the
Mean P. the same ratio that the M. P. bears to
the second. /'. compasses are so constructed
that lines measured by them from a plan are
transferred to the copy lengthened or shortened
in a fixed proportion. /'. logarithms are logistic
logarithms (q.v.).
Proposition. [L. proposltio, -nem, a setting
forth.'} 1. In Log., an indicative sentence, that
is, one which affirms or denies, consisting of a
Subject and Predicate connected by the Copula.
(Syllogism.) 2. (Geoi.) The statement of a
fact proposed to be proved or of a construction
proposed to be made. In the former case the
proposition is a theorem ; as, " Any two sides of
a triangle are greater than the third." In the
latter, a problem ; as, " On a given straight line
to make an equilateral triangle."
Propraetor. [L.] A Roman magistrate stand
ing to the praetor in the relation of the proconsul
to the consul. Under the empire, the imperial
provinces were under propraetors ; those of the
senate under proconsuls. (Proconsul.)
Proprement dit. [Fr. ] Properly so called.
Proprio motu. [L., of his (or her) ou'ti move-
ment.} Spontaneously.
Propter vitam Vivendi perdere causas. [L.]
For the sake of life to tlirow away all inducements
to life.
Pro pudor. [L.] Shame!
Propylaea. [Gr. irpoirv\cua, before the gale."\
Any entrance to a temple ; but, more par-
ticularly, the approach to the Acropolis of
Athens. The Athenian propylaea were finished
in the time of Pericles, B.C. 432.
Pro rata. [L.] In proportion.
Pro re nata. [L. , according to the case arising ;
lit. the thing born.} As need requires.
Pro salute anlmae. [L.] P'or the safety or
saving of his soul a phrase used in Eccl.
courts.
Pros and cons. Arguments for [L. pro] and
against [contra].
Proscenium. [Gr. irpoaKriviov.} In the Greek
theatre, the whole space between the scena
[o-KijHj], i.e. the wall by which the back side of
the wall was closed, and the orchestra (y.v.) ;
what we should call the stage.
Proscription. [L. proscriptiSnem, from pro,
before, and scribo, / write.} In Rom. Hist., the
setting forth on a list the names of outlawed
persons ; as the proscription of the triumvirs
PROS
398
PROT
Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus, in which Cicero
was killed.
Proselyte. [Gr. irpoo-^Auroj, one who comes as
a stranger. ,] A term applied by the Jews', after
they became connected with the Greeks, to
foreigners who embraced Judaism. The P. of
the gale renounced idolatry ; the P. of righteous-
ness submitted to circumcision.
Proserpine. (Eleusinian Mysteries.)
Proses, Prosae. [L. prosa, i.e. oratio, collat.
form of prorsa, straightforward, continuous. ] In
the Roman Church, hymns sung from latter end
of the ninth century after the Gradual ; called
therefore Sequentiiz also. Riming, but not
scanning ; e.g. Stabat Mater.
Prosody. [Gr. irpoffcpSia.] The science which
treats of the laws of harmony, accent, and
quantity, whether in prose or verse.
Prosopography. [Gr. irp6ff(oirov, a figure,
ypcupw, I describe.} (Rhet.) The description of
animated objects.
Prosopolepsy. [Gr. irpocrwn-oAij^/o, from
irpdffcairov, a face or person, and \fjfyis, a taking.}
Respect of persons ; partiality. (Person.)
Prosopopoeia. [Gr. irpoawiroiroiici, from icpAcria-
TTOV, a figure, and iroifw, I make.} (Rhet.) An
address to inanimate things as though they had
life and power of hearing.
Prosphonesis. [Gr. ] A Bidding prayer (q.v. ) ;
frequent examples occur in the ancient Liturgies.
Prostate. [Gr. irpocrTareui, I stand before.}
(Anat.) A compact, chestnut-shaped, glandular
body, in males, situated just below the neck of
the bladder.
Prosthaphaeresis. [A word made up of the Gr.
irpAcrQf, in front of, and cupaipeffis, subtraction}
(Astron.) A term used by old astronomical
writers to signify the difference between the true
and mean motion, or the true and mean place of
a planet, or the quantity which must be taken
from or added to the mean anomaly in order to
get the true anomaly.
Prosthesis. (Metaplasm.)
Prostyle. [Gr. irp6a-rv\os.~\ (Arch.) A temple
with a row of detached columns supporting the
pediment on its front elevation.
Prosyllogism. (Log.) A syllogism essential
to the proof of another syllogism. The word is
used also in the sense of Enthymeme.
Prot-, Proto-. [Gr. irpurros, first.} (Chem.)
A prefix to chemical names, having the same
force as man-, mono- (q.v.).
Protamo3ba. ( Amoeba.)
Protandrous, or (more correctly) Froterandrous
flowers. [Gr. irpiaTos, first, Trpdrtpos, former,
prior} (Bot.) Those in which the anthers
are developed before the pistil. Protogynous, or
Prater ogy nous flowers, those in which the reverse
is the case.
Pro tanto. [L.,for so much.} So far as some-
thing named is concerned.
Protasis. [Gr., a stretching forth} In Gram,
and Rhet., the hypothetical or limiting clause of
a sentence, answered by the apSdosis.
Protected states (in India). Certain native
states, as the dominion of the Nizam, etc. , which,
keeping their independence, subject to certain
limitations, are guaranteed by the British
Government against external attacks, etc.
Protector. [L., a defender.} (Hist.) This
title has been borne by three English states-
men : (i) Richard, Duke of York, 1453; (2)
Duke of Somerset, 1548 ; (3) Oliver Cromwell,
1653- .
Protege. [Fr.] Lit. one who is protected ;
hence a favourite of one high in society. Fern.,
Protegee.
Protempore. [L.] For the time. In shortened
form, pro tent.
Proterandrous flowers. (Protandrous.)
Proterogynous flowers. (Protandrous.)
Protest. (A r aut.) Formal declaration, in
writing, properly attested, by the master and
others of a ship's crew, to the effect that damage
sustained by the ship was not caused by their
negligence or misconduct.
Protestants. [L. protestor, 7 bear witness. ]
(Eccl. Hist.) 1. Properly those who, in 1529,
protested against an edict of the Diet, at Spires,
which postponed the settlement of religious
differences to the meeting of a General Council at
some indefinite time. The P. insisted that the
General Council should be summoned at once.
Hence, 2, generally, those who protest against
the doctrines or discipline of the Latin Church.
Proteus. [Gr.] Any one who easily changes
his opinions or his practice is so called, from the
Greek sea-god, who had the power of changing
his shape at his will, until he had exhausted his
powers of transformation.
Proteus anguineus. [Aug. L., snake-like.}
Amphibian inhabiting underground pools ;
about twelve inches long ; nearly white, with
scarlet external gills, rudimentary eyes, and four
legs. Central Europe. Fam. Prote'idae, ord.
Urodela. (Proteus.)
Proteus animalcule. (Amoeba.)
Protevangelion. [Gr. itpunov evayyf\iov, a
first Gospel.} 1. A Gospel of the birth of the
B. V. Mary, and of our Lord, attributed to St.
James. (Pseudo-Gospels.) 2. A rudimentary
Gospel ; one by anticipation ; e.g. in the types
of the Old Testament.
Prothesis. [Gr., a placing before.} In the
Eastern Church, the apse of the right aisle, where
the Credence table is placed.
Prothonotary, more properly Protonotary.
[L. L. prSto-notarius, first secretary} In the
Greek Church, the chief secretary of the Patriarch
of Constantinople. In the papal court, the
college of twelve apostolic notaries register all
the solemn acts of the Church.
Proto-. [Gr. irpieros, first.}
Protocol. [L. protocollum, a word made up
of Gr. irpwros, first, and Ko\\a, ghie.} In Fr.
usage, the technical words of legal documents ;
n German, the rough draft of an instrument.
The latter is the frequent diplomatic sense of
.he term.
Protogynous flowers. (Protandrous.)
Protonotary. (Prothonotary.)
Protoplasm. [Gr. irpwros, first, ir\A.<rp.o., a
'hing formed.} The physical basis of life, " in
ts simplest condition a mere formless slime, but
PROT
399
rsEU
differing from dead matter in possessing the
qualities of irritability, of spontaneous move-
ment, of assimilation of foreign substances, and
of self-multiplication."
Prototype. (Archetype.)
Protozoa. [Gr. trpcaros, first, teov, an animal. ~\
(Zoo/.) Sub-kingd. of invertebrates, contain-
ing the lowest animal organisms, composed of
jelly-like sarcode, destitute of definite parts
or body-cavity, mostly aquatic, and minute,
though sometimes forming large colonies, as
sponges.
Protozoic. [Gr. irp&ros, first, (<a^, life.}
(Geol.) A name proposed by Warburton, in
1843, f r tne Cambrian and Silurian, but not
widely adopted.
Protract. [L. protraho, / lengthen oiit.]
(Math.) 1. To draw to scale. 2. To draw an
angle with the aid of a protractor (q.v. ).
Protractor. (Math. ) An instrument for draw-
ing angles of any required number of degrees.
Proud flesh.. [Cf. Fr. preux, gallant.] Coarse,
luxuriant granulations, in wounds, ulcerated
surfaces.
Proven9al language. The language of the
Troubadours, one of the Romance dialects which
sprang up on the decline of the literary Latin.
Prover^al poetry. (Troubadours; Trouveres.)
Province. [L. provincia, an abbrev. form
of providentia, meaning originally a duty, or
matter entrusted to a person.] In Rom. Hist.,
a conquered country administered by a Roman
officer commissioned for the purpose.
Provinces, Eoman. To the time of the battle
of Actium (B.C. 31), the Roman provinces were:
Sicily ; Sardinia and Corsica ; hither and further
Spain ; hither Gaul ; Gallia Narbonensis ; Illy-
rium ; Macedonia ; Achaia ; Asia ; Cilicia ;
Syria ; Bithynia and Pontus ; Cyprus ; Africa ;
Cyrene and Crete ; Numidia ; Mauretania.
Some were subsequently added ; and the number
was also increased by the subdivision of old
provinces.
Pro virili (sc. parte). [L., for his part as a
man.] To the utmost.
Provision. [L. provisio, -nem, forethought.]
A suspension, by the popes, of the right of
patronage of benefices in England, that they
might provide for their own foreign nominees.
Provisions of Oxford. (Oxford, Provisions of.)
Proviso. (Naut.) A stern-rope fastened to
the shore.
Provisory Statutes of. (Hist.) Statutes
passed in the reigns of Edward L, Edward III.,
and Richard II., to check the papal claims of
presentation to ecclesiastical benefices in Eng-
land. (Provision.)
Provost. [L. prsepositus, one set over.] 1.
In Scotland, a mayor. 2. In some colleges, the
head ; in some cathedrals, the dean ; sometimes
also answering to chancellor ; sometimes, before
the Reformation, to archdeacon.
Provost-marshal. (Mil.) The officer who is
the head of the police of a garrison or camp,
having, previous to the Army Discipline and
Regulation Act, 1879, power of summarily
punishing soldiers or camp followers detected in
the actual commission of crime : but now only
of arresting and detaining for trial. lie exe-
cutes punishments awarded by a court-martial.
Prow. [Fr. prone, L. and (Jr. prora.]
(Natit.) 1. The foremost end of a vessel. 2.
The beak of a xebec, or felucca.
Proxenos. [Gr.] In Gr. Hist., any citizen
of a state who guarded in his own city the
interests of citizens of another state. If ap-
pointed by the latter, he was called P. If he
took the charge on himself, he was Jtthclo-P.
Proximus ardet Ucalegon. [L.] Your
nearest neighbour, Ucalegon, is on /ire (Virgil),
= Look out ! danger is coming very close to
you. (Tua res agitur.)
Proxy. (Parliament, Privilege of ; Peer.)
Prud'hommes. [L. prudentes homines,
prudent men.} In Fr. Hist., citizens chosen to
serve in municipal tribunals possessing an equit-
able or conciliatory jurisdiction.
Prunella. [Dim. from L. pruTna, hoar-frost.]
Fused nitre in cakes or balls (because niire is
found as a white incrustation on the ground).
Prunella, Prunello. [Fr. prunelle, a sloe.] A
smooth woollen stuff (from its dark colour).
Prunello. [Fr. prunelle, dim. of prune, a
plum.] A kind of dried plum.
Priirigo. [L., itching.] A papular affection
of the skin, with intense itching ; not contagious.
Prussian blue. A pigment consisting of
prussic acid combined with iron.
Prussic acid. Hydrocyanic acid (formerly
obtained from Prussian blue).
Prytanes. [Gr. irpurdveis.] The presidents
of the Athenian Senate, holding office for one-
tenth part of the year, the Prytanes being fifty in
number, and the whole senate, all the members
of which presided in rotation, being 500.
Prytaneum. [Gr. irpvTa.vfl.ov.] In a Greek
city, the home of the community, where the
Prytanes assembled, and where the sacred fire
was always kept burning as on the hearths of
private houses.
Psalm. In Ps. Ixxxi. 2, ^psaltery (q.v.}.
Psaltery. [Gr. fyaKriipiov, a stringed instru-
ment.] 1. In I Sam. x. 5 and elsewhere, in Heb.
nebel, a kind of lyre or harp with ten strings, in
the shape of an earthern vims-bottle [nebel J ;
i.e. somewhat conical; i.q. "psalm" in Ps.
Ixxxi. 2. 2. The dulcimer, or Sautty. a corr.
of P.
Pseudepigraphy. [Gr. ^ev$eTriypa.(pos, falsely
inscribed.] The assigning false names of authors
to works.
Pseudo-. \Gt. tyffau, I deceive.] False, decep-
tive.
Pseudo-bulb. (Bulb.)
Pseudo-dipteral. [Gr. ^fv^s, false, SiVrepoy,
with two wings.] (Arch.) A building with
sufficient space between the wall and the columns
in front of it for two rows of columns, there
being only one.
Pseudo-Gospels. [Gr. (J^uS^s, false.] Pre-
tended Gospels of St. Joseph, St. James, St.
Paul ; the Epistle of Christ to Ahgarus, etc.
Fseudomorph. [Gr. (J>u5o>, / deceive, popfpii,
form.] Any mineral that has taken the place
PSEU
400
PUDD
and shape of another mineral, by the agency of
infiltrating water, etc.
Pseudonym. [Gr. il/evStavv^os, falsely named. ]
In Lit., a false name assumed by a writer.
Those who write under a fanciful name, as the
"Letters of Junius," are, properly, anonymous
writers.
Pseudopodia. [Gr. i//evS^ s, false, irovs, -65os, a
foot.] Extensions of protoplasm for the purpose
of grasping or moving about. (Protoplasm.)
Psilanthropists. [Gr. tyi\6s, mere, &vQp<avos,
man.] (Eccl. Hist.) Those who hold that
Jesus Christ was an ordinary man.
Fsittaci. [Gr. ^(TTOKOS, parrot, foreign word.]
(Ornithology.)
Fsoas muscle. [Gr. ty6a.] (Anat.) A large
muscle upon the fore part and sides of the
lumbar vertebrae.
Psophidae. [Gr. ^6<pos, noise] (Ornith.)
Trumpeters ; fam. and gen. of gregarious birds.
Amazon valley only. Though able to fly, each
spec, appears to have its range defined by a
river, as agami (P. crepitans) q.v., by Rio
Negro. Ord. Grallse.
Psora. (Itch.)
Psoriasis. [Gr. tywptao-is, tycapidw, 1 have the
itch.] (Med.) A skin-disease, exhibiting rough,
patchy or continuous scales, with chaps and
fissures.
Psyche. [Gr.] This word means strictly the
breath; hence the soul. The well-known tale
of Psyche and Eros (Amor), related in the
Golden Ass of Apuleius, belongs to the class of
stories which includes Beauty and the Beast.
Psyche is told by her sisters that she is married
to a monster. Holding a lamp to see, she finds
her husband surpassingly beautiful, but a drop of
oil falling on him awakens him, and he vanishes
away ; nor is she reunited to him until after a
very long and painful search.
Psychology. [Gr. ifo/x^?, ?*/'> *<fy J > discourse.]
A term synonymous with mental philosophy;
but sometimes limited to the classification of the
phenomena presented by the lower faculties of
the mind. (Association.)
Psychrometer. [Gr. f*!Xp^ C M> nerpov,
measure.] An instrument for measuring the
tension of the aqueous vapour in the atmo-
sphere.
Ptarmic [Gr. -arap/jLtKos, irraipu, I sneeze],
or Sternutatory. Causing to sneeze.
Pteraspis. [Gr. -mtp&v, a -wing, ao-jris, a
shield] (Geol.) The oldest known fish, small,
with long body-shield, found in the Lower
Ludlow strata.
Pterichthys. [Gr. vrepov, a wing, Ix^vs, a
fish] (Geol.) A fossil fish, with long body-
shield and movable side-spines, found by Hugh
Miller in the Old Red Sandstone.
Ptero-. [Gr. irrtp6v.] With wings, fas.
Pterodactyle, Wing-finger. [Gr. intpov, wing,
Sa/cTvAos, finger, foe.] (Geol.) An extraordinary
gen. of fossil lizards, with bat-like wings
attached to the fifth finger. Lias, Oolite
(especially Solenhofen), chalk.
Pteromys. [Gr. irrtp^v, -wing, nvs, mouse]
(Flying siuirrel.)
Pteropoda, Pteropods. [Gr. Trrep6-irovs, wing--
foot] (Zool.) Class of molluscs, small, with
wing-like fins ; some with, some without, shells ;
the chief food of the whale. All open seas.
Ptisan, Tisane. (Med.) Any decoction like
barley-water [Gr. irrlffavrj], with little or no
medicinal agent ; ptisanarium oryzse (Horace,
Sat. ii. 3), rice-broth.
Ptolemaic system. The system of astronomy
which received its full development at the hands
of Claudius Ptolemseus, in the second century of
our era, and which regarded the earth as the
stationary centre about which the sun and stars
performed their revolutions. (Heliocentric
theory.)
Ptyaline. A supposed animal matter found
in saliva [Gr. irrva.\ov]. Ptyalisni, salivation.
Pubescent. [I.q. L. pubes, adj.] (Bot.)
Covered with soft down.
Publicans. [L. publicani, from publicum, the
treasury of the patricians. ] The farmers of the
public revenues at Rome. They formed two
distinct classes the farmers-general being men
of high rank and importance, while their deputies
[portitores, toll-gatherers, strictly, at a sea-port,
portus] were of an inferior grade and of very
doubtful reputation. It is of the latter that
the New Testament speaks under the title of
telonai.
Public Safety, Commtttee of. (Fr. Hist.) A
body formed (1793) out of the Revolutionary
Convention. It came to an end in 1794, on
the introduction of the New Constitution.
(Assembly.)
Public Weal, War of the. (Fr. Hist.) The
contest between the feudal nobles and the
Crown, which ended in the defeat of the con-
federation called the League of the Public Weal,
by Louis XI., 14/2.
Public Worship Eegulation Act, of 37 and 38
Viet. It provides for the appointynent of a
Judge of the Provincial Court of Canterbury and
York, invested with the duties also of the Official
Principal of the Arches Court of Canterbury ; to
try alleged offences against the laws of public
worship : but this Act does not interfere with
the Church Discipline Act of 1840.
Puccoon. (Blood-root.)
PuceUe, La [Fr.], Pucella, La [It.]. The
Maid ; i.e. of Orleans, Jean Dare.
Puck. (Myth.) The "merry wanderer of
the night " (Shakespeare, Midsummer -Night's
Dream). The name is traced to the Slav, bog,
deity, Eng. bogy ; the connexion of which with
bug is attested by the expression bug-bear, for
any object which scares or terrifies. (Bogy.)
Pudding-stone. (Geol.) A conglomerate of
water-worn pebbles, cemented by siliceous, argil-
laceous, ferruginous, or calcareous paste ; e.g.
Hertfordshire P. has siliceous cement.
Pudding-time. Dinner-time, pudding being
formerly the first dish.
Puddle. Earth prepared as an impervious
lining for canals and ponds.
Puddling. 1. The process of melting cast
iron in a reverberator}' furnace and stirring it
to get rid of the carbon in making wrought iron.
FUEL
401
8. Making impervious to water by means of
clay.
Puellis idoneus. [L.] A ladies' man (Horace).
Puer. Dogs' dung used in preparing skins for
tanning.
Puff-birds. (Buoconidse.)
Puffin. [Fr.] (Ornith.) Marine rock-bird;
length about twelve inches ; plumage black and
white ; bill large, with orange stripes. North
of tropics. Gen. Fratercula, fam. Alcidse, ord.
Ansgres.
Puffs. In a horse. (Spavin.)
Puggaree. [Hind.] A white covering for
the hat, for the sake of coolness.
Pug-mill. A mill for grinding and mixing
clay (called pugging).
Puisne Judge. [Fr. puine, O.Fr. puisne", L.
protnatus, born after, younger ', hence inferior.]
A term applied to the judges who are not Chief
Justices or Chief Barons.
Pull-away boys. I.q. kroomen (q.v.).
Pulley. A wheel capable of turning round an
axle which may have a fixed or movable bearing ;
the rim of the wheel is properly shaped to carry
a rope or band by which force may be trans-
mitted. When two or more pulleys are com-
bined, they form a system of pulleys.
Pull foot, To. (Naut. ) To run, to hurry.
Pulmonary. [L. pulmo, pulmonis, a lung.]
Relating to the lungs.
Pulping. Removing the pulp, or aril, from
coffee berries.
Pulpitum. [L.] In the Greek theatre, where
the actors stood when they spoke, or XoyCtov, the
speaking-place, was the part of the proscenium
nearest the orchestra.
Pulque. [Sp.] A kind of wine made from
the American aloe in Mexico.
Pulses. [L. pulsus, a pushing, a beating of
the pulse.] Undulations, or vibrations (q.v.).
Pultaoeous. Like pap [L. pultem] in con-
sistency.
Fulteney guinea, The. (Nil conscire sibi.)
Pulu. (Native name.) A kind of cotton
from the Sandwich Islands.
Pulverulent. [L. pulvSrulentus, covered with
dust (pulvis).] (Bot.) Having a powdery ap-
pearance ; e.g. the mullein Verbascum pulveru-
lentum.
Pulvmated. [L. pulvlnar, a pillow.] (Arch.)
A term denoting a swelling in any part of an
Order, as that of the frieze in the modern Ionic.
Pulwar. (Naut. ) Ganges passage-boat.
Pumice-stone. [L. pumex, pumicis.] (Geol.) A
felspathic lava, light, grey, rough, fibrous, spongy
from the action of the escaping steam ; chemically
agreeing with obsidian (q.v.).
Pummice. (Pommage.)
Pump. (Chain-pump; Forcing-pump; Suc-
tion, etc.)
Pumpernickel. [Ger.] Westphalian bran-
bread (so called in contempt).
Punch. A small, powerful cart-horse, for
which Suffolk was once noted ; now superseded
by larger breed, sometimes called, incorrectly,
by the same name.
Punch. [L. pungo, / puncture.] A steel
implement for stamping or cutting out holes in
metal.
Punch and Judy. A popular puppet-show.
The common notion, that it is so called from
Pontius (Pilate) and Judas (Iscariot), is rejected
by Mr. Skeat, who traces Punch, as a shortened
form of Punchinello, to the L. pullus, the young
of anything ; Judy coming, as he supposes, from
Judith, once a common female name.
Puncheon. A measure of capacity ; 84 gallons
= one puncheon of wine.
Pundit. (Pandits.)
Pundum. Piny varnish (q.v. ).
Punica fides. [L.] The faith of Cartha-
ginians, who were supposed to be systematically
false, as were the Athenians ; hence also
'ATT(KT) TT'HTTIS, Attic faith.
Punic language. The language of the Car-
thaginians, differing little from the Hebrew.
Punic Wars. The wars between Rome and
Carthage, beginning B.C. 264, and ending with
the destruction of Carthage, 147. The .Second
Punic War (B.C. 218-202) is also known as the
Hannibalian War.
Punkah. [Hind, pankha, a fan] A large fan
worked by a cord.
Punt. [A.S.] (Naut.) Flat-bottomed boat
propelled by puoys, or quants, i.e. long poles
with a triangular block near the bottom, to pre-
vent their sinking in the mud ; or by halers, or
spreaders, with a splayed iron fork at the foot.
Puny Judge. (Puisne Judge.)
Puoy. (Punt.)
Pupa. [L., a doll] (Entom.) 1. The last
stage but one of an insect ; sometimes called
Aureliaor Chrysalis when quiescent, and Nympha
when active. 2. Gen. of land-snails ; so named
from shape of shell. Pulmoniferous molluscs,
fam. Hfilicidse.
Pupipara. [L. pupa, a pupa, pario, / bring
forth] (Entom.) Applied to insects which do
not produce their young till advanced to the
pupa stage ; as the forest fly.
Pupivora. [L. pupa, a pupa, voro, I devour.]
(Entom.) Tribe of hymenopterous insects whose
larvae are parasitic within the larvae and pupae
of other insects ; as the ichneumons.
Furana. [Skt., a poem] The Hindu sacred
books, containing the explanation of the Shaster.
They belong probably to the earlier centuries of
the Christian era.
Purbeok marble. (Geol.) A beautiful building-
stone formed of Paludinse, from the P. beds, i.e.
well developed in the Isle of P. ; a group of fresh-
water strata, usually referred to the Upper Oolite,
but by some to the Neocomian rocks (q.v.).
Purcellaine. (Purslane.)
Purchase. [Fr. pourchasser, to pursue eagerly,
to chase, i.e. L. captiare.] In New Testament,
to acquire [Gr. KTacrBat, irepnroif'iffBai] ; never to
buy.
Purfling. [O.Fr. pourfiler.] Decorating
with a wrought or flowered border.
Purgatory. [L. purgatorius, purifying.] In
the theology of the Latin Church, a place for
the infliction of temporal punishment for sins on
those who die in the grace of God. .
2 D
PURI
402
PYRE
Purifonn. (Med.) In the form of pus [L.
pus, puris].
Pnrim. [Heb., lots.} A movable feast of the
Jews, commemorating their deliverance from the
wiles and stratagems of Haman, as recorded in
the Book of Esther (ix. 24), he "had cast Pur,
that is, the lot, ... to destroy them. "
Purism. Affectation of purity, especially in
writing.
Puritans. In Eng. Hist., a name generally
applied to dissenters from the Church of England,
in the reigns of Elizabeth, James I., and Charles
I. (Cathari.)
Purl. [Contracted from Eng. purple.} 1. An
inversion of stitches in knitting, giving a ribbed
appearance. 2. A kind of hot spiced beer.
Purlieu. [Fr. pur, pure, lieu, place.} 1. The
ground near a royal palace, made pure or free
from the forest laws. 2. The outer portion, or
environs, of any place.
Purlin. [Of uncertain origin.] (Arch.) A
horizontal timber lying on the principal rafters
of a roof, to lessen the strain on the common
rafters.
Purple of Cassius. (Cassius, Purple of.)
Purple wood. A Brazilian wood, chiefly used
for ramrods and decorative veneering.
Purpure. [L. purpura.] (Her.) The purple
colour in coats of arms, represented in engraving
by lines sloping downward from the sinister to the
dexter side.
Purree. (Indian red.)
Purser (Naut.), now Paymaster. The officer
having charge of provisions, etc., on board
ship, having little to do with money matters.
P.'s dip, the smallest dip candle. P.'s grins,
sneers. P.' s name, assumed name. P. 's pound,
seven-eighths of imperial pound.
Purslane, Puroellaine. A succulent annual,
Portulaca 61racea ; a pot-herb, once used in
soups and salads, now neglected.
Pursuer. In Scotland, the plaintiff; so exactly
the Gr. 6 Stto/ccw.
Pursuivants. (College of Heralds.)
Purtenance. Exod. xii. 9 ; inner parts, entrails.
Purveyance. [Fr. pourvoir, L. providere, to
provide.] A former privilege of the English
kings, which enabled the officers of the royal
household to take corn and cattle for the use of
the sovereign, and to employ beasts of burden in
his service. Payments were made in tallies on
the exchequer, and were precarious and often
long in arrear. The burdens of the system were
thus felt to be very heavy. (Pre-emption.)
Pus. [L.] (Med.) Thick yellow fluid, pro-
duct of inflammation resulting in suppuration.
Push. In popular language, small boil ; cf.
pus (?).
Pustule. [L. pustula, from pus.] (Med.)
Pimple, small boil, pock.
Put and call. (Puts.)
Putchuck. A root from Scinde, used in China
for incense.
Putlog. In building, the holes left in walls
for the use of workmen in raising scaffolding, the
logs or beams of the scaffold being put or laid in
them.
Puts. When stocks are thought to be going
down, and a small operation without much risk
is desired, a small sum is given for the privilege
of delivering a small amount of stock at a certain
price ; e.g. cash price of Erie being 57 per cent.,
a speculator would give fifty dollars to "put,"
or deliver, I CO shares at 56^ say in ten days.
He can only lose his fifty dollars if the market
should go up, but if it goes down to 56, he gets
his money back, and all that is below is so much
profit. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Putty. [Fr. potee.] A mixture of linseed
oil and whitening. Putty powder is burnt di-
oxide of tin, used for polishing metals and glass.
Pyaemia. [Gr. irvov, pus, ol/ta, blood. } (Med.)
Blood-poisoning, a diseased condition of blood,
supposed to be owing to the absorption of pus,
or other septic fluid.
Pye. (Pie.)
Pygarg. [Gr. vvy-apyos, white-rump, Heb.
dishon (Deut. xiv. 5), the leaper.} (Bibl.)
Probably addax, a large antelope with twisted
horns. Sub-fam. Oryginae, fam. Bovidse.
Pygmalion. [Gr. IIi/yfiaAiW.] A king of
Cyprus, who, falling in love with an ivory statue
which he had made, prayed to Aphrodite to
endow it with life. Aphrodite did so, and the
vivified statue became his wife.
Pygmy. [Gr. itvyiuuos, from irvyn-fi, a cubit, .]
A being of a cubit's height. The Iliad speaks
of a race of pygmies perpetually at war with
cranes. Some supposed them to live in Ethiopia ;
others in India. The Dwergar, or dwarfs, of the
Northmen, were probably Esquimaux.
Pykar. (Naut.) A small vessel, temp.
Edward III.
Pyke, To. (Naut.) To haul on a wind. To
P. off, to go away noiselessly.
Pylades and Orestes. A pair of inseparable
friends. Orestes was the son of Agamemnon and
of Clytemnestra, whom, by the help of Pylades,
he murdered.
Pylagoras. [Gr. ; so called from the gathering
of the Amphictyons at Pylae or Thermopylae.]
The second of the two deputies sent by each
Greek city of the confederacy to the Amphi-
ctyonio Council, the other being the Hieromne-
mon.
Pylorus. [Gr. ir\>\up6s, (i) a gate-keeper, (2)
pylorus. } (Anat.) The small end of the stomach,
or opening into the duodenum, which entrance
it as it were guards.
Pyramid. [Gr. irvp&fils, a pyramid ; (?) an
Egypt, word.] A solid whose base is a recti-
lineal figure, and whose sides are triangles having
a common vertex.
Pyramidal system. (Crystallog.) Consists of
those crystals which have three rectangular axes,
and two of their three parameters equal ; as ido-
crase, copper pyrites, etc. When transparent,
they are optically uniaxal.
Pyrethrum. [Gr. irbpeGpov.} (Sot.) Feverfew, i*.
febrifuge, allied to chamomile, ord. Composite;
a gen. of perennial plants. In waste places of
Britain, and many other parts of Europe.
Pyretics. (Med.) Medicines for the cure of
fever [Gr. TrvperSs],
PYRE
403
QUAD
PyrStology. (Med.) The theory of fever [Gr.
xvpfrds].
Pyrheliometer. [Gr. irvp, fire, faios, the sun,
Herpov, measure.] An instrument for measuring
the sun's radiant heat.
Pyriphlegethon. (Phlegethon.)
Pyrites. [Gr. irvpfrris \l6os, a stone that strikes
fire.] (Min.) 1. Sulphide of iron, anciently used
for strike-a-lights ; now, 2, = a group of
minerals, compounds of metals (iron, copper)
with sulphur, which in decomposing give out
considerable heat.
Pyro-. [Gr. irvp, irvp6s,fire.] A prefix show-
ing that the composition of any chemical sub-
stance has been altered by heat.
Pyrogenous. [Gr. irvp, fire, ylyvo^ai, I become.]
(Geol.) I.q. igneous.
Pyroligneous acid. [Gr. irvp, fire, L. lignum,
wood.] Impure acetic acid obtained by the dry
distillation of wood.
Pyrometer. [Gr. irvp, irvp6s,fire, nerpov, mea-
sure.] An instrument for measuring temperatures
above the range of a mercurial thermometer.
Pyrophorus. [Gr. irvpo<p6pos, fire-bearing.]
Any substance which takes fire when exposed to
the air.
Pyrosoope. [Gr. irvp, fire, ffKoireu, I view.]
An instrument for measuring the intensity of
radiant heat.
Pyrosis. [Gr. irvputris, a burning, from irvp6<a,
I set on fire.] (Med.) Waterbrash, a vomiting
of a thin, watery liquid.
Pyrotechnics. [From Gr. irvp, irvp&s, fire, and
r *X vr l> a,rt.~\ The art of making fireworks.
Pyroxene. [Gr. irvp, fire, |eVos, strange.] I.q.
augite (q.v.}.
Pyroxylin. [Gr. irvp, fire, \>\ov, wood.] Gun-
cotton.
Pyrrhic dance. A warlike dance, said to have
been invented by Pyrrhus (Neoptolemos), for
the funeral games of his father Achilles.
Pyrrhic foot. (Pros.) One of two short syl-
lables used in the P. war-song ; e.g. ducS.
Pyrrhic victory. Pyrrhus, King of Epirus
(Epeiros), is said to have exclaimed after the
battle of Ascalum, "Another such victory, and
we are lost." The story is worthless; but the
phrase has come to denote successes obtained at
too great a cost.
Pyrrhonists. (Hist.) The followers of
Pyrrhon, a philosopher of Elis, and disciple of
Anaxarchus, in the fourth century B.C. ; noted
for his singular scepticism.
Pyro-electricity. [Gr. irvp, fire, and electricity.]
Electricity developed by heat.
Pythagoreans. (Hist.) The followers of the
Samian Pythagoras, called the first of the Greek
philosophers. His lifetime is uncertain. He is
said to have resolved all philosophy into the re-
lations of numbers, God being the original unity ;
and to have drawn up a table of oppositcs [Gr.
avTiffToix'ta] odd and even, one and many, etc.,
which points to a system of dualism. (Ahriman ;
Metempsychosis. )
Pythagorean system. (A si ran.) A name
sometimes given to the true or Copcrnican system
of the heavens, though it is not in any degree
probable that Pythagoras taught that the earth
revolves round the sun, or that it rotates on its
own axis.
Pythia. [Gr.] The priestess of the Delphian
oracle of Apollo.
Pythian games. (Hist.) The great Greek
festival, held in every fifth year at Delphi.
Python. [Gr.] 1. (Myth.) A dragon slain
at Delphi by Apollo, and said to have been left
to rot [Gr. irvBeiv, L. putere], in order to explain
the name, which reappears in that of the serpent
Fafnir, the dragon of the Glistering Heath, in
the Volsunga Saga. (Sagas.) 2. (Zoo!.) Gen. of
large snake with rudimentary hind legs, giving
its name to fam. Pythonidse ; not venomous,
killing prey by constriction. India, Borneo, and
adjacent islands.
Pyx. [Gr. irvis, a box.~\ 1. In the Latin
Church, a vessel in which the host is kept. 2.
A box for holding a sample coin to be assayed
before issue.
a.
Q. Asanabbrev., stands for L. quintus; it
also denotes question, Qy. query ; Q.E.D.
stands for the Latin words, Quod erat demon-
strandum, which was to be shown, as in the pro-
positions of Euclid. (Quirites.)
Q.A.B., Queen Anne's Bounty. The produce
of the firstfruits and tenths due to the Crown,
made over by Queen Anne to the Bounty Board
(q.v.), for augmentation of poor livings.
Quad. In Oxford and elsewhere, a colloquial
term for the quadrangles in colleges, etc.
Quade. (Naut.) Unsteady, shifty ; as Quade
wind.
Quadragesima. [L., fortieth.] The Lenten
season, as consisting of about forty days ; hence
Fr. careme.
Quadrant. [L. quadrantem, a fourth part.]
(Math.) 1. A fourth part of a circle. 2. An
instrument not differing materially from a
sextant.
Quadrant, Mural. (Math.) An ancient as-
tronomical instrument, superseded by the mural
circle.
Quadrantal triangle. (Math.) A spherical
triangle, one of whose sides is a quadrant.
Quadrat. [Fr., from L. quadratus, squared.]
In Printing, a piece of type-metal cast lower
than the types, so as to leave a blank in printing.
(Quads.)
Quadrate. [L. quadratus, squared.'] (Her.)
Square. A cross-quadrate is a cross having a
small square described in each of its angles, so
QUAD
404
QUAR
that it looks as if its centre were covered by a
square.
Quadratic equation. One in which the high-
est power of the unknown quantity is its square ;
as, x 2 + 17* 60 = o.
Quadrature. [L. quadrature, a squaring.'} 1.
(Geom.) The process of finding a square whose
area equals that of a figure bounded wholly or
partly by a curved line ; as the quadrature of
the circle. 2. (Astron. ) The moon is in quad-
rature when her longitude differs from that of
the sun by 90.
Quadrifid. [L. quadrifldus, four-cloven.]
(Sot. ) Divided half-way from the margin to the
base into four clefts, as a Q. perianth ; or into
four segments, as a Q. leaf.
Quadrilateral. [L. quadrilatgrus, of four
sides.} 1. A name applied to countries forming a
sort of square, guarded by four fortresses, as the
Q. of Peschiera, Verona, Legnano, and Mantua.
2. (Geom.) A plane figure bounded by four
straight lines. If no two sides are parallel, it is
a Trapezium ; if it has only one pair of sides
parallel, it is a Trapezoid; if it has two pairs of
parallel sides, a Parallelogram, which is a rect-
angle or oblong when its angles are right angles,
and a square if the four sides are equal and
the angles right angles ; if the four sides are
equal but the angles not right angles, it is a
Rhombus. (Rhomboid.)
Quadrireme. [L. quadriremis, from quatuor,
and remus, an oar.} In ancient Hist., a war-
ship, with four banks of oars. (Quinquereme ;
Trireme.)
Quadrivial. [Cf. quadrivium.] Having four
ways meeting in a point.
Quadrivium. [L.] (Schol.) The four lesser
arts arithmetic, astronomy, music, geometry.
Hallam, Lit. Hist., pt. i. ch. i. 3. (Trivium.)
Quadroon. [L. quatuor, four, through Fr.
quarteron, quateron, Sp. cuarteron.] The off-
spring of a white and a mulatto, i.e. one having
one black grandparent, or one-fourth black
blood. (Mulatto.)
Quadrumana. [L. quatuor, four, manus,
hand.} (Zool.) Four-handed, as apes ; the
opposable thumb is sometimes wanting to the
fore limbs.
Quadruple Alliance. (Triple Alliance.)
Quads and Spaces. In Printing, type-metal
cast lower than types, and used as blanks, for
filling out lines, and to place between words,
viz. | en, em, HB two-em, MBH three-em
quads ; and | hair, [ five-to-em, | four-to-em,
and | three-to-em spaces. (Em ; Quadrat.)
QUSB caret ora oruore nostro? [L.] What
country is without our blood? (Where have we
not bled and suffered ?).
Quae cum ita sint. [L.] This being so.
Quaestor. [L.] In ancient Rome, officers of
two kinds : (i) Q. classici, collectors of revenue ;
(2) Q. parricidii, public accusers in criminal cases.
Quail-land. (Ortygian shore.)
Quaker. In Naut. slang, a sham gun.
Quakers, or Friends. The followers of George
Fox, who, in the seventeenth century, asserted
that the operation of religion on the heart was
independent of all ritual observances, and who
therefore reject sacraments, and have no order of
ministers. They have also persistently refused
to take oaths in courts of justice.
Qualis rex, talis grex. [L., as is the king, such,
are his people.} Like master, like man.
Qualitative analysis. [L. qualitas, quality.]
(Analysis.)
Quality. [L. qualitas, from qualis, of what
sort.} (Log.) The character of a Proposition)
as affirmative or negative.
Quality of a musical note. Its peculiar charac-
ter, depending on the harmonics which coexist
with the fundamental tone, and their relative
intensities.
Quamdiu se bene gesserit. [L.] So long as
he shall behave well ; applied to those who hold
office during good conduct.
Quandoque bonus dormltat Homerus. (Ali-
quando bonus.)
Quant. [(?) L. contus, a pole] (Naut.) 1.
A punting-pole. (Punt. ) 2. A small piece of
board at the foot of a leaping-pole. 3. A long
pole used for pushing a barge along.
Quantitative analysis. [L. quantitas, quantity.]
(Analysis.)
Quantity. [L. quantitas, from quantus, how
great.} (Log.) The character of a proposition
according to the extent to which the predicate is
affirmed or denied of the subject. If it be ex-
tended to the whole subject, the proposition is
universal ; otherwise it is particular. (Prosody.)
Quantity of heat. (Thermal unit.)
Quantity of matter. Mass (q.v. ).
Quantity of motion. Momentum (q.v.).
Quantum mutatus ab illo ! [L.] How changed
from his old self ! (Virgil) ; said of Hector after
his death.
Quantum suffleit. [L., as much as suffices.]
In sufficient quantity.
Quantum valeat. [L.] For -what it may be
worth.
Quaquaversal strata ( Geol. ) = dipping on all
sides [L. quaqua, wheresoever, versus, adv.,
towards] ; now termed Periclinal (q.v.).
Quarantine. [It. quaranto, forty] 1. In
Law, the forty days during which a widow is by
Magna Charta entitled to remain in her hus-
band's chief messuage after his death, for the
resignment of her dower. 2. (Naut.) The time,
now variable, during which a vessel arriving
from an infected port is not allowed to com-
municate with the shore. (Truce of God.)
Quare impedif? [L., wherefore does hin-
der ?} The ordinary action in Law, to establish
a patron's disputed right to present to a benefice.
Quarles's emblems. A set of designs illus-
trating verses by Francis Quarles (1592-1644).
The plates and plan of the work seem to have
been borrowed from the " Pia Desideria" of
Hermann Hugo, a Jesuit of Brussels.
Quarrel. [L.L. quadrellus, Fr. carreau.] In
mediaeval warfare, the arrow or bolt for the
cross-bow ; so called from its four-sided head.
Quarrel, Quarry. [Fr. carre, L. quadratus,
square.] 1. A diamond-shaped pane of glass.
2. A glazier's diamond.
QUAR
40S
QUER
Quartan. [L. quartanus.] (Meet.) Occurring
every fourth day ; quartanii, sc. febris, fever of
which the paroxysms occur every fourth day ;
tertian [tertiana], every third day ; so quintan
[quintana], every fifth day.
Quartation. [Fr., from L. quartus, fourth.]
(Chem.) Making an alloy of three parts of
silver and one of gold, and then dissolving the
silver by nitric acid, so that the remaining^r/^
is pure gold.
Quarter. 1. (Arith.) Twenty-eight pounds
avoirdupois are a Q., viz. of a hundred weight.
2. Sixty-four gallons, or eight bushels, are a Q. ,
viz. of a ton of grain. 8. (Astron.) A Q. is a
fourth part of the moon's monthly course ; as
when she is in her third Q.
Quarter. 1. (Mil.) (i) To quarter troops is
to give them billets on the inhabitants of a
town ; (2) officers' barracks are called quarters ;
(3) to give Q., to spare the life of a conquered
enemy [(?) as being = to keep within bounds ;
or (?) Q. as = friendliness. De Brieux says Q.
is portion of pay, promised as ransom]. 2.
(Naut. ) From 45 abaft the beam to the stern.
Q.-boat, one hung over the quarter. Q.-deck.
(Decks.) Q.-galley, a Barbary cruiser. Q.-
master, petty officer, whose duty it is to assist
the master and mates in their duties.
Quarter-guard. (Mil.) One posted in front
of each encamped regiment.
Quartering arms, (ffer.) The arranging of
various coats of arms in squares or quarters
on one escutcheon, so as to show the alliances
of one family with the heiresses of others. Each
of these squares is called a quartering.
Quartermaster. (Mil.) An officer in the
army who has charge of the barracks and stores,
and the issue of clothing, fuel, food, and ammu-
nition.
Quartermaster-general. (Mil.) Staff officer
in charge of the marching, embarkation, and
quartering of troops ; together with all matters
relating to military science and topography.
Quarter-pierced, Cross. (Her. ) A cross from
which the middle has been removed, so as to
leave a square hole.
Quarter-staff. Old weapon about the height
of a man, consisting of a tough thick stick,
which was held by the centre.
Quarter-tones. (Music.) A word often used
loosely for any interval less than a semi-tone.
Quarto. [L. quartus, fourth.] A book com-
posed of sheets folded so as to make four leaves.
Quartodeoimans. [L. quartus decimus, four-
teenth.] In Eccl. Hist., those who celebrated
Easter on the fourteenth day of the Paschal
moon, instead of on the Sunday following.
This was the practice of the Eastern Christians.
Quartz. [Ger. term.] (Geol.) A crystallized
variety of silica (q.v.)', clear, transparent Q. is
rock-crystal; purple, amethyst; brown, cairn-
gorm. Common in veins and nests in many
metamorphic rocks.
Quartzite. (Geol.) A granular variety of
quartz ; sandstones altered by pressure and heat
assume the aspect of quartz; usually meta-
morphic.
Quasi. [L.] As though, as it were ; as in the
phrase, Quasi in loco parentis, as it were in the
place of a parent.
Quasimodo. [L.] In the calendar of the
Roman Church, the First Sunday after Easter ;
so called from the first words of the Introit. It
is also known as Dominica in Allns, as, then,
those who had been baptized on Easter Sunday
deposited their white robes in the sacristy.
Quass. [Russ. kwass.] A thin sour beer
made with rye or barley meal.
Quassia chips. A bitter extensively used in
Europe ; the wood of Q. excelsa, a tree of
Trop. America ; its medicinal virtues first made
known by a negro, " Quassy."
Quaternary. [L. quaternarius, i.e. numerus,
the number ^.~\ (Geol.) Post-Tertiary, all above
the Tertiaries.
Quaternion. [L. quaternionem, from quaterni,
sets of four.] A group of four words, phrases,
or the like. (Triads.)
Quatrain. [It. quattrino.] A stanza of four
verses, the rime being usually alternate ; but
sometimes the first and fourth, and the second
and third, rime together.
Quatrefoil. [L. quatuor, and folium, a leaf.]
(Arch.) In tracery, a figure with four cusps.
Also, as an ornament, a conventional flower with
four leaves.
Quattro occhi, A. [It.] Of two persons only ;
said of a dinner, conversation, etc. ; lit. with
four eyes. A tete-a-tete.
Quatuor maria. [L.] The four seas ; i.e.
those around Great Britain.
Queche. (A T aut.) Small Portuguese smack..
Queen Anne's Bounty. (Q.A.B.)
Queen-post. (Arch.) A suspending post in a
trussed roof, resting on the tie-beam, and sup-
porting the principal rafters.
Queen's counsel. (Leg.) The standing counsel
of the Crown. As the Crown is the nominal
prosecutor in criminal proceedings, barristers
who have received the appointment of Queen's
counsel cannot appear in any cause against the
Crown, or defend a prisoner without a licence.
Queen's messenger. Generally an officer
retired from the army or navy, entrusted with
the conveyance and delivery of State documents.
Queen's metal. (Chem.) An alloy of nine
parts of tin and one part of antimony, of
bismuth, and of lead.
Queen's ware. An improved cream ware
made by Wedgwood, in 1759 ; named after
Queen Charlotte.
Queen's yellow. A sulphate of mercury, used
as a pigment.
Quern Deus vult perdere prius dementat.
[L.] Whom the god wishes to ruin he first
maddens ; a phrase applied to cases of what
is called judicial madness.
Quern Di diligunt adolescens moritur. [L.]
He whom the gods love dies young (Plautus).
Transl. from the Gr. "Ov ol deal <pi\ovatv cwro-
6vfl<TK(i veos.
Quercitron. [Fr., from L. quercus, oak, citrus,
citron tree.] The bark of the black oak, used in
tanning and in dyeing yellow.
QUER
406
QUIS
Quern. [A.S. cweorn, akin to corn, grain,
etc.] A machine for grinding. Frodi's quern
(Myth.) is the inexhaustible source of wealth,
producing meal without being replenished.
Que savons nous. [Fr.] As far as we know.
Question. [L. questionem, an inquiring or
search.] The judicial term for the application of
torture to prisoners.
Question, Begging the. (Petitio principii.)
Question, Previous. (Previous question, Moving
the.)
Questmen. [Quest, i.e. inquiry. ,] Formerly
assistants to the churchwardens ; anciently
summoned by the bishop as " Synod 's-men,"
corr. into sidesmen, to give information as to
parishes and clergy.
Qnia emptores. [L.] The statute 18 Edward
I., which forbade Subinfeudation ; so named
from the words with which it begins.
Quick. In the Bible, always = living [A.S.
cwic] ; so a quick hedge, i.e. growing, as dis-
tinct from palings ; cut to the quick, quicksilver.
Quicken, To. (Naut.) To give a greater
curve in building a ship.
Quicken tree. (Rowan.)
Quick fence. (Quick.)
Quicklime. f_Eng. quick, living."] (Chem.)
Oxide of calcium, a caustic substance obtained
by burning limestone.
Quicksand. Moving, unsolid sand, mixed
with water, and such as will not support the
weight of a man attempting to pass over it.
Quickwork. (Naut.) 1. The immersed
part of a loaded ship. 2. (Spirkitting.)
Quicquid agunt homines . . . nostri est
farrago libelli. [L.] Men's doings, all of
them, make up the medley of my little book.
Quicquid plant atur solo, solo cedit. [I..]
In Law : whatever is annexed to the soil, goes
with the soil ; upon this the law of fixtures is
founded. (Buta caesa.)
Quiddity. [L. quidditas, from quid, what."]
That which answers to the question, What is
this ? the essence of a thing.
Quid leges, sine moribus Vanse, proficiunt?
[L.] What good can laws alone effect, which
without morals are useless ? (Horace).
Quid non mortalia pectora cogis, Auri sacra
fames 1 [L.] To what crimes cannot the cursed
hunger for gold drive men ? (Virgil).
Quidnunc. [L.,'. -what now?] A collector
of news, a gossip, or tattler.
Quidquid dellrant reges, plectuntur Achivi.
[L.] Kings go astray, and their subjects pay
the penalty (Horace).
Quieta non movere. [L.] Make no stir
when things are still.
Quietists. (Mystics.)
Qui facit per alium facit per se. [L., he -who
acts through another acts himself.'] A man
cannot free himself from guilt by using another
as his agent ; a man is responsible for his ser-
vant's negligence.
Quignon's Breviary. (Breviary of Quignon.)
Qui laborat orat. [L., he who labours prays.]
Work is worship.
Quill. [Ger. kiel.] A piece of reed on which
is wound the thread that forms the woof of
cloth.
Quillingi A narrow border of lace, etc.,
folded like a row of quills.
Quinate. (Palmate leaf.)
Quincunx. [L.] 1. Properly, any five ob-
jects which occupy the corners of a square and
the point of intersection of the diagonals. 2.
The arrangement of troops, or other objects, in
a triangular figure of five divisions on each side.
Quindecemviri. [L., fifteen men.] (Hist.)
Roman magistrates, charged with the care of
the Sibyllim books (q.v.).
Quinoa of Peru. A goosefoot, q.v. (Cheno-
podium Quinoa) ; ripening at a height of nearly
13,000 feet ; the great article of agriculture in
S. Peru ; yielding abundant seeds of the size
of millet, used much as rice is used in India ;
and from which an agreeable beer is obtained.
Quinquagesima. [L,., fiftieth.] In the Eccl.
calendar, the Seventh Sunday before Easter ;
so called as falling about fifty days before it.
Quinquarticular Controversy. (Eccl. Hist.)
That between Arminians and Calvinists upon
the five points [L. quinque articuli] of: (l)
Particular election ; (2) particular redemption ;
(3) moral inability in a fallen state ; (4) irresis-
tible grace ; (5) final perseverance of the saints.
Quinquennalia. [L.] Games or festivals
celebrated every five years [quinque anni].
Qninquereme. [L. quinquSremis.] Roman
war-ships, with five banks of oars. (Quadrireme ;
Trireme.)
Quinquertium. (Pentathlon.)
Quinsy. [It. squinanzia, Gr. K\iviy)(i\, dog-
throttling.] (Med.) Inflammation of the tonsils.
Quinta. [Sp.] A country-seat, villa.
Quintain. 1. A wooden post set up for military
exercises, sometimes turning on a pivot. 2. An
O. E. game. A board, hanging like a sign-
board, is tilted at by a rider, who has to strike
it before a balancing weight, hanging opposite to
the board, has time to swing round and strike him.
Quintal. [Fr. quintal, Ar. quintar, a hun-
dredweight.] One hundred kilogrammes, nearly
equal to two hundredweights.
Quintan. (Quartan.)
Quintessence. [L. quinta essentia.] The
fifth essence, requiring five processes for extrac-
tion ; the extremest possible concentration ; a
term of the old chemists, or rather alchemists.
Quinzaine. The fourteenth day after a feast.
(Octave.)
Qui pro quo, or Quid pro quo. [L.] A phrase
used by the French to denote the error of mis-
taking one thing for another ; in England,
usually to signify an equivalent.
Quire. [Fr. cahier, copy-book."] Twenty-four
sheets of paper.
Quirites. A people whose name is joined
with that of the Romans in the phrase P. R. Q. ,
populus Romanus Quirites, They may have
belonged to a town called Cures or Quirium;
but the fact cannot be proved. Some trace the
name to the word curis, a spear.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes. [L.] Who
shall guard the keepers themselves ? (Juvenal).
QUIS
407
RACK
Quis expedlvit psitt&oo suum x"P f ? [I-]
fF/fo / 0^ 0/" the parrot that " How d'ye do ? "
of his ? the answer being hunger ; which makes
poets also sing (Persius, Prologue to Sat.).
Quisque suos patimur manes. [L.] We
suffer, every one of us, our lower-world punish-
ments.
Quis tulerit Gracchos de seditione que-
rentes. [L.] Who can put up with complaints
about sedition from the Gracchi ? (these being
supposed to be notoriously seditious them-
selves).
Qui tarn action. In Law, a popular action,
in which one part of the penalty recovered is
given to the king, the poor, or to some public
use ; brought by one, qui tarn pro domino rege,
quam pro se ipso . . . sequitur, who sues as
well for the king as for himself.
Quit-rent. A small rent payable by tenants
of old manors, by which they go quiet [O.Fr.
quite, discharged, free, L. quietum].
Quittor. In a horse, chronic abscess of the
foot.
Qui vive T [Fr., lit. who lives ? i.e. is moving?]
With the French, = Who goes there ? of our
sentries.
Quixotism, or Quixotry. A word generally
used to denote absurd or extravagant actions
done from a sense of duty, like those of Don
Quixote in the great romance of Cervantes.
Quoounque modo. [L., by whatever means. }
In some way or other.
Quocunque nomine gaudes. [L. , in whatever
name you rejoice.'} Whatever may be your
name.
Quoddy. A kind of scaled herring, cured in
N. America.
Quod erat demonstrandum, (Q.)
Quod erat faciendum. [L.] Which was to
be done ; appended to problems under the
initial letters Q.E.F.
Quod fieri non debtiit, factum valet. [L.]
What ought not to have been done is valid when
done (as in the case of marriage at an illegal
age).
Quod ublque, quod semper, quod ab omnibus.
(Vincentian rule.)
Quoin. [Fr. coin, Gr. -yuvia, an angle.'}
1. (Arch.) An angle of a building. 2. In
Printing, a wedge for securing pages in the chase.
Quorum. [L., of whom.} A term derived
from the words of the Latin form of commission
to justices of the peace, " Quorum unum A. B.
esse volumus," of whom we will A. />. to be one.
Hence two or more persons, when the presence
of more than one is needed, may be said to
constitute a quorum.
Quorum pars magna fui. [L., lit. of which
(persons, or things, or times) I was an important
element.
Quo semel est imbuta recens, servabit odorem
Testa diu. [L., the jar will long keep the
odour which it received when new (Horace).]
Early impressions are lasting.
Quotation. In Printing, a piece of hollow
type-metal, lower than type, used in the blank
spaces at the beginning and end of chapters, etc.
Quot homines, tot sententiae. [L.] As many
opinions as men.
Quot servi, tot hostes. [L. ] All your slaves
may prove your enemies ; as many enemies as
servants.
Quum talis sis, utinam noster esses. [L.]
(Tails quum sis, utinam noster esses.)
B. As an abbrev. , stands for Rex or Regina,
king or queen ; in medical prescriptions for
Re'cipe' [L., take} ; in the Naut. muster-book,
R. denotes run, placed against the names of
deserters, and of those who have missed three
musters; R.P. for Respublica, republic.
Eab. A rod used in mixing hair with mortar.
Rabbet. [Fr. rabot, a plane.} 1. A sloping
cut made on the edge of a board so that it may
form a joint with another board similarly cut by
sapping. 2. A rectangular groove cut along the
edge of a board to receive a corresponding pro-
jection upon the edge of another board.
Rabbeting. [Fr. rabot, a plane.} (Arch.)
A process in wood answering to joggling in
stone. (Joggle-joints.)
Rabbinism. The body of the doctrine of the
rabbis, contained in the Talmud and other books.
Rabble. A tool used to stir the melted iron
in puddling. (Rab.)
Rabies. [L., rage, madness.} I.q. hydro-
phobia.
Raoa. [Syr., vanity, or folly.} A word by
which the Jews expressed vehement indignation.
(Anathema; Maran-atha.)
Race. (Naut.) A strong and dangerous cur-
rent producing overfalls.
Race, of ginger, etc. [L. radix.] (Sot.) Kroot.
Raceme. [L. racemus, a bunch, cluster. ~\ (Sol.)
A spike-like inflorescence, differing from a true
spike in having each flower upon a small foot-
stalk ; e.g. the currant blossom.
Rachis. [Gr. f>dx i *> spine.} 1. (Bot.) The
axis of inflorescence ; the stem which supports
the flowering head. In ferns, the divisions of
the petiole of the leaves. 2. The shaft of a
feather.
Rachitis [Gr., from a%' s > ^' e spine\ some-
times Rickets (q.v). Inflammation of the spine.
Rack. [A.S. rsecan, to stretch otd.} 1. (Mech.)
A straight bar furnished with teeth to work with
a toothed wheel or pinion. 2. An instrument of
torture, always illegal in this country.
Racking. 1. Washing ores on an inclined
frame called a rack, 2. Drawing off wine, etc.,
from the lees.
RACK
408
RAIA
Backing a tackle, or lanniard. (Naut.) Fasten-
ing two running parts together, with a seizing
called racking, so as to stop it from rendering
(q.v.).
Rack-punch. Punch made with arrack.
Eack-rent. (Leg-} A rent raised as nearly
as possible to the full annual value of the
premises.
Back-saw. A saw with wide teeth.
Racoon. (Zoo!.) Procyon, an animal with
grey fur, somewhat like a small fox. America.
Fam. Procyonidse, ord. Carnivora.
Racovians. (Eccl. Hist.'] The Unitarians of
Poland ; so called from the city of Racow,
where Jacobus a Senna erected for them, in
1600, a seminary, in which the Racovian Cate-
chism, drawn up by Socinus, was published.
Raddle, To. (Naut.) To interlace.
Raddock, Ruddock (from its red, ruddy,
breast). (Ornith.) Robin redbreast, Sylvia
rubecula, fam. Sylviidae, ord. Passres.
Radiant. [L. radius, a ray.] (Her.) Having
rays proceeding from it.
Radiant heat. (Radiation.)
Radiata. [L., provided with rays, or spokes.]
(Zoo!. ) Cuvier's lowest animal kingdom, named
from the radiated form of some of its consti-
tuents, as sea-urchins and star-fish (Echlnoder-
mata). These are now reckoned as Annzilo'ida,
or Echinozoa [Gr. ^x^ os > a hedgehog, &OV, an
animal], with Scolecida [ffK<a\ri, a worm], i.e.
Entozoa [evros, within, faov, an animal], Roti-
fera, and some others. Cuvier's Polyzoa are
placed among mollusca, as Molluscoiclea ; the
Protozoa form a sub-kingd. by themselves ; the
remainder form the sub-kingd. Ccelenterata.
Radiation. [L. radiationem, an emission of
beams of light.] Consists in the transmission of
energy from one body to another by propagation
through an intervening medium in such a way
that the progress of the transmitted energy may
be traced after it has left the first body and
before it reaches the second ; travelling through
the medium with a certain velocity, and leaving
the medium behind it in the condition in which
it found it : thus light radiates from a luminous
body, and heat, when transmitted in like manner,
is radiant heat.
Radical. [L. radix, radicis, a root.] (Chem.)
A salt R. is a simple body which with hydrogen
forms an acid, or with metals a salt. A com-
pound K. is a compound which takes the place
of a metal in chemical combinations ; these are
met with chiefly in organic chemistry.
Radical metaphor. (Metaphor.)
Radical quantity; R. sign. ^(Math.) The
Radical sign is the sign which indicates that a cer-
tain root is to be extracted. A K. quantity is a
number or algebraical expression with the radical
sign prefixed; thus, */ 157 is a radical quantity,
the radical sign ( ^1) originally r, for radix,
root prefixed to 157 signifying that the square
root is to be extracted, so that /v/ x 57 denotes
an incommensurable number whose square is 157*
and which is very nearly equal to I2'53.
Radical reformers. In Eng. Hist., an indefi-
nite name applied to politicians who are sup-
posed to wish for the rooting out of the evils
which affect the commonwealth.
Radicle. (Plumule.)
Radiometer. [A word coined from L. radius,
a ray of the sun, and Gr. fj.it pov, measure.] An
instrument for showing repulsion by radiation. A
glass bulb about three inches in diameter has in
it a fine glass stem, with a disc of pith at each
end, suspended by a cocoon fibre. If a hot
body is placed outside the bulb near one of the
discs a convexion current is set up and the disc
is attracted. If now the air is progressively ex-
hausted, the attraction, though enfeebled, con-
tinues ; but when the exhaustion becomes very
perfect, as when its pressure is decidedly below
that of a millimetre of mercury, repulsion takes
place. The object of the instrument is to show
this repulsion. Several explanations of this un-
expected phenomenon have been proposed. The
instrument is made in a variety of forms. Called
also, from its inventor, Crookes 's radiometer, and
sometimes a Light-mill.
Radius. (Ulna.)
Radius-vector. [L. vector, one that carries. ,]
(Math. ) If we suppose a line to revolve round
one end, its other end may be made to trace out
any curve provided its length is duly altered ;
such a line is the R.-V. of the point which
describes the curve. The fixed point is the pole.
The position of the moving point at any instant
is defined by the length of the R.-V. and the
angle between it and a fixed line ; these are the
polar co-ordinates of the point. In Astron.,
the R.-V. of a planet (or satellite) is the line
joining its centre to that of the sun (or primary).
Radix. [L., root.] (Math.) The number
which serves as the base of a system of numbers ;
thus IO is the radix or base of the ordinary
system of numeration.
Raffaelle china, Raffaelle ware. (Faience.)
Raft. [Akin to raster.] 1. (Mil.) A floating
bridge of casks or boats, for conveying troops and
guns across rivers. 2. (Naut.) A number of
timbers, casks, or other buoyant objects, lashed
together so as to make a kind of float. R.-dog,
a broad piece of iron with the ends pointed, and
bent to a right angle, used to fasten a raft to-
gether. R. -port, a square hole in the stem or
stern, for loading or unloading a timber-ship.
Rafts of the Mississippi, when flooded in
spring-time. Accumulations in certain spots of
an immense number of trees torn up and carried
down ; one has been known no less than ten
miles in length. (Floating islands.)
Rag, Roach, (probably corn from Roche, rock),
Ragstone. (Geol.) A coarse limestone, easily
breaking under frost, etc. , with ragged fracture.
Rag-bolt. An iron pin with barbs on its shank
to hold it tight.
Ragman Roll. A name, of uncertain origin,
denoting the instrument by which the Scottish
nobility and gentry subscribed allegiance to
Edward I., in 1296.
Ragule, Raguly. (Her) Ragged, like the
trunk of a tree having its boughs lopped off.
Raiah, Rayah. [Turk, raia, a flock, a dog
of a Christian.] Mussulman name for Christian
RAID
409
RANG
inhabitants of Turkey, who pay the capitation
tax.
Baid of Buthven. A conspiracy of the Earl
of Gowrie and others against James VI. of
Scotland, afterwards James I. of England,
1583.
Baiidse. [L. raia, the ray.] (Ichtk.) Fam.
of fish of sub-ord. B&toide'i (rays), without
serrated caudal spine. Temperate and tropical
latitudes. Ord. Plagiostomata, sub-class Chon-
droptrjrgii.
Bail (from its cry). (Ornith.) Fam. of
wading-birds ; Rallidse. Universally distributed.
Ord. Grallse.
Bailroad nomenclature in U.S. Railway
and R. station are, in U.S., railroad and A'.
depdt ; engine-driver and stoker are engineer
and .fireman ; carriage and luggage-van are
passenger-car and baggage-car ; goods train is
freight train; line, siding, crossing plate,
points, are track, turn-out, frog, switches.
Bartlett's Americanisms.
Bailway mania. The excessive speculation
in the earlier days of railway construction in
this country.
Rainbow ; Lunar B. ; Primary B. ; Secondary
B. ; Spurious B. ; Supernumerary B. (Phys. )
The coloured arch seen when the sunlight falls
on a spray of water, and particularly on a
shower of rain ; it is due to the sunlight under-
going internal reflexion within the spherical
drops of rain. The Primary rainbow is pro-
duced by the rays that are reflected once within
the rain-drop ; the Secondary R., which is exter-
nal to the primary, by those which have been
reflected twice within the rain-drop. As
coloured lights tend to produce arches of
different radii, the colours are separated in
much the same way as when sunlight passes
through a glass prism ; within the primary and
without the secondary rainbow are often seen a
succession of red arches with intermediate
colours ; these are the Spurious or Supernu-
merary R. A Lunar R. is formed by moon-
light in the same way that an ordinary rainbow
is formed by sunlight ; but its colours are fainter,
and it is much more rarely seen.
Bain cats and dogs. Sailors say, "The cat
has a gale of wind in her tail ; " and in old
German paintings the wind is represented as the
head of a dog or a wolf. Hence "to rain cats
and dogs " denotes a downpour of rain with a
violent wind.
Bain-gauge. An instrument for measuring
the depth of the rainfall.
Raised beaches. (Beaches.)
Baison d'etre. [Fr.] Lit. the reason of the
existence of a thing ; the purpose it is intended
to fulfil ; the reason why it is what it is.
Baja. [From Skt. raj, to shine, akin to L.
rex, regis, a king.] The title of the hereditary
Hindu princes, belonging, or supposed to belong,
to the Kshatrya or warrior Caste.
Bake. (Naut.} 1. The projection of both
ends of the ship's body away from the keel. 2.
The inclination of masts forward or aft. 3. To
R. a ship, to fire along her whole length.
Bake, Bake vein. [Ger. ragcn, to jut out."}
(Geol.) An oblique vein of ore.
Raki. A common Russian brandy.
Eakish vessel. (Naut.} One appearing
formidable or suspicious, and a swift sailer.
Bakshasas. Evil spirits of Hind. Myth.
Their chief was Ravana, who stole away Sita
the wife of Rama. (Ramayana.)
Ballentando. (Ritenuto.)
Ralph Roister Doister. The oldest English
comedy, written by Nicholas Udall, Head-Master
of Eton College, who died 1564. It gives a
picture of contemporaneous London citizen life.
Bam, generally called Battering-ram. 1.
(Mil.} It consisted of a large beam of wood
shod with a piece of heavy metal in the shape
of a ram's head, for breaking down walls ;
usually suspended by ropes or chains in a roofed
frame borne on wheels, and impelled by the
protected soldiers inside giving it a swinging
motion. 2. (Naut. ) The offensive prow of an
armour-clad ship of war. (Steam-ram.)
Ramadan. The Mohammedan Lent, begin-
ning with the new moon of the ninth month of
the year, and ending on the day preceding the
great festival of Bairam.
Bamayana. [Skt., the career of Rama.'} A
great Hindu epic poem, describing the life of
Rama and his wife Sita, and his expedition to
Ceylon to rescue her from the tyrant Ravana.
Bam down cartridge. (Mil.) The old word
of command used in charging any muzzle-loaded
musket.
Bamequins, Bammekins. [Ger. rahm, cream,
and -chen, a dim. suffix (Littre).] An old
word lately revived, meaning a. fondue.
Bamists. (Hist. ) The followers of Pierre de la
Ramee, Latinized Ramus, professor of rhetoric
and philosophy at Paris, in the reign of Henry
II. He was killed in the Massacre of St. Bar-
tholomew. His system was opposed to the
Aristotelian logic.
Bampant. [Fr. ramper, to climb.'] (Her.)
Standing upright, with the feet in the attitude
of an animal climbing.
Bampart. [Fr. rempart ; se remparer, to
fortify one's self.] (Fortif.) Mass of earth in-
closing a fortified place, to protect the interior
and to give the guns of the defenders a command
over the besiegers.
Bampe. [Fr., flight of stairs, ascent, ramper,
to creep.] (Fortif.} Gentle earthen ascent used
along the interior slope of a rampart.
Ranch. [Sp. rancho, originally a mess-room.]
In Sp. Amer., a rude hut, lodgings for herdsmen,
etc., at night ; farming establishment with many
such huts ; hacienda [landed estate] being a culti-
vated farm, with good house.
Band. [Ger. rand, a rim.] A thin inner
sole for a shoe.
Bandan. (Naut.) Rowing with a bow and
a stroke oar and a pair of sculls between them.
Bandom. [O.E. randon.] (Mm.) The depth
below a given surface in mining.
Bange, To. (Naut. } To sail parallel and near
to anything.
Banger. (Begarder.)
RANK
410
RATT
Sank, in Army and Navy.
j. Admiral of the fleet ranks with Field-marshal.
General.
Lieutenant-general.
Major-general.
Brigadier-general.
Ditto.
Colonel.
Lieutenant-colonel.
2. Admiral
3. Vice-admiral
4. Rear-admiral
5. Captain of the fleet
6. Commodore
7. Captain of 3 years
8. Captain under 3 years
I 9. Commander ranks junior to Ditto.
10. Lieutenant of 8 years ranks with Major.
11. Lieutenant under 8 years Captain.
12. Sub-lieutenant ,, Lieutenant.
13. Midshipman ,, Second lieutenant.
Banters. (Hist.) Seceders of the Wesleyan
connexion, on the ground that the latter lacked
earnestness in street and field preaching. In
England, the Primitive Methodists are called
Ranters.
Eanz des vaches. [Fr., Ger. kuhreigen, kuh-
reihen, the call to the cows.] The tunes used by
Swiss herdsmen in driving their cattle to and
from pasture.
Rapaces. [L., rapacious.] (Ornith.) I.q.
Acdpltres (q.v.).
Eape. [Perhaps akin to rope, like the Gr.
a%oivos, which is both a rope and a measure of
length.] 1. A territorial division. Sussex is the
only county divided into rapes, each containing
three or four hundreds. The Norw. repp de-
notes a parish district. 2. The refuse of raisins
after making wine.
Bap-full, Keep her. (Naut.) An order = do
not let her sails shake.
Baphe. [Gr. f>a<trf], a seam.] 1. (Anat.) A
central raised line, looking as if the parts had
been sewn together. 2. (Bot. ) Line of commu-
nication between the hilum and chalaza.
Bapier. [A word introduced from Spain.]
A long narrow sword with a straight handle.
Bapparee. A term common in the seventeenth
century, denoting a wild Irish plunderer, gene-
rally armed with a rapary, or half-pike.
Bappee. [Fr. raper, from raper, to grate] A
strong, dark snuff.
Rapprochement. [Fr.] The drawing nearer
to each other ; the beginning of a better under-
standing.
Baptores. [L., snatchers] (Ornith?) I.q.
Acctpftres (q.v.).
Kara avis in terris nigroque simillima oygno.
[L.] A -very rare bird, most like a black swan
(Ovid) which was not then known to exist.
Bascal deer, or other animals. Lean, worth-
less ones. [R. = refuse scrapings ; cf. amongst
other forms, It. raschiare, to scrape, as if from
L. raslculare, dim. of rado, sup. rasum.]
Basee. [Fr. rasee, scraped or shaved down,
L. rasus.] (Naut.) A line-of-battle ship cut
down a deck, or having her upper works reduced.
Baskolniks. [Russ., schismatics] Dissenters
from. the Greek Church in Russia, calling them-
selves Starowerzi, Orthodox. Their differences
seem to be confined to outward forms and dis-
cipline.
Easores. [L., scrapers.] (Ornith.} (Gallinse.)
Basp. [O.E. raspe.] A coarse file.
Bat. (Naut.) 1. A machine concealed in an
insured vessel, and worked by her motion, with
the criminal purpose to scuttle and sink her, and
so secure the premium. 2. A current chafing
the cable against sharp rocks.
Batafia. [Malay arak, arrack, tafia, -white
rum] A kind of liqueur.
Batchet [Fr. rochet] ; B.-wheel. A Ratchet-
wheel 'has teeth of which the one face 'is in the
direction of a radius and the other slightly in-
clined to the circumference. Let a rod move
backward about one end, and to the other let an
arm or link be loosely attached, an end of which
rests on the top of the wheel ; when the rod
moves back, the end of the link slides over a
level face of the tooth and falls on to the level
face of the next tooth ; but when the rod moves
forward, the end of the link presses against the
upright face of the tooth, and thus drives the
wheel : the arm or link is called a Ratchet, and
sometimes a Paul or a Click. A link or arm
capable of moving round a fixed point near the
top of the wheel, which allows the level face of
the tooth to slide under it, but by pressing
against the upright face of the tooth detains the
wheel if it attempt to turn in the opposite direc-
tion, is a Detent, but it is also called a R.
Kate* (Naut.) The old classes into which
men-of-war were divided were : First- R., ICO
guns and upwards, ranging from 42-pounders on
lower deck to 6-pounders on quarter-deck,
carrying 850 men or more. Second- R., 90 to 100
guns. Third-jR., 80 to 84 guns, the smallest
line-of-battle ship. Fourth- R., 60 to 74 guns,
Fifth-R., 32 to 40 guns, or even 60 guns.
Sixth-R., carrying any lower number, or none,
but commanded by a captain. Sloops, ships
commanded by a commander.
Eatio. [L. rationem, a reckoning, a relation-
ship] The relation which one magnitude bears
to another of the same kind in respect of quan-
tity ; thus a distance of five miles bears to a
distance of two and three quarter miles the ratio
of 20 to II. The first term is the antecedent,
the second the consequent.
Batiooination. [L. ratiocinationem, from
ratio, reason] The act or process of deducing
conclusions from premisses.
Rationalists. (Supranaturalists.)
Eatio ultima regum. [L.] The last argument
of kings ; i.e. war.
Batitae. [L. ratltus, provided with a raft,
ratis.] (Ornith] Birds without a keel to the
breast-bone ; running-birds which cannot fly, as
the ostrich.
Batlines, or Batlings. (Naut.) Small lines
fastened across the shrouds, like rungs of a
ladder, parallel with 'the deck.
Battan. [Malay rotan.] The tough stem of
an Indian plant resembling cane. (Calamus.)
Batteen. [Fr. ratine.] A thick twilled
woollen stuff.
Battinet. A thin kind of ratteen.
Battle. The sound of air gurgling in the
windpipe, which, especially at death, the lungs
have not power to send out.
Battle down rigging, or Battle the shrouds, To.
(Naut.) To fix the ratlines parallel with the
deck.
RAUC
411
RECO
Baucity. [L. raucitatem.] (Med.) Hoarseness.
Havana. (Rakshasas.)
Ravelin. [Fr., from It. rivellino.] (Mil. )
Salient work, having two faces sometimes ter-
minated by flanks, placed in front of the curtain
at the counterscarp of the main ditch of a for-
tress.
Ravenna, Exarchate of. (Exarch.)
Ravensduok. [Ger. rabentuch, from raben,
raven, tuch, cloth.} A kind of sail-cloth (from
its colour).
Ray. [L. radius, a staff, spoke of a wheel.}
1. (Geom.) Any one pf a number of lines
diverging from a point. 2. (P/iys.) A line
along which light or radiant heat is propagated.
Rayah. (Raiah ; Ryot.)
Razor-bill. (Ornith.) Spec, of auk, Alca
tarda, resembling the common guillemot. (Guil-
lemot.)
Razor-shells. (Zoo/.) Nearly oblong bivalves;
edible. Temperate and tropical seas. Burrows
in the sand. Fam. Solenidae, class Conchlfe'ra.
Razzia. [It, from Ar.] A plundering incur-
sion, a raid.
Reach, To. (JVauf.) To stand off and on; to
r sail by the wind on one tack.
Reaction. 1. (Math.) When two bodies (A and
B) act on each other the action is mutual ; if
the force exerted by A on B is regarded as the
action, the force exerted by B on A is the
R. In most cases there is some obvious reason
for regarding one of the forces as the action ;
thus when a horse draws a cart, the force
exerted by the horse on the cart would be called
the action, that exerted by the cart on the horse
the R. 2. ( Chem. ) The changes produced by the
mutual action of two substances on each other.
Reader. One who corrects the proof-sheets
of a printed book.
Reading in. In the Church of England, the
reading of Morning and Evening Prayer, and of
the Thirty-nine Articles, by a newly appointed
incumbent.
Reagent. [L. re-, again, agere, to act.} (Chem.)
A substance used to discover the presence of other
bodies in a compound, by the chemical reaction
which takes place.
Reaggravation. In the usage of the Latin
Church, the final admonition issued before ex-
communication.
Real. [Sp., = L. regalis, royal.} The legal
money of account in Spain ; twenty reals equal
one duro or hard dollar.
Realgar. [Sp. rejalgar, from Ar. rahdj-algar,
tavern powder, because it was obtained from
Silver-mines.] (Chem.) Bisulphide of arsenic,
a brilliant red pigment.
Realists. (Nominalists.)
Reaming. [Ger. raumen, to clear away.} En-
larging a hole in metal.
Rear-admiral. (Rank.)
Rearmouse, Reremouse. [O.E. hrere-mus, id.,
foreran, flutter ; cf. flitter-mouse.] The bat.
Rebate. (Rabbet.)
Rebec, Rebeck. [Ar. rabab (Littre).] (Poet.)
A viol ; properly a three-stringed instrument,
Arabian or Turkish, introduced by the Moors
into Spain ; played with a bow (Childe Harold,
I. xlvi.).
Rebecca riots broke out in Wales, 1843, hav-
ing for their object the abolition of tolls, the
destruction of turnpikes, and the " possession
of the gate," like the "seed of" R. ! (Gen.
xxiv. 60).
Rebellion, The Great. (Eng. Hist.) A name
for the revolt of the Long Parliament against the
authority of Charles I.
Re-biting. Restoring worn lines in an engraved
plate by acids.
Rebus. 1. The representation of letters and
syllables by signs, as an eye and a ton for
Eyeton. The word is said to have been sug-
gested by squibs or satires "de rebus quee
geruntur. " 2. (Her.) A coat of arms which
bears an allusion to the name of the owner, as
three cups for Butler.
Receiver. 1. (Chem.) A vessel for receiving
and condensing the product of distillation. 2.
The glass vessel from which, the air is exhausted
by an air-pump, and in which experiments on
a vacuum are made.
Recess of the Empire. (Hist.) The judicial
name for the decrees of the German Diet per-
haps as being pronounced when the diet was
about to recede or separate.
Rechabites. (Jewish Hist. ) The followers of
Jonadab the son of Rechab, who charged them
to plant no vines, drink no wine, and build no
houses (Jer. xxxv. 6, 7).
Rechauffage. [Fr.] A warming' tip, or a
dressing up of what is old.
Recherche. [Fr.] Refined ; lit. sought afresh.
In Eng. exquisite.
Recipe. (R.)
Reciprocal. [L. reciprocus, returning, re-
ciprocal.} (Arith.) W r hen the product of two
numbers is unity, either is the R. of the other ;
thus, ^ is the R. of 20.
Recitative. [It. recitative, L. recito, / recite.}
Musical recitation or declamation, without refer-
ence to time or rhythmical melody ; existing in
Greek music, and revived it is said by Rinuccini,
1594; used to express some passion or relate
some event, etc., often introductory to amelody ;
e.g. "There were shepherds," in the Messiah.
Reciting note. In chanting, the first note of
each half or strain of a chant ; that on which
syllables few or many, according to the length
of the half-verse, are sung. (Mediation.)
Reckon. [A. S. recnan.j As in Rom. viii. 18 ;
infer surely [Gr. \oyio/j.ai].
Reckoning, ship's, To make a. (Nant.) To
ascertain her position by combining her known
direction and distance run since the last obser-
vation, and correcting this by an observation.
Dead-reckoning, when uncorrected by observa-
tion.
Recluse. The general term for all persons
dwelling in religious houses. (Coenobites ; Her-
mit.)
Recognition. In Scot. Law, the preliminary
examination of witnesses, in order to determine
whether there is a case for trial or commitment.
Recollects [Fr. , L. recollectus, gathered up, as
RECO
412
REDU
for religious meditation] were, like the Obser-
vants, a reformed body of the Franciscan order.
(Orders, Mendicant)
Reconnaissance. [Fr., examination, from re-
connaitre, to explore.} (Mil.) Examination of
any theatre of operations with the view of making
accurate plans of the ground, together with
written reports on its capabilities for military
movements.
Reconnoitre. (Mi/.)- To make a reconnais-
sance (q.v.)>
Recorder. 1. At first probably, persons to-
\vhose remembrance or record of what had
taken place in judicial proceedings the law gave
credit, owing to their official or personal dignity.
2. The chief judicial officer in a borough pos-
sessing the jurisdiction of a court of record. 8.
A musical instrument, like a flageolet, now out
of use.
Recrudescence. [L. recrudesco, / break open
afresh, said of wounds.] (Med.) The breaking
open afresh of wounds.
Rectangle. (Quadrilateral.)
Rectification. [L. rectus, right, facere, to
make.} 1. Refining by repeated distillation.
Rectified spirits, spirits fifty per cent, above
proof. 2. (Math.) The determination of a
straight line of the same length as the arc of a
curve included between given points.
Rectilineal, or Rectilinear. [L. recti-llneus.]
Consisting of or bounded by straight lines.
Recto; Verso. In early printed books, the
r*#/-hand and the &/?-hand pages ; R. the first
age of the leaf lying open, V. the page of the
:af when turned ; R. being the only numbered
pages.
Rector. [L. rector, sc. ecclesise, ruler of the
church.} (Eccl.) Properly the person, or parson,
who has charge of a parish church and is pos-
sessed of the great tithes ; but as these were
before the Reformation often appropriated by
religious societies, the latter appointed a vicar^
with the small tithes as his remuneration.
Rectum. (A not.) Termination of the large in-
testine, which is comparatively straight^, rectus].
Rectus in curia. [L. , right in the court.'] (Leg.)
One who comes out of court with clean hands.
Recuperative. [L. recupfiro, I regain.} (Med.}
Effective towards recovery.
Recurring series. (Arith.) One, each of
whose terms equals a fixed number of preceding
terms each multiplied by a certain constant
thus, I, 5, 17, 53, 161, etc., is a R. S., for any
term equals the excess of four times the term
before it above three times the term but one
before it ; as, 161 = 4 X 53 3 X 17.
Recursant. [L. recursantem, part, of recursare,
to run back.} (Her.) Of an eagle; displayec
with its back towards the spectator.
Recusants. [L. recusantes.] In Eng. Hist,
those who refused to acknowledge the roya
supremacy in matters ecclesiastical.
Redacteur. [Fr. ] Editor of a newspaper, etc
Redan. [Fr., originally a toothed work, anc
spelt fiedent.} (Mil. ) Work consisting of two
faces, forming together a salient angle, and open
at the gorge.
Redargue. [L. redargue're, from re-, red-,
>ack, arguere, to charge with, accuse.} To argue
against, to refute.
Red Book of the Exchequer. A register, giving
:he names of all who held lands per baroniam
under Henry II.
Red Cross Knight. An impersonation of Holi-
ness, bk. L, Faery Queene ; the true Saint
~eorge, or knightly England, doing battle for
Una, "a lovely ladie," i.e. Truth (see canto
x. 61).
Redemptorist. (Eccl. ) A religious order, also
called Liguorists, as founded by Liguori, in
Naples, in 1732 ; but styling themselves members
of the order of the 'Holy Redeemer. Their
chief work is education.
Redintegration. [L. rdintegratio, -nem, a
enewal, a restoration.} In Moral Phil., a name
proposed for what is generally known as Associa-
tion. "Thoughts which have at any time, recent
or remote, stood to each other in the relation of
coexistence, or immediate consecution, do, when
severally reproduced, tend to reproduce each
other." Fleming's Studenfs Moral Phil., p. 47.
Redolet lucernam. [L. ] It smells of the lamp;
said of work done in the late hours of the night.
Red orpiment. Another name for realgar (q.v.).
(Orpiment.)
Redoubt. [Fr. redoute, from It. ridotto.]
(Mil.) Any closed fortification, the parapet of
which nowhere forms re-entering angles ; gene-
rally constructed on a small polygon. (Reduit.)
Redshank. (Ornith.) Cosmopolitan gen. of
wading-bird. Totanius, fam. ScolSpacidse, ord.
Grallae.
Redshort. Brittle when red hot.
Red snow. An appearance due to the presence
of Protococcus mvalis, one of the simplest forms
of plant-life.
Red spider. (Entom.) ferythrseus telarius,
spec, of mite (Acarus), troublesome in green-
houses.
Red tape. An excessive stiffness in the man-
agement of official concerns ; servile adherence to
precedent and to routine. (Circumlocution Office.)
Reductio ab absurdum. [L.] In Geom., the
proving of a proposition by showing that the
maintenance of the contrary is an absurdity.
Reduction. [L. reductionem, a bringing
down.} 1. (Arith.) The process of expressing
in assigned units a quantity given in other units ;
as the reduction of 753 half-crowns to s. d.
2. (Astron.) The process of applying to the
place of the observed heavenly body as read off
on the instruments (supposed perfect and in per-
fect adjustment), five distinct and independent
corrections, viz. those for refraction, parallax,
aberration, precession, and nutation. 3. (Ckem.)
The separation of a metal from the substances
with which it is chemically combined.
Reduit (same word as Redoubt ; origin L.
reductus, drawn back). (Mi!.) Inner fortifica-
tion for prolonging the defence and securing the
retreat of the defenders when its outer work has
been taken.
Reduplication. [L. reduplicationem, a dou-
bling.} (Lang.) The repetition of a sound in
REDW
413
REFR
consecutive syllables. In the earliest forms of
speech most words exhibited this characteristic,
which is seen in such words as titillate, cachinna-
tion.
Bed wolf. (Zoo!.) C&nis Mexicanus (Lin-
naeus), C. jiibatus (Cuvier) ; Agouara-gouarou,
great fox ; Azara ; cinnamon-coloured, short
black mane along back ; solitary. Marshes of
Trop. America.
Reed. 1. In Music, a strip of metal or wood,
formerly of reed, set vibrating by a current of
air ; not itself producing sound, but dividing the
current into a succession of rapid puffs, which
produce sound ; e.g. oboe, clarionet. A striking
R. beats against its seat, as in organ generally ;
SL free R., as in harmonium, passes in and out of
the opening. 2. A frame of parallel flat strips
of wood through which the warp-threads pass in
weaving.
Beef. [Formerly riff, akin to rift.'] A line of
rocks lying just above or just below the surface
of the sea.
Beef of a sail. (JVauf.) A portion of the
sail which can be drawn together by small
cords. R. -points, reducing the size of the sail.
R. -lines, lines passed through the eyelet-holes
of the reef and over the head of the sail, to aid
sailors when reefing. R.-band, a strip of canvas
running across the sail to strengthen it where
the eyelet-holes are. Close-reefed, with all the
reefs of the topsails taken in. Reefers, midship-
men.
Re-entering. Cutting deeper the lines of an
engraving which are too faint.
Be-entering angle. 1. (Math.} An angle of
a polygon which, measured internally, exceeds
two right angles. 2. (Fortif. ) One which recedes
inwards towards a fort from the surrounding
country.
Beeve. [A.S. gerefa.] A general title for a
ruler or governor ; still found in sheriff, or shire-
reeve, portreeve, etc.
Beeve. (Zool.) Female of J?uf (g.v.).
Beeve, To. (Naut. ) To pass the end of a
rope through a block, etc. To unreeve, to take it
out.
Befeetory. [L.L. rSfectorium, from reficio
me, / refresh myself.'] In the conventual life,
the rooms where meals are taken by all together.
Referendaries. [L. referendus, to be referred.]
(Hist. ) Officers whose duty ft was to draw up
and despatch diplomas and charters.
Reflecting circle. (Math.) An instrument
constructed on the same principle as a sextant,
but such that angles can be read on it round the
whole circumference of a circle from o up to
360, instead of only from o up to about 120.
Beflector. The mirror of a reflecting tele-
scope.
Reflex. [L. reflexus.] Illuminated by light
reflected from another part of the same picture.
Reflex, or Excito-motory, action. (Physiol.)
1. When an afferent nerve stimulated produces
motion in a muscle supplied by an efferent, the
mind taking no part ; e.g. coughing, swallowing
(see Carpenter's Mental Physiology, pp. 46, et
seqq.). 2. Similarly, action, not produced by
volition or emotion, but by prepossessed mind ;
e.g. an acted dream.
Reflexion [L. reflexionem, a bending back] ;
Law of R. The return of rays of light, heat,
etc., from the surface on which they strike. The
Law of R. is the following : If a perpendicular
to the surface is drawn from the point of inci-
dence, the incident and reflected rays are in the
same plane with the perpendicular and are
equally inclined to it on opposite sides ; or, the
angles of incidence and reflexion are equal.
Befocillate. [L. refocillare, from re-, again,
focillare, to revive by war /nth, focus, a hearth.]
To refresh, strengthen.
Befonnatio Legum Ecclesiasticarum. [L.] A
revision, by Cranmer, A.D. 1552, of Eccl.
law, with fifty-one titles, after the manner of
Justinian's Digest ; an attempt to accommodate
the Canon laws, or to substitute better ; never
enacted. Blunt, Reformation.
Beformed Presbytery. (Maomillanites.)
Beformers. (Calvinists; Lutherans; Syncre-
tists; Zuinglians.)
Befraction [L. refractionem, a breaking off] ;
Angle of R. ; Astronomical R. ; Atmospheric R. ;
Conical R. ; Double R. ; Extraordinary R. ; Index
of R. ; Law of R. ; Ordinary R. ; Terrestrial B.
The change in the direction of a ray of light
when it passes out of vacuum into a transparent
medium ; it also takes place when light passes
from one medium into another, and when the
density of the same medium varies. If a perpen-
dicular to the surface of the medium is drawn
from the point of incidence, the incident and
refracted rays are in the same plane with and on
opposite sides of it, but the refracted ray is inclined
to it at a less angle than the incident ray ; the
former of these angles is the Angle of R. , the
latter the angle of incidence. The Law of R. is
the fact that the sine of the angle of incidence
bears a constant ratio to the sine of the angle of
R. ; the numerical value of that constant for a
given medium when the light passes out of
vacuum into the medium is the Index of R., or
the Refractive index, of that medium. In most
crystallized media the incident ray is divided
into two refracted rays, of which in some crystals
one and in others both are refracted according to
a law more complicated than that above stated ;
this is Double R. If the ray is refracted accord-
ing to the law above stated, it undergoes Ordi-
nary R., if not, Extraordinary R. In some
crystals, when the ray enters them in a certain
determinate direction, it forms a conical surface
of rays instead of only two rays ; this is Conical
R. When a ray of light from a heavenly body
passes into the atmosphere, it undergoes refrac-
tion, and consequently the heavenly body ap-
pears nearer the zenith than its true position ;
this is Atmospheric R. , or Astronomical R. At-
mospheric R. also occurs in the case of light
coming from distant terrestrial objects on account
of variations in the density of the intervening
air ; this is Terrestrial R.
Befractive index. (Befraction.)
Befractory. [L. refractarius, stubborn.]
(Chem.) Difficult to fuse by heat.
REFR
414
REIG
Eefrain. [O.Fr. refrainer, L. refringe're, to
breakup.] (Music.) The burden of a song,
the phrase or verse, which, recurring, breaks it
into equal parts.
Befresher. In Law, an additional fee paid to
a counsel when a cause is not heard in the term
for which it was set down.
Befreshment Sunday. Mid-Lent Sunday,
the Fourth Sunday in Lent ; the Gospel being
John vi. i, etc. (Simnel bread.)
Befrigeratory. [L. refrigeratorius, cooling.'}
A vessel of cold water for condensing the vapours
from a still.
Refuge, Cities of. In Jewish Hist., six cities
to which those might fly who had caused acci-
dental homicide. The deliberate murderer was
to be handed over to the avenger of blood.
Josh. xx.
Be galantuomo. [It.] A title sometimes
applied to the King of Italy, as a gallant leader
and statesman.
Begale [L.], i.e. jus. The royal right by
which kings of France enjoyed the revenues and
patronage of bishoprics.
Begal fishes. (Royal fishes.)
Begalia. [L., royal things.} In Eng. Hist.,
the royal insignia and Crown jewels.
Begals. Small portable organs used in the
Middle Ages, often represented in paintings as
carried by angels or saints.
Regard, Court of. (Forest courts.)
Begardant. [Fr., looking at.} (Her.) Looking
back towards the sinister side of the escutcheon.
Begarder. The old title for the ranger of a
forest.
Begelation. [L. rgelationem, in a new
sense, = freezing again, not its proper sense of
thawing.'} When two pieces of ice with mois-
tened surfaces are placed in contact, they become
cemented by the freezing of the film of water
between them, even when the surrounding
medium has a temperature above 32 Fahr. ; this
is the R. of ice, or Regelation.
Begent, The Good. Name sometimes given to
the Earl of Murray, prime minister and adviser
of Mary, Queen of Scots, 1561.
Begent Masters. Formerly in universities, a
term for graduates privileged to give public lec-
tures in the schools, and bound to deliver such
within a certain period after their degree.
(Faculty.)
Begest. [L. regesta, things recorded.] A
record ; hence the altered form registnim, Fr.
regitre, register.
Beglfiigium. [L., the king's flight.] In
Rom. Hist., a festival said to have been insti-
tuted to commemorate the expulsion of Tar-
quinius Superbus. (Sibylline books.)
Begister, To. [L. regesta, things recorded.} To
correspond in relative position, line (or line, as
the columns or pages of a printed sheftt.
Begister, Lord, or Lord Clerk Begister. A
Scottish State officer who has charge of the
archives, and is thus called also Gustos Rotu-
lorum.
Begister of voice. [L.L. registrum.] Its
compass : Lower R., or Chest voice, that which
comes out freely and naturally ; Upper R., Fal-
setto, or Head voice, produced by strained con-
traction of the glottis, is of a higher pitch, flute-
like, but not so open and impressive ; Middle.
R. , such notes of chest voice as may be produced
by falsetto.
Register-ship. A Spanish galleon or plate-
vessel.
Begium Donum. [L., royal gift.] (Hist.)
A yearly grant of money for maintaining the
Presbyterian clergy in Ireland, instituted in
1690 by William III.
Begius morbus. [L., the king's evil.} Scro-
fula, which was supposed to be cured by the
touch of the king's hand.
Begius professors. [L.] In the universities
of Oxford and Cambridge, the professors whose
chairs were founded by Henry VIII.
Beglets. [Fr. reglette, dim. of regie, a rule.]
In Printing, thin parallel wooden furniture
(q.v.), made to the thickness of any type from
pearl upward, to separate the lines of type more
widely.
Begrating, or Forestalling. An offence of
the common law, that of buying or getting into
one's hands at a fair or market any provisions,
corn, or other dead victual, with the intention of
selling the same there, or within four miles, at a
higher price : he who does this thing being a
Regrator. (To regrate is to scrape or dress
cloth, etc., so as to sell it again.) Brown, Law
Dictionary.
Regular solid. (Polyhedron.)
Begulars. [L. regula, a rule.] In the Latin
Church, those who bind themselves to the vows
of poverty, chastity, and obedience, under a fixed
rule, as of St. Benedict, or any other ; as opposed
to Seculars, for instance parish priests, who live
in the world and are bound only to celibacy.
Begular body. (Polyhedron.)
Begular system. (Crystallog.) The octahe*
dral system (y.v.).
Begulating Act, 1773, of Lord North's Minis-
try, made important changes in the government
of India. The Presidency of Bengal was to
exercise a control over the other possessions of
the East India Company ; the chief to be styled
Governor-general, and to be assisted by four
councillors ; a Supreme Court of Judicature,
independent of G.-G., to be established at Cal-
cutta, having a chief justice and three inferior
judges ; Warren Hastings appointed G.-G. for
five years.
Begulus. [L., a litth king.} (Chem.) The
pure metal which in the melting of ores falls to
the bottom of the crucible.
Begur. The name of the cotton-growing soil
of India.
Beichofsrath. (Aulic Council.)
Beichskammergerioht. (Aulio Council.)
Eeichsrath. [Ger., council of the kingdom.]
The German Parliament. (Aulic Council.)
Beichstadt. [Ger.] A free city of the em-
pire. (Hanseatic League.)
Reichstag. (Diet.)
Eeign of Terror. In Fr. Hist., the term
applied to the period of the worst excesses of
REIM
REMP
the first revolution. It may be set down roughly
as the time between October, 1793, when the
Girondists fell, to July, 1794, when Robespierre
and his associates were put to death.
Eeim. A strip of ox-hide used for twisting
into ropes, etc.
Eeineoke Fucks. A popular German epic
poem, first known in a Low-German version in
the fifteenth century, relating the adventures of
the fox scheming his way to favour at the court
of the lion by sheer cunning and hypocrisy.
The poem is thus a satire on the intrigues and
the iniquities of courts.
Be infeota. [L., the thing being unfinished."}
Without accomplishing a purpose intended. In
Gr., SirpewcToy.
Reinforce a gun. In Eng. formerly, and in
America now, to strengthen it about the breech.
Beis, Bais, or Bas. [Ar., head, or prince.} A
general title of dignity given to captains of ships,
etc. Sometimes joined with Effendi, and thus a
tautology.
Belters. German cavalry of the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries.
Belapsed. [L. relapsus, part, of relabor, I fall
back,~\ A term denoting those who have fallen
back into errors previously abjured. (Mon-
tanists; Novatians.)
Relapsing fever, once known as Five-day F. ,
Seven-day F. , AKld yellow F. (Med. ) A con-
tinued F., chiefly epidemic, attacking the ill
fed, marked by abrupt relapses ; one of the con-
tinued fevers known in this country, the others
being typhus and typhoid.
Eelative keys. (Music.) If any note of the
common chord of a key occurs in the scale of
another key, the former is said to be related to
the latter. Thus to the key of F major, the
keys of G minor, A minor, B!J major, C major,
and D minor are related.
Relative pronoun. In Gram., a part of speech
which may represent any noun or pronoun, and
makes the clause which it introduces practically
adjectival.
Belative terms. (Log.) Words implying a
relation, as father and son, king and subject.
(Correlation.)
Belay. A magnet which transmits the circuit
current to a local battery, called the relay
battery.
Belevant. [Fr.] Pertaining to, properly
applicable to, an argument, etc.
Belief. (Mezzo-relievo.)
Belief. [Fr. relief, L. relevare, to raise up.]
1. Of a fortification, the total height from the
bottom of a ditch to the top of the parapet. 2.
Those of the guard who go round to change
sentries.
Belief Church. (Marrow Controversy.)
Belief Synod. (Eccl. Hist.) A body of Pres-
byterians, who, protesting against the mode in
which lay patronage was exercised in the Estab-
lished Church, set up the Secession Church and
the Relief, 1752.
Reiigio Laici, The Religion of a Layman.
Dryden's work, exhibiting the struggles which
ended in his becoming a Roman Catholic.
Beligio loci. [L. ] 77/6* religion of the place.
The special feelings of awe or of affection called
forth by any particular spot.
Beligio Medici, published 1642. A kind of
confession of faith, with which other matters are
intermixed, by Sir Thomas Browne, physician,
antiquary, and philosopher, of Norwich.
Religiosorum, De Aaportatis. One of the
chief of the statutes intended to check the
aggressions of the papacy, 35 Edward I., which
forbids "alien priors" assessing taxes or with-
drawing money on that head out of England.
Brown, Law Dictionary. (Provisors; Prae-
munire.)
Beligious Orders. (Orders, Religious.)
Beliquary. A receptacle for relics, generally
of small size ; as distinguished from a case [Fr.
chasse], which may contain a whole body.
Reliquiae. [L.] Remains of the dead, relics.
Relume. [O.Fr. relumcr, to light again.]
To rekindle.
Bema, or Beume. [(?) Gr. pev/^a, stream,
flood.] The tide.
Bern acu tetigisti. [L., lit. thou hast touched
the matter with a needle-point (Plautus).] You
have hit the nail on the head.
Bemainder. (Leg.) A remnant of an estate
in land, depending upon a particular prior estate,
created at the same time and by the same instru-
ment, and limited to arise immediately on the
determination of that estate. Kent.
Eemanet. [L. , it remains behind. ] (Leg. ) A
name given to causes, the trial of which is
deferred from one sitting to another.
Bemberge. (Naut.) An O.E. war-vessel,
long and narrow, and propelled with oars.
Bemblai. (Deblai.)
Bemembrancers. Certain officers of the Court
of Exchequer, and of some corporations, with
various functions.
Bemiges. [L., rowers.] (Ornitk.) The quill
feathers of a bird's wing.
Beminiscence. (Pre-existence.)
Bemoboth. (Sarabaites.)
Bemonstrance, The. (Hist.) A document,
recapitulating the grievances of the kingdom,
presented to Charles I., November, 1641.
Remonstrants. (Arminians.)
Eemora. [L., (i) delay, (2) the fish echeneis,
Gr., ship-stopping.] Echeneis [Gr. ^xe-^t'y,
from exw, to hold, vavs, a ship], Sue 'king-fish.
(Ichth.) Various spec, of marine fish with lami-
nated cartilaginous plate on its head, by which
it adheres to external objects, as the bottoms
of ships, producing a vacuum by erecting the
laminae ; fabled thus to stop ships, hence its
Gr. and L. names. The spec, vary in size,
from eight inches to two feet. Gen. Naucrates
[cau/cpaTTjy, from vavs, a ship, Kpareta, to hold},
fam. Scombridse, ord. Acanthopterygii, sub-class
Teleostel.
Bemount. (Mil. ) Horse supplied for train-
ing for the cavalry service.
Bemphan. A god worshipped by the Israel-
ites in the wilderness, the name being probably
an Egypt, equivalent substituted by the Sep-
tuagint for Chiun, or the Dog-star.
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416
RESG
Eemplissage. [Fr., from remplier, to fill up.]
1. (Music.) Intermediate parts. 2. Generally,
as to literary style, mere padding.
Benaissanoe. [Fr., a revival, renewal.] (Arch.)
A name for the style which sought to reproduce
the forms of Greek or so-called classical orna-
mentation. The growth of this style may have
been a consequence of the revival of letters, but
it had nothing to do with the movements which
ended in the Reformation. The term itself has
been very loosely used to denote various styles,
which have very little in common. Many Re-
naissance buildings are classical only in their
details, their form and spirit being entirely
Gothic, as the Church of St. Eustace, Paris, and
of the Annunziata at Genoa.
Eenal. (Anat.) Pertaining to the kidneys
[L. renes].
Eenardua Vulpes. (Eeinecke Fuchs.)
Render, To. (Naut.) To yield to force
applied.
Rendering. [Fr. rendre.] Boiling down and
clarifying.
Renegade. (Eunagate.)
Eeniform. [L. renes, kidneys, forma, shape.]
(Anat., Bot., Min.) Kidney-shaped; so, e.g.
the leaf-blades of some plants are called.
Rennet. [A.S. rennan, to curdle.] The pre-
pared inner surface of the calf s fourth stomach
for curdling milk.
Eentes. [Fr.] The Fr. equivalent to our
Government Funds [L. rendlta, rent], rendere
being a nasalized form of reddeie.
Rentier. [Fr.] One who has an income from
stocks, or Eentes.
Eep. A kind of stuff having a fine cord-like
substance.
Eepeater. A watch that strikes the hours at
the touch of a spring.
Repeating decimal. (Decimal.)
Eepeat signals, To. (Naut.) To hoist on
another vessel the admiral's signals, so as to
transmit them to distant vessels.
Eepertory. [L. repertorium, from reperio,
/ open.] A storehouse ; a place where things
stowed away can easily be found, as an index.
Eepetend. (Decimal.)
Replevin. In Law, a personal action which
lies to try the validity of a distress, or to recover
goods unlawfully distrained. (Distress.)
Eeplica. [It.] A copy of a painting, made
by the painter of the original picture.
Eeplum. [L., a central rail against which
folding doors both close, repleo, I fill up.] (Bot.)
The partition through the length of the fruit of
Crucifers, to which the seeds are attached ; e.g.
wallflower.
Eeporting progress. If, in a Committee of
the (whole) House of Commons, a debate be
not finished, or matters referred to it not fully
considered, the Chairman " is directed to report
progress, and ask leave to sit again." In the
Lords, when any peer moves that the House be
"resumed," the Chairman of Committees moves
that " the House be in Committee on a future
day."
Bepousse. [Fr., pushed back.] Ornamental
metal work in relief, produced by beating the
metal from the back.
Reprisal. (Marque, letters of.)
Eeprobation. [L. reprobatio, -nem, disap-
proval, rejection.] (Theol.) A term denoting
the Supralapsarian theory respecting the destiny
of man. (Sublapsarians.)
Eeprove. Job vi. 25 ; disprove [L. reprobare,
I reject].
Eepsilver. [Reapsilver.] Money paid for-
merly by tenants to be quit of the service of
reaping the lord's corn or grain.
Eeptflia, Eeptiles. [L., creeping, repo, 7
creep. ] ( Herpetology . )
Republicans. In the politics of the United
States, those who resisted the extension of
slavery ; the pro-slavery party being styled
Democrats.
Eequest, Letters of. An instrument by which
an inferior ecclesiastical judge, waiving his own
right, remits a case to the judge of a superior
court for determination ; under the Statute of
Citations, 23 Henry VIII.
Bequests, Court of. 1. A court of equity,
inferior to the Court of Chancery ; abolished in
the time of Charles I. 2. Local courts for the
recovery of small demands ; now superseded by
the County courts.
Requiem. 1. In the Latin Church, a Mass
for the repose of the dead ; so called from the
prayer, " Requiem seternam dona eis, Domine,"
Lord, grant them eternal rest. 2. Incorrectly,
a musical performance in honour of illustrious
men deceased.
Eequiescat in pace. [L.] May he rest in
peace ; appended to epitaphs under the initial
letters B.I.P.
Eequisition. (Mil.) The enforcement of sup-
plies from the inhabitants of a country. (Indent,)
Eeredos. [Fr. arriere-dos, from L. dorsum,
the back.] (Arch.) A screen behind an altar.
In Winchester, Durham, and St. Albans, these
screens are magnificent, but so large as to inter-
fere with the general view of the choir.
Eereward. Numb. x. 25, and elsewhere ;
rear-ward, i.e. rear-guard.
Ees angusta domi. [L.] Stinted means at
home ; poverty (Juvenal).
Resch Glutha. (2Echmalotarch.)
Rescissory Act. (Covenanters.)
Reseda. [L. resedo, 7 assuage, heal.] (Bot.)
Rocket ; herbaceous plant ; several spec. ; typ.
of ord. Rsedaceae ; R. odorata, mignonette, a
popular garden annual.
Eeservation. [L. reservationem.] In the
Latin Church, the retention of the consecrated
host for subsequent administration.
Eeserve. [L. reserve, I keep back.] (Theol.)
The system which would set before the people
only such truths as they are considered able to
comprehend or receive to their benefit. Also
called the Economy. (Arcani Disciplina.)
Eeset of theft. The Scottish term for the
receiving of stolen goods, knowing them to be
stolen.
Ees gestae. [L., things done.] Transactions,
exploits.
RESI
417
RETI
Residuary legatee. In Law, the person to
whom, after o'ther bequests specified, the residue
of an estate is bequeathed.
Kesilience. [L. resilio, I spring back.} The
power of a body to recover its form when
strained ; measured by the product of the
greatest strain it can undergo with safety and
the mean force (or stress) required to produce
that strain.
Resinous electricity. Negative electricity
(because excited by rubbing resinous bodies).
Resipiscence. [L. resipiscentia, from resipisco,
/ recover sense. ] Wisdom gained by experience ;
repentance.
Eesist. ( Chem. ) A substance used to prevent
a dye from colouring any but the required
parts.
Eesistance, Solid of least. The solid of revo-
lution which, standing on a given circular base
and having a given height, will in moving through
a fluid in the direction of its axis experience the
least resistance.
Resolution [L. resolutio, -nem, a loosening} ;
R. of a force ; R. of a nebula ; R. of a velocity.
To find two forces (or velocities) equivalent to a
single force (or velocity) is to find the Resolution
of that force or velocity. When certain nebulae
are examined through a very powerful telescope,
they are found to consist of a congeries of dis-
tinct points of light ; this is the R. of such
nebula.
Resolution of a discord. (Music.) The move-
ment upwards or downwards of a discordant
note, by which a discord is resolved into a con-
cord ; indicating the particular place to which
the discordant note must move.
Resonance. [L. resonantia, an echo.} The
prolongation or strengthening of a sound by
the sympathetic vibration of bodies other than
that which produces the sound.
Resonator. [L. rgsono, act. and neut, / re-
echo.} A small hollow globe of thin brass or
glass, made of such dimensions that the air with-
in it may vibrate sympathetically in unison
with some definite tone. By means of a set of
resonators, a musical note can be analysed audibly
into a fundamental tone and the harmonics
which give it its quality, each R. strengthening
one particular harmonic.
Respectant. (Her.) Aspect ant.
Resplce, aspice, prospice. [L.] Look lack,
look on, look forward (Si. Bernard). (Norns.)
Resplce finem. [L.] Look to the end (of an
undertaking before you begin it).
Respirator. [L. respirare, to breathe out}
A fine network covering for the mouth to breathe
through.
Respond. [L. respondeo, I answer} (Arch.)
A half pillar or pier attached to a wall, and
supporting an arch.
Responds, Responsories. [L. respondeo, 7
answer.} In Preface to Prayer-book, certain
responses, or suffrages, which, in the unreformed
ritual, "broke the continual course of the read-
ing of the Scriptures."
Responsible government. The government
of the country, as in England, by executive
ministers, responsible to Parliament, the members
of which are responsible to their constituencies.
Responsories, or Responds. In the offices of
the Latin Church, short verses from Scripture,
repeated as verse and response, after the Lessons
at Matins.
Restaurateur. [Fr.] One who restores or
refreshes, the keeper of a house of public enter-
tainment.
Rest-harrow. (Bot.) A wayside plant
(Ononis [Gr. ovtavis} arvensis), with tough often
thorny branches and pink, pea-shaped flowers.
Ord. LegfiminosEe.
Restitution, Writ of. In Law, a writ issued
when judgment has been reversed, to make up
what the defendant has lost by the effect of the
judgment so reversed.
Restitution of Conjugal Rights. The name
of a suit to compel cohabitation, if refused ;
brought by either a husband or a wife against
the other in the Court of Divorce and Matri-
monial Causes.
Restoration, The. In Eng. Hist., a term
especially applied to the re-establishment of
monarchy after the Commonwealth, by the
restoration of Charles II.
Restriction of cash payments. A power of
issuing notes for which the holder cannot
demand gold in exchange. This power was
granted to the Bank of England in 1797, and
resumed in 1820.
Restuation. The opposite process to Estna-
tion [L. aestuationem, a singeing up}, excitement
or agitation (as of a fluid).
Resultant. (Composition of forces.)
Resume. [Fr.] A recapitulation, or summary.
Resumption of cash payments. (Restriction
of cash payments.)
Ret, To. (Naut.) To soak or rot timber, etc.
Retable. (Eccl. Arch.) A shelf or ledge
behind an altar, for holding lights or vases.
Wrongly called Superaltar, which is properly
a stone let into a wooden frame and constituting
the upper surface of the altar itself.
Retainer. [L. retineo, / keep back.} 1. In
O. E. Law, a servant wearing his master's badge
or livery, and attending him when called on to
do so ; a relic of the times of private wars.
(Truce of God.) 2. A fee to a barrister, securing
his services or preventing their being secured
by others.
Retaining fee. (Retainer, 2.)
Retaining wall. A wall designed to support
the pressure of a bank of earth abutting on it.
Retiarians. [L. retiarii, from rete, a net.}
A class of Roman gladiators, armed with a
trident and net. (Mirmillones.)
Retiary. (Entom. ) A spider, as acting like
Retiarians, and catching by means of a net.
Reticulated veins. (Bot.) (Parallel-veined
leaves.)
Reticulated work. (Arch.) Masonry in
which the stones are laid lozenge-wise, like the
meshes of a net.
Reticulum. [L., little net} (Anat.) The second
stomach of a ruminant, having honeycomb-like
cells on the inner surface.
2 K
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418
RHEU
Retina. [It., a dim. formed from L. rete, a
net.} (Anat.) A netlike continuation and
expansion of the optic nerve at the back of the
eye ; the seat of vision.
Retort. A vessel used in distilling by heat.
It consists of a bulb, with a long neck bent over
[L. retortus, bent back"} to enter a receiver.
Betractor muscle [L. rtraho, / draw back}
(Anat.) draws back that to which it is attached.
Retreat. (Mil.) Beatiflg of infantry drums
or sounding of cavalry trumpets every sunset
Retreat of the ten thousand. The celebrated
march of the Greeks, under Xenophon, from the
field of Kunaxa (where Cyrus fell in his attempt
to dethrone his brother Artaxerxes, B.C. 401)
to Kotyora on the southern coast of the Black
Sea.
Retrenchment. [Fr. retranchement, retrancher,
to intrench.} (Mil.) Any earthwork thrown up
to cover from attack and to give the defenders
an advantage over assailants.
Retrograde motion of a planet. (Proper
motion.)
Ketroversion. (Anteversion.)
Retting (i.e. retting). Steeping flax to separate
the fibres from the woody parts.
Return. 1. (Arch.) A moulding or wall
continued in a different direction from that
originally taken by the body returned. 2. (Fortif. )
The termination of zigzag trenches which are
slightly thrown back and used as receptacles
for tools. 3. Military or other documents con-
taining information drawn up according to form
Revalenta Arabica. An empirical diet for
invalids, a preparation of lentil, or " ervum
lens ; " a slight transposition of letters affording
a pun on re, again, valeo, / am well.
Reveille. [Fr. reveiller, to awake, L. re,
exvigilare.] (Mil.) Beating of drums at daybreak
where troops are quartered, to wake up the
garrison.
Reveillon. [Fr.] In France, a festive gather
ing at Christmas.; once connected with the
midnight Mass of ^hnscrnas Eve.
Revels, Master lof the. The officer, called
also Lord of Misrule, who in royal and grea
houses presided over the Christmas entertain
ments. They seem to disappear at the end o
the seventeenth century. (Fools, Feast of.)
Revenons a nos moutons. [Fr., let us go bac,
to our sheep, i.e. our subject.] In a French farce
Patelin, Guillaume, a draper, is robbed of some
sheep by his shepherd, Agnelet, and of soim
cloth by P., an advocate. At the trial of A.
G. recognizes in A. 's advocate the thief P. , and
confusedly mixing up in his answers cloth an-
sheep, is recalled by the judge, who says
"Revenons," etc.
Reverberatory furnace. [L. reverbgrare, t
reflect.'} A furnace with a low roof, so that th
flame in passing the chimney is reflected down
on the hearth where the materials are placed.
Reverse fire. (Mil.) The trajectory of ar
enemy's shot when received in rear by troops.
Reverse flank. (Mil.) Opposite extremit
of a line of soldiers to that which is guiding it
march.
Reversion. [L. iversionem, a returning.}
. In Law, the reversion of an estate to the
rantor or his heirs, after the grant is deter-
mined. 2. (Pkys.) The reappearance of ap-
arently lost characteristics of a perhaps very
emote progenitor. (Atavism.)
Revetment. [Fr. revetement, from revetir,
o clothe.} (Mil.) Facing to earthworks, com-
'osed of sods, gabions, fascines, sand-bags, or
irickwork, to support the earth in a steeper
>osition than it would otherwise assume.
Revocare gradum. [L.] To recall or retrace
% step.
Revolution. (Stroke.)
Revue. [Fr.] In France, a kind of burlesque
at the end of the year, at which the political
events of the year are reviewed in a jocular vein,
with accompaniments of scenery and comic
ongs.
Reynard the Fox. (Reineoke Fuohs.)
Rex convivii. [L.] The king or master of a
feast. (Symposiarch.)
Rex vini. [L.] The same as Rex convivii.
Rhabdomancy. [Gr. faf)So[j.a.vTfia. ] Divina-
ion by means of a rod [a'/35os]. The practice of
it is described by Sir W. Scott, in the Antiquary*
Rhadamanthys. (Osiris.)
Rhsetio formation. ( Geol. ) The beds between
the Trias and Lias, formerly referred to the latter
in England and to the former in Germany ; well
developed in the Rhsetian Alps ; contain some
remarkable bone-beds, with the earliest mam-
malian remains (Microlestes) ; known also as
Penarth beds.
Rhampsinltos, The Treasures of. A story told,
by Herodotus, of an Egyptian king whom he so
names. The tale is essentially that of the Master
Thief, which is common to most of the Aryan
languages. Among the Greeks the Master
Thief was Hermes.
Rhapsodists. [Gr. fratycpb'os, from fidirru, I sew,
or stitch, and ipS-f), a song.} A name for the
minstrels who recited the Homeric poems in
Greece, more especially before these were com-
mitted to writing.
Rhapsody. [Gr. fratyyo'ia, a stitching of songs
together.] 1. In Music, fragmentary, irregular
composition. 2. In a general sense, ' ' any number
of parts joined together, without necessary de-
pendence or natural connexion " (Johnson) ; as
" a R. of words " ( Shakespeare) ; " a R. of diffi-
culties " (Hammond).
Rhemish Bible. (Bible, English.)
Rheometer. [Gr. eos, a stream, juerpoi/,
measure.} An instrument for measuring the
velocity of electric currents.
Rheostat. [Gr. frfos, a stream, ffrar 6s, fixed.}
An instmment for increasing or diminishing the
electrical resistance of a circuit.
Rhetoric. [Gr. firjropiK-fi, sc. TX VI I-} Properly
the art of prose composition in general, but
usually applied to the art of addressing public
assemblies in set speeches.
Rheum. (Sot.) Technical name of the gen.
familiarly known as rhubarb [Gr. pfjov, or pS],
from the river Rha, in Pontus, on whose banks it
grows.
RHEU
419
RIFL
Eheum. [Gr. ^eu/ua, (i) that which flows,
(2) rheum.] (Med.) Increased discharge from
mucous membrane, or glands ; defluxion.
Bhimer. (Rimer, Thomas the.)
Ehinal. Pertaining to the nose [Gr. f>is, fiv 6s}.
Rhine, Confederation of the. (Hist.) A con-
federation of certain German princes who, in
1806, placed themselves under the protection of
the French Emperor Napoleon.
Rhinophonia, [Gr. Quvfi, the voice.} Speaking
through the nose [fits, f>lv6s}.
Rhizome. [Gr. ^ifoua, a mass of roots.}
(Bot.) A creeping procumbent root-stock, send-
ing out roots downwards and leaves upwards ;
e.g. iris.
Rhodian ware. So called. (Persian ware.)
Rhodium. [Gr. f>6$ov, rose, from the rose
colour of its salts.] (Min.) A very hard, re-
fractory metal.
Rhodomontade. Bragging bluster, from Ro-
domont, a boastful personage in the Orlando
Furioso, by Ariosto. The name is thought by
some to be connected with the name Rhada-
manthys. (Osiris.)
Rhomb [Gr. ft6/j.@os, a spinning motion, a
rhomb} ; Fresnel's R. A plane figure with four
equal sides, but having angles which are not
right angles. Fresnel's R., a parallelepiped of
glass whose ends are inclined to two of the sides
at angles of about 54-5, which has the following
property : A ray of light entering the R. in a
direction at right angles to one end will emerge
in a direction at right angles to the opposite end
after two internal reflexions ; if the incident ray is
plane polarized in a plane inclined at half a right
angle to the plane of reflexion, the emergent ray
will be circularly polarized.
Rhombic system. (Crystallog.) The pris-
matic system (q.v.).
Rhombohedral system. (Crystallog.) Consists
of crystals having three axes equally inclined to
each other, and three equal parameters ; when
transparent they are optically uniaxal, having
the optic axis equally inclined to the three axes j
as Iceland-spar.
Rhombohedron. [Gr. <fyt0os, a rhomb, e'Spo,
a base.} A solid contained by six equal rhombs.
Rhomboid. [Gr. ^^/3os, rhomb, eTSos, appear-
ance.} (Math.) A parallelogram whose angles
are not right angles, nor all its -sides equal.
(Quadrilateral.)
Ehopalio verse. One with words increasingly
long towards the end, as a club [Gr. f>6wa\ov] is
thicker towards the end ; as, " Si sedes liceat
contingere cselicolarum. "
Rhot-amenti. (Osiris.)
Rhumb, or Rhomb [i.e. forming, with meridian,
two sides of a rhomb, Gr. <fyij8os]. A Rhumb-
line is the prolongation of any of the lines on
the compass, other than those showing the four
cardinal points, which last represent the meridian
and parallel of latitude. Line of rhumbs, the
eight points of one quarter of the compass-card set
off upon its chord by striking consecutive circles
through them from the extremity of the chord.
Rhumb-line. (Lozodromio curve,)
Rhythm of the heart. (Diastole.)
Eibald. (Ribaudequin.)
Ribaudequin. [L. L. ribandequinus, perhaps
from riband, ribald, a name denoting the lower
classes of foot-soldiers.] In mediaeval warfare,
a cart armed with spikes, and furnished with
small cannon.
Ribbon, Riband. [Fr. ruban.] (Her.) A
diminutive of the bend, being one-sixth its size.
Blue ribbon [Fr. cordon bleu], the ribbon sus-
pending the badge of the order of the Garter.
Red ribbon, the ribbon suspending the badge of
the order of the Bath.
Ribes. (Bot.) A gen. of plants, and the
only one, of ord. Grossularice ; including the
various kinds of currant and gooseberry, together
with many ornamental shrubs.
Ribs, False, or Floating. (Anat.) In man
there are twelve ribs on each side : the first, or
upper, seven, being more directly connected
through intervening cartilages with the sternum,
or breast-bone, than the remainder, are called
the Vertebra-sternal or True R. ; the other five
are known as False R. , and of these the last two,
being quite free at their anterior extremities, are
called Floating R.
Rice-paper. A thin delicate paper made from
the pith of a Chinese plant.
Richard Roe. (John Doe.)
Rickets. [Corr. of Rachitis (q.v.), with
meaning somewhat altered.] A disease, mostly
in children, known by large head, tumid belly,
distortion of the spine and other bones, from
deficiency of hardening matter in the bones ;
allied to scrofula.
Ricochet fire. [Fr. ricocher, to ricochet;
origin unknown; but see Littre.] (Mil.)
When, the charge being small and elevation
slight, the shot from a gun makes several bounds
during its course. Employed principally for dis-
mounting the guns along a rampart.
Riddle. [O.E. hriddel, id., hridrian, to sift.}
(Agr.) A sieve.
Ride a-port last, To. (Naitt.) To do so with
the lower yards on the gunwale.
Rideau, Lever le. The French term for draw-
ing up the curtain at the beginning of a play.
Tirez le rideau = drop the curtain.
Eider. 1. An additional clause to a Bill
passing through Parliament, or to a resolution
put before a meeting, or in a deed. 2. (Math.)
A proposition or theorem of minor importance,
solved by the aid of one or more of Euclid. 3.
(Geol.) A mass of rock dividing a vein into
two parts.
Ridge-work. (Agr.) A system of irrigation
in which the land is laid in ridges with a feeder,
or float, along the top of each, to distribute the
water, and a drain between each pair to carry it
off.
Eidings. The three divisions of the county of
York, the word being a corr. of tri things
or triding, the third part. In the Domesday
Survey, the word is applied to Lincolnshire also.
Rifacimento. [It.] A making, or dressing,
up again of old things.
Rifler. In the language of hawking, a hawk
that catches its prey by the feathers only.
RIGG
420
ROCH
Bigg, i.e. ridge (?). (Stetch.)
Bigging. (Naut. ) All ropes or chains used
about the masts, yards, or sails. Standing R. is
opposed to Running R., or that which is used to
set the sails, trim the yards, etc.
Bight. {Naut. ) To R., to regain a horizontal
position. R. the helm, put it amidships. R. sail-
ing, sailing due N., S., E., or W. R. tip and
down, no wind at all.
Bight angle. (Angle.)
Bigid body. A collection of particles whose
mutual distances are unchanged by the forces
applied to them.
Bigor. (Algor.)
Big Veda. (Veda.)
Bilievo. [It., from L. rgleVare, to lift up.] A
word used to denote carvings in relief. (Mezzo-
relievo.)
Bimer, Thomas the. In Scottish tradition, a
poet, known also as Thomas of Ercildoune, or
True Thomas, as having predicted, it is said, the
accidental death of Alexander III., 1283 ;
supposed author of Sir Tristrem, a romance of
the Arthur cycle, edited by Sir W. Scott, 1804.
Kim stock. (Clog almanack. )
Ring-bone, and Side-bone. In a horse, bony
growths about the joints of the os coronae ; R.
when on the side of the os suffraginis, S. when
on that of the os pedis, or coffin-bone.
Bingent flower. [L. ringor, / open the mouth
wide."] (Bot.) A labiate with lips widely sepa-
rated ; e.g. Lamium, or dead-nettle.
Binger. A miner's crowbar (from the sound).
Bings, Fairy. (Fairy rings. )
Ring-tail. (Naut.) A kind of studding-
sail, hoisted perpendicularly to the after edge
of a boomsail.
Bingworm. Popular name for porrtgo (q.v,).
Biot Act. Passed by Parliament for the pre-
vention of tumultuous assemblies ; after the
reading of which to a mob by a civil magistrate,
if they do not disperse, troops may fire upon
them until they have brought them to order.
Bippers, or Bipiers. [L. riparius, frequenting
river-banks ; and cf. Riviera (q.v.}.\ Coast-men
who hawk fish inland.
Bippling. [Ger. riffeln, to hatchel.] Remov-
ing the seeds from the stalks of flax with a wire
comb called a ripple.
Bipsaw, Bippingsaw. A handsaw with coarse
teeth, used for cutting wood in the direction of
the fibre.
Bishis, The Seven. In Skt. Myth., the seven
sages who were thought to live in the seven
stars of the constellation called by us the Great
Bear. But these stars had been originally called
the Seven Rikshas, or Shiners, a word probably
akin to the Gr. &OKTOS and the L. ursa ; and
thus, when this name was gradually restricted to
the bear, the seven shiners became seven bears,
with Arcturus [ap/croCpos] for their bearward. In
India the word was confounded with rishi, wise,
and the seven stars became the abode of seven
sages or poets, who reappear as the Seven Wise
Men of Greece, the Seven Champions of Chris-
tendom, the Seven Sleepers, etc.
BIsas Bardonious. (Med.) A convulsive,
horrible grin, chiefly in tetanus and inflamed
diaphragm [2ap$6vios yf\us] ; perhaps pointing
to the idea of the Sardinian ranunculus, and the
face of the eater screwed up ; but the earlier
Gr. ffapbdviov yf\av, to laugh bitterly, is from
aaipia, ffapSd^a, I grin. It is not clear from
what source medicine derives the term.
Bitenuto [It.], Rit. (Music.) Holding back,
slackening the time, .for a few notes, while
Ballentando, slackening, isof a longer passage.
Bitornello. [It., from ritornare, to return.]
(Music.) 1. Properly a short, instrumental repe-
tition of the ending of a song. 2. An interlude.
Biver-terraces. (Geol.) Level terraces of
sand, gravel, etc., at the slopes of most inland
valleys ; evidences of former fresh-water levels,
when the valley, not yet alluvial land, was occu-
pied by a lake at the height of the R.
Bivet. [Fr. ] A pin or bolt clinched at both
ends.
Biviera, The. [It, coast, sea-shore.} The sea-
coast from Cannes to Spezzia. R. di Ponente,
i.e. of the setting sun, is from Genoa, westwards ;
R. di Levante, i.e. of the rising sun, from G.
eastwards. (Corniche.)
Rix-dollar. (Dollar.)
Roach of a sail. (Naut.) The curvature in
the lower part of an upper squaresail.
Boad, or Eoadstead. (Naut.) An anchorage
off shore, where a well-found vessel can ride out
a gale.
Road-metal. Broken stones for macadamized
roads.
Boadster, or Reader. (Naut.) A coasting-
vessel which lies up in a roadstead during
adverse winds and tides.
Boan. [Fr. rouan, roan-colottred."\ An imita-
tion of morocco, for bookbinding, made from
sheepskins.
Boaring. In a horse, a disease of the air-
passages, caused by "(i) inflammation, which has
left a thickening or ulceration of the mucous
membrane, or a fungous growth from it ; (2)
paralysis of the muscles; (3) alteration of the
shape of the cartilages of the larynx, produced
by tight reining." Stonehenge, The Horse in
the Stable and in the Field, p. 486.
Boaring forties. Popular name with sailors
for the stormy seas between 40 and 50 N. lati-
tude.
Boast-beef dress. In Naut. slang, full uni-
form.
Boasting. (Chem.) Heating so as to drive
off the volatile parts.
Bob. [Ar. robb.] The juice of ripe fruit
boiled down to the consistency of syrup.
Bobands, Bobbens. (Bope-bands.)
Robin Hood and Little John. Outlaws or
freebooters of the time of Richard I. Some of
the incidents related of Robin Hood (Locksley)
by Walter Scott in his Ivanhoe, belong to popu-
lar European romance, and reappear in the story
of William of Cloudesley, Tell, and other
mythical heroes.
Boborant. [L. r5borantem.] (Med.) Strength-
ening medicine.
Rochdale school = co-operation ; of which
ROCH
421
ROMA
the first example was the Equitable Pioneers'
Co-operative Store, founded at Rochdale by a
few poor flannel-weavers, circ. 1844 ; their
capital of 28 producing in sixteen years more
than ;i 20,000.
Boohelle salt. (From Rochelle, in France.)
A tartrate of soda and potash, used in Seidlitz
powders.
Roches moutonnees. [Fr.] (Geol.) Sheep-
like rocks, in the Alps and elsewhere ; pro-
jections worn by glacier action, and like sheep's
backs.
Rochet. |Tr., it. rochetta.] A linen gar-
ment worn by bishops under the Chimere.
Book. In Geol. , includes all substances of
which the earth's crust is composed ; clay, sand,
earth, as well as stones.
Bock-crystal. (Quartz.)
Bocket-boat. (Naut. ) A flat-bottomed boat
fitted for firing rockets.
Bock harmonicon. (Music.) An instrument
composed of pieces of clinkstone, or phonolite,
of different lengths, placed over a sounding-
board, and struck by hammers held in the hand.
BocMngham Ministry. From March to R.'s
death in July, 1782, succeeded North's, after
the surrender of Cornwallis ; made up of equal
numbers of old or "Revolution" Whigs, and
those Whigs who had followed Chatham ; with
the Tory Lord Chancellor Thurlow.
Rockingham ware. A brown stone ware
made on an estate of the Marquis of R., at
Swinton. Other pottery and porcelain were
made there. Mark, a griffin, the R. crest.
BocMng-stones, or Loggans. (Geol.) Blocks
weatherworn, and poised so finely as to oscillate,
by a little force ; chiefly granitic ; some seem to be
artificial. The harder masses of granite, remain-
ing when denudation, acting along the fissures
due to consolidation, has removed the rest, leave
tors and sometimes poised stones.
Bock-oil. (Petroleum springs.)
Bock-rose, or Cistus. (Bot.) A gen. of
exogenous shrubs or herbaceous plants, with
showy red, yellow, or white flowers ; typ. of
ord. Cistacese ; many of S. Europe and the
Levant are resinous, yielding ladanum. The
wild yellow R. is Helianthmum vulgare.
Bock-salt. Common salt, chloride of sodium,
in rock-masses. Geol. position various, the
R.-S. of Cheshire and Worcestershire is in the
New Red Sandstone. In Poland and Spain,
R.-S. is cretaceous.
Bocoa. [Braz. urucu.] The reddish pulp of
the fruit which yields annatto.
Bococo. [Fr. rocaille, rockwork (Littre").] A
name given to the very debased ornament and
decoration in Arch., furniture, china, etc., which
succeeded the first revival of It. Arch. ; utterly
devoid of principle or of taste.
Bodentia. [L., gnawing animals. \ (Zool.)
The tenth class of mammals, characterized
specially by continually growing incisors, which
by continual attrition constantly preserve a
sharp edge ; as rats, rabbits, beavers.
Roderick, the last of the Goths. (Pillars of
Heracles.)
Boe, Roebuck. [Heb. tzebi (Deut. xii. 15,
etc.), the beauteous one.] (Bil>l.) The gazelle.
Sub-fam. Gazellinse, fam. Bovidae.
Boebins. (Rope-bands.)
Boe-stone. (Oolite.)
Bogation days. [L. rogationem, an entreaty.']
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, before Ascen-
sion Day ; so called from the Litanies which
were recited by clergy and people in public pro-
cession.
Boger. (Jolly.)
Rogue's march. Tune only played on the
drums and fifes, when a soldier is being drummed
out of the army for some disgraceful conduct.
Eogue's yarn. (Naut.} Formerly a yarn
twisted contrary to the rest, in the centre of
each strand of rope used in the navy ; tarred in
white, and white in tarred, rope. Now a thread
of worsted, of a different colour for each royal
dockyard. (Royal.)
Rois d'Yvetot. [Fr.] So the lords of Yvetot,
in Normandy, are called in old chronicles ; it
is not clear why. Now the name means an
imaginary burlesque potentate. With Beranger
he is = a very good little king.
Rois Faineants. [Fr., do-nothing kings. "\
(Hist.) A name for the later degenerate
princes of the Merovingian dynasty, finally dis-
possessed by Pepin, A.D. 752.
Roland. In the Carolingian tradition, a
Paladin of Charles the Great, who fell in the
battle of Roncesvalles, and whose exploits are
celebrated in the Orlando Furioso of Ariosto.
Roland for an Oliver, A. (A Roland for an
Oliver.)
Role. [In Fr., a roll, L. rotiilus, dim. of rota,
a wheel.] The part assigned to an actor in a
drama. Hence the part taken by any one in
any line of action.
Bolfganger. Rolf '"(Rollo), the Norwegian
conqueror of Normandy, A.D. 876, was so called
because he was obliged, it is said, always to
go on foot, no horse being able to bear his
weight.
Boll. (Geol.) Said of a set of strata bent
into numerous troughs and ridges, or into un-
dulations ; sometimes an elevated fold of rock is
pushed forward and over, so that the strata are
said to be inverted.
Boiler. (Surg.) A long broad bandage.
Boiler-bolt. The bar in a carriage to which
the traces are attached.
Boilers. (Naut.) Large ocean- waves, rising
from five to fifteen feet above the ordinary
height, which precede the northers of the
Atlantic.
Boiling tackles. (Naut.) Those which hin-
der the yards from swaying when the ship
rolls.
Bolls, Master of the. A high officer of the
Court of Chancery, ranking next to the Lord
Chancellor. He holds his office for life, and is
so styled as being keeper of the records of
Chancery. (Begister, Lord.)
Bomagna. A part of the Papal States (q.v.},
made up of the four northern legations of
Bologna, Ferrara, Forli, and Ravenna ; annexed
ROMA
422
ROSE
formally to the kingdom of Sardinia, 1 860, and
now part of the kingdom of Italy.
Komaio. A name sometimes applied to the
language of the modern Greeks, who called them-
selves Romans, by a tradition which has sur-
vived the overthrow of the Eastern empire.
Bomal. [Hind, rumal, a handkerchief.} An
Indian silken fabric.
Romance. [Fr. roman, It. romanzo.] 1. A
general name for works of fiction in prose or
verse, from the Bomanoe languages, in which
they were first chiefly written and circulated.
2. (Music.) A simple rhythmical melody, suit-
able to a story of romance.
Romance languages. Languages which are
modifications of the old Italian dialects. These
are the languages of Spain, Portugal, Italy,
France, Wallachia, and the Grisons of Switzer-
land. The Proven9al, spoken by the Trouba-
dours, is now a patois.
Roman cement. A kind of hydraulic cement,
hardening under water.
Romancero. The Spanish term for a collec-
tion of national ballads and romances.
Romanese language. The language of the
Wallachians, who call themselves Romani, or
subjects of the old empire.
Romanesque. Decoration with fantastic re-
presentations of animals and foliage (admired in
the time of the lower Roman empire).
Romanesque styles. *(Arch.) The styles
which employed the arch and the entablature
together, gradually reducing the latter to the
form of a capital. The introduction of shafts,
running up from the piers and dividing the upper
stories into compartments, marked the point of
transition from the Romanesque to the principle
of the Gothic styles. (Geometrical style.)
Roman ochre. A rich orange-yellow pig-
ment.
Romany. The language spoken by the gypsies
is sometimes so called.
Romanzieri. In It. Lit., poets who treated
chiefly of the exploits of Charlemagne and his
Paladins. The earliest of these poets belongs to
the latter part of the fifteenth century.
Romaunt of the Rose. A translation by
Chaucer some say by another of the first part
of a famous and very popular French allegory,
Le Roman de la Rose, of which the first part
was by Guillaume de Lorris, and the latter by
Jean de Cheun.
Rombowline, or Eumbowline. (Naut.) Con-
demned rope, canvas, etc.
Rome-scot. A tax on houses in England,
formerly paid to the Roman court ; called also
Rome-feoh and Peter's pence.
Rondeau. [Fr. rond, round.] 1. In Fr. poetry,
a little poem of thirteen lines, of which eight
have one rime, and five another, divided into
three unequal strophes ; the two or three first
words of the first line serving as the burden, and
recurring after the eighth and thirteenth lines.
Hence, 2, in Music, (i) Rondo, a light composition
of three or more strains, the first closing in the
original key, the others recurring, by easy modu-
lation, to the first strain ; and (2) more gene-
rally, any light piece in which the subject recurs
frequently.
Ronde bosse. [Fr., a round swelling.] Sculp-
tured objects in their full forms, as opposed to
those in relief.
Rood. [A.S. rod, a rod or pole. ~\ The crucifix,
with the images of the Virgin and St. John. The
structure on which it is placed is called the rood-
loft. Most of these were destroyed at the Refor-
mation ; but some fine specimens remain, as at
Charlton-upon-Otmoor.
Rood-loft. (Rood.)
Roof. [O.E. hrof.] (Geol.) The rock im-
mediately overlying a bed of coal.
Roof of the World. Local name for highest
part of Pamir table-land, 15,000 to 1 6,000 feet
high, in Central Asia.
Room, Roomer, or Going-room. (Naut.)
Old term for sailing away from the wind.
Roosa oil. A volatile oil used for adulterating
otto of roses ; also called oil of geranium.
Roost. [Icel. rost.] (Naut.) A strong tide
or current, especially in a narrow channel, as
between the Orkney and Shetland Isles.
Root and Branch Bill. A Bill for entire
abolition of episcopacy and of cathedral bodies ;
introduced into the House of Commons, May,
1641, passed September, 1642, and, after four
months, adopted by the House of Lords.
Root-fallen. (Agr.) The condition of crops
when their roots fail to act properly.
Rope-bands (pronounced Roebins). (Naut.)
Small lines fastening the head of a sail to its
yard.
Ropes. (Naut.) All cordage above an inch
in circumference, used in rigging a vessel.
Rorio figure. (Breath figure.)
Rorqual. [Sw. rcer, a tube, hval, whale.]
(Zoo!. ) Piked whale, Baltznopte'ra ; the largest
cetacean, sometimes a hundred feet long, with
dorsal fin, skin furrowed ; fierce, and of small
value. Temperate and cold latitudes.
Rosaceous corollas. (Bot. ) Like those of the
lose tribe, having five spreading petals, without
claws ; e.g. strawberry.
Rosaniline. [Rose and aniline (q.v.).~\ (Chem.)
An aniline dye, from which magenta is de-
rived.
Rosary. [L.L. rosarium, a chaplet.] In the
Latin Church, a devotional practice, in which
the Lord's Prayer is said fifteen times, and the
Ave Maria 1 50 times ; but as the computation is
made by means of Beads, the string of beads
has come to be popularly called a R., which
consists of fifteen decades, or three chaplets of
five decades each.
Rosch-galuth. (JEchmalotarch.)
Roscius. A Roman comic actor, friend of
Cicero, so celebrated that his name has become
a proverb for excellence in dramatic art.
Rose de Pompadour. (Bot.) A delicate rose
colour, named after the Marchioness de Pom-
padour, mistress of Louis XV. ; also called
Rose du Barri, after the Countess du Barn.
Rose-noble. A gold coin of the reign of
Edward III., valued at 6s. &/.
Rose of Jericho. (Anastatica.) (Bot.) The name
ROSE
423
ROUN
is also applied to a mesembryanthemum, the
capsules of which have hygrometric properties.
Boseola. [L. , dim. coined from rosSus, rosy.']
(Med.) Rose-rash (from its colour), an affection
of the skin, in patches ; generally a symptom of
some constitutional irritation.
Eoses, White and Bed. (Eng. Hist.} The
emblems or tokens of the houses of York which
had the white, and of Lancaster which had the
red rose. The Wars of the Roses, after lasting
for more than thirty years, were ended by the
victory of Henry Tudor over Richard III., on
Bosworth Field. Henry united both the titles in
his own person that of Lancaster through his
mother, that of York as having married the
daughter of Edward IV.
Eosetta Stone. A celebrated stone, discovered
at Rosetta, in Egypt, and now in the British
Museum. It exhibits three inscriptions : (i) in
the sacred character called hieroglyphics ; (2) in
the enchorial, or popular, a modification of the
hieroglyphics ; and (3) in Greek. The means
were thus furnished for attempting the task of
deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphics ; and
this task was undertaken by Young and Cham-
pollion.
Eosetta wood. A hard Indian wood of a
dark orange colour.
Eose window. (Arch.) A circular window,
with geometrical or flowing tracery ramifying
from the centre. Sometimes called Marigold
window and St. Catherine's wheel.
Eosiorucians. In 1610 a treatise appeared in
Germany, entitled The Discovery of the Brother-
hood of the Honourable Order of the Rosy Cross.
It is ascribed to a Lutheran clergyman, Valentine
Andrea. This was followed by a swarm of
tracts on the subject, leading people to suppose
that the members were sworn to keep the
existence of the fraternity a secret for a century
after its foundation, and that they were to meet
secretly once a year. Hence they were thought
to have a connexion with the Freemasons ; but
there is no evidence that the society ever existed.
The title became a term denoting every kind of
occult and magical science and practice ; and the
Rosicrucians were confounded with Cabalists
(Cabala), Illuminati, etc.
Eosiere. [Fr.] The girl who wins the rose
of the village for good conduct. (Golden rose.)
Eossing. Removing the rough, scaly sub-
stance (of bark).
Eosso antioo. [It, red antique.'] (Geol.) A
name for the red porphyry of Egypt.
Eoster. [(?) Corr. of register.] (Mil.) Register
of the names of officers or soldiers in succession
for duty.
Eostra. [L., beaks.] The stage of the
Roman forum, from which the orators addressed
the people ; so called as being decorated with
the beaks of vessels taken from the enemy.
Eota. [It.] An ecclesiastical court at Rome,
dealing with suits of appeal.
Eota Club. Founded by James Harrington,
contemporary of Milton ; a society of " philoso-
phical republicans, who met for the discussion
of their theories j , . , the Girondins of our
English Revolution." T. Shaw, Students Eng.
Lit., p 221.
Eotationof crops. (Agr.) Such a sequence
of them as will rest the land and obviate year-
long fallows ; e.g. the four-course shift of (i)
turnips ; (2) spring wheat or barley ; (3) clover
and rye-grass ; (4) oats or wheat.
Eotatory engine. A steam-engine in which
rotation is produced by the direct action of the
steam, without the use of the reciprocating
motion of the piston. The aeolipile is a very
simple kind of R. E.
Eother. (Eudder.)
Eother-beasts. [O.E. hru'Ser, neat cattle.']
Horned cattle, black cattle.
Botifera. [L. rota, a wheel, fero, / carry."]
(Zool.) Wheel-animalcules, minute aquatic
Annuloi'da, mostly free-swimming, with ciliated
disc, by which they swim, and sweep food into
their mouths. By some reckoned among
Annelids, sub-kingd. Aunulosa.
Eotten-stone. ( Geol. ) A soft stone, used for
polishing and grinding ; chiefly aluminous, with
silica and carbonaceous matter ; a decomposition
of impure limestone by carbonated water.
Boturier. [Fr., L. ruptura, a breaking up of
ground for cultivation.] A plebeian. (Churl.)
Eouble. [Russ. rublyn.] A Russian silver
coin, worth about %s. 2d. ; 100 copecks = I
rouble.
Boue. [Fr., lit. one broken on a wheel.'] A
name applied to the unprincipled and profligate
companions of the regent Duke of Orleans,
1715-1723 ; hence any unprincipled person, as
deserving to be placed on the wheel (Littre).
Eouen ware. 1. Blue, and polychrome ;
characteristic decoration of the latter, a cornu-
copia with bright flowers. Manufactory estab-
lished sixteenth century. 2. A kind of thick
porcelain was also made at R.
Eouge. [Fr., red."] A cosmetic for reddening
the cheeks or lips.
Eouge oroix. (Her.} One of the pursuivants,
named from the red cross [Fr. rouge croix] of
St. George.
Eouge et noir. [Fr. , red and black. ] A game
at cards, played on a table marked with red-and-
black compartments.
Bough riders. (Mil.) Cavalry soldiers who
break in the troop horses.
Eoulade. [Fr. rouler, to wheel. ] (Music. ) A
florid passage, a run of many notes sung on one
syllable.
Bounce. [Perhaps from Fr. ranche, a round,
a rack.] In Printing, the apparatus by which
the paper to be printed is run under the platen
and out again.
Bound churches. Four churches in England
St. Sepulchre, Cambridge, the Temple Church
in London, St. Sepulchre at Northampton, and
Little Maplestead, have round naves, suggested
by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at
Jerusalem.
Boundel. [Fr. rondelle.] A small circular
shield borne by foot-soldiers in the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries.
Boundelay, Boundel. I.q. Bondeau; also a
ROUN
424
RUDO
simple rustic melody to which a R. might be
sung.
Roundheads. The cavaliers in the civil war
so named the Puritans, it is said, from the close
black skull-cap which they wore ; but perhaps
from their custom of having their hair cut close
to the head.
Bound-house. (Naut.) 1. (Deck-house.) 2.
Also the square cabin on the quarter-deck,
having the poop for a roof, sometimes called
the coach in men-of-war ; it has a passage all
round it. 8. A lock-up in a village or small
town.
Eoundlet. (Her.) A small round figure borne
as a charge.
Bounds of the galley. In Naut. parlance,
open expressions of disapproval by one's ship-
mates.
Bound Table, Knights of the. An association
of knights brought together by Arthur, for the
quest of the Holy Grail. (Arthur, King;
Sangreal.)
Boup. 1. In Scotland, an auction ; lit. a crying
out \cf. Ger. rufen, to call}. 2. (Pip.)
Roust. (Boost.)
Boute. [Fr., L. rupta, sc. via, a cross-road.}
(Mil.) The order for troops marching, with
times and places of halting, by which the civil
authorities are required to provide facilities of
transport and billets.
Route-marching. (Mil.) The exercising
along a road of troops carrying the full com-
plement of kit, inuring them to fatigue, for the
purpose of keeping them in efficiency.
Rove. 1. A roll of wool drawn out and
slightly twisted, for spinning into thread or yarn.
2. (Naut.) (Beeve.)
Roving. (Bove.) Forming roves, or slubs.
Rowan, Fowler's service, Quicken tree. (Bot.)
The mountain ash, Pyrus auctiparia [L. auceps,
a fowler} ; ord. Rosacese.
Bowel. [Fr. rouelle, from L. rotula, a little
wheel.} The wheel of a spur.
Bowel, Bowelling. (Vet. Surg.) A kind oi
seton, now but little used ; a circular piece o!
leather, two or three inches in diameter, with a
hole in the middle, placed under the skin of the
horse.
Bowlocks. (Naut.) Spaces in a boat's gun-
wale for the oars to work in.
Boxburgh Club. A club formed in commemora
tion of John, third Duke of Roxburgh, whose
library, when sold, realized enormous prices,
One of the members was called upon each yeai
to print, at his own cost, some rare book, o
which only impressions enough for the club
were struck off.
Boyal. Paper, usually twenty by twenty-fivi
inches or more.
Boyal. (Naut.) 1. R.-sail, a light sail se
above the top-gallant, and formerly called top
gallant-R. 2. R.-yard, the fourth from the
deck, on which the R. -sail is set
Boyal Academy. (Academy.)
Boyal dockyards, The. In England thes
are Deptford, Woolwich, Chatham, Sheerness
Portsmouth, Devonport, and Pembroke.
Boyal domain. In Fr. Hist., the domain of
he Carolingian kings, which, in the reign of
..ouis d'Outremer, A.D. 936-954, was narrowed
o the city of Laon and a small surrounding
.istrict, the result of the growing power of the
jreat dukes and counts who were nominally
heir vassals.
Boyal fishes, i.e. at common law, the property
of the Crown : the whale and the sturgeon,
ivhen thrown on shore, or caught near the
coast ; but this right is subject to local modifica-
ions.
Boyal Institution. A corporation founded by
"ount Rumford, in 1800, for promoting dis-
coveries and spreading a taste for science
imongst the public generally. Its celebrity is
n great measure owing to Sir Humphry Davy
and Faraday.
Boyal Society. A philosophical society, or-
anized 1660, and constituted a body politic by
Charles II., in 1662.
Bubble. [Fr. rabascher, to rumble, rattle
[Wedgwood).] (Geol.) Accumulations of angular
rock -fragment ; the result of whatever cause,
drift, frost, etc.
Bubble-work. (Arch. ) Coarse walling, com-
posed of rough stones of various sizes and shapes,
embedded in mortar.
Bubellite. (Tourmaline.)
Bubeolse. [Dim. coined from rubeus, red,
reddish} (Med.) Measles.
Bubezahl. (Myth.) A spirit of the Riesen-
ebirge, in Germany, answering to the English
'uck.
Bubicon, Passing the. A phrase denoting the
taking of a decisive step, the Rubicon being, it
was supposed, a small stream forming the fron-
tier of his province, which Caesar is said to have
crossed, B. c. 49, and so declared himself in open
opposition to Pompeius.
Bubidium. A silvery alkaline metal, ^distin-
guished by giving two brilliant red [L. rubidus]
lines under spectrum analysis.
Bubrlca. [L.] Red earth ; and so the title
of a law, and (Eccl.) of a direction, as being
written or printed in red ink ; hence rubric
= order of the Liturgy.
Buby. [Fr. rubis, from L. ruber, red.} 1. A
name applied by lapidaries to several stones,
distinguished by their colours, the scarlet-
coloured being called Spinelle R., the pale or
rose-red Balais or Balas R. 2. A kind of type,
as
London.
Buche. [Fr.] A kind of plaited or goffered
quilling.
Budder. [Cf. Ger. ruder, L. aratrum, Gr.
Uporpov, iperfj.6s.] (Naut.) R. bands, or braces,
the hinges on which it hangs. R. case, or
trunk, a wooden casing through which the
rudder stock and head pass. R. -chains fasten
the R. to the stern to prevent its loss if un-
shipped. R.-head, upper part of the stock.
R. -pintles, the hooks which fit into the braces.
R.-rake, aftermost part of R. R.-stock, its main
piece.
RUDD
425
RUTI
Rudder-bands. Acts xxvii. 40. Ships were
steered anciently (?) up to the fourteenth cen-
tury, as in some countries in modern times also
not by hinged rudders, but by two paddles,
one on each quarter ; these, when not used,
were lifted out of the water and secured by
lashings, or rudder-bands. ( Cf. Eur. , Hel. , 1 536 ;
and so in the Bayeux Tapestry. )
Buddie. [Welsh rhuddell.] Red ochre.
(Haematite.)
Ruddock. (Haddock.)
Eudenture. [Fr., from L. rudens, a rope.}
(Arch.) The rope-shaped ornament with which
the lower parts of the flutings of columns are
often filled.
Eudis indigestaque moles. [L.] A rude and
undigested mass ; said of confused or ill-arranged
matter, as in a book.
Eudolphine Tables. Astronomical tables com-
puted by Kepler on the observations of Tycho
Brahe. So called in honour of the Emperor
Rudolph II., who on Tycho's death in 1601
undertook the cost of their preparation. They
are the first tables calculated on the hypothesis
that the planets move in elliptic orbits.
Buff. (Ornith.) Gen. and spec, of wading-
bird, about twelve inches long ; male develops
large purple-black chestnut-barred ruff in breed-
ing season ; the hen is called the Reeve. N.
Europe, N. Asia, Hindustan. Machetes [Gr.,
a fighter} pugnax, fam. Scolopacidse, ord.
Grallae.
Buffle of drums. (Mil.} A gentle continuous
roll on the drums of a regiment.
Burners. In Naut. slang, beggars who pre-
tend that they have served in the wars.
Bugging. A coarse cloth for wrapping
blankets.
Bule. [A. S. regol, L. regiila.] 1. In Law,
an order of the superior courts of common law.
2. (Eccl.) (Begulars.)
Bule of three. (Arith.) The rule for finding
a fourth proportional to three given numbers.
Eules of the road. (Naut.) Those by which
it is determined which of two vessels is to give
way to the other : e.g. a steamer gives way to a
sailing-vessel ; a sailing-vessel running free, to
one sailing near the wind ; one on the port, to
one on the starboard tack.
Bumble. 1. A revolving cask used to polish
small articles by their mutual friction. 2. A
box behind a carriage, with a seat above it.
Bumbling drain. One made by throwing
loose rubble stones into the trench.
Bumbo. In Naut. language, rope stolen from
a royal dockyard.
Bumbowline. (Bombowline.)
Bumen. [L., throat, gullet.} (Anat.) The
cud, or first stomach of a ruminant.
Bumlnantla [L. ], Buminants. (Zool.) Those
mammals of the ord. Ungulata (hoofed animals)
which chew the cud ; i.q. Pgcora of Linnaeus.
Bummage. (Naut.) 1. Search by officers
of customs for contraband. 2. Contraband
goods found concealed.
Bummer. [Ger. romer.] A drinking-cup.
Bump, The. (Long Parliament.)
Bunagate. [Fr. renegat, from L. renegare,
to deny} A vagabond ; one who apostatizes ;
a renegade.
Bunoinate leaf. [L. runclna, a plane, a large
saw.} (Bot.) Having curved indentation, and
lateral lobes turned backwards ; e.g. dande-
lion.
Bunes. The letters of the Futhorc, or alpha-
bet of the Gothic tribes, obtained by them from
the Greeks of the Greek colonies on the shores
of the Black Sea.
Bung. [Ger. runge, a short thick bar.} One
of the rounds of a ladder.
Eunner. 1. One of the curved pieces on
which a sledge slides. 2. A channel on the top
of a mould into which the molten metal is
poured.
Running-part of a tackle. (Standing-part.)
Running title. The title of a book as printed
on the top of each page.
Rupee. [Skt. rupuya, from riipa, shape ; and
according to Panini, = struck with the shape of
a man ; very important, as giving a very early
date to coinage with human figure impressed,
(see Chambers's Encyclopedia, s.v.}.} A silver
coin weighing 180 grains, of which 165 are pure
silver, and worth about is. lod. ; this is the
Company's R., which is of the same weight and
purity as the Madras R. ; the Sicca R. is worth
a fifteenth part more, i.e. about 2s. Lac, Lakh,
100,000 rupees. Crore, 100 lakhs, or 10,000,000
rupees.
Rupert's drop (from Prince Rupert). A glass
drop with a long tail, which bursts into frag-
ments when the tail is broken.
Ruptuary. One not of noble blood, a Bo-
turier.
Bural dean. (Eccl.) An officer, not having
jurisdiction, who within a certain district gathers
information for the bishop as to the conduct of
the clergy, condition of ecclesiastical buildings,
etc., the opinion of the clergy as expressed in
meetings.
Ruse de guerre. [Fr., a trick of war.} A
stratagem.
Rus in urbe. [L. ] Country in town ; said
of situations which are thought to have the
advantages of both.
Rusma. [Turk, khyryzma.] A compound of
iron and quicklime, used as a depilatory.
Russia leather (made in Russia). A soft
leather scented with an oil obtained from birch
bark.
Rustem. In Pers. Myth., a hero who slays
Isfendyar by casting a thorn into the one spot
where he is vulnerable.
Euta caesa, or Ruta et eaesa. [L.] In Rom.
Law, things dug up, and things cut down, which
were movable and not fixtures, and therefore did
not pass with the land sold. (Quicquid planta-
tur solo.)
Buta-muraria. [L.] (Bot.) Wall-rue, ord.
Rutaceae. (Asplenium.)
Buthenium. A hard grey metal, extracted
from platinum ore.
Butilate. [L. rutilare, to shine.} To emit
rays of light.
RYEH
426
SACK
Eye-House Plot. (Eng. Hist.) A plot so
called from the intention of carrying it into
execution at the Rye House, near Newmarket
for seizing Charles II., and so bringing about the
redress of grievances. For his share in this
conspiracy, Lord William Russell was executed,
July, 1683.
Eyot. [Ar., a serf, or peasant.] The culti-
vators of the soil in India. In the Turkish
empire they are called Bayahs.
s.
8. A letter common to all languages. As an
abbrev., it stands for L. sacrum [sacred], sibi
[for himself, herself, etc.], socius [fellow],
society, solo, south, etc.
Sabaism. [Heb. sabaoth, army or host of
heaven.] The worship of the heavenly bodies ;
a religion which had its special stronghold in
Chaldea, the birthland of astronomy.
Sabaoth. (Sabaism.)
Sabbatarians. (Eccl. Hist.) Various sects
have been so called ; among these certain Ana-
baptists in the sixteenth century, who kept the
Jewish sabbath.
Sabbath day's journey. Acts i. 12 ; 2000
cubits, or about six furlongs, from the wall of
Jerusalem ; in compliance, according to Jewish
doctors, with the injunction of Exod. xvi. 29,
" Let no man go out of his place on the seventh
day " (to gather manna) ; taken in connexion
with the definition of "suburbs," or pasture-
grounds, in Numb. xxxv. 5.
Sabbatians. (Eccl. Hist.) In the fourth
century, the followers of Sabbatius, a Novatian
bishop.
Sabbatical year. By the Jews every seventh
year was so called, according to the commands
given in Exod. xxiii. 10 ; Lev. xxv. 3, 20.
(Jubilee year.)
Sabbatic river. (Intermittent springs.)
Sabellians. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Sabellius in the third century, who regarded the
Father as the sole Person, and the Son and the
Holy Spirit as attributes or emanations from
Him. This scheme has been known in later
times as that of the Modal Trinity. The
followers of Praxeas, who adopted these views,
asserted that the Father had united to Himself
the human nature of Christ, and were hence
called Monarchians ; while, as holding that the
Father suffered in the death of Christ, they were
called Patripassians.
Sabians. (Eccl. Hist.) A Christian sect, known
also as Christians of St. John.
Sabica, Savicu wood. A Cuban timber, used
for shipbuilding.
Sable. [O.Fr. for the animal called the sable. ]
(Her.) The black colour in coats of arms, re-
presented in engraving by vertical and horizontal
lines crossing each other.
Sable iron. A superior kind of Russian iron,
originally stamped with the figure of a sable.
Sabot. [Fr.] A wooden shoe.
Sabre. [Fr.] (Mil.) Broad, heavy-bladed
sword worn by cavalry.
Sabretasche. [Sabre (q.v.), Ger. tasche,
focket.} (Mil.) Flat leather case for holding
papers, suspended with the sword on the left
side by horsemen.
Sabulous. [L. sabulosus, from sabulum,
coarse sand.] (Med.) Said of sandy, gritty
deposits in the urine.
Sao. [L. saccus, a sack, tag.} (Anat.) Any
small cavity in the body, pouch, bag, cyst.
Saccharoid. [Gr. ffa.Kx<ipoi> ) sugar ; an
Eastern word.] (Geol.) In texture like loaf-
sugar ; as white statuary marble.
Saocharometer. [Gr. ad.irxa.pov, sugar, /xerpov,
measure] An instrument for ascertaining the
quantity of sugar in a solution. The common
S. is a kind of hydrometer, the reading depend-
ing on the specific gravity of the solution. In
the polarizing S. the determination is made by
observing the angle through which the solution
will turn the plane of polarization of a ray of
polarized light transmitted through it.
Sachentege. A very heavy instrument, "which
two or three men had enough to do to carry, . . .
fastened to a beam, having a sharp iron to go
round a man's throat and neck, so that he
might no ways sit, nor lie, nor sleep, but he
must bear all that iron." English Chronicle.
Sachet. [Fr.] A bag or packet containing scent.
Sack. [L. saccus, a bag.] Of wool, 26
stones, or 364 Ibs. ; of flour, 280 Ibs.
Sackbut (Dan. iii.), or Sabeca [lit. elder wood,
because made of it]. 1. Some kind of harp,
probably Egyptian ; sabeca, L. sambuca, Eng.
sackbut, being different forms of some Oriental
word. 2. But the Eng. S. was a kind of trom-
bone, a bass trumpet with a slide.
Sacrament. [L. sacramentum.] 1. Properly
the military oath of obedience to their general
taken by the Roman soldiers. Hence, 2, (Eccl. )
Baptism, in which the neophyte bound himself
to the service of God. The term is now applied
to Baptism and the Eucharist, as being, both,
outward signs of inward grace.
Sacramentary. Anciently, in the Latin
Church, a book containing the Collects, Pre-
faces, and Canon of the Mass. The most im-
portant sacramentaries are those of Leo and
Gelasius in the fifth, and of Gregory the Great
in the sixth, centuries.
Sacred College. The College of Cardinals at
Rome. (Cardinal.)
Sacred Wars. In Gr. Hist., the name given
to three wars : the first said to have been waged
against the people of Kirrha in the time of Solon ;
the second between the Thebans and Phokians,
357-346 B.C. ; the third, 339 B.C.
SACK
427
SAKE
Sacrificati. [L.] Christians who repented,
having sacrificed to idols, to avoid condemnation
at a heathen tribunal. Called also Thurificati,
having offered incense.
Sacring bell, or Sanctus bell. In the Latin
Church, a bell used in Mass at the time of the
elevation.
Sacristan. [L.L. sacristanus.] The person
to whose charge the vestments used in divine
service are committed. The word is now cor-
rupted to Sexton.
Sacrum, Os sacrum. [L., sacred bone ; accord-
ing to the rabbis, because containing the germ of
the future body ; other* say as being connected
with sacrifice.] (Anat.) The triangular bone
at the lower part of the vertebral column, the
key-stone of the pelvic arch, wedged in between
the ossa innominata.
Saoti. In Hind. Myth., the female power of
the universe, as distinguished from the male
power, Siva. The word is the same as Suttee.
(Trimurtee.)
Sadder. [Pers.] A summary of portions of
the Zend-Avesta. The book is of very doubtful
date.
Saddleback. In popular language, = anti-
clinal strata, (q.v.).
Saddlebow. [O.K. sadelboga.] The arch in
front of a saddle.
Sadducees. A religious school among the
Jews, which allowed authority to the written
Law only, and none to the oral law ; hence
they denied the future life, on the ground that
the written Law was silent on the subject.
They are said by some to be so named from
Zadok, a disciple of Antigonus of Socho. Other:
regard the word as denoting the righteous.
Safe-conduct. Either a guard or a written
warrant, protecting a person in an enemy's
country.
Safety-lamp. (Davy lamp ; Geordy lamp.)
Safety-valve. A valve in the boiler of a
steam-engine : (i) external, held down by a regu
lated force so as to open when the steam pressure
exceeds a certain amount, and thus both relieve
the pressure and give notice to the engine-man
(2) internal, to relieve the pressure of the ex
ternal air by letting in air when the cooling
of the steam produces a vacuum within thi
boiler.
Safflower. [Eng. saffron and flower.] Thi
dried flowers of bastard saffron, used as a dye
stuff.
Saffron. [It. zafferano.] Cant. iv. 14 ; Crocu
sativus, Ar. kurkum, the sweet-smelling drie<
stigmas of which are used for perfume, season
ing, etc.
Sagas. [A Teut. and Scand. word, akin t
sagen, to say.] Ancient works giving the mythi
calandthe early historical traditions of Norther
Europe. Among the mythical sagas the mos
important are the Voluspa, Hervarar, Volmnga
and Vilkina or Wilkina, with the saga of Ragna
Lodbrog. Many of the historical sagas are co"
lected in the Heimskringla of Snorro Sturleson.
Sagathy. [Fr. sagatis.] A mixed stuff o
silk and cotton, also called Sayette.
Sage, or Sage-brush. (Bot.} A general name
n some of the western states of N. America
or some spec, of Artemisia, which impart a
reyish appearance to large tracts of country.
Sagene. The Russian fathom ; it equals three
rshines, i.e. about seven English feet.
Sagger. [Corr. from safeguard.'} A pot in
hich fine earthenware is baked.
Sago. [Malay sagu.] A kind of granulated
tarch, prepared from the pith of several E.
ndian palms, and used as food.
Sails. (Natit.) Square- S. , courses, topsails,
opgallant-sails, royals, and skysails. Fore-and-
ft S., jibs, staysails, trysails, boom, main, and
ore sails, spanker or driver (on the mizzen), gaff
opsails, studding-sails, and the flying-kites.
^heer-S. (Driftsail.) Lug-S., nearly square,
et on a slanting yard, not suspended from the
middle, and with the longer arm the higher.
Sainfoin. [Fr., from L. siinum fcenum, sound
'iay.~\ (Bot.) Common, wild, clover-like plant,
Onobrychis saliva, orcl. Leguminaceas, cultivated
as fodder [Gr. oVo/Spi^s].
St. Andrew's cross. (Cross.)
St. Anthony's cross. (Cross,)
St. Anthony's fire. Erysipelas (q.v.), believed
:o have been miraculously healed by him.
St. Cuthbert's beads. In N. England, joints
of the stems of encrinites, formerly pierced for
rosaries (see Marmion, canto ii. 16).
St. Elmo's fire. (Elmo, Fire of St.)
St. James, Liturgy of. (Liturgy.)
St. John, Liturgy of. (Liturgy.)
St. John of Jerusalem, Knights of. (Orders,
Eeligious.)
St. John's bread. (Algaroba.)
St. Luke's summer. The fine weather fre-
quently occurring about October 18 ; so St.
Martin's summer, in the Mediterranean, about
November n.
St. Martin's summer. (St. Luke's summer.)
St. Simonians. (Hist.) The followers of
Claude Henri, Count of St. Simon (1760-1825),
who wished to set up a theocratic government,
in which all property should be held in common.
St. Sophia. The Church of, at Constant!,
nople, is now a mosque. It was built by Jus-
tinian, and dedicated, A.D. 537, in the name of
the Holy and Eternal Wisdom, Gr. 01710 "Sofyia,
which answers to the Logos of the New Testa-
ment. The Latin term, Sancta Sophia, which
translates ajia Soviet, came to be taken as the
name of a human person, and St. Sophia was
said to have been martyred along with her three
daughters, Fides, Spes, Caritas, Faith, Hope,
Charity.
St. Vitus's dance. 1. Now i.q. chUrea (q.v.),
but originally, 2, dancing mania (q.v.), or tar-
antism ; so called from pilgrimages, in Swabia, to
the chapel of St. Weit.
Saints, Island of the. Ireland, which re-
ceived Christianity from Palladius in the fourth
century and from St. Patrick in the fifth cen-
tury. Her schools were the resort of foreigners ;
amongst her missionaries was St. Columba,
Apostle of the Hebrides, 540-615.
Saker. (Musket.)
SALA
428
SAMA
Salaam. [Heb. shalom, salem, peace.'] The
ordinary salutation in Eastern countries.
Salade. [Sp. celada, L. cselata, carved helmet.]
Metal head-covering, shaped like a sou'-wester,
worn by archers early in the fifteenth century.
Saladier. Crescent-shaped plate for salad
[It. salata].
Salamander. [Gr. <ra\a.fjidi>$pa..] (Zool.) 1.
Lizard-like amphibian, as the newt, or water-
salamander (Triton), with compressed tail ;
land-salamanders (Salamandra) have round tails.
Central and S. Europe and N. Africa. Ord.
Urodelse. 2. A fabulous creature which was
supposed to be able to live in fire.
Sal ammoniac. [L. sal, salt.] (Ghent.} Chlo-
ride of ammonium.
Sal Atticum. [L., attic salt.] The brilliant
wit of Athenian writers.
Salep. [Ar. sahleb.] A substance prepared
from the root of several kinds of orchis, used as
food or for making a drink like tea.
Salic law. (Hist.) The law of the Salian
Franks, who held the country between the Meuse
and the Rhine. It was reformed by Charles the
Great (Charlemagne), 798. It especially pro-
vides that no Salic land shall pass into the hands
of females ; but the extent of these lands has
been a subject of keen controversy. To this
rule, however, has been ascribed the exclusion
of females from the French crown. The claim
of Edward III. was barred only by this law.
Hence arose the Hundred Years' War between
England and France. (Bretigny, Peace of.)
Salicylic acid. An acid prepared from the
bark of a kind of willow [L. salix].
Salient. (Her.) Springing forward [L.
salientem].
Salient angle. (Fortif.) One in which the
works project towards the country.
Salinas. [L. salinae, salt-works.] In S.
America, once sea-reaches and lagoons, now
great plains and elevations, with white saline
incrustation.
Salivary glands. [L. saliva, spittle.] (Anat.)
Three pairs of G. : (i) Parotid [Gr. irapwris, from
irapd, near, oSy, wr6s, the ear] ; (2) Sub-
maxillary, sub maxilla [L., under the jaw-bone] ;
(3) Sub-lingual, sub lingua [under the tongue].
Each conveys into the mouth secretions which,
mixed with those of the follicles of the mucous
membrane, constitute saliva.
Salivation. An abnormally abundant flow of
saliva, generally by the action of mercury on the
parotid glands, sometimes spontaneous.
Salle-a-manger. [Fr., a room for eating.] A
dining-room.
Sallenders. (Mallenders. )
Ballet-herbs. [Fr. salade, from It. salata,
or insalata, salted.] Herbs for salad.
Sallyport. (Fortif.) 1. Opening cut in a
parapet for a passage through it, generally barri-
caded by a strong door. 2. A gate from which
sallies [Fr. saillie] are made.
Salmagundi. [Fr. salmigondis.] A dish made
of chopped meat and pickled herring, with oil,
vinegar, pepper, and onions.
Salmasius, (Def ensio populi Anglicani.)
Salmon peal, S. peel. (Grilse.)
Saloop, or Sassafras tea. With milk and sugar,
a drink still sold to the working classes in the
early morning in London. (Sassafras.)
Sal prunella. (Cketn.) Fused nitre in cakes
or balls.
Sal soda. [L. sal, salt, and soda.] (Ghent.)
Impure carbonate of soda.
Salsola. [L. salsus, sailed] (Bot.) A gen.
of plants, ord. Chenopodiacese, many spec, of
which yield kelp and barilla.
Salt. [L. sal, salt.] Any chemical compound
of an acid and a base.
Saltant. [L. saltantem, dancing.] (Her.)
Springing forward.
Salt-box. (Naut.) Box under the charge of
the cabin-door sentry, and containing great-gun
ammunition for instant use.
Salt-cake. Crude sulphate of sodium, obtained
in the manufacture of soda (carbonate of sodium)
by heating salt mixed with oil of vitriol.
Salt-cat. A mixture of salt and lime for
pigeons. Other ingredients are sometimes
added.
Salt-eel. In Naut. slang, a rope's end.
Salterns. Salt-works.
Saltigrades. [L. saltus, a leap, gradior, /
proceed] (Entom.) Tribe of spiders which
spring upon their prey.
Saltire, Saltier. [Fr. sautoir.] (Her.) An
ordinary consisting of a cross in the form X,
otherwise called St. Andrew's cross.
Salt of lemons. (Lemons, Salt of.)
Saliis populi suprema lex. [L.] The welfare
of the people is the supreme law, in the sense that
everything else is to be subordinated to this end.
Salva dignitate. [L.] Saving his dignity.
Salvage. [L. salvus, safe.] (Naut.) 1. An
allowance to those, other than the crew, who
rescue a ship or goods from the perils of trie sea
or from enemies. 2. The goods, or thing saved.
Salvo jure. [L.] Saving his right.
Sal volatile. (Chem.) Carbonate of am-
monia.
Salvo pudore. [L.] Without offence to
modesty.
Salvum fao regem. [L.] God save the king.
Salvam fac reginam, God save the queen.
Salzkammergut. [Ger. , salt-exchequer pro-
perty.] A name given to a district forming the
south-west angle of Upper Austria, wedged in
between Salzburg and Styria, traversed by the
river Traun, about 250 square miles ; its springs
and mines yielding an enormous supply of salt ;
a Government monopoly. Called also Austrian
Switzerland.
Samakeen. (Naut.) Turkish coasting-vessel.
Samanaeans. Indian philosophers who are
specially distinguished from the Brahmans by
those who mention them. The name seems to
be found in the Hind, schamman, a sage, in the
Cha-men of the Chinese, and the Sammon-
lodom of Siam.
Samara. [L., seed of the elm.] (Bot.) An
indehiscent fruit, producing a membranous wing-
like expansion from its back or end ; e.g. maple,
sycamore.
SAMA
429
SANG
Samaritans. In Jewish Hist., properly the
people of Samaria, a city built by Omri, father
of Ahab. Generally, the population of the
northern part of Palestine after the Captivity,
which, as being greatly mixed with foreigners,
was looked down upon by the people of Judaea.
Sama Veda. (Veda.)
Sambuca. (Sackbut.)
Sambucco. (Naut. ) An Arabian pinnace.
Samian ware. A lustrous ware (like dull-red
sealing-wax) with relief ornaments, originally
made in Samos, afterwards in Italy, Gaul, Ger-
many ; found throughout the Roman empire.
(Aretine ware.)
Samiel. [Turk, sam-yeli, from Ar. samm,
poison, Turk, yel, wind.] A hot, destructive
wind blowing from the desert. (Simoom.)
Samite. [L., Gr. e^dfuros, from e, six,
fti-ros, thread.] A kind of silk stuff, generally
adorned with gold.
Sammarinesi. Inhabitants of the republic of
San Marino, in Italy.
Sammuramit. (Semiramis and Ninas.)
Samoyeds. (Geog.) Tribes inhabiting part of
the coasts of the Arctic Ocean.
Samp. [N.-Amer. Ind. sapac, softened.] A
kind of porridge made of bruised maize.
Sampaan, or Sampan. (Naut.) A Chinese
hatch-boat, used for passenger traffic, and also
as a dwelling by Tartar families.
Samphire, Sea samphire (i.e. St. Pierre, St.
Peter's plant). (Bot.) Crithmum [Gr. Kpte^o^
maritimum, an aromatic plant, on seaside rocks ;
ord. Umbelliferse ; a favourite ingredient in
pickles, and used medicinally.
Sampi. An old Phoenician letter, retained
in Greek as a numeral = 900. (For its history
and changes, see Taylor's History of the Al-
phabet.)
Samshu. [Chin., thrice-fired.'} A spirituous
drink, distilled from water in which boiled rice
has been long fermented.
Samson's-post. (Naut.) A movable post, to
which a leading, or snatch, block is fastened,
enabling more men to haul on a rope.
Sanchoniathon. A writer who is said to have
lived in the time of Semiramis. The frag-
ments which bear his name are late forgeries.
Sancta sanctorum. [L.] Holy of holies.
Hence sanctum is used to denote any place
strictly set apart, and not open to strangers.
Sanctorale. [Eccl. L.] A book containing
lives of saints. (Acta Sanctorum.)
Sanctus. (Ter-Sanctns.)
Sanctus bell. (Sacring bell.)
Sancus. (Semo Sancus.)
Sandal. (Naut.) An open vessel of Barbary,
long and narrow, and having two masts.
Sandalwood. [Ar. zandal.] An odoriferous
wood, the produce of several spec, of Santalum,
Sandalwort ; trees or shrubs of Asia, Australia,
Pacific Isles.
Sandarach. [Gr. ffavSapdnri, realgar, red sul-
phuret of arsenic, Skt. sindura.] A transparent
African resin, used for varnish, etc. (Pounce.)
Sand-bath. A box of hot sand, used by chemists
for heating vessels, etc.
Sand-blindness. An affection, in which small
particles appear to fly before the eyes.
Sand-crack. A crack in the thinnest part of the
hoof of a horse ; one cause of which is excessive
dryness.
Sandemanians. In Eccl. Hist., a small sect,
who are called in Scotland Glassites, from John
Glass, who, in 1727, denounced all Church
establishments, and formed his followers after
what he regarded as the primitive model. In
1755, the letters of his son-in-law, Robert
Sandeman, led to the formation of similar bodies
in London and elsewhere. The Sandemanians
do not acknowledge the name.
Sanderling. (Ornith.) Riutdy plover ; wading-
bird about eight inches long. Everywhere but
Australia. Gen. and spec. Calidris, fam. Scolo-
pacidse, ord. Gralloe.
Sanders, Bed sanders. (Bot.) Red sandal-
wood.
Sandhi. [Skt., a binding, from sam, together,
dha, to place.] The symphonic system in San-
skrit grammar, relating to words in that language.
(Assimilation.)
Sandiver. [Fr. sel de verre, salt of glass.]
(Glass-gall.)
Sandstone. (Geol.) Sand consolidated by
pressure, or cemented by oxide of iron, clay,
etc. S., limestone, clay, are the three great
divisions of sedimentary rock-masses.
Sand-strake. (Garboard-strake.)
Sand-warpt. (Naut. ) 1. Left on a shoal by the
tide. 2. Striking on a shoal at half-flood. (Warp.)
Sane memory. In Law, in making contracts,
in commission of crime, etc., that essential of
sound mind and clear recollection which
infants, idiots, lunatics, the childish, have not.
Sangaree. [Sp. sangria, blood-letting.] A
beverage of red wine, lemon, and water (from
its colour).
Sangfroid. [Fr., L. sanguis frigidus.] Cold
blood. Hence coolness, assurance.
Sangreal. In the Arthurian legend, the
platter, or dish, in which the Saviour ate the Pass-
over before his passion, and in which Joseph of
Arimathaea gathered up the drops of blood which
fell from His side when pierced by the cen-
turion's spear. On this sustenance alone Joseph
was nourished through his imprisonment of forty-
two years ; and when, having been brought by
him to Britain, this vessel was shrined in a
magnificent temple, it supplied to all the most
delicious food, and preserved them in perpetual
youth. It was afterwards lost, and the search
for it became the great work of the knights of
King Arthur's Round Table. Lancelot all but
succeeded in the quest, which was at length
achieved by his son, the prince Sir Galahad.
The name is said to be made up of the two words,
sang real, which are declared to mean real blood,
although they should mean royal blood ; but the
second word is the L.L. gradale, L. crater, Gr.
nparfip, a cup (Skeat, Etym. Eng. Diet.).
Sanguine. [L. sanguineus, bloody ^\ (Her.) The
blood-red colour in coats of arms, represented in
engraving by diagonal lines crossing each other.
Sanguisuges. [L. sangui-suga, a bloodsucker.}
SANH
430
SART
(Zool.) 1. Leeches. 2. Hemipterous insects;
as the bed-bug (Cimex lectularius).
Sanhedrim, more properly Sanhedrin. [A
Hebraized form of the Gr. ffvvfSptov, a council. ]
The highest judicial tribunal among the Jews,
consisting of seventy-one members, including the
high priest.
Sanhita. (Veda.)
Sanies. (Ichor.)
Sanio-purulent. (Med. ) Having a combina-
tion of sanies and pus.
Sanjak. The Turkish word for a standard.
The Sanjak sherif is the S. of the prophet.
Finlay, Hist, of Greece, v. 250.
Sans-culottes, [Fr.] A contemptuous name,
denoting the beggary of those who go with their
legs bare ; applied to the Jacobins of the French
Revolution, but afterwards assumed by them-
selves as a title of honour. In the new calendar
the five supernumerary days were called Sans-
culottides.
Sans-facon. [Fr.] Without ceremony.
Sanskrit. The name, meaning lit. polished,
of the ancient language of the Hindus, which
ceased to be spoken in the fourth century B.C.
The attention of European scholars was drawn
to it by Sir W. Jones. The consequences of his
discovery have been most important. (Com-
parative grammar; Comparative mythology;
Prakrit; Veda.)
Sans peur et sans reproche. [Fr.] Without
fear and without reproach. Said of the
Chevalier Bayard (1476-1524).
Sans phrase [Fr.] = in few words ; going
straight to the point, perhaps somewhat
bluntly.
Sans-souci. [Fr., without care.] Free and
easy.
Santaline. [Fr.] (Ckem.) The colouring
matter of red sanders. (Sanders.)
Santonine. [Gr. ffavr6viov, wormwood.'] The
bitter principle of wormwood, obtained from the
flower-heads of some of the Artemisias ; a most
powerful anthelmintic.
Sap. [Fr. sape, L. sappa, a pick, in Isidore
of Seville (Brachet).] (Mil.) Trench covered
on one side by gabions, by which a fortress is
approached for purposes of attack. S. -faggot is
a short fascine for placing between gabions. S. -
roller is a large gabion filled with fascines, for
rolling on the ground and protecting the sapper
working behind it.
Sapan wood. [Malay sapang.] A red dye-
wood from Siam, Pegu, etc.
Sap green. A water-colour, made from the
juice of buckthorn berries.
Saphena, Saphenous veins. [Gr. o-afirjvfis, clear,
distinct.} (Anat.) The two long, important sub-
cutaneous veins, extending from the foot to the
groin.
Sapiens dominabitur astris. [L.] The wise
man will rule the stars ; said of those who rise
above astrological or other superstitions.
Sapientia supplet aetatem. (Malitia supplet
setatem.)
Sapor. [L.] Taste.
Sapphic. The name of a Greek stanza, or
strophe, supposed to have been invented by
Sappho, consisting of three verses of eleven
syll., followed by an Adonic verse of five syll.,
a dactyl and a spondee.
Sapphire. [Gr. 0-aV<j>poy.] In the breastplate
of Aaron, Exod. xxviii. 1 8, and of Rev. xxi.
19; probably Lapis lazuli (q.v.}. (Sapphire is
pure alumina, mostly blue, sometimes colour-
less.)
Sapsago. [Ger. schabzieger, from schaben, to
scrape, zieger, whey.] A dark-green Swiss cheese.
Sarabaites. Ancient Eastern monks, who are
supposed to be the same with the Remoboth
mentioned by St. Jerome.
Saraband. [Sp. zarabanda.] 1. A stately
Spanish dance, with castanets, in triple time, of
Moorish origin. 2. Music for the S., or of a
similar kind ; e.g. those of J. S. Bach, Handel.
Saragossa, Maid of. [Sp. Zaragoza, L.
Caesar-Augusta.] Angostina, the life and soul
of the city, when besieged by the French, and
taken, 1809, after a most heroical defence.
Saranyu. (Erinyes, The avenging.)
Sarcocolla. [Gr. <ro/>, o-apitos, flesh,
glue.] A gum-resin from Arabia and Persia.
Sarcode. [Gr. ffapK-d>Sr]s,. flesh-like] (Pro-
toplasm.)
Sarcoma. [Gr. <rcpjca)jua, a fleshy excrescence]
A fleshy, painless, moderately firm tumour.
Sarcophagus. [Gr. <rapKO(payof, from <rdp,
flesh, (payfw, to eat] A stone coffin. The stone
of Assos, in Asia Minor, used for such coffins,
was supposed to corrode bodies entirely in forty
days ; hence the name.
Sarootic [Gr. trapKiariKos, from trapicdco, I make
fleshy], or Incarnative. (Med.) Helping the
flesh to grow.
Sard, Sardius. [Gr. a-dpSios.] (Chalcedony.)
Sardius. Of Rev. xxi. 20; fltte carnelian.
King's Precious Stones.
Sardonic laughter. (Risus sardonious.)
Saree. [Hind.] An embroidered scarf of
gauze or silk.
Sargasso, Gulf-weed, Tropic grape. (Bot.)
Sargassum vulgare, ord. Algse ; a seaweed,
growing in immense fields in some parts of
the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans ; the
S. Sea is where the Gulf Stream sends off its
more southern branch towards the Azores.
Sarking. Thin boards for putting under
slates, etc.
Sarong. A kirtle worn by Eastern women.
Saros. A name which the Chaldeans are
supposed to have given to a period of 223 luna-
tions, or 1 8 years 10 days, after which eclipses
recur in nearly the same order and magnitude.
Sarpedon, [Gr.] In the tale of Troy, a
Lycian chief slain by Patroclus. The carrying
of his body to his home by Sleep and Death
(Hypnos and Thanatos) has furnished a subject
for well-known sculptures. (Hermes.)
Sartorius [L. sartor, a tailor], Tailor's muscle.
(Anat.) A muscle of the thigh, serving to
throw one leg across the other.
Sartor Eesartus (The Tailor Re-stitched). By
Thomas Carlyle, professing to review a German
work on dress, attacks the garb of falsehood
SARU
and unreality by which true ideas are often
overlaid in human life.
Sarum Use. (Use.)
Sash. (Mil.) Scarf worn round the waist or
over the shoulder by combatant officers, origin-
ally intended for carrying the wearer in when
wounded.
Sasine and livery. (Seisin, Livery of.)
Sassafras. [L. saxifragus, rock-breaking.} (Bot.)
A gen. of Lauracese, trees ; of which S. officinale
is a native of N. America. The root, wood,
and bark have stimulant and sudorific proper-
ties : of the leaves, young shoots, and fruits
various medicinal and other preparations are
made. (Saloop; Saxifrage.)
Sassanides. A dynasty of Persian kings,
founded by Ardshir (Artaxerxes), A.D. 226.
Sassenach. The name by which the Teutonic
conquerors of the British Islands were known to
the Celtic inhabitants, the Saxons being those
with whom they were most in contact.
Sassoline. [Fr. sassolin.] Native boracic
acid.
Sat cito, si sat tuto. [L.] Quick enough, if
safe enough.
Satellite. [L. satellitem, an attendant.] A
small or secondary planet revolving round a
larger or primary planet ; as the moon round
the earth.
Satin-wood. (Bot.) A lemon-coloured wood
from India, taking a lustrous finish, and used
chiefly for veneering.
Satire. [L. satira, a word of uncertain
origin.] At first a poem full of miscellaneous
matter without orderly method ; but afterwards,
a composition chastising or ridiculing vice.
Satis, superque. [L.] Enough, and more
(than enough).
Sativa, fem. of L. adj. satlvus. In Bot., cul-
tivated ; opposed to Agrestis, -wild.
Sat pulchra, si sat bona. [L., fair enough, if
good enough.] Handsome is that handsome
does.
Satrap. [Or. ffarpdir-ns, supposed to be the
same as the Pers. schah-derban, the king's door-
keeper.] The title of provincial governors in
the ancient Persian kingdom.
Satsuma ware. A yellowish-white Japanese
fayence, slightly rose-tinted, with the glaze
slightly crackled, and decorated with flowers
and landscapes. (Crackle.)
Saturation. [L. saturatio, -nem.] (Chem.)
The combination of two substances in such pro-
portion that no more of either will enter into
the combination.
Saturn. (Planet.)
Saturn. [L. Saturnus, Sseturnus, akin to sero,
satum, / sow.] An Italian god of seed-time
and harvest. His wife was named Ops, wealth
or plenty. By late poets he was identified with
the Greek Kronos, Cronus, with which he has
nothing in common.
Saturnalia. [L.] The feast of Saturn, in
which a large amount of licence was allowed,
slaves being waited on at table by their masters.
Hence any time of wild and furious merriment.
(Fools, Feast of.)
Satyr. [Heb. sa'ir (Isa. xiii. 21), the hairy
one.} (Bibl.) Probably some large kind of ape.
Satyric drama. In the Greek theatre, a semi-
burlesque piece presented after the performance
of the regular dramatic Trilogy. The four
formed the Tetralogy.
Saucisson. [Fr. , a sausage, saucisse, L. sal-
sitia.] (Mil.) Hose of coarse cloth, about three-
quarters of an inch in diameter, for conveying the
train of powder to the charge of a mine.
Sauerkraut. [Ger., sour cabbage.] "Cabbage
salted and allowed to ferment.
Saunders blue. [Fr. cendres bleues, blue
ashes.} (Ultramarine.)
Saunterer. Properly one who has performed
the pilgrimage to the Holy Land [L. Sancta
Terra]. Hence a wanderer, or vagabond.
Sauria, Saurians. [Gr. o-avpos, a lizard.] (Zool.)
1. Lizards (Lacertilia) and crocodiles (Loricata).
2. Any reptile externally like a lizard.
Sauropsida, Sauropsidans. [Gr. cravpos, lizard,
fyis, appearance.} A name for the combined
classes of birds and reptiles.
Sauterelle. [Fr., a grasshopper.] An instru-
ment used by stone-cutters and carpenters in
measuring angles.
Sautry. A dulcimer. (Psaltery.)
Sauve qui peut. [Fr.] Let him save himself
who can ; said to troops utterly defeated, as (it
is alleged) by Napoleon after the last charge at
Waterloo.
Savanna. [W. -Ind. savana.] An open plain
or meadow, without wood. The S. is not a
prairie ; it is a level tract of land, one or two
feet lower than the level land about it (?) the
basin of a former lake, filled up by soil and
vegetable matter clothed in perpetual verdure,
abounding in flowers ; except in winter, when it
is under water. The Prairie differs not from
other land except in the absence of timber,
supposed to have been previously destroyed.
Bartlett's Americanisms.
Savants. [Fr. , L. sapientes.] Learned men.
Save-all, or Water-sail. (Naut.) One set
below the lower studding-sail.
Saveloy, or Cervelat. [It. cervellata.] A kind
of sausage, properly made with brains [It. cer-
vello, L. cerebellum].
Savicu wood. (Sabica.)
Savitar. In Hind. Myth., the golden-handed
sun.
Savoir-faire. [Fr., to know (how) to do.] The
power of contriving and executing successfully.
"To have one's wits about one."
Savoir-vivre. [Fr.] Good breeding, good
manners.
Savoy Conference. Held at the Savoy Palace,
London, 1661, between twelve bishops, with
others, and certain Presbyterians, to ascertain
what concessions, as to the Liturgy, would con-
ciliate the latter.
Sawyer's dog. An iron bar turned down at
each end for driving into two contiguous beams
of wood and clamping them tightly together.
Saxifrage. [L. saxifragus, breaking rocks.]
1. A name given to many plants supposed to
possess the power of splitting rocks, like the
SAXO
432
SCAR
Snake leaves of Teutonic and Indian stories,
and the Sesame of the Arabian tale. The colour
is blue, yellow, red, or white, from the different
hues of the lightning, and from these the notion
of Saxifras plants is derived. (Sassafras.) 2.
(Bot.) A large gen. of the ord. Saxifragaceae ;
most of them being dwarf herbs, with tufted
foliage, and panicles of white, yellow, or red
flowers ; many being natives of Britain, and
cultivated to decorate rockeries, etc.
Saxon architecture. A name sometimes used
to denote the architecture of England before
the Norman Conquest. It was a form of
Romanesque. (Pointed architecture.)
Saxon blue. A solution of indigo in sulphuric
acid, used for dyeing. Saxon green is produced
by dyeing with yellow upon a ground of Saxon
blue.
Sayette. (Sagathy.)
Sbirri [It] The police of Italy.
Scab. (Mange.)
Scabies. (Itch.)
Scad. (Ichth.) Horse-mackarel, Trachurus
trachurus [Gr. rp&x-ovpos, from rpdxvs, rough,
ovpd, tail}. Fam. Carangidse, ord. Acantho-
pterygii, sub-class Tdleostei.
Scagliola. [It.] (Arch.) A composition of
gypsum, or sulphate of lime, sometimes called
Mischia, from the colours employed in it to
imitate marble.
Scald. [Norse skalld.] A poet, or bard. In
the ancient literature of N. Europe, poems,
whose writers are known, are said to be written
by scalds. When their authors are unknown,
they are called Eddas. (Edda.)
Scalding? ! (Naut.) Get out of the way!
Used by a man with a load.
Scale. [L. scala, staircase, ladder.} 1. A
graduated line, used to show the distance of a
movable point from a fixed point ; as the scale
of a thermometer. 2. A graduated line show-
ing the proportion between a picture and the
thing it represents ; as the scale attached to a
plan. 3. The ratio of a distance on a map to
the same distance on the ground ; as the scale
of an inch to the mile. 4. The radix or base of
a numerical system ; as the decimal scale. (For
Scale of colour, vide Colour.)
Scaleboard. A thin slip of wood used by
printers for filling up gaps in a page of type.
Scalene triangle. (Triangle.)
Scalenus. [Gr. truaX-nvAs, halting, unequal.}
(Anat.) A muscle of the neck which bends the
head and neck.
Scalled head. Popular name for a variety of
Eczema of the scalp.
Scallop. [Fr. escalope, shell.} (Zool.) Gen.
of free bivalve mollusc, swimming by the rapid
opening and closing of its shell. Fam. Ostreidse,
class Conchifera.
Scalloping. Cutting the edge of anything
into segments of circles, so as to be like a scaliop-
shell.
Scalpel. [L. scalpellum, from scalpo, / cut,
scrape.} (Surg.) Knife used in dissection.
Scalprum. [L., a chisel.] (Anat.) The cut-
ting edge of incisor teeth.
Scamars. A tribe of robbers who existed in
Thrace down to the eighth century. Finlay,
Hist, of Greece, i. 408.
Scammatha, (Niddin.)
Scammony. [Gr. crKa.fj.wvia. ] (ATed.) A pur-
gative ; the gum-resin of the root of Convolvulus
scammonia, of the Levant.
Scampavia. (Naut.) A war-boat of Naples
and Sicily, ranging up to 150 feet in length,
carrying a brass six-pounder forward, and pro-
pelled by sweeps and sails.
Scandalum magnatum. In Law, an action
for words in derogation of a peer, judge, or
other great officer of the kingdom, which need
not be actionable in the case of other persons.
The last action of this kind was brought in the
reign of Anne.
Scansores. [L.] (Ornith.) Climbing-birds,
as woodpeckers, sub-ord. of Plcariae. Other-
wise, group of birds characterized by having
two toes directed forward and two backward ;
as woodpeckers, parrots, toucans.
Scantling. [Fr. echantillon, a pattern or
sample.} 1. The dimensions of a piece of
timber in breadth and thickness. 2. A piece of
timber less than five inches square.
Scape. [L. scapus, a shaft, stalk; cf. Gr.
ffKairos, Dor. for ffitriirrpov.] (Sot.) A leafless
flower-stalk ; e.g. hyacinth.
Scapement, Scape-wheel. (Escapement.)
Scaphism. [Fr. scaphisme, Gr. ffKcupfvu,
I lay in a trough.] A Persian punishment, by
which criminals were confined in a hollow tree
till they died.
Scaphoid. Shaped like a boat [Gr. O-KO^OS].
Scappling. [L. scaber, rough] Reducing
(stone) to a straight surface without working it
smooth.
Scapula. [L.] Shoulder-blade; a flat tri-
angular bone, extending at the back and the side
from the first to about the seventh rib.
Scapulars. [L. scapulae, shoulder-blades.]
(Wings.)
Scapulary. [L. scapulae, the shoulders.] In
the dress of the monastic orders, two bands of
woollen stuff, one crossing the back or shoulders,
the other the stomach.
Scar. [Sw. skar.] Abrupt precipice of broken
rock ; e.g. Scar-borough. Scar-limestone, i.j.
mountain limestone.
Scarabaeus. [L., Gr. ffK.ipa.fios, and K&pa-
/3oj, a beetle ; in Skt. garabha is a locust, akin
to Ger. krebs, Eng. crab] A well-known
emblem in Egyptian architecture, and also worn
as an amulet. As the beetle, represented by it,
lays its eggs in a ball of earth, the Egyptians
may have seen in this a sign of the world or
universe as instinct with life.
Scaramouch. [It. scaramuccio, skirmish.] In
the old Italian comedy, a braggadocio, always
beaten by Harlequin.
Scarfing. (Arch.) The formation of a beam
out of two pieces of timber. The joint thus
formed is a Scarf-joint.
Scarf-skin, (Cuticle.)
Scarify'. [L. scSrlfico, Gr. ffKa.pi<pdoft.ai, I draw
with a ffKoffyos, etching tool] 1. (Med.) To
SCAR
433
SCIE
make incisions in the skin, especially in cupping.
2. (Agr.) To tear up the surface soil with an
implement (scarifier) having triangular teeth set
horizontally at the lower end of curved, vertical,
iron rods.
Scarious. [Fr. scarieux.] Thin, dry, shri-
velled.
Scarlet rod. The gentleman usher of the
order of the Bath (from his wand of office).
Scarpe, Scrape. [Fr. echarpe, a scarf.} (Her.)
The diminutive of the bend sinister, being one-
half its size.
Scarus. [L., Gr. a-K&pos,.] (Ichth.) Parrot-
fish ; gen. of fish, so called from colouring and
parrot-bill shape of teeth. S. cretensis (Medi-
terranean), highly esteemed by ancients. Fam.
Labridae, ord. Acanthoptgrygii, sub-class Tele'-
ostel.
Scatohes, [D. schaats, a skate."] Stilts for
walking over dirty places with.
Scauper. A tool with a semicircular face for
scooping out the spaces between the lines of an
engraving.
Scavenger's daughter. [Corr.fromS&evmgton's
daughter.] An instrument of torture invented
by Sir W. Skevington. (Maiden,)
Scazonio. [Gr. tncdfav, limping.] An iambic
verse with a spondee or trochee in the sixth or
last foot. I.q. Choliambic.
'Scend, Send, To. (Naut.) To rise, ascend,
after pitching.
Scenography. [Gr. a-K-nvoypaQla, scene-paint-
ing.] The art of perspective.
Schatzuraa ware. (Satsuma ware.)
Schechmah. [Heb.] (Shechinah.)
Scheiks. Hereditary Arab chiefs. The highest
among them, being descendants of Mohammed,
are called Sherifs. (Mufti.)
Schemer. (Naut.) The person in charge of
the hold in a North-Sea ship.
Schenk beer. [Ger. schenken, to pour out.]
A mild German beer, not made to be kept, but
to be poured out at once.
Scherzo. [It., jest, sport, Ger. scherz.] A
bright, merry movement in a sonata.
Schiedam. Hollands gin, much of which is
made at Schiedam.
Schilling. [Ger.] In Hamburg and Liibeck
the currency is twelve pfennings, equal to one
schilling, sixteen schillings being equal to one
mark ; the (Cologne) markweight of fine silver
(3608 grains) being coined into thirty-four marks
currency. This, however, is the old reck6ning.
(Mark.)
Schism Act, 13 Anne, required from every
master of a public or private school, and every
teacher, a declaration of conformity to the
Church and a licence from the bishop ; repealed,
5 George I.
Schist. [Gr. <rxwr(fc, split, divisible.] (Geol.)
Fissile rocks, greatly metamorphosed, and
having irregular cleavage ; e.g. mica-schist.
Schlich. [Ger.] The ore of a metal, espe-
cially gold, pulverized and prepared for further
working.
Schmelze. [Gen, smelting.'] Coloured glass
fused so as to resemble precious stones.
Schnapps. Hollands gin.
Scholastic philosophy, (Nominalists; Eeal-
ists; Schoolmen; Scotists; Thomists.)
Scholiast, A commentator [Gr, crxoA<a<rH;s] ;
writer of a ff^\wv [L. scholium], a comment, a
short note.
Scholium, [Gr. crxoAioj/, an interpretation,
comment.] A remark added in some cases to a
mathematical proposition, or treatise ; as the
S. generate at the end of the Principia.
Schoolmaster abroad. A phrase sometimes
used to denote the exposure of ignorance, in
order to frighten those who have a vested in-
terest in it.
Schoolmen. In Eccl. Hist., a name given to
a class of learned men who first attempted to
form a systematic theology. The father of the
Schoolmen was perhaps John Scotus Erigena, i.e.
a native of Ireland, in the ninth century ; but the
scholastic philosophy did not attain its full power
before the century which produced Roscelinus,
Abelard, and Peter Lombard, the great Nomi-
nalists of the second era. To the first era
belonged Berenger, Lanfranc, Anselm, and Hil-
debert. The third period is marked by the
introduction of the writings of Arabian philo-
sophers into Europe, and was rendered illustrious
by the names of Albert the Great, Thomas
Aquinas, and Duns Scotus, the followers of the
two latter being known respectively as Thomists
and Scotists. In the fourth and last period of
the scholastic philosophy, William of Ockham
secured the ascendancy of the Nominalists with
some modifications of their old system.
Schooner. (Nazit.)^ Strictly, a two-masted
fore-and-aft vessel, without tops ; but used for
any two-masted fore-and-aft vessel. A topsail
S. is one having one or more square topsails.
There are also three-masted schooners. When
the first schooner was launched, 1713, a by-
stander, it is said, exclaimed, " How she scoons
(skims, glides along) ! " and the builders replied,
" A scooner let her be."
Schuyt. (A T aut.) A small galliot-rigged
Dutch vessel, used in river traffic and the Eng-
lish trade.
Sciagraphy. The art of delineating shadows
[Gr. ffKtaypa.(j)[a].
Sciatica. [Gr. iVxiaSiWs, belonging to the hip
(Iffxiov).] (Afed.) Neuralgia of the great
sciatic nerve, which extends from the inner
portion of the buttock along the back of the
thigh to the ham ; also, inaccurately, applied
to all rheumatic affections about the hip-joint.
Scientia, Contrariorum eadem est. A maxim
of the Schoolmen ; i.e. we never really know
what a thing is, unless we are also able to give
a sufficient account of its opposite. (See Mill,
System of Logic : On Fallacies. )
Scientia popmae. [L., the science of the cook-
shop.] The art of cookery.
Scientific frontier. (Mil.) One commanding
the natural features of a country, with possession
of its chain of fortresses, towns, passes, and fords;
having easy communication in rear, strong line
of defence when invaded, and power of subject-
ing its front,
2 F
SCIL
434
SCRI
Scilicet. [L.] That is to say ; i.e. scire licet,
one may know.
Scimitar. [Perhaps from Pers. schimschir.]
(Mil.) Turkish sword, with its cutting edge
made very convex.
Sciolist [L. sciolus], Sciolous. Knowing
many things, but superficially only ; a smatterer.
Sciomancy. [Gr. ffuid, shade, /xovreia, divina-
tion.] Divination by means of shadows.
Scire facias. [L., make it known.] In Law,
a judicial writ founded upon some matter of
record, calling upon a person to show why the
party bringing it should not have the advantage
of the record ; e.g. if it is sought to repeal letters
patent.
Scirrhus. [Gr. trKipos, (i)stMco, (2) scirrhus.~\
(Med.) A cancerous tumour, indolent, hard,
fibrous.
Scissel. [L. scissilis, easily cut.] Clippings
of metal, especially the slips out of which discs
of metal have been punched for coinage.
Sciuridae, Sciurines. (Zool.) The squirrel
tribe, including flying S. and marmots.
Sclero-. [Gr. aK\-np6s, hard.]
Sclerotic. [Gr. <rK\-np6s, hard.] (Anat.)
The white of the eye ; one of the coats of the
eye ; a strong, dense, opaque, fibrous structure,
covered by the conjunctiva.
Solerotomy. Incision of the sclerotic (q.v.).
Scobs. [L. scobio.] Scrapings of ivory, metals,
etc.
Scolopacidee. [Gr. <rKo\<aira, or -rfira|, snipe,
or woodcock.] (Ornith.) Fam. of wading-birds,
as snipes. Cosmopolitan. Ord. Grallae.
Scolopendra. [Gr. <rito\6'irei>$pa. ] (Zool.)
The centipede. British spec, are harmless ; trop.
spec, (twelve inches or more long) dangerous.
Ord. Chilopoda, class Myriopoda.
Sconce. [Ger. schanze, bulwark.] A kind of
candlestick.
Sconce, Squinch. (Arch.) A small arch in
the angles of towers, etc., to support the alternate
sides of octagonal buildings above them.
-scope. [Gr. tr/coire'co, 1 look at, behold.]
Scorbutus, popularly Scurvy. [L. form of the
D. word scheurbuik.] (Med.) A disease, once
very fatal in our navy, brought about by pro-
longed abstinence from vegetables ; marked by
extreme debility, melancholy, by petechitz (q.v.),
diarrhoea, hemorrhage.
Score. [A.S. scor, notch line.] A copy of
a musical composition, vocal or instrumental,
with parts for each voice or instrument.
Scoriae. [L., Gr. axupia, dirty refuse.] Vol-
canic ashes, cinders, or the slag rejected after
the reduction of metallic ores.
Scorpion. [L. scorpionem, Gr. aitopirios.]
A lobster-like venomous insect, sometimes nine
or ten inches long. Fam. Scorpionidse, class
Arachnida, sub-kingd. Annulosa.
Scot and lot. [A.S. sceat, part, or portion.]
A phrase denoting the payment of parochial
rates. Hence scot-free is one who is not bound
so to contribute.
Scotch pebbles. Agates, from the amygdaloids
of Ochjll Hills, Sidlaw Hills, etc. ; quarried, or
found among debris.
Scotia. [Gr. cr/crfi-toy, dark.] (Arch.) A
hollow moulding, chiefly used between the tori
in the bases of columns.
Scotists. (Schoolmen,)
Scourge of God. Attila, King or Leader of the
Huns (died 453) ; so called by the Christian
world of that time.
Scout. [O.Fr. escoute, L. auscultare, to listen.]
(Mil.) Cavalry soldiers sent out beyond the
outposts to obtain intelligence of an enemy's
movements.
Scow. [D. schouw.] (Naut.) A large
flat-bottomed boat. S.-banker, (i) he who
works a scow ; (2) a lubberly fellow.
Scrabble. [Akin to scrape, scribble, etc.] 1.
(Naut.) A badly written log ; one scribbled, as
it were. 2. To make marks upon a wall ; as in
I Sam. xxi. 13.
Scrape. iScarpe.)
Scraper. (Naut.) 1. A triangular iron for
scraping spars, etc. 2. A cocked hat.
Scrap iron. Waste clippings and scraps of
wrought iron.
Scratch brush. A bundle of fine wires, tied
in the middle so as to form a brush at each end,
used for scratching and cleaning metals before
they are plated.
Screen. [A.S. serin, (?) sceran, to divide.]
(Agr. ) A large oblong sieve. To S. gravel or
coal, etc., to pass it through a screen set in a
slanting position.
Screen, Rood, (Rood-loft.)
Screw [a word common to many Aryan
languages] ; Female S. ; Micrometer 8. A well-
known instrument, consisting of a cylinder round
which runs a projection or thread at a constant
inclination ; it commonly works in the cylindri-
cal cavity of a nut, on the inner surface of which
is cut a groove to receive the thread ; the cavity
and the groove are the Female S. A screw
carefully cut and provided with a properly
graduated head is a Micrometer S. ; its advance
in a fixed nut is a very accurate means of
measuring small distances. (For Endless S.,
vide Endless band ; for Right-handed and Left-
handed S., vide Helix ; for S.-jack, vide Jack.)
Screw-propeller. (Naut.) Slightly twisted
fans driving a ship forward by their rotation on
a principle similar to that by which wind causes
the sails of a windmill to rotate.
Scribbet [L. scribere, to write.] A painter's
pencil.
Scribbling. The first rough carding of wool.
Scribendi cacoethes. [L.] The itch of
writing.
Scriber. A sharp tool used by joiners in
marking planks, etc.
Scribes. [L. scriba, a writer.] Among the
Jews, the expounders of the Law, in commen-
taries known as Midrashim, i.e. searching!.
Starting with extreme reverence for the letter of
the Law, they came to insist on the paramount
authority of its interpreters. Hence the refer-
ences in the Gospels to the sayings of the men
of old time as overriding the Law. (Tabellions.)
Scribing. [L. scribere, to write.] Fitting two
pieces of board together, especially in such a
SCRI
435
SEAS
way that their fibres, are perpendicular to each
other (because the wood is marked before
cutting it).
Scrine. [L. scrinium.] A case for keeping
papers or books, a shrine.
Script. [L. scriptum, written.} A kind of
type in imitation of handwriting, as
Scriptorium. In the conventual life of the
Middle Ages, was the room devoted to making
copies of the Bible, or parts of it ; the illumina-
tion of missals, etc.
Scrivello. An elephant's tusk weighing less
than eighteen pounds.
Scriveners, Money. In O.E. usage, persons
who received money to place it out at interest,
and supplied to borrowers money on security.
Scrivener's palsy, popular term for Writers
spasm. A form of paralysis, affecting princi-
pally the muscles of the thumb and forefinger, to
which persons who write very much are liable.
Scrofula. [L. scrofiilse, swollen glands, to
which it was said that the sow (scrofa) is subject ;
cf. Gr. x ot P^ fS > but see Liddell.] Constitu-
tional disease, with tendency to deposit tubercle.
Scroll. [Fr. escrol.] (Arch.) The volute of
the Ionic and Corinthian capital.
Scroll-head. (Fiddle.)
Scrovies. (Naut.) Worthless men shipped
by crimps as A. B. 's.
Screws. A currier's clippings from skins
(from their curling into scrolls).
Scud. [Probably akin to shoot."} The lower
drift-clouds. To S., to run before the wind.
Sculls. (Naut.) Short oars, the handles of
which, when shipped, just overlap amidships, so
that they can be used by one man. To scull,
(i) to row with sculls, (2) to propel a boat by
a single oar shipped over the stern.
Scumbling (from scum). Blending tints by
means of a semi-transparent neutral colour, swept
over them with a nearly dry brush.
Scuppers (probably from scoop). (Naut.) 1.
Metal-lined holes cut through a ship's side to
carry off water from the decks into the sea. 2.
Their locality, i.e. the angle between the deck
and bulwarks ; as, he rolled into the lee scuppers.
Scurvy. (Scorbutus.)
Scutage, or Escuage. [L. scutum, a shield.'}
(Hist.) A commutation paid by military tenants
for personal service in foreign wars.
Scutcheon (from escutcheon). 1. (Her.) (Es-
cutcheon.) 2. The brass plate which surrounds
a key-hole.
Scutching. [Gael, sgoch, to cut.} Beating so
as to separate the fibre.
Scuttle. [O.Fr. escoutille, from e"couter, to
listen, a place or aperture for hearing.] (Naut.)
1. A small port in a vessel's side. 2. A small
hatchway. To S., to cut or bore holes in a
ship below water. S., or S.-butt, a water-cask,
lashed, and having a square hole cut in its head,
through which to get the water out. S.-hatch,
lid or covering of a scuttle.
Scylla. [Gr. attiiKKa..} (Myth.) 1. A daughter
of Nisus, who cut off the purple lock of hair,
the Palladium of Megara, from her father's head,
and so betrayed the city to Minos (Menu). 2
In the Odyssey, a monster with six mouths'
haunting the Italian coast, and swallowing ship-
wrecked seamen, like the neighbouring Chary-
bdis. Hence the proverb which speaks of those
who wish to avoid the latter, as falling into the
jaws of the former. (Incidit.)
Scytale. [Gr. aKvrd\7i.] (ffist.) An instru-
ment by which the Spartans sent orders to
officers serving abroad. A parchment was rolled
round a rod, and unwound by another rod in the
officer's possession.
Scythian lamb. (Barometz fern.)
Sea-biscuit. (Cocket-bread.)
Sea-breeze. A breeze blowing from the sea
inland.
Sea-brief. (A r aut.) A document specifying
the nature and quantity of a cargo, its place of
origin and destination.
Sea-cunny. (Naut.) The steersman of an
E. -Indian country vessel manned by Lascars.
Sea-gate, or S.-gait. (Gate.)
Sea-horse, Hippocampus. [Gr. (Wo'/ca^Troy,
the fish-tailed horse on which the sea-gods rode.]
(Ichth.) Gen. of small fish with bony covering,
prehensile tail, horse-like head. One spec, found
on British coasts, more in Mediterranean Sea and
Atlantic ; most in Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Fam. Syngnathidae [avv, together, yvados, jaw},
ord. Lophobranchii, sub-class Teleostei.
Seal, Great. The Great Seal of England,
kept by the Lord Chancellor.
Seal, Privy. The personal seal of the sove-
reign.
Sealed books. (Eccl. Hist.) Copies of the
Prayer-book of 1662, issued under the Great
Seal of England to all cathedral and collegiate
churches, the Courts of Westminster, and the
Tower of London, to ensure the preservation of
the text in its integrity. These books were com-
pared, before issue, with the book annexed to
the Act 13 and 14 Carolus II.
Sealing of ulcers. (Surg.} The exclusion of
air during granulation, by soap-plaster and
oiled silk.
Seam. (Geol.) A bed, as distinguished from
a vein, of coal, etc.
Seaman. (A.B. ; Landsman; Ordinary sea-
man.)
Seamanship. The art of rigging and working
a ship, distinguished from the science of Naviga-
tion.
Sea-marks. Landmarks, etc., noted on charts.
Sea-monsters. Lam. iv. 3. (Whale.)
Seance. [Fr.] A sitting, or session, as of a
public body.
Sea-pen. Popular name for Penndtulidce [L.
pennatulus, dim. of pennatus, feathered}, fam.
of feather-like corals, ord. Alcyonaria. P.
phosphorea is common on N. -British coast.
Search. (Naut ) (Visitation and search.)
Searment. Another form of cerement. (Cere.)
Sea-serpent. [L. serpentem, a serpent, i.e.
the creeping one.} (Zoo!.) Hydrophidse, or veno-
SEAS
436
SEIG
mous sea-snakes, ranging to ten feet in length ;
abound in the Indian and Chinese seas. The
great sea-serpent, ranging, it is said, to 600 feet
in length, has hitherto, whenever thoroughly
investigated, proved a delusion.
Sea-slugs. (7,ool.) OpisthobrancMdta, ord.
of molluscs. (Malacology.)
Sea-swallow. (Sternidae.)
Seat of eggs. /.?/. Clutch.
Sea-trumpet. (Conch-shell.)
Sebaceous. [L. sebum, suet.} Fatty. (Adi-
pose tissue.)
Sebaatianists. Believers in the survival of
Sebastian, King of Portugal, after the battle of
Alcazarquiver, 1578. Such believers have been
found down to the present century. The like
belief has prevailed about Harold of England,
and many others. The epitaph of Arthur says,
" Hie jacet Arthurus, Rex quondam rexque
* futurus. "
Sebat. Zech. i. 7 ; fifth month of civil,
eleventh of ecclesiastical, Jewish year ; January
February.
Secant. 1. A straight line cutting [L. secan-
tem] a curve in two or more points. 2. One of
the trigonometrical functions (q.v.).
Secco. [It.] A kind of fresco painting in
which the colours look dry and sunken, being
absorbed into the plaster.
Secession Church. (Marrow Controversy ;
Belief Synod.)
Secle. (Secular games.)
Secondaries. 1. The inferior members of
cathedrals, as vicars-choral, etc. 2. In Myth.,
beings who reflect the greatness of others with
whom they are closely related, as Phaethon of
Helios, Telemachos of Odysseus (or Ulysses),
and Patroklos of Achilles.
Secondary assemblies. (Primary assemblies.)
Secondary circle. A great circle passing
through the poles of a given great circle.
Secondary colours. [L. secundarius, from
secundus, second.} Colours derived from the
mixture of two primary colours.
Secondary fever. (Med.) That arising after
a crisis or some critical effort ; e.g. the discharge
of morbid matter.
Secondary planet. A Satellite.
Secondary rocks. (Primary rocks.)
Second intention. (Intention.)
Second Pointed style. (Geometrical style.)
Seconds. A coarse kind of flour.
Secos. (Adytum.)
Section. [L. sectionem, a cutting."] The
figure that would be obtained by cutting a solid
body by a plane ; as a conic S. or a S. of a
building.
Sector. [L., one -who cuts.} The part of a
circle included between two radii. (For Zenith
S. , vide Zenith. )
Secular [L. ssecularis, from saeculum, an age} ;
8. inequality. Going on from age to age ; as
the secular cooling of the earth. A Secular
inequality in a planetary motion results from the
gradual accumulation of the effects of shorter
variations which do not exactly compensate for
each other ; thus the eccentricities of the orbits
of Jupiter and Saturn are subject to a S. I.
which will go through all its changes in a period
not less than about 70,000 years.
Secular clergy. (Begulars.)
Secular games. In Rom. Hist., games cele-
Drated once in each sreculum, or siecle of 100, or
perhaps 1 10 years. Sometimes the interval was
shortened.
Secular poem. A poem recited at the Secular
ames, as the Carmen Saculare of Horace.
Seculars. (Eegulars.)
Secundines. (Med.) Placenta (q.v.), or after-
birth.
Secundum artem. [L.] According to art ; skil-
fully.
Secundum quid. In Phil., = relatively;
with reference to a certain thing ; e.g. when
a house is on fire, to throw valuables out of
the window would be not a voluntary act sim-
pliciter, but secundum quid.
Secures. (Fasces and secures.)
Secure you. Matt, xxviii. 14 ; not make you
safe, but make you fret from anxiety [L. secures,
i.e. sine cura, Gr. a./j.tpifj.i'ovs].
Secutores. [L., followers.'} The opponents of
the Eetiarians in the gladiatorial shows. Some
take the word also to mean those who follow to
take the place of gladiators already slaughtered.
(Mirmillones.)
Sedan chair. A covered chair borne on poles
by two men (first made at Sedan, in France).
Sedilia. [L.] Seats of the officiating priests,
placed generally on the south side of the
chancel.
Sedimentary rocks [L. sedimentum, a settling
down} = formed out of matter settled in water ;
e.g. clay, sandstone.
Sedum, Stonecrop. [L. sedeo, I sit; as if sit-
ting close, holding fast.] (Bot.) A gen. of
plants, ord. Crassulaceae, having numerous spec. ;
with fleshy, roundish leaves, and starlike flowers,
commonly yellow, sometimes white or blue ;
found in dry, barren, rocky places of temperate
regions.
Seed lac. (Lac.)
Seerhand. An Indian muslin, which retains its
clearness when washed.
Sefatians. (Separatists.)
Seggar. (Sagger.)
Segment. [L. secamentum, a cutting, can/ing.}
(Math.) A part cut off; as of a circle by a
straight line, or of a sphere by a plane.
Segmental arch. (Arch.)
Segreant. ( Her. ) Spreading its wings as if
about to fly.
Segregation. [L. segregationem, from se-, a
fart, gregem, a flock.} A separation of parts;
as of crystals from the mass.
Seicentisti. The name by which the Italians
speak of their own writers of the seventeenth
centuiy. As their repute was less than that of
their predecessors, the word came to denote
general inferiority in taste and language.
Seigniorage. [Fr., from L. senior, older}
The charge made by Government for paying
the expenses of coining metal, the coin being
thus made more valuable than bullion.
SEIG
437
SENS
Seigniory. [Fr. seigneurie.] (Feud.) A manor
or lordship.
Seine. [Fr., from L. sagena, Gr. a-ay^vrj, a
net.] A large net for catching fish.
Seirens. [Gr. Scopes.] {Myth.) Nymphs
who, by charming mariners with their song, drew
them on into shoals and reefs, and caused
their destruction. Odysseus (Ulysses) escapes
them by stuffing his sailors' ears with wax, and
having himself bound to the mast.
Seisachtheia. [Gr. , a shaking off of burdens.}
In Atheh. Hist., an ordinance by which Solon
relieved the misery of the poorer Attic freemen.
It consisted in the removal of the myk^pf Eu-
patrid ownership of land, and in iflfflP'g the
amount of produce or money hitlS^P^xacted
from the tenants, the payment now taking the
form of rent. This is the account given by Solon
himself. Later writetglJhtroduced into it many
new features, which they explained in detail.
Seisin, Livery of. The formal delivery of the
possession of land, now accomplished by con-
veyance. (Livery.)
Seismochronograph. [Gr. (Teio-pSs, an earth-
quake, xpdvo*' time, ypdtyca, I describe^ A kind
of seismometer (q.v.).
Seismograph. [Gr. o-eur/uJy, an earthquake,
ypd<j>fii>, to write. ] An instrument for registering
the intensity of earthquake shocks.
Seismology. [Gr. atia^s, an earthquake.}
The theory of earthquakes ; their nature, force,
direction, recurrence, etc.
Seismometer. [Gr. a-eiff^s, an earthqtiake,
fj.fTpov, a measure^ An instrument for determin-
ing the circumstances of an earthquake ; as di-
rection of commotion or shock, kind of shock, etc.
Seize, To. (Naut.) To fasten two ropes, or
parts of one rope, together, by winding cord or
line (seizings) round them.
Sejant. (Her.) Sitting [Fr. scant] on its hind
legs.
Selection, Natural. (Evolution.)
Selene. (Endymion, Sleep of.)
Selenium. [Gr. aexi]vi], the moon.} An ele-
ment of a brown colour, resembling sulphur in
its properties.
Selenography. [Gr. cre^v-n, the moon, ypdQca,
I describe.} A description of the surface of the
moon.
Self-coloured. Of a uniform quiet or neutral
tint.
Seljuks. A dynasty of Seljukian Turks,
founded in Persia, under Togrul Beg, 1039.
Seltzer water. An effervescing mineral water
(from Seltzer, in Germany).
Selvage. [Perhaps from self and edge, as being
itself its own border.] The edge of any stuff",
woven so as to prevent ravelling.
Selvagee. (Naut.) A hank or untwisted
skein of yarn bound round with twine, etc.
Semaphore. [Made up, improperly, of <r)/xa,
a sign, and <ptpea, 1 bear, which should have
made semato-phore. } (Mil.) Consisting of an up-
right post and two movable arms, conspicuously
placed, by which signals may be transmitted in
the day-time to distant stations. A kind of S.
with lights is used on railways.
Semble. In Law, for ce semble [Fr., as it seems};
= as we may pretty safely assume ; although it
has not been positively decided.
Semele. [Gr.] (Myth.} The mother of
Dionysos or Bacchus. (Bacchanalian.)
Semi-Allans. (Eccl. Hist.) Avians, who de-
nied the Homoousion of the Nicene Creed, but
admitted the Homoiousion.
Semi-Pelagianism. (Pelagians.)
Semiramis and Ninus. Mythical founders of
the Assyrian empire. The Assyrian form of
Semiramis is Sammuramit.
Semitertian fever. (Hied.) One having two
paroxysms on each alternate day, and one only
in the interval.
Semitic languages. The family of languages
composed of the Aramaic, Hebraic, and Arabian
dialects. (Chaldee language ; Peschito.)
Semolina. [It. semolino, dim. of semola, bran}
The fine hard parts of wheat rounded by the
action of the millstones.
Semo Sancus. [L. semen, seed, sancio, I bind
religiously.} (Myth.) An ancient Roman or
Sabine god. The two names seem to have be-
longed originally to two distinct gods, Semo
being the guardian of sown crops (Saturn), and
Sancus, presiding over oaths and covenants, and
answering to the Zeus Horkios and Pistios of
the Greeks.
Semper idem, Semper eadem. [L.] Always
the same.
Sempervivum. [L. , always living.} (Bot.)
A gen. of plants, ord. Crassulaceoe, to which
common houseleek belongs.
Sempiternal. [L. sempiternus.] Of continu-
ous and permanent duration.
Sempster. [Corn of seamster.} Formerly
besides its meaning of a worker with the needle
a dealer in sewn goods, a linen-draper.
Sempstresses' palsy or cramp. In which the
power of using the needle is lost.
Senate of Lilliput. Title of imperfect reports
of some discussions of the House of Commons,
with feigned names, or single initials, for
speakers ; between the accession of the Georges
and the appearance of the great journals.
Send. (A T aut.) ('Scend.)
Sendal. [O.Fr. cendal.] A light fabric of
silk or thread.
Senegal. A dark-red gum like gum-arabic,
found near the river Senegal, in Africa.
Seneschal. [O. G. senescale, Fr. senechal.]
A French title, answering to that of steward, or
high steward, in England.
Seniores priores. [L.] E lifers first.
Senlac, Battle of. Commonly known as the
battle of Hastings.
Sennit. [From seven and knit.} Plaited straw
or palm leaves for making hats.
Sensational school. The school of thinkers
who have adopted the doctrine of Locke, that all
ideas are derived from experience, through the
senses and through reflexion on that which the
senses reveal to us. (Ideology.)
Sensitivity. In Moral Phil., i.q. Feeling, re-
garded as one of the three manifestations of con-
sciousness. (Cognition.)
SENS
438
SERB
Sensitize. To prepare paper, etc., for photo-
graphy by making it sensitive to the action of
light.
Sensorimotor action. Instinctive actions re-
sulting from sensation ; e.g. the closing of the
eyes in a bright light.
Sensorium. [LateL.] (Physiol.) The central
common seat of consciousness ; the aggregate of
sense-ganglia, through which we are conscious of
external sense-impressions.
Sensualism. The name given to the philosophy
of Condillac, who thought that he was following
out the principles of Locke to their legitimate
consequences. (Association ; Ideology ; Sensa-
tional school.)
Senza. [It. (the L. sine), without.'} As in
Music, S. fiori, S. replica, S. tempo, "without orna-
ments, without repetition, not in definite time.
Sepals. [L. sepio, / inclose.} (Bot.) The
modified leaves which make up the calyx.
Separatists, or Motazalites. The Mohammedan
followers of Wasel Ibn Orta, who not long after
the death of Mohammed denied the chief points
of his faith. They were especially opposed by
the Sefatians ; so called as maintaining the
eternal attributes of God.
Sepia. [L., Gr. <njirfo, cuttle-fish.'} A pigment,
used as a water-colour ; prepared from the secre-
tion of a peculiar organ, the ink-bag, of cuttle-
fishes ; insoluble in water, but very diffusible.
Indian ink is made of the dry sediment. Treated
with caustic potash, it yields the brown pigment,
S. proper.
Sepoys. [Hind, sipahi, a soldier.] The native
troops of the British army in India. The word
is another form of the Turk, spahi, sipahi.
Septarian nodules, Septarium. (Fissures-of-
retreat; Nodule.)
Septembrists. (Fr. Hist.') The name given
to those who took part in the horrible massacres
which took place in Paris in September, 1 792.
Septennial Act. The Act of George I., ex-
tending the duration of Parliament for seven
years, unless previously dissolved. (Triennial
Act.)
Septfoil. [L. septem folia, seven leaves]
(Bot.) Tormentilla officmalis ; a plant having
astringent roots, used in tanning and dyeing.
Septicidal dehiscence. [L. septum, an inclo-
sure, csedo, I cut.} (Bot.) When dissepiments
divide into two plates,- and compound fruit is
again resolved into its original carpels ; e.g.
capsule of thorn-apple. Septifragal [frango, /
break}, when the dissepiments remain attached
to the centre, the fruit dehiscing by dorsal
suture ; e.g. capsule of colchicum.
Septuagesima. [L., seventieth] The Third
Sunday before Lent. (Quinquagesima.)
Septuagint. [L. septuaginta, seventy.] The
name given to the Greek translation of the Old
Testament made at Alexandria for the Jews of
Egypt, who had lost the use of the Hebrew
language. The story ran that seventy trans-
lators were shut up in separate cells by Ptolemy
Philadelphos, and that their seventy versions
all agreed to a letter. It is supposed, however,
that the translation is the work not only of
different hands but of different times. The
Septuagint contains the Apocryphal books,
which are therefore included by the Latin
Church in the^Canon of Scripture. The Old
Testament quotations in the New Testament
are usually given from the Septuagint.
Septum. [L., anything inclosed] 1, (Anat.)
A wall separating two cavities. 2. (Arch.) The
inclosure of the chancel, as marked by the can-
celli, or rails. (Dissepiment.) 3. (Chem.) A
membrane or other substance used as a partition
between two liquids or gases.
Sepulchre, Hospitallers of the Holy. An
order ^^knights, instituted in Palestine and
afterw^^^fcansferred to France.
Sequl^^ [L., a consequence] (Med.) A
morbid affection consequent upon a preceding
one. Something left behind by an illness ; e.g.
kidney mischief, after s^jkitina.
Sequence. [L. sgquentia^a following.] In
Music, a progression of similar chords or inter-
vals, ascending or descending. (Proses.)
Sequestration. [L. sequestrationem, a placing
in the hands of a third party] A reservation
by the bishop from the profits of a living for
supply of the cure when void by death, or to
satisfy the debts of the incumbent, and under
other circumstances.
Sequin, Zecchino. [From Ar. sekkah, a die, or
stamp] A gold coin of Italy and Turkey ; not
of uniform value ; the Venetian S. is worth
about 9-r. 6d.
Sequitur. [L., it follows.} A consequence.
Seraglio. [It, a dim. form of the Oriental
serai.] The palace of the Turkish sultan in
Constantinople. Its chief gate is called Babi Hu-
mayun, or Sublime Gate. Hence Sublime Porte,
as the official name for the Turkish Government.
Serai. [Pers.] A hall of a palace, an inn,
as in caravan-serai, Caravansary.
Serang. (Naut.) Lascar's boatswain.
Sera nunqnam est ad bonds mores via. [L.,
the way to good manners is never too late. ] . It is
never too late to mend.
Serape. [Sp.] A shawl worn by Mexicans.
Serapeum. A splendid temple of the Egyp-
tian god Serapis at Alexandria, destroyed by
order of the Emperor Theodosius, A.D. 390.
Seraphic Doctor. (Doctor.)
Seraphim, or Jesus, Order of the. A Swedish
order of knighthood, instituted 1334.
Seraphine. [Heb., seraph] Precursor of the
harmonium, but coarse in tone, and much
inferior to it.
Seraphs, Seraphim. [Heb.] In the angelic
hierarchy^of the Jews, the angels of the highest
order, immediately surrounding the divine
throne.
Serapis. A Gr. corr. of the Egypt. Osir-hapi,
or the dead Apis, the living Apis being known as
Hapi-anch. (Apis.) Brown, Great Dionysiak
Myth., i. 198 ; ii. 122.
Seraskier. [Pers. ser, head, Ar. 'asker, army]
With the Turks, a general commanding a separate
army ; a commander-in-chief, or minister of war.
Serbonian Bog. A marsh or lake in Egypt
near the borders of Judaea.
SERF
SETS
Serf. (Helots; Peonage; Ryot; Villein.)
Serge. [Fr., from L. sericus, silken.} A
twilled stuff, the warp of which is worsted and
the weft wool.
Seriatim. [L.] Severally, one by one ; as
in the delivery of judgments by judges.
Series." [L.] (Math. ) A succession of num-
bers, each of which is related to the one before
it according to some determinate rule ; as a
geometrical series or progression. (Progression.)
Serjeant. [Fr. sergent, from L. servien, -tem,
serving.} 1. In the army, a non-commissioned
officer, of higher rank than a corporal. 2.
The Common ., a judicial officer of the corpo-
ration of the City of London. 3. S.-at-law, a
lawyer of the degree above a barrister. The
degree is now no longer conferred. 4. S.-at-
arms; in old usage, an attendant on the sove-
reign or on the Lord High Steward when
sitting in judgment on a traitor, etc.
Serjeanty, Grand and Petty. Feudal tenures,
that of Grand S. being when a tenant holds land
of the king by service, as in war, to be per-
formed in his own person ; Petty S. being where
the owner has to provide some small thing, as a
sword or spear, etc.
Sermo pedester. [L.] A plain style of writ-
ing ; prosaic, without poetic flights.
Seroon. [Sp. seron, a pannier.} In Com., a
weight varying with the substance to which it is
applied.
Serpent. A wooden instrument, compass
about two octaves, used in Gregorian music, in
Roman Catholic Churches, precursor of the
powerful instrument used in bands, which latter
is nearly superseded by the ophiclejde.
Serpentine, i.e. spotted, veined, in appearance
like a serpent's skin. (Geol.) A metamorphic
rock, of silica + magnesia ; green, black, red.
Serpents, Fiery. [Heb. hannchashim hassra-
phim (Numb, xxi.), id.} (Bibl.) Unidentified.
Serpiginous. [L. serpo, / creep.} (Med.)
Spreading slowly over the surface of the skin.
Serpula. [L., a little snake, serpo, 1 creep.}
(Zoo/.) (Tubioolae.)
Serrate. (Crenate.)
Serum. (Crassamentum.)
Servabit odprem, or Quo semel est imbuta
recens, servabit odorem Testa dm. [L., a jar
will long preserve the smell with which it was
once impregnated when new (Horace).] Early
impressions last long.
Serval. (Zoo!.) Felis serval, L6pardus S.,
spotted tiger-cat, about three feet long, tail in-
clusive. S. Africa.
Serve, To. (JVaut.) To wind spun-yarn,
etc. , round a rope, or cable.
Servetists. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Michael Servetus, burnt at Geneva, through the
treachery of Calvin, 1553.
Service. 1. (Music.) A musical setting of
the Canticles, Gloria, etc., and other words sung
by the choir. 2. (Naut.) Spun-yarn wound
round a rope with a serving-board or mallet.
Service [L. sorbus], or Sorb. (Sot.) Wild S.
tree, Pyrus tormmalis (good against colic, tormina,
plu.). Ord. Rosacese ; growing in hedges, and
in Middle and S. Europe ; having valuable
heavy wood.
Service, To see. Actual performance of mili-
tary duty before an enemy.
Service-pipe. A pipe connecting a main (as
of gas or water) with the house.
Serviette. [Fr.] A table-napkin.
Servile War. In Rom. Hist., the revolt of
the gladiators, slaves, and oppressed labourers,
under Spartacus, against their masters, B.C.
73-72. _
Servites. Servants of the Blessed Virgin ; an
order under the Augustinian rule, established in
Tuscany, 1233.
Servum pecus. [L.] Slavish cattle (Horace) ;
said of fawners and flatterers.
Servus Servorum Dei. [L.] Servant of the
servants of God ; a title assumed by Gregory the
Great, and retained by all succeeding pontiffs.
Sesame. (Saxifrage.)
Sesamoid. (Med.} Like small seeds or grains,
lit. of sesame (q.v. ).
Sesostris. (Tosorthrus.)
Sesqui-. [L. sesqui, one and a half."] A
prefix denoting that one and a half equivalent
of the substance to the name of which it is
prefixed are combined with one equivalent of
the other substance mentioned ; as sesquioxide of
, which contains one and a half equivalent
of oxygen to one of
Sesquialtera. [L., one and a half.} In an
organ, a stop containing from two to five ranks
of pipes ; used to give brilliancy in playing
voluntaries, etc.
Sesquiplicate. [From L. sesquiplex, half as
much again; but with altered meaning.] If
the squares of two numbers have the same ratio
as that of the cubes of two other numbers, the
former numbers are said to be in the S. ratio
of the latter ; thus, when Newton proves that
Kepler's law for the periodic times of planets
follows from the law of gravity, he says, " The
periodic times of bodies moving in ellipses are
in the sesquiplicate ratio of the major axes."
Sessile. [L. sessilis, low-growing, from secleo,
1 sit.} (Bot.) Not having a stalk, or having
a short one ; like the acorn of the durmast
oak.
Sesterce. [L. sestertius, originally semister-
tius, or the equivalent of two asses and a half.]
An old Roman coin, about twopence of our
money. The sestertium was = 1000 sesterces.
Sethians. (Eccl.) An Egyptian sect of the
second century, which maintained the identity
of Jesus Christ with Seth, the son of Adam.
Seton. [L. seta, a bristle.} (Surg.) A
twist, e.g. of silk, drawn with a flat needle
through a fold of the skin ; to keep an open
wound. (Kowel.)
Setose. (Bot.) Covered with bristles [L.
setae], or thick stiff hairs ; as the stems of many
brambles.
Set-screw. (Meek.) A bolt on which is cut
a screw, which takes so firm a hold of the sub-
stances to be joined that a nut is not required.
It is used, in fact, like a small carpenter's screw.
Called also a tap-bolt.
SETT
440
SHAG
Sett. A piece placed on the head of a pile
that the hammer may reach it.
Settee. 1. A seat with back and arms, wide
enough for several people. 2. (Naut.) A
single-decked, sharp-prowed Mediterranean
vessel, lateen-rigged, and without topmasts.
Setting the Thames on fire. Doing some
wonderful act, or showing extraordinary power.
Thames is thought by some to be here the
word temse (a sieve), the rim of which might be
set on fire by an active workman ; as the Seine
also may be both the river and a fishing-net.
But this seems very doubtful.
Setting up. Putting into type for printing.
Settlement. In Law, the right to parochial
relief acquired by the pauper in the parish or dis-
trict to which he legally belongs. (Poor laws.)
Settlement, Act of. The Statute of William
III., vesting the succession to the Crown, after
the death without issue of^ William III. and of
Anne, in the princess Sophia, granddaughter of
James I., and the heirs of her body being
Protestants.
Seven Bishops, The trial of the, June 29, 1688.
That of Archbishop Sancroft, Bishops Lloyd of
St. Asaph, Turner of Ely, Lake of Chichester,
Ken of Bath and Wells, White of Peterborough,
Trelawney of Bristol, for refusing to cause their
clergy to read, in divine service, James II.'s
Declaration for Liberty of Conscience, under
which it was attempted to establish the Roman
faith.
Seven Champions of Christendom. (Eishis,
The Seven.)
Seven deadly sins. In Med. Theol. taking
Spenser's account, Faery Queene, bk. i. canto
iv. Falsehood, idleness, gluttony, fornication,
avarice, envy, wrath ; another list is Pride,
covetousness, lust, gluttony, anger, envy, sloth ;
but the enumeration is worthless.
Seven hills of Borne. Palatine, Capitoline,
Esquiliue, Cselian, Aventine, Quirinal, Viminal.
There was an earlier tradition of seven hills, of
which the names are given as Palatium, Velia,
Cermalus, Caelius, Fagutal, Oppius, CLspivs.
Seven principal virtues. The three theological
(q.v.) with the four cardinal (q.v.) are so termed ;
but the enumeration is without value.
Seven Rishis. (Rishis, The Seven.)
Seven Sleepers. (Rishis, The Seven.)
Seven Wise Men of Greece. (Rishis, The
Seven.)
Seven works of mercy. 1. Corporal: "Seven
works are usually assigned to mercy . . . (i)
to feed the hungry ; (2) to give drink to the
thirsty ; (3) clothes to the naked ; (4) to redeem
captives ; (5) to visit the sick ; (6) to entertain
strangers; (7) to bury the dead." 2. Spiritual:
Counsel, rebuke, instruct in wisdom's way,
Console, forgive, endure unmoved, and pray.
Bishop Andrewes, Devotions.
(See also Faery Queene, bk. i. x. 36.)
Seven Years' War. (Hist.) A war between
Austria and Prussia and the allies on either
side, 1756-1763, remarkable chiefly for the cam-
paigns of Frederick II. ; ended by the peace of
Hubertsburg.
Sevres. China made at S. ; of soft porcelain
alone, vieux Sfr>res, before 1 769 ; of hard porce-
lain subsequently.
Sewed, Sued. [O.Fr. essuier, L. easiccare,
to drain dry.~\ (A T aut.) A ship resting on the
ground through the water falling is said to be
sewed.
Sewer. [Of uncertain origin.] One who
directed the arrangement of dishes on the table ;
originally one who tasted, made trial of [Fr.
essayeur] each dish to prove that there was no
poison in it. (Skeat prefers to derive from
sew, originally meaning juice, then sauce, etc. ;
A.S. seaw. )
Sexagesima. [L., sixtieth.] The Eighth
Sunday before Easter. (Quinquagesima.)
Sexagesimal. [L. sexagesimus, sixtieth.'}
Proceeding by sixties ; as the S. division of the
angle or of the hour into minutes and seconds.
Sext. (Canonical hours.)
Sextant [L. sextantem, a sixth part} ; Hartley's
S. ; Pocket-S. 1. A sixth part of a circle. 2.
For the exact measurement of the angle sub-
tended at the eye of the observer by the line
joining two distant points, an instrument
mounted on a stand is commonly required ; but
in the case of Hadley's S. (which is often called
simply a Sextant), by the use of mirrors properly
attached to the instrument, the stand is dispensed
with, and the instrument is merely held in the
hand ; it is, therefore, adapted for making
astronomical observations at sea. A Pocket-S.
is a small sextant with certain unessential varia-
tions in the arrangements of its parts, the varia-
tions being designed to increase its portability.
Sexton. (Sacristan.)
Seyd, Syud. (Cid ; Sheriff
Sfregazzi. [It. sfregare, to rub.} A kind of
glazing made by drawing the finger over the
canvas.
Sfumato. [It., smoked.} Misty in appearance.
Sgraffiato ware. [It., painted in a kind of
sgraffito (q.v.).} Ware decorated by scratchings
in engobe (q.v.).
Sgraffito. [It., scratched.} 1. Formed by
scratching away a white surface so as to show
the dark ground underneath. 2. As noun, a
scratched inscription.
Shabraque. [Ger. schabracke, housing.}
(Mil.) Embroidered saddle-cloth worn on the
horses of mounted officers.
Shaft. [A.S. sceaft.] 1. (Arch.) The column
between the base and the capital. 2. (Mech.)
An axle carrying wheels or other rotating pieces
which convey and distribute energy from the
prime mover. An axis is the general and scien-
tific term ; shaft the millwright's general term,
and spindle his term for a smaller shaft. Axle is
the wheelwright's word ; and arbor the watch-
maker's. 3. In Mining, a well-like excavation
for reaching ore and bringing it to the surface.
Shag. [A. S. sceacga, a bush of hair.} 1.
Cloth with a long coarse nap. 2. Strong dark
tobacco cut into fine threads.
Shagreen. [Turk, saghri, a horse's back.} An
untanned leather covered with small granula-
tions, produced by pressing small seeds into it
SHAH
441
SHEE
while moist, scraping off when dry the ridges
thus formed, and raising the hollows into relief
by soaking. Originally of skin of horse or ass ;
then of shark.
Shah. The King of Persia. (Padishah.)
Shahnamab, [Pers., The Book of Kings.]
The Persian Epio of Firdusi, written about
A.D. 1000.
Shake, To. (Naut.) To cast off fastenings.
To S. in the wind, to come so near that the sails
shiver. Shaking a cloth in the -wind, being
rather tipsy. Shakings, canvas, cordage, or
other refuse, used for oakum or paper-making.
Shakers. (Eccl. Hist.} A body of seceders
from the Society of Friends, or Quakers. Now
found chiefly in America. So called from the
contortions of their bodies during worship.
Shale. [Ger. schalen, to peel, shell.] (Geol.)
Consolidated mud, generic name for laminated
argillaceous rocks, easily pulverized ; bitumi-
nous S. passes into coal.
Shalli. A twilled cloth of the wool of the
Angora goat.
Shalloon. A worsted stuff first made at
Chalons, in France.
Shallop, Shalloop, or Sloop. [Fr. chaloupe.]
(Naut.) 1. A small fishing-vessel having only a
fore-and-main lugsail. 2. A large, heavy, open
boat, with one mast, boom mainsail, and jib
foresail. 3. A small row-boat for one or two
men.
Shallow-waisted. (Naztt.) Flush-decked.
(Decks.)
Shamanism. The name for the religions of
many barbarous tribes, including the Finnish,
as far as the Pacific Ocean. (Samanaeans.)
Shambles. [A.S. sceamel, a bench.] Platforms
left in a mine to receive the ore, which is thrown
from one of them to another till it reaches the
surface.
Shamefacedness. i Tim. ii. 9 ; " shame-
faced " is a corr. of shamefast, A. S. scamfsest,
from scamu, shame, and fsest, fast, i.e. firm.
The confusion easily arose from the fact of
shame showing itself in the face. The proper
spelling appears in the Revised Version.
Shammy. Soft pliant leather originally made
from the skin of the chamois.
Shamoying (from chamois leather, which
is thus prepared). Preparing leather with oil
instead of astringent bark.
Shank. [A.S. scanc.] 1. In Printing, the
body of a type. 2. A large ladle used in
founding.
Shanty. [Amer. ; "a corr. of Fr. chantier,
originally a wooden horse (L. cantherius, a pack-
horse) on which carpenter's work is done ; then
a hut in a dockyard ; then the yard itself.] A
mean cabin or shed ; a hut such as a settler or
backwoodsman first constructs, of logs.
Shard-borne. Borne on shards, or on wings
like shards (i.e. fragments of earthen vessels or
shells).
Share. [O.E. scear, id., sceYan, to divide.]
(Agr. ) That part of the plough which cuts the
soil in a horizontal plane.
Sharon, Eose of. Cant. ii. i ; probably nar-
cissus, abundant on the plain of S., between
Joppa and Csesarea, if this is the S. intended.
Another S. , which means plain, or field, is be-
tween Mount Tabor and the Sea of Tiberias
(Speaker's Commentary).
Shaster, more properly Sastra. The Hindu
name for books explaining the Vedas by sasta,
science. (Purana.)
-shaw. [A.S. sceagor.] (Geog.) A shady
place, a wood ; e.g. Brad-shaw (see Taylor's
Words and Places}.
Shawm. Precursor of the modern clarionet.
(Chalumeau.)
Shea. A butter obtained from an African
tree.
Shear. [From a root meaning division; cf.
share (q.v.), sheer, shire, shore, shard, sherd,
shred.] (Mech.) 1. A tangential stress which
tends to separate a body by making its two
parts slide one upon the other in opposite di-
rections. 2. A contrivance for lifting heavy
weights, consisting of two or more spars lashed
together at the top, and furnished with the
necessary tackle. 3. Plu., a cutting instrument,
as a large pair of scissors.
Shear-hog, Shearling. (Sheep, Stages of
growth of,)
Shear-hooks. (Nant.) Sickles formerly at-
tached to the yardarms, to cut an enemy's
rigging.
Shear-steel. A highly wrought steel for
making shears, scythes, etc.
Sheath-bill. (Oi-nith.) Gen. (two spec.) and
fam. of wading-birds, about fifteen inches long ;
white, with horny sheath protecting nostrils.
Antarctic islands. Gen. Chionis, fam. Chio-
nldidse, ord. Grallae.
Sheave. 1. (Mech.) The wheel of a pulley
which works in a block, and carries the rope on
its rim. 2. (Naut.) (i) Wheel of a block, etc.
(2) The number of tiers in cables, or hawsers,
when coiled. S.-hole, (i) that in which a
sheave is fitted ; (2) the groove through which
a rope is rove in a block.
Shechinah, Shekinah. [Heb. ^presence of God.]
In Old Testament, the glory resting on the
tabernacle, or before the people.
Sheep, Stages of growth of. Wether and
ram (or tup) lambs become Hogs, Hoggerels,
Hoggets, or Tags, as soon as the next year's
lambs begin to fall ; on shearing they become
Shear-hogs, Shearlings, Diinnonts, Tups, or Two-
toothed Tags, as the case may be. After the
next shearing the wether is termed a Four-ioothed
wether, or Two-shear hog, and so on. Rams (or
tups) also are distinguished by the number of
their annual shearings. The corresponding
stages in the females are (i) Ewe lamb, Gimmer
L., or E. tag. (2) Shearling E., Two-toothed
., or Thaive. (3) Thaive, Two-shear E., or
G., or Four-toothed E. (4) Three-shear. (5)
Full-mouthed. The E., on losing her teeth, is
termed a Crone. But names vary locally.
Sheepmaster. 2 Kings iii. 4. Master here is
owner. So beemaster, etc.
Sheepshank. (Naut.) A contrivance to
shorten a rope in the middle temporarily, by
SHEE
442
SHIP
doubling it and knotting each end of the doubled
part in a peculiar way.
Sheer. (Naut.) 1. The curve in a vessel's
length. 2. The position in which a vessel at
single anchor is kept to prevent her fouling it.
To break S., to shift from that position. S.-hulk,
an old vessel fitted with sheers (q.v.), etc.
Sheering, sailing in a wavy line. S.-mast, a
pair of sheers in which a fore-and-aft mainsail
works instead of being hoisted on a mast.
Sheers. (Naut.) Two or more spars set up
at an angle, lashed together near their upper
ends, and supported by guys. Used to lift
weights, rig masts, etc.
Sheet (Naut. ) A rope or chain attached to
the lower corner or corners of a sail, to regulate
its position.
Sheet anchor. (Anchors.)
Sheik. (Scheiks.)
Sheikh-ul-Islam. (Mufti.)
Sheldonian Theatre. The building at Oxford
answering to the Senate House at Cambridge ;
so called from Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of
Canterbury, who built it.
Sheldrake. [Sheld, i.e. spotted ; perhaps akin
to A.S. scylan, from skel, to distinguish.]
(Ornith.) Sheld-drake ; spec, of variegated
wild duck, twenty-four to twenty-seven inches
long ; builds in rabbit-holes. Gen. Tadorna,
fam. Anatidae, ord. Anseres.
Shellac. (Lac.)
Shelling. Groats (because the husk or shell
is removed).
Shell-jacket. (Mil.) Uniform coat only
reaching to the waist.
Shelter-trench. (Mil. ) Slight earthen para-
pet thrown up from a shallow ditch ; a hasty
and temporary cover to troops from the fire of
arr enemy.
Sheminith. In title of Ps. vi., xii., both peni-
tential ; the eighth or octave ; i.e. probably
with bass voice or accompaniments.
Sheol. Hidden; Heb. equivalent of the Gr.
Hades, the abode of the departed.
Shepherd kings. Ancient kings ruling in
Egypt, sometimes called Hycsos. They are
supposed to have been expelled on the rise of
the eighteenth dynasty, about B.C. 1625.
Shepherd's Calendar. Edmund Spenser's
series of pastorals, divided into twelve monthly
parts the scenery, climate, names, English in
which, as in Virgil's Bucolics, questions of
morality and State are treated in idyllic dialogue ;
with praises of living persons.
Shepherd's-purse. (Bot.) A common weed,
Capsella bursa pastoris, ord. Crucife'rae ; an
annual, abundant in our gardens and corn-fields ;
one of the few plants found almost all over the
world.
Sherbet. [Ar., a draught.} A perfumed
lemonade used in the East.
Sherif. [Ar., lord, or master. ,] One who is
descended from Mohammed through his daughter
Fatima, the wife of Ali. The Sherifs are also
called Emir and Seyd, or Syud, and have the
right of wearing the green turban. (Scheiks.)
SherifE [Originally shire-reeve, = vice-comes,
or deputy of the earl.] The chief officer in each
county ; the bailiff of the Crown,
Shewbread. In Jewish Hist., the name
given to the twelve loaves of bread, one for
each of the tribes, which were placed every
sabbath "on the pure table before the Lord,"
to be eaten there, and only by the priests.
Shiahs, Shias. Mohammedans who consider
Ali, the fourth caliph, as the rightful successor
of the prophet, and look on his predecessors,
Abubekr, Omar, and Othman, as usurpers.
The Persians generally belong to this body.
Their opponents are called Sonnites or Sun-
niahs.
Shibah. (Naut.) A small Indian vessel.
Shibboleth. 1. A Hebrew word [(i) an ear
of corn, (2) a stream], used by Jephthah (Judg.
xii. 6) to distinguish from his own men, who
pronounced the sound sh, the Ephraimites,
who, sounding only s, said sibboleth. Hence,
2, the test-word of any party.
Shield-ship. (Natit.) One having a massive
iron shield, or shields, to protect its heavy gun,
or guns. S. tower or turret, an armoured re-
volving turret to protect guns.
Shieve, To. (Naut.) 1. To have headway.
2. To row the wrong way to assist in steering.
Shifting. (Naut.) S. a tackle, moving the
blocks further apart ; called also fleeting. S.
backstays or preventers, those that can be
moved from one side of a ship to the other.
S. ballast, moving pigs of iron, bags of sand, etc.,
to trim the ship. Also applied to " live lumber,"
i.e. live stock, and human beings who do not
form part of the crew. S. boards, bulkheads
running the length of a hold.
Shift the helm. (Naut.) An order to move
it from port to starboard, or vice versd.
Shiites. (Sunnites.)
Shiggaion. In title of Ps. vii., probably = a
lyrical composition expressing mental excitement
(Speaker's Commentary).
Shillelah. An oaken cudgel (from the Irish
forest of Shillelah).
Shilling, Taking the. Until very lately, =
enlisting ; from the shilling given to the recruit
on the occasion. But no money passes to the
recruit now, since the Army Discipline and
Regulation Act, 1879.
Shim. 1. A kind of hoe. 2. A thin slip of
metal placed between two parts to make a fit.
Shingle. [Ger. schindel.] A thin plank with
one end thicker than the other, used for roofing.
Shingle beaches. (Beaches.)
Shingles. (Herpes.)
Shingle-tramper. In Naut. slang, a coast-
guard man.
Shingling. Hammering puddled iron to make
it into blooms.
Shin-plaster. In America, slang for paper-
money.
Shin up. To. (Naut.) To climb up a rope or
spar by griping it with hands and legs.
Ship. [A word containing the root of shape,
A.S. sceapan, scippan, Ger. schaffen, Gr.
(TKourTca, ffKa(pos, skiff, etc.] In Naut. lan-
guage, strictly, a three-masted, square-rigged
SHIP
443
SHUS
vessel. S.^breaker, one who buys old vessels,
and takes them to pieces. S. -broker, an agent
between shipowners, merchants, etc. S. -chan-
dler, one who supplies sea-stores. S.-con-
troller, the charterer or freighter. *$". cut down
(Rasee.) S. -keeper, (i) a stay-aboard officer;
(2) the man in charge of a vessel, whose
crew is not on board. S.-lord, old name
for a shipowner. S.-man, the master of a
barge. S.-man' s card, (l) a chart ; (2) the
compass card. S.-master, the master, or
captain. S. raised upon, one having had her
upper works heightened. Ship's husband. (Hus-
band.) S.-sloop, a twenty-four-gun, or smaller,
man-of-war, commanded by a captain.
Ship money. (Eng. Hist.) A tax imposed by
Charles I. without authority of Parliament ; and
the discontent thus caused led, with other things,
to the civil war. The maritime and perhaps
some of the inland counties had in remote times
been taxed for the support of the navy in cases
of emergency or invasion. But this assessment
was made on all counties ; it was not for the
support of the navy, or of the navy only ; and
it was believed to be imposed with the view of
curtailing the national liberties by raising taxes
without the consent of the governed.
Ship's husband. (Husband.)
Ship-worm. (Teredo.)
Shiremote. In O. E. Law, the meeting of the
shire, or the sheriff's court.
Shirred. [O.Ger. shirren, to prepare.} Having
bands of elastic, etc. , inserted between the faces
of the stuff, as in a pair of braces.
Shirt of need. In the Middle Ages, a garment
called by the Germans noth hemd, supposed to
make the wearer invulnerable. (Tarnkappe.)
Shittah tree (Isa. xli. 19), Shittimwood(Exod.
xxvi., xxxvi. ). An acacia, largest timber tree
of the Arabian desert ; having hard brownish
wood, and yielding gum-arabic.
Shiver. (Naut.) I.q. sheave (q.v.\
Shoal. [Akin to shallow, shelf, etc.] A
shallow place, or sandbank.
Shoddy. A fibrous material obtained by tear-
ing to pieces old woollen goods.
Shoepack. A moccasin made of tanned
leather, with the black side in.
Shogoon. (Tycoon.)
Shook. A set of staves for making a barrel, or
of boards for a sugar-box.
Shoot. In Mining, a vein of ore running in
the same direction as the strata in which it occurs.
Shoot, To. (Naut.) S. the compass, to go
wide of the mark. S. the sun, take an obser-
vation.
Shooting star. A small body which, coming
out of space into the atmosphere, is ignited by
the heat developed by the check to its motion
caused by the resistance of the air. (Meteoric
shower.)
Shooting-stick. A tapering piece of wood or
iron, used by printers to drive up the quoins in
the chase.
Shorling. The fleece shorn from a living sheep.
Short hoards or tacks. Short runs, or legs,
made successively in tacking.
Shorter Catechism. (Catechism.)
Short-service. (Naut.) That which protects
a small part of a hemp cable. (Service, 2.)
Short-sighted eye. One which has too great a
refractive power, and brings rays from a distant
object to convergence in front of the retina ; it
cannot, therefore, see such objects distinctly,
though they are clearly discerned by the human
eye in its ordinary state.
Shoshannim. In title of Ps. xlv., Ixix., Ixxx. ;
lilies ; the name of a melody (?) or metaph.
(?) = bridesmaids ; a melody fit for nuptials.
Shot silk. Silk having the warp-threads all of
one colour and the weft of another.
Shoulder angle. (Alii. ) That formed by the
meeting of a face and a flank of a bastion.
Shoulder-of-mutton sail. (Naut.) A trian-
gular sail, like the mainsail of a ' Mudian (q.v.).
Shoulders. (Undersetters.)
Shout. [D. schuyt.] (Naut.) A light and
nearly flat-bottomed fen-boat.
Shoute-men. (Naut.) Thames lightermen.
Shovel-board. At which, according to Macau-
lay, the squire and his chaplain played together
on wet days "a game played on a long board,
by sliding metal pieces at a mark." Johnson's
Dictionary.
Shoveller. (Ornith.) Gen. of wild duck,
with bill broadening at tip. Gen. Spatula, fam.
Anatidse, ord. Anseres.
Shrapnel shell (General S., of R.A., inventor),
or Spherical case-shot. (Mil.) Thin shell filled
with musket-balls mixed with a bursting charge of
powder, having a short fuze for bursting it before
the completion of its range.
Shrike (from its shrieking). (Ornith.') Fam.
of dentirostral birds ; rapacious ; e.g. common
butcher-bird. Almost cosmopolitan, except
Central and S. America. Laniidse, ord. Pas-
seres.
Shrinkage. [A. S. scrincan, to contract. ] Con-
traction of heated metals, castings, etc., on
cooling.
Shrinking head. A supply of molten metal
connected with a mould for making good the
loss caused by shrinkage as the casting cools.
Shrink-on, To. To place on a cylindrical
body, as a cannon, a heated metal hoop, which,
when cool, has a diameter slightly less than that
of the cylinder ; the fit is tight when the ring is
hot, and consequently when it is cool it grasps
the cylinder with a great force, due to its ten-
dency to contract.
Shroff. [Ar.] A banker or money-changer.
Shroud-rope. (Naut.) Hawser-laid rope of
extra quality.
Shrouds. (Crouds.)
Shrouds. [A.S. scriid shroud, screade, shred.]
(Naut.) Those ropes by which lateral support
is given to a mast, or to the bowsprit. S.-stopper.
(Stopper.) S. -trucks. (Truck.) .
Shude. [Ger. scheiden, to separate.] Rice
husks, etc., for adulterating oil-cake.
Shumac. [Ar. summak, from samaka, to be
long.] Fustet (q.v.).
Shushan-eduth. In title of Ps. Ix. ; the lily of
testimony. (Shoshannim.)
SHUT
444
SIGN
Shut. [A. S. scythan, to shut.] The line of
closure where two pieces of metal are welded
together. Cold shut is the imperfect junction
caused by insufficient heat in either piece of metal.
Shuttle. [A.S. scyttel, from sceotan, to shoot. ~\
An instrument used in weaving for shooting the
thread of the woof backwards and forwards be-
tween the threads of the warp.
Shwan pan. The Chinese Abacas.
Sialagogue. [Gr. aia.\ov, saliva, a.y<ay&s, a
guide.} (Med.) Any medicine which increases
the flow of saliva.
Sialous. ( Med. ) Having saliva [Gr. <rla\ov].
Sibilant [L. sibilantem.] A letter uttered
with a hissing sound, as s.
Sibyl. [Gr. 2ipv\\a.] A prophetess, as the
sibyl of Cumae, in the jEneid. Ten sibyls are
named by some authors.
Sibylline books. Books which were supposed
to contain the fortunes of the Roman state.
These were brought by the sibyl to Tarquin the
Proud, who refused them at the price asked.
Having burnt six, the sibyl asked the same
price for the remaining three. The king then
bought them, and they were kept in the temple
of the Capitoline Jupiter. A similar tale is told
of a Hindu king.
Sic. [L. , thus.] A word used by writers, when
quoting, to draw attention to blunders in the
writing or printing, especially to such as seem to
be the result of culpable ignorance or negligence.
Sicca. (Rupee.)
Siccum lumen. [L., dry light.] In the Ba-
conian philosophy, the handling of questions
without prejudice or partiality, thus placing
them in a light free of all distorting vapour.
Sicilian Vespers. (Hist.) The massacre of
the French soldiers and subjects of Charles of
Anjou in Sicily, in 1282, is called by this name.
On the expulsion of Charles, the Sicilians placed
themselves under the protection of the King of
Aragon.
Sicilies, The Two. Sicilia Citeriore, S. on
this side, with reference to Naples, = about
one-third of Italy ; and S. Ulteriore, or the I.
of Sicily.
Sic Itnr ad astra. [L.] Thus it is gone to the
stars ; such is the path to immortality.
Sick Man, The. The Sultan of the Ottoman
Turks. So called by the Emperor Nicholas, in
a conversation with Sir H. Seymour, April,
1853, with reference to a proposed division of
effects.
Sic sedebat. [L.] So he used to sit ; on
statues.
Sic transit gloria rxrandl [L.] So passes
away the world's glory. The pope, at his coro-
nation, is thus addressed by a clerk of the
chapel, who holds in his hand a stick with
lighted tow.
Sic utere tuo. at alienam ne laedas. [L.] In
Law, so use what is thine own, as not to injure
that which is another's. This maxim is the only
limitation upon the enjoyment of a tenant in fee
simple ; so in the case of mines, it is sometimes
an entire denial of the right of enjoyment.
Brown, Law Dictionary.
Sic volo, sic jubeo. [L., so I will and com.'
mand.] A despotic command. (Stet pro ra-
tione voluntas.)
Sic volumns. [L.] So, we will it ; of arbitrary
decisions.
Sic vos non vobis. [L.] So ye not for your-
selves (Virgil). A phrase for work in which
the workman's reward goes to others.
Side-amis. (Mil.) The sword or bayonet
carried at a soldier's side.
Side-bone. In a horse. (Eing-bone.)
Side-lever. The part of a marine steam-
engine corresponding to the beam in the ordinary
stationary steam-engine.
Sidereal clock [L. siderfius, belonging to the
stars] ; 8. day ; S. time ; S. year. Sidereal
time is time reckoned by the diurnal motion of
the stars, or more strictly by that of the (mean)
first point of Aries, just as ordinary (mean) time
is kept by the motion of the (mean) sun. A S.
clock is regulated to show the sidereal time of
any instant : e.g. it shows 3 hrs. when the first
point of Aries is 45 or 3 hrs. west of the
meridian. (For S. day, vide Day; for S. year,
vide Year.)
Siderography. [Gr. fflSrjpos, iron, ypd<pf<a, I
draw.] A process of copying an engraved steel
plate by first rolling over it, when hardened, a
soft-steel cylinder, and then rolling the cylinder,
when hardened, over a soft-steel plate.
Sideroscope. [Gr. o-iSripos, iron, o-*coWw, /
view] An instrument for revealing the presence
of iron in any substance by means of magnetic
needles.
Sidesmen. Men appointed to assist church-
wardens. Canon XC., 1603, " Side-men, or
Assistants." (Qnestmen.)
Siena, Terra di sienna, Haw sienna. A
brownish-yellow earth from Sienna, in Italy,
used as a water-colour. Burnt sienna is of a
deep orange tint, and is made by burning raw
sienna. (Ochres.)
Sierra. [Sp., L. serra, a saw.] The Spanish
name for a chain of hills, properly with jagged
summits, as the Sierra Nevada, or snowy
range.
Siesta. [Sp., a sitting down.] The Spanish
name for the rest taken within doors during the
heat of the day.
Sight. (Mil.) A piece of metal secured to
the upper side of the barrel of any firearm, for
assisting the aim and showing the extent of
range.
Sigillaria. (Geol.) A gen. of fossil tree-stems,
with leaf-scars, like impressions of a seal [L.
sigillum] ; characteristic of Carboniferous system.
Sign, Algebraical. A symbol denoting a cer-
tain operation performed on or relation between
other symbols denoting numbers ; thus, + is
the sign of addition, of subtraction, = of
equality, etc. ; as, 5 + 7 = 12, and 8 3=5,
etc.
Signatore. [L.L. signatura, a sealing, mark-
ing] 1. In Music, the flats and sharps placed
after the clef, and indicating the key. 2. In
Printing, a small letter, or sometimes number,
placed at the foot of the first sheet or section
SIGN
445
SIMP
which generally contains sixteen pages of any
book.
Signatures, Doctrine of. This term denotes
the old notion that natural substances indicate,
by their outward form or colour, the diseases for
which they may be used as remedies. Thus
turmeric, being yellow, must cure jaundice, etc.
Signet, Privy. 1. One of the royal seals, for
private letters and grants under the sign-manual,
kept by the Secretary of State for the Home
Department. 2. In Scotland, the signet
authenticates royal letters and writs for pur-
poses of justice. Hence the title, Clerks or
Writers to the S,
Significavit, [L.] (Leg.) A clause in a
writ, or the writ itself, wherein a judge or other
competent authority has signified to the king
that the person against whom the writ has been
directed was manifestly contumacious, openly
disobeying an order of the court.
Sign-manual. The royal signature, super-
scribed on bills of grants and letters patent,
which are then sealed with the privy Signet or
the Great Seal.
Signs of the Zodiac. (Zodiac.)
Sigurd. The great hero of the Volsunga
Saga, and the Nibelungen-lied.
Silentiary. [L. silentiarius, from silentium,
silence.} In Rom. Hist., one whose duty it was
to maintain silence in the imperial palace. In
the Latin empire the cabinet secretaries were so
called.
SUeniis. [Gr. StA^i/os, akin to Seirens.]
(Gr. Myth.) The foster-father of Dionysos (Bac-
chus), usually represented as riding on an ass,
with a pitcher in his hand, and as endowed with
prophetic powers.
Silhouette. 1. A profile, or shadow-outline
of the human figure, filled in with a dark colour,
the shadows, etc., being indicated by the help of
some shining material ; practised by the an-
cients also ; e.g. the monochromes on Etruscan
vases. 2. Profiles cut out of black paper. S.,
the name of a very economical minister of
finance in France, 1759, became by meton., =
something plain and cheap.
Silica, Silicic acid. [L. silicem, a flint, of
which it is the essential constituent.] A com-
pound of oxygen with sllicium, or silicon ; the
most abundant of the solid constituents of the
earth. Quartz, chalcedony, opal, flint, jasper,
are its chief varieties ; and silica is also widely
distributed as a constituent in minerals, as fel-
spar, etc.
Silicates. [L. silicem, aflint.} Compounds of
silica with certain bases ; e.g. all forms of clay,
felspar, hornblende, mica, serpentine, etc., are
compounds of this kind.
Silicium, Silicon. [L- silicem, flint.} An
element, the chief constituent of flint.
Sfficrua [L.], Silique. (Bot.) The long podlike
fruit of crucifers, having a dissepiment to which
the seeds are attached ; e.g. wallflower. (Beplum.)
Silicle [silicula], a small siliqua ; e.g. garden
cress.
Silk gown. In legal language, a Queen's
counsel ; so called as wearing a silk gown.
Silly season. The season in which newspaper
writers are supposed to indulge in silly writing,
from the lack of matter of a better sort, caused
by the recess of Parliament and by general
holiday-making.
Silt. Miscellaneous matter (argil., calc.), de-
posited by standing or running water ; perhaps
the thing siled ; to sile being to strain ; the sedi-
ment.
Silurian system. (Geol.) Sir R. Murchison's
name for the greywacke series ; a large, enor-
mously thick division of Palseozoic rocks, below
the Old Red Sandstone and above the Cam-
brian ; studied by him in the parts of Wales and
England which are = British kingdom of the
Silures.
Siluridae. [L. silurus, probably the sheat-
fish, fflxovpos.} (Ichth.) Fam. of fish divided
into eight sub-fams. and seventeen groups ; fresh
and salt water, without scales, and with bar-
bules ; as the sheat-fish, or sly silurus. Tem-
perate and tropical rivers and coasts. Ord.
Physostomi, sub-class Teleostel.
Silver Age. (Ages, The four.)
Silverling. Isa. vii. 23 ; small silver coin.
Silvictura, or Forestry. The cultivation and
management of forest trees.
Simeon Stylites. (Stylites,)
Simndas. [L. Simla, ape, from slmus (Gr.
ffi/jids), flat-nosed.'} (Zool.) The anthropoid
apes, i.e. the most human-like of the monkey
tribe ; as the gorilla. Trop. W. Africa, Sumatra,
Borneo, etc., and Assam to S. China.
Similar figures. (Math.) Alike in form but
different in magnitude ; thus two plane recti-
lineal figures are similar when their angles are
equal, each to each, and when the sides about
equal angles are proportional.
Similar motion. (Music.) (Motion.)
Simile. [L., like.} In Rhet., a comparison,
a metaphor drawn out.
Similia similibus curantur. [L.] Things
are cured by their likes ; the principle of homoeo-
pathy.
Similor. [L. similis, like, Fr. or, gold.} An
alloy of copper and zinc, resembling gold.
Simious. Ape-like. (Simiidae.)
Simnel bread. [L.L. simnellus.] Fine wheat-
flour cake eaten on Sitnnel Sunday, the Fourth
Sunday in Lent, or Refreshment Sunday (q.v.).
Simonians. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Simon Magus, Acts viii.
Si moniimentum requiris, circumspice. [L.]
If you want a monument (for him) look round ;
from Wren's epitaph in St. Paul's Cathedral.
Simony. In Law, an unlawful contract for
presenting a clergyman to a benefice. The word
refers to Simon Magus, Acts viii. ; but our laws
are directed against offences unlike those which
are-ascribed to him.
Simoom. [Ar. samum, from samm, poison.}
A wind heated and dried by blowing over the
parched deserts of Africa, Arabia, etc. The
Khamseen of Syria, the Samiel of the Turks, and
the Sirocco and Sorana of other countries.
Simous. (Simiidse.) Flat-nosed.
Simple homage. (Homage.)
SIMP
446
SITO
Simplex mundftiis. [L.] Simple in thy or-
naments (Horace). " Plain in thy neatness "
(Milton).
Simulacrum. [L., a likeness, image.] 1. The
form or image of something, as presented to the
mind. 2. (With the idea of imitation, unreality)
a shadow, semblance, false idea. So the Gr.
etSca\or, in both senses.
Sinaitic Codex. (Abbreviations ; Codex.)
Sinapism. [Gr. alvdiria^s, vivcon, mustard.]
A mustard poultice.
Sinciput. [L. semi, half, caput, the head.]
Fore part of the head, from the eyes to the
coronal suture.
Sine. (Trigonometrical function.)
Sinecure. 1. A benefice without cure [L. sine
cura] of souls. 2. Any salaried office with no
work attached.
Sine die. [L., -without (naming) a day.] In-
definitely.
Sine qua non. [L. , without which not.] An
indispensable condition.
Singers of Germany. This term includes the
Minnesingers; but is more especially used to
denote the meistersingers, or mastersingers, of
Germany, who became known in (the fourth
century, and were incorporated by Charles IV.,
in 1378, under the title of Meistergenossen-
schaft.
Singhala. One of the native names for Ceylon.
Adj., Singhalese.
Single. In the language of hawking, a hawk's
talon.
Singles. The reeled filaments of silk, twisted
to give them firmness.
Single-Speech Hamilton. William Gerard
Hamilton (1729-1796) was so known from the
extraordinary impression made by the first and
almost the only speech which he made in Parlia-
ment.
Singletree, corr. of Swingletree. [A.S.
swingan, to swing.] The cross-piece to which
the traces of a horse are fastened.
Singlo. A fine tea with large flat leaves not
much rolled.
Singular point. (Math.) A point on a curve
possessing some property distinguishing it from
the other points of the curve ; as a point of
contrary flexure where the direction of the curva-
ture changes, a multiple point through which two
or more branches of the curve pass.
Singultus. [L.] (Med.) Hiccough.
Sinister. [L., on the left hand.] 1. Unlucky,
unpropitious, according to Greek usage, the
Greek augur having his face to the north. The
Roman looked south. Both regarded the evil
omens as coming from the west. 2. (Her.} The
left-hand side of an escutcheon, which is, of
course, to the right hand of a person facing it.
Sinking fund. A fund for reducing the capital
of the public debt. It has been found that
there is no effectual method of doing this except
by an excess of revenue over expenditure, the
excess being employed for the extinction of a
portion of the debt, and not to a separate fund
accumulating at compound interest.
Sinnet. (Sennit. )
Si non e vero, e ben trovato. [It.] If it be not
true, it is well made up ; said of plausible stories.
Sinter. (Calc-sinter.)
Sintoos. In Japan, the adherents of the Sin-
syn, or ancient religion of the country, before
the introduction of Buddhism.
Sipahi. (Sepoys.) ,
Siphon. [Gr. fftcfxai', any kind of tube, a
siphon.] 1. (Mech.) A bent tube for conveying
a liquid over the edge of a vessel containing it
into another vessel at a lower level. 2. (ZooL)
(i) The tube running through the chambered
shell of a mollusc. (2) That formed by the
mantle of certain univalve and bivalve molluscs.
(3) The mouth (Latreille) of some insects.
Siphunculated. Having a little siphon, or
spout.
Si quis. [L.] A notice, read in his parish
church, that A B desires ordination, and that
if any one knows of any impediment, he should
declare it then, or acquaint the bishop.
Sirat, Al. (Al-sirat.)
Sir Charles Grandison. An ideal portrait, in
S. Richardson's novel so named, of the com-
bination of moral and religious perfection with
social graces and accomplishments.
Sirdar. [Pers. and Hind.] A chief.
Siren, Slrenia. [Gr. <reip4\v.] 1. The sixth
ord. of mammals. (Manatidse.) 2. Gen. of am-
phibians, like eels, but with front legs. S.E. of
U.S., America. Ord. Urodela.
Siren. [Gr. "Setp^v, a siren, its sound being
like a clear, sweet voice.] 1. In Myth., Seirens-
2. (Music.) An ingenious invention of M. de
la Tour ; an instrument which determines the
number of aerial vibrations corresponding to a
note of any given pitch.
Sirius. [L., Gr. ffeipios.] (Astron.) The
Dog-star (q.v.).
Sirocco. [It. scirocco, from Ar. shark, sun-
rise] An oppressive, relaxing wind blowing
in Italy, etc., from the Libyan deserts. (Simoom.)
Si Eomae sitis Eomano vivite more. [L.] Do
at Rome as the Romans do; lit. survey in
Roman fashion,
Sir Roger de Coverley. Type, very admirably
drawn, of the old-fashioned country gentleman ;
in the Spectator.
Sirventes. (Troubadours.)
Sisal grass. (Bot.) The dressed fibre of the
American aloe, imported from Sisal, in Yucatan,
and used for cordage.
Siste, viator ! [L.] Stop, wayfarer ! a com-
mon beginning for epitaphs.
Sistrum. [Gr. aelffrpov, from o-efa, / shakel\
An Egyptian timbrel, which the priests of Isis
shook at her festivals.
Sisyphus. [Gr. aiavfyos, redupl. form of
ffo<j>6s, the wise man.] In Gr. Myth., a being
who is condemned to roll daily to the top of a
hill a huge stone, which immediately rolls down
again. The stone is the orb of the sun, which
no sooner reaches the zenith in its ascent from
the horizon than it sinks down to it again.
Sita. (Rakshasas.)
Sitomania. Insanity [Gr. pavlm., madness] ac-
companied by rejection of food [OTTOS].
SITT
447
SLEE
Sit tibi terra levis. [L.] Light be the earth
upon thee ; often put on epitaphs, under the
initial letters S.T.T.L.
Sittldae. [(?) From their cry ; cf. Gr. fftrra,
a cry of drovers to their flocks.] (Ornith.) Nut-
hatches ; fam. of tenuirostral climbing-birds,
with only one posterior toe, climbing upwards
or downwards indifferently, making no use of
tail in climbing. N. Europe, and N. America,
Asia, and Australia ; only one spec, in Europe,
slate-coloured back, salmon-coloured belly, Sitta
csesia, gen. Sitta, fam. Sittidse, ord. Passgres.
Siti-bath. [Ger. sitzbad.] A tub for bathing
in a sitting posture.
Siva. (Mahadeva.)
Si vales, bene est : ego quoque valeo. [L.] If
you are well, it is good : I too am well ; often
prefixed to old Roman letters, under the initials
S.V.B.E.E.Q.V.
Sivan. Esth. viii. 9 ; ninth month of civil, third
month of ecclesiastical, Jewish year ; May June.
Si vis pacem, para bellum. [L.] If thou
wishest peace, make ready for war.
Six Acts, The, November, 1819, after the
Peterloo Massacre (y.v.), had reference to (i)
delay of trial for misdemeanour ; (2) prevention
of training in arms and military evolutions ; (3)
blasphemous and seditious publications ; (4) the
seizing of arms in disturbed districts ; (5) regu-
lation, by a required stamp and otherwise, of
certain publications ; (6) seditious assemblies.
Six Articles, Statute of the. A Bill passed by
the Parliament, 1539, at the instance of Henry
VIII., enforcing doctrines and practices not
acceptable to the reforming parties, while those
who would be disposed to accept them refused to
admit the royal supremacy. The Act thus told
against all sides equally.
Six-upon-four. (Naut.) Reduced allowance,
six men being put on the rations of four. Six-
water grog, six parts water, etc., to one part
rum, given as a punishment, instead of the usual
four-water grog.
Sizars. The lowest class of students at Cam-
bridge ; so termed from the sizings or rations of
bread, meat, etc., allowed free to them.
Size. [Welsh syth.] A weak glue used by
paperhangers, bookbinders, painters, etc.
Sizel. (Scissel.)
Skald. (Scald.)
Skate-lurker. (Naut. ) A beggar dressed as
and pretending to be a sailor.
Skelp. The rolled metal from which a gun-
barrel is made.
Skew-arch ; S.-bridge. An arch whose shape is
obtained from that of a common arch by distort-
ing it in a horizontal plane, so that the space it
covers between the abutments is no longer a
rectangle, but a parallelogram whose angles
differ more or less from a right angle. A S.-
bridge is built with a skew-arch, and is com-
monly used when a railway passes under or over
a road, canal, etc., whose direction is not at
right angles to that of the railway.
Skid. A shoe for fastening the wheel of a
waggon, so as to prevent its turning in descending
a hill.
Skidbladnir. In Teut. Myth., a ship capable
of holding all the yEsir, or gods of Valhalla,
and also of being folded up like a handkerchief.
It is the same as the ships of the Phasakians
(Phaeacians), which go straight to their mark
without helm, sails, or mariners, and which are,
in short, the clouds.
Skiff. (Ship.) 1. Any small boat. 2. A
sailing-vessel carrying a fore-and-aft mainsail,
jib foresail, and jib, and having no topmast.
Skillet. [O.Fr. escuellette, L. scutella, dim.
of scutra, adish.~\ A small iron vessel for heat-
ing water.
Skilly. Slang term for weak oatmeal gruel.
Skiinmington, To ride. A phrase of un-
known origin ; said of a man who, having been
beaten by his wife, is made to ride on a horse
behind a woman, with a distaff in his hand. It
is sometimes written Skimatry and Skimmerton.
Skin. (Naut.} The inner planking. S. of a
sail, that part of a sail which is outside when
it is furled. To S. up a sail in the bunt, give
it a smooth skin by furling it well up on the
yard.
Skipetar. The name by which the Albanians,
or Arnauts, are called among themselves.
Finlay, Hist, of Greece, i. 335.
Skive. The iron lap in which a diamond Is
held during the finishing of its facets.
Skiver. [Ger. schiefer, a flake. \ A poor leather
made of split sheepskin, used for lining hats, etc.
Skow. (Scow.)
Skuld. (Norns.)
Skunk. [Contracted from Abenaki seganku.]
(Zool.) Mephitis, the most offensive of the
weasel tribe (Mustelidae) ; about the size of a
cat ; when irritated or alarmed, it squirts over
its assailant a foetid liquid, secreted by special
glands near the root of the tail. America.
Skysail. (Naut.) That above the royal. S.-
mast, either the top of royal-mast, or a sliding
gunter, i.e. a small spar rigged abaft the mast.
Sky-scraper. (Naut.) A triangular sail above
the skysail. Where squaresails are set above
a skysail, they are called, first, moonsail, second,
star-gazer, etc.
Slacken, Slakin. [Ger. schlacke, dross. "\
Spongy, half-vitrified substances mixed with ores
to prevent their fusion.
Slag. [Ger. schlacke.] The vitrified cinders
of a blasting furnace.
Slashed. Having long slits, through which
may be seen the under vesture.
Slat. A narrow, flat piece of wood, as the
cross-bars of a chair.
Slavonic languages. The dialects of Lithuania,
Russia, and Poland.
Sleave silk. [Ger. schleife, knot.\ Raw,
untwisted silk, as used for weaving.
Sleep. (Naut.) (Asleep.)
Sleeper. 1. (Arch.) A timber or plate, under
the floor of a building, on which the joists rest.
2. (Mil.) In gunnery, joists forming the frame-
work of a gun platform in the direction of its
length, and across which the planks are laid.
Sleep of plants. The folding up of their leaves,
"mostly by night. (Irritability of plants.)
SLEI
448
SMUT
Sleipnir. In Teut. Myth., the eight-footed
white horse of Odin.
Sleuth-hound, Slouth-H., Sluth-H. [Scand.,
sleuth, track known by scents, O.N. slots, track,
path, Gael, slaod, trail along the ground
(Wedgwood).] (Zool.) A keen-scented dog, as
the bloodhound, hunting by the sleuth, or slot.
Sleying. Parting the threads to arrange them
in a sley, or reed. (Seed.)
Slide-rest. The part of a lathe in which the
cutting tool can be held, instead of being held by
the hand.
Slide-valve. A dish-shaped rectangular piece,
with an accurately plane surface, which is caused
by the eccentric to slide in the steam-chest of a
steam-engine, so as to open and shut alternately
the passages or ports by which the steam enters
the cylinder.
Sliiing-keel. (Naut.) Planks, or plates of
metal, making a false keel, but so constructed
that, on touching the ground, etc., they slide up
through the keel.
Sliding-rule, or Slide-rule. (Math.) A rule
used for gauging, etc., furnished with one or
more graduated slips, which are capable of
sliding in grooves cut in the body of the rule ; by
properly adjusting these slides to the length,
breadth, etc., of surfaces or solids, their areas,
volumes, etc., are obtained by merely reading
the graduations.
SUding-scale. In Finance, the regulation of
prices, by varying the rates of taxation on im-
ports in proportion to the price at which the
same articles produced at home are offered for
sale.
Slime. Gen. xi. 3 ; Heb. chemer, bitumen. So
in the building of Babylon they used aff(f>a\Tu>
Ofpujj (Herod., i. 179).
Slip. In Keramics, is potter's clay of the
consistence of cream ; called also Slop.
Slipped. (Her.) Severed from the branch, as
slips are taken from a plant.
Slit-and-tail bandage. (Surg.) The strips
or tails of one part passing through holes in
another part.
Slogan. [Gael.] The war-cry of a Scottish
clan.
Sloop. A vessel similar to a cutter, but the
bowsprit is not a running one, and the jib is set
on a stay. In N. America, it sets on by a main-
sail and jib foresail S. in navy. (Bate.)
Slop. (Slip.)
Slot. (Mech.) A mortise or slit cut in a
plate of metal to receive a key -bolt or other part
of a machine.
Slot. (Sleuth-hound.)
Slouth-hound. (Sleuth-hound.)
Slow-worm. (?) The creeping worm \cf.
Ger. blindschleiche, s'chleichen, to creep (Wedg-
wood) ; ei in Ger. being often = o in Eng.].
(Blind-worm.) Others take it as the slaying-
worm [A. S. sla-waurm].
Blubbing. Drawing out and slightly twisting
(wool).
Slugs. (Mil.) Small pieces of lead, of irre-
gular shape, fired from a musket at short range,
to give a jagged wound.
Sluice. [A word common to many European
languages, derived, perhaps, from L. exclusa ;
sc. aqua, water shut out.] A flood-gate, a vent
for water.
Slur. [Cf. L.G. sluren, to wabble, and other
cognate words (vide Wedgwood).] (Music.)
A curved line over two or more notes to be
played legato.
Slush. A mixture of white lead and lime, with
which the bright parts of machinery are painted
to keep them from rusting.
Sluth-hound. (Sleuth-hound.)
Smack. (Naut.) Merchant or passenger
vessels ranging to 200 tons, generally cutter-
rigged.
Smalcald, League of. A combination of Pro-
testant princes of Germany, 1530, to support the
cause, generally, against Charles V. ; but
especially to prevent the assembling of any
Council professing to represent the whole
Church, unless independently of papal in-
fluence.
Small arms. (Mil.) Every kind of firearm
which can be carried by hand.
Smalt. [Ger. smalte.] A deep blue glass
coloured with oxide of cobalt, and used, when
powdered, in paper-staining.
Smart money. Previous to the Army Discipline
and Regulation Act, 1879, a fine of 2Or. levied
by a J. P. on a recruit who desires release from
his engagement between the time of being
enlisted and of being attested. Enlistment now
follows upon attestation ; and the recruit may,
within three months, be discharged on payment
of i o. ( Chest of Chatham. )
Smectymnuus. In Eng. Hist., the title of a
work against episcopacy, published soon after
the assembling of the Long Parliament. It was
formed by putting together the first letters of the
Christian and surnames of the authors Stephen
Marshall, Edmund Calamy, Thomas Young,
Matthew Newcomen, and William Spurstow.
Smeir. [Ger. schmier, grease.'] A kind of
half-glazing, made by adding salt to earthenware
glazes.
Smelting. [Ger, schmelzen, to smelt.] Melting
in a furnace, so as to purify.
Smflax. [L., Gr. 0>uXa|, bindweed; but in
Greek a name of other very different plants also.]
(Bot. ) A gen. of half-shrubby exogens, mostly
climbers, ord. Smilacese. In temperate and
tropical parts of Asia and America. The rhizomes
of several yield sarza, or sarsaparilla. Some
have fleshy, nutritious tubers.
Smitt. [Ger. schmitze, from schmitzen, to
besmear.] Fine ochre in balls, used for marking
sheep.
Smock-mill. A windmill of which only the
cap turns round to meet the wind.
Smoke-box. (Mech.) The part of a locomo-
tive engine in which the smoke collects from the
fire- tubes before it goes up the chimney.
Smoke-sail, Grime-sail. (Ohrime-saiL)
Smriti. (Veda.)
Smug-boat. (Naut.) One smuggling opium
into China.
Smut, Bunt, or Pepper-brand. (Bot.) A
SNAP 1
449
SOLA
fungus in corn [L. uredo fcetida], contained in
the body of the grain, dispersed in grinding, anc
perpetuating the disease.
Snaffle. [Ger. schnabel, a snout.] A bi
jointed in the middle.
Snap, Scotch. In Scotch melodies, and imi
tations of them ; when a semiquaver at the
beginning of a bar is followed by a clotted quaver
the emphasis thus rapidly thrown on to the
second longer note gives spirit to the tune.
Snaphance. [Uan. snaphane, D. snaphaan.
A spring-lock for discharging a firearm ; hence
the firearm itself.
Snarling. Forming raised work on metal by
the rebound of one end of a fixed tool, the
other end of which is struck with a hammer.
Snatch. (Nattt.) An open groove for leading
a rope. S. -block, a single iron-bound block with
an opening in one side above the sheave, so
that a rope can be placed in it without being
rove ; called also notch- block.
Snood. fO.E. snod.] A fillet worn by
Scottish maidens.
Snow. [From Ger. snau, schnau, snout, or
beak.] (Naut.) A brig with the boom-mainsail
set on a mast close abaft the mainmast.
Snow-line. (Geol.) The line of altitude
above which snow is always found on mountains.
Snow-shoe. An open framework attached to
the sole, for walking on snow.
Soap-stone, or Steatite. [Gr. oWop, oWdTos,
suet.] (Geolg.) A hydrated silicate of magnesia,
greasy, yielding to the nail.
Soare, i.e. of sorrel colour (?). (Deer, Stages of
growth of.)
Sobole. [L. soboles, a sprout.] (Bot.) A
creeping, rooting stem.
Sobriquet. [Fr.] A nickname ; said by some
to be derived from L. subridentem, one smiling,
by others from Gr. vfipiffTiKOv, insulting.
Socage. [A. S. soc, sway.] In O.K. Law, a
tenure of lands by a determinate service.
Socialists. A name lately applied especially
to the followers of Robert Owen, of Lanark,
who made community of property a necessary
condition of political improvement.
Social War. 1. In Gr. Hist., a war between
Athens and the chief cities in her confederation,
B - c - 357-355- 2. In Rom. Hist., a struggle on
the part of the Italians for the privileges of
Roman citizenship, B.C. 91-88.
Societe anonyme. In France, a joint-stock
company.
Socinians. The followers of Socinus, uncle
and nephew, who, in the sixteenth century, main-
tained opinions in most points resembling those
of the Allans. There seems to have been no
organized body during their lifetime ; but after
their death their views were adopted by many
communities, especially in Poland.
Sociology. [L. socius,/^//^', Gr. \6yos.] A
barbarous word, sometimes used to denote the
philosophical or religious system of the Posi-
tivists.
Sock. [L. soccus, akin to Eng. sack.] 1.
The shoe worn by the Roman comedians. 2.
Comedy itself. (Buskin.)
Sooratio. Anything belonging to the system
of Socrates; but more especially to his method
of reaching conclusions by means of question
and answer.
Soda. [It., from L. salsus, salted.] (Cliem.)
Oxide of sodium. Caustic soda is hydrate of
soda. Soda ask is the commercial name of
crude carbonate of sodium,, obtained from
black-ash (q.v.) by lixiviation and evaporation.
The residue, a mixture of unburnt coal and
oxysulphide of calcium, is called soda waste.
Sodium. A very soft, light, silvery metal
obtained from soda.
Sodom, Vine of. Deut. xxxii. 32 ; probably
a colocynth, Citrullus colocynthus, growing near
the Dead Sea ; which is the same, probably, as
the wild gourd of 2 Kings iv. 39, which was
"death in the pot." The apples of Sodom of
Strabo, Tacitus, Josephus, resemble oranges,
but their rind covers only dark, ashlike contents
and seeds. Like the oak-apples, they are the
work of insects.
Soffarides. A Persian dynasty, which sup-
planted that of the Taherites in 872, and lasted
for thirty years.
Soffit. [Fr. soffite, It. soffitta.] (Arch.) The
same as Intrados.
Softs. [Pers., probably a corr. of Gr. ff6$>os,
wise.] A title of the Dervishes. (Sufism.) The
kings of the dynasty preceding that which now
occupies the Persian throne were also so called.
(Soofis.) The system of the Sofis seems to have
many points of likeness with that of the Quietists.
Soft paste. (Paste.)
Soft tack, Soft tommy. In Naut. slang, loaf-
bread.
Soi-disant. [Fr., L. se dicentem.] Self-styled ;
pretending.
Soil, To. [Fr. soul, satiated, O.Fr. saoul, L.
satullus.] (dgr.) To feed animals with cut-
green food indoors ; to feed highly.
Soiree. [Fr., from soir, evening.] An evening
party.
Soit fait comme il est desire. (La royne le
veult.)
Solander, Solan goose. /.</. gannet (q.-v.).
Solano. [Sp., from L, solanus ventus, wind
of the sun] An oppressive east wind blowing
in Spain.
Solanoid. In shape or consistency like a
potato (Solanum tuberosum).
Solanum. (Bot.) Nightshade, a very exten-
sive gen. of plants, mostly narcotic and poison-
ous. Ord. Solanese, including S. tuberosum
potato) ; common and woody and other night-
shades, egg-plants, tomato, etc.
Solar. [L. solarium, from sol, the sun.] A
oom into which the sun shines. In the
lomestic architecture of the Middle Ages, a room
milt over the great hall of a house.
Solarization. [L. Solaris, belonging to the sun]
Too long exposure of a photograph to the light
.vhile being taken.
Solar plexus. (Sympathetic system.)
Solar spots; S. system; S. time. (Astron.)
Solar spots are black spots, surrounded with a
ess dark space, observable from time to time on
2 r;
SOLD
45
SOXA
the surface of the sun. The S. system is the
sun, with the planets, their attendant satellites,
and the asteroids, which circle round it. Solar
time is either apparent or mean (Time). (For
S. cycle, S. day, vide Cycle ; Day ; etc. ).
Soldan. (Sultan.)
Solder. [O.Fr. solider, to solidify.} (Chem.)
An alloy of three parts of lead and one of tin.
Fine solder, used for tinning copper, contains
two parts of tin and one of lead. Hard solder,
used for brazing, is an alloy of brass and zinc.
Soldier's wind. In Naut. parlance, one which
serves either way.
Solea. [L.] (Arch.) The part of the Roman
basilica answering to the Presbytery in more
modern churches.
Solecism. [Gr. ffo\outiff(i.d's.] 1. Incorrect
speaking, as regards the use of sentences ; Bar-
barism [fSapfiapio-fJios] being a faulty use of words.
2. Metaph., an error against good breeding,
manners ; said to have meant, originally, a corr.
of pure Attic by the colonists of Soli in Cilicia ;
but (?).
Solenhofen. (Geol.) Lithographic stone ; Ba-
varia ; a famous fossiliferous limestone ; fine-
grained, homogeneous, stratification very parallel ;
valuable in lithography. Upper Oolite.
Solenoid. [Gr. <r<a\riv, channel, e/Sos, form.}
A spiral coil, having one end turned back so as
to form the axis of the spiral, used in electrical
experiments.
Sol-fa. (Music. ) A general name for the notes
of the scale ; e.g. tonic sol-fa. Guido Aretino, a
Benedictine monk in the earlier part of the
eleventh century, is said to have formed a new
system of solfeggio, having observed the fitness
of certain opening sounds of each half-line of a
hymn to St. John, which ran thus : " UT queant
laxis RE sonare fibris MIra gestorum FAmuli
tuorum SOLve polluti LAbii reatum SAncte
Johannes." Do was substituted for Ut ; Si was
perhaps suggested by " Sancte Johannes," or
was changed from sa in " Sancte."
Sol-faing. The system of singing which em-
ploys the names of notes instead of words.
(Sol-fa.)
Solfatara. [It. solfare, to fumigate -with sul-
phur.} A volcanic vent, from which sulphur
and sulphureous, watery, and acid vapours are
emitted.
Solfeggi. (Music.) Exercises in sol-faing (q.v.).
Solicitor-general. A law officer of the Crown,
who holds by patent and ranks next to the
Attorney-general.
Solicitors. Persons admitted to practise in the
Court of Chancery ; formerly styled attorneys in
the courts of common law.
Solid angle. (Math.) The angle formed by
the meeting of three or more plane angles at a
point ; as the apex of a pyramid.
Soli Deo gloria. [L.] Glory to God alone.
Solid of least resistance. (Resistance. Solid of
least.)
Solid of revolution. A solid of the same form
as the space traced out by a plane figure during
its revolution round an axis in its plane ; as a
cone, which is traced out by the revolution of a
right-angled triangle round one of the sides con-
taining the right angle.
SolMdians. [L. solus, alone, fides, faith.}
Those who maintain that men are justified by
faith only without works. (Antinomians.)
Solitndinem faciunt, pacem appellant. [L.]
They make a solitude, and call it peace (Tacitus).
Solmisation. I.q. Sol-faing (q.v.).
Solomon's seal. 1. Pentalpha (q.v.). 2. (Bot.)
A gen. of liliaceous but not bulbous plants ; Poly-
gonatum [Gr. iroXvy6va.ros, many-knotted] multi-
riorum being the most frequent spec, in England.
Solstitial colure; S. points. (Astron.) The
points of the ecliptic 90 east and west of the
first point of Aries ; the sun is in the former
point at the midsummer of the northern hemi-
sphere, and is then at his greatest distance north
of the equinoctial ; he is in the latter point at mid-
winter, and is then at his greatest distance south
of the equinoctial. (For S. colure, vide Colure.)
Solus Deus haeredem, sc. facit. [L.] God aloae
makes an heir-at-law ; a maxim in Law : man may
make a devisee, but circumstances beyond his
control help to make his heir-at-law at the time
of his death.
Solvitur ambulando. [L.] The difficulty " is
solved by walking ; " i.e. the theoretical difficulty
is got over by actual trial. An allusion to a very
old fallacy of Zeno of Elea, mentioned by Ari-
stotle. Achilles, though going ten times as fast
as the tortoise, will never overtake him, if he
give him a start of T ' 5 of the course ; because by
the time A. shall have run that T ' 5 , T. will still be
ahead by }$ of that -} s , i.e. f^; when A. shall
have run that ^, T. will be ahead by ^ ; there-
fore A. will never overtake T. The answer is
(l) Solvitur, etc. ; actual trial proves that A.
will overtake, and where ; i being = \. (2)
Logically, the major premiss, in which it is
assumed that the sum of an infinite series is
infinite, is false.
Solvuntur risu tabulae. [L.] The indictment
is quashed -with a laugh (Horace).
Soma. A Japanese trading-junk.
Soma. The drink which reinvigorates the
Vedic or Hindu gods, as the Nectar refreshes the
deities of Olympus.
Soma-, Som&to-. [Gr. cru^a, ffd^aros, the
body.}
Sombrero. [Sp. , from sombra, shade.} A
broad-brimmed hat.
Sompnour, or Sumner (i.e. Summoner).
Formerly, an officer in the dreaded ecclesiastical
courts, whose duty it was to summon those who
had offended against the Canon laws'.
Sonata. [It. sonare, to sound.} (Music.) At
first, a musical composition of but one movement,
an air set instrumentally. Then, of more elegant
character, were the S. di Chiesa, Church S.,
slow and solemn ; and S. di Camera, Chamber
S., admitting airs such as the Allemancle, Sara-
bande, etc. Now a S. has generally a first move-
ment, allegro; a second, the slow movement ;
and a final allegro, of light character. Some-
times a fourth movement is interposed, a scherzo,
or minuet and trio, between the slow movement
and the final allegro.
SOND
SOUT
Sonderbund. [Ger., a separate league} A
name given to the league of the seven Catholic
cantons of Switzerland against the Federal Diet,
1846. The league was dissolved in 1847.
Sonnites. (Shiahs.)
Sonometer. [L. sonus, sound, perpov, measure.]
(Phys.) An instrument employed for the de-
termination of the frequency of vibration of a
note of given pitch, consisting of a catgut of
metallic wire stretched by a weight passing over
a pulley, and furnished with a movable bridge,
which can be adjusted till the string yields a note
of any required pitch ; the frequency can then
be calculated from the weight and the observed
length of the string from its fixed end to the
bridge.
Sonorous figures. (Nodal figures.)
Sons and Daughters of Liberty, Societies of.
After Townsend's imposts on tea, glass, and
paper, 1767; refused to use imported goods;
they were first set up in Massachusetts, after-
wards numerous in other colonies.
Soooey. A striped Indian fabric of silk and
cotton.
Soofis, or Sofis. A dynasty of kings ruling in
Persia, founded by Ismael Shah Sufi, 1502.
Soojee. Coarsely ground Indian wheat.
Soorma. An Indian cosmetic for the eyelids,
made of antimony.
Sophis. (Sufis'm.)
Sophism. (Fallacy.)
Sophist. [Gr. (ro^tVrrjj, from ffotyifa, I make
ivise or skilled.} 1. Any one who is master in
his craft. 2, The class of teachers of youth in
Athens and other Greek cities. 3. Persons
accused of maintaining in their own interests
systems of philosophy which they know to be
false. Hence, 4, cheats and tricksters in matters
of opinion.
Sorana. (Simoom.)
Sorb. (Service.)
Sorbonist. A doctor of the Sorbonne.
Sorbonne. A college at Paris for the study of
theology, founded 1253 by Robert of Sorbonne
in Champagne. It attained its greatest celebrity
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Sorl, i.e. heaps. [Gr. ffwp6s, a htap.~\ (JBot.)
The small clusters of spore-cases upon the backs
of the fronds of ferns.
Sdricldae. [L. soricem, shrew-mouse. ~\ (Zool.}
Shrews, shrew-mice ; fam. of Insectivora, not
to be confounded with mice, or dormice, which
are rodents ; Sorex Etruscus, two inches and a
half long, tail inclusive, is the smallest known
mammal. S. are found everywhere, except S.
America, W. Indies, the Australian district, and
Polynesia.
Sorites. [Gr. fftapfiri^s, from erupts, a heap.~\
(Log.) A mode of stating a series of syllogisms,
in which the conclusion of the last is a premiss
of the next one, as A = B, B = C, C = D ;
therefore A = D.
Soritio. (Sorites.)
Sorosis. [Gr. atap6s, a heap.} (Bot.) The
fleshy consolidation of many flowers, seed-vessels,
and their receptacles ; as pine-apple, bread-
fruit.
Sorrel (Pfrom the colour). (Deer, Stages of
growth of.)
Sortes Biblioae, Homerlcae, Sanctorum, Vir-
gilianae, etc. [L.] Divination practised by open-
ing the pages of the book at random, and using
the passage which first meets the eye as applying
to the question or case to be determined.
Sortie. [Fr., from sortir, to go out.} (Mil.)
1. A body of soldiers occasionally sallying out of
a besieged town to interrupt the attack. 2. A
sally.
Sortilege. [L. sortilegus, gathering lots.}
Divination by drawing lots.
Sotadio verse. So called as used by the
Athenian comic poet Sotades. (Palindromic
verse.)
Soteriology. [Gr. (rwrripla, safely, \6-yos, dis-
course.] A term denoting (i) treatises on the
preservation of health, (2) the doctrine of salva-
tion by Jesus Christ.
Sotbic, or Sothiac, period. (Sothis, Egyptian
name for Dog-star.) A period of 4 x 305^, or
1461 years of 365 days. The ancient Egyptians
used an official year of 365 days, though they
knew that the actual length of the year is about
365^ days, and consequently that their official
year would not continue in a constant relation to
the seasons ; they therefore deduced the S. P. , in
which their official year passed through all its
relations to the seasons.
Sdtto voce [It. sotto, prep., under, voce, voice],
or Sottovoce. Speaking softly, in an undertone.
Sou, or Sol. (Livre.)
Souchong. [Chin, se ou chong, small good
quality.} A fine black tea.
Soul-shot. (Mortuary.)
Sound dues. Duties formerly levied by Den-
mark on vessels entering the Baltic. These
duties were done away in 1857, for a sum of
more than three millions sterling paid to Den-
mark by Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, and
other states.
Sounding. (I\ T aut.) Ascertaining the depth
of water and nature of the bottom by means of
a lead and line. Soundings, not deeper than
100 fathoms.
Sounites, Sonnites. (Shiahs.)
Sour-bread. (Adansonia. )
Sourkrout. (Sauerkraut.)
Soutane. [From L. subtus, under (Littre).]
The French word for a cassock.
Southcottians. The followers of Joanna
Southcott, born at Gittisham, Devon, 1750.
Having for years claimed for herself a divine
mission, she at last, in 1814, announced herself as
about to become the mother of the approaching
Shiloh. She died in the same year ; but her
disciples for the most part were not undeceived.
Southern Alps. A lofty range in New Zealand :
in the North Island, nearly 10,000 feet high ;
while in South Island Mount Cook reaches
13,000, and Mount Tyndall 1 1,ooo feet. Eternal
snow, with glaciers.
Southern Cross. (Astron.) A cross shaped
constellation of the southern hemisphere.
Southing. 1. In Navigation, the difference
of latitude made by a vessel to the southward.
SOUT
452
SPEC
2. The time at which the moon passes the
meridian.
South Sea Bubble. (South Sea Company.)
South Sea Company. A joint-stock company
formed, in 1711, of the proprietors of certain
Government debts, with special privileges for
trading to the South Seas in consideration of
facilities promised to the Government in the
negotiation of loans. In 1720 the company
proposed to negotiate all the public debts at
certain rates. The rivalry thus caused with the
Bank of England was such that by midsum-
mer the company's stock had reached 1000.
Other stocks rose in the like way, and a vast
number of schemes were set afloat. The com-
pany became alarmed, and fixed the rate of
dividend for twelve years. But the tide had
turned, and by the end of September the stock
had sunk to 130. The misery caused by the
collapse was great, and the project of 1720 be-
came known in history as " The Bubble."
South-wester. (A T aut. ) A waterproof hat, con-
structed to shoot the water clear of one's back.
Sow. The main channel from a smelting fur-
nace to the bed of sand used for casting ; the
small channels being called pigs, whence is
derived the term pig iron.
Sowar. [Hind.] (Mil.) Native cavalry
soldier in India.
Sow-bread. The turnip-like, acrid, partly
subterranean stem of the cyclamen, eaten greedily
by swine.
Sowens, Sowins. Explained by some as the
fine powder produced by husking or making
grist of oats.
Soy. A Japanese fish sauce, made of the soy
bean.
Spa. By meton. often = a place frequented
on account of its mineral springs ; from Spa, a
town in Belgium, .known as a watering-place
from the fourteenth century.
Space. [L. spatium.] 1. In Printing, the
interval between lines or words. 2. A piece of
metal lower than the types, used for filling such
interval.
Spadassin. [Fr., It. spadaccino.] A fighter,
a bravo, bully.
Spade, Spayed. (Deer, Stages of growth of.)
Spadix. [L. spadix, in class. L. is a broken-
off palm branch with fruit.] (Bot.) An axis
bearing numerous closely packed sessile flowers,
inclosed within a spat he [Gr. ffirS.6ij, any broad
blade], as in arums.
Spahi. (Sepoys.)
Spandrel. [It. spandere, L. expandeYe, to
spread,} (Arch.) The space on the flanks or
haunches of an arch, above the intrados, but not
extending above the crown of the arch.
Spanish black. A black pigment made of
burnt cork.
Spanish ferreto. A reddish-brown pigment,
obtained by calcining copper and sulphur in
closed vessels.
Spanish main. Connected with the history of
buccaneering in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries ; the mainland from the Orinoco to the
Isthmus of Darien.
Spanish red. A rich warm ochre.
Spanish stripes. A woollen fabric.
Spanish white. Purified and powdered chalk..
Spanker. (Sails.)
Spanner. [Ger.] A tool for tightening the
nuts on screws.
Span-roof. (Compass-roof.)
Sparable (i.e. sparrmv-bill). A nail used in
shoemaking (from the shape).
Spar-deck. (Nant.) 1. (Decks.) 2. Applied
to the upper deck of a flush-decked, two-banked
vessel. 3. The forecastle gangways and quarter-
deck of a deep-waisted vessel.
Sparrow-hawk. (Musket.)
Sparse. [L. sparsus, scattered.} (Bot.) Not
opposite nor alternate, and in no apparent
regular order ; as branches, leaves, etc.
Sparterie. [Sp. esparto, grass-hemp} Plaited
work of Spanish grass.
Spartiates. (Periceoians.)
Spat. Spawn of shellfish, especially of oysters.
Spathe. (Spadix.)
Spatula. [L., any broad, flat instrument.} An
instrument for depressing the tongue, spreading
ointment, etc. Spatulate (Bot.), shaped like a
spatula.
Spavin. [Fr. epervin.] Bone S. , in horses,
a bony enlargement towards the inside of the
hock, at the head of the shank-bone, or between
some of the small bones of the hock. Bog S., or
Blood S., an inflammation of the synovial mem-
brane between the tibia and astragalus, with ex-
cessive secretion, apt to attack young, weak, or
overworked horses. Thorough-pin, a similar
affection, sometimes coexisting lower down.
Capped hock and Capulct or Capped elbow, in-
flammation on the cap of elbow or hock, from a
bruise. Windgalls, or Pt(ffs, similar enlarge-
ments, permanent in fore and hind legs of most
hardworked horses. (See Stonehenge, The
Horse in the Stable and in the Field, p. 468.)
Spay. To destroy the ovary \cf. L. spado].
Speaker. The presiding officer in each of the
Houses of Parliament. In the House of Lords
the office is filled by the Lord Chancellor. In
the Lower House the S. is elected by the Com-
mons. He can vote only in committees, or
when the votes on a division are equal ; and he
then gives a casting vote. Among other powers,
he has that of issuing writs for new elections
during a recess.
Speaker leaves the chair. In House of Com-
mons, that the House may go into a Committee
of the whole House, presided over by a Chair-
man of Committee of Ways and Means. The
order of the day having been read, the S. puts
the question, " That I do now leave the chair."
If this be agreed to, the S. leaves the chair, the
mace is removed, and the Committee begins its
sitting.
Special pleader. One who draws common
law pleadings, without being either an attorney
or a barrister.
Special verdict. A General V. is one deli-
vered by the jury in general words with the
issue, Guilty or Not Guilty. By a Special V.
the jury declare they find the special facts
SPEC
453
proved, but add that they do not know on which
side, upon the facts, they ought to find the issue.
Specie. [L. species.] Coined metal.
Species. In Log. (Difference.)
Specific gravity. (Chem.) The weight, bulk
for bulk, of solids and of liquids compared
with water ; and of gases compared with air.
(Density.)
Specific heat of a substance is the quantity
of heat required to raise a unit of its mass one
degree of temperature, and the measurement
may be taken on the supposition that the volume
of the substance continues constant, or that it
continues under a constant pressure.
Spectatum veniunt, veniunt spectentur ut ipsae.
[L.] They (the women) come to see and to be
seen (Ovid).
Spectroscope. [L. spectrum, Gr. oveoWta, /
view.] An instrument for examining and com-
paring the spectra of different kinds of light.
Spectrum [L., an image] ; Chemical 8. ; Chro-
matic S. ; Ocular S. ; Solar 8. ; Thermal S.
(Phys.) The totality of the rays emitted from a
source of light to a point or small space, and
separated (or dispersed) by passage through a
prism of glass or other refracting medium. When
the source is the sun, the spectrum thus obtained
is the Solar S. The rays separated by the prism
have the properties of light and colour, heat, and
chemical action, but in different degrees accord-
ing to their different degrees of refrangibility ;
and this fact is conveniently described by saying
that there are three distinct kinds of rays, com-
posing respectively the Chromatic S., the Ther-
mal S., and the Chemical S. The chromatic S.
occupies the middle position, the rays at the red
end being the least, those at the violet end the
most, refrangible, the maximum of light being in
the yellow rays ; the thermal S. begins beyond
the red end and ceases near the violet end, the
maximum of heat being outside of the chromatic
S., at the red end ; the chemical S. begins in
the green rays and ends beyond the violet rays,
the maximum being in the violet rays, but it is
intense outside of the chromatic S. The Ocular
S. is the faint image seen when the eye, having
been fixed on a small object of a bright colour,
is turned away to a white surface ; the image has
a colour complementary to that of the object.
Spectrum analysis. The analysis of light by
means of the spectrum produced by a prism. It
has been shown that when a vapour sufficiently
heated emits light of a certain refrangibility, the
vapour at a lower temperature absorbs, i.e. refuses
to transmit, light of the same degree of refrangi-
bility. This principle serves to explain the dark
lines of the solar spectrum. Thus, a certain line
(I)) has exactly the same degree of refrangibility
as the light emitted from incandescent vapour of
sodium ; it is, therefore, inferred that incan-
descent sodium exists in the solar atmosphere,
and stops the equivalent rays emitted by the
more intensely heated body of the sun. A simi-
lar process can be applied to the other dark lines
of the solar and stellar spectra, and thus some
k-nowledge of the elements composing those
bodies is arrived at.
Specular iron ore. (Haematite.)
Speculum [L., a mirror] ; S. metal. A re-
flector, particularly the reflector of a reflecting
telescope. Specula are made of a peculiar com-
bination of metals (two parts of copper and one
of tin), which is susceptible of a very high polish,
and is called S. metal,
Sped. In Judg. v. 30, is an instance of the
original meaning, to succeed. Skeat refers to
spowan, to succeed [A.S. sped, haste, sncccss~\.
Speed-cone. (Meek.) A shaft running at a
constant speed is enabled to drive a machine at
different speeds by means of two sets of pulleys,
those in each set being arranged in steps, with
diameters so chosen that the same band can
work the different pairs of pulleys, so that a
small pulley on the shaft drives a large one on
the machine, or a large pulley on the shaft
drives a small one on the machine ; either set of
pulleys is a speed-cone ; called also Speed-pulley.
Speedwell. (Veronica.)
Spelicans. (Spilikin.)
Spelt, Spalt. [Ger. spalt, from spalten, to
split.] (Bet.) A grain, Triticum spelta ; so
called from the deep splits or cuts of the
ears.
Spelter. [Ger. spiauter.] Commercial zinc.
Spencer. (Naitt.) 1. A trysail. (Sails.)
2. A fore-and-aft sail set with a gaff, and used
instead of main-topmast and mizzen staysails.
Spencer (from Lord Spencer). A short over-
jacket.
Sperm-, Spermato-. [Gr. cnrfp^.a, ff-n-fpfj.&Tos,
seed. ]
Spermaceti. [Gr. cnrtpfj.a, seed, K^ros, a sea-
monster] A white, brittle, fatty substance ob-
tained from the head of the sperm-whale.
Spero meliora. [L.] I hope better things.
Speronara. (Naut.) A stouter-built scam-
pavia (q.v.).
Spetches. Waste pieces of hide for making
glue-
Sphacelated. (Med. ) Affected with sphacelus
[Gr. ff(f>a,Kf\os], gangrene, mortification.
Sphenoid bone. [Gr. a<privoei8ris, of the shape
of a wedge, fffyiiv, fffy-i)vos.] (Anat.) A bone at
the anterior part of the base of the skull, which
wedges together all the other cranial bones.
Sphere [Gr. crtyatpa, a globe, sphere] ; Doctrine
of the S. ; Great S. ; Oblique S. ; Parallel S. ; S.
of projection ; Eight S. The solid generated
by the revolution of a circle round a diameter.
The appearance presented by the heavens to a
spectator is that of a sphere, in the centre of
which he stands, half of which is hidden by his
horizon, and which turns round a diameter pass-
ing through the poles once in twenty-four hours,
carrying with it the stars, which seem to be
bright points fixed on its surface. Astronomers
find it convenient to speak of this appearance as
if it were real, and they call it the Sphere, or
the Great sphere. When one pole is overhead, it
is a Parallel S. ; when on the horizon, a ftight
S. ; when in any other position, an Oblique S.
The Doctrine of the S. is the science of the re-
lations between the circles drawn on the great
S., their points of intersection and the arcs be-
SPHE
454
SPIR
tween them ; as the equator, ecliptic, poles,
equinoctial points, etc. In Crystallog., the
S. of projection is described within a crystal
with any point as centre and any radius ; the
faces of the crystal are referred to it, by lines
drawn at right angles to them from its centre.
Spherical excess [Gr. ff$a.ipu(6s, spherical] ;
8. geometry ; 8. sector ; 8. segment ; 8. triangle ;
S. trigonometry. The portion of the surface of
a sphere inclosed by arcs (each less than a semi-
circle) of three great circles is a 'Spherical tri-
angle. The relations between the sides and
angles of spherical triangles is the subject of
S. geometry ; those between the trigonometrical
functions of the sides and angles, of S. trigono-
metry. The excess of the sum of the three
angles of a spherical triangle above two right
angles is its S. excess. A S. segment is the part
of a sphere cut off by a plane ; a S. sector is the
part of a sphere inclosed within a conical surface
whose vertex is at the centre.
Spherics. [Gr. ff<pa.tpiic6s, spherical.] Sphe-
rical geometry and trigonometry.
Spheroid. [Gr. <r<pcupa, sphere, eTSos, farm.]
1. A body nearly spherical. 2. An ellipsoid of
revolution (q.v.).
Spheroidal state. The condition of a drop of
liquid when thrown upon a surface having a high
temperature, in which case the liquid does not
wet the surface, but takes a spheroidal form,
moves about, and gradually evaporates without
boiling.
Spherometer. [Gr. fftyaipa, a ball, ptToov,
measure.] An instrument for measuring with
great exactness the thickness of a plate or the
curvature of a lens.
Sphincter. [Gr. ffQiyKr-fip, ff<piyy<i>, I bind
tight.] (Anat.) A circular muscle which con-
stricts orifices ; as S. ani.
Sphinx. [Gr.] l.(Afyth.) A being who plagues
the Thebans with drought and the maladies
caused by drought, and who propounds riddles
which none can solve except (Edipus. These
riddles are the mutterings of the thunder ; and
the Sphinx, whose name describes her as binding
fast [Gr. ff(j>lyyu, I bind tight], is the same as
Ahi, the throttling snake, and Vritra, the thief,
the great enemy of Indra. 2. (Zoo/.) Gen. of
moths (Hawkmoths).
Sphygmo- [Gr. atyvypos, the pnlse~\ ; Sphygmo-
graph. (Med. ) An instrument which registers
the force and extent of pulsations.
Spiocato. (Staccato.)
Spick and span. New as a spike or nail just
made, or a chip [Icel. spann] just cut off.
Spider. (Naut.) An iron outrigger for keep-
ing a block clear of a vessel's side. S.-Awf,
an iron hoop round a mast, fitted with shackles,
or belaying-pins.
Spider-shell. (Zoo!.) Pteroceras [Gr. wTepov,
wing, Kepas, horn] ; gen. of molluscs with shell
of a somewhat spider-like form. The common S.
(P. lambis) is three or four inches long, mottled
chestnut and white with orange streaks. Chinese
and Indian seas. Fam. Strombidrc, ord. Pros5-
branchiata, class Gasteropoda.
Spigot. [Welsh yspigawd, from yspig, .yV/v. ]
A peg used to close a faucet, or a small hole in
a cask.
Spike \cf. Ger. spick, L. spica, and spike] a
gun. (Mil.) To render it unserviceable for the
time, by inserting into the vent a steel pin with
side springs, which, when inserted, open out-
wards to the shape of an arrow-head, which can-
not be released. A long nail is used as a
substitute.
Spike. [L. spica, an ear of corn.] (Bot.)
Any inflorescence of sessile flowers along one
axis ; as corn. (Inflorescence.)
Spikenard. Mark xiv. 3 ; John xii. 3 ; Nardo-
stachys jatamansi, ord. Valerinaceae ; the nardus
of classical antiquity.
Spilikin. One of a number of small thin
pieces of wood, or other material, for playing
the game of spilikins. These, each one marked
with a number, are thrown together in a heap
on a table ; and each player in turn tries to
remove, with a knitting-needle or similar in-
strument, what he can without shaking any of
the rest. The game is won by the highest
score.
Spill a sail, To. (Naut.) To shiver it, before
furling or reefing. Spilling-lines, those used to
prevent a sail bellying.
Spilus. [Gr. eririAos, a spot, stain.] I.q. ncevus
(q.v.).
Spina Christi. (Christ's thorn.)
Spindle. 1. A millwright's term for a small
shaft (q.v.). 2. The solid formed by the revolu-
tion of an arc round its chord.
Spine. [L. splna, a thorn. ] A hardened leaf-
stalk, stipule, abortive branch, or any other pro-
cess into the composition of which woody tissue
enters. Treas. Bot.
Spinet. [It. spinetta, from the plectra or
thorns (L. spinse) by means of which the strings
were sounded.] An old musical instrument, like
a harpsichord, but smaller.
Spinorism. The philosophy of Benedict Spi-
noza, a Jew of Amsterdam, born 1634 ; based
on the proposition that " There can be no sub-
stance but God, and nothing can be conceived
without God."
Spiraea. [Gr. tnreipala.] (Bot.) A gen. of
plants, of which one spec, is our meadow-sweet,
S. ulmaria, or queen of the meadows, a tall
plant, with fragrant yellowish-white flowers,
ord. Rosacese.
Spiral. [L. splra, a coil, Gr. ffire'ipa.] (Afath.)
The curve traced out by a point moving in some
specified way along a line which revolves round
a fixed point ; as the S. of Archimedes, which is
traced out by a point moving uniformly along a
line which revolves uniformly round a fixed
point.
Spire. [L. splra.] (Arch.) A sharp-pointed
covering forming the roof of a tower, and often
carried to a great height. (Broach spires.)
Spirit-level. A glass tube, whose axis is very
slightly curved, nearly filled with spirit, for '
showing the true horizontal line by the central
position of an air-bubble on its upper side.
Spirit of hartshorn. (Chem.) Impure car-
bonate of ammonia. (Hartshorn.)
SPIR
455
SPRI
Spirit of salt. (Chem.) Hydrochloric acid,
as being obtained from salt.
Spirit of turpentine. (Chem.) An inflam-
mable oil distilled from turpentine.
Spirit of wine. (Chem.) Pure alcohol, first
obtained from wine.
Spirkitting. (Natit.) In a man-of-war, the
inner planking between the port-holes; in a mer-
chantman, that between the upper deck and the
plank-sheer.
Spirilla. [L., dim. of splra, coil.'] (Zool.)
Fam. and gen. of cephalopod, having internal
chambered cell.
Spissitude. [L. spissitudo, thickness.'] The
denseness or compactness of substances which
are neither solid nor liquid.
Spit. [A. S.] (Agr.) A spade, in the terms
spit ful, one spit deep, etc.
Splanchno-. [Gr. ffir\dyxva, bowels.]
Splay (shortened from display). (Arch.) The
slanting expansion of windows internally, for
the purpose of giving more light. Very com-
mon in Romanesque buildings, where the outer
aperture is small, or Sconce [Fr. escoinson].
Spleen. [Gr. a-aK^v.] (Anat.) A spongy,
highly vascular organ, in the left hypochondriac
region, between the diaphragm and the stomach ;
not secretive ; probably regulating, under changes
of condition, the quantity and quality of the
blood.
Spleenwort. (Bot.) A name given to the gen.
Asplenium [Gr. rd aairX^vov], a gen. of poly-
podiaceous ferns ; from a supposed, but in reality
fanciful, potency in affections of the spleen [L.
splen].
Splendour, Sun in his. (Her.) The sun bear-
ing a human face and surrounded with rays.
Splent. (Splint.)
Splice. To connect beams, etc., by means of
overlapping parts bolted together,
Splice the mainbrace, To. In Naut. slang, to
serve out an extra allowance of grog.
Splint, Splent. A hard, laminated coal, inter-
mediate between cannel and pit-coal ; Glasgow,
N. and S. Stafford.
Splint-bone. 1. T.q. Ftbiila (q.v.) being like
a splint, a thin piece of wood, etc., used, in
treating fractures, to keep a part in position. 2.
Splint, in horses, any bony growth from the
cannon-bone. (Cannon.)
Splinter-bar. 1. A cross-bar in a coach, which
supports the springs. 2. The bar to which the
single-tree is attached.
Splinter-proof. (Mil.) Traverse place be-
tween any two guns of a battery, to cover the
artillerymen working them.
Spoffish. A local word denoting overmuch
activity in matters of no moment.
Spoken for. Cant. viii. 8 ; asked in marriage.
Spokeshave. A knife for trimming the spokes
of wheels and other curved work.
Spolia opima. [L., rich spoils.} Arms, etc.,
taken by a Roman general from the enemy's
general on the field of battle.
Spondee. [L. spondeus, Gr. trirovSr), a libation.]
In Gr. and L. poetry, a metrical foot, in which
both the syllables are long ; so called from its
slow movement, which made it suitable for
hymns recited during the offering up of a sacrifice.
Spondyle. [Gr. cnpovSv^s, and popularly
cnr6v$v\os.] (Anat.) A vertebra.
Spong. A narrow strip of inclosed land,
especially by the roadside.
Spongiopileine. [Gr. oriroyyid, a sponge, and
TrtXos, felt.] A fabric the inside of which is
felt made of sponge and wool and the outside
a coating of caoutchouc.
Sponson, or Wing. (Naut.) The projection
of the deck, or platform fore and aft of paddle-
boxes. S.-rim, or IV. -wale, its outer edge.
Sponsors. [L. sponsor, a surety.] (Eccl.)
Those who, in the name of an infant, make
profession of the Christian faith at its baptism.
(Fide-juBsores.)
Spontaneous combustion of the human body.
One supposed, in a few cases, to have arisen out
of long excessive drinking of spirits ; believed
in during last century ; now proved to be im-
possible.
Spool. [Ger. spule.] A kind of reel for
winding thread on.
Spoor. [D. ; cf. Ger. spur, trace.] (Slot.)
Sporadic disease. [Gr. o-iropds, scattered,
sporadic^ Occurring in single instances ; op-
posed to Epidemic (q.v.).
Sporangium. [Gr. ayye'tov, a vessel, capsule of
a plant. ] (Bot. ) The case in which spores are
formed.
Spores. [Gr. (nropd, a sowing.] (Rot.) The
reproductive particles of flowerless plants e.g.
fungi, algae analogous to seed ; they do not
contain an embryo, but are merely cellular.
Sporran. [Gael, sporan.] A leather pouch
worn in front of the kilt by Highlanders.
Sportula. [L.] In Rom. Hist., the dole
received by poor Clients from rich Patrons. It was
first in kind, and was carried away in a wicker
basket, but was afterwards commuted for money.
Spotted fever. (Med.) Continued fever, with
eruption.
Spotted metal, or Metal. Of organ pipes, a
mixture of tin and lead.
S.P.Q.B. The abbrev. form of the phrase,
Senatus populusque Romanus, the Senate and
people of Rome.
Sprays. Side channels for distributing the
molten metal in all parts of a mould (from being
shaped like a spray of a tree).
Spreader. (Punt.)
Sprechery. Movables of a poor kind, gained
chiefly by plunder on a march. Scott,
Waverley.
Spring, Bearing. The spring interposed be-
tween the carriage frame and the axle-box of a
railway carriage.
Springe. A noose which catches birds, etc.,
by springing up.
Spring-halt. (String-halt.)
Spring-ring. (Mech.) A flat split ring which,
when not under pressure, is very slightly spiral,
and with a small interval at the split ; when
placed round a piston within a cylinder, it
becomes perfectly round, and pressing against
the sides of the cylinder enables the piston to
SPRI
456
work air-tight without packing. A kind of
S.-R. serves as a washer.
Springs, Artesian. (Artesian wells.)
Sprit. [A. S. spreot.] (Naut.) A small spar
crossing a sail diagonally from the mast to the
upper aftermast corner. S. -sails, (i) those
extended on a sprit ; (2) a squaresail formerly
set on a bowsprit-yard. S.-S. topsail, formerly
set on a jibboom-yard.
Spruce. A decoction of the shoots of the
spruce [O.E. Pruse, Prussian] fir.
Sprue. [Ger. spriihen, to thrmv off sparks.}
The entrance to a channel called the gate through
which molten metal is poured into a mould.
Spud. [Dan. spyd, spear.} A chisel-shaped
tool with a long handle, for destroying weeds.
Spur. (Geog.) A portion of a range of hills
or mountains jutting out at right angles to the
general direction of the range.
Spurge. (Bot.) Euphorbia; a gen. of plants,
type of the large ord. Euphorbiaceas, to which
belong manioc, caoutchouc. Almost all have
acrid, milky juice. (Euphorbus, a Greek phy-
sician. )
Spurrey, Common, or Yarr. (Bot.) A weed
of gravelly corn-fields and light soils ; Spergula
arvensis ; ord. Caryophyllaceae. One variety,
cultivated in Holland and elsewhere in sandy
districts on the Continent, yields excellent food
for cattle.
Spur-royal. A gold coin of Edward IV.,
having on the reverse a star like the rowel of a
spur. In later reigns its value was 15.?.
Spurs, Battle of the. A battle fought, August
1 6, 1513, between the French, and the English
under Henry VIII. ; so called because the
French are said to have used their spurs more
than their swords.
Spur-wheel. (Meek.) A toothed wheel of
the ordinary construction, viz. in which the
teeth are placed radially.
Spy (i.e. espy, Fr. espier, L. specere). As in
Exod. ii. n, is very often simply to see, to
discover by seeing ; without any idea of secrecy.
Squad. [Fr. escouade, another form being
escadre (squadron).] (Mil.) 1. Small number
of soldiers formed up for drill. 2. The part of
a company under charge of one non-commis-
sioned officer.
Squadron. [Fr. escadre, L. acies quadrata, a
square body of soldiers.] 1. (Mil.) A body of
cavalry consisting of two troops. 2. (Naut. )
A group of ships of war less than a whole
fleet.
Squall, White. (Naut.) One which occurs
in clear weather, and gives no warning of its
approach but by the white foam it raises.
Squama. [L.] (Zool.) A fish-scale. _
Squamose. [L. squamosus, from squama, a
scale.} (Anat.) 1. Scaly, like a fish. 2. Having
edges overlapping, like scales.
Square. 1. In Printing, a number of lines
forming a square portion of a column. 2. An
instrument formed of two pieces of wood fas-
tened at right angles, used by joiners, etc., for
testing square work. 3. (J//7.) To form S., an
infantry evolution for the purpose of resisting
cavalry ; the centre being hollow, and the sides
four deep, facing outwards.
Square ; S. root. (Math.) To square a num-
ber is to multiply it by itself ; the S. root of a
number is one which produces the number when
multiplied by itself; thus, the square of 5 is 5 X 5,
or 25 ; the square root of 25 is 5- (Quadri-
lateral.)
Square-prismatic system. (Crystallog.) The
pyramidal system (q.v. ).
Square-rigged. (Naut.) Having square lower
sails on ever)- mast.
Squaresail. (Xaut.) That set on the fore-
yard of a schooner, or the spread-yard of a cutter.
S. -sails, (i) the courses (q.v.)', (2) any four-
cornered sail set on a yard suspended by the
middle.
Square yards, To. (A T au(.) To place them
horizontally at right angles to the keel.
Squaring the circle. (Math.) The problem
of finding the side of a square equal in area to a
circle of given radius. It is understood that the
solution is to be obtained either by elementary
geometry, or is to be expressed arithmetically by
commensurable numbers : under these conditions
the problem is insoluble. Two squares can,
however, be determined, one greater and the
other less than the circle, whose areas differ by
less than any assigned quantity, however small
by a quantity bearing, for instance, a ratio
to one of the squares less than the ratio of one
square inch to a million square miles.
Sqnaw. [Algonkin Ind.] An Indian woman.
Bartlett's Americanisms,
Squid. (Ichth.) Penfish, Calamary, Teuthfdce
[Gr. TfiiOls, a cuttle-fish, or squid} ; fam. of mol-
luscs, with pen-shaped internal shell.
Squinancy. (Quinsy.)
Squinch. Another name for Pendentive.
Sruti. (Veda.)
S.S., Collar of. Composed of a series of S.'s in
gold, either linked or set in close order ; the
ends brought together by a buckle, from which
hangs a jewel. Such collars have been much
worn by officers of State, by gentlemen of various
ranks ; now worn, with distinctions, by a L.C.J.,
L.C.B., Lord Mayor of London, heralds, ser-
geants-at-arms ; occurring frequently in monu-
ments. Of a Lancastrian character, but not
satisfactorily explained. (For different conjec-
tures, see Chambers's Encyclopaedia.)
Stabat Mater. [L.] The first words of a
hymn on the grief of the Virgin mother as she
stood by the cross of Christ. Said to have been
written by Jacopone da Todi, in the fourteenth
century.
Staccato. [It., detached.} (Music.) Means
that notes are to be sung or played in a detached,
somewhat abrupt, manner. Spiccato [It., un-
hooked} is not quite so abrupt ; in violin music,
means to be played with the point of the bow.
Stacte. [Gr. o-Tcacr-fi, trickling oil.} Exod.
xxx. 34 ; the gum of the Styrax officlnale, a
beautiful shrub of the Levant, Italy, Greece ;
having blossoms like those of the orange.
(Storax.)
Stactometer. [Gr. araxros, dropping, nfTpov,
STAD
457
STAP
measure.] A glass instrument for measuring
the number of drops in a given quantity of a
fluid.
Stadium. [Gr. ffrdSiov.] 1. An open space
for the celebration of games, surrounded by seats
in tiers for the spectators, as at Olympia, etc.
2. A Greek measure of length, containing 606
feet 9 inches English.
Stadtholder. [D. stadthouder, city-holder.'}
Originally the title of the commander-in-chief of
the army of the United Netherlands. William
IV., Prince of Orange, 1747, was the first here-
ditary stadtholder. In 1814 the head of the
house of Orange received the title of king.
Staff. {Mil.} All officers performing such
duties with troops as are not included in
regimental duty. Divided into general, personal,
and regimental, S.
Staff-captains. (Naut.) Masters of the fleet.
Staff College. A school of instruction for
officers who wish to be placed on the staff of the
British army. Founded 1858. The number of
students is thirty.
Siaff-oommanders. (Naut.) Masters of fifteen
years.
Staggard. (Deer, Stages of growth of.)
Staggers. 1. A disease of the horse and some
other animals, causing them to fall suddenly ;
a kind of apoplexy ; sometimes from overfeeding.
2. Wild, strange behaviour.
Stagmoid. Like a drop [Gr. <rr<iy/j.a.].
Stagyrite, The. Aristotle, born at Stageira,
in Chalcidlce, B.C. 384. The correct spelling
would be Stageirite.
Stahlianism, or Animism. Dr. Stahl's system
of medicine ; the anima, or soul, by erroneous
or wrong action, being supposed to originate
disease. One of mild laxatives, chiefly with
bleeding, plethora being supposed a chief cause
of disease ; to the neglect of chemistry, as a
medical agent. (Stahl, author of the theory of
phldgiston (q.v.), Prussian physician, died A.D.
1734-)
Stails. [Ger. stiel.] The handle of a broom,
rake, etc.
Staithe. A line of rails at the end of a railway,
for discharging coals, etc., into vessels.
Stake. A small anvil.
Stalactite (i), Stalagmite (2). [Gr. <rnxA.a<r(ra;,
/ let drip ; (\ ) being an active deiivative, (2) pas-
sive.] (Geol.) (i) Conical icicle -shaped concre-
tions from the roofs ; (2) cones, ribs, or layers
on the floors and walls, of calcareous caverns,
caused by dropping and dribbling of water con-
taining carbonate of calcium. Sometimes (i)
and (2) meet, forming pillars.
Stal-boat. (Naut.) A fishing-boat, temp.
Elizabeth.
Stallage. In Law, a duty paid for setting up
movable stalls or stables in a market or fair.
When the stalls are fixed, the duty is termed
Pickage.
Stalls. [A.S.] (Arch.) Raised seats on each
side of the choir of a church. (Sedilia.)
Stamen. [L., (i) warp of the loom; (2)
stamen.} (Hot.) The male organ of a flower,
consisting of a filament or stalk, and anther,
which contains the pollen. A sterile S. belongs
to the series of stamens, but has not pollen.
Stamina. [I'lu. of L. stamen, a thread of the
distaff.] 1. (Bot.) A fibre of a plant, or of
wood. Hence, 2, elementary principles, natural
vigour.
Stammel. [O. Fr. estamelte, a coarse woollen
cloth.] 1. A fine worsted. 2. A pale scarlet
colour.
Stamp Act, American. One of the proximate
causes of the American Revolution, a scheme of
internal taxation, passed by the Grenville Minis-
try, 1764, repealed by the Rockingham Ministry
next year.
Stampede. [Sp. estampado, a stamping of
feet.] 1. A general scamper of animals, on the
Western prairies, usually from fright. 2. From
animals, the term is transferred to men. Bart-
lett's Americanisms.
Stamping. [Ger. stampfen.] Crushing with a
heavy hammer, as ore in a stamping-mill.
Standard, or Vexillum. (Papilionaceous
plants.)
Standard, Battle of the. (Eng. Hist.} A
battle fought near Northallerton, Yorkshire,
August 22, 1138, at which the Archbishop of
York brought forward a consecrated standard.
The Scotch were entirely defeated.
Standard, Koyal. A flag bearing the arms of
England, Scotland, and Ireland, quartered.
Stand by! (Naut.} Get ready ! S. B. a rope!
take hold of it !
Standing army. One raised and kept ready
for service both at home or abroad under the
immediate command of the sovereign ; the per-
mission of Parliament, being by law necessary, is
renewed yearly. (Army Discipline and Kegula-
tion Act.)
Standing-jib. (Naut.} The innermost jib, or
jib proper.
Standing-part of a tackle, or rope. (Naut.)
The part which is made fast to the mast, deck,
or block ; in opposition to the Running-part.
Standing rigging. (Naut.} Shrouds, stays,
etc.
Standish. [Fng. stand and dish.] An ink-
stand surrounded with a flat dish for pens, etc.
Stand of arms. (Mil.) The complete weapons
of each individual soldier.
Stanhope. (From Lord Stanhope.) A kind
of light gig.
Stanislaus, St., Order of. (Hist.) A Polish
order of knighthood, founded 1765.
Stannaries. [L. stannum, tin.} 7i-mines,
or royal rights pertaining thereto.
Stannary courts. [L. stannum, tin.} Courts
in Devon and Cornwall for administering justice
among persons employed in tin-mines.
Stannic acid. An acid formed from tin [L.
stannum]. Its salts are called stannates.
Stannotype. [L. stannum, tin, Gr. rviros,
type.} A photograph taken on a tin plate.
Stapes. (Anat.) One of the bones of the
internal ear, shaped like a stirrup [stapes].
Staphyle. [Gr. <TTa<pv\ri, (i) a bunch of
grapes, (2) uvula.] The uvula. Staphylotomy,
amputation of the uvula.
STAP
458
STAY
Staphyloma. [Gr. <rra<pv\w/j.a.] A grape-
shaped protrusion of the outer surface of the
eye, or of the iris, or of the cornea, the result
of destructive inflammation.
Staple. (Staples.) 1. The thread or pile of
wool, cotton, or flax. 2. A ventilating shaft
sunk from the workings on one seam to those on
a lower one.
Staples. Certain products in the supply of
which this country was supposed to have special
advantages. Thus wool and hides were staples
of agricultural produce. The market for staples
was carefully regulated. The word is said to be
derived from O.Fr. estape, a mart for wine.
The superintendence of the trade was in the
hands of the Mayor of the Staple.
Starboard. (A-beam.)
Starboard the helm. (Helm.)
Starbolins. (Naut.) The starboard watch.
Larbolins, the port or larboard watch.
Star Chamber, Court of. A court so called, in
the opinion of some, from the ornaments on the
ceiling of the chamber in which it once sat ; ac-
cording to others, from the Jewish bonds (Starrs)
deposited in it. Notices of it go back to the
reign of Edward III. The court acted by bill
and information, and without jury. It was sup-
pressed in the reign of Charles I.
Stare super antlquas vias. [L., to stand on
the old paths .] To oppose novelties (Jer. vi. 16).
Star fort. (Mil.) Closed work of which the
parapet takes the usual representation of a star,
with several acute salients and obtuse re-entrants.
Star of India. An order of knighthood, in-
stituted 1 86 1, for conferring honour on eminent
natives of India, and on Englishmen who have
distinguished themselves in the administration of
that country.
Starost. A Polish title for the possessors of
certain castles and estates called Starostics. The
tenure was commonly renewed by the Crown to
the heirs of the tenant on his demise.
Starowerzi. (Raskolniks.)
Starrs. [Heb.] Name for bonds deposited,
by permission of William I., in a chamber of
Westminster Palace ; hence called Star Cham-
ber. Green's Hist, of the English People, p. 83.
Stars and Bars. The flag of the late Southern
Confederacy. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Stars and Stripes. Flag of the U.S. ; adopted
by Act of Congress, June 14, 1777 : "Resolved
that the flag of the thirteen United Colonies be
thirteen stripes alternately red and white ; that
the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field,
representing a new constellation." Bartlett's
A mericanisms.
Statant. [O.Fr., from L. stare, to stand.}
(Her.) Standing still, with all its feet on the
ground.
Stater. [Gr. O-TOT^P.] An ancient Greek coin,
the value of which varied in the different Greek
cities.
State rights. The rights reserved by the sepa-
rate states of the American Union, when they
surrendered certain prerogatives of independent
states to the central authority of the confederacy.
The conflict between these two interests led ulti-
mately to the war of secession, which ended in
the overthrow of the Confederate states of the
South in 1865-66.
State-room. (Naut.) A small sleeping-cabin
or berth.
States-General. In Fr. Hist., assemblies, first
called, 1302 ; discontinued, 1614 ; summoned
again in 1 789. They had, it seems, no proper
jurisdiction ; and their convocation by Louis XVI.
led immediately to the Revolution.
Statesman. In the mountainous country of
N. England, a yeoman ; an old-fashioned kind
of proprietor farming his own land, a link be-
tween landowner and tenant-farmer.
States of matter. (Phys.) The solid, liquid,
and gaseous forms of the same substance ; as
ice, water, steam.
Static electricity is that developed on the
surface of bodies.
Statics. [Gr. error IK&S, causing to stand, from
ij ffTarucfi, statics.} The science which treats of
the conditions under which forces acting on
bodies balance each other.
Station. [L. stationem, residence.} (Bot. and
Zool.} A continuous district, inhabited by any
given animal or plant. It may be coextensive
with a habitat (q.v.).
Station. Any military post held permanently
by troops.
Stationary engine. (Steam-engine.)
Stationers' Hall. The hall of the Stationers'
Company, which was formed into a guild early
in the fifteenth century. The present duties of
the company are chiefly to enter the titles of all
new publications on their books, and to register
assignments of copyrights.
Stationery. A term now denoting usually all
materials needed for or connected with writing.
Formerly the terms stationer and bookseller
were nearly synonymous.
Stations. [L. stati5nes.] 1. In the Latin
Church, places where, in processions, Mass is
said, the reference being to the stations at
Rome. 2. A form of devotion founded on the
events of the Passion. The stations, originally
seven, are now fourteen in number. They are
also called Via Crucis, the way of the Cross.
Stat magni nominis umbra. [L., he stands
the shadow of a great name.} He has survived
his greatness.
Statu quo, Status quo. [L.] The name of a
treaty which leaves the belligerents in possession
of all that each held at the beginning of the war ;
more fully, status quo ante helium.
Statute of Drogheda. (Poyning's Law.)
Statutes of Limitations. Acts of Parliament
which prescribe the limits within which actions
must be commenced for the recovery of any-
thing ; e.g. actions on simple contracts, for suits
by the Crown, of ejectment, etc. So two years is
the L. of action for a slander, six for libel, etc.
Statutes of Provisors. (Provisors, Statutes of.)
Stave (another form of staff). (Music.) The
five parallel lines on which the notes are placed.
Stay. (Naut.) A rope extending from the
top of a mast forward, to give it support. Back-
slays are led aft to a ship's sides abaft the
STAY
459
STEG
shrouds. Spring-stays are extra stays nearly
parallel with the stays, to give extra support.
Stays are named after the mast they support, as
Mainstay. S. of steamer, an iron bar between
the paddle beam knees. -Staysail, a three-cor-
nered sail set on a stay which is called a Stay-
sail-S.
Stay. (Mech.) Long tie-bars connecting the
ends of cylindrical boilers and other structures, to
enable them to resist the pressure of the steam.
Stay, To. (Naut.) To tack, i.e. to come head
to wind, and fill on the other tack. A vessel
misses stays when, instead of filling on the other
tack, she falls back. In stays, or hove in stays,
in the act of staying.
Steady the helm, To. (Naut.) To keep on the
same course.
Steam [A.S. stem]; Anhydrous S. ; Dry S. ;
High-pressure S. ; Low-pressure S.; Saturated
S. ; Superheated S. ; Surcharged S. Lmv-frcssitre
steam exerts a pressure not greatly exceeding
that of the atmosphere ; High-pressure S. exerts
a pressure that commonly equals that of several
atmospheres, e.g. four or six, say 60 or 90
pounds per square inch. Saturated S. is steam
formed in contact with its water it then has the
greatest density it can attain at the given tem-
perature. If the steam is separated from its
water and heated in a given space, it is Dry or
Anhydrous S. ; such steam, separated from the
boiler and heated in a distinct vessel, is also
called Sicrcharged or Superheated S.
Steam-chest. The space or box adjacent to
the cylinder, kept always full of steam, and from
which steam is admitted into the cylinder through
the steam-ports by the motion of the slide-valve,
due to the action of the eccentric ; called also
the Valve-chest.
Steam-engine ; Beam E. ; Condensing E. ;
High-pressure E. ; Locomotive E. ; Low-pressure
E. ; Marine E. ; Non-condensing E. ; Oscillating
E. ; Stationary E. An engine driven by steam
pressure. There are many kinds of steam-en-
gines. Of these we may notice the following :
The Condensing engine, in which the waste
steam is condensed, so that the piston moves
with the steam on one side and a vacuum on the
other ; such engines were commonly worked by
steam of low pressure, and are often called Low-
pressure engines. In a Non-condensing E. , the
waste steam is driven into the air ; it must be
worked, therefore, by steam of high pressure,
and is a High-pressure E. Steam of high pres-
sure is, however, often used to work condensing
engines. There are also Stationary E., com-
monly working by condensation ; Locomotive E.,
which are non-condensing ; and Marine E.,
which are modified stationary engines. In the
Beam E. the piston communicates motion at
one end to a large lever or beam, the other end
of which works a pump, or by means of a crank
gives a continuous rotation to the main shaft ;
in an Oscillating E. the cylinder is capable of a
small oscillating movement sufficient to enable
the crank to be turned directly by the piston-rod.
Steam-frigate. (Naut.) An armed steam-
ship, commanded by a captain.
Steam-gauge. A kind of manometer (q.v.}
for measuring the steam pressure in the boiler.
Steam-hammer. (Mech,) A hammer consist-
ing of a steam cylinder and piston placed verti-
cally over an anvil, and rising and falling by
steam-power.
Steam-jacket. A casing put round cylinders,
steam-pipes, etc., and filled with steam to keep
the interior body from cooling.
Steam-pipe. A pipe for carrying steam from
the boiler to the cylinder.
Steam-ports. The passages through which
steam is admitted into the cylinder from the
steam-chest.
Steam-ram. A war-ship fitted with a ram, i.e.
a projecting prow under the water-line, for pierc-
ing an enemy's vessel.
Steam sloop-of-war. One commanded by a
commander.
Steam-whistle. A whistle in which sound is
produced by turning a jet of steam through a
narrow annular aperture against the edge of a
hollow hemisphere placed above it.
Stearine. \Gr, ffrtap, tallow.] A constituent
of animal fat, to which it gives solidity.
Steatite. (Soap-stone.)
Steatornithidse. [Gr. en-tap, -aros,fat, upvis,
-lOos, bird.] (Ornith.) A fam. of birds consisting
of one gen. , containing one spec, the Guacharo,
or Trinidad goat-sucker, a mottled brown bird,
flecked with diamond-shaped white spots. It
lives gregariously in caverns, and is distinguished
from true goat-suckers by not being entirely (and
perhaps not at all) insectivorous. Much valued
for its fat by the Indians, but superstitiously
dreaded for its weird habits. Venezuela, Bogota,
Trinidad. Ord. Plcarice.
Steatosis. [Gr. crrtap, -O.TOS, fat, suet.]
(Med.) Fatty degeneration.
Steelyard. A balance, the beam of which is
divided into two unequal arms by the fixed point
round which it turns. The long arm is properly
graduated ; the body to be weighed is hung at
the end of the short arm, and counterpoised by
a movable weight properly placed on the long
arm ; the reading of the long arm gives the
required weight.
Steelyard, Merchants of the. (Hist.) A
company of foreign merchants in London, to
whom Henry III., 1232, assigned the steel-
yard, that is, the balance by which a single
standard weight is employed for determining
the weight of bodies.
Steening, or Steining. (Arch.) The stone or
brick wall with which the sides of a well are
lined.
Steer. [O.E. stcor, styre.] A young bullock.
Steerage. (Naut.) 1. Steering. 2. The
space immediately below the quarter-deck, and
before the main cabin bulkhead. 3. The be-
tween-decks just before the gun bulkhead. 4.
The admiral's cabin on the middle deck of a
three-decker has been so called. S. passengers,
third-class P.
Steering-sail. I.q. studding-sail (q.v.).
Steganography. [Gr. tntjavos, covered,
ypd<pw, I write.} The art of writing in ciphers
STEI
460
STET
intelligible only to those who are corresponding
with each other.
Steinbock. (Ibex.)
Steining. (Steening.)
Stella. So styled by Dean Swift, who exerted
a kind of enchantment over her ; Esther John-
son, a beautiful, highly gifted young girl, a
dependent in the family of Sir W. Temple ; she
died January, 1727-28. (Vanessa.)
Stella [L., star], Stellated bandage. (Med.)
One with turnings crossed like X.
Stellaria. [Formed from L. stella, a star.}
(JBot.) A gen. of plants, ord. Caryophyllaceae,
to which belong stitchwort, or satin-flower, S.
holostea [Gr. o\daTfov, which means all of bone,
was probably some kind of plantain], with deli-
cate white flowers ; and chickweed, a common
weed.
Stellionate. [L. stellionatus, perhaps from
stellio, a lizard ; hence a slippery or crafty per-
son.] In Rom. Law, fraud committed by false
sales, or sales under false pretences, as by selling
the same thing to two purchasers. Six spec, of
stellionate were defined.
Stelography. [Gr. CTT^AJJ, a post, or pillar,
ypd,(pa>, I write.} An incorrect word, used to
denote the art of making inscriptions on pillars.
Stem. 1. (Gram.) The radical part of a
word, to which are added the forms imposed by
inflexion or conjugation. 2. (A r aut.) The fore-
most timber in a ship, to which the bow plank-
ing is fastened ; it is scarfed into the keel,
from which it extends upwards, supporting the
bowsprit.
Stemmata quid faciunt ? [L., what do
garlands (hung upon ancestral images) effect?
(Juvenal).] What is the good of mere pedigree ?
Stemple. [Ger. stempel.] A wooden cross-
bar in the shaft of a mine.
Stencil. [Ger. stanze, a stamp for embossed
work.} A thin perforated plate, which is laid
flat and brushed over with colour so as to mark
the surface underneath.
Stenography. [Gr. ffrev6s, close, ypaQw, I
write.} The art of shorthand.
Stentorian voice. A voice like that of Stentor,
the herald of the Achaians in the Iliad, which
was as loud as that of fifty men.
Step. (Mech.) 1. The bearing against which
a pivot presses endwise. 2. The gun-metal
lining of the bearing in which a journal turns, and
which shields the bearing from wear by being
worn itself. 3. (A T atit.) A large block of tim-
ber fixed upon the kelson, and fitted to receive
the heel of a mast. To S. a mast, to erect, and
secure it in the step.
Stephen, Palace of St. Built about 1135 ; re-
built by Edward III., 1347 ; became the seat of
the Parliaments, 1552 ; destroyed by fire, 1834.
Steppes. [Russ.] (Geog.) Extensive plains
not at a great elevation above the sea ; as the
steppes of Russia, Siberia, and Turkestan.
-ster. A suffix, the A.S. es-tre, denoting an
agent ; as in spin-ster, malt-ster, Brew-ster,
Baxter (bake-ster), etc.
Sterooraceous. [L. stercus, stercoris,
(Med.) Fcccal.
Stere. [Gr. ffTtpeSs, solid.} A cubic metre.
Stereochromy. [Gr. <rrfpt6s, hard, xpupa,
colour.} Wall-painting in water-colours, in
which the picture is fixed and vitrified by being
sprinkled with diluted fluoric acid.
Stereographic projection of the circles of a
sphere is a perspective representation of them on
a great circle, the eye or projecting" point being
in one of the poles of that circle.
Stereography. [Gr. o-repffc, solid, ypdtfxa, I
draw.} The art of drawing the forms of solids
upon a plane.
Stereometry. [Gr. artpeo^rpia.} The art of
measuring solids, particularly of finding their
cubical contents.
Stereoscope. [Gr. trreperfs, solid, (ricoirfca, I
view.} A well-known toy in which two pictures
of an object are arranged so that one is seen by
the right, the other by the left, eye of the spec-
tator, the result being that he sees but one image
of the object, and that as if it were solid.
Stereoscopic. [Gr. &Tfpe6s, solid, cr/coWa>, /
behold.} Of or belonging to a Stereoscope.
Stereotomy. [Gr. arfpe&s, solid, TO/U^J, a cut-
ting.} The art of cutting bodies, particularly
masses of stone, into any required form.
Stereotyping. [Gr. ffrtpeAs, hard, rviros, type.}
Making a solid plate of type by taking a plaster
cast of the type set up in the common way, and
then pouring melted type-metal on this cast.
Sterling. The legal description of English
current coin, derived probably from Easterling,
the popular name of the Baltic and German
traders. The silver penny was first called
easterling.
Stern-board. (Naut.) A run or leg made
stern-first.
Sternhold and Hopkins. Authors of the
metrical version of the Psalms, made in the
reign of Edward VI., for which the version of
Brady and Tate was substituted.
Sternidae. (Ornith.) Terns, Sea-xvalloivs ;
gen. of swallow-like gulls. Cosmopolitan. Fam.
Laridee, ord. Anseres.
Stern-post. (Naut.) The aftermost timber
in a ship ; it supports the rudder.
Stern-sheets. (Naut. ) The part of a boat aft
of the rowers, fitted with seats for passengers.
Sternum. [Gr. arepvov, the breast.} (Ana/.)
The breast-bone ; flat, narrow, at the fore part of
the thorax, and with which the ribs articulate.
Sternutation. [L. sternuto, I sneeze} Sneez-
ing. Sternutative, Sternutatory, substances caus-
ing to sneeze. (Ptarmic.)
Stertor, Stertorous breathing. [L. sterto, 7
snore.} A rough, hoarse noise (not snoring, which
is confined to the nose, but) extending to the
throat ; a condition of disease indicating apo-
plexy, or epilepsy, or narcotic poisoning, or
injury of the head ; often mistaken, very unfor-
tunately, for a sign of drunkenness.
Stet. [L.] Let it stand ; i.e. upon second
thoughts, let the words, the paragraph, etc.,
stand, though crossed out ; generally a direction
to printers.
Stetch, Stitch. (Agr.) A system of boughts,
or bouts, in ploughing. (Bought.)
STET
461
STON
Stethoscope. [Gr. tn^Bos, the breast, tricoirfto,
I look at.] (Med.) A slender cylinder, generally
of wood, seven to twelve inches long, which
conveys sounds from the thorax or other cavities
to the ear in auscultation.
Stet pro ratione voluntas. [L., let the -will
go for the reason (Juvenal).] Give unquestioning
obedience.
Stevedore. (Stivadore.)
Steward. [A.S. stiward, the -warder of the
sty, as Howard was originally hog-ward, the
swine-keeper.} In Feud. Law, the deputy of
the lord in the manor court.
Steward, Lord High. Formerly, the first
officer of the Crown in England. The dignity
is now revived only for coronations or the trial
of peers.
Sthenic diseases. [Gr. crQtvos, strength^ (Med.)
Accompanied with morbid increase of action in
the heart and arteries.
Stiacciato. [It.] A kind of carving in very
low relief.
Stibium. Antimony.
Stichometry. [Gr. tm'xos, a row, fj-erpov,
measure.] Measurement of the length of a book
by the number of lines contained in it.
Stick lac. (Lac.)
Stiff. (Naut. ) Not easy to capsize ; the op-
posite of Crank.
Stifle. [Ger. stiefel.] (Anat.) In the horse,
a joint formed by the union of the lower end of
the thigh-bone with the upper end of the tibia,
.and the back of the patella, Stifle-bom, or knee-
pan ; the articulation, really, of the knee.
Stigma. [Gr., mark, spot.] 1. (Bot.) The
viscid upper end of the style, which receives the
pollen. 2. Stigmata is used to mean marks in the
body, like those of Christ upon the cross, which
have been reproduced in the hands, in some
few cases, under the all-controlling power of a
" dominant idea," viz. the desire to- possess these
marks. (See Carpenter's Mental Physiology.} The
word is taken from the arlyuara of Gal. vi. 17.
Stigmaria. [Gr. orr'typa, a prick, a mark.~\
(Geol.) Root-stems of sigillnria (q.v.), pitted
with marks of attached radicles. Carboniferous
system.
Stigmata. (Stigma.)
Stigmatization. The branding of slaves.
(Stigma.)
Stillicide. [L. stillicidium, a falling by drops. ,]
(Med. ) A morbid trickling of tears. (Epiphora.)
Still life. Inanimate objects ; as fruit, flowers,
furniture.
Stilted arch. (Arch.)
Stilum, or St^lum, vertere. [L.] To turn the
style, or pen, generally of iron, used by the
Romans for writing on wax tablets ; i.e. to erase
with the broad upper end what has been written ;
and so = to correct and improve what one has
said. Horace, Sat. i. 10, 72.
Stink-stone, Swine-stone. (Geol.) Fcetid lime-
stone, which, when rubbed or knocked, smells
of sulphuretted hydrogen.
Stipes. [L. stipes, a trunk, post.] (Bot.) The
stalk of a mushroom ; also of the fronds of ferns.
Stippling. [D. stippelen, to dot.] The use of
small dots instead of lines generally in engrav-
ing or miniature-painting.
Stipule. [L. stipula, blade, stem.} (7>W.) The
leafy or membranous processes sometimes arising
from the base of a leaf.
Stirk, Sturck, Sturk. [O.K. styrc, a small
steer (?).] A young ox or heifer (Scotland).
Stirpes, Per (i), Fer capita (2). In Law, (i) a
reckoning by families, not (2) by the number of
individuals ; said of the " taking of property (i)
by representation, in opposition to (2) in one's
own right as a principal" (Brown, Law Dic-
tionary). If A leave money to his sons, 15, C,
and D, of whom C dies in his father's lifetime,
C's children (whatever their number), dividing
equally between them their father's portion,
would be receiving per stirpes, not per capita.
Stirrups. (Naut.) Ropes having one end
nailed to the yard, and the other fitted with an
eye through which \\\<t foot -ropes are rove.
Stitch. (Stetoh.)
Stithy. [Icel. stedhi, anvil.] An anvil.
Stivadore, or Stevedore. [L. stipatorem, sti-
pare, to stuff, cram, press together.} In merchant
shipping, the officer who superintends the stowage
of ships.
Stiver. A Dutch coin, = English halfpenny.
Stoat (Zoo/.) is commonly a synonym for
weasel ; but denotes more properly the larger
variety, which affords the fur called ermine.
Stochastic. [Gr. (rroxao-Ti/ccfo, capable of hitting
a mark.] Able to conjecture, conjectural.
Stockade. (Mil.) Closed work of stout
timbers placed touching each other, pierced
with musketry loopholes.
Stock and fluke. In Naut. language, the
whole of a thing.
Stock of an anchor. (Naut.) A cross-beam
of wood or iron, secured to the top of the shank
at right angles with the flukes.
Stocks. Red and grey bricks used for the out-
side of buildings.
Stoics. (Hist. ) A well-known body of Greek
philosophers ; so called from the Stoa, Q\ porch,
in Athens, where their founder, Zenon (Zeno),
B.C. 300, gave his lectures ; noted for the austere
severity of their system. They were especially
opposed to the Epicureans.
Stoke-hole. The space in front of the furnace
where the stoker stands.
Stole. [Gr. <rro\ri, a piece of a dress, a robe.}
(JScd.) A narrow band, worn pendant by priests
in front over both shoulders, by deacons over the
left shoulder only in front and behind. In the
Eastern Church, the deacon's stole is marked
with the words " Hagios, Hagios, H agios "
(Ter-Sanctus), and is called Orarium.
Stomacher. [Gr. irro/j.axos, throat.'] Isa. iii.
24 ; a part of the dress of a woman, worn on
the throat and over the bosom ; or an ornament
only, in the same place.
Stomach-piece. (Apron.)
StSmata. [Gr., plu. of ffrd/j.a, a mouth.'} (Bot.)
Minute openings in the epidermis of leaves
(principally) ; breathing-pores.
Stonacre. (Naztt.) A sloop-rigged vessel,
used for carrying stones on the Severn.
STON
462
Stone. A weight of fourteen pounds ; but
the London butcher's stone is eight pounds.
Stone Age. (Prehistoric archaeology.)
Stonecrop. (Sedum.)
Stonefield slate. (Geol.) A Lower Oolite fissile
limestone, used for roofing-stone (not real slate)
in Oxfordshire ; famous for its fossil mammals
(amphitherium, etc.).
Stool. (Naut.) A smaller chainwale or
channel abaft the chief one, to which back-
stays are made fast.
Stopped diapason. (Music.) An organ stop,
stopped or covered at the top, generally of
wood, of the same pitch as the open D. , but
softer in tone, the pipes also being only half
the length. (Diapason.) The pipe being
stopped at the top causes the air to rebound
and produce a tone an octave lower than it
would otherwise.
Stopper. (Ndut.) Stopper of the anchor, a
strong rope to steady the anchor when sus-
pended from the cat-head. S. of the cable, or
Deck-S., a rope made with a knot at one end,
and lashed to the cable, the other end being
fastened to a ring in the deck, to hold or S.
the cable. Dog-S. (fastened to mainmast) and
Wing-S. (fastened to side-beams) answer a simi-
lar purpose. Rigging-S. , a rope fastened above
and below a fracture, to prevent the rigging
giving way.
Stopping out. Stopping up some of the lines
in an etched plate with a composition, to keep
out the acid, while the other lines are being
deepened by it.
Storax. [Gr. ff-rvpa.^, L. styrax.] 1. Ecclus.
xxiv. 1 5 ; the gum of Styrax ofticmale (stacte) .
2. The S. of commerce, produced by the Li quid -
ambar styraciflora, ord. Balsam.
Storm, Magnetic. The cause whatever it
may be of the accidental variations in the
direction of the magnetic needle, which occur
from time to time. The needle is observed to
make deflexions to the right and left with great
rapidity, at a rate comparable to that of ordinary
telegraphic signalling.
Storm-drum. (Natit.) A canvas cylinder,
three feet in diameter and three feet high, hoisted
as a warning.
Storm-dust. (Meteoric dust.)
Storm-jib. (Naut.) 1. A small jib in cutters,
etc. 2. The innermost jib of a ship.
Storm-kite. (Naut.) One used for carrying
a rope from a stranded vessel to the shore, or
vice versd.
Storm-sail. (Naut.) One of extra strength
and reduced size.
Storm-trysail. (Naut.) A fore-and-aft sail
set on a gaff, but without a boom ; only used in
bad weather.
Storthing. The Parliament of Norway.
Story of the Seven Sages. (Plnchatantra.)
Stot. [Sw. stut, a bull, D. stooten, to push,
to butt.'} A young bullock, i.e. one under two
years old.
Stoup, Holy water. [A.S. stoppa.] In the
Latin Church, the holy water basin placed at
the entrance of churches.
Stover. [O.Fr. estover, provisions.} (Agr.)
Hay made of sainfoin and the like.
Stowaway. One who, wishing to get out of a
country, hides in a vessel about to sail, hoping
to lie hid until it is too late to put back.
Strabismus. [Gr. <rrp&^i<r^.6s.} A squinting.
Straduarius. Meton. for a violin. (Amati.)
Straight arch. (Arch.) An arch of which the
extrados is straight, but the joints of which are
laid concentrically, as in a common arch.
Strain. (Phys.) The amount of elongation,
compression, or distortion produced by the ^
action of forces on a body.
Straitness. Deut. xxviii. ; Jer. xix. ; scarcity,
famine.
Strake. (Naut.) A single breadth of plank
extending throughout a vessel's length.
Strangles. A contagious disorder of horses,
with cough, sore throat, and eruption in the
jaw.
Strangury. [Gr. ffrpayyovpta, ffrpdy-yw, I bind
tight, ovpov, rtrine.} Painful discharge of urine
in small quantities.
Strap. A band. (Band.)
Strappado. [O.Sp. estrapada.] A military
punishment, in which the offender was drawn
to the top of a beam, and then allowed to fall
suddenly.
Strapwork. (Arch. ) An ornament consisting
of a narrow fillet or band folded, crossed, and
interlaced, chiefly found in work of the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries.
Strass (from the inventor). A colourless
glass, the base of all artificial gems.
Strategy. [Gr. arparriyia, generalship. ] The
science of combination before reaching the
presence of an antagonist, by which an army
shall have the advantage on coming into contact.
Strath. [Gael., Welsh ystrad.] In Scotland,
the name of large valleys forming the water-
course of rivers, after which they are called.
Stratigraphy. [L. stratus, spread out fiat,
Gr. ypdcpu, I -write.} In Geol., that department
which arranges the rocks of the earth's crust in
the order of their appearance, and explains how
that sequence arose.
Stratus. [L., spread out fat.} A dense hori-
zontal cloud, commonly resting on the surface
of the land.
Stream-anchor. (Anchors.)
Stream-cable. (Cable.)
Stream the buoy. (Naut.) Drop it over-
board astern, so that it may not foul the buoy-
rope as it sinks to the bottom.
Strelitz. [Russ.] A soldier of the ancient
Muscovite militia, which, as interfering with the
action of the Imperial Government, was dis-
solved by Peter the Great, after their revolt in
1698. The Strelitzy may be compared with the
Janissaries.
Stress. (Phys.) The force exerted between
contiguous bodies or parts of bodies, and dis-
tributed over the surfaces of contact of the bodies
between which it acts ; particularly the internal
force called into play when a body undergoes
any kind of strain.
Stretcher. 1. (Arch.) A stone or brick which
STRE
43
STUR
lies with its longest dimensions parallel to the
length of the wall (a header being one at right
angles), the course in which the materials are
so laid being called the stretching course. 2.
(Naut.) Pieces of wood placed across the
bottom of a boat, for the rowers to press
against with their feet.
Stretching course. (Stretcher.)
Stria. [L., a groove.'} (Nat. Hist.) A streak.
Adj., Striate, Striated.
Striae. [L.] (Zool.) Furrows, channels, as
in the striated whales.
Striation. [L. stria, a groove.} (Geol.) Parallel
lines or scorings in mountains at the sides of
valleys ; caused by the grinding against them
of stones, etc. , carried down by glaciers ; also
scratchings on the stones and boulders.
Strickle. An instrument to strike grain level
with the top of the measure.
Stricture. [L. strictura, a contracting.}
(Med.) A morbid contraction, especially of the
urethra ; but also of other mucous canals, e.g.
oesophagus, intestine.
Strigae. [L., furrows.] (Arch.) The flutings
of a column.
Strigidae. [L. strigem, owl, Gr. ffrpiyf,, from
ffrptfa, = rpifa, to screech] (OrnitA.) Owls;
fam. of nocturnal birds of prey. Cosmopolitan.
Ord. Acclpitres.
Strigil. [L. strigilis, from stringo, I scrape.]
An instrument for scraping the skin at the
bath.
Strike. (Geol.) (Dip, 2.)
Strike, To. (Naut.) 1. To lower, any thing,
as a flag or an upper mast (Acts xxvii. 17). 2. A
ship strikes, if she touches the bottom, however
slightly.
Strike. Part of the machinery of trades-
unions. When the workmen combine to refuse
work, it is called a S. When the masters re-
fuse to allow them to work unless certain terms
are agreed to, it is a Lockout.
String-course. (Arch.) Any narrow course
of stone or brick work in a wall, of slight pro-
jection.
String-halt, popularly Spring-halt. In horses,
a sudden catching up of one or both hind legs.
Strip a mast, To. (Naut.) To clear it of
rigging-
Strip leaf. Tobacco leaves packed without
the stalks.
Stripped to the girt-line. (Naut.) Withal
the rigging and furniture off the masts.
Strobile, Strobil. [Gr. arp&filXos, (i) anything
twisted, (2) a fir-cone.] 1. (Bot.) A multipl<
fruit, as that of the hop or pine, in the form o
a cone. 2. (Physiol.) An individual producing
non-sexually, individuals differing from itself
as the tapeworm.
Strocal. A shovel for filling the boiling pot
with the materials for glass.
Stroke. (Mech.) The movement of the piston
of a steam-engine through the length of th
cylinder ; it is either an up-stroke or a down
stroke : a double stroke up and down is a
revolution.
Stroma. [Gr. ffrpu>/j.a, the thing spread,
ouch.} (Anat.) The basis which supports the
ctive elements of an organ.
Strombidse, Strombus. [Gr. a-rpo/j.$os, spiral
hell, ffTpe<p<a, I tzuist.} Wing-shells ; fam. of
nivalve molluscs. Trop. and warm seas.
)lass Gasteropoda.
Strong-back. (Nazit.) 1. I.q. Samson' s-post
q.v.). 2. A timber over the windlass to clear it
f the turns of a chain-cable.
Strontium. (Min.) A yellowish-white metal
ttained from strontianite (a mineral found at
Strontian, in Scotland). Strontia is oxide of
trontium.
Strophe. [Gr., a turning.'} A division of a
}reek choral ode, answering roughly to our
>tanza. At the end of the strophe the singers
urned and went in the other direction, singing
:he antistrophe. When the course ended with a
single stanza, the latter was called the epode.
Strouding. Coarse blanketing for making
strands, garments worn by N.- American Indians.
Struma. [L., the thing piled up, a tumour,
rom struo, I pile up.~\ I.q. scrofula.
Strumosis (coined from struma). Formation
of tubercle.
Strut. (Arch.} A piece of timber, some-
:imes called a brace, placed obliquely at the foot
of a King-post or Queen-post, to support a rafter.
Struthiones. [L. struthidnem, ostrich, used
as = struthio-camelus, <rrpovQio-Ka.^.ri\os, bird-
camel.} (Ornith.) An ord. of running-birds,
unable to fly, Ratitse ; e.g. ostrich.
StruthionldaB. (Struthiones.) Ostriches; fam.
of birds, two gen. : Struthlo, Africa ; Rhea, S.
America. Ord. Struthiones.
Strychnos. [Gr. arpvyyos, with the Greeks,
nightshade.} (Bot.) A gen. of tropical climbing
shrubs or trees, ord. Loganiacece ; to which
belongs S. nux vomica, a native of India. Its
essential alkaloid is strychnine.
S.T.T.L. (Sit tibi terra levis.)
Stub out, To. (Agr.) (Tiller, To.)
Stucco. [It.] A fine plaster, used for deco-
rating and facing walls.
Studding-, or Stud-, or Scudding- sails. (Naut. )
Those set on the sides of squaresails, on a yard
and boom.
Stufa. [It., hot-house, steam-bath.} A jet of
steam, such as issues from fissures in volcanic
regions, often at a temperature above the boiling
point of water.
Stuffing-box. (Mech.) A cylindrical space
through which a piston-rod (or other moving
part) passes ; and filled with a packing so as to
allow the rod to move freely and yet to prevent
the escape of steam (or water).
Stupe. [L. stupa, tow.} (Med.) Flax, cloth,
tow, etc., dipped in hot medicaments and wrung
out, for application to a part in pain.
Sturck, Sturk. (Stirk.)
Sturdy, or Gid. A disease of sheep, owing to
a hydatid floating within a membranous sac, in
the brain, sometimes the size of a nut ; produced
by ova of the tapeworm, taken up in feeding.
It may be safely extracted.
Sturlonldse. [L.L. sturionem, the sturgeon,
O.E. styria, styriga, Ger. stb'r, Sw. storia.]
STUR
464
SUBJ
(fchth.) Gen. of fish, Sturgeons; some spec,
twelve to fifteen feet long, ganoid plates on head,
and rows of the same on body. Northern
regions ; they ascend rivers to spawn. Fam.
Acfpenseridse [L. acipenser, the sturgeon}, ord.
Chondrostei, sub-class Ganoi'dei.
Sturnidae. [L. sturnus, starling.'] (Ornith.)
Starlings ; fam. of birds peculiar to E. hemi-
sphere, but not found in Australian mainland.
Ord. Passeres (Sturnoid).
Stygian. Belonging to or relating to the Styx.
Style. [Gr. <rro A.OS, a pillar.} 1. The gnomon
(q.v.) of a sun-dial. 2. (Rot.) The stalk of the
stigma, an upward prolongation of the ovary ; it
is not an essential part, and is sometimes absent.
Style [L. stylus, Gr. <nv\os} ; Change of S. ;
New 8. ; Old S. A mode of reckoning time. In
Old Style the year began on March 25, and its
length was reckoned as that of the Julian year,
viz. 365 days, with an additional day every fourth
year ; in New Style the year begins on January
I, and its length is reckoned according to the
Gregorian reformation, by which three of the
additional days are dropped out every four hun-
dred years. The Change of S., i.e. from old to
new, was made in England as follows : The
year 1751, which began on March 25, was
shortened by a quarter, and 1752 began on
January I following ; the eleven days by which
the Julian reckoning had become too long were
struck out in September, 1752, the clays of that
month being numbered consecutively I, 2, 14,
15, etc. ; i.e. the change of style took place after
September 2, 1752.
Stylites, Stylite saints. [Gr. aTv\(vr\*, from
O-TV\OS, a pillar. .] (Eccl. Hist.) Pillared saints,
that is, devotees who dwelt on the summits of
columns in Syria and Egypt. Such was Simeon
Stylites, in the fifth century.
Stylobate. [Gr. crTuAo)3aT7js, the foot of a
column.} (Arch.) The uninterrupted base be-
low the pedestals of a range of columns.
Styloid. Shaped like a style [Gr. CTTV\OS], or
pen.
Styptic. [Gr. ffTVTrrncds, o"rv<f>w, 7 contract.}
(Med.) Astringent, stopping bleeding.
Stythe. (Fire-damp.)
Styx. [Gr. <r, horror.} (Myth.) One of
the ten arms or branches of the ocean stream
which girdled the earth. It was also said to be
one of the rivers of the unseen land of the dead.
(Acheron; Cocytus; Lethe; Phlegethon.)
Siia si bona norint, felices. [L.] Happy, if
only they knew their own blessings.
Suave mari magno. [L.] The first words of
the opening of the second book of the Latin poet
Lucretius, De Rerum Natura ; of which this is
the general sense. "It is a delightful thing,
while the great sea rages, to watch from the
land another struggling with the waves : not
because this is in itself a delight : yet it is a
delight to watch calamities from which you feel
yourself safe. So to look on a battle from some
safe point of view. But nothing is more delight-
ful than, from some serene stronghold of know-
ledge, to look down upon the wanderings and
errors of other men, and their efforts after mere
wealth and power, rather than knowledge and a
quiet mind."
Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re. [L.] Gently
in manner, stoutly in action.
Sub. [L,., under.} 1. In composition, is often =
somewhat ; as sub-acute pain, which is less than
acute ; sub-angular, as applied to rocks, etc. 2.
(Chem.) Prefixed to the name of a salt, denotes
a decrease of the element thus marked ; as a sub-
sulphide, which contains less sulphur than the
sulphide.
Subaoute diseases. Of which the fever is less
than acute.
Snbaerial. (Etilian accumulations.)
Subahdar. The Hindu name for the governor
of a subah or province. In the Indian army it
denotes an officer ranking as captain in European
companies. (Nawab.)
Subaltern. [L. subalternus, subordinate.} 1.
(Mil.) Any commissioned officer in the army
under the rank of captain. 2. (Log.) Par-
ticular propositions in their relation to Univer-
sal proposition.
Subarration. [L. sub arrha, tinder earnest
money.} Betrothal by the bestowal of marriage
gifts or tokens, as rings, etc., upon the woman.
Subchelate. Somewhat chelate (q.v.}.
Subcontrary. 1. (Georn.) (i) Two similar tri-
angles having one angle of the one superimposed
on an equal angle of the other, but so that the
bases are not parallel, but are in subcontrary
positions. (2) When an oblique cone has a cir-
cular base, all sections parallel to the base are
circular, and it has also a second set of parallel
circular sections ; any section of the one set is
subcontrary to any one of the other set. 2.
(Log.) A term expressing the opposition be-
tween two propositions, one of which is a par-
ticular affirmative, the other a particular negative.
Subcutaneous. Under the skin [L. sub cute].
Subdeacon. In the early Christian Church,
officers employed in subordination to the deacons.
In the Latin Church they were not considered to
be in holy orders until the thirteenth century.
The office is not retained in the English Church.
Sub dio, or Sub Jove. [L.] In the open air.
Subdominant. [L. sub, tinder, dommantem,
governing.} (Music.) The fifth below or fourth
above the key-note, either as being the note be-
low the dominant or as being a governing note,
but in a less degree.
Subduplicate ratio. (Math.) Of two numbers,
the ratio of their square roots.
Subinfeudation. In Feud. Law, the creation
of a subordinate tenancy by a tenant, to be held
of himself and not of the lord.
Subject. [L. subjectus, thrown under.} (Log.)
In a proposition, the term of which anything is
affirmed or denied, i.e. predicated. (Predicate.)
Subjective and objective. In Phil., words
denoting the distinction between the person
forming the conception of an object, and the
object of which the conception is formed,
in Sir W. Hamilton's language, the former be-
longing to the Ego, the latter to the Non-ego.
Sub judice lis est. [L.] The matter is before
the judge, is undecided (Horace)
SUBL
465
Sublapsarians, or Infralapsarians. [L. sub or
infra, under, lapsus, a fat/.] Most divines of the
reformed Churches have held that God permitted
the fall of man without absolutely determining
it ; a doctrine which has been termed Sublapsa-
rian, in opposition to the high Calvinislic or
Sttpralapsarian view.
Sub-lieutenant. (Bank.)
Sublimate. (Chem.) The product of sublima-
tion, which consists in raising [lu. sublimis, high]
a substance into vapour by heat, and then con-
densing it. Corrosive sublimate is mercuric
chloride.
Sublime Porte. (Seraglio.)
Sublition. [L. sublinere, to lay on as a ground
colour.] The act of laying a ground colour
under the more perfect colour.
Sublittoral. [L. sub, littus, littoris, the shore.]
Under the shore.
Subluxation. [L. luxat}5nem, a dislocating.]
(Med. ) Partial dislocation.
Submarine forests. (Geol.) In several places
along the British coasts ; generally beds of peat,
or semi-lignite, with roots and trunks of oak,
Scotch fir, alder, yew, etc., overlain by many
feet of marine silt; showing (i) formation at a
higher level than present sea-board ; then (2)
submersion ; and (3) re-elevation ; the flora the
same as that now existing.
Submental. (Med.) Lender the chin [L. sub
mento].
Submission of the Clergy, Statute of, A.D.
1534, embodied the S. made by Convocation, two
years before, that they would promulgate no new
Canon without the king's licence ; and their
desire for a revision of existing Canons by thirty-
two men, sixteen being taken from the Houses
of Parliament, and sixteen being clergy.
Subnormal. [L. sub, norma, a rule.] (Math.)
The part of the axis of a curve intercepted be-
tween the ordinate and normal drawn at any
point.
Subpoena. [L., tinder penalty.] In Law,
writs carrying penalties for neglect. They
may simply order the appearance of a witness,
or enjoin him to produce books or papers.
Subrogation. [L. subrogationem.] In Law,
the substitution of one person for another in the
exercise of rights. Hence a Surrogate.
Sub rosa. [L., under the rose.] Secretly,
confidentially.
Subsellium, plu. Subsellia. [L.] (Eccl. Arch.}
The long seats in the stalls of chancels or choirs;
also known as Misereres.
Subsidla, plu. [L.] Helps, aids.
Subsidy. [L. subsklium, an aid.] (Eng. Hist.)
An extraordinary grant to the sovereign, made
by authority of Parliament, and levied on the
estates of those who were liable to them ; fre-
quently in quantity on all goods, as a tenth,
fifteenth, etc. ; sometimes only on particular
goods, as the ninth sheep, lamb, or fleece. In
course of time the S. came to be regarded as a
land tax.
Sub silentio. \L.., in silence.] Unnoticed.
Substance. [L. substantia, the L. equivalent
of Gr. oixn'a, essence.] In Log., according to
some, the collection or synthesis of attributes.
(Nominalists ; Realists,)
Substantive colours. Those which require no
mordant to fix them.
Subsumption. ,[L. sub, sumptionem, a faking]
The act of subsuming, or including under an-
other. In Log., the minor clause or premiss of
a Syllogism.
Subtangent. [L. sub, tangentem, touching.]
(Math.) The part of the axis of a curve inter-
cepted between the ordinate and tangent drawn
at any point.
Subtend. [L. subtendo, I extend underneath.]
(Math.) If there are three points A, B, and C
the angle between the lines AB and AC is the
angle subtended at the point A by the line BC.
Subtense of an arc. [L. subtendo, / extend
underneath.] Its chord.
Subtle Doctor. (Doctor.)
Subtonic, or Leading note. (Music.) The note
which is a semi-tone belmv the tonic, the seventh
in the scale, insensibly leading to and suggest-
ing the tonic, or eighth.
Subulate leaf. "[L. siibiila, an awl.] Awl-
shaped, narrow and tapering to a very fine
point ; e.g. leaves of furze.
Succades. [L. succus, juice.] Sweetmeats.
Succedaneum. [L., a thing substituted.] In
dentistry, an amalgam for the cavities of the
teeth.
Suocentor. [L. sub, cantor, a singer.] In a
cathedral, deputy of precentor ; originally the
.leader of the singing on the opposite side to
the P.
Succession, Apostolical. (Theol.) The al-
leged unbroken succession of priests in the
Church by regular ordination from the apostles
to the present time. In the theory of the Latin
Church, all bodies in which this succession has
been broken have neither Church nor sacra-
ments.
Succession, War of the. Two wars in modern
European history are known by this name : ( I )
that of the Spanish succession, 1702-13; (2) that
of the Austrian succession, ended by the Peace
of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748.
Succession duty. A tax imposed on succes-
sion to property, real or personal, according to
its value and to the relation of the successor to
the testator or predecessor.
Succinic acid. An acid obtained from amber
[L. succmum].
Succory. (Chicory.)
Succotash. [N.-Amer. Incl. msickquatash,
corn boiled whole.] Green maize and beans
boiled together.
Succubi. [L.] A term used in the Middle
Ages to denote the female devils with which
wizards were thought to have intercourse, the
inciibi being the male devils to which witches
were supposed to submit themselves.
Succursal. [Fr. succursale, L. succurro, 1
help] 1. (Eccl.) A church established to succour
a parochial church ; in other words, to serve as
a chapel of ease. 2. A branch establishment.
Snccussion. [L. succussio, succutio, / shake
up.] (Med) A shaking of the patient's body,
2 II
SUCR
466
suov
to ascertain by the sound the existence of fluid
within the body.
Sucrose. [Fr. sucre, sugar.] Cane-sugar.
Suction-chamber ; 8. -pipe; S.-pump. (Meek.) In
che Suction-pump water is raised simply by the
atmospheric pressure on the water in the well :
on the up-stroke a vacuum is formed in the barrel
or S.-chamber, into which water is forced up by
atmospheric pressure along the S.-pipe ; on the
down-stroke a valve at the top of the suction-
pipe prevents the water from running back into
the well ; it therefore forces its way through a
valve in the piston into the space above, and at
the next stroke is lifted to the spout.
Sudamina [L., sweatings, coined from sudo, /
s?oeat], or Hillary eruption [mflium, millet seed}.
(Med.) Vesicular disorder of the skin, caused by
copious perspiration.
Sudder. [Hind, sudr, eminence] A term
applied in India chiefly to courts of high criminal
and civil jurisdiction, called Sudder adawlut.
Sudra. (Caste.)
Suffetes. (Hist.) The highest magistrates
of the Carthaginian republic, answering in
name to the Hebrew shofetim, judges.
Suffix. (Affix.)
Suffragan. [L. suffragium, a vote.] (Eccl.) 1.
The bishop of a diocese in reference to his
metropolitan. 2. The term is also applied
to bishops appointed to assist a bishop in his
diocese. (Chorepiacopus.)
Suffrage. [L. suffragium.] A vote given in
deciding some disputed question, in election to
some office, etc. Suffrages, in public worship,
versicles with their responses ; as in the Litany,
and after the Creed in Morning and Evening
Prayer, and elsewhere.
Suffraginous. Belonging to the knee-joint
[L. suffragmem] of a beast.
Sufi (Soofis.)
Sufism. A kind of mysticism, within the
Mohammedan communion ; the sufi being a
kind of superior fakir [Ar. soufi, vise, re-
ligious ; (?) sonf, icool, i.e. not silk for gar-
ments ; or (?) cf. ffo<p6s. clever, skilled (Littre)].
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
Persia w.s governed by a dynasty of Sophis,
Sufis, or Soofis.
Sugar of lead. Acetate of lead (from its taste).
Suggestio falsL [L.] The suggestion of a
falsehood without actually putting it into words.
(Suppressio veri.)
Snggillation. [L. sugillo, T beat black and
blue.] (Med.) A black -and-blue mark, bruise.
Sui generis. [I*., of its own kind.] Peculiar,
rare.
Suktas. (Veda.)
Sulcus. [L., a furrow] (Anat.) A groove
on the surface of a bone.
Sulky. A light two-wheeled carriage for one
person alone.
Sulphur. [L. sulfur.] A brittle yellow in-
flammable element. Its compounds with another
element are called sulphides or sulphurets.
Sulphuric acid contains one equivalent of
sulphur to three of oxygen, and forms salts
called sulphates.
Sulphurous acid contains one equivalent of
sulphur to two of oxygen, and forms salts called
sulphites.
Sulphur showers are composed of yellow
pollen blown from pine-forests.
Sultan. [Ar.] A title of many Mohammedan
princes, the Grand Sultan being called Padishah.
Sum [L. summa, the total] ; Algebraical 8.
The result of adding together two or more
numbers. In forming the Algebraical sum of
several numbers, each has its proper sign pre-
fixed, whether positive or negative ; the difference
is then found between the arithmetical sum of
the positive numbers and that of the negative
numbers, and this difference, with the positive or
negative sign prefixed, is the required algebraical
sum ; thus the algebraical sum of 7 to n-f-
22 31 is 23. This generalized use of the
word sum is of great importance in the enuncia-
tion of general theorems.
Summa theologiae. [L., the sum of theology.]
As encyclopaedic treatise on theology, drawn up
by Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, whose
followers were known as Thomists.
Summum bonum. [L.] The chief good.
Summum jus, summa injuria. [L.] The strictest
law may cause the -worst injury ; lit. highest
right, highest -wrong.
Sunnier. (Sompnour.)
Sump. [Ger. sumpf, a swamp.] 1. A pit at the
bottom of a mine for collecting the water to be
pumped out. 2. A round stone-pit lined with
clay for receiving metal at its first fusion.
Sumpslmus. ( Mump sim us . )
Sumpter. [Fr. sommier, from somme, saume,
salma, sagma, Gr. cray/ia, pack, pack-saddlt.] A
pack-horse, mule, etc.
Sumpter-mnle. (Mil.) Carries provisions for
troops on the march.
Sumptuary laws. Laws designed to restrain
the expenditure of citizens. I^o such laws re-
main in this country. The S. L. regulating the
wages of labour and the dress of the peasantry
held their ground longest.
Sun and planet wheel. (Mech.) A combina-
tion for converting the reciprocating motion of
the beam of the steam-engine into the circular
motion of the fly-wheel. The sun-wheel is on
the axle of the fly-wheel, the planet-wheel on
the connecting rod, the teeth of the former
working with those of the latter; and their
centres are connected by a link to prevent dis-
placement.
Sundew. (Drosera.)
Suni. (Sonnites.)
Sunn. An E.-Indian hemp, called also brown
or Madras hemp.
Sunniah. tShiahs.)
Sunnites. [Ar. sunna, custom] So called as
assigning equal authority with the Coran to
tradition, which was first unwritten, the Shiahs.
or Shiites, upholding the exclusive authority of
the Coran.
Sunt lacrymae rerum. et mentem mortalia
tangunt. [L.] Life has its sorrows, and the
heart is touched by our (common) mortality.
SuovetaurQIa. [I..] In Rom. Hit., a quin-
SUPE
467
SL'KV
quennial sacrifice, consisting of a sow [sus], a
sheep [ovis], and a bull [taurusj.
Superaltar. (Retable.)
Supercargo. In a merchant-ship, the officer
superintending the commercial transactions of
the voyage.
Superciliary. (Anat.] Pertaining to the eye-
brow [L. supercillum].
Supererogation. [L,. supererogare, to pay over
and above.] Properly, a donation to soldiers
above their pay. The Latin Church maintains
that all good works done by holy men over and
beyond the standard necessary to be reached
for their own salvation, pass into a common
treasury, and become profitable to those who
are less advanced.
Superfetation. [L. foetus, offspring.'} (Med.)
Coexistence of two foetuses, of different ages.
Superior planet. (Planet.)
Supernaculum. A monkish word, composed
of L. super, above, or on, and Ger. nagel, a nail ;
used by topers to denote a practice in drinking,
which showed that the vessel was completely
drained out.
Supernatant part of a ship. (Dead-works.)
Superphosphate. [L. super, over, and phos-
phate.] (Chem.) A phosphate containing the
greatest possible amount of phosphoric acid.
S. of lime is a manure made by treating ground
bones, etc., with phosphoric acid.
Supinator muscles. (Fronator muscles.)
Supines. [L. suplnus, on the back.] In Gram.,
a name denoting two cases of verbal nouns, the
accusative expressing a purpose, the ablative
describing a mode.
Supplejack. A walking-cane made from an
American plant.
Supplication of Beggars. By Fish, lawyer of
Gray's Inn, 1528; i.e. S. of lepers and other
sick, that the money wasted in monasteries may
be 'spent upon them; a most outspoken satire
upon the old doctrines, especially purgatory.
Answered by Sir T. More's Supplication of Souls ;
i.e. S. that Christian people would not leave off
praying for them ; denying the truth of the
attack, and endeavouring to establish the
doctrine.
Supporters, (Her.] Figures standing on the
scroll, placed on each side of the shield, as if to
support it.
Suppository. [L. suppositorius, placed under-
neath.'} (Med.} Solid medicine for introduction
into the body otherwise than at the mouth.
Suppressio veri. [L.] The suppression of
truth. When it is combined with the Suggestio
falsi, oratory has reached its worst form.
Supralapsarians. (Sublapsarians.)
Supranaturalists. [L. supra, above, natura,
nature.] A term used in Germany to distin-
guish those who are opposed to the Rationalists ;
i.e. to those who exclude all supernatural opera-
tions or manifestations in religion.
Suprarenal. (Med.) Above the kidneys [L.
renes] ; Surrenal, below them.
Supremacy, Act of, A.D. 1534, 26 Henry
VIII., declared the king " the only supreme head
on earth of the Church of England," compelling
beneficed ecclesiastics, and laymen holding office
under the Crown, to abjure the spiritual as well
as the temporal jurisdiction of Rome.
Supremacy, Oath of. An oath denying the
jurisdiction of the pope in this country.
Supremacy, Papal. The theory that the
Bishop of Rome has an inherent jurisdiction over
all powers ecclesiastical and laic.
Supremacy, Royal. In Eng. Hist., a term
used to denote the authority of the Crown over
all causes and persons ecclesiastical, and thus to
deny the right of any foreign jurisdiction, as that
of the pope, within the realm.
Suras. The Arabic name for the chapters of
the Goran, each sura being held to be sepa-
rately revealed.
Sural. (Anat.) Pertaining to the calf [L.
sura] of the leg.
Surbase. (Arch.) The cornice of the
Dado.
Surcingle. [O.K. surscngle, O.Fr. sursangle,
from L. super, over, cingiilum, a girdle. ] 1. A
girtli .which passes over anything laid on a horse's
back, to secure it. 2. (Eccl.) The girdle or
waistband of a cassock.
Surcoat. [Fr. sur, OT.W, and coat.] A silk
overcoat, to protect a knight's armour.
Surculation. [L. surculus, a shoot.'} The art
or act of pruning.
Surd. [L., surd us, deaf.] A root which can-
not be expressed as a commensurable number;
as, ,J2.
Surface of revolution. (Math.] The surface
of the solid space traced out by the revolution of
a plane area round an axis in its plane ; as a
cone by a right-angled triangle revolving round
its perpendicular ; an anchor-ring by a circle,
round an axis which does not cut it, etc.
Surmounted. (Arch.] Said of an arch or door
rising higher than a semicircle.
Surplusage. 1. In Law, matter irrelevant to
a case. 2. In disbursements, not explained by
the returns of the accountant.
Surrenal. (Suprarenal.)
Surrogate. (Subrogation.)
Sursum corda. [L.] These Latin words are
translated in the English Communion Office by
the words, " Lift up your hearts."
Surveillance. [Fr., from L. super, and
vigilare, to watch.] Inspection, watching.
Survey; Trigonometrical S. The determina-
tion of the relative positions of the remarkable
points in a tract of ground, the situation of
buildings, direction of roads and streams,
boundaries of woods, fields, etc., and the
delineation of their projection on a horizontal
plane. In a Trigonometrical S. the relative
positions of the principal points of a large tract
of country are determined by applying the rules
of trigonometry to calculate their mutual distances
by means of accurately observed angles, and
a measured base. (Cadastral survey ; Geodesic
line ; Triangulation.)
Survival of the fittest. In the Darwinian
philosophy, the permanence, arising from
natural selection, of certain types of animal and
vegetable life ; while others die out to whose
SURV
SVGA
continued existence surrounding circumstances
are unfavourable.
Survivorship. In life annuities a reversionary
benefit contingent on some life surviving some
other life or lives, or on lives falling according
to some assigned order. 5-
Sus Minervam. [L.] A pig (teaching)
Minerva.
Suspending power. A power claimed by
Charles II. as inherent in the Crown, and used
for mitigating the severity of the Act of Uni-
formity, 1663.
Suspension. [L. suspensionem.] (Eccl.) The
withdrawal from the incumbent of the tempora-
lities of his benefice, and of the right of exercis-
ing his spiritual office, for offences of which he
may have been found guilty by an ecclesiastical
court.
Suspension bridge. A bridge in which the
roadway is suspended by rods from strong chains
resting on piers of masonry, and having their
ends firmly fixed in the earth.
Sussex marble. Petworth marble, a fresh-
water shell (Paludina) limestone ; Wealden (q.v.).
Susurration. [L. susurrare, to whisper.} A
soft murmur, whispering.
Sutler. [Ger. sudler, a dabbler, daub.} (Mil.)
Camp-follower who provides troops with eat-
ables and drinkables.
Sutra. (Veda.)
Suttee (more properly Salt, akin to Skt. sacti,
holy). A term applied to Hindu widows, who
submitted to be burnt with the bodies of their
husbands. The custom, which has long been
abolished in all English territory, has been proved
to rest on a mistranslation, probably designed,
of a verse in the Rig Veda. (Sacti.)
Suture. [L. sutura, a stitching.} 1. (Surg.)
The stitching of a wound. 2. (Anat.) Articu-
lation of bones, e.g. those of the skull, by inden-
tation, or serrated margins.
Suum cuique tribuito. [L.] Give each man
his own.
Swage. A tool used in shaping metal-work.
Swainmote, Sweinmote. In Eng. forest law,
a court held, before the verderers as judges, by
the steward of the court, three times a year.
Swan. [Heb. tinshemeth (Lev. xi. 18).] (Bibl.)
Probably the purple water-hen (Porphyrlo antl-
qu5rum), or the sacred ibis (q.v.).
Swarga. In Hind. Myth., the heaven of
Indra.
Swash-buckler. A braggadocio, or bully. To
swash is to strike hard ; cf. sway, swagger.
Swastika. The mystic Cross of four L's, or
reversed Z's, found as a mark on porcelain and
pottery, an 1 otherwise, from China to Peru.
Swath, Swathe. [A. S. swa<5u.] (Agr.) A
row of mown grass, or corn.
Sweating sickness, Sudor Anglicus, Ephemera
sudatoria or maligna. Sudden violent fever,
with nausea, thirst, delirium (? a modification of
Plague) ; very fatal, and frequently within three
or four hours ; end of the fifteenth and begin-
ning of the sixteenth centuries ; said to have
first appeared with the landing of the Earl of
Rich mnml's army. Mil ford Haven, A.I). 1485.
Swedenborgians. Those who adopt the mys-
tical theology of Swedenborg, a Swedish noble-
man, who died in London in 1772. They also
call themselves the A 7 m< Church, and the New
Jerusalem Church.
Sweep. A movable template for making
moulds in sand, etc.
Sweeps. (A 7 aut.) Large oars used for ships.
Sweep-washing. Extracting the residuum of
precious metal from the sweepings, etc. , of gold
or silver refineries.
Sweet-bread. (Thymus gland.)
Sweet-flag. (Calamus.)
Sweet-gale. (Myrica.)
Sweinmote. (Swainmote.)
Swerga. (Swarga.)
Swift, To. (A r aut.) 1. To tighten the shrouds
by drawing the port and starboard shrouds in-
board with a strong tackle fastened about eight
feet up them. 2. To pass a rope over the ends
of all the capstan bars, and haul it taut. 7'o S.
a ship, (i) to pass cables round her \ (2) to
bring her aground, or careen her.
Swifters. (Naut.) The first pair of shrouds ;
not confined, as the rest are, to cat-harpings
(q.v.).
Swine-stone. (Stink-stone.)
Swingle. [Ger. schwengel, a saving-beam.}
1. A long knife-shaped piece of wood for beat-
ing flax so as to separate the coarse part or
swingling tow. 2. The part of a flail which
strikes the grain.
Swingletree. (Singletree.)
Switch, or Point. (Mech.) A movable rail
of the same dimensions as an ordinary rail, but
tapering off at one end ; by means of a pair of
switches the direction of the motion of a train
can be changed, and the train transferred from
one pair of rails to another.
Swivel. (Mech.) A piece fastened to another
body by a pin, so as to turn round freely though
the body is fixed.
Swivel-gun. (Mil. ) Turning on a pivot, and
thus occupying little space ; used in the bow or
stem on board ship or in boats.
Sword, Order of the. A Swedish order of
knighthood, instituted by Gustavus Vasa.
Swordfish. (Ichth.) Gen. and spec, of sea-fish,
ten or twelve feet long, and sometimes longer ;
bluish-black back, silvery belly, upper jaw
elongated into swordlike form, nearly a third
of whole length. Mediterranean, and between
tropics ; one spec, has been found off Britain
and northward. Fam. Xiphudae, orcl. Acantho-
pterygii, sub-class Telostei.
Sword of State. The sword with which the
English sovereign is girt at his coronation, the
three swords carried before him being the Cur-
tana, or pointless sword of mercy, and the
swords of spiritual and temporal justice.
Suzerain. (Feudal system.)
Sybarite. [Gr. 2v/3aprri7S.] 1. Properly an
inhabitant of Sybaris, a Greek colony on the
Tarentine gulf, in Italy, which is said to have
become enfeebled by luxury. Hence, 2, any
voluptuary.
Sycamine. [Gr. o-vKautvos. ] Luke xvii. 6 : a
svco
469
SVX.K
mulberry, both black and while, Mortis nigra and
alba, being common in Palestine ; the Mulberry
of 2 Sam. v. 23 being (?) a kind of balsam ; or
(?) aspen ; or, (?) according to LXX. , pear tree.
Sycomore. [Gr. <rO/cd,uopea.] I Chron. xxvii.
28; Ps. Ixxviii. 47; not our S., but the fig-
mulberry (Flcus sycamorus), a fig tree, allied to
the banyan ; valuable evergreen timber tree,
yielding a small sweet fig.
Sycophant. [Gr. trvico(j>di>rr]s, said to be from
ffvKov, a fig, and tpaivw, I disclose.} 1. This
word was said to denote one who at Athens
gave information against those who exported figs
in defiance of the law which forbade it. Hence,
2, informers or false accusers generally. From
their cringing demeanour the word has now
come to denote, 3, mean flatterers.
Syenite. (Geol.} A granitic rock, quartz -f
felspar + hornblende. Syene, Upper Egypt.
Syllabarium. A table of the indivisible syl-
labic symbols used in the Japanese and other
languages instead of letters.
Syllepsis. [Gr. 0-uAA.rj^iy, a taking together.}
(Gram.) The agreement of an adjective with
the gender of one only of two nouns with which
it is linked.
Syllogism. [Gr. (ri/AAo-yKr/xo'y, a gathering
together.} (Log.) An argument stated in the
form of three Propositions, the conclusion fol-
lowing necessarily from the two Premisses
(Whately) ; the general proposition being in
accordance with facts, and the minor premiss
stating some point of agreement or difference
ascertained by actual search (Mill).
Sylph. [Gr. triK^t], an insect or grub.} The
Bosicrucian term for spirits of the air.
Sylva, Evelyn's, A Discotirse of Forest Trees,
etc., published 1664. A treatise by John Evelyn,
of Wotton, scholar, philosopher, author, and a
very perfect country gentleman (1620-1706) ;
one of the founders of gardening, etc. ; to which,
and to his example, this country is indebted for
its fine abundant timber.
Sylviidae. [L. silva, woodland.} (Ornith.)
Warblers ; large fam. of small birds, as hedge-
sparrow, nightingale, golden-crested wren.
Universally distributed, except south-west of
S. America. Ord. PassSres.
Symbol. [Gr. av^oXov, a sign.} (Math.) A
note or character indicating a quantity or opera-
tion ; thus, in a + b the characters a and b
denote quantities, the note + an operation, viz.
the addition of the quantities.
Symbolism. [Gr. <rv^o\ov.} The system
which found a symbolical meaning in every part
of the ecclesiastical ritual and architecture.
Didron, Iconographie Chretienne ; Durandus,
Rationale Divinorum Officiorum.
Symbolum. [Gr. a\>^o\ov, a sign, or mark.}
1. A treaty or agreement. Hence a profession
of faith, or creed, especially the Apostles' Creed,
to which the story related by Rufinus says that
each of the apostles contributed [o-u/u/SaAAfti/, to
throw together} a proposition. 2. Any outward
sign or emblem. Hence the elements in the
Kucliarist are so called, as representing ihc
body and blood of Christ.
Symmetry. [Gr. an^eT^na. ] 1. (r/Vcw.) A
curve is symmetrical to an axis when all straight
lines at right angles to the axis which meet the
curve in one point meet it also in a second, and
the two points are equally distant from the axis
but on opposite sides of it ; so of a surface with
reference to a plane, etc. 2. Algebraic expres-
sions are symmetrical when one can be derived
from another by interchange of letters ; as,
be a 2 , ca IP, al> r 2 , where the second is
derived from the first by interchanging a and l>,
and the third from the second by interchanging
b and c. 3. In crystals, if one of the faces have-
given parameters, other faces will occur having
equal parameters differently arranged, and it
may be with one or more of their signs changed :
such faces are symmetrical.
Sympathetic ink. An ink, the writing in
which is invisible till warmed or treated with
chemicals.
Sympathetic system, or Ganglionic. One of
ganglionic centres and nerve-trunks, scattered
through different parts of the body, but mutually
connected with each other ; the principal centres
being two great semilunar "ganglia" in the
abdominal cavity near the spine, from which the
solar plexus, a series of trunks and branches, is
distributed to the muscular walls of the intes-
tinal canal and the various glandular organs
connected with it. (Vide Carpenter's Mental
Physiology, p. 125.)
Sympathetic tone; S. vibration. (Jhtsic.)
When a portion of the atmosphere is in such a
state of vibration as to transmit a loud sound,
and there is within it a chord (or other bod) i
capable of vibrating either accurately or very
nearly so with the same frequency, the chord
or body makes S. vibrations and produces a
S. tone.
Sympathy of clocks. When two clocks are
placed near each other, and rest in some degree
on the same support, they will sometimes keep
time together for several days without varying a
second, though they might have differed con-
siderably if otherwise situated ; the fact that the
vibrations of the pendulums control each other
is the sympathy oj the clocks.
Sympiesometer. [Gr. avpirifffis, a pressing
together, /jLtrpov, measure.} An instrument for
showing the pressure of the atmosphere, in
which the movements showing the variations of
pressure have a much wider range than in the
mercurial barometer. It consists of a bent glass
tube about eighteen inches long, with a chamber
at top containing air, and an open cistern below
containing glycerine or sulphuric acid ; it is
graduated by comparison with a standard baro-
meter. It is very quick in its indications, and
portable, but not suited for exact observation.
Symposiarch. [Gr. ffvnirofflapx os > from av/^-no-
ffiov, a drinking together, and &px<a, I rule.} In
ancient usage, the master of a feast, sometimes
called BasTleus, and Architriklinos (John ii. 8).
Synaeresis. [Gr. awaiptais, a taking together.}
In Gram., the contraction of two syllables into
one by the formation of a diphthong. Called al>o
Crash [a iiiiitg/ing]. (Metaplasm.)
SYNA
470
svss
Synallagmatio. [Gr. ffvva\\ayfi.a.TiK6s.] Ef-
fected by mutual contract ; entailing mutual
obligation.
Synalcepha. [Gr. owaAoi<p7j, a melting to-
gether.} In Gr. and L. prosody, the running of
the last syllable of a word ending with a vowel
into the first syllable of the next also beginning
with a vowel.
Synaxis. [Gr. (Traits, an assembly.] 1. The
assembling of Christian persons for the reception
of the Holy Communion ; and so, 2, the Holy
Communion itself.
Syncarpous fruit. [Gr. vvv, together, Kapir6s,
fruit.] (Bot.) Having the carpels united into
an undivided body ; e.g. orange.
Syncategorematic. [Gr. (rvyKariryoprifjLaTiKos.]
In Log. , words which form only part of a term.
Such are adverbs, prepositions, and nouns in the
oblique cases.
Synchronism. [Gr. avv, together, -^povos,
time.] A representation in one picture of events
occurring at different times.
Synchronize. [Gr. ffwxpovify, I am contem-
porary with.] To happen at the same point or
duration of time. Thus the Reformation syn-
chronized with the revival of learning.
Synchysis. [Gr. ffvyxv ff <-s> from a\>v, with,
and x e/a) > -f pour.] A confusion, as of humours
in the eye, or of words in a sentence.
Synclinal. (Anticlinal line.)
Syncopation. [Gr. avyicoirfi, a cutting up.]
In Music, an irregularity of rhythm, by which
the last note of one bar is tied to the first of the
next ; the occurrence of accented notes in an
unaccented part of the bar. (Driving notes.)
Syncope [Gr. ffvyKoir-fi, swoon], or Fainting
fit. 1. (Med. ) Temporary arrest or diminution
of the circulation of the blood, with suspension
of the breathing and of the functions of the
nervous system. 2. In Gr. , Metaplasm.
Syncretism. [Gr. ffvyi<pr)Ti(r/j.6s.] The blend-
ing of the opinions of different philosophical
schools into one system. The party of Pico
della Mirandola, Bessarion, and others in the
time of the Renaissance, are called Syncretists ; a
name which is also given, in Eccl. Hist., to the
followers of George Calixtus, who, in the six-
teenth century, tried to form a scheme for uniting
all bodies of Christians.
Syncretists. (Syncretism.)
Syndesmosis. [Gr. o-uv5er^os, a bond.] (Sttrg.)
The union of one bone with another by a
ligament [tri/j'Seoytos].
Syndic. [Gr. eruVSI/cos, from 8t/j, justice.] A
title often given to municipal and other officers,
as the syndics of cities in Provence and Lan-
guedoc, who acted as agents of the munici-
pality.
Syndicate. To S. a commercial project is to
place the affairs under the management of a
committee.
Synecdoche. [Gr.] (Khet.) The putting of
the whole for a part, or of a part for the whole.
(Trope.)
Syneidcsis. (Synteresis.)
Synergibts. [Gr. ovvepyos, working together.]
. A Lutheinn party of the sixteenth century, which
asserted the need of the co-operation of the
human will to render divine grace effectual.
(Pelagians.)
Syngenesia. [Gr. aw, together, ytveffis, origin.]
In the Linnsean system, class xix., and coexten-
sive with Compositae.
Synizesis. [Gr. auvifaffa, a settlement, as
of a building on the ground.] 1. In Gr., the
melting of two vowels into one. 2. (Med. ) A
term applied to the obliteration of the pupil of
the eye.
Synochns, Synocha. With older medical
writers, inflammatory fever, which is continuous
[Gr. crvvoxos],
Synod. [Gr. crvvoSos, an assembly.] A general
term for meetings of ecclesiastical persons.
Synodals. 1. A small payment from the clergy
to the bishop, sometimes to the archdeacon ;
probably paid originally at the time of, but not
on account of, the bishop's synod. 2. In Pre-
face " Concerning the Service of the Church,"
recitals, in parish churches, of the provincial
constitutions.
Synodic period. [Gr. avvobos, a meeting, a
conjunction of the sun and moon.] Of the
moon, the time which elapses from her leaving
conjunction with the sun to her returning to it
again.
Synod's-men. (Questmen.)
Synonyms. [Gr. 0-wcevofj.os, from avv, with,
and uvofjia, a name.] Words of the same lan-
guage which agree in meaning. (Metaphor.)
Synoptic Gospels. A name used to denote the
first three Gospels, as having generally the same
succession of events, in distinction from the
fourth, in which the sequence is different.
SynSvia [Gr. avv, with, $6v, an egg], Joint-
oil. The pale yellow viscous fluid by which the
joints of animals are lubricated.
Syntax. [Gr. <nWos, an arranging.] In
Gram, and Rhet., the disposition of words and
clauses in a sentence in the arrangements
proper to the language to which the words
belong.
Synteresis. In Moral Phil., a name given to
that close watching and conservation [Gr. <rw-
T-fipi)ms] of first moral principles, which is the
office of conscience in its character of lawgiver,
and as distinguished from Syneidesis, which is
the joint -knowledge [owetSrjffis] of the moral
law and of some particular action, which is the
office of conscience as judge. (Fleming's Student's
Moral Phil., p. 153.)
Synthermal. [Gr. Sepm, heat.] Of equal
heat.
Synthesis. [Gr. o-vvOfffis, a placing together.]
1. (Log.) The combination of separate elements
of thought into a whole, as of species into
genera. 2. (Surg.) The uniting of divided
parts. 3. (Anat.) The connexion of the bones
in the skeleton. 4. (Phys.) The uniting of
elements to form a compound ; the opposite to
Analysis.
Syrtis. [Gr. avpTis.] A quicksand.
Syssitla. [Gr. avaai-ria, a messing together.]
In Gr. Hist., an institution chiefly of the Doric
states, which compelled the male freemen to
SYST
TAG K
have their meals in common messes instead of
their own houses. (Pheiditia.)
Systaltic action. (Diastole.)
Systatic letters. [Gr. avtrrarlK^s.] (Eccl.)
Commendatory, introductory \avv(arrip.i, Rom.
xvi. i ]. (Litterae formatae.)
System. [Gr. o-riarri/Mt.] (Crystallog.) Any
one of the six classes into which crystals are
divided with reference to their axes and para-
meters ; as the Octahedral, Pyramidal, Khombohe-
dral, Prismatic, Oblique prismatic, Doubly oblique
prismatic (vide these names respectively).
System, Alternate. (Agr.) That under which
succulent-leaved crops alternate with white-straw
crops, as (l) turnips, (2) wheat, (3) beans, (4)
wheat.
System, Convertible. (./.;;-.) That under
which land is tilled for a period, anil then for a
period sown with grass, manured, and fed by
cattle.
Systole. [Gr., a contraction.} 1. In Pros., a
licence which shortens a long syllable. 2. (Dia-
stole.)
Syud. (Seyd.)
Syzygy. [Gr. arv^jyla, union, a yoking to-
gether.} (Astron.) A point of an orbit at
which conjunction or opposition takes place ;
used chiefly of the moon, as by Newton,
T.
T. A letter belonging to the class called
mutes, and largely interchangeable in many
languages. As a L. abbrev., T. stands for
. Titus, Ti. for Tiberius.
Taal, or Tale. [Malay,] A Chinese coin,
worth about a dollar and a half. Also, a
weight.
Tabard. [L.L. tabardus, O.Fr. tabar, a cloak,
of green baize (Littre).] A kind of tunic em-
blazoned with armorial bearings, and generally
open at the sides, worn by heralds on State
occasions. Also an academic gown.
Tabaret. [Fr. tabouret, a stool,} A stout
satin-striped silk, for covering chairs, etc.
Tabbinet. A more delicate kind of tabby (q.v.).
Tabby. [Pers. utabt.] A thick watered silk,
used by bookbinders.
labefaction. [L. tabefactus, melted, dissolved.}
(Med.) A wasting away of the body.
Tabellions. [L. tabelliones, from tabella,
dim. of tabula, the tablet on which they wrote.]
(Rom. Hist.} The notaries, who had been
known as scribes in the times of the republic,
were so called under the empire.
Tabering. Nahum ii. 7 ; beating themselves
(a stronger word than tap ; cf. labour, tambour,
TOTTTW, etc. ; onomatop.).
Tabes. [L.] (Med.) A -wasting away. Tabific,
causing T.
Tablature. [L. tabula, a -writing-tablet.}
(Music.) The signs and characters used in music
generally, but especially the old mode of notation
for instruments of the lute kind, and for some
wind instruments.
Table. A flat circular sheet of crown-glass.
Table; Tabulate. [L. tabula.] I. A list of
facts of one kind arranged in a form adapted for
reference ; as a table of specific gravities, etc.
2. A list of the successive values of a function
arranged in order of the successive values of the
independent variable ; as a table of logarithms,
which gives the values of log. x for all values of
x within given limits, as from I to 10,000 ; a
table of sines, which gives the values of sin. 6 for
(say) every minute from o up to 90 ; there are
likewise tables of refraction, lunar tables, etc.
A function whose successive values have been
calculated and arranged on a table is said to have
been Tabulated.
Table-cloth. Name given to the white cloud
which frequently rests over Table Mountain, near
Cape Town.
Table d'hote. [Fr.] A dinner at which
the host or landlord of an inn is supposed to
preside.
Table diamond. A diamond cut with two
principal faces, or Tables.
Table-land. (Geog.) A plain at a great height
above the sea-level ; as the table-land of Bavaria,
of Mysore, etc.
Table-turning. The alleged turning of tables
independently of physical agency.
Table-wise. Said of the Altar or Communion
Table, placed in the body of the church, with
the ends east and west.
Taboo. Among the South Sea Islanders and
others, a religious interdict, which prevents all
approach to particular spots or persons. Tylor,
Primitive Culture.
Tabor. [From Ar. tambur.] A small drum :
generally one hung round the neck. (Tambour.)
Taborites. (Eccl. Hist.) Those among the
followers of John Iluss who after his death
ranged themselves under the standard of John
Ziska, were so called from Tabor, a hill in Bohe-
mia. After a long struggle, a portion of them
formed themselves into the society called Bohe-
mian Brethren (t/.v,).
Tabouret, Droit de. [Fr.] In Fr. Hist., the
right possessed by certain persons of being
seated at certain times in the presence of royalty.
Tabret. A kind of small drum, or tambourine,
or timbrel. (Tambour.)
Tabula rasa. [L.] With the Romans, a tablet
of wax, smoothed for fresh writing ; and so
metaph. a wiping out of the past, and starting
fresh. Often used to denote the condition of the
human mind before it has received any im-
pressions.
Tacamahac. The resin of the balsam poplar
(taeamahac tree) and other American trees.
Tacent, satis laudant. [L., lit. lliey arc silent,
TACH
472
TALL
and thus praise sufficiently.] They have no fault
to find, and that is praise enough from them.
Taches of gold. Exod. xxvi. 6, etc. ; plu. of
tache, a catch, clasp, to unite opposite loops ;
probably that which tacks, or joins [Fr. attacher].
Tachometer. [Gr. rdxos, swiftness, n&pov,
measure.} An instrument for measuring velocity ;
as of a machine, of running water, etc.
Tack. (Naut.) 1. A rope for making fast the
lower weather corner of a course, or staysail,
when the wind is not at right angles with a
vessel's course. 2. Studding-sail 7'. hauls out
the lower outer-clue to its boom-end. 3. Jib 7\,
or a fore-and-aft sail 71, confines its forward
lower end amidships. 4. A vessel sails on the
T. of the side from which the wind blows. 5.
To T. (Stay, To.) 6. Soft T. (Soft tack.)
Tacking. (Leg. ) A union of securities, all
to be redeemed before an intermediate purchaser
can interpose his claim.
Tackle. (Naut.) A system of pulleys.
Ground- T., anchors, cables, etc.
Tactics. [Gr. TO. To/crt/ca, military tactics,}
Science of adapting ground and performing
military evolutions in the presence of an
enemy.
Tadpole. [Lit. theyW(L. pullus, Gr. TTU>\OS)
or offspring of a toad.~\ (Zool.) The young of
batrachians, especially of frogs, in its first state
from the spawn.
Taedium vitae. The L. phrase equivalent to
Fr. ennui, weariness of life.
Taenia. [Gr. Tatvia, a ribbon.} 1. {Arch.}
The lintel above the architrave which separates
it from the frieze, in the Doric Order. 2. (Zool.}
Tapnvorm ; ord. of ScSlecida (Annuloida), a
minute, rounded annuloid, adhering by booklets
or suckers to the interior of the alimentary canal
of warm-blooded animals, and extending itself,
by budding, to the length of, sometimes, several
yards.
Taffety, Taffeta. [Pers. taftah, woven.} A fine
smooth watered silk stuff. (Tabaret ; Tabby.)
Taffrail, or Tafferel. [D. tafereel, from tafel,
table] (Naut.) The upper works at the stern.
Tafia. [Malay.] White rum.
Tag. (Sheep, Stages of growth of, )
Tagliacottian operation. In Surg., a method
of restoring lost noses, devised by the Italian
surgeon Tagliacozzi, or Taliacotius (1546-1599).
Tagus. [Gr. rayos.} In Gr. Hist., a president,
as of the Thessalian confederacy.
Taherites. A Persian dynasty which had ruled
for half a century, when it was supplanted by
the Soffarides.
Tail. [O.Fr., from tailler, to cut.} (Leg.)
Limitation ; abridgment. Blackstone defines
an estate in tail as an abridged or reduced fee,
limited to certain heirs, other heirs being ex-
cluded.
Tailing, 1. The lighter parts of grain win-
nowed out. 2. The refuse of stamped ore, after-
wards dressed again.
Taille. In O.Fr. Law, any imposition levied
by the king or any other lord on his subjects.
(Tallage.)
Tailor's muscle. (Sartorius.)
Tailpiece. 1. In Printing, an ornament at the
end of a book or chapter, to fill up the page. 2.
(Music.) Of a violin, that piece, generally of
ebony, to which the strings of the violin are
fastened.
Tail-race. (Mill-dam.)
Tails, Pacha of one, two, three. (Pasha.)
Tailscommon. Washed lead ore.
TaiMe, or Entail. In Scot. Law, any deed
which cuts off the legal course of succession and
substitutes an arbitrary one.
Take. In Printing, the quantity of copy taken
in hand by a compositor at once.
Take a departure. (A'aut.) To ascertain a
vessel's position by means of the bearings and
position of a known object.
Talapoins. The Siamese title for the priests
of Fo ; called in Tartary Lamas, and by Euro-
peans Bonzes.
Talbotype (invented by Talbot). (Calotype.)
Talc. [Pers. talcq.] (A fin.) A mineral allied
to soap-stone, entering into several crystalline
rocks (talc-schist, protogine), almost entirely
silica + magnesia ; silvery white, greenish-
white, green ; soft ; greasy to touch ; generally
massive; when. in thin plates, subtranslucent ;
fissile, not elastic. French chalk is powdered
talc. Mica (quite a different mineral) is called
' ' tale " in commerce.
Talent. [Gr. ra.Ka.vrov.} A Greek weight,
equal to that of sixty minse ; but varying in value
in different cities. The Attic talent was equal
to nearly ,200 ; the yEginetan to .331.
Tale of a Tub (in which Peter, Martin, Jack,
represent the Roman Church, Luther, Calvin). A
satire written by Dean Swift, exhibiting mediaeval
corruption, and the various results of the Re-
formation ; to divert the followers of Hobbes
from injuring the vessel of the State ; as a tub is
thrown out to divert a whale.
Tales, Praying a. When the number of a jury
is reduced by challenges, either party may pray
for a supply of such men [L. tales] as are sum-
moned on the first pannel to supply the de-
ficiency.
Talionis, Lex. [L.] The law of exact retalia-
tion, as in the Mosaic Law : Exod. xxi. 24 ;
Lev. xxiv. 20; Deut. xix. 21.
Talipes. [Coined from talus, an ankle, and
pes, afoot] (Afed.) Clubfoot.
Talisman. [Ar., dual of the noun telesm.] A
figure cut in stone or other material, and sup-
posed to possess various virtues, as of averting
disease. (Palladium.)
Tails quum sis, utinam noster esses. [L.]
Since you are such (as you are), would that you
were ours (or with us).
Tallage. In O.E. Law, a general name for all
taxes. (Taille.)
Tall ship. (Naut.) A square-rigged vessel
with topmasts.
Tally, To. (Naut.) To haul the sheets aft.
Tally ho ! A cry of encouragement to hounds,
on the fox being viewed. [(?) A corr. of the
Fr. "a luij, ho! ho! a luij," mentioned by
Dame Juliana Bcmcrs (fifteenth century) as a
hunting cry.] (Yoicks !)
TALL
473
TAOf
Tally trade. A system of trading carried on
in London and elsewhere, by which shopkeepers
furnish articles on credit to their customers, the
latter paying the price by weekly or monthly
instalments. The effect of the system is most
mischievous.
Talmud. The traditionary law of the Jews.
The word is derived from the Heb. lamad, he
taught. The Talmud, therefore, is a book con-
taining doctrines and duties taught to the Jews
by their authorized teachers, or rabbis. There
are two Talmuds, (i) of Jerusalem, (2) of Baby-
lon, besides the Targums, i.e. commentaries of
Jonathan ben Uzziel, about B.C. 30, and of Onkelos
on the Pentateuch, in the first century of our
era. The Talmud of Jerusalem consists of two
parts: (i) the Mischna, or text, supposed to
have been compiled in the second century B.C.,
and (2) the Gemara, or commentary on the
Mischna. The Talmud of Babylon is practically
a commentary, designed to supply the defects of
the Jerusalem Talmud, and is generally preferred
to it. The legends, anecdotes, or sayings in the
Talmud illustrative of the Law are called Ha-
gada, while the word Halaka denotes the
decisions of Talmudists on disputed questions.
(Cabala.)
Talon. [Fr.] (Arch.} The same as Ogee.
Talookdar. In India, the holder of a talook,
or district less than that of a Zemindar, with
certain proprietary rights, not exactly defined.
Talpidae. [L. talpa, mole.] (Zool.) The
mole fam. N. hemisphere. Ord. Insectivora.
Talus. [L., the ankle, ankle-bom.] 1. (Anat.)
Sometimes = astragalus (q.v.}. 2. (Geol.}
The sloping heap of fragments at the base of a
rock.
Tambour. [Fr., Pers. tambur.] (Mil.} 1. Large
drum. (Tabor.) 2. Inclosure of palisades or
stockade work of any form that may be required
to afford defence, sometimes with a ditch and
banquette.
Tammany. A term assumed by a branch of
the democratic party of the state of New York,
sometimes called S. Tammany, from a distin-
guished Indian Delaware chief, Tamendry, who
in old age called a council to appoint a suc-
cessor ; but why his name was chosen is not
known.
Tammuz. In Syr. Myth., a name of the sun-
god ; also called Adonai, Gr. Adonis, or lord.
The Greek form of Tammuz is Athamas.
Tammuz. Tenth month of civil, fourth of ec-
clesiastical, Jewish year ; June July.
Tammy. [Fr. tamis, a sieve.} A highly
glazed woollen stuff for covering sieves.
Tamp. [Fr. tampon, a bung, stopper, ,] (Mil.)
To close with materials the gallery of a mine or
a hole bored for blasting after the charge has
been lodged in the chamber.
Tan. [Armor, tann, oak.} The bruised bark
of oak or other trees, used for tanning.
Tangent [L. tangentem, touching] ; T.-plane.
(Mat/i.) A line drawn to meet a curve and
not cutting it, though produced ; or, more
exactly, drawn to meet it in two coincident
point* ; as curved lines have tangent lines,
so curved surfaces have 7'. -planes. (Trigono-
metrical function. )
Tangential force. (Math.} A force acting on
a revolving body in a direction tangential to its
path, and causing its velocity to vary from point
to point.
Tangent sailing. (Great-circle sailing.)
Tangent-scale. (Mil.} Sliding bar in rear of
the vent of a gun, by which any requisite eleva-
tion before firing can be attained.
Tanhatiser. In German mediseval tradition, a
knight who is enticed by Venus into her cave in
the Horselberg, i.e. the hill of Horsel or Ursula.
Making his escape, he seeks absolution from
Urban IV., who tells him that there is no more
chance of forgiveness for him than there is for
the budding of the staff in his hand. Tanhaiiser
returned to the cave ; the staff budded ; but the
knight was sought in vain. In its main features
this story is the same as that of Thomas the
Rimer, who is allured by the fairy queen to her
home in Ercildoune, in which the name Ursula
again appears.
Tanistry. [Gael, tanais-teachd.] The Irish
name for a custom of descent, defined as "de-
scent from the oldest and worthiest of the
blood." The custom itself may be found in
most conditions of society in which circum-
stances render the inheritance of minors or in-
competent persons dangerous.
Tanka. (Naut,} A Chinese covered boat
worked by women, for conveying passengers to
or from vessels.
Tannin, Tannic acid. (From tan.) (Chem.}
The astringent principle of oak bark, nut-galls,
etc.
Tansy. [Fr. tannsie, Gr. ad&vaffia, immor-
tality.] (Bot.} Common native perennial ;
bitter, aromatic, medicinal. Tanacetum vulgare,
ord. Compositse. Growing in fields, by road-
sides, etc., in temperate districts.
Tantalize. This verb, meaning to baulk or
disappoint at the very moment of fruition, is
formed from the name of Tantalus, who in the
old Gr. Myth, stands in a lake, the waters of
which retreat from him and turn to slime when
he stoops to drink, and under branches laden
with fruits, which wither when he puts forth his
hand to grasp them. Some said that he was so
punished because he served up the body of his son
Pelops at the banquet-table of the gods ; others
because he stole Nectar and Ambrosia and gave
them to his people. The myth expresses the action
of the sun in times of great heat and drought.
Tantalum. [L. Tantalus, a king of Phrygia. ]
A rare metal, obtained as a black powder.
Tanti. L. genitive of price, worth' while ;
generally used with a negation, as " non tanti,"
hardly "tanti."
Tantivy. [Onomatop.] 1. The note of the
hunting-horn. 2. At full speed.
Taut mieux. [Fr., L. tanto melius.] So
much the better.
Tant pis. [Fr., L. tanto pejus.] So much the
worse.
Tan turn non. [L.] Only not ; all but.
Taouism. The rationalism or ethical system
TAP
474
TAST
of the Chinese Lao-Tse, a contemporary of
Confucius. (Confucianism.)
Tap. 1. A short pipe for drawing liquor. 2.
(Surg. ) To pierce the abdomen, chest, etc.
for removing fluid accumulated in the serous
cavities. 2. A conical screw made of hardened
steel for cutting screws in nuts.
Tap-bolt. A set-screw (q.v.).
Taper. [A.S.] (Bot.) A term denoting
parts the opposite of angular.
Tapestry carpet. A two-ply carpet, the pattern
of which is produced by printing the warp or
woof before weaving.
Tapioca. (Cassara.)
Taplings. The thongs coupling the pieces of
a flail.
Tapnet. A rush basket in which figs are im-
ported.
Tappet. (Afech.) A cam on an axle that lifts
a vertical bar or stamper, and then lets it fall ;
called also a Wiper.
Tappit-hen. A crested hen. A drinking-cup ;
so called from the shape of the knob on the lid.
Tap the admiral, To. In Naut. slang, to
draw spirits from the cask in which his corpse is
being brought home. Hence, to drink anything,
however bad.
Tara, Tarah, Taragh. A hill in Meath, where,
up to the close of the sixth century, the inaugu-
ration of the Irish kings is said to have taken
place ; kings, clergy, and bards assembling
every third year, and electing a supreme ruler.
Tarantism. (?) Because appearing in Taranto
and S. Italy generally ; or from the poison of
the tarantula spider, common in Taranto.
(Chorea.)
Tarantula. A Neapolitan dance, rapid, in
time generally ; the perspiring induced by it
being intended to cure the bite of the tarantiila
spider. (Tarantism.)
Taraxacum dandelion, i.e. detit du lion. (Bot.)
A gen. of Composite, of which the root-stock is
extensively used in medicine as an aperient and
tonic, especially in liver complaints. [The word
is traced by M. Devic, with some likelihood, to
the Ar. tarachaquun, wild chicory (Littre).]
Tar-brush, A touch of the. In Naut. slang,
(i) black blood in the veins; (2) seamanlike
skill in officers.
Tardlgrada, Tardigrades. [L., slow-paced, tar-
dus, slow, gradior, I walk.} (Zool.) A fam. (i.q.
Bradypodidae, sloths) of ord. Edentata (q.v.).
Tare. [Fr. ; said to be an Ar. word.] A de-
duction made from the weight of a parcel of
goods on account of the weight of the chest or
package containing them. (Tret.)
Tares. Matt. xiii. 25 [Gr. C^ai/ia] ; darnel is
meant (Lolium terniilentum).
Targum. (Talmud.)
Tarlatan. [Fr. tarlatane.] A thin transparent
muslin.
Tarnkappe. In Northern Myth., the cap
which, like the helmet of Hades, makes the
wearer invisible.
Tarpaulin. (Xaut.) Canvas dressed with
paint, tar, or oil. Sailors' \valerproof clothes
arc called tarpaulins, ur 'paulins.
Tarpeian Rock. At Rome ; so called, it is
said, because Tarpeia, who betrayed the city to
the Sabines, was there crushed by the shields
which they threw on her, she having bargained
for what they bore on their left arms, that is,
their bracelets.
Tarquin the Proud. (Sibylline books.)
Tarragon. (Bot.) A herb, Artemisia dra-
cunculus, ord. Composite ; D. corr. into Tar-
ragon. A perennial native of Siberia, natur-
alized ; the leaves are an ingredient in T.
vinegar.
Terras, Terras. [Ger. trass.] A kind of
hydraulic cement used in Holland.
Tarrock. (Or nit h.) Young of kittiwake
(q.v.}.
Tarsel, Tercel, Tiercel. [Fr. tiercelot, L. ter-
tiolus, a third part from its sire.} (Ornith.) The
mature male of the peregrine falcon. The red.
T. and red F. are the immature male and female
respectively. Falco peregrlnus, gen. Falco,
sub-fam. Falconinas, fam. Falconidse, ord.
AccipTtres.
Tarshish. The district of Southern Spain,
known to the Greeks as Tartessos, with which
an important trade was carried on from Palestine,
ships of sufficient burden to undertake the
voyage being called "ships of Tarshish," as we
speak of an E.-Indiaman.
Tarsia, Tarsiatura. [It.] A mosaic wood-
work much practised in Italy in the fifteenth
century, representing landscapes, flowers, etc.
Tarsus. [Gr. Tapvos, flat of the foot.] (Anat.)
The collection of seven small bones between the
tibia and metatarsus ; the instep, or first part of
the foot. In birds, sometimes, the third seg-
ment of the leg ; in insects, the fifth principal
segment.
Tartan. [Fr. tiretaine, linsey-woolsey.'}
Woollen cloth covered with cross-bars of different
colours.
Tartan. (Naut.) A Mediterranean coaster,
lateen-rigged, with one mast and a bowsprit.
Tartar. [From Gr. rdpTtzpos.] (C/iew.) Im-
pure bitartrate of potash, deposited as a crust in
wine-casks. When purified, it is called cream of
T. Salt of T. is carbonate of potash. 71 enu-tL-
is tartrate of potash and antimony. The acid
derived from tartar is tartaric acid, the salts of
which are called tart rates.
Tartarian lamb. (Barometz fern.)
Tartarus. [Gr. Tdpropos.] In Gr. Myth., the
abode of the wicked dead. The word denotes
constant disturbance (cf. Gr. Topotrcrw, / disturb).
Tartuffe. [Fr. Tartufe.] The chief character
in Moliere's comedy of this name, which is said
to be taken from the It. tartuffoli, truffles.
Tartufte is a mean parasite, from whom Bicker-
staff obtained the idea of Mawworm, in his
play of the Hypocrite.
TascOi A kind of clay for making melting-
pots.
Tasking. (Naut. ) Examining a ship's
timbers.
Tasting timber. (Nant.) Chipping and boring
it, to try its quality.
Tasto. [It.J Ft din-, tenth ; and so (i) a
TATE
475
pianoforte key ; (2) the touch of a piano or
organ. T. solo, a direction to play a part in
unison, without accompanying chords.
Tate and Brady. T. poet-laureate (died 1715),
and B. chaplain to William and Mary ; authors
of the metrical version of the Psalms, which sup-
planted that of Sternhold and Hopkins (q.v.).
Tatta, Tattee. In Hindu usage, a bamboo
frame or trellis covered with khus-khus grass,
over which water is poured from the outside, to
cool the air as it enters the house. (Vittie
vayr.)
Tatterdemalion. A ragged fellow.
Tattoo. (Mil.) Summons to all soldiers to
return to their quarters, given eveiy night by
drum and fife, preceded and followed by bugle-
calls ; these latter are the " first" and "second "
posts.
Taut. (Mzuf.) Tight.
Tautegorical. [Gr. ravr6, for rb atird, the same,
ayopfixa, I speak. ~\ A word coined to express
the opposite of Allegory.
Tavermcus. [Deriv. uncertain.] The third
officer of State in the Hungarian kingdom, after
the Palatine and the Ban of Croatia.
Taverns, Three. In Acts xxviii. 15 Ta&epvwt'
is a Grecized form of the L. tabernre, i.e. shops.
Tawing. [O.E. tawian, to prepare.] Pre-
paring the skins of sheep, lambs, etc., as white
leather.
Taxaceae. [L. taxus, a yew.] (Sot.) The
yew tribe, an ord. of Gynnwgens (q.v.').
Tax-oart. A light spring-cart (taxed at a low
rate).
Taxidermy. [Gr. rdl-ts, arrangement, Sep/j.a,
skin] The preparation, arrangement, and pre-
servation of the skins of animals.
Taxing-masters. In Law, certain officers in
the courts, appointed to examine the claims of
solicitors, and to strike out such items as they
think proper to disallow ; or, as it is termed, to
tax the costs. ( Allocator.)
Taxology, Taxonomy. Systematic arrange-
ment [Gr. rtifis], or classification, of plants.
Tazza. [It.] A flat, shallow vase, with a foot
and handles.
Teache. A boiler used in sugar-making.
Team. (A'aut.) Vessels blockading a port
are said to be in a team. T.-boat, a paddle-wheel
feriy-boat worked by horses.
Tea-poy. An ornamental table with a lifting
top, inclosing caddies for tea.
Tearless battle. A battle won by the Spartan
king, Archidamos, B.C. 368; so called because
10,000 Arcadians are said to have been slain
without the loss of a man on the Spartan side.
Teasing, Teaselling. Raising a nap on cloth by
scratching it with teazels (q.v.}.
Tea-waggon. In Naut. slang, an E. -India-
man.
Teazel. (Rot.) Used in dressing broadcloth,
the flower of fuller's teazel, Dipsacus [Gr. Si'tfo-
KOS] fullonum, ord. Dipsacese ; cultivated in north
and west of England ; the rigid, acuminate
hooked bracts serve to raise the nap.
Tebeth. (Thebet.)
Technical education, [Gr. rexvixos, artistic.}
That of artisans, whose knowledge is generally
confined to a few mechanical details in all that
concerns their trade, the materials with which it
has to do, the results accomplished in England
and elsewhere, etc. ; the object being to bring
about a more intelligent interest in their work,
and a spirit of invention and enterprise, as well
as mechanical excellence.
Technology. [Gr. Tex* /0 ^7' a > from TS'XI/TJ,
art, \6yos, discourse] 1. A philosophical
account of the useful arts. 2. An explanation
of art terms.
Teoum. (Tucum.)
Tedding hay. [Probably Ger. zetten, = Ger.
zetteln, to scatter in small quantities.] Making
hay, tossing and spreading it.
Tedesca, Alia. [It.] (Music.) In the German
style.
Tedge. (Founding.'] The pipe through which
molten metal is poured into a mould.
Tedium vitae. (Tsedium vitae.)
Teel seed. A kind of sesame yielding a sub-
stitute for olive oil.
Teetotal. The term appears to have been
first popularized by Joseph Turner, an artisan
of Preston, who, at a temperance meeting in
the autumn of 1833, asserted that " nothing but
te-te-total would do." The expression was at
once and universally adopted by total abstainers.
Daily Telegraph, September 5, 1882.
Te'ian Poet, The. Anacreon, Greek lyrical
poet ; born at Teos, a seaport town of Ionia,
circ. B.C. 560.
Teil [L. tilia, lime], Isa. vi. 13 ; Terebinth
[Gr. TepefiivBos], or Turpentine [corn of Fr. tere-
binthine], Ecclus. xxiv. 16. In Heb. elah, mis-
translated oak, which it resembles ; the Pis-
tacia terebinthus of the Levant ; deciduous,
many-branched, sometimes of considerable size ;
incisions in the bark yield an agreeable balsam,
turpentine not that yielded by the fir.
Teinds. In Scotland, tithes; both words
meaning tenths.
Telamones. (Caryatides.)
Teleology. [Gr. T'AOS, reAfos, end, \6yos,
discourse.] The doctrine of the final causes of
things ; i.e. of the purpose of the Creator.
Teleosaurus. [Gr. reAeos, perfect, cravpos, a
lizard.] (Geol.) A gen. of fossil saurian
reptiles, resembling the gavial. Lias and
Oolite.
Teleostei. (Ichth.) Sub-class of fish, com-
prising those with endo-skeletons of bone-like
substance, occasionally of true bone.
Telephassa. [Gr., she who shines from far.]
(Myth.) The mother of Cadmus and Europa,
who, vainly seeking her daughter, dies on the
plains of Thessaly.
Telepheian wounds. Incurable wounds, from
the wounds received by Telephus from Achilles,
who alone could cure them.
Telephone. [Gr. r}Ae, far off, tfxav-fi, sound.]
An instrument for reproducing the pitch, quality,
and relative intensity of sounds at a place dis-
tant from that at which the sounds are uttered.
Its action depends on the fact that a succession
of electric waves can be sent along a wire from
TELE
4/6
TEND
the transmitting end exactly corresponding to
the aerial vibration, which produce the sensation
of sound, and therefore capable of reproducing
similar aerial vibrations, at the receiving end.
Telerpeton. [Gr. re\fot, perfect, epTrtrAv, a
reptile, i.e. very like lizards.] (Geol.) A gen.
of small fossil reptiles. Triassic sandstones of
Elgin.
Telescope [Gr. rrj\tffKOTros, far-seeing} ; Achro-
matic T. ; Astronomical T. ; Galilean T. ; New-
tonian T. ; Reflecting T. ; Refracting T. ; Ter-
restrial T. An instrument for obtaining a clear
view of distant objects. It consists essentially of
a large curved mirror (or speculum) or else of a
lens (or object-glass), which forms an image of
the object in its focus, and a lens or combination
of lenses (the eye-piece), through which the
image is viewed and by which it is magnified.
The Refracting T. has an object-glass, and the
earliest form of it is the Galilean T. ; in the
Reflecting T. a speculum is used, and one of its
earliest forms is the Newtonian T. In the
Achromatic T. the object-glass is made of two
lenses of different kinds of glass, to prevent
the separation of the light into rays of different
colours, which would occur if a single lens were
used. (Achromatic.) In the Astronomical T.
an eye-piece of two lenses is used, which leaves
the image inverted. In the Terrestrial T. an
eye-piece of four lenses is commonly used, for
obtaining an erect image and a larger field of
view. There are many other kinds of telescopes,
which in many cases are named after their de-
signers, as the Gregorian T., the Herschellian T.,
etc.
Telescopic star. A star so small as to be
visible only through a telescope. Telescopic
stars are of all magnitudes below the seventh.
Telestic. [Gr. reXeo-TiK^s, fit for finishing.}
A piece of poetry, of which the last letters of
every line, taken consecutively, make a word or
a sentence. (Acrostic.)
Tellurian. [L. tellurem, the earth.} An ap-
paratus for showing the movements of the earth
and moon relatively to the sun.
Tellurium. [L. tellurem, the earth.} A bright
grey metal.
Telonai. (Publicans.)
Tema. [It., L. thma, Gr. to'/io, theme, of an
argument.] In Music, a theme, subject.
Tempera [It.], or Distemper. A preparation
of some opaque colouring with size, for painting
walls, ceilings, etc.
Temperament. [L. temperamentum, propor-
tionate mixture.} (Afusic.) A system of com-
promise in the division of the octave in keyed
instruments ; e.g. piano, whose sounds are
fixed. This is made necessary by the same
notes serving both as flats and as sharps. In
Equal T., theoretically adopted in the piano,
the twelve intervals in an octave are all of the
same length, and no key has an advantage over
the rest ; in the Unequal T. some scales are
more in tune than others. (Wolf intervals.)
Temperate zone. (Zone.)
Temperature. [L. temperature, temperament.}
The stale of a body, a.s to it> being sensibly hot
or cold, which state is measured by a thermo-
meter.
Tempering; Tempering colour. The process
of inducing flexibility in steel by reducing its
hardness, which is done by heating it to a de-
finite degree and then cooling it slowly the
process of cooling being performed in different
ways, according to circumstances. The degree
of heat is judged of by the colour of a thin film
of oxide of iron formed on the steel ; thus the
colour is faint yellow at 430 Fahr., purple at
530 Fahr., etc. These are the T. colours.
Templars, Knights. One of the military re-
ligious orders, founded in the twelfth century for
the protection of pilgrims to Palestine, and the
recovery of the Holy Sepulchre from the Sara-
cens. Their rules agreed generally with the
Benedictine. The Templars made the Mosque
of Omar, known as the Khubbet-es-Sakrah, or
Dome of the Rock, their church, and called it
the Temple of the Lord. The order was sup-
pressed by Clement V., with great cruelty and
injustice, in the fourteenth century. \
Template. (Templet.)
Temple. Part of a loom used for stretching the
web transversely.
Templet 1. A short piece of timber placed
in a wall under the end of a girder, to distribute
the pressure more equally. 2. One of a pair of
boards with 'circular edges, for describing the
pattern of the tooth of a wheel ; when one is
made to roll on the other, a point on its edge
describes the required line. 3. Pattern of a
window, etc., cut out on paper.
Tempora miitantur, nos et mutamur in illis.
[L.] Times are changed, and we with them
(Horace).
Tempus edax rerum. [L.] Time, the de-
vour er of things.
Tenacity. [L. tenacitatem, from tenax, teneo,
/ hold.} The resistance offered by a body to
separation by forces tending to stretch it.
Tenaille. [Fr. tenailles, pincers, L. tenacii-
lum and -la.] (Mil.) Work in the ditch, of a
re-entering form, between the flanks and curtain
of the enceinte.
Tenancy by sufferance. The continuance of a
tenancy after the expiration of the term by the
tenant without agreement or disagreement on
the part of the owner.
Tenancy in common (Leg.) is when property
is given or conveyed to two or more persons in
undivided shares, each share being distinct in
title. In such eases there is no right of survi-
vorship.
Tenant right. The alleged right of the tenant,
on the expiration of his lease, to compensation
for improvements which add to the letting value
of the property. This question has acquired its
chief prominence in Ireland.
Tend, To. (Want.) To T. a ship, to keep the
cable clear of the anchor while she is tending, i.e.
swinging with the tide.
Tender. (A r aut.) A small vessel atfcWing
on a larger one.
Tendon. [L. temlo, / stretch.} (Anal.)
\Vhitc shining fibrous tissue, by which muscle.-
TENE
477
TERM
are attached to bones and to other parts which
it is their office to move. T. Afhillis passes
from the muscles of the calf of the leg to the
heel.
Tenebrae. [L., darkness.} In the Latin
Church, the Office of Matins in the last three
days of the Holy Week, at which a triangular
candlestick with fifteen lights is used, one being
extinguished after each psalm, with the excep-
tion of the last, which is held behind the altar
and brought back, in token of the Resurrection.
Tenebrosi. [It., gloomy. J A school of artists
founded by Caravaggio, remarkable for bold
effects of light and shade.
Teneriffe. A wine resembling Madeira, made
in the Canary Islands.
Tenesmus. [Or. rtive<r(j.<is,fromTe(i'w,Z stretch.]
(Med.) A straining to relieve the bowels, when
it is not needed ; involuntary, and owing to
some local irritation.
Tenne. [Sp. tanetto, a chestnut.} (Her.} The
orange or tawny colour in coats of arms, repre-
sented in engraving by vertical lines crossed by
lines sloping downward from the sinister to the
dexter side.
Tennis. [Fr. tenez, hold, or take it.} A game
in which a ball is kept in motion by striking it
with rackets.
Tenon. 1. (Naut.) The square heel of a
mast, which fits into the step. 2. The end
of a timber for mortising into another one.
(Mortise.)
Tenonto-. [Gr. -revtav, rtvoi/ros, a sinew,
tendon.}
Tenor C. 1. (Music.) The lower C of the tenor
voice. 2. The lowest string of the tenor violin.
3. Tenor bell. (Bell-ringing.)
Tenor clef has the C placed on the fourth
line of the stave ; as the Alto clef has the C
placed on the third line.
Tension. [L. tensionem, a stretching.} 1.
The force with which a stretched body endea-
vours to recover its shape. 2. The elastic force
or pressure of a vapour, measured by the height
of the column of mercury which it will support ;
thus the T. of vapour of water at 212 is thirty
inches.
Tent. [L. tendo, I stretch.} In Surg., a plug
or roll of lint for dilating wounds and preventing
too rapid healing.
Tentacle. [L. tento, I feel.} (Zool.) A flex-
ible or jointed organ with which to explore or
seize; especially the longer arms of decapod
cuttlefish, and the filamentous appendages to
the heads of annelids.
Tenter. [Fr. tendre, to stretch.} A frame for
stretching cloth by hooks called tenter-hooks,
so that it may dry even and square.
Tentmakers. Acts xviii. 3 ; makers of port-
able tents for soldiers and travellers and for
harvest-gatherers on the plains of Cilicia, from
the soft under hair of the goats of Cilicia.
Chrysostom, in a monastery near Antioch, was
for four years a T.
Tentorium. [L., a tent.} (Anat.) A process
of the dura mater, separating the cerebrum from
the cerebellum.
Tenui Minerva. (Minerva.)
Tenure. [From L. teneo, I hold.} In Feu.l.
Law, the relation between lord and vassal with
respect to lands, all landowners being vassals of
the Crown, on the theory that the sovereign was
the only landowner. The chief lay tenures
were of four kinds: (i) by knight service, (2)
in free socage, (3) in pure villeinage, (4) in
villein socage.
Tenuto. [It.] (Afusic.) IL-ld down; the
finger not to be taken up from the notes.
Tephach. [Heb.] A Jewish measure of
length ; a handbreadth ; metaph. Ps. xxxix. 5.
Tephromancy. [Gr. re'<ppa, ashes, and fj.avre(a.]
Divination by the figures assumed by red-hot
cinders.
Ter-, Tri-. (Chem.) A prefix denoting that
a salt contains three [L. ter, Gr. rpis, thrice]
atoms of the elements thus marked ; as a ter-
chloride, tri-sulphide, which contain three atoms
of chlorine, sulphur, in each molecule.
Terai The belt of jungle-land at the base of
high mountain ranges, especially of the Hima-
layas. These belts are wonderfully fertile, but
are also hot -beds of fever.
Teraphim. [Heb.] Images connected with
magical rites, and consulted by the Israelites
for oracular answers, but apparently not wor-
shipped.
Teratology. [Gr. repay, rip&ros, a prodigy.}
The history of monstrosities, malformations, in
organic nature.
Terbium. ( Yttrium . )
Tercel. (Tarsel.)
Terebinth. (Teil.)
Terebratulidae. [L. terebra, a borer.} (Lamp-
shells. )
Teredo. [L., piercer, from tero, / pierce.}
Ship-worm ; bivalve mollusc, boring holes in
timber. Fam. Pholadidae, class Conchifera.
(Pholas.)
Teres atque rotundus. [L., smooth and
round.} Well-finished, complete, as a perfect
character (Hor. , Sat., ii. 7, 86).
Term. [L. terminus, a boundary.} 1. (Geow.)
A boundary. 2. (Algeb.} One of the members
of an algebraical expression or of a proportion.
8. In Logic. (Categorematic ; Syncategore-
matic.)
Termagant. The Romance and German
poets of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
supposed this to be a Saracenic deity, and
coupled the name with that of (Mohammed)
Mahound. It is really a corr. of the Greek Tris-
megistos, thrice-greatest, an epithet of Hermes.
The word has passed into the meaning boisterous,
noisy, violent. Grimm, Teutonic Mythology,
vol. i. p. 150.
Termmalia. [L.] (Hist.) A festival cele-
brated by the Romans yearly in honour of Ter-
minus, the god of boundaries, the Zeus Horios
of the Greeks. (Herculean.)
Terminology. [A word coined from L. terminus,
term, and Gr. \dyos, discourse.] The doctrine of
terms ; or a treatise on terms ; or, sometimes,
the terms themselves.
Terminus. (Termmalia.)
TERM
478
TETR
Terminus a quo. [L.] A starting-point ', the
Terminus ad quern being the end or goal.
Termites. [L. termitem, a bough cut off.]
(Entom.) White ants ; small, soft-bodied neu-
ropterous insects (not true ants, which are
hymenopterous), forming large communities, and
inhabiting mounds sometimes five feet high and
as hard as stone. They are very destructive,
and will eat away the whole inside of a wooden
beam or piece of furniture without any apparent
external injury.
Tern. (Sternidse.)
Ternate leaf, [L. terni, three each.] (Bot.)
One divided into three leaflets ; e.g. clover.
Terra cotta. [It.] Baked clay for statues,
earthenware, etc.
Terra filing. [L., a son of the earth.'} A
phrase denoting men of low birth, answering
to the modern gentlemen of the pavement.
(Hidalgo.)
Terrae motns. [L.] An earthquake.
Terra firma. [L.] Solid ground.
Terra incognita. [L.] Unknown land.
Terra Japonica. [L., Japanese earth.] Cate-
chu (formerly supposed to be an earth).
Terrapene, Terrapin. (Zool.) Fresh-water
tortoises, EmydTdae [Gr. in fa], with a horny
beak and jointed breastplate. America and
Europe. The name is loosely given to many
edible kinds.
Terra verde. [It.] An o\\\~t-green earth used
as a pigment.
Terreplein. [Fr., platform^ (Mil.) The
upper surface of a rampart behind the parapet ;
sometimes any level piece of ground.
Tenet A ring on a saddle for the driving
reins to pass through.
Terre verte. (Terra verde.)
Terrier. [L.L. terrarium, from terra, earth.]
In Feud. Law, an enumeration of lands and
tenements held in a manor, with their extent,
the names of the tenants, and the services due
from each. By Canon LXXXVI., a T. of glebe
lands, etc., of every parish is to be made and laid
up in the bishop's registry. (The terrier dog is
so named as being used for drawing foxes when
they take to earth on being hunted. )
Terror, Beign of. In Fr. Hist., a name given
to the worst time of the Revolution, generally
reckoned from October, 1793, to the fall of
Robespierre and his fellow- Terrorists, in July,
1794.
Ter-Sanctns. (Tnsagion.)
Tertian. (Quartan.)
Tertiaries. (Eccl. Hist.) Societies follow-
ing the third rule of St. Francis (Franciscans),
seemingly connected with the Beghards and
Fraticelli.
Tertiary colours. [L. tertiarius, from tertius,
third.] Colours derived from the mixture of
two secondaries. They are citrine, russet, and
olive.
Tertiary system, or Cainozoic (Ceo!.), = all
the regular strata and sedimentary accumula-
tions which lie between the chalk and the begin-
ning of the boulder, or drift, formation. (Eocene ;
Neozoic.)
Tertullianists. (Eccl. Hist.) Montanists of
the school of Tertuliian, in the second century.
Terza rima. [It., triple rime.] A measure
used by the Troubadours and adopted by the
early Italian poets. The rimes are so interlaced
throughout the poem, that there is no pause till
the end of it. The Divina Commedia of Dante
is written in this metre.
Terzones. (Troubadours.)
Terzuolo. (Musket.)
Tessellated. [L. tessellatus.] (Her.} Formed
of squares of different colours.
Tessellated pavement. [L. tessella, dim. of
tessera.] (Arch.) A pavement formed of small
square pieces of stone called tessera, generally of
different colours and with a central subject.
Tessera. [L.] 1. A six-sided die, used as a
ticket or tally, and also for setting military
watches at night, the tessera being passed from
one centurion to another. Hence, 2, a watch-
word.
Tesseral system [L. tessera, a square piece of
stone, wood]; Tessular system. (Crystallog.}
The octahedral system (q.v. ).
Test. [L. testa, an earthen vessel.] A cupel
(q.v.).
Test Act, 25 Charles II., obliged all officers,
civil and military, as well as members of corpo-
rations, to receive the Holy Communion in the
English Church ; and to declare against tran-
substantiation.
Testaments, Old and New, are really the
O. and N. Covenants, Settlements; T. being
used as = solemn, duly attested declaration.
See note on Heb. ix. in Norris's Notes on
the New Testament, and refer to Revised
translation.
Tester. [O.Fr. teste, head.] A flat canopy
over a bed.
Tester (from the head, O.Fr. teste, impressed
on it). An old coin, worth sixpence.
Test-paper. Paper impregnated with some
reagent for detecting the presence of certain
substances. (Litmus.)
Test-tube. A tube for holding liquids to be
tested.
Testudo. [L., a tortoise.] In Rom. Hist., a
contrivance for attacking fortified places. The
soldiers placed their shields so as to form a pent-
house, which threw off the missiles showered
down upon them.
Tetanus. [Gr. reravos, convulsive tension.]
(Med. ) Spasm, more or less violent, of the muscles
of voluntary motion. Lockjaw, when of the
muscles of the jaw or throat. Traumatic T.,
when arising from bodily injury [rpavfjLariK6s,
having to do with a wound (rpav/jia.)].
Tete-a-tete. [Fr., L. testa.] Head to head ;
a conference between two persons. In It. a
quatro occhi.
Tete-de-pont. [Fr., Jiead of bridge^ (Mil.)
Work thrown up to cover a bridge and the com-
munications across a river.
Tetemontee. [Fr.J A head that has been turned.
Tetr-, Tetra-. (C/iew.) A prefix denoting
that a salt contains four [Gr. rtrpdKts, four
times] atoms of the element thus marked ; as a
TETR
479
THE I
tetr-oxide, tetra-fluoride, which contain four atoms
of oxygen, fluorine, in each molecule.
Tetrachord. [Gr. rfrpdxopSos, four-stringed.}
(Music.) 1. (Diatonic scales.) 2. A series of
four notes in the scale ; such as that which,
occurring twice, constitutes the major scale ;
so, in C, from C to F, and from G to C.
Tetradactyle. [Gr. TTp$.bditTv\os, four-fin-
gered.} (Zoo/.) Four-toed ; as the dog's hind
foot.
Tetraeteris. [Gr.] (Chron.) A cycle of
four years, attributed to Solon, for equalizing
the lunar with the solar year, by means of inter-
calated months.
Tetragon. [Gr. rerpdycavos, four-angled} A
quadrilateral figure.
Tetragrammaton. [Gr., of four letters.} In
Hebrew, the sacred name JeHoVaH.
Tetrahedron. (Polyhedron.)
Tetralogy. [Gr. r^rpa\oyia.] (Satyric drama.)
Tetrameter. In Gr. poetry, a verse of four
measures [Ttrpd/j.fTpos] ; in some cases, of four
single feet ; in others, of four double feet.
Tetramorph. [Gr. rfrpdfj.op<pos, four-shaped.}
A figure uniting attributes said to be those of
the evangelists (a man, lion, bull, and eagle),
and standing on winged fiery wheels.
Tetraonidse. [L. tgtraonem, Gr. rtrpdiav,
probably bird of the grouse kind} (Ornith.)
Grouse, partridge, etc. ; fam. of birds found
everywhere except south-west of S. America, and
Polynesia. Ord. Gallmse.
Tetrapla. [Gr. TerpairAoos, fourfold.} The
Bible of Origen, as at first completed, in four
versions, viz. that of the Septuagint, with those
of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion.
(Hexapla.)
Tetrapod. [Gr. TTpairows,iro8os.] Four-footed.
Tetrapolitan Confession. A confession, differ-
ing slightly from the Augsburg Confession, drawn
up, 1 530, by the four towns, Lindau, Constance,
Strasburg, and Memmingen.
Tetraptera. [Gr. rfrpd-irrfpos, four-winged.]
(Entom.) Name given by some authorities to
four-winged insects.
Tetrarch. [Gr. rtrpdpx^-] Properly the
governor of the fourth part of any country ; often
used for a subordinate prince without reference
to its etymological meaning.
Tetrastich. [Gr. TTpaarTxoj, in four rows.}
A stanza of four verses.
Tetrastyle. [Gr. rf-rpdffrv\os.] (Arch.} A
doorway with four columns in front.
Tetter. [A. S. teter ; cf. Fr. dartre, which has
the same meaning.] (Med.) A general name for
eruptive affections of the cuticle.
Teuthldse. (Squid.)
Teutonic languages. The dialects belonging
to the High and Low German, and Scandinavian
branches of the Aryan family of languages.
Teutonic Order. The Teutonic Knights of the
Hospital of St. Mary in Jerusalem. This order,
founded by some charitable burghers of Llibeck
and Bremen during the siege of Acre in the
Third Crusade, 1189-91, rose to eminence under
the fourth grand master, Herman of Salza. The
order was then transferred to the Baltic. In
1525 Albert of Brandenburg renounced the
title of grand master for that of Duke of Eastern
Prussia, and laid the foundation for the modern
kingdom of Prussia.
Tewel. [Fr. tuyau, pipe.} An iron pipe in a
forge to receive the pipe of the bellows.
Textus Eeceptus. [L.., the received text.} The
ordinary text of the Old and New Testaments.
That of the New Testament is the Elzevir edition
published at Leyden, in 1624. This text agreed
generally with that of Beza, who closely followed
Stephens, and Stephens followed the fifth edition
of Erasmus, except in the Apocalypse, where he
sometimes made use of the Complutensian.
Hence the received text resolves itself at last
into the Erasmian and the Complutensian.
(Erasmus's Paraphrase.)
Thaborites. (Taborites.)
Thaive. (Sheep, Stages of growth of.)
Thalamus [L., bed, Gr. 6d\a/j.os], or Torus
[L. , bed}. (Bof.) The growing point of a flower,
in which the carpels are.
Thaler. (Dollar.)
Thalia. [Gr. 0cOum, blooming.} In the
Hesiodic theogony, one of the Muses, after-
wards held to be the Muse of comedy.
Thallium. [Gr. 9a\\6s, a young shoot.}
(Che/n.) A lead-like metal discovered by the
bright green line which it gives under spectrum
analysis.
Thallogens [Gr. 6a\\6s, a young shoot, and
jfvvdta, I produce} (Bot.) = cryptogams of
very simple structure, fungi, lichens, algse.
Thallus. [Gr. 8a\\6s, a young shoot} (Bot.)
In cryptogamic botany, cellular expansion with-
out any axis ; e.g. lichen.
Thammuz. (Tammuz.)
Thanato-. [Gr. edvaros, death.}
Thane. [A. S. thegn.] A general name for
the old nobility of England, the highest being
the immediate thanes or ministers of the king.
(Baron.)
Thanet sands. (Gcol.) Marine Tertiary sands
below the Woolwich beds, and lying on the chalk,
well seen and thickest in the Isle of Thanet.
Thaumatrope. (Phenakistoscope.)
Thaumaturgus. [Gr. 6av/jiaTovpy6s. ] Miracle-
worker. Subst. , Thaumaturgy.
Theatines. (Eccl. Hist.} A community of
Begular clerks, founded 1524, by Cajetan of
Thiene.
Thebaid. The heroic poem of Statius, written
in the first century of our era, and relating the
mythical civil war of Thebes between the sons of
(Edipus. The word is also used to denote the
region of the Egyptian Thebes, known as the
city of the hundred gates.
Theban year, (Chron.) The Egyptian year
of 365 days 6 hrs.
Thebet. Esth. ii. 16 ; fourth month of civil,
tenth of ecclesiastical, Jewish year ; December
January.
Theftbote. [Bote, compensation, = boot.}
(Leg.) The compensation of a felony, by
receiving back the stolen goods from the thief,
or a compensation for them.
Theine. (Caffeine.)
480
TIIER
Themis. [Gr.] In the Iliad, the goddess of
law and order, who summons the council of the
gods. She is the mother of the Hesperides.
Theobromine. (Cacao.)
Theocracy. [Gr. OeoKparia.] The govern-
ment of a state immediately by God, as that of
the Israelites before the establishment of the
monarchy.
Theocrasy. [Gr. deoKpacria, from 0eJs, and
Kpuffis, mixture."} In ancient philosophy, a term
denoting the blending of the human soul with
the divine Spirit in contemplation. It is the
modern Quietism. (Mystics.)
Theodicaea. A word made up by Leibnitz
from Gr. 9e6s and Si'/cam, just, and used as the
title of his work, published in 1710, with the de-
sign of proving that of all possible schemes for the
government of the world, the one adopted is the
best. This, opinion is commonly known as
Optimism, its opposite being Pessimism.
Theodolite. [Of doubtful origin ; said to have
been coined from Gr. 6edo/j.ai, I view, and S6\os,
stratagem /] (Afat/i.) A surveying instrument for
measuring angles ; consisting essentially of a
telescope and two graduated circles, one vertical
and the other horizontal. It is mounted on a
tripod, and can be accurately adjusted by levels, so
that the observer can read off the angle of vertical
elevation of a point and the horizontal angle be-
tween two points, i.e. the projection on a horizon-
tal plane of the angle subtended at the centre of
the instrument by the line joining the two points.
Theodosians. Followers of the Monophysite
Theodosius, in the sixth century.
Theodotians. (Melchisedekians. )
Theogony. [Gr. Btoyovia..] A history of the
relationship and descent of the gods, with a de-
scription of their functions. Such is the theogony
of Hesiod.
Theological virtues. In Roman Catholic
theology these are four Cardinal (q.v.} virtues;
but a prior division is that of (i) T. V., faith,
hope, charity ; and (2) Moral, or Cardinal, =
those which do, and those which do not, "im-
mediately regard God."
Theopaschites. [Gr. Beds, and irdo-xu, 1 suffer^
(Eccl. Hist.) The followers of Peter, a usurping
Bishop of Antioch, who in the fourth century ex-
pressed strong Monophysite opinions.
Theophany. [Gr. Geotpdveia.} A word denoting
divine manifestations to human eyes.
Theophilanthropists. (Fr. Hist.) A society
so styled itself which, when Christianity had
been suppressed by the Convention, wished to set
up a new religion in its place. They had the
use of ten churches, but being deprived of these
in 1802, they soon ceased to exist.
Theopneustic. [Gr. Bfdirixva-Tos.] Relating to
divine inspiration.
Theorbo. [It. tiorba.] (Music.) A large lute
used for accompanying voices ; seventeenth cen-
tury ; of Italian origin probably. An archlute
was a T. with two sets of strings, one for the
bass.
Theorem. [Gr. 6ftapri/j.a.] A truth in science
proposed for demonstration.
Theoric fund. [Gr. ra Ofiapixa., money for
sights.} At Athens, the surplus of revenue after
charges of ordinary expenditure was set aside as
a fund to enable all citizens to be present gra-
tuitously at the great dramatic festivals. This
fund could not be diverted to purposes of war.
Theosophists. [Gr. OfAcrofyos, wise in the things
of God.} A name applied by some to the Mystics,
as believing themselves to possess an extra-
ordinary knowledge of the divine nature by
direct inspiration.
Theosophy. A professed knowledge of divine
things [Gr. Oeoao<pia], derived from spiritual in-
tuition or communication of God ; not philoso-
phically by dialectic method, nor theologically
by revelation.
Theotokos. (Deipara.)
Therapeutae. [Gr. Bepairevrai, se>~vants.} 1.
A Jewish sect, resembling the Essenes. 2.
Christian ascetics in the neighbourhood of Alex-
andria.
Therapeutics. [Gr. 0epairfvriK6s, tending to
heal.} That branch of medicine which has to do
with restoration to health.
Thermal unit. [Gr. 6ep/j.6s, hot.} (Math.)
When equal quantities of the same substance in
the same state are acted on by heat so that the
same effect is produced, the quantities of heat
are equal from whatever sources the heat may
come. The quantity of heat required to change a
given weight (as one pound) of ice at the freezing
point into water at the freezing point, is a T. U. ;
the quantity of heat required to raise a pound of
water from o C. to i C. is another T. U.
Thermic fever. [Gr. Bep^s, hot.} (Med.) A
name sometimes given to the sunstroke.
Thermidor. In the Revolutionary French
calendar, the eleventh month, beginning July
19 and ending August 17. In 1794 it was
signalized by the fall of the Terrorists. (Terror,
Reign of.)
Thermobarometer. [Gr. 6epn.6s, hot, fiapos,
weight, fj.tr poi>, measure.'} A hypsometer (q.v.).
Thermodynamics. [Gr. 8fp/j.6s, hot, Svva.fj.iK6s,
able.} The science which treats of the efficiency
of heat-engines and of heat as a form of energy,
tracing its sensible effects to movements of the
molecules of bodies ; also of the mechanical
effects due to heat, and of the heat produced
by mechanical agents.
Thermo-electricity. [Gr. Bfp^s, hot, and
electricity.] Electricity developed by the action
of heat.
Thermography. [Gr. flep^o'y, hot, ypd<pit>, to
write.} A method of copying an engraving on a
metal plate by the radiation of heat.
Thermometer [Gr. 6epfj.6s, hot, perpov, mea-
sure} ; Air T. ; Centigrade T. ; Differential T. ;
Fahrenheit's T. ; Maximum T. ; Metallic T. ;
Minimum T. ; Reaumer's T. An instrument for
measuring variations of temperature ; this is done
by observing the expansion and contraction of
mercury, spirits of wine, or other suitable liquid,
inclosed in a glass bulb ending in a tube of very
fine bore ; the fixed points of the scale attached
are the temperatures of melting ice (freezing
point) and of steam under a pressure of about
thirty inches of mercury (boiling point). In
THER
481
TIIOK
Fahrenheit's T. the distance between these
points is divided into 180 equal parts, called
degrees, freezing point being! marked 32,
and boiling point 212; in the Centigrade T.
the former is marked o, the latter 100 ; while
in Reaumer's the former is o, the latter 80. In
an Air T. the scale of temperature is determined
by the expansion of air under a constant pres-
sure. A Differential T. consists of two bulbs on
a level connected by a bent tube containing a
coloured liquid ; if the bulbs are at different
temperatures, the unequal expansion of the air
causes the liquid to stand at different levels in
the bent tube, and supplies an accurate measure
of the difference between the temperature of two
neighbouring bodies. In the Metallic T. (Bre-
guet's) change of temperature is indicated by a
ribbon of different metals formed into a spiral
whose unequal expansion or contraction causes
it to coil or uncoil when its temperature changes.
Maximum and Minimum T. register the highest
and lowest temperatures that have occurred
during a given time.
Thermomultiplier. A thermopile (q.v.).
Thermopile. An instrument for measuring
minute degrees of temperature. It consists of a
number of short pieces of antimony and bismuth
joined end to end, forming, for instance, a zigzag.
When the upper joints are exposed to a source
of heat and the ends of the zigzag are joined by
a wire, a current circulates whose intensity is pro-
portioned to the heat and is measured by the
deflection of the needle of a galvanometer.
Thermosoope. [Gr. Gep^As, hot, o-KoWco, I view.}
An instrument for measuring the effects of heat ;
as a thermopile or a differential thermometer.
Thermotics. [Gr. Bepfua, or perhaps 6ep/j.dta, I
make hot.} The body of doctrines respecting
heat which have been established on proper
scientific grounds.
Theroid [Gr. OnpoeiS-fis] idiocy. When the
appearance [eTSos] and habit are like those of a
beast [0-fip].
Thersites. [Gr.] In the Iliad, a deformed
and noisy Achaian, whom Odysseus (Ulysses)
smites for his plain speaking. Hence any inso-
lent railer.
Theseus, Temple of. The only temple of
ancient Athens which still remains almost un-
injured, perhaps from the fact that it was in the
Middle Ages consecrated as a Christian Church.
Thesmophoria. [Gr.] At Athens and else-
where, the festival of Demeter, surnamed Thes-
mophoros, or the lawgiver. (Eleusinian
Mysteries.)
ThesmothetaB. (Archons.)
Thespian art. The tragic or dramatic art is
sometimes so called, from Thespis, an Athenian,
who, in the sixth century B.C., first gave it some
definite form.
Thetes. [Gr.] In Athenian Hist., a class of
tenants or occupiers of land, called also Hekte-
morians, as paying to the owner one-sixth por-
tion [rb l/cTTj/uopioj'] of the yearly produce.
Thetis. [Gr.] (Myth.) One of the Nereids,
who becomes the wife of Peleus and the mother
of Achilles. (Paris, Judgment of.)
Thibet cloth. A goat's-hair fabric resembling
camlet.
Thick and dry for weighing. (A r atit.) An
order to clap on nippers closely, at starting the
anchor.
Thick-and-thin block. Fiddle -block. (Fiddle.)
Thill. [A.S. Jiille, a beam, a stake.} The
draught-tree of a cart or waggon.
Thiller, Thill-horse. The 'horse between the
shafts, or next the ////// (</.?'.).
Thimble. (Naut.) A ring with its outer side
concave, to bind a rope round. T.-eyes, holes
in iron plates to reeve ropes through.
Thing. In the old Swedish and cognate lan-
guages, a popular judicial or legislative as-
sembly. The Icelandic alt/ling, or general
parliament, met in the Thingvalla.
Thinga-men. (House-carls.)
Thingvalla. (Thing.)
Thin plates, Colours of. (Colour.)
Third Order. (Eccl. Hist.) Secular associates,
not bound by vows, attached to most of the
Religious Orders. (Tertiaries.)
Third Pointed style. (Geometrical style.)
Thirlage. In Scot. Law, the right, con-
ferred, by law or contract, on the owner of a
mill, to compel the tenants of a certain district
to grind all their grain at his mill.
Thirty Tyrants. 1. At Athens, at the close of
the Peloponnesian War, for one year, a body of
rulers who upset the constitution of the city ;
and, 2, "by an idle and defective parallel," a
crowd of usurpers, " nineteen in number, start-
ing up in every province of the Roman empire,"
in the reign of Gallienus, A.n. 253-268
(Gibbon).
Thirty Years' War. (Hist.) A name given
to a series of wars between the Protestant and
Catholic leagues in Germany, from the insurrec-
tion of the Bohemians in 1618, to the Peace of
Westphalia, 1648.
Thistle of St. Andrew. An old Scottish order
of knighthood, revived by James V. of Scotland,
in 1540; by James II., in 1687 ; and by Queen
Anne, 1703.
Thmei. An Egyptian goddess, often repre-
sented in the hands of the statues of kings. The
Heb. Thummim is supposed to be the plural of
the name.
Tholes, Thole-pins, or Thowels. (Naut.) Pins
placed in the gunwale of a boat for oars to work
between or on, instead of rowlocks.
Tholus. [Gr. 8o\os.] (Arch.) A building of
circular form, or the roof of such a building.
Thomseans, or Thomites. (Eccl. Hist.) The
Christians of St. Thomas, on the Malabar coast
of India, are sometimes so called.
Thomas the Rimer. (Tanhaiiser.)
Thomists. ( Schoolmen. )
Thoorgum. (Tycoon.)
Thor. In Teut. Myth., a son of Odin, or
Woden, the supreme god, and of his wife Freya.
The name is a form of the word Thunor,
thunder ; hence Thunres-daeg, our Thursday.
Thor is especially known as Miolnir, the luuti-
merer, or pounder.
Thorax, or Chest. [Gr. 6u>pa^, breastplate,
2 i
THOR
482
THYR
thorax.] (Anat.) That which lies between the
neck and the abdomen ; the upper of the two
divisions of the body, containing the heart and
lungs. In insects, the second segment. Tho-
racic duct, a small duct, which conveys the con-
tents of the lacteals and absorbents into the
blood.
Thorium, Thorinum. (Chem.) A heavy grey
metal obtained from thorite (a Norwegian earth,
named from the god Thor).
Thorney Island. Ancient name of a part oi
Westminster, including the site of the abbey,
adjoining the Thames, covered with brushwood,
and surrounded by a branch of the river.
Thorough, The. (Hist. ) The name given by
Strafford, in his correspondence with Archbishop
Laud, to his design of establishing an absolute
monarchy in this country by means of a military
force.
Thorough bass. (Music.) 1. Commonly, but
wrongly, used as = science of harmony. 2. A
bass part, with figures added, indicating the har-
monies ; a kind of musical shorthand. (Figured
baas.)
Thorough-brace. A leather strap supporting
the body of a carriage.
Thorough-hred horse may be defined, per
accident, as one whose sire and dam are both in
the Racing Calendar.
Thorough-pin. In a horse. (Spavin.)
Thoth, Taout. An Egyptian deity, represented
as a human figure with the head of a lamb or
ibis, and venerated as the inventor of writing.
Thought, To take, i Sam. ix. 5 ; Matt. vi.
25, etc. ; Gr. HTJ juepi/ij^oTjTe, retains its earlier
meaning (to be over-anxious, worried), which
survives ir some parts of England.
Thousand and One Nights. The title of the
tales more commonly known as the Arabian
Nights' Tales, derived from the Persian collection
called Hegar Afzaneh (the Thousand Fanciful
Tales), which is at least as old as the ninth cen-
tury, and is itself obtained from earlier models.
Thowels. (Tholes.)
Thrall. [A.S. thral.] One who has no civil
rights in relation to his master, a bondman.
(Helots ; Peonage ; Eyot ; Villein.)
Three-centred arch. (Arch.)
Three Chapters. (Eccl. Hist.) An ordinance
of the Emperor Justinian, condemning certain
works of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret
of Cyprus, and Ibas of Edessa, on the ground of
their Nestorianism. Milman, Hist, of Latin
Christianity, bk. iii. ch. 4. (Nestorians.)
Three Dons. (Three Zings' Day.)
Three Kings' Day. Dreikonigstag, Twelfth
Day in Germany ; the legend being that the
Magi were three kings, and worshipped Christ
on that day. Their traditional names are Caspar,
Melchior, and Balthazar. Three Kings, or Three
Tons, i.e. Dons, is sometimes the sign of an inn.
Three sheets in the wind. In Naut. slang,
reeling drunk.
Three Tons. (Three Kings' Day.)
Threnody. [Gr. Opijj'cuSi'a.] A dirge, funeral
song. _
Tnrift. (/?<?/.) A native plant, common on
muddy and rocky sea-shores, banks of estuaries ;
found frequently on high mountains ; cultivated
as an edging for its rose-coloured flowers. Ar-
meria maritima, ord. Plumbagineae.
Throat. (Naut.) I.q. jaw of gaff (q.v.).
T.-halliards, those for hoisting the jaw end of
the gaff.
Thropple. In a horse, the windpipe.
Throttle-valve. (Meek. ) A valve in the
steam-pipe for regulating the supply of steam to
the cvlinder ; under the control of the governor
it moves so as to enlarge or contract the free
space according as the main shaft is moving
below or above its just rate.
Throwing. [A.S. thrawan, to twist.] 1.
Twisting into a thread (as silk). 2. Shaping
roughly on a potter's wheel.
Thrum. [Ger. trumm.] An end of a weaver's
thread, a tuft.
Thrum, To. (Pothering.)
Thrush. (Med.) (Aphthae.)
Thrush, Trash. In horses, ulceration of the
sensitive surfaces within the frog ; from various
causes.
Thugs. [From the Hind, verb thugna, to
deceive.] An association of thieves and mur-
derers, which has long existed in India, but has
been extirpated in all British territories. The
special object of their worship was the goddess
Bhowani, the Vedic Bhuvani, a name from the
same root as the Gr. Phusis, nature.
Thule. A name given by ancient writers to
some land lying north of Great Britain, which
may be Iceland. (Atlantis, New.)
Thummim. (Thmei.)
Thundering Legion. In the expedition of
Marcus Antoninus against the Marcomanni, A.D.
174, a Roman legion, whose prayer for rain is
said to have brought down the storm which
threw the enemy into confusion.
Thunor. (Thor.)
Thuriiicati. (Sacrificatl)
ThurL [O.E. thyrl, from thyrhel, drilled
through.] A long adit in a coal-pit, or a passage
between two adits.
Thursday. (Thor.)
Thwarting. (Athwart.)
Thwarts. (Naut.) The seats across a boat
for the rowers. T.-marks to a harbour, two
points on land, which being kept in a line point
out a channel.
Thyine-wood. [Gr. tyKov Qwvov.] The citron-
wood of the Romans ; of the N.-African Outa,
Callitris quadrivalvis, allied to the cypress ;
very beautiful and durable, much prized in all
times for works of art.
Thymus gland. [Gr. O&nos.] One of the
sweet-breads of calf and lamb ; so called from
its likeness to a bunch of thyme ; a temporary
ductless gland, in front of the lungs, diminishing
or disappearing with age.
Thyroid, properly Thyreoiid, cartilage. [Gr.
9vpfofi$r)s.] (Anat.) The upper and anterior part
of the larynx ; when prominent, Adam's apple ;
like a shield [00peos]. T. gland is in front and
at the side of the larynx ; ductless ; its function
but little understood. (Bronchocele.)
THYR
483
TI.MO
Thyrsus. [Gr. Otipffos.] A staff intwined with
ivy, and borne by the Bacchanals in the orgies
of Bacchus. (Bacchanalian.)
ThysanoptSra. (Hemiptera.)
Tiara. [L. tiaras] 1. The Persian head-dress,
worn by the great king. 2. The mitre of the pope,
which was at first a round high cap. The first
gold circle was added by Nicholas I., the second
by Boniface VIII., and the third by Urban V.
Tibia. [L., skin-bone.} 1. (Anat.) The bone
of the leg, between the knee and the ankle, by
the side of which the fibiila (q.v.) is fixed. 2.
(Music.) A pipe, flute, originally made of bone,
the commonest musical instrument of the Greeks
and the Romans. It regulated the dance at
sacrifices, festivals, the rowing of the trireme,
sometimes also the march of troops to battle
(Herod., i. 17). T. dextra, played with the
right hand, bass ; T. sinistra, with the left,
treble. Tfbue pares \eqrial}, both treble or both
bass, imparcs [unequal}, one of each.
Tic douloureux. [Fr. , painful spasm.} Neur-
algia of the trifacial nerve.
Ticking. 1. A closely woven cloth for bed-
ticks. 2. The best kind of artist's canvas.
Tide [A.S. ti'd, Ger. zeit, time] ; Atmospheric
T. ; T.-day ; Derivative T. ; Primary T. ; T.-wave.
The periodical variations in the height of the
surface of the sea at any given place depending
on the relative position of the moon and in a
less degree of the sun. The T.-wave is the
joint result due to the coexistence of the waves
produced by the action of the sun and moon.
Speaking with respect to the ocean generally, it
is a very flat wave, with two crests about 180*
of longitude apart : this is the Primary T. ; the
Derivative tides are those experienced near shore,
in channels, rivers, etc., where the primary T.
is modified by the form of the channel and its
bottom, and the movement of the water partakes
of the nature of a current as well as of an oscil-
lation. The T.-day is the interval between two
successive arrivals at the same place of the same
crest of the tide, i.e. between one high tide and
the next high tide but one. The Atmospheric T.
consists of elevations and depressions of the
atmosphere analogous to those of the ocean tides,
and produced in a like manner.
Tide-gauge. A contrivance for registering
continuously the height of the tide at every
instant in the course of the day.
Tierce. (Canonical hours.)
Tiercel. (Tarsel.)
Tiers Etat. [Fr.] Under the Ancien regime,
the third branch, or commonalty, in the French
Estates, or Parliament, the other two being the
nobles and the clergy.
Tiffany. A fine thin silk.
Tig. (Tyg.)
Tiles, Encaustic. [Gr. eyKavcmKds, having to
do with burning in.] Tiles with figures of dif-
ferent coloured clays indented on their surface,
and finally exposed to an intense heat for sixty
hours.
Tlliacese. (Bot.) A nat. ord. of plants, of
which the only British gen. is [L.] TTlTa, lime or
linden tree.
Till. (Boulder-clay.)
Tiller, To. [A.S. telginn, to {-ranch.} (Agr.)
To sprout from the base of the stem ; spoken of
wheat, etc.
Tiller. (Natit.) The bar fitted to the rudder-
head, and by which it is moved. T.-head, the
end furthest from the rudder.
Tilsit, Treaty of. (Tugendbund.)
Tilt. [A.S. teld, a ttnt ; cf. Ger. zelt.] (Agr.)
The cloth, or canvas cover, for a stack, cart', or
waggon.
Tilth. [A.S. til*, id., tilian, to till.} (Ag>:)
1. The depth of soil cultivated or fit for culti-
vation. 2. The condition into which 1 is
brought by cultivation.
Tilt-hammer. A heavy hammer used in forg-
ing ; it turns round an axle at one end and is
lifted by a projection or cam on the axle of a
wheel, which on working clear of the hammer
allows it to fall on to the mass on the anvil.
Timbers. (Naitt.) A ship's ribs.
Timber trees. In Law, generally speaking,
= oak, ash, elm.
Timbre. [Probably L. tympanum, a drum. }
The quality of a note. (Quality of a musical
note.)
Timbre, Timber. [Fr. timbre, Ger. zimmer.]
A package of small skins, containing a fixed
number.
Time ; Absolute T. ; Apparent solar T. ; Astro-
nomical T. ; Civil T. ; Equation of T. ; Local T. ;
Mean solar T. ; Relative T. ; Sidereal T. Abso-
lute time is duration, and flows on uniformly ;
Relative T. is a measure of duration effected by
a comparison of motions, so that two portions
of time are equal in which two exactly similar
movements occur. The larger units are deter-
mined by the seeming motions of the stars and
sun ; the movements which measure the smaller
portions of time and serve to subdivide the
larger units are the oscillations of a pendulum
or the vibrations of a spring. Apparent solar
T., or Apparent T., is time measured by the
motion of the apparent (i.e. the actual) sun ;
Mean solar T. , or Mean T. , by that of the mean
sun ; Sidereal 7\, by that of the first point of
Aries. Local T. is the mean, or apparent, or
sidereal time reckoned at any station with refer-
ence to the transits of the mean sun, or of the
apparent sun, or of the first point of Aries, at
that station. Civil T. is reckoned from mid-
night, Astronomical T. from the following noon ;
thus, yth September, nine o'clock a.m. civil
time, = September, six days twenty- one hours
astronomical time. (For Equation of T., vide
Equation ; also vide Day and Year.)
Time-keeper. An accurate clock or chrono-
meter.
Timeo Danaos, et dona ferentes. [L.] I fear
the Greeks even when bringing us presents (and
am against receiving this wooden horse) (Virgil) ;
i.e. one suspects the gifts and kindness coining
suddenly from those who have hitherto acted so
differently.
Timocracy. [Gr. rlfj.oKparta.} A Greek term
denoting two kinds of political constitution: 1,
that of Aristotle, in which property is the quail-
TIMO
484
TODD
fication for office ; and 2, the T. of Plato, *in
which the best of the citizens struggle for preX^
eminence.
Timonier. [L. temonem, beam, pole of a car-
riage, etc.] (Naut.) 1. The helmsman. 2. A
man, on the look-out, to direct the helmsman.
Tin. [Fr. etain, L. stannum.] A white metal.
The tin of which kettles, etc., are made is tin
plate, consisting of sheet iron coated with tin.
Block tin is coarse tin cast into blocks. Grain
tin is fine crystalline tin in small fragments.
Tin-stone is natire dioxide of tin ; when found
washed down in alluvial soils, it is called stream
tin. Tin-foil is tin beaten out into thin leaves.
Tin prepare liquor is stannate of sodium, used in
preparing calico for the dye. Tin-salt is dichlo-
ride of tin, a mordant (q.v.).
Tinoal. [Hind, tincar.] (Chem.) Crude borax.
Tinchell. [Gael, timchioll, a circuit.} In the
Scottish Highlands, the inclosing of game by a
circle of sportsmen, for the purpose of a Battue.
Tincture. [L. tinctura, a dyeing.} (Her.)
The colour of a shield or its bearings.
Tindal. (Naut. ) Lascar boatswain's mate.
Tine. [O.E., tooth of a harrmv, etc. ; cf. Ger.
zahn, tooth.'} (Antlers.)
Tinnitus aurium. [L., ringing in the ears.]
(Med.) Arising from various causes ; some-
times unimportant, sometimes a prelude to
entire deafness.
Tinto. A red Madeira wine.
Tint-tool. A kind of graving tool for cutting
lines of a certain breadth on copper or wood.
Tipping all nines, or Tipped the nines. In
Naut. language, foundering or foundered from
press of sail.
Tipping the grampus. In Naut. slang, ducking
a man for sleeping on his watch.
Tipstaff. The name for the constables in
attendance on the courts of Chancery and Com-
mon Law.
Tirailleurs. [Fr.] French sharpshooters, or
skirmishers.
TirScinium. [L.] 1. First military service,
military rawness, the condition of a tiro [L., a
raw recruit]. Hence, 2, a first beginning, an
early effort.
T-iron. Rolled iron bars, whose cross section
is shaped like a T.
Tironian notes. The old Roman shorthand,
said to have been brought from Greece by Tiro,
the freedman of Cicero.
Tirshatha. The title of the governor of Judsea
under foreign rulers.
Tisane. (Ptisan.)
Tiari. Post-Babylonian name for Ethanim
(q.v.}.
Titanium. [L. and Gr. Titan.] A deep-blue
metal, very hard and refractory.
Titans. [Gr. Tn-aj/es.] (Myth.) The children
of Ou&rnos (Uranus) and Ge, heaven and earth.
Among these was Kronos (Cronus), the father of
Zeus, or Jupiter. At the close of their war with
Zeus, they were thrust down into Tartarus.
Tithes. [A.S. teotha, tenth.] Anciently pay-
able: Pradial [L. praedium, an estate], of things
arising immediately out of the ground : grain,
fruits, herbs. Mixed, of things nourished by the
earth : colts, calves, pigs, lambs, chickens, milk,
cheese, eggs. Personal, of profits arising from
labour and trade. Great tithes are of corn, hay,
wood; Small T., of the other praedial T.,
together with mixed and personal. Modus
dedmandi, or Modus, is a local special manner
of tithing, e.g. a sum of money paid annually per
acre, or a less amount given in tithe, and part
in labour, etc. Composition [L. compositio,
settlement of a difference}, the purchasing, by a
single sum, of exemption from tithe. Commu-
tation (q.v.}, an exchanging of tithes for a rent-
charge.
Tithonic. [L. tithonius.] Belonging to Titho-
nus, husband of Eos (Aurora, the dawn).
(Actinic rays.)
Titmarsh, Michael Angelo. Nom de plume of
William Makepeace Thackeray.
Titration. [Fr. litre, a standard.] Analysis by
means of solutions of a fixed standard strength.
Titular. [L. titulus, a title.] In Eccl. usage,
one invested with the title to a benefice, the
implied meaning being generally that he has the
title and nothing more.
Titular bishops. 1. Bishops without special
jurisdiction. 2. Bishops who are called bishops
in partibus, sc. itifidelium, their titles belonging
to countries possessed by heretics or heathens.
Tivy. Quickly ; abbrev. of tantivy, the note
of a hunting-horn.
Tmesis. [Gr., a cutting.] In Gr., the separa-
tion of a compound word into two parts by
interposing a word between them ; as in to us
ward.
Toad-stone. [Ger. todt-stein, dead, i.e. useless,
stone.] (Geol.) Beds and dykes of basalt, in
Derbyshire limestone. Local name.
Tobacco charts. In Naut. language, untrust-
worthy charts.
Tobine. [Ger. tobin.] A stout twilled silk
used for dresses.
Tobogan, Tarbogan. A sleigh used in Canada
and by the Hudson's Bay Company, drawn by
dogs, for travelling over snow ; made of thin
boards, ten or twelve feet long, and from twelve
to fifteen inches broad. Smaller ones, from five
to eight feet long, are also used in Canada for
sliding down hill over snow. Bartlett's Ameri-
canisms.
To-brake. The preterite of the O.E. verb to-
brcak, used in Judg. ix. 53.
Toccata. [It. toccare, to touch, play upon}
(Music.) 1. A prelude. 2. A fantasia.
Tocher (akin to dcnuer). In Scot. Law, a term
for a father's marriage portion to a daughter at
the time of marriage.
Tocsin. [Fr. toquer, to touch, sin, L. signum,
in mediaeval sense of bell (Littre).] An alarm-
bell.
Tod. [Cf. Ger. zote, a knot or ball of -wool}
1. A bush ; e.g. ivy tod. 2. Of wool, twenty-
eight pounds. 3. A fox, perhaps as if = bushy-
tailed.
Tod-boat. (Naut.) Broad, flat, Dutch fishing-
boat.
Toddy. The fermented juice of the palm tree.
TOFT
485
TONS
-toft. In Geog., a Norse word, meaning an
inclosure, a tuft of trees.
Toga. [L.] A loose woollen garment, worn
by Romans generally, hence called gens togata,
toga-dad people. Usually white ; but of a dark
colour in mourning. The toga prcetexta, worn
by magistrates and others, had a broad purple
border. The toga virilis, which had no border,
was put on by boys at the age of sixteen.
Toggle. (Naut.) A strong wooden pin for
securing a tackle, etc.
Tohu bohu. The Hebrew words in Gen. i. 2,
denoting that the earth was " without form and
void." Sometimes used to express chaos gene-
rally.
Toilinette. [Fr.] Cloth the weft of which is
woollen yarn, and the warp cotton and silk.
Toise. [Fr. , L. tensa ; the distance between
the outstretched arms.] The old French T.
was divided into six feet, and each foot into
twelve inches ; its length was 76*736 English
inches ; the T. Usuelle is two- metres, or 78742
English inches.
Toison d'Or. [Fr., L. tonsionem, a shearing,
aurum, gold.} Golden Fleece.
Tokay. An aromatic wine, made at Tokay,
in Hungary.
Token. [A.S. tacen.] 1. Ten quires of paper.
A white token is two hundred and fifty sheets of
paper, printed on both sides. 2. A piece of
metal, issued for currency, usually impressed
with the name of the party sssuing it, who was
bound to redeem it for lawful coin of the realm.
Tolbooth. (Tolsey.)
Tolerance. [L. tolerantia, endurance.} (Afed.)
The ability, in a diseased person, to bear strong
medicines.
Toleration Act, I William and Mary, exempted
those taking the new oaths of allegiance and
supremacy, and making the required declaration
against popery, from the penalties incurred by
absence from church and by holding unlawful
conventicles ; allowed Quakers to make affirma-
tion in certain cases ; but did not relax the pro-
visions of the Corporation and Test Acts. Those
who denied the doctrine of the Trinity were
excluded from its operation.
Tollendi, Per modum. (Log.} By a method
of exhaustion. (Exhaustion, Method of.)
Tolsey. An O.E. name for a place where tolls
were assessed or collected. The word tolbooth
had probably the same origin.
Tolu. The resinous product of a spec. , Tolui-
ferum, of Myrospermum, a gen. of tropical
American trees or shrubs, of the fam. Legumi-
nosx.
Tolutation. An obsolete word, denoting a
pacing or ambling motion, from L. tolutim, on a
trot.
Tomahawk. [Amer.] A kind of hatchet
thrown as a weapon by the N.-American Indians.
Tombac. [Malay tambaga, copper.} An alloy
like brass, but containing more zinc. White
tombac contains arsenic as well.
Tom Cox's traverse. In Naut. language, up
one hatchway and down another, much talk and
little work.
Tom Pepper. In Naut. language, a liar.
-tomy. [Gr. TO^T;.] Culling.
Ton. [A.S. tunne.] 1. A weight of 20
hundredweights or 2240 pounds. 2. A ton of
tonnage is a certain number of cubic feet of the
space which a vessel has disposable for stowage ;
it is frequently reckoned at thirty-five cubic feet,
that being assumed as the volume of a ton of
sea-water ; sometimes at forty cubic feet.
Tonality. (Music.) Not easily defined, is
the characteristic of modern as distinguished
from ancient music, which arises from its being
written in definite keys, and from the definite-
ness of the diatonic scale.
Tonbridge ware (made at Tonbridge Wells}.
Wooden articles decorated with, tesselated
veneers of various coloured woods.
Tondino. [It.] (Arch.} The same as Astragal.
Tone [Gr. r6vos, a tone, from rtivia, I stretch} ;
Fundamental T. A musical sound incapable of
resolution, and resulting from a simple vibration.
Suppose a stretched string to make any number
(say 264) of complete vibrations a second ; if its
length were reduced to a half, a third, a fourth,
etc., other things remaining the same, it will
make 528, 792, 1056, etc., vibrations a second :
the tone corresponding to the 264 vibrations
is the Fundamental 7'. of the string ; those
corresponding to the others (viz. the octave, the
fifth above the octave, the second octave, etc.)
are the Harmonics, i.e. the acute harmonics,
or harmonic overtones, of the fundamental
tone.
Tones, Gregorian. Ecclesiastical chants ;
said to have been introduced into the Latin
Church by Pope Gregory the Great, in the sixth
century. They belong probably to much more
ancient times.
Tonga. (Tonquin bean.)
Tonic. [Gr. r6vos, font, note.} 1. (McJ.) A
strengthening medicine. 2. (Music.) The key-
note. Tonic Sol-fa is a simplification of the
writing of music by the use of letters denoting
sounds, and of strokes, commas, colons, denoting
time ; instead of the ordinary notation.
Tonnage. (Naut.) A ship's admeasurement.
(Ton.)
Tonnage and poundage. (Eng. Hist.} Duties
granted by Parliament to the Crown, the former
on wines, the latter on all other kinds of mer-
chandise. By Charles I. they were collected for
fifteen years on his own authority a right which
he was compelled to surrender. They are now
merged in the general customs duties.
Tonquin bean. The Coumarouna odSrata of
French Guiana, belonging to the ord. Legumi-
nosae ; a large forest tree. The fruit is an oblong
hard drupe, the kernel of which yields the
sweet scent used by perfumers.
Tonsils. [L. tonsillse.] Two suboval, complex
glands, one on each side of the fauces, secreting
a kind of saliva ; imperfectly understood.
Tonsure. [L. tonsura, from tondeo, / share.}
(Eccl.) The shaven crown of persons in holy
orders, representing, it is supposed, the crown
of thorns. The tonsure of St. Paul, used in the
Eastern Church, differs from that of St. Peter,
TONT
486
TORS
or the Latin, in going across the whole front of
the head from ear to ear.
Tontine. A method of raising annuities on
the joint lives of a number of subscribers, devised
by one Tonti, in the seventeenth century, the
principle being that the subscribers receive an
annuity in proportion to their shares, with a right
of survivorship, the last receiving such a pro-
portion of the whole sum as may have been
determined at the time of the creation of the
tontine.
Toon-wood. A coarse reddish wood, used in
India for furniture.
Toothed wheels (Mech.) are set on parallel
axles, and either is capable of driving the other
by means of projections or teeth cut on their
circumferences.
Tooth-shell. (Limpet.)
Top. (A T aut.) A platform at the head of a
tower mast. T. -armour, a fencing on the after
side, about three feet high, covered with red
baize or canvas painted red. T.-armings t
hammocks stowed in the rigging, to protect rifle-
men. T. a yard, or boom, to raise one end by
halliards. T.-castles, a kind of wooden castle at
the masthead, in ancient ships.
Toparchy. [Gr. roirapxia, from rJiros, a place,
and tipx) I rule} (Hist.) A state consisting
of only a few cities or towns.
Top-armour. (Natit.) A railing on the top,
supported by stanchions and equipped with
netting.
Topaz. Of Rev. xxi. 20 [rmifav], = the
peridot and (modern) chrysolite, the former
being the greener variety.
Tope. [Pali thupa, Skt. stupa, accumulation ;
and so nearly = L. tumulus.] Buddhistic monu-
ment, for preservation of relics ; height from a
few feet to 300 feet ; in Ceylon, China, Thibet,
etc. The oldest are cupola-shaped ; on many
are parasol-shaped structures, one above another,
and on the top of all is some metal ornament ;
their use and meaning somewhat obscure.
Tope. 1. (Zool.) Galeus canis [Gr. ya.\e6s] ;
a small spec, of shark. Fam. Galeidae. 2.
(Naut.) A small Chinese junk.
Top-gallant, in Cotton MSS. Top-garland.
(A T aut.) T.-G. forecastle. (Decks.) T.-G. mast.
(Mast.) T.-G. sails. Squaresails set on T.-G.
mast.
Top-hamper. (A r aut.) 1. Any necessary
weight on deck, or about the masts and rigging.
2. Flying-kites and their gear.
Tophet. [Heb.] A garden of the Jewish
kings, defiled by sacrifices to Moloch. The
name is by some derived from the Heb. toph,
a drum, drums being used to drown the cries
of the human victims offered to the god.
Topiary art. [L. topiaria, sc. ars.] The art
of gardening, particularly of trimming trees into
fantastic shapes.
Topics. [Gr. r<nTLK6s, from -roiros, a place.}
(Rhet.) General truths relating to the various
subjects, in art, science, jurisprudence, etc.,
which may be dealt with by the orator. These
were committed to memory, and the speaker
was thus supposed to be furnished with a store
of commonplaces, from which he could be at no
lass to draw. Many of these T. are practically
Axioms.
Top-lantern, or Top-light. (Naut.) One in
the after part of the top in a flag or pennant,
ship.
Topmast. (Mast.)
Toppings. That which comes from the hemp
in hatchelling.
Top-ropes. (A T aut.) Those by which the top-
mast, or topgallant-mast, or topgallant-yard, is
raised and lowered.
Topsails. (Naut.) Those set on a topmast.
(Mast.)
Toque. [Fr., It. tocca.] A sort of head-dress.
Torah. [Heb., teaching.] The traditional
interpretation of the Mosaic Law, uniting the
statute law and the prophetic words of Jehovah.
Toreutic. [Gr. TopevriK6s.] Highly finished.
Specially applied to carvings in hard wood,
ivory, etc.
Tormina. [L. neut. plu., = the twisting things,
torqueo, I twist, torture.] (Med.) Griping pains.
Tornado. [Sp., from tornor, to turn.] A
violent wind of short duration, arising suddenly
from the shore and veering round from all points
of the compass.
Torpedo. [L., from torpeo, / am numb.}
1. (Ichth.) Fam. of marine fish ; rays with
electric organ. Temperate and tropical latitudes.
Fam. Torpedfrridoe, sub-ord. Batoidei, ord.
Plagiostomata, sub-class Chondropterygii. 2.
(Mil.) Submarine mine, either stationary or
floating, for destroying ships passing over them.
Torque. ( Torques. )
Torqued. [L. torquere, to twist.} (Her.) A
dolphin twisted into the form S.
Torques. [L.] A chain or collar of metal
ringlets interlaced with each other, and worn
round the neck, specially by the Gauls. From
depriving one of their chiefs of his collar,
T. Manlius was surnamed Torquatus, B.C. 361.
(S.S., Collar of.)
Torricellian tube (Torricelli, Ital., 1608-1647;
successor of Galileo at Florence) ; T. vacuum.
The glass tube containing mercury which is the
essential part of the barometer. The T. vacuum
is the space in the tube above the mercury,
which in a good instrument is devoid of air, and
contains nothing but the vapour of mercury.
Torrid zone. (Zone.)
Tors [cf. Mount Taurus, L. turris, Gr. rvpcris,
a tower] are the harder portions of granite after
weathering ; remaining more or less exactly
posed above one another.
Torse. [O.Fr.] (Her.) A wreath.
Torsion ; Angle of T. ; T. balance. 1. The
act of twisting [L. torsionem]. 2. The resist-
ance offered by the elasticity of a body to its
being twisted, and so the force with which a
twisted thread or wire tends to recover its form.
If a thin thread or wire is held at one end and
twisted by a couple (two equal opposite forces
acting at opposite ends of an arm), the angle
through which the arm of the couple turns before
it is balanced by the elasticity of torsion is the
Angle of T. In a T. balance the intensity of a
TORS
487
TUWE
small force or couple is estimated by observing
the angle of torsion of a standard thread or wire ;
used in electrical measurements.
Torsion balance. (Torsion.)
Torso. [It., L. thyrsus, a stem, a staff.} A
broken statue, exhibiting only the trunk of the
figure.
Tort [Fr., wrong] (Leg.) has been defined as
a wrong or injury that is independent of con-
tract ; e.g. the invasion of a right, the breach
or neglect of a duty, public or private ; as by
waste, nuisance, libel, etc.
Torteau. [O.Fr.] A red roundlet or disc.
Torticollis. [L. torquere, to twist, collum,
the neck.] (Med.) Wry-neck. A rheumatic
affection of the muscles of the neck.
Tortilla. [Sp.] A thin unleavened cake of
maize flour.
Tortoise-shell turtle. [Fr. tortue, Sp. tortuga,
from its twisted feet.] (Chelonidse.)
Tortuous. (Math.) A curve in which, any
four consecutive points being taken, the fourth
does not lie in the same plane as the first three,
is T. The thread of a screw is a T. curve.
Such a curve is often called a curve of double
curvature.
Torus. [L., a swelling, a couch.] 1. (Arch.)
A moulding on the bases of columns, with a
semicircular profile. 2. (Thalamus.)
Tory. In the time of Charles IL, this name
was applied to bog-trotting plunderers and to
popish outlaws, otherwise called Whiteboys,
who found refuge in the bogs of Ireland.
Hence it was used to denote those who would
not vote for excluding a Roman Catholic
prince from the throne (Macaulay, Hist, of
England, vol. i. ch. 3). It thus came to desig-
nate generally the party which desires to uphold,
so far as may be possible, without change, the
existing order of things. The word is a corr.
of the Ir. toiridhe, or tor, a purstter (Skeat).
(Abhorrers.)
Tosh, To. In Naut. parlance, to steal copper
from a ship's bottom or dockyard store.
Tosorthrus. The Egyptian name of the sove-
reign or sovereigns known to Europeans under
the name Sesostris. From the accounts of
Herodotus, Manetho, and Diodortis, it seems
impossible to say when he reigned. The date of
the Sesostris of Manetho differs from that of the
S. of Herodotus by about 2000 years. Accord-
to Herodotus, he was a conqueror who subdued
both Assyria and Asia Minor.
Tossing, Tozing. A process consisting in sus-
pending ores by shaking them violently in water.
Tot, or Tott. (Naut.) A drinking- vessel,
holding rather less than half a pint.
Totem. A corr. of an Algonkin word, mean-
ing ' ' that which peculiarly belongs to him ; "
the family mark or coat of arms of the N.-
American Indians ; some quadruped, bird, etc.
Bartlett's Americanisms.
Totidem verbis. [L., in so many words.] An
exact report.
Totis vlribus. [L.] With all his strength.
Toto caelo. [L. , by the whole heaven. ] Wide
asunder as the poles.
Totus mundus agit histrlonem. [L., all the
world acts the player.] "All the world's a
stage." "The Globe Theatre," at which
Shakespeare's plays were first acted, was so
called from its sign, a figure of Atlas supporting
a globe, under which was written " Totus," etc.
Mrs. Boger, Sonthwark and if s Story, p. 126.
Toucan. [Sp. tucas, tulcan.] (Ornith.) A
fam. of birds, Rhamphastidse [Gr. pd/j.(t>os, beak] ;
plumage coloured in patches ; bills huge and
often bright-coloured. Forests of Trop. America.
Ord. Plcarue.
Touch. (Bell-ringing.)
Touching. (A r aitt.) Said of sails beginning
to shiver.
Touch-needle. A small bar of gold or silver,
alloyed in some known proportions with copper,
for trying the purity of gold or silver articles by
comparison of the streaks made by them on the
piece of hard black stone called touchstone.
Touchstone. (Basanite.)
Toupet. [Fr.] A tuft of hair worn on the
top of the forehead ; a small wig for concealing
partial baldness.
Touraoo, Crested. (Opisthocomi.)
Tourbillon. [Fr., a whirlwind.] A firework
which turns round in the air so as to look like a
scroll of fire.
Tour de force. [Fr.] A feat of strength, a
clever thing.
TourmalSxe. [Fr., (?) a Cingalese word
(Littre).] Silicate of alumina and iron, with
boracic acid ; prismatic, varying in colour from
black to green and red ; clear or opaque, wide-
spread in granitic rocks, and of many varieties,
of which the red, Rubellite, is a valuable gem.
Tourn. An O.E. word, denoting the circuit
made twice yearly by the sheriff, for the purpose
of holding in each hundred the Court-leet of the
county.
Tournaments. (Jousts.)
Tourniquet. [Fr., a turnstile, L.L. tornico,
I turn in a lathe.] (Surg.) A bandage tightened
by a screw pressing upon some point in which it
is desired to stop hemorrhage.
Tous-les-mois. [Fr. , all the months, i.e. avail-
able all the year round.] A kind of arrowroot,
from the tubers of some S. -American spec, of
canna.
Toussaint, La. [Fr.] All Saints' Day.
Tout ensemble. [Fr.] The general appearance.
Tout le monde. [Fr.] The whole world ;
everybody.
Tout vient a qui sait attendre. [Fr.] Every-
thing comes to him who knows how to wait.
Towel. A word found in most of the Teu-
tonic and Romance dialects, in widely varying
forms, all containing a root denoting washing.
(Dowlas.)
Tower bastion. (Mil.) Masonry fort placed
in the inner line of fortification on the capitals of
the polygon, to increase the defence by guns
sheltered in its casemates.
Towers, Bound. In Ireland, cylindrical edi-
fices, from eighty to a hundred and twenty feet
high, with a door eight or ten feet from the
ground, and with narrow openings at the top.
TOWN
TRAN
Dr. Petrie (Eccles. Arch, of Ireland, i. 12) be-
lieves that they are simply detached Campaniles
of churches, built so as to be available for de-
fence. There are sixty-two such towers in Ire-
land, and two in Scotland at Abernethy and
Brechin.
Town. Originally an inclosjire ; a farmhouse
with its buildings. In Wyclif s Bible, the pro-
digal goes into the T. to feed swine. (Tun.)
Town-major. (Mil.) An officer performing
in an open town the duties of a fort-major
(q.V.).
Toxicology. [Gr. ro^inAv, i.e. ^apjua/cov, poison,
belonging to a bow, poison for arro~<.vs.~\ (Med.)
Science of poisons, their action, results post-
mortem, methods of detection, etc.
Trabaccolo. (A 7 auf.) An Adriatic merchant-
vessel.
TrSbea. [L.] A toga ornamented with
purple horizontal stripes, worn by the Consuls in
public solemnities ; and by equites (perhaps
also by Augurs). Hence the badge of the
equestrian order. The toga of the Roman
emperors was wholly of purple.
Trabeated. [L. trabs, trabem, a beam.] (Arch.)
Furnished with an entablature.
Tracery, Window. (Arch.) A term applied
to the figures in the heads of windows, in which
the lights and figures are combined by label
and arch, with Mullions instead of portions of
wall, the Spandrels also being pierced. (Plate
tracery.)
Trachea. [Gr. Tpaxf~a, fem. ofrp&xvs, rough.]
(Anat.) The windpipe, the tube which opens
through the larynx into the throat, by which the
lungs communicate with the air.
Trachelo-. [Gr. Tpax^ov, the throat, neck.~\
Trachytes [Gr. rpdxvs, rough], or Greystones.
(Geol.) Rough-feeling, greyish varieties of lava,
consisting of entangled crystals of felspar.
Track-boat, Treck-boat. (A 7 aut.) One dragged
on a canal or narrow stream.
Tractarians. (Eccl. Hist.} Those who took
part in the theological movement, which defi-
nitely took shape at Oxford in 1833 5 so called
from the Tracts for the Times, which began to
appear in that year, and ended in 1841, with
Tract xc.
Traction, Angle of; T.-engine. The angle
made with the road by the direction of the force
which draws a body along the road ; a 71 -
engine is a locomotive for drawing waggons
along a highway.
Tractoration. Use of metallic tractors (q.v.).
Trade, Board of. A branch of the Privy
Council, established under Charles II., as the
Committee of the Privy C., for trade and planta-
tions. Its powers of late years have been much
enlarged.
Tradescantia. (Bot.) A gen. of lily-like plants
belonging to the Commelynaceae, of which the
common spiderwort is one kind. A term inte-
resting as preserving the name of the Tradescants
the father a travelled naturalist and antiquary,
gardener to Charles I., whose collection formed
the nucleus of the Ashmolean Museum ; the son
also a travelled naturalist.
Trades-union. An arrangement or combina-
tion entered into by the workmen of particular
trades or manufactures, to regulate the price and
the hours of labour, and sometimes the number
of workmen engaged by an employer ; recognized
by law.
Trade-wind (from the use of such winds to
traders). A gentle current of air in the equa-
torial regions, whose general direction is from
N.E. to S.W. north of the equator, and S.E.
to N.W. south of the equator.
Tragacanth, Gum dragon. [Gr. Tpa.ya.Ka.vGa.]
An African gum, used for stiffening crape, etc.,
obtained from several kinds of astragalus.
Tragedy. [Gr. rpaycpSta.] A drama with a
catastrophe, exhibited first at the Greek festivals
of Dionysus (Bacchus), and said to be so named
from the goat [rpdyos] then offered to that god.
(Theoric fund.)
Trahit sua quamque voluptas. [L.] Every
man fellows his o%vn likings (Virgil).
Trail (Mil.) 1. Strong beam of a field gun-
carriage, which supports it on the ground in rear
whilst being fired, and by which it is limbered up
for transport. 2. Horizontal position of a mus-
ket, carried down at arm's length.
Trailbaston, Justices of. In O.E. Law, an
itinerant court, set up under Edward L, for the
summary punishment of disturbers of the peace,
etc. So named, perhaps, from the sfat's[O.Fr.
baston] which the marshals of the court carried
or trailed after them.
Train-band. A kind of militia formerly exist-
ing in London for the protection of the city.
Train-oil. Whale-oil.
Trait-d'-union. [Fr.] A hyphen (q.v}.
Tram. [L. trama, weft.] A silk thread formed
of two or more threads twisted ibgether, and
used for the wefts of the best velvets and silks.
Trambling. Washing (tin ore) with a shovel
in a frame.
Trammel. [Fr. tramail.] (Mech.) An instru-
ment in which are two grooves at right angles to
each other, used in connexion with a rod in which
are two projecting points and a pencil point, all
capable of adjustment ; when the rod moves
with a projecting point in each groove, the
pencil point traces out an ellipse.
Tramontane. (Ultramontane.)
Trankeh, or Trankies. (Naut.) A large boat
of the Persian Gulf.
Transcendental. [L. transcendentem, climbing
beyond.] In the philosophy of Kant, that which
can be determined a priori in regard to the
fundamental principles of all human knowledge.
Transcendental function. (Math.} One that
cannot be expressed in finite terms by powers
or the sum of powers of the variable ; thus, a",
log. x, sin. x, are transcendental functions of x,
while ax* + bx 1 is an algebraical function of jr.
Transepts. [L. trans, across, septum, an in-
closed space.] (Arch.) The arms of the cross on
which the plan of cruciform churches is laid out.
Transform. [L. trans, beyond, forma, form.]
(Math.) To express the same thing in a dif-
ferent form ; thus, given the equation to a curve
referred to one set of co-ordinates, to express the
TRAN
489
TKKI;
equation to the same curve referred to another
set of co-ordinates is to T. the co-ordinates.
Transit [L. transitus, a passing across] ; T.
circle ; Inferior T. ; T. instrument ; Lower T. ;
Superior T. ; Upper T. 1. The passage of an in-
ferior planet, Mercury or Venus, over the sun's
disc. 2. The passage of a heavenly body across
the meridian of a station ; the station being in the
northern (southern) hemisphere, if it take place
between the pole and the south (north) point of
the horizon, it is a Superior or Upper T., or
simply a T. ; if between the pole and the north
(south) point of the horizon, it is an Inferior or
Lower T. A T. instrument is an astronomical
telescope mounted so as, after adjustment, to
move in the plane of the meridian ; it is used
for observing transits of the heavenly bodies ; it
is one of the principal instruments of a fixed
observatory. A T. circle combines in one the
transit instrument and the mural circle (q.T 1 .).
Transition system. In Geol., a word once used
for carboniferous limestone, etc., as marking the
T. from the non-fossiliferous to the fossiliferous.
Transliterate. [L. trans, across, litera, letter.']
To give the words of one language in the alphabet
of another ; as Gr. oW/wr/cm, anamnesis.
Transmew. [Fr. transmuer, from L. transmu-
tare.] To transmute,
Transom. [L. transtrum, a cross-beam.'] (Arch.)
A horizontal bar across a window, or across the
lights separated by the Mullions.
Transpadane. [L. transpadanus.] Beyond the
river Po.
Transpose. [L. transpono, I transfer.} (Algeb.)
To remove a quantity from one side of an equa-
tion to the other.
Transubstantiation. [L. trans, and substantia,
substance.] The doctrine of the Latin Church
that in the Eucharist the substance of the bread
and wine is replaced by the substance of the
body and blood of Christ. (Consubstantiation.)
Transversal. [L. trans, and versus, turned.]
(Math.} A line which cuts a system of lines ;
as that which cuts the three sides (one or more
produced) of a triangle.
Transverse axis; T. vibration. (Math.) Of
ellipse or hyperbola, the line passing through
their foci, and with respect to which they are
symmetrical. (For T. vibration, vide Vibration.)
Transvolation. [L. trans, across, volare, to
fy} A flying beyond or across.
Trapezium. (Quadrilateral.)
Trapezoid. (Quadrilateral.)
Trappists. (Eccl, Hist.) A religious order,
founded 1140 by a count of Perche, in the valley
of La Trappe, and revived by the Abbe de Ranee
in the reign of Louis XIV. The rule is singu-
larly austere.
Trap-rocks. [Sw. trappa, a stair.] (Geol.)
Rocks spread out in flat, step-like masses by
successive volcanic eruptions ; some hard and
crystalline, basalts, greenstones, clinkstones,
felstones, etc. ; some soft and earthy, clay-
stones, trap-tuffs. Used generally for any
igneous rock indeterminate at first sight.
Trash. [Ger. dreschen, to thrash.'] Loppings
of trees, bruised sugar-canes, etc.
Traumatic. [Gr. rpav/j.a.TiKiis.] Relating to,
caused by, wounds.
Trave. [L. trabem, a beam.} A wooden frame
to hold a horse whilst being shod. (Trevis.)
Traveller. (Nant.) An iron hoop, or ring,
running on spars, Ftays, etc., to carry a sail, etc.
Travelling beaches. (Eaised beaches.)
Traverse. [L. transversus, turned across,
placed athwart.] 1. (Leg.) In pleading, signifies
a denial of some material allegation of fact in
the plaintiff's declaration or statement of claim.
2. To take the bearings and distances along
roads and boundaries with an instrument ;
for the purpose of plotting (q.v.) their outlines
upon paper. 3. (Mil.) Mound of earth placed
generally across the tcrreplein of a rampart, to
prevent the effect of ricochet fere (</."').
Traverses. (Naut.) Tacks, or legs. (Tom Cox's
traverse.)
Traverse sailing. (Net i it.) Combining a ship's
irregular or zigzag courses (due to contrary
winds or other causes), so as to obtain the
net result.
Traversing platform. (Mil.) For sea batteries,
a movable rest for gun-carriages, which, by
means of runners and a revolving frame, com-
mands a large arc of a circle.
Travertine. (Geol.) A white calcareous rock,
deposited from water holding lime in solution ;
e.g. that of the Anio at Tibur ; Travertinus lapis,
i.e. Tiburtmus, stone of Tibur, Tivoli.
Travesty. [L. tra, trans, beyond, vestlre, to
clothe.] A disguise ; an absurd representation
or misrepresentation of a thing.
Trawl. 1. A kind of drag-net for catching
fish that live near the bottom. 2. A long line
having short lines with baited hooks attached
to it.
Tread. The upper surface of a banquette, on
which one may stand.
Tread of a ship or keel. (A T aut.) Its length
on the keel.
Treason, Misprision of. The bare knowledge
and concealment of treason, without any consent
to it, such consent making the party a principal
traitor.
Treasure. In Myth., the precious things be-
longing to the Dawn-maiden, lost or stolen, and
recovered and taken back ; as of Helen, Bryn-
hild, etc. The legends of the Argonauts, of the
Trojan War, of the Volsunga Saga, the Nibe-
lungen-lied, relate to this subject.
Treasurer, Lord High. Formerly the third
great officer of the Crown. The office is now
executed by the five Lords Commissioners of the
Treasury.
Treasure trove. [Fr. tresor trouve, treasure
found.] Money, coin, gold, silver, plate, or
bullion, found hidden in the earth, the owner
being unknown ; which belongs to the king, or,
in certain cases, by grant or prescription, to the
lord of the manor ; if found on the earth or in
the sea, to the finder, if no owner appears. The
duty of investigating cases of treasure trove
belonged to the Coroner. The Treasury has now
power to remit the Crown's rights.
Trebuchet. [Fr., L.L. trabutmm.] In the
TREE
490
TRIG
Middle Ages, an engine for throwing stones, fiery
materials, or other projectiles, by means of
counterpoise, the sling for holding the projectile
being fixed at the long end of a lever, while a
heavy weight was fastened at the short end.
Trebncket. (Trebuchet.)
Treok-boat. (Track-boat.)
Treck-schuyt. (Naut.) Dutch canal-boat,
carrying goods and passengers.
Tree. Acts v. 30 ; in its older sense of timber,
as well as growing tree ; so axle-tree, boot-tree,
tree-nail, saddle-tree.
Tree-nails. Pegs of hard wood, to join tim-
bers, etc. (Corr. into trenail, pron. trennel.)
Trench. [Fr. trancher, to cut.} (Mil.)
Ditch, with the materials dug out of it formed
into a covering parapet in front.
Trenohmore. A popular English dance, lively
and somewhat boisterous ; sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries.
Trend. ( Geog. ) To tend, to lie in any particular
direction ; as of a coast-line or line of hills.
Trent, Council of. (Eccl. Hist.) A Council
summoned by Paul III., in 1545, and continued
in twenty-five sessions to 1563. Its most im-
portant decrees deal with subjects involved in
the controversies occasioned by the Reformation.
Trental. [L.L. trentale, from L. triginta,
thirty.} In the Latin Church, a Mass said
within thirty days of a person's death.
Trepan. [Gr. Tpintavov, an auger, a trepan,
TpvTro'eo, / bore.} Circular saw for perforating
the skull, to relieve pressure on the brain.
Trepang. (Holothnroidea.)
Trephine. An improved form of the trepan
(?.v.)
Trepidation of the fixed stars. (Astron.) An
imaginary movement of the sphere of the fixed
stars, in virtue of which it was supposed that
the equinoctial points described circles of about
8 in radius about fixed points ; invented by an
Arabian astronomer (Arzachel) to account for
the apparent changes in the position of the
stars, which he thought were not sufficiently
accounted for by a uniform precession of the
equinoctial points.
Tressure. A bordering like an orle (q.v.), but
only half its width. It may be double or even
treble.
Trestle-trees. (Naut.) Two strong bars of
wood on each side of a masthead, supporting
the tops, upper mast, and cross-trees.
Tret. [Perhaps from L. tritus, part, of tero,
/ rub away.} In Com., an allowance of four
pounds out of every 104 pounds on certain goods
which are liable to waste from dust, etc. (Tare.)
Trevat A tool for cutting the pile threads of
velvet.
Trevis (a misspelling for traverse), or Break.
(Farr.) For performing any operation ; a
framework of four strong posts, braced together
with transverse bars ; within which the horse,
secured by broad bands, is placed. (Trave.)"
Trews. Trousers.
Tria capita. In Rom. Law, the three chief
things of civil or political life llbertas, c! vitas,
farmlia; liberty, citizenship, family rights.
Triads. [Gr. rptds, rpidSos.} Poetical his-
tories of the Welsh bards, thrown into the form
of triplets. They are probably not older than
the reign of Edward I. (Quaternion.)
Tria juncta in uno. [L.] Three joined in one ;
as in a political coalition. The motto of the
Isle of Man.
Trial by jury. (Jury, Trial by.)
Triangle. [L. triangulum and -lus.] (Mat A.)
A plane figure bounded by three straight lines.
Triangles are classified as Scalene [Gr. ffKa\Tf)v6s,
limping, uneven}, having no two sides equal ;
Isosceles [low/ceAirjj], having two sides equal ;
Equilateral, having three sides equal : and as
Acute-angled, having three acute angles ; Right-
angled, having one right angle ; Obtuse-angled,
having one obtuse angle. (Spherical excess.)
Triangulation. (Math.) The determination
of each line and angle of the series or network
of triangles whose angular points are the prin-
cipal stations of the survey of an extensive tract
of country ; as the T. of the Ordnance Survey.
Triarii. (Hastati.)
Triassio system. [Gr. rpids, a set of three ; cf.
Dyas.] (Geol.) The oldest of the Mesozoic de-
posits ; a Ger. term, the three main groups being,
as developed in Europe, descendingly : 1. Keuper,
saliferous marls and grits. 2. Muschelkalk (q.v.).
3. Bunter sandstein, variegated sandstone.
Tribasio acid. [Gr. rpts, thrice, pdffis, a base.}
(Chem.) Any acid containing three atoms of
hydrogen in its composition.
Tribolet. [Fr. triboulet.] 1. A goldsmith's
tool, used in making rings. 2. A steel cylinder,
round which metal is bent to form tubes.
Tribometer. [Gr. rpiftta, I rub, peTpov,
measure.} An instrument for measuring the
amount of friction between metals.
Tribrach. [Gr. rpi$pax vs -] (Music.) A me-
trical foot of three [rpetj] syllables, all short
[Pp&xvs} ; as regere, Pamela.
Tribune. [L. tribunus.] . Properly the magis-
trate of a tribe. 1. The plebeian tribunes at
Rome were the protectors of the plebs, or
commons, against the patricians, being in their
own persons sacred and inviolable. 2. The
military tribunes were officers sometimes elected
with consular power instead of Consuls. 3. The
legionary tribunes were the chief officers of the
legion under the consuls. 4. In Mod. Fr. usage,
the T. is the pulpit from which members of the
Assemblies make their speeches.
Tribus Anticyris caput insanabile. [L., not
to be cured by the hellebore of three Anticyras
(Horace).] Utterly mad. (Naviget Anticyram.)
Triceps. [L., three-headed.} (Anat.) A
muscle arising by three heads.
Trichiasis, [Gr. rptxio-ais, rplxtov, a litth
hair.} (Med.) A diseased introversion of the
lashes which sweep over the eyeball.
Trichina splralis. [Gr. rpixwos, of hair,
L. splra, a coil.} (Zool.) A kind of threadworm,
Nematoda [crjjuar-ciSTjs, thread-like}, sub-kingd.
Annuloi'da. The muscles of some animals,
especially of the pig, are liable to contain large
numbers encysted.
Trichiniasis. A disease, generally fatal, some-
TRIG
491
TRIP
what like rheumatic fever in its symptoms ;
arising from the presence of Trichina spiralis
(q.v.\.
Tricho-. [Gr. Tpix, Tptx?), threefold,}
Trichoid. [Gr. rptxoeiS-fii, from 0pt|, rptxos,
hair.] Resembling hair.
Trichoclasia. [Gr. rpi-x&s, a hair, K\a.crts, a
breaking.} Brittleness of hair, owing to a disease.
Triohoptera. [Gr. Bp($, Tplx<k, a hair, irrfp6v,
a ivitig.} Name given by some authorities to
the Phryganeidse, caddisflies, as a separate ord.
Trichotomy. [Gr. rptxa, in three parts, re^vu,
I cut.} A triple division. (Dichotomy.)
Trick-track. A game resembling backgam-
mon.
Triclinio system. [Gr. rpis, thrice, K\(VU>, I
make to slant.} (Crystallog.) The Doubly
oblique prismatic system (g.v.).
Triclinium. [L.] 1. In Rom. Ant., a couch
(usually for three persons) for reclining at a meal.
2. The room in which such couches were laid.
Tridentine. Belonging to Tridentum, or
Trent. The Tridentine decrees are the decrees
of the Council of Trent (1545-1563), denning
the doctrines of the Latin Church with reference
to the positions of the Keformers.
Tridings, Trithings. (Ridings.)
Triennial Act. A Statute of William and
Mary, ordaining that no Parliament should last
longer than three years. By the Septennial Act
of George I., the period was extended to seven
years.
Trierarchy. [Gr. rpirjpapxla.] (Hist.) The
duty imposed on the wealthier Athenian citizens
of fitting out ships of war [rpj^pets] for the use
of the state. (Liturgy.)
Triers. Thirty-five commissioners, appointed
by Cromwell's Government, to judge of the fit-
ness of any one presented to any benefice or
public lecture, by inquiring into his spiritual
state, his conversion, etc.
Trifacial. [L. \.i*&, three, facies,/ar<?.] (Anat.)
The fifth pair of nerves, each of which is dis-
tributed to the face in three branches the
ophthalmic, the superior maxillary, and the in-
ferior maxillary.
Trifid. [L. trifklus, three-cloven, findo, 7
cleave.} (Bot.) Split half-way into three parts.
Triforium. [L.] (Arch.) An arched story,
between the pier arches and the Clerestory of a
building.
Trigesimo secundo. In Printing, the L. term,
expressed by the form 32mo, the paper being
folded so as to make thirty-two pages in the
sheet.
Triglyph. [Gr. rpiy\v<pos, thrice-cloven.}
(Arch.) In the Doric frieze, a moulding con-
sisting of two whole and two half channels,
separated by flat spaces called femora.
Trigonometrical function ; T. lines. (Math.)
If an angle is supposed to be at the base of a
right-angled triangle, its trigonometrical functions
are the ratios of the sides ; viz. the sine, the ratio
of perpendicular to hypotenuse ; the tangent,
the ratio of perpendicular to base ; the secant,
the ratio of hypotenuse to base ; the cosine,
cotangent, cosecant, are the same function of the
complement of the angle. The definitions apply
strictly to an acute angle only, but they admit of
extension to angles of all magnitudes. There is
another and an older way of defining these
functions, according to which they are treated as
lines, and called the 7\ lines.
Trigonometry [Gr. rplyuvov, a triangle,
perpov, measure} ; Plane T. ; Spherical T. The
science of solving triangles, i.e. of calculating
from given parts (sides or angles) of any triangles
the remaining parts ; Plane or Spherical T.,
according as the triangle is plane or spherical.
Plane T. comprises the algebraical properties of
angles, and their trigonometrical functions.
Trigraph. The same as Triphthong.
Trilingual. [L. tri-, and lingua, a tongue.}
In three languages ; e.g. the inscription on the
Rosetta Stone.
Triliteral. [L. tri-, three, litera, a letter}
Combining three letters, as the roots of the
Semitic languages. (Biliteral.)
Trilithon. [Gr. rpels, three, \i6os, a stone.}
(Archccol.) A group of stones, two uprights
and a transom ; e.g. Stonehenge.
TriloMte. [Gr. rptAo/Bos, three-lobed, the body
being divided lengthwise by two furrows.] (Gcol.)
Extinct fossil crustacean, with numerous genera ;
from the Cambrian, through Silurian and Devo-
nian, to the Carboniferous ; related to the
isopods (woodlouse, etc.) ; formerly thought to
be Entomostracan.
Trilogy. [Gr. rpi\oyia.] In the Greek drama,
three plays, each distinct, but forming a series, as
treating of one subject. (Satyric drama.)
Trimeter. In class, poetry, a verse of three
measures [Gr. rpipeTpos] ; in some cases, of three
single feet ; in others, as in the iambic trimeter,
of three double feet.
Trimetric system. [Gr. rpejs, three, ^frpov,
measure.} (Crystallog.) The Prismatic system
(q.v.\.
Trimmer. (Arch.) A word now denoting a
piece of timber, framed at right angles to the
joists opposite to chimneys or the well-holes of
stairs, for receiving the ends of joists intercepted
by the opening.
Trimurtee, Trimurtti. (Mahadeva.)
Trinitarians. (Eccl. Hist.) A religious order,
founded 1198, under the pontificate of Innocent
III., for the purpose of ransoming captives taken
by the Moors and other infidels.
Trinity House, Corporation of, Tower Hill.
Chief of three British boards, the other two
having jurisdiction in Scotland and Ireland ;
providing, out of dues levied on passing ships,
all lights, beacons, buoys, for England, Wales,
Channel Islands, Gibraltar, Heligoland ; formed
under Henry VIL, incorporated by Henry
VIII. ; composed of retired commanders of
R.N. and of the merchant service ; the working
members, Elder Brethren, elected from the
honorary, Younger Brethren.
Trinoda Necessitas. (Bocland.)
Trinomial. (Binomial theorem.) An alge-
braical sum of three [Gr. rpets] terms ; as,
a + xy 2.
Triphthong. In Gr., a composite sound of
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492
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three vowels, as a diphthong is of two ; as the
Ger. aeu. There is no such sound in English.
Tripitaka, i.e. the Three Baskets. The sacred
canon of the Buddhists. It contains : ( I ) all
that refers to morality (Vinaya) ; (2) the sutras,
or discourses of Buddha ; (3) works treating
of dogmatic philosophy or metaphysics. (2) and
(3) are sometimes comprehended under the name
of Dharma, or law. Max Miiller, Chips, etc.,
vol. i. 196.
Triple Alliance. (Hist.) 1. An alliance
(1668) between England, Holland, and Sweden,
for the purpose of foiling the designs of Louis
XIV. on the Spanish Netherlands. 2. An
alliance between England, France, and Holland,
against the policy of Cardinal Alberoni in Spain
(1717). The Pretender was to quit France, Dun-
kirk to be demolished ; Protestant succession
guaranteed in England, and that of the Duke of
Orleans in France. After the adhesion of the
emperor, this league became the Quadruple
Alliance.
Triplet. 1. In Poetry, three verses riming
together ; as in Tennyson's Two Voices. 2.
(Music.) In common time, three notes grouped
together, a 3 being placed over them ; sung
or played as one of the single parts in the whole
measure.
Tripod. [Gr. rpiirovs, rpivoSos, three-footed.]
A three-legged stand for an astronomical or sur-
veying instrument.
Tripoli. A kind of rotten-stone, first brought
from Tripoli.
Triptolemus. [Gr. rpjirroAe^oy.] In Gr.
Myth., a son of Keleos, King of Eleusis, who
received from Demeter corn wherewith to sow the
whole earth. Hence one eminently skilled in
agriculture. (Eleusinian Mysteries.)
Triptote. [Gr. i-pi-ima-ros.] In Gram., a noun
with three cases only ; as L. vis, in sing.
Triptych. [Gr. TpnrrCxos.] A picture with two
hanging doors by which it can be closed in front.
Triquetrous. [L. triquetrus.] (Sot.) Three-
edged, trigonal.
Trireme. [L. trfremis, Gr. rpi^pajs.] In
Ancient Hist. , a war- vessel with three banks of
oars. (Quadrireme.)
Trisagion. [Gr. , thrice holy.} The repetition
of the words, Gr."Ayws, ayios, ayios : L. Sanctus,
sanctus, sanctus ; Eng. Holy, holy, holy ; in
the doxology following the Preface in the Eucha-
ristic Office. In Eastern Liturgies, the hymn
" Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal
One."
Trisection [L. tres, three, sectionen, a cut-
ting} ; T. of the angle. (Math.) Division into
three equal parts. In the problem of the Tri-
section of the angle, i.e. of any given angle, it is
understood that the trisection is to be performed
by the rules of elementary geometry ; under
which restriction the problem does not admit of
solution.
Trismus. [Gr. Tpiypos, a grinding of the
teeth.} (Med.) Tetanus affecting the muscles of
the jaw.
Trismus infantum or nascentium. Lock-
jaw of newly born children, mainly from impure
atmosphere ; frequent and fatal in W. Indies
and in other parts of the tropics.
Trithings, Tridings. (Hidings.)
Tritogeneia. (Triton.)
Triton. [Gr.] (Myth.) An inhabitant of
the sea. The word reappears in Tritogeneia as
an epithet of Minerva.
Trium literarum homo. [L.] A man (with
a name of) three letters ; i.e. fur, a thief, a rascal.
Triumph. [L. triumphus, probably same as
Gr. 6 "pianfios, a hymn to Bacchus, sung in pro-
cession.] The solemn entry of a victorious
general into the city, in a chariot drawn by four
horses, which took him along the Via Sacra, or
Sacred Way, to the Capitol, where he offered
sacrifice in the temple of Jupiter. (Ovation.)
Triumvirate. In Rom. Hist., a coalition of
three of the most powerful citizens, (i) B.C.
60, between J. Caesar, Pompeius, and Crassus ;
(2) between Octavius, Lepidus, and Antonius,
B.C. 43. (Proscription.)
Triumvirate Ministry, 1763. That of Gren-
ville, as First Lord of the Treasury, with Egre-
mont and Halifax as Secretaries of State.
Trivium. [L. trivius, of three ways.} (Schol.)
The mediaeval name for the three liberal arts
grammar, rhetoric, and logic. (Quadrivium.)
Trocar, Troohar. [(?) Fr. trois quarts.] (Surg.)
A three-sided, pointed instrument, for tapping in
dropsy ; having a perforator and a canula (q.v.).
Trochee. [Gr. b rpoxcuos, sc. irovs.] In Pros.,
a foot consisting of a long followed by a short
syllable.
Trochilidae. (Trochilus.) (Ornith.) Humming-
birds ; fam. of birds, more than a hundred gen.,
with filamentous tongues, mostly very small, and
bright-plumaged. American continent, and a
few islands. Orel. Plcariae.
Trochilus. [Gr. rpox&os, probably a kind of
wren.] (Ornith.) Humming-bird. (Trochilidae.)
Trochlear. (Anat.) 1. Pulley-shaped. 2.
Acting like a pulley [L. trochlea, Gr. rpox' Ae'o].
Trochoid. (Cycloid.) (Math.) If the describing
point is within (not on) the circumference of the
rolling circle, it traces out a T. [Gr. rpoxoftSrts,
like a wheel],
Trochoid. [Gr. rpoxos, a wheel.} (Anat.) As
T. articulation, in which one bone rotates upon
another.
Trolley. [Akin to roll, roller.} A truck for
carrying railway materials.
Trollop. [Fr. troll, to roll, stroll.} A vagrant,
a woman loosely dressed, a slattern.
Trolls. In Teut. Myth., a race of beings
engaged in a perpetual struggle with men, in
which, in spite of their vast bodily powers, they
are always defeated.
Trombone. [Fr., It. tromba, trumpet.} (Mzisic.)
1. A large powerful instrument of the trumpet
kind, with a sliding tube ; compass rather more
than two octaves. 2. A powerful, full-toned reed
stop in an organ ; of eight feet or sixteen feet
on the manuals, sixteen feet or thirty-two feet
on the pedals.
Troop. [L.L. troppus.] (Mil.) Company of
cavalry. Trooper, a cavalry soldier.
Troop the colours. A military display on
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493
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important occasions at the time of guard mount-
ing, when the colours are paraded with band
playing along the front of the troops.
Trope. [Gr. rpdiros, a turning.} (Rhet.) A
general term for any forms of expression not
identical with but derived from the primary
signification ; as Allegory, Metaphor, etc.
Trophonms. [Gr. rpoQdvtos.] (Myth.) A
son of Erginos, King of Orchomnos. With his
brother Agamedes, he built the temple of Apollo
at Delphi. He had a temple at Lebadea,
with a cave into which persons descended who
wished to consult him. The impressions re-
ceived were so terrible that the visitor was
supposed to remain oppressed with melancholy
for the rest of his life. Hence it was said of
serious men, that they looked as if they had
come out of the cave of Trophonius.
Tropical. (Kyriological.)
Tropical year. (Year.)
Tropics. [Gr. & rpoiriK^s, the tropical circle.]
1. (Astron.) The two parallels of declination
passing through the solstitial points and called
respectively the Tropic of Cancer (north) and of
Capricorn (south). 2. (Geog.) The two parallels
of latitude situated with respect to the equator
in the same way that the celestial tropics are to
the equinoctial. 3. The regions lying within
the tropics, the Torrid zone.
Troppo. [It., L.L. troppus.] (Music.) Too
much. Non troppo, not too much.
Tros, Tyriusve, mihi nullo discrimine agetur.
[L., Trojan, or Tyrian, I will treat them all
ivith perfect impartiality.'} Difference of na-
tionality, creed, etc., should not be allowed to
create a prejudice (Virgil ?).
Troth. As in the Marriage Service ; the same
word as truth.
Troubadours. [It. trovatore, from trovar, Fr.
trouver, to find, like the Gr. iroiTjTrjs, from
iroieiv, to make, and the O.E. maker.} Poets
who from the eleventh to the thirteenth cen-
turies wrote in the Langue d'oo, out of love of
their art, the gay science. Their compositions
are classified under the heads of terzones, or
contests between minstrels ; sirventes, pieces on
martial or serious subjects ; chansons, or short
lyrical songs ; together with serenades, pastou-
relles, etc. Court attendants [mmisteriales,
menestrels, minstrels} and others who sang for
hire were called jongleurs, i.e. jociilatores,
jesters ; whence the w 01 -d juggler.
Trou-de-loup. [Fr., wolfs hole.} (Mil.)
Obstacle formed to break the .regular formation
of troops ; a hole in the ground, shaped like an
inverted cone six feet deep and the same in
width, with a stake planted in the bottom.
Trough. (Naut.) A small boat, broad at
both ends.
Trouvaille. [Fr.] A godsend. In Gr., her-
maion. (Hermes.)
Trouveres, or Trouveurs. This form of the
word Troubadours, distinguishes the vernacular
poets of Northern France who spoke the Langue
d'oyl, from those of Provence who used the
Langue d'oc. They flourished chiefly in the age
of Charlemagne. (Paladins; Troubadours.)
Trow. . (Naut.) 1. A clinker-built, flat-floored
Severn barge. 2. A kind of double boat closed
at the ends, used for spearing salmon on the
Tyne.
Troy weight. [(?) Troy novant, the monkish
name of London ; (?) corr. of le roy, pondus
regis, the standard found ; (?) not probably
Troyes, in France.] The weight by which gold,
silver, and jewels are weighed ; the grain troy
is i-7OOOth part of a pound avoirdupois ; 24
grains make one pennyweight, 480 an ounce,
and 5760 a pound troy.
Truce, or Peace, of God. A suspension of
arms, imposed by the Church during the Middle
Ages, on persons engaged in private wars. The
truce accepted by the barons of Aquitaine and
France in 1041 was to last for four days of each
week. The Quarantine of Philip Augustus re-
strained the family of an injured person from
beginning hostilities until after forty days from
the commission of the act complained of.
Milman, Hist, of Latin Christianity, bk. viii.
ch. 6.
Trucidation. [L. trucidationem.] The act of
killing [trucidare, to kill}.
Truck. (A'aut.) T. of a mast m flagstaff,
a circular piece of wood at the upper end, usually
having two sheaves, through which signal-hal-
liards are rove. T. for pair leaders, bull's-eye
(q.v.), but scored to fit the shrouds to which
they are sized. T. of a jaw-rope. (Gaff.)
Truckle. (Coracle.)
Truck system. [Fr. troc, barter.'} The pay-
ment of wages, wholly or partly, in articles of
consumption.
True water. (Naut.) Its true depth.
Truffles. [Fr. truffe, L. tuber.] (Sot.) 1.
All fungi, belonging to the nat. ords. Hypogaii
and Tuberacei. 2. The T. of commerce all
belong to the gen. Tuber ; the English princi-
pally to T. aestivum, the French to T. melano-
spermum ; buried in the soil of woods, princi-
pally, but by no means solely, beechwoods.
Trumpeter. 1. (Psopbidae.) 2. A toy variety
of the domestic pigeon.
Truncated. [L. truncatus, lopped, part, of
trunco.] Having its top cut off; in most cases
by a plane parallel to the base ; as a truncated
cone.
Truncation. [L. truncationem.] A lopping
off, or maiming. In Min., the replacement of
an edge by a plane equally inclined to the
adjoining faces.
Trundle. A lantern-wheel (q.v.),
Trundle-bead. (Naut.) A second head tc
the capstan on the lower deck.
Trunking. Extracting metallic ores from the
mud in which they are contained (in a trunk, or
cisterns).
Trunnion. [Fr. trognon, core of a fruit, leafless
cabbage-stalk (Wedgwood).] 1. (Aleck,) An axle,
or gudgeon, one on each side of the cylinder of
an oscillating steam-engine, by which it is sup-
ported and on which it turns. 2. (Mil.) Pro-
jecting arm on each side of a gun, by which it is
secured and supported in its carriage.
Truss. [Fr. trousse.] 1. (Arch.) The collection
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494
TULL
of timbers forming one of the chief supports in a
roof, so framed as to strengthen each other and
to prevent any distortion from the weight lying
upon them. 2. A triangular or polygonal frame
of bars rendered rigid by stays and braces, so that
its form is made incapable of change by the
turning of the bars about their joints. 3. T. of
straw is thirty-six pounds. 4. Of new hay, sixty
pounds. 5. Of old hay, fifty-six pounds.
Try a ship, To. (Naut.) To keep her head to
the sea in a gale.
Trysail. (Storm-trysail; Sails.)
Tryst. [Akin to trust.} An appointment to
meet, or the place of meeting. Hence to keep
tryst or to break it. In Scotland, = a fair, as
Falkirk tryst, etc.
Trythings. (Ridings.)
Tschernibog. [Slav.] The black god, or god
of darkness, as opposed to Bjelbog, the pale or
white god. (Ahriman; Balder.)
Tsohudio or Chudio languages. The dialects
of the Finnic class, spoken by the Lapps and
Finns ; the other three branches being the Ugric,
Bulgaric, and Permic.
Tsetse (Glossinia morsitans). (Entom.) A
dipterous insect of S. Africa, rather larger than
a housefly ; its bite almost certain death to ox,
sheep, horse, dog ; harmless to man, goat, ass,
antelope, pig, wild animals, and the unweaned
calf.
T. -square. A flat thin rule or blade fixed at
right angles to a shorter and thicker piece or
stock ; the stock being pressed against the side
of a drawing-board the instrument can be shifted
backward and forward so that with the blade
the draughtsman can rule any number of lines
at right angles to either edge of the board ; and
if the board is a true rectangle, he can draw two
systems of parallel lines at right angles to each
other with the T. -square.
Tua res agitur, paries cum proximus ardet.
[L.] You are concerned -when the party wall
next to you is on fire. (Proximus.)
Tubbing. A lining of timber or metal round
the shafts of a mine (from the shape).
Tubecasts. (fifed.) Microscopic moulds,
found in the urine of renal disease.
Tuber. [L. , a swelling.] (Bot.) A thickened
underground stem' with buds, from which new
plants are produced ; and, generally, abundant
amylaceous deposit; e.g. potato, Jerusalem
artichoke, arrowroot.
Tubercle. [L. tuberculum, (i) a small nvelling,
(2) tubercle.] (Med.} A morbid granular deposit,
on lungs, brain, abdomen, etc., destroying the
tissue affected.
Tubicolae. [L. tubus, a tube, colo, I inhabit.']
(Zoo/.) Annelids protected by a tube, either
secreted or constructed from foreign substances ;
as serpula.
Tubingen school. A name denoting the theo-
logical writers of the University of Tubingen,
noted chiefly for their opposition to all mystical
interpretations of the Old and New Testaments.
Mackay, The Tubingen School and its Antece-
dents.
Tubular boiler. (Mech.) A boiler such as
that of an ordinary locomotive engine ; the fire
is at one end, the smoke-box and chimney at the
other ; the connexion is made by a large number
of tubes surrounded by the water, which is most
effectually heated by the heated air, gases, etc.,
passing through them to the chimney.
Tubular bridge. A bridge consisting essen-
tially of piers of masonry supporting a huge
lintel made on the plan of a flanged beam or
girder, not in one piece, but built up of bars and
plates of iron riveted together. Instead, however,
of the flanges being connected by a single web
in the middle, the connexion is made by two
webs, one on each side ; the whole, therefore,
takes the form of a tube, and within the tube is
the roadway. There are numerous unessential
modifications of this kind of bridge.
Tubulure. [L. tubulus, a small tube.] (Chem.)
A short tubular opening at the top of a retort.
Tub-wheel. A kind of titrbine (q.v.).
Tuck. (Naut.] The after part of a ship,
immediately below the stern or counter.
Tuck. [Cf. Bret, tach, a nail, Icel. taka, to
take, to puncture (Skeat's Etym. Diet., s.v,
" Attach ").] A long rapier.
Tucket. Slight flourish on a trumpet [It.
toccata].
Tuck-net. A small net used to take fish from
a larger one.
Tucum. (Native name.) A fine strong fibre
obtained from a Brazilian palm.
Tudor rose, or Flower. (Arch. ) A flat flower,
on an upright stalk, often seen in Perpendicular
or Continuous English work.
Tuesday. The third day of the week, named
after the god Tuisco, whose name is the same as
the Greek Zeus. (Tyr.)
Tufa, or Tuft. [It. tufo, porous groiind.] 1.
Volcanic T. ; a rock formed of volcanic ashes
and scoriae, with felspathic cement. 2. Calc-
tttft (q.v.).
Tuft-hunter. One who runs after great people,
a hanger-on, a toady. Undergraduate noble-
men at Oxford, till lately, wore a gold tuft, or
tassel, on a square cap of black velvet.
Tugendbund. [Ger., union of virtue.] A
Prussian association formed after the Treaty of
Tilsit, in 1807, for the general improvement of
the country and to enable it the better to with-
stand the schemes of the French Emperor
Napoleon.
Tuileries. [Fr., tileivorks, from the site on
which it was built.] A palace of the kings of
France in Paris, begun by Catherine de' Medici,
1564, completed by Louis XIII. It has been
sacked in 1792, 1830, 1848, and a large part of
it was destroyed by the Commune in 1871.
Tula metal. (Made at Tula, in Russia.) An
alloy of silver, copper, and lead.
Tulipomania. A passion for tulips ; in Hol-
land, 1637, one bulb, " Viceroy," fetched
4203 florins ; for " Semper Augustus " consider-
ably more was offered. At a sale in Croydon
^100 was given for "Fanny Kemble." (See
Flower Garden Quarterly Review, 1842.)
Tulle. (First made at Tulle, in France.) A
kind of silk open work or lace.
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Tulwar. Indian sword, with a curved blade
and a round metal plate as guard to the pommel.
Tumbler (from falling into its place). That
part of a lock which, until lifted by the key, holds
the shot bolt in its place.
Tumbrel, Tumbril. [A. S. tumbian, to tumble ;
cf. Fr. tombereau, from tomber, to fall] 1.
(Agr.) A heavy, broad-wheeled, one-horsed
cart, the body of which is so made as to turn
vertically on the axle when required, and to
shoot the load out behind. 2. (Mil.) Am-
munition cart which accompanies guns into
action, with the requirements for immediate
expenditure.
Tumulus. ( Barrow. )
Tun. [A.S. tun.] Formerly an inclosure with
gates, within which a country house, with hall,
chapel, bowers, i.e. ladies' sleeping-chambers,
outbuildings, etc. , was guarded ; whence 7^<nvn
(q.v.).
Tun. [A.S. tunne, a barrel.} A liquid measure
of four hogsheads, or 252 gallons. A T. of red
Spanish wine is 210 gallons.
Tunbridge ware. (Tonbridge ware.)
Tundra. The vast Siberian plains, beyond the
tree-growing zone. Hartwig, Polar World.
Tu ne cede mails, sed contra audentior ito.
[L.] Yield not to evils, but go boldly to meet them
(Virgil).
Tungsten. [Sw. tung, heavy, sten, stone.] A
hard white brittle metal. Tungstate of soda
renders fabrics uninflammable. Muslin soaked
in a solution of twenty parts of this salt with
three of phosphate of soda in a hundred parts
of water may be ironed and prepared for wear,
and is then only charred by fire.
Tungula. (Naut.) A small boat of Borneo
and the Moluccas.
Tiinicata. [L.] (Zoo/.) Ascidio'ida, class of
molluscoids, provided with tunics, i.e. soft,
tough investments, except one spec. A cylinder
in, and diverging rays at the end of, their larval
tails have been compared to the notochord in
vertebrates and the tail in fishes ; hence some,
classing them with or next to V., have drawn
conclusions favourable to the evolution theory.
Tunicated. [L. tunicatus, tunica, an under-
garment^ (Anat. and JBot.) Covered with a
membrane.
Tuniole. [L. tumcula, a small tunic.] In
the Latin Church, a close-fitting linen vestment,
formerly worn by deacons, now by bishops under
the dalmatic, and by subdeacons.
Tunnel. [O.Fr. tonnel, a tun] A level passage
driven at right angles to the veins of ore which
are to be reached.
Tunnel-kiln. A lime-kiln in which coal is
burned, as distinguished from a flame-kiln, in
which wood or peat is used.
Tunnel-net. [O.Fr. tonnel, a tun.] A net with
a wide mouth at one end and narrow at the other.
Tu quoque. [L., thou too.] The retort per-
sonal.
Turanian languages. (Agglutinative lan-
guages.)
Turbary. The right of cutting turf on another
man's ground.
Turbeth, Turbith, Turpetb. mineral (from re-
sembling the powdered root of the turpeth plant).
(C/iem.) A yellow sulphate of mercury.
Turbination. [L. turblnationcm.] The art of
spinning or whirling ; as of a top.
Turbine. A horizontal water-wheel with a
vertical axis, driven by a vortex [L. turbinem],
i.e. receiving and discharging water in all direc-
tions round the axis.
Turbmidse, Turbines. [L. turbinem, whirling
top.] (Ostr.) 7"op-shclls, including Trochi [Cr.
rpox^s, running hoop], prosobranchiate gastero-
pods. Cosmopolitan. T. zizyphinus [$(p$QV,
jujube-tree], in familiar use as ornaments.
Turk. In Collect for Good Friday, = whole
Mohammedan world ; so powerful was the im-
pression still remaining with regard to the T.
Turmeric. [Fr. terre merite, a valuable
powder.] A yellow root used as a dye-stuff,
and in curry powder. The common T. is cul-
tivated all over India ; Curcuma longa, ord.
Zingiberacese.
Turning. [L. tornare.] Rounding in a lathe.
Turnsole. [Fr. tournesol, from the plant's
turning to the sun.] (Litmus.)
Turn-table. (Mech. ) A circular platform on
which rails are laid, pivotted in a pit below the
rails, supported on wheels or rollers near its
circumference, and capable of being turned by
appropriate machinery, for moving a railway
carriage from one line of rails to another.
Turpentine. [L. terebinthmus, belonging to
the terebinth tree.] A resinous substance,
chiefly obtained from coniferous trees. Bor-
deaux turpentine comes from the cluster pine ;
Chi an turpentine, from the turpentine tree ;
Strasburg turpentine, from the silver fir ; Venice
turpentine, from the larch.
Turpentine tree. (Teil.)
Turret-ship. (Naut.) One fitted with one
or more armoured, revolving turrets, in which
she carries guns.
Turtle, Green. (Chelonidse.)
Tussap, Tussore silk. A coarse dark Indian
silk, obtained from a wild silkworm.
Tussis. [L. , a coiigh.] (Med.) Tussicular, per-
taining to a slight cough [L. tussicula].
Tutenag. [Ar. toutiya, tutty, Pers. nak, like.]
1. Chinese copper, an alloy of copper, zinc, and
nickel. 2. Zinc.
Tutor. In Gal. iv. 2, a guardian, without any
idea of teaching. Revised Version has " guar-
dians and stewards " instead of " tutors and
governors."
Tutoyer. [Fr.] To thee-thou any one ; as in
speaking to little children, to intimate friends,
or to inferiors.
Tutty. [Ar. toutiya.] (Chem.) Impure
oxide of zinc.
Tutwork. Miners' work done by the piece.
Tuyere, Tweer. [Fr., akin to tuyau, a pipe
tube, L. tubellus, dim. of tubus.] A conical
tube through which the blast of air is forced
from the blowers into the blast furnace.
Twain-cloud. Cumulo-stratus. (Cumulus.)
Twankay. The poorest kind of green tea.
Tway-blade, i.e. two-leaf. \CJ. Ger. blatt,
TWEE
496
ULEM
leaf, Gr. ir\arvs, flat.} (Bot.) Native plant, in
woods and pastures (Listera ovata), ord. Orchid -
acese, with two large opposite ovate leaves and
a raceme of small green flowers.
Tweed. A light twilled woollen or cotton
stuff for coats, etc.
'Tween or "Twixt decks. (A r auf.) The deck
below the gun-deck.
Twelfth Day. The Feast of the Epiphany,
being the twelfth day, exclusive, after Christmas
Day.
Twelve Tables, Laws of the. (Decemvirs.)
Twice-laid rope. (Naut.) Rope made from
strands of old rope.
Twilight of the gods. (Woden.)
Twilled. Covered with diagonal lines pro-
duced by causing the weft-thread to pass over
one and under two or more warp-threads.
Twilly. A revolving cylinder covered with
long iron spikes, for cleansing and loosening
wool.
Twin crystals ; T. axis ; T. plane. Two crys-
tals joined together in such a way that one
would come into the position of the other by
revolving it through two right angles round an
axis, the T. axis, perpendicular to a plane, the
T. plane, which either is or may be a face of
either crystal.
Twin screw. (Naut.) A vessel fitted with two
screw-propellers worked by separate engines.
Twist. Closely twisted strong sewing silk.
Twitch. To keep horses quiet for minor
operations : a strong stick, with a hole pierced
at the end, through which a loop of strong cord
is passed ; this, having been passed over the upper
lip, is twisted, causing pain. (Barnacles.)
Two-centred arch. (Arch.)
Two-handed fellows. (Naut.) Both seamen
and soldiers, or artificers.
Tycoon, Shogoon. (Jap. shiogun.] The tem-
poral (the Mikado being the spiritual) ruler of
Japan. He stood to the M. in the relation of
the mayor of the palace to the Merovingian
kings, wielding all power, and falling back for
his authority upon a M.,'_or emperor, secluded
from public observation. The office has been
abolished by a recent revolution (Dickson's
Japan). (Major-domo.) The proper title of the
Tycoon is Thoorgum.
Tye. (Naut.) The upper part of the jeers.
(Halliards.)
Tyg, Tig. A coarse earthenware drinking-
vessel, with two or more handles.
Tymoom. (Naut.) A Chinese river-boat.
Tymp. A space in the lower part of a blast
furnace for clearing out the hearth.
Tympan. [Gr. rv/jLiravov, a kettle-drum.} A
frame on which blank sheets are laid to be
printed.
Tympanum. [L., a drum.} (Anat.) The
middle ear.
Tyne, or Tine (<?.v.). (Antlers.)
Type-metaL [Gr. TVWOS, type.} An alloy of
lead and antimony, for making printing type.
Type of Constans. (Ecthesis ; Henoticon.)
Typhon, Typhron. [Gr.] In Myth., a giant
described as breathing fire, or as a destructive
hurricane.
Typhoon. [Gr. rv<pwv.} A tempest or hurri-
cane of great violence, which sometimes rages in
the seas of S. China.
Tyr. In Teut. Myth., the sun-god, whose
name answers to that of the Vedic Dyu, from
the root div, to shine. The name survives in
A.S. Tiwesdaeg, Tuesday, and in the names of
places, as Tewesley, Tewing.
Tyrian purple. (Common purple ; Murex
trunculus.)
Tything-man. (Hist.) The constable or
peace officer in a tything, or tenth part of a
hundred. (Frankpledge.)
TT. A letter long identified with V, but now
used as a vowel, V being used as a consonant.
But although the character V was originally ;
written with the same sign as the vowel U, it i
was by the ancients themselves considered essen- j
daily different, as were also the consonant i (j)
and the vowel i.
TJbi jus, Ibi remedium. [L.] A maxim in
Law : where there is a right there is a remedy ; I
therefore equity intervenes where, from some
technical defect, common law does not avail.
Ubiquitarians, TTbiquists. [L. ubique, every- j
where.} A name applied -to those Lutherans '
who hold that the body of Christ is present in
the Eucharist by the ubiquity or omnipresence
of His humanity.
TJbi tu Caius, ego Caia. [L.] With the Ro-
mans, the community of goods between husband
and wife was expressed by the offer of fire and
water to the wife at her first coming into her
husband's house, and by the words " Ubi tu,"
etc. ; i.e. Where thou art master, 1 am mistress ;
or rather, Where thou art father, I am mother
(caius being connected with root ga, as in Gr.
yfyaa, yevviai, etc.).
Udaller. [Dan. odel.] A cognate form of
the Gothic and Prankish alod ; a proprietor of
lands in freehold.
Uekewallists. (Eccl. Hist.) Rigid Anabap-
tists, the followers of the Frieslander Ueke
Wallis.
Uhlan. [Said to be from Turk, oglan, a youth,
lad.} (Mil.) Lancer light cavalry soldier of the
German army.
Ukase. [Russ.] An ordinance of the Rus-
sian czar.
Ulema. [Turk., learned man.} The college
of the Turkish hierarchy, consisting of the Imams,
ULIT
497
UNDE
Muftis, and Cadis, or admistrators of justice.
(Alcaide.)
Tllitis. (Med.) Inflammation of the gum
[Gr. o$\oi>].
Ullage. [O.Fr. eullage, eullier, to fill up a
cask to the bung (Skeat).] (Natit.) The residue
left in a leaky or partly used cask or package.
Ullaged, damaged, short in contents.
Ijiloa, Circle of. A measurement of the meri-
dian taken in Peru by Don Antonio Ulloa, a
Spanish mathematician (1716-1795).
Ulna. [L., Gr. wAeV??.] (Anat.) The larger
of the two bones of the forearm, the smaller
being the radius. Adj., Ulnar.
Villagers. [L. ulna, an ell.] (Hist.) In the
Middle Ages, officers appointed in each consider-
able port, to certify the length and quality of
each piece of cloth of twenty-four yards or ells
these terms being then synonymous and thus to
protect the purchaser against fraudulent dealers
in foreign imported goods.
Ulster custom, or Tenant-right system. Gives
undisturbed possession of a holding, as long as
rent is paid ; entitles to compensation for. un-
exhausted improvements ; and gives liberty to
sell the "good will " of a farm for what it will
fetch in the market.
Ulster Rebellion ( 1 64 1 - 1 649) . That of Roger
More, Sir Phelim O'Neil, and other Irish chief-
tains. An attempt to seize Dublin Castle failed ;
but a general rising in U- taking place, the
country was wasted, towns were taken, many
new settlers put to death, and many thousands
of lives lost. In 1649 Cromwell arrived as
Lord-Lieutenant and Commander-in-Chief in
Ireland.
Ulster Settlement (1611). James I.'s scheme
for its colonization. Lots of 1000, 1500, 2000
. acres were arranged. A new order, that of
baronets, was created. For every patent ^1000
was paid, and the duty added of supporting
thirty foot-soldiers.
Ultima ratio. [L.] The last device or resource.
Ultimate analysis. Resolution of a substance
into its elements.
Ultimate ends. In Moral Phil., are : 1, U.
simpliciter, i.e. that which is aimed at for its
own sake only, and never regarded as a means
to another end ; and, 2, U. secundum quid, i.e.
the last aimed at in a series of actions.
Ultimate ratio. (Math.) The limit of the ratio
of two variables. (Limit.)
Ultima Thule. (Thule.)
Ultimatum. [L.] A final proposal.
Ultramarine. [L. ultra mare*, beyond the sea.]
A blue pigment obtained by calcining and
grinding lapis lazuli, originally brought from
beyond the sea, from Asia.
Ultramontane. [L. ultra montes, beyond the
mountains.] (Eccl.) Those who maintain the
most advanced theory of papal supremacy are
so called, because the theologians of Italy, the
country beyond the Alps, were considered more
favourable to high papal doctrine than the cis-
montane doctors of France and Germany.
Ultra vires. [L., beyond the power.] Any
person, committee, court, etc., is said to have
acted U. V. when exceeding, however uninten-
tionally, his or its authority.
Ulysses. [Gr. 'OSvaatvs.] The hero of the
Odyssey. The name is supposed to represent
the Skt. Ulukshaya, the Gr. evpuKpeiaiv, wide-
ruling.
Umbel. [L. umbella, a little shadow, dim. of
umbra.] (Bot.) An inflorescence having flower-
stalks springing from one centre, each bearing
a single flower ; e.g. ivy, carrot, parsnip.
UmbelUferae ; Umbellatae. (Bot.) A large
nat. ord. of exogens, whose inflorescence is
always an umbel ; some poisonous, as hemlock ;
others esculent, as carrot, parsnip, celery ; some
aromatic, as caraway, coriander, etc.
Umber. An olive-brown earth from Umbria,
in Italy, used as a pigment. Burnt umber is a
reddish brown, and is made by burning raw
umber.
Umbilical. (Anat.) Pertaining to the navel
[L. umbilicus].
Umbra. [L., a shadow.] 1. A Roman con-
temptuous epithet for the uninvited attendants
or companions of invited guests. 2. (Penumbra.)
Una. [L., one.] In Spenser's Faiiry Queene,
a maiden in whom Truth (as being one) is
personified, and who, attended by a lion, goes in
search of St. George, and finally leads him by
the house of Holiness, to Eden. (Red Cross
Knight)
Unaker. American kaolin (Cherokee nations).
Unam sanctam. [L.] Title of a bull of Pope
Boniface VIII., 1302, asserting that to believe
every human being to be subject to the Pontiff
of Rome is a thing necessary to salvation.
Unaneled. [A.S. ele, oil.] Not having re-
ceived extreme unction. (Unhouseled.)
Unau. (Zool.) The two-toed sloths, Cholapus.
Trop. America. Fam. Bradypodidse, ord.
Edentata.
Unavdce. [L., with one voice.] Unanimously.
Unbend, To. (Naut.) To loose, or untie.
Unca. (Inca. )
Uncial letters. Letters intermediate between
capitals and small characters, in old MSS. ; so
called, perhaps, from their size, the L. uncialis
denoting the twelfth part of a foot, an inch.
Unclaimed. (Derelict.)
Uncle Sam. The cant or vulgar name for the
U. S. Government, sometimes called Brother
Jonathan. Mr. Samuel Wilson, immediately
after the last declaration of war with England,
was inspector of certain army provisions. A
workman, not knowing the meaning of the new
signature U.S. upon certain casks, supposed it
to stand for " Uncle Sam ; " and the joke passed
current. Bartlett's Americanisms.
Unoonformable strata. (Geol.) (Conformable
strata.)
Unconscious cerebration. Mental operation
during sleep, or while the mind is engrossed by
other and entirely different thoughts ; known
afterwards only, and by its results. (See
Carpenter's Mental Physiology. )
Undergird. Acts xxvii. 17 ; to pass ropes
round the ship, so as to strengthen her.
Underground railroad. The means of con-
2 K
UNDE
498
UNIT
veyance by which fugitive slaves escaped to the
free states and Canada. Bartlett's American-
isms.
Underground railway. A term denoting rail-
ways carried through or about great cities, where
the way must for the most part be tunnelled.
Underlayer. A vertical shaft sunk to cut an
underlying lode at any required depth.
Underlying. Inclined to the perpendicular.
Undersetters (i Kings vii. 30), or Shoulders.
Brackets or bars, or some kind of pedestal.
Undershot-wheel. (Water-wheel.)
Under way. (Naut.) Fairly started by the
motive power.
Under weigh. (Naut.) The anchor started,
and the ship ready to be got under way (q.v.).
Underwriter. One who, in return for a
premium received, makes himself responsible
for the payment of a certain sum in the event of
the loss of a ship or of damage to it at sea.
The practice of underwriting, nominally by
individuals, who really formed a joint-stock
company, owed its origin to the excessively
high rates of insurance charged by the only two
companies which, previous to 1824, were allowed
by charter to grant marine insurances. The
underwriters, who then took off much or most of
their business, became known as Lloyd's,
Undines. [L. unda, a wave.} The Cabalistic
name for the water-spirits, called by the Greeks
Naiads, Nereids, and Nymphs. To this class
belong the nix of the northern English counties,
and the Scottish kelpie.
Undulation ; Undulatory theory. (Wave.)
Unequal Ezek. xviii. 25 ; as frequently in
early writers, unjust, unfair. Equal, just, fair.
Unequal temperament. (Music.) (Tempera-
ment.)
Un fait accompli. [Fr., an accomplished fact.}
Done, and not to be undone.
Unguibus et rostro. [L., with claws and
beak.} Tooth and nail.
Unguiculate. [L. unguTciilus, dim. of unguis,
a nail.} (Sot.) Furnished with a claw ; as the
petals of a pink.
Ungulata, [L., provided with hoofs (ungiilae).]
(Zool.) Animals with hoofs, the seventh ord. of
mammals, containing those most useful to man ;
as among Pachydermata, the pig ; among
Solidungula, or Solipedes, the horse ; among
Ruminantia, the sheep. In some systems, as
Cuvier's, these three sections Pachydermata,
Solidungula, and Ruminantia form separate
orders, and P. includes the elephants, now
usually classed as Proboscidea.
Unguled. [L. ungula, a hoof.} (Her.) Having
hoofs or claws of a different colour from the
body.
Unhouseled. Without having received the
ho-wsd [A.S. hiisel], the Holy Eucharist. (Un-
aneled.)
Uniat. A term applied in the Latin Church
to Eastern Christians who acknowledge the
papal supremacy.
Unicameral. Having only one [L. unus]
legislative chamber [camera].
Unicorn. [L. uni-cornis, from unus, one, and
cornu, horn.} 1. (Bibl.) R6em [Heb.], a large,
wild, bovine animal. 2. (Her.) A fabulous
animal, with the feet and legs of a deer, the tail
of a lion, the body and head of a horse, from
the forehead of which a single horn projects.
Unicorn, Sea. (Narwhal.)
Unifilar. [L. unus, one, filum, a thread.} Of
a single thread.
UnLfilar magnetometer. An instrument whose
essential part is a magnet suspended by a single
thread [L. unum filum], for determining the
horizontal intensity of terrestrial magnetism.
Uniformitarians (Geol.) regard the existing
natural agencies as quite competent to have
effected all the successive changes which the
earth's surface appears to have undergone.
Catastrophists think they could not have been
effected without convulsions and catastrophes
[Gr. KaTao-rpottrf), an overturning}, for which
existing nature seems unable to supply effective
causes.
Uniformity, Acts of, i.e. to secure uniformity
in public worship : 1549 and 1562, Edward VI. ;
1559, Elizabeth ; 1662, Charles II., this last
being in operation now ; amended, 1872.
Uniform motion or velocity. That of a body
which describes equal distances in equal times.
Unigenitus. [L., only begotten.} Title of the
bull of Clement XL, September, 1713, con-
demning Jansenist opinions, as expressed in
Quesnel's Reflexions Morales.
Unio margaritiferus. (Mussel, Pearl.)
Union. [Eccl. L. unio, unify.} In Eng. Hist.,
the union of the crowns of Scotland and England
in the person of James I. The union of the two
kingdoms was effected by the Statute of 1706,
under Anne. The union of Ireland with Great
Britain was carried into effect in 1800.
Unioff, Hypostatical. (Hypostatic union.)
Union Jack. The national flag of Great
Britain and Ireland, consisting of the red cross
of St. George, the red diagonal cross of St.
Patrick, and the white diagonal cross of St.
Andrew, all on a blue ground.
Unison. [L. unisonus, having one and the
same sound.} (Music.) 1. Two tones are in U.
when they are produced by the same number of
vibrations per second. 2. Music in octaves,
played or sung, is also said to be in U.
Unit. [L. unitas, oneness.} The magnitude
by reference to which other magnitudes are
expressed numerically. In England, the funda-
mental U. of distance, time, and mass are the
yard, the mean solar second, and the pound
avoirdupois ; other units are derived from them
according to tables of weights and measures, as
inches and miles, hours and minutes, ounces and
hundredweights, etc.
United Bohemians. (Bohemian Brethren.)
United Brethren. The same as Bohemian
Brethren.
United Presbyterian Church. (Marrow Con-
troversy.)
Unit jar. A small insulated Leyden jar
placed between the electric machine and the
battery, so that its discharges show the amount
of electricity passing.
UNIV
499
Univalve. [L. unus, one, valvse, folding
doors.} (Ostr.) Possessing one valve, or door ;
applied to shells composed of one piece, as the
whelk's.
Universal Doctor. (Doctor.)
Universalists. (Eccl. Hist.) A name some-
times applied to Arminians, as holding that the
grace of God is given to all men without favour
or reserve ; their opponents, the Calvinists,
being called Particularisms. But, generally, to
those who believe in the ultimate recovery of all.
Universal joint. (Mech.) A joint enabling
the rotation of one axle to communicate rotation
to a second axle whose direction intersects that
of the former at any given angle ; the ends of
the axles open out into forks, one of which is
fastened by loose rivets to the ends of one arm
of a cross, the other in like manner to the ends
of the other arm of the cross.
Universal language. Any scheme for a
system of writing which will be universally in-
telligible. This system must consist of signs for
all conceivable things ; it implies, therefore, that
the framers of it have mastered the whole of
human knowledge, and can sit in judgment on it.
It may be supposed that not much has been done
towards the realizing of such schemes.
Universal proposition. [L. universalis.] In
Log., a proposition which has the subject dis-
tributed, that is, applied to all possible members
of the class ; as " All men are mortal," mortality
being here predicated of all men without ex-
ception. (Quantity.)
Univocals. [L. unus, one, vox, voice.] In
the Aristotelian logic of the schools, generic
words, Predicable of many species. (School-
men.)
Unknown, The great. Sir Walter Scott, for
some years after the appearance, in 1814, of
Waverley,
Unmoor, To. To weigh anchor. Falconer.
Unmoored. (Naut.) Lying at single anchor.
Unnerving a horse's foot. Dividing the nerves
distributed to it, in navicular disease.
Unpaid, The .great. A familiar phrase, de-
noting the body of magistrates who are not
stipendiary.
Unready, Ethelred the. The Un-rede, or
wanting in counsel, rather than Ethel-rede, or
noble in counsel.
Unreason, Abbot of. (Abbot of Misrule;
Bevels, Master of the.)
Unreeve. (Reeve, To.)
Unrove his life-line, He has. In Naut. slang,
he is dead.
Unstratified rocks. I.q. igneous, amorphous.
Upadana. In Buddhist theology, the attach-
ment to existence, which, with Karma, -work, is
the source from which all beings have assumed
their present form. According to this theology,
the business of man is to uproot this upadana,
and so attain a perfect calm in which he ceases
to be conscious of being, this calm being called
Nirvana.
ITpanishads. (Veda.)
Upas of Java. (Hot.) Antiaris toxicaria [L.
toxkum, poison} ; ord. Artocarpeae, a tree allied
to the fig, having poisonous secretion ; in no way
connected with the poisoned valley of Java, in
which carbonic acid gas, fatal to all life, is con-
tinually emitted. The frequent rhetorical allu-
sion to the "deadly upas tree" is, therefore,
ridiculous.
Upchurch ware. A fine pottery, ornamented
with dots or lines, usually of a blue-black ; and
made near U., on the Medway, during the
Roman occupation.
Upper case. In Printing, capitals, etc. (as
distinguished from small-letter types) ; kept in
the zipper case.
Upper masts. (Naut.) Top, top-gallant, and
royal masts. All above the royals are called
poles.
Upset price. In auctions, the price at which
goods are started by the auctioneer, and under
which they cannot be sold.
Up with the helm. (Naut.) Bring the rudder
to leeward.
U.K. Written upon the voting-tablets at the
Roman comitia, is Uti rogas, as you propose ; i.e.
1 vote for ; A. being for antique, I reject, I vote
against.
Urali. (Woorali.)
Uranium. [L. uranus, Gr. ovpav6s, the
heaven.'} A malleable steel-white metal, whose
compounds are used in glass -staining, etc.
Uranography. A description of the heavens
[Gr. ovpavoypa^ia],
Uranus. (Planet.)
Urban Dean. (Decani)
Urbi et orbi. [L., to the city and to the world.}
Papal decrees, thus addressed, are held to be
promulgated to all the various churches, and are
thenceforth binding.
Urbino ware. Majolica made or decorated at
or near Urbino, in Italy, from the fifteenth cen-
tury, but none identified before 1530. The
Raflaelle ware is decorated with copies from the
designs of R.
Urea. (A r aut.) An armed Spanish fly-boat.
Urceolate. [L. urceolus, dim. of urceus, a
pitcher.} (Bot.) Contracted at the mouth ; e.g.
the corolla of some heaths.
Ure. [O.Fr. eiir, L. augurium.] Use, practice.
Urim and Thummim. The word Urim is
the plu. of the Heb. aur, a light ; whence it
has come to signify fire. Thummim, the plu.
of thorn, or tam, means fulness or perfection.
The Septuagint renders the words by Sri\ai(ns
and a\ri6fia, manifestation and truth. The U.
and Th. are described as the precious stones on
the high priest's breastplate, which were sup-
posed to make known the divine will by casting
an extraordinary lustre.
Urodela. [Gr. ovpd, a tail, SfjAos, visible.}
(Zool.) The second ord. of amphibians, tailed
batrachians ; as newts.
Urry. [Ir. uireach.] (Geol.) A blue or
black clay near a vein of coal.
Ursa Major. (Rishis, The Seven.)
Ursldse. [L. ursus, bear.} (Zool.) The bear
fam., typ. Plantigrades (q.v.). Absent from Trop.
and S. Africa ; not found in Australia. Ord.
CarnTvora.
URSU
500
VACU
Ursiilines. (Eccl. Hist.) An order of nuns,
instituted in the sixteenth century, devoted
especially to education.
Urtaca. [L., nettle.} (Bot.) U. dioica, the
common stinging-nettle. Type of ord. Urtlcese.
Urticaria. [L. urtica, a nettle.'} (Med.) Nettle-
rash, a common form of eruption on the skin,
acute or chronic, always connected with some
derangement of the digestive organs.
Use. [L. usus.] (Eccl.) The mode of per-
forming the divine offices in churches, and more
especially of celebrating the Eucharist. These
Uses varied at different times and in different
dioceses. The most important English Use
was that of Sarum, instituted by Osmund,
bishop of that see in 1078. This Use was gene-
rally adopted in England, Wales, and Ireland ;
and the Bishop of Salisbury thus received the
title of precentor of the college of bishops.
There were also the Uses of York, Bangor,
Hereford, and Lincoln ; but their differences
were slight, being confined in some cases to
musical notation.
Use, in Law, is a word, whose history must
be studied in law-books, and cannot be given
concisely. Originally it was simply = the
benefit or beneficial enjoyment of land ; an
ecclesiastical invention, as is generally believed ;
out of which arose many advantages, immuni-
ties, abuses. Eventually it became = seisin or
legal estate. Charitable uses are enumerated in
Statute 43 Elizabeth, and these now, in accord-
ance with its spirit, include all gifts in aid of
religion, of education, of the poor, of the
young who need help in life, of public utility
or order or improvement, etc. ; so long as the
U. be not Superstitious, e.g. Masses for the
dead.
Usequebaugh. [Jr. uisge beathe, water of life,
L. aqua vitas.] A compound distilled spirit,
something like whisky, made in Ireland and
Scotland. (Acheron.)
Usque ad nauseam. [L., even to nausea.}
Repulsively ; till one is sick.
Usucapio. [L.] In Rom. Law, ownership
acquired by long use or possession.
Usufruct. [L. usufructus.] (Leg.) The right
of enjoying the profits of a thing belonging to
another, without impairing the substance.
Usury. In Luke xix. 23 [Gr. GUV rrf/cy], has
the meaning of interest [L. usura], simply.
Utile dulci, Omne tulit punctum. qui misouit.
[L.] He is in favour with every one who has
combined the useful and the pleasant ; lit. he has
carried every vote ; punctum, a point or dot in a
waxen tablet, made as the sign of a vote.
Utility, Doctrine oi That of Hume, in his
Inquiry concerning the Principles of Morals,
1751 ; the foundation of his moral system ; viz.
that is virtuous which is useful or agreeable to
the person himself or to others ; usefulness being
only a tendency to a certain end, and that end
the happiness both of ourselves and of others,
with whom we have necessarily a fellow-feeling ;
and all this, looking no further than this pre-
sent life.
Uti possidetis. [L., as you possess. ~\ A phrase
denoting a treaty which leaves the parties in
the position which they occupy at the moment.
(Status quo ante.)
Utopia. A word coined by Sir Thomas More
[from Gr. ov, not, and r6iros, a place] for an
imaginary island which has a perfect government
and society. More's Utopia was published in
1516. The word Utopian is now practically
synonymous with unpractical or impracticable.
Utraquists. [L. uterque, both.} Those who
insisted on communion in both kinds were so
termed in the Council of Prague, 1421.
Utricle. [L. utriciilus, dim. of uter, a bag, a
skin.} (Anat. and Bot.} Often used as = a
saclike part ; e.g. upper part of the vestibule of
the internal ear.
Uttar. (Attar.)
Uvea. [L. uva, a grape.} (Anat.} The
posterior surface of the iris, thickly coated with
pigment, and somewhat like the skin of a black
grape.
Uvula. [L., dim. of uva, a grape.} A small
fleshy process depending from the middle of the
soft palate, and hanging over the base of the
tongue.
V.
V. A vocal corresponding to the aspirate
F, and representing in many words the Greek
digamma. As a Roman numeral, V, being not
really the letter V, but the half of X, stands for
5, V for 5000. As an abbrev. , V. stands for vir,
vixit, vale, verba, etc.
Vaccary. [L. vacca, a cow .] A cow-house or
pasture.
Vaccine, Vaccination. (Cow-pox.)
Vaccinia. [L. vacca, a cow.} Cow-pox.
Vacuum [L. vacuus, empty} ; V.-gauge. 1.
A space empty of matter. 2. A space inclosed
by a vessel from which the air, or other gas,
has been in great part withdrawn ; as the
V. in the receiver of an air-pump, the
Torricellian V., etc. (Torricellian tube.) A
V.-gauge is an instrument for measuring the
pressure of the attenuated vapour within the
condenser of a steam-engine, of the air within
the receiver of an air-pump, etc.
Vacuum, Nature abhors a. An unfortunate
saying of (?) Aristotle, in explanation of pheno-
mena really due to atmospheric pressure.
Vacuum-pan. A closed vessel used in making
sugar, for evaporating syrup at a lower tem-
perature than the ordinary boiling point (by
VADE
VANE
the production of a partial vacuum in the
pan).
Vade" in pace. [L., go in peace.} In mon-
astic houses, the form of dismissal after sentence
to culprits found guilty of grave offences. (For
the use which Sir W. Scott made of this custom,
see his Marmion.}
Vade mecum. [L., go ivith me.} Any port-
able book or manual may be so called.
Vse victis ! [L.] Woe to the conquered !
Vagabond, in Bible, has no moral connota-
tion ; and is simply = wanderer, fugitive ; or, as
in Acts xix. 13, itinerant [Gr. trepifpxofievcav].
Vagina. [L., sheath.} (Anat. and Bot. ) Vari-
ously applied to sheath-like tubes or passages.
Vagus, or Par vagum. (Nerves.)
Vair. [Fr., a squirrel's fur.} (Her.) A
fur formed of small bell-shaped pieces of blue
and silver alternately, arranged in lines so that
the base of each silver bell is opposite to the
base of a blue bell. Countervair has the base
of each bell opposite to the base of a bell of
like colour.
Vaisya. (Caste.)
Vakeel. In E. Indies, native attorney, agent
in things diplomatic.
Vakka. (Naut.) A large outrigged canoe
of the Friendly Isles.
Valeat quantum (valere potest). [L.] Let
it count for -what (it is worth).
Valencia. A fabric having the weft of wool
and the warp of silk or cotton.
Valenciennes (from the town in France). A
lace with a hexagon mesh of two threads partly
twisted and plaited, the pattern being worked
in the net.
Valentine's Day. February 14, which bears
the name of Valentine, a presbyter, said to have
been beheaded at Rome under Claudius ; but
it is not easy to find in his life any reasons which
connect him with the special associations of the
day.
Valentinians. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers
of the Egyptian Valentlnus, who in the second
century put forth an elaborate Gnostic system
of JEons, composing a complete deity, which he
termed Pleroma, fulness, or plenitude. Their
morality resembled that of the Carpocratians.
Valerian. (Bot.) Of Pharmacy, Valenana
officinalis, a native plant, with tall stems, pin-
nate leaves, and umbels of white flowers ; the
red V., common on old garden walls, in quar-
ries, etc., is Centranthus ruber.
Valerians. An obscure sect of the third
century, mentioned by Epiphanius.
Valetudinarian. Lit. that which relates to
health [L. valetudinem], but applied generally to
weak or bad health. Hence one who is weakly
or infirm, or seeking to regain health.
Valhalla. (Myth.) The heaven in which
Woden and the ALsir dwell, with the Valkyries,
whose office it is to conduct thither the souls of
heroes slain in battle.
Valinch. A tube for drawing liquors from
a cask by the bung-hole.
Valise. [Fr. valise, a saddle-bag.} A port-
manteau.
Valkyries. In the Myth, of N. Europe,
maidens who dwell with the /Ksir in Valhalla,
and who, as corse-choosers, lead to the home
of the gods the souls of those who fall in battle.
Also called Oska-maer, Wish-maidens. (Houri ;
Wish.)
Vallauris ware. An elegant pottery modelled
from the antique, made at V., near Cannes.
Valonia. [It. vallonea, from Gr. @d\avos,
an acorn.} A kind of acorn imported from the
Levant, and used in tanning.
Valor Eccleslasticus. (Liber Regis.)
Valued policy. (Naut.) One in which a
ship or goods are insured for a fixed sum.
Valve. [L. valvai, plu. , folding doors.} 1.
(Anat.) A membrane opening to admit the
passage of blood, and closing to prevent its
reflux. Valvular, consisting of, pertaining to,
valves. 2. (Bot.) One of the divisions of any
dehiscent body.
Valve [L. valvae, the leaves of a folding
door} ; Ball-V. ; Butterfly-V. ; Clack-V. ; Disc-
V.; Flap-V. ; Lift-V.; Puppet-V. A small
door for regulating the entrance and exit of
fluids in steam and water engines. A Clack, or
Flap, or Butterfly, V. turns round a hinge, being
lifted by the fluid and falling into its place when
the pressure is withdrawn. A Disc- V. is a cir-
cular disc of indiarubber secured by a bolt in the
centre ; it is opened and closed against a grating
by the yielding of the indiarubber to fluid
pressure. A Lift or Ptippe.t V. is a circular disc
of metal with a bevelled edge, which fits a cir-
cular metal seating ; it is lifted by the fluid
pressure and falls into its seat when the pressure
is withdrawn. A Ball- V. is simply a metal ball,
with a properly formed seating and guides ; it
acts like a lift-valve.
Valve-chest. (Steam-chest.)
Vambrace, Vambrance. [Fr. avant, before,
bras, arm.} Armour for the arms.
Vamp. [Fr. avant pied, before foot.} The
upper leather of a shoe.
Vampire. [Ger. vampyr.] A blood-sucking
spectre, resembling the Lamiae and the Lemures.
The name seems to be of Slavonic origin.
Vamplate. [Fr. avant, before, and Eng.
plate.] Armour for the hand, a gauntlet.
Vanadium (from Vanadis, a Scandinavian
goddess). A silvery brittle metal.
Vandyke. A scalloped cape for the neck,
as seen in portraits painted by Vandyke in the
reign of Charles I.
Vandyke brown (supposed to be used by
Vandyke). A semi-transparent brown pigment,
obtained from a kind of peat.
Vane. [A.S. fana, a flag.} (Naut.) A
piece of bunting extended on a revolving piece
of wood at the masthead, to show the direction
of the wind. A distinguishing V. shows to
which division of the fleet a vessel belongs. Dog-
vanes, pieces of cork with feathers stuck round
them, and strung upon twine, usually fastened
to the top of a half-pike on the weather side of
the quarter-deck.
Vanessa. So styled by Dean Swift, who
exerted a kind of enchantment over her as he
VANE
502
VASS
had done over Stella ; Hester Vanhomrigh, the
daughter of a London merchant, who died of a
broken heart, 1723. (Stella.)
Vanessa, i.e. Phanessa (from Phanes, a mystic
divinity in the Orphic rites, known also as
Eros). (Entom.) Gen. of butterfly, brightly
coloured ; as the Peacock B. Fam. Nymphalldae.
Vang. (Naut.) A rope leading to either side
of a ship from the outer end of a gaff.
Vanilla. [Sp. vainilla, a small pod.] The
thin podlike capsule of a Trop. American plant,
Vanilla planifolia, used in flavouring confection-
ary, etc.
Vanishing fraction. An algebraical fraction
whose numerator and denominator are both
functions of one variable, and become zero for
the same value of that variable ; as, -5 -,
o? x 1
in which the numerator and denominator both
become zero when x becomes equal to a ; the
value of the fraction is then .
2
Vanishing point; V. line. That point to
which the perspective representations of a group
of parallel lines all converge. The V. line of a
group of parallel planes is the line to which
their perspective representations all converge.
Vanning. [L. vannus, a -winnowing fan.]
Washing a small portion of ore in a shovel.
Vantbrace. The same as Vambrace.
Vapour. [L. vapor, steam.] A substance in
a gaseous form, which at ordinary temperatures
appears as solid or liquid. The distinction
between gases and vapours is conventional, the
terms being used according to the state of the
substance at ordinary temperatures.
Vapours. A nearly obsolete term for a disease
of nervous debility ; hypochondriacal, with
hallucinations.
Varangians. The Greek name for the Teu-
tonic guards of the Byzantine emperor, probably
being, like the modern Oriental Feringi, a
transliteration of Franks.
Varanldae. (Zoo!.) Water-lizards. Africa and
the East, including Australia.
Vare, Vare, redde legiones! [L., Varus, give
me back my legions /] The exclamation of the
Emperor Augustus, after the destruction of the
legions under Varus by Armimus (Herman),
A.D. 9.
Variable ; Dependent V. ; Independent V.
When one magnitude is a function of a second,
both are Variables ; but the former is the De-
pendent, the latter the Independent, variable.
Thus if z = ax* 4- bx, x and z are both variables ;
but as the variations in z are supposed to be
produced by arbitrary variations in x, the former
is the dependent, the latter the independent,
variable.
Variables. In Naut. language, those parts of
the sea where steady winds are not expected.
Variable star. (Astron.) A fixed star, whose
brightness changes periodically or otherwise.
Variant. Of a word, one outwardly like,
and from the same root ; so to fleet is a V. of
to float. A doublet being one from the same
root, not outwardly like but having undergone
some literal changes ; so chattels and cattle, fabric
and forge, Fr. on and homme, etc.
Variation ; Calculus of V. ; V. compass ; V.
of the moon ; V. of the needle ; Periodic V. ;
Secular V. (Math.) The Calculus of varia-
tions is a kind of differential calculus, in which
the same quantity is considered as an inde-
pendent variable in two or more distinct points
of view ; e.g. the variation may take place
not only from one point to another on a given
curve, but also from one point to another on
a neighbouring curve. The V. of the needle is
the magnetic declination at a given place. A
V. compass is a needle mounted so as to show
the magnetic declination. The V. of the moon
is an inequality in her longitude, due to the dif-
ference between the forces with which the sun
attracts the earth and moon ; it depends on
twice the difference between her longitude and
the sun's, vanishing at syzygies and quadratures,
and being greatest at points about midway be-
tween them. The Periodic variations in the
elliptic elements of a planet's orbit are those
which, produced by the disturbing attraction of
another planet, are nearly compensated in one
revolution of the disturbing or disturbed body ;
the accumulation of the uncompensated residues
of the periodic variations make up the secular
variations or inequalities.
Variety. Varieties, with Darwin and others,
are species in process of formation ; incipient
species ; when rendered very distinct from each
other, they take the rank of Species ; and this
apparently is all that can be said by way of
definition.
Variola. [L. varius, variegated^ (Med.)
Small-pox.
Variorum editions. Certain editions of classical
writers, published chiefly in Holland, in the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with notes
of numerous or various commentators.
Varium et mutabile semper Femma. [L.]
Woman is always aflckle and changeable thing.
Varix. [L.] A dilated vein. Adj., Varicose.
(Aneurism.)
Varlet. [O.Fr.] An attendant or servant.
A low fellow or rascal.
Varnish, (probably another form of burnish
(q.v.), but traced by Sir G. C. Lewis, Astronomy
of the Ancients, ch. iii. sec. 14, to Berenice,
queen of Ptolemy Euergetes, King of Egypt, in.
the third century B.C.). A fluid which, spread
on a solid surface and dried, leaves a coating
impervious to air and moisture.
Varfina. The oldest Hindu god of the heaven,
whose name answers to the Greek Ouranos,
Uranus.
Varvel. [Fr. vervelle.] Rings on a hawk's
leg, bearing the owner's name.
Vaso-motor system of nerves. (Anat.) That
distributed on the walls of the arteries ; an im-
portant branch of the Sympathetic (q.v.), or
ganglionic, system.
Vassal. [Fr., derived by Sir F. Palgravefrom
Welsh gwas, a young man or page.] One who
holds a Fief of a superior lord. (Feudal system.)
VAST
503
VEND
'Vast! (Avast!)
Vate sacro, Carent quia. Many great men
and great deeds have died out of men's know-
ledge, because they had not the sacred bard to
immortalize them (Horace).
Vathek. The History of the Caliph V., pub-
lished 1784, by W. Beckford (1759-1844), in
perfect French. An Arabian tale ; short, sar-
castic, of great imaginative power. A haughty,
sensual, cruel monarch, abjuring his faith, offers
allegiance to Eblis, in the hope of gaining the
throne of the pre-adamite sultans ; descends into
hell, etc. (Eblis.)
Vatican. The palace of the popes in Rome,
on the right bank of the Tiber ; the richest, per-
haps, in the world in works of art, antiquities,
etc.
Vatican Codex. (Codex.)
Vaudeville (i.e. like the old country songs
of Vau-de-vire, in Normandy, light and satiri-
cal). Light songs, consisting of several couplets
and a refrain ; introduced into theatrical pieces ;
known, in time, as Lais des Vaux de Vire and
Virelais. Hence plays having frequent vaude-
villes were called V., and sometimes Virelais.
(See Stainer and Barrett, Dictionary of Music.}
(Mime.)
Vaudois. (Hist.) The inhabitants of some
Alpine valleys in Piedmont, from which they
were expelled in the seventeenth century. They
returned and recovered their old homes by force.
(Waldenses.)
Vaurien, [Fr. vaut, L. valet, he is -worth,
rien representing L. rem, a thing, the neg. ne
being omitted before the verb, and the full
phrase being II ne vaut rien.] One who is
worth nothing, a scamp.
Vavassor. A word of uncertain origin, but
probably connected with Vassal. In France, a
general name for the immediate vassals of the
higher nobles, the chdtelains being vavassors
with castles or fortified houses.
Ve-adar. (Adar.)
Veda. [Skt., knowledge.] The collective
sacred literature of the Hindus. The name
comes from the same source which gives the
Gr. o?So, / know, the L. vidi, I have seen, and
the Eng. wit. There are four Vedas : the Rig
Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva
Veda. Each of these is a Sanhita, or complete
collection ; and these are commented upon in
the Brahmanas, Suktas, Upanishads, Vedangas,
and other scholia. The whole literature falls
into two great classes : ( I ) Sruti, revelation ;
(2) Smriti, tradition ; the latter containing the
Sutras, or Vedangas, elaborate treatises on
Vedic pronunciation, metre, grammar, astro-
nomy, and ceremonial.
Vedangas. (Veda.)
Vedanta. A Hindu sect, professing to find
in the Rig Veda a philosophy which much re-
sembles the Quietism of European thinkers.
(Mystics.)
Vedette. [Fr., from It. vedetta, a watch-
tower^ (Mil.) Cavalry sentry belonging to
troops stationed at the outposts.
Veer. [Fr. virer, to turn about. So Vire !
about!} (Naut.) 1. To let or pay out, as a
cable. 2. To turn, or change. 3, /. q. to wear,
to come on to the opposite tack by putting the
vessel's head away from the wind ; opposed to
tacking. The wind veers when it goes with the
sun ; backs, when against it.
Vegetable brimstone. The yellow dust of the
spore-cases of more than one kind of lycopo-
dium, used in theatres, etc.
Vegetable butter. (Avocado pear.)
Vegetable ivory. The kernels of the nuts
the Corrozzo nuts of commerce of a very beau-
tiful S. -American palm, the Phylelephas macro-
carpa ; each nut about the size of a bantam's
;g-
Vegetarianism. The theory that vegetable
diet alone is the proper human diet.
Vehicle. [L. vehiculum, a carriage.] 1.
(Med.) Any substance for taking medicine in.
2. A liquid with which the pigments are mixed
for painting.
Vehmio courts. [Ger. vehmgerichte.] Ger-
man criminal courts of justice during the Middle
Ages. In the thirteenth century they were
modelled on the system of a secret organization,
their chief seat being Westphalia.
Vein. (Artery.)
Veldt. [D., same word as field. ~\ In S.
Africa ; wide, open, far-stretching grass-land,
uncultivated, uninclosed.
Velitation. [L. velitationem, from velites,
light-armed soldiers.} Skirmishing. A dispute
or contest.
Velites. [L.] The light-armed infantry be-
longing to a Roman Legion.
Velleity. [Fr. velleite, from a supposed L.
velleitas, from velle, to wish."] Imperfect or
incomplete volition ; desire scarcely passing
into will.
Vellicate. [L. vellicatum, sup. of vellicare,
freq. of vellSre, to pluck.} To twitch, to make
to twitch convulsively.
Velocipede. [L. velox, swift, pedem, a foot.]
A light carriage propelled by the feet of the rider
acting on cranks.
Velocity. [L. velocita, -tern, swiftness.'] (Math.)
The rate of motion, ttniform when the rate is
constant, variable when the rate varies ; the
rate at any instant being the number of feet
(or other unit) that would be described in a
second (or other unit) if from that instant the
body continued to move uniformly. (Uniform
motion.)
Velvet cork. The best kind of cork bark,
soft and smooth.
Velveteen. [Fr. velvantine.] A cotton cloth
in imitation of velvet.
Venation. [L. vena, a vein] (Bot.) The
distribution of veins in leaves. (Parallel-veined
leaves.)
Vendemiaire. [Fr., from L. vindemia, vint-
age.] The first month of the French Republican
calendar, beginning at the autumnal equinox
and ending thirty days later. In this calendar
the year was divided into twelve months of
thirty days, with five additional days for festi-
rals, and every fourth year six. The months
VENE
504
VERM
were divided into decades, and the days into
ten hours of a hundred minutes each. The
months were named from the botanical or agri-
cultural characteristics of each, their names
being consecutively Vendemiaire, Brumaire,
Frimaire, Nivose, Pluviose, Ventose, Germinal,
Floreal, Prairial, Messidor, Thermidor (or Fer-
vidor), and Fructidor. This absurd scheme
was set aside by Napoleon, who restored the
old calendar in 1806.
Veneering. [Ger. furnieren, to furnish.}
Overlaying a coarse wood with thin leaves or
veneers of superior material.
Venery. [Fr. venerie, L. venari, to hunt.]
The highest branch of the art of hunting.
Venery, Beasts of. The hart, hare, wild boar,
and wolf; as distinguished from beasts of the
chase, which are the buck, doe, roe, fox, and
marten.
Venesection. [L. vena, a vein, sco, / cut.}
Blood-letting.
Venetian school. A school of painting marked
by the beauty of its colouring. (Its head was
Titian, a Venetian, born 1477.)
Venetian swell (i.e, like a V. blind). Inclos-
ing the swell organ, is a series of shutters opened
and closed by a pedal.
Veni, vidi, vioi [L., / came, saw, and con-
quered.'] Many accounts are given of the origin
of this phrase, which has been attributed to
Julius Caesar.
Venial sins. [L. vma, pardon.} In the
Latin Church, such sins as do not place the
doer out of a state of grace. (Mortal sins.)
Venison. Gen. xxv., xxvii. ; retains the first
meaning of the word ; i.e. flesh taken in hunting
[Fr. venaison, L. venationem].
Vent. [Fr. vent, wind.} (Mil.) Aperture
through which the charge of a gun is fired ;
when a match was used, called the Touch-hole.
" Serving " the V. in muzzle-loading guns is
the stopping the V. by means of the thumb or a
vent-server, while the gun is being sponged out
and loaded.
Ventail. [Fr. ventaille, venter, to blow fresh.}
That part of the visor of a helmet which may be
lifted up, for freer admission of air.
Venter. [L., womb.} In Law, = maternal
parentage ; so first or second V. = first or
second marriage.
Ventricle. [L. ventriculus, dim. of venter,
belly.} (Anat.) Small cavity ; applied, espe-
cially, to the heart.
Ventriloquist. [L. venter, belly, loquor, /
speak.} One who is said to be able to make his
voice sound as if it came from points distant
from himself ; an effect supposed to be produced
by his speaking from his stomach.
Venus. [L., from a root which in Skt. is
van, to desire, love, or favour, and which gives
A. S. wynn, pleasure, the Ger. wonne, and the
Eng. winsome.} The Italian goddess of love,
afterwards identified with the Greek Aphrodite.
(Paris, Judgment of.)
Venus. (Planet.)
Veratrine. A vegetable alkaloid, obtained
from hellebore [L. veratrum].
Verbatim et literatim. [L.] Word for word
and letter for letter.
Verbum sap., i.e. s&pienti. [L., a word to the
wise.} A little hint for those who are sensible
enough to need nothing more.
Verde antique. [Fr., i.e. prized by the ancient
Romans.] 1. Green porphyry, felspathic with
felspar crystals. 2. Serpentine mixed with
limestone is sometimes so called.
Verdict [L.L. verdictum, veredictum, a thing
truly said} is General, when in general words
with the issue, as guilty or not ; Special, when
the jury find the facts of the case to be proved,
but do not know on which side to find, being
ignorant on some points of law ; Privy, when,
the judge having left or adjourned the court,
the jury, desiring to be liberated, are allowed to
give their V. privily to the judge, the V. to be
legal only when given out publicly.
Verdigris. [L. vmdg seris, green of copper.}
(Chem.) Diacetate of copper, a poisonous green
pigment.
Verditer. [Fr. vert de terre, earth-green.} A
blue pigment made by decomposing nitrate of
copper with chalk. Green verditer is formed by
sulphate of copper and sea- salt.
Verdoy. [Fr. verdoye.] (Her.) Charged
with leaves.
Verge. [Fr., a rod.} The spindle of a watch-
balance.
Vergeboard. (Bargeboard.)
Vergette. [Fr., a brush.} (Pallet.)
Verglas. [A word made up of verre, glass,
glace, ice.} Glazed frost.
Veridical. [L. veridicus.] Truth-telling;
truthful.
Verisimilitude. [L. verisimilitude.] Likeness
to truth ; probability, likelihood.
Veritas, Amicus Plato, sed magis arnica. [L. ,
Plato is dear ; the truth is much dearer.} No
personal, private, considerations may have any
weight when it is a question of truth.
Veritas, Bureau. The French Lloyd's (q.v.).
Veritas odium parit. [L.] Truth breeds
hatred.
Verjuice. [Fr. verjus, vert, green, L. jus,
juice.} The juice of crab apples, sour grapes,
etc.
Vermicelli. [It., small worms.} A small
kind of macaroni.
Vermicular motion. A peristaltic (q.v.) move-
ment ; one continued throughout the moving
body, from one part to that immediately next
it ; like that of a worm [L. vermis ; dim. ver-
miculus].
Vermiculate. [L. vermiculatus.] To inlay ;
to arrange work so that it shall look as if eaten
into and tracked by worms. Such work, in
Arch., is called vermiculated, or vermicular,
from L. vermis, a worm.
Vermiculation. [L. vermiculus, dim. of
vermis, a worm.} In masonry, a pattern giving
the appearance of a worm-eaten substance.
Vermifuge. [L. vermis, a worm, ffigo, /
banish.} I.q. anthelmintic (q.v.).
Vermilion. [Fr. vermilion, vermeil, from L.
vermiculus, a little worm.} Mercuric sulphide, a
VERN
505
VES?
bright red pigment (from its resemblance to the
dye obtained from the kermes insect).
Vernal equinox. (Equinox.)
Vernation. [L. vernus, belonging to spring.'}
(Bot.) The arrangement of young leaves in their
leaf-bud. ^Estivation [aestivus, belonging to sum-
mer}, the arrangement of the parts of a flower
before they expand. (Prefloration ; Prefoliation.)
Vernier. (Pierre V., inventor, Brussels, 1631.)
A graduated slip attached to an index and sliding
with it along a scale, for reading a fractional
part of the smallest division of the scale with
much greater accuracy than could be obtained
by actual mechanical subdivision.
Veronica. [A word said to be coined from
L. vera, true, and Gr. eiKcav, a likeness, but it
may be a corr. of Gr. Berenike, Berenice.
(Varnish.)] 1. A saint of this name, it is said,
put a handkerchief to the face of the Saviour
as He was led away to crucifixion, and thus
obtained a true likeness. The relic is still
exhibited at Rome. 2. In Bot., the name de-
notes the Speedwell, a gen. of plants with
numerous spec., ord. Scrophularineas, including
common S. (V. officinalis), abundant in Britain,
with pale blue corolla ; brooklime, etc.
Verriere. In Keramics, a bowl with scal-
loped edges, to lay glasses in.
Verrucose. [L. verrucosus, verruca, a wart.}
(Anat. and Bot. ) Having warts.
Versailles, Palace of. Built by Louis XIV.,
King of France, 1661-72 ; attacked by the mob,
1789. The King of Prussia proclaimed Ger-
manic Emperor in the great hall, 1871.
Vers de societe. Mediocre verses (Littre),
written for drawing-room entertainment.
Versicles. [L. versiculi, little verses. ~\ (Eccl.)
Short sentences recited by the minister, to which
the people reply by similar sentences called
Responses.
Verso. [L. versus, turned over.} The left-
hand page in printing.
Verst, Werst. A Russian measure of itinerary
length, = 1166^ yards ; about two-thirds of an
English mile, a little more than a French kilo-
metre. Russian versta, from verstati, to mea-
sure.
Vert. [Fr.] (Her.) The green colour in
coats of arms, represented in engraving by lines
sloping downward from the dexter to the sinister
side.
Vertebrate, Vertebrates. [L. vertebrae, pro-
vided with joints, specially in backbone, verto
turn.} (Zool.) That sub-kingd. of animals
which consists of
I. Ichthyopsida, characterized by, among other
things, the possession of temporary or
permanent gills, and containing
(1) Fishes,
(2) Amphibians.
II. Sauropsida, characterized by, among other
things, the total absence of gills, and by
the head being jointed on a single con-
dyle, and containing
(1) Birds,
(2) Reptiles.
III. Mammalia, characterized by, among other
things, the possession of milk glands,
and by the head being jointed on two
condyles.
The general name is due to the possession of a
vertebral or spinal column, rudimentary or
developed.
Vertex. [L.] 1. The angular point of a
triangle, pyramid, etc., opposite to the base.
2. The point of a symmetrical curve or surface
on which it is cut by the axis ; as the V. of a
parabola.
Vertical circle ; V. elevation ; V. limb ; V.
line ; V. plane ; Prime V. The Vertical line at
any place is the line drawn in the direction of
the plumb-line at that place. Any plane contain-
ing the vertical line is a V. plane. The angle of
V. elevation of a point is the angle on a vertical
plane between a line drawn from the point to
the eye of the observer and the horizontal line.
The V. limb of a surveying or astronomical in-
strument is a graduated arc, capable of adjust-
ment into a vertical plane, on which angles of
vertical elevations can be measured. A V. circle
is a circle of the great sphere whose plane is
vertical. The Prime V. is the vertical circle at
right angles to the meridian, and therefore pass-
ing through the east and west points of the
horizon.
Vertical plane. In Perspective, the plane
passing through the point of sight, parallel to
the plane of the picture.
Verticel [L. verticillus, the whorl of a spindle'},
or Whorl. (Bot.) The development of three or
more leaves or other organs upon the same plane ;
e.g. woodruff, bedstraw. Adj., Verticillate.
Vertigo. [L.] Dizziness, swimming in the
head, supposed to arise from irregular supply of
blood, excessive or defective, to the brain.
Vertumnus. A Latin deity worshipped as
concerned with everything relating to change,
whether in the seasons or in commerce, etc. He
is called the husband of Pomona, the goddess of
fruits and harvest. The name is a participial
form of the verb verto, I turn.
Verve. [Fr., L. verva, a sculptured ram's
head (? Littre).] Animation, spirit, chiefly such
as inspires artists.
Vesical. (Med.) Pertaining to the bladder
[L. vesica].
Vesica piscis. [L.] An oval emblem, gene-
rally pointed at either end, often used for the
seals of religious houses, or to inclose figures of
Jesus Christ (lohthys) or of the saints.
Vesicle. [L. vesicula.] (Anat. and Bot.) A
small bladder-like cavity.
Vesicular. (Geol.) Cellular, full of little
cavities, like some kinds of lava.
Vesper. [L.] The evening star, called by
the Greeks Hesperos. Hence Hesperian as a
name for Italy, which to the Greeks was the
western land. (Hesperides.)
Vespers. (Canonical hours.)
Vespers, Sicilian. (Sicilian Vespers.)
Vespertaionidae. [L. vespertilio, bat, vesper,
evening.} (Zool.) Large and universally dis-
tributed fam. of insectivorous bats, frequently
large-eared.
VESP
506
VIET
Vespiary. [L. vespa, a wasp.} (Entom.)
Wasps' nest.
Vespidae. [L. vespa, a wasp.} (Entom.)
Wasps ; fam. of hymenopterous insects, some
social, others solitary.
Vestal [L. Vestalis.] Relating to Vesta, the
Latin goddess of the hearth, where the sacred
fire was never allowed to die out, and the
guardian of household purity and truth. This
fire on the public hearth was guarded by the
Vestal virgins, who are said to have been insti-
tuted by Numa Pompilius. This goddess was
called by the Greeks Hestia.
Vestigia nulla retrorsum. [L.] No tracks of
any going back; that is, all tracks pointing to the
lion's den, a sign of fatal danger.
Vestment. (Chasuble.)
Vestry. [L. vestiarium, from vestis, a gar-
ment.} 1. The robing-room attached to a church,
for the clergy. As this room is used for meet-
ings of the parishioners, the word is applied, 2,
to the parishioners so assembled ; an order by
the V. meaning an order by the ratepayers.
Veterinary. [L. vtrmarius.] A cattle doc-
tor, one who attends any kind of carrying or
drawing animal, vetfirina [as if vehStgrina, L.
veho, I carry}.
Vetitum nefas. [L., the forbidden impiety. ,]
The sin which has been a special subject of
law ; i.e. idol-worship among the Jews.
Vetiver. (Vittie vayr.)
Veto. [L., I forbid.} The word by which the
Roman tribunes of the people exercised their
power of intercession, by which they could arrest
the action of public magistrates or the passing
of ordinances by the senate.
Vettura. [It., from L. vectura, a conveying,
a riding.} A carriage.
Vetturino. [It.] The driver of a Vettura.
Vetus Itala. (Italic Version.)
Vexata quaestio. [L., a vexed question.} A
disputed point.
Vexillum. (Papilionaceous plants.)
Via Crucis. (Stations.)
Via media. [L.] A middle way.
Viaticum. {L., food for a journey.} In the
Latin Church, the Eucharist as administered to
the dying.
Vlbices. [L. vlbex, -Icis, a weal.} (Med.)
Large purple spots or streaks in the skin, like
the marks of a whip.
Vibration [L. vlbrationem] ; Amplitude of V. ;
Longitudinal V. ; Phase of V. ; Transversal V.
1. The backward and forward movement of a
body ; as of a pendulum. 2. The backward and
forward movement of a particle of a medium or
body transmitting or producing a wave-motion.
3. The movement of the body itself; as of a
musical string when producing, or of the
atmosphere when transmitting, a sound. The
Amplitude of V. is the extreme distance described
by a vibrating particle. (For Phase of V., vide
Phase.) When the particles move in the line of
the propagation of the wave as in the case
of air transmitting sound the vibrations are
longitudinal ; when the motion takes place in a
plane at right angles to the direction of propaga-
tion as in the case of the ether transmitting
light the vibrations are transversal,
Vicar. (Eector.)
Vicar-Apostolic. In the Latin Church, a
person in episcopal orders, authorized by the pope
to exercise his office in countries where there
is no organized establishment of the Roman
obedience.
Vicar-General. An ecclesiastical officer, assist-
ing the bishop in ecclesiastical causes, in visita-
tions ; "much the same as the chancellor"
(Hook's Church Dictionary).
Vicar of Bray. A phrase sometimes used to
denote those who are supposed to retain pre-
ferments by complying with all changes required
of them, after the fashion of the Vicar of Bray,
who stuck to his place during the reigns of the
later Stuarts and of William III., or, as others
say, during those of Henry VIII., Edward VI.,
Mary, and Elizabeth.
Vioars-ChoraL Originally deputies, now
assistants, of canons in collegiate churches, in
such duties as require knowledge of music.
Vicars of the Empire. (Hist.) The repre-
sentatives of the emperor. The King of the
Romans was perpetual vicar, when there was
one. When there was not, the office was shared
by the Elector of Saxony in the two Saxon
circles, and in the rest of the empire by the
electors palatine, and of Bavaria.
Vice-admiral. (Bank.)
Vice versa. [L., in turn.} Turn about ; the
turn being changed.
Vicinage. [O. Fr. veisinage, from L. viclnus,
neighbouring. } \ Neighbourhood .
Vicious circle. In Log., an argument which
comes round to the point from which it started,
thus proving nothing and explaining nothing.
Thus, as all conceivable arguments must start
from the proposition, expressed or understood,
" I am a conscious thinker," attempts to explain
the action of the mind as a secretion from matter
are arguments in a V. C.
Victoria (from Queen Victoria). A low four-
wheeled open carriage.
Victoria cross. A British military and naval
decoration, instituted 1856, expressly as a re-
ward for personal bravery in face of the enemy.
Victrix causa Diis placuit, sed victa Catoni.
[L.] The gods love the winning, but Cato loves
the losing, side (Lucan).
Vidame. [Fr., from L.L. vice-domimis.] In
Fr. Feud, usage, an officer representing the
bishop. (Viscount.)
Videlicet. [L. , for videre licet, you may see. }
Namely ; abbrev. into viz.
Video melidra proboque, Deteriora sequor.
[L. , I see and approve the better, but follow the
worse.} The frequent contrast between pro-
fession and practice.
Vidette. (Vedette.)
Vidimus. [L., we have seen.} Of business
transacted, is "we have examined and ap-
proved."
Vidonia. A tart white wine from Teneriffe.
Vi et amis. [L. , by force and arms.} By
main force.
VIEW
507
VI RT
Viewer. The superintendent of a coal-mine.
Vifgage. In Law, the opposite of mortgage.
(Gage.)
Vigesimo-quarto. The L. words used to
denote, in printing, a sheet folded in twenty-four
pages ; usually expressed by the term 24010.
Vigllantibus, non dormientibus, aequltas sub-
venit. [L.] A maxim in Law : equity comes to
the help of those who are awake, not those who
sleep ; men must be alive to the assertion of their
claims, etc., or they will lose them. (Laches.)
Vigils. (Dedication, Feast of ; Evens.)
Vignette. [Fr., a little vine.] 1. (Arch.) A
running ornament of leaves and tendrils, in
hollow mouldings or casements of Decorated and
Perpendicular Gothic. 2. In ancient MSS., a
capital letter ornamented with tendrils ; and so
any similar ornament on a page or elsewhere ;
as a head, flower, etc. 3. From the absence of
a definite border has come the recent use of V.
in engravings, photography, etc. 4. Any kind
of printer's ornaments, such as flowers, vine
tendrils, head and tail pieces, etc.
Vikings. [Icel. vik, a creek.] The Norse
name for the Sea-kings, whose assaults on this
country began in the ninth century.
Vile body. Phil. iii. 21 ; of little worth, com-
paratively [L. vilis, Gr. crwjua rrjs Toiretj/citreeos,
lit. body of our humiliation],
Vilipend. [L. vilipendere, from vilis, cheap,
poor, pendo, I weigh.] To regard as worthless,
to slight, despise.
Villein. [L.L. villanus.] 1. A peasant attached
to the villa or house of the feudal lord ; some
belonging to the soil, like the Laconian Helots,
others to the person of their master, and there-
fore liable to be sold at any time as slaves.
(ThralL) 2. Hence, from the poverty and worth-
lessness of their condition, the word came to
denote immoral and wicked men.
Villi [L., tufts of hair.] (Anat.) Minute
vascular processes, of velvety appearance, on the
surface of certain membranes, especially of the
small intestine, where they promote the absorption
of chyle.
Villotte. [Fr.] An old name for the first
harmonized secular pieces of music, which were
vil and unrefined, as compared with the strict-
ness of church music.
Villous. 1. Covered with villi [L.]. 2. (Bot.)
Covered with long, soft hair.
Vinaigrette. [Fr.] A small bottle or box,
used for holding aromatic vinegar.
Vinatioo. A coarse mahogany from Madeira.
Vinaya. (Tripitaka.)
Vincentian rule. A test of theological truth
laid down by Vincent of Lerins, in the fifth
century, in the maxim, "Quod ubique, quod
semper, quod ab omnibus traditum," meaning
that no dogma is of authority unless it has been
handed down in the Christian Church, always,
everywhere, and by all.
Vincible ignorance. [L. vincibilis, that may
be mastered.] In Moral Phil., is said to be
affected or wilful, when perversely rejecting the
means of knowledge ; supine or crass, when in-
dolently neglecting them. (Invincible ignorance.)
Vinegar plant. During acetous fermentation
of liquids, certain layers are formed, of delicate
interlaced threads, sometimes followed by a
crop of Penicillium glaucum, a fungous mass,
which in some way much aids the conversion of
sugar and water into vinegar. This method of
producing vinegar is much used.
Viol d'amour. [Fr.] (Music.) 1. Rather larger
than the violin, and now obsolete, employed
both catgut and metal strings ; the latter placed
under the finger-board, and sounding only by
sympathy. 2. An organ stop so called, of
similar quality to the gamba (q.v.). Viole, like
vielle, a hurdy-gurdy, is the Med. L. vitiila,
vitella, a viol.
Viol di gamba. (Gamba.)
Violet-wood. (Kingwood.)
Violoncello. [It., dim. of violone, double bass-
viol] (Music.) The lowest bass stringed in-
strument, generally, in the orchestra ; having
four gut strings, all tuned a fifth apart.
Violone. [It.] Double bass.
Viper. [Old Testament, eph'eh (Job. xx. 16,
etc.), New Testament, echidna.] (Bib!.) Acts
xxviii. 3 ; a Maltese snake (Coronella laevis)
which can hang on by its teeth. Fam. Colu-
bridae.
Virago. Originally, as always in Latin, an
heroic woman ; now a rough, violent woman.
Virelay. (Vaudeville.)
Vires acqulrit eundo. [L.] It gains strength
in movement ; said of Rumour.
Virgidemiarum Liber. [A coined L. word, =
a collection of rods ; virga, a rod, vindemia,
vintage.] Six books of satires ; attacking,
especially, literary vices and affectations ; illus-
trating contemporary manners ; by the learned
and patient Bishop Joseph Hall (1574-1656) ;
rated highly by Pope, not so highly by Hallam.
Virgil, The Scottish. George Buchanan, an
elegant writer of Latin poetry and prose (died
1582). ,
Virginal. [(?) L. virginalis, maidenly.] A
spinet (q.v.), which latter title superseded the
former.
Virole. [Fr.] (Her.) The ring of a bugle.
Virtual ; V. focus ; V. moment ; V. velocities ;
V. velocity ; V. work. (Math.) If the point of
application of a force receives a small displace-
ment, the part of it which is in the line of action
of the force is the V. velocity of the point ; the
product of the force into the virtual velocity of
its point of application is the V. moment or
V. work of the force. The principle of V. velo-
cities is the fundamental condition of the equi-
librium of bodies ; viz. that when a body or
system is in equilibrium under the action of any
forces, and it receives any small displacement
consistent with the connexion of the parts, the
algebraical sum of the virtual moments of the
forces is zero. (For V. focus, vide Focus.)
Virtuoso. [It.] One devoted to virtu; i.e.
one skilled in the fine arts, or having taste in
curiosities, etc. Often used ironically.
Virtus est mSdium vitiorum. [L.] Virtue is
a mean between two extremes or vices (Horace).
Virtutem incolunicm ddlmus, Sublatam ex
VIRU
508
VOLA
ocfilis quaerlmus invldi. [L.] True worth, when
safe with us, we dislike ; -when taken away from
our sight we seek for it grudging its loss (Horace
Vlrua. [L., poison.} (Med.) The inappre
ciable principle in the secretion of infectiou
disease, which communicates that disease ; Venon
being a natural secretion.
Viscount. Properly vic-coms, the delegai
of a count. In England, the title of the sherif
of a county. It is the latest title of honour in
the English peerage, being first conferred b
Henry VI., in 1440. (Vidame.)
Viscous. A mass is V. when it is capable oi
a slow continuous change of form without dis
ruption of its parts ; the word commonly implies
that the substance is sticky [L. viscosus].
Viscus (more commonly plu., viscera). [L.
(Med.) Used of any internal organ of the body
Vis inertiae. (Inertia.)
Vision [L. visionem, a seeing] ; Direct V.
Reflected V. ; Refracted V. When a body is seen
by rays coming from it directly, it is seen by
Direct V. ; when by rays that have undergone
reflexion or refraction, it is seen by Reflected or
Refracted V.
Vision, Beatific. (Theol.) The sight or appre-
hension of God which the faithful enjoy in heaven.
Visitation and search. (Naut.) An examina-
tion to which all merchant-vessels are subject on
the part of a duly commissioned war-vessel of a
belligerent state.
Vis major. [L.] In Law, some outward
force which man could not have foreseen or pro-
vided against. (Force majeure.)
Vis medicatrix natures. [L.] The healing
power of nature.
Visual angle ; V. ray. [L. visualis, relating
to the sight. ,] A line drawn direct to the eye
from a point seen by it is a Visual ray ; the angle
between the visual rays of the extreme points of
a body is the V. angle, or the angle which the
body subtends at the eye.
Vis vitae. [L.] Vital power.
Vis viva [L., living force] ; Principle of Via
vitse. The Vis viva, or Kinetic energy, of a system
is half the sum of the products formed by multi-
plying the mass of each particle by the square of
its velocity. The Principle of V. V. is the fact
that in the motion of any material system the
change of V. V. in a given time equals the
work done in the same time by the forces acting
on the system.
Vita(que) manciple nulli datur, omnibus usu.
[L.] Life is given to all in tenancy, to none as a
freehold (Lucretius).
Vitellary. [L. vitellus, yolk.} The white of
an egg, as containing the yolk.
Vitreous electricity. [L. vitrus, glassy.]
Positive electricity (because it is excited by
rubbing glass with silk, etc.).
Vitrify. [L. vitrum, glass, facere, to make.]
To convert into glass.
VitrioL [L. vitrum, glass.'] 1. Sulphuric acid,
also called oil of vitriol. Hence applied, 2, to sul-
phates, as blue vitriol, green vitriol, white vitriol,
the respective sulphates of copper, iron, zinc.
Vitruvian. Of or relating to Vitruvius, a
Roman architect, a contemporary of Julius
Caesar and Augustus.
Vittate. [L. vittatus, bound with a fillet.]
(Bot. ) Striped lengthwise.
Vittie vayr. (Sot.) The Tamil name for the
fibrous roots of the khur-khur (Andropogon mu-
ricatus), which contain a pleasantly odorous oil.
Vitnligo. [L. vitulus, a calf.] (Med.) A
disease of the skin, giving it a white veal-like
appearance, from loss of pigment.
VIvandiere. [Fr., from It. vivandiere, L.L.
vivenda, victuals, whence viande.] Female
sutler, who carries liquor for French troops.
Viva v5ce. [L.] By word of mouth.
Vivendi m5dus. [L.] The measure of living,
with reference to its end, which is old age or
death (Cicero, De Sen.). The phrase modus
vivendi is now often used to denote the tacit
compromise by which differences of opinion are,
to whatever extent, disregarded in order to
promote peace and co-operation among men of
different schools of thought.
Vivere convenienter naturae. [L.] To live in
agreement with nature; i.e. with universal
nature ; the ethical formula of the Stoics.
Viverridffl. [L. viverra., ferret.] (Zool.) Fam.
of carnlvora, mostly small ; as civets, ichneumons ;
but not ferrets, which are Mustelidae. Africa,
S. Asia, and adjacent islands.
Vives, Fives. [Corr. of Fr. avives, meaning
the same.] In horses, an affection somewhat like
strangles (q.v.), but chronic, and affecting older
tiorses.
Vive valeque. [L.] Live and be strong.
Vivier. [L. vivarium, a place for keeping
;ame alive.} (Naut.) A French fishing-boat,
fitted with a well amidships for keeping fish
alive.
Vivisection. [L. vivus, living, sctionem, a
cutting.] The dissection of a living animal, in
jhysiological experiment.
Vizier, Vizir. [Ar., a porter.} A humble title
or the chief officers in Mohammedan states. In
:he Turkish empire, the councillors of the Divan
are all vizirs, the chief among them being called
'izir azem, or grand vizir.
Vocal flames, Singing- flames. Flames in-
closed within a tube, made to vibrate regularly,
and so to produce a musical note.
Voce di testa. [It.] 1. Head voice, the higher
ange ; the lower being V. di petto, chest voice.
2. Falsetto.
Vogue la Galere. (Galere.)
Voided. [Fr. vide, emptied.'} (Her.} Having
he inner part cut away, so as to leave merely
a narrow border.
Voider. (Flanche.)
Voir dire. [O.Fr., L. vere dicere, to say truly. }
Leg.} Denotes an oath by which a witness is
equired to make true answers in reference to
matters inquired of, to ascertain his interest in
ic cause as affecting his competency.
Volant. [Fr.] (Her.} Flying.
Volante. [Sp., a flyer.} A heavy two-wheeled
arriage used in Cuba.
Volatile. [L. volatilis, fleeting.] Wasting
way on exposure to the atmosphere.
VOLC
509
VULN
Volcanic rocks, or Ejectamenta [L., things cast
out} ( Geol. ), = lava, basaltic lava, trachyte, ob-
sidian, pumice, tufa, scoriae, and several others ;
mostly composed of felspar and augite.
Vole. (Arvicola.)
Volenti non fit injuria. [L.] In Law : no
wrong is done to any one if that person consents
to the thing done ; so one party to a contract may
break it, if he have the consent of the other.
Volique. (Naut.) A small boat used in Asia
Minor.
Volkslied. [Ger., folk's song.] Popular song.
Volsunga Saga. (Sagas.)
Volt. (From Volta, the Italian electrician,
1745-1826.) The unit of electro-motive force.
It is equal to -^-g of one horse-power, i.e. to
rather more than forty-four pounds of energy.
Volta. [It., turn, time.] (Music.) Una V.,
once ; V.S., volta subito, turn over the leaf
quickly.
Voltaic arc. A luminous arch formed by the
passage of a voltaic current between two carbon
points.
Voltaic electricity (discovered by Volta).
Electricity developed by means of chemical
action.
Voltaic pile. A battery consisting of alternate
discs of two metals, as silver and zinc, with cloth
moistened by acid between each pair.
Volume. [L. volumen, the thing rolled] The
cubic contents of a body ; as the V. of a sphere.
Volumetric analysis. [Eng. volume, and Gr.
fjif-rpov. measure] Analysis performed by
measured volumes of standard solutions of
reagents. This determines the quantity as well
as the nature of the substances present.
Voluspa Saga. A short Saga, which gives
both a cosmogony and a Theogony. The word
means the spa, or prophecy, of Vola, the in-
spired or mad prophetess (compare Eng. fool
and folly).
Volute. [L. volvo, 7 roll] (Arch.) The
spiral scroll on each side of the capital of the
Ionic order.
Volvox. [L. volvo, 7 rotate.] (Physiol.) A
microscopic rotating organism, variously referred
to Protozoa (q.v.) or to ProtSphyta [Gr. irpSnos,
first, fyirrdv, a plant], i.e. the lowest vegetables,
or (Haeckel) to an intermediate kingd., Regnum
protistlcum [L. , a kingdom, Gr. irptariffros,
first of all], containing doubtful organisms.
Vomer. [L,., ploughshare.] (Anat.) One of
the bones of the cranium ; a thin quadrilateral
plate forming a considerable part of the middle
partition of the nose.
Vomica. [L., a sore, an encysted tumour.]
(Med.) A cavity in the lungs, containing puru-
lent matter.
Vomitoria. [L.] (Arch.) The openings or
doors in ancient theatres or amphitheatres, for
the ingress and egress of the public.
Vorant. [L. vorantem.] (Her.) Devouring
or swallowing.
Vortex. [L., anything whirled round, a
whirlpool.] A stream which either returns into
itself or moves in a spiral course towards or from
an axis.
Vortices, Theory of. (Astron.) The hypo-
thesis of Descartes, that the planets are carried
round the sun by a vortex of a fine and subtile
kind of matter, whose motion keeps up theirs.
Though weighted with many difficulties, the
theory was once very famous, and almost uni-
versally received.
Voto, Ex. [L.] An ex-vdto gift is one vowed,
devoted, either before or after recovery from
illness, escape from accident, etc. (see Horace,
Od. i. v.). The practice is common in the
Roman communion.
Voussoirs. [Fr.] The wedge-shaped stones by
which an arch is formed. (Extrados ; Intrados. )
Vowel. [L. vocalis, vocal.] In Gram., a
letter which may be pronounced alone ; a diph-
thong consisting of two vowels whose sounds
are regarded as running into one another.
Vox et praeterea niMl. [L.] A -voice and
nothing more.
Vox nihili. (Gram.) An expression = no
such word, but only a mere conjecture, or a
false reading, or an error of some sort. For an ex-
ample, vide Abacot. So Collimation (q.v.) is not
really a word, but should have been Collineation.
Examples abound in the Supplices of /Eschylus.
Vox populi, vox Dei. [L.] The voice of the
people is the voice of God.
Vritra. (Indra.)
Vulcan, Vulcanus. (Myth.) The Latin god of
fire. The name is akin to the Skt. ulka, a fire-
brand, and the L. fulgere, to glisten, and fulgur,
lightning.
Vulcanists. In Geol., upholders of the
Huttonian theory (q.v.) ; opponents of the
Neptunian or Wernerian (q.v.) theory.
Vulcanized indiarubber. Indiarubber com-
bined with sulphur, and thus rendered tougher
and less affected by heat or cold.
Vulgar tongue. The vernacular ; belonging
to the people [L. vulgar is],
Vulgate. [L. vulgata, sc. editio, an edition
for common use.] The name given to the Latin
translation of the Scriptures, most of which is
the work of St. Jerome.
Vulnerary. [L. vulnerarius, belonging to
wounds.] 1. Useful in healing wounds. 2.
Subst., any plant or unguent, etc., so used.
Vulning. [L. vulnus, wound] Wounding
itself. Vulned signifies wounded by some other
animal.
\v
510
WARD
w.
W. Derives its English name from the fact of
the letter V being identical with U in the Latin.
Wacke. [Ger. term.] (Geol.) An earthy
variety of trap-rock, argillaceous, greenish-grey ;
but the term is not strictly defined.
Wad, Wadd. (Chem.) 1. Plumbago. 2. An
earthy oxide of manganese.
Wadding. Sheets of corded cotton, for pad-
ding garments, etc.
Wadset. [L. vadem, a surety. ~\ In Scot. Law,
a method of mortgaging landed property, now
obsolete.
Waft. (Naut.) Any flag tied together at the
head and centre, slightly rolled up lengthways,
and hoisted in various positions aft. Hoisted
on the flagstaff, or half-way up the peak, it
means "a man overboard;" at the peak, "I
wish to speak you ; " at the masthead, it recalls
boats, or as may have been directed.
Wager of battle. The usage of deciding a
civil suit by judicial combat ; abolished in 1818.
Waggon-roofed. (Arch.) Having a roof
shaped like a waggon.
Wahabees. In Islam, the followers of Abd-
el-Wahab, who, in the eighteenth century, raised
a strong protest against the corruptions of Mo-
hammedanism. Like Mohammed himself, they
spread their opinions by force as well as by per-
suasion. Like the Western Puritans, they
opposed themselves to all splendour and luxury,
and forbade tobacco-smoking, as Mohammed had
forbidden wine. The sect is still powerful, and
may become more formidable.
Wainamoinen, Epic of. (Ealewala.)
Wainscot. [D. wagen-schot, wag, a wall,
scot or schot, like Ger. scheit, split-timber, as if
= wall-boards.] 1. In the building trade, a
foreign kind of oak, which works very freely
under the tool, formerly used in panelling. 2.
Any imitation of it.
Waist. (Naut.) Generally speaking, the
space between quarter-deck and forecastle.
Waits, also Waightes. [Cf. Ger. wacht, a
watching, walking. ] 1. A name given to different
classes of musical watchmen, employed in towns
and in kings' households at different times of
English history. 2. A kind of shawm used once
by serenaders. 3. Music played in the streets
on the nights of Christmas holidays.
Waiwode. In the Turkish empire, the go-
vernor of a small province or town.
Wakes. (Dedication, Feast of.)
Waldenses. (Eccl. Hist.) The followers of
Peter Waldo, a merchant of Lyons, who in the
twelfth century felt himself called upon to preach
the pure doctrines of the Bible. They are to
be distinguished from the Vandois on the one
hand, and from the Albigenses on the other.
(Petrobrusians.)
Waldgraf, Waldgrave. [Ger.] Under the
empire, the head forest -keeper, the wildgrave.
Wale-, or Wall-, knot. (Naut.) A large knot
made by interlacing the untwisted strands at the
end of a rope.
Wales. (Naut.) Extra broad and bulging
strakes (q.v.). I.q. Bends.
Walhalla. (Valhalla.)
Wali. [Ar. ouali.] Prefect, governor.
Walling-waz. A composition used for mak-
ing a wall round a plate, for holding the acid
used in etching.
Walloons. [One of many German names
denoting foreigners ; cf. Wales, Wallachia, Wal-
lenstadt, Wallingford, etc.] (Geog.) The people
of the part of Flanders lying between the Scheldt
and the Lys.
Wall-piece. (Mil.) Large kind of firearm,
from its clumsiness used only from behind the
walls of a fortification.
Walpurgis Night. The night of the feast of
Walburga, niece of Boniface, or Winfrid, the
Apostle of the Germans. On this night the
witches were supposed to hold high festival on
the summit of the Brocken in the Harz Moun-
tains.
Wambeys. (Gambeson.)
Wampum. [N.-Amer. Ind., from wompi,
white.'] Shells and shell-beads, used by the
N. -American Indians as money, and in making
ornamental belts and strings.
Wandering Jew. A legendary being who is
said to be sentenced to wander over the earth
till the second advent, for reviling Jesus on the
way to His crucifixion. The attribute of constant
wandering is common in all mythology.
Wane. Cloud, intermediate between cirrus
and stratus. (Cirrus.)
Wangan. (Naut.) A Maine provision-boat.
Wanghee. [Chin, wang, yellow, hee, a root.
A tough cane, said to be the root of the narrow]
leaved bamboo.
Wapenshaw. A show of weapons, or of the
military power of a house or family, made at cer-
tain seasons. Sir W. Scott, Old Afortality.
Wapentake. [A.S. wsepentac.] A territorial
division, still retained in Yorkshire ; standing in
the place of the division into Hundreds.
War, Private. (Truce of God.)
Warburtonian Lecture. Founded by Bishop
W. (died A.D. 1779), for the defence of revela-
tion by the argument of prophecy fulfilled.
War-caperer. In Naut. parlance, a privateer.
Ward. [O.E. weard, guard.} 1. In Feud.
Law, the being or condition of the king's
tenants-in-chief during their nonage. 2. A
projecting ridge inside a lock, to prevent the use
of any key not having the corresponding notch.
Warden, Lord, of the Cinque Ports. This
office was conferred by William the Conqueror
on the Constable of Dover Castle. It is now
practically a sinecure. (Cinque ports.)
Wardian case. (From the inventor, Ward.)
A closely glazed case for growing delicate plants
in large towns, etc.
WARD
WATK
Ward-room officers. (Naut.) Those messing
in the W.-R., viz. commander, lieutenants,
master, chaplain, surgeon, paymaster, marine
officers, and assistant-surgeons.
Warehouseman. A wholesale dealer in Man-
chester or woollen goods.
Warlock. [A. S. waerloga, one who breaks
faith, a wicked one, a liar (Latham).] A wizard,
sprite.
Warm colours. Colours having yellow or a
- yellowish red for a basis.
Warp. [A.S. wearp.] 1. The threads which
are stretched lengthways in the loom, and crossed
by the woof. Warping is the running yarn off
the reels to be tarred. 2. (Naut.) A rope or
light hawser used to warp or move a vessel
from one berth to another, etc., by making the
warp fast to a fixed object, and hauling on it
from the vessel. 3. A cast lamb ; one born pre-
maturely. 4. (Geog.) Tidal accumulation of
marine silt, e.g. west of the Humber, more than
300 square miles in extent. 5. (Agr. ) To flood
land by means of a tidal river, in order to fer-
tilize it by the deposition of mud.
Warrant. [Containing root of Ger. ge-
wahren.] (Naut. ) A writ of authority, inferior to
a commission. Brown paper W., one given by
a captain, and which he can cancel. W. officers,
masters, surgeons, pursers, boatswains, gunners,
carpenters, etc.
Warrant officer. (Mil. ) One who ranks be-
tween a commissioned and a non-commissioned
officer. (Conductor ; Master-gunner.)
Warrener. The keeper of a warren, a place
for guarding wild animals [from O.H.G. waron,
A.S. warian, to ware, to be careful of \
Wash. The fermented liquor from which
spirit is distilled.
Washer. [Perhaps a corr. of watcher ; of the
ring called a guard. J (Mech.) A flat ring of an
elastic substance interposed between the nut and
the body through which the bolt passes ; the nut
being screwed down, the elasticity of the washer
neutralizes its tendency to turn on the bolt when
the body is subjected to vibratory movements.
Wash-leather. Split sheepskins dressed with
oil in imitation of chamois leather (used for
cleaning plate, etc.).
Wassail. [A.S. wes-hal, be in health ; health
to thee.] An old drinking salutation. Hence the
wassail-bowl carried round on New Year's Eve.
Wastrel children. Street Arabs, neglected
children of great towns. W. , originally = waste,
uninclosed ground ; now obsolete.
Watch. [Akin to wake.] (Naut.) 1. A
ship's company is divided for ordinary deck
duty into two parties, called Starboard W. and
Port IV., which are subdivided into first and
second ; officers are divided into three watches.
Anchor W., a quarter watch, kept on deck when
at single anchor. 2. The periods of time during
which a W. remains on deck, viz. four hours
each, divided by half-hourly bells, one for first
half-hour, two for the next, and so on up to
eight bells. Dog W., from 4 to 8 p.m., is
divided into two watches of two hours each, so
as to have a different night-W. every twenty-four
hours. First W., 8 p.m. to midnight. Middle
W., from midnight to 4 a.m. Morning W.,
from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. 3. A buoy floating on
the surface is said to watch.
Waterbrash. (Mtd.) Pyrosis, a thin watery
vomit ; tasteless or acrid.
Water-carrier. In some Southern countries,
water is carried about by porters in skins or
other vessels, such carriers being known in
India by the name bhisti.
Water-gall. 1. A secondary or outer rainbow.
2. Prismatically coloured patches, produced by
refraction of the sun's rays through floating
particles of ice.
Water-gas. An illuminating gas obtained by
passing steam over ignited carbon and so de-
composing it.
Water-gauge. An instrument for ascertaining
the level of the water in the boiler of a steam-
engine.
Water-gilding. Gilding metallic surfaces by
coating them with gold amalgam, and then
driving off the mercury by heat.
Water-glass. A soluble silicate, used for
covering surfaces with a durable glassy coat.
Watering. Wetting and calendering as cloth,
so as to give a lustrous appearance in wavy lines.
Waterlandians. (Eccl. Hist.) A body of
Dutch Anabaptists ; so called from Waterland,
a district in N. Holland. They used the con-
fession of faith drawn up for them in 1 580 by
John de Ries.
Water-logged. (Naut.) Full of water, but
floating.
Water-mark. A mark wrought into paper to
show the quality, maker, etc.
Water-ousel. [O.Fr. oisel, = Fr. oiseau, bird,
L. L. aucellus, avicellus, L. avis, a bird.] ( Ornifh.)
Dipper ; gen. of bird, Cinclus, runs at bottom
of streams. N. hemisphere and Andes. Fam.
Cinclidae, ord. Passeres.
Water-power. The energy or power of falling
water applied to turn machinery.
Water-sail. (Naut.) A small, fair-weather
sail, set below the lower studding-sail, or the
driver-boom.
Waterscape. [Eng. water, and A.S. scipe,
equivalent to the termination -ship.] In Art,
a sea-view.
Water-shed. [Ger. wasser-scheide, water-
parting, shed representing the Gr. ffx'C'"*
f-ffx.iS-ot>, to cut.] In Geog., the dividing line
between the river-basins or drainage areas of a
country.
Water-slain. (Agr.) Land too soaked to
produce a proper crop.
Water-spout. A column of water consisting
of large drops like a dense rain, much agitated
and descending or ascending with a spiral
motion ; carried along at the same time hori-
zontally, and accompanied in general by a sound
like that of the dashing of waves.
Water-table. (Dripstone.)
Water-ways. (Naut.) Deck-planks wrought
next to the timbers, and serving as gutters to
carry water off the deck to the scuppers.
Water-wheel. (Mech.) A wheel set in
WATL
512
WEEK
motion by moving water, and driving a train
of machinery ; it may be either an Undershot,
Overshot, or Breast -wheel. The undershot -
wheel is driven by the impulse of the moving
water against the float-boards ; in the overshot-
wheel the water flows from above into buckets,
thereby overweighing the wheel on one side
and causing it to turn ; in the breast-wheel the
water flows into buckets on the lower part oi
the wheel, and is kept from flowing out of them
by a curved trough or breast, within which the
buckets move, until they have passed the lowest
point.
Watling Street. An ancient road connecting
Dover with Cardigan. By sailors in the Middle
Ages it was used to denote the Milky Way. It
is the path of the Waetlinga ; but who these
were is not known.
Wattling. [A.S. watel, hurdle.'} Inter-
weaving twigs.
Wave; Frequency of W. ; Front of W. ; length
of W. ; Period of W. ; W. surface ; W. theory ;
Velocity of W. A vibratory motion transmitted
through a medium, each particle of which
vibrates, and in doing so causes the particle in
front of it to vibrate in like manner ; so that a
state of displacement travels on continually
without limit, while the motion of each particle
is a small or at least limited vibration. If we
suppose the motion to be transmitted along a
tube, there will' be at any instant two points in
its length the particles between which will have
simultaneously the various velocities which each
of them has successively : the distance between
these points is the Length of the W. ; the point
furthest from the origin is the Front of the W. ;
the distance passed over by the front in a unit
of time is the Velocity of the W. ; the time in
which one particle makes its vibration is -the
Period of the W. ; the number of vibrations
made in the unit of time is the Frequency ; the
length, period, frequency, and velocity being
independent of the amplitude of the vibration.
If we suppose the wave transmitted in all direc-
tions through a medium, the front of the wave
will be a surface, in most cases a spherical
surface, with its centre in the origin of disturb-
ance. The theory that light is due to the
vibrations of the ether is the W. theory or
Undulatory theory of light ; when light passes
through a biaxal crystal, the form of the front
of the wave is that of a complicated surface
called the W. surface. (Vibration.)
Wave offering. Among the Jews, an offering
waved by the priest, as a sign that it might be
eaten by the worshippers, such offerings as were
heaved being appropriated to the priests.
Waveson. ( Flotsam. )
Wax-end. A thread pointed with a bristle
and covered with shoemaker's wax, used in sew-
ing leather.
Waxing kernels. [A.S. weaxan, to increase.]
Small tumours formed by enlarged lymphatic
glands.
Wayland Smith, popularly W. S.'s Cave. A
noted cromlech (q.v.) at Ashdown, Berks.
Waymarks. Jer. xxxi. 21 [Heb. tsiyun, trans-
te connecting the flanges
lated title in 2 Kings xxiii. 17] ; small stone
pillars. Way and "high heaps" = pillars and
signposts.
Waywarden. The surveyor of a road.
Weald, The. [A.S., = forest.] Country be-
tween the N. and S. Downs, being the chief area
of the W. or Wealden group ; clays, shales, sand-
stones, lignite, shelly limestones, etc. ; formed in
old lakes or estuary of a great river running west
to east.
Wealden. (Weald, The.)
Wealth, a lengthened form of Weal [A.S.
wela]. General well-being. So in the Litany
of the English Church. In 2 Chron. i. n
riches and wealth = money, with happiness,
freedom from care.
Wealth of Nations, i.e. Labour. Adam Smith's
work, 1776, the first great statement of the
principles of political economy, which David
Hume had taught in his Political Discourses,
1752.
Wear, To. (Naut.) (Veer.)
Weasand. [A.S. wasend.] (Anat.) The
windpipe, or trachea (Skeat).
Weasel. (Stoat.)
Weather. (Naut.) The side nearest the
wind. Opposed to Lee (q.v.). W. tide, opposite
of Lee tide (q.v.). W. gage. (Gage.)
Weather-moulding. (Arch.) A label or
Dripstone over a door or window, to prevent the
dripping of water.
Weh. The thin plate
of a flanged beam.
Webbing. [Eng. web, weave.] A strong
hempen fabric two or three inches wide.
Weber. The old name for an Ampere, i.e.
the unit of electrical current, from Ampere, the
French electrician (1775-1836). It is the current
that one Volt can send through one Ohm, or
unit of electrical resistance, which is represented
by the resistance of a column of mercury of one
square millimetre in section, at a temperature
)f o C., and of a length of 105 centimetres
nearly. The unit of electrical quantity is called
a Coulomb, from the French electrician so
named (1736-1806). It is the quantity of
electricity conveyed in one second by one unit of
electrical current, or ampere.
Wedge. [A.S. wecg.J 1. A triangular prism.
2. A triangular prism of iron or other material,
two of whose faces are inclined at a small angle,
capable, when driven by a succession of blows,
of separating two masses that are held together
by great forces ; its action depending mainly
on impact and friction, i.e. the impact drives the
wedge forward, the friction prevents its return.
Wedging. Cutting clay into wedges, and
working it by dashing them together to expel
air, etc.
Wedgwood ware. Josiah Wedgwood, of
Burslem (died 1795), made many improvements
;n terra cotta and stoneware ; a special instance
his Jasper ware (q.v.) with reliefs in white,
and also Queen's ware and Portland vase.
Wedmore, Peace of. (Danelagh.)
Wednesday. (Woden.)
Weeks, Feast of. (Pentecost.)
WEEP
5'3
Weeping-holes. Those left in retaining walls
(q.v.) to drain the earth behind.
Weever. [Cf. Fr. vive.] (Ichth.) Sting-
fish, Sting-bull, Sea-adder, Sea-viper, Sea-cat;
lesser and greater W. (Trachtnus vlpera, T.
draco) ; two spec, of salt-water bottom fish,
five inches and fifteen inches long respectively,
with sharp spines on the back and gill-cover,
inflicting dangerous wounds. British coasts.
Fam. Trachinidce, ord. Acanthopterygii, sub-
class Teleostel.
Weevils. [A.S. wifel ; cf. Ger. wiebel.]
(Entorn.) Rhyncophora [Gr. iryxos, a snout,
<t>op(u, I wear} (long-snouted) ; tetramerous
beetles. Larvae very destructive of most vege-
table substances.
Weft. (Waft ; Woof.)
Weigh, To. (A T aut. ) To lift or move, to raise
up.
Weigh-board. Clay intersecting a vein in
mining.
Weigh-bridge. A machine on which loaded
carts are placed to determine the weight of the
contents.
Weight. [Akin to L. vectus, part, of veho, /
carry.] 1. A mass by which, as a standard, the
quantity of matter in other bodies is ascertained.
2. Quantity of matter measured by the balance.
3. The force exerted by gravity on a given
quantity of matter. 4. The force or resistance
which it is the purpose of a machine to over-
come.
Weight, Combination ; Theoretical W. When
numerous fallible measures of a quantity have
been made, the best value obtainable from the
measures is found by multiplying each measure
by a certain number and dividing the sum of the
products by the sum of the multipliers : these
multipliers are the Combination weights. If the
combination weights are made inversely propor-
tional to the squares of the probable errors, they
are the Theoretical weights.
Weird sisters. (Myth.) Beings concerned
in the inevitable ordering of human things.
(Noras.)
Weld. [Ger. wan.] (Bot.) A plant yielding
a yellow dye (Reseda luteola). (Reseda.)
Welding. [Ger. wellen, to wave, to boil.}
Joining two pieces of iron, etc., by hammering
them together when heated almost to fusion.
Welk. A tubercular protuberance, generally
on the face [(?) cf. weal, the mark of a stripe, and
A.S. hwele, putrefaction], or because resembling
a whelk.
Well. (A T aut.) 1. A compartment in the hold,
in which the pumps work. Brake of the W.,
handle of pump. To sound the W., to ascer-
tain the depth of water in it. 2. A water-tight
compartment in a boat or smack, to keep fish
alive in.
Welsh harp. 1. One adopted in early times
from the Irish, but strung with gut and hair in-
stead of metal. 2. The modern W. H.
Welt. [Welsh gwald, a hem.] A narrow
strip of leather between the upper leather and
sole of a shoe.
Wench. 2 Sam. xvii. 17; simply maidservant
[O.E. wenchel, an infant, a child, afterwards a
girl]. The word still, in some parts of England,
is quite free from any moral connotation.
Wend, To (the past tense is went). (Naitt.)
Of a course, to pursue it ; of a ship or boat, to
reverse its position.
Wendish language. An Aryan dialect spoken
in Lusatia.
Wentle-trap. [Ger. wendel-treppe, winding
staircase.] (Zoo!.) Scalaria [L. , staircase] ; gen.
of mollusc, with spiral shell traversed by ribs,
which in the precious W. (S. pretiosa) seem to be
the only bond of the successive whorls. Indian
and Chinese seas. Fam. Turritellklce, class
Gasteropoda.
Werdand. (Norns.)
Werewolves. In Myth., men in the form of
wolves, which they assume at night or when at
a distance from human habitations. Their con-
dition is called Lycanthropy (q.v.).
Wergild. [A.S., fine-payment.} The com-
pensation paid in money to the injured man
or to his kinsmen for injuries done to his
body, commonly called the were. That of the
eorl was usually six times that of the ceorl, or
churl.
Wernerian. (Huttonian.)
Werst. (Verot.)
Wesleyans, Wesleyan Methodists. The fol-
lowers of John Wesley, whose society had its
origin at Oxford, in 1729. The systematic ar-
rangement of their work gained for them the
name of Methodists, in allusion to the Metho-
dici, a class of physicians at Rome who prac-
tised only by theory. The society became
ultimately nonconformist.
Western empire. The name given to the
western portion of the Roman empire after it
was divided, by the will of Theodosius, A.D. 395,
between his sons Honorius and Arcadius.
Westminster Assembly. Held on July i,
1643 ; convoked by an ordinance of Lords and
Commons, to consider Church doctrine and
government. The W. A. drew up the W. Con-
fession, or Confession of Faith of the Kirk of
Scotland, and the National Covenant.
Westminster Confession. (Confession of
Faith.)
Westphalia, Peace of. (Thirty Years' War.)
West Point. A fortress built during the War
of Independence, site of the U.S. Military
Academy, on right bank of River Hudson, fifty-
two miles north of New York.
Wey. [A.S. wrege (Skeat).] Of wool, 13
stones, or 182 pounds.
Whale. [Heb. tannen (Dragon).] (Bibl.)
Used loosely of monstrous, especially of aquatic,
animals; but in Lam. iv. 3, "sea-monsters"
(Authorized Version) are distinctly cetaceans, or
sirenians.
Whale-boat. (A T ant.) One sharp at both
ends and very strongly built ; it varies in length
from twenty-six to fifty-six feet, and in beam
from four to ten feet, and is used for harpooning
whales from.
Whalebone. A firm elastic substance from
the upper jaw cf the whale.
2 L
WIIAR
WHIT
Wharfage. The fee paid for landing goods
on a wharf, or for shipping them off it.
Wharp. A fine sand from the banks of the
Trent, used for polishing.
Whatnot (from its holding odds and ends).
(Etagere.)
Wheel. [A.S. hweol.] (Nant.) One fitted
with a barrel or axle, round which the tiller ropes
(or chains) work, and the revolutions of which
thus regulate the position of the rudder.
Wheel, Potter's. A wooden disc revolving on
the top of a vertical shaft, for shaping clay.
Wheel-barometer. A weather glass. (Baro-
meter.)
Wheel-lock. (Mil.) Ancient method of firing
by a wheel and chain acting on a spring, which,
on the wheel revolving, struck fire from the flint
and ignited the priming.
Wheel of life. (Phenakistoscope.)
Wheft. (Waft.)
Wherry. [Icel. hverfr, crank, lightly built
(Skeat).] (Naut.) 1. A light row-boat. 2. A
decked boat used on the coasts of the United
Kingdom for fishing, 3, A boat of burden on
the rivers of the east coast, rigged with a large
pole-mast, on which is set an enormous gaffsail.
It is as large as sixty tons burthen, is worked
by one or two men, draws very little water,
requires very little wind, and will sail almost
into the wind's eye.
Whiffletree. (Singletree.)
Whiggamore. (Whigs.)
Whigs. (Eng. Hist. ) The name of a politi-
cal party, first employed in the time of Charles
II., and afterwards assumed by those who were
most active in placing William III. on the
throne. The origin of the name is doubtful.
Defoe refers it to a drink composed of water and
sour milk ; Bishop Burnet to a word used in
driving horses in Scotland, the drivers being
hence called Whiggamores. (Abhorrers ; Tory.)
Whim, Whim-gin, Whimsey. (Afech.) A
large capstan or windlass worked by horse or
steam power, for raising ore, etc. , from mines.
Whimple. To draw down, as a veil.
(Wimple.)
Whimwham (a reduplication of whim). A
trifle, trinket, gimcrack.
Whin, Whinstone. With Scotch miners, i.q.
Greenstone, and less strictly any hard, resisting
rock.
Whip. (Nfaut.} A rope passing through a
single block, to hoist by.
Whips, Whippers-in. In the House of Com-
mons, those who hunt up members when special
votes are needed.
Whirl-bone. In the hinder quarters of the
horse, the hip-joint, or round.
Whirling-table. (Meek.) An apparatus for
exhibiting the properties of central forces ; con-
sisting essentially of a flat wheel, by whose rota-
tion a very rapid rotation is communicated to
a second wheel, on which the phenomena in
question are exhibited.
Whirlpool. In the margin of Job xli. I ; re-
tains an earlier meaning of large -whale, or sca-
vionster.
Whirlwind. A storm in which the wind
moves rapidly in a circle whose centre moves
forward.
Whisk. A cooper's plane.
Whiskey, Timwhiskey. Light one-horse car-
nage.
Whisky War. An attack made by some
women a few years ago, in a village of Ohio,
upon the public-houses, the spirits being thrown
into the streets, to remove temptation from their
husbands ; out of which sprang the American
Women's Temperance Christian Union ; and
the Blue Ribbon movement of 1878.
Whispering gallery. A gallery surrounding
a dome and exhibiting at any one point the -phe-
nomenon of concentration by reflexion of sound-
waves that have been emitted at the opposite
point ; so that low articulate sounds are heard
across the dome that would not, under ordinary
circumstances, be audible at the same distance
in the open air.
White ant. (Termites.)
Whitebait. (fchth.} True character much
disputed, whether (Gunther, 1880) the fry of
many spec, (intermixed with sticklebacks, Gas-
terosteus) or (Wood, 1871) an independent spec,
of the herring tribe ; Clupea alba, fam. Clu-
peidpe, orcl. Physostomi, sub-class Teleostel.
Whiteboy. 1. Originally a petted favourite.
2. A name, in later years, by way of euphemism,
assumed by or given to perpetrators of agrarian
outrages in Ireland. Trench, Select Glossary.
(Tory.)
White Canons. (Premonstratensians.)
White Eagle, Order of the. A Polish order of
knighthood, instituted, 1325, by Vladislas V.
White elephant. An elephant of a whitish
colour, rarely found, and offered as presents to
sovereigns, etc. ; useless if offered to those who
cannot use or keep them. Hence a burdensome
or perplexing gift. The King of Assam is called
Lord of the White Elephant, his subjects not
being allowed to own white elephants.
White feather. A white feather in the tail of
a game-cock was taken as a sign that he was not
of a true game breed. Hence to show the white
feather is to betray cowardice.
Whitefieldian Methodists. Methodists who
followed George Whitefield, a friend and for a
time a fellow-labourer of John Wesley. (Wes-
leyans.)
White Friars. (Carmelites.)
Whitehall. A palace which became royal
property by a deed of resignation from Cardinal
Wolsey to Henry VIII., 1530, up to which time,
since 1248, it had been known as York Place,
the town residence of the Archbishops of York.
The old banqueting-hall was burnt 1619 ; the
structure of Inigo Jones was completed 1622.
Destroyed by fire 1698, the banqueting-hall,
through which Charles I. passed to his execution,
being preserved, and turned into a royal chapel
I7I5-
White horse, Scouring of the. The ceremony
of cleaning out the gigantic figure of a horse cut
out by the Danes on the turf of the Berkshire
downs. Tom Bi'ffWlt's School-Days,
WHIT
win-;
White House. The official residence of the
President of the United States, at Washing-
ton.
White Penitents. (Penitents.)
Whitesmith. One who works in white or
tinned iron.
White squall. (Squall, White.)
White staff. The wand of the Lord High
Treasurer.
Whiting. Ground and purified chalk.
Whitleather (i.e. white leather). A pliable
leather dressed with alum, salt, etc.
Whitlow. [(?) From an older form, whickflaw,
a flaw or sore about the quick of the nail.]
(Med.) A painful inflammation, tending to sup-
puration, of the finger or toe, generally of the
last phalanx.
Whitsunday. The Seventh Sunday, or fif-
tieth day, inclusive, after Easter, so correspond-
ing with Pentecost. There is no doubt that
Whitsunday is White Sunday, so called from
the white robes of the persons baptized on that
day. The earliest known form of the word is
hwita Sumien-cUeg, which is found in the old
English Chronicle under the year 1067. See the
letters of Professor Skeat and Mr. Evan Daniel
in the Guardian for November 29, 1882.
Wholesome ship. (Naut.) One that will try
(<j.v.), hull, and ride well.
Whorl. (Verticel.)
Why-not. A violent step taken without rea-
son given,
When the Church
Was taken with a why-not in the lurch.
Butler, Hitdibras.
Wigwam. [A corr. of the N.-Amer. Ind.
word for house or abode-.] An Indian cabin or
hut.
Wilkina, Vilkina, Saga. (Sagas.)
Willis's Booms. (Almack's.)
Will-o'-the-wisp. (Ignis fatuus.)
Willow. [Corr. from winnow.} (Meek.) A
conical wheel covered with spikes, revolving
within a box studded with similar spikes, for
opening and cleansing cotton.
Willy. (Mec/i.) A machine like a -willow, for
cleansing wool. (Willow.)
Wilton carpet (from the town). A carpet
woven with loops which are afterwards cut open
into an elastic velvet pile.
Wimple. [Fr. guimpe, from O.H.G. wim-
pal.] 1. In Isa. iii. 22 ; a veil, shawl. 2. A
covering of silk or linen, for the neck, chin, and
checks, formerly worn by women generally, and
still retained by those of religious communities
in the Latin Church.
Winch. [A. S. wince.] A handle for turning
an axle, grindstone, coffee-mill, etc.
Winchester bushel. The Winchester measure
of capacity, of 2150*42 cubic inches, which
long held its ground against the Windsor, or
royal, bushel. It is still used in the United
States.
Wincing-machine. [A.S. wince, a winch.]
A kind of reel for lowering cloth into a dyer's
vat. _
Wind. A word common to many Aryan lan-
guages, denoting air in motion. Each wind had
at first its special name. Thus Boreas was the
north, Auster and Nolos the south, Eurus the
east, Zephyr the west wind. They had also
names according to the strength with which they
blew : the lighter puffing breezes being called in
Skt. Pavana, in Gr, Pan, in L. FavonTus (per-
haps Faunus) ; the stronger winds were repre-
sented by Hermes and Orpheus, (-ffiolian; Euro-
clydon. )
Wind, To. (A T mit.) (Wend, To.)
Windage. (Mil.) The excess of the dia-
meter of the bore of a gun over the diameter of
the shot.
Wind and water, Between. (A r aut.) On the
water-line. In speaking of gates, posts, etc.,
on the ground -line.
Windgall. In a horse. (Spavin.)
Windlass. [Cf. D. windaas.] 1. An axle
turned by a winch or by levers, for raising a
weight that hangs from the end of a rope which
is gradually wound on to the axle. (Differential.)
2. (Natit.) A machine resembling a horizontal
capstan, in the fore part of a ship, by which she
can ride ; used for raising the cable.
Windlestraws. [A.S, wimlel-streow, straw
for plaiting, windan, to wind.} (Agr.) Rents.
Windrow. To arrange in lines or windrows,
as newly cut hay.
Wind-sail. (N'aiit. ) A canvas funnel to con-
vey fresh air below.
Windsor bushel. (Winchester bushel.)
Windsor Castle. A royal palace, begun by
William the Conqueror, who held his court there,
1070. St. George's Chapel was begun by Edward
IV., and completed by Henry VIII.
Windsor chair. A strong, plain, polished
wooden chair, with the seat hollowed out.
Windward. I. if. -weather (</.v.).
Wing. 1. (Mil.) The two halves of which
any body of troops are composed. 2. The bul-
lion shoulder ornaments formerly worn by
grenadiers and light infantry. 3. (A r ant.)
The part of the orlop-deck and hold next the
ship's side. (Sponson.)
Wings. (Oniil/i.) The wing of the bird
being constructed on the same fundamental plan
as the human arm, we employ the terms by
which the arm is described, in designating the
feathers of the wing. The Primaries, then, are
those long quill feathers which spring from the
fingers, the Secondaries spring from the wrist-cud
of the forearm, the Terttariesftoim \\selbow-end;
these together form the Remiges [L. for rowers}.
The Scapulars cover the upper bone of the
arm and the shoulder-blade [L. scapula] ; the
Ahtia, or bastard wing, is carried on a rudi-
mentary "thumb" (sometimes provided with a
claw) at the wrist. The H'ing coverts (greater,
less, and under) are those which cover the bases
of the quill feathers.
Wing-shells. (Aviculidae.)
Winter-proud. (Agr.) Having too forward
or rank a growth for winter.
Winze. In Mining, a small ventilating shaft
sunk from one level to another.
Wiper. A Cam. (Tappet.)
WIRE
516
WORK
Wirepuller. The comparatively unseen, but
really efficient, agent in some practical matter.
Wireworms. (Entom.) Larvae of the spring
beetles, Elaterldse [Gr. t\ar-fip, one that drives or
impels],
Wisby, Ordinances of. A code of maritime
law ; so named from Wisby, a town in the Isle
of Gothland ; compiled chiefly from the laws of
Oleron, before the end of the fourteenth century.
(Amalfian Code ; Oleron, Laws of.)
Wisdom teeth. [L. denies sapientise.] (Anat.)
The third or hindmost molars ; because, 1,
not appearing before nearly adult age, generally
from the eighteenth to the twentieth year ; or 2,
(?) cf. Gr. (ppaerTTjpes and yvu/j.ovfs oSovrfs, teeth
that mark or tell the age.
Wise Men of Greece, The Seven. (Eishis,
Tha Seven.)
Wish. In Teut. Myth., the embodiment of
actual enjoyment as distinguished from mere
longing. In the Edda, the word occurs in the
form Oski. Hence oska-stein, a wishing-stone ;
oska-byrr [Gr. tK.fi.fvos ofipos], a fair breeze, i.e.
such a wind as a man may wish for ; oska-barn,
a wish-child.
Wish-maidens. (Valkyries.)
Witana-gemot. [A. S. , the meeting of the wise
men.] The English national assembly before
the Norman Conquest.
Withdrawal of a juror. A means of stopping
a trial, when it is desired to do so, without
carrying it as to a decision ; the complete
number of jurors being essentially necessary.
Matters then remain just where they were before
the trial began.
Withers. [A.S. wiSer, Ger. wider-rist, withers,
acting against, Ger. wider, the weight of the
carriage, etc.] Of a horse, the junction of the
shoulder-bones at the bottom of the neck and
mane.
Withershins. In Scotland this word, the
Ger. wieder-schein, or reflexion in the water,
is or was used to denote the wrong way of
going round a person who was to be restored to
health from sickness. The leech moved from
east to west, according to the course of the sun.
The opposite movement was unlucky.
Without prejudice. (Leg.) When a difference
has arisen between two parties, and a proposal
is made by one to the other with a view to com-
promise, the stipulation that it is made without
prejudice means that, if the attempt should fall
through, no prejudicial use is to be made of the
admitted evidence.
Wittenagemote. (Witana-gemot.)
Woad, Woold, Weld, Dyer's woad. [A.S. wad.]
(Sot.) Isatis tinctoria, ord. Cruciferre ; formerly
much cultivated in Britain for the blue dye
obtained from the leaves, with which the ancient
Britons are said to have painted themselves ;
important before the introduction of indigo.
Woden. In Teut. Myth., the king or father
of gods and men. The name survives in our
Wednesday. Woden was to reign in Asgard, or
the home of the /Esir (Asuras), until the twilight
of the gods should bring the present order of
things to an nd.
Wold. [A.S. weald, wald, forest.] 1. Plain,
open country. 2. (Geol.) Wolds and downs =
the hills of the chalk country of Yorkshire, Lin-
colnshire, and Norfolk.
Wolf intervals. (Music.) In organs, the bad
fifths and thirds in keys such as At7, D b on
which the imperfections are thrown, when an
organ is tuned from C on the unequal tempera-
ment ; so called from a sort of howling effect.
(Temperament.)
Wolfram. [Ger.] An ore of tungsten and
iron.
Wombat. (? Native name.) (Zool.) Australian
badger, Phascolomys [Gr. <pdfficw\os, leathern
bag, (j.vs, mouse] ; a gen. of marsupial rodents,
about the size of a badger, heavily built, with
mottled -grey fur.
Wonderful Doctor. (Doctor.)
Wonders of the world. Seven buildings were
included under this title the Egyptian pyra-
mids, the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the
Colossus of Rhodes, the hanging gardens of
Babylon, the mausoleum of Artemisia, the statue
of the Olympian Zeus by Pheidias, and the
Rhodian pharos or watch-tower. There is no
doubt that the number was suggested by that of
the wise men, or of the stars of the Great Bear.
(Eishis, The Seven.)
Woodmote. (Forest courts.)
Woodruff, Woodroof. [Possibly from wood,
i.e. forest, and ruft, i.e. verticel (Skeat).] (Bot.)
Asperula ; a gen. of plants, ord. Rubiaceae.
Sweet IV., A. odorata, a native perennial, in
shady woods, white-flowered, with whorled
leaves, scented like hay. (Coumarin; Maitrank.)
Wood's halfpence. (Drapier's Letters.)
Woof. [A.S. wefan, to weave.] The threads
which cross the warp from side to side.
Woolfell (written also Woolfel). [From wool
and fell, L. pellis, a skin,'} A skin with the
wool on it.
Woolsack. The seat of the Lord Chancellor
in the House of Lords ; said to be so called
as having been at first simply a square bag of
wool.
Woolstapler. [Ger. stapel, a mast.] A dealer
in wool, or a sorter of wools. (Staples,)
Woolstcck. A heavy wooden hammer used
in fulling cloth.
Woolwich and Beading beds. (Geol.) Tertiary-
clays and sands, between theThanet sands and the
London clay, and extending into France, fargile
plastique, etc. ; of fresh- water or estuarine origin ;
the upper beds become the Oldhaven formation
in the I. of Thanet.
Woorali. (Curari.)
Work ; Unit of W. The result of exerting a
force whose point of application moves wholly
or partly in the direction of the force. A Unit of
W. is the work done when a force of one unit
acts at a point which moves through a unit of
distance in the direction of the force. (Foot-
pound.)
Working party. (Mil.) Troops told off either
from the engineers or infantry, for digging mili-
tary works, provided with pick-axes, shovels,
and rammers.
WORK
517
XVST
Work up the dead horse, To. (Advance
money.)
Worm (from its shape). A spiral metallic
pipe placed in a tub of water, to condense the
vapour which passes through it from the still.
Worm and wheel. (Mech. ) An endless screw.
Wormwood. (Artemisia.)
Worsted. (From Worsted, a village in Norfolk.)
Well-twisted yarn spun of wool with a long
staple, which has been combed to lay the fibres
parallel.
Wort. [A.S. wyrt.] 1. Herb, plant; very
common in composition, as spleen-wort, birth-
wort, etc. 2. Decoction of barley.
Worthies of England. The work of a quaint
old writer, Thomas Fuller, chaplain to the
royalist forces in the Civil War.
WoulfF a bottle. A bottle with several necks,
used by chemists (from the inventor).
Wourali. (Curari.)
Wove paper. Writing-paper having an even
surface without lines or water-mark.
Wrack-grass. (Zostera.)
Wraith. An apparition ; formerly supposed
to be that of a guardian angel. The word in
Scotland was spelt worth, which brings us to
ward, guard (Skeat).
Wranglers. A name (derived probably from
the obsolete public disputations of candidates
for degrees) applied at Cambridge to those who
are placed in the first class of honours in the
final mathematical examinations.
Wreath. [A.S. wnedh.] The circlet on
which the crest stands, formed of two twisted
silk cords, one tinctured as the principal metal
in the escutcheon, the other as the principal
colour.
Wreck. [Gcr. wrecken, to wrack.} The
vessel in which ores are washed for the third
time.
Wrench. [Allied to wring, A.S. wringan, to
strain.} A tool for tightening nuts, etc.
Wrest. [A.S. \vnOstan, to wresl.} A key to
tighten the strings of the harp, piano, etc. ; the
badge of a minstrel's profession in feudal times.
Wretchlessness. In Art. xvii,, "On Predesti-
nation ; " a corr. of recklessness.
Writers to the Signet. (Signet, Privy.)
Wrongous Imprisonment Act, or Scotch Habeas
Corpus, 1701, extends to Scotland the same
protection which the Habeas Corpus gives in
England.
W.S. Writer to the Signet. (Abbreviations.)
Wurtsmberg Confession. A Protestant con-
fession of faith, drawn up at Wurtembcrg, in
Wyatt's Rebellion. In February, 1554; that
of Sir Thomas Wyatt (executed) and the men
of Kent ; to resist the marriage of Queen Mary
with Philip of Spain.
Wyclif s Bible. (Bible, English.)
Wye, or Y. (JAv//.) One of the supports of
the axle of a transit telescope, theodolite tele-
scope, etc. ; so called from its shape.
Wynd. [A.S. windan, to wind or I urn.} A
narrow lane or alley. Scott, Fair Maid oj
Perth.
Wyvern. [O.Fr. vivre, a viper.} (Her.) An
heraldic animal, in the form of a two-legged
dragon.
X.
X. As a Roman numeral, denotes 10.
Xanth-, Xantho-. [Or. aj>66s, yellow.]
Xantheine. [Gr. av66s, yellow'.} The yellow
colouring matter of flowers.
Xanthous. [Gr. ai>86s, yellow.} (Ethn.)
Fair-haired ; Melanic, dark-haired [jueAos, black,
gen. /j.4\S.vos],
Xebec, or Zebec. [An Ar. word.] (Nant.)
A small three-masted Mediterranean vessel, with
a very projecting bow and overhanging stern,
generally equipped as a corsair ; a Barbary
xebec was square-rigged on the foremast.
Xeres. Wine from Xeres, in Spain ; sherris,
sherry.
Xeringue. A kind of caoutchouc.
Xero-. [Gr. frpos, dry.}
Xeque. The Sp. form of the Ar. Scheik.
Xiphias. [Gr. i<i'as, id., i$os, a sword.]
(Swordfish.)
Xylography. [Gr. ^\>\ov, wood, ypdcpw, /
write, or draw.} The art of engraving on
wood.
Xylonite. [Gr. |uAoi/, wood.} Celluloid or
solidified gun-cotton. Used for making billiard-
balls, etc.
Xystus. [Gr. U<TTOS, polished.} A covered
colonnade ; so called from the smoothness of its
floor ; used by the Greeks as a training-place
for wrestlers.
2 J, 3
Y
YGGD
Y.
Y. 1. With V and S, makes up the three
letters represented by the Greek digamma. 2.
(Wye.)
Yacca-wood (from name of tree). A pale-
brown W.-Indian wood, used for cabinet-work.
Yagers. [Ger. jagers, hunters.} In the
German anny, light infantry armed with rifles.
Yahoos. The name under which men are
degraded to the rank of filthy brutes in the i
fictitious country of the Houyhnhnms, which !
Gulliver visited in his last voyage ; where the
reasoning and ruling beings are the horses.
Yajur Veda. (Veda.)
Yam. [Probably an African word.] Article
of food in tropical countries, the tuberous root
of Dioscorea, a twining shrub, type of ord.
Dioscoreacere. D. alata, common W.-Indian
yam ; its tubers weigh sometimes thirty pounds.
It resembles the potato.
Yankee. The form assumed by the word Eng-
lish as pronounced by the Indians of N. America.
Yarabatana. (MiL) An air-gun used by
the Indians in S. America for projecting small
arrows through a tube.
Yard. [A.S. gyrd, a rod.} 1. The funda-
mental English unit of length ; it is the distance
between two marks on a certain bar kept in the
Exchequer Office in London, when the tempera-
ture is 62 Fahr. 2. (fiaut.) A long spar sus-
pended from a mast to spread a sail. Y.-arms,
its extremities. Y.-arm. and Y.-arm, said of
two vessels close alongside. Cross-jack Y., that
on the foremast of a fore-and-aft schooner.
Yarr. (Spurrey, Common.)
Yataghan. (Mil.) Long Turkish dagger
with metal scabbard, worn in the belt.
Yaw. (Naut.) Temporary deviation of a vessel
from its right course.
Yawl. [D. jol ; cf. jolly-boat.] (Naut.) 1. A
man-of-war's boat, like a pinnace, but smaller.
2. A carvel-built vessel, like a cutter, but having
a jigger lugsail. 3. A small fishing- vessel.
Yaws. (Mcd.) Framboesia [Fr. framboise, a
raspberry}, a skin-disease marked by raspberry-
like excrescences ; endemic in some tropical
countries.
Y-cleped, Y-clept. [A.S. geclipod, part, of
cleopian, to call.} Called, named.
Yean. [A.S. eanian.] To bring forth young ;
to lamb.
Yeanling (from yean). The young of a sheep,
or lamb.
Year ; Anomalistic Y. ; Bissextile Y. ; Chris-
tian Y. ; Civil Y. ; Common Y. ; Gregorian Y. ;
.Julian Y. ; Leap Y. ; Lunar Y. ; Sidereal Y. ;
Solar Y. ; Tropical Y. [A.S. gear; cf. Gr.
upas, wpa.] An interval of time determined by
the proper motion of the sun, i.e. by the revo-
lution of the earth in her orbit. The Sidereal
Y. is the interval between two successive re-
turns of the sun to the same point of space,
its length being 365 days 6 hrs. 9 mins. 9*6
sees, mean solar units. The Anomalistic Y.
is the interval between two successive returns
of the earth to perihelion, its length being 365
days 6 hrs. 13 miris. 49*3 sees, mean solar
units. The Tropical Y., called also a Solar Y.,
is the interval between two successive returns
of the sun to the first point of Aries, its length
being 365 days 5 hrs. 48 mins. 497 sees,
mean solar units. The Civil Y. is that adopted
in common life for the computation of time ;
it consists of 365 days, with an additional day
added now and then to keep it right with the
tropical year, which regulates the seasons ; the
year in which the additional day is inserted is the
Bissextile or Leap Y. A Common Y. is a year of
365 days ; a Lunar Y. is twelve lunar months.
(For Gregorian and Julian K, vide Calendar.)
The Christian Y. begins with Advent.
Year-books. The oldest extant English re-
ports, from Edward II. to Henry VIII. inclu-
sive ; but not without interruptions.
Yellow admiral. (A'aitt.) A retired post-
captain who, not having served his time as such,
cannot be promoted to flag rank.
Yellow arsenic. (Orpiment.)
Yellow flag. (A T aut.) Signal of quarantine.
A black disc or square in its centre means
plague or other disease on board.
Yellowing. (Naut.) Passing over captains
at a flag promotion.
Yellowstone National Park. An area of 3575
square miles (i.e. a little larger than Norfolk
and Suffolk) about the sources of the Yellow
River, in Montana and Wyoming ; withdrawn
by U.S. Congress, February, 1872, "from set-
tlement, occupancy, or sale," and set apart as a
public park for the people for ever. General
elevation, 7000 to 8000 feet, with mountains
10,000 to 12,000 feet ; and having deep gorges,
snowy sierras, great lakes, and geysers.
Yeoman. (A T ant.) The man in charge of a
storeroom.
Yeoman of the guard. {Cf. Ger. gau, country
district.} 1. (Mil.) One of a corps in attendance
on the sovereign, instituted A.D. 1485, officered,
with the exception of the commander, who is a
nobleman, by retired officers from the army.
2. Y, in north of England, i.q. statesman (y.v.).
Yeoman's service. As in Hamlet, act v. sc. 2 ;
the faithful service in war rendered by the
yeomen or small freeholders : the mass of the
infantry being composed of "good yeomen"
(Henry V., act iii. sc. i). " The middle people
of England make good soldiers, which the pea-
sants of France do not : . . . and herein the
device of King Henry VII. was profound . . .
to keep the plough in the hands of the owners "
(Bacon's Essays : Of Kingdoms and Estates).
Yezdigird, Era of. An era beginning June
16, 632.
Yezidis. (Jezids.)
Yggdrasil. In Teut. and Scancl. Myth., the
ash tree which has its roots in Niflheim, the
home of the clouds or mists, and whose branches
YOIC
ZL;RK
cmbrace the whole world. The origin of the
name is disputed.
Yoicks! A cry of encouragement to fox-
hounds while drawing ; (?) a corr. of Fr. oyez !
oyez ! i.e. listen to the dogs. Dame Juliana
Berners mentions, in her Book of Hunting (fif-
teenth century), the cry, " Oyez, oyez a Be-
mounde," the name of a hound. (Tally ho !)
Young England. A name of the last genera-
tion, designating those who, mostly young men
of culture and position, looking down upon
commercial tastes and employments, affected or
seemed to affect a return to mediaeval manners.
Yow-yow. A smaller samfaan (</.?'.).
Yttrium, Terbium, Erbium. Rare metals found
at Ytterby, in Sweden.
Yucca (its name in St. Domingo). (/>'<>/.)
A gen. of Liliacea: ; N. and S. America. Y.
gloriosa is common Adam's needle, cultivated
in England, having sword-shaped evergreen
leaves, and a large branching panicle of whitish
flowers.
Yugs. (Jogues.)
Yule. [A.S. iula.] The Scotch name for
Christmas.
z.
Z. A letter representing the sounds ds or /s,
and therefore a double letter.
Zabaism. (Sabaism.)
Zaffre. [Ar. saphre, sapphire.'} (C/icw.) An
impure oxide of cobalt, used in making smalt.
Zaim. A Turkish chief of a mounted militia
bearing the same name.
Zany. [It. zanni = Giovanni, merry John ;
cf. merry- Andrew.] A buffoon.
Zaphara. (Zaffre.)
Zarnich. (Orpiment.)
Zax. [A.S. seax, a knife. ~\ A tool for cutting
slate.
Zea. [Gr. feta, some kind of barley.'} (Bot.)
Maize ; a gen. of plants, probably American.
Certainly cultivated by the Indians when the
New World was discovered. Ord. Graminacece.
Common M., or Indian corn, is Z. mays, the
most productive of cereals, much grown in S.
Europe. (Hominy.)
Zealots. [Gr. TJ\WT/.] A Jewish sect, of
the Maccabean age, specially vehement in their
defence of the Law. (Canaanite.)
Zebec. (Xebec.)
Zebu. (Zool.) Bos Indkus ; the humped
cattle of E. Africa, India, China ; various
breeds, ranging from about two feet high to the
full size of the ordinary ox.
Zecchino. (Sequin.)
Zechstein. \Gkr, , mine-stem ;cf.zax.,"\ (Gcol.)
To be cut through before the copper slate is
reached ; the equivalent of the limestone of the
Permian age, in north of England. (Zax.)
Zedoary. A fragrant, bitter, aromatic stimu-
lant, from the root of the Curcuma zerumbet,
of the E. Indies. Ord. Zingiberacere. Given
in cramp, colic, torpor, etc. Called also the
broad-leaved turmeric.
Zeit-geist. [Ger.] Spirit of the age.
Zemindars. [Hind., from Pers. zemin, land.}
The great landowners of the Mogul empire. The
nature of their tenure has been much disputed.
Zenana. A Pers. word, probably the same
as the Gr. ywaiK&v, the part of the house set
apart for the women . (Harem.)
Zend-Avesta. The sacred books embodying
the religious system of Zoroaster, avesla mean-
ing a settled te.\t. (Ahriman.)
Zendiks. In Arabia, a name given to
atheists or sorcerers.
Zendism. The same as Zoroastrianism, or
the religion of Zoroaster. (Ahriman.)
Zenith.; Z. distance; Z. sector; Z. telescope.
(A corr. of Ar. sank, road, tract, whence also
Azimuth.) The point vertically overhead, in which
the plumb-line produced would meet the great
sphere. The Z, distance of a heavenly body is
its angular distance from the Z. measured along
a vertical circle. A Z. sector is a telescope
furnished with an arc of a few degrees very
exactly graduated, and mounted so as to measure
the meridian-Z. distances of stars near the Z.
of the station ; the positions of such stars are
very little affected by atmospheric refraction,
and are therefore proper to be used for the
very accurate determination of the latitude of
the station. A Z. telescope is capable of being
set to any Z. distance and of turning round a
long and .very firm vertical axis ; in the focus
are the usual five wires and a micrometer wire
capable of reading up to (say) 45' ; two stars are
used that come on to the meridian nearly
together and on opposite sides of the zenith ;
the instrument is reversed between the two
observations, and the latitude is inferred from
the difference of the readings and the known
north polar distances of the stars.
Zeolites. [Gr. (tea, I boil, \i6os, a stone.]
(Gcol.) Hydrated silicates of alumina; e.g.
natrolite, mesotype, etc., found in the cavities of
volcanic rocks.
Zephyr. The west wind ; so called as blow-
ing from the west, the land of darkness, the
Gr. ((j>vpos being akin to o<pos, yv6<pos, Kvetyas, _
ve<pi\ri, L. nubes, words denoting gloom, mist,
and cloud.
Zephyr cloth. A light waterproof material
made in Belgium.
Zerda. (Lycaon.)
Zereth. [Ileb.] A Jewish measure of length ;
a span, between the extremities of the extended
hand.
ZERX
ZOST
Zernabog, Zernebock. (Tschernibog.)
Zero. [It. zefiro, Ar. sifr, cipher.] The point
from which a graduation begins ; as the zero or
zero-point of a thermometer.
Zest. [Fr. zeste, from Gr. trxio-Tos, cut,
cloven.] 1. A piece of orange or lemon peel,
used for flavouring liquor. Hence, 2, relish,
enthusiasm.
Zetetic. [Gr. ^i\rt\riK6s, from rjTe?c, to seek.]
Advancing by inquiry.
Zens Hdrios. (Terminalia.)
Zens Horkios. (Semo Sancus.)
Zeus Pistios. (Semo Sancus.)
Ziega. [Ger. zieger.] Curd made with
acetic acid after rennet has ceased to coagulate
the milk.
Zif. [Heb., blossom.} I Kings vi. 37 ; eighth
month of civil, second of ecclesiastical, Jewish
year ; April May.
Zillah. [Hind, zila.] In India, the district
of a commissioner or circuit judge.
Zincode. [Zinc, andGr. 85os, away.} (Chun.')
The positive pole of a galvanic battery.
Zincography. [Zinc, and Gr. ypdcfxa, I
write, or draw.] Engraving on zinc in the style
of woodcuts.
Ziogoon. (Tycoon.)
Zirconium. A very rare metal, obtained as a
black powder from zircon (native name of a
Cingalese earth).
Zither. [Ger., Gr. itWdpa, guitar.} A flat
stringed instrument, with twenty-eight brass
strings, played with the right thumb, a plectrum
bringing out the melody.
Zizel. (Zool.) The pouched marmot, a
rodent, differing from the marmot proper, in
having cheek-pouches, and in not being gre-
garious, N. hemisphere. Spermophilus [Gr.
oWpyua, seed, <pi\eia, I loz'c}, fam. Scluridje.
Zoanthidae. [Gr. ^uov, an animal, avOos, a
flower.] (Zool.) Fam. of polypes, comprising
the black corals and madrepores.
Zoanthropy. [Gr. toov, an animal, &t>0p<inros,
a man.] A name devised for the madness which
sometimes makes men fancy themselves changed
into brute animals.
Zodiac. [Gr. o5wcJs, belonging to animals ;
6 ca$iat<6s, sc. KVK\OS, the zodiac, circle. ] (Aslron. )
A belt or zone in the heavens, whose general direc-
tion is that of the ecliptic, and within which the
sun, moon, and planets have their proper motions ;
the stars within the belt are divided into twelve
constellations, the Ram, the Bull, the Twins,
etc., which are more commonly known by their
Latin names, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc. In
the time of the Greek astronomers the sun
entered Aries at about the time of the vernal
equinox ; but now, in consequence of precession,
he is not in the neighbourhood of the bright star
of the Ram (a Arietis) till towards the end of
April ; the vernal equinox is, however, still
called the First point of Aries.
Zodiacal light. A light of a lenticular shape,
seen after sunset in the months of March, April,
and May ; extending not less than 40 from the
sun obliquely upward, and following the general
course of the ecliptic.
Zoetrope. [Gr. uov, a living thing, rptirta,
I turn] A contrivance for producing the appear-
ance of motion in figures by rotating plates.
(Anorthoscope.)
Zohak. In the Shahnamah of Firdusi, a
tyrant who has serpents growing from his
shoulders, and who is slain by Feridun. The
name is a contraction from the Zend Azi-clahaka,
the biting snake, representing the Vedic Ahi
(Vritra) and Dahak, the biter [Gr. Sa/o/w, to
bite}.
Zohar. [Heb., splendour.] A cabalistic com-
mentary on the Pentateuch, of uncertain date,
but supposed to be of great antiquity. (Talmud.)
Zoilism. Captious criticism, like that of
Zoilus, a. Greek rhetorician of the fourth
century B.C.
Zollverein. [Ger., toll-union.} A fiscal union
of German states, formed at Munich, August 23,
1837, and greatly enlarged in 1866.
Zona. [L., Gr. <!>VT\, a girdle.] (Med.) I.q.
Herpes zoster, or shingles.
Zonar. [Gr. favdptov, dim. of tyvi), a girdle.}
A distinguishing belt worn by non-Mohammedans
in the Levant.
Zone. [Gr. tyvt], girdle, zone.] 1. (Math.)
A portion of a surface of revolution, as of a
sphere, included between two planes at right
angles to its axis. 2. (Geog.) Portions of the
earth's surface bounded by the Arctic and Ant-
arctic circles and by the tropics of Cancer and
Capricorn : they are five in number, viz. an
Arctic and an Antarctic Z. , extending about
23 28' from the North and South Poles, at any
place within which there will be certain days on
which the sun does not rise and others on which
he does not set ; a Torrid Z., extending 23 28'
on either side of the equator, at every place
within which the sun is vertically overhead at
midday twice a year ; and two intermediate
Temperate zones, one in the northern, the other
in the southern hemisphere.
Zone; Z 1 . circle; Axis of Z. (Crystallog.)
When three or more faces of a crystal have
their poles in a great circle of the sphere of pro-
jection, they form a Z. ; the great circle is the
Z. circle; the diameter at right angles to the
plane of the Z. circle is the Axis of the Z.
Zone of variable temperature. The sun is
found to affect rocks to a depth of about ninety
feet ; and this upper ninety feet is known as the
Z. of V. T.
Zoo-. [Gr. <>-, living.]
Zob'ids. [Gr. o-ei57)s, animal-like] (Biol.)
Organisms more or less dependent upon the
parent organism, produced by gemmation, or
fission ; as the separated portions of hydra.
Zoophytes. [Gr. fa6-<p\nov, an animal-plant.}
(Zool.) General name for plant-like animals; as
sponges (Protozoa), corals and sea-anemones
(Ccelenterata), and sea-mats (Polyzoa).
Zoroaster. (Ahriman.)
Zoster. (Herpes zoster.)
Zostera. [Gr. fyo-r-fip, a girdle] (fiot.)
Wrack-grass; a submersed marine plant, Z,
marina, ord. Naiaclacere. Its ribbon-like stems
used as beds, and in packing glass.
ZOST
521
ZVXT
Zosterites. Fossil impressions of zdstera
(</.v.) ; in the Devonian system.
Zouaves. Light infantry in the French army ;
said to be so called from a tribe of that name in
Algeria, and originally raised in that country,
but now exclusively recruited in France.
Zounds. A corr. of the phrase God 1 s -wounds,
as S'death and S'blood are corr. of God's death
and God's blood.
Zuchetto. [It.] (Eccl.) In the Latin Church,
a skull-cap, that of a bishop being purple, that
of the pope white.
Zuinglians. In Eccl. Hist., the followers of
Zuinglius, the most advanced of the Reformers
of the age of Luther. (Lutherans.)
Zumbra. (Naut.) A Spanish skiff or yawl.
Zunu. Goitred sheep of Angola ; a breed
with a roll of fat at the back of the head, and
another on the throat, like a goitre ; ears,
back, and upper half of tail light brown, other-
wise white. W. coast of Africa. Ovis
Steatimon [Gr. <rrfa.p, -O.TOS, fat}.
Zymo-. [Gr. fu/io-, leavening,]
Zymometer. [Gr. v/ui leaven, ^rpCiv, to
measure.] An instrument for measuring the
degree of fermentation by means of the heat
developed.
Zymotic diseases. [Gr. v/j.caTiK<5s, causing to
ferment, (vfj.ri, leaven.] (Med.) Diseases caused
apparently by some virus received into the body
and spreading by a kind of fermentation ; e.g.
small-pox, measles, scarlatina, influenza, typhus,
and many others.
Zyziphus. (Spina Chriati.)
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