4 letter words

Abed (adv.) To childbed (in the phrase "brought abed," that is, delivered of a child).

Abet (v. t.) To support, uphold, or aid; to maintain; -- in a good sense.

Alum (n.) A double sulphate formed of aluminium and some other element (esp. an alkali metal) or of aluminium. It has twenty-four molecules of water of crystallization.

Amic (a.) Related to, or derived, ammonia; -- used chiefly as a suffix; as, amic acid; phosphamic acid.

Apus (n.) A genus of fresh-water phyllopod crustaceans. See Phyllopod.

Aqua (n.) Water; -- a word much used in pharmacy and the old chemistry, in various signification, determined by the word or words annexed.

Argo (n.) A large constellation in the southern hemisphere, called also Argo Navis. In modern astronomy it is replaced by its three divisions, Carina, Puppis, and Vela.

Atmo (n.) The standard atmospheric pressure used in certain physical measurements calculations; conventionally, that pressure under which the barometer stands at 760 millimeters, at a temperature of 0? Centigrade, at the level of the sea, and in the latitude of Paris.

Aunt (n.) The sister of one's father or mother; -- correlative to nephew or niece. Also applied to an uncle's wife.

Ball (n.) Any round or roundish body or mass; a sphere or globe; as, a ball of twine; a ball of snow.

Ball (n.) A spherical body of any substance or size used to play with, as by throwing, knocking, kicking, etc.

Ball (n.) Any solid spherical, cylindrical, or conical projectile of lead or iron, to be discharged from a firearm; as, a cannon ball; a rifle ball; -- often used collectively; as, powder and ball. Spherical balls for the smaller firearms are commonly called bullets.

Bead (n.) A little perforated ball, to be strung on a thread, and worn for ornament; or used in a rosary for counting prayers, as by Roman Catholics and Mohammedans, whence the phrases to tell beads, to at one's beads, to bid beads, etc., meaning, to be at prayer.Bear (n.) One of two constellations in the northern hemisphere, called respectively the Great Bear and the Lesser Bear, or Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

Bear (n.) Metaphorically: A brutal, coarse, or morose person.

Beat (v. i.) A cheat or swindler of the lowest grade; -- often emphasized by dead; as, a dead beat.

Bell (n.) A hollow perforated sphere of metal containing a loose ball which causes it to sound when moved.

Bind (v. t.) To confine, restrain, or hold by physical force or influence of any kind; as, attraction binds the planets to the sun; frost binds the earth, or the streams.

Bion (p. pr.) The physiological individual, characterized by definiteness and independence of function, in distinction from the morphological individual or morphon.

Birk (n.) A small European minnow (Leuciscus phoxinus).

Blow (n.) The infliction of evil; a sudden calamity; something which produces mental, physical, or financial suffering or loss (esp. when sudden); a buffet.

Blue (superl.) Having the color of the clear sky, or a hue resembling it, whether lighter or darker; as, the deep, blue sea; as blue as a sapphire; blue violets.

Body (n.) The material organized substance of an animal, whether living or dead, as distinguished from the spirit, or vital principle; the physical person.

Bomb (n.) A shell; esp. a spherical shell, like those fired from mortars. See Shell.

Bond (n.) A unit of chemical attraction; as, oxygen has two bonds of affinity. It is often represented in graphic formulae

Bone (n.) The hard, calcified tissue of the skeleton of vertebrate animals, consisting very largely of calcic carbonate, calcic phosphate, and gelatine; as, blood and bone.

Bowl (n.) A concave vessel of various forms (often approximately hemispherical), to hold liquids, etc.

Bubo (n.) An inflammation, with enlargement, of a lymphatic gland, esp. in the groin, as in syphilis.

Buff (n.) A buffet; a blow; -- obsolete except in the phrase "Blindman's buff."

Bufo (n.) A genus of Amphibia including various species of toads.

Bulb (n.) A spheroidal body growing from a plant either above or below the ground (usually below), which is strictly a bud, consisting of a cluster of partially developed leaves, and producing, as it grows, a stem above, and roots below, as in the onion, tulip, etc. It differs from a corm in not being solid.

Bulb (n.) An expansion or protuberance on a stem or tube, as the bulb of a thermometer, which may be of any form, as spherical, cylindrical, curved, etc.

Bull (n.) The male of any species of cattle (Bovidae); hence, the male of any large quadruped, as the elephant; also, the male of the whale.

Calf (n.) The young of the cow, or of the Bovine family of quadrupeds. Also, the young of some other mammals, as of the elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, and whale.

Cant (n.) The use of religious phraseology without understanding or sincerity; empty, solemn speech, implying what is not felt; hypocrisy.

Cant (v. i.) To make whining pretensions to goodness; to talk with an affectation of religion, philanthropy, etc.; to practice hypocrisy; as, a canting fanatic.

Chub (n.) A species to fresh-water fish of the Cyprinidae or Carp family. The common European species is Leuciscus cephalus; the cheven. In America the name is applied to various fishes of the same family, of the genera Semotilus, Squalius, Ceratichthys, etc., and locally to several very different fishes, as the tautog, black bass, etc.

Circ (n.) An amphitheatrical circle for sports; a circus.

Code (n.) Any system of rules or regulations relating to one subject; as, the medical code, a system of rules for the regulation of the professional conduct of physicians; the naval code, a system of rules for making communications at sea means of signals.

Coke (n.) Mineral coal charred, or depriver of its bitumen, sulphur, or other volatile matter by roasting in a kiln or oven, or by distillation, as in gas works. It is lagerly used where / smokeless fire is required.

Cony (n.) An important edible West Indian fish (Epinephelus apua); the hind of Bermuda.

Cool (superl.) Applied facetiously, in a vague sense, to a sum of money, commonly as if to give emphasis to the largeness of the amount.

Coss (n.) A thing (only in phrase below).

Crus (n.) Often applied, especially in the plural, to parts which are supposed to resemble a pair of legs; as, the crura of the diaphragm, a pair of muscles attached to it; crura cerebri, two bundles of nerve fibers in the base of the brain, connecting the medulla and the forebrain.

Darn (v. t.) A colloquial euphemism for Damn.

Dint (n.) Force; power; -- esp. in the phrase by dint of.

Dose (n.) To give doses to; to medicine or physic to; to give potions to, constantly and without need.

Drop (n.) The quantity of fluid which falls in one small spherical mass; a liquid globule; a minim; hence, also, the smallest easily measured portion of a fluid; a small quantity; as, a drop of water.

Drum (n.) An instrument of percussion, consisting either of a hollow cylinder, over each end of which is stretched a piece of skin or vellum, to be beaten with a stick; or of a metallic hemisphere (kettledrum) with a single piece of skin to be so beaten; the common instrument for marking time in martial music; one of the pair of tympani in an orchestra, or cavalry band.

Drum (n.) A cylinder on a revolving shaft, generally for the purpose of driving several pulleys, by means of belts or straps passing around its periphery; also, the barrel of a hoisting machine, on which the rope or chain is wound.

Dyne (n.) The unit of force, in the C. G. S. (Centimeter Gram Second) system of physical units; that is, the force which, acting on a gram for a second, generates a velocity of a centimeter per second.

Echo (n.) A wood or mountain nymph, regarded as repeating, and causing the reverberation of them.

Echo (n.) A nymph, the daughter of Air and Earth, who, for love of Narcissus, pined away until nothing was left of her but her voice.

Epen (n.) See Epencephalon.

Epha (n.) A Hebrew dry measure, supposed to be equal to two pecks and five quarts. ten ephahs make one homer.

salt () Sulphate of magnesia having cathartic qualities; -- originally prepared by boiling down the mineral waters at Epsom, England, -- whence the name; afterwards prepared from sea water; but now from certain minerals, as from siliceous hydrate of magnesia.

Eros (n.) Love; the god of love; -- by earlier writers represented as one of the first and creative gods, by later writers as the son of Aphrodite, equivalent to the Latin god Cupid.

Evil (n.) malady or disease; especially in the phrase king's evil, the scrofula.

Face (n.) Presence; sight; front; as in the phrases, before the face of, in the immediate presence of; in the face of, before, in, or against the front of; as, to fly in the face of danger; to the face of, directly to; from the face of, from the presence of.

Face (n.) Mode of regard, whether favorable or unfavorable; favor or anger; mostly in Scriptural phrases.

Fail (v. i.) Miscarriage; failure; deficiency; fault; -- mostly superseded by failure or failing, except in the phrase without fail.

Faun (n.) A god of fields and shipherds, diddering little from the satyr. The fauns are usually represented as half goat and half man.

Fawn (n.) A servile cringe or bow; mean flattery; sycophancy.

Feed (v. t.) To give food to; to supply with nourishment; to satisfy the physical huger of.

Feel (v. i.) To be conscious of an inward impression, state of mind, persuasion, physical condition, etc.; to perceive one's self to be; -- followed by an adjective describing the state, etc.; as, to feel assured, grieved, persuaded.

Fern (n.) An order of cryptogamous plants, the Filices, which have their fructification on the back of the fronds or leaves. They are usually found in humid soil, sometimes grow epiphytically on trees, and in tropical climates often attain a gigantic size.

Find (v. t.) To provide for; to supply; to furnish; as, to find food for workemen; he finds his nephew in money.

Flea (n.) An insect belonging to the genus Pulex, of the order Aphaniptera. Fleas are destitute of wings, but have the power of leaping energetically. The bite is poisonous to most persons. The human flea (Pulex irritans), abundant in Europe, is rare in America, where the dog flea (P. canis) takes its place. See Aphaniptera, and Dog flea. See Illustration in Appendix.

Font (n.) A complete assortment of printing type of one size, including a due proportion of all the letters in the alphabet, large and small, points, accents, and whatever else is necessary for printing with that variety of types; a fount.

Form (n.) A shape; an image; a phantom.

Form (n.) The combination of planes included under a general crystallographic symbol. It is not necessarily a closed solid.

Free (superl.) Not subjected to the laws of physical necessity; capable of voluntary activity; endowed with moral liberty; -- said of the will.

Frog (n.) An amphibious animal of the genus Rana and related genera, of many species. Frogs swim rapidly, and take long leaps on land. Many of the species utter loud notes in the springtime.

Fume (v. t.) To expose to the action of fumes; to treat with vapors, smoke, etc.; as, to bleach straw by fuming it with sulphur; to fill with fumes, vapors, odors, etc., as a room.

Fury (n.) pl. (Greek Myth.) The avenging deities, Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megaera; the Erinyes or Eumenides.

Gall (n.) An excrescence of any form produced on any part of a plant by insects or their larvae. They are most commonly caused by small Hymenoptera and Diptera which puncture the bark and lay their eggs in the wounds. The larvae live within the galls. Some galls are due to aphids, mites, etc. See Gallnut.

Game (v. i.) A contest, physical or mental, according to certain rules, for amusement, recreation, or for winning a stake; as, a game of chance; games of skill; field games, etc.

Gnat (n.) A blood-sucking dipterous fly, of the genus Culex, undergoing a metamorphosis in water. The females have a proboscis armed with needlelike organs for penetrating the skin of animals. These are wanting in the males. In America they are generally called mosquitoes. See Mosquito.

Good (superl.) Real; actual; serious; as in the phrases in good earnest; in good sooth.

Good (superl.) Not small, insignificant, or of no account; considerable; esp., in the phrases a good deal, a good way, a good degree, a good share or part, etc.

Good (superl.) Not blemished or impeached; fair; honorable; unsullied; as in the phrases a good name, a good report, good repute, etc.

Good (adv.) Well, -- especially in the phrase as good, with a following as expressed or implied; equally well with as much advantage or as little harm as possible.

Gout (n.) A constitutional disease, occurring by paroxysms. It consists in an inflammation of the fibrous and ligamentous parts of the joints, and almost always attacks first the great toe, next the smaller joints, after which it may attack the greater articulations. It is attended with various sympathetic phenomena, particularly in the digestive organs. It may also attack internal organs, as the stomach, the intestines, etc.

Gree (n.) Good will; favor; pleasure; satisfaction; -- used esp. in such phrases as: to take in gree; to accept in gree; that is, to take favorably.

Grey (a.) See Gray (the correct orthography).

Guib (n.) A West African antelope (Tragelaphus scriptus), curiously marked with white stripes and spots on a reddish fawn ground, and hence called harnessed antelope; -- called also guiba.

Hair (n.) An outgrowth of the epidermis, consisting of one or of several cells, whether pointed, hooked, knobbed, or stellated. Internal hairs occur in the flower stalk of the yellow frog lily (Nuphar).

Halo (n.) A luminous circle, usually prismatically colored, round the sun or moon, and supposed to be caused by the refraction of light through crystals of ice in the atmosphere. Connected with halos there are often white bands, crosses, or arches, resulting from the same atmospheric conditions.

Hang (v. i.) To cover, decorate, or furnish by hanging pictures trophies, drapery, and the like, or by covering with paper hangings; -- said of a wall, a room, etc.

Hawk (v. t.) To raise by hawking, as phlegm.

Hawk (n.) An effort to force up phlegm from the throat, accompanied with noise.

Hawk (v. t.) To offer for sale by outcry in the street; to carry (merchandise) about from place to place for sale; to peddle; as, to hawk goods or pamphlets.

Haze (v. t.) To harass or annoy by playing abusive or shameful tricks upon; to humiliate by practical jokes; -- used esp. of college students; as, the sophomores hazed a freshman.

Head (n.) The anterior or superior part of an animal, containing the brain, or chief ganglia of the nervous system, the mouth, and in the higher animals, the chief sensory organs; poll; cephalon.

Heat (n.) A force in nature which is recognized in various effects, but especially in the phenomena of fusion and evaporation, and which, as manifested in fire, the sun's rays, mechanical action, chemical combination, etc., becomes directly known to us through the sense of feeling. In its nature heat is a mode if motion, being in general a form of molecular disturbance or vibration. It was formerly supposed to be a subtile, imponderable fluid, to which was given the name caloric.

Herd (n.) A number of beasts assembled together; as, a herd of horses, oxen, cattle, camels, elephants, deer, or swine; a particular stock or family of cattle.

Herd (n.) One who herds or assembles domestic animals; a herdsman; -- much used in composition; as, a shepherd; a goatherd, and the like.

Herd (v. i.) To act as a herdsman or a shepherd.

High (superl.) Of great strength, force, importance, and the like; strong; mighty; powerful; violent; sometimes, triumphant; victorious; majestic, etc.; as, a high wind; high passions.

Hind (n.) A spotted food fish of the genus Epinephelus, as E. apua of Bermuda, and E. Drummond-hayi of Florida; -- called also coney, John Paw, spotted hind.

Home (adv.) To one's home or country; as in the phrases, go home, come home, carry home.

Horn (n.) The tough, fibrous material of which true horns are composed, being, in the Ox family, chiefly albuminous, with some phosphate of lime; also, any similar substance, as that which forms the hoof crust of horses, sheep, and cattle; as, a spoon of horn.

Hurt (v. t.) To cause physical pain to; to do bodily harm to; to wound or bruise painfully.

Hypo (n.) Sodium hyposulphite, or thiosulphate, a solution of which is used as a bath to wash out the unchanged silver salts in a picture.

Idea (n.) A rational conception; the complete conception of an object when thought of in all its essential elements or constituents; the necessary metaphysical or constituent attributes and relations, when conceived in the abstract.

Inee (n.) An arrow poison, made from an apocynaceous plant (Strophanthus hispidus) of the Gaboon country; -- called also onaye.

Inia (n.) A South American freshwater dolphin (Inia Boliviensis). It is ten or twelve feet long, and has a hairy snout.

Iota (n.) The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (/) corresponding with the English i.

Item (n.) A short article in a newspaper; a paragraph; as, an item concerning the weather.

Jest (n.) Something done or said in order to amuse; a joke; a witticism; a jocose or sportive remark or phrase. See Synonyms under Jest, v. i.

Kish (n.) A workman's name for the graphite which forms incidentally in iron smelting.

Lamb (n.) A simple, unsophisticated person; in the cant of the Stock Exchange, one who ignorantly speculates and is victimized.

Lamp (n.) Figuratively, anything which enlightens intellectually or morally; anything regarded metaphorically a performing the uses of a lamp.

Lead (n.) One of the elements, a heavy, pliable, inelastic metal, having a bright, bluish color, but easily tarnished. It is both malleable and ductile, though with little tenacity, and is used for tubes, sheets, bullets, etc. Its specific gravity is 11.37. It is easily fusible, forms alloys with other metals, and is an ingredient of solder and type metal. Atomic weight, 206.4. Symbol Pb (L. Plumbum). It is chiefly obtained from the mineral galena, lead sulphide.

Lead (v. t.) To guide or conduct with the hand, or by means of some physical contact connection; as, a father leads a child; a jockey leads a horse with a halter; a dog leads a blind man.

Lens (n.) A piece of glass, or other transparent substance, ground with two opposite regular surfaces, either both curved, or one curved and the other plane, and commonly used, either singly or combined, in optical instruments, for changing the direction of rays of light, and thus magnifying objects, or otherwise modifying vision. In practice, the curved surfaces are usually spherical, though rarely cylindrical, or of some other figure.

Lief (adv.) Gladly; willingly; freely; -- now used only in the phrases, had as lief, and would as lief; as, I had, or would, as lief go as not.

Lieu (n.) Place; room; stead; -- used only in the phrase in lieu of, that is, instead of.

Life (n.) The potential principle, or force, by which the organs of animals and plants are started and continued in the performance of their several and cooperative functions; the vital force, whether regarded as physical or spiritual.

Life (n.) A history of the acts and events of a life; a biography; as, Johnson wrote the life of Milton.

Lift (n.) The sky; the atmosphere; the firmament.

Lift (v. t.) To move in a direction opposite to that of gravitation; to raise; to elevate; to bring up from a lower place to a higher; to upheave; sometimes implying a continued support or holding in the higher place; -- said of material things; as, to lift the foot or the hand; to lift a chair or a burden.

Line (n.) The wire connecting one telegraphic station with another, or the whole of a system of telegraph wires under one management and name.

Long (n.) The longest dimension; the greatest extent; -- in the phrase, the long and the short of it, that is, the sum and substance of it.

Look (n.) The act of looking; a glance; a sight; a view; -- often in certain phrases; as, to have, get, take, throw, or cast, a look.

Loom (v. i.) To appear above the surface either of sea or land, or to appear enlarged, or distorted and indistinct, as a distant object, a ship at sea, or a mountain, esp. from atmospheric influences; as, the ship looms large; the land looms high.

Loop (n.) A small, narrow opening; a loophole.

Lost (v. t.) Ruined or destroyed, either physically or morally; past help or hope; as, a ship lost at sea; a woman lost to virtue; a lost soul.

Loud (superl.) Emphatic; impressive; urgent; as, a loud call for united effort.

Love (n.) Courtship; -- chiefly in the phrase to make love, i. e., to court, to woo, to solicit union in marriage.

Lurg (n.) A large marine annelid (Nephthys caeca), inhabiting the sandy shores of Europe and America. It is whitish, with a pearly luster, and grows to the length of eight or ten inches.

Lyra (n.) A northern constellation, the Harp, containing a white star of the first magnitude, called Alpha Lyrae, or Vega.

Magi (n. pl.) A caste of priests, philosophers, and magicians, among the ancient Persians; hence, any holy men or sages of the East.

Make (v. t.) To bring about; to bring forward; to be the cause or agent of; to effect, do, perform, or execute; -- often used with a noun to form a phrase equivalent to the simple verb that corresponds to such noun; as, to make complaint, for to complain; to make record of, for to record; to make abode, for to abide, etc.

Make (v. i.) To act in a certain manner; to have to do; to manage; to interfere; to be active; -- often in the phrase to meddle or make.

Maud (n.) A gray plaid; -- used by shepherds in Scotland.

Mete (n.) Measure; limit; boundary; -- used chiefly in the plural, and in the phrase metes and bounds.

Mist (n.) Visible watery vapor suspended in the atmosphere, at or near the surface of the earth; fog.

Misy (n.) An impure yellow sulphate of iron; yellow copperas or copiapite.

Mode (n.) Prevailing popular custom; fashion, especially in the phrase the mode.

Monk (n.) A South American monkey (Pithecia monachus); also applied to other species, as Cebus xanthocephalus.

Mora (n.) A leguminous tree of Guiana and Trinidad (Dimorphandra excelsa); also, its timber, used in shipbuilding and making furniture.

Moto (n.) Movement; manner of movement; particularly, movement with increased rapidity; -- used especially in the phrase con moto, directing to a somewhat quicker movement; as, andante con moto, a little more rapidly than andante, etc.

Must (v. i. / auxiliary) To be obliged; to be necessitated; -- expressing either physical or moral necessity; as, a man must eat for nourishment; we must submit to the laws.

Mute (n.) One who does not speak, whether from physical inability, unwillingness, or other cause.

Myth (n.) A story of great but unknown age which originally embodied a belief regarding some fact or phenomenon of experience, and in which often the forces of nature and of the soul are personified; an ancient legend of a god, a hero, the origin of a race, etc.; a wonder story of prehistoric origin; a popular fable which is, or has been, received as historical.

Nabk (n.) The edible berries of the Zizyphys Lotus, a tree of Northern Africa, and Southwestern Europe.

Newt (n.) Any one of several species of small aquatic salamanders. The common British species are the crested newt (Triton cristatus) and the smooth newt (Lophinus punctatus). In America, Diemictylus viridescens is one of the most abundant species.

Nias (n.) A young hawk; an eyas; hence, an unsophisticated person.

Nice (superl.) Done or made with careful labor; suited to excite admiration on account of exactness; evidencing great skill; exact; fine; finished; as, nice proportions, nice workmanship, a nice application; exactly or fastidiously discriminated; requiring close discrimination; as, a nice point of law, a nice distinction in philosophy.

Nide (n.) A nestful; a brood; as, a nide of pheasants.

Node (n.) A hard concretion or incrustation which forms upon bones attacked with rheumatism, gout, or syphilis; sometimes also, a swelling in the neighborhood of a joint.

Null (n.) That which has no value; a cipher; zero.

Beta (n.) The second letter of the Greek alphabet, B, /. See B, and cf. etymology of Alphabet.

Busk (n.) Among the Creek Indians, a feast of first fruits celebrated when the corn is ripe enough to be eaten. The feast usually continues four days. On the first day the new fire is lighted, by friction of wood, and distributed to the various households, an offering of green corn, including an ear brought from each of the four quarters or directions, is consumed, and medicine is brewed from snakeroot.

Dead (a.) Carrying no current, or producing no useful effect; -- said of a conductor in a dynamo or motor, also of a telegraph wire which has no instrument attached and, therefore, is not in use.

Film (n.) The layer, usually of gelatin or collodion, containing the sensitive salts of photographic plates; also, the flexible sheet of celluloid or the like on which this layer is sometimes mounted.

Fume (n.) Solid material deposited by condensation of fumes; as, lead fume (a grayish powder chiefly lead sulphate).

Germ (n.) The germ cells, collectively, as distinguished from the somatic cells, or soma. Germ is often used in place of germinal to form phrases; as, germ area, germ disc, germ membrane, germ nucleus, germ sac, etc.

Lead (n.) The advance of the current phase in an alternating circuit beyond that of the electromotive force producing it.

Long (a.) Having a supply of stocks or goods; prepared for, or depending for a profit upon, advance in prices; as, long of cotton. Hence, the phrases: to be, or go, long of the market, to be on the long side of the market, to hold products or securities for a rise in price, esp. when bought on a margin.

Mero (n.) Any of several large groupers of warm seas, esp. the guasa (Epinephelus guaza), the red grouper (E. morio), the black grouper (E. nigritas), distinguished as Me"ro de lo al"to (/), and a species called also rock hind, distinguished as Me"ro ca*brol"la (/).

Meum (n.) Lit., mine; that which is mine; -- used in the phrase meum et tuum, or meum and tuum; as, to confound meum and tuum, to fail to distinguish one's own property from that of others; to be dishonest.

Must (n.) Being in a condition of dangerous frenzy, usually connected with sexual excitement; -- said of adult male elephants which become so at irregular intervals.

Must (n.) An elephant in must.

Shot (n.) A spherical weight, to be put, or thrown, in competition for distance.

Take (v. t.) To make a picture, photograph, or the like, of; as, to take a group or a scene.

Titi (n.) A tree of the southern United States (Cliftonia monophylla) having glossy leaves and racemes of fragrant white flowers succeeded by one-seeded drupes; -- called also black titi, buckwheat tree, and ironwood.

Wash (v. t.) To cause dephosphorisation of (molten pig iron) by adding substances containing iron oxide, and sometimes manganese oxide.

Wind (n.) The region of the pit of the stomach, where a blow may paralyze the diaphragm and cause temporary loss of breath or other injury; the mark.

Oath (n.) A careless and blasphemous use of the name of the divine Being, or anything divine or sacred, by way of appeal or as a profane exclamation or ejaculation; an expression of profane swearing.

Odds (a.) Quarrel; dispute; debate; strife; -- chiefly in the phrase at odds.

Omer (n.) A Hebrew measure, the tenth of an ephah. See Ephah.

Osse (n.) A prophetic or ominous utterance.

Over (prep.) Above, implying superiority after a contest; in spite of; notwithstanding; as, he triumphed over difficulties; the bill was passed over the veto.

Ovum (n.) A more or less spherical and transparent mass of granular protoplasm, which by a process of multiplication and growth develops into a mass of cells, constituting a new individual like the parent; an egg, spore, germ, or germ cell. See Illust. of Mycropyle.

Pair (v. i.) Same as To pair off. See phrase below.

Palm (n.) Any symbol or token of superiority, success, or triumph; also, victory; triumph; supremacy.

Pass (v. i.) To go; to move; to proceed; to be moved or transferred from one point to another; to make a transit; -- usually with a following adverb or adverbal phrase defining the kind or manner of motion; as, to pass on, by, out, in, etc.; to pass swiftly, directly, smoothly, etc.; to pass to the rear, under the yoke, over the bridge, across the field, beyond the border, etc.

Pavo (n.) The Peacock, a constellation of the southern hemisphere.

Pean (n.) A song of praise and triumph. See Paean.

Peen (n.) A round-edged, or hemispherical, end to the head of a hammer or sledge, used to stretch or bend metal by indentation.

Pica (n.) A vitiated appetite that craves what is unfit for food, as chalk, ashes, coal, etc.; chthonophagia.

Pink (v. t.) A name given to several plants of the caryophyllaceous genus Dianthus, and to their flowers, which are sometimes very fragrant and often double in cultivated varieties. The species are mostly perennial herbs, with opposite linear leaves, and handsome five-petaled flowers with a tubular calyx.

Pipe (n.) A wind instrument of music, consisting of a tube or tubes of straw, reed, wood, or metal; any tube which produces musical sounds; as, a shepherd's pipe; the pipe of an organ.

Plan (a.) A draught or form; properly, a representation drawn on a plane, as a map or a chart; especially, a top view, as of a machine, or the representation or delineation of a horizontal section of anything, as of a building; a graphic representation; a diagram.

Poco (adv.) A little; -- used chiefly in phrases indicating the time or movement; as, poco piu allegro, a little faster; poco largo, rather slow.

Pole (n.) Either extremity of an axis of a sphere; especially, one of the extremities of the earth's axis; as, the north pole.

Pole (n.) A point upon the surface of a sphere equally distant from every part of the circumference of a great circle; or the point in which a diameter of the sphere perpendicular to the plane of such circle meets the surface. Such a point is called the pole of that circle; as, the pole of the horizon; the pole of the ecliptic; the pole of a given meridian.

Pons (n.) A bridge; -- applied to several parts which connect others, but especially to the pons Varolii, a prominent band of nervous tissue situated on the ventral side of the medulla oblongata and connected at each side with the hemispheres of the cerebellum; the mesocephalon. See Brain.

Poon (n.) A name for several East Indian, or their wood, used for the masts and spars of vessels, as Calophyllum angustifolium, C. inophullum, and Sterculia foetida; -- called also peon.

Pupa (n.) Any insect in that stage of its metamorphosis which usually immediately precedes the adult, or imago, stage.

Rare (superl.) Characterized by wide separation of parts; of loose texture; not thick or dense; thin; as, a rare atmosphere at high elevations.

Read (v. t.) To go over, as characters or words, and utter aloud, or recite to one's self inaudibly; to take in the sense of, as of language, by interpreting the characters with which it is expressed; to peruse; as, to read a discourse; to read the letters of an alphabet; to read figures; to read the notes of music, or to read music; to read a book.

Rede (n.) A word or phrase; a motto; a proverb; a wise saw.

Reed (n.) One of the thin pieces of metal, the vibration of which produce the tones of a melodeon, accordeon, harmonium, or seraphine; also attached to certain sets or registers of pipes in an organ.

Role (n.) A part, or character, performed by an actor in a drama; hence, a part of function taken or assumed by any one; as, he has now taken the role of philanthropist.

Roll (n.) To wrap round on itself; to form into a spherical or cylindrical body by causing to turn over and over; as, to roll a sheet of paper; to roll parchment; to roll clay or putty into a ball.

Root (n.) The descending, and commonly branching, axis of a plant, increasing in length by growth at its extremity only, not divided into joints, leafless and without buds, and having for its offices to fix the plant in the earth, to supply it with moisture and soluble matters, and sometimes to serve as a reservoir of nutriment for future growth. A true root, however, may never reach the ground, but may be attached to a wall, etc., as in the ivy, or may hang loosely in the air, as in some epip Rudd (n.) A fresh-water European fish of the Carp family (Leuciscus erythrophthalmus). It is about the size and shape of the roach, but it has the dorsal fin farther back, a stouter body, and red irises. Called also redeye, roud, finscale, and shallow. A blue variety is called azurine, or blue roach.

Sadr (n.) A plant of the genus Ziziphus (Z. lotus); -- so called by the Arabs of Barbary, who use its berries for food. See Lotus (b).

Sage (n.) A wise man; a man of gravity and wisdom; especially, a man venerable for years, and of sound judgment and prudence; a grave philosopher.

Sake (n.) Final cause; end; purpose of obtaining; cause; motive; reason; interest; concern; account; regard or respect; -- used chiefly in such phrases as, for the sake of, for his sake, for man's sake, for mercy's sake, and the like; as, to commit crime for the sake of gain; to go abroad for the sake of one's health.

Salt (n.) The neutral compound formed by the union of an acid and a base; thus, sulphuric acid and iron form the salt sulphate of iron or green vitriol.

Scud (n.) Any swimming amphipod crustacean.

Seah (n.) A Jewish dry measure containing one third of an an ephah.

Sect (n.) Those following a particular leader or authority, or attached to a certain opinion; a company or set having a common belief or allegiance distinct from others; in religion, the believers in a particular creed, or upholders of a particular practice; especially, in modern times, a party dissenting from an established church; a denomination; in philosophy, the disciples of a particular master; a school; in society and the state, an order, rank, class, or party.

Seer (n.) A person who foresees events; a prophet.

Seid (n.) A descendant of Mohammed through his daughter Fatima and nephew Ali.

Self (n.) The individual as the object of his own reflective consciousness; the man viewed by his own cognition as the subject of all his mental phenomena, the agent in his own activities, the subject of his own feelings, and the possessor of capacities and character; a person as a distinct individual; a being regarded as having personality.

Side (n.) Any outer portion of a thing considered apart from, and yet in relation to, the rest; as, the upper side of a sphere; also, any part or position viewed as opposite to or contrasted with another; as, this or that side.

Skew (a.) Turned or twisted to one side; situated obliquely; skewed; -- chiefly used in technical phrases.

Sole (n.) Any one of several American flounders somewhat resembling the true sole in form or quality, as the California sole (Lepidopsetta bilineata), the long-finned sole (Glyptocephalus zachirus), and other species.

Soph (n.) A contraction of Soph ister.

Soph (n.) A contraction of Sophomore.

Soul (n.) The spiritual, rational, and immortal part in man; that part of man which enables him to think, and which renders him a subject of moral government; -- sometimes, in distinction from the higher nature, or spirit, of man, the so-called animal soul, that is, the seat of life, the sensitive affections and phantasy, exclusive of the voluntary and rational powers; -- sometimes, in distinction from the mind, the moral and emotional part of man's nature, the seat of feeling, in distinction

Stag (n.) The adult male of the red deer (Cervus elaphus), a large European species closely related to the American elk, or wapiti.

Stem (n.) The part of an inflected word which remains unchanged (except by euphonic variations) throughout a given inflection; theme; base.

Stop (n.) The diaphragm used in optical instruments to cut off the marginal portions of a beam of light passing through lenses.

Suck (v. t.) To draw, as a liquid, by the action of the mouth and tongue, which tends to produce a vacuum, and causes the liquid to rush in by atmospheric pressure; to draw, or apply force to, by exhausting the air.

Taha (n.) The African rufous-necked weaver bird (Hyphantornis texor).

Take (v. t.) To assume; to adopt; to acquire, as shape; to permit to one's self; to indulge or engage in; to yield to; to have or feel; to enjoy or experience, as rest, revenge, delight, shame; to form and adopt, as a resolution; -- used in general senses, limited by a following complement, in many idiomatic phrases; as, to take a resolution; I take the liberty to say.

Take (v. i.) To admit of being pictured, as in a photograph; as, his face does not take well.

Tend (v. t.) To accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants of; to look after; to watch; to guard; as, shepherds tend their flocks.

Test (n.) A reaction employed to recognize or distinguish any particular substance or constituent of a compound, as the production of some characteristic precipitate; also, the reagent employed to produce such reaction; thus, the ordinary test for sulphuric acid is the production of a white insoluble precipitate of barium sulphate by means of some soluble barium salt.

Text (n.) A discourse or composition on which a note or commentary is written; the original words of an author, in distinction from a paraphrase, annotation, or commentary.

Toco (n.) A toucan (Ramphastos toco) having a very large beak. See Illust. under Toucan.

Toph (n.) kind of sandstone.

Trio (n.) The secondary, or episodical, movement of a minuet or scherzo, as in a sonata or symphony, or of a march, or of various dance forms; -- not limited to three parts or instruments.

Tube (n.) One of the siphons of a bivalve mollusk.

Turn (v. t.) To change the form, quality, aspect, or effect of; to alter; to metamorphose; to convert; to transform; -- often with to or into before the word denoting the effect or product of the change; as, to turn a worm into a winged insect; to turn green to blue; to turn prose into verse; to turn a Whig to a Tory, or a Hindu to a Christian; to turn good to evil, and the like.

Tusk (n.) One of the elongated incisor or canine teeth of the wild boar, elephant, etc.; hence, any long, protruding tooth.

Upas (n.) A tree (Antiaris toxicaria) of the Breadfruit family, common in the forests of Java and the neighboring islands. Its secretions are poisonous, and it has been fabulously reported that the atmosphere about it is deleterious. Called also bohun upas.

Urea (a.) A very soluble crysta

lVain (n.) Vanity; emptiness; -- now used only in the phrase in vain.

Veil (n.) Something hung up, or spread out, to intercept the view, and hide an object; a cover; a curtain; esp., a screen, usually of gauze, crape, or similar diaphnous material, to hide or protect the face.

Vent (n.) The anal opening of certain invertebrates and fishes; also, the external cloacal opening of reptiles, birds, amphibians, and many fishes.

View (n.) Power of seeing, either physically or mentally; reach or range of sight; extent of prospect.

Walk (n.) A frequented track; habitual place of action; sphere; as, the walk of the historian.

Wave (v. i.) A vibration propagated from particle to particle through a body or elastic medium, as in the transmission of sound; an assemblage of vibrating molecules in all phases of a vibration, with no phase repeated; a wave of vibration; an undulation. See Undulation.

Weak (v. i.) Wanting physical strength.

Wend (v. t.) To direct; to betake; -- used chiefly in the phrase to wend one's way. Also used reflexively.

West (n.) The Westen hemisphere, or the New World so called, it having been discovered by sailing westward from Europe; the Occident.

Whit (n.) The smallest part or particle imaginable; a bit; a jot; an iota; -- generally used in an adverbial phrase in a negative sentence.

Wide (superl.) Made, as a vowel, with a less tense, and more open and relaxed, condition of the mouth organs; -- opposed to primary as used by Mr. Bell, and to narrow as used by Mr. Sweet. The effect, as explained by Mr. Bell, is due to the relaxation or tension of the pharynx; as explained by Mr. Sweet and others, it is due to the action of the tongue. The wide of / (/ve) is / (/ll); of a (ate) is / (/nd), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, / 13-15.

Wife (n.) A woman; an adult female; -- now used in literature only in certain compounds and phrases, as alewife, fishwife, goodwife, and the like.

Will (adv.) As an auxiliary, will is used to denote futurity dependent on the verb. Thus, in first person, "I will" denotes willingness, consent, promise; and when "will" is emphasized, it denotes determination or fixed purpose; as, I will go if you wish; I will go at all hazards. In the second and third persons, the idea of distinct volition, wish, or purpose is evanescent, and simple certainty is appropriately expressed; as, "You will go," or "He will go," describes a future event as a fact Will (n.) To give or direct the disposal of by testament; to bequeath; to devise; as, to will one's estate to a child; also, to order or direct by testament; as, he willed that his nephew should have his watch.

Wire (n.) A telegraph wire or cable; hence, an electric telegraph; as, to send a message by wire.

Wire (v. t.) To send (a message) by telegraph.

Wire (v. i.) To send a telegraphic message.

Word (n.) A brief remark or observation; an expression; a phrase, clause, or short sentence.

Word (v. t.) To express in words; to phrase.

Work (n.) Exertion of strength or faculties; physical or intellectual effort directed to an end; industrial activity; toil; employment; sometimes, specifically, physically labor.

Yogi (n.) A follower of the yoga philosophy; an ascetic.

Zein (n.) A nitrogenous substance of the nature of gluten, obtained from the seeds of Indian corn (Zea) as a soft, yellowish, amorphous substance.

Zero (n.) A cipher; nothing; naught.

Zone (n.) The portion of the surface of a sphere included between two parallel planes; the portion of a surface of revolution included between two planes perpendicular to the axis.

Copyright © 2011 by Mark McCracken, All Rights Reserved.