Words whose 4th letter is A

Abba (n.) Father; religious superior; -- in the Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopic churches, a title given to the bishops, and by the bishops to the patriarch.

Ablastemic (a.) Non-germinal.

Ablative (a.) Applied to one of the cases of the noun in Latin and some other languages, -- the fundamental meaning of the case being removal, separation, or taking away.

Acuate (a.) Sharpened; sharp-pointed.

Adnate (a.) Growing together; -- said only of organic cohesion of unlike parts.

Adnate (a.) Growing with one side adherent to a stem; -- a term applied to the lateral zooids of corals and other compound animals.

Advance (v.) The first step towards the attainment of a result; approach made to gain favor, to form an acquaintance, to adjust a difference, etc.; an overture; a tender; an offer; -- usually in the plural.

Advance (a.) Before in place, or beforehand in time; -- used for advanced; as, an advance guard, or that before the main guard or body of an army; advance payment, or that made before it is due; advance proofs, advance sheets, pages of a forthcoming volume, received in advance of the time of publication.

Advantage (n.) Superiority; mastery; -- with of or over.

Affair (n.) That which is done or is to be done; matter; concern; as, a difficult affair to manage; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public; -- often in the plural. "At the head of affairs." Junius.

Agrarian (a.) Wild; -- said of plants growing in the fields.

Alban (n.) A white crystalAlbatross (n.) A web-footed bird, of the genus Diomedea, of which there are several species. They are the largest of sea birds, capable of long-continued flight, and are often seen at great distances from the land. They are found chiefly in the southern hemisphere.

Alfalfa (n.) The lucern (Medicago sativa); -- so called in California, Texas, etc.

Alias (adv.) Otherwise; otherwise called; -- a term used in legal proceedings to connect the different names of any one who has gone by two or more, and whose true name is for any cause doubtful; as, Smith, alias Simpson.

Alkarsin (n.) A spontaneously inflammable liquid, having a repulsive odor, and consisting of cacodyl and its oxidation products; -- called also Cadel's fuming liquid.

Allantoin (n.) A crystalAllantoid (n.) A membranous appendage of the embryos of mammals, birds, and reptiles, -- in mammals serving to connect the fetus with the parent; the urinary vesicle.

Always (adv.) Constancy during a certain period, or regularly at stated intervals; invariably; uniformly; -- opposed to sometimes or occasionally.

Amia (n.) A genus of fresh-water ganoid fishes, exclusively confined to North America; called bowfin in Lake Champlain, dogfish in Lake Erie, and mudfish in South Carolina, etc. See Bowfin.

Amiable (a.) Possessing sweetness of disposition; having sweetness of temper, kind-heartedness, etc., which causes one to be liked; as, an amiable woman.

Antares (n.) The principal star in Scorpio: -- called also the Scorpion's Heart.

Aphanite (n.) A very compact, dark-colored /ock, consisting of hornblende, or pyroxene, and feldspar, but neither of them in perceptible grains.

Aphanitic (a.) Resembling aphanite; having a very fine-grained structure.

Aplanatic (a.) Having two or more parts of different curvatures, so combined as to remove spherical aberration; -- said of a lens.

Apparition (n.) The first appearance of a star or other luminary after having been invisible or obscured; -- opposed to occultation.

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

Aquarius (n.) The Water-bearer; the eleventh sign in the zodiac, which the sun enters about the 20th of January; -- so called from the rains which prevail at that season in Italy and the East.

Arcanum (n.) A secret; a mystery; -- generally used in the plural.

Armament (n.) A body of forces equipped for war; -- used of a land or naval force.

Armature (n.) A piece of soft iron used to connect the two poles of a magnet, or electro-magnet, in order to complete the circuit, or to receive and apply the magnetic force. In the ordinary horseshoe magnet, it serves to prevent the dissipation of the magnetic force.

Arrasways (adv.) Placed in such a position as to exhibit the top and two sides, the corner being in front; -- said of a rectangular form.

Array (n.) To deck or dress; to adorn with dress; to cloth to envelop; -- applied esp. to dress of a splendid kind.

Aryan (n.) One of a primitive people supposed to have lived in prehistoric times, in Central Asia, east of the Caspian Sea, and north of the Hindoo Koosh and Paropamisan Mountains, and to have been the stock from which sprang the Hindoo, Persian, Greek, Latin, Celtic, Teutonic, Slavonic, and other races; one of that ethnological division of mankind called also Indo-European or Indo-Germanic.

Aryan (a.) Of or pertaining to the people called Aryans; Indo-European; Indo-Germanic; as, the Aryan stock, the Aryan languages.

Asparagine (n.) A white, nitrogenous, crystallizable substance, C4H8N2O3+H2O, found in many plants, and first obtained from asparagus. It is believed to aid in the disposition of nitrogenous matter throughout the plant; -- called also altheine.

Asparagus (n.) The young and tender shoots of A. officinalis, which form a valuable and well-known article of food.

Astacus (n.) A genus of crustaceans, containing the crawfish of fresh-water lobster of Europe, and allied species of western North America. See Crawfish.

Astarboard (adv.) Over to the starboard side; -- said of the tiller.

Atlantes (n. pl.) Figures or half figures of men, used as columns to support an entablature; -- called also telamones. See Caryatides.

Atlas (n.) A large, square folio, resembling a volume of maps; -- called also atlas folio.

Atrabiliary (a.) Melancholic or hypohondriac; atrabilious; -- from the supposed predominance of black bile, to the influence of which the ancients attributed hypochondria, melancholy, and mania.

Attacca () Attack at once; -- a direction at the end of a movement to show that the next is to follow immediately, without any pause.

Attach (v. t.) To win the heart of; to connect by ties of love or self-interest; to attract; to fasten or bind by moral influence; -- with to; as, attached to a friend; attaching others to us by wealth or flattery.

Attach (v. t.) To connect, in a figurative sense; to ascribe or attribute; to affix; -- with to; as, to attach great importance to a particular circumstance.

Attach (v. t.) To take by legal authority: (a) To arrest by writ, and bring before a court, as to answer for a debt, or a contempt; -- applied to a taking of the person by a civil process; being now rarely used for the arrest of a criminal. (b) To seize or take (goods or real estate) by virtue of a writ or precept to hold the same to satisfy a judgment which may be rendered in the suit. See Attachment, 4.

Attack (n.) The act of attacking, or falling on with force or violence; an onset; an assault; -- opposed to defense.

Attaint (v. t.) To find guilty; to convict; -- said esp. of a jury on trial for giving a false verdict.

Audacity (n.) Reckless daring; presumptuous impudence; -- implying a contempt of law or moral restraints.

Aurated (a.) Resembling or containing gold; gold-colored; gilded.

Autarchy (n.) Self-sufficiency.

Aviate (v. i.) To fly, or navigate the air, in an aeroplane or heavier-than-air flying machine.

Aviator (n.) The driver or pilot of an aeroplane, or heavier-than-air flying machine.

Aweather (adv.) On the weather side, or toward the wind; in the direction from which the wind blows; -- opposed to alee; as, helm aweather!

Balaam (n.) A paragraph describing something wonderful, used to fill out a newspaper column; -- an allusion to the miracle of Balaam's ass speaking.

Balance (n.) An equality between the sums total of the two sides of an account; as, to bring one's accounts to a balance; -- also, the excess on either side; as, the balance of an account.

Balance (n.) To make the sums of the debits and credits of an account equal; -- said of an item; as, this payment, or credit, balances the account.

Balancereef (n.) The last reef in a fore-and-aft sail, taken to steady the ship.

Balanoid (a.) Resembling an acorn; -- applied to a group of barnacles having shells shaped like acorns. See Acornshell, and Barnacle.

Basalt (n.) A rock of igneous origin, consisting of augite and triclinic feldspar, with grains of magnetic or titanic iron, and also bottle-green particles of olivine frequently disseminated.

Baraca (n.) An international, interdenominational organization of Bible classes of young men; -- so named in allusion to the Hebrew word Berachah (Meaning blessing) occurring in 2 Chron. xx. 26 and 1 Chron. xii.

Barad (n.) The pressure of one dyne per square centimeter; -- used as a unit of pressure.

Behave (v. t.) To carry; to conduct; to comport; to manage; to bear; -- used reflexively.

Behavior (n.) Manner of behaving, whether good or bad; mode of conducting one's self; conduct; deportment; carriage; -- used also of inanimate objects; as, the behavior of a ship in a storm; the behavior of the magnetic needle.

Besayle (n.) A great-grandfather.

Besayle (n.) A kind of writ which formerly lay where a great-grandfather died seized of lands in fee simple, and on the day of his death a stranger abated or entered and kept the heir out. This is now abolished.

Betaine (n.) A nitrogenous base, C5H11NO2, produced artificially, and also occurring naturally in beet-root molasses and its residues, from which it is extracted as a white crystalBetake (v. t.) To have recourse to; to apply; to resort; to go; -- with a reflexive pronoun.

Beware (v. i.) To be on one's guard; to be cautious; to take care; -- commonly followed by of or lest before the thing that is to be avoided.

Bibasic (a.) Having to hydrogen atoms which can be replaced by positive or basic atoms or radicals to form salts; -- said of acids. See Dibasic.

Bicarbonate (n.) A carbonate in which but half the hydrogen of the acid is replaced by a positive element or radical, thus making the proportion of the acid to the positive or basic portion twice what it is in the normal carbonates; an acid carbonate; -- sometimes called supercarbonate.

Bicarbureted (a.) Alt. of -retted

Bicarinate (a.) Having two keel-like projections, as the upper palea of grasses.

Bicaudate (a.) Two-tailed; bicaudal.

Biga (n.) A two-horse chariot.

Bigaroon (n.) The large white-heart cherry.

Bilalo (n.) A two-masted passenger boat or small vessel, used in the bay of Manila.

Bilander (n.) A small two-masted merchant vessel, fitted only for coasting, or for use in canals, as in Holland.

Bimana (n. pl.) Animals having two hands; -- a term applied by Cuvier to man as a special order of Mammalia.

Bimanous (a.) Having two hands; two-handed.

Bivalve (n.) A mollusk having a shell consisting of two lateral plates or valves joined together by an elastic ligament at the hinge, which is usually strengthened by prominences called teeth. The shell is closed by the contraction of two transverse muscles attached to the inner surface, as in the clam, -- or by one, as in the oyster. See Mollusca.

Blear (v.) Dim or sore with water or rheum; -- said of the eyes.

Bleareyedness (n.) The state of being blear-eyed.

Bloater (n.) The common herring, esp. when of large size, smoked, and half dried; -- called also bloat herring.

Bocardo (n.) A prison; -- originally the name of the old north gate in Oxford, which was used as a prison.

Bolas (n. sing. & pl.) A kind of missile weapon consisting of one, two, or more balls of stone, iron, or other material, attached to the ends of a leather cord; -- used by the Gauchos of South America, and others, for hurling at and entangling an animal.

Bonaci (n.) A large grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci) of Florida and the West Indies, valuable as a food fish; -- called also aguaji and, in Florida, black grouper.

Breach (n.) Specifically: A breaking or infraction of a law, or of any obligation or tie; violation; non-fulfillment; as, a breach of contract; a breach of promise.

Breach (v. i.) To break the water, as by leaping out; -- said of a whale.

Break (v. t.) To impart, as news or information; to broach; -- with to, and often with a modified word implying some reserve; as, to break the news gently to the widow; to break a purpose cautiously to a friend.

Break (v. t.) A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.

Bream (n.) A European fresh-water cyprinoid fish of the genus Abramis, little valued as food. Several species are known.

Bream (n.) An American fresh-water fish, of various species of Pomotis and allied genera, which are also called sunfishes and pondfishes. See Pondfish.

Breast (n.) The seat of consciousness; the repository of thought and self-consciousness, or of secrets; the seat of the affections and passions; the heart.

Breast (n.) The power of singing; a musical voice; -- so called, probably, from the connection of the voice with the lungs, which lie within the breast.

Breasted (a.) Having a breast; -- used in composition with qualifying words, in either a literal or a metaphorical sense; as, a single-breasted coat.

Breastplough (n.) A kind of plow, driven by the breast of the workman; -- used to cut or pare turf.

Breastrail (n.) The upper rail of any parapet of ordinary height, as of a balcony; the railing of a quarter-deck, etc.

Breastsummer (n.) A summer or girder extending across a building flush with, and supporting, the upper part of a front or external wall; a long lintel; a girder; -- used principally above shop windows.

Breastwork (n.) A railing on the quarter-deck and forecastle.

Breathe (v. t.) To inject by breathing; to infuse; -- with into.

Briarean (a.) Pertaining to, or resembling, Briareus, a giant fabled to have a hundred hands; hence, hundred-handed or many-handed.

Broad (superl.) Wide; extend in breadth, or from side to side; -- opposed to narrow; as, a broad street, a broad table; an inch broad.

Broad (superl.) Fig.: Having a large measure of any thing or quality; not limited; not restrained; -- applied to any subject, and retaining the literal idea more or less clearly, the precise meaning depending largely on the substantive.

Broadbill (n.) A wild duck (Aythya, / Fuligula, marila), which appears in large numbers on the eastern coast of the United States, in autumn; -- called also bluebill, blackhead, raft duck, and scaup duck. See Scaup duck.

Broadcast (a.) Scattering in all directions (as a method of sowing); -- opposed to planting in hills, or rows.

Broadcloth (n.) A fine smooth-faced woolen cloth for men's garments, usually of double width (i.e., a yard and a half); -- so called in distinction from woolens three quarters of a yard wide.

Broadleaf (n.) A tree (Terminalia latifolia) of Jamaica, the wood of which is used for boards, scantling, shingles, etc; -- sometimes called the almond tree, from the shape of its fruit.

Broadside (n.) A sheet of paper containing one large page, or printed on one side only; -- called also broadsheet.

Cabaret (n.) a type of restaurant where liquor and dinner is served, and entertainment is provided, as by musicians, dancers, or comedians, and providing space for dancing by the patrons; -- similar to a nightclub. The term cabaret is often used in the names of such an establishment.

Cabas (n.) A flat basket or frail for figs, etc.; hence, a lady's flat workbasket, reticule, or hand bag; -- often written caba.

Cacaine (n.) The essential principle of cacao; -- now called theobromine.

Cacajao (n.) A South American short-tailed monkey (Pithecia (/ Brachyurus) melanocephala).

Cadaverine () Alt. of -in

Camara (n.) Chamber; house; -- used in Ca"ma*ra dos Pa"res (/), and Ca"ma*ra dos De`pu*ta"dos (/). See Legislature.

Canal (n.) A long and relatively narrow arm of the sea, approximately uniform in width; -- used chiefly in proper names; as, Portland Canal; Lynn Canal.

Calambour (n.) A species of agalloch, or aloes wood, of a dusky or mottled color, of a light, friable texture, and less fragrant than calambac; -- used by cabinetmakers.

Calamity (n.) Any great misfortune or cause of misery; -- generally applied to events or disasters which produce extensive evil, either to communities or individuals.

Calash (n.) In Canada, a two-wheeled, one-seated vehicle, with a calash top, and the driver's seat elevated in front.

Calaverite (n.) A bronze-yellow massive mineral with metallic luster; a telluride of gold; -- first found in Calaveras County California.

Camail (n.) a hood worn in church services, -- the amice, or the like.

Camass (n.) A blue-flowered liliaceous plant (Camassia esculenta) of northwestern America, the bulbs of which are collected for food by the Indians.

Canaster (n.) A kind of tobacco for smoking, made of the dried leaves, coarsely broken; -- so called from the rush baskets in which it is packed in South America.

Capacity (n.) The power of receiving or containing; extent of room or space; passive power; -- used in reference to physical things.

Capape (adv.) See Cap-a-pie.

Carafe (n.) A glass water bottle for the table or toilet; -- called also croft.

Carat (n.) A twenty-fourth part; -- a term used in estimating the proportionate fineness of gold.

Caravan (n.) A covered vehicle for carrying passengers or for moving furniture, etc.; -- sometimes shorted into van.

Caravel (n.) A Turkish man-of-war.

Catachrestical (a.) Belonging to, or in the manner of, a catachresis; wrested from its natural sense or form; forced; far-fetched.

Catacomb (n.) A cave, grotto, or subterraneous place of large extent used for the burial of the dead; -- commonly in the plural.

Catadromous (a.) Having the lowest inferior segment of a pinna nearer the rachis than the lowest superior one; -- said of a mode of branching in ferns, and opposed to anadromous.

Catadromous (a.) Living in fresh water, and going to the sea to spawn; -- opposed to anadromous, and said of the eel.

Cataian (n.) A native of Cathay or China; a foreigner; -- formerly a term of reproach.

Catalpa (n.) A genus of American and East Indian trees, of which the best know species are the Catalpa bignonioides, a large, ornamental North American tree, with spotted white flowers and long cylindrical pods, and the C. speciosa, of the Mississipi valley; -- called also Indian bean.

Catamaran (n.) A kind of raft or float, consisting of two or more logs or pieces of wood lashed together, and moved by paddles or sail; -- used as a surf boat and for other purposes on the coasts of the East and West Indies and South America. Modified forms are much used in the lumber regions of North America, and at life-saving stations.

Catamaran (n.) Any vessel with twin hulls, whether propelled by sails or by steam; esp., one of a class of double-hulled pleasure boats remarkable for speed.

Cataract (n.) A kind of hydraulic brake for regulating the action of pumping engines and other machines; -- sometimes called dashpot.

Catastrophism (n.) The doctrine that the geological changes in the earth's crust have been caused by the sudden action of violent physical causes; -- opposed to the doctrine of uniformism.

Catawba (n.) A light-colored, sprightly American wine from the Catawba grape.

Cavalier (a.) High-spirited.

Cavally (n.) A carangoid fish of the Atlantic coast (Caranx hippos): -- called also horse crevalle. [See Illust. under Carangoid.]

Cavatina (n.) Originally, a melody of simpler form than the aria; a song without a second part and a da capo; -- a term now variously and vaguely used.

Celadon (n.) A pale sea-green color; also, porcelain or fine pottery of this tint.

Celandine (n.) A perennial herbaceous plant (Chelidonium majus) of the poppy family, with yellow flowers. It is used as a medicine in jaundice, etc., and its acrid saffron-colored juice is used to cure warts and the itch; -- called also greater celandine and swallowwort.

Cenation (n.) Meal-taking; dining or supping.

Cerasin (n.) A white amorphous substance, the insoluble part of cherry gum; -- called also meta-arabinic acid.

Cerasin (n.) A gummy mucilaginous substance; -- called also bassorin, tragacanthin, etc.

Cheat (n.) A troublesome grass, growing as a weed in grain fields; -- called also chess. See Chess.

Chiaroscuro (n.) Alt. of Chiaro-oscuro

Chiastolite (n.) A variety of andalusite; -- called also macle. The tessellated appearance of a cross section is due to the symmetrical arrangement of impurities in the crystal.

Chlamydate (a.) Having a mantle; -- applied to certain gastropods.

Choanoid (a.) Funnel-shaped; -- applied particularly to a hollow muscle attached to the ball of the eye in many reptiles and mammals.

Cisalpine (a.) On the hither side of the Alps with reference to Rome, that is, on the south side of the Alps; -- opposed to transalpine.

Cisatlantic (a.) On this side of the Atlantic Ocean; -- used of the eastern or the western side, according to the standpoint of the writer.

Clean (superl.) Well-proportioned; shapely; as, clean limbs.

Clear (v. t.) To free from impediment or incumbrance, from defilement, or from anything injurious, useless, or offensive; as, to clear land of trees or brushwood, or from stones; to clear the sight or the voice; to clear one's self from debt; -- often used with of, off, away, or out.

Clear (v. t.) To free from the imputation of guilt; to justify, vindicate, or acquit; -- often used with from before the thing imputed.

Clear (v. i.) To become free from clouds or fog; to become fair; -- often followed by up, off, or away.

Clear (v. i.) To obtain a clearance; as, the steamer cleared for Liverpool to-day.

Clearwing (n.) A lepidopterous insect with partially transparent wings, of the family Aegeriadae, of which the currant and peach-tree borers are examples.

Cleavage (n.) Division into laminae, like slate, with the lamination not necessarily parallel to the plane of deposition; -- usually produced by pressure.

Cleavers (n.) A species of Galium (G. Aparine), having a fruit set with hooked bristles, which adhere to whatever they come in contact with; -- called also, goose grass, catchweed, etc.

Cobaea (n.) A genus of climbing plants, native of Mexico and South America. C. scandens is a conservatory climber with large bell-shaped flowers.

Cobaltic (a.) Pertaining to, derived from, or containing, cobalt; -- said especially of those compounds in which cobalt has higher valence; as, cobaltic oxide.

Cobaltite (n.) A mineral of a nearly silver-white color, composed of arsenic, sulphur, and cobalt.

Corah (n.) Plain; undyed; -- applied to Indian silk.

Cobaltous (a.) Pertaining to, derived from, or containing, cobalt; -- said esp. of cobalt compounds in which the metal has its lower valence.

Cocagne (n.) The land of cockneys; cockneydom; -- a term applied to London and its suburbs.

Coma (n.) A tuft or bunch, -- as the assemblage of branches forming the head of a tree; or a cluster of bracts when empty and terminating the inflorescence of a plant; or a tuft of long hairs on certain seeds.

Comanches (n. pl.) A warlike, savage, and nomadic tribe of the Shoshone family of Indians, inhabiting Mexico and the adjacent parts of the United States; -- called also Paducahs. They are noted for plundering and cruelty.

Comatula (n.) A crinoid of the genus Antedon and related genera. When young they are fixed by a stem. When adult they become detached and cling to seaweeds, etc., by their dorsal cirri; -- called also feather stars.

Conacre (v. t.) To underlet a portion of, for a single crop; -- said of a farm.

Copaiva (n.) A more or less viscid, yellowish liquid, the bitter oleoresin of several species of Copaifera, a genus of trees growing in South America and the West Indies. It is stimulant and diuretic, and is much used in affections of the mucous membranes; -- called also balsam of copaiba.

Copal () A resinous substance flowing spontaneously from trees of Zanzibar, Madagascar, and South America (Trachylobium Hornemannianum, T. verrucosum, and Hymenaea Courbaril), and dug from earth where forests have stood in Africa; -- used chiefly in making varnishes.

Coral (n.) The ovaries of a cooked lobster; -- so called from their color.

Corallian (n.) A deposit of coralliferous limestone forming a portion of the middle division of the oolite; -- called also coral-rag.

Corallin (n.) A yellow coal-tar dyestuff which probably consists chiefly of rosolic acid. See Aurin, and Rosolic acid under Rosolic.

CoralCoralwort (n.) A cruciferous herb of certain species of Dentaria; -- called also toothwort, tooth violet, or pepper root.

Coward (a.) Borne in the escutcheon with his tail doubled between his legs; -- said of a lion.

Creaser (n.) A tool, or a sewing-machine attachment, for making Creationism (n.) The doctrine that a soul is specially created for each human being as soon as it is formed in the womb; -- opposed to traducianism.

Creature (n.) Anything created; anything not self-existent; especially, any being created with life; an animal; a man.

Croaker (n.) An American fresh-water fish (Aplodinotus grunniens); -- called also drum.

Crease (n.) The combination of four Culasse (n.) The lower faceted portion of a brilliant-cut diamond.

Curacoa (n.) A liqueur, or cordial, flavored with orange peel, cinnamon, and mace; -- first made at the island of Curaccao.

Dacapo () From the beginning; a direction to return to, and end with, the first strain; -- indicated by the letters D. C. Also, the strain so repeated.

Daman (n.) A small herbivorous mammal of the genus Hyrax. The species found in Palestine and Syria is Hyrax Syriacus; that of Northern Africa is H. Brucei; -- called also ashkoko, dassy, and rock rabbit. See Cony, and Hyrax.

Damask (n.) A heavy woolen or worsted stuff with a pattern woven in the same way as the Decadent (n.) One that is decadent, or deteriorating; esp., one characterized by, or exhibiting, the qualities of those who are degenerating to a lower type; -- specif. applied to a certain school of modern French writers.

Decathlon (n.) In the modern Olympic Games, a composite contest consisting of a 100-meter run, a broad jump, putting the shot, a running high-jump, a 400-meter run, throwing the discus, a 100-meter hurdle race, pole vaulting, throwing the javelin, and a 1500-meter run.

Debar (v. t.) To cut off from entrance, as if by a bar or barrier; to preclude; to hinder from approach, entry, or enjoyment; to shut out or exclude; to deny or refuse; -- with from, and sometimes with of.

Debate (v. i.) To contend in words; to dispute; hence, to deliberate; to consider; to discuss or examine different arguments in the mind; -- often followed by on or upon.

Decameron (n.) A celebrated collection of tales, supposed to be related in ten days; -- written in the 14th century, by Boccaccio, an Italian.

Decamp (v. i.) Hence, to depart suddenly; to run away; -- generally used disparagingly.

Decani (a.) Used of the side of the choir on which the dean's stall is placed; decanal; -- correlative to cantoris; as, the decanal, or decani, side.

Decastyle (a.) Having ten columns in front; -- said of a portico, temple, etc.

Defalcate (v. t.) To cut off; to take away or deduct a part of; -- used chiefly of money, accounts, rents, income, etc.

Defalcation (n.) A lopping off; a diminution; abatement; deficit. Specifically: Reduction of a claim by deducting a counterclaim; set- off.

Delaware (n.) An American grape, with compact bunches of small, amber-colored berries, sweet and of a good flavor.

Demantoid (n.) A yellow-green, transparent variety of garnet found in the Urals. It is valued as a gem because of its brilliancy of luster, whence the name.

Denarius (n.) A Roman silver coin of the value of about fourteen cents; the "penny" of the New Testament; -- so called from being worth originally ten of the pieces called as.

Depart (v. i.) To go forth or away; to quit, leave, or separate, as from a place or a person; to withdraw; -- opposed to arrive; -- often with from before the place, person, or thing left, and for or to before the destination.

Depart (v. i.) To forsake; to abandon; to desist or deviate (from); not to adhere to; -- with from; as, we can not depart from our rules; to depart from a title or defense in legal pleading.

Detach (v. t.) To part; to separate or disunite; to disengage; -- the opposite of attach; as, to detach the coats of a bulbous root from each other; to detach a man from a leader or from a party.

Detach (v. t.) To separate for a special object or use; -- used especially in military language; as, to detach a ship from a fleet, or a company from a regiment.

Detail (n.) A minute portion; one of the small parts; a particular; an item; -- used chiefly in the plural; as, the details of a scheme or transaction.

Didactylous (a.) Having only two digits; two-toed.

Digastric (a.) Having two bellies; biventral; -- applied to muscles which are fleshy at each end and have a tendon in the middle, and esp. to the muscle which pulls down the lower jaw.

Dika (n.) A kind of food, made from the almondlike seeds of the Irvingia Barteri, much used by natives of the west coast of Africa; -- called also dika bread.

Dilapidate (v. t.) To bring into a condition of decay or partial ruin, by misuse or through neglect; to destroy the fairness and good condition of; -- said of a building.

Dilatability (n.) The quality of being dilatable, or admitting expansion; -- opposed to contractibility.

Dilatable (a.) Capable of expansion; that may be dilated; -- opposed to contractible; as, the lungs are dilatable by the force of air; air is dilatable by heat.

Dilate (v. t.) To expand; to distend; to enlarge or extend in all directions; to swell; -- opposed to contract; as, the air dilates the lungs; air is dilated by increase of heat.

Dilate (v. i.) To speak largely and copiously; to dwell in narration; to enlarge; -- with on or upon.

Dilatory (a.) Marked by procrastination or delay; tardy; slow; sluggish; -- said of actions or measures.

Disadvantageous (a.) Attended with disadvantage; unfavorable to success or prosperity; inconvenient; prejudicial; -- opposed to advantageous; as, the situation of an army is disadvantageous for attack or defense.

Disaffirm (v. t.) To assert the contrary of; to contradict; to deny; -- said of that which has been asserted.

Disapprove (v. t.) To refuse official approbation to; to disallow; to decDisassimilation (n.) The decomposition of complex substances, within the organism, into simpler ones suitable only for excretion, with evolution of energy, -- a normal nutritional process the reverse of assimilation; downward metabolism.

Disastrous (a.) Full of unpropitious stellar influences; unpropitious; ill-boding.

Disastrous (a.) Attended with suffering or disaster; very unfortunate; calamitous; ill-fated; as, a disastrous day; a disastrous termination of an undertaking.

Dorado (n.) A southern constellation, within which is the south pole of the ecliptic; -- called also sometimes Xiphias, or the Swordfish.

Dowager (n.) A title given in England to a widow, to distinguish her from the wife of her husband's heir bearing the same name; -- chiefly applied to widows of personages of rank.

Dream (n.) To have ideas or images in the mind while in the state of sleep; to experience sleeping visions; -- often with of; as, to dream of a battle, or of an absent friend.

Dream (v. t.) To have a dream of; to see, or have a vision of, in sleep, or in idle fancy; -- often followed by an objective clause.

Dreadnought (n.) A British battleship, completed in 1906 -- 1907, having an armament consisting of ten 12-inch guns, and of twenty-four 12-pound quick-fire guns for protection against torpedo boats. This was the first battleship of the type characterized by a main armament of big guns all of the same caliber. She has a displacement of 17,900 tons at load draft, and a speed of 21 knots per hour.

Dynactinometer (n.) An instrument for measuring the intensity of the photogenic (light-producing) rays, and computing the power of object glasses.

Dynamo (n.) A dynamo-electric machine.

Ebracteolate (a.) Without bracteoles, or little bracts; -- said of a pedicel or flower stalk.

Ectad (adv.) Toward the outside or surface; -- opposed to entad.

Ectal (a.) Pertaining to, or situated near, the surface; outer; -- opposed to ental.

Ellachick (n.) A fresh-water tortoise (Chelopus marmoratus) of California; -- used as food.

Embargo (v. t.) To lay an embargo on and thus detain; to prohibit from leaving port; -- said of ships, also of commerce and goods.

Embarrass (v. t.) To involve in difficulties concerning money matters; to incumber with debt; to beset with urgent claims or demands; -- said of a person or his affairs; as, a man or his business is embarrassed when he can not meet his pecuniary engagements.

Embattled (a.) Having the edge broken like battlements; -- said of a bearing such as a fess, bend, or the like.

Empaistic (a.) Having to do with inlaid work; -- especially used with reference to work of the ancient Greeks.

Enlarge (v. i.) To get more astern or parallel with the vessel's course; to draw aft; -- said of the wind.

Enmanche (a.) Resembling, or covered with, a sleeve; -- said of the chief when Ensanguine (v. t.) To stain or cover with blood; to make bloody, or of a blood-red color; as, an ensanguined hue.

Ensate (a.) Having sword-shaped leaves, or appendages; ensiform.

Entail (n.) To settle or fix inalienably on a person or thing, or on a person and his descendants or a certain Ental (a.) Pertaining to, or situated near, central or deep parts; inner; -- opposed to ectal.

Entasia (n.) Tonic spasm; -- applied generically to denote any disease characterized by tonic spasms, as tetanus, trismus, etc.

Eosaurus (n.) An extinct marine reptile from the coal measures of Nova Scotia; -- so named because supposed to be of the earliest known reptiles.

Equable (a.) Equal and uniform; continuing the same at different times; -- said of motion, and the like; uniform in surface; smooth; as, an equable plain or globe.

Equable (a.) Uniform in action or intensity; not variable or changing; -- said of the feelings or temper.

Equal (a.) Agreeing in quantity, size, quality, degree, value, etc.; having the same magnitude, the same value, the same degree, etc.; -- applied to number, degree, quantity, and intensity, and to any subject which admits of them; neither inferior nor superior, greater nor less, better nor worse; corresponding; alike; as, equal quantities of land, water, etc. ; houses of equal size; persons of equal stature or talents; commodities of equal value.

Equal (a.) Intended for voices of one kind only, either all male or all female; -- opposed to mixed.

Equality (n.) Exact agreement between two expressions or magnitudes with respect to quantity; -- denoted by the symbol =; thus, a = x signifies that a contains the same number and kind of units of measure that x does.

Equant (n.) A circle around whose circumference a planet or the center of ann epicycle was conceived to move uniformly; -- called also eccentric equator.

Equator (n.) The great circle of the celestial sphere, coincident with the plane of the earth's equator; -- so called because when the sun is in it, the days and nights are of equal length; hence called also the equinoctial, and on maps, globes, etc., the equinoctial Errant (a.) Journeying; itinerant; -- formerly applied to judges who went on circuit and to bailiffs at large.

Errantry (n.) The employment of a knight-errant.

Erratic (a.) Having no certain course; roving about without a fixed destination; wandering; moving; -- hence, applied to the planets as distinguished from the fixed stars.

Escape (v. i.) To flee, and become secure from danger; -- often followed by from or out of.

Escape (v. i.) To get free from that which confines or holds; -- used of persons or things; as, to escape from prison, from arrest, or from slavery; gas escapes from the pipes; electricity escapes from its conductors.

Escapement (n.) The contrivance in a timepiece which connects the train of wheel work with the pendulum or balance, giving to the latter the impulse by which it is kept in vibration; -- so called because it allows a tooth to escape from a pallet at each vibration.

Escarp (n.) The side of the ditch next the parapet; -- same as scarp, and opposed to counterscarp.

Espadon (n.) A long, heavy, two-handed and two-edged sword, formerly used by Spanish foot soldiers and by executioners.

Espauliere (n.) A defense for the shoulder, composed of flexible overlapping plates of metal, used in the 15th century; -- the origin of the modern epaulette.

Escalator (n.) A stairway or incEstablish (a.) To originate and secure the permanent existence of; to found; to institute; to create and regulate; -- said of a colony, a state, or other institutions.

Establish (a.) To set up in business; to place advantageously in a fixed condition; -- used reflexively; as, he established himself in a place; the enemy established themselves in the citadel.

Estate (n.) The state; the general body politic; the common-wealth; the general interest; state affairs.

Ethal (n.) A white waxy solid, C16H33.OH; -- called also cetylic alcohol. See Cetylic alcohol, under Cetylic.

Eucairite (n.) A metallic mineral, a selenide of copper and silver; -- so called by Berzelius on account of its being found soon after the discovery of the metal selenium.

Eucalyn (n.) An unfermentable sugar, obtained as an uncrystallizable sirup by the decomposition of melitose; also obtained from a Tasmanian eucalyptus, -- whence its name.

Eudaemonics (n.) That part of moral philosophy which treats of happiness; the science of happiness; -- contrasted with aretaics.

Eudaemonism (n.) That system of ethics which defines and enforces moral obligation by its relation to happiness or personal well-being.

Excambie (v. t.) To exchange; -- used with reference to transfers of land.

Excambium (n.) Exchange; barter; -- used commonly of lands.

Excarnation (n.) The act of depriving or divesting of flesh; excarnification; -- opposed to incarnation.

Expand (v. t.) To cause the particles or parts of to spread themselves or stand apart, thus increasing bulk without addition of substance; to make to occupy more space; to dilate; to distend; to extend every way; to enlarge; -- opposed to contract; as, to expand the chest; heat expands all bodies; to expand the sphere of benevolence.

Expansive (a.) Having a capacity or tendency to expand or dilate; diffusive; of much expanse; wide-extending; as, the expansive force of heat; the expansive quality of air.

Exsanguinity (n.) Privation or destitution of blood; -- opposed to plethora.

Farandole (n.) A rapid dance in six-eight time in which a large number join hands and dance in various figures, sometimes moving from room to room. It originated in Provence.

Falanaka (n.) A viverrine mammal of Madagascar (Eupleres Goudotii), allied to the civet; -- called also Falanouc.

Farad (n.) The standard unit of electrical capacity; the capacity of a condenser whose charge, having an electro-motive force of one volt, is equal to the amount of electricity which, with the same electromotive force, passes through one ohm in one second; the capacity, which, charged with one coulomb, gives an electro-motive force of one volt.

Faradic (a.) Of or pertaining to Michael Faraday, the distinguished electrician; -- applied especially to induced currents of electricity, as produced by certain forms of inductive apparatus, on account of Faraday's investigations of their laws.

Feral (a.) Wild; untamed; ferine; not domesticated; -- said of beasts, birds, and plants.

Filacer (n.) A former officer in the English Court of Common Pleas; -- so called because he filed the writs on which he made out process.

Filanders (n. pl.) A disease in hawks, characterized by the presence of small threadlike worms, also of filaments of coagulated blood, from the rupture of a vein; -- called also backworm.

Fixation (n.) The act of uniting chemically with a solid substance or in a solid form; reduction to a non-volatile condition; -- said of gaseous elements.

Fixation (n.) A state of resistance to evaporation or volatilization by heat; -- said of metals.

Floating (n.) The process of rendering oysters and scallops plump by placing them in fresh or brackish water; -- called also fattening, plumping, and laying out.

Flyaway (a.) Disposed to fly away; flighty; unrestrained; light and free; -- used of both persons and things.

Float (v. i.) The hollow, metallic ball of a self-acting faucet, which floats upon the water in a cistern or boiler.

Float (v. i.) A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe.

Float (v. t.) To support and sustain the credit of, as a commercial scheme or a joint-stock company, so as to enable it to go into, or continue in, operation.

Floating (n.) The second coat of three-coat plastering.

Fluavil (n.) A hydrocarbon extracted from gutta-percha, as a yellow, resinous substance; -- called also fluanil.

Forasmuch (conj.) In consideration that; seeing that; since; because that; -- followed by as. See under For, prep.

Fugacious (a.) Fleeting; lasting but a short time; -- applied particularly to organs or parts which are short-lived as compared with the life of the individual.

Fumatorium (n.) An air-tight compartment in which vapor may be generated to destroy germs or insects; esp., the apparatus used to destroy San Jose scale on nursery stock, with hydrocyanic acid vapor.

Galactophorous (a.) Milk-carrying; lactiferous; -- applied to the ducts of mammary glands.

Galactopoietic (a.) Increasing the flow of milk; milk-producing. -- n. A galactopoietic substance.

Galangal (n.) The pungent aromatic rhizome or tuber of certain East Indian or Chinese species of Alpinia (A. Galanga and A. officinarum) and of the Kaempferia Galanga), -- all of the Ginger family.

Galatian (a.) Of or pertaining to Galatia or its inhabitants. -- A native or inhabitant of Galatia, in Asia Minor; a descendant of the Gauls who settled in Asia Minor.

Gelatine (n.) Animal jelly; glutinous material obtained from animal tissues by prolonged boiling. Specifically (Physiol. Chem.), a nitrogeneous colloid, not existing as such in the animal body, but formed by the hydrating action of boiling water on the collagen of various kinds of connective tissue (as tendons, bones, ligaments, etc.). Its distinguishing character is that of dissolving in hot water, and forming a jelly on cooling. It is an important ingredient of calf's-foot jelly, isinglass, > Gerah (n.) A small coin and weight; 1-20th of a shekel.

Geranine (n.) A valuable astringent obtained from the root of the Geranium maculatum or crane's-bill.

Geranine (n.) A liquid terpene, obtained from the crane's-bill (Geranium maculatum), and having a peculiar mulberry odor.

Geranium (n.) A genus of plants having a beaklike tours or receptacle, around which the seed capsules are arranged, and membranous projections, or stipules, at the joints. Most of the species have showy flowers and a pungent odor. Called sometimes crane's-bill.

Gerant (n.) The manager or acting partner of a company, joint-stock association, etc.

Gibaro (n.) The offspring of a Spaniard and an Indian; a Spanish-Indian mestizo.

Gisarm (n.) A weapon with a scythe-shaped blade, and a separate long sharp point, mounted on a long staff and carried by foot soldiers.

Gloat (v. i.) To look steadfastly; to gaze earnestly; -- usually in a bad sense, to gaze with malignant satisfaction, passionate desire, lust, or avarice.

Great (superl.) Large in space; of much size; big; immense; enormous; expanded; -- opposed to small and little; as, a great house, ship, farm, plain, distance, length.

Great (superl.) Superior; admirable; commanding; -- applied to thoughts, actions, and feelings.

Great (superl.) Older, younger, or more remote, by single generation; -- often used before grand to indicate one degree more remote in the direct Greave (n.) Armor for the leg below the knee; -- usually in the plural.

Gyracanthus (n.) A genus of fossil fishes, found in Devonian and carboniferous strata; -- so named from their round, sculptured spines.

Hamamelis (n.) A genus of plants which includes the witch-hazel (Hamamelis Virginica), a preparation of which is used medicinally.

Harass (v. t.) To fatigue; to tire with repeated and exhausting efforts; esp., to weary by importunity, teasing, or fretting; to cause to endure excessive burdens or anxieties; -- sometimes followed by out.

Hexagram (n.) In Chinese literature, one of the sixty-four figures formed of six parallel Hemal (a.) Relating to the blood or blood vessels; pertaining to, situated in the region of, or on the side with, the heart and great blood vessels; -- opposed to neural.

Hematherm (n.) A warm-blooded animal.

Hemathermal (a.) Warm-blooded; hematothermal.

Hematite (n.) An important ore of iron, the sesquioxide, so called because of the red color of the powder. It occurs in splendent rhombohedral crystals, and in massive and earthy forms; -- the last called red ocher. Called also specular iron, oligist iron, rhombohedral iron ore, and bloodstone. See Brown hematite, under Brown.

Hemato () See Haema-.

Hematocrya (n. pl.) The cold-blooded vertebrates, that is, all but the mammals and birds; -- the antithesis to Hematotherma.

Hematotherma (n. pl.) The warm-blooded vertebrates, comprising the mammals and birds; -- the antithesis to hematocrya.

Hematothermal (a.) Warm-blooded.

Hepar (n.) Liver of sulphur; a substance of a liver-brown color, sometimes used in medicine. It is formed by fusing sulphur with carbonates of the alkalies (esp. potassium), and consists essentially of alkaHepatica (n.) Any plant, usually procumbent and mosslike, of the cryptogamous class Hepaticae; -- called also scale moss and liverwort. See Hepaticae, in the Supplement.

Herald (n.) In the Middle Ages, the officer charged with the above duties, and also with the care of genealogies, of the rights and privileges of noble families, and especially of armorial bearings. In modern times, some vestiges of this office remain, especially in England. See Heralds' College (below), and King-at-Arms.

Hexabasic (a.) Having six hydrogen atoms or six radicals capable of being replaced or saturated by bases; -- said of acids; as, mellitic acid is hexabasic.

Hexacid (a.) Having six atoms or radicals capable of being replaced by acids; hexatomic; hexavalent; -- said of bases; as, mannite is a hexacid base.

Hexactinellid (a.) Having six-rayed spicules; belonging to the Hexactinellinae.

HexactinelHexagonal (a.) Having six sides and six angles; six-sided.

Hexandrian (a.) Alt. of Hex-androus

Hexastyle (a.) Having six columns in front; -- said of a portico or temple.

Hexavalent (p. pr.) Having a valence of six; -- said of hexads.

Homacanth (a.) Having the dorsal fin spines symmetrical, and in the same Homaloidal (a.) Flat; even; -- a term applied to surfaces and to spaces, whether real or imagined, in which the definitions, axioms, and postulates of Euclid respecting parallel straight Howadji (n.) A merchant; -- so called in the East because merchants were formerly the chief travelers.

Humanity (n.) The branches of polite or elegant learning; as language, rhetoric, poetry, and the ancient classics; belles-letters.

Hydantoin (n.) A derivative of urea, C3H4N2O2, obtained from allantion, as a white, crystalHypaspist (n.) A shield-bearer or armor-bearer.

Idealism (n.) The practice or habit of giving or attributing ideal form or character to things; treatment of things in art or literature according to ideal standards or patterns; -- opposed to realism.

Iguanodon (n.) A genus of gigantic herbivorous dinosaurs having a birdlike pelvis and large hind legs with three-toed feet capable of supporting the entire body. Its teeth resemble those of the iguana, whence its name. Several species are known, mostly from the Wealden of England and Europe. See Illustration in Appendix.

Illapse (v. i.) To fall or glide; to pass; -- usually followed by into.

Illaudable (a.) Not laudable; not praise-worthy; worthy of censure or disapprobation.

Immanation (n.) A flowing or entering in; -- opposed to emanation.

Immanent (a.) Remaining within; inherent; indwelling; abiding; intrinsic; internal or subjective; hence, limited in activity, agency, or effect, to the subject or associated acts; -- opposed to emanant, transitory, transitive, or objective.

Immanuel (n.) God with us; -- an appellation of the Christ.

Impanation (a.) Embodiment in bread; the supposed real presence and union of Christ's material body and blood with the substance of the elements of the eucharist without a change in their nature; -- distinguished from transubstantiation, which supposes a miraculous change of the substance of the elements. It is akin to consubstantiation.

Impatiens (n.) A genus of plants, several species of which have very beautiful flowers; -- so called because the elastic capsules burst when touched, and scatter the seeds with considerable force. Called also touch-me-not, jewelweed, and snapweed. I. Balsamina (sometimes called lady's slipper) is the common garden balsam.

Impatient (a.) Not patient; not bearing with composure; intolerant; uneasy; fretful; restless, because of pain, delay, or opposition; eager for change, or for something expected; hasty; passionate; -- often followed by at, for, of, and under.

Impasse (n.) An impassable road or way; a blind alley; cul-de-sac; fig., a position or predicament affording no escape.

Inpatient (n.) A patient who receives lodging and food, as well as treatment, in a hospital or an infirmary; -- distinguished from outpatient.

Incapable (a.) Not capable of being brought to do or perform, because morally strong or well disposed; -- used with reference to some evil; as, incapable of wrong, dishonesty, or falsehood.

Incapable (a.) Unqualified or disqualified, in a legal sense; as, a man under thirty-five years of age is incapable of holding the office of president of the United States; a person convicted on impeachment is thereby made incapable of holding an office of profit or honor under the government.

Incarnadine (a.) Flesh-colored; of a carnation or pale red color.

Incarnate (a.) Flesh-colored; rosy; red.

Infancy (n.) The state or condition of one under age, or under the age of twenty-one years; nonage; minority.

Infant (n.) A person who is not of full age, or who has not attained the age of legal capacity; a person under the age of twenty-one years; a minor.

Infare (n.) A house-warming; especially, a reception, party, or entertainment given by a newly married couple, or by the husband upon receiving the wife to his house.

Inhabile (a.) Unskilled; unready; awkward; incompetent; unqualified; -- said of person.

Inhale (v. t.) To breathe or draw into the lungs; to inspire; as, to inhale air; -- opposed to exhale.

Insabbatati (n. pl.) The Waldenses; -- so called from their peculiary cut or marked sabots, or shoes.

Intaglio (n.) A cutting or engraving; a figure cut into something, as a gem, so as to make a design depressed below the surface of the material; hence, anything so carved or impressed, as a gem, matrix, etc.; -- opposed to cameo. Also used adjectively.

Intake (n.) The place where water or air is taken into a pipe or conduit; -- opposed to outlet.

Invade (v. t.) To go into or upon; to pass within the confines of; to enter; -- used of forcible or rude ingress.

Inward (a.) Being or placed within; inner; interior; -- opposed to outward.

Inward (n.) The mental faculties; -- usually pl.

Irrational (a.) Not capable of being exactly expressed by an integral number, or by a vulgar fraction; surd; -- said especially of roots. See Surd.

Jacaranda (n.) A genus of bignoniaceous Brazilian trees with showy trumpet-shaped flowers.

Jalap (n.) The tubers of the Mexican plant Ipomoea purga (or Exogonium purga), a climber much like the morning-glory. The abstract, extract, and powder, prepared from the tubers, are well known purgative medicines. Other species of Ipomoea yield several inferior kinds of jalap, as the I. Orizabensis, and I. tuberosa.

Jamaicine (n.) An alkaloid said to be contained in the bark of Geoffroya inermis, a leguminous tree growing in Jamaica and Surinam; -- called also jamacina.

Johannes (n.) A Portuguese gold coin of the value of eight dollars, named from the figure of King John which it bears; -- often contracted into joe; as, a joe, or a half joe.

Jurassic (a.) Of the age of the middle Mesozoic, including, as divided in England and Europe, the Lias, Oolite, and Wealden; -- named from certain rocks of the Jura mountains.

Jurassic (n.) The Jurassic period or formation; -- called also the Jura.

Kahau (n.) A long-nosed monkey (Semnopithecus nasalis), native of Borneo. The general color of the body is bright chestnut, with the under parts, shoulders, and sides of the head, golden yellow, and the top of the head and upper part of the back brown. Called also proboscis monkey.

Kalasie (n.) A long-tailed monkey of Borneo (Semnopithecus rubicundus). It has a tuft of long hair on the head.

Karaite (n.) A sect of Jews who adhere closely to the letter of the Scriptures, rejecting the oral law, and allowing the Talmud no binding authority; -- opposed to the Rabbinists.

Katabolism (n.) Destructive or downward metabolism; regressive metamorphism; -- opposed to anabolism. See Disassimilation.

Katastate (n.) (Physiol.) A substance formed by a katabolic process; -- opposed to anastate. See Katabolic.

Kawaka (n.) a New Zealand tree, the Cypress cedar (Libocedrus Doniana), having a valuable, fine-grained, reddish wood.

Kayak (n.) A light canoe, made of skins stretched over a frame, and usually capable of carrying but one person, who sits amidships and uses a double-bladed paddle. It is peculiar to the Eskimos and other Arctic tribes.

Keramographic (a.) Suitable to be written upon; capable of being written upon, as a slate; -- said especially of a certain kind of globe.

Keratose (n.) A tough, horny animal substance entering into the composition of the skeleton of sponges, and other invertebrates; -- called also keratode.

Kodak (n.) A kind of portable photographic camera, esp. adapted for snapshot work, in which a succession of negatives is made upon a continuous roll of sensitized film; -- a trade-mark name of the Eastman Kodak Company, but now popularly applied to almost any hand camera.

Koba (n.) Any one of several species of African antelopes of the genus Kobus, esp. the species Kobus sing-sing.

Koran (n.) The Scriptures of the Mohammedans, containing the professed revelations to Mohammed; -- called also Alcoran.

Lamaism (n.) A modified form of Buddhism which prevails in Thibet, Mongolia, and some adjacent parts of Asia; -- so called from the name of its priests. See 2d Lama.

Laxative (a.) Having the effect of loosening or opening the intestines, and relieving from constipation; -- opposed to astringent.

Laxator (n.) That which loosens; -- esp., a muscle which by its contraction loosens some part.

Legacy (n.) A business with which one is intrusted by another; a commission; -- obsolete, except in the phrases last legacy, dying legacy, and the like.

Legato (a.) Connected; tied; -- a term used when successive tones are to be produced in a closely connected, smoothly gliding manner. It is often indicated by a tie, thus /, /, or /, /, written over or under the notes to be so performed; -- opposed to staccato.

Leman (n.) A sweetheart, of either sex; a gallant, or a mistress; -- usually in a bad sense.

Lepas (n.) Any one of various species of Lepas, a genus of pedunculated barnacles found attached to floating timber, bottoms of ships, Gulf weed, etc.; -- called also goose barnacle. See Barnacle.

Levant (a.) Rising or having risen from rest; -- said of cattle. See Couchant and levant, under Couchant.

Lobated (a.) Having lobes; -- said of the tails of certain fishes having the integument continued to the bases of the fin rays.

Logarithm (n.) One of a class of auxiliary numbers, devised by John Napier, of Merchiston, Scotland (1550-1617), to abridge arithmetical calculations, by the use of addition and subtraction in place of multiplication and division.

Loral (a.) Of or pertaining to the lore; -- said of certain feathers of birds, scales of reptiles, etc.

Lunacy (n.) Insanity or madness; properly, the kind of insanity which is broken by intervals of reason, -- formerly supposed to be influenced by the changes of the moon; any form of unsoundness of mind, except idiocy; mental derangement or alienation.

Lunar (n.) The middle bone of the proximal series of the carpus; -- called also semilunar, and intermedium.

Lunated (a.) Crescent-shaped; as, a lunate leaf; a lunate beak; a lunated cross.

Lyra (n.) The middle portion of the ventral surface of the fornix of the brain; -- so called from the arrangement of the Lyrated (a.) Lyre-shaped, or spatulate and oblong, with small lobes toward the base; as, a lyrate leaf.

Marabou (n.) A kind of thrown raw silk, nearly white naturally, but capable of being dyed without scouring; also, a thin fabric made from it, as for scarfs, which resembles the feathers of the marabou in delicacy, -- whence the name.

Matador (n.) A certain game of dominoes in which four dominoes (the 4-3, 5-2, 6-1, and double blank), called matadors, may be played at any time in any way.

Macaco (n.) Any one of several species of lemurs, as the ruffed lemur (Lemur macaco), and the ring-tailed lemur (L. catta).

Macaque (n.) Any one of several species of short-tailed monkeys of the genus Macacus; as, M. maurus, the moor macaque of the East Indies.

Macaroni (n.) A finical person; a fop; -- applied especially to English fops of about 1775.

Macartney (n.) A fire-backed pheasant. See Fireback.

Macavahu (n.) A small Brazilian monkey (Callithrix torquatus), -- called also collared teetee.

Madam (n.) A gentlewoman; -- an appellation or courteous form of address given to a lady, especially an elderly or a married lady; -- much used in the address, at the beginning of a letter, to a woman. The corresponding word in addressing a man is Sir.

Madame (n.) My lady; -- a French title formerly given to ladies of quality; now, in France, given to all married women.

Malacopoda (n. pl.) A class of air-breathing Arthropoda; -- called also Protracheata, and Onychophora.

Malacostracology (n.) That branch of zoological science which relates to the crustaceans; -- called also carcinology.

Malady (n.) Any disease of the human body; a distemper, disorder, or indisposition, proceeding from impaired, defective, or morbid organic functions; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder.

Malashaganay (n.) The fresh-water drumfish (Haploidonotus grunniens).

Manacle (n.) A handcuff; a shackle for the hand or wrist; -- usually in the plural.

Management (v.) Judicious use of means to accomplish an end; conduct directed by art or address; skillful treatment; cunning practice; -- often in a bad sense.

Manakin (n.) Any one of numerous small birds belonging to Pipra, Manacus, and other genera of the family Pipridae. They are mostly natives of Central and South America. some are bright-colored, and others have the wings and tail curiously ornamented. The name is sometimes applied to related birds of other families.

Manatee (n.) Any species of Trichechus, a genus of sirenians; -- called alsosea cow.

Marai (n.) A sacred inclosure or temple; -- so called by the islanders of the Pacific Ocean.

Maranatha (n.) "Our Lord cometh;" -- an expression used by St. Paul at the conclusion of his first Epistle to the Corinthians (xvi. 22). This word has been used in anathematizing persons for great crimes; as much as to say, "May the Lord come quickly to take vengeance of thy crimes." See Anathema maranatha, under Anathema.

Mataco (n.) The three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutis tricinctus). See Illust. under Loricata.

Matagasse (n.) A shrike or butcher bird; -- called also mattages.

Mazame (n.) A goatlike antelope (Haplocerus montanus) which inhabits the Rocky Mountains, frequenting the highest parts; -- called also mountain goat.

Mazarine (a.) Of or pertaining to Cardinal Mazarin, prime minister of France, 1643-1661.

Megacephalous (a.) Large headed; -- applied to animals, and to plants when they have large flower heads.

Megachile (n.) A leaf-cutting bee of the genus Megachilus. See Leaf cutter, under Leaf.

Megaderm (n.) Any one of several species of Old World blood-sucking bats of the genus Megaderma.

Megaphyton (n.) An extinct genus of tree ferns with large, two-ranked leaves, or fronds.

Megapode (n.) Any one of several species of large-footed, gallinaceous birds of the genera Megapodius and Leipoa, inhabiting Australia and other Pacific islands. See Jungle fowl (b) under Jungle, and Leipoa.

Megaseme (a.) Having the orbital index relatively large; having the orbits narrow transversely; -- opposed to microseme.

Megatherium (n.) An extinct gigantic quaternary mammal, allied to the ant-eaters and sloths. Its remains are found in South America.

Megavolt (n.) One of the larger measures of electro-motive force, amounting to one million volts.

Melam (n.) A white or buff-colored granular powder, C6H9N11, obtained by heating ammonium sulphocyanate.

Melamine (n.) A strong nitrogenous base, C3H6N6, produced from several cyanogen compounds, and obtained as a white crystalMelampyrite (n.) The saccharine substance dulcite; -- so called because found in the leaves of cowwheat (Melampyrum). See Dulcite.

Melancholia (n.) A kind of mental unsoundness characterized by extreme depression of spirits, ill-grounded fears, delusions, and brooding over one particular subject or train of ideas.

Melanian (n.) One of a family of fresh-water pectinibranchiate mollusks, having a turret-shaped shell.

Melanic (a.) Of or pertaining to the black-haired races.

MelaniMelanin (n.) A black pigment found in the pigment-bearing cells of the skin (particularly in the skin of the negro), in the epithelial cells of the external layer of the retina (then called fuscin), in the outer layer of the choroid, and elsewhere. It is supposed to be derived from the decomposition of hemoglobin.

Melanism (n.) An undue development of dark-colored pigment in the skin or its appendages; -- the opposite of albinism.

Melanochroite (n.) A mineral of a red, or brownish or yellowish red color. It is a chromate of lead; -- called also phoenicocroite.

Melanocomous (a.) Having very dark or black hair; black-haired.

Melanorrhoea (n.) An East Indian genus of large trees. Melanorrh/a usitatissima is the lignum-vitae of Pegu, and yelds a valuable black varnish.

Melanuric (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, a complex nitrogenous acid obtained by decomposition of melam, or of urea, as a white crystalMelaphyre (n.) Any one of several dark-colored augitic, eruptive rocks allied to basalt.

Melastoma (n.) A genus of evergreen tropical shrubs; -- so called from the black berries of some species, which stain the mouth.

Menaccanite (n.) An iron-black or steel-gray mineral, consisting chiefly of the oxides of iron and titanium. It is commonly massive, but occurs also in rhombohedral crystals. Called also titanic iron ore, and ilmenite.

Menace (n.) To express or show an intention to inflict, or to hold out a prospect of inflicting, evil or injury upon; to threaten; -- usually followed by with before the harm threatened; as, to menace a country with war.

Metacenter (n.) Alt. of -tre

Metacetone (n.) A colorless liquid of an agreeable odor, C6H10O, obtained by distilling a mixture of sugar and lime; -- so called because formerly regarded as a polymeric modification of acetone.

Metadiscoidal (a.) Discoidal by derivation; -- applied especially to the placenta of man and apes, because it is supposed to have been derived from a diffused placenta.

Metagenesis (n.) Alternation of sexual and asexual or gemmiparous generations; -- in distinction from heterogamy.

Metagnathous (a.) Cross-billed; -- said of certain birds, as the crossbill.

Metal (n.) Ore from which a metal is derived; -- so called by miners.

MetalMetalloid (n.) Formerly, the metallic base of a fixed alkali, or alkaMetamorphic (a.) Pertaining to, produced by, or exhibiting, certain changes which minerals or rocks may have undergone since their original deposition; -- especially applied to the recrystallization which sedimentary rocks have undergone through the influence of heat and pressure, after which they are called metamorphic rocks.

Metaphrase (n.) A verbal translation; a version or translation from one language into another, word for word; -- opposed to paraphrase.

Metasomatism (n.) An alteration in a mineral or rock mass when involving a chemical change of the substance, as of chrysolite to serpentine; -- opposed to ordinary metamorphism, as implying simply a recrystallization.

Metazoa (n. pl.) Those animals in which the protoplasmic mass, constituting the egg, is converted into a multitude of cells, which are metamorphosed into the tissues of the body. A central cavity is commonly developed, and the cells around it are at first arranged in two layers, -- the ectoderm and endoderm. The group comprises nearly all animals except the Protozoa.

Megascopical (a.) Enlarged or magnified; -- said of images or of photographic pictures, etc.

Megascopical (a.) Large enough to be seen; -- said of the larger structural features and components of rocks which do not require the use of the microscope to be perceived. Opposed to microscopic.

Melanoma (n.) Development of dark-pigmented tumors.

Mica (n.) The name of a group of minerals characterized by highly perfect cleavage, so that they readily separate into very thin leaves, more or less elastic. They differ widely in composition, and vary in color from pale brown or yellow to green or black. The transparent forms are used in lanterns, the doors of stoves, etc., being popularly called isinglass. Formerly called also cat-silver, and glimmer.

Minargent (n.) An alloy consisting of copper, nickel, tungsten, and aluminium; -- used by jewelers.

Mirabilis (n.) A genus of plants. See Four-o'clock.

Miraculous (a.) Wonder-working.

Molar (a.) Of or pertaining to a mass of matter; -- said of the properties or motions of masses, as distinguished from those of molecules or atoms.

Molasse (n.) A soft Tertiary sandstone; -- applied to a rock occurring in Switzerland. See Chart of Geology.

Mona (n.) A small, handsome, long-tailed West American monkey (Cercopithecus mona). The body is dark olive, with a spot of white on the haunches.

Monacid (a.) Having one hydrogen atom replaceable by a negative or acid atom or radical; capable of neutralizing a monobasic acid; -- said of bases, and of certain metals.

Monandry (n.) The possession by a woman of only one husband at the same time; -- contrasted with polyandry.

Monanthous (a.) Having but one flower; one-flowered.

Monarch (n.) A very large red and black butterfly (Danais Plexippus); -- called also milkweed butterfly.

Monarchian (n.) One of a sect in the early Christian church which rejected the doctrine of the Trinity; -- called also patripassian.

Monastery (n.) A house of religious retirement, or of secusion from ordinary temporal concerns, especially for monks; -- more rarely applied to such a house for females.

Monazite (n.) A mineral occurring usually in small isolated crystals, -- a phosphate of the cerium metals.

Mora (n.) A game of guessing the number of fingers extended in a quick movement of the hand, -- much played by Italians of the lower classes.

Moral (a.) Supported by reason or probability; practically sufficient; -- opposed to legal or demonstrable; as, a moral evidence; a moral certainty.

Moral (n.) The doctrine or practice of the duties of life; manner of living as regards right and wrong; conduct; behavior; -- usually in the plural.

Moralist (n.) One who practices moral duties; a person who lives in conformity with moral rules; one of correct deportment and dealings with his fellow-creatures; -- sometimes used in contradistinction to one whose life is controlled by religious motives.

Moravian (n.) One of a religious sect called the United Brethren (an offshoot of the Hussites in Bohemia), which formed a separate church of Moravia, a northern district of Austria, about the middle of the 15th century. After being nearly extirpated by persecution, the society, under the name of The Renewed Church of the United Brethren, was reestablished in 1722-35 on the estates of Count Zinzendorf in Saxony. Called also Herrnhuter.

Mosaic (n.) A surface decoration made by inlaying in patterns small pieces of variously colored glass, stone, or other material; -- called also mosaic work.

Moya (n.) Mud poured out from volcanoes during eruptions; -- so called in South America.

Mutation (n.) As now employed (first by de Vries), a sudden variation (the offspring differing from its parents in some well-marked character or characters) as distinguished from a gradual variations in which the new characters become fully developed only in the course of many generations. The occurrence of mutations, and the hereditary transmission, under some conditions, of the characters so appearing, are well-established facts; whether the process has played an important part in the evolut> Mulatto (n.) The offspring of a negress by a white man, or of a white woman by a negro, -- usually of a brownish yellow complexion.

Musard (v. i.) A dreamer; an absent-minded person.

Mutandum (n.) A thing which is to be changed; something which must be altered; -- used chiefly in the plural.

Nawab (n.) A rich, retired Anglo-Indian; a nabob.

Natatorious (a.) Adapted for swimming; -- said of the legs of certain insects.

Nazarene (n.) A native or inhabitant of Nazareth; -- a term of contempt applied to Christ and the early Christians.

Negation (adv.) The act of denying; assertion of the nonreality or untruthfulness of anything; declaration that something is not, or has not been, or will not be; denial; -- the opposite of affirmation.

Negative (a.) Denying; implying, containing, or asserting denial, negation or refusal; returning the answer no to an inquiry or request; refusing assent; as, a negative answer; a negative opinion; -- opposed to affirmative.

Negative (a.) Metalloidal; nonmetallic; -- contracted with positive or basic; as, the nitro group is negative.

Negatively (adv.) In the form of speech implying the absence of something; -- opposed to positively.

Nematocera (n. pl.) A suborder of dipterous insects, having long antennae, as the mosquito, gnat, and crane fly; -- called also Nemocera.

Nematogene (n.) One of the dimorphic forms of the species of Dicyemata, which produced vermiform embryos; -- opposed to rhombogene.

Nepa (n.) A genus of aquatic hemipterus insects. The species feed upon other insects and are noted for their voracity; -- called also scorpion bug and water scorpion.

Noyade (n.) A drowning of many persons at once, -- a method of execution practiced at Nantes in France during the Reign of Terror, by Jean Baptiste Carrier.

Nonacid (a.) Destitute of acid properties; hence, basic; metallic; positive; -- said of certain atoms and radicals.

Nonane (n.) One of a group of metameric hydrocarbons C9H20 of the paraffin series; -- so called because of the nine carbon atoms in the molecule. Normal nonane is a colorless volatile liquid, an ingredient of ordinary kerosene.

Notable (a.) Well-known; notorious.

Notandum (n.) A thing to be noted or observed; a notable fact; -- chiefly used in the plural.

Nucamentaceous (a.) Like a nut either in structure or in being indehiscent; bearing one-seeded nutlike fruits.

Ormazd (n.) Alt. of Ahura-Mazda

Oblate (a.) Offered up; devoted; consecrated; dedicated; -- used chiefly or only in the titles of Roman Catholic orders. See Oblate, n.

Occasion (n.) An occurrence or condition of affairs which brings with it some unlooked-for event; that which incidentally brings to pass an event, without being its efficient cause or sufficient reason; accidental or incidental cause.

Occasionalism (n.) The system of occasional causes; -- a name given to certain theories of the Cartesian school of philosophers, as to the intervention of the First Cause, by which they account for the apparent reciprocal action of the soul and the body.

Ocean (n.) The whole body of salt water which covers more than three fifths of the surface of the globe; -- called also the sea, or great sea.

Oceanic (a.) Of or pertaining to the ocean; found or formed in or about, or produced by, the ocean; frequenting the ocean, especially mid-ocean.

Octameter (n.) A verse containing eight feet; as, --//Deep# in|to# the | dark#ness | peer#ing, | long# I | stood# there | wond'#ring, | fear#ing.

Octangular (a.) Having eight angles; eight-angled.

Octavalent (a.) Having a valence of eight; capable of being combined with, exchanged for, or compared with, eight atoms of hydrogen; -- said of certain atoms or radicals.

Octavo (n.) A book composed of sheets each of which is folded into eight leaves; hence, indicating more or less definitely a size of book so made; -- usually written 8vo or 8?.

Oleander (n.) A beautiful evergreen shrub of the Dogbane family, having clusters of fragrant red or white flowers. It is native of the East Indies, but the red variety has become common in the south of Europe. Called also rosebay, rose laurel, and South-sea rose.

Olfactory (n.) An olfactory organ; also, the sense of smell; -- usually in the plural.

Olla (n.) A dish of stewed meat; an olio; an olla-podrida.

Oquassa (n.) A small, handsome trout (Salvelinus oquassa), found in some of the lakes in Maine; -- called also blueback trout.

Organ (n.) A natural part or structure in an animal or a plant, capable of performing some special action (termed its function), which is essential to the life or well-being of the whole; as, the heart, lungs, etc., are organs of animals; the root, stem, foliage, etc., are organs of plants.

Organ (n.) A wind instrument containing numerous pipes of various dimensions and kinds, which are filled with wind from a bellows, and played upon by means of keys similar to those of a piano, and sometimes by foot keys or pedals; -- formerly used in the plural, each pipe being considired an organ.

Organic (a.) Pertaining to, or denoting, any one of the large series of substances which, in nature or origin, are connected with vital processes, and include many substances of artificial production which may or may not occur in animals or plants; -- contrasted with inorganic.

Organize (v. t.) To furnish with organs; to give an organic structure to; to endow with capacity for the functions of life; as, an organized being; organized matter; -- in this sense used chiefly in the past participle.

Organize (v. t.) To arrange or constitute in parts, each having a special function, act, office, or relation; to systematize; to get into working order; -- applied to products of the human intellect, or to human institutions and undertakings, as a science, a government, an army, a war, etc.

Organogenesis (n.) The germ history of the organs and systems of organs, -- a branch of morphogeny.

Organoleptic (a.) Making an impression upon an organ; plastic; -- said of the effect or impression produced by any substance on the organs of touch, taste, or smell, and also on the organism as a whole.

Organum (n.) An organ or instrument; hence, a method by which philosophical or scientific investigation may be conducted; -- a term adopted from the Aristotelian writers by Lord Bacon, as the title ("Novum Organon") of part of his treatise on philosophical method.

Organophyly (n.) The tribal history of organs, -- a branch of morphophyly.

Ortalidian (n.) Any one of numerous small two-winged flies of the family Ortalidae. The larvae of many of these flies live in fruit; those of others produce galls on various plants.

Ourang (n.) The orang-outang.

Oxyacid (n.) An acid containing oxygen, as chloric acid or sulphuric acid; -- contrasted with the hydracids, which contain no oxygen, as hydrochloric acid. See Acid, and Hydroxy-.

Palamate (a.) Web-footed.

Parallel (n.) That arrangement of an electrical system in which all positive poles, electrodes, terminals, etc., are joined to one conductor, and all negative poles, etc., to another conductor; -- called also multiple. Opposed to series.

Paranoia (n.) A chronic form of insanity characterized by very gradual impairment of the intellect, systematized delusion, and usually by delusious of persecution or mandatory delusions producing homicidal tendency. In its mild form paranoia may consist in the well-marked crotchetiness exhibited in persons commonly called "cranks." Paranoiacs usually show evidences of bodily and nervous degeneration, and many have hallucinations, esp. of sight and hearing.

Paladin (n.) A knight-errant; a distinguished champion; as, the paladins of Charlemagne.

Palanquin (n.) An inclosed carriage or litter, commonly about eight feet long, four feet wide, and four feet high, borne on the shoulders of men by means of two projecting poles, -- used in India, China, etc., for the conveyance of a single person from place to place.

Palatal (a.) Uttered by the aid of the palate; -- said of certain sounds, as the sound of k in kirk.

Palate (n.) Relish; taste; liking; -- a sense originating in the mistaken notion that the palate is the organ of taste.

Panacea (n.) A remedy for all diseases; a universal medicine; a cure-all; catholicon; hence, a relief or solace for affliction.

Papacy (n.) The Roman Catholic religion; -- commonly used by the opponents of the Roman Catholics in disparagement or in an opprobrious sense.

Papaveraceous (a.) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, a natural order of plants (Papaveraceae) of which the poppy, the celandine, and the bloodroot are well-known examples.

Papaw (n.) A tree (Carica Papaya) of tropical America, belonging to the order Passifloreae. It has a soft, spongy stem, eighteen or twenty feet high, crowned with a tuft of large, long-stalked, palmately lobed leaves. The milky juice of the plant is said to have the property of making meat tender. Also, its dull orange-colored, melon-shaped fruit, which is eaten both raw and cooked or pickled.

Parabanic (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, a nitrogenous acid which is obtained by the oxidation of uric acid, as a white crystalParachordal (a.) Situated on either side of the notochord; -- applied especially to the cartilaginous rudiments of the skull on each side of the anterior part of the notochord.

Paraclete (n.) An advocate; one called to aid or support; hence, the Consoler, Comforter, or Intercessor; -- a term applied to the Holy Spirit.

Paraffine (n.) A white waxy substance, resembling spermaceti, tasteless and odorless, and obtained from coal tar, wood tar, petroleum, etc., by distillation. It is used as an illuminant and lubricant. It is very inert, not being acted upon by most of the strong chemical reagents. It was formerly regarded as a definite compound, but is now known to be a complex mixture of several higher hydrocarbons of the methane or marsh-gas series; hence, by extension, any substance, whether solid, liquid, o> Paragenic (a.) Originating in the character of the germ, or at the first commencement of an individual; -- said of peculiarities of structure, character, etc.

Parallel (a.) Having the same direction or tendency; running side by side; being in accordance (with); tending to the same result; -- used with to and with.

Parallelism (n.) Similarity of construction or meaning of clauses placed side by side, especially clauses expressing the same sentiment with slight modifications, as is common in Hebrew poetry; e. g.: --//At her feet he bowed, he fell:/Where he bowed, there he fell down dead. Judg. v. 27.

Parallelogram (n.) A right-Paralogism (n.) A reasoning which is false in point of form, that is, which is contrary to logical rules or formulae; a formal fallacy, or pseudo-syllogism, in which the conclusion does not follow from the premises.

Param (n.) A white crystalParamastoid (a.) Situated beside, or near, the mastoid portion of the temporal bone; paroccipital; -- applied especially to a process of the skull in some animals.

Parament (n.) Ornamental hangings, furniture, etc., as of a state apartment; rich and elegant robes worn by men of rank; -- chiefly in the plural.

Paramour (n.) A lover, of either sex; a wooer or a mistress (formerly in a good sense, now only in a bad one); one who takes the place, without possessing the rights, of a husband or wife; -- used of a man or a woman.

Paramours (adv.) By or with love, esp. the love of the sexes; -- sometimes written as two words.

Paranaphthalene (n.) Anthracene; -- called also paranaphthaParaphrase (n.) A restatement of a text, passage, or work, expressing the meaning of the original in another form, generally for the sake of its clearer and fuller exposition; a setting forth the signification of a text in other and ampler terms; a free translation or rendering; -- opposed to metaphrase.

Parapodium (n.) One of the lateral appendages of an annelid; -- called also foot tubercle.

Parasite (n.) One who frequents the tables of the rich, or who lives at another's expense, and earns his welcome by flattery; a hanger-on; a toady; a sycophant.

Parasite (n.) A plant obtaining nourishment immediately from other plants to which it attaches itself, and whose juices it absorbs; -- sometimes, but erroneously, called epiphyte.

Parasphenoid (a.) Near the sphenoid bone; -- applied especially to a bone situated immediately beneath the sphenoid in the base of the skull in many animals.

Parataxis (n.) The mere ranging of propositions one after another, without indicating their connection or interdependence; -- opposed to syntax.

Parakeet (n.) Any one of numerous species of small parrots having a graduated tail, which is frequently very long; -- called also paroquet and paraquet.

Pataca (n.) The Spanish dollar; -- called also patacoon.

Patas (n.) A West African long-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus ruber); the red monkey.

Patavinity (n.) The use of local or provincial words, as in the peculiar style or diction of Livy, the Roman historian; -- so called from Patavium, now Padua, the place of Livy's nativity.

Pavan (n.) A stately and formal Spanish dance for which full state costume is worn; -- so called from the resemblance of its movements to those of the peacock.

Peba (n.) An armadillo (Tatusia novemcincta) which is found from Texas to Paraguay; -- called also tatouhou.

Pecan (n.) A species of hickory (Carya olivaeformis), growing in North America, chiefly in the Mississippi valley and in Texas, where it is one of the largest of forest trees; also, its fruit, a smooth, oblong nut, an inch or an inch and a half long, with a thin shell and well-flavored meat.

Pedage (n.) A toll or tax paid by passengers, entitling them to safe-conduct and protection.

Pedarian (n.) One of a class eligible to the office of senator, but not yet chosen, who could sit and speak in the senate, but could not vote; -- so called because he might indicate his opinion by walking over to the side of the party he favored when a vote was taken.

Pedate (a.) Palmate, with the lateral lobes cleft into two or more segments; -- said of a leaf.

Pedatifid (a.) Cleft in a pedate manner, but having the lobes distinctly connected at the base; -- said of a leaf.

Pelagic (a.) Of or pertaining to the ocean; -- applied especially to animals that live at the surface of the ocean, away from the coast.

Petaled (a.) Having petals; as, a petaled flower; -- opposed to apetalous, and much used in compounds; as, one-petaled, three-petaled, etc.

Petaliform (a.) Having the form of a petal; petaloid; petal-shaped.

Petalous (a.) Having petals; petaled; -- opposed to apetalous.

Petasus (n.) The winged cap of Mercury; also, a broad-brimmed, low-crowned hat worn by Greeks and Romans.

Pica (n.) A service-book. See Pie.

Picard (n.) One of a sect of Adamites in the fifteenth century; -- so called from one Picard of Flanders. See Adamite.

Pilaster (n.) An upright architectural member right-angled in plan, constructionally a pier (See Pier, 1 (b)), but architecturally corresponding to a column, having capital, shaft, and base to agree with those of the columns of the same order. In most cases the projection from the wall is one third of its width, or less.

Piracy (n.) Robbery on the high seas; the taking of property from others on the open sea by open violence; without lawful authority, and with intent to steal; -- a crime answering to robbery on land.

Piraya (n.) A large voracious fresh-water fish (Serrasalmo piraya) of South America, having lancet-shaped teeth.

Pita (n.) A fiber obtained from the Agave Americana and other related species, -- used for making cordage and paper. Called also pita fiber, and pita thread.

Please (v. t.) To be the will or pleasure of; to seem good to; -- used impersonally.

Pleasure (n.) The gratification of the senses or of the mind; agreeable sensations or emotions; the excitement, relish, or happiness produced by the expectation or the enjoyment of something good, delightful, or satisfying; -- opposed to pain, sorrow, etc.

Pleasure (n.) Amusement; sport; diversion; self-indulgence; frivolous or dissipating enjoyment; hence, sensual gratification; -- opposed to labor, service, duty, self-denial, etc.

Pliable (v.) Flexible in disposition; readily yielding to influence, arguments, persuasion, or discipPocan (n.) The poke (Phytolacca decandra); -- called also pocan bush.

Polatouche (n.) A flying squirrel (Sciuropterus volans) native of Northern Europe and Siberia; -- called also minene.

Pomacentroid (a.) Pertaining to the Pomacentridae, a family of bright-colored tropical fishes having spiny opercula; -- often called coral fishes.

Pomade (n.) Perfumed ointment; esp., a fragrant unguent for the hair; pomatum; -- originally made from apples.

Pomander (n.) A box to contain such perfume, formerly carried by ladies, as at the end of a chain; -- more properly pomander box.

Potamospongiae (n. pl.) The fresh-water sponges. See Spongilla.

Potash (n.) The hydroxide of potassium hydrate, a hard white brittle substance, KOH, having strong caustic and alkaPraam (n.) A flat-bottomed boat or lighter, -- used in Holland and the Baltic, and sometimes armed in case of war.

Preachment (n.) A religious harangue; a sermon; -- used derogatively.

Preataxic (a.) Occurring before the symptom ataxia has developed; -- applied to the early symptoms of locomotor ataxia.

Priapean (n.) A species of hexameter verse so constructed as to be divisible into two portions of three feet each, having generally a trochee in the first and the fourth foot, and an amphimacer in the third; -- applied also to a regular hexameter verse when so constructed as to be divisible into two portions of three feet each.

Proa (n.) A sailing canoe of the Ladrone Islands and Malay Archipelago, having its lee side flat and its weather side like that of an ordinary boat. The ends are alike. The canoe is long and narrow, and is kept from overturning by a cigar-shaped log attached to a frame extending several feet to windward. It has been called the flying proa, and is the swiftest sailing craft known.

Pshaw (interj.) Pish! pooch! -- an exclamation used as an expression of contempt, disdain, dislike, etc.

Puna (n.) A cold arid table-land, as in the Andes of Peru.

Pyrazine () Alt. of -zin

Pupa (n.) A genus of air-breathing land snails having an elongated spiral shell.

Pusane (n.) A piece of armor for the breast; often, an addition to, or reenforcement of. the breastplate; -- called also pesane.

Pygal (a.) Situated in the region of the rump, or posterior end of the backbone; -- applied especially to the posterior median plates in the carapace of chelonians.

Pyramidoid (n.) A solid resembling a pyramid; -- called also pyramoid.

Rabato (n.) A kind of ruff for the neck; a turned-down collar; a rebato.

Ragamuffin (n.) The long-tailed titmouse.

Raiae (n. pl.) The order of elasmobranch fishes which includes the sawfishes, skates, and rays; -- called also Rajae, and Rajii.

Rasante (a.) Sweeping; grazing; -- applied to a style of fortification in which the command of the works over each other, and over the country, is kept very low, in order that the shot may more effectually sweep or graze the ground before them.

Ratafia (n.) A spirituous liquor flavored with the kernels of cherries, apricots, peaches, or other fruit, spiced, and sweetened with sugar; -- a term applied to the liqueurs called noyau, cura/ao, etc.

Regal (n.) A small portable organ, played with one hand, the bellows being worked with the other, -- used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Regard (v. t.) To have relation to, as bearing upon; to respect; to relate to; to touch; as, an argument does not regard the question; -- often used impersonally; as, I agree with you as regards this or that.

Regard (v. t.) That view of the mind which springs from perception of value, estimable qualities, or anything that excites admiration; respect; esteem; reverence; affection; as, to have a high regard for a person; -- often in the plural.

Rehabilitate (v. t.) To invest or clothe again with some right, authority, or dignity; to restore to a former capacity; to reinstate; to qualify again; to restore, as a delinquent, to a former right, rank, or privilege lost or forfeited; -- a term of civil and canon law.

Relapse (v. i.) To slide or turn back into a former state or practice; to fall back from some condition attained; -- generally in a bad sense, as from a state of convalescence or amended condition; as, to relapse into a stupor, into vice, or into barbarism; -- sometimes in a good sense; as, to relapse into slumber after being disturbed.

Relate (v. i.) To stand in some relation; to have bearing or concern; to pertain; to refer; -- with to.

Relator (n.) A private person at whose relation, or in whose behalf, the attorney-general allows an information in the nature of a quo warranto to be filed.

Remain (n.) That which is left; relic; remainder; -- chiefly in the plural.

Remark (n.) To express in words or writing, as observed or noticed; to state; to say; -- often with a substantive clause; as, he remarked that it was time to go.

Renard (n.) A fox; -- so called in fables or familiar tales, and in poetry.

Repand (a.) Having a slightly undulating margin; -- said of leaves.

Reparation (n.) The act of renewing, restoring, etc., or the state of being renewed or repaired; as, the reparation of a bridge or of a highway; -- in this sense, repair is oftener used.

Repay (v. t.) To make return or requital for; to recompense; -- in a good or bad sense; as, to repay kindness; to repay an injury.

Retail (v.) The sale of commodities in small quantities or parcels; -- opposed to wholesale; sometimes, the sale of commodities at second hand.

Retainer (n.) One who is retained or kept in service; an attendant; an adherent; a hanger-on.

Retainer (n.) A fee paid to engage a lawyer or counselor to maintain a cause, or to prevent his being employed by the opposing party in the case; -- called also retaining fee.

Retard (v. t.) To keep delaying; to continue to hinder; to prevent from progress; to render more slow in progress; to impede; to hinder; as, to retard the march of an army; to retard the motion of a ship; -- opposed to accelerate.

Retardation (n.) The act of retarding; hindrance; the act of delaying; as, the retardation of the motion of a ship; -- opposed to acceleration.

Retardation (n.) The keeping back of an approaching consonant chord by prolonging one or more tones of a previous chord into the intermediate chord which follows; -- differing from suspension by resolving upwards instead of downwards.

Reward (v. t.) To give in return, whether good or evil; -- commonly in a good sense; to requite; to recompense; to repay; to compensate.

Remark () A print or proof so distinguished; -- commonly called a Remarque proof.

Rhea (n.) The ramie or grass-cloth plant. See Grass-cloth plant, under Grass.

Ribald (n./) A low, vulgar, brutal, foul-mouthed wretch; a lewd fellow.

Ribaldry (n.) The talk of a ribald; low, vulgar language; indecency; obscenity; lewdness; -- now chiefly applied to indecent language, but formerly, as by Chaucer, also to indecent acts or conduct.

Riband (n.) See Rib-band.

Rigadoon (n.) A gay, lively dance for one couple, -- said to have been borrowed from Provence in France.

Ritardando (a.) Retarding; -- a direction for slower time; rallentado.

Romaic (n.) The modern Greek language, now usually called by the Greeks Hellenic or Neo-Hellenic.

Roman (a.) Upright; erect; -- said of the letters or kind of type ordinarily used, as distinguished from Italic characters.

Roman (a.) Expressed in letters, not in figures, as I., IV., i., iv., etc.; -- said of numerals, as distinguished from the Arabic numerals, 1, 4, etc.

Roman (n.) Roman type, letters, or print, collectively; -- in distinction from Italics.

Romanesque (a.) Somewhat resembling the Roman; -- applied sometimes to the debased style of the later Roman empire, but esp. to the more developed architecture prevailing from the 8th century to the 12th.

Romanic (n.) Related to the Roman people by descent; -- said especially of races and nations speaking any of the Romanic tongues.

Romantic (a.) Characterized by strangeness or variety; suggestive of adventure; suited to romance; wild; picturesque; -- applied to scenery; as, a romantic landscape.

Romanticism (n.) A fondness for romantic characteristics or peculiarities; specifically, in modern literature, an aiming at romantic effects; -- applied to the productions of a school of writers who sought to revive certain medi/val forms and methods in opposition to the so-called classical style.

Rota (n.) A short-lived political club established in 1659 by J.Harrington to inculcate the democratic doctrine of election of the principal officers of the state by ballot, and the annual retirement of a portion of Parliament.

Rota (n.) A species of zither, played like a guitar, used in the Middle Ages in church music; -- written also rotta.

Rotate (a.) Having the parts spreading out like a wheel; wheel-shaped; as, a rotate spicule or scale; a rotate corolla, i.e., a monopetalous corolla with a flattish border, and no tube or a very short one.

Rotated (a.) Turned round, as a wheel; also, wheel-shaped; rotate.

Royal (n.) One of the soldiers of the first regiment of foot of the British army, formerly called the Royals, and supposed to be the oldest regular corps in Europe; -- now called the Royal Scots.

Royalty (n.) An emblem of royalty; -- usually in the plural, meaning regalia.

Rurales (n. pl.) The gossamer-winged butterflies; a family of small butterflies, including the hairstreaks, violets, and theclas.

Sacalait (n.) A kind of fresh-water bass; the crappie.

Sagacious (a.) Of quick sense perceptions; keen-scented; skilled in following a trail.

Sagacious (a.) Hence, of quick intellectual perceptions; of keen penetration and judgment; discerning and judicious; knowing; far-sighted; shrewd; sage; wise; as, a sagacious man; a sagacious remark.

Sagamore (n.) The head of a tribe among the American Indians; a chief; -- generally used as synonymous with sachem, but some writters distinguished between them, making the sachem a chief of the first rank, and a sagamore one of the second rank.

Samara (n.) A dry, indehiscent, usually one-seeded, winged fruit, as that of the ash, maple, and elm; a key or key fruit.

Samarskite (a.) A rare mineral having a velvet-black color and submetallic luster. It is a niobate of uranium, iron, and the yttrium and cerium metals.

Sapajou (n.) Any one of several species of South American monkeys of the genus Cebus, having long and prehensile tails. Some of the species are called also capuchins. The bonnet sapajou (C. subcristatus), the golden-handed sapajou (C. chrysopus), and the white-throated sapajou (C. hypoleucus) are well known species. See Capuchin.

Sciagraph (n.) An old term for a vertical section of a building; -- called also sciagraphy. See Vertical section, under Section.

Scrape (v. t.) To collect by, or as by, a process of scraping; to gather in small portions by laborious effort; hence, to acquire avariciously and save penuriously; -- often followed by together or up; as, to scrape money together.

Scrape (v. t.) To express disapprobation of, as a play, or to silence, as a speaker, by drawing the feet back and forth upon the floor; -- usually with down.

Scratch (v. t.) To cancel by drawing one or more Scratchback (n.) A toy which imitates the sound of tearing cloth, -- used by drawing it across the back of unsuspecting persons.

Sedan (n.) A portable chair or covered vehicle for carrying a single person, -- usually borne on poles by two men. Called also sedan chair.

Sepalous (a.) Having, or relating to, sepals; -- used mostly in composition. See under Sepal.

Separate (p. a.) Divided from another or others; disjoined; disconnected; separated; -- said of things once connected.

Separate (p. a.) Unconnected; not united or associated; distinct; -- said of things that have not been connected.

Seraskier (n.) A general or commander of land forces in the Turkish empire; especially, the commander-in-chief of minister of war.

Sexagesima (n.) The second Sunday before Lent; -- so called as being about the sixtieth day before Easter.

Sematic (a.) Significant; ominous; serving as a warning of danger; -- applied esp. to the warning colors or forms of certain animals.

Sgraffito (a.) Scratched; -- said of decorative painting of a certain style, in which a white overland surface is cut or scratched through, so as to form the design from a dark ground underneath.

Sheaf (n.) Any collection of things bound together; a bundle; specifically, a bundle of arrows sufficient to fill a quiver, or the allowance of each archer, -- usually twenty-four.

Shear (v. t.) A pair of shears; -- now always used in the plural, but formerly also in the singular. See Shears.

Shear (v. t.) A shearing; -- used in designating the age of sheep.

Shear (v. t.) An action, resulting from applied forces, which tends to cause two contiguous parts of a body to slide relatively to each other in a direction parallel to their plane of contact; -- also called shearing stress, and tangential stress.

Shears (n.) An instrument consisting of two blades, commonly with bevel edges, connected by a pivot, and working on both sides of the material to be cut, -- used for cutting cloth and other substances.

Shears (n.) A similar instrument the blades of which are extensions of a curved spring, -- used for shearing sheep or skins.

Shearwater (n.) Any one of numerous species of long-winged oceanic birds of the genus Puffinus and related genera. They are allied to the petrels, but are larger. The Manx shearwater (P. Anglorum), the dusky shearwater (P. obscurus), and the greater shearwater (P. major), are well-known species of the North Atlantic. See Hagdon.

Sheatfish (n.) A European siluroid fish (Silurus glanis) allied to the cat-fishes. It is the largest fresh-water fish of Europe, sometimes becoming six feet or more in length. See Siluroid.

Shoal (n.) A great multitude assembled; a crowd; a throng; -- said especially of fish; as, a shoal of bass.

Sinamine (n.) A bitter white crystalSinapis (n.) A disused generic name for mustard; -- now called Brassica.

SinapoSivan (n.) The third month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year; -- supposed to correspond nearly with our month of June.

Skua (n.) Any jager gull; especially, the Megalestris skua; -- called also boatswain.

Sleave (n.) Silk not yet twisted; floss; -- called also sleave silk.

Sleave (v. t.) To separate, as threads; to divide, as a collection of threads; to sley; -- a weaver's term.

Squam (n.) An oilskin hat or southwester; -- a fisherman's name.

Sneak (n.) A ball bowled so as to roll along the ground; -- called also grub.

Sola (n.) A leguminous plant (Aeschynomene aspera) growing in moist places in Southern India and the East Indies. Its pithlike stem is used for making hats, swimming-jackets, etc.

Solace (n.) To cheer in grief or under calamity; to comfort; to relieve in affliction, solitude, or discomfort; to console; -- applied to persons; as, to solace one with the hope of future reward.

Solanine (n.) A poisonous alkaloid glucoside extracted from the berries of common nightshade (Solanum nigrum), and of bittersweet, and from potato sprouts, as a white crystalSolanoid (a.) Resembling a potato; -- said of a kind of cancer.

Sola (fem. a.) Alone; -- chiefly used in stage directions, and the like.

Samaj (n.) A society; a congregation; a worshiping assembly, or church, esp. of the Brahmo-somaj.

Sonant (a.) Uttered, as an element of speech, with tone or proper vocal sound, as distinguished from mere breath sound; intonated; voiced; tonic; the opposite of nonvocal, or surd; -- sid of the vowels, semivowels, liquids, and nasals, and particularly of the consonants b, d, g hard, v, etc., as compared with their cognates p, t, k, f, etc., which are called nonvocal, surd, or aspirate.

Sora (n.) A North American rail (Porzana Carolina) common in the Eastern United States. Its back is golden brown, varied with black and white, the front of the head and throat black, the breast and sides of the head and neck slate-colored. Called also American rail, Carolina rail, Carolina crake, common rail, sora rail, soree, meadow chicken, and orto.

Speak (v. i.) To convey sentiments, ideas, or intelligence as if by utterance; as, features that speak of self-will.

Spear (n.) A sharp-pointed instrument with barbs, used for stabbing fish and other animals.

Spearwort (n.) A name given to several species of crowfoot (Ranunculus) which have spear-shaped leaves.

Sphaerenchyma (n.) Vegetable tissue composed of thin-walled rounded cells, -- a modification of parenchyma.

Sphalerite (n.) Zinc sulphide; -- called also blende, black-jack, false galena, etc. See Blende (a).

Splashboard (n.) A guard in the front part of vehicle, to prevent splashing by a mud or water from the horse's heels; -- in the United States commonly called dashboard.

Sprat (n.) A small European herring (Clupea sprattus) closely allied to the common herring and the pilchard; -- called also garvie. The name is also applied to small herring of different kinds.

Sprat (n.) A California surf-fish (Rhacochilus toxotes); -- called also alfione, and perch.

Squabble (v. t.) To disarrange, so that the letters or Squally (a.) Not equally good throughout; not uniform; uneven; faulty; -- said of cloth.

Squalodon (n.) A genus of fossil whales belonging to the Phocodontia; -- so called because their are serrated, like a shark's.

Squamozygomatic (a.) Of or pertaining to both the squamosal and zygomatic bones; -- applied to a bone, or a center of ossification, in some fetal skulls.

Square (n.) A certain number of Square (n.) An instrument having at least one right angle and two or more straight edges, used to lay out or test square work. It is of several forms, as the T square, the carpenter's square, the try-square., etc.

Square (a.) At right angles with the mast or the keel, and parallel to the horizon; -- said of the yards of a square-rigged vessel when they are so braced.

Square (v. i.) To take a boxing attitude; -- often with up, sometimes with off.

Squarer (n.) One who squares, or quarrels; a hot-headed, contentious fellow.

Squarrose (a.) Consisting of scales widely divaricating; having scales, small leaves, or other bodies, spreading widely from the axis on which they are crowded; -- said of a calyx or stem.

Squarrose (a.) Having scales spreading every way, or standing upright, or at right angles to the surface; -- said of a shell.

Squaterole (n.) The black-bellied plover.

Squaw (n.) A female; a woman; -- in the language of Indian tribes of the Algonquin family, correlative of sannup.

Squawroot (n.) A scaly parasitic plant (Conopholis Americana) found in oak woods in the United States; -- called also cancer root.

Steading (n.) The brans, stables, cattle-yards, etc., of a farm; -- called also onstead, farmstead, farm offices, or farmery.

Steak (v. t.) A slice of beef, broiled, or cut for broiling; -- also extended to the meat of other large animals; as, venison steak; bear steak; pork steak; turtle steak.

Steal (v. t.) To get into one's power gradually and by imperceptible degrees; to take possession of by a gradual and imperceptible appropriation; -- with away.

Stealing (n.) That which is stolen; stolen property; -- chiefly used in the plural.

Stealth (v. t.) The bringing to pass anything in a secret or concealed manner; a secret procedure; a clandestine practice or action; -- in either a good or a bad sense.

Steam (n.) The mist formed by condensed vapor; visible vapor; -- so called in popular usage.

Steamboat (n.) A boat or vessel propelled by steam power; -- generally used of river or coasting craft, as distinguished from ocean steamers.

Stearoptene (n.) The more solid ingredient of certain volatile oils; -- contrasted with elaeoptene.

Stiacciato (n.) The lowest relief, -- often used in Italian sculpture of the 15th and 16th centuries.

Strabismus (n.) An affection of one or both eyes, in which the optic axes can not be directed to the same object, -- a defect due either to undue contraction or to undue relaxation of one or more of the muscles which move the eyeball; squinting; cross-eye.

Straddle (v. i.) To stand with the ends staggered; -- said of the spokes of a wagon wheel where they join the hub.

Straight (superl.) Composed of cards which constitute a regular sequence, as the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten-spot; as, a straight hand; a straight flush.

Straightedge (n.) A board, or piece of wood or metal, having one edge perfectly straight, -- used to ascertain whether a Strait (a.) A (comparatively) narrow passageway connecting two large bodies of water; -- often in the plural; as, the strait, or straits, of Gibraltar; the straits of Magellan; the strait, or straits, of Mackinaw.

Strait (a.) Fig.: A condition of narrowness or restriction; doubt; distress; difficulty; poverty; perplexity; -- sometimes in the plural; as, reduced to great straits.

Straiten (v. t.) To restrict; to distress or embarrass in respect of means or conditions of life; -- used chiefly in the past participle; -- as, a man straitened in his circumstances.

Stramineous (a.) Chaffy; like straw; straw-colored.

Strath (n.) A valley of considerable size, through which a river runs; a valley bottom; -- often used in composition with the name of the river; as, Strath Spey, Strathdon, Strathmore.

Stratigraphic (a.) Alt. of -ical

Subatom (n.) A hypothetical component of a chemical atom, on the theory that the elements themselves are complex substances; -- called also atomicule.

Sugar (v. i.) In making maple sugar, to complete the process of boiling down the sirup till it is thick enough to crystallize; to approach or reach the state of granulation; -- with the preposition off.

Surah (n.) A soft twilled silk fabric much used for women's dresses; -- called also surah silk.

Surangular (a.) Above the angular bone; supra-angular; -- applied to a bone of the lower jaw in many reptiles and birds.

Suwarrow (n.) The giant cactus (Cereus giganteus); -- so named by the Indians of Arizona. Called also saguaro.

Swear (v. t.) To put to an oath; to cause to take an oath; to administer an oath to; -- ofetn followed by in or into; as, to swear witnesses; to swear a jury; to swear in an officer; he was sworn into office.

Sycamore (n.) A large European species of maple (Acer Pseudo-Platanus).

Synagogue (n.) The council of, probably, 120 members among the Jews, first appointed after the return from the Babylonish captivity; -- called also the Great Synagogue, and sometimes, though erroneously, the Sanhedrin.

Synallaxine (a.) Having the outer and middle toes partially united; -- said of certain birds related to the creepers.

Synanthous (a.) Having flowers and leaves which appear at the same time; -- said of certain plants.

Tabaret (n.) A stout silk having satin stripes, -- used for furniture.

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

Talapoin (n.) A small African monkey (Cercopithecus, / Miopithecus, talapoin) -- called also melarhine.

Talaria (n. pl.) Small wings or winged shoes represented as fastened to the ankles, -- chiefly used as an attribute of Mercury.

Tamandu (n.) A small ant-eater (Tamandua tetradactyla) native of the tropical parts of South America.

Tamanoir (n.) The ant-bear.

Tamarack (n.) The black pine (Pinus Murrayana) of Alaska, California, etc. It is a small tree with fine-grained wood.

Tamarin (n.) Any one of several species of small squirrel-like South American monkeys of the genus Midas, especially M. ursulus.

Tamarind (n.) A leguminous tree (Tamarindus Indica) cultivated both the Indies, and the other tropical countries, for the sake of its shade, and for its fruit. The trunk of the tree is lofty and large, with wide-spreading branches; the flowers are in racemes at the ends of the branches. The leaves are small and finely pinnated.

Tanager (n.) Any one of numerous species of bright-colored singing birds belonging to Tanagra, Piranga, and allied genera. The scarlet tanager (Piranga erythromelas) and the summer redbird (Piranga rubra) are common species of the United States.

Tapa (n.) A kind of cloth prepared by the Polynesians from the inner bark of the paper mulberry; -- sometimes called also kapa.

Tapayaxin (n.) A Mexican spinous lizard (Phrynosoma orbiculare) having a head somewhat like that of a toad; -- called also horned toad.

Tarantass (n.) A low four-wheeled carriage used in Russia. The carriage box rests on two long, springy poles which run from the fore to the hind axletree. When snow falls, the wheels are taken off, and the body is mounted on a sledge.

Tarantella (n.) A rapid and delirious sort of Neapolitan dance in 6-8 time, which moves in whirling triplets; -- so called from a popular notion of its being a remedy against the poisonous bite of the tarantula. Some derive its name from Taranto in Apulia.

Taxaspidean (a.) Having the posterior tarsal scales, or scutella, rectangular and arranged in regular rows; -- said of certain birds.

Tenacity (n.) That quality of bodies which keeps them from parting without considerable force; cohesiveness; the effect of attraction; -- as distinguished from brittleness, fragility, mobility, etc.

Tenacity (n.) The greatest longitudinal stress a substance can bear without tearing asunder, -- usually expressed with reference to a unit area of the cross section of the substance, as the number of pounds per square inch, or kilograms per square centimeter, necessary to produce rupture.

Tenant (n.) One who holds or possesses lands, or other real estate, by any kind of right, whether in fee simple, in common, in severalty, for life, for years, or at will; also, one who has the occupation or temporary possession of lands or tenements the title of which is in another; -- correlative to landlord. See Citation from Blackstone, under Tenement, 2.

Tetanin (n.) A poisonous base (ptomaine) formed in meat broth through the agency of a peculiar microbe from the wound of a person who has died of tetanus; -- so called because it produces tetanus as one of its prominent effects.

Tetanus (n.) A painful and usually fatal disease, resulting generally from a wound, and having as its principal symptom persistent spasm of the voluntary muscles. When the muscles of the lower jaw are affected, it is called locked-jaw, or lickjaw, and it takes various names from the various incurvations of the body resulting from the spasm.

Tetard (n.) A gobioid fish (Eleotris gyrinus) of the Southern United States; -- called also sleeper.

Thialol (n.) A colorless oily liquid, (C2H5)2S2, having a strong garlic odor; -- called also ethyl disulphide. By extension, any one of the series of related compounds.

Thrave (n.) Twenty-four (in some places, twelve) sheaves of wheat; a shock, or stook.

Tical (n.) A bean-shaped coin of Siam, worth about sixty cents; also, a weight equal to 236 grains troy.

Titanium (n.) An elementary substance found combined in the minerals manaccanite, rutile, sphene, etc., and isolated as an infusible iron-gray amorphous powder, having a metallic luster. It burns when heated in the air. Symbol Ti. Atomic weight 48.1.

Tolane (n.) A hydrocarbon, C14H10, related both to the acetylene and the aromatic series, and produced artificially as a white crystalTomaley (n.) The liver of the lobster, which becomes green when boiled; -- called also tomalTreacle (n.) Molasses; sometimes, specifically, the molasses which drains from the sugar-refining molds, and which is also called sugarhouse molasses.

Tread (v. t.) To beat or press with the feet; as, to tread a path; to tread land when too light; a well-trodden path.

Tread (v. t.) To copulate with; to feather; to cover; -- said of the male bird.

Treat (v. i.) To discourse; to handle a subject in writing or speaking; to make discussion; -- usually with of; as, Cicero treats of old age and of duties.

Treat (v. i.) To negotiate; to come to terms of accommodation; -- often followed by with; as, envoys were appointed to treat with France.

Triacid (a.) Capable of neutralizing three molecules of a monobasic acid or the equivalent; having three hydrogen atoms which may be acid radicals; -- said of certain bases; thus, glycerin is a triacid base.

Triangle (n.) A draughtsman's square in the form of a right-angled triangle.

Triangle (n.) A kind of frame formed of three poles stuck in the ground and united at the top, to which soldiers were bound when undergoing corporal punishment, -- now disused.

Triangulate (v. t.) To make triangular, or three-cornered.

Triatomic (a.) Having three atoms; -- said of certain elements or radicals.

Tuba (n.) A sax-tuba. See Sax-tuba.

Turanian (a.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, an extensive family of languages of simple structure and low grade (called also Altaic, Ural-Altaic, and Scythian), spoken in the northern parts of Europe and Asia and Central Asia; of pertaining to, or designating, the people who speak these languages.

Tyrant (n.) Any one of numerous species of American clamatorial birds belonging to the family Tyrannidae; -- called also tyrant bird.

Uncared (a.) Not cared for; not heeded; -- with for.

Uncaused (a.) Having no antecedent cause; uncreated; self-existent; eternal.

Uniaxial (a.) Having only one axis; developing along a single Unlawed (a.) Not having the claws and balls of the forefeet cut off; -- said of dogs.

Unmanned (a.) Not tamed; not made familiar with, or subject to, man; -- also used figuratively.

Unmannerly (a.) Not mannerly; ill-bred; rude.

Untalked (a.) Not talked; not mentioned; -- often with of.

Unwares (adv.) Unawares; unexpectedly; -- sometimes preceded by at.

Upcast (n.) The ventilating shaft of a mine out of which the air passes after having circulated through the mine; -- distinguished from the downcast. Called also upcast pit, and upcast shaft.

Upland (n.) High land; ground elevated above the meadows and intervals which lie on the banks of rivers, near the sea, or between hills; land which is generally dry; -- opposed to lowland, meadow, marsh, swamp, interval, and the like.

Upwards (adv.) In a direction from lower to higher; toward a higher place; in a course toward the source or origin; -- opposed to downward; as, to tend or roll upward.

Urva (n.) The crab-eating ichneumon (Herpestes urva), native of India. The fur is black, annulated with white at the tip of each hair, and a white streak extends from the mouth to the shoulder.

Vanadinite (n.) A mineral occurring in yellowish, and ruby-red hexagonal crystals. It consist of lead vanadate with a small proportion of lead chloride.

Vanadium (n.) A rare element of the nitrogen-phosphorus group, found combined, in vanadates, in certain minerals, and reduced as an infusible, grayish-white metallic powder. It is intermediate between the metals and the non-metals, having both basic and acid properties. Symbol V (or Vd, rarely). Atomic weight 51.2.

Vanadous (a.) Of or pertaining to vanadium; obtained from vanadium; -- said of an acid containing one equivalent of vanadium and two of oxygen.

Veda (n.) The ancient sacred literature of the Hindus; also, one of the four collections, called Rig-Veda, Yajur-Veda, Sama-Veda, and Atharva-Veda, constituting the most ancient portions of that literature.

Veranda (n.) An open, roofed gallery or portico, adjoining a dwelling house, forming an out-of-door sitting room. See Loggia.

Viva (interj.) Lit., (long) live; -- an exclamation expressing good will, well wishing, etc.

Volante (n.) A two-wheeled carriage formerly much used in Cuba. The body is in front of the axle; the driver rides on the horse.

Vicarious (prep.) Acting as a substitute; -- said of abnormal action which replaces a suppressed normal function; as, vicarious hemorrhage replacing menstruation.

Vilayet (n.) One of the chief administrative divisions or provinces of the Ottoman Empire; -- formerly called eyalet.

Vinaigrette (n.) A sauce, made of vinegar, oil, and other ingredients, -- used esp. for cold meats.

Vinaigrette (n.) A small perforated box for holding aromatic vinegar contained in a sponge, or a smelling bottle for smelling salts; -- called also vinegarette.

Vinaigrette (n.) A small, two-wheeled vehicle, like a Bath chair, to be drawn or pushed by a boy or man.

Vinasse (n.) The waste liquor remaining in the process of making beet sugar, -- used in the manufacture of potassium carbonate.

Vinatico (n.) Madeira mahogany; the coarse, dark-colored wood of the Persea Indica.

Visage (n.) The face, countenance, or look of a person or an animal; -- chiefly applied to the human face.

Vitalist (n.) A believer in the theory of vitalism; -- opposed to physicist.

Vivace (a. & adv.) Brisk; vivacious; with spirit; -- a direction to perform a passage in a brisk and lively manner.

Vivacious (a.) Having vigorous powers of life; tenacious of life; long-lived.

Vocabulary (n.) A list or collection of words arranged in alphabetical order and explained; a dictionary or lexicon, either of a whole language, a single work or author, a branch of science, or the like; a word-book.

Vocal (a.) Of or pertaining to a vowel or voice sound; also, /poken with tone, intonation, and resonance; sonant; sonorous; -- said of certain articulate sounds.

Vocal (a.) Consisting of, or characterized by, voice, or tone produced in the larynx, which may be modified, either by resonance, as in the case of the vowels, or by obstructive action, as in certain consonants, such as v, l, etc., or by both, as in the nasals m, n, ng; sonant; intonated; voiced. See Voice, and Vowel, also Guide to Pronunciation, // 199-202.

Vocal (n.) A vocal sound; specifically, a purely vocal element of speech, unmodified except by resonance; a vowel or a diphthong; a tonic element; a tonic; -- distinguished from a subvocal, and a nonvocal.

Vocative (a.) Of or pertaining to calling; used in calling; specifically (Gram.), used in address; appellative; -- said of that case or form of the noun, pronoun, or adjective, in which a person or thing is addressed; as, Domine, O Lord.

Volador (n.) A flying fish of California (Exoc/tus Californicus): -- called also volator.

Volante (n.) A cumbrous two-wheeled pleasure carriage used in Cuba.

Volatile (a.) Fig.: Light-hearted; easily affected by circumstances; airy; lively; hence, changeable; fickle; as, a volatile temper.

Voyageur (n.) A traveler; -- applied in Canada to a man employed by the fur companies in transporting goods by the rivers and across the land, to and from the remote stations in the Northwest.

Wapatoo (n.) The edible tuber of a species of arrowhead (Sagittaria variabilis); -- so called by the Indians of Oregon.

Whaap (n.) The European curlew; -- called also awp, whaup, great whaup, and stock whaup.

Whaap (n.) The whimbrel; -- called also May whaup, little whaup, and tang whaup.

Whealworm (n.) The harvest mite; -- so called from the wheals, caused by its bite.

Wigan (n.) A kind of canvaslike cotton fabric, used to stiffen and protect the lower part of trousers and of the skirts of women's dresses, etc.; -- so called from Wigan, the name of a town in Lancashire, England.

Woman (n.) An adult female person; a grown-up female person, as distinguished from a man or a child; sometimes, any female person.

Woman (v. t.) To act the part of a woman in; -- with indefinite it.

Womanish (a.) Suitable to a woman, having the qualities of a woman; effeminate; not becoming a man; -- usually in a reproachful sense. See the Note under Effeminate.

Wyla (n.) A helmeted Australian cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus funereus); -- called also funeral cockatoo.

Xylanthrax (n.) Wood coal, or charcoal; -- so called in distinction from mineral coal.

Zalambdodont (a.) Of or pertaining to a tribe (Zalambdodonta) of Insectivora in which the molar teeth have but one V-shaped ridge.

Zaratite (n.) A hydrous carbonate of nickel occurring as an emerald-green incrustation on chromite; -- called also emerald nickel.

Zouave (n.) Hence, one of a body of soldiers who adopt the dress and drill of the Zouaves, as was done by a number of volunteer regiments in the army of the United States in the Civil War, 1861-65.

Zolaism (n.) The literary theories and practices of the French novelist Emile Zola (1840-1902); naturalism, esp. in a derogatory sense.

About the author

Mark McCracken Author: Mark McCracken is a corporate trainer and author living in Higashi Osaka, Japan. He is the author of thousands of online articles as well as the Business English textbook, "25 Business Skills in English".

Copyright © 2011 Mark McCracken , All Rights Reserved.