Words whose 4th letter is N

Abandon (v. t.) Reflexively: To give (one's self) up without attempt at self-control; to yield (one's self) unrestrainedly; -- often in a bad sense.

Abandon (v. t.) To relinquish all claim to; -- used when an insured person gives up to underwriters all claim to the property covered by a policy, which may remain after loss or damage by a peril insured against.

Abandoned (a.) Self-abandoned, or given up to vice; extremely wicked, or sinning without restraint; irreclaimably wicked ; as, an abandoned villain.

Abundance (n.) An overflowing fullness; ample sufficiency; great plenty; profusion; copious supply; superfluity; wealth: -- strictly applicable to quantity only, but sometimes used of number.

Abundant (a.) Fully sufficient; plentiful; in copious supply; -- followed by in, rarely by with.

Acanthophorous (a.) Spine-bearing.

Acanthopterous (a.) Spiny-winged.

Acanthopterygian (n.) A spiny-finned fish.

Acanthopterygious (a.) Having fins in which the rays are hard and spinelike; spiny-finned.

Acanthus (n.) A genus of herbaceous prickly plants, found in the south of Europe, Asia Minor, and India; bear's-breech.

Acanthus (n.) An ornament resembling the foliage or leaves of the acanthus (Acanthus spinosus); -- used in the capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders.

Acinaciform (a.) Scimeter-shaped; as, an acinaciform leaf.

Aconite (n.) The herb wolfsbane, or monkshood; -- applied to any plant of the genus Aconitum (tribe Hellebore), all the species of which are poisonous.

Adansonia (n.) A genus of great trees related to the Bombax. There are two species, A. digitata, the baobab or monkey-bread of Africa and India, and A. Gregorii, the sour gourd or cream-of-tartar tree of Australia. Both have a trunk of moderate height, but of enormous diameter, and a wide-spreading head. The fruit is oblong, and filled with pleasantly acid pulp. The wood is very soft, and the bark is used by the natives for making ropes and cloth.

Adenoid (n.) A swelling produced by overgrowth of the adenoid tissue in the roof of the pharynx; -- usually in pl.

Adonis (n.) A genus of plants of the family Ranunculaceae, containing the pheasant's eye (Adonis autumnalis); -- named from Adonis, whose blood was fabled to have stained the flower.

Agent (a.) Acting; -- opposed to patient, or sustaining, action.

Akin (a.) Of the same kin; related by blood; -- used of persons; as, the two families are near akin.

Alone (a.) Quite by one's self; apart from, or exclusive of, others; single; solitary; -- applied to a person or thing.

Alongside (adv.) Along or by the side; side by side with; -- often with of; as, bring the boat alongside; alongside of him; alongside of the tree.

Alunogen (n.) A white fibrous mineral frequently found on the walls of mines and quarries, chiefly hydrous sulphate of alumina; -- also called feather alum, and hair salt.

Arena (n.) The area in the central part of an amphitheater, in which the gladiators fought and other shows were exhibited; -- so called because it was covered with sand.

Asynchronous (a.) Not simultaneous; not concurrent in time; -- opposed to synchronous.

Atonement (n.) Satisfaction or reparation made by giving an equivalent for an injury, or by doing of suffering that which will be received in satisfaction for an offense or injury; expiation; amends; -- with for. Specifically, in theology: The expiation of sin made by the obedience, personal suffering, and death of Christ.

Aventurine (n.) A kind of glass, containing gold-colored spangles. It was produced in the first place by the accidental (par aventure) dropping of some brass filings into a pot of melted glass.

Bagnio (n.) A house for bathing, sweating, etc.; -- also, in Turkey, a prison for slaves.

Banner (n.) Any flag or standard; as, the star-spangled banner.

Banneret (n.) Originally, a knight who led his vassals into the field under his own banner; -- commonly used as a title of rank.

Bannock (n.) A kind of cake or bread, in shape flat and roundish, commonly made of oatmeal or barley meal and baked on an iron plate, or griddle; -- used in Scotland and the northern counties of England.

Barnacle (sing.) Spectacles; -- so called from their resemblance to the barnacles used by farriers.

Barnburner (n.) A member of the radical section of the Democratic party in New York, about the middle of the 19th century, which was hostile to extension of slavery, public debts, corporate privileges, etc., and supported Van Buren against Cass for president in 1848; -- opposed to Hunker.

Behn (n.) The Centaurea behen, or saw-leaved centaury.

Benne (n.) The name of two plants (Sesamum orientale and S. indicum), originally Asiatic; -- also called oil plant. From their seeds an oil is expressed, called benne oil, used mostly for making soap. In the southern United States the seeds are used in candy.

Bennet (a.) The common yellow-flowered avens of Europe (Geum urbanum); herb bennet. The name is sometimes given to other plants, as the hemlock, valerian, etc.

Biannual (a.) Occurring twice a year; half-yearly; semiannual.

Blandiloquious (a.) Fair-spoken; flattering.

Blank (a.) Free from writing, printing, or marks; having an empty space to be filled in with some special writing; -- said of checks, official documents, etc.; as, blank paper; a blank check; a blank ballot.

Blank (n.) A paper unwritten; a paper without marks or characters a blank ballot; -- especially, a paper on which are to be inserted designated items of information, for which spaces are left vacant; a bland form.

Blench (v. t.) To baffle; to disconcert; to turn away; -- also, to obstruct; to hinder.

Blende (n.) A mineral, called also sphalerite, and by miners mock lead, false galena, and black-jack. It is a zinc sulphide, but often contains some iron. Its color is usually yellow, brown, or black, and its luster resinous.

Blenny (n.) A marine fish of the genus Blennius or family Blenniidae; -- so called from its coating of mucus. The species are numerous.

Blindworm (n.) A small, burrowing, snakelike, limbless lizard (Anguis fragilis), with minute eyes, popularly believed to be blind; the slowworm; -- formerly a name for the adder.

Blonde (v. t.) Of a fair color; light-colored; as, blond hair; a blond complexion.

Blonde (n.) A kind of silk lace originally of the color of raw silk, now sometimes dyed; -- called also blond lace.

Blunt (a.) Dull in understanding; slow of discernment; stupid; -- opposed to acute.

Bonnyclabber (n.) Coagulated sour milk; loppered milk; curdled milk; -- sometimes called simply clabber.

Bornite (n.) A valuable ore of copper, containing copper, iron, and sulphur; -- also called purple copper ore (or erubescite), in allusion to the colors shown upon the slightly tarnished surface.

Bound (v. t.) To limit; to terminate; to fix the furthest point of extension of; -- said of natural or of moral objects; to lie along, or form, a boundary of; to inclose; to circumscribe; to restrain; to confine.

Bound (p. p. & a.) Constrained or compelled; destined; certain; -- followed by the infinitive; as, he is bound to succeed; he is bound to fail.

Bound (v.) Ready or intending to go; on the way toward; going; -- with to or for, or with an adverb of motion; as, a ship is bound to Cadiz, or for Cadiz.

Branchiopoda (n. pl.) An order of Entomostraca; -- so named from the feet of branchiopods having been supposed to perform the function of gills. It includes the fresh-water genera Branchipus, Apus, and Limnadia, and the genus Artemia found in salt lakes. It is also called Phyllopoda. See Phyllopoda, Cladocera. It is sometimes used in a broader sense.

Branchy (a.) Full of branches; having wide-spreading branches; consisting of branches.

Brand (v. t.) A mark made by burning with a hot iron, as upon a cask, to designate the quality, manufacturer, etc., of the contents, or upon an animal, to designate ownership; -- also, a mark for a similar purpose made in any other way, as with a stencil. Hence, figurately: Quality; kind; grade; as, a good brand of flour.

Brank (v. i.) To hold up and toss the head; -- applied to horses as spurning the bit.

Brankursine (n.) Bear's-breech, or Acanthus.

Branlin (n.) A small red worm or larva, used as bait for small fresh-water fish; -- so called from its red color.

Brant (n.) A species of wild goose (Branta bernicla) -- called also brent and brand goose. The name is also applied to other related species.

Brantail (n.) The European redstart; -- so called from the red color of its tail.

Brine (n.) Tears; -- so called from their saltness.

Brinjaree (n.) A rough-haired East Indian variety of the greyhound.

Bronchophony (n.) A modification of the voice sounds, by which they are intensified and heightened in pitch; -- observed in auscultation of the chest in certain cases of intro-thoracic disease.

Brontotherium (n.) A genus of large extinct mammals from the miocene strata of western North America. They were allied to the rhinoceros, but the skull bears a pair of powerful horn cores in front of the orbits, and the fore feet were four-toed. See Illustration in Appendix.

Brontozoum (n.) An extinct animal of large size, known from its three-toed footprints in Mesozoic sandstone.

Bronzewing (n.) An Australian pigeon of the genus Phaps, of several species; -- so called from its bronze plumage.

Brunonian (a.) Pertaining to, or invented by, Brown; -- a term applied to a system of medicine promulgated in the 18th century by John Brown, of Scotland, the fundamental doctrine of which was, that life is a state of excitation produced by the normal action of external agents upon the body, and that disease consists in excess or deficiency of excitation.

Burn (v. t.) To consume with fire; to reduce to ashes by the action of heat or fire; -- frequently intensified by up: as, to burn up wood.

Burnettize (v. t.) To subject (wood, fabrics, etc.) to a process of saturation in a solution of chloride of zinc, to prevent decay; -- a process invented by Sir William Burnett.

Cannonade (n.) The act of discharging cannon and throwing ball, shell, etc., for the purpose of destroying an army, or battering a town, ship, or fort; -- usually, an attack of some continuance.

Cannot () Am, is, or are, not able; -- written either as one word or two.

Carnal (a.) Flesh-devouring; cruel; ravenous; bloody.

Carnous (a.) Of a fleshy consistence; -- applied to succulent leaves, stems, etc.

Cernuous (a.) Inclining or nodding downward; pendulous; drooping; -- said of a bud, flower, fruit, or the capsule of a moss.

Chance (n.) A supposed material or psychical agent or mode of activity other than a force, law, or purpose; fortune; fate; -- in this sense often personified.

Chance (n.) A possibility; a likelihood; an opportunity; -- with reference to a doubtful result; as, a chance to escape; a chance for life; the chances are all against him.

Chance (v. t.) To take the chances of; to venture upon; -- usually with it as object.

Chancroid (n.) A venereal sore, resembling a chancre in its seat and some external characters, but differing from it in being the starting point of a purely local process and never of a systemic disease; -- called also soft chancre.

Change (v. t.) To give and take reciprocally; to exchange; -- followed by with; as, to change place, or hats, or money, with another.

Change (v. i.) To pass from one phase to another; as, the moon changes to-morrow night.

Chinchilla (n.) A heavy, long-napped, tufted woolen cloth.

Chined (a.) Pertaining to, or having, a chine, or backbone; -- used in composition.

Chinned (a.) Having a chin; -- used chiefly in compounds; as, short-chinned.

Chinquapin (n.) A branching, nut-bearing tree or shrub (Castanea pumila) of North America, from six to twenty feet high, allied to the chestnut. Also, its small, sweet, edible nat.

Chondrin (n.) A colorless, amorphous, nitrogenous substance, tasteless and odorless, formed from cartilaginous tissue by long-continued action of boiling water. It is similar to gelatin, and is a large ingredient of commercial gelatin.

Chondroganoidea (n.) An order of ganoid fishes, including the sturgeons; -- so called on account of their cartilaginous skeleton.

Chondrostei (n. pl.) An order of fishes, including the sturgeons; -- so named because the skeleton is cartilaginous.

Clink (n.) A prison cell; a lockup; -- probably orig. the name of the noted prison in Southwark, England.

Clonus (n.) A series of muscular contractions due to sudden stretching of the muscle, -- a sign of certain neuropathies.

Clan (n.) A clique; a sect, society, or body of persons; esp., a body of persons united by some common interest or pursuit; -- sometimes used contemptuously.

Clank (n.) A sharp, brief, ringing sound, made by a collision of metallic or other sonorous bodies; -- usually expressing a duller or less resounding sound than clang, and a deeper and stronger sound than clink.

Clinanthium (n.) The receptacle of the flowers in a composite plant; -- also called clinium.

Cling (v. i.) To adhere closely; to stick; to hold fast, especially by twining round or embracing; as, the tendril of a vine clings to its support; -- usually followed by to or together.

Cluniac (n.) A monk of the reformed branch of the Benedictine Order, founded in 912 at Cluny (or Clugny) in France. -- Also used as a.

Coenogamy (n.) The state of a community which permits promiscuous sexual intercourse among its members; -- as in certain primitive tribes or communistic societies.

Cognation (n.) That tie of consanguinity which exists between persons descended from the same mother; -- used in distinction from agnation.

Coin (n.) A piece of metal on which certain characters are stamped by government authority, making it legally current as money; -- much used in a collective sense.

Coincident (a.) Having coincidence; occupying the same place; contemporaneous; concurrent; -- followed by with.

Coiner (n.) One who makes or stamps coin; a maker of money; -- usually, a maker of counterfeit money.

Cointension (n.) The condition of being of equal in intensity; -- applied to relations; as, 3:6 and 6:12 are relations of cointension.

Connate (a.) Congenitally united; growing from one base, or united at their bases; united into one body; as, connate leaves or athers. See Illust. of Connate-perfoliate.

Connection (n.) A relation; esp. a person connected with another by marriage rather than by blood; -- used in a loose and indefinite, and sometimes a comprehensive, sense.

Conning tower (n.) The shot-proof pilot house of a war vessel.

Connive (v. i.) To close the eyes upon a fault; to wink (at); to fail or forbear by intention to discover an act; to permit a proceeding, as if not aware of it; -- usually followed by at.

Connutritious (a.) Nutritious by force of habit; -- said of certain kinds of food.

Corncrake (n.) A bird (Crex crex or C. pratensis) which frequents grain fields; the European crake or land rail; -- called also corn bird.

Cornet (n.) A brass instrument, with cupped mouthpiece, and furnished with valves or pistons, now used in bands, and, in place of the trumpet, in orchestras. See Cornet-a-piston.

Cornet (n.) A troop of cavalry; -- so called from its being accompanied by a cornet player.

Cornfield (n.) A field where corn is or has been growing; -- in England, a field of wheat, rye, barley, or oats; in America, a field of Indian corn.

Corniform (a.) Having the shape of a horn; horn-shaped.

Cornin (n.) A bitter principle obtained from dogwood (Cornus florida), as a white crystalCornopean (n.) An obsolete name for the cornet-a-piston.

Cornuted (a.) Bearing horns; horned; horn-shaped.

Count (v. i.) To reckon; to rely; to depend; -- with on or upon.

Count (v. i.) To take account or note; -- with

Counter (v. t.) Money; coin; -- used in contempt.

Counter (adv.) Contrary; in opposition; in an opposite direction; contrariwise; -- used chiefly with run or go.

Counter (adv.) The after part of a vessel's body, from the water Counterbore (n.) A flat-bottomed cylindrical enlargement of the mouth of a hole, usually of slight depth, as for receiving a cylindrical screw head.

Counterbore (n.) A kind of pin drill with the cutting edge or edges normal to the axis; -- used for enlarging a hole, or for forming a flat-bottomed recess at its mouth.

Countercaster (n.) A caster of accounts; a reckoner; a bookkeeper; -- used contemptuously.

Counterflory (a.) Adorned with flowers (usually fleurs-de-lis) so divided that the tops appear on one side and the bottoms on the others; -- said of any ordinary.

Counterfoil (n.) That part of a tally, formerly in the exchequer, which was kept by an officer in that court, the other, called the stock, being delivered to the person who had lent the king money on the account; -- called also counterstock.

Counterjumper (n.) A salesman in a shop; a shopman; -- used contemptuously.

Counterpane (n.) A duplicate part or copy of an indenture, deed, etc., corresponding with the original; -- now called counterpart.

Counterpassant (a.) Passant in opposite directions; -- said of two animals.

Countersunk (p. p. & a.) Chamfered at the top; -- said of a hole.

Counterterm (n.) A term or word which is the opposite of, or antithesis to, another; an antonym; -- the opposite of synonym; as, "foe" is the counterterm of "friend".

Countryman (n.) One born in the same country with another; a compatriot; -- used with a possessive pronoun.

County (n.) A circuit or particular portion of a state or kingdom, separated from the rest of the territory, for certain purposes in the administration of justice and public affairs; -- called also a shire. See Shire.

Crane (n.) A measure for fresh herrings, -- as many as will fill a barrel.

Crane (n.) A machine for raising and lowering heavy weights, and, while holding them suspended, transporting them through a limited lateral distance. In one form it consists of a projecting arm or jib of timber or iron, a rotating post or base, and the necessary tackle, windlass, etc.; -- so called from a fancied similarity between its arm and the neck of a crane See Illust. of Derrick.

Crane (n.) A forked post or projecting bracket to support spars, etc., -- generally used in pairs. See Crotch, 2.

Crane (v. t.) To cause to rise; to raise or lift, as by a crane; -- with up.

Crania (n.) A genus of living Brachiopoda; -- so called from its fancied resemblance to the cranium or skull.

Crankness (n.) Liability to be overset; -- said of a ship or other vessel.

Crenature (n.) A rounded tooth or notch of a crenate leaf, or any part that is crenate; -- called also crenelle.

Cringle (n.) An iron or pope thimble or grommet worked into or attached to the edges and corners of a sail; -- usually in the plural. The cringles are used for making fast the bowCrinoCrone (n.) An old woman; -- usually in contempt.

Cronian (a.) Saturnian; -- applied to the North Polar Sea.

Cronstedtite (n.) A mineral consisting principally of silicate of iron, and crystallizing in hexagonal prisms with perfect basal cleavage; -- so named from the Swedish mineralogist Cronstedt.

Crunodal (a.) Possessing, or characterized by, a crunode; -- used of curves.

Cunner (n.) A small edible fish of the Atlantic coast (Ctenolabrus adspersus); -- called also chogset, burgall, blue perch, and bait stealer.

Cyanin (n.) The blue coloring matter of flowers; -- called also anthokyan and anthocyanin.

Cyanite (n.) A mineral occuring in thin-bladed crystals and crystalCyanogen (n.) A colorless, inflammable, poisonous gas, C2N2, with a peach-blossom odor, so called from its tendency to form blue compounds; obtained by heating ammonium oxalate, mercuric cyanide, etc. It is obtained in combination, forming an alkaDainty (superl.) Nice; delicate; elegant, in form, manner, or breeding; well-formed; neat; tender.

Dean (n.) The chief or senior of a company on occasion of ceremony; as, the dean of the diplomatic corps; -- so called by courtesy.

Dennet (n.) A light, open, two-wheeled carriage for one horse; a kind of gig.

Diana (n.) The daughter of Jupiter and Latona; a virgin goddess who presided over hunting, chastity, and marriage; -- identified with the Greek goddess Artemis.

Diencephalon (n.) The interbrain or thalamencephalon; -- sometimes abbreviated to dien. See Thalamencephalon.

Dignity (n.) Quality suited to inspire respect or reverence; loftiness and grace; impressiveness; stateDowncomer (n.) In some water-tube boilers, a tube larger in diameter than the water tubes to conduct the water from each top drum to a bottom drum, thus completing the circulation.

Donna (n.) A lady; madam; mistress; -- the title given a lady in Italy.

Donnat (n.) See Do-naught.

Donnism (n) Self-importance; loftiness of carriage.

Down (prep.) A bank or rounded hillock of sand thrown up by the wind along or near the shore; a flattish-topped hill; -- usually in the plural.

Down (prep.) A tract of poor, sandy, undulating or hilly land near the sea, covered with fine turf which serves chiefly for the grazing of sheep; -- usually in the plural.

Down (adv.) In the direction of gravity or toward the center of the earth; toward or in a lower place or position; below; -- the opposite of up.

Down (adv.) From a higher to a lower position, literally or figuratively; in a descending direction; from the top of an ascent; from an upright position; to the ground or floor; to or into a lower or an inferior condition; as, into a state of humility, disgrace, misery, and the like; into a state of rest; -- used with verbs indicating motion.

Downcome (n.) A pipe for leading combustible gases downward from the top of the blast furnace to the hot-blast stoves, boilers, etc., where they are burned.

Downhearted (a.) Dejected; low-spirited.

Dronepipe (n.) One of the low-toned tubes of a bagpipe.

Drongo (n.) A passerine bird of the family Dicruridae. They are usually black with a deeply forked tail. They are natives of Asia, Africa, and Australia; -- called also drongo shrikes.

Drunk (a.) Intoxicated with, or as with, strong drink; inebriated; drunken; -- never used attributively, but always predicatively; as, the man is drunk (not, a drunk man).

Drunkenness (n.) The state of being drunken with, or as with, alcoholic liquor; intoxication; inebriety; -- used of the casual state or the habit.

Earnest (a.) Ardent in the pursuit of an object; eager to obtain or do; zealous with sincerity; with hearty endeavor; heartfelt; fervent; hearty; -- used in a good sense; as, earnest prayers.

Earning (n.) That which is earned; wages gained by work or services; money earned; -- used commonly in the plural.

Economical (a.) Managing with frugality; guarding against waste or unnecessary expense; careful and frugal in management and in expenditure; -- said of character or habits.

Economical (a.) Managed with frugality; not marked with waste or extravagance; frugal; -- said of acts; saving; as, an economical use of money or of time.

Edentata (n. pl.) An order of mammals including the armadillos, sloths, and anteaters; -- called also Bruta. The incisor teeth are rarely developed, and in some groups all the teeth are lacking.

Elenctical (a.) Serving to refute; refutative; -- applied to indirect modes of proof, and opposed to deictic.

Elinguid (a.) Tongue-tied; dumb.

Emanant (a.) Issuing or flowing forth; emanating; passing forth into an act, or making itself apparent by an effect; -- said of mental acts; as, an emanant volition.

Enantiomorphous (a.) Similar, but not superposable, i. e., related to each other as a right-handed to a left-handed glove; -- said of certain hemihedral crystals.

Enantiopathy (n.) Allopathy; -- a term used by followers of Hahnemann, or homeopathists.

Epanody (n.) The abnormal change of an irregular flower to a regular form; -- considered by evolutionists to be a reversion to an ancestral condition.

Epanthous (a.) Growing upon flowers; -- said of certain species of fungi.

Erinite (n.) A hydrous arseniate of copper, of an emerald-green color; -- so called from Erin, or Ireland, where it occurs.

Ethnical (a.) Pertaining to the gentiles, or nations not converted to Christianity; heathen; pagan; -- opposed to Jewish and Christian.

Evangelical (a.) Earnest for the truth taught in the gospel; strict in interpreting Christian doctrine; preeminetly orthodox; -- technically applied to that party in the Church of England, and in the Protestant Episcopal Church, which holds the doctrine of "Justification by Faith alone"; the Low Church party. The term is also applied to other religion bodies not regarded as orthodox.

Even (a.) Equable; not easily ruffed or disturbed; calm; uniformly self-possessed; as, an even temper.

Even (a.) Balanced; adjusted; fair; equitable; impartial; just to both side; owing nothing on either side; -- said of accounts, bargains, or persons indebted; as, our accounts are even; an even bargain.

Even (a.) Not odd; capable of division by two without a remainder; -- said of numbers; as, 4 and 10 are even numbers.

Even (a.) As might not be expected; -- serving to introduce what is unexpected or less expected.

Exannulate (a.) Having the sporangium destitute of a ring; -- said of certain genera of ferns.

Exanthema (n.) An efflorescence or discoloration of the skin; an eruption or breaking out, as in measles, smallpox, scarlatina, and the like diseases; -- sometimes limited to eruptions attended with fever.

Eyen (n.) Plural of eye; -- now obsolete, or used only in poetry.

Faineancy (n.) Do-nothingness; inactivity; indolence.

Fain (a.) Well-pleased; glad; apt; wont; fond; incFain (adv.) With joy; gladly; -- with wold.

Faineant (n.) A do-nothing; an idle fellow; a sluggard.

Faint (v. i.) To become weak or wanting in vigor; to grow feeble; to lose strength and color, and the control of the bodily or mental functions; to swoon; -- sometimes with away. See Fainting, n.

Faintling (a.) Timorous; feeble-minded.

Faintness (n.) The state of being faint; loss of strength, or of consciousness, and self-control.

Faintness (n.) Faint-heartedness; timorousness; dejection.

Faints (n.pl.) The impure spirit which comes over first and last in the distillation of whisky; -- the former being called the strong faints, and the latter, which is much more abundant, the weak faints. This crude spirit is much impregnated with fusel oil.

Fatness (n.) The quality or state of being fat, plump, or full-fed; corpulency; fullness of flesh.

Fawn (a.) Of the color of a fawn; fawn-colored.

Fawn (v. i.) To court favor by low cringing, frisking, etc., as a dog; to flatter meanly; -- often followed by on or upon.

Feint (a.) A mock blow or attack on one part when another part is intended to be struck; -- said of certain movements in fencing, boxing, war, etc.

Fiend (n.) An implacable or malicious foe; one who is diabolically wicked or cruel; an infernal being; -- applied specifically to the devil or a demon.

Flanched (a.) Having flanches; -- said of an escutcheon with those bearings.

Flang (n.) A miner's two-pointed pick.

Flint (n.) A piece of flint for striking fire; -- formerly much used, esp. in the hammers of gun locks.

Flintlock (n.) A hand firearm fitted with a flintlock; esp., the old-fashioned musket of European and other armies.

Found (n.) A thin, single-cut file for combmakers.

Frangulin (n.) A yellow crystalFrank (n.) The common heron; -- so called from its note.

Frank (n.) Unrestrained; loose; licentious; -- used in a bad sense.

Frank (a.) A native or inhabitant of Western Europe; a European; -- a term used in the Levant.

Frankalmoigne (a.) A tenure by which a religious corporation holds lands given to them and their successors forever, usually on condition of praying for the soul of the donor and his heirs; -- called also tenure by free alms.

Front (n.) The middle of the upper part of the tongue, -- the part of the tongue which is more or less raised toward the palate in the pronunciation of certain sounds, as the vowel i in machine, e in bed, and consonant y in you. See Guide to Pronunciation, /10.

Fringe (n.) One of a number of light or dark bands, produced by the interference of light; a diffraction band; -- called also interference fringe.

Front (n.) The part or surface of anything which seems to look out, or to be directed forward; the fore or forward part; the foremost rank; the van; -- the opposite to back or rear; as, the front of a house; the front of an army.

Frontier (v. i.) To constitute or form a frontier; to have a frontier; -- with on.

Furnace (n.) An inclosed place in which heat is produced by the combustion of fuel, as for reducing ores or melting metals, for warming a house, for baking pottery, etc.; as, an iron furnace; a hot-air furnace; a glass furnace; a boiler furnace, etc.

Furniture (v. t.) A mixed or compound stop in an organ; -- sometimes called mixture.

Gain (v. t.) That which is gained, obtained, or acquired, as increase, profit, advantage, or benefit; -- opposed to loss.

Gainpain (n.) Bread-gainer; -- a term applied in the Middle Ages to the sword of a hired soldier.

Gainsome (a.) Prepossessing; well-favored.

Gainsborough hat () A woman's broad-brimmed hat of a form thought to resemble those shown in portraits by Thomas Gainsborough, the English artist (1727-88).

Gannister (n.) A refractory material consisting of crushed or ground siliceous stone, mixed with fire clay; -- used for lining Bessemer converters; also used for macadamizing roads.

Garnierite (n.) An amorphous mineral of apple-green color; a hydrous silicate of nickel and magnesia. It is an important ore of nickel.

Giantship (n.) The state, personality, or character, of a giant; -- a compellation for a giant.

Glance (n.) A name given to some sulphides, mostly dark-colored, which have a brilliant metallic luster, as the sulphide of copper, called copper glance.

Glance (v. i.) To make an incidental or passing reflection; to allude; to hint; -- often with at.

Gland (n.) The movable part of a stuffing box by which the packing is compressed; -- sometimes called a follower. See Illust. of Stuffing box, under Stuffing.

Glenoid (a.) Having the form of a smooth and shallow depression; socketlike; -- applied to several articular surfaces of bone; as, the glenoid cavity, or fossa, of the scapula, in which the head of the humerus articulates.

Glonoine (n.) Same as Nitroglycerin; -- called also oil of glonoin.

Going (p. pr.) Carrying on its ordinary business; conducting business, or carried on, with an indefinite prospect of continuance; -- chiefly used in the phrases a going business, concern, etc.

Granatin (n.) Mannite; -- so called because found in the pomegranate.

Grand (superl.) Standing in the second or some more remote degree of parentage or descent; -- generalIy used in composition; as, grandfather, grandson, grandchild, etc.

Grandiloquence (n.) The use of lofty words or phrases; bombast; -- usually in a bad sense.

Grandiose (a.) Impressive or elevating in effect; imposing; splendid; striking; -- in a good sense.

Grandiose (a.) Characterized by affectation of grandeur or splendor; flaunting; turgid; bombastic; -- in a bad sense; as, a grandiose style.

Granite (n.) A crystalGrant (v. t.) To give over; to make conveyance of; to give the possession or title of; to convey; -- usually in answer to petition.

Granulite (n.) A whitish, granular rock, consisting of feldspar and quartz intimately mixed; -- sometimes called whitestone, and leptynite.

Grenadier (n.) Any marine fish of the genus Macrurus, in which the body and tail taper to a point; they mostly inhabit the deep sea; -- called also onion fish, and rat-tail fish.

Grenadier (n.) A bright-colored South African grosbeak (Pyromelana orix), having the back red and the lower parts black.

Grenadillo (n.) A handsome tropical American wood, much used for making flutes and other wind instruments; -- called also Grenada cocos, or cocus, and red ebony.

Grinder (n.) The restless flycatcher (Seisura inquieta) of Australia; -- called also restless thrush and volatile thrush. It makes a noise like a scissors grinder, to which the name alludes.

Grindle (n.) The bowfin; -- called also Johnny Grindle.

Grunt (n.) Any one of several species of American food fishes, of the genus Haemulon, allied to the snappers, as, the black grunt (A. Plumieri), and the redmouth grunt (H. auroGringo (n.) Among Spanish Americans, a foreigner, esp. an Englishman or American; -- often used as a term of reproach.

Guenon (n.) One of several long-tailed Oriental monkeys, of the genus Cercocebus, as the green monkey and grivet.

Guinea (n.) A gold coin of England current for twenty-one shillings sterling, or about five dollars, but not coined since the issue of sovereigns in 1817.

Gunnel (n.) A small, eel-shaped, marine fish of the genus Muraenoides; esp., M. gunnellus of Europe and America; -- called also gunnel fish, butterfish, rock eel.

Gwiniad (n.) A fish (Coregonus ferus) of North Wales and Northern Europe, allied to the lake whitefish; -- called also powan, and schelly.

Gymnasium (n.) A school for the higher branches of literature and science; a preparatory school for the university; -- used esp. of German schools of this kind.

Gymnastical (a.) Pertaining to athletic exercises intended for health, defense, or diversion; -- said of games or exercises, as running, leaping, wrestling, throwing the discus, the javelin, etc.; also, pertaining to disciplinary exercises for the intellect; athletic; as, gymnastic exercises, contests, etc.

Gymnoblastea (n. pl.) The Athecata; -- so called because the medusoid buds are not inclosed in a capsule.

Gymnocarpous (a.) Naked-fruited, the fruit either smooth or not adherent to the perianth.

Gymnocopa (n. pl.) A group of transparent, free-swimming Annelida, having setae only in the cephalic appendages.

Gymnopaedic (a.) Having young that are naked when hatched; psilopaedic; -- said of certain birds.

Gymnophthalmata (n. pl.) A group of acalephs, including the naked-eyed medusae; the hydromedusae. Most of them are known to be the free-swimming progeny (gonophores) of hydroids.

Gymnotus (n.) A genus of South American fresh-water fishes, including the Gymnotus electricus, or electric eel. It has a greenish, eel-like body, and is possessed of electric power.

Heinous (a.) Hateful; hatefully bad; flagrant; odious; atrocious; giving great great offense; -- applied to deeds or to character.

Hinny (n.) A term of endearment; darling; -- corrupted from honey.

Hobnail (n.) A short, sharp-pointed, large-headed nail, -- used in shoeing houses and for studding the soles of heavy shoes.

Hobnob (adv.) Have or have not; -- a familiar invitation to reciprocal drinking.

Hognosesnake () A harmless North American snake of the genus Heterodon, esp. H. platyrhynos; -- called also puffing adder, blowing adder, and sand viper.

Horn (n.) One of the curved ends of a crescent; esp., an extremity or cusp of the moon when crescent-shaped.

Horn (n.) An emblem of a cuckold; -- used chiefly in the plural.

Hornbill (n.) Any bird of the family Bucerotidae, of which about sixty species are known, belonging to numerous genera. They inhabit the tropical parts of Asia, Africa, and the East Indies, and are remarkable for having a more or less horn-like protuberance, which is usually large and hollow and is situated on the upper side of the beak. The size of the hornbill varies from that of a pigeon to that of a raven, or even larger. They feed chiefly upon fruit, but some species eat dead animals.

Hornbook (n.) The first book for children, or that from which in former times they learned their letters and rudiments; -- so called because a sheet of horn covered the small, thin board of oak, or the slip of paper, on which the alphabet, digits, and often the Lord's Prayer, were written or printed; a primer.

Hornet (n.) A large, strong wasp. The European species (Vespa crabro) is of a dark brown and yellow color. It is very pugnacious, and its sting is very severe. Its nest is constructed of a paperlike material, and the layers of comb are hung together by columns. The American white-faced hornet (V. maculata) is larger and has similar habits.

Hornito (n.) A low, oven-shaped mound, common in volcanic regions, and emitting smoke and vapors from its sides and summit.

Hornstone (n.) A siliceous stone, a variety of quartz, closely resembling flint, but more brittle; -- called also chert.

Houndfish (n.) Any small shark of the genus Galeus or Mustelus, of which there are several species, as the smooth houndfish (G. canis), of Europe and America; -- called also houndshark, and dogfish.

Hypnagogic (a.) Leading to sleep; -- applied to the illusions of one who is half asleep.

Hypnogenic (a.) Relating to the production of hypnotic sleep; as, the so-called hypnogenic pressure points, pressure upon which is said to cause an attack of hypnotic sleep.

Iconodulist (n.) One who serves images; -- opposed to an iconoclast.

Iconomania (n.) A mania or infatuation for icons, whether as objects of devotion, bric-a-brac, or curios.

Identical (a.) In diplomacy (esp. in the form identic), precisely agreeing in sentiment or opinion and form or manner of expression; -- applied to concerted action or language which is used by two or more governments in treating with another government.

Iconolatry (n.) The worship of images as symbols; -- distinguished from idolatry, the worship of images themselves.

Identism (n.) The doctrine taught by Schelling, that matter and mind, and subject and object, are identical in the Absolute; -- called also the system / doctrine of identity.

Inanity (n.) An inane, useless thing or pursuit; a vanity; a silly object; -- chiefly in pl.; as, the inanities of the world.

Inantherate (a.) Not bearing anthers; -- said of sterile stamens.

Inknee (n.) Same as Knock-knee.

Inkneed (a.) See Knock-kneed.

Iron (n.) An iron-headed club with a deep face, chiefly used in making approaches, lifting a ball over hazards, etc.

Iron (n.) An instrument or utensil made of iron; -- chiefly in composition; as, a flatiron, a smoothing iron, etc.

Iron (v. t.) To smooth with an instrument of iron; especially, to smooth, as cloth, with a heated flatiron; -- sometimes used with out.

Ironheads (n.) A European composite herb (Centaurea nigra); -- so called from the resemblance of its knobbed head to an iron ball fixed on a long handle.

Ironsides (n. /) A cuirassier or cuirassiers; also, hardy veteran soldiers; -- applied specifically to Cromwell's cavalry.

Ironwork (n.) Anything made of iron; -- a general name of such parts or pieces of a building, vessel, carriage, etc., as consist of iron.

Isonandra (n.) A genus of sapotaceous trees of India. Isonandra Gutta is the principal source of gutta-percha.

Jenny (n.) A machine for spinning a number of threads at once, -- used in factories.

Joiner (n.) A wood-working machine, for sawing, plaining, mortising, tenoning, grooving, etc.

Joinhand (n.) Writing in which letters are joined in words; -- distinguished from writing in single letters.

Joint (n.) The place or part where two things or parts are joined or united; the union of two or more smooth or even surfaces admitting of a close-fitting or junction; junction as, a joint between two pieces of timber; a joint in a pipe.

Keen (superl.) Piercing; penetrating; cutting; sharp; -- applied to cold, wind, etc, ; as, a keen wind; the cold is very keen.

Kern (n.) The harvest-home.

Kern (n.) A light-armed foot soldier of the ancient militia of Ireland and Scotland; -- distinguished from gallowglass, and often used as a term of contempt.

Kern (n.) Any kind of boor or low-lived person.

Kerned (a.) Having part of the face projecting beyond the body or shank; -- said of type.

Khan (n.) A king; a prince; a chief; a governor; -- so called among the Tartars, Turks, and Persians, and in countries now or formerly governed by them.

Kinnikinic (n.) Prepared leaves or bark of certain plants; -- used by the Indians of the Northwest for smoking, either mixed with tobacco or as a substitute for it. Also, a plant so used, as the osier cornel (Cornus stolonijra), and the bearberry (Arctostaphylus Uva-ursi).

Krone (n.) A coin of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, of the value of about twenty-eight cents. See Crown, n., 9.

Lanneret (n. m.) A long-tailed falcon (Falco lanarius), of Southern Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa, resembling the American prairie falcon.

Launch (v. i.) To move with force and swiftness like a sliding from the stocks into the water; to plunge; to make a beginning; as, to launch into the current of a stream; to launch into an argument or discussion; to launch into lavish expenditures; -- often with out.

Lean (v. i.) To incLean (v. i.) To rest or rely, for support, comfort, and the like; -- with on, upon, or against.

Lean (v. i.) Wanting fullness, richness, sufficiency, or productiveness; deficient in quality or contents; slender; scant; barren; bare; mean; -- used literally and figuratively; as, the lean harvest; a lean purse; a lean discourse; lean wages.

Lean (v. i.) Of a character which prevents the compositor from earning the usual wages; -- opposed to fat; as, lean copy, matter, or type.

Leap year () Bissextile; a year containing 366 days; every fourth year which leaps over a day more than a common year, giving to February twenty-nine days. See Bissextile.

Leonid (n.) One of the shooting stars which constitute the star shower that recurs near the fourteenth of November at intervals of about thirty-three years; -- so called because these shooting stars appear on the heavens to move in Leontodon (n.) A genus of liguliflorous composite plants, including the fall dandelion (L. autumnale), and formerly the true dandelion; -- called also lion's tooth.

Lernaea (n.) A Linnaean genus of parasitic Entomostraca, -- the same as the family Lernaeidae.

Ligniperdous (a.) Wood-destroying; -- said of certain insects.

Linnaeite (n.) A mineral of pale steel-gray color and metallic luster, occurring in isometric crystals, and also massive. It is a sulphide of cobalt containing some nickel or copper.

Lionced (a.) Adorned with lions' heads; having arms terminating in lions' heads; -- said of a cross.

Liangle (n.) A heavy weapon of the Australian aborigines with a sharp-pointed end, about nine inches in length, projecting at right angles from the main part.

Loan (n. t.) To lend; -- sometimes with out.

Loanable (a.) Such as can be lent; available for lending; as, loanable funds; -- used mostly in financial business and writings.

Lyencephala (n. pl.) A group of Mammalia, including the marsupials and monotremes; -- so called because the corpus callosum is rudimentary.

Magnesium (n.) A light silver-white metallic element, malleable and ductile, quite permanent in dry air but tarnishing in moist air. It burns, forming (the oxide) magnesia, with the production of a blinding light (the so-called magnesium light) which is used in signaling, in pyrotechny, or in photography where a strong actinic illuminant is required. Its compounds occur abundantly, as in dolomite, talc, meerschaum, etc. Symbol Mg. Atomic weight, 24.4. Specific gravity, 1.75.

Magnet (n.) The loadstone; a species of iron ore (the ferrosoferric or magnetic ore, Fe3O4) which has the property of attracting iron and some of its ores, and, when freely suspended, of pointing to the poles; -- called also natural magnet.

Magnet (n.) A bar or mass of steel or iron to which the peculiar properties of the loadstone have been imparted; -- called, in distinction from the loadstone, an artificial magnet.

Magnetomotor (n.) A voltaic series of two or more large plates, producing a great quantity of electricity of low tension, and hence adapted to the exhibition of electro-magnetic phenomena.

Magnificat (n.) The song of the Virgin Mary, Luke i. 46; -- so called because it commences with this word in the Vulgate.

Magnifico (n.) A grandee or nobleman of Venice; -- so called in courtesy.

Magnitude (n.) Extent of dimensions; size; -- applied to things that have length, breath, and thickness.

Magnolia (n.) A genus of American and Asiatic trees, with aromatic bark and large sweet-scented whitish or reddish flowers.

Main (n.) A main-hamper.

Mainland (n.) The continent; the principal land; -- opposed to island, or peninsula.

Mainprise (v. t.) To suffer to go at large, on his finding sureties, or mainpernors, for his appearance at a day; -- said of a prisoner.

Maintop (n.) The platform about the head of the mainmast in square-rigged vessels.

Manner (n.) Carriage; behavior; deportment; also, becoming behavior; well-bred carriage and address.

Manner (n.) Sort; kind; style; -- in this application sometimes having the sense of a plural, sorts or kinds.

Mannish (a.) Fond of men; -- said of a woman.

Mannite (n.) A white crystalMean (superl.) Wanting dignity of mind; low-minded; base; destitute of honor; spiritless; as, a mean motive.

Mean (superl.) Penurious; stingy; close-fisted; illiberal; as, mean hospitality.

Mean (n.) A mediator; a go-between.

Mignonette (n.) A plant (Reseda odorata) having greenish flowers with orange-colored stamens, and exhaling a delicious fragrance. In Africa it is a low shrub, but further north it is usually an annual herb.

Minnesinger (n.) A love-singer; specifically, one of a class of German poets and musicians who flourished from about the middle of the twelfth to the middle of the fourteenth century. They were chiefly of noble birth, and made love and beauty the subjects of their verses.

Minnow (n.) A small European fresh-water cyprinoid fish (Phoxinus laevis, formerly Leuciscus phoxinus); sometimes applied also to the young of larger kinds; -- called also minim and minny. The name is also applied to several allied American species, of the genera Phoxinus, Notropis, or Minnilus, and Rhinichthys.

Moan (v. i.) A low mournful or murmuring sound; -- of things.

Moon (n.) A crescentlike outwork. See Half-moon.

Moonblind (a.) Dim-sighted; purblind.

Moonblink (n.) A temporary blindness, or impairment of sight, said to be caused by sleeping in the moonlight; -- sometimes called nyctalopia.

Moonfish (n.) An American marine fish (Vomer setipennis); -- called also bluntnosed shiner, horsefish, and sunfish.

Moonfish (n.) A broad, thin, silvery marine fish (Selene vomer); -- called also lookdown, and silver moonfish.

Moonflower (n.) The oxeye daisy; -- called also moon daisy.

Moonflower (n.) A kind of morning glory (Ipomoea Bona-nox) with large white flowers opening at night.

Moonseed (n.) A climbing plant of the genus Menispermum; -- so called from the crescentlike form of the seeds.

Moonshiner (n.) A person engaged in illicit distilling; -- so called because the work is largely done at night.

Moonwort (n.) Any fern of the genus Botrychium, esp. B. Lunaria; -- so named from the crescent-shaped segments of its frond.

Morn (n.) The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry.

Morne (a.) Without teeth, tongue, or claws; -- said of a lion represented heraldically.

Mound (n.) A ball or globe forming part of the regalia of an emperor or other sovereign. It is encircled with bands, enriched with precious stones, and surmounted with a cross; -- called also globe.

Mount (v.) A mass of earth, or earth and rock, rising considerably above the common surface of the surrounding land; a mountain; a high hill; -- used always instead of mountain, when put before a proper name; as, Mount Washington; otherwise, chiefly in poetry.

Mount (n.) To rise on high; to go up; to be upraised or uplifted; to tower aloft; to ascend; -- often with up.

Odin (n.) The supreme deity of the Scandinavians; -- the same as Woden, of the German tribes.

Odontostomatous (a.) Having toothlike mandibles; -- applied to certain insects.

Omened (a.) Attended by, or containing, an omen or omens; as, happy-omened day.

Ominous (a.) Of or pertaining to an omen or to omens; being or exhibiting an omen; significant; portentous; -- formerly used both in a favorable and unfavorable sense; now chiefly in the latter; foreboding or foreshowing evil; inauspicious; as, an ominous dread.

Onanism (n.) Self-pollution; masturbation.

Open (a.) Free of access; not shut up; not closed; affording unobstructed ingress or egress; not impeding or preventing passage; not locked up or covered over; -- applied to passageways; as, an open door, window, road, etc.; also, to inclosed structures or objects; as, open houses, boxes, baskets, bottles, etc.; also, to means of communication or approach by water or land; as, an open harbor or roadstead.

Open (a.) Without reserve or false pretense; sincere; characterized by sincerity; unfeigned; frank; also, generous; liberal; bounteous; -- applied to personal appearance, or character, and to the expression of thought and feeling, etc.

Open (a.) Not of a quality to prevent communication, as by closing water ways, blocking roads, etc.; hence, not frosty or inclement; mild; -- used of the weather or the climate; as, an open season; an open winter.

Open (a.) Uttered with a relatively wide opening of the articulating organs; -- said of vowels; as, the an far is open as compared with the a in say.

Open (a.) Not closed or stopped with the finger; -- said of the string of an instrument, as of a violin, when it is allowed to vibrate throughout its whole length.

Opinicus (n.) An imaginary animal borne as a charge, having wings, an eagle's head, and a short tail; -- sometimes represented without wings.

Orang (n.) See Orang-outang.

Orangeman (n.) One of a secret society, organized in the north of Ireland in 1795, the professed objects of which are the defense of the regning sovereign of Great Britain, the support of the Protestant religion, the maintenance of the laws of the kingdom, etc.; -- so called in honor of William, Prince of Orange, who became William III. of England.

Orangeroot (n.) An American ranunculaceous plant (Hidrastis Canadensis), having a yellow tuberous root; -- also called yellowroot, golden seal, etc.

Orangetawny (a. & n.) Deep orange-yellow; dark yellow.

Orangite () An orange-yellow variety of the mineral thorite, found in Norway.

Ovenbird (n.) Any species of the genus Furnarius, allied to the creepers. They inhabit South America and the West Indies, and construct curious oven-shaped nests.

Ovenbird (n.) In the United States, Seiurus aurocapillus; -- called also golden-crowned thrush.

Ovenbird (n.) In England, sometimes applied to the willow warbler, and to the long-tailed titmouse.

Owing (P. p. & a.) Had or experienced as a consequence, result, issue, etc.; ascribable; -- with to; as, misfortunes are often owing to vices; his failure was owing to speculations.

Oxanillamide (n.) A white crystalOxanilic (a.) Pertaining to, or derived from, oxalic acid and aniOxanilide (n.) a white crystalOxindol (n.) A white crystalOxyntic (a.) Acid; producing acid; -applied especially to certain glands and cells in the stomach.

Parnassian (n.) One of a school of French poets of the Second Empire (1852-70) who emphasized metrical form and made the little use of emotion as poetic material; -- so called from the name (Parnasse contemporain) of the volume in which their first poems were collected in 1866.

Parnellite (n.) One of the adherents of Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-91) in his advocacy of home rule for Ireland.

Painim (n.) A pagan; an infidel; -- used also adjectively.

Pains (n.) Labor; toilsome effort; care or trouble taken; -- plural in form, but used with a singular or plural verb, commonly the former.

Pannage (n.) The food of swine in the woods, as beechnuts, acorns, etc.; -- called also pawns.

Paunch (n.) A paunch mat; -- called also panch.

Paunchy (a.) Pot-bellied.

Payndemain (n.) The finest and whitest bread made in the Middle Ages; -- called also paynemain, payman.

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

Peen (n.) The sharp-edged end of the head of a mason's hammer.

Pennated (a.) Winged; plume-shaped.

Pennatula (n.) Any one of numerous species of Pennatula, Pteroides, and allied genera of Alcyonaria, having a featherlike form; a sea-pen. The zooids are situated along one edge of the side branches.

Penny (a.) Denoting pound weight for one thousand; -- used in combination, with respect to nails; as, tenpenny nails, nails of which one thousand weight ten pounds.

Penny (n.) An English coin, formerly of copper, now of bronze, the twelfth part of an English shilling in account value, and equal to four farthings, or about two cents; -- usually indicated by the abbreviation d. (the initial of denarius).

Pennyweight (n.) A troy weight containing twenty-four grains, or the twentieth part of an ounce; as, a pennyweight of gold or of arsenic. It was anciently the weight of a silver penny, whence the name.

Phanerocodonic (a.) Having an umbrella-shaped or bell-shaped body, with a wide, open cavity beneath; -- said of certain jellyfishes.

PhanerocrystalPhanerogamous (a.) Having visible flowers containing distinct stamens and pistils; -- said of plants.

Phaneroglossal (a.) Having a conspicious tongue; -- said of certain reptiles and insects.

Phantascope (n.) An optical instrument or toy, resembling the phenakistoscope, and illustrating the same principle; -- called also phantasmascope.

Phonetic (a.) Representing sounds; as, phonetic characters; -- opposed to ideographic; as, a phonetic notation.

Phonolite (n.) A compact, feldspathic, igneous rock containing nephelite, hauynite, etc. Thin slabs give a ringing sound when struck; -- called also clinkstone.

Pianissimo (a.) Very soft; -- a direction to execute a passage as softly as possible. (Abbrev. pp.)

Piano (a. & adv.) Soft; -- a direction to the performer to execute a certain passage softly, and with diminished volume of tone. (Abbrev. p.)

Pianoforte (a.) A well-known musical instrument somewhat resembling the harpsichord, and consisting of a series of wires of graduated length, thickness, and tension, struck by hammers moved by keys.

Pignut (n.) The bitter-flavored nut of a species of hickory (Carya glabra, / porcina); also, the tree itself.

Pinnace (n.) A man-of-war's boat.

Pinnacle (n.) An architectural member, upright, and generally ending in a small spire, -- used to finish a buttress, to constitute a part in a proportion, as where pinnacles flank a gable or spire, and the like. Pinnacles may be considered primarily as added weight, where it is necessary to resist the thrust of an arch, etc.

Pinnatiped (a.) Having the toes bordered by membranes; fin-footed, as certain birds.

Pinnipedia (n. pl.) A suborder of aquatic carnivorous mammals including the seals and walruses; -- opposed to Fissipedia.

Pinnulate (a.) Having each pinna subdivided; -- said of a leaf, or of its pinnae.

Plane (a.) A tool for smoothing boards or other surfaces of wood, for forming moldings, etc. It consists of a smooth-soled stock, usually of wood, from the under side or face of which projects slightly the steel cutting edge of a chisel, called the iron, which incPlanifolious (a.) Flat-leaved.

Planimetry (n.) The mensuration of plane surfaces; -- distinguished from stereometry, or the mensuration of volumes.

Planipennia (n. pl.) A suborder of Neuroptera, including those that have broad, flat wings, as the ant-lion, lacewing, etc. Called also Planipennes.

Planorbis (n.) Any fresh-water air-breathing mollusk belonging to Planorbis and other allied genera, having shells of a discoidal form.

Planula (n.) The very young, free-swimming larva of the coelenterates. It usually has a flattened oval or oblong form, and is entirely covered with cilia.

Plenum (n.) That state in which every part of space is supposed to be full of matter; -- opposed to vacuum.

Plinth (n.) In classical architecture, a vertically faced member immediately below the circular base of a column; also, the lowest member of a pedestal; hence, in general, the lowest member of a base; a sub-base; a block upon which the moldings of an architrave or trim are stopped at the bottom. See Illust. of Column.

Poenamu (n.) A variety of jade or nephrite, -- used in New Zealand for the manufacture of axes and weapons.

Poinciana (n.) A prickly tropical shrub (Caesalpinia, formerly Poinciana, pulcherrima), with bipinnate leaves, and racemes of showy orange-red flowers with long crimson filaments.

Point (n.) An instrument which pricks or pierces, as a sort of needle used by engravers, etchers, lace workers, and others; also, a pointed cutting tool, as a stone cutter's point; -- called also pointer.

Point (n.) Anything which tapers to a sharp, well-defined termination. Specifically: A small promontory or cape; a tract of land extending into the water beyond the common shore Point (n.) An indefinitely small space; a mere spot indicated or supposed. Specifically: (Geom.) That which has neither parts nor magnitude; that which has position, but has neither length, breadth, nor thickness, -- sometimes conceived of as the limit of a Point (v. i.) To direct the point of something, as of a finger, for the purpose of designating an object, and attracting attention to it; -- with at.

Point (v. i.) To approximate to the surface; to head; -- said of an abscess.

Pounce (n.) Charcoal dust, or some other colored powder for making patterns through perforated designs, -- used by embroiderers, lace makers, etc.

Pounce (v. i.) To fall suddenly and seize with the claws; -- with on or upon; as, a hawk pounces upon a chicken. Also used figuratively.

Poundage (n.) The sum allowed to a sheriff or other officer upon the amount realized by an execution; -- estimated in England, and formerly in the United States, at so much of the pound.

Poundcake (n.) A kind of rich, sweet cake; -- so called from the ingredients being used by pounds, or in equal quantities.

Pounder (n.) A person or thing, so called with reference to a certain number of pounds in value, weight, capacity, etc.; as, a cannon carrying a twelve-pound ball is called a twelve pounder.

Point (n.) A pointed piece of quill or bone covered at one end with vaccine matter; -- called also vaccine point.

Point (n.) One of the raised dots used in certain systems of printing and writing for the blind. The first practical system was that devised by Louis Braille in 1829, and still used in Europe (see Braille). Two modifications of this are current in the United States: New York point founded on three bases of equidistant points arranged in two Point (n.) A spot to which a straight run is made; hence, a straight run from point to point; a cross-country run.

Prank (v. t.) To adorn in a showy manner; to dress or equip ostentatiously; -- often followed by up; as, to prank up the body. See Prink.

Prince (a.) The one of highest rank; one holding the highest place and authority; a sovereign; a monarch; -- originally applied to either sex, but now rarely applied to a female.

Princesse (a.) A term applied to a lady's long, close-fitting dress made with waist and skirt in one.

Principal (n.) A leader, chief, or head; one who takes the lead; one who acts independently, or who has controlling authority or influence; as, the principal of a faction, a school, a firm, etc.; -- distinguished from a subordinate, abettor, auxiliary, or assistant.

Principal (n.) The chief actor in a crime, or an abettor who is present at it, -- as distinguished from an accessory.

Principal (n.) A chief obligor, promisor, or debtor, -- as distinguished from a surety.

Principal (n.) One who employs another to act for him, -- as distinguished from an agent.

Principal (n.) A capital sum of money, placed out at interest, due as a debt or used as a fund; -- so called in distinction from interest or profit.

Principal (n.) The construction which gives shape and strength to a roof, -- generally a truss of timber or iron, but there are roofs with stone principals. Also, loosely, the most important member of a piece of framing.

Principle (n.) Any original inherent constituent which characterizes a substance, or gives it its essential properties, and which can usually be separated by analysis; -- applied especially to drugs, plant extracts, etc.

Prinpriddle (n.) The long-tailed titmouse.

Prone (a.) IncProneness (n.) The state of lying with the face down; -- opposed to supineness.

Proneness (n.) Inclination of mind, heart, or temper; propension; disposition; as, proneness to self-gratification.

Prong (n.) A sharp-pointed instrument.

Pronged (a.) Having prongs or projections like the tines of a fork; as, a three-pronged fork.

Prune (v. i.) To dress; to prink; -used humorously or in contempt.

Prunello (n.) A smooth woolen stuff, generally black, used for making shoes; a kind of lasting; -- formerly used also for clergymen's gowns.

Prunelle (n.) A kind of small and very acid French plum; -- applied especially to the stoned and dried fruit.

Prunus (n.) A genus of trees with perigynous rosaceous flowers, and a single two-ovuled carpel which usually becomes a drupe in ripening.

Pycnidium (n.) In certain fungi, a flask-shaped cavity from the surface of the inner walls of which spores are produced.

Pycnogonida (n. pl.) A class of marine arthropods in which the body is small and thin, and the eight legs usually very long; -- called also Pantopoda.

Quandong (n.) The edible drupaceous fruit of an Australian tree (Fusanus acuminatus) of the Sandalwood family; -- called also quandang.

Quench (v. t.) To extinguish; to overwhelm; to make an end of; -- said of flame and fire, of things burning, and figuratively of sensations and emotions; as, to quench flame; to quench a candle; to quench thirst, love, hate, etc.

Quinaldine (n.) A colorless liquid of a slightly pungent odor, C9H6N.CH3, first obtained as a condensation product of aldehyde and aniQuiname (a.) Growing in sets of five; -- said especially of leaves composed of five leaflets set at the end of a common petiole.

Quinnat (n.) The California salmon (Oncorhynchus choicha); -- called also chouicha, king salmon, chinnook salmon, and Sacramento salmon. It is of great commercial importance.

Quinoidine (n.) A brownish resinous substance obtained as a by-product in the treatment of cinchona bark. It consists of a mixture of several alkaloids.

Quinquedentated (a.) Five-toothed; as, a quinquedentate leaf.

Quinquelobared (a.) Cut less than halfway into portions, usually somewhat rounded; five-lobed; as, a quinquelobate leaf or corolla.

Quinquelocular (a.) Having five cells or loculi; five-celled; as, a quinquelocular pericarp.

Quinquenerved (a.) Having five nerves; -- said of a leaf with five nearly equal nerves or ribs rising from the end of the petiole.

Quinsy (n.) An inflammation of the throat, or parts adjacent, especially of the fauces or tonsils, attended by considerable swelling, painful and impeded deglutition, and accompanied by inflammatory fever. It sometimes creates danger of suffocation; -- called also squinancy, and squinzey.

Quintain (n.) An object to be tilted at; -- called also quintel.

Quintette (n.) A composition for five voices or instruments; also, the set of five persons who sing or play five-part music.

Ragnarok (n.) The so-called "Twilight of the Gods" (called in German Gotterdammerung), the final destruction of the world in the great conflict between the Aesir (gods) on the one hand, and on the other, the gaints and the powers of Hel under the leadership of Loki (who is escaped from bondage).

Rain (n.) To fall in drops from the clouds, as water; -- used mostly with it for a nominative; as, it rains.

Reentry (n.) A resuming or retaking possession of what one has lately foregone; -- applied especially to land; the entry by a lessor upon the premises leased, on failure of the tenant to pay rent or perform the covenants in the lease.

Reins (n. pl.) The inward impulses; the affections and passions; -- so called because formerly supposed to have their seat in the part of the body where the kidneys are.

Renne (v. t.) To plunder; -- only in the phrase "to rape and renne." See under Rap, v. t., to snatch.

Rennin (n.) A milk-clotting enzyme obtained from the true stomach (abomasum) of a suckling calf. Mol. wt. about 31,000. Also called chymosin, rennase, and abomasal enzyme.

Rhinolophid (n.) Any species of the genus Rhinilophus, or family Rhinolophidae, having a horseshoe-shaped nasal crest; a horseshoe bat.

Rhinophore (n.) One of the two tentacle-like organs on the back of the head or neck of a nudibranch or tectibranch mollusk. They are usually retractile, and often transversely furrowed or plicate, and are regarded as olfactory organs. Called also dorsal tentacles. See Illust. under Pygobranchia, and Opisthobranchia.

Rhinopome (n.) Any old-world bat of the genus Rhinopoma. The rhinopomes have a long tail extending beyond the web, and inhabit caves and tombs.

Roan (a.) Having a bay, chestnut, brown, or black color, with gray or white thickly interspersed; -- said of a horse.

Rounce (n.) The handle by which the bed of a hand press, holding the form of type, etc., is run in under the platen and out again; -- sometimes applied to the whole apparatus by which the form is moved under the platen.

Rounceval (a.) Large; strong; -- from the gigantic bones shown at Roncesvalles, and alleged to be those of old heroes.

Round (a.) Full; complete; not broken; not fractional; approximately in even units, tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.; -- said of numbers.

Round (a.) Full and smoothly expanded; not defective or abrupt; finished; polished; -- said of style, or of authors with reference to their style.

Round (a.) Complete and consistent; fair; just; -- applied to conduct.

Round (n.) A walk performed by a guard or an officer round the rampart of a garrison, or among sentinels, to see that the sentinels are faithful and all things safe; also, the guard or officer, with his attendants, who performs this duty; -- usually in the plural.

Round (adv.) From one side or party to another; as to come or turn round, -- that is, to change sides or opinions.

Roundabout (n.) A horizontal wheel or frame, commonly with wooden horses, etc., on which children ride; a merry-go-round.

Roundhouse (n.) A constable's prison; a lockup, watch-house, or station house.

Roundhouse (n.) A cabin or apartament on the after part of the quarter-deck, having the poop for its roof; -- sometimes called the coach.

Rounding (n.) Small rope, or strands of rope, or spun yarn, wound round a rope to keep it from chafing; -- called also service.

Roundtop (n.) A top; a platform at a masthead; -- so called because formerly round in shape.

Runner (n.) A food fish (Elagatis pinnulatus) of Florida and the West Indies; -- called also skipjack, shoemaker, and yellowtail. The name alludes to its rapid successive leaps from the water.

Running (a.) Successive; one following the other without break or intervention; -- said of periods of time; as, to be away two days running; to sow land two years running.

Sainted (a.) Entered into heaven; -- a euphemism for dead.

Saintish (a.) Somewhat saintlike; -- used ironically.

Sannup (n.) A male Indian; a brave; -- correlative of squaw.

Santalic (a.) Of, pertaining to, or obtained from, sandalwood (Santalum); -- used specifically to designate an acid obtained as a resinous or red crystalSarn (n.) A pavement or stepping-stone.

Shank (v.) A wading bird with long legs; as, the green-legged shank, or knot; the yellow shank, or tattler; -- called also shanks.

Shank (v.) Flat-nosed pliers, used by opticians for nipping off the edges of pieces of glass to make them round.

Shank (v. i.) To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; -- usually followed by off.

Shanny (n.) The European smooth blenny (Blennius pholis). It is olive-green with irregular black spots, and without appendages on the head.

Shin (v. i.) To climb a mast, tree, rope, or the like, by embracing it alternately with the arms and legs, without help of steps, spurs, or the like; -- used with up; as, to shin up a mast.

Shingle (n.) Round, water-worn, and loose gravel and pebbles, or a collection of roundish stones, such as are common on the seashore and elsewhere.

Shingle (n.) A piece of wood sawed or rived thin and small, with one end thinner than the other, -- used in covering buildings, especially roofs, the thick ends of one row overlapping the thin ends of the row below.

Shining (a.) Having the surface smooth and polished; -- said of leaves, the surfaces of shells, etc.

Shinney (n.) The game of hockey; -- so called because of the liability of the players to receive blows on the shin.

Sign (n.) A character indicating the relation of quantities, or an operation performed upon them; as, the sign + (plus); the sign -- (minus); the sign of division ?, and the like.

Sign (n.) That which, being external, stands for, or signifies, something internal or spiritual; -- a term used in the Church of England in speaking of an ordinance considered with reference to that which it represents.

Sign (n.) To assign or convey formally; -- used with away.

Signet (n.) A seal; especially, in England, the seal used by the sovereign in sealing private letters and grants that pass by bill under the sign manual; -- called also privy signet.

Signore (n.) Sir; Mr.; -- a title of address or respect among the Italians. Before a noun the form is Signor.

Signora (n.) Madam; Mrs; -- a title of address or respect among the Italians.

Signorina (n.) Miss; -- a title of address among the Italians.

Simnel (n.) A kind of rich plum cake, eaten especially on Mid-Lent Sunday.

Slender (superl.) Uttered with a thin tone; -- the opposite of broad; as, the slender vowels long e and i.

Sling (v. t.) A band of rope or iron for securing a yard to a mast; -- chiefly in the plural.

Slink (a.) To miscarry; -- said of female beasts.

Slink (v. t.) To cast prematurely; -- said of female beasts; as, a cow that slinks her calf.

Spinifex (n.) Any of several Australian grasses of the genus Tricuspis, which often form dense, almost impassable growth, their leaves being stiff and sharp-pointed.

Sminthurid (n.) Any one of numerous small species of springtails, of the family Sminthuridae, -- usually found on flowers. See Illust. under Collembola.

Sonnet (n.) A poem of fourteen Sonneteer (n.) A composer of sonnets, or small poems; a small poet; -- usually in contempt.

Soon (adv.) Readily; willingly; -- in this sense used with would, or some other word expressing will.

Sound (superl.) Healthy; not diseased; not being in a morbid state; -- said of body or mind; as, a sound body; a sound constitution; a sound understanding.

Sound (superl.) Free from error; correct; right; honest; true; faithful; orthodox; -- said of persons; as, a sound lawyer; a sound thinker.

Spanker (n.) The after sail of a ship or bark, being a fore-and-aft sail attached to a boom and gaff; -- sometimes called driver. See Illust. under Sail.

Spencer (n.) A fore-and-aft sail, abaft the foremast or the mainmast, hoisted upon a small supplementary mast and set with a gaff and no boom; a trysail carried at the foremast or mainmast; -- named after its inventor, Knight Spencer, of England [1802].

Spend (v. t.) To bestow; to employ; -- often with on or upon.

Spenserian (a.) Of or pertaining to the English poet Spenser; -- specifically applied to the stanza used in his poem "The Faerie Queene."

Spent (a.) Exhausted of spawn or sperm; -- said especially of fishes.

Spin (v. t.) To draw out tediously; to form by a slow process, or by degrees; to extend to a great length; -- with out; as, to spin out large volumes on a subject.

Spin (v. t.) To form (a web, a cocoon, silk, or the like) from threads produced by the extrusion of a viscid, transparent liquid, which hardens on coming into contact with the air; -- said of the spider, the silkworm, etc.

Spindle (n.) Any marine univalve shell of the genus Rostellaria; -- called also spindle stromb.

Spindleshanks (n.) A person with slender shanks, or legs; -- used humorously or in contempt.

Spine (n.) The backbone, or spinal column, of an animal; -- so called from the projecting processes upon the vertebrae.

Spinigerous (a.) Bearing a spine or spines; thorn-bearing.

Spinnaker (n.) A large triangular sail set upon a boom, -- used when running before the wind.

Spinner (n.) A goatsucker; -- so called from the peculiar noise it makes when darting through the air.

Spinozism (n.) The form of Pantheism taught by Benedict Spinoza, that there is but one substance, or infinite essence, in the universe, of which the so-called material and spiritual beings and phenomena are only modes, and that one this one substance is God.

Spinster (n.) An unmarried or single woman; -- used in legal proceedings as a title, or addition to the surname.

Spinster (n.) A woman of evil life and character; -- so called from being forced to spin in a house of correction.

Sponger (n.) Fig.: A parasitical dependent; a hanger-on.

Spongiae (n. pl.) The grand division of the animal kingdom which includes the sponges; -- called also Spongida, Spongiaria, Spongiozoa, and Porifera.

Spongiole (n.) A supposed spongelike expansion of the tip of a rootlet for absorbing water; -- called also spongelet.

Spontoon (n.) A kind of half-pike, or halberd, formerly borne by inferior officers of the British infantry, and used in giving signals to the soldiers.

Stand (n.) To be supported on the feet, in an erect or nearly erect position; -- opposed to lie, sit, kneel, etc.

Stand (v. i.) A weight of from two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds, -- used in weighing pitch.

Standergrass (n.) A plant (Orchis mascula); -- called also standerwort, and long purple. See Long purple, under Long.

Standing (a.) Not movable; fixed; as, a standing bed (distinguished from a trundle-bed).

Stanhope (n.) A light two-wheeled, or sometimes four-wheeled, carriage, without a top; -- so called from Lord Stanhope, for whom it was contrived.

Stanielry (n.) Hawking with staniels, -- a base kind of falconry.

Stannel (n.) The kestrel; -- called also standgale, standgall, stanchel, stand hawk, stannel hawk, steingale, stonegall.

Stannite (n.) A mineral of a steel-gray or iron-black color; tin pyrites. It is a sulphide of tin, copper, and iron.

Stenodermine (a.) Of or pertaining to the genus Stenoderma, which includes several West Indian and South American nose-leaf bats.

Stenostome (a.) Having a small or narrow mouth; -- said of certain small ground snakes (Opoterodonta), which are unable to dilate their jaws.

Stentor (n.) Any species of ciliated Infusoria belonging to the genus Stentor and allied genera, common in fresh water. The stentors have a bell-shaped, or cornucopia-like, body with a circle of cilia around the spiral terminal disk. See Illust. under Heterotricha.

Sting (v. t.) A sharp-pointed hollow hair seated on a gland which secrets an acrid fluid, as in nettles. The points of these hairs usually break off in the wound, and the acrid fluid is pressed into it.

Stinkball (n.) A composition of substances which in combustion emit a suffocating odor; -- used formerly in naval warfare.

Stinkpot (n.) An earthen jar charged with powder, grenades, and other materials of an offensive and suffocating smell, -- sometimes used in boarding an enemy's vessel.

Stinkstone (n.) One of the varieties of calcite, barite, and feldspar, which emit a fetid odor on being struck; -- called also swinestone.

Stint (v. t.) To serve successfully; to get with foal; -- said of mares.

Stone (n.) Something made of stone. Specifically: -

Stone (n.) A stand or table with a smooth, flat top of stone, commonly marble, on which to arrange the pages of a book, newspaper, etc., before printing; -- called also imposing stone.

Stonebird (n.) The yellowlegs; -- called also stone snipe. See Tattler, 2.

Stonebrash (n.) A subsoil made up of small stones or finely-broken rock; brash.

Stonechat (n.) A small, active, and very common European singing bird (Pratincola rubicola); -- called also chickstone, stonechacker, stonechatter, stoneclink, stonesmith.

Stonehenge (n.) An assemblage of upright stones with others placed horizontally on their tops, on Salisbury Plain, England, -- generally supposed to be the remains of an ancient Druidical temple.

Stonewort (n.) Any plant of the genus Chara; -- so called because they are often incrusted with carbonate of lime. See Chara.

Swing (v. t.) To admit or turn (anything) for the purpose of shaping it; -- said of a lathe; as, the lathe can swing a pulley of 12 inches diameter.

Swingle (v. t.) To beat off the tops of without pulling up the roots; -- said of weeds.

Swingle (n.) A wooden instrument like a large knife, about two feet long, with one thin edge, used for beating and cleaning flax; a scutcher; -- called also swingling knife, swingling staff, and swingling wand.

Taenia (n.) A band; a structural Taenioglossa (n. pl.) An extensive division of gastropod mollusks in which the odontophore is long and narrow, and usually bears seven rows of teeth. It includes a large number of families both marine and fresh-water.

Tagnicate (n.) The white-lipped peccary.

Tenno (n.) Lit., King of Heaven; -- a title of the emperor of Japan as the head of the Shinto religion.

Tennysonian (a.) Of or pertaining to Alfred (Lord) Tennyson, the English poet (1809-92); resembling, or having some of the characteristics of, his poetry, as simplicity, pictorial quality, sensuousness, etc.

Teens (n. pl.) The years of one's age having the termination -teen, beginning with thirteen and ending with nineteen; as, a girl in her teens.

Teinoscope (n.) An instrument formed by combining prisms so as to correct the chromatic aberration of the light while Tennantite (n.) A blackish lead-gray mineral, closely related to tetrahedrite. It is essentially a sulphide of arsenic and copper.

Tern (n.) Any one of numerous species of long-winged aquatic birds, allied to the gulls, and belonging to Sterna and various allied genera.

Terneplate (a.) Thin iron sheets coated with an alloy of lead and tin; -- so called because made up of three metals.

Thane (n.) A dignitary under the Anglo-Saxons and Danes in England. Of these there were two orders, the king's thanes, who attended the kings in their courts and held lands immediately of them, and the ordinary thanes, who were lords of manors and who had particular jurisdiction within their limits. After the Conquest, this title was disused, and baron took its place.

Thank (n.) A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural.

Thank (n.) To express gratitude to (anyone) for a favor; to make acknowledgments to (anyone) for kindness bestowed; -- used also ironically for blame.

Thenadays (adv.) At that time; then; in those days; -- correlative to nowadays.

Thin (superl.) Rare; not dense or thick; -- applied to fluids or soft mixtures; as, thin blood; thin broth; thin air.

Thin (v. i.) To grow or become thin; -- used with some adverbs, as out, away, etc.; as, geological strata thin out, i. e., gradually diminish in thickness until they disappear.

Thing (n.) A diminutive or slighted object; any object viewed as merely existing; -- often used in pity or contempt.

Thing (n.) Whatever may be possessed or owned; a property; -- distinguished from person.

Think (v. t.) To seem or appear; -- used chiefly in the expressions methinketh or methinks, and methought.

Think (v. t.) To form an opinion by reasoning; to judge; to conclude; to believe; as, I think it will rain to-morrow.

Thunder (n.) To produce thunder; to sound, rattle, or roar, as a discharge of atmospheric electricity; -- often used impersonally; as, it thundered continuously.

Thunderbird (n.) An Australian insectivorous singing bird (Pachycephala gutturalis). The male is conspicuously marked with black and yellow, and has a black crescent on the breast. Called also white-throated thickhead, orange-breasted thrust, black-crowned thrush, guttural thrush, and black-breasted flycatcher.

Thunderer (n.) One who thunders; -- used especially as a translation of L. tonans, an epithet applied by the Romans to several of their gods, esp. to Jupiter.

Thunderhead (n.) A rounded mass of cloud, with shining white edges; a cumulus, -- often appearing before a thunderstorm.

Thundering (a.) Very great; -- often adverbially.

Thunderstone (n.) A thunderbolt, -- formerly believed to be a stone.

Thunderstrike (v. t.) To astonish, or strike dumb, as with something terrible; -- rarely used except in the past participle.

Thunderworm (n.) A small, footless, burrowing, snakelike lizard (Rhineura Floridana) allied to Amphisbaena, native of Florida; -- so called because it leaves its burrows after a thundershower.

Tinnitus (n.) A ringing, whistling, or other imaginary noise perceived in the ears; -- called also tinnitus aurium.

Tonnihood (n.) The female of the bullfinch; -- called also tonyhoop.

Town (adv. & prep.) The court end of London;-- commonly with the.

Tonneau (n.) In France, a light-wheeled vehicle with square or rounded body and rear entrance.

Transalpine (a.) Being on the farther side of the Alps in regard to Rome, that is, on the north or west side of the Alps; of or pertaining to the region or the people beyond the Alps; as, transalpine Gaul; -- opposed to cisalpine.

Transcendent (a.) Transcending, or reaching beyond, the limits of human knowledge; -- applied to affirmations and speculations concerning what lies beyond the reach of the human intellect.

Transcribbler (n.) A transcriber; -- used in contempt.

Transcription (n.) An arrangement of a composition for some other instrument or voice than that for which it was originally written, as the translating of a song, a vocal or instrumental quartet, or even an orchestral work, into a piece for the piano; an adaptation; an arrangement; -- a name applied by modern composers for the piano to a more or less fanciful and ornate reproduction on their own instrument of a song or other piece not originally intended for it; as, Liszt's transcriptions of s> Transfluent (a.) Passing or flowing through a bridge; -- said of water.

Transformism (n.) The hypothesis, or doctrine, that living beings have originated by the modification of some other previously existing forms of living matter; -- opposed to abiogenesis.

Transgressive (a.) Disposed or tending to transgress; faulty; culpable. -

Transit (n.) An instrument resembling a theodolite, used by surveyors and engineers; -- called also transit compass, and surveyor's transit.

Translation (n.) Motion in which all the points of the moving body have at any instant the same velocity and direction of motion; -- opposed to rotation.

Translunary (a.) Being or lying beyond the moon; hence, ethereal; -- opposed to sublunary.

Transmitter (n.) One who, or that which, transmits; specifically, that portion of a telegraphic or telephonic instrument by means of which a message is sent; -- opposed to receiver.

Transom (n.) One of the principal transverse timbers of the stern, bolted to the sternpost and giving shape to the stern structure; -- called also transsummer.

Transom (n.) The vane of a cross-staff.

Transpadane (a.) Lying or being on the further side of the river Po with reference to Rome, that is, on the north side; -- opposed to cispadane.

Transpalatine (a.) Situated beyond or outside the palatine bone; -- said of a bone in the skull of some reptiles.

Transparent (a.) Having the property of transmitting rays of light, so that bodies can be distinctly seen through; pervious to light; diaphanous; pellucid; as, transparent glass; a transparent diamond; -- opposed to opaque.

Transport (v.) A vessel employed for transporting, especially for carrying soldiers, warlike stores, or provisions, from one place to another, or to convey convicts to their destination; -- called also transport ship, transport vessel.

Transpose (v. t.) To bring, as any term of an equation, from one side over to the other, without destroying the equation; thus, if a + b = c, and we make a = c - b, then b is said to be transposed.

Transubstantiation (n.) The doctrine held by Roman Catholics, that the bread and wine in the Mass is converted into the body and blood of Christ; -- distinguished from consubstantiation, and impanation.

Transverse (a.) Lying or being across, or in a crosswise direction; athwart; -- often opposed to longitudinal.

Trinervate (a.) Having three ribs or nerves extending unbranched from the base to the apex; -- said of a leaf.

Trinitrocellulose (n.) Gun cotton; -- so called because regarded as containing three nitro groups.

Trinket (n.) A three-cornered sail formerly carried on a ship's foremast, probably on a lateen yard.

Trinomial (n.) A quantity consisting of three terms, connected by the sign + or -; as, x + y + z, or ax + 2b - c2.

Trona (n.) A native double salt, consisting of a combination of neutral and acid sodium carbonate, Na2CO3.2HNaCO3.2H2O, occurring as a white crystalTruncated (a.) Lacking the apex; -- said of certain spiral shells in which the apex naturally drops off.

Trundle (v. i.) A lind of low-wheeled cart; a truck.

Trundletail (n.) A round or curled-up tail; also, a dog with such a tail.

Tunnel (n. .) A level passage driven across the measures, or at right angles to veins which it is desired to reach; -- distinguished from the drift, or gangway, which is led along the vein when reached by the tunnel.

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

Turn (v. i.) To become acid; to sour; -- said of milk, ale, etc.

Turn (v. i.) To become giddy; -- said of the head or brain.

Turn (v. i.) To be nauseated; -- said of the stomach.

Turn (v. i.) To become incTurn (v. i.) To change from ebb to flow, or from flow to ebb; -- said of the tide.

Turn (n.) Form; cast; shape; manner; fashion; -- used in a literal or figurative sense; hence, form of expression; mode of signifying; as, the turn of thought; a man of a sprightly turn in conversation.

Turn (n.) A fall off the ladder at the gallows; a hanging; -- so called from the practice of causing the criminal to stand on a ladder which was turned over, so throwing him off, when the signal was given.

Turnkey (n.) An instrument with a hinged claw, -- used for extracting teeth with a twist.

Turnpike (n.) A beam filled with spikes to obstruct passage; a cheval-de-frise.

Turnsole (a.) A plant of the genus Heliotropium; heliotrope; -- so named because its flowers are supposed to turn toward the sun.

Turntable (n.) A large revolving platform, for turning railroad cars, locomotives, etc., in a different direction; -- called also turnplate.

Turnus (n.) A common, large, handsome, American swallowtail butterfly, now regarded as one of the forms of Papilio, / Jasoniades, glaucus. The wings are yellow, margined and barred with black, and with an orange-red spot near the posterior angle of the hind wings. Called also tiger swallowtail. See Illust. under Swallowtail.

Twentieth (a.) Next in order after the nineteenth; tenth after the tenth; coming after nineteen others; -- the ordinal of twenty.

Twin (a.) Being one of a pair much resembling one another; standing the relation of a twin to something else; -- often followed by to or with.

Twin (n.) One of two produced at a birth, especially by an animal that ordinarily brings forth but one at a birth; -- used chiefly in the plural, and applied to the young of beasts as well as to human young.

Upon (prep.) On; -- used in all the senses of that word, with which it is interchangeable.

Uranin (n.) An alkaUranium (n.) An element of the chromium group, found in certain rare minerals, as pitchblende, uranite, etc., and reduced as a heavy, hard, nickel-white metal which is quite permanent. Its yellow oxide is used to impart to glass a delicate greenish-yellow tint which is accompanied by a strong fluorescence, and its black oxide is used as a pigment in porcelain painting. Symbol U. Atomic weight 239.

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

Vein (n.) A narrow mass of rock intersecting other rocks, and filling incVeinstone (n.) The nonmetalliferous mineral or rock material which accompanies the ores in a vein, as quartz, calcite, barite, fluor spar, etc.; -- called also veinstuff.

Vernacular (a.) Belonging to the country of one's birth; one's own by birth or nature; native; indigenous; -- now used chiefly of language; as, English is our vernacular language.

Viand (n.) An article of food; provisions; food; victuals; -- used chiefly in the plural.

Wain (n.) A four-wheeled vehicle for the transportation of goods, produce, etc.; a wagon.

When (adv.) At what time; -- used interrogatively.

When (adv.) At what time; at, during, or after the time that; at or just after, the moment that; -- used relatively.

When (adv.) While; whereas; although; -- used in the manner of a conjunction to introduce a dependent adverbial sentence or clause, having a causal, conditional, or adversative relation to the principal proposition; as, he chose to turn highwayman when he might have continued an honest man; he removed the tree when it was the best in the grounds.

When (adv.) Which time; then; -- used elliptically as a noun.

Whence (adv.) From what place; hence, from what or which source, origin, antecedent, premise, or the like; how; -- used interrogatively.

Whence (adv.) From what or which place, source, material, cause, etc.; the place, source, etc., from which; -- used relatively.

Whin (n.) Woad-waxed.

Whinberry (n.) The English bilberry; -- so called because it grows on moors among the whins, or furze.

Whinchat (n.) A small warbler (Pratincola rubetra) common in Europe; -- called also whinchacker, whincheck, whin-clocharet.

Whinstone (n.) A provincial name given in England to basaltic rocks, and applied by miners to other kind of dark-colored unstratified rocks which resist the point of the pick. -- for example, to masses of chert. Whin-dikes, and whin-sills, are names sometimes given to veins or beds of basalt.

Whang (n.) Formerly, a house-cleaning party.

Winning (n.) The money, etc., gained by success in competition or contest, esp, in gambling; -- usually in the plural.

Winninish (n.) The land-locked variety of the common salmon.

Wring (v. t.) To extract or obtain by twisting and compressing; to squeeze or press (out); hence, to extort; to draw forth by violence, or against resistance or repugnance; -- usually with out or form.

Wringbolt (n.) A bolt used by shipwrights, to bend and secure the planks against the timbers till they are fastened by bolts, spikes, or treenails; -- not to be confounded with ringbolt.

Wrong (a.) Nonconformity or disobedience to lawful authority, divine or human; deviation from duty; -- the opposite of moral right.

Young (superl.) Not long born; still in the first part of life; not yet arrived at adolescence, maturity, or age; not old; juvenile; -- said of animals; as, a young child; a young man; a young fawn.

Zinnia (n.) Any plant of the composite genus Zinnia, Mexican herbs with opposite leaves and large gay-colored blossoms. Zinnia elegans is the commonest species in cultivation.

Zoon (n.) An animal which is the sole product of a single egg; -- opposed to zooid.

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.