Words whose 4th letter is S

Abash (v. t.) To destroy the self-possession of; to confuse or confound, as by exciting suddenly a consciousness of guilt, mistake, or inferiority; to put to shame; to disconcert; to discomfit.

Agist (v. t.) To take to graze or pasture, at a certain sum; -- used originally of the feeding of cattle in the king's forests, and collecting the money for the same.

Agistor (n.) Formerly, an officer of the king's forest, who had the care of cattle agisted, and collected the money for the same; -- hence called gisttaker, which in England is corrupted into guest-taker.

Alas (interj.) An exclamation expressive of sorrow, pity, or apprehension of evil; -- in old writers, sometimes followed by day or white; alas the day, like alack a day, or alas the white.

Alisanders (n.) A name given to two species of the genus Smyrnium, formerly cultivated and used as celery now is; -- called also horse parsely.

Alose (n.) The European shad (Clupea alosa); -- called also allice shad or allis shad. The name is sometimes applied to the American shad (Clupea sapidissima). See Shad.

Alyssum (n.) A genus of cruciferous plants; madwort. The sweet alyssum (A. maritimum), cultivated for bouquets, bears small, white, sweet-scented flowers.

Anaseismic (a.) Moving up and down; -- said of earthquake shocks.

Anastigmatic (a.) Not astigmatic; -- said esp. of a lens system which consists of a converging lens and a diverging lens of equal and opposite astigmatism but different focal lengths, and sensibly free from astigmatism.

Anisospore (n.) A sexual spore in which the sexes differ in size; -- opposed to isospore.

Anas (n.) A genus of water fowls, of the order Anseres, including certain species of fresh-water ducks.

Anastate (n.) One of a series of substances formed, in secreting cells, by constructive or anabolic processes, in the production of protoplasm; -- opposed to katastate.

Anisometric (a.) Not isometric; having unsymmetrical parts; -- said of crystals with three unequal axes.

Aristotype (n.) Orig., a printing-out process using paper coated with silver chloride in gelatin; now, any such process using silver salts in either collodion or gelatin; also, a print so made.

Aposiopesis (n.) A figure of speech in which the speaker breaks off suddenly, as if unwilling or unable to state what was in his mind; as, "I declare to you that his conduct -- but I can not speak of that, here."

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

Aristotelian (a.) Of or pertaining to Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher (384-322 b. c.).

Avestan (n.) The language of the Avesta; -- less properly called Zend.

Avesta (n.) The Zoroastrian scriptures. See Zend-Avesta.

Awash (a.) Washed by the waves or tide; -- said of a rock or strip of shore, or (Naut.) of an anchor, etc., when flush with the surface of the water, so that the waves break over it.

Banstickle (n.) A small fish, the three-spined stickleback.

Bass (n.) An edible, spiny-finned fish, esp. of the genera Roccus, Labrax, and related genera. There are many species.

Bass (n.) The two American fresh-water species of black bass (genus Micropterus). See Black bass.

Beast (n.) Any living creature; an animal; -- including man, insects, etc.

Beast (n.) Any four-footed animal, that may be used for labor, food, or sport; as, a beast of burden.

Berseem (n.) An Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum) extensively cultivated as a forage plant and soil-renewing crop in the alkaBias (n.) A wedge-shaped piece of cloth taken out of a garment (as the waist of a dress) to diminish its circumference.

Blast (v. t.) To injure, as by a noxious wind; to cause to wither; to stop or check the growth of, and prevent from fruit-bearing, by some pernicious influence; to blight; to shrivel.

Bless (v. t.) To express a wish or prayer for the happiness of; to invoke a blessing upon; -- applied to persons.

Bless (v. t.) To invoke or confer beneficial attributes or qualities upon; to invoke or confer a blessing on, -- as on food.

Blissom (a.) Lascivious; also, in heat; -- said of ewes.

Blossom (n.) The color of a horse that has white hairs intermixed with sorrel and bay hairs; -- otherwise called peach color.

Boast (v. t.) To display in ostentatious language; to speak of with pride, vanity, or exultation, with a view to self-commendation; to extol.

Boast (n.) The cause of boasting; occasion of pride or exultation, -- sometimes of laudable pride or exultation.

Boaster (n.) A stone mason's broad-faced chisel.

Boastful (a.) Given to, or full of, boasting; incBobstay (n.) A rope or chain to confine the bowsprit of a ship downward to the stem or cutwater; -- usually in the pl.

Bogsucker (n.) The American woodcock; -- so called from its feeding among the bogs.

Bolster (n.) A long pillow or cushion, used to support the head of a person lying on a bed; -- generally laid under the pillows.

Bolster (v. t.) To support, hold up, or maintain with difficulty or unusual effort; -- often with up.

Bossy (n.) A cow or calf; -- familiarly so called.

Booster (n.) An instrument for regulating the electro-motive force in an alternating-current circuit; -- so called because used to "boost", or raise, the pressure in the circuit.

Brassage (n.) A sum formerly levied to pay the expense of coinage; -- now called seigniorage.

Brassart (n.) Armor for the arm; -- generally used for the whole arm from the shoulder to the wrist, and consisting, in the 15th and 16th centuries, of many parts.

Brisk (v. t. & i.) To make or become lively; to enliven; to animate; to take, or cause to take, an erect or bold attitude; -- usually with up.

Bristle (v. t.) To erect the bristles of; to cause to stand up, as the bristles of an angry hog; -- sometimes with up.

Brush (n.) To remove or gather by brushing, or by an act like that of brushing, or by passing lightly over, as wind; -- commonly with off.

Burst (v. i.) To exert force or pressure by which something is made suddenly to give way; to break through obstacles or limitations; hence, to appear suddenly and unexpectedly or unaccountably, or to depart in such manner; -- usually with some qualifying adverb or preposition, as forth, out, away, into, upon, through, etc.

Buss (n.) A small strong vessel with two masts and two cabins; -- used in the herring fishery.

Byssolite (n.) An olive-green fibrous variety of hornblende.

Caesium (n.) A rare alkaCaisson (n.) A four-wheeled carriage for conveying ammunition, consisting of two parts, a body and a limber. In light field batteries there is one caisson to each piece, having two ammunition boxes on the body, and one on the limber.

Caisson (n.) A water-tight box, of timber or iron within which work is carried on in building foundations or structures below the water level.

Capstone (n.) A fossil echinus of the genus Cannulus; -- so called from its supposed resemblance to a cap.

Cassava (n.) A shrubby euphorbiaceous plant of the genus Manihot, with fleshy rootstocks yielding an edible starch; -- called also manioc.

Cassideous (a.) Helmet-shaped; -- applied to a corolla having a broad, helmet-shaped upper petal, as in aconite.

Cassino (n.) A game at cards, played by two or more persons, usually for twenty-one points.

Cassiopeia (n.) A constellation of the northern hemisphere, situated between Cepheus and Perseus; -- so called in honor of the wife of Cepheus, a fabulous king of Ethiopia.

Cause (n.) To effect as an agent; to produce; to be the occasion of; to bring about; to bring into existence; to make; -- usually followed by an infinitive, sometimes by that with a finite verb.

Causeless (a.) 1. Self-originating; uncreated.

Causeuse (n.) A kind of sofa for two persons. A tete-/-tete.

Cense (n.) A census; -- also, a public rate or tax.

Censor (n.) One who is empowered to examine manuscripts before they are committed to the press, and to forbid their publication if they contain anything obnoxious; -- an official in some European countries.

Censor (n.) One given to fault-finding; a censurer.

Census (n.) A numbering of the people, and valuation of their estate, for the purpose of imposing taxes, etc.; -- usually made once in five years.

Chasse (n.) A small potion of spirituous liquor taken to remove the taste of coffee, tobacco, or the like; -- originally chasse-cafe, lit., "coffee chaser."

Chasse (n.) A small potion of spirituous liquor taken to remove the taste of coffee, tobacco, or the like; -- originally chasse-cafe, lit., "coffee chaser."

Chase (v. t.) To follow as if to catch; to pursue; to compel to move on; to drive by following; to cause to fly; -- often with away or off; as, to chase the hens away.

Chase (n.) A kind of joint by which an overlap joint is changed to a flush joint, by means of a gradually deepening rabbet, as at the ends of clinker-built boats.

Chassepot (n.) A kind of breechloading, center-fire rifle, or improved needle gun.

Chess (n.) A species of brome grass (Bromus secalinus) which is a troublesome weed in wheat fields, and is often erroneously regarded as degenerate or changed wheat; it bears a very slight resemblance to oats, and if reaped and ground up with wheat, so as to be used for food, is said to produce narcotic effects; -- called also cheat and Willard's bromus.

Chested (a.) Having (such) a chest; -- in composition; as, broad-chested; narrow-chested.

Chestnut (n.) The tree itself, or its light, coarse-grained timber, used for ornamental work, furniture, etc.

Chisel (n.) A tool with a cutting edge on one end of a metal blade, used in dressing, shaping, or working in timber, stone, metal, etc.; -- usually driven by a mallet or hammer.

Chisley (a.) Having a large admixture of small pebbles or gravel; -- said of a soil.

Classic (n.) A work of acknowledged excellence and authority, or its author; -- originally used of Greek and Latin works or authors, but now applied to authors and works of a like character in any language.

Close (n.) To bring together the parts of; to consolidate; as, to close the ranks of an army; -- often used with up.

Close (v. i.) To grapple; to engage in hand-to-hand fight.

Close (v. t.) An inclosed place; especially, a small field or piece of land surrounded by a wall, hedge, or fence of any kind; -- specifically, the precinct of a cathedral or abbey.

Close (v. t.) Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude; -- said of the air, weather, etc.

Close (v. t.) Adjoining; near; either in space; time, or thought; -- often followed by to.

Close (v. t.) Uttered with a relatively contracted opening of the mouth, as certain sounds of e and o in French, Italian, and German; -- opposed to open.

Closehauled (a.) Under way and moving as nearly as possible toward the direction from which the wind blows; -- said of a sailing vessel.

Closereefed (a.) Having all the reefs taken in; -- said of a sail.

Consol (n.) A consolidated annuity (see Consols); -- chiefly in combination or attributively.

Conscientious (a.) Influenced by conscience; governed by a strict regard to the dictates of conscience, or by the known or supposed rules of right and wrong; -- said of a person.

Conscientious (a.) Characterized by a regard to conscience; conformed to the dictates of conscience; -- said of actions.

Consecutive (a.) Having similarity of sequence; -- said of certain parallel progressions of two parts in a piece of harmony; as, consecutive fifths, or consecutive octaves, which are forbidden.

Consequential (a.) Assuming or exhibiting an air of consequence; pretending to importance; pompous; self-important; as, a consequential man. See Consequence, n., 4.

Conservative (a.) Of or pertaining to a political party which favors the conservation of existing institutions and forms of government, as the Conservative party in England; -- contradistinguished from Liberal and Radical.

Conservative (n.) One who desires to maintain existing institutions and customs; also, one who holds moderate opinions in politics; -- opposed to revolutionary or radical.

Considerable (a.) Of some distinction; noteworthy; influential; respectable; -- said of persons.

Consideration (n.) Attentive respect; appreciative regard; -- used especially in diplomatic or stately correspondence.

Consignee (n.) The person to whom goods or other things are consigned; a factor; -- correlative to consignor.

Consignor (n.) One who consigns something to another; -- opposed to consignee.

Consist (v. i.) To be composed or made up; -- followed by of.

Consist (v. i.) To have as its substance or character, or as its foundation; to be; -- followed by in.

Consist (v. i.) To be consistent or harmonious; to be in accordance; -- formerly used absolutely, now followed by with.

Consist (v. i.) To insist; -- followed by on.

Consistorian (a.) Pertaining to a Presbyterian consistory; -- a contemptuous term of 17th century controversy.

Consonant (a.) Having agreement; congruous; consistent; according; -- usually followed by with or to.

Consort (v. i.) To unite or to keep company; to associate; -- used with with.

Constant (v. t.) Firm; solid; fixed; immovable; -- opposed to fluid.

Constant (n.) A quantity that does not change its value; -- used in countradistinction to variable.

Constituent (n.) One for whom another acts; especially, one who is represented by another in a legislative assembly; -- correlative to representative.

Consubstantiation (n.) The actual, substantial presence of the body of Christ with the bread and wine of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper; impanation; -- opposed to transubstantiation.

Consumption (n.) A progressive wasting away of the body; esp., that form of wasting, attendant upon pulmonary phthisis and associated with cough, spitting of blood, hectic fever, etc.; pulmonary phthisis; -- called also pulmonary consumption.

Copse (v. t.) To trim or cut; -- said of small trees, brushwood, tufts of grass, etc.

Corselet (n.) Armor for the body, as, the body breastplate and backpiece taken together; -- also, used for the entire suit of the day, including breastplate and backpiece, tasset and headpiece.

Couscous (n.) A kind of food used by the natives of Western Africa, made of millet flour with flesh, and leaves of the baobab; -- called also lalo.

Craspedota (n. pl.) The hydroid or naked-eyed medusae. See Hydroidea.

Crastination (n.) Procrastination; a putting off till to-morrow.

Crescendo (a. & adv.) With a constantly increasing volume of voice; with gradually increasing strength and fullness of tone; -- a direction for the performance of music, indicated by the mark, or by writing the word on the score.

Crescent (n.) The emblem of the increasing moon with horns directed upward, when used in a coat of arms; -- often used as a mark of cadency to distinguish a second son and his descendants.

Crescentic (a.) Crescent-shaped.

Crestfallen (a.) Having the crest, or upper part of the neck, hanging to one side; -- said of a horse.

Crispin (n.) A shoemaker; -- jocularly so called from the patron saint of the craft.

Cross (v. t.) To make the sign of the cross upon; -- followed by the reflexive pronoun; as, he crossed himself.

Cross (v. t.) To cancel by marking crosses on or over, or drawing a Cross (v. t.) To cause to interbreed; -- said of different stocks or races; to mix the breed of.

Crossette (n.) A return in one of the corners of the architrave of a door or window; -- called also ancon, ear, elbow.

Crosslet (a.) Crossed again; -- said of a cross the arms of which are crossed. SeeCross-crosslet.

Crosslet (a.) Crossed again; -- said of a cross the arms of which are crossed. SeeCross-crosslet.

Crosspatch (n.) An ill-natured person.

Crossrow (n.) The alphabet; -- called also Christcross-row.

Crossruff (n.) The play in whist where partners trump each a different suit, and lead to each other for that purpose; -- called also seesaw.

Crusade (v. i.) To engage in a crusade; to attack in a zealous or hot-headed manner.

Crust (n.) The dough, or mass of doughy paste, cooked with a potpie; -- also called dumpling.

Crustacea (n. pl.) One of the classes of the arthropods, including lobsters and crabs; -- so called from the crustlike shell with which they are covered.

Crystal (n.) The material of quartz, in crystallization transparent or nearly so, and either colorless or slightly tinged with gray, or the like; -- called also rock crystal. Ornamental vessels are made of it. Cf. Smoky quartz, Pebble; also Brazilian pebble, under Brazilian.

Crystallogenical (a.) Pertaining to the production of crystals; crystal-producing; as, crystallogenic attraction.

Crystalloid (a.) Crystal-like; transparent like crystal.

Crystalloid (n.) A body which, in solution, diffuses readily through animal membranes, and generally is capable of being crystallized; -- opposed to colloid.

Crystalloid (n.) One of the microscopic particles resembling crystals, consisting of protein matter, which occur in certain plant cells; -- called also protein crystal.

Cumshaw (n.) A present or bonus; -- originally applied to that paid on ships which entered the port of Canton.

Cursive (n.) A manuscript, especially of the New Testament, written in small, connected characters or in a running hand; -- opposed to uncial.

Cypsela (n.) A one-seeded, one-celled, indehiscent fruit; an achene with the calyx tube adherent.

Daisy (n.) The whiteweed (Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum), the plant commonly called daisy in North America; -- called also oxeye daisy. See Whiteweed.

Damson (n.) A small oval plum of a blue color, the fruit of a variety of the Prunus domestica; -- called also damask plum.

Density (n.) The quality of being dense, close, or thick; compactness; -- opposed to rarity.

Diaspore (n.) A hydrate of alumina, often occurring in white lamellar masses with brilliant pearly luster; -- so named on account of its decrepitating when heated before the blowpipe.

Diaster (n.) A double star; -- applied to the nucleus of a cell, when, during cell division, the loops of the nuclear network separate into two groups, preparatory to the formation of two daughter nuclei. See Karyokinesis.

Diastole (n.) The rhythmical expansion or dilatation of the heart and arteries; -- correlative to systole, or contraction.

Diaspora (n.) Lit., "Dispersion." -- applied collectively: (a) To those Jews who, after the Exile, were scattered through the Old World, and afterwards to Jewish Christians living among heathen. Cf. James i. 1. (b) By extension, to Christians isolated from their own communion, as among the Moravians to those living, usually as missionaries, outside of the parent congregation.

Diesis (n.) The mark /; -- called also double dagger.

Dipsy (a.) Deep-sea; as, a dipsey Dipsy (n.) A sinker attached to a fishing Dipsy (n.) A deep-sea lead.

Disspermous (a.) Containing only two seeds; two-seeded.

Disseize (v. t.) To deprive of seizin or possession; to dispossess or oust wrongfully (one in freehold possession of land); -- followed by of; as, to disseize a tenant of his freehold.

Disseizee (n.) A person disseized, or put out of possession of an estate unlawfully; -- correlative to disseizor.

Dissent (v. i.) To differ in opinion; to be of unlike or contrary sentiment; to disagree; -- followed by from.

Dissentaneous (a.) Disagreeing; contrary; differing; -- opposed to consentaneous.

Dissipate (v. t.) To scatter completely; to disperse and cause to disappear; -- used esp. of the dispersion of things that can never again be collected or restored.

Dissociation (n.) The process by which a compound body breaks up into simpler constituents; -- said particularly of the action of heat on gaseous or volatile substances; as, the dissociation of the sulphur molecules; the dissociation of ammonium chloride into hydrochloric acid and ammonia.

Dissonant (a.) Disagreeing; incongruous; discrepant, -- with from or to.

Dissuade (v. t.) To divert by persuasion; to turn from a purpose by reasons or motives; -- with from; as, I could not dissuade him from his purpose.

Dissyllable (n.) A word of two syllables; as, pa-per.

Doeskin (n.) A firm woolen cloth with a smooth, soft surface like a doe's skin; -- made for men's wear.

Dorsal (a.) Pertaining to, or situated near, the back, or dorsum, of an animal or of one of its parts; notal; tergal; neural; as, the dorsal fin of a fish; the dorsal artery of the tongue; -- opposed to ventral.

Dorsiferous () Bearing, or producing, on the back; -- applied to ferns which produce seeds on the back of the leaf, and to certain Batrachia, the ova of which become attached to the skin of the back of the parent, where they develop; dorsiparous.

Drastic (a.) Acting rapidly and violently; efficacious; powerful; -- opposed to bland; as, drastic purgatives.

Dress (v. i.) To arrange one's self in due position in a Dressing (n.) Manure or compost over land. When it remains on the surface, it is called a top-dressing.

Dressing (n.) Castigation; scolding; -- often with down.

Drosera (n.) A genus of low perennial or biennial plants, the leaves of which are beset with gland-tipped bristles. See Sundew.

Drosky (n.) A low, four-wheeled, open carriage, used in Russia, consisting of a kind of long, narrow bench, on which the passengers ride as on a saddle, with their feet reaching nearly to the ground. Other kinds of vehicles are now so called, esp. a kind of victoria drawn by one or two horses, and used as a public carriage in German cities.

Ecostate (a.) Having no ribs or nerves; -- said of a leaf.

Egesta (n. pl.) That which is egested or thrown off from the body by the various excretory channels; excrements; -- opposed to ingesta.

Ekasilicon (n.) The name of a hypothetical element predicted and afterwards discovered and named germanium; -- so called because it was a missing analogue of the silicon group. See Germanium, and cf. Ekabor.

Elasmosaurus (n.) An extinct, long-necked, marine, cretaceous reptile from Kansas, allied to Plesiosaurus.

Episcopacy (n.) Government of the church by bishops; church government by three distinct orders of ministers -- bishops, priests, and deacons -- of whom the bishops have an authority superior and of a different kind.

Epistle (n.) A writing directed or sent to a person or persons; a written communication; a letter; -- applied usually to formal, didactic, or elegant letters.

Epistyle (n.) A massive piece of stone or wood laid immediately on the abacus of the capital of a column or pillar; -- now called architrave.

Erase (v. t.) Fig.: To obliterate; to expunge; to blot out; -- used of ideas in the mind or memory.

Erased (p. pr. & a.) Represented with jagged and uneven edges, as is torn off; -- used esp. of the head or limb of a beast. Cf. Couped.

Eristalis (n.) A genus of dipterous insects whose young (called rat-tailed larvae) are remarkable for their long tapering tail, which spiracles at the tip, and for their ability to live in very impure and salt waters; -- also called drone fly.

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

Etesian (a.) Periodical; annual; -- applied to winds which annually blow from the north over the Mediterranean, esp. the eastern part, for an irregular period during July and August.

Exaspidean (a.) Having the anterior scute/ extending around the tarsus on the outer side, leaving the inner side naked; -- said of certain birds.

Exosmose (n.) The passage of gases, vapors, or liquids thought membranes or porous media from within outward, in the phenomena of osmose; -- opposed to endosmose. See Osmose.

Falsism (n.) That which is evidently false; an assertion or statement the falsity of which is plainly apparent; -- opposed to truism.

Farse (n.) An addition to, or a paraphrase of, some part of the Latin service in the vernacular; -- common in English before the Reformation.

Fils (n.) Son; -- sometimes used after a French proper name to distinguish a son from his father, as, Alexandre Dumas, fils.

First (n.) The upper part of a duet, trio, etc., either vocal or instrumental; -- so called because it generally expresses the air, and has a preeminence in the combined effect.

Firstling (n.) The first produce or offspring; -- said of animals, especially domestic animals; as, the firstlings of his flock.

Firstly (adv.) In the first place; before anything else; -- sometimes improperly used for first.

Fissipedia (n. pl.) A division of the Carnivora, including the dogs, cats, and bears, in which the feet are not webbed; -- opposed to Pinnipedia.

Fissurella (n.) A genus of marine gastropod mollusks, having a conical or limpetlike shell, with an opening at the apex; -- called also keyhole limpet.

Flash (a.) Wearing showy, counterfeit ornaments; vulgarly pretentious; as, flash people; flash men or women; -- applied especially to thieves, gamblers, and prostitutes that dress in a showy way and wear much cheap jewelry.

Flasher (n.) The European red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio); -- called also flusher.

Flashing (n.) The creation of an artifical flood by the sudden letting in of a body of water; -- called also flushing.

Flask (n.) A small bottle-shaped vessel for holding fluids; as, a flask of oil or wine.

Flask (n.) A narrow-necked vessel of metal or glass, used for various purposes; as of sheet metal, to carry gunpowder in; or of wrought iron, to contain quicksilver; or of glass, to heat water in, etc.

Flesh (v. t.) To feed with flesh, as an incitement to further exertion; to initiate; -- from the practice of training hawks and dogs by feeding them with the first game they take, or other flesh. Hence, to use upon flesh (as a murderous weapon) so as to draw blood, especially for the first time.

Flesher (n.) A two-handled, convex, blunt-edged knife, for scraping hides; a fleshing knife.

Fleshings (n. pl.) Flesh-colored tights, worn by actors dancers.

Flusher (n.) The red-backed shrike. See Flasher.

Flushing (n.) A heavy, coarse cloth manufactured from shoddy; -- commonly in the /

Foist (n.) A light and fast-sailing ship.

Foist (v. t.) To insert surreptitiously, wrongfully, or without warrant; to interpolate; to pass off (something spurious or counterfeit) as genuine, true, or worthy; -- usually followed by in.

Forsooth (adv.) In truth; in fact; certainly; very well; -- formerly used as an expression of deference or respect, especially to woman; now used ironically or contemptuously.

Fossette (n.) A small, deep-centered ulcer of the transparent cornea.

Fosseway (n.) One of the great military roads constructed by the Romans in England and other parts of Europe; -- so called from the fosse or ditch on each side for keeping it dry.

Fossorious (a.) Adapted for digging; -- said of the legs of certain insects.

Frost (v. i.) Frozen dew; -- called also hoarfrost or white frost.

Frosted (a.) Covered with hoarfrost or anything resembling hoarfrost; ornamented with frosting; also, frost-bitten; as, a frosted cake; frosted glass.

Frostfish (n.) The tomcod; -- so called because it is abundant on the New England coast in autumn at about the commencement of frost. See Tomcod.

Frosty (a.) Appearing as if covered with hoarfrost; white; gray-haired; as, a frosty head.

Frush (n.) A discharge of a fetid or ichorous matter from the frog of a horse's foot; -- also caled thrush.

Gesso (n.) Plaster of Paris, or gypsum, esp. as prepared for use in painting, or in making bas-reliefs and the like; by extension, a plasterlike or pasty material spread upon a surface to fit it for painting or gilding, or a surface so prepared.

Geusdism (n.) The Marxian socialism and programme of reform through revolution as advocated by the French political leader Jules Basile Guesde (pron. g/d) (1845- ).

Gelsemine (n.) An alkaloid obtained from the yellow jasmine (Gelsemium sempervirens), as a bitter white semicrystalGeosynclinal (n.) the downward bend or subsidence of the earth's crust, which allows of the gradual accumulation of sediment, and hence forms the first step in the making of a mountain range; -- opposed to geanticlinal.

Gieseckite (n.) A mineral occurring in greenish gray six-sided prisms, having a greasy luster. It is probably a pseudomorph after elaeolite.

Glass (v. t.) A looking-glass; a mirror.

Glass (v. t.) An optical glass; a lens; a spyglass; -- in the plural, spectacles; as, a pair of glasses; he wears glasses.

Glass (v. t.) To reflect, as in a mirror; to mirror; -- used reflexively.

Glasseye (n.) A fish of the great lakes; the wall-eyed pike.

Glassite (n.) A member of a Scottish sect, founded in the 18th century by John Glass, a minister of the Established Church of Scotland, who taught that justifying faith is "no more than a simple assent to the divine testimone passively recived by the understanding." The English and American adherents of this faith are called Sandemanians, after Robert Sandeman, the son-in-law and disciple of Glass.

Glassy (a.) Dull; wanting life or fire; lackluster; -- said of the eyes.

Glossohyal (a.) Pertaining to both the hyoidean arch and the tongue; -- applied to the anterior segment of the hyoidean arch in many fishes. -- n. The glossohyal bone or cartilage; lingual bone; entoglossal bone.

Glossopharyngeal (a.) Pertaining to both the tongue and the pharynx; -- applied especially to the ninth pair of cranial nerves, which are distributed to the pharynx and tongue. -- n. One of the glossopharyngeal nerves.

Gnostic (n.) One of the so-called philosophers in the first ages of Christianity, who claimed a true philosophical interpretation of the Christian religion. Their system combined Oriental theology and Greek philosophy with the doctrines of Christianity. They held that all natures, intelligible, intellectual, and material, are derived from the Deity by successive emanations, which they called Eons.

Goose (n.) Any large web-footen bird of the subfamily Anserinae, and belonging to Anser, Branta, Chen, and several allied genera. See Anseres.

Goosewinged (a.) Said of a fore-and-aft rigged vessel with foresail set on one side and mainsail on the other; wing and wing.

Gossat (n.) A small British marine fish (Motella tricirrata); -- called also whistler and three-bearded rockling.

Gossypium (n.) A genus of plants which yield the cotton of the arts. The species are much confused. G. herbaceum is the name given to the common cotton plant, while the long-stapled sea-island cotton is produced by G. Barbadense, a shrubby variety. There are several other kinds besides these.

Grasp (n.) Wide-reaching power of intellect to comprehend subjects and hold them under survey.

Grasshopper (n.) Any jumping, orthopterous insect, of the families Acrididae and Locustidae. The species and genera are very numerous. The former family includes the Western grasshopper or locust (Caloptenus spretus), noted for the great extent of its ravages in the region beyond the Mississippi. In the Eastern United States the red-legged (Caloptenus femurrubrum and C. atlanis) are closely related species, but their ravages are less important. They are closely related to the migratory locusts> Grasshopper (n.) In ordinary square or upright pianos of London make, the escapement lever or jack, so made that it can be taken out and replaced with the key; -- called also the hopper.

Grisaille (n.) Decorative painting in gray monochrome; -- used in English especially for painted glass.

Grosgrain (a.) Of a coarse texture; -- applied to silk with a heavy thread running crosswise.

Gross (superl.) Whole; entire; total; without deduction; as, the gross sum, or gross amount, the gross weight; -- opposed to net.

Grossular (a.) A translucent garnet of a pale green color like that of the gooseberry; -- called also grossularite.

Guess (v. t.) To think; to suppose; to believe; to imagine; -- followed by an objective clause.

Guess (v. i.) To make a guess or random judgment; to conjecture; -- with at, about, etc.

Guise (n.) Customary way of speaking or acting; custom; fashion; manner; behavior; mien; mode; practice; -- often used formerly in such phrases as: at his own guise; that is, in his own fashion, to suit himself.

Gunstome (n.) A cannon ball; -- so called because originally made of stone.

Gypsy (n.) A dark-complexioned person.

Hansard (n.) An official report of proceedings in the British Parliament; -- so called from the name of the publishers.

Hanse (n.) That part of an elliptical or many-centered arch which has the shorter radius and immediately adjoins the impost.

Hemselven (pron.) Themselves; -- used reflexively.

Herself (pron.) An emphasized form of the third person feminine pronoun; -- used as a subject with she; as, she herself will bear the blame; also used alone in the predicate, either in the nominative or objective case; as, it is herself; she blames herself.

Hessite (n.) A lead-gray sectile mineral. It is a telluride of silver.

Himself (pron.) An emphasized form of the third person mascuHolstein (n.) One of a breed of cattle, originally from Schleswig-Holstein, valued for the large amount of milk produced by the cows. The color is usually black and white in irregular patches.

Horse (n.) A translation or other illegitimate aid in study or examination; -- called also trot, pony, Dobbin.

Horseless (a.) Being without a horse; specif., not requiring a horse; -- said of certain vehicles in which horse power has been replaced by electricity, steam, etc.; as, a horseless carriage or truck.

Hoist (n.) The height of a fore-and-aft sail next the mast or stay.

Hopscotch (n.) A child's game, in which a player, hopping on one foot, drives a stone from one compartment to another of a figure traced or scotched on the ground; -- called also hoppers.

Horse (n.) Mounted soldiery; cavalry; -- used without the plural termination; as, a regiment of horse; -- distinguished from foot.

Horse (n.) A mass of earthy matter, or rock of the same character as the wall rock, occurring in the course of a vein, as of coal or ore; hence, to take horse -- said of a vein -- is to divide into branches for a distance.

Horse (v. t.) To cover, as a mare; -- said of the male.

Horseback (n.) An extended ridge of sand, gravel, and bowlders, in a half-stratified condition.

Horseman (n.) A West Indian fish of the genus Eques, as the light-horseman (E. lanceolatus).

Hotspur (n.) A rash, hot-headed man.

House (n.) A twelfth part of the heavens, as divided by six circles intersecting at the north and south points of the horizon, used by astrologers in noting the positions of the heavenly bodies, and casting horoscopes or nativities. The houses were regarded as fixed in respect to the horizon, and numbered from the one at the eastern horizon, called the ascendant, first house, or house of life, downward, or in the direction of the earth's revolution, the stars and planets passing through them i> Houseleek (n.) A succulent plant of the genus Sempervivum (S. tectorum), originally a native of subalpine Europe, but now found very generally on old walls and roofs. It is very tenacious of life under drought and heat; -- called also ayegreen.

HouseHousewarming (n.) A feast or merry-making made by or for a family or business firm on taking possession of a new house or premises.

Housewife (n.) A little case or bag for materials used in sewing, and for other articles of female work; -- called also hussy.

Hurst (n.) A wood or grove; -- a word used in the composition of many names, as in Hazlehurst.

Hussy (n.) A worthless woman or girl; a forward wench; a jade; -- used as a term of contempt or reproach.

Hussy (n.) A pert girl; a frolicsome or sportive young woman; -- used jocosely.

Hyostylic (a.) Having the mandible suspended by the hyomandibular, or upper part of the hyoid arch, as in fishes, instead of directly articulated with the skull as in mammals; -- said of the skull.

Icositetrahedron (n.) A twenty-four-sided solid; a tetragonal trisoctahedron or trapezohedron.

Inasmuch (adv.) In like degree; in like manner; seeing that; considering that; since; -- followed by as. See In as much as, under In, prep.

Iris (n.) The goddess of the rainbow, and swift-footed messenger of the gods.

Iris (n.) A genus of plants having showy flowers and bulbous or tuberous roots, of which the flower-de-luce (fleur-de-lis), orris, and other species of flag are examples. See Illust. of Flower-de-luce.

Iris (n.) See Fleur-de-lis, 2.

Irish (n. sing. & pl.) The language of the Irish; the Hiberno-Celtic.

Isosceles (a.) Having two legs or sides that are equal; -- said of a triangle.

Jessant (a.) Springing up or emerging; -- said of a plant or animal.

Jesse (n.) A candlestick with many branches, each of which bears the name of some one of the descendants of Jesse; -- called also tree of Jesse.

Jetson (n.) Goods which sink when cast into the sea, and remain under water; -- distinguished from flotsam, goods which float, and ligan, goods which are sunk attached to a buoy.

Joist (n.) A piece of timber laid horizontally, or nearly so, to which the planks of the floor, or the laths or furring strips of a ceiling, are nailed; -- called, according to its position or use, binding joist, bridging joist, ceiling joist, trimming joist, etc. See Illust. of Double-framed floor, under Double, a.

Lansquenet (n.) A German foot soldier in foreign service in the 15th and 16th centuries; a soldier of fortune; -- a term used in France and Western Europe.

Lapse (n.) A gliding, slipping, or gradual falling; an unobserved or imperceptible progress or passing away,; -- restricted usually to immaterial things, or to figurative uses.

Lapse (v. i.) To pass slowly and smoothly downward, backward, or away; to slip downward, backward, or away; to glide; -- mostly restricted to figurative uses.

Lapsed (a.) Having slipped downward, backward, or away; having lost position, privilege, etc., by neglect; -- restricted to figurative uses.

Lapstrake (a.) Made with boards whose edges lap one over another; clinker-built; -- said of boats.

Layshaft (n.) A secondary shaft, as in a sliding change gear for an automobile; a cam shaft operated by a two-to-one gear in an internal-combustion engine. It is generally a shaft moving more or less independently of the other parts of a machine, as, in some marine engines, a shaft, driven by a small auxiliary engine, for independently operating the valves of the main engine to insure uniform motion.

Lease (v. t.) To grant to another by lease the possession of, as of lands, tenements, and hereditaments; to let; to demise; as, a landowner leases a farm to a tenant; -- sometimes with out.

Linsey (n.) Linsey-woolsey.

Lobster (n.) Any large macrurous crustacean used as food, esp. those of the genus Homarus; as the American lobster (H. Americanus), and the European lobster (H. vulgaris). The Norwegian lobster (Nephrops Norvegicus) is similar in form. All these have a pair of large unequal claws. The spiny lobsters of more southern waters, belonging to Palinurus, Panulirus, and allied genera, have no large claws. The fresh-water crayfishes are sometimes called lobsters.

Loose (superl.) Free from constraint or obligation; not bound by duty, habit, etc. ; -- with from or of.

Loosestrife (n.) The name of several species of plants of the genus Lysimachia, having small star-shaped flowers, usually of a yellow color.

Loss (v. t.) That which is lost or from which one has parted; waste; -- opposed to gain or increase; as, the loss of liquor by leakage was considerable.

Maestoso (a. & adv.) Majestic or majestically; -- a direction to perform a passage or piece of music in a dignified manner.

Mansion (n.) A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter.

Marseilles (n.) A general term for certain kinds of fabrics, which are formed of two series of threads interlacing each other, thus forming double cloth, quilted in the loom; -- so named because first made in Marseilles, France.

Mass (n.) The portions of the Mass usually set to music, considered as a musical composition; -- namely, the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei, besides sometimes an Offertory and the Benedictus.

Massacre (n.) To kill in considerable numbers where much resistance can not be made; to kill with indiscriminate violence, without necessity, and contrary to the usages of nations; to butcher; to slaughter; -- limited to the killing of human beings.

Measly (a.) Containing larval tapeworms; -- said of pork and beef.

Measure (n.) To allot or distribute by measure; to set off or apart by measure; -- often with out or off.

Mess (n.) A set of four; -- from the old practice of dividing companies into sets of four at dinner.

Messenger (n.) A hawser passed round the capstan, and having its two ends lashed together to form an endless rope or chain; -- formerly used for heaving in the cable.

Messieurs (n. pl.) Sirs; gentlemen; -- abbreviated to Messrs., which is used as the plural of Mr.

Mias (n.) The orang-outang.

Midshipman (n.) Formerly, a kind of naval cadet, in a ship of war, whose business was to carry orders, messages, reports, etc., between the officers of the quarter-deck and those of the forecastle, and render other services as required.

Midships (adv.) In the middle of a ship; -- properly amidships.

Midst (n.) The interior or central part or place; the middle; -- used chiefly in the objective case after in; as, in the midst of the forest.

Miss (n.) In the game of three-card loo, an extra hand, dealt on the table, which may be substituted for the hand dealt to a player.

Miss (v. t.) To omit; to fail to have or to do; to get without; to dispense with; -- now seldom applied to persons.

Miss (v. i.) To fail to obtain, learn, or find; -- with of.

Missis (n.) A mistress; a wife; -- so used by the illiterate.

Misstayed (a.) Having missed stays; -- said of a ship.

Moesogothic (n.) The language of the Moesogoths; -- also called Gothic.

Monseigneur (n.) My lord; -- a title in France of a person of high birth or rank; as, Monseigneur the Prince, or Monseigneur the Archibishop. It was given, specifically, to the dauphin, before the Revolution of 1789. (Abbrev. Mgr.)

Monsignore (n.) My lord; -- an ecclesiastical dignity bestowed by the pope, entitling the bearer to social and domestic rank at the papal court. (Abbrev. Mgr.)

Monsoon (n.) A wind blowing part of the year from one direction, alternating with a wind from the opposite direction; -- a term applied particularly to periodical winds of the Indian Ocean, which blow from the southwest from the latter part of May to the middle of September, and from the northeast from about the middle of October to the middle of December.

Monstrous (a.) Extraordinary in a way to excite wonder, dislike, apprehension, etc.; -- said of size, appearance, color, sound, etc.; as, a monstrous height; a monstrous ox; a monstrous story.

Mopsical (a.) Shortsighted; mope-eyed.

Mouse (n.) Any one of numerous species of small rodents belonging to the genus Mus and various related genera of the family Muridae. The common house mouse (Mus musculus) is found in nearly all countries. The American white-footed, or deer, mouse (Hesperomys leucopus) sometimes lives in houses. See Dormouse, Meadow mouse, under Meadow, and Harvest mouse, under Harvest.

Mouse (n.) A dark-colored swelling caused by a blow.

Mousse (n.) A frozen dessert of a frothy texture, made of sweetened and flavored whipped cream, sometimes with the addition of egg yolks and gelatin. Mousse differs from ice cream in being beaten before -- not during -- the freezing process.

Mudsill (n.) Fig.: A person of the lowest stratum of society; -- a term of opprobrium or contempt.

Muss (n.) A state of confusion or disorder; -- prob. variant of mess, but influenced by muss, a scramble.

Mussel (n.) Any one of numerous species of Unio, and related fresh-water genera; -- called also river mussel. See Naiad, and Unio.

Myosis (n.) Long-continued contraction of the pupil of the eye.

Myosotis (n.) A genus of plants. See Mouse-ear.

Neishout (n.) The mahogany-like wood of the South African tree Pteroxylon utile, the sawdust of which causes violent sneezing (whence the name). Also called sneezewood.

Netsuke (n.) In Japanese costume and decorative art, a small object carved in wood, ivory, bone, or horn, or wrought in metal, and pierced with holes for cords by which it is connected, for convenience, with the inro, the smoking pouch (tabako-ire), and similar objects carried in the girdle. It is now much used on purses sold in Europe and America.

Nous (n.) Intellect; understanding; talent; -- used humorously.

Nurse (v. t.) To bring up; to raise, by care, from a weak or invalid condition; to foster; to cherish; -- applied to plants, animals, and to any object that needs, or thrives by, attention.

Ovism (n.) The old theory that the egg contains the whole embryo of the future organism and the germs of all subsequent offsprings and is merely awakened to activity by the spermatozoon; -- opposed to spermism or animalculism.

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

Offset (n.) A sum, account, or value set off against another sum or account, as an equivalent; hence, anything which is given in exchange or retaliation; a set-off.

Offset (n.) A horizontal ledge on the face of a wall, formed by a diminution of its thickness, or by the weathering or upper surface of a part built out from it; -- called also set-off.

Opisthocoelous (a.) Concave behind; -- applied especially to vertebrae in which the anterior end of the centrum is convex and the posterior concave.

Opisthopulmonate (a.) Having the pulmonary sac situated posteriorly; -- said of certain air-breathing Mollusca.

Ourselves (pron.) ; sing. Ourself (/). An emphasized form of the pronoun of the first person plural; -- used as a subject, usually with we; also, alone in the predicate, in the nominative or the objective case.

Outskirt (n.) A part remote from the center; outer edge; border; -- usually in the plural; as, the outskirts of a town.

Outspread (v. t.) To spread out; to expand; -- usually as a past part. / adj.

Palsywort (n.) The cowslip (Primula veris); -- so called from its supposed remedial powers.

Panshon (n.) An earthen vessel wider at the top than at the bottom, -- used for holding milk and for various other purposes.

Pansophical (a.) All-wise; claiming universal knowledge; as, pansophical pretenders.

Pansophy (n.) Universal wisdom; esp., a system of universal knowledge proposed by Comenius (1592 -- 1671), a Moravian educator.

Panspermy (n.) The doctrine that all organisms must come from living parents; biogenesis; -- the opposite of spontaneous generation.

Pansy (n.) A plant of the genus Viola (V. tricolor) and its blossom, originally purple and yellow. Cultivated varieties have very large flowers of a great diversity of colors. Called also heart's-ease, love-in-idleness, and many other quaint names.

Parsimony (n.) Closeness or sparingness in the expenditure of money; -- generally in a bad sense; excessive frugality; niggardParsnip (n.) The aromatic and edible spindle-shaped root of the cultivated form of the Pastinaca sativa, a biennial umbelliferous plant which is very poisonous in its wild state; also, the plant itself.

Parsonish (a.) Appropriate to, or like, a parson; -- used in disparagement.

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

Pass (v. i.) To go from one person to another; hence, to be given and taken freely; as, clipped coin will not pass; to obtain general acceptance; to be held or regarded; to circulate; to be current; -- followed by for before a word denoting value or estimation.

Passacaglio (n.) An old Italian or Spanish dance tune, in slow three-four measure, with divisions on a ground bass, resembling a chaconne.

Passant (v. i.) Walking; -- said of any animal on an escutcheon, which is represented as walking with the dexter paw raised.

Passenger (n.) A passer or passer-by; a wayfarer.

Passion (n.) The state of being acted upon; subjection to an external agent or influence; a passive condition; -- opposed to action.

Passionate (a.) Capable or susceptible of passion, or of different passions; easily moved, excited or agitated; specifically, easily moved to anger; irascible; quick-tempered; as, a passionate nature.

Passivity (n.) Passiveness; -- opposed to activity.

Passport (n.) A license granted in time of war for the removal of persons and effects from a hostile country; a safe-conduct.

Pause (v. t.) To cause to stop or rest; -- used reflexively.

Pension (v. t.) To grant a pension to; to pay a regular stipend to; in consideration of service already performed; -- sometimes followed by off; as, to pension off a servant.

Pensioner (n.) In the university of Cambridge, England, one who pays for his living in commons; -- corresponding to commoner at Oxford.

Pers (a.) Light blue; grayish blue; -- a term applied to different shades at different periods.

Pers (n.) A cloth of sky-blue color.

Persist (v. i.) To stand firm; to be fixed and unmoved; to stay; to continue steadfastly; especially, to continue fixed in a course of conduct against opposing motives; to persevere; -- sometimes conveying an unfavorable notion, as of doggedness or obstinacy.

Persistent (a.) Remaining beyond the period when parts of the same kind sometimes fall off or are absorbed; permanent; as, persistent teeth or gills; a persistent calyx; -- opposed to deciduous, and caducous.

Person (n.) A living, self-conscious being, as distinct from an animal or a thing; a moral agent; a human being; a man, woman, or child.

Personable (a.) Having a well-formed body, or person; graceful; comely; of good appearance; presentable; as, a personable man or woman.

Personnel (n.) The body of persons employed in some public service, as the army, navy, etc.; -- distinguished from materiel.

Perspective (a.) The art and the science of so dePerspicacious (a.) Having the power of seeing clearly; quick-sighted; sharp of sight.

Persulphide (n.) A sulphide containing more sulphur than some other compound of the same elements; as, iron pyrites is a persulphide; -- formerly called persulphuret.

Persulphocyanogen (n.) An orange-yellow substance, produced by the action of chlorine or boiling dilute nitric acid and sulphocyanate of potassium; -- called also pseudosulphocyanogen, perthiocyanogen, and formerly sulphocyanogen.

Pessimism (n.) The opinion or doctrine that everything in nature is ordered for or tends to the worst, or that the world is wholly evil; -- opposed to optimism.

Pessimist (n.) One who advocates the doctrine of pessimism; -- opposed to optimist.

Phase (n.) The relation at any instant of a periodically varying electric magnitude, as electro-motive force, a current, etc., to its initial value as expressed in factorial parts of the complete cycle. It is usually expressed in angular measure, the cycle beb four right angles, or 360?. Such periodic variations are generally well represented by sine curves; and phase relations are shown by the relative positions of the crests and hollows of such curves. Magnitudes which have the same phase ar> Phassachate (n.) The lead-colored agate; -- so called in reference to its color.

Phosgene (a.) Producing, or produced by, the action of light; -- formerly used specifically to designate a gas now called carbonyl chloride. See Carbonyl.

Phosphene (n.) A luminous impression produced through excitation of the retina by some cause other than the impingement upon it of rays of light, as by pressure upon the eyeball when the lids are closed. Cf. After-image.

Physa (n.) A genus of fresh-water Pulmonifera, having reversed spiral shells. See Pond snail, under Pond.

Physalia (n.) A genus of large oceanic Siphonophora which includes the Portuguese man-of-war.

Physicist (n.) A believer in the theory that the fundamental phenomena of life are to be explained upon purely chemical and physical principles; -- opposed to vitalist.

Physiophyly (n.) The tribal history of the functions, or the history of the paleontological development of vital activities, -- being a branch of phylogeny. See Morphophyly.

Physostigmine (n.) An alkaloid found in the Calabar bean (the seed of Physostigma venenosum), and extracted as a white, tasteless, substance, amorphous or crystalPiassava (n.) A fibrous product of two Brazilian palm trees (Attalea funifera and Leopoldinia Piassaba), -- used in making brooms, and for other purposes. Called also piacaba and piasaba.

Pigskin (n.) The skin of a pig, -- used chiefly for making saddles; hence, a colloquial or slang term for a saddle.

Pipsissewa (n.) A low evergreen plant (Chimaphila umbellata), with narrow, wedge-lanceolate leaves, and an umbel of pretty nodding fragrant blossoms. It has been used in nephritic diseases. Called also prince's pine.

Pigskin (n.) A football; -- so called because the covering is often made of pigskin.

Plastic (a.) Capable of being molded, formed, or modeled, as clay or plaster; -- used also figuratively; as, the plastic mind of a child.

Plastic (a.) Pertaining or appropriate to, or characteristic of, molding or modeling; produced by, or appearing as if produced by, molding or modeling; -- said of sculpture and the kindred arts, in distinction from painting and the graphic arts.

Plesiosauria (n. pl.) An extinct order of Mesozoic marine reptiles including the genera Plesiosaurus, and allied forms; -- called also Sauropterygia.

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

Possess (v. t.) To enter into and influence; to control the will of; to fill; to affect; -- said especially of evil spirits, passions, etc.

Possess (v. t.) To put in possession; to make the owner or holder of property, power, knowledge, etc.; to acquaint; to inform; -- followed by of or with before the thing possessed, and now commonly used reflexively.

Posset (n.) A beverage composed of hot milk curdled by some strong infusion, as by wine, etc., -- much in favor formerly.

Possible (a.) Capable of existing or occurring, or of being conceived or thought of; able to happen; capable of being done; not contrary to the nature of things; -- sometimes used to express extreme improbability; barely able to be, or to come to pass; as, possibly he is honest, as it is possible that Judas meant no wrong.

Pressboard (n.) A kind of highly sized rag paper or board, sometimes containing a small admixture of wood pulp; -- so called because used originally, as now, in presses for pressing and finishing knit underwear.

Pressure (n.) Electro-motive force.

Presswork (n.) Work consisting of a series of cross-grained veneers united by glue, heat, and pressure.

Prosit (interj.) Lit., may it do (you) good; -- a salutation used in well wishing, esp. among Germans, as in drinking healths.

Prase (n.) A variety of cryptocrystalPraseodymium (n.) An elementary substance, one of the constituents of didymium; -- so called from the green color of its salts. Symbol Ps. Atomic weight 143.6.

Prasinous (a.) Grass-green; clear, lively green, without any mixture.

Presage (v. i.) To form or utter a prediction; -- sometimes used with of.

Presbyter (n.) One ordained to the second order in the ministry; -- called also priest.

Prescriptive (a.) Consisting in, or acquired by, immemorial or long-continued use and enjoyment; as, a prescriptive right of title; pleading the continuance and authority of long custom.

Presence (n.) The state of being present, or of being within sight or call, or at hand; -- opposed to absence.

Present (a.) Being at hand, within reach or call, within certain contemplated limits; -- opposed to absent.

Present (a.) Present letters or instrument, as a deed of conveyance, a lease, letter of attorney, or other writing; as in the phrase, " Know all men by these presents," that is, by the writing itself, " per has literas praesentes; " -- in this sense, rarely used in the singular.

Present (v. i.) To appear at the mouth of the uterus so as to be perceptible to the finger in vaginal examination; -- said of a part of an infant during labor.

Presentation (n.) The particular position of the child during labor relatively to the passage though which it is to be brought forth; -- specifically designated by the part which first appears at the mouth of the uterus; as, a breech presentation.

Presentive (a.) Bringing a conception or notion directly before the mind; presenting an object to the memory of imagination; -- distinguished from symbolic.

Preserve (n.) That which is preserved; fruit, etc., seasoned and kept by suitable preparation; esp., fruit cooked with sugar; -- commonly in the plural.

Pressor (a.) Causing, or giving rise to, pressure or to an increase of pressure; as, pressor nerve fibers, stimulation of which excites the vasomotor center, thus causing a stronger contraction of the arteries and consequently an increase of the arterial blood pressure; -- opposed to depressor.

Prestidigital (a.) Nimble-fingered; having fingers fit for prestidigitation, or juggling.

Presto (a.) Quickly; rapidly; -- a direction for a quick, lively movement or performance; quicker than allegro, or any rate of time except prestissimo.

Presume (v. i.) To venture, go, or act, by an assumption of leave or authority not granted; to go beyond what is warranted by the circumstances of the case; to venture beyond license; to take liberties; -- often with on or upon before the ground of confidence.

Prisage (n.) A right belonging to the crown of England, of taking two tuns of wine from every ship importing twenty tuns or more, -- one before and one behind the mast. By charter of Edward I. butlerage was substituted for this.

Prism (n.) A transparent body, with usually three rectangular plane faces or sides, and two equal and parallel triangular ends or bases; -- used in experiments on refraction, dispersion, etc.

Prose (n.) The ordinary language of men in speaking or writing; language not cast in poetical measure or rhythm; -- contradistinguished from verse, or metrical composition.

Prospective (n.) Looking forward in time; acting with foresight; -- opposed to retrospective.

Prostate (a.) Standing before; -- applied to a gland which is found in the males of most mammals, and is situated at the neck of the bladder where this joins the urethra.

Prosthesis (n.) The addition to the human body of some artificial part, to replace one that is wanting, as a log or an eye; -- called also prothesis.

Pulsion (n.) The act of driving forward; propulsion; -- opposed to suction or traction.

Pulsometer (n.) A device, with valves, for raising water by steam, partly by atmospheric pressure, and partly by the direct action of the steam on the water, without the intervention of a piston; -- also called vacuum pump.

Purser (n.) A commissioned officer in the navy who had charge of the provisions, clothing, and public moneys on shipboard; -- now called paymaster.

Pursuant (a.) Acting in consequence or in prosecution (of anything); hence, agreeable; conformable; following; according; -- with to or of.

Pursuivant (n.) A functionary of lower rank than a herald, but discharging similar duties; -- called also pursuivant at arms; an attendant of the heralds. Also used figuratively.

Pursy (a.) Fat and short-breathed; fat, short, and thick; swelled with pampering; as, pursy insolence.

Puss (n.) A cat; -- a fondling appellation.

Puss (n.) A hare; -- so called by sportsmen.

Pussy (n.) The game of tipcat; -- also called pussy cat.

Quasi () As if; as though; as it were; in a manner sense or degree; having some resemblance to; qualified; -- used as an adjective, or a prefix with a noun or an adjective; as, a quasi contract, an implied contract, an obligation which has arisen from some act, as if from a contract; a quasi corporation, a body that has some, but not all, of the peculiar attributes of a corporation; a quasi argument, that which resembles, or is used as, an argument; quasi historical, apparently historical, see> Quass (n.) A thin, sour beer, made by pouring warm water on rye or barley meal and letting it ferment, -- much used by the Russians.

Quassin (n.) The bitter principle of quassia, extracted as a white crystalQuesal (n.) The long-tailed, or resplendent, trogon (Pharomachus mocinno, formerly Trogon resplendens), native of Southern Mexico and Central America. Called also quetzal, and golden trogon.

Raise (v. t.) To bring into being; to produce; to cause to arise, come forth, or appear; -- often with up.

Raised (a.) Leavened; made with leaven, or yeast; -- used of bread, cake, etc., as distinguished from that made with cream of tartar, soda, etc. See Raise, v. t., 4.

Raising (n.) The operation of embossing sheet metal, or of forming it into cup-shaped or hollow articles, by hammering, stamping, or spinning.

Ramson (n.) A broad-leaved species of garlic (Allium ursinum), common in European gardens; -- called also buckram.

Ramsted (n.) A yellow-flowered weed; -- so named from a Mr. Ramsted who introduced it into Pennsylvania. See Toad flax. Called also Ramsted weed.

Rapscallion (n.) A rascal; a good-for-nothing fellow.

Reason (v. t.) To overcome or conquer by adducing reasons; -- with down; as, to reason down a passion.

Reason (v. t.) To find by logical processes; to explain or justify by reason or argument; -- usually with out; as, to reason out the causes of the librations of the moon.

Reasty (a.) Rusty and rancid; -- applied to salt meat.

Redsear (v. i.) To be brittle when red-hot; to be red-short.

Redshank (n.) A common Old World limicoRedshank (n.) A bare-legged person; -- a contemptuous appellation formerly given to the Scotch Highlanders, in allusion to their bare legs.

Redstart (n.) A small, handsome European singing bird (Ruticilla phoenicurus), allied to the nightingale; -- called also redtail, brantail, fireflirt, firetail. The black redstart is P.tithys. The name is also applied to several other species of Ruticilla amnd allied genera, native of India.

Redstart (n.) An American fly-catching warbler (Setophaga ruticilla). The male is black, with large patches of orange-red on the sides, wings, and tail. The female is olive, with yellow patches.

Redstreak (n.) A kind of apple having the skin streaked with red and yellow, -- a favorite English cider apple.

Ressaldar (n.) In the Anglo-Indian army, a native commander of a ressala.

Rhusma (n.) A mixtire of caustic lime and orpiment, or tersulphide of arsenic, -- used in the depilation of hides.

Rigsdaler (n.) A Danish coin worth about fifty-four cents. It was the former unit of value in Denmark.

Riksdaler (n.) A Swedish coin worth about twenty-seven cents. It was formerly the unit of value in Sweden.

Rinse (v. t.) To cleancse by the introduction of water; -- applied especially to hollow vessels; as, to rinse a bottle.

Ripsaw (v. t.) A handsaw with coarse teeth which have but a slight set, used for cutting wood in the direction of the fiber; -- called also ripping saw.

Roussette (n.) Any small shark of the genus Scyllium; -- called also dogfish. See Dogfish.

Russet (n.) A country dress; -- so called because often of a russet color.

Sarsen (n.) One of the large sandstone blocks scattered over the English chalk downs; -- called also sarsen stone, and Druid stone.

Season (n.) One of the divisions of the year, marked by alternations in the length of day and night, or by distinct conditions of temperature, moisture, etc., caused mainly by the relative position of the earth with respect to the sun. In the north temperate zone, four seasons, namely, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, are generally recognized. Some parts of the world have three seasons, -- the dry, the rainy, and the cold; other parts have but two, -- the dry and the rainy.

Sensationalism (n.) The doctrine held by Condillac, and by some ascribed to Locke, that our ideas originate solely in sensation, and consist of sensations transformed; sensualism; -- opposed to intuitionalism, and rationalism.

Sensibility (n.) The capacity of emotion or feeling, as distinguished from the intellect and the will; peculiar susceptibility of impression, pleasurable or painful; delicacy of feeling; quick emotion or sympathy; as, sensibility to pleasure or pain; sensibility to shame or praise; exquisite sensibility; -- often used in the plural.

Sensitivity (n.) The quality or state of being sensitive; -- used chiefly in science and the arts; as, the sensitivity of iodized silver.

Sensory (a.) Of or pertaining to the sensorium or sensation; as, sensory impulses; -- especially applied to those nerves and nerve fibers which convey to a nerve center impulses resulting in sensation; also sometimes loosely employed in the sense of afferent, to indicate nerve fibers which convey impressions of any kind to a nerve center.

Sessile (a.) Permanently attached; -- said of the gonophores of certain hydroids which never became detached.

Slush (n.) A mixture of snow and water; half-melted snow.

Slushy (a.) Abounding in slush; characterized by soft mud or half-melted snow; as, the streets are slushy; the snow is slushy.

Solstice (v. i.) The point in the ecliptic at which the sun is farthest from the equator, north or south, namely, the first point of the sign Cancer and the first point of the sign Capricorn, the former being the summer solstice, latter the winter solstice, in northern latitudes; -- so called because the sun then apparently stands still in its northward or southward motion.

Subscribe (v. i.) To become surely; -- with for.

Subscription (n.) The acceptance of articles, or other tests tending to promote uniformity; esp. (Ch. of Eng.), formal assent to the Thirty-nine Articles and the Book of Common Prayer, required before ordination.

Subsequency (n.) The act or state of following; -- opposed to precedence.

Tarsius (n.) A genus of nocturnal lemurine mammals having very large eyes and ears, a long tail, and very long proximal tarsal bones; -- called also malmag, spectral lemur, podji, and tarsier.

Tarsus (n.) A plate of dense connective tissue or cartilage in the eyelid of man and many animals; -- called also tarsal cartilage, and tarsal plate.

Tassel (n.) A piece of board that is laid upon a wall as a sort of plate, to give a level surface to the ends of floor timbers; -- rarely used in the United States.

Teaspoonful (n.) As much as teaspoon will hold; enough to fill a teaspoon; -- usually reckoned at a fluid dram or one quarter of a tablespoonful.

Tensor (n.) The ratio of one vector to another in length, no regard being had to the direction of the two vectors; -- so called because considered as a stretching factor in changing one vector into another. See Versor.

Tersanctus (n.) An ancient ascription of praise (containing the word "Holy" -- in its Latin form, "Sanctus" -- thrice repeated), used in the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church and before the prayer of consecration in the communion service of the Church of England and the Protestant Episcopal Church. Cf. Trisagion.

Terse (superl.) Refined; accomplished; -- said of persons.

Thesaurus (n.) A treasury or storehouse; hence, a repository, especially of knowledge; -- often applied to a comprehensive work, like a dictionary or cyclopedia.

Thesis (n.) The accented part of the measure, expressed by the downward beat; -- the opposite of arsis.

Thus (n.) The commoner kind of frankincense, or that obtained from the Norway spruce, the long-leaved pine, and other conifers.

Thyself (pron.) An emphasized form of the personal pronoun of the second person; -- used as a subject commonly with thou; as, thou thyself shalt go; that is, thou shalt go, and no other. It is sometimes used, especially in the predicate, without thou, and in the nominative as well as in the objective case.

Toast (v.) A lady in honor of whom persons or a company are invited to drink; -- so called because toasts were formerly put into the liquor, as a great delicacy.

Topsail (n.) In a square-rigged vessel, the sail next above the lowermost sail on a mast. This sail is the one most frequently reefed or furled in working the ship. In a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, the sail set upon and above the gaff. See Cutter, Schooner, Sail, and Ship.

Tossing (n.) A process which consists in washing ores by violent agitation in water, in order to separate the lighter or earhy particles; -- called also tozing, and treloobing, in Cornwall.

Tolstoian (a.) Of or pertaining to Tolstoy (1828-1910).

Trisaccharide () Alt. of -rid

Trust (n.) A business organization or combination consisting of a number of firms or corporations operating, and often united, under an agreement creating a trust (in sense 1), esp. one formed mainly for the purpose of regulating the supply and price of commodities, etc.; often, opprobriously, a combination formed for the purpose of controlling or monopolizing a trade, industry, or business, by doing acts in restraint or trade; as, a sugar trust. A trust may take the form of a corporation or o> Trustee stock () High-grade stock in which trust funds may be legally invested.

Trass (n.) A white to gray volcanic tufa, formed of decomposed trachytic cinders; -- sometimes used as a cement. Hence, a coarse sort of plaster or mortar, durable in water, and used to Trespass (v. i.) To commit any offense, or to do any act that injures or annoys another; to violate any rule of rectitude, to the injury of another; hence, in a moral sense, to transgress voluntarily any divine law or command; to violate any known rule of duty; to sin; -- often followed by against.

Trestletree (n.) One of two strong bars of timber, fixed horizontally on the opposite sides of the masthead, to support the crosstrees and the frame of the top; -- generally used in the plural.

Trisacramentarian (n.) One who recognizes three sacraments, and no more; -- namely, baptism, the Lord's Supper, and penance. See Sacrament.

Trisagion (n.) An ancient anthem, -- usually known by its Latin name tersanctus.See Tersanctus.

Trisected (a.) Divided into three parts or segments by incisions extending to the midrib or to the base; -- said of leaves.

Trisoctahedron (n.) A solid of the isometric system bounded by twenty-four equal faces, three corresponding to each face of an octahedron.

Trispermous (a.) Containing three seeds; three-seeded; as, a trispermous capsule.

Trisplanchnic (a.) Of or pertaining to the three great splanchnic cavities, namely, that of the head, the chest, and the abdomen; -- applied to the sympathetic nervous system.

Trisulcate (a.) Having three furrows, forks, or prongs; having three grooves or sulci; three-grooved.

Trisyllable (n.) A word consisting of three syllables only; as, a-ven-ger.

Truss (n.) To execute by hanging; to hang; -- usually with up.

Trust (n.) To hope confidently; to believe; -- usually with a phrase or infinitive clause as the object.

Truster (n.) One who makes a trust; -- the correlative of trustee.

Trysail (n.) A fore-and-aft sail, bent to a gaff, and hoisted on a lower mast or on a small mast, called the trysail mast, close abaft a lower mast; -- used chiefly as a storm sail. Called also spencer.

Tutsan (n.) A plant of the genus Hypericum (H. Androsoemum), from which a healing ointment is prepared in Spain; -- called also parkleaves.

Tousche () A lithographic drawing or painting material of the same nature as lithographic ink. It is also used as a resistant in the biting-in process.

Twist (n.) A strong individual tendency, or bent; a marked inclination; a bias; -- often implying a peculiar or unusual tendency; as, a twist toward fanaticism.

Twist (v. t.) To wind into; to insinuate; -- used reflexively; as, avarice twists itself into all human concerns.

Twist (n.) One of the threads of a warp, -- usually more tightly twisted than the filling.

Unassented (a.) Not assented; -- said specif. of stocks or bonds the holders of which refuse to deposit them by way of assent to an agreement altering their status, as in a readjustment.

Uniseptate (a.) Having but one septum, or partition; -- said of two-celled fruits, such as the silicles of cruciferous plants.

Unisexual (a.) Having one sex only, as plants which have the male and female flowers on separate individuals, or animals in which the sexes are in separate individuals; di/cious; -- distinguished from bisexual, or hermaphrodite. See Di/cious.

Unisilicate (n.) A salt of orthosilicic acid, H4SiO4; -- so called because the ratio of the oxygen atoms united to the basic metals and silicon respectively is 1:1; for example, Mg2SiO4 or 2MgO.SiO2.

Urosome (n.) The abdomen, or post-abdomen, of arthropods.

Versatile (a.) Turning with ease from one thing to another; readily applied to a new task, or to various subjects; many-sided; as, versatile genius; a versatile politician.

Versemonger (n.) A writer of verses; especially, a writer of commonplace poetry; a poetaster; a rhymer; -- used humorously or in contempt.

Verso (n.) The reverse, or left-hand, page of a book or a folded sheet of paper; -- opposed to recto.

Versus (prep.) Against; as, John Doe versus Richard Roe; -- chiefly used in legal language, and abbreviated to v. or vs.

Waist (n.) Hence, the middle part of other bodies; especially (Naut.), that part of a vessel's deck, bulwarks, etc., which is between the quarter-deck and the forecastle; the middle part of the ship.

Waister (n.) A seaman, usually a green hand or a broken-down man, stationed in the waist of a vessel of war.

Warsaw (n.) The jewfish; -- called also guasa.

Wassail (n.) The liquor used for a wassail; esp., a beverage formerly much used in England at Christmas and other festivals, made of ale (or wine) flavored with spices, sugar, toast, roasted apples, etc.; -- called also lamb's wool.

Weismannism (n.) The theories and teachings in regard to heredity propounded by the German biologist August Weismann, esp. in regard to germ plasm as the basis of heredity and the impossibility of transmitting acquired characteristics; -- often called neo-Darwinism.

Welsh (v. t. & i.) To cheat by avoiding payment of bets; -- said esp. of an absconding bookmaker at a race track.

Weasand (n.) The windpipe; -- called also, formerly, wesil.

Weaser (n.) The American merganser; -- called also weaser sheldrake.

Wels (n.) The sheatfish; -- called also waller.

Welshman (n.) The large-mouthed black bass. See Black bass.

Whisker (n.) Formerly, the hair of the upper lip; a mustache; -- usually in the plural.

Whisky (n.) A light carriage built for rapid motion; -- called also tim-whiskey.

Whist (n.) A certain game at cards; -- so called because it requires silence and close attention. It is played by four persons (those who sit opposite each other being partners) with a complete pack of fifty-two cards. Each player has thirteen cards, and when these are played out, he hand is finished, and the cards are again shuffled and distributed.

Whistle (v. i.) The mouth and throat; -- so called as being the organs of whistling.

Whistlefish (n.) A gossat, or rockling; -- called also whistler, three-bearded rockling, sea loach, and sorghe.

Whistler (n.) The golden-eye.

Whistlewing (n.) The American golden-eye.

Winsome (a.) Cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted.

Worse (compar.) Bad, ill, evil, or corrupt, in a greater degree; more bad or evil; less good; specifically, in poorer health; more sick; -- used both in a physical and moral sense.

Worshipful (a.) Entitled to worship, reverence, or high respect; claiming respect; worthy of honor; -- often used as a term of respect, sometimes ironically.

Worsted (n.) Well-twisted yarn spun of long-staple wool which has been combed to lay the fibers parallel, used for carpets, cloth, hosiery, gloves, and the like.

Wrestling (n.) Act of one who wrestles; specif., the sport consisting of the hand-to-hand combat between two unarmed contestants who seek to throw each other.

Wrasse (n.) Any one of numerous edible, marine, spiny-finned fishes of the genus Labrus, of which several species are found in the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic coast of Europe. Many of the species are bright-colored.

Wrist (n.) A stud or pin which forms a journal; -- also called wrist pin.

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.