Words whose 5th letter is P

Accept (v. t.) To receive with a consenting mind (something offered); as, to accept a gift; -- often followed by of.

Acropetal (a.) Developing from below towards the apex, or from the circumference towards the center; centripetal; -- said of certain inflorescence.

Adelphia (n.) A "brotherhood," or collection of stamens in a bundle; -- used in composition, as in the class names, Monadelphia, Diadelphia, etc.

Adelphous (a.) Having coalescent or clustered filaments; -- said of stamens; as, adelphous stamens. Usually in composition; as, monadelphous.

Allopathy (n.) That system of medical practice which aims to combat disease by the use of remedies which produce effects different from those produced by the special disease treated; -- a term invented by Hahnemann to designate the ordinary practice, as opposed to homeopathy.

Ambiparous (a.) Characterized by containing the rudiments of both flowers and leaves; -- applied to a bud.

Ancipitous (a.) Two-edged instead of round; -- said of certain flattened stems, as those of blue grass, and rarely also of leaves.

Antepenultima (n.) The last syllable of a word except two, as -syl- in monosyllable.

Antipathetical (a.) Having a natural contrariety, or constitutional aversion, to a thing; characterized by antipathy; -- often followed by to.

Antiperistaltic (a.) Opposed to, or checking motion; acting upward; -- applied to an inverted action of the intestinal tube.

Aquiparous (a.) Secreting water; -- applied to certain glands.

Arreptitious (a.) Snatched away; seized or possessed, as a demoniac; raving; mad; crack-brained.

Atrip (adv.) Just hove clear of the ground; -- said of the anchor.

Atrip (adv.) Sheeted home, hoisted taut up and ready for trimming; -- said of sails.

Atrip (adv.) Hoisted up and ready to be swayed across; -- said of yards.

Autopsy (a.) Dissection of a dead body, for the purpose of ascertaining the cause, seat, or nature of a disease; a post-mortem examination.

Biceps (n.) A muscle having two heads or origins; -- applied particularly to a flexor in the arm, and to another in the thigh.

Cacophonious (a.) Harsh-sounding.

Calipers (n. pl.) An instrument, usually resembling a pair of dividers or compasses with curved legs, for measuring the diameter or thickness of bodies, as of work shaped in a lathe or planer, timber, masts, shot, etc.; or the bore of firearms, tubes, etc.; -- called also caliper compasses, or caliber compasses.

Caliph (n.) Successor or vicar; -- a title of the successors of Mohammed both as temporal and spiritual rulers, now used by the sultans of Turkey.

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

Catoptrics (n.) That part of optics which explains the properties and phenomena of reflected light, and particularly that which is reflected from mirrors or polished bodies; -- formerly called anacamptics.

Champleve (a.) Having the ground engraved or cut out in the parts to be enameled; inlaid in depressions made in the ground; -- said of a kind of enamel work in which depressions made in the surface are filled with enamel pastes, which are afterward fired; also, designating the process of making such enamel work.

Champleve (a.) Having the ground engraved or cut out in the parts to be enameled; inlaid in depressions made in the ground; -- said of a kind of enamel work in which depressions made in the surface are filled with enamel pastes, which are afterward fired; also, designating the process of making such enamel work.

Charpie (n.) Straight threads obtained by unraveling old Chippeways (n. pl.) A tribe of Indians formerly inhabiting the northern and western shores of Lake Superior; -- called also Objibways.

Chippy (n.) A small American sparrow (Spizella socialis), very common near dwelling; -- also called chipping bird and chipping sparrow, from its simple note.

Clumps (n.) A game in which questions are asked for the purpose of enabling the questioners to discover a word or thing previously selected by two persons who answer the questions; -- so called because the players take sides in two "clumps" or groups, the "clump" which guesses the word winning the game.

Cockpit (n.) The Privy Council room at Westminster; -- so called because built on the site of the cockpit of Whitehall palace.

Copepoda (n. pl.) An order of Entomostraca, including many minute Crustacea, both fresh-water and marine.

Coryphodon (n.) A genus of extinct mammals from the eocene tertiary of Europe and America. Its species varied in size between the tapir and rhinoceros, and were allied to those animals, but had short, plantigrade, five-toed feet, like the elephant.

Cramponee (a.) Having a cramp or square piece at the end; -- said of a cross so furnished.

Crappie (n.) A kind of fresh-water bass of the genus Pomoxys, found in the rivers of the Southern United States and Mississippi valley. There are several species.

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

Creeper (n.) A small bird of the genus Certhia, allied to the wrens. The brown or common European creeper is C. familiaris, a variety of which (var. Americana) inhabits America; -- called also tree creeper and creeptree. The American black and white creeper is Mniotilta varia.

Creeper (n.) A spurlike device strapped to the boot, which enables one to climb a tree or pole; -- called often telegraph creepers.

Crimp (n.) Hair which has been crimped; -- usually in pl.

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

Cripple () A rocky shallow in a stream; -- a lumberman's term.

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

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.

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.

Dicephalous (a.) Having two heads on one body; double-headed.

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

Disapprove (v. t.) To refuse official approbation to; to disallow; to decDisepalous (a.) Having two sepals; two-sepaled.

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

Doryphora (n.) A genus of plant-eating beetles, including the potato beetle. See Potato beetle.

Dropper (n.) A dog which suddenly drops upon the ground when it sights game, -- formerly a common, and still an occasional, habit of the setter.

Dustpan (n.) A shovel-like utensil for conveying away dust brushed from the floor.

Eclipse (v. t.) To cause the obscuration of; to darken or hide; -- said of a heavenly body; as, the moon eclipses the sun.

Ecliptic (a.) A great circle drawn on a terrestrial globe, making an angle of 23? 28' with the equator; -- used for illustrating and solving astronomical problems.

Ectype (n.) A work sculptured in relief, as a cameo, or in bas-relief (in this sense used loosely).

Ellipsograph (n.) An instrument for describing ellipses; -- called also trammel.

Encephalous (a.) Having a head; -- said of most Mollusca; -- opposed to acephalous.

Endoparasite (n.) Any parasite which lives in the internal organs of an animal, as the tapeworms, Trichina, etc.; -- opposed to ectoparasite. See Entozoon.

Entoperipheral (a.) Being, or having its origin, within the external surface of the body; -- especially applied to feelings, such as hunger, produced by internal disturbances. Opposed to epiperipheral.

Entoplastron (n.) The median plate of the plastron of turtles; -- called also entosternum.

Ephippial (a.) Saddle-shaped; occupying an ephippium.

Ephippium (n.) A saddle-shaped cavity to contain the winter eggs, situated on the back of Cladocera.

Equip (v. t.) To furnish for service, or against a need or exigency; to fit out; to supply with whatever is necessary to efficient action in any way; to provide with arms or an armament, stores, munitions, rigging, etc.; -- said esp. of ships and of troops.

Equipage (n.) A carriage of state or of pleasure with all that accompanies it, as horses, liveried servants, etc., a showy turn-out.

Equipedal (a.) Equal-footed; having the pairs of feet equal.

Equipoise (n.) Equality of weight or force; hence, equilibrium; a state in which the two ends or sides of a thing are balanced, and hence equal; state of being equally balanced; -- said of moral, political, or social interests or forces.

Erumpent (a.) Breaking out; -- said of certain fungi which burst through the texture of leaves.

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

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

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

Europium (n.) A metallic element of the rare-earth group, discovered spectroscopically by Demarcay in 1896. Symbol, Eu; at. wt., 152.0.

Eupepsy (n.) Soundness of the nutritive or digestive organs; good concoction or digestion; -- opposed to dyspepsia.

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

Except (v. i.) To take exception; to object; -- usually followed by to, sometimes by against; as, to except to a witness or his testimony.

Exception (n.) An objection; cavil; dissent; disapprobation; offense; cause of offense; -- usually followed by to or against.

Exempt (a.) Free, or released, from some liability to which others are subject; excepted from the operation or burden of some law; released; free; clear; privileged; -- (with from): not subject to; not liable to; as, goods exempt from execution; a person exempt from jury service.

Filipendulous (a.) Suspended by, or strung upon, a thread; -- said of tuberous swellings in the middle or at the extremities of slender, threadlike rootlets.

Frippery (n.) Coast-off clothes.

Frump (n.) A cross, old-fashioned person; esp., an old woman; a gossip.

Frumpish (a.) Cross-tempered; scornful.

Frumpish (a.) Old-fashioned, as a woman's dress.

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

Galop (n.) A kind of lively dance, in 2-4 time; also, the music to the dance.

Gatepost (n.) A post to which a gate is hung; -- called also swinging / hinging post.

Gatepost (n.) A post against which a gate closes; -- called also shutting post.

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

Group (n.) A number of eighth, sixteenth, etc., notes joined at the stems; -- sometimes rather indefinitely applied to any ornament made up of a few short notes.

Guimpe (n.) A kind of short chemisette, worn with a low-necked dress.

Hairpin (n.) A pin, usually forked, or of bent wire, for fastening the hair in place, -- used by women.

Holophotal (a.) Causing no loss of light; -- applied to reflectors which throw back the rays of light without perceptible loss.

Holophote (n.) A lamp with lenses or reflectors to collect the rays of light and throw them in a given direction; -- used in lighthouses.

Holophrastic (a.) Expressing a phrase or sentence in a single word, -- as is the case in the aboriginal languages of America.

Homoplast (n.) One of the plastids composing the idorgan of Haeckel; -- also called homoorgan.

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

Hypoplastron (n.) The third lateral plate in the plastron of turtles; -- called also hyposternum.

Hypoptilum (n.) An accessory plume arising from the posterior side of the stem of the contour feathers of many birds; -- called also aftershaft. See Illust. of Feather.

Idiopathical (a.) Pertaining to idiopathy; characterizing a disease arising primarily, and not in consequence of some other disease or injury; -- opposed to symptomatic, sympathetic, and traumatic.

Idioplasma (n.) That portion of the cell protoplasm which is the seat of all active changes, and which carries on the function of hereditary transmission; -- distinguished from the other portion, which is termed nutritive plasma. See Hygroplasm.

Iliopsoas (n.) The great flexor muscle of the hip joint, divisible into two parts, the iliac and great psoas, -- often regarded as distinct muscles.

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

Inappropriate (a.) Not instrument (to); not appropriate; unbecoming; unsuitable; not specially fitted; -- followed by to or for.

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

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

Inceptive (a.) Beginning; expressing or indicating beginning; as, an inceptive proposition; an inceptive verb, which expresses the beginning of action; -- called also inchoative.

Independence (n.) The state or quality of being independent; freedom from dependence; exemption from reliance on, or control by, others; self-subsistence or maintenance; direction of one's own affairs without interference.

Independent (a.) Not subject to bias or influence; not obsequious; self-directing; as, a man of an independent mind.

Independent (a.) Not dependent upon another quantity in respect to value or rate of variation; -- said of quantities or functions.

Independent (n.) One who believes that an organized Christian church is complete in itself, competent to self-government, and independent of all ecclesiastical authority.

Induplicate (a.) Having the edges bent abruptly toward the axis; -- said of the parts of the calyx or corolla in aestivation.

Induplicate (a.) Having the edges rolled inward and then arranged about the axis without overlapping; -- said of leaves in vernation.

Inseparable (a.) Invariably attached to some word, stem, or root; as, the inseparable particle un-.

Jackpudding (n.) A merry-andrew; a buffoon.

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

Julep (n.) A beverage composed of brandy, whisky, or some other spirituous liquor, with sugar, pounded ice, and sprigs of mint; -- called also mint julep.

Knoppern (n.) A kind of gall produced by a gallfly on the cup of an acorn, -- used in tanning and dyeing.

Liripoop (n.) A pendent part of the old clerical tippet; afterwards, a tippet; a scarf; -- worn also by doctors, learned men, etc.

Lotophagi (n. pl.) A people visited by Ulysses in his wanderings. They subsisted on the lotus. See Lotus (b), and Lotus-eater.

Lycopodiaceous (a.) Belonging, or relating, to the Lycopodiaceae, an order of cryptogamous plants (called also club mosses) with branching stems, and small, crowded, one-nerved, and usually pointed leaves.

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.

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

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

Melaphyre (n.) Any one of several dark-colored augitic, eruptive rocks allied to basalt.

Meliphagan (n.) Any bird of the genus Meliphaga and allied genera; a honey eater; -- called also meliphagidan.

Melop/ia (n.) The art of forming melody; melody; -- now often used for a melodic passage, rather than a complete melody.

Meropidan (n.) One of a family of birds (Meropidae), including the bee-eaters.

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

Monophonic (a.) Single-voiced; having but one part; as, a monophonic composition; -- opposed to polyphonic.

Monophyletic (a.) Of or pertaining to a single family or stock, or to development from a single common parent form; -- opposed to polyphyletic; as, monophyletic origin.

Monophyllous (a.) One-leaved; composed of a single leaf; as, a monophyllous involucre or calyx.

Monophyodont (a.) Having but one set of teeth; -- opposed to diphyodont.

Monopodium (n.) A single and continuous vegetable axis; -- opposed to sympodium.

Monopteral (a.) Round and without a cella; consisting of a single ring of columns supporting a roof; -- said esp. of a temple.

Morepork (n.) The Australian crested goatsucker (Aegotheles Novae-Hollandiae). Also applied to other allied birds, as Podargus Cuveiri.

Myoepithelial (a.) Derived from epithelial cells and destined to become a part of the muscular system; -- applied to structural elements in certain embryonic forms.

Obdiplostemonous (a.) Having twice as many stamens as petals, those of the outer set being opposite the petals; -- said of flowers.

Octopus (n.) A genus of eight-armed cephalopods, including numerous species, some of them of large size. See Devilfish,

Omniparient (a.) Producing or bringing forth all things; all-producing.

Omnipotent (a.) Able in every respect and for every work; unlimited in ability; all-powerful; almighty; as, the Being that can create worlds must be omnipotent.

Onappo (n.) A nocturnal South American monkey (Callithrix discolor), noted for its agility; -- called also ventriloquist monkey.

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

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

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

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

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

Pecopteris (n.) An extensive genus of fossil ferns; -- so named from the regular comblike arrangement of the leaflets.

Peripteral (a.) Having columns on all sides; -- said of an edifice. See Apteral.

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

Peneplain (n.) A land surface reduced by erosion to the general condition of a plain, but not wholly devoid of hills; a base-level plain.

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.

Plump (v. t.) To make plump; to fill (out) or support; -- often with up.

Podophthalmia (n. pl.) The stalk-eyed Crustacea, -- an order of Crustacea having the eyes supported on movable stalks. It includes the crabs, lobsters, and prawns. Called also Podophthalmata, and Decapoda.

Podophyllum (n.) The rhizome and rootlet of the May apple (Podophyllum peltatum), -- used as a cathartic drug.

Polyphonic (a.) Consisting of several tone series, or melodic parts, progressing simultaneously according to the laws of counterpoint; contrapuntal; as, a polyphonic composition; -- opposed to homophonic, or monodic.

Polyphony (n.) Composition in mutually related, equally important parts which share the melody among them; contrapuntal composition; -- opposed to homophony, in which the melody is given to one part only, the others filling out the harmony. See Counterpoint.

Polyphyletic (a.) Pertaining to, or characterized by, descent from more than one root form, or from many different root forms; polygenetic; -- opposed to monophyletic.

Polyphyllous (a.) Many-leaved; as, a polyphyllous calyx or perianth.

Polypidom (n.) A coral, or corallum; also, one of the coral-like structure made by bryozoans and hydroids.

Polyptoton (n.) A figure by which a word is repeated in different forms, cases, numbers, genders, etc., as in Tennyson's Polypus (n.) A tumor, usually with a narrow base, somewhat resembling a pear, -- found in the nose, uterus, etc., and produced by hypertrophy of some portion of the mucous membrane.

Postposition (n.) A word or particle placed after, or at the end of, another word; -- distinguished from preposition.

Postprandial (a.) Happening, or done, after dinner; after-dinner; as, postprandial speeches.

Polyphase (a.) Having or producing two or more phases; multiphase; as, a polyphase machine, a machine producing two or more pressure waves of electro-motive force, differing in phase; a polyphase current.

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

Primp (a.) To be formal or affected in dress or manners; -- often with up.

Prinpriddle (n.) The long-tailed titmouse.

Prompt (n.) A limit of time given for payment of an account for produce purchased, this limit varying with different goods. See Prompt-note.

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

Pupiparous (a.) Bearing, or containing, a pupa; -- said of the matured larvae, or larval skins, of certain Diptera.

Pyrope (n.) A variety of garnet, of a poppy or blood-red color, frequently with a tinge of orange. It is used as a gem. See the Note under Garnet.

Pyrophorous (a.) Light-producing; of or pertaining to pyrophorus.

Recipiangle (n.) An instrument with two arms that are pivoted together at one end, and a graduated arc, -- used by military engineers for measuring and laying off angles of fortifications.

Reciprocal (a.) Reflexive; -- applied to pronouns and verbs, but sometimes limited to such pronouns as express mutual action.

Reduplicate (a.) Valvate with the margins curved outwardly; -- said of the /stivation of certain flowers.

Reexport (n.) Any commodity reexported; -- chiefly in the plural.

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

Remiped (a.) Having feet or legs that are used as oars; -- said of certain crustaceans and insects.

Sandpaper (n.) Paper covered on one side with sand glued fast, -- used for smoothing and polishing.

Scalp (v. i.) To make a small, quick profit by slight fluctuations of the market; -- said of brokers who operate in this way on their own account.

Scalpel (n.) A small knife with a thin, keen blade, -- used by surgeons, and in dissecting.

Scauper (n.) A tool with a semicircular edge, -- used by engravers to clear away the spaces between the Scoop (n.) A spoon-shaped instrument, used in extracting certain substances or foreign bodies.

Scooper (n.) The avocet; -- so called because it scoops up the mud to obtain food.

Scorpio (n.) The eighth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the twenty-third day of October, marked thus [/] in almanacs.

Scorpion (n.) Any one of numerous species of pulmonate arachnids of the order Scorpiones, having a suctorial mouth, large claw-bearing palpi, and a caudal sting.

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

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

Scripture (n.) The books of the Old and the new Testament, or of either of them; the Bible; -- used by way of eminence or distinction, and chiefly in the plural.

Scrophulariaceous (a.) Of or pertaining to a very large natural order of gamopetalous plants (Scrophulariaceae, or Scrophularineae), usually having irregular didynamous flowers and a two-celled pod. The order includes the mullein, foxglove, snapdragon, figwort, painted cup, yellow rattle, and some exotic trees, as the Paulownia.

Sculpin (n.) A large cottoid market fish of California (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus); -- called also bighead, cabezon, scorpion, salpa.

Scupper (v.) An opening cut through the waterway and bulwarks of a ship, so that water falling on deck may flow overboard; -- called also scupper hole.

Semipalmated (a.) Having the anterior toes joined only part way down with a web; half-webbed; as, a semipalmate bird or foot. See Illust. k under Aves.

Setiparous (a.) Producing setae; -- said of the organs from which the setae of annelids arise.

Shropshire (n.) An English breed of black-faced hornless sheep similar to the Southdown, but larger, now extensively raised in many parts of the world.

Sharpie (n.) A long, sharp, flat-bottomed boat, with one or two masts carrying a triangular sail. They are often called Fair Haven sharpies, after the place on the coast of Connecticut where they originated.

Sharpsaw (n.) The great titmouse; -- so called from its harsh call notes.

Sheepback (n.) A rounded knoll of rock resembling the back of a sheep. -- produced by glacial action. Called also roche moutonnee; -- usually in the plural.

Sheepskin (n.) A diploma; -- so called because usually written or printed on parchment prepared from the skin of the sheep.

Sinapis (n.) A disused generic name for mustard; -- now called Brassica.

SinapoSinople (n.) Ferruginous quartz, of a blood-red or brownish red color, sometimes with a tinge of yellow.

Skelp (n.) A wrought-iron plate from which a gun barrel or pipe is made by bending and welding the edges together, and drawing the thick tube thus formed.

Skipper (n.) Any one of numerous species of small butterflies of the family Hesperiadae; -- so called from their peculiar short, jerking flight.

Sleep (v. t.) To be slumbering in; -- followed by a cognate object; as, to sleep a dreamless sleep.

Slump (v. i.) To slide or slip on a declivity, so that the motion is perceptible; -- said of masses of earth or rock.

Sloop (n.) A vessel having one mast and fore-and-aft rig, consisting of a boom-and-gaff mainsail, jibs, staysail, and gaff topsail. The typical sloop has a fixed bowsprit, topmast, and standing rigging, while those of a cutter are capable of being readily shifted. The sloop usually carries a centerboard, and depends for stability upon breadth of beam rather than depth of keel. The two types have rapidly approximated since 1880. One radical distinction is that a slop may carry a centerboard. Se> Spalpeen (n.) A scamp; an Irish term for a good-for-nothing fellow; -- often used in good-humored contempt or ridicule.

Stamp (v. t.) A half-penny.

Stampede (v. i.) To run away in a panic; -- said droves of cattle, horses, etc., also of armies.

Stilpnomelane (n.) A black or greenish black mineral occurring in foliated flates, also in velvety bronze-colored incrustations. It is a hydrous silicate of iron and alumina.

Stoop (n.) Originally, a covered porch with seats, at a house door; the Dutch stoep as introduced by the Dutch into New York. Afterward, an out-of-door flight of stairs of from seven to fourteen steps, with platform and parapets, leading to an entrance door some distance above the street; the French perron. Hence, any porch, platform, entrance stairway, or small veranda, at a house door.

Stopped (a.) Made by complete closure of the mouth organs; shut; -- said of certain consonants (p, b, t, d, etc.).

Stopper (n.) A short piece of rope having a knot at one or both ends, with a lanyard under the knot, -- used to secure something.

Stoup (n.) A basin at the entrance of Roman Catholic churches for containing the holy water with which those who enter, dipping their fingers in it, cross themselves; -- called also holy-water stoup.

Strepsiptera (n. pl.) A group of small insects having the anterior wings rudimentary, and in the form of short and slender twisted appendages, while the posterior ones are large and membranous. They are parasitic in the larval state on bees, wasps, and the like; -- called also Rhipiptera. See Illust. under Rhipipter.

Strepsorhine (a.) Having twisted nostrils; -- said of the lemurs.

Streptobacteria (n. pl.) A so-called variety of bacterium, consisting in reality of several bacteria linked together in the form of a chain.

Strip (v. t.) To remove fiber, flock, or lint from; -- said of the teeth of a card when it becomes partly clogged.

Strophulus (n.) See Red-gum, 1.

Stump (n.) To put (a batsman) out of play by knocking off the bail, or knocking down the stumps of the wicket he is defending while he is off his allotted ground; -- sometimes with out.

Stumpage (n.) Timber in standing trees, -- often sold without the land at a fixed price per tree or per stump, the stumps being counted when the land is cleared.

Sweep (v. i.) To brush swiftly over the surface of anything; to pass with switness and force, as if brushing the surface of anything; to move in a stately manner; as, the wind sweeps across the plain; a woman sweeps through a drawing-room.

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

Talipot (n.) A beautiful tropical palm tree (Corypha umbraculifera), a native of Ceylon and the Malabar coast. It has a trunk sixty or seventy feet high, bearing a crown of gigantic fan-shaped leaves which are used as umbrellas and as fans in ceremonial processions, and, when cut into strips, as a substitute for writing paper.

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.

Terephthalic (a.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, a dibasic acid of the aromatic series, metameric with phthalic acid, and obtained, as a tasteless white crystalThelphusian (n.) One of a tribe of fresh-water crabs which live in or on the banks of rivers in tropical countries.

Thiophenol (n.) A colorless mobile liquid, C6H5.SH, of an offensive odor, and analogous to phenol; -- called also phenyl sulphydrate.

Thorpe (n.) A group of houses in the country; a small village; a hamlet; a dorp; -- now chiefly occurring in names of places and persons; as, Althorp, Mablethorpe.

Totipalmate (a.) Having all four toes united by a web; -- said of certain sea birds, as the pelican and the gannet. See Illust. under Aves.

Trample (v. i.) To tread in contempt; -- with on or upon.

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.

Tripping (a.) Having the right forefoot lifted, the others remaining on the ground, as if he were trotting; trippant; -- said of an animal, as a hart, buck, and the like, used as a bearing.

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.

Troop (n.) Soldiers, collectively; an army; -- now generally used in the plural.

Troupial (n.) Any one of numerous species of bright-colored American birds belonging to Icterus and allied genera, especially Icterus icterus, a native of the West Indies and South America. Many of the species are called orioles in America.

Trump (n.) A wind instrument of music; a trumpet, or sound of a trumpet; -- used chiefly in Scripture and poetry.

Trump (n.) An old game with cards, nearly the same as whist; -- called also ruff.

Trumpeter (n.) Any one of several species of long-legged South American birds of the genus Psophia, especially P. crepitans, which is abundant, and often domesticated and kept with other poultry by the natives. They are allied to the cranes. So called from their loud cry. Called also agami, and yakamik.

Trumpetwood (n.) A tropical American tree (Cecropia peltata) of the Breadfruit family, having hollow stems, which are used for wind instruments; -- called also snakewood, and trumpet tree.

Tubipora (n.) A genus of halcyonoids in which the skeleton, or coral (called organ-pipe coral), consists of a mass of parallel cylindrical tubes united at intervals by transverse plates. These corals are usually red or purple and form large masses. They are natives of the tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Tulipomania (n.) A violent passion for the acquisition or cultivation of tulips; -- a word said by Beckman to have been coined by Menage.

Tulipwood (n.) The beautiful rose-colored striped wood of a Brazilian tree (Physocalymna floribunda), much used by cabinetmakers for inlaying.

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

Unemployment (n.) Quality or state of being not employed; -- used esp. in economics, of the condition of various social classes when temporarily thrown out of employment, as those engaged for short periods, those whose trade is decaying, and those least competent.

Valorization (n.) Act or process of attempting to give an arbitrary market value or price to a commodity by governmental interference, as by maintaining a purchasing fund, making loans to producers to enable them t Unappealable (a.) Not to be appealed from; -- said of a judge or a judgment that can not be overruled.

Unexperienced (a.) Untried; -- applied to things.

Usurpation (n.) The act of usurping, or of seizing and enjoying; an authorized, arbitrary assumption and exercise of power, especially an infringing on the rights of others; specifically, the illegal seizure of sovereign power; -- commonly used with of, also used with on or upon; as, the usurpation of a throne; the usurpation of the supreme power.

Vivipara (n. pl.) An artificial division of vertebrates including those that produce their young alive; -- opposed to Ovipara.

Viviparous (a.) Producing young in a living state, as most mammals, or as those plants the offspring of which are produced alive, either by bulbs instead of seeds, or by the seeds themselves germinating on the plant, instead of falling, as they usually do; -- opposed to oviparous.

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

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

Whopper (n.) Something uncommonly large of the kind; something astonishing; -- applied especially to a bold lie.

Whelp (n.) A child; a youth; -- jocosely or in contempt.

Whelp (n.) One of the longitudinal ribs or ridges on the barrel of a capstan or a windless; -- usually in the plural; as, the whelps of a windlass.

Whelp (v. i.) To bring forth young; -- said of the female of the dog and some beasts of prey.

Whipparee (n.) A large sting ray (Rhinoptera bonasus, or R. quadriloba) of the Atlantic coast of the United States. Its snout appears to be four-lobed when viewed in front, whence it is also called cow-nosed ray.

Xenopterygii (n. pl.) A suborder of fishes including Gobiesox and allied genera. These fishes have soft-rayed fins, and a ventral sucker supported in front by the pectoral fins. They are destitute of scales.

Xerophilous (a.) Drought-loving; able withstand the absence or lack of moisture.

Xerophthalmia (n.) An abnormal dryness of the eyeball produced usually by long-continued inflammation and subsequent atrophy of the conjunctiva.

Xylophagous (a.) Eating, boring in, or destroying, wood; -- said especially of certain insect larvae, crustaceans, and mollusks.

Xylopyrography (n.) The art or practice of burning pictures on wood with a hot iron; -- called also poker painting. See Poker picture, under Poker.

Ycleped (p. p.) Called; named; -- obsolete, except in archaic or humorous writings.

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.