Words whose 6th letter is S

Abolish (v. t.) To do away with wholly; to annul; to make void; -- said of laws, customs, institutions, governments, etc.; as, to abolish slavery, to abolish folly.

Abreast (adv.) Side by side; also, opposite; over against; on a Abscission (n.) A figure of speech employed when a speaker having begun to say a thing stops abruptly: thus, "He is a man of so much honor and candor, and of such generosity -- but I need say no more."

Accessible (a.) Open to the influence of; -- with to.

Accession (n.) The act of coming to or reaching a throne, an office, or dignity; as, the accession of the house of Stuart; -- applied especially to the epoch of a new dynasty.

Accurst (p. p. & a.) Doomed to destruction or misery; cursed; hence, bad enough to be under the curse; execrable; detestable; exceedingly hateful; -- as, an accursed deed.

Acerose (a.) Needle-shaped, having a sharp, rigid point, as the leaf of the pine.

Adolescence (n.) The state of growing up from childhood to manhood or womanhood; youth, or the period of life between puberty and maturity, generally considered to be, in the male sex, from fourteen to twenty-one. Sometimes used with reference to the lower animals.

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

Against (prep.) Abreast; opposite to; facing; towards; as, against the mouth of a river; -- in this sense often preceded by over.

Aggress (v. i.) To commit the first act of hostility or offense; to begin a quarrel or controversy; to make an attack; -- with on.

Alabaster (n.) A box or vessel for holding odoriferous ointments, etc.; -- so called from the stone of which it was originally made.

Alfresco (adv. & a.) In the open-air.

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

Amitosis (n.) Cell division in which there is first a simple cleavage of the nucleus without change in its structure (such as the formation of chromosomes), followed by the division of the cytoplasm; direct cell division; -- opposed to mitosis. It is not the usual mode of division, and is believed by many to occur chiefly in highly specialized cells which are incapable of long-continued multiplication, in transitory structures, and in those in early stages of degeneration.

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

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

Ambrose (n.) A sweet-scented herb; ambrosia. See Ambrosia, 3.

Amotus (a.) Elevated, -- as a toe, when raised so high that the tip does not touch the ground.

Amphistylic (a.) Having the mandibular arch articulated with the hyoid arch and the cranium, as in the cestraciont sharks; -- said of a skull.

Anapest (n.) A metrical foot consisting of three syllables, the first two short, or unaccented, the last long, or accented (/ / -); the reverse of the dactyl. In Latin d/-/-tas, and in English in-ter-vene#, are examples of anapests.

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

Anemoscope (n.) An instrument which shows the direction of the wind; a wind vane; a weathercock; -- usually applied to a contrivance consisting of a vane above, connected in the building with a dial or index with pointers to show the changes of the wind.

Angles (n. pl.) An ancient Low German tribe, that settled in Britain, which came to be called Engla-land (Angleland or England). The Angles probably came from the district of Angeln (now within the limits of Schleswig), and the country now Lower Hanover, etc.

Aporosa (n. pl.) A group of corals in which the coral is not porous; -- opposed to Perforata.

Apprise (v. t.) To give notice, verbal or written; to inform; -- followed by of; as, we will apprise the general of an intended attack; he apprised the commander of what he had done.

Asilus (n.) A genus of large and voracious two-winged flies, including the bee killer and robber fly.

Assess (v.) To determine and impose a tax or fine upon (a person, community, estate, or income); to tax; as, the club assessed each member twenty-five cents.

Assets (n. pl.) Property of a deceased person, subject by law to the payment of his debts and legacies; -- called assets because sufficient to render the executor or administrator liable to the creditors and legatees, so far as such goods or estate may extend.

Assets (n. pl.) The entire property of all sorts, belonging to a person, a corporation, or an estate; as, the assets of a merchant or a trading association; -- opposed to liabilities.

Atheistical (a.) Pertaining to, implying, or containing, atheism; -- applied to things; as, atheistic doctrines, opinions, or books.

Atheistical (a.) Disbelieving the existence of a God; impious; godless; -- applied to persons; as, an atheistic writer.

Atrous (a.) Coal-black; very black.

Aurous (a.) Pertaining to, or derived from, gold; -- said of those compounds of gold in which this element has its lower valence; as, aurous oxide.

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

Axminster (n.) An Axminster carpet, an imitation Turkey carpet, noted for its thick and soft pile; -- so called from Axminster, Eng.

Axminster carpet () A variety of Turkey carpet, woven by machine or, when more than 27 inches wide, on a hand loom, and consisting of strips of worsted chenille so colored as to produce a pattern on a stout jute backing. It has a fine soft pile. So called from Axminster, England, where it was formerly (1755 -- 1835) made.

Axminster carpet () A similar but cheaper machine-made carpet, resembling moquette in construction and appearance, but finer and of better material.

Baptist (n.) One who administers baptism; -- specifically applied to John, the forerunner of Christ.

Babiism (n.) The doctrine of a modern religious pantheistical sect in Persia, which was founded, about 1844, by Mirza Ali Mohammed ibn Rabhik (1820 -- 1850), who assumed the title of Bab-ed-Din (Per., Gate of the Faith). Babism is a mixture of Mohammedan, Christian, Jewish, and Parsi elements. This doctrine forbids concubinage and polygamy, and frees women from many of the degradations imposed upon them among the orthodox Mohammedans. Mendicancy, the use of intoxicating liquors and drugs, and > Biprism (n.) A combination of two short rectangular glass prisms cemented together at their diagonal faces so as to form a cube; -- called also optical cube. It is used in one form of photometer.

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

Blackstrap (n.) Bad port wine; any common wine of the Mediterranean; -- so called by sailors.

Bloodstone (n.) A green siliceous stone sprinkled with red jasper, as if with blood; hence the name; -- called also heliotrope.

Bombast (n.) Fig.: High-sounding words; an inflated style; language above the dignity of the occasion; fustian.

Bombast (a.) High-sounding; inflated; big without meaning; magniloquent; bombastic.

Bombastical (a.) Characterized by bombast; high-sounding; inflated.

Boreas (n.) The north wind; -- usually a personification.

British (a.) Of or pertaining to Great Britain or to its inhabitants; -- sometimes restricted to the original inhabitants.

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

Caboose (n.) A house on deck, where the cooking is done; -- commonly called the galley.

Cahenslyism (n.) A plan proposed to the Pope in 1891 by P. P. Cahensly, a member of the German parliament, to divide the foreign-born population of the United States, for ecclesiastical purposes, according to European nationalities, and to appoint bishops and priests of like race and speaking the same language as the majority of the members of a diocese or congregation. This plan was successfully opposed by the American party in the Church.

Cactus (n.) Any plant of the order Cactacae, as the prickly pear and the night-blooming cereus. See Cereus. They usually have leafless stems and branches, often beset with clustered thorns, and are mostly natives of the warmer parts of America.

Callisection (n.) Painless vivisection; -- opposed to sentisection.

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

Camoys (a.) Flat; depressed; crooked; -- said only of the nose.

Canvas (n.) A strong cloth made of hemp, flax, or cotton; -- used for tents, sails, etc.

Canvasback (n.) A Species of duck (Aythya vallisneria), esteemed for the delicacy of its flesh. It visits the United States in autumn; particularly Chesapeake Bay and adjoining waters; -- so named from the markings of the plumage on its back.

Canvass (v. i.) To search thoroughly; to engage in solicitation by traversing a district; as, to canvass for subscriptions or for votes; to canvass for a book, a publisher, or in behalf of a charity; -- commonly followed by for.

Capias (n.) A writ or process commanding the officer to take the body of the person named in it, that is, to arrest him; -- also called writ of capias.

Carcass (n.) The living body; -- now commonly used in contempt or ridicule.

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.

Cerris (n.) A species of oak (Quercus cerris) native in the Orient and southern Europe; -- called also bitter oak and Turkey oak.

Chemisette (n.) An under-garment, worn by women, usually covering the neck, shoulders, and breast.

Chemism (n.) The force exerted between the atoms of elementary substance whereby they unite to form chemical compounds; chemical attaction; affinity; -- sometimes used as a general expression for chemical activity or relationship.

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

Clevis (n.) A piece of metal bent in the form of an oxbow, with the two ends perforated to receive a pin, used on the end of the tongue of a plow, wagen, etc., to attach it to a draft chain, whiffletree, etc.; -- called also clavel, clevy.

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.

Cosmos (n.) A genus of composite plants closely related to Bidens, usually with very showy flowers, some with yellow, others with red, scarlet, purple, white, or lilac rays. They are natives of the warmer parts of America, and many species are cultivated. Cosmos bipinnatus and C. diversifolius are among the best-known species; C. caudatus, of the West Indies, is widely naturalized.

Coelospermous (a.) Hollow-seeded; having the ventral face of the seedlike carpels incurved at the ends, as in coriander seed.

Coexist (v. i.) To exist at the same time; -- sometimes followed by with.

Coexistence (n.) Existence at the same time with another; -- contemporary existence.

Coleus (n.) A plant of several species of the Mint family, cultivated for its bright-colored or variegated leaves.

Commissary (n.) An officer whose business is to provide food for a body of troops or a military post; -- officially called commissary of subsistence.

Compass (n.) Moderate bounds, limits of truth; moderation; due limits; -- used with within.

Compass (v. t.) To inclose on all sides; to surround; to encircle; to environ; to invest; to besiege; -- used with about, round, around, and round about.

Composed (a.) Free from agitation; calm; sedate; quiet; tranquil; self-possessed.

Composition (n.) A literary, musical, or artistic production, especially one showing study and care in arrangement; -- often used of an elementary essay or translation done as an educational exercise.

Concise (a.) Expressing much in a few words; condensed; brief and compacted; -- used of style in writing or speaking.

Condisciple (n.) A schoolfellow; a fellow-student.

Confess (v. t.) To make known or acknowledge, as one's sins to a priest, in order to receive absolution; -- sometimes followed by the reflexive pronoun.

Confess (v. t.) To hear or receive such confession; -- said of a priest.

Confuse (v. t.) To perplex; to disconcert; to abash; to cause to lose self-possession.

Confusion (n.) The state of being abashed or disconcerted; loss self-possession; perturbation; shame.

Congested (a.) Containing an unnatural accumulation of blood; hyperaemic; -- said of any part of the body.

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.

Contest (v. i.) To engage in contention, or emulation; to contend; to strive; to vie; to emulate; -- followed usually by with.

Correspond (v. i.) To be like something else in the dimensions and arrangement of its parts; -- followed by with or to; as, concurring figures correspond with each other throughout.

Correspond (v. i.) To be adapted; to be congruous; to suit; to agree; to fit; to answer; -- followed by to.

Correspond (v. i.) To have intercourse or communion; especially, to hold intercourse or to communicate by sending and receiving letters; -- followed by with.

Cosmos (n.) The universe or universality of created things; -- so called from the order and harmony displayed in it.

Cottise (n.) A diminutive of the bendlet, containing one half its area or one quarter the area of the bend. When a single cottise is used alone it is often called a cost. See also Couple-close.

Cottised (a.) Set between two cottises, -- said of a bend; or between two barrulets, -- said of a bar or fess.

Courtship (n.) Court policy; the character of a courtier; artifice of a court; court-craft; finesse.

Cowfish (n.) A marine plectognath fish (Ostracoin quadricorne, and allied species), having two projections, like horns, in front; -- called also cuckold, coffer fish, trunkfish.

Crepusculous (a.) Flying in the twilight or evening, or before sunrise; -- said certain birds and insects.

Crocus (n.) A genus of iridaceous plants, with pretty blossoms rising separately from the bulb or corm. C. vernus is one of the earliest of spring-blooming flowers; C. sativus produces the saffron, and blossoms in the autumn.

Croissante (a.) Terminated with crescent; -- said of a cross the ends of which are so terminated.

Cuirassed (a.) Having a covering of bony plates, resembling a cuirass; -- said of certain fishes.

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

Cypris (n.) A genus of small, bivalve, fresh-water Crustacea, belonging to the Ostracoda; also, a member of this genus.

Degras (n.) A semisolid emulsion produced by the treatment of certain skins with oxidized fish oil, which extracts their soluble albuminoids. It was formerly solely a by-product of chamois leather manufacture, but is now made for its own sake, being valuable as a dressing for hides.

Decession (n.) Departure; decrease; -- opposed to accesion.

Decrescendo (a. & adv.) With decreasing volume of sound; -- a direction to performers, either written upon the staff (abbreviated Dec., or Decresc.), or indicated by the sign.

Decussate (v. t.) To cross at an acute angle; to cut or divide in the form of X; to intersect; -- said of Defensive (a.) Carried on by resisting attack or aggression; -- opposed to offensive; as, defensive war.

Demoiselle (n.) The Numidian crane (Anthropoides virgo); -- so called on account of the grace and symmetry of its form and movements.

Demonstration (n.) A course of reasoning showing that a certain result is a necessary consequence of assumed premises; -- these premises being definitions, axioms, and previously established propositions.

Depressed (a.) Concave on the upper side; -- said of a leaf whose disk is lower than the border.

Depressed (a.) Lying flat; -- said of a stem or leaf which lies close to the ground.

Depressed (a.) Having the vertical diameter shorter than the horizontal or transverse; -- said of the bodies of animals, or of parts of the bodies.

Depression (n.) The operation of reducing to a lower degree; -- said of equations.

Diabase (n.) A basic, dark-colored, holocrystalDieresis (n.) The separation or resolution of one syllable into two; -- the opposite of synaeresis.

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

Digression (n.) The elongation, or angular distance from the sun; -- said chiefly of the inferior planets.

Dimension (n.) Measure in a single Disassimilation (n.) The decomposition of complex substances, within the organism, into simpler ones suitable only for excretion, with evolution of energy, -- a normal nutritional process the reverse of assimilation; downward metabolism.

Discuss (v. t.) To break up; to disperse; to scatter; to dissipate; to drive away; -- said especially of tumors.

Discussive (a.) Doubt-dispelling; decisive.

Disease (n.) An alteration in the state of the body or of some of its organs, interrupting or disturbing the performance of the vital functions, and causing or threatening pain and weakness; malady; affection; illness; sickness; disorder; -- applied figuratively to the mind, to the moral character and habits, to institutions, the state, etc.

Disease (v. t.) To derange the vital functions of; to afflict with disease or sickness; to disorder; -- used almost exclusively in the participle diseased.

Disgust (v. t.) To provoke disgust or strong distaste in; to cause (any one) loathing, as of the stomach; to excite aversion in; to offend the moral taste of; -- often with at, with, or by.

Disgust (v. t.) Repugnance to what is offensive; aversion or displeasure produced by something loathsome; loathing; strong distaste; -- said primarily of the sickening opposition felt for anything which offends the physical organs of taste; now rather of the analogous repugnance excited by anything extremely unpleasant to the moral taste or higher sensibilities of our nature; as, an act of cruelty may excite disgust.

Dispose (v. t.) To give a tendency or inclination to; to adapt; to cause to turn; especially, to incDisposition (n.) Natural or prevailing spirit, or temperament of mind, especially as shown in intercourse with one's fellow-men; temper of mind.

Dispositioned (a.) Having (such) a disposition; -- used in compounds; as, well-dispositioned.

Dispossess (v. t.) To put out of possession; to deprive of the actual occupancy of, particularly of land or real estate; to disseize; to eject; -- usually followed by of before the thing taken away; as, to dispossess a king of his crown.

Dispossession (n.) The putting out of possession, wrongfully or otherwise, of one who is in possession of a freehold, no matter in what title; -- called also ouster.

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

Drakestone (n.) A flat stone so thrown along the surface of water as to skip from point to point before it sinks; also, the sport of so throwing stones; -- sometimes called ducks and drakes.

Dyslysin (n.) A resinous substance formed in the decomposition of cholic acid of bile; -- so called because it is difficult to solve.

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

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

Egotism (n.) The practice of too frequently using the word I; hence, a speaking or writing overmuch of one's self; self-exaltation; self-praise; the act or practice of magnifying one's self or parading one's own doings. The word is also used in the sense of egoism.

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

Elohistic (a.) Relating to Elohim as a name of God; -- said of passages in the Old Testament.

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

Endless (a.) Without end; having no end or conclusion; perpetual; interminable; -- applied to length, and to duration; as, an endless Endoss (v. t.) To put upon the back or outside of anything; -- the older spelling of endorse.

Englishry (n.) A body of English or people of English descent; -- commonly applied to English people in Ireland.

Enneaspermous (a.) Having nine seeds; -- said of fruits.

Epigastric (a.) Over the stomach; -- applied to two of the areas of the carapace of crabs.

Epitasis (n.) That part which embraces the main action of a play, poem, and the like, and leads on to the catastrophe; -- opposed to protasis.

Erotesis (n.) A figure o/ speech by which a strong affirmation of the contrary, is implied under the form o/ an earnest interrogation, as in the following Etheostomoid (n.) Any fish of the genus Etheostoma and related genera, allied to the perches; -- also called darter. The etheostomoids are small and often bright-colored fishes inhabiting the fresh waters of North America. About seventy species are known. See Darter.

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

Extrusive (a.) Forced out at the surface; as, extrusive rocks; -- contrasted with intrusive.

Exclusionist (n.) One who would exclude another from some right or privilege; esp., one of the anti-popish politicians of the time of Charles II.

Exclusive (a.) Not taking into the account; excluding from consideration; -- opposed to inclusive; as, five thousand troops, exclusive of artillery.

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

Expense (n.) That which is expended, laid out, or consumed; cost; outlay; charge; -- sometimes with the notion of loss or damage to those on whom the expense falls; as, the expenses of war; an expense of time.

Explosive (n.) An explosive agent; a compound or mixture susceptible of a rapid chemical reaction, as gunpowder, or nitro-glycerine.

Explosive (n.) A sound produced by an explosive impulse of the breath; (Phonetics) one of consonants p, b, t, d, k, g, which are sounded with a sort of explosive power of voice. [See Guide to Pronunciation, ? 155-7, 184.]

Express (a.) To make known the opinions or feelings of; to declare what is in the mind of; to show (one's self); to cause to appear; -- used reflexively.

Expressive (a.) Serving to express, utter, or represent; indicative; communicative; -- followed by of; as, words expressive of his gratitude.

Exquisite (a.) Exceeding; extreme; keen; -- used in a bad or a good sense; as, exquisite pain or pleasure.

Extensible (a.) Capable of being extended, whether in length or breadth; susceptible of enlargement; extensible; extendible; -- the opposite of contractible or compressible.

Extension (v. t.) Capacity of a concept or general term to include a greater or smaller number of objects; -- correlative of intension.

Extensor (n.) A muscle which serves to extend or straighten any part of the body, as an arm or a finger; -- opposed to flexor.

Eyelash (n.) The fringe of hair that edges the eyelid; -- usually in the pl.

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

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

Famous (a.) Celebrated in fame or public report; renowned; mach talked of; distinguished in story; -- used in either a good or a bad sense, chiefly the former; often followed by for; as, famous for erudition, for eloquence, for military skill; a famous pirate.

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

Fergusonite (n.) A mineral of a brownish black color, essentially a tantalo-niobate of yttrium, erbium, and cerium; -- so called after Robert Ferguson.

Foxfish (n.) The fox shark; -- called also sea fox. See Thrasher shark, under Shark.

Fungus (n.) Any one of the Fungi, a large and very complex group of thallophytes of low organization, -- the molds, mildews, rusts, smuts, mushrooms, toadstools, puff balls, and the allies of each.

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

Garfish (n.) A European marine fish (Belone vulgaris); -- called also gar, gerrick, greenback, greenbone, gorebill, hornfish, longnose, mackerel guide, sea needle, and sea pike.

Garfish (n.) One of several species of similar fishes of the genus Tylosurus, of which one species (T. marinus) is common on the Atlantic coast. T. Caribbaeus, a very large species, and T. crassus, are more southern; -- called also needlefish. Many of the common names of the European garfish are also applied to the American species.

Gentisin (n.) A tasteless, yellow, crystalGiantship (n.) The state, personality, or character, of a giant; -- a compellation for a giant.

Gibbose (a.) Humped; protuberant; -- said of a surface which presents one or more large elevations.

Gneissoid (a.) Resembling gneiss; having some of the characteristics of gneiss; -- applied to rocks of an intermediate character between granite and gneiss, or mica slate and gneiss.

Gougeshell (n.) A sharp-edged, tubular, marine shell, of the genus Vermetus; also, the pinna. See Vermetus.

Grapeshot (n.) A cluster, usually nine in number, of small iron balls, put together by means of cast-iron circular plates at top and bottom, with two rings, and a central connecting rod, in order to be used as a charge for a cannon. Formerly grapeshot were inclosed in canvas bags.

Greenshank (n.) A European sandpiper or snipe (Totanus canescens); -- called also greater plover.

Groomsman (n.) A male attendant of a bridegroom at his wedding; -- the correlative of bridesmaid.

Grotesque (n.) Artificial grotto-work.

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

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

Hagioscope (n.) An opening made in the interior walls of a cruciform church to afford a view of the altar to those in the transepts; -- called, in architecture, a squint.

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

Haversack (n.) A bag or case, usually of stout cloth, in which a soldier carries his rations when on a march; -- distinguished from knapsack.

Herisson (n.) A beam or bar armed with iron spikes, and turning on a pivot; -- used to block up a passage.

Herpes (n.) An eruption of the skin, taking various names, according to its form, or the part affected; especially, an eruption of vesicles in small distinct clusters, accompanied with itching or tingling, including shingles, ringworm, and the like; -- so called from its tendency to creep or spread from one part of the skin to another.

Hobbism (n.) The philosophical system of Thomas Hobbes, an English materialist (1588-1679); esp., his political theory that the most perfect form of civil government is an absolute monarchy with despotic control over everything relating to law, morals, and religion.

Hogfish (n.) An American fresh-water fish; the log perch.

Hogfish (n.) A large, red, spiny-headed, European marine fish (Scorpaena scrofa).

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

Hyalospongia (n. pl.) An order of vitreous sponges, having glassy six-rayed, siliceous spicules; -- called also Hexactinellinae.

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.

Immersion (n.) The dissapearance of a celestail body, by passing either behind another, as in the occultation of a star, or into its shadow, as in the eclipse of a satellite; -- opposed to emersion.

Immission (n.) The act of immitting, or of sending or thrusting in; injection; -- the correlative of emission.

Implosion (n.) A burstion inwards, as of a vessel from which the air has been exhausted; -- contrasted with explosion.

Imprescriptible (a.) Not derived from, or dependent on, external authority; self-evidencing; obvious.

Impressionism (n.) The theory or method of suggesting an effect or impression without elaboration of the details; -- a disignation of a recent fashion in painting and etching.

Imprest (v. t.) A kind of earnest money; loan; -- specifically, money advanced for some public service, as in enlistment.

Impulsive (a.) Acting momentarily, or by impulse; not continuous; -- said of forces.

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

Intensive (a.) Designating, or pertaining to, any system of farming or horticulture, usually practiced on small pieces of land, in which the soil is thoroughly worked and fertilized so as to get as much return as possible; -- opposed to extensive.

Inclusive (a.) Comprehending the stated limit or extremes; as, from Monday to Saturday inclusive, that is, taking in both Monday and Saturday; -- opposed to exclusive.

Inconstant (a.) Not constant; not stable or uniform; subject to change of character, appearance, opinion, inclination, or purpose, etc.; not firm; unsteady; fickle; changeable; variable; -- said of persons or things; as, inconstant in love or friendship.

Increscent (a.) Increasing; on the increase; -- said of the moon represented as the new moon, with the points turned toward the dexter side.

Insensible (a.) Not susceptible of emotion or passion; void of feeling; apathetic; unconcerned; indifferent; as, insensible to danger, fear, love, etc.; -- often used with of or to.

Intension (n.) The collective attributes, qualities, or marks that make up a complex general notion; the comprehension, content, or connotation; -- opposed to extension, extent, or sphere.

Interscendent (a.) Having exponents which are radical quantities; -- said of certain powers; as, x?2, or x?a.

Intersternal (a.) Between the sternal; -- said of certain membranes or parts of insects and crustaceans.

Introspection (n.) A view of the inside or interior; a looking inward; specifically, the act or process of self-examination, or inspection of one's own thoughts and feelings; the cognition which the mind has of its own acts and states; self-consciousness; reflection.

Introspective (a.) Inspecting within; seeing inwardly; capable of, or exercising, inspection; self-conscious.

Introspective (a.) Involving the act or results of conscious knowledge of physical phenomena; -- contrasted with associational.

Inverse (a.) Opposite in order, relation, or effect; reversed; inverted; reciprocal; -- opposed to direct.

Inverse (a.) Opposite in nature and effect; -- said with reference to any two operations, which, when both are performed in succession upon any quantity, reproduce that quantity; as, multiplication is the inverse operation to division. The symbol of an inverse operation is the symbol of the direct operation with -1 as an index. Thus sin-1 x means the arc whose sine is x.

Inversely (adv.) In an inverse order or manner; by inversion; -- opposed to directly.

Iodous (a.) Pertaining to, or containing, iodine. See -ous (chemical suffix).

Iridescence (n.) Exhibition of colors like those of the rainbow; the quality or state of being iridescent; a prismatic play of color; as, the iridescence of mother-of-pearl.

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

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

Labiose (a.) Having the appearance of being labiate; -- said of certain polypetalous corollas.

Lacrosse (n.) A game of ball, originating among the North American Indians, now the popular field sport of Canada, and played also in England and the United States. Each player carries a long-handled racket, called a "crosse". The ball is not handled but caught with the crosse and carried on it, or tossed from it, the object being to carry it or throw it through one of the goals placed at opposite ends of the field.

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

Lammas (n.) The first day of August; -- called also Lammas day, and Lammastide.

Lampas (n.) An inflammation and swelling of the soft parts of the roof of the mouth immediately behind the fore teeth in the horse; -- called also lampers.

Lengest (a.) Longer; longest; -- obsolete compar. and superl. of long.

Leptus (n.) The six-legged young, or larva, of certain mites; -- sometimes used as a generic name. See Harvest mite, under Harvest.

Lewisson (n.) An iron dovetailed tenon, made in sections, which can be fitted into a dovetail mortise; -- used in hoisting large stones, etc.

Lights (n. pl.) The lungs of an animal or bird; -- sometimes coarsely applied to the lungs of a human being.

Lingism (n.) A mode of treating certain diseases, as obesity, by gymnastics; -- proposed by Pehr Henrik Ling, a Swede. See Kinesiatrics.

Lightstruck (a.) Damaged by accidental exposure to light; light-fogged; -- said of plates or films.

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

Lophosteon (n.) The central keel-bearing part of the sternum in birds.

Madras (n.) A large silk-and-cotton kerchief, usually of bright colors, such as those often used by negroes for turbans.

Macroscopical (a.) Visible to the unassisted eye; -- as opposed to microscopic.

Macrosporangium (n.) A sporangium or conceptacle containing only large spores; -- opposed to microsporangium. Both are found in the genera Selaginella, Isoctes, and Marsilia, plants remotely allied to ferns.

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

Mammose (a.) Having the form of the breast; breast-shaped.

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

Matrass (n.) A round-bottomed glass flask having a long neck; a bolthead.

Methysticin (n.) A white, silky, crystalMicraster (n.) A genus of sea urchins, similar to Spatangus, abounding in the chalk formation; -- from the starlike disposal of the ambulacral furrows.

Microseme (a.) Having the orbital index relatively small; having the orbits broad transversely; -- opposed to megaseme.

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

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

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

Molluscoidea (n. pl.) A division of Invertebrata which includes the classes Brachiopoda and Bryozoa; -- called also Anthoid Mollusca.

Molluscum (n.) A cutaneous disease characterized by numerous tumors, of various forms, filled with a thick matter; -- so called from the resemblance of the tumors to some molluscous animals.

Multisect (a.) Divided into many similar segments; -- said of an insect or myriapod.

Multispiral (a.) Having numerous spiral coils round a center or nucleus; -- said of the opercula of certain shells.

Munjistin (n.) An orange-red coloring substance resembling alizarin, found in the root of an East Indian species of madder (Rubia munjista).

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

Mykiss (n.) A salmon (Salmo mykiss, syn. S. purpuratus) marked with black spots and a red throat, found in most of the rivers from Alaska to the Colorado River, and in Siberia; -- called also black-spotted trout, cutthroat trout, and redthroat trout.

Narcissus (n.) A genus of endogenous bulbous plants with handsome flowers, having a cup-shaped crown within the six-lobed perianth, and comprising the daffodils and jonquils of several kinds.

Necessary (a.) Acting from necessity or compulsion; involuntary; -- opposed to free; as, whether man is a necessary or a free agent is a question much discussed.

Necessary (n.) A thing that is necessary or indispensable to some purpose; something that one can not do without; a requisite; an essential; -- used chiefly in the plural; as, the necessaries of life.

Necessary (n.) A privy; a water-closet.

Necessitarian (a.) Of or pertaining to the doctrine of philosophical necessity in regard to the origin and existence of things, especially as applied to the actings or choices of the will; -- opposed to libertarian.

Necessity (n.) That which is necessary; a necessary; a requisite; something indispensable; -- often in the plural.

Necroscopical (a.) Or or relating to post-mortem examinations.

Nereis (n.) A genus, including numerous species, of marine chaetopod annelids, having a well-formed head, with two pairs of eyes, antennae, four pairs of tentacles, and a protrusile pharynx, armed with a pair of hooked jaws.

Neuroskeleton (n.) The deep-seated parts of the vertebrate skeleton which are relation with the nervous axis and locomation.

Nigrosine (n.) A dark blue dyestuff, of the induObelisk (n.) An upright, four-sided pillar, gradually tapering as it rises, and terminating in a pyramid called pyramidion. It is ordinarily monolithic. Egyptian obelisks are commonly covered with hieroglyphic writing from top to bottom.

Obelisk (n.) A mark of reference; -- called also dagger [/]. See Dagger, n., 2.

Obelus (n.) A mark [thus /, or ? ]; -- so called as resembling a needle. In old MSS. or editions of the classics, it marks suspected passages or readings.

Obsession (n.) The state of being besieged; -- used specifically of a person beset by a spirit from without.

Obverse (a.) The face of a coin which has the principal image or inscription upon it; -- the other side being the reverse.

Offensive (a.) Making the first attack; assailant; aggressive; hence, used in attacking; -- opposed to defensive; as, an offensive war; offensive weapons.

Offensive (n.) The state or posture of one who offends or makes attack; aggressive attitude; the act of the attacking party; -- opposed to defensive.

Oligist (a.) Hematite or specular iron ore; -- prob. so called in allusion to its feeble magnetism, as compared with magnetite.

Onanism (n.) Self-pollution; masturbation.

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

Orchestra (n.) The space in a theater between the stage and the audience; -- originally appropriated by the Greeks to the chorus and its evolutions, afterward by the Romans to persons of distinction, and by the moderns to a band of instrumental musicians.

Orchestra (n.) A band composed, for the largest part, of players of the various viol instruments, many of each kind, together with a proper complement of wind instruments of wood and brass; -- as distinguished from a military or street band of players on wind instruments, and from an assemblage of solo players for the rendering of concerted pieces, such as septets, octets, and the like.

Orchestration (n.) The arrangement of music for an orchestra; orchestral treatment of a composition; -- called also instrumentation.

Orthospermous (a.) Having the seeds straight, as in the fruits of some umbelliferous plants; -- opposed to coelospermous.

Ostensible (a.) Shown; exhibited; declared; avowed; professed; apparent; -- often used as opposed to real or actual; as, an ostensible reason, motive, or aim.

Oviposit (v. i.) To lay or deposit eggs; -- said esp. of insects.

Oxalis (n.) A genus of plants, mostly herbs, with acid-tasting trifoliolate or multifoliolate leaves; -- called also wood sorrel.

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

Pathos (n.) The quality or character of those emotions, traits, or experiences which are personal, and therefore restricted and evanescent; transitory and idiosyncratic dispositions or feelings as distinguished from those which are universal and deep-seated in character; -- opposed to ethos.

Panoistic (a.) Producing ova only; -- said of the ovaries of certain insects which do not produce vitelligenous cells.

Pantoscopic (a.) Literally, seeing everything; -- a term applied to eyeglasses or spectacles divided into two segments, the upper being designed for distant vision, the lower for vision of near objects.

Parkesine (n.) A compound, originally made from gun cotton and castor oil, but later from different materials, and used as a substitute for vulcanized India rubber and for ivory; -- called also xylotile.

Parvise (n.) a court of entrance to, or an inclosed space before, a church; hence, a church porch; -- sometimes formerly used as place of meeting, as for lawyers.

Pentastyle (a.) Having five columns in front; -- said of a temple or portico in classical architecture.

Periostracum (n.) A chitinous membrane covering the exterior of many shells; -- called also epidermis.

Perissad (a.) Odd; not even; -- said of elementary substances and of radicals whose valence is not divisible by two without a remainder. Contrasted with artiad.

Perissodactyla (n. pl.) A division of ungulate mammals, including those that have an odd number of toes, as the horse, tapir, and rhinoceros; -- opposed to Artiodactyla.

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.

Pentosan () Alt. of -sane

Photosynthesis (n.) The process of constructive metabolism by which carbohydrates are formed from water vapor and the carbon dioxide of the air in the chlorophyll-containing tissues of plants exposed to the action of light. It was formerly called assimilation, but this is now commonly used as in animal physiology. The details of the process are not yet clearly known. Baeyer's theory is that the carbon dioxide is reduced to carbon monoxide, which, uniting with the hydrogen of the water in the c> Phaeospore (n.) A brownish zoospore, characteristic of an order (Phaeosporeae) of dark green or olive-colored algae.

Pharisaical (a.) Addicted to external forms and ceremonies; making a show of religion without the spirit of it; ceremonial; formal; hypocritical; self-righteous.

Pharisaism (n.) Rigid observance of external forms of religion, without genuine piety; hypocrisy in religion; a censorious, self-righteous spirit in matters of morals or manners.

Philister (n.) A Philistine; -- a cant name given to townsmen by students in German universities.

Physostigmine (n.) An alkaloid found in the Calabar bean (the seed of Physostigma venenosum), and extracted as a white, tasteless, substance, amorphous or crystalPianissimo (a.) Very soft; -- a direction to execute a passage as softly as possible. (Abbrev. pp.)

Pietist (n.) One of a class of religious reformers in Germany in the 17th century who sought to revive declining piety in the Protestant churches; -- often applied as a term of reproach to those who make a display of religious feeling. Also used adjectively.

Pigfish (n.) Any one of several species of salt-water grunts; -- called also hogfish.

Pinfish (n.) The salt-water bream (Diplodus Holbrooki).

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.

Pliers (n. pl.) A kind of small pinchers with long jaws, -- used for bending or cutting metal rods or wire, for handling small objects such as the parts of a watch, etc.

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.

Precisian (n.) An overprecise person; one rigidly or ceremoniously exact in the observance of rules; a formalist; -- formerly applied to the English Puritans.

Predesignate (a.) A term used by Sir William Hamilton to define propositions having their quantity indicated by a verbal sign; as, all, none, etc.; -- contrasted with preindesignate, defining propositions of which the quantity is not so indicated.

Predisposition (n.) The act of predisposing, or the state of being predisposed; previous inclination, tendency, or propensity; predilection; -- applied to the mind; as, a predisposition to anger.

Predisposition (n.) Previous fitness or adaptation to any change, impression, or purpose; susceptibility; -- applied to material things; as, the predisposition of the body to disease.

Preposition (n.) A word employed to connect a noun or a pronoun, in an adjectival or adverbial sense, with some other word; a particle used with a noun or pronoun (in English always in the objective case) to make a phrase limiting some other word; -- so called because usually placed before the word with which it is phrased; as, a bridge of iron; he comes from town; it is good for food; he escaped by running.

Prepossession (n.) Preoccupation of the mind by an opinion, or impression, already formed; preconceived opinion; previous impression; bias; -- generally, but not always, used in a favorable sense; as, the prepossessions of childhood.

Pricksong (v. t.) Music written, or noted, with dots or points; -- so called from the points or dots with which it is noted down.

Proboscidifera (n. pl.) A subdivision of the taenioglossate gastropods, including the fig-shells (Pyrula), the helmet shells (Cassis), the tritons, and allied genera.

Process (n.) The whole course of proceedings in a cause real or personal, civil or criminal, from the beginning to the end of the suit; strictly, the means used for bringing the defendant into court to answer to the action; -- a generic term for writs of the class called judicial.

Professional (a.) Engaged in by professionals; as, a professional race; -- opposed to amateur.

Professionalism (n.) The following of a profession, sport, etc., as an occupation; -- opposed to amateurism.

Protasis (n.) The introductory or subordinate member of a sentence, generally of a conditional sentence; -- opposed to apodosis. See Apodosis.

Protest (v. i.) To make a solemn declaration (often a written one) expressive of opposition; -- with against; as, he protest against your votes.

Protestant (v.) One who protests; -- originally applied to those who adhered to Luther, and protested against, or made a solemn declaration of dissent from, a decree of the Emperor Charles V. and the Diet of Spires, in 1529, against the Reformers, and appealed to a general council; -- now used in a popular sense to designate any Christian who does not belong to the Roman Catholic or the Greek Church.

Protestation (n.) Formerly, a declaration in common-law pleading, by which the party interposes an oblique allegation or denial of some fact, protesting that it does or does not exist, and at the same time avoiding a direct affirmation or denial.

Provision (n.) Especially, a stock of food; any kind of eatables collected or stored; -- often in the plural.

Provisional (a.) Of the nature of a provision; serving as a provision for the time being; -- used of partial or temporary arrangements; as, a provisional government; a provisional treaty.

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

Pterosauria (n. pl.) An extinct order of flying reptiles of the Mesozoic age; the pterodactyls; -- called also Pterodactyli, and Ornithosauria.

Purpose (v. t.) To propose, as an aim, to one's self; to determine upon, as some end or object to be accomplished; to intend; to design; to resolve; -- often followed by an infinitive or dependent clause.

Quicksilver (a.) The metal mercury; -- so called from its resemblance to liquid silver.

Quicksilvering (n.) The mercury and foil on the back of a looking-glass.

Radius (n.) Radiating organs, or color-markings, of the radiates.

Ratfish (n.) Same as Rat-tail.

Ravissant (a.) In a half-raised position, as if about to spring on prey.

Rectiserial (a.) Arranged in exactly vertical ranks, as the leaves on stems of many kinds; -- opposed to curviserial.

Recursant (a.) Displayed with the back toward the spectator; -- said especially of an eagle.

Redfish (n.) The blueback salmon of the North Pacific; -- called also nerka. See Blueback (b).

Redfish (n.) A large California labroid food fish (Trochocopus pulcher); -- called also fathead.

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.

Repousse (a.) Ornamented with patterns in relief made by pressing or hammering on the reverse side; -- said of thin metal, or of a vessel made of thin metal.

Representative (a.) Similar in general appearance, structure, and habits, but living in different regions; -- said of certain species and varieties.

Retrospective (a.) Looking backward; contemplating things past; -- opposed to prospective; as, a retrospective view.

Reversible (a.) Hence, having a pattern or finished surface on both sides, so that either may be used; -- said of fabrics.

Revulsion (n.) A sudden reaction; a sudden and complete change; -- applied to the feelings.

Release (n.) A catch on a motor-starting rheostat, which automatically releases the rheostat arm and so stops the motor in case of a break in the field circuit; also, the catch on an electromagnetic circuit breaker for a motor, which acts in case of an overload.

Release (n.) In the block-signaling system, a printed card conveying information and instructions to be used at intermediate sidings without telegraphic stations.

Rictus (n.) The gape of the mouth, as of birds; -- often resricted to the corners of the mouth.

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

Scarus (n.) A Mediterranean food fish (Sparisoma scarus) of excellent quality and highly valued by the Romans; -- called also parrot fish.

Selfishness (n.) The quality or state of being selfish; exclusive regard to one's own interest or happiness; that supreme self-love or self-preference which leads a person to direct his purposes to the advancement of his own interest, power, or happiness, without regarding those of others.

Selfism (n.) Concentration of one's interests on one's self; self-love; selfishness.

Selvagee (n.) A skein or hank of rope yarns wound round with yarns or marSentisection (n.) Painful vivisection; -- opposed to callisection.

Sequester (v. t.) To cause to retire or withdraw into obscurity; to seclude; to withdraw; -- often used reflexively.

Series (n.) A mode of arranging the separate parts of a circuit by connecting them successively end to end to form a single path for the current; -- opposed to parallel. The parts so arranged are said to be in series.

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.

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

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

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

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

Snakestone (n.) An ammonite; -- so called from its form, which resembles that of a coiled snake.

Sowens (n. pl.) A nutritious article of food, much used in Scotland, made from the husk of the oat by a process not unlike that by which common starch is made; -- called flummery in England.

Stapes (n.) The innermost of the ossicles of the ear; the stirrup, or stirrup bone; -- so called from its form. See Illust. of Ear.

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

Sternson (n.) The end of a ship's keelson, to which the sternpost is bolted; -- called also stern knee.

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

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.

Stress (n.) Pressure, strain; -- used chiefly of immaterial things; except in mechanics; hence, urgency; importance; weight; significance.

Stress (n.) Force of utterance expended upon words or syllables. Stress is in English the chief element in accent and is one of the most important in emphasis. See Guide to pronunciation, // 31-35.

Stylus (n.) That needle-shaped part at the tip of the playing arm of phonograph which sits in the groove of a phonograph record while it is turning, to detect the undulations in the phonograph groove and convert them into vibrations which are transmitted to a system (since 1920 electronic) which converts the signal into sound; also called needle. The stylus is frequently composed of metal or diamond.

Stylus (n.) The needle-like device used to cut the grooves which record the sound on the original disc during recording of a phonograph record.

Stylus (n.) A pen-shaped pointing device used to specify the cursor position on a graphics tablet.

Successor (n.) One who succeeds or follows; one who takes the place which another has left, and sustains the like part or character; -- correlative to predecessor; as, the successor of a deceased king.

Suchospondylous (a.) Having dorsal vertebrae with long and divided transverse processes; -- applied to certain reptiles.

Suggestion (n.) The act or power of originating or recalling ideas or relations, distinguished as original and relative; -- a term much used by Scottish metaphysicians from Hutcherson to Thomas Brown.

Sunfish (n.) Any one of numerous species of perch-like North American fresh-water fishes of the family Centrachidae. They have a broad, compressed body, and strong dorsal spines. Among the common species of the Eastern United States are Lepomis gibbosus (called also bream, pondfish, pumpkin seed, and sunny), the blue sunfish, or dollardee (L. pallidus), and the long-eared sunfish (L. auritus). Several of the species are called also pondfish.

Surbased (a.) Having the vertical height from springing Swarmspore (n.) One of the minute flagellate germs produced by the sporulation of a protozoan; -- called also zoospore.

Symposium (n.) A collection of short essays by different authors on a common topic; -- so called from the appellation given to the philosophical dialogue by the Greeks.

Tablespoon (n.) A spoon of the largest size commonly used at the table; -- distinguished from teaspoon, dessert spoon, etc.

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.

Taurus (n.) The Bull; the second in order of the twelve signs of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the 20th of April; -- marked thus [/] in almanacs.

Taurus (n.) A zodiacal constellation, containing the well-known clusters called the Pleiades and the Hyades, in the latter of which is situated the remarkably bright Aldebaran.

Tachyscope (n.) An early form of antimated-picture machine, devised in 1889 by Otto Anschutz of Berlin, in which the chronophotographs were mounted upon the periphery of a rotating wheel.

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

Teatish (a.) Peevish; tettish; fretful; -- said of a child. See Tettish.

Teinoscope (n.) An instrument formed by combining prisms so as to correct the chromatic aberration of the light while Tenuis (n.) One of the three surd mutes /, /, /; -- so called in relation to their respective middle letters, or medials, /, /, /, and their aspirates, /, /, /. The term is also applied to the corresponding letters and articulate elements in other languages.

Tetrastyle (a.) Having four columns in front; -- said of a temple, portico, or colonnade.

Thalassic (a.) Of or pertaining to the sea; -- sometimes applied to rocks formed from sediments deposited upon the sea bottom.

Tharos (n.) A small American butterfly (Phycoides tharos) having the upper surface of the wings variegated with orange and black, the outer margins black with small white crescents; -- called also pearl crescent.

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

Thumbscrew (n.) A screw having a flat-sided or knurled head, so that it may be turned by the thumb and forefinger.

Tights (n. pl.) Close-fitting garments, especially for the lower part of the body and the legs.

Toothshell (n.) Any species of Dentalium and allied genera having a tooth-shaped shell. See Dentalium.

Touchstone (n.) Lydian stone; basanite; -- so called because used to test the purity of gold and silver by the streak which is left upon the stone when it is rubbed by the metal. See Basanite.

Travesty (a.) Disguised by dress so as to be ridiculous; travestied; -- applied to a book or shorter composition.

Tretys (a.) Long and well-proportioned; nicely made; pretty.

Tribasic (a.) Capable of neutralizing three molecules of a monacid base, or their equivalent; having three hydrogen atoms capable of replacement by basic elements on radicals; -- said of certain acids; thus, citric acid is a tribasic acid.

Tricostate (a.) Three-ribbed; having three ribs from the base.

Tricuspidate (a.) Three-pointed; ending in three points; as, a tricuspidate leaf.

Trigastric (a.) Having three bellies; -- said of a muscle.

Trikosane (n.) A hydrocarbon, C23H48, of the methane series, resembling paraffin; -- so called because it has twenty-three atoms of carbon in the molecule.

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

Unalist (n.) An ecclesiastical who holds but one benefice; -- distinguished from pluralist.

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

Unconscious (a.) Having no knowledge by experience; -- followed by of; as, a mule unconscious of the yoke.

Undershirt (n.) A shirt worn next the skin, under another shirt; -- called also undervest.

Undershot (a.) Moved by water passing beneath; -- said of a water wheel, and opposed to overshot; as, an undershot wheel.

Undersleeve (n.) A sleeve of an under-garment; a sleeve worn under another,

Undersparred (a.) Having spars smaller than the usual dimension; -- said of vessels.

Undress (n.) An authorized habitual dress of officers and soldiers, but not full-dress uniform.

Unicostate (a.) Having a single rib or strong nerve running upward from the base; -- said of a leaf.

Unseasonable (a.) Not seasonable; being, done, or occurring out of the proper season; ill-timed; untimely; too early or too late; as, he called at an unseasonable hour; unseasonable advice; unseasonable frosts; unseasonable food.

Unseasoned (a.) Untimely; ill-timed.

Untressed (a.) Not tied up in tresses; unarranged; -- said of the hair.

Uredospore (n.) The thin-walled summer spore which is produced during the so-called Uredo stage of certain rusts. See (in the Supplement) Uredinales, Heter/cious, etc.

Urogastric (a.) Behind the stomach; -- said of two lobes of the carapace of certain crustaceans.

Vacuist (n.) One who holds the doctrine that the space between the bodies of the universe, or the molecules and atoms of matter., is a vacuum; -- opposed to plenist.

Venous (a.) Contained in the veins, or having the same qualities as if contained in the veins, that is, having a dark bluish color and containing an insufficient amount of oxygen so as no longer to be fit for oxygenating the tissues; -- said of the blood, and opposed to arterial.

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

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

Wapinschaw (n.) An exhibition of arms. according to the rank of the individual, by all persons bearing arms; -- formerly made at certain seasons in each district.

Waterscape (n.) A sea view; -- distinguished from landscape.

Whiteside (n.) The golden-eye.

Whoreson (n.) A bastard; colloquially, a low, scurvy fellow; -- used generally in contempt, or in coarse humor. Also used adjectively.

Xiphisternum (n.) The posterior segment, or extremity, of the sternum; -- sometimes called metasternum, ensiform cartilage, ensiform process, or xiphoid process.

Zamouse (n.) A West African buffalo (Bubalus brachyceros) having short horns depressed at the base, and large ears fringed internally with three rows of long hairs. It is destitute of a dewlap. Called also short-horned buffalo, and bush cow.

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

About the author

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

Copyright © 2011 Mark McCracken , All Rights Reserved.