Words whose 9th letter is N

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.

Accretion (n.) Gain to an heir or legatee, failure of a coheir to the same succession, or a co-legatee of the same thing, to take his share.

Adduction (n.) The action by which the parts of the body are drawn towards its axis]; -- opposed to abduction.

Adjustment (n.) Settlement of claims; an equitable arrangement of conflicting claims, as in set-off, contribution, exoneration, subrogation, and marshaling.

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.

Affection (n.) A settled good will; kind feeling; love; zealous or tender attachment; -- often in the pl. Formerly followed by to, but now more generally by for or towards; as, filial, social, or conjugal affections; to have an affection for or towards children.

Affectionate (a.) Strongly inclined; -- with to.

Afflicting (a.) Grievously painful; distressing; afflictive; as, an afflicting event. -- Af*flict"ing*ly, adv.

Allantoin (n.) A crystalline, transparent, colorless substance found in the allantoic liquid of the fetal calf; -- formerly called allantoic acid and amniotic acid.

Almendron (n.) The lofty Brazil-nut tree.

Alphonsine (a.) Of or relating to Alphonso X., the Wise, King of Castile (1252-1284).

Altisonant (a.) High-sounding; lofty or pompous.

Antelucan (a.) Held or being before light; -- a word applied to assemblies of Christians, in ancient times of persecution, held before light in the morning.

Anthraconite (n.) A coal-black marble, usually emitting a fetid smell when rubbed; -- called also stinkstone and swinestone.

Anticipant (a.) Anticipating; expectant; -- with of.

Antitoxine (n.) A substance (sometimes the product of a specific micro-organism and sometimes naturally present in the blood or tissues of an animal), capable of producing immunity from certain diseases, or of counteracting the poisonous effects of pathogenic bacteria.

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

Astringent (a.) Drawing together the tissues; binding; contracting; -- opposed to laxative; as, astringent medicines; a butter and astringent taste; astringent fruit.

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

Autochronograph (n.) An instrument for the instantaneous self-recording or printing of time.

Autofecundation (n.) Self-impregnation.

Automaton (v. i.) A self-moving machine, or one which has its motive power within itself; -- applied chiefly to machines which appear to imitate spontaneously the motions of living beings, such as men, birds, etc.

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

Barkentine (n.) A threemasted vessel, having the foremast square-rigged, and the others schooner-rigged. [Spelled also barquentine, barkantine, etc.] See Illust. in Append.

Battalion (n.) An infantry command of two or more companies, which is the tactical unit of the infantry, or the smallest command which is self-supporting upon the battlefield, and also the unit in which the strength of the infantry of an army is expressed.

Beforehand (adv.) In a state of anticipation ore preoccupation; in advance; -- often followed by with.

Belladonna (n.) An herbaceous European plant (Atropa belladonna) with reddish bell-shaped flowers and shining black berries. The whole plant and its fruit are very poisonous, and the root and leaves are used as powerful medicinal agents. Its properties are largely due to the alkaloid atropine which it contains. Called also deadly nightshade.

Betterment (n.) An improvement of an estate which renders it better than mere repairing would do; -- generally used in the plural.

Bellarmine (n.) A stoneware jug of a pattern originated in the neighborhood of Cologne, Germany, in the 16th century. It has a bearded face or mask supposed to represent Cardinal Bellarmine, a leader in the Roman Catholic Counter Reformation, following the Reformation; -- called also graybeard, longbeard.

Bismuthinite (n.) Native bismuth sulphide; -- sometimes called bismuthite.

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

Bombardon (n.) Originally, a deep-toned instrument of the oboe or bassoon family; thence, a bass reed stop on the organ. The name bombardon is now given to a brass instrument, the lowest of the saxhorns, in tone resembling the ophicleide.

Brevipennate (a.) Short-winged; -- applied to birds which can not fly, owing to their short wings, as the ostrich, cassowary, and emu.

Brigantine (n.) A two-masted, square-rigged vessel, differing from a brig in that she does not carry a square mainsail.

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

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

Bushelman (n.) A tailor's assistant for repairing garments; -- called also busheler.

Cadaverine () Alt. of -in

Candlepin (n.) The game played with such pins; -- in form candlepins, used as a singular.

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

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

Centrolineal (a.) Converging to a center; -- applied to lines drawn so as to meet in a point or center.

Chalybean (a.) Of superior quality and temper; -- applied to steel.

Checkrein (n.) A short rein looped over the check hook to prevent a horse from lowering his head; -- called also a bearing rein.

Christian (n.) One of a sect (called Christian Connection) of open-communion immersionists. The Bible is their only authoritative rule of faith and practice.

Cinchonine (n.) One of the quinine group of alkaloids isomeric with and resembling cinchonidine; -- called also cinchonia.

Clavicorn (a.) Having club-shaped antennae. See Antennae

Clavicornes (n. pl.) A group of beetles having club-shaped antennae.

Coerulignone (n.) A bluish violet, crystalCoexistence (n.) Existence at the same time with another; -- contemporary existence.

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

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

Colchicine (n.) A powerful vegetable alkaloid, C17H19NO5, extracted from the Colchicum autumnale, or meadow saffron, as a white or yellowish amorphous powder, with a harsh, bitter taste; -- called also colchicia.

Collation (v. t.) A light repast or luncheon; as, a cold collation; -- first applied to the refreshment on fast days that accompanied the reading of the collation in monasteries.

Combattant (a.) In the position of fighting; -- said of two lions set face to face, each rampant.

Commandant (n.) A commander; the commanding officer of a place, or of a body of men; as, the commandant of a navy-yard.

Commitment (n.) A warrant or order for the imprisonment of a person; -- more frequently termed a mittimus.

Companion (n.) A fellow; -- in contempt.

Complacent (a.) Self-satisfied; contented; kindly; as, a complacent temper; a complacent smile.

Complement (v. t.) The interval wanting to complete the octave; -- the fourth is the complement of the fifth, the sixth of the third.

Concertino (n.) A piece for one or more solo instruments with orchestra; -- more concise than the concerto.

Concurrence (n.) A meeting of minds; agreement in opinion; union in design or act; -- implying joint approbation.

Concurrent (n.) One of the supernumerary days of the year over fifty-two complete weeks; -- so called because they concur with the solar cycle, the course of which they follow.

Condition (n.) A clause in a contract, or agreement, which has for its object to suspend, to defeat, or in some way to modify, the principal obligation; or, in case of a will, to suspend, revoke, or modify a devise or bequest. It is also the case of a future uncertain event, which may or may not happen, and on the occurrence or non-occurrence of which, the accomplishment, recission, or modification of an obligation or testamentary disposition is made to depend.

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

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

Conversant (a.) Familiar or acquainted by use or study; well-informed; versed; -- generally used with with, sometimes with in.

Convertend (n.) Any proposition which is subject to the process of conversion; -- so called in its relation to itself as converted, after which process it is termed the converse. See Converse, n. (Logic).

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

Cornopean (n.) An obsolete name for the cornet-a-piston.

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.

Covetousness (n.) A strong or inordinate desire of obtaining and possessing some supposed good; excessive desire for riches or money; -- in a bad sense.

Cracovienne (n.) A lively Polish dance, in 2-4 time.

Crapaudine (n.) Turning on pivots at the top and bottom; -- said of a door.

Cuckoopint (n.) A plant of the genus Arum (A. maculatum); the European wake-robin.

Curmurring (n.) Murmuring; grumbling; -- sometimes applied to the rumbling produced by a slight attack of the gripes.

Cyamellone (n.) A complex derivative of cyanogen, regarded as an acid, and known chiefly in its salts; -- called also hydromellonic acid.

Dandelion (n.) A well-known plant of the genus Taraxacum (T. officinale, formerly called T. Dens-leonis and Leontodos Taraxacum) bearing large, yellow, compound flowers, and deeply notched leaves.

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

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

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

Decillion (n.) According to the English notation, a million involved to the tenth power, or a unit with sixty ciphers annexed; according to the French and American notation, a thousand involved to the eleventh power, or a unit with thirty-three ciphers annexed. [See the Note under Numeration.]

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.

Defluxion (n.) A discharge or flowing of humors or fluid matter, as from the nose in catarrh; -- sometimes used synonymously with inflammation.

Descendant (n.) One who descends, as offspring, however remotely; -- correlative to ancestor or ascendant.

Despondent (a.) Marked by despondence; given to despondence; low-spirited; as, a despondent manner; a despondent prisoner.

Dictyogen (n.) A plant with net-veined leaves, and monocotyledonous embryos, belonging to the class Dictyogenae, proposed by Lindley for the orders Dioscoreaceae, Smilaceae, Trilliaceae, etc.

Dimension (n.) Measure in a single line, as length, breadth, height, thickness, or circumference; extension; measurement; -- usually, in the plural, measure in length and breadth, or in length, breadth, and thickness; extent; size; as, the dimensions of a room, or of a ship; the dimensions of a farm, of a kingdom.

Diphyodont (a.) Having two successive sets of teeth (deciduous and permanent), one succeeding the other; as, a diphyodont mammal; diphyodont dentition; -- opposed to monophyodont.

Direction (n.) The pointing of a piece with reference to an imaginary vertical axis; -- distinguished from elevation. The direction is given when the plane of sight passes through the object.

Discerning (a.) Acute; shrewd; sagacious; sharp-sighted.

Disciplinarian (n.) A Puritan or Presbyterian; -- because of rigid adherence to religious or church discipline.

DiscipDisconvenient (a.) Not convenient or congruous; unsuitable; ill-adapted.

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

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.

Easterling (n.) A native of a country eastward of another; -- used, by the English, of traders or others from the coasts of the Baltic.

Elevation (n.) The act of raising from a lower place, condition, or quality to a higher; -- said of material things, persons, the mind, the voice, etc.; as, the elevation of grain; elevation to a throne; elevation of mind, thoughts, or character.

Elevation (n.) The movement of the axis of a piece in a vertical plane; also, the angle of elevation, that is, the angle between the axis of the piece and the Elevation (n.) A geometrical projection of a building, or other object, on a plane perpendicular to the horizon; orthographic projection on a vertical plane; -- called by the ancients the orthography.

Embonpoint (n.) Plumpness of person; -- said especially of persons somewhat corpulent.

Ensanguine (v. t.) To stain or cover with blood; to make bloody, or of a blood-red color; as, an ensanguined hue.

Equidiurnal (a.) Pertaining to the time of equal day and night; -- applied to the equinoctial line.

Equivalent (a.) Equal in measure but not admitting of superposition; -- applied to magnitudes; as, a square may be equivalent to a triangle.

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.

Eutychian (n.) A follower of Eutyches [5th century], who held that the divine and the human in the person of Christ were blended together as to constitute but one nature; a monophysite; -- opposed to Nestorian.

Evolution (n.) The extraction of roots; -- the reverse of involution.

Evolution (n.) That theory of generation which supposes the germ to preexist in the parent, and its parts to be developed, but not actually formed, by the procreative act; -- opposed to epigenesis.

Exalbuminous (a.) Having no albumen about the embryo; -- said of certain seeds.

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

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.

Execution (n.) That which is executed or accomplished; effect; effective work; -- usually with do.

Experiment (v. t.) To make experiment; to operate by test or trial; -- often with on, upon, or in, referring to the subject of an experiment; with, referring to the instrument; and by, referring to the means; as, to experiment upon electricity; he experimented in plowing with ponies, or by steam power.

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

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

Extrabranchial (a.) Outside of the branchial arches; -- said of the cartilages thus placed in some fishes.

Flabellinerved (a.) Having many nerves diverging radiately from the base; -- said of a leaf.

Flagellant (n.) One of a fanatical sect which flourished in Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries, and maintained that flagellation was of equal virtue with baptism and the sacrament; -- called also disciplinant.

Flamboyant (a.) Characterized by waving or flamelike curves, as in the tracery of windows, etc.; -- said of the later (15th century) French Gothic style.

Foliation (n.) The act of coating with an amalgam of tin foil and quicksilver, as in making looking-glasses.

Forbearance (n.) The quality of being forbearing; indulgence toward offenders or enemies; long-suffering.

Forbearing (a.) Disposed or accustomed to forbear; patient; long-suffering.

Foreground (n.) On a painting, and sometimes in a bas-relief, mosaic picture, or the like, that part of the scene represented, which is nearest to the spectator, and therefore occupies the lowest part of the work of art itself. Cf. Distance, n., 6.

Frangulin (n.) A yellow crystalGentleman (n.) One of gentle or refined manners; a well-bred man.

Gentleman (n.) A man, irrespective of condition; -- used esp. in the plural (= citizens; people), in addressing men in popular assemblies, etc.

Gentlemanly (a.) Of, pertaining to, resembling, or becoming, a gentleman; well-behaved; courteous; polite.

Gephyrean (a.) Belonging to the Gephyrea. -- n. One of the Gerphyrea.

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

Grimalkin (n.) An old cat, esp. a she-cat.

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

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

Harlequin (n.) A buffoon, dressed in party-colored clothes, who plays tricks, often without speaking, to divert the bystanders or an audience; a merry-andrew; originally, a droll rogue of Italian comedy.

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

Heterodont (a.) Having the teeth differentiated into incisors, canines, and molars, as in man; -- opposed to homodont.

Heterogangliate (a.) Having the ganglia of the nervous system unsymmetrically arranged; -- said of certain invertebrate animals.

Heterogeneous (a.) Differing in kind; having unlike qualities; possessed of different characteristics; dissimilar; -- opposed to homogeneous, and said of two or more connected objects, or of a conglomerate mass, considered in respect to the parts of which it is made up.

Heterogenesis (n.) That method of reproduction in which the successive generations differ from each other, the parent organism producing offspring different in habit and structure from itself, the original form, however, reappearing after one or more generations; -- opposed to homogenesis, or gamogenesis.

Heterogynous (a.) Having females very unlike the males in form and structure; -- as certain insects, the males of which are winged, and the females wingless.

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

Hipparion (n.) An extinct genus of Tertiary mammals allied to the horse, but three-toed, having on each foot a small lateral hoof on each side of the main central one. It is believed to be one of the ancestral genera of the Horse family.

Hinterland (n.) The land or region lying behind the coast district. The term is used esp. with reference to the so-called doctrine of the hinterland, sometimes advanced, that occupation of the coast supports a claim to an exclusive right to occupy, from time to time, the territory lying inland of the coast.

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.

Hydantoin (n.) A derivative of urea, C3H4N2O2, obtained from allantion, as a white, crystalHydrocyanide (n.) A compound of hydrocyanic acid with a base; -- distinguished from a cyanide, in which only the cyanogen so combines.

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

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.

Incoherent (a.) Not coherent; wanting cohesion; loose; unconnected; physically disconnected; not fixed to each; -- said of material substances.

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.

Indoctrinate (v. t.) To instruct in the rudiments or principles of learning, or of a branch of learning; to imbue with learning; to instruct in, or imbue with, principles or doctrines; to teach; -- often followed by in.

Induction (n.) A process of demonstration in which a general truth is gathered from an examination of particular cases, one of which is known to be true, the examination being so conducted that each case is made to depend on the preceding one; -- called also successive induction.

Inflation (n.) Undue expansion or increase, from overissue; -- said of currency.

Infrabranchial (a.) Below the gills; -- applied to the ventral portion of the pallial chamber in the lamellibranchs.

Injection (n.) The act of injecting or throwing in; -- applied particularly to the forcible throwing in of a liquid, or aeriform body, by means of a syringe, pump, etc.

Insertion (n.) The point or part by which a muscle or tendon is attached to the part to be moved; -- in contradistinction to its origin.

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.

Intentioned (a.) Having designs; -- chiefly used in composition; as, well-intentioned, having good designs; ill-intentioned, having ill designs.

Internment (n.) Confinement within narrow limits, -- as of foreign troops, to the interior of a country.

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

Intuition (n.) Direct apprehension or cognition; immediate knowledge, as in perception or consciousness; -- distinguished from "mediate" knowledge, as in reasoning; as, the mind knows by intuition that black is not white, that a circle is not a square, that three are more than two, etc.; quick or ready insight or apprehension.

Intuitionalism (n.) The doctrine that the perception or recognition of primary truth is intuitive, or direct and immediate; -- opposed to sensationalism, and experientialism.

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.

Jacqueminot (n.) A half-hardy, deep crimson rose of the remontant class; -- so named after General Jacqueminot, of France.

Jeffersonia (n.) An American herb with a pretty, white, solitary blossom, and deeply two-cleft leaves (Jeffersonia diphylla); twinleaf.

Jeffersonite (n.) A variety of pyroxene of olive-green color passing into brown. It contains zinc.

Kilderkin (n.) A small barrel; an old liquid measure containing eighteen English beer gallons, or nearly twenty-two gallons, United States measure.

Kinetogenesis (n.) An instrument for producing curves by the combination of circular movements; -- called also kinescope.

Kiteflying (n.) A mode of raising money, or sustaining one's credit, by the use of paper which is merely nominal; -- called also kiting.

Klipspringer (n.) A small, graceful South African antelope (Nanotragus oreotragus), which, like the chamois, springs from one crag to another with great agility; -- called also kainsi.

Latisternal (a.) Having a broad breastbone, or sternum; -- said of anthropoid apes.

Leontodon (n.) A genus of liguliflorous composite plants, including the fall dandelion (L. autumnale), and formerly the true dandelion; -- called also lion's tooth.

Leptorhine (a.) Having the nose narrow; -- said esp. of the skull. Opposed to platyrhine.

Ligustrin (n.) A bitter principle found in the bark of the privet (Ligustrum vulgare), and extracted as a white crystalLimicoLithophane (n.) Porcelain impressed with figures which are made distinct by transmitted light, -- as when hung in a window, or used as a lamp shade.

Logrolling (n.) Hence: A combining to assist another in consideration of receiving assistance in return; -- sometimes used of a disreputable mode of accomplishing political schemes or ends.

Longicorn (a.) Long-horned; pertaining to the Longicornia.

Lymphadenitis (n.) Inflammation of the lymphatic glands; -- called also lymphitis.

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

Mechoacan (n.) A species of jalap, of very feeble properties, said to be obtained from the root of a species of Convolvulus (C. Mechoacan); -- so called from Michoacan, in Mexico, whence it is obtained.

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

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

Metosteon (n.) The postero-lateral ossification in the sternum of birds; also, the part resulting from such ossification.

Microbion (n.) A microscopic organism; -- particularly applied to bacteria and especially to pathogenic forms; as, the microbe of fowl cholera.

Middleman (n.) An agent between two parties; a broker; a go-between; any dealer between the producer and the consumer; in Ireland, one who takes land of the proprietors in large tracts, and then rents it out in small portions to the peasantry.

Miscellane (n.) A mixture of two or more sorts of grain; -- now called maslin and meslin.

Misdemean (v. t.) To behave ill; -- with a reflexive pronoun; as, to misdemean one's self.

Modillion (n.) The enriched block or horizontal bracket generally found under the cornice of the Corinthian and Composite entablature, and sometimes, less ornamented, in the Ionic and other orders; -- so called because of its arrangement at regulated distances.

Morintannic (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, a variety of tannic acid extracted from fustic (Maclura, formerly Morus, tinctoria) as a yellow crystalMorphogeny (n.) History of the evolution of forms; that part of ontogeny that deals with the germ history of forms; -- distinguished from physiogeny.

Motherland (n.) The country of one's ancestors; -- same as fatherland.

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

Muscardin (n.) The common European dormouse; -- so named from its odor.

Nehushtan (n.) A thing of brass; -- the name under which the Israelites worshiped the brazen serpent made by Moses.

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

Neoplatonism (n.) A pantheistic eclectic school of philosophy, of which Plotinus was the chief (A. D. 205-270), and which sought to reconcile the Platonic and Aristotelian systems with Oriental theosophy. It tended to mysticism and theurgy, and was the last product of Greek philosophy.

Noncondensible (a.) Not condensible; incapable of being liquefied; -- said of gases.

Noncontent (n.) One who gives a negative vote; -- sometimes abridged into noncon. or non con.

Nonillion (n.) According to the French and American notation, a thousand octillions, or a unit with thirty ciphers annexed; according to the English notation, a million octillions, or a unit with fifty-four ciphers annexed. See the Note under Numeration.

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

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

Octillion (n.) According to the French method of numeration (which method is followed also in the United States) the number expressed by a unit with twenty-seven ciphers annexed. According to the English method, the number expressed by a unit with forty-eight ciphers annexed. See Numeration.

Ocypodian (n.) One of a tribe of crabs which live in holes in the sand along the seashore, and run very rapidly, -- whence the name.

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.

Omniscience (n.) The quality or state of being omniscient; -- an attribute peculiar to God.

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

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

Ovalbumen (n.) The albumin from white of eggs; egg albumin; -- in distinction from serum albumin. See Albumin.

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

Palpicorn (n.) One of a group of aquatic beetles (Palpicornia) having short club-shaped antennae, and long maxillary palpi.

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

Pauhaugen (n.) The menhaden; -- called also poghaden.

Pendragon (n.) A chief leader or a king; a head; a dictator; -- a title assumed by the ancient British chiefs when called to lead other chiefs.

Peppermint (n.) A volatile oil (oil of peppermint) distilled from the fresh herb; also, a well-known essence or spirit (essence of peppermint) obtained from it.

Percheron (n.) One of a breed of draught horses originating in Perche, an old district of France; -- called also Percheron-Norman.

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.

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.

Pitchblende (n.) A pitch-black mineral consisting chiefly of the oxide of uranium; uraninite. See Uraninite.

Piperazine () Alt. of -zin

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

Platyrhine (a.) Having the nose broad; -- opposed to leptorhine.

Platyrhini (n. pl.) A division of monkeys, including the American species, which have a broad nasal septum, thirty-six teeth, and usually a prehensile tail. See Monkey.

Polytechnic (a.) Comprehending, or relating to, many arts and sciences; -- applied particularly to schools in which many branches of art and science are taught with especial reference to their practical application; also to exhibitions of machinery and industrial products.

Porcelain (n.) A fine translucent or semitransculent kind of earthenware, made first in China and Japan, but now also in Europe and America; -- called also China, or China ware.

Porcelainized (a.) Baked like potter's lay; -- applied to clay shales that have been converted by heat into a substance resembling porcelain.

Porcellaneous (a.) Having a smooth, compact shell without pores; -- said of certain Foraminifera.

Provenience (n.) Origin; source; place where found or produced; provenance; -- used esp. in the fine arts and in archaeology; as, the provenience of a patera.

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

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.

Proficient (a.) Well advanced in any branch of knowledge or skill; possessed of considerable acquirements; well-skilled; versed; adept,

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.

Protozoonite (n.) One of the primary, or first-formed, segments of an embryonic arthropod.

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.

Pulmobranchiate (a. & n.) Same as Pulmonibranchiata, -ate.

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

Pyrethrin (n.) A substance resembling, and isomeric with, ordinary camphor, and extracted from the essential oil of feverfew; -- called also Pyrethrum camphor.

Pyroxylin (n.) A substance resembling gun cotton in composition and properties, but distinct in that it is more highly nitrified and is soluble in alcohol, ether, etc.; -- called also pyroxyle.

Quadripennate (a.) Having four wings; -- said of insects.

Quadrumana (n. pl.) A division of the Primates comprising the apes and monkeys; -- so called because the hind foot is usually prehensile, and the great toe opposable somewhat like a thumb. Formerly the Quadrumana were considered an order distinct from the Bimana, which last included man alone.

Quarantine (n.) A space of forty days; -- used of Lent.

Quartering (a.) Coming from a point well abaft the beam, but not directly astern; -- said of waves or any moving object.

Quercitin (n.) A yellow crystalQuinaldine (n.) A colorless liquid of a slightly pungent odor, C9H6N.CH3, first obtained as a condensation product of aldehyde and aniline, and regarded as a derivative of quinoline; -- called also methyl quinoline.

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

Rattlewings (n.) The golden-eye.

Reduction (v. t.) The bringing of a syllogism in one of the so-called imperfect modes into a mode in the first figure.

Registrant (n.) One who registers; esp., one who , by virtue of securing an official registration, obtains a certain right or title of possession, as to a trade-mark.

Respondent (n.) One who answers in certain suits or proceedings, generally those which are not according to the course of the common law, as in equity and admiralty causes, in petitions for partition, and the like; -- distinquished from appellant.

Respondent (n.) One who maintains a thesis in reply, and whose province it is to refute objections, or overthrow arguments; -- distinguished from opponent.

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

Rhodammonium (a.) Pertaining to, derived from, or containing, rhodium and ammonia; -- said of certain complex compounds.

Rhombogene (n.) A dicyemid which produces infusorialike embryos; -- opposed to nematogene. See Dicyemata.

Rinforzando (a.) Increasing; strengthening; -- a direction indicating a sudden increase of force (abbreviated rf., rfz.) Cf. Forzando, and Sforzando.

Rudolphine (a.) Pertaining to, or designating, a set of astronomical tables computed by Kepler, and founded on the observations of Tycho Brahe; -- so named from Rudolph II., emperor of Germany.

RupicoRutterkin (n.) An old crafty fox or beguiler -- a word of contempt.

Saccharin (n.) A bitter white crystalSaccharonic (a.) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, saccharone; specifically, designating an unstable acid which is obtained from saccharone (a) by hydration, and forms a well-known series of salts.

Saligenin (n.) A phenol alcohol obtained, by the decomposition of salicin, as a white crystalSaxicoScavenging (n.) Act or process of expelling the exhaust gases from the cylinder by some special means, as, in many four-cycle engines, by utilizing the momentum of the exhaust gases in a long exhaust pipe.

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

Septuagint (n.) A Greek version of the Old Testament; -- so called because it was believed to be the work of seventy (or rather of seventy-two) translators.

Serpentine (n.) A mineral or rock consisting chiefly of the hydrous silicate of magnesia. It is usually of an obscure green color, often with a spotted or mottled appearance resembling a serpent's skin. Precious, or noble, serpentine is translucent and of a rich oil-green color.

Shakedown (n.) A temporary substitute for a bed, as one made on the floor or on chairs; -- perhaps originally from the shaking down of straw for this purpose.

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

Sideromancy (n.) Divination by burning straws on red-hot iron, and noting the manner of their burning.

Silverfin (n.) A small North American fresh-water cyprinoid fish (Notropis Whipplei).

SinapoSinistrin (n.) A mucilaginous carbohydrate, resembling achroodextrin, extracted from squill as a colorless amorphous substance; -- so called because it is levorotatory.

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

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

Stammering (n.) A disturbance in the formation of sounds. It is due essentially to long-continued spasmodic contraction of the diaphragm, by which expiration is preented, and hence it may be considered as a spasmodic inspiration.

Stargasing (n.) Hence, absent-mindedness; abstraction.

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

Stuttering (n.) The act of one who stutters; -- restricted by some physiologists to defective speech due to inability to form the proper sounds, the breathing being normal, as distinguished from stammering.

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

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

Sufficiency (n.) Conceit; self-confidence; self-sufficiency.

Sufficient (a.) Self-sufficient; self-satisfied; content.

Suprabranchial (a.) Situated above the branchiae; -- applied especially to the upper division of the gill cavity of bivalve mollusks.

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

Tartrazine (n.) An artificial dyestuff obtained as an orange-yellow powder, and regarded as a phenyl hydrazine derivative of tartaric and sulphonic acids.

Tasmanian (a.) Of or pertaining to Tasmania, or Van Diemen's Land. -- n. A native or inhabitant of Tasmania; specifically (Ethnol.), in the plural, the race of men that formerly inhabited Tasmania, but is now extinct.

Tambourine (n.) A South American wild dove (Tympanistria tympanistria), mostly white, with black-tiped wings and tail. Its resonant note is said to be ventriloquous.

Thiotolene (n.) A colorless oily liquid, C4H3S.CH3, analogous to, and resembling, toluene; -- called also methyl thiophene.

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

Thermotank (n.) A tank containing pipes through which circulates steam, water, air, or the like, for heating or cooling; -- used in some heating and ventilation systems.

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.

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

Traditional (a.) Observant of tradition; attached to old customs; old-fashioned.

Traducianism (n.) The doctrine that human souls are produced by the act of generation; -- opposed to creationism, and infusionism.

Tricentenary (n.) A period of three centuries, or three hundred years, also, the three-hundredth anniversary of any event; a tercentenary.

Trichomanes (n.) Any fern of the genus Trichomanes. The fronds are very delicate and often translucent, and the sporangia are borne on threadlike receptacles rising from the middle of cup-shaped marginal involucres. Several species are common in conservatories; two are native in the United States.

Triphthong (n.) A combination of three vowel sounds in a single syllable, forming a simple or compound sound; also, a union of three vowel characters, representing together a single sound; a trigraph; as, eye, -ieu in adieu, -eau in beau, are examples of triphthongs.

Tripodian (n.) An ancient stringed instrument; -- so called because, in form, it resembled the Delphic tripod.

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

Tubulidentate (a.) Having teeth traversed by canals; -- said of certain edentates.

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

Twelvepence (n.) A shilling sterling, being about twenty-four cents.

Undermanned (a.) Insufficiently furnished with men; short-handed.

Vaginopennous (a.) Having elytra; sheath-winged.

Valerylene (n.) A liquid hydrocarbon, C5H8; -- called also pentine.

Xanthinine (n.) A complex nitrogenous substance related to urea and uric acid, produced as a white powder; -- so called because it forms yellow salts, and because its solution forms a blue fluorescence like quinine.

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 by Mark McCracken, All Rights Reserved.