Words whose 9th letter is U

Abdominous (a.) Having a protuberant belly; pot-bellied.

Acephalous (a.) Without a distinct head; -- a term applied to bivalve mollusks.

Acroceraunian (a.) Of or pertaining to the high mountain range of "thunder-smitten" peaks (now Kimara), between Epirus and Macedonia.

Aeriferous (a.) Conveying or containing air; air-bearing; as, the windpipe is an aeriferous tube.

Alutaceous (a.) Of a pale brown color; leather-yellow.

Ambilevous (a.) Left-handed on both sides; clumsy; -- opposed to ambidexter.

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

Anadromous (a.) Tending upwards; -- said of terns in which the lowest secondary segments are on the upper side of the branch of the central stem.

Anatropous (a.) Having the ovule inverted at an early period in its development, so that the chalaza is as the apparent apex; -- opposed to orthotropous.

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

Antilogous (a.) Of the contrary name or character; -- opposed to analogous.

Apocarpous (a.) Either entirely or partially separate, as the carpels of a compound pistil; -- opposed to syncarpous.

Appendicularia (n.) A genus of small free-swimming Tunicata, shaped somewhat like a tadpole, and remarkable for resemblances to the larvae of other Tunicata. It is the type of the order Copelata or Larvalia. See Illustration in Appendix.

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

Auriferous (a.) Gold-bearing; containing or producing gold.

Aurivorous (a.) Gold-devouring.

Auspicious (a.) Favoring; favorable; propitious; -- applied to persons or things.

Autoecious (a.) Passing through all its stages on one host, as certain parasitic fungi; -- contrasted with heteroecious.

Autogamous (a.) Characterized by autogamy; self-fertilized.

Autogenous (a.) Self-generated; produced independently.

Autonomous (a.) Independent in government; having the right or power of self-government.

Barringout (n.) The act of closing the doors of a schoolroom against a schoolmaster; -- a boyish mode of rebellion in schools.

Benedictus (a.) The song of Zacharias at the birth of John the Baptist (Luke i. 68); -- so named from the first word of the Latin version.

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

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

Chiaroscuro (n.) Alt. of Chiaro-oscuro

Chivalrous (a.) Pertaining to chivalry or knight-errantry; warlike; heroic; gallant; high-spirited; high-minded; magnanimous.

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

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

Courtehouse (n.) A county town; -- so called in Virginia and some others of the Southern States.

Cytogenous (a.) Producing cells; -- applied esp. to lymphatic, or adenoid, tissue.

Digitorium (n.) A small dumb keyboard used by pianists for exercising the fingers; -- called also dumb piano.

Dipetalous (a.) Having two petals; two-petaled.

Disastrous (a.) Full of unpropitious stellar influences; unpropitious; ill-boding.

Disastrous (a.) Attended with suffering or disaster; very unfortunate; calamitous; ill-fated; as, a disastrous day; a disastrous termination of an undertaking.

Disepalous (a.) Having two sepals; two-sepaled.

Distichous (n.) Disposed in two vertical rows; two-ranked.

Domiculture (n.) The art of house-keeping, cookery, etc.

Dysprosium (n.) An element of the rare earth-group. Symbol Dy; at. wt., 162.5.

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

Electrocute (v. t.) To execute or put to death by electricity. -- E*lec`tro*cu"tion, n. [Recent; Newspaper words]

Endogamous (a.) Marrying within the same tribe; -- opposed to exogamous.

Epithelium (n.) The superficial layer of cells lining the alimentary canal and all its appendages, all glands and their ducts, blood vessels and lymphatics, serous cavities, etc. It often includes the epidermis (i. e., keratin-producing epithelial cells), and it is sometimes restricted to the alimentary canal, the glands and their appendages, -- the term endothelium being applied to the lining membrane of the blood vessels, lymphatics, and serous cavities.

Euphonious (a.) Pleasing or sweet in sound; euphonic; smooth-sounding.

Fatiferous (a.) Fate-bringing; deadly; mortal; destructive.

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

Flagitious (a.) Disgracefully or shamefully criminal; grossly wicked; scandalous; shameful; -- said of acts, crimes, etc.

Flagitious (a.) Guilty of enormous crimes; corrupt; profligate; -- said of persons.

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

Fumatorium (n.) An air-tight compartment in which vapor may be generated to destroy germs or insects; esp., the apparatus used to destroy San Jose scale on nursery stock, with hydrocyanic acid vapor.

Galvanopuncture (n.) Same as Electro-puncture.

Genitocrural (a.) Pertaining to the genital organs and the thigh; -- applied especially to one of the lumbar nerves.

Geophagous (a.) Earth-eating.

Gnathidium (n.) The ramus of the lower jaw of a bird as far as it is naked; -- commonly used in the plural.

Homogamous (a.) Having all the flowers alike; -- said of such composite plants as Eupatorium, and the thistels.

Homogenous (a.) Having a resemblance in structure, due to descent from a common progenitor with subsequent modification; homogenetic; -- applied both to animals and plants. See Homoplastic.

Homologoumena (n. pl.) Those books of the New Testament which were acknowledged as canonical by the early church; -- distinguished from antilegomena.

Homonymous (a.) Having the same name or designation; standing in the same relation; -- opposed to heteronymous.

Hydromedusa (n.) Any medusa or jellyfish which is produced by budding from a hydroid. They are called also Craspedota, and naked-eyed medusae.

Hypogynous (a.) Inserted below the pistil or pistils; -- said of sepals, petals, and stamens; having the sepals, petals, and stamens inserted below the pistil; -- said of a flower or a plant.

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

Hypothenuse (n.) The side of a right-angled triangle that is opposite to the right angle.

Inducteous (a.) Rendered electro-polar by induction, or brought into the opposite electrical state by the influence of inductive bodies.

Infundibuliform (a.) Having the form of a funnel or cone; funnel-shaped.

Infundibulum (n.) A funnel-shaped or dilated organ or part; as, the infundibulum of the brain, a hollow, conical process, connecting the floor of the third ventricle with the pituitary body; the infundibula of the lungs, the enlarged terminations of the bronchial tubes.

Interosculant (a.) Uniting two groups; -- said of certain genera which connect family groups, or of species that connect genera. See Osculant.

Knockabout (n.) A small yacht, generally from fifteen to twenty-five feet in length, having a mainsail and a jib. All knockabouts have ballast and either a keel or centerboard. The original type was twenty-one feet in length. The next larger type is called a raceabout.

Knockabout (a.) That does odd jobs; -- said of a class of hands or laborers on a sheep station.

Liliaceous (a.) Of or pertaining to a natural order of which the lily, tulip, and hyacinth are well-known examples.

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

Longiloquence (n.) Long-windedness.

Lyriferous (a.) Having a lyre-shaped shoulder girdle, as certain fishes.

Malvaceous (a.) Pertaining to, or resembling, a natural order of plants (Malvaceae), of which the mallow is the type. The cotton plant, hollyhock, and abutilon are of this order, and the baobab and the silk-cotton trees are now referred to it.

Maxilloturbinal (n.) The maxillo-turbinal, or inferior turbinate, bone.

Melicerous (a.) Consisting of or containing matter like honey; -- said of certain encysted tumors.

Merrythought (n.) The forked bone of a fowl's breast; -- called also wishbone. See Furculum.

Miraculous (a.) Wonder-working.

Mixogamous (a.) Pairing with several males; -- said of certain fishes of which several males accompany each female during spawning.

Molybdenum (n.) A rare element of the chromium group, occurring in nature in the minerals molybdenite and wulfenite, and when reduced obtained as a hard, silver-white, difficulty fusible metal. Symbol Mo. Atomic weight 95.9.

Monanthous (a.) Having but one flower; one-flowered.

Monoecious (a.) Having the sexes united in one individual, as when male and female flowers grow upon the same individual plant; hermaphrodite; -- opposed to dioecious.

Monogamous (a.) Mating with but one of the opposite sex; -- said of birds and mammals.

Monomerous (a.) Having but one joint; -- said of the foot of certain insects.

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

Nasturtium (n.) Any plant of the genus Tropaeolum, geraniaceous herbs, having mostly climbing stems, peltate leaves, and spurred flowers, and including the common Indian cress (Tropaeolum majus), the canary-bird flower (T. peregrinum), and about thirty more species, all natives of South America. The whole plant has a warm pungent flavor, and the fleshy fruits are used as a substitute for capers, while the leaves and flowers are sometimes used in salads.

Olivaceous (a.) Resembling the olive; of the color of the olive; olive-green.

Omniferous (a.) All-bearing; producing all kinds.

Omniscious (a.) All-knowing.

Omnivorous (a.) All-devouring; eating everything indiscriminately; as, omnivorous vanity; esp. (Zool.), eating both animal and vegetable food.

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

Palladious (a.) Of, pertaining to, or containing, palladium; -- used specifically to designate those compounds in which palladium has a lower valence as compared with palladic compounds.

Pancratium (n.) A genus of Old World amaryllideous bulbous plants, having a funnel-shaped perianth with six narrow spreading lobes. The American species are now placed in the related genus Hymenocallis.

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

Paronymous (a.) Having the same derivation; allied radically; conjugate; -- said of certain words, as man, mankind, manhood, etc.

Paronymous (a.) Having a similar sound, but different orthography and different meaning; -- said of certain words, as al/ and awl; hair and hare, etc.

Perigynium (n.) Some unusual appendage about the pistil, as the bottle-shaped body in the sedges, and the bristles or scales in some other genera of the Sedge family, or Cyperaceae.

Perigynous (a.) Having the ovary free, but the petals and stamens borne on the calyx; -- said of flower such as that of the cherry or peach.

Perihelium (n.) That point of the orbit of a planet or comet which is nearest to the sun; -- opposed to aphelion.

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

Polyanthus (n.) The oxlip. So called because the peduncle bears a many-flowered umbel. See Oxlip. (b) A bulbous flowering plant of the genus Narcissus (N. Tazetta, or N. polyanthus of some authors). See Illust. of Narcissus.

Polygamous (a.) Of or pertaining to polygamy; characterized by, or involving, polygamy; having a plurality of wives; as, polygamous marriages; -- opposed to monogamous.

Polytomous (a.) Subdivided into many distinct subordinate parts, which, however, not being jointed to the petiole, are not true leaflets; -- said of leaves.

Postticous (a.) Situated on the outer side of a filament; -- said of an extrorse anther.

Precocious (a.) Developed more than is natural or usual at a given age; exceeding what is to be expected of one's years; too forward; -- used especially of mental forwardness; as, a precocious child; precocious talents.

Propitious (a.) Hence, kind; gracious; merciful; helpful; -- said of a person or a divinity.

Pupigerous (a.) Bearing or containing a pupa; -- said of dipterous larvae which do not molt when the pupa is formed within them.

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

Quadrivium (n.) The four "liberal arts," arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy; -- so called by the schoolmen. See Trivium.

Quarterhung (a.) Having trunnions the axes of which lie below the bore; -- said of a cannon.

Rampacious (a.) High-spirited; rampageous.

Remittitur (n.) A remission or surrender, -- remittitur damnut being a remission of excess of damages.

Romanesque (a.) Somewhat resembling the Roman; -- applied sometimes to the debased style of the later Roman empire, but esp. to the more developed architecture prevailing from the 8th century to the 12th.

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

Rubiginous (a.) Having the appearance or color of iron rust; rusty-looking.

Saxicavous (a.) Boring, or hollowing out, rocks; -- said of certain mollusks which live in holes which they burrow in rocks. See Illust. of Lithodomus.

Semicupium (n.) A half bath, or one that covers only the lewer extremities and the hips; a sitz-bath; a half bath, or hip bath.

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

Simulacrum (n.) A likeness; a semblance; a mock appearance; a sham; -- now usually in a derogatory sense.

Strabismus (n.) An affection of one or both eyes, in which the optic axes can not be directed to the same object, -- a defect due either to undue contraction or to undue relaxation of one or more of the muscles which move the eyeball; squinting; cross-eye.

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

Subriguous (a.) Watered or wet beneath; well-watered.

Superannuate (v. i.) To last beyond the year; -- said of annual plants.

Supernacular (a.) Like supernaculum; first-rate; as, a supernacular wine.

Supernaculum (adv. & n.) A kind of mock Latin term intended to mean, upon the nail; -- used formerly by topers.

Supernaturalism (n.) The doctrine of a divine and supernatural agency in the production of the miracles and revelations recorded in the Bible, and in the grace which renews and sanctifies men, -- in opposition to the doctrine which denies the agency of any other than physical or natural causes in the case.

Supervolute (a.) Having a plainted and convolute arrangement in the bud, as in the morning-glory.

Synanthous (a.) Having flowers and leaves which appear at the same time; -- said of certain plants.

Temperature (n.) The degree of heat of the body of a living being, esp. of the human body; also (Colloq.), loosely, the excess of this over the normal (of the human body 98?-99.5? F., in the mouth of an adult about 98.4?).

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

Triflorous (a.) Three-flowered; having or bearing three flowers; as, a triflorous peduncle.

Unicornous (a.) Having but a single horn; -- said of certain insects.

Veretillum (n.) Any one of numerous species of club-shaped, compound Alcyonaria belonging to Veretillum and allied genera, of the tribe Pennatulacea. The whole colony can move about as if it were a simple animal.

Villainous (a.) Sorry; mean; mischievous; -- in a familiar sense.

Virgalieu (n.) A valuable kind of pear, of an obovate shape and with melting flesh of delicious flavor; -- more properly called White Doyenne.

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

Whereabouts (adv.) About where; near what or which place; -- used interrogatively and relatively; as, whereabouts did you meet him?

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

Zoophorous (n.) The part between the architrave and cornice; the frieze; -- so called from the figures of animals carved upon it.

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.