V (continued 5)
Reading edition
2. (Physics)
Defn: A quality analogous to that of a viscous fluid, supposed to be caused by internal friction, especially in the case of gases.
VISCOUNT Vis"count`, n. Etym: [OE. vicounte, OF. visconte, vescunte, F. vicomte, LL. vicecomes; L. vice (see Vice, a.) + comes a companion, LL., a count. See Count.]
1. (O. Eng. Law)
Defn: An officer who formerly supplied the place of the count, or earl; the sheriff of the county.
2. A nobleman of the fourth rank, next in order below an earl and next above a baron; also, his degree or title of nobility. See Peer, n., 3. [Eng.] Chaucer.
VISCOUNTCY Vis"count`cy, n.
Defn: The dignity or jurisdiction of a viscount. Sir B. Burke.
VISCOUNTESS Vis"count`ess, n. Etym: [F. vicomtesse, LL. vicecomitissa.]
Defn: The wife of a viscount.
VISCOUNTSHIP; VISCOUNTY Vis"count`ship, Vis"count`y, n. Etym: [F. vicomté.]
Defn: The quality, rank, or office of a viscount.
VISCOUS Vis"cous, a. Etym: [L. viscosus. See Viscid.]
Defn: Adhesive or sticky, and having a ropy or glutinous consistency; viscid; glutinous; clammy; tenacious; as, a viscous juice. — Vis"cous*ness, n.
Note: There is no well-defined distinction in meaning between viscous and viscid.
VISCUM Vis"cum, n. Etym: [L.]
1. (Bot.)
Defn: A genus of parasitic shrubs, including the mistletoe of Europe.
2. Birdlime, which is often made from the berries of the European mistletoe.
VISCUS Vis"cus, n.; pl. Viscera. Etym: [L., perhaps akin to E. viscid.] (Anat.)
Defn: One of the organs, as the brain, heart, or stomach, in the great cavities of the body of an animal; — especially used in the plural, and applied to the organs contained in the abdomen.
VISE Vise, n. Etym: [F. vis a screw, winding stairs, OF. vis, viz, fr. L. vitis a vine; probably akin to E. withy.]
Defn: An instrument consisting of two jaws, closing by a screw, lever, cam, or the like, for holding work, as in filing. [Written also vice.]
VISE Vi*sé", n. Etym: [F. visé, p. p. of viser to put a visa to, fr. L. visus seen, p. p. of videre to see.]
Defn: An indorsement made on a passport by the proper authorities of certain countries on the continent of Europe, denoting that it has been examined, and that the person who bears it is permitted to proceed on his journey; a visa.
VISE Vi*sé", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Viséed; p. pr. & vb. n. Viséing.]
Defn: To examine and indorse, as a passport; to visa.
VISHNU Vish"nu, n. Etym: [Skr. Vish, from vish to pervade., to extend through nature.] (Hindoo Myth.)
Defn: A divinity of the modern Hindoo trimurti, or trinity. He is regarded as the preserver, while Brahma is the creator, and Siva the destroyer of the creation.
VISIBILITY Vis`i*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. visibilitas: cf. F. visibilité.]
Defn: The quality or state of being visible.
VISIBLE Vis"i*ble, a. Etym: [L. visibilis, fr. videre, visum, to see: cf. F. visible. See Vision.]
1. Perceivable by the eye; capable of being seen; perceptible; in view; as, a visible star; the least spot is visible on white paper. Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. Bk. of Com. Prayer. Virtue made visible in outward grace. Young.
2. Noticeable; apparent; open; conspicuous. Shak. The factions at court were greater, or more visible, than before. Clarendon. Visible church (Theol.), the apparent church of Christ on earth; the whole body of professed believers in Christ, as contradistinguished from the invisible, or real, church, consisting of sanctified persons. — Visible horizon. Same as Apparent horizon, under Apparent. — Vis"i*ble*ness, n. — Vis"i*bly, adv.
VISIBLE SPEECH Vis"i*ble speech". (Phon.)
Defn: A system of characters invented by Prof. Alexander Melville Bell to represent all sounds that may be uttered by the speech organs, and intended to be suggestive of the position of the organs of speech in uttering them.
VISIGOTH Vis"i*goth, n. Etym: [L. Visegothae, pl. Cf. West, and Goth.]
Defn: One of the West Goths. See the Note under Goth. — Vis`i*goth"ic, a.
VISION Vi"sion, n. Etym: [OE. visioun, F. vision, fr. L. visio, from videre, visum, to see: akin to Gr. wit. See Wit, v., and cf. Advice, Clairvoyant, Envy, Evident, Provide, Revise, Survey, View, Visage, Visit.]
1. The act of seeing external objects; actual sight. Faith here is turned into vision there. Hammond.
2. (Physiol.)
Defn: The faculty of seeing; sight; one of the five senses, by which colors and the physical qualities of external objects are appreciated as a result of the stimulating action of light on the sensitive retina, an expansion of the optic nerve.
3. That which is seen; an object of sight. Shak.
4. Especially, that which is seen otherwise than by the ordinary sight, or the rational eye; a supernatural, prophetic, or imaginary sight; an apparition; a phantom; a specter; as, the visions of Isaiah. The baseless fabric of this vision. Shak. No dreams, but visions strange. Sir P. Sidney.
5. Hence, something unreal or imaginary; a creation of fancy. Locke. Arc of vision (Astron.), the arc which measures the least distance from the sun at which, when the sun is below the horizon, a star or planet emerging from his rays becomes visible. — Beatific vision (Theol.), the immediate sight of God in heaven. — Direct vision (Opt.), vision when the image of the object falls directly on the yellow spot (see under Yellow); also, vision by means of rays which are not deviated from their original direction. — Field of vision, field of view. See under Field. — Indirect vision (Opt.), vision when the rays of light from an object fall upon the peripheral parts of the retina. — Reflected vision, or Refracted vision, vision by rays reflected from mirrors, or refracted by lenses or prisms, respectively. — Vision purple. (Physiol.) See Visual purple, under Visual.
VISION Vi"sion, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Visioned; p. pr. & vb. n. Visioning.]
Defn: To see in a vision; to dream. For them no visioned terrors daunt, Their nights no fancied specters haunt. Sir W. Scott.
VISIONAL Vi"sion*al, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to a vision.
VISIONARINESS Vi"sion*a*ri*ness, n.
Defn: The quality or state of being visionary.
VISIONARY Vi"sion*a*ry, a. Etym: [Cf. F. visionnaire.]
1. Of or pertaining to a visions or visions; characterized by, appropriate to, or favorable for, visions. The visionary hour When musing midnight reigns. Thomson.
2. Affected by phantoms; disposed to receive impressions on the imagination; given to reverie; apt to receive, and act upon, fancies as if they were realities. Or lull to rest the visionary maid. Pope.
3. Existing in imagination only; not real; fanciful; imaginary; having no solid foundation; as, visionary prospect; a visionary scheme or project. Swift.
Syn. — Fanciful; fantastic; unreal. See Fanciful.
VISIONARY Vi"sion*a*ry, n.; pl. Visionaries (.
1. One whose imagination is disturbed; one who sees visions or phantoms.
2. One whose imagination overpowers his reason and controls his judgment; an unpractical schemer; one who builds castles in the air; a daydreamer.
VISIONED Vi"sioned, a.
Defn: Having the power of seeing visions; inspired; also, seen in visions. [R.] Shelley.
VISIONIST Vi"sion*ist, n.
Defn: A visionary.
VISIONLESS Vi"sion*less, a.
Defn: Destitute of vision; sightless.
VISIT Vis"it, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Visited; p. pr. & vb. n. Visiting.] Etym: [F. visiter, L. visitare, fr. visere to go to see, to visit, fr. videre, visum to see. See Vision.]
1. To go or come to see, as for the purpose of friendship, business, curiosity, etc.; to attend; to call upon; as, the physician visits his patient.
2. Specifically: To go or come to see for inspection, examination, correction of abuses, etc.; to examine, to inspect; as, a bishop visits his diocese; a superintendent visits persons or works under his charge.
3. (Script.)
Defn: To come to for the purpose of chastising, rewarding, comforting; to come upon with reward or retribution; to appear before or judge; as, to visit in mercy; to visit one in wrath. [God] hath visited and redeemed his people. Like i. 68.
VISIT Vis"it, v. i.
Defn: To make a visit or visits; to maintain visiting relations; to practice calling on others.
VISIT Vis"it, n. Etym: [Cf. F. visite. See Visit, v. t., and cf. Visite.]
1. The act of visiting, or going to see a person or thing; a brief stay of business, friendship, ceremony, curiosity, or the like, usually longer than a call; as, a visit of civility or respect; a visit to Saratoga; the visit of a physician.
2. The act of going to view or inspect; an official or formal inspection; examination; visitation; as, the visit of a trustee or inspector. Right of visit (Internat. Law), the right of visitation. See Visitation, 4.
VISITABLE Vis"it*a*ble, a.
Defn: Liable or subject to be visited or inspected. "All hospitals built since the Reformation are visitable by the king or lord chancellor." Ayliffe.
VISITANT Vis"it*ant, n. Etym: [L. visitans, -antis; p. pr.: cf. F. visitant.]
Defn: One who visits; a guest; a visitor. When the visitant comes again, he is no more a stranger. South.
VISITANT Vis"it*ant, a.
Defn: Visiting. Wordsworth.
VISITATION Vis`it*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. visitatio: cf. F. visitation.]
1. The act of visiting, or the state of being visited; access for inspection or examination. Nothing but peace and gentle visitation. Shak.
2. Specifically: The act of a superior or superintending officer who, in the discharge of his office, visits a corporation, college, etc., to examine into the manner in which it is conducted, and see that its laws and regulations are duly observed and executed; as, the visitation of a diocese by a bishop.
3. The object of a visit. [Obs.] "O flowers, . . . my early visitation and my last." Milton.
4. (Internat. Law)
Defn: The act of a naval commander who visits, or enters on board, a vessel belonging to another nation, for the purpose of ascertaining her character and object, but without claiming or exercising a right of searching the vessel. It is, however, usually coupled with the right of search (see under Search), visitation being used for the purpose of search.
5. Special dispensation; communication of divine favor and goodness, or, more usually, of divine wrath and vengeance; retributive calamity; retribution; judgment. What will ye do in the day of visitation Isa. x. 3.
6. (Eccl.)
Defn: A festival in honor of the visit of the Virgin Mary to Elisabeth, mother of John the Baptist, celebrated on the second of July. The Order of the Visitation of Our Lady (R. C. Ch.), a religious community of nuns, founded at Annecy, in Savoy, in 1610, and in 1808 established in the United States. In America these nuns are devoted to the education of girls.
VISITATORIAL Vis`it*a*to"ri*al, a. Etym: [Cf. LL. visitator a bishop temporarily put in place of another.]
Defn: Of or pertaining to visitation, or a judicial visitor or superintendent; visitorial. An archdeacon has visitatorial power. Ayliffe. The queen, however, still had over the church a visitatorial power of vast and undefined extent. Macaulay.
VISITE Vi*site", n. Etym: [F. See Visit, n.]
Defn: A light cape or short cloak of silk or lace worn by women in summer.
VISITER Vis"it*er, n.
Defn: A visitor.
VISITING Vis"it*ing,
Defn: a. & vb. n. from Visit. Visiting ant. (Zoöl.) See Driver ant, under Driver. — Visiting book, a book in which a record of visits received, made, and to be made, is kept. Thackeray. — Visiting card. See under Card.
VISITOR Vis"it*or. Etym: [Cf. F. visiteur.] [Written also visiter.]
1. One who visits; one who comes or goes to see another, as in civility or friendship. "This great flood of visitors." Shak.
2. A superior, or a person lawfully appointed for the purpose, who makes formal visits of inspection to a corporation or an institution. See Visit, v. t., 2, and Visitation, n., 2. The king is the visitor of all lay corporations. Blackstone.
VISITORIAL Vis`it*o"ri*al, a.
Defn: Same as Visitatorial.
VISIVE Vi"sive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. visif, LL. visivus. See Vision.]
Defn: Of or pertaining to the sight; visual. [Obs.] I can not satisfy myself how men should be so little surprised about this visive faculty. Berkeley.
VIS MAJOR Vis ma"jor. [L. major greater.] (Law)
Defn: A superior force which under certain circumstances is held to exempt from contract obligations; inevitable accident; — a civil-law term used as nearly equivalent to, but broader than, the common-law term act of God (which see).
VISNE Visne, n. Etym: [OF. visné, veisiné, visnet, neighborhood, LL. vicinatus, fr. L. vicunus neighboring, a neighbor. See Vicinity.] (Law)
Defn: Neighborhood; vicinity; venue. See Venue.
VISNOMY Vis"no*my, n. Etym: [Contr. fr. physiognomy.]
Defn: Face; countenance. [Colloq.] Spenser. Lamb.
VISON Vi"son, n. Etym: [F.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: The mink.
VISOR Vis"or, n. Etym: [OE. visere, F. visière, fr. OF. vis. See Visage, Vision.] [Written also visar, visard, vizard, and vizor.]
1. A part of a helmet, arranged so as to lift or open, and so show the face. The openings for seeing and breathing are generally in it.
2. A mask used to disfigure or disguise. "My very visor began to assume life." Shak. My weaker government since, makes you pull off the visor. Sir P. Sidney.
3. The fore piece of a cap, projecting over, and protecting the eyes.
VISORED Vis"ored, a.
Defn: Wearing a visor; masked. Visored falsehood and base forgery. Milton.
VISTA Vis"ta, n.; pl. Vistas. Etym: [It., sight, view, fr. vedere, p. p. visto, veduto, to see, fr. L. videre, visum. See View, Vision.]
Defn: A view; especially, a view through or between intervening objects, as trees; a view or prospect through an avenue, or the like; hence, the trees or other objects that form the avenue. The finished garden to the view Its vistas opens, and its alleys green. Thomson. In the groves of their academy, at the end of every vista, you see nothing but the gallows. Burke. The shattered tower which now forms a vista from his window. Sir W. Scott.
VISTO Vis"to, n.
Defn: A vista; a prospect. [R.] Gay. Through the long visto of a thousand years. Young.
VISUAL Vis"u*al, a. Etym: [L. visualis, from visus a seeing, sight: cf. F. visuel. See Vision.]
1. Of or pertaining to sight; used in sight; serving as the instrument of seeing; as, the visual nerve. The air, Nowhere so clear, sharpened his visual ray. Milton.
2. That can be seen; visible. [R.] Visual angle. (Opt.) See under Angle. — Visual cone (Persp.), a cone whose vertex is at the point of sight, or the eye. — Visual plane, any plane passing through the point of sight. — Visual point, the point at which the visual rays unite; the position of the eye. — Visual purple (Physiol.), a photochemical substance, of a purplish red color, contained in the retina of human eyes and in the eyes of most animals. It is quickly bleached by light, passing through the colors, red, orange, and yellow, and then disappearing. Also called rhodopsin, and vision purple. See Optography. — Visual ray, a line from the eye, or point of sight. — Visual white (Physiol.), the final product in the action of light on visual purple. It is reconverted into visual purple by the regenerating action of the choroidal epithelium. — Visual yellow (Physiol.), a product intermediate between visual purple and visual white, formed in the photochemical action of light on visual purple.
VISUALIZE Vis"u*al*ize, v. t.
Defn: To make visual, or visible; to see in fancy. [Written also visualise.] No one who has not seen them [glaciers] can possibly visualize them. Lubbock.
VISUALIZER Vis"u*al*iz`er, n.
Defn: One who visualizes or is proficient in visualization; esp. (Physiol.),
Defn: one whose mental imagery is prevailingly visualization.
VITAILLE Vi*taille, n. Etym: [See Victuals.]
Defn: Food; victuals. [Obs.] Piers Plowman. Chaucer.
VITAL Vi"tal, a. Etym: [F., fr. L. vitalis, fr. vita life; akin to vivere to live. See Vivid.]
1. Belonging or relating to life, either animal or vegetable; as, vital energies; vital functions; vital actions.
2. Contributing to life; necessary to, or supporting, life; as, vital blood. Do the heavens afford him vital food Spenser. And vital virtue infused, and vital warmth. Milton.
3. Containing life; living. "Spirits that live throughout, vital in every part." Milton.
4. Being the seat of life; being that on which life depends; mortal. The dart flew on, and pierced a vital part. Pope.
5. Very necessary; highly important; essential. A competence is vital to content. Young.
6. Capable of living; in a state to live; viable. [R.] Pythagoras and Hippocrates . . . affirm the birth of the seventh month to be vital. Sir T. Browne. Vital air, oxygen gas; — so called because essential to animal life. [Obs.] — Vital capacity (Physiol.), the breathing capacity of the lungs; — expressed by the number of cubic inches of air which can be forcibly exhaled after a full inspiration. — Vital force. (Biol.) See under Force. The vital forces, according to Cope, are nerve force (neurism), growth force (bathmism), and thought force (phrenism), all under the direction and control of the vital principle. Apart from the phenomena of consciousness, vital actions no longer need to be considered as of a mysterious and unfathomable character, nor vital force as anything other than a form of physical energy derived from, and convertible into, other well- known forces of nature. — Vital functions (Physiol.), those functions or actions of the body on which life is directly dependent, as the circulation of the blood, digestion, etc. — Vital principle, an immaterial force, to which the functions peculiar to living beings are ascribed. — Vital statistics, statistics respecting the duration of life, and the circumstances affecting its duration. — Vital tripod. (Physiol.) See under Tripod. — Vital vessels (Bot.), a name for latex tubes, now disused. See Latex.
VITAL Vi"tal, n.
Defn: A vital part; one of the vitals. [R.]
VITALIC Vi*tal"ic, a.
Defn: Pertaining to life; vital. [R.]
VITALISM Vi"tal*ism, n. (Biol.)
Defn: The doctrine that all the functions of a living organism are due to an unknown vital principle distinct from all chemical and physical forces.
VITALIST Vi`tal*ist, n. (Biol.)
Defn: A believer in the theory of vitalism; — opposed to physicist.
VITALISTIC Vi`tal*is"tic, a. (Biol.)
Defn: Pertaining to, or involving, vitalism, or the theory of a special vital principle.
VITALITY Vi*tal"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. vitalitas: cf. F. vitalité.]
Defn: The quality or state of being vital; the principle of life; vital force; animation; as, the vitality of eggs or vegetable seeds; the vitality of an enterprise.
VITALIZATION Vi`tal*i*za"tion, n.
Defn: The act or process of vitalizing, or infusing the vital principle.
VITALIZE Vi"tal*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vitalized; p. pr. & vb. n. Vitalizing.] Etym: [Cf. F. vitaliser.]
Defn: To endow with life, or vitality; to give life to; to make alive; as, vitalized blood.
VITALLY Vi"tal*ly, adv.
Defn: In a vital manner.
VITALS Vi"tals, n. pl.
1. Organs that are necessary for life; more especially, the heart, lungs, and brain.
2. Fig.: The part essential to the life or health of anything; as, the vitals of a state. "The vitals of the public body." Glanvill.
VITASCOPE Vi"ta*scope, n. [L. vita life + -scope.]
Defn: A form of machine for exhibiting animated pictures.
VITELLARY Vit"el*la*ry, a. Etym: [L. vitellus a little calf, the yolk of an egg.] (Biol.)
Defn: Vitelline.
VITELLIGENOUS Vit`el*lig"e*nous, a. (Zoöl.)
Defn: Producing yolk, or vitelline substance; — applied to certain cells (also called nutritive, or yolk, cells) formed in the ovaries of many insects, and supposed to supply nutriment to the developing ova.
VITELLIN Vi*tel"lin, n. Etym: [See Vitellus.] (Physiol. Chem.)
Defn: An albuminous body, belonging to the class of globulins, obtained from yolk of egg, of which it is the chief proteid constituent, and from the seeds of many plants. From the latter it can be separated in crystalline form.
VITELLINE Vi*tel"line, a. Etym: [L. vitellus the yolk of an egg.] (Biol.)
Defn: Of or pertaining to the yolk of eggs; as, the vitelline membrane, a smooth, transparent membrane surrounding the vitellus.
VITELLOGENE Vi*tel"lo*gene, n. Etym: [See Vitellus, and -gen.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: A gland secreting the yolk of the eggs in trematodes, turbellarians, and some other helminths.
VITELLUS Vi*tel"lus, n. Etym: [L., the yolk of an egg.]
1. (Biol.)
Defn: The contents or substance of the ovum; egg yolk. See Illust. of Ovum.
2. (Bot.)
Defn: Perisperm in an early condition.
VITIATE Vi"ti*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vitiated; p. pr. & vb. n. Vitiating.] Etym: [L. vitiatus, p. p. vitiare to vitiate, fr. vitium a fault, vice. See Vice a fault.] [Written also viciate.]
1. To make vicious, faulty, or imperfect; to render defective; to injure the substance or qualities of; to impair; to contaminate; to spoil; as, exaggeration vitiates a style of writing; sewer gas vitiates the air. A will vitiated and growth out of love with the truth disposes the understanding to error and delusion. South. Without care it may be used to vitiate our minds. Burke. This undistinguishing complaisance will vitiate the taste of readers. Garth.
2. To cause to fail of effect, either wholly or in part; to make void; to destroy, as the validity or binding force of an instrument or transaction; to annul; as, any undue influence exerted on a jury vitiates their verdict; fraud vitiates a contract.
VITIATION Vi`ti*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. vitiatio.]
Defn: The act of vitiating, or the state of being vitiated; depravation; corruption; invalidation; as, the vitiation of the blood; the vitiation of a contract. The vitiation that breeds evil acts. G. Eliot.
VITICULOSE Vi*tic"u*lose`, a. Etym: [L. viticula, dim. of vitis vine.] (Bot.)
Defn: Having long and slender trailing stems.
VITICULTURAL Vit`i*cul"tur*al, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to viticulture.
VITICULTURE Vit"i*cul`ture, n. Etym: [L. vitis vine + E. culture.]
Defn: The cultivation of the vine; grape growing.
VITICULTURIST Vit`i*cul"tur*ist, n.
Defn: One engaged in viticulture.
VITILIGO Vit`i*li"go, n. Etym: [L., a kind of tetter, fr. vitium blemish, vice.] (Med.)
Defn: A rare skin disease consisting in the development of smooth, milk-white spots upon various parts of the body.
VITILITIGATE Vit`i*lit"i*gate, v. i. Etym: [L. vitilitigare to quarrel disgracefully; vitium vice + litigare to quarrel.]
Defn: To contend in law litigiously or cavilously. [Obs.]
VITILITIGATION Vit`i*lit`i*ga"tion, n.
Defn: Cavilous litigation; cavillation. [Obs.] Hudibras.
VITIOSITY Vi`ti*os"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. vitiositas. See Vicious.]
Defn: Viciousness; depravity. The perverseness and vitiosity of man's will. South.
VITIOUS; VITIOUSLY; VITIOUSNESS Vi"tious, a., Vi"tious*ly, adv., Vi"tious*ness, n.
Defn: See Vicious, Viciously, Viciousness.
VITIS Vi"tis, n. Etym: [L., a vine.] (Bot.)
Defn: A genus of plants including all true grapevines.
VITOE Vi"to*e, a. (Zoöl.)
Defn: See Durukuli.
VITRAGE Vit"rage, n. [F., prop., glazing, glass window.]
Defn: A curtain of light and translucent material intended to be secured directly to the woodwork of a French casement window or a glazed door.
VITRELLA Vi*trel"la, n. Etym: [NL., dim. of L. vitrum glass.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: One of the transparent lenslike cells in the ocelli of certain arthropods.
VITREO-ELECTIC Vit`re*o-e*lec"tic, a. Etym: [See Vitreous, and Electric.] (Physics)
Defn: Containing or exhibiting positive, or vitreous, electricity.
VITREOUS Vit"re*ous, a. Etym: [L. vitreous, from vitrum glass; perhaps akin to videre to see (see Vision). Cf. Varnish.]
1. Consisting of, or resembling, glass; glassy; as, vitreous rocks.
2. Of or pertaining to glass; derived from glass; as, vitreous electricity. Vitreous body (Anat.), the vitreous humor. See the Note under Eye. — Vitreous electricity (Elec.), the kind of electricity excited by rubbing glass with certain substances, as silk; positive electricity; — opposed to resinous, or negative, electricity. — Vitreous humor. (Anat.) See the Note under Eye. — Vitreous sponge (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of siliceous sponges having, often fibrous, glassy spicules which are normally six-rayed; a hexactinellid sponge. See Venus's basket, under Venus.
VITREOUSNESS Vit"re*ous*ness, n.
Defn: The quality or state of being vitreous.
VITRESCENCE Vi*tres"cence, n.
Defn: The quality or state of being vitreous; glassiness, or the quality of being vitrescent; capability of conversion into glass; susceptibility of being formed into glass. Kirwan.
VITRESCENT Vi*tres"cent, a. Etym: [See Vitreous.]
Defn: Capable of being formed into glass; tending to become glass.
VITRESCIBLE Vi*tres"ci*ble, a. Etym: [Cf. F. vitrescible.]
Defn: That may be vitrified; vitrifiable.
VITRIC Vit"ric, a. Etym: [L. vitrum glass.]
Defn: Having the nature and qualities of glass; glasslike; — distinguished from ceramic.
VITRICS Vit"rics, n. [See Vitric.]
1. The art or study of the manufacture and decoration of glassware.
2. pl. Articles of glassware, glassware in general.
VITRIFACTION Vit`ri*fac"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. Vitrification.]
Defn: The act, art, or process of vitrifying; also, the state of being vitrified.
VITRIFACTURE Vit`ri*fac"ture, n. Etym: [L. vitrum glass + facere, factum, to make.]
Defn: The manufacture of glass and glassware.
VITRIFIABLE Vit"ri*fi`a*ble, a. Etym: [Cf. F. vitrifiable.]
Defn: Capable of being vitrified, or converted into glass by heat and fusion; as, flint and alkalies are vitrifiable.
VITRIFICABLE Vi*trif"i*ca*ble, a.
Defn: Vitrifiable. [Obs.]
VITRIFICATE Vit"ri*fi*cate, v. t.
Defn: To convert into glass; to vitrify. [Obs.] Bacon.
VITRIFICATION Vit`ri*fi*ca"tion, n. Etym: [See Vitrify.]
Defn: Same as Vitrifaction. Sir T. Browne. Ure.
VITRIFIED Vit"ri*fied, a.
Defn: Converted into glass.
VITRIFORM Vit"ri*form, a. Etym: [L. vitrum glass + -form.]
Defn: Having the form or appearance of glass; resembling glass; glasslike.
VITRIFY Vit"ri*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vitrified; p. pr. & vb. n. Vitrifying.] Etym: [F. vitrifier; L. vitrum glass + -ficare to make. See Vitreous, -fy.]
Defn: To convert into, or cause to resemble, glass or a glassy substance, by heat and fusion.
VITRIFY Vit"ri*fy, v. t.
Defn: To become glass; to be converted into glass. Chymists make vessels of animal substances, calcined, which will not vitrify in the fire. Arbuthnot.
VITRINA Vi*tri"na, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. vitrum glass.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: A genus of terrestrial gastropods, having transparent, very thin, and delicate shells, — whence the name.
VITRINE Vit"rine, n. [F.]
Defn: A glass show case for displaying fine wares, specimens, etc.
VITRIOL Vit"ri*ol, n. Etym: [F. vitriol; cf. Pr. vitriol, vetriol, Sp. & Pg. vitriolo, It. vitriuolo; fr. L. vitreolus of glass, vitreus vitreous. See Vitreous.] (Chem.) (a) A sulphate of any one of certain metals, as copper, iron, zinc, cobalt. So called on account of the glassy appearance or luster. (b) Sulphuric acid; — called also oil of vitriol. So called because first made by the distillation of green vitriol. See Sulphuric acid, under Sulphuric. [Colloq.] Blue vitriol. See under Blue. — Green vitriol, ferrous sulphate; copperas. See under Green. — Oil of vitriol, sulphuric or vitriolic acid; — popularly so called because it has the consistency of oil. — Red vitriol, a native sulphate of cobalt. — Vitriol of Mars, ferric sulphate, a white crystalline substance which dissolves in water, forming a red solution. — White vitriol, zinc sulphate, a white crystalline substance used in medicine and in dyeing. It is usually obtained by dissolving zinc in sulphuric acid, or by roasting and oxidizing certain zinc ores. Formerly called also vitriol of zinc.
VITRIOLATE Vit"ri*o*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vitriolated; p. pr. & vb. n. Vitriolating.] (Old Chem.) (a) To convert into, or change to, a vitriol; to make into sulphuric acid or a sulphate. (b) To subject to the action of, or impregnate with, vitriol.
VITRIOLATE Vit"ri*o*late, a.
Defn: Vitriolated. [R.]
VITRIOLATE Vit"ri*o*late, n. (Old Chem.)
Defn: A sulphate.
VITRIOLATED Vit"ri*o*la`ted, a. (Old Chem.)
Defn: Changed into a vitriol or a sulphate, or subjected to the action of sulphuric acid or of a sulphate; as, vitriolated potash, i. e., potassium sulphate.
VITRIOLATION Vit`ri*o*la"tion, n. (Old Chem.)
Defn: The act, process, or result of vitriolating.
VITRIOLIC Vit`ri*ol"ic, a. Etym: [Cf. F. vitriolique.] (Chem.)
Defn: Of or pertaining to vitriol; derived from, or resembling, vitriol; vitriolous; as, a vitriolic taste. Cf. Vitriol. Vitriolic acid (Old Chem.), (a) sulphuric acid. See Vitriol (b). [Colloq.]
VITRIOLIZABLE Vit"ri*ol*i`za*ble, a.
Defn: Capable of being converted into a vitriol.
VITRIOLIZATION Vit`ri*ol*i*za"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. vitriolisation.] (Old Chem.)
Defn: The act of vitriolizing, or the state of being vitriolized; vitriolation.
VITRIOLIZE Vit"ri*ol*ize, v. t. Etym: [Cf. F. vitrioliser.]
Defn: To convert into a vitriol; to vitriolate.
VITRIOLOUS Vi*tri"o*lous, a.
Defn: See Vitriolic. [Obs.]
VITRITE Vit"rite, n. Etym: [L. vitrum glass.]
Defn: A kind of glass which is very hard and difficult to fuse, used as an insulator in electrical lamps and other apparatus.
VITRO-DI-TRINA Vit"ro-di-tri"na, n. [It. vetro di trina glass of lace.]
Defn: A kind of Venetian glass or glassware in which white threads are embedded in transparent glass with a lacelike or netlike effect.
VITRUVIAN Vi*tru"vi*an, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to Vitruvius, an ancient Roman architect. Vitruvian scroll (Arch.), a name given to a peculiar pattern of scrollwork, consisting of convolved undulations. It is used in classical architecture. Oxf. Gloss.
VITTA Vit"ta, n.; pl. Vittæ. Etym: [L. vitta ribbon, fillet.]
1. (Bot.)
Defn: One of the oil tubes in the fruit of umbelliferous plants.
2. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A band, or stripe, of color.
VITTATE Vit"tate, a. Etym: [L. vittatus bound with a fillet, fr. vitta fillet.]
1. (Bot.)
Defn: Bearing or containing vittæ.
2. Striped longitudinally.
VITULINE Vit"u*line, a. Etym: [L. vitulinus, fr. vitulus a calf. See Veal.]
Defn: Of or pertaining to a calf or veal.
VITUPERABLE Vi*tu"per*a*ble, a. Etym: [L. vituperabilis: cf. F. vitupérable.]
Defn: Liable to, or deserving, vituperation, or severe censure.
VITUPERATE Vi*tu"per*ate, v. t. Etym: [L. vituperatus, p. p. of vituperare to blame, vituperate; vitium a fault + parare to prepare. See Vice a fault, and Pare, v. t.]
Defn: To find fault with; to scold; to overwhelm with wordy abuse; to censure severely or abusively; to rate.
VITUPERATION Vi*tu`per*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. vituperatio: cf. OF. vituperation. See Vituperate.]
Defn: The act of vituperating; abuse; severe censure; blame. When a man becomes untractable and inaccessible by fierceness and pride, then vituperation comes upon him. Donne.
VITUPERATIVE Vi*tu"per*a*tive, a.
Defn: Uttering or writing censure; containing, or characterized by, abuse; scolding; abusive. — Vi*tu"per*a*tive*ly, adv. Vituperative appellations derived from their real or supposed ill qualities. B. Jonson.
VITUPERATOR Vi*tu"per*a`tor, n. Etym: [L.]
Defn: One who vituperates, or censures abusively.
VITUPERRIOUS Vi`tu*per"ri*ous, a.
Defn: Worthy of vituperation; shameful; disgraceful. [Obs.]
VIVACE Vi*va"ce, a. & adv. Etym: [It.] (Mus.)
Defn: Brisk; vivacious; with spirit; — a direction to perform a passage in a brisk and lively manner.
VIVACIOUS Vi*va"cious, a. Etym: [L. vívax, -acis, fr. vivere to live. See Vivid.]
1. Having vigorous powers of life; tenacious of life; long-lived. [Obs.] Hitherto the English bishops have been vivacious almost to wonder. . . . But five died for the first twenty years of her [Queen Elizabeth's] reign. Fuller. The faith of Christianity is far more vivacious than any mere ravishment of the imagination can ever be. I. Taylor.
2. Sprightly in temper or conduct; lively; merry; as, a vivacious poet. "Vivacious nonsense." V. Knox.
3. (Bot.)
Defn: Living through the winter, or from year to year; perennial. [R.]
Syn. — Sprightly; active; animated; sportive; gay; merry; jocund; light- hearted. — Vi*va"cious*ly, adv. — Vi*va"cious*ness, n.
VIVACITY Vi*vac"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. vivicitas: cf. F. vivacité.]
Defn: The quality or state of being vivacious. Specifically: — (a) Tenacity of life; vital force; natural vigor. [Obs.] The vivacity of some of these pensioners is little less than a miracle, they lived so long. Fuller.
(b) Life; animation; spiritedness; liveliness; sprightliness; as, the vivacity of a discourse; a lady of great vivacity; vivacity of countenance.
Syn. — Liveliness; gayety. See Liveliness.
VIVANDIER Vi`van`dier", n. [OF. & F. vivandier, fr. LL. vivanda, vivenda, provisions. Cf. Viand.]
Defn: In Continental armies, esp. the French, a sutler.
VIVANDIERE Vi`van`dière", n. Etym: [F. See Viand.]
Defn: In Continental armies, especially in the French army, a woman accompanying a regiment, who sells provisions and liquor to the soldiers; a female sutler.
VIVARIUM Vi*va"ri*um, n.; pl. E. Vivariums, L. Vivaria. Etym: [L., fr. vivarius belonging to living creatures, fr. vivus alive, living. See Vivid.]
Defn: A place artificially arranged for keeping or raising living animals, as a park, a pond, an aquarium, a warren, etc.
VIVARY Vi"va*ry, n.; pl. Vivaries (.
Defn: A vivarium. "That . . . vivary of fowls and beasts." Donne.
VIVA VOCE Vi"va vo"ce. Etym: [L.]
Defn: By word of mouth; orally.
VIVDA Viv"da, n.
Defn: See Vifda.
VIVE Vive (vev). Etym: [F., imperative sing. pres. fr. vivre to live, L. vivere.]
Defn: Long live, that is, success to; as, vive le roi, long live the king; vive la bagatelle, success to trifles or sport.
VIVE Vive (viv), a. Etym: [L. vivus: cf. F. vif. See Vivid.]
Defn: Lively; animated; forcible. [Obs.] Bacon.
VIVELY Vive"ly, adv.
Defn: In a lively manner. [Obs.] If I see a thing vively represented on the stage. B. Jonson.
VIVENCY Vi"ven*cy, n. Etym: [L. vivens, p. pr. of vivere to live.]
Defn: Manner of supporting or continuing life or vegetation. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
VIVERRA Vi*ver"ra, n. Etym: [L., a ferret.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: A genus of carnivores which comprises the civets.
VIVERRINE Vi*ver"rine, a. (Zoöl.)
Defn: Of or pertaining to the Viverridæ, or Civet family.
VIVERS Vi"vers, n. pl. Etym: [F. vivres, pl. of vivre, orig., to live.]
Defn: Provisions; victuals. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] I 'll join you at three, if the vivers can tarry so long. Sir W. Scott.
VIVES Vives, n. Etym: [OF. vives, F. avives (cf. Sp. abivas, adiva) fr. Ar. ad-dhiba. Cf. Fives vives.] (Far.)
Defn: A disease of brute animals, especially of horses, seated in the glands under the ear, where a tumor is formed which sometimes ends in suppuration.
VIVIANITE Viv"i*an*ite, n. Etym: [So called by Werner after the English mineralogist F. G. Vivian.] (Min.)
Defn: A hydrous phosphate of iron of a blue to green color, growing darker on exposure. It occurs in monoclinic crystals, also fibrous, massive, and earthy.
VIVID Viv"id, a. Etym: [L. vividus, from vivere to life; akin to vivus living. See Quick, a., and cf. Revive, Viand, Victuals, Vital.]
1. True to the life; exhibiting the appearance of life or freshness; animated; spirited; bright; strong; intense; as, vivid colors. In dazzling streaks the vivid lightnings play. Cowper. Arts which present, with all the vivid charms of painting, the human face and human form divine. Bp. Hobart.
2. Forming brilliant images, or painting in lively colors; lively; sprightly; as, a vivid imagination. Body is a fit workhouse for sprightly, vivid faculties to exercise . . . themselves in. South.
Syn. — Clear; lucid; bright; strong; striking; lively; quick; sprightly; active. — Viv"id*ly, adv. — Viv"id*ness, n.
VIVIDITY Vi*vid"i*ty, n.
Defn: The quality or state of being vivid; vividness. [R.]
VIVIFIC; VIVIFICAL Vi*vif"ic, Vi*vif"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. vivificus: cf. F. vivifique. See Vivify.]
Defn: Giving life; reviving; enlivening. [R.]
VIVIFICATE Vi*vif"i*cate, v. t. Etym: [L. vivificatus, p. p. vivificare. See Vivify.]
1. To give life to; to animate; to revive; to vivify. [R.] God vivificates and actuates the whole world. Dr. H. More.
2. (Chem.)
Defn: To bring back a metal to the metallic form, as from an oxide or solution; to reduce. [Obs.]
VIVIFICATION Viv`i*fi*ca"tion, n. Etym: [L. vivificatio: cf. vivification.]
1. The act of vivifying, or the state of being vivified; restoration of life; revival. Bacon.
2. (Physiol.)
Defn: One of the changes of assimilation, in which proteid matter which has been transformed, and made a part of the tissue or tissue cells, is endowed with life, and thus enabled to manifest the phenomena of irritability, contractility, etc. McKendrick.
3. (Chem.)
Defn: The act or process of vivificating. [Obs.]
VIVIFICATIVE Viv"i*fi*ca*tive, a.
Defn: Able or tending to vivify, animate, or give life; vivifying.
VIVIFY Viv"i*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vivified; p. pr. & vb. n. Vivifying.] Etym: [F. vivifier, L. vivificare. See Vivid, -fy; cf. Vivificate.]
Defn: To endue with life; to make to be living; to quicken; to animate. Sitting on eggs doth vivify, not nourish. Bacon.
VIVIPARA Vi*vip"a*ra, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Viviparous.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: An artificial division of vertebrates including those that produce their young alive; — opposed to Ovipara.
VIVIPARITY Viv`i*par"i*ty, n. (Biol.)
Defn: The quality or condition of being viviparous. H. Spencer.
VIVIPAROUS Vi*vip"a*rous, a. Etym: [L. viviparus; vivus alive + parere to bear, bring forth. Cf. Viper.] (Biol.)
Defn: 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. Viviparous fish. (Zoöl.) See Embiotocoid. — Viviparous shell (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of operculated fresh-water gastropods belonging to Viviparus, Melantho, and allied genera. Their young, when born, have a well-developed spiral shell.
VIVIPAROUSLY Vi*vip"a*rous*ly, adv. (Biol.)
Defn: In a viviparous manner.
VIVIPAROUSNESS Vi*vip"a*rous*ness, n. (Biol.)
Defn: The quality of being viviparous; viviparity.
VIVISECT Viv"i*sect`, v. t.
Defn: To perform vivisection upon; to dissect alive. [Colloq.] Pop. Sci. Monthly.
VIVISECTION Viv`i*sec"tion, n. Etym: [L. vivus alive + E. section: cf. F. vivisection. See Vivid, and Section.]
Defn: The dissection of an animal while alive, for the purpose of making physiological investigations.
VIVISECTIONAL Viv`i*sec"tion*al, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to vivisection.
VIVISECTIONIST Viv`i*sec"tion*ist, n.
Defn: One who practices or advocates vivisection; a vivisector.
VIVISECTOR Viv`i*sec"tor, n.
Defn: A vivisectionist.
VIXEN Vix"en, n. Etym: [AS. fixen a she-fox, for fyxen, fem. of fox. See Fox.]
1. A female fox. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
2. A cross, ill-tempered person; — formerly used of either sex, now only of a woman. Barrow. She was a vixen when she went to school. Shak.
VIXENISH Vix"en*ish, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to a vixen; resembling a vixen.
VIXENLY Vix"en*ly, a.
Defn: Like a vixen; vixenish. Barrow.
VIZ Viz, adv. Etym: [Contr. fr. videlicet.]
Defn: To wit; that is; namely.
VIZARD Viz"ard, n. Etym: [See Visor.]
Defn: A mask; a visor. [Archaic] "A grotesque vizard." Sir W. Scott. To mislead and betray them under the vizard of law. Milton.
VIZARDED Viz"ard*ed, a.
Defn: Wearing a vizard. [R.] Shak.
VIZCACHA Viz*ca"cha, n. Etym: [Sp.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: Same as Viscacha.
VIZIER Viz"ier, n. Etym: [Ar. wezir, wazir, properly, a bearer of burdens, a porter, from wazara to bear a burden: cf. F. vizir, visir. Cf. Alguazil.]
Defn: A councilor of state; a high executive officer in Turkey and other Oriental countries. [Written also visier, vizir, and vizer.] Grand vizier, the chief minister of the Turkish empire; — called also vizier-azem.
VIZIERATE Viz"ier*ate, n. Etym: [Cf. F. vizirat.]
Defn: The office, dignity, or authority of a vizier.
VIZIER-AZEM Vi*zier`-a*zem", n. Etym: [Ar. azam great. See Vizier.]
Defn: A grand vizier. See under Vizier.
VIZIERIAL Vi*zier"i*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. vizirial.]
Defn: Of, pertaining to, or issued by, a vizier. [Written also vizirial.]
VIZIR Vi*zir", n.
Defn: See Vizier.
VIZOR Viz"or, n.
Defn: See Visor.
VLISSMAKI Vliss*ma"ki, n. Etym: [From the native name.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: The diadem indris. See Indris.
V MOTH V" moth`. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A common gray European moth (Halia vauaria) having a V-shaped spot of dark brown on each of the fore wings.
VOCABLE Vo"ca*ble, n. Etym: [L. vocabulum an appellation, designation, name, fr. vocare to call, fr. vox, vocis, a voice, a word: cf. F. vocable. See Voice.]
Defn: A word; a term; a name; specifically, a word considered as composed of certain sounds or letters, without regard to its meaning. Swamped near to drowning in a tide of ingenious vocables. Carlyle.
VOCABULARY Vo*cab"u*la*ry, n.; pl. Vocabularies. Etym: [LL. vocabularium, vocabularius: cf. F. vocabulaire. See Vocable.]
1. A list or collection of words arranged in alphabetical order and explained; a dictionary or lexicon, either of a whole language, a single work or author, a branch of science, or the like; a word-book.
2. A sum or stock of words employed. His vocabulary seems to have been no larger than was necessary for the transaction of business. Macaulay.
VOCABULIST Vo*cab"u*list, n. Etym: [Cf. F. vocabuliste.]
Defn: The writer or maker of a vocabulary; a lexicographer.
VOCAL Vo"cal, a. Etym: [L. vocalis, fr. vox, vocis, voice: cf. F. vocal. See Voice, and cf. Vowel.]
1. Of or pertaining to the voice or speech; having voice; endowed with utterance; full of voice, or voices. To hill or valley, fountain, or fresh shade, Made vocal by my song. Milton.
2. Uttered or modulated by the voice; oral; as, vocal melody; vocal prayer. "Vocal worship." Milton.
3. Of or pertaining to a vowel or voice sound; also,
4. (Phon.) (a) Consisting of, or characterized by, voice, or tone produced in the larynx, which may be modified, either by resonance, as in the case of the vowels, or by obstructive action, as in certain consonants, such as v, l, etc., or by both, as in the nasals m, n, ng; sonant; intonated; voiced. See Voice, and Vowel, also Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 199-202. (b) Of or pertaining to a vowel; having the character of a vowel; vowel. Vocal cords or chords. (Anat.) See Larynx, and the Note under Voice, n., 1. — Vocal fremitus Etym: [L. fremitus a dull roaring or murmuring] (Med.), the perceptible vibration of the chest wall, produced by the transmission of the sonorous vibrations during the act of using the voice. — Vocal music, music made by the voice, in distinction from instrumental music; hence, music or tunes set to words, to be performed by the human voice. — Vocal tube (Anat.), the part of the air passages above the inferior ligaments of the larynx, including the passages through the nose and mouth.
VOCAL Vo"cal, n. Etym: [Cf. F. vocal, LL. vocalis.]
1. (Phon.)
Defn: A vocal sound; specifically, a purely vocal element of speech, unmodified except by resonance; a vowel or a diphthong; a tonic element; a tonic; — distinguished from a subvocal, and a nonvocal.
2. (R. C. Ch.)
Defn: A man who has a right to vote in certain elections.
VOCALIC Vo*cal"ic, a. Etym: [L. vocalis (sc. littera) a vowel. See Vocal, a.]
Defn: Of or pertaining to vowel sounds; consisting of the vowel sounds. Earle. The Gaelic language being uncommonly vocalic. Sir W. Scott.
VOCALISM Vo"cal*ism, n.
1. The exercise of the vocal organs; vocalization.
2. A vocalic sound. [R.]
VOCALIST Vo"cal*ist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. vocaliste.]
Defn: A singer, or vocal musician, as opposed to an instrumentalist.
VOCALITY Vo*cal"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. L. vocalitas euphony.]
1. The quality or state of being vocal; utterableness; resonance; as, the vocality of the letters.
2. The quality of being a vowel; vocalic character.
VOCALIZATION Vo`cal*i*za"tion, n.
1. The act of vocalizing, or the state of being vocalized.
2. The formation and utterance of vocal sounds.
VOCALIZE Vo"cal*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vocalized; p. pr. & vb. n. Vocalizing.] Etym: [Cf. F. vocaliser.]
1. To form into voice; to make vocal or sonant; to give intonation or resonance to. It is one thing to give an impulse to breath alone, another thing to vocalize that breath. Holder.
2. To practice singing on the vowel sounds.
VOCALLY Vo"cal*ly, adv.
1. In a vocal manner; with voice; orally; with audible sound.
2. In words; verbally; as, to express desires vocally.
VOCALNESS Vo"cal*ness, n.
Defn: The quality of being vocal; vocality.
VOCATION Vo*ca"tion, n. Etym: [L. vocatio a bidding, invitation, fr. vocare to call, fr. vox, vocis, voice: cf. F. vocation. See Vocal.]
1. A call; a summons; a citation; especially, a designation or appointment to a particular state, business, or profession. What can be urged for them who not having the vocation of poverty to scribble, out of mere wantonness make themselves ridiculous Dryden.
2. Destined or appropriate employment; calling; occupation; trade; business; profession. He would think his service greatly rewarded, if he might obtain by that means to live in the sight of his prince, and yet practice his own chosen vocation. Sir. P. Sidney.
3. (Theol.)
Defn: A calling by the will of God. Specifically: — (a) The bestowment of God's distinguishing grace upon a person or nation, by which that person or nation is put in the way of salvation; as, the vocation of the Jews under the old dispensation, and of the Gentiles under the gospel. "The golden chain of vocation, election, and justification." Jer. Taylor. (b) A call to special religious work, as to the ministry. Every member of the same [the Church], in his vocation and ministry. Bk. of Com. Prayer.
VOCATIVE Voc"a*tive, a. Etym: [L. vocativus, fr. vocare to call.]
Defn: Of or pertaining to calling; used in calling; specifically (Gram.), used in address; appellative; — said of that case or form of the noun, pronoun, or adjective, in which a person or thing is addressed; as, Domine, O Lord.
VOCATIVE Voc"a*tive, n. Etym: [L. vocativus (sc. casus): cf. F. vocatif.] (Gram.)
Defn: The vocative case.
VOCIFERANCE Vo*cif"er*ance, n.
Defn: Vociferation; noise; clamor. [R.] R. Browning.
VOCIFERANT Vo*cif"er*ant, a. Etym: [L. vociferans, p. pr.]
Defn: Noisy; clamorous. Gauden. R. Browning.
VOCIFERATE Vo*cif"er*ate, v. i. Etym: [L. vociferatus, p. p. vociferari to vociferate; vox, vocis, voice + ferre to bear. See Voice, and Bear to carry.]
Defn: To cry out with vehemence; to exclaim; to bawl; to clamor. Cowper.
VOCIFERATE Vo*cif"er*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vociferated; p. pr. & vb. n. Vociferating.]
Defn: To utter with a loud voice; to shout out. Though he may vociferate the word liberty. V. Knox.
VOCIFERATION Vo*cif`er*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. vociferatio: cf. F. vocifération.]
Defn: The act of vociferating; violent outcry; vehement utterance of the voice. Violent gesture and vociferation naturally shake the hearts of the ignorant. Spectator. Plaintive strains succeeding the vociferations of emotion or of pain. Byron.
VOCIFERATOR Vo*cif"er*a`tor, n.
Defn: One who vociferates, or is clamorous. [R.]
VOCIFEROUS Vo*cif"er*ous, a. Etym: [Cf. F. vocifère.]
Defn: Making a loud outcry; clamorous; noisy; as, vociferous heralds. — Vo*cif"er*ous*ly, adv. — Vo*cif"er*ous*ness, n.
VOCULE Voc"ule, n. Etym: [L. vocula, dim. of vox, vocis, voice.] (Phon.)
Defn: A short or weak utterance; a faint or feeble sound, as that heard on separating the lips in pronouncing p or b. Rush. — Voc"u*lar, a.
VODANIUM Vo*da"ni*um, n. Etym: [NL.] (Old Chem.)
Defn: A supposed element, afterward found to be a mixture of several metals, as copper, iron, lead, nickel, etc.
VODKA Vod"ka, n. Etym: [Russ.]
Defn: A Russian drink distilled from rye.
VOE Voe, n. Etym: [Cf. Icel ver sea, vöar a fenced-in landing place.]
Defn: An inlet, bay, or creek; — so called in the Orkney and Shetland Islands. Jamieson.
VOGLE Vo"gle, n. (Mining)
Defn: Same as Vugg.
VOGUE Vogue, n. Etym: [F. vogue a rowing, vogue, fashion, It. voga, fr. vogare to row, to sail; probably fr. OHG. wag to move, akin to E. way. Cf. Way.]
1. The way or fashion of people at any particular time; temporary mode, custom, or practice; popular reception for the time; — used now generally in the phrase in vogue. One vogue, one vein, One air of thoughts usurps my brain. Herbert. Whatsoever its vogue may be, I still flatter myself that the parents of the growing generation will be satisfied with what Burke. Use may revive the obsoletest words, And banish those that now are most in vogue. Roscommon.
2. Influence; power; sway. [Obs.] Strype.
VOICE Voice, n. Etym: [OE. vois, voys, OF. vois, voiz, F. voix, L. vox, vocis, akin to Gr. vac to say, to speak, G. erwähnen to mention. Cf. Advocate, Advowson, Avouch, Convoke, Epic, Vocal, Vouch, Vowel.]
1. Sound uttered by the mouth, especially that uttered by human beings in speech or song; sound thus uttered considered as possessing some special quality or character; as, the human voice; a pleasant voice; a low voice. He with a manly voice saith his message. Chaucer. Her voice was ever soft, Gentle, and low; an excellent thing in woman. Shak. Thy voice is music. Shak. Join thy voice unto the angel choir. Milton.
2. (Phon.)
Defn: Sound of the kind or quality heard in speech or song in the consonants b, v, d, etc., and in the vowels; sonant, or intonated, utterance; tone; — distinguished from mere breath sound as heard in f, s, sh, etc., and also whisper.
Note: Voice, in this sense, is produced by vibration of the so-called vocal cords in the larynx (see Illust. of Larynx) which act upon the air, not in the manner of the strings of a stringed instrument, but as a pair of membranous tongues, or reeds, which, being continually forced apart by the outgoing current of breath, and continually brought together again by their own elasticity and muscular tension, break the breath current into a series of puffs, or pulses, sufficiently rapid to cause the sensation of tone. The power, or loudness, of such a tone depends on the force of the separate pulses, and this is determined by the pressure of the expired air, together with the resistance on the part of the vocal cords which is continually overcome. Its pitch depends on the number of aërial pulses within a given time, that is, on the rapidity of their succession. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 5, 146, 155.
3. The tone or sound emitted by anything. After the fire a still small voice. 1 Kings xix. 12. Canst thou thunder with a voice like him Job xl. 9. The floods have lifted up their voice. Ps. xciii. 3. O Marcus, I am warm'd; my heart Leaps at the trumpet's voice. Addison.
4. The faculty or power of utterance; as, to cultivate the voice.
5. Language; words; speech; expression; signification of feeling or opinion. I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you. Gal. iv. 20. My voice is in my sword. Shak. Let us call on God in the voice of his church. Bp. Fell.
6. Opinion or choice expressed; judgment; a vote. Sic. How now, my masters! have you chose this man 1 Cit. He has our voices, sir. Shak. Some laws ordain, and some attend the choice Of holy senates, and elect by voice. Dryden.
7. Command; precept; — now chiefly used in scriptural language. So shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God. Deut. viii. 20.
8. One who speaks; a speaker. "A potent voice of Parliament." Tennyson.
9. (Gram.)
Defn: A particular mode of inflecting or conjugating verbs, or a particular form of a verb, by means of which is indicated the relation of the subject of the verb to the action which the verb expresses. Active voice (Gram.), that form of the verb by which its subject is represented as the agent or doer of the action expressed by it. — Chest voice (Phon.), a kind of voice of a medium or low pitch and of a sonorous quality ascribed to resonance in the chest, or thorax; voice of the thick register. It is produced by vibration of the vocal cords through their entire width and thickness, and with convex surfaces presented to each other. — Head voice (Phon.), a kind of voice of high pitch and of a thin quality ascribed to resonance in the head; voice of the thin register; falsetto. In producing it, the vibration of the cords is limited to their thin edges in the upper part, which are then presented to each other. — Middle voice (Gram.), that form of the verb by which its subject is represented as both the agent, or doer, and the object of the action, that is, as performing some act to or upon himself, or for his own advantage. — Passive voice. (Gram.) See under Passive, a. — Voice glide (Pron.), the brief and obscure neutral vowel sound that sometimes occurs between two consonants in an unaccented syllable (represented by the apostrophe), as in able (a"b'l). See Glide, n., 2. — Voice stop. See Voiced stop, under Voiced, a. — With one voice, unanimously. "All with one voice . . . cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians." Acts xix. 34.
VOICE Voice, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Voiced; p. pr. & vb. n. Voicing.]
1. To give utterance or expression to; to utter; to publish; to announce; to divulge; as, to voice the sentiments of the nation. "Rather assume thy right in silence and . . . then voice it with claims and challenges." Bacon. It was voiced that the king purposed to put to death Edward Plantagenet. Bacon.
2. (Phon.)
Defn: To utter with sonant or vocal tone; to pronounce with a narrowed glottis and rapid vibrations of the vocal cords; to speak above a whisper.
3. To fit for producing the proper sounds; to regulate the tone of; as, to voice the pipes of an organ.
4. To vote; to elect; to appoint. [Obs.] Shak.
VOICE Voice, v. i.
Defn: To clamor; to cry out. [Obs.] South.
VOICED Voiced, a.
1. Furnished with a voice; expressed by the voice.
2. (Phon.)
Defn: Uttered with voice; pronounced with vibrations of the vocal cords; sonant; — said of a sound uttered with the glottis narrowed. Voiced stop, Voice stop (Phon.), a stopped consonant made with tone from the larynx while the mouth organs are closed at some point; a sonant mute, as b, d, g hard.
VOICEFUL Voice"ful, a.
Defn: Having a voice or vocal quality; having a loud voice or many voices; vocal; sounding. Beheld the Iliad and the Odyssey Rise to the swelling of the voiceful sea. Coleridge.
VOICELESS Voice"less, a.
1. Having no voice, utterance, or vote; silent; mute; dumb. I live and die unheard, With a most voiceless thought, sheathing it as a sword. Byron.
2. (Phon.)
Defn: Not sounded with voice; as, a voiceless consonant; surd. Voiceless stop (Phon.), a consonant made with no audible sound except in the transition to or from another sound; a surd mute, as p, t, k. — Voice"less*ly, adv. — Voice"less*ness, n.
VOID Void, a. Etym: [OE. voide, OF. voit, voide, vuit, vuide, F. vide, fr. (assumed) LL. vocitus, fr. L. vocare, an old form of vacare to be empty, or a kindred word. Cf. Vacant, Avoid.]
1. Containing nothing; empty; vacant; not occupied; not filled. The earth was without form, and void. Gen. i. 2. I 'll get me to a place more void. Shak. I 'll chain him in my study, that, at void hours, I may run over the story of his country. Massinger.
2. Having no incumbent; unoccupied; — said of offices and the like. Divers great offices that had been long void. Camden.
3. Being without; destitute; free; wanting; devoid; as, void of learning, or of common use. Milton. A conscience void of offense toward God. Acts xxiv. 16. He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbor. Prov. xi. 12.
4. Not producing any effect; ineffectual; vain. [My word] shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please. Isa. lv. 11. I will make void the counsel of Judah. Jer. xix. 7.
5. Containing no immaterial quality; destitute of mind or soul. "Idol, void and vain." Pope.
6. (Law)
Defn: Of no legal force or effect, incapable of confirmation or ratification; null. Cf. Voidable, 2. Void space (Physics), a vacuum.
Syn. — Empty; vacant; devoid; wanting; unfurnished; unsupplied; unoccupied.
VOID Void, n.
Defn: An empty space; a vacuum. Pride, where wit fails, steps in to our defense, And fills up all the mighty void of sense. Pope.
VOID Void, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Voided; p. pr. & vb. n. Voiding.] Etym: [OF. voidier, vuidier. See Void, a.]
1. To remove the contents of; to make or leave vacant or empty; to quit; to leave; as, to void a table. Void anon her place. Chaucer. If they will fight with us, bid them come down, Or void the field. Shak.
2. To throw or send out; to evacuate; to emit; to discharge; as, to void excrements. A watchful application of mind in voiding prejudices. Barrow. With shovel, like a fury, voided out The earth and scattered bones. J. Webster.
3. To render void; to make to be of no validity or effect; to vacate; to annul; to nullify. After they had voided the obligation of the oath he had taken. Bp. Burnet. It was become a practice . . . to void the security that was at any time given for money so borrowed. Clarendon.
VOID Void, v. i.
Defn: To be emitted or evacuated. Wiseman.
VOIDABLE Void"a*ble, a.
1. Capable of being voided, or evacuated.
2. (Law)
Defn: Capable of being avoided, or of being adjudged void, invalid, and of no force; capable of being either avoided or confirmed. If the metropolitan . . . grants letters of administration, such administration is not, but voidable by sentence. Ayliffe.
Note: A voidable contract may be ratified and confirmed; to render it null and of no effect, it must be avoided; a void contract can not be ratified.
VOIDANCE Void"ance, n.
1. The act of voiding, emptying, ejecting, or evacuating.
2. (Eccl.)
Defn: A ejection from a benefice.
3. The state of being void; vacancy, as of a benefice which is without an incumbent.
4. Evasion; subterfuge. [Obs.] Bacon.
VOIDED Void"ed, a.
1. Emptied; evacuated.
2. Annulled; invalidated.
3. (Her.)
Defn: Having the inner part cut away, or left vacant, a narrow border being left at the sides, the tincture of the field being seen in the vacant space; — said of a charge.
VOIDER Void"er, n.
1. One who, or that which, voids,
2. A tray, or basket, formerly used to receive or convey that which is voided or cleared away from a given place; especially, one for carrying off the remains of a meal, as fragments of food; sometimes, a basket for containing household articles, as clothes, etc. Piers Plowman laid the cloth, and Simplicity brought in the voider. Decker. The cloth whereon the earl dined was taken away, and the voider, wherein the plate was usually put, was set upon the cupboard's head. Hist. of Richard Hainam.
3. A servant whose business is to void, or clear away, a table after a meal. [R.] Decker.
4. (Her.)
Defn: One of the ordinaries, much like the flanch, but less rounded and therefore smaller.
VOIDING Void"ing, n.
1. The act of one who, or that which, v Bp. Hall.
2. That which is voided; that which is ejected or evacuated; a remnant; a fragment. [R.] Rowe. Voiding knife, a knife used for gathering up fragments of food to put them into a voider.
VOIDING Void"ing, a.
Defn: Receiving what is ejected or voided. "How in our voiding lobby hast thou stood" Shak.
VOIDNESS Void"ness, n.
Defn: The quality or state of being void;
VOIR DIRE Voir dire. Etym: [OF., to say the truth, fr. L. verus true + dicere to say.] (Law)
Defn: An oath administered to a witness, usually before being sworn in chief, requiring him to speak the truth, or make true answers in reference to matters inquired of, to ascertain his competency to give evidence. Greenleaf. Ld. Abinger.
VOITURE Voi"ture, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. vectura a carrying, conveying. Cf. Vettura.]
Defn: A carriage. Arbuthnot.
VOIVODE Voi"vode, n.
Defn: See Waywode. Longfellow.
VOLACIOUS Vo*la"cious, a. Etym: [L. volare to fly.]
Defn: Apt or fit to fly. [R.]
VOLADOR Vo*la*dor", n. Etym: [Sp.] (Zoöl.) (a) A flying fish of California (Exocoetus Californicus): — called also volator. (b) The Atlantic flying gurnard. See under Flying.
VOLAGE Vo*lage", a. Etym: [F.]
Defn: Light; giddy. [Obs.] They wroughten all their lust volage. Chaucer.
VOLANT Vo"lant, a. Etym: [L. volans, -antis, p. pr. of volare to fly: cf. F. volant.]
1. Passing through the air upon wings, or as if upon wings; flying; hence, passing from place to place; current. English silver now was current, and our gold volant in the pope's court. Fuller.
2. Nimble; light and quick; active; rapid. "His volant touch." Milton.
3. (Her.)
Defn: Represented as flying, or having the wings spread; as, an eagle volant. Volant piece (Anc. Armor), an adjustable piece of armor, for guarding the throat, etc., in a joust.
VOLANTE Vo*lan"te, n. Etym: [Sp., prop., flying.]
Defn: A cumbrous two-wheeled pleasure carriage used in Cuba.
VOLAPUK; VOLAPUEK Vol`a*pük", n
Defn: Literally, world's speech; the name of an artificial language invented by Johan Martin Schleyer, of Constance, Switzerland, about 1879.
VOLAPUKIST; VOLAPUEKIST Vol`a*pük"ist, n.
Defn: One who is conversant with, or who favors adoption of, Volapük.
VOLAR Vo"lar, a. Etym: [L. vola the palm of the hand, the sole of the foot.] (Anat.)
Defn: Of or pertaining to the palm of the hand or the sole of the foot.
VOLARY Vol"a*ry, n.
Defn: See Volery. [Obs.]
VOLATILE Vol"a*tile, a. Etym: [F. volatil, L. volatilis, fr. volare to fly, perhaps akin to velox swift, E. velocity. Cf. Volley.]
1. Passing through the air on wings, or by the buoyant force of the atmosphere; flying; having the power to fly. [Obs.]
2. Capable of wasting away, or of easily passing into the aëriform state; subject to evaporation.
Note: Substances which affect the smell with pungent or fragrant odors, as musk, hartshorn, and essential oils, are called volatile substances, because they waste away on exposure to the atmosphere. Alcohol and ether are called volatile liquids for a similar reason, and because they easily pass into the state of vapor on the application of heat. On the contrary, gold is a fixed substance, because it does not suffer waste, even when exposed to the heat of a furnace; and oils are called fixed when they do not evaporate on simple exposure to the atmosphere.
3. Fig.: Light-hearted; easily affected by circumstances; airy; lively; hence, changeable; fickle; as, a volatile temper. You are as giddy and volatile as ever. Swift. Volatile alkali. (Old Chem.) See under Alkali. — Volatile liniment, a liniment composed of sweet oil and ammonia, so called from the readiness with which the latter evaporates. — Volatile oils. (Chem.) See Essential oils, under Essential.
VOLATILE Vol"a*tile, n. Etym: [Cf. F. volatile.]
Defn: A winged animal; wild fowl; game. [Obs.] Chaucer. Sir T. Browne.
VOLATILENESS; VOLATILITY Vol"a*tile*ness, Vol`a*til"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. volatilité.]
Defn: Quality or state of being volatile; disposition to evaporate; changeableness; fickleness.
Syn. — See Levity.
VOLATILIZABLE Vol"a*til*i`za*ble, a. Etym: [Cf. F. volatisable.]
Defn: Capable of being volatilized.
VOLATILIZATION Vol`a*til*i*za"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. volatilisation.]
Defn: The act or process of volatilizing, or rendering volatile; the state of being volatilized.
VOLATILIZE Vol"a*til*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Volatilized; p. pr. & vb. n. Volatilizing.] Etym: [Cf. F. volatiliser.]
Defn: To render volatile; to cause to exhale or evaporate; to cause to pass off in vapor. The water . . . dissolving the oil, and volatilizing it by the action. Sir I. Newton.
VOLATOR Vo*la"tor, n. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: Same as Volador, 1.
VOL-AU-VENT Vol`-au`-vent", n. Etym: [F.] (Cookery)
Defn: A light puff paste, with a raised border, filled, after baking, usually with a ragout of fowl, game, or fish.
VOLBORTHITE Vol"borth*ite, n. Etym: [So named after Volborth, who first discovered it.] (Min.)
Defn: A mineral occurring in small six-sided tabular crystals of a green or yellow color. It is a hydrous vanadate of copper and lime.
VOLCANIAN Vol*ca"ni*an, a.
Defn: Volcanic. [R.] Keats.
VOLCANIC Vol*can"ic, a. Etym: [Cf. F. volcanique, It. vulcanico.]
1. Of or pertaining to a volcano or volcanoes; as, volcanic heat.
2. Produced by a volcano, or, more generally, by igneous agencies; as, volcanic tufa.
3. Changed or affected by the heat of a volcano. Volcanic bomb, a mass ejected from a volcano, often of molten lava having a rounded form. — Volcanic cone, a hill, conical in form, built up of cinders, tufa, or lava, during volcanic eruptions. — Volcanic foci, the subterranean centers of volcanic action; the points beneath volcanoes where the causes producing volcanic phenomena are most active. — Volcanic glass, the vitreous form of lava, produced by sudden cooling; obsidian. See Obsidian. — Volcanic mud, fetid, sulphurous mud discharged by a volcano. — Volcanic rocks, rocks which have been produced from the discharges of volcanic matter, as the various kinds of basalt, trachyte, scoria, obsidian, etc., whether compact, scoriaceous, or vitreous.
VOLCANICALLY Vol*can"ic*al*ly, adv.
Defn: Like a volcano.
VOLCANICITY Vol`can*ic"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. volcanicité.]
Defn: Quality or state of being volcanic; volcanic power.
VOLCANIC NECK Vol*can"ic neck. (Geol.)
Defn: A column of igneous rock formed by congelation of lava in the conduit of a volcano and later exposed by the removal of surrounding rocks.
VOLCANIC WIND Volcanic wind. (Meteorol.)
Defn: A wind associated with a volcanic outburst and due to the eruption or to convection currents over hot lava.
VOLCANISM Vol"can*ism, n.
Defn: Volcanic power or action; volcanicity.
VOLCANIST Vol"can*ist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. volcaniste, vulcaniste.]
1. One versed in the history and phenomena of volcanoes.
2. One who believes in the igneous, as opposed to the aqueous, origin of the rocks of the earth's crust; a vulcanist. Cf. Neptunist.
VOLCANITY Vol*can"i*ty, n. Etym: [See Volcanic, and Volcanicity.]
Defn: The quality or state of being volcanic, or volcanic origin; volcanicity. [R.]
VOLCANIZATION Vol`can*i*za"tion, n.
Defn: The act of volcanizing, or the state of being volcanized; the process of undergoing volcanic heat, and being affected by it.
VOLCANIZE Vol"can*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Volcanized; p. pr. & vb. n. Volcanizing.] Etym: [Cf. Vulcanize.]
Defn: To subject to, or cause to undergo, volcanic heat, and to be affected by its action.
VOLCANO Vol*ca"no, n.; pl. Volcanoes. Etym: [It. volcano, vulcano, fr. L. Vulcanus Vulkan, the god of fire. See Vulkan.] (Geol.)
Defn: A mountain or hill, usually more or less conical in form, from which lava, cinders, steam, sulphur gases, and the like, are ejected; — often popularly called a burning mountain.
Note: Volcanoes include many of the most conspicuous and lofty mountains of the earth, as Mt. Vesuvius in Italy (4,000 ft. high), Mt. Loa in Hawaii (14,000 ft.), Cotopaxi in South America (nearly 20,000 ft.), which are examples of active volcanoes. The crater of a volcano is usually a pit-shaped cavity, often of great size. The summit crater of Mt. Loa has a maximum length of 13,000 ft., and a depth of nearly 800 feet. Beside the chief crater, a volcano may have a number of subordinate craters.
VOLE Vole, n. Etym: [F.]
Defn: A deal at cards that draws all the tricks. Swift.
VOLE Vole, v. i. (Card Playing)
Defn: To win all the tricks by a vole. Pope.
VOLE Vole, n. (Zoöl.)
Defn: Any one of numerous species of micelike rodents belonging to Arvicola and allied genera of the subfamily Arvicolinæ. They have a thick head, short ears, and a short hairy tail.
Note: The water vole, or water rat, of Europe (Arvicola amphibius) is a common large aquatic species. The short-tailed field vole (A. agrestis) of Northern and Central Europe, and Asia, the Southern field vole (A. arvalis), and the Siberian root vole (A. oeconomus), are important European species. The common species of the Eastern United States (A. riparius) (called also meadow mouse) and the prairie mouse (A. austerus) are abundant, and often injurious to vegetation. Other species are found in Canada.
VOLERY Vol"er*y, n. Etym: [F. volerie a flying, volière a large bird cage, fr. voler to fly, L. volare. See Volatile.]
1. A flight of birds. [R.] Locke.
2. A large bird cage; an aviary.
VOLGE Volge, n. Etym: [L. vulgus.]
Defn: The common sort of people; the crowd; the mob. [Obs.] Fuller.
VOLITABLE Vol"i*ta*ble, a.
Defn: Volatilizable. [Obs.]
VOLITATION Vol`i*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. volitare, volitatum, to fly to and fro, v. freq. from volare to fly.]
Defn: The act of flying; flight. [R.] Sir T. Browne.
VOLITIENT Vo*li"tient, a. Etym: [See Volition.]
Defn: Exercising the will; acting from choice; willing, or having power to will. "What I do, I do volitient, not obedient." Mrs. Browning.
VOLITION Vo*li"tion, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. volo I will, velle to will, be willing. See Voluntary.]
1. The act of willing or choosing; the act of forming a purpose; the exercise of the will. Volition is the actual exercise of the power the mind has to order the consideration of any idea, or the forbearing to consider it. Locke. Volition is an act of the mind, knowingly exerting that dominion it takes itself to have over any part of the man, by employing it in, or withholding it from, any particular action. Locke.
2. The result of an act or exercise of choosing or willing; a state of choice.
3. The power of willing or determining; will.
Syn. — Will; choice; preference; determination; purpose. — Volition, Choice. Choice is the familiar, and volition the scientific, term for the same state of the will; viz., an "elective preference." When we have "made up our minds" (as we say) to a thing, i. e., have a settled state of choice respecting it, that state is called an immanent volition; when we put forth any particular act of choice, that act is called an emanent, or executive, or imperative, volition. When an immanent, or settled state of, choice, is one which controls or governs a series of actions, we call that state a predominant volition; while we give the name of subordinate volitions to those particular acts of choice which carry into effect the object sought for by the governing or "predominant volition." See Will.
VOLITIONAL Vo*li"tion*al, a.
Defn: Belonging or relating to volition. "The volitional impulse." Bacon.
VOLITIVE Vol"i*tive, a. Etym: [See Volition.]
1. Of or pertaining to the will; originating in the will; having the power to will. "They not only perfect the intellectual faculty, but the volitive." Sir M. Hale.
2. (Gram.)
Defn: Used in expressing a wish or permission as, volitive proposition.
VOLKSLIED Volks"lied, n.; pl. Volkslieder Etym: [G.] (Mus.)
Defn: A popular song, or national air.
VOLKSRAAD Volks"raad`, n. [D.]
Defn: A legislative assembly or parliament of any one of several countries colonized by the Dutch, esp. that of the South African Republic, or the Transvaal, and that of the Orange Free State.
VOLLEY Vol"ley, n.; pl. Volleys. Etym: [F. volée; flight, a volley, or discharge of several guns, fr. voler to fly, L. volare. See Volatile.]
1. A flight of missiles, as arrows, bullets, or the like; the simultaneous discharge of a number of small arms. Fiery darts in flaming volleys flew. Milton. Each volley tells that thousands cease to breathe. Byron.
2. A burst or emission of many things at once; as, a volley of words. "This volley of oaths." B. Jonson. Rattling nonsense in full volleys breaks. Pope.
3. (a) (Tennis) A return of the ball before it touches the ground. (b) (Cricket) A sending of the ball full to the top of the wicket.
Half volley. (a) (Tennis) A return of the ball immediately after is has touched the ground. (b) (Cricket) A sending of the ball so that after touching the ground it flies towards the top of the wicket. R. A. Proctor. — On the volley, at random. [Obs.] "What we spake on the volley begins work." Massinger. — Volley gun, a gun with several barrels for firing a number of shots simultaneously; a kind of mitrailleuse.
VOLLEY Vol"ley, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Volleyed; p. pr. & vb. n. Volleying.]
Defn: To discharge with, or as with, a volley.
VOLLEY Vol"ley, v. i.
1. To be thrown out, or discharged, at once; to be discharged in a volley, or as if in a volley; to make a volley or volleys. Tennyson.
2. (a) (Tennis) To return the ball before it touches the ground. (b) (Cricket) To send the ball full to the top of the wicket. R. A. Proctor.
VOLLEY BALL Vol"ley ball.
Defn: A game played by volleying a large inflated ball with the hands over a net 7 ft. 6 in. high.
VOLLEYED Vol"leyed, a.
Defn: Discharged with a sudden burst, or as if in a volley; as, volleyed thunder.
VOLOST Vo"lost, n. [Russ. volost'.]
Defn: In the greater part of Russia, a division for local government consisting of a group of mirs, or village communities; a canton.
VOLOW Vol"ow, v. t. Etym: [From the answer, Volo I will, in the baptismal service. Richardson (Dict.).]
Defn: To baptize; — used in contempt by the Reformers. [Obs.] Tyndale.
VOLPLANE Vol"plane`, v. i. [F. vol plané act of volplaning; vol flight + plané, p.p.; cf. planer to hover.] (Aëronautics)
Defn: To glide in a flying machine.
VOLT Volt, n. Etym: [F. volte; cf. It. volta. See Vault.]
1. (Man.)
Defn: A circular tread; a gait by which a horse going sideways round a center makes two concentric tracks.
2. (Fencing)
Defn: A sudden movement to avoid a thrust.
VOLT Volt, n. Etym: [After Alessandro Volta, the Italian electrician.] (Elec.)
Defn: The unit of electro-motive force; — defined by the International Electrical Congress in 1893 and by United States Statute as, that electro-motive force which steadily applied to a conductor whose resistance is one ohm will produce a current of one ampère. It is practically equivalent to
VOLTA Vol"ta, n.; pl. Volte. Etym: [It. volta a turn, turning, a time. See Volt a tread.] (Mus.)
Defn: A turning; a time; — chiefly used in phrases signifying that the part is to be repeated one, two, or more times; as, una volta, once. Seconda volta, second time, points to certain modifications in the close of a repeated strain.
VOLTA-ELECTRIC Vol"ta-e*lec"tric, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to voltaic electricity, or voltaism.
VOLTA-ELECTROMETER Vol`ta-e`lec*trom"e*ter, n.
Defn: An instrument for the exact measurement of electric currents.
VOLTAGE Vol"tage, n. (Elec.)
Defn: Electric potential or potential difference, expressed in volts.
VOLTAGRAPHY Vol*tag"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Voltaic + -graphy.]
Defn: In electrotypy, the act or art of copying, in metals deposited by electrolytic action, a form or pattern which is made the negative electrode. [R.]
VOLTAIC Vol*ta"ic, a. Etym: [Cf. F. voltaïque, It. voltaico.]
1. Of or pertaining to Alessandro Volta, who first devised apparatus for developing electric currents by chemical action, and established this branch of electric science; discovered by Volta; as, voltaic electricity.
2. Of or pertaining to voltaism, or voltaic electricity; as, voltaic induction; the voltaic arc.
Note: See the Note under Galvanism. Voltaic arc, a luminous arc, of intense brilliancy, formed between carbon points as electrodes by the passage of a powerful voltaic current. — Voltaic battery, an apparatus variously constructed, consisting of a series of plates or pieces of dissimilar metals, as copper and zinc, arranged in pairs, and subjected to the action of a saline or acid solution, by which a current of electricity is generated whenever the two poles, or ends of the series, are connected by a conductor; a galvanic battery. See Battery, 4. (b), and Note. — Voltaic circuit. See under Circuit. — Voltaic couple or element, a single pair of the connected plates of a battery. — Voltaic electricity. See the Note under Electricity. — Voltaic pile, a kind of voltaic battery consisting of alternate disks of dissimilar metals, separated by moistened cloth or paper. See 5th Pile. — Voltaic protection of metals, the protection of a metal exposed to the corrosive action of sea water, saline or acid liquids, or the like, by associating it with a metal which is positive to it, as when iron is galvanized, or coated with zinc.
VOLTAIREAN Vol*tair"e*an, a. Etym: [Cf. F. voltairien.]
Defn: Of or relating to Voltaire, the French author. J. Morley.
VOLTAIRISM Vol*tair"ism, n.
Defn: The theories or practice of Voltaire. J. Morley.
VOLTAISM Vol"ta*ism, n. Etym: [Cf. F. voltaïsme.] (Physics)
Defn: That form of electricity which is developed by the chemical action between metals and different liquids; voltaic electricity; also, the science which treats of this form of electricity; — called also galvanism, from Galvani, on account of his experiments showing the remarkable influence of this agent on animals.
VOLTAMETER Vol*tam"e*ter, n. Etym: [Voltaic + -meter.] (Physics)
Defn: An instrument for measuring the voltaic electricity passing through it, by its effect in decomposing water or some other chemical compound acting as an electrolyte.
VOLTAMMETER Volt*am"me`ter, n.
Defn: A wattmeter.
VOLT AMPERE Volt ampère. (Elec.)
Defn: A unit of electric measurement equal to the product of a volt and an ampere. For direct current it is a measure of power and is the same as a watt; for alternating current it is a measure of apparent power.
VOLTAPLAST Vol"ta*plast, n. Etym: [Voltaic + Gr.
Defn: A form of voltaic, or galvanic, battery suitable for use electrotyping. G. Francis.
VOLTATYPE Vol"ta*type, n. Etym: [Voltaic + type.]
Defn: An electrotype. [R.]
VOLTI Vol"ti, imperative. Etym: [It., fr. voltare to turn. See Volt a tread.] (Mus.)
Defn: Turn, that is, turn over the leaf. Volti subito Etym: [It.] (Mus.), turn over quickly.
VOLTIGEUR Vol`ti*geur, n. Etym: [F., fr. voltiger to vault, It. volteggiare. See Volt a tread.]
1. A tumbler; a leaper or vaulter.
2. (Mil.)
Defn: One of a picked company of irregular riflemen in each regiment of the French infantry.
VOLTMETER Volt"me`ter, n. Etym: [2d volt + -meter.] (elec.)
Defn: An instrument for measuring in volts the differences of potential between different points of an electrical circuit.
VOLTZITE Voltz"ite, n. Etym: [So named in honor of Voltz, a French engineer.] (Min.)
Defn: An oxysulphide of lead occurring in implanted spherical globules of a yellowish or brownish color; — called also voltzine.
VOLUBILATE; VOLUBILE Vo*lu"bi*late, Vol"u*bile}, a. Etym: [See Voluble.]
Defn: Turning, or whirling; winding; twining; voluble.
VOLUBILITY Vol`u*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. volubilitas: cf. F. volubilité.]
Defn: The quality or state of being voluble (in any of the senses of the adjective).
VOLUBLE Vol"u*ble, a. Etym: [L. volubilis, fr. volvere, volutum, to roll, to turn round; akin to Gr. welle a wave: cf. F. voluble. Cf. F. Well of water, Convolvulus, Devolve, Involve, Revolt, Vault an arch, Volume, Volute.]
1. Easily rolling or turning; easily set in motion; apt to roll; rotating; as, voluble particles of matter.
2. Moving with ease and smoothness in uttering words; of rapid speech; nimble in speaking; glib; as, a flippant, voluble, tongue. [Cassio,] a knave very voluble. Shak.
Note: Voluble was used formerly to indicate readiness of speech merely, without any derogatory suggestion. "A grave and voluble eloquence." Bp. Hacket.
3. Changeable; unstable; fickle. [Obs.]
4. (Bot.)
Defn: Having the power or habit of turning or twining; as, the voluble stem of hop plants. Voluble stem (Bot.), a stem that climbs by winding, or twining, round another body. — Vol"u*ble*ness, n. — Vol"u*bly, adv.