E (continued 3)
Reading edition
ELEATICISM E`le*at"i*cism, n.
Defn: The Eleatic doctrine.
ELECAMPANE El`e*cam*pane", n. Etym: [F. énulecampane, NL. inula campana; L. inula elecampane + LL. campana a bell; cf. G. glockenwurz, i. e., "bellwort."]
1. (Bot.)
Defn: A large, coarse herb (Inula Helenium), with composite yellow flowers. The root, which has a pungent taste, is used as a tonic, and was formerly of much repute as a stomachic.
2. A sweetmeat made from the root of the plant.
ELECT E*lect", a. Etym: [L. electus, p. p. of eligere to elect; e out + legere to choose. See Legend, and cf. Elite, Eclectic.]
1. Chosen; taken by preference from among two or more. "Colors quaint elect." Spenser.
2. (Theol.)
Defn: Chosen as the object of mercy or divine favor; set apart to eternal life. "The elect angels." 1 Tim. v. 21.
3. Chosen to an office, but not yet actually inducted into it; as, bishop elect; governor or mayor elect.
ELECT E*lect", n.
1. One chosen or set apart. Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. Is. xlii. 1.
2. pl. (Theol.)
Defn: Those who are chosen for salvation. Shall not God avenge his won elect Luke xviii. 7.
ELECT E*lect", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Elected; p. pr. & vb. n. Electing.]
1. To pick out; to select; to choose. The deputy elected by the Lord. Shak.
2. To select or take for an office; to select by vote; as, to elect a representative, a president, or a governor.
3. (Theol.)
Defn: To designate, choose, or select, as an object of mercy or favor.
Syn. — To choose; prefer; select. See Choose.
ELECTANT E*lect"ant, n. Etym: [L. electans, p. pr. of electare.]
Defn: One who has the power of choosing; an elector. [R.]
ELECTARY E*lec"ta*ry, n. (Med.)
Defn: See Electuary.
ELECTIC E*lec"tic, a.
Defn: See Eclectic.
ELECTICISM E*lec"ti*cism, n.
Defn: See Eclecticism.
ELECTION E*lec"tion, n. Etym: [F. élection, L. electio, fr. eligere to choose out. See Elect, a.]
1. The act of choosing; choice; selection.
2. The act of choosing a person to fill an office, or to membership in a society, as by ballot, uplifted hands, or viva voce; as, the election of a president or a mayor. Corruption in elections is the great enemy of freedom. J. Adams.
3. Power of choosing; free will; liberty to choose or act. "By his own election led to ill." Daniel.
4. Discriminating choice; discernment. [Obs.] To use men with much difference and election is good. Bacon.
5. (Theol.)
Defn: Divine choice; predestination of individuals as objects of mercy and salvation; — one of the "five points" of Calvinism. There is a remnant according to the election of grace. Rom. xi. 5.
6. (Law)
Defn: The choice, made by a party, of two alternatives, by taking one of which, the chooser is excluded from the other.
7. Those who are elected. [Obs.] The election hath obtained it. Rom. xi. 7. To contest an election. See under Contest. — To make one's election, to choose. He has made his election to walk, in the main, in the old paths. Fitzed. Hall.
ELECTIONEER E*lec`tion*eer", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Electionered; p. pr. & vb. n. Electioneering.]
Defn: To make interest for a candidate at an election; to use arts for securing the election of a candidate. A master of the whole art of electioneering. Macaulay.
ELECTIONEERER E*lec`tion*eer"er, n.
Defn: One who electioneers.
ELECTIVE E*lect"ive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. électif.]
1. Exerting the power of choice; selecting; as, an elective act.
2. Pertaining to, or consisting in, choice, or right of choosing; electoral. The independent use of their elective franchise. Bancroft.
3. Dependent on choice; bestowed or passing by election; as, an elective study; an elective office. Kings of Rome were at first elective; . . . for such are the conditions of an elective kingdom. Dryden. Elective affinity or attraction (Chem.), a tendency to unite with certain things; chemism.
ELECTIVE E*lect"ive, n.
Defn: In an American college, an optional study or course of study. [Colloq.]
ELECTIVELY E*lect"ive*ly, adv.
Defn: In an elective manner; by choice.
ELECTOR E*lect"or, n. Etym: [L., fr. eligere: cf. F. électeur.]
1. One who elects, or has the right of choice; a person who is entitled to take part in an election, or to give his vote in favor of a candidate for office.
2. Hence, specifically, in any country, a person legally qualified to vote.
3. In the old German empire, one of the princes entitled to choose the emperor.
4. One of the persons chosen, by vote of the people in the United States, to elect the President and Vice President.
ELECTOR E*lect"or, a. Etym: [Cf. F. électoral.]
Defn: Pertaining to an election or to electors. In favor of the electoral and other princes. Burke. Electoral college, the body of princes formerly entitled to elect the Emperor of Germany; also, a name sometimes given, in the United States, to the body of electors chosen by the people to elect the President and Vice President.
ELECTORALITY E*lect`or*al"i*ty, n.
Defn: The territory or dignity of an elector; electorate. [R.] Sir H. Wotton.
ELECTORATE E*lect"or*ate, n. Etym: [Cf. F. électorat.]
1. The territory, jurisdiction, or dignity of an elector, as in the old German empire.
2. The whole body of persons in a nation or state who are entitled to vote in an election, or any distinct class or division of them. The middle-class electorate of Great Britain. M. Arnold.
ELECTORESS E*lect"or*ess, n. Etym: [Fem. of Elector.]
Defn: An electress. Bp. Burnet.
ELECTORIAL E`lec*to"ri*al, a.
Defn: Electoral. Burke.
ELECTORSHIP E*lect"or*ship, n.
Defn: The office or status of an elector.
ELECTRE; ELECTER E*lec"tre, E*lec"ter, n. Etym: [L. electrum: cf. F. électre mixture of gold and silver. See Electrum.]
1. Amber. See Electrum. [Obs.]
2. A metallic substance compounded of gold and silver; an alloy. [Obs.] Wyclif.
ELECTREPETER E`lec*trep"e*ter, n. Etym: [Electro + Gr.
Defn: An instrument used to change the direction of electric currents; a commutator. [R.]
ELECTRESS E*lect"ress, n. Etym: [Cf. F. électrice. Cf. Electoress.]
Defn: The wife or widow of an elector in the old German empire. Burke.
ELECTRIC; ELECTRICAL E*lec"tric, E*lec"tric*al, a. Etym: [L. electrum amber, a mixed metal, Gr. arc to beam, shine: cf. F. électrique. The name came from the production of electricity by the friction of amber.]
1. Pertaining to electricity; consisting of, containing, derived from, or produced by, electricity; as, electric power or virtue; an electric jar; electric effects; an electric spark.
2. Capable of occasioning the phenomena of electricity; as, an electric or electrical machine or substance.
3. Electrifying; thrilling; magnetic. "Electric Pindar." Mrs. Browning. Electric atmosphere, or Electric aura. See under Aura. — Electrical battery. See Battery. — Electrical brush. See under Brush. — Electric cable. See Telegraph cable, under Telegraph. — Electric candle. See under Candle. — Electric cat (Zoöl.), one of three or more large species of African catfish of the genus Malapterurus (esp. M. electricus of the Nile). They have a large electrical organ and are able to give powerful shocks; — called also sheathfish. — Electric clock. See under Clock, and see Electro-chronograph. — Electric current, a current or stream of electricity traversing a closed circuit formed of conducting substances, or passing by means of conductors from one body to another which is in a different electrical state. — Electric, or Electrical, eel (Zoöl.), a South American eel-like fresh-water fish of the genus Gymnotus (G. electricus), from two to five feet in length, capable of giving a violent electric shock. See Gymnotus. — Electrical fish (Zoöl.), any fish which has an electrical organ by means of which it can give an electrical shock. The best known kinds are the torpedo, the gymnotus, or electrical eel, and the electric cat. See Torpedo, and Gymnotus. — Electric fluid, the supposed matter of electricity; lightning. — Electrical image (Elec.), a collection of electrical points regarded as forming, by an analogy with optical phenomena, an image of certain other electrical points, and used in the solution of electrical problems. Sir W. Thomson. — Electrical light, the light produced by a current of electricity which in passing through a resisting medium heats it to incandescence or burns it. See under Carbon. — Electric, or Electrical, machine, an apparatus for generating, collecting, or exciting, electricity, as by friction. — Electric motor. See Electro-motor,
2. — Electric osmose. (Physics) See under Osmose. — Electric pen, a hand pen for making perforated stencils for multiplying writings. It has a puncturing needle driven at great speed by a very small magneto-electric engine on the penhandle. — Electric railway, a railway in which the machinery for moving the cars is driven by an electric current. — Electric ray (Zoöl.), the torpedo. — Electric telegraph. See Telegraph.
ELECTRIC E*lec"tric, n. (Physics)
Defn: A nonconductor of electricity, as amber, glass, resin, etc., employed to excite or accumulate electricity.
ELECTRICALLY E*lec"tric*al*ly, adv.
Defn: In the manner of electricity, or by means of it; thrillingly.
ELECTRICALNESS E*lec"tric*al*ness, a.
Defn: The state or quality of being electrical.
ELECTRICIAN E`lec*tri"cian, n.
Defn: An investigator of electricity; one versed in the science of electricity.
ELECTRICITY E`lec*tric"i*ty, n.; pl. Electricities. Etym: [Cf. F. électricité. See Electric.]
1. A power in nature, a manifestation of energy, exhibiting itself when in disturbed equilibrium or in activity by a circuit movement, the fact of direction in which involves polarity, or opposition of properties in opposite directions; also, by attraction for many substances, by a law involving attraction between surfaces of unlike polarity, and repulsion between those of like; by exhibiting accumulated polar tension when the circuit is broken; and by producing heat, light, concussion, and often chemical changes when the circuit passes between the poles or through any imperfectly conducting substance or space. It is generally brought into action by any disturbance of molecular equilibrium, whether from a chemical, physical, or mechanical, cause.
Note: Electricity is manifested under following different forms: (a) Statical electricity, called also Frictional or Common, electricity, electricity in the condition of a stationary charge, in which the disturbance is produced by friction, as of glass, amber, etc., or by induction. (b) Dynamical electricity, called also Voltaic electricity, electricity in motion, or as a current produced by chemical decomposition, as by means of a voltaic battery, or by mechanical action, as by dynamo-electric machines. (c) Thermoelectricity, in which the disturbing cause is heat (attended possibly with some chemical action). It is developed by uniting two pieces of unlike metals in a bar, and then heating the bar unequally. (d) Atmospheric electricity, any condition of electrical disturbance in the atmosphere or clouds, due to some or all of the above mentioned causes. (e) Magnetic electricity, electricity developed by the action of magnets. (f) Positive electricity, the electricity that appears at the positive pole or anode of a battery, or that is produced by friction of glass; — called also vitreous electricity. (g) Negative electricity, the electricity that appears at the negative pole or cathode, or is produced by the friction of resinous substance; — called also resinous electricity. (h) Organic electricity, that which is developed in organic structures, either animal or vegetable, the phrase animal electricity being much more common.
2. The science which unfolds the phenomena and laws of electricity; electrical science.
3. Fig.: Electrifying energy or characteristic.
ELECTRIFIABLE E*lec"tri*fi`a*ble, a.
Defn: Capable of receiving electricity, or of being charged with it.
ELECTRIFICATION E*lec`tri*fi*ca"tion, n. (Physics)
Defn: The act of electrifying, or the state of being charged with electricity.
ELECTRIFY E*lec"tri*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Electrified; p. pr. & vb. n. Electrifying.] Etym: [Electric + -fy.]
1. To communicate electricity to; to charge with electricity; as, to electrify a jar.
2. To cause electricity to pass through; to affect by electricity; to give an electric shock to; as, to electrify a limb, or the body.
3. To excite suddenly and violently, esp. by something highly delightful or inspiriting; to thrill; as, this patriotic sentiment electrified the audience. If the sovereign were now to immure a subject in defiance of the writ of habeas corpus . . . the whole nation would be instantly electrified by the news. Macaulay. Try whether she could electrify Mr. Grandcourt by mentioning it to him at table. G. Eliot.
ELECTRIFY E*lec"tri*fy, v. i.
Defn: To become electric.
ELECTRINE E*lec"trine, a. Etym: [L. electrinus of amber. See Electric.]
1. Belonging to, or made of, amber.
2. Made of electrum, an alloy used by the ancients.
ELECTRITION E`lec*tri"tion, n. (Physiol.)
Defn: The recognition by an animal body of the electrical condition of external objects.
ELECTRIZATION E*lec`tri*za"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. électrisation.]
Defn: The act of electrizing; electrification.
ELECTRIZE E*lec"trize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Electrized; p. pr. & vb. n. Electrizing.] Etym: [Cf. F. électriser.]
Defn: To electricity. Eng. Cyc.
ELECTRIZER E*lec"tri`zer, n.
Defn: One who, or that which, electrizes.
ELECTRO- E*lec"tro-. Etym: [L. electrum amber. See Electric.]
Defn: A prefix or combining form signifying pertaining to electricity, produced by electricity, producing or employing electricity, etc.; as, electro-negative; electro-dynamic; electro- magnet.
ELECTRO E*lec"tro, n.
Defn: An electrotype.
ELECTRO-BALLISTIC E*lec`tro-bal*lis"tic, a.
Defn: Pertaining to electro-ballistics.
ELECTRO-BALLISTICS E*lec`tro-bal*lis"tics, n.
Defn: The art or science of measuring the force or velocity of projectiles by means of electricity.
ELECTRO-BIOLOGIST E*lec`tro-bi*ol"o*gist, n. (Biol.)
Defn: One versed in electro-biology.
ELECTRO-BIOLOGY E*lec`tro-bi*ol"o*gy, n. (Biol.)
1. That branch of biology which treats of the electrical phenomena of living organisms.
2. That phase of mesmerism or animal magnetism, the phenomena of which are supposed to be produced by a form of electricity.
ELECTRO-BIOSCOPY E*lec`tro-bi*os"co*py, n. Etym: [Electro- + Gr. -scopy.] (Biol.)
Defn: A method of determining the presence or absence of life in an animal organism with a current of electricity, by noting the presence or absence of muscular contraction.
ELECTRO-CAPILLARITY E*lec`tro-cap`il*lar"i*ty, n. (Physics)
Defn: The occurrence or production of certain capillary effects by the action of an electrical current or charge.
ELECTRO-CAPILLARY E*lec`tro-cap"il*la*ry, a. (Physics)
Defn: Pert. to, or caused by, electro-capillarity.
ELECTRO-CHEMICAL E*lec`tro-chem"ic*al, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to electro-chemistry. Ure.
ELECTRO-CHEMISTRY E*lec`tro-chem"is*try, n.
Defn: That branch of science which treats of the relation of electricity to chemical changes.
ELECTRO-CHRONOGRAPH E*lec`tro-chron"o*graph, n. (Astron. Physics)
Defn: An instrument for obtaining an accurate record of the time at which any observed phenomenon occurs, or of its duration. It has an electro-magnetic register connected with a clock. See Chronograph.
ELECTRO-CHRONOGRAPHIC E*lec`tro-chron`o*graph"ic, a.
Defn: Belonging to the electro-chronograph, or recorded by the aid of it.
ELECTROCUTE E*lec"tro*cute`, v. t. Etym: [Electro- + cute in execute.]
Defn: To execute or put to death by electricity. — E*lec`tro*cu"tion, n.
Note: [Recent; Newspaper words]
ELECTRODE E*lec"trode, n. Etym: [Electro- + Gr. électrode.] (Elec.)
Defn: The path by which electricity is conveyed into or from a solution or other conducting medium; esp., the ends of the wires or conductors, leading from source of electricity, and terminating in the medium traversed by the current.
ELECTRO-DYNAMIC; ELECTRO-DYNAMICAL E*lec`tro-dy*nam"ic, E*lec`tro-dy*nam"ic*al, a. (Physics)
Defn: Pertaining to the movements or force of electric or galvanic currents; dependent on electric force.
ELECTRO-DYNAMICS E*lec`tro-dy*nam"ics, n.
1. The phenomena of electricity in motion.
2. The branch of science which treats of the properties of electric currents; dynamical electricity.
ELECTRO-DYNAMOMETER E*lec`tro-dy`na*mom"e*ter, n.
Defn: An instrument for measuring the strength of electro-dynamic currents.
ELECTRO-ENGRAVING E*lec`tro-en*grav"ing, n.
Defn: The art or process of engraving by means of electricity.
ELECTRO-ETCHING E*lec`tro-etch"ing, n.
Defn: A mode of etching upon metals by electrolytic action.
ELECTROGENESIS E*lec`tro*gen"e*sis, n. Etym: [Electro- + genesis.] (Physiol.)
Defn: Same as Electrogeny.
ELECTROGENIC E*lec`tro*gen"ic, a. (Physiol.)
Defn: Of or pertaining to electrogenesis; as, an electrogenic condition.
ELECTROGENY E`lec*trog"e*ny, n. Etym: [Electro- + Gr. (Physiol.)
Defn: A term sometimes applied to the effects (tetanus) produced in the muscles of the limbs, when a current of electricity is passed along the spinal cord or nerves.
ELECTRO-GILDING E*lec`tro-gild"ing, n.
Defn: The art or process of gilding copper, iron, etc., by means of voltaic electricity.
ELECTRO-GILT E*lec"tro-gilt`, a.
Defn: Gilded by means of voltaic electricity.
ELECTROGRAPH E*lec"tro*graph, n. Etym: [Electro- + -graph.]
Defn: A mark, record, or tracing, made by the action of electricity.
ELECTROGRAPHIC E*lec`tro*graph"ic, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to an electrograph or electrography.
ELECTROGRAPHY E*lec*trog"ra*phy, n.
1. The art or process of making electrographs or using an electrograph.
2. = Galvanography.
ELECTRO-KINETIC E*lec`tro-ki*net"ic, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to electro-kinetics.
ELECTRO-KINETICS E*lec`tro-ki*net"ics, n.
Defn: That branch of electrical science which treats of electricity in motion.
ELECTROLIER E*lec`tro*lier", n. Etym: [Formed from electric in imitation of chandelier.]
Defn: A branching frame, often of ornamental design, to support electric illuminating lamps.
ELECTROLOGY E`lec*trol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Electro- + -logy.]
Defn: That branch of physical science which treats of the phenomena of electricity and its properties.
ELECTROLYSIS E`lec*trol"y*sis, n. Etym: [Electro- + Gr. (Physics & Chem.)
Defn: The act or process of chemical decomposition, by the action of electricity; as, the electrolysis of silver or nickel for plating; the electrolysis of water.
ELECTROLYTE E*lec"tro*lyte, n. Etym: [Electro- + Gr. électrolyte.] (Physics & Chem.)
Defn: A compound decomposable, or subjected to decomposition, by an electric current.
ELECTROLYTIC; ELECTROLYTICAL E*lec`tro*lyt"ic, E*lec`tro*lyt"ic*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. électrolytique.]
Defn: Pertaining to electrolysis; as, electrolytic action. — E*lec`tro*lyt"ic*al*ly, adv.
ELECTROLYZABLE E*lec"tro*ly`za*ble, a.
Defn: Capable of being electrolyzed, or decomposed by electricity.
ELECTROLYZATION E*lec`tro*ly*za"tion, n.
Defn: The act or the process of electrolyzing.
ELECTROLYZE E*lec"tro*lyze, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Electrolyzed; p. pr. & vb. n. Electrolyzing.] Etym: [Cf. F. électrolyser. See Electrolysis.]
Defn: To decompose by the direct action of electricity. Faraday.
ELECTRO-MAGNET E*lec`tro-mag"net, n.
Defn: A mass, usually of soft iron, but sometimes of some other magnetic metal, as nickel or cobalt, rendered temporarily magnetic by being placed within a coil of wire through which a current of electricity is passing. The metal is generally in the form of a bar, either straight, or bent into the shape of a horseshoe.
ELECTRO-MAGNETIC E*lec`tro-mag*net"ic, a.
Defn: Of, Pertaining to, or produced by, magnetism which is developed by the passage of an electric current. Electro-magnetic engine, an engine in which the motive force is electro-magnetism. — Electro-magnetic theory of light (Physics), a theory of light which makes it consist in the rapid alternation of transient electric currents moving transversely to the direction of the ray.
ELECTRO-MAGNETISM E*lec`tro-mag"net*ism, n.
Defn: The magnetism developed by a current of electricity; the science which treats of the development of magnetism by means of voltaic electricity, and of the properties or actions of the currents evolved.
ELECTRO-METALLURGY E*lec`tro-met"al*lur`gy, n.
Defn: The act or art precipitating a metal electro-chemical action, by which a coating is deposited, on a prepared surface, as in electroplating and electrotyping; galvanoplasty.
ELECTROMETER E`lec*trom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Electro- + -meter: cf. F. électromètre.] (Physics)
Defn: An instrument for measuring the quantity or intensity of electricity; also, sometimes, and less properly, applied to an instrument which indicates the presence of electricity (usually called an electroscope). Balance electrometer. See under Balance.
ELECTRO-METRIC; ELECTRO-METRICAL E*lec`tro-met"ric, E*lec`tro-met"ric*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. électrométrique.]
Defn: Pertaining to electrometry; made by means of electrometer; as, an electrometrical experiment.
ELECTROMETRY E`lec*trom"e*try, n. Etym: [Cf. F. électrométrie.] (Physics)
Defn: The art or process of making electrical measurements.
ELECTRO-MOTION E*lec`tro-mo"tion, n.
Defn: The motion of electricity or its passage from one metal to another in a voltaic circuit; mechanical action produced by means of electricity.
ELECTRO-MOTIVE E*lec`tro-mo"tive, a.
Defn: Producing electro-motion; producing, or tending to produce, electricity or an electric current; causing electrical action or effects. Electro-motive force (Physics), the force which produces, or tends to produce, electricity, or an electric current; sometimes used to express the degree of electrification as equivalent to potential, or more properly difference of potential.
ELECTROMOTOR E*lec`tro*mo"tor, n. Etym: [Cf. F. électromoteur.]
1. (Physics)
Defn: A mover or exciter of electricity; as apparatus for generating a current of electricity.
2. (Mech.)
Defn: An apparatus or machine for producing motion and mechanical effects by the action of electricity; an electro-magnetic engine.
ELECTRO-MUSCULAR E*lec`tro-mus"cu*lar, a. (Physiol.)
Defn: Pertaining the reaction (contraction) of the muscles under electricity, or their sensibility to it.
ELECTRON E*lec"tron, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. Electric.]
Defn: Amber; also, the alloy of gold and silver, called electrum.
ELECTRO-NEGATIVE E*lec`tro-neg"a*tive, a. (Chem. & Physics) (a) Having the property of being attracted by an electro-positive body, or a tendency to pass to the positive pole in electrolysis, by the law that opposite electricities attract each other. (b) Negative; nonmetallic; acid; — opposed to positive, metallic, or basic.
ELECTRO-NEGATIVE E*lec`tro-neg"a*tive, n. (Chem. & Physics)
Defn: A body which passes to the positive pole in electrolysis.
ELECTRONIC E`lec*tron"ic, a. (Physics & Chem.)
Defn: Of or pertaining to an electron or electrons.
ELECTROPATHY E`lec*trop"a*thy, n. Etym: [Electro- + Gr. (Med.)
Defn: The treatment of disease by electricity.
ELECTROPHONE E*lec"tro*phone, n. Etym: [Electro- + Gr. (Physics)
Defn: An instrument for producing sound by means of electric currents.
ELECTROPHORUS E*lec`troph"o*rus, n.; pl. Electrophori. Etym: [NL., fr. combining form electro- + Gr. (Physics)
Defn: An instrument for exciting electricity, and repeating the charge indefinitely by induction, consisting of a flat cake of resin, shelllac, or ebonite, upon which is placed a plate of metal.
ELECTRO-PHYSIOLOGICAL E*lec`tro-phys`i*o*log"ic*al, a. (Physiol.)
Defn: Pertaining to electrical results produced through physiological agencies, or by change of action in a living organism.
ELECTRO-PHYSIOLOGY E*lec`tro-phys`i*ol"o*gy, n. (Physiol.)
Defn: That branch of physiology which treats of electric phenomena produced through physiological agencies.
ELECTROPLATE E*lec"tro*plate`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Electroplating.] (Mech.)
Defn: To plate or cover with a coating of metal, usually silver, nickel, or gold, by means of electrolysis.
ELECTROPLATER E*lec"tro*pla`ter, n.
Defn: One who electroplates.
ELECTROPLATING E*lec"tro*pla`ting, n.
Defn: The art or process of depositing a coating (commonly) of silver, gold, or nickel on an inferior metal, by means of electricity.
ELECTROPOION; ELECTROPOION FLUID E*lec`tro*poi"on, n., or Electropoion fluid. [NL.; electro- + Gr. poiw^n, p. pr. of poiei^n to make.] (Elec.)
Defn: An exciting and depolarizing acid solution used in certain cells or batteries, as the Grenet battery. Electropoion is best prepared by mixing one gallon of concentrated sulphuric acid diluted with three gallons of water, with a solution of six pounds of potassium bichromate in two gallons of boiling water. It should be used cold.
ELECTRO-POLAR E*lec`tro-po"lar, a. (Physics)
Defn: Possessing electrical polarity; positively electrified at one end, or on one surface, and negatively at the other; — said of a conductor.
ELECTRO-POSITIVE E*lec`tro-pos"i*tive, a.
1. (Physics)
Defn: Of such a nature relatively to some other associated body or bodies, as to tend to the negative pole of a voltaic battery, in electrolysis, while the associated body tends to the positive pole; - - the converse or correlative of electro-negative.
Note: An element that is electro-positive in one compound may be electro-negative in another, and vice versa.
2. (Chem.)
Defn: Hence: Positive; metallic; basic; — distinguished from negative, nonmetallic, or acid.
ELECTRO-POSITIVE E*lec`tro-pos"i*tive, n. (Chem. & Physics)
Defn: A body which passes to the negative pole in electrolysis.
ELECTRO-PUNCTURATION; ELECTRO-PUNCTURING E*lec`tro-punc`tu*ra"tion, E*lec`tro-punc`tur*ing, n. (Med.)
Defn: See Electropuncture.
ELECTRO-PUNCTURE E*lec`tro-punc`ture, n. (Med.)
Defn: An operation that consists in inserting needless in the part affected, and connecting them with the poles of a galvanic apparatus.
ELECTROSCOPE E*lec"tro*scope, n. Etym: [Electro- + -scope: cf. F. électroscope.] (Physics)
Defn: An instrument for detecting the presence of electricity, or changes in the electric state of bodies, or the species of electricity present, as by means of pith balls, and the like. Condensing electroscope (Physics), a form of electroscope in which an increase of sensibility is obtained by the use of a condenser.
ELECTROSCOPIC E*lec`tro*scop"ic, a.
Defn: Relating to, or made by means of, the electroscope.
ELECTROSTATIC E*lec`tro*stat"ic, a.
Defn: Pertaining to electrostatics.
ELECTROSTATICS E*lec`tro*stat"ics, n. (Physics)
Defn: That branch of science which treats of statical electricity or electric force in a state of rest.
ELECTRO-STEREOTYPE E*lec`tro-ste"re*o*type, n.
Defn: Same as Electrotype.
ELECTRO-TELEGRAPHIC E*lec`tro-tel`e*graph"ic, a.
Defn: Pertaining to the electric telegraph, or by means of it.
ELECTRO-TELEGRAPHY E*lec`tro-te*leg"ra*phy, n.
Defn: The art or science of constructing or using the electric telegraph; the transmission of messages by means of the electric telegraph.
ELECTRO-THERAPEUTICS E*lec`tro-ther`a*peu"tics, n. (Med.)
Defn: The branch of medical science which treats of the applications agent.
ELECTRO-THERMANCY E*lec`tro-ther"man*cy, n.
Defn: That branch of electrical science which treats of the effect of an electric current upon the temperature of a conductor, or a part of a circuit composed of two different metals.
ELECTRO-TINT E*lec"tro-tint`, n. (Fine Arts)
Defn: A style of engraving in relief by means of voltaic electricity. A picture is drawn on a metallic plate with some material which resists the fluids of a battery; so that, in electro-typing, the parts not covered by the varnish, etc., receive a deposition of metal, and produce the required copy in intaglio. A cast of this is then the plate for printing.
ELECTROTONIC E*lec`tro*ton"ic, a.
1. (Physics)
Defn: Of or pertaining to electrical tension; — said of a supposed peculiar condition of a conducting circuit during its exposure to the action of another conducting circuit traversed by a uniform electric current when both circuits remain stationary. Faraday.
2. (Physiol.)
Defn: Relating to electrotonus; as, the electrotonic condition of a nerve.
ELECTROTONIZE E`lec*trot"o*nize, v. t. (Physiol.)
Defn: To cause or produce electrotonus.
ELECTROTONOUS E`lec*trot"o*nous, a.
Defn: Electrotonic.
ELECTROTONUS E`lec*trot"o*nus, n. Etym: [NL., fr. combining form electro- + Gr. (Physiol.)
Defn: The modified condition of a nerve, when a constant current of electricity passes through any part of it. See Anelectrotonus, and Catelectrotonus.
ELECTROTYPE E*lec"tro*type, n. Etym: [Electro- + -type.]
Defn: A facsimile plate made by electrotypy for use in printing; also, an impression or print from such plate. Also used adjectively.
Note: The face of an electrotype consists of a shell of copper, silver, or the like, produced by the action of an electrical current upon a plate of metal and a wax mold suspended in an acid bath and connected with opposite poles of the battery. It is backed up with a solid filling of type metal.
ELECTROTYPE E*lec"tro*type, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Electrotyped; p. pr. & vb. n. Electrotyping.]
Defn: To make facsimile plates of by the electrotype process; as to electrotype a page of type, a book, etc. See Electrotype, n.
ELECTROTYPER E*lec"tro*ty`per, n.
Defn: One who electrotypes.
ELECTROTYPIC E*lec`tro*typ"ic, a.
Defn: Pertaining to, or effected by means of, electrotypy.
ELECTROTYPING E*lec"tro*ty`ping, n.
Defn: The act or the process of making electrotypes.
ELECTROTYPY E*lec"tro*ty`py, n.
Defn: The process of producing electrotype plates. See Note under Electrotype, n.
ELECTRO-VITAL E*lec`tro-vi"tal, a.
Defn: Derived from, or dependent upon, vital processes; — said of certain electric currents supposed by some physiologists to circulate in the nerves of animals.
ELECTRO-VITALISM E*lec`tro-vi"tal*ism, n. (Physiol.)
Defn: The theory that the functions of living organisms are dependent upon electricity or a kindred force.
ELECTRUM E*lec"trum, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. Electric, and cf. Electre, Electron.]
1. Amber.
2. An alloy of gold and silver, of an amber color, used by the ancients.
3. German-silver plate. See German silver, under German.
ELECTUARY E*lec"tu*a*ry, n.; pl. Electuaries. Etym: [OE. letuaire, OF. lettuaire, electuaire, F. électuaire, L. electuarium, electarium. prob. fr. Gr. Lick, and cf. Eclegm.] (Med.)
Defn: A medicine composed of powders, or other ingredients, incorporated with some convserve, honey, or sirup; a confection. See the note under Confection.
ELEEMOSYNARILY El`ee*mos"y*na*ri*ly, adv.
Defn: In an eleemosynary manner; by charity; charitably.
ELEEMOSYNARY El`ee*mos"y*na*ry, a. Etym: [LL. eleemosynarius, fr. eleemosyna alms, Gr. Alms.]
1. Relating to charity, alms, or almsgiving; intended for the distribution of charity; as, an eleemosynary corporation.
2. Given in charity or alms; having the nature of alms; as, eleemosynary assistance. "Eleemosynary cures." Boyle.
3. Supported by charity; as, eleemosynary poor.
ELEEMOSYNARY El`ee*mos"y*na*ry, n.; pl. Eleemosynaries (.
Defn: One who subsists on charity; a dependent. South.
ELEGANCE; ELEGANCY El"e*gance, El"e*gan*cy, n. Etym: [L. elegantia, fr. elegans, -antis, elegant: cf. F. élégance.]
1. The state or quality of being elegant; beauty as resulting from choice qualities and the complete absence of what deforms or impresses unpleasantly; grace given by art or practice; fine polish; refinement; — said of manners, language, style, form, architecture, etc. That grace that elegance affords. Drayton. The endearing elegance of female friendship. Johnson. A trait of native elegance, seldom seen in the masculine character after childhood or early youth, was shown in the General's fondness for the sight and fragrance of flowers. Hawthorne.
2. That which is elegant; that which is tasteful and highly attractive. The beautiful wildness of nature, without the nicer elegancies of art. Spectator.
Syn. — Elegance, Grace. Elegance implies something of a select style of beauty, which is usually produced by art, skill, or training; as, elegance of manners, composition, handwriting, etc.; elegant furniture; an elegant house, etc. Grace, as the word is here used, refers to bodily movements, and is a lower order of beauty. It may be a natural gift; thus, the manners of a peasant girl may be graceful, but can hardly be called elegant.
ELEGANT El"e*gant, a. Etym: [L. elegans, -antis; akin to eligere to pick out, choose, select: cf. F. élégant. See Elect.]
1. Very choice, and hence, pleasing to good taste; characterized by grace, propriety, and refinement, and the absence of every thing offensive; exciting admiration and approbation by symmetry, completeness, freedom from blemish, and the like; graceful; tasteful and highly attractive; as, elegant manners; elegant style of composition; an elegant speaker; an elegant structure. A more diligent cultivation of elegant literature. Prescott.
2. Exercising a nice choice; discriminating beauty or sensitive to beauty; as, elegant taste.
Syn. — Tasteful; polished; graceful; refined; comely; handsome; richly ornamental.
ELEGANTLY El"e*gant*ly, adv.
Defn: In a manner to please nice taste; with elegance; with due symmetry; richly.
ELEGIAC E*le"gi*ac, a. Etym: [L. elegiacus, Gr. élégiaque. See Elegy.]
1. Belonging to elegy, or written in elegiacs; plaintive; expressing sorrow or lamentation; as, an elegiac lay; elegiac strains. Elegiac griefs, and songs of love. Mrs. Browning.
2. Used in elegies; as, elegiac verse; the elegiac distich or couplet, consisting of a dactylic hexameter and pentameter.
ELEGIAC E*le"gi*ac, n.
Defn: Elegiac verse.
ELEGIACAL El`e*gi"a*cal, a.
Defn: Elegiac.
ELEGIAST E*le"gi*ast, n.
Defn: One who composes elegies. Goldsmith.
ELEGIOGRAPHER El`e*gi*og"ra*pher, n. Etym: [Gr. -graph + -er.]
Defn: An elegist. [Obs.]
ELEGIST El"e*gist, n.
Defn: A write of elegies. T. Warton.
ELEGIT E*le"git, n. Etym: [L., he has chosen, fr. eligere to choose. See Elect.] (Law)
Defn: A judicial writ of execution, by which a defendant's goods are appraised and delivered to the plaintiff, and, if no sufficient to satisfy the debt, all of his lands are delivered, to be held till the debt is paid by the rents and profits, or until the defendant's interest has expired.
ELEGIZE El"e*gize, v. t.
Defn: To lament in an elegy; to celebrate in elegiac verse; to bewail. Carlyle.
ELEGY El"e*gy, n.; pl. Elegies. Etym: [L. elegia, Gr.
Defn: A mournful or plaintive poem; a funereal song; a poem of lamentation. Shak.
ELEIDIN E*le"i*din, n. (Biol.)
Defn: Lifeless matter deposited in the form of minute granules within the protoplasm of living cells.
ELEME FIGS; ELEMI FIGS El"e*me figs`, El"e*mi figs` (el"e*mi). [Turk. eleme anything which has been sifted and freed from dust or broken parts.]
Defn: A kind of figs of superior quality.
ELEMENT El"e*ment, n. Etym: [F. élément, L. elementum.]
1. One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.
2. One of the ultimate, undecomposable constituents of any kind of matter. Specifically: (Chem.) A substance which cannot be decomposed into different kinds of matter by any means at present employed; as, the elements of water are oxygen and hydrogen.
Note: The elements are naturally classified in several families or groups, as the group of the alkaline elements, the halogen group, and the like. They are roughly divided into two great classes, the metals, as sodium, calcium, etc., which form basic compounds, and the nonmetals or metalloids, as oxygen, sulphur, chlorine, which form acid compounds; but the distinction is only relative, and some, as arsenic, tin, aluminium, etc., form both acid and basic compounds. The essential fact regarding every element is its relative atomic weight or equivalent. When the elements are tabulated in the order of their ascending atomic weights, the arrangement constitutes the series of the Periodic law of Mendelejeff. See Periodic law, under Periodic. This Periodic law enables us to predict the qualities of unknown elements. The number of elements known is about seventy-five, but the gaps in the Periodic law indicate the possibility of many more. Many of the elements with which we are familiar, as hydrogen, carbon, iron, gold, etc., have been recognized, by means of spectrum analysis, in the sun and the fixed stars. From certain evidence (as that afforded by the Periodic law, spectrum analysis, etc.) it appears that the chemical elements probably may not be simple bodies, but only very stable compounds of some simpler body or bodies. In formulas, the elements are designated by abbreviations of their names in Latin or New Latin.
The Elements ———————————————————————————— ——Name |Sym-|Atomic Weight| |bol | O=16 | H=1 | —————————- ————————————————————-Aluminum | Al | 27.1 | 26.9| Antimony(Stibium) Argon Arsenic Barium Beryllium (see Glucinum) Bismuth Boron Bromine Cadmium Caesium Calcium Carbon Cerium Chlorine Chromium Cobalt Columbium Copper (Cuprum) Erbium Fluorine Gadolinium Gallium Germanium Glucinum Gold Helium Hydrogen Indium Iodine Iridium Iron (Ferrum) Krypton Lanthanum Lead (Plumbum) Lithium Magnesium Manganese Mercury (Hydrargyrum) Molybdenum Neodymium Neon Nickel Niobium (see Columbium) Nirogen Osmium Oxygen Palladium Phosphorus Platinum Potassium (Kalium) Praseodymium Rhodium Rubidium Ruthenium
—————————————————————————————-The Elements — continued ———————————————————————- ——————-Name Samarium Scandium Selenium Silicon Silver (Argentum) Sodium (Natrium) Strontium Sulphur Tantalum Tellurium Thallium Thorium Thulium Tin (Stannum) Titanium Tungsten (Wolframium) Uranium Vanadium Wolfranium (see Tungsten) Xenon Ytterbium Yttrium Zinc Zirconium ——————————————————————————— ———
Note: Several other elements have been announced, as holmium, vesbium, austrium, etc., but their properties, and in some cases their existence, have not yet been definitely established.
3. One of the ultimate parts which are variously combined in anything; as, letters are the elements of written language; hence, also, a simple portion of that which is complex, as a shaft, lever, wheel, or any simple part in a machine; one of the essential ingredients of any mixture; a constituent part; as, quartz, feldspar, and mica are the elements of granite. The simplicity which is so large an element in a noble nature was laughed to scorn. Jowett (Thucyd.).
4. (a) One out of several parts combined in a system of aggregation, when each is of the nature of the whole; as, a single cell is an element of the honeycomb. (b) (Anat.) One of the smallest natural divisions of the organism, as a blood corpuscle, a muscular fiber.
5. (Biol.)
Defn: One of the simplest essential parts, more commonly called cells, of which animal and vegetable organisms, or their tissues and organs, are composed.
6. (Math.) (a) An infinitesimal part of anything of the same nature as the entire magnitude considered; as, in a solid an element may be infinitesimal portion between any two planes that are separated and indefinitely small distance. In the calculus, element is sometimes used as synonymous with differential. (b) Sometimes a curve, or surface, or volume is considered as described by a moving point, or curve, or surface, the latter being at any instant called an element of the former. (c) One of the terms in an algebraic expression.
7. One of the necessary data or values upon which a system of calculations depends, or general conclusions are based; as, the elements of a planet's orbit.
8. pl.
Defn: The simplest or fundamental principles of any system in philosophy, science, or art; rudiments; as, the elements of geometry, or of music.
9. pl.
Defn: Any outline or sketch, regarded as containing the fundamental ideas or features of the thing in question; as, the elemental of a plan.
10. One of the simple substances, as supposed by the ancient philosophers; one of the imaginary principles of matter.
Note: (a) The four elements were, air, earth, water, and fire; whence it is said, water is the proper element of fishes; air is the element of birds. Hence, the state or sphere natural to anything or suited for its existence. Of elements The grosser feeds the purer: Earth the Sea; Earth and the Sea feed Air; the Air those Fires Ethereal. Milton. Does not our life consist of the four elements Shak. And the complexion of the element [i. e.,the sky or air] In favor's like the work we have in hand, Most bloody, fiery, and most terrible. Shak. About twelve ounces [of food], with mere element for drink. Cheyne. They show that they are out of their element. T. Baker. Esp., the conditions and movements of the air. "The elements be kind to thee." (b) The elements of the alchemists were salt, sulphur, and mercury. Brande & C.
11. pl.
Defn: The whole material composing the world. The elements shall melt with fervent heat. 2 Peter iii. 10.
12. pl. (Eccl.)
Defn: The bread and wine used in the eucharist or Lord's supper. Magnetic element, one of the hypothetical elementary portions of which a magnet is regarded as made up.
ELEMENT El"e*ment, v. t.
1. To compound of elements or first principles. [Obs.] "[Love] being elemented too." Donne.
2. To constitute; to make up with elements. His very soul was elemented of nothing but sadness. Walton.
ELEMENTAL El`e*men"tal, a.
1. Pertaining to the elements, first principles, and primary ingredients, or to the four supposed elements of the material world; as, elemental air. "Elemental strife." Pope.
2. Pertaining to rudiments or first principles; rudimentary; elementary. "The elemental rules of erudition." Cawthorn.
ELEMENTALISM El`e*men"tal*ism, a.
Defn: The theory that the heathen divinities originated in the personification of elemental powers.
ELEMENTALITY E`le*men*tal"i*ty, n.
Defn: The condition of being composed of elements, or a thing so composed.
ELEMENTALLY El`e*men"tal*ly, adv.
Defn: According to elements; literally; as, the words, "Take, eat; this is my body," elementally understood.
ELEMENTAR El`e*men"tar, a.
Defn: Elementary. [Obs.] Skelton.
ELEMENTARINESS El`e*men"ta*ri*ness, n.
Defn: The state of being elementary; original simplicity; uncompounded state.
ELEMENTARITY El`e*men*tar"i*ty, n.
Defn: Elementariness. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
ELEMENTARY El`e*men"ta*ry, a. Etym: [L. elementarius: cf. F. élémentaire.]
1. Having only one principle or constituent part; consisting of a single element; simple; uncompounded; as, an elementary substance.
2. Pertaining to, or treating of, the elements, rudiments, or first principles of anything; initial; rudimental; introductory; as, an elementary treatise.
3. Pertaining to one of the four elements, air, water, earth, fire. "Some luminous and fiery impressions in the elementary region." J. Spencer.
ELEMENTATION El`e*men*ta"tion, n.
Defn: Instruction in the elements or first principles. [R.]
ELEMENTOID El"e*men*toid`, a. Etym: [Element + -oid.]
Defn: Resembling an element.
ELEMI El"e*mi, n. Etym: [Cf. F. élemi, It. elemi, Sp. elemi; of American or Oriental. origin.]
Defn: A fragrant gum resin obtained chiefly tropical trees of the genera Amyris and Canarium. A. elemifera yields Mexican elemi; C. commune, the Manila elemi. It is used in the manufacture of varnishes, also in ointments and plasters.
ELEMIN El"e*min, n. (Chem.)
Defn: A transparent, colorless oil obtained from elemi resin by distillation with water; also, a crystallizable extract from the resin.
ELENCH E*lench", n.; pl. Elenchs. Etym: [L. elenchus, Gr. elenche.] (Logic) (a) That part of an argument on which its conclusiveness depends; that which convinces of refutes an antagonist; a refutation. (b) A specious but fallacious argument; a sophism.
ELENCHICAL E*len"chic*al, a.
Defn: Pertaining to an elench.
ELENCHICALLY E*len"chic*al*ly, adv.
Defn: By means of an elench.
ELENCHIZE E*len"chize, v. i.
Defn: To dispute. [R.] B. Jonson.
ELENCHTIC; ELENCHTICAL E*lench"tic, E*lench"tic*al, a.
Defn: Same as Elenctic.
ELENCHUS E*len"chus, n. Etym: [L.]
Defn: Same as Elench.
ELENCTIC; ELENCTICAL E*lenc"tic, E*lenc"tic*al, a. Etym: [Gr. (Logic)
Defn: Serving to refute; refutative; — applied to indirect modes of proof, and opposed to deictic.
ELENGE El"enge, a. Etym: [Cf. AS. ellende foreign, strange, G. elend miserable.]
Defn: Sorrowful; wretched; full of trouble. [Obs.] Chaucer.
ELENGENESS El"enge*ness, n.
Defn: Loneliness; misery. [Obs.]
ELEPHANSY El"e*phan*sy, n. Etym: [L. elephantia.]
Defn: Elephantiasis. [Obs.] Holland.
ELEPHANT El"e*phant, n. Etym: [OE. elefaunt, olifant, OF. olifant, F. éléphant, L. elephantus, elephas, -antis, fr. Gr. ibha, with the Semitic article al, el, prefixed, or fr. Semitic Aleph hindi Indian bull; or cf. Goth. ulbandus camel, AS. olfend.]
1. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A mammal of the order Proboscidia, of which two living species, Elephas Indicus and E. Africanus, and several fossil species, are known. They have a proboscis or trunk, and two large ivory tusks proceeding from the extremity of the upper jaw, and curving upwards. The molar teeth are large and have transverse folds. Elephants are the largest land animals now existing.
2. Ivory; the tusk of the elephant. [Obs.] Dryden. Elephant apple (Bot.), an East Indian fruit with a rough, hard rind, and edible pulp, borne by Feronia elephantum, a large tree related to the orange. — Elephant bed (Geol.), at Brighton, England, abounding in fossil remains of elephants. Mantell. — Elephant beetle (Zoöl.), any very large beetle of the genus Goliathus (esp. G. giganteus), of the family Scarabæidæ. They inhabit West Africa. — Elephant fish (Zoöl.), a chimæroid fish (Callorhynchus antarcticus), with a proboscis-like projection of the snout. — Elephant paper, paper of large size, 23 × 28 inches. — Double elephant paper, paper measuring 26Paper. — Elephant seal (Zoöl.), an African jumping shrew (Macroscelides typicus), having a long nose like a proboscis. — Elephant's ear (Bot.), a name given to certain species of the genus Begonia, which have immense one-sided leaves. — Elephant's foot (Bot.) (a) A South African plant (Testudinaria Elephantipes), which has a massive rootstock covered with a kind of bark cracked with deep fissures; — called also tortoise plant. The interior part is barely edible, whence the plant is also called Hottentot's bread. (b) A genus (Elephantopus) of coarse, composite weeds. — Elephant's tusk (Zoöl.), the tooth shell. See Dentalium.
ELEPHANTIAC El`e*phan"ti*ac, a. (Med.)
Defn: Affected with elephantiasis; characteristic of elephantiasis.
ELEPHANTIASIS El`e*phan*ti"a*sis, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Med.)
Defn: A disease of the skin, in which it become enormously thickened, and is rough, hard, and fissured, like an elephant's hide.
ELEPHANTINE El`e*phan"tine, a. Etym: [L. elephantinus of ivory, Gr. éléphantin.]
Defn: Pertaining to the elephant, or resembling an elephant (commonly, in size); hence, huge; immense; heavy; as, of elephantine proportions; an elephantine step or tread. Elephantine epoch (Geol.), the epoch distinguished by the existence of large pachyderms. Mantell. — Elephantine tortoise (Zoöl.), a huge land tortoise; esp., Testudo elephantina, from islands in the Indian Ocean; and T. elephantopus, from the Galapagos Islands.
ELEPHANTOID; ELEPHANTOIDAL El"e*phan*toid`, El`e*phan*toid"al, a. Etym: [Elephant + -oid.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: Resembling an elephant in form or appearance.
ELEUSINIAN El`eu*sin"i*an, a. Etym: [L. Eleusinius, Gr.
Defn: Pertaining to Eleusis, in Greece, or to secret rites in honor of Ceres, there celebrated; as, Eleusinian mysteries or festivals.
ELEUTHEROMANIA E*leu`ther*o*ma"ni*a, n. Etym: [Gr. mania.]
Defn: A mania or frantic zeal for freedom. [R.] Carlyle.
ELEUTHEROMANIAC E*leu`ther*o*ma"ni*ac, a.
Defn: Mad for freedom. [R.]
ELEUTHERO-PETALOUS E*leu`ther*o-pet"al*ous, a. Etym: [Gr. petal.] (Bot.)
Defn: Having the petals free, that is, entirely separate from each other; — said of both plant and flower.
ELEVATE El"e*vate, a. Etym: [L. elevatus, p. p.]
Defn: Elevated; raised aloft. [Poetic] Milton.
ELEVATE El"e*vate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Elevated; p. pr. & vb. n. Elevating.] Etym: [L. elevatus, p. p. of elevare; e + levare to lift up, raise, akin to levis light in weight. See Levity.]
1. To bring from a lower place to a higher; to lift up; to raise; as, to elevate a weight, a flagstaff, etc.
2. To raise to a higher station; to promote; as, to elevate to an office, or to a high social position.
3. To raise from a depressed state; to animate; to cheer; as, to elevate the spirits.
4. To exalt; to ennoble; to dignify; as, to elevate the mind or character.
5. To raise to a higher pitch, or to a greater degree of loudness; — said of sounds; as, to elevate the voice.
6. To intoxicate in a slight degree; to render tipsy. [Colloq. & Sportive] "The elevated cavaliers sent for two tubs of merry stingo." Sir W. Scott.
7. To lessen; to detract from; to disparage. [A Latin meaning] [Obs.] Jer. Taylor. To elevate a piece (Gun.), to raise the muzzle; to lower the breech.
Syn. — To exalt; dignify; ennoble; erect; raise; hoist; heighten; elate; cheer; flush; excite; animate.
ELEVATED El"e*va`ted, a.
Defn: Uplifted; high; lofty; also, animated; noble; as, elevated thoughts. Elevated railway, one in which the track is raised considerably above the ground, especially a city railway above the line of street travel.
ELEVATEDNESS El"e*va`ted*ness, n.
Defn: The quality of being elevated.
ELEVATION El`e*va"tion, n. Etym: [L. elevatio: cf. F. élévation.]
1. The act of raising from a lower place, condition, or quality to a higher; — said of material things, persons, the mind, the voice, etc.; as, the elevation of grain; elevation to a throne; elevation of mind, thoughts, or character.
2. Condition of being elevated; height; exaltation. "Degrees of elevation above us." Locke. His style . . . wanted a little elevation. Sir H. Wotton.
3. That which is raised up or elevated; an elevated place or station; as, an elevation of the ground; a hill.
4. (Astron.)
Defn: The distance of a celestial object above the horizon, or the arc of a vertical circle intercepted between it and the horizon; altitude; as, the elevation of the pole, or of a star.
5. (Dialing)
Defn: The angle which the style makes with the substylar line.
6. (Gunnery)
Defn: The movement of the axis of a piece in a vertical plane; also, the angle of elevation, that is, the angle between the axis of the piece and the line odirection.
7. (Drawing)
Defn: A geometrical projection of a building, or other object, on a plane perpendicular to the horizon; orthographic projection on a vertical plane; — called by the ancients the orthography. Angle of elevation (Geodesy), the angle which an ascending line makes with a horizontal plane. — Elevation of the host (R. C. Ch.), that part of the Mass in which the priest raises the host above his head for the people to adore.
ELEVATOR El"e*va`tor, n. Etym: [L., one who raises up, a deliverer: cf. F. élévateur.]
Defn: One who, or that which, raises or lifts up anything; as: (a) A mechanical contrivance, usually an endless belt or chain with a series of scoops or buckets, for transferring grain to an upper loft for storage. (b) A cage or platform and the hoisting machinery in a hotel, warehouse, mine, etc., for conveying persons, goods, etc., to or from different floors or levels; — called in England a lift; the cage or platform itself. (c) A building for elevating, storing, and discharging, grain. (d) (Anat.) A muscle which serves to raise a part of the body, as the leg or the eye. (e) (Surg.) An instrument for raising a depressed portion of a bone. Elevator head, leg, and boot, the boxes in which the upper pulley, belt, and lower pulley, respectively, run in a grain elevator.
ELEVATORY El"e*va`to*ry, a.
Defn: Tending to raise, or having power to elevate; as, elevatory forces.
ELEVATORY El"e*va`to*ry, n. Etym: [Cf. F. élévatoire.] (Surg.)
Defn: See Elevator, n. (e). Dunglison.
ELEVE É`lève" (, n. Etym: [F., fr. élever to raise, bring up.]
Defn: A pupil; a student.
ELEVEN E*lev"en, a. Etym: [OE. enleven, AS. endleofan, endlufon, for nleofan; akin to LG. eleve, ölwe, ölwen, D. elf, G. elf, eilf, OHG. einlif, Icel. ellifu, Sw. elfva, Dan. elleve, Goth. ainlif, cf. Lith. vënolika; and fr. the root of E. one + (prob.) a root signifying "to be left over, remain," appearing in E. loan, or perh. in leave, v. t., life. See One, and cf. Twelve.]
Defn: Ten and one added; as, eleven men.
ELEVEN E*lev"en, n.
1. The sum of ten and one; eleven units or objects.
2. A symbol representing eleven units, as 11 or xi.
3. (Cricket & American Football)
Defn: The eleven men selected to play on one side in a match, as the representatives of a club or a locality; as, the all-England eleven.
ELEVENTH E*lev"enth, a. Etym: [Cf. AS. endlyfta. See Eleven.]
1. Next after the tenth; as, the eleventh chapter.
2. Constituting one of eleven parts into which a thing is divided; as, the eleventh part of a thing.
3. (Mus.)
Defn: Of or pertaining to the interval of the octave and the fourth.
ELEVENTH E*lev"enth, n.
1. The quotient of a unit divided by eleven; one of eleven equal parts.
2. (Mus.)
Defn: The interval consisting of ten conjunct degrees; the interval made up of an octave and a fourth.
ELF Elf, n.; pl. Elves. Etym: [AS. ælf, ylf; akin to MHG. alp, G. alp nightmare, incubus, Icel. elf, Sw. alf, elfva; cf. Skr. rbhu skillful, artful, rabh to grasp. Cf. Auf, Oaf.]
1. An imaginary supernatural being, commonly a little sprite, much like a fairy; a mythological diminutive spirit, supposed to haunt hills and wild places, and generally represented as delighting in mischievous tricks. Every elf, and fairy sprite, Hop as light as bird from brier. Shak.
2. A very diminutive person; a dwarf. Elf arrow, a flint arrowhead; - - so called by the English rural folk who often find these objects of prehistoric make in the fields and formerly attributed them to fairies; — called also elf bolt, elf dart, and elf shot. — Elf child, a child supposed to be left by elves, in room of one they had stolen. See Changeling. — Elf fire, the ignis fatuus. Brewer. — Elf owl (Zoöl.), a small owl (Micrathene Whitneyi) of Southern California and Arizona.
ELF Elf, v. t.
Defn: To entangle mischievously, as an elf might do. Elf all my hair in knots. Shak.
ELFIN Elf"in, a.
Defn: Relating to elves.
ELFIN Elf"in, n.
Defn: A little elf or urchin. Shenstone.
ELFISH Elf"ish, a.
Defn: Of or relating to the elves; elflike; implike; weird; scarcely human; mischievous, as though caused by elves. "Elfish light." Coleridge. The elfish intelligence that was so familiar an expression on her small physiognomy. Hawthorne.
ELFISHLY Elf"ish*ly, adv.
Defn: In an elfish manner.
ELFISHNESS Elf"ish*ness, n.
Defn: The quality of being elfish.
ELFKIN Elf"kin, n.
Defn: A little elf.
ELFLAND Elf"land`, n.
Defn: Fairyland. Tennyson.
ELFLOCK Elf"lock`, n.
Defn: Hair matted, or twisted into a knot, as if by elves.
ELGIN MARBLES El"gin mar"bles.
Defn: Greek sculptures in the British Museum. They were obtained at Athens, about 1811, by Lord Elgin.
ELICIT E*lic"it, a. Etym: [L. elictus, p. p. of elicere to elicit; e + lacere to entice. Cf. Delight, Lace.]
Defn: Elicited; drawn out; made real; open; evident. [Obs.] "An elicit act of equity." Jer. Taylor.
ELICIT E*lic"it, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Elicited; p. pr. & vb. n. Eliciting.]
Defn: To draw out or entice forth; to bring to light; to bring out against the will; to deduce by reason or argument; as, to elicit truth by discussion.
ELICITATE E*lic"i*tate, v. t.
Defn: To elicit. [Obs.]
ELICITATION E*lic`i*ta"tion, n.
Defn: The act of eliciting. [Obs.] Abp. Bramhall.
ELIDE E*lide", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Elided; p. pr. & vb. n. Eliding.] Etym: [L. elidere to strike out or off; e + laedere to hurt by striking: cf. F. élider. See Lesion.]
1. To break or dash in pieces; to demolish; as, to elide the force of an argument. [Obs.] Hooker.
2. (Gram.)
Defn: To cut off, as a vowel or a syllable, usually the final one; to subject to elision.
ELIGIBILITY El`i*gi*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. éligibilité.]
Defn: The quality of being eligible; eligibleness; as, the eligibility of a candidate; the eligibility of an offer of marriage.
ELIGIBLE El"i*gi*ble, a. Etym: [F. éligible, fr. L. eligere. See Elect.]
1. That may be selected; proper or qualified to be chosen; legally qualified to be elected and to hold office.
2. Worthy to be chosen or selected; suitable; desirable; as, an eligible situation for a house. The more eligible of the two evils. Burke.
ELIGIBLENESS El"i*gi*ble*ness, n.
Defn: The quality worthy or qualified to be chosen; suitableness; desirableness.
ELIGIBLY El"i*gi*bly, adv.
Defn: In an eligible manner.
ELIMATE El"i*mate, v. t. Etym: [L. elimatus, p. p. of elimare to file up; e out + limare to file, fr. lima file.]
Defn: To render smooth; to polish. [Obs.]
ELIMINANT E*lim"i*nant, n. (Math.)
Defn: The result of eliminating n variables between n homogeneous equations of any degree; — called also resultant.
ELIMINATE E*lim"i*nate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Eliminated; p. pr. & vb. n. Eliminating.] Etym: [L. eliminatus, p. p. of eliminare; e out + limen threshold; prob. akin to limes boundary. See Limit.]
1. To put out of doors; to expel; to discharge; to release; to set at liberty. Eliminate my spirit, give it range Through provinces of thought yet unexplored. Young.
2. (Alg.)
Defn: To cause to disappear from an equation; as, to eliminate an unknown quantity.
3. To set aside as unimportant in a process of inductive inquiry; to leave out of consideration. Eliminate errors that have been gathering and accumulating. Lowth.
4. To obtain by separating, as from foreign matters; to deduce; as, to eliminate an idea or a conclusion. [Recent, and not well authorized]
5. (Physiol.)
Defn: To separate; to expel from the system; to excrete; as, the kidneys eliminate urea, the lungs carbonic acid; to eliminate poison from the system.
ELIMINATION E*lim`i*na"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. élimination.]
1. The act of expelling or throwing off; (Physiol.)
Defn: the act of discharging or excreting waste products or foreign substances through the various emunctories.
2. (Alg.)
Defn: Act of causing a quantity to disappear from an equation; especially, in the operation of deducing from several equations containing several unknown quantities a less number of equations containing a less number of unknown quantities.
3. The act of obtaining by separation, or as the result of eliminating; deduction. [See Eliminate,
4.]
ELIMINATIVE E*lim"i*na*tive, a. (Physiol.)
Defn: Relating to, or carrying on, elimination.
ELINGUATE E*lin"guate, v. t. Etym: [L. elinguare.]
Defn: To deprive of the tongue. [Obs.] Davies (Holy Roode).
ELINGUATION E`lin*gua"tion, n. Etym: [L. elinguatio. See Elinguid.] (O. Eng. Law)
Defn: Punishment by cutting out the tongue.
ELINGUID E*lin"guid, a. Etym: [L. elinguis, prop., deprived of the tongue; hence, speechless; e + lingua tongue.]
Defn: Tongue-tied; dumb. [Obs.]
ELIQUAMENT E*liq"ua*ment, n.
Defn: A liquid obtained from fat, or fat fish, by pressure.
ELIQUATION El`i*qua"tion, n. Etym: [L. eliquatio, fr. eliquare to clarify, strain; e + liquare to make liquid, melt.] (Metallurgy)
Defn: The process of separating a fusible substance from one less fusible, by means of a degree of heat sufficient to melt the one and not the other, as an alloy of copper and lead; liquation. Ure.
ELISON E*li"son, n. Etym: [L. elisio, fr. elidere, elisum, to strike out: cf. F. élision. See Elide.]
1. Division; separation. [Obs.] Bacon.
2. (Gram.)
Defn: The cutting off or suppression of a vowel or syllable, for the sake of meter or euphony; esp., in poetry, the dropping of a final vowel standing before an initial vowel in the following word, when the two words are drawn together.
ELISOR E*li"sor, n. Etym: [F. éliseur, fr. élire to choose, L. eligere. See Elect.] (Eng. Law)
Defn: An elector or chooser; one of two persons appointed by a court to return a jury or serve a writ when the sheriff and the coroners are disqualified.
ELITE e`lite", n. Etym: [F., fr. élire to choose, L. eligere. See Elect.]
Defn: A choice or select body; the flower; as, the élite of society.
ELIX E*lix", v. t. Etym: [See Elixate.]
Defn: To extract. [Obs.] Marston.
ELIXATE E*lix"ate, v. t. Etym: [L. elixatus, p. p. of elixare to seethe, fr. elixus thoroughly boiled; e + lixare to boil, lix ashes.]
Defn: To boil; to seethe; hence, to extract by boiling or seething. [Obs.] Cockeram.
ELIXATION El`ix*a"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. élixation.]
Defn: A seething; digestion. [Obs.] Burton.
ELIXIR E*lix"ir, n. Etym: [F. élixir, Sp. elixir, Ar. eliksir the philosopher's stone, prob. from Gr. ksha to burn.]
1. (Med.)
Defn: A tincture with more than one base; a compound tincture or medicine, composed of various substances, held in solution by alcohol in some form.
2. (Alchemy)
Defn: An imaginary liquor capable of transmuting metals into gold; also, one for producing life indefinitely; as, elixir vitæ, or the elixir of life.
3. The refined spirit; the quintessence. The . . . elixir of worldly delights. South.
4. Any cordial or substance which invigorates. The grand elixir, to support the spirits of human nature. Addison.
ELIZABETHAN E*liz"a*beth`an, a.
Defn: Pertaining to Queen Elizabeth or her times, esp. to the architecture or literature of her reign; as, the Elizabethan writers, drama, literature. — n.
Defn: One who lived in England in the time of Queen Elizabeth. Lowell.
ELK Elk, n. Etym: [Icel. elgr; akin to Sw. elg, AS. eolh, OHG. elaho, MHG. elch, cf. L. alces; perh. akin to E. eland.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: A large deer, of several species. The European elk (Alces machlis or Cervus alces) is closely allied to the American moose. The American elk, or wapiti (Cervus Canadensis), is closely related to the European stag. See Moose, and Wapiti. Irish elk (Paleon.), a large, extinct, Quaternary deer (Cervus giganteus) with widely spreading antlers. Its remains have been found beneath the peat of swamps in Ireland and England. See Illustration in Appendix; also Illustration of Antler. — Cape elk (Zoöl.), the eland.
ELK; ELKE Elk, Elke, n. (Zoöl.)
Defn: The European wild or whistling swan (Cygnus ferus).
ELKNUT Elk"nut`, n. (Bot.)
Defn: The buffalo nut. See under Buffalo.
ELKWOOD Elk"wood`, n.
Defn: The soft, spongy wood of a species of Magnolia (M. Umbrella).
ELL Ell, n. Etym: [AS. eln; akin to D. el, elle, G. elle, OHG. elina, Icel. alin, Dan. alen, Sw. aln, Goth. alenia, L. ulna elbow, ell, Gr. Elbow, Alnage.]
Defn: A measure for cloth; — now rarely used. It is of different lengths in different countries; the English ell being 45 inches, the Dutch or Flemish ell 27, the Scotch about 37.
ELL Ell, n. (Arch.)
Defn: See L.
ELLACHICK El"la*chick, n. Etym: [Native Indian name.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: A fresh-water tortoise (Chelopus marmoratus) of California; — used as food.
ELLAGIC El*lag"ic, a. Etym: [F., fr. galle gall (with the letters reversed).] (Chem.)
Defn: Pertaining to, or derived from, gallnuts or gallic acid; as, ellagic acid. Ellagic acid (Chem.), a white crystalline substance, C14H8O9, found in bezoar stones, and obtained by the oxidation of gallic acid.
ELLEBORE El"le*bore, n.
Defn: Hellebore. [Obs.] Chaucer.
ELLEBORIN El*leb"o*rin, n.
Defn: See Helleborin.
ELLECK El"leck, n. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: The red gurnard or cuckoo fish. [Prov. Eng.]
ELLENGE; ELLINGE; ELLENGENESS; ELLINGENESS El"lenge, El"linge, a., El"lenge*ness, El"linge*ness, n.
Defn: See Elenge, Elengeness. [Obs.]
ELLES El"les, adv. & conj.
Defn: See Else. [Obs.]
ELLIPSE El*lipse", n. Etym: [Gr. ellipse. See Ellipsis.]
1. (Geom.)
Defn: An oval or oblong figure, bounded by a regular curve, which corresponds to an oblique projection of a circle, or an oblique section of a cone through its opposite sides. The greatest diameter of the ellipse is the major axis, and the least diameter is the minor axis. See Conic section, under Conic, and cf. Focus.
2. (Gram.)
Defn: Omission. See Ellipsis.
3. The elliptical orbit of a planet. The Sun flies forward to his brother Sun; The dark Earth follows wheeled in her ellipse. Tennyson.
ELLIPSIS El*lip"sis, n.; pl. Ellipses. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. In, and Loan, and cf. Ellipse.]
1. (Gram.)
Defn: Omission; a figure of syntax, by which one or more words, which are obviously understood, are omitted; as, the virtues I admire, for, the virtues which I admire.
2. (Geom.)
Defn: An ellipse. [Obs.]
ELLIPSOGRAPH El*lip"so*graph, n. Etym: [Ellipse + graph: cf. F. ellipsographe.]
Defn: An instrument for describing ellipses; — called also trammel.
ELLIPSOID El*lip"soid, n. Etym: [Ellipse + -oid: cf. F. ellipsoide.] (Geom.)
Defn: A solid, all plane sections of which are ellipses or circles. See Conoid, n., 2 (a).
Note: The ellipsoid has three principal plane sections, a, b, and c, each at right angles to the other two, and each dividing the solid into two equal and symmetrical parts. The lines of meeting of these principal sections are the axes, or principal diameters of the ellipsoid. The point where the three planes meet is the center. Ellipsoid of revolution, a spheroid; a solid figure generated by the revolution of an ellipse about one of its axes. It is called a prolate spheroid, or prolatum, when the ellipse is revolved about the major axis, and an oblate spheroid, or oblatum, when it is revolved about the minor axis.
ELLIPSOID; ELLIPSOIDAL El*lip"soid, El`lip*soi"dal, a.
Defn: Pertaining to, or shaped like, an ellipsoid; as, ellipsoid or ellipsoidal form.
ELLIPTIC; ELLIPTICAL El*lip"tic, El*lip"tic*al, a. Etym: [Gr. elliptique. See Ellipsis.]
1. Of or pertaining to an ellipse; having the form of an ellipse; oblong, with rounded ends. The planets move in elliptic orbits. Cheyne.
2. Having a part omitted; as, an elliptical phrase. Elliptic chuck. See under Chuck. — Elliptic compasses, an instrument arranged for drawing ellipses. — Elliptic function. (Math.) See Function. — Elliptic integral. (Math.) See Integral. — Elliptic polarization. See under Polarization.
ELLIPTICALLY El*lip"tic*al*ly, adv.
1. In the form of an ellipse.
2. With a part omitted; as, elliptically expressed.
ELLIPTICITY El`lip*tic"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. ellipticité.]
Defn: Deviation of an ellipse or a spheroid from the form of a circle or a sphere; especially, in reference to the figure of the earth, the difference between the equatorial and polar semidiameters, divided by the equatorial; thus, the ellipticity of the earth is
Note: Some writers use ellipticity as the ratio of the difference of the two semiaxes to the minor axis, instead of the major. Nichol.
ELLIPTIC-LANCEOLATE El*lip"tic-lan"ce*o*late, a. (Bot.)
Defn: Having a form intermediate between elliptic and lanceolate.
ELLIPTOGRAPH El*lip"to*graph, n.
Defn: Same as Ellipsograph.
ELLWAND Ell"wand, n.
Defn: Formerly, a measuring rod an ell long.
ELM Elm, n. Etym: [AS. elm; akin to D. olm, OHG. elm, G. ulme, Icel. almr, Dan. & Sw. alm, L. ulmus, and E. alder. Cf. Old.] (Bot.)
Defn: A tree of the genus Ulmus, of several species, much used as a shade tree, particularly in America. The English elm is Ulmus campestris; the common American or white elm is U. Americana; the slippery or red elm, U. fulva. Elm beetle (Zoöl.), one of several species of beetles (esp. Galeruca calmariensis), which feed on the leaves of the elm. — Elm borer (Zoöl.), one of several species of beetles of which the larvæ bore into the wood or under the bark of the elm (esp. Saperda tridentata). — Elm butterfly (Zoöl.), one of several species of butterflies, which, in the caterpillar state, feed on the leaves of the elm (esp. Vanessa antiopa and Grapta comma). See Comma butterfly, under Comma. — Elm moth (Zoöl.), one of numerous species of moths of which the larvæ destroy the leaves of the elm (esp. Eugonia subsignaria, called elm spanworm). — Elm sawfly (Zoöl.), a large sawfly (Cimbex Americana). The larva, which is white with a black dorsal stripe, feeds on the leaves of the elm.
ELMEN Elm"en, a.
Defn: Belonging to elms. [Obs.]
ELMO'S FIRE El"mo's fire`.
Defn: See Corposant; also Saint Elmo's Fire, under Saint.
ELMY Elm"y, a.
Defn: Abounding with elms. The simple spire and elmy grange. T. Warton.
ELOCATION El`o*ca"tion, n. Etym: [Pref. e- + locate.]
1. A removal from the usual place of residence. [Obs.]
2. Departure from the usual state; an ecstasy. [Obs.]
ELOCULAR E*loc"u*lar, a. Etym: [Pref. e- + locular.]
Defn: Having but one cell, or cavity; not divided by a septum or partition.
ELOCUTION El`o*cu"tion, n. Etym: [L. elocutio, fr. eloqui, elocutus, to speak out: cf. F. élocution. See Eloquent.]
1. Utterance by speech. [R.] [Fruit] whose taste . . . Gave elocution to the mute, and taught The tongue not made for speech to speak thy praise. Milton.
2. Oratorical or expressive delivery, including the graces of intonation, gesture, etc.; style or manner of speaking or reading in public; as, clear, impressive elocution. "The elocution of a reader." Whately
3. Suitable and impressive writing or style; eloquent diction. [Obs.] To express these thoughts with elocution. Dryden.
ELOCUTIONARY El`o*cu"tion*a*ry, a.
Defn: Pertaining to elocution.
ELOCUTIONIST El`o*cu"tion*ist, n.
Defn: One who is versed in elocution; a teacher of elocution.
ELOCUTIVE El"o*cu`tive, a.
Defn: Pertaining to oratorical expression. [Obs.] Feltham.
ELODIAN E*lo"di*an, n. (Zoöl.)
Defn: One of a tribe of tortoises, including the terrapins, etc., in which the head and neck can be withdrawn.
ELOGE e`loge", n. Etym: [F. See Elogium.]
Defn: A panegyrical funeral oration.
ELOGIST El"o*gist, n. Etym: [F. élogiste.]
Defn: One who pronounces an éloge.
ELOGIUM; ELOGY E*lo"gi*um, El"o*gy, n. Etym: [L. elogium a short saying, an inscription, fr. Gr. .]
Defn: The praise bestowed on a person or thing; panegyric; eulogy.
ELOHIM E*lo"him, n. Etym: [Heb.]
Defn: One of the principal names by which God is designated in the Hebrew Scriptures.
ELOHIST E*lo"hist, n.
Defn: The writer, or one of the writers, of the passages of the Old Testament, notably those of Elohim instead of Jehovah, as the name of the Supreme Being; — distinguished from Jehovist. S. Davidson.
ELOHISTIC El`o*his"tic, a.
Defn: Relating to Elohim as a name of God; — said of passages in the Old Testament.
ELOIGN E*loign", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Eloigned; p. pr. & vb. n. Eloigning.] Etym: [F. éloigner, OF. esloignier; pref. es- (L. ex) + OF. & F. loin far, far off, L. longe, fr. longus long. See Elongate.] [Written also eloin.]
1. To remove afar off; to withdraw. [Obs.] From worldly cares he did himself eloign. Spenser.
2. (Law)
Defn: To convey to a distance, or beyond the jurisdiction, or to conceal, as goods liable to distress. The sheriff may return that the goods or beasts are eloigned. Blackstone.
ELOIGNATE E*loign"ate, v. t.
Defn: To remove. [Obs.] Howell.
ELOIGNMENT E*loign"ment, n. Etym: [F. éloignement.]
Defn: Removal to a distance; withdrawal. [Obs.]
ELOIN E*loin", v. t.
Defn: See Eloign.
ELOINATE E*loin"ate, v. t.
Defn: See Eloignate.
ELOINMENT E*loin"ment, n.
Defn: See Eloignment.
ELONG E*long", v. t. Etym: [See Eloign, Elongate.]
1. To lengthen out; to prolong. [Obs.]
2. To put away; to separate; to keep off. [Obs.] Wyatt.
ELONGATE E*lon"gate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Elongated; p. pr. & vb. n. Elongating.] Etym: [LL. elongatus, p. p. of elongare to remove, to prolong; e + L. longus long. See Long, a., and cf. Eloign.]
1. To lengthen; to extend; to stretch; as, to elongate a line.
2. To remove further off. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
ELONGATE E*lon"gate, v. i.
Defn: To depart to, or be at, a distance; esp., to recede apparently from the sun, as a planet in its orbit. [R.]
ELONGATE E*lon"gate, a. Etym: [LL. elongatus.]
Defn: Drawn out at length; elongated; as, an elongate leaf. "An elongate form." Earle.
ELONGATION E`lon*ga"tion, n. Etym: [LL. elongatio: cf. F. élongation.]
1. The act of lengthening, or the state of being lengthened; protraction; extension. "Elongation of the fibers." Arbuthnot.
2. That which lengthens out; continuation. May not the mountains of Westmoreland and Cumberland be considered as elongations of these two chains Pinkerton.
3. Removal to a distance; withdrawal; a being at a distance; distance. The distant points in the celestial expanse appear to the eye in so small a degree of elongation from one another, as bears no proportion to what is real. Glanvill.
4. (Astron.)
Defn: The angular distance of a planet from the sun; as, the elongation of Venus or Mercury.
ELOPE E*lope", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Eloped; p. pr. & vb. n. Eloping.] Etym: [D. ontloopen to run away; pref. ont- (akin to G. ent-, AS. and-, cf. E. answer) + loopen to run; akin to E. leap. See Leap, v. t.]
Defn: To run away, or escape privately, from the place or station to which one is bound by duty; — said especially of a woman or a man, either married or unmarried, who runs away with a paramour or a sweetheart. Great numbers of them [the women] have eloped from their allegiance. Addison.
ELOPEMENT E*lope"ment, n.
Defn: The act of eloping; secret departure; — said of a woman and a man, one or both, who run away from their homes for marriage or for cohabitation.
ELOPER E*lop"er, n.
Defn: One who elopes.
ELOPS E"lops, n. Etym: [L. elops, helops, a kind of sea fish, Gr.
1. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A genus of fishes. See Saury.
2. A mythical serpent. [Obs.] Milton.
ELOQUENCE El"o*quence, n. Etym: [F. éloquence, L. eloquentia, fr. eloquens. See Eloquent.]
1. Fluent, forcible, elegant, and persuasive speech in public; the power of expressing strong emotions in striking and appropriate language either spoken or written, thereby producing conviction or persuasion. Eloquence is speaking out . . . out of the abundance of the heart. Hare.
2. Fig.: Whatever produces the effect of moving and persuasive speech. Silence that spoke and eloquence of eyes. Pope. The hearts of men are their books; events are their tutors; great actions are their eloquence. Macaulay.
3. That which is eloquently uttered or written. O, let my books be then the eloquence And dumb presagers of my speaking breast. Shak.
Syn. — Oratory; rhetoric.
ELOQUENT El"o*quent, a. Etym: [F. éloquent, L. eloquens, -entis, p. pr. of eloqui to speak out, declaim; e + loqui to speak. See Loquacious.]
1. Having the power of expressing strong emotions or forcible arguments in an elevated, impassioned, and effective manner; as, an eloquent orator or preacher. O Death, all-eloquent! You only prove What dust we dote on when 't is man we love. Pope.
2. Adapted to express strong emotion or to state facts arguments with fluency and power; as, an eloquent address or statement; an eloquent appeal to a jury.
ELOQUENTLY El"o*quent*ly, adv.
Defn: In an eloquent manner.
ELRICH; ELRITCH El"rich or El"ritch, a.
Defn: Ghastly; preternatural. Same as Eldritch. [Scot. & Local, Eng.]
ELSE Else, a. & pron. Etym: [OE. & AS. elles otherwise, gen. sing. of an adj. signifying other; akin to OHG. elles otherwise, OSw. äljes, Sw. eljest, Goth. aljis, adj., other, L. alius, Gr. Alias, Alien.]
Defn: Other; one or something beside; as, Who else is coming What else shall I give Do you expect anything else "Bastards and else." Shak.
Note: This word always follows its noun. It is usual to give the possessive form to else rather than to the substantive; as, somebody else's; no one else's. "A boy who is fond of somebody else's pencil case." G. Eliot. "A suit of clothes like everybody else's." Thackeray.
ELSE Else, adv. & conj.
1. Besides; except that mentioned; in addition; as, nowhere else; no one else.
2. Otherwise; in the other, or the contrary, case; if the facts were different. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it. Ps. li. 16.
Note: After `or', else is sometimes used expletively, as simply noting an alternative. "Will you give thanks, . . . or else shall I" Shak.
ELSEWHERE Else"where`, adv.
1. In any other place; as, these trees are not to be found elsewhere.
2. In some other place; in other places, indefinitely; as, it is reported in town and elsewhere.
ELSEWHITHER Else"whith`er, adv.
Defn: To some, or any, other place; as, you will have to go elsewhither for it. R. of Gloucester."For elsewhither was I bound." Carlyle.
ELSEWISE Else"wise`, adv.
Defn: Otherwise. [R.]
ELSIN El"sin, n.
Defn: A shoemaker's awl. [Prov. Eng.]
ELUCIDATE E*lu"ci*date, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Elucidated; p. pr. & vb. n. Elucidating.] Etym: [LL. elucidatus, p. p. of elucidare; e + lucidus full of light, clear. See Lucid.]
Defn: To make clear or manifest; to render more intelligible; to illustrate; as, an example will elucidate the subject.
ELUCIDATION E*lu`ci*da"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. élucidation.]
Defn: A making clear; the act of elucidating or that which elucidates, as an explanation, an exposition, an illustration; as, one example may serve for further elucidation of the subject.
ELUCIDATIVE E*lu"ci*da`tive, a.
Defn: Making clear; tending to elucidate; as, an elucidative note.
ELUCIDATOR E*lu"ci*da`tor, n.
Defn: One who explains or elucidates; an expositor.
ELUCIDATORY E*lu"ci*da*to*ry, a.
Defn: Tending to elucidate; elucidative. [R.]
ELUCTATE E*luc"tate, v. i. Etym: [L. eluctatus, p. p. of eluctari to struggle out; e + luctari to wrestle.]
Defn: To struggle out; — with out. [Obs.] Bp. Hacket.
ELUCTATION E`luc*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. eluctatio.]
Defn: A struggling out of any difficulty. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.
ELUCUBRATE E*lu"cu*brate, v. i. Etym: [L. elucubratus, p. p. of elucubrare to compose by lamplight.]
Defn: See Lucubrate. [Obs.] Blount.
ELUCUBRATION E*lu`cu*bra"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. élucubration.]
Defn: See Lucubration. [Obs.] Evelyn.
ELUDE E*lude", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Eluded; p. pr. & vb. n. Eluding.] Etym: [L. eludere, elusum; e + ludere to play: cf. F. éluder. See Ludicrous.]
Defn: To avoid slyly, by artifice, stratagem, or dexterity; to escape from in a covert manner; to mock by an unexpected escape; to baffle; as, to elude an officer; to elude detection, inquiry, search, comprehension; to elude the force of an argument or a blow. Me gentle Delia beckons from the plain, Then, hid in shades, eludes he eager swain. Pope. The transition from fetichism to polytheism seems a gradual process of which the stages elude close definition. Tylor.
Syn. — To evade; avoid; escape; shun; eschew; flee; mock; baffle; frustrate; foil.
ELUDIBLE E*lud"i*ble, a.
Defn: Capable of being eluded; evadible.
ELUL E"lul, n. Etym: [Heb.]
Defn: The sixth month of the Jewish year, by the sacred reckoning, or the twelfth, by the civil reckoning, corresponding nearly to the month of September.
ELUMBATED E*lum"ba*ted, a. Etym: [L. elumbis; e + lumbus loin.]
Defn: Weak or lame in the loins. [Obs.]
ELUSION E*lu"sion, n. Etym: [LL. elusio, fr. L. eludere, elusum. See Elude.]
Defn: Act of eluding; adroit escape, as by artifice; a mockery; a cheat; trickery.
ELUSIVE E*lu"sive, a.
Defn: Tending to elude; using arts or deception to escape; adroitly escaping or evading; eluding the grasp; fallacious. Elusive of the bridal day, she gives Fond hopes to all, and all with hopes deceives. Pope. — E*lu"sive*ly, adv. — E*lu"sive*ness, n.
ELUSORY E*lu"so*ry, a. Etym: [LL. elusorius.]
Defn: Tending to elude or deceive; evasive; fraudulent; fallacious; deceitful; deceptive. — E*lu"so*ri*ness, n.
ELUTE E*lute", v. t. Etym: [L. elutus, p. p. of eluers to elute; e + luere to wash.]
Defn: To wash out. [R.] Arbuthnot.
ELUTRIATE E*lu"tri*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Elutriated; p. pr. & vb. n. Elutriating.] Etym: [L. elutriatus, p. p. of elutriare.]
Defn: To wash or strain out so as to purify; as, to elutriate the blood as it passes through the lungs; to strain off or decant, as a powder which is separated from heavier particles by being drawn off with water; to cleanse, as by washing.
ELUTRIATION E*lu`tri*a"tion, n.
Defn: The process of elutriating; a decanting or racking off by means of water, as finer particles from heavier.
ELUXATE E*lux"ate, v. t. Etym: [Pref. e- + luxate.]
Defn: To dislocate; to luxate.
ELUXATION E`lux*a"tion, n.
Defn: Dislocation; luxation.
ELVAN Elv"an, a.
1. Pertaining to elves; elvish.
2. (Mining)
Defn: Of or pertaining to certain veins of feldspathic or porphyritic rock crossing metalliferous veins in the mining districts of Cornwall; as, an elvan course.
ELVAN; ELVANITE Elv"an, Elv"an*ite, n.
Defn: The rock of an elvan vein, or the elvan vein itself; an elvan course.
ELVE Elve, n.
Defn: An old form of Elf.
ELVER El"ver, n. (Zoöl.)
Defn: A young eel; a young conger or sea eel; — called also elvene.
ELVES Elves, n.;
Defn: pl. of Elf.
ELVISH Elv"ish, a.
1. Pertaining to elves; implike; mischievous; weird; also, vacant; absent in demeanor. See Elfish. He seemeth elvish by his countenance. Chaucer.
2. Mysterious; also, foolish. [Obs.]
ELVISHLY Elv"ish*ly, adv.
Defn: In an elvish manner. Sir W. Scott.
ELWAND El"wand, n. [Obs.]
Defn: See Ellwand.
ELYSIAN E*ly"sian, a. Etym: [L. Elysius, fr. Elysium.]
Defn: Pertaining, or the abode of the blessed after death; hence, yielding the highest pleasures; exceedingly delightful; beatific. "Elysian shades." Massinger. "Elysian age." Beattie. This life of mortal breath Is but a suburb of the life elysian. Longfellow.
ELYSIUM E*ly"sium, n.; pl. E. Elysiums, L. Elysia. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Anc. Myth.)
1. A dwelling place assigned to happy souls after death; the seat of future happiness; Paradise.
2. Hence, any delightful place. An Elysian more pure and bright than that pf the Greeks. I. Taylor.
ELYTRIFORM E*lyt"ri*form, a. Etym: [Elytrum + -form.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: Having the form, or structure, of an elytron.
ELYTRIN El"y*trin, n. Etym: [From Elytrum.] (Chem.)
Defn: See Chitin.
ELYTROID El"y*troid, a. Etym: [Gr. -oid.] (Zoöl.)
Defn: Resembling a beetle's wing case.
ELYTRON; ELYTRUM El"y*tron, El"y*trum (-tr n.; pl. Elytra. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.) (a) One of the anterior pair of wings in the Coleoptera and some other insects, when they are thick and serve only as a protection for the posterior pair. See Coleoptera. (b) One of the shieldlike dorsal scales of certain annelids. See Chætopoda.
ELZEVIR El"ze*vir, a. (Bibliog.)
Defn: Applied to books or editions (esp. of the Greek New Testament and the classics) printed and published by the Elzevir family at Amsterdam, Leyden, etc., from about 1592 to 1680; also, applied to a round open type introduced by them. The Elzevir editions are valued for their neatness, and the elegant small types used. Brande & C.
'EM 'Em.
Defn: An obsolete or colloquial contraction of the old form hem, them. Addison.
EM Em, n. (Print.)
Defn: The portion of a line formerly occupied by the letter m, then a square type, used as a unit by which to measure the amount of printed matter on a page; the square of the body of a type.
EM- Em-.
Defn: A prefix. See En-.
EMACERATE E*mac"er*ate, v. t. & i. Etym: [L. emaceratus emaciated; e + macerare to make soft.]
Defn: To make lean or to become lean; to emaciate. [Obs.] Bullokar.
EMACERATION E*mac`er*a"tion, n.
Defn: Emaciation. [Obs.]
EMACIATE E*ma"ci*ate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Emaciated; p. pr. & vb. n. Emaciating.] Etym: [L. emaciatus, p. p. of emaciare to make lean; e + maciare to make lean or meager, fr. macies leanness, akin to macer lean. See Meager.]
Defn: To lose flesh gradually and become very lean; to waste away in flesh. "He emaciated and pined away." Sir T. Browne.
EMACIATE E*ma"ci*ate, v. t.
Defn: To cause to waste away in flesh and become very lean; as, his sickness emaciated him.
EMACIATE E*ma"ci*ate, a. Etym: [L. emaciatus, p. p.]
Defn: Emaciated. "Emaciate steeds." T. Warton.
EMACIATION E*ma`ci*a"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. émaciation.]
1. The act of making very lean.
2. The state of being emaciated or reduced to excessive leanness; an excessively lean condition.
EMACULATE E*mac"u*late, v. t. Etym: [L. emaculatus, p. p. of emaculare to clear from spots. See Maculate.]
Defn: To clear from spots or stains, or from any imperfection. [Obs.] Hales.
EMACULATION E*mac`u*la"tion, n.
Defn: The act of clearing from spots. [Obs.] Johnson.
EMAIL OMBRANT; AEMAIL OMBRANT E`mail` om`brant", Æ`mail` om`brant". Etym: [F., shaded enamel.] (Fine Arts)
Defn: An art or process of flooding transparent colored glaze over designs stamped or molded on earthenware or porcelain. Ure.
EMANANT Em"a*nant, a. Etym: [L. emanans, -antis, p. pr. of emanare. See Emanate.]
Defn: Issuing or flowing forth; emanating; passing forth into an act, or making itself apparent by an effect; — said of mental acts; as, an emanant volition.
EMANATE Em"a*nate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Emanated; p. pr. & vb. n. Emanating.] Etym: [L. emanare, emanatum, to emanate; e out + manare to flow, prob. for madnare, and akin to madere to be wet, drip, madidus wet, drenched, drunk, Gr. mad to boil, matta drunk. Cf. Emane.]
1. To issue forth from a source; to flow out from more or less constantly; as, fragrance emanates from flowers.
2. To proceed from, as a source or fountain; to take origin; to arise, to originate. That subsisting from of government from which all special laws emanate. De Quincey.
Syn. — To flow; arise; proceed; issue; originate.
EMANATE Em"a*nate, a.
Defn: Issuing forth; emanant. [R.]
EMANATION Em`a*na"tion, n. Etym: [L. emanatio: cf. F. émanation.]
1. The act of flowing or proceeding from a fountain head or origin. South. Those profitable and excellent emanations from God. Jer. Taylor.
2. That which issues, flows, or proceeds from any object as a source; efflux; an effluence; as, perfume is an emanation from a flower. An emanation of the indwelling life. Bryant.
EMANATIVE Em"a*na*tive, a.
Defn: Issuing forth; effluent.
EMANATIVELY Em"a*na*tive*ly, adv.
Defn: By an emanation.
EMANATORY Em"a*na*to*ry, a.
Defn: Emanative; of the nature of an emanation. Dr. H. More.
EMANCIPATE E*man"ci*pate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Emancipated; p. pr. & vb. n. Emancipating.] Etym: [L. emancipatus, p. p. of emancipare to emancipate; e + mancipare to transfer ownership in, fr. manceps purchaser, as being one who laid his hand on the thing bought; manus hand + capere to take. See Manual, and Capable.]
Defn: To set free from the power of another; to liberate; as: (a) To set free, as a minor from a parent; as, a father may emancipate a child. (b) To set free from bondage; to give freedom to; to manumit; as, to emancipate a slave, or a country. Brasidas . . . declaring that he was sent to emancipate Hellas. Jowett (Thucyd. ).
(c) To free from any controlling influence, especially from anything which exerts undue or evil influence; as, to emancipate one from prejudices or error. From how many troublesome and slavish impertinences . . . he had emancipated and freed himself. Evelyn. To emancipate the human conscience. A. W. Ward.
EMANCIPATE E*man"ci*pate, a. Etym: [L. emancipatus, p. p.]
Defn: Set at liberty.
EMANCIPATION E*man`ci*pa"tion, n. Etym: [L. emancipatio: cf. F. émancipation.]
Defn: The act of setting free from the power of another, from slavery, subjection, dependence, or controlling influence; also, the state of being thus set free; liberation; as, the emancipation of slaves; the emancipation of minors; the emancipation of a person from prejudices; the emancipation of the mind from superstition; the emancipation of a nation from tyranny or subjection.
Syn. — Deliverance; liberation; release; freedom; manumission; enfranchisement.
EMANCIPATIONIST E*man`ci*pa"tion*ist, n.
Defn: An advocate of emancipation, esp. the emancipation of slaves.
EMANCIPATOR E*man"ci*pa`tor, n. Etym: [L.]
Defn: One who emancipates.
EMANCIPATORY E*man"ci*pa*to*ry, a.
Defn: Pertaining to emancipation, or tending to effect emancipation. "Emancipatory laws." G. Eliot.
EMANCIPIST E*man"ci*pist, n.
Defn: A freed convict. [Australia]
EMARGINATE E*mar"gi*nate, v. t. Etym: [L. emarginare; e out + marginare to furnish with a margin, fr. margo margin.]
Defn: To take away the margin of.
EMARGINATE; EMARGINATED E*mar"gi*nate, E*mar"gi*na`ted, a.
1. Having the margin interrupted by a notch or shallow sinus.
2. (Bot.)
Defn: Notched at the summit.
3. (Cryst.)
Defn: Having the edges truncated.
EMARGINATELY E*mar"gi*nate*ly, adv.
Defn: In an emarginate manner.
EMARGINATION E*mar`gi*na"tion, n.
Defn: The act of notching or indenting the margin, or the state of being so notched; also, a notch or shallow sinus in a margin.
EMASCULATE E*mas"cu*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Emasculated; p. pr. & vb. n. Emasculating.] Etym: [L. emasculare; e + masculus male, masculine. See Male masculine.]
1. To deprive of virile or procreative power; to castrate power; to castrate; to geld.
2. To deprive of masculine vigor or spirit; to weaken; to render effeminate; to vitiate by unmanly softness. Luxury had not emasculated their minds. V. Knox.
EMASCULATE E*mas"cu*late, a.
Defn: Deprived of virility or vigor; unmanned; weak. "Emasculate slave." Hammond.
EMASCULATION E*mas`cu*la"tion, n.
1. The act of depriving of virility, or the state of being so deprived; castration.
2. The act of depriving, or state of being deprived, of vigor or strength; unmanly weakness.
EMASCULATOR E*mas"cu*la`tor, n. Etym: [L.]
Defn: One who, or that which, emasculates.
EMASCULATORY E*mas"cu*la*to*ry, a.
Defn: Serving or tending to emasculate.
EMBACE Em*bace", v. t.
Defn: See Embase. [Obs.]
EMBALE Em*bale", v. t. Etym: [F. emballer; pref. em- (L. in) + balle bale. See 1st Bale.] [Obs.]
1. To make up into a bale or pack. Johnson.
2. To bind up; to inclose. Legs . . . embaled in golden buskins. Spenser.
EMBALL Em*ball", v. t. Etym: [See Embale.]
Defn: To encircle or embrace. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.
EMBALM Em*balm", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Embalmed; p. pr. & vb. n. Embalming.] Etym: [F. embaumer; pref. em- (L. in) + baume balm. See Balm.]
1. To anoint all over with balm; especially, to preserve from decay by means of balm or other aromatic oils, or spices; to fill or impregnate (a dead body), with aromatics and drugs that it may resist putrefaction. Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm embalmed Israel. Gem. l. 2.
2. To fill or imbue with sweet odor; to perfume. With fresh dews embalmed the earth. Milton.
3. To preserve from decay or oblivion as if with balm; to perpetuate in remembrance. Those tears eternal that embalm the dead. Pope.
EMBALMER Em*balm"er, n.
Defn: One who embalms.
EMBALMMENT Em*balm"ment, n. Etym: [Cf. F. embaumement.]
Defn: The act of embalming. [R.] Malone.
EMBANK Em*bank", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Embanked; p. pr. & vb. n. Embanking.] Etym: [Pref. em- + bank. Cf. Imbank.]
Defn: To throw up a bank so as to confine or to defend; to protect by a bank of earth or stone.
EMBANKMENT Em*bank"ment, n.
1. The act of surrounding or defending with a bank.
2. A structure of earth, gravel, etc., raised to prevent water from overflowing a level tract of country, to retain water in a reservoir, or to carry a roadway, etc.
EMBAR Em*bar", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Embarred; p. pr. & vb. n. Embanking.] Etym: [Pref. em- + bar: cf. F. embarrer. Cf. Embargo.]
1. To bar or shut in; to inclose securely, as with bars. Where fast embarred in mighty brazen wall. Spenser.
2. To stop; to hinder by prohibition; to block up. He embarred all further trade. Bacon.
EMBARCATION Em`bar*ca"tion, n.
Defn: Same as Embarkation.
EMBARGE Em*barge", v. t.
Defn: To put in a barge. [Poetic] Drayton.
EMBARGO Em*bar"go, n.; pl. Embargoes. Etym: [Sp., fr. embargar to arrest, restrain; pref. em- (L. in) + Sp. barra bar, akin to F. barre bar. See Bar.]
Defn: An edict or order of the government prohibiting the departure of ships of commerce from some or all of the ports within its dominions; a prohibition to sail.
Note: If the embargo is laid on an enemy's ships, it is called a hostile embargo; if on the ships belonging to citizens of the embargoing state, it is called a civil embargo.
EMBARGO Em*bar"go, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Embargoed; p. pr. & vb. n. Embargoing.]
Defn: To lay an embargo on and thus detain; to prohibit from leaving port; — said of ships, also of commerce and goods.
EMBARK Em*bark", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Embarked; p. pr. & vb. n. Embarking.] Etym: [F. embarquer; pref. em- (L. in) + barque bark: cf. Sp. embarcar, It. imbarcare. See Bark. a vessel.]
1. To cause to go on board a vessel or boat; to put on shipboard.
2. To engage, enlist, or invest (as persons, money, etc.) in any affair; as, he embarked his fortune in trade. It was the reputation of the sect upon which St. Paul embarked his salvation. South.
EMBARK Em*bark", v. i.
1. To go on board a vessel or a boat for a voyage; as, the troops embarked for Lisbon.
2. To engage in any affair. Slow to embark in such an undertaking. Macaulay.
EMBARKATION Em`bar*ka"tion, n.
1. The act of putting or going on board of a vessel; as, the embarkation of troops.
2. That which is embarked; as, an embarkation of Jesuits. Smollett.
EMBARKMENT Em*bark"ment, n. Etym: [Cf. F. embarquement.]
Defn: Embarkation. [R.] Middleton.
EMBARRASS Em*bar"rass, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Embarrassed; p. pr. & vb. n. Embarrassing.] Etym: [F. embarrasser (cf. Sp. embarazar, Pg. embara, Pr. barras bar); pref. em- (L. in) + LL. barra bar. See Bar.]
1. To hinder from freedom of thought, speech, or action by something which impedes or confuses mental action; to perplex; to discompose; to disconcert; as, laughter may embarrass an orator.
2. To hinder from liberty of movement; to impede; to obstruct; as, business is embarrassed; public affairs are embarrassed.
3. (Com.)
Defn: To involve in difficulties concerning money matters; to incumber with debt; to beset with urgent claims or demands; — said of a person or his affairs; as, a man or his business is embarrassed when he can not meet his pecuniary engagements.
Syn. — To hinder; perplex; entangle; confuse; puzzle; disconcert; abash; distress. — To Embarrass, Puzzle, Perplex. We are puzzled when our faculties are confused by something we do not understand. We are perplexed when our feelings, as well as judgment, are so affected that we know not how to decide or act. We are embarrassed when there is some bar or hindrance upon us which impedes our powers of thought, speech, or motion. A schoolboy is puzzled by a difficult sum; a reasoner is perplexed by the subtleties of his opponent; a youth is sometimes so embarrassed before strangers as to lose his presence of mind.
EMBARRASS Em*bar"rass, n. Etym: [F. embarras. See Embarrass, v. t.]
Defn: Embarrassment. [Obs.] Bp. Warburton.
EMBARRASSMENT Em*bar"rass*ment, n. Etym: [F. embarrassement.]
1. A state of being embarrassed; perplexity; impediment to freedom of action; entanglement; hindrance; confusion or discomposure of mind, as from not knowing what to do or to say; disconcertedness. The embarrassment which inexperienced minds have often to express themselves upon paper. W. Irving. The embarrassments tom commerce growing out of the late regulations. Bancroft.
2. Difficulty or perplexity arising from the want of money to pay debts.
EMBASE Em*base", v. t. Etym: [Pref. em- + base, a. or v. t.: cf. OF. embaissier.]
Defn: To bring down or lower, as in position, value, etc.; to debase; to degrade; to deteriorate. [Obs.] Embased the valleys, and embossed the hills. Sylvester. Alloy in coin of gold . . . may make the metal work the better, but it embaseth it. Bacon. Such pitiful embellishments of speech as serve for nothing but to embase divinity. South.
EMBASEMENT Em*base"ment, n. Etym: [From Embase, v. t.]
Defn: Act of bringing down; depravation; deterioration. South.
EMBASSADE Em"bas*sade, n. Etym: [F. ambassade. See Embassy.]
Defn: An embassy. See Ambassade. [Obs.] Shak.
EMBASSADOR Em*bas"sa*dor, n. Etym: [F. ambassadeur, Sp. embajador, LL. ambassiator, ambasciator. See Embassy, and cf. Ambassador.]
Defn: Same as Ambassador. Stilbon, that was a wise embassadour, Was sent to Corinth. Chaucer. Myself my king's embassador will go. Dryden.
EMBASSADORIAL Em*bas`sa*do"ri*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. ambassadorial.]
Defn: Same as Ambassadorial.
EMBASSADRESS Em*bas"sa*dress, n. Etym: [Cf. F. ambassadrice.]
Defn: Same as Ambassadress.
EMBASSADRY Em*bas"sa*dry, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. ambassaderie.]
Defn: Embassy. [Obs.] Leland.
EMBASSAGE Em"bas*sage (; 48), n.
1. An embassy. "He sent a solemn embassage." Bacon. Except your embassages have better success. Motley.
2. Message; errand. Shak.
EMBASSY Em"bas*sy, n.; pl. Embassies. Etym: [OF. ambassée, embascée, LL. ambasciata, fr. ambasciare for ambactiare to go on a mission, fr. L. ambactus vassal, dependent, of Celtic or German origin; cf. W. amaeth husbandman, Goth. andbahts servant, G. amt office, OHG. ambaht. Cf. Ambassador.]
1. The public function of an ambassador; the charge or business intrusted to an ambassador or to envoys; a public message to; foreign court concerning state affairs; hence, any solemn message. He sends the angels on embassies with his decrees. Jer. Taylor.
2. The person or persons sent as ambassadors or envoys; the ambassador and his suite; envoys.
3. The residence or office of an ambassador.
Note: Sometimes, but rarely, spelled ambassy.
EMBASTARDIZE Em*bas"tard*ize, v. t. Etym: [Pref. em- + bastardize.]
Defn: To bastardize. [Obs.]
EMBATHE Em*bathe", v. t. Etym: [Pref. em- + bathe. Cf. Imbathe.]
Defn: To bathe; to imbathe.
EMBATTAIL Em*bat"tail, v. t. Etym: [See Embattle.]
Defn: To furnish with battlements; to fortify as with battlements. [Archaic] To embattail and to wall about thy cause With iron-worded proof. Tennyson.
EMBATTLE Em*bat"tle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Embattled; p. pr. & vb. n. Embattling.] Etym: [OF. embataillier; pref. em- (L. in) + F. bataille battle. See Battle, and cf. Battlement.]
Defn: To arrange in order of battle; to array for battle; also, to prepare or arm for battle; to equip as for battle. One in bright arms embattled full strong. Spenser. Here once the embattled farmers stood And fired the shot heard round the world. Emerson.
EMBATTLE Em*bat"tle, v. i.
Defn: To be arrayed for battle. [Obs.]
EMBATTLE Em*bat"tle, v. t. Etym: [See Battlement.]
Defn: To furnish with battlements. "Embattled house." Wordsworth.
EMBATTLED Em*bat"tled, a.
1. Having indentations like a battlement. [Obs.] Chaucer.
2. (Her.)
Defn: Having the edge broken like battlements; — said of a bearing such as a fess, bend, or the like.
3. Having been the place of battle; as, an embattled plain or field. J. Baillie.
EMBATTLEMENT Em*bat"tle*ment, n.
1. An intended parapet; a battlement.
2. The fortifying of a building or a wall by means of battlements.
EMBAY Em*bay", v. t. Etym: [Pref. em- + bay to bathe.]
Defn: To bathe; to soothe or lull as by bathing. [Obs.] Spenser.
EMBAY Em*bay", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Embayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Embaying.] Etym: [Pref. em- + 1st bay.]
Defn: To shut in, or shelter, as in a bay. If that the Turkish fleet Be not ensheltered and embayed, they are drowned. Shak.
EMBAYMENT Em*bay"ment, n.
Defn: A bay. [R.] The embayment which is terminated by the land of North Berwick. Sir W. Scott.
EMBEAM Em*beam", v. t.
Defn: To make brilliant with beams. [R.] G. Fletcher.
EMBED Em*bed", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Embedded; p. pr. & vb. n. Embedding.] Etym: [Pref. em- + bed. Cf. Imbed.]
Defn: To lay as in a bed; to lay in surrounding matter; to bed; as, to embed a thing in clay, mortar, or sand.
EMBEDMENT Em*bed"ment, n.
Defn: The act of embedding, or the state of being embedded.
EMBELLISH Em*bel"lish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Embellished; p. pr. & vb. n. Embellishing.] Etym: [OE. embelisen, embelisshen, F. embellir; pref. em- (L. in) + bel, beau, beautiful. See Beauty.]
Defn: To make beautiful or elegant by ornaments; to decorate; to adorn; as, to embellish a book with pictures, a garden with shrubs and flowers, a narrative with striking anecdotes, or style with metaphors.
Syn. — To adorn; beautify; deck; bedeck; decorate; garnish; enrich; ornament; illustrate. See Adorn.
EMBELLISHER Em*bel"lish*er, n.
Defn: One who embellishes.
EMBELLISHMENT Em*bel"lish*ment, n. Etym: [Cf. F. embellissement.]
1. The act of adorning, or the state of being adorned; adornment. In the selection of their ground, as well as in the embellishment of it. Prescott.
2. That which adds beauty or elegance; ornament; decoration; as, pictorial embellishments. The graces and embellishments of the exterior man. I. Taylor.
EMBER Em"ber, n. Etym: [OE. emmeres, emeres, AS. ; akin to Icel. eimyrja, Dan. emmer, MHG. eimere; cf. Icel. eimr vapor, smoke.]
Defn: A lighted coal, smoldering amid ashes; — used chiefly in the plural, to signify mingled coals and ashes; the smoldering remains of a fire. "He rakes hot embers." Dryden. He takes a lighted ember out of the covered vessel. Colebrooke.
EMBER Em"ber, a. Etym: [OE. ymber, AS. ymbren, ymbryne, prop., running around, circuit; ymbe around + ryne a running, fr. rinnan to run. See Amb-, and Run.]
Defn: Making a circuit of the year of the seasons; recurring in each quarter of the year; as, ember fasts.
Ember days (R. C. & Eng. Ch.), days set apart for fasting and prayer in each of the four seasons of the year. The Council of Placentia [A. D. 1095] appointed for ember days the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the first Sunday in Lent, Whitsuntide, the 14th of September, and the 13th of December. The weeks in which these days fall are called ember weeks.