from some of the worst methods of corruption usual to their party in its earlier days. Bancroft.
Corruption, when applied to officers, trustees, etc., signifies the inducing a violation of duty by means of pecuniary considerations. Abbott.
4. The act of changing, or of being changed, for the worse; departure from what is pure, simple, or correct; as, a corruption of style; corruption in language.

Corruption of blood (Law), taint or impurity of blood, in consequence of an act of attainder of treason or felony, by which a person is disabled from inheriting any estate or from transmitting it to others.

Corruption of blood can be removed only by act of Parliament.
Blackstone.
Syn. -- Putrescence; putrefaction; defilement; contamination; deprivation; debasement; adulteration; depravity; taint. See Depravity.

 Cor*rup"tion*ist, n. One who corrupts, or who upholds corruption.
 Sydney Smith.
 Cor*rupt"ive (k?r-r?p"t?v), a. [L. corruptivus: cf. F. corruptif.]
 Having the quality of tainting or vitiating; tending to produce corruption.

 It should be endued with some corruptive quality for so speedy a dissolution of the meat. Ray.
 Cor*rupt"less (k?r-r?pt"l?s), a. Not susceptible of corruption or decay; incorruptible. Dryden.
 Cor*rupt"ly, adv. In a corrupt manner; by means of corruption or corrupting influences; wrongfully.

 Cor*rupt"ness, n. The quality of being corrupt.

 Cor*rupt"ress (-r?s), n. A woman who corrupts.

 Thou studied old corruptress. Beau. & Fl.
 Cor"sac (k?r"s?k), n. (Zoöl.) The corsak.

 Cor"sage (kôr"sj), n. [F. See Corset.] The waist or bodice of a lady's dress; as, a low corsage.

 Cor"sair (k?r"s?r), n. [F. corsaire (cf. It. corsare, corsale, Pr. corsari), LL. corsarius, fr. L. cursus a running, course, whence Sp. corso cruise, corsa cruise, coasting voyage, corsear to cruise against the enemy, to pirate, corsario cruising, a privateer authorized to cruise against the enemy. See Course.]
 1. A pirate; one who cruises about without authorization from any government, to seize booty on sea or land.

2. A piratical vessel.

 Barbary corsairs... infested the coast of the Mediterranean.
Prescott.
 Cor"sak (k?r"s?k), n. (Zoöl.) A small foxlike mammal (Cynalopex corsac), found in Central Asia. [Written also corsac.]

 Corse (k?rs or k?rs; 277), n. [OF. cors, F. corps.
 See Corpse.] 1. A living body or its bulk. [Obs.]

 For he was strong, and of so mighty corse As ever wielded spear in warlike hand. Spenser.
2. A corpse; the dead body of a human being. [Archaic or Poetic] Set down the corse; or, by Saint Paul, I'll make a corse of him that disobeys. Shak.
 Corse"let (k?rs"l?t), n. [F., dim. of OF. cors. F. corps, body. See Corse.] 1. Armor for the body, as, the body breastplate and backpiece taken together; -- also, used for the entire suit of the day, including breastplate and backpiece, tasset and headpiece.

2. (Zoöl.) The thorax of an insect.

 Corse"pres'ent (k?rs"pr?z'ent or k?rs"-), n. (Engl.Law) An offering made to the church at the interment of a dead body. Blackstone.
 Cor"set (k?r"s?t), n. [F., dim. of OF. cors, F. corps, body. See Corse.] 1. In the Middle Ages, a gown or basque of which the body was close fitting, worn by both men and women.

 2. An article of dress inclosing the chest and waist worn (chiefly by women) to support the body or to modify its shape; stays.

 Cor"set (k?r"s?t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Corseted; p. pr. & vb. n. Corseting.] To inclose in corsets.

 Cors"let (k?rs"l?t), n. A corselet. [Obs.] Hakluyt.
 Cors"ned (k?rs"n?d), n. [AS. corsn&?;d.] (AS. Laws) The morsel of execration; a species of ordeal consisting in the eating of a piece of bread consecrated by imprecation. If the suspected person ate it freely, he was pronounced innocent; but if it stuck in his throat, it was considered as a proof of his guilt. Burril.
 ||Cor'tége" (k?r't?zh"), n. [F., fr. It. corteggio train, fr. corte court. See Court.] A train of attendants; a procession.

 Cor"tes (k?r"t?s), n. pl. [Sp. & Pg., fr. corte court.]
 The legislative assembly, composed of nobility, clergy, and representatives of cities, which in Spain and in Portugal answers, in some measure, to the Parliament of Great Britain.

 ||Cor"tex (k?r"t?ks), n.; pl. Cortices (-t&?;-s&?;z).
 [L., bark. Cf. Cork.] 1. Bark, as of a tree; hence, an outer covering.

2. (Med.) Bark; rind; specifically, cinchona bark.

3. (Anat.) The outer or superficial part of an organ; as, the cortex or gray exterior substance of the brain.

 Cor"ti*cal (k?r"t?-kal), a. [L. cortex bark: cf. F.
 cortical.] Belonging to, or consisting of, bark or rind; resembling bark or rind; external; outer; superficial; as, the cortical substance of the kidney.

 { Cor"ti*cate (k?r"t?-k?t), Cor"ti*ca'ted (- k?'t?d), } a. [L. corticatus.]
 Having a special outer covering of a nature unlike the interior part.

 Cor*tic"i*fer (k?r-t?s"?-f?r), n. (Zoöl.) One of the Gorgoniacea; -- so called because the fleshy part surrounds a solid axis, like a bark.

 Cor'ti*cif"er*ous (k?r't?-s?f"?r-?s), a. [L. cortex, corticis, bark -- -ferous: cf. F. corticif&?;re.] 1.
 Producing bark or something that resembling that resembles bark.

2. (Zoöl.) Having a barklike c&?;nenchyms.

 Cor*tic"i*form (k?r-t?s"?-f?rm), a. [L. cortex, corticis, bark + -form: cf. F. corticiforme.] Resembling, or having the form of, bark or rind.

 Cor"ti*cine (k?r"t?-s?n), n. [F., fr. L. cortex, corticis, bark.] A material for carpeting or floor covering, made of ground cork and caoutchouc or India rubber.

 Cor"ti*cose' (-k?s'), a.


), n. [OE. trifle, trufle, OF. trufle mockery, raillery, trifle, probably the same word as F. truffe truffle, the word being applied to any small or worthless object. See Truffle.] 1. A thing of very little value or importance; a paltry, or trivial, affair.

 With such poor trifles playing.

Drayton.
Trifles light as air Are to the jealous confirmation strong As proofs of holy writ.

Shak.
 Small sands the mountain, moments make year, And frifles life.

Young.
2. A dish composed of sweetmeats, fruits, cake, wine, etc., with syllabub poured over it.

 Tri"fle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Trifled (?); p. pr.
 & vb. n. Trifling (?).] [OE. trifelen, truflen. See Trifle, n.] To act or talk without seriousness, gravity, weight, or dignity; to act or talk with levity; to indulge in light or trivial amusements.

 They trifle, and they beat the air about nothing which toucheth us.

Hooker.
To trifle with, to play the fool with; to treat without respect or seriousness; to mock; as, to trifle with one's feelings, or with sacred things.

 Tri"fle, v. t. 1. To make of no importance; to treat as a trifle. [Obs.] Shak.
2. To spend in vanity; to fritter away; to waste; as, to trifle away money. "We trifle time." Shak.
 Tri"fler (?), n. One who trifles. Waterland.
 Tri"fling (?), a. Being of small value or importance; trivial; paltry; as, a trifling debt; a trifling affair. — Tri"fling*ly, adv. — Tri"fling*ness, n.
 { Tri*flo"ral (?), Tri*flo"rous (?), } a. [Pref. tri- + L. flos, floris, flower.] (Bot.) Three-flowered; having or bearing three flowers; as, a triflorous peduncle.

 Tri*fluc'tu*a"tion (?), n. [Pref. tri- + fluctuation.]
 A concurrence of three waves. [Obs.] "A trifluctuation of evils."
 Sir T. Browne.
 { Tri*fo"li*ate (?), Tri*fo"li*a'ted (?), } a. [Tri- + foliate.
 Cf. Trefoil.] (Bot.) Having three leaves or leaflets, as clover.
 See Illust. of Shamrock.

 Tri*fo"li*o*late (?), a. [Pref. tri- + foliolate.] (Bot.)
 Having three leaflets.

 ||Tri*fo"li*um (?), n. [L., clover.] (Bot.) A genus of leguminous herbs with densely spiked flowers and usually trifoliate leaves; trefoil. There are many species, all of which are called clover.
 See Clover.

 Tri"fo*ly (?), n. [L. trifolium. See Trifoliate, Trefoil.]
 (Bot.) Sweet trefoil. [Obs.]

 She was crowned with a chaplet of trifoly.

B. Jonson.
 ||Tri*fo"ri*um (?), n. [LL., fr. L. tri- (see Tri-) + foris, pl. fores, a door.] (Arch.) The gallery or open space between the vaulting and the roof of the aisles of a church, often forming a rich arcade in the interior of the church, above the nave arches and below the clearstory windows.

 Tri"form (?), a. [L. triformis; tri- (see Tri-) + forma form.] Having a triple form or character. "This triform antagonism." I. Taylor.
 Goddess Triform, I own thy triple spell.

Lowell.
 Tri*form"i*ty (?), n. [L. triformitas.] The state of being triform, or of having a threefold shape.

 { Tri*fur"cate (?), Tri*fur"ca*ted (?), } a. [L. trifurcus; tri- (see Tri-) + furca fork.] Having three branches or forks; trichotomous.

 Trig (?), v. t. [Cf. Dan. trykke to press, Sw. trycka.]
 To fill; to stuff; to cram. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.
 Trig, a. [Formerly written trick, akin to trick to dress.] Full; also, trim; neat. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

 To sit on a horse square and trig.

Brit. Quart. Rev.
 Trig, v. t. [See Trigger.] To stop, as a wheel, by placing something under it; to scotch; to skid.

 Trig, n. [See Trigger.] A stone, block of wood, or anything else, placed under a wheel or barrel to prevent motion; a scotch; a skid. [Eng.]
 Wright.
 Trig"a*mist (?), n. [See Trigamy.] One who has been married three times; also, one who has three husbands or three wives at the same time.

 Trig"a*mous (?), a. [L. trigamus a thrice-married man, Gr.
 &?; thrice married; &?; (see Tri-) + &?; marriage: cf. F. trigame.]
 (Bot.) Having three sorts of flowers in the same head, — male, female, and hermaphrodite, or perfect, flowers.

 Trig"a*my (?), n. [L. trigamia,Gr. &?;: cf. F. trigamie.
 See Trigamous.] The act of marrying, or the state of being married, three times; also, the offense of having three husbands or three wives at the same time.

 Tri*gas"tric (?), a. [Pref. tri- + Gr. &?; belly.] (Anat.)
 Having three bellies; — said of a muscle. Dunglison.
 Tri*gem"i*nal (?), a. [See Trigeminous.] (Anat.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, the fifth pair of cranial nerves, which divide on each side of the head into three main branches distributed to the orbits, jaws, and parts of the mouth; trifacial.

 Tri*gem"i*nous (?), a. [L. trigeminus born three together; tri- (see Tri-) + geminus twin. Cf. Tergeminous.] Born three together; being one of three born at the same birth; also, threefold. E.
 Phillip&?;.
 Tri*gen"ic (?), a. [Pref. tri- + gen- + -ic.
 So named in reference to its composition, it being supposed to contain the radicals of three molecules of cyanic acid.] (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, an acid, C4H7N3O2, obtained, by the action of the vapor of cyanic acid on cold aldehyde, as a white crystalline substance having a slightly acid taste and faint smell; — called also ethideneor ethylidene-biuret.

 Tri*ges"i*mo-se*cun"do (?), a. [L. in trigesimo-secundo in the thirty-second.] Having thirty-two leaves to a sheet; as, a trigesimo-secundo form, book, leaf, size, etc.

 Tri*ges"i*mo-se*cun"do, n. A book composed of sheets so folded that each one makes thirty-two leaves; hence, indicating, more or less definitely, a size of book; — usually written 32mo, or 32°, and called thirty-twomo.

 Trig"ger (?), n. [For older


apparatus designed to produce a current of electricity, or as synonymous with battery; as, for instance, to an apparatus for generating a current of electricity by the action of heat, usually called a thermopile.

7. [F. pile pile, an engraved die, L. pila a pillar.]
 The reverse of a coin. See Reverse.

Cross and pile. See under Cross. -- Dry pile. See under Dry.

 Pile, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Piled (?); p. pr. & vb.
 n. Piling.] 1. To lay or throw into a pile or heap; to heap up; to collect into a mass; to accumulate; to amass; -- often with up; as, to pile up wood. "Hills piled on hills." Dryden.
 "Life piled on life." Tennyson.
 The labor of an age in piled stones.

Milton.
2. To cover with heaps; or in great abundance; to fill or overfill; to load.

To pile arms or muskets (Mil.), to place three guns together so that they may stand upright, supporting each other; to stack arms.

 { Pi"le*ate (?), Pi"le*a'ted (?), } a. [L. pileatus, fr. pileus a felt cap or hat.] 1. Having the form of a cap for the head.

2. (Zoöl.) Having a crest covering the pileus, or whole top of the head.

Pileated woodpecker (Zoöl.), a large American woodpecker (Ceophloeus pileatus). It is black, with a bright red pointed crest. Called also logcock, and woodcock.

 Piled (?), a. [From 2d Pile.] Having a pile or point; pointed.
 [Obs.] "Magus threw a spear well piled." Chapman.
 Piled, a. [From 1d Pile.] Having a pile or nap. "Three-piled velvet." L. Barry (1611).
 Piled, a. [From 6d Pile.] (Iron Manuf.) Formed from a pile or fagot; as, piled iron.

 Pi*le"i*form (?), a. [Pileus + -form.] Having the form of a pileus or cap; pileate.

 Pile"ment (?), n. [From Pile to lay into a heap.] An accumulation; a heap. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.
 ||Pi*len"tum (?), n.; pl. Pilenta (#). [L.] (Rom.
 Antiq.) An easy chariot or carriage, used by Roman ladies, and in which the vessels, etc., for sacred rites were carried.

 ||Pi'le*o*rhi"za (?), n.; pl. Pilorhizæ (#).
 [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a cap + &?; root.] (Bot.) A cap of cells which covers the growing extremity of a root; a rootcap.

 Pi"le*ous (?), a. [See Pilous.] Consisting of, or covered with, hair; hairy; pilose.

 Pil"er (?), n. One who places things in a pile.

 Piles (?), n. pl. [L. pila a ball. Cf. Pill a medicine.] (Med.)
 The small, troublesome tumors or swellings about the anus and lower part of the rectum which are technically called hemorrhoids. See Hemorrhoids. [The singular pile is sometimes used.]

Blind piles, hemorrhoids which do not bleed.

 Pi"le*us (?), n.; pl. Pilei (#). [L., a felt cap.] 1.
(Rom. Antiq.) A kind of skull cap of felt.

2. (Bot.) The expanded upper portion of many of the fungi.
 See Mushroom.

3. (Zoöl.) The top of the head of a bird, from the bill to the nape.

 Pile"worm' (?), n. (Zoöl.) The teredo.

 Pile"-worn' (?), a. Having the pile worn off; threadbare.

 Pile"wort' (?), n. (Bot.) A plant (Ranunculus Ficaria of Linnæus) whose tuberous roots have been used in poultices as a specific for the piles. Forsyth.
 Pil"fer (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pilfered (?); p. pr.
 & vb. n. Pilfering.] [OF. pelfrer. See Pelf.] To steal in small quantities, or articles of small value; to practice petty theft.

 Pil"fer, v. t. To take by petty theft; to filch; to steal little by little.

 And not a year but pilfers as he goes Some youthful grace that age would gladly keep.

Cowper.
 Pil"fer*er (?), n. One who pilfers; a petty thief.

 Pil"fer*ing, a. Thieving in a small way. Shak. -- n. Petty theft. -- Pil"fer*ing*ly, adv.
 Pil"fer*y (?), n. Petty theft. [R.] Sir T. North.
 Pil*gar"lic (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] One who has lost his hair by disease; a sneaking fellow, or one who is hardly used.

 Pil"grim (?), n. [OE. pilgrim, pelgrim, pilegrim, pelegrim; cf. D. pelgrim, OHG. piligrm, G. pilger, F. pèlerin, It. pellegrino; all fr. L. peregrinus a foreigner, fr. pereger abroad; per through + ager land, field. See Per-, and Acre, and cf. Pelerine, Peregrine.] 1. A wayfarer; a wanderer; a traveler; a stranger.

 Strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Heb. xi. 13.
2. One who travels far, or in strange lands, to visit some holy place or shrine as a devotee; as, a pilgrim to Loretto; Canterbury pilgrims. See Palmer. P. Plowman.
 Pil"grim, a. Of or pertaining to a pilgrim, or pilgrims; making pilgrimages. "With pilgrim steps." Milton.
Pilgrim fathers, a name popularly given to the one hundred and two English colonists who landed from the Mayflower and made the first settlement in New England at Plymouth in 1620. They were separatists from the Church of England, and most of them had sojourned in Holland.

 Pil"grim, v. i. To journey; to wander; to ramble. [R.] Grew.
 Carlyle.
 Pil"grim*age (?), n. [OE. pilgrimage, pelgrinage; cf.
 F. pèlerinage.] 1. The journey of a pilgrim; a long journey; especially, a journey to a shrine or other sacred place. Fig., the journey of human life. Shak.
 The days of the years of my pilgrimage.

Gen. xlvii. 9.
2. A tedious and wearisome time.

 In prison hast thou spent a pilgrimage.

Shak.
Syn. -- Journey; tour; excursion. See Journey.

 Pil"grim*ize (?), v. i. To wander as a pilgrim; to go on a pilgrimage. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
 ||Pi*lid"i*um (?), n.; pl. Pildia (#). [NL., fr. Gr.
 &?;, dim. of &?; a cap.] (Zoöl.) The free-swimming, hat-shaped larva of certain nemertean worms. It has no resemblance to its parent, and the young worm develops in its interior.

 ||Pi*lif"e*ra (?), n. pl. [NL. See Piliferous.] (Zoöl.)
 Same as Mammalia.

 Pi*lif"er*ous (?), a. [L. pilus hair +


around some irritating foreign particle. Its substance is the same as nacre, or mother-ofpearl. Pearls which are round, or nearly round, and of fine luster, are highly esteemed as jewels, and compare in value with the precious stones.

2. Hence, figuratively, something resembling a pearl; something very precious.

 I see thee compassed with thy kingdom's pearl.

Shak.
 And those pearls of dew she wears.

Milton.
3. Nacre, or mother-of-pearl.

4. (Zoöl.) A fish allied to the turbot; the brill.

5. (Zoöl.) A light-colored tern.

6. (Zoöl.) One of the circle of tubercles which form the bur on a deer's antler.

7. A whitish speck or film on the eye. [Obs.] Milton.
8. A capsule of gelatin or similar substance containing some liquid for medicinal application, as ether.

9. (Print.) A size of type, between agate and diamond.

 This line is printed in the type called pearl.

Ground pearl. (Zoöl.) See under Ground. -- Pearl barley, kernels of barley, ground so as to form small, round grains.
 -- Pearl diver, one who dives for pearl oysters. -- Pearl edge, an edge of small loops on the side of some kinds of ribbon; also, a narrow kind of thread edging to be sewed on lace. -- Pearl eye, cataract.
 [R.] -- Pearl gray, a very pale and delicate blue-gray color. -- Pearl millet, Egyptian millet (Penicillaria spicata). -- Pearl moss. See Carrageen. -- Pearl moth (Zoöl.), any moth of the genus Margaritia; -- so called on account of its pearly color. -- Pearl oyster (Zoöl.), any one of several species of large tropical marine bivalve mollusks of the genus Meleagrina, or Margaritifera, found in the East Indies (especially at Ceylon), in the Persian Gulf, on the coast of Australia, and on the Pacific coast of America. Called also pearl shell, and pearl mussel. -- Pearl powder. See Pearl white, below. -- Pearl sago, sago in the form of small pearly grains. -- Pearl sinter (Min.), fiorite. -- Pearl spar (Min.), a crystallized variety of dolomite, having a pearly luster. -- Pearl white. (a) Basic bismuth nitrate, or bismuth subchloride; -- used chiefly as a cosmetic. (b) A variety of white lead blued with indigo or Berlin blue.

 Pearl (?), a. Of or pertaining to pearl or pearls; made of pearls, or of mother-of-pearl.

 Pearl, v. t. 1. To set or adorn with pearls, or with mother-of-pearl. Used also figuratively.

2. To cause to resemble pearls; to make into small round grains; as, to pearl barley.

 Pearl, v. i. 1. To resemble pearl or pearls.

2. To give or hunt for pearls; as, to go pearling.

 Pearl*a"ceous (?), a. Resembling pearl or mother-of-pearl; pearly in quality or appearance.

 Pearl"ash' (?), n. (Chem.) A white amorphous or granular substance which consists principally of potassium carbonate, and has a strong alkaline reaction. It is obtained by lixiviating wood ashes, and evaporating the lye, and has been an important source of potassium compounds. It is used in making soap, glass, etc.

 Pearl"-eyed' (?), a. Having a pearly speck in the eye; afflicted with the cataract.

 Pearl"fish' (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any fish whose scales yield a pearl-like pigment used in manufacturing artificial pearls, as the bleak, and whitebait.

 { Pearl"ins (?), Pearl"ings (?), } n. pl. [Prob. a corruption of purflings.
 See Purfle.] A kind of lace of silk or thread. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.
 { Pearl"ite (?), Pearl"stone' (?), } n. (Min.) A glassy volcanic rock of a grayish color and pearly luster, often having a spherulitic concretionary structure due to the curved cracks produced by contraction in cooling. See Illust. under Perlitic.

 Pearl"wort' (?), n. (Bot.) A name given to several species of Sagina, low and inconspicuous herbs of the Chickweed family.

 Pearl"y (?), a. 1. Containing pearls; abounding with, or yielding, pearls; as, pearly shells. Milton.
2. Resembling pearl or pearls; clear; pure; transparent; iridescent; as, the pearly dew or flood.

 Pear"main (?), n. (Bot.) The name of several kinds of apples; as, the blue pearmain, winter pearmain, and red pearmain.

 Pear"-shaped' (?), a. Of the form of a pear.

 Peart (?), a. [A variant of pert, a.] Active; lively; brisk; smart; -- often applied to convalescents; as, she is quite peart to-day. [O. Eng. & Colloq. U. S.]

 There was a tricksy girl, I wot, albeit clad in gray, As peart as bird, as straight as bolt, as fresh as flowers in May.

Warner (1592).
 Peas"ant (?), n. [OF. païsant (the i being perh.
 due to confusion with the p. pr. of verbs), païsan, F. paysan, fr. OF. & F. pays country, fr. L. pagus the country. See Pagan.] A countryman; a rustic; especially, one of the lowest class of tillers of the soil in European countries.

Syn. -- Countryman; rustic; swain; hind.

 Peas"ant, a. Rustic, rural. Spenser.
 Peas"ant*like' (?), a. Rude; clownish; illiterate.

 Peas"ant*ly, a. Peasantlike. [Obs.] Milton.
 Peas"ant*ry (?), n. 1. Peasants, collectively; the body of rustics. "A bold peasantry." Goldsmith.
2. Rusticity; coarseness. [Obs.] p. Butler.
 Peas"cod' (?), n. The legume or pericarp, or the pod, of the pea.

 Pease (?), n.; obs.pl. Peases (#), Peasen (#).
 [See Pea.] 1. A pea. [Obs.] "A peose." "Bread... of beans and of peses." Piers Plowman.
2. A plural form of Pea. See the Note under Pea.

 Pea"stone' (?), n. (Min.) Pisolite.

 Peas"weep' (?), n. [So called from its note.] [Prov. Eng.] (Zoöl.)
(a) The pewit, or lapwing. (b) The greenfinch.

 Peat (?), n. [Cf. Pet a fondling.] A small person; a pet; -- sometimes used contemptuously. [Obs.] Shak.
 Peat, n. [Prob. for beat, prop., material used to make the fire burn better, fr. AS. b&?;tan to better, mend (a fire), b&?;t advantage. See Better, Boot advantage.] A substance of vegetable origin, consisting of roots and fibers, moss, etc., in various stages of decomposition, and found, as a kind of turf or bog, usually in low situations, where it is always more or less saturated with water. It is often dried and used for fuel.

Peat bog, a bog containing peat; also, peat as it occurs in such places; peat moss. -- Peat moss. (a)


.

 Buff, v. t. [OF. bufer to cuff, buffet. See Buffet a blow.]
 To strike. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
 Buff, n. [See Buffet.] A buffet; a blow; -- obsolete except in the phrase "Blindman's buff."

 Nathless so sore a buff to him it lent That made him reel.
Spenser.
 Buff, a. [Of uncertain etymol.] Firm; sturdy.

 And for the good old cause stood buff, 'Gainst many a bitter kick and cuff. Hudibras.
 ||Buf"fa (&?;), n. fem. (Mus.) [It. See Buffoon.] The comic actress in an opera. -- a. Comic, farcical.

Aria buffa, a droll or comic air. -- Opera buffa, a comic opera. See Opera bouffe.

 Buf"fa*lo (&?;), n.; pl. Buffaloes (&?;).
 [Sp. bufalo (cf. It. bufalo, F. buffle), fr. L. bubalus, bufalus, a kind of African stag or gazelle; also, the buffalo or wild ox, fr. Gr. &?; buffalo, prob. fr. &?; ox. See Cow the animal, and cf. Buff the color, and Bubale.] 1. (Zoöl.)
 A species of the genus Bos or Bubalus (B. bubalus), originally from India, but now found in most of the warmer countries of the eastern continent. It is larger and less docile than the common ox, and is fond of marshy places and rivers.

2. (Zoöl.) A very large and savage species of the same genus (B. Caffer) found in South Africa; -- called also Cape buffalo.

3. (Zoöl.) Any species of wild ox.

4. (Zoöl.) The bison of North America.

5. A buffalo robe. See Buffalo robe, below.

6. (Zoöl.) The buffalo fish. See Buffalo fish, below.

Buffalo berry (Bot.), a shrub of the Upper Missouri (Sherherdia argentea) with acid edible red berries. -- Buffalo bird (Zoöl.), an African bird of the genus Buphaga, of two species. These birds perch upon buffaloes and cattle, in search of parasites. -- Buffalo bug, the carpet beetle. See under Carpet. -- Buffalo chips, dry dung of the buffalo, or bison, used for fuel. [U.S.] -- Buffalo clover (Bot.), a kind of clover (Trifolium reflexum and T.soloniferum) found in the ancient grazing grounds of the American bison. -- Buffalo cod (Zoöl.), a large, edible, marine fish (Ophiodon elongatus) of the northern Pacific coast; -- called also blue cod, and cultus cod. -- Buffalo fish (Zoöl.), one of several large fresh-water fishes of the family Catostomidæ, of the Mississippi valley. The red-mouthed or brown (Ictiobus bubalus), the big-mouthed or black (Bubalichthys urus), and the small-mouthed (B. altus), are among the more important species used as food. -- Buffalo fly, or Buffalo gnat (Zoöl.), a small dipterous insect of the genus Simulium, allied to the black fly of the North. It is often extremely abundant in the lower part of the Mississippi valley and does great injury to domestic animals, often killing large numbers of cattle and horses. In Europe the Columbatz fly is a species with similar habits. -- Buffalo grass (Bot.), a species of short, sweet grass (Buchloë dactyloides), from two to four inches high, covering the prairies on which the buffaloes, or bisons, feed. [U.S.] -- Buffalo nut (Bot.), the oily and drupelike fruit of an American shrub (Pyrularia oleifera); also, the shrub itself; oilnut. -- Buffalo robe, the skin of the bison of North America, prepared with the hair on; -- much used as a lap robe in sleighs.

 Buf"fel duck (bf"fl dk'). [See Buffalo.] (Zoöl.) A small duck (Charitonetta albeola); the spirit duck, or butterball. The head of the male is covered with numerous elongated feathers, and thus appears large. Called also bufflehead.

 Buff"er (bf"r), n. [Prop a striker. See Buffet a blow.] 1.
(Mech.) (a) An elastic apparatus or fender, for deadening the jar caused by the collision of bodies; as, a buffer at the end of a railroad car. (b) A pad or cushion forming the end of a fender, which receives the blow; -- sometimes called buffing apparatus.

2. One who polishes with a buff.

3. A wheel for buffing; a buff.

4. A good-humored, slow-witted fellow; -- usually said of an elderly man. [Colloq.] Dickens.
 Buff"er*head' (&?;), n. The head of a buffer, which recieves the concussion, in railroad carriages.

 Buf*fet" (bf*f"), n. [F. buffet, LL. bufetum; of uncertain origin; perh. fr. the same source as E. buffet a blow, the root meaning to puff, hence (cf. puffed up) the idea of ostentation or display.] 1. A cupboard or set of shelves, either movable or fixed at one side of a room, for the display of plate, china, etc., a sideboard.

 Not when a gilt buffet's reflected pride Turns you from sound philosophy aside. Pope.
2. A counter for refreshments; a restaurant at a railroad station, or place of public gathering.

 Buf"fet (bf"ft), n. [OE. buffet, boffet, OF. buffet a slap in the face, a pair of bellows, fr. buffe blow, cf. F. bouffer to blow, puff; prob. akin to E. puff. For the meaning slap, blow, cf. F. soufflet a slap, souffler to blow. See Puff, v. i., and cf. Buffet sidebroad, Buffoon] 1. A blow with the hand; a slap on the face; a cuff.

 When on his cheek a buffet fell. Sir W. Scott.
2. A blow from any source, or that which affects like a blow, as the violence of winds or waves; a stroke; an adverse action; an affliction; a trial; adversity.

 Those planks of tough and hardy oak that used for yeas to brave the buffets of the Bay of Biscay. Burke.
 Fortune's buffets and rewards. Shak.
3. A small stool; a stool for a buffet or counter.

 Go fetch us a light buffet. Townely Myst.
 Buf"fet, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Buffeted; p. pr. & vb. n. Buffeting.] [OE. buffeten, OF. buffeter. See the preceding noun.] 1. To strike with the hand or fist; to box; to beat; to cuff; to slap.

 They spit in his face and buffeted him. Matt. xxvi. 67.
2. To affect as with blows; to strike repeatedly; to strive with or contend against; as, to buffet the billows.

 The sudden hurricane in thunder roars, Buffets the bark, and whirls it from the shores. Broome.
 You are lucky fellows who can live in a dreamland of your own, instead of being buffeted about the world. W. Black.
3. [Cf. Buffer.] To deaden the sound of (bells) by muffling the clapper.

 Buf"fet, v. i.


, First Former and latter being adjectives of the comparative degree, should be used in speaking of two objects. When more than two objects are named, use first and last.
"My sons, John and Luther, are both at college. The first expects to study law, and the last to study medicine." Use former and latter.
"New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago are the most populous cities in the United States. The former has long been at the front; the latter has only recently entered the race." Use first and last instead of former and latter.
These, Those When objects near and remote are referred to, this and its plural these are applied to the objects near at hand, that and its plural those to objects at a distance.
When reference is made to contrasted antecedent terms, this and these are applied to the latter; that and those to the former, as "Farewell my friends! farewell my foes!
 My peace with these, my love with those!" —Burns.
Fictitious Writer Do not say a fictitious writer when you mean a writer of fiction.
Firstly First is an adverb as well as an adjective. We should, therefore, say first, secondly, thirdly, and not firstly, secondly, etc.
First-rate An article may be rated in quality as first, or second, or third. If it rates first, it may be called a first-rate article. The word is properly used as an adjective, but should not be employed as an adverb, as in the sentence, "He sings first-rate." Fix, Mend, Repair Fix means to make fast, but its incorrect use in the sense of mend, repair, arrange, is so common that the word when properly used sounds strange, if not strained. "To fix up the room," "to fix up the accounts," "to fix up matters with my creditors," "to fix the rascals who betrayed me," are examples illustrating the looseness with which the word is used.
Round, Square When a thing is round or square it cannot be rounder or squarer. These adjectives do not admit of comparative and superlative forms. But we may say more nearly round or less nearly square.
States, Says "He states he is going fishing to-morrow." States is too formal a word, and should be used only of some important assertion.
"He says he is going," etc.
Stop, Stay To stop is to cease moving. "At what hotel do you stop" should be "At what hotel do you stay." "When you come to the city stay with me," not stop with me.
Subtile, Subtle Subtile means thin, fine, rare, delicate; subtle means sly, artful, cunning, elusive. "More subtile web Arachne cannot spin." "He had to contend with a subtle foe." Summons He was summonsed to appear before the judge" should be "He was summoned to appear," etc.
Tasty Often used in colloquial speech when tasteful would be better.
Tastily for tastefully is still worse.
Team Properly this word relates only to the horses, and does not include the carriage.
Those kind, These sort "It is unpleasant to have to associate with those kind of people." "These sort of sheep are the most profitable." Kind and sort are nouns of the singular number; these and those are plural, and, according to the laws of grammar, the adjective and noun must agree in number. The corrected sentences will read: "It is unpleasant to have to associate with this kind of people." "This sort of sheep is the most profitable." The fault arises by associating in the mind the adjectives these and those with the nouns sheep and people, which nouns are more prominent in the mind than the nouns kind and sort. If the ear is not satisfied, the sentences may readily be recast; as, "It is unpleasant to have to associate with people of that kind." "Sheep of this sort are the most profitable." Transpire, Happen This word, from trans, across, through, and spirare, to breathe, means, physiologically, to pass off in the form of vapor or insensible perspiration, or, botanically, to evaporate from living cells. Its general meaning is to become known, to escape from secrecy.
It is frequently employed in the sense of to occur, to come to pass, but this use is condemned by the best critics in England and America. "The proceedings of the secret session of the council soon transpired." This sentence illustrates the true meaning of the word.
Make, Manufacture These words may, in some cases, be used interchangeably, but make has much the wider range of meanings. The following story, related by Eli Perkins, will illustrate this fact: I was talking one day with Mr. Depew, President of the New York Central Railroad, about demand and supply. I said the price of any commodity is always controlled by the demand and supply.
"Not always, Eli," said Depew; "demand and supply don't always govern prices. Business tact sometimes governs them." "When," I asked, "did an instance ever occur when the price did not depend on demand and supply?" "Well," said Mr. Depew, "the other day I stepped up to a German butcher, and, out of curiosity, asked: "'What's the price of sausages?' "'Dwenty cends a bound,' he said.
"'You asked twenty-five this morning,' I replied.
"'Yah; dot vas ven I had some. Now I ain't got none, I sell him for dwenty cents. Dot makes a repudation for selling cheab, und I don't lose noddings.' "You see," said Mr. Depew, laughing, "I didn't want any sausage and the man didn't have any; no demand and no supply, and still the price of sausage went down five cents." "Well, there are strange things in this world," I said. "Now, take the words manufacture and make. I always thought that both words meant the same thing." "Why, they do, Eli," said Mr. Depew.
"Not always," I said.
"Now, when could they have a different meaning?" "Why, this morning I came down from Albany on a Central car manufactured to carry fifty passengers, but it was made to carry seventy-two people." "Yes, I dare say; but we'll now talk about the Behring Sea question." Truth, Veracity "The veracity of his statement is doubted." The sentence should be, "The truth of his statement is doubted," or "In making that statement his veracity is doubted." Veracity is applied to the person; truth to the thing.
Try the experiment "They are trying the experiment of running railroad trains by electricity." This should be, "They are making the experiment," etc. The word experiment contains the idea of trial, hence, to try the experiment is to try the trial.
Little piece "I will go with you a little piece." A short distance or a part of the way would be more appropriate.
Every confidence "I have every confidence in his ability to succeed." Confidence is a unit; every implies several units considered separately. "I have the greatest confidence in his ability to succeed" is correct.
Ugly This word properly applies to the appearance of a person or thing, hence such expressions as "He has an ugly temper," "This is an ugly customer," "That was an ugly rumor," etc., although common in colloquial discourse, should be avoided in dignified address.
Unbeknown This is a provincialism that should be avoided. Use unknown.
Underhanded Often incorrectly used for underhand; as "That was a contemptible and underhanded trick." Calligraphy This word means not writing, simply, but beautiful writing; hence, to say, "His calligraphy is wretched" is equivalent to saying, "His excellent writing is poor," which is a contradiction of terms.
Can but, Cannot but These expressions are sometimes confounded. "If I perish, I can but


, attending as a mark of respect or honor; -- applied to movements on land, as convoy is to movements at sea.

 The troops of my escort marched at the ordinary rate.

Burke.
2. Protection, care, or safeguard on a journey or excursion; as, to travel under the escort of a friend.

 Es*cort" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Escorted; p. pr.
 & vb. n. Escorting.] [Cf. F. escorter, It. scortare.
 See Escort, n.] To attend with a view to guard and protect; to accompany as safeguard; to give honorable or ceremonious attendance to; -- used esp. with reference to journeys or excursions on land; as, to escort a public functionary, or a lady; to escort a baggage wagon.

Syn. -- To accompany; attend. See Accompany.

 Es*cot" (?), n. [OF.] See Scot, a tax. [Obs.]

 Es*cot", v. t. To pay the reckoning for; to support; to maintain.
 [Obs.] Shak.
 ||Es'couade" (?), n. See Squad, Es*cout" (?), n. See Scout. [Obs.] Hayward.
 Es*cribed" (?), a. [L. e out, out of + scribere to write.] Drawn outside of; -- used to designate a circle that touches one of the sides of a given triangle, and also the other two sides produced.

 Es"cript (?), n. [OF.] A writing. [Obs.]

 Es'cri*toire" (?), n. [OF. escritoire, F. écritoire, LL. scriptorium, fr. L. scriptorius belonging to writing, fr. sribere to write. See Script, and cf. Scrutoire.] A piece of furniture used as a writing table, commonly with drawers, pigeonholes, and the like; a secretary or writing desk.

 Es'cri*to"ri*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to an escritoire.

 Es*crod" (?), n. See Scrod, a young cod.

 { Es*crol", Es*croll" } (?), n. [See Escrow, Scroll.] 1. A scroll. [Obs.]

2. (Her.) (a) A long strip or scroll resembling a ribbon or a band of parchment, or the like, anciently placed above the shield, and supporting the crest. (b) In modern heraldry, a similar ribbon on which the motto is inscribed.

 Es"crow (?), n. [OF. escroe, escroue, a roll of writings, bond. See Scroll.] (Law) A deed, bond, or other written engagement, delivered to a third person, to be held by him till some act is done or some condition is performed, and then to be by him delivered to the grantee. Blackstone.
 Es"cu*age (?; 48), n. [OF. escuage, F. écuage, from OF. escu shield, F. écu. See Esquire.] (Feud.
 Law) Service of the shield, a species of knight service by which a tenant was bound to follow his lord to war, at his own charge. It was afterward exchanged for a pecuniary satisfaction. Called also scutage.
 Blackstone.
 Es'cu*la"pi*an (?), n. Æsculapian.

 Es'cu*la"pi*us (?), n. Same as Æsculapius.

 Es"cu*lent (?), a. [L. esculentus, fr. escare to eat, fr. esca food, fr. edere to eat: cf. F. esculent. See Eat.] Suitable to be used by man for food; eatable; edible; as, esculent plants; esculent fish.

Esculent grain for food.

Sir W. Jones.
Esculent swallow (Zoöl.), the swallow which makes the edible bird's-nest. See Edible bird's- nest, under Edible.

 Es"cu*lent, n. Anything that is fit for eating; that which may be safely eaten by man.

 Es*cu"lic (?), a. [From NL. Aesculus, the generic name of the horse-chestnut, fr. L. aesculus a kind of oak.] (Chem.)
 Pertaining to, or obtained from, the horse-chestnut; as, esculic acid.

 Es*cu"lin (?), n. [See Esculic.] (Chem.) A glucoside obtained from the Æsculus hippocastanum, or horse-chestnut, and characterized by its fine blue fluorescent solutions. [Written also æsculin.]

 Es*cu"ri*al (?), n. [Prop. Sp. escorial, i. e., a hill or heap of rubbish, earth, and stones brought out of a mine, fr. escoria dross of metal, L. scoria, fr. Gr. &?;. Cf. Scoria.] A palace and mausoleum of the kings of Spain, being a vast and wonderful structure about twenty-five miles northwest of Madrid.

 The ground plan is said to be in the form of a gridiron, the structure being designed in honor of St. Lawrence, who suffered martyrdom by being broiled on a gridiron; but the resemblance is very slight. It is nearly square, inclosing several courts, and has a projecting mass which stands for the handle.

 Es*cutch"eon (?), n. [OF. escusson, F. écusson, from OF. escu shield, F. écu. See Esquire, Scutcheon.] 1. (Her.) The surface, usually a shield, upon which bearings are marshaled and displayed. The surface of the escutcheon is called the field, the upper part is called the chief, and the lower part the base (see Chiff, and Field.). That side of the escutcheon which is on the right hand of the knight who bears the shield on his arm is called dexter, and the other side sinister.

 The two sides of an escutcheon are respectively designated as dexter and sinister, as in the cut, and the different parts or points by the following names: A, Dexter chief point; B, Middle chief point; C, Sinister chief point; D, Honor or color point; E, Fesse or heart point; F, Nombrill or navel point; G, Dexter base point; H, Middle base point; I, base point.

2. A marking upon the back of a cow's udder and the space above it (the perineum), formed by the hair growing upward or outward instead of downward. It is esteemed an index of milking qualities. C. L. Flint.
3. (Naut.) That part of a vessel's stern on which her name is written. R. H. Dane, Jr.
4. (Carp.) A thin metal plate or shield to protect wood, or for ornament, as the shield around a keyhole.

5. (Zoöl.) The depression behind the beak of certain bivalves; the ligamental area.

Escutcheon of pretense, an escutcheon used in English heraldry to display the arms of the bearer's wife; -- not commonly used unless she an heiress. Cf. Impalement.

 Es*cutch"eoned (?), a. Having an escutcheon; furnished with a coat of arms or ensign. Young.
 Ese (?), n. Ease; pleasure. [Obs.] Chaucer.
 Es'em*plas"tic (?), a. [Gr. 'es into, to + "en one + plastiko's molded, formed. See Plastic.] Shaped into one; tending to, or formative into, unity. [R.] Coleridge.
 Es"er*ine (?; 104), n. [From native


says that Brice, the French giant, was 7 feet 7 inches. Early in 1837 there was exhibited at Parma a young man formerly in the service of the King of the Netherlands who was 8 feet 10 inches high and weighed 401 pounds.
Robert Hale, the "Norfolk Giant," who died in Yarmouth in 1843 at the age of forty-three, was 7 feet 6 inches high and weighed 452 pounds.
The skeleton of Cornelius McGrath, now preserved in the Trinity College Museum, Dublin, is a striking example of gigantism. At sixteen years he measured 7 feet 10 inches.
O'Brien or Byrne, the Irish giant, was supposed to be 8 feet 4 inches in height at the time of his death in 1783 at the age of twenty-two.
The story of his connection with the illustrious John Hunter is quite interesting. Hunter had vowed that he would have the skeleton of O'Brien, and O'Brien was equally averse to being boiled in the distinguished scientist's kettle. The giant was tormented all his life by the constant assertions of Hunter and by his persistence in locating him. Finally, when, following the usual early decline of his class of anomalies, O'Brien came to his death-bed, he bribed some fishermen to take his body after his death to the middle of the Irish Channel and sink it with leaden weights. Hunter, it is alleged, was informed of this and overbribed the prospective undertakers and thus secured the body. It has been estimated that it cost Hunter nearly 500 pounds sterling to gain possession of the skeleton of the "Irish Giant." The kettle in which the body was boiled, together with some interesting literature relative to the circumstances, are preserved in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in London, and were exhibited at the meeting of the British Medical Association in 1895 with other Hunterian relics. The skeleton, which is now one of the features of the Museum, is reported to measure 92 3/4 inches in height, and is mounted alongside that of Caroline Crachami, the Sicilian dwarf, who was exhibited as an Italian princess in London in 1824. She did not grow after birth and died at the age of nine.
Patrick Cotter, the successor of O'Brien, and who for awhile exhibited under this name, claiming that he was a lineal descendant of the famous Irish King, Brian Boru, who he declared was 9 feet in height, was born in 1761, and died in 1806 at the age of forty-five. His shoe was 17 inches long, and he was 8 feet 4 inches tall at his death.
In the Museum of Madame Tussaud in London there is a wax figure of Loushkin, said to be the tallest man of his time. It measures 8 feet 5 inches, and is dressed in the military uniform of a drum-major of the Imperial Preobrajensky Regiment of Guards. To magnify his height there is a figure of the celebrated dwarf, "General Tom Thumb," in the palm of his hand. Figure 158 represents a well-known American giant, Ben Hicks who was called "the Denver Steeple."
Buffon refers to a Swedish giantess who he affirms was 8 feet 6 inches tall. Chang, the "Chinese Giant," whose smiling face is familiar to nearly all the modern world, was said to be 8 feet tall. In 1865, at the age of nineteen, he measured 7 feet 8 inches. At Hawick, Scotland, in 1870, there was an Irishman 7 feet 8 inches in height, 52 inches around the chest, and who weighed 22 stone. Figure 159 shows an American giantess known as "Leah, the Giantess." At the age of nineteen she was 7 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 165 pounds.
On June 17, 1871, there were married at Saint-Martins-in-the-Field in London Captain Martin Van Buren Bates of Kentucky and Miss Anna Swann of Nova Scotia, two celebrated exhibitionists, both of whom were over 7 feet. Captain Bates, familiarly known as the "Kentucky Giant," years ago was a familiar figure in many Northern cities, where he exhibited himself in company with his wife, the combined height of the two being greater than that of any couple known to history. Captain Bates was born in Whitesburg, Letcher County, Ky., on November 9, 1845. He enlisted in the Southern army in 1861, and though only sixteen years old was admitted to the service because of his size. At the close of the war Captain Bates had attained his great height of 7 feet 2 1/2 inches. His body was well proportioned and his weight increased until it reached 450 pounds. He traveled as a curiosity from 1866 to 1880, being connected with various amusement organizations. He visited nearly all the large cities and towns in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Russia.
While in England in 1871 the Captain met Miss Anna H. Swann, known as the "Nova Scotia Giantess," who was two years the junior of her giant lover. Miss Swann was justly proud of her height, 7 feet 5 1/2 inches.
The two were married soon afterward. Their combined height of 14 feet 8 inches marked them as the tallest married couple known to mankind.
Captain Bates' parents were of medium size. His father, a native of Virginia, was 5 feet 10 inches high and weighed 160 pounds. His mother was 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 125 pounds. The height of the father of Mrs. Anna Swann Bates was 6 feet and her mother was 5 feet and 2 inches high, weighing but 100 pounds.
A recent newspaper dispatch says: "Captain M. V. Bates, whose remarkable height at one time attracted the attention of the world, has recently retired from his conspicuous position and lives in comparative obscurity on his farm in Guilford, Medina County, O., half a mile east of Seville."
In 1845 there was shown in Paris Joachim Eleiceigui, the Spanish giant, who weighed 195 kilograms (429 pounds) and whose hands were 42 cm. (16 1/2 inches) long and of great beauty. In 1882 at the Alhambra in London there was a giantess by the name of Miss Marian, called the "Queen of the Amazons," aged eighteen years, who measured 2.45 meters (96 1/2 inches). William Campbell, a Scotchman, died at Newcastle in May 1878.
He was so large that the window of the room in which the deceased lay and the brick-work to the level of the floor had to be taken out, in order that the coffin might be lowered with block and tackle three stories to the ground. On January 27, 1887, a Greek, although a Turkish subject, recently died of phthisis in Simferopol. He was 7 feet 8 inches in height and slept on three beds laid close together.
Giants of History.—A number of persons of great height, particularly sovereigns and warriors, are well-known characters of history, viz., William of Scotland, Edward III, Godefroy of Bouillon, Philip the Long, Fairfax, Moncey, Mortier, Kleber; there are others celebrated in modern times. Rochester, the favorite of Charles II; Pothier, the jurist; Bank, the English naturalist; Gall, Billat-Savarin, Benjamin Constant, the painter David, Bellart, the geographer Delamarche, and Care, the founder of the Gentleman's Magazine, were all men of extraordinary stature.
Dwarfs.—The word "dwarf" is of Saxon origin (dwerg, dweorg) and corresponds to the "pumilio" or "nanus" of the Romans. The Greeks believed in the pygmy people of Thrace and Pliny speaks of the Spithamiens. In the "Iliad" Homer writes of the pygmies and Juvenal also describes them; but the fantasies of these poets have given these creatures such diminutive stature that they have deprived the traditions of credence. Herodotus relates that in the deserts of Lybia there were people of extreme shortness of stature. The Bible mentions that no dwarf can officiate at the altar. Aristotle and Philo


notices that are often more concise than correct. It implies that there are two conductors and two drivers.
The sentence should read, "Passengers are requested not to converse with either the conductor or the driver." Lest, That "I feared lest I should be left behind." Use the copulative that, and not the disjunctive lest. "I feared that I should be left behind." Otherwise than "He cannot do otherwise but follow your direction." Use than, not but, after otherwise. Hence, "He cannot do otherwise than follow," etc.
After that "After that I have attended to the business I will call upon you." The word that is superfluous.
But what "His parents will never believe but what he was enticed away by his uncle." Omit what. The use of but that would be equally objectionable. But is sufficient.
A reconstruction of the sentence would improve it. "His parents will always believe," or "Will never cease to believe that," etc.
Doubt not but "I doubt not but your friend will return." Say, "I doubt not that your friend will return." Not impossible but "It is not impossible but he may call to-day." Use that instead of but.
Whether, Whether "Ginevra has not decided whether she will study history or whether she will study philosophy." As there is nothing gained in clearness or in emphasis by the repetition of "whether she will," this shorter sentence would be better: "Ginevra has not decided whether she will study history or philosophy." As though "He spoke as though, he had a customer for his house." Say, "as if he had a purchaser," etc.
Except "I will not let thee go except thou bless me." This use of the word except occurs frequently in the Scriptures, but it is now regarded as obsolete. The word unless should be used instead.
"Few speakers except Burke could have held their attention." In this sentence, besides should take the place of except.
CHAPTER IX Correlatives Certain adverbs and conjunctions, in comparison or antithesis, require the use of corresponding adverbs and conjunctions. Such corresponding words are called correlatives. The following are the principal ones in use: as, as.
as, so.
both, and.
if, then.
either, or.
neither, nor.
not only, but.
not only, but also.
not only, but even.
not merely, but.
not merely, but also.
not merely, but even.
so, as.
so, that.
such, as.
such, that.
though, yet.
when, then.
where, there.
whether, or.
The improper grouping of these correlatives is the cause of many errors in speech and writing.
As... as "She is as wise as she is good." "Mary is as clever as her brother." The correlatives as... as are employed in expressing equality. Their use in any other connection is considered inelegant. "As far as I am able to judge, he would make a very worthy officer." This is a very common error. The sentence should be, "So far as I am able," etc.
As is often followed by so. "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." So... as In such negative assertions as, "This is not as fine a tree as that," the first as should be changed to so. Say, "She is not so handsome as she once was." "This edition of Tennyson is not so fine as that." Either, Neither The correlatives either, or, and neither, nor, are employed when two objects are mentioned; as, "Either you or I must go to town to-day," "Neither James nor Henry was proficient in history." "He neither bought, sold, or exchanged stocks and bonds." The sentence should be, "He neither bought, sold, nor exchanged stocks and bonds." "That is not true, neither." As we already have one negative in the word not, the word neither should be changed to either, to avoid the double negation.
A negative other than neither may take either or or nor as its correlative, "She was not so handsome as her mother, or so brilliant as her father." "He was never happy nor contented afterward." Position of correlatives The placing of correlatives requires care. "He not only gave me advice, but also money." This is a faulty construction because the first member of the correlative, not only, being placed before the verb gave leads us to expect that the action of giving is to be contrasted with some other action. The close of the sentence reveals the fact that the words advice and money represent the ideas intended for contrast. The first correlative should, therefore, have been placed before advice, and the sentence should read, "He gave me not only advice, but also money." "I remember that I am not here as a censor either of manners or morals." This sentence from Richard Grant White will be improved by changing the position of the first member of the correlative. "I remember that I am not here as a censor of either manners or morals." "I neither estimated myself highly nor lowly." It should be, "I estimated myself neither highly nor lowly." "He neither attempted to excite anger, nor ridicule, nor admiration." The sentence should be, "He attempted to excite neither anger, nor ridicule, nor admiration." But here we have the correlative neither, nor, used with more than two objects, which is a violation of a principle previously stated. The sentence is purposely introduced to call attention to the fact that many respectable writers not only use neither, nor, with three or more objects, but also defend it. This usage may be avoided by a reconstruction of the sentence; as, "He did not attempt to excite anger, nor ridicule, nor admiration." CHAPTER X The Infinitive Many errors arise from not knowing how to use the infinitive mood. Perhaps the most common fault is to interpose an adverb between the preposition to and the infinitive verb; as, "It is not necessary to accurately relate all that he said." "You must not expect to always find people agreeable." Whether we shall place the adverb before the verb or after it must often be determined by considerations of emphasis and smoothness as well as of clearness and correctness. In the foregoing sentences it is better to place accurately after the verb, and always before the preposition to.
Supply "to" The preposition to as the sign of the infinitive is often improperly omitted.
"Please write clearly, so that we may understand," "Your efforts will tend to hinder rather than hasten the work," "Strive so to criticise as not to embarrass nor discourage your pupil." These sentences will be corrected by inserting to before the italicized words.
In such expressions as "Please excuse my son's absence," "Please write me a letter," "Please hand me the book," many authorities insist upon the use of to before the verb. The sentences may, however, be regarded as softened forms of the imperative; as, "Hand me the book, if you please." Transposed, "If you please, hand me the book." Contracted, "Please, hand me the book." From this, the comma may have slipped out and left the sentence as first written.
Omit "to" When a series of infinitives relate to the same object, the word to should be used before the first verb and omitted before the others; as, "He taught me to read, write, and cipher." "The most accomplished way of using books at present is to serve them as some do lords—learn their titles and then brag of their acquaintance." The active verbs bid, dare, feel, hear, let, make, need, see, and their participles, usually take the infinitive after them, without the preposition to. Such expressions, as "He bade me to depart," "I dare to say he is a villain," "I had difficulty in making him to see his error," are, therefore, wrong, and are corrected by omitting to.
Incomplete Infinitive Such incomplete expressions as the


of Walt Whitman's Works.

 PIONEERS! O PIONEERS 18. debouch: go out into.

 O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!

 Written to express the grief of the nation over the death of Abraham Lincoln at the time when the joy over the saving of the union was most intense. intense.


. See Golden age, under Golden. -- Dutch gold, Fool's gold, Gold dust, etc. See under Dutch, Dust, etc. -- Gold amalgam, a mineral, found in Columbia and California, composed of gold and mercury. -- Gold beater, one whose occupation is to beat gold into gold leaf. -- Gold beater's skin, the prepared outside membrane of the large intestine of the ox, used for separating the leaves of metal during the process of gold-beating. -- Gold beetle (Zoöl.), any small gold-colored beetle of the family Chrysomelidæ; -- called also golden beetle. -- Gold blocking, printing with gold leaf, as upon a book cover, by means of an engraved block. Knight.
 -- Gold cloth. See Cloth of gold, under Cloth. -- Gold Coast, a part of the coast of Guinea, in West Africa. -- Gold cradle. (Mining) See Cradle, n., 7. -- Gold diggings, the places, or region, where gold is found by digging in sand and gravel from which it is separated by washing. -- Gold end, a fragment of broken gold or jewelry. -- Gold-end man. (a) A buyer of old gold or jewelry. (b) A goldsmith's apprentice. (c) An itinerant jeweler. "I know him not: he looks like a gold-end man."
 B. Jonson. -- Gold fever, a popular mania for gold hunting.
 -- Gold field, a region in which are deposits of gold. -- Gold finder. (a) One who finds gold. (b) One who empties privies. [Obs. & Low] Swift. -- Gold flower, a composite plant with dry and persistent yellow radiating involucral scales, the Helichrysum Stœchas of Southern Europe. There are many South African species of the same genus. -- Gold foil, thin sheets of gold, as used by dentists and others. See Gold leaf. -- Gold knobs or knoppes (Bot.), buttercups. -- Gold lace, a kind of lace, made of gold thread. -- Gold latten, a thin plate of gold or gilded metal.
 -- Gold leaf, gold beaten into a film of extreme thinness, and used for gilding, etc. It is much thinner than gold foil. -- Gold lode (Mining), a gold vein. -- Gold mine, a place where gold is obtained by mining operations, as distinguished from diggings, where it is extracted by washing. Cf. Gold diggings (above). -- Gold nugget, a lump of gold as found in gold mining or digging; -- called also a pepito.
 -- Gold paint. See Gold shell. -- Gold or Golden, pheasant.
 (Zoöl.) See under Pheasant. -- Gold plate, a general name for vessels, dishes, cups, spoons, etc., made of gold. -- Gold of pleasure. [Name perhaps translated from Sp. oro-de-alegria.] (Bot.)
 A plant of the genus Camelina, bearing yellow flowers. C. sativa is sometimes cultivated for the oil of its seeds. -- Gold shell. (a) A composition of powdered gold or gold leaf, ground up with gum water and spread on shells, for artists' use; -- called also gold paint. (b) (Zoöl.) A bivalve shell (Anomia glabra) of the Atlantic coast; -- called also jingle shell and silver shell. See Anomia. -- Gold size, a composition used in applying gold leaf. -- Gold solder, a kind of solder, often containing twelve parts of gold, two of silver, and four of copper. -- Gold stick, the colonel of a regiment of English lifeguards, who attends his sovereign on state occasions; -- so called from the gilt rod presented to him by the sovereign when he receives his commission as colonel of the regiment.
 [Eng.] -- Gold thread. (a) A thread formed by twisting flatted gold over a thread of silk, with a wheel and iron bobbins; spun gold. Ure. (b) (Bot.) A small evergreen plant (Coptis trifolia), so called from its fibrous yellow roots. It is common in marshy places in the United States. -- Gold tissue, a tissue fabric interwoven with gold thread. -- Gold tooling, the fixing of gold leaf by a hot tool upon book covers, or the ornamental impression so made.
 -- Gold washings, places where gold found in gravel is separated from lighter material by washing. -- Gold worm, a glowworm. [Obs.]
 -- Jeweler's gold, an alloy containing three parts of gold to one of copper. -- Mosaic gold. See under Mosaic.

 Gold"-beat'en (?), a. Gilded. [Obs.]

 Gold"-beat'ing (?), n. The art or process of reducing gold to extremely thin leaves, by beating with a hammer. Ure.
 Gold"-bound' (?), a. Encompassed with gold.

 Gold"crest' (?), n. (Zoöl.) The European golden-crested kinglet (Regulus cristatus, or R. regulus); -- called also golden-crested wren, and golden wren. The name is also sometimes applied to the American golden-crested kinglet. See Kinglet.

 Gold"cup' (?), n. (Bot.) The cuckoobud.

 Gold"en (?), a. [OE. golden; cf. OE. gulden, AS. gylden, from gold. See Gold, and cf. Guilder.]

1. Made of gold; consisting of gold.

2. Having the color of gold; as, the golden grain.

3. Very precious; highly valuable; excellent; eminently auspicious; as, golden opinions.

Golden age. (a) The fabulous age of primeval simplicity and purity of manners in rural employments, followed by the silver, bronze, and iron ages. Dryden. (b) (Roman Literature) The best part (B. C. 81 -- A. D. 14) of the classical period of Latinity; the time when Cicero, Cæsar, Virgil, etc., wrote. Hence: (c) That period in the history of a literature, etc., when it flourishes in its greatest purity or attains its greatest glory; as, the Elizabethan age has been considered the golden age of English literature. -- Golden balls, three gilt balls used as a sign of a pawnbroker's office or shop; -- originally taken from the coat of arms of Lombardy, the first money lenders in London having been Lombards. -- Golden bull. See under Bull, an edict. -- Golden chain (Bot.), the shrub Cytisus Laburnum, so named from its long clusters of yellow blossoms. -- Golden club (Bot.), an aquatic plant (Orontium aquaticum), bearing a thick spike of minute yellow flowers. -- Golden cup (Bot.), the buttercup. -- Golden eagle (Zoöl.), a large and powerful eagle (Aquila Chrysaëtos) inhabiting Europe, Asia, and North America. It is so called from the brownish yellow tips of the feathers on the head and neck. A dark variety is called the royal eagle; the young in the second year is the ring-tailed eagle. -- Golden fleece. (a) (Mythol.) The fleece of gold fabled to have been taken from the ram that bore Phryxus through the air to Colchis, and in quest of which Jason undertook the Argonautic expedition. (b) (Her.)
 An order of knighthood instituted in 1429 by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy; - - called also Toison d'Or. -- Golden grease, a bribe; a fee. [Slang] -- Golden hair (Bot.), a South African shrubby composite plant with golden yellow flowers, the Chrysocoma Comaaurea. -- Golden Horde (Hist.), a tribe of Mongolian Tartars who overran and settled in Southern Russia early in the 18th century.


future. Encyc. Brit.
 Be*long" (&?;), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Belonged (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Belonging.] [OE. belongen (akin to D. belangen to concern, G. belangen to attain to, to concern); pref. be- + longen to desire. See Long, v. i.] [Usually construed with to.] 1. To be the property of; as, Jamaica belongs to Great Britain.

2. To be a part of, or connected with; to be appendant or related; to owe allegiance or service.

 A desert place belonging to... Bethsaids. Luke ix. 10.
 The mighty men which belonged to David. 1 Kings i. 8.
3. To be the concern or proper business or function of; to appertain to. "Do not interpretations belong to God?" Gen.
 xl. 8.
4. To be suitable for; to be due to.

 Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age. Heb.
 v. 14.
 No blame belongs to thee. Shak.
5. To be native to, or an inhabitant of; esp. to have a legal residence, settlement, or inhabitancy, whether by birth or operation of law, so as to be entitled to maintenance by the parish or town.

 Bastards also are settled in the parishes to which the mothers belong.
Blackstone.
 Be*long" (&?;), v. t. To be deserved by. [Obs.]

 More evils belong us than happen to us. B. Jonson.
 Be*long"ing, n. [Commonly in the pl.] 1. That which belongs to one; that which pertains to one; hence, goods or effects.
 "Thyself and thy belongings." Shak.
2. That which is connected with a principal or greater thing; an appendage; an appurtenance.

3. Family; relations; household. [Colloq.]

 Few persons of her ladyship's belongings stopped, before they did her bidding, to ask her reasons. Thackeray.
 Bel"o*nite (&?;), n. [Gr. &?; a needle.] (Min.)
 Minute acicular or dendritic crystalline forms sometimes observed in glassy volcanic rocks.

 { Bel*oo"che Bel*oo"chee } (&?;), a. Of or pertaining to Beloochistan, or to its inhabitants. -- n. A native or an inhabitant of Beloochistan.

 Be*lord" (&?;), v. t. 1. To act the lord over.

2. To address by the title of "lord".

 Be*love" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beloved (&?;).]
 [OE. bilufien. See pref. Be-, and Love, v. t.] To love.
 [Obs.] Wodroephe.
 Be*loved" (&?;), p. p. & a. Greatly loved; dear to the heart.

 Antony, so well beloved of Cæsar. Shak.
 This is my beloved Son. Matt. iii. 17.
 Be*lov"ed (&?;), n. One greatly loved.

 My beloved is mine, and I am his. Cant. ii. 16.
 Be*low" (&?;), prep. [Pref. beby + low.] 1.
 Under, or lower in place; beneath not so high; as, below the moon; below the knee. Shak.
2. Inferior to in rank, excellence, dignity, value, amount, price, etc.; lower in quality. "One degree below kings." Addison.
3. Unworthy of; unbefitting; beneath.

 They beheld, with a just loathing and disdain,... how below all history the persons and their actions were. Milton.
 Who thinks no fact below his regard. Hallam.
Syn. -- Underneath; under; beneath.

 Be*low", adv. 1. In a lower place, with respect to any object; in a lower room; beneath.

 Lord Marmion waits below. Sir W. Scott.
2. On the earth, as opposed to the heavens.

 The fairest child of Jove below. Prior.
3. In hell, or the regions of the dead.

 What business brought him to the realms below. Dryden.
4. In court or tribunal of inferior jurisdiction; as, at the trial below. Wheaton.
5. In some part or page following.

 Be*lowt" (&?;), v. t. To treat as a lout; to talk abusively to.
 [Obs.] Camden.
 Bel"sire' (&?;), n. [Pref. bel- + sire. Cf.
 Beldam.] A grandfather, or ancestor. "His great belsire Brute."
 [Obs.] Drayton.
 Bel"swag'ger (&?;), n. [Contr. from bellyswagger.] A lewd man; also, a bully. [Obs.] Dryden.
 Belt (blt), n. [AS. belt; akin to Icel. belti, Sw. bälte, Dan. bælte, OHG. balz, L. balteus, Ir. & Gael. balt border, belt.] 1. That which engirdles a person or thing; a band or girdle; as, a lady's belt; a sword belt.

 The shining belt with gold inlaid. Dryden.
2. That which restrains or confines as a girdle.

 He cannot buckle his distempered cause Within the belt of rule. Shak.
3. Anything that resembles a belt, or that encircles or crosses like a belt; a strip or stripe; as, a belt of trees; a belt of sand.

4. (Arch.) Same as Band, n., 2. A very broad band is more properly termed a belt.

5. (Astron.) One of certain girdles or zones on the surface of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, supposed to be of the nature of clouds.

6. (Geog.) A narrow passage or strait; as, the Great Belt and the Lesser Belt, leading to the Baltic Sea.

7. (Her.) A token or badge of knightly rank.

8. (Mech.) A band of leather, or other flexible substance, passing around two wheels, and communicating motion from one to the other.
 [See Illust. of Pulley.]

9. (Nat. Hist.) A band or stripe, as of color, round any organ; or any circular ridge or series of ridges.

Belt lacing, thongs used for lacing together the ends of machine belting.

 Belt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belted; p. pr. & vb. n.
 Belting.] To encircle with, or as with, a belt; to encompass; to surround.

 A coarse black robe belted round the waist. C. Reade.
 They belt him round with hearts undaunted. Wordsworth.
2. To shear, as the buttocks and tails of sheep. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
 Bel"tane (&?;), n. [Gael. bealltainn, bealltuinn.]
 1. The first day of May (Old Style).

 The quarter-days anciently in Scotland were Hallowmas, Candlemas, Beltane, and Lammas. New English Dict.
2. A festival of the heathen Celts on the first day of May, in the observance of which great bonfires were kindled. It still exists in a modified form in some parts of Scotland and Ireland.

 Belt"ed (&?;), a. 1. Encircled by, or secured with, a belt; as, a belted plaid; girt with a belt, as an honorary distinction; as, a belted knight; a belted earl.

2. Marked with a band or circle; as, a belted stalk.

3. Worn in, or suspended from, the belt.

 Three men with bel


See Fluvial.]
 Belonging to rivers or streams; fluviatile. Johnson.
 Flu"vi*a*tile (?), a. [L. fluviatilis, fr. fluvius river: cf. F. fluviatile.] Belonging to rivers or streams; existing in or about rivers; produced by river action; fluvial; as, fluviatile starta, plants. Lyell.
 Flu'vi*o-ma*rine" (?), a. [L. fluvius river + E. marine.]
 (Geol.) Formed by the joint action of a river and the sea, as deposits at the mouths of rivers.

 Flux (flks), n. [L. fluxus, fr. fluere, fluxum, to flow: cf.F. flux. See Fluent, and cf. 1st & 2d Floss, Flush, n., 6.] 1. The act of flowing; a continuous moving on or passing by, as of a flowing stream; constant succession; change.

 By the perpetual flux of the liquids, a great part of them is thrown out of the body.

Arbuthnot.
 Her image has escaped the flux of things, And that same infant beauty that she wore Is fixed upon her now forevermore.

Trench.
 Languages, like our bodies, are in a continual flux.

Felton.
2. The setting in of the tide toward the shore, -- the ebb being called the reflux.

3. The state of being liquid through heat; fusion.

4. (Chem. & Metal.) Any substance or mixture used to promote the fusion of metals or minerals, as alkalies, borax, lime, fluorite.

White flux is the residuum of the combustion of a mixture of equal parts of niter and tartar. It consists chiefly of the carbonate of potassium, and is white. -- Black flux is the ressiduum of the combustion of one part of niter and two of tartar, and consists essentially of a mixture of potassium carbonate and charcoal.

5. (Med.) (a) A fluid discharge from the bowels or other part; especially, an excessive and morbid discharge; as, the bloody flux or dysentery. See Bloody flux. (b) The matter thus discharged.

6. (Physics) The quantity of a fluid that crosses a unit area of a given surface in a unit of time.

 Flux, a. [L. fluxus, p. p. of fluere. See Flux, n.]
 Flowing; unstable; inconstant; variable.

 The flux nature of all things here.

Barrow.
 Flux, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fluxed (flkst); p. pr.
 & vb. n. Fluxing.] 1. To affect, or bring to a certain state, by flux.

 He might fashionably and genteelly... have been dueled or fluxed into another world.

South.
2. To cause to become fluid; to fuse. Kirwan.
3. (Med.) To cause a discharge from; to purge.

 Flux*a"tion (?), n. The act of fluxing.

 Flux'i*bil"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. LL. fluxibilitas fluidity.] The quality of being fluxible. Hammond.
 Flux"i*ble (?), a. [Cf.LL. fluxibilis fluid, OF. fluxible.]
 Capable of being melted or fused, as a mineral. Holland.
 -- Flux"i*ble*ness, n. Flux"ile (?), a. [L. fluxilis, a., fluid.] Fluxible.
 [R.]

 Flux*il"i*ty (?), n. State of being fluxible.[Obs.]

 Flux"ion (?), n. [Cf. F. fluxion.] The act of flowing. Cotgrave.
2. The matter that flows. Wiseman.
3. Fusion; the running of metals into a fluid state.

4. (Med.) An unnatural or excessive flow of blood or fluid toward any organ; a determination.

5. A constantly varying indication.

 Less to be counted than the fluxions of sun dials.

De Quincey.
6. (Math.) (a) The infinitely small increase or decrease of a variable or flowing quantity in a certain infinitely small and constant period of time; the rate of variation of a fluent; an incerement; a differential. (b) pl. A method of analysis developed by Newton, and based on the conception of all magnitudes as generated by motion, and involving in their changes the notion of velocity or rate of change. Its results are the same as those of the differential and integral calculus, from which it differs little except in notation and logical method.

 Flux"ion*al (?), a. Pertaining to, or having the nature of, fluxion or fluxions; variable; inconstant.

 The merely human,the temporary and fluxional.

Coleridge.
Fluxional structure (Geol.), fluidal structure.

 Flux"ion*a*ry (?), a. 1. Fluxional. Berkeley.
2. (Med.) Pertaining to, or caused by, an increased flow of blood to a part; congestive; as, a fluxionary hemorrhage.

 Flux"ion*ist, n. One skilled in fluxions. Berkeley.
 Flux"ions (?), n. pl. (Math.) See Fluxion, 6(b).

 Flux"ive (?), a. Flowing; also, wanting solidity. B. Jonson.
 Flux"ure (?; 138), n. [L. fluxura a flowing.] 1. The quality of being fluid. [Obs.] Fielding.
2. Fluid matter. [Obs.] Drayton.
 Fly (fl), v. i. [imp. Flew (fl); p. p. Flown (fln); p. pr. & vb. n. Flying.] [OE. fleen, fleen, fleyen, flegen, AS. fleógan; akin to D. vliegen, OHG.
 fliogan, G. fliegen, Icel. fljga, Sw. flyga, Dan. flyve, Goth. us-flaugjan to cause to fly away, blow about, and perh. to L. pluma feather, E. plume. √84.
 Cf. Fledge, Flight, Flock of animals.] 1. To move in or pass through the air with wings, as a bird.

2. To move through the air or before the wind; esp., to pass or be driven rapidly through the air by any impulse.

3. To float, wave, or rise in the air, as sparks or a flag.

 Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

Job v. 7.
4. To move or pass swiftly; to hasten away; to circulate rapidly; as, a ship flies on the deep; a top flies around; rumor flies.

Fly, envious Time, till thou run out thy race.

Milton.
 The dark waves murmured as the ships flew on.

Bryant.
5. To run from danger; to attempt to escape; to flee; as, an enemy or a coward flies. See Note under Flee.

Fly, ere evil intercept thy flight.

Milton.
 Whither shall I fly to escape their hands?

Shak.
6. To move suddenly, or with violence; to do an act suddenly or swiftly; -- usually with a qualifying word; as, a door flies open; a bomb flies apart.

To fly about (Naut.), to change frequently in a short time; -- said of the wind. -- To fly around, to move about in haste.
 [Colloq.] -- To fly at, to spring toward; to rush on; to attack suddenly. -- To fly in the face of, to insult; to assail; to set at defiance; to oppose with violence; to act in direct opposition to; to resist. -- To fly off, to separate, or become detached suddenly; to revolt. -- To fly on, to attack. -- To fly open, to open suddenly, or with violence. --


", n. [F. assigné, p. p. of assigner.
 See Assign, v., and cf. Assign an assignee.] (Law) (a) A person to whom an assignment is made; a person appointed or deputed by another to do some act, perform some business, or enjoy some right, privilege, or property; as, an assignee of a bankrupt. See Assignment (c). An assignee may be by special appointment or deed, or be created by jaw; as an executor. Cowell. Blount. (b) pl. In England, the persons appointed, under a commission of bankruptcy, to manage the estate of a bankrupt for the benefit of his creditors.

 As*sign"er (s*sn"r), n. One who assigns, appoints, allots, or apportions.

 As*sign"ment (&?;), n. [LL. assignamentum: cf. OF. assenement.]
 1. An allotting or an appointment to a particular person or use; or for a particular time, as of a cause or causes in court.

2. (Law) (a) A transfer of title or interest by writing, as of lease, bond, note, or bill of exchange; a transfer of the whole of some particular estate or interest in lands. (b) The writing by which an interest is transferred. (c) The transfer of the property of a bankrupt to certain persons called assignees, in whom it is vested for the benefit of creditors.

Assignment of dower, the setting out by metes and bounds of the widow's thirds or portion in the deceased husband's estate, and allotting it to her.

Assignment is also used in law as convertible with specification; assignment of error in proceedings for review being specification of error; and assignment of perjury or fraud in indictment being specifications of perjury or fraud.

 As'sign*or" (&?;), n. [L. assignator. Cf. Assigner.] (Law) An assigner; a person who assigns or transfers an interest; as, the assignor of a debt or other chose in action.

 As*sim'i*la*bil"i*ty (&?;), n. The quality of being assimilable. [R.] Coleridge.
 As*sim"i*la*ble (&?;), a. That may be assimilated; that may be likened, or appropriated and incorporated.

 As*sim"i*late (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assimilated (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Assimilating (&?;).] [L. assimilatus, p. p. of assimilare; ad + similare to make like, similis like. See Similar, Assemble, Assimilate.] 1. To bring to a likeness or to conformity; to cause a resemblance between. Sir M. Hale.
 To assimilate our law to the law of Scotland. John Bright.
 Fast falls a fleecy; the downy flakes Assimilate all objects. Cowper.
2. To liken; to compa&?;e. [R.]

3. To appropriate and transform or incorporate into the substance of the assimilating body; to absorb or appropriate, as nourishment; as, food is assimilated and converted into organic tissue.

 Hence also animals and vegetables may assimilate their nourishment. Sir I. Newton.
 His mind had no power to assimilate the lessons. Merivale.
 As*sim"i*late, v. i. 1. To become similar or like something else. [R.]

2. To change and appropriate nourishment so as to make it a part of the substance of the assimilating body.

 Aliment easily assimilated or turned into blood. Arbuthnot.
3. To be converted into the substance of the assimilating body; to become incorporated; as, some kinds of food assimilate more readily than others.

 I am a foreign material, and cannot assimilate with the church of England. J. H. Newman.
 As*sim'i*la"tion (&?;), n. [L. assimilatio: cf. F. assimilation.]
 1. The act or process of assimilating or bringing to a resemblance, likeness, or identity; also, the state of being so assimilated; as, the assimilation of one sound to another.

 To aspire to an assimilation with God. Dr. H. More.
 The assimilation of gases and vapors. Sir J. Herschel.
2. (Physiol.) The conversion of nutriment into the fluid or solid substance of the body, by the processes of digestion and absorption, whether in plants or animals.

 Not conversing the body, not repairing it by assimilation, but preserving it by ventilation. Sir T. Browne.
 The term assimilation has been limited by some to the final process by which the nutritive matter of the blood is converted into the substance of the tissues and organs.

 As*sim"i*la*tive (&?;), a. [Cf. LL. assimilativus, F. assimilatif.]
 Tending to, or characterized by, assimilation; that assimilates or causes assimilation; as, an assimilative process or substance.

 As*sim"i*la*to*ry (&?;), a. Tending to assimilate, or produce assimilation; as, assimilatory organs.

 As*sim"u*late (&?;), v. t. [L. assimulatus, p. p. of assimulare, equiv. to assimilare. See Assimilate, v. t.] 1. To feign; to counterfeit; to simulate; to resemble. [Obs.] Blount.
2. To assimilate. [Obs.] Sir M. Hale.
 As*sim'u*la"tion (&?;), n. [L. assimulatio, equiv. to assimilatio.]
 Assimilation. [Obs.] Bacon.
 As'si*ne"go (&?;), n. See Asinego.

 Ass"ish (&?;), a. Resembling an ass; asinine; stupid or obstinate.

 Such... appear to be of the assich kind... Udall.
 As*sist" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Assisting.] [L. assistere; ad + sistere to cause to stand, to stand, from stare to stand: cf. F. assister.
 See Stand.] To give support to in some undertaking or effort, or in time of distress; to help; to aid; to succor.

Assist me, knight. I am undone! Shak.
Syn. -- To help; aid; second; back; support; relieve; succor; befriend; sustain; favor. See Help.

 As*sist", v. i. 1. To lend aid; to help.

 With God not parted from him, as was feared, But favoring and assisting to the end. Milton.
2. To be present as a spectator; as, to assist at a public meeting. [A Gallicism] Gibbon. Prescott.
 As*sist"ance (&?;), n. [Cf. F. assistance.] 1.
 The act of assisting; help; aid; furtherance; succor; support.

 Without the assistance of a mortal hand. Shak.
2. An assistant or helper; a body of helpers. [Obs.]

 Wat Tyler [was] killed by valiant Walworth, the lord mayor of London, and his assistance,... John Cavendish. Fuller.
3. Persons present. [Obs. or a Gallicism] As*sist"ant (&?;), a. [Cf. F. assistant, p. pr. of assister.]
 1. Helping; lending aid or support; auxiliary.

 Genius and learning... are mutually and greatly


In a small collection formed during the voyage of Captains Wickham and Stokes, there is a plant very nearly related to, and perhaps not specifically distinct from Ptilotus latifolius, but having narrower leaves. It was found on one of the islands of Dampier's Archipelago.
26. NEURACHNE (paradoxa) glaberrima, culmo dichotomo, foliis rameis abbreviatis, fasciculis paucifloris, glumis perianthiisque imberbibus valvula exteriore cujusve floris septemnervia.
LOC. Nulla indicatio loci v. stationis, in Herbario. D. Sturt.
DESC. Gramen junceum, facie potius Cyperaceae cujusdam. Folia radicalia in specimine unico viso defuere; ramos subtendentia abbreviata, vagina aperta ipsum folium superante; floralia subspathiformia sed foliacea nec membranacea. Fasciculi pauciflori: spiculae cum pedunculo brevissimo articulatae et solubiles, et subtensae bractea nervosa carinata ejusdem circiter longitudinis. Gluma bivalvis biflora, nervosa, acuta, mutica; valvulae subaequales septemnerviae; exterioris nervis tribus axin occupantibus sed distinctis reliquis per paria a marginibus et axilibus subaequidistantibus; interioris nervis aequidistantibus, externis margine approximatis. Perianthium inferius (exterius), bivalvis, neuter; valvula exterior septemnervis, exteriori glumae similis textura forma et longitudine; valvula interior (superior) angustior pauloque brevior, dinervis, nervis alatis marginibus veris latis induplicatis. Perianthium superius hermaphroditum, paulo brevius, pergamineo-membranaceum, nervis dilute viridibus; valvula exterior quinquenervis, acuta, concava; interior ejusdem fere longitudinis, dinervis. Stamina 3, filamentis linearibus. Ovarium oblongum, imberbe. Styli duo. Stigmata plumosa, pallida?
OBS. Neurachne paradoxa, founded on a single specimen, imperfect in its leaves and stem, but sufficiently complete in its parts of fructification, differs materially in habit from the original species, N. alopeuroides, as well as from N. Mitchelliana of Nees, while these two species differ widely from each other in several important points of structure.
In undertaking to give some account of the more remarkable plants of Captain Sturt's collection, it was my intention to have entered in some detail into the general character of the vegetation of the interior of Australia, south of the Tropic.
I am now obliged to relinquish my original intention, so far as relates to detail, but shall still offer a few general remarks on the subject.
These remarks will probably be better understood, if I refer, in the first place, to some observations published in 1814, in the Botanical Appendix to Captain Flinders's Voyage.
From the knowledge I then had of New Holland, or Australian vegetation, I stated that its chief peculiarities existed in the greatest degree in a parallel, included between 33 degrees and 35 degrees S. lat. which I therefore called the principal parallel, but that these peculiarities or characteristic tribes, were found chiefly at its western and eastern extremities, being remarkably diminished in that intermediate portion, included between 133 degrees and 138 degrees, E. long. These observations related entirely to the shores of Australia, its interior, being at that period altogether unknown; and the species of Australian plants, with which I was then acquainted, did not exceed 4200. Since that time great additions have been made to the number, chiefly by Mr. Allan Cunningham, in his various journeys from Port Jackson, and on the shores of the North and North-west coasts during the voyages of Captain King whom he accompanied; by Messrs. William Baxter, James Drummond, and M. Preiss, at the western extremity of the principal parallel, and by Mr. Ronald Gunn in Van Diemen's Land. It is probable that I may be considered as underrating these additions, when I venture to state them as only between two and three thousand; and that the whole number of Australian plants at present known, does not exceed, but rather falls short of 7000 species.
These additions, whatever their amount may be, confirm my original statement respecting the distribution of the characteristic tribes of the New Holland Flora; some additional breadth might perhaps be given to the principal parallel, and the extent of the peculiar families may now be stated as much greater at or near its western, than at its eastern extremity.
With the vegetation of the extra-tropical interior of Australia, we are now in some degree acquainted, chiefly from the collections formed by the late Mr. Allan Cunningham, and Charles Fraser, in Oxley's two expeditions from Port Jackson into the western interior, in 1817 and 1818; from Captain Sturt's early expeditions, in which the rivers Darling, Murrumbidgee, and Murray, were discovered; from those of Sir Thomas Mitchell, who never failed to form extensive collections of plants of the regions he visited; and lastly, from Captain Sturt's present collection.
The whole number of plants collected in these various expeditions, may be estimated at about 700 or 750 species; and the general character of the vegetation, especially of the extensive sterile regions, very nearly resembles that of the heads of the two great inlets of the south coast, particularly that of Spencer's Gulf; the same or a still greater diminution of the characteristic tribes of the general Australian Flora being observable. Of these characteristic tribes, hardly any considerable proportion is found, except of Eucalyptus, and even that genus seems to be much reduced in the number of species; of the leafless Acaciae, which appear to exist in nearly their usual proportion; and of Callitris and Casuarina. The extensive families of Epacrideae, Stylideae, Restiaceae, and the tribe of Decandrous Papilionaceae, hardly exist, and the still more characteristic and extensive family of Proteaceae is reduced to a few species of Grevillea, Hakea, and Persoonia.
Nor are there any extensive families peculiar to these regions; the only characteristic tribes being that small section of aphyllous, or nearly aphyllous Cassiae, which I have particularly adverted to in my account of some of the species belonging to Captain Sturt's collection; and several genera of Myoporinae, particularly Eremophila and Stenochilus. Both these tribes appear to be confined to the interior, or to the two great gulfs of the South coast, which may be termed the outlets or direct continuation of the southern interior; several of the species observed at the head of Spencer's Gulf, also existing in nearly the same meridian, several degrees to the northward. It is not a little remarkable that nearly the same general character of vegetation appears to exist in the sterile islands of Dampier's Archipelago, on the North-west coast, where even some of the species which probably exist through the whole of the southern interior are found; of these the most striking instances are, Clianthus Dampieri, and Jasminum lineare, and to establish this extensive range of these two species was my object in entering so minutely into their history in the preceding account.
A still greater reduction of the peculiarities of New Holland vegetation, takes place in the islands of the South coast.
End of Volume II


Prior. — Town house.
 (a) A house in town, in distinction from a house in the country. (b) See Townhouse. — Town meeting, a legal meeting of the inhabitants of a town entitled to vote, for the transaction of public bisiness. [U.
 S.] — Town talk, the common talk of a place; the subject or topic of common conversation.

 Town"-cri'er (?), n. A town officer who makes proclamations to the people; the public crier of a town.

 Towned (?), a. Having towns; containing many towns. [Obs.] Hakluyt.
 Town"hall' (?), n. A public hall or building, belonging to a town, where the public offices are established, the town council meets, the people assemble in town meeting, etc.

 Town"house' (?), n. A building devoted to the public used of a town; a townhall.

 Town"ish, a. Of or pertaining to the inhabitants of a town; like the town. [R.] Turbervile.
 Town"less, a. Having no town. Howell.
 Town"let (?), n. A small town. North Brit. Rev.
 Towns"folk' (?), n. The people of a town; especially, the inhabitants of a city, in distinction from country people; townspeople.

 Town"ship (?), n. 1. The district or territory of a town.

 In the United States, many of the States are divided into townships of five, six, seven, or perhaps ten miles square, and the inhabitants of such townships are invested with certain powers for regulating their own affairs, such as repairing roads and providing for the poor. The township is subordinate to the county.

2. In surveys of the public land of the United States, a division of territory six miles square, containing 36 sections.

3. In Canada, one of the subdivisions of a county.

 Towns"man (tounz"man), n.; pl. Townsmen (-mn).

1. An inhabitant of a town; one of the same town with another. Pope.
2. A selectman, in New England. See Selectman.

 Towns"peo'ple (?), n. The inhabitants of a town or city, especially in distinction from country people; townsfolk.

 { Town"ward, Town"wards (?), } (?), adv. Toward a town. Longfellow.
 Tow"path' (?), n. A path traveled by men or animals in towing boats; — called also towing path.

 Tow"rope' (?), n. A rope used in towing vessels.

 Tow"ser (tou"zr), n. [See Touse to pull about. ] A familiar name for a dog. [ Written also Towzer. ]

 Tow"y (t"), a. Composed of, or like, tow.

 ||Tox*æ"mi*a (tks""m*), a. [NL., fr. Gr. toxiko'n poison + a"i^ma blood.] (Med.) Blood poisoning. See under Blood.

 { Tox"ic, Tox"ic*al } (?), a. [L. toxicum poison, originally, a poison in which arrows were dipped, Gr. toxiko'n (sc. &?;) poison for smearing arrows with, fr. toxiko's of or for the bow, from to'xon bow, arrow. Cf. Intoxicate.] Of or pertaining to poison; poisonous; as, toxic medicines.

 Tox"i*cant (?), n. A poisonous agent or drug, as opium; an intoxicant.

 Tox'i*co*log"ic*al (?), a. [Cf.F. toxicologique. ] Of or pertaining to toxicology. — Tox'i*co*log"ic*al*ly, adv.
 Tox'i*col"o*gist (?), n. One versed in toxicology; the writer of a treatise on poisons.

 Tox'i*col"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. toxiko'n poison + -logy; cf. F. toxicologie. See Toxic. ] The science which treats of poisons, their effects, antidotes, and recognition; also, a discourse or treatise on the science.

 Tox'i*co*ma"ni*a (?), n. [See. Toxic, and Mania.] 1. (Med.)
 Toxiphobia. A. S. Taylor.
2. (Med.) An insane desire for intoxicating or poisonous drugs, as alcohol or opium. B. W. Richardson.
 ||Tox*if"e*ra (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. to'xon a bow + L. ferre to bear.] (Zoöl.) Same as Toxoglossa.

 { Tox"in, Tox"ine } (?), n. [Gr. toxiko'n. See Toxic. ] A poisonous product formed by pathogenic bacteria, as a toxic proteid or poisonous ptomaine. [1913 Webster] ||Tox'i*pho"bi*a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. toxiko'n poison + fo'bos fear.] (Med.) An insane or greatly exaggerated dread of poisons.

 Tox"o*don (?), n. [Gr. to'xon a bow + &?;, &?;, a tooth.]
 (Paleon.) A gigantic extinct herbivorous mammal from South America, having teeth bent like a bow. It is the type of the order Toxodonta.

 ||Tox'o*don"ta (?), n.pl. [NL.] (Paleon.) An extinct order of Mammalia found in the South American Tertiary formation. The incisor teeth were long and curved and provided with a persistent pulp. They are supposed to be related both to the rodents and ungulates. Called also Toxodontia.

 ||Tox'o*glos"sa (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. to'xon a bow + &?; tongue.] (Zoöl.) A division of marine gastropod mollusks in which the radula are converted into poison fangs. The cone shells (Conus), Pleurotoma, and Terebra, are examples. See Illust. of Cone, n., 4, Pleurotoma, and Terebra.

 Tox*oph"i*lite (?), n. [Gr. to'xon a bow + filei^n to love.] A lover of archery; one devoted to archery.

 ||Tox"o*tes (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; an archer.] (Zoöl.)
 A genus of fishes comprising the archer fishes. See Archer fish.

 Toy (toi), n. [D. tuid tools, implements, stuff, trash, speeltuig playthings, toys; akin to G. zeug stuff, materials, MNG. ziuc, Icel. tygi gear; all ultimately from the root of E. tug, v. t.; cf. G. zeugen to beget, MHG. ziugen to beget, make ready, procure. See Tug, v. t.]

1. A plaything for children; a bawble. Cowper.
2. A thing for amusement, but of no real value; an article of trade of little value; a trifle.

 They exchange for knives, glasses, and such toys, great abundance of gold and pearl.

Abr. Abbot.
3. A wild fancy; an odd conceit; idle sport; folly; trifling opinion.

 To fly about playing their wanton toys.

Spenser.
 What if a toy take'em in the heels now, and they all run away.

Beau. &Fl.
 Nor light and idle toys my lines may vainly swell.

Drayton.
4. Amorous dalliance; play; sport; pastime. Milton.
 To dally thus with death is no fit toy.

Spenser.
5. An old story; a silly tale. Shak


. (Ethnol.) Jutlanders; one of the Low German tribes, a portion of which settled in Kent, England, in the 5th century.

 Jut"land*er (?), n. A native or inhabitant of Jutland in Denmark.

 Jut"land*ish, a. Of or pertaining to Jutland, or to the people of Jutland.

 Jut"ting (?), a. Projecting, as corbels, cornices, etc. -- Jut"ting*ly, adv.
 Jut"ty (?), n. [See Jetty, Jut, Jet.] A projection in a building; also, a pier or mole; a jetty. Shak.
 Jut"ty, v. t. & i. To project beyond. [Obs.] Shak.
 Ju"ve*nal (?), n. [L. juvenalis youthful, juvenile, fr. juvenis young.] A youth. [Obs.] Shak.
 Ju've*nes"cence (?), n. A growing young.

 Ju've*nes"cent (?), a. [L. juvenescens, p. pr. of juvenescere to grow young again, from juvenis young.] Growing or becoming young.

 Ju"ve*nile (?; 277), a. [L. juvenilis, from juvenis young; akin to E. young: cf. F. juvénile, juvénil.
 See Young.]

1. Young; youthful; as, a juvenile appearance. "A juvenile exercitation." Glanvill.
2. Of or pertaining to youth; as, juvenile sports.

Syn. -- Puerile; boyish; childish. See Youthful.

 Ju"ve*nile, n. A young person or youth; -- used sportively or familiarly. C. Bronté.
 Ju"ve*nile*ness, n. The state or quality of being juvenile; juvenility.

 Ju've*nil"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Juvenilities (#). [L. juvenilitas: cf. F. juvénilité.]

1. Youthfulness; adolescence. Glanvill.
2. The manners or character of youth; immaturity. Glanvill.
 Ju"vi*a (?), n. (Bot.) A Brazilian name for the lofty myrtaceous tree (Bertholetia excelsa) which produces the large seeds known as Brazil nuts.

 ||Ju*wan"sa (?), n. (Bot.) The camel's thorn. See under Camel.

 Ju*wise" (?), n. [Obs.] Same as Juise. Chaucer.
 Jux'ta*pose" (?), v. t. [Cf. Juxtaposit, Pose.] To place in juxtaposition. Huxley.
 Jux'ta*pos"it (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Juxtaposited; p. pr. & vb. n. Juxtapositing.] [L. juxta near + positus, p. p. of ponere to put.] To place in close connection or contiguity; to juxtapose. Derham.
 Jux'ta*po*si"tion (?), n. [L. juxta near + positio position: cf. F. juxtaposition. See Just, v. i., and Position.] A placing or being placed in nearness or contiguity, or side by side; as, a juxtaposition of words.

 Parts that are united by a a mere juxtaposition.

Glanvill.
Juxtaposition is a very unsafe criterion of continuity.

Hare.
 Jym"old (jm"ld), a. [Obs.] See Gimmal.

 K. K, (k), the eleventh letter of the English alphabet, is nonvocal consonant. The form and sound of the letter K are from the Latin, which used the letter but little except in the early period of the language. It came into the Latin from the Greek, which received it from a Phœnician source, the ultimate origin probably being Egyptian.
 Etymologically K is most nearly related to c, g, h (which see).

 In many words of one syllable k is used after c, as in crack, check, deck, being necessary to exhibit a correct pronunciation in the derivatives, cracked, checked, decked, cracking; since without it, c, before the vowels e and i, would be sounded like s. Formerly, k was added to c in certain words of Latin origin, as in musick, publick, republick; but now it is omitted.

 See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 240, 178, 179, 185.

 Kaa"ma (?), n. (Zoöl.) The hartbeest.

 Kab"a*la (?), n. See Cabala.

 Ka*bas"sou (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Cabassou.

 Ka*bob" (?), n. & v. t. See Cabob, n. & v. t. Ka*book" (?), n. (min.) A clay ironstone found in Ceylon.

 Ka*byle" (?), n. [Ar. qabla.] (Ethnol.) A Berber, as in Algiers or Tunis. See Berber.

 Kad"der (?), n. [Cf. Caddow.] (Zoöl.) The jackdaw.

 { Ka"di (?), Ka'di*as"ter (?), } n. A Turkish judge. See Cadi.

 Ka*fal" (?), n. (Bot.) The Arabian name of two trees of the genus Balsamodendron, which yield a gum resin and a red aromatic wood.

 { Kaf"fir (kf"fr), Ka"fir (kä"fr), } n. [Ar. kfir infidel, pagan, fr. kafara to be skeptical in religious matters; -- a name given to certain infidel races by the Mohammedans. Cf. Giaour.] (Ethnol.)
(a) One of a race which, with the Hottentots and Bushmen, inhabit South Africa. They inhabit the country north of Cape Colony, the name being now specifically applied to the tribes living between Cape Colony and Natal; but the Zulus of Natal are true Kaffirs. (b) One of a race inhabiting Kafiristan in Central Asia. [Spelt also Caffre.]

Kaffir corn (Bot.), a Cape Colony name for Indian millet.

 Kaf"fle (?), n. See Coffle.

 ||Ka"fi*lah (?), n. See Cafila.

 Kaf"tan (?), n & v. See Caftan.

 Kage (?), n. A chantry chapel inclosed with lattice or screen work.

 ||Ka"gu (?), n. (Zoöl.) A singular, crested, grallatorial bird (Rhinochetos jubatus), native of New Caledonia.
 It is gray above, paler beneath, and the feathers of the wings and tail are handsomely barred with brown, black, and gray. It is allied to the sun bittern.

 Ka'gu*an" (?), n. (Zoöl.) The colugo.

 ||Ka"ha"ni (?), n. A kind of notary public, or attorney, in the Levant.

 Ka*hau" (?), n. [Native name, from its cry.] (Zoöl.) A long-nosed monkey (Semnopithecus nasalis), native of Borneo. The general color of the body is bright chestnut, with the under parts, shoulders, and sides of the head, golden yellow, and the top of the head and upper part of the back brown. Called also proboscis monkey.
 [Written also kaha.]

 Kail (?), n. 1. (Bot.) A kind of headless cabbage.
 Same as Kale, 1.

2. Any cabbage, greens, or vegetables. [OE. or Scot