WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : (a) A dance in which the partners are arranged face to face
Part of Speech : or
Definition : 2. (Music) A piece of music in the rhythm of such a dance.

in opposite lines. (b) The quadrille. [Obs.]
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) A strip of red cloth notched like the comb of a cock
Part of Speech : which
Definition : 2. The top of the head, or the head itself. We will belabor you a little better, And beat a little more care into your coxcombs. Beau & Fl.

3. A vain, showy fellow; a conceited, silly man, fond of display; a superficial pretender to knowledge or accomplishments; a fop. Fond to be seen, she kept a bevy Of powdered coxcombs at her levee. Goldsmith. Some are bewildered in the maze of schools, And some made coxcombs, nature meant but fools. Pope.

4. (Bot.)

Defn: A name given to several plants of different genera, but particularly to Celosia cristata, or garden cockscomb. Same as Cockscomb.

licensed jesters formerly wore in their caps. (b) The cap itself.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : He the star crinital adoreth. Stanyhurst.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) A piece of defensive armor
Part of Speech : covering
Definition : Note: The cuirass covered the body before and behind. It consisted of two parts, a breast- and backpiece of iron fastened together by means of straps and buckles or other like contrivances. It was originally, as the name imports, made of leather, but afterward of metal. Crose.

2. (Zo?l)

Defn: An armor of bony plates, somewhat resembling a cuirass.

the body from the neck to the girdle. (b) The breastplate taken by itself.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) A quoit; a circular plate of some heavy material intended to be pitched or hurled as a trial of strength and skill. (b) The exercise with the discus.
Definition : Note: This among the Greeks was one of the chief gymnastic exercises and was included in the Pentathlon (the contest of the five exercises). The chief contest was that of throwing the discus to the greatest possible distance.

2. A disk. See Disk.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) A silver coin of the United States containing 371.25 grains of silver and 41.25 grains of alloy, that is, having a total weight of 412.5 grains. (b) A gold coin of the United States containing 23.22 grains of gold and 2.58 grains of alloy, that is, ha
Part of Speech : nine-tenths
Definition : Note: Previous to 1837 the silver dollar had a larger amount of alloy, but only the same amount of silver as now, the total weight being 416 grains. The gold dollar as a distinct coin was first made in 1849. The eagles, half eagles, and quarter eagles coined before 1834 contained 24.75 grains of gold and 2.25 grains of alloy for each dollar.

2. A coin of the same general weight and value, though differing slightly in different countries, current in Mexico, Canada, parts of South America, also in Spain, and several other European countries.

3. The value of a dollar; the unit commonly employed in the United States in reckoning money values. Chop dollar. See under 9th Chop. -- Dollar fish (Zo?l.), a fish of the United States coast (Stromateus triacanthus), having a flat, roundish form and a bright silvery luster; -- called also butterfish, and Lafayette. See Butterfish. -- Trade dollar, a silver coin formerly made at the United States mint, intended for export, and not legal tender at home. It contained 378 grains of silver and 42 grains of alloy.

fine. It is no longer coined.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : -- Eaves molding (Arch.), a molding immediately below the eaves, acting as a cornice or part of a cornice. -- Eaves swallow (Zo?l.). (a) The cliff swallow; -- so called from its habit of building retort-shaped nests of mud under the eaves of buildings. Se
Part of Speech : under
Definition :

Cliff. (b) The European swallow.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : -- Egyptian cross. See Illust. (No. 6) of Cross. -- Egyptian thorn (Bot.)
Part of Speech : a
Definition :

medium-sized tree (Acacia vera). It is one of the chief sources of the best gum arabic.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) Of a freewheel cycle, to run on while the pedals are held still. (b) Of a person
Part of Speech : to
Definition : 2. (Mach.) To operate like a freewheel, so that one part moves freely over another which normally moves with it; -- said of a clutch.

ride a cycle of this manner. To ride a freewheel cycle.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) Clothing in general. (b) The whole dress or suit of clothes worn by any person, especially when indicating rank or office; as, the garb of a clergyman or a judge. (c) Costume; fashion; as
Part of Speech : the
Definition : 2. External appearance, as expressive of the feelings or character; looks; fashion or manner, as of speech. You thought, because he could not speak English in the native garb, he could not therefore handle an English cudgel. Shak.

garb of a gentleman in the 16th century.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) The joint in the hind limb of quadrupeds between the leg and shank, or tibia and tarsus, and corresponding to the ankle in man. (b) A piece cut by butchers, esp. in pork, from either the front or hind leg
Part of Speech : just
Definition : 2. The popliteal space; the ham.

above the foot.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) A fastening together of the pars or ends of one or more threads, cords, ropes, etc., by any one of various ways of tying or entangling. (b) A lump or loop formed in a thread, cord, rope. etc., as at the end, by tying or interweaving it upon itself. (c
Part of Speech : as
Definition : Note: The names of knots vary according to the manner of their making, or the use for which they are intended; as, dowknot, reef knot, stopper knot, diamond knot, etc.

2. A bond of union; a connection; a tie. "With nuptial knot." Shak. Ere we knit the knot that can never be loosed. Bp. Hall.

3. Something not easily solved; an intricacy; a difficulty; a perplexity; a problem. Knots worthy of solution. Cowper. A man shall be perplexed with knots, and problems of business, and contrary affairs. South.

4. A figure the lines of which are interlaced or intricately interwoven, as in embroidery, gardening, etc. "Garden knots." Bacon. Flowers worthy of paradise, which, not nice art In beds and curious knots, but nature boon Poured forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain. Milton.

5. A cluster of persons or things; a collection; a group; a hand; a clique; as, a knot of politicians. "Knots of talk." Tennyson. His ancient knot of dangerous adversaries. Shak. Palms in cluster, knots of Paradise. Tennyson. As they sat together in small, separate knots, they discussed doctrinal and metaphysical points of belief. Sir W. Scott.

6. A portion of a branch of a tree that forms a mass of woody fiber running at an angle with the grain of the main stock and making a hard place in the timber. A loose knot is generally the remains of a dead branch of a tree covered by later woody growth.

7. A knob, lump, swelling, or protuberance. With lips serenely placid, felt the knot Climb in her throat. Tennyson.

8. A protuberant joint in a plant.

9. The point on which the action of a story depends; the gist of a matter. [Obs.] I shoulde to the knotte condescend, And maken of her walking soon an end. Chaucer.

10. (Mech.)

Defn: See Node.

11. (Naut.) (a) A division of the log line, serving to measure the rate of the vessel's motion. Each knot on the line bears the same proportion to a mile that thirty seconds do to an hour. The number of knots which run off from the reel in half a minute, therefore, shows the number of miles the vessel sails in an hour. Hence: (b) A nautical mile, or 6080.27 feet; as, when a ship goes eight miles an hour, her speed is said to be eight knots.

12. A kind of epaulet. See Shoulder knot.

13. (Zo?l.)

Defn: A sandpiper (Tringa canutus), found in the northern parts of all the continents, in summer. It is grayish or ashy above, with the rump and upper tail coverts white, barred with dusky. The lower parts are pale brown, with the flanks and under tail coverts white. When fat it is prized by epicures. Called also dunne.

Note: The name is said to be derived from King Canute, this bird being a favorite article of food with him. The knot that called was Canutus' bird of old, Of that great king of Danes his name that still doth hold, His appetite to please that far and near was sought. Drayton.

of a ribbon.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) Moving with pain or difficulty on account of injury, defect, or temporary obstruction of a function; as, a lame leg, arm, or muscle. (b) To some degree disabled by reason of the imperfect action of a limb; crippled; as, a lame man. "Lame of one leg."
Part of Speech : and
Definition : 2. Hence, hobbling; limping; inefficient; imperfect. "A lame endeavor." Barrow. O, most lame and impotent conclusion! Shak. Lame duck (stock Exchange), a person who can not fulfill his contracts. [Cant]

became lame." 2 Sam. iv. 4.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) A short cloak formerly worn by knights. (b) A short cloak or mantle worn by women. A mantelet upon his shoulders hanging. Chaucer.
Definition : 2. (Fort.)

Defn: A musket-proof shield of rope, wood, or metal, which is sometimes used for the protection of sappers or riflemen while attacking a fortress, or of gunners at embrasures; -- now commonly written mantlet.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) A silver coin of Turkey formerly rated at twenty, but since 1880 at nineteen, piasters (about 83 cents). (b) A gold coin of Turkey equal to one hundred piastres ($4.396 or 18s. ?d.); a lira
Part of Speech : or
Definition : 2. A Turkish honorary order established in 1851 by Abdul-Mejid, having as its badge a medallion surrounded by seven silver rays and crescents. It is often conferred on foreigners.

Turkish pound.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) Formerly, a kind of naval cadet, in a ship of war, whose business was to carry orders, messages, reports, etc., between the officers of the quarter-deck and those of the forecastle, and render other services as required. (b) In the English naval servi
Part of Speech : being
Definition : 2. (Zo?l.)

Defn: An American marine fish of the genus Porichthys, allied to the toadfish. Cadet midshipman, formerly a title distinguishing a cadet line officer from a cadet engineer at the U. S. Naval Academy. See under Cadet. -- Cadet midshipman, formerly, a naval cadet who had served his time, passed his examinations, and was awaiting promotion; -- now called, in the United States, midshipman; in England, sublieutenant.

graduates of the Naval Academy awaiting promotion to the rank of ensign.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) The line which marks the outer limits of an object or figure; the exterior line or edge; contour. (b) In art: A line drawn by pencil, pen, graver, or the like, by which the boundary of a figure is indicated. (c) A sketch composed of such lines; the de
Part of Speech : represent
Definition : 2. Fig.: A sketch of any scheme; a preliminary or general indication of a plan, system, course of thought, etc.; as, the outline of a speech. But that larger grief . . . Is given in outline and no more. Tennyson.

Syn. -- Sketch; draught; delineation. See Sketch.

the same in their pictures. Dryden.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) A pigment or coloring substance. (b) The same prepared with a vehicle, as oil, water with gum, or the like
Part of Speech : for
Definition : 2. A cosmetic; rouge. Praed.

application to a surface.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) (Math.) A term applied to some characteristic magnitude whose value, invariable as long as one and the same function, curve, surface, etc., is considered, serves to distinguish that function, curve, surface, etc., from others of the same kind or famil
Part of Speech : to
Definition : Note: The parameter of the principal axis of a conic section is called the latus rectum.

2. (Crystallog.)

Defn: The ratio of the three crystallographic axes which determines the position of any plane; also, the fundamental axial ratio for a given species.

any abscissa and the corresponding ordinate.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) (Mil.) In the United States army, an officer of the rank of brigadier general, who commands the pay department, which is charged with the payment of the officers and men. (b) (Nav.) In the United States navy, the Chief of the Bureau of Provisions and
Part of Speech : who
Definition : 2. In Great Britain, an officer of the Treasury who makes all payments and disbursements, civil as well as military. He is a member of the ministry, but not of the cabinet.

has charge of the payment of officers and men and their clothing and subsistence. He has the rank of rear admiral.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) A solution of salt and water, in which fish, meat, etc., may be preserved or corned; brine. (b) Vinegar, plain or spiced, used for preserving vegetables, fish, eggs, oysters
Part of Speech : etc.
Definition : 2. Any article of food which has been preserved in brine or in vinegar.

3. (Founding)

Defn: A bath of dilute sulphuric or nitric acid, etc., to remove burnt sand, scale rust, etc., from the surface of castings, or other articles of metal, or to brighten them or improve their color.

4. A troublesome child; as, a little pickle. [Colloq.] To be in a pickle, to be in disagreeable position; to be in a condition of embarrassment, difficulty, or disorder. "How cam'st thou in this pickle" Shak. -- To put a rod in pickle, to prepare a particular reproof, punishment, or penalty for future application.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) (Law) The body of a statute, or that part which begins with " Be it enacted
Part of Speech : "
Definition : Defn: The limit or scope of a statute; the whole extent of its intention or provisions. Marshall. Profanations within the purview of several statutes. Bacon.

2. Limit or sphere of authority; scope; extent. In determining the extent of information required in the exercise of a particular authority, recourse must be had to the objects within the purview of that authority. Madison.

as distinguished from the preamble. Cowell. (b) Hence:
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) A part of the entrails of the beast taken
Part of Speech : given
Definition : 2. The object of the chase; the animal hunted for; game; especially, the game hunted with hawks. "The stone-dead quarry." Spenser. The wily quarry shunned the shock. Sir W. Scott.

to the hounds. (b) A heap of game killed.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) A flattened ring-shaped piece of iron, to be pitched at a fixed object in play; hence, any heavy flat missile used for the same purpose, as a stone, piece of iron
Part of Speech : etc.
Definition : Defn: A game played with quoits. Shak.

2. The discus of the ancients. See Discus.

3. A cromlech. [Prov. Eng.] J. Morley.

(b) pl.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) One of a nation or people who formerly dwelt in the nothern part of Germany, and who, with other Teutonic tribes
Part of Speech : invaded
Definition : 2. The language of the Saxons; Anglo-Saxon. old Saxon, the saxon of the continent of Europe in the old form of the language, as shown particularly in the "Heliand", a metrical narration of the gospel history preserved in manuscripts of the 9th century.

and conquered England in the fifth and sixth centuries. (b) Also used in the sense of Anglo-Saxon. (c) A native or inhabitant of modern Saxony.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) The half of a circle; the part of a circle bounded by its diameter and half of its circumference. (b) A semicircumference.
Definition : 2. A body in the form of half of a circle, or half of a circumference.

3. An instrument for measuring angles.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) (Civil & Com. Law) The act of separating, or setting aside, a thing in controversy from the possession of both the parties that contend for it, to be delivered to the one adjudged entitled to it. It may be voluntary or involuntary. (b) (Chancery)
Part of Speech : of
Definition : 2. The state of being separated or set aside; separation; retirement; seclusion from society. Since Henry Monmouth first began to reign, . . . This loathsome sequestration have I had. Shak.

3. Disunion; disjunction. [Obs.] Boyle.

debts due from its subjects to the enemy. Burrill.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) A line pert. or attached to the side of a thing. (b) Specif.
Part of Speech : a
Definition :

line for hobbling an animal by connecting the fore and the hind feet of the same side.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) In Egyptian art, an image of granite or porphyry, having a human head, or the head of a ram or of a hawk, upon the wingless body of a lion. The awful ruins of the days of old . . . Or jasper tomb
Part of Speech : or
Definition : (b) On Greek art and mythology, a she-monster, usually represented as having the winged body of a lion, and the face and breast of a young woman.

Note: The most famous Grecian sphinx, that of Thebes in Boeotia, is said to have proposed a riddle to the Thebans, and killed those who were unable to guess it. The enigma was solved by "Subtle as sphinx." Shak.

2. Hence: A person of enigmatical character and purposes, especially in politics and diplomacy.

3. (Zo?l.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of large moths of the family Sphingid?; -- called also hawk moth.

Note: The larva is a stout naked caterpillar which, when at rest, often assumes a position suggesting the Egyptian sphinx, whence the name.

4. (Zo?l.)

Defn: The Guinea, or sphinx, baboon (Cynocephalus sphinx). Sphinx baboon (Zo?l.), a large West African baboon (Cynocephalus sphinx), often kept in menageries. -- Sphinx moth. (Zo?l.) Same as Sphinx, 3.

mutilated sphinx. Shelley.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) A precept; an aphorism; a brief rule. (b) A collection of such aphorisms.
Definition : 2. pl.

Defn: A body of Hindoo literature containing aphorisms on grammar, meter, law, and philosophy, and forming a connecting link between the Vedic and later Sanscrit literature. Balfour (Cyc. of India).
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : (a) The name by which an article is called among traders, etc.; as
Part of Speech : tin
Definition : 2. The name or style under which a concern or firm does business. This name becomes a part of the good will of a business; it is not protected by the registration acts, but a qualified common-law protection against its misuse exists, analogous to that existing in the case of trade-marks.

spirits is a common trade name in the dyeing industry for various solutions of tin salts. (b) An invented or arbitrary adopted name given by a manufacturer or merchant to an article to distinguish it as produced or sold by him.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913