WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : By*zan"tine
Part of Speech : a.
Definition : Defn: Of or pertaining to Byzantium. -- n.

Defn: A native or inhabitant of Byzantium, now Constantinople; sometimes, applied to an inhabitant of the modern city of Constantinople. [ Written also Bizantine.] Byzantine church, the Eastern or Greek church, as distinguished from the Western or Roman or Latin church.See under Greek. -- Byzantine empire, the Eastern Roman or Greek empire from A.D. 364 or A.D. 395 to the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, A.D. 1453. -- Byzantine historians, historians and writers (Zonaras, Procopius, etc.) who lived in the Byzantine empire. P. Cyc. Byzantine style (Arch.), a style of architecture developed in the Byzantine empire.

Note: Its leading forms are the round arch, the dome, the pillar, the circle, and the cross. The capitals of the pillars are the endless variety, and full of invention. The mosque of St. Sophia, Constantinople, and the church of St. Mark, Venice, are prominent examples of Byzantine architecture.

C

1. C is the third letter of the English alphabet. It is from the Latin letter C, which in old Latin represented the sounds of k, and g (in go); its original value being the latter. In Anglo-Saxon words, or Old English before the Norman Conquest, it always has the sound of k. The Latin C was the same letter as the Greek got it from the Phoenicians. The English name of C is from the Latin name ce, and was derived, probably, through the French. Etymologically C is related to g, h, k, q, s (and other sibilant sounds). Examples of these relations are in L. acutus, E. acute, ague; E. acrid, eagar; L. cornu, E. horn; E. cat, kitten; E. coy, quiet; L. circare, OF. cerchier, E. search.

Note: See Guide to Pronunciation, t\'c5 221-228.

2. (Mus.)

Defn: (a) The keynote of the normal or "natural" scale, which has neither flats nor sharps in its signature; also, the third note of the relative minor scale of the same (b) C after the clef is the mark of common time, in which each measure is a semibreve (four fourths or crotchets); for alla breve time it is written (c) The "C clef," a modification of the letter C, placed on any line of the staff, abows that line to be middle C.

3. As a numeral, C stands for Latin centum or 100, CC for 200, etc. C spring, a spring in the form of the letter C.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913