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To inculcate rigid rules. [R.] Chesterfield.

nd; to determine; hence, to make unyielding or obstinate; to render stiff, unpliant, or rigid; as, to set one's countenance. His eyes were set by reason of his age. 1 Kings xiv. 4. On these three objects his heart was set. Macaulay. Make my heart as a millstone, set my face as a flint. Tennyson.

Any slender, more or less rigid, bristlelike organ or part; as the hairs of a caterpillar, the slender spines of a crustacean, the hairlike processes of a protozoan, the bristles or stiff hairs on the leaves of some plants, or the pedicel of the capsule of a moss.

Rigidly methodical, or adherent to rule or principle; exactly conformed to a standard; not allowing or employing unneccessary ornament, amplification, etc.; strict; -- said of style, argument, etc. "Restrained by reason and severe principles." Jer. Taylor. The Latin, a most severe and compendious language. Dryden.…

h cold; to quake. "With shuddering horror pale." Milton. The shuddering tennant of the frigid zone. Goldsmith.

Having the skin adhering closely and rigidly to the flesh; hidebound. Skinbound disease. (Med.) See Sclerema neonatorum, under Sclerema.

To become slack; to be made less tense, firm, or rigid; to decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry weather.

on of arachnids having large, powerful fangs and a segmented abdomen; -- called also Solpugidea, and Solpugides.

in or the Spaniards. Spanish bayonet (Bot.), a liliaceous plant (Yucca alorifolia) with rigid spine-tipped leaves. The name is also applied to other similar plants of the Southwestern United States and mexico. Called also Spanish daggers. -- Spanish bean (Bot.) See the Note under Bean. -- Spanish black, a black pigme…

Any one of numerous species of large moths of the family Sphingidæ; -- called also hawk moth.

A rigid and sharp projection upon any part of an animal.

Becoming hard and thorny; tapering gradually to a rigid, leafless point; armed with spines. Gray.

s, or Chætura, and allied genera, in which the shafts of the tail feathers terminate in rigid spines.

The grand division of the animal kingdom which includes the sponges; -- called also Spongida, Spongiaria, Spongiozoa, and Porifera.

Stiff; precise; rigid. [R.] Killingbeck.

Stiff; rigid. Chaucer. Whose senses all were straight benumbed and stark. Spenser. His heart gan wax as stark as marble stone. Spenser. Many a nobleman lies stark and stiff Under the hoofs of vaunting enemies. Shak. The north is not so stark and cold. B. Jonson.

Having a certain hardness or severity of nature, manner, or aspect; hard; severe; rigid; rigorous; austere; fixed; unchanging; unrelenting; hence, serious; resolute; harsh; as, a sternresolve; a stern necessity; a stern heart; a stern gaze; a stern decree. The sterne wind so loud gan to rout. Chaucer. I would outstare…

g round body, resembling a stick in form and color, and long legs, which are often held rigidly in such positions as to make them resemble small twigs. They thus imitate the branches and twigs of the trees on which they live. The common American species is Diapheromera femorata. Some of the Asiatic species are more tha…

Not easily bent; not flexible or pliant; not limber or flaccid; rigid; firm; as, stiff wood, paper, joints. [They] rising on stiff pennons, tower The mid aërial sky. Milton.

Having the quill feathers of the tail somewhat rigid.