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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



218 words match “AFRICAN”

VEGETABLE a.
several kinds of concrete vegetable oil; as that produced by the Indian butter tree, the African shea tree, and the Pentadesma butyracea, a tree of the order Guttiferæ, also African. Still another kind is pressed from the seeds of cocoa (Theobroma). -- Vegetable flannel, a textile material, manufactured in Germany fr…
VERNONIN n.
A glucoside extracted from the root of a South African plant of the genus Vernonia, as a deliquescent powder, and used as a mild heart tonic.
VERVET n.
A South African monkey (Cercopithecus pygerythrus, or Lelandii). The upper parts are grayish green, finely specked with black. The cheeks and belly are reddish white.
VIERKLEUR n.
The four-colored flag of the South African Republic, or Transvaal, -- red, white, blue, and green.
VOLKSRAAD n.
parliament of any one of several countries colonized by the Dutch, esp. that of the South African Republic, or the Transvaal, and that of the Orange Free State.
VOODOOISM n.
negroes of Hayti, and to some extent in the United States, and is regarded as a relic of African barbarism.
WAGENBOOM n.
A south African proteaceous tree (Protea grandiflora); also, its tough wood, used for making wagon wheels.
WART HOG n.
Either one of two species of large, savage African wild hogs of the genus Phacochoerus. These animals have a pair of large, rough, fleshy tubercles behind the tusks and second pair behind the eyes. The tusks are large and strong, and both pairs curve upward. The body is scantily covered with bristles, but there is long…
WATER CHEVROTAIN n.
A large West African chevrotain (Hyæmoschus aquaticus). It has a larger body and shorter legs than the other allied species. Called also water deerlet.
WEAVER n.
e Whirling. Weaver bird (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of Asiatic, Fast Indian, and African birds belonging to Ploceus and allied genera of the family Ploceidæ. Weaver birds resemble finches and sparrows in size, colors, and shape of the bill. They construct pensile nests composed of interlaced grass and other si…
WELWITSCHIA n.
An African plant (Welwitschia mirabilis) belonging to the order Gnetaceæ. It consists of a short, woody, topshaped stem, and never more than two leaves, which are the cotyledons enormously developed, and at length split into diverging segments.
YELLOWWOOD n.
xylum); the Australian Flindersia Oxleyana, a tree related to the mahogany; certain South African species of Podocarpus, trees related to the yew; the East Indian Podocarpus latifolia; and the true satinwood (Chloroxylon Swietenia). All these Old World trees furnish valuable timber.
ZAMOUSE n.
A West African buffalo (Bubalus brachyceros) having short horns depressed at the base, and large ears fringed internally with three rows of long hairs. It is destitute of a dewlap. Called also short- horned buffalo, and bush cow.
ZEBRA n.
Either one of two species of South African wild horses remarkable for having the body white or yellowish white, and conspicuously marked with dark brown or brackish bands.
ZENICK n.
A South African burrowing mammal (Suricata tetradactyla), allied to the civets. It is grayish brown, with yellowish transverse stripes on the back. Called also suricat.
ZONURE n.
Any one of several of South African lizards of the genus Zonura, common in rocky situations.
ZORILLA n.
Either one of two species of small African carnivores of the genus Ictonyx allied to the weasels and skunks. [Written also zoril, and zorille.]
ZULU n.
(Philol.) One of the most important members of the South African, or Bantu, family of languages, spoken partly in Natal and partly in Zululand, but understood, and more or less in use, over a wide territory, at least as far north as the Zambezi; -- called also Zulu- Kaffir.
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