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A private alphabet, system of characters, or other mode of writing, contrived for the safe transmission of secrets; also, a writing in such characters. His father . . . engaged him when he was very young to write all his letters to England in cipher. Bp. Burnet. Cipher key, a key to assist in reading writings in cipher…

Pertaining to what may be taken apart; as, clastic anatomy (of models).

plate or any similar reproduction of ornament, or lettering, in relief. Cliché casting, a mode of obtaining an impression from a die or woodcut, or the like, by striking it suddenly upon metal which has been fused and is just becoming solid; also, the casting so obtained.

Pertaining to that mode of projection in drawing in which the rays of light are supposed to fall obliquely on the plane of projection.

To curtail; to cut short. All my reports go with the modest truth; No more nor clipped, but so. Shak. In London they clip their words after one manner about the court, another in the city, and a third in the suburbs. Swift.

The manners of a clown; coarseness or rudeness of behavior. That plainness which the alamode people call clownishness. Locke.

may safely say thus, that wrong collections have been hitherto made out of those words by modern divines. Milton.

To come near or nigh, to approach in place or quality to be equal to. "Nothing ancient or modern seems to come near it." Sir W. Temple. -- To come of. (a) To descend or spring from. "Of Priam's royal race my mother came." Dryden. (b) To result or follow from. "This comes of judging by the eye." L'Estrange. -- To come…

rt. The time of Henry VII . . . nearly coincides with the commencement of what is termed "modern history."

d of its continuance is known as the "Reign of Terror." (b) The revolutionary government, modeled on the commune of 1792, which the communists, so called, attempted to establish in 1871.

y unpeopled in comparison of what it once was." Addison. -- Comparison of hands (Law), a mode of proving or disproving the genuineness of a signature or writing by comparing it with another proved or admitted to be genuine, in order to ascertain whether both were written by the same person. Bouvier. Burrill.…

Moderate bounds, limits of truth; moderation; due limits; -- used with within. In two hundred years before (I speak within compass), no such commission had been executed. Sir J. Davies.

ched near its base or, formerly, by means of an envelope of soft metal. In small arms the modern projectile, having a soft core and harder jacket, is subjected to compression throughout the entire cylindrical part.

Drawing of inferences. [Poetic] Your wife Octavia, with her modest eyes And still conclusion. Shak.

ith an inferior; courtesy toward inferiors. It forbids pride . . . and commands humility, modesty, and condescension to others. Tillotson. Such a dignity and condescension . . . as are suitable to a superior nature. Addison.

Mode or state of being; state or situation with regard to external circumstances or influences, or to physical or mental integrity, health, strength, etc.; predicament; rank; position, estate. I am in my condition A prince, Miranda; I do think, a king. Shak. And O, what man's condition can be worse Than his whom plenty…

Expressing a condition or supposition; as, a conditional word, mode, or tense. A conditional proposition is one which asserts the dependence of one categorical proposition on another. Whately. The words hypothetical and conditional may be . . . used synonymously. J. S. Mill.

The manner of guiding or carrying one's self; personal deportment; mode of action; behavior. All these difficulties were increased by the conduct of Shrewsbury. Macaulay. What in the conduct of our life appears So well designed, so luckily begun, But when we have our wish, we wish undone Dryden.

dical confession may be explained or rebutted. Wharton. Confession and avoidance (Law), a mode of pleading in which the party confesses the facts as stated by his adversary, but alleges some new matter by way of avoiding the legal effect claimed for them. Mozley & W. Confession of faith, a formulary containing the arti…

One who desires to maintain existing institutions and customs; also, one who holds moderate opinions in politics; -- opposed to revolutionary or radical.