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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



539 words match “CHIEFLY”

KULTURKAMPF n.
02), given to a struggle between the the Roman Catholic Church and the German government, chiefly over the latter's efforts to control educational and ecclesiastical appointments in the interest of the political policy of centralization. The struggle began with the passage by the Prussian Diet in May, 1873, of the so-c…
LABIAL n.
A letter or character representing an articulation or sound formed or uttered chiefly with the lips, as b, p, w.
LACTIC a.
omeric modifications all having the formula C3H6O3. Sarcolactic or paralactic acid occurs chiefly in dead muscle tissue, while ordinary lactic acid results from fermentation. The two acids are alike in having the same constitution (expressed by the name ethylidene lactic acid), but the latter is optically inactive, whi…
LADANUM n.
gum resin gathered from certain Oriental species of Cistus. It has a pungent odor and is chiefly used in making plasters, and for fumigation. [Written also labdanum.]
LAND n.
any one of various species of crabs which live much on the land, and resort to the water chiefly for the purpose of breeding. They are abundant in the West Indies and South America. Some of them grow to a large size. -- Land fish a fish on land; a person quite out of place.Shak. -- Land force, a military force servi…
LANGUAGED a.
Having a language; skilled in language; -- chiefly used in composition. " Manylanguaged nations." Pope.
LATHE n.
-- Engine lathe, a turning lathe in which the cutting tool has an automatic feed; -- used chiefly for turning and boring metals, cutting screws, etc. -- Foot lathe, a lathe which is driven by a treadle worked by the foot. -- Geometric lathe. See under Geometric -- Hand lathe, a lathe operated by hand; a power turning…
LAUD n.
A part of divine worship, consisting chiefly of praise; -- usually in the pl.
LEAD n.
ingredient of solder and type metal. Atomic weight, 206.4. Symbol Pb (L. Plumbum). It is chiefly obtained from the mineral galena, lead sulphide.
LEAGUE n.
m about 2.4 to 4.6 English statute miles of 5.280 feet each, and used (as a land measure) chiefly on the continent of Europe, and in the Spanish parts of America. The marine league of England and the United States is equal to three marine, or geographical, miles of 6080 feet each.
LEAVE n.
The act of leaving or departing; a formal parting; a leaving; farewell; adieu; -- used chiefly in the phrase, to take leave, i. e., literally, to take permission to go. A double blessing is a'double grace; Occasion smiles upon a second leave. Shak. And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his l…
LECYTHIS n.
A genus of gigantic trees, chiefly Brazilian, of the order Myrtaceæ, having woody capsules opening by an apical lid. Lecythis Zabucajo yields the delicious sapucaia nuts. L. Ollaria produces the monkey-pots, its capsules. Its bark separates into thin sheets, like paper, used by the natives for cigarette wrappers.…
LENGTHY a.
Having length; rather long or too long; prolix; not brief; -- said chiefly of discourses, writings, and the like. "Lengthy periods." Washington. "Some lengthy additions." Byron. "These would be details too lengthy." Jefferson. "To cut short lengthy explanations." Trench.
LETTERED a.
Shak. The unlettered barbarians willingly accepted the aid of the lettered clergy, still chiefly of Roman birth, to reduce to writing the institutes of their forefathers. Milman.
LEUCOPYRITE n.
A mineral of a color between white and steel-gray, with a metallic luster, and consisting chiefly of arsenic and iron.
LEVOROTATION n.
n the direction of an outgoing right-handed screw; counter-clockwise rotation; -- applied chiefly to the turning of the plane of polarization of light.
LIGHTWEIGHT n.
A person of small impotance or mental ability. [Colloq., Chiefly U. S.]
LIMESTONE n.
A rock consisting chiefly of calcium carbonate or carbonate of lime. It sometimes contains also magnesium carbonate, and is then called magnesian or dolomitic limestone. Crystalline limestone is called marble.
LINEN n.
Underclothing, esp. the shirt, as being, in former times, chiefly made of linen. Linen draper, a dealer in linen. -- Linen prover, a small microscope for counting the threads in a given space in linen fabrics. -- Linen scroll, Linen pattern (Arch.), an ornament for filling panels, copied from the folds of a piece of…
LITERATUS n. 2 definitions
A learned man; a man acquainted with literature; -- chiefly used in the plural. Now we are to consider that our bright ideal of a literatus may chance to be maimed. De Quincey.
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