TRADITION n.
r any article thereof, supposed to have been put forth by Christ or his apostles, and not committed to writing. Stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. 2 Thess. ii. 15. Tradition Sunday (Eccl.), Palm Sunday; -- so called because the creed was then taught to candida…
USURP v.
To commit forcible seizure of place, power, functions, or the like, without right; to commit unjust encroachments; to be, or act as, a usurper. The parish churches on which the Presbyterians and fanatics had usurped. Evelyn. And now the Spirits of the Mind Are busy with poor Peter Bell; Upon the rights of visual sense…
VIPER n.
A dangerous, treacherous, or malignant person. Who committed To such a viper his most sacred trust Of secrecy. Milton. Horned viper. (Zoöl.) See Cerastes. -- Red viper (Zoöl.), the copperhead. -- Viper fish (Zoöl.), a small, slender, phosphorescent deep-sea fish (Chauliodus Sloanii). It has long ventral and dorsal fi…