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y of the passions can teach a man to be pathetic. E. Porter. Pathetic muscle (Anat.), the superior oblique muscle of the eye. -- Pathetic nerve (Anat.), the fourth cranial, or trochlear, nerve, which supplies the superior oblique, or pathetic, muscle of the eye. -- The pathetic, a style or manner adapted to arouse th…

A dignitary superior to the order of archbishops; as, the patriarch of Constantinople, of Alexandria, or of Antioch.

To assume the air of a patron, or of a superior and protector, toward; -- used in an unfavorable sense; as, to patronize one's equals.

Showing condescending favor; assuming the manner of airs of a superior toward another. -- Pat"ron*i`zing*ly, adv. Thackeray.

o run off; to unwind. -- To pay one's duty, to render homage, as to a sovereign or other superior. -- To pay out (Naut.), to pass out; hence, to slacken; to allow to run out; as, to pay out more cable. See under Cable. -- To pay the piper, to bear the cost, expense, or trouble. [Colloq.]

who puts on an air of learning; one who makes a vain display of learning; a pretender to superior knowledge. Addison. A scholar, yet surely no pedant, was he. Goldsmith.

y, a request of a solemn or formal kind; a prayer to the Supreme Being, or to a person of superior power, rank, or authority; also, a single clause in such a prayer. A house of prayer and petition for thy people. 1 Macc. vii. 37. This last petition heard of all her prayer. Dryden.

nce of rites and ceremonies and of the traditions of the elders, and whose pretensions to superior sanctity led them to separate themselves from the other Jews.

One of the superior men, distinguished from a pawn.

ata). [U. S.] -- Poison dogwood (Bot.), poison sumac. -- Poison fang (Zoöl.), one of the superior maxillary teeth of some species of serpents, which, besides having the cavity for the pulp, is either perforated or grooved by a longitudinal canal, at the lower end of which the duct of the poison gland terminates. See I…

A superior kind of souchong tea. De Colange.

The superior vena cava. -- Præ"ca`val, a. B. G. Wilder.

being before in rank or dignity, or the place of honor; right to a more honorable place; superior rank; as, barons have precedence of commoners. Which of them [the different desires] has the precedency in determining the will to the next action Locke.

Excellence; superiority. [Obs.] Sheldon.

The quality or state of being predominant; superiority; ascendency; prevalence; predomination. The predominance of conscience over interest. South.

Having the ascendency over others; superior in strength, influence, or authority; prevailing; as, a predominant color; predominant excellence. Those help . . . were predominant in the king's mind. Bacon. Foul subordination is predominant. Shak.

To be superior in number, strength, influence, or authority; to have controlling power or influence; to prevail; to rule; to have the mastery; as, love predominated in her heart. [Certain] rays may predominate over the rest. Sir. I. Newton.

The quality or state of being preëminent; superiority in prominence or in excellence; distinction above others in quality, rank, etc.; rarely, in a bad sense, superiority or notoriety in evil; as, preëminence in honor. The preëminence of Christianity to any other religious scheme. Addison. Painful preëminence! yourself…

Eminent above others; prominent among those who are eminent; superior in excellence; surpassing, or taking precedence of, others; rarely, surpassing others in evil, or in bad qualities; as, preëminent in guilt. In goodness and in power preëminent. Milton.

That which is preferred; the object of choice or superior favor; as, which is your preference