Search the Dictionary

A material used for dyeing.

One who accounts for material phenomena by a theory of dynamics. Those who would resolve matter into centers of force may be said to constitute the school of dynamists. Ward (Dyn. Sociol. ).

The solid materials which make up the globe, in distinction from the air or water; the dry land. God called the dry land earth. Gen. i. 10. He is pure air and fire, and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him. Shak.

on, whether a temporary breastwork or permanent fortification, for attack or defense, the material of which is chiefly earth.

d polished, and is used for many small articles, as combs and buttons, and for insulating material in electric apparatus.

Political economy; the science of the utilities or the useful application of wealth or material resources. See Political economy, under Political. "In politics and economics." V. Knox.

Any species of sea duck of the genus Somateria, esp. Somateria mollissima, which breeds in the northern parts of Europe and America, and lines its nest with fine down (taken from its own body) which is an article of commerce; -- called also eider duck. The American eider (S. Dresseri), the king eider (S. spectabilis),…

Matter ejected; material thrown out; as, the ejecta of a volcano; the ejecta, or excreta, of the body.

relief by means of voltaic electricity. A picture is drawn on a metallic plate with some material which resists the fluids of a battery; so that, in electro-typing, the parts not covered by the varnish, etc., receive a deposition of metal, and produce the required copy in intaglio. A cast of this is then the plate for…

The whole material composing the world. The elements shall melt with fervent heat. 2 Peter iii. 10.

ments, first principles, and primary ingredients, or to the four supposed elements of the material world; as, elemental air. "Elemental strife." Pope.

The act of raising from a lower place, condition, or quality to a higher; -- said of material things, persons, the mind, the voice, etc.; as, the elevation of grain; elevation to a throne; elevation of mind, thoughts, or character.

The material from which an embryo is formed and nourished.

t, on, or upon, and sometimes by to; as: (a) To make use of, as an instrument, a means, a material, etc., for a specific purpose; to apply; as, to employ the pen in writing, bricks in building, words and phrases in speaking; to employ the mind; to employ one's energies. This is a day in which the thoughts . . . ought t…

Resembling the material of the brain; cerebriform. Encephaloid cancer (Med.), a very malignant form of cancer of brainlike consistency. See under Cancer.

The extreme or last point or part of any material thing considered lengthwise (the extremity of breadth being side); hence, extremity, in general; the concluding part; termination; close; limit; as, the end of a field, line, pole, road; the end of a year, of a discourse; put an end to pain; -- opposed to Ant: beginning…

The act or art of producing upon hard material incised or raised patterns, characters, lines, and the like; especially, the art of producing such lines, etc., in the surface of metal plates or blocks of wood. Engraving is used for the decoration of the surface itself; also, for producing an original, from which a patte…

d long past, when clerks engrossed their stiff and formal chirography on more substantial materials. Hawthorne. Laws that may be engrossed on a finger nail. De Quincey.

r, ice, or other causes. -- Erratic phenomena, the phenomena which relate to transported materials on the earth's surface.

An impression on paper, parchment, or other material, taken in ink from an etched plate. Etching figures (Min.), markings produced on the face of a crystal by the action of an appropriate solvent. They have usually a definite form, and are important as revealing the molecular structure. -- Etching needle, a sharp-poin…