SPIDER n.
f numerous species of arachnids comprising the order Araneina. Spiders have the mandibles converted into poison fangs, or falcers. The abdomen is large and not segmented, with two or three pairs of spinnerets near the end, by means of which they spin threads of silk to form cocoons, or nests, to protect their eggs and…
SUN n.
to posterity. Eikon Basilike. Sun and planet wheels (Mach.), an ingenious contrivance for converting reciprocating motion, as that of the working beam of a steam engine, into rotatory motion. It consists of a toothed wheel (called the sun wheel), firmly secured to the shaft it is desired to drive, and another wheel (ca…
TAN v.
To convert (the skin of an animal) into leather, as by usual process of steeping it in an infusion of oak or some other bark, whereby it is impregnated with tannin, or tannic acid (which exists in several species of bark), and is thus rendered firm, durable, and in some degree impervious to water.
TOXOGLOSSA n.
A division of marine gastropod mollusks in which the radula are converted into poison fangs. The cone shells (Conus), Pleurotoma, and Terebra, are examples. See Illust. of Cone, n., 4, Pleurotoma, and Terebra.