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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



1,753 words match “ERICA”

CALABASH n.
de from the dry shell of a calabash or gourd. Calabash tree. (Bot.), a tree of tropical America (Crescentia cujete), producing a large gourdike fruit, containing a purgative pulp. Its hard shell, after the removal of the pulp, is used for cups, bottles, etc. The African calabash tree is the baobab.
CALAMAR; CALAMARY n.
is a thin horny plate, within the flesh of back, shaped very much like a quill pen. In America they are called squids. See Squid.
CALCEOLARIA n.
A genus of showy herbaceous or shrubby plant, biought from South America; slipperwort. It has a yellow or purple flower, often spotted or striped, the shape of which suggests its name.
CALCIFEROUS a.
containing calcite, or carbonate of lime. Calciferouse epoch (Geol.), and epoch in the American lower Silurian system, immediately succeeding the Cambrian period. The name alludes to the peculiar mixture of calcareous and siliceous characteristics in many of the beds. See the Diagram under Grology.
CALUMBA n.
e, and is used as a tonic and antiseptic. [Written also colombo, columbo, and calombo.] American calumba, the Frasera Carolinensis, also called American gentian. Its root has been used in medicine as bitter tonic in place of calumba.
CALUMET n.
A kind of pipe, used by the North American Indians for smoking tobacco. The bowl is usually made of soft red stone, and the tube is a long reed often ornamented with feathers. Smoked the calumet, the Peace pipe, As a signal to the nations. Lowgfellow.
CAMARASAURUS n.
A genus of gigantic American Jurassic dinosaurs, having large cavities in the bodies of the dorsal vertebræ.
CAMASS n.
A blue-flowered liliaceous plant (Camassia esculenta) of northwestern America, the bulbs of which are collected for food by the Indians. [Written also camas, cammas, and quamash.]
CAMEL n.
ile the Bactrian camel (C. Bactrianus) has two. The llama, alpaca, and vicuña, of South America, belong to a related genus (Auchenia).
CAMPANERO n.
The bellbird of South America. See Bellbird.
CANADA n.
A British province in North America, giving its name to various plants and animals. Canada balsam. See under Balsam. -- Canada goose. (Zoöl.) See Whisky Jack. -- Canada lynx. (Zoöl.) See Lynx. -- Canada porcupine (Zoöl.) See Porcupine, and Urson. -- Canada rice (Bot.) See under Rick. -- Canada robin (Zoöl.), the c…
CANADIAN a.
A native or inhabitant of Canada. Canadian period (Geol.), A subdivision of the American Lower Silurian system embracing the calciferous, Quebec, and Chazy epochs. This period immediately follows the primordial or Cambrian period, and is by many geologists regarded as the beginning of the Silurian age, See the Diagram,…
CANASTER n.
ves, coarsely broken; -- so called from the rush baskets in which it is packed in South America. McElrath.
CANCER n.
of decapod Crustacea, including some of the most common shore crabs of Europe and North America, as the rock crab, Jonah crab, etc. See Crab.
CANDLEBERRY TREE n.
A shrub (the Myrica cerifera, or wax-bearing myrtle), common in North America, the little nuts of which are covered with a greenish white wax, which was formerly, used for hardening candles; -- also called bayberry tree, bayberry, or candleberry.
CAOUTCHOUC n.
lastic, gummy substance obtained from the milky sap of several plants of tropical South America (esp. the euphorbiaceous tree Siphonia elastica or Hevea caoutchouc), Asia, and Africa. Being impermeable to liquids and gases, and not readly affected by exposure to air, acids, and alkalies, it is used, especially when vul…
CAPARRO n.
A large South American monkey (Lagothrix Humboldtii), with prehensile tail.
CAPSULE n.
A small cylindrical or spherical gelatinous envelope in which nauseous or acrid doses are inclosed to be swallowed.
CAPUCHIN n.
A long-tailed South American monkey (Cabus capucinus), having the forehead naked and wrinkled, with the hair on the crown reflexed and resembling a monk's cowl, the rest being of a grayish white; -- called also capucine monkey, weeper, sajou, sapajou, and sai.
CAPYBARA n.
A large South American rodent (Hydrochærus capybara) Living on the margins of lakes and rivers. It is the largest extant rodent, being about three feet long, and half that in height. It somewhat resembles the Guinea pig, to which it is related; -- called also cabiai and water hog.
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