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Idle talk; silly prattle. There is a buzz and cackle all around regarding the sermon. Thackeray.

veying ammunition, consisting of two parts, a body and a limber. In light field batteries there is one caisson to each piece, having two ammunition boxes on the body, and one on the limber. Farrow.

A cephalopod, belonging to the genus Loligo and related genera. There are many species. They have a sack of inklike fluid which they discharge from the siphon tube, when pursued or alarmed, in order to confuse their enemies. Their shell is a thin horny plate, within the flesh of back, shaped very much like a quill pen.…

bance, as of winds or waves; tranquility; stilness; quiet; serenity. The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Mark. iv. 39. A calm before a storm is commonly a peace of a man's own making. South.

; a division; a compartment. That little canton of land called the "English pale" Davies. There is another piece of Holbein's, . . . in which, in six several cantons, the several parts of our Savior's passion are represented. Bp. Burnet.

ally room for, as well as its employment, favars this; although it can not be dented that there are examples of its usage in an active sense. Sir W. Hamilton.

Having the flowers gathered into a head.

draw up the heads or terms of an agreement, as in chapters or articles; to agree. [Obs.] There capitulates with the king . . . to take to wife his daughter Mary. Heylin. There is no reason why the reducing of any agreement to certain heads or capitula should not be called to capitulate. Trench.

A south American tick of the genus Amblyamma. There are several species, very troublesome to man and beast.

onsciences] overgrown with so hard a carnosity. Spelman. The olives, indeed be very small there, and bigger than capers; yet commended they are for their carnosity. Holland.

arpet moth (Zoöl.), the larva of an insect which feeds on carpets and other woolen goods. There are several kinds. Some are the larvæ of species of Tinea (as T. tapetzella); others of beetles, esp. Anthrenus. -- Carpet snake (Zoöl.), an Australian snake. See Diamond snake, under Diamond. -- Carpet sweeper, an apparat…

e that feeds habitually on dead animals; -- also called sexton beetle and burying beetle. There are many kinds, belonging mostly to the family Silphidæ. -- Carrion buzzard (Zoöl.), a South American bird of several species and genera (as Ibycter, Milvago, and Polyborus), which act as scavengers. See Caracara. -- Carri…

f a presiding officer, when the votes of the assembly or house are equally divided. "When there was an equal vote, the governor had the casting voice." B. Trumbull. -- Casting weight, a weight that turns a balance when exactly poised.

An inflammatory affection of any mucous membrane, in which there are congestion, swelling, and an altertion in the quantity and quality of mucus secreted; as catarrh of the stomach; catarrh of the bladder.

Class; also, state, condition, or predicament; as, we are both in the same category. There is in modern literature a whole class of writers standing within the same category. De Quincey.

The faith of the whole orthodox Christian church, or adherence thereto.

getting upon the track. -- cattle louse (Zoöl.), any species of louse infecting cattle. There are several species. The Hæmatatopinus eurysternus and H. vituli are common species which suck blood; Trichodectes scalaris eats the hair. -- Cattle plague, the rinderpest; called also Russian cattle plague. -- Cattle rang…

A principal or important point of concentration; the nucleus around which things are gathered or to which they tend; an object of attention, action, or force; as, a center of attaction.

collected to a point; to be concentrated; to rest on, or gather about, as a center. Where there is no visible truth wherein to center, error is as wide as men's fancies. Dr. H. More. Our hopes must center in ourselves alone. Dryden.

The state of being central; tendency towards a center. Meantime there is a great centrality, a centripetence equal to the centrifugence. R. W. Emerson.