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ving one of the two florets in the same spikelet neuter, and the other unisexual, whether male or female; -- said of grasses.

The female of the domestic fowl; also, the female of grouse, pheasants, or any kind of birds; as, the heath hen; the gray hen.

A shepherdess; a female herder. Sir P. Sidney. Chaucer.

An individual which has the attributes of both male and female, or which unites in itself the two sexes; an animal or plant having the parts of generation of both sexes, as when a flower contains both the stamens and pistil within the same calyx, or on the same receptacle. In some cases reproduction may take place with…

A female hermit. Coleridge.

The principal female person who figures in a remarkable action, or as the subject of a poem or story.

A female paramour; a mistress, concubine, or harlot. -- He*tæ"ric, He*tai"ric (#), a.

Having females very unlike the males in form and structure; -- as certain insects, the males of which are winged, and the females wingless.

The female of the red deer, of which the male is the stag.

on or explanation; also, an occasion or motive. Our hint of woe Is common. Shak. The hint malevolent, the look oblique. Hannah M

A young male fur seal, esp. one from three to six years old; -- called also bachelor, because prevented from breeding by the older full-grown males.

f the common hive bee. Each swarm of bees consists of a large number of workers (barren females), with, ordinarily, one queen or fertile female, but in the swarming season several young queens, and a number of males or drones, are produced.

r. See Merganser. -- Hooded seal, a large North Atlantic seal (Cystophora cristata). The male has a large, inflatible, hoodlike sac upon the head. Called also hoodcap. -- Hooded sheldrake, the hooded merganser. See Merganser. -- Hooded snake. See Cobra de capello, Asp, Haje, etc. -- Hooded warbler, a small American…

The larvæ bore in the wood of trees. So called from the long, stout ovipositors of the females.

The male of the genus horse, in distinction from the female or male; usually, a castrated male.

A female host; a woman who hospitably entertains guests at her house. Shak.

ing or appropriate to an enemy; showing the disposition of an enemy; showing ill will and malevolence, or a desire to thwart and injure; occupied by an enemy or enemies; inimical; unfriendly; as, a hostile force; hostile intentions; a hostile country; hostile to a sudden change.

A female servant employed to do housework, esp. to take care of the rooms. Housemaid's knee (Med.), a swelling over the knee, due to an enlargement of the bursa in the front of the kneepan; -- so called because frequently occurring in servant girls who work upon their knees.

The wife of a householder; the mistress of a family; the female head of a household. Shak. He a good husband, a good housewife she. Dryden.

To manage with skill and economy, as a housewife or other female manager; to economize. Conferred those moneys on the nuns, which since they have well housewived. Fuller.