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The state of being honorable; eminence; distinction.

e little finger, or a corresponding part in the forefoot of an animal; as, the hypothenar eminence.

The hypothenar eminence.

hat which resembles a ladder in form or use; hence, that by means of which one attains to eminence. Lowliness is young ambition's ladder. Shak. Fish ladder. See under Fish. -- Ladder beetle (Zoöl.), an American leaf beetle (Chrysomela scalaris). The elytra are silvery white, striped and spotted with green; the under w…

Destitute of distinction or eminence; common; low; vulgar; humble. "Of mean parentage." Sir P. Sidney. The mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself. Is. ii. 9.

vel of the earth or adjacent land; earth and rock forming an isolated peak or a ridge; an eminence higher than a hill; a mount.

The summit of an eminence. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

lity or state of being noble; superiority of mind or of character; commanding excellence; eminence. Though she hated Amphialus, yet the nobility of her courage prevailed over it. Sir P. Sidney. They thought it great their sovereign to control, And named their pride nobility of soul. Dryden.

Possessing eminence, elevation, dignity, etc.; above whatever is low, mean, degrading, or dishonorable; magnanimous; as, a noble nature or action; a noble heart. Statues, with winding ivy crowned, belong To nobler poets for a nobler song. Dryden.

n the form of an umbrella, by means of which a descent may be made from a balloon, or any eminence.

The quality of being queenly; the; characteristic of a queen; stateliness; eminence among women in attractions or power.

Degree of dignity, eminence, or excellence; position in civil or social life; station; degree; grade; as, a writer of the first rank; a lawyer of high rank. These all are virtues of a meaner rank. Addison.

An isolated or protruding rock; a steep, rocky eminence; a bare place on the side of a mountain or steep bank of earth. [Written also scaur.] O sweet and far, from cliff and scar, The horns of Elfland faintly blowing. Tennyson.

Like a scar, or rocky eminence; containing scars. Holinshed.

ooks of the Old and the new Testament, or of either of them; the Bible; -- used by way of eminence or distinction, and chiefly in the plural. There is not any action a man ought to do, or to forbear, but the Scripture will give him a clear precept or prohibition for it. South. Compared with the knowledge which the Scri…

lain. Chaucer. The outlines must be smooth, imperceptible to the touch, and even, without eminence or cavities. Dryden.

To place in a sphere, or among the spheres; to insphere. The glorious planet Sol In noble eminence enthroned and sphered Amidst the other. Shak.

The act of standing. I took my stand upon an eminence . . . to look into thier several ladings. Spectator.

The four Gospels, by way of distinction or eminence. [R.]

The prominence of the palm above the base of the thumb; the thenar eminence; the ball of the thumb. Sometimes applied to the corresponding part of the foot.