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A permit or clearance. Chop dollar, a silver dollar stamped to attest its purity. -- chop of tea, a number of boxes of the same make and quality of leaf. -- Chowchow chop. See under Chowchow. -- Grand chop, a ship's port clearance. S. W. Williams.

. Hemans. The epithet classical, as applied to ancient authors, is determined less by the purity of their style than by the period at which they wrote. Brande & C. He [Atterbury] directed the classical studies of the undergraduates of his college. Macaulay.

Purity of life or language; freedom from licentious courses. Chaucer.

any clear idea, farther than of certain simple ideas coexisting together. Locke. So much purity and integrity . . . coexisting with so much decay and so many infirmities. Warburton.

g integrity, virtue, or moral principle; the state of being corrupted or debased; loss of purity or integrity; depravity; wickedness; impurity; bribery. It was necessary, by exposing the gross corruptions of monasteries, . . . to exite popular indignation against them. Hallam. They abstained from some of the worst meth…

, of a burning smoky taste, colorless when pure, but usually colored yellow or brown by impurity or exposure. It is a complex mixture of various phenols and their ethers, and is obtained by the distillation of wood tar, especially that of beechwood.

te of ignorance or error, especially on moral or religious subjects; hence, wickedness; impurity. Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John. iii. 19. Pursue these sons of darkness: drive them out From all heaven's bounds. Milton.

To reduce from a higher to a lower state or grade of worth, dignity, purity, station, etc.; to degrade; to lower; to deteriorate; to abase; as, to debase the character by crime; to debase the mind by frivolity; to debase style by vulgar words. The coin which was adulterated and debased. Hale. It is a kind of taking God…

To lead away from purity or excellence; to corrupt in character or principles; to mar; to vitiate; to pollute; to seduce; as, to debauch one's self by intemperance; to debauch a woman; to debauch an army. Learning not debauched by ambition. Burke. A man must have got his conscience thoroughly debauched and hardened bef…

To injure in purity of character; to corrupt. Defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt. Ezek. xx. 7.

academy in Florescence, Italy, founded in the 16th century, especially for conversing the purity of the Italian language.

termining the amount of oil contained in any substance, or for ascertaining the degree of purity of oil.

mblematic language or ornaments; a crown is emblematic of royalty; white is emblematic of purity. -- Em`blem*at"ic*al*ly, adv.

e office or functions of a judge, whose state robe, lined with ermine, is emblematical of purity and honor without stain. Chatham.

To test the value and purity of (metals); to assay. See Assay. [Obs.] Locke.

the volumetric measurement of gases; -- so named because frequently used to determine the purity of the air.

he constituents of a gaseous mixture by means of the eudiometer, or for ascertaining the purity of the air or the amount of oxygen in it.

That which is filthy, or makes filthy; foulness; nastiness; corruption; pollution; impurity. Carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. 2 Chron. xxix. 5.

Finished; brought to perfection; refined; hence, free from impurity; excellent; superior; elegant; worthy of admiration; accomplished; beautiful. The gain thereof [is better] than fine gold. Prov. iii. 14. A cup of wine that's brisk and fine. Shak. Not only the finest gentleman of his time, but one of the finest schola…

Freedom from foreign matter or alloy; clearness; purity; as, the fineness of liquor. The fineness of the gold, and chargeful fashion. Shak.