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The special or peculiar mark or characteristic of a person or thing; that for which a person is specially distinguished; an object of special attention; a special occupation or object of attention; a specialty. On these two general heads all other specialities are depedent. Hooker. Strive, while improving your one tale…

specific in the perfection of the science. Coleridge. Specific character (Nat. Hist.), a characteristic or characteristics distinguishing one species from every other species of the same genus. -- Specific disease (Med.) (a) A disease which produces a determinate definite effect upon the blood and tissues or upon som…

mes in which different substances are burned or evaporated, each substance having its own characteristic system of lines. -- Thermal spectrum, a spectrum of rays considered solely with reference to their heating effect, especially of those rays which produce no luminous phenomena.

One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper; as, a ruling spirit; a schismatic spirit. Such spirits as he desired to please, such would I choose for my judges. Dryden.

The tendency to undergo change, characteristic of both animal and vegetable organisms, and not restrained or cheked by the environment.

lid medium, as gelatin, with the puncture of a needle or wire. The growths are usually of characteristic form.

Having an air or manner characteristic of the stage; theatrical; artificial; as, a stagy tone or bearing; --chiefly used depreciatively.

Partaking of, or exemplifying, the characteristics of a statue; having the symmetry, or other excellence, of a statue artistically made; as, statuesquelimbs; a statuesque attitude. Their characters are mostly statuesque even in this respect, that they have no background. Hare.

The hypothetical radical characteristic of stearic acid.

Of or pertaining to the stereoscope; characteristic of, or adapted to, the stereoscope; as, a stereoscopic effect; the stereoscopic function of the eyeglasses; stereoscopic views. -- Ste`re*o*scop"ic*al*ly, adv.

imonide, a colorless gas produced by the action of nascent hydrogen on antimony. It has a characteristic odor and burns with a characteristic greenish flame. Formerly called also antimoniureted hydrogen.

peck upon the skin, produced either by the extravasation of blood, as in the bloody sweat characteristic of certain varieties of religious ecstasy, or by capillary congestion, as in the case of drunkards.

Color indicating a party or faction; hence, distinguishing characteristic; sign; likeness; sort; as, persons of the same political stripe. [Colloq. U.S.]

Of or pertaining to a strumpet; characteristic of a strumpet. Out on thy more than strumpet impudence. B. Jonson.

Mode of presentation, especially in music or any of the fine arts; a characteristic of peculiar mode of developing in idea or accomplishing a result. The ornamental style also possesses its own peculiar merit. Sir J. Reynolds.

The most important element in any existence; the characteristic and essential components of anything; the main part; essential import; purport. This edition is the same in substance with the Latin. Bp. Burnet. It is insolent in words, in manner; but in substance it is not only insulting, but alarming. Burke.…

A hypothetical radical characteristic of succinic acid and certain of its derivatives.

se. -- Grape sugar, a sirupy or white crystalline sugar (dextrose or glucose) found as a characteristic ingredient of ripe grapes, and also produced from many other sources. See Dextrose, and Glucose. -- Invert sugar. See under Invert. -- Malt sugar, a variety of sugar isomeric with sucrose, found in malt. See Malto…

ess crystalline substance. Sulphonic group (Chem.), the hypothetical radical, SO2.OH, the characteristic residue of sulphonic acids.

Having the characteristic odor of sulphur dioxide, or of hydrogen sulphide, or of other sulphur compounds. Sulphurous acid. (a) Sulphur dioxide. See under Sulphur. [Obs.] (b) An acid, H2SO3, not known in the free state except as a solution of sulphur dioxide in water, but forming a well-known series of salts (the sulph…