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An affection of cereal grains producing a swelling which is at length resolved into a powdery sooty mass. It is caused by parasitic fungi of the genus Ustilago. Ustilago segetum, or U. Carbo, is the commonest kind; that of Indian corn is Ustilago maydis.

To take or seize hastily, abruptly, or without permission or ceremony; as, to snatch a loaf or a kiss. When half our knowledge we must snatch, not take. Pope.

from Soften, v. Softening of the brain, or Cerebral softening (Med.), a localized softening of the brain substance, due to hemorrhage or inflammation. Three varieties, distinguished by their color and representing different stages of the morbid process, are known respectively as red, yellow, and white, softening.…

red, the first four of which were found near the beginning of the century, and are called Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta.

Stately; ceremonious; grand. [Archaic] His feast so solemn and so rich. Chaucer. To-night we hold a splemn supper. Shak.

A rite or ceremony performed with religious reverence; religious or ritual ceremony; as, the solemnity of a funeral, a sacrament. Great was the cause; our old solemnities From no blind zeal or fond tradition rise, But saved from death, our Argives yearly pay These grateful honors to the god of day. Pope.…

To perform with solemn or ritual ceremonies, or according to legal forms. Baptism to be administered in one place, and marriage solemnized in another. Hooker.

ous or fallacious; weighty; firm; strong; valid; just; genuine. The solid purpose of a sincere and virtuous answer. Milton. These, wanting wit, affect gravity, and go by the name of solid men. Dryden. The genius of the Italians wrought by solid toil what the myth-making imagination of the Germans had projected in a poe…

A cerecloth. [Obs.]

Magnifience; pomp; parade; as, the splendor of equipage, ceremonies, processions, and the like. "Rejoice in splendor of mine own." Shak.

ponges having the surface irregularly tufted, as Spongia graminea, and S. equina, variety cerebriformis, of Florida and the West Indies. -- Horse sponge, a coarse commercial sponge, especially Spongia equina. -- Platinum sponge. (Chem.) See under Platinum. -- Pyrotechnical sponge, a substance made of mushrooms or fu…

Spotted fever (Med.), a name applied to various eruptive fevers, esp. to typhus fever and cerebro-spinal meningitis. -- Spotted tree (Bot.), an Australian tree (Flindersia maculosa); -- so called because its bark falls off in spots.

(c) To insist on; to attach much importance to; as, to stand upon security; to stand upon ceremony. (d) To attack; to assault. [A Hebraism] "So I stood upon him, and slew him." 2 Sam. i. 10. -- To stand with, to be consistent with. "It stands with reason that they should be rewarded liberally." Sir J. Davies.…

things, as a point of etiquette; an unreasonable, obstinate contender; as, a stickler for ceremony. The Tory or High-church were the greatest sticklers against the exorbitant proceedings of King James II. Swift.

ehavior; a stiff style. The French are open, familiar, and talkative; the Italians stiff, ceremonious, and reserved. Addison.

moth. -- Strawberry pear (Bot.), the red ovoid fruit of a West Indian plant of the genus Cereus (C. triangularia). It has a sweetish flavor, and is slightly acid, pleasant, and cooling. Also, the plant bearing the fruit. -- Strawberry sawfly (Zoöl.), a small black sawfly (Emphytus maculatus) whose larva eats the leav…

Situated beneath the peduncle; as, the subpeduncular lobe of the cerebellum.

not be suspended from the exercise of their ministry and deprived of their livelihood for ceremonies which are on all hands acknowledged indifferent. Bp. Sanderson.

irup made by the Indians of Arizona from the fruit of some cactaceous plant (probably the Cereus giganteus).

The giant cactus (Cereus giganteus); -- so named by the Indians of Arizona. Called also saguaro.