Search the Dictionary

Having one surface; -- said specif. of aëroplanes or aërocurves that are covered with fabric, etc., on only one side.

very scarce, and some of them almost singular in their kind. Addison. Singular point in a curve (Math.), a point at which the curve possesses some peculiar properties not possessed by other points of the curve, as a cusp point, or a multiple point. -- Singular proposition (Logic), a proposition having as its subject a…

Having the margin alternately curved inward and outward; having rounded lobes separated by rounded sinuses; sinuous; wavy.

bend, or a series of bends and turns; a winding, or a series of windings; a wave line; a curve. A line of coast certainly amounting, with its sinuosities, to more than 700 miles. Sydney Smith.

The curve whose ordinates are proportional to the sines of the abscissas, the equation of the curve being y = a sin x. It is also called the curve of sines.

A long strip of wood, curved upwards in front, used on the foot for sliding.

of an inclined strut, in a truss or frame. -- Skew bridge. See under Bridge, n. -- Skew curve (Geom.), a curve of double curvature, or a twisted curve. See Plane curve, under Curve. -- Skew gearing, or Skew bevel gearing (Mach.), toothed gearing, generally resembling bevel gearing, for connecting two shafts that are…

A spiral cam, or a flat piece of metal of spirally curved outline, used for giving motion to, or changing the position of, another part, as the hammer tail of a striking clock.

A curved plank, placed edgewise, to work in the bows of a vessel. R. H. Dana, Jr.

Having, or consisting of, a gentle curve or curves; not angular or abrupt; as, soft outlines.

The irregular triangular space between the curve of an arch and the inclosing right angle; or the space between the outer moldings of two contiguous arches and a horizontal line above them, or another arch above and inclosing them.

A nonplane curve formed by the intersection of the surface of an oblique cone with the surface of a sphere whose center is at the vertex of the cone.

A tracing, called a pulse tracing, consisting of a series of curves corresponding with the beats of the heart, obtained by the application of the sphygmograph.

A solid generated by the revolution of a curved line about its base or double ordinate or chord.

Winding or circling round a center or pole and gradually receding from it; as, the spiral curve of a watch spring.

knife or planing tool for dressing the spokes of wheels, the shells of blocks, and other curved work.

ng spring, etc. See under Air, Boiling, etc. -- Spring back (Bookbinding), a back with a curved piece of thin sheet iron or of stiff pasteboard fastened to the inside, the effect of which is to make the leaves of a book thus bound (as a ledger or other account or blank book) spring up and lie flat. -- Spring balance,…

he horizontal line drawn through the junction of the vertical face of the impost with the curve of the intrados; -- called also spring of an arch.

A curved piece of timber serving as a half to support the deck where a whole beam can not be placed. Spur fowl (Zoöl.), any one of several species of Asiatic gallinaceous birds of the genus Galloperdix, allied to the jungle fowl. The males have two or more spurs on each leg. -- Spur gear (Mach.), a cogwheel having tee…

The curved or inclined front and bottom of a water-wheel bucket.