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A mineral of a nearly black color and vitreous luster, and consisting principally of the silicates of yttrium, cerium, and iron.

ircle (Astron.), the great circle of the heavens, to which the course of the galaxy most nearly conforms. Herschel. -- Galactic poles, the poles of the galactic circle.

method of procedure; projected line of operations; plan; project. Your murderous game is nearly up. Blackw. Mag. It was obviously Lord Macaulay's game to blacken the greatest literary champion of the cause he had set himself to attack. Saintsbury.

plant body; in mosses it is the so-called moss plant; in ferns it is reduced to a small, early perishing body; and in seed plants it is usually microscopic or rudimentary.

supposed permanent gases have been liquified by cold and pressure, the term has resumed nearly its original signification, and is applied to any substance in the elastic or aëriform state.

A South African antelope (Oryx Capensis), having long, sharp, nearly straight horns.

A species of apple that ripens very early. Bacon.

evelop a new individual; as, the germ of a fetus, of a plant or flower, and the like; the earliest form under which an organism appears. In the entire process in which a new being originates . . . two distinct classes of action participate; namely, the act of generation by which the germ is produced; and the act of dev…

Nearly related; closely akin. Wert thou a leopard, thou wert german to the lion. Shak. Brother german. See Brother german. -- Cousins german. See the Note under Cousin.

A term variously employed by early writers on art, though commonly designating the yellow oxide of lead, or massicot. Fairholt.

ady light; feeble, scattered rays of light; also, a gleam. Gloss of satin and glimmer of pearls. Tennyson.

Anything which is nearly spherical or globular in shape; as, the globe of the eye; the globe of a lamp.

Having a rounded form resembling that of a globe; globular, or nearly so; spherical. Milton.

Globe-shaped; having the form of a ball or sphere; spherical, or nearly so; as, globular atoms. Milton. Globular chart, a chart of the earth's surface constructed on the principles of the globular projection. -- Globular projection (Map Projection), a perspective projection of the surface of a hemisphere upon a plane…

A nitrogenous substance, forming a heavy, sandy powder, white or nearly so. It is a derivative of pyridine.

en Horde (Hist.), a tribe of Mongolian Tartars who overran and settled in Southern Russia early in the 18th century. -- Golden Legend, a hagiology (the "Aurea Legenda") written by James de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, in the 13th century, translated and printed by Caxton in 1483, and partially paraphrased by Longfel…

One of an extinct genus of fossil cephalopods, allied to the Ammonites. The earliest forms are found in the Devonian formation, the latest, in the Triassic.

One of an ancient Teutonic race, who dwelt between the Elbe and the Vistula in the early part of the Christian era, and who overran and took an important part in subverting the Roman empire.

of polity in a state; the established form of law. That free government which we have so dearly purchased, free commonwealth. Milton.

A contrivance applied to steam engines, water wheels, and other machinery, to maintain nearly uniform speed when the resistances and motive force are variable.