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Force of utterance expended upon words or syllables. Stress is in English the chief element in accent and is one of the most important in emphasis. See Guide to pronunciation, §§ 31-35.

A metallic element of the calcium group, always naturally occurring combined, as in the minerals strontianite, celestite, etc. It is isolated as a yellowish metal, somewhat malleable but harder than calcium. It is chiefly employed (as in the nitrate) to color pyrotechnic flames red. Symbol Sr. Atomic weight 87.3. A rad…

Of or pertaining to organit structure; as, a structural element or cell; the structural peculiarities of an animal or a plant. Structural formula. (Chem.) See Rational formula, under Formula. empirical formula.

The fundamental material of which anything is made up; elemental part; essence. Yet do I hold it very stuff o' the conscience To do no contrived murder. Shak.

A hypothetical component of a chemical atom, on the theory that the elements themselves are complex substances; -- called also atomicule.

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.…

Applied to, or distinguishing, a speech element consisting of tone, or proper vocal sound, not pure as in the vowels, but dimmed and otherwise modified by some kind of obstruction in the oral or the nasal passage, and in some cases with a mixture of breath sound; -- a term introduced by Dr. James Rush in 1833. See Guid…

A nonmetallic element occurring naturally in large quantities, either combined as in the sulphides (as pyrites) and sulphates (as gypsum), or native in volcanic regions, in vast beds mixed with gypsum and various earthy materials, from which it is melted out. Symbol S. Atomic weight 32. The specific gravity of ordinary…

ived from, or containing, sulphur; specifically, designating those compounds in which the element has a higher valence as contrasted with the sulphurous compounds; as, sulphuric acid. Sulphuric acid. (a) Sulphur trioxide (see under Sulphur); -- formerly so called on the dualistic theory of salts. [Obs.] (b) A heavy, co…

ived from, or containing, sulphur; specifically, designating those compounds in which the element has a lower valence as contrasted with the sulphuric compounds.

Uttered, as an element of speech, without tone, or proper vocal sound; voiceless; unintonated; nonvocal; atonic; whispered; aspirated; sharp; hard, as f, p, s, etc.; -- opposed to sonant. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§169, 179, 180.

An elementary sound, or a combination of elementary sounds, uttered together, or with a single effort or impulse of the voice, and constituting a word or a part of a word. In other terms, it is a vowel or a diphtong, either by itself or flanked by one or more consonants, the whole produced by a single impulse or uttera…

An abbreviation standing for the name of an element and consisting of the initial letter of the Latin or New Latin name, or sometimes of the initial letter with a following one; as, C for carbon, Na for sodium (Natrium), Fe for iron (Ferrum), Sn for tin (Stannum), Sb for antimony (Stibium), etc. See the list of names a…

assumed the form of single words, by that symphytism which naturally attaches these light elements to each other. Earle.

A construction in which adherence to some element in the sense causes a departure from strict syntax, as in "Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ unto them."

The combination of separate elements of thought into a whole, as of simple into complex conceptions, species into genera, individual propositions into systems; -- the opposite of Ant: analysis. Analysis and synthesis, though commonly treated as two different methods, are, if properly understood, only the two necessary…

The ornamental receptacle for the pyx, or for the consecrated elements, whether a part of a building or movable.

ry and naval evolutions. It is divided into grand tactics, or the tactics of battles, and elementary tactics, or the tactics of instruction.

A rare nonmetallic element found in certain minerals, as tantalite, samarskite, and fergusonite, and isolated as a dark powder which becomes steel-gray by burnishing. Symbol Ta. Atomic weight 182.0. Formerly called also tantalium.

with, rarely by of before an indirect object; as, to tax a man with pride. I tax you, you elements, with unkindness. Shak. Men's virtues I have commended as freely as I have taxed their crimes. Dryden. Fear not now that men should tax thine honor. M. Arnold.