Search the Dictionary

A peculiar East Indian mammal (Galleopithecus volans), having along the sides, connecting the fore and hind limbs, a parachutelike membrane, by means of which it is able to make long leaps, like the flying squirrel; -- called also flying lemur.

f, ceiling, statue, etc., somewhat ornamented, and usually composed of base, shaft, and capital. See Order.

in columns; having the form of a column or columns; like the shaft of a column. Columnar epithelium (Anat.), epithelium in which the cells are priismatic in form, and set upright on the surface they cover. -- Columnar structure (Geol.), a structure consisting of more or less regular columns, usually six-sided, but som…

he sight; well-proportioned; good- looking; handsome. He that is comely when old and decrepit, surely was very beautiful when he was young. South. Not once perceive their foul disfigurement But boast themselves more comely than before. Milton.

Pitiable. [Obs.] Bacon.

To feel sorrow, pain, or regret for; to pity. Then must we those, who groan, beneath the weight Of age, disease, or want, commiserate. Denham. We should commiserate our mutual ignorance. Locke.

The act of commiserating; sorrow for the wants, afflictions, or distresses of another; pity; compassion. And pluck commiseration of his state From brassy bosoms and rough hearts of flint. Shak.

One who pities.

he Union soldiers, and performed services of a religious character in the field and in hospitals. -- The United States Sanitary Commission, an organization formed by the people of the North to coöperate with and supplement the medical department of the Union armies during the Civil War.

Brief; close; pithy; not diffuse; not verbose; as, a compact discourse.

ng with another; a sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; pity; commiseration. Womanly igenuity set to work by womanly compassion. Macaulay.

Deserving compassion or pity; pitiable. [R.] Barrow.

Having a temper or disposition to pity; sympathetic; merciful. There never was any heart truly great and generous, that was not also tender and compassionate. South.

of patriotism. She [Britain] rears to freedom an undaunted race, Compatriot, zealous, hospitable, kind. Thomson.

A compendium; an epitome; a summary. A compend and recapitulation of the Mosaical law. Bp. Burnet.

he principal heads, or general principles, of a larger work or system; an abridgment; an epitome; a compend; a condensed summary. A short system or compendium of a sience. I. Watts.

one of the five orders recognized by the Italian writers of the sixteenth century. See Capital.

Compound screw (Mech.), a screw having on the same axis two or more screws with different pitch (a differential screw), or running in different directions (a right and left screw). -- Compound time (Mus.), that in which two or more simple measures are combined in one; as, 6-8 time is the joining of two measures of 3-8…

That which is comrehended or inclosed within narrow limits; a summary; an epitome. [Obs.] Though not a catalogue of fundamentals, yet . . . a comprehension of them. Chillingworth.

The act of comprising or comprehending; a compendium or epitome. A comprisal . . . and sum of all wickedness. Barrow.