Search the Dictionary

Adapted by calculation, contrivance. or forethought to accomplish a purpose; as, to use arts calculated to deceive the people.

An orderly arrangement of the division of time, adapted to the purposes of civil life, as years, months, weeks, and days; also, a register of the year with its divisions; an almanac.

A machine, used for the purpose of giving cloth, paper, etc., a smooth, even, and glossy or glazed surface, by cold or hot pressure, or for watering them and giving them a wavy appearance. It consists of two or more cylinders revolving nearly in contact, with the necessary apparatus for moving and regulating.…

ive Bodies), a calling over the names of members, to discover who is absent, or for other purposes; a calling of names with a view to obtaining the ayes and noes from the persons named. -- Call to the bar, admission to practice in the courts.

and sinless peace." Milton. "With calm attention." Pope. Such calm old age as conscience pure And self-commanding hearts ensure. Keble.

To propagate evil reports with a design to injure the reputation of another; to make purposely false charges of some offense or crime.

ntation; slander; detraction. "Infamouse calumnies." Motley. Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Shak.

A small and beautiful species of orchid, having a flower variegated with purple, pink, and yellow. It grows in cold and wet localities in the northern part of the United States. The Calypso borealis is the only orchid which reaches 68º N.

A light, loose dress or robe. [Also written camus.] [Obs.] All in a camis light of purple silk. Spenser.

The second day of February, on which is celebrated the feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary; -- so called because the candles for the altar or other sacred uses are blessed on that day.

Whiteness; brightness; (as applied to moral conditions) usullied purity; innocence. [Obs.] Nor yor unquestioned integrity Shall e'er be sullied with one taint or spot That may take from your innocence and candor. Massinger.

To infect or pollute; to corrupt. Addison. A tithe purloined canker the whole estate. Herbert.

The act of discharging cannon and throwing ball, shell, etc., for the purpose of destroying an army, or battering a town, ship, or fort; -- usually, an attack of some continuance. A furious cannonade was kept up from the whole circle of batteries on the devoted towm. Prescott.

A small tube of metal, wood, or India rubber, used for various purposes, esp. for injecting or withdrawing fluids. It is usually associated with a trocar. [Written also canula.]

he apothecary; -- also called Spanish fly. Many other species of Lytta, used for the same purpose, take the same name. See Blister beetle, under Blister. The plural form in usually applied to the dried insects used in medicine.

by exposure to air, acids, and alkalies, it is used, especially when vulcanized, for many purposes in the arts and in manufactures. Also called India rubber (because it was first brought from India, and was formerly used chiefly for erasing pencil marks) and gum elastic. See Vulcanization. Mineral caoutchouc. See under…

egal or noral qualification, as of age, residence, character, etc., necessary for certain purposes, as for holding office, for marrying, for making contracts, will, etc.; legal power or right; competency. Capacity for heat, the power of absorbing heat. Substances differ in the amount of heat requisite to raise them a g…

to harness or fit out with decorative trappings, as a horse. The steeds, caparisoned with purple, stand. Dryden.

ovable nut, attached to the finger board of a guitar or other fretted instrument for the purpose of raising uniformly the pitch of all the strings.

d forms the base of lampblack and charcoal, and enters largely into mineral coals. In its pure crystallized state it constitutes the diamond, the hardest of known substances, occuring in monometric crystals like the octahedron, etc. Another modification is graphite, or blacklead, and in this it is soft, and occurs in h…