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division of an act; a separate portion of a play, subordinate to the act, but differently determined in different plays; as, an act of four scenes. My dismal scene I needs must act alone. Shak.

an instrument consisting of a horizontal dial, with a telescope attached to it, used for determining the time, whether of day or night.

An instrument for determining with accuracy the degree of hardness of a mineral.

Made, done, or happening by chance; arranged with little or no preparation; determined by circumstances; haphazard; as, a scratch team; a scratch crew for a boat race; a scratch shot in billiards. [Slang] Scratch race, one without restrictions regarding the entrance of competitors; also, one for which the competitors a…

Hesitation as to action from the difficulty of determining what is right or expedient; unwillingness, doubt, or hesitation proceeding from motives of conscience. He was made miserable by the conflict between his tastes and his scruples. Macaulay. To make scruple, to hesitate from conscientious motives; to scruple. Lock…

Full ofscrupules; inclined to scruple; nicely doubtful; hesitating to determine or to act, from a fear of offending or of doing wrong. Abusing their liberty, to the offense of their weak brethren which were scrupulous. Hooker.

An opinion; a decision; a determination; a judgment, especially one of an unfavorable nature. My sentence is for open war. Milton. That by them [Luther's works] we may pass sentence upon his doctrines. Atterbury.

it by our best English writers, expresses, in my own opinion very happily, those complex determinations of the mind which result from the coöperation of our rational powers and of our moral feelings. Stewart. Alike to council or the assembly came, With equal souls and sentiments the same. Pope.

To fix beforehand; to determine; hence, to make unyielding or obstinate; to render stiff, unpliant, or rigid; as, to set one's countenance. His eyes were set by reason of his age. 1 Kings xiv. 4. On these three objects his heart was set. Macaulay. Make my heart as a millstone, set my face as a flint. Tennyson.…

To determine, as something which is exposed to doubt or question; to free from unscertainty or wavering; to make sure, firm, or constant; to establish; to compose; to quiet; as, to settle the mind when agitated; to settle questions of law; to settle the succession to a throne; to settle an allowance. It will settle the…

The act or process of adjusting or determining; composure of doubts or differences; pacification; liquidation of accounts; arrangement; adjustment; as, settlement of a controversy, of accounts, etc.

Character or construction of a thing as determining its external appearance; outward aspect; make; figure; form; guise; as, the shape of a tree; the shape of the head; an elegant shape. He beat me grievously, in the shape of a woman. Shak.

Amount or extent of deficiency, as determined by some requirement or standard; as, a shortage in money accounts.

Existing by itself; single; individual. The idea which represents one . . . determinate thing, is called a singular idea, whether simple, complex, or compound. I. Watts.

An instrument or contrivance to size articles, or to determine their size by a standard, or to separate and distribute them according to size.

not intersect; a warped surface; as, the helicoid is a skew surface. -- Skew symmetrical determinant (Alg.), a determinant in which the elements in each column of the matrix are equal to the elements of the corresponding row of the matrix with the signs changed, as in (1), below. (1) 0 2 -3-2 0 53 -5 0 (2) 4 -1 71 8 -…

A device for determining the refractive state of the eye by observing the movements of the retinal lights and shadows. -- Ski*as"co*py (#), Ski*as"co*py (#), n.

Being of the nature of soap; soapy; cleansing; detersive.

A tenure of lands and tenements by a certain or determinate service; a tenure distinct from chivalry or knight's service, in which the obligations were uncertain. The service must be certain, in order to be denominated socage, as to hold by fealty and twenty shillings rent. [Written also soccage.]

standardized solution of cupric hydrate in sodium potassium tartrate, used as a means of determining the reducing power of certain sugars and sirups by the amount of red cuprous oxide thrown down. -- Heavy solution (Min.), a liquid of high density, as a solution of mercuric iodide in potassium iodide (called the Sons…