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the person thus spoken of is not a blood relative, but is a relative by the marriage of a parent; as, a stepmother to X is the wife of the father of X, married by him after the death of the mother of X. See Stepchild, Stepdaughter, Stepson, etc.

Hence, a person not easily excited; an apathetic person; one who is apparently or professedly indifferent to pleasure or pain. A Stoic of the woods, a man without a tear. Campbell. School of Stoics. See The Porch, under Porch.

Parental affection; the instinctive affection which animals have for their young.

To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain. He talks and plays with Fatima, but his mirth Is forced and strained. Denham. The quality of mercy is not strained. Shak.

A genus of bacilli occurring of the form of long, smooth and apparently branched threads, either straight or twisted.

, about 1860, in the village of Osnova, near Odessa, by a peasant, Onishchenko, who had apparently been influenced by a German sect settled near there. They zealously practice Bible reading and reject priestly dominion and all external rites of worship. -- Stun"dism (#), n.

A race or strain differing in certain characters from the parent breed; an incipient breed.

ate condensation; specifically, to evaporate or volatilize from the solid state without apparent melting; -- said of those substances, like arsenic, benzoic acid, etc., which do not exhibit a liquid form on heating, except under increased pressure.

that in which properties inhere; that which is real, in distinction from that which is apparent; the abiding part of any existence, in distinction from any accident; that which constitutes anything what it is; real or existing essence. These cooks, how they stamp, and strain, and grind, And turn substance into acciden…

ye. They are very changeable in their figure and dimensions, and vary in size from mere apparent points to spaces of 50,000 miles in diameter. The term sun spots is often used to include bright spaces (called faculæ) as well as dark spaces (called maculæ). Called also solar spots. See Illustration in Appendix. -- Sun…

In the direction of the sun's apparent motion, or from the east southward and westward, and so around the circle; also, in the same direction as the movement of the hands of a watch lying face upward.

Reaching or comprehending only what is obvious or apparent; not deep or profound; shallow; -- said especially in respect to study, learning, and the like; as, a superficial scholar; superficial knowledge. This superficial tale Is but a preface of her worthy praise. Shak. He is a presumptuous and superficial writer. Bur…

xcreted from the skin of an animal; the fluid secreted by the sudoriferous glands; a transparent, colorless, acid liquid with a peculiar odor, containing some fatty acids and mineral matter; perspiration. See Perspiration. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread. Gen. iii. 19.

To sink into a fainting fit, in which there is an apparent suspension of the vital functions and mental powers; to faint; -- often with away. The sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. Lam. ii. 11. The most in years . . . swooned first away for pain. Dryden. He seemed ready to swoon away in the surprise of joy. Ta…

A genus of slender, transparent holothurians which have delicate calcareous anchors attached to the dermal plates. See Illustration in Appendix.

d, Both by the Syracusians and ourselves, To admit no traffic to our adverse towns. Shak. Parent of gods and men, propitious Jove! And you, bright synod of the powers above. Dryden.

A transparent, viscid, lubricating fluid which contains mucin and secreted by synovial membranes; synovial fluid.

Infection; corruption; deprivation. He had inherited from his parents a scrofulous taint, which it was beyond the power of medicine to remove. Macaulay.

A kind of thin, transparent muslin, used for dresses.

Something in the form of a transparent drop of fluid matter; also, a solid, transparent, tear-shaped drop, as of some balsams or resins. Let Araby extol her happy coast, Her fragrant flowers, her trees with precious tears. Dryden.