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One of the peculiar minute chitinous hooks found in large numbers in the tori of tubicolous annelids belonging to the Uncinata.

The tremulous tone produced by a peculiar pressure of the finger on a string, as of a violin.

The peculiar characteristics of an estate held by several in joint tenancy.

le. -- Universal instrument (Astron.), a species of altitude and azimuth instrument, the peculiarity of which is, that the object end of the telescope is placed at right angles to the eye end, with a prism of total reflection at the angle, and the eye end constitutes a portion of the horizontal axis of the instrument,…

Not proper or peculiar; improper. [Obs.] -- Un*prop"er*ly, adv. [Obs.]

Not sexual; not proper or peculiar to one of the sexes. De Quincey.

cein, obtained as a brownish red substance, which is used as a dye; -- so called from the peculiar yellowish green fluorescence (resembling that of uranium glass) of its solutions. See Fluorescein.

e uropygium, or prominence at the base of the tail feathers, in birds. Uropygial gland, a peculiar sebaceous gland at the base of the tail feathers in most birds. It secretes an oily fluid which is spread over the feathers by preening.

Peculiar temper or temperament; tendency or turn of mind; a particular disposition or cast of genius; humor; strain; quality; also, manner of speech or action; as, a rich vein of humor; a satirical vein. Shak. Certain discoursing wits which are of the same veins. Bacon. Invoke the Muses, and improve my vein. Waller.…

Having peculiar views; fanciful; visionary; unpractical; as, a viewy person.

ce performed in the evening preceding a feast. Vigils, or Watchings, of flowers (Bot.), a peculiar faculty belonging to the flowers of certain plants of opening and closing their petals as certain hours of the day. [R.]

teel wires under, the keyboard. These, sounding sympathetically with the strings, yield a peculiarly soft and silvery sound. It is now seldom used.

e blood, digestion, etc. -- Vital principle, an immaterial force, to which the functions peculiar to living beings are ascribed. -- Vital statistics, statistics respecting the duration of life, and the circumstances affecting its duration. -- Vital tripod. (Physiol.) See under Tripod. -- Vital vessels (Bot.), a nam…

ing to Vitruvius, an ancient Roman architect. Vitruvian scroll (Arch.), a name given to a peculiar pattern of scrollwork, consisting of convolved undulations. It is used in classical architecture. Oxf. Gloss.

A vocal, or sometimes a whispered, sound modified by resonance in the oral passage, the peculiar resonance in each case giving to each several vowel its distinctive character or quality as a sound of speech; -- distinguished from a consonant in that the latter, whether made with or without vocality, derives its charact…

ies; also, its fruit, which is about the size of a large grape, and has a hard rind and a peculiar flavor.

Full of, or characterized by, whims; actuated by a whim; having peculiar notions; queer; strange; freakish. "A whimsical insult." Macaulay. My neighbors call me whimsical. Addison.

tomus vociferus) allied to the nighthawk and goatsucker; -- so called in imitation of the peculiar notes which it utters in the evening. [Written also whippowil.]

A peculiar New Zealand shrub (Coriaria ruscifolia), in which the petals ripen and afford an abundant purple juice from which a kind of wine is made. The plant also grows in Chili.

used as a tonic and a vermifuge, and to protect woolen garments from moths. It gives the peculiar flavor to the cordial called absinthe. The volatile oil is a narcotic poison. The term is often extended to other species of the same genus.