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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



75 words match “LOON”

DRIFT v.
by, a current of water or air; as, the ship drifted astern; a raft drifted ashore; the balloon drifts slowly east. We drifted o'er the harbor bar. Coleridge.
EMBER-GOOSE n.
The loon or great northern diver. See Loon. [Written also emmer-goose and imber-goose.]
FIRE n.
fire by smothering it with some incombustible vapor or gas, as carbonic acid. -- Fire balloon. (a) A balloon raised in the air by the buoyancy of air heated by a fire placed in the lower part. (b) A balloon sent up at night with fireworks which ignite at a regulated height. Simmonds. -- Fire bar, a grate bar. -- Fir…
FRAME n.
or scheming. [Obs.] John the bastard Whose spirits toil in frame of villainies. Shak. Balloon frame, Cant frames, etc. See under Balloon, Cant, etc. -- Frame building or house, a building of which the form and support is made of framed timbers. [U.S.] -- Frame level, a mason's level. -- Frame saw, a thin saw stretch…
GOSSAMER n.
r (Zoöl.), any small or young spider which spins webs by which to sail in the air. See Ballooning spider.
GUIDE ROPE n.
A rope hung from a balloon or dirigible so as trail along the ground for about half its length, used to preserve altitude automatically, by variation of the length dragging on the ground, without loss of ballast or gas.
GUNNER n.
The great northern diver or loon. See Loon.
GYRATION n.
iral motion; motion about an axis; rotation; revolution. The gyrations of an ascending balloon. De Quincey. If a burning coal be nimbly moved round in a circle, with gyrations continually repeated, the whole circle will appear like fire. Sir I. Newton.
HAUNT n.
A place to which one frequently resorts; as, drinking saloons are the haunts of tipplers; a den is the haunt of wild beasts.
HYDROGEN n.
substance, being fourteen and a half times lighter than air (hence its use in filling balloons), and over eleven thousand times lighter than water. It is very abundant, being an ingredient of water and of many other substances, especially those of animal or vegetable origin. It may by produced in many ways, but is chi…
IMBER-GOOSE n.
The loon. See Ember-goose.
INFLATED a.
Filled, as with air or gas; blown up; distended; as, a balloon inflated with gas.
LOOM n.
See Loon, the bird.
LUNY a.
Crazy; mentally unsound. [Written also loony.] [Law, U.S.]
MONTGOLFIER n.
A balloon which ascends by the buoyancy of air heated by a fire; a fire balloon; -- so called from two brothers, Stephen and Joseph Montgolfier, of France, who first constructed and sent up a fire balloon.
NACELLE n.
The basket suspended from a balloon; hence, the framework forming the body of a dirigible balloon, and containing the machinery, passengers, etc.
NATALOIN n.
A bitter crystalline substance constituting the essential principle of Natal aloes. Cf. Aloon.
NORTHERN a.
northern course; coming from the north; as, a northern wind. Northern diver. (Zoöl.) See Loon. -- Northern lights. See Aurora borealis, under Aurora. -- Northern spy (Bot.), an excellent American apple, of a yellowish color, marked with red.
PARACHUTE n.
ce somewhat in the form of an umbrella, by means of which a descent may be made from a balloon, or any eminence.
PILOT n.
The cowcatcher of a locomotive. [U.S.] Pilot balloon, a small balloon sent up in advance of a large one, to show the direction and force of the wind. -- Pilot bird. (Zoöl.) (a) A bird found near the Caribbee Islands; - - so called because its presence indicates to mariners their approach to these islands. Crabb. (b) T…
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