HAWTHORN n.
A thorny shrub or tree (the Cratægus oxyacantha), having deeply lobed, shining leaves, small, roselike, fragrant flowers, and a fruit called haw. It is much used in Europe for hedges, and for standards in gardens. The American hawthorn is Cratægus cordata, which has the leaves but little lobed. Gives not the hawthorn b…
HERO n.
ns related; as Achilles in the Iliad, Ulysses in the Odyssey, and Æneas in the Æneid. The shining quality of an epic hero. Dryden. Hero worship, extravagant admiration for great men, likened to the ancient worship of heroes. Hero worship exists, has existed, and will forever exist, universally among mankind. Carlyle.…
INCANDESCENT a.
owing, or luminous, with intense heat; as, incandescent carbon or platinum; hence, clear; shining; brilliant. Holy Scripture become resplendent; or, as one might say, incandescent throughout. I. Taylor. Incandescent lamp or light (Elec.), a kind of lamp in which the light is produced by a thin filament of conducting ma…
IVY n.
of the genus Hedera (H. helix), common in Europe. Its leaves are evergreen, dark, smooth, shining, and mostly five-pointed; the flowers yellowish and small; the berries black or yellow. The stem clings to walls and trees by rootlike fibers. Direct The clasping ivy where to climb. Milton. Ye myrtles brown, with ivy neve…
LEPISMA n.
A genus of wingless thysanurous insects having an elongated flattened body, covered with shining scales and terminated by seven unequal bristles. A common species (Lepisma saccharina) is found in houses, and often injures books and furniture. Called also shiner, silver witch, silver moth, and furniture bug.…
LEPROSY n.
A cutaneous disease which first appears as blebs or as reddish, shining, slightly prominent spots, with spreading edges. These are often followed by an eruption of dark or yellowish prominent nodules, frequently producing great deformity. In one variety of the disease, anæsthesia of the skin is a prominent symptom. In…