Search the Dictionary

which is the sum of two lines commensurable only in power (as the side and diagonal of a square).

The fourth power, or the square of the square. Thus 4x4=16, the square of 4, and 16x16=256, the biquadrate of 4.

the unknown quantity is raised to the fourth power. -- Biquadratic root of a number, the square root of the square root of that number. Thus the square root of 81 is 9, and the square root of 9 is 3, which is the biquadratic root of 81. Hutton.

A square, or portion of a city inclosed by streets, whether occupied by buildings or not. The new city was laid out in rectangular blocks, each block containing thirty building lots. Such an average block, comprising 282 houses and covering nine acres of ground, exists in Oxford Street. Lond. Quart. Rev.…

A house of squared logs. [West. & South. U. S.]

ent (Med.), mercurial ointment. -- Blue Peter (British Marine), a blue flag with a white square in the center, used as a signal for sailing, to recall boats, etc. It is a corruption of blue repeater, one of the British signal flags. -- Blue pill. (Med.) (a) A pill of prepared mercury, used as an aperient, etc. (b) Bl…

A square or oblong piece of thin wood or other material used for some special purpose, as, a molding board; a board or surface painted or arranged for a game; as, a chessboard; a backgammon board.

A rope fastened near the middle of the leech or perpendicular edge of the square sails, by subordinate ropes, called bridles, and used to keep the weather edge of the sail tight forward, when the ship is closehauled. Bowline bridles, the ropes by which the bowline is fastened to the leech of the sail. -- Bowline knot.…

The square in which the pitcher stands.

a head; also, a small wire nail, with a flat circular head; sometimes, a small, tapering, square-bodied finishing nail, with a countersunk head.

of; to throw into disorder; to pierce; as, the cavalry were not able to break the British squares.

rn upon the front of the ephod. It was a double piece of richly embroidered stuff, a span square, set with twelve precious stones, on which were engraved the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. See Ephod.

breves or four minims. When dotted, it is equal to three semibreves. It was formerly of a square figure (as thus: Moore.

A two-masted, square-rigged vessel. Hermaphrodite brig, a two- masted vessel square-rigged forward and schooner-rigged aft. See Illustration in Appendix.

A two-masted, square-rigged vessel, differing from a brig in that she does not carry a square mainsail.

s for burnishing pivot holes in watches; a reamer. The broach for gun barrels is commonly square and without taper.

A hammer with a head formed of a bundle of square bars, with pyramidal points, arranged in rows, or a solid head with a face cut into a number of rows of such points; -- used for dressing stone.

A joint in which the edges or ends of the pieces united come squarely together instead of overlapping. See 1st Butt, 8.

A joint where the ends of two objects come squarely together without scrafing or chamfering; -- also called butt joint.

of firearms, tubes, etc.; -- called also caliper compasses, or caliber compasses. Caliper square, a draughtsman's or mechanic's square, having a graduated bar and adjustable jaw or jaws. Knight. -- Vernier calipers. See Vernier.