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ch they deposit their eggs; -- called also hair eel, hairworm, and hair snake, from the absurd, but common and widely diffused, notion that they are metamorphosed horsehairs.

ing compared together in respect to magnitude, and surfaces and solids. -- Heterogeneous surds (Math.), surds having different radical signs.

R.] Latimer. Logical impossibility, a condition or statement involving contradiction or absurdity; as, that a thing can be and not be at the same time. See Principle of Contradiction, under Contradiction.

ature of things, or by means at command; insuperably difficult under the circumstances; absurd or impracticable; not feasible. With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Matt. xix. 26. Without faith it is impossible to please him. Heb. xi. 6. Impossible quantity (Math.), an imagnary quantity. Se…

or an inaccurate use of language. But every language has likewise its improprieties and absurdities. Johnson. Many gross improprieties, however authorized by practice, ought to be discarded. Swift.

Absurdity in argument ore narration; incoherence or irreconcilability in the parts of a statement, argument, or narration; that which is inconsistent. If a man would register all his opinions upon love, politics, religion, and learning, what a bundle of inconsistencies and contradictions would appear at last! Swift.…

demonstration in which proof is given by showing that any other supposition involves an absurdity (reductio ad absurdum), or an impossibility; thus, one quantity may be proved equal to another by showing that it can be neither greater nor less. -- Indirect discourse. (Gram.) See Direct discourse, under Direct. -- Ind…

Silly; useless; nonsensical; absurd; foolish. To view attention as a special act of intelligence, and to distinguish it from consciousness, is utterly inept. Sir W. Hamilton.

Absurdity; nonsense; foolishness.

The state or quality of being unaccustomed; absence of use or habit. Absurdities are great or small in proportion to custom or insuetude. Landor.

Not according to reason; absurd; foolish. It seemed utterly irrational any longer to maintain it. I. Taylor.

lliver's Travels as the home of chimerical philosophers. Hence, fanciful; preposterous; absurd in science or philosophy. "Laputan ideas." G. Eliot.

Inclined to wild sports; delighting in rash, absurd, or dangerous amusements. "The merry madcap

A supposed discovery which turns out to be a hoax; something grosaly absurd.

ense; words, or language, which have no meaning, or which convey no intelligible ideas; absurdity.

That which is null. Was it not absurd to say that the convention was supreme in the state, and yet a nullity Macaulay.

tinct; obvious; readily perceived and detected; gross; as, palpable imposture; palpable absurdity; palpable errors. "Three persons palpable." P. Plowman. [Lies] gross as a mountain, open, palpable. Shak. -- Pal"pa*ble*ness, n. -- Pal"pa*bly, adv.

emingly contradictory, or opposed to common sense; that which in appearance or terms is absurd, but yet may be true in fact. A gloss there is to color that paradox, and make it appear in show not to be altogether unreasonable. Hooker. This was sometime a paradox, but now the time gives it proof. Shak. Hydrostatic parad…

o nature or reason; not adapted to the end; utterly and glaringly foolish; unreasonably absurd; perverted. "Most preposterous conclusions." Shak. Preposterous ass, that never read so far! Shak.

Like Don Quixote; romantic to extravagance; absurdly chivalric; apt to be deluded. "Feats of quixotic gallantry." Prescott.