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the day, or nine o'clock in the morning, according to ancient reckoning; hence, mealtime, because formerly the principal meal was eaten at that hour; also, later, the afternoon; the time between dinner and supper. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Betwixt undern and noon was the field all won. R. of Brunne. In a bed of worts still…

A salt of orthosilicic acid, H4SiO4; -- so called because the ratio of the oxygen atoms united to the basic metals and silicon respectively is 1:1; for example, Mg2SiO4 or 2MgO.SiO2.

A tea urn. See under Tea. Urn mosses (Bot.), the order of true mosses; -- so called because the capsules of many kinds are urn- shaped.

abit or practice; as, he used to ride daily; -- now disused in the present tense, perhaps because of the similarity in sound, between "use to," and "used to." They use to place him that shall be their captain on a stone. Spenser. Fears use to be represented in an imaginary. Bacon. Thus we use to say, it is the room tha…

Empty; unfilled; void; vacant. Boundless the deep, because I am who fill Infinitude; nor vacuous the space. Milton. That the few may lead selfish and vacuous days. J. Morley.

power in exchange. F. A. Walker. His design was not to pay him the value of his pictures, because they were above any price. Dryden.

ow; gloss; false pretense. Veneer moth (Zoöl.), any moth of the genus Chilo; -- so called because the mottled colors resemble those of veneering.

lam, or quahog, are valued for food. Venus's basin (Bot.), the wild teasel; - - so called because the connate leaf bases form a kind of receptacle for water, which was formerly gathered for use in the toilet. Also called Venus's bath. -- Venus's basket (Zoöl.), an elegant, cornucopia-shaped, hexactinellid sponge (Eupl…

hydrous silicates, derived generally from the alteration of some kind of mica. So called because the scales, when heated, open out into wormlike forms.

A parochial assembly; an assembly of persons who manage parochial affairs; -- so called because usually held in a vestry.

irth of the seventh month to be vital. Sir T. Browne. Vital air, oxygen gas; -- so called because essential to animal life. [Obs.] -- Vital capacity (Physiol.), the breathing capacity of the lungs; -- expressed by the number of cubic inches of air which can be forcibly exhaled after a full inspiration. -- Vital force.…

Sulphuric acid; -- called also oil of vitriol. So called because first made by the distillation of green vitriol. See Sulphuric acid, under Sulphuric. [Colloq.] Blue vitriol. See under Blue. -- Green vitriol, ferrous sulphate; copperas. See under Green. -- Oil of vitriol, sulphuric or vitriolic acid; -- popularly so…

Command; precept; -- now chiefly used in scriptural language. So shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God. Deut. viii. 20.

The region immediately surrounding a disk moving flatwise through air; -- so called because the air has a cyclic motion as in vortex ring.

Walking leaf. (a) (Bot.) A little American fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllus); -- so called because the fronds taper into slender prolongations which often root at the apex, thus producing new plants. (b) (Zoöl.) A leaf insect. See under Leaf. -- Walking papers, or Walking ticket, an order to leave; dismissal, as from o…

A lady at a ball, who, either from choice, or because not asked to dance, remains a spectator. [Colloq.]

ot with a spear." Shak. Walloon guard, the bodyguard of the Spanish monarch; -- so called because formerly consisting of Walloons.

Seaweed. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Ware goose (Zoöl.), the brant; -- so called because it feeds on ware, or seaweed. [Prov. Eng.]

A name given to several plants because they were thought to be a cure for warts, as a kind of spurge (Euphorbia Helioscopia), and the nipplewort (Lampsana communis).

of small aquatic Entomostraca belonging to the genera Cyclops, Daphnia, etc; -- so called because they swim with sudden leaps, or starts.