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composed of elastic fibers situated above the ventral nervous cord of annelids, like the earthworm. -- Neu`ro*cor"dal, a.

or points which are brought together or closed; to pinch; to close in upon. May this hard earth cleave to the Nadir hell, Down, down, and close again, and nip me flat, If I be such a traitress. Tennyson.

One who believes that past changes in the structure of the earth have proceeded from cataclysms or causes more violent than are now operating; -- called also nonuniformitarian.

rth following. See Following, a., 2. -- North pole, that point in the heavens, or on the earth, ninety degrees from the equator toward the north. -- North preceding. See Following, a., 2. -- North star, the star toward which the north pole of the earth very nearly points, and which accordingly seems fixed and immova…

; to reckon; to ascertain the units of; to enumerate. If a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Gen. xiii. 16.

Fair Padua, nursery of arts." Shak. Christian families are the nurseries of the church on earth, as she is the nursery of the church in heaven. J. M. Mason.

A very small libratory motion of the earth's axis, by which its inclination to the plane of the ecliptic is constantly varying by a small amount.

Flattened or depressed at the poles; as, the earth is an oblate spheroid.

oblique to the horizon of the place; or as it appears to an observer at any point on the earth except the poles and the equator. -- Oblique step (Mil.), a step in marching, by which the soldier, while advancing, gradually takes ground to the right or left at an angle of about 25º. It is not now practiced. Wilhelm. -…

n or their actions; blame; reprehension. Shall names that made yuor city the glory of the earth be mentioned with obloquy and detraction Addison.

unnoticed. The obscure bird Clamored the livelong night. Shak. The obscure corners of the earth. Sir J. Davies.

The part of the horizon where the sun last appears in the evening; that part of the earth towards the sunset; the west; -- opposed to orient. Specifically, in former times, Europe as opposed to Asia; now, also, the Western hemisphere. Chaucer. I may wander from east to occident. Shak.

The god of the great outer sea, or the river which was believed to flow around the whole earth.

A impure earthy ore of iron or a ferruginous clay, usually red (hematite) or yellow (limonite), -- used as a pigment in making paints, etc. The name is also applied to clays of other colors.

not greatly, exceeding a specified number; extra. Sixteen hundred and odd years after the earth was made, it was destroyed in a deluge. T. Burnet. There are yet missing of your company Some few odd lads that you remember not. Shak.

their office and their light. Shak. Hesperus, whose office is to bring Twilight upon the earth. Milton. In this experiment the several intervals of the teeth of the comb do the office of so many prisms. Sir I. Newton.

ply, as an official duty or function. [Obs.] Merely to officiate light Round this opacous earth. Milton.

Disposed to serve; kind; obliging. [Archaic] Yet not to earth are those bright luminaries Officious. Milton. They were tolerably well bred, very officious, humane, and hospitable. Burke.

An order of Annelida which includes the earthworms and related species.

Originally, a leather flask or vessel for oils or liquids; afterward, an earthenware vase or pitcher without a spout.