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That which is essential; first or constituent principle; as, the essentials or religion.

A gaseous hydrocarbon, C2H6, forming a constituent of ordinary illuminating gas. It is the second member of the paraffin series, and its most important derivatives are common alcohol, aldehyde, ether, and acetic acid. Called also dimethyl.

The art or process of determining he constituents of a gaseous mixture by means of the eudiometer, or for ascertaining the purity of the air or the amount of oxygen in it.

One of the elements, circumstances, or influences which contribute to produce a result; a constituent. The materal and dynamical factors of nutrition. H. Spencer.

A gentle internal motion of the constituent parts of a fluid; fermentation. [R.] Down to the lowest lees the ferment ran. Thomson. ferment oils, volatile oils produced by the fermentation of plants, and not originally contained in them. These were the quintessences of the alchenists. Ure.

s, of dividing into plates or slabs, which is due to the cleavage structure of one of the constituents, as mica or hornblende. It may sometimes include slaty structure or cleavage, though the latter is usually independent of any mineral constituent, and transverse to the bedding, it having been produced by pressure.…

To go to make up; to act as constituent of; to be the essential or constitutive elements of; to answer for; to make the shape of; -- said of that out of which anything is formed or constituted, in whole or in part. The diplomatic politicians . . . who formed by far the majority. Burke.

istinguished from the matter composing it; having the power of making a thing what it is; constituent; essential; pertaining to oe depending on the forms, so called of the human intellect. Of [the sounds represented by] letters, the material part is breath and voice; the formal is constituted by the motion and figure o…

A symbolic expression (by means of letters, figures, etc.) of the constituents or constitution of a compound.

differing considerably from each other in their boiling points, can be separated into its constituents.

Primarily; originally; essentially; radically; at the foundation; in origin or constituents. "Fundamentally defective." Burke.

A mineral having many varieties differing in color and in their constituents, but with the same crystallization (isometric), and conforming to the same general chemical formula. The commonest color is red, the luster is vitreous, and the hardness greater than that of quartz. The dodecahedron and trapezohedron are the c…

A complex mixture of gases, of which the most important constituents are marsh gas, olefiant gas, and hydrogen, artificially produced by the destructive distillation of gas coal, or sometimes of peat, wood, oil, resin, etc. It gives a brilliant light when burned, and is the common gas used for illuminating purposes.…

Vegetable glue or gelatin; glutin. It is one of the constituents of wheat gluten, and is a tough, amorphous substance, which resembles animal glue or gelatin.

The main constituent of the starch grain or granule, in distinction from the framework of cellulose. Unlike cellulose, it is colored blue by iodine, and is converted into dextrin and sugar by boiling acids and amylolytic ferments.

Byzantine Empire. -- Greek fire, a combustible composition which burns under water, the constituents of which are supposed to be asphalt, with niter and sulphur. Ure. -- Greek rose, the flower campion.

ass (Geol.), the fine-grained or glassy base of a rock, in which distinct crystals of its constituents are embedded. -- Ground parrakeet (Zoöl.), one of several Australian parrakeets, of the genera Callipsittacus and Geopsittacus, which live mainly upon the ground. -- Ground pearl (Zoöl.), an insect of the family Coc…

A crystalline substance (C5H5N5O) contained in guano. It is also a constituent of the liver, pancreas, and other glands in mammals.

A colorless liquid, C6H4,OCH3.OH, resembling the phenols, found as a constituent of woodtar creosote, aud produced by the dry distillation of guaiac resin.

because the molecule has seven carbon atoms. Specifically, a colorless liquid, found as a constituent of petroleum, in the tar oil of cannel coal, etc.