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A form of balance in which the body to be weighed is suspended from the shorter arm of a lever, which turns on a fulcrum, and a counterpoise is caused to slide upon the longer arm to produce equilibrium, its place upon this arm (which is notched or graduated) indicating the weight; a Roman balance; -- very commonly use…

The short perpendicular line added to the body of a note; the tail of a crotchet, quaver, semiquaver, etc.

g to the genus Stenoderma, native of the West Indies and South America. These bats have a short or rudimentary tail and a peculiarly shaped nose membrane.

A production of stenography; anything written in shorthand. I saw the reporters' room, in which they redact their hasty stenographs. Emerson.

One who is skilled in stenography; a writer of shorthand.

The art of writing in shorthand, by using abbreviations or characters for whole words; shorthand.

To enter for a short time; as, I just stepped into the house. (c) To obtain possession without trouble; to enter upon easily or suddenly; as, to step into an estate. -- To step out. (a) (Mil.) To increase the length, but not the rapidity, of the step, extending it to thirty-tree inches. (b) To go out for a short dista…

To paint, as in water colors, by small, short touches which together produce an even or softly graded surface.

Short and thick; thick rather than tall or corpulent. Addison. Stocky, twisted, hunchback stems. Mrs. H. H. Jackson.

To stick; to thrust; to stab. [Obs.] Nor short sword for to stoke, with point biting. Chaucer.

of, as musical strings, by pressing them against the finger board with the finger, or by shortening in any way the vibrating part.

A bib, faucet, or short pipe, fitted with a turning stopper or plug for permitting or restraining the flow of a liquid or gas; a cock or valve for checking or regulating the flow of water, gas, etc., through or from a pipe, etc.

A short piece of rope having a knot at one or both ends, with a lanyard under the knot, -- used to secure something. Totten.

The relation of an incident or minor event; a short narrative; a tale; especially, a fictitious narrative less elaborate than a novel; a short romance. Addison.

A book containing stories, or short narratives, either true or false.

One who writes short stories, as for magazines.

n. -- A straight line. "That which lies evenly between its extreme points." Euclid. "The shortest line between two points." Chauvenet. "A line which has the same direction through its whole length." Newcomb. -- Straight-way valve, a valve which, when opened widely, affords a straight passageway, as for water. walk th…

from Strain. Straining piece (Arch.), a short piece of timber in a truss, used to maintain the ends of struts or rafters, and keep them from slipping. See Illust. of Queen-post.

A group of small insects having the anterior wings rudimentary, and in the form of short and slender twisted appendages, while the posterior ones are large and membranous. They are parasitic in the larval state on bees, wasps, and the like; -- called also Rhipiptera. See Illust. under Rhipipter.

A long or short chain of micrococci, more or less curved.