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mice, flies, lice, bugs, etc. "Cruel hounds or some foul vermin." Chaucer. Great injuries these vermin, mice and rats, do in the field. Mortimer. They disdain such vermin when the mighty boar of the forest . . . is before them. Burke.

thout further change in old Teutonic, if the accent rested on the preceding syllable; but these sounds became voiced and produced g, d, b, if the accent was originally on a different syllable. Similarly s either remained unchanged, or it became z and later r. Example: Skt. sapta (accent on ultima), Gr. 'e`pta, Gothic s…

rom studying the Scriptures, wherein he was versed beyond any person of his age. Southey. These men were versed in the details of business. Macaulay.

hogshead, a barrel, a firkin, a bottle, a kettle, a cup, a bowl, etc. [They drank] out of these noble vessels. Chaucer.

Any one of several species of actinians belonging to the genus Cerianthus. These animals have a long, smooth body tapering to the base, and two separate circles of tentacles around the mouth. They form a tough, flexible, feltlike tube with a smooth internal lining, in which they dwell, whence the name.…

fective; faulty; imperfect. Though I perchance am vicious in my guess. Shak. The title of these lords was vicious in its origin. Burke. A charge against Bentley of vicious reasoning. De Quincey.

circumspection. Cowper. And flaming ministers to watch and tend Their earthly charge; of these the vigilance I dread. Milton.

of a village. Brutus had rather be a villager Than to repute himself a son of Rome Under these hard condition. Shak.

than the viola, having catgut strings upon, and brass or steel wires under, the keyboard. These, sounding sympathetically with the strings, yield a peculiarly soft and silvery sound. It is now seldom used.

Produced or effected by force; not spontaneous; unnatural; abnormal. These violent delights have violent ends. Shak. No violent state can be perpetual. T. Burnet. Ease would recant Vows made in pain, as violent and void. Milton. Violent presumption (Law), presumption of a fact that arises from proof of circumstances wh…

A person of the male sex who has not known sexual indulgence. [Archaic] Wyclif. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. Rev. xiv. 4. He his flesh hath overcome; He was a virgin, as he said. Gower.

, slender Alcyonaria belonging to Virgularia and allied genera of the family Virgularidæ. These corals are allied to the sea-pens, but have a long rodlike rhachis inclosing a slender, round or square, calcareous axis. The polyps are arranged in transverse rows or clusters along each side of the rhachis.…

ed at Annecy, in Savoy, in 1610, and in 1808 established in the United States. In America these nuns are devoted to the education of girls.

Tenacity of life; vital force; natural vigor. [Obs.] The vivacity of some of these pensioners is little less than a miracle, they lived so long. Fuller.

One of the common people; a vulgar person. [Obs.] These vile vulgars are extremely proud. Chapman.

ugh fumes, and gropes his way. Dryden. The king's admirable conduct has waded through all these difficulties. Davenant.

ded on the event of a contest or an unsettled question; a bet; a stake; a pledge. Besides these plates for horse races, the wagers may be as the persons please. Sir W. Temple. If any atheist can stake his soul for a wager against such an inexhaustible disproportion, let him never hereafter accuse others of credulity. B…

; to rest or remain stationary in expectation of; to await; as, to wait orders. Awed with these words, in camps they still abide, And wait with longing looks their promised guide. Dryden.

Arctic Ocean. The male has long and powerful tusks descending from the upper jaw. It uses these in procuring food and in fighting. It is hunted for its oil, ivory, and skin. It feeds largely on mollusks. Called also morse.

long singe become obsolete, and its place supplied by personal covenants for title. Among these is the covenant of warranty, which runs with the land, and is in the nature of a real covenant. Kent.