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Earth flax, or mountain flax; a soft silky variety of asbestus.

Deprivation; loss. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

To lose. [Obs.] A lodestone fired doth presently amit its proper virtue. Sir T. Browne.

Cell division in which there is first a simple cleavage of the nucleus without change in its structure (such as the formation of chromosomes), followed by the division of the cytoplasm; direct cell division; -- opposed to mitosis. It is not the usual mode of division, and is believed by many to occur chiefly in highly…

The concrete juice (gum resin) of an umbelliferous plant, the Dorema ammoniacum. It is brought chiefly from Persia in the form of yellowish tears, which occur singly, or are aggregated into masses. It has a peculiar smell, and a nauseous, sweet taste, followed by a bitter one. It is inflammable, partially soluble in wa…

A fossil cephalopod shell related to the nautilus. There are many genera and species, and all are extinct, the typical forms having existed only in the Mesozoic age, when they were exceedingly numerous. They differ from the nautili in having the margins of the septa very much lobed or plaited, and the siphuncle dorsal.…

That division of the Rhizopoda which includes the amoeba and similar forms.

A dry kind of cherry, of a light color. Simmonds.

A wanton woman; a courtesan. Sir T. Herbert.

The act or right of alienating lands to a corporation, which was considered formerly as transferring them to dead hands, or in mortmain.

To clear off or extinguish, as a debt, usually by means of a sinking fund.

To signify; to amount to. [Obs.]

ent of the unvarying current which, when passed through a standard solution of nitrate of silver in water, deposits silver at the rate of 0.001118 grams per second. Called also the international ampère.

y, and is equal to 3600 coulombs. The terms Ampère minute and Ampère second are sometimes similarly used.

A prefix in words of Greek origin, signifying both, of both kinds, on both sides, about, around.

A common mineral embracing many varieties varying in color and in composition. It occurs in monoclinic crystals; also massive, generally with fibrous or columnar structure. The color varies from white to gray, green, brown, and black. It is a silicate of magnesium and calcium, with usually aluminium and iron. Some comm…

A phrase, discourse, or proposition, susceptible of two interpretations; and hence, of uncertain meaning. It differs from equivocation, which arises from the twofold sense of a single term.

A peculiar small siliceous spicule having a denticulated wheel at each end; -- found in freshwater sponges.

Increasing in size by growth on all sides, as the lichens.

a tribe of Amphibia, which have both lungs and gills at the same time, as the proteus and siren.