Search the Dictionary

That which finishes or ends a matter; a settler; a poser, as a heavy blow, a conclusive answer, and the like. [Slang, U.S.]

To render less hard; -- said of matter. Their arrow's point they soften in the flame. Gay.

eir satellites; the minor planets, or asteroids, and the comets; also, the meteorids, the matter that furnishes the zodiacal light, and the rings of Saturn. The satellites that revolve about the major planets are twenty-two in number, of which the Earth has one (see Moon.), Mars two, Jupiter five, Saturn nine, Uranus f…

Not hollow; full of matter; as, a solid globe or cone, as distinguished from a Ant: hollow one; not spongy; dense; hence, sometimes, heavy.

ty of being solid; density; consistency, -- opposed to fluidity; compactness; fullness of matter, -- opposed to openness or hollowness; strength; soundness, -- opposed to weakness or instability; the primary quality or affection of matter by which its particles exclude or resist all others; hardness; massiveness. That…

- said of places; as, the solitude of a wood. The solitude of his little parish is become matter of great comfort to him. Law.

The science which treats of the general properties of matter; somatology.

A directive influence exercised by a mass of matter upon growing organs. Encyc. Brit.

Foul matter; excretion; dregs; filthy, useless, or rejected matter of any kind; specifically (Med.), the foul matter that collects on the teeth and tongue in low fevers and other conditions attended with great vital depression.

short metal rule of the same height as the type, used in printing short lines in tabular matter.

A tool or implement for mottling a molded article with coloring matter Knoght.

The white fibrous matter forming the matrix from which fungi. Spawn eater (Zoöl.), a small American cyprinoid fish (Notropis Hudsonius) allied to the dace.

e right of administration, etc. -- Special agency, an agency confined to some particular matter. -- Special bail, Bail above, or Bail to the action (Law), sureties who undertake that, if the defendant is convicted, he shall satisfy the plaintiff, or surrender himself into custody. Tomlins. Wharton (Law Dict.). -- Sp…

consists of nerve fibers and nerve cells, the latter being confined to the so-called gray matter of the central portions of the cord, while the peripheral white matter is composed of nerve fibers only. The center of the cord is traversed by a slender canal connecting with the ventricles of the brain.…

ny physical organization or embodiment; vital essence, force, or energy, as distinct from matter.

To eject from the mouth; to throw out, as saliva or other matter, from the mouth. "Thus spit I out my venom." Chaucer.

The thick, moist matter which is secreted by the salivary glands; saliva; spit. Spittle insect. (Zoöl.) See Cuckoo spit (b), under Cuckoo.

t, thrown upon anything, or thrown from a puddle or the like; also, a spot or daub, as of matter which wets or disfigures.

Earnest and active in matters of no moment; bustling. [Colloq. Eng.] Dickens.

through the chemical action of its own elements; as, the spontaneous combustion of waste matter saturated with oil. -- Spontaneous generation. (Biol.) See under Generation.