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A dispute or contest; a slight contest; a skirmish. [R.] Sir M. Hale. After a short velitation we parted. Evelyn.

A silk fabric, having a short, close nap of erect threads. Inferior qualities are made with a silk pile on a cotton or linen back.

A short scale made to slide along the divisions of a graduated instrument, as the limb of a sextant, or the scale of a barometer, for indicating parts of divisions. It is so graduated that a certain convenient number of its divisions are just equal to a certain number, either one less or one more, of the divisions of t…

A short division of any composition. Specifically: --

A little verse; especially, a short verse or text said or sung in public worship by the priest or minister, and followed by a response from the people. The psalms were in number fifteen, . . . being digested into versicles. Strype.

A genus of motile bacteria characterized by short, slightly sinuous filaments and an undulatory motion; also, an individual of this genus.

. There came a fair-hair'd youth, that in his hand Bare victual for the movers. Tennyson. Short allowance of victual. Longfellow.

An ancient French song, or short poem, wholly in two rhymes, and composed in short lines, with a refrain. Of such matter made he many lays, Songs, complains, roundels, virelayes. Chaucer. To which a lady sung a virelay. Dryden.

A light cape or short cloak of silk or lace worn by women in summer.

A short or weak utterance; a faint or feeble sound, as that heard on separating the lips in pronouncing p or b. Rush. -- Voc"u*lar, a.

onging to Arvicola and allied genera of the subfamily Arvicolinæ. They have a thick head, short ears, and a short hairy tail.

rates or devotes himself, absolutely or conditionally, wholly or in part, for a longer or shorter time, to some act, service, or condition; a devotion of one's possessions; as, a baptismal vow; a vow of poverty. "Nothing . . . that may . . . stain my vow of Nazarite." Milton. I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow. 2 Sa…

To walk with short steps, swaying the body from one side to the other, like a duck or very fat person; to move clumsily and totteringly along; to toddle; to stumble; as, a child waddles when he begins to walk; a goose waddles. Shak. She drawls her words, and waddles in her pace. Young.

ield wagtail, any one of several species of wagtails of the genus Budytes having the tail shorter, the legs longer, and the hind claw longer and straighter, than do the water wagtails. Most of the species are yellow beneath. Called also yellow wagtail. -- Garden wagtail, the Indian black-breasted wagtail (Nemoricola I…

A short, sleeveless coat or garment for men, worn under the coat, extending no lower than the hips, and covering the waist; a vest.

To be absent; to be deficient or lacking; to fail; not to be sufficient; to fall or come short; to lack; -- often used impersonally with of; as, it wants ten minutes of four. The disposition, the manners, and the thoughts are all before it; where any of those are wanting or imperfect, so much wants or is imperfect in t…

trap of leather, used for binding a load upon the back of a beast; also, a leather tie; a short wagon rope. [Prov. Eng.]

ongfellow. Warning piece, Warning wheel (Horol.), a piece or wheel which produces a sound shortly before the clock strikes.

warrantable by law and justice; falsehood is never warrantable. His meals are coarse and short, his employment warrantable, his sleep certain and refreshing. South. -- War"rant*a*ble*ness, n. -- War"rant*bly, adv.

A large West African chevrotain (Hyæmoschus aquaticus). It has a larger body and shorter legs than the other allied species. Called also water deerlet.