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One of various species of fishes of the genus Clupea, and allied genera, esp. the common round or English herring (C. harengus) of the North Atlantic. Herrings move in vast schools, coming in spring to the shores of Europe and America, where they are salted and smoked in great quantities. Herring gull (Zoöl.), a large…

A supposed primitive state of society, in which all the women of a tribe were held in common. H. Spencer. -- Het`a*ris"tic, a.

Any thing or person deviating from the common rule, or from common forms. Howell.

ssing through the different stages in its life history on an alternation of hosts, as the common wheat-rust fungus (Puccinia graminis), and certain other parasitic fungi; -- contrasted with autocious. -- Het`er*o"cism (#), n.

A measure of land, common in Domesday Book and old English charters, the quantity of which is not well ascertained, but has been differently estimated at 80, 100, and 120 acres. [Written also hyde.]

figures; as, hieroglyphic writing; a hieroglyphic obelisk. Pages no better than blanks to common minds, to his, hieroglyphical of wisest secrets. Prof. Wilson.

A plant of the genus Verbascum (V. Thapsus); the common mullein. [Also high-taper and hag-taper.]

Formerly, one of the four terms of the courts of common law in England, beginning on the eleventh of January and ending on the thirty-first of the same month, in each year; -- so called from the festival of St. Hilary, January 13th.

A natural elevation of land, or a mass of earth rising above the common level of the surrounding land; an eminence less than a mountain. Every mountain and hill shall be made low. Is. xl. 4.

ithout a full declaration or explanation; also, an occasion or motive. Our hint of woe Is common. Shak. The hint malevolent, the look oblique. Hannah M

A large, amphibious, herbivorous mammal (Hippopotamus amphibius), common in the rivers of Africa. It is allied to the hogs, and has a very thick, naked skin, a thick and square head, a very large muzzle, small eyes and ears, thick and heavy body, and short legs. It is supposed to be the behemoth of the Bible. Called al…

A genus of leeches, including the common medicinal leech. See Leech.

A common weed (Ambrosia artemisiæge). See Ambrosia, 3.

without leaking; hence (Fig.), to be whole, sound, consistent, without gaps or holes; -- commonly used in a negative sense; as, his statements will not hold water. [Collog.] (b) (Naut.) To hold the oars steady in the water, thus checking the headway of a boat.

A common evergreen oak, of Europe (Quercus Ilex); -- called also ilex, and holly.

Set apart to the service or worship of God; hallowed; sacred; reserved from profane or common use; holy vessels; a holy priesthood. "Holy rites and solemn feasts." Milton.

A genus of decapod Crustacea, including the common lobsters. -- Hom"a*roid, a.

A combining form from Gr. "omo`s, one and the same, common, joint.

homologies which arise from similarity of structure, and which are taken as evidences of common ancestry.

Having a resemblance in structure, due to descent from a common progenitor with subsequent modification; homogenetic; -- applied both to animals and plants. See Homoplastic.