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A fixed conventional place for reference, or zero of reckoning, in the heavens, usually the intersection of two or more great circles of the sphere, and named specifically in each case according to the position intended; as, the equinoctial points; the solstitial points; the nodal points; vertical points, etc. See Equi…

One of the dwellers in the Cistercian convent of Port Royal des Champs, near Paris, when it was the home of the Jansenists in the 17th century, among them being Arnauld, Pascal, and other famous scholars. Cf. Jansenist.

The superior of a priory, and next below an abbot in dignity. Conventical, or Conventual, prior, a prior who is at the head of his own house. See the Note under Priory. -- Claustral prior, an official next in rank to the abbot in a monastery; prior of the cloisters.

person on probation. Hence, specifically: (a) The novitiate which a person must pass in a convent, to probe his or her virtue and ability to bear the severities of the rule. (b) The trial of a ministerial candidate's qualifications prior to his ordination, or to his settlement as a pastor. (c) Moral trial; the state of…

A convention not formally ratified.

radius of operation of such stations was restricted by the International Radiotelegraphic Convention (1912) to 30 nautical miles.

Hertzian) waves; wireless telegraphy; -- the term adopted for use by the Radiotelegraphic Convention of 1912.

The superior officer or chief of a convent or religious house; and among the Jesuits the superior of a house that is a seminary or college.

l or ambulance service established as a result of, though not provided for by, the Geneva convention of 1864; any of the national societies for alleviating the sufferings of the sick and wounded war, also giving aid and relief during great calamities; also, a member or worker of such a society; -- so called from the ba…

A room for refreshment; originally, a dining hall in monasteries or convents.

y by a preliminary fee paid; to hire; to engage; as, to retain a counselor. A Benedictine convent has now retained the most learned father of their order to write in its defense. Addison.

ity; voluntary submission to pain, abstinence, or mortification. The prince lived in this convent with all the rigor and austerity of a capuchin. Addison.

e; to shield; to protect. Those ruins sheltered once his sacred head. Dryden. You have no convents . . . in which such persons may be received and sheltered. Southey.

A short sound, syllable, or vowel. If we compare the nearest conventional shorts and longs in English, as in "bit" and "beat," "not" and "naught," we find that the short vowels are generally wide, the long narrow, besides being generally diphthongic as well. Hence, originally short vowels can be lengthened and yet kept…

To show by a sign; to communicate by any conventional token, as words, gestures, signals, or the like; to announce; to make known; to declare; to express; as, a signified his desire to be present. I 'll to the king; and signify to him That thus I have resign'd my charge to you. Shak. The government should signify to th…

A conventional relative measure of dimension, as for shoes, gloves, and other articles made up for sale.

gnified by the signal ( . . . ---. . . ) prescribed by the International Radiotelegraphic Convention of 1912 for use by ships in distress.

bright bands or lines. -- Normal spectrum, a representation of a spectrum arranged upon conventional plan adopted as standard, especially a spectrum in which the colors are spaced proportionally to their wave lengths, as when formed by a diffraction grating. -- Ocular spectrum. See Spectrum, 2 (b), above. -- Prisma…

The parlor or reception room of a convent. [Obs.]

manner; as, stereotyped opinions. Our civilization, with its stereotyped ways and smooth conventionalities. J. C. Shairp.