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A low, spreading weed (Scleranthus annuus), common in sandy soil.

A genus of spreading shrubs with many stems, from one species of which (K. triandra), found in Peru, rhatany root, used as a medicine, is obtained.

er; a learned book; a learned theory. The learnedlover lost no time. Spenser. Men of much reading are greatly learned, but may be little knowing. Locke. Words of learned length and thundering sound. Goldsmith. The learned, learned men; men of erudition; scholars. -- Learn"ed*ly, adv. Learn"ed*ness, n. Every coxcomb sw…

A reading; a variation in the text. We ourselves are offended by the obtrusion of the new lections into the text. De Quincey.

A book, or a list, of lections, for reading in divine service.

The act of reading; as, the lecture of Holy Scripture. [Obs.]

A choir desk, or reading desk, in some churches, from which the lections, or Scripture lessons, are chanted or read; hence, a reading desk. [Written also lectern and lettern]. Fairholt.

ase which first appears as blebs or as reddish, shining, slightly prominent spots, with spreading edges. These are often followed by an eruption of dark or yellowish prominent nodules, frequently producing great deformity. In one variety of the disease, anæsthesia of the skin is a prominent symptom. In addition there m…

nt; letters and words impressed on paper or other material by types; -- often used of the reading matter in distinction from the illustrations. Letterpress printing, printing directly from type, in distinction from printing from plates.

e flower, a species of compound flower, the florets of which have their corollets flat, spreading out toward the end, with the base only tubular.

To read or repeat line by line; as, to line out a hymn. This custom of reading or lining, or, as it was frequently called "deaconing' the hymn or psalm in the churches, was brought about partly from necessity. N. D. Gould.

orts with words only. -- Lip labor, unfelt or insincere speech; hypocrisy. Bale. -- Lip reading, the catching of the words or meaning of one speaking by watching the motion of his lips without hearing his voice. Carpenter. -- Lip salve, a salve for sore lips. -- Lip service, expression by the lips of obedience and…

A flowerless plant (Marchantia polymorpha), having an irregularly lobed, spreading, and forking frond.

A long streaky cloud, spreading out like a horse's tail, and believed to indicate rain; a cirrus cloud. See Cloud. Mackerel sky and mare's-tails Make tall ships carry low sails. Old Rhyme.

eter microscope, a compound microscope combined with a filar micrometer, used chiefly for reading and subdividing the divisions of large astronomical and geodetical instruments. -- Micrometer screw, a screw with a graduated head used in some forms of micrometers. -- Position micrometer. See under Position. -- Scale,…

To read amiss; to misunderstand in reading.

n a natural, customary, or musical manner; as, the organs of speech modulate the voice in reading or speaking. Could any person so modulate her voice as to deceive so many Broome.

erican herb (Seymeria macrophylla) with coarse leaves and yellow tubular flowers with a spreading border. -- Petty mullein, the cowslip. Dr. Prior.

A room where news is collected and disseminated, or periodicals sold; a reading room supplied with newspapers, magazines, etc.

The act or art of reading numbers when expressed by means of numerals. The term is almost exclusively applied to the art of reading numbers written in the scale of tens, by the Arabic method. Davies & Peck.