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Henri Becquerel, in working with uranium and its compounds. They consist of a mixture of alpha, beta, and gamma rays.

A long pole with a spike at the end, used in climbing mountains; an alpenstock.

The second letter of the Greek alphabet, B, b. See B, and cf. etymology of Alphabet. Beta (B, b) is used variously for classifying, as:

A covering for the foot or hand, worn as a cure for the gout. H. Walpole.

The wood of the oriental Cæsalpinia Sapan; -- so called before the discovery of America.

A dress fabric having a glossy finish on both sides, resembling alpaca but of superior quality.

C is the third letter of the English alphabet. It is from the Latin letter C, which in old Latin represented the sounds of k, and g (in go); its original value being the latter. In Anglo-Saxon words, or Old English before the Norman Conquest, it always has the sound of k. The Latin C was the same letter as the Greek go…

Incorrect or bad writing or spelling. Walpole.

of Thebes, who was said to have introduced into Greece the sixteen simple letters of the alphabet -- Cadmean letters. Cadmean victory, a victory that damages the victors as much as the vanquished; probably referring to the battle in which the soldiers who sprang from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus slew each other.…

) has one bunch on the back, while the Bactrian camel (C. Bactrianus) has two. The llama, alpaca, and vicuña, of South America, belong to a related genus (Auchenia).

n, or feeling of distress, referred to the region of the heart, accompanied with cardisc palpitation; heartburn. It is usually a symptom of indigestion.

A list or enumeration of names, or articles arranged methodically, often in alphabetical order; as, a catalogue of the students of a college, or of books, or of the stars. Card catalogue, a catalogue, as of books, having each item entered on a separate card, and the cards arranged in cases by subjects, or authors, or a…

of antelope (Rupicapra tragus), living on the loftiest mountain ridges of Europe, as the Alps, Pyrenees, etc. It possesses remarkable agility, and is a favorite object of chase.

esteemed for the purposes that sarsaparilla is now used for. Also the galanga root (from Alpinia Gallanga and Alpinia officinarum). -- China rose. (Bot.) (a) A popular name for several free-blooming varieties of rose derived from the Rosa Indica, and perhaps other species. (b) A flowering hothouse plant (Hibiscus Ros…

The art or practice of using the manual alphabet or of communicating thoughts by sings made by the hands and fingers; a substitute for spoken or written language in intercourse with the deaf and dumb. See Dactylalogy.

of young women, characterized by a greenish or grayish yellow hue of the skin, weakness, palpitation, etc.

Cornish chough, red-legged crow. The name is also applied to several allied birds, as the Alpine chough. Cornish chough (Her.), a bird represented black, with red feet, and beak; -- called also aylet and sea swallow.

The alphabet; -- formerly so called, either from the cross usually set before it, or from a superstitious custom, sometimes practiced, of writing it in the form of a cross, by way of a charm. From infant conning of the Christcross-row. Wordsworth.

A private alphabet, system of characters, or other mode of writing, contrived for the safe transmission of secrets; also, a writing in such characters. His father . . . engaged him when he was very young to write all his letters to England in cipher. Bp. Burnet. Cipher key, a key to assist in reading writings in cipher…

An alphabetical verbal index showing the places in the text of a book where each principal word may be found, with its immediate context in each place. His knowledge of the Bible was such, that he might have been called a living concordance. Macaulay.