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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



218 words match “AFRICAN”

PATAS n.
A West African long-tailed monkey (Cercopithecus ruber); the red monkey.
PEELE n.
A graceful and swift South African antelope (Pelea capreola). The hair is woolly, and ash-gray on the back and sides. The horns are black, long, slender, straight, nearly smooth, and very sharp. Called also rheeboc, and rehboc.
PIAPEC n.
A West African pie (Ptilostomus Senegalensis).
PIGEON n.
est Indies; also, the plant itself. -- Pigeon plum (Bot.), the edible drupes of two West African species of Chrysobalanus (C. ellipticus and C. luteus). -- Pigeon tremex. (Zoöl.) See under Tremex. -- Pigeon wood (Bot.), a name in the West Indies for the wood of several very different kinds of trees, species of Dipho…
PINCPINC n.
An African wren warbler. (Drymoica textrix).
PLANTAIN n.
ecially when cooked. Plantain cutter, or Plantain eater (Zoöl.), any one of several large African birds of the genus Musophaga, or family Musophagidæ, especially Musophaga violacea. See Turaco. They are allied to the cuckoos. -- Plantain squirrel (Zoöl.), a Java squirrel (Sciurus plantani) which feeds upon plantains.…
PLUME v.
-- used reflexively; as, he plumes himself on his skill. South. Plumed adder (Zoöl.), an African viper (Vipera, or Clotho, cornuta), having a plumelike structure over each eye. It is venomous, and is related to the African puff adder. Called also horned viper and hornsman. -- Plumed partridge (Zoöl.), the California…
PLUTO n.
Neptune; the dark and gloomy god of the Lower World. Pluto monkey (Zoöl.), a long- tailed African monkey (Cercopithecus pluto), having side whiskers. The general color is black, more or less grizzled; the frontal band is white.
POLYPTERUS n.
An African genus of ganoid fishes including the bichir.
POOKOO n.
A red African antelope (Kobus Vardoni) allied to the water buck.
PRUNE n.
mestica), which produces prunes. (b) The West Indian tree, Prunus occidentalis. -- South African prune (Bot.), the edible fruit of a sapindaceous tree (Pappea Capensis).
PUFF n.
pression of praise, especially one in a public journal. Puff adder. (Zoöl.) (a) Any South African viper belonging to Clotho and allied genera. They are exceedingly venomous, and have the power of greatly distending their bodies when irritated. The common puff adder (Vipera, or Clotho, arietans) is the largest species,…
PURSLANE n.
t flowered purslane, the Portulaca grandiflora. See Portulaca. -- Purslane tree, a South African shrub (Portulacaria Afra) with many small opposite fleshy obovate leaves. -- Sea purslane, a seashore plant (Arenaria peploides) with crowded opposite fleshy leaves. -- Water purslane, an aquatic plant (Ludwiqia palustri…
QUAGGA n.
A South African wild ass (Equus, or Hippotigris, quagga). The upper parts are reddish brown, becoming paler behind and behind and beneath, with dark stripes on the face, neck, and fore part of the body.
RAMTIL n.
A tropical African asteraceous shrub (Guizotia abyssinica) cultivated for its seeds (called ramtil, or niger, seeds) which yield a valuable oil used for food and as an illuminant.
RATTAN n.
ems of several species of palms of the genus Calamus, mostly East Indian, though some are African and Australian. They are exceedingly tough, and are used for walking sticks, wickerwork, chairs and seats of chairs, cords and cordage, and many other purposes.
REPUBLICAN n.
A South African weaver bird (Philetærus socius). These weaver birds build many nests together, under a large rooflike shelter, which they make of straw. Red republican. See under Red.
RHACHIODONT a.
a peculiar modification of the inferior spines of some of the vertebræ, as certain South African snakes (Dasypelits) which swallow birds' eggs and use these gular teeth to crush them.
RIETBOC n.
The reedbuck, a South African antelope (Cervicapra arundinacea); -- so called from its frequenting dry places covered with high grass or reeds. Its color is yellowish brown. Called also inghalla, and rietbok.
RIVER n.
ivinity. -- River herring (Zoöl.), an alewife. -- River hog. (Zoöl.) (a) Any species of African wild hogs of the genus Potamochoerus. They frequent wet places along the rivers. (b) The capybara. -- River horse (Zoöl.), the hippopotamus. -- River jack (Zoöl.), an African puff adder (Clotho nasicornis) having a spine…
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