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iding; directing; controlling; foremost; as, a leading motive; a leading man; a leading example. -- Lead"ing*ly, adv. Leading case (Law), a reported decision which has come to be regarded as settling the law of the question involved. Abbott. -- Leading motive Etym: [a translation of G. leitmotif] (Mus.), a guiding th…

wrote largely in this measure, though he was not the inventor. The following line is an example: Gloria factorum temere conceditur horum.

he earth's surface; as, a level field; level ground; the level surface of a pond or lake. Ample spaces o'er the smooth And level pavement. Milton.

Bestowed in a large way; hence, more than sufficient; abundant; bountiful; ample; profuse; as, a liberal gift; a liberal discharge of matter or of water. His wealth doth warrant a liberal dower. Shak.

One who is conspicuous or noteworthy; a model or example; as, the lights of the age or of antiquity. Joan of Are, A light of ancient France. Tennyson.

or pertaining to a natural order of which the lily, tulip, and hyacinth are well-known examples.

early all rocky seacoasts. They feed on seaweeds. The common periwinkle is a well-known example. See Periwinkle.

er (Magnoliaceæ) of trees of which the magnolia, the tulip tree, and the star anise are examples.

units. In any given germ cell each of these is either present or absent. The following example (using letters as symbols of the determining factors and hence also of the individuals possessing them) shows the operation of the law: Tallness being due to a factor T, a tall plant, arising by the union in fertilization of…

the power to inflict it; compassionate treatment of an offender or adversary; clemency. Examples of justice must be made for terror to some; examples of mercy for comfort to others. Bacon.

Anything which serves, or may serve, as an example for imitation; as, a government formed on the model of the American constitution; a model of eloquence, virtue, or behavior.

A saying, deed, or example, worthy of record. Acts and Monuments of these latter and perilous days. Foxe.

To furnish with moral lessons, teachings, or examples; to lend a moral to. While chastening thoughts of sweetest use, bestowed By Wisdom, moralize his pensive road. Wordsworth.

r, coma, or convulsions, and, when given in sufficient quantity, causes death. The best examples are opium (with morphine), belladonna (with atropine), and conium. Nercotykes and opye (opium) of Thebes. Chaucer.

nheritance of acquired characters; -- esp. opposed to Neo-Lamarckism. Weismannism is an example of extreme Neo- Darwinism. -- Ne`o-Dar*win"i*an, a. & n.

s, and undergo a complete metamorphosis. The ant-lion, hellgamite, and lacewing fly are examples. Formerly, the name was given to a much more extensive group, including the true Neuroptera and the Pseudoneuroptera.

xious air, food, or climate; pernicious; corrupting to morals; as, noxious practices or examples. Too frequent an appearance in places of public resort is noxious to spiritual promotions. Swift.

or descends, while the other prolongs or repeats the same tone, as in the accompanying example. -- Oblique muscle (Anat.), a muscle acting in a direction oblique to the mesial plane of the body, or to the associated muscles; -- applied especially to two muscles of the eyeball. -- Oblique narration. See Oblique speec…

To ride over or across; to ride upon; to trample down. The carter overridden with [i. e., by] his cart. Chaucer.

To pad; to tread upon; to trample. [Prov. Eng.]