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abbing gang, an arrangement of saws which cuts slabs from two sides of a log, leaving the middle part as a thick beam.

r Southern Germany, -- comprising Old High German, used from the 8th to the 11th century; Middle H. G., from the 12th to the 15th century; and Modern or New H. G., the language of Luther's Bible version and of modern German literature. The dialects of Central Germany, the basis of the modern literary language, are ofte…

The middle portion of the sternum in some animals; the mesosternum.

f or pertaining to the jaw. Gnathic index, in a skull, the ratio of the distance from the middle of the nasofrontal suture to the basion (taken equal to 100), to the distance from the basion to the middle of the front edge of the upper jaw; -- called also alveolar index. Skulls with the gnathic index below 98 are ortho…

A buffoon in the Middle Ages, who attended rich men's tables to make sport for the guests by ribald stories and songs.

One of the clews or lower corners of a course or a topsail when the middle part or the rest of the sail is furled.

slit is made in the end of both scion and stock, in the direction of the grain and in the middle of the sloping surface, forming a kind of tongue, so that when put together, the tongue of each is inserted in the slit of the other. -- Grafting scissors, a surgeon's scissors, used in rhinoplastic operations, etc. -- Gr…

of weights; -- so called because considered equal to the average of grains taken from the middle of the ears of wheat. 7,000 grains constitute the pound avoirdupois, and 5,760 grains the pound troy. A grain is equal to .0648 gram. See Gram.

ers, farmers and manufacturers, into direct commercial relations, without intervention of middlemen or traders. The first grange was organized in 1867. [U. S.]

d with one another; as, crimson Bowers on a white ground. See Background, Foreground, and Middle-ground.

One who forestalls a market; a middleman between producer and dealer in London vegetable markets.

The state or title of a hag. Middleton.

inary time for work or attendance; as, the half-time system. -- Half tint (Fine Arts), a middle or intermediate tint, as in drawing or painting. See Demitint. -- Half truth, a statement only partially true, or which gives only a part of the truth. Mrs. Browning. -- Half year, the space of six moths; one term of a sc…

An intermediate or middle tone in a painting, engraving, photograph, etc.; a middle tint, neither very dark nor very light.

In the middle; at half the distance; imperfectly; partially; as, he halfway yielded. Temples proud to meet their gods halfway. Young.

A coat of mail; especially, the long coat of mail of the European Middle Ages, as contrasted with the habergeon, which is shorter and sometimes sleeveless. By old writers it is often used synonymously with habergeon. See Habergeon. [Written variously hauberg, hauberque, hawberk, etc.] Chaucer. Helm, nor hawberk's twist…

A cap of defense; especially, an open one, as distinguished from the closed helmet of the Middle Ages.

The nearest the middle or center; the part most hidden and within; the inmost or most essential part of any body or system; the source of life and motion in any organization; the chief or vital portion; the center of activity, or of energetic or efficient action; as, the heart of a country, of a tree, etc. Exploits don…

A witch; a hag. Middleton.

In the Middle Ages, the officer charged with the above duties, and also with the care of genealogies, of the rights and privileges of noble families, and especially of armorial bearings. In modern times, some vestiges of this office remain, especially in England. See Heralds' College (below), and King-at-Arms.…