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The process of fining or refining; clarification; also (Metal.), the conversion of cast iron into suitable for puddling, in a hearth or charcoal fire.

t of abstraction and generalization, and consequently to all general names, instead of confining it to the names of attributes. J. S. Mill.

A kind of furnace used in refining, to separate the metal from cinders and other foreign matter. Chambers.

A cage for confining birds.

A frame for confining a refractory horse while the smith is shoeing him; also, an inclosure to restrain cattle, horses, etc. A horse . . . which Philip had bought . . . and because of his fierceness kept him within a brake of iron bars. J. Brende.

A box or inclosure, wholly or partly of openwork, in wood or metal, used for confining birds or other animals. In his cage, like parrot fine and gay. Cowper.

cs that may involve calculation. Barycentric calculus, a method of treating geometry by defining a point as the center of gravity of certain other points to which coëfficients or weights are ascribed. -- Calculus of functions, that branch of mathematics which treats of the forms of functions that shall satisfy given c…

l prepared by calcining bones in a closed vessel; -- used as a filtering agent in sugar refining, and as an absorbent and disinfectant. -- Charcoal blacks, the black pigment, consisting of burnt ivory, bone, cock, peach stones, and other substances. -- Charcoal drawing (Fine Arts), a drawing made with charcoal. See C…

An act of a legislative body creating a municipal or other corporation and defining its powers and privileges. Also, an instrument in writing from the constituted authorities of an order or society (as the Freemasons), creating a lodge and defining its powers.

A belt, a girdle, or something worn round the body, -- as by an ecclesiastic for confining the alb.

Shutting; confining; drawing together; as, a claudent muscle. [R.] Jonson

The act of shutting up or confining; confinement. [R.] Geddes.

An apparatus for confining or flattening between glass plates an object to be examined with the microscope; -- called also compressorium.

An inclosure for keeping small animals; a pen; especially, a grated box for confining poultry.

The act of inclosing or confining in a crib or in close quarters.

The act of, or any labor or means employed for, training, disciplining, or refining the moral and intellectual nature of man; as. the culture of the mind. If vain our toil We ought to blame theculture, not the soil. Pepe.

A shallow porus cup, used in refining precious metals, commonly made of bone ashes (phosphate of lime). [Written also coppel.] Cupel dust, powder used in purifying metals.

The act or process of refining gold or silver, etc., in a cupel.

with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly; as, the defining power of an optical instrument. Rings . . . very distinct and well defined. Sir I. Newton.

The act of defining; definition; description. [Obs.] Shak.