ATTENDANT a.
r scales most nearly related to, or having most in common with, the principal key; those, namely, of its fifth above, or dominant, its fifth below (fourth above), or subdominant, and its relative minor or major.
BREVIARY n.
nical prayers of the Roman Catholic or of the Greek Church for the seven canonical hours, namely, matins and lauds, the first, third, sixth, and ninth hours, vespers, and compline; -- distinguished from the missal.
GRACE n.
ometimes of Apollo but oftener of Venus. They were commonly mentioned as three in number; namely, Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, and were regarded as the inspirers of the qualities which give attractiveness to wisdom, love, and social intercourse. The Graces love to weave the rose. Moore. The Loves delighted, and the…
LIVERY n.
eep one's horses at livery. What livery is, we by common use in England know well enough, namely, that is, allowance of horse meat, as to keep horses at livery, the which word, I guess, is derived of livering or delivering forth their nightly food. Spenser. It need hardly be observed that the explanation of livery whic…
LUTE n.
A stringed instrument formerly much in use. It consists of four parts, namely, the table or front, the body, having nine or ten ribs or "sides," arranged like the divisions of a melon, the neck, which has nine or ten frets or divisions, and the head, or cross, in which the screws for tuning are inserted. The strings ar…
MASS n.
The portions of the Mass usually set to music, considered as a musical composition; -- namely, the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei, besides sometimes an Offertory and the Benedictus. Canon of the Mass. See Canon. -- High Mass, Mass with incense, music, the assistance of a deacon, subdeacon…
PEER n.
A nobleman; a member of one of the five degrees of the British nobility, namely, duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron; as, a peer of the realm. A noble peer of mickle trust and power. Milton. House of Peers, The Peers, the British House of Lords. See Parliament. -- Spiritual peers, the bishops and archibishops, or lor…
PLATONIC; PLATONICAL a.
sionless; nonsexual; philosophical. Platonic bodies, the five regular geometrical solids; namely, the tetrahedron, hexahedron or cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron. -- Platonic love, a pure, spiritual affection, subsisting between persons of opposite sex, unmixed with carnal desires, and regarding the min…
PURCHASE n.
Acquisition of lands or tenements by other means than descent or inheritance, namely, by one's own act or agreement. Blackstone. Purchase criminal, robbery. [Obs.] Spenser. -- Purchase money, the money paid, or contracted to be paid, for anything bought. Berkeley. -- Worth, or At, [so many] years' purchase, a phrase…
RUSSET a.
f the color composed of blue, red, and yellow in equal strength, but unequal proportions, namely, two parts of red to one each of blue and yellow; also, of a yellowish brown color. The morn, in russet mantle clad. Shak. Our summer such a russet livery wears. Dryden.
SEASON n.
position of the earth with respect to the sun. In the north temperate zone, four seasons, namely, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, are generally recognized. Some parts of the world have three seasons, -- the dry, the rainy, and the cold; other parts have but two, -- the dry and the rainy. The several seasons of the…
SOLSTICE n. 2 definitions
The point in the ecliptic at which the sun is farthest from the equator, north or south, namely, the first point of the sign Cancer and the first point of the sign Capricorn, the former being the summer solstice, latter the winter solstice, in northern latitudes; - - so called because the sun then apparently stands sti…