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Having its vertical height greater than the half span; -- said of an arch.

Fig.: Something lofty, or massive, or very hard to be surmounted.

A vertical cleated drum or cylinder, revolving on an upright spindle, and surmounted by a drumhead with sockets for bars or levers. It is much used, especially on shipboard, for moving or raising heavy weights or exerting great power by traction upon a rope or cable, passing around the drum. It is operated either by st…

A monument in the form of a cross, or surmounted bu a cross, set up in a public place; as, a market cross; a boundary cross; Charing Cross in London. Dun-Edin's Cross, a pillared stone, Rose on a turret octagon. Sir W. Scott.

representation of two of the leg bones or arm bones of a skeleton, laid crosswise, often surmounted with a skull, and serving as a symbol of death. Crossbones, scythes, hourglasses, and other lugubrios emblems of mortality. Hawthorne.

the Lily family, having at the top of the stalk a cluster of pendent bell- shaped flowers surmounted with a tuft of green leaves.

Having or wearing a crown; surmounted, invested, or adorned, with a crown, wreath, garland, etc.; honored; rewarded; completed; consummated; perfected. "Crowned with one crest." Shak. "Crowned with conquest." Milton. With surpassing glory crowned. Milton.

Surmounted by an ordinary; as, a lion is debruised when a bend or other ordinary is placed over it, as in the cut. The lion of England and the lilies of France without the baton sinister, under which, according to the laws of heraldry, they where debruised in token of his illegitimate birth. Macaulay.…

with the lower slope of the roof. -- Deck roof (Arch.), a nearly flat roof which is not surmounted by parapet walls. -- Deck transom (Shipbuilding), the transom into which the deck is framed. -- To clear the decks (Naut.), to remove every unnecessary incumbrance in preparation for battle; to prepare for action. --…

Easy to be surmounted or removed; easily conquerable; readily mastered. The facile gates of hell too slightly barred. Milton.

Incapable of being passed over or surmounted; insurmountable; as, insuperable difficulties. And middle natures, how they long to join, Yet never pass the insuperable line Pope. The difficulty is enhanced, or is . . . insuperable. I. Taylor.

Incapable of being passed over, surmounted, or overcome; insuperable; as, insurmountable difficulty or obstacle. Locke. Hope thinks nothing difficult; despair tells us that difficulty is insurmountable. I. Watts.

istianity. It is described as a pike bearing a silk banner hanging from a crosspiece, and surmounted by a golden crown. It bore a monogram of the first two letters (CHR) of the name of Christ in its Greek form. Later, the name was given to various modifications of this standard.

te electricity. It is coated with tin foil, within and without, nearly to its top, and is surmounted by a brass knob which communicates with the inner coating, for the purpose of charging it with electricity. It is so named from having been invented in Leyden, Holland.

ancipation of the slaves. -- Liberty pole, a tall flagstaff planted in the ground, often surmounted by a liberty cap. [U. S.] -- Moral liberty, that liberty of choice which is essential to moral responsibility. -- Religious liberty, freedom of religious opinion and worship.

mperor or other sovereign. It is encircled with bands, enriched with precious stones, and surmounted with a cross; -- called also globe.

de oblong box on runners. [U.S.] Sledges or pungs, coarsely framed of split saplings, and surmounted with a large crockery crate. Judd. They did not take out the pungs to-day. E. E. Hale.

aid of such a roof when used in places where a different form is more common; as, a tower surmounted by a saddle roof. Called also saddleback roof. -- Saddle shell (Zoöl.), any thin plicated bivalve shaell of the genera Placuna and Anomia; -- so called from its shape. Called also saddle oyster.

Capable of being surmounted or overcome; superable. -- Sur*mount"a*ble*ness, n.

A staff entwined with ivy, and surmounted by a pine cone, or by a bunch of vine or ivy leaves with grapes or berries. It is an attribute of Bacchus, and of the satyrs and others engaging in Bacchic rites. A good to grow on graves As twist about a thyrsus. Mrs. Browning. In my hand I bear The thyrsus, tipped with fragra…