From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Hippocampus \Hip`po*cam"pus\, n. [L., the sea horse, Gr. ? a
hippocampus (in senses 1 and 2); "i`ppos horse + ? to bend.]
1. (Class. Myth.) A fabulous monster, with the head and fore
quarters of a horse joined to the tail of a dolphin or
other fish ({Hippocampus brevirostris}), -- seen in
Pompeian paintings, attached to the chariot of Neptune.
--Fairholt.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Zool.) A genus of lophobranch fishes of several species
in which the head and neck have some resemblance to those
of a horse; -- called also {sea horse}.
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Note: They swim slowly, in an erect position, and often cling
to seaweeds by means of the incurved prehensile tail.
The male has a ventral pouch, in which it carries the
eggs till hatched.
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3. (Zool.) A name applied to either of two ridges of white
matter in each lateral ventricle of the brain. The larger
is called hippocampus major or simply hippocampus. The
smaller, hippocampus minor, is called also {ergot} and
{calcar}.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Ergot \Er"got\, n. [F. ergot, argot, lit., a spur.]
1. A diseased condition of rye and other cereals, in which
the grains become black, and often spur-shaped. It is
caused by a parasitic fungus, {Claviceps purpurea}.
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2. The mycelium or spawn of this fungus infecting grains of
rye and wheat. It is a powerful remedial agent, and also a
dangerous poison, and is used as a means of hastening
childbirth, and to arrest bleeding.
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3. (Far.) A stub, like soft horn, about the size of a
chestnut, situated behind and below the pastern joint.
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4. (Anat.) See 2d {Calcar}, 3
(b) .
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
ergot
n 1: a plant disease caused by the ergot fungus
2: a fungus that infects various cereal plants forming compact
black masses of branching filaments that replace many grains
of the plant; source of medicinally important alkaloids and
of lysergic acid [syn: {ergot}, {Claviceps purpurea}]
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