{ } n. [ L. aeolipilae; Aeolus god of the winds + pila a ball, or Gr. &unr_; gate (i. e., doorway of Æolus); cf. F. éolipyle. ] An apparatus consisting chiefly of a closed vessel (as a globe or cylinder) with one or more projecting bent tubes, through which steam is made to pass from the vessel, causing it to revolve. [ Written also eolipile. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Such an apparatus was first described by Hero of Alexandria about 200 years b. c. It has often been called the first steam engine. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. alipes; ala wing + pes, pedis, foot: cf. F. alipède. ] (Zool.) Wing-footed, as the bat. -- n. An animal whose toes are connected by a membrane, serving for a wing, as the bat. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, oil, fat. ] (Org. Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or derived from, fat; fatty; -- applied to compounds having an open-chain structure. The aliphatic compounds thus include not only the fatty acids and other derivatives of the paraffin hydrocarbons, but also unsaturated compounds, as the ethylene and acetylene series. Compare alicyclic and aromatic. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. (Zool.) One of a group of perching birds, having the middle toe more or less united to the outer and inner ones. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ #), } a. [ L. anomalus irregular + pes, pedis, foot. ] Having anomalous feet. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a heelless slipper specifically designed to be worn by ballet dancers while dancing. [ PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Beclipped (&unr_;). ] [ AS. beclyppan; pref. be + clyppan to embrace. ] To embrace; to surround. [ Obs. ] Wyclif. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. bellipotens; bellum war + potens powerful, p. pr. of posse to be able. ] Mighty in war; armipotent. [ R. ] Blount. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. bilis bile + prasinus green. ] (Physiol.) A dark green pigment found in small quantity in human gallstones. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Radar) a spot of light on a radar screen, showing the position of a reflecting surface, such as an airplane or ship. this sense is also used metaphorically to mean a barely perceptible object; , Kennedy's candidacy was a mere blip on Humphrey's radar screen until he won the West Virginia primary. This is the probably origin of sense 3.
Syn. -- radar echo, radar target. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a short upward or downward deviation from a trend line on a graph, especially in a plot of some variable, such as an economic variable, against time; as, a brief blip upward in the unemployment rate. [ PJC ]

3. something small or insignificant. [ PJC ]

4. a brief interruption in the continuity of a recorded or transmitted signal; as, there is a blip on my CD of Beethoven's ninth. [ PJC ]

a. Having thick lips. “A blobber-lipped shell.” Grew. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. carapace, Sp. carapacho. Cf Calarash, Carapace. ] A part of a turtle which is next to the upper shell. It contains a fatty and gelatinous substance of a dull greenish tinge, much esteemed as a delicacy in preparations of turtle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Calipash ] A part of a turtle which is attached to the lower shell. It contains a fatty and gelatinous substance of a light yellowish color, much esteemed as a delicacy. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. [ Corrupted from caliber. ] An instrument, usually resembling a pair of dividers or compasses with curved legs, for measuring the diameter or thickness of bodies, as of work shaped in a lathe or planer, timber, masts, shot, etc.; or the bore of firearms, tubes, etc.; -- called also caliper compasses, or caliber compasses. [ 1913 Webster ]

Caliper square, a draughtsman's or mechanic's square, having a graduated bar and adjustable jaw or jaws. Knight. --
Vernier calipers. See Vernier. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. caliphe, califfe, F. calife (cf. Sp. califa), fr. Ar. khalīfan successor, fr. khalafa to succed (i. e. a successor of Mohammed). ] Successor or vicar; the civil and religious leader of a Muslim state; -- a title of the successors of Mohammed both as temporal and spiritual rulers, used formerly by the sultans of Turkey. [ Written also calif, kaliph, kalif, khalif. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. califat. ] The office, dignity, or government of a caliph or of the caliphs. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to Calippus, an Athenian astronomer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Calippic period, a period of seventy-six years, proposed by Calippus, as an improvement on the Metonic cycle, since the 6940 days of the Metonic cycle exceeded 19 years by about a quarter of a day, and exceeded 235 lunations by something more. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Calipash. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Calipee. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. See Calipers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a natural family comprising the blowflies.
Syn. -- family Calliphoridae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Zool.) The wood louse. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Clipped p. pr. & vb. n. Clipping. ] [ OE. cluppen, clippen, to embrace, AS. clyran to embrace, clasp; cf. OHG. kluft tongs, shears, Icel, kl&ymacr_;pa to pinch, squeeze, also OE. clippen to cut, shear, Dan. klippe to clip, cut, SW. & Icel. klippa. ] 1. To embrace, hence; to encompass. [ 1913 Webster ]

O . . . that Neptune's arms, who clippeth thee about,
Would bear thee from the knowledge of thyself. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cut off; as with shears or scissors; as, to clip the hair; to clip coin. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sentenced to have his ears clipped. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To curtail; to cut short. [ 1913 Webster ]

All my reports go with the modest truth;
No more nor clipped, but so. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

In London they clip their words after one manner about the court, another in the city, and a third in the suburbs. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To move swiftly; -- usually with indefinite it. [ 1913 Webster ]

Straight flies as chek, and clips it down the wind. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. An embrace. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A cutting; a shearing. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The product of a single shearing of sheep; a season's crop of wool. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A clasp or holder for letters, papers, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. An embracing strap for holding parts together; the iron strap, with loop, at the ends of a whiffletree. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Far.) A projecting flange on the upper edge of a horseshoe, turned up so as to embrace the lower part of the hoof; -- called also toe clip and beak. Youatt. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. A blow or stroke with the hand; as, he hit him a clip. [ Colloq. U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Mach.) A part, attachment, or appendage, for seizing, clasping, or holding, an object, as a cable, etc. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

9. (Angling) A gaff or hook for landing the fish, as in salmon fishing. [ Scot. & Prov. Eng. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

10. A rapid gait. “A three-minute clip.” Kipling. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. a small writing board with a clip attached at the top for holding papers. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. having a clip as the means of attachment; as, clip-on earrings; a clip-on bow tie. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. 1. trimmed with clippers; as, a clipped hedge. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. (music) staccato; -- contrasted with legato.
Syn. -- short. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. effectively concise.
Syn. -- brief, crisp, curt, laconic, short, terse, to the point(predicate). [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. One who clips; specifically, one who clips off the edges of coins. [ 1913 Webster ]

The value is pared off from it into the clipper's pocket. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A machine for clipping hair, esp. the hair of horses. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Naut.) A vessel with a sharp bow, built with a fast hull and tall sails, rigged for fast sailing, and used in trade where the cargo capacity was less important than the speed; -- called also clipper ship. -- Clip"per-built` a. [1913 Webster]

☞ The name was first borne by “Baltimore clippers” famous as privateers in the early wars of the United States. [1913 Webster]

4. (Electronics) a circuit that limits the amplitude of a waveform.
Syn. -- limiter. [WordNet 1.5]

Yankee Clipper, (a) a clipper ship built in the United States. See clipper{3}. (b) Joe DiMaggio; -- a nickname for the player who was a prominent member of the New York Yankees baseball team in the 1940's. [PJC]

n. 1. a type of shears for cutting grass or shrubbery; as, hedge clippers.
Syn. -- clipper, hedge clippers. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a cutting device for cutting hair or finger nails; as, nail clippers.
Syn. -- clipper. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. The act of embracing. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of cutting off, curtailing, or diminishing; the practice of clipping the edges of coins. This practise was common when precious metals such as silver or gold were used in commonly circulated major coins, such as the dime, quarter, and higher denominations; scoundrels would remove small slivers of precious metal from the edges of many coins, eventually accumulating enough precious metal to be worth a significant sum, while passing on the clipped coins at their nominal values. After most governments discontinued coinage in silver and gold in the late 1900's, the practice became obsolete. The serrations, or milling, at the edges of coins was introduced to defeat the practice by making the result of clipping evident. Many coins continued to be made with milled edges even after the practice of clipping was rendered pointless by use of non-precious metals in coinage. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

clipping by Englishmen is robbing the honest man who receives clipped money. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. That which is clipped off or out of something; a piece separated by clipping; as, newspaper clippings. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Football) The act of hitting a player from behind, for the purpose of blocking. It is illegal in football because it can lead to injury to the blocked player, who cannot anticipate the action. A penalty of 10 yards or more may be assessed against the team of the offending player. [ PJC ]

n. [ AS. cūslyppe, cūsloppe, prob. orig., cow's droppings. Cf. Slop, n. ] (Bot.) 1. A common flower in England (Primula veris) having yellow blossoms and appearing in early spring. It is often cultivated in the United States. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In the United States, the marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), appearing in wet places in early spring and often used as a pot herb. It is nearer to a buttercup than to a true cowslip. See Illust. of Marsh marigold. [ 1913 Webster ]

American cowslip (Bot.), a pretty flower of the West (Dodecatheon Meadia), belonging to the same order (Primulaceæ) with the English cowslip. --
French cowslip (Bot.), bear's-ear (Primula Auricula). [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Adorned with cowslips. “Cowslipped lawns.” Keats. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To suffer an eclipse. [ 1913 Webster ]

While the laboring moon
Eclipses at their charms. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. éclipse, L. eclipsis, fr. Gr. 'e`kleipsis, prop., a forsaking, failing, fr. 'eklei`pein to leave out, forsake; 'ek out + lei`pein to leave. See Ex-, and Loan. ] 1. (Astron.) An interception or obscuration of the light of the sun, moon, or other luminous body, by the intervention of some other body, either between it and the eye, or between the luminous body and that illuminated by it. A lunar eclipse is caused by the moon passing through the earth's shadow; a solar eclipse, by the moon coming between the sun and the observer. A satellite is eclipsed by entering the shadow of its primary. The obscuration of a planet or star by the moon or a planet, though of the nature of an eclipse, is called an occultation. The eclipse of a small portion of the sun by Mercury or Venus is called a transit of the planet. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In ancient times, eclipses were, and among unenlightened people they still are, superstitiously regarded as forerunners of evil fortune, a sentiment of which occasional use is made in literature. [ 1913 Webster ]

That fatal and perfidious bark,
Built in the eclipse, and rigged with curses dark. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The loss, usually temporary or partial, of light, brilliancy, luster, honor, consciousness, etc.; obscuration; gloom; darkness. [ 1913 Webster ]

All the posterity of our fist parents suffered a perpetual eclipse of spiritual life. Sir W. Raleigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

As in the soft and sweet eclipse,
When soul meets soul on lovers' lips. Shelley. [ 1913 Webster ]

Annular eclipse. (Astron.) See under Annular. --
Cycle of eclipses. See under Cycle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Eclipsed p. pr. & vb. n. Eclipsing. ] 1. To cause the obscuration of; to darken or hide; -- said of a heavenly body; as, the moon eclipses the sun. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To obscure, darken, or extinguish the beauty, luster, honor, etc., of; to sully; to cloud; to throw into the shade by surpassing. “His eclipsed state.” Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

My joy of liberty is half eclipsed. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Linguistics) the omission or suppression of parts of words or sentences.
Syn. -- ellipsis. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ L. eclipticus belonging to an eclipse, Gr. 'ekleiptiko`s. See Eclipse. ] 1. Pertaining to the ecliptic; as, the ecliptic way. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Pertaining to an eclipse or to eclipses. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lunar ecliptic limit (Astron.), the space of 12° on the moon's orbit from the node, within which, if the moon happens to be at full, it will be eclipsed. --
Solar ecliptic limit, the space of 17° from the lunar node, within which, if a conjunction of the sun and moon occur, the sun will be eclipsed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. écliptique, L. linea ecliptica, Gr. 'ekleiptiko`s, prop. adj., of an eclipse, because in this circle eclipses of the sun and moon take place. See Ecliptic, a. ] 1. (Astron.) A great circle of the celestial sphere, making an angle with the equinoctial of about 23° 28′. It is the apparent path of the sun, or the real path of the earth as seen from the sun. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Geog.) A great circle drawn on a terrestrial globe, making an angle of 23° 28′ with the equator; -- used for illustrating and solving astronomical problems. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L., fr. Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_; to squeeze out. ] 1. The dropping out or suppression from a word of a consonant, with or without a vowel. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Lat. Pros.) The elision of a final m, with the preceding vowel, before a word beginning with a vowel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. 'e`lleipsis, prop., a defect, the inclination of the ellipse to the base of the cone being in defect when compared with that of the side to the base: cf. F. ellipse. See Ellipsis. ] 1. (Geom.) An oval or oblong figure, bounded by a regular curve, which corresponds to an oblique projection of a circle, or an oblique section of a cone through its opposite sides. The greatest diameter of the ellipse is the major axis, and the least diameter is the minor axis. See Conic section, under Conic, and cf. Focus. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Gram.) Omission. See Ellipsis. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The elliptical orbit of a planet. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Sun flies forward to his brother Sun;
The dark Earth follows wheeled in her ellipse. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Ellipses [ L., fr. Gr. 'e`lleipsis a leaving, defect, fr. 'ellei`pein to leave in, fall short; 'en in + lei`pein to leave. See In, and Loan, and cf. Ellipse. ] 1. (Gram.) Omission; a figure of syntax, by which one or more words, which are obviously understood, are omitted; as, the virtues I admire, for, the virtues which I admire. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Geom.) An ellipse. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Printing) a printing symbol, usually three periods in a row (. . .), indicating the omission of some part of a text; -- used commonly in quotations, so as to suppress words not essential to the meaning. A long dash (---) and three asterisks (* * *) are sometimes used with the same meaning. [ PJC ]

n. [ Ellipse + graph: cf. F. ellipsographe. ] An instrument for describing ellipses; -- called also trammel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Ellipse + -oid: cf. F. ellipsoide. ] (Geom.) A solid, all plane sections of which are ellipses or circles. See Conoid, n., 2 (a). [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The ellipsoid has three principal plane sections, a, b, and c, each at right angles to the other two, and each dividing the solid into two equal and symmetrical parts. The lines of meeting of these principal sections are the axes, or principal diameters of the ellipsoid. The point where the three planes meet is the center. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ellipsoid of revolution, a spheroid; a solid figure generated by the revolution of an ellipse about one of its axes. It is called a prolate spheroid, or prolatum, when the ellipse is revolved about the major axis, and an oblate spheroid, or oblatum, when it is revolved about the minor axis.

{ } a. Pertaining to, or shaped like, an ellipsoid; as, ellipsoid or ellipsoidal form.

{ } a. [ Gr. &unr_;: cf. F. elliptique. See Ellipsis. ] 1. Of or pertaining to an ellipse; having the form of an ellipse; oblong, with rounded ends. [ 1913 Webster ]

The planets move in elliptic orbits. Cheyne. [ 1913 Webster ]

The billiard sharp who any one catches,
His doom's extremely hard --
He's made to dwell
In a dungeon cell
On a spot that's always barred.
And there he plays extravagant matches
In fitless finger-stalls
On a cloth untrue
With a twisted cue
And elliptical billiard balls!
Gilbert and Sullivan (The Mikado: The More Humane Mikado Song)

2. Having a part omitted; as, an elliptical phrase. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. leaving out information essential to comprehension; so concise as to be difficult to understand; obscure or ambiguous; -- of speech or writing; as, an elliptical comment. [ PJC ]

Elliptic chuck. See under Chuck. --
Elliptic compasses, an instrument arranged for drawing ellipses. --
Elliptic function. (Math.) See Function. --
Elliptic integral. (Math.) See Integral. --
Elliptic polarization. See under Polarization. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. 1. In the form of an ellipse. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. With a part omitted; as, elliptically expressed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. ellipticité. ] Deviation of an ellipse or a spheroid from the form of a circle or a sphere; especially, in reference to the figure of the earth, the difference between the equatorial and polar semidiameters, divided by the equatorial; thus, the ellipticity of the earth is 1/29966. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Some writers use ellipticity as the ratio of the difference of the two semiaxes to the minor axis, instead of the major. Nichol. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Bot.) Having a form intermediate between elliptic and lanceolate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Ellipsograph. [ 1913 Webster ]