‖n. [ Gr. 'abaki`skos, dim of 'a`bax. See Abacus. ] (Arch.) One of the tiles or squares of a tessellated pavement; an abaculus. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. adosculari, adosculatum, to kiss. See Osculate. ] (Biol.) Impregnation by external contact, without intromission. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to Æsculapius or to the healing art; medical; medicinal. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. Aesculapius, Gr. &unr_;. ] (Myth.) The god of medicine. Hence, a physician. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Esculin. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to a dwarf tree; shrublike. Da Costa. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Asci [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_; a bladder. ] (Bot.) A small membranous bladder or tube in which are inclosed the seedlike reproductive particles or sporules of lichens and certain fungi. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L., an asterisk. See Asterisk. ] (Anat.) The smaller of the two otoliths found in the inner ear of many fishes. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. & t. To auscultate. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. & t. To practice auscultation; to examine by auscultation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ausculcatio, fr. auscultare to listen, fr. a dim. of auris, orig. ausis, ear. See Auricle, and cf. Scout, n. ] 1. The act of listening or hearkening to. Hickes. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Med.) An examination by listening either directly with the ear (immediate auscultation) applied to parts of the body, as the abdomen; or with the stethoscope (mediate auscultation), in order to distinguish sounds recognized as a sign of health or of disease. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who practices auscultation. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to auscultation. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., a seesaw. ] In mechanics, an apparatus on the principle of the seesaw, in which one end rises as the other falls. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bascule bridge, a counterpoise or balanced drawbridge, which is opened by sinking the counterpoise and thus lifting the footway into the air. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a genus comprising the cacomistles. See bassarisk.
Syn. -- genus Bassariscus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ } v. t. [ Pref. be- + scumber, scummer. ] To discharge ordure or dung upon. [ Obs. ] B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. bi- + muscular. ] (Zool.) Having two adductor muscles, as a bivalve mollusk. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. biscuit (cf. It. biscotto, Sp. bizcocho, Pg. biscouto), fr. L. bis twice + coctus, p. p. of coquere to cook, bake. See Cook, and cf. Bisque a kind of porcelain. ] 1. A kind of unraised bread, of many varieties, plain, sweet, or fancy, formed into flat cakes, and bakes hard; as, ship biscuit. [ 1913 Webster ]

According to military practice, the bread or biscuit of the Romans was twice prepared in the oven. Gibbon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A small loaf or cake of bread, raised and shortened, or made light with soda or baking powder. Usually a number are baked in the same pan, forming a sheet or card. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Earthen ware or porcelain which has undergone the first baking, before it is subjected to the glazing. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Sculp.) A species of white, unglazed porcelain, in which vases, figures, and groups are formed in miniature. [ 1913 Webster ]

Meat biscuit, an alimentary preparation consisting of matters extracted from meat by boiling, or of meat ground fine and combined with flour, so as to form biscuits. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. bi- + scutate. ] (Bot.) Resembling two bucklers placed side by side. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a genus off Eurasian herbs and small shrubs: buckler mustard.
Syn. -- genus Biscutella. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖ [ LL. camera chamber + L. obscurus, obscura, dark. ] (Opt.) 1. An apparatus in which the images of external objects, formed by a convex lens or a concave mirror, are thrown on a paper or other white surface placed in the focus of the lens or mirror within a darkened chamber, or box, so that the outlines may be traced. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Photog.) An apparatus in which the image of an external object or objects is, by means of lenses, thrown upon a sensitized plate or surface placed at the back of an extensible darkened box or chamber variously modified; -- commonly called simply the camera. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. Of or pertaining to or involving the heart and blood vessels; as, cardiovascular conditioning. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ ‖‖ } n. [ It., clear dark. ] (a) The arrangement of light and dark parts in a work of art, such as a drawing or painting, whether in monochrome or in color. (b) The art or practice of so arranging the light and dark parts as to produce a harmonious effect. Cf. Clair-obscur. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A painter who cares for and studies light and shade rather than color. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. See Clare-obscure. ] See Chiaroscuro. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. clarus clear + obscurus obscure; cf. F. clair-obscur. Cf. Chiaroscuro. ] (Painting) See Chiaroscuro. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Chiaroscuro. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. corpusculaire. ] Pertaining to, or composed of, corpuscles, or small particles. [ 1913 Webster ]

Corpuscular philosophy, that which attempts to account for the phenomena of nature, by the motion, figure, rest, position, etc., of the minute particles of matter. --
Corpuscular theory (Opt.), the theory enunciated by Sir Isaac Newton, that light consists in the emission and rapid progression of minute particles or corpuscles. The theory is now generally rejected, and supplanted by the undulatory theory. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Corpuscular. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An adherent of the corpuscular philosophy. Bentley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A corpuscle. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Corpuscular. Tyndall. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ L. crepusculum, fr. creper dusky, dark: cf. F. crépuscule. ] Twilight. Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Crepuscular. [ Obs. ] Sprat. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Cf. F. crépusculaire. ] 1. Pertaining to twilight; glimmering; hence, imperfectly clear or luminous. [ 1913 Webster ]

This semihistorical and crepuscular period. Sir G. C. Lewis. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Flying in the twilight or evening, or before sunrise; -- said certain birds and insects. [ 1913 Webster ]

Others feed only in the twilight, as bats and owls, and are called crepuscular. Whewell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a stretch of turbulent water in the sea.
Syn. -- rip, riptide, tide rip. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a tendency or sentiment within a group which conflicts with that of the majority; -- often used in the plural. [ PJC ]

v. t. To cut across or through; to intersect. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A short cut across; a path shorter than by the high road. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mining) A level driven across the course of a vein, or across the main workings, as from one gangway to another. [ 1913 Webster ]

Crosscut saw. (a) A saw, the teeth of which are so set as to adapt it for sawing wood crosswise of the grain rather than lengthwise. (b) A saw managed by two men, one at each end, for cutting large logs crosswise. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ The same word as Couscous, fr. F. couscous couscous, Ar. kuskus. ] (Bot.) A soft grass (Pennisetum typhoideum) found in all tropical regions, used as food for men and cattle in Central Africa. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Same as Vetiver oil. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. a genus of African antelopes including the sassaby, Damaliscus lunatus.
Syn. -- genus Damaliscus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

prop. n. (Geography) The capital city of Syria. Population (2000) = 1, 549, 932. [ PJC ]

Damascus blade, a sword or scimiter, made chiefly at Damascus, having a variegated appearance of watering, and proverbial for excellence. --
Damascus iron, or
Damascus twist, metal formed of thin bars or wires of iron and steel elaborately twisted and welded together; used for making gun barrels, etc., of high quality, in which the surface, when polished and acted upon by acid, has a damask appearance. --
Damascus steel. See Damask steel, under Damask, a. [ 1913 Webster ]

. See Damask steel, under Damask. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. the act or process of demasculinizing; the removal of the testicles of a male animal.
Syn. -- emasculation, castration. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

v. t. to remove the testicles of a male animal.
Syn. -- emasculate, castrate. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ L. deosculatus, p. p. of deosculari. See Osculate. ] To kiss warmly. [ Obs. ] -- De*os`cu*la"tion n. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

a. [ L. discumbere, discubitum, to lie down, recline at table; dis- + cumbere (in comp.) to lie down. ] Leaning; fitted for a reclining posture. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Disculpated; p. pr. & vb. n. Disculpating. ] [ LL. disculpatus, p. p. of disculpare to disculpate; dis- + L. culpare to blame, culpa fault. ] To free from blame or the imputation of a fault; to exculpate. [ 1913 Webster ]

I almost fear you think I begged it, but I can disculpate myself. Walpole. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. disculpation. ] Exculpation. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Tending to exculpate; exculpatory. [ 1913 Webster ]