n. [ Alltude + azimuth. ] (Astron.) An instrument for taking azimuths and altitudes simultaneously. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. azimut, F. azimut, fr. Ar. as-sum&unr_;t, pl. of as-samt a way, or perh., a point of the horizon and a circle extending to it from the zenith, as being the Arabic article: cf. It. azzimutto, Pg. azimuth, and Ar. samt-al-rā's the vertex of the heaven. Cf. Zenith. ] (Astron. & Geodesy) (a) The quadrant of an azimuth circle. (b) An arc of the horizon intercepted between the meridian of the place and a vertical circle passing through the center of any object; as, the azimuth of a star; the azimuth or bearing of a line surveying. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In trigonometrical surveying, it is customary to reckon the azimuth of a line from the south point of the horizon around by the west from 0° to 360°. [ 1913 Webster ]

Azimuth circle, or
Vertical circle, one of the great circles of the sphere intersecting each other in the zenith and nadir, and cutting the horizon at right angles. Hutton. --
Azimuth compass, a compass resembling the mariner's compass, but having the card divided into degrees instead of rhumbs, and having vertical sights; used for taking the magnetic azimuth of a heavenly body, in order to find, by comparison with the true azimuth, the variation of the needle. --
Azimuth dial, a dial whose stile or gnomon is at right angles to the plane of the horizon. Hutton. --
Magnetic azimuth, an arc of the horizon, intercepted between the vertical circle passing through any object and the magnetic meridian. This is found by observing the object with an azimuth compass. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to the azimuth; in a horizontal circle. [ 1913 Webster ]

Azimuthal error of a transit instrument, its deviation in azimuth from the plane of the meridian. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Besmutted; p. pr. & vb. n. Besmutting. ] [ Pref. be- + smut: cf. AS. besmītan, and also OE. besmotren. ] To blacken with smut; to foul with soot. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Ger. bismuth, wismuth: cf. F. bismuth. ] (Chem.) One of the elements; a metal of a reddish white color, crystallizing in rhombohedrons. It is somewhat harder than lead, and rather brittle; masses show broad cleavage surfaces when broken across. It melts at 507° Fahr., being easily fused in the flame of a candle. It is found in a native state, and as a constituent of some minerals. Specific gravity 9.8. Atomic weight 207.5. Symbol Bi. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Chemically, bismuth (with arsenic and antimony is intermediate between the metals and nonmetals; it is used in thermo-electric piles, and as an alloy with lead and tin in the fusible alloy or metal. Bismuth is the most diamagnetic substance known. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bismuth glance, bismuth sulphide; bismuthinite. --
Bismuth ocher, a native bismuth oxide; bismite. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Containing bismuth. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Chem.) Of or pertaining to bismuth; containing bismuth, when this element has its higher valence; as, bismuthic oxide. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Bismuth + -ferous. ] Containing bismuth. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. Native bismuth sulphide; -- sometimes called bismuthite. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of, or containing, bismuth, when this element has its lower valence. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Min.) Hydrous carbonate of bismuth, an earthy mineral of a dull white or yellowish color. [ Written also bismuthite. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being commutable. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. commutabilis. ] Capable of being commuted or interchanged. [ 1913 Webster ]

The predicate and subject are not commutable. Whately. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being commutable; interchangeableness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. commutatio: cf. F. commutation. ] 1. A passing from one state to another; change; alteration; mutation. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

So great is the commutation that the soul then hated only that which now only it loves. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of giving one thing for another; barter; exchange. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The use of money is . . . that of saving the commutation of more bulky commodities. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) The change of a penalty or punishment by the pardoning power of the State; as, the commutation of a sentence of death to banishment or imprisonment. [ 1913 Webster ]

Suits are allowable in the spiritual courts for money agreed to be given as a commutation for penance. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A substitution, as of a less thing for a greater, esp. a substitution of one form of payment for another, or one payment for many, or a specific sum of money for conditional payments or allowances; as, commutation of tithes; commutation of fares; commutation of copyright; commutation of rations. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. regular travel from a place of residence to a place where one's daily work is performed; commuting. Most often, such travel is performed between a suburb and a nearby city. [ 1913 Webster ]

Angle of commutation (Astron.), the difference of the geocentric longitudes of the sun and a planet. --
Commutation of tithes, the substitution of a regular payment, chargeable to the land, for the annual tithes in kind. --
Commutation ticket, a ticket, as for transportation, which is the evidence of a contract for service at a reduced rate. See 2d Commute, 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A ticket for transportation at a reduced rate in consideration of some special circumstance, as increase of travel; specif., a ticket for a certain number of, or for daily, trips between neighboring places at a reduced rate, such as are commonly used by those doing business in a city and living in a suburb. Commutation tickets are excepted from the prohibition against special rates contained in the Interstate Commerce Act of Feb. 4, 1887 (24 Stat. 379), and in 145 U. S. 263 it was held that party tickets were also excepted as being “obviously within the commuting principle.” [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ CF. F. commutatif. ] 1. Relative to exchange; interchangeable; reciprocal. -- Com*mut"a*tive"ly, adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rich traders, from their success, are presumed . . . to have cultivated an habitual regard to commutative justice. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Math.) having the property of commutativity. [ PJC ]

n. (Math.) the property of a binary operation or operator such that the result of one term operating on a second is equal to the result of the second term operating on the first. [ GG ]

☞ If the symbol “*” is taken to be a commutative binary operator, then the following equation holds: a*b = b*a A common example is the addition operator for real numbers, “+”: a+b = b+a [ GG ]

n. (Elec.) A piece of apparatus used for reversing the direction of an electrical current; an attachment to certain electrical machines, by means of which alternating currents are made to be continuous or to have the same direction. It may be attached to the end of the spindle of an electric motor, where a brush is in contact sequentially with the parts of the spindle that conduct current to the different windings of the motor. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Commuted; p. pr. & vb. n. Commuting. ] [ L. commutare, -mutatum; com- + mutare to change. See Mutation. ] 1. To exchange; to put or substitute something else in place of, as a smaller penalty, obligation, or payment, for a greater, or a single thing for an aggregate; hence, to lessen; to diminish; as, to commute a sentence of death to one of imprisonment for life; to commute tithes; to commute charges for fares. [ 1913 Webster ]

The sounds water and fire, being once annexed to those two elements, it was certainly more natural to call beings participating of the first “watery”, and the last “fiery”, than to commute the terms, and call them by the reverse. J. Harris [ 1913 Webster ]

The utmost that could be obtained was that her sentence should be commuted from burning to beheading. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To obtain or bargain for exemption or substitution; to effect a commutation. [ 1913 Webster ]

He . . . thinks it unlawful to commute, and that he is bound to pay his vow in kind. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To pay, or arrange to pay, in gross instead of part by part; as, to commute for a year's travel over a route. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. to travel regularly from a place of residence to another place, such as where one's daily work is performed. Often, such travel is performed between a suburb and a nearby city; as, to commute to work. [ PJC ]

n. One who commutes; especially, one who commutes in traveling. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. of or pertaining to commuting, in the sense of traveling; used for commuting; as, a commuter airline. [ PJC ]

n. the process of travel by a commuter.
Syn. -- commutation. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ Pref. com- + mutual. ] Mutual; reciprocal; united. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

There, with commutual zeal, we both had strove. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

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

n. A person who is deaf and dumb; one who, through deprivation or defect of hearing, has either failed the acquire the power of speech, or has lost it. [ See Illust. of Dactylology. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Deaf-mutes are still so called, even when, by artificial methods, they have been taught to speak imperfectly. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the condition of being a deaf-mute; a congenital deafness that results in inability to speak. [ 1913 Webster WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;; &unr_; in + &unr_; belly + &unr_; to speak: cf. F. engastrimythe. ] An ventriloquist. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. gamme + ut the name of a musical note. F. gamme is fr. the name of the Greek letter &unr_;, which was used by Guido d'Arezzo to represent the first note of his model scale. See Gamma, and Ut. ] (Mus.) The scale. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Malayan gumuti. ] A black, fibrous substance resembling horsehair, obtained from the leafstalks of two kinds of palms, Metroxylon Sagu, and Arenga saccharifera, of the Indian islands. It is used for making cordage. Called also ejoo. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. immutabilitas: cf. F. immutabilité. ] The state or quality of being immutable; immutableness. Heb. vi. 17. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. immutabilis; pref. im- not + mutabilis mutable. See Mutable. ] Not mutable; not capable or susceptible of change; unchangeable; unalterable. [ 1913 Webster ]

That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation. Heb. vi. 18. [ 1913 Webster ]

Immutable, immortal, infinite,
Eternal King. Milton.

-- Im*mu"ta*ble*ness, n. -- Im*mu"ta*bly, adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. immutatus, p. p. of immature. ] Unchanged. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. immutatio, from immutare, immutatum, to change. See Immute. ] Change; alteration; mutation. [ R. ] Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. immutare, immutatum; perf. im- in + mutare to change : cf. OF. immuter. ] To change or alter. [ Obs. ] J. Salkeld. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. incommutabilitas: cf. F. incommutabilité. ] The quality or state of being incommutable. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. incommutabilis: cf. F. incommutable. See In- not, and Commutable. ] Not commutable; not capable of being exchanged with, or substituted for, another. Cudworth. -- In`com*mut"a*ble*ness, n. -- In`com*mut"a*bly, adv.

n. Interchange; mutual or reciprocal change. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Mutual. [ Obs. ] Daniel. -- In`ter*mu"tu*al*ly, adv. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

n. The quality of being intransmutable. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Not capable of being transmuted or changed into another substance. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having the general shape or outline of a leg of mutton; as, a leg-of-mutton, or shoulder-of-mutton, sail. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

prop. n. An extinct genus comprising the mammoths.
Syn. -- genus Mammuthus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

prop. n. (Zool.) The species name for the woolly mammoth, a very hairy mammoth common in colder portions of the Northern hemisphere.
Syn. -- woolly mammoth, northern mammoth. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

prop. n. An extinct natural family of mammals, comprising the mastodons.
Syn. -- family Mammutidae, family Mastodontidae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ L. mutabilitas: cf. F. mutabilité. ] The quality of being mutable, or subject to change or alteration, either in form, state, or essential character; susceptibility of change; changeableness; inconstancy; variation. [ 1913 Webster ]

Plato confessed that the heavens and the frame of the world are corporeal, and therefore subject to mutability. Stillingfleet. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. mutabilis, fr. mutare to change. See Move. ] 1. Capable of alteration; subject to change; changeable in form, qualities, or nature. [ 1913 Webster ]

Things of the most accidental and mutable nature. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Changeable; inconstant; unsettled; unstable; fickle. “Most mutable wishes.” Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Changeable; alterable; unstable; unsteady; unsettled; wavering; inconstant; variable; fickle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being mutable. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Changeably. [ 1913 Webster ]