[ See Exodus vii. 9 and Numbers xvii. 8 ] 1. (Arch.) A rod with one serpent twined around it, thus differing from the caduceus of Mercury, which has two. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) A plant with a tall flowering stem; esp. the great mullein, or hag-taper, and the golden-rod. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Named from Thomas Addison, M. D., of London, who first described it. ] (Med.) A morbid condition causing a peculiar brownish discoloration of the skin, hypotension, and loss of weight; it is due to insufficient secretion of adrenocortical hormones. Untreated disease is usually fatal. Called also chronic adrenocortical insufficiency [ 1913 Webster + AS ]

[ See Buff a buffet. ] A game in which one person is blindfolded, and tries to catch some one of the other players, and tell who it is. [ 1913 Webster ]

Surely he fancies I play at blindman's buff with him, for he thinks I never have my eyes open. Stillingfleet. [ 1913 Webster ]

The time between daylight and candle light. [ Humorous ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ from Brompton Hospital, London. ](Pharmacy) A mixture containing morphine and cocaine, and sometimes other narcotic substances, such as heroin, in an alcoholic solution, administered mostly to terminally ill patients, especially cancer patients, to relieve severe pain. Its use is not universally accepted as good medical practice. [ PJC ]

See under Battery. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Chem.), a kind of burner, invented by Professor Bunsen of Heidelberg, consisting of a straight tube, four or five inches in length, having small holes for the entrance of air at the bottom. Illuminating gas being also admitted at the bottom, a mixture of gas and air is formed which burns at the top with a feebly luminous but intensely hot flame. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Med.) A congenital disorder caused by an extra chromosome 21 in some or all cells. It causes a variable number and degree of abnormalities, including retarded growth, mental retardation, a short nose, prominent epicanthic folds on the eyelids, a protruding lower lip, and other physical features having varying degrees of deviation from the normal. Called also mongolism, trisomy-21 and trisomy 21 syndrome. [ PJC ]

{ }. See Dragon's blood, Dragon's head, etc., under Dragon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.), a delicate perennial spring-flowering herb (Dicentra cucullaria) of eastern U.S., having peculiar double-spurred white flowers. See Illust. of Dicentra
Syn. -- Dicentra cucullaria. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a hardy deciduous American vine (Aristolochia durior) having large, heart-shaped leaves and bearing brownish-purple flowers which have their calyx tubes curved like the bowl of a tobacco pipe. Formerly classified as Aristolochia Sipho.
Syn. -- pipe vine, Aristolochia macrophylla, Aristolochia durior. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

An agreement binding only as a matter of honor; often, specif., such an agreement among the heads of industrial or merchantile enterprises, the terms of which could not be included and enforced in a legal contract. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. (Bot.) An umbelliferous plant (Caucalis daucoides). [ 1913 Webster ]

A choice without an alternative; the thing offered or nothing. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ It is said to have had its origin in the name of one Hobson, at Cambridge, England, who let horses, and required every customer to take in his turn the horse which stood next the stable door. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Med.) A morbid condition characterized by progressive anæmia and enlargement of the lymphatic glands; -- first described by Dr. Hodgkin, an English physician.

n. See St. John's-wort. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>n. [ See Lieberkuehn. ] (Anat.) The simple tubular glands of the small intestines; -- called also crypts of Lieberkuehn. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>n. (Bot.) A name given in Western South America to certain plants with shaggy tomentose leaves, as species of Culcitium, and Espeletia. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>n. (Bot.) (a) A composite plant of the genus Prenanthes, of which several species are found in the United States. (b) The edelweiss. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>n. (Bot.) A South European plant of the genus Leontice (Leontice leontopetalum), the tuberous roots of which contain so much alkali that they are sometimes used as a substitute for soap. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>n. (Bot.) A genus of labiate plants (Leonurus); -- so called from a fancied resemblance of its flower spikes to the tuft of a lion's tail. Leonurus Cardiaca is the common motherwort. [ 1913 Webster ]

pl. Lions' teeth (Bot.) See Leontodon. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>n. [ Named after the Swedish Zoologist, S. F. Löven, who discovered it. ] (Zool.) The peculiar larva of Polygordius. See Polygordius. [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Naut.) A space amidships used to keep blocks, ropes, etc.; a space on a ship belonging to no one in particular to care for. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An unoccupied area between opposing armies. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. Hence: (Fig.): An unclaimed space or time. [ 1913 Webster ]

That no-man's land of twilight. W. Black. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. A disease causing parkinsonism, a degenerative nervous disorder; sometimes used loosely as a synonym for parkinsonism. More precisely, parkinson's disease is the term for the underlying physiological disorder and parkinsonism is the term for the set of symptoms associated with the disease. See parkinsonism.
Syn. -- paralysis agitans, Parkinsonism, Parkinson's disease syndrome, shaking palsy. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

Parkinson's disease is the most common form of parkinsonism, a group of disorders that are the result of the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells. Mayo Clinic (Report, 1999) [ PJC ]

According to the National Parkinson's Foundation (NPF), 1 million Americans -- including former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, and television and film star Michael J. Fox -- are affected by Parkinson's disease. Mayo Clinic (Report, 1999) [ PJC ]

(Metal.) A process of desilverizing argentiferous lead by repeated meltings and skimmings, which concentrate the silver in the molten bath, the final skimmings being nearly pure lad. The processwas invented in 1833 by Hugh Lee Pattinson, an English metallurgist. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

[ For ragman roll a long list of names, the devil's roll or list; where ragman is of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. ragmenni a craven person, Sw. raggen the devil. Icel. ragmenni is fr. ragr cowardly (another form of argr, akin to AS. earg cowardly, vile, G. arg bad) + menni (in comp.) man, akin to E. man. See Roll, and cf. Rigmarole. ] The rolls of deeds on parchment in which the Scottish nobility and gentry subscribed allegiance to Edward I. of England, A. D. 1296. [ Also written ragman-roll. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. G. ravenstuch. ] A fine quality of sailcloth. Ham. Nav. Encyc. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ So called from Theodor Schwann, a German anatomist of the 19th century. ] (Anat.) The neurilemma. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Anat.) The substance of the medullary sheath. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A mystic symbol consisting of two interlaced triangles forming a star with six points, often with one triangle dark and one light, symbolic of the union of soul and body. It is shaped identically to the hexagram and Star of David, distinguished only in its usage. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

{ or }, n. 1. The down, or fine, soft feathers, of the swan, used on various articles of dress. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A fine, soft, thick cloth of wool mixed with silk or cotton; a sort of twilled fustian, like moleskin. [ 1913 Webster ]

Swan's-down cotton. See Cotton flannel, under Cotton. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ From Thomsen, a physician of Sleswick. ] (Med.) An affection apparently congenital, consisting in tonic contraction and stiffness of the voluntary muscles occurring after a period of muscular inaction. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Chem.) A process for the recovery or regeneration of manganese dioxide in the manufacture of chlorine, by means of milk of lime and the oxygen of the air; -- so called after the inventor. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ After W. H. Wollaston, English physicist. ] (Optics) A magnifying glass consisting of two plano-convex lenses. It is designed to correct spherical aberration and chromatic dispersion. Under "wollastonite" the eponymous inventor is described as a chemist. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

. An association of women formed in the United States in 1874, for the advancement of temperance by organizing preventive, educational, evangelistic, social, and legal work. It is also known as the Women's Christian Temperance Union and by its acronym WCTU or W.C.T.U.. It was one of the political forces leading to passage of the constitutional amendment, later repealed, which prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

. (Law) A statute fixing the compensation that a workman may recover from an employer in case of accident, esp. the British act of 6 Edw. VII. c. 58 (1906) giving to a workman, except in certain cases of “serious and willful misconduct, ” a right against his employer to a certain compensation on the mere occurrence of an accident where the common law gives the right only for negligence of the employer. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. An organization for promoting the spiritual, intellectual, social, and physical welfare of young men, founded, June 6, 1844, by George Williams (knighted therefor by Queen Victoria) in London. In 1851 it extended to the United States and Canada, and in 1855 representatives of similar organizations throughout Europe and America formed an international body. The movement has successfully expanded not only among young men in general, but also specifically among railroad men, in the army and navy, with provision for Indians and negroes, and a full duplication of all the various lines of oepration in the boys' departments. It currently (1998) maintains buildings which usually have both recreational facilities and dormitories for dwelling. It is usually called by its acronym YMCA. See also the similar organizations Young Women's Christian Association and YMHA. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

. An organization for promoting the spiritual, intellectual, social, and economic welfare of young women, originating in 1855 with Lady Kinnaird's home for young women, and Miss Emma Robert's prayer union for young women, in England, which were combined in the year 1884 as a national association. Now nearly all the civilized countries, and esp. the United States, have local, national, and international organizations. See also the similar organizations Young Men's Christian Association and YMHA. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]