n.; E. pl. Abscissas, L. pl. Abscissæ. [ L., fem. of abscissus, p. p. of absindere to cut of. See Abscind. ] (Geom.) One of the elements of reference by which a point, as of a curve, is referred to a system of fixed rectilineal coördinate axes. When referred to two intersecting axes, one of them called the axis of abscissas, or of X, and the other the axis of ordinates, or of Y, the abscissa of the point is the distance cut off from the axis of X by a line drawn through it and parallel to the axis of Y. When a point in space is referred to three axes having a common intersection, the abscissa may be the distance measured parallel to either of them, from the point to the plane of the other two axes. Abscissas and ordinates taken together are called coördinates. -- OX or PY is the abscissa of the point P of the curve, OY or PX its ordinate, the intersecting lines OX and OY being the axes of abscissas and ordinates respectively, and the point O their origin. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. (Geography) The capital city of Guinea-Bissau. Population (2000) = 200, 000. [ PJC ]

n. a shrub of the genus Carissa having fragrant white flowers and plumlike red to purple-black fruits. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Of or pertaining to a commissary. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. commissariat. ] (Mil.) (a) The organized system by which armies and military posts are supplied with food and daily necessaries. (b) The body of officers charged with such service. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Commissaries [ LL. commissarius, fr. L. commissus, p. p. of committere to commit, intrust to. See Commit. ] 1. One to whom is committed some charge, duty, or office, by a superior power; a commissioner. [ 1913 Webster ]

Great Destiny, the Commissary of God. Donne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Eccl.) An officer of the bishop, who exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction in parts of the diocese at a distance from the residence of the bishop. Ayliffe. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mil.) (a) An officer having charge of a special service; as, the commissary of musters. (b) An officer whose business is to provide food for a body of troops or a military post; -- officially called commissary of subsistence. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Washington wrote to the President of Congress . . . urging the appointment of a commissary general, a quartermaster general, a commissary of musters, and a commissary of artillery. W. Irving [ 1913 Webster ]

Commissary general, an officer in charge of some special department of army service; as: (a) The officer in charge of the commissariat and transport department, or of the ordnance store department. [ Eng. ] (b) The commissary general of subsistence. [ U. S. ] --
Commissary general of subsistence (Mil. U. S.), the head of the subsistence department, who has charge of the purchase and issue of provisions for the army. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The office or employment of a commissary. Ayliffe. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. conspissatio, fr. conspissare to make thick. ] A making thick or viscous; thickness; inspissation. [ R. ] Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) 1. Pertaining to the crissum; as, crissal feathers. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Having highly colored under tail coverts; as, the crissal thrasher. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ F. croissant, adj. & n., crescent. ] (Her.) Terminated with crescents; -- said of a cross the ends of which are so terminated. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Dismission; discharge. [ 1913 Webster ]

Officeholders were commanded faithfully to enforce it, upon pain of immediate dismissal. Motley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being dissatisfied, unsatisfied, or discontented; uneasiness proceeding from the want of gratification, or from disappointed wishes and expectations. [ 1913 Webster ]

The ambitious man has little happiness, but is subject to much uneasiness and dissatisfaction. Addison.

Syn. -- Discontent; discontentment; displeasure; disapprobation; distaste; dislike. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Causing dissatisfaction; unable to give content; unsatisfactory; displeasing. [ 1913 Webster ]

To have reduced the different qualifications in the different States to one uniform rule, would probably have been as dissatisfactory to some of the States, as difficult for the Convention. A. Hamilton.

-- Dis*sat`is*fac"to*ri*ness n. [1913 Webster]

adj. in a state of sulky dissatisfaction.
Syn. -- disgruntled. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dissatisfied p. pr. & vb. n. Dissatisfying. ] To render unsatisfied or discontented; to excite uneasiness in by frustrating wishes or expectations; to displease by the want of something requisite; as, to be dissatisfied with one's fortune. [ 1913 Webster ]

The dissatisfied factions of the autocracy. Bancroft. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Emissaries [ L. emissarius, fr. emittere, emissum, to send out: cf. F. émissaire. See Emit. ] An agent employed to advance, in a covert manner, the interests of his employers; one sent out by any power that is at war with another, to create dissatisfaction among the people of the latter. [ 1913 Webster ]

Buzzing emissaries fill the ears
Of listening crowds with jealousies and fears. Dryden.

Syn. -- Emissary, Spy. A spy is one who enters an enemy's camp or territories to learn the condition of the enemy; an emissary may be a secret agent appointed not only to detect the schemes of an opposing party, but to influence their councils. A spy must be concealed, or he suffers death; an emissary may in some cases be known as the agent of an adversary without incurring similar hazard. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Exploring; spying. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Anat.) Applied to the veins which pass out of the cranium through apertures in its walls. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The office of an emissary. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. glisser to slip. ] 1. A sliding, as down a snow slope. Tyndall. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A dance step consisting of a glide or slide to one side. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. & a. [ As if It. = Fr. glissant sliding. ] (Mus.) A gliding effect; gliding. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. impuissance. ] Lack of power; inability. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Their own impuissance and weakness. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F., fr. pref. im- not + puissant. See Puissant. ] Weak; impotent; feeble. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Inspissated p. pr. & vb. n. Inspissating ] [ L. inspissatus, p. p. of inspissare to thicken; pref. in- + spissare to thicken, fr. spissus thick. ] To thicken or bring to greater consistence, as fluids by evaporation. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. inspissatus, p. p. ] Thick or thickened; inspissated. Greenhill. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act or the process of inspissating, or thickening a fluid substance, as by evaporation; also, the state of being so thickened. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Janizary. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. jouir to enjoy, fr. L. gaudere to rejoice. ] Jollity; merriment. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Malacissation. ] Softening; relaxing. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. malacissare to make soft, Gr. malaki`zein. ] The act of making soft or supple. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., an addition, makeweight; of Tuscan origin. ] (Math.) The decimal part of a logarithm, as distinguished from the integral part, or characteristic. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. me`lissa a bee, honey. ] (Bot.) A genus of labiate herbs, including the balm, or bee balm (Melissa officinalis). [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Missae [ LL. See 1st Mass. ] (R. C. Ch.) The service or sacrifice of the Mass. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. missale, liber missalis, from missa mass: cf. F. missel. See 1st Mass. ] The book containing the service of the Mass for the entire year; a Mass book. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to the Mass, or to a missal or Mass book. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To speak ill. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To say wrongly. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To speak evil of; to slander. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ F., p. pr. of naître to be born, L. nasci. ] (Her.) Same as Jessant. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. palissandre. ] (Bot.) (a) Violet wood. (b) Rosewood. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_; odd, from &unr_; over. ] (Chem.) Odd; not even; -- said of elementary substances and of radicals whose valence is not divisible by two without a remainder. Contrasted with artiad. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) A name locally applied to various wild plants, as dandelion, bluet, oxeye daisy, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Worthless or of no significance. [ vulgar ] [ PJC ]

n. [ L. pissasphaltus, Gr. &unr_;; &unr_; pitch + &unr_; asphalt: cf. F. pissasphalte. ] (Min.) Earth pitch; a soft, black bitumen of the consistency of tar, and of a strong smell. It is inflammable, and intermediate between petroleum and asphalt. [ Written also pisasphaltum, pisasphalt, etc. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. puissant. See Puissant, and cf. Potency, Potance, Potence. ] Power; strength; might; force; potency. “ Youths of puissance.” Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

The power and puissance of the king. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton, puissance and puissant are usually dissyllables. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F., originally, a p. pr. formed fr. L. posse to be able: cf. L. potens powerful. See Potent. ] Powerful; strong; mighty; forcible; as, a puissant prince or empire. “ Puissant deeds.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Of puissant nations which the world possessed. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

And worldlings in it are less merciful,
And more puissant. Mrs. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a puissant manner; powerfully; with great strength. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or quality of being puissant; puissance; power. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. ] (Her.) In a half-raised position, as if about to spring on prey. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ F. See Recognizance. ] The act of reconnoitering; preliminary examination or survey. Specifically: (a) (Geol.) An examination or survey of a region in reference to its general geological character. (b) (Engin.) An examination of a region as to its general natural features, preparatory to a more particular survey for the purposes of triangulation, or of determining the location of a public work. (c) (Mil.) An examination of a territory, or of an enemy's position, for the purpose of obtaining information necessary for directing military operations; a preparatory expedition. [ 1913 Webster ]

Reconnoissance in force (Mil.), a demonstration or attack by a large force of troops for the purpose of discovering the position and strength of an enemy. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., fr. renaître to be born again. Cf. Renascence. ] A new birth, or revival. Specifically: (a) The transitional movement in Europe, marked by the revival of classical learning and art in Italy in the 15th century, and the similar revival following in other countries. (b) The style of art which prevailed at this epoch. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Renaissance was rather the last stage of the Middle Ages, emerging from ecclesiastical and feudal despotism, developing what was original in mediaeval ideas by the light of classic arts and letters. J. A. Symonds (Encyc. Brit.). [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to the Renaissance. [ 1913 Webster ]