[ Jap. adzuki. ] A cultivated variety of the Asiatic gram, now introduced into the United States. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. A sterile plain, containing an excess of alkali, at the bottom of an undrained basin in an arid region; a playa. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Any one of the univalent metals of group I of the periodic table of the elements, including lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, and francium. The hydroxides of these metals are soluble in water and form strongly basic solutions. [ PJC. ]

. Any one of various soils found in arid and semiarid regions, containing an unusual amount of soluble mineral salts which effloresce in the form of a powder or crust (usually white) in dry weather following rains or irrigation. The basis of these salts is mainly soda with a smaller amount of potash, and usually a little lime and magnesia. Two main classes of alkali are commonly distinguished: black alkali, which may be any alkaline carbonate, but which practically consists of sodium carbonate (sal soda), which is highly corrosive and destructive to vegetation; and white alkali, characterized by the presence of sodium sulphate (Glauber's salt), which is less injurious to vegetation. Black alkali is so called because water containing it dissolves humus, forming a dark-colored solution which, when it collects in puddles and evaporates, produces characteristic black spots. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. Waste material from the manufacture of alkali; specif., soda waste. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

(Geol.) An epoch at the close of the American lower Silurian system. The rocks are well developed near Cincinnati, Ohio. The group includes the Hudson River and Lorraine shales of New York. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. same as coati.
Syn. -- coati, coon cat, Nasua narica. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖ pl. Corni i basseto. [ It. ] (Mus.) A tenor clarinet; -- called also basset horn, and sometimes confounded with the English horn, which is a tenor oboe. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L. ] Lit., for whose benefit; incorrectly understood, it came to be used in the sense, of what good or use; and hence, (what) purpose; object; specif., the ultimate object of life. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

prop. n. (Geography) The capital city of Brunei. Population (2000) = 52, 300. [ PJC ]

‖ n.; pl. djinn r djinns A spirit believed by Muslims to inhabit the earth and influence mankind by appearing in the form of humans or animals. Same as djinni and Jinnee. See Jinnee, Jinn.
Syn. -- genie, jinn, jinni, jinnee, djinn, djinni. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

{ or } [ Turk. eleme anything which has been sifted and freed from dust or broken parts. ] A kind of figs of superior quality. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

{ . (Elec.) A form of conductor, designed by Ferranti, for currents of high potential, and consisting of concentric tubes of copper separated by an insulating material composed of paper saturated with black mineral wax. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Elec.) An increase in the ratio of transformation of an alternating current converter, accompanied by other changes in electrical conditions, occurring when the secondary of the converter is connected with a condenser of moderate capacity; -- so called because first observed in connection with the Ferranti cables in London. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖ [ L., cause it to be done. ] (Law) A judicial writ that lies for one who has recovered in debt or damages, commanding the sheriff that he cause to be made of the goods, chattels, or real estate of the defendant, the sum claimed. Blackstone. Cowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖pl. [ L. imperfecti imperfect. ] (Bot.) A heterogenous phylum of fungi which lack a sexual phase, or of which the sexual phase is not known. Some undoubtedly represent the conidium stages of various Ascomycetes. It is not considered a natural phylum, and is also called the Deuteromycota. The group is divided into the orders Sphæropsidales, Melanconiales, and Moniliales. It includes the genera Penicillium and Aspergillus, which reproduce asexually by means of conidia. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

An inferior kind of olive oil, brought from Gallipoli, in Italy. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Bot.) The East Indian name of the Cynodon Dactylon; dog's-grass. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Hind. Hindūstānī an Indian, fr. Hind. and Per. Hindūstān India. ] Of or pertaining to the Hindoos or their language. -- n. The language of Hindustan; the name given by Europeans to the most generally spoken of the modern Aryan languages of India. It is Hindi with the addition of Persian and Arabic words. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ phonetic, from I owe you. ] A paper having on it these letters, with a sum named, and duly signed; -- in use in England as an acknowledgment of a debt, and taken as evidence thereof, but not amounting to a promissory note; a due bill. Wharton. Story. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Bot.) A great Brazilian palm tree (Raphia tædigera), used by the natives for many purposes. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ or }. A resinous product of the kauri, found in the form of yellow or brown lumps in the ground where the trees have grown. It is used for making varnish, and as a substitute for amber. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖pos>n. [ Law L., cause to be levied. ] A writ of execution at common law. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L., dim. of libra balance. See Level, n. ] 1. A small balance. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A level, or leveling instrument. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A type of wheat (Triticum durum) with hard dark-colored kernels high in gluten and used for bread and pasta; grown especially in South Russia, North Africa, and North central North America.
Syn. -- durum, durum wheat, hard wheat, Triticum durum, Triticum turgidum. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The kwacha, the monetary unit of Malawi. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

prop. n. The standard monetary unit in Mali and some other countries. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Zool.) A flightless New Zealand rail of thievish disposition having short wings each with a spur used in fighting.
Syn. -- weka, wood hen. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Naut.) A rig of triangular sails for a yacht.
Syn. -- Bermuda rig, Bermudan rig, Bermudian rig. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

(Elec.) A system or wireless telegraphy developed by G. Marconi, an Italian physicist, in which Hertzian waves are used in transmission and a coherer is used as the receiving instrument. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. [ F., literally, fat Tuesday. ] 1. The last day of Carnival; the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent and fasting); Shrove Tuesday; -- in some cities a great day of carnival and merrymaking; in the United States it is especially associated with New Orleans.
Syn. -- pancake day. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The series of festival events celebrated on Mardi Gras{ 1 }. [ PJC ]

(Pedagogy) A system of training and instruction, primarily for use with normal children aged from three to six years, devised by Dr. Maria Montessori while teaching in the “Houses of Childhood” (schools in the poorest tenement districts of Rome, Italy), and first fully described by her in 1909. The fundamental aim is to create self-motivation for education, and the leading features are freedom for physical activity (no stationary desks and chairs), informal and individual instruction, the very early development of reading and writing skills, and an extended sensory and motor training (with special emphasis on vision, touch, perception of movement, and their interconnections), mediated by a patented, standardized system of “didactic apparatus, ” which is declared to be “auto-regulative.” Most of the chief features of the method are borrowed from current methods used in many institutions for training feeble-minded children, and dating back especially to the work of the French-American physician Edouard O. Seguin (1812-80). [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖ /mhw>, n. [ Hind., fr. pachis twenty-five, the highest throw in the game. ] 1. A game, somewhat resembling backgammon, originating in India. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A game adopted from the Indian game, using disks, as of pasteboard, and dice; it is played on a cross-shaped board. [ U. S. & Eng. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. + WordNet 1.5 ]

prop. n. [ A trademark of the Pepsi-Cola Corporation. ] A carbonated soft drink flavored by extract from the cola nut (kola nut). The nut is found on trees of the species Cola acuminata and Cola nitida. [ Trademark ]
Syn. -- Pepsi [ WordNet 1.5 + PJC ]

(Zool.) A silk-producing moth (Attacus Pernyi) which feeds upon the oak. It has been introduced into Europe and America from China. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A corporation consisting of a person or body of persons invested with some of the qualities of an artificial person, though not expressly incorporated, esp. the official of certain municipal divisions such as counties, schools districts, and the towns of some States of the United States, certain church officials, as a churchwarden, etc. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖ [ F., fr. qui who + vive, pres. subj. of vivre to live. ] The challenge of a French sentinel, or patrol; -- used like the English challenge: “Who comes there?” [ 1913 Webster ]

To be on the qui vive, to be on guard; to be watchful and alert, like a sentinel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Half of a circumference. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Half crustaceous; partially crustaceous. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The young of an insect in a stage between the larva and pupa. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L., if any one (the first words of the notice in Latin). ] (Ch. of Eng.) A notification by a candidate for orders of his intention to inquire whether any impediment may be alleged against him. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Bot.) The large edible nutlike seed of a tall tropical American tree (Caryocar nuciferum) of the same natural order with the tea plant; -- also called butternut. [ Written also sawarra nut. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L. ] Of his or its own kind. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ Written also Tsung-li-Yamen or Tsungli Yamen. ] [ Chin. ] The board or department of foreign affairs in the Chinese government. See Yamen. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖ [ L., as you possess. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Internat. Law) The basis or principle of a treaty which leaves belligerents mutually in possession of what they have acquired by their arms during the war. Brande & C. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Roman Law) A species of interdict granted to one who was in possession of an immovable thing, in order that he might be declared the legal possessor. Burrill. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ Chinese wai foreign + wu affairs + pu office. ] The Department of Foreign Affairs in the Chinese government.

The Tsung-li Yamen, or Foreign Office, created by a decree of January 19, 1861, was in July, 1902, superseded by the formation of a new Foreign Office called the Wai Wu Pu, . . . with precedence before all other boards. J. Scott Keltie. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]