n. [ L. &unr_;, Gr. &unr_; short at both ends; 'amfi` + brachy`s short. ] (Anc. Pros.) A foot of three syllables, the middle one long, the first and last short (˘ -- ˘); as, hăbēr&ebreve_;. In modern prosody the accented syllable takes the place of the long and the unaccented of the short; as, pro-phet&bprime_;ic. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the antibrachium, or forearm. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL. ] (Anat.) That part of the fore limb between the brachium and the carpus; the forearm. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. anti- + Gr. &unr_; a stink. ] An agent that destroys offensive smells; a deodorizer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A balancing; equipoise. [ R. ] De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. bi- + bracteate. ] (Bot.) Furnished with, or having, two bracts. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. caducus falling (fr. cadere to fall) + E. branchiate. ] (Zool.) With temporary gills: -- applied to those Amphibia in which the gills do not remain in adult life. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To ascertain the caliber of, as of a thermometer tube; also, more generally, to determine or rectify the graduation of, as of the various standards or graduated instruments. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The process of estimating the caliber a tube, as of a thermometer tube, in order to graduate it to a scale of degrees; also, more generally, the determination of the true value of the spaces in any graduated instrument. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ F. calibre, perh. fr. L. qualibra of what pound, of what weight; hence, of what size, applied first to a ball or bullet; cf. also Ar. qālib model, mold. Cf. Calipers, Calivere. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Gunnery) The diameter of the bore, as a cannon or other firearm, or of any tube; or the weight or size of the projectile which a firearm will carry; as, an 8 inch gun, a 12-pounder, a 44 caliber. [ 1913 Webster ]

The caliber of empty tubes. Reid. [ 1913 Webster ]

A battery composed of three guns of small caliber. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The caliber of firearms is expressed in various ways. Cannon are often designated by the weight of a solid spherical shot that will fit the bore; as, a 12-pounder; pieces of ordnance that project shell or hollow shot are designated by the diameter of their bore; as, a 12 inch mortar or a 14 inch shell gun; small arms are designated by hundredths of an inch expressed decimally; as, a rifle of .44 inch caliber. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The diameter of round or cylindrical body, as of a bullet or column. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Fig.: Capacity or compass of mind. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

Caliber compasses. See Calipers. --
Caliber rule, a gunner's calipers, an instrument having two scales arranged to determine a ball's weight from its diameter, and conversely. --
A ship's caliber, the weight of her armament. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., from L. caput, capitis, head + -branchiae gills. ] (Zool.) A division of annelids in which the gills arise from or near the head. See Tubicola. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. cribratus, p. p. of cribrare to sift, fr. cribrum a sieve. ] Cribriform. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. cribration, fr. L. cribrare to sift. See Cribble, n. ] (Pharmacy) The act or process of separating the finer parts of drugs from the coarser by sifting. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. cribrum sieve + -form: cf. F. cribriforme. ] Resembling, or having the form of, a sieve; pierced with holes; as, the cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone; a cribriform compress. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cribriform cells (Bot.), those which have here and there oblique or transverse sieve plates, or places perforated with many holes. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. cribrum sieve. ] Perforated like a sieve; cribriform. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To deprive of fibrin, as fresh blood or lymph by stirring with twigs. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act or process of depriving of fibrin. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To defibrinate. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Delibrated; p. pr. & vb. n. Delibrating. ] [ L. delibratus, p. p. of delibrare to delibrate; de from + liber bark. ] To strip off the bark; to peel. [ Obs. ] Ash. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of stripping off the bark. [ Obs. ] Ash. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. demi- brigade. ] A half brigade. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Prosody) a foot of two short (unstressed-unstressed) syllables.
Syn. -- pyrrhic. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a cephalopod having two gills; a member of the Dibranchiata.
Syn. -- dibranchiate, dibranchiate mollusk. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. 1. comprising all living cephalopods except the family Nautilidae: the orders Octopoda (octopuses) and Decapoda (squids and cuttlefish).
Syn. -- Dibranchiata, subclass ta, Dibranchia, subclass Dibranchia. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. di- = di`s- twice + &unr_; gills. ] (Zool.) An order of cephalopods which includes those with two gills, an apparatus for emitting an inky fluid, and either eight or ten cephalic arms bearing suckers or hooks, as the octopi and squids. See Cephalopoda. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Having two gills. -- n. One of the Dibranchiata. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., from L. dorsum back + branchiae gills. ] (Zool.) A division of chætopod annelids in which the branchiæ are along the back, on each side, or on the parapodia. [ See Illusts. under Annelida and Chætopoda. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Having branchiæ along the back; belonging to the Dorsibranchiata. -- n. One of the Dorsibranchiata. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. epi- + branchial. ] (Anat.) Pertaining to the segment between the ceratobranchial and pharyngobranchial in a branchial arch. -- n. An epibranchial cartilage or bone. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Equilibrated p. pr. & vb. n. Equilibrating ] [ L. aequilibratus in equilibrium; aequus equal + libra balance. See Equilibrium. ] To balance two scales, sides, or ends; to keep even with equal weight on each side; to keep in equipoise. H. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Act of keeping a balance, or state of being balanced; equipoise. [ 1913 Webster ]

In . . . running, leaping, and dancing, nature's laws of equilibration are observed. J. Denham. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Biol.) The process by which animal and vegetable organisms preserve a physiological balance. H. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Evenly poised; balanced. Dr. H. More. -- E`qui*lib"ri*ous*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

n. One who balances himself in unnatural positions and hazardous movements; a balancer. [ 1913 Webster ]

When the equilibrist balances a rod upon his finger. Stewart. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. aequilibritas equal distribution. See Equilibrium. ] The state of being balanced; equality of weight. [ R. ] J. Gregory. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. E. Equilibriums L. Equilibria [ L. aequilibrium, fr. aequilibris in equilibrium, level; aequus equal + libra balance. See Equal, and Librate. ] 1. Equality of weight or force; an equipoise or a state of rest produced by the mutual counteraction of two or more forces. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A level position; a just poise or balance in respect to an object, so that it remains firm; equipoise; as, to preserve the equilibrium of the body. [ 1913 Webster ]

Health consists in the equilibrium between those two powers. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A balancing of the mind between motives or reasons, with consequent indecision and doubt. [ 1913 Webster ]

Equilibrium valve (Steam Engine), a balanced valve. See under Valve. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ L. evibrare. See Vibrate. ] To vibrate. [ Obs. ] Cockeram. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L. ex from + libris books. ] An inscription, label, or the like, in a book indicating its ownership; esp., a bookplate. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

{ }, n. [ F. fibre, L. fibra. ] 1. One of the delicate, threadlike portions of which the tissues of plants and animals are in part constituted; as, the fiber of flax or of muscle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any fine, slender thread, or threadlike substance; as, a fiber of spun glass; especially, one of the slender rootlets of a plant. [ wns=1 ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. the inherent complex of attributes that determine a person's moral and ethical actions and reactions; sinew; strength; toughness; as, a man of real fiber. [ wns=2 ]
Syn. -- character, fibre. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

Yet had no fibers in him, nor no force. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A general name for the raw material, such as cotton, flax, hemp, etc., used in textile manufactures. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Nutrition) that portion of food composed of carbohydrates which are completely or partly indigestible, such as cellulose or pectin; it may be in an insoluble or a soluble form. It provides bulk to the solid waste and stimulates peristalsis in the intestine. It is found especially in grains, fruits, and vegetables. There is some medical evidence which indicates that diets high in fiber reduce the risk of colon cancer and reduce cholesterol levels in the blood. It is also called dietary fiber, roughage, or bulk. [ PJC ]

6. a leatherlike material made by compressing layers of paper or cloth. [ wns=3 ]
Syn. -- fibre, vulcanized fiber. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

Fiber gun, a kind of steam gun for converting, wood, straw, etc., into fiber. The material is shut up in the gun with steam, air, or gas at a very high pressure which is afterward relieved suddenly by letting a lid at the muzzle fly open, when the rapid expansion separates the fibers. --
Fiber plants (Bot.), plants capable of yielding fiber useful in the arts, as hemp, flax, ramie, agave, etc.

n. Same as fiber. [ Mostly British usage ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Same as fiberboard. [ mostly British usage ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ } a. Having fibers; made up of fibers.

{ } a. Having a visible fiber embodied in the surface of; -- applied esp. to a kind of paper for checks, drafts, etc.

n. Same as fiberglass. [ mostly British usage ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ }, a. Having no fibers; destitute of fibers or fiber. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. fibra a fiber + -form. ] (Biol.) Having the form of a fiber or fibers; resembling a fiber. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. fibrille, dim. of fibre, L. fibra. ] A small fiber; the branch of a fiber; a very slender thread; a fibrilla. Cheyne. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. fibrillæ [ NL. See Fibril. ] A minute thread or fiber, as one of the fibrous elements of a muscular fiber; a fibril. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to fibrils or fibers; as, fibrillar twitchings. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of of pertaining to fibrils. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Furnished with fibrils; fringed. [ 1913 Webster ]