A human skull reported, by Prof. J. D. Whitney, as found in 1886 in a Tertiary auriferous gravel deposit, lying below a bed of black lava, in Calaveras County, California. It is regarded as very doubtful whether the skull really belonged to the deposit in which it was found. If it did, it indicates an unprecedented antiquity for human beings of an advanced type. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. (Zool.) A small, nocturnal, South American monkey of the genus Aotus (formerly Nyctipthecus trivirgatus). The owl monkey. See douroucouli. [ Written also douroucouli. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖prop. n. [ Russ. karakul' curly fleece of Bokhara and Khiva sheep. ] 1. A type of Astrakhan, esp. in fine grades, obtained from the Karakul sheep. See sense 2 and cf. Caracul. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. A hardy coarse-haired sheep of central Asia, bearing a soft curly fleece that is black in the young lambs, but which grows brown or gray when adult; the lambs are valued for their soft curly black fur. [ wns=1 ]
Syn. -- broadtail, caracul. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. A large lake in the Pamirs of Central Asia, lying 13, 200 feet above sea level. [ PJC ]

n. (Zool.) See Koulan.

n. [ G., fr. kultur, cultur, culture + kampf fight. ] (Ger. Hist.) Lit., culture war; -- a name, originating with Virchow (1821 - 1902), given to a struggle between the Roman Catholic Church and the German government, chiefly over the latter's efforts to control educational and ecclesiastical appointments in the interest of the political policy of centralization. The struggle began with the passage by the Prussian Diet in May, 1873, of the so-called
May laws, or
Falk laws, aiming at the regulation of the clergy. Opposition eventually compelled the government to change its policy, and from 1880 to 1887 laws virtually nullifying the May laws were enacted. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. (Bot.) An American mint (Scutellaria lateriflora) that yields a resinous exudate used esp. formerly as an antispasmodic.
Syn. -- blue pimpernel, blue skullcap, Scutellaria lateriflora. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Numb + skull. ] A dunce; a dolt; a stupid fellow. [ Also spelled numbskull. ] [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

They have talked like numskulls. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Stupid; doltish. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A saphead. [ Low ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Icel. skollr, skolli, a fox, and E. skulk, v.i. ] A number of foxes together. Wright. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Skulked p. pr. & vb. n. Skulking. ] [ Of Scand. origin; cf. Dan. skulke to spare or save one's self, to play the truant, Sw. skolka to be at leisure, to shirk, Icel. skolla. Cf. Scowl. ] To hide, or get out of the way, in a sneaking manner; to lie close, or to move in a furtive way; to lurk. “Want skulks in holes and crevices.” W. C. Bryant. [ 1913 Webster ]

Discovered and defeated of your prey,
You skulked behind the fence, and sneaked away. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. One who, or that which, skulks. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a skulking manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See School a multitude. ] A school, company, or shoal. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A knavish skull of boys and girls did pelt at him. Warner. [ 1913 Webster ]

These fishes enter in great flotes and skulls. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. skulle, sculle, scolle; akin to Scot. skull, skoll, a bowl, Sw. skalle skull, skal a shell, and E. scale; cf. G. hirnschale, Dan. hierneskal. Cf. Scale of a balance. ] 1. (Anat.) The skeleton of the head of a vertebrate animal, including the brain case, or cranium, and the bones and cartilages of the face and mouth. See Illusts. of Carnivora, of Facial angles under Facial, and of Skeleton, in Appendix. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In many fishes the skull is almost wholly cartilaginous but in the higher vertebrates it is more or less completely ossified, several bones are developed in the face, and the cranium is made up, wholly or partially, of bony plates arranged in three segments, the frontal, parietal, and occipital, and usually closely united in the adult. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The head or brain; the seat of intelligence; mind. [ 1913 Webster ]

Skulls that can not teach, and will not learn. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A covering for the head; a skullcap. [ Obs. & R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Let me put on my skull first. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A sort of oar. See Scull. [ 1913 Webster ]

Skull and crossbones, a symbol of death. See Crossbones. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A cap which fits the head closely; also, formerly, a headpiece of iron sewed inside of a cap for protection. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Any plant of the labiate genus Scutellaria, the calyx of whose flower appears, when inverted, like a helmet with the visor raised. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) The Lophiomys. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mad-dog skullcap (Bot.), an American herb (Scetellaria lateriflora) formerly prescribed as a cure for hydrophobia. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A whaler's name for a whale more than two years old. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) See Sculpin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A dullard, or dull person; a blockhead; a numskull. Entick. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having a thick skull; hence, dull; heavy; stupid; slow to learn. [ 1913 Webster ]