a. [ Gr. 'a`kros summit + L. petere to seek. ] (Bot.) Developing from below towards the apex, or from the circumference towards the center; centripetal; -- said of certain inflorescence. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. 'anh`r, 'andro`s, man + pe`talon leaf. ] (Bot.) Produced by the conversion of the stamens into petals, as double flowers, like the garden ranunculus. Brande. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_; unequal + &unr_; leaf. ] (Bot.) Having unequal petals. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. anti- + petal. ] (Bot.) Standing before a petal, as a stamen. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. a- not + petal. ] (Bot.) Having no petals, or flower leaves. [ See Illust. under Anther ]. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being apetalous. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. appetere: cf. F. appéter. See Appetite. ] To seek for; to desire. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. appétence. See Appetency. ] A longing; a desire; especially an ardent desire; appetite; appetency. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Appetencies [ L. appetentia, fr. appetere to strive after, long for. See Appetite. ] 1. Fixed and strong desire; esp. natural desire; a craving; an eager appetite. [ 1913 Webster ]

They had a strong appetency for reading. Merivale. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Specifically: An instinctive inclination or propensity in animals to perform certain actions, as in the young to suck, in aquatic fowls to enter into water and to swim; the tendency of an organized body to seek what satisfies the wants of its organism. [ 1913 Webster ]

These lacteals have mouths, and by animal selection or appetency the absorb such part of the fluid as is agreeable to their palate. E. Darwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Natural tendency; affinity; attraction; -- used of inanimate objects. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. appetens, p. pr. of appetere. ] Desiring; eagerly desirous. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Appetent after glory and renown. Sir G. Buck. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. appétibilité. ] The quality of being desirable. Bramhall. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. appetibilis, fr. appetere: cf. F. appétible. ] Desirable; capable or worthy of being the object of desire. Bramhall. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. appetit, F. appétit, fr. L. appetitus, fr. appetere to strive after, long for; ad + petere to seek. See Petition, and cf. Appetence. ] 1. The desire for some personal gratification, either of the body or of the mind. [ 1913 Webster ]

The object of appetite it whatsoever sensible good may be wished for; the object of will is that good which reason does lead us to seek. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Desire for, or relish of, food or drink; hunger. [ 1913 Webster ]

Men must have appetite before they will eat. Buckle. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Any strong desire; an eagerness or longing. [ 1913 Webster ]

It God had given to eagles an appetite to swim. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

To gratify the vulgar appetite for the marvelous. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Tendency; appetency. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

In all bodies there as an appetite of union. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The thing desired. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Power being the natural appetite of princes. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In old authors, appetite is followed by to or of, but regularly it should be followed by for before the object; as, an appetite for pleasure. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Craving; longing; desire; appetency; passion. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. appetitio: cf. F. appétition. ] Desire; a longing for, or seeking after, something. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. appétitif. ] Having the quality of desiring gratification; as, appetitive power or faculty. Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To make hungry; to whet the appetite of. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Something which creates or whets an appetite. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. appétissant. ] Exciting appetite; as, appetizing food. [ 1913 Webster ]

The appearance of the wild ducks is very appetizing. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. So as to excite appetite. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ n., or }. (a) [ More fully chenille Axminster. ] A variety of Turkey carpet, woven by machine or, when more than 27 inches wide, on a hand loom, and consisting of strips of worsted chenille so colored as to produce a pattern on a stout jute backing. It has a fine soft pile. So called from Axminster, England, where it was formerly (1755 -- 1835) made. (b) A similar but cheaper machine-made carpet, resembling moquette in construction and appearance, but finer and of better material. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ Pref. bi- + petalous. ] (Bot.) Having two petals. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. carpite rug, soft of cloth, F. carpette coarse packing cloth, rug (cf. It. carpita rug, blanket), LL. carpeta, carpita, woolly cloths, fr. L. carpere to pluck, to card (wool); cf. Gr. karpo`s fruit, E. Harvest. ] 1. A heavy woven or felted fabric, usually of wool, but also of cotton, hemp, straw, etc.; esp. a floor covering made in breadths to be sewed together and nailed to the floor, as distinguished from a rug or mat; originally, also, a wrought cover for tables. [ 1913 Webster ]

Tables and beds covered with copes instead of carpets and coverlets. T. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A smooth soft covering resembling or suggesting a carpet. “The grassy carpet of this plain.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Carpet beetle or
Carpet bug (Zool.), a small beetle (Anthrenus scrophulariæ), which, in the larval state, does great damage to carpets and other woolen goods; -- also called buffalo bug. --
Carpet knight. (a) A knight who enjoys ease and security, or luxury, and has not known the hardships of the field; a hero of the drawing room; an effeminate person. Shak. (b) One made a knight, for some other than military distinction or service. --
Carpet moth (Zool.), the larva of an insect which feeds on carpets and other woolen goods. There are several kinds. Some are the larvæ of species of Tinea (as Tinea tapetzella); others of beetles, esp. Anthrenus. --
Carpet snake (Zool.), an Australian snake. See Diamond snake, under Diamond. --
Carpet sweeper, an apparatus or device for sweeping carpets. --
To be on the carpet, to be under consideration; to be the subject of deliberation; to be in sight; -- an expression derived from the use of carpets as table cover. --
Brussels carpet. See under Brussels. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Carpeted; p. pr. & vb. n. Carpeting. ] To cover with, or as with, a carpet; to spread with carpets; to furnish with a carpet or carpets. [ 1913 Webster ]

Carpeted temples in fashionable squares. E. Everett. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A portable bag for travelers; -- so called because originally made of carpet. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An adventurer; -- a term of contempt for a Northern man seeking private gain or political advancement in the southern part of the United States after the Civil War (1865). [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. covered with or as if with carpeting or with carpeting as specified; often used in combination; as, the carpeted hallway; a flower-carpeted hillside. Opposite of uncarpeted. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. The act of covering with carpets. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Cloth or materials for carpets; carpets, in general. [ 1913 Webster ]

The floor was covered with rich carpeting. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without a carpet. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who deals in carpets; a buyer and seller of carpets. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One fond of pleasure; a gallant. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Agric.) A border of greensward left round the margin of a plowed field. Ray. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. cata + petalous. ] (Bot.) Having the petals held together by stamens, which grow to their bases, as in the mallow. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. centrum center + petere to move toward. ] 1. Tending, or causing, to approach the center. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) (a) Expanding first at the base of the inflorescence, and proceeding in order towards the summit. (b) Having the radicle turned toward the axis of the fruit, as some embryos. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Progressing by changes from the exterior of a thing toward its center; as, the centripetal calcification of a bone. R. Owen. [ 1913 Webster ]

Centripetal force (Mech.), a force whose direction is towards a center, as in case of a planet revolving round the sun, the center of the system, See Centrifugal force, under Centrifugal. --
Centripetal impression (Physiol.), an impression (sensory) transmitted by an afferent nerve from the exterior of the body inwards, to the central organ. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Centripetency. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Tendency toward the center. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cerebrum + L. petere to seek. ] (Physiol.) Applied to those nerve fibers which go from the spinal cord to the brain and so transfer sensations (centripetal impressions) from the exterior inwards. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Competed; p. pr. & vb. n. Competing. ] [ L. completere, competitum; com- + petere to seek. See Petition. ] To contend emulously; to seek or strive for the same thing, position, or reward for which another is striving; to contend in rivalry, as for a prize or in business; as, tradesmen compete with one another. [ 1913 Webster ]

The rival statesmen, with eyes fixed on America, were all the while competing for European alliances. Bancroft. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , n. [ Cf. F. compétence, from L. competentia agreement. ] 1. The state of being competent; fitness; ability; adequacy; power. [ 1913 Webster ]

The loan demonstrates, in regard to instrumental resources, the competency of this kingdom to the assertion of the common cause. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

To make them act zealously is not in the competence of law. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Property or means sufficient for the necessaries and conveniences of life; sufficiency without excess. [ 1913 Webster ]

Reason's whole pleasure, all the joys of sense,
Lie in three words -- health, peace, and competence. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

Superfluity comes sooner by white hairs, but competency lives longer. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) (a) Legal capacity or qualifications; fitness; as, the competency of a witness or of a evidence. (b) Right or authority; legal power or capacity to take cognizance of a cause; as, the competence of a judge or court. Kent. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. the quality of being adequately or well qualified physically and intellectually, especially possession of the skill and knowledge required (for a task). [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

a. [ F. compétent, p. pr. of compéter to be in the competency of, LL. competere to strive after together, to agree with; hence, to be fit. See Compete. ] 1. Answering to all requirements; adequate; sufficient; suitable; capable; legally qualified; fit. “A competent knowledge of the world.” Atterbury. “Competent age.” Grafton. “Competent statesmen.” Palfrey. /“A competent witness.” Bouvier. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Rightfully or properly belonging; incident; -- followed by to. [ Rare, except in legal usage. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

That is the privilege of the infinite Author of things, . . . but is not competent to any finite being. Locke.

Syn. -- See Qualified. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a competent manner; adequately; suitably. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Compatible; suitable; consistent. [ Obs. ] Sir M. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. competition. See Compete. ] The act of seeking, or endeavoring to gain, what another is endeavoring to gain at the same time; common strife for the same objects; strife for superiority; emulous contest; rivalry, as for approbation, for a prize, or as where two or more persons are engaged in the same business and each seeking patronage; -- followed by for before the object sought, and with before the person or thing competed with. [ 1913 Webster ]

Competition to the crown there is none, nor can be. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

A portrait, with which one of Titian's could not come in competition. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

There is no competition but for the second place. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Where competition does not act at all there is complete monopoly. A. T. Hadley.

Syn. -- Emulation; rivalry; rivalship; contest; struggle; contention; opposition; jealousy. See Emulation. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to competition; producing competition; competitory; as, a competitive examination. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. an agressive willingness to compete.
Syn. -- fight. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ L.: cf. F. compétiteur. ] 1. One who seeks what another seeks, or claims what another claims; one who competes; a rival. [ 1913 Webster ]

And can not brook competitors in love. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An associate; a confederate. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Every hour more competitors
Flock to their aid, and still their power increaseth. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Acting in competition; competing; rival. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A woman who competes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ] A competitress. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Cramp, n. ] 1. (Mil.) A cramp iron or cramp ring; a chape, as of a scabbard. [ Written also crampit and crampette. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One of the plates of iron, with attached spikes, forming a pair of crampoons; hence (Curling), an iron plate for a player to stand on when delivering the stones. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. a game in which two play solitaire with separate packs.
Syn. -- Russian bank. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Prob. from W. crempog, crammwgth, a pancake or fritter. ] 1. A kind of large, thin, unsweetened muffin or cake, light and spongy, and cooked on a griddle or spider, or sometimes toasted. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. a sexually attractive woman. [ British slang ] RHUD [ PJC ]