‖prop. n. [ NL., fr. Gr. 'agh`raton a sort of plant; 'a priv. + gh`ras old age. ] (Bot.) A genus of plants, one species of which (Ageratum Mexicanum) has lavender-blue flowers in dense clusters. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. altus high + L. & E. stratus. ] (Meteor.) A cloud formation similar to cirro-stratus, but heavier and at a lower level; a stratus cloud at an intermediate altitude of 2 or 3 miles. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. + WordNet 1.5 ]

n.; pl. Apparatus, also rarely Apparatuses [ L., from apparare, apparatum, to prepare; ad + prepare to make ready. ] 1. Things provided as means to some end. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence: A full collection or set of implements, or utensils, for a given duty, experimental or operative; any complex instrument or appliance, mechanical or chemical, for a specific action or operation; machinery; mechanism. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Physiol.) A collection of organs all of which unite in a common function; as, the respiratory apparatus. [ 1913 Webster ]

See Buffer, 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cirrus + stratus. ] (Meteor.) See under Cloud. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. G. coloratur, fr. LL. coloratura. ] (Mus.) Vocal music colored, as it were, by florid ornaments, runs, or rapid passages. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. congratulans, p. pr. ] Rejoicing together; congratulatory. [ 1913 Webster ]

With like joy
Congratulant approached him. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Congratulated; p. pr. & vb. n. Congratulating. ] [ L. congratulatus, p. p. of congratulari to wish joy abundantly; con- + gratulari to wish joy, from gratus pleasing. See Grateful. ] To address with expressions of sympathetic pleasure on account of some happy event affecting the person addressed; to wish joy to. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is the king's most sweet pleasure and affection to congratulate the princess at her pavilion. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To congratulate one's self, to rejoice; to feel satisfaction; to consider one's self happy or fortunate.

Syn. -- To Congratulate, Felicitate. To felicitate is simply to wish a person joy. To congratulate has the additional signification of uniting in the joy of him whom we congratulate. Hence they are by no means synonymous. One who has lost the object of his affections by her marriage to a rival, might perhaps felicitate that rival on his success, but could never be expected to congratulate him on such an event. [ 1913 Webster ]

Felicitations are little better than compliments; congratulations are the expression of a genuine sympathy and joy. Trench. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To express of feel sympathetic joy; as, to congratulate with one's country. [ R. ] Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

The subjects of England may congratulate to themselves. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. congratulatio: cf. F. congratulation. ] The act of congratulating; an expression of sympathetic pleasure. [ 1913 Webster ]

With infinite congratulations for our safe arrival. Dr. J. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who offers congratulation. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Expressive of sympathetic joy; as, a congratulatory letter. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The condition of being tempered; proportionate mixture; temperature. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The different contemperature of the elements. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being embodied; bodily existence. [ Obs. ] Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Physics), A certain temperature, different for different gases, but always the same for each gas, regarded as the temperature above which no amount of pressure can produce condensation to a liquid; the temperature above which a gas cannot be liquified. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Meteor.) Nimbus, or rain cloud. See Nimbus, and Cloud. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Meteor.) A form of cloud. See Cloud. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Desiderata [ L., fr. desideratus, p. p. See Desiderate. ] Anything desired; that of which the lack is felt; a want generally felt and acknowledge.

n. 1. Bad temperature; intemperateness; excess of heat or cold, or of other qualities; as, the distemperature of the air. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Disorder; confusion. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Disorder of body; slight illness; distemper. [ 1913 Webster ]

A huge infectious troop
Of pale distemperatures and foes to life. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Perturbation of mind; mental uneasiness. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sprinkled a little patience on the heat of his distemperature. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Errata [ L., fr. errare, erratum, to wander, err. See Err. ] An error or mistake in writing or printing. [ 1913 Webster ]

A single erratum may knock out the brains of a whole passage. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>a. [ L. gratuitus, from gratus pleasing. See Grate, a., Gratis. ] 1. Given without an equivalent or recompense; conferred without valuable consideration; granted without pay, or without claim or merit; not required by justice. [ 1913 Webster ]

We mistake the gratuitous blessings of Heaven for the fruits of our own industry. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Not called for by the circumstances; without reason, cause, or proof; adopted or asserted without any good ground; as, a gratuitous assumption. [ 1913 Webster ]

Acts of gratuitous self-humiliation. De Quincye.

-- Gra*tu"i*tous*ly, adv. -- Gra*tu"i*tous*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Gratuities [ F. gratuité, or LL. gratuitas. ] 1. Something given freely or without recompense; a free gift; a present. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Something voluntarily given in return for a favor or service, as a recompense or acknowledgment. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Grqatulated p. pr. & vb. n. Gratulating ] [ L. gratulatus, p. p. of gratulari to congratulate, fr. gratus pleasing, agreeable. See Grate, a. ] To salute with declaration of joy; to congratulate. [ R. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Worthy of gratulation. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

There's more behind that is more gratulate. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. gratulatio. ] The act of gratulating or felicitating; congratulation. [ 1913 Webster ]

I shall turn my wishes into gratulations. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. gratulatorius. ] Expressing gratulation or joy; congratulatory. [ 1913 Webster ]

The usual groundwork of such gratulatory odes. Bp. Horsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Lack of learning; illiteracy. [ R. ] Ayliffe. Southey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. OF. intemperature. ] Intemperateness. [ Obs. ] Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. littérature, L. litteratura, literatura, learning, grammar, writing, fr. littera, litera, letter. See Letter. ] 1. Learning; acquaintance with letters or books. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The collective body of literary productions, embracing the entire results of knowledge and fancy preserved in writing; also, the whole body of literary productions or writings upon a given subject, or in reference to a particular science or branch of knowledge, or of a given country or period; as, the literature of Biblical criticism; the literature of chemistry. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The class of writings distinguished for beauty of style or expression, as poetry, essays, or history, in distinction from scientific treatises and works which contain positive knowledge; belles-lettres. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The occupation, profession, or business of doing literary work. Lamb.

Syn. -- Science; learning; erudition; belles-lettres. See Science. -- Literature, Learning, Erudition. Literature, in its widest sense, embraces all compositions in writing or print which preserve the results of observation, thought, or fancy; but those upon the positive sciences (mathematics, etc.) are usually excluded. It is often confined, however, to belles-lettres, or works of taste and sentiment, as poetry, eloquence, history, etc., excluding abstract discussions and mere erudition. A man of literature (in this narrowest sense) is one who is versed in belles-lettres; a man of learning excels in what is taught in the schools, and has a wide extent of knowledge, especially, in respect to the past; a man of erudition is one who is skilled in the more recondite branches of learned inquiry. [ 1913 Webster ]

The origin of all positive science and philosophy, as well as of all literature and art, in the forms in which they exist in civilized Europe, must be traced to the Greeks. Sir G. C. Lewis. [ 1913 Webster ]

Learning thy talent is, but mine is sense. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some gentlemen, abounding in their university erudition, fill their sermons with philosophical terms. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Literati [ L. litteratus, literatus. ] A learned man; a man acquainted with literature; -- chiefly used in the plural. [ 1913 Webster ]

Now we are to consider that our bright ideal of a literatus may chance to be maimed. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. magistrature. ] Magistracy. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L. See Marmorate, and Opus. ] (Arch.) A kind of hard finish for plasterwork, made of plaster of Paris and marble dust, and capable of taking a high polish. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. quadratura: cf. F. quadrature. See Quadrate, a. ] 1. (Math.) The act of squaring; the finding of a square having the same area as some given curvilinear figure; as, the quadrature of a circle; the operation of finding an expression for the area of a figure bounded wholly or in part by a curved line, as by a curve, two ordinates, and the axis of abscissas. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A quadrate; a square. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Integral Calculus) The integral used in obtaining the area bounded by a curve; hence, the definite integral of the product of any function of one variable into the differential of that variable. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Astron.) The position of one heavenly body in respect to another when distant from it 90°, or a quarter of a circle, as the moon when at an equal distance from the points of conjunction and opposition. [ 1913 Webster ]

Quadrature of the moon (Astron.), the position of the moon when one half of the disk is illuminated. --
Quadrature of an orbit (Astron.), a point in an orbit which is at either extremity of the latus rectum drawn through the empty focus of the orbit. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Saleratus. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ NL. sal aëratus; -- so called because it is a source of fixed air (carbon dioxide). See Sal, and and Aerated. ] (Old Chem.) Aerated salt; a white crystalline substance having an alkaline taste and reaction, consisting of sodium bicarbonate (see under Sodium.) It is largely used in cooking, with sour milk (lactic acid) or cream of tartar as a substitute for yeast. It is also an ingredient of most baking powders, and is used in the preparation of effervescing drinks. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A portable device to allow divers to breathe while under water, consisting of one or two tanks of compressed air which are strapped onto the back of the diver, and are connected by tubing to a mouthpiece through which the diver receives the air from the tanks at rate adjustable by a valve; -- called also SCUBA, SCUBA gear, or SCUBA apparatus. [ PJC ]

n. Gratulation of one's self. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. serratura a sawing, fr. serrare to saw. ] 1. A notching, like that between the teeth of a saw, in the edge of anything. Martyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One of the teeth in a serrated edge; a serration. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. E. Stratums L. Strata The latter is more common. [ L., from sternere, stratum, to spread; akin to Gr. &unr_; to spread, strew. See Strew, and cf. Consternation, Estrade, Prostrate, Stratus, Street. ] 1. (Geol.) A bed of earth or rock of one kind, formed by natural causes, and consisting usually of a series of layers, which form a rock as it lies between beds of other kinds. Also used figuratively. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A bed or layer artificially made; a course. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. stratus a spreading out, scattering, from sternere, stratum, to spread. ] (Meteor.) A form of clouds in which they are arranged in a horizontal band or layer. See Cloud. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Substrata [ L. substratus, p. p. of substernere to strew under; sub under + sternere to strew. See Stratum. ] 1. That which is laid or spread under; that which underlies something, as a layer of earth lying under another; specifically (Agric.), the subsoil. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Metaph.) The permanent subject of qualities or cause of phenomena; substance. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Superstrata [ NL.: cf. L. supersternere, superstratum, to spread upon. See Super-, and Stratum. ] A stratum, or layer, above another. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. température, L. temperatura due measure, proportion, temper, temperament. ] 1. Constitution; state; degree of any quality. [ 1913 Webster ]

The best composition and temperature is, to have openness in fame and opinion, secrecy in habit, dissimulation in seasonable use, and a power to feign, if there be no remedy. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Memory depends upon the consistence and the temperature of the brain. I. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Freedom from passion; moderation. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

In that proud port, which her so goodly graceth,
Most goodly temperature you may descry. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Physics) Condition with respect to heat or cold, especially as indicated by the sensation produced, or by the thermometer or pyrometer; degree of heat or cold; as, the temperature of the air; high temperature; low temperature; temperature of freezing or of boiling. The temperature of a liquid or a solid body as measured by a thermometer is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the consituent atoms or molecules of the body. For other states of matter such as plasma, electromagnetic radiation, or subatomic particles, an analogous measure of the average kinetic energy may be expressed as a temperature, although it could never be measured by a traditional thermometer, let alone by sensing with the skin. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

4. Mixture; compound. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Made a temperature of brass and iron together. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Physiol. & Med.) The degree of heat of the body of a living being, esp. of the human body; also (Colloq.), loosely, the excess of this over the normal (of the human body 98°-99.5° F., in the mouth of an adult about 98.4°). [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

Absolute temperature. (Physics) See under Absolute. --
Animal temperature (Physiol.), the nearly constant temperature maintained in the bodies of warm-blooded (homoiothermal) animals during life. The ultimate source of the heat is to be found in the potential energy of the food and the oxygen which is absorbed from the air during respiration. See Homoiothermal. --
Temperature sense (Physiol.), the faculty of perceiving cold and warmth, and so of perceiving differences of temperature in external objects. H. N. Martin. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Terebratulae [ Nl., dim. fr. terebratus, p. p., perforated. ] (Zool.) A genus of brachiopods which includes many living and some fossil species. The larger valve has a perforated beak, through which projects a short peduncle for attachment. Called also lamp shell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) Any species of Terebratula or allied genera. Used also adjectively. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Having the general form of a terebratula shell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. L. Understrata E. Understratums The layer, or stratum, of earth on which the mold, or soil, rests; subsoil. [ 1913 Webster ]

. The class of ancient Hebrew writings which deal reflectively with general ethical and religious topics, as distinguished from the prophetic and liturgical literature, and from the law. It is comprised chiefly in the books of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiasticus, Ecclesiastes, and Wisdom of Solomon. The “wisdom” (Hokhmah) of these writings consists in detached sage utterances on concrete issues of life, without the effort at philosophical system that appeared in the later Hellenistic reflective writing beginning with Philo Judaeus. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]