n. [ F. brevet, LL. brevetum, fr. L. brevis short. See Brief. ] 1. A warrant from the government, granting a privilege, title, or dignity. [ French usage ]. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mil.) A commission giving an officer higher rank than that for which he receives pay; an honorary promotion of an officer. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In the United States army, rank by brevet is conferred, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for “gallant actions or meritorious services.” A brevet rank gives no right of command in the particular corps to which the officer brevetted belongs, and can be exercised only by special assignment of the President, or on court martial, and detachments composed of different corps, with pay of the brevet rank when on such duty. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Brevetted p. pr. & vb. n. Brevetting. ] (Mil.) To confer rank upon by brevet. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Mil.) Taking or conferring rank by brevet; as, a brevet colonel; a brevet commission. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Brevetcies (Mil.) The rank or condition of a brevet officer. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ It. cavetto, fr. cavo hollow, L. cavus. ] (Arch.) A concave molding; -- used chiefly in classical architecture. See Illust. of Column. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., head of the bed, dim. fr. chef head. See Chief. ] (Arch.) The extreme end of the chancel or choir; properly the round or polygonal part. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ Chich + -ling. ] (Bot.) A leguminous plant (Lathyrus sativus), with broad flattened seeds which are sometimes used for food. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. civette (cf. It. zibetto) civet, civet cat, fr. LGr. zape`tion, fr. Ar. zubād, zabād, civet. ] 1. A substance, of the consistence of butter or honey, taken from glands in the anal pouch of the civet (Viverra civetta). It is of clear yellowish or brownish color, of a strong, musky odor, offensive when undiluted, but agreeable when a small portion is mixed with another substance. It is used as a perfume. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool) The animal that produces civet (Viverra civetta); -- called also civet cat. It is carnivorous, from two to three feet long, and of a brownish gray color, with transverse black bands and spots on the body and tail. It is a native of northern Africa and of Asia. The name is also applied to other species. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To scent or perfume with civet. Cowper [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ F. corvette, fr. Pg. corveta or Sp. corbeta, fr. L. corbita a slow-sailing ship of burden, fr, corbis basket. Cf. Corbeil. ] (Naut.) A war vessel, ranking next below a frigate, and having usually only one tier of guns; -- called in the United States navy a sloop of war. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. (Min.) A curvet. Peacham. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Covered; p. pr. & vb. n. Coveting. ] [ OF. coveitier, covoitier, F. convoiter, from a derivative fr. L. cupere to desire; cf. Skr. kup to become excited. Cf. Cupidity. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of; -- used in a good sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

Covet earnestly the best gifts. 1. Cor. xxii. 31. [ 1913 Webster ]

If it be a sin to covet honor,
I am the most offending soul alive. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To long for inordinately or unlawfully; to hanker after (something forbidden). [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. Ex. xx. 17.

Syn. -- To long for; desire; hanker after; crave. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To have or indulge inordinate desire. [ 1913 Webster ]

Which [ money ] while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith. 1 Tim. vi. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. That may be coveted; desirable. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who covets. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. coveitise, F. convoitise. See Covet, v. t. ] Avarice. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Phren.) Acquisitiveness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ OF. coveitos, F. convoiteux. See Covet, v. t. ] 1. Very desirous; eager to obtain; -- used in a good sense. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Covetous of wisdom and fair virtue. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Covetous death bereaved us all,
To aggrandize one funeral. Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Inordinately desirous; excessively eager to obtain and possess (esp. money); avaricious; -- in a bad sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

The covetous person lives as if the world were madealtogether for him, and not he for the world. South.

Syn. -- Avaricious; parsimonious; penurious; misrely; niggardly. See Avaricious. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a covetous manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Strong desire. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

When workmen strive to do better than well,
They do confound their skill in covetousness. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A strong or inordinate desire of obtaining and possessing some supposed good; excessive desire for riches or money; -- in a bad sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

Covetousness, by a greed of getting more, deprivess itself of the true end of getting. Sprat.

Syn. -- Avarice; cupidity; eagerness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Creut. ] A crucible or melting pot; a cruset. Crabb. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. corvet, It.corvetta: cf. F. courbette. See Curve, and cf. Corvetto. ] 1. (Man.) A particular leap of a horse, when he raises both his fore legs at once, equally advanced, and, as his fore legs are falling, raises his hind legs, so that all his legs are in the air at once. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A prank; a frolic. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Curveted or -vetted; p. pr. & vb. n. Curveting or -vetting. ] [ Cf. It. corvettare. See Curvet, n. ] 1. To make a curvet; to leap; to bound. “Oft and high he did curvet.” Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To leap and frisk; to frolic. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To cause to curvet. Landor. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., dim. of cuve a tub. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A pot, bucket, or basin, in which molten plate glass is carried from the melting pot to the casting table. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Fort.) A cunette.

[ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Divot. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Carp.) A flaring tenon, or tongue (shaped like a bird's tail spread), and a mortise, or socket, into which it fits tightly, making an interlocking joint between two pieces which resists pulling a part in all directions except one. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dovetail molding (Arch.), a molding of any convex section arranged in a sort of zigzag, like a series of dovetails. --
Dovetail saw (Carp.), a saw used in dovetailing. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dovetailed p. pr. & vb. n. Dovetailing. ] 1. (Carp.) (a) To cut to a dovetail. (b) To join by means of dovetails. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To fit in or connect strongly, skillfully, or nicely; to fit ingeniously or complexly. [ 1913 Webster ]

He put together a piece of joinery so crossly indented and whimsically dovetailed . . . that it was indeed a very curious show. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. ] (Gun.) An apparatus for testing or proving the strength of gunpowder. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Eft, n. ] (Zoöl.) The common newt or eft. In America often applied to several species of aquatic salamanders. [ Written also evat. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., dim. fr. fauve fawn-colored. ] (Zool.) A small singing bird, as the nightingale and warblers. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. A kind of Scotch whisky, named from the district in which it was first made. W. E. Aytoun. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. grivet. ] (Zool.) A monkey of the upper Nile and Abyssinia (Cercopithecus griseo-viridis), having the upper parts dull green, the lower parts white, the hands, ears, and face black. It was known to the ancient Egyptians. Called also tota. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Same as Helvetic. -- n. A Swiss; a Switzer. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. Helveticus, fr. Helvetii the Helvetii. ] Of or pertaining to the Helvetii, the ancient inhabitant of the Alps, now Switzerland, or to the modern states and inhabitant of the Alpine regions; as, the Helvetic confederacy; Helvetic states.

n. [ From Inveterate. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Firm establishment by long continuance; firmness or deep-rooted obstinacy of any quality or state acquired by time; as, the inveteracy of custom, habit, or disease; -- usually in a bad sense; as, the inveteracy of prejudice or of error. [ 1913 Webster ]

An inveteracy of evil habits that will prompt him to contract more. A. Tucker. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Malignity; spitefulness; virulency. [ 1913 Webster ]

The rancor of pamphlets, the inveteracy of epigrams, and the mortification of lampoons. Guardian. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. inveteratus, p. p. of inveterare to render old; pref. in- in + vetus, veteris, old. See Veteran. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Old; long-established. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

It is an inveterate and received opinion. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Firmly established by long continuance; obstinate; deep-rooted; of long standing; as, an inveterate disease; an inveterate abuse. [ 1913 Webster ]

Heal the inveterate canker of one wound. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Having habits fixed by long continuance; confirmed; habitual; as, an inveterate idler or smoker. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Malignant; virulent; spiteful. H. Brooke. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To fix and settle by long continuance. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an inveterate manner or degree. “Inveterately tough.” Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Inveteracy. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. inveteratio. ] The act of making inveterate. [ R. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. lever to raise. ] A trumpet call for rousing soldiers; a reveille. [ Obs. ] Hudibras. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Bot.) A leguminous herb (Astragalus glycyphyllos) of Europe and Asia, supposed to increase the secretion of milk in goats. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The name is sometimes taken for the whole genus Astragalus, of which there are about two hundred species in North America, and even more elsewhere. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A singing bird of India of the family Campephagidae. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To covet wrongfully. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. See Naïve, and cf. Nativity. ] 1. The state or quality of being naive; lack of sophistication or worldliness.
Syn. -- naivete, naiveness. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 + PJC ]

A story which pleases me by its naïveté -- that is, by its unconscious ingenuousness. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An act displaying naivete; a naive remark or action. [ PJC ]

n. Naïveté. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F. ] (Zool.) The blindworm. [ 1913 Webster ]

. The retention by the President of the United States of a bill unsigned so that it does not become a law, in virtue of the following constitutional provision (Const. Art. I., sec. 7, cl. 2): “If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.” Also, an analogous retention of a bill by a State governor. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Cf. Scot. privie, Prov. E. prim-print, primwort. Prob. for primet, and perh. named from being cut and trimmed. See, Prim, a., and cf. Prime to prune, Prim, n., Prie, n. ] (Bot.) An ornamental European shrub (Ligustrum vulgare), much used in hedges; -- called also prim. [ 1913 Webster ]

Egyptian privet. See Lawsonia. --
Evergreen privet, a plant of the genus Rhamnus. See Alatern. --
Mock privet, any one of several evergreen shrubs of the genus Phillyrea. They are from the Mediterranean region, and have been much cultivated for hedges and for fancifully clipped shrubberies. [ 1913 Webster ]