n. a genus of plants of the nightshade family, including some plants often placed in the genus Datura, such as the angel's trumpets.
Syn. -- genus Brugmansia. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. [ See Dispand. ] Act of dispanding, or state of being dispanded. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From the name of a bullying braggart character in the play by George Villiers called “The Rehearsal.” ] A blustering, bullying fellow; a pot-valiant braggart; a bully. [ 1913 Webster ]

The leader was of an ugly look and gigantic stature; he acted like a drawcansir, sparing neither friend nor foe. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The capacity of being expanded; as, the expansibility of air. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. expansible. ] Capable of being expanded or spread out widely. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bodies are not expansible in proportion to their weight. Grew.

-- Ex*pan"si*ble*ness ,n. -Ex*pan"si*bly , adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Expansible. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ether and alcohol are more expansile than water. Brande & C. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. expansio: cf. F. expansion. ] 1. The act of expanding or spreading out; the condition of being expanded; dilation; enlargement. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is expanded; expanse; extend surface; as, the expansion of a sheet or of a lake; the expansion was formed of metal. [ 1913 Webster ]

The starred expansion of the skies. Beattie. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Space through which anything is expanded; also, pure space. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lost in expansion, void and infinite. Blackmore. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Economics & Commmerce) an increase in the production of goods and services over time, and in the volume of business transactions, generally associated with an increase in employment and an increase in the money supply. Opposite of contraction.
Syn. -- economic expansion. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

5. (Math.) The developed result of an indicated operation; as, the expansion of (a + b)2 is a2 + 2ab + b2. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Steam Engine) The operation of steam in a cylinder after its communication with the boiler has been cut off, by which it continues to exert pressure upon the moving piston. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Nav. Arch.) The enlargement of the ship mathematically from a model or drawing to the full or building size, in the process of construction. Ham. Nav. Encyc. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Expansion is also used adjectively, as in expansion joint, expansion gear, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. an enlarged or extended version of something, such as a writing or discourse; as, the journal article is an expansion of the lecture she gave. [ PJC ]

9. an expansion joint. See below. [ Colloq. or jargon ] [ PJC ]

Expansion curve, a curve the coördinates of which show the relation between the pressure and volume of expanding gas or vapor; esp. (Steam engine), that part of an indicator diagram which shows the declining pressure of the steam as it expands in the cylinder. --
Expansion gear (Steam Engine). a cut-off gear. See Illust. of Link motion. --
Automatic expansion gear or
Automatic cut-off, one that is regulated by the governor, and varies the supply of steam to the engine with the demand for power. --
Fixed expansion gear, or
Fixed cut-off, one that always operates at the same fixed point of the stroke. --
Expansion joint, or
Expansion coupling (Mech. & Engin.), a yielding joint or coupling for so uniting parts of a machine or structure that expansion, as by heat, is prevented from causing injurious strains; as: (a) A slide or set of rollers, at the end of bridge truss, to support it but allow end play. (b) A telescopic joint in a steam pipe, to permit one part of the pipe to slide within the other. (c) A clamp for holding a locomotive frame to the boiler while allowing lengthwise motion. (d) a strip of compressible material placed at intervals between blocks of poured concrete, as in roads or sidewalks. --
Expansion valve (Steam Engine), a cut-off valve, to shut off steam from the cylinder before the end of each stroke. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. expansif. ] 1. Having a capacity or tendency to expand or dilate; diffusive; of much expanse; wide-extending; as, the expansive force of heat; the expansive quality of air. [ wns=1 ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A more expansive and generous compassion. Eustace. [ 1913 Webster ]

His forehead was broad and expansive. Prescott.

2. causing expansion; as, the expansive force of heat. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

3. of much expanse; wide-extending; as, an expansive view of the mountains. [ PJC ]

4. friendly, open, and unrestrained in conversation or discourse; -- of people; as, wine made the guest expansive. [ wns=4 ]
Syn. -- effusive, talkative. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

5. characterized by exaggerated feelings of euphoria and delusions of grandeur. [ wns=3 ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

-- Ex*pan"sive*ly, adv. -Ex*pan"sive*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a quality characterized by magnificence of scale; as, the expansiveness of their extravagant lifestyle was soon curtailed. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a friendly open trait of a talkative person.
Syn. -- effusiveness. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. the fractional change in length or area or volume per unit change in temperature at a given constant pressure.
Syn. -- coefficient of expansion. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The quality or state of being impertransible. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. pref. im- not + pertransire to go through. See Per- and Transient. ] Incapable of being passed through. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Incapable of expansion, enlargement, or extension. Tyndall. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Not transient; remaining; permanent. Killingbeck. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. intransigeant (cf. Sp. intransigente); pref. in- not + L. transigere to come to an agreement; trans across + agere to lead, act. ] Refusing compromise; uncompromising; inflexible; irreconcilable. Lond. Sat. Rev. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ Sp. ] (Spanish Politics) The extreme radicals; the party of the irreconcilables. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. intransitivus: cf. F. intransitif. See In- not, and Transitive. ] 1. Not passing farther; kept; detained. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

And then it is for the image's sake and so far is intransitive; but whatever is paid more to the image is transitive and passes further. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Gram.) Not transitive; not passing over to an object; expressing an action or state that is limited to the agent or subject, or, in other words, an action which does not require an object to complete the sense; as, an intransitive verb, e. g., the bird flies; the dog runs. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Intransitive verbs have no passive form. Some verbs which appear at first sight to be intransitive are in reality, or were originally, transitive verbs with a reflexive or other object omitted; as, he keeps (i. e., himself) aloof from danger. Intransitive verbs may take a noun of kindred signification for a cognate object; as, he died the death of a hero; he dreamed a dream. Some intransitive verbs, by the addition of a preposition, become transitive, and so admit of a passive voice; as, the man laughed at; he was laughed at by the man. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. (Gram.) Without an object following; in the manner of an intransitive verb. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L. ] (Law) In transit; during passage; as, goods in transitu. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. mansion, F. maison, fr. L. mansio a staying, remaining, a dwelling, habitation, fr. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell; akin to Gr. &unr_;. Cf. Manse, Manor, Menagerie, Menial, Permanent. ] 1. A dwelling place, -- whether a part or whole of a house or other shelter. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

In my Father's house are many mansions. John xiv. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

These poets near our princes sleep,
And in one grave their mansions keep. Den&unr_;am. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The house of the lord of a manor; a manor house; hence: Any house of considerable size or pretension. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Astrol.) A twelfth part of the heavens; a house. See 1st House, 8. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The place in the heavens occupied each day by the moon in its monthly revolution. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The eight and twenty mansions
That longen to the moon. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Mansion house, the house in which one resides; specifically, in London and some other cities, the official residence of the Lord Mayor. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To dwell; to reside. [ Obs. ] Mede. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Resident; residentiary; as, mansionary canons. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A large and imposing house.
Syn. -- mansion, manse, hall, residence. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The state of dwelling or residing; occupancy as a dwelling place. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From Pansy. ] Covered or adorned with pansies. “The pansied grounds.” Darwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. permansio. See Permanent. ] Continuance. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. pertransiens, p. pr. of pertransire. ] Passing through or over. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. scansio, fr. scandere, scansum, to climb. See Scan. ] (Pros.) The act of scanning; distinguishing the metrical feet of a verse by emphasis, pauses, or otherwise. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. The quality of being transient; transientness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. transiens, -entis, p. pr. of transire, transitum, to go or pass over. See Trance. ] 1. Passing before the sight or perception, or, as it were, moving over or across a space or scene viewed, and then disappearing; hence, of short duration; not permanent; not lasting or durable; not stationary; passing; fleeting; brief; transitory; as, transient pleasure. “Measured this transient world.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hasty; momentary; imperfect; brief; as, a transient view of a landscape. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Staying for a short time; not regular or permanent; as, a transient guest; transient boarders. [ Colloq. U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Transient, Transitory, Fleeting. Transient represents a thing as brief at the best; transitory, as liable at any moment to pass away. Fleeting goes further, and represents it as in the act of taking its flight. Life is transient; its joys are transitory; its hours are fleeting. [ 1913 Webster ]

What is loose love? A transient gust. Pope [ 1913 Webster ]

If [ we love ] transitory things, which soon decay,
Age must be loveliest at the latest day. Donne. [ 1913 Webster ]

O fleeting joys
Of Paradise, dear bought with lasting woes. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Tran"sient*ly adv. -- Tran"sient*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. That which remains but for a brief time. Glanvill. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ L. transiliens, p. pr. of transilire to leap across or over; trans across, over + salire to leap. ] A leap across or from one thing to another. [ R. ] “An unadvised transiliency.” Glanvill. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L. transire to pass through or across, to pass. ] (End. Law) A customhouse clearance for a coasting vessel; a permit. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Extending across an isthmus, as at Suez or Panama. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ transfer + resistor, from its ability to tranfer a current across a resistor. ] (Electronics) a component used in electronic devices consisting of three regions of at least two types of a semiconducting material, such as doped silicon, connected to each other and to three electrodes in a conducting path so as to modify the current or voltage in an electronic circuit. Transistors are used in almost all modern electronic devices, having replaced the vacuum tube in most applications. Since they are based on the electronic characteristics of solids, they are called solid-state devices. Typically a transistor is composed of p, n, and p-type semiconductors in series, or of n, p, and n, with the center region being a thin layer between the two outer regions. An electronic signal input to the central layer may be substantially amplified by such a device. In integrated circuits, many thousands of transistors may be etched into a single small wafer of silicon. [ PJC ]

n. [ L. transitus, from transire to go over: cf. F. transit. See Transient. ] 1. The act of passing; passage through or over. [ 1913 Webster ]

In France you are now . . . in the transit from one form of government to another. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act or process of causing to pass; conveyance; as, the transit of goods through a country. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A line or route of passage or conveyance; as, the Nicaragua transit. E. G. Squier. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Astron.) (a) The passage of a heavenly body over the meridian of a place, or through the field of a telescope. (b) The passage of a smaller body across the disk of a larger, as of Venus across the sun's disk, or of a satellite or its shadow across the disk of its primary. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. An instrument resembling a theodolite, used by surveyors and engineers; -- called also transit compass, and surveyor's transit. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The surveyor's transit differs from the theodolite in having the horizontal axis attached directly to the telescope which is not mounted in Y's and can be turned completely over about the axis. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lower transit (Astron.), the passage of a heavenly body across that part of the meridian which is below the polar axis. --
Surveyor's transit. See Transit, 5, above. --
Transit circle (Astron.), a transit instrument with a graduated circle attached, used for observing the time of transit and the declination at one observation. See Circle, n., 3. --
Transit compass. See Transit, 5, above. --
Transit duty, a duty paid on goods that pass through a country. --
Transit instrument. (Astron.) (a) A telescope mounted at right angles to a horizontal axis, on which it revolves with its line of collimation in the plane of the meridian, -- used in connection with a clock for observing the time of transit of a heavenly body over the meridian of a place. (b) (Surv.) A surveyor's transit. See Transit, 5, above. --
Transit trade (Com.), the business conected with the passage of goods through a country to their destination. --
Upper transit (Astron.), the passage of a heavenly body across that part of the meridian which is above the polar axis. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. (Astron.) To pass over the disk of (a heavenly body). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. transitio: cf. F. transition. See Transient. ] 1. Passage from one place or state to another; charge; as, the transition of the weather from hot to cold. [ 1913 Webster ]

There is no death, what seems so is transition. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mus.) A direct or indirect passing from one key to another; a modulation. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Rhet.) A passing from one subject to another. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ He ] with transition sweet, new speech resumes. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Biol.) Change from one form to another. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ This word is sometimes pronounced but according to Walker, Smart, and most other authorities, the customary and preferable pronunciation is although this latter mode violates analogy. Other authorities say [ 1913 Webster ]

Transition rocks (Geol.), a term formerly applied to the lowest uncrystalline stratified rocks (graywacke) supposed to contain no fossils, and so called because thought to have been formed when the earth was passing from an uninhabitable to a habitable state. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to transition; involving or denoting transition; as, transitional changes; transitional stage. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Transitional. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Biogeography) The zone lying between the Boreal and Sonoran zones of North America. It includes an eastern or humid subdivision and a western arid one of corresponding temperature comprising the northern Great Plains and the lower slopes of the mountains of the western United States and Mexico. Called also Neutral zone. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ L. transitivus: cf. F. transitif. See Transient. ] 1. Having the power of making a transit, or passage. [ R. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Effected by transference of signification. [ 1913 Webster ]

By far the greater part of the transitive or derivative applications of words depend on casual and unaccountable caprices of the feelings or the fancy. Stewart. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Gram.) Passing over to an object; expressing an action which is not limited to the agent or subject, but which requires an object to complete the sense; as, a transitive verb, for example, he holds the book. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Tran"si*tive*ly, adv. -- Tran"si*tive*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a transitory manner; with brief continuance. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being transitory; speedy passage or departure. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. transitorius: cf. F. transitoire. See Transient. ] Continuing only for a short time; not enduring; fleeting; evanescent. [ 1913 Webster ]

Comfort and succor all those who, in this transitory life, are in trouble. Bk. of Com. Prayer. [ 1913 Webster ]

It was not the transitory light of a comet, which shines and glows for a wile, and then . . . vanishes into nothing. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

Transitory action (Law), an action which may be brought in any county, as actions for debt, and the like; -- opposed to local action. Blackstone. Bouvier. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- transient; short-lived; brief. See Transient. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ The native name: cf. F. vansire. ] (Zool.) An ichneumon (Herpestes galera) native of Southern Africa and Madagascar. It is reddish brown or dark brown, grizzled with white. Called also vondsira, and marsh ichneumon. [ 1913 Webster ]