n. 1. compound lens or lens system designed to be free of astigmatism and able to form approximately point images. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ Pref. an-not + astigmatic. ] (Optics) Not astigmatic; free of astigmatism; -- pertaining to a lens or lens system, and used especially of a lens system which consists of a converging lens and a diverging lens of equal and opposite astigmatism but different focal lengths, and sensibly free from astigmatism. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. + WordNet 1.5 ]

a. (Med. & Opt.) Affected with, or pertaining to, astigmatism; as, astigmatic eyes; also, remedying astigmatism; as, astigmatic lenses. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. 'a priv. + &unr_;, &unr_;, a prick of a pointed instrument, a spot, fr. &unr_; to prick: cf. F. astigmatisme. ] (Med. & Opt.) A defect of the eye or of a lens, in consequence of which the rays derived from one point are not brought to a single focal point, thus causing imperfect images or indistinctness of vision. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The term is applied especially to the defect causing images of lines having a certain direction to be indistinct, or imperfectly seen, while those of lines transverse to the former are distinct, or clearly seen. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Orpiment. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. enigmas [ L. aenigma, Gr. a'i`nigma, fr. a'ini`ssesqai to speak darkly, fr. a'i^nos tale, fable. ] 1. A dark, obscure, or inexplicable saying; a riddle; a statement, the hidden meaning of which is to be discovered or guessed. [ 1913 Webster ]

A custom was among the ancients of proposing an enigma at festivals. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An action, mode of action, or thing, which cannot be satisfactorily explained; a puzzle; as, his conduct is an enigma.

{ } a. [ Cf. F. énigmatique. ] Relating to or resembling an enigma; not easily explained or accounted for; darkly expressed; not clear to the understanding; obscure; puzzling; as, an enigmatical answer; I didn't grasp the meaning of that enigmatical comment until much later; prophetic texts so enigmatical that their meaning has been disputed for centuries.
Syn. -- dark, obscure, puzzling. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

adv. Darkly; obscurely. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;. ] One who makes, or talks in, enigmas. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Enigmatized p. pr. & vb. n. Enigmatizing ] To make, or talk in, enigmas; to deal in riddles.

{ } n. [ Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, an enigma + -graphy, -logy. ] The art of making or of solving enigmas. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. figmentum, fr. fingere to form, shape, invent, feign. See Feign. ] An invention; a fiction; something feigned or imagined. [ 1913 Webster ]

Social figments, feints, and formalism. Mrs. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

It carried rather an appearance of figment and invention . . . than of truth and reality. Woodward. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. paradigme, L. paradigma, fr. Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_; to show by the side of, to set up as an example; para` beside + &unr_; to show. See Para-, and Diction. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. An example; a model; a pattern. [ R. ] “The paradigms and patterns of all things.” Cudworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Gram.) An example of a conjugation or declension, showing a word in all its different forms of inflection. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Rhet.) An illustration, as by a parable or fable. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Science) A theory providing a unifying explanation for a set of phenomena in some field, which serves to suggest methods to test the theory and develop a fuller understanding of the topic, and which is considered useful until it is be replaced by a newer theory providing more accurate explanations or explanations for a wider range of phenomena. [ PJC ]

n. (Eccl. Hist.) A writer of memoirs of religious persons, as examples of Christian excellence. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Gr. paradeigmatiko`s. ] Exemplary. -- Par`a*dig*mat"ic*al*ly, adv. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Paradigmatized p. pr. & vb. n. Paradigmatizing ] [ Gr. paradeigmati`zein. See Paradigm. ] To set forth as a model or example. [ Obs. ] Hammond. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) An alkaloid found in the Calabar bean (the seed of Physostigma venenosum), and extracted as a white, tasteless, substance, amorphous or crystalline; -- formerly called eserine, with which it was regarded as identical. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. See Pygmean. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. pigmentum, fr. the root of pingere to paint: cf. F. pigment. See Paint, and cf. Pimento, Orpiment. ] 1. Any material from which a dye, a paint, or the like, may be prepared; particularly, the refined and purified coloring matter ready for mixing with an appropriate vehicle. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Physiol.) Any one of the colored substances found in animal and vegetable tissues and fluids, as bilirubin, urobilin, chlorophyll, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Wine flavored with species and honey. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

Pigment cell (Physiol.), a small cell containing coloring matter, as the pigmented epithelial cells of the choroid and iris, or the pigmented connective tissue cells in the skin of fishes, reptiles, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Of or pertaining to pigments; furnished with pigments. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

Pigmentary degeneration (Med.), a morbid condition in which an undue amount of pigment is deposited in the tissues. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Physiol.) A deposition, esp. an excessive deposition, of coloring matter; as, pigmentation of the liver. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Colored; specifically (Biol.), filled or imbued with pigment; as, pigmented epithelial cells; pigmented granules. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pigmental. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Pygmy. [ 1913 Webster ]

Pigmy falcon. (Zool.) Same as Falconet, 2 (a). [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL. See Pleuro-, and Sigma. ] (Bot.) A genus of diatoms of elongated elliptical shape, but having the sides slightly curved in the form of a letter S. Pleurosigma angulatum has very fine striations, and is a favorite object for testing the high powers of microscopes. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Pterostigmata [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_; wing + &unr_;, &unr_;, a mark. ] (Zool.) A thickened opaque spot on the wings of certain insects. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ For ragman roll. See Ragman's roll. ] A succession of confused or nonsensical statements; foolish talk; nonsense. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Often one's dear friend talks something which one scruples to call rigmarole. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Consisting of rigmarole; frivolous; nonsensical; foolish. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Sigmas [ L., from Gr. &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;, &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;. ] The Greek letter Σ, σ, or ς (English S, or s). It originally had the form of the English C. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;&unr_;&unr_; sigma (&unr_;) + &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;, &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;, a tooth. ] (Zool.) Any one of a tribe (Sigmodontes) of rodents which includes all the indigenous rats and mice of America. So called from the form of the ridges of enamel on the crowns of the worn molars. Also used adjectively. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Gr. &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;; &unr_;&unr_;&unr_; sigma + e'i^dos form, likeness: cf. F. sigmoïde. ] Curved in two directions, like the letter S, or the Greek ς. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sigmoid flexure (Anat.), the last curve of the colon before it terminates in the rectum. See Illust. under Digestive. --
Sigmoid valves. (Anat.) See Semilunar valves, under Semilunar. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a sigmoidal manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Sphygmometer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. E. Stigmas L. Stigmata [ L., a mark, a brand, from Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, the prick or mark of a pointed instrument, a spot, mark, from &unr_; to prick, to brand. See Stick, v. t. ] 1. A mark made with a burning iron; a brand. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any mark of infamy or disgrace; sign of moral blemish; stain or reproach caused by dishonorable conduct; reproachful characterization. [ 1913 Webster ]

The blackest stigma that can be fastened upon him. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

All such slaughters were from thence called Bartelmies, simply in a perpetual stigma of that butchery. Sir G. Buck. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Bot.) That part of a pistil which has no epidermis, and is fitted to receive the pollen. It is usually the terminal portion, and is commonly somewhat glutinous or viscid. See Illust. of Stamen and of Flower. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Anat.) A small spot, mark, scar, or a minute hole; -- applied especially to a spot on the outer surface of a Graafian follicle, and to spots of intercellular substance in scaly epithelium, or to minute holes in such spots. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Pathol.) A red speck upon the skin, produced either by the extravasation of blood, as in the bloody sweat characteristic of certain varieties of religious ecstasy, or by capillary congestion, as in the case of drunkards. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Zool.) (a) One of the external openings of the tracheae of insects, myriapods, and other arthropods; a spiracle. (b) One of the apertures of the pulmonary sacs of arachnids. See Illust. of Scorpion. (c) One of the apertures of the gill of an ascidian, and of Amphioxus. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Geom.) A point so connected by any law whatever with another point, called an index, that as the index moves in any manner in a plane the first point or stigma moves in a determinate way in the same plane. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. pl. (R. C. Ch.) Marks believed to have been supernaturally impressed upon the bodies of certain persons in imitation of the wounds on the crucified body of Christ. See def. 5, above. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL. See Stigma. ] (Paleon.) The fossil root stem of a coal plant of the genus Sigillaria. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. of Stigma. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A notorious profligate or criminal who has been branded; one who bears the marks of infamy or punishment. [ R. ] Bullokar. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A person who is marked or deformed by nature. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ See Stigma. ] 1. Marked with a stigma, or with something reproachful to character. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Impressing with infamy or reproach. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Bot., Anat., etc) Of or pertaining to a stigma or stigmata. [ 1913 Webster ]

Stigmatic geometry, or
Stigmatics, that science in which the correspondence of index and stigma (see Stigma, 7) is made use of to establish geometrical proportions. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. With a stigma, or mark of infamy or deformity. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One believed to be supernaturally impressed with the marks of Christ's wounds. See Stigma, 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of stigmatizing. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (R. C. Ch.) The production of stigmata upon the body. See Stigma, 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Stigmatized p. pr. & vb. n. Stigmatizing ] [ F. stigmatiser, Gr. &unr_;. ] 1. To mark with a stigma, or brand; as, the ancients stigmatized their slaves and soldiers. [ 1913 Webster ]

That . . . hold out both their ears with such delight and ravishment, to be stigmatized and bored through in witness of their own voluntary and beloved baseness. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To set a mark of disgrace on; to brand with some mark of reproach or infamy. [ 1913 Webster ]

To find virtue extolled and vice stigmatized. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Bot.) Same as Stigmatic. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. strigmentum. ] Scraping; that which is scraped off. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Physiol.) Of or pertaining to thigmotaxis. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_; touch + &unr_; an arranging. ] (Physiol.) The property possessed by living protoplasm of contracting, and thus moving, when touched by a solid or fluid substance.

☞ When the movement is away from the touching body, it is negative thigmotaxis; when towards it, positive thigmotaxis. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

{ } a. [ Pref. tri- + stigma. ] (Bot.) Having, or consisting of, three stigmas. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]