n. 1. 1 ratlike rodent of the Andes with soft fur and large ears.
Syn. -- chinchilla rat, rat chinchilla [ WordNet 1.5 ]

. (Iron Metal.) That variety of either the Bessemer or the open-hearth process in which the converter or hearth is lined with acid, that is, highly siliceous, material. Opposed to basic process. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_; extreme, highest + &unr_; fruit. ] (Bot.) (a) Having a terminal fructification; having the fruit at the end of the stalk. (b) Having the fruit stalks at the end of a leafy stem, as in certain mosses. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. having a subterminal centromere an acrocentric chromosome [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_; highest + &unr_;. See Cephalic. ] Characterized by a high skull. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a genus of birds.
Syn. -- genus Acrocephalus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Loftiness of skull. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. acroceraunius, fr. Gr. &unr_; high, n. pl. &unr_; heights + &unr_; thunderbolt. ] Of or pertaining to the high mountain range of “thunder-smitten” peaks (now Kimara), between Epirus and Macedonia. Shelley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a genus of herbs and shrubs of Australia and Southern Africa, with an everlasting flower; most species are usually placed in genus Helipterum.
Syn. -- genus Acroclinium [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. 1 a genus of Central and South American feather palms.
Syn. -- genus Acrocomia [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖n. pl. [ NL.; Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, a ray + &unr_; a ring. ] (Zool.) A peculiar larval form of Phoronis, a genus of marine worms, having a circle of ciliated tentacles. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Aëro- + club. ] A club or association of persons interested in aëronautics. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Aëro- + curve. ] (Aëronautics) A modification of the aëroplane, having curved surfaces, the advantages of which were first demonstrated by Lilienthal. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Aëro- + cyst. ] (Bot.) One of the air cells of algals. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 dioecious evergreen trees or shrubs; equatorial to S and SE Africa: yellowwood2; similar to trees or genus Podocarpus.
Syn. -- genus Afrocarpus [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. 'amfi` + trocho`s a wheel. ] (Zool.) A kind of annelid larva having both a dorsal and a ventral circle of special cilia. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. 'anh`r, 'andro`s, man + kefalh` head. ] Having a human head (upon an animal's body), as the Egyptian sphinx. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. (Anat.) An articular surface on the ilium of birds against which the great trochanter of the femur plays. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. 'a priv. + prwkto`s anus. ] (Zool.) A group of Turbellaria in which there is no anal aperture. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Without an anal orifice. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL. ] (Med.) Chondritis of a joint. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. the branch of science involving astronomy and chemistry which studies the chemical composition, chemical reactions, and evolution of matter in outer space. -- as`tro*chem"ic*al a. -- as`tro*chem"ic*al*ly adv. [ PJC ]

n. a large star-shaped neuroglial cell in nervous tissue. [ PJC ]

n. a tumor of nervous tissue derived from interstitial cells, in which the cells are relatively well-differentiated and resemble astrocytes. The occur primarily in the crebrum and cerebellum. Stedman [ PJC ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. 'a priv. + &unr_; a circle. ] (Zool.) A kind of chætopod larva in which no circles of cilia are developed. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. atrox, atrocis, cruel, fierce: cf. F. atroce. ] 1. Extremely heinous; full of enormous wickedness; as, atrocious guilt or deeds. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Characterized by, or expressing, great atrocity. [ 1913 Webster ]

Revelations . . . so atrocious that nothing in history approaches them. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Very grievous or violent; terrible; as, atrocious distempers. [ Obs. ] Cheyne. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Atrocious, Flagitious, Flagrant. Flagitious points to an act as grossly wicked and vile; as, a flagitious proposal. Flagrant marks the vivid impression made upon the mind by something strikingly wrong or erroneous; as, a flagrant misrepresentation; a flagrant violation of duty. Atrocious represents the act as springing from a violent and savage spirit. If Lord Chatham, instead of saying “the atrocious crime of being a young man, ” had used either of the other two words, his irony would have lost all its point, in his celebrated reply to Sir Robert Walpole, as reported by Dr. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- A*tro"cious*ly, adv. -- A*tro"cious*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. the quality of being shockingly cruel and inhumane.
Syn. -- atrocity, barbarity, barbarousness, heinousness. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n.; pl. Atrocities [ F. atrocité, L. atrocitas, fr. atrox, atrocis, cruel. ] 1. Enormous wickedness; extreme heinousness or cruelty. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An atrocious or extremely cruel deed. [ 1913 Webster ]

The atrocities which attend a victory. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Aurum + cephalous. ] (Zool.) Having a gold-colored head. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Aurum + chloride. ] (Chem.) The trichloride of gold combination with the chloride of another metal, forming a double chloride; -- called also chloraurate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ G. auerochs, OHG. ūrohso; ūr (cf. AS. ūr) + ohso ox, G. ochs. Cf. Owre, Ox. ] (Zool.) The European bison (Bison bonasus, or Bison Europæus), once widely distributed, but now nearly extinct, except where protected in the Lithuanian forests, and perhaps in the Caucasus. It is distinct from the Urus of Cæsar, with which it has often been confused. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Aurum + cyanide. ] (Chem.) A double cyanide of gold and some other metal or radical; -- called also cyanaurate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 a genus having but one species; formerly included in genus Libocedrus.
Syn. -- genus Austrocedrus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖a. [ It. ] (Arch.) See Baroque. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. ba`ros weight + cyclone + -meter. ] (Meteorol.) An aneroid barometer for use with accompanying graphic diagrams and printed directions designed to aid mariners to interpret the indications of the barometer so as to determine the existence of a violent storm at a distance of several hundred miles. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Metal.) A process of extracting gold or silver by treating the ore in a revolving barrel, or drum, with mercury, chlorine, cyanide solution, or other reagent. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Iron Metal.) A Bessemer or open-hearth steel-making process in which a lining that is basic, or not siliceous, is used, and additions of basic material are made to the molten charge during treatment. Opposed to acid process, above. Called also Thomas process. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

(Mining) The solid rock underlying superficial formations. Also Fig. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Iron Metal.) The process of washing molten pig iron by adding iron oxide, proposed by I. Lowthian Bell of England about 1875. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Photog.) Any process in which advantage is taken of the fact that prepared bitumen is rendered insoluble by exposure to light, as in photolithography. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Metal.) A certain process for producing upon articles of iron or steel an adherent coating of the magnetic oxide of iron (which is not liable to corrosion by air, moisture, or ordinary acids). This is accomplished by producing, by oxidation at about 1600° F. in a closed space, a coating containing more or less of the ferric oxide (Fe2O3) and the subsequent change of this in a reduced atmosphere to the magnetic oxide (Fe2O4). [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Sp. brocado (cf. It. broccato, F. brocart), fr. LL. brocare *prick, to figure (textile fabrics), to emboss (linen), to stitch. See Broach. ] Silk stuff, woven with gold and silver threads, or ornamented with raised flowers, foliage, etc.; -- also applied to other stuffs thus wrought and enriched. [ 1913 Webster ]

A gala suit of faded brocade. W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Woven or worked, as brocade, with gold and silver, or with raised flowers, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Brocaded flowers o'er the gay mantua shine. Gay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Dressed in brocade. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Brokkerage. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Perh. fr. Brocardica, Brocardicorum opus, a collection of ecclesiastical canons by Burkhard, Bishop of Worms, called, by the Italians and French, Brocard. ] An elementary principle or maximum; a short, proverbial rule, in law, ethics, or metaphysics. [ 1913 Webster ]

The legal brocard, “Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus, ” is a rule not more applicable to other witness than to consciousness. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. brocatelle, fr. It. brocatello: cf. Sp. brocatel. See Brocade. ] 1. A kind of coarse brocade, or figured fabric, used chiefly for tapestry, linings for carriages, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A marble, clouded and veined with white, gray, yellow, and red, in which the yellow usually prevails. It is also called Siena marble, from its locality. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Brocatel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ It. broccoli, pl. of broccolo sprout, cabbage sprout, dim. of brocco splinter. See Broach, n. ] (Bot.) A plant of the Cabbage species (Brassica oleracea) of many varieties, resembling the cauliflower. The “curd, ” or flowering head, is the part used for food. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Brochant de Villiers, a French mineralogist. ] (Min.) A basic sulphate of copper, occurring in emerald-green crystals. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ F. ] 1. Woven with a figure; as, broché goods. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Stitched; -- said of a book with no cover or only a paper one. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]