Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Clown, n. p. 242One who works upon the soil; a husbandman; a rustic. She killed the courteous clown by whom she lived. Stirling. The clown, the child of nature, without guile, Blest with an infant's ignorance of all…Clown, v. i. p. 242To act as a clown; — with it. Beshrew me, he clowns it properly indeed. B. Jonson.Clown'age, n. p. 242The manners of a clown. [Obs.] B. Jon.Clown'er-y, n. p. 242Ill breeding; rustic behavior, rudeness of manners; clownishness. [Obs.] L'Estrange.Clown'ish, a. p. 242Of, or relating to, a clown or clowns; like a clown; rustic, rough, or coarse; ill-bred or awkward. “Clownish hands.” Spenser. “Clownish mimic.” Prior. Syn. —Coarse; rough; clumsy; awkward; ungainly…Clown'ish-ly, adv. p. 242In a clownish manner; coarsely; rudely.Clown'ish-ness, n. p. 242The manners of a clown; rusticity; coarseness or rudeness of behavior; incivility; awkwardness. “That plainness which the a-la-mode people call clownishness.” Locke.Cloy, v. t. p. 242To fill or stop up; to clog. [Obs.] The duke’s purpose was to have cloyed the harbor by sinking ships, laden with stones, and such like choking materials. Speed. Then bathe I bed with brine, and cloy…Cloy'less, a. p. 242That can not cloy, or fill to satiety.Cloy'ment, n. p. 242Repletion beyond the demands of appetite; satiety. [Obs.] Shak.Clūb, n. p. 242A heavy staff or piece of wood, usually tapering in form, and wielded with the hand. But make you ready your stiff bats and clubs; Rome and her rats are at the point of battle. Shak. 2. One of the…Clŭb, v. i. p. 243To form a club; to combine for the promotion of some common object. The owl, the raven, and the bat, Clubbed for a feather to his hat. Swift. Till grosser atoms, tumbling in the stream Of fancy…Clŭb, v. t. p. 243To unite for the accomplishment of a common end; as, to club exertions. 2. To raise by a proportional assessment; as, to club the expense. To club a musket (Mil.), to turn the breech uppermost, so as…Clŭbbed, a. p. 243Shaped like a club, or heavy like one. Skelton.Clŭb'ber or Clŭb'bist, n. p. 243One who belongs to a party, club, or association. [Rare.] Burke.Clŭb'bish, a. p. 243Rough; rude; clownish. [Obs.] Ten kings do die before one clubbish clown. Mir. for Mag. 2. Disposed to associate together; as, a clubbish set of persons.Clŭb'-fist, n. p. 243A large, heavy fist; hence, a brutal fellow. Mir. for Mag.Clŭb'-fist'ed, a. p. 243Having a large fist. Howell.Clŭb'-fōot, n. p. 243A short, deformed foot, usually congenital in origin. Dunglison.Clŭb'-fōot'ed, a. p. 243Having club-feet; having deformed or crooked feet.Clŭb'-grăss, n. p. 243(Bot.) A species of grass (Corynephorus canescens), the beard of which is jointed, and the last articulation is club-shaped. Loudon.Clŭb'-haul, v. t. p. 243(Naut.) To put on another tack from that she is making by dropping an anchor, and as soon as she comes up to it, cutting the cable;—said of a vessel. This is done only in certain extreme cases, as…Clŭb'-hĕad'ed, a. p. 243Having a thick head. Derham.Clŭb'-house, n. p. 243A house belonging to, or occupied by, a club.Clŭb'-lâw, n. p. 243Government by clubs, or violence; the use of arms, or force, in place of law; anarchy. Addison.Clŭb'-măn, n. p. 243One who carries a club.Clŭb'-mŏss, n. p. 243(Bot.) A kind of moss (Lycopodium clavatum), whose minute seeds form an almost impalpable powder. London. Brande.Clŭb'-rōom, n. p. 243The apartment in which a club meets. Addison.Clŭb'-rŭsh, n. p. 243(Bot.) A plant of the genus Scirpus, or rush, of which there are many varieties.Clŭck, v. i. p. 243To make the noise of a brooding hen. Shak.Clŭck, v. t. p. 243To call as a hen does her chickens.Clŭck, n. p. 243(Pron.) A peculiar kind of articulation used by the natives of South Africa; a click. See CLICK.Clück'ing, n. p. 243The noise of a hen when she calls her chickens.Clue, n. p. 243A ball of thread; thread wound into a ball. You have wound a goodly clue. Shak. 2. Thread unwound from a ball, used to guide a person in a labyrinth. 3. Any thing serving to guide or direct.…Clŭmp, n. p. 243A shapeless mass of wood or other substance. 2. A cluster of trees or shrubs. “Screened with clumps of green for wintry bowers.” W. Scott. 3. The compressed clay of coal strata. Brande.Clăm'p, v. i. p. 243To make a tramping noise; to clamp. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.Clŭmp'er, v. t. p. 243To form into clumps or masses. [Obs.] “Vapors . . . clumpered in balls of cloud.” More.Clŭmps, n. p. 243A stupid fellow; a numskull. [Low.] Bailey.Clăm'p'y, a. p. 243Composed of clumps; aggregated. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.clŭm'si-ly, adv. p. 243In a clumsy manner; awkwardly; without readiness, dexterity, or grace.Clūm'-si-nĕss, n. p. 243The quality of being clumsy; awkwardness; want of readiness, nimbleness, or dexterity. The drudging part of life is chiefly owing to clumsiness and ignorance, which either wants proper tools, or…Clŭm'sy, a. p. 243Without grace of shape, manners, &c.; wanting dexterity or readiness; awkward; unhandy. “The clumsy exercises of the European tourney.” Prescott. 2. Ill-made; badly constructed; as, a clumsy garment…Clĭnch, n. p. 243(Mining.) The under-clay, or arenaceous shale, lying, in coal-measures, directly below the coal;—called also bind. Buchanan. 2. One of the hard beds of the lower chalk. Dana.Clŭng, imp. & p. p. p. 243of cling.Clüng, v. i. p. 243To shrink or waste; also, to adhere or cling. See CLING.Clüng, a. p. 243Wasted or emaciated with leanness; shrunk; shriveled. Halliwell.Clu'ni-ac, n. p. 243(Eccl. Hist.) One of a reformed order of Benedictine monks;—so called from Clugni, or Cluny, in France.Clü'ni-ac or Clü'ni-a-çen'sian (-sên'shan), a. p. 243Of, or relating to, the reformed discipline prescribed by Odo to the Benedictine monks of Clugni. Murdock.Clü'si-a, n. p. 243(Bot.) A genus of plants, of the order Guttiferae, growing in South America, and including the balsam-tree.Clüs'ter, n. p. 243A number of things of the same kind growing, joined, or collected together. Her deeds were like great clusters of ripe grapes, Which load the bunches of the fruitful vine. Spenser. 2. A number of…Clüs'ter, v. i. p. 243To grow in clusters; to gather or unite in a bunch or mass. Clustering grapes are thy peculiar care. Dryden.Clŭs'ter, v. t. p. 243To collect into a bunch or close body. “Clustered flower-bells.” Tennyson. Or from the forest falls the clustered snow. Thomson. Clustered column (Arch.), a column which is composed, or appears to be…Clüs'ter-grāpe, n. p. 243A small, black grape. Mortimer.Clüs'ter-ing-ly, adv. p. 243In clusters.Clüs'ter-y, a. p. 243Growing in clusters. Johnson. 2. Full of clusters. Bailey.Clŭtch, v. t. p. 243To seize, clasp, or gripe with the hand; as, to clutch a dagger; to clutch prey. Shak. Herbert. 2. To close tightly; to clinch. Not that I have the power to clutch my hand When his fair angels would…Clŭtch, v. i. p. 243To catch; to snatch;—often followed by at. “Clutching at the phantoms of the stock-market.” Bancroft.Clŭtch, n. p. 243A gripe or clinching with the fingers; seizure; grasp. “The clutch of poverty.” Cowper. But Age, with his stealing steps, Hath clawed me in his clutch. Shak. 2. (Mach.) (a.) A projecting tooth, or…Clŭt'ter, n. p. 243A confused collection; hence, confusion; disorder; bustle; noise; as, the room is in a clutter. He saw what a clutter there was with huge, overgrown pots, pans, and spits. L'Estrange.Clŭt'ter, v. t. p. 243To crowd together in disorder; to fill with things in confusion; as, to clutter a room; to clutter the house. 2. To clot or coagulate, as blood. [Obs.] Holland.