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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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Cūlm, n. p. 322[Lat. culmus, stalk, stem.] (Bot.) The stalk or stem of corn and grasses, usually jointed and hollow. 2. [W. cælm, knot or tie, applied to this species of coal, which is much found in balls or knots…Cūl'men, n. p. 322Top; summit.Cul-mīf’er-oūs, a. p. 322Bearing culms, or producing straw; related to wheat, rye, &c., which produce straw, and are culmiferous plants. 2. (Min.) Containing, or abounding in, culm or glance-coal.Cūl'mi-nant, a. p. 322Being vertical, or at the highest point of altitude; hence, predominant. [Rare.]Cūl'mi-nāte, v. i. p. 322To be vertical; to reach the highest point of altitude; to come to the meridian; — said of a heavenly body. As when his beams at noon Culminate from the equator. Milton. 2. To reach the highest…Cūl'mi-nate, a. p. 322Growing upward, as distinguished from a lateral growth; — applied to the growth of corals. Dana.Cūl'mi-nā'tion, n. p. 322The attainment of the highest point of altitude; passage across the meridian; transit;—said of a heavenly body. 2. Attainment or arrival at the highest pitch of glory, power, and the like.Cŭl'/pa-bĭl'i-ty, n. p. 322The quality or condition of being culpable; culpableness.Cŭl'pa-ble, a. p. 322Deserving censure; worthy of blame; faulty; immoral; criminal. Every man, in doubtful cases, is left to his own discretion, and if he acts according to the best reason he hath, he is not culpable…Cŭl'pa-ble-ness, n. p. 322The quality of deserving blame; blamableness; guilt; culpability.Cŭl'pa-bly, adv. p. 322In a culpable manner, or a manner to merit censure; blamably.Cŭl'pa-to-ry, a. p. 322Expressing blame; reprehensory. Adjectives . . . commonly used by Latin authors in a culpatory sense. —Walpole.Cŭlpe, n. p. 322Blameworthiness; culpability; fault. [Obs.] Banished out of the realme . . . without culpe. Hall.Cŭl'prit, n. p. 322A person accused of, or arraigned for, a crime, as before a judge. 2. A person convicted of crime; a criminal.Cŭlt, n. p. 322Attentive care; homage; worship. Every one is convinced of the reality of a better self, and of the cult or homage which is due to it. Shaftesbury. 2. A system of religious belief and worship…Cŭltch, n. p. 322The spawn of the oyster. Sprat.Cŭl'ter, n. p. 322A colter. See COLTER.Cŭl'ti-rŏs'tral, a. p. 322(Ornith.) Having a bill shaped like the colter of a plow, or like a knife, as the heron, stork, &c.Cŭl'ti-rŏs'ter, n. p. 322(Ornith.) One of a family of birds, having long, large, knife-shaped bills, most frequently pointed, as the crane, stork, heron, &c.Cŭl'ti-va-ble, a. p. 322Capable of being cultivated or tilled. Todd.Cŭl'ti-vā'ta-ble, a. p. 322Cultivable.Cŭl'ti-vāte, v. t. p. 322To bestow attention, care, and labor upon, with a view to valuable returns; to till; to fertilize; as, to cultivate the soil. 2. To direct special attention to; to devote time and thought to; to…Cŭl'ti-vā'tion, n. p. 322The art or practice of cultivating; improvement for agricultural purposes; tillage; production by tillage. 2. Bestowal of time or attention for self-improvement or the benefit of others; fostering…Cŭl'ti-vā'tor, n. p. 322One who cultivates; one who tills; as, a cultivator of the soil. 2. One who labors to educate, refine, or ameliorate; as, a cultivator of the mind, or of good manners. 3. One who pursues, cherishes…Cŭl'trāte or Cŭl'trā-ted, a. p. 322(Bot. & Ornith.) Sharp-edged and pointed; shaped like a pruning-knife; as, the beak of a bird is convex and cultrated.Cŭl'tri-fōrm, a. p. 322Shaped like a pruning-knife; keen-edged; cultrate.Cul-triv'o-roŭs, a. p. 322Devouring knives; swallowing, or seeming to swallow, knives. Dunglison.Cŭlt'ür-al, a. p. 322Pertaining to culture; tending to promote culture, education, or refinement. [Recent and rare.]Cŭlt'ŭre, n. p. 322The act or practice of cultivating; cultivation; application of labor or means in rendering productive, in reducing, in refining and ameliorating, in cherishing, promoting, or advancing; as, the…Cŭlt'ūre, v. t. p. 322To cultivate. “Cultured vales.” Shenstone. The sense of beauty in nature, even among cultured people, is less often met with than other mental endowments. I. Taylor.Cŭlt'üre-less, a. p. 322Having no culture.Cŭlt'ūr-ist, n. p. 322A cultivator. [Rare.]Cŭl'ver, n. p. 322A dove. “Culver in the falcon’s fist.” Spenser. 2. A small piece of ordnance, anciently in use. Falcon and culver on each tower Stood prompt their deadly hail to shower. W. Scott.Cŭl'ver-house, n. p. 322A dove-cote.Cŭl'ver-in, n. p. 322A piece of ordnance, formerly, but not now, in use;—so called because long and slender, like a serpent, or because it was ornamented with the figures of serpents. The names “cannon” and…Cŭl'ver-kēy, n. p. 322A bunch of the pods of the ash-tree. 2. A plant, the columbine. Wright. A girl cropping culverkeys and cowslips to make a garland. Walton.Cŭl'vert, n. p. 322An arched drain for the passage of water under a road or canal, &c.Cŭl'ver-tāil, n. p. 322(Carp.) Dovetail.Cŭl'ver-tāiled, a. p. 322United or fastened by a dovetailed joint.Cū'mas, n. p. 322See CAMMAS.Cūm'bent, a. p. 322Lying down; recumbent. Dyer.Cŭm'ber, v. t. p. 322To hang or rest upon as a troublesome weight; to be burdensome or oppressive to; to load or crowd; to hinder or embarrass in attaining an object; to stand in the way of; to obstruct; to perplex; to…Cŭm'ber, n. p. 322Burdensomeness; oppression; trouble; embarrassment; distress. [Obs.] “A place of much distraction and cumber.” Wotton.Cūm'ber-sōme, a. p. 322Burdensome or hindering, as a weight or drag; oppressive; embarrassing; vexatious; cumbrous. “To perform a cumbersome obedience.” Sidney. 2. Not easily managed or administered; as, a cumbersome…Câm'ber-sôme-ly, adv. p. 323In a manner to encumber. Sherwood.Câm'ber-sôme-ness, n. p. 323The quality of being cumbersome.Câm'ber-world, n. p. 323That which burdens the world; that which is useless. [Rare.] Drayton.Câm'brance, n. p. 323That which obstructs, retards, or renders motion or action difficult and toilsome; encumbrance; hinderance; embarrassment. Extol not riches then, the toil of fools, The wise man's cumbrance, if not…Căm'bri-an, a. p. 323Pertaining to Cumberland, England, or to a system of rocks found there. Cambrian system (Geol.), the slate or graywacke system of rocks, now included in the Cambrian or Silurian system;—so called…Cŭm′brŏus, a. p. 323Rendering action or motion difficult or toilsome; serving to obstruct or hinder; burdensome; clogging. He sunk beneath the cumbrous weight. Swift. That cumbrous and unwieldy style which disfigures…Cŭm'broŭs-ly, adv. p. 323In a cumbrous manner.Cŭm'broŭs-ness, n. p. 323State of being cumbrous.Cŭm'bu-lū', n. p. 323(Bot.) A tree of Malabar, growing to a great height. The root is sometimes used in fevers and like diseases.Cŭm'frey, n. p. 323(Bot.) A genus of plants, the Symphytum. See COMFREY.Cūm'in, n. p. 323(Bot.) A dwarf umbelliferous plant, somewhat resembling fennel, Cuminum, Cuminum, cultivated for its seeds, which have a bitterish, warm taste, with an aromatic flavor, and are used like those of…Câm'shaw, n. p. 323A present or bonus; — originally applied to that paid on ships which entered the port of Canton. S. W. Williams.Câm'shāw, v. t. p. 323To give or make a present to.Cū'mu-çir'ro-strā'tus, n. p. 323(Meteor.) The nimbus, or rain cloud. [Rare.] See NIMBUS and CLOUD.Cū'mu-lāte, v. t. p. 323To gather or throw into a heap; to heap together. Shoals of shells, bedded and cumulated heap upon heap. Woodward.Cū'mu-lā'tion, n. p. 323The act of heaping together; a heap. See ACCUMULATION.