Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
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- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Of-fi'cial-ly, adv. p. 909By the proper officer; by virtue of the proper authority; in pursuance of the special powers vested; as, accounts or reports officially verified or rendered; letters officially communicated; persons…Of'fi'cial-ty, n. p. 909(Law.) The charge or office of an official. Ayliffe.Of-fĭ'ci-a-ry, a. p. 909Pertaining to an office or officer; official. [Rare.]Of-fi'ci-āte, v. i. p. 909To act as an officer in his office; to transact the appropriate business of an office or public trust. The bishops and priests officiate at the altar. Stillingfleet. 2. To perform the appropriate…Of-fi'ci-āte, v. t. p. 909To give in discharge of an office, or the exercise of its functions. [Obs.] Merely to officiate light Round this opacous earth. Milton.Of-fĭ'ci-ā'tor, n. p. 909One who officiates.Of-fic'i-nal or Of-fi-ci'nal, a. p. 909Used in a shop, or belonging to it. 2. Having a character or composition established or approved of by the college of medicine, and therefore kept prepared by apothecaries for the use of physicians…Of-fi'cious, a. p. 909Doing kind offices; kind; obliging. [Rare.] Yet not to earth are those bright luminaries Officious. Milton. 2. Excessively forward in kindness; importunately interposing services. You are too…Of-fi'cious-ly, adv. p. 909In an officious manner; kindly. 2. With importunate or excessive forwardness. Flattering crowds officiously appear. To give themselves, not you, a happy year. Dryden. 3. In a busy, meddling manner.Of-fi'ciōus-ness, n. p. 909The quality of being officious; kindness; undue forwardness. Of all faults, officiousness and indiscretion were the most offensive to him. Macaulay. 2. Service. [Obs.] Browne.Ōff'ing, n. p. 909That part of the sea which is at a good distance from the shore, or where there is deep water, and no need of a pilot; as, we saw a ship in the offing.Ōff'ish, a. p. 909Shy or distant in manner. [U. S.]Off'let, n. p. 909A pipe placed at the level of the bottom of a canal, in order to let off water. D. Stephenson.Off'scour-ing, n. p. 909That which is scoured off; hence, refuse; rejected matter; that which is vile or despised.Off'scūm, n. p. 909Refuse; offscouring; filth.Off'sét, n. p. 909A sprout or bulb from the roots of a plant; a shoot. 2. A flat surface or terrace on a hill-side. 3. (Arch.) An horizontal ledge on the face or at the foot of a wall, formed by a diminution of its…Off-sĕt′ or Ŏff′sĕt, v. t. p. 909'To set off'; to place over against; to balance; as, to offset one account or charge against another.Off'set-staff, n. p. 909A light rod, usually ten links long, used by surveyors in making off-sets.Off'shōōt, n. p. 909That which shoots off or separates from a main stem, channel, or the like; as, the offshoots of a tree. “The off-shoots of the Gulf Stream.” J. D. Forbes.Ŏff'skip, n. p. 909(Paint.) That part of a landscape which recedes from the spectator into distance. Fairholt.off'-sid'ed, a. p. 909Of a contrary or perverse spirit. 2. On the right hand side in driving.ŏff'sprĭng, n. p. 909The act of producing; generation. [Obs.] 2. That which is produced; especially, a child or children; descendants, however remote, from the stock. To the gods alone Our future offspring and our wives…Of-fŭs'câte or Of'fus-cā'tion p. 909Off'ward, adv. p. 909(Naut.) Leaning off or toward the water, as a ship when aground.Ŏft, adv. p. 909Often; frequently; not rarely. [Poet.] Oft she rejects, but never once offends. Pope.ŏft, a. p. 909Frequent; repeated; common. [Poet. and rare.]Oft'en, adv. p. 909Frequently; many times; not seldom.Oft'en, a. p. 909Frequent; common. [Rare.] He will be too kind, and weary thee with often welcomes. Beau. & Fl.Off'en-beâr'ing, a. p. 909(Bot.) Producing fruit several times, or more than twice, in one season. Henslow.Off'en-côm'er, n. p. 909One who comes frequently. Taylor.Ŏft'en-ness, n. p. 909Frequency.Off'en-sith, adv. p. 909Frequently; often. [Obs.] “For whom I sighed have so often-sith.” Gascoigne.Oft'en-tide, adv. p. 909Frequently; often. [Obs.]Ŏft'en-tīmes, adv. p. 909Frequently; often; many times.Ŏft'times, adv. p. 909Frequently; often.ŏg'do-ād, n. p. 909A thing made up of eight parts.Ŏg/do-ăs'tich (-ăs/tik), n. p. 909A poem of eight lines. [Obs.] Selden.O-gēe', n. p. 909(Arch.) A molding consisting of two members, the one concave, the other convex, or of a round and a hollow; a cymatium or cyma;—sometimes designated by the abbreviation O. G. or — O.G. 2. Hence, any…Ogee arch p. 909a pointed arch, each of the sides of which is formed of two contrasted curves. Oxf. Gloss.Ŏg'ga-ni'tion, n. p. 909The murmuring of a dog; a grumbling or snarling. [Obs.] Montagu.ŏg'ham, n. p. 909A particular kind of stenography, or writing in cipher, practiced by the ancient Irish. Astle.Ŏgīve, n. p. 909(Arch.) The gothic vault, with its ribs and cross springers, &c. Gwilt.Ō’gle, v. t. p. 909To view with side glances, as in fondness, or with a design to attract notice; to look at furtively. And ogling all their audience, then they speak. Dryden.Ō'gle, n. p. 909A side glance or look.Ŏ'gler, n. p. 909One who ogles.Ö'gll-ō, n. p. 909The same as OLIO. See OLIO.Ō'gre, n. p. 909An imaginary monster, or hideous giant of fairy tales, who lived on human beings. His school-room must have resembled an ogre's den. Macaulay.Ō'gre-ish, a. p. 909Resembling an ogre; having a character or appearance like that of an ogre. There is an ogreish kind of jocularity in Grandfather Smallweed to-day. Dickens.Ō'gress, n. p. 909A female ogre.Ō'gress, n. p. 909(Her.) A roundel of a black color.Ō'grism, n. p. 909The character or manners of an ogre.O-gyg'i-an, a. p. 909Pertaining to Ogyges, the most ancient monarch in Greece, and to a great deluge in Attica in his days. 2. Hence, of great and dark antiquity.Ōh, interj. p. 909An exclamation expressing various emotions, especially surprise, pain, sorrow, anxiety, or a wish. ☞ Oh is also used in direct address to a person or personified object. See O.O-īd'/i-ūm, n. p. 909(Bot.) A parasitic fungus consisting of minute interlacing filaments, that cover the surface with a white down. It is probably the mycelium of various fungi. One species (O. Tuckeri) is very…Oil, n. p. 909An unctuous substance expressed or drawn from various animal and vegetable substances. It has been found to consist of a base, called glycerine (a sweet and thick sirupy fluid), united with different…Oil, v. t. p. 909To smear or rub over with oil; to lubricate with oil; to anoint with oil.Oil'-bāg, n. p. 909A bag, cyst, or gland in animals containing oil.Oil'-bee'tle, n. p. 909(Entom.) An insect of the genus Meloe, which, when alarmed or disturbed, emits from the joints of its legs a yellowish, oily liquor, which has sometimes been successfully used, in Sweden, as a cure…Oil'-cāke, n. p. 909A cake or mass of compressed seeds, or other substance, from which oil has been extracted.Oil'-clōth, n. p. 909Cloth oiled or painted for covering floors, and other uses.