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An American Dictionary of the English Language

Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)

Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865

Entries
95,912
Pages
1,538
Illustrations
2,133

Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.

  1. Xēnĭ-ŭm, n.p. 1531(Antiq.) (a.) A present given to a guest or stranger, or to a foreign ambassador. (b.) (pl.) Pictures of still-life, fruit, fish, and the like, many of which have been found as decorations on the…
  2. Xē'no-dō'chi-ūm, n.p. 1531A room in a monastery for the reception and entertainment of strangers and pilgrims, and for the relief of paupers. Weale.
  3. Xe-nŏd'o-chy, n.p. 1531Reception of strangers; hospitality. [Obs.]
  4. Xēn'o-tīme, n.p. 1531A native phosphate of yttria, having a yellowish-brown color. Dana.
  5. Xĕr'a-phīm, n.p. 1531An old money of account in Bombay, equal to three fifths of a rupee.
  6. Xe-rā'gi-a, n.p. 1531(Med.) A disease of the hair, which becomes dry, ceases to grow, and resembles down covered with dust. Dunglison.
  7. Xēr'es, n.p. 1531Sherry; — so called from the district of Spain where it is made. Simmonds.
  8. Xē'rīff, n.p. 1531A gold coin formerly current in Egypt and Turkey, of the value of about 9s. 6d., or about $2.30; — applied also, in Morocco, to the ducat. Simmonds.
  9. Xē'ro-col-lŷr'i-ūm, n.p. 1531(Med.) A dry collyrium or eye-salve. Coxe.
  10. Xe-rō'dēs, n.p. 1531(Med.) Any tumor attended with dryness.
  11. Xē'ro-mȳ'rum, n.p. 1531A dry ointment. Coxe.
  12. Xe-rŏph'a-gy, n.p. 1531The eating of dry meats, — a sort of fast among the primitive Christians.
  13. Xe-rŏph’thal-my, n.p. 1531(Med.) A dry, red soreness or itching of the eyes, without swelling or a discharge of humors.
  14. Xe-rō'tēs, n.p. 1531(Med.) A dry habit or disposition of body.
  15. Xĭph'i-as, n.p. 1531(Ichth.) A genus of fishes, to which the Xiphias gladius, or common sword-fish, belongs. 2. (Astron.) (a.) A constellation in the southern hemisphere. (b.) A comet-shaped like a sword.
  16. Xi-phid'i-üm, n.p. 1531(Bot.) A genus of plants having stiff, sword-shaped leaves. Loudon.
  17. Xiph'oid, a.p. 1531(Anat.) Resembling a sword; ensiform. Xiphoid or ensiform cartilage (Anat.), a small, pointed cartilage placed at the bottom of the breast-bone.
  18. Xĭ-phoid'ēs, n.p. 1531(Anat.) The xiphoid cartilage. Dunglison.
  19. Xy-lăn’thrax, n.p. 1531Wood-coal or charcoal;—so called in distinction from mineral coal.
  20. Xÿ'lite, n.p. 1531(Min.) A mineral resembling xylotile, of a brown color and asbestiform structure, and consisting chiefly of silica, sesquioxide of iron, lime, magnesia, and water. Dana. 2. (Chem.) A volatile…
  21. Xy'lo-bāl'sa-mūm, n.p. 1531(Med.) A resinous juice obtained from the wood and branches of Amyris opobalsamum, and A. Gileadensis of Linnaeus. Dunglison.
  22. Xÿ'lo-grāph, n.p. 1531An engraving on wood, or the impression from such an engraving.
  23. Xÿ-lŏg'ra-pher, n.p. 1531One who practices xylography.
  24. Xÿ'lo-grāph'ic or Xÿ'lo-grāph'ic-al, a.p. 1531Belonging to xylography, or wood-engraving.
  25. Xy-lŏg'ra-phy, n.p. 1531Wood-engraving; the act or art of cutting figures in wood, in representation of natural objects.
  26. Xÿ-loid'ine, n.p. 1531A white explosive compound made by the action of strong nitric acid in starch, or woody fiber. It is related to gun-cotton, but explodes with less violence. Gregory.
  27. Xÿ-lŏph'a-gan, n.p. 1531(Entom.) One of a tribe of coleopterous insects, comprehending those of which the larves devour the wood of trees in which they are developed; — applied also to a family of dipterous insects, the…
  28. Xȳ-lŏph'a-goŭs, a.p. 1531Eating or feeding on wood.
  29. Xy-löph'i-lan, n.p. 1531(Entom.) One of a tribe of beetles, comprehending those which live on decayed wood. Brande.
  30. Xy'lo-tīle, n.p. 1531(Min.) An opaque, glimmering, delicately fibrous mineral, of a light or dark wood-brown, or sometimes green, color, consisting chiefly of silica, sesquioxide of iron, magnesia, and water. Dana.
  31. Xyst (zĭst) or Xys'tus (zĭs'-), n.p. 1531(Anc. Arch.) A long and open, or sometimes covered, court, with porticoes, for athletic exercises, as wrestling, running, and the like.
  32. Xyst'ärch, n.p. 1531An officer having the superintendence of the xystos. W. Smith.
  33. Xy̆s'ter, n.p. 1531A surgeon’s instrument for scraping bones.
  34. Yp. 1532the twenty-fifth letter of the English alphabet, derives its form from the Greek Υ, whence it is called, in French and Spanish, the “Greek I.” At the beginning of words or syllables, except when used…
  35. Y, n.p. 1532One of the forked pieces which support the pivots of a transit instrument, of the telescope of a theodolite, and the like; a wye;—so called from its form. See WYE. 2. (Railways.) A portion of track…
  36. Yäc'cä-wood, n.p. 1532An ornamental wood from Jamaica, of a pale brown color, with streaks of hazel-brown.
  37. Yacht, n.p. 1532(Naut.) A light and elegantly furnished vessel, used either for private parties of pleasure, or as a vessel of state to convey princes, &c., from one place to another; a sea-going vessel used only…
  38. Yacht'er, n.p. 1532One engaged in sailing a yacht.
  39. Yacht'ing, n.p. 1532Sailing on pleasure excursions in a yacht.
  40. Yacht'ing, a.p. 1532Relating to yachts and their use; as, a yachting excursion.
  41. Ya'ger, n.p. 1532(Mil.) One belonging to a body of light infantry armed with rifles. [Written also jager.]
  42. Yäk, n.p. 1532(Zoöl.) A ruminant mammal of the bovine tribe; Poëphagus grunniens; the grunting ox of Tartary; the sarlac or sarlyk.
  43. Yăm, n.p. 1532(Bot.) A large, esculent tuber or root of various climbing plants, of the genus Dioscorea, growing in tropical climates, and forming, when roasted or boiled, a wholesome, palatable, and nutritious…
  44. Yā'má, n.p. 1532(Hindoo Myth.) The judge and ruler of the departed; the Hindu Pluto, or king of the infernal regions : originally conceived of as one of the first pair from whom the human race is descended, and the…
  45. Yānk, v. t.p. 1532To give a throwing or jerking motion to; to twitch strongly; to jerk. [Colloq. U. S.]
  46. Yănk, n.p. 1532A jerk or twitch. [Colloq. U. S.] 2. A Yankee. [Colloq. and vulgar.]
  47. Yăn'kee, n.p. 1532A citizen of New England; also, a citizen of the Northern States, or a citizen of the United States;—a cant name, with a tinge of reproach in it, applied by foreigners to all inhabitants of the…
  48. Yăn'o-līte, n.p. 1532(Min.) The same as AXINITE, q.v.
  49. Yaourt, n.p. 1532A fermented drink or milk-beer made by the Turks. Johnston. Simmonds.
  50. Yăp, v. i.p. 1532To bark; to yelp. L’Estrange.
  51. Yā'pon or Yă'pon, n.p. 1532(Bot.) The Ilex cassine, a shrub growing in the south-eastern parts of the United States, the leaves of which are used in making tea, and also as a medicine.
  52. Yār'age, n.p. 1532(Naut.) (a.) The power of moving or being managed at sea;—said with reference to a ship. (b.) Furniture; equipage; tackling. [Obs.] He might, with his light ships, well manned with watermen, turn and…
  53. Yārd, n.p. 1532A measure of length, equaling three feet, or thirty-six inches, being the standard of English and American measure. 2. A long piece of timber, as a rafter, and the like. [Obs.] Oxf. Gloss. 3. The…
  54. Yärd, n.p. 1532An inclosure; usually, a small, inclosed place in front of or around a house or barn; as, a court-yard; a cow-yard; a barn-yard. Liberty of the yard, a liberty, granted to persons imprisoned for…
  55. Yärd, v. t.p. 1532To confine cattle to the yard; to shut up in a yard; as, to yard cows.
  56. Yärd'-ärm, n.p. 1532(Naut.) Either half of a ship's yard, from the center or mast to the end. ☞ Ships are said to be yard-arm and yard-arm when so near as to touch, or interlock their yards.
  57. Yärd'ful, n.p. 1532As much as a yard will contain; enough to fill a yard.
  58. Yärd'-länd, n.p. 1532A measure of land of uncertain quantity, varying from fifteen to forty acres. [Obs.]
  59. Yärd'-stick, n.p. 1532A stick three feet in length, used as a measure of cloth, and the like.
  60. Yärd'-wänd, n.p. 1532A measure of a yard; a yard-stick.