Definitions
ductile: (adj) 1. Of metal: That may be hammered out thin; malleable; flexible, pliable, not brittle. Still frequent in literary use: for technical use, see 2.
2. Capable of being drawn out into wire or thread, tough. (The current technical use.)
3. Of matter generally: Flexible, pliant; capable of being moulded or shaped; plastic.
4. Figuratively, of things immaterial.
5. Of persons, their dispositions, etc.: Susceptible of being led or drawn; yielding readily to persuasion or instruction; tractable, pliable, pliant.
6. Of water: Conducted or capable of being made to flow through channels.
bollard: (n) 1. A wooden or iron post, on a ship, a whale-boat, or a quay, for securing ropes to.
2. A post on a traffic island.
cestus: (n) 1. A belt or girdle for the waist; particularly that worn by a bride in ancient times, specifically that of Aphrodite or Venus.
2. A contrivance consisting of thongs of bull-hide, loaded with strips of iron and lead, and wound round the hands. Used by Roman boxers as a protection and to give greater weight to the blows.
obolus: (n) 1. A small weight used in balancing a scale; specifically an apothecaries' weight of 10 grains, or half a scruple (approx. 0.648 gram).
2. A halfpenny.
3. Any of a number of coins of small value formerly current in Europe; (more generally) any small coin or sum of money.
4. A silver (later also copper alloy) coin of ancient Greece, of the value of one sixth of a drachma; frequently with reference to the ancient Greek practice of placing an obol on the tongue of a dead person as a supposed payment to Charon, the mythological ferryman, for conveying that person across the Styx.
5. In Paleontology: a genus of fossil brachiopods having a smooth orbicular shell, widespread in Cambrian and Ordovician rocks; a brachiopod of this genus.
brachiopod: (n) A marine invertebrate of the phylum Brachiopoda; a lamp shell.
rebec: (n) 1. A musical instrument played with a bow and typically having three strings; an early form of the violin.
2. A player of the rebec, especially in a group or ensemble.
krumhorn/krummhorn/crumhorn: (n) 1. A wind-instrument of a curved form.
2. An organ reed-stop of 8 ft. pitch, resembling the clarinet in tone; called also "cromorne", and corruptly "cremona".
ossifrage: (n) 1. A bird of prey reputed to break bones by dropping them from a great height (usually identified with the lammergeier or bearded vulture, Gypaetus barbatus).
2. An osprey; a sea eagle.
lammergeier/lammergeyer: (n) The Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus; it is the largest European bird of prey, and inhabits lofty mountains in Southern Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa.
buskin: (n) 1. A covering for the foot and leg reaching to the calf, or to the knee; a half-boot.
2. Specifically, the high thick-soled boot (cothurnus) worn by the actors in ancient Athenian tragedy; frequently contrasted with the ‘sock’ (soccus), or low shoe worn by comedians.
3. Figuratively, the style or spirit of this class of drama; the tragic vein; tragedy. to put on the buskins: to assume a tragic style; to write tragedy.
cothurnus: (n) 1. A thick-soled boot reaching to the middle of the leg, worn by tragic actors in the ancient Athenian drama; a buskin.
2. As characteristic of tragedy, or of a tragic and elevated style.
soccus: (n) The low-heeled, loose-fitting shoe worn by Roman actors of comedy, of Greek origin. The word is often used to symbolize comedy.
pallium: (n) 1. A man's large rectangular cloak or mantle, worn especially by Greek philosophers; a himation.
2. In the Christian Church: A woollen vestment conferred by the Pope on archbishops in the Latin Church, who are required to request it as a symbol of their participation in the authority of the Pope and of their right to exercise the power of a metropolitan, and having the form of a narrow circular band placed round the shoulders, with short lappets hanging down in front and behind, ornamented with crosses. Also in extended use: the office or position of archbishop.
3. An altar cloth.
4. In Anatomy: The upper lip from the nose to the vermilion border.
5. In Zoology: The mantle of a mollusc or brachiopod.
6. In Ornithology: The mantle of a bird.
7. In Anatomy and Zoology: Originally: the relatively thin-walled superior or dorsal part of a cerebral hemisphere. Later also: the grey matter of the cerebral hemispheres; the cerebral cortex, esp. of a mammal.
8. In Meteorology: A uniform sheet of cloud, especially cirrostratus or nimbostratus, covering the whole sky.
himation: (n) The outer garment worn by the ancient Greeks: an oblong piece of cloth thrown over the left shoulder, and fastened either over or under the right.
vermilion border: (n) In Anatomy: The line between the lip and the skin.
agnus castus: (n) A tree, species of Vitex (V. Agnus Castus), once believed to be a preservative of chastity; called also Chaste-tree and Abraham's Balm.
rescript: (n) 1. A decretal epistle from the Pope in reply to some question or difficulty referred to him; also, any Papal decision, decree, or edict.
2. (The original sense.) The reply sent by a Roman emperor to a magistrate or other person consulting him on a doubtful point of law or as to the action to be taken in particular circumstances.
3. Any edict, decree, order, or formal announcement made by a ruler or governing body, or having an official character.
4. Something written over again; a rewriting.
5. In Law: A duplicate or counterpart.
6. A palimpsest writing.
decretal: (adj) 1. Pertaining to, of the nature of, or containing, a decree or decrees; specifically pertaining to the papal decrees; 'decretal right' = canon law.
2. Pertaining to, or of the nature of, a decree of Chancery or other civil court.
3. Having the force of a decree or absolute command, imperative; also of the person who commands.
4. Decisive, definitive.
septemvir: (n) One of a body of seven men associated in an office or commission.
procurator: (n) 1. A person who is employed to manage the affairs of another or is authorized to act on behalf of another in any business; an agent, an attorney.
2. The official agent, especially the financial manager, of a church or religious house or community.
3. The steward or manager of a household, estate, etc.; an overseer, a bailiff.
4. The agent, deputy, proxy, or representative of a non-ecclesiastical person or organization; a person who has a power of attorney for another or to sign for another. 'procurator of parliament': the Speaker of the House of Commons (obselete).
5. A provincial ruler or governor; In Roman History: an officer who collects the taxes, pays the troops, and controls the finances in an imperial province; (also) the head of a minor part of a province, especially Judaea (which was part of the province of Syria).
6. An advocate, defender, or spokesperson.
7. In Law: Formerly, in countries practising Roman civil law, and English ecclesiastical courts: an agent, attorney, or advocate. In later use, Scots: a lawyer practising in a lower court.
8. In other countries, especially Russia (or (formerly) the Soviet Union) and China: a public prosecutor.
9. In medieval universities: each of two or more officers with financial, electoral, and disciplinary responsibilities, each elected by one of the nations into which the students and regents are divided. In Scottish universities (latterly only at Aberdeen, and now disused): each of the student representatives elected by a different nation of the whole body of students to preside over the election of a Rector.
10. A person who or thing which brings or helps to bring something about; a producer or generator of something.
11. The procurer of a loan.
12. A public administrator or magistrate in certain Italian cities, especially Venice. Procurator of St. Mark: a senator (in later use, each of two senators) of high administrative rank in the Venetian Republic.
13. In form 'pro-curator': In Scots Law, a person who performs the duties of curator or guardian towards a minor, etc., without having been legally appointed to do so. Pro-curators have not formed part of the system of guardianship of children in Scotland since the abolition by statute in 1986 of the old Scottish common law relating to this.
2. Capable of being drawn out into wire or thread, tough. (The current technical use.)
3. Of matter generally: Flexible, pliant; capable of being moulded or shaped; plastic.
4. Figuratively, of things immaterial.
5. Of persons, their dispositions, etc.: Susceptible of being led or drawn; yielding readily to persuasion or instruction; tractable, pliable, pliant.
6. Of water: Conducted or capable of being made to flow through channels.
bollard: (n) 1. A wooden or iron post, on a ship, a whale-boat, or a quay, for securing ropes to.
2. A post on a traffic island.
cestus: (n) 1. A belt or girdle for the waist; particularly that worn by a bride in ancient times, specifically that of Aphrodite or Venus.
2. A contrivance consisting of thongs of bull-hide, loaded with strips of iron and lead, and wound round the hands. Used by Roman boxers as a protection and to give greater weight to the blows.
obolus: (n) 1. A small weight used in balancing a scale; specifically an apothecaries' weight of 10 grains, or half a scruple (approx. 0.648 gram).
2. A halfpenny.
3. Any of a number of coins of small value formerly current in Europe; (more generally) any small coin or sum of money.
4. A silver (later also copper alloy) coin of ancient Greece, of the value of one sixth of a drachma; frequently with reference to the ancient Greek practice of placing an obol on the tongue of a dead person as a supposed payment to Charon, the mythological ferryman, for conveying that person across the Styx.
5. In Paleontology: a genus of fossil brachiopods having a smooth orbicular shell, widespread in Cambrian and Ordovician rocks; a brachiopod of this genus.
brachiopod: (n) A marine invertebrate of the phylum Brachiopoda; a lamp shell.
rebec: (n) 1. A musical instrument played with a bow and typically having three strings; an early form of the violin.
2. A player of the rebec, especially in a group or ensemble.
krumhorn/krummhorn/crumhorn: (n) 1. A wind-instrument of a curved form.
2. An organ reed-stop of 8 ft. pitch, resembling the clarinet in tone; called also "cromorne", and corruptly "cremona".
ossifrage: (n) 1. A bird of prey reputed to break bones by dropping them from a great height (usually identified with the lammergeier or bearded vulture, Gypaetus barbatus).
2. An osprey; a sea eagle.
lammergeier/lammergeyer: (n) The Bearded Vulture, Gypaetus barbatus; it is the largest European bird of prey, and inhabits lofty mountains in Southern Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa.
buskin: (n) 1. A covering for the foot and leg reaching to the calf, or to the knee; a half-boot.
2. Specifically, the high thick-soled boot (cothurnus) worn by the actors in ancient Athenian tragedy; frequently contrasted with the ‘sock’ (soccus), or low shoe worn by comedians.
3. Figuratively, the style or spirit of this class of drama; the tragic vein; tragedy. to put on the buskins: to assume a tragic style; to write tragedy.
cothurnus: (n) 1. A thick-soled boot reaching to the middle of the leg, worn by tragic actors in the ancient Athenian drama; a buskin.
2. As characteristic of tragedy, or of a tragic and elevated style.
soccus: (n) The low-heeled, loose-fitting shoe worn by Roman actors of comedy, of Greek origin. The word is often used to symbolize comedy.
pallium: (n) 1. A man's large rectangular cloak or mantle, worn especially by Greek philosophers; a himation.
2. In the Christian Church: A woollen vestment conferred by the Pope on archbishops in the Latin Church, who are required to request it as a symbol of their participation in the authority of the Pope and of their right to exercise the power of a metropolitan, and having the form of a narrow circular band placed round the shoulders, with short lappets hanging down in front and behind, ornamented with crosses. Also in extended use: the office or position of archbishop.
3. An altar cloth.
4. In Anatomy: The upper lip from the nose to the vermilion border.
5. In Zoology: The mantle of a mollusc or brachiopod.
6. In Ornithology: The mantle of a bird.
7. In Anatomy and Zoology: Originally: the relatively thin-walled superior or dorsal part of a cerebral hemisphere. Later also: the grey matter of the cerebral hemispheres; the cerebral cortex, esp. of a mammal.
8. In Meteorology: A uniform sheet of cloud, especially cirrostratus or nimbostratus, covering the whole sky.
himation: (n) The outer garment worn by the ancient Greeks: an oblong piece of cloth thrown over the left shoulder, and fastened either over or under the right.
vermilion border: (n) In Anatomy: The line between the lip and the skin.
agnus castus: (n) A tree, species of Vitex (V. Agnus Castus), once believed to be a preservative of chastity; called also Chaste-tree and Abraham's Balm.
rescript: (n) 1. A decretal epistle from the Pope in reply to some question or difficulty referred to him; also, any Papal decision, decree, or edict.
2. (The original sense.) The reply sent by a Roman emperor to a magistrate or other person consulting him on a doubtful point of law or as to the action to be taken in particular circumstances.
3. Any edict, decree, order, or formal announcement made by a ruler or governing body, or having an official character.
4. Something written over again; a rewriting.
5. In Law: A duplicate or counterpart.
6. A palimpsest writing.
decretal: (adj) 1. Pertaining to, of the nature of, or containing, a decree or decrees; specifically pertaining to the papal decrees; 'decretal right' = canon law.
2. Pertaining to, or of the nature of, a decree of Chancery or other civil court.
3. Having the force of a decree or absolute command, imperative; also of the person who commands.
4. Decisive, definitive.
septemvir: (n) One of a body of seven men associated in an office or commission.
procurator: (n) 1. A person who is employed to manage the affairs of another or is authorized to act on behalf of another in any business; an agent, an attorney.
2. The official agent, especially the financial manager, of a church or religious house or community.
3. The steward or manager of a household, estate, etc.; an overseer, a bailiff.
4. The agent, deputy, proxy, or representative of a non-ecclesiastical person or organization; a person who has a power of attorney for another or to sign for another. 'procurator of parliament': the Speaker of the House of Commons (obselete).
5. A provincial ruler or governor; In Roman History: an officer who collects the taxes, pays the troops, and controls the finances in an imperial province; (also) the head of a minor part of a province, especially Judaea (which was part of the province of Syria).
6. An advocate, defender, or spokesperson.
7. In Law: Formerly, in countries practising Roman civil law, and English ecclesiastical courts: an agent, attorney, or advocate. In later use, Scots: a lawyer practising in a lower court.
8. In other countries, especially Russia (or (formerly) the Soviet Union) and China: a public prosecutor.
9. In medieval universities: each of two or more officers with financial, electoral, and disciplinary responsibilities, each elected by one of the nations into which the students and regents are divided. In Scottish universities (latterly only at Aberdeen, and now disused): each of the student representatives elected by a different nation of the whole body of students to preside over the election of a Rector.
10. A person who or thing which brings or helps to bring something about; a producer or generator of something.
11. The procurer of a loan.
12. A public administrator or magistrate in certain Italian cities, especially Venice. Procurator of St. Mark: a senator (in later use, each of two senators) of high administrative rank in the Venetian Republic.
13. In form 'pro-curator': In Scots Law, a person who performs the duties of curator or guardian towards a minor, etc., without having been legally appointed to do so. Pro-curators have not formed part of the system of guardianship of children in Scotland since the abolition by statute in 1986 of the old Scottish common law relating to this.