C C (sē) 1. C is the third letter of the English alphabet. It is from the Latin letter C, which in old Latin represented the sounds of k , and g (in go ); its original value being the latter. In Anglo-Saxon words, or Old English before the Norman Conquest, it always has the sound of k . The Latin C was the same letter as the Greek Γ, γ, and came from the Greek alphabet. The Greeks got it from the Phœnicians. The English name of C is from the Latin name ce , and was derived, probably, through the French. Etymologically C is related to g , h , k , q , s (and other sibilant sounds). Examples of these relations are in Latin a c utus, E. a c ute, a g ue; E. a c rid, ea g er, vine g ar; Latin c ornu, English h orn; English c at, k itten; English c oy, q uiet; Latin c ir c are, Old French c er ch ier, English s ear ch .

See Guide to Pronunciation , §§ 221-228.

2. (Mus.) (a) The keynote of the normal or "natural" scale, which has neither flats nor sharps in its signature; also, the third note of the relative minor scale of the same. (b) C after the clef is the mark of common time, in which each measure is a semibreve (four fourths or crotchets); for alla breve time it is written .... (c) The "C clef," a modification of the letter C, placed on any line of the staff, shows that line to be middle C.

3. As a numeral, C stands for Latin centum or 100, CC for 200, etc.

C spring , a spring in the form of the letter C.

C Q D C Q D In radiotelegraphy, the letters signified by the code call formerly used (cf. S O S) by ships in distress, formed by combining the code call C Q (formerly used as a general call for all stations) with D for distress.

C. G. S. C. G. S. An abbreviation for Centimeter , Gram , Second . -- applied to a system of units much employed in physical science, based upon the centimeter as the unit of length, the gram as the unit of weight or mass, and the second as the unit of time.

C. G. T. C. G. T. An abbreviation for Confédération Générale du Travail (the French syndicalist labor union).

Cœcilian Cœ·cil"i·an noun (Zoology) See Cæcilian .

Cœlacanth Cœl"a·canth adjective [ Greek koi^los hollow + ... spine.] (Zoology) Having hollow spines, as some ganoid fishes.

Cœlentera Cœ·len"te·ra or Cœ*len`te*ra"ta noun plural [ New Latin , from Greek koi^los hollow + ... intestines.] (Zoology) A comprehensive group of Invertebrata, mostly marine, comprising the Anthozoa , Hydrozoa , and Ctenophora . The name implies that the stomach and body cavities are one. The group is sometimes enlarged so as to include the sponges.

Cœlenterate Cœ·len"ter·ate adjective (Zoology) Belonging to the Cœlentera. -- noun One of the Cœlentera.

Cœlia Cœ"li·a noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... a cavity of the body, a ventricle.] (Anat.) A cavity.

» The word is applied to the ventricles of the brain, the different ventricles being indicated by prefixes like those characterizing the parts of the brain in which the cavities are found; as, epicœlia , mesocœlia , metacœlia , procœlia , etc. B. G. Wilder.

Cœliac, Celiac Cœ"li·ac, Ce"li·ac adjective [ Latin coeliacus , Greek ..., from ... belly, from koi^los hollow.] Relating to the abdomen, or to the cavity of the abdomen.

Cœliac artery (Anat.) , the artery which issues from the aorta just below the diaphragm; -- called also cœliac axis . -- Cœliac flux , Cœliac passion (Medicine) , a chronic flux or diarrhea of undigested food.

Cœlodont Cœ"lo·dont adjective [ Greek koi^los hollow + ..., ..., tooth.] (Zoology) Having hollow teeth; -- said of a group lizards. -- noun One of a group of lizards having hollow teeth.

Cœlospermous Cœl`o·sper"mous adjective [ Greek koi^los hollow + ... seed.] (Botany) Hollow-seeded; having the ventral face of the seedlike carpels incurved at the ends, as in coriander seed.

Cœlum Cœ"lum noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... a hollow, neut. of koi^los hollow.] (Anat.) See Body cavity , under Body .

Cœnœcium Cœ·nœ"ci·um noun [ New Latin , from Greek koino`s common + ... house.] (Zoology) The common tissue which unites the various zooids of a bryozoan.

Cœnenchym Cœ·nen"chym Cœ*nen"chy*ma noun [ New Latin coenenchyma , from Greek koino`s common + ... something poured in. Formed like parenchyma .] (Zoology) The common tissue which unites the polyps or zooids of a compound anthozoan or coral. It may be soft or more or less ossified. See Coral .

Cœnesthesis Cœn`es·the"sis noun [ New Latin , from Greek koino`s common + ... sensation.] (Physiol.) Common sensation or general sensibility, as distinguished from the special sensations which are located in, or ascribed to, separate organs, as the eye and ear. It is supposed to depend on the ganglionic system.

Cœnobite Cœn"o·bite noun See Cenobite .

Cœnogamy Cœ·nog"a·my noun [ Greek ...; koino`s common + ... marraige.] The state of a community which permits promiscuous sexual intercourse among its members; -- as in certain primitive tribes or communistic societies. [ Written also cenogamy .]

Cœnosarc Cœn"o·sarc noun [ Greek koino`s common + ..., ..., flesh.] (Zoology) The common soft tissue which unites the polyps of a compound hydroid. See Hydroidea .

Cœnurus Cœ·nu"rus noun [ New Latin from Greek koino`s common + ... tail.] (Zoology) The larval stage of a tapeworm ( Tænia cœnurus ) which forms bladderlike sacs in the brain of sheep, causing the fatal disease known as water brain , vertigo , staggers or gid .

» This bladder worm has on its surface numerous small heads, each of which, when swallowed by a dog, becomes a mature tapeworm in the dog's intestine.

Cœrulignone Cœ`ru·lig"none noun [ Latin coeruleus cerulean + lignum wood + E. quin one .] (Chemistry) A bluish violet, crystalline substance obtained in the purification of crude wood vinegar. It is regarded as a complex quinone derivative of diphenyl; -- called also cedriret .

Ça ira Ça" i·ra" [ French ça ira, ça ira, les aristocrates à la lanterne , it shall go on, it shall go on, [ hang]the arictocrats to the lantern (lamp-post).] The refrain of a famous song of the French Revolution.

Cañada Ca·ña"da noun [ Spanish ] A small cañon; a narrow valley or glen; also, but less frequently, an open valley. [ Local, Western U. S.]

Cañon Ca·ñon" noun [ Spanish , a tube or hollow, from caña reed, from Latin canna . See Cane .] A deep gorge, ravine, or gulch, between high and steep banks, worn by water courses. [ Mexico & Western U. S.]

Cañoncito Cañ`on·ci"to noun [ Amer. Spanish dim. See Cañon .] [ Southwestern U. S.] 1. A small cañon.

2. A narrow passage or lane through chaparral or a forest.

Caaba Ca·a"ba (kȧ*ā"bȧ) noun [ Arabic ka'bah , lit., a square building, from ka'b cube.] The small and nearly cubical stone building, toward which all Mohammedans must pray. [ Written also kaaba .]

» The Caaba is situated in Mecca, a city of Arabia, and contains a famous black stone said to have been brought from heaven. Before the time of Mohammed, the Caaba was an idolatrous temple, but it has since been the chief sanctuary and object of pilgrimage of the Mohammedan world.

Caas Caas (käs) noun sing. & plural Case. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Caatinga Caa·tin"ga noun [ Tupi caa- tinga white forest.] (Phytogeography) A forest composed of stunted trees and thorny bushes, found in areas of small rainfall in Brazil.

Cab Cab (kăb) noun [ Abbrev. from cabriolet .] 1. A kind of close carriage with two or four wheels, usually a public vehicle. "A cab came clattering up." Thackeray.

» A cab may have two seats at right angles to the driver's seat, and a door behind; or one seat parallel to the driver's, with the entrance from the side or front.

Hansom cab . See Hansom .

2. The covered part of a locomotive, in which the engineer has his station. Knight.

Cab Cab (kăb) noun [ Hebrew qab , from qābab to hollow.] A Hebrew dry measure, containing a little over two (2.37) pints. W. H. Ward. 2 Kings vi. 25.

Cabal Ca·bal" (kȧ*băl") noun [ French cabale cabal, cabala, Late Latin cabala cabala, from Hebrew qabbālēh reception, tradition, mysterious doctrine, from qābal to take or receive, in Piël qibbel to adopt (a doctrine).] 1. Tradition; occult doctrine. See Cabala [ Obsolete] Hakewill.

2. A secret. [ Obsolete] "The measuring of the temple, a cabal found out but lately." B. Jonson.

3. A number of persons united in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in church or state by intrigue; a secret association composed of a few designing persons; a junto.

It so happend, by a whimsical coincidence, that in 1671 the cabinet consisted of five persons, the initial letters of whose names made up the word cabal ; Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale. Macaulay.

4. The secret artifices or machinations of a few persons united in a close design; intrigue.

By cursed cabals of women.
Dryden.

Syn. -- Junto; intrigue; plot; combination; conspiracy. -- Cabal , Combination , Faction . An association for some purpose considered to be bad is the idea common to these terms. A combination is an organized union of individuals for mutual support, in urging their demands or resisting the claims of others, and may be good or bad according to circumstances; as, a combiniation of workmen or of employers to effect or to prevent a change in prices. A cabal is a secret association of a few individuals who seek by cunning practices to obtain office and power. A faction is a larger body than a cabal , employed for selfish purposes in agitating the community and working up an excitement with a view to change the existing order of things. "Selfishness, insubordination, and laxity of morals give rise to combinations , which belong particularly to the lower orders of society. Restless, jealous, ambitious, and little minds are ever forming cabals . Factions belong especially to free governments, and are raised by busy and turbulent spirits for selfish purposes". Crabb.

Cabal Ca·bal" intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Caballed (-băld"); present participle & verbal noun Caballing ]. [ Confer French cabaler .] To unite in a small party to promote private views and interests by intrigue; to intrigue; to plot.

Caballing still against it with the great.
Dryden.

Cabala Cab"a·la (kăb"ȧ*lȧ) noun [ Late Latin See Cabal , noun ] 1. A kind of occult theosophy or traditional interpretation of the Scriptures among Jewish rabbis and certain mediæval Christians, which treats of the nature of god and the mystery of human existence. It assumes that every letter, word, number, and accent of Scripture contains a hidden sense; and it teaches the methods of interpretation for ascertaining these occult meanings. The cabalists pretend even to foretell events by this means.

2. Secret science in general; mystic art; mystery.

Cabalism Cab"a·lism (kăb"ȧ*lĭz'm) noun [ Confer French cabalisme .]

1. The secret science of the cabalists.

2. A superstitious devotion to the mysteries of the religion which one professes. [ R] Emerson.

Cabalist Cab"a·list (-lĭst) noun [ Confer French cabaliste .] One versed in the cabala, or the mysteries of Jewish traditions. "Studious cabalists." Swift.

Cabalistic Cab`a·lis"tic (kăb`ȧ*lĭs"tĭk), Cab`a*lis"tic*al (-tĭ*k a l) adjective Of or pertaining to the cabala; containing or conveying an occult meaning; mystic.

The Heptarchus is a cabalistic exposition of the first chapter of Genesis

. Hallam.

Cabalistically Cab`a·lis"tic·al·ly adverb In a cabalistic manner.

Cabalize Cab"a·lize intransitive verb [ Confer French cabaliser .] To use cabalistic language. [ R] Dr. H. More.

Caballer Ca·bal"ler (kȧ*băl"lẽr) noun One who cabals.

A close caballer and tongue-valiant lord.
Dryden.

Caballeria Ca`bal·le·ri"a noun [ Spanish See Caballero .] An ancient Spanish land tenure similar to the English knight's fee; hence, in Spain and countries settled by the Spanish, a land measure of varying size. In Cuba it is about 33 acres; in Porto Rico, about 194 acres; in the Southwestern United States, about 108 acres.

Caballero Ca`bal·le"ro noun [ Spanish Confer Cavalier .] A knight or cavalier; hence, a gentleman.

Caballine Cab"al·line (kăb" a l*līn) adjective [ Latin caballinus , from caballus a nag. Confer Cavalier .] Of or pertaining to a horse. -- noun Caballine aloes.

Caballine aloes , an inferior and impure kind of aloes formerly used in veterinary practice; -- called also horse aloes . -- Caballine spring , the fountain of Hippocrene, on Mount Helicon; -- fabled to have been formed by a stroke from the foot of the winged horse Pegasus.

Caballo Ca·bal"lo (kȧ*väl"yo; 220) noun [ Written also cavallo .] [ Spanish , from Latin caballus a nag. See Cavalcade .] A horse. [ Spanish Amer.]

Cabaret Cab"a·ret (kăb"ȧ*rĕt; 277) noun [ French] A tavern; a house where liquors are retailed. [ Obsolete as an English word.]

Cabaret Cab"a·ret noun In the United States, a café or restaurant where the guests are entertained by performers who dance or sing on the floor between the tables, after the practice of a certain class of French taverns; hence, an entertainment of this nature.

Cabas Ca·bas" (kȧ*bä") noun [ French] A flat basket or frail for figs, etc.; hence, a lady's flat workbasket, reticule, or hand bag; -- often written caba . C. Bronté.

Cabassou Ca·bas"sou (kȧ*băs"sō) noun (Zoology) A species of armadillo of the genus Xenurus ( X. unicinctus and X. hispidus ); the tatouay. [ Written also kabassou .]

Cabbage Cab"bage (kăb"baj) noun [ Middle English cabage , from French cabus headed (of cabbages), chou cabus headed cabbage, cabbage head; confer Italian capuccio a little head, cappuccio cowl, hood, cabbage, from capo head, Latin caput , or from Italian cappa cape. See Chief , Cape .] (Botany) 1. An esculent vegetable of many varieties, derived from the wild Brassica oleracea of Europe. The common cabbage has a compact head of leaves. The cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc., are sometimes classed as cabbages.

2. The terminal bud of certain palm trees, used, like, cabbage, for food. See Cabbage tree , below.

3. The cabbage palmetto. See below.

Cabbage aphis (Zoology) , a green plant-louse ( Aphis brassicæ ) which lives upon the leaves of the cabbage. -- Cabbage beetle (Zoology) , a small, striped flea- beetle ( Phyllotreta vittata ) which lives, in the larval state, on the roots, and when adult, on the leaves, of cabbage and other cruciferous plants. -- Cabbage butterfly (Zoology) , a white butterfly ( Pieris rapæ of both Europe and America, and the allied P. oleracea , a native American species) which, in the larval state, devours the leaves of the cabbage and the turnip. See Cabbage worm , below. -- Cabbage fly (Zoology) , a small two-winged fly ( Anthomyia brassicæ ), which feeds, in the larval or maggot state, on the roots of the cabbage, often doing much damage to the crop. -- Cabbage head , the compact head formed by the leaves of a cabbage; -- contemptuously or humorously, and colloquially, a very stupid and silly person; a numskull. -- Cabbage palmetto , a species of palm tree ( Sabal Palmetto ) found along the coast from North Carolina to Florida. -- Cabbage rose (Botany) , a species of rose ( Rosa centifolia ) having large and heavy blossoms. -- Cabbage tree , Cabbage palm , a name given to palms having a terminal bud called a cabbage , as the Sabal Palmetto of the United States, and the Euterpe oleracea and Oreodoxa oleracea of the West Indies. -- Cabbage worm (Zoology) , the larva of several species of moths and butterflies, which attacks cabbages. The most common is usually the larva of a white butterfly. See Cabbage butterfly , above. The cabbage cutworms, which eat off the stalks of young plants during the night, are the larvæ of several species of moths, of the genus Agrotis . See Cutworm . -- Sea cabbage . (Botany) (a) Sea kale (b) . The original Plant ( Brassica oleracea ), from which the cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, etc., have been derived by cultivation. -- Thousand-headed cabbage . See Brussels sprouts .

Cabbage Cab"bage intransitive verb To form a head like that the cabbage; as, to make lettuce cabbage . Johnson.

Cabbage Cab"bage intransitive verb [ imperfect & p. p Cabbaged (-bajd); present participle & verbal noun Cabbaging (-ba*jĭng).] [ French cabasser , from Old French cabas theft; confer French cabas basket, and Old French cabuser to cheat.] To purloin or embezzle, as the pieces of cloth remaining after cutting out a garment; to pilfer.

Your tailor . . . cabbages whole yards of cloth.
Arbuthnot.

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