Cavity noun ; plural Cavities . [ Latin cavus hollow: confer French cavité .]
1. Hollowness. [ Obsolete]

The cavity or hollowness of the place.
Goodwin.

2. A hollow place; a hollow; as, the abdominal cavity .

An instrument with a small cavity , like a small spoon

. Arbuthnot.

Abnormal spaces or excavations are frequently formed in the lungs, which are designated cavities or vomicæ.
Quain.

Body cavity , the cœlum. See under Body .

Cavo-relievo noun Cavo- rilievo.

Cavo-rilievo noun [ Italian ] (Sculp.) Hollow relief; sculpture in relief within a sinking made for the purpose, so no part of it projects beyond the plain surface around.

Cavort intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Cavorted ; present participle & verbal noun Cavorting .] To prance ostentatiously; -- said of a horse or his rider. [ Local slang, U. S.]

Cavy noun ; plural Cavies [ New Latin cavia , from Brazilian cabiai : confer French cabiai .] (Zoology) A rodent of the genera Cavia and Dolichotis , as the guinea pig ( Cavia cobaya ). Cavies are natives of South America.

Water cavy (Zoology) , The capybara.

Caw (ka) intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Cawed (kad); present participle & verbal noun Cawing .] [ Imitative. √22 Confer Chough .] To cry like a crow, rook, or raven.

Rising and cawing at the gun's report.
Shak.

Caw noun The cry made by the crow, rook, or raven.

Cawk (kak) noun [ Prov. English cauk limestone. A doublet of chalk .] (Min.) An opaque, compact variety of barite, or heavy spar. [ Also written cauk .]

Cawker noun See Calker .

Cawky adjective Of or pertaining to cawk; like cawk.

Caxon noun A kind of wig. [ Obsolete] Lamb.

Caxton noun (Bibliog.) Any book printed by William Caxton , the first English printer. Hansard.

Cay noun See Key , a ledge.

Cayenne noun [ From Cayenne , a town and island in French Guiana, South America.] Cayenne pepper.

Cayenne pepper . (a) (Botany) A species of Capsicum ( C. frutescens ) with small and intensely pungent fruit. (b) A very pungent spice made by drying and grinding the fruits or seeds of several species of the genus Capsicum , esp. C. annuum and C. Frutescens ; -- called also red pepper . It is used chiefly as a condiment.

Cayman (kā"m a n) noun [ From the language of Guiana: confer Spanish caiman .] (Zoology) The south America alligator. See Alligator . [ Sometimes written caiman .]

Cayo noun ; plural - yos . [ Spanish ] A small island or ledge of rock in the water; a key. [ Spanish Am.]

Cayugas noun plural ; sing. Cayuga . (Ethnol.) A tribe of Indians formerly inhabiting western New-York, forming part of the confederacy called the Five Nations.

Cayuse noun An Indian pony. [ Northw. U. S.]

Cazique, Cazic noun [ Spanish Cacique , from the language of Hayti.] A chief or petty king among some tribes of Indians in America.

Cease (sēs) intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Ceased ; present participle & verbal noun Ceasing .] [ Middle English cessen , cesen , French cesser , from Latin cessare , v. intemsive from cedere to withdraw. See Cede , and confer Cessation .]
1. To come to an end; to stop; to leave off or give over; to desist; as, the noise ceased . "To cease from strife." Prov. xx. 3.

2. To be wanting; to fail; to pass away.

The poor shall never cease out of the land.
Deut. xv. 11.

Syn. -- To intermit; desist; stop; abstain; quit; discontinue; refrain; leave off; pause; end.

Cease transitive verb To put a stop to; to bring to an end.

But he, her fears to cease
Sent down the meek-eyed peace.
Milton.

Cease , then, this impious rage.
Milton

Cease noun Extinction. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Ceaseless adjective Without pause or end; incessant.

Ceaseless adverb Without intermission or end.

Cecidomyia noun [ Nl., from Greek khki`s , ..., a gall nut + myi^a a fly.] (Zoology) A genus of small dipterous files, including several very injurious species, as the Hessian fly. See Hessian fly .

Cecity noun [ Latin caecitas , from caecus blind: confer French cécité .] Blindness. [ R.] Sir T. Browne.

Cecutiency noun [ Latin caecutire to be blind, from caecus blind.] Partial blindness, or a tendency to blindness. [ R.] Sir T. Browne.

Cedar (sē"dẽr) noun [ Anglo-Saxon ceder , from Latin cedrus , Greek ke`dros .] (Botany) The name of several evergreen trees. The wood is remarkable for its durability and fragrant odor.

» The cedar of Lebanon is the Cedrus Libani ; the white cedar ( Cupressus thyoides ) is now called Chamœcyparis sphæroidea ; American red cedar is the Juniperus Virginiana ; Spanish cedar, the West Indian Cedrela odorata . Many other trees with odoriferous wood are locally called cedar .

Cedar bird (Zoology) , a species of chatterer ( Ampelis cedrorum ), so named from its frequenting cedar trees; -- called also cherry bird , Canada robin , and American waxwing .

Cedar adjective Of or pertaining to cedar.

Cedared adjective Covered, or furnished with, cedars.

Cedarn adjective Of or pertaining to the cedar or its wood. [ R.]

Cede transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Ceded ; present participle & verbal noun Ceding .] [ Latin cedere to withdraw, yield; akin to cadere to fall, and to English chance ; confer French céder .] To yield or surrender; to give up; to resign; as, to cede a fortress, a province, or country, to another nation, by treaty.

The people must cede to the government some of their natural rights.
Jay.

Cedilla noun [ Spanish cedilla , confer French cédille ; dim. of zeta , the Greek name of the letter z , because this letter was formerly written after the c , to give it the sound of s .] A mark placed under the letter c [ thus, ç], to show that it is to be sounded like s , as in façade .

Cedrat (sē"drăt) noun [ Confer French cédrat . See Cedar .] (Botany) Properly the citron, a variety of Citrus medica , with large fruits, not acid, and having a high perfume.

Cedrene (sē"drēn) noun (Chemistry) A rich aromatic oil, C ₁₅ H ₂₄ , extracted from oil of red cedar, and regarded as a polymeric terpene; also any one of a class of similar substances, as the essential oils of cloves, cubebs, juniper, etc., of which cedrene proper is the type. [ Written also cedren .]

Cedrine (sē"drĭn; 277) adjective [ Latin cedrinus , Greek .... See Cedar .] Of or pertaining to cedar or the cedar tree.

Cedriret (sē"drĭ*rĕt) noun Same as Cœrulignone .

Cedry adjective Of the nature of cedar. [ R.]

Cedule noun [ French cédule , from Latin shedula . See Shedule .] A scroll; a writing; a schedule. [ Obsolete]

Ceduous adjective [ Latin caeduus , from caedere to cut down.] Fit to be felled. [ Obsolete] Eyelyn.

Ceil (sēl) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Ceiled (sēld); present participle & verbal noun Ceiling .] [ From an older noun, from French ciel heaven, canopy, from Latin caelum heaven, vault, arch, covering; confer Greek koi^los hollow.]
1. To overlay or cover the inner side of the roof of; to furnish with a ceiling; as, to ceil a room.

The greater house he ceiled with fir tree.
2 Chron. iii. 5

2. To line or finish a surface, as of a wall, with plaster, stucco, thin boards, or the like.

Ceiling noun [ See Cell , transitive verb ]
1. (Architecture) (a) The inside lining of a room overhead; the under side of the floor above; the upper surface opposite to the floor. (b) The lining or finishing of any wall or other surface, with plaster, thin boards, etc.; also, the work when done.

2. (Nautical) The inner planking of a vessel.

Camp ceiling . See under Camp . -- Ceiling boards , Thin narrow boards used to ceil with.

Ceint noun [ See Cincture .] A girdle. [ Obsolete]

Ceinture noun [ French] A cincture, girdle, or belt; -- chiefly used in English as a dressmaking term.

Celadon noun [ French] A pale sea-green color; also, porcelain or fine pottery of this tint.

Celandine (sĕl"ăn*dīn) noun [ Middle English celidoine , Old French celidoine , French chélidoine , from Latin chelidonia (sc. herba ), from chelidonius pertaining to the swallow, Greek chelido`nios , from chelidw`n the swallow, akin to Latin hirundo a swallow.] (Botany) A perennial herbaceous plant ( Chelidonium majus ) of the poppy family, with yellow flowers. It is used as a medicine in jaundice, etc., and its acrid saffron-colored juice is used to cure warts and the itch; -- called also greater celandine and swallowwort .

Lasser celandine , the pilewort ( Ranunculus Ficaria ).

Celature noun [ Latin caelatura , from caelare to engrave in relief.]
1. The act or art of engraving or embossing.

2. That which is engraved. [ Obsolete] Hakewill.

Celebrant noun [ Latin celebrans , present participle of celebrare . See Celebrate .] One who performs a public religious rite; -- applied particularly to an officiating priest in the Roman Catholic Church, as distinguished from his assistants.

Celebrate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Celebrated ; present participle & verbal noun Celebrating .] [ Latin celebratus , past participle of celebrare to frequent, to celebrate, from celeber famous.]
1. To extol or honor in a solemn manner; as, to celebrate the name of the Most High.

2. To honor by solemn rites, by ceremonies of joy and respect, or by refraining from ordinary business; to observe duly; to keep; as, to celebrate a birthday.

From even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.
Lev. xxiii. 32.

3. To perform or participate in, as a sacrament or solemn rite; to solemnize; to perform with appropriate rites; as, to celebrate a marriage.

Syn. -- To commemorate; distinguish; honor. -- To Celebrate , Commemorate . We commemorate events which we desire to keep in remembrance, when we recall them by some special observace; as, to commemorate the death of our Savior. We celebrate by demonstrations of joy or solemnity or by appropriate ceremonies; as, to celebrate the birthday of our Independence.

We are called upon to commemorate a revolution as surprising in its manner as happy in its consequences.
Atterbury.

Earth, water, air, and fire, with feeling glee,
Exult to celebrate thy festival.
Thomson.

Celebrated adjective Having celebrity; distinguished; renowned.

Celebrated for the politeness of his manners.
Macaulay.

Syn. -- Distinguished; famous; noted; famed; renowned; illustrious. See Distinguished .