Cerotene Cer"o·tene noun [ Latin cerotum a pomade. See Cerate .] (Chemistry) A white waxy solid obtained from Chinese wax, and by the distillation of cerotin.

Cerotic Ce·rot"ic adjective [ See Cerotene .] (Chemistry) Pertaining to, or derived from, beeswax or Chinese wax; as, cerotic acid or alcohol.

Cerotin Cer"o·tin noun [ See Cerotene .] (Chemistry) A white crystalline substance, C ₂₇ H ₅₅ .OH, obtained from Chinese wax, and regarded as an alcohol of the marsh gas series; -- called also cerotic alcohol , ceryl alcohol .

Cerotype Ce"ro·type` noun [ Greek ... wax + - type .] A printing process of engraving on a surface of wax spread on a steel plate, for electrotyping.

Cerrial Cer"ri·al adjective [ Latin cerreus , from cerrus a kind of oak.] (Botany) Of or pertaining to the cerris.

Chaplets green of cerrial oak.
Dryden.

Cerris Cer"ris noun [ Latin cerrus .] (Botany) A species of oak ( Quercus cerris ) native in the Orient and southern Europe; -- called also bitter oak and Turkey oak .

Certain Cer"tain adjective [ French certain , from (assumed) Late Latin certanus , from Latin certus determined, fixed, certain, orig. past participle of cernere to perceive, decide, determine; akin to Greek ... to decide, separate, and to English concern , critic , crime , riddle a sieve, rinse , v.] 1. Assured in mind; having no doubts; free from suspicions concerning.

To make her certain of the sad event.
Dryden.

I myself am certain of you.
Wyclif.

2. Determined; resolved; -- used with an infinitive.

However, I with thee have fixed my lot,
Certain to undergo like doom.
Milton.

3. Not to be doubted or denied; established as a fact.

The dream is certain , and the interpretation thereof sure.
Dan. ii. 45.

4. Actually existing; sure to happen; inevitable.

Virtue that directs our ways
Through certain dangers to uncertain praise.
Dryden.

Death, as the Psalmist saith, is certain to all.
Shak.

5. Unfailing; infallible.

I have often wished that I knew as certain a remedy for any other distemper.
Mead.

6. Fixed or stated; regular; determinate.

The people go out and gather a certain rate every day.
Ex. xvi. 4.

7. Not specifically named; indeterminate; indefinite; one or some; -- sometimes used independenty as a noun, and meaning certain persons.

It came to pass when he was in a certain city.
Luke. v. 12.

About everything he wrote there was a certain natural grace und decorum.
Macaulay.

For certain , assuredly. -- Of a certain , certainly.

Syn. -- Bound; sure; true; undeniable; unquestionable; undoubted; plain; indubitable; indisputable; incontrovertible; unhesitating; undoubting; fixed; stated.

Certain Cer"tain noun 1. Certainty. [ Obsolete] Gower.

2. A certain number or quantity. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Certain Cer"tain adverb Certainly. [ Obsolete] Milton.

Certainly Cer"tain·ly adverb Without doubt or question; unquestionably.

Certainness Cer"tain·ness noun Certainty.

Certainty Cer"tain·ty noun ; plural Certainties . [ Old French certaineté .] 1. The quality, state, or condition, of being certain.

The certainty of punishment is the truest security against crimes.
Fisher Ames.

2. A fact or truth unquestionable established.

Certainties are uninteresting and sating.
Landor.

3. (Law) Clearness; freedom from ambiguity; lucidity.

Of a certainty , certainly.

Certes Cer"tes adverb [ French certes , for Ă  certes , from Latin certus . See Certain .] Certainly; in truth; verily. [ Archaic]

Certes it great pity was to see
Him his nobility so foul deface.
Spenser.

Certificate Cer·tif"i·cate noun [ French certificat , from Late Latin certificatus made certain, past participle of certificare . See tify .] 1. A written testimony to the truth of any fact; as, certificate of good behavior.

2. A written declaration legally authenticated.

Trial by certificate , a trial which the testimony of the person certifying is the only proper criterion of the point in dispute; as, when the issue is whether a person was absent in the army, this is tried by the certificate of the proper officer in writing, under his seal. Blackstone.

Certificate Cer·tif"i·cate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Certificated ; present participle & verbal noun Certificating .] [ See Certify .]

1. To verify or vouch for by certificate.

2. To furnish with a certificate; as, to certificate the captain of a vessel; a certificated teacher.

Certification Cer`ti·fi·ca"tion noun [ Latin certificatio : confer French certification .] The act of certifying.

Certifier Cer"ti·fi`er noun One who certifies or assures.

Certify Cer"ti·fy transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Certified ; present participle & verbal noun Certifying .] [ French certifier , Late Latin certificare ; Latin certus certain + facere to make. See Certain , and confer Certificate , transitive verb ] 1. To give cetain information to; to assure; to make certain.

We certify the king, that . . . thou shalt have no portion on this side the river.
Ezra iv. 16.

2. To give certain information of; to make certain, as a fact; to verify. Hammond.

The industry of science at once certifies and greatly extends our knowledge of the vastness of the creation.
I. Taylor.

3. To testify to in writing; to make a declaration concerning, in writing, under hand, or hand and seal.

The judges shall certify their opinion to the chancellor, and upon such certificate the decree is usually founded.
Blackstone.

Certified check , A bank check, the validity of which is certified by the bank on which it is drawn.

Certiorari Cer`ti·o·ra"ri noun [ So named from the emphatic word certiorari in the Latin form of the writ, which read certiorar volumus we wish to be certified.] (Law) A writ issuing out of chancery, or a superior court, to call up the records of a inferior court, or remove a cause there depending, in order that the party may have more sure and speedy justice, or that errors and irregularities may be corrected. It is obtained upon complaint of a party that he has not received justice, or can not have an impartial trial in the inferior court.

» A certiorari is the correct process to remove the proceedings of a court in which cases are tried in a manner different from the course of the common law, as of county commissioners. It is also used as an auxiliary process in order to obtain a full return to some other process. Bouvier.

Certitude Cer"ti·tude noun [ Late Latin certitudo , from Latin certus : confer F. certitude . See Certain .] Freedom from doubt; assurance; certainty. J. H. Newman.

Cerule Cer"ule adjective [ Latin caerulus , eguiv. to caeruleus .] Blue; cerulean. [ Obsolete] Dyer.

Cerulean Ce·ru"le·an adjective [ Latin caeruleus .] Sky-colored; blue; azure. Cowper.

Blue, blue, as if that sky let fall

A flower from its cerulean wall.
Bryant.

Cerulein Ce·ru"le·in noun [ Latin caeruleus sky-blue.] (Chemistry) A fast dyestuff, C ₂₀ H ₈ O ₆ , made by heating gallein with strong sulphuric acid. It dyes mordanted fabrics green.

Ceruleous Ce·ru"le·ous adjective Cerulean. [ Obsolete] Dr. H. More.

Cerulescent Ce`ru·les"cent adjective [ Latin caeruleus sky-blue + -escent .] Tending to cerulean; light bluish.

Ceruleum Ce·ru"le·um noun [ New Latin ] A greenish blue pigment prepared in various ways, consisting essentially of cobalt stannate. Unlike other cobalt blues, it does not change color by gaslight.

Cerulific Cer`u·lif"ic adjective [ Latin caerulus dark blue + facere to make.] Producing a blue or sky color. [ R.]

Cerumen Ce·ru"men noun [ New Latin , from Latin cera wax.] (Physiol.) The yellow, waxlike secretion from the glands of the external ear; the earwax.

Ceruminous Ce·ru"mi·nous adjective (Physiol.) Pertaining to, or secreting, cerumen; as, the ceruminous glands.

Ceruse Ce"ruse noun [ French céruse , Latin cerussa .] 1. White lead, used as a pigment. See White lead , under White .

2. A cosmetic containing white lead.

To distinguish ceruse from natural bloom.
Macaulay.

3. (Min.) The native carbonate of lead.

Cerused Ce"rused adjective Washed with a preparation of white lead; as, cerused face. Beau. & Fl.

Cerusite, Cerussite Ce"ru·site, Ce"rus·site noun (Min.) Native lead carbonate; a mineral occurring in colorless, white, or yellowish transparent crystals, with an adamantine, also massive and compact.

Cervantite Cer"van·tite noun [ Named from Cervantes a town in Spain.] (Min.) See under Antimony .

Cervelat Cer"ve·lat noun [ French] (Mus.) An ancient wind instrument, resembling the bassoon in tone.

Cervical Cer"vi·cal adjective [ Latin cervix , -icis , neck: confer French cervical .] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the neck; as, the cervical vertebrć.

Cervicide Cer"vi·cide noun [ Latin cervus deer + caedere to kill.] The act of killing deer; deer-slaying. [ R.]

Cervine Cer"vine adjective [ Latin cervinus , from cervus deer: confer French cervin .] (Zoology) Of or pertaining to the deer, or to the family Cervidć .

Cervix Cer"vix noun ; plural English Cervixes , Latin Cervices . [ Latin ] (Anat.) The neck; also, the necklike portion of any part, as of the womb. See Illust. of Bird .

Cervus Cer"vus noun [ Latin , a deer.] (Zoology) A genus of ruminants, including the red deer and other allied species.

» Formerly all species of deer were included in the genus Cervus .

Ceryl Ce"ryl noun [ Latin cera wax + -yl .] (Chemistry) A radical, C ₂₇ H ₅₅ supposed to exist in several compounds obtained from Chinese wax, beeswax, etc.

Cesarean, Cesarian Ce·sa"re·an, Ce·sa"ri·an adjective Same as Cćsarean , Cćsarian .

Cesarism Ce"sar·ism noun See Cćsarism .

Cespitine Ces"pi·tine noun [ Latin caespes , caespitis , a turf.] An oil obtained by distillation of peat, and containing various members of the pyridine series.

Cespititious Ces"pi·ti`tious adjective [ Latin caespiticius , from caespes turf.] Same as Cespitious . [ R.] Gough.

Cespitose Ces"pi·tose` adjective [ Latin caespes turf.] (Botany) Having the form a piece of turf, i. e. , many stems from one rootstock or from many entangled rootstocks or roots. [ Written also cćspitose .]

Cespitous Ces"pi·tous adjective [ See Cespitose .] Pertaining to, consisting, of resembling, turf; turfy.

A cespitous or turfy plant has many stems from the same root, usually forming a close, thick carpet of matting.
Martyn.

Cess Cess noun [ For sess , conts. from Assess .] 1. A rate or tax. [ Obsolete or Prof. Eng. & Scot.] Spenser.

2. Bound; measure. [ Obsolete]

The poor jade is wrung in the withers out of all cess .
Shak.

Cess Cess transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Cessed ; present participle & verbal noun Cessing .] To rate; to tax; to assess. Spenser.

Cess Cess intransitive verb [ French cesser . See Cease .] To cease; to neglect. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Cessant Ces"sant adjective [ Latin cessans , present participle of cessare . See Cease .] Inactive; dormant [ Obsolete] W. Montagu.

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