Elder El"der noun [ Middle English ellern , eller , Anglo-Saxon ellen , confer LG. elloorn ; perhaps akin to Old High German holantar , holuntar , German holunder ; or perhaps to English alder , noun ] (Botany) A genus of shrubs ( Sambucus ) having broad umbels of white flowers, and small black or red berries.

» The common North American species is Sambucus Canadensis ; the common European species ( S. nigra ) forms a small tree. The red-berried elder is S. pubens . The berries are diaphoretic and aperient.

Box elder . See under 1st Box . -- Dwarf elder . See Danewort . -- Elder tree . (Botany) Same as Elder . Shak. -- Marsh elder , the cranberry tree Viburnum Opulus ).

Elderberry El"der·ber`ry noun (Botany) The berrylike drupe of the elder. That of the Old World elder ( Sambucus nigra ) and that of the American sweet elder ( S. Canadensis ) are sweetish acid, and are eaten as a berry or made into wine.

Elderish Eld"er·ish adjective Somewhat old; elderly. [ R.]

Elderly Eld"er·ly adjective Somewhat old; advanced beyond middle age; bordering on old age; as, elderly people.

Eldern El"dern adjective Made of elder. [ Obsolete]

He would discharge us as boys do eldern guns.

Marston.

Eldership Eld"er·ship noun 1. The state of being older; seniority. "Paternity an eldership ." Sir W. Raleigh.

2. Office of an elder; collectively, a body of elders.

Elderwort El"der·wort` noun (Botany) Danewort.

Eldest Eld"est adjective [ Anglo-Saxon yldest , superl. of eald old. See Elder , adjective ] 1. Oldest; longest in duration. Shak.

2. Born or living first, or before the others, as a son, daughter, brother, etc.; first in origin. See Elder . "My lady's eldest son." Shak.

Their eldest historians are of suspected credit.

Bp. Stillingfleet.

Eldest hand (Card Playing) , the player on the dealer's left hand. R. A. Proctor.

Elding El"ding noun [ Icelandic elding , from elda to kindle, eldr fire; akin to Anglo-Saxon æld fire, ælan to burn.] Fuel. [ Prov. Eng.] Grose.

Eldritch El"dritch adjective Hideous; ghastly; as, an eldritch shriek or laugh. [ Local, Eng.]

Eleatic E`le·at"ic adjective [ Latin eleaticus , from Elea (or Velia ) in Italy.] Of or pertaining to a certain school of Greek philosophers who taught that the only certain science is that which owes nothing to the senses, and all to the reason. -- noun A philosopher of the Eleatic school.

Eleaticism E`le·at"i·cism noun The Eleatic doctrine.

Elecampane El`e·cam·pane" noun [ French énulecampane , New Latin inula campana ; Latin inula elecampane + Late Latin campana a bell; confer German glockenwurz , i. e., "bellwort."] 1. (Botany) A large, coarse herb ( Inula Helenium ), with composite yellow flowers. The root, which has a pungent taste, is used as a tonic, and was formerly of much repute as a stomachic.

2. A sweetmeat made from the root of the plant.

Elect E·lect" adjective [ Latin electus , past participle of eligere to elect; e out + legere to choose. See Legend , and confer Elite , Eclectic .] 1. Chosen; taken by preference from among two or more. "Colors quaint elect ." Spenser.

2. (Theol.) Chosen as the object of mercy or divine favor; set apart to eternal life. "The elect angels." 1 Tim. v. 21.

3. Chosen to an office, but not yet actually inducted into it; as, bishop elect ; governor or mayor elect .

Elect E·lect" noun 1. One chosen or set apart.

Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect , in whom my soul delighteth.

Is. xlii. 1.

2. plural (Theol.) Those who are chosen for salvation.

Shall not God avenge his won elect ?

Luke xviii. 7.

Elect E·lect" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Elected ; present participle & verbal noun Electing .] 1. To pick out; to select; to choose.

The deputy elected by the Lord.

Shak.

2. To select or take for an office; to select by vote; as, to elect a representative, a president, or a governor.

3. (Theol.) To designate, choose, or select, as an object of mercy or favor.

Syn. -- To choose; prefer; select. See Choose .

Electant E·lect"ant noun [ Latin electans , present participle of electare .] One who has the power of choosing; an elector. [ R.]

Electary E·lec"ta·ry noun (Medicine) See Electuary .

Electic E·lec"tic adjective See Eclectic .

Electicism E·lec"ti·cism noun See Eclecticism .

Election E·lec"tion noun [ French élection , Latin electio , from eligere to choose out. See Elect , adjective ] 1. The act of choosing; choice; selection.

2. The act of choosing a person to fill an office, or to membership in a society, as by ballot, uplifted hands, or viva voce ; as, the election of a president or a mayor.

Corruption in elections is the great enemy of freedom.

J. Adams.

3. Power of choosing; free will; liberty to choose or act. "By his own election led to ill." Daniel.

4. Discriminating choice; discernment. [ Obsolete]

To use men with much difference and election is good.

Bacon.

5. (Theol.) Divine choice; predestination of individuals as objects of mercy and salvation; -- one of the "five points" of Calvinism.

There is a remnant according to the election of grace.

Rom. xi. 5.

6. (Law) The choice, made by a party, of two alternatives, by taking one of which, the chooser is excluded from the other.

7. Those who are elected. [ Obsolete]

The election hath obtained it.

Rom. xi. 7.

To contest an election . See under Contest . -- To make one's election , to choose.

He has made his election to walk, in the main, in the old paths.

Fitzed. Hall.

Electioneer E·lec`tion·eer" intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Electionered ; present participle & verbal noun Electioneering .] To make interest for a candidate at an election; to use arts for securing the election of a candidate.

A master of the whole art of electioneering .

Macaulay.

Electioneerer E·lec`tion·eer"er noun One who electioneers.

Elective E·lect"ive adjective [ Confer French électif .] 1. Exerting the power of choice; selecting; as, an elective act.

2. Pertaining to, or consisting in, choice, or right of choosing; electoral.

The independent use of their elective franchise.

Bancroft.

3. Dependent on choice; bestowed or passing by election; as, an elective study; an elective office.

Kings of Rome were at first elective ; . . . for such are the conditions of an elective kingdom.

Dryden.

Elective affinity or attraction (Chemistry) , a tendency to unite with certain things; chemism.

Elective E·lect"ive noun In an American college, an optional study or course of study. [ Colloq.]

Electively E·lect"ive·ly adverb In an elective manner; by choice.

Elector E·lect"or noun [ Latin , from eligere : confer French électeur .] 1. One who elects, or has the right of choice; a person who is entitled to take part in an election, or to give his vote in favor of a candidate for office.

2. Hence, specifically, in any country, a person legally qualified to vote.

3. In the old German empire, one of the princes entitled to choose the emperor.

4. One of the persons chosen, by vote of the people in the United States, to elect the President and Vice President.

Elector E·lect"or adjective [ Confer French électoral .] Pertaining to an election or to electors.

In favor of the electoral and other princes.

Burke.

Electoral college , the body of princes formerly entitled to elect the Emperor of Germany; also, a name sometimes given, in the United States, to the body of electors chosen by the people to elect the President and Vice President.

Electorality E·lect`or·al"i·ty noun The territory or dignity of an elector; electorate. [ R.] Sir H. Wotton.

Electorate E·lect"or·ate noun [ Confer French électorat .] 1. The territory, jurisdiction, or dignity of an elector, as in the old German empire.

2. The whole body of persons in a nation or state who are entitled to vote in an election, or any distinct class or division of them.

The middle-class electorate of Great Britain.

M. Arnold.

Electoress E·lect"or·ess noun [ Fem. of Elector .] An electress. Bp. Burnet.

Electorial E`lec·to"ri·al adjective Electoral. Burke.

Electorship E·lect"or·ship noun The office or status of an elector.

Electre, Electer E·lec"tre, E·lec"ter noun [ Latin electrum : confer French électre mixture of gold and silver. See Electrum .] 1. Amber. See Electrum . [ Obsolete]

2. A metallic substance compounded of gold and silver; an alloy. [ Obsolete] Wyclif.

Electrepeter E`lec·trep"e·ter (e`lĕk*trĕp"e*tẽr) noun [ Elec tro + Greek tre`pein to turn.] An instrument used to change the direction of electric currents; a commutator. [ R.]

Electress E·lect"ress (e*lĕk"trĕs) noun [ Confer French électrice . Confer Electoress .] The wife or widow of an elector in the old German empire. Burke.

Electric E·lec"tric (e*lĕk"trĭk), E*lec"tric*al (-trĭ*k a l) adjective [ Latin electrum amber, a mixed metal, Greek 'h`lektron ; akin to 'hle`ktwr the beaming sun, confer Sanskrit arc to beam, shine: confer French électrique . The name came from the production of electricity by the friction of amber.] 1. Pertaining to electricity; consisting of, containing, derived from, or produced by, electricity; as, electric power or virtue; an electric jar; electric effects; an electric spark.

2. Capable of occasioning the phenomena of electricity; as, an electric or electrical machine or substance.

3. Electrifying; thrilling; magnetic. " Electric Pindar." Mrs. Browning.

Electric atmosphere , or Electric aura . See under Aura . -- Electrical battery . See Battery . -- Electrical brush . See under Brush . -- Electric cable . See Telegraph cable , under Telegraph . -- Electric candle . See under Candle . -- Electric cat (Zoology) , one of three or more large species of African catfish of the genus Malapterurus (esp. M. electricus of the Nile). They have a large electrical organ and are able to give powerful shocks; -- called also sheathfish . -- Electric clock . See under Clock , and see Electro-chronograph . -- Electric current , a current or stream of electricity traversing a closed circuit formed of conducting substances, or passing by means of conductors from one body to another which is in a different electrical state. -- Electric, or Electrical , eel , (Zoology) , a South American eel-like fresh-water fish of the genus Gymnotus ( G. electricus ), from two to five feet in length, capable of giving a violent electric shock. See Gymnotus . -- Electrical fish (Zoology) , any fish which has an electrical organ by means of which it can give an electrical shock. The best known kinds are the torpedo, the gymnotus, or electrical eel, and the electric cat. See Torpedo , and Gymnotus . -- Electric fluid , the supposed matter of electricity; lightning. -- Electrical image (Electricity) , a collection of electrical points regarded as forming, by an analogy with optical phenomena, an image of certain other electrical points, and used in the solution of electrical problems. Sir W. Thomson. -- Electrical light , the light produced by a current of electricity which in passing through a resisting medium heats it to incandescence or burns it. See under Carbon . -- Electric, or Electrical , machine , an apparatus for generating, collecting, or exciting, electricity, as by friction. -- Electric motor . See Electro-motor , 2. -- Electric osmose . (Physics) See under Osmose . -- Electric pen , a hand pen for making perforated stencils for multiplying writings. It has a puncturing needle driven at great speed by a very small magneto-electric engine on the penhandle. -- Electric railway , a railway in which the machinery for moving the cars is driven by an electric current. -- Electric ray (Zoology) , the torpedo. -- Electric telegraph . See Telegraph .

Electric E·lec"tric noun (Physics) A nonconductor of electricity, as amber, glass, resin, etc., employed to excite or accumulate electricity.

Electrically E·lec"tric·al·ly adverb In the manner of electricity, or by means of it; thrillingly.

Electricalness E·lec"tric·al·ness adjective The state or quality of being electrical.

Electrician E`lec·tri"cian (ē`lĕk*trĭsh" a n) noun An investigator of electricity; one versed in the science of electricity.

Electricity E`lec·tric"i·ty (-trĭs"ĭ*tȳ) noun ; plural Electricities (- tĭz). [ Confer French électricité . See Electric .] 1. A power in nature, a manifestation of energy, exhibiting itself when in disturbed equilibrium or in activity by a circuit movement, the fact of direction in which involves polarity , or opposition of properties in opposite directions; also, by attraction for many substances, by a law involving attraction between surfaces of unlike polarity, and repulsion between those of like; by exhibiting accumulated polar tension when the circuit is broken; and by producing heat, light, concussion, and often chemical changes when the circuit passes between the poles or through any imperfectly conducting substance or space. It is generally brought into action by any disturbance of molecular equilibrium, whether from a chemical, physical, or mechanical, cause.
[ 1913 Webster]

» Electricity is manifested under following different forms: ( a ) Statical electricity , called also Frictional or Common , electricity , electricity in the condition of a stationary charge, which may be produced by friction, as of glass, amber, etc., or by induction. ( b ) Dynamical electricity , called also Voltaic electricity , electricity in motion, or as a current produced by chemical decomposition, as by means of a voltaic battery, or by mechanical action, as by dynamo-electric machines. ( c ) Thermoelectricity , in which the disturbing cause is heat (attended possibly with some chemical action). It is developed by uniting two pieces of unlike metals in a bar, and then heating the bar unequally. ( d ) Atmospheric electricity , any condition of electrical disturbance in the atmosphere or clouds, due to some or all of the above mentioned causes. ( e ) Magnetic electricity , electricity developed by the action of magnets. ( f ) Positive electricity , the electricity that appears at the positive pole or anode of a battery, or that is produced by friction of glass; -- called also vitreous electricity . ( g ) Negative electricity , the electricity that appears at the negative pole or cathode, or is produced by the friction of resinous substance; -- called also resinous electricity . ( h ) Organic electricity , that which is developed in organic structures, either animal or vegetable, the phrase animal electricity being much more common.

2. The science which unfolds the phenomena and laws of electricity; electrical science.

3. Fig.: Electrifying energy or characteristic.
[ 1913 Webster]

Electrifiable E·lec"tri·fi`a·ble adjective Capable of receiving electricity, or of being charged with it.

Electrification E·lec`tri·fi·ca"tion noun (Physics) The act of electrifying, or the state of being charged with electricity.

Electrify E·lec"tri·fy transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Electrified ; present participle & verbal noun Electrifying .] [ Electr ic + -fy .] 1. To communicate electricity to; to charge with electricity; as, to electrify a jar.

2. To cause electricity to pass through; to affect by electricity; to give an electric shock to; as, to electrify a limb, or the body.

3. To excite suddenly and violently, esp. by something highly delightful or inspiriting; to thrill; as, this patriotic sentiment electrified the audience.

If the sovereign were now to immure a subject in defiance of the writ of habeas corpus . . . the whole nation would be instantly electrified by the news.

Macaulay.

Try whether she could electrify Mr. Grandcourt by mentioning it to him at table.

G. Eliot.

Electrify E·lec"tri·fy intransitive verb To become electric.

Electrify E·lec"tri·fy transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Electrified ; present participle & verbal noun Electrifying .] [ Electric + -fy .] To equip for employment of electric power; as, to electrify a railroad.

Electrine E·lec"trine adjective [ Latin electrinus of amber. See Electric .] 1. Belonging to, or made of, amber.

2. Made of electrum, an alloy used by the ancients.

Electrition E`lec·tri"tion noun (Physiol.) The recognition by an animal body of the electrical condition of external objects.

Electrization E·lec`tri·za"tion noun [ Confer French électrisation .] The act of electrizing; electrification.

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