Ephemera E·phem"e·ra noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... a day fly, from ... daily, lasting but a day; ... over + ... day.]
1. (Medicine) A fever of one day's continuance only. 2. (Zoology) A genus of insects including the day flies, or ephemeral flies. See Ephemeral fly , under Ephemeral .
Ephemeral E·phem"er·al adjective 1. Beginning and ending in a day; existing only, or no longer than, a day; diurnal; as, an ephemeral flower. 2. Short-lived; existing or continuing for a short time only. "
Ephemeral popularity."
V. Knox. Sentences not of ephemeral , but of eternal, efficacy.
Sir J. Stephen. Ephemeral fly (Zoology) ,
one of a group of neuropterous insects, belonging to the genus Ephemera and many allied genera, which live in the adult or winged state only for a short time. The larvæ are aquatic; -- called also day fly and May fly .
Ephemeral E·phem"er·al noun Anything lasting but a day, or a brief time; an ephemeral plant, insect, etc.
Ephemeran E·phem"er·an noun (Zoology) One of the ephemeral flies.
Ephemeric E·phem"e·ric adjective Ephemeral.
Ephemeris E·phem"e·ris noun ;
plural Ephemerides . [ Latin , a diary, Greek ..., also, a calendar, from .... See
Ephemera .]
1. A diary; a journal. Johnson. 2. (Anat.) (a) A publication giving the computed places of the heavenly bodies for each day of the year, with other numerical data, for the use of the astronomer and navigator; an astronomical almanac; as, the "American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac." (b) Any tabular statement of the assigned places of a heavenly body, as a planet or comet, on several successive days. 3. (Literature) A collective name for reviews, magazines, and all kinds of periodical literature. Brande & C.
Ephemerist E·phem"er·ist noun 1. One who studies the daily motions and positions of the planets. Howell. 2. One who keeps an ephemeris; a journalist.
Ephemeron E·phem"e·ron noun ;
plural Ephemera . [ New Latin See
Ephemera .]
(Zoology) One of the ephemeral flies.
Ephemerous E·phem"er·ous adjective Ephemeral. [ R.]
Burke.
Ephesian E·phe"sian adjective [ Latin
Ephesius : confer French
éphésien .]
Of or pertaining to Ephesus, an ancient city of Ionia, in Asia Minor.
Ephesian E·phe"sian noun 1. A native of Ephesus. 2. A jolly companion; a roisterer. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Ephialtes Eph`i·al"tes noun [ New Latin , from Greek ..., lit., one who leaps upon.]
The nightmare. Brande & C.
Ephippial E·phip"pi·al adjective Saddle- shaped; occupying an ephippium. Dana.
Ephippium E·phip"pi·um noun [ Latin , saddle cloth, from Greek ...;
'epi` on +
"i`ppos horse.]
1. (Anat.) A depression in the sphenoid bone; the pituitary fossa. 2. (Zoology) A saddle-shaped cavity to contain the winter eggs, situated on the back of Cladocera.
Ephod Eph"od noun [ Hebrew 'ēphōd, from '
āphad to put on.]
(Jew. Antiq.) A part of the sacerdotal habit among Jews, being a covering for the back and breast, held together on the shoulders by two clasps or brooches of onyx stones set in gold, and fastened by a girdle of the same stuff as the ephod. The ephod for the priests was of plain linen; that for the high priest was richly embroidered in colors. The breastplate of the high priest was worn upon the ephod in front. Exodus xxviii. 6-12.
Ephor Eph"or noun ;
plural Ephors , Latin
Ephori . [ Latin
ephorus , Greek ..., from ... to oversee; ... + ... to see: confer French
éphore .]
(Gr. Antiq.) A magistrate; one of a body of five magistrates chosen by the people of ancient Sparta. They exercised control even over the king.
Ephoral Eph"or·al adjective Pertaining to an ephor.
Ephoralty Eph"or·al·ty noun The office of an ephor, or the body of ephors.
Ephraim E"phra·im noun [ The proper name.]
(Zoology) A hunter's name for the grizzly bear.
Ephyra Eph"y·ra noun [ New Latin , from Greek ..., an old name of Corinth.]
(Zoology) A stage in the development of discophorous medusæ, when they first begin to swim about after being detached from the strobila. See Strobila .
Epi- Ep"i- [ Greek 'epi` on, upon, to; akin to Sanskrit api besides, and probably to Latin ob to, before, on account of, and perhaps to English of , off .] A prefix, meaning upon , beside , among , on the outside , above , over . It becomes ep- before a vowel, as in epoch , and eph- before a Greek aspirate, as in ephemeral .
Epiblast Ep"i·blast noun [ Prefix
epi- +
-blast .]
(Biol.) The outer layer of the blastoderm; the ectoderm. See Blastoderm , Delamination .
Epiblastic Ep`i·blas"tic adjective (Biol.) Of or relating to, or consisting of, the epiblast.
Epiblema Ep`i·ble"ma noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... a cover; ... over + ... to throw.]
(Botany) The epidermal cells of rootlets, specially adapted to absorb liquids. Goodale.
Epibolic Ep`i·bol"ic adjective [ Greek ... to throw upon, add to;
'epi` upon + ... to throw.]
(Biol.) Growing or covering over; -- said of a kind of invagination. See under Invagination .
Epiboly E·pib"o·ly noun [ Confer Greek ... a throwing upon.]
(Biol.) Epibolic invagination. See under Invagination .
Epibranchial Ep`i·bran"chi·al adjective [ Prefix
epi- +
branchial .]
(Anat.) Pertaining to the segment between the ceratobranchial and pharyngobranchial in a branchial arch. --
noun An epibranchial cartilage or bone.
Epic Ep"ic adjective [ Latin
epicus , Greek ..., from ... a word, speech, tale, song; akin to Latin
vox voice: confer French
épique . See
Voice .]
Narrated in a grand style; pertaining to or designating a kind of narrative poem, usually called an heroic poem, in which real or fictitious events, usually the achievements of some hero, are narrated in an elevated style. The epic poem treats of one great, complex action, in a grand style and with fullness of detail.
T. Arnold.
Epic Ep"ic noun An epic or heroic poem. See Epic , adjective
Epic/'d2le Ep"i·c/'d2le (ĕp"ĭ*sēl)
noun [ Prefix
epi- + Greek
koi^lon a hollow.]
(Anat.) A cavity formed by the invagination of the outer wall of the body, as the atrium of an amphioxus and possibly the body cavity of vertebrates.
Epicœne Ep"i·cœne adjective Epicene. [ R.]
Hadley.
Epical Ep"ic·al adjective Epic. --
Ep"ic*al*ly ,
adverb Poems which have an epical character.
Brande & C. His [ Wordsworth's] longer poems (miscalled epical ).
Lowell.
Epicardiac Ep`i·car"di·ac adjective (Anat.) Of or relating to the epicardium.
Epicardium Ep`i·car"di·um noun [ New Latin , from Greek
'epi` upon +
kardi`a heart.]
(Anat.) That part of the pericardium which forms the outer surface of the heart; the cardiac pericardium.
Epicaridan Ep`i·car"i·dan noun [ Prefix
epi- + Greek ..., ..., a shrimp.]
(Zoology) An isopod crustacean, parasitic on shrimps.
Epicarp Ep"i·carp [ Prefix epi- + Greek ... fruit.] (Botany) The external or outermost layer of a fructified or ripened ovary. See Illust. under Endocarp .
Epicede Ep"i·cede noun [ Latin
epicedion , Greek ... dirge, elegy, from ... funereal; ... + ... care, sorrow: confer French
épicède .]
A funeral song or discourse; an elegy. [ R.]
Donne.
Epicedial Ep`i·ce"di·al adjective Elegiac; funereal.
Epicedian Ep`i·ce"di·an adjective Epicedial. --
noun An epicede.
Epicedium Ep`i·ce"di·um noun [ Latin ]
An epicede.
Epicene Ep"i·cene adjective & noun [ Latin
epicoenus , Greek ...; from
'epi` + ... common; confer French
épicène .]
1. Common to both sexes; -- a term applied, in grammar, to such nouns as have but one form of gender, either the masculine or feminine, to indicate animals of both sexes; as boy^s , bos , for the ox and cow; sometimes applied to eunuchs and hermaphrodites. 2. Fig.: Sexless; neither one thing nor the other. The literary prigs epicene .
Prof. Wilson. He represented an epicene species, neither churchman nor layman.
J. A. Symonds.
Epicentral Ep`i·cen"tral adjective [ Prefix
epi- +
centrum .]
(Anat.) Arising from the centrum of a vertebra. Owen.
Epicerastic Ep`i·ce·ras"tic adjective [ Greek ... tempering the humors;
'epi` + ... to mix: confer French
épicérastique .]
(Medicine) Lenient; assuaging. [ Obsolete]
Epichirema Ep`i·chi·re"ma noun ;
plural Epichiremata . [ Latin , from Greek ..., from ... to attempt to prove.]
(Rhet. & Logic) A syllogism in which the proof of the major or minor premise, or both, is introduced with the premises themselves, and the conclusion is derived in the ordinary manner. [ Written also
epicheirema .]
Epichordal Ep`i·chor"dal adjective [ Prefix
epi- +
chordal .]
(Anat.) Upon or above the notochord; -- applied esp. to a vertebral column which develops upon the dorsal side of the notochord, as distinguished from a perichordal column, which develops around it.
Epichorial Ep`i·cho"ri·al adjective [ Greek ...; ... over + ... country.]
In or of the country. [ R.]
Epichorial superstitions from every district of Europe.
De Quincey.
Epicleidium Ep`i·clei"di·um noun [ New Latin , from Greek
'epi` upon + ... a little key.]
(Anat.) A projection, formed by a separate ossification, at the scapular end of the clavicle of many birds.
Epiclinal Ep`i·cli"nal adjective [ Prefix
epi- + Greek ... a couch.]
(Botany) Situated on the receptacle or disk of a flower.
Epicolic Ep`i·col"ic adjective [ Prefix
epi- + Greek ... colon.]
(Anat.) Situated upon or over the colon; -- applied to the region of the abdomen adjacent to the colon.
Epicondylar Ep`i·con"dy·lar noun (Anat.) Pertaining to, or resembling, an epicondyle.
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