Ere Ere (ār
or âr; 277)
preposition & adverb [ Anglo-Saxon
ǣr , preposition , adverb , & conj.; akin to Old Saxon , OFries., & Old High German
ēr , German
eher , Dutch
eer , Icelandic
ār , Goth.
air . √204. Confer
Early ,
Erst ,
Or ,
adverb ]
1. Before; sooner than. [ Archaic or Poetic]
Myself was stirring ere the break of day.
Shak. Ere sails were spread new oceans to explore.
Dryden. Sir, come down ere my child die.
John iv. 49. 2. Rather than. I will be thrown into Etna, . . . ere I will leave her.
Shak. Ere long ,
before, shortly. Shak. --
Ere now ,
formerly, heretofore. Shak. --
Ere that , &
Or are .
Same as Ere . Shak.
Ere Ere transitive verb To plow. [ Obsolete] See Ear , transitive verb Chaucer.
Erebus Er"e·bus noun [ Latin , from Greek ....]
1. (Greek Myth.) A place of nether darkness, being the gloomy space through which the souls passed to Hades. See Milton's "Paradise Lost," Book II., line 883. 2. (Greek Myth.) The son of Chaos and brother of Nox , who dwelt in Erebus. To the infernal deep, with Erebus and tortures vile.
Shak.
Erect E·rect" adjective [ Latin
erectus , past participle of
erigere to erect;
e out +
regere to lead straight. See
Right , and confer
Alert .]
1. Upright, or having a vertical position; not inverted; not leaning or bent; not prone; as, to stand erect . Two of far nobler shape, erect and tall.
Milton. Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia, Philadelphia is still erect -- a column of ruins.
Gibbon. 2. Directed upward; raised; uplifted. His piercing eyes, erect , appear to view
Superior worlds, and look all nature through.
Pope. 3. Bold; confident; free from depression; undismayed. But who is he, by years
Bowed, but erect in heart?
Keble. 4. Watchful; alert. Vigilant and erect attention of mind.
Hooker. 5. (Botany) Standing upright, with reference to the earth's surface, or to the surface to which it is attached. 6. (Her.) Elevated, as the tips of wings, heads of serpents, etc.
Erect E·rect" transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Erected ;
present participle & verbal noun Erecting .]
1. To raise and place in an upright or perpendicular position; to set upright; to raise; as, to erect a pole, a flagstaff, a monument, etc. 2. To raise, as a building; to build; to construct; as, to erect a house or a fort; to set up; to put together the component parts of, as of a machine. 3. To lift up; to elevate; to exalt; to magnify. That didst his state above his hopes erect .
Daniel. I, who am a party, am not to erect myself into a judge.
Dryden. 4. To animate; to encourage; to cheer. It raiseth the dropping spirit, erecting it to a loving complaisance.
Barrow. 5. To set up as an assertion or consequence from premises, or the like. "To
erect conclusions."
Sir T. Browne. "Malebranche
erects this proposition."
Locke. 6. To set up or establish; to found; to form; to institute. "To
erect a new commonwealth."
Hooker. Erecting shop (Machinery) ,
a place where large machines, as engines, are put together and adjusted. Syn. -- To set up; raise; elevate; construct; build; institute; establish; found.
Erect E·rect" intransitive verb To rise upright. [ Obsolete]
By wet, stalks do erect .
Bacon.
Erectable E·rect"a·ble adjective Capable of being erected; as, an erectable feather. Col. G. Montagu.
Erecter E·rect"er noun An erector; one who raises or builds.
Erectile E·rect"ile adjective [ Confer French
érectile .]
Capable of being erected; susceptible of being erected of dilated. Erectile tissue (Anat.) ,
a tissue which is capable of being greatly dilated and made rigid by the distension of the numerous blood vessels which it contains.
Erectility E`rec·til"i·ty noun The quality or state of being erectile.
Erection E·rec"tion noun [ Latin
erectio : confer French
érection .]
1. The act of erecting, or raising upright; the act of constructing, as a building or a wall, or of fitting together the parts of, as a machine; the act of founding or establishing, as a commonwealth or an office; also, the act of rousing to excitement or courage. 2. The state of being erected, lifted up, built, established, or founded; exaltation of feelings or purposes. Her peerless height my mind to high erection draws up.
Sidney 3. State of being stretched to stiffness; tension. 4. Anything erected; a building of any kind. 5. (Physiol.) The state of a part which, from having been soft, has become hard and swollen by the accumulation of blood in the erectile tissue.
Erective E·rect"ive adjective Making erect or upright; raising; tending to erect.
Erectly E·rect"ly adverb In an erect manner or posture.
Erectness E·rect"ness noun Uprightness of posture or form.
Erecto-patent E·rec"to-pat"ent adjective 1. (Botany) Having a position intermediate between erect and patent, or spreading. 2. (Zoology) Standing partially spread and erect; -- said of the wings of certain insects.
Erector E·rec"tor noun 1. One who, or that which, erects. 2. (Anat.) A muscle which raises any part. 3. (Physics) An attachment to a microscope, telescope, or other optical instrument, for making the image erect instead of inverted.
Erelong Ere`long" adverb Before the ...apse of a long time; soon; -- usually separated, ere long . A man, . . . following the stag, erelong slew him.
Spenser. The world, erelong , a world of tears must weep.
Milton.
Eremacausis Er`e·ma·cau"sis noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... quietly + ... burning, from ... to burn.]
A gradual oxidation from exposure to air and moisture, as in the decay of old trees or of dead animals.
Eremitage Er"e·mit·age noun See Hermitage .
Eremite Er"e·mite noun [ See
Hermit .]
A hermit. Thou art my heaven, and I thy eremite .
Keats.
Eremitic, Eremitical Er`e·mit"ic, Er`e·mit"ic·al adjective Of or pertaining to an eremite; hermitical; living in solitude. "An
eremitical life in the woods."
Fuller. "The
eremitic instinct."
Lowell.
Eremitish Er"e·mi`tish adjective Eremitic. Bp. Hall.
Eremitism Er"e·mit·ism noun The state of a hermit; a living in seclusion from social life.
Ereptation E`rep·ta"tion noun [ Latin
erepere to creep out;
e out +
repere to creep.]
A creeping forth. [ Obsolete]
Ereption E·rep"tion noun [ Latin
ereptio , from
eripere to snatch away;
e out +
rapere to snatch.]
A snatching away. [ Obsolete]
Cockeram.
Erethism Er"e·thism noun [ Greek ... irritation, from ... to stir, rouse, from ... to stir: confer French
éréthisme .]
(Medicine) A morbid degree of excitement or irritation in an organ. Hoblyn.
Erethistic Er`e·this"tic adjective [ Greek ... irritating.]
Relating to erethism.
Erewhile, Erewhiles Ere`while", Ere`whiles" adverb Some time ago; a little while before; heretofore. [ Archaic]
I am as fair now as I was erewhile .
Shak.
Erf Erf noun ;
plural Erven . [ D.]
A garden plot, usually about half an acre. [ Cape Colony]
Erg Erg noun [ Greek ... work.]
(Physics) The unit of work or energy in the C. G. S. system, being the amount of work done by a dyne working through a distance of one centimeter; the amount of energy expended in moving a body one centimeter against a force of one dyne. One foot pound is equal to 13,560,000 ergs.
Ergal Er"gal noun [ G., from Greek ... work.]
(Physics) Potential energy; negative value of the force function.
Ergat Er"gat transitive verb [ Latin
ergo therefore.]
To deduce logically, as conclusions. [ Obsolete]
Hewyt.
Ergmeter Erg"me`ter noun [
Erg +
- meter .]
(Physics) An instrument for measuring energy in ergs.
Ergo Er"go conj. or adverb [ Latin ]
Therefore; consequently; -- often used in a jocular way. Shak.
Ergograph Er"go·graph noun [ Greek ... work +
- graph .]
An instrument for measuring and recording the work done by a single muscle or set of muscles, the rate of fatigue, etc. --
Er`go*graph"ic adjective
Ergometer Er·gom"e·ter noun [ Greek ... work +
-meter .]
(Physics) A device for measuring, or an instrument for indicating, energy expended or work done; a dynamometer. --
Er`go*met"ric adjective
Ergon Er"gon noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... work.]
(Physics) (a) Work, measured in terms of the quantity of heat to which it is equivalent. (b) = Erg .
Ergot Er"got noun [ French
ergot ,
argot , lit., a spur.]
1. A diseased condition of rye and other cereals, in which the grains become black, and often spur-shaped. It is caused by a parasitic fungus, Claviceps purpurea . 2. The mycelium or spawn of this fungus infecting grains of rye and wheat. It is a powerful remedial agent, and also a dangerous poison, and is used as a means of hastening childbirth, and to arrest bleeding. 3. (Far.) A stub, like soft horn, about the size of a chestnut, situated behind and below the pastern joint. 4. (Anat.) See 2d Calcar , 3 (b) .
Ergotic Er·got"ic adjective Pertaining to, or derived from, ergot; as, ergotic acid.
Ergotin Er"go·tin noun (Medicine) An extract made from ergot.
Ergotine Er"go·tine (Chemistry) A powerful astringent alkaloid extracted from ergot as a brown, amorphous, bitter substance. It is used to produce contraction of the uterus.
Ergotism Er"go·tism noun [ French
ergotisme , from Latin
ergo .]
A logical deduction. [ Obsolete]
Sir T. Browne.
Ergotism Er"got·ism noun [ From
Ergot ,
noun ; confer French
ergotisme .]
(Medicine) A diseased condition produced by eating rye affected with the ergot fungus.
Ergotized Er"got·ized adjective Affected with the ergot fungus; as, ergotized rye.
Eriach, Eric Er"i·ach, Er"ic noun [ Ir.
eiric .]
(Old Irish Law) A recompense formerly given by a murderer to the relatives of the murdered person.
Erica E·ri"ca noun [ New Latin , from Latin
erice heath, Greek ....]
(Botany) A genus of shrubby plants, including the heaths, many of them producing beautiful flowers.
Ericaceous Er`i·ca"ceous adjective (Botany) Belonging to the Heath family, or resembling plants of that family; consisting of heats.
Ericinol E·ric"i·nol (e*rĭs"ĭ*nōl)
noun [ New Latin
eric aceae the Heath family + Latin
oleum oil.]
(Chemistry) A colorless oil (quickly becoming brown), with a pleasant odor, obtained by the decomposition of ericolin.
Ericius E·ri"ci·us noun [ Latin , a hedgehog.]
The Vulgate rendering of the Hebrew word qipōd , which in the "Authorized Version" is translated bittern, and in the Revised Version, porcupine. I will make it [ Babylon] a possession for the ericius and pools of waters.
Is. xiv. 23 (Douay version).
Ericolin E·ric"o·lin noun (Chemistry) A glucoside found in the bearberry (and others of the Ericaceĉ ), and extracted as a bitter, yellow, amorphous mass.
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