Eridanus E·rid"a·nus noun [ Latin , from Greek ..., the Greek name of the River Po.] (Anat.) A long, winding constellation extending southward from Taurus and containing the bright star Achernar.

Erigible Er"i·gi·ble (ĕr"ĭ*jĭ*b'l) adjective [ See Erect .] Capable of being erected. [ Obsolete]

Erin E"rin (ē"rĭn) noun [ Ir. Confer Aryan .] An early, and now a poetic, name of Ireland.

Erinaceous Er`i·na"ceous adjective [ Latin erinaceus hedgehog.] (Zoology) Of the Hedgehog family; like, or characteristic of, a hedgehog.

Eringo E·rin"go noun The sea holly. See Eryngo .

Erinite Er"i·nite noun (Min.) A hydrous arseniate of copper, of an emerald-green color; -- so called from Erin , or Ireland, where it occurs.

Erinys E·rin"ys noun ; plural Erinyes . [ Latin , from Greek ....] (Class. Myth.) An avenging deity; one of the Furies; sometimes, conscience personified. [ Written also Erinnys .]

Eriometer E`ri·om"e·ter noun [ Greek ... wool + -meter .] (Opt.) An instrument for measuring the diameters of minute particles or fibers, from the size of the colored rings produced by the diffraction of the light in which the objects are viewed.

Eristalis E·ris"ta·lis noun [ New Latin ] (Zoology) A genus of dipterous insects whose young (called rat-tailed larvæ ) are remarkable for their long tapering tail, which spiracles at the tip, and for their ability to live in very impure and salt waters; -- also called drone fly .

Eristic, Eristical E·ris"tic, E·ris"tic·al adjective [ Greek ..., from ... to strive, wrangle, ... strife.] Controversial. [ Archaic]

A specimen of admirable special pleading in the court of eristic logic.

Coleridge.

Erke Erke adjective [ Confer Irk .] Slothful. [ Obsolete] Rom. of R.

Erlking Erl"king` noun [ German erlkönig , from Danish ellekonge elfking.] A personification, in German and Scandinavian mythology, of a spirit or natural power supposed to work mischief and ruin, esp. to children.

Erme Erme intransitive verb [ Middle English ermen , Anglo-Saxon yrman . Confer Yearn .] To grieve; to feel sad. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Ermelin, Ermilin Er"me·lin, Er"mi·lin noun (Zoology) See Ermine . Shenstone.

Ermin Er"min noun [ Old French Ermin , Latin Armenius .] An Armenian. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Ermine Er"mine noun [ Old French ermine , French hermine , probably of German origin; confer Old High German harmo , German hermelin , akin to Lithuanian szarm... , szarmonys , weasel, confer Anglo-Saxon hearma ; but confer also Late Latin armelinus , armellina , hermellina , and pellis Armenia , the fur of the Armenian rat, mus Armenius , the animal being found also in Armenia .] 1. (Zoology) A valuable fur-bearing animal of the genus Mustela ( M. erminea ), allied to the weasel; the stoat. It is found in the northern parts of Asia, Europe, and America. In summer it is brown, but in winter it becomes white, except the tip of the tail, which is always black.

2. The fur of the ermine, as prepared for ornamenting garments of royalty, etc., by having the tips of the tails, which are black, arranged at regular intervals throughout the white.

3. By metonymy, the office or functions of a judge, whose state robe, lined with ermine, is emblematical of purity and honor without stain. Chatham.

4. (Her.) One of the furs. See Fur (Her.)

» Ermine is represented by an argent field, tufted with black. Ermines is the reverse of ermine, being black, spotted or timbered with argent. Erminois is the same as ermine, except that or is substituted for argent .

Ermine moth (Zoology) , a white moth with black spots (esp. Yponomeuta padella of Europe); -- so called on account of the resemblance of its covering to the fur of the ermine; also applied to certain white bombycid moths of America.

Ermine Er"mine transitive verb To clothe with, or as with, ermine.

The snows that have ermined it in the winter.

Lowell.

Ermined Er"mined adjective Clothed or adorned with the fur of the ermine. Pope.

Ermines Er"mines noun , Er"min*ois noun (Her.) See Note under Ermine , noun , 4.

Ermit Er"mit noun [ See Hermit .] A hermit. [ Obsolete]

Ern Ern intransitive verb [ Confer Erme .] To stir with strong emotion; to grieve; to mourn. [ Corrupted into yearn in modern editions of Shakespeare.] [ Obsolete]

Ern, Erne Ern, Erne noun [ Anglo-Saxon earn eagle; akin to Dutch arend , Old High German aro , German aar , Icelandic , Swedish , & Danish örn , Goth. ara , and to Greek ... bird. √11. Confer Ornithology .] (Zoology) A sea eagle, esp. the European white-tailed sea eagle ( Haliæetus albicilla ).

Ernest Er"nest noun See Earnest . [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Ernestful Er"nest·ful adjective [ See Earnest , adjective ] Serious. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Erode E·rode" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Eroded ; present participle & verbal noun Eroding .] [ Latin erodere , erosum ; e out + rodere to gnaw. See Rodent .] To eat into or away; to corrode; as, canker erodes the flesh. "The blood . . . erodes the vessels." Wiseman.

The smaller charge is more apt to . . . erode the gun.

Am. Cyc.

Erode E·rode" transitive verb (Geol. & Physics Geology) (a) To wear away; as, streams and glaciers erode the land. (b) To produce by erosion, or wearing away; as, glaciers erode U -shaped valleys.

Eroded E·rod"ed past participle & adjective 1. Eaten away; gnawed; irregular, as if eaten or worn away.

2. (Botany) Having the edge worn away so as to be jagged or irregularly toothed.

Erodent E·rod"ent noun [ Latin erodens , -entis , present participle of erodere . See Erode .] (Medicine) A medicine which eats away extraneous growths; a caustic.

Erogate Er"o·gate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Erogated ; present participle & verbal noun Erogating .] [ Latin erogatus , past participle of erogare ; e out + rogare to ask.] To lay out, as money; to deal out; to expend. [ Obsolete]

Erogation Er`o·ga"tion noun [ Latin erogatio .] The act of giving out or bestowing. [ Obsolete] Sir T. Elyot.

Eros E"ros noun [ Latin , from Greek ... love, ... (personified) Eros, from ... to love.] (Greek Myth.) Love; the god of love; -- by earlier writers represented as one of the first and creative gods, by later writers as the son of Aphrodite, equivalent to the Latin god Cupid.

Erose E·rose" adjective [ Latin erosus , past participle See Erode .] 1. Irregular or uneven as if eaten or worn away.

2. (Botany) Jagged or irregularly toothed, as if nibbled out or gnawed. -- E*rose"ly , adverb

Erosion E·ro"sion noun [ Latin erosio . See Erode .] 1. The act or operation of eroding or eating away.

2. The state of being eaten away; corrosion; canker.

Erosion E·ro"sion noun The wearing away of the earth's surface by any natural process. The chief agent of erosion is running water; minor agents are glaciers, the wind, and waves breaking against the coast.

Erosive E·ro"sive adjective That erodes or gradually eats away; tending to erode; corrosive. Humble.

Erostrate E·ros"trate adjective [ Prefix e- out + rostrate .] (Botany) Without a beak.

Eroteme Er"o·teme noun [ Greek ... question.] A mark indicating a question; a note of interrogation.

Erotesis Er`o·te"sis noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... a questioning, from ... to ask.] (Rhet.) A figure of speech by which a strong affirmation of the contrary, is implied under the form of an earnest interrogation, as in the following lines; -

Must I give way and room to your rash choler?
Shall I be frighted when a madman stares?

Shak.

Erotic E·rot"ic noun An amorous composition or poem.

Erotic, Erotical E·rot"ic, E·rot"ic·al adjective [ Greek ...: confer French érotique . See Eros .] Of or pertaining to the passion of love; treating of love; amatory.

Eroticism E·rot"i·cism noun Erotic quality.

Erpetologist Er`pe·tol"o·gist noun Herpetologist.

Erpetology Er`pe·tol"o·gy noun [ Confer French erpétologie .] (Zoology) Herpetology.

Err Err intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Erred ; present participle & verbal noun Erring (?; 277, 85).] [ French errer , Latin errare ; akin to German irren , Old High German irran , transitive verb , irr...n , intransitive verb , Old Saxon irrien , Swedish irra , Danish irre , Goth, aírzjan to lead astray, airzise astray.] 1. To wander; to roam; to stray. [ Archaic] "Why wilt thou err from me?" Keble.

What seemeth to you, if there were to a man an hundred sheep and one of them hath erred .

Wyclif (Matt. xviii. 12).

2. To deviate from the true course; to miss the thing aimed at. "My jealous aim might err ." Shak.

3. To miss intellectual truth; to fall into error; to mistake in judgment or opinion; to be mistaken.

The man may err in his judgment of circumstances.

Tillotson.

4. To deviate morally from the right way; to go astray, in a figurative sense; to do wrong; to sin.

Do they not err that devise evil?

Prov. xiv. 22.

5. To offend, as by erring.

Errable Er"ra·ble adjective Liable to error; fallible.

Errableness Er"ra·ble·ness noun Liability to error. Dr. H. More.

Errabund Er"ra·bund adjective [ Latin errabundus .] Erratic. " Errabund guesses." Southey.

Errancy Er"ran·cy noun [ Latin errantia .] A wandering; state of being in error.

Errand Er"rand noun [ Middle English erende , erande , message, business, Anglo-Saxon ærende , ærend ; akin to Old Saxon arundi , Old High German arunti , Icelandic eyrendi , örendi , erendi , Swedish ärende , Danish ærende ; perhaps akin to Anglo-Saxon earu swift, Icelandic örr , and to Latin oriri to rise, English orient .] A special business intrusted to a messenger; something to be told or done by one sent somewhere for the purpose; often, a verbal message; a commission; as, the servant was sent on an errand ; to do an errand . Also, one's purpose in going anywhere.

I have a secret errand to thee, O king.

Judg. iii. 19.

I will not eat till I have told mine errand .

Gen. xxiv. 33.

Errant Er"rant adjective [ French errant , present participle from Old French errer to travel, Late Latin iterare , from Latin iter journey; confused somewhat with Latin errare to err. See Eyre , and confer Arrant , Itinerant .] 1. Wandering; deviating from an appointed course, or from a direct path; roving.

Seven planets or errant stars in the lower orbs of heaven.

Sir T. Browne.

2. Notorious; notoriously bad; downright; arrant.

Would make me an errant fool.

B. Jonson.

3. (Eng. Law) Journeying; itinerant; - - formerly applied to judges who went on circuit and to bailiffs at large. Mozley & W.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
You are here: Webster > Letter E > Page 63 of 100.
« Previous ¦55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 ¦ Next »