James's powder James"'s pow`der (Medicine) Antimonial powder, first prepared by Dr. James , an English physician; -- called also fever powder .
Jamesonite Ja"me·son·ite noun [ From Prof.
Jameson , of Edinburgh.]
(Min.) A steel-gray mineral, of metallic luster, commonly fibrous massive. It is a sulphide of antimony and lead, with a little iron.
Jamestown weed James"town` weed` (Botany) The poisonous thorn apple or stramonium ( Datura stramonium ), a rank weed early noticed at Jamestown , Virginia. See Datura . » This name is often corrupted into jimson , jimpson , and gympsum .
Jan Jan (jăn)
noun [ Arabic ]
(Moham. Myth.) One of an intermediate order between angels and men.
Jane Jane (jān)
noun [ Late Latin
Janua Genoa; Latin
Genua , also Middle English
Jean .]
1. A coin of Genoa; any small coin. Chaucer. 2. A kind of twilled cotton cloth. See Jean .
Jane-of-apes Jane"-of-apes" noun A silly, pert girl; -- corresponding to jackanapes . Massinger.
Jangle Jan"gle intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Jangled ;
present participle & verbal noun Jangling .] [ Middle English
janglen to quarrel, Old French
jangler to rail, quarrel; of Dutch or German origin; confer Dutch
jangelen ,
janken , to whimper, chide, brawl, quarrel.]
1. To sound harshly or discordantly, as bells out of tune. 2. To talk idly; to prate; to babble; to chatter; to gossip. "Thou
janglest as a jay."
Chaucer. 3. To quarrel in words; to altercate; to wrangle. Good wits will be jangling ; but, gentles, agree.
Shak. Prussian Trenck . . . jargons and jangles in an unmelodious manner.
Carlyle.
Jangle Jan"gle transitive verb To cause to sound harshly or inharmoniously; to produce discordant sounds with. Like sweet bells jangled , out of tune, and harsh.
Shak.
Jangle Jan"gle noun [ Confer Old French
jangle .]
1. Idle talk; prate; chatter; babble. Chaucer. 2. Discordant sound; wrangling. The musical jangle of sleigh bells.
Longfellow.
Jangler Jan"gler noun [ Confer Old French
jangleor .]
1. An idle talker; a babbler; a prater. Chaucer. 2. A wrangling, noisy fellow.
Jangleress Jan"gler·ess noun A female prater or babbler.
Janglery Jan"gler·y noun [ Confer Old French
janglerie chattering, talk.]
Jangling. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Jangling Jan"gling adjective Producing discordant sounds. "A
jangling noise."
Milton.
Jangling Jan"gling noun 1. Idle babbling; vain disputation. From which some, having swerved, have turned aside unto vain jangling .
1 Tim. i. 6. 2. Wrangling; altercation. Lamb.
Janissary Jan"is·sa·ry noun See Janizary .
Janitor Jan"i·tor noun [ Latin , from
janua a door.]
A door-keeper; a porter; one who has the care of a public building, or a building occupied for offices, suites of rooms, etc.
Janitress, Janitrix Jan"i·tress, Jan"i·trix noun [ Latin
janitrix . See
Janitor .]
A female janitor.
Janizar Jan"i·zar` noun A janizary. [ R.]
Byron.
Janizarian Jan`i·za"ri·an adjective Of or pertaining to the janizaries, or their government. Burke.
Janizary Jan"i·za·ry noun ;
plural Janizaries . [ French
janissaire , from Turk.
ye...i-tsheri new soldiers or troops.]
A soldier of a privileged military class, which formed the nucleus of the Turkish infantry, but was suppressed in 1826. [ written also
janissary .]
Janker Jan"ker noun A long pole on two wheels, used in hauling logs. [ Scot.]
Jamieson.
Jansenism Jan"sen·ism noun [ French
Jansénisme .]
(Eccl. Hist.) The doctrine of Jansen regarding free will and divine grace.
Jansenist Jan"sen·ist noun [ French
Janséniste .]
(Eccl. Hist.) A follower of Cornelius Jansen , a Roman Catholic bishop of Ypres, in Flanders, in the 17th century, who taught certain doctrines denying free will and the possibility of resisting divine grace.
Jant Jant intransitive verb See Jaunt .
Janthina Jan"thi·na noun (Zoology) See Ianthina .
Jantily Jan"ti·ly adverb See Jauntily .
Jantiness Jan"ti·ness noun See Jauntiness .
Jantu Jan"tu noun A machine of great antiquity, used in Bengal for raising water to irrigate land. Knight.
Janty Jan"ty adjective See Jaunty .
January Jan"u·a·ry noun [ Latin
Januarius , from
Janus an old Latin deity, the god of the sun and the year, to whom the month of January was sacred; confer
janua a door, Sanskrit
yā to go.]
The first month of the year, containing thirty-one days. » Before the adoption of New Style, the commencement of the year was usually reckoned from March 25.
Janus Ja"nus noun [ Latin See
January .]
(Rom. Antiq.) A Latin deity represented with two faces looking in opposite directions. Numa is said to have dedicated to Janus the covered passage at Rome, near the Forum, which is usually called the Temple of Janus. This passage was open in war and closed in peace. Dr. W. Smith. Janus cloth ,
a fabric having both sides dressed, the sides being of different colors, -- used for reversible garments.
Janus-faced Ja"nus-faced` adjective Double- faced; deceitful. Janus-faced lock ,
one having duplicate faces so as to go upon a right or a left hand door, the key entering on either side indifferently. Knight.
Janus-headed Ja"nus-head`ed adjective Double- headed.
Japan Ja·pan" (jȧ*păn")
noun [ From
Japan , the country.]
Work varnished and figured in the Japanese manner; also, the varnish or lacquer used in japanning.
Japan Ja·pan" adjective Of or pertaining to Japan, or to the lacquered work of that country; as, Japan ware. Japan allspice (Botany) ,
a spiny shrub from Japan ( Chimonanthus fragrans ), related to the Carolina allspice. --
Japan black (Chemistry) ,
a quickly drying black lacquer or varnish, consisting essentially of asphaltum dissolved in naphtha or turpentine, and used for coating ironwork; -- called also Brunswick black , Japan lacquer , or simply Japan . --
Japan camphor ,
ordinary camphor brought from China or Japan, as distinguished from the rare variety called borneol or Borneo camphor . --
Japan clover , or
Japan pea (Botany) ,
a cloverlike plant ( Lespedeza striata ) from Eastern Asia, useful for fodder, first noticed in the Southern United States about 1860, but now become very common. During the Civil War it was called variously Yankee clover and Rebel clover . --
Japan earth .
See Catechu . --
Japan ink ,
a kind of writing ink, of a deep, glossy black when dry. --
Japan varnish ,
a varnish prepared from the milky juice of the Rhus vernix , a small Japanese tree related to the poison sumac.
Japan Ja·pan" (jȧ*păn")
transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Japanned (jȧ*pănd");
present participle & verbal noun Japanning .]
1. To cover with a coat of hard, brilliant varnish, in the manner of the Japanese; to lacquer. 2. To give a glossy black to, as shoes. [ R.]
Gay.
Japan current Japan current A branch of the equatorial current of the Pacific, washing the eastern coast of Formosa and thence flowing northeastward past Japan and merging into the easterly drift of the North Pacific; -- called also Kuro-Siwo , or Black Stream , in allusion to the deep blue of its water. It is similar in may ways to the Gulf Stream.
Japanese Jap`a·nese" adjective Of or pertaining to Japan, or its inhabitants.
Japanese Jap`a·nese" noun sing. & plural 1. A native or inhabitant of Japan; collectively, the people of Japan. 2. sing. The language of the people of Japan.
Japanned Ja·panned" adjective Treated, or coated, with varnish in the Japanese manner. Japanned leather ,
leather treated with coatings of Japan varnish, and dried in a stove. Knight.
Japanner Ja·pan"ner noun 1. One who varnishes in the manner of the Japanese, or one skilled in the art. 2. A bootblack. [ R.]
Japanning Ja·pan"ning noun The art or act of varnishing in the Japanese manner.
Japannish Ja·pan"nish adjective After the manner of the Japanese; resembling japanned articles. Carlyle.
Jape Jape intransitive verb [ Prob. from the same source as
gab , influenced by French
japper to yelp. See
Gab to deceive.]
To jest; to play tricks; to jeer. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Jape Jape transitive verb To mock; to trick. Chaucer. I have not been putting a jape upon you.
Sir W. Scott. The coy giggle of the young lady to whom he has imparted his latest merry jape .
W. Besant.
Japer Jap"er noun A jester; a buffoon. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Japery Jap"er·y noun [ Confer Old French
japerie a yelping.]
Jesting; buffoonery. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Japhethite Ja"pheth·ite noun A Japhetite. Kitto.
Japhetic Ja·phet"ic adjective Pertaining to, or derived from, Japheth, one of the sons of Noah; as, Japhetic nations, the nations of Europe and Northern Asia; Japhetic languages.
Japhetite Ja"phet·ite noun A descendant of Japheth.