Tormentful Tor·ment"ful adjective Full of torment; causing, or accompanied by, torment; excruciating. [ R.]
Tillotson.
Tormentil Tor"men·til noun [ French
tormentille ; confer Pr., Italian , & New Latin
tormentilla , Spanish
tormentila ; all from Latin
tormentum pain. So called because it is said to allay pain. See
Torment .]
(Botany) A rosaceous herb ( Potentilla Tormentilla ), the root of which is used as a powerful astringent, and for alleviating gripes, or tormina, in diarrhea.
Tormenting Tor·ment"ing adjective Causing torment; as, a tormenting dream. --
Tor*ment"ing*ly ,
adverb
Tormentise Tor"ment·ise noun [ See
Torment .]
Torture; torment. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Tormentor Tor·ment"or noun 1. One who, or that which, torments; one who inflicts penal anguish or tortures. Jer. Taylor. Thoughts, my tormentors , armed with deadly stings.
Milton. 2. (Agriculture) An implement for reducing a stiff soil, resembling a harrow, but running upon wheels. Hebert.
Tormentress Tor·ment"ress noun A woman who torments. Fortune ordinarily cometh after to whip and punish them, as the scourge and tormentress of glory and honor.
Holland.
Tormentry Tor"ment·ry noun Anything producing torment, annoyance, or pain. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Tormina Tor"mi·na noun plural [ Latin , a griping in the belly.]
(Medicine) acute, colicky pains; gripes.
Torminous Tor"mi·nous adjective (Medicine) Affected with tormina; griping.
Torn Torn past participle of Tear .
Tornado Tor·na"do noun ;
plural Tornadoes . [ From Spanish or Portuguese
tornar to turn, return, Latin
tornare to turn, hence, a whirling wind. The Spanish & Portuguese
tornada is a return. See
Turn .]
A violent whirling wind; specifically (Meteorol.) , a tempest distinguished by a rapid whirling and slow progressive motion, usually accompaned with severe thunder, lightning, and torrents of rain, and commonly of short duration and small breadth; a small cyclone.
Tornaria Tor·na"ri·a noun ;
plural Tornariĉ . [ New Latin , from Latin
tornare to turn.]
(Zoology) The peculiar free swimming larva of Balanoglossus. See Illust. in Append.
Torose To·rose" adjective [ Latin
torosus full of muscle, brawny, fleshy. See
Torus .]
Cylindrical with alternate swellings and contractions; having the surface covered with rounded prominences.
Torosity To·ros"i·ty noun The quality or state of being torose.
Torous Torous adjective Torose.
Torpedinous Tor·ped"i·nous adjective Of or pertaining to a torpedo; resembling a torpedo; exerting a benumbing influence; stupefying; dull; torpid. Fishy were his eyes; torpedinous was his manner.
De Quincey.
Torpedo Tor·pe"do noun ;
plural Torpedoes . [ Latin
torpedo ,
-inis , from
torpere to be stiff, numb, or torpid. See
Torpid .]
1. (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch fishes belonging to Torpedo and allied genera. They are related to the rays, but have the power of giving electrical shocks. Called also crampfish , and numbfish . See Electrical fish , under Electrical . » The common European torpedo (
T. vulgaris ) and the American species (
T. occidentalis ) are the best known.
2. An engine or machine for destroying ships by blowing them up. Specifically: --
(a) A quantity of explosives anchored in a channel, beneath the water, or set adrift in a current, and so arranged that they will be exploded when touched by a vessel, or when an electric circuit is closed by an operator on shore. (b) A kind of small submarine boat carrying an explosive charge, and projected from a ship against another ship at a distance, or made self-propelling, and otherwise automatic in its action against a distant ship. 3. (Mil.) A kind of shell or cartridge buried in earth, to be exploded by electricity or by stepping on it. 4. (Railroad) A kind of detonating cartridge or shell placed on a rail, and exploded when crushed under the locomotive wheels, -- used as an alarm signal. 5. An explosive cartridge or shell lowered or dropped into a bored oil well, and there exploded, to clear the well of obstructions or to open communication with a source of supply of oil. 6. A kind of firework in the form of a small ball, or pellet, which explodes when thrown upon a hard object. Fish torpedo ,
a spindle-shaped, or fish-shaped, self-propelling submarine torpedo. --
Spar torpedo ,
a canister or other vessel containing an explosive charge, and attached to the end of a long spar which projects from a ship or boat and is thrust against an enemy's ship, exploding the torpedo. --
Torpedo boat ,
a vessel adapted for carrying, launching, operating, or otherwise making use of, torpedoes against an enemy's ship. --
Torpedo nettings ,
nettings made of chains or bars, which can be suspended around a vessel and allowed to sink beneath the surface of the water, as a protection against torpedoes.
Torpedo Tor·pe"do transitive verb to destroy by, or subject to the action of, a torpedo. London Spectator.
Torpedo Tor·pe"do noun An automobile with a torpedo body. [ Cant]
Torpedo body Tor·pe"do body An automobile body which is built so that the side surfaces are flush. [ Cant]
Torpedo boom Tor·pe"do boom A spar formerly carried by men-of- war, having a torpedo on its end.
Torpedo catcher Tor·pe"do catch"er A small fast vessel for pursuing and destroying torpedo boats.
Torpedo shell Torpedo shell (Ordnance) A shell longer than a deck-piercing shell, with thinner walls and a larger cavity for the bursting charge, which consists of about 130 pounds of high explosive. It has no soft cap, and is intended to effect its damage by the powerful explosion which follows on slight resistance. It is used chiefly in 12-inch mortars.
Torpedo station Torpedo station A headquarters for torpedo vessels and their supplies, usually having facilities for repairs and for instruction and experiments. The principal torpedo station of the United States is at Newport, R.I.
Torpedo stern Torpedo stern A broad stern without overhang, flattened on the bottom, used in some torpedo and fast power boats. It prevents settling in the water at high speed.
Torpedo tube Torpedo tube (Nav.) A tube fixed below or near the water line through which a torpedo is fired, usually by a small charge of gunpowder. On torpedo vessels the tubes are on deck and usually in broadside, on larger vessels usually submerged in broadside and fitted with a movable shield which is pushed out from the vessel's side to protect the torpedo until clear, but formerly sometimes in the bow. In submarine torpedo boats they are in the bow.
Torpedo-boat destroyer Tor·pe"do-boat` de·stroy"er A larger, swifter, and more powerful armed type of torpedo boat, originally intended principally for the destruction of torpedo boats, but later used also as a more formidable torpedo boat.
Torpedoist Tor·pe"do·ist noun (Nav.) One skilled in the theory or use of torpedoes; also, one who favors the use of torpedoes.
Torpent Tor"pent adjective [ Latin
torpens , present participle of
torpere to be numb.]
Having no motion or activity; incapable of motion; benumbed; torpid. [ Obsolete]
Evelyn.
Torpescence Tor·pes"cence noun The quality or state or being torpescent; torpidness; numbness; stupidity.
Torpescent Tor·pes"cent adjective [ Latin
torpescens , present participle of
torpescere to grow stiff, numb, or torpid, incho. from
torpere . See
Torpid .]
Becoming torpid or numb. Shenstone.
Torpid Tor"pid (tôr"pĭd)
adjective [ Latin
torpidus , from
torpere to be stiff, numb, or torpid; of uncertain origin.]
1. Having lost motion, or the power of exertion and feeling; numb; benumbed; as, a torpid limb. Without heat all things would be torpid .
Ray. 2. Dull; stupid; sluggish; inactive. Sir M. Hale.
Torpid Tor"pid noun [ See
Torpid ,
adjective ] [ Slang, Oxford University, Eng.]
1. An inferior racing boat, or one who rows in such a boat. 2. plural The Lenten rowing races.
Torpidity Tor·pid"i·ty noun Same as Torpidness .
Torpidly Tor"pid·ly adverb In a torpid manner.
Torpidness Tor"pid·ness noun The qualityy or state of being torpid.
Torpify Tor"pi·fy transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Torpified ;
present participle & verbal noun Torpifying . ] [ Latin
torpere to be torpid +
-fy .]
To make torpid; to numb, or benumb.
Torpitude Tor"pi·tude noun Torpidness. [ Obsolete] "In a kind of
torpitude , or sleeping state."
Derham.
Torpor Tor"por noun [ Latin , from
torpere , to be torpid.]
1. Loss of motion, or of the motion; a state of inactivity with partial or total insensibility; numbness. 2. Dullness; sluggishness; inactivity; as, a torpor of the mental faculties.
Torporific Tor`por·if"ic adjective [ Latin
torpor torpor +
facere to make.]
Tending to produce torpor.
Torquate Tor"quate adjective [ Latin
torquatus wearing a collar.]
(Zoology) Collared; having a torques, or distinct colored ring around the neck.
torquated tor"qua·ted adjective [ Latin
Torqyatus .]
Having or wearing a torque, or neck chain.
Torque Torque noun [ Latin
torques a twisted neck chain, from
torquere to twist.]
1. A collar or neck chain, usually twisted, especially as worn by ancient barbaric nations, as the Gauls, Germans, and Britons. 2. [ Latin
torquere to twist.]
(Mech.) That which tends to produce torsion; a couple of forces. J. Thomson. 3. (Physics Science) A turning or twisting; tendency to turn, or cause to turn, about an axis.
Torqued Torqued adjective [ Latin
torquere to twist, to turn, to wind.]
1. Wreathed; twisted. [ R.]
2. (Her.) Twisted; bent; -- said of a dolphin haurient, which forms a figure like the letter S.
Torques Tor"ques noun [ Latin , a necklace. See
Torque , 1.]
(Zoology) A cervical ring of hair or feathers, distinguished by its color or structure; a collar.
Torrefaction Tor`re·fac"tion noun [ Latin
torrefacere ,
torrefactum , to torrefy: confer French
torr é
faction . See
Torrefy .]
The act or process of torrefying, or the state of being torrefied. Bp. Hall.
Torrefy Tor"re·fy transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Torrefied ;
present participle & verbal noun Torrefying .] [ Latin
torrere to parch +
-fy : confer French
torr é
fier , Latin
torrefacere .] [ Written also
torrify .]
1. To dry by a fire. Sir T. Browne. 2. (Metal.) To subject to scorching heat, so as to drive off volatile ingredients; to roast, as ores. 3. (Pharm.) To dry or parch, as drugs, on a metallic plate till they are friable, or are reduced to the state desired.
Torrens system Tor"rens sys`tem A system of registration of titles to land (as distinct from registration of deeds) introduced into South Australia by the Real Property (or Torrens) Act (act 15 of 1857-58), drafted by Sir Robert Torrens (1814-84). Its essential feature is the guaranty by the government of properly registered titles. The system has been generally adopted in Australia and British Columbia, and in its original or a modified form in some other countries, including some States of the United States. Hence Torrens title , etc.
Torrent Tor"rent noun [ French, from Latin
torrens ,
-entis , from
torrens burning, roaring, boiling, present participle of
torrere to dry by heat, to burn. See
Torrid .]
1. A violent stream, as of water, lava, or the like; a stream suddenly raised and running rapidly, as down a precipice. The roaring torrent is deep and wide.
Longfellow. 2. Fig.: A violent or rapid flow; a strong current; a flood; as, a torrent of vices; a torrent of eloquence. At length, Erasmus, that great injured name, . . .
Stemmed the wild torrent of a barbarous age.
Pope.
Torrent Tor"rent adjective [ See
Torrent ,
noun ]
Rolling or rushing in a rapid stream. "Waves of
torrent fire."
Milton.
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