Virulented Vir"u·lent·ed adjective Made virulent; poisoned. [ Obsolete]

Virulently Vir"u·lent·ly adverb In a virulent manner.

Virus Vi"rus noun [ Latin , a slimy liquid, a poisonous liquid, poison, stench; akin to Greek ... poison, Sanskrit visha . Confer Wizen , intransitive verb ] 1. (Medicine) (a) Contagious or poisonous matter, as of specific ulcers, the bite of snakes, etc.; -- applied to organic poisons. (b) The special contagion, inappreciable to the senses and acting in exceedingly minute quantities, by which a disease is introduced into the organism and maintained there.

» The specific virus of diseases is now regarded as a microscopic living vegetable organism which multiplies within the body, and, either by its own action or by the associated development of a chemical poison, causes the phenomena of the special disease.

2. Fig.: Any morbid corrupting quality in intellectual or moral conditions; something that poisons the mind or the soul; as, the virus of obscene books.

Vis Vis noun 1. Force; power.

2. (Law) (a) Physical force. (b) Moral power.

Principle of vis viva (Mech.) , the principle that the difference between the aggregate work of the accelerating forces of a system and that of the retarding forces is equal to one half the vis viva accumulated or lost in the system while the work is being done. -- Vis impressa [ Latin ] (Mech.) , force exerted, as in moving a body, or changing the direction of its motion; impressed force. -- Vis inertiæ . [ Latin ] (a) The resistance of matter, as when a body at rest is set in motion, or a body in motion is brought to rest, or has its motion changed, either in direction or in velocity. (b) Inertness; inactivity. Vis intertiæ and inertia are not strictly synonymous. The former implies the resistance itself which is given, while the latter implies merely the property by which it is given. -- Vis mortua [ Latin ] (Mech.) , dead force; force doing no active work, but only producing pressure. -- Vis vitæ , or Vis vitalis [ Latin ] (Physiol.) , vital force. -- Vis viva [ Latin ] (Mech.) , living force; the force of a body moving against resistance, or doing work, in distinction from vis mortua , or dead force; the kinetic energy of a moving body; the capacity of a moving body to do work by reason of its being in motion. See Kinetic energy , in the Note under Energy . The term vis viva is not usually understood to include that part of the kinetic energy of the body which is due to the vibrations of its molecules.

Vis major Vis ma"jor [ Latin major greater.] (Law) A superior force which under certain circumstances is held to exempt from contract obligations; inevitable accident; -- a civil-law term used as nearly equivalent to, but broader than, the common-law term act of God (which see).

Vis-a-vis Vis`-a-vis" noun [ French, opposite, face to face.] 1. One who, or that which, is face to face with another; esp., one who faces another in dancing.

2. A carriage in which two persons sit face to face. Also, a form of sofa with seats for two persons, so arranged that the occupants are face to face while sitting on opposite sides.

Vis-a-vis Vis`-a-vis" adverb Face to face.

Visa Vi"sa noun [ French] See Vis... .

Visa Vi"sa transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Visaed ; present participle & verbal noun Visaing .] To indorse, after examination, with the word visé , as a passport; to visé.

Visage Vis"age noun [ French visage , from Latin visus a seeing, a look, from videre , visum , to see. See Vision .] The face, countenance, or look of a person or an animal; -- chiefly applied to the human face. Chaucer. "A visage of demand." Shak.

His visage was so marred more than any man.

Isa. lii. 14.

Love and beauty still that visage grace.

Waller.

Visage Vis"age transitive verb To face. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Visaged Vis"aged adjective Having a visage. Shak.

Visard Vis"ard noun A mask. See Visor .

Visard Vis"ard transitive verb To mask.

Visayan Vi·sa"yan noun [ Confer Spanish Bisayo a Visayan.] A member of the most numerous of the native races of the Philippines, occupying the Visayan Islands and the northern coast Mindanao; also, their language. The Visayans possessed a native culture and alphabet.

Viscacha Vis·ca"cha Viz-ca"cha noun [ Spanish ] (Zoology) A large burrowing South American rodent ( Lagostomus trichodactylus ) allied to the chinchillas, but much larger. Its fur is soft and rather long, mottled gray above, white or yellowish white beneath. There is a white band across the muzzle, and a dark band on each cheek. It inhabits grassy plains, and is noted for its extensive burrows and for heaping up miscellaneous articles at the mouth of its burrows. Called also biscacha , bizcacha , vischacha , vishatscha .

Viscera Vis"ce·ra noun , plural of Viscus .

Visceral Vis"cer·al adjective [ Confer French viscéral , Late Latin visceralis .] 1. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the viscera; splanchnic.

2. Fig.: Having deep sensibility. [ R.] Bp. Reynolds.

Visceral arches (Anat.) , the bars or ridges between the visceral clefts. -- Visceral cavity or tube (Anat.) , the ventral cavity of a vertebrate, which contains the alimentary canal, as distinguished from the dorsal, or cerebro-spinal, canal. -- Visceral clefts (Anat.) , transverse clefts on the sides just back of the mouth in the vertebrate embryo, which open into the pharyngeal portion of the alimentary canal, and correspond to the branchial clefts in adult fishes.

Viscerate Vis"cer·ate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Viscerated ; present participle & verbal noun Viscerating .] To deprive of the viscera, or entrails; to eviscerate; to disembowel.

Visceroskeletal Vis`cer·o·skel"e·tal adjective (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the framework, or skeleton, or skeleton, of the viscera; as, the visceroskeletal system of muscles. Mivart.

Viscid Vis"cid adjective [ Latin viscidus , from viscum the mistletoe, birdlime made from the berries of the mistletoe; akin to Greek ...: confer French viscide .] Sticking or adhering, and having a ropy or glutinous consistency; viscous; glutinous; sticky; tenacious; clammy; as, turpentine, tar, gums, etc., are more or less viscid .

Viscidity Vis·cid"i·ty noun [ Confer French viscidité .] The quality or state of being viscid; also, that which is viscid; glutinous concretion; stickiness.

Viscin Vis"cin noun (Chemistry) A clear, viscous, tasteless substance extracted from the mucilaginous sap of the mistletoe ( Viscum album ), holly, etc., and constituting an essential ingredient of birdlime.

Viscoidal Vis·coid"al adjective Somewhat viscous. Confer Mobile , adjective , 2.

Viscosimeter Vis`co·sim"e·ter noun [ Viscosity + -meter .] An instrument for measuring the degree of viscosity of liquids, as solutions of gum.

Viscosity Vis·cos"i·ty noun [ Confer French viscosité , Late Latin viscositas .] 1. The quality or state of being viscous.

2. (Physics) A quality analogous to that of a viscous fluid, supposed to be caused by internal friction, especially in the case of gases.

Viscount Vis"count` noun [ Middle English vicounte , Old French visconte , vescunte , French vicomte , Late Latin vicecomes ; Latin vice (see Vice , adjective ) + comes a companion, Late Latin , a count. See Count .] 1. (O. Eng. Law) An officer who formerly supplied the place of the count, or earl; the sheriff of the county.

2. A nobleman of the fourth rank, next in order below an earl and next above a baron; also, his degree or title of nobility. See Peer , noun , 3. [ Eng.] Chaucer.

Viscountcy Vis"count`cy noun The dignity or jurisdiction of a viscount. Sir B. Burke.

Viscountess Vis"count`ess noun [ French vicomtesse , Late Latin vicecomitissa .] The wife of a viscount.

Viscountship, Viscounty Vis"count`ship, Vis"count`y noun [ French vicomté .] The quality, rank, or office of a viscount.

Viscous Vis"cous adjective [ Latin viscosus . See Viscid .] Adhesive or sticky, and having a ropy or glutinous consistency; viscid; glutinous; clammy; tenacious; as, a viscous juice. -- Vis"cous*ness , noun

» There is no well-defined distinction in meaning between viscous and viscid .

Viscum Vis"cum noun [ Latin ] 1. (Botany) A genus of parasitic shrubs, including the mistletoe of Europe.

2. Birdlime, which is often made from the berries of the European mistletoe.

Viscus Vis"cus noun ; plural Viscera . [ Latin , perhaps akin to English viscid .] (Anat.) One of the organs, as the brain, heart, or stomach, in the great cavities of the body of an animal; -- especially used in the plural, and applied to the organs contained in the abdomen.

Vise Vise noun [ French vis a screw, winding stairs, Old French vis , viz , from Latin vitis a vine; probably akin to English withy .] An instrument consisting of two jaws, closing by a screw, lever, cam, or the like, for holding work, as in filing. [ Written also vice .]

Visé Vi·sé" noun [ French visé , past participle of viser to put a visa to, from Latin visus seen, past participle of videre to see.] An indorsement made on a passport by the proper authorities of certain countries on the continent of Europe, denoting that it has been examined, and that the person who bears it is permitted to proceed on his journey; a visa.

Visé Vi·sé" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Viséed ; present participle & verbal noun Viséing .] To examine and indorse, as a passport; to visa.

Vishnu Vish"nu noun [ Sanskrit Vish...u , from vish to pervade., to extend through nature.] (Hindu Myth.) A divinity of the modern Hindu trimurti, or trinity. He is regarded as the preserver, while Brahma is the creator, and Siva the destroyer of the creation.

Visibility Vis`i·bil"i·ty noun [ Latin visibilitas : confer French visibilité .] The quality or state of being visible.

Visible Vis"i·ble adjective [ Latin visibilis , from videre , visum , to see: confer French visible . See Vision .] 1. Perceivable by the eye; capable of being seen; perceptible; in view; as, a visible star; the least spot is visible on white paper.

Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

Bk. of Com. Prayer.

Virtue made visible in outward grace.

Young.

2. Noticeable; apparent; open; conspicuous. Shak.

The factions at court were greater, or more visible , than before.

Clarendon.

Visible church (Theol.) , the apparent church of Christ on earth; the whole body of professed believers in Christ, as contradistinguished from the invisible , or real, church, consisting of sanctified persons. -- Visible horizon . Same as Apparent horizon , under Apparent .

-- Vis"i*ble*ness , noun -- Vis"i*bly , adverb

Visible speech Vis"i·ble speech" (Phon.) A system of characters invented by Prof. Alexander Melville Bell to represent all sounds that may be uttered by the speech organs, and intended to be suggestive of the position of the organs of speech in uttering them.

Visigoth Vis"i·goth noun [ Latin Visegothae , plural Confer West , and Goth .] One of the West Goths. See the Note under Goth . -- Vis`i*goth"ic adjective

Vision Vi"sion noun [ Middle English visioun , French vision , from Latin visio , from videre , visum , to see: akin to Greek ... to see, ... I know, and English wit . See Wit , v. , and confer Advice , Clairvoyant , Envy , Evident , Provide , Revise , Survey , View , Visage , Visit .] 1. The act of seeing external objects; actual sight.

Faith here is turned into vision there.

Hammond.

2. (Physiol.) The faculty of seeing; sight; one of the five senses, by which colors and the physical qualities of external objects are appreciated as a result of the stimulating action of light on the sensitive retina, an expansion of the optic nerve.

3. That which is seen; an object of sight. Shak.

4. Especially, that which is seen otherwise than by the ordinary sight, or the rational eye; a supernatural, prophetic, or imaginary sight; an apparition; a phantom; a specter; as, the visions of Isaiah.

The baseless fabric of this vision .

Shak.

No dreams, but visions strange.

Sir P. Sidney.

5. Hence, something unreal or imaginary; a creation of fancy. Locke.

Arc of vision (Astron.) , the arc which measures the least distance from the sun at which, when the sun is below the horizon, a star or planet emerging from his rays becomes visible. -- Beatific vision (Theol.) , the immediate sight of God in heaven. -- Direct vision (Opt.) , vision when the image of the object falls directly on the yellow spot (see under Yellow ); also, vision by means of rays which are not deviated from their original direction. -- Field of vision , field of view. See under Field . -- Indirect vision (Opt.) , vision when the rays of light from an object fall upon the peripheral parts of the retina. -- Reflected vision , or Refracted vision , vision by rays reflected from mirrors, or refracted by lenses or prisms, respectively. -- Vision purple . (Physiol.) See Visual purple , under Visual .

Vision Vi"sion transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Visioned ; present participle & verbal noun Visioning .] To see in a vision; to dream.

For them no visioned terrors daunt,
Their nights no fancied specters haunt.

Sir W. Scott.

Visional Vi"sion·al adjective Of or pertaining to a vision.

Visionariness Vi"sion·a·ri·ness noun The quality or state of being visionary.

Visionary Vi"sion·a·ry adjective [ Confer French visionnaire .] 1. Of or pertaining to a visions or visions; characterized by, appropriate to, or favorable for, visions.

The visionary hour
When musing midnight reigns.

Thomson.

2. Affected by phantoms; disposed to receive impressions on the imagination; given to reverie; apt to receive, and act upon, fancies as if they were realities.

Or lull to rest the visionary maid.

Pope.

3. Existing in imagination only; not real; fanciful; imaginary; having no solid foundation; as, visionary prospect; a visionary scheme or project. Swift.

Syn. -- Fanciful; fantastic; unreal. See Fanciful .

Visionary Vi"sion·a·ry noun ; plural Visionaries 1. One whose imagination is disturbed; one who sees visions or phantoms.

2. One whose imagination overpowers his reason and controls his judgment; an unpractical schemer; one who builds castles in the air; a daydreamer.

Visioned Vi"sioned adjective Having the power of seeing visions; inspired; also, seen in visions. [ R.] Shelley.

Visionist Vi"sion·ist noun A visionary.

Visionless Vi"sion·less adjective Destitute of vision; sightless.

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