Visit Vis"it transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Visited ;
present participle & verbal noun Visiting .] [ French
visiter , Latin
visitare , from
visere to go to see, to visit, from
videre ,
visum to see. See
Vision. ]
1. To go or come to see, as for the purpose of friendship, business, curiosity, etc.; to attend; to call upon; as, the physician visits his patient. 2. Specifically:
To go or come to see for inspection, examination, correction of abuses, etc.; to examine, to inspect; as, a bishop visits his diocese; a superintendent visits persons or works under his charge. 3. (Script.) To come to for the purpose of chastising, rewarding, comforting; to come upon with reward or retribution; to appear before or judge; as, to visit in mercy; to visit one in wrath. [ God] hath visited and redeemed his people.
Like i. 68.
Visit Vis"it intransitive verb To make a visit or visits; to maintain visiting relations; to practice calling on others.
Visit Vis"it noun [ Confer French
visite . See
Visit ,
transitive verb , and confer
Visite .]
1. The act of visiting, or going to see a person or thing; a brief stay of business, friendship, ceremony, curiosity, or the like, usually longer than a call; as, a visit of civility or respect; a visit to Saratoga; the visit of a physician. 2. The act of going to view or inspect; an official or formal inspection; examination; visitation; as, the visit of a trustee or inspector. Right of visit (Internat. Law) ,
the right of visitation. See Visitation , 4.
Visitable Vis"it·a·ble adjective Liable or subject to be visited or inspected. "All hospitals built since the Reformation are
visitable by the king or lord chancellor."
Ayliffe.
Visitant Vis"it·ant noun [ Latin
visitans ,
- antis ; present participle: confer French
visitant .]
One who visits; a guest; a visitor. When the visitant comes again, he is no more a stranger.
South.
Visitant Vis"it·ant adjective Visiting. Wordsworth.
Visitation Vis`it·a"tion noun [ Latin
visitatio : confer French
visitation .]
1. The act of visiting, or the state of being visited; access for inspection or examination. Nothing but peace and gentle visitation .
Shak. 2. Specifically: The act of a superior or superintending officer who, in the discharge of his office, visits a corporation, college, etc., to examine into the manner in which it is conducted, and see that its laws and regulations are duly observed and executed; as, the visitation of a diocese by a bishop. 3. The object of a visit. [ Obsolete] "O flowers, . . . my early
visitation and my last."
Milton. 4. (Internat. Law) The act of a naval commander who visits, or enters on board, a vessel belonging to another nation, for the purpose of ascertaining her character and object, but without claiming or exercising a right of searching the vessel. It is, however, usually coupled with the right of search (see under Search ), visitation being used for the purpose of search. 5. Special dispensation; communication of divine favor and goodness, or, more usually, of divine wrath and vengeance; retributive calamity; retribution; judgment. What will ye do in the day of visitation ?
Isa. x. 3. 6. (Eccl.) A festival in honor of the visit of the Virgin Mary to Elisabeth, mother of John the Baptist, celebrated on the second of July. The Order of the Visitation of Our Lady (R. C. Ch.) ,
a religious community of nuns, founded at Annecy, in Savoy, in 1610, and in 1808 established in the United States. In America these nuns are devoted to the education of girls.
Visitatorial Vis`it·a·to"ri·al adjective [ Confer Late Latin
visitator a bishop temporarily put in place of another.]
Of or pertaining to visitation, or a judicial visitor or superintendent; visitorial. An archdeacon has visitatorial power.
Ayliffe. The queen, however, still had over the church a visitatorial power of vast and undefined extent.
Macaulay.
Visite Vi·site" noun [ French See
Visit ,
noun ]
A light cape or short cloak of silk or lace worn by women in summer.
Visiter Vis"it·er noun A visitor.
Visiting Vis"it·ing adjective & verbal noun from Visit . Visiting ant .
(Zoology) See Driver ant , under Driver . --
Visiting book ,
a book in which a record of visits received, made, and to be made, is kept. Thackeray. --
Visiting card .
See under Card .
Visitor Vis"it·or [ Confer French
visiteur .] [ Written also
visiter .]
1. One who visits; one who comes or goes to see another, as in civility or friendship. "This great flood of
visitors ."
Shak. 2. A superior, or a person lawfully appointed for the purpose, who makes formal visits of inspection to a corporation or an institution. See Visit , transitive verb , 2, and Visitation , noun , 2. The king is the visitor of all lay corporations.
Blackstone.
Visitorial Vis`it·o"ri·al adjective Same as Visitatorial .
Visive Vi"sive adjective [ Confer French
visif , Late Latin
visivus . See
Vision .]
Of or pertaining to the sight; visual. [ Obsolete]
I can not satisfy myself how men should be so little surprised about this visive faculty.
Berkeley.
Visne Visne noun [ Old French
visné ,
veisiné ,
visnet , neighborhood, Late Latin
vicinatus , from Latin
vicunus neighboring, a neighbor. See
Vicinity .]
(Law) Neighborhood; vicinity; venue. See Venue .
Visnomy Vis"no·my noun [ Contr. from
physiognomy .]
Face; countenance. [ Colloq.]
Spenser. Lamb.
Vison Vi"son noun [ French]
(Zoology) The mink.
Visor Vis"or noun [ Middle English
visere , French
visičre , from Old French
vis . See
Visage ,
Vision .] [ Written also
visar ,
visard ,
vizard , and
vizor .]
1. A part of a helmet, arranged so as to lift or open, and so show the face. The openings for seeing and breathing are generally in it. 2. A mask used to disfigure or disguise. "My very
visor began to assume life."
Shak. My weaker government since, makes you pull off the visor .
Sir P. Sidney. 3. The fore piece of a cap, projecting over, and protecting the eyes.
Visored Vis"ored adjective Wearing a visor; masked. Visored falsehood and base forgery.
Milton.
Vista Vis"ta noun ;
plural Vistas . [ Italian , sight, view, from
vedere , past participle
visto ,
veduto , to see, from Latin
videre ,
visum . See
View ,
Vision .]
A view; especially, a view through or between intervening objects, as trees; a view or prospect through an avenue, or the like; hence, the trees or other objects that form the avenue. The finished garden to the view
Its vistas opens, and its alleys green.
Thomson. In the groves of their academy, at the end of every vista , you see nothing but the gallows.
Burke. The shattered tower which now forms a vista from his window.
Sir W. Scott.
Visto Vis"to noun A vista; a prospect. [ R.]
Gay. Through the long visto of a thousand years.
Young.
Visual Vis"u·al adjective [ Latin
visualis , from
visus a seeing, sight: confer French
visuel . See
Vision .]
1. Of or pertaining to sight; used in sight; serving as the instrument of seeing; as, the visual nerve. The air,
Nowhere so clear, sharpened his visual ray.
Milton. 2. That can be seen; visible. [ R.]
Visual angle .
(Opt.) See under Angle . --
Visual cone (Persp.) ,
a cone whose vertex is at the point of sight, or the eye. --
Visual plane ,
any plane passing through the point of sight. --
Visual point ,
the point at which the visual rays unite; the position of the eye. --
Visual purple (Physiol.) ,
a photochemical substance, of a purplish red color, contained in the retina of human eyes and in the eyes of most animals. It is quickly bleached by light, passing through the colors, red, orange, and yellow, and then disappearing. Also called rhodopsin , and vision purple . See Optography . --
Visual ray ,
a line from the eye, or point of sight. --
Visual white (Physiol.) ,
the final product in the action of light on visual purple. It is reconverted into visual purple by the regenerating action of the choroidal epithelium. --
Visual yellow (Physiol.) ,
a product intermediate between visual purple and visual white, formed in the photochemical action of light on visual purple.
Visualize Vis"u·al·ize transitive verb To make visual, or visible; to see in fancy. [ Written also
visualise .]
No one who has not seen them [ glaciers] can possibly visualize them.
Lubbock.
Visualize Vis"u·al·ize intransitive verb To form a mental image of something not present before the eye at the time.
Visualizer Vis"u·al·iz`er noun One who visualizes or is proficient in visualization; esp.
(Physiol.) ,
one whose mental imagery is prevailingly visualization.
Vitaille Vi·taille noun [ See
Victuals .]
Food; victuals. [ Obsolete]
Piers Plowman. Chaucer.
Vital Vi"tal adjective [ French, from Latin
vitalis , from
vita life; akin to
vivere to live. See
Vivid .]
1. Belonging or relating to life, either animal or vegetable; as, vital energies; vital functions; vital actions. 2. Contributing to life; necessary to, or supporting, life; as, vital blood. Do the heavens afford him vital food?
Spenser. And vital virtue infused, and vital warmth.
Milton. 3. Containing life; living. "Spirits that live throughout,
vital in every part."
Milton. 4. Being the seat of life; being that on which life depends; mortal. The dart flew on, and pierced a vital part.
Pope. 5. Very necessary; highly important; essential. A competence is vital to content.
Young. 6. Capable of living; in a state to live; viable. [ R.]
Pythagoras and Hippocrates . . . affirm the birth of the seventh month to be vital .
Sir T. Browne. Vital air ,
oxygen gas; -- so called because essential to animal life. [ Obsolete] --
Vital capacity (Physiol.) ,
the breathing capacity of the lungs; -- expressed by the number of cubic inches of air which can be forcibly exhaled after a full inspiration. --
Vital force .
(Biol.) See under Force . The vital forces, according to Cope, are nerve force ( neurism ), growth force ( bathmism ), and thought force ( phrenism ), all under the direction and control of the vital principle. Apart from the phenomena of consciousness, vital actions no longer need to be considered as of a mysterious and unfathomable character, nor vital force as anything other than a form of physical energy derived from, and convertible into, other well-known forces of nature. --
Vital functions (Physiol.) ,
those functions or actions of the body on which life is directly dependent, as the circulation of the blood, digestion, etc. --
Vital principle ,
an immaterial force, to which the functions peculiar to living beings are ascribed. --
Vital statistics ,
statistics respecting the duration of life, and the circumstances affecting its duration. --
Vital tripod .
(Physiol.) See under Tripod . --
Vital vessels (Botany) ,
a name for latex tubes, now disused. See Latex .
Vital Vi"tal noun A vital part; one of the vitals. [ R.]
Vitalic Vi·tal"ic adjective Pertaining to life; vital. [ R.]
Vitalism Vi"tal·ism noun (Biol.) The doctrine that all the functions of a living organism are due to an unknown vital principle distinct from all chemical and physical forces.
Vitalist Vi`tal·ist noun (Biol.) A believer in the theory of vitalism; -- opposed to physicist .
Vitalistic Vi`tal·is"tic adjective (Biol.) Pertaining to, or involving, vitalism, or the theory of a special vital principle.
Vitality Vi·tal"i·ty noun [ Latin
vitalitas : confer French
vitalité .]
The quality or state of being vital; the principle of life; vital force; animation; as, the vitality of eggs or vegetable seeds; the vitality of an enterprise.
Vitalization Vi`tal·i·za"tion noun The act or process of vitalizing, or infusing the vital principle.
Vitalize Vi"tal·ize transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Vitalized ;
present participle & verbal noun Vitalizing .] [ Confer French
vitaliser .]
To endow with life, or vitality; to give life to; to make alive; as, vitalized blood.
Vitally Vi"tal·ly adverb In a vital manner.
Vitals Vi"tals noun plural 1. Organs that are necessary for life; more especially, the heart, lungs, and brain. 2. Fig.: The part essential to the life or health of anything; as, the vitals of a state. "The
vitals of the public body."
Glanvill.
Vitascope Vi"ta·scope noun [ Latin
vita life +
-scope .]
A form of machine for exhibiting animated pictures.
Vitellary Vit"el·la·ry adjective [ Latin
vitellus a little calf, the yolk of an egg.]
(Biol.) Vitelline.
Vitelligenous Vit`el·lig"e·nous adjective (Zoology) Producing yolk, or vitelline substance; -- applied to certain cells (also called nutritive , or yolk , cells ) formed in the ovaries of many insects, and supposed to supply nutriment to the developing ova.
Vitellin Vi·tel"lin noun [ See
Vitellus .]
(Physiol. Chem.) An albuminous body, belonging to the class of globulins, obtained from yolk of egg, of which it is the chief proteid constituent, and from the seeds of many plants. From the latter it can be separated in crystalline form.
Vitelline Vi·tel"line adjective [ Latin
vitellus the yolk of an egg.]
(Biol.) Of or pertaining to the yolk of eggs; as, the vitelline membrane, a smooth, transparent membrane surrounding the vitellus.
Vitellogene Vi·tel"lo·gene noun [ See
Vitellus , and
-gen .]
(Zoology) A gland secreting the yolk of the eggs in trematodes, turbellarians, and some other helminths.
Vitellus Vi·tel"lus noun [ Latin , the yolk of an egg.]
1. (Biol.) The contents or substance of the ovum; egg yolk. See Illust. of Ovum . 2. (Botany) Perisperm in an early condition.
Vitiate Vi"ti·ate transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Vitiated ;
present participle & verbal noun Vitiating .] [ Latin
vitiatus , past participle
vitiare to vitiate, from
vitium a fault, vice. See
Vice a fault.] [ Written also
viciate .]
1. To make vicious, faulty, or imperfect; to render defective; to injure the substance or qualities of; to impair; to contaminate; to spoil; as, exaggeration vitiates a style of writing; sewer gas vitiates the air. A will vitiated and growth out of love with the truth disposes the understanding to error and delusion.
South. Without care it may be used to vitiate our minds.
Burke. This undistinguishing complaisance will vitiate the taste of readers.
Garth. 2. To cause to fail of effect, either wholly or in part; to make void; to destroy, as the validity or binding force of an instrument or transaction; to annul; as, any undue influence exerted on a jury vitiates their verdict; fraud vitiates a contract.
Vitiation Vi`ti·a"tion noun [ Latin
vitiatio .]
The act of vitiating, or the state of being vitiated; depravation; corruption; invalidation; as, the vitiation of the blood; the vitiation of a contract. The vitiation that breeds evil acts.
G. Eliot.
Viticulose Vi·tic"u·lose` adjective [ Latin
viticula , dim. of
vitis vine.]
(Botany) Having long and slender trailing stems.
Viticultural Vit`i·cul"tur·al adjective Of or pertaining to viticulture.
Viticulture Vit"i·cul`ture noun [ Latin
vitis vine + English
culture .]
The cultivation of the vine; grape growing.
Viticulturist Vit`i·cul"tur·ist noun One engaged in viticulture.
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