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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)


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You are here: Webster > Letter V > Page 4 of 38.
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Validation Val`i·da"tion noun [ Confer French validation .] The act of giving validity. [ R.] Knowles.

Validity Va·lid"i·ty noun [ Confer French validité , Latin validitas strength.]

1. The quality or state of being valid; strength; force; especially, power to convince; justness; soundness; as, the validity of an argument or proof; the validity of an objection.

2. (Law) Legal strength, force, or authority; that quality of a thing which renders it supportable in law, or equity; as, the validity of a will; the validity of a contract, claim, or title.

3. Value. [ Obsolete] "Rich validity ." Shak.

Validly Val"id·ly adverb In a valid manner; so as to be valid.

Validness Val"id·ness noun The quality or state of being valid.

Valinch Val"inch noun [ Confer French avaler to let down, drink up. Confer Avalanche .] A tube for drawing liquors from a cask by the bunghole. [ Written also velinche .]

Valise Va·lise" noun [ French valise ; confer Italian valigia , Spanish balija , Late Latin valisia , valesia ; of uncertain origin, perhaps through (assumed) Late Latin vidulitia , from Latin vidulus a leathern trunk; a knapsack.] A small sack or case, usually of leather, but sometimes of other material, for containing the clothes, toilet articles, etc., of a traveler; a traveling bag; a portmanteau.

Valkyria Val·kyr"i·a noun [ Icelandic valkyrja (akin to Anglo-Saxon wælcyrie ); valr the slain + kjōsa to choose. See Valhalla , and Choose .] (Scand. Myth.) One of the maidens of Odin, represented as awful and beautiful, who presided over battle and marked out those who were to be slain, and who also ministered at the feasts of heroes in Valhalla. [ Written also Valkyr , and Walkyr .]

Valkyrian Val·kyr"i·an adjective Of or pertaining to the Valkyrias; hence, relating to battle. "Ourself have often tried Valkyrian hymns." Tennyson.

Vallancy Val·lan"cy noun [ From Valance .] A large wig that shades the face. [ Obsolete]

Vallar Val"lar adjective [ Latin vallaris .] Of or pertaining to a rampart.

Vallar crown (Rom. Antiq.) , a circular gold crown with palisades, bestowed upon the soldier who first surmounted the rampart and broke into the enemy's camp.

Vallar Val"lar noun A vallar crown.

Vallary Val"la·ry adjective Same as Vallar .

Vallation Val·la"tion noun [ Latin vallatio , from vallare to surround with a rampart, from vallum rampart. See Wall , noun ] A rampart or intrenchment.

Vallatory Val"la·to·ry adjective Of or pertaining to a vallation; used for a vallation; as, vallatory reads. [ Obsolete] Sir T. Browne.

Vallecula Val·lec"u·la noun ; plural Valleculæ . [ New Latin , dim. from Latin vallis , valles , a valley.]

1. (Anat.) A groove; a fossa; as, the vallecula , or fossa, which separates the hemispheres of the cerebellum.

2. (Botany) One of the grooves, or hollows, between the ribs of the fruit of umbelliferous plants.

Vallet's pills Val`let's pills" [ From Dr. Vallet of Paris.] (Medicine) Pills containing sulphate of iron and carbonate of sodium, mixed with saccharine matter; -- called also Vallet's mass .

Valley Val"ley noun ; plural Valleys . [ Middle English vale , valeie , Old French valée , valede , French vallée , Late Latin vallata , Latin vallis , valles . See Vale .]

1. The space inclosed between ranges of hills or mountains; the strip of land at the bottom of the depressions intersecting a country, including usually the bed of a stream, with frequently broad alluvial plains on one or both sides of the stream. Also used figuratively.

The valley of the shadow of death.
Ps. xxiii. 4.

Sweet interchange
Of hill and valley , rivers, woods, and plains.
Milton.

» Deep and narrow valleys with abrupt sides are usually the results of erosion by water, and are called gorges , ravines , cañons , gulches , etc.

2. (Architecture) (a) The place of meeting of two slopes of a roof, which have their plates running in different directions, and form on the plan a reëntrant angle. (b) The depression formed by the meeting of two slopes on a flat roof.

Valley board (Architecture) , a board for the reception of the lead gutter in the valley of a roof. The valley board and lead gutter are not usual in the United States. -- Valley rafter , or Valley piece (Architecture) , the rafter which supports the valley. -- Valley roof (Architecture) , a roof having one or more valleys. See Valley , 2, above.

Vallum Val"lum noun ; plural Latin Valla , English Vallums . [ Latin See Wall .] (Rom. Antiq.) A rampart; a wall, as in a fortification.

Valonia Va·lo"ni·a noun [ Italian vallonia , vallonea , from NGr. balania` , balanidia` , the holm oak, bala`ni , balani`di , an acorn, Greek ba`lanos .]

1. The acorn cup of two kinds of oak ( Quercus macrolepis , and Q. vallonea ) found in Eastern Europe. It contains abundance of tannin, and is much used by tanners and dyers.

2. [ Perhaps named from its resemblance to an acorn.] (Botany) A genus of marine green algæ, in which the whole frond consists of a single oval or cylindrical cell, often an inch in length.

Valor Val"or noun [ Middle English valour , Old French valor , valur , valour , French valeur , Late Latin valor , from Latin valere to be strong, or worth. See Valiant .] [ Written also valour .]

1. Value; worth. [ Obsolete] "The valor of a penny." Sir T. More.

2. Strength of mind in regard to danger; that quality which enables a man to encounter danger with firmness; personal bravery; courage; prowess; intrepidity.

For contemplation he and valor formed.
Milton.

When valor preys on reason,
It eats the sword it fights with.
Shak.

Fear to do base, unworthy things is valor .
B. Jonson.

3. A brave man; a man of valor. [ R.] Ld. Lytton.

Syn. -- Courage; heroism; bravery; gallantry; boldness; fearlessness. See Courage , and Heroism .

Valorization Val`or·i·za"tion noun [ Portuguese valorizacão .] Act or process of attempting to give an arbitrary market value or price to a commodity by governmental interference, as by maintaining a purchasing fund, making loans to producers to enable them to hold their products, etc.; -- used chiefly of such action by Brazil.

Valorous Val"or·ous adjective [ Confer French valeureux , Late Latin valorosus .] Possessing or exhibiting valor; brave; courageous; valiant; intrepid. -- Val"or*ous*ly , adverb

Valsalvian Val·sal"vi·an adjective Of or pertaining to Valsalva , an Italian anatomist of the 17th century.

Valsalvian experiment (Medicine) , the process of inflating the middle ear by closing the mouth and nostrils, and blowing so as to puff out the cheeks.

Valuable Val"u·a·ble adjective 1. Having value or worth; possessing qualities which are useful and esteemed; precious; costly; as, a valuable horse; valuable land; a valuable cargo.

2. Worthy; estimable; deserving esteem; as, a valuable friend; a valuable companion.

Valuable consideration (Law) , an equivalent or compensation having value given for a thing purchased, as money, marriage, services, etc. Blackstone. Bouvier.

Valuable Val"u·a·ble noun A precious possession; a thing of value, especially a small thing, as an article of jewelry; -- used mostly in the plural.

The food and valuables they offer to the gods.
Tylor.

Valuableness Val"u·a·ble·ness noun The quality of being valuable.

Valuably Val"u·a·bly adverb So as to be of value.

Valuation Val`u·a"tion noun 1. The act of valuing, or of estimating value or worth; the act of setting a price; estimation; appraisement; as, a valuation of lands for the purpose of taxation.

2. Value set upon a thing; estimated value or worth; as, the goods sold for more than their valuation .

Since of your lives you set
So slight a valuation .
Shak.

Valuator Val"u·a`tor noun One who assesses, or sets a value on, anything; an appraiser. Swift.

Value Val"ue noun [ Old French value , from valoir , past participle valu , to be worth, from Latin valere to be strong, to be worth. See Valiant .] 1. The property or aggregate properties of a thing by which it is rendered useful or desirable, or the degree of such property or sum of properties; worth; excellence; utility; importance.

Ye are all physicians of no value .
Job xiii. 4.

Ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Matt. x. 31.

Cæsar is well acquainted with your virtue,
And therefore sets this value on your life.
Addison.

Before events shall have decided on the value of the measures.
Marshall.

2. (Trade & Polit. Econ.) Worth estimated by any standard of purchasing power, especially by the market price, or the amount of money agreed upon as an equivalent to the utility and cost of anything.

An article may be possessed of the highest degree of utility, or power to minister to our wants and enjoyments, and may be universally made use of, without possessing exchangeable value .
M'Culloch.

Value is the power to command commodities generally.
A. Latin Chapin (Johnson's Cys.).

Value is the generic term which expresses power in exchange.
F. A. Walker.

His design was not to pay him the value of his pictures, because they were above any price.
Dryden.

» In political economy, value is often distinguished as intrinsic and exchangeable . Intrinsic value is the same as utility or adaptation to satisfy the desires or wants of men. Exchangeable value is that in an article or product which disposes individuals to give for it some quantity of labor, or some other article or product obtainable by labor; as, pure air has an intrinsic value , but generally not an exchangeable value .

3. Precise signification; import; as, the value of a word; the value of a legal instrument Mitford.

4. Esteem; regard. Dryden.

My relation to the person was so near, and my value for him so great
Bp. Burnet.

5. (Mus.) The relative length or duration of a tone or note, answering to quantity in prosody; thus, a quarter note [ ...] has the value of two eighth notes [ ...].

6. In an artistical composition, the character of any one part in its relation to other parts and to the whole; -- often used in the plural; as, the values are well given, or well maintained.

7. Valor. [ Written also valew .] [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Value received , a phrase usually employed in a bill of exchange or a promissory note, to denote that a consideration has been given for it. Bouvier.

Value Val"ue transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Valued ; present participle & verbal noun Valuing .]

1. To estimate the value, or worth, of; to rate at a certain price; to appraise; to reckon with respect to number, power, importance, etc.

The mind doth value every moment.
Bacon.

The queen is valued thirty thousand strong.
Shak.

The king must take it ill,
That he's so slightly valued in his messenger.
Shak.

Neither of them valued their promises according to rules of honor or integrity.
Clarendon.

2. To rate highly; to have in high esteem; to hold in respect and estimation; to appreciate; to prize; as, to value one for his works or his virtues.

Which of the dukes he values most.
Shak.

3. To raise to estimation; to cause to have value, either real or apparent; to enhance in value. [ Obsolete]

Some value themselves to their country by jealousies of the crown.
Sir W. Temple.

4. To be worth; to be equal to in value. [ Obsolete]

The peace between the French and us not values
The cost that did conclude it.
Shak.

Syn. -- To compute; rate; appraise; esteem; respect; regard; estimate; prize; appreciate.

Value Val"ue noun 1. (a) That property of a color by which it is distinguished as bright or dark; luminosity. (b) Degree of lightness as conditioned by the presence of white or pale color, or their opposites.

2. (Math.) Any particular quantitative determination; as, a function's value for some special value of its argument.

3. [ plural ] The valuable ingredients to be obtained by treatment from any mass or compound; specif., the precious metals contained in rock, gravel, or the like; as, the vein carries good values ; the values on the hanging walls.

Valued Val"ued adjective Highly regarded; esteemed; prized; as, a valued contributor; a valued friend.

Valued policy . See under Policy .

Valued policy Val"ued pol"i·cy (Fire Insurance) A policy in which the value of the goods, property, or interest insured is specified; -- opposed to open policy .

Valued-policy law Valued-policy law (Fire Insurance) A law requiring insurance companies to pay to the insured, in case of total loss, the full amount of the insurance, regardless of the actual value of the property at the time of the loss.

Valueless Val"ue·less adjective Being of no value; having no worth.

Valuer Val"u·er noun One who values; an appraiser.

Valure Val"ure noun Value. [ Obsolete] Ld. Berners.

Valval, Valvar Valv"al, Valv"ar adjective (Biol.) Valvular.

Valvasor Val"va·sor noun (Feud. Law) See Vavasor .

Valvata Val·va"ta noun [ New Latin ; confer Latin valvatus having folding doors. See Valve .] (Zoology) A genus of small spiral fresh-water gastropods having an operculum.

Valvate Valv"ate adjective [ Latin valvatus having folding doors.]

1. Resembling, or serving as, a valve; consisting of, or opening by, a valve or valves; valvular.

2. (Botany) (a) Meeting at the edges without overlapping; -- said of the sepals or the petals of flowers in æstivation, and of leaves in vernation. (b) Opening as if by doors or valves, as most kinds of capsules and some anthers.

Valve Valve noun [ Latin valva the leaf, fold, or valve of a door: confer French valve .]

1. A door; especially, one of a pair of folding doors, or one of the leaves of such a door.

Swift through the valves the visionary fair
Repassed.
Pope.

Heavily closed, . . . the valves of the barn doors.
Longfellow.

2. A lid, plug, or cover, applied to an aperture so that by its movement, as by swinging, lifting and falling, sliding, turning, or the like, it will open or close the aperture to permit or prevent passage, as of a fluid.

» A valve may act automatically so as to be opened by the effort of a fluid to pass in one direction, and closed by the effort to pass in the other direction, as a clack valve ; or it may be opened or closed by hand or by mechanism, as a screw valve , or a slide valve .

3. (Anat.) One or more membranous partitions, flaps, or folds, which permit the passage of the contents of a vessel or cavity in one direction, but stop or retard the flow in the opposite direction; as, the ileocolic, mitral, and semilunar valves .

4. (Botany) (a) One of the pieces into which a capsule naturally separates when it bursts. (b) One of the two similar portions of the shell of a diatom. (c) A small portion of certain anthers, which opens like a trapdoor to allow the pollen to escape, as in the barberry.

5. (Zoology) One of the pieces or divisions of bivalve or multivalve shells.

Air valve , Ball valve , Check valve , etc. See under Air . Ball , Check , etc. -- Double-beat valve , a kind of balance valve usually consisting of a movable, open-ended, turban-shaped shell provided with two faces of nearly equal diameters, one above another, which rest upon two corresponding seats when the valve is closed. -- Equilibrium valve . (a) A balance valve. See under Balance . (b) A valve for permitting air, steam, water, etc., to pass into or out of a chamber so as to establish or maintain equal pressure within and without. -- Valve chest (Machinery) , a chamber in which a valve works; especially (Steam Engine) , the steam chest; -- called in England valve box , and valve casing . See Steam chest , under Steam . -- Valve face (Machinery) , that part of the surface of a valve which comes in contact with the valve seat . -- Valve gear , or Valve motion (Steam Engine) , the system of parts by which motion is given to the valve or valves for the distribution of steam in the cylinder. For an illustration of one form of valve gear , see Link motion . -- Valve seat . (Machinery) (a) The fixed surface on which a valve rests or against which it presses. (b) A part or piece on which such a surface is formed. -- Valve stem (Machinery) , a rod attached to a valve, for moving it. -- Valve yoke (Machinery) , a strap embracing a slide valve and connecting it to the valve stem.

Valve-shell Valve"-shell` noun (Zoology) Any fresh-water gastropod of the genus Valvata .

Valved Valved adjective Having a valve or valve; valvate.

Valvelet Valve"let noun A little valve; a valvule; especially, one of the pieces which compose the outer covering of a pericarp.

Valvula Val"vu·la noun ; plural Valvulæ . [ New Latin , dim. from Latin valva fold, valve of a door.] (Anat.) A little valve or fold; a valvelet; a valvule.

Valvular Valv"u·lar adjective [ Confer French valvulaire .]

1. Of or pertaining to a valve or valves; specifically (Medicine) , of or pertaining to the valves of the heart; as, valvular disease.

2. Containing valves; serving as a valve; opening by valves; valvate; as, a valvular capsule.

Valvule Valv"ule noun [ Confer French valvule .]

1. A little valve; a valvelet.

2. (Zoology) A small valvelike process.

Valylene Val"yl·ene noun [ Vale rian + - yl .] (Chemistry) A volatile liquid hydrocarbon, C 5 H 6 , related to ethylene and acetylene, but possessing the property of unsaturation in the third degree. It is the only known member of a distinct series of compounds. It has a garlic odor.

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