Browse dictionary
Showing 1-20 of 32738 results in 32738 entries
1. aandblom, n. View full entry 1793
...Any of several evening-scented wild flowers of the family Iridaceae; esp. Hesperantha falcata, which has fragrant white flowers that open in the late afternoon....
2. aardvark, n. View full entry 1785
...A medium-sized, nocturnal African mammal, Orycteropus afer, which has sparse hair, long ears, an elongated snout, strong burrowing limbs, and a thick tail, feeding solely on ants and termites. Also...
3. aardwolf, n. View full entry 1833
...A small, nocturnal African hyena, Proteles cristata, which has a mane along the back and black vertical stripes, feeding chiefly on termites. Also called earth wolf, maanhaar...
4. aaron, n.1 View full entry ?c1425
...The wild arum or cuckoo pint, Arum maculatum. Cf. arum...
5. aasvoel, n. View full entry 1821
...A vulture; esp. the Cape vulture, Gyps coprotheres....
6. abaca, n. View full entry 1751
...A kind of banana plant, Musa textilis, native to the Philippines, the petioles of which yield a strong fibre. Also: the fibre itself, used for making paper, ropes, matting, etc.;...
7. abacination, n. View full entry 1866
...The action of blinding a person by placing red-hot irons or reflective metal plates in front of the eyes; an instance of this. Also in extended use....
8. abacist, n. View full entry a1387
...A person who makes calculations using an abacus....
9. abaction, n. View full entry 1623
...The action of driving something away; spec. the action of stealing livestock, esp. cattle, by driving them away....
10. abacus, n. View full entry a1387
...A board or tray strewn with sand in which numbers, letters, diagrams, etc., can be traced and erased. Cf. sandboard1, sand-table(a)sand2a. Now rare...
11. abalone, n. View full entry 1850
...An edible gastropod mollusc of the genus Haliotis, typically found in warm seas, having a shallow ear-shaped shell lined with mother-of-pearl and pierced with a line of respiratory holes; an...
12. A band, n. View full entry 1939
...In fibrils of striated muscle: each of the transverse bands which alternate with I bands, appearing dark under polarized light and composed of interdigitating filaments of actin and myosin....
13. † abarticulation, n. View full entry 1721
...= diarthrosis...
14. abasia, n. View full entry 1888
...An inability to walk, esp. in an individual who has no demonstrable sensory impairment or motor weakness; an instance of this. Cf. astasia2....
15. † abate, v.3 View full entry a1475
...intr. Of a falcon, hawk, etc.: to beat or flap the wings, to flutter. Cf. bate...
16. abaton, n. View full entry 1829
...A place to which access is restricted, esp. a sacred space or enclosure; a sanctuary....
17. † abay, n. View full entry c1330
...The barking or baying of hounds at a hunted animal, esp. when they have driven it into a position from which it is unable to flee further but must turn and face...
18. abbreviate, v. View full entry ?a1475
...trans. To shorten (a text, speech, etc.) whilst retaining the sense and substance; to edit into a shorter form, esp. by omitting the less important passages; to condense, summarize, abridge....
19. abbreviation, n. View full entry ?a1425
...Med. Reduction in the length or size of a part of the body; contraction, esp. of a muscle; an instance of this. Obs....
20. abdomen, n. View full entry ?1541
...Anat. and Zool. In humans and other vertebrates: the belly; the part of the trunk of body between the chest and the pelvis; the cavity of the body bounded...
