Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter E

Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter E - Page 43

Episternum (n.) (Anat.) A median bone connected with the sternum, in many vertebrates; the interclavicle.
Episternum (n.) (Anat.) Same as Epiplastron.

Episternum (n.) (Zool.) One of the lateral pieces next to the sternum in the thorax of insects.

Epistilbite (n.) (Min.) A crystallized, transparent mineral of the Zeolite family. It is a hydrous silicate of alumina and lime.

Epistle (n.) A writing directed or sent to a person or persons; a written communication; a letter; -- applied usually to formal, didactic, or elegant letters.

A madman's epistles are no gospels. -- Shak.

Epistle (n.) (Eccl.) One of the letters in the New Testament which were addressed to their Christian brethren by Apostles.

Epistle side, the right side of an altar or church to a person looking from the nave toward the chancel.

One sees the pulpit on the epistle side. -- R. Browning.

Epistle (v. t.) To write; to communicate in a letter or by writing. [Obs.] -- Milton.

Epistle (n.) A specially long, formal letter.

Epistle (n.) A book of the New Testament written in the form of a letter from an Apostle.

Epistler (n.) A writer of epistles, or of an epistle of the New Testament. -- M. Arnold.

Epistler (n.) (Eccl.) The ecclesiastic who reads the epistle at the communion service.

Epistolar (a.) Epistolary. -- Dr. H. More.

Epistolary (a.) Pertaining to epistles or letters; suitable to letters and correspondence; as, an epistolary style.

Epistolary (a.) Contained in letters; carried on by letters. "Epistolary correspondence." -- Addison.

Epistolary (a.) Written in the form of or carried on by letters or correspondence; "an endless sequence of epistolary love affairs"; "the epistolatory novel" [syn: epistolary, epistolatory].

Epistolean (n.) One who writes epistles; a correspondent. -- Mary Cowden Clarke.

Epistoler (n.) (Eccl.) One of the clergy who reads the epistle at the communion service; an epistler.

Epistolet (n.) A little epistle. -- Lamb. Epistolic

Epistolic (a.) Alt. of Epistolical

Epistolical (a.) Pertaining to letters or epistles; in the form or style of letters; epistolary.

Epistolize (v. i.) To write epistles.

Epistolizer (n.) A writer of epistles.

Epistolographic (a.) Pertaining to the writing of letters; used in writing letters; epistolary.

Epistolographic character of writing or Epistolographic mode of writing, the same as Demotic character. See under Demotic.

Epistolography (n.) The art or practice of writing epistles. Epistoma

Epistoma (n.) Alt. of Epistome.

Epistome (n.) (Zool.) The region between the antennae and the mouth, in Crustacea.

Epistome (n.) (Zool.) A liplike organ that covers the mouth, in most Bryozoa. See Illust., under Entoprocta.

Epistrophe (n.) (Rhet.) A figure in which successive clauses end with the same word or affirmation; e. g., "Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I." -- 2 Cor. xi. 22.

Epistrophe (n.) Repetition of the ends of two or more successive sentences, verses, etc. [syn: epiphora, epistrophe].

Epistyle (n.) (Anc. Arch.) A massive piece of stone or wood laid immediately on the abacus of the capital of a column or pillar; -- now called architrave.

Episyllogism (n.) (Logic) A syllogism which assumes as one of its premises a proposition which was the conclusion of a preceding syllogism, called, in relation to this, the prosyllogism.

Epitaph (n.) An inscription on, or at, a tomb, or a grave, in memory or commendation of the one buried there; a sepulchral inscription.

Hang her an epitaph upon her tomb. -- Shak.

Epitaph (n.) A brief writing formed as if to be inscribed on a monument, as that concerning Alexander: "Sufficit huic tumulus, cui non sufficeret orbis."

Epitaph (v. t.) To commemorate by an epitaph. [R.]

Let me be epitaphed the inventor of English hexameters. -- G. Harvey.

Epitaph (v. i.) To write or speak after the manner of an epitaph. [R.]

The common in their speeches epitaph upon him . . . "He lived as a wolf and died as a dog." -- Bp. Hall.

Epitaph (n.) An inscription on a tombstone or monument in memory of the person buried there.

Epitaph (n.) A summary statement of commemoration for a dead person.

Epitaph, (n.) An inscription on a tomb, showing that virtues acquired by death have a retroactive effect. Following is a touching example: Here lie the bones of Parson Platt, Wise, pious, humble and all that, Who showed us life as all should live it; Let that be said -- and God forgive it!

Epitapher (n.) A writer of epitaphs. -- Nash. Epitaphial

Epitaphial (a.) Alt. of Epitaphian.

Epitaphian (a.) Relating to, or of the nature of, an epitaph.

The noble Pericles in his epitaphian speech. -- Milton.

Epitaphial Latin verses are not to be taken too literally. -- Lowell.

Epitaphic (a.) Pertaining to an epitaph; epitaphian.

Epitaphic (n.) An epitaph. -- Udall.

Epitaphist (n.) An epitapher.

Epitasis (n.) That part which embraces the main action of a play, poem, and the like, and leads on to the catastrophe; -- opposed to protasis.

Epitasis (n.) (Med.) The period of violence in a fever or disease; paroxysm.

Epithalamic (a.) Belonging to, or designed for, an epithalamium.

Epithalamiums (n. pl. ) of Epithalamium.

Epithalamia (n. pl. ) of Epithalamium.

Epithalamium (n.) A nuptial song, or poem in honor of the bride and bridegroom.

The kind of poem which was called epithalamium . . . sung when the bride was led into her chamber. -- B. Jonson.

Epithalamium (n.) An ode honoring a bride and bridegroom.

Epithalamies (n. pl. ) of Epithalamy.

Epithalamy (n.) Epithalamium. [R.] -- Donne.

Epitheca (n.) (Zool.) A continuous and, usually, structureless layer which covers more or less of the exterior of many corals.

Epithelial (a.) Of or pertaining to epithelium; as, epithelial cells; epithelial cancer.

Epithelial (a.) Of or belonging to the epithelium; "epithelial layer."

Epithelioid (a.) (Anat.) Like epithelium; as, epithelioid cells.

Epithelioma (n.) (Med.) A malignant growth containing epithelial cells; -- called also epithelial cancer.

Epithelioma (n.) A malignant tumor of the epithelial tissue.

Epitheliums (n. pl. ) of Epithelium.

Epithelia (n. pl. ) of Epithelium.

Epithelium (n.) (Anat.) The superficial layer of cells lining the alimentary canal and all its appendages, all glands and their ducts, blood vessels and lymphatics, serous cavities, etc. It often includes the epidermis (i. e., keratin-producing epithelial cells), and it is sometimes restricted to the alimentary canal, the glands and their appendages, -- the term endothelium being applied to the lining membrane of the blood vessels, lymphatics, and serous cavities.

Epithelium (n.) Membranous tissue covering internal organs and other internal surfaces of the body [syn: epithelium, epithelial tissue].

Epitheloid (a.) (Anat.) Epithelioid.

Epithem (n.) (Med.) Any external topical application to the body, except ointments and plasters, as a poultice, lotion, etc.

Epithema (n.) (Zool.) A horny excrescence upon the beak of birds.

Epithesis (n.) The addition of a letter at the end of a word, without changing its sense; as, numb for num, whilst for whiles.

Epithet (n.) An adjective expressing some quality, attribute, or relation, that is properly or specially appropriate to a person or thing; as, a just man; a verdant lawn.

A prince [Henry III.] to whom the epithet "worthless" seems best applicable. -- Hallam.

Epithet (n.) Term; expression; phrase. "Stuffed with epithets of war." -- Shak.

Syn: Epithet, Title.

Usage: The name epithet was formerly extended to nouns which give a title or describe character (as the "epithet of liar"), but is now confined wholly to adjectives. Some rhetoricians, as Whately, restrict it still further, considering the term epithet as belonging only to a limited class of adjectives, viz., those which add nothing to the sense of their noun, but simply hold forth some quality necessarily implied therein; as, the bright sun, the lofty heavens, etc. But this restriction does not prevail in general literature.

Epithet is sometimes confounded with application, which is always a noun or its equivalent.

Epithet (v. t.) To describe by an epithet. [R.]

Never was a town better epitheted. -- Sir H. Wotton. Epithetic

Epithet (n.) A defamatory or abusive word or phrase [syn: name, epithet].

Epithet (n.) Descriptive word or phrase.

Epithetic (a.) Alt. of Epithetical.

Epithetical (a.) Pertaining to, or abounding with, epithets. "In epithetic measured prose." -- Lloyd.

Epithite (n.) A lazy, worthless fellow; a vagrant. [Obs.] -- Mason.

Epithumetic (a.) Epithumetical. [Obs.]

Epithumetical (a.) Pertaining to sexual desire; sensual. -- Sir T. Browne.

Epitithides (n.) (Arch.) The uppermost member of the cornice of an entablature.

Epitomator (n.) An epitomist. -- Sir W. Hamilton.

Epitomes (n. pl. ) of Epitome.

Epitome (n.) 梗概節錄；縮影；象徵；典型 A work in which the contents of a former work are reduced within a smaller space by curtailment and condensation; a brief summary; an abridgement.

[An] epitome of the contents of a very large book. -- Sydney Smith.

Epitome (n.) A compact or condensed representation of anything; something possessing conspicuously or to a high degree the qualities of a class.

An epitome of English fashionable life. -- Carlyle.

A man so various that he seemed to be Not one, but all mankind's epitome. -- Dryden.

Syn: Abridgement; compendium; compend; abstract; synopsis; abbreviature. See {Abridgment}.

Epitome (n.) A standard or typical example; "he is the prototype of good breeding"; "he provided America with an image of the good father" [syn: {prototype}, {paradigm}, {epitome}, {image}].

Epitome (n.) A brief abstract (as of an article or book).

Epitome (n.) 概要，縮影，概括 The typical or highest example of a stated quality, as shown by a particular person or thing.

// He was the epitome of the fashionable gentleman.

Epitomist (n.) 寫梗概者 One who makes an epitome; one who abridges; an epitomizer. -- Milton.

Epitomized (imp. & p. p.) of Epitomize.

Epitomizing (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Epitomize.

Epitomize (v. t.) 寫……的梗概；象徵；作為……的縮影 To make an epitome of; to shorten or abridge, as a writing or discourse; to reduce within a smaller space; as, to epitomize the works of Justin.

Epitomize (v. t.) To diminish, as by cutting off something; to curtail; as, to epitomize words. [Obs.] -- Addison.

Epitomize (v.) Embody the essential characteristics of or be a typical example of; "The fugue typifies Bach's style of composition" [syn: {typify}, {epitomize}, {epitomise}].

Epitomize (v.) [T] His recordings came to epitomize American popular singing at its finest.

Epitomizer (n.) An epitomist. -- Burton.

Epitrite (n.) (Gr. & Lat. Pros.) A foot consisting of three long syllables and one short syllable.

Note: It is so called from being compounded of a spondee (which contains 4 times) with an iambus or a trochee (which contains 3 times). It is called 1st, 2d, 3d, or 4th epitrite according as the short syllable stands 1st, 2d, etc.

Epitrochlea (n.) (Anat.) A projection on the outer side of the distal end of the humerus; the external condyle.

Epitrochlear (a.) Relating to the epitrochlea.

Epitrochoid (n.) (Geom.) A kind of curve. See Epicycloid, any Trochoid.

Epitrope (n.) (Rhet.) A figure by which permission is either seriously or ironically granted to some one, to do what he proposes to do; e. g., "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still."

Epizeuxis (n.) (Rhet.) A figure by which a word is repeated with vehemence or emphasis, as in the following lines:

Alone, alone, all all alone, Alone on a wide wide sea. -- Coleridge.

Epizoan (n.) (Zool.) An epizoon.

Epizoic (a.) (Zool.) Living upon the exterior of another animal; ectozoic; -- said of external parasites.

Epizoa (n. pl. ) of Epizoon.

Epizoon (n.) (Zool.) One of the artificial group of invertebrates of various kinds, which live parasitically upon the exterior of other animals; an ectozoon. Among them are the lice, ticks, many acari, the lerneans, or fish lice, and other crustaceans.

Epizootic, Epizooty (n.) A contagious disease which attacks many animals at the same time; an epizootic disease; an epidemic among animals.

Epizootic, Epizooty (n.) A murrain; an epidemic influenza among horses.

Epizootic (a.) (Zool.) Of or pertaining to an epizoon.

Epizootic (a.) (Geol.) Containing fossil remains; -- said of rocks, formations, mountains, and the like. [Obs.]

Epizo["o]tic mountains are of secondary formation. -- Kirwan.

Epizootic (a.) Of the nature of a disease which attacks many animals at the same time; -- corresponding to epidemic diseases among men. Epizooty

Epizootic, Epizooty (n.) A contagious disease which attacks many animals at the same time; an epizootic disease; an epidemic among animals.

Epizootic, Epizooty (n.) A murrain; an epidemic influenza among horses.

Epizootic (a.) (Zool.) Of or pertaining to an epizo["o]n.

Epizootic (a.) (Geol.) Containing fossil remains; -- said of rocks, formations, mountains, and the like. [Obs.]

Epizo["o]tic mountains are of secondary formation. -- Kirwan.

Epizootic (a.) Of the nature of a disease which attacks many animals at the same time; -- corresponding to epidemic diseases among men. Epizooty

Epizooty (n.) Alt. of Epizootic.

Epizootic (n.) An epizootic disease; a murrain; an epidemic influenza among horses.

Epoch (n.) [C] 時期；時代；重要時期；新紀元，新時代 A fixed point of time, established in history by the occurrence of some grand or remarkable event; a point of time marked by an event of great subsequent influence; as, the epoch of the creation; the birth of Christ was the epoch which gave rise to the Christian era.

In divers ages, . . . divers epochs of time were used. -- Usher.

Great epochs and crises in the kingdom of God. -- Trench.

The acquittal of the bishops was not the only event which makes the 30th of June, 1688, a great epoch in history. -- Macaulay.

Note: Epochs mark the beginning of new historical periods, and dates are often numbered from them.

Epoch (n.) A period of time, longer or shorter, remarkable for events of great subsequent influence; a memorable period; as, the epoch of maritime discovery, or of the Reformation. "So vast an epoch of time." -- F. Harrison.

The influence of Chaucer continued to live even during the dreary interval which separates from one another two important epochs of our literary history. -- A. W. Ward.

Epoch (n.) (Geol.) A division of time characterized by the prevalence of similar conditions of the earth; commonly a minor division or part of a period.

The long geological epoch which stored up the vast coal measures. -- J. C. Shairp.

Epoch (n.) (Astron.) The date at which a planet or comet has a longitude or position.

Epoch (n.) (Astron.) An arbitrary fixed date, for which the elements used in computing the place of a planet, or other heavenly body, at any other date, are given; as, the epoch of Mars; lunar elements for the epoch March 1st, 1860.

Syn: Era; time; date; period; age.

Usage: Epoch, Era. We speak of the era of the Reformation, when we think of it as a period, during which a new order of things prevailed; so also, the era of good feeling, etc. Had we been thinking of the time as marked by certain great events, or as a period in which great results were effected, we should have called the times when these events happened epochs, and the whole period an epoch.

The capture of Constantinople is an epoch in the history of Mahometanism; but the flight of Mahomet is its era. -- C. J. Smith.

Epoch (n.) A period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event [syn: era, epoch].

Epoch (n.) (Astronomy) An arbitrarily fixed date that is the point in time relative to which information (as coordinates of a celestial body) is recorded [syn: epoch, date of reference].

Epoch (n.) A unit of geological time that is a subdivision of a period and is itself divided into ages.

Epoch (n.) [Unix: prob.: from astronomical timekeeping] The time and date corresponding to 0 in an operating system's clock and timestamp values.

Under most Unix versions the epoch is 00:00:00 GMT, January 1, 1970; under VMS, it's 00:00:00 of November 17, 1858 (base date of the U.S. Naval Observatory's ephemerides); on a Macintosh, it's the midnight beginning January 1 1904. System time is measured in seconds or ticks past the epoch. Weird problems may ensue when the clock wraps around (see wrap around), which is not necessarily a rare event; on systems counting 10 ticks per second, a signed 32-bit count of ticks is good only for 6.8 years. The 1-tick-per-second clock of Unix is good only until January 18, 2038, assuming at least some software continues to consider it signed and that word lengths don't increase by then. See also wall time. Microsoft Windows, on the other hand, has an epoch problem every 49.7 days ? but this is seldom noticed as Windows is almost incapable of staying up continuously for that long.

Epoch, () (Probably from astronomical timekeeping) A term used originally in Unix documentation for the time and date corresponding to zero in an operating system's clock and timestamp values.

Under most Unix versions the epoch is 1970-01-01 00:00:00 GMT; under VMS, it's 1858-11-17 00:00:00 (the base date of the US Naval Observatory's ephemerides); on a Macintosh, it's 1904-01-01 00:00:00.

System time is measured in seconds or ticks past the epoch.

Weird problems may ensue when the clock wraps around (see wrap around), which is not necessarily a rare event; on systems counting 10 ticks per second, a signed 32-bit count of ticks is good only for 0.1 * 2**31-1 seconds, or 6.8 years.

The one-tick-per-second clock of Unix is good only until 2038-01-18, assuming at least some software continues to consider it signed and that word lengths don't increase by then. See also wall time.

Epoch, () (Epoch) A version of GNU Emacs for the X Window System from NCSA.

[{Jargon File]

(2004-06-10)

Epocha (n.) [L.] See Epoch. -- J. Adams.

Epochal (a.) Belonging to an epoch; of the nature of an epoch. "Epochal points." -- Shedd.

Epochal (a.) Highly significant or important especially bringing about or marking the beginning of a new development or era; "epochal decisions made by Roosevelt and Churchill"; "an epoch-making discovery" [syn: epochal, epoch-making].

Epode (n.) (Poet.) The after song; the part of a lyric ode which follows the strophe and antistrophe, -- the ancient ode being divided into strophe, antistrophe, and epode.

Epode (n.) (Poet.) A species of lyric poem, invented by Archilochus, in which a longer verse is followed by a shorter one; as, the Epodes of Horace. It does not include the elegiac distich.

Epodic (a.) Pertaining to, or resembling, an epode. Eponym

[previous page] [Index] [next page]