_Cooper, Sir Astley Paston_, a celebrated English surgeon, who was born at Brooke, in Norfolk county, England, August 23, 1768, and commenced the practice of Surgery in London, in 1792. He was appointed Surgeon to King George IV., in 1827, was created a baronet in 1821, and died February 12, 1841. He was the author of many valuable works.
_Copal_, a hard, shining, transparent resin, of a light citron color, brought, originally, from Spanish America, and now almost wholly from the East Indies. It is princ.i.p.ally employed in the preparation of _copal varnish_.
_Copper, sulphate of_, see _Sulphate of copper_.
_Copperas_, (sulphate of iron, or green vitriol,) a bright green mineral substance, formed by the decomposition of a peculiar ore of iron, called pyrites, which is a sulphuret of iron. It is first in the form of a greenish-white powder, or crust, which is dissolved in water, and beautiful green crystals of copperas are obtained by evaporation. It is princ.i.p.ally used in dyeing, and in making black ink. Its solution, mixed with a decoction of oak bark, produces a black color.
_Coronary_, relating to a crown or garland. In anatomy, it is applied to arteries which encompa.s.s the heart, in the manner, as it is fancied, of a garland.
_Corrosive sublimate_, a poisonous substance, composed of chlorine and quicksilver.
_Cosmetics_, preparations which some people foolishly think will preserve and beautify the skin.
_Cream of tartar_, see _Tartar_.
_Crimping-iron_, an instrument for crimping or curling ruffles, &c.
_Curculio_, a weevil or worm, which affects the fruit of the plum tree, and sometimes that of the apple tree, causing the unripe fruit to fall to the ground.
_Curvature of the spine_, see pages 80, 81.
_Cuvier, Baron_, the most eminent naturalist of the present age, was born, A. D. 1769, and died, A. D. 1832. He was Professor of Natural History in the College of France, and held various important posts under the French Government, at different times. His works on Natural History are of the greatest value.
_Cynosure_, the star near the North Pole, by which sailors steer. It is used, in a figurative sense, as synonymous with _pole-star_, or _guide_.
_De Tocqueville_, see _Tocqueville_.
_Diamond cement_, a cement sold in the shops, and used for mending broken gla.s.s, and similar articles.
_Drab_, a thick woollen cloth, of a light brown or dun color. The name is sometimes used for the color itself.
_Dredging-box_, a box with holes in the top, used to sift or scatter flour on meat, when roasting.
_Drill_, (in husbandry,) to sow grain in rows, drills, or channels; the row of grain so sowed.
_d.u.c.h.ess of Orleans_, see _Orleans_.
The _East_, and the _Eastern States_, those of the United States situated in the north-east part of the Country, including Maine, New Hampshire, Ma.s.sachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Vermont.
_Electuary_, a mixture, consisting of medicinal substances, especially dry powders, combined with honey or sirup, in order to render them less unpleasant to the taste, and more convenient for internal use.
_Elevation_, (of a house,) a plan, representing the upright view of a house, as a ground-plan shows its appearance on the ground.
_Euclid_, a celebrated mathematician, who was born in Alexandria, in Egypt, about two hundred and eighty years before Christ. He distinguished himself by his writings on music and geometry. The most celebrated of his works, is his "Elements of Geometry," which is in use at the present day. He established a school at Alexandria, which became so famous, that, from his time to the conquest of Alexandria by the Saracens, (A. D. 646,) no mathematician was found, who had not studied at Alexandria. Ptolemy, King of Egypt, was one of his pupils; and it was to a question of this King, whether there were not a shorter way of coming at Geometry, than by the study of his Elements, that Euclid made the celebrated answer, "There is no royal way, or path, to Geometry."
_Equator_, or _equinoctial line_, an imaginary line pa.s.sing round the earth, from east to west, and directly under the sun, which always shines nearly perpendicularly down upon all countries situated near the equator.
_Evolve_, to throw off, to discharge.
_Exchequer_, a court in England, in which the Chancellor presides, and where the revenues of, and debts due to, the King are recovered. This court was originally established by King William, (called "the Conqueror,") who died A. D. 1087; and its name is derived from a checkered cloth, (French _echiquier_, a chess-board, checker-work,) on the table.
_Excretion_, something discharged from the body, a separation of animal matters.
_Excrement.i.tious_, consisting of matter excreted from the body; containing excrements.
_Fahrenheit_, (Gabriel Daniel,) a celebrated natural philosopher, who was born at Dantzic, A. D. 1686. He made great improvements in the thermometer; and his name is sometimes used for that instrument.
_Farinaceous_, mealy, tasting like meal.
To _Fell_, to turn down, on the wrong side, the raw edges of a seam, after it has been st.i.tched, run, or sewed, and then to hem or sew it to the cloth.
_Festivals_, of the Jews, the three great annual. These were, the Feast of the Pa.s.sover, that of Pentecost, and that of Tabernacles; on occasion of which, all the males of the Nation were required to visit the Temple at Jerusalem, in whatever part of the Country they might reside. See Exodus xxiii. 14, 17, x.x.xiv. 23, Leviticus xxiii. 4, Deuteronomy xvi.
16. The Pa.s.sover was kept in commemoration of the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, and was so named, because, the night before their departure, the destroying angel, who slew all the first-born of the Egyptians, _pa.s.sed over_ the houses of the Israelites, without entering them. See Exodus xii. The Feast of Pentecost was so called, from a word meaning _the fiftieth_, because it was celebrated on the fiftieth day after the Pa.s.sover, and was inst.i.tuted in commemoration of the giving of the Law from Mount Sinai, on the fiftieth day from the departure out of Egypt. It is also called the Feast of Weeks, because it was kept seven weeks after the Pa.s.sover. See Exodus x.x.xiv. 22, Leviticus xxiii. 15-21, Deuteronomy xvi. 9, 10. The Feast of Tabernacles, or Feast of Tents, was so called, because it was celebrated under tents or tabernacles of green boughs; and was designed to commemorate their dwelling in tents, during their pa.s.sage through the wilderness. At this Feast, they also returned thanks to G.o.d, for the fruits of the earth, after they had been gathered. See Exodus xxiii. 16, Leviticus xxiii. 34-44, Deuteronomy xvi.
13, and also St. John vii. 2.
_Fire blight_, a disease in the pear, and some other fruit trees, in which they appear burnt, as if by fire. It is supposed, by some, to be caused by an insect, others suppose it to be caused by an overabundance of sap.
_Fluting-iron_, an instrument for making flutes, channels, furrows, or hollows, in ruffles, &c.
_Foundation muslin_, a nice kind of buckram, stiff and white, used for the foundation or basis of bonnets, &c.
_Free States_, those States in which slavery is not allowed, as distinguished from Slave States, in which slavery does exist.
_French chalk_, a variety of the mineral called talc, unctuous to the touch, of a greenish color, glossy, soft, and easily scratched, and leaving a silvery line, when drawn on paper. It is used for marking on cloth, and extracting grease-spots.
_Fuller"s earth_, a species of clay, remarkable for its property of absorbing oil; for which reason it is valuable for extracting grease from cloth, &c. It is used by fullers, in scouring and cleansing cloth, whence its name.
_Fustic_, the wood of a tree which grows in the West Indies, called _Morus tinctoria_. It affords a durable, but not very brilliant, yellow dye, and is also used in producing some greens and drab colors.
_Gastric_, (from the Greek [Greek: gastir], _gaster_, the belly,) belonging or relating to the belly, or stomach. _Gastric juice_, the fluid which dissolves the food in the stomach. It is limpid, like water, of a saltish taste, and without odor.
_Geology_, the science which treats of the earth, as composed of rocks and stones.
_Gore_, a triangular piece of cloth. _Goring_, cut in a triangular shape.
_Gothic_, a peculiar and strongly-marked style of architecture, sometimes called the ecclesiastical style, because it is most frequently used in cathedrals, churches, abbeys, and other religious edifices. Its principle seems to have originated in the imitation of groves and bowers, under which the ancients performed their sacred rites; its cl.u.s.tered pillars and pointed arches very well representing the trunks of trees and their interlocking branches.
_Gourmand_, or _Gormand_, a glutton, a greedy eater. In agriculture, it is applied to twigs which take up the sap, but bear only leaves.
_Green vitriol_, see _Copperas_.
_Griddle_, an iron pan, of a peculiarly broad and shallow construction, used for baking cakes.
_Ground-plan_, the map or plan of the lower floor of any building, in which the various apartments, windows, doors, fireplaces, and other things, are represented, like the rivers, towns, mountains, roads, &c., on a map.
_Gum Arabic_, a vegetable juice which exudes through the bark of the _Acacia_, _Mimosa nilotica_, and some other similar trees, growing in Arabia, Egypt, Senegal, and Central Africa. It is the purest of all gums.
_Hardpan_, the hard, unbroken layer of earth, below the mould or cultivated soil.