a. [ L. alutacius, fr. aluta soft leather. ] 1. Leathery. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Of a pale brown color; leather-yellow. Brande. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Bot.) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, the family of plants of which the amaranth is the type. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ LL. amentaceus. ] (Bot.) (a) Resembling, or consisting of, an ament or aments; as, the chestnut has an amentaceous inflorescence. (b) Bearing aments; having flowers arranged in aments; as, amentaceous plants. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. atramentum ink, fr. ater black. ] Black, like ink; inky; atramental. [ Obs. ] Derham. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Bot.) Belonging to, or like, the family of plants of which the prickly pear is a common example. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., from L. cetus whale, Gr. &unr_;. ] (Zool.) An order of marine mammals, including the whales. Like ordinary mammals they breathe by means of lungs, and bring forth living young which they suckle for some time. The anterior limbs are changed to paddles; the tail flukes are horizontal. There are two living suborders: (a) The Mysticete or whalebone whales, having no true teeth after birth, but with a series of plates of whalebone [ see Baleen. ] hanging down from the upper jaw on each side, thus making a strainer, through which they receive the small animals upon which they feed. (b) The Denticete, including the dolphins and sperm whale, which have teeth. Another suborder (Zeuglodontia) is extinct. The Sirenia were formerly included in the Cetacea, but are now made a separate order. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) One of the Cetacea. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Of or pertaining to the Cetacea. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. chartaceus. See Charta. ] Resembling paper or parchment; of paper-like texture; papery. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. cretaceus, fr. creta chalk. See Crayon. ] 1. Having the qualities of chalk; abounding with chalk; chalky; as, cretaceous rocks and formations. See Chalk. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a chalky manner; as chalk. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a thin layer of geologic deposits, of varying thickness in different parts of the world, found between the geological strata identified as Cretaceous and the strata above, identified as Tertiary; also, the time point or period marking the boundary between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods.
Syn. -- K/T boundary. [ PJC ]

☞According to a theory gaining acceptance (as of 1997), these deposits were formed as the debris of a large comet or meteorite impact on the earth, which threw up a large quantity of dust into the atmosphere, causing profound though temporary climatic change, and caused or hastened the extinction of numerous species, including the dinosaurs. This hypothesis was first postulated by Luis and Walter Alvarez on the basis of an excess of iridium found in the boundary layer, and was later supported by additional evidence of various types. The impact is believed to have occurred at the edge of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, forming what is termed the Chicxulub crater, which is partly under the Gulf of Mexico, is not evident from surface topography, and was detected primarily by gravity anomaly readings and subsurface geological characteristics. [ PJC ]

‖n. pl. [ Neut. pl. of NL. crustaceus pert. to the crust or shell, from L. crusta the hard surfsce of a body, rind, shell. ] (Zool.) One of the classes of the arthropods, including lobsters and crabs; -- so called from the crustlike shell with which they are covered. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The body usually consists of an anterior part, made up of the head and thorax combined, called the cephalothorax, and of a posterior jointed part called the abdomen, postabdomen, and (improperly) tail. They breathe by means of gills variously attached to some of the limbs or to the sides the body, according to the group. They are divisible into two subclasses, Entomostraca and Malacostraca, each of which includes several orders. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Of or pertaining to the Crustacea; crustaceous. -- n. An animal belonging to the class Crustacea. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to crustaceology. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One versed in crustaceology; a crustalogist. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Crustacea + -logy. ] That branch of Zoology which treats of the Crustacea; malacostracology; carcinology. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ NL. crustaceous. See crustacea. ] 1. Pertaining to, or of the nature of, crust or shell; having a crustlike shell. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Belonging to the Crustacea; crustacean. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or quality of being crustaceous or having a crustlike shell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. one of a number of families into which the family Polypodiaceae has been subdivided in some classification systems.
Syn. -- family Cryptogrammataceae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a natural family of plants including the cucumber; melon; squash; and pumpkin.
Syn. -- family Cucurbitaceae, gourd family. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ Cf. F. cucurbitacé. ] (Bot.) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, a family of plants of which the cucumber, melon, and gourd are common examples. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Bot.) Belonging to the Equisetaceæ, or Horsetail family. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. frumentaceus, fr. frumentum corn or grain, from the root of frux fruit: cf. F. frumentacé. See Frugal. ] Made of, or resembling, wheat or other grain. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. One of many families or subfamilies into which some classification systems subdivide the Liliaceae but not widely accepted; includes genus Hosta.
Syn. -- family Hostaceae, Funkaceae, family Funkaceae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ From Loment. ] (Bot.) Of the nature of a loment; having fruits like loments. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. A natural family of tropical perennial herbs with usually starchy rhizomes, including the arrowroot; the arrowroot family.
Syn. -- family Marantaceae, arrowroot family. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Pertaining to, or resembling, pearl; pearly. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ it>or }, n. [ Pref. meta- + center. ] (Hydrostatics) The point of intersection of a vertical line through the center of gravity of the fluid displaced by a floating body which is tipped through a small angle from its position of equilibrium, and the inclined line which was vertical through the center of gravity of the body when in equilibrium. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ When the metacenter is above the center of gravity, the position of the body is stable; when below it, unstable. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. met- + acetone. ] (Chem.) A colorless liquid of an agreeable odor, C6H10O, obtained by distilling a mixture of sugar and lime; -- so called because formerly regarded as a polymeric modification of acetone. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. A natural family of trees and shrubs yielding fragrant oils, including the myrtles, eucalyptus, clove, allspice, and guava; the myrtle family.
Syn. -- family Myrtaceae, myrtle family. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ L. myrtaceus. ] (Bot.) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, a large and important natural family of trees and shrubs (Myrtaceae of the order Myrtales), of which the myrtle (Myrtus) is the type. It includes the genera Eucalyptus, Pimenta, Lechythis, and about seventy more. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Nucament. ] (Bot.) Like a nut either in structure or in being indehiscent; bearing one-seeded nutlike fruits. [ Written also nucumentaceous. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Bot.) See Nucamentaceous. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ L. pergamena parchment. See Parchment. ] Like parchment. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Portass. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ L. psittacus a parrot, Gr. &unr_;: cf. F. psittacide. ] (Zool.) Of or pertaining to the parrots, or the Psittaci. -- n. One of the Psittaci. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. pultacé. See 1st Pulse. ] Macerated; softened; nearly fluid. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Min.) Of or pertaining to pyrites. See Pyritic. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Bot.) Covered with ramenta. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. rutaceous, from ruta rue. See Rue the plant. ] (Bot.) Of or pertaining to plants of a natural order (Rutaceae) of which the rue is the type, and which includes also the orange, lemon, dittany, and buchu. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to a natural order (Sapotaceae) of (mostly tropical) trees and shrubs, including the star apple, the Lucuma, or natural marmalade tree, the gutta-percha tree (Isonandra), and the India mahwa, as well as the sapodilla, or sapota, after which the order is named. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Bot.) Bearing sarments, or runners, as the strawberry. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of a slate color. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Half crustaceous; partially crustaceous. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. seta a bristle: cf. F. sétacé. ] 1. Set with, or consisting of, bristles; bristly; as, a stiff, setaceous tail. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Bristelike in form or texture; as, a setaceous feather; a setaceous leaf. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Occurring beneath a crust or scab; as, a subcrustaceous cicatrization. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Geol.) Same as Supracretaceous. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Geol.) Lying above the chalk; Supercretaceous. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The cross, or church, of St. Antony. See Illust. (6), under Cross, n. Mollett. [ 1913 Webster ]