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‖n. [ It. See Caprice. ] 1. (Mus.) A piece in a free form, with frequent digressions from the theme; a fantasia; -- often called caprice. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A caprice; a freak; a fancy. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ It. ] (Mus) In a free, fantastic style. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Chicory. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Dephlogisticated p. pr. & vb. n. Dephlogisticating. ] [ Pref. de- + phlosticate: cf. F. déphlogistiguer. ] (O. Chem.) To deprive of phlogiston, or the supposed principle of inflammability. Priestley. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dephlogisticated air, oxygen gas; -- so called by Dr. Priestly and others of his time.

-- De`phlo*gis`ti*ca"tion n. [1913 Webster]

a. [ L. desiccans, p. pr. of desiccare. See Desiccate. ] Drying; desiccative. -- n. (Med.) A medicine or application for drying up a sore. Wiseman. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Desiccated; p. pr. & vb. n. Desiccating. ] [ L. desiccatus, p. p. of desiccare to dry up; de- + siccare to dry, siccus dry. See Sack wine. ] To dry up; to deprive or exhaust of moisture; to preserve by drying; as, to desiccate fish or fruit. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bodies desiccated by heat or age. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To become dry. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. dessiccation. ] The act of desiccating, or the state of being desiccated. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. dessicatif. ] Drying; tending to dry. Ferrand. -- n. (Med.) An application for drying up secretions. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, desiccates. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Chem.) A short glass jar fitted with an air-tight cover, and containing some desiccating agent, as sulphuric acid, phosphorus pentoxide, or calcium chloride, above which is supported on a perforated platform the material to be dried, or preserved from moisture. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

3. A machine or apparatus for drying fruit, milk, etc., usually by the aid of heat; an evaporator. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Desiccative. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To render emblematic; as, to emblematicize a picture. [ R. ] Walpole. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. See Exsiccate. [ Obs. ] Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

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

a. [ L. exsiccans, p. pr. of exsiccare. See Exsiccate. ] Having the quality of drying up; causing a drying up. -- n. (Med.) An exsiccant medicine. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Exsiccated p. pr. & vb. n. Exsiccating. ] [ L. exsiccatus, p. p. of exsiccare to dry up; ex out + siccare to make dry, siccus dry. ] To exhaust or evaporate moisture from; to dry up. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. exsiccatio: cf. F. exsiccation. ] The act of operation of drying; evaporation or expulsion of moisture; state of being dried up; dryness. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Tending to make dry; having the power of drying. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) An apparatus for drying substances or preserving them from moisture; a desiccator; also, less frequently, an agent employed to absorb moisture, as calcium chloride, or concentrated sulphuric acid. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Corrupted fr. L. hic est doctus this is a learned man. ] A juggler. [ Cant ] Hudibras. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. hickup, hicket, hickock; prob. of imitative origin; cf. D. & Dan. hik, Sw. hicka, Armor. hak, hik, W. ig, F. hoquet. ] (Physiol.) A modified respiratory movement; a spasmodic inspiration, consisting of a sudden contraction of the diaphragm, accompanied with closure of the glottis, so that further entrance of air is prevented, while the impulse of the column of air entering and striking upon the closed glottis produces a sound, or hiccough. [ Written also hickup or hiccup. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Hiccoughed p. pr. & vb. n. Hiccoughing. ] To have a hiccough or hiccoughs. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ L., a dry garden. ] A collection of specimens of plants, dried and preserved, and arranged systematically; an herbarium. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act or process of drying in. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Jurisdiction. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ from NL. niccolum nickel. ] (Min.) A mineral of a copper-red color and metallic luster; an arsenide of nickel; -- called also coppernickel, kupfernickel. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ It., fr. pasta. See Paste. ] 1. A medley; an olio. [ R. ] H. Swinburne. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Fine Arts) (a) A work of art imitating directly the work of another artist, or of more artists than one. (b) A falsified work of art, as a vase or statue made up of parts of original works, with missing parts supplied. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ OF. piccagilles the several divisions of pieces fastened together about the brim of the collar of a doublet, a dim. fr. Sp. picado, p. p. of picar to prick. See Pike. ] A high, stiff collar for the neck; also, a hem or band about the skirt of a garment, -- worn by men in the 17th century. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL. piccadium, fr. F. piquer to prick. ] (O. Eng. Law) Money paid at fairs for leave to break ground for booths. Ainsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A pickle of various vegetables with pungent species, -- originally made in the East Indies. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ It., small. ] 1. (Mus.) A small, shrill flute, the pitch of which is an octave higher than the ordinary flute; an octave flute. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mus.) A small upright piano. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mus.) An organ stop, with a high, piercing tone. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ Ar. sikka. ] A seal; a coining die; -- used adjectively to designate the silver currency of the Mogul emperors, or the Indian rupee of 192 grains. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sicca rupee, an East Indian coin, valued nominally at about two shillings sterling, or fifty cents. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. siccatus, p. p. of siccare to dry, fr. siecus dry. ] To dry. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. siccatio. ] The act or process of drying. [ R. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. siccativus. ] Drying; causing to dry. -- n. That which promotes drying. [ 1913 Webster ]

a.[ L. siccificus; siccus dry + facere to make. See -fy. ] Causing dryness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. siccitas, fr. siccus dry. ] Dryness; aridity; destitution of moisture. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The siccity and dryness of its flesh. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ It., p. p. of spicare to detach, to separate. ] (Mus.) Detached; separated; -- a term indicating that every note is to be performed in a distinct and pointed manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. It. steccato a palisade. ] (Mus.) An instrument consisting of small bars of wood, flat at the bottom and rounded at the top, and resting on the edges of a kind of open box. They are unequal in size, gradually increasing from the smallest to the largest, and are tuned to the diatonic scale. The tones are produced by striking the pieces of wood with hard balls attached to flexible sticks. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. [ OE. wicche wizard, AS. wicce, fem., wicca, masc.; see also witch and wicked. ] 1. A religion derived from pre-Christian times, also called Witchcraft{ 4 }, which practices a benevolent reverence for nature, and recognizes two deities, variously viewed as Mother & Father, Goddess & God, Female & Male, etc.; its practitioners are called Wiccans, Wiccas, or witches. Since there is no central authority to propagate dogma, the beliefs and practices of Wiccans vary significantly. [ PJC ]

Encouraged by court rulings recognizing witchcraft as a legal religion, an increasing number of books related to the subject, and the continuing cultural concern for the environment, Wicca -- as contemporary witchcraft is often called -- has been growing in the United States and abroad. It is a major element in the expanding “neo-pagan” movement whose members regard nature itself as charged with divinity. Gustav Niebuhr (N. Y. Times, Oct. 31, 1999, p. 1) [ PJC ]

“I don't worship Satan, who I don't think exists, but I do pray to the Goddess of Creation.” said Margot S. Adler, a New York correspondent for National Public Radio and a Wiccan practitioner. “Wicca is not anti-Christian or pro-Christian, it's pre-Christian.” Anthony Ramirez (N. Y. Times Aug. 22, 1999, p. wk 2) [ PJC ]

Wicca is a ditheistic religion, also called Witchcraft, founded on the beliefs and doctrines of pre-Roman Celts, including the reverence for nature and the belief in a universal balance. Though frequently practiced in covens, solitary practitioners do exist. The modern form of the religion was popularized in 1954 by Gerald Gardener's Witchcraft Today. It is viewed as a form of neo-paganism.
Wicca recognizes two deities, visualized as Mother & Father, Goddess & God, Female & Male, etc. These dieties are nameless, but many Wiccans adopt a name with which they refer to the two: Diana is a popular name for the Goddess to take, among others such as Artemis, Isis, Morrigan, etc. Some of her symbols are: the moon; the ocean; a cauldron; and the labrys (two-headed axe), among others. The God is of equal power to the Goddess, and takes on names such as Apollo, Odin, Lugh, etc. A small number of his symbols are: the sun; the sky; a horn (or two horns); and others.
Witchcraft is not a Christian denomination; there is no devil in its mythos, thus the devil cannot be worshiped, and the medieval view of Witches as Satan-worshipers is erroneous. Satanists are not Witches and Witches are not Satanists. Both have a tendency to be offended when the two are confused.
In the Wiccan religion male Witches are not “Warlocks”. The term Warlock comes from Scottish, meaning 'oathbreaker', 'traitor', or 'devil'. Its application to male witches is of uncertain origin.
The Wiccan Rede, “An it harm none, do what thou wilt” comes in many variations. All of them say the same thing, “Do as you wish, just don't do anything to harm anyone.” It is implied that 'anyone' includes one's self.
Witches practice in groups called Covens or as solitary practitioners, and some practice “magic”, which is to say, they pray. Since the one rule that Witches have requires that they can not do harm, harmful magic does not exist in Wicca. In Wicca, “magic” is simply subtly altering small things, to gain a desired effect.
Wicca, sometimes called Neo-Witchcraft, was revived in the 1950s, when the last laws against Witchcraft were repealed. Gerald Gardner founded Gardnerian Wicca sometime after his book, Witchcraft Today, was published in 1954. Raymond Buckland, in America, did much the same that Gardner did in Europe -- stood up to the misconceptions about Witchcraft.

Two other books describing the modern practice of Wicca are:

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, by Scott Cunningham, Llewellyn Publications, 1988.

Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, by Raymond Buckland, Llewellyn Publications, 1975.

A Web site devoted to elucidation of modern witchcraft is:
Witchvox Cody Scott [ PJC ]

2. A practitioner of Wicca, also commonly called a Wiccan, Wicca, or witch . [ PJC ]

For at least one person who has seen “The Blair Witch Project”, the surprise hit movie of the summer did not so much terrify as infuriate. One long slur against witches, said Selena Fox, a witch, or Wicca, as male and female American witches prefer to call themselves. Anthony Ramirez (N. Y. Times, Aug. 22, 1999, p. wk 2) [ PJC ]

prop. a. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of, Wicca or its adherents. [ PJC ]