n. [ L. acer sharp + olēre to smell. ] (Chem.) A limpid, colorless, highly volatile liquid, obtained by the dehydration of glycerin, or the destructive distillation of neutral fats containing glycerin. Its vapors are intensely irritating. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Like a prickle. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. [ Azo- + oleic. ] (Chem.) Pertaining to an acid produced by treating oleic with nitric acid. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Of or relating to Bishop Berkeley or his system of idealism;
The long wagon body set on bobsleds. W. D. Howells. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Of or pertaining to Sir Thomas Bodley, or to the celebrated library at Oxford, founded by him in the sixteenth century. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ Cf. F. brésiline. See 2d Brazil. ] (Chem.) A substance,
n. [ L. caeruleus sky-blue. ] (Chem.) A fast dyestuff,
a. (Physiol. Chem.) Pertaining to, or obtained from, bile;
a. [ Pref. cis- + Leitha. ] On the Austrian side of the river Leitha; Austrian. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. the closed spore-bearing structure of some fungi (especially
n. the closed spore-bearing structure of some fungi (especially
n. a nucleic acid, usually of very high molecular weight, consisting of a linear sequence of monomer units of deoxyribonucleotides, occurring in most organisms in pairs of strands, wound together in the form of a double helix; it is the main component of chromosomes and contains the genetic information which is the basis of heredity, transmitted from parent to progeny, and found in all living organisms except for certain viruses which have RNA as their basic genetic material; -- usually referred to by the acronym
☞ The monomer units making up the DNA each contain one of four heterocyclic bases: thymine, adenine, cytosine, or guanine. The genetic information is contained in the precise sequence of these monomer units, which ultimately specify the sequence of proteins to be made by the organism's biosynthetic processes, mediated through the synthesis of RNA having a base sequence corresponding to that of the DNA. The DNA sequence also specifies the sequence of the various RNA molecules the RNA base sequence being a copy of that on one of the DNA strands. Most of the RNA synthesized is involved in protein synthesis. In the double-helical form of DNA, the thymine on one strand is paired with the adenine on the opposite strand, and cytosine of one strand is paired with guanine on the opposite strand. There is in DNA also certain controlling information concerning the timing and amount of RNA to be made, encoded within the sequence of the DNA in ways that are still being elucidated.
When this structure is replicated in the course of cell multiplication, two identical double-helical molecules are formed, each containing one strand from the original molecule. Each resulting molecule is distributred to either the parent or progeny organism, and this is the basic mechanism for transmission of hereditary information. In RNA-based viruses, or those having single strands of DNA (as certain viruses), the genetic information transmission occurs through a double-stranded intermediate by a similar mechanism.
In some organisms slight modifications of the bases of DNA are found, such as methylcytosine or, in some viruses, uracil or hydroxymethyluracil; these unusual bases act analogously to the normal bases in their genetic coding function. A small percentage of methylcytosine is found in many organisms, and it serves in some cases as a special signal, as for restriction enzymes. [ PJC ]
n. same as deoxyribonucleic acid. [ Rare ] [ PJC ]
n. same as deoxyribonucleic acid. [ PJC ]
n. [ Gr. &unr_; double + &unr_; image + -scope. ] (Astron.) An instrument for determining the time of apparent noon. It consists of two mirrors and a plane glass disposed in the form of a prism, so that, by the reflections of the sun's rays from their surfaces, two images are presented to the eye, moving in opposite directions, and coinciding at the instant the sun's center is on the meridian. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. (Biol.) Lifeless matter deposited in the form of minute granules within the protoplasm of living cells. [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr.
a. [ Gr.
n. [ See Erythroleic. ] (Chem.) A red substance obtained from litmus. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. (Chem.) A white crystalline alkaloid, extracted from sassy bark (Erythrophleum Guineense).
obs. imp. of Fly. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n. sing. & pl. [ G., dim. of frau woman. See Frau. ] In Germany, a young lady; an unmarried woman; -- as a title, equivalent to
‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Galeus, name of one genus, fr. Gr. &unr_; a kind of shark. ] (Zool.) That division of elasmobranch fishes which includes the sharks. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ Pyrogallol + phthaleïn. ] (Chem.) A red crystalline dyestuff, obtained by heating together pyrogallic and phthalic acids. [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n.;
n. [ Gr. &unr_; beautiful +
Shifting like the fragments of colored glass in the kaleidoscope. G. W. Cable.
prop. n. A battle of World War II (January 1944); American forces landed and captured a Japanese airbase. [ WordNet 1.5 ]
pos>n. & interj. [ Gr.
a. [ L. leguleius pettifogger, fr. lex, legis, law. ] Lawyerlike; legal. [ R. ] “Leguleian barbarism.” De Quincey. --
n. [ See Leger, and Ledger. ] See Leger, n., 2. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. The type and sole genus of the family
n. A natural family of primitive New Zealand frogs.
n. A genus having only one species, the sand myrtle.
a. Of or pertaining to the Leiotrichi. --
‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr.
a. [ See Leiotrichi. ] (Anthropol.) Having smooth, or nearly smooth, hair. [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n. [ NL. ] (Zool.) A genus of Australian gallinaceous birds including but a single species (Leipoa ocellata), about the size of a turkey. Its color is variegated, brown, black, white, and gray. Called also
☞ It makes large mounds of sand and vegetable material, in which its eggs are laid to be hatched by the heat of the decomposing mass. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. See Lipothymic. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. [ See Leisure. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
adv. At leisure. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ OE. leisere, leiser, OF. leisir, F. loisir, orig., permission, fr. L. licere to be permitted. See License. ]
The desire of leisure is much more natural than of business and care. Sir W. Temple. [ 1913 Webster ]
He sighed, and had no leisure more to say. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]
At leisure.
a. Unemployed;
a. Having leisure. “The leisured classes.” Gladstone. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Characterized by leisure; taking abundant time; not hurried;
adv. In a leisurely manner. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]