n. [ F. brevet, LL. brevetum, fr. L. brevis short. See Brief. ]
☞ In the United States army, rank by brevet is conferred, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for “gallant actions or meritorious services.” A brevet rank gives no right of command in the particular corps to which the officer brevetted belongs, and can be exercised only by special assignment of the President, or on court martial, and detachments composed of different corps, with pay of the brevet rank when on such duty. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. t.
a. (Mil.) Taking or conferring rank by brevet;
n.;
‖n. [ It. cavetto, fr. cavo hollow, L. cavus. ] (Arch.) A concave molding; -- used chiefly in classical architecture. See Illust. of Column. [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n. [ F., head of the bed, dim. fr. chef head. See Chief. ] (Arch.) The extreme end of the chancel or choir; properly the round or polygonal part. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ F. civette (cf. It. zibetto) civet, civet cat, fr. LGr.
v. t. To scent or perfume with civet. Cowper [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n. (Min.) A curvet. Peacham. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. t.
Covet earnestly the best gifts. 1. Cor. xxii. 31. [ 1913 Webster ]
If it be a sin to covet honor,
I am the most offending soul alive. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. Ex. xx. 17.
v. i. To have or indulge inordinate desire. [ 1913 Webster ]
Which [ money ] while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith. 1 Tim. vi. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. That may be coveted; desirable. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. One who covets. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ OF. coveitise, F. convoitise. See Covet, v. t. ] Avarice. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. (Phren.) Acquisitiveness. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. [ OF. coveitos, F. convoiteux. See Covet, v. t. ]
Covetous of wisdom and fair virtue. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]
Covetous death bereaved us all,
To aggrandize one funeral. Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]
The covetous person lives as if the world were madealtogether for him, and not he for the world. South.
adv. In a covetous manner. [ 1913 Webster ]
n.
When workmen strive to do better than well,
They do confound their skill in covetousness. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]
Covetousness, by a greed of getting more, deprivess itself of the true end of getting. Sprat.
n. [ Cf. Creut. ] A crucible or melting pot; a cruset. Crabb. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ OE. corvet, It.corvetta: cf. F. courbette. See Curve, and cf. Corvetto. ]
v. i.
v. t. To cause to curvet. Landor. [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n. [ F., dim. of cuve a tub. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
[ 1913 Webster ]
n. See Divot. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. (Carp.) A flaring tenon, or tongue (shaped like a bird's tail spread), and a mortise, or socket, into which it fits tightly, making an interlocking joint between two pieces which resists pulling a part in all directions except one. [ 1913 Webster ]
Dovetail molding (Arch.),
Dovetail saw (Carp.),
v. t.
He put together a piece of joinery so crossly indented and whimsically dovetailed . . . that it was indeed a very curious show. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n. [ F. ] (Gun.) An apparatus for testing or proving the strength of gunpowder. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ See Eft, n. ] (Zoöl.) The common newt or eft. In America often applied to several species of aquatic salamanders.
‖n. [ F., dim. fr. fauve fawn-colored. ] (Zool.) A small singing bird, as the nightingale and warblers. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ Cf. F. grivet. ] (Zool.) A monkey of the upper Nile and Abyssinia (Cercopithecus griseo-viridis), having the upper parts dull green, the lower parts white, the hands, ears, and face black. It was known to the ancient Egyptians. Called also
a. Same as Helvetic. --
a. [ L. Helveticus, fr. Helvetii the Helvetii. ] Of or pertaining to the Helvetii, the ancient inhabitant of the Alps, now Switzerland, or to the modern states and inhabitant of the Alpine regions;
n. [ From Inveterate. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
An inveteracy of evil habits that will prompt him to contract more. A. Tucker. [ 1913 Webster ]
The rancor of pamphlets, the inveteracy of epigrams, and the mortification of lampoons. Guardian. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. [ L. inveteratus, p. p. of inveterare to render old; pref. in- in + vetus, veteris, old. See Veteran. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
It is an inveterate and received opinion. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]
Heal the inveterate canker of one wound. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. t. To fix and settle by long continuance. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]
adv. In an inveterate manner or degree. “Inveterately tough.” Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. Inveteracy. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ L. inveteratio. ] The act of making inveterate. [ R. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ Cf. F. lever to raise. ] A trumpet call for rousing soldiers; a reveille. [ Obs. ] Hudibras. [ 1913 Webster ]
(Bot.) A leguminous herb (Astragalus glycyphyllos) of Europe and Asia, supposed to increase the secretion of milk in goats. [ 1913 Webster ]
☞ The name is sometimes taken for the whole genus
n. (Zool.) A singing bird of India of the family
v. t. To covet wrongfully. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n. [ F. See Naïve, and cf. Nativity. ]
A story which pleases me by its naïveté -- that is, by its unconscious ingenuousness. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]
‖n. [ F. ] (Zool.) The blindworm. [ 1913 Webster ]
. The retention by the President of the United States of a bill unsigned so that it does not become a law, in virtue of the following constitutional provision (Const. Art. I., sec. 7, cl. 2): “If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.” Also, an analogous retention of a bill by a State governor. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]
n. [ Cf. Scot. privie, Prov. E. prim-print, primwort. Prob. for primet, and perh. named from being cut and trimmed. See, Prim, a., and cf. Prime to prune, Prim, n., Prie, n. ] (Bot.) An ornamental European shrub (Ligustrum vulgare), much used in hedges; -- called also
Egyptian privet.
Evergreen privet,
Mock privet,