emissarIum

[Latin] A sluice or flood. gate. ěm'-Is-sa-ry, *em-is-sa-rie, s . & a. [Lat. emis sari us , from emi us , pa. par. of emit to =to send out, to emit; Fr. émi aire .] A. As substantive: I. Ordinary Language: 1. A person sent out on a private me age or busine ; a secret me enger or agent, employed to ascertain the opinions or intentions of others, or to di eminate opinions, or spread reports in the in. terests of his employers. "The Jesuits send over emi aries , with instructions to personate themselves members of the several sects amongst us."-Swift. *2. An outlet; a channel by which water is drawn from a lake, .; a sluice; a floodgate. II. Anat .: That which emits or discharges; a ve el through which excretion takes place; an ex cretory. "Wherever there are emi aries, there are absorbent ve els in the skin; and, by the absorbent ve els, mer cury will pa into the blood." - Arbuthnot : On A limen is. sin, as; expect, Xenophon, exist. ph = f emi ary ship B. As adjective: *1. Ord. Lang.: Exploring, spying out. "You shall neither eat nor sleep, No, nor forth your window peep, With your emi ary eye, To fetch in the forms go by." B. Jonson: Underwoods; Of Charis, viii. 7. 2. Anat.: Discharging or conveying excretions; excretory. Crabb thus discriminates between emi ary and spy: "Both these words designate a person sent out by a body on some public concern among their ene mies; but they differ in their office according to the etymology of the words. The emi ary is by distinction sent forth, he is sent so as to mix with the people to whom he goes, to be in all places, and to a ociate with every one individually as may serve his purpose; the spy on the other hand takes his station wherever he can best perceive what is pa ing; he keeps himself at a distance from all but such as may particularly aid him in the object of his search. The object of an emi ary is by direct communication with the enemy to sow the seeds of di ension, to spread false alarms and to di eminate false principles; the object of a spy is to get information of an enemy's plans and movements. Although the office of emi ary and spy are neither of them honorable, yet that of the former is more disgraceful than that of the latter. The emi ary is generally employed by those who have some illegitimate object to pursue; spies on the other hand are employed by all regular governments in a time of warfare. In the time of the Revolution, the French sent their emi aries into every country to fan the flame of rebellion against established governments. At Sparta, the trade of a spy was considered as a self-devotion for the public good." ( Crabb : Eng . Synon .)