eagerness

[Eng. eager; -ne .] *1. Sharpne , acridity, tartne , sourne . "Aspros a: full of sourne or eagerne ."-Florio: New World of Words. 2. Impetuosity, vehemence, violence, ardor, zeal. 3. The state or quality of being eager or ardently desirous for anything; ardent desire. "She knew her distance, and did angle for me Madding my eagerne with her restraint." Shakesp.: All's Well, v. 3. ē'a-gle (1), s . & a. [Fr. aigle , from Lat. aquila = an eagle, so called from its color; aquilus =brown, dark-colored.] A. As substantive : I. Ord. Lang.: In the same sense as II. 1. II. Technically: 1. Ornithology: (1) Sing .: Any bird of the sub-family Aquilina. For details see (1), (2), . (2) Pl .: The English name of the Aquiline, a subfamily of Falcon i dae. The beak is long, hooked only at the apex; the fourth quill is the largest. The average size of the species is larger than that of the other Falcon ide, but the greatest perfection of raptorial structure is in the sub-family Falconinse and its typical genus Falco. Compared with them the Aquiline are cowardly birds. The eagles are generally distributed over the world. They lay about two eggs, white and spotted, especially at the thicker end. "His Numidian genius When the letter e is doubled the sound is the same of , on , and after were formerly also used. as that of the long single e ; as in deem, seem, . The digraph ea is, in most cases, sounded as long e, but occasionally as shorte; as in lead (the metal), bôil, boy; pout, jowl; cat, çell, chorus, Is well disposed to mischief, were he prompt And eager on it." Add is on: Cato , i. 1. chin, bench; go, gem; thin, this; 2. Her .: The eagle, borne upon a spear, was used by the Persians as a standard in the battle of Cunaxa, B. C. 401. The Romans used eagles of silver, or more rarely of gold, carried in the same way as standards. They were first introduced about B. С. 104. The Napoleon dynasty of French rulers also eagle is the emblem of Ru ia, of Austria, of Pru ia. It is said to have been introduced as early as A. D. 802, by Charlemagne, who meant to suggest by it that the government, both of the Roman and German empires, was in his hands. The American White-headed or Bald Eagle ( Haliaëtus leucoceph alus ) is the emblem of the United States. There sin, as; expect, Xenophon, exist. ph = f. eagle-eyed is a White Eagle Order of Knighthood in Ru ia, and there are Orders of the Black, Golden, and Red Eagles in Germany. The eagle played a conspicuous part in the apotheosis of Roman Emperors. Herodian (iv. 2), after describing the firing of the funeral pile, says, "From the highest and smallest story, as from a pinnacle, an eagle is let loose to mount into the sky, which is believed by the Romans to carry the soul of the Emperor from earth to heaven, and from that time he is worshiped with the other gods." The medals struck in honor of an apotheosis show an altar with fire thereon, and the eagle, the bird of Jupiter, taking flight. Dryden refers to this custom in the opening lines of his Heroic Stanzas on the late Lord Protector. 3. Numis .: Various royal individuals and dynasties have placed the eagle on their coins. This was done notably by the Seleucidse in Syria and the Ptolemies in Egypt. The following are the coins most frequently called Eagles: (1) An old Irish coin, current about A. D. 1272. It was suppre ed under Edward I. (2) A gold coin current in the United States, equal to ten dollars; weight, 16.718 grammes, or 258 grains; finene , '900. In 1870 coins of the same finene and of proportional weight were struck, called the Double-eagle, Half-eagle, and Quarter-eagle. 4. Astron .: A constellation in the northern hemisphere. [AQUILA, 2.] 5. Ecclesiology : A lectern or reading-desk in churches, in the form of an eagle with outstretched wings. B. As adj .: Of or pertaining to an eagle: as, eagle wings. (1) American Bald Eagle : The same as Ameri can White- tailed Eagle (q.v.). (2) American White - tailed Eagle : Haliaëtus leu cocephalus. [EAGLE, II. 2.] (3) Booted Eagle : Aquila pennata . (4) Cinereous Eagle : The same as the White - tailed Sea Eagle (q. v.). (5) Crested Eagle : The same as Harpy Eagle (q.v.). (6) Golden Eagle : Aquila chrysaetos . The adults are colored differently from the young birds, the latter not attaining their mature colors till their third year. In the former the summit of the head and nape is of a lively golden red, the rest of the body dark brown, the tail gray barred with brown, the bill horn-color, the iris brown, the cere and feet yellow. There is, in the young birds, a great deal of white which ultimately disappears. Length of the adult, about three feet; expanse of wing, seven to eight feet. The golden eagle is a solitary bird. It breeds generally on the ledges of rocks. It is distributed over this country and Europe, the North of Asia, and is found also in India and the North of Africa. It feeds on the smaller quadrupeds, sometimes carrying off lambs. When it cannot obtain animals which itself has killed, it has no scruple about feeding on carrion. The longevity of the eagle is proverbial; one kept in confinement in Vienna is said to have lived 104 years. (7) Harpy Eagle : Thrasaētus harpyia . It is called also the Crested Eagle. [HARPY.] (8) Martial Eagle : Spizaëtus bell i cos us . (9) New Holland White Eagle : Astur Nova Holland iæ. (10) Pond i cherry Eagle : Haliastur Indus . A small eagle found in India. It is called by Anglo-Indians the Brahminy Kite. (11) Ring - tail Eagle : The same as Golden Eagle (q. v.). (12) Rough - footed Eagle : Aquila nævia. A small eagle, a native of Central and Southern Europe, Western Asia, and India. (13) Sea Eagle : [SEA EAGLE.] (14) White - tailed Sea Eagle : Haliačtus albicilla . Its length slightly exceeds that of the Golden Eagle, though its expansion of wing is le .