ebony, ebonle, ebon, ebene

& a. [Fr. ébène; Prov. eba; Sp., Port. & Ital. ebano; Lat. ebenus; Gr. ebenos; Pers., Arab. & Hind. abnoos, abnus, all from Heb. habhenim, habni stony; eben =a stone, with reference to the hardne of the wood.] A. As substantive: IMG:content-0743.png:[blocks in formation] marine; gō, pot, "'Tis quenchle thirst Of ruinous ebriety , that prompts His every action, and imbrutes the man." Cowper: Task , iv. 459-61. IMG:content-0744.png:[blocks in formation] Crabb thus discriminates between ebullition , effervescence, and fermentation : "These technical terms have a strong resemblance in their significa- tion, but they are not strictly synonymous; they have strong characteristic differences. Ebullition marks the movement of a liquid acted upon by fire, and in chemistry it is said of two sub- stances, which by penetrating each other occasion bubbles to rise up. Effervescence the movement which is excited in liquors by a com- bin at i on of substances; such as of acids, which are mixed and commonly produce heat. Fermentation marks the internal movement which is excited in a liquid of itself, by which its compo- nents undergo such a change or decomposition, as to form a new body. Ebullition is a more violent action than effervescence; fermentation is more gradual and permanent than either. Water is exposed to ebullition when acted upon by any power- ful degree of external heat; iron in aqua fortis occasions an effervescence; beer and wine undergo a fermentation before they reach a state of per- fection. These words are all employed in a figura- tive sense, which is drawn from their physical application. The pa ions are exposed to ebullitions in which they break forth with all the violence that is observable in water agitated by exce ive heat; the heart and affections are exposed to effervescence when powerfully awakened by particular objects; minds are said to be in a ferment which are agitated by conflicting feelings: the ebullition and efferves- cence is applicable only to individuals; ferment a tion to one or many." (Crabb: Eng . Synon.) ē-bur-na, 8. [Lat. eburneus , eburnus =of ivory, from ebur ivory.] Zobl .: Ivory Shell, a genus of Mollusks, family Buccinidae. The shell when young is umbilicated; when adult the inner lip is callous, spreading, and covering the umbilicus; the operculum is pointed. Nine species are known from the hotter parts of the Eastern Hemisphere. e-bür-nā-tion, s. [Fr. éburn at i on , from Latin eburneus of ivory, and Eng., ., suff. -ation .] Path .: An exce ive deposition of compact o eous matter, sometimes found in a diseased state of the bones, and especially of the joints. e-būr-ně-an, a . [Latin eburneus , from ebur ivory.] Of or pertaining to ivory; made of ivory. e-bur-ni-fi-ca-tion, s . [Latin eburneus per taining to ivory; facio to make; and English suff. others which have the appearance or character is- tics of ivory. e-bür-nine, a. [Latin eburneus of ivory, and Eng., ., suff. -ine . Of or belonging to ivory. "She lay reclined, =a spur, and Eng. adj. suff. -ate .] Bot.: Without a calcar or spur. Cards: A game of cards played by two persons with thirty-two cards, the twos, threes, fours, fives, and sixes of each suit being discarded from the pack. The cards rank in the following order: King (the highest), queen, knave, ace, ten, . The par- ties cut for deal, and the dealer deals out five cards each, turning up the eleventh for trump. The non- dealer may claim, before a trick is played, to discard any of the cards from his hand, and to replace them with others from the pack, but it is in the option of the dealer to allow or disallow the claim. The players must follow suit if they can. Three tricks count one point, five count two; and five points make the game. If the dealer turns up the king, he counts one for it, and if either player has a king in his hand, he may score one for it if he claim it before the first trick. ē-câu-dāte, a. [Lat. e=without, and cauda =a tail.] 1. Zool.: Without a tail. 2. Botany : IMG:content-0745.png:[blocks in formation] (2) In the same sense as II. "Whence is it that planets move all one and the same way in orbs concentric, while comets move all manner of ways in orbs very eccentric ? "-Newton: Optics. IMG:content-0746.png:[blocks in formation] an oddity. II. Technically : 1. Astronomy : *(1) A circle, the center of which does not correspond with that of the earth. (2) In the Ptolemaic system the supposed circular orbit of a planet about the earth, but with the earth not in its center. (3) A circle described about the center of an elliptical orbit, with half the major axis for radius. 2. Mech .: A term applied to a group of mechanical contrivances for converting circular into reciprocating rectilinear motion: they consist of variously shaped discs, attached to a revolving shaft, and according to the shape of the working surfaces are distinguished as triangular, heart shaped, toothed, or circular eccentrics. The term is more especially applicable to the latter form, the others being only particular varieties of cam; it consists of a circular disc attached to the shaft, but having its center at a small distance from that of the axis of the shaft. The distance between these points is called the eccentricity, and corresponds to the radius of the circle described by the disc in its revolution or half the length of the path described by the end eccentric rod. Practically there is no difference between the crank and the eccentric; the latter may be considered as a crank in which the radius of the crank-pin is greater than that of the crank-arm. The motion of the eccentric is communicated to the rod by a hoop or strap closely fitted round the circumference of the disc which revolves within it. Eccentrics are used for moving heavy shears in iron forges, and the feed-pumps, and occasionally the air-pumps in steam-engines. For the latter purpose they are often of great size, as, for example, in the paddle-engines of the "Great Eastern" steamship. The most general application, however, is for moving the slide-valves in steam engines, for which purpose they are employed either singly, the tail of the rod being in direct communication with the valve lever, or, what is more common, in pairs, the motion being conveyed by some form of link. [LINK-MOTION.] ( Weale .) For the difference between eccentric and par ticular , see PARTICULAR.