dipper (diper)

[ to dip snuff, under dip, v. t. [Southern U. S.] The fair dipper holds in her lap a bottle containing the most pungent Scotch snuff, and in her mouth a short stick of soft wood, the end of which is chewed into a sort of brush. This is ever and anon taken out, thrust into the bottle, and returned to the mouth loaded, as a bee's leg is with pollen, with the yellow powder. W. M. Baker, New Timothy, p. 75. 5. A bird of the genus Cinclus or family Cincli da: so called because it dips, ducks, or dives under water. The common European dipper, also called water-ouzel and by many other names, is C. aquatic us, a small dark-colored bird with a white breast, of aquatic habits, inhabiting streams, and walking or flying under water with ease. The American dipper is a similar but distinct species, C. mexican us, entirely dark-colored when adult. There are in all about 12 species of dippers, mostly inhabiting clear mountain-streams of various parts of the world. They belong to the turd i form group of oscine Pa eres, the vicinity of the thrushes, and are notable as the only thoroughly aquatic pa erine birds. See cut in next column, and also cut under Cinclidæ. Hence-6. Any swimming bird which dives with great ease and rapidity, as a grebe, dabchick, or didapper; especially, in the United European Dipper ( Cinclus aquatic us). States, the buffle, Bucephala albeola, which is also called spirit - duck for the same reason. See cut under buffle.-7. A ve el of wood, iron, or tin, with a handle usually long and straight, used to dip water or other liquid.-8. [ cap.] The popular name in the United States of the seven principal stars in Ursa Major, or the Great Bear: so called from their being ar ranged in the form of the ve el called a dipper. The corresponding stars in Ursa Minor are called the Little Dipper. See cuts under Ursa.-9. In photog., a holder or lifter for plunging plates into a sensitizing or fixing bath; especially, such a holder used in the wet plate proce for plunging the collodion i zed plate into the sensitizing bath of nitrate of silver.-10. A simple form of scoop-dredge. See dredging -machine. dipper-clam (dip'er-klam), n. A bivalve of the family Mactrida, Mactra solid is sima, inhabiting the eastern coast of the United States. It attains a large size, is of a subtriangular form, and its valves are sometimes used as dippers or suggest such use, whence the name. IMG:content-2710.jpg:[blocks in formation]