put or I us

(Lat. put or =a stench; puteo = to stink.] Zool.: A genus of Musteline, with thirteen species, having a wide geographical range through both hemispheres, and including the animals commonly known as Polecats, Ferrets, Weasels, and Minks. Teeth more sharply cusped than in Mustela; body longer and more slender, and limbs shorter; neck disproportionately long. Put or i us vulgar is , the Weasel, P. fœtid us , the Polecat, and P. furo , the Ferret, are the most familiar. pu-trăn-ji-va, subst . [Hind., ., putrajiva : Sansc. putra =a son, and jiva life. So named because Hindu parents string the seeds round their children's necks, for the preservation of their health.] Bot.: A genus of Euphorbiacese. Putranjiva rox burghii is a moderate-sized evergreen tree from India. The seeds yield an olive-brown oil used for burning. The wood, which is close-grained and very hard, is employed for tools and turnery; the leaves and the stone of the fruit is sometimes given in decoction in colds and fevers; the former are also lopped for fodder. pu-trěd-In-ous, adj . [Latin putredo (gen it. put red in is )=rottenne , from putreo to become putrid.] Stinking, rotten; proceeding from, or of the nature of, putrefaction; having an offensive smell. *pu-tre-făct-ěd, a. [Lat. put ref act us .] [PUTREFACTION.] Putrefied. "Vermin breed of put ref acted slime." Marston: Antonio's Revenge, iv. 3. pu-tre-făc-tion, * pu-tri-făc-tion, s . [Fr., from Lat. put ref act us , pa. par. of putrefacio = to make putrid: putreo to be rotten; puter , putris = rotten, putrid, and facio =to make; Sp. putrefac cion; Ital. put rif azione .] 1. Ord. Lang . & Chem . The apparently spontaneous decomposition of organic substances, especially those rich in nitrogen. It differs from fermentation (q. v.) in being accompanied by the evolution of fetid and noxious gases. In the proce of putrefaction, organic bodies of a higher order are changed, sometimes into lower organic compounds, sometimes into inorganic compounds, as ammonia, sulphuretted hydrogen, ., and sometimes into simple substances, as hydrogen and nitrogen. Putrefaction may be prevented, or its further progre arrested, by various means: (1) By keeping the substance in a vacuum, or in a ve el containing air which has been deprived of all organic IMG:content-1774.png:[blocks in formation]