scorpioid (skor pioid)

[ Scorpioid Inflorescence of Symphytum of ficin ale. also scorpius, IMG:content-0339.jpg:[graphic] Tn Scorpion ( Scorpio afer), seen from above. At, the cheliceræ, or chelate antennæ; the large claws are chelate pedipalpi; Cth, cephalothorax; the first two legs are cephalic appendages, the next two thoracic; Tn, the telson or sting. Thes is the scorpioun thet maketh uayr mid the heauede, and enueymeth mid the tayle. Ayenbite of Inwyt (E. E. T. S.), p. 62. I lykne her to the scorpioun , That is a fals flat ering beste; For with his hede he maketh feste, But al amyd his flateringe With his tayle he wol stinge And envenyme. Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 636. And though I once despair'd of woman, now I find they relish much of scorpions , For both have stings, and both can hurt and cure too. Beau , and Fl ., Custom of the Country, v. 5. 'Tis true, a scorpion's oil is said To cure the wounds the vermin made. S. Butler, Hudibras, III. ii. 1029. Hence-2. Some creature likened to or mistaken for a scorpion, and poisonous or supposed to be so. (a) A false scorpion; any member of the Pseu do scorpion e the mong these arachnidans, belonging to the same as true scorpion, but to a different order, members of the genus Chelifer are known as book - scorpions. (See Cheliferidæ, and cut under Pseudos corp i ones.) Those called whip - scorpions are of the family Thelyphonida. (See cut under Pedipalpi.) Closely related to these, and sometimes sharing the name, are the Phrynidæ. (See cut under Phrynidæ.) (b) Centipeds and tarantulas are often confounded in the popular mind with scorpions, as are also (c) various small lizards, in the latter case probably from the habit some of them have of carrying their tails up. Thus, in the United States, some harmle lizards or skinks, as of the genera Sceloporus and Eumeces, are commonly called scorpions. (d) Same as scorpion - bug. 3. In ichth., a scorpion-fish or sea-scorpion; one of several different members of the Scor pænidæ, some of which are also called scorpene and sculpin. See cut under Scorpæna, and etymology of Scolopendra.-4. [ cap.] In astron., the eighth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about October 23d. See Scorpio, 2. Th' Eternal, to prevent such horrid fray, Hung forth in heaven his golden scales, Yet seen betwixt Astræa and the Scorpion sign. Milton , P. L., iv. 998. scorpion 5. A kind of whip said to have been armed with points like that of a scorpion's tail; a scourge, described as having a handle of iron, or of wood braced and ferruled with iron, and two, three, or more chains attached, like the lashes of a whip, and set with balls, rings, or angled and pointed ma es of iron. My father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions . 1 Ki. xii. 11. IMG:content-0340.jpg:[blocks in formation] long post abdomen or tail is very flexible, and is generally carried curled up over the back; the hook with which it ends is perforated for a poison-duct, and constitutes a sting, sometimes of very formidable character. The order is very homogeneous, in a single family, and all Scorpionidæ, the forms of or it even were formerly in the genus included Scor pio. It has been divided, according to the number of eyes (six, eight, ten, or twelve), into Scorpionidæ, Telegonidæ, Vejovidæ, and And roc to nidæ, and in other ways. From 1 to more than 30 genera are recognized. See cut for If the people resisted [Rehoboam), they should be punished not whips, but scorpions : is, rods of like the bite of a scorpion. Scorpionidæ above, and those under Buthus and scorpion, with his without wound Scorpion ide (skôr-pi-on'i-dē), n. pl. [NL., Von Ranke, Univ. Hist. (trans.), p. 57. 6. An old military engine, used chiefly in the defense of the walls of a town. It resembled the ballista in form, consisting e entially of two beams with ropes stretched between them, from the middle of which ropes rose a third beam, called the stylus, so disposed as to be pulled back and let go at pleasure; to the top of this beam were fastened iron hooks to which a sling iron or hemp for throwing stones was hung. Heer crooked Coruies, fleeing bridges tall, Their scath full Scorpions , that ruynes the wall. of Hudson , tr. of Du Bartas's Judith, iii. He watched them at the points of greatest danger falling under the shots from the scorpions. Froude , Cæsar, p. 349. 7t. An instrument for grappling a battering ram.-8t. A gun whose dolphins represented the scorpion.- False scorpion. See def. 2.