vire

[O. Fr. an arrow for a cro -bow, from virer to turn, to veer; Sp. vira a kind of light dart.] [VIRETON.] A barbed arrow for the cro bow; a quarrel. *vîre, v . i . [Fr. virer .] Τo veer, to turn. vir-ě-lāy, s . [Fr. virelai , from virer =to turn, and lai =a song.] An ancient French song or short poem, always in short lines of seven or eight syllables, and wholly in two rhymes with a refrain. "The band of flutes began to play, To which a lady sung a virelay . Dryden: Flower and Leaf , 365. *vir-ent, a. [Lat. virens , pr. par. of vireo =to be green.] Green, verdant, fresh; not faded or with. ered. ( Browne : Vulgar Errors , bk. ii., ch. vi.) vir-e-ō, s. [Lat.=an unidentified bird, perhaps the greenfinch.] Ornithology : 1. The type-genus of Vireonidse (q. v.), with fourteen species, ranging over Central America and the Antilles to Canada. Bill stout, scarcely compre ed, sub-cylindrical. 2. Any individual of the family Vireonide (q. v.). virě-ō-ni-dæ, s . pl . [Mod. Latin vireo , gen it. vire on(is); Lat. fem. pl. adj. suff. -idæ .] Ornith.: Greenlets; a family of small fly-catching Pa erine Birds, with seven genera and sixty species, restricted to the American continent, where they range from Paraguay to Canada. Bill conical, much compre ed, decurved at end, and notched, but scarcely toothed; frontal feathers bristly and erect, or bent but slightly forward; nostrils overhung by membrane; ten primaries; tarsus longer than middle toe and claw; lateral toes generally unequal, outer claw reaching half-way along middle claw. Vireo Olivaceus. vir-č-ō-syl-vi-ą, subst . [Mod. Latin vireo , and sylvia (q. v.).] Ornithology: A genus of Vireonide, with thirteen species, ranging from Venezuela to Mexico, the IMG:content-0524.png:[blocks in formation] †vir-gal, adj . [Latin virga =a rod, a switch.] Made of twigs. "Croquemitaine and his frightful spouse flourish their virgal scepters."-G. A. Sala: America Revisited , ii. 37. vir-ga-loô, s. [VIRGOLEUSE.] *vir'-gate, s. [Lat. virga =a rod; in Low Lat. a measure of land; cf. Eng. rod and pole .] A yard of land (q. v.). "Elizabeth Montacute po e ed one virgate about the year 1330."-T. Warton: Hist. Kidding ton , p. 45. vir-gate, vir-gāt-ěd, a. [Lat. virgatus =made of twigs; virga =a rod.] Bot.: Twiggy; producing many twigs. *virge, s . [Lat. virga =a rod.] A mace; a wand of office. "The silver virge , with decent pride, Stuck underneath his cushion side." Swift . *vir'-ģēr, s. [VERGER.] vir-gil-1-ą, subst . [Named after the Latin poet Virgil, B. C. 70-19, whose Georgics contain observations interesting to botanists.] Botany: A genus of Sophoreæ. Calyx unequally five-toothed; two lower petals combined from the middle to the tip, and curved like a beak; stamens ten, free; legumes leathery, indehiscent. Virgilia capensis is a tree fifteen or twenty feet high, which grows at the Cape of Good Hope. Its wood is used for yokes, spars, ., but it is liable to be attacked by worms. Vir-gil-i-an, a. [See def.] 1. Of or pertaining to Maro Publius Virgilius (Virgil), the Latin poet, born about B. C. 70, died В. С. 19. IMG:content-0525.png:[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][graphic][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small] Milton: P. L. , ix. 396. IMG:content-0526.jpg:[blocks in formation]