Æluropus (eluropus)

[NL., Æluropus melanoleucus. genus of carnivorous quadrupeds of the arctoid series of the order Feræ, connecting the true bears with Elurus and other genera. In the upper jaw they have 3 incisor, 1 canine, 4 premolar, and 2 molar teeth, and in the lower 3 incisors, 1 canine, 3 premolars, and 3 molars; the skull has a short facial portion, the bony palate not extending back of the teeth, an ali sphenoid canal, an enormous sagittal crest, and zygomatic arches; the tail is very short, and the feet are le plantigrade and the soles more hairy than in the true bears. E. melano leucus, of Tibet, the type and only species, is of the size of a small brown bear, of a whitish color, with black limbs, shoulders, ears, and eye-ring. Also written Ailuropus. Ælur us (ē-lū'rus), n. [NL., IMG:content-0325.png:[blocks in formation] Eolianl (6-ō'li-an), a. [ god of the winds in Greek mythology, and hence sometimes (with or without a capital) to the wind in general: as, the Eolian Isles (now the Lipari islands, north of Sicily), the fabled home of the god. Also written Eolian and Aiolian. The breezes blur the fountain's gla , And wake Eolian melodies. T. B. Aldrich, Pampinea. 2. [ l. c.] Due to atmospheric action; windblown: as, an æolian deposit: applied, in geol., to accumulations of detrital material, especially fine sand and loam, which have been carried to their present position by the wind. By far the most important deposit of this kind is the loe of northwestern China (see loe ), and it was to designate this peculiar and most remarkable formation that the term colian was applied in geology in place of subaërial (which see). Also written eolian. - Eolian attachment, a contrivance attached to a pianoforte, by which a stream of air can be thrown upon the wires, prolonging their vibration and greatly increasing the volume of sound. - Eolian harp or lyre, a stringed instrument that is caused to sound by the impulse of air. A common form is that of a box of thin fibrous wood, to which are attached a number of fine catgut strings, sometimes as many as fifteen, of equal length and tuned in unison, stretched on low bridges at each end. Its length is made to correspond with the size of the window or aperture in which it is intended to be placed. When the wind blows athwart the strings it produces the effect of an orchestra when heard at a distance, sweetly mingling all the harmonics, and swelling or diminishing the sounds according to the strength of the blast. -Æolian rocks. See above, 2. Eolian2 (e-ō'li-an), a. and n. [L. Æolius, Gr. Αίολεύς, an Eolian, lian, pl. Αίολεῖς, Αἰολῆς, Αιολῆς, >L. Æoles, the Æolians. See Æolian1.] I. a. Pertaining to the branch of the Greek race named from Æolus, son of Hellen, or to Æolia or Æolis, a district of Asia Minor north of Ionia colonized by and named from them. - Eolian mode. (a) In Greek music, a diatonic scale consisting of two steps + a half step + two steps + a half step + a step. It is correctly represented that the staff beginning with A counting downward. Usually and more prop 9: erly called the hypodorian, sometimes the Locrian, mode. (b) The ninth of the Greg or i an church modes or scales. It was the fifth of the authentic modes, and consisted of a step + a half step + two steps + a half step + two steps, represented by the natural notes of the staff beginning with A and counting upward. II. n. A member of one of the three great divisions of the ancient Greek race, the two other divisions being the Dorian and the Ionian. The inhabitants of Æolis, of part of The aly, of Bœotia and much of central Greece, of Arcadia, and other districts not Dorian or Ionian, were commonly accounted Æolians. The Acheans, when not spoken of as a distinct race of Greeks, were also included among the Æolians. Also written Eolian and Aiolian .