griffinIsm

[Eng. griffin; -ism.] The same as GRIFFIN AGE (q. v.). ( Anglo - Indian. ) Grif-fith's-mixt-ûre, s . [From Griffith, who first compounded it.] Phar Mistura ferri compos it a , compound mixture of iron. It consists of carbonate of iron, and is prepared by rubbing sixty grains of powdered myrrh with four fluid drachms of spirit of nutmeg and thirty grains of pota ium carbonate, then adding while rubbing nine and a half fluid ounces of rose-water, then sixty grains of sugar, and lastly twenty-five grains of ferrous sulphate. It must be kept in a stoppered bottle. It po e es the blood restoring properties of iron and is not astringent. grif-fon, grif-fin, *grif-foun, *grif-fyn, *gryf-fon, *gryf-fown, s . [Fr. griffon , from Low Lat. griff us , from Lat. gryphus , an extension of gryps ; Gr grups = a griffin, from Gr. grypos = hooked, curved: from the beak being hooked; Ital. grifone ; Sp. grifo ; Port. gripho .] 1. Myth .: A fabulous animal, usually represented with the body and legs of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle, signifying the union of strength and agility. Figures of griffons are frequently used as ornaments in works of art. It is employed as an emblem of vigilance, the animals being supposed to be the guardians of mines and hidden treasures. Figures of it are met with in tombs and sepulchral lamps, as guarding the remains of the deceased. "They quelled gigantic foe, Braved the fierce griffon in his ire." Scott: Bridal of Trier main , iii. 19. 2. Ornith.: The Bearded Vulture, Gypaëtus bar bat us , a predatory bird, gray or blackish-brown above, the tips of the shafts white, the lower parts orange yellow, the head and neck whitish. Length four and a half feet, the expansion of the wings between nine and ten feet. It is found in the Alps, where it feeds chiefly on young chamois, and in some parts of Southern and Central Europe, as well as in Asia and Africa. It feeds on birds, small mammals, lambs, ., and children also have been carried off by it. When pre ed by hunger it will devour putrescent meat. It is said to pursue animals until it makes them fall over precipices. Called also the Lammergeyer (q. v.). griffon-like, a. Resembling a griffon in shape or qualities; rapacious. "A corporality of griffon - like promoters and apparitors."-Milton: Of Reformation in England , bk. i. IMG:content-0756.png:[blocks in formation] grim 2. A small lively eel; a sand-eel. "Known in the Thames by the name of grigs ."-Pen nant: British Zoology ; The Eel. The proverbial saying, as merry as a grig , may either refer to the liveline of the gra hopper or sand-eel, or may be a corruption of as merry as a Greek , the Greeks being proverbially spoken of by the Romans as fond of good living and free potations. Cf. "She's a merry Greek, indeed" (Shakesp.: Troilus , i. 2). grigg, s. [Cf. A. S. grég, græg =gray.] Bot.: Calluna vulgar is. *grill, *grille, *grylle, a., adv. & s. [M. H. Ger. grel .] A. As adj .: Horrible, hideous, fierce, cruel. B. As adv .: Horribly, dreadfully. C. As subst.: Cruelty, hardship. *grill (1), *grille, *grulle, *grylle, v. t. & i. [A. S. grill an , grellan = to provoke; M. H. Ger. grillen; Dut. grillen to shiver.] IMG:content-0757.png:[blocks in formation] "Boilyng of men in caldrons, grilling them on gridirons." Marvell : Works , 448. 2. Fig .: To torment, as if by fire. B. In trans.: To cook by broiling on a gridiron. grill, s. [GRILL (2), v.] 1. Meat, fish, ., broiled on a gridiron. 2. A gridiron. "Make grills of it [wood] to broil their meat."- Cotton : Montaigne , ch. xxiv.