eremitism

[Eng. eremit(e); -ism.] The state or condition of a hermit; seclusion from society. ěr-ě-mus, s. [Gr. erēmos=solitary.] Bot .: A ripe carpel, partially detached from the rest. êre-now', adv . [Eng. ere , and now .] Before now, before this time. "Had the world eternally been, science had been brought to perfection long erenow."-Cheyne. IMG:content-1115.png:[blocks in formation] er'-gō, adv. (Lat.) Therefore, consequently. "If black and white horses are devised, pyed horses shall pa by such devise: but black and white horses are devised; ergo , the plaintiff shall have the pyed horses."- Fortescue : Specimen of Scriblerus ' Reports. IMG:content-1116.png:[blocks in formation] 4. Mat . Medica : Ergot is used in the form of Ex- tractum ergotæ liquidum (liquid extract of ergot), Infusum ergote (infusion of ergot), and Tinctura ergotæ (tincture of ergot). Ergot causes contrac- tion of minute arteries by acting on their mus- cular walls, and thereby increasing the systemic blood pre ure. It is employed to cause contraction of the uterus in cases of labor. When taken for a long time in small quantities in the form of bread made from ergotised rye, it causes gangrene. In large doses it induces nausea, vomiting, delirium, stupor, and death. ( Garrod : Mat . Medica . ) 5. Chem.: Ergot contains several principles, which have not been properly isolated, as ergotine, sclero- mucin, sclerotic acid, . Ergot is recognized by yielding, when distilled with caustic potash, a dis- tillate of trimethylamine, N(CH3)3. er-got-ěd, a . [Eng. ergot , s.; -ed .] Attacked or diseased with ergot; diseased by the attacks of the fungus Claviceps purpure a . er-got-Ine, s . [English, ., ergot; -ine (Chem.) (q. v.).] Chem: An_amorphous, feebly bitter substance contained in Ergot (q. v.). er-got-in-In, er-got-In-Ine, s. [Eng. ergot in ; -in, or- ine ] An alkaloid (CasH..N.O.) obtained from ergot or rye, having the appearance of white needles. It is used in hemorrhage, erysipelas, etc. er'-got-işed, a. [Eng. ergot ; -ised .] Diseased, as rye and other gra es, with ergot. "We know the terrible effect of ergotised gra es, and there may be equally deleterious and more minute fungi which escape notice."- Field , Jan. 28, 1882. er-got-işm (1), s. [Eng. ergot : -ism; Fr. ergot- is me .] Botany , Agriculture , .: "By the brehon law or custom no crime, however enor- mous, was punished with death, but by a fine or pecuniary mulct, which was levied upon the criminal. Murder itself was atoned for in this manner; and each man, ac- cording to his rank, had a different rate or value affixed to him, which was called his eric ."-Hume: History of Great Britain , i. 43. Ér-I-an, a . [From Lake Erie on the St. Law- rence.] Geog. & Geol.: Pertaining to Lake Erie. Geol.: The name given by Principal Dawson to a North American formation believed to be contem- poraneous with the British Devonian rocks. ě-ri-ca, s. [Lat. erice ; Gr. ereike =health.] Bot.: A genus of plants, the typical one of the campanulate, or tubular, four-lobed, persistent; order Ericaceæ. Sepals four; corolla hypogynous, stamens eight; ovary, four-celled; style filiform; stigma capitate, dilated, four-lobed; capsule, four celled, splitting loculi cid ally into four valves, many-seeded; leaves whorled, rarely scattered, nar- row rigid; much-branched shrubs. About 400 spe- cies are known. ěr-I-ca-çëæ, s . pl . [Mod. Lat. eric ( a ), and Lat. fem. pl. adj. suff. -aceœ .] Bot.: An order of hypogynous Exogens, the typ- ical one of the alliance Ericales. It consists of shrubs or undershrubs, with evergreen leaves, rigid, entire, whorled or opposite, without stipules; calyx four to five-cleft, sometimes separating into four or five pieces, regular or irregular; stamens definite, equal in number to the segments of the corolla, or twice as many, hypogynous or nearly so; ovary sur- rounded by a disc, many-celled, many-seeded; style one, straight; stigma one, undivided, toothed or three-cleft; fruit capsular, many-celled, with cen- tral placente; seeds indefinite, minute. Known genera about seventy; species about 1,000. Their great seat is the Cape of Good Hope, but they are found also in Europe and this country, in the Him alayas, and North Asia. In Australia they are (q. v.). The berries of the succulent-fruited kinds are grateful to the taste. The order is divided into ěr-i-ca-çě-ous, a . [Mod. Lat. ericace ( a ), and Eng., ., suff. -ous .] Bot .: Pertaining or relating to the order Eri- cacese (q. v.). erinnys