Gelder

One who castrates or gelds. Gel'derland, in the Netherlands. See GUELDER LAND, Gel'der-rose, n. Same as GUELDER-ROSE, q. v. Geld'ing, n. Act of castrating. - A castrated animal, but chiefly a horse. In one of the old copies of the Bible, it is used as applying to the male of the human kind. "And Philip and the gelding went down into the water." Gelid, (jel'lid.) a. [Lat. gelid us , from gelare , to con geal, from gelu , frost.] Icy cold; very cold. Gelid'ity, n. State of being extremely cold. Gelid'ium, n. ( Bot .) A genus of Algales. From the species G. corneum , commonly known as Algue de Java in France, M. Payen first obtained the principle to which he has given the name of gelose . According to the researches of this chemist, one part of gelose di olved in 500 parts of boiling water will afford, upon cooling, a colorle jelly; thus forming ten times more jelly than a like weight of the best animal gelatine. Jellies made from this sea-weed are much employed for food in Japan. Gel'idly, adv . In an extremely cold manner. Gel'idne , n. Extreme coldne . Gellius, Aulus, a Roman writer of the 2d cent. He studied philosophy at Athens, held a judicial post at Rome, and is known as author of Noctes Attica , a kind of commonplace book, made up of selected pa ages from many ancient authors on all sorts of subjects, with some original observations, critical and philological. Gel'ly, n. Same as JELLY, q. v. Ge'lon, or GELO, tyrant of Syracuse, was a native of Gela, and commanded with distinction in the wars car- ried on by Hippo crates, tyrant of Gela, and seized the sovereign power himself, в. с. 491. In 485, through the influence of the aristocratical party at Syracuse, he be- came sovereign there, and gave up Gela to his brother Hieron. He greatly increased the power and imp or- tance of Syracuse by his conquests and good govern- ment, and his aid was sought by the Greeks against Xerxes. A formidable invasion of the Cart hag in i ans, however, detained him in Sicily, and he won a great vic- tory over them near Himera on the day, it is said, either of the battle of Salamis or Thermopylæ. D. в. с. 478. His memory was long held in honor at Syracuse. Ge'lose, n. (Chem.) See GELIDIUM. Gelt, pp . of GELD, q. v. Gem, n . [Fr. gem me; Lat. gomma , from Gr. genes thai , to be born.] ( Fine Arts .) A term applied to all precious stones, particularly to those used in jewelry. The chief ends aimed at in objects of this kind, are bril- liant lustre, transparency, and richne of hua Among Gemmiferous, a. [Fr. gemmifère , from Lat. gemma, the gems that are cut, the diamond is the most valued for brilliancy of lustre, or water , as it is termed. The other stones that are chiefly used for gems are the ruby, sapphire, emerald, aquamarine, topaz, garnet, chrysolite, hyacinth, tourmaline, and many varie- ties of quartz, as opal, ame- thyst, agate, onyx, . These stones are all described in this work under their various names. The art of carving gems is of great antiquity, though it is doubtful whether the ancients were able to cut GREEN JASPER ABRAXAS. and ferre , to produce.] ( Bot . ) Multiplying by buds. Gem'mine , n . Gemmipar'ity, n. [Lat. gemma , a bud, and parere, State of being in germination. to produce.] ( Zool .) The quality of propagating by buds, as the hydra , or fresh-water polype, . Gemmip'arous, a. [Fr. gemmipare . See above.] Pro- ducing gems or buds. the diamond or carve the em erald and topaz. The Eastern nations are yet unacquainted WAI Fig . 1135. WITH FIGURE OF JAO. (British Museum.) with the proper mode of cutting and polishing the diamond. Among the Greeks the art of gem-cutting was carried to great perfection. Many celebrated names of engravers before the æra of Alexander have been handed down. Theodore of Samos engraved a lyre on a celebrated emerald belonging to King Polycretes 750 years B.C., which the owner, to immortalize himself, threw into the sea. The Egyptians and Hebrews practised the art. The Egyptians used green jasper, chalcedony, and cornelian, and many interesting specimens of their work are preserved in the British Museum. With the introduction of Christianity, the art languished, and after the 7th cent. almost entirely disappeared, until it was revived by the Italians in the 15th cent. In 1500 Ambrose Caradopo, an Italian, engraved the portrait of a father of the church on a diamond, and sold it to Pope Julius II., a great patron of the arts, for $27,500. Since its revival, modern masters have more than rivalled the productions of the ancient engravers. G., artificial. Many of the precious stones have been produced artificially by crystallizing mixtures containing their component parts at a very high temperature. Artificial rubies, corundum, spinelle, garnet, opal, and emerald have been thus produced, po e ing the properties of the real stones in color, hardne , and form. Minute crystals of carbon have been obtained by voltaic actior.. but as yet no diamond of any appreciable size has been formed artificially. G. imitations, are made by a transparent and dense gla , or paste , containing a large percentage of oxide of lead, and colored by metallic oxides. In many of these, the tints of the real stone are so exactly imitated, and they are cut and polished with such skill, as to deceive any but the most experienced judges. ( Bot .) The bud or compendium of a plant. -v. a. To bespangle; to embellish, as with detached beauties. -v. n. To breed; to germinate. Gemara, n . [Chald. Ghemára , complement.] That portion of the two Talmuds which contains the an not a- tions, discu ions, and amplifications of the Mishuah by the academies of Palestine on the one hand, and those of Babylon on the other. The Babylonian Gemára, more complete as well as more lucid than the Palesti- nensian, po e es a much more highly valued authority. The final redaction of this latter falls in the middle of the 4th cent. A. D., while the former was not completed till 500 A. D. See MISHNAH and TALMUD. Gemar'ic, a. Belonging to the gemara . Gem'el, n. [Lat. gemellus ; Fr. jumeau.] ( Her .) A pair; two things of a sort.