Hammer \Ham"mer\ (h[a^]m"m[~e]r), n. [OE. hamer, AS. hamer,
hamor; akin to D. hamer, G. & Dan. hammer, Sw. hammare, Icel.
hamarr, hammer, crag, and perh. to Gr. 'a`kmwn anvil, Skr.
a[,c]man stone.]
1. An instrument for driving nails, beating metals, and the
like, consisting of a head, usually of steel or iron,
fixed crosswise to a handle.
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With busy hammers closing rivets up. --Shak.
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2. Something which in form or action resembles the common
hammer; as:
(a) That part of a clock which strikes upon the bell to
indicate the hour.
(b) The padded mallet of a piano, which strikes the wires,
to produce the tones.
(c) (Anat.) The malleus. See under Ear.
(d) (Gun.) That part of a gunlock which strikes the
percussion cap, or firing pin; the cock; formerly,
however, a piece of steel covering the pan of a
flintlock musket and struck by the flint of the cock
to ignite the priming.
(e) Also, a person or thing that smites or shatters; as,
St. Augustine was the hammer of heresies.
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He met the stern legionaries [of Rome] who had
been the "massive iron hammers" of the whole
earth. --J. H.
Newman.
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3. (Athletics) A spherical weight attached to a flexible
handle and hurled from a mark or ring. The weight of head
and handle is usually not less than 16 pounds.
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Atmospheric hammer, a dead-stroke hammer in which the
spring is formed by confined air.
Drop hammer, Face hammer, etc. See under Drop, Face,
etc.
Hammer fish. See Hammerhead.
Hammer hardening, the process of hardening metal by
hammering it when cold.
Hammer shell (Zool.), any species of Malleus, a genus of
marine bivalve shells, allied to the pearl oysters, having
the wings narrow and elongated, so as to give them a
hammer-shaped outline; -- called also hammer oyster.
To bring to the hammer, to put up at auction.
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Drop \Drop\ (dr[o^]p), n. [OE. drope, AS. dropa; akin to OS.
dropo, D. drop, OHG. tropo, G. tropfen, Icel. dropi, Sw.
droppe; and Fr. AS. dre['o]pan to drip, drop; akin to OS.
driopan, D. druipen, OHG. triofan, G. triefen, Icel.
drj[=u]pa. Cf. Drip, Droop.]
1. The quantity of fluid which falls in one small spherical
mass; a liquid globule; a minim; hence, also, the smallest
easily measured portion of a fluid; a small quantity; as,
a drop of water.
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With minute drops from off the eaves. --Milton.
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As dear to me as are the ruddy drops
That visit my sad heart. -- Shak.
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That drop of peace divine. --Keble.
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2. That which resembles, or that which hangs like, a liquid
drop; as a hanging diamond ornament, an earring, a glass
pendant on a chandelier, a sugarplum (sometimes
medicated), or a kind of shot or slug.
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3. (Arch.)
(a) Same as Gutta.
(b) Any small pendent ornament.
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4. Whatever is arranged to drop, hang, or fall from an
elevated position; also, a contrivance for lowering
something; as:
(a) A door or platform opening downward; a trap door; that
part of the gallows on which a culprit stands when he
is to be hanged; hence, the gallows itself.
(b) A machine for lowering heavy weights, as packages,
coal wagons, etc., to a ship's deck.
(c) A contrivance for temporarily lowering a gas jet.
(d) A curtain which drops or falls in front of the stage
of a theater, etc.
(e) A drop press or drop hammer.
(f) (Mach.) The distance of the axis of a shaft below the
base of a hanger.
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5. pl. Any medicine the dose of which is measured by drops;
as, lavender drops.
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6. (Naut.) The depth of a square sail; -- generally applied
to the courses only. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.
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7. Act of dropping; sudden fall or descent.
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Ague drop, Black drop. See under Ague, Black.
Drop by drop, in small successive quantities; in repeated
portions. "Made to taste drop by drop more than the
bitterness of death." --Burke.
Drop curtain. See Drop, n., 4.
(d) .
Drop forging. (Mech.)
(a) A forging made in dies by a drop hammer.
(b) The process of making drop forgings.
Drop hammer (Mech.), a hammer for forging, striking up
metal, etc., the weight being raised by a strap or similar
device, and then released to drop on the metal resting on
an anvil or die.
Drop kick (Football), a kick given to the ball as it
rebounds after having been dropped from the hands.
Drop lake, a pigment obtained from Brazil wood. --Mollett.
Drop letter, a letter to be delivered from the same office
where posted.
Drop press (Mech.), a drop hammer; sometimes, a dead-stroke
hammer; -- also called drop.
Drop scene, a drop curtain on which a scene is painted. See
Drop, n., 4.
(d) .
Drop seed. (Bot.) See the List under Glass.
Drop serene. (Med.) See Amaurosis.
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