Dictionary    Maps    Thesaurus    Translate    Advanced >   


Tip: Click Thesaurus above for synonyms. Also, follow synonym links within the dictionary to find definitions from other sources.

1. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Spirit \Spir"it\, n. [OF. espirit, esperit, F. esprit, L.
   spiritus, from spirare to breathe, to blow. Cf. Conspire,
   Expire, Esprit, Sprite.]
   1. Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes,
      life itself. [Obs.] "All of spirit would deprive."
      --Spenser.
      [1913 Webster]

            The mild air, with season moderate,
            Gently attempered, and disposed eo well,
            That still it breathed foorth sweet spirit.
                                                  --Spenser.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A rough breathing; an aspirate, as the letter h; also, a
      mark to denote aspiration; a breathing. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            Be it a letter or spirit, we have great use for it.
                                                  --B. Jonson.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Life, or living substance, considered independently of
      corporeal existence; an intelligence conceived of apart
      from any physical organization or embodiment; vital
      essence, force, or energy, as distinct from matter.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. The intelligent, immaterial and immortal part of man; the
      soul, in distinction from the body in which it resides;
      the agent or subject of vital and spiritual functions,
      whether spiritual or material.
      [1913 Webster]

            There is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the
            Almighty giveth them understanding.   --Job xxxii.
                                                  8.
      [1913 Webster]

            As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
            without works is dead also.           --James ii.
                                                  26.
      [1913 Webster]

            Spirit is a substance wherein thinking, knowing,
            doubting, and a power of moving, do subsist.
                                                  --Locke.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. Specifically, a disembodied soul; the human soul after it
      has left the body.
      [1913 Webster]

            Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was,
            and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
                                                  --Eccl. xii.
                                                  7.
      [1913 Webster]

            Ye gentle spirits far away,
            With whom we shared the cup of grace. --Keble.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. Any supernatural being, good or bad; an apparition; a
      specter; a ghost; also, sometimes, a sprite,; a fairy; an
      elf.
      [1913 Webster]

            Whilst young, preserve his tender mind from all
            impressions of spirits and goblins in the dark.
                                                  --Locke.
      [1913 Webster]

   7. Energy, vivacity, ardor, enthusiasm, courage, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

            "Write it then, quickly," replied Bede; and
            summoning all his spirits together, like the last
            blaze of a candle going out, he indited it, and
            expired.                              --Fuller.
      [1913 Webster]

   8. One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great
      activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper;
      as, a ruling spirit; a schismatic spirit.
      [1913 Webster]

            Such spirits as he desired to please, such would I
            choose for my judges.                 --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]

   9. Temper or disposition of mind; mental condition or
      disposition; intellectual or moral state; -- often in the
      plural; as, to be cheerful, or in good spirits; to be
      downhearted, or in bad spirits.
      [1913 Webster]

            God has . . . made a spirit of building succeed a
            spirit of pulling down.               --South.
      [1913 Webster]

            A perfect judge will read each work of wit
            With the same spirit that its author writ. --Pope.
      [1913 Webster]

   10. Intent; real meaning; -- opposed to the letter, or to
       formal statement; also, characteristic quality,
       especially such as is derived from the individual genius
       or the personal character; as, the spirit of an
       enterprise, of a document, or the like.
       [1913 Webster]

   11. Tenuous, volatile, airy, or vapory substance, possessed
       of active qualities.
       [1913 Webster]

             All bodies have spirits . . . within them. --Bacon.
       [1913 Webster]

   12. Any liquid produced by distillation; especially, alcohol,
       the spirits, or spirit, of wine (it having been first
       distilled from wine): -- often in the plural.
       [1913 Webster]

   13. pl. Rum, whisky, brandy, gin, and other distilled liquors
       having much alcohol, in distinction from wine and malt
       liquors.
       [1913 Webster]

   14. (Med.) A solution in alcohol of a volatile principle. Cf.
       Tincture. --U. S. Disp.
       [1913 Webster]

   15. (Alchemy) Any one of the four substances, sulphur, sal
       ammoniac, quicksilver, or arsenic (or, according to some,
       orpiment).
       [1913 Webster]

             The four spirits and the bodies seven. --Chaucer.
       [1913 Webster]

   16. (Dyeing) Stannic chloride. See under Stannic.
       [1913 Webster]

   Note: Spirit is sometimes joined with other words, forming
         compounds, generally of obvious signification; as,
         spirit-moving, spirit-searching, spirit-stirring, etc.
         [1913 Webster]

   Astral spirits, Familiar spirits, etc. See under
      Astral, Familiar, etc.

   Animal spirits.
       (a) (Physiol.) The fluid which at one time was supposed
           to circulate through the nerves and was regarded as
           the agent of sensation and motion; -- called also the
           nervous fluid, or nervous principle.
       (b) Physical health and energy; frolicsomeness;
           sportiveness.

   Ardent spirits, strong alcoholic liquors, as brandy, rum,
      whisky, etc., obtained by distillation.

   Holy Spirit, or The Spirit (Theol.), the Spirit of God,
      or the third person of the Trinity; the Holy Ghost. The
      spirit also signifies the human spirit as influenced or
      animated by the Divine Spirit.

   Proof spirit. (Chem.) See under Proof.

   Rectified spirit (Chem.), spirit rendered purer or more
      concentrated by redistillation, so as to increase the
      percentage of absolute alcohol.

   Spirit butterfly (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
      delicate butterflies of tropical America belonging to the
      genus Ithomia. The wings are gauzy and nearly destitute
      of scales.

   Spirit duck. (Zool.)
       (a) The buffle-headed duck.
       (b) The golden-eye.

   Spirit lamp (Art), a lamp in which alcohol or methylated
      spirit is burned.

   Spirit level. See under Level.

   Spirit of hartshorn. (Old Chem.) See under Hartshorn.

   Spirit of Mindererus (Med.), an aqueous solution of acetate
      of ammonium; -- named after R. Minderer, physician of
      Augsburg.

   Spirit of nitrous ether (Med. Chem.), a pale yellow liquid,
      of a sweetish taste and a pleasant ethereal odor. It is
      obtained by the distillation of alcohol with nitric and
      sulphuric acids, and consists essentially of ethyl nitrite
      with a little acetic aldehyde. It is used as a
      diaphoretic, diuretic, antispasmodic, etc. Called also
      sweet spirit of niter.

   Spirit of salt (Chem.), hydrochloric acid; -- so called
      because obtained from salt and sulphuric acid. [Obs.]

   Spirit of sense, the utmost refinement of sensation. [Obs.]
      --Shak.

   Spirits of turpentine, or Spirit of turpentine (Chem.),
      rectified oil of turpentine, a transparent, colorless,
      volatile, and very inflammable liquid, distilled from the
      turpentine of the various species of pine; camphine. It is
      commonly used to remove paint from surfaces, or to dissole
      oil-based paint. See Camphine.

   Spirit of vitriol (Chem.), sulphuric acid; -- so called
      because formerly obtained by the distillation of green
      vitriol. [Obs.]

   Spirit of vitriolic ether (Chem.) ethyl ether; -- often but
      incorrectly called sulphuric ether. See Ether. [Obs.]
      

   Spirits of wine, or Spirit of wine (Chem.), alcohol; --
      so called because formerly obtained by the distillation of
      wine.

   Spirit rapper, one who practices spirit rapping; a "medium"
      so called.

   Spirit rapping, an alleged form of communication with the
      spirits of the dead by raps. See Spiritualism, 3.

   Sweet spirit of niter. See Spirit of nitrous ether,
      above.
      [1913 Webster]

   Syn: Life; ardor; energy; fire; courage; animatioon;
        cheerfulness; vivacity; enterprise.
        [1913 Webster]

2. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Naphtha \Naph"tha\ (n[a^]f"th[.a] or n[a^]p"th[.a]), n. [L.
   naphtha, Gr. na`fqa, fr.Ar. nafth, nifth.]
   1. (Chem.) The complex mixture of volatile, liquid,
      inflammable hydrocarbons, occurring naturally, and usually
      called crude petroleum, mineral oil, or rock oil.
      Specifically: That portion of the distillate obtained in
      the refinement of petroleum which is intermediate between
      the lighter gasoline and the heavier benzine, and has a
      specific gravity of about 0.7, -- used as a solvent for
      varnishes, as a carburetant, illuminant, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Chem.) One of several volatile inflammable liquids
      obtained by the distillation of certain carbonaceous
      materials and resembling the naphtha from petroleum; as,
      Boghead naphtha, from Boghead coal (obtained at Boghead,
      Scotland); crude naphtha, or light oil, from coal tar;
      wood naphtha, from wood, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: This term was applied by the earlier chemical writers
         to a number of volatile, strong smelling, inflammable
         liquids, chiefly belonging to the ethers, as the
         sulphate, nitrate, or acetate of ethyl. --Watts.
         [1913 Webster]

   Naphtha vitrioli [NL., naphtha of vitriol] (Old Chem.),
      common ethyl ether; -- formerly called sulphuric ether.
      See Ether.
      [1913 Webster]

3. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Sulphuric \Sul*phu"ric\, a. [Cf. F. sulfurique.]
   1. Of or pertaining to sulphur; as, a sulphuric smell.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Chem.) Derived from, or containing, sulphur;
      specifically, designating those compounds in which the
      element has a higher valence as contrasted with the
      sulphurous compounds; as, sulphuric acid.
      [1913 Webster]

   Sulphuric acid.
      (a) Sulphur trioxide (see under Sulphur); -- formerly so
          called on the dualistic theory of salts. [Obs.]
      (b) A heavy, corrosive, oily liquid, H2SO4, colorless
          when pure, but usually yellowish or brownish, produced
          by the combined action of sulphur dioxide, oxygen
          (from the air), steam, and nitric fumes. It attacks
          and dissolves many metals and other intractable
          substances, sets free most acids from their salts, and
          is used in the manufacture of hydrochloric and nitric
          acids, of soda, of bleaching powders, etc. It is also
          powerful dehydrating agent, having a strong affinity
          for water, and eating and corroding paper, wood,
          clothing, etc. It is thus used in the manufacture of
          ether, of imitation parchment, and of nitroglycerin.
          It is also used in etching iron, in removing iron
          scale from forgings, in petroleum refining, etc., and
          in general its manufacture is the most important and
          fundamental of all the chemical industries. Formerly
          called vitriolic acid, and now popularly vitriol,
          and oil of vitriol.

   Fuming sulphuric acid, or Nordhausen sulphuric acid. See
      Disulphuric acid, under Disulphuric.

   Sulphuric anhydride, sulphur trioxide. See under Sulphur.
      

   Sulphuric ether, common anaesthetic ether; -- so called
      because made by the catalytic action of sulphuric acid on
      alcohol. See Ether, 3
      (a) .
          [1913 Webster]

4. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Ether \E"ther\ ([=e]"th[~e]r), n. [L. aether, Gr. a'iqh`r, fr.
   a'i`qein to light up, kindle, burn, blaze; akin to Skr. idh,
   indh, and prob. to E. idle: cf. F. ['e]ther.] [Written also
   [ae]ther.]
   1. (Physics) A medium of great elasticity and extreme
      tenuity, once supposed to pervade all space, the interior
      of solid bodies not excepted, and to be the medium of
      transmission of light and heat; hence often called
      luminiferous ether. It is no longer believed that such a
      medium is required for the transmission of electromagnetic
      waves; the modern use of the term is mostly a figurative
      term for empty space, or for literary effect, and not
      intended to imply the actual existence of a physical
      medium. However. modern cosmological theories based on
      quantum field theory do not rule out the possibility that
      the inherent energy of the vacuum is greater than zero, in
      which case the concept of an ether pervading the vacuum
      may have more than metaphoric meaning.
      [1913 Webster +PJC]

   2. Supposed matter above the air; the air itself.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Chem.)
      (a) A light, volatile, mobile, inflammable liquid,
          (C2H5)2O, of a characteristic aromatic odor,
          obtained by the distillation of alcohol with sulphuric
          acid, and hence called also sulphuric ether. It is a
          powerful solvent of fats, resins, and pyroxylin, but
          finds its chief use as an an[ae]sthetic. Commonly
          called ethyl ether to distinguish it from other
          ethers, and also ethyl oxide.
      (b) Any similar compound in which an oxygen atom is bound
          to two different carbon atoms, each of which is part
          of an organic radical; as, amyl ether; valeric ether;
          methyl ethyl ether. The general formular for an ether
          is ROR', in which R and R' are organic radicals
          which may be of similar or different structure. If R
          and R' are different parts of the same organic
          radical, the structure forms a cyclic ether.
          [1913 Webster +PJC]

   Complex ether, Mixed ether (Chem.), an ether in which the
      ether oxygen is attached to two radicals having different
      structures; as, ethyl methyl ether, C2H5.O.CH3.

   Compound ether (Chem.), an ethereal salt or a salt of some
      hydrocarbon as the base; an ester.

   Ether engine (Mach.), a condensing engine like a steam
      engine, but operated by the vapor of ether instead of by
      steam.
      [1913 Webster]

Common Misspellings >
Most Popular Searches: Define Misanthrope, Define Pulchritudinous, Define Happy, Define Veracity, Define Cornucopia, Define Almuerzo, Define Atresic, Define URL, Definitions Of Words, Definition Of Get Up, Definition Of Quid Pro Quo, Definition Of Irreconcilable Differences, Definition Of Word, Synonyms of Repetitive, Synonym Dictionary, Synonym Antonyms. See our main index and map index for more details.

©2011-2024 ZebraWords.com - Define Yourself - The Search for Meanings and Meaning Means I Mean. All content subject to terms and conditions as set out here. Contact Us, peruse our Privacy Policy