Oak \Oak\ ([=o]k), n. [OE. oke, ok, ak, AS. [=a]c; akin to D.
   eik, G. eiche, OHG. eih, Icel. eik, Sw. ek, Dan. eeg.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. (Bot.) Any tree or shrub of the genus Quercus. The oaks
      have alternate leaves, often variously lobed, and
      staminate flowers in catkins. The fruit is a smooth nut,
      called an acorn, which is more or less inclosed in a
      scaly involucre called the cup or cupule. There are now
      recognized about three hundred species, of which nearly
      fifty occur in the United States, the rest in Europe,
      Asia, and the other parts of North America, a very few
      barely reaching the northern parts of South America and
      Africa. Many of the oaks form forest trees of grand
      proportions and live many centuries. The wood is usually
      hard and tough, and provided with conspicuous medullary
      rays, forming the silver grain.
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   2. The strong wood or timber of the oak.
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   Note: Among the true oaks in America are:

   Barren oak, or

   Black-jack, Quercus nigra.

   Basket oak, Quercus Michauxii.

   Black oak, Quercus tinctoria; -- called also yellow oak
      or quercitron oak.

   Bur oak (see under Bur.), Quercus macrocarpa; -- called
      also over-cup or mossy-cup oak.

   Chestnut oak, Quercus Prinus and Quercus densiflora.

   Chinquapin oak (see under Chinquapin), Quercus
      prinoides.

   Coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia, of California; -- also
      called enceno.

   Live oak (see under Live), Quercus virens, the best of
      all for shipbuilding; also, Quercus Chrysolepis, of
      California.

   Pin oak. Same as Swamp oak.

   Post oak, Quercus obtusifolia.

   Red oak, Quercus rubra.

   Scarlet oak, Quercus coccinea.

   Scrub oak, Quercus ilicifolia, Quercus undulata, etc.
      

   Shingle oak, Quercus imbricaria.

   Spanish oak, Quercus falcata.

   Swamp Spanish oak, or

   Pin oak, Quercus palustris.

   Swamp white oak, Quercus bicolor.

   Water oak, Quercus aquatica.

   Water white oak, Quercus lyrata.

   Willow oak, Quercus Phellos.
      [1913 Webster] Among the true oaks in Europe are:

   Bitter oak, or

   Turkey oak, Quercus Cerris (see Cerris).

   Cork oak, Quercus Suber.

   English white oak, Quercus Robur.

   Evergreen oak,

   Holly oak, or

   Holm oak, Quercus Ilex.

   Kermes oak, Quercus coccifera.

   Nutgall oak, Quercus infectoria.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Among plants called oak, but not of the genus
         Quercus, are:

   African oak, a valuable timber tree (Oldfieldia
      Africana).

   Australian oak or She oak, any tree of the genus
      Casuarina (see Casuarina).

   Indian oak, the teak tree (see Teak).

   Jerusalem oak. See under Jerusalem.

   New Zealand oak, a sapindaceous tree (Alectryon
      excelsum).

   Poison oak, a shrub once not distinguished from poison ivy,
      but now restricted to Rhus toxicodendron or Rhus
      diversiloba.

   Silky oak or Silk-bark oak, an Australian tree
      (Grevillea robusta).
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   Green oak, oak wood colored green by the growth of the
      mycelium of certain fungi.

   Oak apple, a large, smooth, round gall produced on the
      leaves of the American red oak by a gallfly (Cynips
      confluens). It is green and pulpy when young.

   Oak beauty (Zool.), a British geometrid moth (Biston
      prodromaria) whose larva feeds on the oak.

   Oak gall, a gall found on the oak. See 2d Gall.

   Oak leather (Bot.), the mycelium of a fungus which forms
      leatherlike patches in the fissures of oak wood.

   Oak pruner. (Zool.) See Pruner, the insect.

   Oak spangle, a kind of gall produced on the oak by the
      insect Diplolepis lenticularis.

   Oak wart, a wartlike gall on the twigs of an oak.

   The Oaks, one of the three great annual English horse races
      (the Derby and St. Leger being the others). It was
      instituted in 1779 by the Earl of Derby, and so called
      from his estate.

   To sport one's oak, to be "not at home to visitors,"
      signified by closing the outer (oaken) door of one's
      rooms. [Cant, Eng. Univ.]
      [1913 Webster]

Sphalerite \Sphal"er*ite\, n. [Gr. ??? slippery, uncertain. See
   Blende.] (Min.)
   Zinc sulphide; -- called also blende, black-jack, false
   galena, etc. See Blende
   (a) .
       [1913 Webster]

Vingt et un \Vingt` et` un"\ [F., twenty and one.]
   A game at cards, played by two or more persons. The fortune
   of each player depends upon obtaining from the dealer such
   cards that the sum of their pips, or spots, is twenty-one, or
   a number near to it; -- also called blackjack, or
   twenty-one.

   Note: There are several variations (such as Caribbean
         blackjack). In the most common variation played in
         casinos, there is one dealer who plays for the house,
         and up to seven players. The players and dealer each
         receive two cards, the dealer's cards usually being one
         face up and one face down. The players each in turn
         decide whether they will request additional cards
         ("hit"), the objective being to reach a sum of card
         values as close as possible to twenty-one, without
         exceeding that number. If, on hitting, the player's
         total card values exceed 21, he has "busted", and lost
         his bet. Otherwise, the player wins only if his total
         card values exceed those of the dealer. "picture cards"
         (or "face cards", being the jack, queen, and king) are
         counted as having a value of ten. The ace may count as
         one or eleven, at the player's option. Other than to
         hit, there are also other possible actions by the
         player, such as to "double down" (receive only one
         additional card, while doubling the initial bet), or to
         "split" (if the first two cards have the same value).
         [1913 Webster +PJC]

Black-jack \Black"-jack`\, n.
   1. (Min.) A name given by English miners to sphalerite, or
      zinc blende; -- called also false galena. See Blende.
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   2. Caramel or burnt sugar, used to color wines, spirits,
      ground coffee, etc.
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   3. A large leather vessel for beer, etc. [Obs.]
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   4. (Bot.) The Quercus nigra, or barren oak.
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   5. The ensign of a pirate.
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Blende \Blende\, n. [G., fr. blenden to blind, dazzle, deceive,
   fr. blind blind. So called either in allusion to its dazzling
   luster; or (Dana) because, though often resembling galena, it
   yields no lead. Cf. Sphalerite.] (Min.)
   (a) A mineral, called also sphalerite, and by miners mock
       lead, false galena, and black-jack. It is a zinc
       sulphide, but often contains some iron. Its color is
       usually yellow, brown, or black, and its luster resinous.
   (b) A general term for some minerals, chiefly metallic
       sulphides which have a somewhat brilliant but nonmetallic
       luster.
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