so arranged and adjusted as to constitute a consistent and symmetrical whole. Tangent. A straight line touching a curve, but not cutting it. Technical. Belonging exclusively or strictly to some art or science. Telegraph. An instrument for communicating messages to a distance. Telescope. An optical instrument formed of lenses which magnify distant objects. Temperature. The comparative degree of heat in a body. Tendon. A fibrous cord or ligature attached to a muscle; a sinew. Tension. The act of stretching or straining, or the state of being stretched or strained. Terminal. Pertaining to, or placed at, the end of an object. Terminus. A boundary; the extreme point or station at either end of a railway. Theory. A philosophical explanation of phenomena. Thermometer. An instrument for measuring the heat or temperature of a body. Thoracic. Pertaining to the thorax or chest. Thoracic duct, the canal which conveys the contents of the lacteals into the blood. Thorax. The chest; in insects, the second segment of the body. Tissue. The minute elementary fab rics of which the organs of animals and plants are composed. Transit. A passing; specially, the passage of a planet over the sun's disc; also the culmination of a heavenly body—that is, its passage across the meridian. Transparency. That property of a body which allows light to pass through it: the opposite of opacity. Triangle. A plane figure having three sides and three angles,called also a trigon. Tropics. A name applied to the two imaginary eircles lying parallel to the equator at the distance of 23 north and south. The northern circle is called the Tropic of Cancer, and the southern, the Tropic of Capricorn. These circles Vacuum. A space void of matter generally used to denote the interior of a close vessel from which the air has been extracted. The vacuum produced in a vessel by means of an air-pump is never perfect; yet the vessel is termed an Exhausted Receiver. In vacuo, in a void or vacuum. Valve. A close lid affixed to a tube by means of a hinge or other movable joint, and opening only in one direction. Vapour. Any liquid expanded into an elastic or aeriform fluid. Variety. A plant or animal differing from the rest of the species to which it belongs in certain things produced by climate or culture, and not permanently transmitted. Veins. Those elastic tubes which receive the blood after it has been circulated by the arteries, and convey it back to the heart. Velocity. The comparative celerity of motion in a moving body. Ventricles. The name given to the two cavities of the heart which propel the blood into the arteries. Vertebra (pl. vertebrae). A division or separate bone of the spine or spinal column. Vertebrata. Animals having a spine; comprising, Mammalia, Birds, Amphibia, and Fishes. Vertebrate. Having a vertebral column, that is, a spine composed of a number of bones jointed together. Vertical. Perpendicular to the plane of the horizon; the opposite of horizontal. Vesicle. Any small membranous cavity in plants or animals. Vesicular. Consisting of vesicles. Vibration. The swinging motion of a suspended body, as a pendulum; the tremulous motion produced in a body when struck. Vision. The power or the act of seeing. Vitreous. Pertaining to, or consisting of, glass; resembling glass. Volatile. Capable of easily passing into an aeriform state. Voltaic Battery. An apparatus for the development of Voltaic electricity, consisting of a series of plates of zinc and copper immersed in an acid fluid. Voltaic Electricity. The electrical action produced by the Voltaic Battery. It was originally named Galvanism, after its discoverer, Professor Galvani of Bologna; but it is now named Voltaism, after Professor Volta of Pavia, who first correctly described it. Volume. The apparent space which a body occupies. The real space which it occupies, or its actual bulk of matter, is called its mass. The volume and the mass vary according to the density of the body. Zenith. The point in the arch of the heavens which is vertical to the spectator; the opposite of nadir. Zero. A cipher; the point of a thermometer from which it is graduated. In Fahrenheit's thermometer, zero is 32° below the freezing point of water. Zoology. The science or natural history of the animal kingdom. Zoophyte. A name given to animals which are fixed to the ground and have the form of plants. II. PREFIXES, AFFIXES, AND PRINCIPAL LATIN AND GREEK ROOTS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.* (To be committed to Memory.) I. PREFIXES. 1. OF ENGLISH OR SAXON ORIGIN. A, on or in, as a-foot, a-bed. Fore, before, as foresee. Over, eminence or excess, as over- JJn, before an adjective or adverb, signifies not, as unworthy; un, before a verb, generally signifies the undoing of the act expressed by the verb, as unfetter. (Un is sometimes prefixed to a verb without altering the sense, as loose, unloose.) Up, motion upwards, as upstart; also subversion, as up set. With, from or against, as withdraw, withstand. 2. OF LATIN ORIGIN. A, ab, abs, from or away, as | Ante, before, as antecedent. Cis, on this side, as cisalpine. takes also the various forms of *Those who are desirous to acquire further information on this important subject may consult the Author's Manual of English Grammar. Contra, against, as contradict. (Contra sometimes takes the forma counter, as counterbalance.) 404 De, down, as dejected. Dis, asunder, as distract, also negation or undoing, as disarm. (Dis has also the forms of di and dif, as diverge, diffuse.) E, ex, out of, as egress, exclude. (E, ex, take also the form of ec, ef, as eccentric, efflux.) Extra, beyond, as extraordinary. In, before an adjective, signifies not, as inactive; in, before a verb, signifies in or into, as inject. (In has also the various forms of ig, il, im, ir, as ignoble, illuminate, import, irradiate.) Inter, between, as intervene. Intro, to, within, as introduce. Juxta, nigh to, as juxtaposition. Ob, in the way of, or opposition, as obstacle. (Ob has also the various forms of oc, of, o, op, o8, as occur, offend, omit, oppose, ostentation. Per, through or thoroughly, as perforate, perfect. (Per has also the form of pel, as pellucid. Post, after, as postdiluvian. Pre or præ, before, as predict. Preter or præter, past or beyond, as preternatural. Pro, for, forth, or forward, as pronoun, provoke, proceed. Re, back or again, as retract, rebuild. Retro, backwards, as retrospect. Se, aside or apart, as secede. Sine, without, as sinecure. (Sine has also the form of sim and sin, as simple, sincere.) Sub, under or after, as subside. (Sub has also the forms of suc, suf, sug, sup, sus (contracted for subs), as succeed, suffuse, suggest, suppress, suspend.) Subter, under or beneath, as subterfuge. Super, above or over, as superfluous. (Super has also the French form sur, as surmount.) Trans, over from one place to another, as transport. Ultra, beyond, as ultramundane. 3. OF GREEK ORIGIN. A or an, without or privation, as apathy, anonymous. Amphi, both or the two, as amphibious. Ana, through or up, as anatomy. Anti, against, as Antichrist. (Anti has sometimes the contracted form of ant, as antarctic.) Apo, from or away, as apostasy. (Apo has sometimes the contracted form of ap, as aphelion.) Cata, down, as catarrh. (Cata has also the form of cat, as catechise.) Dia, through, as diaphanous. Epi, upon, as epitaph. (Epi has also the form of ep, as ephemeral.) | Hyper, over and above, as hypercritical. Hypo, under, as hypothesis Meta, change, as metamorphosis. (Meta has also the form of met, as method.) Para, near to, or side by side as if for the purpose of comparison; hence sometimes similarity, and sometimes contrariety; as paradox. (Para has also the form of par as parody.) Peri, round about, as periphrasis. Syn, together, as synthesis. (Syn has also the forms sy, syl, sym, as system, syllogism, sympathy.) |