What is "expletion"

immunoglobulin \im`mu*no*glob"ulin\ ([i^]m`m[-u]*n[-o]*gl[o^]b"[-u]*l[i^]n) n. (1953) any one of a class of globular proteins which are antibodies and are produced by the immune system in animals.

Note: The immunoglobulins form a series of related proteins which are each composed of two pairs of polypeptide chains, called heavy (H) and light (L, meaning of lower molecular weight), all linked together by disulfide bonds. They are subdivided on the basis of the structural and antigenic properties of the H chains into four subgroups, immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin M (IgM), and immunoglobulin D (IgD). They are divided also into subclasses. Both H and L chains of anny given class and subclass have regions which are of constant structure within that class, as well as regions which are of variable structure. The variable regions impart the ability to recognize and bind to specific molecular structures, thus providing the organism the capacity to recognize and defend itself against the harmful effects of substances foreign to the body.
--Stedman

Syn: Ig.

Stutter \Stut"ter\, n.

1. The act of stuttering; a stammer. See Stammer, and Stuttering.

2. One who stutters; a stammerer. [Obs.]
   --Bacon.

Stutter \Stut"ter\, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Stuttered; p. pr. & vb. n. Stuttering.] [Freq. of stut, OE. stoten; probably of Dutch or Low German origin; cf. D. & LG. stotteren, G. stottern, D. stooten to push, to strike; akin to G. stossen, Icel. stauta, Sw. st["o]ta, Dan. st["o]de, Goth. stautan, L. tundere, Skr. tud to thrust. Cf. Contuse, Obtuse.] To hesitate or stumble in uttering words; to speak with spasmodic repetition or pauses; to stammer.

Trembling, stuttering, calling for his confessor.
--Macaulay.

Vaporability \Vap`o*ra*bil"i*ty\, n. The quality or state of being vaporable.

Knurry \Knur"ry\, a. Full of knots. [Obs.]
--Drayton.

Hard-favoredness \Hard"-fa`vored*ness\, n. Coarseness of features.

Battery \Bat"ter*y\, n.; pl. Batteries. [F. batterie, fr. battre. See Batter, v. t.]

1. The act of battering or beating.

2. (Law) The unlawful beating of another. It includes every willful, angry and violent, or negligent touching of another's person or clothes, or anything attached to his person or held by him.

3. (Mil.)

   1. Any place where cannon or mortars are mounted, for attack or defense.

   2. Two or more pieces of artillery in the field.

   3. A company or division of artillery, including the gunners, guns, horses, and all equipments. In the United States, a battery of flying artillery consists usually of six guns.

      Barbette battery. See Barbette.

      Battery d'enfilade, or Enfilading battery, one that sweeps the whole length of a line of troops or part of a work.

      Battery en ['e]charpe, one that plays obliquely.

      Battery gun, a gun capable of firing a number of shots simultaneously or successively without stopping to load.

      Battery wagon, a wagon employed to transport the tools and materials for repair of the carriages, etc., of the battery.

      In battery, projecting, as a gun, into an embrasure or over a parapet in readiness for firing.

      Masked battery, a battery artificially concealed until required to open upon the enemy.

      Out of battery, or From battery, withdrawn, as a gun, to a position for loading.

4. (Elec.)

   1. A number of coated jars (Leyden jars) so connected that they may be charged and discharged simultaneously.

   2. An apparatus for generating voltaic electricity.

      Note: In the trough battery, copper and zinc plates, connected in pairs, divide the trough into cells, which are filled with an acid or oxidizing liquid; the effect is exhibited when wires connected with the two end-plates are brought together. In Daniell's battery, the metals are zinc and copper, the former in dilute sulphuric acid, or a solution of sulphate of zinc, the latter in a saturated solution of sulphate of copper. A modification of this is the common gravity battery, so called from the automatic action of the two fluids, which are separated by their specific gravities. In Grove's battery, platinum is the metal used with zinc; two fluids are used, one of them in a porous cell surrounded by the other. In Bunsen's or the carbon battery, the carbon of gas coke is substituted for the platinum of Grove's. In Leclanch['e]'s battery, the elements are zinc in a solution of ammonium chloride, and gas carbon surrounded with manganese dioxide in a porous cell. A secondary battery is a battery which usually has the two plates of the same kind, generally of lead, in dilute sulphuric acid, and which, when traversed by an electric current, becomes charged, and is then capable of giving a current of itself for a time, owing to chemical changes produced by the charging current. A storage battery is a kind of secondary battery used for accumulating and storing the energy of electrical charges or currents, usually by means of chemical work done by them; an accumulator.

5. A number of similar machines or devices in position; an apparatus consisting of a set of similar parts; as, a battery of boilers, of retorts, condensers, etc.

6. (Metallurgy) A series of stamps operated by one motive power, for crushing ores containing the precious metals.
   --Knight.

7. The box in which the stamps for crushing ore play up and down.

8. (Baseball) The pitcher and catcher together.

Hippocrates \Hip*poc"ra*tes\, n. A famous Greek physician and medical writer, born in Cos, about 460 b. c.

Hippocrates' sleeve, a conical strainer, made by stitching together two adjacent sides of a square piece of cloth, esp. flannel of linen.

Bargain \Bar"gain\, v. i. [OE. barganien, OF. bargaigner, F. barguigner, to hesitate, fr. LL. barcaniare. See Bargain, n.] To make a bargain; to make a contract for the exchange of property or services; -- followed by with and for; as, to bargain with a farmer for a cow.

So worthless peasants bargain for their wives.
--Shak.

Bargain \Bar"gain\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bargained (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bargaining.] To transfer for a consideration; to barter; to trade; as, to bargain one horse for another.

To bargain away, to dispose of in a bargain; -- usually with a sense of loss or disadvantage; as, to bargain away one's birthright. ``The heir . . . had somehow bargained away the estate.''
--G. Eliot.

Bargain \Bar"gain\, n. [OE. bargayn, bargany, OF. bargaigne, bargagne, prob. from a supposed LL. barcaneum, fr. barca a boat which carries merchandise to the shore; hence, to traffic to and fro, to carry on commerce in general. See Bark a vessel. ]

1. An agreement between parties concerning the sale of property; or a contract by which one party binds himself to transfer the right to some property for a consideration, and the other party binds himself to receive the property and pay the consideration.

   A contract is a bargain that is legally binding.
   --Wharton.

2. An agreement or stipulation; mutual pledge.

   And whon your honors mean to solemnize The bargain of your faith.
   --Shak.

3. A purchase; also ( when not qualified), a gainful transaction; an advantageous purchase; as, to buy a thing at a bargain.

4. The thing stipulated or purchased; also, anything bought cheap.

   She was too fond of her most filthy bargain.
   --Shak.

   Bargain and sale (Law), a species of conveyance, by which the bargainor contracts to convey the lands to the bargainee, and becomes by such contract a trustee for and seized to the use of the bargainee. The statute then completes the purchase; i. e., the bargain vests the use, and the statute vests the possession.
   --Blackstone.

   Into the bargain, over and above what is stipulated; besides.

   To sell bargains, to make saucy (usually indelicate) repartees. [Obs.]
   --Swift.

   To strike a bargain, to reach or ratify an agreement. ``A bargain was struck.''
   --Macaulay.

   Syn: Contract; stipulation; purchase; engagement.

Stonechat \Stone"chat`\, n. [Stone + chat.] [So called from the similarity of its alarm note to the clicking together of two pebbles.] (Zo["o]l.)

1. A small, active, and very common European singing bird ( Pratincola rubicola); -- called also chickstone, stonechacker, stonechatter, stoneclink, stonesmith.

2. The wheatear.

3. The blue titmouse.

   Note: The name is sometimes applied to various species of Saxicola, Pratincola, and allied genera; as, the pied stonechat of India ( Saxicola picata).

insentience \insentience\ n. The state or quality of being insentient; lacking consciousness or ability to perceive sensations.

Pergola \Per"go*la\, n. [It., fr. L. pergula shed, shop, vine arbor.] Lit., an arbor or bower; specif.: (Italian art) An arbor or trellis treated architecturally, as with stone columns or similar massive structure.

Lacinula \La*cin"u*la\, n.; pl. Lacinul[ae], E. Lacinulas. [NL.] (Bot.) A diminutive lacinia.

Whiplash \Whip"lash`\, n.

1. The lash of a whip, -- usually made of thongs of leather, or of cords, braided or twisted.

2. a sudden change of direction, resembling the motion of the tip of a whip when it is cracked.

3. a stinging psychological effect reminiscent of being stung by a whip.

4. a whiplash injury.

Water gilding \Wa"ter gild"ing\ The act, or the process, of gilding metallic surfaces by covering them with a thin coating of amalgam of gold, and then volatilizing the mercury by heat; -- called also wash gilding.

piezo- \piezo-\ combining form signifying piezo-electric

Jo \Jo\, n.; pl. Joes. [Etymol. uncertain.] A sweetheart; a darling. [Scot.]
--Burns.

Ministrative \Min"is*tra*tive\, a. Serving to aid; ministering.

Swab \Swab\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Swabbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Swabbing.] [See Swabber, n.] To clean with a mop or swab; to wipe when very wet, as after washing; as, to swab the desk of a ship. [Spelt also swob.]

Interclude \In`ter*clude"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Intercluded; p. pr. & vb. n. Intercluding.] [L. intercludere, interclusum; inter between + claudere to shut. See Close, and cf. Interclose.] To shut off or out from a place or course, by something intervening; to intercept; to cut off; to interrupt.
--Mitford.

So all passage of external air into the receiver may be intercluded.
--Boyle.

Accountant \Ac*count"ant\, n. [Cf. F. accomptant, OF. acontant, p. pr.]

1. One who renders account; one accountable.

2. A reckoner.

3. One who is skilled in, keeps, or adjusts, accounts; an officer in a public office, who has charge of the accounts.

   Accountatn general, the head or superintending accountant in certain public offices. Also, formerly, an officer in the English court of chancery who received the moneys paid into the court, and deposited them in the Bank of England.

Accountant \Ac*count"ant\, a. Accountable. [Obs.]
--Shak.

Sterilize \Ster"il*ize\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sterilized; p. pr. & vb. n. Sterilizing.] [Cf. F. st['e]riliser.]

1. To make sterile or unproductive; to impoverish, as land; to exhaust of fertility. [R.] ``Sterilizing the earth.''
   --Woodward.

2. (Biol.) To deprive of the power of reproducing; to render incapable of germination or fecundation; to make sterile.

3. (Microbiology, Medicine) To destroy all spores or germs in (an organic fluid or mixture) or on (a medical instrument), as by heat, so as to prevent contamination by bacteria or other organisms. A common method of sterilization in laboratories and medical facilities is to heat a liquid sample or an instrument in an autoclave.

4. To destroy all spores or germs on (a surface) by wetting with an antiseptic liquid, such as an alcoholic solution.

Chief hare \Chief" hare`\ (Zo["o]l.) A small rodent ( Lagamys princeps) inhabiting the summits of the Rocky Mountains; -- also called crying hare, calling hare, cony, American pika, and little chief hare.

Note: It is not a true hare or rabbit, but belongs to the curious family Lagomyid[ae].

Shawm \Shawm\, n. [OE. shalmie, OF. chalemie; cf. F. chalumeau shawm, chaume haulm, stalk; all fr. L. calamus a reed, reed pipe. See Haulm, and cf. Calumet.] (Mus.) A wind instrument of music, formerly in use, supposed to have resembled either the clarinet or the hautboy in form. [Written also shalm, shaum.]
--Otway.

Even from the shrillest shaum unto the cornamute.
--Drayton.

Diurnally \Di*ur"nal*ly\, adv. Daily; every day.

Historiette \His`to*ri*ette"\, n. [F., dim. of histoire a history.] Historical narration on a small scale; a brief recital; a story.
--Emerson.

Mutchkin \Mutch"kin\, n. A liquid measure equal to four gills, or an imperial pint.

Barbed \Barbed\, a. Furnished with a barb or barbs; as, a barbed arrow; barbed wire.

Barbed wire, a wire, or a strand of twisted wires, armed with barbs or sharp points. It is used for fences.

Manicure \Man"i*cure\, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Manicured; p. pr. & vb. n. Manicuring.]

1. To care for (the hands and nails); to care for the hands and nails of; to do manicure work.

2. to trim carefully and meticulously; as, to manicure a lawn.

Parliamentary \Par`lia*men"ta*ry\, a. [Cf. F. parlementaire.]

1. Of or pertaining to Parliament; as, parliamentary authority.
   --Bacon.

2. Enacted or done by Parliament; as, a parliamentary act.
   --Sir M. Hale.

3. According to the rules and usages of Parliament or of deliberative bodies; as, a parliamentary motion; parliamentary order; parliamentary procedure.

   Parliamentary agent, a person, usually a solicitor, professionally employed by private parties to explain and recommend claims, bills, etc., under consideration of Parliament. [Eng.]

   Parliamentary train, one of the trains which, by act of Parliament, railway companies are required to run for the conveyance of third-class passengers at a reduced rate.

Ipecacuanha \Ip`e*cac`u*an"ha\ ([i^]p`[-e]*k[a^]k`[-u]*[a^]n"[.a]), n. [Pg. ipecacuanha (cf. Sp. ipecacuana); fr. Braz. ipe-kaa-guena, prop., a creeping plant that causes vomiting.] (Med. & Bot.) The root of a Brazilian rubiaceous herb ( Cepha["e]lis Ipecacuanha), largely employed as an emetic; also, the plant itself; also, a medicinal extract of the root. Many other plants are used as a substitutes; among them are the black or Peruvian ipecac ( Psychotria emetica), the white ipecac ( Ionidium Ipecacuanha), the bastard or wild ipecac ( Asclepias Curassavica), and the undulated ipecac ( Richardsonia scabra).

Falanaka \Fa"la*na"ka\, n. [Native name.] (Zo["o]l.) A viverrine mammal of Madagascar ( Eupleres Goudotii), allied to the civet; -- called also Falanouc.

Coxcomb \Cox"comb`\ (k?ks"k?m`), n. [A corrupted spelling of cock's comb.]

1. 1. A strip of red cloth notched like the comb of a cock, which licensed jesters formerly wore in their caps.

   2. The cap itself.

2. The top of the head, or the head itself.

   We will belabor you a little better, And beat a little more care into your coxcombs.
   --Beau & Fl.

3. A vain, showy fellow; a conceited, silly man, fond of display; a superficial pretender to knowledge or accomplishments; a fop.

   Fond to be seen, she kept a bevy Of powdered coxcombs at her levee.
   --Goldsmith.

   Some are bewildered in the maze of schools, And some made coxcombs, nature meant but fools.
   --Pope.

4. (Bot.) A name given to several plants of different genera, but particularly to Celosia cristata, or garden cockscomb. Same as Cockscomb.

Expletion \Ex*ple"tion\, n. [L. expletio a satisfying. See Expletive.] Accomplishment; fulfillment. [Obs.]
--Killingbeck.

alt. (context India English) A serving of tea shortly after awakening in the morning. n. (context India English) A serving of tea shortly after awakening in the morning.

a. Resembling or characteristic of a tortoise; thus frequently slow or unhurried

n. (plural of deletion English)

n. (l en discrimination Discrimination) based on a person's language.

n. A worker who carries out road construction or maintenance.

n. A calcium antagonist used to control hypertension.

alt. a cream, to be spread on the skin, containing organic compounds that absorb, and/or titanium dioxide that reflects the sun’s ultraviolet radiation n. a cream, to be spread on the skin, containing organic compounds that absorb, and/or titanium dioxide that reflects the sun’s ultraviolet radiation

vb. (past participle of catch English)

Etymology 1 n. (context obsolete nautical English) skillygalee. Etymology 2

a. (context Scotland northern England English) skilled, skilful.

n. 1 A speech disorder characterised by stuttering. 2 (context obsolete English) One who stutters; a stammerer. vb. 1 (context ambitransitive English) To speak with a spasmodic repetition of vocal sounds. 2 (context intransitive English) To exhaust a gas with difficulty

n. (plural of obtention English)

vb. (en-past of: unattire)

n. The condition of being autozygous.

a. (context obsolete English) Full of knots.

n. (plural of shoer English)

n. The combination of computer and telecommunications technology.

a. (context in reference to a horse English) Rearing on the hind legs.

a. Having nipples; covered with nipples.

n. 1 An agreement between parties concerning the sale of property; or a contract by which one party binds himself to transfer the right to some property for a consideration, and the other party binds himself to receive the property and pay the consideration. 2 An agreement or stipulation; mutual pledge. 3 An item (usually brand new) purchased for significantly less than the usual, or recommended, price; also (when not qualified), a gainful transaction; an advantageous purchase. 4 The thing stipulated or purchased. vb. 1 (context intransitive English) To make a bargain; to make a contract for the exchange of property or services; to negotiate; -- followed by with and for; as, to bargain with a farmer for a cow. 2 (context transitive English) To transfer for a consideration; to barter; to trade; as, to bargain one horse for another.

vb. (present participle of coyote English)

n. 1 (context uncountable English) The loss of bodily weight 2 (context countable English) An amount of bodily weight lost through diet and exercise changes

n. (plural of bolshie English)

n. A distinct part of a larger quality

n. (plural of dickbag English)

n. (plural of ruche English)

n. The condition of being insentient

n. (context chemistry English) The study of the effects of isotopic substitution on chemical compounds, especially on the kinetics of their reactions.

adv. By means of roentgenography; radiographically.

n. (context mycology English) A type of outer skin of a fungus where all the ends of the hyphae all reach the same height and form a palisade of long inflated cells.

alt. A person who is not a carrier (of a disease etc.) n. A person who is not a carrier (of a disease etc.)

n. (plural of perfumer English)

n. (plural of glebe English)

adv. (context idiomatic English) Affecting people close to, or within, ones family circle.

n. A female who emulates.

n. A framework in the form of a passageway of columns that supports a trelliswork roof; used to support and train climbing plants

a. Pertaining to the first humans or the beginning of humankind. n. One of the earliest humans.

n. (plural of shriveler English)

n. (context botany English) A small lacinia.

vb. (en-past of: unselect)

vb. (en-third-person singular of: deconcoct)

n. (plural of nimravid English)

n. (plural of confidence English)

n. (plural of hairclip English)

n. One who, or that which, skewers.

n. (context organic compound English) A tetrahydroxypyrrolizidine alkaloid related to alexine and australine

n. (plural of pacay English)

n. (alternative form of glamorization English)

n. 1 the lash of a whip 2 an injury to the upper spine caused by a violent jerk of the head in either a backward or forward or side to side direction vb. To jerk back and forth; to buffet

n. 1 (context slang English) the state of (a teenager etc) being grounded 2 A Rastafarian meeting.

a. Without chalk.

pre. Forms terms relating to piezoelectricity or other effects of mechanical stress

n. (context Scotland English) darling, sweetheart.

n. (alternative form of septum English)

n. A person who plays tennis, especially professionally.

n. (plural of goblet English)

a. (context informal chiefly British English) boisterous and unruly

a. Serving to aid; ministering.

n. 1 (surname: from=Irish) A variant spelling of Braden. 2 (given name male from=surnames) of modern usage, transferred from the surname.

adv. In a seedy way.

vb. (en-past of: swab)

vb. 1 (&lit break with English) 2 To cease having a positive connection with (a person, group, movement, etc). 3 (context archaic English) To divulge one's secrets, thoughts or intentions, to discuss something with somebody.

vb. (en-past of: interclude)

vb. (context archaic English) (en-third-person singulartip)

n. (context vulgar informal derogatory English) A stupid person.

Etymology 1 n. 1 One who renders account; one accountable. 2 A reckoner, or someone who maintains financial matters for a person(s) 3 (context accounting English) One who is skilled in, keeps, or adjusts, accounts; an officer in a public office, who has charge of the accounts. 4 (context accounting English) One whose profession includes organizing, maintaining and auditing the records of another. The records are usually, but not always, financial records. Etymology 2

a. (context obsolete English) accountable

n. (context organic chemistry English) Any organotin compound containing a residual Sn-H bond

n. (plural of juxtaposition English)

n. (plural of dinophile English)

n. 1 (alternative spelling of caeca English) 2 (cecum English)

n. (plural of epizeuxis English)

n. (plural of barker English)

n. The act or state of outperforming

n. (context informal English) A professor

vb. (en-past of: sterilize)

adv. In a clinging manner; tenaciously or possessively.

adv. 1 daily 2 By daylight. 3 Every daytime.

n. (context dated English) A short history or tale.

vb. (en-past of: fettle)

a. 1 Of or pertaining to a geographic location, especially data. 2 (context computing English) Describing the combination of spatial software and geographic data. alt. 1 Of or pertaining to a geographic location, especially data. 2 (context computing English) Describing the combination of spatial software and geographic data.

n. An anorexiant drug.

n. Etymologically incorrect (rare spelling of thrombendarteriectomy cap=r English)

vb. To drop large quantities of water (onto a fire) from the air

n. (plural of lucidity English)

n. (plural of queasiness English)

n. (plural of palaeomerycid English)

a. (context informal English) Very thrilled or excited.

n. (plural of craftwork English)

a. resistant to ants.

a. Of or pertaining to the pretectum

n. A benzodiazepine drug with anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties.

1. (context past participial English) (l/en make Made) or having (l/en: become) (l/en: moist). v

2. (en-past of: bemoisten)

n. (plural of bandlet English)

alt. 1 (context idiomatic English) To treat a topic, but omit its main points, often intentionally. 2 (context idiomatic English) To delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant. vb. 1 (context idiomatic English) To treat a topic, but omit its main points, often intentionally. 2 (context idiomatic English) To delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant.

alt. twisted strands of steel wire, often coated with zinc, having barbs evenly spaced along them; used to construct agricultural and military fences. n. twisted strands of steel wire, often coated with zinc, having barbs evenly spaced along them; used to construct agricultural and military fences.

vb. (present participle of manicure English)

a. (context medical English) A reclined position of the body. n. (context medical English) Inflammations cause by a reclined position of the body; it often refers to the complications of bed-ridden patients such as bed sores.

n. (plural of tetanuran English)

n. A rare mongoose-like euplerid mammal of Malagasy, ''Euplerer goudotii''.

n. 1 (context obsolete English) The cap of a court jester, adorned with a red stripe. 2 A foolish or conceited person; a dandy. 3 The fleshy red pate of a rooster.

n. (context obsolete English) accomplishment; fulfillment