Part 2

_Coördinate._ Each of a system of magnitudes used to fix the position of a point, line, or plane.

_Copernican._ Relating to the theory that the planets (one of which is the earth) move around the sun.

_Copper._ An important metallic element. Symbol: Cu.

_Corolla._ The inner envelope of a flower.

_Corona._ A small disk of light around the sun or moon. An appendage on top of a seed or the inner part of the corolla.

_Cotyledon._ One of the first leaves in the embryo of a higher flower.

_Coulomb._ The amount of electricity carried in one second by one ampere.

_Cretaceous._ Of or like chalk. Relating to the last Mesozoic period.

_Cri._ The common respiratory infections, such as the common cold, influenza, etc.

_Criminology._ The scientific study of crime and criminals.

_Cross-pollination._ The transfer of pollen from the anthers of one flower to the stigma of another flower of the same kind.

_Crustacea._ A class of hard-shelled arthropods, including lobsters and crabs.

_Crystal._ An aggregation of molecules with definite internal structure and external form of a solid enclosed by symmetrically arranged plane faces. A crystal is formed when certain liquids or gases solidify (crystallize). The study of crystal structure is crystallography.

_Ctenophora._ A class of low animals comprising certain jellyfish.

_Cycle._ A series of operations in a heat engine. A two-cycle engine is one with a cycle of two strokes. Properly, it should be called a two-stroke-cycle engine.

_Cyclone._ A violent wind of low diameter. A circular wind system about an area of low pressure.

_Cyst._ A hollow organ containing a liquid secretion.

_Cyto-._ Cell-, in compounds.

_Cytoplasm._ Cell protoplasm, not including the nucleus.

_Darwinism._ Organic evolution in general. The theory that the origin of species is due to natural selection, as developed by Charles Robert Darwin. All biologists worthy of the name believe in evolution, but by no means all accept Darwinism in the narrow sense.

_Declination._ The angular distance of a heavenly body north or south of the celestial equator. The deviation of a magnetic needle from true north.

_Decurrent._ Extending downward, as the base of a leaf.

_Dehydrate._ Remove water, dry.

_Dendrology._ The scientific study of trees.

_Devonian._ Of the geological formation between the Silurian and the Carboniferous.

_Dew point._ The temperature at which the air is saturated with water-vapor.

_Diadelphous._ Formed into two bundles. (Of stamens.)

_Diandrous._ With two stamens.

_Dielectric._ Insulating, insulator of electricity.

_Diesel engine._ An internal combustion motor which compresses the air highly and which successfully burns oil which is unsuitable for the ordinary motor of an automobile.

_Disease._ Malady. Of some foods and drinks, an impairment in quality caused by bacteria.

_Dissipation of energy._ The change of energy to such a form that it cannot be used to do work.

_Dissociate._ Ionize, decompose, split up.

_Doldrums._ A region of calms and light winds near the equator.

_Dolichocephalic._ Long-headed, having a skull with the breadth less than four-fifths of the length.

_Drug._ A medicine, a medicinal agent, especially one of vegetable origin.

_Dynamics._ The branch of physics dealing with forces.

_Dyne._ The amount of force that acts for a single second on a mass of one gram to give it a velocity of one centimeter per second.

_Eccentric._ Not concentric to a given circle. Arranged to change rotary motion back and forth.

_Echinoderm._ One of a class of animals including the sea-urchins.

_Eclipse._ Of a heavenly body, obscured by passing between it and the observer or its source of light.

_Ecliptic._ The apparent orbit of the sun.

_Ecology._ The science dealing with the relations between organisms and their environment.

_Economics._ The science of wealth, especially of its production, distribution, and consumption.

_Edentate._ Toothless or without canine teeth.

_Effect._ See Cause.

_Efferent._ Carrying outward or away.

_Efficiency._ The ratio between the amount of work put into a machine and the amount derived from it.

_Efflorescence._ The loss of water of crystallization.

_Electricity._ A peculiar condition of the molecules of a body or of the ether surrounding the molecules, or else a sort of fluid or other matter in the form of small bodies called electrons. It is easier to tell what electricity does or how it is produced than to define it, especially since physicists have not been able to agree about its precise nature.

_Electrode._ Either pole of a cell.

_Electrolysis._ The decomposition of a compound by means of an electric current.

_Electrolyte._ A substance which, in solution, can carry an electric current to an appreciable extent.

_Electron._ The electric charge of an atom. A very small particle which is electrically charged. The size of the electron has been variously calculated, and some physicists declare that the negative electron has only 1/1700 the mass of a hydrogen atom.

_Element._ One of a number of substances formerly considered to be indivisible. An electric cell.

_Emanation._ A gaseous substance produced by a radioactive material.

_Embryo._ The offspring of an animal before birth or emergence from the egg. The scientific study of the embryo is called embryology.

_Endogenous._ Growing from within.

_Endosperm._ The nutritive tissue enclosed with the embryo in seeds.

_Endothelium._ The layer of cells lining blood vessels, the interior of the heart, etc.

_Energy._ Ability to do work or change the nature of bodies. Heat and light are considered forms of energy.

_Entomology._ The study of insects.

_Environment._ Surrounding conditions, influences, and powers of all sorts. Everything which, directly or indirectly, affects the fate of an organism forms part of its environment.

_Eocene._ Relating to the lowest division of the Tertiary strata.

_Epiphyte._ A plant which grows upon another but which is not fed by it. A vegetable parasite on an animal body.

_Equation._ A compensation for inaccuracy. In mathematics, a formula affirming the equivalence of two expressions. An expression in symbols of a chemical reaction.

_Equinox._ The time when the sun crosses the equator, and day and night are of equal length.

_Erbium._ A metallic element. Symbol: Er.

_Erg._ The work done by a force that, when it acts for one second on mass of one gram, produces a velocity of one centimeter per second.

_Erosion._ Gradual destruction or wearing away, as of land by water.

_Esthetics._ Also spelled: æsthetics. The study of beauty. It is, at present, rather an art or a branch of philosophy than an exact science.

_Ether._ An anesthetic liquid. Totally distinct is this meaning: the medium through which light-waves pass, which is supposed to have a density infinitely less than that of the lightest gas. The nature of the ether is in dispute.

_Ethics._ The branch of philosophy concerned with human conduct. It may at some future time rank as a science.

_Ethnology._ The science dealing with the races of mankind. It has not, alas, always been thoroughly scientific.

_Ethyl alcohol._ The alcohol which cheers and also inebriates men. Before Prohibition, practically the only kind of alcohol which people drank.

_Europium._ A metallic element. Symbol: Eu.

_Evaporate._ Change (usually with no great rapidity) from the liquid to the gaseous state.

_Evergreen._ A tree or shrub which has green leaves in all seasons.

_Evolution._ Development, change. In biology, the development of a race or species by gradual change from another type. The Theory of Evolution contradicts the notion that every type was originally created in the form which it now has.

_Experiment._ An event (or, in the case of the verb: to bring about an event) designed for observation, in order that an unknown fact or principle may be brought to light, or simply to instruct.

_Explain._ To reduce a phenomenon to the terms of a general principle. To bring into a system.

_Fact._ Something which is true. If only a single investigator has reported a certain circumstance or condition, it is not likely to be considered a fact by scientists.

_Factor._ A substance which takes part in a chemical reaction.

_Facula._ A bright spot or streak on the sun.

_Fahrenheit._ A thermometric scale, in common household use, but employed for scientific purposes far less frequently than the Centigrade scale. The boiling point of water is 212 degrees and the freezing point is 32 degrees above zero.

_Fair._ As used by the American Weather Bureau, without rain, snow, or hail.

_Feces._ Excrement.

_Fecundate._ Impregnate, fertilize, make fruitful.

_Female._ Bearing fruit or offspring, pistillate.

_Ferment._ To cause an organic substance to change or to work (used of organic substances), because of the activity of yeast, or of certain other living organisms or substances derived from them.

_Filament._ The part of the stamen that supports the anther. The conductor in an incandescent electric light.

_Fish._ A member of a class of vertebrate and cold-blooded animals having gills and usually fins and scales.

_Flocculus._ A mass in the atmosphere of the sun resembling wool or clouds.

_Florescence._ The time or condition of flowering.

_Flower._ The reproductive organ in a plant which contains one or more pistils or stamens or both, and typically a corolla and calyx. To flower: to blossom or produce flowers.

_Fluid._ Moving readily. The fluids include the liquids, the gases, perhaps the ether of space.

_Fluorescence._ The colored light produced in some transparent bodies by the action of ultra-violet rays. The property some substances have of emitting light when exposed to certain rays.

_Fluorine._ A gaseous element. Symbol: F.

_Focus._ The point at which rays meet after reflection or refraction. Converging-point.

_Force._ That which changes or tends to change the motion of a body upon which it acts.

_Foreconscious._ Mental processes of which we are aware only under special conditions. Of a nature between conscious and unconscious.

_Forensic._ Used in law-courts.

_Formula._ A symbolic statement, as in mathematics or chemistry.

_Fossil._ Something left of an animal or a plant which lived in a former geological age.

_Freeze._ To change from a liquid to a solid, especially by removing heat.

_Friction._ The resistance which one body encounters in rubbing against another.

_Fruit._ A ripened ovary together with any parts of the flower that may be attached to it.

_Fulcrum._ The point where a lever is supported or turns.

_Function._ A quantity related to another in such a way that a change in one involves a change in the other.

_Functional._ Having a use. Of a disease, not affecting the structure of an organ, or of the organ which is supposed to be diseased. It is doubtful if there can be a disease which does not change the structure of some organ.

_Fundamental notes._ The notes resulting when a piano wire vibrates as a whole. The lowest notes of chords.

_Fungus._ Plural: fungi. A cryptogamous (flowerless) plant without chlorophyll. A morbid growth.

_Fuse._ To change, usually by adding heat, from solid to liquid form.

_Gadolinium._ A metallic element. Symbol: Gd.

_Gallium._ A metallic element. Symbol: Ga.

_Gamete._ A sexual cell which unites with another for reproduction.

_Gamma rays._ Becquerel rays which are more penetrating than beta rays and are not deflected by electricity. Equivalent or analogous to X-rays.

_Ganglion._ An enlargement of the nerve from which nerve-fibers radiate.

_Gas._ A fluid which tends to occupy the whole volume of any vessel in which it is placed.

_Gastropoda._ A class of mollusks including the snails.

_Geld._ Castrate.

_Generalization._ A universal assertion, a principle applying not to any single fact but rather to a large number. A general notion.

_Genetics._ The study of heredity and of the beginning of variation.

_Genital._ Pertaining to reproduction and the sexual organs.

_Genus._ In logic, a class which is divided into sub-classes. In biology, a class of animals usually containing several species. A single genus may in some cases make up a genus of its own, if it appears not to be closely related to any other genus. Plural: genera. The next higher group is the family.

_Geo-._ In combinations, earth——.

_Geography._ The study of the earth, especially as the environment of man.

_Geology._ The study of the crust of the earth.

_Germ._ A portion of an organism capable of becoming a new one. Seed, microörganism. Popularly, a germ is a bacterium which causes disease.

_Germanium._ A metallic element. Symbol: Ge.

_Glacier._ A slowly-moving mass of ice formed by the accumulation of snow on high ground.

_Gland._ An organ which secretes constituents of the blood. Secreting cell or cells in plants.

_Glans._ The body at the end of the penis and clitoris.

_Glass._ A substance made by mixing silicates and including some alkali silicate. Not every sort of glass is transparent.

_Glomerate._ Gathered in a compact group.

_Glottis._ The opening at the upper end of the windpipe.

_Glucinum_ or _beryllium_. A metallic element. Symbol: Gl or Be.

_Glucose._ One of a group of sugars, including grape sugar.

_Gneiss._ A sort of highly crystalline rock arranged in layers, as of quartz and mica.

_Gold._ A metallic element. Symbol: Au.

_Gram._ The unit of weight in the metric system. About the weight of a cubic centimeter of water at its greatest density.

_Graph._ A symbolical diagram, as in mathematics of chemistry.

_Gravity_ or _gravitation_. The attraction existing between bodies. If the earth draws a falling apple, it is said that the apple also draws the earth to it.

_Gregarious._ Living in or pertaining to flocks, groups, or communities. Social.

_Gymnosperm._ A plant whose seeds are not enclosed in seed-vessels.

_Habit._ An action pattern; specifically, one that has been acquired. In biology, a mode of growth.

_Hallucination._ The perception of something which is not actually present.

_Hardness._ The presence of certain salts in water.

_Heat._ Energy which can be transmitted by conduction or radiation, and which is expressed in molecular motion.

_Helium._ A gaseous element. Symbol: He.

_Henry._ The unit of inductance. The inductance in a circuit in which the induced electromotive force is one volt when the inducing current varies at the rate of one ampere per second.

_Herb._ A plant whose stem is not woody or persistent.

_Hermaphrodite._ An organism possessing male and female characteristics or organs.

_Herpetology._ The study of reptiles.

_Hexapoda._ The order of insects.

_Hilum._ The point where the seed is attached to the seed-vessel.

_Hinterland._ The district behind a coast.

_Histology._ The study of organic tissues, usually with the aid of a microscope.

_History._ The study of the past. It deals with human institutions rather than with the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdom. History is concerned first of all with concrete data, specific cases, and then with explaining them in the light of general laws. There have been some ingenious, but not altogether successful, attempts to make history into a science.

_Holmium._ A metallic element. Symbol: Ho.

_Homo-._ In compounds: same, similar.

_Homology._ That relation between parts which results from their development from corresponding embryonic parts, either in different animals or in the same individual.

_Hormone._ A stimulating substance carried from one organ to another.

_Horse-power._ The unit of power in the English system. It is equal to 550 foot pounds per second.

_Humidity._ Moisture.

_Hurricane._ A wind of stormy violence.

_Hybrid._ The offspring of two plants or animals of different sorts.

_Hydrate._ A compound containing combined water.

_Hydraulics._ The science dealing with liquids in motion.

_Hydrocarbon._ A compound of carbon and hydrogen.

_Hydrogen._ A gaseous element. Symbol: H.

_Hydrolysis._ The decomposition of water in such a reaction as includes the formation of new compounds with the hydrogen and the oxygen of the water.

_Hydrometer._ An instrument used to determine the specific gravity of a liquid.

_Hydrostatics._ The science which deals with the pressure of liquids.

_Hydrous._ Containing water, whether in combination or in a mixture.

_Hydrozoan._ A member of a class (Hydrozoa) of coelenterate animals, chiefly marine, including jellyfish.

_Hygiene._ The science of sanitation, preventive medicine. In the United States, textbooks of hygiene are chiefly concerned with proving that alcohol and tobacco are injurious. Here is an example of “science” created by legislative fiat.

_Hygrometry._ The measuring of atmospheric moisture.

_Hypothesis._ A supposition used as a basis for reasoning, a provisional explanation. If it appears to be unconfirmed by the facts, it is rejected. Otherwise it becomes a theory, then a law.

_Igneous._ Formed by great heat, as rocks.

_Indehiscent._ Not bursting open at maturity.

_Indium._ A metallic element. Symbol: In.

_Indo-European_ or _Indo-Germanic_. Pertaining to a great family of languages including most of those spoken in Europe and by the white men in America as well as some used in India and other parts of Asia.

_Inductance._ The electrification of a conductor placed near a circuit or charged body, resulting from the proximity.

_Inert._ Not easily made to react.

_Inertia._ The property of matter by which it tends to remain at rest if it is at rest, or, if it is in motion, to remain in motion in a straight line. Our notion of inertia may possibly be changed by Einstein’s theory.

_Inflorescence._ Flowering, the arrangement of flowers on a plant.

_Infra-._ In compounds, below.

_Infusoria._ A class of protozoa which possess hairlike outgrowths.

_Inorganic._ Not derived from living organisms. Pertaining to the chemical compounds which do not contain carbon--but carbonates and a few other carbon compounds are considered to be inorganic.

_Insect._ A member of a class of small and invertebrate animals, all of which have bodies clearly divisible into head, thorax, and abdomen.

_Instinct._ An action pattern present from birth. (The varying theories of instinct, especially with regard to man, are often based upon varying definitions. This is true of many of the terms here defined.)

_Intelligence quotient._ The ratio between the “mental age” of an individual and the true age. The true age is often easier to determine than the mental age, that is, the age which a normal individual of a given intelligence possesses. How can intelligence be expressed numerically? Abbreviation: I. Q.

_Interference._ The influence which two waves have upon each other.

_Invertebrate._ Spineless, having no backbone.

_Iodine._ A solid, non-metallic element. Symbol: I.

_Ion._ Either of the substances that appear at the poles in electrolysis. Particle which carries electric charge. Positive ions are cations, negative ions are anions.

_Iridium._ A metallic element. Symbol: Ir.

_Iron._ An important metallic element. Symbol: Fe.

_Isobar._ A line connecting places which have the same barometric pressure (with corrections for varying altitude) at a given time or over a given period.

_Isotherm._ A line connecting places which have the same temperature at a given moment or over a stated period of time.

_Joule._ A unit of work. It is equal to ten million ergs, and it is about the energy expended in one second by an electric current of one ampere in a resistance of one ohm.

_Jurassic._ Of that Mesozoic period following the Triassic.

_Kidney._ One of a pair of organs which secrete urine.

_Kilogram._ A unit of mass in the metric system, about the mass of a cubic centimeter of water at its greatest density.

_Kinetic theory of gases._ The assumption and the teaching that the molecules of gases are constantly in motion and that the space between molecules is far greater than that occupied by the molecules themselves. The velocity of gas molecules is supposed to be very great.

_Krypton._ A gaseous element. Symbol: Kr.

_Labile._ Unstable.

_Lanthanum._ A metallic element. Symbol: La.

_Latent heat._ The equivalent of the work performed in changing the state of a substance from solid to liquid or liquid to gaseous.

_Law._ A generalization. A statement of the way things invariably behave under given conditions. A scientific law does not direct or impose penalties or state that things ought to behave in a certain way. It is a correct statement of invariable sequence. If the correctness of a statement has not been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, it is not a law.

_Lead._ A metallic element. Symbol: Pb.

_Leaf._ One of the expanded organs, usually green, springing from the stem, a branch, or sometimes a root, of a plant.

_Lens._ A portion of glass or other transparent substance with one or both sides curved, used to alter the direction of light rays.

_Leucocyte._ A colorless corpuscle of the blood.

_Lever._ A rigid structure used to modify force and motion while transmitting it.

_Life._ The quality which differentiates the organic from the inorganic. The ability to reproduce itself seems to be the differentiating characteristic of a living organism.

_Light._ A form of energy which is apprehended by the eye. It is supposed to move at a velocity of about 186,300 miles per second.

_Limb._ In astronomy, an edge or border. This is not the same word etymologically as the one which means an arm, a leg, or a wing.

_Lithium._ A metallic element. Symbol: Li.

_Litmus._ A substance which is turned red by acids and made blue again by bases. Paper stained with litmus is usually employed for such tests.

_Logic._ The science of thought. Scientific method.

_Lutecium._ A metallic element. Symbol: Lu.

_Magnesium._ A metallic element. Symbol: Mg.

_Magnetize._ To change into a magnet, give magnetic quality to, make capable of attracting iron.

_Male._ Of the sex or the organs that fecundate. Of a reproductive organ that fertilizes.

_Mammal._ One of the class of animals (Mammalia) which are vertebrate and which are distinguished by suckling their young.

_Mandible._ Jaw, especially the lower jaw. Part of a beak.

_Manganese._ A metallic element. Symbol: Mn.

_Marsupial._ One of an order of animals (Marsupialia) which are low mammals, and most of whose females carry the young in abdominal pouches.

_Mass._ Quantity of matter. This remains constant, but weight varies a little with geographical location.

_Materia medica._ The study of medicinal substances.

_Mathematics._ The science of space and quantity as such.

_Matter._ That which takes up space.

_Mean._ Equally removed from two extremes, average.

_Mechanics._ The science of motion. The study of the action of force on bodies. May be considered a branch of mathematics or of physics.

_Medicine._ The art of maintaining and restoring health. Surgery is sometimes excluded from the conception of medicine. The basis of medicine is only partially scientific.

_Megacephalic._ Large-headed.

_Melt._ To change from the solid to the liquid form.