The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
Chapter 1049
Oar cock (Zo\'94l) , the water rail. [Prov. Eng.] -- Spoon oar , an oar having the blade so curved as to afford a better hold upon the water in rowing. -- To boat the oars , to cease rowing, and lay the oars in the boat. -- To feather the oars . See under Feather . , v. t. -- To lie on the oars , to cease pulling, raising the oars out of water, but not boating them; to cease from work of any kind; to be idle; to rest. -- To muffle the oars , to put something round that part which rests in the rowlock, to prevent noise in rowing. -- To put in one's oar , to give aid or advice; -- commonly used of a person who obtrudes aid or counsel not invited. -- To ship the oars , to place them in the rowlocks. -- To toss the oars , To peak the oars, to lift them from the rowlocks and hold them perpendicularly, the handle resting on the bottom of the boat. -- To trail oars , to allow them to trail in the water alongside of the boat. -- To unship the oars , to take them out of the rowlocks.
Oar <Xpage=989>
Oar , v. t. & i. [ imp. & p. p. Oared (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Oaring .] To row. " Oared himself."
Shak.
Oared with laboring arms. Pope.
Oared <Xpage=989>
Oared (?) , a. 1. Furnished with oars; -- chiefly used in composition; as, a four- oared boat .
2. (Zo\'94l.) (a) Having feet adapted for swimming. (b) Totipalmate; -- said of the feet of certain birds. See Illust . of Aves .
Oared shrew (Zo\'94l.) , an aquatic European shrew ( Crossopus ciliatus ); -- called also black water shrew .
Oatcake <Xpage=989>
Oat"cake (?) , n. A cake made of oatmeal.
Oaten <Xpage=989>
Oat"en (?) , a. 1. Consisting of an oat straw or stem; as, an oaten pipe .
Milton.
2. Made of oatmeal; as, oaten cakes .
Oath <Xpage=989>
Oath (?) , n. ; pl. Oaths (#) . [OE. othe , oth , ath , AS. \'be<?/ ; akin to D. eed , OS. \'c7<?/ , G. eid , Icel. ei<?/r , Sw. ed , Dan. eed , Goth. ai<?/s ; cf. OIr. oeth .] 1. A solemn affirmation or declaration, made with a reverent appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed. "I have an oath in heaven"
Shak.
An oath of secrecy for the concealing of those [inventions] which we think fit to keep secret. Bacon.
2. A solemn affirmation, connected with a sacred object, or one regarded as sacred, as the temple, the altar, the blood of Abel, the Bible, the Koran, etc.
3. (Law) An appeal (in verification of a statement made) to a superior sanction, in such a form as exposes the party making the appeal to an indictment for perjury if the statement be false.
4. A careless and blasphemous use of the name of the divine Being, or anything divine or sacred, by way of appeal or as a profane exclamation or ejaculation; an expression of profane swearing. "A terrible oath "
Shak.
Oathable <Xpage=989>
Oath"a*ble (?) , a. Capable of having an oath administered to. [Obs.]
Shak.
Oathbreaking <Xpage=989>
Oath"break`ing (?) , n. The violation of an oath; perjury.
Shak
Oatmeal <Xpage=989>
Oat"meal` (?) , n. 1. Meal made of oats.
Gay.
2. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Panicum ; panic grass.
Ob- <Xpage=989>
Ob- (?) . [L. ob , prep. Cf. Epi- .] A prefix signifying to, toward , before , against , reversely , etc.; also, as a simple intensive; as in oblige , to bind to; obstacle, something standing before; object, lit., to throw against; obovate, reversely, ovate. Ob- is commonly assimilated before c , f , g , and p , to oc- , of- , og- , and op- .
Obcompressed <Xpage=989>
Ob"com*pressed" (?) . a. [Pref. ob- + compressed .] Compressed or flattened antero-posteriorly, or in a way opposite to the usual one.
Obconic, Obconical <Xpage=989>
Ob*con"ic (?) , Ob*con"ic*al (?) , a. [Pref. ob- + conic , conical .] Conical, but having the apex downward; inversely conical.
Obcordate <Xpage=989>
Ob*cor"date (?) , a. [Pref. ob- + cordate .] Heart-shaped, with the attachment at the pointed end; inversely cordate: as, an obcordate petal or leaf.
Obdiplostemonous <Xpage=989>
Ob*dip`lo*stem"o*nous (?) , a. [Pref. ob- + diplostemonous .] (Bot.) Having twice as many stamens as petals, those of the outer set being opposite the petals; -- said of flowers.
Gray.
Obdiplostemony <Xpage=989>
Ob*dip"lo*stem"o*ny (?) , n. (Bot.) The condition of being obdiplostemonous.
Obdormition <Xpage=989>
Ob"dor*mi"tion (?) , n. [L. obdormire to fall asleep.] Sleep. [Obs.]
Bp. Hall.
Obduce <Xpage=989>
Ob*duce" (?) , v. t. [L. obducere , obductum ; ob (see Ob-) + ducere to lead.] To draw over, as a covering. [Obs.]
Sir M. Hale.
Obduct <Xpage=989>
Ob*duct" (<?/) , v. t. [See Obduce .] To draw over; to cover. [Obs.]
Sir T. Browne.
Obduction <Xpage=989>
Ob*duc"tion (?) , n. [L. obductio .] .The act of drawing or laying over, as a covering. [Obs.]
Obduracy <Xpage=989>
Ob"du*ra*cy (?) , n. The duality or state of being obdurate; invincible hardness of heart; obstinacy. " Obduracy and persistency."
Shak.
The absolute completion of sin in final obduracy . South.
Obdurate <Xpage=989>
Ob"du*rate (?) , a. [L. obduratus , p. p. of obdurare to harden; ob (see Ob-)+ durare to harden, durus hard. See Dure .] 1. Hardened in feelings, esp. against moral or mollifying influences; unyielding; hard-hearted; stubbornly wicked.
The very custom of evil makes the heart obdurate against whatsoever instructions to the contrary. Hooker.
Art thou obdurate , flinty, hard as steel, Nay, more than flint, for stone at rain relenteth? Shak.
2. Hard; harsh; rugged; rough; intractable. " Obdurate consonants."
Swift.
&hand; Sometimes accented on the second syllable, especially by the older poets.
There is no flesh in man's obdurate heart. Cowper.
Syn. -- Hard; firm; unbending; inflexible; unyielding; stubborn; obstinate; impenitent; callous; unfeeling; insensible; unsusceptible. -- Obdurate , Callous , Hardened . Callous denotes a deadening of the sensibilities; as. a callous conscience. Hardened implies a general and settled disregard for the claims of interest, duty, and sympathy; as, hardened in vice. Obdurate implies an active resistance of the heart and will aganst the pleadings of compassion and humanity.
-- Ob"du*rate*ly (#) , adv. -- Ob"du*rate*ness , n.
Obdurate <Xpage=989>
Ob"du*rate (?) , v. t. To harden. [Obs.]
Obduration <Xpage=989>
Ob"du*ra"tion (?) , n. [L. obduratio .] A hardening of the heart; hardness of heart. [Obs.]
Obdure <Xpage=989>
Ob*dure" (?) , v. t. To harden. [Obs.]
Milton.
Obdure, Obdured <Xpage=989>
Ob*dure" (?) , Ob*dured" (?) , a. Obdurate; hard. [Obs.]
This saw his hapless foes, but stood obdured . Milton.
Obdureness, n., Obduredness <Xpage=989>
Ob*dure"ness , n. , Ob*dur"ed*ness (?) , n. Hardness. [Obs.]
Bp. Hall.
Obbe <Xpage=989>
Ob"be (?) , n. See Obi .
Obeah <Xpage=989>
O*be"ah (?) . n. Same as Obi . -- a. Of or pertaining to obi; as, the obeah man .
B. Edwards.
Obedible <Xpage=989>
O*be"di*ble (?) , a. Obedient. [Obs.]
Bp. Hall.
Obedience <Xpage=989>
O*be"di*ence (?) , n. [F. ob\'82dience , L. obedientia , oboedientia . See Obedient , and cf. Obeisance .]
1. The act of obeying, or the state of being obedient; compliance with that which is required by authority; subjection to rightful restraint or control.
Government must compel the obedience of individuals. Ames.
2. Words or actions denoting submission to authority; dutifulness.
Shak.
3. (Eccl.) (a) A following; a body of adherents; as, the Roman Catholic obedience , or the whole body of persons who submit to the authority of the pope . (b) A cell (or offshoot of a larger monastery) governed by a prior. (c) One of the three monastic vows. Shipley . (d) The written precept of a superior in a religious order or congregation to a subject.
Canonical obedience . See under Canonical . -- Passive obedience . See under Passive .
Obedienciary <Xpage=989>
O*be`di*en"ci*a*ry (?) , n. One yielding obedience. [Obs.]
Foxe.
Obedient <Xpage=989>
O*be"di*ent (?) , a. [OF. obedient , L. obediens , oboediens , -entis . p.pr. of obedire , oboedire , to obey. See Obey .] Subject in will or act to authority; willing to obey; submissive to restraint, control, or command.
And floating straight, obedient to the stream. Shak.
The chief his orders gives; the obedient band, With due observance, wait the chief's command. Pope.
Syn. -- Dutiful; respectful; compliant; submissive.
Obediential <Xpage=989>
O*be`di*en"tial (?) , a. [Cf. F. ob\'82dientiel .] According to the rule of obedience. [R.]
An obediental subjection to the Lord of Nature. Sir M. Hale.
Obediently <Xpage=989>
O*be"di*ent*ly (?) , adv. In an obedient manner; with obedience.
Obeisance <Xpage=989>
O*bei"sance (?) , n. [F. ob\'82issance obedience, fr. ob\'82issant . See Obey , and cf. Obedience , Abaisance .] 1. Obedience. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
2. A manifestation of obedience; an expression of difference or respect; homage; a bow; a courtesy.
Bathsheba bowed and did obeisance unto the king. 1 Kings i. 16.
Obeisancy <Xpage=989>
O*bei"san*cy (?) , n. See Obeisance . [Obs.]
Obeisant <Xpage=989>
O*bei"sant (?) , a. [F. ob\'82issant , p.pr. of ob\'82ir to obey.] Ready to obey; reverent; differential; also, servilely submissive.
Obelion <Xpage=989>
O*be"li*on (?) , n. [NL., from Gr. <?/ a spit.] (Anat.) The region of the skull between the two parietal foramina where the closure of the sagittal suture usually begins.
Obeliscal <Xpage=989>
Ob`e*lis"cal (?) , a. Formed like an obelisk.
Obelisk <Xpage=989>
Ob"e*lisk (?) , n. [L. obeliscus , Gr. <?/, dim. of <?/ a spit, a pointed pillar: cf. F. ob\'82lisque .] 1. An upright, four-sided pillar, gradually tapering as it rises, and terminating in a pyramid called pyramidion . It is ordinarily monolithic. Egyptian obelisks are commonly covered with hieroglyphic writing from top to bottom.
2. (Print.) A mark of reference; -- called also dagger [&dag;]. See Dagger , n. , 2.
Obelisk <Xpage=989>
Ob"e*lisk , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Obelisked (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Obelisking .] To mark or designate with an obelisk.
Obelize <Xpage=989>
Ob"e*lize (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Obelized (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Obelizing (?) .] [Gr. <?/, fr. <?/. See Obelus .] To designate with an obelus; to mark as doubtful or spirituous. [R.]
Obelus <Xpage=989>
Ob"e*lus (?) , n. ; pl. Obeli (#) . [L., fr. Gr. <?/, prop., a spit.] (Print.) A mark [thus —, or \'f6]; -- so called as resembling a needle. In old MSS. or editions of the classics, it marks suspected passages or readings.
Obequitate <Xpage=989>
Ob*eq"ui*tate (?) , v. i. [L. obequitatus , p.p. of obequitare to ride about.] To ride about. [Obs.] -- Ob*eq`ui*ta"tion (#) , n. [Obs.]
Cockerman.
Oberon <Xpage=989>
Ob"er*on (?) , n. [F., fr. OF. Auberon ; prob. of Frankish origin.] (Medi\'91val Mythol.) The king of the fairies, and husband of Titania or Queen Mab.
Shak.
Oberration <Xpage=989>
Ob`er*ra"tion (?) , n. [L. oberrate to wander about.] A wandering about. [Obs.]
Jonhson.
Obese <Xpage=989>
O*bese" (?) . a. [L. obesus eaten away, lean; also, that has eaten itself fat, fat, stout, p.p. of obedere to devour; ob (see Ob- ) + edere to eat. See Eat .] Excessively corpulent; fat; fleshy.
Obeseness <Xpage=989>
O*bese"ness , n. Quality of being obese; obesity.
Obesity <Xpage=989>
O*bes"i*ty (?) , n. [L. obesitas : cf.F. ob\'82sit\'82 .] The state or quality of being obese; incumbrance of flesh.
Obey <Xpage=989>
O*bey" (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Obeyed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Obeying .] [OE. obeyen , F. ob\'82ir , fr. L. obedire , oboedire ; ob (see Ob-) + audire to hear. See Audible , and cf. Obeisance .] 1. To give ear to; to execute the commands of; to yield submission to; to comply with the orders of.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord. Eph. vi. 1.
Was she the God, that her thou didst obey ? Milton.
2. To submit to the authority of; to be ruled by .
My will obeyed his will. Chaucer.
Afric and India shall his power obey . Dryden.
3. To yield to the impulse, power, or operation of ; as, a ship obeys her helm .
Obey <Xpage=989>
O*bey" , v. i. To give obedience.
Will he obey when one commands? Tennyson.
&hand; By some old writers obey was used, as in the French idiom, with the preposition to .
His servants ye are, to whom ye obey . Rom. vi. 16.
He commanded the trumpets to sound: to which the two brave knights obeying , they performed their courses. Sir. P. Sidney.
Obeyer <Xpage=989>
O*bey"er (?) , n. One who yields obedience.
Holland.
Obeyingly <Xpage=989>
O*bey"ing*ly , adv. Obediently; submissively.
Obfirm, Obfirmate <Xpage=989>
Ob*firm" (?) , Ob*firm"ate (?) , v. t. [L. obfirmatus , p.p. of obfirmare to make steadfast. See Ob- , and Firm , v. t. ] To make firm; to harden in resolution. [Obs.]
Bp. Hall. Sheldon.
Obfirmation <Xpage=989>
Ob"fir*ma"tion (?) , n. [LL. obfirmatio .] Hardness of heart; obduracy. [Obs.]
Jer. Taylor.
Obfuscate <Xpage=989>
Ob*fus"cate (?) , a. [L. obfuscatus , p.p. of obfuscare to darken; ob (see Ob- ) + fuscare , fuscatum , to darken, from fuscus dark.] Obfuscated; darkened; obscured. [Obs.] [Written also offuscate .]
Sir. T. Elyot.
Obfuscate <Xpage=989>
Ob*fus"cate (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Obfuscated (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Obfuscating .] To darken; to obscure; to becloud; hence, to confuse; to bewilder.
His head, like a smokejack, the funnel unswept, and the ideas whirling round and round about in it, all obfuscated and darkened over with fuliginous matter. Sterne.
Clouds of passion which might obfuscate the intellects of meaner females. Sir. W. Scott.
<page="990"> Page 990
Obfuscation <Xpage=990>
Ob`fus*ca"tion (?) , n. [L. obfuscatio .] The act of darkening or bewildering; the state of being darkened. " Obfuscation of the cornea."
E. Darwin.
Obi <Xpage=990>
O"bi (?) , n. [Prob. of African origin.] 1. A species of sorcery, probably of African origin, practiced among the negroes of the West Indies. [Written also obe and obeah .]
De Quincey. B. Edwards.
<-- 2. (Japanese) a belt-like sash worn around a woman's kimono -->
2. A charm or fetich. [West Indies]
B. Edwards.
Obimbricate <Xpage=990>
Ob*im"bri*cate (?) , a. [Pref. ob- + imbricate.] (Bot.) Imbricated, with the overlapping ends directed downward.
Obit <Xpage=990>
O"bit (?) , n. [OF. obit , L. obitus , fr. obire to go against, to go to meet, (sc. mortem ) to die; ob (see Ob-) + ire to go. See Issue .] 1. Death; decease; the date of one's death.
Wood.
2. A funeral solemnity or office; obsequies.
3. A service for the soul of a deceased person on the anniversary of the day of his death.
The emoluments and advantages from oblations, obits , and other sources, increased in value. Milman.
Post obit [L. post obitum ] . See Post-obit .
Obiter <Xpage=990>
Ob"i*ter (?) , adv. [L., on the way; ob (see Ob- ) + iter a going, a walk, way.] In passing; incidentally; by the way.
Obiter dictum (Law) , an incidental and collateral opinion uttered by a judge. See Dictum , n. , 2 (a) .
Obitual <Xpage=990>
O*bit"u*al (?) , a. [L. obitus death. See Obit .] Of or pertaining to obits, or days when obits are celebrated; as, obitual days .
Smart.
Obituarily <Xpage=990>
O*bit"u*a*ri*ly (?) , adv. In the manner of an obituary.
Obiyuary <Xpage=990>
O*biy"u*a*ry (?) , a. [See Obit .] Of or pertaining to the death of a person or persons; as, an obituary notice; obituary poetry.
Obituary <Xpage=990>
O*bit"u*a*ry , n. ; pl. Obituaries (#) . [Cf. F. obituaire . See Obit .] 1. That which pertains to, or is called forth by, the obit or death of a person; esp., an account of a deceased person; a notice of the death of a person, accompanied by a biographical sketch.
2. (R.C.Ch.) A list of the dead, or a register of anniversary days when service is performed for the dead.
Object <Xpage=990>