Chapter 1069

Op"ti*mism (?) , n. [L. optimus the best; akin to optio choice: cf. F. optimisme . See Option .]

1. (Metaph.) The opinion or doctrine that everything in nature, being the work of God, is ordered for the best, or that the ordering of things in the universe is such as to produce the highest good.

2. A disposition to take the most hopeful view; -- opposed to pessimism .

Optimist <Xpage=1007>

Op"ti*mist (?) , n. [Cf. F. optimiste .]

1. (Metaph.) One who holds the opinion that all events are ordered for the best.

2. One who looks on the bright side of things, or takes hopeful views; -- opposed to pessimist .

Optimisttic <Xpage=1007>

Op`ti*mist"tic (?) , a. 1. (Metaph.) Of or pertaining to optimism; tending, or conforming, to the opinion that all events are ordered for the best.

2. Hopeful; sanguine; as, an optimistic view .

Optimity <Xpage=1007>

Op*tim"i*ty (?) , n. [L. optimitas , fr. optimus the best.] The state of being best. [R.]

Bailey.

Option <Xpage=1007>

Op"tion (?) , n. [L. optio ; akin to optare to choose, wish, optimus best, and perh. to E. apt : cf. F. option .]

1. The power of choosing; the right of choice or election; an alternative.

There is an option left to the United States of America, whether they will be respectable and prosperous, or contemptible and miserable, as a nation. Washington.

2. The exercise of the power of choice; choice.

Transplantation must proceed from the option of the people, else it sounds like an exile. Bacon.

3. A wishing; a wish. [Obs.]

Bp. Hall.

4. (Ch. of Eng.) A right formerly belonging to an archbishop to select any one dignity or benefice in the gift of a suffragan bishop consecrated or confirmed by him, for bestowal by himself when next vacant; -- annulled by Parliament in 1845.

5. (Stock Exchange) A stipulated privilege, given to a party in a time contract, of demanding its fulfillment on any day within a specified limit.

Buyer's option , an option allowed to one who contracts to buy stocks at a certain future date and at a certain price, to demand the delivery of the stock (giving one day's notice) at any previous time at the market price. -- Seller's option , an option allowed to one who contracts to deliver stock art a certain price on a certain future date, to deliver it (giving one day's notice) at any previous time at the market price. Such options are privileges for which a consideration is paid. -- Local option . See under Local .

Syn. -- Choice; preference; selection. -- Option , Choice . Choice is an act of choosing; option often means liberty to choose, and implies freedom from constraint in the act of choosing.

Optional <Xpage=1007>

Op"tion*al (?) , a. Involving an option; depending on the exercise of an option; left to one's discretion or choice; not compulsory; as, optional studies; it is optional with you to go or stay. -- n. See Elective , n.

If to the former the movement was not optional , it was the same that the latter chose when it was optional . Palfrey.

Original writs are either optional or peremptory. Blackstone.

Optionally <Xpage=1007>

Op"tion*al*ly , adv. In an optional manner.

Optoc\'d2le, Optoc\'d2lia <Xpage=1007>

Op"to*c\'d2le (?) , Op`to*c\'d2"li*a (?) , n. [NL. optocoelia , fr. Gr. <?/ optic + <?/ a hollow.] (Anat.) The cavity of one of the optic lobes of the brain in many animals.

B. G. Wilder.

Optogram <Xpage=1007>

Op"to*gram (?) , n. [ Opt ic + -gram : cf. F. optogramme .] (Physiol.) An image of external objects fixed on the retina by the photochemical action of light on the visual purple. See Optography .

Optography <Xpage=1007>

Op*tog"ra*phy (?) , n. [ Opt ic + -graphy .] (Physiol.) The production of an optogram on the retina by the photochemical action of light on the visual purple; the fixation of an image in the eye. The object so photographed shows white on a purple or red background. See Visual purple , under Visual .

Optometer <Xpage=1007>

Op*tom"e*ter (?) , n. [ Opt ic + -meter .] (Physiol.) An instrument for measuring the distance of distinct vision, mainly for the selection of eveglasses.

Opulence <Xpage=1007>

Op"u*lence (?) , n. [L. opulentia : cf. F. opulence . See Opulent .] Wealth; riches; affluence.

Swift

Opulency <Xpage=1007>

Op"u*len*cy (?) , n. See Opulence .

Shak.

Opulent <Xpage=1007>

Op"u*lent (?) , a. [L. opulens , opulentus , fr. ops , opis , power, wealth, riches, perh. akin to E. apt : cf. F. opulent . Cf. Copious , Couple , Office .] Having a large estate or property; wealthy; rich; affluent; as, an opulent city; an opulent citizen . -- Op"u*lent*ly , adv.

I will piece Her opulent throne with kingdoms. Shak.

Opuntia <Xpage=1007>

O*pun"ti*a (?) , n. [NL.] (Bot.) A genus of cactaceous plants; the prickly pear, or Indian fig.

Opus <Xpage=1007>

O"pus (?) , n. ; pl. Opera (#) . [L. See Opera .] A work; specif. (Mus.) , a musical composition.

&hand; Each composition, or set of pieces, as the composer may choose, is called an opus , and they are numbered in the order of their issue. (Often abbrev. to op. )

<page="1008"> Page 1008

Opus incertum . [L.] (Arch.) See under Incertum .

Opuscle, Opuscule <Xpage=1008>

O*pus"cle (?) , O*pus"cule (?) , n. [L. opusculum , dim. of opus work: cf. F. opuscule .] A small or petty work.

Opusculum <Xpage=1008>

O*pus"cu*lum (?) , n. ; pl. Opuscula (#) . [L.] An opuscule.

Smart.

Opye <Xpage=1008>

O"pye (?) , n. Opium. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Oquassa <Xpage=1008>

O*quas"sa (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) A small, handsome trout ( Salvelinus oquassa ), found in some of the lakes in Maine; -- called also blueback trout .

-or <Xpage=1008>

-or . [L. -or : cf. OF. -or , -ur , -our , F. -eur .]

1. A noun suffix denoting an act ; a state or quality ; as in err or , ferv or , pall or , cand or , etc.

2. A noun suffix denoting an agent or doer ; as in audit or , one who hears; don or , one who gives; oblig or , elevat or . It is correlative to -ee . In general -or is appended to words of Latin, and -er to those of English, origin. See -er .

Or <Xpage=1008>

Or (?) , conj. [OE. or , outher , other , auther , either, or, AS. \'bew<?/er , contr. from \'behw\'91<?/er ; \'be aye + hw\'91<?/er whether. See Aye , and Whether , and cf. Either .] A particle that marks an alternative; as, you may read or may write, -- that is, you may do one of the things at your pleasure, but not both . It corresponds to either . You may ride either to London or to Windsor. It often connects a series of words or propositions, presenting a choice of either; as, he may study law, or medicine, or divinity, or he may enter into trade .

If man's convenience, health, Or safety interfere, his rights and claims Are paramount. Cowper.

&hand; Or may be used to join as alternatives terms expressing unlike things or ideas (as, is the orange sour or sweet?), or different terms expressing the same thing or idea; as, this is a sphere, or globe.

&hand; Or sometimes begins a sentence. In this case it expresses an alternative or subjoins a clause differing from the foregoing. " Or what man is there of you, who, if his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone?" Matt. vii. 9 (Rev. Ver. ).

Or for either is archaic or poetic.

Maugre thine heed, thou must for indigence Or steal, or beg, or borrow thy dispence. Chaucer.

Or <Xpage=1008>

Or , prep. & adv. [AS. <?/r ere, before. &root;204. See Ere , prep. & adv. ] Ere; before; sooner than. [Obs.]

But natheless, while I have time and space, Or that I forther in this tale pace. Chaucer.

Or ever , Or ere . See under Ever , and Ere .

Or <Xpage=1008>

Or , n. [F., fr. L. aurum gold. Cf. Aureate .] (Her.) Yellow or gold color, -- represented in drawing or engraving by small dots.

Ora <Xpage=1008>

O"ra (?) , n. [AS. See 2d Ore .] A money of account among the Anglo-Saxons, valued, in the Domesday Book, at twenty pence sterling.

Orabassu <Xpage=1008>

O`ra*bas"su (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) A South American monkey of the genus Callithrix , esp.

C. Moloch.

Orach, Orache <Xpage=1008>

Or"ach , Or"ache (?) , n. [F. arroche , corrupted fr. L. atriplex , Gr. <?/. Cf. Arrach .] (Bot.) A genus ( Atriplex ) of herbs or low shrubs of the Goosefoot family, most of them with a mealy surface.

Garden orache , a plant ( Atriplex hortensis ), often used as a pot herb; -- also called mountain spinach .

Oracle <Xpage=1008>

Or"a*cle (?) , n. [F., fr. L. oraculum , fr. orare to speak, utter, pray, fr. os , oris , mouth. See Oral .]

1. The answer of a god, or some person reputed to be a god, to an inquiry respecting some affair or future event, as the success of an enterprise or battle.

Whatso'er she saith, for oracles must stand. Drayton.

2. Hence: The deity who was supposed to give the answer; also, the place where it was given.

The oracles are dumb; No voice or hideous hum Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving. Milton.

3. The communications, revelations, or messages delivered by God to the prophets; also, the entire sacred Scriptures -- usually in the plural.

The first principles of the oracles of God. Heb. v. 12.

4. (Jewish Antiq.) The sanctuary, or Most Holy place in the temple; also, the temple itself.

1 Kings vi. 19.

Siloa's brook, that flow'd Fast by the oracle of God. Milton.

5. One who communicates a divine command; an angel; a prophet.

God hath now sent his living oracle Into the world to teach his final will. Milton.

6. Any person reputed uncommonly wise; one whose decisions are regarded as of great authority; as, a literary oracle . " Oracles of mode."

Tennyson.

The country rectors . . . thought him an oracle on points of learning. Macaulay.

7. A wise sentence or decision of great authority.

Oracle <Xpage=1008>

Or"a*cle , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Oracled (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Oracling (?) .] To utter oracles. [Obs.]

Oracular <Xpage=1008>

O*rac"u*lar (?) , a. [L. oracularius . See Oracle .]

1. Of or pertaining to an oracle; uttering oracles; forecasting the future; as, an oracular tongue .

2. Resembling an oracle in some way, as in solemnity, wisdom, authority, obscurity, ambiguity, dogmatism.

They have something venerable and oracular in that unadorned gravity and shortness in the expression. Pope.

-- O*rac"u*lar*ly , adv. -- O*rac"u*lar*ness , n.

Oraculous <Xpage=1008>

O*rac"u*lous (?) , a. Oracular; of the nature of an oracle. [R.] "Equivocations, or oraculous speeches." Bacon . "The oraculous seer." Pope . -- O*rac"u*lous*ly , adv. -- O*rac"u*lous*ness , n.

Oragious <Xpage=1008>

O*ra"gious (?) , a. [F. orageux .] Stormy. [R.]

Oraison <Xpage=1008>

Or"ai*son (?) , n. See Orison . [Obs.]

Shak.

Oral <Xpage=1008>

O"ral (?) , a. [L. os , oris , the mouth, akin to Skr. \'bes . Cf. Adore , Orison , Usher .] 1. Uttered by the mouth, or in words; spoken, not written; verbal; as, oral traditions; oral testimony; oral law.

2. Of or pertaining to the mouth; surrounding or lining the mouth; as, oral cilia or cirri .

Orally <Xpage=1008>

O"ral*ly , adv. 1. In an oral manner.

Tillotson.

2. By, with, or in, the mouth; as, to receive the sacrament orally . [Obs.]

Usher.

Orang <Xpage=1008>

O*rang" (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) See Orang-outang .

Orange <Xpage=1008>

Or"ange (?) , n. [F.; cf. It. arancia , arancio , LL. arangia , Sp. naranjia , Pg. laranja ; all fr. Ar. n\'beranj , Per. n\'beranj , n\'berang ; cf. Skr. n\'beranga orange tree. The o- in F. orange is due to confusion with or gold, L. aurum , because the orange resembles gold in color.]

1. The fruit of a tree of the genus Citrus ( C. Aurantium ). It is usually round, and consists of pulpy carpels, commonly ten in number, inclosed in a leathery rind, which is easily separable, and is reddish yellow when ripe.

&hand; There are numerous varieties of oranges; as, the bitter orange , which is supposed to be the original stock; the navel orange , which has the rudiment of a second orange imbedded in the top of the fruit; the blood orange , with a reddish juice; and the horned orange , in which the carpels are partly separated.

2. (Bot.) The tree that bears oranges; the orange tree.

3. The color of an orange; reddish yellow.

Mandarin orange . See Mandarin . -- Mock orange (Bot.) , any species of shrubs of the genus Philadelphus , which have whitish and often fragrant blossoms. -- Native orange , &or; Orange thorn (Bot.) , an Australian shrub ( Citriobatus parviflorus ); also, its edible yellow berries. -- Orange bird (Zo\'94l.) , a tanager of Jamaica ( Tanagra zena ); -- so called from its bright orange breast. -- Orange cowry (Zo\'94l.) , a large, handsome cowry ( Cypr\'91a aurantia ), highly valued by collectors of shells on account of its rarity. -- Orange grass (Bot.) , an inconspicuous annual American plant ( Hypericum Sarothra ), having minute, deep yellow flowers. -- Orange oil (Chem.) , an oily, terpenelike substance obtained from orange rind, and distinct from neroli oil, which is obtained from the flowers. -- Orange pekoe , a kind of black tea. -- Orange pippin , an orange-colored apple with acid flavor. -- Quito orange , the orangelike fruit of a shrubby species of nightshade ( Solanum Quitoense ), native in Quito. -- Orange scale (Zo\'94l.) any species of scale insects which infests orange trees; especially, the purple scale ( Mytilaspis citricola ), the long scale ( M. Gloveri ), and the red scale ( Aspidiotus Aurantii ).

Orange <Xpage=1008>

Or"ange , a. Of or pertaining to an orange; of the color of an orange; reddish yellow; as, an orange ribbon .

Orangeade <Xpage=1008>

Or`ange*ade" (?) , n. [F., fr. orange .] A drink made of orange juice and water, corresponding to lemonade ; orange sherbet.

Orangeat <Xpage=1008>

Or`an*geat" (?) , n. [F., fr. orange .] Candied orange peel; also, orangeade.

Orangeism <Xpage=1008>

Or"ange*ism (?) , n. Attachment to the principles of the society of Orangemen; the tenets or practices of the Orangemen.

Orangeman <Xpage=1008>

Or"ange*man (?) , n. ; pl. -men (<?/) . One of a secret society, organized in the north of Ireland in 1795, the professed objects of which are the defense of the regning sovereign of Great Britain, the support of the Protestant religion, the maintenance of the laws of the kingdom, etc.; -- so called in honor of William, Prince of Orange, who became William III. of England.

Orangeroot <Xpage=1008>

Or"ange*root` (?) , n. (Bot.) An American ranunculaceous plant ( Hidrastis Canadensis ), having a yellow tuberous root; -- also called yellowroot , golden seal , etc.

Orangery <Xpage=1008>

Or"an*ger*y (?) , n. [F. orangerie , fr. orange . See Orange .] A place for raising oranges; a plantation of orange trees.

Orangetawny <Xpage=1008>

Or"ange*taw`ny (?) , a. & n. Deep orange-yellow; dark yellow.

Shak.

Orangite <Xpage=1008>

Or"an*gite (?) , (Min.) An orange-yellow variety of the mineral thorite, found in Norway.

Orang-outang <Xpage=1008>

O*rang"-ou*tang` (?) , n. [Malayan <?/rang <?/tan , i. e., man of the woods; <?/rang man + <?/tan a forest, wood, wild, savage.] (Zo\'94l.) An arboreal anthropoid ape ( Simia satyrus ), which inhabits Borneo and Sumatra. Often called simply orang . [Written also orang-outan , orang-utan , ourang-utang , and oran-utan .]

&hand; It is over four feet high, when full grown, and has very long arms, which reach nearly or quite to the ground when the body is erect. Its color is reddish brown. In structure, it closely resembles man in many respects.

Orarian <Xpage=1008>

O*ra"ri*an (?) , a. [L. orarius , fr. ora coast.] Of or pertaining to a coast.

Oration <Xpage=1008>

O*ra"tion (?) , n. [L. oratio , fr. orare to speak, utter, pray. See Oral , Orison .] An elaborate discourse, delivered in public, treating an important subject in a formal and dignified manner; especially, a discourse having reference to some special occasion, as a funeral, an anniversary, a celebration, or the like; -- distinguished from an argument in court, a popular harangue, a sermon, a lecture, etc.; as, Webster's oration at Bunker Hill .

The lord archbishop . . . made a long oration . Bacon.

Syn. -- Address; speech. See Harangue .

Oration <Xpage=1008>

O*ra"tion , v. i. To deliver an oration.

Donne.

Orator <Xpage=1008>

Or"a*tor (?) , n. [L., fr. orare to speak, utter. See Oration .] 1. A public speaker; one who delivers an oration; especially, one distinguished for his skill and power as a public speaker; one who is eloquent.

I am no orator , as Brutus is. Shak.

Some orator renowned In Athens or free Rome. Milton.

2. (Law) (a) In equity proceedings, one who prays for relief; a petitioner. (b) A plaintiff, or complainant, in a bill in chancery.