Chapter 241

Cast" i`ron (?) . Highly carbonized iron, the direct product of the blast furnace; -- used for making castings, and for conversion into wrought iron and steel. It can not be welded or forged, is brittle, and sometimes very hard. Besides carbon, it contains sulphur, phosphorus, silica, etc.

Cast-iron <Xpage=223>

Cast"-i`ron , a. Made of cast iron. Hence, Fig.: like cast iron; hardy; unyielding.

Castle <Xpage=223>

Cas"tle (?) , n. [AS. castel , fr. L. castellum , dim. of castrum a fortified place, castle.] 1. A fortified residence, especially that of a prince or nobleman; a fortress.

The house of every one is to him castle and fortress, as well for his defense againts injury and violence, as for his repose. Coke.

Our castle's strength Will laugh a siege to scorn. Shak.

&hand; Originally the medi\'91val castle was a single strong tower or keep, with a palisaded inclosure around it and inferior buidings, such as stables and the like, and surrounded by a moat; then such a keep or donjon, with courtyards or baileys and accessory buildings of greater elaboration a great hall and a chapel, all surrounded by defensive walls and a moat, with a drawbridge, etc. Afterwards the name was retained by large dwellings that had formerly been fortresses, or by those which replaced ancient fortresses.

<-- Illustration of "Castle at Pierrefonds, France": -->

A Donjon or Keep, an irregular building containing the dwelling of the lord and his family; B C Large round towers ferming part of the donjon and of the exterior; D Square tower, separating the two inner courts and forming part of the donjon; E Chapel, whose apse forms a half-round tower, F , on the exterior walls; G H Round towers on the exterior walls; K Postern gate, reached from outside by a removable fight of steps or inclined plane for hoisting in stores, and leading to a court, L (see small digagram) whose pavement is on a level with the sill of the postern, but below the level of the larger court, with which it communicates by a separately fortified gateway; M Turret, containing spiral stairway to all the stories of the great tower, B , and serving also as a station for signal fire, banner, etc.; N Turret with stairway for tower, C ; O Echauguettes; P P P Battlemants consisting of merlons and crenels alternately, the merlons being pierced by loopholes; Q Q Machicolations (those at Q defend the postern K ); R Outwork defending the approach, which is a road ascending the hill and passing under all four faces of the castle; S S Wall of the outer bailey. The road of approach enters the bailey at T and passes thence into the castle by the main entrance gateway (which is in the wall between, and defended by the towers, C H ) and over two drawbridges and through fortified passages to the inner court.

<-- end of illustration caption. -->

2. Any strong, imposing, and stately mansion.

3. A small tower, as on a ship, or an elephant's back.

4. A piece, made to represent a castle, used in the game of chess; a rook.

Castle in the air , a visionary project; a baseless scheme; an air castle; -- sometimes called a castle in Spain (F. Ch\'83teau en Espagne ).

Syn. -- Fortress; fortification; citadel; stronghold. See Fortress .

Castle <Xpage=223>

Cas"tle (?) , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Castled (<?/) . p. pr. & vb. n. Castling (?) .] (Chess) To move the castle to the square next to king, and then the king around the castle to the square next beyond it, for the purpose of covering the king.

Castlebuilder <Xpage=223>

Cas"tle*build`er (?) , n. Fig.: one who builds castles in the air or forms visionary schemes.

-- Cas"tle*build`ing , n.

Castled <Xpage=223>

Cas"tled (?) , a. Having a castle or castles; supporting a castle; as, a castled height or crag .

2. Fortified; turreted; as, castled walls .

Castle-guard <Xpage=223>

Cas"tle-guard` (?) , n. 1. The guard or defense of a castle.

2. (O. Eng. Law) A tax or imposition an a dwelling within a certain distance of a castle, for the purpose of maintaining watch and ward in it; castle-ward.

3. A feudal tenure, obliging the tenant to perform service within the realm, without limitation of time.

Castlery <Xpage=223>

Cas"tle*ry (?) , n. [Cf. OF. castelerie . See Castle .] The government of a castle.

Blount.

Castlet <Xpage=223>

Cas"tlet (?) , n. A small castle.

Leland.

Castleward <Xpage=223>

Cas"tle*ward` (?) , n. Same as Castleguard .

Castling <Xpage=223>

Cast"ling (?) , n. That which is cast or brought forth prematurely; an abortion.

Sir T. Browne.

Castling <Xpage=223>

Cas"tling (?) , n. (Chess) A compound move of the king and castle. See Castle , v. i. /def>

Cast-off <Xpage=223>

Cast"-off` (?) , a. Cast or laid aside; as, cast-off clothes .

Castor <Xpage=223>

Cas"tor (?) , n. [L. castor the beaver, Gr. <?/; of uncertain origin.] 1. (Zo\'94l.) A genus of rodents, including the beaver. See Beaver .

2. Castoreum. See Castoreum .

3. A hat, esp. one made of beaver fur; a beaver.

I have always been known for the jaunty manner in which I wear my castor . Sir W. Scott.

4. A heavy quality of broadcloth for overcoats.

Castor <Xpage=223>

Cast"or (?) , n. See Caster , a small wheel.

Castor <Xpage=223>

Cas"tor (?) , n. [L.] (Astron.) the northernmost of the two bright stars in the constellation Gemini, the other being Pollux.

Castor, Castorite <Xpage=223>

Cas"tor , Cas"tor*ite (?) , n. [The minerals castor and pollux were so named because found together on the island of Elba. See Castor and Pollux .] (Min.) A variety of the mineral called petalite, from Elba.

Castor and Pollux <Xpage=223>

Cas"tor and Pol"lux (?) . [ Castor and Pollux were twin sons of Jupiter and Leda.] (Naut.) See Saint Elmo's fire , under Saint .

Castor bean <Xpage=223>

Cas"tor bean" (?) . (Bot.) The bean or seed of the castor-oil plant ( Ricinus communis , or Palma Christi .)

Castoreum <Xpage=223>

Cas*to"re*um (?) , n. [L. See Castor .] A peculiar bitter orange-brown substance, with strong, penetrating odor, found in two sacs between the anus and external genitals of the beaver; castor; -- used in medicine as an antispasmodic, and by perfumers.

<page="225"> Page 225

Castorin <Xpage=225>

Cas"to*rin (?) , n. [From 1st Castor .] (Chem.) A white crystalline substance obtained from castoreum.

Castor oil <Xpage=225>

Cas"tor oil (?) . A mild cathartic oil, expressed or extracted from the seeds of the Ricinus communis , or Palma Christi . When fresh the oil is inodorus and insipid.

Castor-oil plant . Same as Palma Christi .

Castrametation <Xpage=225>

Cas`tra*me*ta"tion (?) , n. [F. castram\'82tation , fr . L . castra camp + metari to measure off, fr. meta limit.] (Mil.) The art or act of encamping; the making or laying out of a camp.

Castrate <Xpage=225>

Cas"trate (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Castrated ; p. pr. & vb. n. Castrating .] [L. castrarus , p; p. of castrare to castrate, asin to Skr. \'87astra knife.] 1. To deprive of the testicles; to emasculate; to geld; to alter.

2. To cut or take out; esp. to remove anything erroneous, or objectionable from, as the obscene parts of a writing; to expurgate.

My . . . correspondent . . . has sent me the following letter, which I have castrated in some places. Spectator.

Castration <Xpage=225>

Cas*tra"tion (?) , n. [L. castratio ; cf. F. castration .] The act of castrating.

Castrato <Xpage=225>

Cas*tra"to (?) , n. [L., properly p. p. of castrare . See Castrate .] A male person castrated for the purpose of improving his voice for singing; an artificial, or male, soprano.

Swift.

Castrel <Xpage=225>

Cas"trel (?) , n. [Cf. F. cr\'82cerelle , cristel , OF. crecel , cercele . Cf. Kestrel .] (Zo\'94l.) See Kestrel .

Castrensial <Xpage=225>

Cas*tren"sial (?) , a. [L. castrensis , fr. castra camp.] Belonging to a camp.

Sir T. Browne.

Castrensian <Xpage=225>

Cas*tren"sian (?) , a. Castrensial. [R.]

Cast steel <Xpage=225>

Cast" steel" (?) . See Cast steel , under Steel .

Casual <Xpage=225>

Cas"u*al (?) , a. [OE. casuel , F. casuel , fr. L. casualis , fr. casus fall, accident, fr. cadere to fall. See Case .] 1. Happening or coming to pass without design, and without being foreseen or expected; accidental; fortuitous; coming by chance.

Casual breaks, in the general system. W. Irving.

2. Coming without regularity; occasional; incidental; as, casual expenses .

A constant habit, rather than a casual gesture. Hawthorne.

Syn. -- Accidental; fortutious; incidental; occasional; contingent; unforeseen. See Accidental .

Casual <Xpage=225>

Cas"u*al , n. One who receives relief for a night in a parish to which he does not belong; a vagrant.

Casualism <Xpage=225>

Cas"u*al*ism (?) , n. The doctrine that all things exist or are controlled by chance.

Casualist <Xpage=225>

Cas"u*al*ist , n. One who believes in casualism.

Casually <Xpage=225>

Cas"u*al*ly , adv. Without design; accidentally; fortuitously; by chance; occasionally.

Casualness <Xpage=225>

Cas"u*al*ness , n. The quality of being casual.

Casualty <Xpage=225>

Cas"u*al*ty (?) , n. ; pl. Casualties (#) . [F. casualit\'82 , LL. casualitas .] 1. That which comes without design or without being foreseen; contingency.

Losses that befall them by mere casualty . Sir W. Raleigh.

2. Any injury of the body from accident; hence, death, or other misfortune, occasioned by an accident; as, an unhappy casualty .

3. pl. (Mil. & Naval) Numerical loss caused by death, wounds, discharge, or desertion.

Casualty ward , A ward in a hospital devoted to the treatment of injuries received by accident.

Syn. -- Accident; contingency; fortuity; misfortune.

Casuarina <Xpage=225>

Cas`u*a*ri"na (?) , n. [NL., supposed to be named from the resemblance of the twigs to the feathers of the cassowary, of the genus Casuarius .] (Bot.) A genus of leafles trees or shrubs, with drooping branchlets of a rushlike appearance, mostly natives of Australia. Some of them are large, producing hard and heavy timber of excellent quality, called beefwood from its color.

Casuist <Xpage=225>

Cas"u*ist (?) , n. [L. casus fall, case; cf. F. casuiste . See Casual .] One who is skilled in, or given to, casuistry.

The judment of any casuist or learned divine concerning the state of a man's soul, is not sufficient to give him confidence. South.

Casuist <Xpage=225>

Cas"u*ist , v. i. To play the casuist.

Milton.

Casuistic, Casuistieal <Xpage=225>

Cas`u*is"tic (?) , Cas`u*is"tie*al (?) , a. Of or pertaining to casuists or casuistry.

Casuistry <Xpage=225>

Cas"u*ist*ry (?) , a. 1. The science or doctrine of dealing with cases of conscience, of resolving questions of right or wrong in conduct, or determining the lawfulness or unlawfulness of what a man may do by rules and principles drawn from the Scriptures, from the laws of society or the church, or from equity and natural reason; the application of general moral rules to particular cases.

The consideration of these nice and puzzling question in the science of ethics has given rise, in modern times, to a particular department of it, distinguished by the title of casuistry . Stewart.

Casuistry in the science of cases (i.e., oblique deflections from the general rule). De Quincey.

2. Sophistical, equivocal, or false reasoning or teaching in regard to duties, obligations, and morals.

Casus <Xpage=225>

Ca"sus (?) , n. [L.] An event; an occurrence; an occasion; a combination of circumstances; a case; an act of God. See the Note under Accident .

Casus belli , an event or combination of events which is a cause war, or may be alleged as a justification of war. -- Casus fortuitus , an accident against which due prudence could not have provided. See Act of God , under Act . -- Casus omissus , a case not provided for by the statute.

Cat <Xpage=225>

Cat (?) , n. [AS. cat ; akin to D. & Dan. kat , Sw. kett , Icel. k\'94ttr , G. katze , kater , Ir. Cat , W. cath , Armor. kaz , LL. catus , Bisc. catua, NGr <?/, <?/, Russ. & Pol. cot , Turk. kedi , Ar. qitt ; of unknown origin. CF. Ketten .] 1. (Zo\'94l.) An animal of various species of the genera Felis and Lynx . The domestic cat is Felis domestica . The European wild cat ( Felis catus ) is much larger than the domestic cat. In the United States the name wild cat is commonly applied to the bay lynx ( Lynx rufus ) See Wild cat , and Tiger cat .

&hand; The domestic cat includes many varieties named from their place of origin or from some peculiarity; as, the Angora cat ; the Maltese cat ; the Manx cat .

The word cat is also used to designate other animals, from some fancied resemblance; as, civet cat , fisher cat , cat bird, cat fish shark, sea cat .

2. (Naut.) (a) A strong vessel with a narrow stern, projecting quarters, and deep waist. It is employed in the coal and timber trade. (b) A strong tackle used to draw an anchor up to the cathead of a ship.

Totten.

3. A double tripod (for holding a plate, etc.), having six feet, of which three rest on the ground, in whatever position in is placed.

4. An old game; (a) The game of tipcat and the implement with which it is played. See Tipcat . (c) A game of ball, called, according to the number of batters, one old cat , two old cat , etc.

5. A cat o' nine tails. See below.

Angora cat , blind cat , See under Angora , Blind . -- Black cat the fisher. See under Black . -- Cat and dog , like a cat and dog; quarrelsome; inharmonius. "I am sure we have lived a cat and dog life of it." Coleridge . -- Cat block (Naut.) , a heavy iron-strapped block with a large hook, part of the tackle used in drawing an anchor up to the cathead. -- Cat hook (Naut.) , a strong hook attached to a cat block. -- Cat nap , a very short sleep. [Colloq.] -- Cat o' nine tails , an instrument of punishment consisting of nine pieces of knotted line or cord fastened to a handle; -- formerly used to flog offenders on the bare back. -- Cat's cradle , game played, esp. by children, with a string looped on the fingers so, as to resemble small cradle. The string is transferred from the fingers of one to those of another, at each transfer with a change of form. See Cratch , Cratch cradle . -- To let the cat out of the bag , to tell a secret, carelessly or willfully. [Colloq.] -- Bush cat , the serval. See Serval .

Cat <Xpage=225>

Cat (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. tted ; p. pr. & vb. n. Catting .] (Naut.) To bring to the cathead; as, to cat an anchor . See Anchor .

Totten.

Cata <Xpage=225>

Cat"a (?) . [Gr. kata` .] The Latin and English form of a Greek preposition, used as a prefix to signify down , downward , under , against , contrary or opposed to , wholly , completely ; as in cata clysm, cata rrh. It sometimes drops the final vowel, as in cato ptric; and is sometimes changed to cath , as in cath artic, cath olic.

Catabaptist <Xpage=225>

Cat`a*bap"tist (?) , n. [Pref. cata + aptist . See Baptist .] (Eccl.) One who opposes baptism, especially of infants. [Obs.]

Featley.

Catabasion <Xpage=225>

Cat`a*ba"sion (?) , n. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/.] A vault under altar of a Greek church.

Catabiotic <Xpage=225>

Cat`a*bi*ot"ic (?) , a. Aee under Force .

Catacaustic <Xpage=225>

Cat`a*caus"tic (?) , a. [Pref. cata + caustic .] (Physics) Relating to, or having the properties of, a caustic curve formed by reflection. See Caustic , a.

Nichol.

Catacaustic <Xpage=225>

Cat`a*caus"tic , n. (Physics) A caustic curve formed by reflection of light.

Nichol.

Catachresis <Xpage=225>

Cat`a*chre"sis (?) , n. [L. fr. Gr. <?/ misuse, fr. <?/ to misuse; <?/ against + <?/ to use.] (Rhel.) A figure by which one word is wrongly put for another, or by which a word is wrested from its true signification; as, "To take arms against a sea of troubles . " Shak . "Her voice was but the shadow of a sound." Young .

Catachrestic, Catachrestical <Xpage=225>

Cat`a*chres"tic (?) , Cat"a*chres"tic*al (?) , a. Belonging to, or in the manner of, a catachresis; wrested from its natural sense or form; forced; far-fatched.

-- Cat`a*chres"tic*al*ly , adv.

[A] catachrestical and improper way of speaking. Jer. Taylor.

Cataclysm <Xpage=225>

Cat"a*clysm (?) , n. [L. cataclysmos , Gr. <?/, from <?/ to dash over, inundate; <?/ downward, against + <?/ to wash or dash or over: cf. F. cataclysme .] 1. An extensive overflow or sweeping flood of water; a deluge.

2. (Geol.) Any violent catastrophe, involving sudden and extensive changes of the earth's surface.

Cataclysmal, Cataclysmic <Xpage=225>

Cat`a*clys"mal (?) , Cat"a*clys"mic (?) , a. Of or pertaining to a cataclysm.

Cataclysmist <Xpage=225>

Cat`a*clys"mist (?) , n. One who believes that the most important geological phenomena have been produced by cataclysms.

Catacomb <Xpage=225>

Cat"a*comb (?) , n. [It. catacomba , fr. L. catacumba perh. from Gr. <?/ downward, down + <?/ cavity.] A cave, grotto, or subterraneous place of large extent used for the burial of the dead; -- commonly in the plural.

&hand; The terms is supposed to have been applied originally to the tombs under the church of St. Sebastain in Rome. The most celebrated catacombs are those near Rome, on the Appian Way, supposed to have been the place or refuge and interment of the early Chrictians; those of Egypt, extending for a wide distance in the vicinity of Cairo; and those of Paris, in abandoned stone quarries, excavated under a large portion of the city.

Catacoustic <Xpage=225>