Chapter 3

Ca*det" (?), n. [F. cadet a younger or the youngest son or brother, dim. fr. L. caput head; i. e., a smaller head of the family, after the first or eldest. See Chief, and cf. Cad.]

1. The younger of two brothers; a younger brother or son; the youngest son.

The cadet of an ancient and noble family. Wood.

2. (Mil.) (a) A gentleman who carries arms in a regiment, as a volunteer, with a view of acquiring military skill and obtaining a commission. (b) A young man in training for military or naval service; esp. a pupil in a military or naval school, as at West Point, Annapolis, or Woolwich.

&fist; All the undergraduates at Annapolis are Naval cadets. The distinction between Cadet midshipmen and Cadet engineers was abolished by Act of Congress in 1882.

Ca*det"ship (?), n. The position, rank, or commission of a cadet; as, to get a cadetship.

{ Ca*dew" (?), Cade"worm` (?), } n. A caddice. See Caddice.

Cadge (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Cadged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Cadging.] [Cf. Scot. cache, caich, cadge, to toss, drive, OE. cachen to drive, catch, caggen to bind, or perh. E. cage. Cf. Cadger.]

1. To carry, as a burden. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Halliwell.

2. To hawk or peddle, as fish, poultry, etc. [Prov.]

3. To intrude or live on another meanly; to beg. [Prov. or Slang, Eng.] Wright.

Cadge, n. [Cf. 2d Cadger.] (Hawking) A circular frame on which cadgers carry hawks for sale.

Cadg"er (?), n. [From Cadge, v. t., cf. Codger.]

1. A packman or itinerant huckster.

2. One who gets his living by trickery or begging. [Prov. or Slang] "The gentleman cadger." Dickens.

Cadg"er, n. [OF. cagier one who catches hawks. Cf. Cage.] (Hawking) One who carries hawks on a cadge.

Cadg"y (?), a. Cheerful or mirthful, as after good eating or drinking; also, wanton. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

Ca"di (?), n. [Turk. See Alcalde.] An inferior magistrate or judge among the Mohammedans, usually the judge of a town or village.

{ Cad"ie, Cad"die (?), } n. A Scotch errand boy, porter, or messenger. [Written also cady.]

Every Scotchman, from the peer to the cadie. Macaulay.

Ca`di*les"ker (?), n. [Ar. qād.ī judge + al'sker the army, Per. leshker.] A chief judge in the Turkish empire, so named originally because his jurisdiction extended to the cases of soldiers, who are now tried only by their own officers.

Ca*dil"lac (?), n. [Prob. from Cadillac, a French town.] A large pear, shaped like a flattened top, used chiefly for cooking. Johnson.

Cad"is (?), n. [F.] A kind of coarse serge.

Cad*me"an (kăd*m>emac/"an), a. [L. Cadmeus, Gr. Kadmei^os, from Ka`dmos (L. Cadmus), which name perhaps means lit. a man from the East; cf. Heb. qedem east.] Of or pertaining to Cadmus, a fabulous prince of Thebes, who was said to have introduced into Greece the sixteen simple letters of the alphabet -- α, β, γ, δ, ε, ι, κ, λ, μ, ν, ο, π, ρ, σ, τ, υ. These are called Cadmean letters.

Cadmean victory, a victory that damages the victors as much as the vanquished; probably referring to the battle in which the soldiers who sprang from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus slew each other.

Cad"mi*a (?), n. [L. cadmia calamine, Gr. &?;. Cf. Calamine.] (Min.) An oxide of zinc which collects on the sides of furnaces where zinc is sublimed. Formerly applied to the mineral calamine.

Cad"mi*an (?), a. [R.] See Cadmean.

Cad"mic (?), a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, derived from, or containing, cadmium; as, cadmic sulphide.

Cad"mi*um (?), n. [NL. See Cadmia.] (Chem.) A comparatively rare element related to zinc, and occurring in some zinc ores. It is a white metal, both ductile and malleable. Symbol Cd. Atomic weight 111.8. It was discovered by Stromeyer in 1817, who named it from its association with zinc or zinc ore.

Cadmium yellow, a compound of cadmium and sulphur, of an intense yellow color, used as a pigment.

Cad"rans (?), n. [Cf. F. cadran. Cf. Quadrant.] An instrument with a graduated disk by means of which the angles of gems are measured in the process of cutting and polishing.

||Ca"dre (?), n. [F. cadre, It. quadro square, from L. quadrum, fr. quatuor four.] (Mil.) The framework or skeleton upon which a regiment is to be formed; the officers of a regiment forming the staff. [Written also cader.]

Ca*du"ca*ry (?), a. [See Caducous.] (Law) Relating to escheat, forfeiture, or confiscation.

Ca*du"ce*an (?), a. Of or belonging to Mercury's caduceus, or wand.

Ca*du"ce*us (?), n. [L. caduceum, caduceus; akin to Gr. &?; a herald's wand, fr. &?; herald.] (Myth.) The official staff or wand of Hermes or Mercury, the messenger of the gods. It was originally said to be a herald's staff of olive wood, but was afterwards fabled to have two serpents coiled about it, and two wings at the top.

Ca*du`ci*bran"chi*ate (?), a. [L. caducus falling (fr. cadere to fall) + E. branchiate.] (Zo÷l.) With temporary gills: -- applied to those Amphibia in which the gills do not remain in adult life.

Ca*du"ci*ty (?), n. [LL. caducitas: cf. F. caducitÚ. See Caducous.] Tendency to fall; the feebleness of old age; senility. [R.]

[A] jumble of youth and caducity. Chesterfield.

Ca*du"cous (?), [L. caducus falling, inclined to fall, fr. cadere to fall. See Cadence.] (Bot. & Zo÷l.) Dropping off or disappearing early, as the calyx of a poppy, or the gills of a tadpole.

Ca*duke" (?), a. [Cf. F. caduc. See Caducous.] Perishable; frail; transitory. [Obs.] Hickes.

The caduke pleasures of his world. Bp. Fisher.

Cad"y (?), n. See Cadie.

||CŠ"ca (?), n. pl. See CŠcum.

CŠ"cal (?), a. (Anat.)

1. Of or pertaining to the cŠcum, or blind gut.

2. Having the form of a cŠcum, or bag with one opening; baglike; as, the cŠcal extremity of a duct.

||CŠ"ci*as (?), n. [L. caecias, Gr. &?;.] A wind from the northeast. Milton.

CŠ*cil"i*an (?; 106), n. [L. caecus blind. So named from the supposed blindness of the species, the eyes being very minute.] (Zo÷l.) A limbless amphibian belonging to the order CŠciliŠ or Ophimorpha. See Ophiomorpha. [Written also cťcilian.]

||CŠ"cum (?), n.; pl. CŠcums, L. CŠca (#). [L. caecus blind, invisible, concealed.] (Anat.) (a) A cavity open at one end, as the blind end of a canal or duct. (b) The blind part of the large intestine beyond the entrance of the small intestine; -- called also the blind gut.

&fist; The cŠcum is comparatively small in man, and ends in a slender portion, the vermiform appendix; but in herbivorous mammals it is often as large as the rest of the large intestine. In fishes there are often numerous intestinal cŠca.

CŠ`no*zo"ic (?), a. (Geol.) See Cenozoic.

Ca"en stone" (?), A cream-colored limestone for building, found near Caen, France.

CŠ"sar (?), n. [L.] A Roman emperor, as being the successor of Augustus CŠsar. Hence, a kaiser, or emperor of Germany, or any emperor or powerful ruler. See Kaiser, Kesar.

Malborough anticipated the day when he would be servilely flattered and courted by CŠsar on one side and by Louis the Great on the other. Macaulay.

{ CŠ*sa"re*an, CŠ*sa"ri*an (?), } a. [L. Caesareus, Caesarianus.] Of or pertaining to CŠsar or the CŠsars; imperial.

CŠsarean section (Surg.), the operation of taking a child from the womb by cutting through the walls of the abdomen and uterus; -- so called because Julius CŠsar is reported to have been brought into the world by such an operation.

CŠ"sar*ism (?), n. [Cf. F. CÚsarisme.] A system of government in which unrestricted power is exercised by a single person, to whom, as CŠsar or emperor, it has been committed by the popular will; imperialism; also, advocacy or support of such a system of government.

&fist; This word came into prominence in the time of Napoleon III., as an expression of the claims and political views of that emperor, and of the politicians of his court.

CŠ"si*ous (?), a. [L. caesius bluish gray.] (Nat. Hist.) Of the color of lavender; pale blue with a slight mixture of gray. Lindley.

CŠ"si*um (?), n. [NL., from L. caesius bluish gray.] (Chem.) A rare alkaline metal found in mineral water; -- so called from the two characteristic blue lines in its spectrum. It was the first element discovered by spectrum analysis, and is the most strongly basic and electro-positive substance known. Symbol Cs. Atomic weight 132.6.

CŠs"pi*tose` (?), a. Same as Cespitose.

CŠ*su"ra (?), n.; pl. E. CŠsuras (&?;), L. CŠsurŠ (&?;) [L. caesura a cutting off, a division, stop, fr. caedere, caesum, to cut off. See Concise.] A metrical break in a verse, occurring in the middle of a foot and commonly near the middle of the verse; a sense pause in the middle of a foot. Also, a long syllable on which the cŠsural accent rests, or which is used as a foot.

&fist; In the following line the cŠsura is between study and of.

The prop | er stud | y || of | mankind | is man.

CŠ*su"ral (?), a. Of or pertaining to a cŠsura.

CŠsural pause, a pause made at a cŠsura.

||Ca`fÚ" (?), n. [F. See Coffee.] A coffeehouse; a restaurant; also, a room in a hotel or restaurant where coffee and liquors are served.

{ Caf"e*net (?), Caf"e*neh (?), } n. [Turk. qahveh khāneh coffeehouse.] A humble inn or house of rest for travelers, where coffee is sold. [Turkey]

Caf*fe"ic (?), a. [See Coffee.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or obtained from, coffee.

Caffeic acid, an acid obtained from coffee tannin, as a yellow crystalline substance, C9H8O4.

Caf*fe"ine (?), n. [Cf. F. cafÚine. See Coffee.] (Chem.) A white, bitter, crystallizable substance, obtained from coffee. It is identical with the alkaloid theine from tea leaves, and with guaranine from guarana.

Caf`fe*tan"nic (?), a. [Caffeic + tannic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, the tannin of coffee.

Caffetannic acid, a variety of tannin obtained from coffee berries, regarded as a glucoside.

||Caf"fi*la (?), n. [Ar.] See Cafila.

Caf"fre (?), n. See Kaffir.

{ ||Ca"fi*la (?), ||Ca"fi*leh (?), } n. [Ar.] A caravan of travelers; a military supply train or government caravan; a string of pack horses.

Caf"tan (?), n. [Turk. qaftān: cf. F. cafetan.] A garment worn throughout the Levant, consisting of a long gown with sleeves reaching below the hands. It is generally fastened by a belt or sash.

Caf"tan (?), v. t. To clothe with a caftan. [R.]

The turbaned and caftaned damsel. Sir W. Scott.

Cag (?), n. See Keg. [Obs.]

Cage (?), n. [F. cage, fr. L. cavea cavity, cage, fr. cavus hollow. Cf. Cave, n., Cajole, Gabion.]

1. A box or inclosure, wholly or partly of openwork, in wood or metal, used for confining birds or other animals.

In his cage, like parrot fine and gay. Cowper.

2. A place of confinement for malefactors Shak.

Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage. Lovelace.

3. (Carp.) An outer framework of timber, inclosing something within it; as, the cage of a staircase. Gwilt.

4. (Mach.) (a) A skeleton frame to limit the motion of a loose piece, as a ball valve. (b) A wirework strainer, used in connection with pumps and pipes.

5. The box, bucket, or inclosed platform of a lift or elevator; a cagelike structure moving in a shaft.

6. (Mining) The drum on which the rope is wound in a hoisting whim.

7. (Baseball) The catcher's wire mask.

Cage (kāj), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Caged (kājd); p. pr. & vb. n. Caging.] To confine in, or as in, a cage; to shut up or confine. "Caged and starved to death." Cowper.

Caged (kājd), a. Confined in, or as in, a cage; like a cage or prison. "The caged cloister." Shak.

Cage"ling (kāj"l&ibreve;ng), n. [Cage + -ling] A bird confined in a cage; esp. a young bird. [Poetic] Tennyson.

||Ca"git (kā"j&ibreve;t), n. (Zo÷l) A kind of parrot, of a beautiful green color, found in the Philippine Islands.

Cag"mag (kăg"măg), n. A tough old goose; hence, coarse, bad food of any kind. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

||Ca`got" (k&adot;`g&osl;"), n. [F.] One of a race inhabiting the valleys of the Pyrenees, who until 1793 were political and social outcasts (Christian Pariahs). They are supposed to be a remnant of the Visigoths.

||Ca`hier" (k&adot;`y&asl;" or k&adot;`hēr), n. [F., fr. OF. cayer, fr. LL. quaternum. See Quire of paper. The sheets of manuscript were folded into parts.] 1. A number of sheets of paper put loosely together; esp. one of the successive portions of a work printed in numbers.

2. A memorial of a body; a report of legislative proceedings, etc.

Ca*hin"cic (?), a. Pertaining to, or derived from, cahinca, the native name of a species of Brazilian Chiococca, perhaps C. racemosa; as, cahincic acid.

Ca*hoot" (?), n. [Perhaps fr. f. cohorte a company or band.] Partnership; as, to go in cahoot with a person. [Slang, southwestern U. S.] Bartlett.

||Cai`ma*cam" (?), n. [Turk.] The governor of a sanjak or district in Turkey.

Cai"man (?), n. (Zo÷l.) See Cayman.

Cai`no*zo"ic (?), a. (Geol.) See Cenozic.

||Ca*´que" (?), n. [F., fr. Turk. qāīq boat.] (Naut.) A light skiff or rowboat used on the Bosporus; also, a Levantine vessel of larger size.

||ăa" i*ra" (?). [F. ša ira, ša ira, les aristocrates Ó la lanterne, it shall go on, it shall go on, [hang]the arictocrats to the lantern (lamp-post).] The refrain of a famous song of the French Revolution.

Caird (?), n. [Ir. ceard a tinker.] A traveling tinker; also a tramp or sturdy beggar. [Prov. Eng.]

Cairn (?), n. [Gael. carn, gen. cairn, a heap: cf. Ir. & W. carn.] 1. A rounded or conical heap of stones erected by early inhabitants of the British Isles, apparently as a sepulchral monument.

Now here let us place the gray stone of her cairn. Campbell.

2. A pile of stones heaped up as a landmark, or to arrest attention, as in surveying, or in leaving traces of an exploring party, etc. C. Kingsley. Kane.

Cairn*gorm"stone` (?). [Gael. carn a cairn + gorm azure.] (Min.) A yellow or smoky brown variety of rock crystal, or crystallized quartz, found esp, in the mountain of Cairngorm, in Scotland.

Cais"son (?), n. [F., fr. caisse, case, chest. See 1st Case.] 1. (Mil.) (a) A chest to hold ammunition. (b) A four-wheeled carriage for conveying ammunition, consisting of two parts, a body and a limber. In light field batteries there is one caisson to each piece, having two ammunition boxes on the body, and one on the limber. Farrow. (c) A chest filled with explosive materials, to be laid in the way of an enemy and exploded on his approach.

2. (a) A water-tight box, of timber or iron within which work is carried on in building foundations or structures below the water level. (b) A hollow floating box, usually of iron, which serves to close the entrances of docks and basins. (c) A structure, usually with an air chamber, placed beneath a vessel to lift or float it.

3. (Arch.) A sunk panel of ceilings or soffits.

Pneumatic caisson (Engin.), a caisson, closed at the top but open at the bottom, and resting upon the ground under water. The pressure of air forced into the caisson keeps the water out. Men and materials are admitted to the interior through an air lock. See Lock.

Cai"tiff (?), a. [OE. caitif, cheitif, captive, miserable, OF. caitif, chaitif, captive, mean, wretched, F. chÚtif, fr. L. captivus captive, fr. capere to take, akin to E. heave. See Heave, and cf. Captive.] 1. Captive; wretched; unfortunate. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. Base; wicked and mean; cowardly; despicable.

Arnold had sped his caitiff flight. W. Irving.

Cai"tiff, n. A captive; a prisoner. [Obs.]

Avarice doth tyrannize over her caitiff and slave. Holland.

2. A wretched or unfortunate man. [Obs.] Chaucer.

3. A mean, despicable person; one whose character meanness and wickedness meet.

The deep-felt conviction of men that slavery breaks down the moral character . . . speaks out with . . . distinctness in the change of meaning which caitiff has undergone signifying as it now does, one of a base, abject disposition, while there was a time when it had nothing of this in it. Trench.

Caj"e*put (?), n. See Cajuput.

Ca*jole" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Cajoled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Cajoling.] [F. cajoler, orig., to chatter like a bird in a cage, to sing; hence, to amuse with idle talk, to flatter, from the source of OF. goale, jaiole, F. ge˘le, dim. of cage a cage. See Cage, Jail.] To deceive with flattery or fair words; to wheedle.

I am not about to cajole or flatter you into a reception of my views. F. W. Robertson.

Syn. -- To flatter; wheedle; delude; coax; entrap.

Ca*jole"ment (?), n. The act of cajoling; the state of being cajoled; cajolery. Coleridge.

Ca*jol"er (?), n. A flatterer; a wheedler.

Ca*jol"er*y (?), n.; pl. Cajoleries (&?;). A wheedling to delude; words used in cajoling; flattery. "Infamous cajoleries." Evelyn.

Caj"u*put (?), n. [Of Malayan origin; kāyu tree + pūtih white.] (Med.) A highly stimulating volatile inflammable oil, distilled from the leaves of an East Indian tree (Melaleuca cajuputi, etc.) It is greenish in color and has a camphoraceous odor and pungent taste.

Caj"u*put*ene` (?), n. (Chem.) A colorless or greenish oil extracted from cajuput.

Cake (kāk), n. [OE. cake, kaak; akin to Dan. kage, Sw. & Icel. kaka, D. koek, G. kuchen, OHG. chuocho.]

1. A small mass of dough baked; especially, a thin loaf from unleavened dough; as, an oatmeal cake; johnnycake.

2. A sweetened composition of flour and other ingredients, leavened or unleavened, baked in a loaf or mass of any size or shape.

3. A thin wafer-shaped mass of fried batter; a griddlecake or pancake; as buckwheat cakes.

4. A mass of matter concreted, congealed, or molded into a solid mass of any form, esp. into a form rather flat than high; as, a cake of soap; an ague cake.

Cakes of rusting ice come rolling down the flood. Dryden.

Cake urchin (Zo÷l), any species of flat sea urchins belonging to the Clypeastroidea. -- Oil cake the refuse of flax seed, cotton seed, or other vegetable substance from which oil has been expressed, compacted into a solid mass, and used as food for cattle, for manure, or for other purposes. -- To have one's cake dough, to fail or be disappointed in what one has undertaken or expected. Shak.

Cake, v. i. To form into a cake, or mass.

Cake, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Caked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Caking.] To concrete or consolidate into a hard mass, as dough in an oven; to coagulate.

Clotted blood that caked within. Addison.

Cake, v. i. To cackle as a goose. [Prov. Eng.]

Cak"ing coal` (?). See Coal.

Cal (?), n. (Cornish Mines) Wolfram, an ore of tungsten. Simmonds.

Cal"a*bar (?), n. A district on the west coast of Africa.

Calabar bean, The of a climbing legumious plant (Physostigma venenosum), a native of tropical Africa. It is highly poisonous. It is used to produce contraction of the pupil of the eye; also in tetanus, neuralgia, and rheumatic diseases; -- called also ordeal bean, being used by the negroes in trials for witchcraft.

Cal"a*bar*ine (?), n. (Chem.) An alkaloid resembling physostigmine and occurring with it in the calabar bean.

Cal"a*bash (kăl"&adot;*băsh), n. [Sp. calabaza, or Pg. calabaša, cabaša (cf. F. Calebasse), lit., a dry gourd, fr. Ar. qar', fem., a kind of gourd + aibas dry.] 1. The common gourd (plant or fruit).

2. The fruit of the calabash tree.

3. A water dipper, bottle, bascket, or other utensil, made from the dry shell of a calabash or gourd.

Calabash tree. (Bot.), a tree of tropical America (Crescentia cujete), producing a large gourdlike fruit, containing a purgative pulp. Its hard shell, after the removal of the pulp, is used for cups, bottles, etc. The African calabash tree is the baobab.

Cal`a*boose" (?), n. [A corruption of Sp. calabozo dungeon.] A prison; a jail. [Local, U. S.]

||Ca*lade" (?), n. [F.] A slope or declivity in a manege ground down which a horse is made to gallop, to give suppleness to his haunches.

||Ca*la"di*um (?), n. [NL.] A genus of aroideous plants, of which some species are cultivated for their immense leaves (which are often curiously blotched with white and red), and others (in Polynesia) for food.

Cal"a*ite (kăl`&asl;*īt), n. [L. calla´s, Gr. ka`lai:s, ka`llai:s; cf. F. cala´te.] A mineral. See Turquoise.

Cal`a*man"co (kăl`&adot;*mă&nsm;"k&osl;), n. [LL. calamancus, calamacus; cf. camelaucum; a head covering made of camel's hair, NGr. kamelay`kion, and F. calmande a woolen stuff.] A glossy woolen stuff, plain, striped, or checked. "A gay calamanco waistcoat." Tatler.

Cal"a*man`der wood (kăl"&adot;*măn`d&etilde;r w&oocr;d`). A valuable furniture wood from India and Ceylon, of a hazel-brown color, with black stripes, very hard in texture. It is a species of ebony, and is obtained from the Diospyros quŠsita. Called also Coromandel wood.

{ Cal"a*mar (kăl"&adot;*mńr), Cal"a*ma*ry, (-m&asl;*r&ybreve;r)} n. [LL. calamarium inkstand, fr. L. calamus a reed pen: cf. F. calmar, calemar, pen case, calamar.] (Zo÷l.) A cephalopod, belonging to the genus Loligo and related genera. There are many species. They have a sack of inklike fluid which they discharge from the siphon tube, when pursued or alarmed, in order to confuse their enemies. Their shell is a thin horny plate, within the flesh of the back, shaped very much like a quill pen. In America they are called squids. See Squid.

Cal"am*bac (kăl"ăm*băk), n. [F. calambac, calambour, from Malay Kalambaq a king of fragrant wood.] (Bot.) A fragrant wood; agalloch.

Cal"am*bour (kăl"ăm*b&oomac;r), n. [See Calambac.] A species of agalloch, or aloes wood, of a dusky or mottled color, of a light, friable texture, and less fragrant than calambac; -- used by cabinetmakers.

Cal`a*mif"er*ous (?), a. [L. calamus reed + ferous.] Producing reeds; reedy.

Cal"a*mine (kăl"&adot;*mīn or - m&ibreve;n), n. [F. calamine, LL. calamina, fr. L. Cadmia. See Cadmia.] (min.) A mineral, the hydrous silicate of zinc.

&fist; The name was formerly applied to both the carbonate and silicate of zinc each of which is valuabic as an ore; but it is now usually restricted to the latter, the former being called smithsonite.

Cal"a*mint (-m&ibreve;nt), n. [OE. calamint, calemente (cf. F. calament) fr. L. calamintha, Gr. kalami`nqh, kala`minqos. See 1st Mint.] (Bot.) A genus of perennial plants (Calamintha) of the Mint family, esp. the C. Nepeta and C. Acinos, which are called also basil thyme.

Cal"a*mist (-m&ibreve;st), n. [L. calamus a reed.] One who plays upon a reed or pipe. [Obs.] Blount.

Cal`a*mis"trate (-m&ibreve;s"trāt), v. i. [L. calamistratus, curled with the curling iron, fr. calamistrum curling iron, fr. calamus a reed.] To curl or friz, as the hair. [Obs.] Cotgrave.

Cal`a*mis*tra"tion (kăl`&adot;*m&ibreve;s*trā"shŭn), n. The act or process of curling the hair. [Obs.] Burton.

||Cal`a*mis"trum (?), n. [L., a curling iron.] (Zo÷l.) A comblike structure on the metatarsus of the hind legs of certain spiders (CiniflonidŠ), used to curl certain fibers in the construction of their webs.

Cal"a*mite (?), n. [L. calamus a reed: cf. F. calamite.] (Paleon.) A fossil plant of the coal formation, having the general form of plants of the modern Equiseta (the Horsetail or Scouring Rush family) but sometimes attaining the height of trees, and having the stem more or less woody within. See Acrogen, and Asterophyllite.

Ca*lam"i*tous (?), a. [L. Calamitosus; cf. F. calamiteux.]

1. Suffering calamity; wretched; miserable. [Obs.]

Ten thousands of calamitous persons. South.

2. Producing, or attended with distress and misery; making wretched; wretched; unhappy. "This sad and calamitous condition." South. "A calamitous prison" Milton.

Syn. -- Miserable; deplorable; distressful; afflictive; wretched; grievous; baleful; disastrous; adverse; unhappy; severe; sad; unfortunate.

-- Ca*lam"i*tous*ly, adv. -- Ca*lam"i*tous*ness, n.