The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section C

Chapter 33

Chapter 334,006 wordsPublic domain

Syn. -- Chieftain; captain; general; commander; leader; head; principal; sachem; sagamore; sheik. -- Chief, chieftain, Commander, Leader. These words fluctuate somewhat in their meaning according to circumstances, but agree in the general idea of rule and authority. The term chief is now more usually applied to one who is a head man, leader, or commander in civil or military affairs, or holds a hereditary or acquired rank in a tribe or clan; as, the chief of police; the chief of an Indian tribe. A chieftain is the chief of a clan or tribe , or a military leader. A commander directs the movements of or has control over a body of men, as a military or naval force. A leader is one whom men follow, as in a political party, a legislative body, a military or scientific expedition, etc., one who takes the command and gives direction in particular enterprises.

Chief, a. 1. Highest in office or rank; principal; head. "Chief rulers." John. xii. 42.

2. Principal or most eminent in any quality or action; most distinguished; having most influence; taking the lead; most important; as, the chief topic of conversation; the chief interest of man.

3. Very intimate, near, or close. [Obs.]

A whisperer separateth chief friends. Prov. xvi. 28.

Syn. -- Principal; head; leading; main; paramount; supreme; prime; vital; especial; great; grand; eminent; master.

Chief"age (-&asl;j), n. [OF. chevage, fr. chief head. See Chief.] A tribute by the head; a capitation tax. [Written also chevage and chivage.] [Obs.]

Chief" bar"on (?). (Eng. Law) The presiding judge of the court of exchequer.

Chief"est, a. [Superl. of Chief.] First or foremost; chief; principal. [Archaic] "Our chiefest courtier." Shak.

The chiefest among ten thousand. Canticles v. 10.

Chief" hare` (?). (Zo÷l.) A small rodent (Lagamys princeps) inhabiting the summits of the Rocky Mountains; -- also called crying hare, calling hare, cony, American pika, and little chief hare.

&fist; It is not a true hare or rabbit, but belongs to the curious family LagomyidŠ.

Chief" jus"tice (?). The presiding justice, or principal judge, of a court.

Lord Chief Justice of England, The presiding judge of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice. The highest judicial officer of the realm is the Lord High Chancellor. -- Chief Justice of the United States, the presiding judge of the Supreme Court, and Highest judicial officer of the republic.

Chief"-jus"tice*ship, n. The office of chief justice.

Jay selected the chief-justiceship as most in accordance with his tastes. The Century.

Chief"less (?), a. Without a chief or leader.

Chief"ly (?), adv. 1. In the first place; principally; preŰminently; above; especially.

Search through this garden; leave unsearched no nook; But chiefly where those two fair creatures lodge. Milton.

2. For the most part; mostly.

Those parts of the kingdom where the . . . estates of the dissenters chiefly lay. Swift.

Chief"rie (?), n. A small rent paid to the lord paramount. [Obs.] Swift.

Chief"tain (?), n. [OE. cheftayn, chevetayn, OF. chevetain, F. capitaine, LL. capitanus, fr. L. caput head. Cf. Captain, and see chief.] A captain, leader, or commander; a chief; the head of a troop, army, or clan.

Syn. -- Chief; commander; leader; head. See Chief.

{ Chief"tain*cy (?), Chief"tain*ship, } n. The rank, dignity, or office of a chieftain.

Chier"te (?), n. [OF. chertÚ. See Charity.] Love; tender regard. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Chiev"ance (?), n. [OF. chevance property, equiv. To chevisance, fr. chevir to accomplish. See Chevisance.] An unlawful bargain; traffic in which money is exported as discount. [Obs.] Bacon.

Chieve (?), v. i. See Cheve, v. i. [Obs.]

Chiff"-chaff (&?;), n. [So called from its note.] (Zo÷l.) A species of European warbler (Sylvia hippolais); -- called also chip- chap, and pettychaps.

{ Chif`fo*nier" (?), fem. Chif`fo*niŔre" (?), } n. [F. chiffonnier, fem. chiffonniŔre, fr. chiffon rag, fr. chiffe a rag, flimsy cloth.] 1. One who gathers rags and odds and ends; a ragpicker.

2. A receptacle for rags or shreds.

3. A movable and ornamental closet or piece of furniture with shelves or drawers. G. Eliot.

||Chi"gnon (&?;), n. [F., prop. equiv. to chaţnon link, fr. chaţne chain, fr. L. catena Cf. Chain.] A knot, boss, or mass of hair, natural or artificial, worn by a woman at the back of the head.

A curl that had strayed from her chignon. H. James.

{ Chig"oe (?), Chig"re (?), } n. [Cf. F. chigue, perh. fr. Catalan chic small, Sp. chico; or of Peruvian origin.] (Zo÷l.) A species of flea (Pulex penetrans), common in the West Indies and South America, which often attacks the feet or any exposed part of the human body, and burrowing beneath the skin produces great irritation. When the female is allowed to remain and breed, troublesome sores result, which are sometimes dangerous. See Jigger. [Written also chegre, chegoe, chique, chigger, jigger.]

&fist; The name is sometimes erroneously given to certain mites or ticks having similar habits.

||Chi*ka"ra (&?;), n. [Hind.] (Zo÷l.) (a) The goat antelope (Tragops Bennettii) of India. (b) The Indian four-horned antelope (Tetraceros quadricornis).

Chil"blain` (?), n. [Chill + Blain.] A blain, sore, or inflammatory swelling, produced by exposure of the feet or hands to cold, and attended by itching, pain, and sometimes ulceration.

Chil"blain`, v. t. To produce chilblains upon.

Child (chīld), n.; pl. Children (ch&ibreve;l"dr&ebreve;n). [AS. cild, pl. cildru; cf. Goth. kil■ei womb, in-kil■ō with child.] 1. A son or a daughter; a male or female descendant, in the first degree; the immediate progeny of human parents; -- in law, legitimate offspring. Used also of animals and plants.

2. A descendant, however remote; -- used esp. in the plural; as, the children of Israel; the children of Edom.

3. One who, by character of practice, shows signs of relationship to, or of the influence of, another; one closely connected with a place, occupation, character, etc.; as, a child of God; a child of the devil; a child of disobedience; a child of toil; a child of the people.

4. A noble youth. See Childe. [Obs.] Chaucer.

5. A young person of either sex. esp. one between infancy and youth; hence, one who exhibits the characteristics of a very young person, as innocence, obedience, trustfulness, limited understanding, etc.

When I was child. I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 1. Cor. xii. 11.

6. A female infant. [Obs.]

A boy or a child, I wonder? Shak.

To be with child, to be pregnant. - - Child's play, light work; a trifling contest.

Child, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Childed; p. pr. & vb. n. Childing.] To give birth; to produce young.

This queen Genissa childing died. Warner.

It chanced within two days they childed both. Latimer.

Child"bear`ing (?), n. The act of producing or bringing forth children; parturition. Milton. Addison.

Child"bed (?), n. The state of a woman bringing forth a child, or being in labor; parturition.

Child"birth (?), n. The act of bringing forth a child; travail; labor. Jer. Taylor.

Child"crow`ing (?), n. (Med.) The crowing noise made by children affected with spasm of the laryngeal muscles; false croup.

Childe (?), n. A cognomen formerly prefixed to his name by the oldest son, until he succeeded to his ancestral titles, or was knighted; as, Childe Roland.

Child"ed (?), a. Furnished with a child. [Obs.]

Chil"dermas day` (?). [AS. cildamŠsse- dŠg; cild child +dŠg day.] (Eccl.) A day (December 28) observed by mass or festival in commemoration of the children slain by Herod at Bethlehem; -- called also Holy Innocent's Day.

Child"hood (chīld"h&oocr;d), n. [AS. cildhād; cild child + -hād. See Child, and -hood.] 1. The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty.

I have walked before you from my childhood. 1. Sam. xii. 2.

2. Children, taken collectively. [R.]

The well-governed childhood of this realm. Sir. W. Scott.

3. The commencement; the first period.

The childhood of our joy. Shak.

Second childhood, the state of being feeble and incapable from old age.

Child"ing (?), a. [See Child, v. i.] Bearing Children; (Fig.) productive; fruitful. [R.] Shak.

Child"ish, a. 1. Of, pertaining to, befitting, or resembling, a child. "Childish innocence." Macaulay.

2. Puerile; trifling; weak.

Methinks that simplicity in her countenance is rather childish than innocent. Addison.

&fist; Childish, as applied to persons who are grown up, is in a disparaging sense; as, a childish temper.

Child"ish*ly, adv. In the manner of a child; in a trifling way; in a weak or foolish manner.

Child"ish*ness, n. The state or quality of being childish; simplicity; harmlessness; weakness of intellect.

Child"less*ness, n. The state of being childless.

Child"like (?), a. Resembling a child, or that which belongs to children; becoming a child; meek; submissive; dutiful. "Childlike obedience." Hooker.

&fist; Childlike, as applied to persons grown up, is commonly in a good sense; as, childlike grace or simplicity; childlike modesty.

Child"ly, a. Having the character of a child; belonging, or appropriate, to a child. Gower.

Child"ly, adv. Like a child. Mrs. Browning.

Child"ness, n. The manner characteristic of a child. [Obs.] "Varying childness." Shak.

Chil"dren (?), n.; pl. of Child.

Child"ship, n. The state or relation of being a child.

Chil"i (?), n. [Sp. chili, chile.] A kind of red pepper. See Capsicum [Written also chilli and chile.]

Chil"i*ad (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?;, fr. &?; a thousand.] A thousand; the aggregate of a thousand things; especially, a period of a thousand years.

The world, then in the seventh chiliad, will be assumed up unto God. Sir. T. More.

Chil"i*a*gon (?), n. [Gr. &?;; &?; a thousand + &?; angle.] A plane figure of a thousand angles and sides. Barlow.

Chil"i*a*hedron (?), n. [Gr. &?; a thousand + &?; base, fr. &?; to sit.] A figure bounded by a thousand plane surfaces [Spelt also chiliaŰdron.]

Chil"i*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Chili. -- n. A native or citizen of Chili.

{ Chil"i*an (?), Chil"i*arch` (?), } n. [Gr. &?;, &?;; &?; a thousand + &?; leader, &?; to lead.] The commander or chief of a thousand men.

Chil"i*arch`y (?), n. [Gr. &?;.] A body consisting of a thousand men. Mitford.

Chil"i*asm (?), n. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?;. See Chiliad.] 1. The millennium.

2. The doctrine of the personal reign of Christ on earth during the millennium.

Chil"i*ast (?), n. [Gr. &?;. See Chiliasm.] One who believes in the second coming of Christ to reign on earth a thousand years; a millenarian.

Chili*astic (?), a. Millenarian. "The obstruction offered by the chiliastic errors." J. A. Alexander.

Chill (ch&ibreve;l), n. [AS. cele, cyle, from the same root as celan, calan, to be cold; akin to D. kil cold, coldness, Sw. kyla to chill, and E. cool. See Cold, and cf. Cool.]

1. A moderate but disagreeable degree of cold; a disagreeable sensation of coolness, accompanied with shivering. "[A] wintry chill." W. Irving.

2. (Med.) A sensation of cold with convulsive shaking of the body, pinched face, pale skin, and blue lips, caused by undue cooling of the body or by nervous excitement, or forming the precursor of some constitutional disturbance, as of a fever.

3. A check to enthusiasm or warmth of feeling; discouragement; as, a chill comes over an assembly.

4. An iron mold or portion of a mold, serving to cool rapidly, and so to harden, the surface of molten iron brought in contact with it. Raymond.

5. The hardened part of a casting, as the tread of a car wheel. Knight.

Chill and fever, fever and ague.

Chill, a. 1. Moderately cold; tending to cause shivering; chilly; raw.

Noisome winds, and blasting vapors chill. Milton.

2. Affected by cold. "My veins are chill." Shak.

3. Characterized by coolness of manner, feeling, etc.; lacking enthusiasm or warmth; formal; distant; as, a chill reception.

4. Discouraging; depressing; dispiriting.

Chill, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Chilled (ch&ibreve;ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Chilling.] 1. To strike with a chill; to make chilly; to cause to shiver; to affect with cold.

When winter chilled the day. Goldsmith.

2. To check enthusiasm or warmth of feeling of; to depress; to discourage.

Every thought on God chills the gayety of his spirits. Rogers.

3. (Metal.) To produce, by sudden cooling, a change of crystallization at or near the surface of, so as to increase the hardness; said of cast iron.

Chill, v. i. (Metal.) To become surface-hardened by sudden cooling while solidifying; as, some kinds of cast iron chill to a greater depth than others.

Chilled (?), a. 1. Hardened on the surface or edge by chilling; as, chilled iron; a chilled wheel.

2. (Paint.) Having that cloudiness or dimness of surface that is called "blooming."

Chil"li (?), n. See Chili.

Chill"i*ness (?), n. 1. A state or sensation of being chilly; a disagreeable sensation of coldness.

2. A moderate degree of coldness; disagreeable coldness or rawness; as, the chilliness of the air.

3. Formality; lack of warmth.

Chill"ing (?), a. Making chilly or cold; depressing; discouraging; cold; distant; as, a chilling breeze; a chilling manner.

-- Chill"ing"ly, adv.

Chill"ness, n. Coolness; coldness; a chill.

Death is the chillness that precedes the dawn. Longfellow.

Chill"y (?), a. Moderately cold; cold and raw or damp so as to cause shivering; causing or feeling a disagreeable sensation of cold, or a shivering.

Chi"log*nath (?), n. (Zo÷l.) A myriapod of the order Chilognatha.

||Chi*log"na*tha (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; lip + gna`qos Jaw.] (Zo÷l.) One of the two principal orders of myriapods. They have numerous segments, each bearing two pairs of small, slender legs, which are attached ventrally, near together.

Chi*lo"ma (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; lip, fr. &?; lip. See -oma.] (Zo÷l.) The tumid upper lip of certain mammals, as of a camel.

Chi"lo*pod (?), n. (Zo÷l.) A myriapod of the order Chilopoda.

||Chi*lop"o*da (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; lip + -poda.] (Zo÷l.) One of the orders of myriapods, including the centipeds. They have a single pair of elongated legs attached laterally to each segment; well developed jaws; and a pair of thoracic legs converted into poison fangs. They are insectivorous, very active, and some species grow to the length of a foot.

{ ||Chi*los"to*ma (?), Chi*lo*stom"a*ta (?), } n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; + &?;, &?;, outh.] (Zo÷l.) An extensive suborder of marine Bryozoa, mostly with calcareous shells. They have a movable lip and a lid to close the aperture of the cells. [Also written Chillostomata.]

Chi`lo*stoma*tous (?), a. (Zo÷l.) Of or pertaining to the Chilostoma.

Chiltern Hundreds (?). [AS. Chiltern the Chiltern, high hills in Buckinghamshire, perh. Fr. ceald cold + ern, Šrn, place.] A tract of crown land in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, England, to which is attached the nominal office of steward. As members of Parliament cannot resign, when they wish to go out they accept this stewardship, which legally vacates their seats.

||Chi*mŠ"ra (?), n. [NL. See Chimera.] (Zo÷l.) A cartilaginous fish of several species, belonging to the order Holocephali. The teeth are few and large. The head is furnished with appendages, and the tail terminates in a point.

Chi*mŠ"roid (?), a. [ChimŠra + old.] (Zo÷l.) Related to, or like, the chimŠra.

Chi*man"go [Native name] (Zo÷l.) A south American carrion buzzard (Milvago chimango). See Caracara.

Chimb (chīm), n. [AS. cim, in cimstān base of a pillar; akin to D. kim, f. Sw. kim., G. kimme f.] The edge of a cask, etc; a chine. See Chine, n., 3. [Written also chime.]

Chimb, v. i. Chime. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Chime (chīm), n. [See Chimb.] See Chine, n., 3.

Chime (chīm), n. [OE. chimbe, prop., cymbal, OF. cymbe, cymble, in a dialectic form, chymble, F. cymbale, L. cymbalum, fr. Gr. ky`mbalon. See Cymbal.] 1. The harmonious sound of bells, or of musical instruments.

Instruments that made melodius chime. Milton.

2. A set of bells musically tuned to each other; specif., in the pl., the music performed on such a set of bells by hand, or produced by mechanism to accompany the striking of the hours or their divisions.

We have heard the chimes at midnight. Shak.

3. Pleasing correspondence of proportion, relation, or sound. "Chimes of verse." Cowley.

Chime, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Chimed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Chiming.] [See Chime, n.] 1. To sound in harmonious accord, as bells.

2. To be in harmony; to agree; to suit; to harmonize; to correspond; to fall in with.

Everything chimed in with such a humor. W. irving.

3. To join in a conversation; to express assent; -- followed by in or in with. [Colloq.]

4. To make a rude correspondence of sounds; to jingle, as in rhyming. Cowley

Chime (?), v. i. 1. To cause to sound in harmony; to play a tune, as upon a set of bells; to move or strike in harmony.

And chime their sounding hammers. Dryden.

2. To utter harmoniously; to recite rhythmically.

Chime his childish verse. Byron.

Chim"er (?), n. One who chimes.

Chime"ra (?), n.; pl. Chimeras (#). [L. chimaera a chimera (in sense 1), Gr. &?; a she-goat, a chimera, fr. &?; he-goat; cf. Icel. qymbr a yearling ewe.] 1. (Myth.) A monster represented as vomiting flames, and as having the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a dragon. "Dire chimeras and enchanted isles." Milton.

2. A vain, foolish, or incongruous fancy, or creature of the imagination; as, the chimera of an author. Burke.

Chi*mere" (?), n. [OF. chamarre., F. simarre (cf. It. zimarra), fr. Sp. chamarra, zamarra, a coat made of sheepskins, a sheepskin, perh. from Ar. sammūr the Scythian weasel or marten, the sable. Cf. Simarre.] The upper robe worn by a bishop, to which lawn sleeves are usually attached. Hook.

Chi*mer"ic (?), a. Chimerical.

Chi*mer"ic*al (?), a. Merely imaginary; fanciful; fantastic; wildly or vainly conceived; having, or capable of having, no existence except in thought; as, chimerical projects.

Syn. -- Imaginary; fanciful; fantastic; wild; unfounded; vain; deceitful; delusive.

Chi*mer"ic*al*ly, adv. Wildy; vainly; fancifully.

Chim"i*nage (?), n. [OF. cheminage, fr. chemin way, road.] (Old Law) A toll for passage through a forest. [Obs.] Cowell.

Chim"ney, n.; pl. Chimneys (#). [F. cheminÚe, LL. caminata, fr. L. caminus furnace, fireplace, Gr. &?; furnace, oven.] 1. A fireplace or hearth. [Obs.] Sir W. Raleigh.

2. That part of a building which contains the smoke flues; esp. an upright tube or flue of brick or stone, in most cases extending through or above the roof of the building. Often used instead of chimney shaft.

Hard by a cottage chimney smokes. Milton.

3. A tube usually of glass, placed around a flame, as of a lamp, to create a draft, and promote combustion.

4. (Min.) A body of ore, usually of elongated form, extending downward in a vein. Raymond.

Chimney board, a board or screen used to close a fireplace; a fireboard. -- Chimney cap, a device to improve the draught of a chimney, by presenting an exit aperture always to leeward. -- Chimney corner, the space between the sides of the fireplace and the fire; hence, the fireside. -- Chimney hook, a hook for holding pats and kettles over a fire, -- Chimney money, hearth money, a duty formerly paid in England for each chimney. -- Chimney pot (Arch.), a cylinder of earthenware or sheet metal placed at the top of a chimney which rises above the roof. -- Chimney swallow. (Zo÷l.) (a) An American swift (ChŠture pelasgica) which lives in chimneys. (b) In England, the common swallow (Hirundo rustica). -- Chimney sweep, Chimney sweeper, one who cleans chimneys of soot; esp. a boy who climbs the flue, and brushes off the soot.

Chim"ney-breast` (?), n. (Arch.) The horizontal projection of a chimney from the wall in which it is built; -- commonly applied to its projection in the inside of a building only.

Chim"ney-piece` (?), n. (Arch.) A decorative construction around the opening of a fireplace.

Chim*pan"zee (ch&ibreve;m*păn"z&esl;; 277), n. [From the native name: cf. F. chimpanzÚ, chimpansÚ, chimpanzÚe.] (Zo÷l.) An african ape (Anthropithecus troglodytes or Troglodytes niger) which approaches more nearly to man, in most respects, than any other ape. When full grown, it is from three to four feet high.

Chin (ch&ibreve;n), n. [AS. cin, akin to OS. kin, G kinn, Icel. kinn, cheek, Dan. & Sw. kind, L. gena, Gr. &?;; cf. Skr. hanu. √232.] 1. The lower extremity of the face below the mouth; the point of the under jaw.

2. (Zo÷l.) The exterior or under surface embraced between the branches of the lower jaw bone, in birds.

Chi"na (?), n. 1. A country in Eastern Asia.

2. China ware, which is the modern popular term for porcelain. See Porcelain.

China aster (Bot.), a well-known garden flower and plant. See Aster. -- China bean. See under Bean, 1. -- China clay See Kaolin. -- China grass, Same as Ramie. -- China ink. See India ink. -- China pink (Bot.), an anual or biennial species of Dianthus (D. Chiensis) having variously colored single or double flowers; Indian pink. -- China root (Med.), the rootstock of a species of Smilax (S. China, from the East Indies; -- formerly much esteemed for the purposes that sarsaparilla is now used for. Also the galanga root (from Alpinia Gallanga and Alpinia officinarum). -- China rose. (Bot.) (a) A popular name for several free-blooming varieties of rose derived from the Rosa Indica, and perhaps other species. (b) A flowering hothouse plant (Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis) of the Mallow family, common in the gardens of China and the east Indies. -- China shop, a shop or store for the sale of China ware or of crockery. -- China ware, porcelain; -- so called in the 17th century because brought from the far East, and differing from the pottery made in Europe at that time; also, loosely, crockery in general. -- Pride of China, China tree. (Bot.) See Azedarach.

Chin*al"dine (?), n. [NL. chinium quinine + aldehyde.] (Chem.) See Quinaldine.

Chi"na*man (?), n.; pl. Chinamen (&?;). A native of China; a Chinese.

Chin"ca*pin (?), n. See Chinquapin.

Chinch (?), n. [Cf. Sp. chinche, fr. L. cimex.] 1. (Zo÷l.) The bedbug (Cimex lectularius).

2. (Zo÷l.) A bug (Blissus leucopterus), which, in the United States, is very destructive to grass, wheat, and other grains; -- also called chiniz, chinch bug, chink bug. It resembles the bedbug in its disgusting odor.

Chin"cha (?), n. [Cf. Chinchilla.] (Zo÷l.) A south American rodent of the genus Lagotis.

Chinche (?), a. [F. chiche miserly.] Parsimonious; niggardly. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Chinch"er*ie (?), n. Penuriousness. [Obs.]

By cause of his skarsete and chincherie. Caucer.

Chin*chil"la (?), n. [Sp.] 1. (Zo÷l.) A small rodent (Chinchilla lanigera), of the size of a large squirrel, remarkable for its fine fur, which is very soft and of a pearly gray color. It is a native of Peru and Chili.

2. The fur of the chinchilla.

3. A heavy, long-napped, tufted woolen cloth.

{ Chin*cho"na (?), Chin*co"na (?). }See Cinchona.

Chin" cough" (?). [For chink cough; cf. As. cincung long laughter, Scot. kink a violent fit of coughing, akin to MHG. kīchen to pant. Cf. Kinknaust, Cough.] Whooping cough.

Chine (?), n. [Cf. Chink.] A chink or cleft; a narrow and deep ravine; as, Shanklin Chine in the Isle of Wight, a quarter of a mile long and 230 feet deep. [Prov. Eng.] "The cottage in a chine." J. Ingelow.

Chine (?), n.[OF. eschine, F. Úchine, fr. OHG. skina needle, prickle, shin, G. schiene splint, schienbein shin. For the meaning cf. L. spina thorn, prickle, or spine, the backbone. Cf. Shin.] 1. The backbone or spine of an animal; the back. "And chine with rising bristles roughly spread." Dryden.

2. A piece of the backbone of an animal, with the adjoining parts, cut for cooking. [See Illust. of Beef.]