Chapter 101

He had been Duke of Savoy, and after a very glorious reign, took on him the habit of a hermit, and retired into this solitary spot.

Addison.

2. A beadsman; one bound to pray for another. [Obs.] "We rest your hermits." Shak.

Hermit crab (Zoˆl.), a marine decapod crustacean of the family PaguridÊ. The species are numerous, and belong to many genera. Called also soldier crab. The hermit crabs usually occupy the dead shells of various univalve mollusks. See Illust. of Commensal. -- Hermit thrush (Zoˆl.), an American thrush (Turdus Pallasii), with retiring habits, but having a sweet song. -- Hermit warbler (Zoˆl.), a California wood warbler (Dendroica occidentalis), having the head yellow, the throat black, and the back gray, with black streaks.

Her"mit*age (?; 48), n. [OE. hermitage, ermitage, F. hermitage, ermitage. See Hermit.] 1. The habitation of a hermit; a secluded residence.

Some forlorn and naked hermitage, Remote from all the pleasures of the world.

Shak.

2. [F. Vin de l'Hermitage.] A celebrated French wine, both white and red, of the Department of DrÙme.

Her"mit*a*ry (?), n. [Cf. LL. hermitorium, eremitorium.] A cell annexed to an abbey, for the use of a hermit. Howell.

Her"mit*ess, n. A female hermit. Coleridge.

Her*mit"i*cal (?), a. Pertaining to, or suited for, a hermit. Coventry.

Her`mo*dac"tyl (?), n. [NL. hermodactylus, lit., Hermes' finger; fr. Gr. &?; Hermes + &?; finger.] (med.) A heart-shaped bulbous root, about the size of a finger, brought from Turkey, formerly used as a cathartic.

Her`mo*ge"ni*an (?), n. (Eccl. Hist.) A disciple of Hermogenes, an heretical teacher who lived in Africa near the close of the second century. He held matter to be the fountain of all evil, and that souls and spirits are formed of corrupt matter.

Hern (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A heron; esp., the common European heron. "A stately hern." Trench.

Her*na"ni (?), n. A thin silk or woolen goods, for women's dresses, woven in various styles and colors.

Herne (?), n. [AS. hyrne.] A corner. [Obs.]

Lurking in hernes and in lanes blind.

Chaucer.

Her"ni*a (?), n.; pl. E. Hernias (#), L. HerniÊ (#). [L.] (Med.) A protrusion, consisting of an organ or part which has escaped from its natural cavity, and projects through some natural or accidental opening in the walls of the latter; as, hernia of the brain, of the lung, or of the bowels. Hernia of the abdominal viscera in most common. Called also rupture.

Strangulated hernia, a hernia so tightly compressed in some part of the channel through which it has been protruded as to arrest its circulation, and produce swelling of the protruded part. It may occur in recent or chronic hernia, but is more common in the latter.

Her"ni*al (?), a. Of, or connected with, hernia.

Her`ni*ot"o*my (?), n. [Hernia + Gr. &?; to cut.] (Med.) A cutting for the cure or relief of hernia; celotomy.

Hern"shaw (?), n. Heronshaw. [Obs.] Spenser.

He"ro (?), n.; pl. Heroes (#). [F. hÈros, L. heros, Gr. &?;.] 1. (Myth.) An illustrious man, supposed to be exalted, after death, to a place among the gods; a demigod, as Hercules.

2. A man of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, or fortitude in suffering; a prominent or central personage in any remarkable action or event; hence, a great or illustrious person.

Each man is a hero and oracle to somebody.

Emerson.

3. The principal personage in a poem, story, and the like, or the person who has the principal share in the transactions related; as Achilles in the Iliad, Ulysses in the Odyssey, and ∆neas in the ∆neid.

The shining quality of an epic hero.

Dryden.

Hero worship, extravagant admiration for great men, likened to the ancient worship of heroes.

Hero worship exists, has existed, and will forever exist, universally among mankind.

Carlyle.

He*ro"di*an (?), n. (Jewish Hist.) One of a party among the Jews, composed of partisans of Herod of Galilee. They joined with the Pharisees against Christ.

||He*ro`di*o"nes (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a heron.] (Zoˆl.) A ||division of wading birds, including the herons, storks, and allied ||forms. Called also Herodii. -- He*ro`di*o"nine (#), a.

He"ro*ess (?), n. A heroine. [Obs.] Dryden.

He*ro"ic (?), a. [F. hÈroÔque, L. heroÔcus, Gr. &?;.] 1. Of or pertaining to, or like, a hero; of the nature of heroes; distinguished by the existence of heroes; as, the heroic age; an heroic people; heroic valor.

2. Worthy of a hero; bold; daring; brave; illustrious; as, heroic action; heroic enterprises.

3. (Sculpture & Painting) Larger than life size, but smaller than colossal; -- said of the representation of a human figure.

Heroic Age, the age when the heroes, or those called the children of the gods, are supposed to have lived. -- Heroic poetry, that which celebrates the deeds of a hero; epic poetry. -- Heroic treatment or remedies (Med.), treatment or remedies of a severe character, suited to a desperate case. -- Heroic verse (Pros.), the verse of heroic or epic poetry, being in English, German, and Italian the iambic of ten syllables; in French the iambic of twelve syllables; and in classic poetry the hexameter.

Syn. -- Brave; intrepid; courageous; daring; valiant; bold; gallant; fearless; enterprising; noble; magnanimous; illustrious.

He*ro"ic*al (?), a. Heroic. [R.] Spectator. -- He*ro"ic*al*ly, adv. -- He*ro"ic*al*ness, n.

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He*ro"ic*ness (?), n. Heroism. [R.] W. Montagu.

{ He`ro*i*com"ic (?), He`ro*i*com"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. hÈroÔcomigue. See Heroic, and Comic.] Combining the heroic and the ludicrous; denoting high burlesque; as, a heroicomic poem.

Her"o*ine (?), n. [F. hÈroÔne, L. heroina, Gr. &?;, fem. of &?;. See Hero.] 1. A woman of an heroic spirit.

The heroine assumed the woman's place.

Dryden.

2. The principal female person who figures in a remarkable action, or as the subject of a poem or story.

Her"o*ism (?; 277), n. [F. hÈroÔsme.] The qualities characteristic of a hero, as courage, bravery, fortitude, unselfishness, etc.; the display of such qualities.

Heroism is the self-devotion of genius manifesting itself in action.

Hare.

Syn. -- Heroism, Courage, Fortitude, Bravery, Valor, Intrepidity, Gallantry. Courage is generic, denoting fearlessness or defiance of danger; fortitude is passive courage, the habit of bearing up nobly under trials, danger, and sufferings; bravery is courage displayed in daring acts; valor is courage in battle or other conflicts with living opponents; intrepidity is firm courage, which shrinks not amid the most appalling dangers; gallantry is adventurous courage, dashing into the thickest of the fight. Heroism may call into exercise all these modifications of courage. It is a contempt of danger, not from ignorance or inconsiderate levity, but from a noble devotion to some great cause, and a just confidence of being able to meet danger in the spirit of such a cause. Cf. Courage.

Her"on (?), n. [OE. heiroun, heroun, heron, hern, OF. hairon, F. hÈron, OHG. heigir; cf. Icel. hegri, Dan. heire, Sw. h‰ger, and also G. h‰her jay, jackdaw, OHG. hehara, higere, woodpecker, magpie, D. reiger heron, G. reiher, AS. hrgra. Cf. Aigret, Egret.] (Zoˆl.) Any wading bird of the genus Ardea and allied genera, of the family ArdeidÊ. The herons have a long, sharp bill, and long legs and toes, with the claw of the middle toe toothed. The common European heron (Ardea cinerea) is remarkable for its directly ascending flight, and was formerly hunted with the larger falcons.

There are several common American species; as, the great blue heron (Ardea herodias); the little blue (A. cúrulea); the green (A. virescens); the snowy (A. candidissima); the night heron or qua-bird (Nycticorax nycticorax). The plumed herons are called egrets.

Heron's bill (Bot.), a plant of the genus Erodium; -- so called from the fancied resemblance of the fruit to the head and beak of the heron.

Her"on*er (?), n. A hawk used in hunting the heron. "Heroner and falcon." Chaucer.

Her"on*ry (?), n. A place where herons breed.

Her"on*sew (?), n. A heronshaw. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Her"on*shaw (?), n. [OF. heroncel, dim. of hÈron. See Heron.] (Zoˆl.) A heron. [Written variously hernshaw, harnsey, etc.]

He`ro*ˆl"o*gist (?), n. [Gr. &?; + &?; discourse.] One who treats of heroes. [R.] T. Warton.

He"ro*ship (?), n. The character or personality of a hero. "Three years of heroship." Cowper.

Her"pes (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. "e`rphs, fr. "e`rpein to creep.] (Med.) An eruption of the skin, taking various names, according to its form, or the part affected; especially, an eruption of vesicles in small distinct clusters, accompanied with itching or tingling, including shingles, ringworm, and the like; -- so called from its tendency to creep or spread from one part of the skin to another.

Her*pet"ic (?), a. [Cf. F. herpÈtique.] Pertaining to, or resembling, the herpes; partaking of the nature of herpes; as, herpetic eruptions.

Her"pe*tism (?), n. [See Herpes.] (Med.) See Dartrous diathesis, under Dartrous.

{ Her*pet`o*log"ic (?), Her*pet`o*log"ic*al (?), } a. Pertaining to herpetology.

Her`pe*tol"o*gist (?), n. One versed in herpetology, or the natural history of reptiles.

Her`pe*tol"o*gy (?), n. [Written also, but less properly, erpetology.] [Gr. &?; a creeping thing, reptile (fr. &?; to creep) + -logy: cf. F. herpÈtologie.] The natural history of reptiles; that branch of zoˆlogy which relates to reptiles, including their structure, classification, and habits.

Her`pe*tot"o*mist (?), n. One who dissects, or studies the anatomy of, reptiles.

Her`pe*tot"o*my (?), n. [Gr. &?; a reptile + &?; to cut.] The anatomy or dissection of reptiles.

||Herr (?), n. A title of respect given to gentlemen in Germany, ||equivalent to the English Mister.

Her"ring (?), n. [OE. hering, AS. hÊring; akin to D. haring, G. h‰ring, hering, OHG. haring, hering, and prob. to AS. here army, and so called because they commonly move in large numbers. Cf. Harry.] (Zoˆl.) One of various species of fishes of the genus Clupea, and allied genera, esp. the common round or English herring (C. harengus) of the North Atlantic. Herrings move in vast schools, coming in spring to the shores of Europe and America, where they are salted and smoked in great quantities.

Herring gull (Zoˆl.), a large gull which feeds in part upon herrings; esp., Larus argentatus in America, and L. cachinnans in England. See Gull. -- Herring hog (Zoˆl.), the common porpoise. -- King of the herrings. (Zoˆl.) (a) The chimÊra (C. monstrosa) which follows the schools of herring. See ChimÊra. (b) The opah.

Her"ring*bone` (hr"rng*bn`), a. Pertaining to, or like, the spine of a herring; especially, characterized by an arrangement of work in rows of parallel lines, which in the alternate rows slope in different directions.

Herringbone stitch, a kind of cross-stitch in needlework, chiefly used in flannel. Simmonds.

Herrn"hut*er (hrn"h*r; G. hrn"h*r), n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of the Moravians; -- so called from the settlement of Herrnhut (the Lord's watch) made, about 1722, by the Moravians at the invitation of Nicholas Lewis, count of Zinzendorf, upon his estate in the circle of Bautzen.

Hers (hrz), pron. See the Note under Her, pron.

Her"sal (?), n. Rehearsal. [Obs.] Spenser.

Her"schel (?), n. (Astron.) See Uranus.

Her*sche"li*an (?), a. Of or relating to Sir William Herschel; as, the Herschelian telescope.

Herse (hrs), n. [F. herse harrow, portcullis, OF. herce, LL. hercia, L. hirpex, gen. hirpicis, and irpex, gen. irpicis, harrow. The LL. hercia signifies also a kind of candlestick in the form of a harrow, having branches filled with lights, and placed at the head of graves or cenotaphs; whence herse came to be used for the grave, coffin, or chest containing the dead. Cf. Hearse.] 1. (Fort.) A kind of gate or portcullis, having iron bars, like a harrow, studded with iron spikes. It is hung above gateways so that it may be quickly lowered, to impede the advance of an enemy. Farrow.

2. See Hearse, a carriage for the dead.

3. A funeral ceremonial. [Obs.] Spenser.

Herse, v. t. Same as Hearse, v. t. Chapman.

Her*self" (?), pron. 1. An emphasized form of the third person feminine pronoun; -- used as a subject with she; as, she herself will bear the blame; also used alone in the predicate, either in the nominative or objective case; as, it is herself; she blames herself.

2. Her own proper, true, or real character; hence, her right, or sane, mind; as, the woman was deranged, but she is now herself again; she has come to herself.

By herself, alone; apart; unaccompanied.

Her"sil*lon (?), n. [F., fr. herse a harrow. See Herse, n.] (Fort.) A beam with projecting spikes, used to make a breach impassable.

Hert (?), n. A hart. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Her"te (?), n. A heart. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Her"te*ly, a. & adv. Hearty; heartily. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Her"y (?), v. t. [AS. herian.] To worship; to glorify; to praise. [Obs.] Chaucer. Spenser.

Hes"i*tan*cy (?), n. [L. haesitantia a stammering.] 1. The act of hesitating, or pausing to consider; slowness in deciding; vacillation; also, the manner of one who hesitates.

2. A stammering; a faltering in speech.

Hes"i*tant (?), a. [L. haesitans, p. pr. of haesitare: cf. F. hÈsitant. See Hesitate.] 1. Not prompt in deciding or acting; hesitating.

2. Unready in speech. Baxter.

Hes"i*tant*ly, adv. With hesitancy or doubt.

Hes"i*tate (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Hesitated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Hesitating.] [L. haesitatus, p. p. of haesitare, intens. fr. haerere to hesitate, stick fast; to hang or hold fast. Cf. Aghast, Gaze, Adhere.]

1. To stop or pause respecting decision or action; to be in suspense or uncertainty as to a determination; as, he hesitated whether to accept the offer or not; men often hesitate in forming a judgment. Pope.

2. To stammer; to falter in speaking.

Syn. -- To doubt; waver; scruple; deliberate; demur; falter; stammer.

Hes"i*tate, v. t. To utter with hesitation or to intimate by a reluctant manner. [Poetic & R.]

Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.

Pope.

Hes"i*ta`ting*ly, adv. With hesitation or doubt.

Hes`i*ta"tion (?), n. [L. haesitatio: cf. F. hÈsitation.] 1. The act of hesitating; suspension of opinion or action; doubt; vacillation.

2. A faltering in speech; stammering. Swift.

Hes"i*ta*tive (?), a. Showing, or characterized by, hesitation.

[He said] in his mild, hesitative way.

R. D. Blackmore.

Hes"i*ta*to*ry (?), a. Hesitating. R. North.

Hesp (?), n. [Cf. Icel. hespa a hasp, a wisp or skein. See Hasp.] A measure of two hanks of linen thread. [Scot.] [Written also hasp.] Knight.

Hes"per (?), n. [See Hesperian.] The evening; Hesperus.

Hes*per"e*tin (?), n. (Chem.) A white, crystalline substance having a sweetish taste, obtained by the decomposition of hesperidin, and regarded as a complex derivative of caffeic acid.

Hes*pe"ri*an (?), a. [L. hesperius, fr. hesperus the evening star, Gr. &?; evening, &?; &?; the evening star. Cf. Vesper.] Western; being in the west; occidental. [Poetic] Milton.

Hes*pe"ri*an, n. A native or an inhabitant of a western country. [Poetic] J. Barlow.

Hes*pe"ri*an, a. (Zoˆl.) Of or pertaining to a family of butterflies called HesperidÊ, or skippers. -- n. Any one of the numerous species of HesperidÊ; a skipper.

Hes"per*id (?), a. & n. (Zoˆl.) Same as 3d Hesperian.

Hes*per"i*dene (?), n. [See Hesperidium.] (Chem.) An isomeric variety of terpene from orange oil.

||Hes*per"i*des (?), n. pl. [L., fr. Gr. &?;.]

1. (Class. Myth.) The daughters of Hesperus, or Night (brother of Atlas), and fabled possessors of a garden producing golden apples, in Africa, at the western extremity of the known world. To slay the guarding dragon and get some of these apples was one of the labors of Hercules. Called also Atlantides.

2. The garden producing the golden apples.

It not love a Hercules, Still climbing trees in the Hesperides?

Shak.

Hes*per"i*din (?), n. [See Hesperidium.] (Chem.) A glucoside found in ripe and unripe fruit (as the orange), and extracted as a white crystalline substance.

||Hes`pe*rid"i*um (?), n. [NL. So called in allusion to the golden ||apples of the Hesperides. See Hesperides.] (Bot.) A large berry with ||a thick rind, as a lemon or an orange.

||Hes`pe*ror"nis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; western + &?;, &?;, a bird.] ||(Paleon.) A genus of large, extinct, wingless birds from the ||Cretaceous deposits of Kansas, belonging to the Odontornithes. They ||had teeth, and were essentially carnivorous swimming ostriches. ||Several species are known. See Illust. in Append.

||Hes"pe*rus (?), n. [L. See Hesper.] 1. Venus when she is the evening ||star; Hesper.

2. Evening. [Poetic]

The Sun was sunk, and after him the Star Of Hesperus.

Milton.

Hes"sian (?), a. Of or relating to Hesse, in Germany, or to the Hessians.

Hessian boots, or Hessians, boot of a kind worn in England, in the early part of the nineteenth century, tasseled in front. Thackeray. -- Hessian cloth, or Hessians, a coarse hempen cloth for sacking. -- Hessian crucible. See under Crucible. -- Hessian fly (Zoˆl.), a small dipterous fly or midge (Cecidomyia destructor). Its larvÊ live between the base of the lower leaves and the stalk of wheat, and are very destructive to young wheat; -- so called from the erroneous idea that it was brought into America by the Hessian troops, during the Revolution.

Hes"sian, n. 1. A native or inhabitant of Hesse.

2. A mercenary or venal person. [U. S.]

This use is a relic of the patriot hatred of the Hessian mercenaries who served with the British troops in the Revolutionary War.

3. pl. See Hessian boots and cloth, under Hessian, a.

Hess"ite (?), n. [After H. Hess.] (Min.) A lead-gray sectile mineral. It is a telluride of silver.

Hest (?), n. [AS. h&?;s, fr. h&?;tan to call, bid. See Hight, and cf. Behest.] Command; precept; injunction. [Archaic] See Behest. "At thy hest." Shak.

Let him that yields obey the victor's hest.

Fairfax.

Yet I thy hest will all perform, at full.

Tennyson.

{ Hes"tern (?), Hes*ter"nal (?), } a. [L. hesternus; akin to heri yesterday.] Pertaining to yesterday. [Obs.] See Yester, a. Ld. Lytton.

Hes"y*chast (?), n. [Gr. &?; hermit, fr. &?; to be still or quiet, fr. &?; still, calm.] One of a mystical sect of the Greek Church in the fourteenth century; a quietist. Brande & C.

{ He*tair"ism (?), Het"a*rism (?), } n. [Gr. &?; a companion, a concubine, fem. of &?; a comrade.] A supposed primitive state of society, in which all the women of a tribe were held in common. H. Spencer. -- Het`a*ris"tic (#), a.

Hetch"el (?), v. t. Same as Hatchel.

Hete (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Hete, later Het.] Variant of Hote. [Obs.]

But one avow to greate God I hete.

Chaucer.

Het"er*a*canth (?), a. [Hetero- + Gr. &?; a spine.] (Zoˆl.) Having the spines of the dorsal fin unsymmetrical, or thickened alternately on the right and left sides.

Het"er*arch`y (?), n. [Hetero- + -archy.] The government of an alien. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

||Het`e*raux*e"sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; the other + &?; growth.] ||(Bot.) Unequal growth of a cell, or of a part of a plant.

Het"er*o- (?). [Gr. "e`teros other.] A combining form signifying other, other than usual, different; as, heteroclite, heterodox, heterogamous.

Het`er*o*car"pism (?), n. [Hetero- + Gr.&?; fruit.] (Bot.) The power of producing two kinds of reproductive bodies, as in AmphicarpÊa, in which besides the usual pods, there are others underground.

Het`er*o*car"pous (?), a. (Bot.) Characterized by heterocarpism.

Het`er*o*ceph"a*lous (?), a. [Hetero- + Gr.&?; head.] (Bot.) Bearing two kinds of heads or capitula; -- said of certain composite plants.

||Het`e*roc"e*ra (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; other + &?; horn.] ||(Zoˆl.) A division of Lepidoptera, including the moths, and hawk ||moths, which have the antennÊ variable in form.

Het`er*o*cer"cal (?), a. [Hetero- + Gr. &?; tail.] (Anat.) Having the vertebral column evidently continued into the upper lobe of the tail, which is usually longer than the lower one, as in sharks.

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Het"er*o*cer`cy (?), n. [Hetero- + Gr. &?; a tail.] (Anat.) Unequal development of the tail lobes of fishes; the possession of a heterocercal tail.

Het`er*o*chro"mous (?; 277), a. [Hetero- + Gr. &?; color.] (Bot.) Having the central florets of a flower head of a different color from those of the circumference.

{ Het`er*och"ro*nism (?), Het`er*och"ro*ny (?), } n. [Gr. &?; of different times; &?; other + &?; time.] (Biol.) In evolution, a deviation from the typical sequence in the formation of organs or parts.

Het"er*o*clite, a. [L. heteroclitus, Gr. &?;; &?; other + &?; to lean, incline, inflect: cf. F. hÈtÈroclite.] Deviating from ordinary forms or rules; irregular; anomalous; abnormal.

Het"er*o*clite, n. 1. (Gram.) A word which is irregular or anomalous either in declension or conjugation, or which deviates from ordinary forms of inflection in words of a like kind; especially, a noun which is irregular in declension.

2. Any thing or person deviating from the common rule, or from common forms. Howell.

{ Het`er*o*clit"ic (?), Het`er*o*clit"ic*al (?), } a. [See Heteroclite.] Deviating from ordinary forms or rules; irregular; anomalous; abnormal.

Het`er*oc"li*tous (?), a. Heteroclitic. [Obs.]

Het"er*o*cyst (?), n. [Hetero- + cyst.] (Bot.) A cell larger than the others, and of different appearance, occurring in certain algÊ related to nostoc.

Het`er*o*dac"tyl (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Heterodactylous. -- n. One of the HeterodactylÊ.

||Het`e*ro*dac"ty*lÊ (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; other + &?; a ||finger.] (Zoˆl.) A group of birds including the trogons.

Het`er*o*dac"tyl*ous (?), a. [Hetero- + Gr. &?; a toe.] (Zoˆl.) Having the first and second toes turned backward, as in the trogons.

Het"er*o*dont (?), a. [Hetero- + Gr. &?;, &?; a tooth.] (Anat.) Having the teeth differentiated into incisors, canines, and molars, as in man; -- opposed to homodont.

Het"er*o*dont, n. (Zoˆl.) Any animal with heterodont dentition.

Het"er*o*dox (?), a. [Gr. &?;; &?; other + &?; opinion; cf. F. hÈtÈrodoxe.] 1. Contrary to, or differing from, some acknowledged standard, as the Bible, the creed of a church, the decree of a council, and the like; not orthodox; heretical; -- said of opinions, doctrines, books, etc., esp. upon theological subjects.

Raw and indigested, heterodox, preaching.

Strype.

2. Holding heterodox opinions, or doctrines not orthodox; heretical; -- said of persons. Macaulay.

-- Het"er*o*dox`ly, adv. -- Het"er*o*dox`ness, n.

Het"er*o*dox, n. An opinion opposed to some accepted standard. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

Het"er*o*dox`al (?), a. Not orthodox. Howell.

Het"er*o*dox`y (?), n. [Gr. &?;: cf. F. hÈtÈrodoxie.] An opinion or doctrine, or a system of doctrines, contrary to some established standard of faith, as the Scriptures, the creed or standards of a church, etc.; heresy. Bp. Bull.

Het`er*od"ro*mous (?), a. [Hetero- + Gr. &?; to run.] 1. (Bot.) Having spirals of changing direction. Gray.

2. (Mech.) Moving in opposite directions; -- said of a lever, pulley, etc., in which the resistance and the actuating force are on opposite sides of the fulcrum or axis.

Het`er*og"a*mous (?), a. [Hetero- + Gr. ga`mos marriage: cf. F. hÈtÈrogame.] (Bot. & Biol.) (a) The condition of having two or more kinds of flowers which differ in regard to stamens and pistils, as in the aster. (b) Characterized by heterogamy.

Het`er*og"a*my (?), n. [See Heterogamous.]

1. (Bot.) The process of fertilization in plants by an indirect or circuitous method; -- opposed to orthogamy.

2. (Biol.) That form of alternate generation in which two kinds of sexual generation, or a sexual and a parthenogenetic generation, alternate; -- in distinction from metagenesis, where sexual and asexual generations alternate. Claus & Sedgwick.

Het`er*o*gan"gli*ate (?), a. [Hetero- + gangliate.] (Physiol.) Having the ganglia of the nervous system unsymmetrically arranged; -- said of certain invertebrate animals.