Chapter 122

Hy*poc"ri*sy (h*pk"r*s), n.; pl. Hypocrisies (- sz). [OE. hypocrisie, ypocrisie, OF. hypocrisie, ypocrisie, F. hypocrisie, L. hypocrisis, fr. Gr. "ypo`krisis the playing a part on the stage, simulation, outward show, fr. "ypokr`nesqai to answer on the stage, to play a part; "ypo` under + kri`nein to decide; in the middle voice, to dispute, contend. See Hypo-, and Critic.] The act or practice of a hypocrite; a feigning to be what one is not, or to feel what one does not feel; a dissimulation, or a concealment of one's real character, disposition, or motives; especially, the assuming of false appearance of virtue or religion; a simulation of goodness.

Hypocrisy is the necessary burden of villainy.

Rambler.

Hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue.

La Rochefoucauld (Trans. ).

Hyp"o*crite (?), n. [F., fr. L. hypocrita, Gr. &?; one who plays a part on the stage, a dissembler, feigner. See Hypocrisy.] One who plays a part; especially, one who, for the purpose of winning approbation of favor, puts on a fair outside seeming; one who feigns to be other and better than he is; a false pretender to virtue or piety; one who simulates virtue or piety.

The hypocrite's hope shall perish.

Job viii. 13.

I dare swear he is no hypocrite, but prays from his heart.

Shak.

Syn. -- Deceiver; pretender; cheat. See Dissembler.

Hyp"o*crite*ly, adv. Hypocritically. [R.] Sylvester.

Hyp`o*crit"ic (?), a. See Hypocritical. Swift.

Hyp`o*crit"ic*al (?), a. [Gr. &?;: cf. F. hypocritique.] Of or pertaining to a hypocrite, or to hypocrisy; as, a hypocriticalperson; a hypocritical look; a hypocritical action.

Hypocritical professions of friendship and of pacific intentions were not spared.

Macaulay.

-- Hyp`o*crit"ic*al*ly (#), adv.

Hyp`o*crys"tal*line (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + crystalline.] (Crystallog.) Partly crystalline; -- said of rock which consists of crystals imbedded in a glassy ground mass.

Hy`po*cy"cloid (?), n. [Pref. hypo- + cycloid: cf. F. hypocycloÔde.] (Geom.) A curve traced by a point in the circumference of a circle which rolls on the concave side in the fixed circle. Cf. Epicycloid, and Trochoid.

||Hyp`o*dac"ty*lum (?), n.; pl. -tyla (#). [NL., fr. Gr. "ypo` beneath ||+ &?; a finger, toe.] (Zoˆl.) The under side of the toes.

Hyp"o*derm (?), n. [Pref. hypo- + -derm.] (Biol.) Same as Hypoblast.

||Hyp`o*der"ma (?), n. [NL. See Hypo, and derma.] 1. (Bot.) A layer of ||tissue beneath the epidermis in plants, and performing the ||physiological function of strengthening the epidermal tissue. In ||phanerogamous plants it is developed as collenchyma.

2. (Zoˆl.) An inner cellular layer which lies beneath the chitinous cuticle of arthropods, annelids, and some other invertebrates.

Hyp`o*der*mat"ic (?), a. Hypodermic.

-- Hyp`o*der*mat"ic*al*ly (#), adv.

Hyp`o*der"mic (?), a. [See Hypoderma.] Of or pertaining to the parts under the skin.

Hypodermic medication, the application of remedies under the epidermis, usually by means of a small syringe, called the hypodermic syringe.

-- Hyp`o*der"mic*al*ly (#), adv.

||Hyp`o*der"mis (?), n. [NL. See Hypo-, and Derma.] 1. (Biol.) Same as ||Hypoblast.

2. (Zoˆl.) Same as Hypoderma, 2.

{ Hyp`o*di*crot"ic (?), Hyp`o*di"cro*tous (?), } a. (Physiol.) Exhibiting retarded dicrotism; as, a hypodicrotic pulse curve.

Hyp`o*gÊ"ic (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + Gr. gai^a, gh^, earth.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or obtained from, the peanut, or earthnut (Arachis hypogÊa).

HypogÊic acid (Chem.), an acid in the oil of the earthnut, in which it exists as a glyceride, and from which it is extracted as a white, crystalline substance.

Hyp`o*gas"tric (?), a. [Cf. F. hypogastrique. See Hypogastrium.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the hypogastrium or the hypogastric region.

Hypogastric region. (a) The lower part of the abdomen. (b) An arbitrary division of the abdomen below the umbilical and between the two iliac regions.

||Hyp`o*gas"tri*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;; &?; under + &?; belly.] ||(Anat.) The lower part of the abdomen.

Hyp`o*ge"an (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + Gr. &?; earth.] (Bot.) Hypogeous. [Written also hypogÊan.]

Hyp"o*gene (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + the root of Gr. &?; to be born: cf. F. hypogËne.] (Geol.) Formed or crystallized at depths beneath the earth's surface; -- said of granite, gneiss, and other rocks, whose crystallization is believed of have taken place beneath a great thickness of overlying rocks. Opposed to epigene.

Hyp`o*ge"ous (?), a. [See Hypogean.] (Bot.) Growing under ground; remaining under ground; ripening its fruit under ground. [Written also hypogÊous.]

||Hyp`o*ge"um (?), n.; pl. Hypogea (#). [L., fr. Gr. &?;, &?;, ||subterranean; &?; under + &?;, &?;, the earth.] (Anc. Arch.) The ||subterraneous portion of a building, as in amphitheaters, for the ||service of the games; also, subterranean galleries, as the catacombs.

Hyp`o*glos"sal (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + Gr. &?; the tongue.] (Anat.) Under the tongue; -- applied esp., in the higher vertebrates, to the twelfth or last pair of cranial nerves, which are distributed to the base of the tongue. -- n. One of the hypoglossal nerves.

Hy*pog"na*tous (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + Gr. &?; the jaw.] (Zoˆl.) Having the maxilla, or lower jaw, longer than the upper, as in the skimmer.

Hyp"o*gyn (?), n. (Bot.) An hypogynous plant.

Hy*pog"y*nous (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + Gr. &?; woman, female: cf. F. hypogyne.] (Bot.) Inserted below the pistil or pistils; -- said of sepals, petals, and stamens; having the sepals, petals, and stamens inserted below the pistil; -- said of a flower or a plant. Gray.

Hy`po*hy"al (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + Greek letter &?;.] (Anat.) Pertaining to one or more small elements in the hyoidean arch of fishes, between the caratohyal and urohyal. -- n. One of the hypohyal bones or cartilages.

Hy`po*nas"tic (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + Gr. &?; pressed close.] (Bot.) Exhibiting a downward convexity caused by unequal growth. Cf. Epinastic.

Hy`po*nas"ty (?), n. (Bot.) Downward convexity, or convexity of the inferior surface.

Hy`po*ni"trite (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of hyponitrous acid.

Hy`po*ni"trous (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + nitrous.] (Chem.) Containing or derived from nitrogen having a lower valence than in nitrous compounds.

Hyponitrous acid (Chem.), an unstable nitrogen acid, NOH, whose salts are produced by reduction of the nitrates, although the acid itself is not isolated in the free state except as a solution in water; -- called also nitrosylic acid.

||Hy`po*phar"ynx (?), n. [NL. See Hypo-, and Pharynx.] (Zoˆl.) An ||appendage or fold on the lower side of the pharynx, in certain ||insects.

Hy`po*phos"phate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of hypophosphoric acid.

Hy`po*phos"phite (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of hypophosphorous acid.

Hy`po*phos*phor"ic (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + phosphoric.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, or containing, phosphorus in a lower state of oxidation than in phosphoric compounds; as, hypophosphoric acid.

Hypophosphoric acid (Chem.), an acid, P2H4O6, produced by the slow oxidation of moist phosphorus, and isolated only as a solution in water. It is regarded as a condensation product of one molecule of phosphoric acid with one of phosphorous acid, by partial dehydration.

Hy`po*phos"phor*ous (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + phosphorous.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or containing, phosphorus in a lower state of oxidation than in phosphoric compounds; as, hypophosphorous acid.

Hypophosphorous acid (Chem.) , an acid, H3PO2, whose salts are produced by the action of barium hygrate on phosphorus. It may be obtained from its water solution, by exaporation and freezing, as a white crystalline substance. It is a powerful reducing agent.

Hy*poph"yl*lous (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + Gr. &?; leaf.] (Bot.) Being or growing on the under side of a leaf, as the fruit dots of ferns.

Hy`po*phys"i*al (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the hypophysis; pituitary.

||Hy*poph"y*sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; under + &?; nature, origin.] ||1. (Anat.) See Pituitary body, under Pituitary.

2. (Med.) Cataract.

Hy`po*plas"tron (?), n.; pl. Hypoplastra (#). [Pref. hypo- + plastron.] (Anat.) The third lateral plate in the plastron of turtles; -- called also hyposternum.

||Hy*pop"ti*lum (?), n.; pl. L. Hypoptila (#), E. Hypoptilums (#). ||[NL., fr. Gr. "ypo` beneath + &?; down.] (Zoˆl.) An accessory plume ||arising from the posterior side of the stem of the contour feathers ||of many birds; -- called also aftershaft. See Illust. of Feather.

||Hy`po*ra"di*us (?), n.; pl. Hyporadii (#). [Pref. hypo- + radius.] ||(Zoˆl.) One of the barbs of the hypoptilum, or aftershaft of a ||feather. See Feather.

||Hy`po*rha"chis (?), n.; pl. Hyporhachides (#). [NL., fr. Gr. "ypo` ||beneath + &?; spine.] (Zoˆl.) The stem of an aftershaft or ||hypoptilum. [Written also hyporachis.]

Hy`po*skel"e*tal (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + skeletal.] (Anat.) Beneath the endoskeleton; hypaxial; as, the hyposkeletal muscles; -- opposed to episkeletal.

||Hy`po*spa"di*as (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. "ypo` beneath + spa`n to draw, ||tear.] (Med.) A deformity of the penis, in which the urethra opens ||upon its under surface.

Hy*pos"ta*sis (?), n.; pl. Hypostases (#). [L., fr. Gr. &?; subsistence, substance, fr. &?; to stand under; &?; under + &?; to stand, middle voice of &?; to cause to stand. See Hypo-, and Stand.] 1. That which forms the basis of anything; underlying principle; a concept or mental entity conceived or treated as an existing being or thing.

2. (Theol.) Substance; subsistence; essence; person; personality; -- used by the early theologians to denote any one of the three subdivisions of the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Council of Alexandria (a. d. 362) defined hypostasis as synonymous with person. Schaff- Herzog.

3. Principle; an element; -- used by the alchemists in speaking of salt, sulphur, and mercury, which they considered as the three principles of all material bodies.

4. (Med.) That which is deposited at the bottom of a fluid; sediment.

Hy*pos"ta*size (?), v. t. To make into a distinct substance; to conceive or treat as an existing being; to hypostatize. [R.]

The pressed Newtonians . . . refused to hypostasize the law of gravitation into an ether.

Coleridge.

{ Hy`po*stat"ic (?), Hy`po*stat"ic*al (?), } a. [Gr. &?;: cf. F. hypostatique.] 1. Relating to hypostasis, or substance; hence, constitutive, or elementary.

The grand doctrine of the chymists, touching their three hypostatical principles.

Boyle.

2. Personal, or distinctly personal; relating to the divine hypostases, or substances. Bp. Pearson.

3. (Med.) Depending upon, or due to, deposition or setting; as, hypostatic cognestion, cognestion due to setting of blood by gravitation.

Hypostatic union (Theol.), the union of the divine with the human nature of Christ. Tillotson.

Hy`po*stat"ic*al*ly, adv. In a hypostatic manner.

Hy*pos"ta*tize (?), v. t. 1. To make into, or regarded as, a separate and distinct substance.

Looked upon both species and genera as hypostatized universals.

Pop. Sci. Monthly.

2. To attribute actual or personal existence to. Sir W. Hamilton.

||Hy`po*ster"num (?), n.; pl. L. Hyposterna (#), E. Hyposternums (#). ||[Pref. hypo- + sternum.] (Anat.) See Hypoplastron.

{ Hy"po*stome (?), ||Hy*pos"to*ma (?), } n. [NL. hypostoma, fr. Gr. "ypo` beneath + &?; mouth.] (Zoˆl.) The lower lip of trilobites, crustaceans, etc.

Hy*pos"tro*phe (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to turn round or back; &?; under + &?; to turn.] (Med.) (a) The act of a patient turning himself. (b) A relapse, or return of a disease.

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Hy"po*style (?), a. [Gr. &?; resting on pillars; &?; under + &?; a pillar.] (Arch.) Resting upon columns; constructed by means of columns; -- especially applied to the great hall at Karnak.

Hy`po*sul"phate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of hyposulphuric acid.

Hy`po*sul"phite (?), n. (Chem.) (a) A salt of what was formerly called hyposulphurous acid; a thiosulphate. [Obs.] (b) A salt of hyposulphurous acid proper.

Hy`po*sul*phur"ic (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + sulphuric.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or containing, sulphur in a lower state of oxidation than in the sulphuric compounds; as, hyposulphuric acid.

Hyposulphuric acid, an acid, H2S2O6, obtained by the action of manganese dioxide on sulphur dioxide, and known only in a watery solution and in its salts; -- called also dithionic acid. See Dithionic.

Hy`po*sul"phur*ous (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + sulphurous.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or containing, sulphur, all, or a part, in a low state of oxidation.

Hyposulphurous acid. (a) Thiosulphuric acid. [Obs.] (b) An acid, H2SO2, obtained by the reduction of sulphurous acid. It is not obtained in the free state, but in an orange-yellow water solution, which is a strong reducing and bleaching agent. Called also hydrosulphurous acid.

||Hy`po*tar"sus (?), n.; pl. Hypotarsi (#). [NL. See Hypo-, and ||Tarsus.] (Anat.) A process on the posterior side of the ||tarsometatarsus of many birds; the calcaneal process. -- ||Hy`po*tar"sal (#), a.

{ Hy*pot"e*nuse (?), Hy*poth"e*nuse (?) }, n. [L. hypotenusa, Gr. &?;, prob., subtending (sc. &?;), fr. &?; to stretch under, subtend; &?; under + &?; to stretch. See Subtend.] (Geom.) The side of a right-angled triangle that is opposite to the right angle.

Hy*poth"ec (?), n. [F. hypothËque. See Hypotheca.] (Scot. Law) A landlord's right, independently of stipulation, over the stocking (cattle, implements, etc.), and crops of his tenant, as security for payment of rent.

||Hy`po*the"ca (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?; a thing subject to some ||obligation, fr. &?; to put under, put down, pledge. See Hypothesis.] ||(Rom. Law) An obligation by which property of a debtor was made over ||to his creditor in security of his debt.

It differed from pledge in regard to possession of the property subject to the obligation; pledge requiring, simple hypotheca not requiring, possession of it by the creditor. The modern mortgage corresponds very closely with it. Kent.

Hy*poth"e*cate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hypothecated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Hypothecating (?).] [LL. hypothecatus, p. p. of hypothecare to pledge, fr. L. hypotheca pledge, security. See Hypotheca.] (Law) To subject, as property, to liability for a debt or engagement without delivery of possession or transfer of title; to pledge without delivery of possession; to mortgage, as ships, or other personal property; to make a contract by bottomry. See Hypothecation, Bottomry.

He had found the treasury empty and the pay of the navy in arrear. He had no power to hypothecate any part of the public revenue. Those who lent him money lent it on no security but his bare word.

Macaulay.

Hy*poth`e*ca"tion (?), n. [LL. hypothecatio.] 1. (Civ. Law) The act or contract by which property is hypothecated; a right which a creditor has in or to the property of his debtor, in virtue of which he may cause it to be sold and the price appropriated in payment of his debt. This is a right in the thing, or jus in re. Pothier. B. R. Curtis.

There are but few cases, if any, in our law, where an hypothecation, in the strict sense of the Roman law, exists; that is a pledge without possession by the pledgee.

Story.

In the modern civil law, this contract has no application to movable property, not even to ships, to which and their cargoes it is most frequently applied in England and America. See Hypothecate. B. R. Curtis. Domat.

2. (Law of Shipping) A contract whereby, in consideration of money advanced for the necessities of the ship, the vessel, freight, or cargo is made liable for its repayment, provided the ship arrives in safety. It is usually effected by a bottomry bond. See Bottomry.

This term is often applied to mortgages of ships.

Hy*poth"e*ca`tor (?), n. (Law) One who hypothecates or pledges anything as security for the repayment of money borrowed.

{ Hy*poth"e*nal (?), Hy*poth"e*nar (?), } a. [Pref. hypo- + thenar.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the prominent part of the palm of the hand above the base of the little finger, or a corresponding part in the forefoot of an animal; as, the hypothenar eminence.

Hy*poth"e*nar (?), n. (Anat.) The hypothenar eminence.

Hy*poth`e*nu"sal (?), a. Of or pertaining to hypothenuse. [R.]

Hy*poth"e*nuse (?), n. Same as Hypotenuse.

Hy*poth"e*sis (?), n.; pl. Hypotheses (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?; foundation, supposition, fr. &?; to place under, &?; under + &?; to put. See Hypo-, Thesis.] 1. A supposition; a proposition or principle which is supposed or taken for granted, in order to draw a conclusion or inference for proof of the point in question; something not proved, but assumed for the purpose of argument, or to account for a fact or an occurrence; as, the hypothesis that head winds detain an overdue steamer.

An hypothesis being a mere supposition, there are no other limits to hypotheses than those of the human imagination.

J. S. Mill.

2. (Natural Science) A tentative theory or supposition provisionally adopted to explain certain facts, and to guide in the investigation of others; hence, frequently called a working hypothesis.

Syn. -- Supposition; assumption. See Theory.

Nebular hypothesis. See under Nebular.

{ Hy`po*thet"ic (?), Hy`po*thet"ic*al (?), } a. [L. hypotheticus, Gr. &?;: cf. F. hypothÈtique.] Characterized by, or of the nature of, an hypothesis; conditional; assumed without proof, for the purpose of reasoning and deducing proof, or of accounting for some fact or phenomenon.

Causes hypothetical at least, if not real, for the various phenomena of the existence of which our experience informs us.

Sir W. Hamilton.

Hypothetical baptism (Ch. of Eng.), baptism administered to persons in respect to whom it is doubtful whether they have or have not been baptized before. Hook.

-- Hy`po*thet"ic*al*ly, adv. South.

Hy*poth"e*tist (?), n. One who proposes or supports an hypothesis. [R.]

||Hy`po*tra*che"li*um (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;; &?; under + &?; neck.] ||(Arch.) Same as Gorgerin.

||Hy*pot"ri*cha (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. "ypo` beneath + &?;, &?;, a ||hair.] (Zoˆl.) A division of ciliated Infusoria in which the cilia ||cover only the under side of the body.

Hy`po*tro"choid (?), n. [Pref. hypo- + trochoid.] (Geom.) A curve, traced by a point in the radius, or radius produced, of a circle which rolls upon the concave side of a fixed circle. See Hypocycloid, Epicycloid, and Trochoid.

||Hy`po*ty*po"sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to sketch out; &?; ||under + &?; to impress.] (Rhet.) A vivid, picturesque description of ||scenes or events.

Hy`po*xan"thin (?), n. [Pref. hypo- + xanthin.] (Physiol. Chem.) A crystalline, nitrogenous substance, closely related to xanthin and uric acid, widely distributed through the animal body, but especially in muscle tissue; -- called also sarcin, sarkin.

Hy`po*zo"ic (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + Gr. &?; an animal.] (Geol.) Anterior in age to the lowest rocks which contain organic remains. Lyell.

Hyp"pish (?), a. [From Hyp.] Affected with hypochondria; hypped. [Written also hyppish.]

Hyp"po*griff (?), n. See Hyppogriff.

Hyp"si*loid (?), a. [From , the Greek letter called "upsilon" + -oid.] (Anat.) Resembling the Greek letter in form; hyoid.

Hyp*som"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. &?; height + -meter.] (Physics) An instrument for measuring heights by observation of barometric pressure; esp., one for determining heights by ascertaining the boiling point of water. It consists of a vessel for water, with a lamp for heating it, and an inclosed thermometer for showing the temperature of ebullition.

{ Hyp`so*met"ric (?), Hyp`so*met"ric*al (?), } a. Of or pertaining to hypsometry.

Hyp*som"e*try (?), n. That branch of the science of geodesy which has to do with the measurement of heights, either absolutely with reference to the sea level, or relatively.

Hy*pu"ral (?), a. [Pref. hypo- + Gr. &?; tail.] (Anat.) Under the tail; -- applied to the bones which support the caudal fin rays in most fishes.

Hy"ra*coid (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Of or pertaining to the Hyracoidea. -- n. One of the Hyracoidea.

||Hyr`a*coi"de*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Hyrax, and oid.] (Zoˆl.) An order ||of small hoofed mammals, comprising the single living genus Hyrax.

||Hy"rax (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; shrew mouse.] (Zoˆl.) Any animal of ||the genus Hyrax, of which about four species are known. They ||constitute the order Hyracoidea. The best known species are the daman ||(H. Syriacus) of Palestine, and the klipdas (H. capensis) of South ||Africa. Other species are H. arboreus and H. Sylvestris, the former ||from Southern, and the latter from Western, Africa. See Daman.

{ Hyr*ca"ni*an (?), Hyr"can (?), } a. Of or pertaining to Hyrcania, an ancient country or province of Asia, southeast of the Caspian (which was also called the Hyrcanian) Sea. "The Hyrcan tiger." "Hyrcanian deserts." Shak.

Hyrse (?), n. [G. hirse, OHG. hirsi.] (Bot.) Millet.

Hyrst (?), n. A wood. See Hurst.

Hy"son (?), n. [Chin. hi-tshun, lit., first crop, or blooming spring.] A fragrant kind of green tea.

Hyson skin, the light and inferior leaves separated from the hyson by a winnowing machine. MëCulloch.

Hys"sop (?), n. [OE. hysope, ysope, OF. ysope, F. hysope, hyssope, L. hysopum, hyssopum, hyssopus, Gr. &?;, &?;, an aromatic plant, fr. Heb. sov.] A plant (Hyssopus officinalis). The leaves have an aromatic smell, and a warm, pungent taste.

The hyssop of Scripture is supposed to be a species of caper (Capparis spinosa), but probably the name was used for several different plants.

Hys`ter*an"thous (?), a. [Gr. &?; after + &?; flower.] (Bot.) Having the leaves expand after the flowers have opened. Henslow.

||Hys`te*re"sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; to be behind, to lag.] ||(Physics) A lagging or retardation of the effect, when the forces ||acting upon a body are changed, as if from velocity or internal ||friction; a temporary resistance to change from a condition ||previously induced, observed in magnetism, thermoelectricity, etc., ||on reversal of polarity.

Hys*te"ri*a (?), n. [NL.: cf. F. hystÈrie. See Hysteric.] (Med.) A nervous affection, occurring almost exclusively in women, in which the emotional and reflex excitability is exaggerated, and the will power correspondingly diminished, so that the patient loses control over the emotions, becomes the victim of imaginary sensations, and often falls into paroxism or fits.

The chief symptoms are convulsive, tossing movements of the limbs and head, uncontrollable crying and laughing, and a choking sensation as if a ball were lodged in the throat. The affection presents the most varied symptoms, often simulating those of the gravest diseases, but generally curable by mental treatment alone.

{ Hys*ter"ic (?), Hys*ter"ic*al (?), } a. [L. hystericus, Gr. &?;, fr. "yste`ra the womb; perh. akin to &?; latter, later, and E. utter, out.] Of or pertaining to hysteria; affected, or troubled, with hysterics; convulsive, fitful.

With no hysteric weakness or feverish excitement, they preserved their peace and patience.

Bancroft.

Hys*ter"ics (?), n. pl. (Med.) Hysteria.

Hys`ter*o*ep"i*lep`sy (?), n. [Hysteria + epilepsy.] (Med.) A disease resembling hysteria in its nature, and characterized by the occurrence of epileptiform convulsions, which can often be controlled or excited by pressure on the ovaries, and upon other definite points in the body. -- Hys`ter*o*ep`i*lep"tic (#), a.

Hys`ter*o*gen"ic (?), a. [Hysteria + root of Gr. &?; to be born.] (Physiol.) Producing hysteria; as, the hysterogenicpressure points on the surface of the body, pressure upon which is said both to produce and arrest an attack of hysteria. De Watteville.

Hys`ter*ol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?;; &?; the latter + &?; discourse: cf. F. hystÈrologie.] (Rhet.) A figure by which the ordinary course of thought is inverted in expression, and the last put first; -- called also hysteron proteron.