Chapter 98

-- To help over, to enable to surmount; as, to help one over an obstacle. -- To help to, to supply with; to furnish with; as, to help one to soup. -- To help up, to help (one) to get up; to assist in rising, as after a fall, and the like. "A man is well holp up that trusts to you." Shak.

Syn. -- To aid; assist; succor; relieve; serve; support; sustain; befriend. -- To Help, Aid, Assist. These words all agree in the idea of affording relief or support to a person under difficulties. Help turns attention especially to the source of relief. If I fall into a pit, I call for help; and he who helps me out does it by an act of his own. Aid turns attention to the other side, and supposes coˆperation on the part of him who is relieved; as, he aided me in getting out of the pit; I got out by the aid of a ladder which he brought. Assist has a primary reference to relief afforded by a person who "stands by" in order to relieve. It denotes both help and aid. Thus, we say of a person who is weak, I assisted him upstairs, or, he mounted the stairs by my assistance. When help is used as a noun, it points less distinctively and exclusively to the source of relief, or, in other words, agrees more closely with aid. Thus we say, I got out of a pit by the help of my friend.

Help (?), v. i. To lend aid or assistance; to contribute strength or means; to avail or be of use; to assist.

A generous present helps to persuade, as well as an agreeable person.

Garth.

To help out, to lend aid; to bring a supply.

Help, n. [AS. help; akin to D. hulp, G. h¸lfe, hilfe, Icel. hjlp, Sw. hjelp, Dan. hielp. See Help, v. t.]

1. Strength or means furnished toward promoting an object, or deliverance from difficulty or distress; aid; ^; also, the person or thing furnishing the aid; as, he gave me a help of fifty dollars.

Give us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man.

Ps. lx. 11.

God is . . . a very present help in trouble.

Ps. xlvi. 1.

Virtue is a friend and a help to nature.

South.

2. Remedy; relief; as, there is no help for it.

3. A helper; one hired to help another; also, thew hole force of hired helpers in any business.

4. Specifically, a domestic servant, man or woman. [Local, U. S.]

Help"er (?), n. One who, or that which, helps, aids, assists, or relieves; as, a lay helper in a parish.

Thou art the helper of the fatherless.

Ps. x. 14.

Compassion . . . oftentimes a helper of evils.

Dr. H. More.

Help"ful (?), a. Furnishing help; giving aid; assistant; useful; salutary.

Heavens make our presence and our practices Pleasant and helpful to him!

Shak.

-- Help"ful*ly, adv. -- Help"ful*ness, n. Milton.

Help"less, a. 1. Destitute of help or strength; unable to help or defend one's self; needing help; feeble; weak; as, a helpless infant.

How shall I then your helpless fame defend?

Pope.

2. Beyond help; irremediable.

Some helpless disagreement or dislike, either of mind or body.

Milton.

3. Bringing no help; unaiding. [Obs.]

Yet since the gods have been Helpless foreseers of my plagues.

Chapman.

4. Unsupplied; destitute; -- with of. [R.]

Helpless of all that human wants require.

Dryden.

-- Help"less*ly, adv. -- Help"less*ness, n.

Help"mate` (?), n. [A corruption of the "help meet for him" of Genesis ii. 18.Fitzedward Hall.] A helper; a companion; specifically, a wife.

In Minorca the ass and the hog are common helpmates, and are yoked together in order to turn up the land.

Pennant.

A waiting woman was generally considered as the most suitable helpmate for a parson.

Macaulay.

Help"meet` (?), n. [See Helpmate.] A wife; a helpmate.

The Lord God created Adam, . . . and afterwards, on his finding the want of a helpmeet, caused him to sleep, and took one of his ribs and thence made woman.

J. H. Newman.

Hel"ter-skel"ter (?), adv. [An onomat&?;poetic word. Cf. G. holter-polter, D. holder de bolder.] In hurry and confusion; without definite purpose; irregularly. [Colloq.]

Helter-skelter have I rode to thee.

Shak.

A wistaria vine running helter-skelter across the roof.

J. C. Harris.

Helve (?), n. [OE. helve, helfe, AS. hielf, helf, hylf, cf. OHG. halb; and also E. halter, helm of a rudder.] 1. The handle of an ax, hatchet, or adze.

2. (Iron Working) (a) The lever at the end of which is the hammer head, in a forge hammer. (b) A forge hammer which is lifted by a cam acting on the helve between the fulcrum and the head.

Helve, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Helved (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Helving.] To furnish with a helve, as an ax.

Hel*ve"tian (?), a. Same as Helvetic. -- n. A Swiss; a Switzer.

Hel*ve"tic (?), a. [L. Helveticus, fr. Helvetii the Helvetii.] Of or pertaining to the Helvetii, the ancient inhabitant of the Alps, now Switzerland, or to the modern states and inhabitant of the Alpine regions; as, the Helvetic confederacy; Helvetic states.

{ Hel"vine (?), Hel"vite (?), } n. [L. helvus of a light bay color.] (Min.) A mineral of a yellowish color, consisting chiefly of silica, glucina, manganese, and iron, with a little sulphur.

Hem (hm), pron. [OE., fr. AS. him, heom, dative pl. of. h he. See He, They.] Them [Obs.] Chaucer.

Hem, interj. An onomatopoetic word used as an expression of hesitation, doubt, etc. It is often a sort of voluntary half cough, loud or subdued, and would perhaps be better expressed by hm.

Cough or cry hem, if anybody come.

Shak.

Hem, n. An utterance or sound of the voice, hem or hm, often indicative of hesitation or doubt, sometimes used to call attention. "His morning hems." Spectator.

Hem, v. i. [√15. See Hem, interj.] To make the sound expressed by the word hem; hence, to hesitate in speaking. "Hem, and stroke thy beard." Shak.

Hem, n. [AS. hem, border, margin; cf. Fries. h‰mel, Prov. G. hammel hem of mire or dirt.] 1. The edge or border of a garment or cloth, doubled over and sewed, to strengthen it and prevent raveling.

2. Border; edge; margin. "Hem of the sea." Shak.

3. A border made on sheet-metal ware by doubling over the edge of the sheet, to stiffen it and remove the sharp edge.

Hem, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hemmed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Hemming.] 1. To form a hem or border to; to fold and sew down the edge of. Wordsworth.

2. To border; to edge

All the skirt about Was hemmed with golden fringe.

Spenser.

To hem about, around, or in, to inclose and confine; to surround; to environ. "With valiant squadrons round about to hem." Fairfax. "Hemmed in to be a spoil to tyranny." Daniel. -- To hem out, to shut out. "You can not hem me out of London." J. Webster.

Hem"a- (?). Same as HÊma-.

Hem"a*chate (?), n. [L. haemachates; Gr. a"i^ma blood + &?; agate.] (Min.) A species of agate, sprinkled with spots of red jasper.

Hem"a*chrome (?), n. Same as HÊmachrome.

Hem"a*cite (?), n. [Gr. a"i^ma blood.] A composition made from blood, mixed with mineral or vegetable substances, used for making buttons, door knobs, etc.

{ Hem`a*drom"e*ter (?), Hem`a*dro*mom"e*ter (?), } n. [Hema- + Gr. &?; course + - meter.] (Physiol.) An instrument for measuring the velocity with which the blood moves in the arteries.

{ Hem`a*drom`e*try (?), Hem`a*dro*mom"e*try (?), } n. (Physiol.) The act of measuring the velocity with which the blood circulates in the arteries; hÊmotachometry.

He`ma*dy*nam"ics (?), n. [Hema- + dynamics.] (Physiol.) The principles of dynamics in their application to the blood; that part of science which treats of the motion of the blood.

He`ma*dy"na*mom"e*ter (?), n. [Hema- + dynamometr.] (Physiol.) An instrument by which the pressure of the blood in the arteries, or veins, is measured by the height to which it will raise a column of mercury; -- called also a hÊmomanometer.

He"mal (?), a. [Gr. a"i^ma blood.] Relating to the blood or blood vessels; pertaining to, situated in the region of, or on the side with, the heart and great blood vessels; -- opposed to neural.

As applied to vertebrates, hemal is the same as ventral, the heart and great blood vessels being on the ventral, and the central nervous system on the dorsal, side of the vertebral column.

Hemal arch (Anat.), the ventral arch in a segment of the spinal skeleton, formed by vertebral processes or ribs.

Hem`a*phÊ"in (?), n. Same as HÊmaphÊin.

||Hem`a*poph"y*sis (?), n.; pl. Hemapophyses . [NL. See HÊma-, and ||Apophysis.] (Anat.) The second element in each half of a hemal arch, ||corresponding to the sternal part of a rib. Owen. -- ||Hem`a*po*phys"i*al (#), a.

{ Hem`a*stat"ic (?), Hem`a*stat"ic*al (?), } a. & n. Same as Hemostatic.

Hem`a*stat"ics (?), n. (Physiol.) Laws relating to the equilibrium of the blood in the blood vessels.

Hem`a*ta*chom"e*ter (?), n. Same as HÊmatachometer.

Hem`a*te"in (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?;, blood.] (Chem.) A reddish brown or violet crystalline substance, C16H12O6, got from hematoxylin by partial oxidation, and regarded as analogous to the phthaleins.

||Hem`a*tem"e*sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. a"i^ma, a"i`matos, blood + &?; ||a vomiting, fr. &?; to vomit.] (Med.) A vomiting of blood.

Hem"a*therm (?), n. [Gr. a"i^ma blood + &?; warm.] (Zoˆl.) A warm- blooded animal. [R.]

Hem`a*ther"mal (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Warm-blooded; hematothermal. [R]

He*mat"ic (?), a. Same as HÊmatic.

He*mat"ic, n. (Med.) A medicine designed to improve the condition of the blood.

Hem"a*tin (?), n. [Gr. a"i^ma, a"i`matos, blood.] 1. Hematoxylin.

2. (Physiol. Chem.) A bluish black, amorphous substance containing iron and obtained from blood. It exists the red blood corpuscles united with globulin, and the form of hemoglobin or oxyhemoglobin gives to the blood its red color.

Hem`a*ti*nom"e*ter (?), n. [Hematin + -meter.] (Physiol. Chem.) A form of hemoglobinometer.

Hem`a*tin`o*met"ric (?), a. (Physiol.) Relating to the measurement of the amount of hematin or hemoglobin contained in blood, or other fluids.

He*mat"i*non (?), n. [Gr. a"i^ma, a"i`matos, blood.] A red consisting of silica, borax, and soda, fused with oxide of copper and iron, and used in enamels, mosaics, etc.

Hem"a*tite (?), n. [L. haematites, Gr. &?; bloodlike, fr. a"i^ma, a"i`matos, blood.] (Min.) An important ore of iron, the sesquioxide, so called because of the red color of the powder. It occurs in splendent rhombohedral crystals, and in massive and earthy forms; -- the last called red ocher. Called also specular iron, oligist iron, rhombohedral iron ore, and bloodstone. See Brown hematite, under Brown.

Hem`a*tit"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to hematite, or resembling it.

Hem"a*to (?). See HÊma-.

He*mat"o*cele (?), n. [Hemato- + Gr. &?; tumor: cf. F. hÈmatocËle.] (Med.) A tumor filled with blood.

||Hem`a*toc"ry*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. a"i^ma, a"i`matos, blood + ||kry`os cold.] (Zoˆl.) The cold-blooded vertebrates, that is, all but ||the mammals and birds; -- the antithesis to Hematotherma.

Hem`a*to*crys"tal*lin (?), n. [Hemato + crystalline.] (Physiol.) See Hemoglobin.

Hem"a*toid (?), a. [Hemato- + -oid.] (Physiol.) Resembling blood.

Hem`a*toid"in (?), n. (Physiol. Chem.) A crystalline or amorphous pigment, free from iron, formed from hematin in old blood stains, and in old hemorrhages in the body. It resembles bilirubin. When present in the corpora lutea it is called hÊmolutein.

Hem`a*tol"o*gy (?), n. [Hemato- + -logy.] The science which treats of the blood.

||Hem`a*to"ma (?), n. [NL. See Hema- , and -oma.] (Med.) A ||circumscribed swelling produced by an effusion of blood beneath the ||skin.

||Hem`a*to*phil"i*a (-t*fl"*), n. [NL., fr. Gr. a"i^ma, a"i`matos, ||blood + filei^n to love.] (Med.) A condition characterized by a ||tendency to profuse and uncontrollable hemorrhage from the slightest ||wounds.

Hem`a*to"sin (?), n. (Physiol. Chem.) The hematin of blood. [R.]

||Hem`a*to"sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. a"ima`twsis.] (Physiol.) (a) ||Sanguification; the conversion of chyle into blood. (b) The ||arterialization of the blood in the lungs; the formation of blood in ||general; hÊmatogenesis.

||Hem`a*to*ther"ma (?), n. pl. [NL., from Gr. a"i^ma, a"i`matos, blood ||+ thermo`s warm.] (Zoˆl.) The warm-blooded vertebrates, comprising ||the mammals and birds; -- the antithesis to hematocrya.

Hem"a*to*ther"mal (?), a. Warm- blooded.

Hem`a*tox"y*lin (?), n. HÊmatoxylin.

||Hem`a*tu"ri*a (?), n. [NL. See Hema-, and Urine.] (Med.) Passage of ||urine mingled with blood.

Hem`au*tog"ra*phy (?), n. (Physiol.) The obtaining of a curve similar to a pulse curve or sphygmogram by allowing the blood from a divided artery to strike against a piece of paper.

{ ||Hem*el"y*tron (? or ?), ||Hem*el"y*trum (- trm cf. Elytron, 277), }, n.; pl. Hemelytra (&?;). [NL. See Hemi, and Elytron.] (Zoˆl.) One of the partially thickened anterior wings of certain insects, as of many Hemiptera, the earwigs, etc.

||Hem`e*ra*lo"pi*a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, the opposite of &?;; &?; ||day + &?; of &?;. See Nyctalopia.] (Med.) A disease of the eyes, in ||consequence of which a person can see clearly or without pain only by ||daylight or a strong artificial light; day sight.

Some writers (as Quain) use the word in the opposite sense, i. e., day blindness. See Nyctalopia.

Hem`er*o"bi*an (?), n. [Gr. &?; day + &?; life.] (Zoˆl.) A neuropterous insect of the genus Hemerobius, and allied genera.

He*mer"o*bid (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Of relating to the hemerobians.

||Hem`e*ro*cal"lis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;; &?; day + &?; beauty.] ||(Bot.) A genus of plants, some species of which are cultivated for ||their beautiful flowers; day lily.

Hem"i- (?). [Gr. "hmi-. See Semi-.] A prefix signifying half.

Hem`i*al*bu"min (?), n. [Hemi- + albumin.] (Physiol. Chem.) Same as Hemialbumose.

Hem`i*al"bu"mose` (?), n. [Hemi- + albumose.] (Physiol. Chem.) An albuminous substance formed in gastric digestion, and by the action of boiling dilute acids on albumin. It is readily convertible into hemipeptone. Called also hemialbumin.

||Hem`i*an`Ês*the"si*a (?), n. [Hemi- + anÊsthesia.] (Med.) AnÊsthesia ||upon one side of the body.

||Hem`i*bran"chi (?), n. pl. [NL. See Hemi-, and Branchia.] (Zoˆl.) An ||order of fishes having an incomplete or reduced branchial apparatus. ||It includes the sticklebacks, the flutemouths, and Fistularia.

||Hem`i*car"di*a (?), n. [NL. See Hemi-, and Cardia.] (Anat.) A lateral ||half of the heart, either the right or left. B. G. Wilder.

Hem`i*carp (?), n. [Hemi- + Gr. &?; fruit.] (Bot.) One portion of a fruit that spontaneously divides into halves.

||Hem`i*cer"e*brum (?), n. [Hemi- + cerebrum.] (Anat.) A lateral half ||of the cerebrum. Wilder.

Hem`i*col"lin (?), n. [Hemi- + collin.] (Physiol. Chem.) See Semiglutin.

||Hem`i*cra"ni*a (?), n. [L.: cf. F. hÈmicr‚nie. See Cranium, and ||Megrim.] (Med.) A pain that affects only one side of the head.

Hem"i*cra`ny (?), n. (Med.) Hemicranis.

Hem"i*cy`cle (?), n. [L. hemicyclus, Gr. &?;; &?; + &?;.] 1. A half circle; a semicircle.

<! p. 685 !>

2. A semicircular place, as a semicircular arena, or room, or part of a room.

The collections will be displayed in the hemicycle of the central pavilion.

London Academy.

Hem`i*dac"tyl (?), n. [See Hemi- , and Dactyl.] (Zoˆl.) Any species of Old World geckoes of the genus Hemidactylus. The hemidactyls have dilated toes, with two rows of plates beneath.

Hem`i-dem`i-sem"i*quaver (?), n. [Hemi- + demi-semiquaver.] (Mus.) A short note, equal to one fourth of a semiquaver, or the sixty-fourth part of a whole note.

Hem`i*di"tone (?), n. [Hemi- + ditone.] (Gr. Mus.) The lesser third. Busby.

He*mig"a*mous (?), a. [Hemi- + Gr. &?; marriage.] (Bot.) Having one of the two florets in the same spikelet neuter, and the other unisexual, whether male or female; -- said of grasses.

Hem"i*glyph (?), n. [Hemi- + Gr. &?; a carving.] (Arch.) The half channel or groove in the edge of the triglyph in the Doric order.

Hem`i*he"dral (?), a. [Hemi- + Gr. &?; seat, base, fr. &?; to sit.] (Crystallog.) Having half of the similar parts of a crystals, instead of all; consisting of half the planes which full symmetry would require, as when a cube has planes only on half of its eight solid angles, or one plane out of a pair on each of its edges; or as in the case of a tetrahedron, which is hemihedral to an octahedron, it being contained under four of the planes of an octahedron. -- Hem`i*he"dral*ly, adv.

Hem`i*he"drism (?), n. (Crystallog.) The property of crystallizing hemihedrally.

Hem`i*he"dron (?), n. (Crystallog.) A solid hemihedrally derived. The tetrahedron is a hemihedron.

Hem`i*hol`o*he"dral (?), a. [Hemi- + holohedral.] (Crystallog.) Presenting hemihedral forms, in which half the sectants have the full number of planes.

Hem`i*mel*lit"ic (?), a. [Hemi- + mellitic.] (Chem.) Having half as many (three) carboxyl radicals as mellitic acid; -- said of an organic acid.

||Hem`i*me*tab"o*la (?), n. pl. [NL. See Hemi-, and Metabola.] (Zoˆl.) ||Those insects which have an incomplete metamorphosis.

Hem`i*met`a*bol"ic (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Having an incomplete metamorphosis, the larvÊ differing from the adults chiefly in laking wings, as in the grasshoppers and cockroaches.

Hem`i*mor"phic (?), a. [Hemi- + Gr. &?; form.] (Crystallog.) Having the two ends modified with unlike planes; -- said of a crystal.

He"min (?), n. [Gr. a"i^ma blood.] (Physiol. Chem.) A substance, in the form of reddish brown, microscopic, prismatic crystals, formed from dried blood by the action of strong acetic acid and common salt; -- called also Teichmann's crystals. Chemically, it is a hydrochloride of hematin.

The obtaining of these small crystals, from old blood clots or suspected blood stains, constitutes one of the best evidences of the presence of blood.

||He*mi"na (?), n.; pl. HeminÊ (#). [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] 1. (Rom. Antiq.) ||A measure of half a sextary. Arbuthnot.

2. (Med.) A measure equal to about ten fluid ounces.

||He*mi"o*nus (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a half ass, a mule.] (Zoˆl.) A ||wild ass found in Thibet; the kiang. Darwin.

{ ||Hem`i*o"pi*a (?), Hem`i*op"si*a (?), } n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; half + Gr. &?; sight.] (Med.) A defect of vision in consequence of which a person sees but half of an object looked at.

Hem`i*or"tho*type (?), a. [Hemi- + Gr. &?; straight + -type.] Same as Monoclinic.

Hem`i*pep"tone (?), n. [Hemi- + peptone.] (Physiol. Chem.) A product of the gastric and pancreatic digestion of albuminous matter.

Unlike antipeptone it is convertible into leucin and tyrosin, by the continued action of pancreatic juice. See Peptone. It is also formed from hemialbumose and albumin by the action of boiling dilute sulphuric acid.

||Hem`i*ple"gi*a (?), n.[NL., fr. Gr. &?;; &?; half + &?; a stroke; cf. ||F. hÈmiplagie.] (Med.) A palsy that affects one side only of the ||body. -- Hem`i"pleg"ic (#), a.

Hem"i*ple`gy (?), n. (Med.) Hemiplegia.

Hem"i*pode (?), n. [Hemi- + Gr. &?;, &?;, foot.] (Zoˆl.) Any bird of the genus Turnix. Various species inhabit Asia, Africa, and Australia.

Hem`i*pro"te*in (?), n. [Hemi- + protein.] (Physiol. Chem.) An insoluble, proteid substance, described by Sch¸tzenberger, formed when albumin is heated for some time with dilute sulphuric acid. It is apparently identical with antialbumid and dyspeptone.

He*mip"ter (?), n. [Cf. F. hÈmiptËres, pl.] (Zoˆl.) One of the Hemiptera.

||He*mip"te*ra (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; half + &?; wing, fr. &?; ||to fly.] (Zoˆl.) An order of hexapod insects having a jointed ||proboscis, including four sharp stylets (mandibles and maxillÊ), for ||piercing. In many of the species (Heteroptera) the front wings are ||partially coriaceous, and different from the others.

They are divided into the Heteroptera, including the squash bug, soldier bug, bedbug, etc.; the Homoptera, including the cicadas, cuckoo spits, plant lice, scale insects, etc.; the Thysanoptera, including the thrips, and, according to most recent writers, the Pediculina or true lice.

{ He*mip"ter*al (?), He*mip"ter*ous (?), } a. (Zoˆl.) Of or pertaining to the Hemiptera.

He*mip"ter*an (?), n. (Zoˆl.) One of the Hemiptera; an hemipter.

Hem`i*sect" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hemisected; p. pr. & vb. n. Hemisecting.] [Hemi- + L. secare to cut.] (Anat.) To divide along the mesial plane.

Hem`i*sec"tion (?), n. (Anat.) A division along the mesial plane; also, one of the parts so divided.

Hem"i*sphere (?), n. [L. hemisphaerium, Gr. &?;; &?; half = &?; sphere: cf. F. hÈmisphËre. See Hemi-, and Sphere.] 1. A half sphere; one half of a sphere or globe, when divided by a plane passing through its center.

2. Half of the terrestrial globe, or a projection of the same in a map or picture.

3. The people who inhabit a hemisphere.

He died . . . mourned by a hemisphere.

J. P. Peters.

Cerebral hemispheres. (Anat.) See Brain. -- Magdeburg hemispheres (Physics), two hemispherical cups forming, when placed together, a cavity from which the air can be withdrawn by an air pump; -- used to illustrate the pressure of the air. So called because invented by Otto von Guericke at Magdeburg.

{ Hem`i*spher"ic (?), Hem`i*spher"ic*al (?), } a. [Cf. F. hÈmisphÈrique.] Containing, or pertaining to, a hemisphere; as, a hemispheric figure or form; a hemispherical body.

Hem`i*sphe"roid (?), n. [Hemi- + spheroid.] A half of a spheroid.

Hem`i*sphe*roid"al (?), a. Resembling, or approximating to, a hemisphere in form.

Hem`i*spher"ule (?), n. A half spherule.

Hem"i*stich (?; 277), n. [L. hemistichium, Gr. "hmisti`chion; "hmi- half + sti`chos row, line, verse: cf. F. hÈmistiche.] Half a poetic verse or line, or a verse or line not completed.

He*mis"ti*chal (?), a. Pertaining to, or written in, hemistichs; also, by, or according to, hemistichs; as, a hemistichal division of a verse.

Hem`i*sys"to*le (?), n. (Physiol.) Contraction of only one ventricle of the heart.

Hemisystole is noticed in rare cases of insufficiency of the mitral valve, in which both ventricles at times contract simultaneously, as in a normal heart, this condition alternating with contraction of the right ventricle alone; hence, intermittent hemisystole.

Hem"i*tone (?), n. [L. hemitonium, Gr. &?;.] See Semitone.

{ He*mit"ro*pal (?), He*mit"ro*pous (?), } a. [See Hemitrope.] 1. Turned half round; half inverted.

2. (Bot.) Having the raphe terminating about half way between the chalaza and the orifice; amphitropous; -- said of an ovule. Gray.

Hem"i*trope (?), a. [Hemi- + Gr. &?; to turn: cf. F. hÈmitrope.] Half turned round; half inverted; (Crystallog.) having a twinned structure.

Hem"i*trope, n. That which is hemitropal in construction; (Crystallog.) a twin crystal having a hemitropal structure.

He*mit"ro*py (?), n. (Crystallog.) Twin composition in crystals.

Hem"lock (?), n. [OE. hemeluc, humloc, AS. hemlic, hymlic.] 1. (Bot.) The name of several poisonous umbelliferous herbs having finely cut leaves and small white flowers, as the Cicuta maculata, bulbifera, and virosa, and the Conium maculatum. See Conium.

The potion of hemlock administered to Socrates is by some thought to have been a decoction of Cicuta virosa, or water hemlock, by others, of Conium maculatum.

2. (Bot.) An evergreen tree common in North America (Abies, or Tsuga, Canadensis); hemlock spruce.

The murmuring pines and the hemlocks.

Longfellow.

3. The wood or timber of the hemlock tree.

Ground hemlock, or Dwarf hemlock. See under Ground.

Hem"mel (?), n. [Scot. hemmel, hammel, Prov. E. hemble hovel, stable, shed, perh. allied to D. hemel heaven, canopy, G. himmel; cf. E. heaven. &radic;14.] A shed or hovel for cattle. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.

Hem"mer (?), n. One who, or that which, hems with a needle. Specifically: (a) An attachment to a sewing machine, for turning under the edge of a piece of fabric, preparatory to stitching it down. (b) A tool for turning over the edge of sheet metal to make a hem.

Hem"o- (?). Same as HÊma-, HÊmo-.