Chapter 15

Chain tie. (Arch.) A tie consisting of a series of connected iron bars or rods.

Chal`a*zog"a*my (?), n. [Chalaza + -gamy, as in polygamy.] (Bot.) A process of fecundation in which the pollen tube penetrates to the embryosac through the tissue of the chalaza, instead of entering through the micropyle. It was originally discovered by Treub in Casuarina, and has since been found to occur regularly in the families Betulaceæ and Juglandaceæ. Partial chalazogamy is found in Ulmus, the tube here penetrating the nucleus midway between the chalaza and micropyle. -- Chal`a*zo*gam"ic (#), a.

||Cham`bran"le (?), n. [F.] (Arch.) An ornamental bordering or framelike decoration around the sides and top of a door, window, or fireplace. The top piece is called the traverse and the side pieces the ascendants.

Cham"bray (?), n. [From Cambrai, France. Cf. Cambric.] A gingham woven in plain colors with linen finish.

||Cha`mi*sal" (?), n. [Amer. Sp., fr. Sp. chamiza a kind of wild cane.] 1. (Bot.) A California rosaceous shrub (Adenostoma fasciculatum) which often forms an impenetrable chaparral.

2. A chaparral formed by dense growths of this shrub.

||Champ`le*vé" (?), a. [F., p. p. of champlever to engrave. See 3d Champ, Camp, Lever a bar.] (Art) Having the ground engraved or cut out in the parts to be enameled; inlaid in depressions made in the ground; -- said of a kind of enamel work in which depressions made in the surface are filled with enamel pastes, which are afterward fired; also, designating the process of making such enamel work. -- n. A piece of champlevé enamel; also, the process or art of making such enamel work; champlevé work.

Change gear. (Mach.) A gear by means of which the speed of machinery or of a vehicle may be changed while that of the propelling engine or motor remains constant; -- called also change-speed gear.

Change key. A key adapted to open only one of a set of locks; -- distinguished from a master key.

||Chan`son" de geste" (?). [F., prop., song of history.] Any Old French epic poem having for its subject events or exploits of early French history, real or legendary, and written originally in assonant verse of ten or twelve syllables. The most famous one is the Chanson de Roland.

Langtoft had written in the ordinary measure of the later chansons de geste.

Saintsbury.

Chant"ey (?), n. [Cf. F. chanter to sing, and Chant. n.] A sailor's song.

May we lift a deep-sea chantey such as seamen use at sea?

Kipling.

||Cha`pa*ra"jos (?), n. pl. [Mex. Sp.] Overalls of sheepskin or leather, usually open at the back, worn, esp. by cowboys, to protect the legs from thorny bushes, as in the chaparral; -- called also chapareras or colloq. chaps. [Sp. Amer.]

||Cha`pa*re"ras (?), n. pl. [Mex. Sp.] Same as Chaparajos. [Sp. Amer.]

Chaps (?), n. pl. Short for Chaparajos. [Colloq.]

Char"lie (?), n. 1. A familiar nickname or substitute for Charles.

2. A night watchman; -- an old name.

3. A short, pointed beard, like that worn by Charles I.

4. As a proper name, a fox; -- so called in fables and familiar literature.

||Chasse (?), n. [See Chasse- cafÉ] A small potion of spirituous liquor taken to remove the taste of coffee, tobacco, or the like; -- originally chasse-café, lit., "coffee chaser."

||Chasse`-ca`fé" (?), n. [F., fr. chasser to chase + café coffee.] See Chasse, n., above.

||Chasse`-ma`rée" (?), n. [F., fr. chasser to chase + marée tide.] (Naut.) A French coasting lugger.

Chas"sis (?), n. The under part of an automobile, consisting of the frame (on which the body is mounted) with the wheels and machinery.

Chat"ter mark`. (a) (Mach.) One of the fine undulations or ripples which are formed on the surface of work by a cutting tool which chatters. (b) (Geol.) A short crack on a rock surface planed smooth by a glacier.

||Chauf`feur" (?), n. [F., lit., stoker.] 1. [pl.] (F. Hist.) Brigands in bands, who, about 1793, pillaged, burned, and killed in parts of France; -- so called because they used to burn the feet of their victims to extort money.

2. One who manages the running of an automobile; esp., the paid operator of a motor vehicle.

||Chauf`feuse" (?), n. [F., fem. of chauffeur.] A woman chauffeur.

Chau*tau"qua sys"tem (of education) (?). The system of home study established in connection with the summer schools assembled at Chautauqua, N. Y., by the Methodist Episcopal bishop, J. H. Vincent.

Cheese" cloth` (?). A thin, loosewoven cotton cloth, such as is used in pressing cheese curds.

||Che"la (?), n. [Hind. chla, orig., slave, fr. Skr. ca, caka, slave, servant.] In India, a dependent person occupying a position between that of a servant or slave and a disciple; hence, a disciple or novice. -- Che"la*ship, n.

Che*mig"ra*phy (?), n. [Chemical + -graphy.] Any mechanical engraving process depending upon chemical action; specif., a process of zinc etching not employing photography. -- Chem`i*graph"ic (#), a.

||Che*mo"sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a swelling of the cornea resembling a cockleshell, fr. &?; a gaping, hence a cockleshell.] (Med.) Inflammatory swelling of the conjunctival tissue surrounding the cornea. -- Che*mot"ic (#), a.

Chem`os*mo"sis (?), n. [Chemical + osmosis.] Chemical action taking place through an intervening membrane. -- Chem`os*mot"ic (#), a.

Chem`o*syn"the*sis (?), n. [Chemical + synthesis.] (Plant Physiol.) Synthesis of organic compounds by energy derived from chemical changes or reactions. Chemosynthesis of carbohydrates occurs in the nitrite bacteria through the oxidation of ammonia to nitrous acid, and in the nitrate bacteria through the conversion of nitrous into nitric acid. -- Chem`o*syn*thet"ic (#), a.

{Chem`o*tax"is (?), n. Formerly also Chem`i*o*tax"is}. [Chemical + Gr. &?; arrangement, fr. &?; to arrange.] (Biol.) The sensitiveness exhibited by small free-swimming organisms, as bacteria, zoöspores of algæ, etc., to chemical substances held in solution. They may be attracted (positive chemotaxis) or repelled (negative chemotaxis). -- Chem`o*tac"tic (#), a. -- Chem`o*tac"tic*al*ly, adv.

Chev"y (?), n. [Written also chivy, and chivvy.] [Prob. fr. the ballad of Chevy Chase; cf. Prov. E. chevychase a noise, confusion, pursuit.] [Eng.] 1. A cry used in hunting.

2. A hunt; chase; pursuit.

3. The game of prisoners' base. See Base, n., 24.

||Chic (?), a. [F. Cf. Chic, n.] Original and in good taste or form. [Colloq.]

||Chi`ca*lo"te (?), n. [Sp., prob. of Mex. origin.] (Bot.) A Mexican prickly poppy (Argemone platyceras), which has migrated into California.

Chi*cane" (?), n. (Card playing) In bridge, the holding of a hand without trumps, or the hand itself. It counts as simple honors.

{Chic"le (?), n., Chicle gum}. [Amer. Sp. chicle.] A gumlike substance obtained from the bully tree (Mimusops globosa) and sometimes also from the naseberry or sapodilla (Sapota zapotilla). It is more plastic than caoutchouc and more elastic than gutta-percha, as an adulterant of which it is used in England. It is used largely in the United States in making chewing gum.

Chi"co (?), n. 1. Var. of Chica.

2. The common greasewood of the western United States (Sarcobatus vermiculatus).

3. In the Philippines, the sapodilla or its fruit; also, the marmalade tree or its fruit.

||Chif`fon" (?), n. [F., lit., rag. See Chiffonier.] 1. Any merely ornamental adjunct of a woman's dress, as a bunch of ribbon, lace, etc.

2. A kind of soft gauzy material used for ruches, trimmings, etc.

||Chih" fu` (?). [Chin. chih fu, lit., (He who) knows (the) prefecture.] An official administering a prefecture of China; a prefect, supervising the civil business of the hsiens or districts comprised in his fu (which see).

||Chih" hsien` (?). [Chin. chih hsien, lit., (He who) knows (the) district.] An official having charge of a hsien, or administrative district, in China; a district magistrate, responsible for good order in his hsien (which see), and having jurisdiction in its civil and criminal cases.

||Chih" tai` (?). [Chin. chih to govern + t‘ai an honorary title.] A Chinese governor general; a tsung tu (which see).

Child study. A scientific study of children, undertaken for the purpose of discovering the laws of development of the body and the mind from birth to manhood.

Chil"e*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to Chile.

Chil"e*an, n. A native or resident of Chile; Chilian.

Chilean pine. (Bot.) Same as Monkey- puzzle.

Chinese Exclusion Act. Any of several acts forbidding the immigration of Chinese laborers into the United States, originally from 1882 to 1892 by act of May 6, 1882, then from 1892 to 1902 by act May 5, 1892. By act of April 29, 1902, all existing legislation on the subject was reënacted and continued, and made applicable to the insular possessions of the United States.

||Chi`noi`se*rie" (sh`nw`z'*r"), n. [F.] Chinese conduct, art, decoration, or the like; also, a specimen of Chinese manners, art, decoration, etc.

Chi*nook" State. Washington -- a nickname. See Chinook, n.

Chip"pen*dale (?), a. Designating furniture designed, or like that designed, by Thomas Chippendale, an English cabinetmaker of the 18th century. Chippendale furniture was generally of simple but graceful outline with delicately carved rococo ornamentation, sculptured either in the solid wood or, in the cheaper specimens, separately and glued on. In the more elaborate pieces three types are recognized: French Chippendale, having much detail, like Louis Quatorze and Louis Quinze; Chinese Chippendale, marked by latticework and pagodalike pediments; and Gothic Chippendale, attempting to adapt medieval details. The forms, as of the cabriole and chairbacks, often resemble Queen Anne. In chairs, the seat is widened at the front, and the back toward the top widened and bent backward, except in Chinese Chippendale, in which the backs are usually rectangular. -- Chip"pen*dal*ism (#), n.

It must be clearly and unmistakably understood, then, that, whenever painted (that is to say, decorated with painted enrichment) or inlaid furniture is described as Chippendale, no matter where or by whom, it is a million chances to one that the description is incorrect.

R. D. Benn.

Chirm (?), n. [AS. cirm, cyrm.] Noise; din; esp.; confused noise, clamor, or hum of many voices, notes of birds, or the like.

{ Chit, Chit"ty (?) }, n. [Hind. chi.] 1. A short letter or note; a written message or memorandum; a certificate given to a servant; a pass, or the like.

2. A signed voucher or memorandum of a small debt, as for food and drinks at a club. [India, China, etc.]

{ ||Chi*var"ras (?), ||Chi*var"ros (?), } n. pl. [Mex. Sp.] Leggings. [Mex. & Southwestern U. S.]

Chlo"ro*plast (?), n. [Pref. chloro- + Gr. &?; to mold, form.] (Biol.) A plastid containing chlorophyll, developed only in cells exposed to the light. Chloroplasts are minute flattened granules, usually occurring in great numbers in the cytoplasm near the cell wall, and consist of a colorless ground substance saturated with chlorophyll pigments. Under light of varying intensity they exhibit phototactic movements. In animals chloroplasts occur only in certain low forms.

Choke"bore` (?), n. 1. In a shotgun, a bore which is tapered to a slightly smaller diameter at a short distance (usually 2½ to 3 inches) to the rear of the muzzle, in order to prevent the rapid dispersion of the shot.

2. A shotgun that is made with such a bore.

Choke"bore`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Chokebored (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Chokeboring.] To provide with a chokebore.

Choking coil. (Elec.) A coil of small resistance and large inductance, used in an alternating-current circuit to impede or throttle the current, or to change its phase; -- called also reactance coil or reactor, these terms being now preferred in engineering usage.

Cho"ky (?), n. [From Hind. chauki watching, guard.] 1. A station, as for collection of customs, for palanquin bearers, police, etc. [India]

2. Specif., a prison or lockup; a jail. [India, or Slang, Eng.]

||Cho`mage" (?), n. [F. chomage.] 1. Stoppage; cessation (of labor).

2. A standing still or idle (of mills, factories, etc.).

{ Chop su"ey or soo"y } (?). [Chin. (Cantonese) shap sui odds and ends, fr. shap for sap to enter the mouth + sui small bits pounded fine.] A mélange served in Chinese restaurants to be eaten with rice, noodles, etc. It consists typically of bean sprouts, onions, mushrooms, etc., and sliced meats, fried and flavored with sesame oil. [U. S.]

Chor"tle (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Chortled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Chor"tling (&?;).] A word coined by Lewis Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson), and usually explained as a combination of chuckle and snort. [Humorous]

O frabjous day ! Callooh ! Callay ! He chortled in his joy.

Lewis Carroll.

||Chou (?), n.; pl. Choux (#). [F., fr. L. caulis stalk.] 1. A cabbage.

2. A kind of light pastry, usually in the form of a small round cake, and with a filling, as of jelly or cream.

3. A bunch, knot, or rosette of ribbon or other material, used as an ornament in women's dress.

Chow (?), n. [Chin chou.] A prefecture or district of the second rank in China, or the chief city of such a district; -- often part of the name of a city, as in Foochow.

Chris"tian, a. -- Christian Endeavor, Young People's Society of. In various Protestant churches, a society of young people organized in each individual church to do Christian work; also, the whole body of such organizations, which are united in a corporation called the United Society of Christian Endeavor, organized in 1885. The parent society was founded in 1881 at Portland, Maine, by Rev. Francis E. Clark, a Congregational minister.

Christian Era. The era in use in all Christian countries, which was intended to commence with the birth of Christ. The era as now established was first used by Dionysius Exiguus (died about 540), who placed the birth of Christ on the 25th of December in the year of Rome 754, which year he counted as 1 a. d. This date for Christ's birth is now generally thought to be about four years too late.

Christian Science. A system of healing disease of mind and body which teaches that all cause and effect is mental, and that sin, sickness, and death will be destroyed by a full understanding of the Divine Principle of Jesus' teaching and healing. The system was founded by Rev. Mary Baker Glover Eddy, of Concord, N. H., in 1866, and bases its teaching on the Scriptures as understood by its adherents.

Christian Scientist. A believer in Christian Science; one who practices its teachings.

Christian Seneca. Joseph Hall (1574 -- 1656), Bishop of Norwich, a divine eminent as a moralist.

<! p. 1973 !>

Christian Socialism. Any theory or system that aims to combine the teachings of Christ with the teachings of socialism in their applications to life; Christianized socialism; esp., the principles of this nature advocated by F. D. Maurice, Charles Kingsley, and others in England about 1850. -- Christian socialist.

Chro"ma*tin (?), n. (Biol.) The deeply staining substance of the nucleus and chromosomes of cells, now supposed to be the physical basis of inheritance, and generally regarded as the same substance as the hypothetical idioplasm or germ plasm.

Chrome (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Chromed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Chroming.] [From Chrome, n.] To treat with a solution of potassium bichromate, as in dyeing.

Chrome steel. Same as Chromium steel, under Steel.

Chro`mo*pho"to*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?; color + photograph.] A picture made by any of the processes for reproducing photographs in colors. -- Chro`mo*pho`to*graph"ic (#), a.

Chron`o*pho"to*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?; time + photograph.] One of a set of photographs of a moving object, taken for the purpose of recording and exhibiting successive phases of the motion. -- Chron`o*pho*tog"ra*phy, n.

Chtho"ni*an (?), a. [Gr. &?; in or under the earth, fr. &?;, &?;, earth.] Designating, or pertaining to, gods or spirits of the underworld; esp., relating to the underworld gods of the Greeks, whose worship is widely considered as more primitive in form than that of the Olympian gods. The characteristics of chthonian worship are propitiatory and magical rites and generalized or euphemistic names of the deities, which are supposed to have been primarily ghosts.

Chum, n. -- New chum, a recent immigrant. [Australia]

Chu*pat"ty (?), n.; pl. - ties (#). [Hind. chapt.] A kind of griddlecake of unleavened bread, used among the natives of India. [Anglo-Indian]

{ Chu*pras"sy Chu*pras"sie } (?), n. [Hind. chaprss, fr. chaprs badge.] A messenger or servant wearing an official badge. [Anglo-Indian]

Churr (?), n. [Cf. Chirr.] A vibrant or whirring noise such as that made by some insects, as the cockchafer, or by some birds, as the nightjar, the partridge, etc.

Churr, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Churred (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Churr"ing.] To make a churr, as a cockchafer.

That's the churring of the nightjar.

Hall Caine.

Churr, v. t. To utter by churring.

Cinch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cinched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Cinch"ing.] 1. To put a cinch upon; to girth tightly. [Western U. S.]

2. To get a sure hold upon; to get into a tight place, as for forcing submission. [Slang, U. S.]

Cinch, v. i. To perform the action of cinching; to tighten the cinch; -- often with up. [Western U. S.]

Cinch, n. [Cf. cinch a girth, a tight grip, as v., to get a sure hold upon; perh. so named from the tactics used in the game; also cf. Sp. cinco five (the five spots of the color of the trump being important cards).] A variety of auction pitch in which a draw to improve the hand is added, and the five of trumps (called right pedro) and the five of the same color (called left pedro, and ranking between the five and the four of trumps) each count five on the score. Fifty-one points make a game. Called also double pedro and high five.

Cinch, v. t. In the game of cinch, to protect (a trick) by playing a higher trump than the five.

Cin*cin"nus (?), n.; pl. - ni (#). [Also cicinus, cicinnus.] [L., a curl of hair.] (Bot.) A form of monochasium in which the lateral branches arise alternately on opposite sides of the false axis; -- called also scorpioid cyme. -- Cin*cin"nal (#), a.

Cin`e*mat"o*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?;, motion + -graph.] 1. A machine, combining magic lantern and kinetoscope features, for projecting on a screen a series of pictures, moved rapidly (25 to 50 a second) and intermittently before an objective lens, and producing by persistence of vision the illusion of continuous motion; a moving-picture machine; also, any of several other machines or devices producing moving pictorial effects. Other common names for the cinematograph are animatograph, biograph, bioscope, electrograph, electroscope, kinematograph, kinetoscope, veriscope, vitagraph, vitascope, zoögyroscope, zoöpraxiscope, etc.

The cinematograph, invented by Edison in 1894, is the result of the introduction of the flexible film into photography in place of glass.

Encyc. Brit.

2. A camera for taking chronophotographs for exhibition by the instrument described above.

Cin`e*ma*tog"ra*pher (?), n. One who exhibits moving pictures or who takes chronophotographs by the cinematograph. -- Cin`e*mat`o*graph"ic (#), a. -- Cin`e*mat`o*graph"ic*al*ly (#), adv.

Ci*ne"mo*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?; motion + -graph.] An integrating anemometer.

Cin`que*cen"tist (?), n. 1. An Italian of the sixteenth century, esp. a poet or artist.

2. A student or imitator of the art or literature of the Cinquecento.

Cit"range (?), n. [Citrus + orange.] A citrous fruit produced by a cross between the sweet orange and the trifoliate orange (Citrus trifoliata). It is more acid and has a more pronounced aroma than the orange; the tree is hardier. There are several varieties.

Civil Service Commission. In the United States, a commission appointed by the President, consisting of three members, not more than two of whom may be adherents of the same party, which has the control, through examinations, of appointments and promotions in the classified civil service. It was created by act of Jan, 16, 1883 (22 Stat. 403).

Civil Service Reform. The substitution of business principles and methods for political methods in the conduct of the civil service. esp. the merit system instead of the spoils system in making appointments to office.

Clair*au"di*ence (?), n. [F. clair clear + F. & E. audience a hearing. See Clear.] Act of hearing, or the ability to hear, sounds not normally audible; -- usually claimed as a special faculty of spiritualistic mediums, or the like.

Clair*au"di*ent (?), a. Pertaining to, or characterized by, clairaudience.

Clair*au"di*ent, n. One alleged to have the power of clairaudience.

||Claire (?), n. [F.] A small inclosed pond used for gathering and greening oysters.

Clan"-na-Gael" (?), n. [Ir., clan of the Gaels.] A secret society of Irish Fenians founded in Philadelphia in 1881.

Clash gear. (Mach.) A change-speed gear in which the gears are changed by sliding endwise.

Class day. In American colleges and universities, a day of the commencement season on which the senior class celebrates the completion of its course by exercises conducted by the members, such as the reading of the class histories and poem, the delivery of the class oration, the planting of the class ivy, etc.

Clatch (?), n. [Cf. Scot. clatch a slap, the noise caused by the collision of soft bodies; prob. of imitative origin.] (Scot. & Dial. Eng.) 1. A soft or sloppy lump or mass; as, to throw a clatch of mud.

2. Anything put together or made in a careless or slipshod way; hence, a sluttish or slipshod woman.

Clatch, v. t. & i. To daub or smear, as with lime; to make or finish in a slipshod way. [Scot.]

Clear"cole` (?), n. [F. claire colle clear glue; clair clear (f. claire) + colle glue, Gr. &?;] A priming of size mixed with whiting or white lead, used in house painting, etc.; also, a size upon which gold leaf is applied in gilding.

Clear"cole`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Clearcoled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Clearcoling (?).] To coat or paint with clearcole.

Cleek (?), n. 1. A large hook or crook, as for a pot over a fire; specif., an iron-headed golf club with a straight, narrow face and a long shaft.

2. Act of cleeking; a clutch. [Scot.]

Cleek, v. t. [pret. Claught (?); pret. & p. p. Cleeked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Cleeking.] [ME. cleken, clechen, to seize, clutch; perh. akin to E. clutch.] [Scot & Dial. Eng.] 1. To seize; clutch; snatch; catch; pluck.

2. To catch or draw out with a cleek, as a fish; to hook.

3. To hook or link (together); hence, to marry. Scott.

Cle`o*pa"tra's nee"dle (?). [So named after Cleopatra, queen of Egypt.] Either of two obelisks which were moved in ancient times from Heliopolis to Alexandria, one of which is now on the Thames Embankment in London, and the other in Central Park, in the City of New York.

Some writers consider that only the obelisk now in Central Park is properly called Cleopatra's needle.

Cli*mac"tic (?), a. Of or pertaining to a climax; forming, or of the nature of, a climax, or ascending series.

A fourth kind of parallelism . . . is still sufficiently marked to be noticed by the side of those described by Lowth, viz., climactic parallelism (sometimes called "ascending rhythm").

S. R. Driver.

Clink (?), n. A prison cell; a lockup; -- probably orig. the name of the noted prison in Southwark, England. [Colloq.] "I'm here in the clink." Kipling.

Cli"no*stat (?), n. [Gr. &?; to incline + &?; to make to stand.] (Bot.) An apparatus consisting of a slowly revolving disk, usually regulated by clockwork, by means of wich the action of external agents, as light and gravity, on growing plants may be regulated or eliminated.

Clip, n. 1. (Mach.) A part, attachment, or appendage, for seizing, clasping, or holding, an object, as a cable, etc.

2. (Angling) A gaff or hook for landing the fish, as in salmon fishing. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

3. A rapid gait. "A three-minute clip." Kipling.