Chapter 32

2. Specif., the principles and characteristics professed or represented by a 19th-century school of realistic writers, notably by Zola and Maupassant, who aimed to give a literal transcription of reality, and laid special stress on the analytic study of character, and on the scientific and experimental nature of their observation of life.

Nat"u*ral steel. Steel made by the direct refining of cast iron in a finery, or, as wootz, by a direct process from the ore.

Nau"heim treat`ment (?). (Med.) Orig., a method of therapeutic treatment administered, esp. for chronic diseases of the curculatory system, at Bad Nauheim, Germany, by G. Schott, consisting in baths in the natural mineral waters of that place, which are charged with carbonic acid, and the use of a graduated course of rest, physical exercises, massage, etc.; hence, any similar treatment using waters artificially charged with the essential ingredients of the natural mineral waters of Bad Nauheim. Hence, Nauheim bath, etc.

Na"vel or"ange. A type of orange in which the fruit incloses a small secondary fruit, the rind showing on the exterior a navel-like pit or depression at the apex. There are several varieties; they are usually seedless, or nearly so, and are much grown in California.

Na"vy blue`. Prussian blue.

Na*wab" (?), n. A rich, retired Anglo-Indian; a nabob.

Ne*an"der*thal` (?), a. (Anthropol.) Of, pertaining to, or named from, the Neanderthal, a valley in the Rhine Province, in which were found parts of a skeleton of an early type of man. The skull is characterized by extreme dolichocephaly, flat, retreating forehead, with closed frontal sutures, and enormous superciliary ridges. The cranial capacity is estimated at about 1,220 cubic centimeters, being about midway between that of the Pithecanthropus and modern man. Hence, designating the Neanderthal race, or man, a species supposed to have been widespread in paleolithic Europe.

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Ne*an`der*thal"oid (?), a. [Neanderthal + -oid.] (Anthropol.) Like, or pertaining to, the Neanderthal skull, or the type of man it represents.

{ Ne`a*pol"i*tan ice, Neapolitan ice cream }. (a) An ice or ice cream containing eggs as well as cream. (b) An ice or ice cream prepared in layers, as vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate ice cream, and orange or lemon water ice.

Near beer. Any of various malt liquors (see Citation).

Near beer is a term of common currency used to designate all that class of malt liquors which contain so little alcohol that they will not produce intoxication, though drunk to excess, and includes in its meaning all malt liquors which are not within the purview of the general prohibition law.

Cambell v. City of Thomasville, Georgia Appeal Records, 6 212.

Nec*rot"o*my (?), n. [Gr. &?; dead person + &?; to cut.] (Med.) The dissection of dead bodies; also, excision of necrosed bone. -- Nec`ro*tom"ic (#), a. -- Nec*rot"o*mist (#), n.

Ne'er"-do-well` (?), n. A person who never does, or fares, well; a good for nothing.

The idle and dissolute ne'er-do-wells of their communities.

Harper's Mag.

Ne"gro*head` (?), n. An inferior commercial variety of India rubber made up into round masses.

Ne"groid (?), n. [Negro + - oid.] A member of any one of several East African tribes whose physical characters show an admixture with other races.

Ne`o*clas"sic (?), a. [Neo- + classic.] Belonging to, or designating, the modern revival of classical, esp. Greco-Roman, taste and manner of work in architecture, etc.

Neoclassic architecture. All that architecture which, since the beginning of the Italian Renaissance, about 1420, has been designed with deliberate imitation of Greco-Roman buildings.

Ne`o*crit"i*cism (?), n. [Neo- + classicism.] The form of Neo-Kantianism developed by French idealists, following C. Renouvier. It rejects the noumena of Kant, restricting knowledge to phenomena as constituted by a priori categories.

Ne`o-Dar"win*ism (?), n. The theory which holds natural selection, as explained by Darwin, to be the chief factor in the evolution of plants and animals, and denies the inheritance of acquired characters; -- esp. opposed to Neo- Lamarckism. Weismannism is an example of extreme Neo- Darwinism. -- Ne`o-Dar*win"i*an, a. & n.

Ne`o*dym"i*um (?), n. [NL. See Neo- , Didymium.] (Chem.) A rare metallic element occurring in combination with cerium, lanthanum, and other rare metals, and forming amethyst-colored salts. It was separated in 1885 by von Welsbach from praseodymium, the two having previously been regarded as a single element (didymium). It is chiefly trivalent. Symbol Nd; at. wt. 144.3.

Ne`o*gram*ma"ri*an (?), n. [Neo- + grammarian; a translation of G. junggrammatiker.] One of a group of philologists who apply phonetic laws more widely and strictly than was formerly done, and who maintain that these laws admit of no real exceptions. -- Ne`o*gram*mat"ic*al (#), a.

Ne`o-Greek", n. A member of a body of French painters (F. les néo-Grecs) of the middle 19th century. The term is rather one applied by outsiders to certain artists of grave and refined style, such as Hamon and Aubert, than a name adopted by the artists themselves.

Ne`o-He*bra"ic, a. Of, pert. to, or designating, modern Hebrew, or Hebrew of later date than the Biblical.

Neo-Hebraic, n. The modern Hebrew language.

Ne`o-He*ge"li*an, a. Of or pertaining to Neo-Hegelianism.

Neo-Hegelian, n. An adherent of Neo-Hegelianism.

Ne`o-He*ge"li*an*ism, n. The philosophy of a school of British and American idealists who follow Hegel in dialectical or logical method and in the general outcome of their doctrine. The founders and leaders of Neo-Hegelianism include: in England, T. H. Green (1836-1882); in Scotland, J. (1820-98) and E. (1835-1908) Caird; in the United States, W. T. Harris (1835-1909) and Josiah Royce (1855- -).

Ne`o-Hel*len"ic, n. Same as Romaic.

Ne`o-Hel"len*ism (?), n. Hellenism as surviving or revival in modern times; the practice or pursuit of ancient Greek ideals in modern life, art, or literature, as in the Renaissance.

Ne`o*im*pres"sion*ism (?), n. (Painting) A theory or practice which is a further development, on more rigorously scientific lines, of the theory and practice of Impressionism, originated by George Seurat (1859-91), and carried on by Paul Signac (1863- -) and others. Its method is marked by the laying of pure primary colors in minute dots upon a white ground, any given line being produced by a variation in the proportionate quantity of the primary colors employed. This method is also known as Pointillism (stippling).

Ne`o-Kant"i*an, a. Of or pertaining to Neo-Kantianism.

Neo-Kantian, n. An adherent of Neo- Kantianism.

Ne`o-Kant"i*an*ism, n. The philosophy of modern thinkers who follow Kant in his general theory of knowledge, esp. of a group of German philosophers including F. A. Lange, H. Cohen, Paul Natorp, and others.

Ne`o-La*marck"ism, n. (Biol.) Lamarckism as revived, modified, and expounded by recent biologists, esp. as maintaining that the offspring inherits characters acquired by the parent from change of environment, use or disuse of parts, etc.; -- opposed of Neo-Darwinism (which see, above). -- Ne`o-La*marck"i*an, a. & n.

Ne`o-Mal*thu"sian, a. Designating, or pertaining to, a group of modern economists who hold to the Malthusianism doctrine that permanent betterment of the general standard of living is impossible without decrease of competition by limitation of the number of births. -- Ne`o- Mal*thu"sian, Ne`o-Mal*thu"sian*ism, n.

Ne`o*pa"gan*ism, n. [Neo- + paganism.] Revived or new paganism.

Ne`o-Scho*las"tic, a. Of or pert. to Neo-Scholasticism.

Ne`o-Scho*las"ti*cism, n. The modern revival of the Scholastic philosophy, esp. of that of Thomas Aquinas, with critical revision to suit the exigencies of the general advance in learning. The Neo-Scholastic movement received a great impetus from Leo XIII.'s interest in it.

||Ne plus ul"tra (?). [L., no further; ne no, not + plus more + ultra beyond.] 1. The uttermost point to which one can go or attain; hence, the summit of achievement; the highest point or degree; the acme.

2. A prohibition against proceeding further; an insuperable obstacle or limiting condition. [Obs. or R.]

Ner"ka (?), n. [Russ. niarka, prob. fr. native name.] (Zoöl.) The most important salmon of Alaska (Oncorhinchus nerka), ascending in spring most rivers and lakes from Alaska to Oregon, Washington, and Idaho; -- called also red salmon, redfish, blueback, and sawqui.

||Ne`ro-an*ti"co (?), n. [It.; nero black + antico ancient.] (Art) A beautiful black marble found in fragments among Roman ruins, and usually thought to have come from ancient Laconia.

||Ne Te"me*re (?). [So named from L. ne not + temere rashly, the first two words in the decree.] (R. C. Ch.) A decree of the Congregation of the Council declaring invalid [so far as the laws of the Roman Catholic Church are concerned] any marriage of a Roman Catholic, or of a person who has ever been a Roman Catholic, if not contracted before a duty qualified priest (or the bishop of the diocese) and at least two witnesses. The decree was issued Aug. 2, 1907, and took effect on Easter Apr. 19, 1908. The decree by its terms does not affect mixed marriages (those between Roman Catholics and persons of another faith) in Germany.

||Net"su*ke (?), n. [Jap.] In Japanese costume and decorative art, a small object carved in wood, ivory, bone, or horn, or wrought in metal, and pierced with holes for cords by which it is connected, for convenience, with the inro, the smoking pouch (tabako-ire), and similar objects carried in the girdle. It is now much used on purses sold in Europe and America.

||Neuf`châ`tel" (?), n. A kind of soft sweet-milk cheese; -- so called from Neufchâtel-en-Bray in France.

{ Neu"tro*phile (?), Neu"tro*phil (?) }, n. [L. neuter + Gr. &?; loving.] (Physiol.) One of a group of leucocytes whose granules stain only with neutral dyes. -- Neu"tro*phil"ic (#), a., Neu*troph"i*lous (#), a.

New Thought. Any form of belief in mental healing other than (1) Christian Science and (2) hypnotism or psychotherapy. Its central principle is affirmative thought, or suggestion, employed with the conviction that man produces changes in his health, his finances, and his life by the adoption of a favorable mental attitude. AS a therapeutic doctrine it stands for silent and absent mental treatment, and the theory that all diseases are mental in origin. As a cult it has its unifying idea the inculcation of workable optimism in contrast with the "old thought" of sin, evil, predestination, and pessimistic resignation. The term is essentially synonymous with the term High Thought, used in England.

Ni"be*lung`en*lied` (?), n. [G. See Nibelungs; Lied.] A great medieval German epic of unknown authorship containing traditions which refer to the Burgundians at the time of Attila (called Etzel in the poem) and mythological elements pointing to heathen times.

Ni"be*lungs (?), n. pl.; sing. Nibelung (&?;) . In German mythology, the children of the mist, a race of dwarfs or demonic beings, the original possessors of the famous hoard and ring won by Siegfrid; also, the Burgundian kings in the Nibelungenlied.

Nick`el*o"de*on (?), n. [Nickel + odeon.] A place of entertainment, as for moving picture exhibition, charging a fee or admission price of five cents. [U. S.]

Nickel steel. A kind of cast steel containing nickel, which greatly increases its strength. It is used for armor plate, bicycle tubing, propeller shafts, etc.

Nic"o*tin*ism (?), n. [Nicotine + -ism.] (Med.) The morbid condition produced by the excessive use of tobacco.

Ni*el"lo (?), n. An impression on paper taken from the engraved or incised surface before the niello alloy has been inlaid.

Niep"ce's proc"ess (?). (Photog.) A process, now no longer used, invented by J. N. Niepce, a French chemist, in 1829. It depends upon the action of light in rendering a thin layer of bitumen, with which the plate is coated, insoluble.

Nig"ger*head` (?), n. A strong black chewing tobacco, usually in twisted plug form; negro head.

Nig"gle, v. t. 1. To use, spend, or do in a petty or trifling manner.

2. To elaborate excessively, as in art.

Nig"gle, v. i. (Chiefly Eng.) 1. To move about restlessly or without result; to fidget.

2. To be finicky or excessively critical; to potter; esp., to work with excessive care for trifling details, as in painting.

Nig"gling (?), n. Finicky or pottering work; specif. (Fine Arts), minute and very careful workmanship in drawing, painting, or the like, esp. when bestowed on unimportant detail.

{ Night letter, Night lettergram }. See Letter, above.

Night terrors. (Med.) A sudden awkening associated with a sensation of terror, occurring in children, esp. those of unstable nervous constitution.

Ni*grit"ic (?), a. (Ethnol.) Pertaining to, or having the characteristics of, negroes, or of the Negritos, Papuans, and the Melanesian races; negritic.

||Ni"sus (?), n. (Physiol.) (a) The periodic procreative desire manifested in the spring by birds, etc. (b) The contraction of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles to evacuate feces or urine.

Nix"ie (?). 1. Nothing. [Slang]

2. (U. S. Mail Service) A piece of mail matter which cannot be delivered, either because no post office exists at the place to which is it addressed, or because there is no place of the name mentioned in the designated State, Territory, or the like. [Cant]

Nixie clerk. A post-office clerk in charge of the nixies.

||Ni*zam" (?), n.; pl. Nizam. [Turk. nizm.] A regular soldier of the Turkish army. See Army organization, above.

No*bel" prizes (?). Prizes for the encouragement of men and women who work for the interests of humanity, established by the will of A. B. Nobel (1833-96), the Swedish inventor of dynamite, who left his entire estate for this purpose. They are awarded yearly for what is regarded as the most important work during the year in physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, idealistic literature, and service in the interest of peace. The prizes, averaging $40,000 each, were first awarded in 1901.

No"bert's lines (?). [After F. A. Nobert, German manufacturer in Pomerania.] Fine lines ruled on glass in a series of groups of different closeness of line, and used to test the power of a microscope.

No"bi*li's rings (?). [After Leopoldo Nobili, an Italian physicist who first described them in 1826.] (Physics) Colored rings formed upon a metal plate by the electrolytic disposition of copper, lead peroxide, etc. They may be produced by touching with a pointed zinc rod a silver plate on which is a solution of copper sulphate.

Noil (?), n. [Prob. fr. Prov. E. oil, ile, ail, a beard of grain (OE. eil, AS. egl) combined with the indef. article, an oil becoming a noil.] A short or waste piece or knot of wool separated from the longer staple by combing; also, a similar piece or shred of waste silk.

Non*mor"al (?), a. Not moral nor immoral; having no connection with morals; not in the sphere of morals or ethics; not ethical.

Non*un"ion (?), a. 1. Not belonging to, or affiliated with, a trades union; as, a nonunoin carpenter.

2. Not recognizing or favoring trades unions or trades-unionists; as, a nonunion contractor. -- Non*un"ion*ism (#), n.

Nor"folk (?), n. Short for Norfolk Jacket.

Norfolk dumpling. (Eng.) (a) A kind of boiled dumpling made in Norfolk. (b) A native or inhabitant of Norfolk.

Norfolk jacket. A kind of loose-fitting plaited jacket, having a loose belt.

Norfolk plover. The stone curlew.

Norfolk spaniel. One of a breed of field spaniels similar to the clumbers, but shorter in body and of a liver-and-white or black-and-white color.

Nor"land (?), n. [For Northland.] 1. The land in the north; north country. [Chiefly Poetic]

2. = Norlander. [Scot. & Eng.]

Nor"land*er, n. A northener; a person from the north country.

North Star State. Minnesota; -- a nickname.

Nose, v. t. 1. To confront; be closely face to face or opposite to; meet.

2. To furnish with a nose; as, to nose a stair tread.

3. To examine with the nose or sense of smell.

4. To make by advancing the nose or front end; as, the train nosed its way into the statio; (Racing Slang) to beat by (the length of) a nose.

Nose (?), v. i. To push or move with the nose or front forward.

A train of cable cars came nosing along.

Hamlin Garland.

Nos"o*phen (?), n. [Nose + phenol; orig. used for affections of the nose.] (Pharm.) An iodine compound obtained as a yellowish gray, odorless, tasteless powder by the action of iodine on phenolphthalein.

||Nos`o*pho"bi*a (?), n. [NL.; &?; disease + &?; fear.] (Med.) Morbid dread of disease.

||Nous (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; mind.] (Philos.) The reason; the highest intellect; God regarded as the World Reason.

{ ||Nou`veau" riche" (?), m., ||Nou`velle" riche" (?), f. }; pl. m. Noveaux riches (#), f. Nouvelles riches (#). [F.] A person newly rich.

||No"va (n"v), n.; pl. L. Novæ (-v), E. Novas (-vz). [L., fem. sing. of novus new.] (Astron.) A new star, usually appearing suddenly, shining for a brief period, and then sinking into obscurity. Such appearances are supposed to result from cosmic collisions, as of a dark star with interstellar nebulosities. The most important modern novæ are: -- ||No"va Co*ro"næ Bo`re*a"lis (&?;) [1866]; ||No"va Cyg"ni (&?;) [1876]; ||No"va An*dro"me*dæ (&?;) [1885]; ||No"va Au*ri"gæ (&?;) [1891-92]; ||No"va Per"se*i (&?;) [1901]. There are two novæ called Nova Persei. They are: (a) A small nova which appeared in 1881. (b) An extraordinary nova which appeared in Perseus in 1901. It was first sighted on February 22, and for one night (February 23) was the brightest star in the sky. By July it had almost disappeared, after which faint surrounding nebulous masses were discovered, apparently moving radially outward from the star at incredible velocity.

||No`yade" (?), n. [F., fr. noyer to drown, L. necare to kill.] A drowning of many persons at once, -- a method of execution practiced at Nantes in France during the Reign of Terror, by Jean Baptiste Carrier.

||Nul"lah (?), n. [Hind. nl, fr. Skr. nla tube.] A water course, esp. a dry one; a gully; a gorge; -- orig. an East Indian term. E. Arnold.

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Nu"na*tak (?), n.; pl. - taks (#) (the pl. form Nunatakker is Swedish). [Eskimo nunættak.] In Greenland, an insular hill or mountain surrounded by an ice sheet.

||Nunc" di*mit"tis (?). [L. nunc now + dimittis thou lettest depart.] (Eccl.) The song of Simeon (Luke ii. 29-32), used in the ritual of many churches. It begins with these words in the Vulgate.

{||Nu*ra"ghe (?), n.; It. pl. - ghi (&?;). Also Nu"ragh (?), etc.} [It. dial. (Sardinia) nuraghe).] One of the prehistoric towerlike structures found in Sardinia.

The so-called nuraghi, conical monuments with truncated summits, 30-60 ft. in height, 35-100 ft. in diameter at the base, constructed sometimes of hewn, and sometimes of unhewn blocks of stone without mortar. They are situated either on isolated eminences or on the slopes of the mountains, seldom on the plains, and usually occur in groups. They generally contain two (in some rare instances three) conically vaulted chambers, one above the other, and a spiral staircase constructed in the thick walls ascends to the upper stories.

Baedeker.

Nyc*tit"ro*pism (?), n. [From Gr. &?;, &?;, night + &?; to turn.] (Plant Physiol.) The tendency of certain plant organs, as leaves, to assume special "sleeping" positions or make curvatures under the influence of darkness. It is well illustrated in the leaflets of clover and other leguminous plants.

O.

||O"bi (?), n. [Jap.] A sash, esp. the long broad sash of soft material worn by women.[Japan]

Over this is bound the large sash (obi) which is the chief article of feminine adornment.

B. H. Chamberlain.

O"bi*ism (?), n. Belief in, or the practice of, the obi superstitions and rites.

Ob`ser*va"tion car. A railway passenger car made so as to facilitate seeing the scenery en route; a car open, or with glass sides, or with a kind of open balcony at the rear.

Ob*tain", v. i. To gain or have a firm footing; to become recognized or established; to become or be prevalent or general; as, the custom obtains of going to the seashore in summer.

Ob"tu*rate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Obturated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Obturating (?).] [L. obturatus; p.p. of obturare.] To stop or close, as an opening; specif., (Ordnance), to stop (a gun breech) so as to prevent the escape of gas in firing.

Ob"tu*ra`tor, n. 1. (Ordnance) Any device for preventing the escape of gas through the breech mechanism of a breech-loading gun; a gas check.

2. (Photog.) A camera shutter.

Oc`a*ri"na (?), n. [Cf. It. carino pretty.] (Mus.) A kind of small simple wind instrument.

O"dal (?), n. [Cf. Icel. &?;al, Dan. odel allodial, Sw. odal.] (Law) Among the early and medieval Teutonic peoples, esp. Scandinavians, the heritable land held by the various odalmen constituting a family or kindred of freeborn tribesmen; also, the ownership of such land. The odal was subject only to certain rights of the family or kindred in restricting the freedom of transfer or sale and giving certain rights of redemption in case of change of ownership by inheritance, etc., and perhaps to other rights of the kindred or the tribe. Survivals of the early odal estates and tenure exist in Orkney and Shetland, where it is usually called by the variant form udal.

O"dal, a. (Law) Noting, or pert. to, odal land or ownership.

{ O"dal*man (?), O"dal*wom`an (?) }, n. (Teut. Law) A man or woman having odal, or able to share in it by inheritance.

Odd"ment (?), n. [Odd + - ment.] An odd thing, or one that is left over, disconnected, fragmentary, or the like; something that is separated or disconnected from its fellows; esp. (in pl.), the odds and ends. Specif.: (Printing) Any separate small part or page in a book, other than the text, such as the title page, contents, etc.

A miscellaneous collection of riddles, charms, gnomic verses, and "oddments" of different kinds.

Saintsbury.

||O"dels*thing (?), n. [Norw. odel odal + ting parliament.] The lower house of the Norwegian Storthing. See Legislature.

O"din*ism (?), n. Worship of Odin; broadly, the Teutonic heathenism. -- O"din*ist, n.

Odinism was valor; Christianism was humility, a nobler kind of valor.

Carlyle.

O"do*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?; way + - graph.] 1. A machine for registering the distance traversed by a vehicle or pedestrain.

2. A device for recording the length and rapidity of stride and the number of steps taken by a walker.

O*dom"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. &?;, &?;, an instrument for measuring distances; &?; way + &?; measure: cf. F. odomètre, hodomètre.] An instrument attached to a vehicle, to measure the distance traversed; also, a wheel used by surveyors, which registers the miles and rods traversed. -- Od`o*met"ric*al (#), a.

||Œil`-de-bœuf" (?), n.; pl. Œils-de-bœuf (#). [F., lit., eye of an ox.] (Arch.) A circular or oval window; -- generally used of architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries. A famous room in the palace of Versailles bears this name, from the oval window opening into it.

||Œil`-de-per`drix" (?), a. [F., lit., eye of a partridge.] 1. (Ornamental Art) Characterized by, or decorated with, small round points, spots, or rings; as, œil-de-perdrix pattern.

2. Having a brownish red color; -- used esp. of light-colored red wine.

Oer"sted (?), n. [After Hans Christian Oersted, Danish physicist.] (Elec.) The C.G.S. unit of magnetic reluctance or resistance, equal to the reluctance of a centimeter cube of air (or vacuum) between parallel faces. Also, a reluctance in which unit magnetomotive force sets up unit flux.

Of"fice wire` (?). (Elec.) Copper wire with a strong but light insulation, used in wiring houses, etc.

Off`print" (?), v. t. [Off + print.] To reprint (as an excerpt); as, the articles of some magazines are offprinted from other magazines.

Off"print` (?), n. A reprint or excerpt.