Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828)

Page 1602

Venust

Ve*nust" (?), a. [L. venustus, from Venus the goddess of love.] Beautiful. [R.] E. Waterhouse.

Veracious

Ve*ra"cious (?), a. [L. verax, -acis, fr. verus true. See Very.]

1. Observant of truth; habitually speaking truth; truthful; as, veracious historian.

The Spirit is most perfectly and absolutely veracious. Barrow.

2. Characterized by truth; not false; as, a veracious account or narrative.

The young, ardent soul that enters on this world with heroic purpose, with veracious insight, will find it a mad one. Carlyle.

Veraciously

Ve*ra"cious*ly, adv. In a veracious manner.

Veracity

Ve*rac"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. F. véracité.] The quality or state of being veracious; habitual observance of truth; truthfulness; truth; as, a man of veracity.

Veranda

Ve*ran"da (?), n. [A word brought by the English from India; of uncertain origin; cf. Skr. varaa, Pg. varanda, Sp. baranda, Malay baranda.] (Arch.) An open, roofed gallery or portico, adjoining a dwelling house, forming an out-of-door sitting room. See Loggia.

The house was of adobe, low, with a wide veranda on the three sides of the inner court. Mrs. H. H. Jackson.

Veratralbine

Ver`a*tral"bine (?), n. (Chem.) A yellowish amorphous alkaloid extracted from the rootstock of Veratrum album.

Veratrate

Ve*ra"trate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of veratric acid.

Veratria

Ve*ra"tri*a (?), n. [NL.] (Chem.) Veratrine.

Veratric

Ve*ra"tric (?), a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, plants of the genus Veratrum. Veratric acid (Chem.), an acid occurring, together with veratrine, in the root of white hellebore (Veratrum album), and in sabadilla seed; -- extracted as a white crystalline substance which is related to protocatechuic acid.

Veratrina

Ver`a*tri"na (?), n. [NL.] (Chem.) Same as Veratrine.

Veratrine

Ve*ra"trine (?; 277), n. [Cf. F. vératrine. See Veratrum.] (Chem.) A poisonous alkaloid obtained from the root hellebore (Veratrum) and from sabadilla seeds as a white crystalline powder, having an acrid, burning taste. It is sometimes used externally, as in ointments, in the local treatment of neuralgia and rheumatism. Called also veratria, and veratrina.

Veratrol

Ve*ra"trol (?), n. [Veratric + ol.] (Chem.) A liquid hydrocarbon obtained by the decomposition of veratric acid, and constituting the dimethyl ether of pyrocatechin.

Veratrum

Ve*ra"trum (?), n. [L. veratrum hellebore.] (Bot.) A genus of coarse liliaceous herbs having very poisonous qualities. &hand; Veratrum album of Europe, and Veratrum viride of America, are both called hellebore. They grow in wet land, have large, elliptical, plicate leaves in three vertical ranks, and bear panicles of greenish flowers.

Verb

Verb (?), n. [F. verbe, L. verbum a word, verb. See Word.]

1. A word; a vocable. [Obs.] South.

2. (Gram.) A word which affirms or predicates something of some person or thing; a part of speech expressing being, action, or the suffering of action. &hand; A verb is a word whereby the chief action of the mind [the assertion or the denial of a proposition] finds expression. Earle. Active verb, Auxiliary verb, Neuter verb, etc. See Active, Auxiliary, Neuter, etc.

Verbal

Ver"bal (?), a. [F., fr. L. verbalis. See Verb.]

1. Expressed in words, whether spoken or written, but commonly in spoken words; hence, spoken; oral; not written; as, a verbal contract; verbal testimony.

Made she no verbal question? Shak.

We subjoin an engraving . . . which will give the reader a far better notion of the structure than any verbal description could convey to the mind. Mayhew.

2. Consisting in, or having to do with, words only; dealing with words rather than with the ideas intended to be conveyed; as, a verbal critic; a verbal change.

And loses, though but verbal, his reward. Milton.

Mere verbal refinements, instead of substantial knowledge. Whewell.

3. Having word answering to word; word for word; literal; as, a verbal translation.

4. Abounding with words; verbose. [Obs.] Shak.

5. (Gram.) Of or pertaining to a verb; as, a verbal group; derived directly from a verb; as, a verbal noun; used in forming verbs; as, a verbal prefix. Verbal inspiration. See under Inspiration. -- Verbal noun (Gram.), a noun derived directly from a verb or verb stem; a verbal. The term is specifically applied to infinitives, and nouns ending in -ing, esp. to the latter. See Gerund, and -ing, 2. See also, Infinitive mood, under Infinitive.

Verbal

Ver"bal, n. (Gram.) A noun derived from a verb.
Verbalism
Ver"bal*ism (?), n. Something expressed verbally; a verbal remark or expression.
Verbalist
Ver"bal*ist, n. A literal adherent to, or a minute critic of, words; a literalist.
Verbality
Ver*bal"i*ty (?), n. The quality or state of being verbal; mere words; bare literal expression. [R.] More verbality than matter." Bp. Hall.

Verbalization

Ver`bal*i*za"tion (?), n. The act of verbalizing, or the state of being verbalized.

Verbalize

Ver"bal*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Verbalized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Verbalizing (?).] [Cf. F. verbaliser.] To convert into a verb; to verbify.

Verbalize

Ver"bal*ize, v. i. To be verbose.

Verbally

Ver"bal*ly, adv.

1. In a verbal manner; orally.

2. Word for word; verbatim. Dryden.

Verbarian

Ver*ba"ri*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to words; verbal. [R.] Coleridge.

Verbarian

Ver*ba"ri*an, n. One who coins words. [R.]

Southey gives himself free scope as a verbarian. Fitzed. Hall.

Verbarium

Ver*ba"ri*um (?), n. [NL., fr. L. verbum word.] A game in word making. See Logomachy, 2.

Verbatim

Ver*ba"tim (?), adv. [LL., fr. L. verbum word.] Word for word; in the same words; verbally; as, to tell a story verbatim as another has related it. Verbatim et literatim [LL.], word for word, and letter for letter.

Verbena

Ver*be"na (?), n. [L. See Vervain.] (Bot.) A genus of herbaceous plants of which several species are extensively cultivated for the great beauty of their flowers; vervain. &hand; Verbena, or vervain, was used by the Greeks, the Romans, and the Druids, in their sacred rites. Brewer. Essence of verbena, Oil of verbena, a perfume prepared from the lemon verbena; also, a similar perfume properly called grass oil. See Grass oil, under Grass. -- Lemon, ∨ Sweet, verbena, a shrubby verbenaceous plant (Lippia citriodora), with narrow leaves which exhale a pleasant, lemonlike fragrance when crushed.

Verbenaceous

Ver`be*na"ceous (?), a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to a natural order (Verbenaceæ) of gamopetalous plants of which Verbena is the type. The order includes also the black and white mangroves, and many plants noted for medicinal use or for beauty of bloom.

Verbenate

Ver"be*nate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Verbenated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Verbenating.] [L. verbenatus crowned with a wreath of sacred boughs. See Verbena.] To strew with verbena, or vervain, as in ancient sacrifices and rites.

Verberate

Ver"ber*ate (?), v. t. [L. verberatus, p. p. of verberare to beat, from verber a lash, a whip.] To beat; to strike. [Obs.] The sound . . . rebounds again and verberates the skies." Mir. for Mag.

Verberation

Ver`ber*a"tion (?), n. [L. verberatio: cf. F. verbération.]

1. The act of verberating; a beating or striking. Arbuthnot.

2. The impulse of a body; which causes sound. [R.]

Verbiage

Ver"bi*age (?; 48), n. [F. verbiage, from OF. verbe a word. See Verb.] The use of many words without necessity, or with little sense; a superabundance of words; verbosity; wordiness.

Verbiage may indicate observation, but not thinking. W. Irving.

This barren verbiage current among men. Tennyson.

Verify

Ver"i*fy (?), v. t. [Verb + -fy.] To make into a verb; to use as a verb; to verbalize. [R.] Earle.

Verbose

Ver*bose" (?), a. [L. verbosus, from verbum a word. See Verb.] Abounding in words; using or containing more words than are necessary; tedious by a multiplicity of words; prolix; wordy; as, a verbose speaker; a verbose argument.

Too verbose in their way of speaking. Ayliffe.

-- Ver*bose"ly, adv. -- Ver*bose"ness, n.

Verbosity

Ver*bos"i*ty (?) n.; pl. Verbosities (#). [L. verbositas: cf. F. verbosité.] The quality or state of being verbose; the use of more words than are necessary; prolixity; wordiness; verbiage.

The worst fault, by far, is the extreme diffuseness and verbosity of his style. Jeffrey.

Verd

Verd (?), n. [See Vert, Verdant.]

1. (Eng. Forest Law) (a) The privilege of cutting green wood within a forest for fuel. (b) The right of pasturing animals in a forest. Burrill.

2. Greenness; freshness. [Obs.] Nares.

Verdancy

Ver"dan*cy (?), n. The quality or state of being verdant.

Verdant

Ver"dant (?), a. [F. verdoyant, p. pr. of verdoyer to be verdant, to grow green, OF. verdoier, verdeier, fr. verd, vert, green, fr. L. viridis green, fr. virere to be green: cf. OF. verdant verdant, L. viridans, p. pr. of viridare to make green. Cf. Farthingale, Verjuice, Vert.]

1. Covered with growing plants or grass; green; fresh; flourishing; as, verdant fields; a verdant lawn.

Let the earth Put forth the verdant grass. Milton.

2. Unripe in knowledge or judgment; unsophisticated; raw; green; as, a verdant youth. [Colloq.]

Verd antique

Verd` an*tique" (?). [F. vert antique a kind of marble; verd, vert, green + antique ancient: cf. It. verde antico.] (Min.) (a) A mottled-green serpentine marble. (b) A green porphyry called oriental verd antique.

Verdantly

Ver"dant*ly (?), adv. In a verdant manner.

Verderer, Verderor

Ver"der*er (?), Ver"der*or (?), n. [F. verdier, LL. viridarius, fr. L. viridis green.] (Eng. Forest Law) An officer who has the charge of the king's forest, to preserve the vert and venison, keep the assizes, view, receive, and enroll attachments and presentments of all manner of trespasses. Blackstone.
Verdict
Ver"dict (?), n. [OE. verdit, OF. verdit, veirdit, LL. verdictum, veredictum; L. vere truly (fr. verus true) + dictum a saying, a word, fr. dicere, dictum, to say. See Very, and Dictum.]
1. (Law) The answer of a jury given to the court concerning any matter of fact in any cause, civil or criminal, committed to their examination and determination; the finding or decision of a jury on the matter legally submitted to them in the course of the trial of a cause. &hand; The decision of a judge or referee, upon an issue of fact, is not called a verdict, but a finding, or a finding of fact. Abbott.
2. Decision; judgment; opinion pronounced; as, to be condemned by the verdict of the public.
These were enormities condemned by the most natural verdict of common humanity. South.

Two generations have since confirmed the verdict which was pronounced on that night. Macaulay.

Verdigris
Ver"di*gris (?), n. [F. vert-de-gris, apparently from verd, vert, green + de of + gris gray, but really a corruption of LL. viride aeris (equivalent to L. aerugo), from L. viridis green + aes, aeris, brass. See Verdant, and 2d Ore.]
1. (Chem.) A green poisonous substance used as a pigment and drug, obtained by the action of acetic acid on copper, and consisting essentially of a complex mixture of several basic copper acetates.
2. The green rust formed on copper. [Colloq.] &hand; This rust is a carbonate of copper, and should not be confounded with true verdigris. U. S. Disp. Blue verdigris (Chem.), a verdigris having a blue color, used a pigment, etc. -- Distilled verdigris (Old Chem.), an acid copper acetate; -- so called because the acetic acid used in making it was obtained from distilled vinegar. -- Verdigris green, clear bluish green, the color of verdigris.
Verdigris
Ver"di*gris, v. t. To cover, or coat, with verdigris. [R.] An old verdigrised brass bugle." Hawthorne.
Verdin
Ver"din (?), n. [Cf. Sp. verdino bright green, F. verdin the yellow-hammer.] (Zoöl.) A small yellow-headed bird (Auriparus flaviceps) of Lower California, allied to the titmice; -- called also goldtit.
Verdine
Ver"dine (?), n. [F. verd, vert, green.] (Chem.) A commercial name for green aniline dye.
Verdingale
Ver"din*gale (?), n. See Farthingale. [Spelled also verdingall.] [Obs.]
Verdit
Ver"dit (?), n. Verdict. Chaucer.
Verditer
Ver"di*ter (?), n. [F. vert-de-terre, literally, green of earth.] (Chem.) (a) Verdigris. [Obs.] (b) Either one of two pigments (called blue verditer, and green verditer) which are made by treating copper nitrate with calcium carbonate (in the form of lime, whiting, chalk, etc.) They consist of hydrated copper carbonates analogous to the minerals azurite and malachite. Verditer blue, a pale greenish blue color, like that of the pigment verditer.
Verditure
Ver"di*ture (?; 135), n. [Cf. Verditer.] The faintest and palest green.
Verdoy
Ver"doy (?), a. [F. verdoyer to become green. See Verdant.] (Her.) Charged with leaves, fruits, flowers, etc.; -- said of a border.
Verdure
Ver"dure (?), n. [F., fr. L. viridis green. See Verdant.] Green; greenness; freshness of vegetation; as, the verdure of the meadows in June.
A wide expanse of living verdure, cultivated gardens, shady groves, fertile cornfields, flowed round it like a sea. Motley.

Verdured
Ver"dured (?), a. Covered with verdure. Poe.
Verdureless
Ver"dure*less (?), a. Destitute of verdure.
Verdurous
Ver"dur*ous (?), a. Covered with verdure; clothed with the fresh green of vegetation; verdured; verdant; as, verdurous pastures. Milton.
Verecund
Ver"e*cund (?), a. [L. verecundus, fr. vereri to feel awe.] Rashful; modest. [Obs.]
Verecundious
Ver`e*cun"di*ous (?), a. Verecund. [Obs.] Verecundious generosity." Sir H. Wotton.
Verecundity
Ver`e*cun"di*ty (?), n. The quality or state of being verecund; modesty. [Obs.]
Veretillum
Ver`e*til"lum (?), n. [L., dim. of veretrum the private parts.] (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of club-shaped, compound Alcyonaria belonging to Veretillum and allied genera, of the tribe Pennatulacea. The whole colony can move about as if it were a simple animal.
Vergalien, Vergaloo
Ver"ga*lien, Ver"ga*loo (?), n. [Cf. Virgouleuse.] (Bot.) See Virgalieu.
Verge
Verge (?), n. [F. verge, L. virga; perhaps akin to E. wisp.]
1. A rod or staff, carried as an emblem of authority; as, the verge, carried before a dean.
2. The stick or wand with which persons were formerly admitted tenants, they holding it in the hand, and swearing fealty to the lord. Such tenants were called tenants by the verge. [Eng.]
3. (Eng. Law) The compass of the court of Marshalsea and the Palace court, within which the lord steward and the marshal of the king's household had special jurisdiction; -- so called from the verge, or staff, which the marshal bore.
4. A virgate; a yardland. [Obs.]
5. A border, limit, or boundary of a space; an edge, margin, or brink of something definite in extent.
Even though we go to the extreme verge of possibility to invent a supposition favorable to it, the theory . . . implies an absurdity. J. S. Mill.

But on the horizon's verge descried, Hangs, touched with light, one snowy sail. M. Arnold.

6. A circumference; a circle; a ring.
The inclusive verge Of golden metal that must round my brow. Shak.

7. (Arch.) (a) The shaft of a column, or a small ornamental shaft. Oxf. Gloss. (b) The edge of the tiling projecting over the gable of a roof. Encyc. Brit.
8. (Horol.) The spindle of a watch balance, especially one with pallets, as in the old vertical escapement. See under Escapement.
9. (Hort.) (a) The edge or outside of a bed or border. (b) A slip of grass adjoining gravel walks, and dividing them from the borders in a parterre.
10. The penis.
11. (Zoöl.) The external male organ of certain mollusks, worms, etc. See Illustration in Appendix. Syn. -- Border; edge; rim; brim; margin; brink.