Thomas Davidson

“ Egg, eg, n. an oval body laid by birds and certain other animals, from which their young are produced: anything shaped like an egg.—ns. Egg′-app′le, or plant, the brinjal or aubergine, an East Indian annual with egg-shaped fruit; Egg′-bird, a sooty tern; Egg′-cō′sy, a covering put over boiled eggs to keep in the heat after being taken from the pot: Egg′-cup, a cup for holding an egg at table ”

“ Ear′liness.—Early and late, at all times; Early bird, an early riser; Early English (archit.) , generally applied to the form of Gothic in which the pointed arch was first employed in Britain. The Early English succeeded the Norman towards the end of the 12th century, and merged into the Decorated at the end of the 13th.—Keep early hours, to rise and go to bed betimes; Small and early (coll.) , applied to evening parties; The early bird catches the worm, a proverb in favour of early rising. ”

“ El′ephant-seal, the largest of the seals, the male measuring about 20 feet in length; El′ephant's-foot, a plant of which the root-stock forms a large fleshy mass resembling an elephant's foot, used as food by the Hottentots; El′ephant-shrew, name applied to a number of long-nosed, long-legged Insectivora, natives of Africa, and notable for their agile jumping over loose sand.—A white elephant, a gift which occasions the recipient more trouble than it is worth—a white elephant being a common gift of the kings of Siam to a courtier they wished to ruin. ”

“ Elec′trify, to communicate electricity to: to excite suddenly: to astonish: to adapt to electricity as the motive power:—pa.p. elec′trified.—n. Elec′trisation.—v.t. Elec′trīse, to electrify.—ns. Elec′trode, either of the poles of a galvanic battery; Elec′trolier, a device for suspending a group of incandescent lamps; Elec′trum, amber: an alloy of gold and silver.—Electric railway, a railway on which electricity is the motive-power ”

“ Ear′-shell, any shell of the family Haliotidæ; Ear′shot, the distance at which a sound can be heard; Ear′-trum′pet, a tube to aid in hearing; Ear′wax, a waxy substance secreted by the glands of the ear; Ear′wig, an insect which was supposed to creep into the brain through the ear: a flatterer.—v.t. to gain the ear of: to bias: to torment by private importunities (A.S. éarwicga, éare, ear, wicga, earwig) .—n. Ear′witness, a witness that can testify from his own hearing.—About one's ears, said of a house falling, &c.; Be all ears, to give every attention; Give ear, to attend ”

“ Elohim, e-lō′him, n. the Hebrew name for God.—n. Elō′hist, the writer or writers of the Elohistic passages of the Old Testament.—adj. Elohist′ic, relating to Elohim—said of those passages in the Old Testament in which Elohim is used as the name for the Supreme Being instead of Jehovah. [Heb., pl. of Eloah—explained by Delitzsch as a plural of intensity.]
Eloin, Eloign, e-loin′, v.t. to convey to a distance, to separate and remove.—ns. Eloin′ment, Eloign′ment. [O. Fr. esloignier (Fr. éloigner) —Low L. elongāre. See Elongate.]
Elongate, e-long′gāt, v.t. to make longer: to extend.—p.adjs. ”

“ Egg′er, Egg′ler, one who collects eggs; Egg′ery, a place where eggs are laid; Egg′-flip, a hot drink made of ale, with eggs, sugar, spice, &c.; Egg′-glass, a small sand-glass for regulating the boiling of eggs; Egg′-nog, a drink compounded of eggs and hot beer, spirits, &c.; Egg′-shell, the shell or calcareous substance which covers the eggs of birds; Egg′-slice, a kitchen utensil for lifting fried eggs out of a pan; Egg′-spoon, a small spoon used in eating eggs from the shell.—A bad egg (coll.) , a worthless person ”

“ Elect′orate, the dignity or the territory of an elector: the body of electors; Elect′orship.—The elect (theol.) , those chosen by God for salvation. [L. e, out, legĕre, to choose.]
Electric, e-lek′trik, adj. pertaining to or produced by electricity.—n. any electric substance: a non-conductor of electricity, as amber, glass, &c.—adj. Elec′trical.—adv. Elec′trically.—ns. Elec′tric-eel (see Gymnotus) ; Electri′cian, one who studies, or is versed in, the science of electricity ”

“ Have a person's ear, to be secure of his favourable attention; Have itching ears, to be desirous of hearing novelties (2 Tim. iv. 3) ; Lend an ear, to listen; Over head and ears, overwhelmed: deeply engrossed or involved; Set by the ears, to set at strife; Speak in the ear, to whisper; Tickle the ear, to flatter; Turn a deaf ear, to refuse to listen; Walls have ears, a proverbial phrase implying that there may be listeners behind the wall. [A.S. éare; cf. L. auris, Ger. ohr.]
Earl, ėrl, n. an English nobleman ranking between a marquis and a viscount:—fem. ”

“ Eld′er-berr′y, the acidulous purple-black drupaceous fruit of the elder; Eld′er-gun, a popgun made of elder-wood by extracting the pith; Eld′er-wine, a pleasant wine made from elder-berries.—Elder-flower water, distilled water, with an agreeable odour, made from the flowers. [A.S. ellærn, ellen.]
Elder, eld′ėr, adj. older: having lived a longer time: prior in origin.—n. one who is older: an ancestor: one advanced to office on account of age: one of a class of office-bearers in the Presbyterian Church—equivalent to the presbyters of the New Testament.—n. ”

“ Elevā′tion, the act of elevating or raising, or the state of being raised: exaltation: an elevated place or station: a rising ground: height: (archit.) a representation of the flat side of a building, drawn with mathematical accuracy, but without any attention to effect: (astron., geog.) the height above the horizon of an object on the sphere, measured by the arc of a vertical circle through it and the zenith: (gun.) the angle made by the line of direction of a gun with the plane of the horizon ”

“ Earth′-plate, a buried plate of metal forming the earth-connection of a telegraph-wire, lightning-conductor, &c.; Earth′quake, a quaking or shaking of the earth: a heaving of the ground; Earth′-shine, the faint light visible on the part of the moon not illuminated by the sun; Earth′-trem′or, a slight earthquake.—adv. Earth′ward, toward the earth.—ns. Earth′work, a fortification of earth; Earth′-worm, the common worm: a mean person, a poor creature.—adj. Earth′y, consisting of, relating to, or resembling earth: inhabiting the earth: gross: unrefined. ”

“ Electric spark, one of the forms in which accumulated electricity discharges itself; Electric storm, a violent disturbance in the electrical condition of the earth. [L. electrum—Gr. elektron, amber, in which electricity was first observed.]
Electro-biology, e-lek′tro-bī-ol′o-ji, n. the science which treats of the electricity developed in living organisms: that view of animal magnetism according to which the actions, feelings, &c. of a person are controlled by the will of the operator.—adj. Elec′tro-ballis′tic, of an apparatus for determining by electricity the velocity of a projectile.—ns. ”

“ Eche, ēk, v.t. (Shak.) to eke out: to augment. [A.S. écan; akin to L. augēre, to increase. See Eke.]
Echelon, esh′e-long, n. an arrangement of troops in battalions or divisions placed parallel to one another, but no two on the same alignment, each having its front clear of that in advance. [Fr., from échelle, a ladder or stair. See Scale.]
Echidna, ek-id′na, n. a genus of Australian toothless burrowing monotremate mammals, armed with porcupine-like spines, laying eggs instead of bringing forth the young.—n. Echid′nine, serpent-poison. [Formed from Gr. echidna, a viper.] ”

“ Elec′tro-pō′lar, having, as an electrical conductor, one end or surface positive and the other negative; Elec′tro-pos′itive, attracted by bodies negatively electrified, or by the negative pole of a voltaic battery: assuming positive potential when in contact with another substance.—ns. Elec′troscope, an instrument for detecting the presence of electricity in a body and the nature of it; Elec′tro-stat′ics, that branch of science which treats of electricity at rest; Elec′tro-tint, a style of etching by means of galvanism ”

“ Elec′trotype, the art of copying an engraving or type on a metal deposited by electricity.—adj. Electrotyp′ic.—ns. Elec′trotypist; Elec′trotypy, the art of copying.—adj. Elec′tro-vī′tal, electrical and dependent upon vital processes.
Electuary, e-lek′tū-ar-i, n. a composition of medicinal powders with honey or sugar. [Low L. electuarium—Gr. ekleikton—ekleichein, to lick up.]
Electron. See page 1208.
Eleemosynary, el-e-mos′i-nar-i, adj. relating to charity or almsgiving: dependent on charity: given in charity. [Gr. eleēmosynē, compassionateness, alms—eleos, pity. See Alms.] ”

“ Elec′tro-mō′tor, an apparatus for applying electricity as a motive-power.—adj. Elec′tro-neg′ative, appearing, as an element in electrolysis, at the positive electrode: having the property of becoming negatively electrified by contact with a dissimilar substance.—ns. Elec′trophōne, an instrument for producing sounds resembling trumpet-tones by electric currents of high tension; Electroph′orus, an instrument for obtaining statical electricity by means of induction; Elec′tro-physiol′ogy, the study of the electric phenomena of living organisms.—v.t. ”

“ Clifford for an inferred existence, a thing thrown out of one's own consciousness, as distinguished from object, a thing presented in one's consciousness; Ejec′tion, discharge: expulsion: state of being ejected: vomiting: that which is ejected.—adj. Ejec′tive.—ns. Eject′ment, expulsion; dispossession: (law) an action for the recovery of the possession of land; Eject′or, one who ejects or dispossesses another of his land: any mechanical apparatus for ejecting. [L. ejectāre, freq. of ejicĕre, ejectum—e, out, jacĕre, to throw.] ”

“ East′er-egg, eggs stained of various colours, given as presents on Easter; East′ertide, Eastertime, either Easter week or the fifty days between Easter and Whitsuntide. [A.S. éastre; Ger. ostern. Bede derives the word from Eastre, a goddess whose festival was held at the spring equinox.]
Eat, ēt, v.t. to chew and swallow: to consume: to corrode.—v.i. to take food:—pr.p. eat′ing; pa.t. ate (āt or et) ; pa.p. eaten (ētn) or (obs.) eat (et) .—adj. Eat′able, fit to be eaten.—n. anything used as food (chiefly pl.) .—ns. Eat′age, grass or fodder for horses, &c.: the right to eat ”

“ Ecclesia, e-klē′zi-a, n. a popular assembly, esp. of Athens, where the people exercised full sovereignty, and all above twenty years could vote: applied by the Septuagint commentators to the Jewish commonwealth, and from them to the Christian Church.—adj. Ecclē′sial.—ns. Ecclē′siarch, a ruler of the church; Ecclē′siast, the preacher—Solomon formerly considered as the author of Ecclesiastes: an ecclesiastic; Ecclē′siastes, one of the books of the Old Testament, traditionally ascribed to Solomon; Ecclesias′tic, one consecrated to the church, a priest, a clergyman.—adjs. ”

“ Eccaleobion, ek-kal-e-ō′bi-on, n. a machine for the artificial hatching of eggs. [Gr., 'I call out life.']
Ecce, ek′si, Latin word for 'behold.'—Ecce homo, behold the man (John, xix. 5) —in art, a Christ crowned with thorns.
Eccentric, -al, ek-sen′trik, -al, adj. departing from the centre: not having the same centre as another, said of circles: out of the usual course: not conforming to common rules: odd.—n. Eccen′tric, a circle not having the same centre as another: (mech.) a contrivance for taking an alternating rectilinear motion from a revolving shaft: an eccentric fellow.—adv. ”

“ Edge of the sword, a rhetorical phrase for the sword as the symbol of slaughter.—Outside edge, figure in skating, made on the outer edge of the skate.—Play with edge-tools, to deal carelessly with dangerous matters.—Set on edge, to excite ”

“ Eli′sion, the suppression of a vowel or syllable. [L. elidĕre, elisum—e, out, lædĕre, to strike.]
Eligible, el′i-ji-bl, adj. fit or worthy to be chosen: legally qualified: desirable.—n. (coll.) a person or thing eligible.—ns. El′igibleness, Eligibil′ity, fitness to be elected or chosen: the state of being preferable to something else: desirableness.—adv. ”

“ Electrol′ysis, the process of chemical decomposition by electricity; Elec′trolyte, a body which admits of electrolysis.—adj. Electrolyt′ic.—n. Elec′tro-mag′net, a piece of soft iron rendered magnetic by a current of electricity passing through a coil of wire wound round it.—adj. Elec′tro-magnet′ic.—ns. ”