Thomas Davidson

“ Harry, har′i, v.t. to plunder: to ravage: to destroy: to harass:—pr.p. harr′ying; pa.p. harr′ied.—n. Harr′ier, one who, or that which, harries: a kind of hawk so named from its harrying or destroying small animals.—Harrying, or Harrowing, of hell, the spoiling of hell, the delivery by Christ, upon His descent into hell after the crucifixion, of the souls of patriarchs and prophets there held in bondage by Satan (1 Pet. iii. 19) —a favourite subject of Christian art, and of our own medieval writers of Mysteries. ”

“ Har′monist, one skilled in harmony: a musical composer.—Harmonic engine, an invention of Edison's, in which the energy of an electric current is used, by means of two small electro-magnets, to keep up the vibrations of a large and heavily-weighted tuning-fork whose arms are connected with two pistons working a miniature pump; Harmonic progression, a series of numbers the reciprocals of which are in arithmetical progression; Harmonic proportion, the relation of three quantities in harmonic progression—the 2d a harmonic mean between the 1st and 3d, as in the three numbers 2, 3, and 6 ”

“ Lend a hand, to give assistance; Off-hand, Out of hand, at once, immediately, without premeditation; Off one's hands, no longer under one's responsible charge; Old hand, one experienced, as opposed to Young hand; On all hands, on all sides; On hand, ready, available: in one's possession; On one's hands, under one's care or responsibility; Poor hand, an unskilful one; Second-hand, inferior, not new; Set the hand to, to engage in, undertake; Show one's hand, to expose one's purpose to any one; Stand one's hand (slang) , to pay for a drink to another ”

“ Hand to hand, at close quarters; Hand to mouth, without thought for the future, precariously.—A bird in the hand, any advantage at present held; A cool hand, a person not easily abashed; At any hand, In any hand (Shak.) , at any rate, in any case; At first hand, from the producer or seller, or from the first source direct; At hand, near in place or time; At second hand, from an intermediate purchaser or source; Bear a hand, make haste to help; Bear in hand (Shak.) , to keep in expectation; Be hand and glove, to be very intimate and familiar; Believed on all hands, generally believed ”

“ Harmon′iphone, a musical instrument played with a keyboard, in which the sounds are produced by reeds set in a tube, and vibrating under pressure from the breath; Harmō′niumist, one who plays the harmonium; Harmon′ograph, an instrument for tracing curves representing sonorous vibrations; Harmonom′eter, one for measuring the harmonic relations of sounds.
Harmony, här′mo-ni, n. a fitting together of parts so as to form a connected whole, agreement in relation: in art, a normal state of completeness and order in the relations of things to each other: (mus.) ”

“ Hair′-split′ting, the art of making minute and over-nice distinctions; Hair′spring, a very fine hair-like spring coiled up within the balance-wheel of a watch; Hair′-stroke, in writing, a fine stroke with the pen: a hair-line; Hair′-trigg′er, a trigger which discharges a gun or pistol by a hair-like spring; Hair′-work, work done or something made with hair, esp. human; Hair′worm, a worm, like a horse-hair, which lives in the bodies of certain insects.—adj. Hair′y, of or resembling hair: covered with hair.—Against the hair, against the grain: contrary to what is natural ”

“ By the strong hand, by force; Cap in hand, humbly; Change hands, to pass from one owner to another; Come to one's hand, to be easy to do; Dead man's hand, Hand-of-glory, a charm to discover hidden treasure, &c., made from a mandrake root, or the hand of a man who has been executed, holding a candle; For one's own hand, on one's own account; From good hands, from a reliable source; Gain the upper hand, to obtain the mastery ”

“ Hand′-saw, a saw manageable by the hand—also the same as Hern′shaw, in the proverb, 'not to know a hawk from a handsaw;' Hand′-screen, a small screen used to protect the face from the heat of the fire or sun; Hand′-screw, an appliance for raising heavy weights, a jack; Hand′spike, a bar used with the hand as a lever.—n.pl. Hand′staves (B.) , probably javelins.—ns. Hands′-turn, a helping hand, aid; Hand′work, work done by hand, as distinguished from machinery; Hand′writing, the style of writing peculiar to each person: writing.—adj. ”

“ Harpoon′er, Harpooneer′, one who uses a harpoon; Harpoon′-gun, a gun from which a harpoon or toggle-iron may be discharged. [Fr. harpon—harpe, a clamp—L. harpa, Gr. harpē, sickle.]
Harpsichord, härp′si-kord, n. an old-fashioned keyed musical instrument, where the sound is produced by the twitching of the strings by a piece of crow-quill or hard leather. [O. Fr. harpechorde.]
Harpy, här′pi, n. (myth.) a rapacious and filthy monster, with the body of a woman and the wings, feet, and claws of a bird of prey, considered as a minister of the vengeance of the gods: (her.) ”

“ Hare′-foot, swift of foot like a hare; Har′ish, somewhat like a hare.—n. Hare′-lip, a fissure in the upper human lip like that of a hare.—adj. Hare′-lipped.—n. Hare's′-ear, a genus of umbelliferous plants having yellow flowers.—First catch your hare, make sure you have a thing first before you think what to do with it—from a direction in Mrs Glasse's cookery-book, where catch, however, was a misprint for 'case'=skin; Hold with the hare and run with the hounds, to play a double and deceitful game, to be with both sides at once ”

“ Har′vest-home, the bringing home of the harvest: the feast held at the bringing home of the harvest; Har′vest-lord, the head-reaper at the harvest; Har′vest-man (B.) , a labourer in harvest; Har′vest-moon, the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox, rising nearly at the same hour for several days; Har′vest-mouse, a very small species of mouse, building its nest in the stalks of growing corn; Har′vest-queen, an image of Ceres, the queen or goddess of fruits, in ancient times carried about on the last day of harvest. ”

“ Hair′-brush, a brush for the hair; Hair′cloth, cloth made partly or entirely of hair; Hair′dresser, one who dresses or cuts hair: a barber.—adj. Haired, having hair—as black-haired, fair-haired, &c.—ns. Hair′-grass, a kind of grass found generally on poor soil, the bracts of whose florets are generally awned near the base; Hair′iness.—adj. Hair′less, without hair.—ns. Hair′-line, a line made of hair, used in fishing: a slender line made in writing or drawing: (print.) a very thin line on a type; Hair′-oil, perfumed oil used in dressing the hair ”

“ Hare, hār, n. a common and very timid animal, with a divided upper lip and long hind-legs, which runs swiftly by leaps.—ns. Hare-and-hounds, a boys' game in which some set off on a long run across country, dropping pieces of paper (the scent) as they go, and others try to overtake, following their trail; Hare′bell, a plant with blue bell-shaped flowers.—adjs. Hare′-brained, giddy: heedless ”

“ Halma, hal′ma, n. a game played on a checkered board of 256 squares, by two or four persons, with thirteen to nineteen men each—also Hoppity: in the Greek pentathlon the long jump with weights in the hands. [Gr.,—hallesthai, to leap.]
Halmaturus, hal-ma-tū′rus, n. a genus of kangaroos.
Halo, hā′lō, n. a luminous circle round the sun or moon, due to the presence of ice-crystals in the air: (paint.) the bright ring round the heads of saints, hence any ideal or sentimental glory attaching to a thing:—pl. Halos (hā′lōz) .—v.t. to surround with a halo.—n. ”

“ Hallo′! Halloa′! used to call attention.—Halloo before one is out of the wood, to count on safety before one is out of danger. [Imit., A.S. éalá.]
Hallow, hal′ō, v.t. to make holy: to set apart for religious use: to reverence.—n. a saint.—ns. Hall′owe'en, the evening before All-Hallows or All-Saints' Day; Hall′owmas, the Feast of All-Saints, 1st November. [A.S. hálgian—hálig, holy.]
Hallucination, hal-lū-sin-ā′shun, n. error: delusion: the perception of things that do not externally exist.—v.i. ”

“ Half′-bind′ing, a style of bookbinding in which the backs and corners are of leather, and the sides of paper or cloth; Half′-blood, relation between those who are of the same father or mother, but not of both.—adj. Half′-blood′ed.—ns. Half′-board (naut.) , a manœuvre by which a sailing-ship gains distance to windward by luffing up into the wind; Half′-boot, a boot reaching half-way to the knee.—adj. Half′-bound, bound only partly in leather, as a book.—n. Half′-breed, one that is half-blooded.—adj. Half′-bred, half or not well bred or trained: wanting in refinement.—ns. ”

“ Hand′cuffs, shackles for the hand locked upon the wrists of a prisoner.—v.t. to put handcuffs on:—pr.p. hand′cuffing; pa.p. hand′cuffed (-kuft) . [Hand and cuff.]
Handicap, hand′i-kap, v.t. to impose special disadvantages or impediments upon in order to offset advantages, and make a better contest—in a horse-race the superior horse carries a heavier weight, while foot-runners are placed at different distances, or start at different times: (fig.) to place at a disadvantage by some burden or disability.—n. any contest so adjusted, or the condition imposed.—n. Hand′icapper, one who handicaps. ”

“ Pre-established harmony, the designation of Leibnitz for his theory of the divinely established relation between body and mind—the movements of monads and the succession of ideas, as it were a constant agreement between two clocks. [Fr.,—L.,—Gr. harmonia—harmos, a fitting—arein, to fit.] ”

“ Halcyon, hal′si-un, n. the kingfisher, once believed to make a floating nest on the sea, which remained calm while it was hatching.—adj. calm: peaceful: happy—hence Halcyon-days, a time of peace and happiness. [L.,—Gr., alkyōn; as if hals, the sea, kyein, to conceive.]
Hald, a Scotch form of hold.
Hale, hāl, adj. healthy: robust: sound of body.—n. (Spens.) welfare.—n. Hale′ness. [Northern A.S. hál; the S. forms hôl, hool, produce whole. There is a parallel N. form from Norse heill.] ”

“ Hard′wood-trees, forest trees of comparatively slow growth, producing compact hard timber, as oak, ash, elm, walnut, beech, birch, &c.—Hard hit, seriously hurt, as by a loss of money: deeply smitten with love ”

“ Hæmatoxylin, Hem-, hē-ma-tok′si-lin, n. a dye obtained from the logwood-tree. [Gr. haima, blood, xylon, wood.]
Hæmatozoa, hē-ma-to-zō′a, n. parasites occurring in the blood. [Gr. haima, haimat-os, blood, zōon, an animal.]
Hæmaturia, hē-ma-tū′ri-a, n. the discharge of blood with the urine, usually from disease of the kidneys or bladder. [Gr. haima, blood, ouron, urine.]
Hæmoglobin, Hem-, hē-mo-glō′bin, n. the red substance in the red blood-corpuscles. [Gr. haima, blood, L. globus, a ball.] ”

“ Harridan, har′i-dan, n. a vixenish old woman. [Prob. O. Fr. haridelle, a lean horse, a jade.]
Harrier, har′i-ėr, n. a small kind of dog with a keen smell, for hunting hares: (pl.) a name taken by some clubs of cross-country runners (see Hare-and-hounds) . [Formed from hare, like graz-i-er.] ”

“ Har′malol, Har′mine, other alkaloids from the same source. [Gr., from Semitic; cf. Ar. harmil.]
Harman, här′man, n. (slang) a policeman—also Har′man-beck: (pl.) the stocks.
Harmattan, har-mat′an, n. a hot, dry, noxious wind which blows periodically from the interior of Africa to the Atlantic along the Guinea coast during December, January, and February. [Fanti.]
Harmonic, -al, har-mon′ik, -al, adj. pertaining to harmony: musical: concordant: recurring periodically.—n. a secondary tone, overtone; a note on a stringed instrument produced by lightly stopping a string: (math.) ”

“ Hagg′ard, a hawk.—adv. Hagg′ardly. [O. Fr. hagard, prob. related to haie, hedge.]
Haggard, hag′ard, n. a stackyard. [Hay-yard.]
Haggis, hag′is, n. a Scotch dish made of the heart, lungs, and liver of a sheep, calf, &c., chopped up with suet, onions, oatmeal, &c., seasoned and boiled in a sheep's stomach-bag. [Ety. unknown; not Fr. hachis, hash, assimilated with hag, hack.]
Haggle, hag′l, v.t. to cut unskilfully: to mangle.—v.i. to be slow and hard in making a bargain: to stick at trifles, to cavil.—n. Hagg′ler. [A variant of hackle, itself a freq. of hack, to cut.] ”

“ Habenaria, hab-ē-nā′ri-a, n. a genus of tuberous orchidaceous plants. [L. habena, a thong.]
Haberdasher, hab′ėr-dash-ėr, n. a seller of small-wares, as ribbons, tape, &c.—n. Hab′erdashery, goods sold by a haberdasher. [O. Fr. hapertas; ety. dub.; not Ice.]
Haberdine, ha-ber-dīn′, n. (obs.) dried salt cod. [Old Dut. abberdaan, also labberdaen; prob. from Le Labourd, or Lapurdum (Bayonne) .]
Habergeon, ha-bėr′je-un, n. a piece of armour to defend the neck and breast. [Fr. haubergeon, dim. of O. Fr. hauberc.]
Habile, hab′il, adj. (obs.) able, capable. [Fr.,—L. habilis. See Able.] ”