CON 



COP 



CONSTELLATION (c^m, with, stelLi, 

 a star). A group of stars, designated 

 by the name of some man or lower ani- 

 mal. The several stars of a constella- 

 tion are distinguished, in the order of 

 their brilliancy or apparent magnitude, 

 by the letters of the English and Greek 

 alphabets, by the ordinal numbers, &c. 

 Forty-eight of the constellations are of 

 unknown antiquity; the twelve which 

 occupy the zodiac are termed the twelve 

 signs. 



CO'NTINENT (contineo, to hold toge- 

 ther). A space of land of vast extent, 

 surrounded by water. The Old Continent 

 includes the three divisions of Europe, 

 Asia, and Africa, and is so named from 

 its having, till the discoveries of Colum- 

 bus, in 1492, been the only one known to 

 Europeans. The New Continent includes 

 North and South America. 



CONTFNGENT. A term applied in 

 Logic to the matter of a proposition when 

 the terms of it in part agree, and in part 

 disagree. 



CONTRACTI'LITY {contraho, to draw 

 together). The property by which a body 

 contracts ; by which a fibrous tissue re- 

 turns to its former dimensions after being 

 extended ; by which the muscular fibre 

 shortens itself on the application of a 

 stimulus. The last exhibition of this 

 property is usually called irritability. 



CONTRADICTORY PROPOSI- 



TIONS. Propositions which, having 

 the same terms, differ both in quantity 

 and quality. Contrary propositions are 

 two universals, aifirmative and negative, 

 with the same terms. 



CONTRARY TERMS. In Logic, 

 those terms which, coming under some 

 one class, are the most different of all 

 that belong to that class ; as " wise" and 

 ^^ foolish." 



CONVE'CTION {conveho, to carry). A 

 mode of communication of heat through 

 fluid bodies. A portion of water or of 

 air being heated above, or cooled below, 

 the surrounding portions, expands or 

 contracts in magnitude, and thus be- 

 coming specifically lighter or heavier, 

 rises or sinks accordingly, carrying with 

 it the newly acquired temperature, what- 

 ever that temperature may be. 



CONVERGENT; DIVERGENT. In 

 Algebra, an indefinite series of terms 

 which continually diminish, so that no 

 number of them, added together, will 

 equal a given number, is said to be con- 

 vergent, as 1 -f- i + 5 + ^ + &c. But, 

 when such a number of them can be 

 90 



added together as will surpass any given 

 number, the series is called divergent, as 

 1 +^ + i + i+ &c. 



CONVE'RSION. In Logic, a propo- 

 sition is said to be converted, when its 

 terms are transposed; i.e. when the sub- 

 ject is made the predicate, and the pre- 

 dicate the subject : when nothing more 

 is done, this is called simple conversion. 

 No conversion is employed for any logical 

 purpose, unless it be illative ; i. e. when 

 the truth of the converse is implied by 

 the truth of the proposition given ; e. g., 

 " No virtuous man is a rebel, therefore 

 no rebel is a virtuous man." 



In Geometry, the term conversion de- 

 notes a mode of changing the order or 

 magnitude of proportionals, so that they 

 continue still to be proportionals. Thus, 

 of four proportionals, the first is to its 

 excess above the second, as the third to 

 its excess above the fourth. 



CONVOLVULA'CE^. The Bindweed 

 tribe of Dicotyledonous plants. Herba- 

 ceous plants with leaves alternate ; flowers 

 regular, monopetalous ; stamens inserted 

 into the base of the corolla ; ovarium 

 superior 2-4 celled ; seeds albuminous. 



CO-0'RDINATES {con, together, or- 

 dino, to arrange). A term applied in 

 Geometry to a system of lines, to which 

 points under consideration are referred, 

 and by means of which their position is 

 determined. In plane geometry one of 

 these lines is called the abscissa, the 

 other the ordinate. 



COPAHU'VIC ACID. A name ap- 

 plied to the resin of copaiva, said to 

 possess the same composition as colo- 

 phony. 



CO'PAL. This substance, erroneously 

 called gum copal, is the concrete juice of 

 the Hymenaea Courbaril ; it is used as a 

 varnish, and known by the names of 

 jatahy and jatchy. The copal of the 

 Mexicans is supposed to be procured 

 from a species of Icica. 



COPE'PODA. An order of the ento- 

 mostracous Crustacea, which have the 

 body divided into distinct rings, but 

 without carapace, and the appendages to 

 the mouth in considerable numbers. 

 The animals of this order are commonly 

 termed monoculous, from the two eyes 

 being united in one mass. 



COPE'RNICAN SYSTEM. A system 

 of Astronomy, so named from Nicholas 

 Copernicus, who was born a.d. 1473, at 

 Thorn in Prussia. He taught, as Py- 

 thagoras had taught before him, that the 

 sun occupied the centre of the universe, 



