CON 



241 



CON 



rallel to the base, the section vrill be a 

 circle; if cut by a plane passing through 

 the vertex, the section will be a triangle ; 

 but both the circle and triangle belong to 

 common geometry, and are therefore not 

 treated of under the head of Conic Sec- 

 tions. There are, however, three other 

 sections the ellipsis, the parabola, and 

 the hyperbola (q. v.). 



CONIF'ER^, the cone- bearing tribe of 

 dicotyledonous plants. It comprises the 

 pines, firs, &c., which bear cones. 



CONIROS'TRES, a numerous family of 

 passerine birds, distinguished by their 

 strong conical beak ; whence their name 

 from conus, a cone, and rostrum, a beak. 

 The bunting, bulflnches, crows, birds of 

 Paradise, &c., belong to this family. 



CONI'UM, a genus of plants. Pentandria 

 Digynia. Hemlock. Greek name xuvtoov, 

 or xtttov. 



CON'JOINT DEGREES. In music, two notes 

 which follow each other immediately in 

 the order of the scale. 



CONJOINT TETRACHORDS. In music, two 

 fourths where the same chord is the high- 

 est of the one and the lowest of the other. 



CON'JUGATB, Lat. conjiigatus, yoked. 

 Applied to a winged leaf with only one 

 pair of leaflets. 



CON'JCGATE DIAMETER or Axis (of an 

 ellipsis), the shortest of the two diameters 

 or that which, bisects the transverse axis. 

 See ELLIPSIS. 



CONJUNCTION, from con and jugo, to 

 join, connection: thus, in astronomy , the 

 meeting of two or more stars or planets 

 in the same degree of the zodiac, which 

 is either true or apparent, heliocentric or 

 tiforentric. When the bodies agree both 

 in latitude and longitude, the conjunction 

 is true; when they agree only in longi- 

 tude, the conjunction is apparent. A 

 heliocentric conjunction is that which 

 would appear to an observer at the sun ; 

 a geocentric conjunction is that which ap- 

 pears to an observer at the earth, and is 

 superior when the planet is seen on the 

 same circle of latitude with the sun, but 

 beyond him ; and inferior when seen be- 

 tween the earth and the sun. Grand con- 

 junctions are those wherein several of the 

 planets are seen near together. In gram- 

 mar, an indeclinable word or particle 

 which joins words or sentences together, 

 showing their mutual relation and de- 

 pendence. 



Cos JUJJCTI'VA, one of the membranes or 

 coats of the eye, the C. tunica. 



CONJUNCTIVE MOOD, that modification 

 of the verb which expresses the depend- 

 ence of the event in conditions. 



CON'NATE, Lat. connatus, growing toge- 

 ther. Applied to leaves which are united 

 at their base. 



CONNBC'TOB. In chemistry, a small tube 



of caoutchouc for connecting together the 

 ends of glass tubes in pneumatic experi- 

 ments. 



CONNI'VEXT, Lat. eonnivens, winking. 

 Applied, 1. In anatomy, to the folds on 

 the mucous surface of the small intestines. 



2. In botany, to petals of flowers, as 



those of the Rumer, and to the receptacle 

 of the fig, which the fruit really is, being 

 a fleshy connivent receptacle inclosing 

 and hiding the florets. 



CONNOISSE'UR (French), one who is 

 versed in a knowledge of the fine arts. 



CONOHE'LIX, an intermediate genus of 

 shells, between cones and volutes. 



CON'OID, from xwog, a cone, and ii%i( , 

 like ; a solid generated by the revolution 

 of a conic section about "its axis. There 

 being three conic sections, the ellipsis, 

 parabola, and hyperbola, there are con- 

 sequently three conoids, the spheroid, 

 paraboloid, and hyperboloid. 



CONSCIENCE, from con and scio,to know, 

 is considered by some an original faculty, 

 and called the moral sense ; others question 

 the propriety of considering conscience 

 as a distinct faculty, and hold that it is to 

 be regarded simply as a general principle 

 of moral approbation or disapprobation, 

 applied to one's own conduct and affec- 

 tions; alleging that our notions of right 

 and wrong are not to be deduced from a 

 single principle or faculty, but from va- 

 rious powers of the understanding. 



CONSCIENCE, COURTS OF, are for the re- 

 covery of small debts. 



CON 'SCRIPT, Lat. cotiscribo, a title of the 

 Roman senators. 



CON SCRIP'TION, a compulsory enrolment 

 for military or maritime service, taken 

 from the population at large. 



CONSIGNE'E, a person to whom goods 

 are consigned for sale or superintendence : 

 the person who sends them is the con- 

 signer. 



CONSIGN A'TION, \ from con, andsi$rno, to 



CONSIGN'MENT, } seal. 1. The act of 

 consigning or sending goods to an agent. 



2. The goods consigned to a factor or 



agent. 3. The writing by which any- 

 thing is consigned. 



CONSIS'TOR?, Lat. eonsistorium, a place 

 of meeting. The place of justice in the 

 spiritual court ; also the court itself. The 

 court of every diocesan bishop, held in 

 their cathedral churches, for the trial of 

 ecclesiastical causes arising within the 

 diocese. 



COSSOLIDA'TION, from con, and solidus, 

 solid. In parliament, the annexing of one 

 bill to another. In law, the uniting of the 

 profit of land, &c. with the property. In 

 ecclesiastical affairs, the combining of two 

 or more benefices in one. 



CON'SONASCE. In music, the agrpemri't 

 of two sounds simultaneously produced. 



B 



