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COSMOI/OGY, from xenruux, the world, 

 and \vycs, discourse; the science which 

 treats of the general laws by which the 

 physical world or universe is governed. 



COSMORA'MA, from xorfAos, the world> 

 and o^at.fMt, view ; an exhibition of views 

 representing various parts of the world, 

 the magnitude and apparent distances 

 being increased by convex lenses. 



Coss, a Hindoo measure variable in 

 length, but usually about six-tenths of an 

 English mile. 



COSSACKS, inhabitants of those parts of 

 the Russian Empire bordering on Siberia, 

 Turkey, and Poland. 



COS'TATE, Lat. costatus, ribbed : applied 

 to leaves of plants which have elevated 

 lines extending from the base to the point. 

 Also to animals when their surfaces have 

 several broad elevated lines. 



COS'TUME. In painting, the dress suit- 

 able to the time in which the action is 

 supposed to take place. 



CO-TAN'GENT. the tangent of the comple- 

 ment of any arc or angle. 



CO'TILLON, a French term meaning pet- 

 ticoat, used as the name of a brisk dance 

 performed by eight persons together ; also 

 a tune which regulates the dance. 



COTI'SE, Fr. OSU, side. In heraldry, a 

 diminutive of the bend, being one-half of 

 the width of the bendlet. 



COTT, from Sax. cote, a bed; a small 

 bed. On board of ships, the cott is a par- 

 ticular sort of bed-frame, suspended from 

 the beams of the ship for the officers to 

 sleep in. It is made of canvas, sewed 

 in the form of a chest, and extended by 

 a square wooden frame with a canvas 

 bottom. 



COT'TOX, a species of vegetable wool, 

 the produce of the Gossypiurn herbaceum 

 or cotton shrub, of which there are many 

 varieties. It is found_ growing naturally 

 in all the tropical regions of Asia, Africa, 

 and America. The cloth which is manu- 

 factured from this wool is also called cot- 

 ton. The term cotton is taken from the 

 Arabic name khuttn, written by the Ital- 

 ians cotone, whence Fr. coton, Dut. katon, 

 and Eng. cotton. 



COT'TON-OIN, a machine for separating 

 the seeds from the cotton. 



COTTON-MILL, a building with machi- 

 nery for carding, roving, and spinning 

 cotton by water or steam-power. 



COTTON-PLANT, all the species of the 

 genus Go&sypium produce cotton , and are 

 therefore cotton-plants. The principal 

 species are (1.) The G. herbaceum or her- 

 baceous cotton-plant, with smooth leaves 

 and yellow flowers, succeeded by round- 

 ish capsules full of seeds and cotton ; 

 (2). The G. religiontm (and varieties) or 

 shrub-cotton, the flower and fruit of 

 which closely resemble the herbaceous 



cotton, but the pod is egg-shaped. (3). 

 The G. arboreum or cotton-tree which 

 grows on all the Indian mountains, and 

 yields cotton of a coarse quality. 



COT'CLE, j the socket of the hip-joint. 



COT'TLE, / The term xorvKr,, is the name 

 of an ancient measure. 



COTYL'EDON (x<m\r$tui, from X6rv>~r,, 

 a cavity). 1. A seed lobe. The cotyle- 

 dons are the parts of a seed which when 

 germinating become seminal leaves, be- 

 tween which is seated the embryo or germ 

 of the plant, called when expanded, the 

 plumula. Some plants are dicotyledonous, 

 others acotyledonous , and some polycotyle- 



donotw. 2. In anatomy, the same as 



acetabulum (q. v.). 3. The name of a 



genus of plants. DecandriaPentagynia. 

 Navel-wort. The exotic species are 

 mostly permanent. 



COTY'LIFORM, applies to the general 

 form of organs of a rotate figure with an 

 erect limb. 



COT'YLOID CAVITY. In anatomy, the 

 socket which receives the head of the 

 thigh-bone, thus named from xo-ruKr,, 

 the name of an ancient measure, and 

 |72;, resemblance. 



COOAG'OA, an animal of South Africa, 

 the Equus quaccha, Lin., which more re- 

 sembles the horse than the zebra. The 

 name is expressive of its voice, which re- 

 sembles the barking of a dog. 



COUCH'AXT (French), lying down; ap- 

 plied in heraldry to a lion or other beast 

 lying down with the head raised, which 

 distinguishes the posture of couchant from 

 that of dormant or sleeping. 



COCCH'INO. 1. In surgery, a surgical 

 operation, which consists in removing 

 the opaque lens out of the axis of vision, 

 by means of a needle adapted to the pur- 

 pose. 2. In agriculture, clearing land 



from couch grass. 



COUL'TER, from culter, a knife ; an iron 

 instrument like a knife, fixed in the beam 

 of a plough, and serving to cut the edge 

 of each furrow. 



COD'MARIN, a crystalline odoriferous 

 principle extracted from the tonka bean, 

 which is the seed of the Coumarouna 

 odorata. 



COUN'CIL, an assembly ; applied to any 

 body of men convened for consultation 

 and advice in important affairs. Thus 

 what is called the Privy Council, is a select 

 council formed of the confidential ad- 

 visers of the sovereign, and convened for 

 the purpose of deliberating on affairs of 

 state. A Council of War is an assembly 

 of the principal officers, called in parti- 

 cular emergencies, to concert measures 

 for their conduct. 



Cot NT. 1. In law, a particular charge 

 in an indictment. Fr. conte and cwnpte. 

 2. A foreign title of nobility (.-quiva- 



