cue 



257 



C UL 



called the cube of that quantity ; a quan- 

 tity multiplied twice by itself is said to be 

 cubed. See CUBE ROOT. 



CU'BEBS, the fruit of the Piper cubeba, a 

 climbing plant found only in Java. Cu- 

 bebs resemble pepper-corns, but are 

 somewhat longer. They have a hot, pun- 

 gent, aromatic, slightly bitter taste; arid 

 a fragrant, agreeable odour. 



CUBE NUMBERS are those whose roots 

 are finite, or which are produced by the 

 multiplication of three equal factors. 



CUBE ROOT, one of the three factors of 

 a cube number. 



CU'BIC EOUA'TIONS are those whose 

 highest power consists of three dimen- 

 sions, as x + ax' = b. 



CcBic'uLrjf. Anciently, the tent pro- 

 vided to cover the emperors at the public 

 shows. 



CU'BIT. 1. Lat. aibitus, that part of the 

 arm which extends from the elbow to the 



wrist. 2. A measure of length. Dr.- 



Arbuthnot states the English cubit at 

 1 ft. 6 in. ; the Roman, at 1 ft. 5'406 in. ; 

 and the Hebrew, at 1 ft. 9'888 in. 



CU'BO-DODECAHE'DRAL, presenting the 

 two forms, a cube and a dodecahedron. 



CU'BO-OCTAHEDRAL, presenting a com- 

 bination of the two forms, a cube and an 

 octahedron. 



CUCKOO', ) A well-known bird of pas- 



CFCKOW, I sage, which visits this coun- 

 try about the middle of April, and is 

 thus popularly named from its note. Its 

 generic name is cuculus (q. v.). It lives 

 on insects, and is celebrated for the sin- 

 gular habit of laying its eggs in the nests 

 of other insectivorous birds ; and what is 

 not less extraordinary, these latter, which 

 are often a considerably smaller species, 

 take as much care of the young cuckoo 

 as of their own offspring, and that, too, 

 when its introduction has been preceded, 

 which often happens, by the destruction 

 of their eggs. 



CUCKOO'-SFIT, )A white froth or 



CUCKOO'-SPITTLE, I spume,very common 

 on plants in the spring, and which is vul- 

 garly supposed to be the spittle of the 

 cuckoo. It is ejected by a small insect in 

 the first stage of its life. It subsequently 

 becomes a hopping insect, and no longer 

 emits froth. 



CU'CULLATE, Lat. eimtllatus, hooded, 

 cone-shaped. Applied to leaves when 

 their edges meet in the lower, and expand 

 toward the upper part. 



CU'CULUS, the cuckoo. A genus of Scan- 

 toria, Cuv. See CUCKOO. 



CUCCR'BIT. 1. A chemical distilling 

 vessel, so named from its resemblance to 

 a gourd (cucurbita). 2. A cupping- 

 glass. 3. In botany. See CCCURBITA. 



CUCCR'BITA, a genus of plants. Montana 

 Syngenesia. Name d curvitate, Recording 

 to Scaliger, tha first syllable bthiB 



oubled. The water-melon plant, or Sici- 

 ian citrul, and the common pompion, 

 gourd or bottle-gourd, are species. W. 

 climates. 



CUCURBIT'ULA, Lat. dim. of cuMrbita, a 

 gourd. A cupping-glass, thus named from 

 "ts shape. 



CUDBEAR', a purple or violet-coloured 

 powder, used in dyeing violet, purple, and 

 crimson. It is prepared from a species of 

 lichen (Lichen tartnreus] , named popularly 

 crustaceous moss, from its growing com- 

 monly on limestone rocks, in Scotland, 

 North of England, Sweden, &c. It was 

 first made an article of trade in this 

 country by Dr. Cuthbert Gordon, from, 

 whom it derived its name. It is chiefly 

 nported from Sweden, and sells in Lon- 

 don for about "01. per ton. 



CUD'DY. 1. In ships, a cabin under the 

 poop. 2. In ichthyology, the cole-fish. 



CUE, from Fr. queue, the tail. 1. A long 

 tapering stick, tipped with leather, used 



in playing billiards. 2. The notice 



given to an actor on the stage what and 

 when to speak. 



CUL-DE-FOUR. In architecture, a French 

 term applied to a kind of low spherical 

 vault. 



CULDE'ES, monkish priests remarkable 

 for religious duties. They formerly occu- 

 pied Scotland, Ireland, and Wales 



GULLET, the broken glass brought to 

 he glass-house to be remelted. 



CULM. 1. A Welch name of a species of 

 coal of indifferent quality, used for burn- 

 ing lime. 2. From Lat. culmus (of 



xet>.etu,s;, a reed), the stem or straw of 

 grasses, and plants nearly allied to them. 



CUL'MINATE, from ctdmen, the highest 

 point. To be vertical to or on the meri 

 dian ; hence the culminating point is 

 that point of a circle of the sphere that is 

 on the meridian ; and culmination is the 

 term applied to the passage of a heavenly 

 body over the meridian, or its greatest 

 altitude during its diurnal revolution. 



CUL'TER (Lat.), a knife or shear. In 

 anatomy, the third lobe of the liver, from 

 its shape. 



CULTIVAT'OR, an instrument of the horse- 

 hoe kind, principally used in working 

 fallows. 



CULTRIROS'TRES, a family of birds : order 

 Grallatorifs , Cuv. Name from cutter, a 

 knife, and rostrum, a beak, in allusion to 

 their thick, long, and strong beak, which 

 is generally trenchant and pointed. The 

 cranes, herons, storks, and wood-pelicans, 

 are examples. 



CUL'VERIN, from colubrinus, serpent- 

 like ; a long slender piece of ordnance or 

 artillery for carrying a ball to a great 

 distance. 



CUL'VERT, an arched drain for the con- 

 veyance of water under canals, roads, &<s. 



