ESC 



313 



ESO 



fur is then highly prized, and constitutes 

 the ermine of commerce. 2. In herald- 

 ry, the word ermine denotes a white 

 field or fur powdered and interspersed 

 with black spots. It is supposed to re- 

 present the linings and doublings of 

 mantles and robes. 



ERO'DED, Lat. erodo, I gnaw. In zoo- 

 logy, when an edge is irregularly jagged. 



ERO'SE, Lat erosus, jagged; applied to 

 leaves irregularly notched. 



EROTO'MANY, ) from ^af , love, and 



EROTOMANIA, ) /taey/a , mania; that spe- 

 cies of insanity which is the effect of love, 

 or which shows itself in erotic passion. 



ERPETOLOQT. See HERPETOLOOT. 



ER'RHIXE, leoiwx,, from iv and %iv, tne 

 nose; a substance which excites sneez- 

 ing when snuffed up the nose. Medicines 

 of this soft are called sternutatories. 



EK'ROR. In law, signifies an error in 

 pleading, or in the process, and the writ 

 which is brought for a remedy thereof is 

 called a writ of error. 



ERSE, the name given to the language 

 spoken by the Scotch Highlanders. 



ERUF'TION, from enimpo, a violent 

 bursting forth of contained matters, as 

 the eruption of lava from a volcano. In 

 medical language, an eruption is the sud- 

 den appearance of a disease on the skin, 

 as an ei-uption of measles, small-pox, &c. 

 The term applies both to the disease as 

 developed on the skin, and to the act of 

 its breaking out. 



ERYSIP'ELAS, iu<rixtXa? , from t$uat, to 

 draw, and ittXot,;, adjoining. Ignis sneer ; 

 St. Anthony's Fire ; the Rose; a particu- 

 lar form of inflammation which occurs 

 chiefly in the skin. It takes the name 

 erysipelas from its tendency to spread to 

 the neighbouring parts. 



EKTSIPELA'TOID, from i(vin*&*f, ery- 

 sipelas, and ii$o;, like; resembliug erysi- 

 pelas. 



ER'YTHEM, \ from icu9$0f, red ; the 



ERYTHE'MA, ) red-rush ; a nearly con- 

 tinuous redness of some portion of the 

 skin, attended with disorder of the con- 

 stitution, but not contagious. This dis- 

 ease, usually symptomatic of debility, 

 developes itself commonly in large red 

 patches, which may be mistaken for ery- 

 sipelas. 



ERYTHRI'XA, the Coral- tree ; a genus of 

 plants mostly arborescent. Diadelphia 

 Decandria. Name from t^vfyo;, red, in 

 allusion to the beautiful scarlet blossoms 

 of some of the species. "Warm climates. 



ESCALA'DE, from icala, a ladder ; an at- 

 tack made by troops on a place, made by 

 scaling the walls of the fortifications, fill- 

 ing up the ditches With fascines, and en- 

 tering by ladders. 



ESCAL'OP, } the tcollop ; a bivalve 



ESCAI/LOF, / whose shell is regularly in- 

 dented. 



ESCAPA'DE (Fr. naturalised). An im- 

 propriety of speech or behaviour of which 

 the person is unconscious. 



ESCAPE'MENT, a mechanical contrivance 

 for transmitting the maintaining power 

 of a clock or watch to the regulator, whe- 

 ther balance or pendulum, in order to 

 restore the loss of motion, in every vibra- 

 tion arising from the friction of the act- 

 ing parts and the resistance of the air. 



ESCAR'P, 1 Fr. escarpement. 1. In 



ESCAR'PMENT, ) fortification, the exte- 

 rior slope facing fortified works ; the in- 

 terior slope is the counterscarp. 2. The 



steep face of a high ridge of land. 



ES'CHAR, i<rga, from 6<rooai, to scab 

 over ; the crust or scab occasioned by the 

 application of a caustic to a part of the- 

 animal body. 



ES'CHARA. In malacology, the fifth 

 order of zoophytes in Linnrcus' system. 

 Each polypus is contained in a calcareous 

 or horny shell, without any central axis. 



ESCHAROT'IC, from eschar ; a caustic ap- 

 plication, or one which has the power of 

 forming eschars when applied directly to 

 the parts of an animal body, as nitrate of 

 silver. 



ESCHE'AT, from Fr. echeoir, from Norm. 

 escheir, to happen ; any possession which 

 falls to a lord of fee within his manor, 

 either by forfeiture, death of tenant, fail- 

 ure of heirs, or other contingency. 



ESCROI/L. In heraldry, that exterior or- 

 nament of an escutcheon representing 

 usually a slip of paper or parchment, on 

 which the motto is inscribed. 



ES'CROW, Fr. ecreu, scroll. In law, a 

 deed delivered to a third party, to be the 

 deed of the party making it, upon a fu- 

 ture condition, when a certain thing is 

 performed. 



ES'CCADE, vulgarly squad; a military 

 term for the third or fourth part of a 

 company, so divided for mounting guard. 



ES'CUAGE, from Norm, escu, a shield ; 

 service of the shield, called also scutage ; 

 Lat. scutum, a shield ; a species of feudal 

 tenure, by which the tenant was bound 

 to follow his lord to war. 



ESCU'LIC ACID, a p?culiar acid found by 

 Bussy in the bark of the horse-chesnut, 

 tesculus. 



EscuTCH'EON,from Norm, escusson , from 

 escu, a shield. A shield on which the ar- 

 morial insignia of a family are painted. 

 It is in imitation of the shields anciently- 

 used in war. 



ESOPH'AOL-S aitrotfocyof , from otca and 

 $afyu ', the canal or passage leading from 

 the pharynx to the stomach, and through 

 which the food passes to the stomach 

 written often 



