GIB 



3.V2 G I X 



len base of the pistil which contains the j 

 germ, and becomes the seed-vessel. 



GER'MAN SCHOOL. In painting, this 

 school set & particular value on high 

 finish, rather than on good arrangement, 

 their colouring is better than their draw- 

 ing, but their draperies are usually in 

 bad taste. 



GER'MAN SILVER, or white copper. An 

 alloy of nickel, zinc, and copper, and 

 sometimes lead. 



GERMIXA'TION, from germino, to sprout. 

 The vital development of a seed when it 

 first begins to grow. 



GEROC'OMIA, ) from ytects, old age, and 



GEROC'OMY, / zafittu, to care for. That 

 department of hygeine which relates to 

 the proper regime and treatment of old 

 age. 



GE'RFND, Lat. gerundium. A kind of 

 verbal noun, in Latin, which governs cases 

 like a verb. 



GER'CSIA, yiowtritx,, assembly of elders. 

 In ancient history, the Senate of Sparta. 



GEY'SER, the name given to certain 

 boiling springs or fountains in Iceland. 

 The water of the geyser holds a consider- 

 able quantity of silex in solution ; it is 

 thrown up in jets, and at the same time 

 subterranean noises are heard like the 

 firing of distant cannon, and the earth is 

 slightly shaken. After playing for some 

 time like an artificial fountain, throwing 

 the water sometimes to the height of 100 

 feet, giving off clouds of vapour, there 

 issues forth from the pipe a column of 

 steam with amazing force and a thunder- 

 ing noise, which terminates the eruption. 

 These intermittent hot springs occur in 

 the south-western division of Iceland, 

 where nearly a hundred of them are said 

 to break out within a circle of two miles. 



GH ACT, properly a pass through a moun- 

 tain, but in the East Indies used to denote 

 auy extensive chain of hills. 



GHEE, Sanscrit, ghi. A liquid butter 

 made in the East Indies, chiefly from the 

 milk of buffaloes. It is sold by measure. 



GHI'BELLINES. In Italian history, a 

 party which maintained the supremacy 

 of the German Emperors over the Italian 

 States. 



GHOST, HOLY, ORDER OF, the principal 

 military order of France. 



GIALLOU'XO, Naples yellow. A porous 

 heavy mineral substance, of an earthy 

 nature, and a pale yellow colour. It is 

 used for painting in oil. 



GIAO'CH (Turk.), a dog. An epithet con- 

 ferred by the Turks on Christians. 



GIBBET or JIB. The slant beam of a 

 crane on which the weight is supported, 

 and on the end of which the chain pulley 

 it fixed. 



GIB'BOUS, 1 Lat. gibbus, bulged; swelled: 



GIB'S SE, ] applied, 1. In astronomy, to 



the enlightened part of the moon in hef 

 I'oiii full to new, when the illu- 

 minated part appears convex. 2. In 



botany, to leaves, petals, &c., when irre- 

 gularly swelled on one side or both. 



3. To inequalities on the body, as a hunch 

 on the back. 



GIBBO'SITT, from gibbose, crookedness. 



GIBS. In mechanics, the pieces of iron 

 employed to clasp together the pieces of 

 wood or iron of a framing which is to be 

 keyed, previous to inserting the keys 

 See KEY. 



GIFT. In Jmc, a conveyance which 

 passes either land or goods. 



Gio MACH I'NES, rotatory drums mounted 

 with thistles or wire teeth for teazling 

 cloth. 



GIO'A or JIG fit.) In music, an air for 

 dancing in triple time. 



GILL. 1. The respiratory organ of fishes, 

 from Scot, gil or gid, a fissure. The gills 



are technically styled branchia (q. v.). 



2. A measure of capacity equal to the 

 fourth part of a pint, from low Lat. gilla, 



gillo, or gello, a drinking -glass. 3. A 



pair of wheels and a frame on which 



timber is conveyed (local}. 4. The plant 



ground-ivy. 



GIM'BAL, the brass ring by which a sea- 

 compass is suspended in its box. 



GIM'BLET or GIMLET, an instrument 

 used by carpenters, &e., for boring small 

 holes. To gimblet the anchor is a nautical 

 phrase, signifying to turn over the anchor 

 by the stock, a motion resembling the 

 turning of a gimblet in boring. The word 

 gimblet is probably from the northern 

 word giciber, a serpent. 



GIMP, silk twist, interlaced with a me- 

 tallic wire. 



Gix. 1. A distilled spirit: name con- 

 tracted from Geneva (q.v.). 2. A name 



common to many machines : contracted 

 from engine. The pile engine is sometimes 

 called a gin ; there are also gins for raising 

 weights, drawing water, and separating 

 the seeds from cotton : this last is com- 

 monly called a cotton-gin. There was also 

 an old engine of torture called a gin. 



GIN'GER, the roots of a plant, the Zn- 

 giber oflicinale, a native of the East Indies 

 and China, but long since transferred to 

 the "West Indies. The best roots, deprived 

 of their radicles and sordes, and dried in 

 the sun, are called white ginger; the in- 

 ferior roots scalded in boiling water befoi e 

 being dried, are termed black ginger. 



GIN'GER-BEER, is made by fermenting 

 ginger, cream of tartar, and sugar, with 

 yeast. 



GIN-Y.ISG. In mining, the lining of a 

 shaft with stones or bricks for its support; 

 called also steining or staining, from Sax. 

 stan, a stone. 



GiJi'oiAMoiD, from yi /'/\v[M>i , a hinge, 



