HAL 



365 



HAN 



the humid layers of the air, whose va- ' 

 pour is suddenly condensed by the con- 

 tact of a, frozen body, and clusters round 

 the spherules, forming masses often of 

 very large size and weight. 



HAIDIN'OERITE, a mineral sulphuret of 

 antimony, iron, and zinc. 



HAIR PENCILS, are small brushes used 

 in painting. The name is restricted to 

 those made of the fine hairs of the mine- 

 Ter, marten, badger, polecat, &c., and 

 mounted in quills or white iron tubes. 



HAIR'SBREADTH, a measure of length ; 

 the forty-eighth part of an inch. 



HAKE, a fish. The Jferlurius vulgaris, 

 Cuv., Yarr., or Gadus mcrlucius, Penn., 

 very common on the west coast of Eng- 

 land, and in the Bay of Galway. 



HAL'BERD, ) a military weapon. It is a 



HAL'BERT, I sort of spear with a cross 

 piece of steel having a cutting edge at 

 one extremity, and a sharp bent point at 

 the other, with a shaft about 6 feet long, 

 formerly carried by sergeants of foot and 

 artillery. 



HAL'CYON DATS. A name anciently 

 given to the seven days that precede and 

 follow the winter solstice, when the wea- 

 ther was very calm. The expression now 

 signifies days of peace and tranquillity. 



HALF-BREADTH PLAN. In naval archi- 

 tecture, the horizontal or floor plane of a 

 ship. The base is the section made by 

 the horizontal surface of the water and 

 the outside surface of the ship, called the 

 upper or load-water line. 



HALF-MARK, a noble, or 6s 8d. 



HALF-MOON. In fortification, an out- 

 work having two faces, and a gorge in the 

 form of a half-moon. 



HALF-PIKE. Amons: seamen, the board- 

 ing-pike, thus named from its shortness. 



HALF-TIDE DOCK, a basin connecting 

 two or more docks, and communicating 

 with the entrance basin. 



HAL'IBUT, a fish ; the Hippoglossus vid- 

 garis, Cuv. Yarr , a native of the south 

 seas, where specimens weighing 500 Ibs. 

 have been taken. It is frequently met 

 with on the east coast of Scotland, and, in 

 July and August, specimens are caught in 

 the Forth of 18 inches long, and are sold 

 under the name of halibut turbot, and 

 often under the name of turbot. 



HALICORE, the maid of the sea, called 

 also siren, sea-cow, &c. A genus of her- 

 bivorous cetacea of one species, the H. 

 dugong, 111. It inhabits the Indian Ocean. 



HALI'OTIS, the sea-ear. A genus of uni- 

 Talve sea-shell inhabited by a limax. 

 Name from Se,\{ , the sea, and w; , an ear. 

 (order, Scutibranchiata) , on account of its 

 shape being flat, having a small spire and a 

 large aperture. Fossil specimens are rare. 



HALITHE'A, a genus of Articulata : or- 

 der Dorsibranehiata ; separated from the 

 genus Aphrodita, Lin., by M. Savigny. A 



species found on the coasts of France, the 

 A. aculatee, Lin., is, in respect of colours, 

 one of the most splendid of all animals. 



HALL, Sax. heal. In architecture^ large 

 room for the transaction of public bu- 

 siness ; the entrance of a dwelling-house ; 

 an unendowed college. Also, among dis- 

 senters in Scotland, the annual courses 

 of lectures for the instruction of students 

 in divinity. 



HAL'LIARDS, from hale or haul, and 

 yards. Ropes or tackle usually employed 

 in hoisting and lowering sails on their 

 respective masts. 



HALLUCINATION , from halhicinor, to err. 

 A depraved imagination amounting to a 

 disease. 



HALO, (Lat.) from ot-Xus, a circle. A 

 circle appearing about the body of the 

 sun, moon, or other heavenly body, called 

 also corona or crown. Halos are caused 

 by vapour in the air. 



HALOGE'NE, from ?.?, sea-salt, and 

 yivvaiu, to generate. A term employed 

 by Berzelius to denote substances which 

 form saline compounds with metals ; it 

 comprehends chlorine, bromine, iodine, 

 fluorine aud cyanogen. 



HA'LOID, from <*Aj, sea-salt, and tMtf, 

 like. A compound of a saline nature, con- 

 sisting of a metal and a halogenous body. 

 The haloids or haloid-salts comprehend 

 the whole series of metallic chlorides, 

 iodides, bromides, fluorides, and cyanu- 

 rets, which are all analogous in consti- 

 tution to sea-salt (chloride of sodium). 



HALTERES, etXiygtf. The poisers or 

 balancers of insects, so named from their 

 supposed use in adjusting the centre ol 

 gravity when the insect is flying. Hal- 

 teres are only found in dipterous insects; 

 they are cylindrical filaments, two in, 

 number, one on each side of the thorax, 

 answering to the second pair of wings in 

 insects which have four wings. 



HAMADRY'ADES, certain fabulous deities 

 of antiquity, feigned to live and die with 

 the trees to which they were attached ; 

 hence the name from ot-fMc,, together, and 

 Jgyj, a tree. 



HAMLET, Sax. ham, a small village. ID 

 law, a portion of a village or parish. 



HAMMER BEAM, a beam in a gothic roof, 

 not extending to the opposite side. 



HAM'MOCK, a sailor's bed. 



HA'MOSE, I Lat. hamosus, hooked : ap- 



HA'MOCS, ) plied to seeds, &c., of plants. 



HAM'ULE, Lat. hamulus, a little hook : 

 applied in anatomy to any hook-like 

 process. 



HAN'APER, Norm, hanap, a hamper. An 

 office in Chancery, under the direction of 

 a master, whose clerk receives the fees 

 due to the crown for charters, patents, 

 commissions, and writs. The hanaper 

 was used in ancient days by the king* 



