HER 



372 



HET 



private men, different from that of the 

 orthodox church. In primitive usage the 

 term meant merely sect or party, and was 

 used as we now do denomination or per- 

 suasion, without implying reproach. 



HE'RETOO, \ the name given by our 



HE'RETOCH, J Saxon ancestors to a mili- 

 tary commander, elected by the people in 

 folkmote. The root is togen, to lead. 



HER'IOT, from Sax. here, army, and gear, 

 tribute. In law, a fine paid to the lord of 

 the fee at the death of his tenant, origin- 

 ally consisting of military furniture, as 

 horses, arms, &c., but latterly of goods 

 and chattels. 



HER'ISON, \ Fr. for hedgehog, from 



HER'ISSON, ' herisser, to bristle. Abeam 

 revolving or. a pivot, and armed with 

 projecting spikes, fixed before a gate or 

 passage to prevent the entrance of sus- 

 pected or improper persons. 



HERITABLE RIGHTS. In Scottish law, 

 rights to land, and property connected 

 with land, which pass to the heir. 



HERMAPH'RODITE, from 'EffMif, Mer- 

 cury, and A^oS/Tij, Venus. 1. A term 

 loosely applied to a lusus natures, partak- 

 ing of the nature of both sexes. 2. Her- 

 maphrodite plants are such as have both 

 stamens and pistils on the same flower. 



HERMENED'TICS, from igu,r,nvi, an in- 

 terpreter, from '.Eg^f, Mercury. The art 

 of expounding an author's words. The 

 term is chiefly used with reference to 

 theological subjects. 



HERMETIC, appertaining to chemistry, 

 of which Hermes Trismegistus is the re- 

 puted inventor. The hermetic philosophy 

 pretends to explain all the phenomena of 

 nature from the three chemical principles, 

 salt, sulphur, and mercury ; and the her- 

 metic medicine explained the causes of 

 diseases, and the operations of medicine 

 on the system of an alkali and acid. 

 Hermetic seal. This term denotes the per- 

 fect stoppage of the orifice of a glass 

 vessel or tube while in a state of fusion. 

 Thus thermometers, &c., are hermeti- 

 cally sealed; and the process is often 

 necessary in chemical operations. 



HER'MITS, or ER'EMITES, from 

 desert. Persons who secluded themselves 

 for devotional purposes in desert places. 



HERMODAC'TYL. A root much cele- 

 brated among the ancients for the cure of 

 gout ; supposed to have been that of a 

 species of colchicum, and to take its name 

 from the river Hennus, upon whose banks 

 it grows, and bazrvho;, a date, which it 

 resembles. 



HER'NIA (Lat.), from levo;, a branch, a 

 rupture. Surgeons understand by the 

 term hernia, a tumour formed by the pro- 

 trusion of some of the viscera of the abdo- 

 men out of that cavity into a sort of sac, 

 composed of a portion of peritoneum, 



which is pushed before them ; but there are 

 cases which will not be comprehended in 

 this definition, either because the parts 

 are not protruded, or have no hernial sac. 



HEBNIA'RIA, the rupture-wort. A genua 

 of perennial plants. PentandriaVigynia. 

 Name from hernia, which it is supposed 

 to cure. Britain, &c. 



HEB/PES, igv/i;, from i'-riu, to creep. 

 Tetter, a cutaneous disease, characterised 

 by tendency to spread or creep in assem- 

 blages of little vesicles, itching very 

 much, from one part to another. There 

 are several species, as shingles, ringworm, 

 &C. Epithet herpetic. 



HEHPETOL'OGY, from |:rTa? , a reptile, 

 and Xoyaj, discourse. That branch of 

 natural history which treats of reptiles, 

 their habits, structure, &c. 



HER'RIXO. In icthyology, the Clupea ha- 

 rengus, Lin. Named thus from Sax. here, 

 or hure, an army, because always found in 

 vast shoals. 



HER'RXHUT, Ger. herr, lord, hut, pro- 

 tection. An establishment in Upper Lu- 

 satia, comprising 120 houses '1841.1 and 

 1500 inhabitants, founded by a few Mora- 

 vians in 1722. 



HER'SCHEL. In astronomy, a name fre- 

 quently given to the planet Uranus, dis- 

 covered by Sir William Herschel, in 1781. 



HERSE, Fr. herse. In fortification, a 

 harrow or portcullis, fastened to a mou- 

 linet, and suspended by a cord, and ren- 

 dered formidable to assailants by project- 

 ing iron spikes. It is let down to guard 

 the passage of the gateway on an enemy's 

 approach. 



HER'THA. In German mythology, the 

 chief divinity of the ancient German and 

 Scandinavian nations. 



HES'PER, Lat. Hesperus, the evening 

 star. An appellation given to Venus 

 when it follows or sets after the sun. 



HESPER'IDJE. The name given by Lin- 

 naeus to a natural order of plants, mostly 

 having rigid evergreen leaves, and odo- 

 rous and polyandrous flowers, as the myr- 

 tle and clove, which may be supposed the 

 types of such plants as grew in the fabled 

 gardens of the Hesperides. 



HESPERID'IUM. In botany, a many- 

 celled, few-seeded, superior, indehiscent 

 fruit, covered by a spongy rind. 



HES'TCHASTS, fanatics who lived in the 

 fifteeenth century, upon Mount Athos. 



HETJE'RIA, T/J? , a companion. Ap- 

 plied by classic writers to signify an asso- 

 ciation of any kind. 



HETE'ROCEPH'ALOUS (Gr.), various headed , 

 i. e. when, in the same individual, the 

 heads of some flowers are male, and others 

 female. 



HETE'ROCHRO'MOUS, variously coloured, 

 "When, in a flower-head, the colours of th 

 florets are different. 



