EU 



504 



NIC 



vessels, running like a rib or cord inmost 

 leaves. 



NER'VOUS. Appertaining to a nerve : 

 applied 1. In medicine, to fevers and 

 affections of the nerves, and to medicines 



which act on the nervous system. 2. 



In anatomy and physiology, to the struc- 

 ture and functions of parts. 3. In 



totany, to leaves which have hard fibres, 

 cr nerve-like cords. The nervous system 

 of the more perfect vertebral animals 

 consists of the brain and its nerves, the 

 spinal cord and its nerves, and the gan- 

 gUa of the Sympathetic and filaments 

 connecting them with each other. The 

 nervous system is the seat of sensation, 

 volition, and motion ; but by what means 

 conveyed is yet a mystery. Much has 

 been written about a subtle nervous fluid, 

 en which the nervous phenomena of the 

 animal are said to depend ; but theh ypo- 

 thesis is entirely gratuitous so far as our 

 present knowledge goes. Nor is the 

 hypothesis of the celebrated Hartley, 

 which ascribes sensation and voluntary 

 motion to vibration, in the nervous sub- 

 stance, less free from objection. The 

 theory of Dr. "Wilson Philip, which infers 

 that the nervous and galvanic energies 

 are identical, perhaps approaches near 

 the truth, although his experiments do 

 not legitimately lead to such a conclusion. 



NERVUR'ES. 1. In botany, the veins of 

 leaves. 2. In entomology, corneous tubes 

 for expanding the wing and keeping it 

 tense. 



NESS. A terminational syllable, in 

 several names of places, supposed to be 

 derived from the French nez, or the 

 German nase, nose, where there is a 

 leadland or promontory, as Inverness, 

 Durness, Sheerness. 



NBSTS, ESCULENT. A species of nest, built 

 by swallows peculiar to the Indian Isles 

 much esteemed in China as an edible. 



NESTO'RIAXS. Followers of Nestorius, 

 a heretic of the fifth century, who taught 

 that Christ was divided into two persons. 



NET, Sax. net, from the same root as 

 knit. 1. An instrument formed with 

 twine or thread interwoven with meshes 

 for catching fish, fowls, and wild beasts. 



2. Net, or nett, from Ital. netto, pure, 



free, as the net profits of a transaction ; 

 also clear of all tare and tret, or free of 

 any deductions of weight. 



NE'THIXIMS. The servants of the Jew- 

 ish priests and the Levites. 



NET'TIXG. A sort of fence formed of 

 net- work of ropes, common in ships. 



NET'TLE-RASH. An eruption on the 

 skin, like the wheals caused by the sting 

 of a nettle. See URTICARIA. 



NEC'RALGY, Lat. neuralgia, from vEv 

 a nerve, and a.Xyo;, pain. Pain in a 

 nerve, of which tic-doutourettx and scia- 

 tica are specie* . 



ErsoL'ooY, from ?v>, a nerve, and 

 !, discourse. The 'doctrine of th/> 

 lerves and nervous system. 



NEUKO'MA, nufas- A tumour lorroe-i 



pon a nervous trunk 



NEUROP'TERA, from vevjs*, a nerve, and 



{ar, a wing. An order of insects in 

 which the wings art finely reticulated, 

 ^enerally naked and diaphanous. The 

 abdomen is destitute of a sting, and is 

 rarely furnished with an ovipositor. 

 Cuvier divides them into three families ; 

 the Svbulicornes, the Planipennes, and the 

 Plicipennes. The Dragon-flies, the Ter- 

 mites, and the Lily-flies, are examples, 



ltd 



, to cut. 1. Dissection of the nerves. 

 2. The division of a nerve. 



NET-'TER, Lat. comp. of ne and vter, not 

 either; belonging to neither gender : ap- 

 plied in grammar to nouns which are 

 neither masculine nor feminine. 1. A 

 neuter verb is one which expresses an 

 action or state limited to the subject, and 

 which is not followed by an object, a& 

 I walk; but the term intransitive is 



more appropriate. 2. An animal which 



belongs to neither sex. The working 

 bees are neuters; and those individuals 

 among the Termites called soldiers are 

 neuters. Their business is to keep the 

 labourers at work. 



NEU'TRAL, from neuter. 1. In chemittrii, 

 applied to salts formed by the combina- 

 tion of an acid with an alkali, and which 

 possess neither alkaline nor acid proper- 

 ties. 2. In botany, applied to such 



flowers or florets as have neither stamens 

 nor pistils, and of course produce no seed. 



3. In politics, not engaged on either 



side in a dispute between nations. 



NEUTRALIZATION, lachcmistry, thecom- 

 biuation of an acid and an alkali, in such 

 proportions that the compound evinces 

 none of the properties of the ingredients, 

 or does not affect the colour of litmus 

 or turmeric. 



NECVA'INES, Fr. neiif, nine. In thf 

 Roman Catholic Church, prayers offered 

 for nine days to obtain the favour of 

 Heaven. 



NEW'EL. In architecture, the upright 

 cylinder or pillar around which winding 

 stairs turn, thence called newel staii-s. 



NEW STYLE. In chronology, the days 

 of the year, according to the Gregorian 

 Calendar, adopted in England A.D. 1753. 



NEW'TOXIAN PHILOSOPHY The doctrine 

 of the universe as propounded by Sir 

 Isaac Newton. 



NEW ZEALAND FLAX. See PHORMICM. 



NlEBELCXOEN, LAY OF THE. The OldpSt 



existing monument of German epic 

 poetry. 



NlCARAG'fA OR PEACH WOOD. The WOOd 



of a tree of the same geuus ' Caxilpinea, 



