NON 



NOM'INATIVE, from nomino, to name. 1. 

 Pertaining to the name which precedes 



the verb, or the first case of nouns. 2. 



The first case of nouns and adjectives: 

 the case which primarily designated the 

 name of anything. 



NOMO'CANON, vofju>i law, xctvav, canon. 

 In ecclesiastical law, a work in which 

 canons of the church and imperial laws 

 are collected and compared. 



NONX ET DECIM.E. The contributions 

 of tenants of the Church were anciently so 

 called ; the nonac or ninth being the rent, 

 and the decimse or tenth the tithe due to 

 the Church. 



NONAGES'IMAL, Lat. nonogesimus, nine- 

 tieth. Noting the 90th degree of the 

 ecliptic ; called the mid-heaten. 



NON'AOON, from nonus, nine, and yeayiai, 

 an angle. A figure of nine sides and nine 



NON AssriiPsiT. In law, a general plea 

 in a personal action, by which a man de- 

 nies that he has made any promise. 



NON CLAIM, in fa zc, is where a person 

 fails to demand his claim within a reason- 

 able time, by which he is precluded from 

 enforcing it. 



NON COM'POS MENTIS. Not of sound 

 mind or judgment. 



NON-CONDENSING ENGINE. Ahigh-pres- 

 eure steam-engine is sometimes so called, 

 because it is not provided with the appa- 

 ratus for condensing the steam, so as to 

 form a vacuum in the steam cylinder. 



NON-CONDUCTOR. A substance which is 

 not a conductor. Wool, fur, and water 

 are non-conductors of heat ; glass, sealing- 

 wax, and sulphur are non-conductors of 

 electricity. There is, however, perhaps, 

 no body in nature which is absolutely a 

 non-conductor of heat or electricity ; but 

 the term is nevertheless applied to such 

 substances as transmit the energies very 

 Blowly. 



NONCONFORMIST. One who refuses to 

 conform to the rites and worship of the 

 established church. The name has been 

 particularly applied to those clergymen 

 who were ejected from their livings by 

 the Act of Uniformity, in 1662. 



NONES, Lat. nona. la the Roman calen- 

 dar, the fifth day of January, February, 

 April, June, August, September, Novem- 

 ber, and December; and the seventh day 

 of March, May. July, and October. See 

 CALENDAR and IDES. 



NON EST FACTUM. In law, a plea where 

 an action is brought upon a bond, and the 

 defendant denies it to be his deed. 



NON EST INVEN'TCI. He is not found. 

 The sheriff's return to a writ when the 

 defendant has not been found. 



NONIL'I.ION, from nonus, nine, and mil- 

 lion. The number of nine million millions 

 Na'Nics. See VERNIER. 



NOR 



NON LIQUET. It does not appear. A 

 verdict given by a jury when a matter is 

 ;o be deferred till another day of trial, not 

 being sufficiently clear. The Komans used 

 the same phrase, marked N. L. (q.v.). 



NON-NATURALS. Jits non naturalei. 

 Old physicians comprehended under this 

 name air, eating and drinking, sleeping 

 and watching, motion and rest, the reten- 

 tions and secretions, and the affections of 

 the mind, as not entering into the compo- 

 sition of bodies, yet as necessary to their, 

 existence. 



NON-JURORS. In history, adherents of 

 James II., who refused to take the oath of 

 allegiance to the Hanoverian family at the 

 revolution : from non, and jnro, to swear. 



NON OBSTAN'TE, Notwithstanding. A 

 clause in statutes and letters-patent, im- 

 porting that a thing may be done, not- 

 withstanding an act of Parliament to the 

 contrary. 



NON SEaViTFR. It does not follow. 



NONSENSE. In law, " something gram- 

 matically correct, but unintelligible in the 

 sense !" 



NON'SUIT. Non prosequitur. The renun- 

 ciation of a suit by the plaintiff, com- 

 monly on the discovery of some error or 

 defect when the matter is ready for the 

 verdict of the jury. 



NOON. Mid-day: called apparent, as 

 shown by the sun-dial, and mean, as 

 shown by a clock. 



NO'PAL. The Mexican name of the 

 Cactus opuntia, a plant upon which the 

 cochineal insect feeds. It is termed ia 

 English the prickly pear. 



NO'RIA. A hydraulic machine nsed in 

 Spain for raising water. It nearly re- 

 sembles the Persian wheel, but is infe - 

 rior in practice. 



NOR'FOLK CRAO. An English tertiary 

 formation belonging to the older pliocene, 

 and consisting of irregular beds of ferru- 

 ginous sandy clay mixed with marine 

 shells. 



NOR'MA. Euclid's Square. A small con- 

 stellation south of the Scorpion. It con- 

 tains 12 stars, all below the fourth mag- 

 nitude. 



NOR'MAL, Lat. normalis, according to a 

 square or rule (norma}. 1. Perpendicular, 

 as a normal line which forms with another 



line a right angle. 2. Relating to the 



rudiments, or elements, as a norm-it 

 school, in which boys are instructed in th* 

 elementary branches of education. 



NOR'MAN. 1. In nautical language, a 

 short wooden bar, thrust into a hole of 

 the windlass to fasten the cable to. It 

 is only used when there is little strain on 

 the cable. 2. In geography, &c., per- 

 taining to Normandy. 



NOR'ROY, for north-roy. North-kins'. 

 The title of the third of "the three kings 

 at arms, or provincial heralds. 



