O B E 



512 



O BL 



gynia. Named from tvu^at, a water- 

 nymph, because it grows in watery 

 places. The white and yellow water- 

 li!ies, the Egyptian and the Indian lotus, 

 and the Pontic or Egyptian bean, are 

 species. 



NTSTVi'sirs, Lat. from wfftta, to nod 

 with sleep. A disease of the eyes, in 

 which there is an involuntary motion, 

 such as happens when a person is very 

 sleepy. It is also denned an involuntary 

 agitation of the oculary bulbs. 



is the fifteenth letter and the fourth 

 vowel of the English alphabet. As a nu- 

 meral, O was sometimes used by the an- 

 cients for 11, and with a dash over it for 

 11,000. It was also used as a mark of 

 triple time, from the notion that the tor- 

 nary or number 3 is the most perfect 

 of numbers, and is properly expressed by 

 a circle, the most perfect figure. O with an 

 apostrophe after it is used in Irish names 

 to signify son, a* O'Neil for son of Neil or 

 Neilson. It answers to the Celtic Mac. 



OAK, Sax. ac, tec. 1. In botany, A name 

 common to the whole genus Quercus, of 

 which there are three British species, the 

 common oak (Q. robw), the long-pedun- 

 cled oak (Q. pedunculata) , and the dur- 

 mast (Q. pubescent). 2. The wood of 



the oak-tree (Q. robur), which, when cut 

 at the age of 60 or 70 years, is the best 

 wood known. It is also one of the most 

 picturesque trees, and is deservedly styled 

 the " lord of the forest." The Jerusalem 

 or.k is the Chenopodium botrys ; the sea-oak 

 i? the Fucus vesictdosus ; the oak-leather is 

 u.ie Xylostroma gigantcwn ; the oak lungs 

 is the Lichen pulmonarius. 



OAK/CM, Sax. cecemba. The substance 

 into which old ropes are reduced when 

 they are untwisted, loosened, and drawn 

 asunder ; principally used in caulking the 

 seams, tree-nails, and bends of ships. 



OAR, Norm, otcer. A long piece of tim- 

 ber, flat at one end, and round or square 

 at the other, for rowing boats. To boat 

 the oars is to cease rowing ; to ship the 

 oars is to place them in the rowlocks. 



OAST. A kiln for drying hops. 



OAT, Sax. ate. A plant of the genus 

 Arena, of which oats are the seeds. The 

 cultivated oat is the Avena sativa of bota- 

 nists, and to which the name corn is com- 

 monly applied in Scotland. This plant 

 is the hardiest of all the cereal grasses. 

 It thrives best in latitudes north of Paris, 

 to the south of which it is little known. 

 There are many varieties indigenous to 

 Britain. 



OB ; signifies inversely or inverted, as 

 ob-conic, ob-cordate, &c. 



OBE'AH. A species of witchcraft prac- 

 tised among the negroes, the apprehen- 



sion of which, operating upon their su- 

 perstitious fears, is frequently attended 



itti the fatal consequences dreaded. 



OB'ELISK, Gr. sp<>.;<r*of . dim. of aiA<v, 

 a spit. A truncated, quadrangular, and 

 slender pyramid, intended as an orna- 

 ment, and frequently enriched with in- 

 scriptions in bas-relief. Obelisks have 

 also been frequently raised in honour of 

 distinguished individuals, their achieve- 

 ments, &c. 2. In printing, a mark re- 

 ferring the reader to a note in the margin, 

 thus-r. 



'sEtrs. In diplomatics, a mark resemb- 

 ling a needle, thus . 



OBIT'UART, from obitus, death. 1. A list 



and account of persons deceased. 2. A 



register of obitual anniversary days. 



OB'JTF.CT. In grammar, that which i 

 produced, influenced, or acted on by 

 something else ; that which follows a 

 transitive verb. 



OB'JECT-GLASS. In optical instruments, 

 is that which is placed towards the object, 

 the other extreme lens being called the 

 eye-glass. 



OBJEC'TIVE, Fr. objectif, belonging to the 

 object. In perspective, the objective line is 

 that drawn on the geometrical plane, the 

 representation of which is sought in the 

 draught or picture. In grammar, the 

 objective case is that which follows a tran- 

 sitive verb or a preposition : that case in 

 which the object of the verb is placed when 

 affected by the act expressed by the verb. 



OB'LATE, Lat. oblatus, flattened : opposed 

 to prolate. The earth is an oblate sphe- 

 roid, having its polar axis shorter than 

 its equatorial diameter, in the propor- 

 tion of 331 to 332. 2. In ecclesiastical 



history, a person who, on entering th 

 monastic life, made a donation of all his 

 goods to the community; also, one dedi- 

 cated by his parents from early life to a 

 religious order. 



OBLIGA'TION, Lat. obligatio, from ob and 

 ligo, to bind. In law, a bond with a con- 

 dition annexed, and a penalty for non- 

 fulfilment. The person to whom the 

 bond is given is called the obligee, and he 

 who signs it is styled the obligor. 



OBLIGA'TO (It.) In music , a part writ- 

 ten for a particular instrument. 



OBLI'QUE, Lat. obliquus, aslant. In geo- 

 metry, something slant, or inclining from 

 the perpendicular, as oblique ascension, 

 oblique descension, oblique circle; oblique 

 planes in dialling, oblique sailing in navi- 

 gation. Oblique case in grammar. See 

 these terms. Oblique, in botany, some- 

 times means twisted. Oblique motion, in 

 music, when one part holds on a sound, 

 while the other rises and falls on any 

 other note. 



OBLIQ'UITT, Lat. obliquitas. See OBLIUTB. 

 Deviation from a direct line. In ethictf 

 deviation from moral rectitude. In gno- 



