OLI 



517 



OMB 



native of the south of Europe. All the other 

 species are natives of warm climates. 



OLECRA'NON, from u\twi, the ulna, and 

 xeewoi, the head ; the elbow. The process 

 of the ulna upon which a person leans. 



OLE'FIAKT GAS. The name originally 

 given to bi-carburetted hydrogen, be- 

 cause, when it combines with chlorine 

 gas, it condenses into an oily-looking 

 fluid: oleftant, from oleum, oil, and facio, 

 to make, the oil-making gas. 



OL'EINE. The thin oily part of fats, 

 naturally associated in them with gly- 

 cerine, margarine, and stcarine. 



O'LEO-KESINS. Native combinations 

 of resius with the essential oils, forming 

 balsamic and terebinthinate substances. 



OLERA'cE-as, from olus, a pot-herb. The 

 name of a natural order of plants in Lin- 

 naeus' natural method, consisting of such 

 as have incomplete and inelegant flowers 

 heaped together in the calyces, as spi- 

 nage, mint, beet, &c. 



O'LERON LAWS. Laws relating to ma- 

 ritime affairs, so called because sanc- 

 tioned by Richard I. at the Isle of Oleron, 

 in Aquitaine. 



OLFAC'TORT NERVES. Nervi olfactorii. The 

 first pair of nerves are so termed because 

 they are the organs of smell (olfactus). 



OLIB'ANTTM. A gum-resin, called also 

 thus and frankincense. It was formerly 

 much used in medicine, but is now chiefly 

 used as incense in Roman Catholic 

 churches. The gum has been supposed 

 to be a product of the Juniperus lycia, 

 but the plant which yields it is now ge- 

 nerally believed to be the Boswellia ser- 

 rntn. The best is brought from Turkey. 

 The name olibanum is the Arabic lubanon 

 with the prefix al, corrupted into ol ; the 

 name therefore meaning the white-incense 

 or the Frank- incense. At present benzoin 

 is called lubahn, which is a general name 

 in Arabia for incense, and olibanum is 

 called condhur (whence the Greek name 

 %*.S ? .) 



OUGARCH'Y, eX/yj. A form of go- 

 vernment which places the supreme power 

 in a few hands. 



OI.I'VA. 1. A genus of gasteropods of the 

 order Pectinibranchiata, and family Succi- 

 nuida, Cuv., so named from the oblong 

 and elliptical shape of the shell (oliva, an 

 olive.) Recent species inhabit various 

 depths, but chiefly a muddy bottom, and 

 fossil species are found in the London 

 Clay. 2. The gum of the olive-tree. 



OL'IVE. 1. A fruit, the produce of the 

 Olfa or olive-tree. It is a smooth oval 

 plum, about three quarters of an inch in 

 length, of a deep violet colour when 

 ripe, whitish and fleshy within, bitter 

 and nauseous, but replete with a bland 

 oil, for which it is chiefly cultivated. 

 -2. The olive-tree, the wood of which 



is beautifully veined, and has an agree- 

 able smell. It takes a high polish. 



OL'IVE-OIL. An insipid, inodorous, pale- 

 greenish-yellow-coloured, viscid fluid ; 

 unctuous to the feel, inflammable, and 

 incapable of combining with water, ob- 

 tained from the fruit of several species of 

 the olive-tree, but especially from that 

 of the Olea europena. Olive-oil is the 

 lightest of the fixed oils, and is largely 

 used in some parts of Europe as an 

 article of food and in the arts. The best 

 is that known in our markets by the 

 name of Florence oil, but by far the 

 largest portion of olive-oil brought to 

 England is from Gallipoli, and is hence 

 known commonly by the name of Galli- 

 poli oil. 



OL'IVILE. The name given by Pelle- 

 tier to the substance which remains after 

 gently evaporating the alcoholic solu- 

 tion of the gum which exudes from the 

 olive-tree. It is a white, brilliant, starchy 

 powder. 



OL'IVINE. A mineral, usually of an 

 olive-green colour, which occurs in gra- 

 nular concretions, of a foliated structure 

 and conchoidal fracture, in .basalt. It is 

 a constituent of many lavas, aad is itself 

 composed of silex, magnesia, nme in 

 small quantity, and oxide of iron. As a 

 gem, olivine is of inferior value. 



OLIV'INITE. An ore of copper, of an 

 olive-green colour. It is a hydrated phos- 

 phate of copper, occurring with quartz 

 in micaceous clay-slate in drusy cavities. 



OL'L,E. Roman sepulchral earthen 

 vessels, containing the ashes of inferiors. 



OL'LA PODRI DA (Span.) Putrid mix- 

 ture. A favourite dish in Spain, being a 

 mixture of meats and vegetables stewed; 

 it sometimes turns putrid among the 

 poorer classes, as they serve up the same 

 dish so often, whence the name. In Eng- 

 land it is frequently applied to any in- 

 congruous melange. 



OLLA'RIS LAPIS, ) Potstone,found abun- 



OLLITE. j dantly near the lake 



of Como, in beds of primitive slate, and 

 manufactured into pots (olla) ; called also 

 ollite. 



OLTM'PIAD. OAuAtsmj. A period of 

 four years, by which the Greeks reck- 

 oned their time. The first olympiad cor- 

 responds to the 775th year before the 

 Christian era, and the 22nd before the 

 building of Rome. This computation 

 took its rise from the Olympic games, 

 which were celebrated in every four 

 years, near the city Olympia, in Pelopon- 

 nesus. These games consisted of gym- 

 nastic exercises, horse-racing, chariot- 

 racing, &c. 



OMA'GRA, from af&o; , the shoulder, and 

 >-?, a seizure. 'Gout in the shoulder 



u.M'ijRE. A game at cords. (The Spa 



