OMP 



518 



O N Y 



nish hombn, man.) Usually played by 

 three persons. 



OM'BRE vs SOI/EIL. Shadow of the sun. 

 A heraldic phrase when the sun is borne 

 in armoury, so that the eyes, nose, and 

 mouth, which at other times are repre- 

 sented, do not appear, and the colouring 

 is so slight that the field is seen through it. 



OMBROM'ETER, from o^ggoj, rain, and 

 ftiraov, measure. A rain-gauge. 



OM'EGA. The name of the last letter of 

 the Greek alphabet, as Alpha is the first ; 

 hence alpha and omega, the first and the 

 last. 



OMEN'TUM. The caul or epiploon. An 

 adipose membranous viscus of the abdo- 

 men, attached to the stomach, and lying 

 on the anterior surface of the intestines, 

 so named from omen ; because the sooth- 

 sayers prognosticated from an inspection 

 of that part of the sacrifices. 



OM'NIBUS. The dative plural of the Lat. 

 word omnes, all, meaning therefore for all. 

 A well-known carriage for conveyance of 

 passengers. Omnibuses are of Parisian 

 origin. 



OM'NIUM. The genitive plural of the 

 Latin word omnis, all, meaning therefore 

 of all. 1. A word in common use among 

 stock-brokers, to denote the aggregate of 

 certain portions of different stocks in the 

 public funds. 2. It also denotes the se- 

 curities which the subscribers to a loan 

 receive from government, and is there- 

 fore the subject of extensive speculations. 



OMNIV'OKES, Lat. omnis, all, and voro, 

 I devour. An order of birds, which feed 

 on both animal and vegetable substances. 



OMOC'OTYLE, from upo*, the shoulder, 

 and o<rv\vi, a cavity. The cavity in the 

 extremity of the neck of the scapula, in 

 which the head of the humerus is articu- 

 lated. 



O'MO-HY'O'D. An epithet for a muscle 

 sitiiated between the hyoid bone and the 

 shoulder, and which pulls the hyoid bone 

 (os hyoides) obliquely downwards. 



O'MOPLATE. A name of the scapula, from 

 wfAtf, the shoulder, and jrAarv? , broad. 



OM'PHACINE, from opActxiov, the juice 

 of unripe grapes. An epithet for what- 

 ever pertains to, or is expressed from, 

 unripe fruit ; as omphacine oil, which is 

 expressed from green olives. The juice 

 of unripe grapes, though properly named 

 omphacion, is sometimes termed verjuice ; 

 but this name is more commonly applied 

 to the juice of unripe wild apples or crabs. 



OMPHALocE'LE,from euf c*Ae?, the navel, 

 and jsjAij, a tumour. An umbilical 

 hernia. 



OMPHALOT'oMY,frome,u.(?aAcs,the navel, 

 and TEja.ua;, to cut. The operation of 

 dividing the umbilical cord. 



OM'PHALOS. O*A.os- The navel 



ONEIROCRIT'KS, ettioos and x^ivaa, I 

 judge. The science of interpreting drt-.'inw. 



ONEIHOD'YSY, Lat. oneirodynia. Dis- 

 turbed imagination during sleep : from, 

 ove/jsv, a dream, and Sy>*;, anxiety. 

 "\Valking in sleep and nightmare are 

 species. 



OJJEI'ROMAJJCY, from ovit'ov, a dream, 

 and [AaiiTiia, divination. Divination by 

 dreams. 



ON'GLEE. In heraldry, an appellation 

 given to the talons or claws of wild beasts 

 or birds, when borne of a different colour 

 from that of the body of the animal. 



Os'ios. A well-known bulbous plant, 

 the Allium Cepa, cultivated for culinary 

 purposes all over Europe. The onion is 

 biennial, and a native of Spain and Por- 

 tugal. See also SCILLA. 



ONIS'CUS, Lat. from ?, an ass. 1. The 



stock-fish. 2. A genus of crustaceans 



composing the order Isopoda, Cuv. This 

 genus, by Linn6, is now divided into six 

 sections and numerous subgenera. Some 

 are aquatic, and others terrestrial. Among 

 the latter are the wood-louse, hog-louse, 

 church-bug, &c. 



OJJ'OMANCI, OHO/ML, name, and fjutvnia., 

 prophecy. A species of divination from 

 the letters of a person's name. 



ONOM'ATOPE, 1 OvouotroToitt- l.Agram- 



ONOMAT'OPT. ) matic figure, in which 

 words are formed to resemble the sound 



made by the thing signified. 2. a word 



whose sound corresponds to the sound of 

 the thing signified: from DM/MX, name, 

 and rroiut, to make. 



ON'ONIS. Rest-harrow. An extensive 

 genus of plants, mostly herbaceous : class 

 Diadelphia : order Decandria. Name from 

 o'ves, an ass, because it interrupts asses in 

 ploughing ! 



ONTOL'OOT, from evrx, being, and Xo'yos, 

 discourse. A part of the science of meta- 

 physics, which investigates and explains 

 the nature and essence of all beings, their 

 qualities and attributes. 



O'NUS. Burden, from one;, an ass. By 

 onus jyrobandi is meant the burden of 

 proving a fact, or the obligation of esta- 

 blishing it by evidence. 



O'utx. Oxw|. L A semipellucid gem of 

 little value. The name is applied to any 

 stone of the gem-order exhibiting two or 

 more colours strongly contrasted, as 

 banded jasper, chalcedony, &c. ; but more 

 particularly the chalcedony, when it is 

 marked with white, and stratified with 

 opaque and translucent lines. The name 

 onyx was originally given to any stone 

 presenting somewhat the appearance of 



the human nail: ovv%, a finger nail. 



2. In surgery, an abscess or collection of 

 pus between the lamellae of the cornea : 



