X YL 



751 



YAW 



count of the yellow gum which exudes 

 from it. The Botany Bay gum. It be- 

 longs to the tribe Asphodelida. 



XEBEC'. A small three-masted vessel 

 without bowsprit, navigated principally 

 in the Mediterranean. 



XE'NOS. The generic name given by 

 Ross to two insects, one of which lives 

 on the wasp, called gallica, and the other 

 on an analogous wasp of North America, 

 the Polistes fiilata, Fab. 



XEROCOLLYR'IUM, from l^*?, dry, and 

 collyrium (q. v.). A dry collyrium, or eye- 

 salve. 



XEROPHTHAL'MIA, from |^j, dry, and 

 ophthalmia (q.v.). A dry inflammation of 

 the eyelid, with diminished secretion of 

 tears. 



XIPH'IAS. The sword-fish. A genus of 

 acanthopterygious fishes of the Scombe- 

 roide family, distinguished by the ensi- 

 form beak, which terminates their upper 

 jaw. Name l-ctpicts, from fyvo; , a sword. 

 The flesh is esteemed. See SWORDFISH. 



XIPH'OID, from %i$os, a sword, and 

 u$t>(, likeness. Sword-like. Applied in 

 anatomy. 



XIPHO'SPRA, !/ps? , and oy, a tail. A 

 tribe of crustaceans, of which the body 

 terminates in a long sword-shaped ap'- 

 pendage. 



XY'LANTHRAX, from JoAo, wood, and 

 anflf*!;, coal. "SVood or bovey-coal. 



XY'LO-ALOES. Lignum aloes. Aloes 

 wood. 



XTLOC'OPA. The humble-bee. A genus 

 of hymenopterous insects, separated from 

 the Apis, Lin., by Latreille, and thus 

 named because the female bores a hole 

 usually in wood for her nest. The X. vio- 

 lacea, Lin. is the most known species. It 

 is about an inch long, velvety, black, and 

 violet-black wings. The male is distin- 

 guished by a russet ring round the an- 

 tennae. 



XYLOG'RAPHT, luXo*, wood, a 

 I draw. The art of wood-engraving. 



XTLOPH'AOI. "Wood-eaters. A family 

 of coleopterous insects of the tetramerous 

 division, comprising several genera. 



XVLO'PHILI, |uXev, and fiXtai, I love. 

 A tribe of beetles living in decayed wood.. 



XYLOS'TROMA. A genus of fungi, of 

 which the oak-leather is a species. Name 

 from Z'jXw, wood, and g-r^aa/Mx., a layer, 

 because it forms indeterminate expan- 

 sions like cloth or leather. 



XYLOT'KOGI, |tiXv and r^uyia, I gnaw. 

 A tribe of semicorn beetles which perfo- 

 rate timber. 



XIPH'OID. See XIPHOID. 



XYS'TER, from S-va-rgov, from %vu, to 

 scrape. A surgical instrument for scrap- 

 ing bones. 



XYST, or XYS'TOS, from %vca, I polish. A 

 court of great length, for athletic exer- 

 cises, in Greek and Roman architecture. 



Y. 



Y, the 25th letter of the English alpha- 

 bet, taken from the Greek v- Y, as a nu- 

 meral, stands for 150, and with a dash 

 over it for 150,000. 



YACHT, Ger. jaeht. A vessel of state 

 usually employed to convey princes, am- 

 bassadors, and other great personages. 

 The royal yachts are generally rigged as 

 ketches, except the principal one for the 

 sovereign, which has three masts like a 

 ship. 



YA'OERS, Germ, hunters. Light infan- 

 try armed with rifles, in Prussia and 

 Austria. 



YAKS. In zoology, the Sos grunnient, 

 Lin., or grunting ox of Thibet, &c. 



YAM. A large esculent root which 

 grows in tropical climates. SeDioscoKBA.. 



YAN'IEB. A corruption of the word 

 English by the North American Indians. 

 The popular name for New Englanders in 

 America ; applied also by English people 

 to the inhabitants of the United States. 



YA'FON, \The South Sea tea, the Hex 



YOD'PON. ) cassine of the southern States 

 of America. 



YARD. 1. A measure of 36 inches or 3 



feet. 2. In ships, a long slender piece 



of timber, nearly cylindrical, suspended 

 upon the mast, by which a sail is ex- 

 tended. The portions extending on both 

 sides of the mast are denominated the 

 yard-arms. 



YARN, Sax. yearn. 1. "Woollen thread ; 

 but the term is now applied also to other 

 species of thread, as to cotton and linen. 



2. In rope-making, one of the threads 



of which a rope is composed. It is spun 

 from hemp. 



YARROW. In botany, the milfoil (Achillea 

 millefoliwn}. The name is supposed to 

 have originated from the Spanish word 

 yerla, a herb. 



YAW. At tf, a temporary deviation 

 from a ship 's COOTM . 



