EL.E 



138 



ELE 



Elaeagnaceae, n.pl 

 (Gr. elaios, the wild olive; agnos, 

 the 'agnus castus' or chaste tree), 

 the Oleaster family, an Order of 

 trees and shrubs usually covered 

 with silvery stellate hairs : Else- 

 agnus, n., We-tig'-ntis, a genus, 

 several species of .which bear edible 

 fruit : Elseagnus arborea, dr-bor'> 

 $*d (L. arbtirZus, treelike from 

 arbor, a tree) ; E. conferta, k$n- 



fert'a(Ij. confertus, thick, dense); 

 andE. Orientalis, or r 'i-%nt-al'-is(Ij. 

 Orientalis, Eastern from oriens, 

 the rising sun), species which 

 yield eatable fruit, the latter a 

 dessert fruit called 'zinzeya': 

 E. parvifolia, pdrv^-fol^-d (L. 

 parvus, little; folium, a leaf), 

 yields an edible fruit, has highly 

 fragrant flowers, and abounds in 

 honey. 



ElseocarpesB, n. plu. ,%l'e-o-kdrp'$'e 

 (Gr. elaios, a wild olive ; karpos, 

 fruit), a Sub-order of plants, Ord. 

 Tiliacese, whose fruit has been 

 compared to an olive : Elaeo- 

 carpus, n., Zl'-e-d-kdrp'-us, a very 

 beautiful genus of plants, the 

 bark is used as a tonic. 



Elseodendron, n., ^V-e-o-d'end'-r^n 

 (Gr. elaios, a wild olive ; dendron, 

 a tree), an ornamental genus of 

 plants, Ord. Celastraceae. 



Elais, n., %1-af-is (Gr. elaia, an 

 olive tree), a genus of palm trees, 

 Ord. Palmse, from the fruit of 

 which the natives of Guinea ex- 

 press an oil as the Greeks do from 

 the olive, hence the name : Elais 

 Guineensis, gin'-e^ns'is (from 

 Guinea, in Africa) ; and E. melan- 

 ococca, mel'-an-o-lcdk'.Jca (Gr. 

 melan, black; ^kokkos, a seed, a 

 berry), species of palms from 

 whose fruit the palm-oil imported 

 from the "W. Coast of Africa is 

 obtained. 



Elaphrium, n., el-a/'ri-tim (Gr. 

 elaphros, light, of no value), 

 a genus of ornamental trees, Ord. 

 Burseracese, whose wood is of no 

 value : Elaphrium tomentosum, 



tdm''%nt'dz'ii,m (L. tomentum, a 

 stuffing for cushions), yields the 

 Indian Tacamahac, a balsamic 

 bitter resin. 



Elasmobranchii, n. plu., Zl-as'-md- 

 brangk'-i-l (Gr. elasma, a plate of 

 metal; brangchia, the gills of fish), 

 an Order of fishes, including the 

 sharks and rays. 



elaterium, n., Zl'-at.er'.i.tim (L. 

 elaterium, Gr. elaterion, the juice 

 of the wild cucumber from Gr. 

 elater, a driver), the sediment 

 from the expressed juice of the 

 squirting gourd or wild cucumber, 

 which is a powerful drastic purg- 

 ative : elaterin, n., %1-at'er-m, the 

 active principle of elaterium : 

 elaters, n. plu., U'-at-ers, elastic, 

 spirally - twisted filaments for 

 dispersing spores, found with 

 spores in liverworts, etc. 



Elatinaceae, n. plu., el'-at'tn-a'se-e 

 (Gr. elate, a pine tree, from the 

 supposed resemblance of the 

 leaves of some of them to thoss 

 of the pine), the Water-pepper 

 family, an Order of marsh plants 

 found in all parts of the world : 

 Elatine, n., el-dt'm-e, a genus of 

 curious little aquatic plants. 



elecampane, n., el'&'kdm-pdn' (F. 

 enule-campane; L. inula helenium 

 from Gr. Jielenion, a plant said 

 to have sprung from Helen's 

 tears), the common name of 

 Inula Helenium, whose root has 

 stimulant and aromatic qualities. 



electrode, n., Z-letttrod (Gr. elek- 

 tron,. amber; hodos, a way), the 

 direction of an electric current ; 

 the extremities of the conductors 

 through which the electric current 

 enters or quits a body. 



electuary, n., Z-lek'-tu-er-t (mid. 

 L. electudrium, a confection 

 from Gr. ek, out ; leicho, I lick), 

 a medicine made up as a con- 

 fection with honey or sugar. 



elemi, n., H'-em-l (F. elemi, but 

 probably a native word), a resin- 

 ous substance from several species 

 of trees, brought from Ethiopia 



