G I R 



G I R 



GIRMANO, in Geography, a town of PnifTia, in Sam- 

 land ; 25 mile? N.W. of Konigfberg. 



GIROMAGNY, a town of France, in the department 

 of the Upper Rhine, and chief place of a canton, in tlie 

 didricl; of Befort. The place contains 1700, and the can- 

 ton 9572 inhabitants, on a territory of 150 kiliomctres, in 

 19 communes. 



GIRON DE LoYASA, Garcias, in Biography, a learned 

 Spanilli prelate, who flourifhed towards the clofe of the 1 6th 

 century, was born at Talavera. In the courfe of his fludics 

 he had paid a marked attention to philofopliy and theology ; 

 to hillory and the councils, with which he became intimately 

 converfant. He lived in a retired way as a canon, till his 

 imcle refigned to him the archdeaconry of Gindalajar, 

 which is one of the dignitaries belonging to the church of 

 that city. In 158J, Phihp II., king of Spain, fent for 

 him to court, made him mailer of the royal chapel and 

 almoner ; and likewife entrufled to liis care the edixa- 

 tion of his fon Philip, infant of Spain. In 1596, Car- 

 dinal Albert afTumed tlie government of the Low Countries, 

 and appointed Giron his vicar-general over the arc hbidiopric 

 of Toledo ; to which valuable fee he was himfelf afterwards 

 preferred. He died in 1599, and his dsatli has been im- 

 puted to the chagrin w-hich he felt for the neglect fiiewn 

 Iiim by his pupil, who had lately fucceeded to the throne. 

 He was author of a valuable collection of Spanifh councils, 

 "nr.der the title of " Colleclio Conciliorum Hifpania;, 

 cum Notis et Emendi.t'ionibus." Moreri. 



GiROX, in Geography, town of Africa, on the Ivory 

 coaft. — Alfo, a town of S. America, in the province of 

 Qi;:to ; 25 miles S. of Cuenca. 



Glllox, or Guiran, in Hfraldry, denotes a triangular 

 figure havnig a long (harp point, not unlike a wedge, ter- 

 minating in the centre of the efcutcheon. 



The word is French, and literally fignilics the gtrniihim 

 or lap ; becaufe, in lltting, the knees being fuppoled fome- 

 what alunder, the two thighs, togetlier with a line imagined 

 to pafs from one knee ti the other, form a figure fomewhat 

 iimilar to this. 



When a coat has fix, eight, or ten of thefe girons, meet- 

 ing or centering in the middle of the coat, it is faid tu be 

 ^irron; or gironny. 



GIRONDE, in Geography, a river of France, formed by 

 the union of the Garonne and Dordogne ; 1 2 miles N. of 

 Bourdeaux, which runs into the Atlantic, after a courfe of 

 about 27 miles N. N.W. 



GinoNDE, one of the nine departments of the fouth-wcft, 

 or Garonne region of France, deriving its name from the 

 river Gironde. It is a maritime department, compofed of 

 a portion of Guienne, in N. lat. 44 ' 40', and bounded on 

 the N. E. by the department of the Lower Charentc, on 

 the E. by the departments of the Dordogne and Lot and 

 Garonne, on the S. by the department of the Landes, and 

 on the W. by the L'a. Its capital is Bourdeaux. This de- 

 partment contains 1 1,270 kiliometres, or about 537 fquare 

 leagues, and 519,685 inhabitants, and is divided into fix 

 dillricls; 'u'tic. VAiye, compreh.euding 4 cantons, 61 com- 

 munes, and 52,026 inhabitants; Libourne, including 9 can- 

 tons, 143 conimun'S, and 102,576 inhabitants ; La Rcole, 

 comprehending 6 oantOiis, 118 communes, and 53,705 in- 

 habitants ; Bazas, containing 7 cantons, 6'i' com.munes, and 

 47,549 inhabitants; Bourdeaux, comprehending 18 cantons, 

 153 communes, and 233,021 inhabitants; and Lclpane, con- 

 taining 4 cantons, 37 communes, and 30^00 inhabitants. 

 Its contributions amount to 5,853,053 francs, and the ex- 

 penccs for adminiftration, judice, and pubhc inftruft'.on te 

 533,643 francs. The foil of this depai'tmcnt is varicas: 



the cafl and north-call diftriclG arc the mort, fertile. In the 

 valley between Agcn and Bourdeaux, the foil, though hVht, 

 is of an excellent quality. The well and fouth-wcll tracts 

 are fandy, marfliy, and barren, or indiSTjrentiy fruitful. 

 The products of the foil are grain, liemp, del;ciouj winer 

 and fruits, padures, confidcrable forells of pines, ftonc 

 quarries, mineral fprings, &:c. 



GIR0NEI.,LA, a town of Spain, in Catalonia: 7 mijja 

 E. N. E. of Solfona. 



GIRONNE. See Geron-v. 



GIRONS, St. a town of France, and principal place 

 of a diflrict, in the department of tiic Arricge; 21 nitles 

 W. of Tarafson. N. lat. 42 ' 59'. E long, t ^ 13. 'J'he place 

 contains 2504, and the canton I4,9''3 inhabitants, en a ter- 

 ritory of 287.]; kiliomctres, in 16 communes. 



GIRCST, a town of Pcrfia, in the province cf Ker- 

 man ; 125 miles S.of Slrjian. 



GIRP^OCK, in Ichthyology, the common Englilh name 

 of the fifli called the I.accrtus, a large fpecies of gar-fifli, 

 caught in the Mediterranean and Englifli feas. 



GIRRONNE , GiROSY, in Heraldry, is when a fliield 

 or coat is divided into feveral girons, which arc alternately 

 colour and rnetal. 



When there are eight pieces, or girons, it is abfolutclr 

 faid to be girronni : when there are more, or f.-wer, the num- 

 ber is to be expreffed: glrronne of four, of fourteen, &c. 

 Some, inftead o( girronns, fay, parti, coupe, tranche, and 

 ta'ilte, bccaufe the girons are formed by fuch diviiions of the 

 field. Four girons form a faltier, and eight a crofs. 



GIRT, in meafuring timber, is ufed for tiie circumfer- 

 ence of a tree. See Coggle/ball's S 1,1 ding rule and Dex- 



DRO.METEH. 



Some call the fourth part of the circumference the girt, 

 and fuppofe the fquare of this equal to the area of the fic- 

 tion of the tree. 



Ginr, in ArcUteSure, the fame with fillet. See Fillet. 



QtlTXT, g'lnlh, m Sea Langua-c. See Gi;iDl\'t;-^.'r/. 



Gli{T-/y«^ is a rope pafling tlirough a fingle block, on the 

 head of the lower mails, to hoi'l up the rigging thereof: 

 this is tlie firll rope env'Ioyed to rig a Ihip, and bv means 

 of this all the reft are drawn up and fixed ; after which it is 

 removed till the fhip is to be unrigged. 



GIRTHS of a Saddle, the long llraps, made of a canvas 

 fluff called girth-web, which being buckled under the horfe's 

 belly, ferve to fix the faddle. 



GIRTIN, Thomas, in Ehgraphy, a draftfman of un- 

 common capacity, who lately adorned our days, and if he 

 had not been cut off bv an early death, would probably havs 

 exhibited unrivalled talents in the peculiar branch of the art 

 he adopted. He was born in 1775, and was one of thofe 

 who have contributed to raife almost a new fpecies of art by 

 the ufe of water-colours in landfcape painting. He drew 

 with a ready hand, in a ftyle entirely his own, and witli 

 great tafte and effect; though not always with a ftrift ad- 

 herence to truth. Pie died of confumption, brought on by 

 irregularit)-, at the early age of 27. 



GIRU, in Geography, a town of Perfia, in the province 

 of Mazar.deran; 5 miles E of Fehrabad. 



GIRVAN, a fea-port of Scotland, in tlie county of A)t, 

 fitunted at the mouth of the river Girvan, wliich rifcs in the 

 N. E.part of the countv, asd runs iiito t!ie fea a little be- 

 low the town. It lias a commodious harbour, capable of 

 great improvement. Tlie chief employment of this town, 

 which is a burgh of barony, governed by bailies and coun- 

 fellors, annually elefted, is v.-eaving of cotton and woollen 

 cloths. In 1801 the number of inhubilants was 2260, of 

 whom 1 360 vvcre employed in trade and manufaCtiares. Tlie 



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