ceremonious 
You are too sensele.s-. obstinate, my lord, 
Too oert ini>>i'< anil traditional. 
Slink., Rich. III., iii. 1. 
= Syn. Ceremonious, Ceremonial, i'm-innl. Ceremaniaut, 
full of cerumony, fond of ceremony; eertnottieU, consisting 
in or having the nature of ceremony, or bearing upon cere- 
monies : as, >'>> 'iiti'ilf""* manners, persons ; MTVmOllfaj 
law. rites, nncleaniH'SS. !',, -mul ilillrr.s from .V/VI/KI/I/H/H 
ill tiial a lofinnl person tries too hard to conform to rule 
in liis whole, hearing as well as ill his bearing toward 
others, while a <;>/-i'iii'ininttx jnTsnli lua^nilies too much 
the conventional rules of social intercourse; thus ln.lh 
are opposed to nnttirtd, jtji'nttil to t'nxy, anil c< 'f> tmimtni.^ 
to tti'itrtii orflimdly. 
The French nre open, fumiliiir, and talkative ; theltalians 
Stiff, <;c;v//<o/n'"v, anil lesened. Addition. 
The Koinan <-<>i->'innninl worship was very elaborate, and 
minute, applying to every part of daily life. 
./. /'. Clm-lcf, Ten (ireat Religions, viii. 3. 
Especially [ceremonies] be not to be omitted tostraiiL-ers 
andfiiriu'tl natures. />'<,<, I'erenionie.sauil Ki'>]>rrt>. 
ceremoniously (ser-e-mo'ni-us-li), (//'. In a 
ceremonious manner; formally; with due 
forms: as, to treat a person <<;/ iiiijiiniiin/y. 
After this great work of n-i-onciling the kingdom was 
done most ,-/-, moninuxlt/ in the parliament. 
Striiiir, (Jneen Mary, an. 1554. 
ceremoniousneSS (ser-o-Tn<5'ni-us-iies), n. The 
(juality of being ceremonious ; the practice of 
much ceremony ; formality : as, ccremoniints- 
ni xx nf manners. 
ceremony (ser'e-mo-ni), n. ; pi. cereiiimiir* 
(-niz). [< ME. i-i rimniii/' = D. G. ceremonie = 
Dan. Sw. ccremoni, < OF. ceremonie., F. ceremo- 
nie = Pr. ceremoiiia, eerimonia = Sp. Pg. cere- 
monia = It. ccremonia, eerimonia, cirimonia, < L. 
oterimonia or c<eremonia, later often eerimonia, 
sacredness, reverence, a sacred rite; perhaps 
akin to Skt. karman, action, work, < -\/ kar, do; 
of. L. creare, create, etc. : see create and Ceres.] 
1. A religious observance; a solemn rite. 
Bring her up to th' high altar, that she may 
The sacred ceremonies there partake. 
Speiuer, Epitlialamion, 1. 216. 
There I heard them in the darkness, at the mystical cere- 
mony, 
Loosely robed in flying raiment, sang the terrible prophet- 
esses. Tennyson, Boadicea. 
2. The formalities observed on some solemn 
or important public or state occasion in order 
to render it more imposing or impressive : as, 
the ceremony of crowning a king, or of laying a 
foundation-stone; the ceremony of inaugurat- 
ing the President of the United States. 
A coarser place, 
Where pomp and ceremonies enter'd not, 
Where greatness was shut out, and highness well forgot. 
Dryden, Fahles. 
3. A usage of politeness, or such usages col- 
lectively; formality; a punctilious adherence 
to conventional forms ; punctilio. 
When love begins to sieken and decay, 
It useth an enforced ceremony. 
There are no tricks in plain and simple faith. 
Sliak., J. C., Iv. 2. 
She made little ceremony in discovering her contempt 
of a coxcomb. Svri/t, Death of Stella. 
All ceremonies are in themselves very silly things ; but 
yet a man of the world should know them. Chesterfield. 
I met the janissary Aga going out from him [the Bey], 
and a number of soldiers at the door. As I did not know 
him, I passed him without ceremony, which is not usual 
for any person to do. Bruce, Source of the Nile, I. 37. 
4f. A ceremonial symbol or decoration. 
No ceremony that to great ones 'longs. 
Not the king's crown, nor the deputed sword, 
The marshal's truncheon, nor the judge's robe, 
Become them with one half so good a grace 
As mercy does. Shak., M. for M., ii. 2. 
Disrobe the images, 
If you do find them deck'd with ceremonies. 
Shak., 3. C., L 1. 
6f. A sign or portent; a prodigy. 
For he is superstitious grown of late ; 
Quite from the main opinion he held once 
Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies. 
Shak., 3. C., II. 1. 
Master of ceremonies, (a) A person who regulates the 
forms to be observed by the company or attendants on 
a public occasion ; specifically, an officer of the royal 
household of England who superintends the reception of 
ambassadors. (t>) An officer in many European cathe- 
drals whose business it is to see that all the ceremonies, 
vestments, etc., peculiar to each season and festival are 
observed in the choir. Military ceremonies, stated 
military exercises, such as guard-mounting, inspections, 
parades, reviews, funeral escorts and honors, color escorts, 
etc. =8yn. 1. Form, Ceremony, Rite, Observance. Form is 
the most general of these words ; it is impossible to join 
in worship without the use of some forma, however sim- 
ple ; we speak of legal forms, etc. Ceremon;/ is a broader 
word than ritf, in that a rite is always solemn and either 
an act of religion or suggestive of it, as marriage-rj'tat, 
the rites of initiation, while ceremony goes so far as to 
cover forms of politeness. A rite is generally a prescribed 
or customary form, while a (vn-w/H/ may be improvised 
for an occasion : as, the ceremony of laying a corner-stone 
or opening a new bridge. Observance is primarily a com- 
pliance with a requirement, as in religion, where the word 
was applied to the act of compliance : as, the observance 
of the sabbath. 
899 
Heavy per-eenti'.n whall arise 
On all who in the worship persevere 
Of spirit and truth ; the rest, far greater part, 
Will ileeln ill .illtuanl /'I'/.', alnl specious h'l-IIIH 
Religion satisfied. .W ;//. I'. L., xii. 634. 
Nay, my lords, ceremony was but dcvis'd at first 
To set a gloss on faint deeds, hollow welcomes, 
Recanting goodness, sorry ere ti.s shown ; 
But where tbere i true friendship, there nee. Is 
N/IM*., T. of A., i. 2. 
Little as we should look for such an oriyin. we el 
with facts suggesting that fa-sting as a religious /<'/, i, :l 
sequence nl Mlllrr;ll , iVc.v. 
II. ,s> /,,-,,, I'rin. of Sociol., 1 140. 
With the [Hebrews'] ad Vance from the pre-pa*toral state, 
there was probably some divergence from their original 
observaiu-ex of burial and sacrifice. 
//. ,s>',i,v,-, I'rin. of Sociol., 8 138. 
ceremonyt, r. t. [< ceremony, .] To confirm 
or join by a ceremony. [Rare.] 
Or if thy vows lie past, and Hymen's bands 
Have ceremanied your unequal hands, 
Annul, at least avoid, thy lawless act. 
Quart-'*, Kmblcni.s, v. 8. 
Cereopsinse (se"re-op-si'ne), n. pi. [NL., < 
Cereopxin + 4MKJ A subfamily of .Imi/iilii: 
represented by the genus Cereopxis. II. II. linn/, 
1840. 
Cereopsis (se-ro-op'sis), n. [NL., < L. cereus, 
waxen, < cera, wax (> E. cere. q. v.), + Gr. Ai/"f, 
appearance.] 1. A genus of Australian geese, 
of the family Anatiihe and subfamily Anserinie, 
having a small and extensively membranous 
bill, and notably long legs, bare above the suf- 
frago. They are so named from the remarkable si/e of 
their cere. There is hut one species, C. noviK-hullandiie, 
sometimes called the pigeon-goose. It has been made the 
type of a subfamily Cereopsincc. 
2. A genus of coleopterous insects. 3. A ge- 
nus of coelenterates. 
cereous (se're-us), a. [< L. cereus, of wax, < 
cera, wax : see cere, Cereus, cerge."] Waxen ; like 
wax. [Bare.] 
What is w orth his observation goes into his ceremu ta- 
bles, i :, i iiit, n, Notes on Don Quixote, ii. 5. 
Ceres (se'rez), n. [L., the goddess of agricul- 
ture, esp. of the cultivation of grain; prob. 
from the root of creare, create : see create. Cf. 
ceremony. ~\ 1. In class, myth., the name given 
by the Romans to the Greek goddess Demeter, 
whose worship they adopted with some subor- 
dinate differences. She was the mother of Proser- 
pine and, according to some phases of the myth, of Bac- 
chus. She was the goddess of the earth in its capacity of 
bringing forth fruits, especially watching over the growth 
of grain (whence the adjective cereal). The Romans cele- 
brated in her honor the festival of the C'erealia. Ceres 
was always rep- 
resented fully 
draped. Her at- 
tributes were 
ears of corn and 
poppies, and on 
her head she 
sometimes wore 
a corn-measure. 
Her sacrifices 
consisted of pigs 
and cows. 
2. An aste- 
roid discov- 
ered by Piaz- 
zi at Paler- 
mo, Sicily, in 
1801. It is the 
first discovered 
of the telescopic 
planets or aste- 
roids which re- 
volve between 
the orbits of 
Mars and Jupi- 
ter. It is very 
much smaller 
than the moon, and it presents the appearance of a star of 
between the seventh and the eighth magnitude. 
ceresin, ceresine (se're-sin), n. [lrreg.< L. cera, 
wax, + -in 1 ' 2 , -jc 2 .] A white waxy substance 
consisting of a mixture of paraffins prepared 
from the mineral ozocerite, and used as an 
adulterant of and substitute for beeswax. 
Cereus (se're-us), n. [NL. (so called from the 
resemblance of some species to a wax torch), 
< L. cereus, a wax candle, orig. an adj., of wax: 
see cereous, eerge, cere.] 1. A large genus of 
cactaceous plants, of the tropical and warm 
regions of America, including 200 species, 30 
of which are found in the United States. They 
are oval or columnar plants, with spiny ribs or angles, 
large tubular funnelform flowers, and small black exal- 
buminous seeds. They vary greatly in form and habit, 
the columnar species being either erect or climbing, and 
the flowers are often very large, as in the night-blooming 
cereus group, C. rrrandijlorug, C. MacdimalditK, etc., which 
is well known in cultivation. The old-man cactus, C. se- 
nilis, is so called from the long gray hairs covering the 
top of the stem. The most remarkable species are those 
with tall columnar stems, from 25 to 50 feet high, found 
chiefly in northwestern Mexico and Arizona, some of 
Ceres. Wall-painting from Pompeii, Museo 
NazionaTe, Naples. 
Ceriphasiidae 
them bearin". large edible fruit. The be.st known of this 
group is thr giant netal, C, " Uizuua. See 
l-llt.s Illlili-r C'trfil,::!-. 
2. [C. c.] Any plant of the genus ('ereux. 3. 
In :oiil., a genus of sea-anemones, of the fam- 
ily .li-tiiiinlif. 
CereviS (scr'o-vis), . [< L. 0*rwMo, beer.] 
The small cap worn by members of students' 
societies in < iermaii universities. It in a low cloth 
cylinder, too small to fit the head; tin- society's mono- 
grain is usually embroidered on the- croun. 
cereyisia, . See <<// w. 
cerfoilt, " See ,-inn-n. 
cerge, serge- (serj), . [< ME. cerge, serge, 
ciiri/i, < OF. << !(/>, i-ii nji , nil ri/i; cirge, F. cierge 
= Pr. ccri = Sp. Pg. ciriti = It. ccrio, ceri, now 
ccro, < L. cereus, a wax candle, taper, prop, 
adj., of wax, < ri-ra, wax : see cereoiu and cere.] 
In the Rom. ('nth. I'll., a large wax candle 
burned before the altar. 
Oeria 1 (se'ri-ii), . [NL., appar. irreg. < Or. 
Yff, horn.] " 1. A genus of dipterous insects, 
of the family SyrpMaa, having elongate anten- 
na with a terminal style. 2. [/. c.] An old 
name of some cestoid worm. 
ceria 2 t (se'ri-ii), n. [L. ceria or cere a, also celia : 
same as cerecixia, beer. Cf. eereris.] A drink 
made of corn ; barley-water. E. 1'hillips, 1706. 
cerialt, " An obsolete form of eerrial. 
ceriama (ser-i-a'ina), n. Same as seriema. 
Ceriantheae (ser-i-an'the-e), . jil. [NL., < Ceri- 
iniilinx + -<'.] A group of Actiniaria, with nu- 
merous impaired septa and a single ventral 
esophageal groove. The septa are longest on the ven- 
tral side, ami unn I ual ly diminish toward the dorsal aspect ; 
the two septa attached to the bottom of the esophageal 
groove (directive septa) are remarkably small, and are dis- 
tinguished in this way from the other ventral septa. Also 
Cereanthetf. 
CerianthidaeCser-i-an'thi-de), ii.pl. [NL.,< Ceri- 
anthus + -idw.] A family of malacodermatous 
actinozoans, represented by the genus Cerian- 
tli us. It contains hermaphrodite forms of sea-anemones, 
the skin of which secretes a glutinous mass tilled with 
nematocysts or a kind of membrane. Also Cer?anthidce. 
Cerianthus (ser-i-an'thus), n. [NL., < Gr. 
Ktpaf, a horn, mod. tentacle, + &v6of, a flower. 
The allusion seems to be to the circles of ten- 
tacles.] A remarkable genus of hexamerous 
Antho:oa, having two circlets of numerous ten- 
tacles, one immediately around the mouth, the 
other on the margin of the disk, and one pair of 
the diametral folds of the mouth much longer 
than the other and produced as far as the pedal 
pore usually found on the apex of the elongated 
conical foot. The larva at one stage is tetramerous, 
with four mesenteries. The genus is typical of the family 
Cerianthido?, and belongs to the same order (Malacoder- 
inata) as the sea-anemones. Also Cereanthus. 
eerie (se'rik), a. [< cer(ium) + -ic.] Containing 
cerium as a quadrivalent element: as, eerie 
oxid, CeO 2 . 
ceriferous (se-rif'e-rus), a. [< L. cera, wax, + 
ferre = E. ftrar^.] In but., bearing or pro- 
ducing wax. 
cerin, cerine (se'rin), n. [< L. cera, wax, + -in 2 , 
-ine 2 .] 1. The name given to that portion of 
beeswax (from 70 to 80 per cent, of the whole) 
which is soluble in alcohol. That part of cerin which 
is not saponified by potash was formerly called cerain. 
Probably cerin is merely impure cerotic acid. 
2. A waxy substance extracted from grated 
cork by digestion in alcohol. 3. An ore of ce- 
rium, a variety of the mineral allanite. 
Cerinthian (se-rin'thi-an), n. One of a sect of 
early heretics, followers of Cerinthus, a Jew 
believed to have been born before the cruci- 
fixion, and one of the first heresiarchs in the 
church. The Gospel of John is by some supposed to have 
been written against his system, which was a mixture of 
Judaism and Gnosticism. 
Ceriopora (ser-i-op'o-ra), n. [NL., appar. ir- 
reg. < Gr. Kcpaf, horn, + ir6pof, a passage.] 
The typical genus of the family Cerioporida. 
Cerioporidse (ser"i-o-por'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < 
Ceriopora + -j</V0.] A family of cyclostoma- 
tous polyzoans, of the order Gymnola.*iata. 
Ceriornis (ser-i-6r'uis), n. [NL. (Swainson, 
1837), irreg. < Gr. Kipaf,, horn, -I- &pv<c, a bird.] 
A genus of pheasants, of the family 1'hasiani- 
dte, the tragopans or satyrs, of which there are 
several species, as C. satyra and C. melano- 
ccphala of the Himalayas, C. temmincki and C. 
caboti of China. More correctly Ceratornis. 
ceri ph., n. See serif. 
Ceriphasia (ser-i-fa'si-a), n. [NL., < Ceri- 
(tliium) + Gr. <t>aaic, aspect.] The typical genus 
of the f'eri//ltasii(ia>. More correctly Ceriphasia. 
Ximiiison, 1840. 
Ceriphasiidae (ser'i-fa-si'i-de), . ///. [NL., < 
Ceriphasia + -idee.] A family of fresh-water 
