Clarkia 
exploring expedition across the continent in 
1804-0.] A small genus of herbaceous annual 
plants, natural order Oiiii/irimn, natives of the 
United States west of the Kocky Moiiniaiiis. 
They have showy purplish (lowers, and two 
species, r. /iidi'lui/i/ ami r. i-li-i/im.-; are common 
in cultivation. 
claro-obscuro (klii 'ro-ob-skd'ro), . fOIt.j 
Same as Hliariinri/rn. 
clart (kliirt), r. t. [E. dial, and Sc., also clort ; 
origin unknown.] To daub, smear, or spread; 
ilirl v. 
clart (kliirt), n. [< clart, .] 1. A daub: as, 
a chiri of grease. 2. ///. Tenacious mire or 
mud. [Scotch.] 
clarty (kliir'ti), . [Also clorty ; < clart + -y 1 . 
Ct. t'luitii.] Miry; muddy; sticky and foul; 
very dirty. [Scotch.] 
Searching aulil wives' barrels, 
< rh. linn ; tin- .lay : 
That clnrin barm should .-t:iin my laurels. 
I'.III-H*, On being Appointed to the Excise. 
clary't, [^ ME. r/ary, Hurie, clarey, Hurry, 
darn;, < OF. rlarc, < ML. c/iiriilinii (also Htirr- 
linii), clary, lit. 'cleared' or 'clarified' wine, 
prop. neut. (sc. vinum, wine) of L. claratus, pp. 
of clarare, clear, clarify: nee clear, v. Different 
from claret, with which it has been confused: 
see chire t.] Wine mixed with honey and spices, 
and afterward strained until it is clear. 
A elurrr inaad of a certeyn wyn, 
With IK rcotykesand opye of Thebes fyn. 
Chaucer, Knight s Tale (ed. Morris), L 613. 
No man yit in the niorter spiees (frond 
To clarre. Chaucer, Former Age, 1. 16. 
Clary 2 (kla'ri), n. [For "sclari/, < P. sclarec or 
ML. sclarea, scarlea, etc. ; cf. D. scharlci, scherlei 
= MHG. scharleie, G. scharlci = It. schiarea = 
Pg. esclarea ; origin unknown.] A plant of the 
genus Salvia or sage, Salvia ticlarca. The name 
\\li-, n-^hi J b\ tin- ;ip<.l hrr:irii > ill!. ,,/, eyA t ran-]:itr,l 
Oculwt-Chrijtti, Godey-fie, and see-bright, and the plant 
accordingly used in eye-salves. Wild Clary, (a) Salria 
Vcrbenacii, a common European species, (b) In the West 
Indie-*, lli'liutropiuiii Indicitm. 
clary :t t, '' '. [Appar. based on L. clarus, clear, 
shrill : see clarion, clear, a.] To make a loud 
or shrill noise. 
The crane that goeth before, if aught to be avoyded, gives 
warning thereof by clan/ing. 
A. Gelding, tr. of Solinus, xiv. 
clary-water (kla'ri-wa"ter), w. A composition 
of brandy, sugar, clary-flowers, and cinnamon, 
with a little ambergris, formerly much used as 
an aid to digestion. 
clase (klaz), n. pi. A variant spelling of Scotch 
does. 
clash (klash), v. [= D. kletsen, splash, clash, = 
G. Jclatscheii, dial, kletschen, = Dan. Masks = 
Sw. klatscha, clash, knock about; cf. MD. D. 
klets, Or. klatsch, interj.; Dan. klask = Sw. klatsch, 
a clash. Appar. an imitative variant of clack; 
cf . crash, crack, and hash, hack. See dish-clash.] 
1. in trans. 1. To make a loud harsh noise, as 
from a violent or sudden blow or collision. 
Clash, ye bells, in the merry March air ! 
Tennyson, Welcome to Alexandra. 
The music beat and rang and clashed in the air. 
G. W. Curtix, Int. to Cecil Dreeme. 
2. To dash against an object with a loud noise ; 
come into violent and resounding collision; 
strike furiously. 
The true Reason of it [the ebbing and flowing of the sea]is 
nothing else but the clashing of the Waters of two mighty 
Seas crossing each other. Stillingfleet, Sermons, III. x. 
And thrice 
They clash'd together, and thrice they brake their spears. 
Tennyson, fleraint. 
3. Figuratively, to act with opposing power or 
in a contrary direction; come into collision; 
contradict; interfere: as, their opinions and 
their interests clash. 
Neither was there any queen-mother who might claxh 
with his counsellors for authority. Bacon, Henry VII. 
Other existences there are, that clash with ours. 
M. Arnold, Empedocles on Etna. 
4. To talk; gossip idly; tattle; tell tales. 
Burns. [Scotch.] 
II. trans. To bang ; strike, or strike against, 
with a resounding collision ; strike sharply to- 
gether. 
Then Thisbe . . . claM the dore. 
Lisle, Ueliodoms (1638). 
The nodding statue clash'd his arms. 
Dryden, Pal. and Arc., iii. 370. 
Above all, the triumphant palm-trees clashed their me- 
lodious branches like a chorus with cymbals. 
C. W. Stoddard, South Sea Idyls, p. 7. 
Let us clash our minds together, and see If some sparks 
do not spring forth. 
J. E. Cooke, Virginia Comedians, I. xvili. 
1020 
clash (klash), n. [< Htixli, r.] 1. A sharp or 
harsh noise made by a blow, as upon a metallic 
surface ; a sound produced by the violent col- 
lision of hard bodies; a striking together with 
noise ; noisy collision. 
The clash of arms and voice of men we hear. 
SirJ. Denham, .-Em-id, ii. 
Here he was Interrupted by something which fell with 
a heavy clash on tli>- .-,tivt-t before us. 
How oft tin- hind has started at the clash 
Of spears, and j <!! of mct-tiiii: armies here. 
Bryant, To the Apennines. 
2. Figuratively, opposition ; collision ; contra- 
diction, as between differing or conflicting in- 
terests, views, purposes, etc. 
The clashes between popes and kings. 
fienham, Progress of Learning. 
3. Tittle-tattle; scandal ; idle talk. [Scotch.] 
class 
2. In a narrower sense, a large knife with one 
Made willed folds into (lie handle and may bo 
locked \\hen open by a catch on the back. 
clasp-lock (klasp'lok), ii. A lock which is 
olOMd or secured l,\ means of a spring; spe- 
cifically. a device for locking together the COV- 
eis of a book or an album. 
clasp-nail (klasp'niil), n. A nail having a head 
with pointed spurs that sink into the wood. 
class (kliis), n. [= 1. kliia, l.-laxxt; = G. c/ 
SOUK- rhyme to roiirt tin; country clash. 
4. A quantity of any moist substance thrown 
at something; a splash. [Scotch.] 
clashing (klash'ing), n. [Verbal n. of clash, 
>:] The action of the verb clash, in any sense; 
specifically, opposition ; contention ; dispute. 
There is high clashinrf again betwixt my Lord Duke and 
tin- Kurl of liristol ; they recriminate one another of divers 
Tilings. Iltneell, Letters, I. iv. 20. 
dashingly (klash'ing-li), adv. With clashing. 
clasp (klasp), t'. [< ME. clas/ien, rarely clospen, 
also clajisen (cf. LG. inl. in.^K rn), grasp firmly, 
prob. extended from clap 1 , strike suddenly ; but 
cf. clamp 1 and clip 1 , embrace.] I. trans. 1. To 
catch and hold by twining or embracing ; sur- 
round and cling to, as a vine to a tree; em- 
brace closely; inclose or encompass, as with 
the arms, hands, or fingers ; grasp. 
Then creeping, clasp'd the hero's knees and prayed. 
Dryden, 1 n.-nl, x. 
He seeks to clasp 
His daughter's cold, damp hand in his. 
Wnittier, Mogg Megone, i. 
2. To shut or fasten together with or as with 
a clasp. 
His holes elapsed [var. clapsud, etc., clasped, clospede] 
fayre and fetlsly. Chaucer, (lea. Prol. to C. T., 1. 273. 
Sermons are the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and do 
open the Scriptures, which being but read, remain in com- 
parison still cUuped. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 22. 
II. intrans. To cling. [Bare.] 
My father, . . . 
. . . clasping to the mast, endur'd a sea 
That almost burst the deck. Shak., Pericles, Iv. 1. 
clasp (klasp), n. [< ME. clasp, clespe (= LG. 
klaxpe, klasper); from the verb.] I. A catch 
or hook used to hold together two things, or 
two parts of the same thing. 
Ant the body hongeth at the galewes faste, 
With yrnene [iron] claitpes longe to laste. 
Execution of Sir Simon t'raser (Child's Ballads, VI. 282). 
Specifically (a) A broad, flat hook or catch used to hold 
together the covers of a book. 
That book in many's eyes doth share the glory, 
That in gold clasps locks in tile golden story. 
Shak., E. and J., I. 3. 
(b) A hook used to hold together two parts of a garment, 
or serve as an ornament : as, a cloak-efrwp. See agraffe, 
broochi, ffrinail. (c) A small piece of tin or other metal 
passed through or around two objects, and bent over to 
fasten them together, (rf) In spinning, an arrangement 
consisting of two horizontal beams, the upper pressed 
upon the lower one, or lifted for drawing out the thread. 
2. A clinging or grasping, especially of the 
arms or hands ; a close embrace. 
A central warmth diffusing bliss 
In glance and smile, and clasp and kiss. 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, Ixxxiv. 
3. In entom., the claspers at the end of the male 
abdomen, designed for retaining the female. 
clasper (klas'per), n. One who or that which 
clasps. Specifically (a) In hot., the tendril of a vine 
or other plant which twines round something for support. 
(M In -"<'., any special organ by which one sex clasps and 
retains the other in copulation, as in many insects, crusta- 
ceans, fishes, etc. The claspers are usually modified limbs, 
or appendages of limbs, but are sometimes other special 
parts, as terminal abdominal appendages of insects. 
The ventral fins [of selachians] are always placed near 
the anus, and, in the male, bear peculiar grooved carti- 
laginous appendages, which are the accessory copulatory 
organs (claspers). Claus, Zoology (trans.), I. 168. 
claspered (klas'perd), a. [< clasper + -erf2.] 
Furnished with claspers or tendrils. 
clasp-hook (klasp'huk), n. A pair of hooks 
provided with a slip-ring which, when in posi- 
tion, holds tli, 'i together. 
clasp-knife (klitsp ' nif ), . 1. A knife with 
one or more blades which fold into the handle. 
Clasp-knives of bronze have been found among Etruscan 
remains ; they have been found in Rome with iconic han- 
dles of bone and other materials, and iron blades. Dur- 
ing the middle ages they were probably superseded by the 
sheath-knife worn in the belt, and were not commonly in 
use again until the seventeenth century. 
= Dan. /,/i/xvr = Sw. klmtx. < !'. clause = Sp. 
i-liin- = Pg. It. classe, < L. classis, a class or di- 
vision of the people, assembly of people, the 
whole body of citizens called to arms, the army, 
the fleet, later a class or di\ision in general, 
OL. Hiixix, = (perhaps <) Gr. n'/f/aif, a calling, 
summons, name, appellation, < na'/eiv = L. ca- 
Inri, call, proclaim: see claim 1 and c'lli-mlx. 
Hence classic, Humify, etc.] 1. In anc. hist., 
one of the five divisions of the Roman citizens 
made, according to their wealth, by Servius Tul- 
lius. for purposes of taxation: a sixth division 
comprised those whose possessions fell below 
the minimum of the census. Hence 2. An 
order or rank of persons ; a number of persons 
having certain characteristics in common, as 
equality in rank, intellectual influence, educa- 
tion, property, occupation, habits of life, etc. 
We are by our occupations, education, and habits of life 
divided ;ilinot into different species. Each of thee clattes 
of the human race has desires, fears, and conversation, vex- 
ations and merriment peculiar to itself. Johnson. 
Nine tenths of the whole people belong to the laborious, 
industrious, and productive classes. 
D. Webster, Speech, Pittsbnrg, July, 1833. 
The constitution of the House of Commons tended 
greatly to promote the salutary intermixture of classes. 
The knight of the shire was the connecting link between 
the baron and the shopkeeper. Macaulay, Hist. Eug., i. 
3. Any body of persons grouped together by par- 
ticular circumstances or for particular reasons. 
Specifically (a) A number of pupils in a school, or of stu- 
ili-nt s in a college, of the same grade or pursuing the same 
studies; especially, in American colleges, the students 
collectively who are graduated, or in accordance with the 
rules of the college will be graduated, in the same year. 
There are four college classes, the freshman or lowest, 
the sophomore, the junior, and the senior. The word was 
first used in this sense in American colleges in the Latin 
form classis, and wag borrowed from the universities of 
continental Europe, where it had during the sixteenth 
century replaced the medieval lectio, (b) In the Meth. 
Ch., one of several small companies, usually numbering 
about twelve memters, into which each society U divided, 
for more effective pastoral oversight, social meeting for 
religious purposes, and the raising of money for church 
work. It ordinarily holds a weekly session called a class- 
meeting, under the charge of one of the members called 
a class-leader, whose duty it is to see every member of his 
class at least once a week ; to give religions instruction, 
reproof, or comfort, as needed ; to receive for the stewards 
of the church the contributions of the class for the sup- 
port of the church ; to report to the pastor any members 
needing especial attention, as the sick, backsliders, etc. ; 
and to report on the condition of his class to each Quar- 
terly Conference, (r) Same as classis, 2. (d) In several 
European states, one of the graded divisions of primary 
electors for members of the legislative body. In Prussia 
the whole number of voters is divided Into three classes, 
so arranged that each class pays one third of the direct 
tax levied. The first class is of the few wealthy, who pay 
the highest taxes, to the amount of one third of the whole. 
Each class chooses the same number of secondary electors, 
who elect the deputies. 
4. A number of objects distinguished by com- 
mon characters from all others, and regarded 
as a collective unit or group; a collection ca- 
pable of a general definition ; a kind. A natural 
class is a set of objects possessing important characters 
over and above those that are necessary* for distinguishing 
them from others ; but the term is applied by naturalists 
to groups which want this character, and which have not 
generally retained very long, unchanged, aplace in science. 
See classification. 
There is not a more singular character in the world than 
that of a thinking man. It is not merely having a succes- 
sion of ideas which lightly skim over the mind that can 
with any propriety be styled by that denomination. It is 
cilnerving them separately and distinctly, and ranging 
them under their respective classes. 
Melmoth, Letters of Fitzosborne. 
Logicians divide propositions into certain classes. 
Reid, Account of Aristotle, it i 1. 
Observing many individuals to agree in certain attri- 
butes, we refer them all to one class, and give a name to 
the class. Reid, Intellectual Powers, v. 2. 
(This meaning came into use about the middle of the eigh- 
teenth century. The phrase ' to be Included under a class ' 
is older than 'to be included in a class.'] 
5. In nat. hist., a group of plants or animals 
next in rank above the order or superorder, 
and commonly formed bv the union of several 
orders or superorders: but it may be repre- 
sented by a single species. See classification. 
In zoology the class was the highest division of the ani- 
mal kingdom in the Linnean system, when the word 
first acquired its technical zoological meaning. Linnaeus 
arranged animals in six classes: Mammalia, Apes, Am- 
phibia, Puces, Insecta, Verma ; the next groups below 
