Golubrinae 
body and tail both long and slender, and the 
teeth entire and similar in size, 
colubrine (kol'u-brin), a. and n. [< L. colu- 
brinus, < coluber, a serpent: see Coluber.] I. . 
1. Pertaining to a snake or serpent ; ophidian; 
specifically, of or pertaining to the Coliibrina 
or Colubridte. Also colubriform. 2. Cunning; 
crafty. Bailey; Johnson. [Rare.] 
II. . A colubrine serpent. Mivart. 
colubris (kol'u-bris), n. [NL., accom. of coli- 
bri, q. v.] The specific name of the common 
humming-bird of the United States, Trochilus 
colubris. 
colubroid (kol'u-broid), a. and n. [< Coluber 
+ -aid.] I. a. Colubrine ; colubriform ; specifi- 
cally, resembling or having the characters of 
the Colubrida;. 
II. n. One of the Colubrida; or Colubrina. 
Colmnba 1 (ko-lum'ba), n. [NL., < L. columba, 
fern., Columbus, inasc., a dove, pigeon, appar. = 
Gr. Ko^vufiof, fern. Kohvupif, a diver, a kind of 
sea-bird. Origin uncertain. Cf. L. palumbes, 
a wood-pigeon ; Skt. kddamba, a kind of goose; 
E. culver 1 , a dove.] 1. A genus of pigeons, 
formerly coextensive with the order Columba, 
now restricted to species typical of the family 
Columbida; and subfamily Columbines, such as 
the domestic pigeon or rock-dove (C. Una), the 
stock-dove (6'. cenas), the ring-dove (C. palum- 
bus), and several others of both hemispheres. 
The bill is comparatively short and stout ; the wings are 
pointed ; the tail is much shorter than the wings, and 
square or little rounded ; the tarsi are shorter than the 
middle toe, and are scutellate in front and feathered 
above ; and there are 10 reiniges or wing-feathers, and 12 
rectrices or tail-feathers. See cut under rock-dove. 
2. In conch. , a genus of bivalve mollusks. Isaac 
Lea, 1837. 3. [I. c.] [ML.] In the medieval 
church, the name given to the vessel in which 
the sacrament was kept, when, as was often 
the case, it was made in the shape of a dove. 
It was of precious metal, and stood on a circular platform 
or basin, had a sort of corona above it, and was suspended 
by a chain from the roof, before the high altar. The opeu- 
1114 
Rom. antiq., a place of sepulture for the ashes 
of the dead, consisting of arched and square- 
headed recesses formed in walls, in which the 
Columbarium, near gate of St. Sebastian, Rome. 
cinerary urns were deposited : so named from 
the resemblance between these recesses and 
those formed in a dove-cote for the doves to 
build their nests in. 3. In arch., a hole left 
in a wall for the insertion of the end of a beam. 
Also called putlog-hole. 4. Eecles., the colum- 
ba or dove-shaped pyx. See columba 1 , 3. 
COlumbaryt (kol'uni-ba-ri), . [< L. columba- 
rium : see columbarium.] Same as columbari- 
um, 1. Kir T. Browne. 
columbate (ko-lum'bat), n. [< columb(ic) + 
-ate 1 .] A salt or compound of columbic acid 
with a base: same as niobate. 
Columbella(kol-um-bera),. [NL. 
(Lamarck, 1801), < L. "columba, a 
pigeon (referring to the dove-like 
color of the shell of the typical spe- 
cies), + dim. -ella. Cf. Columba 1 .] 
A genus of gastropodous mollusks, 
typical of the family Columbellida: 
C. mercatoria is an example. Also 
Colombella, 
columbellid (kol-um-bel'id), . A gastropod 
of the family Columbellida;. 
Columbrlla 
intrcatoria. 
Columba. French, lath century. ( From Viollet-le-Duc's " Diet. 
i lu Mobilier franc.ais.") 
ing was in the back. Columba Noachi, Noah's Dove, a 
constellation in the southern hemisphere, close to the 
hind feet of Canis Major. It contains, according to Gould, 
115 stars visible to the naked eye ; but only 3 are promi- 
nent. It was proposed by Bartsch in 1624. 
columba 2 (ko-lum'ba), n. Same as columbo. 
Columbacei (kol-um-ba'se-i), n. pi. [NL., pi. 
of columbaceus : see columbaceous.] The pi- 
geons and doves rated as a suborder (with Gal- 
linacei) of Basores. [Not in use.] 
columbaceous (kol-um-ba'shius), a. [< NL. 
columbaceus, < L. columba, a dove : see Columba 1 
and -aceous. ] Belonging to or resembling birds 
of the suborder Columbacei. 
Columbae (ko-lum'be), n. pi. [NL., pi. of L. 
columba: see Columba, 1 .] An order of birds of 
the pigeon kind, sometimes including the dodo 
and sand-grouse, butmore frequently excluding 
them. They are altricial, psilopsedic, monogamous birds, 
having the skull schizognathous and schizorhinal, with 
prominent basipterygoid processes, the angle of the man- 
dible not recurved, the rostrum slender and straight, the 
sternum double-notched or notched and fenestrate, the 
humeral crest salient, two carotids, one pair of syringeal 
muscles, the cieca coli small or null, the gizzard muscular, 
the crop highly developed, the gall-bladder generally ab- 
sent, the ambiens muscle normally present, the oil-gland 
nude, small or wanting, the plumage not aftershafted, and 
the feet insessorial. The group thus defined is divided 
by different authors into from two to five families. 
columbarium (kol-um-ba'ri-um), n. ; pi. colum- 
baria (-a). [L., a dove-cote, a pigeon-house, 
hence later (LL.) in senses like those of E. 
pigeonhole, a putlog-hole, a hole near the axle 
of a wheel, a hole in the side of a vessel for an 
oar, a rowlock, a place of sepulture ; prop. neut. 
ofcolumbarius, adj., pertaining to doves, < colum- 
ba, a pigeon, dove : see Columba 1 .'} If. A dove- 
cote ; a pigeon-house. Also columbary. 2. In 
Columbellid* (kol-um-bel'i-de), n. pi. [NL., 
< Columbella + -ida;.] A family of rhachiglos- 
sate gastropods, typified by the genus Colum- 
bella, having an oval obconic or turreted shell 
with rather short spire, a toothed inner and 
internally thickened crenulated outer lip, and 
a narrow aperture with a short anterior canal. 
The most distinctive feature is the dentition of the tongue, 
which has a low unarmed median tooth, and a lateral one 
on each side, somewhat like a cleaver and with slits sep- 
arating denticles. There are several hundred species, 
mostly of small size and often brightly colored ; they are 
all carnivorous and littoral, and are especially numerous 
in the tropics. 
columbethra, n. See colymbethra. 
columbiad (ko-lum'bi-ad), . [< NL. Colum- 
bia (see Columbian) + -ad 2 .] A heavy cast- 
iron smooth-bore cannon of a form introduced 
by Colonel George Bomford, U. S. A., and used 
in the warof 1812. Columbiads were made of 8-and 10- 
inch caliber, and were used for projecting both solid shot 
and shells. They were equally suited to the defense of 
narrow channels and distant roadsteads. In I860 General 
Rodman, of the United States ordnance, devised a 15-inch 
columbiad, which was cast hollow, and cooled from the 
interior, thus increasing the hardness and density of the 
metal next the bore. These guns are now obsolete. 
Columbian (ko-lum'bi-an), a. [< NL. Colum- 
bianus, < Columbia, a poet, name for the United 
States, < Columbus, Latinized form of the name 
of the discoverer of America, It. Colombo, Sp. 
Colon. The name is identical with It. Colombo, 
a dove, a pigeon, < L. columbus, a dove, a pigeon 
(see Columba 1 ) ; cf. the E. surnames Dove, Pi- 
geon, Culver, Turtle, of the same signification.] 
Pertaining to Columbia as a poetical name for 
the United States. 
columbic 1 (ko-lum'bik),o. [< columb-ium + -ic.] 
Pertaining to or obtained from columbium. 
columbic 2 (ko-lum'bik), a. [< columbo + -ic.] 
Existing in or derived from columbo-root : as, 
columbic acid. 
columbid (ko-lum'bid), n. A bird of the fam- 
ily Columbida;. 
Columbidae (ko-lum'bi-de), n. pi. [NL., < Co- 
lumba 1 , 1, + -idw.] The leading family of the 
order or suborder Columba;, including the true 
pigeons and doves. The characters of the family arc 
much the same as those of the suborder, with which the 
group is nearly coextensive. It differs chiefly in the exclu- 
sion of the tooth-billed pigeon, Diduncvlus strigirostris, 
as the type of a different family. A few other genera, as 
Ooura, Catenas, and Carpophaga are sometimes likewise 
excluded. There are about 300 species, inhabiting tem- 
perate and tropical regions in nearly all parts of the globe. 
See dove and pigeon. 
columbier (ko-lum'bi-er), n. [Also colombier; 
< F. colombier, a dove-cote, pigeonhole (grand 
colombier, a size of paper), < L. columbarium : see 
columbarium.] A size of writing-paper, 23 X 33J 
columbo 
inches in the United States, 24 X 34| inches in 
England, and 63 X 89 centimeters in France. 
Petit colombier, a size of paper 58 x 80 centimeters. 
columbiferous (kol-um-bii'e-rus), a. [< NL. 
columbium, q. v., + L. ferre = E. bear 1 .] Pro- 
ducing or containing columbium. 
Columbigallina (ko-lum"bi-ga-li'na), n. [NL. 
(Boie, 1826), < Columba 1 , 1, q. v., + Gallina, 
q. v.] A genus of Columbida', the dwarf doves, 
usually called Chamtepelia : lately adopted in- 
stead of the latter, being of prior date. See 
cut under ground-dove. 
COlumbin (ko-lum'bin), n. A non-conducting 
material placed between the parallel carbons 
of the electric candle. 
Columbines (kol-um-bi'ne), n. pi. [NL., < Co- 
lumba 1 , 1, + -inte. Cf. columbine 1 .] 1. The typ- 
ical subfamily of the family Columbidce, con- 
taining the true pigeons. 2. In Nitzsch's 
classification, a major group of birds, equiva- 
lent to the order Columba; of authors in general. 
columbine 1 (kol'um-bin), a. and n. [= F. colom- 
bi>i, < L. columbinus, adj., < columba, a dove: see 
Columba 1 . Cf. columbine?.] I. a. 1. Pertain- 
ing to or having the characters of a pigeon or 
dove; in ornith., belonging to the Columba; or 
Columbine; columbaceous. 
Com forth now with thin eyen columbine. 
Chaucer, Merchant's Tale, 1. 897. 
For it is not possible to join serpentine wisdom with the 
columbine innocence, except men know exactly all the con- 
ditions of the serpent. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 21. 
2. Of a dove-color; resembling the neck of a 
dove in color. 
II. it. One of the Columba; or Columbida;. 
columbine 2 (kol'um-bin), n. [< ME. columbine 
= F. colombine, < ML. columbina, columbine, 
prop. fern, of L. columbinus, dove-like: see col- 
umbine 1 . Cf. the equiv. name 
culverwort.] The popular name 
of plants of the genus Aqui- 
legia (which see). The common 
European columbine, A. vulgarijt, is a 
favorite garden-flower, and owes its 
name to the fancied resemblance of 
its petals and sepals to the heads of Flower of Colum- 
pigeons round a dish, a favorite de- bine i Aquiitgia v*i- 
vice of ancient artists. Feathered *<"**) 
columbine, a book-name for Thalic- 
trum aqitilegifolium, an old-fashioned garden-plant. 
COlumbite (ko-lum'bit), n. [< columb-ium + 
-ite%.] The native niobate (columbate) of iron, 
a mineral of black color and high specific grav- 
ity, crystallizing in thp orthorhombic system. 
It is the principal source of niobium (columhium), and gen- 
erally contains also more or less of the allied element tanta- 
lum. Some varieties contain considerable manganese, and 
these are slightly translucent and have a dark reddish- 
brown color. It is found most abundantly in Connecticut, 
also in other localities of the United States, in Greenland, 
and in Bavaria. Also called niobite. 
columbium (ko-lum'bi-um), n. [NL., < Colum- 
bia : see Columbian.] Same as niobium. 
columbo (ko-lum'bo), n. [< Colombo, in Ceylon, 
once supposed to be the original habitat of the 
plant.] The root of Jateorrhiza Calumba (J. 
Flowering Branch of Jatforrhixa Calt 
palmata), a menispermaceous plant of south- 
eastern Africa, cultivated in some African and 
East Indian islands. The columbo of commerce con- 
sists of thick circular disks, an inch or two in diameter and 
depressed in the middle, cut from the root, the taste of 
