Cordons. Old State House, Boston, Mass. 
f, c, c, cordons. 
cord-leaf 
cord-leaf (kord'lef), . A name applied by 
Lindley to plants of the natural order JKestiaccui. 
cord-machine (kflrd'mMhSn'), H. A machine 
used for making cords, fringes, and trimmings. 
cordon (kor'dou), . [< F. cordon (= Sp. cor- 
don = Pg. corilao = It. cordone), aug. of corde 
= Sp. Pg. It. corcla, cord: see cord 1 , .] 1. In 
fort.: (a) A course of stones jutting before the 
rampart and the base of the parapet, or a course 
of stones between the wall of a fortress which 
lies aslope and the parapet which is perpendic- 
ular: introduced as an ornament, and used only 
in fortifications of stonework. (6) The project- 
ing coping of a scarp wall, which prevents the 
top of a revetment from being saturated with 
water, and forms an obstacle to an enemy's es- 
calading par- 
ty. 2. In 
arch., a mold- 
ing of incon- 
siderable pro- 
jection, usu- 
ally horizon- 
tal, in the face 
of a wall : 
used for orna- 
ment, or to in- 
dicate on the 
exterior a divi- 
sion of stones, 
etc. Compare 
ba(P, 2 (e). 
3. Milit., a 
line or series 
of military posts orsentiuels, iuclosingorguard- 
ing any particular place, to prevent the passage 
of persons other than those entitled to pass. 
In this way, a cordon is drawn along that continent, 
which the slave trader cannot penetrate. 
Everett, Orations, I. 334. 
Hence 4. Any line (of persons) that incloses 
or guards a particular place so as to prevent 
egress or ingress. 
As hunters round a hunted creature draw 
The cordon close and closer toward the death. 
Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
5. Any cord, braid, or lace of fine material form- 
ing a part of costume, as around the crown of 
a hat or hanging down from it, or used to secure 
a mantle or the like. 6. In her., a cord used 
as a bearing accompanying the shield of an ec- 
clesiastical dignitary, and usually hanging on 
each side. Cardinals have a cordon gules which is divided, 
forming lozenge-shaped meshes, and having 15 tufts or tas- 
sels in 5 rows ; archbishops have one of vert, which bears 
only 10 tufts in 4 rows ; that of bishops is also vert, with 
6 tufts in 3 rows. See cut under cardinal. 
7. A ribbon indicating the position of its wearer 
in an honorary order. A cordon is usually worn as a 
scarf over one shoulder and carried to the waist on the 
opposite side ; it is especially the mark of a higher grade of 
an order. 
The grand yellow cordon of ... St. Michael of Pumper- 
nickel. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, II. xxvii. 
8. In hort., a plant that is naturally diffusely 
branched, made by pruning to grow as a single 
stem, in order to force larger fruit. 
Cordons are trees trained to a single shoot, the later- 
als of which are kept spurred. They are usually trained 
horizontally, at about li feet from the ground, and may 
consist of one stem or of two, the stems in the latter ea^e 
being trained in opposite directions. 
Encyc. Brit., XII. 269. 
Cordon, bleu, (a) The watered sky-blue ribbon, in the 
form of a scarf, worn as a badge by the knights grand cross 
of the old French order of the Holy Ghost, the highest 
order of chivalry under the Bourbons. (6) By extension, 
aperson wearing or entitled to wear this badge, (c) Hence, 
from this being the highest badge of knightly honor, any 
person of great eminence in his class or profession : as, 
the cordons bleitf of journalism, (d) In specific use, a first- 
class cook. Cordon rouge, the red ribbon or scarf con- 
stituting the badge of the old French order of St. Louis, 
and now of the Legion of Honor ; hence, by extension, a 
person wearing or entitled to wear this badge. Grand 
cordon, the broad ribbon or scarf distinguishing the high- 
est class of any knightly or honorary order ; by extension 
a member of the highest class of such an order, equiva- 
lent to grand commander. Knights of the Cordon 
Jaune. See order. Littoral cordon, in hydrog., the 
shore-line. Sanitary cordon, a line of troops or mili- 
tary posts on the borders of a district of country infected 
with disease, to cut off communication, and thus prevent 
the disease from sin-catling. 
cordonette (kor-do-nef), n. [See cordonnet, n.] 
An edging made of a small cord or piping. 
cordonnet (kor-do-na'), n. [F., silk twist, a 
milled edge, dim. of cordon, a string, cord : see 
cordon.] A raised edge or border to the pat- 
tern of point-lace. Compare crescent. 
COrdonnier (kor-do-nia'), . [F., a cobbler : see 
Oordwauw.] The cobbler-fish or thread-fish, 
Blepharis crinitiis. 
1264 
cordovan (kor'do-van), n. [Early mod. E. also 
corderan ; < Sp. cordovan, now cordoban = Pg. 
cordorao, cordovan leather : see cordwain, the 
earlier form in English.] 1. Spanish leather. 
See cordwain. 
Whilst every shepherd's boy 
Puts on his lusty green, with gaudy hook, 
And hanging scrip of finest cordevan. 
Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, i. 1. 
[He] has not two old cordovan skins to leave 
In leather caps to mourn him in if he die. 
B. Jonson, Magnetick Lady, iii. 3. 
2. Leather made from horse-hide. [Eng.] 
Cordovan embroidery, a kind of embroidery made by 
means of an application of the imitation leather known 
as American cloth upon coarse canvas, the edges being 
stitched with crewel or other thread. 
cord-sling (kord'sling), n. A sling with long 
cords or straps, which are grasped directly in 
the hand : distinguished from staff-sling. 
cord-Stitch (kord'stich), n. A stitch used in em- 
broidery, consisting of two interlacing lines 
producing a pattern somewhat like a chain. 
cqrduasoy (kor-dwa-soi'), n. [Appar. a corrup- 
tion of a F. *corde de soie or *corde a sole, cord 
of or with silk: soie, silk.] A thick silk woven 
over a coarse cord in the warp. 
corduroy (kor'du-roi), . and a. [Also spelled 
corderoy ; appar. repr. F. * corde du roi, lit. the 
king's cord (see cord 1 , de 2 , and toy) ; but the 
term is not found in F. Cf. duroy.] 1. n. 1. 
A thick cotton stuff corded or ribbed on the sur- 
face. It is extremely durable, and is especially used for 
the outer garments of men engaged in rough labor, field- 
sports, and the like. 
2. A corduroy road. See II., 1. 
I hed to cross bayous an' criks (wal, it did beat all natur'), 
Upon a kin' o' corderoy, fust log, then alligator. 
Lowell, Biglow Papers, 2d ser., p. 13. 
II. a. 1 . Like corduroy ; ribbed like cordu- 
roy : as, a corduroy road. 2. Made of corduroy. 
Corduroy road, a road constructed with small logs 
laid together transversely through a swamp or over miry 
ground. (U. 8.] 
corduroy (kor'du-roi), v. t. [< corduroy, n., 2.] 
To make or construct by means of small logs 
laid transversely, as a road. 
The roads towards Corinth were corduroyed and new 
ones made. U . S. Grant, Personal Memoirs, I. 372. 
cordwain (kdrd'wan), n. [< ME. eordwane, 
cordewune, cordewan, corduanc, corden = D. kor- 
duaan = Gr. corduan = Dan. Sw. korduan, cord- 
wain, < OF. cordowan, corduban, etc., = Pr. cor- 
doan = It. corAma.no (ML. cordounum), < Sp. cor- 
doban, formerly cordovan = Pg. cordovSo, Span- 
ish leather, prop, (as also in OF., etc.) an adj., 
Cordovan, < Cordoba, formerly Cordova, L. Cor- 
duba, ML. Cordon, a town in Spain where this 
leather is largely manufactured. Cf . cordovan."] 
Cordovan or Spanish leather. It is sometimes goat- 
skin tanned and dressed, but more frequently split horse- 
hide ; it differs from morocco in being prepared from 
heavy skins and in retaining its natural grain. During the 
middle ages the finest leather came from Spain ; the shoes 
of ladies and gentlemen of rank are often said to be of 
cordwain. 
His schoon of cordewane. Chaucer, Sir Thopas, 1. 21. 
Figges, Reysins, Hony and Cordoweyne : 
Dates, and Salt, Hides, and such Marchandy. 
llakluyt's Voyages, I. 189. 
Buskins he wore of costliest cordwayne. 
Spenser, F. Q., VI. ii. 6. 
cordwainer (kord'wa-ner), n. [Formerly also 
cordiner, cordener; < ME. cordwaner, corduener, 
cordynere, < OF. cordotMnier, cordoanier, etc., F. 
cordonnier (= Pr. cordoneir = It. cordovaniere, 
a cordwainer, = Pg. cordovaneiro, a maker of 
cordwain), < cordowan, etc., cordwain: see cord- 
wain.] A worker in cordwain or cordovan lea- 
ther ; hence, a worker in leather of any kind ; a 
shoemaker. 
The Maister of the crafte of cordynerez, of the fraternyte 
of the blyssed Trinyte, in the Cyte of Exceter, hath diuerse 
tymez, in vinble wise, sued to the honorable Mayour, bay- 
liifs, and commune counsayle. 
English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 331. 
cordwainery (kord'wa-ner-i), n. [< cordwain 
f -fry.] The occupation of working in lea- 
ther; specifically, shoemaking. 
The task of a daily pair of shoes, coupled even with some 
prospect of victuals, and an honourable Mastership in 
Cordwainery, . . . was nowise satisfaction enough to such 
a mind [as that of George Fox). Carlyle, Sai-tor Resartus. 
cord-wood (kord'wud), n. 1. Cut wood sold 
by the cord for fuel ; specifically, firewood cut 
in lengths of four feet, so as to be readily mea- 
sured by the cord when piled. 
One strong verse that can hold itself upright (as the 
French critic Rivarol said of Dante) with the bare help of 
the substantive and verb, is worth acres of ... dead 
cordwood piled stick on stick, a boundless continuity of 
dryness. Lowell, N. A. Kev., CXX. 339. 
Caterpillar-fungus (Coriiyceps 
enlarged. 
core 
2. Wood conveyed to market on board of ves- 
sels, instead of being floated. [Scotch.] 
cord-work (kord'werk), n. Fancy-work made 
with cords of different materials and thick- 
nesses; especially, needlework made with fine 
bobbin or stout thread, so as to produce a sort 
of coarse lace. 
Cordyceps (kor'di-seps), n. [NL., irreg. < Gr. 
Kop6u).q, a club, + L. -ceps, < caput, a head: see 
caput.] Agenus 
of pyrenomyce- 
tous fungi, of 
which a few 
growupon other 
fungi, but' by 
far the greater 
number are par- 
asitic upon in- 
sects or their 
larvte. The spores 
enter the breath- 
ing-openings of the 
larva, and the my- 
celium grows until 
it fills the interior 
and kills the insect. 
In fructification a 
stalk rises from the 
body of the insect, 
and in the enlarged 
extremity of this 
the perithecia are 
grouped. Twenty- 
eight species from 
all parts of the 
world have been 
enumerated. A spe- 
cies Of Cordyceps 
occurs on wasps in 
the West Indies ; a, a, mature fruiting bodies, in which are 
the wasps thus at- embedded the perithecia, which appear as 
t-i,.U-,.il nm ....lloj minute warts on the surface \b,b, pedicels ; 
tacked are called younger fruiting bodies. 
gnfpes vegetantes, 
or mgetatinn wasp*. Sometimes spelled Cordiceps. 
cordyle (kor'dil), . A book-name of lizards 
of the genus Cordi/lus. 
Oordyline (kor-di-H'ue), n. [NL., < Gr. KopdMq, 
a club.] A genus of arborescent palm-like lili- 
aceous plants, of 10 species, native in the East 
Indies, Australia, and the Pacific islands. The 
stem is simple, bearing a head of long, narrow, drooping 
leaves, and ample panicles of small flowers. They are fre- 
quently cultivated in greenhouses, under the name of Dra- 
ctena. The more common species are C. australis and C. 
indivim, from New Zealand. Sometimes called palm-Mitt. 
Cordylophora (kor-di-lof'o-ra), . [NL., < Gr. 
icopdvl.?/, a club, a lump, -f- "(Jopop, -bearing, < 
ipepciv = E. ftear 1 .] A genus of Hydropolypince, 
of the family Clavidte, including fresh-water di- 
oacious forms, as C. laeustris, having a branched 
stock, oval gonophores covered by the perisarc, 
and stolons growing over external objects. 
Cordylura (kor-di-lu'ra), n. [NL. (Fallen, 
1810), < Gr. Kopdvlr/, a club, + avpti., a tail.] The 
typical genue of Cordyluridtc. The flies are found 
by brooks, in meadows and on bushes. The metamorpho- 
ses are unknown, but the species are probably parasitic. 
Cordyluridae (kor-di-lu'ri-de), n. pi. [NL. 
(Macquart, 1835), < Cordylura + -idee.] A fam- 
ily of dipterous insects, typified by the genus 
Cordylura. The species are all parasitic, so far as 
known, like the Anthomyidce, to which they are closely 
related. They have the head large, with sunken face ; the 
mouth bordered with bristles ; the abdomen long, in the 
males thickened behind and with extended genitalia ; the 
wings moderately short, with the first longitudinal vein 
doubled, and the hinder basal and anal cells well develop- 
ed ; the antennae and legs long ; and the femora bristled. 
Core 1 (kor), n. [< ME. core, a core, < AF. core, 
OF. cor, coer, ever, mod. F. eceur, heart, = Pr. 
cor = Sp. cor (obs. ) = Pg. cor (in dc cor, by heart) 
= It. cuore, < L. cor (cord-) = E. heart: see 
heart.] 1. The heart or innermost part of any- 
thing; hence, the nucleus or central or most 
essential part, literally or figuratively: as, the 
core of a question. 
Or ache [parsley] seede, & askes of garment [vine-cuttings) 
Whereof the flauine hath lefte a corf exile, 
The body so, not alle the bones, brent. 
Palladius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 201. 
Whose core 
Stands sound and great within him. Chapman. 
Give me that man 
That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him 
In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of hrart. 
Shak., Hamlet, iii. 2. 
2. Specifically (a) The central part of a fleshy 
fruit, containing the seeds or kernels : as, the 
core of an apple or a quince. 
One is all Pulp, and the other all Corf. 
Cnn;ff>T'', W;ty of the World, i. 5. 
(6) In arch., the inner part or filling of a wall 
or column, (c) In med., the fibrous innermost 
part of a boil, (d) In molding, the internal mold 
of a casting, which fills the space intended to 
be left hollow. Cores are made of molding-sand, mixed 
