cumulative 
ber, extent, amount, or force of (tilings of the 
same kind): as, cumulative materials; eiiniiilii- 
tirr arguments or testimony. See below. 2. 
Increasing by successive additions: as, the cu- 
mulative action of a foree. 
I cannot help thinking that the Indefinable something 
which we call character is cumulati of. that the Influence 
of the same climate, scenery, anil associations for several 
generations is necessary to its gathering head, anil that 
the process is disturbed liy continual change of place. 
Lowell, Fireside Travels, p. 98. 
No modern writer save De Quincey has sustained him- 
self so easily and with such cumulalite force through pas- 
sages which strain the reader's mental power. 
Stedman, Viet. Poets, p. 401. 
3f. Composed of aggregated parts ; composite ; 
brought together by degrees. 
As for knowledge which man receiveth by teaching, it 
is cumulative and not original. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 147. 
Cumulative action, in med., the property of producing 
considerable, and more or less sudden, effect after a large 
number of apparently ineffective doses, as of a drug or poi- 
son. Cumulative argument, an argumentation whose 
force lies in the concurrence of different probable ar- 
guments tending to one conclusion. Cumulative evi- 
dence, evidence of which the parts reinforce one another, 
producing an effect stronger than any part taken by itself. 
Cumulative legacies, several legacies in the same will 
to the same person which, though expressed in the same 
or similar language, are such as to be deemed additional 
to one another, and not merely a repeated expression of one 
intention already expressed. Cumulative Offense, in 
tow, an offense committed by a repetition of acts of the 
same kind, on the same day or on different days. Heard. 
Cumulative sentence, in lam, a sentence in which sev- 
eral flues or several terms of imprisonment are added toge- 
ther, on account of conviction of several similar offenses. 
Cumulative system of voting, in elections, that sys- 
tem by which each voter has the same number, or within 
one of the same number, of votes as there are persons to 
be elected to a given office, and can give them all to one 
candidate or distribute them, as he pleases. This variety 
of proportional or minority representation is practised in 
elections to the Illinois House of Representatives, and to 
some extent in British elections. 
cumulatively (ku'mu-la-tiv-li), adv. In a cu- 
mulative manner ; increasingly ; by successive 
additions. 
As time goes on and pur knowledge of the planetary 
motions becomes more minutely precise, this method [of de- 
termining the parallax of the sun] will become continually 
and cumulatively more exact. C. A. Young, The Sun, p. 41. 
cumuli, a. Plural of cumulus. 
cumuliform (ku'mu-li-form), a. [< L. cumulus, a 
heap, + forma, form.] Having the form of cu- 
muli ; oumulous ; cumulose : applied to clouds. 
[Rare.] 
cumulite (ku'mu-lit), n. [< L. cumulus, a heap, 
+ -ite.] An aggregation of globulites (see glob- 
ulite) with more or less spherical, ovoid, or flat- 
tened rounded forms: a term introduced into 
microscopical lithology by Vogelsang. 
cumulo-cirr o-str atus (ku"mu - Id - sir "6 - stra ' - 
tus), n. [NL., < cumulus + cirrus + stratus.'} 
A form of cloud. See cloud 1 , 1. 
cumulose (ku'mu-los), a. [< L. as if "cunmlo- 
sus, < cumulus, a heap: see cumulus.] Full of 
heaps, or of cumuli. 
cumulo-stratus (ku"mu-ld-stra'tus), n. [NL., 
< cumulus + stratus.} ' A form of cloud.. See 
cloud 1 , 1. 
cumulous (ku'mu-lus), a. [< L. as if *cumulo- 
sus: see cumulose.] Resembling cumuli; cu- 
mulif orm ; cumulose : applied to clouds. 
A series of white cumuloux clouds, such as are frequently 
seen piled up near the horizon on a summer's day. 
ffeuvomb and Holden, Astron., p. 345. 
cumulus (ku'mu-lus), n. ; pi. cumuli (-11). [< L. 
cumulus, aheap, whence ult. cumble, cumber, n., 
and cumulate, accumulate, etc.] 1. The kind 
of cloud which appears in the form of rounded 
heaps or hills, snowy-white at top with a darker 
horizontal base, characteristic of mild, calm 
weather, especially in summer: the summer- 
day cloud. See cut under cloudl, 1. 
The vapours rolled away, studding the mountains witli 
small flocks of white wool-like cumuli. 
W. H. Itussell, Diary in India, II. 106. 
2. In ami.., a heap of cells surrounding a ripe 
ovum in the Graafian follicle, and constituting 
the discus proligerus. 
cumyl (kum'il), . [< L. cum(inum), cumin, + 
-yl, < GT. vhi, matter.] The hypothetical radi- 
cal (CjoHnO) of a series of compounds pro- 
cured from cumin-seed. 
cumylic (ku-mil'ik), a. [< cumyl + -ic.] De- 
rived from or pertaining to cumyl Cumylic 
acid, C 10 Hj 2 O 2 , a monobasic acid which crystallizes in 
brilliant prisms, insoluble in water. 
cun 1 (kun), v. An obsolete or dialectal form of 
col, cowl. 
CUU 2 (kun), v. t. An obsolete or dialectal form 
of con 2 . 
cun 3 (kun), v. t. A variant of con?. 
1396 
cunabula (ku-nab'u-la), . [L., neut. pi., dim. 
of CIHIIP, f. pi., a cradle.] A cradle; hence, 
birthplace or early abode. [Rare.] 
Leipzig is in a peculiar sense the cunabula of German 
socialism and spiritualism. 
G. S. Hall, German Culture, p. 74. 
cunabular (ku-nab'u-ljtr), a. [< L. cwnabula, 
a cradle, + -ar.] Of or'pertaining to the cradle 
or to childhood. 
Cunantha (ku-nan'thii), . [NL. (Haeckel, 
1879), < L. cunce, a cradle, nest, + Or. anBof, a 
flower.] The typical genus of Cmmntlimce. 
Cunanthinae (ku-nan-thi'ne), n.pl. [NL., < Cu- 
nantlia + -ina.] A group of Trachymedusina; 
with broad pouch-shaped radial canals, and 
with otoporpa, typified by the genus Cunantha. 
cunctationt (kungk-ta'shpn), . [< L. cuncta- 
tio(n-), contatio(n-), delay, < cunctari, contari. 
delay action, hesitate.] Delay; cautious slow- 
ness ; deliberateness. 
Such a kind of Cunctation, Advisedness, and Procrasti- 
nation, is allowable also in all Councils of State and War. 
Howell, Letters, ii. 17. 
Festina lente, . . . celerity should always be content- 
pered with cunctation. Sir T. Browne, Vnlg. Err., v. 2. 
CUnctative (kungk'ta-tiv), a. Cautiously slow ; 
delaying; deliberate. [Rare.] 
cunctator (kungk-ta'tor), . [= F. cunctateur, 
< L. cunctator, a delayer, lingerer (famous as a 
surname of the dictator Quintus Fabius Maxi- 
mus), < cunctari, delay: see cunctation."] One 
who delays or lingers: as, Fabius Cunctator 
(the delayer). [Rare.] 
Unwilling to discourage such cunctatory. 
Hammond, Works, I. 494. 
CUnctipotent (kungk - tip ' o - tent), a. [< LL. 
cunctipoten(t-)s, all-powerful, <! L. cunctus, all, 
all together (contr. of "cojunctus, conjunctus, join- 
ed together: see conjunct, conjoint), + poten (t-)s, 
powerful.] All-powerful; omnipotent. [Rare.] 
O true, peculiar vision 
Of God cunctipotent I 
J. M. Neale, tr. of Horse Novissimse. 
cunctitenentt, . [< L. cunctus, all, + tenen(t-)s, 
ppr. of tenere, hold : see tenant.] Possessing all 
things. 
cundt, >'. t. An obsolete variant of con s . 
cunditt, cunditht, . Obsolete forms of con- 
duitl. 
cundurango (kun-du-rang'go), it. [The Peruv. 
name, said to mean 'eagle-vine.'] An ascle- 
piadaceous woody climber of Peru, the bark of 
which had a brief reputation as a cure for can- 
cer. It is a simple aromatic bitter. The plant is usually 
referred to Marxdenia cundurango, but specimens under 
cultivation have been identified as belonging to the genus 
Macroxcepis. It is probable that the drug is obtained from 
more than one species. Also written condurango. 
cundy (kun'di), . A dialectal form of conduit 1 . 
.Brockett. 
cuneal (ku'ne-al), a. [< L. cuncus, a wedge : 
see cuneus and cone.] Wedge-shaped; cunei- 
form: specifically, having 
the character of a cuneus. 
cuneate, cuneated (ku'ne- 
at, -a-ted), a, [< L. ciinea- 
tus, pp. of cuneare, wedge, 
make wedge-shaped, < cune- 
us, a wedge : see cuneus.] 
Wedge-shaped ; truncate at 
one end and tapering to a 
point at the other : properly 
applied only to flat bodies, 
surfaces, or marks : as, a cu- 
neate leaf. 
cuneately (ku'ne-at-li), adv. 
In the form of a wedge. 
At each end suddenly cuneately sha: 
H. C. Wood, Fresh 
cuneatic (ku-ne-at'ik), a. [< cuneate + -ic.] 
Same as cuneate. [Rare.] 
cuneator (ku'ne-a-tor), n. [ML., < cuneare, 
coin, L. make wedge-shaped, wedge, < cuneus, 
a wedge : see cuneus.] An official formerly in- 
trusted with the regulation of the dies used in 
the mints in England. The office was abolished 
with the abolition of the provincial mints. 
The office of cuneator was one of great importance at a 
time when there existed a multiplicity of mints. 
Encyc. Brit., XVI. 480. 
cunei, . Plural of cuneus. 
cuneiform (ku'ne- or ku-ne'i-fonn), a. and n. 
[Also improp. ouniform; < NL. cuneiforniix. < 
L. cuncus, a wedge, + forma, shape.] I. a. 1. 
Having the shape or form of a wedge ; cuneate. 
Specifically (o) Applied to the wedge-shaped or arrow- 
headed characters, or to the inscriptions in such charac- 
ters, of the ancient Mesopotamians and Persians. See 
arrow-headed. 
Cuneate Leaf. 
larpened. 
h-Water Algte, p. 108. 
cuniculus 
The cuneiform inscriptions of this period (Nebuchad- 
nezzar's] are not of historical import, like the Assyrian, 
but have reference only to thebufldlnj works of the king. 
\ r on Ranke, tlniv. Hist, (trans.), p. 88. 
(Ii) In entoiu., said of parts or joints which are attached 
by a thin but broad base, and thicken gradually to a sud- 
denly truncated apex, (c) In anat., applied to certain 
wedge-shaped carpal and tarsal bones. See phrases below. 
2. Occupied with or versed in the wedge- 
shaped characters, or the inscriptions writ- 
ten in them: as, "a cuneiform scholar," Sir H. 
Rawlinson. Cuneiform bone, in anat. \ (a) A carpal 
none at the ulnar side of the proximal row. Also called 
the tritritetritm and pyrainidale, from its shape in the 
human subject. See cut under hand. (It) One of three 
bones of the foot, of the distal row of tarsal bones, on the 
inner or tibial side, in relation w ith the first three meta- 
tarsal bones. The cuneiform bones are distinguished from 
one another as the inner, middle, and outer, or the ento- 
cuneifomi; menocuneifonn, and ectocuneiform ; also as 
the entoxphenoid, mesogphenoid, and ectoKphenoid. In the 
human foot they are wedged in between the scaphoid, the 
cuboid, and the heads of three metatarsals, and fitted to 
one another like the stones of an arch. These bones con- 
tribute much to the elasticity of the arch of the instep. 
See cut under foot. Cuneiform cartilage. See carti- 
lage. Cuneiform columns, Burdach's columns (which 
see, under column). Cuneiform deformation of the 
Skull. See deformation. Cuneiform palpi, those palpi 
in which the last joint is cuneiform. Cuneiform tuber- 
cles, the cartilages of Wrisberg. 
II. n. A cuneiform bone : as, the three cuiiri- 
forms of the foot. 
cuneiforme (ku"ne-i-for'me), w.; pi. cuneiformia 
(-mi-a). [NL., neut. (gc. os, bone) of cuneifor- 
mis : see cuneiform.] One of the cuneiform 
bones of the wrist or of the instep : more fully 
called os cutieiforme, plural ossa cuneiformia. 
The three tarsal cuneiform bones are distin- 
guished as cuneiforme intcrnum, medium, and ex- 
ternum. 
Cuneirostrest (ku"ne-i-ros'trez), n. i>l. [NL., 
< L. cuneus, a wedge, + rostrum, beak.] In 
Blyth's system of classification (1849), a series 
or superfamily of his Pieoidcs, consisting of the 
woodpeckers, honey-guides, and barbets: op- 
posed to Levirostres. 
CUneocuboid (ku // ne-d-ku'boid), . [< cune- 
iform) + cuboid.] 'In anat., pertaining to the 
cuneiform bones and the cuboides. 
cuneoscaphoid (ku"ne-6-skaf old), a. [< cune- 
iform) + scaphoid.] In anat., pertaining to 
the cuneiform bones and the scaphoid. 
cunette (ku-net')) [F-> appar. dim. formed 
from L. cuneus, a wedge.] In fort. : (a) A deep 
trench sunk along the middle of a dry moat, to 
make the passage more difficult. (6) A small 
drain dug along the middle of the main ditch, to 
receive the surface-water and keep the ditch dry. 
cuneus (ku'ne-us), n. ; pi. cunei (-1). [NL., < 
L. cuneus, a wedge, ML. also a corner, angle, 
a stamp, die, > OF. coi, > E. coin: see coin 1 . 
Hence cuneate, cuneiform, etc.] 1. Innw<.,the 
triangular lobule on the median surface of the 
cerebrum, bounded by the parieto-occipital and 
calcarine fissures. See cerebrum. 2. In entom., 
a triangular part of the hemielytrum found in 
certain heteropterous insects, inserted like a 
wedge on the outer side between the corium and 
the membrane. It is generally of a more or less cori- 
aceous consistence, and is separated from the corium by a 
flexible suture. Also called appendix. 
CUnicnlate (ku-nik'u-lat), a. [< L. cuniculus, a 
passage underground, a cavity, < cuniculus, a 
rabbit: see cuniculus.] In bot., traversed by a 
long passage open at one end, as the peduncle 
of TronfEolum. 
cuniculi, n. Plural of cuniculus. 
cuniculous (ku-nik'u-lus), a. [< L. cuniculus, a 
rabbit, cony: see cuniculus.] Relating to rab- 
bits. [Rare.] 
cuniculus (ku-nik'u-lus), n.; pi. cuniculi (-Ii). 
[L., also cuniculum, a canal, cavity, hole, pit, 
mine, an underground passage, lit. a (rabbit-) 
burrow, < cuniculus, a. rabbit, cony, whence ult. 
E. cony, q. v.] 1. In archa-ol., a small under- 
ground passage ; specifically, one of the under- 
ground drains which formed a close network 
throughout the Roman Campagna and certain 
other districts of Italy. They were constructed by a 
race that was dominant before the age of Koman suprem- 
acy, and are now known to have remedied the nial;trion> 
character of those regions, which has returned since they 
were choked up. 
2. leap.] [NL.] A genus of lemmings, of the 
family Murida; and subfamily Aniowtna: so 
called because the animals somewhat resemble 
small rabbits. The cranial and dental characters are 
diagnostic : there are no obvious external ears, the feet 
and tail are short and densely furred, the pollex is rudi- 
mentary, and the two middle fore claws are prodigiously 
enlarged, and often duplicated by a secondary deciduous 
growth of liorny substance, C. Mtdaonius (OT tun/mit"*} 
is the Hudson's Bay lemming nr hare-tailed rat of aretie 
America, Greenland, or corresponding latitudes in the old 
