eaves-drip 
dropi = OSw. opsadrup = OFries. osedropta = 
MD. osendmp, oosdrup (also osenloop), D. oos- 
druip, eaves-drip, stillicide), < ej'esc, eaves, + 
dryppan, drip, dropa, a drop : see eaves and drip, 
drop. Cf. caves-drop.] An ancient custom or law 
which required a proprietor to build in such a 
manner that the eaves-drop from his house or 
buildings should not fall on the land of his 
neighbor. It was the same as the urban ser- 
vitude of the Romans, called stillicide (stillici- 
dium). 
eaves-drop (evz'drop), . [Early mod. E. also 
eves-drop; < eaves + drop : see eaves-drip.'] The 
water which falls in drops from the eaves of a 
house. 
eavesdrop (evz'drop), v. ; pret. and pp. eaves- 
dropped, ppr. eavesdropping. [Early mod. E. 
also evesdrop (and eavedrop); < eaves-drop, .] 
1. intrans. 1 . To lurk under the eaves or near 
the windows of a house to listen and learn what 
is said within doors. 
But truly I cannot blame the gentlewomen ; you stood 
eves-dropping under their window, and would not come 
up. /,'"'. and /'/.. Captain, v. 3. 
Telling some politicians who were wont to eavesdrop in 
disguises. Milton, Apology for Smectymnuus. 
2. Figuratively, to lie in wait to hear the pri- 
vate conversation of others. 
Strozza hath eavesdropp'd here, and overheard us. 
Chapman, Gentleman Usher, ii. 1. 
H. trans. To listen to in a clandestine man- 
ner. [Rare.] 
The jealous eare of night eave-drops our talke. 
Marston, Antonio and Mellida, I., ii. 1. 
It is not civil to eavesdrop him, but I'm sure he talks 
on 't now. Shirley, Hyde Park, i. 2. 
eavesdropper (evz ' drop " er), n. [Early mod. 
E. also evesdropper, esen-dropper ; < eavesdrop, 
v., + -er 1 .] One who watches for an opportu- 
nity to hear the private conversation of others. 
Under our tents I'll play the eaves-dropper, 
To hear if any mean to shrink from me. 
Shak., Rich. III., v. 3. 
Eaves-droppers, or such as listen under walls or windows 
or the eaves of a house, to hearken after discourse, and 
thereupon to frame slanderous and mischievous tales, are 
a common nuisance, and presentable at the court leet. 
Blackstone, Com., IV. xiii. 
eavesdropping (evz'drop"ing), . [Verbal n. 
of eavesdrop, t'.] The act of one who eaves- 
drops ; the doings of an eavesdropper. 
Then might the conversations of a Schiller with a 
Goethe . . . tempt Honesty itself into eavesdropping. 
Carlyle, Schiller. 
eavesingt (ev'zing), n. [E. dial, contr. pi. eav- 
ings, easings; < ME. evesynge, eaves (also, ear- 
lier, evesunge, a shearing, < AS. *cfesmig, a shear- 
ing (around the edges), verbal n. of efesian, ef- 
sian, shear, = Icel. efsa, cut), < evese, edge, eaves: 
see eaves.] 1. A shearing; what is shorn off. 
Me sold his enetnnye, tlieo her the me kerf of. 
Ancren Riwle, p. 398 
2. Eaves. 
As we may seo a wynter 
Isekles in [on] euesynges thorgh hete of the sonne 
llelteth ... to myst and to water. 
Piers Plowman (C), xx. 193. 
eaves-lath (evz'lath), n. Same as eaves-board. 
eaves-swallow (evz'swoFo), . 1. Same as 
cliff-swallow. This name was first used about 1825, when 
these birds appeared in settled parts of the eastern Unit- 
nesting-places being on cliffs. Often less' correctly writ- 
ten eace-swallow. 
2. The house-martin, Chelidon urbica. Also 
casing-swallow. [Local, Eng.] 
eaves-trough (evz'trdf ), n. A gutter suspended 
immediately under the eaves of a roof to catch 
the drip. It is made of wood, sheet-tin, zinc, or copper 
and fitted with hangers for adjusting it to the structure 
Also called gutter, trader, or spout. 
1826 
eavingS (e'vingz), n. pi. [Contr. of eavesings: 
see eavesing.] Eaves. Cotgrave. [Now chiefly 
prov. Eng.] 
ebauchoir (a-bo-shwor'), n. [P., < Ebaucher, 
sketch, outline, rough-hew: see bosJi 1 , and cf. 
debauch.] 1. A large chisel used by statuaries 
to rough-hew their work. 2. A great hatchel 
or beating instrument used by rope-makers. 
ebb (eb), n. and a. [Early mod. E. ebbe; < ME. 
ebbe, < AS. ebba = D. eb, ebbc = OFries. ebba = 
LG. ebbe (> G. ebbc) = Sw. ebb = Dan. ebbe, ebb. 
Prob. related to Goth, ibuks, backward, and per- 
haps to Goth, ibns = AS. efen, E. eveni, q. v.] 
1. n. 1. The reflux or falling of the tide; the 
return of tide-water toward the sea: opposed 
to flood or flow. See tide. 
As sore wondren somme on cause of thonder, 
On ebbe, on flood, on gossomer, and on mist. 
Chaucer, Squire's Tale, 1. 251. 
His mother was a witch, and one so strong 
That could control the moon, make flows and ebbs. 
Shak., Tempest, v. 1. 
Sometimes at a low ebbe they [quicksands] are all un- 
covered with water. Coryat, Crudities, I. 2. 
[.Eschylus] was always at high flood of passion, even in 
the dead ebb and lowest water -mark of the scene. 
Dryden, Grounds of Criticism in Tragedy. 
2. A flowing backward or away ; decline ; de- 
cay; a gradual falling off or diminution: as, 
the ebb of prosperity ; crime is on the ebb. 
There have been divers of your Royal Progenitors who 
have had as shrewd Shocks ; and 'tis well known how the 
next transmarine Kings have been brought to lower ebbs. 
Howell, Letters, ii. 63. 
I hate to learn the ebb of time 
From yon dull steeple's drowsy chime. 
Scott, L. of the L., vi. 24. 
Moral principle was at as low an ebb in private as in 
public life. Prescott, Ferd. and Isa., ii. 14. 
3f. A name of the common bunting, Emberiza 
miliaria. Montagu. 
Il.t a. Not deep ; shallow. 
The water there is otherwise verie low and ebb. 
Holland, tr. of Pliny, xxxi. 7. 
The ebber shore. 
Bp. Ball, Works (1648), p. 20. (HaUiwell.) 
O how ebb a soul have I to take in Christ's love ! 
Rutherford, Letters, viii. 
ebb (eb), v. [< ME. ebben, < AS. ebbian = D. 
ebben = MLG. LG. ebben (> MHG. eppen, G. 
ebben) = Sw. ebba = Dan. ebbc, ebb: see the 
noun.] I. intrans. 1. To flow back; return, 
as the water of a tide, toward the ocean ; sub- 
side : opposed to flow : as, the tide ebbs and 
flows twice in twenty-four hours. See tide. 
This Watre rennethe, flowynge and ebbynye, be asyde of 
the Mountayne. Mandeville, Travels, p. 199. 
But that which I did most admire was, to see the Water 
keep ebbing for two Days together, without any flood, till 
the Creek where we lived was almost dry. 
Dumpier, Voyages, II. iii. 66. 
2. To return or recede ; fall away; decline. 
Now, when all is wither'd. shrunk, and dry'd, 
All virtues ebb'd out to a dead low tide. 
Donne, Countess of Salisbury. 
Hay 
And felt them slowly ebbing, name and fame. 
Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien. 
= Syn. To recede, retire, decrease, sink, lower, wane, fall 
away. 
II. trans. To cause to subside. [Rare.] 
That disdainful look has pierc'd my soul, and ebb'd my 
rage to penitence and sorrow. Steele, Lying Lover, ii. 1. 
ebb-anchor (eb'ang/kor), n. The anchor by 
which a ship rides during the ebb-tide. 
ebb-tide (eb'tid), . The reflux of tide-water; 
the retiring tide. 
ebent, n. An obsolete form of ebon. Johnson. 
Ebenaceae (eb-e-na'se-e), n. pi. [NL., < L. ebe- 
nus (see ebony) + -acece.] A natural order of 
gamopetalous exogens, containing 5 or 6 gen- 
era and about 250 species, shrubs or trees, 
chiefly inhabiting the tropics, with hard and 
heavy wood. Among the valuable timbers yielded by 
this order are the ebony, calamander-wood, marblewood, 
etc. The largest and most important genus is Diospyros 
See cut under Diospyros. 
ebenet, n. An obsolete form of ebon. 
ebeneous (e-be'ne-us), a. [< LL. ebeneus, of 
ebony, < L. ebenus, ebony : see ebony.'] Of or 
; ebony-colored. 
Same as Ebionit- 
But an Ebionism which Irenams and Eusebius who had 
the entire works of these authors in their hands, failed to 
detect, could not be of a very pronounced character. 
0. P. Fisher, Begin, of Christianity, p. 602. 
Ebionite (e'bi-on-5t), . and a. [< LL. Ebio- 
nitai, pi., Gr. r E/3iuvaloi, < Heb. 'ebjonim (pi. 
of 'ebjon), lit. 'the poor'; the origin of the 
application of the name is uncertain.] I. n. 
ebony 
A member of a party of Judaizing Christians 
which appeared in the church as early as 
the second century and disappeared about the 
fourth century. They agreed in (1) the recognition of 
Jesus as the Messiah, (2) the denial of his divinity, (8) 
belief in the universal obligation of the Mosaic law, and 
(4) rejection of Paul and his writings. The twogreat divi- 
sions of Ebionites were the Pharisaic Ebionites, who em- 
phasized the obligation of the Mosaic law, and the Essenic 
Ebionites, who were more speculative and leaned toward 
Gnosticism. 
II. a. Relating to the heresy of the Ebionites. 
Ebionitic (e"bi-on-it'ik), a. [< Ebionite + -ic.] 
Of or pertaining' to the Ebionites or Ebionitism. 
Ebionitism (e'bi-on-it-izm), n. [< Ebionite + 
4sm.] The doctrines or system of the Ebion- 
ites. Also Ebionism. 
The principal monument of the Essenian Ebionitism is 
the pseudo-Clementine writings, whose date is somewhere 
in the latter part of the second century. 
Q. P. Fisher, Begin, of Christianity, p. 499. 
eblanin (eb'la-nin), n. [Formation not clear.] 
Same as pyrdxanthine. 
Eblis, Iblees (eb'lis, ib'les), n. [Ar. Iblis.] 
In Mohammedan myth., an evil spirit or devil, 
the chief of the fallen angels or wicked jinns. 
Before his fall he was called Azazel or Hharis. 
- Hall of Eblis, the hall of demons ; pandemonium. 
eboe-light (e'bo-llt), n. [< -eboe, appar. W. Ind., 
+ light 1 .] The Erythroxylon brevipes, a shrub 
of the West Indies. 
eboe-torchwood (e'bo-t6rch // wud), n. Same as 
eboe-ligh t. 
eboe-tree (e'bo-tre), . A leguminous tree, 
Dipteryx oleifera, of the Mosquito Coast in 
Central America, the seeds of which yield a 
large quantity of oil. They resemble the ton- 
quin-bean, but are entirely without fragrance. 
ebon (eb'on), n. and a. [Early mod. E. also eben, 
heben, ebeiie, etc. (cf. D. ebbenhont = G. eben- 
holz ( > Dan. ibenholt = Sw. ebenholts), ' ebony- 
wood'), < OF. benus, ebene, F. ebene = Pr. ebena 
= Sp. Pg. It. ebano, < L. ebenus, corruptly hebe- 
nus, < Gr. ijicvof, e/levri, the ebony-tree, ebony, 
prob. of Phen. origin ; cf. Heb. hobnin, pi., eb- 
ony : so called in allusion to its hardness ; < eben, 
a stone. Now usually ebony, ebon being chiefly 
poetical: see ebony.] I. n. Ebony (which see). 
To write those plagues that then were coming on 
Doth ask a pen of ebon and the night. 
Drayton, Barons' Wars, iv. 
Of all those trees that be appropriate to India, Virgil 
hath highly commended the ebene above the rest. 
Holland, tr. of Pliny, xli. 4. 
II. a. 1 . Consisting or made of ebony. 
A gentle youth, his dearely loved Squire, 
His speare of lieben wood behind him bare. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. vii. 37. 
2. Like ebony in color; dark; black. 
Heaven's ebon vault, 
Studded with stare unutterably bright, 
Through which the moon's unclouded grandeur rolls. 
Shelley, Queen Mab, iv. 
Sappho with that gloriole 
Of ebon hair on calmed brows. 
Mrs. Drowning, Vision of Poets. 
ebonist (eb'on-ist), n. [< ebon, ebony, + -ist.] A 
worker in ebony. 
ebonite (eb'on-it), n. [< ebon, ebony, + -ile^.] A 
black, hardened compound of caoutchouc or 
gutta-percha and sulphur in different propor- 
tions, to which other ingredients may be added 
for specific uses ; properly, black vulcanite, but 
used also as a general synonym of vulcanite 
(which see). 
ebonize (eb'on-iz), v. t. ; pret. and pp. ebonized, 
ppr. eboniang. [< ebon, ebony, + -ize.] 1. To 
stain black, as wood, with a view to the imita- 
tion of natural ebony : as, a bookcase of ebon- 
ized-wood. 2. To make black or tawny; tinge 
with the color of ebony : as, to ebonize the fair- 
est complexion. 
Also spelled ebonise. 
ebony (eb'on-i), n. and a. [Early mod. E. ebonie, 
ibonie; an extended form of ebon, q. v.] I. 
n. ', pi. ebonies (-iz). A name given to various 
woods distinguished in general by their dark 
color and hardness, and extensively used for 
carving, ornamental cabinet-work, instruments, 
canes, etc. The most valuable is the heart-wood of 
Diospyros Ebenuin, which grows in great nbumlance in 
the flat parts of Ceylon, and is of such size that logs of 
its heart-wood 2 feet in diameter and from 10 to 15 feet 
long are easily procured. Other varieties of valuable 
ebony are obtained from Z>. Fbenaster of the East Indies 
and D. melanoxiilon of the Coromandel coast in Hindu- 
stan. The most usual color is black, but the ebonies 
from tropical America vary much in this respect. The 
green ebony of Jamaica, known also as American or 
West Indian ebony, the wood of a leguminous tree, Brya 
Ebenus, takes a beautiful polish, and is used for inlaying, 
making flutes, etc. The brown ebony of British Guiana, 
tiie source of \\hich is uncertain, is dark-brown, often with 
