effeminateness 
effeminateness ('-'in'i-nfit-m's), n. The state 
of being effeminate ; unmanly softness. 
The indulgent softness of the parent's family is apt, at 
best, toiiive y "ii nx prisons a must unhappy f/eiiiinatfnesn. 
Kteker, Works, I. I. 
effeminationt (e-fem-i-mVshon), . [= F. ef- 
I 'i in iiiation = I'g. i (friii i mi j'<?o = It. effeminaziouc, 
'< LL. effeiniiKitio(ii-), < L. tfftmtoare, ]>]>. rffnui- 
natus, make womanish: see effeminate, r.] The 
state of being or the act of making effeminate. 
But from this mixture of sexes . . . degenerous effemi- 
,iii,>:i. Sir T. Krowne, Vulg. Err., vili. 17. 
effeminizet (e-fein'i-niz), v. t. [As effemin-ate 
+ -ize.] To make effeminate. 
Brave knights e/eminized by sloth. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas. 
effendi (e-fen'di), n. [Turk, efendi, a gentle- 
man, a master (of servants), a patron, protec- 
tor, a prince of the blood (efendim, ' my master,' 
in address equiv. to E. sir), < NGr. aaftvrrif (pron. 
afen'des). a lord, master, a vernacular form of 
Gr. (also NGr.) avSevnK (in NGr. pron. afthen'- 
des), an absolute master : see authentic.] Atitle 
of respect given to gentlemen in Turkey, equiv- 
alent to Mr. or sir, following the name when 
used with one. 
1 assumed the polite and pliant manners of an Indian 
physician, and the dress of a small Effendi, still, however, 
representing myself to be a Dervish. 
R. F. Burton, El-Medinah, p. 62. 
efferationt, [< LL. efferatio(n-), a making 
wild or savage, < L. efferare, pp. efferatus, make 
wild or savage, < efferus, very wild, fierce, sav- 
age : see efferous,] A making wild. Bailey, 1727. 
efferent (ef'e-rent), a. and n. [= F. efferent, < 
L. efferei^t-fs, ppr. of efferre, ecferre, bring or 
carry out, < ex, out, 4- Jerre = E. bear 1 .] I. a. 
Conveying outward or away; deferent: as, the 
efferent nerves, which convey a nervous impulse 
from the gauglipnic center outward to the mus- 
cles or other active tissue. In the system of blood-ves- 
sels the arteries are the efferent vessels, conveying blood 
from the heart to all parts of the body, while the veins 
are the afferent vessels, bringing blood to the heart. In 
any gland or glandular system the vessel which takes up 
and carries off a secretion is efferent. Efferent duct. 
Same as deferent canal ( which see, under deferent). 
H. n. 1. In mini, and physiol., a vessel or 
nerve which conveys outward. 2. A river 
flowing from and bearing away the waters of 
a lake. 
efferoust (ef 'e-rus), o. [< L. efferus, very wild, , 
fierce, savage, < ex (intensive) + ferus, wild, 
fierce: see fierce.] Very wild or savage ; fierce; 
ferocious: as, an efferous beast. 
From the teeth of that efferous beast, from the tusk of 
the wild boar. ftp. King, Vltis Palatina, p. 34. 
effervesce (ef-er-ves'), v. i. ; pret. and pp. ef- 
Ji-rresced, ppr. effervescing. [< L. effervescerc, 
boil up, foam up, < ex, out, + fervescere, begin 
to boil, < fervere, boil : see fervent.] 1. To be 
in a state of natural ebullition, like liquor when 
gently boiling ; bubble and hiss, as fermenting 
liquors or any fluid when some part escapes in 
a gaseous form ; work, as new wine. 
The compound spirit of nitre, put to oil of cloves, will 
effervesce, even to a flame. Mead, Poisons. 
2. Figuratively, to show signs of excitement; 
exhibit feelings which cannot be suppressed : 
as, to effervesce with joy. 
Have I proved . . . 
Thai Revelation old and new admits 
The natural man may effervesce in ire, 
O'erflood earth, o'erfroth heaven with foamy rage, 
At the first puncture to his self-respect? 
Broiming, Ring and Book, II. 86. 
Effervescing draught. See draft*. 
effervescence, effervescency (ef-er-ves 'ens, 
-en-si), . [= F. effervescence = Sp. efervescen- 
cin = Pg. e-fferreseencia = It. efferrescenza, < L. 
effervesce n(t-)s, ppr. : see effervescent.] 1. Nat- 
ural ebullition ; that commotion of a fluid which 
takes place when some part of the mass flies 
off in a gaseous form, producing small bubbles : 
as, the effervescence or working of new wine, 
cider, or beer ; the effervescence of a carbonate 
with nitric acid, in consequence of chemical 
action and decomposition producing carbon 
dioxid or carbonic-acid gas. 2. Figuratively, 
strong excitement ; manifestation o? feeling. 
The wild gas, the fixed air, is plainly broke loose : but 
we ought to suspend our judgment until the first effer- 
vescencc is a little subsided. Burke, Kev. in France. 
We postpone our literary work until we have more ripe- 
ness and skill to write, and we one day discover that our 
literary talent was a youthful c//i'nv*rf /(<< wliirli we have 
now lost. Kiin'wii. old Age. 
= Syn. See ehiillition. 
effervescent (ef-er-ves'ent), a. [=F.efferve<i- 
fi-iit = Sp. i/rnv.-ri lite = Pg. It. rfferrwcntr, < 
L. efferceCfn(t-)y, ppr. of efftrraicere, boil up: 
1840 
see effervesce.] Effervescing; having the prop- 
erty of effervescence ; of a nature to effervesce. 
effervescible t I'f-er-ves'i-bl), . [< effervesce + 
-ible.] Capable of effervescing. 
A small quantity of effervescible matter. Kirvan. 
effervescive (ef-er-ves'iv), a. [< effervesce + 
-ive.] Producing or tending to produce effer- 
vescence: as, an effervcsciee force. Hickok. 
[Hare.] 
effet (ef'et), . A dialectal form of efti. 
effete (e-fef), a. [Formerly also effvete; < L. 
effetus, improp. effoetus, that has brought forth, 
exhausted by bearing, worn out, effete, < ex, 
out, + fetus, that has brought forth: see fetus.] 
1 . Past bearing; f unctionless, as a result of age 
or exhaustion. 
It Is ... probable that the females as well of beast* as 
hints have in them . . . the seeds of all the young they 
will afterwards bring forth, which, ... all spent and ex- 
hausted, . . . the animal becomes barren and effete. 
Ray, Works of Creation, I. 
Hence 2. Having the energies worn out or 
exhausted; become incapable of efficient ac- 
tion ; barren of results. 
All that can be allowed him now is to refresh his de- 
crepit, effete sensuality w ith the history of his former life. 
South, Sermons. 
If they find the old governments effete, worn out, . . . 
they may seek new ones. Burke. 
Islamfsm . . . as a proselyting religion . . . has long been 
practically effete. Quarterly Ren., CLXIII. 141. 
= 8yn.l. Unproductive, unfruitful, unprollflc. 2. Spent, 
worn out. 
effeteness (e-fet'nes), n. The state of being 
effete ; exhaustion ; barrenness. 
What would have been the result to mankind ... if 
the hope of the world's rejuvenescence had been met 
solely by that effeteness of corruption [the old Roman 
empire]? Buckle, Civilization, I. 221. 
efficacious (ef-i-ka'shus), a. [< OF. efficacieux, 
equiv. to efficace, F. efficace = Pr. efficaci = Sp. 
eficaz = Pg. efficaz = It. efficace, < L. efficax (effi- 
cac-), efficacious, < efficere, effect, accomplish, 
do : see effect, v.] Producing the desired effect ; 
having power adequate to the purpose intend- 
ed; effectual in operation or result. 
The mode which he adopted was at once prudent and 
efficacious. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, I. 82. 
He knew his Rome, what wheels we set to work ; 
Piled influential folk, pressed to the ear 
Of the efficacious purple. 
Browning, Ring and Book, I. 144. 
= Syn. Efficient, Effectual, etc. (see effective); active, op- 
erative, energetic. 
efficaciously (ef-i-ka'shus-li), adv. In an effi- 
cacious manner; effectually. 
It [torture] does so efficaciously convince 
That . . . out of eacn hundred cases, by my count, 
Never I knew of patients beyond four 
Withstand its taste. Broutmny, Ring and Book, II. 74. 
efficaciousness (ef-i-ka'shus-nes), M. The qual- 
ity of being efficacious ; efficacy. 
The efficaciousness of these means Is sufficiently known 
and acknowledged. Goldsmith, The Bee, No. 6. 
efficacy (ef 'i-ka-si), n. [= F. efficace = Pr. effi- 
cacia = Sp. ejicacia = Pg. It. efficacia, < L. ef- 
ficacia, efficacy, < efficax, efficacious : see effica- 
cious.] The quality of being efficacious or ef- 
fectual ; production of, or tie capacity of pro- 
ducing, the effect intended or desired; effec- 
tiveness. 
'Tliis hath ever made me suspect the efficacy of relics. 
Sir T. Browne, Reflgio Medici, L 28. 
Planetary motions, and aspects, 
In sextile, square, and trine, and opposite, 
Of noxious efficacy. Milton, t. L., x. 660. 
Even were Gray's claims to being a great poet rejected, 
he can hardly be classed with the many, so great and uni- 
form are the efficacy of his phrase and the music to which 
he sets it. Lowell, New Princeton Rev., I. 177. 
= Syn. Efficiency, etc. (sec effectiveness); virtue, force, en- 
ergy. 
efficiencet (e-fish'ens), . Same as efficiency. 
efficiency (e-fish'en-si), . [= Sp. eficiencia = 
Pg. effictencia = If. efficient, < L. efficicntia, ef- 
ficiency, < efficien(t-)s, efficient: see efficient.] 
The quality of being efficient ; effectual agency ; 
competent power; the quality or power of pro- 
ducing desired or intended effects. 
The manner of this divine efficiettci/ being far above us. 
Hooter, Eccles. Polity. 
Truth is properly no more than Contemplation ; and her 
utmost efficiency is but teaching. 
Milton, Eikonoklastes, xxvlii. 
Causes which should carry in their mere statement cvi- 
denee of their efficiency. J. S. Mill, Logic, III. v. 9. 
Specifically (o) The state of being able or competent; 
the state of possessing or having acquired adequate know- 
leiiire or skill in any art, profession, or duty: as, by pa- 
lii-iil perseverance he has attained a high degree of effi- 
ciency, (b) In mech., the ratio of the useful work per- 
formed by a prime motor to the energy expended. = Syn. 
Efficacy, etc. See effectieenett. 
effigiate 
efficient (e-fish'ent), a. and n. [= F. efficient 
= Pr. eficient ="Sp. ejiciente = Pg. It. efficiente, 
< L. efficien(t-)s, ppr. of cfficere, effect, accom- 
plish, etc. : see effect, v.] I. a. 1. Producing 
outward effects ; of a nature to produce a re- 
sult ; active ; causative. 
If one flower is fertilised with pollen which IK more effi- 
cient than that applied to the other flowers on the same 
peduncle, the latter often drop off. 
Darwin, Cross and Self Fertilisation, p. 306. 
2. Acting or able to act with due effect; ade- 
quate in performance ; bringing to bear the 
requisite knowledge, skill, and industry; ca- 
pable; competent: as, an efficient workman, 
director, or commander. 
Every healthy and efficient mind passes a large part of 
life In the company most easy to him. Emerton, clubs. 
Efficient cause, a cause which brings about something 
external to itself : distinguished from material and format 
caute by being external to that which it causes, and from 
the end or final cause in being that by which something 
is made or done, and not merely that for the sake of which 
it is made or done. The conception of efficient caute an- 
tedates that of physical force in the scientific sense ; and 
the latter finds no place in the Aristotelian division of 
causes. But many writers of the eighteenth and nine- 
teenth centuries extend the meaning of efficient caute to 
include forces. Other and Inferior writers, since the Arts* 
totelian philosophy has ceased to form an essential part 
of a liberal education, use the phrase efficient caute In imi- 
tation of older writers, but without any distinct appre- 
hension of its meaning, probably in the sense of effectual 
caute. (See the citation from Lecky, below.) Efficient cavtes 
are traditionally divided into various classes : 1st, into ac- 
tive and emanative: thus, fire is said to be the emanative 
cause of its own heat and the active cause of heat in other 
iKxlles; 2d, into immanent and transient: an immanent 
cause brings about some modification of itself (it is, never- 
theless, regarded as external, because It does not produce 
itself); 3d, luto/r and necessary ; 4th, Into caute by itself 
and caute by accident: thus, if a man in digging a well 
finds a treasure, he Is the cause per se of the well being 
dug, and the cause by accident of the discovery of the trea- 
sure; 5th, Into absolute and adjutant, the latter being 
again divided into principal ami secondary, and secondary 
into procatarctical, proeyumenal, and instrumental (the 
procatarctical extrinsically excites the principal cause to 
action, the proegumenal Internally disposes the principal 
cause to action) ; (ith, into j'irxt and second ; 7th, Into uni- 
versal and particular; 8th, into proximate and remote. 
Medical men follow Galen In dividing the efficient causes 
of disease into predisposing, exciting, and determining. 
Every politician knew that the interference of the sov- 
ereign during the debate In the House of Lords was the 
efficient caute of the change of ministry. 
Lecky, Kng. in 18th Cent., xr. 
= Syn. Efficacious, Effectual, etc. (see effective) ; energetic, 
operative, active, ready, helpful. 
H. n. 1. An efficient cause (see above). 
God, which movcth mere natural agents as an efficient 
only, doth otherwise move intellectual creatures, and es- 
pecially his holy angels. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, i. 4. 
Excepting God, nothing was before it: and therefore it 
could have no efficient In nature. 
Bacon, Physical Fables, viii., F.xpl. 
O, but, say such, had not a woman been the tempter 
and rjlH-ifiit to our fall, we had not needed a redemption. 
Ford, Honour Triumphant, i. 
Some are without efficient, as God. 
Sir T. Browne, Religlo Medici, I. 14. 
2. One who is efficient or qualified; specifically, 
in the volunteer service of Great Britain, one 
who has attended the requisite number of drills, 
and in respect of whom the corps receives the 
capitation grant paid by government. 3. In 
math., a quantity multiplied by another quan- 
tity to produce the quantity of which it is said 
to be an efficien t ; a factor. Extra efficient, a com- 
missioned officer or sergeant of volunteers in the British 
army who has obtained an official certificate of competency. 
Extra efficients earn an extra grant for their company, 
efficiently (e-fish'ent-li), adv. In an efficient 
manner; effectively. 
God, when He is stiled Father, must always be under- 
stood to be a true and proper cause, really and efficiently 
giving life. Clarke, The Trinity, ii. { IS, note. 
effictiont, [< I-- effictio(n-), a representation 
(in rhet.) of corporal peculiarities, < effingere, 
pp. effictus, form, fashion, represent: see effigy.] 
A fashioning; a representation. Bailey, 1727. 
effiercet (e-fers'), r. t. [< ef- + fierce, after L. 
efferare, make fierce, < efferus. very fierce : see 
efferous.] To make fierce or furious. 
With fell woodness he effiereed was. 
And wilfully him throwing on the gras 
Did beat and bounse his head and brest ful sore. 
Spenser, F. Q., III. xi. 27. 
effigial (e-fij'i-al), a. [< F. effiaial; as effigy 
+ -at.] Pertaining to or exhibiting an effigy. 
[Rare.] 
The three volumes contain chiefly effifrial cuts and monu- 
mental figures and inscriptions. 
Critical Hitt. of Pamphlets. 
effigiate (e-fij'i-at). r. t. : pret. and pp. effigi- 
/itnl. ppr. efifliatinfl. [< LL. effiffiatits, pp. of 
<'tli</iare (> It. effigiare = Pr. efigiar = F. effigier), 
form, fashion, < effigies, an image, likeness: see 
