electuary 
electuary (e-lek'tu-a-ri), . ; pi. electuaries (-riz). 
[Also formerly etectary; = OF. electwire, F. 
electiuiire = Sp. Pg. electuario = It. elettuario 
(also formerly, by apheresis, lectuary, < ME. 
letuarie, < OF. lettuaire = Pr. Icctoari, lactoari, 
= It. lattuario, lattovaro, > G. latwerge = Dan. 
latvcerge = Sw. lateerg), < LL. electuarium, also 
electafium, an accom. (in simulation of L. etec- 
tws, picked out ; cf. ML. electuarium, the e'lite 
of a troop of soldiers) of 'eclictarium (with L. 
suffix -arium), < Gr. inMuabv (with equiv. - 
wcfc.J An phar,, at lii^jujvjiuvi \j\jiiA^vv/\ w*. ^*.. 
ders or other ingredients, incorporated with 
some conserve, honey, or syrup, originally made 
in a form to be licked by the patient. 
"How do you do, my honest friend?" . . . "Veryweak- 
ly, sir, since I took the electuary," answered the patient. 
Scott, Abbot, xxvi. 
Eledone (el-e-do'ne), n, [NL. (Leach, 1817), 
< Gr. tAFdow?, a kind of polypus.] A genus of 
,&m : ffr>. 
Eledanc vtrrutosa. 
cephalopods, typical of the family Eledonida;. 
E. verrucosa and E. cirrhosa are examples. 
eledonid (e-led'o-nid), . A cephalopod of the 
family Eledonidcs. 
Eledohidse (el-e-don'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < Ele- 
done + -iVte.] A family of octopod cephalo- 
pods, characterized by the development of but 
one row of suckers along each arm, but other- 
wise very similar to the Octopodidas, with which 
they are generally associated. 
eleemosynarily (el-e-mos'i-na-ri-li), adv. In 
an eleemosynary manner ; by way of charity ; 
charitably. 
eleemosynariness (el-e-mos'i-na-ri-nes), n. 1. 
The quality of being charitable. 2. The dis- 
position to receive alms. Bailey, 1727. 
eleemosynary (el-e-mos'i-na-ri), a. and n. [< 
ML. eleemosynarius, pertaining to alms, one who 
gives or receives alms, < eleemosyna, < Gr. Vten- 
[toavvri, alms: see alms, and cf. almoner, ult. a 
doublet of eleemosynary.'] I. a. 1. Of or per- 
taining to alms : derived from or provided by 
charity; charitable: as, an eleemosynary f und ; 
an eleemosynary hospital. 
Eleemosynary relief never yet tranquillized the working- 
classes it never made them grateful ; it is not in human 
nature that it should. Charlotte Bronte, Shirley, xvi. 
The beds of patients [in the hospital at Beaune] are 
draped in curtains of dark red cloth, the traditional uni- 
form of these eleemosynary couches. 
H. James, Jr., Little Tour, p. 251. 
2. Relating to charitable donations; intend- 
ed for the distribution of alms, or for the use 
and management of donations and bequests, 
whether for the subsistence of the poor or for 
the conferring of any gratuitous benefit. 
The eleemosynary sort [of corporations] are such as are 
constituted for the perpetual distribution of the free alms, 
or bounty, of the founder of them to such persons as he 
has directed. Blackstone, Com., I. xviii. 
Eleemosynary corporations are for the management of 
private property according to the will of the donors. 
D. Webster, Speech, March 10, 1818. 
3. Dependent upon charity; receiving charita- 
ble aid or support: as, the eleemosynary poor. 
In the accounts of Maxtoke priory, near Coventry, in 
the year 1430, it appears that the eleemosynary boys, or 
choristers, of that monastery acted a play. 
T. Warton, Hist. Eng. Poetry, II. 390. 
Eleemosynary corporation. See corporation. 
II. .; pi. eleemosynaries (-riz). One who 
subsists on charity ; one who lives by receiving 
alms. 
Living as an eleemosynary upon a perpetual contribu- 
tion from all and every part of the creation. 
South, Sermons, III. i. 
elegance (el'e-gans), n. [= D. elegantie = G. 
eleganz = Dan. "elegance = Sw. elegans, < OF. 
elegance, F. elegance = Sp. Pg. elegancia = It. 
eleganza, < L. elegantia, elegance, < elegan(t-)s, 
elegant: see elegant.] 1. The state or quality 
of being elegant ; beauty resulting from perfect 
propriety or from exact fitness, symmetry, or 
the like ; refinement of manner, quality, or ap- 
pearance : as, elegance of dress. 
1872 
Soracte, in January and April, rises from its blue horizon 
like an island from the sea, with an elegance of contour 
which no mood of the year can deepen or diminish. 
H. James, Jr., Trans. Sketches, p. 152. 
Gray's perfect elegance could nowhere have found a 
more admirable foil than in the vulgar jauntiness and 
clumsy drollery of his correspondent, Mason. 
Lowell, New Princeton Rev., I. 167. 
2. That which pleases by its nicety, symmetry, 
purity, or beauty ; an elegancy : as, the elegances 
of polite society. = Syn. 1. Grace, beauty, polish. See 
comparison under elegant. 
elegancy (el'e-gan-si), n. ; pi. elegancies (-siz). 
1. The quality "of being elegant; elegance. 
[Rare.] 
Let there be two delicate or rich cabinets, daintily 
paved, richly hanged, glazed with crystalline glass, and a 
rich cupola in the midst, and all other elegancy that may 
be thought upon. Bacon, Building (ed. 1887). 
2. That which imparts elegance; an elegant 
characteristic or quality. 
Such kind of inspired knowledge of strange tongues as 
includes all the native peculiarities, which, if you will, 
you may call their elegancies. 
Warburton, Doctrine of Grace, L 8. 
The beautiful wildness of nature, without the nicer ele- 
gancies of art. Spectator, No. 477. 
elegant (el'e-gant), a. [= D. G. Dan. Sw. ele- 
gant, < OF.' elegant, F. Elegant = Sp. Pg. It. 
elegante, < L. elegan(t-)s, sometimes spelled 
eligan(t-)s, of persons, luxurious, fastidious, 
choice, dainty, fine, tasteful, elegant ; of things, 
choice, neat, fine, elegant ; in form ppr. of an 
unused verb "elegare, prob. equiv. to eligere, 
ppr. eligen(t-)s, choose, pick out: see elect, eligi- 
ble.] 1. Haying good or fine taste; nice in 
taste; fastidious; sensible to beauty or pro- 
priety; discriminating beauty from deformity 
or imperfection: said of persons. 
Under this contrariety of identification, an elegant critic 
aptly describes him. 
Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, Int., p. vi. 
Eve, now I see thou art exact of taste, 
And elegant, of sapience no small part. 
Milton, P. L., ix. 1018. 
2. Polished ; polite ; refined ; graceful : said 
of persons: as,' an elegant lady or gentleman. 
3. Characterized by or pertaining to good 
taste ; indicating a refined propriety of taste : 
as, elegant manners. 
Why will you endeavour to make yourself so disagree- 
able to me, and thwart me in every little elegant expense? 
Sheridan, School for Scandal, ii. 1. 
4. Expressed with taste and neatness ; correct 
and polished in expression or arrangement: as, 
anefc<7n(styleof composition; elegant speech. 
I have likewise heard this elegant distichon. 
Coryat, Crudities, I. 29. 
Whoever wishes to attain an English style familiar but 
not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give 
his days and nights to the volumes of Addison. 
Johnson, Addison. 
He entered the Church early, but devoted himself to the 
study of canon law and of elegant literature. 
Ticknor, Span. Lit., I. 414. 
5. Pleasing to the eye by grace of form or deli- 
cacy of color ; characterized by exquisiteness 
of design or fine taste; free from coarseness, 
blemish, or other defect; refined: as, an elegant 
figure; an elegant vase ; an elegant structure. 
6. Pleasing to the mind ; as exhibiting fine per- 
ception of what is required ; calculated to ef- 
fect its purpose with exceeding accuracy, deli- 
cacy, and neatness; exquisitely ingenious or 
appropriate: as, an elegant modification of a 
philosophical instrument; an elegant algebra- 
ical formula or mathematical demonstration; 
an elegant chess problem. 
An elegant sufficiency, content, 
Retirement, rural quiet. 
Thomson, Spring, L 1158. 
=Syn. Elegant, Graceful, tasteful, courtly. Elegant im- 
plies that anything of an artificial character to which it 
is applied is the result of training and cultivation through 
the study of models or ideals of grace ; graceful implies 
less of consciousness, and suggests often a natural gift. 
A rustic, uneducated girl may be naturally graceful, but 
not elegant. We speak of elegant manners, composition, 
furniture, taste, but of a graceful tree, fawn, child; the 
playful movements of a kitten may be graceful. See beau- 
tiful. 
His easy art may happy nature seem, 
Trifles themselves are elegant in him. 
Pope, Epistle to Miss Blount, 1. 4. 
Not proudly high nor meanly low, 
A graceful myrtle rear'd its head. 
Montgomery, The Myrtle. 
elegantemente (a-la-gan-te-men'te), adv. [It., 
elegantly, < elegante, elegant, + -mente, an adv. 
suffix, orig. abl. of L. men(t-)s, mind, with pre- 
ceding adj. in agreement.] With elegance ; in 
a graceful and pleasing style : a direction in 
music. 
elegious 
elegantly (el'e-gant-li), adv. In an elegant 
manner ; with elegance. 
Sir Henry Wotton . . . delivered his ambassage most 
elegantly in the Italian language. 
/. Walton, Sir H. Wotton. 
Dr. Warren preached before the Princesse ... of the 
blessednesse of the pure in heart, most elegantly describ- 
ing the blisse of the beatifical vision. 
Evelyn, Diary, Oct. 24, 1686. 
elegiac (e-le'ji-ak or el-e-ji'ak), a. and n. [For- 
merly etegiack ; = F. elegiaque = Sp. elegiaco = 
Pg. It. elegiaco, < LL. elegiacus, < Gr. i AeyeiaKoc,, 
< cTieytia, ifayeiov, an elegy: see elegy.'] I. a. 
1. In anc. pros., an epithet noting a distich the 
first line of which is a dactylic hexameter and 
the second a pentameter, or verse differing from 
the hexameter by suppression of the arsis or 
metrically unaccented part of the third and the 
sixth foot, thus : 
Verses or poems consisting of elegiac distichs are called 
elegiac verses or poems (elegiacs) ; poetry composed in this 
meter, elegiac verse or poetry (the elegy) ; and the writers 
who employed this verse, especially those who employed 
it exclusively or by preference, are known as the etegiac 
poets. Elegiac verse seems to have been used primarily 
in threnetic pieces (poems lamenting or commemorating 
the dead), or. to have been associated with music of a kind 
regarded by the Greeks as mournfuL Almost from its 
first appearance iu literature, however, it is found used 
for compositions of various kinds. The principal Roman 
elegiac poets are Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius, and Ovid. 
In modern German literature the elegiac meter has been 
frequently used, especially by Goethe and Schiller. Cole- 
ridge's translation from the latter poet may serve as an 
example in English. 
In the hex | amSter | rises the | fountain's | silvery | c61- 
ninn, 
In the pen | tameter | aye || falling Tn | melody | hack. 
Coleridge, The Ovidian Elegiac Meter. 
You should crave his rule 
For pauses in the elegiac couplet, chasms 
Permissible only to Catullus ! 
Browning, Ring and Book, I. 276. 
2. Belonging to an elegy, or to elegy ; having 
to do with elegies. 
Arnold is a great elegiac poet, but there is a buoyancy 
in his elegy which we rarely find in the best elegy, and 
which certainly adds greatly to its charm. 
Contemporary Rev., XLIX. 528. 
Hence 3. Expressing sorrow or lamentation : 
as, elegiac strains. 
Let elegiack lay the woe relate, 
Soft as the breath of distant flutes. 
Gay, Trivia. 
Mr. Lyttletou is a gentle elegiac person. 
Gray, Letters, I. 220. 
II. n. In pros. : (a) A pentameter, or verse 
consisting of two dactylic penthemims or writ- 
ten in elegiac meter. (6) pi. A succession of 
distichs consisting each of a dactylic hexame- 
ter and a dipeuthemim ; a poem or poems in 
such distichs: as, the Heroides and Tristia of 
Ovid are written in elegiacs. See I. 
elegiacal (el-e-ji'a-kal), a. [< elegiac + -al.~\ 
Same as elegiac. 
He was the author of a very large number of volumes of 
lyrical, elegiacal and romantic verse. 
The American, VIII. 251. 
elegiambi, n. Plural of elegiambus. 
elegiambic (el"e-ji-am'bik), a. and n. [< Gr. 
efayeiov, the meter of the elegy, + ia/i/J^dc, iam- 
bic: see elegy and iambic.'] I. a. Consisting of 
h If an elegiac pentameter followed by an iam- 
bic dimeter; being or constituting an elegiam- 
bus (which see): as, an elegiambic verse. 
II. n. A verse consisting of a dactylic pen- 
themim followed by an iambic dimeter; an ele- 
giambus (which see). 
elegiambus (el"e-ji-am'bns), n.; pi. elegiambi 
(-bi). [LL. (Marius Victorinus, Ars Gramm., 
iv.), < L. elegia, elegy, + iambus, iambus.] A 
compound verse, consisting of a dactylic pen- 
themim (group of two dactyls and the thesis or 
long syllable of a third) and an iambic dimeter, 
thus: 
elegiast (e-le'ji-ast or el-e-ji'ast), n. [< 
(L. elegia) + -ast.~] An elegist. [Rare.] 
The great fault of these elegiasts is, that they are in de- 
spair for griefs that give the sensible part of mankind very 
little pain. Goldsmith, Vicar, xvi. 
, . 
poems in elegiac verse. [Rare.] 
Elegioyrapher, one who writes mournful songs. 
Cofkeram. 
eleglOUS (e-le'ji-us), o. [< Gr. iteyeioc, elegiac, 
< f/rj-f/'a, elegy.] Elegiac ; hence, lamenting ; 
melancholy. [Rare.] 
