equinoctial 
stated hour. -Equinoctial points, the two points in 
which the celestial equator and the ecliptic Internet each 
other. The one Is tile first point of Aries, ami is called 
; the other is the first point of 
(See 
the vernal point or equinox 
Libra, ami is called the MflMMaJ ; or .</ 
rqiiinni.) These points are found to he moving, backward 
or westward at the rate of to " of a degree in a year, a 
movement constituting the pn-i -CSMMII of the equinoxes. 
See preceuioH. Equinoctial time, time reckoned from 
the Instant at which the sun passes the vernal equinox : a 
method of reckoning time Independent of the longitude, 
invented by Sir John Hcrschel. 
II. . [For equinoctial line.] 1. In astron., 
the celestial equator: so called because when 
the sun is on it the days and nights are of equal 
length in all parts of the world. 
Whereby a Ship . . . 
Knowes where she is ; and in the Card descries 
What degrees thence the KouinuctiaU lies. 
Sylcelter, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, I. 3. 
2. A gale or storm occurring at or near the time 
of an equinox. 
The wind increased to half a gale, while heavy showers 
kept rattling along the decks. . . . " We are in for it at 
last." "The equinoctials t " "Yes." 
W. Black, White Wings, xxl. 
equinoctially (e-kwi-nok'shal-i), adv. In the 
direction of the equinoctial. Formerly also 
eequinoctiaUy. 
The floure [convolvulus] twists eequinoctiaUy from the 
left hand to the right. Sir T. Browne, Garden of Cyrus, Iv. 
equinox (e'kwi-noks), n. [(ME. equinoxium, pi. 
equinoxiis, < L.) < F. Equinoxe, formerly equi- 
nocce = Pr. equinoeci = Sp. Pg. equinoceio = 
It. equinozio, < L. a-quinoctium, the equinox, < 
aiquus, equal, + nox (noct-) = E. night: see 
night.] 1. The moment when the sun crosses 
the plane of the earth's equator, making the day 
and night everywhere of equal length (whence 
the name). There are two annual equinoxes, the ver- 
nal, hich falls in the spring, namely, on the 21st of .March 
according to the Gregorian calendar, and the autumnal, 
which falls in the autumn, namely, on the 22d of Septem- 
ber. The term equinox is also loosely applied to the equi- 
noctial pointt (which see, under equinoctial). 
Live long, nor feel In head or chest 
Our changeful equinoxes. 
Tennyson, Will Waterproof. 
2. An equinoctial gale or storm ; an equinoc- 
tial. [Bare.] 
The passage yet was good ; the wind, 'tis true, 
Was somewhat high, but that was nothing new, 
No more than usual equinoxei blew. 
Dryden, Hind and Panther. 
3. Anything equal; an equal measure. [Bare.] 
Do but see his vice ; 
Tis to his virtue a just equinox, 
The one as long as the other. 
Shak., Othello, II. 3. 
Precession of the equinoxes. See preceaion. 
equinumerant (eiwi-nu'me-rant), a. [< L. 
cequus, equal, + numeran(t-)f<, ppr. of numerare, 
number: see numerate.] Having or consisting 
of the same number. [Bare.] 
This talent of gold, though not equinumerant, nor yet 
equiponderant, as to any other, yet was equivalent to some 
correspondent talent in brass. Arbuthnot, Ancient Coins. 
equip (e-kwip'), r. t. ; pret. and pp. equ 
. f quipping. [Formerly esquip, eskip; 
1985 
To me his secret thoughts he first declar'il, 
Then, well equipji'd, a rapid bark prepar'd. 
Hi**/,; tr. of Orlando Furioso, xlll. 
I had never heard a parliamentary speech that was so 
vigorous, or which seemed to come from a man so thor- 
oughly equipped. 
Jonah Quincy, Figures of the Fast, p. ML 
Specifically 2. To fit up; dress out; array; 
accoutre. 
The church, as It is now equipped, looks more like a 
green-house than a place of worship. The middle aisle Is 
a very pretty shady walk, and the pews look like so many 
arbours on each side of it. Sleele, Spectator, No. 282. 
'I hen over all, that he might be 
K'liiiiip'd from top to toe, 
His long red cloak, well-brush'd and neat, 
He manfully did throw. Courpcr, John Gllpin. 
equipage 1 (ek'wi-paj), . [= Sp. equipaje = Pg. 
equipagem = It. equipaggio, < OF. equipage, F. 
Equipage = D. G. Dan. equipage = Sw. ekipage; 
< OF. equiper, F. equiper, equip: see equip.] 
1. An outfit; provision of means or materials 
for carrying out a purpose; furniture for effi- 
cient service or action; an equipment: specifi- 
cally applied to the outfit of a ship or an army, 
including supplies of all kinds for the former, 
and munitions of war for the latter. For an army, 
camp equipage consists of tents, utensils, and everything 
necessary for encampment, and field equipage consists of 
military apparatus, means of transport, and all requisites 
for march or action. 
The Emir Badge, or Prince of the pilgrims that go to 
Mecca, is named yearly from Constantinople, and gener- 
ally continues in the office two years, to make amends for 
the great expence he is at the first year for his equipage. 
Pococke, Description of the East, I. 165. 
2. Furniture; garniture; accoutrements; ha- 
biliments; dress. 
And thus wel armd, and in good equipage, 
This Galant came vnto my fathers courte. 
Qatcoigne, Steele Glas (ed. Arber), p. 51. 
He never saw so many complete gentlemen in his life, 
for the number, and in a neater equipage. 
Howell, Letters, I. vi. 21. 
Nowhere, out of tropical regions, is the vernal equipage 
of nature so rich . . . as precisely In this unhappy Egypt. 
Hi- Quincey, Homer, i. 
3. Retinue, as persons, horses, carriages, etc. ; 
a train of attendants or dependents ; especially, 
a coach with the horses, servants, liveries, har- 
ness, etc.: as, the equipage of a prince; Lady 
A.'s equipage was the handsomest in the park. 
A Country Squire, with the Equipage of a Wife and two 
Daughters, came to Mrs. SnipweU's Shop while I was there. 
Congreve, Old Batchelor, iv. 8. 
4f. A collection of little implements often car- 
ried about the person, either in an dtui made 
for the purpose, or suspended from a chatelaine, 
especially in the eighteenth century. They con- 
sisted of tweezers, a toothpick, an earplck, nail-cleaner, 
bodkin, and often knife anil scissors, and sometimes even 
the private seal. 
Behold this equipage by Mathers wrought, 
With fifty guineas (a great penn'orth) bought, 
See on the toothpick Mars and Cupid strive ; 
And both the struggling figures seem alive. 
I. n-iii It. W. Montagu, Town Eclogues. 
equiper, esquiper, equip, fit out, etc., F. Equiper, 
equip (a soldier, horseman, ship, fleet, etc.), > 
oV. equipagel (ek'wi-paj), r. t. [< equipagel, n.] 
To furnish with an equipage or outfit. 
Well dressed, well bred, 
Sp. esquinar, fit out a shin, = Pg. esquipar, ^ffS^^f^SS. 
equip (a ship, etc. ) ; < Icel. skipa, place in order, Covper, Task, ill. 98. 
arrange, appoint, establish, equip, roan (usually equ i page 2| (ek'wi-paj), w. [An erroneous use 
of a ship or boat, provide with a crew, but also * f JEELrf due to a supposed derivation from 
used of manning a hall with warriors; even a L . <^uT w , equal.] Equality. [This sense, as Bishop 
Jacobson observes, clears up the passage in the " Merry 
Wives of Windsor," which has perplexed commentators. 
The expression occurs only In the quarto, and is not found 
in the best modern editions. Davie*. 
Fait. I will not lend thee a penny. 
Pist. I will retort the sum in equipage. 
Shak., M. W. of W., II. 2.) 
Nor doth it sound well that the examples of men, though 
never so godly, should, as to the effect of warranting our 
actions, stand in so near equipage with the commands of 
tree is said to be "atekipadhr af eplum," fully 
"equipped" with apples), = Norw. skipa, place 
in order, arrange, appoint, etc., man (a ship 
or boat), = Sw. skipa, administer, distribute, 
dispense; prob. connected with Icel. Norw. 
Sw. .il.-/i/iii = E. shape, form, etc., but the word 
came to be associated, in both Scand. and Rom., 
with the notion of furnishing a ship (Icel. Norw. 
skip = Sw. skepp = Dan. skib = D. schip = AS. 
scip, E. ship) : cf. Icel. skipa pp, unload a car- 
go, = Norw. skipa (also skjepa, ska-pa = Sw. 
Bp Sandernm, Works, Pref. (1655), II. 10. 
cequi- 
Coles, 
1 TO i fur' equiparance, equiparancy (e-kwip' a -rans, 
1 -ran-si), n. [< equiparant.] Identity of recip- 
rocal relations. Thus, cousins are said to be in a rela- 
tion of rquiiiarance, because if A is cousin to B, then B is 
equally cousin to A. (Bare.) 
Relateds synonymous are usually called relateds of 
iFtjuiiHirancy ; as, friend, rival, etc. 
irndiriu*, tr. by a Gentleman, I. vil. 17. 
tai-klo, etc., for a" cruise or voyageTt" "/'<</' a equiparant (e-kwip'a-rant), n. and a. [< L. 
soldier or an army with arms and accoutre- a'quiparan(t-)s, ppr. of cequiparare, compare: 
ments, or a traveler with clothing and con- eeeeqiiipumtr.] I. n. Anything whose relation 
veniences for a journey; to be i-qHipped with to another thing is that of equiparance. [Bare.] 
knowledge aud skill for a vocation. ' II, a. Identically reciprocal. 
12$ 
ship: sco nhip, n. and V.] _. 
iiish with means for the prosecution of a pur- 
Eoso; provide with whatever is needed for ef- 
cient action or service : extended from the fit- 
ting out of ships and armies to that of other 
things, and also of persons either materially or 
mentally: as, to equip a ship with rigging, snils. 
equipoise 
equiparate (e-kwip'a-rat), r. t. ; pret. and pp. 
cquiparttlctl, ppr. tq*lparatt*g. [< L. cequijin- 
ratus, pp. of a-qiiiimrtiri; better aquiperare (> 
It. equiparare = Sp. Pg. cquiparar), put on an 
equality, compare, liken, intrans. become equal 
to, < aquas, equal, + parare, make equal, < 
par, equal (cf. LL. a:quipar, perfectly equal), 
or (f) parare, make ready, prepare. Cf. com- 
pare.] 1. To compare. [Rare.] 2. To re- 
duce to a level ; raze; assimilate. [Bare.] 
Th' cmperiall cltie, cause of all this woe, 
King Latines throne, this day lie ruinate, 
And houses tops to Hi' ground orquiparate. 
Vicart, tr. of Virgil (1682). 
equiparation (e-kwip-a-ra'shon), n. [< L. cequi- 
paratio(n-), <xquiperatw(n-), < cequiparare, make 
equal: see equiparate.] Eaual ranking; the 
putting on a relation of equality : as, the equip- 
aration of legacies effected by changes in the 
law made by Justinian, who abolished previous 
artificial distinctions, and enacted that all leg- 
acies should be of one kind, and might be sued 
for by real as well as personal actions. [Rare.] 
The equiparatiim of legacies and singular trust-glfU, 
and the application of some of their rules to mortis causa 
donations. Encyc. Brit., XX. 714. 
equipedal (e-kwi-ped'al), a. [= F. equipede, < 
LL. requipedus, also tequipes (-ped-), equal-foot- 
ed, isosceles, < L. asquus, equal, + pes (ped-) = 
E. foot.] Equal-footed; in zooL, having the 
pairs of feet equal. 
equipendency (e-kwi-pen'den-si), n. 1= Pg. 
equipendencia : see equipenaent and -cy.\ The 
act of hanging in equipoise ; the state of being 
not inclined or determined either way. 
The will of man, in the state of innocence, had an en- 
tire freedom, a perfect etiui pt-ndency and indifference to 
either part of the contradiction, to stand or not to stand. 
South, Works, I. II. 
equipendent (e-kwi-pen'dent), a. [< L. cequus, 
equal, + pendcrc, hang: see pendent.'] Hang- 
ing in equipoise ; evenly balanced. Maunder. 
equipendyt, [< L- cequus, equal, + penderc, 
hang. Cf. equipendent.] A plumb-line ; a per- 
pendicular or straight line. Halliwett. 
equipensatet (e-kwi-pen'sat), tJ. t. [< L. cequus, 
equal, 4- pensatus, pp. of penaare, weigh, > ult. 
E. poise. Cf. equipoise.] To weigh equally; 
esteem alike. Coles, 1717. 
equiperiodic (e-kwi-pe-ri-od'ik), a. [< L. a'quux, 
equal, + NL. periodus, period, + -ic.] Per- 
taining to or occurring in equal periods : as, 
equiperiodic vibrations. 
equipment (e-kwip'ment), n. [< F. equipement, 
(equiper, equip: see equip and -meat.] 1. The 
act of equipping or fitting out, or the state of 
being equipped, as for a voyage or an expedi- 
tion. 
The equipment of the fleet was hastened bv De Witt. 
ll,i,n,'. Works, rl. 454. 
2. Anything that is used in or provided for 
equipping, as furniture, habiliments, warlike 
apparatus, necessaries for an expedition or for 
a voyage, or the knowledge and skill necessary 
for a vocation: as, the equipments of a hotel, a 
ship, or a railroad; the equipment of a man for 
the ministry, or for the law. 
The several talents which the orator employs, the siilen- 
aid equipment at Demosthenes, of vEschlnes, . . . deserve 
a special enumeration. Emermn, Eloquence. 
The Greeks generally showed themselves excellent sol- 
diers ; their equipment made them at once superior to 
their neighbors. Tun Ranke, Univ. Hist (trans.), p. 132. 
Specifically 3. pi. Milit., certain of the neces- 
saries for officers and soldiers, as horses, horse- 
appointments, and accoutrements; the clothes, 
arms, etc., of a soldier, or certain furnishings 
for artillery. Thus, the cannoneers' equipments are the 
priming-wire, vent-punch, thumb-stall, primer -pouch, car- 
tridge-pouch or haversack, and hausse-pouch. The equip- 
ments for a field-piece Include the vent-cover, paulin, 
tompfon, and strap ; the other articles used in the ser- 
vice of cannon are called implements. Equipment com- 
pany, a form of organization common in railroad busi- 
ness, for the purpose of furnishing the rolling-stock or 
equipment of a railroad or railroads by creating a car- 
trust (which see, under (nutX and transferring the con- 
tract to do so to the trustee as security for bonds to be 
issued by the equipment company to raise funds for the 
purpose of providing the equipment. = Sy n. 2 and 3. Ac- 
coutrement, rigging, gear, outfit. 
equipoise (e'kwi-poiz), n. [< L. crquus, equal, + 
E. poise. Cf. equipensate.] 1. An equal distri- 
bution of weight ; equality of weight or force ; 
just balance ; a state in which the two ends or 
sides of a thing are balanced or kept in equi- 
librium: as, hold the scales in equipoise. 
So does the mind, when influenced by a just equipoite 
of the passions, eujoy tranquillity. 
(Mdtmith, Citizen of the World, xlvtt. 
