Er-echthites 
Erechthites (or-ck-tln'tfiz), H. [NL., orig. er- 
roneciiisly l-'.ri-fhlitca (Uafiuesque), appar. < Or. 
epextin>K (Dioscorides), a name for Senecio or 
groundsel, < ipextietv, IT ml. break.] A small 
genus of senecioid composite plants, found in 
America, Australia, and New Zealand. 'Hie only 
siwcles In the I'niied .stales is the llrcwced, /-,'. / 
folia, :i ooai - Hiiiiial with numerous heads of whiti.sh 
flowers and abillulant snft while pappus. It is especially 
hvquenl whi re recent clearings have been bunieil over. 
erect (e-rckt/), c. [< L. erectus, pp. of erigere 
(> It. erigere, ergere = Pg. Sp. Pr. eriair = F. 
eriger), set up, < e, out, up, + regere, make 
straight, rule: see regent. Cf. arrect, cornrt, 
direct, etc.] I. tranx. 1. To raise and set in an 
upright or perpendicular position; setup; raise 
up : as, to erect a telegraph-pole or a flagstaff. 
There is a little Chappell made condultwise, wherein is 
erected the picture of Christ and the Virgin Mary. 
Coryat, Crudities, I. 11. 
Once more 
/.V.i-' the standard there of ancient Night. 
Milton, P. L., II. 8a 
There came out from the niche a low laugh that erected 
the hairs upon ray head. /'-" . Tales, I. 352. 
2. To raise, as a building; build; construct: 
as, to erect a house or a temple ; to erect a fort. 
Inscriptions round the bases of the pillars Inform us 
that the hall was erected by Darius and Xerxes, but re- 
paired or restored by Artaxerxea Muemon, who added the 
inscriptions. J. Fergimon, Hist. Arch., I. 200. 
3. To set up or establish ; found ; form ; frame : 
as, to erect a kingdom or commonwealth ; to erect 
a new system or theory. 
There has been more religious wholesome laws 
In the half-circle of a year erected 
For common good than memory e'er knew of. 
Middletun, Chaste Maid, ii. 1. 
He had drawn above twenty persons to his opinion, and 
they were intended to erect a plantation about the Narra- 
gansett Bay. H'inthrop, Hist. New England, I. 200. 
They procured a royal patent for ereetimj an academy 
of projectors in Lagado. Sx irt, Gulliver's Travels, iii. 4. 
4. To raise from a lower level or condition to a 
higher ; elevate ; exalt ; lift up. 
This King IHeury II.] founded the Church of Bristol, 
which K. Henry the Eighth afterward erected into a Cathe- 
dral. Baker, Chronicles, p. 58. 
I am far from pretending to infallibility ; that would be 
to erect myself into an apostle. 
/."./,,. On the Epistles of St. Paul. 
When It [Palestine) was in possession of the Israelites, 
it was erected into a kingdom under Saul. 
J'ococte, Description of the East, II. I. 1. 
They tried to erect themselves into a community where 
all should be equally free. Goldtmith, Vicar, xlx. 
6t. To animate ; encourage. 
Erect your princely countenances and spirits. 
Fletcher (and others), Bloody Brother, iii. 1. 
Variety (as lioth Mustek and Khetorick teaches us) erect* 
and rouses an Auditory, like the maiaterfull running over 
many Cords and divisions. 
Hilton, On Def. of Ilumb. Keuionst. 
6t. To advance or sot forth ; propound. 
Malehranche erects this proposition. Ijocke. 
7. To draw, as a figure, upon a base ; construct, 
as a figure : as, to erect a horoscope ; to erect a 
circle on a given line as a semidiameter; to 
erect a perpendicular to a line from a given 
point in the line. 
To erect a figure of the heavens at birth. This is merely 
to draw a map of the heavens as they may appear at the 
moment a child was born. 
Zailkirl, Gram, of Astrology, p. 37u. 
Erecting glass. Same as erector, !(*). Erecting prism. 
SIT /.-/*MI. -Syn. 1. Upraise, nprear. 2 and 3. Con^trm t, 
build, institute, establish, plant 1 and 4. iYwi/r. Bee 
raixr. 
II. intrant. To take an upright position; 
rise. 
The trifoilc, against raine, swelleth in the stalk, and so 
standeth more upright; for by wet, stalkes doe .'nr^, anil 
li-a\cs bow downe. Bacon, Nat. Hist., 827. 
erect (e-rekf), a. [< ME. erect (= Pg. erecto = 
It. eretto, erto: see alert), < L. erectu*, pp., up- 
right, set up: see the verb.] 1. Having an 
upright posture; standing; directed upward; 
raised; uplifted. 
His piercing eves, erect, appear to view 
Superior \mrlds, and look all nature through. 
rape. 
A mon the Greek colonies and churches of Asia. Phila- 
delphia is still erect a column in a scene of ruins. 
Gibbon. 
Tall and t-rfft the maiden stands. 
Like some young priestess nf the WIHH! 
n'hittii'r. MHUI; Mi-mine. 
The head is drooped as nn accompaniment of shame ; it 
is held erect and firm when defiance is expressed. 
F. Warner, Physical Expression, p. 40. 
S]n riticaUy -(a) In hi'r., set vertically In some umusii 
I way : thus, a tioar's head charged with the muzzle or 
snout uppermost, pointing to the top of the field, is said 
to be erect, (b) In but., vertical throughout ; not spread- 
1991 
ing or declined; upright: as, an erect stem ; an <rr<?( leaf or 
H\ule. (c) In entmn., upright: applied to hairs, spines, 
etc., when they are nearly but not quite at right angles 
to the surface or margin on which they are situated. In 
this sense distinguished from perpendicular or vertical. 
Hence 2. Upright and firm; bold. 3. In- 
tent; alert. 
That vigilant and fm-t attention of mind, which in 
prayer is very necessary, is wasted anil dulled. 
Hunker, Eccles. 1'olity. 
All this they read with saucer yes, and ern-i and primi- 
tlve curiosity. Thoreau, Walden, p. 11.. 
Erect decliner, a dial which stands erect, but does not 
face any cardinal point. Erect dial. See dial. Erect 
direct, in the (tosition, as a dial, of vertically facing a 
cardinal point. Erect stem, in '"' . an upright stem ; a 
stem licit does not twine or require a support. Erect 
vision, the seeing thiuga right side up that is, the prop- 
er association between local signs of the different parts 
of the retina and the different parts of the liody. Erect 
wings, those wings which in repose are held upright over 
the buily. as In most butterflies. 
erectable (e-rek'ta-bl), a. [< erect + -able.} 
Capable of being erected ; erectile. 
These erectable- feathers, that form the auricles [of the 
short-eared owl| when alive, are scarcely longer than the 
rest, and are always depressed in a dead bird. 
MontaifU, omit h. Diet. 
erectedt (e-rek'ted), p. a. Mentally or morally 
elevated ; magnanimous ; generous ; noble ; as- 
piring. 
Having found in him a mind of most excellent composi- 
tion, a piercing wit, quite void of ostentation, high erected 
thoughts seated in a heart of courtesy. 
Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, i. 
Glory, the reward 
That sole excites to high attempts, the flame 
Of most erected spirits. Milton, P. R., III. 27. 
erecter (e-rek'ter), n. One who or that which 
erects ; specifically, one who raises or builds. 
Erecti (e-rek'ti), n. i>l. [NL., pi. of L. erectus, 
pp. of erigere, erect.] A group of mammals con- 
taining man alone: same as Bimana, Arclien- 
cephala, Archontia, Anthropidtse, Hominida:. See 
these words. Illiger, 1811. 
erectile (e-rek'til), a. [= F. erectile ; as erect 
+ -He.} 'Capable of erection; susceptible of 
being erected, as tissue Erectile tissue, very vas- 
cular connective tissue, which when distended with blood 
causes the part to become turgid and more or less rigid. 
The substance of the cavernous and spongy bodies of the 
penis, the parts composing and surrounding the clitoris, 
the mammary nipples, and to some extent the lips, are 
examples of this tissue. 
erectility (e-rek-til'i-ti), . [< erectile + -ity.} 
The quality of being erectile or capable of erec- 
tion. 
erection (f-rek'shon), n. [= P. Erection = Sp. 
erection = Pg. erec^So = It. erezione, < L. erec- 
fto(M-), < erectus, pp. of erigere, set up, erect: 
see erect.} 1. The act of erecting, or setting 
upright ; a raising or lifting up ; a stiffening or 
bristling up: as, the erection of a flagstaff or of 
a building ; the erection of drooping leaves or 
of a crest of feathers. 
He was chosen by all the congregation testifying their 
consent by erection of hands. 
Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 136. 
2. The state of being erect. 
And so indeed of any we yet know man onely Is erect. 
... As for the end of this erection, to look up toward 
heaven, though confirmed by several testimonies, and the 
Greek etymologic of man, it is not so readily to lie ad- 
mitted. Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., Iv. 1. 
3. The act of building or constructing: as, the 
erection of a church. 
I employed a whole day In walking about this great city, 
to find out proper places for the erection of hospitals. 
Additon, A Friend of Mankind. 
4. That which is erected, especially a building 
or structure of any kind : as. there are many an- 
cient erections of unknown use. 5. The act of 
establishing or founding ; establishment ; set- 
tlement ; formation ; institution : as, the erec- 
tion of a commonwealth ; the erection of a bish- 
opric or of an earldom. 
It must needs have a peculiar influence upon the erec- 
tion, continuance, and dissolution of every society. 
South, Sermons. 
6. The act of raising from a lower position or 
condition to a higher; elevation: as, the erec- 
tion of a church into a cathedral. 
The history of the various and strange vicissitudes they 
[the Jews] underwent, from their first erection into a peo- 
ple down to their final excision. 
BI>. Atterbury, Sennons, I. vil. 
7f. Elevation or exaltation of sentiments. 
Ah! but what misery is it to know this? 
Or. knowing it, to want the mind a erection 
In such extremes? 
B. Jin/- ,' I'-., ry Man in his Humour, ii. 1. 
8f. The act of rousing; excitation. 
When a man would listen suddenly he starteth ; for the 
starting is an erection of the spirits to attend. Bacvn. 
eremite 
9. In tihyiriol., turgidity and rigidity of a part 
info which erectile tissue enters: specifically 
said chiefly of the penis and clitoris. 
erective (e-rek'tiv), a. [< erect + -ire.} Set- 
ting upright : raising. 
erectly (e-rekt'li), adr. In an erect posture ; 
upright. 
For birds, they generally carry their heads erectly like 
man. Sir T. Broune, Vulg. Err./iv. i. 
erectness (c-rekt'nes), . The state of being 
erect ; uprightness of posture or form. 
If we take rreetne** strictly, and so as Galen hath de- 
fined it. ... they onely, salth he, have an erect figure, 
whose spine and thigh bone are carried in right lines. 
Sir T. Brvicne, Vulg. Err., !. 1. 
erectopatent (e-rek-to-pa'tent), a. [< L. erec- 
tus, erect, + paten(t-)s, spreading: see patent.} 
1. In lint., having a position intermediate be- 
tween erect and spreading. 2. In entoin., hav- 
ing, as the wings of an insect when in repose, 
the anterior pair erect or nearly so, ana the 
posterior pair horizontal, as in the skipper-but- 
terflies. 
erector (e-rek'tor). n. ; pi. erectors or erectoreg 
(-torz, e-rek-to'rez). [< NL. ercctor,< L. erigere, 
pp" erectus, erect: see erect.} 1. One who or 
that which raises or erects. .Specifically (a) in 
ana/., a muscle which erects or assists In the erection of 
a part or an organ, as the penis or clitoris. (6) In opticn, 
an attachment to a compound microscope, inserted in the 
draw-tulie, which causes a second inversion of the image, 
so that the object viewed is seen In an erect or normal 
position. Also called erecting ;ilngs. 
2. One who builds, establishes, or founds. 
The three first Monarchies of the world ; whereof the 
founders and the erector* thought that they could never 
have ended. Kaleiyh (Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 064). 
A teacher of learning, and erector of schools. 
Waterhouse, Apology, p. 21. 
Erector Bplnae, the longest muscle of the hack. It assists 
in maintaining the erect posture. It has several subdi- 
visions, the principal of which are the longissimus dorsi 
and the sacrolumbalis, or iliocostalis. Also called *pini- 
rector. 
erelong (ar'ldng'), prep. i>hr. as adv. [< ere 1 + 
long; not prop, a compound, but a prep. phrase.] 
Before the lapse of a long time ; before long ; 
soon. 
Mounted upon his [a horsesl backe, and soe following 
the stagge, ereloni/e slewe him. Spemter, State of Ireland. 
The world erelontf a world of tears must weep. 
Milton, P. L., xl. 827. 
[Commonly, and preferably, written as two words, ere 
lung. 1 
eremacausis (er'e-ma-ka'sis), u. O'L.., < Gr. 
ijpefia, slowly, gently, quietly, + Karate., a burn- 
ing, < Kaiew, burn: see caustic.} Tn ekeiu. , a slow 
combustion or oxidation; the act of gradual 
combination of the combustible elements of 
a body with the oxygen of the air, as in the 
slow decay of wood, in the formation of acetic 
acid from alcohol, or of niter by the decompo- 
sition of animal matter, and in numerous other 
processes : a term introduced by Liebig. 
Slow combustion, such as that of ercinacawti* or decay, 
may cause light, as in the luminosity of decaying wood. 
A. Daniell, Prin. of Physics, p. 458. 
eremic (e-re'mik), a. [< Gr. fpwc, desertj epr/- 
fiia, a desert (see eremite), + -ic.} Inhabiting 
deserts; living in dry, sandy places: chiefly 
used in zoology. 
eremitaget (er e-mi-tiij), n. [< eremite + -aye. 
Cf. hermitage.} ' Hermitage. 
A leaden box . . . found in the ruins of an old ercmitaye, 
as it was a repairing. Shelton, tr. of Don (juixote, p. 136. 
eremita.lt (er'e-mi-tal), a. [< eremite + -al.} 
Eremitic. 
Not that a conventual, and still less an eremital, way of 
life would have been more rational. 
Southcy, The Doctor, Ixviii. 
eremite (er'f-mit), n. and a. [Formerly also 
eremit; = D. eremiet, heremict = G. Dan. 8w. 
eremit = F. erniite, liermite (whence the older 
E. forms ermit, hermit, now only hermit) = Pr. 
ermita = It. eremita (cf. Pr. hermitan = Sp. 
ermitaKo = Pg. ermitSo, < ML. eremitanui), < 
LL. eremita, < Gr. epit/tlrtK, a hermit, prop, adj., 
of the desert, < cpr/jlta, a solitude, desert, wil- 
derness, < fpn/Mf, de_solate, lonely, solitary, des- 
ert; prob. akin to r/pipa, stilly, quietly, gently. 
slowly, Lith. ramu, quiet, tranquil, Goth, ritnis, 
n., quiet, Skt. >/ raw, rest, find pleasure in: 
see hermit, a doublet of eremite.} I. n. 1. One 
who lives in a wilderness or in retirement; a 
hermit. 
Thou seem'st U-neath thy huge, high leaf of green, 
An Eremite beneath his mountain's brow. 
O. Croly, Lily of the Valley. 
Specifically 2. In chtireli hist., in the earlier 
period, a tihristian who, to escape persecution, 
