euphone 
euphone (u-fo'ue), . [< Gr. rf^ovof, sweet- 
voiced, musical.] In organ-building, a sixteen- 
foot stop, consisting of a set of pipes with free 
reeds, and giving a sweet, subdued, clarinet- 
like tone. 
Euphonia (u-fo'ni-ii), n. [NL. (Desmarest, 
1805), < Gr. einpavof, sweet-voiced, musical: see 
euphonous, euphony. ~\ 1. A large genus of Cen- 
tral and South American tanagers, of the fam- 
ily Tanagridai, giving name to a section Eupho- 
mince of that family. E. musica is the organist-tana- 
ger of the West Indies. One species, E. elegantuiima, is 
found on the borders of the United States ; 31 others extend 
through the neotropical regions to Bolivia and Paraguay. 
Also called Cyanophonia, Acroleptes, lliolopka, and Pho- 
nasca. Also written Euphona. 
2. [I. c.] A member of this genus. 
The very peculiar structure of the digestive tube of the 
euphonias was first pointed out by Lund. 
P. L. Sdater, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., XI. 53. 
euphoniad (u-fo'ni-ad), n. [< euphony + -ad 1 .] 
A musical instrument of the orchestrion class. 
euphonic (u-fon'ik), a. [As euphon-ous + -ic.] 
Of, pertaining to, or characterized by euphony; 
agreeable to the ear; easy or pleasing in re- 
spect to utterance. 
The conclusion was drawn that the vowel is an impor- 
tant element in the make-up of the verb for euphonic pur- 
poses. Trans. Amer. Philol. Ass., XV. 6., App. 
euphonical (u-fon'i-kal), a. [< euphonic + -al.] 
Same as euphonic. 
Our English hath what is comely and euphonical in each 
of these [other European languages], without any of their 
inconveniences. Bp. WilKns, Real Character, iii. 14. 
Euphoniinas (u-fo-ni-I'ne), n. pi. [NL., < Eu- 
phonia + -i(K.'] A subfamily of tanagers, hav- 
ing a short turgid bill, the upper mandible usu- 
ally with terminal notch and also some slight 
serrature, a short tail, and certain peculiarities 
of the stomach. There are 4 genera, Euphonia, Chloro- 
pltonia, Pyrrhuphonia, and Hypophcea. Also Euphonince. 
euphonious (u-fo'ni-us), . [< LL. euphonia (< 
Gr. evtyuvia), euphony, T -ovs. See euphonous.] 
Consisting of agreeable articulate elements; 
well-sounding; euphonic. 
Euphonious languages are not necessarily easy of ac- 
quirement. The Fin, in which it is rare to find two con- 
current consonants in the same syllable, is too fine and 
delicate for remembrance. The mind wants consonantal 
combinations, or something equally definite, to lay hold 
of. Latham, Elem. of Comp. Philol. 
euphoniously (u-fo'ni-us-li), adv. With eu- 
phony; harmoniously. 
euphonism (u'fo-nizm), n. [< Gr. elipuvof, eu- 
phonous (see euphonous), + -ism.] An agree- 
able sound or combination of sounds. Oswald. 
[Bare.] 
euphonium (u-fo'ni-um), n. [NL., < Gr. ev<f>u- 
vof, sweet- voiced, musical : see euphonous.'] 1. 
A musical instrument, consisting of a set of 
glass tubes, connected with graduated steel 
bars, to be put in vibration by the moistened 
finger: invented by Chladni in 1790. 2. A 
musical instrument, the lowest or bass of the 
saxhorn family, having a compass of about 
three octaves upward from the second C below 
middle C. Its tone is powerful, but unsympa- 
thetic. 
euphonize (u'fo-niz), v. t. ; pret. and pp. eupho- 
nized, ppr. euphonizing. [< Gr. evQuvof, having 
a good voice, sweet-voiced, musical (see eupho- 
nous}, + -ize.] To make euphonic or agreeable 
in sound. 
The spreading of classical learning had not at first that 
general effect in euphonizing our language which might 
have been expected. 
Mitford, Harmony of Language (1774), p. 174. 
euphonous (u'fo-nus), a. [< Gr. eixfiavof, hav- 
ing a good voice (i. e., having a sweet voice, 
as a singer, e. g., the Muses, or having a loud, 
distinct voice, as a herald) (appar. not used 
with ref . to easy or agreeable pronunciation), 
< ev, well, + favri, voice, sound: see euphony.] 
Same as euphonious. Mitford. 
euphony (u'fo-ni), n. [= F. euphonie = Sp. 
eufonia = Pg. euphonia = It. eufonia, < LL. eu- 
phonia, < Gr. eixfxjvia, the quality of having a 
good voice (i. e., a sweet or a loud voice), loud- 
ness of voice, euphony, < EIH/MVOC;, having a good 
voice : see euphonous.] 1. Easy enunciation of 
sounds; a pronunciation which is pleasing to 
the sense; agreeable utterance. AS a principle 
active in the historical changes of language, euphony is 
a misnomer, since it is ease of utterance, economy of ef- 
fort on the part of the organs of speech, and not agreeable- 
ness to the ear, that leads to and governs such changes. 
Euphony, which used to be appealed to as explanation 
[of phonetic change], is a false principle, except so far as 
the term may be made an idealized synonym of economy 
[in utterance]. Whitney, Encyc. Brit., XVIII. 773. 
2028 
euphuism 
Euphony consists, also, in a well-proportioned variety of the African plant, also its acrid juice : see Eu- 
ou-ucture in successive sentences. A monotonous repeti- phorbia.] 1. A gum-resin, the product ol Jlu- 
tion of any construction can not be made euphonious, ex- phorbia resinifera, a leafless, cactus-like plant of 
cept by singing it. A. Phelps, Eng. Style, p. 327. Morocco. It is extremely acrid, and was formerly used, 
=Syn. Euphony, Melody, Harmony, Rhythm. Euphony 
in style respects simply the question of pleasing sounds 
in the words themselves. Melody respects the succession 
of sounds, especially as affected by the pitch appropriate 
to the thought and required by the arrangement of clauses. 
Harmony respects the adaptation of sound to sense. 
Wajthm respects the emphasis that is, the succession of 
emphatic and unemphatic syllables. In music melody re- 
spects the agreeable combination of successive sounds of 
various pitch, while harmony respects the agreeable blend- 
ing of simultaneous sounds of different pitch, the sounds 
in either case being from voices or musical instruments ; 
thus, a song for children to sing must depend for its effect 
upon melody rather than harmony. 
The Attic euvhomi in it. and all the aroma of age. 
D. 0. Mitchell, Wet Days. 
The river that I sate upon 
It made such a noise as it ron, 
Accordaunt with the birdes annony, 
Me thought it was the beste melody 
That mighte ben yheard of any mon. 
Chaucer, Cuckoo and Nightingale, 1. 81. 
By the harmony of words we elevate the mind to a sense 
Ourself have often tried 
Valkyrian hymns, or into rhythm have dash'd 
The passion of the prophetess. 
Tennyson, Princess, iv. 
even by the ancients, as an emetic and a purgative, but it 
is now employed only as an ingredient in plasters and in 
veterinary practice. 
Fixe therinne the 5 essence of tho laxatyues that purgen 
flewme and viscous humoris, as a litil of euforbie, or tur- 
bit, or sambucy. 
Book of Quinte Essence (ed. Furnivall), p. 16. 
Euphorbium, the gummy Juice or Sap of that Tree 
much us'd in Physick and Surgery. E. Phillips, 1706. 
2f. Same as euphorbia, 2. 
His Shield flames bright with gold, imbossed hie 
With Wolves and Horse seem-running swiftly by, 
And freng'd about with sprigs of Scammony, 
And of Euphorbium, forged cunningly. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Magnificence. 
euphoria (u-fo'ri-a), n. [NL., < Gr. eixfiopia, 
power of bearing easily, < iv&opoc,, bearing well, 
< rf, well, + Qepeiv = E. beari.] Inpathol.: (a) 
A disposition to bear pain well, (i) The state 
of feeling well, especially when occurring in a 
diseased person. Also called eupathia. 
tainiug to, characteristic of, or characterized 
by euphoria. 
Dr. Battaglia, director of an insane asylum in Cairo, 
describes many experiments upon himself with different 
He produced a great variety of 
E 
There are 
whole resembling a perfect flower. 
over 600 species, known generally as spurges, found in all 
temperate regions, and more sparingly within the trop 
. f n _._ l__il.. i T--.V.Ji 
phrenetic, etc.] A small genus of low herbs, 
of the natural order Scrophulariacea;, widely dis- 
tributed. The flowers are small, in dense spikes. The 
common eyebright of Europe, E. ojiciiuilis, is the only 
They Vary greatly in habit, especially the tropical North American species. It is astringent, and was for- 
merly in repute as a remedy for diseases of the eyes. 
euphrasy (u'fra-si), n. [< ME. * euphrasy 
(spelled heufras'y), < ML. ettfrasia, euphrasia: 
see Euphrasia.] The eyebright, Euphrasia of- 
ficinalis. 
Then purged with euphrasy and rue 
The visual nerve ; for he had much to see. 
Milton, P. L., xi. 414. 
With fairy euphrasy they purged my eyes, 
To let me see their cities in the skies. 
Hood, Plea of the Midsummer Fairies, st. 114. 
Euphratean (u-fra'te-an), a. Of or pertaining 
to the Euphrates, an important river of Asia, 
rising in Armenia, and after a course of 1,600 
miles falling into the Persian gulf. The region 
called Mesopotamia is included between the Euphrates 
and the Tigris, which flows into the Euphrates from the 
east about 100 miles from its mouth. 
The early life of the "Father of the Faithful" belongs 
to the time when Turanian and Semitic elements were 
mingled in the Euphratean valley. 
Dawson, Origin of World, p. 253. 
euphroe, n. See uphroe. 
Euphrosyne (u-fros'i-ne), n. [NL., < L. Eu- 
plirosyne, < Gr. EvQpoaiivq, one of the three Bo3- 
otian Charites, or Graces, who, with her fellows, 
presided over all that constitutes the charm 
and brilliancy of life ; lit. mirth, merriment, fes- 
tivity, < efypuv, merry, cheerful : see Euphrasia.] 
In zool., a genus of errant chsetopodous anne- 
lids, of the family Amphinomida. 
Top of Stem oi Euphorbia resinifera. 
a, involucre with inclosed flowers ; b, section of same. 
species, which are sometimes shrubs or trees ; and many 
African species have succulent, leafless, spiny, and angled 
stems, resembling columnar Cactacece. They abound in 
an acrid milky juice, which possesses active medicinal and 
sometimes poisonous properties. The blooming spurge, 
E. corollata, and the ipecac spurge, E. Ipecacuanha, of the 
United States, and numerous other species, are employed 
medicinally in the countries where they are native. (See _.. 
euphorbium.) Various species are also cultivated for or- a,!;-... /,-,'fn i'/ml n r< FmilnifQ .. 
nament, as K narainata for its color-margined leaves, eupnuism (u lu-izm), n. L< Jmplntcs. iuc uci 
E. pulcherrima for its bright-colored floral bracts, E. ful- two works by John Lyly, viz. , Euphues, or the 
gens for its bright-red involucre, and several African spe- Anatomy of Wit," 1579, and "Euphues and his 
cics for their cactus-like habit, as E. resinifera. England," 1580, written in a strange ornate and 
2. [Z. c.] A plant of this genus. affected style, which became fashionable at the 
Euphorbiaceae (u-f6r-bi-a'se-e), n.pl [NL., < court of Elizabeth, + -ism. The name Euphues 
Euphorbia + -acece.] An important order of ( prop . *Euphyes) is taken from Gr. etywfc, well- 
mostly apetalous plants, including 200 genera shaped, of good natural disposition, naturally 
and over 3,000 species, found in all temperate e i evei . ( {,^ c? a man of genius), etc., < %, 
and tropical regions, but especially abundant we ji ; + ^ gr OW th, stature, nature, < Qiviv, pro- 
in South America. They are herbs, shrubs, or trees duce, pass, oveada/, grow.] In Enq. lit., an af- 
with monoecious or dioecious flowers, and the fruit a tricoc- f P( ,J. P( J K rpra rv ofvlp orio-iiiatinff in'the fifteenth 
cons 3-seeded or 6-seeded capsule. They have an acrid ' 
milky juice, and some are poisonous ; but the fruits of a century, characterized by a wide vocabulary, 
few species are edible, and the roots of others abound in alliteration, consonance, verbal antithesis, and 
h The order includes the box-tree(-B)MMs), the cas- o( jd combinations of words. The style, although 
plant (Manihot) the castor-oil plant (Riciims), the , )ombastic al ,j ri aiciilous originally, contributed to the 
starch, 
sava . 
croton-oil and cascarilla plants (Croton), several species 
that furnish caoutchouc (Hevea, Castilloa, etc.), and nu- 
merous other more or less useful plants. The larger gen- 
era are Euphorbia, Croton. I'ln/llanthiis, and Acalypha. 
euphorbiaceous, euphorbial (u-for-bi-a'shius, 
u-for'bi-al), a. Pertaining to or having the 
characteristics of the Euphorbiacece. 
, 
flexibility and verbal resources of later English. It as- 
sumed its most extreme form in the works of John Lyly, 
called the Euphuist. 
All our Ladies were then his [I.yly's] Scholars ; and that 
Beauty in Court which could not Parley Euj<lieixi/{t : was as 
little regarded as She which now there speaks not French. 
Edirard Bluant, in Lyly's Euphues, Epist. to Header. 
