greenstone 
many geologists as a convenient designation for those 
older eruptive rocks which have undergone so much al- 
teration that their original character is in a measure 
lost, and cannot be made out except with the aid of the 
microscope, and not always with that help. The most 
important of these changes seems to be that the original 
augite has been converted into hornblende, while a still 
more advanced stage of alteration is indicated by the 
presence of chlorite, mica, and other minerals, the pre- 
dominating color of which is greenish, and to this pe- 
culiarity the rock owes its name. While there can be 
little doubt that many of the so-called greenstones, or 
melaphyres and diorites, as rocks of this class have of later 
years been often designated, are altered basalts, there is 
far from being a general agreement among lithologists as 
to the proper limitation of these names. See basalt, dio- 
rite, melaphyrr, trap. 
2. A very hard and close-textured stone used 
for putting the last edge on lancets and other 
delicate surgical instruments, etc. 
A hone for sharpening arms, made of a greenstone 
mounted in gold, was found near the principal figure. 
C. T. Newton, Art and Archseol., p. 379. 
Cutlers' greenstone. See def. 2. Greenstone tra- 
chyte. See propylite. 
greensward (gren'sward), n. [= Dan. gron- 
si'cerd.] Turf green with grass. 
When you see men ploughing up heath-ground, or 
sandy ground, or greenxwariix, then follow the plough. 
/. Wallon, Complete Angler, p. 185. 
Dear is the forest frowning o'er his head, 
And dear the velvet green-sward to his tread. 
Wordsworth, Descriptive Sketches. 
greenth (grenth), . [< green 1 + -th, as in 
warmth, etc.] The quality of being green, es- 
pecially with growing plants ; greenness ; ver- 
dure. [Rare.] 
I found my garden brown an 
recovered the greenth. 
2619 
The king . . . hath a most braue and sumptuous pal- 
lace, . . . & it hath most high greeses & stayers to ascend 
vp to the rooines therin contained. 
Haklmjt's Voyages, II. 57. 
The Lord Archbishop upon the greese of the quire made 
a long oration. Bacon, Hist. Hen. VII. 
They [men] go up into the upper Stories by Qreesei and 
Winding-stairs. Comemus, Visible World, p. 102. 
2. A degree. 
If one be [a flatterer], 
So are they all ; for every grize of fortune 
Is smooth'd by that below. Shak., T. of A., iv. 3. 
Jailer. They are famed to be a pair of absolute men. 
Daugh. By my troth, I think Fame but stammers 'em ; 
they stand a greise above the reach of report. 
Fletcher (and another}. Two Noble Kinsmen, ii. 1. 
greese 3 t, a. A variant of grise*. 
To the North parte of that countrey are the places where 
they haue their furres, as Sables, marterns, greesse Beuers. 
Uakluyfs Voyages, I. 237. 
greeshoch (gre'shoch), . Same as griesnocli. 
greesing (gre'sing), n. [Also griesing, greasing; 
still in dial, use, in various forms, greesen, gris- 
sen, and perversely Grecian, usually in pi.; < 
greese 2 + -ing 1 .] A step; usually in the plural, 
steps or stairs. [Obsolete or prov. Eng.] 
It is no time now to shew any miracles ; there is another 
way to goe downe [from the pinnacle of the temple], by 
greetings. Latimer, Sermons, fol. 72 b. 
There is a flight of stone stairs on the hill at Lincoln 
called there the Grecian stairs, a strange corruption. 
aalliwcll. 
greet 1 (gret), v. [< ME. greten, < AS. gretan = 
OS. grotian = OFries. greta = D. groeten = 
MLG. groten, gruten = OHG. gruozen, MHG. 
griiezen, G. griissen, greet; not in Scand. or 
~roth.] I. trans. 1. To address formally, as 
Gregarinidse 
Molly sends Greeting, so do I, Sir, 
Send a good Coat, that's all, good by. Sir. 
Prior, The Mice. 
Greeting or salutation of our lady t, the Annunciation. 
= Syn! ^Salute, ete. See salutation. 
greeting' 2 (gre'ting), . [< ME. gretynge; ver- 
bal n. of greet 2 , v.] Weeping; crying. [Obso- 
lete or prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
Noghte in wantone Joyeynge, bot in bytter gretynge. 
Hampole, Prose Treatises (E. E. T. 8.), p. 5. 
what means a' this greeting) 
I'm sure it's nae for me ; 
For I'm come this day to Edinburgh town, 
Weel wedded for to be. 
Mary Hamilton (Child's Ballads, III. 124). 
greeting-houset (gre'ting-hous), n. A recep- 
tion-room next to the porch or proaulion in an- 
cient churches and convents : probably identi- 
cal with the sacrarium, or vestry where the ves- 
sels for use in the church were kept. 
greeve 1 (grev), n. [Also written greave. grieve; 
< ME. gryve, grayve, once grafe, a steward, reeve, 
not from AS. gerefa (> E. reeve*, q. v.), but of 
Scand. origin, < Icel. greifi = Sw. grefve = Dan. 
greve, a steward, etc.; but the Scand. words 
are themselves prob. of LG. or HG. origin: see 
grave 6 .] A reeve; a steward. [Scotch and 
Old Eng.] 
Of the resayuer he shalle resayue, 
Alle that is gedurt of bayl and grayue. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.X p. 318. 
greeve'-'t, ''. An obsolete spelling of grieve 1 . 
greevest, An old plural of grief. 
greeveship (grev'ship), n. [< greeve 1 + -ship.] 
The office or dignity of a greeve. 
To the bailiwicks succeeded greaveships, equivalent to 
constablewicks, where officers termed greaves alternately 
of summer or the low-hanging clouds and snowy branches 
of winter. George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, xxx. 
greenwax (gren'waks), n. [ME. grene wax : the 
papers in such proceedings used to be sealed 
with green wax.] In the former English Court 
of Exchequer, an estreat of fine, amercement, 
etc., delivered for levy to a sheriff under the 
seal of the court impressed upon green wax. 
greenweed (gren'wed), n. Same as greenbroom. 
Yellowes and greenes are colours of small prices in this 
realme, by reason that Olde and Greenweed wherewith 
they be died be naturall here, llakluyt'i Voyages, II. 163. 
greenwing (gren'wing), n. The green-winged 
teal, a duck, Queryuedula crecea of Europe, or 
Q. carolinensis of America : so called from the 
bright glossy-green speculum. The latter spe- 
cies is also locally called American, least green- 
winged, or red-headed teal, mud-teal, or winter 
teal. 
greenwithe (gren'with), . The Vanilla cla- 
viculata, a climbing orchid of Jamaica, with a 
long terete stem. 
greenwood (gren'wud), n. [< ME. grene wood, 
greene wode.~] 1. A wood or forest when green, 
as in summer. 
Now she must to the grenewood gang, 
To pu' the nuts in grenewood hang. 
Lord Dingwall (Child's Ballads, I. 288). 
Merry it is in the good green wood, 
When the mavis and merle are singing. 
Scott, L. of the L., iv. 12. 
2. Wood which has acquired a green tint under 
the pathological influence of the fungus Peziza. 
greeny (gre'ni), a. [< green 1 + -yi.] Green- 
ish ; having a green hue. 
Great, greenji, dark masses of colour solemn feeling 
of the freshness and depth of nature. Ruskin. 
message ; give or send salutations to ; accost ; 
salute; hail. greezet, . Same as greese^. 
There Gabrielle^We our Lady, seyenge, . . . Heyl fnlle greffO (gref), n [F.: see prof 2 ] 1 A stylus 
of Grace, oure Lord is with the. See potntel 2. In French law, the registry ; the 
Mandeville, Travels, p. 112. clerk's office. 
My lord, the mayor of London comes to greet you. greffier (gref'ier), n. [F. : see graffer?.] A 
Shak., Rich. III., iii. l. registrar or recorder; a clerk; in French law, 
And the birds on every tree " :a ~ 
Greete this monie with melodic. 
W. Browne, Shepherd's Pipe. 
2f. To congratulate. 
Then to him came fayrest Florimell, 
And goodly can to greet his brave emprise. 
Spenser, F. Q., V. iii. 15. 
II. intrans. To salute on meeting. 
There greet in silence, as the dead are wont, 
And sleep in peace. Shak., Tit. And., i. 2. 
Passion-pale they met 
And greeted. Tennyson, Guinevere. 
greet 1 ^ [< ME. grete = D. groct = MLG. gregarian (gre-ga'rT-an), a. [As gregdri-ous + 
grot, grut, m., grote, f., = OHG. gruoz, MHG. -an.] Of or pertaining to a herd; gregarious; 
gruoz, m., gruoze, f ., G. gruss, a greeting, salute ; specifically, belonging to the herd or common 
from the verb.] A greeting. sort; ordinary. [Rare.] 
then, sweet sonne, I'd ne're disjoyn'd have been The gregarian soldiers and gross of the army is well af- 
From thy sweet greets. Vicars, tr. of Virgil (1632). fected to him. Howell, Letters, iii. 1. 
greet 2 (gret), v. i. [Sc. also greit; < ME. greten, gregarianism (gre-ga'ri-an-izm). n. [< grega- 
< AS. grietan, gretan = Icel. grata = Sw. grata rian + -ism.] The practice of gathenng or 
= Dan. grcede = Goth, gretan, weep.] To weep; living in flocks or companies. 
a prothonotary. [Used only in connection with 
French subjects.] 
One thing I may not omit, without sinful oversight ; a 
short, but memorable story, which the grephier of that 
towne (though of different religion) reported to more 
eares than ours. Bp. Hall, Epistles, i. 5. 
The Duke of Orleans, Monsieur the Prince, and the 
Superintendents deliver them to the Grefler or clerk. 
Evelyn, State of France. 
greftt, v. An obsolete form of graft*. 
gregal (gre'gal), a. [< L. grex (greg-), a flock, 
+ -al] Pertaining to a flock. Bailey. 
cry. [Obsolete or prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
"Bi Goddez self," quoth Gawayn, 
"I wyl nauther grete ne grone." 
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S-X 1. 2157. 
For wante of it I grone and grete. 
Rom. of the Rote, 1. 4116. 
Sae loud's he heard his young son greet, 
But and his lady mane. 
Sweet Willie (Child's Ballads, II. 94). 
(gret), n. [< ME. grete, weeping; from 
This tendency to gregarianism is nowhere more mani- 
fest. Truth, Oct. IS, 1881. 
Gregarina (greg-a-ri'na), re. [NL., < L. grega- 
rius, gregarious, + -ina.] 1. The typical ge- 
nus of the Gregarinidce. G. gigantea, the greg- 
arine of the lobster, attains a length of two 
thirds of an inch. 2. [1. c. ; pi. gregarince 
(-ne).] One of the Gregarinidce; a gregarine. 
The gregarince have a peculiar mode of multiplication, 
ereenv(ere'ni) ! areenies (-niz) [Dim of 5 u 6et \? r< % ^ L , / T T' W -7 pl "| ; "T, sometimes preceded by a process which resembles conjul 
greeny (gre 11;, n.,pi. grei e*(u^;. L^im. 01 tne verbi cf . ME. grot, < Icel. gratr = Sw. gr&t ti A single ffrOTanM (or two which have become 
green\] 1. A greenhorn ; a simpleton. [Colloq.] - rf Go ^ ' - fe we eDine.1 Weep- Sd together) surrounds itself with a structureless 
I asked Jim Smith where his place was. . . . Jim said I 
was a greeny, . . . [and] that he had a lot of houses. 
Gongregationalist, April 7, 1887. 
2. A freshman. [Colloq.] 
He was entered among the Greenies of this famous Uni- 
versity [Leyden]. Southey, The Doctor, ch. 1. 
3. Same as greenfinch, 1. Also spelled greeney. 
greepet, A variant of grip 1 , gripe 1 . 
greest, " See gree 1 and greese^. 
greeseH, n. An obsolete spelling of grease. 
greese 2 t, . [Also grees, greeze, greece, greise, 
griece, grieze, grise, grice, grize, <J ME. greese, 
greece, grese, grece, green, etc., stairs, steps, 
orig. pi. of gree 1 , a step, but later applied (like 
the equiv. stairs) to the whole flight of steps 
taken together, and used as a singular, with 
a new pi. greeses: see gree 1 .] 1. A flight of 
steps ; a staircase ; also, a step. 
A fayr mynstyr men may ther se, 
Nyne and twenty greens ther be. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 114. 
The top of the ladder, or first yreesc, is this. 
Latimer, 2d Sermon bet Edw. VI., 1549. 
applied together) surrounds itself with a structureless 
cyst. The nucleus disappears, and the protoplasm breaks 
up ... into small bodies, each of which acquires a spin- 
dle-shaped case, and is known as a pseudo navicella. On 
the bursting of the cyst these bodies are set free, and . . . 
the contained protoplasm escapes as a small active body 
like a Protamosba. Huxley, Anat. Invert., p. 87. 
= Dan. graad = Goth, grets, weeping.] Weep- 
ing; crying; a cry; complaint. [Obsolete or 
prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
Thare saw he als with huge grete and murning, 
In middil erd [earth] oft menitj thir Troyanis 
Duryng the sege that into batale slane is. 
Gavin Douglas, tr. of Virgil P 180. rine (gr eg'a-rin), a. and n. [< NL. grega- 
_ v_i^ - ^.i^i * "V^.] i o. Saving the characters of a grega- 
rina ; pertaining to the Gregarinidce. 
II. n. One of the Gregarinidce. 
gregarinid (gre-gar'i-nid), n. One of the Gre- 
garinidce; a gregarine. 
greet 3 (gret), n. An obsolete or dialectal form 
of grit 1 . 
greet 4 (gret), n. An obsolete or dialectal form 
of grit 2 . 
greeter (gre'ter), n. One whq_greets. 
. 
greeting 1 (gre'ting), n. [< ME. gretinge, < AS. (j re garinida (greg-a-rin'i-da), n. pi. [NL., < 
ftva+ivifi #/M/M/J vai*ha.1 n f\f rivet fin ovPAt 1 . BAA ^ .. . _ i .- j~ i" 
greting, "gretung, verbal n. of gretan, greet : see 
greet 1 .] Salutation at meeting or in opening 
communication by letter or message; formal 
address; a form used in accosting or address- 
ing. 
[William] went a-jen themperonr with wel glade chere. 
A gay greting was ther gret wan thei to-gedir met. 
II- -77,' ...... *f M..7 ... , , fP T7 1* O \ 1 t 
1.1 ;, it. i". |jnu| N 
Gregarina + -idol]' The Gregannidce, in the 
widest sense, as a class of protozoans, divided 
into Monocystidea or simple-celled gregarines, 
and Dicystidea or septate gregarines: nearly 
synonymous with Sporozoa (which see). See 
Gregarinidce, Gregarinidea. Also called Cyto- 
zoa. 
f Paleme (E. E. T. S. X 1. 4883. d ^ arinJd|B (gre g-a. r in'i-de), n. pi. [NL, < 
Gregarina + -trite.] A family or other major 
You are come in very happy time 
To bear my greeting to the senators. 
Shak., J. C., U. 2. 
group of endoplastic protozoans, having sphe- 
