heir 
Heir presumptive. See heir apparent. 
Warwick . . . did not scruple to show his displeasure, 
and began a counter-intrigue for the marriage of one of 
his daughters with the duke of Clarence, the heir presump- 
tive to the throne. Stubbs, Const. Ilist, 358. 
Heir special See heir general. 
heir (ar), v. t. [< heir, .] To inherit; suc- 
ceed to. 
My younger brother will heir my land ; 
Fair England again I'll never see. 
Young Beichan and Susie Pye (Child's Ballads, IV. 8). 
When falls a mate in battle broil, 
His comrade heirs his portioned spoil. 
Scott, Kokeby, i. 21. 
heir-apparency (ar-a-par'en-si), n. The state 
of being heir apparent. 
heirdom (ar'dum), n. [< heir + -dom.'] The 
state of being an heir; succession by inheri- 
tance. Burke. 
heiress (ar'es), . [< heir + -ess.] A female 
heir; especially, a -woman inheriting or who is 
expected to inherit considerable wealth. 
His only child, his Edith, whom he loved 
As heiresi and not heir regretfully. 
Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
heir-land (ar'land), n. Land passing by de- 
scent. Pollock. 
heirless (ar'les), . [< heir + -less.'] Desti- 
tute of an heir. 
The monster, dead and heirless t who shall have 
His crown and capital? 
Harper's Mag., LXXVIII. 174. 
heirloom (ar'lb'm), n. [< heir + loom 1 , in its orig. 
sense of ' tool, implement,' extended to mean 
'article.'] 1. In Eng. law, a personal chattel 
that, contrary to the nature of chattels, by spe- 
cial custom descends to an heir with the inheri- 
tance, being such a thing as cannot be separated 
from the estate without injury to it, as jewels 
of the crown, charters, deeds, and the like. The 
term is sometimes loosely applied to personal property 
left by will or settled so as to descend like an heirloom 
proper ; such property Is distinctively called an heirloom 
by devise or a quasi-heirloom. 
'T has been an heir-loom to our house four hundred years ; 
And, should I leave It now, I fear good fortune 
Would file from us, and follow it. 
T. Tomkis (?X Albumazar, 111. 1. 
Hence 2. Any personal possession that passes 
from generation to generation in a family or a 
community ; any article or characteristic trans- 
mitted by ancestors. 
Heirlooms, and ancient miracles of Art, 
Chalice, and salver. Tennyson, Lover's Tale, Iv. 
What practical man ever left such an heirloom to his 
countrymen as the " Faery Queen " ? 
Lowell, Among my Books, 2d ser., p. 16(1. 
Of the many heirlooms that Venice has bequeathed, one 
of the best is the doctrine of the refined and noble use of 
color. C. E. Norton, Church building in Middle Ages, p. 57. 
heirship (ar'ship), . [< heir + -ship.'} The 
state or rights of an heir ; right of inheriting. 
I shall first review the laws of heirship by proximity of 
blood ; and secondly, the laws of heir ship by appointment. 
Sir W. Jones, Commentary on Isams. 
Heirship movables, in Scots law, the best of certain 
kinds of movables which the heir Is entitled to take, be- 
sides the heritable estate : a distinction abolished in 1868. 
heise (hez), v. t. A dialectal variant of hoise. 
[Scotch.] 
Heisteria (hls-te'ri-a), n. [NL., named after 
Lorenz Heister (1683-1758), professor at Helm- 
stedt.] A genus of dicotyledonous polypetalous 
plants, founded by Linnaeus, of the natural or- 
der Olacinete, characterized by a much enlarged 
free fruiting calyx, and twice as many sta- 
mens as petals, all bearing subglobose didy- 
mous anthers. They are shrubs or trees with entire 
coriaceous leaves and very small flowers fascicled in the 
axils. The fruit is a white drupe. The genus embraces 
upward of 20 species, natives of tropical Africa and Amer- 
ica, chiefly the latter. H. coccinea, a native of the West 
Indies, is very ornamental in cultivation, and is called 
bois-perdrix (which may be a corruption of pois-perdrix) 
by the inhabitants of Martinique. 
Heisterieae (his-te-ri'e-e), n. pi. [NL., < Heis- 
teria + -ece.] A tribe of plants, of the natural 
order Olacinece, proposed by Dumortier in 1829, 
of which the genus Heisteria was taken as the 
type. They are now embraced in the tribe 
Olacece. 
heisugget, n. A Middle English form of hay- 
suck. 
heitt, interj. See hait. Chaucer. 
he-jalap (he'jaFap), n. A kind of jalap made 
from the plant fyomcea Mestitlanica (I. Oriza- 
beiisis). 
hejira (hej'i-ra), n. [Also written, less prop., 
hegira; = Turk, hejra = Pers. Hind, hijra, < Ar. 
hejira, hijra, the era of Mohammed, commemo- 
rating his flight from Mecca, lit. separation, 
departure ; cf . hajr, separation, absence, < haja- 
2774 
ra, quit, leave.] A departure or flight ; specif- 
ically, the departure of Mohammed from Mecca 
to Medina, A. D. 622, to escape the enmity of the 
Meccans ; hence, the Mohammedan era, reckon- 
ed by lunar years of 354 and 355 days from July 
16th, 622, though the true date of the event is 
supposed to be about June 19th. 
hekt, . See heck 1 , hack 2 . 
Hekatombaion, n. See Hecatonibceon. 
hekistotherm (he -kis' to -therm), n. [< Gr. 
iywoTo?, least, worst (supe'rl. (with compar. ya- 
auv), associated with wucdf , bad, < qua, still, low, 
little), + Qeppi, heat.] One of Alphonse de 
Candolle's physiological groups in the geo- 
graphical distribution of plants, denoting such 
as can subsist with the minimum of heat : com- 
monly used in the plural. Hekistotherms are 
both boreal (arctic) and austral (antarctic). 
hektograph, . and v. See hectograph. 
helcoid (hel'koid), o. [< Gr. e/Uoc, a wound, an 
ulcer (= L. ulcus: see ulcer), + eliof, form.] 
Resembling an ulcer ; ulcerous. 
helcology fhel-kol'o-ji), n. [< Gr. Ifooc, an 
ulcer, + -Xoyia, < Xtyetv, speak: see -ology.] 
That branch of pathology which is concerned 
with the study of ulcers. 
helcoplasty (hel'ko-plas-ti), n. [< Gr. tt/cof, 
an ulcer, + irtoaTAf, verbal adj. of n'Muiaeiv, 
form, mold.] In surg., the operation of grafting 
on an ulcer a piece of skin from another part 
of the patient or from another person, in order 
to further the healing process. 
held 1 (held). Preterit and past participle of 
hold 1 . 
held 2 t, heldet, Variants of hceld. 
Helderberg limestone. See limestone. 
heleH, v. and n. A Middle English form of 
heal 1 . 
hele 2 t, v. t. A Middle English form of heal 2 . 
helelest, See healless. 
Helena (hel'e-na), n. [< LGr. iHvr/ or Wdw?. a 
torch, < Gr. 'Etevq, Helen, in Greek legend the 
sister of Castor and Pollux and wife of Mene- 
laus. ] A meteoric appearance about the masts 
of ships. See corposant. 
helen-flower (hel'en-flou"er), n. A plant of the 
genus Helenium. 
Helenieae (hel-e-ni'e-e), n. pi. [NL., < Hele- 
nium + -ece.~\ A subtribe of plants, of the nat- 
ural order Composite, tribe Helenioideai, typified 
by the genus Selenium, introduced by Gray in 
1848. It is nearly equivalent to the Bariece and Euhe- 
leniece of Bentham and Hooker. The involucre Is hardly 
at all imbricated, the bracts are nearly equal, the disk 
flowers are numerous, and the achenia have few nerves or 
angles. 
helenin, helenine (hel'e-nin), n. [< helen-ium 
+ -in 2 , -i'ne 2 .] A substance (CgHgO) derived 
from the root of Inula helenium, or elecampane, 
by the action of alcohol. It crystallizes in white 
prisms which have a bitter taste. 
helenioid (he-le'ni-oid), a. [< Heleni-um + -aid.'} 
In bot., resembling Helenium; belonging to the 
tribe Helenioidece, of the order Composites. 
Helenioidese (he-le-ni-oi'de-e), n. pi. [NL., < 
Helenium + -oidece.~\ A tribe of composite 
plants, typified by the genus Helenium. it was 
introduced by Bentham and Hooker in 1873, who limited it, 
in the main, to the following characters : the heads hete- 
rogamous and radiate ; the receptacle naked ; the anthers 
nnappendaged ; the achenia narrow or turbinate, having 
four or five angles or eight or more ribs, and provided with 
chaff ; the bracts of the involucre In one or two rows ; and 
both the disk and 
ray flowers yel- 
low. The tribe em- 
braces 63 gen- 
era, mostly coarse 
herbs or suffrutes- 
cent plants, chiefly 
American, found 
especially from 
California to Chili, 
but most abun- 
dant In Mexico. 
helenium (he- 
le'ni-um), n. 
[NL., < Gr. O- 
viov, a plant, 
perhaps ele- 
campane,prob. 
< 'EAfru?, Helen, 
wife of Mene- 
laus.] 1. Ele- 
campane: used 
as a specif- 
ic name. 2. 
[cop.] A ge- 
nus of com- 
posite plants, 
founded by 
Helianthideee 
Linnseus in 1753, the type of the tribe Helenioi- 
dea?. It is characterized by radiate heads, narrow involu- 
cral bracts in one or two series, reflexed after (lowering, 
and truncate branches of the style. It comprises herbs 
with alternate, often decurreut, chiefly entire leaves, and 
peduncled solitary or loosely corymbose heads of yellow 
flowers. There are about 18 species, natives of North and 
Central America. The best-known species, 21. autum- 
nale, is common in alluvial bottoms of the eastern United 
States, and is called sneezeweed, from its effect on the nose. 
The leaves and flowers snuffed up in the state of powder 
produce violent sneezing, and have been used as an errhine. 
It is also called false sunflower. H. tenui/olium of the 
southern United States is said to be very poisonous, pro- 
ducing spasms and loss of consciousness. 
Heleocharis (hel-e-ok'a-ris), n. NL., < Gr. 
ivlof (^/U-), a marsh', + xaipctv, rejoice.] A ge- 
nus of monocotyledonous glumaceous plants, of 
the natural order Cyperaceai and tribe Scirpew, 
founded by Eobert Brown in 1810. it is charac- 
terized by from 8 to 8 hypogynous bristles, the persistent 
bulbous base of the style crowning the acnenium, leafless 
stems, and solitary terminal spikes, the lowest bracts be- 
ing glumaceous. The genus embraces about 90 species, 
diffused throughout the entire globe. They are collec- 
tively called spite-rushes, and are closely related to the 
bulrushes and club-rushes (Scirvus), though smaller, and 
like them grow in wet, marshy places. H. palustris, 
common to both Europe and America, is one of the most 
abundant species. //. tuberosa, a Chinese species, has 
edible tubers, and is called inatai or petsi, H. sphacelata, 
of Australia, New Zealand, and the South Sea islands, 
also has nutritious and palatable tubers. Also Uleocharis. 
helgramite, n. See hellgrammite. 
heliac (he'li-ak), a. [= F. heliaque = Sp. heliaco 
= Pg. heliaco = It. eliaco, < LL. heliaous, < Gr. 
iJ/Ua/coCiOf the sun, < if/Uof, the sun, Doric al.iof, 
akfaos, Epic syt/Uof , Cretic, Laconic d/3t/Uof, orig. 
prob. *apf/t)f , *aFott.tot = Etruscan Usil, the sun- 
god, whence, according to Festus, the Roman 
plebeian name Auselius, Amelius; connected 
with Gr. /<if, Doric dcif, Lesbian aixjf, Attic euy 
= L. aurora, the dawn, = E. easier, etc., L. 
mini in. gold, etc. : see aurora, aurum, east, Eas- 
ter 1 , Eocene, etc. L. sol, the sun, is of different 
origin: see sol, solar."] Same as heliacal. 
heliacal (he-li'a-kal), o. [< heliac + -<.] In 
old agtron. and'c/irbnoZ., near the sun: applied 
to those risings and settings of a star which 
were as nearly coincident with those of the sun 
as they could be observed. The stars rise and set a 
little earlier each successive day. The first rising of a 
star each year in time to be seen before sunrise is the 
heliacal rising; its last observable setting after sunset Is 
the heliacal setting. From the time of a star's heliacal 
setting to that of its heliacal rising it is too near the sun 
to be seen at all a period of 30 or 40 days, according to the 
reckoning of the ancients. 
The cosmical ascentlon of a star we term that, when it 
ariseth together with the sun, or the same degree of the 
ecliptick wherein the sun abideth ; and that the heliacal, 
when a star which before for the vicinity of the sun was 
not visible, being further removed, beginneth to appear. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., iv. 18. 
heliacally (he-li'a-kal-i), adv. In a heliacal 
manner. 
He [Orion] is tempestuous in summer, when he rises 
heliacally. Dryden, Epic Poetry. 
heliaea (he-li-e'a), n. [Gr. jhaia, a public 
place or hall, in which the chief court of law sat 
at Athens.] In. Athenian antiq. : (a) The insti- 
tution of the dicastery. (6) The chief of the 
courts (called heliastic), in which cases of high 
importance were tried. See dicastery. 
helianthaceous (he'H-an-tha'shius), a. [< He- 
lianthus + -aceous.'] In bot., related to Heli- 
anihus; belonging to the Helianthece or Heli- 
anthoidea!. 
Helianthese (he-li-an'the-e), n. pi. [NL. (Gray, 
1848), < Helianthus + -eie.'] A subtribe of the 
Composite, coming under the tribe Senecio- 
nidece, and embracing Helianthus and allied 
genera. Baillon (" Histoire des Plantes," VIII. 71, 201) 
gives this Dame to a much larger group, which he calls a 
series, embracing most genera with heterogamous heads. 
Helianthemum (he-li-an'the-mum), n. [NL. 
(Tournefort, 1717), < Gr. Affr, the sun, + 
avOe/iov, a flower, < avdof, a flower.] A genus 
of dicotyledonous polypetalous plants, belong- 
ing to the natural order Cistinece, character- 
ized by a three-valved capsule with three pla- 
centae and a twice-plicate uncinate embryo. 
The genus embraces about 35 species, natives of North and 
South America. Europe, and western Asia, They are low 
herbs or suflrutescent plants with flowers in terminal (or 
the lower in axillary) racemes, and the very thin petals 
often large, and showy. H. vulgarc, the common European 
species, is called rock-rose, or, in some of the old herbals, 
sunflower, from the fact that the flowers open only in sun- 
shine. It is extensively cultivated, and is the original of 
all the double varieties of rock -rose in gardens. H. Cana- 
dense, the frostweed, is common in the eastern United 
States, and has large yellow flowera. 
Helianthideae (he"li-an-thid'e-e), n.pl. [NL., 
< Helianthus (-id-) + -ece."] A tribe of plants, 
typified by the genus Helianthus, proposed by 
Dumortier in 1829. See Helianthoidece. 
