hermandad 
There was no attempt to establish that iron bulwark of 
despotism, a stamliii},' army : at least, none nearer than 
that of the voluntary levies of the ktrmandad, raised and 
paid by the people. Prescott, 1'erd. and Isa., ii. 26. 
Hcrmannese (ker-man'e-e), -n.pl. [NL. (Lind- 
ley, 1847), < Hcriuniniin + -eo;.] A tribe of the 
Bi/ttncriaceai: same as Hermanniete. 
Hermannia (her-man'i-a), . [NL. (Linnaeus, 
1753), named after Paul Hermann, professor of 
botany at Leyden in the 17th century. The 
proper name &. Hermann, D. Herman, Barmen, 
E. Herman, Harmon, etc., means 'a soldier,' be- 
ing in AS. Iteremann (OHG. litirinwn, In rininii, 
MHG. licnnun, etc.), < here, army, + mann, man. 
See imrry, lu-ntld, etc.] A genus of dicotyle- 
donous polypetalous plants, belonging to the 
natural order Sterculiact'ii; tribe Hcrniiinnieii; 
distinguished mainly by its 5-clef t calyx, 5 petals 
with hollowed claws, !> stamens with filaments 
oblong or dilated above, many-ovuled ovary, and 
5-valved capsule with reniform seeds. The ge- 
nus embraces 90 species, chiefly South African shrubs 
with toothed or incised alternate leaves, and yellow or 
red nodding flowers in the axils of the leaves or in a 
terminal cluster. Three species occur in Texas and Mex- 
ico. 
Hermanniese (her-ma-ni'e-e), n. pi. [NL., < 
Hermannia + -ece.] A tribe of plants, of the 
natural order Sterculiaceai, typified by the genus 
Hermannia, characterized by marcescent petals, 
chiefly monadelphous stamens, and capsular 
fruit. They inhabit the warmer regions of both 
hemispheres. 
hermaphrodeity (her-maf-ro-de'i-ti), n. [Ir- 
reg. < Hermaphrodite) + -eity.] Pfermaphrodit- 
ism. [Rare.] 
Some do believe hermaphrodeity, 
That both do act and suffer. 
B. Jonson, Alchemist, ii. 1. 
hermaphrodism(her-maf'ro-dizm), n. A short- 
ened iorm of hermaphroditism. 
Hermaphrodita (her-maf-ro-di'ta), n.pl. [NL., 
neut. pi. of L. hermaphrodites, taken as an adj. : 
see hermaphrodite.'] In De Blaiuville's classi- 
fication (1825), one of three subclasses of his 
Paracephalophora, contrasted with Dioica and 
Monoiea, and containing the orders Cirribran- 
chiata (tooth-shells), Cervicobranchiata (lim- 
pets), and Scutibranchiata (sea-ears, limpets). 
It corresponds somewhat to the Linnean genus 
Patella. 
Hermaphroditanthae (her-maf"ro-di-tan'the), 
n. pi. [NL., < Gr. ep/iaippMiTof, hermaphrodite, 
+ avdof, a flower.] 1. A general classifying 
name for plants with hermaphrodite flowers. 
2. A suborder of the Aracete, including Calla 
and related forms. Schott, 1832. 
hermaphrodite (her-maf'ro-dit), . and a. [= 
F. hermaphrodite = Sp. herinafrodita, hermafro- 
dito = Pg. hrrmaphroaita = It. ermafrodito, < L. 
hermaphroditiis, < Gr. epiia^p66iro^, a hermaphro- 
dite, so called from 'Ep/iaj>p6diTo<;, Hermaphro- 
ditus, in myth, son of Hermes (Mercury) and 
Aphrodite (Venus); according to the legend, 
he became united in one body with the nymph 
Salmacis while bathing in her fountain ; < 'Epp/f , 
Hermes, + 'A^poSirr/, Aphrodite.] I. n. 1. A 
human being in whom the sexual characteris- 
tics of both sexes are to some extent, really or 
apparently, combined; also, one of the higher 
animals which is similarly deformed. Such mon- 
strosities are really of one sex or the other, but are gener- 
ally imperfectly developed with respect to either. They 
are hence specifically called spurious hermaphrodites. 
Nor man nor woman, scarce hermaphrodite. 
Drayton, Moon Calf. 
2. One of those lower animals which normally 
possess the parts of generation of both the male 
and the female, so that reproduction can take 
place without the union of two individuals. 
Such animals are called true hermaphrodites. They are 
those which have both an ovary and a testis, or a female 
and a male genital gland, in one and the same individual, 
as is very often the case among mollusks and worms. The 
essential organs of both sexes may exist simultaneously, or 
the animal may be male at one time and female at another ; 
but in either case it is capable of self-impregnation. A 
variation of this case is seen in some animals, as earth- 
worms, which are hermaphroditic yet copulate, each im- 
pregnating the other. True hermaphrodites occur only 
as an anomaly among vertebrates, but there are authentic 
instances of the development of a testis on one side of the 
body and an ovary on the other ; and embryoloRiciilly nil 
sexual animals are hermaphrodites before the primitively 
similar genital gland has assumed the special characters 
of either sex. 
3. In bot., a flower that contains both the 
stamen and the pistil perfectly developed, or 
the male and female organs of generation, 
within the same floral envelop or on the same 
receptacle. Sec jierfect. 
II. n. Same as hermaphroditic Hermaphro- 
dite brig, flower, gland, etc. See the nouns. 
2805 
hermaphroditic (her-maf-ro-dit'ik), a. [< hfr- 
iiiii/ilii'iiilitc 4- -ic.] Affected with or pertaining 
to hermaphroditism ; having the character of a 
hermaphrodite ; being of both sexes. 
Look on me, and with all thine eyes, 
Male, female, yea, hermaphroditic eyes. 
B. Jonson, Staple of News, 1. 1. 
hermaphroditical (her-maf-ro-dit'i-kal), a. 
[< hermaphroditic + -a/.] Same as hermaphro- 
tlilic. 
Cry down, or up, what they like or dislike in a brain or 
a fashion, with most masculine, or rather hermaphroditi- 
cal authority. B. Jonson, Epicccne, i. 1. 
hermaphroditically (her-maf-ro-dit'i-kal-i), 
adv. As a hermaphrodite. 
hermaphroditism (her-maf'ro-dl-tizm), re. [= 
Sp. hermafroditismo = Pg. hermaphroditismo ; 
as hermaphrodite + -ism.'] The state of being a 
hermaphrodite ; union, real or apparent, of the 
two sexes in the same individual. Also her- 
maphrodism. 
Many Turbellarians, especially the Accela, display the 
phenomenon known as " successive hermaphroditism," the 
male organs of an individual attain to maturity first, and 
the female organs become ripe subsequently. During 
copulation, therefore, one individual is physiologically a 
male and the other a female. E-ncyc. Brit., XIX. 174. 
True hermaphroditium exists only when the essential 
organs of reproduction, both kinds of germ-glands, are 
united in one individual. Either an ovary is then devel- 
oped on the right and a testis on the left, or vice versa ; 
or testes and ovaries are developed on both sides, one 
more, the other less perfectly. 
Haeckel, Evol. of Man (trans.), II. 423. 
Dimidiate hermaphroditism, true hermaphroditism 
of the kind which consists in the development of a testis 
on one side of the body and an ovary on the other, in ani- 
mals which are normally of opposite sexes. This condi- 
tion has been not infrequently observed. 
Hennas (her'mas), . [NL.] A genus of dico- 
tyledonous polypetalous plants, founded by the 
younger Linnaeus in 1781, belonging to the nat- 
ural order Umbelliferce, tribe MuKnece, charac- 
terized by its conspicuous petaloid calyx-lobes, 
filiform petals, and dorsally compressed fruit. 
The genus embraces 5 species of perennial cespitose herbs, 
with radical undivided leaves and crowded compound um- 
bels of white or dark-purple flowers, natives of the Cape 
of Good Hope. The epidermis of the leaves of H. gigantea, 
separated from the veins and midrib, is used by the Hot- 
tentots as a tinder, and is also made into miniature socks, 
gloves, etc. 
hermelet, A Middle English form of hair- 
meal. Chaucer. 
hermelinet, n. Same as ermine. 
hermeneut (her'me-nut), n. [< Gr. epfit/vevrfc 
an interpreter, < tpjaivtveiv, interpret, (. 
veiif, an interpreter, usually referred to ', 
Hermes, as the tutelary god of skill, the arts 
andsciences, speech, writing, etc.: see Hermes.] 
An interpreter; one who explains; an exegete ; 
specifically, one of the hermeneutse. [Bare.] 
hermeneutae (her-me-nu^te), n. pi. [NL., < Gr. 
epurfvcvrai, pi. of epfiyvevrfa : seehermeneut.] In- 
terpreters employed in the early church to trans- 
late the service into the language of the wor- 
shipers, when the language used by the minis- 
trant was different from that of his hearers. 
hermeneutic (her-me-mi'tik), a. [< Gr. ipuri- 
veirriKvf, of or for interpreting, < ep^rivevTrjf, 
an interpreter: see hermeneut.'] Of , pertaining 
to, or of the nature of interpretation or exege- 
sis; explanatory; exegetical: as, hermeneutic 
theology (that is, the art of expounding the 
Scriptures). 
hermeneutically (her-me-nu'ti-kal-i), adv. By 
interpretation or exegesis; according to the 
established principles of interpretation. 
hermeneutics (her-me-nu'tiks), n. [PI. of her- 
meneutic : see -ics. Ci. Gr. cp/frfvevrtK^ (sc. rijfyn, 
art), hermeneutics.] The art or science of in- 
terpretation or exegesis; also, the study of or 
instruction in the principles of exegesis: as, a 
professor of hermeneutics. 
We have to deplore that the Held of sacred hermeneutics 
has lately too often been made an arena of fierce fightings 
and uncharitable disputations. Dr. C. Wordsworth. 
No legend, no allegory, no nursery rhyme, is safe from 
the hermeneutics of a thoroughgoing mythologic theorist. 
E. B. Tylor, Prim. Culture, I. 287. 
Biblical hermeneutics, that branch of theological sci- 
ence which treats of the principles of the interpretation 
of Scripture. 
hermeneutist (her-me-nu'tist), . [< herme- 
neut-ic + -is*.] One versed in hermeneutics; 
an expounder of the principles of interpreta- 
tion. 
Hermes (her'mez), n. [Gr. 'Ep/t'K, Doric 'T&p- 
uaf, contr. of 'Kpueaf, Epic ''Ep/ieiaf, the mes- 
senger of the gods ; a deity of varied attributes, 
some of which connect him with the etymologi- 
cally identical Skt. Sdrameya, in the dual, two 
Hermetic 
dogs (having, among other epithets, that of 
carvara. spotted, = Gr. Kfy/?spof, L. Cerberus, 
q. v.) who guarded the 
way to the abode of the 
dead, and also acted as 
messengers of Yama, 
< Sarama, a messenger 
of Indra, 4- -eya, a suffix 
of relation or descent.] 
1. In Gr. myth., the 
herald and messenger 
of the gods, protector 
of herdsmen, god of 
science, commerce, in- 
vention, and the arts 
of life, and patron of 
travelers and rogues, 
son of Zeus (Jupiter) 
and Maia, born on 
Mount Cyllene in Ar- 
cadia. He was the guide 
(psychopompos) of the Hermes, from an Ampulian 
Suatm n< Hut rlcnrl tn tVi1r crater, end of the 4th century 
shades of tne dead to their Bc (From " Monument! delf 
final abode. In art he is institute," iv.) 
represented as a vigorous 
youth, beardless after the archaic period, and usually but 
slightly draped, with caduceus. petasus, and talaria as 
attributes. The Roman Mercury, a god of much more 
material and sordid character, became identified with Her- 
mes. See the cut of Hermes of Praxiteles, under Greek, a. 
The basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the 
pipe of Hermes. Shak., Hen. V., ill. 7. 
That rnoly, 
That Hermes once to wise Ulysses gave. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 637. 
2. [1. c. ; pi. hernias (-me).] In Gr. antiq., a 
head or bust supported upon a quadrangular 
base, which 
corresponds 
roughly in mass 
to the absent 
body, and often 
bears in front a 
phallus as an 
indication of 
the sex. Thebust 
was often double- 
faced, as if repre- 
senting two indi- 
viduals back to 
back. These mon- 
uments were so 
called because the 
god Hermes was 
frequently so rep- 
resented. Such 
statues of him were 
placed at the doors 
of houses in Ath- 
ens, and at the cor- 
ners of streets, in his character as tutelary divinity of high- 
ways and boundaries, in gymnasia, and in other public 
places. The hernia? were held in great reverence as guard- 
ing or symbolizing many of the common interests of life. 
Compare ftaine. 
3. The Egyptian god Thoth, as identified with 
the Greek Hermes Hermes Trismeglstus [Or. 
'Ep/ivjs Tpi's neyuTTos, L. Hemnex Tritnaximus, 'thrice- 
greatest Hermes'], a name of the Egyptian god Thoth, 
under which many Greek works (forty-two according to 
Clement of Alexandria) were ascribed to him in the second 
century A. D. (See Hermetic, 2.) The Egyptians called 
Thoth "twice greatest," and the Greek writers of these 
books called him " thrice greatest." 
Hermesian (her-me'si-an), a. [< Hermes (see 
def.) + -tan.] Pertaining to Georg .Hermes. 
See Hermesianism. 
Hermesianism (her-me'si-an-izm), n. [< Her- 
mesian + -ism.'] In Bom. Cath. theo!., a ration- 
alizing theory of the relation of reason to faith, 
propounded by Georg Hermes (1775-1831), a 
German Roman Catholic theologian , and accept- 
ed by many German Catholics, but condemned 
after his death by the Holy See. 
Hermetic (her-met'ik), a. [< ML. Hermeticvs, 
relating to Hermes or to alchemy or chemistry, 
< Hermes, Hermes, with reference to Hermes 
Trismegistus, regarded as the author of occult 
sciences, and esp. of alchemy (philosopliia her- 
metica) : see Hermes, and Hermes Trismegistus, 
under Hermes.] 1. Of or pertaining to Hermes. 
2. [cap. or I. c.] Pertaining to Hermes Tris- 
megistus, or to the theosophy, cosmogony, and 
later alchemy and astrology associated with 
his name; alchemic. Thoth, the Egyptian Hermes, 
was supposed to have written certain sacred books of the 
Egyptian priests, which treated of the doctrine and ritual 
of religion and various natural sciences. In the second 
century after Christ, these true Hermetic bookshaving been 
forgotten (for they were always kept secret), other books 
appeared, containing a jumble of incongruous theosophical 
and philosophical ideas, bearing the name of Hermes Tris- 
megistus as their author, and assumed to be the ancient 
sacred books of Egypt. They were doubtless written by 
Alexandrian Xeo-Platonists. To them were added al- 
chemical and astrological books attributed to the same 
author. 
Double Hermes, in Central Museum, Athens. 
