hesitant 
hesitant (hez'- or hes'i-tant), a. [< L. luesi- 
tan(t-)K, ppr. of liii'sitiirr, stick fast, stammer, 
etc.: see hexitide.'] Hesitating; pausiug; ir- 
resolute ; uot ready in determining, doing, or 
saying; wanting readiness of speech. 
He was a man of no quick utterance, but often hesitant. 
Baxter, Life and Times, 111. 47. 
hesitantly (hez'- or hes'i-tant-li), ode. With 
hesitancy or doubt. 
B 
tha 
hesitate (hez'- or hes'i-tat), ?.; pret. and pp. 
hesitated, ppr. hesitating. .[< L. luesitatus, pp. 
of luesitare (> It. esitare = Pg. 8p. hesitar = F. 
hesiter), stick fast, stammer, be uncertain, in- 
tensive of hcerere, pp. hcesus, stick, cleave, ad- 
here. Cf. adhere, cohere, inhere, etc.] I. in- 
trans. 1. To hold back in doubt or indecision ; 
refrain or delay by reason of uncertainty or dif- 
ficulty of decision or choice: as, he hesitated 
to believe the report; they hesitate about tak- 
ing so dangerous a step. 
A man who wishes to serve the cause of religion ought 
to hesitate long before ho stakes the truth of religion on 
the event of a controversy respecting facts in the physi- 
cal world. Macavlay, Sadler's Law of Population. 
If I hesitate, 
It is because I need to breathe awhile, 
Eest, as the human right allows. 
Browning, Ring and Book, IL 176. 
Nature, even if we hetri.ta.te to call it good, is infinitely 
interesting, infinitely beautiful. 
J, R. Seeley, Nat. Religion, p. 20. 
2. To halt or falter in speech, through inde- 
cision or embarrassment; make irregular in- 
voluntary pauses ; stammer. 
His [Fox's] manner was awkward ; his delivery was hesi- 
tating ; he was often at a stand for want of a word. 
Macaulay, William Pitt. 
=Syn. 1. Waver, etc. (see scruple) ; delay, vacillate, de- 
liberate, doubt, be undetermined, demur. 2. See stam- 
tner. 
II. trans. To utter or express with hesitation 
or reluctantly; insinuate dubiously. [Bare.] 
Just hint a fault and hesitate dislike. 
Pope, Prol. to Satires, 1. 204. 
I choose rather to hesitate my opinion than to assert it 
roundly. Lowell, Oration, Harvard, Nov. 8, 1886. 
hesitatingly (hez'- or hes'i-ta-ting-li), adv. In 
a hesitating manner. 
The best things done hesitatingly, and with an ill grace, 
lose their effect, and produce disgust rather than satis- 
faction or gratitude. A. Hamilton, Works, 1. 168. 
hesitation (hez- or hes-i-ta'shon), n. [= F. 
hesitation = Pr. heysitacio = Sp. hesitacion = 
Pg. hesitaq&o = It. esitazione, < L. hcesitatio(n-), 
< hasitare, stick fast, stammer, etc. : see hesi- 
tate.] 1. The act of hesitating ; a pausing or 
delay in determining or acting; suspension of 
judgment or decision from uncertainty of mind ; 
a state of doubt. 
With hesitation admirably slow, 
He humbly hopes presumes it may be so. 
Cowper, Conversation, 1. 123. 
It looks as if we held the fate of the fairest possessions 
of mankind in our hands, to be saved by our firmness or 
to be lost by hesitation. Emerson, Amer. Civilization. 
It is not theory alone that can ever fully enable us to 
ureserve the golden mean between faith and hesitatvm. 
A. Sidgwick. 
2. An irregular involuntary pausing in speech; 
awkward orembarrassed interruption of speech; 
stammering. 
This hesitation arose, not from the poverty, but from the 
wealth of ... [his] vocabulary. Macaulay, Lord Holland. 
=Syn. Hesitation, Hesitancy; wavering, suspense, uncer- 
tainty doubt, vacillation ; faltering. Hesitation is per- 
haps more often used for the act of hesitating, hesitancy 
generally for the spirit, character, or frame of mind. 
Hesitation is more common. 
hesitative (hez'- or hes'i-ta-tiv), a. [< hesitate 
+ -ice.] Showing hesitation. Smart. 
hesitator (hez'- or hes'i-ta-tor), . [< hesitate 
+ -or.] One who hesitates. 
He was that apparent contradiction in terms, a bold hes- 
itator in the language of the hunting field, a "daring 
f tinker." Contemporary Mec., LIV. 620. 
hesitatory (hez'- or hes'i-ta-to-ri), a. [< hesi- 
tate + -ory.] Hesitating. [Rare.] 
His being suspicious, dubious, cautelous, and not soon 
determined, but hesitalory at unusual occurrences in his 
office, made him pass for a person timidous, and of aflckle, 
irresolute temper. Roger North, Examen, p. 596. 
Voice thin, creaky, querulous hesitatory, and as if it 
couldn't be troubled to speak. 
Carlyle, The Century, XXIV. 22. 
hesp (hesp), n. 1. A dialectal variant of hasp. 
2. The length of two hanks of linen thread. 
E. H. Knight. 
Hesper (hes'per), . [<L. Hesperus, ^.v.] Same 
as Hesperus, 1. [Poetical.] 
2811 
Sad Hesper o'er the buried sun 
And ready, thou, to die with him, 
Thou watchest all things ever dim 
Ami dimmer, and a glory done. 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, cxxi. 
Hesperia (hes-pe'ri-a), n. [NL., < L. Hesperia, 
the west, < Hesperus, the evening star, the west : 
see Hesperus. ] 
The typical ge- 
nus of Hespeiii- 
dte, containing 
small black-and- 
white species, 
such as H. tcssel- 
lata. Fabricius, 
1793. Also writ- 
ten Esperia. 
Hesperian (hes- 
pe'ri-an), a. and 
n. [<'L. Hesperius, western, < Gr. eairepiof, west- 
ern, < "Effjrepof , Hesperus : see Hesperus.] I. a. 
1. Western ; situated at the west. [Poetical.] 
The parting sun, 
Beyond the earth's green cape and verdant isles 
Hesperian, sets. Milton, P. L., viii. 632. 
Htsperia syrichtus. iljneshow 
ral size.) 
2. Of or pertaining to the Hesperides. 
The forests shining with Hesperian fruit and with the 
plumage of gorgeous birds. Macaulay, Moore's Byron. 
3. [I. c.] Of or pertaining to the hesperians ; 
having the characters of the family Hesperiida;. 
II. . 1. An inhabitant of a western coun- 
try. 2. [L c.] A lepidopterous insect of the 
family Hesperiida' ; a skipper. See Castnioides. 
Also iiesperid. 
Let us now compare the foregoing detailed characters 
[of the yucca-boier] with the Castnians on the one hand 
and the Hesperians on the other. C. V. Ritey. 
Hesperid (hes'pe-rid), n. [< Herperid-es, n. pl.~] 
1. One of the Hesperides. 
Hesperus 
Hesperiida (hes-pe-rl'i-de), H. pi [NL., < Hes- 
pcria + -idai.] A family of rhopalocerous lepi- 
dopterous insects, of which the genus Hesperia 
is the type ; the skippers or hesperians. These 
small large-headed butterflies have a quick jerky flight, 
whence the name skipper. Representative species are 
Uesperia tyluanus and Thymele alveolus. Corresponding 
groups of hesperians are named Hesperida, Heeperiaa>, 
Hespsrides, and Hesperidi. 
Hesperineae (hes-pe-rm'e-e), n. pi. [NL., < aes- 
iieris (-in-) + -ew.} A section of the Crucijera;, 
established by Eeichenbach in 1837, typified 
by the genus Hesperis. 
Hesperis (hes'pe-ris), . [L., the queen's gil- 
lyflower, < Gr. ioiTupif, the night-scented gilly- 
flower, peculiar fern, of iaireptof, western: see 
Hesperian and Hesperides.] A genus of dicoty- 
ledonous polypetalous plants, founded by Lm- 
nteus, belonging to the natural order Crucifera-, 
tribe Sisymbrieai. Its main characters are the two 
erect lobes of the stigma and elongated erect sepals. The 
genus includes about 22 species of biennial or perennial 
herbs with mostly entire, ovate or oblong leaves, and 
rather large, loosely racemed, variously colored flowers. 
They grow in Europe and Asia. The common rocket or 
dame's-violet is H. matronalis, a native of Europe ; other 
species are also called rocket. 
Hesperisphinges (hes'pe-ri-sfin'jez), . pi. 
[NL., < Hesperia + sphinx.'] In Latreille's sys- 
tem of classification, a division of crepuscu- 
lar lepidopterous insects, corresponding nearly 
with the modern families Castmidai and Aga- 
ristidce: so called from being considered the 
connecting-link between the sphinxes and the 
diurnal Lepidoptera by means of the Hesperiidce, 
a family of the latter division. 
Hesperomys (hes-per'o-mis), n. [NL. (Water- 
house, 1839), < Gr. eavcpoc, western, + /nif = E. 
mouse.] A genus equivalent to the tribe S^g- 
modontes, consisting of the American Murida;, 
or murine rodents. As now restricted, the genus con- 
The damsels of the land, instead of nestling in chin- 
chilla or sable's fur, stand about in a rural manner, much 
as did the Hesperids. P. Robinson, Under the Sun, p. 98. 
2. \l. c.] Same as hesperian, 2. 
Hesperidae (hes-per'i-de), n.pl. See Hesperi- 
ida.'. 
Hesperidese (hes-pe-rid'e-e), n.pl. [NL., < Hes- 
peris (-id-) + -ea>.~\ 1 . One of the orders estab- 
lished byLinneeus (1751) in his attempted nat- 
ural arrangement of plants, including the gen- 
era Citrus, Styrax, and Garcinia. 2. A name 
sometimes used for the orange family. 3. An 
order used by Sachs, including the families Au- 
rantiacea;,Meliaceai, Humiriaceai,a.ii& Erythroxy- 
lacea. 
Hesperides (hes-per'i-dez), n. pi. [L., < Gr. 
E<T7repkf, < "Eairepoc, Hesperus: see Hesperus.] 
1. In Gr. myth., nymphs who guarded, with the 
aid of a fierce serpent, the golden apples given 
by Ge (Earth) to Hera (Juno), in delightful 
gardens at the western extremity of the world, 
supposed to be in the region of Mount Atlas in. 
Africa. Their origin and number (from three 
to seven) are variously given. [Erroneously 
used by Shakspere as a singular.] 
Before thee stands this fair Hesperides, 
With eolden fruit, hut dangerous to be touch'd. 
Shall., Pericles, i. 1. 
Ladies of the Hesperides, that seem'd 
Fairer than feign'd of old. Hilton, P. R., ii. 357. 
2. In bot., a class of plants foundedbyEndlicher, 
including the orders Humiriaeece, Olacinece, Au- 
rantiaeeai, Meliacece, and Cedrelacece. Same as 
the Hesperidea; of Sachs. These orders, many of 
which have been changed in name, are included by Ben- 
tham and Hooker in their cohorts Geraniales and Olacales. 
Hesperidian (hes-pe-rid'i-an), a. [< Hesperi- 
des + -ian .] Of or pertaining to the Hesperides 
or their garden. 
A Hesperidian tree, enwreathed by a serpent (symbol of 
a blessedness veiled in darkness and terrors). 
C. 0. Muller, Manual of Arclueol. (trans.), 431 
OI 111 111 ill c iwiciiio AO iiu*v nvmvwMi) mw e""*- Lu v "" 
sists of the vesper-mice proper, or the ordinary native 
mice ef America, of medium and small size, lithe form, 
with large ears and eyes, tail approximately as long as 
the body fore feet small, hind feet long with scant-haired 
or naked 6-tuberculate soles, and the general pelage bi- 
colored, sleek, and glossy. It is divided by Coues into nu- 
merous subgenera, those of North America being Vespen- 
mus Calomyn, Onychomys, and Oryzomys. The abundant 
white-footed deer-mouse, H. leucojnts, is a characteristic 
example. See second cut under deer -mouse. 
Hesperopitheci (hes'pe-ro-pi-the'si), n. pi. 
[< Gr. conepof, western, the west, + mOqKoc, an 
ape.] The platyrrhine or American monkeys 
collectively : so called in distinction from the 
catarrhine or old-world Heopitheci. The two 
divisions are respectively conterminous with 
Platyrrhini and Catarrhini. 
hesperopithecine (hes"pe-ro-pi-the'sin), . 
Pertaining to the Hesperopitheci. 
Hesperornis (hes-pe-ror'nis), n. [NL., < Gr. 
fo-n-epof, western, the west, + 6pv <? , a bird. J 1 ne 
typical genus of fossil birds of the family Hen- 
perornithidce. The best known species is H. regalis, 
discovered in 1870 in the yellow chalk of the pteranodon 
beds of Kansas. 0. C. Marsh, 1872. 
Hesperornis may be tersely characterized as a gigantic 
diver some six feet in length from the point of the bill 
to the end of the toes. . . . While the general configu- 
ration of the skeleton may be likened to that of a loon, 
the conformation of the sternum is ratite, like that of 
struthious birds, and the wings are rudimentary or abor- 
tive ; . the jaws are long and furnished with sharp 
recurved teeth implanted in grooves. 
Covet, Key to N. A. Birds, p. 826. 
hesperidin (hes-per'i-din), n. [< hesperid-ium 
+ -in' 2 .] A crystallizable bitter principle found 
in the spongy envelop of oranges and lemons. 
Its nature has not yet been ascertained. 
hesperidium (hes-pe-rid'i-um), n.; pi. hes- 
peridia (-a). [NL.,< Hesperid-es + -ium, in allu- 
sion to the golden apples of the Hesperides.] 
In hot. , a fleshy fruit with a leathery rind , formed 
from a free many-celled ovary : a mere variety 
of the berry. The term includes the orange, lemon, 
and related fruits. Morphologically, the rind is probably 
homologous with an outer whorl of barren carpels united 
by their edges in the manner of a polycarpellaiy one- 
celled ovary, and the elongated juice-filled cells of the 
pulp are true trichomes. 
A succulent fruit (known technically as a hesperidium). 
Pop. Set. Mo., XXVIII. 003. 
Hesperornithidse (hes"pe-r6r-nith'i-de), w. pi. 
[NL., < Hesperornis (-ornith-) + -ida."] A fam- 
ily of fossil birds from the Cretaceous of North 
America, typified by the genus Hesperornis, and 
representing a prime division of the whole class 
Aves, having teeth implanted in grooves, sad- 
dle-shaped or heterocoalous vertebrae, ratite 
sternum, rudimentary wings, and short tail: 
conterminous with the subclass Odontolca>. 
Hesperus (hes'pe-rus), n. [L., the evening 
star, < Gr. "EairefW, the evening star, prop, 
adj. (with or without .aarf/p, star), of or at 
evening (also as noun, itrxepot or fern, eampa, 
evening), hence western; prig. *Fe<77re/x>c = L. 
vesper, m., vespera,t., evening: see vesper.] 1. 
The evening star; especially, the planet Venus 
as evening star (as morning star, called by the 
Greeks Phosphoros, and by the Romans Lucifer, 
' light-bringer') : in mythology, personified as a 
son of Astneus and Eos( Aurora), or a son or bro- 
ther of Atlas, and sometimes called the "father 
of the Hesperides." Also, poetically, Hesper. 
Now glowed the firmament 
With living sapphires ; Hesperus, that led 
The starry host, rode brightest. 
Milton, P. L., iv. 605. 
At evening the dewy Hesperus comes from the bosom 
of the mist, and assumes his station in the sky. 
LmtgfeUua, Hyperion, ill. 8. 
