oblique 
4060 
I. . 1. Of lines or planes, making with a given oblique (ob-lek' or ob-lik'), r. i. ; pret. and pp. 
line, surface, or direction an angle that is less obliqued, ppr. obliquing. [= F. obliquer, march 
than 90; neither perpendicular nor parallel; 
of angles, either acute or obtuse, not right; 
in general, not direct ; aslant ; slanting. See 
cuts under angle 3 . 
T'pon others we can look but in oblique lines : only upon 
ourselves in direct. Donne, Sermons, v. 
With tract oblique 
At first, as one who sought access, but fear'd 
obliquely, = Sp. oblicwir = Pg. obliqitar = It. 
obliquare, direct or drive obliquely, < L. obli- 
quare, bend, turn away, < obliquus, oblique, 
awry: see oblique, a.] 1. To deviate from a 
direct line or from the perpendicular; slant; 
slope. [Rare.] 
To interrupt, sidelong he works his way. 
Milton, P. L., ix. 510. 
2. Indirect, in a figurative sense : as, an 06- 
lique reproach or taunt. 
The following passage is an oblimie panegyric on the 
Union. Goldsmith, Criticisms. 
Projecting his person toward it in a line which obliqued 
from the bottom of his spine. Scott, Waverley, xi. 
2. To advance slantingly or obliquely; specifi- 
cally (milit.), to advance obliquely by making 
a half-face to the right or left and marching in 
the new direction. 
The fox obliqued towards us, and entered a field of which 
our position commanded a full view. 
. Georgia Scenes, p. 176. 
His natural affection in a direct line was strong, in an 
oblique but weak ; for no man ever loved children more, 
nor a brother less. Baker, Hen. I., an. 1136. oblique-angled (ob-lek'ang"gld), a. Having 
By Germans in old times . . . all inferiors were spoken oblique angles: as, an obliqiie-anqled triangle, 
to in the third person singular, as "er"; that is, an o&Uaue nKHmiailt n n Ohlimio 
form, by which the inferior was referred to as though not <>liqueat,.p. . >Hque. 
present, served to disconnect him from the speaker. 
H. Spencer, Prin. of Sociol., 397. 
3. Questionable from a moral point of view ; 
not upright or morally direct; evil. 
All is oblique; obliquely (ob-lek'li or ob-llk'li), adc. Inanob- 
There 's nothing level in our cursed natures lique manlier or direction ; not directlv ; slant- 
But direct villany. Shale., 1. of A., iv. 3. 18. ingly ; indirectly. 
It is a mere degenerous appetite, 
Each of you, 
That vertue have or this or that to make, 
Is checkt and changed from his nature trew, 
By others opposition or obliqued view. 
Spenser, F. Q., VII. vii. 54. 
A lost, oblique, depraved affection, 
And bears no mark or character of love. 
B. Jonson, New Inn, iii. 2. 
Because the ministry is an office of dignity and honour, 
some are ... rather bold to accuse our discipline in this 
He who discommendeth others, obliquely commendeth 
himself. Sir T. Browne, Christ Mor., i. 34. 
Declining from the noon of day, 
The sun obliquely shoots his burning ray. 
Pope, R. of the L., Iii. 20. 
respect, as not only perm tting but requiring also ambi- obliqueness (ob-lek'nes or ob-lik'nes), n. The 
tious suits and other oblique ways or means whereby to **:, . nWlttL n f hoino. nfilinn 
obtain it. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 77. ?,. ? r W-JjW * D _ eln & Oblique. 
It tends to the utter dissolving of those oblique suspi- "{ft}*} L"', wjSHliA, ' 
cions which have any aspect on his Ma subjects, whe- r b . 11 5 ul y (P. b -" k Wl-ti), .; pi. obliquities (-tlz). 
ther spectators or others. [< f . obliquite = Sp. oblicuidad = Pg. obliqui- 
Evelyn, Encounter between the French and Spanish dade = It. obliquita, < L. obliqnita(t-)s, a slant- 
4. In bot., unequal-sided, 
def. 1. Oblique arch, in arch. 
( Ambassadors. 
Oblique angle. See 
See arcfti. Oblique 
ing direction, obliqueness, < obliquus, slanting, 
oblique : see oblique.] The state of being ob- 
ascenslont. See ascension. Oblique battery ~See"Ki lique. (a) A relative position in which two planes, a 
terj/.-Oblique bridge.a skew bridge. -Oblique case, straight linr 
in gram., any case except the nominative. Obflque cir- 
cle, in spherical projections, a circle whose plane is oblique 
to the axis of the primitive plane. Oblique cone See 
cone. Oblique cylinder, a cylinder whose axis is oblique 
to the plane of its base. Oblique descension. See de- 
scensiou, 4. Oblique extinction. See extinction. Ob- 
lique fire, helicold, etc. See the nouns. Oblique hy- 
perbola, one whose asymptotes are not at righf angles 
ie and a plane, or two straight lines in a plane 
cut at an angle not a right angle ; also, the magnitude of 
this angle. 
At Paris the sunne riseth two houres before it riseth to 
them under the equinoctiall, and setteth likewise two 
houres after them, by means of the obliquitie of the hori- 
zon- llakluyt't Voyages, III. (Richardsoti.) 
The amount of radiation in any direction from a lumi- 
nous surface is proportional to the cosine of the obliquity. 
Tail, Light, { 55. 
to one another. Oblique inguinal hernia. See ~her- 
ma. Oblique leaf, in bat., a leaf in which the cellular ""> **", i 
tissue is not symmetrically developed on each side of the (6) Deviation from an intellectual or moral standard 
midrib, as in the elm; an inequilateral leaf. Oblique 
ligament, in anal., a small round ligament running from 
ut., n Duiall luullll I l.mllll t:l 1 1 luIIIIUlg ITOHl *, 
the tubercle of the ulna at the base of the coronoid process ' 
to the radius a little below the bicipital tuberosity. Also 
called round liyaimnt. Oblique line of the clavicle the 
trapezoid line for the trapezoid ligament. Oblique tint. 
Of the fibula, the postero-internal border. Oblique 
line of the lowerjaw, two ridges, the external andlhe 
internal, the former running from the mental prominence 
upward and backward to the anterior margin of the ramus, 
and the latter, or mylohyoid ridge, running from below the 
genial tubercles upward and backward to the ramus and 
affording attachment to the mylohyoid muscle. Oblique 
line of the radius, a line running downward and out- 
ward from the tuberosity to form the anterior border of 
the bone. Oblique line of the thyroid cartilage an 
indistinc^ridge on the wing, for attachment of thesterno- 
muscles. obliaue line of the 
My Understanding hath been full of Error and Obliqui- 
Howett, Letters, I. vi. 61. 
Not once touching the inward bed of corruption, and 
that hectick disposition to evill, the sourse of all vice, and 
obliquity against the rule of Law. 
Milton, Church-Government, ii. 3. 
To disobey or oppose His will in anything imports a 
moral obliquity. South. 
He who seeks a mansion in the sky 
Must watch his purpose with a steadfast eye ; 
That prize belongs to none but the sincere ; 
The least obliquity is fatal here. 
Cowper, Progress of Error, 1. 679. 
I venerate an honest obliquity of understanding. 
Lamb, All Fool's Day. 
sc. musculus, muscle : see oblique.'] 
conforms them to the circumstances of the person re 
See third cut under muscle. Obliquus abdominis in- 
oblique^Oblique 
w, apla,ew de 
- " p v'*~;, me movement or u smn wnen i M!M m , *" w me W*UJHW 
> sails upon some rhumb between the four cardin bone -- Obliquus descendens, the external oblique mus- 
nts, making an oblique angle with the meridian - Ob- , th ? abd omen.- Obliquus inferior of the eye, a 
_,ue speech. See oblique narration Obliaue sirtiprs mascle situated crosswise upon the under surface of the 
In outran, and aeog. , the celestial or terrestrial sphi-re when e ^ e M ; which ft rotates upon its axis from within upward 
ts axis is oblique to the horizon of the place or Tts p s" . a "d outward.- Obliquus superiorof the eye. the troch- 
"" r . el .l t i v !_, to _ an observer at any point on the earth ^"i^'f':?" 13 ? 01 "? 1 "? the obliquus inferior: remarka- 
on e ear . 1 . a- 
t-xcept the poles and the equator.- Oblique svstem of 5 or turni "? at ri **t angle or less as its central ten- 
coordinates See coordinate.- Oblique v 
he 
the earth 
e svstem of - 
ae.- que vem of the !! pa8Be f th " )U ,? h tt pullev (in lammaUa). See cuts 
heart, a small vein from the vestigial fold of Dericar r **.*. "id reetm. 
<>hliterate:] Dim; 
oblivion 
Obscure and oblite mention ismadeof those water-works. 
Fuller, Pisgah Sight, II. v. 21. (Dames.) 
Obliterate (ob-lit'e-rat), r. t. ; pret. and pp. 06- 
literatcil, ppr. obliterating. [< L. obliteratus, 
oblitteratits, pp. of obliterare, oblitterare (> It. 
obliterare = Sp. obliterar = Pg. oblitterar = F. 
obliterer), erase, blot out (a writing), blot out 
of remembrance (cf. oblinere, pp. oblitiis, erase, 
blot out), < ob, over, + litera, littera, a letter: 
see letter^.'] To blot or render undecipherable ; 
blot out; erase; efface; remove all traces of. 
Gregory the First . . . designed to obliterate and extin- 
guish the memory of heathen antiquity and authors. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, i, 69. 
With poinant and sower Invectives, I say, I will deface, 
wipe out, and obliterate his fair Reputation, even as a Re- 
cord with the Juice of Lemons. 
Wycherley, Plain Dealer, iii. 1. 
The handwriting of the Divinity in the soul, though 
seemingly obliterated, has come out with awful distinct- 
ness in the solemn seasons of life. 
Charming, Perfect Life, p. 10. 
Obliterated vessel or duct, in pathol., a vessel or duct 
whose walls have contracted such an adhesion to each other 
that the cavity has completely disappeared. =Syn. Erase, 
Expunye, etc. (see eface), rub out, rub off, wipe out, re- 
move. 
obliterate (ob-lit'e-rat), a. [< L. obliteratus, ob- 
litteratus, pp. : see the verb.] In entom., almost 
effaced ; obsolete or very indistinct, as the sur- 
face-markings of an insect Obliterate marks 
or spots, those 'marks or spots which are indistinct, and 
fade at their margins into the ground-color. Obliterate 
processes, punctures, strise, etc., those that are hardly 
distinguishable from the general surface. 
obliteration (ob-lit-e-ra'shon), . [= F. oblite- 
ration = Sp. obliteration = Pg. obliteray&o, < 
LL. obliteratio(n-), an erasing, < L. obliterare, 
erase: see obliterate.'] 1. The act of obliterat- 
ing or effacing ; a blotting out or wearing out ; 
effacement; extinction. 
There might, probably, be an obliteration of all those 
monuments of antiquity that immense ages precedent at 
some time have yielded. 
Sir M. Hale, Orig. of Mankind, p. 138. 
Cause, from being the name of a particular object, has 
become, in consequence of the obliteration of that original 
signification, a remarkable abbreviation in language. 
Beddaes, Nature of Mathematical Evidence, p. 9. 
2. In en torn., the state of being obliterate; also, 
an obliterated part of a suture, margin, etc. 
3. In pntliol., the closure of a canal or cavity 
of the body by adhesion of its walls. 
obliterative (ob-lit'e-ra-tiv), a. [< obliterate 
+ -ive.] Tending to obliterate; obliterating; 
effacing; erasing. North Brit. liev. 
oblivialt (ob-liv'i-al), a. [< LL. obUvialis, of 
forgetfulness, < L. obliriiim, f orgetf ulness : see 
oblivion.'] Forgetf ul ; oblivious. Bailey, 1731 . 
oblivion (qb-liv'i-ou), n. [< F. oblivion = It. 
obliuione, < L. oblimo(n-), also later or poet. 06- 
lirium (> It. obblio), forgetfulness, a being for- 
gotten, a forgetting, < oblwius, forgotten, < ob- 
lirisci, pp. oblitus, forget, < ob-, over, -t- "livisci, 
a deponent inchoative verb, prob. < livere, grow 
dark: see livid.'] I. The state of being for- 
gotten or lost to memory. 
Wher God he praith to'socour vs truly, 
And that so myght pray to hys plesauce dayly, 
That neuer vs haue in nbliuian. 
Bom. of Partenay (E. E. T. S.X 1. 2708. 
Oblivion is a kind of annihilation ; and for things to be 
as though they had not been is like unto never being. 
Sir T. Browne, Christ. Mor., i. 21. 
Pompeii and Herculaneum might have passed Into ob- 
livion, with a herd of their contemporaries, had they not 
been fortunately overwhelmed by a volcano. 
Irving, Knickerbocker, p. 423. 
2. The act or fact of forgetting; forgetfulness. 
O give us to feel and bewail our Infinite oblivion of thy 
word. J. Bradford, Works (Parker Soc., 1853), II. 256. 
There were few in this garboil but that, either through 
negligence lost or through oblivion, left something behind 
them. Foxe (Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 110). 
Whenever his mind was wandering in the far past he 
fell Into this oblivion of their actual faces. 
George Eliot, Mill on the Floss, iii. 8. 
3. A forgetting of offenses, or remission of pun- 
ishment. An act of oblivion is an amnesty or general 
pardon of crimes and offenses granted by a sovereign, by 
which punishment is remitted. 
By the act of oblinon, all offences against the crown, and 
all particular trespasses between subject and subject, were 
pardoned, remitted, and utterly extinguished. 
Sir J. Davies, State of Ireland. 
Before these kings we embrace you yet once more, 
With all forgiveness, all oblinon. 
Tennyson, Princess, vi. 
Act of Oblivion, an English statute of 1660, entitled 
" An Act of Fr^e and Generall Pardon, Indempnity, and 
Oblivion," by which all political offenses committed dur- 
ing the time of the Commonwealth were pardoned, ex- 
cepting by name certain persons, chief of whom were those 
engaged in the sentence and execution of Charles I. Also 
called Act of Indemnity. = Syn. Oblivion, Foryetfulnes, 
