open-handedness 
open-handedness (o'pn-han'ded-nes), w. Free- 
ness in giving; liberality; generosity, 
open-headedt (o'pn-hed"ed), a. [< ME. open- 
ln-etlfil, ajiciilicrcded ; < open + head + -erf 2 .] 
Bare-headed. 
Open-heeded [v&r.-hmeded] he hir say 
Lokynge out at his dore upon a day. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Wife of Bath's Tale, 1. 645. 
open-hearted (6'pn-har"ted), a. Candid; 
frank; sincere; not sly. 
I know him well ; he 's free and open-hearted. Dryden. 
open-heartedly (6'pn-har'ted-li), adv. In an 
open-hearted manner; generously; frankly. 
open-heartedness (6'pn-hiir''ted-nes), . The 
character of being open-hearted; candor; frank- 
ness; sincerity. 
open-hearth furnace. The form of regenera- 
tive furnace of the reverberatpry type used in 
making steel by the Martin, Siemens, and Sie- 
mens-Martin processes. See steel. 
opening (op'ning), n. [< ME. openyng, < AS. 
openung (= G. offnung = Sw. oppning = Dan. 
aabning), opening, manifestation, verbal n. of 
openian, open: see open, .] 1. The act of 
making open, in any sense of the verb open. 
2. A beginning; an initial stage; commence- 
ment: as, the opening of a poem; also, dawn; 
first appearance. 
The opening of your glory was like that of light. Dryden. 
3. A breach or gap ; a hole or perforation ; an 
aperture; specifically, inarch., an unfilled part 
in a wall left for the purpose of admitting light, 
air, etc. 4. An open or clear space affording 
approach, entrance, or passage; an entrance. 
Wisdom . . . crieth in the chief place of concourse, in 
the openings of the gates. Prov. i. 20, 21. 
5. A clear, unobstructed, or unoccupied space 
or place; specifically, in the United States, a 
tract over which there is a deficiency of forest, 
trees being not entirely wanting, but thinly 
scattered over the surface as compared with 
their abundance in an adjacent region. The word 
is most frequently used with this meaning in Wisconsin 
and neighboring States on the west, and as the scattered 
trees are frequently oaks (Quereus nigra, jack-oak, and Q. 
obtusiloba, post-oak, are the most common species), such 
openings are often designated as oak-openings. Similar 
tracts in the more southern States, especially in Kentucky, 
are called barrens and oak-barrens. 
I found it parted out into a great number of walks and 
alleys, which often widened into beautiful openings, as 
circles or ovals, set round with yews and cypresses, with 
niches, grottos, and caves, placed on the sides, encom- 
passed with ivy. Steele, Spectator, No. 614. 
The trees, with very few exceptions, were what is called 
the " burr oak," a small variety of a very extensive genus ; 
and the spaces between them, always irregular, and often 
of singular beauty, have obtained the name of "openings" ; 
the two terms combined giving their appellation to this 
particular species of native forest, under the name of Oak 
Openings. J. F. Cooper, Oak Openings, i. 
6. A widening out of a crevice, in consequence 
of a softening or decomposition of the adjacent 
rock, which may still remain partly or wholly in 
its original position, or may have been entirely 
removed, so as to leave a vacant space of con- 
siderable width. In either case, the expanded crevice, 
or softened material in its vicinity, is called the opening. 
[Upper Mississippi lead region.) 
7. An unoccupied place, position, course of ac- 
tion, business, etc., which may be entered, or 
the opportunity of entering it; a vacancy; an 
opportunity; a chance. 8. In law, the state- 
ment of the case made by counsel to the court 
or jury preliminary to adducing evidence: as, 
the opening for the plaintiff ; the opening for the 
defendant. More specifically, the right to make such 
statement and adduce evidence before the adversary : as, 
if the defendant admits all the facts alleged, and only 
pleads new matter in defense, he has the opening. 
9. In chess-playing, a mode of commencing a 
game ; specifically, one of the numerous series 
of consecutive moves made at starting which 
are frequently played and which have been 
thoroughly investigated by chess analysts. In 
addition to the openings which involve a sacrifice of force 
for the sake of position, known as gambits (for which 
see gambit), the following are to be noted : Fianchetta, 
1 P K 4, P-QKt 3; Four Knights' game, 1 P K 4 
P-K 4; 2 Kt-KB 3, Kt-QB 3; 3 Kt-B 3, Kt-B 3; 
French game, IP K 4, P K3; Giuoco Piano, IP K4, 
P-K4;2Kt-KB3, Kt QB3, SB B4,B B4;.Sio 1 8 
Bishop's opening, IP K4, P K4;2B B4; Knight's 
game of Ruy Lopez, 1 P K 4, P K 4; 2 Kt KB 3, 
Kt-QB 3, 3B-Kt5;Pero/'sdefc(we,lP~K4, P K4- 
2Kt KB 8, Kt KB 3; Phttidor's defense 1 P K 4 
P K4; 2Kt KB3,P Q3; Staunton'sopening,l'P-K4, 
P-K4;2Kt-KB3,Kt-QB3-,8P-B3; Three Knights' 
game, 1 P-K 4, P-K 4; 2 Kt-KB 3, Kt-QB 3 (or 
Kt KB 3); SKt B3; Two Knights' defense, 1 P K 4, 
P-K 4; 2 Kt-KB 3, Kt-QB S; 3B-B 4, Kt-B3 : 
Vienna opening, 1 P K 4, P - K 4 ; 2 Kt QB 3. Atrial 
opening, buccal openings, esophageal opening, etc. 
See the adjectives. 
4120 
opening-bit (op'ning-bit), n. A broach or 
reamer. 
opening-machine (6p'ning-ma-shen"), n. Same 
as pickn: 
openly (6'pn-li), adv. [< ME. openly, opinly, < 
AS. opcnlicc (= OS. opanlico, openlico = OFries. 
epplik = D. openlijk = OHG. offanlihlio, MHG. 
affenliche, G. offentlich), openly, < open, open : 
see open, a."] In an open manner, (a) Publicly; 
not in private ; without secrecy : as. to avow one's sins and 
follies openly, (b) Candidly ; frankly ; without reserve or 
disguise. 
open-minded (6'pn-mm"ded), a. 1. Having an 
open or unreserved mind ; frank; candid. 2. 
Having a mind open or accessible to new views 
or convictions; not narrow-minded; unpreju- 
diced; liberal. 
open-mindedness (6'pn-mm"ded-nes), n. 1. 
The character of being open-minded or unre- 
served; frankness; candor. 2. Accessibility 
to new ideas or new tenets ; freedom from pre- 
judice; liberality. 
open-mouthed (6'pn-moutht), a. [= Icel. opin- 
myniitr = Dan. aabenmundet; as open + mouth 
+ -ed' 2 .'] Having the mouth open, (a) Gaping, 
as with astonishment. 
Uncle Glegg stood open-mouthed with astonishment at 
this unembarrassed loquacity. 
George Eliot, Mill on the Floss, v. 2. 
(6) Clamorous ; vociferous. 
If I escape them, our malicious Councell, with their 
openmouthed Minions, will make me such a peace breaker 
(in their opinions in England) as will breake my necke. 
Quoted in Capt. John Smith's Works, I. 214. 
(c) Greedy ; ravenous ; clamoring at the sight of game or 
prey. 
Ringwood, a French black whelp of the same breed, a 
flne open-mouth'd dog. Steele, Taller, No. 62. 
openness (o'pn-nes), n. [< ME. opennesse, < AS. 
*opennes, openys, < open, open: see open, .] 
The state or property of being open, in any 
sense of that word. 
Open-sesame (6'pn-ses"a-me), n. [< " Open, se- 
same," a form of words by which, in the tale of 
the "Forty Thieves." in the "Arabian Nights' 
Entertainments," the door of the robbers' cave 
was made to fly open.] A charm or form of 
words by which barriers or obstructions may 
be opened and access or free passage gained. 
Laughing, one day she gave the key, 
My riddle's open-sesame. 
Lowell, The Pregnant Comment. 
open-steek (6'pn-stek), n. A particular style 
of openwork stitching. The word is also used 
adjectively. [Scotch.] 
Ah ! it 's a brave kirk nane o' yere whigmaleeries and 
curliewurlies and open-steek hems about it. 
Scott, Rob Roy, xix. 
open-tide (6'pn-tid), . If. Early spring, the 
time when flowers begin to open. The name was 
formerly applied in England to the period between Epiph- 
any and Ash Wednesday, during which marriages were 
publicly celebrated. Imp. Diet. Also called opetide. 
. 2. The time after corn is carried out of the 
fields. Halliwell. [Local, Eng.] 
openwork (6'pn-werk), n. 1. Any work, es- 
pecially ornamental work, so made or manu- 
factured as to show openings through its sub- 
stance; specifically, fancy work done with 
thread of different kinds, such as knitting, net- 
ting, lace, and many kinds of embroidery ; dec- 
oration of the simplest sort made with small 
openings set in regular patterns. 2. In fort... 
a work or fortification which is not protected 
at the gorge by a parapet or otherwise. 3. In 
mining, a place where mining or quarrying is 
done open to the air, or uncovered by rock or 
earth. Also called open working and open-cast. 
opera 1 (op'e-ra), n. [= F. optra = Sp. Pg. opera 
= D. opera == G. oper = Sw. Dan. opera, < It. 
opera, an opera, orig. composition as opposed 
to improvisation, < L. opera, f., work, connect- 
ed with opus (oper-), neut., work, toil : see opus.] 
1. A form of extended dramatic composition 
in which music is an essential and predominant 
factor; a musical drama, or a drama in music. 
The opera is one of the chief forms of musical art ; on 
many grounds it is claimed to be the culminating musi- 
cal form. At least it affords opportunity for the appli- 
cation of nearly every known resource of musical effect. 
Its historical beginning was doubtless in the musical dec- 
lamation of the Greeks, especially in connection with their 
dramatic representations. The idea of a musical drama 
was perpetuated during the middle ages under the hum 
ble guise of mysteries or miracle-plays, in which singing 
was an accessor}'. The modem development began in 
Italy near the close of the sixteenth century, when an 
attempt was made to revive the ancient melodic declama- 
tion, an attempt which led directly to the discovery and 
establishment of monody and harmony in the place of the 
medieval counterpoint, of the recitative and the aria as 
definite methods of composition, and of instrumentation 
as an independent element in musical works. The mod- 
opera-house 
cm opera involves the following distinct musical con- 
stituents, combined in various ways : (a) recitatives, mu- 
sical declamations, mainly epic or dramatic in character, 
with or without extended accompaniment ; (6) arias, 
duets, or trios, melodies for one, two, or three voices, con- 
structed in a more or less strict musical form, predomi- 
nantly lyrical in character, and usually with carefully 
elaborated accompaniments; (c) choruses and concerted 
numbers of various form, in which the dramatic element 
generally predominates, and which are often wrought 
into noteworthy climaxes of great musical and dramatic 
interest ; (d) instrumental elements, including both ac- 
companiments and independent passages, the former vary- 
ing from -the merest harmonic groundwork for declama- 
tion to a detailed instrumental commentary upon the dra- 
matic emotions and situations as they succeed each other, 
and the latter including overtures, intermezzi, marches, 
dances, etc., which either introduce, connect, supply, or 
embellish the links in the chain of dramatic incident. 
To these may be added dancing, or the ballet, which is 
introduced either as an incidental diversion or as a com- 
ponent part of the dramatic action itself. In the older 
operas the successive numbers or movements are sharply 
separated from each other, while in recent ones the action 
is continuous except at one or two principal points. In 
Italy the opera has had an unbroken course of develop- 
ment since before 1600. It began to be diligently culti- 
vated in France and Germany about I860, and in F.ngland 
somewhat later. Every leading modern composer, except 
Mendelssohn, has contributed more or less to its literature. 
Italian operas have tended toward a lyrical extreme, to 
the neglect of dramatic consistency and truth, while Ger- 
man operas have strongly emphasized the romantic and 
strictly dramatic elements. French operas have often 
sought much for comic or spectacular effects. The Wag- 
nerian theory of the opera presents some peculiarities, es- 
pecially in the obliteration of the distinction between the 
recitative and the formal aria, in the remarkable elabo- 
ration of the orchestral effects, and in the unification of 
the poetic, musical, dramatic, and scenic elements, though 
these characteristics were foreshadowed in the works and 
theories of earlier masters. The maintenance of expen- 
sive opera-houses, with regular seasons of perfonnances 
annually, is a matter of governmental appropriation in 
most European countries. The opera has therefore be- 
come a powerful factor in the social and artistic life of 
many cities. Operas are often described by such qualify- 
ing terms as grand or serimts, dramatic, comic, etc. Grand 
operas have an elaborate plot, and the entire work is set 
to music ; while comic operas frequently contain spoken 
dialogue. In common speech, Germanopera means opera 
in German ; Italian opera, opera in Italian, etc. A ballad- 
opera is a light dramatic work into which ballads or pop- 
ular songs are arbitrarily introduced. 
An Opera is a poetical tale or fiction, represented by vocal 
and instrumental musick, adorned with scenes, machines, 
and dancing. Dryden, Albion and Albanius. Pref. 
She went from opera, park, assembly, play. 
Pope, To Miss Blount, on her Leaving the Town, 1. 13. 
2. The score or words of a musical drama, 
either printed or in manuscript ; a libretto. 
3. A theater where operas are performed; an 
opera-house. 4. The administration, revenue, 
and property of an Italian church or parish. 
The picture by Duccio referred to was taken down for 
me some years since in order that it might be photograph- 
ed. The picture being entirely under the control of the 
Opera of the cathedral, only the rector's permission was 
necessary, the Minister of Public Instruction having no- 
thing whatever to do with it. 
The Academy, June IS, 1889, p. 419. 
Comicopera. See comic. English opera. (a)Anopera 
sung in English. (6) Specifically, a ballad-opera (see def. 1). 
Grand opera, a lyric opera conceived and performed in 
the most elaborate manner, without spoken dialogue : an 
arbitrary class of operas established by French musicians. 
Opera bouffe, a comic opera, especially one of an 
extravagantly humorous character. Opera-season, the 
season during which operas are regularly performed. 
Opera-troupe, a troupe or company of singers employed 
in the performance of operas. 
opera's n. Plural of opus. 
operable (op'e-ra-bl), a. [< OF. operable = Sp. 
operable, < L. as if *operabilis, < operari, work, 
operate: see operate.'] Practicable. 
Being uncapable of operable circumstances, or rightly to 
judge the prudentiality of affairs, they only gaze upon the 
visible success. Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., i. 3. 
opera-cloak (op'e-ra-klok), n. A cloak of rich 
material and elegant in appearance, especially 
made for carrying into the auditorium at an 
opera-house or theater to put on in case protec- 
tion is needed against cold air. 
Opera-dancer (op'e-rS-dan"ser), n. One who 
dances in ballets introduced into operas; a bal- 
let-dancer. 
opera-girls (op'e-ra-gerlz), n. The plant Man- 
tisia sanatoria. 
opera-glass (op'e-ra-glas), n. A small binocu- 
lar non-inverting telescope, of a low magnify- 
ing power, designed to be used to aid vision 
in the theater; a lorgnette. 
Opera-hat (op'e-ra-hat), n. A tall hat that can 
be compressed or folded up, and which, on be- 
ing opened again, is held firmly in its shape by 
springs. 
A tut opera-hat, as we used to call it in those days. 
Dickens. 
opera-house (op'e-ra-hous), n. A theater de- 
voted chiefly to the performance of operas or 
musical dramas. 
