osprey 
fraie (> E. orfray, q. v.), < L. ossifragus, osprey, 
lit. 'bone-breaker': see ossifrage.] A diurnal 
bird of prey of the family 'Falconidw and the 
genus fandion ; a fish-hawk. There is probably 
out one species, Pandion haliaetus, of almost world-wide 
distribution, running into several geographical races or 
varieties which have been specifically named. It is a 
Osprey (Pandion haliaftus). 
large hawk, nearly or quite 2 feet long, and 4} feet in ex- 
tent of wings, of a dark Vandyke brown above, the fea- 
thers more or less laced with white, the head, neck, and 
under pai'ts white, with blackish streaks on the crown, 
a blackish postocular stripe on the nape, and the breast 
more or less covered with dusky spots. The coloration 
varies much in the relative amounts of light and dark 
colors, and the young are darker than the old birds. The 
feet are very large and roughly granulated, and the talons 
are all of great size ; the outer toe is versatile. The osprey 
builds a bulky nest in a tree, on a rock, or on the ground, 
and the nests sometimes acquire enormous dimensions 
from yearly repairs and additions. The eggs, two or three 
in number, average about 2.5 by 1.75 inches in size, and are 
usually heavily marked with various shades of browns and 
reds. The flsh-hawk, as its name implies, feeds on flsh, 
which it catches by plunging from on the wing. Also 
called fishing-hawk, fishing-eagle. 
I will provide thee of a princely osprey. 
Peefe, Battle of Alcazar, ii. 8. 
But (oh Jove !) your actions, 
Soon as they move, as ospreys do the flsh, 
Subdue before they touch. 
Fletcher (and another), Two Noble Kinsmen, i. 1. 
OSpring 1 t, . An obsolete form of offspring. 
ospring' 2 t, An obsolete form of osprey. 
osst (os), v. t. [Also dial, osny; < ME. ossen, 
show; origin uncertain. Cf. oss, n.] To show; 
prophesy ; presage. Roger Edgeworth. 
Quat and has thou msed to Alexander this ayndain [an- 
gry] wirdes. 
King Alexander, p. 79 (quoted in Allit. Poems, ed. Morris, 
(Gloss.). 
He ossed hym by vnnynges that thay vnder-nomen, 
That he watz flawen fro the face of f relych drystyn. 
Alliterative Poem* (ed. Morris), ill. 213. 
OSSt (os), n. [Appar. < oss, v., and not con- 
nected with Gr. daaa, a voice, report, rumor, 
an ominous voice or sound, akin to '01(1, voice, 
L. vox, voice: see voice.] A word uttered un- 
awares, and having the character of a presage ; 
an omen ; a prophecy. 
Osses be words cast forth at unawares, presaging some- 
what. 
HoUand, tr. of Pliny, Explanation of the Words of Art. 
Behold (quoth hee) your fellow citizens and countrey- 
men, who shall endure (but the gods in heaven forfend the 
osse) the same hard distresse together with you, unlesse 
some better fortune shine upon us. 
HoUand, tr. of Ammianus Marcellinus (1609). (Fares.) 
ossa, n. Plural of os 1 . 
ossan (os'an), n.pl. The stockings of the Scot- 
tish Highlanders, made of fine white wool. 
PlancM. 
ossarium (o-sa'ri-um), .; pi. ossaria (-a). [LL.: 
see ossuary.'] An urn or other receptacle for 
the bones or ashes of the dead ; an ossuary. 
ossature (os'a-tur), n. [< F. ossature, a skele- 
ton, < L. os (oss-), bone.] In arch., the frame- 
work or skeleton of a building or part of a build- 
ing, as the ribs of a groined vault, the timber 
or metal frame of a roof, or the iron frame sup- 
porting a stained-glass window. 
The [Eiffel] tower is to reach ... a total height of 300 
metres. ... Its main ossature consists of sixteen vertical 
girders, which are drawn into groups of four at the base. 
Art Jour., No. 53, Supp., p. iv. 
ossean (os'e-an), a. and n. [< L. osseus, bony 
(see osseous), + -aw.] I. a. Bony or osseous, 
as a fish ; teleost. 
n. n. A bony or osseous fish ; a teleost. 
Ossei (os'e-i), n.pl [NL., pi. of L. osseus, bony : 
see osseous.] Osseous fishes. See Teleostei. 
ossein, osseine (os'e-in), n. [< L. os (oss-), 
bone, + -*n2, -ine 2 .] The organic basis of bone ; 
bone from which the earthy salts have been 
removed by macerating in acid. Also osteine 
and bone-cartilage. 
4168 
OSSClet (os'e-let), n. [< F. osselet, a bone, dim. 
of os, < L. os (oss-), bone : see os 1 .] 1. A hard 
substance growing on the inside of a horse's 
knee. 2. The cuttlebone, pen, or calamary of 
some squids or cuttlefish. 3. Same as ossicle. 
osseous (os'e-us), a. [< L. osseus, bony, < os 
(oss-), bone: see os 1 .] 1. Bony; made of bone; 
having the nature or structure of bone ; ossi- 
fied: as, osseous tissue. See bone 1 and ossein. 
2. Having a bony skeleton; ossean; tele- 
ost: as, an osseous fish. See teleost. 3. Full 
of bones; composed or largely consisting of 
bones; ossiferous: as, osseous breccia. 4. 
Hard as bone, or otherwise resembling bone; 
ossiform. Osseous corpuscle*, a lacuna of bone. 
Osseous flsh. See/sAl, and cut under optic. Osseous 
labyrinth. Sec taoyrtnui, 3. 
osseously (os'e-us-li), adv. As regards bones ; 
in respect of bones. 
The elbow is osseously strong. Eneyc. Brit., VII. 258. 
osseter (os'e-ter), n. [< Russ. oaetrii = Little 
Russ. osetr = Serv. jesetra = Pol. jesiotr = 
OPruss. esketres = Lith. ersJiketras, asetras, a 
sturgeon.] A large European sturgeon, Aci- 
penser guldenstadti. See Acipenser. 
Ossetian (o-se'ti-an), a. [< Ossete (see def. of 
Ossetic) + -ian.~\ Same as Ossetic. 
Ossetic (o-set'ik), a. and n. [< Ossete (see def.) 
+ -ic.] I. a. Of or belonging to the Ossetes, 
people dwelling in the Caucasus Mountains. 
II. n. The language of the Ossetes. It be- 
longs to the Indo-European or Aryan family, 
and is especially akin to Iranian or Persian. 
Ossianesque (os-i-a-nesk'), a. [< Ossian (see 
Ossianic) + -esque.'] Ossianic in quality or ex- 
pression. 
The subject being treated with an Ossianesque turgidity 
of phrase which goes far to rob it of its pathos. 
Athenaeum, No. 3230, p. 382. 
Ossianic (os-i-an'ik), a. [< Ossian, a Latinized 
form of Gael. Oisin (see def.).] Pertaining to 
or characteristic of Ossian, or the poems of 
Ossian. A Gaelic bard Oisin (Ossian) lived about the 
end of the third century, and to him was ascribed the 
authorship of the poems ("Fingal " and others) published 
by James Macpherson in 1760-3; but it is now generally 
admitted that Macpherson himself was the compiler and 
in part the author of these works. 
The Ossianic magniloquence, the Cambyses vein, and the 
conventional hyperbole of the national speech (Spanish]. 
Edinburgh .flee., CLXIII. 128. 
ossicle (os'i-kl), 11. [< L. ossiculum, dim. of os 
(oss-), a bone: see os 1 .] 1. A small bone or 
bonelet. Specifically (a) One of the little bones of the 
ear, as the malleus, incus, and stapes or columella, more 
fully called ossicles of audition or auditory ossicles, and also 
ossicula auditus and phonophori. See cuts under earl and 
tympanic, (b) One of the many little bones of the sclerotic 
coat of the eye of birds and some reptiles. 
2. A small hard nodule of chitin or some sub- 
stance resembling bone. Specifically (a) One of 
the skeletal elements of an echinoderm which, joined to 
one another and united by connective or muscular tissue, 
constitute the chief part of the framework of the body. 
They are grouped and named in several sets according to 
the formations into which they enter, as the ambulacra! 
or adambulacral ossicles, along the ambulacra, the ossicles 
which support the spines when these exist, etc. (6) One 
of the hard articuli or joints of the stem or branches of a 
crinoid or encrinite. (c) In crustaceans, one of the several 
small hard chitinous parts or processes of the gastric skele- 
ton, as in the stomach of a lobster or crawfish. See cut 
under Astacidce. 
Also ossicule, ossiculum. 
Ambulacral ossicle. See ambulaeral, and cuts under 
Asteriid<e and Ophiuridte. Auditory ossicles. See def. 
i (a). Cardiac ossicle. See cardiac. Carpal or tar- 
sal ossicle, some small bone of the carpus or tarsus not 
identified with any named carpal or tareal bone. Mar- 
ginal ossicles. See marginal bones, under marginal. 
Ossicles of audition. See def. 1 (a). Tarsal ossicle. 
See carpal ossicle. Vertebral ossicle. .Same as ambu- 
laeral ossicle. Weberian ossicles, in ichth., the chain of 
little bones of the ear, between the vestibule and the air- 
bladder. 
ossicula, n. Plural of ossiculum. 
ossicular (o-sik'u-lar), a. [< ossicule + -ar'*.] 
Pertaining to or composed of ossicles ; having 
the form or appearance of ossicles. 
The hyomandibular, invested with this new function, 
breaks up into two or more pieces, as an ossicular chain. 
Amur. Sat., XXIII. 637. 
ossiculate (o-sik'u-lat), .. [< ossicule + -ate 1 .'] 
Having ossicles ; furnished with small bones. 
ossiculated (o-sik'u-la-ted), a. [< ossiculate + 
-e<i 2 .] Same as ossiculate. 
ossicule (os'i-kul), n. [< L. ossiculum : see os- 
sicle."] Same as ossicle. 
OSSlCUlum (o-sik'u-lum), n.; pi. ossicula (-la). 
[L. : see ossicle.] Same as ossicle. Ossicula 
auditus, the auditory ossicles ; the phonophori. 
ossiculus (o-sik'u-lus), )(. [NL., masc. dim. of 
L. os (oss-), a bone, the heart of a tree, the stone 
of a fruit: see os 1 , ossiculum.] In bot., same 
as pyrene. 
ostage 
ossiferous (o-sif 'e-rus), a. [< L. os (oss-), bone, 
+ ferre = E. bear 1 .] Producing or furnishing 
bones; containing bones; osseous: as, ossifer- 
ous breccia; an ossiferous cave. 
The ossifermix caverns of Devonshire are famous in geo- 
logical history. Encyc. Brit., VII. 140. 
OSSific (o-sif'ik), a. [< L. os (oss-), bone, + 
-fit-tat, <facere, make.] Ossifying; osteogenic ; 
making bone ; causing ossification, or convert- 
ing connective or cartilaginous tissue into bone : 
as, an ossific process. See ossification. 
We know that ossific deposits now and then occur in tis- 
sues where they are not usually found. 
U. Spencer, Prin. of Biol., 301. 
Ossific center. See ossification. 
ossification (os"i-fi-ka'shon), n. [=F. ossifica- 
tion; as ossify + -ation.] 1. The formation of 
bone ; the act or process of changing or of be- 
ing changed into bone, or into a bony sub- 
stance ; the change so effected : as, the ossifica- 
tion of cartilage. See osteonenesis. 2. That 
which is ossified, or the result of ossification ; 
bone in general. 3. The state or quality of 
being ossified center of ossification, the point 
where cartilage or connective tissue begins to ossify ; the 
initial point of the ossiflc process. 
The points at which bone formation begins and whence 
it radiates are termed centres of ossification. 
Micart, Encyc. Brit., XXII. 109. 
Membranous ossification. See membrane-bone. 
OSSifprm (os'i-form), a. [< L. os (oss-), bone, 
+ forma, form.] Resembling bone; hard as 
bone; osseous; osteal. 
Ossifraga (o-sif'ra-ga), n. . [NL. (Prince C. L. 
Bonaparte) : see ossifrage.] A genus of birds 
of the petrel family, Frocellariida; ; the giant 
fulmars. 0. gigantea is the only species, of a sooty or 
fuliginous color, and as large as some albatrosses. It is 
sometimes called bone-breaker, whence this application of 
the generic name. 
ossifrage (os'i-fraj), n. [< L. ossifragus, m., 
ossifraga, f., the sea-eagle, ossifrage, < ossi- 
fragus (> Sp. osifrago = F. ossifrage), bone- 
breaking, < os (oss-), bone, + frangere (\ffrag), 
break: see fragile. Cf. osprey, orfray.] The 
osprey. 
ossifragous (o-sif'ra-gus), a. [< L. ossifragus, 
bone-breaking: see ossifrage.] Breaking or 
fracturing bones. Bailey, 1731. [Rare.] 
Ossify (os'i-fi), v. ; pret. and pp. ossified, ppr. 
ossifying. [< F. ossifier = Sp. osificar = Pg. 
ossificar, < L. os (oss-), bone, -f- -ficare, < facere, 
make.] I. trans. To make or form bone in 
or of; cause ossification in or of; convert into 
bone, as membrane or cartilage; harden like 
bone ; render osseous. 
The dilated aorta everywhere in the neighbourhood of 
the cyst is generally ossified. Sharpe, Surgery. 
U. intrans. To become bone ; undergo ossi- 
fication ; change or be changed from soft tissue 
to bone. 
Along the surface of an ossifying bone, the yielding of 
the tissue when bent will not be uniform. 
B. Spencer, Prin. of Biol., 301. 
ossivorous (o-siv'6-rus), a. [< L. os (oss-), bone, 
+ rorare, devour, j Eating or feeding on bones. 
In a dog and other ossivorous quadrupeds, 'tis [the cali- 
ber of the gullet is] very large. 
Derham, Physico-Theol., I. 280, note. 
osspringert, " An obsolete variant of osprey. 
Chapman. 
OSSUaiium (os-u-a'ri-um), n. ; pi. ossuaria (-a). 
[LL.: see ossuary.] Same as ossuary, 2. 
Among the large number of important sepulchral re- 
mains lately found by Mr. Taylor in Newgate Street were 
several ossuaria, or leaden vessels for the reception of the 
calcined bones of the dead. Encyc. Brit., XIV. 841. 
OSSUary (os'u-a-ri), n. ; pi. ossuaries (-riz). [< 
LL. ossuarium', also ossarium, a receptacle for 
the bones of the dead, a charnel-house, neut. 
of ossuarius, of or for bones, < L. os (oss-), bone : 
see os 1 .] 1. A place where the bones of the 
dead are deposited ; a charnel-house. 
What time the persons of these ossuaries entered the 
famous nations of the dead, and slept with princes and 
counsellors, might admit a wide solution. 
Sir T. Brou-ne, Urn-Burial, v. 
The ossuaries are probably the most interesting remains 
we have. They consist of round symmetrical holes dug to 
the required depth, and into which the bodies were pro- 
miscuously deposited ; some of the larger ones contain 
the remains of several thousand bodies. 
.\atnre, XXX. 587. 
2. A vase, casket, or other vessel for the recep- 
tion of the bones or calcined remains of the 
dead. 
OSt J t (ost), . A Middle English form of oast. 
OSt 2 t, ". A Middle English form of /ios( 2 . 
OStaget, " A Middle English form of hostage. 
