stilpnomelane 
forming a velvety coating (the variety chalco- 
dite), also in fibrous forms. It is essentially a 
hydrous silicate of iron. 
stilpnosiderite (stilp-no-sid'e-rit), . [< Gr. 
ori>,iri>of, glittering. + ft. xiil/ ri/i-.] Same as 
limoitite. 
Stilt (stilt), ii. [Early mod. E. also xtijlte ; < 
ME. stiltc, stylte, < Sw. *ti/lt<t, a prop, stilt, = 
Dan. stylte (ef. Norw. styltra), a stilt, = D. stelt, 
a stilt, wooden leg, = MLG. LG. stelte = OHG. 
*tcl:ti, MUG. G. stelze, a prop, crutch; perhaps 
akin to stale-, xlii II.--.] If. A prop used in walk- 
ing; a crutch. 
Verely she was heled, and left her stylles there, 
Anil on her fete went home resonably well. 
Joseph of Arimathie (E. E. T. S.), p. 47. 
I have laughed a-good to see the cripples 
Go limping home to Christendom on state. 
Marlowe, Jew of Malta, ii. 3. 215. 
2. One of two props or poles, each having a 
step or stirrup at some distance from the lower 
end, by means of which one may walk with the 
feet raised from the ground, and with a long- 
er stride: used for crossing sandy or marshy 
places, streams, etc., and by children for amuse- 
ment. Stilts were sometimes merely props fastened 
under the feet, as if very high-heeled shoes. Those used 
by children are slender poles about 6 feet long, with steps 
or stirrups 12 inches or more from one end ; the longer 
end of the pole can be held by the hand or passed behind 
the arm. In a modified form the upper end of the pole is 
much shorter, and is fitted with a cross-handle which can 
be grasped by the hand, or is strapped to the leg below 
the knee. Stilts are used by the shepherds of the marshy 
Landes in southwestern France. 
The doubtful fords and passages to try 
With stats and lope-staves. 
Drayton, Barons' Wars, 1. 4S. 
3. In hydraul. engin., one of a set of piles form- 
ing the back for the sheet-piling of a starling. 
E. H. Knight. 4. The handle of a plow. Scott, 
Kenilwprth, xv. 5. In ceram., a support, gener- 
ally of iron, used to hold a piece of pottery in 
the kiln, to allow the fire free access to the bot- 
tom of the piece. Also called cockspur and spur 
(which see). 6. [ Abbr. of stilt-bird.'} Inornith., 
any bird of the genus Himantopus : so called from 
the extremely long, slender legs. The bill is like- 
wise very slender, straight, and sharp. The body is slen- 
der, the neck long, the wings are long and pointed, and the 
tail is short. The stilts are wading-birds living in marshes. 
They are white below, with most of the upper parts glossy- 
black, the bill is black, and the legs are of some bright tint. 
They are very generally distributed over the world, nest 
on the ground, and lay four dark-colored, heavily spotted 
eggs. Their food consists of small soft animals found in 
the mud and water, which they explore with their probe- 
like bills. The common stilt of the Old World is H. can- 
iliilm or melanopterus ; that of the United States is H. 
mexicaum, a rare bird in the eastern regions of the coun- 
5948 
bombastic : said especially of language : as, a 
x/ilti'd mode of expression ; a stilted style. 
His earliest verses have a stilted, academic flavor. 
.-* </i/mn, Viet. Poets, p. 39. 
Stilted arch, an arch which does not spring immediately 
from the apparent or ft'ijnied imposts, as from the capitals 
of the supporting pillars, but from horizontal courses of 
masonry resting on these false imposts, as if the arch were 
Stilted Arch. Mihrab in the Mosque of Sultan Hassan, Cairo. 
raised on stilts. Such arches occur frequently in all me- 
dieval styles, especially as a means of maintaining a uni- 
form height when spans of different widths are used in the 
same range. Compare arc*i. 
stiltedness (stil'ted-nes), n. Stilted character ; 
pompous stiffness. Atheneeum, No. 3195, p. 94. 
stiltify (stil'ti-fi), r. t. ; pret. and pp. stiltified, 
ppr. stiltifying. [< stilt + --//.] To raise as on 
stilts; elevate or prop up, as with stilts. [Bare.] 
Skinny dwarfs ye are, cushioned and stiltified into great 
fat giants. C. Iteade, Cloister and Hearth, Ixv. 
Stilton cheese. See cheese 1 . 
Stilt-petrel (stilt'pet'rel), n. A stormy petrel 
of the genus Freyetta: so called from the length 
of the legs. F. grallaria is an example. 
Stilt-plover (stilt'pluv'er), n. The stilt or stilt- 
bird : so called because it has only three toes 
on each foot, like a plover. 
Stilt-sandpiper (stilt'sand'pi-per), n. A long- 
legged sandpiper of America, Micropalama hi- 
mantopus. The adult in summer Is blackish above, with 
each feather edged and tipped with white, or tawny and bay; 
the under parts are mixed reddish, whitish, and black in 
streaks on the throat* elsewhere in bars ; the ear-coverts 
are chestnut, the upper tail-coverts white with dusky bars, 
stimulus 
The stimulant used to attract at first must be not only 
continued, but heightened to keep up the attraction. 
Mrs. tl. More, Ccelebs, xxv. 
2. In ithyttiol., an agent which temporarily 
quickens some functional or trophic process. 
It may act directly on the tissue concerned, or may excite 
the nerves which effect the process or paralyze the nerves 
which inhibit it. Stimulants comprise certain medicinal 
substances, as ammonia, alcohol, ethylic ether, as well as 
physical conditions, such as warmth, cold, light, or elec- 
tricity, esthetic effects, as music and other products of art, 
and emotions of various kinds, as joy, hope, etc. stimu- 
lants have been divided into yeneral and topical, accord 
ing as they affect directly or indirectly the whole system 
or only a particularpart. Diffusible stimulants, those 
stimulants, as ether or ammonia, which have a speedy and 
quickly transient effect. 
Stimulate (stim'u-lat), >. ; pret. and pp. K/iinu- 
lateti, ppr. stiniiiltiliiuj. [< L. stimulatus. pp. of 
stimulare (> It. stimolnrf = Sp. Pg. estimulnr = 
F. stimuler), prick, urge, stimulate, < stimuli!.*, 
a goad: see stimulus.] I. trans. 1. To prick; 
goad ; excite, rouse, or animate to action or more 
vigorous exertion by some effective motive or 
by persuasion ; spur on ; incite. 
The general must stimulate the mind of his soldiers to 
the perception that they are men, and the enemy Is no 
more. Emerson, Courage. 
Mystery In nature stimulates inquiry; why should it 
not do so in religion? J. F. Clarice, Self-Culture, p. 149. 
2. Inphysiol., to quicken temporarily some func- 
tional or trophic process in. 3. Specifically, 
to affect by the use of intoxicating drinks. 
We were all slightly stimulated [with arrack] before a 
move was made toward the dinner table. 
O'Donovan, Merv, xi. 
Stimulating bath, a bath containing aromatic astringent 
or tonic ingredients. =Syn. 1. To encourage, impel, urge, 
instigate, provoke, whet, foment, kindle, stir up. 
II. intrans. To act as a stimulus. 
Urg'd by the stimulating goad, 
I drag the cumbrous waggon's load. 
Oay, To a Poor Man, I. 87. 
stimulation (stim-u-la'shpn), n. [= F. stimu- 
lation = Sp. estitniilamon = Pg. estimulaq&o = 
It. stimolazione, < L. stimulatio(n-), a pricking, 
incitement, < stimulare, prick, goad, stimulate: 
see stimulate.] 1. The act of stimulating, or 
the state of being stimulated; urging; en- 
couragement; incitement; increased or quick- 
ened action or activity. 
The providential stimulations and excitations of the con- 
science. Bp. Ward, Sermon, Jan. 30, 1674. (Latham.) 
A certain length of stimulation seems demanded by the 
inertia of the nerve-substance. 
W. James, Prin. of Psychol., I. 648. 
2. In med., the act or method of stimulating; 
the condition of being stimulated ; the effect of 
the use of stimulants. 
The latent morbid predisposition [to delirium tremens] 
engendered in the nervous system by prolonged and abnor- 
mal stimulation is evoked or brought into activity by the 
depressing influence of the shock [of a corporeal injury]. 
J. M. Carnochan, Operative Surgery, p. 153. 
nub, bin iij>|i< i uui-uoveiui wime wiui uusKy oars, =oyll, 1 See utitinuatf 
S4^^SSS!i2!f,SL.ia stimulative (stim'fi-^tiv), ._and . _[= It. 
in ll 
sides are suffused with ashy, and streaked with dusk 
, n sreae w us 
The bird inhabits North America, breeding in high la- 
tudes, and migrating in the fall to Central and South Amer- 
ica. See cut under Micropalama. 
Stilt-walker (stilt'wa'ker), H. 1. One who 
-LJ.. if. xuctu nMBm DuiujuiaLcn Limt WHICH 
rouses into more vigorous action ; a stimulant 
or incentive. 
Then there are so many stimulatieeH to such a spirit as 
mine in this affair, besides love : 
Richardson, Clarissa Harlowe, I. 225. (Dames.) 
t u>**w \um * tt^jl I. II. i. V^UC Mil n- V . 
walks on stilts. Amer. Nat., Nov., 1889, p. 943. Richardson, Clarissa Harlowe, I. 225. (Danes.) 
2. A grallatorial bird; a stilt-bird. stimulator (stim'u-la-tor), . [= F. stimula- 
itilty (stil'ti), a. [< stilt + -i/l.] Inflated; teur = It. stimolatore, < LL. stimulator, an insti- 
pompous; stilted. Owtrttrlu Bei\ gator, < L. stimulare, prick, goad: see xtiiiin- 
,4-.'l.. n C1 -J..1. _ Irtil, T f\r.r. ,. I... .. I 1 ... .. 1 ! I ~AI 1 4. . 
Black-necked Stilt (ItitnantopHs mexicanns). 
try, but abundant in some parts of the west. It is about 
15 inches long, and 30 in extent of wings ; the bill 2 inches- 
the legs, from the feathers to the toes, 7j Inches There 
are only three toes, which are semipalmated. This species 
is locally called lonijshattks and lawyer. The South Amer- 
ican stilt is H. nigricollw; the Australian, H. leucocepha- 
lti. A related bird of Australia to which the name ex- 
tends is Cladorhynchw pectoralis, having the toes webbed 
like those of the avoset.-gtllt prolegs, in entom., the 
prolegs of a caterpillar when they are unusually long, so 
that the body over them is much raised above the sur- 
face on which the insect walks 
Stilt (stilt), v. t. [< stilt, M.] To raise above 
the ordinary or normal position or surface, as 
if by the use of stilts. 
The fluted columns [of San Moise] are stilted upon ped- 
estals, and their lines are broken by the bands which en- 
circle them like broad barrel-hoops. 
Howells, Venetian Life, xviii. 
stilt-bird (stilt'berd), . 1. The stilt or stilt- 
plover. 2|. pi. Wading birds collectively; the 
grallatorial birds, constituting the old order 
Grails' or GraUatoroe. Also called stilt-walker*. 
Stilted (stil'ted), p. a. Elevated, as if on stilts ; 
hence, pompous; inflated; formal; stiff and 
stilty . 
pompous; stilted. Quarterly Her. 
stilus, n. See stylus. 
Stilwell act. See act. 
stime (stim), . [Also styme; < ME. stime; a 
yar. of steem, stem, a ray of light (see steam). It 
late.] One who or that which stimulates. 
Stimulatress (stim'u-la-tres), . [= F. stiuiu- 
latrice = It. stimolairice, < L. stimulatrix, fern, 
of (LL.) stimulator: see stimulator.] A woman 
who stimulates or animates. 
PMP) 'i' n', tli lety Ul 111(111 ( StrtJ tflCU'ftl ). 11 "" *J " ii**HI 
is otherwise explained as perhaps a var., due to "! no stimulates or animates, 
some interference, of shim, < AS. seima, a light, Stimulose (stim'u-los), a. [< F. stimuleux = 
brightness, a gleam of light (see shiml, shime).] !*. ftimoloso, . < L. stimitlosus, abounding with 
A ray of light; a glimmer; a glimpse: not now prickles, < stimulus, a prick, goad, prickle : see 
used except in negative expressions. [Now stimulus.] In bot., covered with stings or 
only Scotch.] stimuli. 
Ne he iwis might se a stime. stimulus (stim'u-lus), rt. ; pi. stimuli (-Ii). [= 
Cursor Mundi, 1 19652. (Stratmann.) F. stimulus, stimule = Sp. estimulo = Pg. estimuh 
Wherewith he blinded them so close = It. stimolo, stimulo, ( L, stimulus, a goad, 
A stime : they could not see. a pointed stake, fig. a sting, pang, an incite- 
A*. Hood and the. Beggar (CMW* Ballads, V. 201). ^ 8pur) stimulu % < J^K. *!$ instit)are 
Stimulant (stim'u-lant), a. and n. [= F. stimu- set on, incite, urge, = Gr. arifetv, pierce, prick, 
lant = bp. Pg. estimxlante = It. stimolante, < = AS. 'stecan, pierce: seesticki.] 1. Literally, 
L. stimulan (t-)s, ppr. of stimulare, prick, urge, a goad. 2. In bot., a sting: as, the nettle is 
stimulate: see stimulate.] I. a. Stimulating; furnished with stimuli. 3. The point at the 
servine to stimulate. inir,. nr nmvnVo TW>- en d o f , crozier, pastoral staff, precentor's staff, 
or the like. In the staves of ecclesiastical authority the 
stimulus or point is regarded as the emblem of judgment 
or punishment. 
4. Something that excites or rouses the mind 
serving to stimulate, incite, or provoke; spe- 
cifically, in physiol., temporarily quickening 
some functional or trophic process Stimulant 
balsam, a mixture of oil of turpentine 8 parts and flour 
mustard 1 part. ^. ouiueLiiing mat exciies or rouses me mind 
II. . 1. That which stimulates, provokes, or spirits; something that incites to action or 
n stimulus : n sum- ov^H-i.-ii on \i...\t .,,.,...., ... 
or incites; a stimulus; a spin-. 
exertion; an incitement or incentive. 
