tepefaction 
trprfi/.] The act or operation of making tepid, 
or moderately warm. Imp. Diet. 
tepefy (tep'S-H), r.; pret. and pp. tepefied, ppr. 
tepefying. [X L. tepefacere, make lukewarm, < 
tcpere, be lukewarm (see tepid), +faccre, make.] 
I. trans. To make tepid, or moderately warm. 
Goldsmith, Animated Nature, iv. 233. 
II. intruns. To become moderately warm. 
Cooper, Power of Harmony, i. 
tephramancy (tef 'ra- man -si), n. Same as 
tephromanoy. 
tephrite (tef 'rit), n. [< L. tepJiritis, < Gr. *re<ppi- 
rtf, an ash-colored stone, < refypof, ash-colored, 
< rtypa, ashes.] The name of certain modern 
volcanic rocks of rather varied and uncertain 
composition. As limited by Rosenbusch, with a mean- 
ing nearly identical with that previously given to the word 
by Fritsch and Reiss, the tephrites bear the same rela- 
tion to the normal basalts that the phonolites do to the 
trachytes. Among the older eruptive rocks, theralite is 
the representative of tephrite, the essential features of 
which are that it is porphyritic in structure, the ground- 
mass containing a soda-lime feldspar, which also some- 
times occurs in distinct crystals, while to this are added 
nephelin, leucite, and augite, with apatite, magnetite, and 
other less abundant minerals. See nephelin-tephrite and 
leucite-basaU. 
tephritic (tef-rit'flc), a. [< tephrite + -ic.] Of 
the nature of tephrite ; pertaining to tephrite. 
Amer. Nat., April, 1889, p. 259. 
tephritoid (tef'ri-toid), . [< tephrite + -oid.~\ 
A variety of tephrite. In this nephelin is wanting 
but its base is made up of a material rich in soda, and 
gelatinizing in acid, by which the nephelin is to a certain 
extent replaced. 
Tephrodornis(tef-ro-d6r'nis),H. [NL. (Swain- 
1831), < Gr. TeQptxSTK, ashy (< rtypa, ashes), 
+ 6pvif, a bird.] An extensive genus of Indian 
Tiphroth 
shrike-like birds, now restricted to 6 species, of 
which the best-known is the so-called Keroula 
shrike of Pondicherry, T. pondicerianus. 
tephroite (tef'ro-it), n. [Irreg. < Gr. re<t>p6f, 
ash-gray, + -ite%. Cf. tephrite.] A silicate of 
manganese of an ash-gray or reddish color, com- 
monly occurring in cleavable masses : found in 
New Jersey, also in Sweden. It belongs to the 
chrysolite group. 
tephromancy (tef 'ro-man-si), . [Also tepltra- 
mancy; < F. tephromancie, < NL. tephromantia, < 
Gr. retj>pa, ashes, + fiavrela, divination.] Augury 
depending on the inspection of the ashes of a 
sacrifice. 
Tephrosia (tef-ro'si-a), n. [NL. (Persoon, 1807), 
< Gr. retypoi;, ash-colored, < rt<j>pa, ashes.] A ge- 
nus of papilionaceous plants, of the tribe Ga- 
legese, type of the subtribe Tephrosiese. It is 
characterized by racemose flowers with blunt anthers, 
the banner-stamen free at the base, but early united with 
the other stamens at the middle, and the style somewhat 
rigid, incurved, and 
usually bearded at the 
tip; and by a com- 
pressed linear or rare- 
ly ovate pod with two 
thin valves, nerve-like 
sutures, and numer- 
ous seeds sometimes 
enlarged by a small 
strophiole. There 
are about 126 spe- 
cies, widely scattered 
through warm regions 
and especially numer- 
ous in Australia. A 
fewarefound inNorth 
America, six occur- 
ring within the United 
States south of Dela- 
ware, one of which, 
T. Virginiana, ex- 
tends northward as 
far as the Massachu- 
setts coast. They are 
herbs or shrubs, with 
odd-pinnate leaves of 
many leaflets, rarely 
reduced to three or 
even to one, often 
closely hoary with 
silken hairs, and remarkable, except in a few Australian 
species, for their peculiar veins, not netted or branching, 
but extending parallel to each other obliquely from the 
6238 
midrib. The red, purple, or white flowers are conspicu- 
ously papilionaceous, with the petals borne on claws, the 
banner roundish and externally silky, the keel incurved ; 
they form racemes which are often leafy at the base and 
Irom its nowers, ana as aevu s-snoesiriuys auu cuujtti ironi 
its long, slender, and very tough roots ; book-names are 
hnary pea and goal's rue. Several species yield a dye, as 
T. tiiictoria, used for indigo at Mysore, and T. Apollinea 
(for which see Egyptian indigo, under indigo). T. pur- 
purea in India and T. toxicaria in Surinam are used me- 
dicinally; the latter, under the name Surinam poison, is 
used in the West Indies and elsewhere to stupefy fish. 
tepid (tep'id), .. [= OF. tiede = It. tepido, 
tiepido, < L. tepidus, lukewarm, tepid (cf. tepor, 
heat, = Skt. tapas, heat), < teperc, be lukewarm, 
= Skt. tap, be warm.] Moderately warm ; luke- 
warm. 
The naked negro, panting at the Line, . . . 
Basks in the glare, or stems the tepid wave. 
Goldsmith, Traveller, 1. 71. 
tepidarium (tep-i-da'ri-um), n.; pi. tepidaria 
(-a). [L., a tepid bath, or the room set apart 
for it, < tepidus, lukewarm, tepid : see tepid.] In 
the ancient Roman baths, an apartment heated 
to a certain temperature to prepare the body 
for the great heat of the hot and vapor baths, 
or to serve as a palliative to the cold of the 
frigidarium ; also, the boiler in which the wa- 
ter was heated for the hot bath. 
tepidity (te-pid'i-tl), . [< F. tepidite = Pr. 
tepiditat = *lt. tiepidita, < L. as \f*tepidita(t-)s, 
lukewarmness, < tepidws, lukewarm, tepid: see 
tepid.] Lukewarmness. 
They upbraided the tepidity and infldel baseness of the 
Jewish nation. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 49. 
tepidly (tep'id-li), adv. In a tepid manner; 
lukewarmly. 
tepidness (tep'id-nes), n. Tepidity. 
tepor (tep'or), n. [= It. tepore, < L. tepor, luke- 
warmness, < tepere, be lukewarm: see tepid.] 
Gentle heat; moderate warmth. 
The small pox, mortal during such a season, grew more 
favorable by the tepor and moisture in April. Arbuthnot. 
tepoy, n. See teapoy. 
tequesquite (tek-es-ke'te), n. [Said to be so 
called from a Mexican place-name.] In Mexi- 
can metal., native carbonate of soda mixed with 
some sulphate and common salt, which efflo- 
resces, after the rainy season, on the surface of 
the plains in Mexico, and later in the season 
forms a crust. 
In the two Haciendas of the Company [at Sombrerete], 
La Furisinia and La Soledad, amalgamation is but little 
employed. The ores are usually smelted, and in this pro- 
cess great use is made of the tequesquite (carbonate of 
soda) from La Salada, which is employed as a dissolvent. 
Ward, Mexico, II. 278. 
ter (ter), adv. [L., thrice, < ires (tri-), three: 
see three.] Thrice : used in music to indicate 
that a measure or phrase to which it is attached 
is to be repeated three times in succession, 
teraget, n. [ME., appar. < OF. *terrage, land 
(found only in sense of field-rent), < L. terra, 
land: see terra.] Country; territory. 
Dyomed dernly dressit to wend 
To the terage of Troy with a tore ost. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 12786. 
teramorphous (ter-a-mor'fus), a. [Prop. *tera- 
tomorphous, < Gr. repaf (repar-), a monster, + 
[topQq, form.] Of the form or nature of a mon- 
strosity. 
terapenet, n. An obsolete form of terrapin. 
teraph (ter'af ), 11. ; pi. terapUm (-a-fim). [Heb.] 
A household image reverenced by the ancient 
Hebrews : in the Bible used only in the plural, 
and sometimes applied to one image. Thetera- 
phim seem to have been either wholly or in part of human 
form and of small sie. They appear to have been rever- 
enced as penates, or household gods, and in some shape 
or other to have been used as domestic oracles. 
terapint, n. An obsolete spelling of terrapin. 
Teras (te'ras), n. [NL. (Treitschke, 1829), < Gr. 
a monster.] A notable genus of moths, 
Hoary Pea {Tcphrosia 
a, the fruits. 
Teras malivoratt 
a; ,pupa; c , moth ; d. leaf with pupal exuviuir 
(Cross and lines show natural sizes.) 
terce 
ordinarily placed at the head of the tortricid 
series. The genus is wide-spread and the species are 
numerous. T. maKvomna is common in the United States, 
and feeds in the larval state on the leaves of the apple. 
T. caudana is a curious European species in which the 
fore wings have a falcate outer margin and an excavation 
on the costal margin. T. contaminatta is known as the 
checkered pebble. 
teraticalt (te-rat'i-kal), a. [< *teratic, < Gr. TC- 
pariK&^, strange, monstrous, < repai; (repar-), a 
sign, wonder, prodigy, monster, a huge animal, 
a strange creature.] Marvelous; prodigious; 
incredible. 
Herodotus, possibly delighting in teratical stories, might 
tell what he never heard. 
W. WMaston, Religion of Nature, iii. 16. 
teratogenic (ter"a-to-jen'ik), a. [< teratogeit-y 
+ -/c.J Producing monsters; of or pertaining 
to teratogeny. 
teratogeny (ter-a-toj'e-ni), .. [< Gr. repot (re- 
par-), a monster, + yevvav, produce.] In pii- 
thol., the production of monsters. 
teratoid (ter'a-toid), a. [< Gr. repot; (repar-), a 
monster, + eM'of, form.] Resembling a mon- 
ster Teratoid tumor. Same as teratoma. 
teratolite (ter'a-to-lit), . [< Gr. rtpag (repar-}, 
a prodigy, + %i6oc, stone.] A kind of clay or 
fine-grained silicate of alumina from the coal- 
formation of Planitz in Saxony, formerly sup- 
posed to possess valuable medicinal proper- 
ties, whence it had its ancient name of terra 
miraculosa Saxonise. Also called lithomarge. 
Sometimes erroneously spelled terratolite, as if 
from Latin terra, earth. 
teratologic (ter"a-to-loj'ik), a. [< teratolog-y 
+ -ic.] Same as ' teratological. 
teratological (ter*a-to-loj'i-kal), a. [< terato- 
logic + -al.] Of or pertaining to teratology. 
teratologist (ter-a-tol'o-jist), n. [< teratolog-y 
+ -ist.] 1. One who deals in marvels ; a mar- 
vel-monger. Imp. Diet. 2. One versed in ter- 
atology. 
teratology (ter-a-tol'o-ji), n. [= F. teratologie. 
< NL. teratologia, < Gr. reparohoyia, a telling of 
marvels or prodigies, < repaf (repar-), a sign, 
marvel, prodigy, monster, + -'Aoyia, < Myeiv, say, 
tell (see -ology).] 1 . Narration of what is mar- 
velous or prodigious; exaggeration in descrip- 
tion. 
Teratology is when bold Writers, fond of the sublime, 
intermix something great and prodigious in every Thing 
they write, whether there be Foundation for it in Reason 
or not, and this is what is call'd Bombast. Bailey, 1727. 
2. In anat., zool., and Ixit., the science of ani- 
mal or vegetable monstrosities ; that depart- 
ment of biology which treats of malformations, 
or monstrous or abnormal growths, in the ani- 
mal or the vegetable kingdom. 
teratoma (ter-a-to'ma), .; pi. teratomata (-ma- 
ta). [NL., < Gr. repaf (repar-), a monster, 4- 
-oma.~\ A complex congenital tumor, often 
containing very many different tissues, as skin, 
hair, teeth, connective tissue, cartilage, bone, 
muscles, and glands: most frequently found 
at the lower end of the spine, about the head 
and neck, and in the generative organs. Also 
called teratoid tumor. 
teratomatous (ter-a-tom'a-tus), a. [< tera- 
toma(t-) + -ous.] Saving the character of a 
teratoma. 
terbium (ter'bi-um), n. [NL., < (Tt)terb(y) in 
Sweden: see erbium, and cf. yttrium."} A rare 
element, not yet isolated, occurring in the sam- 
arskite of North Carolina and certain other rare 
minerals, associated with erbium and yttrium. 
terce (ters), n. [Early mod. E. also terse; < ME. 
*ters, *terce, < OF. ters, tiers, m., terce, tierce, f., 
third (tierce, a third part), < L. tertius = E. 
third: see third, and cf. tierce.] If. A third; a 
third part. 
Then we were in ix. degrees and a terce, rekenynge owr 
selues xxx. leagues of the sholes of the ryuer cauled Rio 
Grande. 
Jt. Eden, First Books on America (ed. Arber, p. 380). 
The 16. we came to Hatorask, in 86. degrees and a terse, 
at 4. fadom, 3 leagues from shore. 
Quoted in Capt. John Smith's Works, I. 103. 
2. Same as tierce, 3. 3. In Scots law, a right 
corresponding to dower in English law; a real 
right whereby a widow who has not accepted 
any special provision is entitled to a life-rent 
of one third of the heritage in which her hus- 
band died infeft, provided the marriage has 
endured for a year and a day, or has produced 
a living child. No widow is entitled to her 
terce until she is regularly Kenned to it. See 
A'el, v. t., 5. 4. In the Roman Catholic and 
Greek churches, and in religious houses, and as 
a devotional office in the Anglican Church, the 
