Ternstroemiaceae 
-in-fit.] An order of polypetnlous plants, of 
the series Tlntliniiijliireennil colmrl Hiit/i/i mli*. 
It is characterized by usually bisexual and racemed dow- 
ers with numerous stamens, and by alternate coriaceous 
mi'livH. il leaves without btipules; but some genera are 
exceptional in their paniclcd, solitary, or unisexual flow- 
era and opposite or digitate leaves. It includes about 
310 species of 41 genera classed in c, tiibi , natives of the 
trnpii >. i -[)< i:illy in America, Asia, and the Indian ar- 
chipelago, and sometimes extending northward in east- 
ern Asiu and America. They arc troe or shrubs, rarely 
climbers, with feather-veined leaves which are entire or 
more often serrate. The regular, usually 5-merous flow- 
ers are often laixe and handsome, the fruit fleshy, cori- 
aceous, or woody, or very often a capsule with a per* 
sistent central columtlla. The seeds are borne on a pla- 
centa which Is frequently prominent anil fleshy or spongy, 
usually with a curved, bent, hippocreplfonn, or spiral em- 
bryo. The types of the principal tribes are Terngtraemia, 
Marcgrama, Saunntja, (Jartlonia, and Ilonnelia. See also 
st'inrii.t, and Camellia, which includes the tea-plant, the 
most important plant of the order. 
Ternstrcemieae (tern-stre-mi'e-e), n.pl. [NL. 
(Mirbel, 1813), < Tenmtra'miii'+ -tee.} A tribe 
of plants (see Tcrnstra-miacex), including 8 
genera, of which Ternstrcemia is the type, dis- 
tinguished by their imbricated petals, basi- 
flxed anthers, and one-flowered peduncles. 
terpene (ter'pen), H. [A modified form of tere- 
bene.] Any ono of a class of hydrocarbons hav- 
ing the common formula C 10 H 16 , found chiefly 
in essential oils and resins. They are distinguished 
chiefly by their physical properties, being nearly alike In 
chemical reactions. With their closely related derivatives 
they make up the larger part of roost essential oils. 
terpentinet, n. An obsolete form of turpentine. 
terpodion (ter-po'di-on), . [< Qr. rfpveiv, de- 
light, + <i>firi ! a song: see ode 1 .] A. musical 
instrument invented by J. D. Buschmann in 
1816, the tones of which were produced by fric- 
tion from blocks of wood. It was played by 
means of a keyboard. 
Terpsichore (terp-sik'o-re), n. [< L. Terp- 
sichore, < Gr. Tep^txApn (Attio T?epijiix6pa), Terp- 
sichore, fern, of repyixopof, delighting in the 
dance, < rfpneiv, fut. rfpipt-iv, enjoy, delight in, 
+ xp6f, dance, dancing: see chorus."} In classi- 
cal myth., one of the Muses, the especial com- 
panion of Melpomene, and the patroness of the 
choral dance and of the dramatic chorus devel- 
oped from it. In the last days of the Greek religion 
her attributions became restricted chiefly to the province 
of lyric poetry. In art this Muse is represented as a grace- 
ful figure clad in flowing draperies, often seated, and n MI - 
ally bearing a lyre. Her type is closely akin to that of 
Erato, but the latter is always shown standing. 
Terpsichorean (terp'si-ko-re'an), a. and n. [< 
Terpsichore + -em.] I. a', leap, or I. c.] Relat- 
ing to the Muse Terpsichore, or to dancing and 
lyrical poetry, which were sacred to this Muse : 
as, the terpsichorean art (that is, dancing). 
II. . [(. c.] A dancer. [CoLloq.] 
Terpsiphone (terp-si-fo'ne), n. [NL. (C. W. L. 
Gloger, 1827), <Gr. rfp^tf, enjoyment, delight, + 
^uvri, voice.] Agenus of Old World Muscicapidx. 
The leading species is the celebrated paradise flycatcher, 
T. paraditea, remarkable for the singular development of 
the tail. This bird was originally figured and described 
more than a century ago by Edwards, who called it the 
pied bird o/ paradier. It was long mistaken for a bird 
of Africa, as uy Levaillant, who figured it under the name 
Paradise Flycatcher (TVr*- 
siflumt fariaista), male ; k- 
lie in background. 
tchitrec-bt (the original of Lesson's genus Tchi- 
trea)', it has also been placed in the larger gen- 
era MiiKieapa, Muteipeta, and AftMcicorn of the 
early writers of the present century. It is na- 
tive of India and Ceylon. The adult male is 
chiefly pure-white and black, with glossy steel- 
green head, throat, and crest; the bill Is bine, 
the mouth is yellow, and the eyes are brown. 
The total length is about 17 Inches, of which 
12 or 13 inches belong to the two middle tail- 
feathers, the tail with this exception being 
64 Inches, the wing less than 4 Inches. The female Is quite 
different, only 7 Inches long, without any peculiarity of 
the tail, and with plain rufous- brown, gray, and white col- 
ors, the crest, however, being glossy greenish-Mark. A 
similar species of the Indian archipelago is T. ajfinu. T. 
miiinta, belongs to Madagascar; and there are about a 
dozen other species of this beautiful and varied genus, 
whose members are found from Madagascar across Africa 
and India to China, Japan, the Malay peninsula, Java, Su- 
matra, Borneo, and Floret. 
terpuck (ter'puk), w. [< Russ. terpuki, lit. a 
rasp ; so called on account of the roughness of 
the scales.] A fish of the family Chiridx (or 
Hexagram mida), as Bctayrtrmmus lagoceplialux 
and //. octoyrammus. Sir John Richardson. 
terra (tcr'jj), . [= F. terre = Sp. tierra = Pg. 
It. terra, < L. terra, earth, land, ground, soil; 
orig. 'tersa, 'dry laud,' akin to torrere, dry, or 
parch with heat, Gr. rfpofoOat, become dry: see 
thirst, and cf. torrent.] Earth, or the earth: 
sometimes personified, Terra : used especially 
in various phrases (Latin and Italian) Terra 
alba ('white earth 'X pipe-clay. Terra a terra*. [ = 
F. terre d terre = Sp. tierra a tierra = It terra a terra, 
close to the ground, lit. 'ground to ground.'] An artificial 
fait formerly taught horses in the manege or riding-school, 
t was a short, half-prancing, half-leaping gait, Ihe horse 
lifting himself alternately upon the fore and hind feet, 
and going somewhat sidewise. It differed from curveU 
chiefly in that the horse did not step so high. It is much 
noticed In the horse-market literature of the seventeenth 
and eighteenth centuries. 
I rid first a Spanish Hone, a light Bay, called Le Su- 
perbe, a beautiful horse. ... He went In corvets for- 
wards, backwards, sideways, . . . and went Terra a Terra 
Perfectly. The second Horse I Eld was another Spanish 
Horse, ... a Brown-Bay with a White star in his Fore- 
head ; no Horse ever went Terra a Terra like him, so just, 
and so easle ; and for the Pirouette, etc. 
Cavendish (Earl of Newcastle), New Method of Dressing 
[Hone* (1667), Preface. 
Terra caripsa, tripoll or rottenstone. Terra di Si- 
ena. Seetirtma. Terra flrma, firm or solid earth; dry 
land, In opposition to water ; mainland or continent, in 
opposition to Insular territories. Terra incognita, an 
unknown or unexplored region. Terra Japonica ('':< 
pan earth 'X gambler : formerly supposed to be a kind of 
earth from Japan. Terra mertta, turmeric. Terra 
nera (It , 'black earth'), a native unctuous pigment, used 
by the ancient artists In fresco, oil, and tempera painting. 
Terra noblllst, an old name for the diamond. Terra 
orellana. Same as arnatto, 2. Terra pouderosa, ba- 
rytes or heavy-spar. Terra slelUata, or terra Lem- 
nla, temnlan earth. See under Lemnian. Terra verde 
(It, 'green earth 'X either of two kinds of native green 
earth used as pigments in painting, one obtained near 
Verona, the other In Cyprus. The former, which li very 
useful in landscape-painting in oil, is a sillcious earth 
colored by the protoxld of Iron, of which it contains about 
20 per cent. Also terre verte. 
terrace 1 (ter'as), n. [Early mod. E. also terras, 
tarras, tnrrasse; < OF. terrace, tcrrasse, a ter- 
race, gallery, F. terrasse,< It. terraccia, terrazzo, 
a terrace, < terra, < L. terra, earth, land: see 
terra.] 1. A raised level faced with masonry 
or tuff; an elevated flat space: as, a garden 
terrace; also, a natural formation of the ground 
resembling such a terrace. 
This is the tamute where thy sweetheart tarries. 
Chapman, May-Day, III. 3. 
List, list, they are come from hunting ; stand by, close 
under this terra*. 
//. Jiiiimm, Every Man out of his Humour, II. 1. 
Terrace*, flanked on either side by jutting masonry, cut 
clear vignettes of olive-hoary slopes, with cypress-shad- 
owed farms in hollows of the hills. 
J. A. Symondi, Italy and Greece, p. 68. 
2. In ;/"'., a strip of land, nearly level, extend- 
ing along the margin of the sfea, a lake, or a river, 
and terminating on the side toward the water in 
a more or less abrupt descent; a beach; a raised 
beach. Also called in Scotland a carse, and in 
parts of the United States where Spanish was 
formerly spoken a mesa, or meseta. Terraces are 
seen In many parts of the world, and vary greatly In width, 
height, and longitudinal extent, as well as in the mode of 
their formation. Marine terraces, or raised beaches, have 
usually been caused by the elevation of the land, the preex- 
isting beach having been thus lifted above the action of 
the water, and a new one formed at a lower level. Raised 
beaches, terraces, or ancient sea-margins of this kind form 
conspicuous features In the coast topography of various re- 
gions, as of Scandinavia, Scotland, and the Pacific coast of 
North and South America. Some river- and lake-terraces 
may have been formed by the upheaval of the region where 
they occur ; but a far more important and genera! cause of 
their existence is the diminution of the amount of water 
flowing in the rivers or standing in the lakes a phenom- 
enon of which there are abundant proofs all over the world, 
and the beginning of which reaches back certainly into 
Tertiary times, but how much further is not definitely 
known, since the geological records of such change of cli- 
mate could not be preserved for an indefinite period, and 
very little is known in regard to the position of rivers, or 
bodies of water distinctly separated from the ocean, at any 
remote geological period. Rarely called a bench. 
This stream runs on a hanging terrace, which in some 
parts is at least sixty feet above the Barrady. 
Poeocke, Description of the East, II. i. 123. 
3. A street or row of houses running along the 
face or top of a slope : often applied arbitrarily, 
terras films 
as a fancy name, to ordinary streets or ranges 
of houses. 4. The flat roof of a house, as of 
Oriental and Spanish houses. 5t. A balcony, 
or open gallery. 
There Is a rowe of pretty little tarrauei or raylea be- 
twixt every window. Cvryal, Crudities, I. 218. 
As touching open galleries and terrace*, they were de- 
vised by the t! reeked, who were wont to cover their homes 
with such. ll'Mand, tr. of Pliny, xxxvl. 25 
6. Ill marblc-wurkiiiii, a defective spot in mar- 
ble, which, after being cleaned out, in filled with 
some artificial preparation. Also tcrrasse. 
terrace 1 (ter'as), v. t. ; pret. and pp. terraced, 
ppr. terracing. [< terrace, n.] To form into a 
terrace; furnish with a terrace. 
Methlnks the grove of Baal I see 
In terraced stages mount up high. 
Vj/er.To Aaron Hill. 
terrace' 2 (ter'as), . [Also terrasg, terrasse, tar- 
race, tarris, tarras; = MD. terras, tiras, D. tras, 
rubbish, brick-dust, = G. tarras, trass, < It. ter- 
raccia, rubble, rubbish, < terra, earth : see ter- 
race^. Cf. trass.] A variety of mortar used 
for pargeting and the like, and for lining kilns 
for pottery. 
They [the kilns) plastered within with a reddish mortar 
or (arm. Utter n/ 1677, In Jewftt's Ceramic Art, I. 40. 
Tarrace, or Terrace, a coarse sort of plaister, or mortar, 
durable In the weather, chiefly used to line basons, cis- 
terns, wells, and other reservoirs of water. 
Chamben, Cyclopaedia (ed. 17S8). 
terra-cotta (ter'a-kot'tt), . [= F. terre cuite, < 
It. terra cotta, < TL. terra cocta, lit. baked earth : 
terra, earth: cocta, fern, of coctus, pp. of co- 
quere, cook, bake : see coct, cook 1 .] 1. A bard 
pottery made for use as a building-material and 
tor similar purposes, of much finer quality and 
harder baked than brick ; in the usual accepta- 
tion of the term, all unglazed pottery, or any ar- 
ticle made of such pottery. It differs in color ac- 
cording to the ingredients employed. The color Is usually 
the same throughout the paste ; but terra-cotta is made 
also with an enameled surface, and even with a surface spe- 
clally colored without enamel. Earthenware similar to 
this, but from materials chosen and prepared with spe- 
cial care, Is made in the form of artistic works, as bas- 
reliefs, statuettes, etc. 
2. A work in terra-cotta, especially a work 
of art: specifically applied to small figures 
(statuettes) or figurines in this material, which 
have held an important place in art both in an- 
cient and in modern times, and are of peculiar 
Teira-cotta. A Greek Statuette from Tanagra. 4th century B.C. 
interest in the study of Greek art, which is pre- 
sented by them in a more popular and familiar 
light than is possible with works of greater pre- 
tensions. See Tanagra figurine (under^wn'wf), 
and see also cut under Etruscan. 
Grecian Antiquities, Terra-Cotton, Bronzes, Vases, etc. 
Athemewn, No. 3303, p. 202. 
terracultural (ter-ii-kul'tur-al), a. [< terracul- 
ture + -al.] Of or pertaining to terraculture ; 
agricultural. [Rare.] 
terraculture (ter'a-kul-tur), M. [Irreg. < L. ter- 
ra, earth, + cultiira, culture.] Cultivation of 
the earth; agriculture. [Rare.] 
terras filius (ter'e fil'i-us). [L.: terra, gen. of 
ttrm, earth; filing, son.] 1. A person of ob- 
scure birth or of low origin. 2t. A scholar at 
the University of Oxford appointed to make 
Resting satirieal speeches. He often indulged 
in considerable license in his treatment of the 
authorities of the university. 
