Thespesia 
Thespesia (thes-pe'si-a), . [NL. (Correa, 
1807), so called from the beauty of the flow- 
ers; < Gr. Ssairioiw;, divinely sounding, hence 
ineffable, divine ; 
doubtfully ex- 
plained as < Coif, 
god, + itTTcif, 2d 
pers. pi. impv. la- 
mTc, say, speak.] 
A genus of plants, 
of the order Malva- 
cees and tribe Hi- 
biseeee. It is char- 
acterized by flowers 
with three to live small 
bractlets, a club-shap- 
ed or but slightly di- 
vided style, and a five- 
celled ovary. There 
are about 6 species, na- 
tives of tropical Asia, 
the Pacific islands, and Thtsfesia fafulnta. 
Madagascar. They are 
trees or tall herbs, with entire or angulate leaves, and 
handsome flowers, commonly yellow. Two species, T. 
Lampas and T. popidnea, are remarkable for their black- 
dotted seed-leaves. The latter is a tree sometimes 50 feet 
high, planted for shade in India, and known as umbrella- 
tree and bendy-tree, and in Guiana as seaside mahoe. It 
bears a dense head of foliage, and large yellow flowers 
with a purple center, changing before evening to purple 
throughout, and perishing. Its flowers and fruits yield a 
dye, its seeds a thick deep-red oil known as Portia-nut 
oil, and its bast a useful fiber made into sacks and wrap- 
pings ; its wood is used to make boats and furniture. 
Thespian (thes'pi-an), . and n. [= F. Thes- 
pien, < Gr. Biamof, of or pertaining to Thespis, 
< Qeamf, Thespis (see def.).] I. a. Of or re- 
lating to Thespis, a semi-legendary Greek poet 
of Icaria in Attica, often called the father of 
tragedy ; relating or pertaining to dramatic act- 
ing in general; dramatic; tragic: as, the Thes- 
pian art, the drama. The great impulse given to 
the drama by Thespis consisted in the adjunction to the 
old dithyrambic chorus of Dionysus of a single actor who 
might appear successively in several r61es. The first pub- 
lic contest of Thespis is assigned to the year 636 B. C. 
Said we not it was the highest stretch attained by the 
Thespian Art? Carlyle, French Rev., II. i. 12. 
The race of learned men : 
... oft they snatch the pen, 
As if inspired, and in a Thespian rage ; 
Then write. Thomson, Castle of Indolence, i. 52. 
II. n. An actor. [Colloq.] 
There would be no useful end obtained by following the 
Thespians in their manifold wanderings . . . 
W. Dunlap, Hist. Amer. Theatre, ii. 
The angry Lord Chamberlain . . . clapped the unoffend- 
ing Thespian [Powell] for a couple of days in the Gate 
House. Doran, Annals of the Stage, I. 93. 
Thessalian (the-sa'lian), a. and n. [< L. Thes- 
salia, < Gr. Geoxra/Ua, Attic Qerra'Ala, Thessaly, 
< QeaaaUf, Attic QtrraUr, Thessalian.] I. a. 
Of or pertaining to Thessaly, a district lying 
south of Macedonia and east of Epirus. Since 
1881 the greater part of it belongs to the mod- 
ern kingdom of Greece. 
II. re. An inhabitant of Thessaly. 
Thessalonian (thes-a-16'ni-an), a. and n. [< 
L. Tliessalonica, < Gr. 'Qftraa&wiiai, Thessalonica, 
< 6e<T(7a/ldf, eerraAof, Thessalian (QeaaaUa, At- 
tic QfTTaUa, Thessaly), + v'uai, victory.] I. a. 
Of or pertaining to Thessalonica, an important 
city of Macedonia. 
fl. . A native or an inhabitant of Thessa- 
lonica Epistle to the Thessalonians, the title of 
two of the Pauline epistles in the New Testament. The 
main theme of both epistles is the second coming of Christ. 
theta (the'tii), n. [< L. theta, < Gr. ftjro, the letter 
0, 0,#, originally an aspirated t; in modern Gr. 
and in the E. pron. of ancient Gr., pronounced 
as E. f/i.] A letter of the Greek alphabet cor- 
responding to the English th in thin, etc. it was 
sometimes called the unlucky letter, because it was used 
by the Judges in passing condemnation on a prisoner, it 
being the first letter of the Greek flir-arot, death. Theta 
function, a name applied to two entirely different func- 
tions, (a) A sort of complication of an exponential func- 
tion, being expressed by a series from n = oo to ji = + oo 
of terms the logarithm of each of which is n'-'o + 2 na. A 
theta function ofseveral variables, z,,x 2 , . . . 3,1, is Z exp. 
(* + 2m,, xn), where is a quadratic function of the con- 
stants m,, 7n 2 , . . . m a . (6) A function which occurs in 
probabilities, and is expressed by the integral fet-dt. 
thetch 1 (thech), v. An obsolete or dialectal 
form of thatch. 
thetch 2 (thech), n. [A dial, corruption oi fetch"*, 
vetch.'] The common vetch, Viciasativa; also, 
Vioia sepium and Luthijrus macrorhizus. Brit- 
ten and Holland. [Prbv. Eng.] 
thethent, ndv. [ME., also thi/then, thithen, theden, 
< Icel. thadhan, thedhan (= Dan. deden), thence; 
akin to E. thenne%, thence: see thcnnc^ Thence. 
Sothely fra thythen inryses a gret lufe. 
Bampole, Prose Treatises (E. E. T. S.), p. 2. 
0286 
b'fro thethen the lycour belyue launchit doun evyn. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. S790. 
thetic (thet'ik), a. [< Gr. Hmn6c, positive; cf. 
0to(f, a laying down, < TiSevat (\/ lie), put, place : 
see thesis.] In anc. proa. : (a) Pertaining to 
the thesis, or metrically accented part of a foot. 
(6) Beginning with a thesis: opposed to ima- 
cmgttc. 
theticalt (thet'i-kal), a. [< thetic + -al.'] Laid 
down ; prescriptive ; arbitrary. 
This law that prohibited Adam the eating of the fruit 
was merely thetical or positive, not indispensable and nat- 
ural. Dr. H. More, Def. of Lit. Cabbala, ii. 
Thetis (the'tis), re. [< L. Thetis, < Gr. QfTtf. 
see def.] 1. In classical myth., a marine god- 
dess, who became the spouse of the mortal Pe- 
leus, despite her efforts to escape him by count- 
less Protean transformations, and was by him 
the mother of Achilles. 2. The seventeenth 
planetoid, discovered by Luther at Bilk in 1852. 
thetsee (thet'se), w. Same as theetsee. 
theurgic (the-er'jik), a. [= F. thenryiqiie = 
Sp. teurgico = Pg. theurgico =It. teurgico, < LL. 
theurgicus, < Gr. 6covpyiKOf, < 6covp-,ia, theurgy: 
see theurgy.] Pertaining to theurgy, or the 
power of performing supernatural things. 
The soul of the mystic would have passed into the world 
of spiritual existences ; but he was not yet blessed with 
theuryic faculties, and patiently awaited for the elect. 
/. D' Israeli, Amen, of Lit., II. 294. 
Theurgic hymns or songs, songs used in incantation, 
theurgical (the-er'ji-kal), a. [< theurgic + 
-n?.] Same as theurgic. 
theurgist (the'er-jist), [=F- theurgiste; as 
tlieurg-y + -int.'] One who believes in theurgy, 
or practises a pretended magic. 
As if there be any irrational demons, as the theuryists 
affirm. Cud-worth, Intellectual System, p. 864. 
theurgy (the'er-ji), n. [= F. theuraie = Sp. 
teuryia = Pg. theurgia = It. teurgia, < LL. theur- 
gia, < LGr. Bempyia, a divine work, a miracle, 
magic, sorcery, < feotipyof, one who does the 
works of God, a priest, < Gr. 0cof, god, + *epyeiv, 
work.] The working of some divine or super- 
natural agency in human affairs; a producing 
of effects by supernatural means ; effects or 
phenomena brought about among men by spir- 
itual agency. Specifically (a) Divine agency, or di- 
rect divine interference, in human affairs or the govern- 
ment of the world. 
Homer, with the vast mechanism of the Trojan war in 
his hands, and in such hands, and almost compelled to 
employ an elaborate and varied theurgy, . . . was in a po- 
sition of advantage without parallel for giving form to the 
religious traditions of his country. Gladstone. 
(6) A system of supernatural knowledge or powers believed 
by the Egyptian Platonists and others to have been com- 
municated to mankind by the beneficent deities, and to 
have been handed down from generation to generation 
traditionally by the priests, (c) The art of invoking dei- 
ties or spirits, or by their intervention conjuring up 
visions, interpreting dreams, prophesying, receiving and 
explaining oracles, etc.; the supposed power of obtaining 
from the gods, by means of certain observances, words, 
symbols, etc., a knowledge of the secrets which surpass 
the powers of reason a power claimed by the priesthood 
of most pagan religions. 
Porphyry and some others did distinguish these two 
sorts, so as to condemn indeed the grosser, which they 
called magick or goety ; but allowed the other, which 
they termed theurgy, as laudable and honourable, and as 
an art by which they received angels, and had communi- 
cation with the gods. 
Hallyu'ell, Melampronrea (1682), p. 51. 
It may appear a subject of surprise and scandal . . . 
that the Grecian mysteries should have been supported by 
the magic or theurgy of the modern Platonists. 
Gibbon, Decline and Fall, xxiii. 
(a) In mod. magic, the pretended production of effects by 
supernatural agency, as contradistinguished from natural 
magic. 
the vet, n. [ME.; cf. ihevetliorn.] Bramble. 
Theve, brusch [var. there, brusch]. 
Prompt. Pan., p. 490. 
theve-thornt, n. [ME., also theovethorn, also 
thethorn, < AS. thefethorn, thefantltoru, thife- 
thoni, a bramble, Christ's-thorn, < "thefe (appar. 
connected with thyfel, a bush) + thorn, thorn.] 
A bramble, probably Rubtts fruticosits. 
Befor that joure thornes shulden vnderstonde the theue 
thornc; as the lyuende, so in wrathe he shal soupe them vp 
Wyclif, Ps. Ivii. 10. 
Thevetia (the-ve'shi-a), H. [NL. (Linnams, 
1737), named' after Aii'drS Ttievet (1502-90), a 
French monk and traveler.] A genus of plants, 
of the order Apocynacese, tribe I'liimerie/r, and 
subtribe Cerberese. It is characterized by a glandular 
calyx and a fu nnel-shaped corolla with its lobes sinistrorse- 
ly overlapping. There are about 4 species, natives of trop- 
ical Asia, Madagascar, and the islands of the Pacific. They 
are smooth shrubs or small trees, with alternate leaves, and 
large yellow flowers in terminal cymes. For T. neriiMia 
commonly cultivated in tropical America as a garden shrub 
or for hedges, see qiiashy-qttagfier. 
they 
thewH, . [ME. thru-, theme, < AS. theow = OHG. 
tliii = Goth, thins, a bondman, slave, servant. 
Cf. thane.] A bondman; a slave. 
Migti men & menskful were thei in here time, 
<fe feithful as here fader to fre <t to thewe. 
WOKam of falerm (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 5614. 
thewH, " [ME., < AS. theow, servile, < thrdir. 
a bondman, servant: see theicl, .] Bond; 
servile. 
thew^t, [ME. thewen, < AS. thewan; thywan, 
theowan (= MD. tlouicen = MLG. duwen = MHG. 
rUitJica, (tulien, fliinri'n), oppress, < thedtc, a bond- 
man: see thewi, .] To oppress; enslave. 
thew 2 t (thu), n. [< ME. thew, earlier theaic, 
usually in pi. thewes, < AS. thedw, custom, man- 
ner, behavior, = OS. thau = OHG. dau, *thau, 
also "gadau, kathau, discipline. Cf. thew 3 .] 
Custom; habit; manner; usually in the plural, 
customs; habits; manners; morals; qualities; 
moral traits; conditions. 
Leue aone, this lessoun me lerde my fader, 
that knew of konrt the theieet, for koarteour was he long. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 342. 
Nftthelees it oghte ynough sutlist 
With any wyf, if so were that she hadde 
Mo goode thewes than hire vices badde. 
Cliaueer, Merchant's Tale,!. 298. 
thew 3 (thu;, n. [Usually in the plural thews; 
a transferred use of thews, manner, bearing, 
hence bodily form, appearance as showing 
strength; pi. of theu>%; or simply a develop- 
ment of the rare ME. sense 'strength' of the 
game theic 2 .] A muscle; a sinew: used gener- 
ally in the plural. 
Of maine and of theautee. 
Layanwn, 1. 6361. (Stratwann.) 
Care I for the limb, the thewes, the stature, bulk, and 
big assemblance of a man ! Shak., 2 Hen. IV., iii. 2. 276. 
He [must] gain in sweetness and in moral height, 
Nor lose the wrestling thews that throw the world. 
Tennyson, Princess, vii. 
thew 4 t (thu), n. [ME. thewe; origin obscure.] A 
cucking-stool ; perhaps, also, a form of pillory. 
Thewe, or pylory. Collistrigium. Prompt. Pan., p. 490. 
For them [women] the thew or the tumbrel . . . was 
reserved. Encyc. Brit., XIX. 96. 
thew 3 (thu). An old or provincial or artificial 
preterit of thaw. 
First it blew, 
Then it snew. 
Then It thew. Old nine. 
thewed 1 ! (thud), a. [< ME. thewed; < thew^ 
+ -ed 2 .] Endowed with moral qualities; be- 
haved; mannered. 
Therto so wel fortuned and thewed 
That through the world her goodnesse is yshewed. 
Chaucer, Complaint of Mars, 1. 180. 
Yet would not seeme so rude, and thewed ill, 
As to despise so curteous seeming part. 
Spenser, F. Q., II. vi. 26. 
thewed 2 (thud), a. [< thew'* + -ed 2 .] Having 
thews, muscle, or strength. 
Till at the last a fearful beast was master, 
Amazing thewed, with fourfold plate-like horns. 
C. De Kay, Vision of Nimrod, iv. 
thewless (thu'les), a. [< thewS + -less.] Weak ; 
nerveless. 
thewy (thu'i), a. [< thewZ + -#1.] Sinewy; 
brawny; muscular. 
There were burly, weather-beaten faces under powder 
and curls ; broad, hard hands in kid gloves ; thewy, red 
elbows, that had plied brooms, shuttles, cards, in lace ruf- 
fles. S. Jvdd, Margaret, i. 10. 
they 1 (THa), pron. pi. [< ME. they, thei, thai, 
partly of Scand. origin (see below), partly < 
AS. ihd = OS. Ma, tide = OFries. tlid = D. de 
= LG. de = OHG. din, die, de, MHG. G. die = 
Icel. their = Goth, thni; pi. of AS. the, etc., that, 
the : see that, thei. The ME. they was declined 
in midland and southern ME. thus: npm. they, 
etc., gen. hire, here, hir, her, dat. hem; in north- 
ern ME. nom. they, thei, thai, gen. thair, thaire, 
ther, dat. ace. ttiaim, tham, them ; in Orm. nom. 
thegg, gen. theggre, dat. ace. theggm; orig. forms 
of the def. art^, AS. nom. ace. pi. thd, gen. tlidra, 
thsera, dat. tliient, tham. The AS. thu, tlidrn, thdm 
retained the demonstrative force till late in ME. ; 
the northern dialects, however, began through 
Danish influence to use them, or rather the 
Danish forms and the AS. forms together, as 
the plural. Cf. hel, site, it. Cf. Icel. nom. their, 
gen. theiru, gen. dat. theim, they, their, them, 
as the pi. of hanti. hon, he, she.] The plural 
pronoun of the third person. It stands fora plural 
noun or pronoun preceding, or in place of one not ex- 
pressed when pointed out by the situation. It is without 
gender-forms, (a) Nom. they. 
And when thai saw the fyr on brede, 
In thaire hertis than had thai drede ; 
Vnto the queue al gun thai cry. 
Hnly Rood (E. E. T. S.\ p. 93. 
