three-quarter 
There was Wollaston, a jxirtntit painter, who could only 
cimnimiul five guineas fur a lltrf- 'jiittrtrr* ritnvux. 
./. AsMmi. Social l.ifi- in I:.-|KII "I ijur.-n AIIIH-, II. 1-2. 
Three-quarter binding. s. < iiimiiwi. Three-quar- 
ter fiddle c.r violin. BM Wi/i. 
three-quartered (thrS'kw&r'terd), <i. In /;-.. 
turned so ;ii lo lie nearly all'i-onte. I HI I showing 
:i p.-ni n|' tin 1 flunk: noting an animal used aH u 
tewing. 
three-ribbed (tlnc'riini), . In hot., having 
three rilis: Iricoslate: us, n tlirii-ril>lil\esS. 
threescore (thre'skor), . [_< ilinc + score 1 .] 
Thrice iweniy: sixty: as, threescore years: of- 
ten used wit limit its noun. 
Tttret'Kctrre and ten I can remember well. 
.sVv<., Mm.-li.-tli, II. 4. 1. 
OIK- man has reach't hi- sixty yeera, but he 
Of all thus.- Hiri'i' score has not liv'.i halfe three. 
llerrick. On Himself. 
Tin- brave soldier had already numhered, nearly or quite, 
hi threescore years and ten. 
Hawthorne, .Scarlet Letter, Int, p. 21. 
threesome (thre'sura), a. [< three + -gome.} 
Triple; danced by three persons. [Scotch.] 
There 's threesome reels, there 's foursome reels, 
There 's hornpipes and strathspeys, man. 
Burns, The Exciseman. 
three-square (thre'skwar), a. See square^. 
three-suited (thre ' su * ted), a. Having only 
three suits of clothes, or wearing three suits of 
clothes (referring to a custom, once prevalent 
among the peasantry of Germany, of putting on 
their whole wardrobe on festival occasions, one 
suit over another). [Rare.] 
A knave ; a rascal ; an eater of broken meats ; a base, 
proud, shallow, beggarly, three-suited, hundred-pound, 
filthy, worsted-stocking knave. Shale., Lear, if. 2. 10. 
three-thirdst, . See three thirds, under three. 
three-thorned (thre'thdrnd), a. Having three 
thorns or a triple thorn. Three-thomed acacia, 
the honey-locust, Gleditschifl triacanthtts : so called from 
its savage triple or still more compound thorn. 
three-valved (thre'valvd), a. In bot., having, 
or opening by, three valves. 
three-way (thre'wa), a. Having or governing 
three openings or passages: generally noting 
a special form of pipe-connection, valve, stop- 
cock, etc Three-way place, in ornOA., an extraves- 
tibular chamber of the Inner ear, at the point where the 
three semicircular canals have a cavity In common. Cows, 
Key to N. A. Birds, p. lull. 
threisshfoldt, . A Middle English form of 
tlll'f.sliollt. 
thremmatology (threm-a-tol'o-ji), n. [< Or. 
t)/>e/i[ia(T-), a nursling (< Tptyeiv', nourish), + ->.o- 
yia, < Myeiv, speak: see -ology.~\ In biol., the 
science of breeding or propagating animals and 
plants under domestication, of their congenital 
variations under these circumstances, and of 
the perpetuation of such variations. See me- 
thodieal selection, under selection. 
Darwin's introduction of threi.nnalolo<ty into the domain 
of scientific biology was accompanied by a new and special 
development of a branch of study which had previously 
been known as teleology. Eiuyc. Brit., XXIV. 80S. 
threne (thren), . [Early mod. E. also threane; 
< L. Uirenns, < Gr. Bpf/vof, lamentation, < OpclaOat, 
cry aloud.] A threnody; also, lamentation. 
[Obsolete or archaic.] 
The prophet in his Ihrenes weeps that " they which were 
brought up in scarlet embrace dung-hills." 
Rev. T. Adams, Works, II. 198. 
That City's sombre Patroness and Queen, 
In bronze sublimity she gazes forth 
Over her Capital of teen and threw. 
J. Thomson, City of Dreadful Night, xxL 
threnetic (thre-net'ik), n. [< Gr. Bptivr/riKof, 
of or pertaining to wailing, < Opf/vof, wailing, 
lamentation: see threne.'] Same as threnetieal. 
threnetical (thre-net'i-kal), a. [< thrmetic + 
-at.} Sorrowful; mournful. 
Among all threnetienl discourses on record, this last, be- 
tween men overwhelmed and almost annihilated by the 
excess of their sorrow, has probably an unexampled char- 
acter. Carlyle. 
threnode (tlire'no.l), w. [< Gr. 8p>iv<?dia, a la- 
menting: see threnody.] Same as threnody. 
As a ihi-i n"tii\ nothing comparable to it [M. Arnold's 
"Thyrsls") had then appeared since the "Adonais" of 
sh.-ll.-.v. Sttdtnan, Viet Poets, p. 99. 
threnodial (thre-no'di-al), a. [< threnody + 
-ill.] Of or pertaining to a threnody; elegiac. 
Sniitliii/. The Doctor, cxxxiii. 
threnodic (thre-nod'ik), n. [< threno<l-y + -c.] 
Same as !liff ttniiiul. 
threnodist (thrcn'o-.list), n. [< threnod-y + 
-ist.] A writer of threnodies; a composer of 
dirges. Imp. Diet. 
threnody (thren'tMli), ?/.; pi. tlircnotlieit (-diz). 
[Also threnode; i. Gr. OpnitpMa, a lamenting, < 
c/i', 1 '". wailing, lamentation. + Mr'/, a song, ode: 
see threne and orfpl.] A song of lamentation ; 
6309 
a dirge; especially, a poem composed for the 
occasion of the funeral of some personage. 
threpet, '' An obsolete form oftlireiiii. 
threpsology (threp-sol'i}-ji), H. [< Gr. 6XV"f, 
a feeding, nourishment (< Tpljetv, nourish), + 
-fayia, < Mytiv, speak: see -ology.] The science 
uliich treats of the nutrition of living organ- 
isms. 
thresh 1 , thrash 1 (thresh, tin-ash), t>. [IJoth 
fonus are in common use, both being histori- 
cally justifiable, but thresh is more original, 
more in accordan.-i- with analogy (cf. mesh 1 , 
dial, mash, fresh, etc.), and the form prevalent 
in literary use ; thrash is more colloq. and is ac- 
cordingly the form generally used in the colloo,. 
or humorous use 'beat, drub' (see the defini- 
tions); < ME. threshen, thresehen, thregsen (pp. 
throxhen, throschcn), < AS. "threxcan, reg. trans- 
posed thergcnn, thierscan (ONorth. therttea, theer- 
sca, theargca, tharsca) (pret. "thirrsc, pp. *thor- 
scen) = MD. dregchen, dregschen, dersschen, dors- 
gchen, dorgchen, D. dorschen = MLG. droschen, 
LG. drosken = OHG. dreskan, MHG. dresclief, G. 
dregchen = Icel. thregkja = Sw. troska = Dan. 
tferxke=Goth.thriskan, thresh, tread out (corn). 
Hence It. trescare, trample, dance, OF. trexche, 
a circular dance. Cf. Litn. traskcti, rattle, clap, 
make a cracking noise, OBulg. Iriexhtiti, strike, 
= liuss. trcshehiiti, crash: OBulg. triesku = 
Russ. tresku, a crash, OBulg. troska, a clap of 
thunder, a stroke of lightning, etc.] I. trans. 
1. To beat out or separate the grain or seeds 
from, by means of a flail or a threshing-machine, 
or by treading with oxen: in this sense com- 
monly thresh. 
And zuo hit is of the hyeape of huete y-thorsse. The 
comes byeth benethe and thet chef a-boue. 
Ayenbite of Invyt (E. K. T. 8.), p. 18. 
And his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to 
hide it from the Mldlanitea. Judges vi 11. 
First thrtuh the coni, then after burn the straw. 
Shalt., Tit. And., II. S. 123. 
2. To beat soundly, as with a stick or whip ; 
drub; hence, to beat in any way : in this sense 
commonly thrash. [Now colloq.] 
Full many wounds in his corrupted flesh 
He did engrave ; . . . but ale more fresh 
And tierce he still nppeard, the more he did him thrrth. 
Sptnttr, F. Q., III. vii. S-2. 
I could find a man of a smaller scale 
Could thrash the pedlar and also thee. 
Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood (Child's Ballads, V. 256). 
Do you remember his flght with Ringwood? What an 
infernal bully he was, and how glad we all were when 
Brackley thraihed him ! Thackeray, Philip, xl. 
II. intrans. 1. To practise threshing; beat 
out grain from straw with a flail or a threshing- 
machine: in this sense commonly thresh. 
Some I j in.- 1 sowe and some tyme I threnche. 
Piers Plowman (to), v. 5f>S. 
2. To beat about; labor; drudge; toil. 
I rather would be Mrcvius, thranh for rhymes 
Like his, the scorn and scandal of the times. 
Dryden, tr. of Juvenal's Satires, x. 194. 
3. To throw one's self about; toss to and fro: 
usually with about: iu this sense commonly 
thrash. 
He (a whale) was enveloped in the foam of the sea that 
his continual and violent thraMng almit in the water had 
created around him. The Century, XL. 618. 
thresh 2 , w. See thrash*. 
threshel,thrashel(thresh'l,thrash'l), n. [Also 
thrashle ; < ME. 'threshel, < AS. therncel, thfr- 
seol (= OHG. driscil, MHG. G. drischel), a flail, 
< therscan , thresh : see thresh ' . ] An instrument 
to thresh or thrash with ; a flail. [Prov. Eng.] 
thresher 1 , thrasher 1 (thresh'er, thrash'er), n. 
[< ME. threxchare, < AS. *therscere (= MD. dor- 
Ki'lier = MHG. G. drescher = Sw. torskare = Dan. 
tfersker), < therscan, thresh: see thrcshl.] 1. 
One who threshes: in this and the next sense 
commonly thresher. 2. A threshing-machine. 
The portable and small engines and Utrathers . . . were 
the staple of the Sheaf Works. The Knyinerr, LX.X. 89. 
3. A sea-fox; a kind of shark, Aloptas nlpes, 
so called from the enormous length of the up- 
per division of the heterocercal tail, with which 
it threshes the water. See cut under 
In this sense more commonly tlimxln r. 
About the Islands [Bermudas] are seen many Whale*, at- 
tended with the Sword-Fish and the Thresher. The Sword- 
Fish with his Sharp and needle-like Fin |jaw] pricking him 
into the belly when he would dive and sink int tl 
and, when he starts up from his woundes, the Thresher 
illi bis Club Kins [tail ! beats him down again. 
Xamuel Clarke, Four Chicfest Plantations of the English 
[in America (1878) (I. Bermuda), p. -_T. 
4. A member of an Irish Catholic organization 
instituted in ISOfi. One of the principal objects was 
to resist the payment of tithes. Their threats and warn 
threshold 
lug* were ilirned "Captain Thresher." In this tense only 
//,,. -I.. . I:,,,, />> 
thresher'^ (thresh'er), w. See OflMfaf*. 
thresher-shark (thresb'er-shark), . Same as 
tliri:ihi />, :!. More eominoiily tlirtixltcr-ghark. 
thresher-whale (tliresh'er-hwal), w. A killer, 
as the common Orca yladiator of the Atlantic. 
More coiiiiiiiiiily thrnsln r-nlnili . 
threshing (llin-sh'ing), w. The operation by 
which grain is separated from the straw. This 
fijMTatlou is performed in various ways, as by the feet of 
animals, by a flail, or by a threshing-machine. The first 
mode was that employed in tin- ages of antiquity, and it 
Is still practised in the south of Europe and In I'enla and 
India. Also thrashing. 
threshing-floor (thresh'ing-flor), n. A floor or 
a n -a nn which grain is beaten out. In Eutcrn 
countries, from the earliest agea, tlu-eshing-floor* were in 
the open air ; but In colder and moiiter climates MI. -I. 
floors must be under cover, as in a bam. Also IhratMnff- 
floor. 
He winnoweth barley to night in the thntMng floor. 
Ruth ill. I 
Delve of convenient depth your thrashingjtoor ; 
With tempered clay then till and face it o'er. 
Dryden, tr. of Virgil's Ueorglcs, I. 268. 
threshing-machine (thresh'ing-ma-shen'), . 
In agri., a steam-, water-, or horse-power ma- 
chine which in its most complete form beats 
the grain from the ears of cereals, separates the 
grain from the straw, and winnows it from the 
chaff. .Such machine* are sometimes fixture* In barns or 
mills. The more common types are portable, and Include 
straw-carriers or elevators, separators, and wlnnowlng-ap- 
paratus in one machlne.underthegeneral nameof thresher. 
Threshing-machine. 
a, feed-board ; b, cylinder ; e, concave or breasting ; d, beater ; r. 
straw-rack :/, rock -lever operating straw-rack : jp, pitman; A. crank ; 
i, f.m ; *, conveyer-sieve I /.shoe-sieve: **, casing for (Train-auger ; 
n, elevator for receiving grain from the auger ana carrying it up to 
the measuring-apparatus : . elevator which carries the tailings to the 
tailing-spout A which delivers them to the feed-board to be again 
passed through the cylinder. 
The first threshing-machines were made by Hohlfleld of 
Saxony (1711), Henzles of Scotland (1732X and Stirling of 
Scotland {176&X None of these appear to have been more 
than experimental. The first practical commercial thresh- 
ing-machine was made by Melkle of Scotland (1786) and 
consisted essentially of two parts, a revolving cylinder 
moving in a breasting, and armed with slats that served 
a* beaters to break the grain from the head, and revolving 
cylinders armed with rakes that shook the straw to loosen 
the grain from the broken head*. The grain fell between 
curved slats or through perforated breasting under the 
cylinders, and the straw and chaff were thrown out at the 
end of the machine. These features are retained, though 
greatly modified, in modern English and American thresh- 
ing-machines. In American machines the revolving beater 
with slats has given place to a cylinder armed with radial 
teeth and moving in a breasting, also armed with teeth, so 
that the ears are subjected to a tearing and rubbing action. 
English machine* still retain thecylinderwith slats. The 
breasting under the cylinder is a screen through which 
the larger part of the grain falls as fast a* It is loosened 
from the heads. A variety of separators, agitators, shak- 
ing screens, and conveyers have taken the place of the 
original cylinder* with rakes used to separate the grain 
from the straw, and winnowlng-machines, straw-elevators, 
conveyers, and screening-apparatus have been added, so 
that now the complete thresher is a complex mill for per- 
forming the whole series of operations from the feeding 
of the grain to the stacking of the straw and the sort- 
ing, weighing, and delivery of the grain, chaff, etc. The 
threshing-machine has been modified so as to adapt ft 
also to clover, flax, and other seed*, see conveyer, elevator, 
and separator. Also thrathiag-maehine, thresher, thrtuher, 
threshing-mill. 
threshing-mill (thresh'ing-mil), n. Same as 
Hi n xli / mi-machine. 
threshing-place (thresh'ing-plas), n. A thresh- 
ing-floor. 2 Sam. xxiv. 16. 
threshold (thresh'old), H. [Early mod. E. also 
tln-1'.thouM; dial, also throshel, tlirexhfod, 8c. 
tlin-xliieitrt, tlirexlnrort; formerly also trestle 
(Florio), by confusion with trettie 1 , var. thres- 
tle, a frame; < ME. 'threshold, threshold, 
thresshewold, threxirotd, threstrotde, threxwold, 
threonrold, thrigirald, therstrald, threshefold, 
thressfold, threisshfold, < AS. *threscold, thers- 
cold, tlirexctrald, tiMTMMsU. theorsacold, thrers- 
irnld, tliridj-inihl. tlii-rsirotd, theresvold, theri- 
im!,l, thirj-old = MLG. dreskelff, LG. driissel = 
OHG. (trixcitfli, drixtjufli, thrisrvfti, driscirili, 
tlirixi-iiliilf. drixi-fiflf, ' trixchiiril, MHG. drischu- 
rel, rlriixi'liMiih/l. tlitrscltiifel, G. dial, iirixelitiuti-1. 
ilrifi-lnhl. ,lrixi-liiirtl. triixrlihiiW, drigsujle = 
Icel. thri'xkjiildr. thrrxkoldr (with numerous vari- 
