urethra 
the penis of any animal ; in man, the spongy urethra. 
Prostatic urethra, the prostatic section of the urethra. 
See def. Spongy urethra, the spongy section of the 
urethra. See del. Triangular ligament of the ure- 
thra. See triangular. Also called Campers ligament and 
Carcammne's ligament, 
urethral (u-re'thral), 11. [< mretkra + -al.] Of 
or pertuining to the urethra. Urethral crest. 
Same as criita urethra (which see, under crista). Ure- 
thral fever. Seefeverl. 
urethritic (u-re-thrit'ik), <i. [< urethritis + 
-ic.] Affected with urethritis. 
urethritis (u-re-thri'tis), . [NL., < urethra 
+ -itis.] Inflammation of the iirethra. 
urethrocele (u-re'thro-sel), n. Protrusion of a 
part of the urethral wall through the ineatus 
urinarius. 
urethrometer (u-re-throm'e-ter), n. An in- 
strument for measuring the caliber of the ure- 
thra, and for locating and determining the de- 
gree of contraction of a stricture. 
urethroplastic (u-re-tbro-plas'tik), a. [< ure- 
throplast-y + -ic.] Of or pertaining to ure- 
throplasty. 
urethroplasty (u-re'thro-plas-ti), . [< Gr. 
ovpiftpa, urethra, + ir'Aaar6f, < jrMaoeiv, form, 
shape, mold: see plastic.] In surg., an opera- 
tion for remedying defects in the urethra. 
urethroscope (u-re'thro-skop), n. An instru- 
ment, somewhat resembling a catheter, through 
which, by means of a projected light, it is pos- 
sible to see the mucous membrane lining the 
wall of the urethra. 
urethroscopy (u-re'thro-sko-pi), n. Inspection 
of the urethral mucous membrane by means of 
the urethroscope. 
urethrotome (u-re'thro-tom), n. [< Gr. ovpr/6pa, 
urethra, + -TO^OS, < rsfiveiv, rauelv, cut.] \nsurg., 
an instrument for performing internal ure- 
throtomy. 
urethrofomic (u-re-thro-tpm'ik), a. [< urethrot- 
om-y + -ic.] Of or pertaining to urethrotomy. 
urethrotomy (u-re-throt'o-mi), n. [< Gr. ovpf/- 
ffpa, urethra, + -ro/iia, < re/tvciv, ra/itlv, cut.] In 
surg., cutting of the urethra, usually for the re- 
lief of stricture. External urethrotomy is division of 
the deep parts of the urethra by a knife passed through 
the perineum ; internal urethrotomy is division of any 
part of the urethra by a cutting-instrument introduced 
through the meatus. 
uretic ^u-ret'ik), a. [Also ouretic; < L. uretieus, 
< Gr. ovpyriKuf, of or pertaining to urine, < oiipelv, 
urinate, < ovpov, urine : see urine.] In med., 
of or relating to or promoting the flow of urine. 
urf(erf),M. A stunted, ill-grown child. [Scotch.] 
Ye useless, weasel-like ur/that ye are. 
Hogg, The Brownie o' Bodsbeck. 
urge (erj), v. ; pret. and pp. urged, ppr. urging. 
[< L. urgere, press, push, force, drive, urge ; 
perhaps akin to vergere, bend, turn, and Gr. 
tlpyeiv (* reipyuv), repress, constrain, eipyvvvai, 
shut in, Skt. / varj, wrench. Of. verge'* and 
wrick, wreak.] I. trans. 1. To press; impel; 
force onward. 
Heir urges heir, like wave impelling wave. 
Pope, Imit. of Hor., II. ii. 253. 
Evening must usher night, night urge the morrow. 
Shelley, Adonais, xxi. 
2. To hasten laboriously ; quicken with effort. 
And there will want at no time who are good at circum- 
stances; but men who set their minds on main matters, and 
sufficiently urge them in these most difficult times, I find 
not many. Milton, Free Commonwealth. 
Through the thick deserts headlong urg'd his flight. 
Pope, tr. of Statlus's Thebaid, i. 
3. To press the mind or will of; serve as a 
motive or impelling cause ; impel ; constrain ; 
spur. 
My tongue, 
Urg'd by my heart, shall utter all the thoughts 
My youth hath known. Beau, and Ft. , Philaster, v. 5. 
4. To press or ply hard with arguments, en- 
treaties, or the like ; request with earnestness ; 
importune ; solicit earnestly. 
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, 
Send. 2 Ki. ii. 17. 
Urge the king 
To do me this last right. 
Shale., Hen. VIII., iv. 2. 157. 
5. To press upon attention; present in an ear- 
nest manner ; press by way of argument or in 
opposition; insist on; allege in extenuation, 
justification, or defense : as, to urge an argu- 
ment ; to urge the necessity of a case. 
I never in my life 
Did hear a challenge urged more modestly. 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., v. 2. 53. 
For God's sake, urge your faults no more, but mend ! 
Beau, and Fl., Coxcomb, v. 2. 
6. To ply hard in a contest or an argument; 
attack briskly. 
6668 
Every man has a right in dispute to urge a false religion 
with all its absurd consequences. TillotHon. 
1\. To provoke ; incite ; exasperate. 
Urge not my father's anger. Shak., T. G. of V., iv. 3. 27. 
The Britans, urg'd and oppress'd with many unsuner- 
ablc injuries, bad all banded themselves to a yenerall re- 
volt. Milton, Hist. Ellg., ii. 
II. t iittrans. 1. To press on or forward. 
He strives to urge upward. Donne. 
2. To incite ; stimulate ; impel. 
The combat urges, and my soul 's on fire. 
Pope, Iliad, vi. 453. 
3. To make a claim ; insist; persist. 
One of his men . . . urged extremely for 't, and showed 
what necessity belonged to 't. Shak., T. of A., iii. 2. 14. 
4. To produce arguments or proofs ; make al- 
legations; declare. 
I do beseech your lordships 
That, in this case of justice, my accusers, 
Be what they will, may stand forth face to face, 
And freely urge against me. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., v. 3. 48. 
urge (erj), . [< urge, v.] The act of urging: 
impulse. [Bare.] 
Creation dumb, unconscious, yet alive 
With some deep inward passion unexpressed, 
And swift, concentric, never-ceasing urge. 
S. W. Gilder, The Celestial Passion, Recognition. 
urgence (er'jens), . [< F. urgence = Sp. Pg. 
urgencia = It. urgenza; as urgen(t) + -ce.] 
Urgency. Heywood, Prologues and Epilogues 
(Works, ed. Pearson, 1874, VI. 356). 
urgency (er'jen-si), M. [As urgence (see -cy).] 
Tne state or character of being urgent. Specifi- 
cally (a) Importunity ; insistence; earnest solicitation : 
as, to yield to a person's urgency, (b) Pressure of neces- 
sity; imperativeness: as, the urgency of want or distress; 
the urgency of the occasion, (c) In the British Parliament, 
a formal declaration that a measure is urgent, in the in- 
terest of the state, and ought to receive prompt and early 
action, taking precedence of all other measures. Urgency 
may be declared by a vote of three to one in a house of 
not less than 300 members. 
urgent (er'jent), a. [< F. urgent = Sp. Pg. It. 
urgente, < L'. urgen(t-)s, ppr. of urgere, push, 
urge: see urge.] Having the character of 
urging, pressing, or constraining. Specifically 
(a) Of things: Pressing; demanding immediate action; 
forcing itself upon notice ; cogent ; vehement : as, an ur- 
gent case or occasion. See urgency (c). 
Please your highness 
To take the urgent hour. Shak. , W. T. , i. 2. 465. 
Which Jesus seeing, He upon him threw 
The urgent yoak of an express Injunction. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, iii. 147. 
He evaded the urgent demands of the Castiliaus for a 
convocation of cortes. Prencott, Ferd. and Isa., ii. 25. 
In ten minutes he had a second telegraphic message on 
its way, . . . one so direct and urgent that I should be 
sure of an answer to it. 
O. W. Holmes, Old Vol. of Life, p. 68. 
(b) Of persons : Pressing with importunity. Ex. xii. 33. 
However, Oedipus is almost out of his wits about the 
Matter, and is urgent for an account of Particulars. 
Jeremy Collier, Short View (ed. 1698), p. 107. 
urgently (er'jent-li), adv. In an urgent man- 
ner; with pressing importunity; insistently; 
pressingly; vehemently; forcibly. 
urger (er'jer), n. [< urge + -e-i.] One who 
urges or importunes. Fletcher, Valentinian, i. 3. 
urgewondert (erj'wun"der), n. A variety of 
barley. 
This barley is called by some urgewonder. 
Mortimer, Husbandry. 
Urginea (er-jin'e-a), n. [NL. (Steinheil, 1834), 
so called with ref. to the compressed seeds; < 
L. urgere, press, urge : see urge."} A genus of 
liliaceous plants, of the tribe Scillese, including 
the officinal squill. It is distinguished from the type 
genus Scilla, in which it was formerly included, by its de- 
ciduous perianth, a three-angled capsule, and much-flat- 
tened seeds. It includes about 24 species, natives of Eu- 
rope, Africa, and India, especially of the Mediterranean 
region. They are bulbous plants with linear or thong-like 
radical leaves, and an unbranched leafiess scape bearing 
in a terminal raceme many small whitish flowers, rarely 
yellowish or pink, usually with a median band of deeper 
color along each segment. U. maritima (17. Scilla), the 
officinal squill (see scilla, 2) or sea-onion, produces large 
bulbs inclosing many fleshy whitish layers, very acrid 
when fresh, but less so on drying: they are imported 
from the Mediterranean for medicinal use. U. altissima 
is similarly used in South Africa. 
Urgonian (er-go'ni-an), n. [< L. Urgo(n-), F. 
Organ (see def.) + -Jan.] A division of the 
Lower Cretaceous, according to the systematic 
nomenclature of the French and Belgian geolo- 
gists. The typical Urgonian from Orgon, near Avignon 
(whence the name), is a massive limestone, in places devel- 
oped to a thickness of over 1,000 feet, and containing an 
abundance of hippuritids and various other fossils. 
Uria (u'ri-a), n. [NL. (Moehring, 1752 ; Brisson, 
1760 ),< L. urinari, plunge under water, dive: 
see urinant, urinator."] A genus of AlcMse,; the 
guillemots and murres: used with various re- 
urinary 
strictious for any of the slender-billed birds of 
the auk family, as L'. troile, the common foolish 
murre or guillemot, and U. grylle, the black 
guillemot, since the genus Lomvia was instituted for 
the former, Uria has usually been restricted to the latter, 
in which sense it is otherwise called Cephut or Cepphux. 
See cuts under guillemot and murre. 
uric (u'rik), a. [= F. urique = Sp. Pg. urico, 
< NL. "urieus, < Gr. ovpov, urine: see urine.] 
Of, pertaining to, or obtained from urine. 
Uric acid, an acid, C^y^H^O^, characteristic of urine. 
It crystallizes in scales of various shapes of a brilliant 
white color and silky luster when pure, but in the urine 
the crystals are of a reddish-yellow color. It is inodorous 
and insipid, heavier than water, nearly insoluble in it when 
cold, and only to a slight extent dissolved by it when hot. 
The solution reddens litmus-paper, but feebly. When it 
is dissolved in nitric acid, and the solution is evaporated 
and treated with ammonia, a tine purple color is pro- 
duced ; by this reaction uric acid may be detected. It 
occurs in small quantity in the healthy urine of man and 
quadrupeds, but is the chief constituent in the urine of 
birds and reptiles ; hence it is often found abundantly in 
Peruvian guano. It is normally present in small amount 
in tile blood as urate, and it constitutes the principal pro- 
portion of some urinary calculi and of the concretions 
causing the complaint known as the gravel. Sometimes 
called lithic acid. 
uricemia, uricsemia (u-ri-se'mi-a), n. [NL. uri- 
csemia, irreg. < uricus, uric, + Gr. aipa, blood.] 
Same as ttthemia. 
Uriconian (u-ri-ko'ni-aii), . [< Vriemimm (see 
def. ) + -ion.] The name given by some English 
geologists to a series of volcanic rocks, of which 
the Wrekin, in Shropshire, England, is chiefly 
made up, and which is supposed to occupy a 
position very near the bottom of the fossilifer- 
ous series. The name is from the Roman sta- 
tion Uriconium, the site of the present village 
of Wroxeter, in Shropshire. 
uridrosis (u-ri-dro'sis), w. The excretion of cer- 
tain urinary constituents, notably urea, in the 
sweat. 
Uriinae (u-ri-I'ne), n. pi. [NL., < Uria + -.] 
A subfamily of Alcidse, named from the genus 
Uria ; the murres and guillemots. Also L'rinee. 
urile (u'ril), n. A kind of cormorant, Phalacro- 
corax urile of Gmelin, or P. bicristatus of Pallas. 
The fowl urile, of which there is great plenty in Kam- 
tschatka. Kraschenniniltoff, Kamtschatka (trans.), p. 157. 
urim (u'rim), n. pi. [< Heb. tirim, pi. of fir. 
light, < ur, shine.] Certain objects mentioned 
in the Old Testament, with the thummim (Ex. 
xxviii. 30, etc.) or alone (Num. xxvii. 21 ; 1 Sam. 
xxviii. 6), as connected with the rational, or 
breastplate of the Jewish high priest, and with 
oracular responses given by him. The true nature 
of the urim and thummim (literally 'lights and perfec- 
tions') is not known. They seem to have been small ob- 
jects kept inside the so-called "breastplate," which was 
folded double, and many authorities believe them to have 
been precious stones or figures, used as lots or otherwise. 
There is no indication of their use after the time of David, 
and after the captivity they are alluded to as lost. 
urinaccelerator (u"ri-nak-sere-ra-tor), .; pi. 
urinacceleratores (-sel"e-ra-to'rez). [< L. urina, 
urine, + NL. accelerator."] A muscle which 
facilitates urination ; the accelerator urinse. 
Cones, 1887. 
urinaemia, n. See urinemia. 
urinal (u'ri-nal), n. [< ME. urinal, urynal, ory- 
nal, < OF. urinal, orinal, F. urinal =. Pr. urinal 
= Sp. orinal = Pg. ourinol = It. orinale, < ML. 
urinal, a urinal, orig. neut. of L. urinalis, of or 
pertaining to urine, < urina, urine : see urine.] 
1 . A vessel for containing urine, or a bottle in 
which it is kept for inspection. 
These follies are within you and shine through you like 
the water in an urinal. Shak., T. G. of V., ii. 1. 41. 
2. A convenience, public or private, for the ac- 
commodation of persons requiring to pass urine. 
urinalistt (u'ri-nal-ist), n. [< urinal + -ist.~\ 
One who by inspection of a patient's urine pro- 
fessed to determine the disease. 
My urinalist . . . left no artery 
Unstretcht upon the tenters. 
Dekker, Match me in London, iii. 
urinalysis (u-ri-nal'i-sis), n. [Irreg. < L. urina, 
urine, + Gr. Mate, loosing (cf . analysis).] Chem- 
ical examination of urine. 
urinant (u'ri-nant), a. [< L. urinan(t-)s, ppr. 
of urinari, dive, plunge under water, < urina, in 
the orig. sense 'water': see urine.] In her., 
being in the attitude of diving or plunging: not- 
ing a dolphin or fish when represented with the 
head down. 
urinary (u'ri-na-ri), a. and n. [= F. urinaire 
= Sp. Pg. urinario = It. orinario, < ML. *urina- 
rius (in neut. urinarium, a urinal), < L. urina, 
urine: see urine.] I. a. Of or pertaining to 
urine or the organs connected with the secre- 
tion and discharge of urine Urinary canal, a 
primitive urinary passage. Urinary cast. Same 'as 
