vanadinite 
vanadinite (van'a-din-It), n. [< vanad(atc) + 
-in-ite.~\ A mineral consisting of lead vanadate 
with lead chlorid. It occurs in hexagonal crystals of 
yellow, brown, or red color ; it is isomorphous with apa- 
tite (calcium phosphate), pyromorphite (lead phosphate), 
and mimetite (lead arseniate). 
vanadiOUS (va-nii'di-us), a. [< vanadium + 
-((.<.] Containing vanadium with a lower ap- 
parent valence than it exhibits in vanadic com- 
pounds. 
vanadite (van'a-dit), . [< vanad(ous) + -He*.\ 
A salt of vanadous acid. 
vanadium (va-ua'di-um),i. [See del] Chem- 
ical symbol, V; atomic weight, 51.2. A metal 
first discovered by Del Rio, in 1801, in a lead 
ore from Mexico, and called by him erytlironi- 
HI, because its salts became red when heated 
with acids. This supposed new metal was not accepted 
by chemists, and Del llio's name was dropped. Later, 
in 1830, Sefstrom described a new metal from Taberg, in 
Sweden, for which he proposed the name of vanadium 
I10K4 
Vanessa 
Vandal (van'dal), H. and a. [= F. Vandale = 
Sp. Viindato ="l'g. Vandalo = G. Vandale = D. 
ll'diidcl = Sw. Dan. Vandal, < LL. Vaudali, also 
1'iniliili. Jlndili, Vandals, VandaJus, adj., Van- 
that he [Charles I.] owes, we verily believe, most of his 
popularity with the present generation. 
Macavlay, Milton. 
Vandyke beard, a pointed beard. Vandyke brown. 
, . , See brown. 
dal; from the Tent, name seen in D. ll'eiideii = yandyke (van-dik'), r. t.; pret. and pp. van- 
Icel. Vindir, the Wends : see ffewrf 2 .] I. n. 1. ^ked.-pyr.vandyking. [< Vandyke, .] To cut 
the edge of, as a piece of dress, in points, after 
the manner of a Vandyke collar. 
% -: [< ME. vane, a var. of fane, < 
AS. faiia, a flag, banner: see /</('.] If. -\ 
flag' 
One of a Germanic race who first appeared in 
middle and southern Germany, and in the firsl 
half of the fifth century ravaged Gaul, Spain. V ane (van), 
northern Africa, etc., and in 455 Rome itself, 
with enormous damage to accumulated trea- 
sures of art and literature. Hence 2. [/. c.] 
One who wilfully or ignorantly destroys or dis- 
figures any work of art, literature, or the like ; 
one who is hostile to or wantonly attacks any- 
thing that is beautiful or venerable. 
II. a. [/. c.] Of or pertaining to a vandal or 
vandalism. 
Bestrewn with vandal initials cut in the soft material. 
Athenxum, No. 3067, p. 182. 
+ -JC.] 
(from Vaaadu, one of the goddesses of the Scandina- yandalic (vau-dal'ik), n. [< Vandal + 
vian mythology ; and immediately after it was shown by jJ"_T- / . ^ to ahawiBterilrtio of the Van 
Wohler that Del Rio's ore was, in fact, a vanadate of lead. 1 Pertaining ti 
But the name vanadium has been maintained, and that dais. Hence 2. [I. c.] ferocious; rude; bar- 
cry littli ., 
dinary temperature ; it is easily dissolved In nitric acid, 
but is not at all acted on by hydrochloric acid, and is af- 
fected by strong sulphuric acid only when heated^ Vana- 
dium belongs to the 
members of this groi 
Vanadium is an element whose combinations seem to be 
quite widely distributed, although occurring only in small 
quantity. The most abundant vanadium mineral is vana- 
dinite, which is a vanadate of lead with chlorid of lead, 
and has been found in numerous widely separated local- 
Warburton, Doctrine of Grace, iii. 2. 
Barbarians of the Vandalic race. 
Kingsley, Hypatia, xxxi. 
u^lsT ItfcSii^ regions cfoT Vandalism (van'dal-izm), . [= F. randaUsme; 
he elements of the nitrogen group. < Vandal + -jsw.] 1. The conduct of Vandals. 
Hence 2. [/. c.] "Wilful or ignorant destruc- 
tion of artistic or literary treasures; hostility 
to or irreverence or contempt for what is beau- 
tiful or venerable. 
ities. Vanadium resembles titanium In that it has been Vandese(van'de-e), n. pi. [NL. (Lindley, 1833), 
^* r .*,,.i *~ ,..:.,.. ..i..,, nr*A ;,L .,,,,, i L,' i..,,-l. ^ Tf la t\r\- * _ *. , -, n v * j i_ 
< Vanda + -<;.] A tribe of orchids, charac- 
terized by a single posterior opercular anther, 
its cells almost always confluent at maturity, 
and closely incumbent above a horizontal ros- 
tellum, to which the waxy pollen-masses are 
affixed by a small thick or scale-like gland, 
which is often prolonged into a distinct cau- 
licle or stalk. It includes about 140 genera, classed 
in 8 tribes, the types of which are the genera Eulopldum, 
Ci/mbidium, Cyrtopvdiitm, Stanhopea, Maxillaria, Onci- 
dium, Sarcanthus, and Notylia. These genera alone In- 
clude over 630 tropical species, and are all, except per- 
haps the first and last, highly prized in cultivation. The 
Knti/Keee (or Padochtteee) are aberrant in their erect ros- 
tellum, and are thus transitional to the tribe Neoltieee. 
The two globose or oblong pollen-masses, each sometimes 
bisected, are very readily removed by insect or artificial 
aid, and insure cross-fertilization. The genera are nearly 
all epiphytic. They often produce pseudo-bulbs, but not 
tubers; their stems are erect, or reduced to a creeping 
rootstock adhering to trees or stones ; their inflorescence 
is usually lateral, very rarely, as in Cyrtopodium, a ter- 
detected in various clays and igneous rocks. It is ob- 
tained in some quantity from the cupriferous Triasslc beds 
of the vicinity of Mottram, Cheshire, England, in the form 
of the so-called inottramite, a hydrous vanadate of copper 
and lead. Vanadium bronze, a fine yellow pigment 
employed in the place of gold bronze. It is an acid deriva- 
tive of vanadium. 
vanadous (vau'a-dus), a. [< ranad(ium) + 
-aus.] Of or pertaining to vanadium: as, ran- 
itdous oxid: specifically noting compounds in 
which vanadium has a lower valence than in 
the vanadic compounds. 
van-COUliert (van'ko"ri-er), K. [Early mod. E. 
also vant-courier; abbr. of avant-couricr.'] An 
avant-courier ; one sent before; a precursor; a 
forerunner. Bailey, 1731. 
I'll send then my vant-courier presently ; in the mean 
time march after the captain, scoundrels ! 
DeUer and Webster, Northward Ho, ii. 1. 
VanCOUVeria (van-ko-ve'ri-a), H. [NL. (De- 
caisne, 1834), named after Captain Vancouver, 
an English navigator, who visited the western 
coast of America 1792-4.] A genus of poly- 
petalous plants, of the order Berberidacese and 
tribe Berberese. It is characterized by twelve to fif- 
teen sepals, six shorter nectary-like petals and as many 
stamens, and a capsule opening into two valves. The 
original species, V. hexandra, is a perennial herb grow- 
ing from a creeping rootstock, native of shady woodlands 
near the Pacific coast from Santa Cruz to Vancouver Isl- 
and. It bears dissected radical leaves, and a panicled 
raceme of white flowers on a leafless scape. It has been 
called American barrenwort, from its close resemblance 
to the European Epimedium alpinum, which has the re- 
pute of possessing sterilizing powers. (See barrenwort.) 
A second North American species has been recently dis- 
covered. 
Vanda (van'dii), n. [NL. (R. Brown, 1820), said 
or pennon. 
2. A weathercock ; 
a device which is 
moved by the wind 
in such a manner as 
to show the wind's di- 
rection; a weather- 
vane. 
O stormy peple ! vnsaii 
and euer vntrewe ! 
Ay vndiscreet and 
chaunging as a vane. 
Chaucer, Clerk's Tale, 
[1. 940. 
A vane blown with all 
winds. ShaJc., Much Ado, 
liii. 1. 66. 
3. A device used on 
shipboard to answer 
the purpose of a 
weathercock : gen- 
erally called dog- Vane _, ;ron , the HAK , nicu 
Vane. It is usually along Beaune, France. 1441. (From Viol- 
slender cone of bunting, let-le-Duc's "Diet. del'Arch.") 
which is hoisted at the 
masthead and blows in the wind, pointing away from the 
quarter from which the wind comes. 
4. A device similar to a weather-vane, attached 
to an axis, and having a surface exposed to a 
moving current, as in an anemometer or a wa- 
ter-meter. 5. In ornith., the web of a feather 
on either side of the shaft ; the pogonium ; the 
vexillum. Also used of an arrow. Seefeatlicr, 
and cuts under aftershaft and penciling. 
The aiTows having the broader vanes will fall shorter 
than those having the narrower ones. 
M. and W. Thompson, Archery, p. 33. 
6. One of the plates or blades of a windmill, a 
screw propeller, and the like. See cuts under 
screw propeller (under screw), and smoke-jack. 
7. In surveying-instruments : (a) A horizontal 
piece of wood or metal slipping on a leveling- 
staff . It is raised or lowered to any point of the staff to 
indicate the plane of apparent level at which it is cut by 
the axis of the telescope. See leveling-sta/. Also called 
target, (b) The sight of a quadrant or similar 
instrument for the measurement of angles, 
marking the direction from the eye to the ob- 
ject. 
minal raceme. The flowers are commonly large and hand- J ecl ' i?,,,;-!,-.] 
some, many of the most valuable among orchids belong- Vaned (vand), a. [< rane + -ed^.J Furnished 
ing here, :is Aerides, MUtonia, Saccolabimn, Odontoglos- with a vane or vanes. 
mm, Phalaenopsis, Zygopetalum, Lycaste, Catasetum, and vaneless (van'les), . Having no vane : as, a 
Peristma. See cut under Plutlfmopsis. : "windmill 
Vandellia(van-del'i-a) - rm ' T ; 
1767), named after the Italian 
wrote in 1788 on Portuguese and 
plants.] A genus of gamopetalpus plants, of 
the order Seroplntlririnae and tribe Gra-tiolete, 
type of the subtribe VandcUieee. It is distin- 
guished from the related genus Ilysanthes by its four 
perfect stamens. There are about 30 species, natives of 
warm parts of the Old World, 2 species, V. Crustacea and 
V. di/usa, occurring in tropical America. They are usu- 
ally 'much-branched annuals, with opposite leaves, and 
small flowers which are solitary in the axils, or form a 
terminal raceme or umbel. See bitter-blain. 
A dialectal variant of teii- 
"'h' Vanellus (va-nel'us), w. [NL. (Brisson, 1760), 
Brazilian after F- ra "" ea . u > lap win g 8O called_with ref . to 
tribe Sarcantliex. It is characterized by unbranched .,',.. j ; i,/\ ,,-j 
loose racemes of rather large flowers with very flat and VandyKe (\ an-dlk ), n. and rt. 
spreading fleshy sepals and petals, all usually nearly alike 
and contracted below ; a lip with a saccate base ; broad 
pollen-stalks; and an unappendaged column. There are 
about 20 species, natives of India and the Malayan archi- 
pelago, with one, V. Hindsii, in tropical Australia. They 
bear spreading, flat, two-ranked leaves, commonly fleshy 
or coriaceous, and often notched at the apex in one spe- 
cies, V. teres, cylindrical, and resembling a goose-quill. 
The handsome short-pedicelled flowers are borne on a 
lateral peduncle. Many species are in cultivation under 
glass, and from their size, fragrance, beautiful colors, and 
ornamental markings, are among the most highly prized 
of orchids, a single plant of a rare species having brought 
*2,000. They are grown on suspended blocks of wood or 
cork, and produce several, sometimes forty, flowers on a 
plant at once. V. teres, the cylinder-leafed vanda, a na- 
tive of Sylhet, in India, bears blood-red white-bordered 
flowers 4 inches broad. V. cserulea, with equally large 
bright-blue flowers, grows on the oak and banian in In- 
dia ; this and V. cserulescent, with numerous smaller pale- 
blue flowers, are unusual in color among orchids. V. in- 
signis and V. mavis are favorites in cultivation for their 
fragrance; V. tricolor, for its viulet, white, and yellow 
flowers ; V. yigantea, for its thick massive leaves. V. 
furva, sometimes called the cowslip-scented trrchid, bears 
brownish, rose, and copper-colored flowers ; and several 
species are cinnamon-colored. 
2. [/. c.] A plant of this genus. 
f .._._, _ Van- 
dyke "collar, so called from Vandyke (Anthony 
Van Dyck, 1599-1641), a Flemish painter.] I. 
n. 1. One of a series of relatively large points 
forming an edge or border, as of lace, ribbon, 
cloth, etc. 
An immense straw bonnet, tied down with satin ribbons, 
exhibiting two bows, the edges of which were cut in van- 
dykes. J. iloore, The Post-Captain, xiv. 
In a cairn which had previously been disturbed was a 
drinking cup ornamented with mndykes. 
Athetueum, No. 3288, p. 590. 
2. A Vandyke cape or collar. See II. 3. A 
painting by Vandyke. 4. A small cape resem- 
bling a very broad collar, worn by women and 
girls in the first quarter of the nineteenth cen- 
tury. 
II. a. Pertaining to the style of dress rep- 
resented in portraits by Vandyke ; especially, 
ornamented with relatively large points form- 
ing a border: noting abroad collar or cape, as 
of linen. 
It is to such considerations as these, together with his 
Vaniliilcr dress, his hnnilnnne face, and his peaked beard, 
the sound made by its wings ; < ML. vaiiellug, 
vanncUus, dim. of L. vatinus, a fan: see row 1 .] 
A genus of plover-like grallatorial birds, of the 
family Cltaradriidfe, having four toes, a long 
recurved occipital crest, lustrous plumage, and 
no spur on the wing; the true lapwings. It in- 
cludes the well-known pewit or lapwing of Europe, V. 
cristatui, and a few similar species. See cuts under lap- 
wing, plover (egg), and Pressirostres. 
Vanessa (va-nes'a), n. [NL. (Fabricius, 1808), 
said to be intended for "Phanessa, < Gr. 4>aiT?f, 
a mystic divinity in the Orphic system.] 1. A 
notable genus of butterflies, used variously by 
Red Admiral (Vanessa 
reversed : female. 
different authors, but now generally restricted 
to a few forms, of which the cosmopolitan V. 
atnlaiita is the tvpe. Of the few known in England, 
)*. ntalanta is the red admiral : V. in is the peacock; I' 
ini/ii'/iii is tin- Caniberwell beauty (see cut niuU-v lieaiitt/]: 
