visionary 
The virimuiry hour 
When musing midnixht reigns. 
Thtmifon, Sinnmi-i, 
= 8jm. 1. Illuminative, romantic. 2. I'nreal, fancied, 
nlral, illllsi'l.v, utn|,i;ni, > liimri iral. 
II. .; pi. nxitiiiiirii > (-ri/. . 1. Oncwh' 
visions; om- who lives in the imagination. 
To Hi- -'in 
Her diiy-drem truth, ami truth a dirain. 
Kokeliy, I. l. 
Arbtojiham-s, ,o murh of a isrntli-r and *o liltle of a 
vuiinmr'/. Lnniliif, I limit. Conv., l.ucian and Tiniothcus. 
2. One who forms impract ica lile selivnn -; one 
who is given to idle and fanciful projects. 
Sunn- ci-li-liiati-d \iliti-iH of our country, who, with all 
1 lirir unn.l M-MM- and ^niiii>, u,n- n'ninnanfH on the sub- 
j.-i-t of cdin -atimi V. Knot, Uraminar SchooU. 
Syn. lMv:ini<T. i-iilliiisiast. 
visioned (vi/Ji'ond). n. [< vision + -ed%.] 1. 
Having the power of seeing visions; hence, in- 
spired. [Rare.] 
uli ' not the msioned poet in his dreams . . . 
So bright, o fair, so wild a shape 
llat I. yet beheld. Shelley, Queen Mab, I. 
2. Seen in a vision ; formed by the fancy, or in 
a dream, trance, or the like ; produced by a vi- 
sion; spectral. 
My nrion'd sight might yet prove true. 
Scott, L. of the L., Iv. 11. 
The dream 
of dark magician in his mrioned cave. 
Shelley, Alastor. 
She moves through fancy's rinoned space. 
Lowell, Fact or Fancy? 
visionist (vizh'on-ist), H. [< rision + -ist.] One 
who sees, or believes that he sees, visions; a 
believer in visions; visionary person. 
We are so far from attaining any certain and real know- 
ledge of incorporeal belngs(of an acquaintance with which 
these riHwnixl* so much boast) that we are not able to 
know anything of corporeal substances as abstract from 
8771 
I am persuaded that Uod has mtUtd you with thli pun- 
ishment for my ungodliness. 
J. Bradford, Works (Parker s, . i 1 1. S&4. 
Vuitin'i tic Iniquity of the fathers upon the children. 
Kx. xxi. 7. 
Now will he rememl-er thi-ir Iniquity, and vitit their 
,- II..-. >iii. 18. 
II. intrnux. To practise going to see other-: 
keep up friendly inten-our-e l,y ".nine; to the 
houses of friends; make calls; stay with (an- 
other) as a guest . 
Whilst she was under her mother she was forced to be 
genteel, to live In ceremony, . . . and always eiritiu'i -n 
Sundays. Law, Serious Call, viii. 
Visit (viz'it ). H. [< F. mi> = Sp. I'g. It. I-I'.M/" . 
from the verb.] 1. The act of visiting or go- 
ing to see a person, place, or thing; a teni|>o 
rary residence in a locality or with some one 
as a guest; a call on a person or at a place. 
I'm come to take my last farewell, 
And pay my last visit to thee. 
Vaunij Hunting (Child's Ballads, III. 21:.). 
I'd sooner be visited by the Plague ; for that only wou'd 
keep a man from Vurili, and his Doors shut. 
Wycherley, Plain Dealer, i. I. 
VIM, 
Like those of angels, short and far between. 
/llair, The Grave, II. 689. 
2. A formal or official call; a visitation. 
Periodical viritt were made by vassals to their suzerains, 
and by these to their higher suzerains - the kings. 
H. Spencer, Prin. of Soclol., i 879. 
Domiciliary visit, see domiciliary. Right of visit 
Same as riijht qfrmtation. flee visitation, 5. Visit to the 
Blessed Sacrament, in Ram. Cath. utaye, a dally visit 
to a church in order to engage in silent prayer before the 
sacrament : a practice common in religious houses, 
visitable (viz'i-ta-bl), a. [X visit + -<ibl>'.] 
Liable or subject to be visited or inspected ; 
admitting of visitation or inspection. 
The next morning we set out again, In order to see the 
The msionist has dc,-pcr thoughts and more concealed 
feelings than these rhap.,,1,,.1 i.hu.doms. 
visionless (vizh'on-les), a. [< vision + -lesx.] 
Destitute of vision; sightless; blind. 
visit (viz'it), v. [< ME. visiten, < OF. (and F.) 
vtsiter = Sp. Pg. eisitar = It. visitare, < L. visi- 
tare, see, go to see, visit, punish, freq. of visere, 
look at attentively, behold, < vidcre, pp. visus, 
see: see vision.] I. trans. 1. To go or come to 
see (a person or thing) in the way of friendship, 
business, curiosity, ceremony, or duty : call 
upon; proceed to in order to view or look on. 
And by the waye we vymjted some holy places. 
Sir It. Qwjlforde, Pylgrymage, p. 18. 
At lyona 1 visityd the Reliques at the yle wher Sent 
Anne lyes and longlous. 
Torlrinyton, Diarle of Eng. Travell, p. 2. 
I was sick, and ye visited me. Mat. xxv. 86. 
We will visit you at supper-time. 
SAo*., M. of V., il. 2. 215. 
His wife was the rich china-woman that the courtiers 
visited so often. B. Jonson, Epicccne, 1. 1. 
2. To come or go to, in general ; appear in or 
at ; enter. 
Ainana is more familiar, and entreth the Cltie yea, by 
help of art, in Conduits virittlh their priuate houses. 
Purchat, Pilgrimage, p. 237. 
For me. in showers, in sweeping showers, the spring 
Visits the valley. Emerson, Musketaquid. 
3. To go or come to see for the purpose of in- 
spection, supervision, examination, correction 
of abuses, or the like ; examine ; inspect. 
I may excite your princely cogitations to visit the ex- 
cellent treasure of your own mind. 
KacoH, Advancement of Learning, I. 
Achmet would not sutfer the bales intended for the 
king of Abyssinia to be opened or visited, but left them in 
the hands of the ambassador. 
Bruce, Source of the Nile, II. 506. 
4. To afflict; overtake or come upon: said 
especially of diseases or calamities. 
Ere he by sickness had been visited. 
Shalt., 1 Hen. IV., Iv. 1. 26. 
Fare. The house, sir, has been visited. 
Loot. What, with the plague? 
B. Junton, Alchemist, v. 1. 
Tis a house here 
Where people of all sorts, that have been visited 
With lunacies and follies, wait their cures. 
Fletcher, Pilgrim, ill. 6. 
5. In Scriptural phraseology: (a) To send a 
judgment from heaven upon, whether for the 
purpose of chastising or afflicting, or of com- 
forting or consoling ; judge. 
Oh visit me with thy salvation. Ps. cvl. 4. 
Therefore hast tlion riVf--'/ and destroyed them. 
Isa. xxvi. 14. 
(6) To inflict punishment for (guilt) or upon 
(a person). 
All hospitals built since the reformation are visitable by 
the king or lord chancellor. Aylife, Parergon. 
visitant (viz'i-taut), a. and n. [< L. ri*itaii(t-)s, 
ppr. of ri.iitare, see: see visit.] I. a. Acting 
the part of a 
He knew the rocks which Angels haunt 
Upon the mountains visitant. 
Wordtwtrth, Song at Feast of Brougham Castle. 
II. . 1. One who visits; one who goes or 
comes to see another; one who is a guest in 
the house of a friend ; a visitor. 
You have private nritants, my noble lady, 
That in sweet numbers court your goodly virtues. 
Fletcher, Wife for a Month, i. 2. 
He has a rich wrought waistcoat to entertain his vui- 
tanti in. B. Janton, Cynthia's Revels, Ii. 1. 
The Intellectual character of her extreme beauty. . . . 
and her unbounded benevolence, gave more the Idea of 
an angelic visitant than of a being belonging to this netliiT 
world. Scott, L. of L. M. (ed. 1830), Int. 
His heart, 
Where Fear sat thus, a cherished nnfnnt. 
M'ortlnriirth, Excursion, I. 
2. In ornith., a migratory bird which comes to 
and stays in a place or region during a part of 
the year: opposed to resident: as, the snowy 
owl is a winter visitant from the north in the. 
United States. Rare or irregular visitants are 
termed stragglers. See straggler, 2. 3. [cap.] 
A member of a Roman Catholic order of nuns, 
founded at Annecy in Savoy by Francis de Sales 
and Mine, de Chantal in 1010. The order spread In 
various countries, and has been efficient In the education 
of young girls. The Visitants are also called Saleaant. 
Order of the Visitation, Hunt of the Visitation, etc. 
visitation (viz-i-ta'shon), . [< M K. visitaeioun. 
< OF. (and F.) visitation = Sp. visitation = Pg. 
risitafSo = It. visitazionc, < LL. visitatio(n-), a 
sight, appearance, visitation, punishment, < L. 
visitare, visit : see rist'f.] 1. The act of visiting, 
or paying a visit; a visit. 
Therfore I made my viritacimmt 
To vigilies and to processiouns. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Wife of Bath's Tale, I. 555. 
The king of Sirilia means to pay Bohemia the mritarion 
which he Justly owes him. Shak., W. T., i. 1. 7. 
When a woman Isdeliuered of a child, the man lyeth In, 
and keepeth his bed, with rifitation of fiossips, the space 
of fortle dayes. Pvrchas, Pilgrimage, p. 42. 
2. The object of a visit. [Rare.] 
O flowers, . . . 
My early eiritation, and my last. 
Milton, P. L., ii. 275. 
3. A formal or judicial visit paid periodically 
by a superior, superintending officer, or other 
competent authority, to a corporation, college, 
church, or other house, for the purpose of ex- 
amining into the manner in which the business 
of the bodv is conducted, and its laws and reg- 
visiting-book 
Illation- ale ,li-,erveil and executed, or the like; 
S|ieeilii-ally t<-,7'.--.). -in-h examination b 
)ii-h<>|> of the churches in his diocese, wilh the 
added purpose of administering confirmation. 
Tin- rlitht <if vlnit&tion attaches In im ti<.|,litaM>. In lh>ir 
pi. n In. i -, L, liili,ips in tin ii < I luceses, and to archdeacons 
HI i italn ciiaa. 
I In- magistrates shull In- more familiar and <>] n 
t<> I'tlirr. :ind mule fiti|in-iit In rintatvna, and hhall. in 
|. !,,!, I I,. -- ;in<l I,,-, 
H,,.ll,r,.,,, Mint. Nt-w England, I 
4. A special dispensation from heaven, -.mi. 
limes of divine favor, more usually of divine 
ret ri I nit ion : divine ret rihiitivealll ict ion : hence. 
a similar incident of less importance, whether 
joyful or grievous. 
We see that the most comfortable tuitaliina which < . I 
hath sent men from above have taken especially the times 
of prayer as their most natural opportunities. 
Ho.,/ i -..llty, v. . 
What will ye do In the day of rimttiHna. and In the deso- 
lation which shall come from fin Isa. x. 3. 
These were bright ntilatunu In a scholar's and a clerk's 
life. Lamb, Oxford In the Vacation. 
5. In tntirniili'iiiiil l<ur, the act of a naval '-urn 
maniler who visits or boards a vessel belonging 
to another state for the purpose of ascertaining 
her character and olijei-t. it docs not Include the 
claim or exercise of the right of search. The right of per- 
forming this act is called the ripU <>/ mrit or / mritattm. 
6. [cap.] A church festival in honor of the 
visit of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Eliza- 
beth (.Luke i. 39), celebrated on July M in the 
Roman Catholic, Greek, and other churches. 
7. In :oi>l., an extensive, irregular, or other- 
wise notable migration into a place or conn 
try; an irruption, jncursion, or invasion: as, a 
visitation of lemmings, of the Bohemian wax- 
wing southward, or of the sund-grouse from 
Asia into France or England. 8. In her., an 
investigation by a high heraldic officer, usually 
one of the kings-at-anns, into the pedigrees, in- 
termarriages, etc., of a family or the families 
of a district, with a view of ascertaining whe- 
ther the arms borne by any person or persons 
living in that district are incorrect or unwar- 
rantably assumed. The klng-at-amu was accompa- 
nied on such occasions by secretaries, draftsmen, etc. 
The latest visitation on record in England seems to have 
been between the years 1686 and 1700 ; but before that time 
they had ceased to be regularly held. - Nuns of the Visi- 
tation, Order of the Visitation. ee drilanl. s. Visi- 
tation of the sick, an omce of the Anglican < 'hurch, ap- 
pointed to be used for the spiritual benefit of sick persons. 
Provision Is made in the English Prayer-book for special 
confession and absolution of the sick person, while the 
American Prayer-book merely provides that the minister 
shall examine whether he repent him truly of his sins. 
visitatorial (viz*i-ta-to'ri-al), a. [< LL. titilit- 
tnr, a visitor (< L. vinitare. see), + -'-'] Be- 
longing or pertaining to a judicial visitor or 
visitation: as, visitatorial power; hence, per- 
taining to any authorized inspector or exami- 
nation: as, a health officer's visibitirriitl work 
or authority. Also risitoritil. 
The enactment by which Elizabeth and her successor* 
had lieen empowered to appoint commissioners with na- 
tatorial authority over the Church was not only not re- 
vived, but was declared, with the utmost strength of lan- 
guage, to be completely abrogated. 
Macatilay, Hist. Eng , vl. 
visit-day (viz'it-da), M. A day on which call- 
ers are received. 
On itxil-tlnjtK she bears 
To mount her nfty flights of ample stairs. 
Paniell, Elegy to an Old Beauty. 
visite (vi-zef), M. [F., visit : see rinit.] An out- 
er garment worn by women in the first half of 
the nineteenth century, thin, made of silk or 
like material, and shaped to the person. 
visitor (viz'i-ter), w. [< ri*it + -->. Cf. r/- 
itor.] Same as risitor. 
Ills cititer observed the look, and proceeded. Dictrn* 
Visiting (viz'i-ting). ii. [Verbal n. of riwif, r.\ 
1. The act or practice of paying visits or mak- 
ing calls. Also used adjectively. 
The business of her life was to get her daughters mar- 
ried : Its solace was mating and news. 
Jane Avtten, Pride and Prejudice, i. 
Our ancestors are very good kind of folks : but they are 
the last people I should choose to have a mritiny acquain- 
tance with. Sheridan, The Rivals, Iv. I. 
2. Prompting ; influence. 
No compunctious run/in*/* of nature 
Shake my fell purpose. SAo*.. Macbeth, I. 5. 4. 
Visiting (viz'i-ting), ;>. a. [Ppr. of risit, r.] 
That visits; often, of persons, authorized to 
visit and inspect: as, a rixifiii;/ committee. 
visiting-ant (vix.'i-tiiiK-ant \ H. The driver-ant. 
Visiting-book fviVt-tfeg-trak), . \ book con- 
taining a list of names of pcr-oiis who are to be 
called upon or who have called. 
