zephyr 
very fine and light of its kind, and for some 
other things of similar qualities : chiefly in at- 
tributive use : as, zephyr worsted^ zephyr crack- 
ers (that is, biscuits). 
Homespuns, Flannels, Zephyrs, Challies. 
Newspaper Advertise iiienl. 
Zephyr Clotll, a thin, finely spun woolen cloth made in 
Belgium, thinner than tweed, and employed for women's 
gowns. iHrt. o/JTeerftewor*.— ZephyrflanneL Seeflan- 
nel. 
Zephyranthes (zef-i-rau'thez), n. [NL. (Her- 
bart, 1821), so called in allusion to the slen- 
der, easily agitated stalks; < Gr. Cf^Jupof, the 
west wind, -f- dvftif, flower.] A genus of mono- 
cotyledonous plants, of the order Amaryllkla- 
cese and tribe A maryllese. It is characterized by one- 
flowered scapes, and flowers with a short or rather long 
perianth-tube, sometimes with small scales around the 
stamens, slender separate filaments, oblong or linear ver- 
BatUe anthers, and numerous biseriate ovules in the three 
ovary-cells. There are about 30 species, natives of Amer- 
ica from Texas to the Argentine Republic, with one in 
western tropical Africa, the latter formerly known as Hu- 
tn-anthut. They are l>ulbous plants with a few linear or 
thong'Shaped leaves, and an elongated scape bearing a 
handsome erect or slightly declined solitary flower, either 
pink, white, purple, or yellowish. They are known in 
general as nvamp-lily. Z. Atamatco, found from Mexico 
to Pennsylvania, witll rose colored flowers, is cultivated 
under the name of fairytay or alamanco-lUy ; and Z. 
Candida, of Lima and Buenos Ayrcs, with white flowers 
and small rush-like leaves, under the name of Peruvian 
ncamp-lity. 
Zephyms (zef'i-rus), «. [< L. Zephynis, < Gr. 
Zf^vpof, a personification of Ci<p''p<)^, the west 
wind.] 1. In cUissiail mylh., a personification 
of the west wind, poetically regarded as the 
mildest and gentlest of all the sylvan deities. 
Whan Zephirvi eek with his sweete breeth 
Inspired Rath in every holt and heeth 
The tcndre croppes. 
Chancer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., 1. 5. 
<'-ourteous Zsphyrus 
On his dewy wings carries perfumes to cheer us. 
Fletcher (ajui another), Sea Voyage, ii. 1. 
2. [NL. (Dalman, 1816).] In eiitom., a genus 
of butterflies, of the family Lycienidee, chiefly of 
Europe and Asia, characterized by peculiari- 
ties of the wiug-venation ; the zephyrs. 
zerda (z^r'da), «. A small African fox; a fen- 
nec. The name is applied to two very dilf erent animals : 
(o) Vvlpes or Fenneexu zerda, a small true fox. .See/ori, 
anil cut unAet /ennee. (b) Otocyon or Megalotis lalandi. 
See Mi-^ialiftiiue. 
zereba, zeriba, h. See zanbti. 
Zerene (ze-re'ue), H. [NL. (HUbiier, 1816; 
Treitschke. 1825), prop. Xerene, < Gr. ir/paivtiv, 
dry up.] A notable genus of geometrid moths, 
typical of a family Zerenidse or subfamily Zere- 
ninee. They have broad, entire, and slightly hyaline wings ; 
the body is slender, and the male antenna) are plumose, 
with the branches long, slender, atul slightly frizzled. The 
most noted species is Z. eatinaria of the northern United 
States, a white moth, often with blackish dots, whose 
greenish-yellow black-spotted larva feeds on a variety of 
forest-plants. 
Zeremdae (zf-reu'i-de), «. /»/. [NL. (Guen^e. 
1844;, < Zerene + -Ulee.] A family of geometrid 
moths, comprising many beautiful forms, usu- 
ally white or yellow, spotted with black, it in- 
cludes 31 genera, of which Abraxas is the most important. 
From their maculation they areknown &&paiither-,ja'jtiar-, 
or ma{/pie-m4fthe, and one genus is called Patttherodes, 
Zereninae (zer-e-ni'ne), II. pi. [NL., < Zerene + 
-inte.] The Zerenidie as a subfamily of Gen- 
inetridje. 
zero (ze'ro), «. [< F. zero, < It. Sp. zero, contr. 
ot'zefro, zifro, <Ar. .?(/>■. cipher: see eipher, of 
which zero is a doublet.] 1. Cipher; the figure 
0, which stands for naught in the Arabic nota- 
tion for numbers. 
A» to number, they [the teeth of fishes] range from zero 
to countless quantities. (hpen, Anat., § 70. 
2. The defect of all quantity considered as 
quantity; the origin of measurement stated as 
at a distance from itself; nothing, quantitative- 
ly regarded. Upon a thermometer or any similar scale 
lero is the line from which all the divisions are measured 
In the positive and negative directions. Upon the centi- 
grade anil K(^aumur's thermometers, it is the point at 
which the mercury stands when the thermometer is 
plunge<t into a mass of melting ice coarsely pulverized, 
from which some makers allow the water to drain off, but 
it is better not to do so. For some years after a thermom- 
eter is made the zero is said to rise — that is, the melting- 
point of ice Btatids higher and higher upon the scale 
Upon the Fahrenheit thermometer the distance on the 
glass stem between the melting-point of ice and the tein- 
rrature of steam at one English atmosphere of tension 
divided into 180 degrees, and Hi such degrees below 
the melting-point of ice is marked as zero. 
If the directions of all the external forces pass through 
the origin, their moments are zero, and the angular mo- 
mentum of the system will remain constant. 
Cleric Maxwell, .Matter and Motion, art. Ixil. 
Hence — 3. Figuratively, the bottom of the 
scale; the lowest point or ebb; a state of 
nullity or inanition. 
7033 
The diplomatic circle [in Constantinople] was at zero. 
Stratford Canning, in Diet. Nat Blog., VIII. 432. 
Absolute zero of temperature. See ff!>»oJ«te.— Dis- 
placement of zero, See displacement.— Z&TO ma^et, 
a magnet used for adjusting the zero reading of a galva- 
nometer or similar instrument.— Zero potential, in «/«;«. 
See potential. 
zeroaxial (ze-ro-ak'si-al), (I. [< zero + axial.'] 
Having an axis composed of zeros Zeroaxial 
determinant, see determinaiU. 
zemmbet (ze-rum'bet), n. An East Indian 
drug — according to some, the same as cassu- 
raunar. It has sometimes been confounded 
with the round zedoary. 
zest (zest), «. [< OF. zeste, one of the partitions 
which divide the kernel of a walnut, also the 
peel of an orange or lemon, < L. schisios, < 
Gr. (T^«jT6f, divided, cleft : see schist,'] 1. The 
dry woody membrane covering or forming the 
partitions of a walnut or other nut or fruit, 
as an orange or a lemon. [Obsolete, or only 
French.] — 2. A piece of the outer rind of an 
orange or lemon used as a flavoring or for pre- 
serving; also, oil squeezed from such a rind to 
flavor liquor, etc. Imp. Diet. — 3. Kelish im- 
parted or afforded by anything ; piquant nature 
or quality ; agreeableness : chann; piquancy. 
The zest 
Of some wild tale or brutal jest 
Hath to loud laughter stirred the rest. 
SeoU, Rokeby, ilL 15. 
4. Keen relish or enjoyment of anything; 
stimulated ta.ste or interest; hearty satisfac- 
tion; gusto. 
Some forms of liypochondria, in which this extreme 
somatic insensibility and absence of ze«t leave the Intellect 
and memory unaffected. J. Ward, Encyc. Brit., XX. 84. 
zest (zest), V. t. [< zest, ii.] 1. To add a zest 
or relish to; make piquant, literally or figura- 
tively. 
My Lord, when my wine 's right I never care it should 
be zested. Cibber, Careless Husband, iii. (Davies.) 
Hundreds sunk to the bottom by one broadside furnish 
out the topic of the day. and zest his coffee. 
Goldginith, Abuse of our Enemies. 
2. To cut, as the peel of an orange or a lemon 
from top to l)ottom into thin slips, or to squeeze, 
as orange-peel, over the surface of anything. 
Imp. Diet. 
zeta^ (ze'tii), n. [Gr. ;?/ra, the letter z, C: see 
Z, zed.] Tlie sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, 
corresponding to the English Z._zeta function, 
one of a series of functions coiniected with elliptic in- 
tegrals of the second kind, and derived from Jacobi's 
zeta function, Z«, which differs only by a multiple of u 
from/dn-«.dH, so that 
Z« ; Zp — Z (u ; v) = k'lisn u. sn c. sn (u f n). 
zeta- (ze'ta), n . [< LL. zeta tovditpta, a chamber, 
dwelling, < Gr. diana, way of living, mode of 
life, dwelling: see dief^.] A little closet or 
chamber: applied by some writers to the room 
over the porch of a ('hristian church where the 
porter or sexton lived and kept the church 
documents. Ilritton. 
zetetic (ze-tet'ik), a. and n. [< Gr. ir/Ti/T(n6i; < 
Cr/Tfiv, seek, inquire.] I. a. Proceeding by in- 
quiry ; seeking.- The zetetic method, in math., the 
analytical method used in endeavoring to discover the 
value of unknown quantities or to find the solution of 
a problem. [Rare.] 
II. II. A seeker: a name adopted by some of 
the Pyrrhonists. 
zetetics (zf-tet'iks), «. [PI. of zetetic (see -ics).] 
That part of algebra which consists in the di- 
rect search after unknown quantities. [Rare.] 
Zeuctocoelomata (zuk'to-se-lo'ma-tii), «. pi. 
[NL., <Gr. i^evKTdg, joined, + Koi/xjfiaj'a, hollow, 
cavity: see ecelonia.] Animals having a primi- 
tive archenteroii in the embryo, with paired or 
yoked coelomatic sacs or diverticula, as mol- 
lusks, worms, crustaceans, insects, and verte- 
brates: more fully called Metazoa zeuctoccelo- 
iiiata. A. Ili/dtt. 
zeuctocoelomatic (zuk-to-se-lo-mat'ik), a. [< 
Zeiictticwlomata + -ic] Ot or pertaining to the 
Ze « c tocalom a tu . 
zeuctocoelomic (zuk'to-se-lom'ik), a. Same as 
zf'iirldCohiiiHitie. 
zeugite (zii'git). «. See zijijite. 
Zeuglodon (zug'lo-don), «'. [NL. (Owen), < Gr. 
;?/;/;/, the strap or loop of a yoke (< Cftijvi'vo;, 
voke, join), -I- oiiorf (odour-) = E. tooth.] 1. 
The typical genus of the family Zeiifilodontidsp. 
Several species have beeTi described from the Eocene of 
the Inited States and of England, as Z. cetnides of the 
former country, said to have attained a length of 70 feet. 
The genns had before l>een named Easilosaunis by Har- 
lan, on the supposition that these fossils were reptiles, 
and has also been called llydrarclios (by Koch), Polyp- 
tychodon (by Emmons), Phncodon, and Zygodon. See cut 
under Zeuijlodontia, 
Zeus 
2. [I. c] A member of this genus ; a zeuglo- 
dont. 
zeuglodont (ziig'lo-dont), a. and «. [As Zeuglo- 
doH{t-').] I. a. Having teeth (apparently) yoked 
in pairs; having the characters of, or pertain- 
ing to, the Zeuijlodontia. 
II. H. A fossil cetacean of the suborder iTcw- 
ylodontia; a zeuglodon. 
Zeuglodontia (zug-lo-don'shi-a), n. pi. [NL. : 
see Zeuglodon.] A suborder of dete or Cetacea, 
represented by the zeuglo- 
donts: sometimes made to 
consist of two families, the 
Basilosauridse (or Zeuglodon- 
tidee) and Ci/norcid/e. The in- 
termaxillaries 'were expanded for- 
ward, normally interposed between 
the maxillaries, forming the terminal 
as well as anterior margin of the up- 
per jaw; and the nasal apertures 
were produced forward, with freely 
projecting nasal bones. The teeth of 
the intermaxillaries were conic, and 
those of the niaxillaries were two- or 
three-rooted. Also called Phocodon- 
tia and .irchxoeeti. Also Zeuglodon- 
tes. 
Zeuglodontidae (zug-io-don'- 
ti-de), «. 2>l- [NL., < Zeufjlo- 
<lon{t-) + -idle.] A family of ''oT.'he^.IPl".',^ 
fossil toothed cetaceans, typi- 
fied by the genus Zeuglodon, and representative 
of tlie Zeuglodontia. These primitive cetaceans in 
some respects approached the seals, or pinniped mam- 
mals, and some of the characters of the fragmentary re- 
mains first discovered caused them to be mistaken for 
reptiles. Also called Basilosauridx. See cut under Zeu- 
glodontia. 
zeuglodontoid (zug-lo-don'toid), a. and «. 
[As Zeugtoilon(t-) + -oid.] Same as zeuglodont. 
zeugma (zfig'mil), n. [< Gr. i^tvy/ia, lit. a yok- 
ing, < CEiyvnof, yoke, join: see yoke^, join.] 1. 
A figure in grammar in which two nouns are 
joined to a verb suitable to only one of them, 
but suggesting another verb suitable to the 
other noun ; or in which an adjective is simi- 
larly used with two nouns. — 2. leap.] [NL.] 
In eiitoni., a genus of hemipterous insects. West- 
wood. 
zeugmatic (zug-mat'ik). a. [< zeugma(t-) + 
-icT] Pertaining to, or of the nature of, zeugma. 
Zeugobranchia (zii-go-brang'ki-a), n.pl. [NL., 
< Gr. C£i"'/Of, yoke, + jipdyx'", gills.] Same as 
Zygohranchiata. 
Zeiigophora (zu-gof'o-ril), n. [NL. (Kunze, 
1818), < Gr. Cft^of, a J'ote, -(- -^pof, < tfipiiv = 
E. beur^.] A. genus of leaf-beetles, of the 
family Chrysoinelidae, having a lateral protho- 
racie tubercle and emarginate eyes. The geo- 
graphical distribution of this genus is remarkable, for of 
the 20 or more species known two are found in Ceylon 
and Farther India, while the rest are North European 
and North American. 
zeimerite (zi'n^r-it), n. [Named after Director 
Zeuner, of Freiberg.] A hydrous arseniate of 
copper and uranium, occurring in bright-green 
tetragonal crystals, isomorphous with torber- 
nite. 
Zeus (zus), /(. [< Gr. Zfi'f (gen. A((ir, also 'lijvdg) 
= L. Joris (gen.), Ju-piter, etc. : see .lore, Jupi- 
ter, deity.] 1. In f.')-. mi///i., the chief and mas- 
ter of the gods, the supreme deity, omnipres- 
Zeus.— The "Jupiter of OtricoM," In the Vaticin Museum. 
