from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Horse \Horse\ (h[^o]rs), n. [AS. hors; akin to OS. hros, D. &
OHG. ros, G. ross, Icel. hross; and perh. to L. currere to
run, E. course, current Cf. {Walrus}.]
1. (Zool.) A hoofed quadruped of the genus {Equus};
especially, the domestic horse ({Equus caballus}), which
was domesticated in Egypt and Asia at a very early period.
It has six broad molars, on each side of each jaw, with
six incisors, and two canine teeth, both above and below.
The mares usually have the canine teeth rudimentary or
wanting. The horse differs from the true asses, in having
a long, flowing mane, and the tail bushy to the base.
Unlike the asses it has callosities, or chestnuts, on all
its legs. The horse excels in strength, speed, docility,
courage, and nobleness of character, and is used for
drawing, carrying, bearing a rider, and like purposes.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Many varieties, differing in form, size, color, gait,
speed, etc., are known, but all are believed to have
been derived from the same original species. It is
supposed to have been a native of the plains of Central
Asia, but the wild species from which it was derived is
not certainly known. The feral horses of America are
domestic horses that have run wild; and it is probably
true that most of those of Asia have a similar origin.
Some of the true wild Asiatic horses do, however,
approach the domestic horse in several characteristics.
Several species of fossil ({Equus}) are known from the
later Tertiary formations of Europe and America. The
fossil species of other genera of the family
{Equid[ae]} are also often called horses, in general
sense.
[1913 Webster]
2. The male of the genus {Equus}, in distinction from the
female or male; usually, a castrated male.
[1913 Webster]
3. Mounted soldiery; cavalry; -- used without the plural
termination; as, a regiment of horse; -- distinguished
from {foot}.
[1913 Webster]
The armies were appointed, consisting of twenty-five
thousand horse and foot. --Bacon.
[1913 Webster]
4. A frame with legs, used to support something; as, a
clotheshorse, a sawhorse, etc.
[1913 Webster]
5. A frame of timber, shaped like a horse, on which soldiers
were made to ride for punishment.
[1913 Webster]
6. Anything, actual or figurative, on which one rides as on a
horse; a hobby.
[1913 Webster]
7. (Mining) A mass of earthy matter, or rock of the same
character as the wall rock, occurring in the course of a
vein, as of coal or ore; hence, to take horse -- said of a
vein -- is to divide into branches for a distance.
[1913 Webster]
8. (Naut.)
(a) See {Footrope}, a.
(b) A breastband for a leadsman.
(c) An iron bar for a sheet traveler to slide upon.
(d) A jackstay. --W. C. Russell. --Totten.
[1913 Webster]
9. (Student Slang)
(a) A translation or other illegitimate aid in study or
examination; -- called also {trot}, {pony}, {Dobbin}.
(b) Horseplay; tomfoolery.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
10. {heroin}. [slang]
[PJC]
11. {horsepower}. [Colloq. contraction]
[PJC]
Note: Horse is much used adjectively and in composition to
signify of, or having to do with, a horse or horses,
like a horse, etc.; as, horse collar, horse dealer or
horse?dealer, horsehoe, horse jockey; and hence, often
in the sense of strong, loud, coarse, etc.; as,
horselaugh, horse nettle or horse-nettle, horseplay,
horse ant, etc.
[1913 Webster]
{Black horse}, {Blood horse}, etc. See under {Black}, etc.
{Horse aloes}, caballine aloes.
{Horse ant} (Zool.), a large ant ({Formica rufa}); -- called
also {horse emmet}.
{Horse artillery}, that portion of the artillery in which the
cannoneers are mounted, and which usually serves with the
cavalry; flying artillery.
{Horse balm} (Bot.), a strong-scented labiate plant
({Collinsonia Canadensis}), having large leaves and
yellowish flowers.
{Horse bean} (Bot.), a variety of the English or Windsor bean
({Faba vulgaris}), grown for feeding horses.
{Horse boat}, a boat for conveying horses and cattle, or a
boat propelled by horses.
{Horse bot}. (Zool.) See {Botfly}, and {Bots}.
{Horse box}, a railroad car for transporting valuable horses,
as hunters. [Eng.]
{Horse breaker} or {Horse trainer}, one employed in subduing
or training horses for use.
{Horse car}.
(a) A railroad car drawn by horses. See under {Car}.
(b) A car fitted for transporting horses.
{Horse cassia} (Bot.), a leguminous plant ({Cassia
Javanica}), bearing long pods, which contain a black,
catharic pulp, much used in the East Indies as a horse
medicine.
{Horse cloth}, a cloth to cover a horse.
{Horse conch} (Zool.), a large, spiral, marine shell of the
genus Triton. See {Triton}.
{Horse courser}.
(a) One that runs horses, or keeps horses for racing.
--Johnson.
(b) A dealer in horses. [Obs.] --Wiseman.
{Horse crab} (Zool.), the Limulus; -- called also
{horsefoot}, {horsehoe crab}, and {king crab}.
{Horse crevall['e]} (Zool.), the cavally.
{Horse emmet} (Zool.), the horse ant.
{Horse finch} (Zool.), the chaffinch. [Prov. Eng.]
{Horse gentian} (Bot.), fever root.
{Horse iron} (Naut.), a large calking iron.
{Horse latitudes}, a space in the North Atlantic famous for
calms and baffling winds, being between the westerly winds
of higher latitudes and the trade winds. --Ham. Nav.
Encyc.
{Horse mackrel}. (Zool.)
(a) The common tunny ({Orcynus thunnus}), found on the
Atlantic coast of Europe and America, and in the
Mediterranean.
(b) The bluefish ({Pomatomus saltatrix}).
(c) The scad.
(d) The name is locally applied to various other fishes,
as the California hake, the black candlefish, the
jurel, the bluefish, etc.
{Horse marine} (Naut.), an awkward, lubbery person; one of a
mythical body of marine cavalry. [Slang]
{Horse mussel} (Zool.), a large, marine mussel ({Modiola
modiolus}), found on the northern shores of Europe and
America.
{Horse nettle} (Bot.), a coarse, prickly, American herb, the
{Solanum Carolinense}.
{Horse parsley}. (Bot.) See {Alexanders}.
{Horse purslain} (Bot.), a coarse fleshy weed of tropical
America ({Trianthema monogymnum}).
{Horse race}, a race by horses; a match of horses in running
or trotting.
{Horse racing}, the practice of racing with horses.
{Horse railroad}, a railroad on which the cars are drawn by
horses; -- in England, and sometimes in the United States,
called a {tramway}.
{Horse run} (Civil Engin.), a device for drawing loaded
wheelbarrows up an inclined plane by horse power.
{Horse sense}, strong common sense. [Colloq. U.S.]
{Horse soldier}, a cavalryman.
{Horse sponge} (Zool.), a large, coarse, commercial sponge
({Spongia equina}).
{Horse stinger} (Zool.), a large dragon fly. [Prov. Eng.]
{Horse sugar} (Bot.), a shrub of the southern part of the
United States ({Symplocos tinctoria}), whose leaves are
sweet, and good for fodder.
{Horse tick} (Zool.), a winged, dipterous insect ({Hippobosca
equina}), which troubles horses by biting them, and
sucking their blood; -- called also {horsefly}, {horse
louse}, and {forest fly}.
{Horse vetch} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Hippocrepis}
({Hippocrepis comosa}), cultivated for the beauty of its
flowers; -- called also {horsehoe vetch}, from the
peculiar shape of its pods.
{Iron horse}, a locomotive. [Colloq.]
{Salt horse}, the sailor's name for salt beef.
{To look a gift horse in the mouth}, to examine the mouth of
a horse which has been received as a gift, in order to
ascertain his age; -- hence, to accept favors in a
critical and thankless spirit. --Lowell.
{To take horse}.
(a) To set out on horseback. --Macaulay.
(b) To be covered, as a mare.
(c) See definition 7 (above).
[1913 Webster]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Sucker \Suck"er\ (s[u^]k"[~e]r), n.
1. One who, or that which, sucks; esp., one of the organs by
which certain animals, as the octopus and remora, adhere
to other bodies.
[1913 Webster]
2. A suckling; a sucking animal. --Beau. & Fl.
[1913 Webster]
3. The embolus, or bucket, of a pump; also, the valve of a
pump basket. --Boyle.
[1913 Webster]
4. A pipe through which anything is drawn.
[1913 Webster]
5. A small piece of leather, usually round, having a string
attached to the center, which, when saturated with water
and pressed upon a stone or other body having a smooth
surface, adheres, by reason of the atmospheric pressure,
with such force as to enable a considerable weight to be
thus lifted by the string; -- used by children as a
plaything.
[1913 Webster]
6. (Bot.) A shoot from the roots or lower part of the stem of
a plant; -- so called, perhaps, from diverting nourishment
from the body of the plant.
[1913 Webster]
7. (Zool.)
(a) Any one of numerous species of North American
fresh-water cyprinoid fishes of the family
{Catostomidae}; so called because the lips are
protrusile. The flesh is coarse, and they are of
little value as food. The most common species of the
Eastern United States are the northern sucker
({Catostomus Commersoni}), the white sucker
({Catostomus teres}), the hog sucker ({Catostomus
nigricans}), and the chub, or sweet sucker ({Erimyzon
sucetta}). Some of the large Western species are
called {buffalo fish}, {red horse}, {black horse}, and
{suckerel}.
(b) The remora.
(c) The lumpfish.
(d) The hagfish, or myxine.
(e) A California food fish ({Menticirrus undulatus})
closely allied to the kingfish
(a); -- called also {bagre}.
[1913 Webster]
8. A parasite; a sponger. See def. 6, above.
[1913 Webster]
They who constantly converse with men far above
their estates shall reap shame and loss thereby; if
thou payest nothing, they will count thee a sucker,
no branch. --Fuller.
[1913 Webster]
9. A hard drinker; a soaker. [Slang]
[1913 Webster]
10. A greenhorn; someone easily cheated, gulled, or deceived.
[Slang, U.S.]
[1913 Webster]
11. A nickname applied to a native of Illinois. [U. S.]
[1913 Webster]
12. A person strongly attracted to something; -- usually used
with for; as, he's a sucker for tall blondes.
[PJC]
11. Any thing or person; -- usually implying annoyance or
dislike; as, I went to change the blade and cut my finger
on the sucker. [Slang]
[PJC]
{Carp sucker}, {Cherry sucker}, etc. See under {Carp},
{Cherry}, etc.
{Sucker fish}. See {Sucking fish}, under {Sucking}.
{Sucker rod}, a pump rod. See under {Pump}.
{Sucker tube} (Zool.), one of the external ambulacral tubes
of an echinoderm, -- usually terminated by a sucker and
used for locomotion. Called also {sucker foot}. See
{Spatangoid}.
[1913 Webster]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Black \Black\ (bl[a^]k), a. [OE. blak, AS. bl[ae]c; akin to
Icel. blakkr dark, swarthy, Sw. bl[aum]ck ink, Dan. bl[ae]k,
OHG. blach, LG. & D. blaken to burn with a black smoke. Not
akin to AS. bl[=a]c, E. bleak pallid. [root]98.]
1. Destitute of light, or incapable of reflecting it; of the
color of soot or coal; of the darkest or a very dark
color, the opposite of {white}; characterized by such a
color; as, black cloth; black hair or eyes.
[1913 Webster]
O night, with hue so black! --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. In a less literal sense: Enveloped or shrouded in
darkness; very dark or gloomy; as, a black night; the
heavens black with clouds.
[1913 Webster]
I spy a black, suspicious, threatening cloud.
--Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. Fig.: Dismal, gloomy, or forbidding, like darkness;
destitute of moral light or goodness; atrociously wicked;
cruel; mournful; calamitous; horrible. "This day's black
fate." "Black villainy." "Arise, black vengeance." "Black
day." "Black despair." --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
4. Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen;
foreboding; as, to regard one with black looks.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Black is often used in self-explaining compound words;
as, black-eyed, black-faced, black-haired,
black-visaged.
[1913 Webster]
{Black act}, the English statute 9 George I, which makes it a
felony to appear armed in any park or warren, etc., or to
hunt or steal deer, etc., with the face blackened or
disguised. Subsequent acts inflicting heavy penalties for
malicious injuries to cattle and machinery have been
called black acts.
{Black angel} (Zool.), a fish of the West Indies and Florida
({Holacanthus tricolor}), with the head and tail yellow,
and the middle of the body black.
{Black antimony} (Chem.), the black sulphide of antimony,
{Sb2S3}, used in pyrotechnics, etc.
{Black bear} (Zool.), the common American bear ({Ursus
Americanus}).
{Black beast}. See {B[^e]te noire}.
{Black beetle} (Zool.), the common large cockroach ({Blatta
orientalis}).
{Black bonnet} (Zool.), the black-headed bunting ({Embriza
Sch[oe]niclus}) of Europe.
{Black canker}, a disease in turnips and other crops,
produced by a species of caterpillar.
{Black cat} (Zool.), the fisher, a quadruped of North America
allied to the sable, but larger. See {Fisher}.
{Black cattle}, any bovine cattle reared for slaughter, in
distinction from dairy cattle. [Eng.]
{Black cherry}. See under {Cherry}.
{Black cockatoo} (Zool.), the palm cockatoo. See {Cockatoo}.
{Black copper}. Same as {Melaconite}.
{Black currant}. (Bot.) See {Currant}.
{Black diamond}. (Min.) See {Carbonado}.
{Black draught} (Med.), a cathartic medicine, composed of
senna and magnesia.
{Black drop} (Med.), vinegar of opium; a narcotic preparation
consisting essentially of a solution of opium in vinegar.
{Black earth}, mold; earth of a dark color. --Woodward.
{Black flag}, the flag of a pirate, often bearing in white a
skull and crossbones; a signal of defiance.
{Black flea} (Zool.), a flea beetle ({Haltica nemorum})
injurious to turnips.
{Black flux}, a mixture of carbonate of potash and charcoal,
obtained by deflagrating tartar with half its weight of
niter. --Brande & C.
{Black Forest} [a translation of G. Schwarzwald], a forest in
Baden and W["u]rtemburg, in Germany; a part of the ancient
Hercynian forest.
{Black game}, or {Black grouse}. (Zool.) See {Blackcock},
{Grouse}, and {Heath grouse}.
{Black grass} (Bot.), a grasslike rush of the species {Juncus
Gerardi}, growing on salt marshes, and making good hay.
{Black gum} (Bot.), an American tree, the tupelo or
pepperidge. See {Tupelo}.
{Black Hamburg (grape)} (Bot.), a sweet and juicy variety of
dark purple or "black" grape.
{Black horse} (Zool.), a fish of the Mississippi valley
({Cycleptus elongatus}), of the sucker family; the
Missouri sucker.
{Black lemur} (Zool.), the {Lemurniger} of Madagascar; the
{acoumbo} of the natives.
{Black list}, a list of persons who are for some reason
thought deserving of censure or punishment; -- esp. a list
of persons stigmatized as insolvent or untrustworthy, made
for the protection of tradesmen or employers. See
{Blacklist}, v. t.
{Black manganese} (Chem.), the black oxide of manganese,
{MnO2}.
{Black Maria}, the close wagon in which prisoners are carried
to or from jail.
{Black martin} (Zool.), the chimney swift. See {Swift}.
{Black moss} (Bot.), the common so-called long moss of the
southern United States. See {Tillandsia}.
{Black oak}. See under {Oak}.
{Black ocher}. See {Wad}.
{Black pigment}, a very fine, light carbonaceous substance,
or lampblack, prepared chiefly for the manufacture of
printers' ink. It is obtained by burning common coal tar.
{Black plate}, sheet iron before it is tinned. --Knight.
{Black quarter}, malignant anthrax with engorgement of a
shoulder or quarter, etc., as of an ox.
{Black rat} (Zool.), one of the species of rats ({Mus
rattus}), commonly infesting houses.
{Black rent}. See {Blackmail}, n., 3.
{Black rust}, a disease of wheat, in which a black, moist
matter is deposited in the fissures of the grain.
{Black sheep}, one in a family or company who is unlike the
rest, and makes trouble.
{Black silver}. (Min.) See under {Silver}.
{Black and tan}, black mixed or spotted with tan color or
reddish brown; -- used in describing certain breeds of
dogs.
{Black tea}. See under {Tea}.
{Black tin} (Mining), tin ore (cassiterite), when dressed,
stamped and washed, ready for smelting. It is in the form
of a black powder, like fine sand. --Knight.
{Black walnut}. See under {Walnut}.
{Black warrior} (Zool.), an American hawk ({Buteo Harlani}).
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Dark; murky; pitchy; inky; somber; dusky; gloomy; swart;
Cimmerian; ebon; atrocious.
[1913 Webster]