The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Spirit \Spir"it\, n. [OF. espirit, esperit, F. esprit, L.
spiritus, from spirare to breathe, to blow. Cf. Conspire,
Expire, Esprit, Sprite.]
1. Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes,
life itself. [Obs.] "All of spirit would deprive."
--Spenser.
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The mild air, with season moderate,
Gently attempered, and disposed eo well,
That still it breathed foorth sweet spirit.
--Spenser.
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2. A rough breathing; an aspirate, as the letter h; also, a
mark to denote aspiration; a breathing. [Obs.]
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Be it a letter or spirit, we have great use for it.
--B. Jonson.
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3. Life, or living substance, considered independently of
corporeal existence; an intelligence conceived of apart
from any physical organization or embodiment; vital
essence, force, or energy, as distinct from matter.
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4. The intelligent, immaterial and immortal part of man; the
soul, in distinction from the body in which it resides;
the agent or subject of vital and spiritual functions,
whether spiritual or material.
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There is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the
Almighty giveth them understanding. --Job xxxii.
8.
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As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead also. --James ii.
26.
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Spirit is a substance wherein thinking, knowing,
doubting, and a power of moving, do subsist.
--Locke.
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5. Specifically, a disembodied soul; the human soul after it
has left the body.
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Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was,
and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
--Eccl. xii.
7.
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Ye gentle spirits far away,
With whom we shared the cup of grace. --Keble.
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6. Any supernatural being, good or bad; an apparition; a
specter; a ghost; also, sometimes, a sprite,; a fairy; an
elf.
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Whilst young, preserve his tender mind from all
impressions of spirits and goblins in the dark.
--Locke.
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7. Energy, vivacity, ardor, enthusiasm, courage, etc.
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"Write it then, quickly," replied Bede; and
summoning all his spirits together, like the last
blaze of a candle going out, he indited it, and
expired. --Fuller.
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8. One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great
activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper;
as, a ruling spirit; a schismatic spirit.
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Such spirits as he desired to please, such would I
choose for my judges. --Dryden.
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9. Temper or disposition of mind; mental condition or
disposition; intellectual or moral state; -- often in the
plural; as, to be cheerful, or in good spirits; to be
downhearted, or in bad spirits.
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God has . . . made a spirit of building succeed a
spirit of pulling down. --South.
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A perfect judge will read each work of wit
With the same spirit that its author writ. --Pope.
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10. Intent; real meaning; -- opposed to the letter, or to
formal statement; also, characteristic quality,
especially such as is derived from the individual genius
or the personal character; as, the spirit of an
enterprise, of a document, or the like.
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11. Tenuous, volatile, airy, or vapory substance, possessed
of active qualities.
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All bodies have spirits . . . within them. --Bacon.
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12. Any liquid produced by distillation; especially, alcohol,
the spirits, or spirit, of wine (it having been first
distilled from wine): -- often in the plural.
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13. pl. Rum, whisky, brandy, gin, and other distilled liquors
having much alcohol, in distinction from wine and malt
liquors.
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14. (Med.) A solution in alcohol of a volatile principle. Cf.
Tincture. --U. S. Disp.
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15. (Alchemy) Any one of the four substances, sulphur, sal
ammoniac, quicksilver, or arsenic (or, according to some,
orpiment).
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The four spirits and the bodies seven. --Chaucer.
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16. (Dyeing) Stannic chloride. See under Stannic.
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Note: Spirit is sometimes joined with other words, forming
compounds, generally of obvious signification; as,
spirit-moving, spirit-searching, spirit-stirring, etc.
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Astral spirits, Familiar spirits, etc. See under
Astral, Familiar, etc.
Animal spirits.
(a) (Physiol.) The fluid which at one time was supposed
to circulate through the nerves and was regarded as
the agent of sensation and motion; -- called also the
nervous fluid, or nervous principle.
(b) Physical health and energy; frolicsomeness;
sportiveness.
Ardent spirits, strong alcoholic liquors, as brandy, rum,
whisky, etc., obtained by distillation.
Holy Spirit, or The Spirit (Theol.), the Spirit of God,
or the third person of the Trinity; the Holy Ghost. The
spirit also signifies the human spirit as influenced or
animated by the Divine Spirit.
Proof spirit. (Chem.) See under Proof.
Rectified spirit (Chem.), spirit rendered purer or more
concentrated by redistillation, so as to increase the
percentage of absolute alcohol.
Spirit butterfly (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
delicate butterflies of tropical America belonging to the
genus Ithomia. The wings are gauzy and nearly destitute
of scales.
Spirit duck. (Zool.)
(a) The buffle-headed duck.
(b) The golden-eye.
Spirit lamp (Art), a lamp in which alcohol or methylated
spirit is burned.
Spirit level. See under Level.
Spirit of hartshorn. (Old Chem.) See under Hartshorn.
Spirit of Mindererus (Med.), an aqueous solution of acetate
of ammonium; -- named after R. Minderer, physician of
Augsburg.
Spirit of nitrous ether (Med. Chem.), a pale yellow liquid,
of a sweetish taste and a pleasant ethereal odor. It is
obtained by the distillation of alcohol with nitric and
sulphuric acids, and consists essentially of ethyl nitrite
with a little acetic aldehyde. It is used as a
diaphoretic, diuretic, antispasmodic, etc. Called also
sweet spirit of niter.
Spirit of salt (Chem.), hydrochloric acid; -- so called
because obtained from salt and sulphuric acid. [Obs.]
Spirit of sense, the utmost refinement of sensation. [Obs.]
--Shak.
Spirits of turpentine, or Spirit of turpentine (Chem.),
rectified oil of turpentine, a transparent, colorless,
volatile, and very inflammable liquid, distilled from the
turpentine of the various species of pine; camphine. It is
commonly used to remove paint from surfaces, or to dissole
oil-based paint. See Camphine.
Spirit of vitriol (Chem.), sulphuric acid; -- so called
because formerly obtained by the distillation of green
vitriol. [Obs.]
Spirit of vitriolic ether (Chem.) ethyl ether; -- often but
incorrectly called sulphuric ether. See Ether. [Obs.]
Spirits of wine, or Spirit of wine (Chem.), alcohol; --
so called because formerly obtained by the distillation of
wine.
Spirit rapper, one who practices spirit rapping; a "medium"
so called.
Spirit rapping, an alleged form of communication with the
spirits of the dead by raps. See Spiritualism, 3.
Sweet spirit of niter. See Spirit of nitrous ether,
above.
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Syn: Life; ardor; energy; fire; courage; animatioon;
cheerfulness; vivacity; enterprise.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Naphtha \Naph"tha\ (n[a^]f"th[.a] or n[a^]p"th[.a]), n. [L.
naphtha, Gr. na`fqa, fr.Ar. nafth, nifth.]
1. (Chem.) The complex mixture of volatile, liquid,
inflammable hydrocarbons, occurring naturally, and usually
called crude petroleum, mineral oil, or rock oil.
Specifically: That portion of the distillate obtained in
the refinement of petroleum which is intermediate between
the lighter gasoline and the heavier benzine, and has a
specific gravity of about 0.7, -- used as a solvent for
varnishes, as a carburetant, illuminant, etc.
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2. (Chem.) One of several volatile inflammable liquids
obtained by the distillation of certain carbonaceous
materials and resembling the naphtha from petroleum; as,
Boghead naphtha, from Boghead coal (obtained at Boghead,
Scotland); crude naphtha, or light oil, from coal tar;
wood naphtha, from wood, etc.
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Note: This term was applied by the earlier chemical writers
to a number of volatile, strong smelling, inflammable
liquids, chiefly belonging to the ethers, as the
sulphate, nitrate, or acetate of ethyl. --Watts.
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Naphtha vitrioli [NL., naphtha of vitriol] (Old Chem.),
common ethyl ether; -- formerly called sulphuric ether.
See Ether.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Sulphuric \Sul*phu"ric\, a. [Cf. F. sulfurique.]
1. Of or pertaining to sulphur; as, a sulphuric smell.
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2. (Chem.) Derived from, or containing, sulphur;
specifically, designating those compounds in which the
element has a higher valence as contrasted with the
sulphurous compounds; as, sulphuric acid.
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Sulphuric acid.
(a) Sulphur trioxide (see under Sulphur); -- formerly so
called on the dualistic theory of salts. [Obs.]
(b) A heavy, corrosive, oily liquid, H2SO4, colorless
when pure, but usually yellowish or brownish, produced
by the combined action of sulphur dioxide, oxygen
(from the air), steam, and nitric fumes. It attacks
and dissolves many metals and other intractable
substances, sets free most acids from their salts, and
is used in the manufacture of hydrochloric and nitric
acids, of soda, of bleaching powders, etc. It is also
powerful dehydrating agent, having a strong affinity
for water, and eating and corroding paper, wood,
clothing, etc. It is thus used in the manufacture of
ether, of imitation parchment, and of nitroglycerin.
It is also used in etching iron, in removing iron
scale from forgings, in petroleum refining, etc., and
in general its manufacture is the most important and
fundamental of all the chemical industries. Formerly
called vitriolic acid, and now popularly vitriol,
and oil of vitriol.
Fuming sulphuric acid, or Nordhausen sulphuric acid. See
Disulphuric acid, under Disulphuric.
Sulphuric anhydride, sulphur trioxide. See under Sulphur.
Sulphuric ether, common anaesthetic ether; -- so called
because made by the catalytic action of sulphuric acid on
alcohol. See Ether, 3
(a) .
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Ether \E"ther\ ([=e]"th[~e]r), n. [L. aether, Gr. a'iqh`r, fr.
a'i`qein to light up, kindle, burn, blaze; akin to Skr. idh,
indh, and prob. to E. idle: cf. F. ['e]ther.] [Written also
[ae]ther.]
1. (Physics) A medium of great elasticity and extreme
tenuity, once supposed to pervade all space, the interior
of solid bodies not excepted, and to be the medium of
transmission of light and heat; hence often called
luminiferous ether. It is no longer believed that such a
medium is required for the transmission of electromagnetic
waves; the modern use of the term is mostly a figurative
term for empty space, or for literary effect, and not
intended to imply the actual existence of a physical
medium. However. modern cosmological theories based on
quantum field theory do not rule out the possibility that
the inherent energy of the vacuum is greater than zero, in
which case the concept of an ether pervading the vacuum
may have more than metaphoric meaning.
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2. Supposed matter above the air; the air itself.
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3. (Chem.)
(a) A light, volatile, mobile, inflammable liquid,
(C2H5)2O, of a characteristic aromatic odor,
obtained by the distillation of alcohol with sulphuric
acid, and hence called also sulphuric ether. It is a
powerful solvent of fats, resins, and pyroxylin, but
finds its chief use as an an[ae]sthetic. Commonly
called ethyl ether to distinguish it from other
ethers, and also ethyl oxide.
(b) Any similar compound in which an oxygen atom is bound
to two different carbon atoms, each of which is part
of an organic radical; as, amyl ether; valeric ether;
methyl ethyl ether. The general formular for an ether
is ROR', in which R and R' are organic radicals
which may be of similar or different structure. If R
and R' are different parts of the same organic
radical, the structure forms a cyclic ether.
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Complex ether, Mixed ether (Chem.), an ether in which the
ether oxygen is attached to two radicals having different
structures; as, ethyl methyl ether, C2H5.O.CH3.
Compound ether (Chem.), an ethereal salt or a salt of some
hydrocarbon as the base; an ester.
Ether engine (Mach.), a condensing engine like a steam
engine, but operated by the vapor of ether instead of by
steam.
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