*carte*

{ . ‖ } n. [ F. quarte, prop., a fourth. Cf. Quart. ] (Fencing) A position in thrusting or parrying, with the inside of the hand turned upward and the point of the weapon toward the adversary's right breast. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ [ F., fr. OF. carte paper + -blanc, blanche, white. See 1st Card. ] A blank paper, with a person's signature, etc., at the bottom, given to another person, with permission to superscribe what conditions he pleases. Hence: Unconditional terms; unlimited authority. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖pl. Cartes de visite /plu>. [ F. ] 1. A visiting card. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A photographic picture of the size formerly in use for a visiting card. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. LL. cartellus a little paper, dim. fr. L. charta. See 1st Card. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Mil.) An agreement between belligerents for the exchange of prisoners. Wilhelm. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A letter of defiance or challenge; a challenge to single combat. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

He is cowed at the very idea of a cartel., Sir W. Scott.

[ 1913 Webster ]

Cartel, or
Cartel ship, a ship employed in the exchange of prisoners, or in carrying propositions to an enemy; a ship beating a flag of truce and privileged from capture. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To defy or challenge. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

You shall cartel him. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A charioteer. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A man who drives a cart; a teamster. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) (a) Any species of Phalangium; -- also called harvestman. (b) A British fish; the whiff. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From Renatus Cartesius, Latinized from of René Descartes: cf. F. cartésien. ] Of or pertaining to the French philosopher René Descartes, or his philosophy. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Cartesion argument for reality of matter. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cartesian coordinates (Geom), distance of a point from lines or planes; -- used in a system of representing geometric quantities, invented by Descartes. --
Cartesian devil, a small hollow glass figure, used in connection with a jar of water having an elastic top, to illustrate the effect of the compression or expansion of air in changing the specific gravity of bodies. --
Cartesion oval (Geom.), a curve such that, for any point of the curve mr + m′r′ = c, where r and r′ are the distances of the point from the two foci and m, m′ and c are constant; -- used by Descartes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An adherent of Descartes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The philosophy of Descartes. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>prop. n. René Descartes, a French philosopher and mathematician, born 1596, died 1650. See biography, below.
Syn. -- Rene Descartes. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

Descartes, René (Latinized Renatus Cartesius). Born at La Haye, Touraine, France, March 31, 1596: died at Stockholm, Feb. 11, 1650. A. celebrated French philosopher, founder of Cartesianism and of modern philosophy in general. He was graduated at seventeen from the Jesuit college of La Flèche, spent five years in Paris (1613-18), and then roamed about in search of knowledge in Germany, Italy, Holland, and Poland. In 1628 he attended the siege of La Rochelle as a volunteer. From 1629 to 1649 he led a retired life in Holland, spreading and defending his philosophical ideas. He finally went to Stockholm on the invitation of Queen Christina of Sweden; five months later he died there of pneumonia. The work that has made him famous as a philosopher is a short treatise entitled "Discours de la méthode" (Leyden, 1637). It was published in French together with three essays in support of his theories, "La dioptrique," "Les météores," and "La géométrie." In it he revolutionized the science of thought. Descartes himself published during his lifetime "Meditationes de prima philosophia "(Paris, 1641; Amsterdam, 1642; translated into French, 1647), "Principia philosophiae" (Amsterdam, 1644), "Traité des passions de l'âme" (Amsterdam, 1649), and a polemic pamphlet entitled "Epistola Renati Descartes ad Gisbertum Voëitum" (Amsterdam, 1643). After his death his friends published his "De l'homme" (1664), "Traité de la formation du foetus" (1664), "Le monde ou traité de la lumière de Descartes" (1664), "Lettres" (1657-67), and "Opuscula posthuma, physica et mathematica" (Amsterdam, 1701). Descartes ranked among the foremost mathematicians of his day. A separate reprint was made of his geometry, and the work itself was translated into Latin in 1649, and reëdited in 1659 with notes and comments. In this form it constituted a classic standard throughout Europe, and presented an entirely new basis for the study of algebra and geometry. [ Century Dict. 1906 ]

‖n. [ F., prop. p. p. fr. écarter to reject, discard. ] A game at cards for two persons, with 32 cards, ranking K, Q, J, A, 10, 9, 8, 7. Five cards are dealt each player, and the 11th turned as trump. Five points constitute a game. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]