*cree*

n. [ OE. credo, crede, AS. creda, fr. L. credo I believe, at the beginning of the Apostles' creed, fr. credere to believe; akin to OIr. cretim I believe, and Skr. çraddadhāmi; çrat trust + dhā to put. See Do, v. t., and cf. Credo, Grant. ] 1. A definite summary of what is believed; esp., a summary of the articles of Christian faith; a confession of faith for public use; esp., one which is brief and comprehensive. [ 1913 Webster ]

In the Protestant system the creed is not coordinate with, but always subordinate to, the Bible. Schaff-Herzog Encyc. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any summary of principles or opinions professed or adhered to. [ 1913 Webster ]

I love him not, nor fear him; there's my creed. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Apostles' creed,
Athanasian creed,
Nicene creed. See under Apostle, Athanasian, Nicene. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To believe; to credit. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

That part which is so creeded by the people. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without a creed. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. crecca; akin to D. kreek, Icel. kriki crack, nook; cf. W. crig crack, crigyll ravine, creek. Cf. Crick, Crook. ] 1. A small inlet or bay, narrower and extending further into the land than a cove; a recess in the shore of the sea, or of a river. [ 1913 Webster ]

Each creek and cavern of the dangerous shore. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

They discovered a certain creek, with a shore. Acts xxvii. 39. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A stream of water smaller than a river and larger than a brook. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lesser streams and rivulets are denominated creeks. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Any turn or winding. [ 1913 Webster ]

The passages of alleys, creeks, and narrow lands. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The chub sucker. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl.; sing. Creek. (Ethnol.) A tribe or confederacy of North American Indians, including the Muskogees, Seminoles, Uchees, and other subordinate tribes. They formerly inhabited Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Containing, or abounding in, creeks; characterized by creeks; like a creek; winding. “The creeky shore.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gael. craidhleag basket, creel. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. An osier basket, such as anglers use. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Spinning) A bar or set of bars with skewers for holding paying-off bobbins, as in the roving machine, throstle, and mule. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. Crept Crope Obs.); p. p. Crept; p. pr. & vb. n. Creeping. ] [ OE. crepen, creopen, AS. creópan; akin to D. kruipen, G. kriechen, Icel. krjupa, Sw. krypa, Dan. krybe. Cf. Cripple, Crouch. ] 1. To move along the ground, or on any other surface, on the belly, as a worm or reptile; to move as a child on the hands and knees; to crawl. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ye that walk
The earth, and stately tread, or lowly creep. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To move slowly, feebly, or timorously, as from unwillingness, fear, or weakness. [ 1913 Webster ]

The whining schoolboy . . . creeping, like snail,
Unwillingly to school. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Like a guilty thing, I creep. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To move in a stealthy or secret manner; to move imperceptibly or clandestinely; to steal in; to insinuate itself or one's self; as, age creeps upon us. [ 1913 Webster ]

The sophistry which creeps into most of the books of argument. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

Of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women. 2. Tim. iii. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To slip, or to become slightly displaced; as, the collodion on a negative, or a coat of varnish, may creep in drying; the quicksilver on a mirror may creep. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To move or behave with servility or exaggerated humility; to fawn; as, a creeping sycophant. [ 1913 Webster ]

To come as humbly as they used to creep. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To grow, as a vine, clinging to the ground or to some other support by means of roots or rootlets, or by tendrils, along its length. “Creeping vines.” Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To have a sensation as of insects creeping on the skin of the body; to crawl; as, the sight made my flesh creep. See Crawl, v. i., 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To drag in deep water with creepers, as for recovering a submarine cable. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act or process of creeping. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A distressing sensation, or sound, like that occasioned by the creeping of insects. [ 1913 Webster ]

A creep of undefinable horror. Blackwood's Mag. [ 1913 Webster ]

Out of the stillness, with gathering creep,
Like rising wind in leaves. Lowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mining) A slow rising of the floor of a gallery, occasioned by the pressure of incumbent strata upon the pillars or sides; a gradual movement of mining ground. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, creeps; any creeping thing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Standing waters are most unwholesome, . . . full of mites, creepers; slimy, muddy, unclean. Burton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) A plant that clings by rootlets, or by tendrils, to the ground, or to trees, etc.; as, the Virginia creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia). [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Zool.) A small bird of the genus Certhia, allied to the wrens. The brown or common European creeper is Certhia familiaris, a variety of which (var. Americana) inhabits America; -- called also tree creeper and creeptree. The American black and white creeper is Mniotilta varia. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A kind of patten mounted on short pieces of iron instead of rings; also, a fixture with iron points worn on a shoe to prevent one from slipping. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. pl. A spurlike device strapped to the boot, which enables one to climb a tree or pole; -- called often telegraph creepers. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A small, low iron, or dog, between the andirons. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. pl. An instrument with iron hooks or claws for dragging at the bottom of a well, or any other body of water, and bringing up what may lie there. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. Any device for causing material to move steadily from one part of a machine to another, as an apron in a carding machine, or an inner spiral in a grain screen. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. pl. (Arch.) Crockets. See Crocket. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A hole or retreat into which an animal may creep, to escape notice or danger. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A subterfuge; an excuse. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A low stool. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An uneasy sensation as of insects creeping on the skin. [ 1913 Webster ]

She felt a curious, uneasy creepiness. Mrs. Alexander. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Crawling, or moving close to the ground. “Every creeping thing.” Gen. vi. 20. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Growing along, and clinging to, the ground, or to a wall, etc., by means of rootlets or tendrils. [ 1913 Webster ]

Casements lined with creeping herbs. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ceeping crowfoot (Bot.), a plant, the Ranunculus repens. --
Creeping snowberry, an American plant (Chiogenes hispidula) with white berries and very small round leaves having the flavor of wintergreen. [ 1913 Webster ]

. The stonecrop (Sedum acre). [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

adv. by creeping slowly; in the manner of a reptile; insidiously; cunningly. [ 1913 Webster ]

How slily and creepingly did he address himself to our first parents. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Cripple. ] 1. A creeping creature; a reptile. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

There is one creeping beast, or long creeple (as the name is in Devonshire), that hath a rattle at his tail that doth discover his age. Morton (1632). [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who is lame; a cripple. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou knowest how lame a creeple this world is. Donne. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Crawly; having or producing a sensation like that caused by insects creeping on the skin. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

One's whole blood grew curdling and creepy. R. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl.; sing. Cree. (Ethnol.) An Algonquin tribe of Indians, inhabiting a large part of British America east of the Rocky Mountains and south of Hudson's Bay. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Malay. kris. ] A dagger or short sword used by the Malays, commonly having a serpentine blade. [ Written also crease and kris. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

From a Malayan creese to a sailor's jackknife. Julian Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. decre, F. décret, fr. L. decretum, neut. decretus, p. p. of decernere to decide; de- + cernere to decide. See Certain, and cf. Decreet, Decretal. ] 1. An order from one having authority, deciding what is to be done by a subordinate; also, a determination by one having power, deciding what is to be done or to take place; edict, law; authoritative ru&unr_;&unr_; decision. “The decrees of Venice.” Sh&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;. [ 1913 Webster ]

There went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. Luke ii. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

Poor hand, why quiverest thou at this decree? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) (a) A decision, order, or sentence, given in a cause by a court of equity or admiralty. (b) A determination or judgment of an umpire on a case submitted to him. Brande. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Eccl.) An edict or law made by a council for regulating any business within their jurisdiction; as, the decrees of ecclesiastical councils.

Syn. -- Law; regulation; edict; ordinance. See Law. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Decreed p. pr. & vb. n. Decreeing. ] 1. To determine judicially by authority, or by decree; to constitute by edict; to appoint by decree or law; to determine; to order; to ordain; as, a court decrees a restoration of property. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee. Job xxii. 28. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To ordain by fate. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To make decrees; -- used absolutely. [ 1913 Webster ]

Father eternal! thine is to decree;
Mine, both in heaven and earth to do thy will. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being decreed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who decrees. J. Goodwin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Decree. ] (Scots Law) The final judgment of the Court of Session, or of an inferior court, by which the question at issue is decided. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Compar. Discreeter superl. Discreetest. ] [ F. discret, L. discretus separated (whence the meaning reserved, prudent), p. p. of discernere. See Discern, and cf. Discrete. ] 1. Possessed of discernment, especially in avoiding error or evil, and in the adaptation of means to ends; prudent; sagacious; judicious; not rash or heedless; cautious. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is the discreet man, not the witty, nor the learned, nor the brave, who guides the conversation, and gives measures to society. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

Satire 's my weapon, but I 'm too discreet
To run amuck, and tilt at all I meet. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

The sea is silent, the sea is discreet. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Differing; distinct. [ Obs. ] Spenser.

-- Dis*creet"ly, adv. -- Dis*creet"ness, n.

n. 1. Any of a number of small to medium-sized finches of the Hawaiian islands belonging to the subfamily Drepanidae.
Syn. -- Hawaiian honeycreeper. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. any of numerous species of small, bright, colored, passerine birds of the family Cœrebidæ, related to the tanagers and wood warblers, abundant in Central and South America; they are songbirds with a curved bill for sucking nectar. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ OE. indiscret, F. indiscret, fr. L. indiscretus unseparated, indiscreet. See In- not, and Discreet, and cf. Indiscrete. ] Not discreet; wanting in discretion. [ 1913 Webster ]

So drunken, and so indiscreet an officer. Shak.

Syn. -- Imprudent; injudicious; inconsiderate; rash; hasty; incautious; heedless; undiscerning; foolish.

-- In`dis*creet"ly, adv. -- In`dis*creet"ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A pebble; a stone; also, a heap of stones or rocky débris. [ Prov. Eng. ] Southey. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Screeched p. pr. & vb. n. Screeching. ] [ Also formerly, scritch, OE. skriken, skrichen, schriken, of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. skrækja to shriek, to screech, skrīkja to titter, Sw. skrika to shriek, Dan. skrige; also Gael. sgreach, sgreuch, W. ysgrechio, Skr. kharj to creak. Cf. Shriek, v., Scream, v. ] To utter a harsh, shrill cry; to make a sharp outcry, as in terror or acute pain; to scream; to shriek. “The screech owl, screeching loud.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A harsh, shrill cry, as of one in acute pain or in fright; a shriek; a scream. [ 1913 Webster ]

Screech bird, or
Screech thrush (Zool.), the fieldfare; -- so called from its harsh cry before rain. --
Screech rain. --
Screech hawk (Zool.), the European goatsucker; -- so called from its note. [ Prov. Eng. ] --
Screech owl. (Zool.) (a) A small American owl (Scops asio), either gray or reddish in color. (b) The European barn owl. The name is applied also to other species. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. (Zool.) The picarian birds, as distinguished from the singing birds. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Like a screech; shrill and harsh. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Prov. E., a shred, the border of a cap. See Shred. ] 1. (Arch.) (a) A strip of plaster of the thickness proposed for the coat, applied to the wall at intervals of four or five feet, as a guide. (b) A wooden straightedge used to lay across the plaster screed, as a limit for the thickness of the coat. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A fragment; a portion; a shred. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See 1st Screed. For sense 2 cf. also Gael. sgread an outcry. ] 1. A breach or rent; a breaking forth into a loud, shrill sound; as, martial screeds. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An harangue; a long tirade on any subject. [ 1913 Webster ]

The old carl gae them a screed of doctrine; ye might have heard him a mile down the wind. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. scren, OF. escrein, escran, F. écran, of uncertain origin; cf. G. schirm a screen, OHG. scirm, scerm a protection, shield, or G. schragen a trestle, a stack of wood, or G. schranne a railing. ] 1. Anything that separates or cuts off inconvenience, injury, or danger; that which shelters or conceals from view; a shield or protection; as, a fire screen. [ 1913 Webster ]

Your leavy screens throw down. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some ambitious men seem as screens to princes in matters of danger and envy. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Arch.) A dwarf wall or partition carried up to a certain height for separation and protection, as in a church, to separate the aisle from the choir, or the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A surface, as that afforded by a curtain, sheet, wall, etc., upon which an image, as a picture, is thrown by a magic lantern, solar microscope, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A long, coarse riddle or sieve, sometimes a revolving perforated cylinder, used to separate the coarser from the finer parts, as of coal, sand, gravel, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Cricket) An erection of white canvas or wood placed on the boundary opposite a batsman to enable him to see ball better. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

6. a netting, usu. of metal, contained in a frame, used mostly in windows or doors to allow in fresh air while excluding insects. --
Screen door, a door of which half or more is composed of a screen. --
Screen window, a screen inside a frame, fitted for insertion into a window frame. [ PJC ]

7. The surface of an electronic device, as a television set or computer monitor, on which a visible image is formed. The screen is frequently the surface of a cathode-ray tube containing phosphors excited by the electron beam, but other methods for causing an image to appear on the screen are also used, as in flat-panel displays. [ PJC ]

8. The motion-picture industry; motion pictures. “A star of stage and screen.” [ PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Screened p. pr. & vb. n. Screening. ] 1. To provide with a shelter or means of concealment; to separate or cut off from inconvenience, injury, or danger; to shelter; to protect; to protect by hiding; to conceal; as, fruits screened from cold winds by a forest or hill. [ 1913 Webster ]

They were encouraged and screened by some who were in high commands. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To pass, as coal, gravel, ashes, etc., through a screen in order to separate the coarse from the fine, or the worthless from the valuable; to sift. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. to examine a group of objects methodically, to separate them into groups or to select one or more for some purpose. As: (a) To inspect the qualifications of candidates for a job, to select one or more to be hired. (b) (Biochem., Med.) to test a large number of samples, in order to find those having specific desirable properties; as, to screen plant extracts for anticancer agents. [ PJC ]

n. the process of examining or testing objects methodically to find those having desirable properties. See screen{ 3 }. In the pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical screening involves testing a large number of samples of substances to find those having desirable pharmacological activity; those samples which have the property sought are called active or positive in the screen. The substances tested may be pure compounds with known structure, mixtures of pure compounds, or complex mixtures obtained by extraction from living organisms. There are often additional sets of test performed on active samples, called
counterscreening to eliminate those samples that may also possess undesirable properties. In the case of screening of mixtures from living organisms, a type of counterscreening called dereplication is usually performed, to determine if the active sample contains a known compound which has previously been studied. [ PJC ]

n. pl. The refuse left after screening sand, coal, ashes, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. [ Pref. un- not + decreed. ] Not decreed. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. [ 1st pref. un- + decree. ] Reversed or nullified by decree, as something previously decreed. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To creep secretly or privily. [ Obs. ] Wyclif. [ 1913 Webster ]