*eras*

A human skull reported, by Prof. J. D. Whitney, as found in 1886 in a Tertiary auriferous gravel deposit, lying below a bed of black lava, in Calaveras County, California. It is regarded as very doubtful whether the skull really belonged to the deposit in which it was found. If it did, it indicates an unprecedented antiquity for human beings of an advanced type. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. one of the often brightly colored and branching hornlike structures on the backs of nudibranchs and other related mollusks that serve as gills. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Chem.) A white amorphous substance, the insoluble part of cherry gum; -- called also meta-arabinic acid. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Chem.) A gummy mucilaginous substance; -- called also bassorin, tragacanthin, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Pertaining to, or containing, cerasin. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Of a cherry color. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L., a horned serpent, fr. Gr. kera`sths horned, fr. ke`ras horn. ] (Zool.) A genus of poisonous African serpents, with a horny scale over each eye; the horned viper. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a genus of weedy plants of the pink family, comprising the mouse-ear chickweeds.
Syn. -- genus Cerastium. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖n. pl. [ Mex. Sp. ] Same as Chaparajos. [ Sp. Amer. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ OE. coperose, F. couperose, fr. (assumed?) L. cuprirosa, equiv. to G. cha`lkanqos, i. e. copper flower, vitriol. See Copper and Rose. ] Green vitriol, or sulphate of iron; a green crystalline substance, of an astringent taste, used in making ink, in dyeing black, as a tonic in medicine, etc. It is made on a large scale by the oxidation of iron pyrites. Called also ferrous sulphate. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The term copperas was formerly synonymous with vitriol, and included the green, blue, and white vitriols, or the sulphates of iron, copper, and zinc. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL. ] (Paleon.) See Dinoceras. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_; terrible + &unr_;, &unr_;, horn. ] (Paleon.) A genus of large extinct Eocene mammals from Wyoming; -- called also Uintatherium. See Illustration in Appendix. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ They were herbivorous, and remarkable for three pairs of hornlike protuberances on the skull. The males were armed with a pair of powerful canine tusks. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>n. (Biochemistry, Genetics) an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of DNA from deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates. Cells contain several types of DNA polymerase, some of which are required for replication of DNA, and are indispensable for multipliation and division of cells. [ PJC ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_; tempering the humors; 'epi` + &unr_; to mix: cf. F. épicérastique. ] (Med.) Lenient; assuaging. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being erased. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Erased p. pr. & vb. n.. Erasing. ] [ L. erasus, p. p. of eradere to erase; e out + radere to scrape, scratch, shave. See Rase. ] 1. To rub or scrape out, as letters or characters written, engraved, or painted; to efface; to expunge; to cross out; as, to erase a word or a name. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Fig.: To obliterate; to expunge; to blot out; -- used of ideas in the mind or memory. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

p. p. & a. 1. Rubbed or scraped out; effaced; obliterated. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Her.) Represented with jagged and uneven edges, as is torn off; -- used esp. of the head or limb of a beast. Cf. Couped. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of erasing; a rubbing out; expunction; obliteration. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, erases; esp., a sharp instrument or a piece of rubber used to erase writings, drawings, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of erasing; a rubbing out; obliteration. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of the followers of Thomas Erastus, a German physician and theologian of the 16th century. He held that the punishment of all offenses should be referred to the civil power, and that holy communion was open to all. In the present day, an Erastian is one who would see the church placed entirely under the control of the State. Shipley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Eccl. Hist.) The principles of the Erastains. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Erase. ] 1. The act of erasing; a scratching out; obliteration. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. the place where something has been erased. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. [ NL. ] (Zool.) A genus of small, slender fishes, remarkable for their habit of living as commensals in other animals. One species inhabits the gill cavity of the pearl oyster near Panama; another lives within an East Indian holothurian. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;, fr. &unr_; to cover with a shield; "ype`r over + &unr_; shield.] One who holds a shield over another; hence, a defender. [Obs.] Chillingworth. [1913 Webster]

n. (Physiol. Chem.) A nitrogenous substance free from phosphorus, supposed to be present in the brain; a body closely related to cerebrin. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. ke`ras horn. ] Resembling horn; horny; corneous. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Biochem.) an enzyme which catalyzes the oxidation of luciferin, thereby producing bioluminescence. [ PJC ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. 'orqo`s straight + ke`ras a horn. ] (Paleon.) An extinct genus of Paleozoic Cephalopoda, having a long, straight, conical shell. The interior is divided into numerous chambers by transverse septa. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. paiderasth`s; pai^s, paido`s, a boy + 'era^n to love: cf. F. pédéraste. ] One guilty of pederasty; a sodomite. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. paiderastiko`s. ] Of or pertaining to pederasty. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. paiderasti`a: cf. F. pédérastie. ] Sexual activity between two males; sodomy; the “crime against nature”; -- used especially when one partner is a boy. The term “crime against nature” to refer to homosexual activity is now (2002) seldom used except by religious conservatives. It was in the 1913 Webster, and is left here for historical purposes. [ 1913 Webster + PJC ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_; harlot + &unr_; to love. ] Lascivious; licentious. [ R. ] F. Harrison. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_; a wing + &unr_; a horn. ] (Zool.) A genus of large marine gastropods having the outer border of the lip divided into lobes; -- called also scorpion shell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Turk., fr. Per. ser head, chief + Ar. 'asker an army. ] A general or commander of land forces in the Turkish empire; especially, the commander-in-chief of minister of war. [ 1913 Webster ]