*lex*

n. 1. same as Alexander[ wn1 ]; Smyrnium olusatrum.
Syn. -- Alexander, black lovage, horse parsley, Smyrnium olusatrum [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a city on the Mediterranean Sea, the chief port of Egypt.
Syn. -- El Iskandariyah [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. 1. Of or pertaining to Alexandria in Egypt; as, the Alexandrian library. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Applied to a kind of heroic verse. See Alexandrine, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Belonging to Alexandria; Alexandrian. Bancroft. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. alexandrin. ] A kind of verse consisting in English of twelve syllables. [ 1913 Webster ]

The needless Alexandrine ends the song,
That, like a wounded snake, drags its slow length along. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL.; a- not + Gr. le`xis speech, fr. le`gein to speak, confused with L. legere to read. ] (Med.) (a) Inability to read aloud, due to brain disease; the meanings of the words is nevertheless understood. Called also motor alexia. (b) Inability, due to brain disease, to understand written or printed symbols. Called also Word blindness and text blindness. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. + AS ]

{ } a. & n. [ See Alexipharmic. ] Alexipharmic. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Gr. 'alexifa`rmakos keeping off poison; 'alexein to keep off + fa`rmakon drug, poison: cf. F. alexipharmaque. ] (Med.) Of or relating to an alexipharmic or alexipharmac; warding off poison; antidotal; prophylactic. [ obsolescent ] [ 1913 Webster + AS ]

n. (Med.) An antidote against poison; a counterpoison. [ archaic ] [ 1913 Webster + AS ]

a. [ Gr. 'ale`xein to keep off + pyreto`s burning heat, fever, py^r fire. ] (Med.) Serving to drive off fever; antipyretic; antifebrile. [ archaic ] -- n. An antipyretic drug; a febrifuge. [ archaic ] [ 1913 Webster + AS ]

{ } a. [ Gr. 'alexhth`rios fit to keep off or help, fr. 'alexhth`r one who keeps off, helper; 'ale`xein to keep off: cf. F. alexitère. ] (Med.) Resisting poison; obviating the effects of venom; alexipharmic. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. 'alexhth`rion a remedy, an amulet: cf. F. alexitère, LL. alexiterium. ] (Med.) A preservative against contagious and infectious diseases, and the effects of poison in general. Brande & C. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. alisaundre, OF. alissandere, fr. Alexander or Alexandria. ] (Bot) A name given to two species of the genus Smyrnium, formerly cultivated and used as celery now is; -- called also horse parsely. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. amplexari to embrace. ] An embrace. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

An humble amplexation of those sacred feet. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. amplexus, p. p. of amplecti to encircle, to embrace + caulis stem: cf. F. amplexicaule. ] (Bot.) Clasping or embracing a stem, as the base of some leaves. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Med.) A displacement forward of an organ, esp. the uterus, in such manner that its axis is bent upon itself. T. G. Thomas. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Apoplexy. [ Obs. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Affected with apoplexy. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. poplexye, LL. poplexia, apoplexia, fr. Gr. 'apoplhxi`a, fr. 'apoplh`ssein to cripple by a stroke; 'apo` from + plh`ssein to strike: cf. F. apoplexie. See Plague. ] (Med.) Sudden diminution or loss of consciousness, sensation, and voluntary motion, usually caused by pressure on the brain. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The term is now usually limited to cerebral apoplexy, or loss of consciousness due to effusion of blood or other lesion within the substance of the brain; but it is sometimes extended to denote an effusion of blood into the substance of any organ; as, apoplexy of the lung. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a genus of plants of the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae); its members include species called orach and saltbush.
Syn. -- genus Atriplex. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; amazement: cf. Apoplexy. ] (Med.) A morbid condition caused by an overwhelming shock or extreme fear and marked by rigidity of the muscles. -- Cat`a*plec"tic a. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

n. [ L. circumflexus a bending round, fr. circumflectere, circumflexum, to bend or turn about; circum + flectere to bend. See Flexible. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A wave of the voice embracing both a rise and fall or a fall and a rise on the same a syllable. Walker. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A character, or accent, denoting in Greek a rise and of the voice on the same long syllable, marked thus [ ~ or &unr_; ]; and in Latin and some other languages, denoting a long and contracted syllable, marked [ &unr_; or ^ ]. See Accent, n., 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Circumflexed p. pr. & vb. n. Circumflexing ] To mark or pronounce with a circumflex. Walker. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. L. circumflexus, p. p. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Moving or turning round; circuitous. [ R. ] Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Anat.) Curved circularly; -- applied to several arteries of the hip and thigh, to arteries, veins, and a nerve of the shoulder, and to other parts. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of bending, or causing to assume a curved form. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A winding about; a turning; a circuity; a fold. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. complexus, p. p. of complecti to entwine around, comprise; com- + plectere to twist, akin to plicare to fold. See Plait, n. ] 1. Composed of two or more parts; composite; not simple; as, a complex being; a complex idea. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ideas thus made up of several simple ones put together, I call complex; such as beauty, gratitude, a man, an army, the universe. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Involving many parts; complicated; intricate. [ 1913 Webster ]

When the actual motions of the heavens are calculated in the best possible way, the process is difficult and complex. Whewell. [ 1913 Webster ]

Complex fraction. See Fraction. --
Complex number (Math.), in the theory of numbers, an expression of the form a + b√-1, when a and b are ordinary integers.

Syn. -- See Intricate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. complexus ] Assemblage of related things; collection; complication. [ 1913 Webster ]

This parable of the wedding supper comprehends in it the whole complex of all the blessings and privileges exhibited by the gospel. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

Complex of lines (Geom.), all the possible straight lines in space being considered, the entire system of lines which satisfy a single relation constitute a complex; as, all the lines which meet a given curve make up a complex. The lines which satisfy two relations constitute a congruency of lines; as, the entire system of lines, each one of which meets two given surfaces, is a congruency. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Complex, complicated. [ Obs. ] “Complexed significations.” Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being complex or involved; complication. [ 1913 Webster ]

The complexedness of these moral ideas. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. complexion, fr. L. complexio. See Complex, a. ] 1. The state of being complex; complexity. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Though the terms of propositions may be complex, yet . . . it is properly called a simple syllogism, since the complexion does not belong to the syllogistic form of it. I. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A combination; a complex. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

This paragraph is . . . a complexion of sophisms. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The bodily constitution; the temperament; habitude, or natural disposition; character; nature. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

If his complexion incline him to melancholy. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is the complexion of them all to leave the dam. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The color or hue of the skin, esp. of the face. [ 1913 Webster ]

Tall was her stature, her complexion dark. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

Between the pale complexion of true love,
And the red glow of scorn and proud disdain. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The general appearance or aspect; as, the complexion of the sky; the complexion of the news. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to constitutional complexion. [ 1913 Webster ]

A moral rather than a complexional timidity. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Constitutionally. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Though corruptible, not complexionally vicious. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to the complexion, or to the care of it. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having (such) a complexion; -- used in composition; as, a dark-complexioned or a ruddy-complexioned person. [ 1913 Webster ]

A flower is the best-complexioned grass, as a pearl is the best-colored clay. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Complexities [ Cf. F. complexité. ] 1. The state of being complex; intricacy; entanglement. [ 1913 Webster ]

The objects of society are of the greatest possible complexity. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which is complex; intricacy; complication. [ 1913 Webster ]

Many-corridored complexities
Of Arthur's palace. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a complex manner; not simply. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being complex; complexity. A. Smith. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L., an embracing. ] A complex; an aggregate of parts; a complication. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Contra- + -plex as in duplex. ] (Teleg.) Pertaining to the sending of two messages in opposite directions at the same time. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ L., a gnat. ] (Zool.) A genus of mosquitoes of the family Culicidae, to which most of the North American species belong. Some members of this genus are exceedingly annoying, as Culex sollicitans, which breeds in enormous numbers in the salt marshes of the Atlantic coast, and Culex pipiens, the common house mosquito, breeding very widely in the fresh waters of North America. (For characters distinguishing these from the malaria mosquitoes, see Anopheles, above). The yellow-fever mosquito is now placed in another genus, Stegomyia. This genus formerly (ca. 1900) included the gnat as well as the mosquito. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

a. [ Pref. de- (intens.) + complex. ] Repeatedly compound; made up of complex constituents. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Bent abruptly downward. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Deflection. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From L. deflectere, deflexum. See Deflect. ] A bending or turning aside; deflection. Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. di- + -plex, as in duplex. ] (Teleg.) Pertaining to the sending of two messages in the same direction at the same time. Diplex and contraplex are the two varieties of duplex. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. t. To change the complexion or hue of. [ Obs. ] Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ L., fr. duo two + plicare to fold. See Two, and Complex. ] 1. Double; twofold. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Computers) organized so that data may be transmitted in two opposite directions over the same channel; -- of communications channels, such as data transfer lines between computers. [ PJC ]

Duplex escapement, a peculiar kind of watch escapement, in which the scape-wheel has two sets of teeth. See Escapement. --
Duplex lathe, one for turning off, screwing, and surfacing, by means of two cutting tools, on opposite sides of the piece operated upon. --
Duplex pumping engine, a steam pump in which two steam cylinders are placed side by side, one operating the valves of the other. --
Duplex querela [ L., double complaint ] (Eccl. Law), a complaint in the nature of an appeal from the ordinary to his immediate superior, as from a bishop to an archbishop. Mozley & W. --
Duplex telegraphy, a system of telegraphy for sending two messages over the same wire simultaneously. --
Duplex watch, one with a duplex escapement. --
half duplex (Computers) (a) arranged so that the information may be transmitted in both directions, but only in one direction at a time; -- of communications channels between computers; contrasted with full duplex(a). (b) arranged so that the information transmitted to the remote computer also appears on the local terminal; -- of communications channels between computers; contrasted with full duplex(b). --
full duplex, (Computers) (a) arranged so that the information may be transmitted in both directions simultaneously; -- of communications channels between computers; contrasted with half duplex(a). (b) arranged so that the information transmitted to the remote computer does not appear on the local terminal; -- of communications channels between computers; contrasted with half duplex(b). [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Duplex, a. ] (Teleg.) To arrange, as a telegraph line, so that two messages may be transmitted simultaneously; to equip with a duplex telegraphic outfit. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]