GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   False , a. [Compar. Falser ; superl. Falsest.] [L. falsus, p. p. of fallere to deceive; cf. OF. faus, fals, F. faux, and AS. fals fraud. See Fail, Fall.]
   Uttering falsehood; unveracious; given to deceit; dishnest; as, a false witness.
   1913 Webster
   Not faithful or loyal, as to obligations, allegiance, vows, etc.; untrue; treacherous; perfidious; as, a false friend, lover, or subject; false to promises.
   1913 Webster
   I to myself was false, ere thou to me.
   Milton.
   
   1913 Webster
   Not according with truth or reality; not true; fitted or likely to deceive or disappoint; as, a false statement.
   1913 Webster
   Not genuine or real; assumed or designed to deceive; counterfeit; hypocritical; as, false tears; false modesty; false colors; false jewelry.
   1913 Webster
   False face must hide what the false heart doth know.
   Shak.
   
   1913 Webster
   Not well founded; not firm or trustworthy; erroneous; as, a false claim; a false conclusion; a false construction in grammar.
   1913 Webster
   Whose false foundation waves have swept away.
   Spenser.
   
   1913 Webster
   Not essential or permanent, as parts of a structure which are temporary or supplemental.
   1913 Webster
   (Mus.) Not in tune.
   1913 Webster
   False arch (Arch.), a member having the appearance of an arch, though not of arch construction. -- False attic, an architectural erection above the main cornice, concealing a roof, but not having windows or inclosing rooms. -- False bearing, any bearing which is not directly upon a vertical support; thus, the weight carried by a corbel has a false bearing. -- False cadence, an imperfect or interrupted cadence. -- False conception (Med.), an abnormal conception in which a mole, or misshapen fleshy mass, is produced instead of a properly organized fetus. -- False croup (Med.), a spasmodic affection of the larynx attended with the symptoms of membranous croup, but unassociated with the deposit of a fibrinous membrane. -- False door or False window (Arch.), the representation of a door or window, inserted to complete a series of doors or windows or to give symmetry. -- False fire, a combustible carried by vessels of war, chiefly for signaling, but sometimes burned for the purpose of deceiving an enemy; also, a light on shore for decoying a vessel to destruction. -- False galena. See Blende. -- False imprisonment (Law), the arrest and imprisonment of a person without warrant or cause, or contrary to law; or the unlawful detaining of a person in custody. -- False keel (Naut.), the timber below the main keel, used to serve both as a protection and to increase the shio's lateral resistance. -- False key, a picklock. -- False leg. (Zool.) See Proleg. -- False membrane (Med.), the fibrinous deposit formed in croup and diphtheria, and resembling in appearance an animal membrane. -- False papers (Naut.), documents carried by a ship giving false representations respecting her cargo, destination, etc., for the purpose of deceiving. -- False passage (Surg.), an unnatural passage leading off from a natural canal, such as the urethra, and produced usually by the unskillful introduction of instruments. -- False personation (Law), the intentional false assumption of the name and personality of another. -- False pretenses (Law), false representations concerning past or present facts and events, for the purpose of defrauding another. -- False rail (Naut.), a thin piece of timber placed on top of the head rail to strengthen it. -- False relation (Mus.), a progression in harmony, in which a certain note in a chord appears in the next chord prefixed by a flat or sharp. -- False return (Law), an untrue return made to a process by the officer to whom it was delivered for execution. -- False ribs (Anat.), the asternal rebs, of which there are five pairs in man. -- False roof (Arch.), the space between the upper ceiling and the roof. Oxford Gloss. -- False token, a false mark or other symbol, used for fraudulent purposes. -- False scorpion (Zool.), any arachnid of the genus Chelifer. See Book scorpion. -- False tack (Naut.), a coming up into the wind and filling away again on the same tack. -- False vampire (Zool.), the Vampyrus spectrum of South America, formerly erroneously supposed to have blood-sucking habits; -- called also vampire, and ghost vampire. The genuine blood-sucking bats belong to the genera Desmodus and Diphylla. See Vampire. -- False window. (Arch.) See False door, above. -- False wing. (Zool.) See Alula, and Bastard wing, under Bastard. -- False works (Civil Engin.), construction works to facilitate the erection of the main work, as scaffolding, bridge centering, etc.
   1913 Webster
   
         
       

2.       
   Vampire , n. [F. vampire (cf. It. vampiro, G. & D. vampir), fr. Servian vampir.] [Written also vampyre.]
   A blood-sucking ghost; a soul of a dead person superstitiously believed to come from the grave and wander about by night sucking the blood of persons asleep, thus causing their death. This superstition was once prevalent in parts of Eastern Europe, and was especially current in Hungary about the year 1730. The vampire was often said to have the ability to transform itself into the form of a bat, as presented in the novel depicting the legend of Dracula published by Bram Stoker in 1897, which has inspired several movies.
   1913 Webster
    + 
   PJC
   The persons who turn vampires are generally wizards, witches, suicides, and persons who have come to a violent end, or have been cursed by their parents or by the church,
   Encyc. Brit.
   
   1913 Webster
   Fig.: One who lives by preying on others; an extortioner; a bloodsucker.
   1913 Webster
   (Zool.) Either one of two or more species of South American blood-sucking bats belonging to the genera Desmodus and Diphylla; also called vampire bat. These bats are destitute of molar teeth, but have strong, sharp cutting incisors with which they make punctured wounds from which they suck the blood of horses, cattle, and other animals, as well as man, chiefly during sleep. They have a caecal appendage to the stomach, in which the blood with which they gorge themselves is stored.
   1913 Webster
   (Zool.) Any one of several species of harmless tropical American bats of the genus Vampyrus, especially Vampyrus spectrum. These bats feed upon insects and fruit, but were formerly erroneously supposed to suck the blood of man and animals. Called also false vampire.
   1913 Webster
   Vampire bat (Zool.), a vampire, 3.
   1913 Webster
   
   1913 Webster