Wood, n.
 1. A large and thick collection of trees; a forest or grove; -- frequently used in the plural.
 Light thickens, and the crow
 Makes wing to the rooky wood.   --Shak.
 2. The substance of trees and the like; the hard fibrous substance which composes the body of a tree and its branches, and which is covered by the bark; timber.  “To worship their own work in wood and stone for gods.”
 3. Bot. The fibrous material which makes up the greater part of the stems and branches of trees and shrubby plants, and is found to a less extent in herbaceous stems. It consists of elongated tubular or needle-shaped cells of various kinds, usually interwoven with the shinning bands called silver grain.
 Note: ☞ Wood consists chiefly of the carbohydrates cellulose and lignin, which are isomeric with starch.
 4. Trees cut or sawed for the fire or other uses.
 Wood acid, Wood vinegar Chem., a complex acid liquid obtained in the dry distillation of wood, and containing large quantities of acetic acid; hence, specifically, acetic acid. Formerly called pyroligneous acid.
 Wood anemone Bot., a delicate flower (Anemone nemorosa) of early spring; -- also called windflower.  See Illust. of Anemone.
 Wood ant Zool., a large ant (Formica rufa) which lives in woods and forests, and constructs large nests.
 Wood apple Bot.. See Elephant apple, under Elephant.
 Wood baboon Zool., the drill.
 Wood betony. Bot. (a) Same as Betony. (b) The common American lousewort (Pedicularis Canadensis), a low perennial herb with yellowish or purplish flowers.
 Wood borer. Zool. (a) The larva of any one of numerous species of boring beetles, esp. elaters, longicorn beetles, buprestidans, and certain weevils.  See Apple borer, under Apple, and Pine weevil, under Pine. (b) The larva of any one of various species of lepidopterous insects, especially of the clearwing moths, as the peach-tree borer (see under Peach), and of the goat moths. (c) The larva of various species of hymenopterous of the tribe Urocerata.  See Tremex. (d) Any one of several bivalve shells which bore in wood, as the teredos, and species of Xylophaga. (e) Any one of several species of small Crustacea, as the Limnoria, and the boring amphipod (Chelura terebrans).
 Wood carpet, a kind of floor covering made of thin pieces of wood secured to a flexible backing, as of cloth. --Knight.
 Wood cell Bot., a slender cylindrical or prismatic cell usually tapering to a point at both ends. It is the principal constituent of woody fiber.
 Wood choir, the choir, or chorus, of birds in the woods. [Poetic] --Coleridge.
 Wood coal, charcoal; also, lignite, or brown coal.
 Wood cricket Zool., a small European cricket (Nemobius sylvestris).
 Wood culver Zool., the wood pigeon.
 Wood cut, an engraving on wood; also, a print from such an engraving.
 Wood dove Zool., the stockdove.
 Wood drink, a decoction or infusion of medicinal woods.
 Wood duck Zool. (a) A very beautiful American duck (Aix sponsa). The male has a large crest, and its plumage is varied with green, purple, black, white, and red. It builds its nest in trees, whence the name.  Called also bridal duck, summer duck, and wood widgeon. (b) The hooded merganser. (c) The Australian maned goose (Chlamydochen jubata).
 Wood echo, an echo from the wood.
 Wood engraver. (a) An engraver on wood. (b) Zool. Any of several species of small beetles whose larvae bore beneath the bark of trees, and excavate furrows in the wood often more or less resembling coarse engravings; especially, Xyleborus xylographus.
 Wood engraving. (a) The act or art engraving on wood; xylography. (b) An engraving on wood; a wood cut; also, a print from such an engraving.
 Wood fern. Bot. See Shield fern, under Shield.
 Wood fiber. (a) Bot. Fibrovascular tissue. (b) Wood comminuted, and reduced to a powdery or dusty mass.
 Wood fretter Zool., any one of numerous species of beetles whose larvae bore in the wood, or beneath the bark, of trees.
 Wood frog Zool., a common North American frog (Rana sylvatica) which lives chiefly in the woods, except during the breeding season. It is drab or yellowish brown, with a black stripe on each side of the head.
 Wood germander. Bot. See under Germander.
 Wood god, a fabled sylvan deity.
 Wood grass. Bot. See under Grass.
 Wood grouse. Zool. (a) The capercailzie. (b) The spruce partridge.  See under Spruce.
 Wood guest Zool., the ringdove. [Prov. Eng.]
 Wood hen. Zool. (a) Any one of several species of Old World short-winged rails of the genus Ocydromus, including the weka and allied species. (b) The American woodcock.
 Wood hoopoe Zool., any one of several species of Old World arboreal birds belonging to Irrisor and allied genera. They are closely allied to the common hoopoe, but have a curved beak, and a longer tail.
 Wood ibis Zool., any one of several species of large, long-legged, wading birds belonging to the genus Tantalus. The head and neck are naked or scantily covered with feathers. The American wood ibis (Tantalus loculator) is common in Florida.
 Wood lark Zool., a small European lark (Alauda arborea), which, like, the skylark, utters its notes while on the wing. So called from its habit of perching on trees.
 Wood laurel Bot., a European evergreen shrub (Daphne Laureola).
 Wood leopard Zool., a European spotted moth (Zeuzera aesculi) allied to the goat moth. Its large fleshy larva bores in the wood of the apple, pear, and other fruit trees.
 Wood lily Bot., the lily of the valley.
 Wood lock Naut., a piece of wood close fitted and sheathed with copper, in the throating or score of the pintle, to keep the rudder from rising.
 Wood louse Zool. (a) Any one of numerous species of terrestrial isopod Crustacea belonging to Oniscus, Armadillo, and related genera.  See Sow bug, under Sow, and Pill bug, under Pill. (b) Any one of several species of small, wingless, pseudoneuropterous insects of the family Psocidae, which live in the crevices of walls and among old books and papers.  Some of the species are called also book lice, and deathticks, or deathwatches.
 Wood mite Zool., any one of numerous small mites of the family Oribatidae. They are found chiefly in woods, on tree trunks and stones.
 Wood mote. Eng. Law (a) Formerly, the forest court. (b) The court of attachment.
 Wood nettle. Bot. See under Nettle.
 Wood nightshade Bot., woody nightshade.
 Wood nut Bot., the filbert.
 Wood nymph. a A nymph inhabiting the woods; a fabled goddess of the woods; a dryad.  “The wood nymphs, decked with daisies trim.” --Milton. (b) Zool. Any one of several species of handsomely colored moths belonging to the genus Eudryas. The larvae are bright-colored, and some of the species, as Eudryas grata, and Eudryas unio, feed on the leaves of the grapevine. (c) Zool. Any one of several species of handsomely colored South American humming birds belonging to the genus Thalurania. The males are bright blue, or green and blue.
 Wood offering, wood burnt on the altar.
    We cast the lots . . . for the wood offering.   --Neh. x. 34.
 -- Wood oil Bot., a resinous oil obtained from several East Indian trees of the genus Dipterocarpus, having properties similar to those of copaiba, and sometimes substituted for it. It is also used for mixing paint.  See Gurjun.
 Wood opal Min., a striped variety of coarse opal, having some resemblance to wood.
 Wood paper, paper made of wood pulp.  See Wood pulp, below.
 Wood pewee Zool., a North American tyrant flycatcher (Contopus virens). It closely resembles the pewee, but is smaller.
 Wood pie Zool., any black and white woodpecker, especially the European great spotted woodpecker.
 Wood pigeon. Zool. (a) Any one of numerous species of Old World pigeons belonging to Palumbus and allied genera of the family Columbidae. (b) The ringdove.
 Wood puceron Zool., a plant louse.
 Wood pulp Technol., vegetable fiber obtained from the poplar and other white woods, and so softened by digestion with a hot solution of alkali that it can be formed into sheet paper, etc. It is now produced on an immense scale.
 Wood quail Zool., any one of several species of East Indian crested quails belonging to Rollulus and allied genera, as the red-crested wood quail (Rollulus roulroul), the male of which is bright green, with a long crest of red hairlike feathers.
 Wood rabbit Zool., the cottontail.
 Wood rat Zool., any one of several species of American wild rats of the genus Neotoma found in the Southern United States; -- called also bush rat. The Florida wood rat (Neotoma Floridana) is the best-known species.
 Wood reed grass Bot., a tall grass (Cinna arundinacea) growing in moist woods.
 Wood reeve, the steward or overseer of a wood. [Eng.]
 Wood rush Bot., any plant of the genus Luzula, differing from the true rushes of the genus Juncus chiefly in having very few seeds in each capsule.
 Wood sage Bot., a name given to several labiate plants of the genus Teucrium.  See Germander.
 Wood screw, a metal screw formed with a sharp thread, and usually with a slotted head, for insertion in wood.
 Wood sheldrake Zool., the hooded merganser.
 Wood shock Zool., the fisher.  See Fisher, 2.
 Wood shrike Zool., any one of numerous species of Old World singing birds belonging to Grallina, Collyricincla, Prionops, and allied genera, common in India and Australia. They are allied to the true shrikes, but feed upon both insects and berries.
 Wood snipe. Zool. (a) The American woodcock. (b) An Asiatic snipe (Gallinago nemoricola).
 Wood soot, soot from burnt wood.
 Wood sore. Zool. See Cuckoo spit, under Cuckoo.
 Wood sorrel Bot., a plant of the genus Oxalis (Oxalis Acetosella), having an acid taste.  See Illust. (a) of Shamrock.
 Wood spirit. Chem. See Methyl alcohol, under Methyl.
 Wood stamp, a carved or engraved block or stamp of wood, for impressing figures or colors on fabrics.
 Wood star Zool., any one of several species of small South American humming birds belonging to the genus Calothorax. The male has a brilliant gorget of blue, purple, and other colors.
 Wood sucker Zool., the yaffle.
 Wood swallow Zool., any one of numerous species of Old World passerine birds belonging to the genus Artamus and allied genera of the family Artamidae. They are common in the East Indies, Asia, and Australia. In form and habits they resemble swallows, but in structure they resemble shrikes. They are usually black above and white beneath.
 Wood tapper Zool., any woodpecker.
 Wood tar. See under Tar.
 Wood thrush, Zool. (a) An American thrush (Turdus mustelinus) noted for the sweetness of its song.  See under Thrush. (b) The missel thrush.
 Wood tick. See in Vocabulary.
 Wood tin. Min.. See Cassiterite.
 Wood titmouse Zool., the goldcgest.
 Wood tortoise Zool., the sculptured tortoise.  See under Sculptured.
 Wood vine Bot., the white bryony.
 Wood vinegar. See Wood acid, above.
 Wood warbler. Zool. (a) Any one of numerous species of American warblers of the genus Dendroica.  See Warbler. (b) A European warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix); -- called also green wren, wood wren, and yellow wren.
 Wood worm Zool., a larva that bores in wood; a wood borer.
 Wood wren. Zool. (a) The wood warbler. (b) The willow warbler.


 Hill n.
 1. A natural elevation of land, or a mass of earth rising above the common level of the surrounding land; an eminence less than a mountain.
    Every mountain and hill shall be made low.   --Is. xl. 4.
 2. The earth raised about the roots of a plant or cluster of plants. [U. S.] See Hill, v. t.
 3. A single cluster or group of plants growing close together, and having the earth heaped up about them; as, a hill of corn or potatoes. [U. S.]
 Hill ant Zool., a common ant (Formica rufa), of Europe and America, which makes mounds or ant-hills over its nests.
 Hill myna Zool., one of several species of birds of India, of the genus Gracula, and allied to the starlings. They are easily taught to speak many words. [Written also hill mynah.] See Myna.
 Hill partridge Zool., a partridge of the genus Aborophila, of which numerous species in habit Southern Asia and the East Indies.
 Hill tit Zool., one of numerous species of small Asiatic singing birds of the family Leiotrichidæ. Many are beautifully colored.


 Horse n.
 1. Zool. A hoofed quadruped of the genus Equus; especially, the domestic horse (Equus caballus), which was domesticated in Egypt and Asia at a very early period.  It has six broad molars, on each side of each jaw, with six incisors, and two canine teeth, both above and below. The mares usually have the canine teeth rudimentary or wanting. The horse differs from the true asses, in having a long, flowing mane, and the tail bushy to the base. Unlike the asses it has callosities, or chestnuts, on all its legs. The horse excels in strength, speed, docility, courage, and nobleness of character, and is used for drawing, carrying, bearing a rider, and like purposes.
 Note: ☞ Many varieties, differing in form, size, color, gait, speed, etc., are known, but all are believed to have been derived from the same original species. It is supposed to have been a native of the plains of Central Asia, but the wild species from which it was derived is not certainly known. The feral horses of America are domestic horses that have run wild; and it is probably true that most of those of Asia have a similar origin. Some of the true wild Asiatic horses do, however, approach the domestic horse in several characteristics.
    Several species of fossil (Equus) are known from the later Tertiary formations of Europe and America. The fossil species of other genera of the family Equidæ are also often called horses, in general sense.
 2. The male of the genus Equus, in distinction from the female or male; usually, a castrated male.
 3. Mounted soldiery; cavalry; -- used without the plural termination; as, a regiment of horse; -- distinguished from foot.
    The armies were appointed, consisting of twenty-five thousand horse and foot.   --Bacon.
 4. A frame with legs, used to support something; as, a clotheshorse, a sawhorse, etc.
 5. A frame of timber, shaped like a horse, on which soldiers were made to ride for punishment.
 6. Anything, actual or figurative, on which one rides as on a horse; a hobby.
 7. Mining A mass of earthy matter, or rock of the same character as the wall rock, occurring in the course of a vein, as of coal or ore; hence, to take horse -- said of a vein -- is to divide into branches for a distance.
 8. Naut. (a) See Footrope, a. (b) A breastband for a leadsman. (c) An iron bar for a sheet traveler to slide upon. (d) A jackstay. --W. C. Russell. --Totten.
 9. Student Slang (a) A translation or other illegitimate aid in study or examination; -- called also trot, pony, Dobbin. (b) Horseplay; tomfoolery.
 Note: ☞ Horse is much used adjectively and in composition to signify of, or having to do with, a horse or horses, like a horse, etc.; as, horse collar, horse dealer or horse░dealer, horsehoe, horse jockey; and hence, often in the sense of strong, loud, coarse, etc.; as, horselaugh, horse nettle or horse-nettle, horseplay, horse ant, etc.
 Black horse, Blood horse, etc. See under Black, etc.
 Horse aloes, caballine aloes.
 Horse ant Zool., a large ant (Formica rufa); -- called also horse emmet.
 Horse artillery, that portion of the artillery in which the cannoneers are mounted, and which usually serves with the cavalry; flying artillery.
 Horse balm Bot., a strong-scented labiate plant (Collinsonia Canadensis), having large leaves and yellowish flowers.
 Horse bean Bot., a variety of the English or Windsor bean (Faba vulgaris), grown for feeding horses.
 Horse boat, a boat for conveying horses and cattle, or a boat propelled by horses.
 Horse bot. Zool. See Botfly, and Bots.
 Horse box, a railroad car for transporting valuable horses, as hunters. [Eng.]
 Horse breaker or Horse trainer, one employed in subduing or training horses for use.
 Horse car. (a) A railroad car drawn by horses. See under Car. (b) A car fitted for transporting horses.
 Horse cassia Bot., a leguminous plant (Cassia Javanica), bearing long pods, which contain a black, catharic pulp, much used in the East Indies as a horse medicine.
 Horse cloth, a cloth to cover a horse.
 Horse conch Zool., a large, spiral, marine shell of the genus Triton. See Triton.
 Horse courser. (a) One that runs horses, or keeps horses for racing. --Johnson. (b) A dealer in horses. [Obs.] --Wiseman.
 Horse crab Zool., the Limulus; -- called also horsefoot, horsehoe crab, and king crab.
 Horse crevallé Zool., the cavally.
 Horse emmet Zool., the horse ant.
 Horse finch Zool., the chaffinch. [Prov. Eng.]
 Horse gentian Bot., fever root.
 Horse iron Naut., a large calking iron.
 Horse latitudes, a space in the North Atlantic famous for calms and baffling winds, being between the westerly winds of higher latitudes and the trade winds. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.
 Horse mackrel. Zool. (a) The common tunny (Orcynus thunnus), found on the Atlantic coast of Europe and America, and in the Mediterranean. (b) The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix). (c) The scad. (d) The name is locally applied to various other fishes, as the California hake, the black candlefish, the jurel, the bluefish, etc.
 Horse marine Naut., an awkward, lubbery person; one of a mythical body of marine cavalry. [Slang]
 Horse mussel Zool., a large, marine mussel (Modiola modiolus), found on the northern shores of Europe and America.
 Horse nettle Bot., a coarse, prickly, American herb, the Solanum Carolinense.
 Horse parsley. Bot. See Alexanders.
 Horse purslain Bot., a coarse fleshy weed of tropical America (Trianthema monogymnum).
 Horse race, a race by horses; a match of horses in running or trotting.
 Horse racing, the practice of racing with horses.
 Horse railroad, a railroad on which the cars are drawn by horses; -- in England, and sometimes in the United States, called a tramway.
 Horse run Civil Engin., a device for drawing loaded wheelbarrows up an inclined plane by horse power.
 Horse sense, strong common sense. [Colloq. U.S.]
 Horse soldier, a cavalryman.
 Horse sponge Zool., a large, coarse, commercial sponge (Spongia equina).
 Horse stinger Zool., a large dragon fly. [Prov. Eng.]
 Horse sugar Bot., a shrub of the southern part of the United States (Symplocos tinctoria), whose leaves are sweet, and good for fodder.
 Horse tick Zool., a winged, dipterous insect (Hippobosca equina), which troubles horses by biting them, and sucking their blood; -- called also horsefly, horse louse, and forest fly.
 Horse vetch Bot., a plant of the genus Hippocrepis (Hippocrepis comosa), cultivated for the beauty of its flowers; -- called also horsehoe vetch, from the peculiar shape of its pods.
 Iron horse, a locomotive. [Colloq.]
 Salt horse, the sailor's name for salt beef.
 To look a gift horse in the mouth, to examine the mouth of a horse which has been received as a gift, in order to ascertain his age; -- hence, to accept favors in a critical and thankless spirit. --Lowell.
 To take horse. (a) To set out on horseback. --Macaulay. (b) To be covered, as a mare. (c) See definition 7 (above).


 Formica rufa
      n : reddish-brown European ant typically living in anthills in
          woodlands [syn: wood ant]