Palm, n.
 1. Bot. Any endogenous tree of the order Palmæ or Palmaceæ; a palm tree.
 Note: ☞ Palms are perennial woody plants, often of majestic size. The trunk is usually erect and rarely branched, and has a roughened exterior composed of the persistent bases of the leaf stalks.  The leaves are borne in a terminal crown, and are supported on stout, sheathing, often prickly, petioles.  They are usually of great size, and are either pinnately or palmately many-cleft.  There are about one thousand species known, nearly all of them growing in tropical or semitropical regions.  The wood, petioles, leaves, sap, and fruit of many species are invaluable in the arts and in domestic economy.  Among the best known are the date palm, the cocoa palm, the fan palm, the oil palm, the wax palm, the palmyra, and the various kinds called cabbage palm and palmetto.
 2. A branch or leaf of the palm, anciently borne or worn as a symbol of victory or rejoicing.
    A great multitude . . . stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palme in their hands.   --Rev. vii. 9.
 3. Hence: Any symbol or token of superiority, success, or triumph; also, victory; triumph; supremacy. “The palm of martyrdom.”
 So get the start of the majestic world
 And bear the palm alone.   --Shak.
 Molucca palm Bot., a labiate herb from Asia (Molucella lævis), having a curious cup-shaped calyx.
 Palm cabbage, the terminal bud of a cabbage palm, used as food.
 Palm cat Zool., the common paradoxure.
 Palm crab Zool., the purse crab.
 Palm oil, a vegetable oil, obtained from the fruit of several species of palms, as the African oil palm (Elæis Guineensis), and used in the manufacture of soap and candles. See Elæis.
 Palm swift Zool., a small swift (Cypselus Batassiensis) which frequents the palmyra and cocoanut palms in India. Its peculiar nest is attached to the leaf of the palmyra palm.
 Palm toddy. Same as Palm wine.
 Palm weevil Zool., any one of mumerous species of very large weevils of the genus Rhynchophorus. The larvæ bore into palm trees, and are called palm borers, and grugru worms. They are considered excellent food.
 Palm wine, the sap of several species of palms, especially, in India, of the wild date palm (Phœnix sylvestrix), the palmyra, and the Caryota urens.  When fermented it yields by distillation arrack, and by evaporation jaggery.  Called also palm toddy.
 Palm worm, or Palmworm. Zool. (a) The larva of a palm weevil. (b) A centipede.


 Swift, n.
 1. The current of a stream. [R.]
 2. Zool. Any one of numerous species of small, long-winged, insectivorous birds of the family Micropodidae. In form and habits the swifts resemble swallows, but they are destitute of complex vocal muscles and are not singing birds, but belong to a widely different group allied to the humming birds.
 Note: ☞ The common European swift (Cypselus apus syn. Micropus apus) nests in church steeples and under the tiles of roofs, and is noted for its rapid flight and shrill screams.  It is called also black martin, black swift, hawk swallow, devil bird, swingdevil, screech martin, and shriek owl.  The common American, or chimney, swift (Chaetura pelagica) has sharp rigid tips to the tail feathers. It attaches its nest to the inner walls of chimneys, and is called also chimney swallow.  The Australian swift (Chaetura caudacuta) also has sharp naked tips to the tail quills.  The European Alpine swift (Cypselus melba) is whitish beneath, with a white band across the breast. The common Indian swift is Cypselus affinis. See also Palm swift, under Palm, and Tree swift, under Tree.
 3. Zool. Any one of several species of lizards, as the pine lizard.
 4. Zool. The ghost moth. See under Ghost.
 5.  A reel, or turning instrument, for winding yarn, thread, etc.; -- used chiefly in the plural.
 6. The main card cylinder of a flax-carding machine.

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