Emily Dickinson Lexicon

E-QUI-VOKE', n. [Fr. equivoque.]

1. An ambiguous term; a word susceptible of different significations.
2. Equivocation.

E-QUIV'O-ROUS, a. [L. equus, horse, and voro, to eat.]

Feeding or subsisting on horse flesh. Equivorous Tartars. Quart. Rev.

ER, n. [The termination of many English words, is the Teutonic form of the Latin or; the one contracted from wer, the other from vir, a man. It denotes an agent, originally of the masculine gender, but now applied to men or things indifferently; as in hater, farmer, heater, grater. At the end of names of places, er signifies a man of the place; Londoner is the same as London man. There is a passage in Herodotus, Melpomene, 110, in which the word wer, vir, a man, is mentioned as used by the Scythians; a fact proving the affinity of the Scythian and the Teutonic nation. Τας δε Αμαζονας καλεουσι οι Σκυθαι Οιορπατα. Δυναται δε το ουνομα τουτο κατ' 'Ελλαδα γλωσσαν ανδροκτονοι. Οιορ γαρ καλεουσι τον ανδρα, το δε πατα κτεινειν. “The Scythians call the Amazons Oiorpata, a word which may be rendered, in Greek, menkillers; for oior is the name they give to man, pata signifies to kill.” Pata, in the Burman language, signifies to kill; but it is probable that this is really the English beat; W. bachi, to kill.]

E'RA, n. [L. æra; Fr. ere; Sp. era. The origin of the term is not obvious.]

1. In chronology, a fixed point of time, from which any number of years is begun to be counted; as, the Christian Era. It differs from epoch in this; era is a point of time fixed by some nation or denomination of men; epo is a point fixed by historians and chronologists. The Christian era began at the epoch of the birth of Christ. Encyc.
2. A succession of years proceeding from a fixed point, or comprehended between two fixed points. The era of the Seleucides ended with the reign of Antiochus. Rollin.

E-RA'DI-ATE, v.i. [L. e and radio, to beam.]

To shoot as rays of light; to beam.

E-RA-DI-A'TION, n.

Emission of rays or beams of light; emission of light or splendor. King Charles.

E-RAD'I-CA-BLE, a.

That may be eradicated.

E-RAD'I-CATE, v.t. [L. eradico, from radix, root.]

1. To pull up the roots, or by the roots. Hence, to destroy any thing that grows; to extirpate; to destroy the roots, so that the plant will not be reproduced; as, to eradicate weeds.
2. To destroy thoroughly; to extirpate; as, to eradicate errors, or false principles, or vice, or disease.

ERAD'I-CA-TED, pp.

Plucked up by the roots; extirpated; destroyed.

E-RAD'I-CA'TING, ppr.

Pulling up the roots of any thing; extirpating.

E-RAD-I-CA'TION, n.

1. The act of plucking up by the roots; extirpation; excision; total destruction.
2. The state of being plucked up by the roots.

E-RAD'I-CA-TIVE, a.

That extirpates; that cures or destroys thoroughly.

E-RAD'I-CA-TIVE, n.

A medicine that effects a radical cure. Whitlock.

E-RAS-A-BLE, a.

That may or can be erased.

E-RASE, v.t. [L. erado, erasi; e and rado, to scrape, Fr. raser, Sp. raer, It. raschiare, Arm. raza. See Ar. أَرَضَ eratsa, to corrode, Ch. גרד, to scrape, Heb. חרט, a graving tool, Syr. and Ar. خَرََطَ garata, to scrape. Class Rd, No. 35, 38, and 58.]

1. To rub or scrape out, as letters or characters written, engraved or painted; to efface; as, to erase a word or a name.
2. To obliterate; to expunge; to blot out; as with pen and ink.
3. To efface; to destroy; as ideas in the mind or memory.
4. To destroy to the foundation. [See Raze.]

E-RAS'ED, pp.

Rubbed or scratched out; obliterated; effaced.

E-RASE'MENT, n.

The act of erasing; a rubbing out; expunction; obliteration; destruction.

E-RAS'ING, ppr.

Rubbing or scraping out; obliterating; destroying.

E-RA'SION, n. [s as z.]

The act of erasing; a rubbing out; obliteration. Black. Chim.

E-RAS'TIAN, n.

A follower of one Erastus, the leader of a religious sect, who denied the power of the church to discipline its members. Chambers.

E-RAS'TIAN-ISM, n.

The principles of the Erastians. Leslie.

E-RA'SURE, n. [era'zhur.]

1. The act of erasing; a scratching out; obliteration.
2. The place where a word or letter has been erased or obliterated.

ERE, adv. [Sax. ær; G. eher; D. eer; Goth. air. This the root of early, and ær, in Saxon, signifies the morning. Before ever, we use or, “or ever.” Let it be observed that ere is not to be confounded with e'er, for ever.]

Before; sooner than. Ere sails were spread new oceans to explore. Dryden. The nobleman saith to him, Sir, come down ere my child die. John iv. In these passages, ere is really a preposition followed by a sentence, instead of a single word, as below.

ERE, prep.

Before. Our fruitful Nile / Flow'd ere the wonted season. Dryden

ER'E-BUS, n. [L. erebus; Gr. ερεβος. Oriental ערב, evening, the decline of the sun, whence darkness, blackness.]

In mythology, darkness; hence, the region of the dead; a deep and gloomy place; hell. Shak. Milton.