Lexicon: cabinet – call

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cabinet (-s), n. [ME < It. gabinetto, influenced by Fr. cabinet; diminutive of cabin.]

  1. Bower; tiny cottage; little summer house; small dwelling place; [fig.] cocoon; metamorphosis sack.
  2. Cell; closet; small room; private apartment; display case; storage cupboard; box with doors; chest with drawers; [fig.] tomb; niche; shrine; reliquary; repository; tabernacle.

cactus, n. [L. < Gk κακτοσ, prickly plant found in Sicily.]

Aaron's beard; rose of Sharon; Great St. John's Wort; conservatory flower with hairy tendrils; succulent desert plant with prickly spines; possibly Hypericum calycinum, or Opuntia leucotricha.

cadence (-s), n. [Fr. < It. cadenza, falling, cadence in music, musical or rhythmical fall of the voice.] (webplay: music, perfect, repose, sound, termination).

  1. Recitation; intonation pattern; [fig.] birdsong; birdcall.
  2. Tonic chord; harmonious measure; divine phrase; passage from a heavenly hymn; [fig.] music of the earth before the Fall of Adam and Eve; idyllic sound of Nature in paradise.
  3. Rhythm; tone; embellishment; gradual modulation below a key note; [fig.] murmur; hum; babble; cricket chirp; insect drone.

Caesar (-s), proper n. [L. < a caeso matric utere, from the incised womb (caesarian section) < caesaries, head of hair; see czar.]

  1. Gaius Julius Cæsar (100-44 B.C.); title character of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar [see ED letters]; [fig.] Austin Dickinson; older brother; family authority (ED sent this poem to her brother Austin).
  2. Roman emperor; [fig.] ruler; powerful leader; grand person; (see Matthew 22:17).

cage (-s), n. [Fr. < L. cavea, hollow, cavity, dungeon, cell, cage.] (webplay: birds).

  1. Coop; mesh container; place for confining a flying creature; [fig.] coffin; casket; grave; [metaphor] body; mortal frame.
  2. Booth; holding cell; carnival cubicle with lattice openings; stall for displaying unusual beings.

cajole (-ing, -s), v. [uncertain origin; possibly < Fr. 'chatter like a jay'.]

  1. Palaver; chatter; converse politely; communicate socially.
  2. Persuade; soothe; coax; reassure casually; flatter delusively; [fig.] smooth the ruffled feathers of.

cake (-s), n. [ME kake, perhaps from ON.]

Pastry; birthday dessert; holiday confection; sweet light breadstuff; baked dough made of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar.

calamity, n. [Fr. < L. 'damage, disaster, adversity'; perhaps a form of L. calamus, straw, corn stalk, as in damage to crops from hail, mildew.]

Catastrophe; devastation; tragedy; misery; misfortune; grievous trouble; destruction that causes distress; adverse events such as plagues, famines, earthquakes, or violent storms; (see Psalms 18:18).

calculation (-s), n. [L. calculā-re, count, reckon < calculus, a stone.]

Forecast; design; prognosis; formulation; reckoning; logarithm; computation; ascertainment; preparation; travel plan; estimation of circumstance; summing up of actions; adaptation of the means to the end; addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; [fig.] hope; prospect; purpose; intention; determination; probability; thing one can count on.

call (-s), n. [OE.] (webplay: come).

  1. Commission; assignment; vocation; divine appointment; [fig.] fate; destiny; time to die.
  2. Command; bidding; beckoning; summons; vocal address.
  3. Appeal; entreaty; solicitation; heavenly invitation; [fig.] light; illumination; visible radiation.
  4. Visitor; passer-by; potential customer.