Emily Dickinson Lexicon

O-PIN-ING, ppr.

Thinking. [Obs.]

O-PIN'ION, n. [opin'yon; Fr. id.; L. opinio, from opinor, to think, Gr. επινοεω; or أبَنَ abana, to think, to suspect. The primary sense is to set, to fix in the mind, as in L. suppono.]

1. The judgment which the mind forms of any proposition, statement, theory or event, the truth or falsehood of which is supported by a degree of evidence that renders it probable, but does not produce absolute knowledge or certainty. It has been a received opinion that all matter is comprised in four elements. This opinion is proved by many discoveries to be false. From circumstances we form opinions respecting future events. Opinion is when the assent of the understanding is so far gained by evidence of probability, that it rather inclines to one persuasion than to another, yet not without a mixture of uncertainty or doubting. Hale.
2. The judgment or sentiments which the mind forms of persons or their qualities. We speak of a good opinion, a favorable opinion, a bad opinion, a private opinion, and public or general opinion, &c. Friendship gives a man a peculiar right and claim to the good opinion of his friend. South.
3. Settled judgment or persuasion; as, religious opinions; political opinion.
4. Favorable judgment; estimation. In actions of arms, small matters are of great moment, especially when they serve to raise an opinion of commanders. Hayward. However, I have no opinion of these things. Bacon.

O-PIN'ION, v.t.

To think. [Not used.] Brown.

O-PIN'ION-ATE, or O-PIN'ION-A-TED, a.

Stiff in opinion; firmly or unduly adhering to one's own opinion; obstinate in opinion. Bedell.

O-PIN'ION-ATE-LY, adv.

Obstinately; conceitedly. Feltham.

O-PIN'ION-A-TIVE, a.

Fond of preconceived notions; unduly attached to one's own opinions. Burnet.

O-PIN'ION-A-TIVE, n.

Excessive attachment to one's own opinions; obstinacy in opinion.

O-PIN'ION-A-TIVE-LY, adv.

With undue fondness for one's own opinions; stubbornly.

O-PIN'ION-ED, a.

Attached to particular opinions; conceited. South.

O-PIN'ION-IST, n.

One fond of his own notions, or one unduly attached to his own opinions. Glanville.

O-PIS'THO-DOME, a. [Gr. οποισθιος, that is behind, and house.]

In Greece, a part or place in the back part of a house. Mitford.

O-PIT-U-LA'TION, n.

Help. [Not used.]

O'PI-UM, n. [L. opium; Gr. οπιον, from οπος, juice.]

Opium is the inspissated juice of the Papaver somniferum, or somniferous poppy, with which the fields in Asia Minor are sown, as ours are with wheat and rye. It flows from incisions made in the heads of the plant, and the best flows from the first incision. It is imported into Europe and America from the Levant and the East Indies. It is brought in cakes or masses weighing from eight ounces to a pound. It is heavy, of a dense texture, of a brownish yellow color, not perfectly dry, but easily receiving an impression from the finger; it has a faint smell, and its taste is bitter and acrid. Opium is of great use as a medicine. Hill. Encyc.

O'PLE-TREE, n. [L. opulus.]

The wych-hazle. [Obs.] Ainsworth.

O-PO-BAL'SAM, n. [L. Gr. οπος, juice, and L. balsamum.]

The balm or balsam of Gilead. It has a yellowish or greenish yellow color, a warm bitterish aromatic taste, and an acidulous fragrant smell. It is held in esteem as a medicine and as an odoriferous unguent and cosmetic. The shrub or tree producing this balsam is Balsamodendron Gileadense, which grows spontaneously in Arabia Felix. Encyc.

O-PO-DEL'DOC, n.

1. The name of a plaster, said to have been invented by Mindererus; but in modern usage,
2. A saponaceous camphorated liniment: a solution of soap in ardent spirits, with the addition of camphor and essential oils. Nicholson.

O-PO'PA-NAX, a. [L.; Gr. οπος, juice, and παναξ, a plant.]

An inspissated juice of a tolerably firm texture, brought in loose granules or drops, sometimes in larger masses. This substance on the outside is of a brownish red color, with specks of white, and within of a dusky yellow or whitish color. It has a strong smell and an acrid taste. It is obtained from the root of an umbelliferous plant, the Opopanax Chironium, and is brought from Turkey and the East Indies. Encyc. Parr.

O-POS'SUM, n. [This name is pronounced possum, which perhaps may be its true orthography.]

The popular name of several species of Didelphis, a genus of marsupiate carnivorous mammals. One species only of seventeen inhabits the United States, and this is one of the six species whose females have an abdominal pouch, in which they protect and carry their young. The Didelphis Virginiana has a prehensile tail by which it easily suspends itself.

OP'PI-DAN, a.

Pertaining to a town. [Not used.] Howell.

OP'PI-DAN, n. [L. oppidanus, from oppidum, a city or town.]

1. An inhabitant of a town. [Not used.] Wood.
2. An appellation given to the students of Eton school in England. Mason.

OP-PIG'NER-ATE, v.t. [L. oppignero; ob and pignero, to pledge, from pignus, pledge.]

To pledge; to pawn. [Not in use.] Bacon.

OP'PI-LATE, v.t. [L. oppilo; ob and pilo, to drive.]

To crowd together; to fill with obstructions.

OP'PI-LA-TED, pp.

Crowded together.

OP'PI-LA-TING, ppr.

Filling with obstructions.

OP-PI-LA'TION, n.

The act of filling or crowding together; a stopping by redundant matter; obstructions, particularly in the lower intestines. Encyc. Harvey.