Emily Dickinson Lexicon

VEER'ING, ppr.

Turning; letting out to a greater length.

VEER'ING-LY, adv.

Changingly; shiftingly.

VEG-E-TA-BIL'I-TY, n. [from vegetable.]

Vegetable nature; the quality of growth without sensation. – Brown.

VEG'E-TA-BLE, a.

1. Belonging to plants; as, a vegetable nature; vegetable qualities; vegetable juices.
2. Consisting of plants; as, the vegetable kingdom.
3. Having the nature of plants; as, a vegetable body.

VEG'E-TA-BLE, n. [Fr. from vegeter, L. vigeo, to grow.]

1. A plant; an organized body destitute of sense aud voluntary motion, deriving its nourishment through pores on its outer surface or vessels, in most instances adhering to some other body, as the earth, and in general, propagating itself by seeds. Some vegetables have spontaneous motion. Vegetables alone have the power of deriving nourishment from inorganic matter, or organic matter entirely decomposed.
2. In a more limited sense, vegetables are such plants as are used for culinary purposes and cultivated in gardens, or are destined for feeding cattle and sheep. Vegetables for these uses are such as are of a more soft and fleshy substance than trees and shrubs; such as cabbage, cauliflower, turneps, potatoes, peas, beans, &c.

VEG'E-TAL, a.

Having power to cause growth. As a noun, a vegetable. [Not in use.]

VEG'E-TATE, v.i. [L. vegeto; Fr. vegeter; from L. vigeo, to flourish.]

To sprout; to germinate; to grow; as plants; to grow and be enlarged by nutriment imbibed from the earth, air or water, by means of roots and leaves. Plants will not vegetate without a certain degree of heat; but some plants vegetate with less heat than others. Potatoes will vegetate after they are pared, provided what are called the eyes or chits are not removed or injured. See dying vegetables life sustain, / See life dissolving vegetate again. – Pope.

VEG'E-TA-TING, ppr.

Germinating; sprouting; growing; as plants.

VEG-E-TA'TION, n. [Fr.]

1. The process of growing, as plants, by means of nourishment derived from the earth, or from water and air, and received through roots and leaves. We observe that vegetation depends on heat and on certain substances which constitute the nutriment of plants. Rapid vegetation is caused by increased heat and a rich soil.
2. Vegetables or plants in general. In June, vegetation is our climate wears a beautiful aspect. Vegetation of salts, so called, consists in certain crystaline concretions formed by salts, after solution in water, when set in the air for evaporation. These concretions appear round the surface of the liquor, affixed to the sides of the vessel.

VEG'E-TA-TIVE, a. [Fr. vegetatif.]

1. Growing, or having the power of growing, as plants . – Ralegh.
2. Having the power to produce growth in plants; as, the vegetative properties of soil. – Broome.

VEG'E-TA-TIVE-NESS, n.

The quality of producing growth.

VE-GETE', a. [L. vegetus.]

Vigorous; active. [Little used.] – Wallis.

VEG'E-TIVE, a. [L. vegeto, vigeo.]

Vegetable; having the nature of plants; as, vegetive life. [Little used.] – Tusser.

VEG'E-TIVE, n.

A vegetable. [Not in use.] – Sandys.

VEG'E-TO-AN'I-MAL, a.

Partaking of the nature both of vegetable and animal matter. Vegeto-animal matter, is a term formerly applied to vegetable gluten, which is found, in the seeds of certain plants, in a state of union with fecula or starch. It is remarkably elastic, and when dry, semi-transparent. By distillation it affords, like animal substances, ammonia, and an empyreumatic oil. – Cyc. Fourcroy.

VEG-E'TOUS, a.

Vigorous; lively; vegete. [Not in use.] – B. Jonson.

VE'HE-MENCE, or VE'HE-MEN-CY, n. [Fr. vehemence; from L. vehemens, from veho, to carry, that is, to rush or drive.]

1. Violence; great force; properly, force derived from velocity; as, the vehemence of wind. But it is applied to any kind of forcible action; as, to speak with vehemence.
2. Violent ardor; great heat; animated fervor; as, the vehemence of love or affection; the vehemence of anger or other passion. I tremble at his vehemence of temper. – Addison.

VE'HE-MENT, a. [Fr. from L. vehemens.]

1. Violent; acting with great force; furious; very forcible; as, a vehement wind; a vehement torrent; a vehement fire or heat.
2. Very ardent; very eager or urgent; very fervent; as, a vehement affection or passion; vehement desire; vehement eloquence. – Milton.

VE'HE-MENT-LY, adv.

1. With great force and violence.
2. Urgently; forcibly; with great zeal or pathos . – Tillotson.

VE'HI-CLE, n. [Fr. vehicule; L. vehiculum, from veho, to carry.]

1. That in which any thing is or may be carried; any kind of carriage moving on land, either on wheels or runners. This word comprehends coaches, chariots, gigs, sulkies, wagons, carts of every kind, sleighs and sleds. These are all vehicles. But the word is snore generally applied to wheel carriages, and rarely I believe to water craft.
2. That which is used as the instrument of conveyance. Language is the vehicle which conveys ideas to others. Letters are vehicles of communication. A simple style forms the best vehicle of thought to a popular assembly. – Wirt.

VE'HI-CLED, a.

Conveyed in a vehicle. – Green.

VE-HIC'U-LAR, a.

Pertaining to a vehicle.

VEIL, n. [L. velum.]

1. A cover; a curtain; something to intercept the view and hide an object.
2. A cover; a disguise. [See Vail. The latter orthography gives the Latin pronunciation as well as the English, and is to be preferred.]

VEIL, v.t.

1. To cover with a veil; to conceal. 2: To invest; to cover.
2. To hide. [See Vail.]

VEIN, n. [Fr. veine; L. vena, from the root of venio, to come, to pass. The sense is a passage, a conduit.]

1. A vessel in animal bodies, which receives the blood from the extreme arteries, and returns it to the heart. The veins may be arranged in three divisions. 1) Those that commence from the capillaries all over the body, and return the blood to the heart. 2) The pulmonary veins. 3) The veins of the vena portae, in which the blood that has circulated through the organs of digestion is conveyed to the liver. – Cyc.
2. In plants, a tube or an assemblage of tubes, through which the sap is transmitted along the leaves. The term is more properly applied to the finer and more complex ramifications, which interbranch with each other like net-work; the larger and more direct assemblages of vessels being called ribs and nerves. Veins are also found in the calyx and corol of flowers. – Cyc. The vessels which branch or variously divide over the surface of leaves are called veins. – Martyn.
3. In geology, a fissure in rocks or strata, filled with a particular substance. Thus metallic veins intersect rocks or strata of other substances. Metalliferous veins have been traced in the earth for miles; some in South America are said to have been traced eighty miles. Many species of stones, as granite, porphyry, &c. are often found in veins. – Cyc.
4. A streak or wave of different color, appearing in wood, marble, and other stones; variegation.
5. A cavity or fissure in the earth or in other substance.
6. Tendency or turn of mind; a particular disposition or cast of genius; as, a rich vein of wit or humor; a satirical vein. Invoke the muses, and improve my vein. – Waller.
7. Current. He can open a vein of true and noble thinking. – Swift.
8. Humor; particular temper. – Shak.
9. Strain; quality; as, my usual vein. – Oldham.