Clear - Clepsydra

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Clear (klēr), v. i. 1. To become free from clouds or fog; to become fair; -- of the weather; -- often followed by up, off, or away.
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So foul a sky clears not without a storm. Shak.
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Advise him to stay till the weather clears up. Swift.
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2. To become free from turbidity; -- of solutions or suspensions of liquids; as, the salt has not completely dissolved until the suspension clears up; when refrigerated, the juice may become cloudy, but when warmed to room temperature, it clears up again.
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3. To disengage one's self from incumbrances, distress, or entanglements; to become free. [Obs.]
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He that clears at once will relapse; for finding himself out of straits, he will revert to his customs; but he that cleareth by degrees induceth a habit of frugality. Bacon.
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3. (Banking) To make exchanges of checks and bills, and settle balances, as is done in a clearing house.
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4. To obtain a clearance; as, the steamer cleared for Liverpool to-day.
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Coloq. To clear out , to go or run away; to depart. [Colloq.]
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Clearage (klēr�j), n. The act of removing anything; clearance. [R.]
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Clearance (klēr�ns), n. 1. The act of clearing; as, to make a thorough clearance.
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2. A certificate that a ship or vessel has been cleared at the customhouse; permission to sail.
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Every ship was subject to seizure for want of stamped clearances. Durke
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3. Clear or net profit. Trollope.
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4. (Mach.) The distance by which one object clears another, as the distance between the piston and cylinder head at the end of a stroke in a steam engine, or the least distance between the point of a cogwheel tooth and the bottom of a space between teeth of a wheel with which it engages.
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Coloq. Clearance space (Steam engine), the space inclosed in one end of the cylinder, between the valve or valves and the piston, at the beginning of a stroke; waste room. It includes the space caused by the piston's clearance and the space in ports, passageways, etc. Its volume is often expressed as a certain proportion of the volume swept by the piston in a single stroke.
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Clearcole (?), n. [F. claire colle clear glue; clair clear (f. claire) + colle glue, Gr. �.] A priming of size mixed with whiting or white lead, used in house painting, etc.; also, a size upon which gold leaf is applied in gilding.
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Clearcole, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Clearcoled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Clearcoling (?).] To coat or paint with clearcole.
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Clear-cut (?), a. 1. Having a sharp, distinct outline, like that of a cameo.
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She has . . . a cold and clear-cut face. Tennyson.
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2. Concisely and distinctly expressed.
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3. Distinct and unambiguous; unquestionable; as, a clear-cut advantage.
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Clear-cut, v. t. To cut (a region of forest) clear of all trees. It is a method used for efficiently logging a portion of forest, but often has undesirable effects on the environment.
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Clearedness (?), n. The quality of being cleared.
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Imputed by his friends to the clearedness, by his foes to the searedness, of his conscience. T. Fuller.
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Clearer (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, clears.
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Gold is a wonderful clearer of the understanding. Addison.
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2. (Naut.) A tool of which the hemp for lines and twines, used by sailmakers, is finished.
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clear-eyed adj. Acutely perceptive or discerning.
Syn. -- clear-sighted; perceptive; percipient; perspicacious; clear-headed.
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Clear-headed (klērhĕdĕd), a. Having a clear understanding; quick of perception; intelligent. “He was laborious and clear-headed.” Macaulay.

-- Clear-headedness, n.
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Clearing, n. 1. The act or process of making clear.
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The better clearing of this point. South.
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2. A tract of land cleared of wood for cultivation.
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A lonely clearing on the shores of Moxie Lake. J. Burroughs.
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3. A method adopted by banks and bankers for making an exchange of checks held by each against the others, and settling differences of accounts.
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☞ In England, a similar method has been adopted by railroads for adjusting their accounts with each other.
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4. The gross amount of the balances adjusted in the clearing house.
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Coloq. Clearing house , the establishment where the business of clearing is carried on. See , .
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Clearly, adv. In a clear manner.
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Clearness, n. The quality or state of being clear.

Syn. -- , . Clearness has reference to our ideas, and springs from a distinct conception of the subject under consideration. Perspicuity has reference to the mode of expressing our ideas and belongs essentially to style. Hence we speak of a writer as having clear ideas, a clear arrangement, and perspicuous phraseology. We do at times speak of a person's having great clearness of style; but in such cases we are usually thinking of the clearness of his ideas as manifested in language. “Whenever men think clearly, and are thoroughly interested, they express themselves with perspicuity and force.” Robertson.
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Clear-seeing (klērsēĭng), a. Having a clear physical or mental vision; having a clear understanding.
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Clear-shining (klērshīnĭng), a. Shining brightly. Shak.
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Clear-sighted (klērsītĕd), a. 1. Seeing with clearness; acutely perceptive, discerning; as, clear-sighted reason.
Syn. -- clear-eyed, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, clear-headed.
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2. having sharp clear vision.
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Clear-sightedness, n. Acute discernment.
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Clearstarch (klērstärcht), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Clearstarched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Clearstraching.] To stiffen with starch, and then make clear by clapping with the hands; as, to clearstarch muslin.
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Clearstarcher (klērstärchẽr), n. One who clearstarches.
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{ Clearstory (klērstōr�), Clerestory, } n. (Arch.) The upper story of the nave of a church, containing windows, and rising above the aisle roofs.
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clear-thinking adj. able to think clearly and accurately.
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Clearwing (klērwĭng), n. (Zoöl.) A lepidopterous insect with partially transparent wings, of the family Ægeriadæ, of which the currant and peach-tree borers are examples.
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Cleat (klēt), n. [OE. clete wedge; cf. D. kloot ball, Ger. kloss, klotz, lump. clod, MHG. klōz lump, ball, wedge, OHG. chlōz ball, round mass.]
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1. (Carp.) A strip of wood or iron fastened on transversely to something in order to give strength, prevent warping, hold position, etc.
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2. (Naut.) A device made of wood or metal, having two arms, around which turns may be taken with a line or rope so as to hold securely and yet be readily released. It is bolted by the middle to a deck or mast, etc., or it may be lashed to a rope.
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Cleat, v. t. To strengthen with a cleat.
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Cleavable (?), a. Capable of cleaving or being divided.
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Cleavage (?), n. 1. The act of cleaving or splitting.
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2. (Crystallog.) The quality possessed by many crystallized substances of splitting readily in one or more definite directions, in which the cohesive attraction is a minimum, affording more or less smooth surfaces; the direction of the dividing plane; a fragment obtained by cleaving, as of a diamond. See .
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3. (Geol.) Division into laminæ, like slate, with the lamination not necessarily parallel to the plane of deposition; -- usually produced by pressure.
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Coloq. Basal cleavage , cleavage parallel to the base of a crystal, or to the plane of the lateral axes. -- Coloq. Cell cleavage (Biol.), multiplication of cells by fission. See . -- Coloq. Cubic cleavage , cleavage parallel to the faces of a cube. -- Coloq. Diagonal cleavage , cleavage parallel to ta diagonal plane. -- Coloq. Egg clavage . (Biol.) See . -- Coloq. Lateral cleavage , cleavage parallel to the lateral planes. -- Coloq. Octahedral cleavage , Coloq. Dodecahedral cleavage , or Coloq. Rhombohedral cleavage , cleavage parallel to the faces of an octahedron, dodecahedron, or rhombohedron. -- Coloq. Prismatic cleavage , cleavage parallel to a vertical prism.
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Cleave (klēv), v. i. [imp. Cleaved (klēvd), Clave (klāv, Obs.); p. p. Cleaved; p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving.] [OE. cleovien, clivien, cliven, AS. cleofian, clifian; akin to OS. klibōn, G. kleben, LG. kliven, D. kleven, Dan. klæbe, Sw. klibba, and also to G. kleiben to cleve, paste, Icel. klīfa to climb. Cf. .] 1. To adhere closely; to stick; to hold fast; to cling.
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My bones cleave to my skin. Ps. cii. 5.
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The diseases of Egypt . . . shall cleave unto thee. Deut. xxviii. 60.
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Sophistry cleaves close to and protects
Sin's rotten trunk, concealing its defects. Cowper.
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2. To unite or be united closely in interest or affection; to adhere with strong attachment.
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Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife. Gen. ii. 24.
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Cleave unto the Lord your God. Josh. xxiii. 8.
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3. To fit; to be adapted; to assimilate. [Poetic.]
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New honors come upon him,
Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mold
But with the aid of use. Shak.
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Cleave (klēv), v. t. [imp. Cleft (klĕft), Clave (klāv, Obs.), Clove (klōv, Obsolescent); p. p. Cleft, Cleaved (klēvd) or Cloven (klōv'n); p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving.] [OE. cleoven, cleven, AS. cleófan; akin to OS. klioban, D. klooven, G. klieben, Icel. kljūfa, Sw. klyfva, Dan. klöve and prob. to Gr. glyfein to carve, L. glubere to peel. Cf. .] 1. To part or divide by force; to split or rive; to cut.
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O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain. Shak.
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2. To part or open naturally; to divide.
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Every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws. Deut. xiv. 6.
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Cleave, v. i. To part; to open; to crack; to separate; as parts of bodies; as, the ground cleaves by frost.
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The Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst. Zech. xiv. 4.
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Cleavelandite (?), n. [From Professor Parker Cleaveland.] (Min.) A variety of albite, white and lamellar in structure.
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Cleaver (?), n. One who cleaves, or that which cleaves; especially, a butcher's instrument for cutting animal bodies into joints or pieces.
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Cleavers (?), n. [From to stick.] (Bot.) A species of Galium (Galium Aparine), having a fruit set with hooked bristles, which adhere to whatever they come in contact with; -- called also, goose grass, catchweed, etc.
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Cléché (?), a. [F. cléché.] (Her.) Charged with another bearing of the same figure, and of the color of the field, so large that only a narrow border of the first bearing remains visible; -- said of any heraldic bearing. Compare .
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Clechy (?), a. See .
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Cledge (?), n. [Cf. .] (Mining.) The upper stratum of fuller's earth.
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Cledgy (?), a. Stiff, stubborn, clayey, or tenacious; as, a cledgy soil. Halliwell.
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Clee (klē), n. A claw. [Obs.] Holland.
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Clee, n. (Zoöl.) The redshank.
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Cleek (klēk), n. 1. A large hook or crook, as for a pot over a fire; specif., an iron-headed golf club with a straight, narrow face and a long shaft.
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2. Act of cleeking; a clutch. [Scot.]
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Cleek, v. t. [pret. Claught (?); pret. & p. p. Cleeked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Cleeking.] [ME. cleken, clechen, to seize, clutch; perh. akin to E. clutch.] [Scot & Dial. Eng.] 1. To seize; clutch; snatch; catch; pluck.
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2. To catch or draw out with a cleek, as a fish; to hook.
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3. To hook or link (together); hence, to marry. Scott.
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Clef (klĕf; 277), n. [F. clef key, a key in music, fr. L. clavis key. See .] (Mus.) A character used in musical notation to determine the position and pitch of the scale as represented on the staff.
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☞ The clefs are three in number, called the C, F, and G clefs, and are probably corruptions or modifications of these letters. They indicate that the letters of absolute pitch belonging to the lines upon which they are placed, are respectively C, F, and G. The F or bass clef, and the G or treble clef, are fixed in their positions upon the staff. The C clef may have three positions. It may be placed upon the first or lower line of the staff, in which case it is called soprano clef, upon the third line, in which case it called alto clef, or upon the fourth line, in which case tenor clef. It rarely or never is placed upon the second line, except in ancient music. See other forms of C clef under C, 2.
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Coloq. Alto clef , Coloq. Bass clef . See under , .
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Cleft (klĕft), imp. & p. p. from .
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Cleft, a. 1. Divided; split; partly divided or split.
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2. (Bot.) Incised nearly to the midrib; as, a cleft leaf.
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Cleft, n. [OE. clift; cf. Sw. klyft cave, den, Icel. kluft cleft, Dan. klöft, G. kluft. See to split and cf. 2d , 1st .] 1. A space or opening made by splitting; a crack; a crevice; as, the cleft of a rock. Is. ii. 21.
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2. A piece made by splitting; as, a cleft of wood.
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3. (Far.) A disease in horses; a crack on the band of the pastern.
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Coloq. Branchial clefts . See under .

Syn. -- Crack; crevice; fissure; chink; cranny.
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Cleft-footed (?), a. Having a cloven foot.
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Cleftgraft (?), v. t. To ingraft by cleaving the stock and inserting a scion. Mortimer.
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Cleg (?), n. [Northern Eng. & Scot. gleg: cf. Gael. crethleag.] (Zoöl.) A small breeze or horsefly. [North of Eng. & Scot.] Jamieson.
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cleistocarp n. the closed spore-bearing structure of some fungi (especially Aspergillaceae and Eurysiphaceae) from which spores are released only by decay or disintegration; -- called also cleistothecium.
Syn. -- cleistothecium.
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{ Cleistogamic (?), Cleistogamous (?) } a. [Gr. � closed (fr. � to shut) + gamos marriage.] (Bot.) Having, beside the usual flowers, other minute, closed flowers, without petals or with minute petals; -- said of certain species of plants which possess flowers of two or more kinds, the closed ones being so constituted as to insure self-fertilization. Darwin.
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cleistothecium n. the closed spore-bearing structure of some fungi (especially Aspergillaceae and Eurysiphaceae) from which spores are released only by decay or disintegration; -- called also cleistocarp.
Syn. -- cleistocarp.
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Clem (klĕm), v. t. & i. [Cf. clam to clog, or G. klemmen to pinch, Icel. klömbra, E. clamp.] To starve; to famish. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
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Clematis (klĕmȧtĭs), n. [NL., fr. Gr. klhmatis brushwood, also (from its long, lithe branches) clematis. fr. klh^ma twig, shoot, fr. kla^n to break off.] (Bot.) A genus of flowering plants, of many species, mostly climbers, having feathery styles, which greatly enlarge in the fruit; -- called also virgin's bower.
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Clemence (?), n. Clemency. [Obs.] Spenser.
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Clemency (?), n.; pl. Clemencies (#). [L. clementia, fr. clemens mild, calm.] 1. Disposition to forgive and spare, as offenders; mildness of temper; gentleness; tenderness; mercy.
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Great clemency and tender zeal toward their subjects. Stowe.
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They had applied for the royal clemency. Macaulay.
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2. Mildness or softness of the elements; as, the clemency of the season.

Syn. -- Mildness; tenderness; indulgence; lenity; mercy; gentleness; compassion; kindness.
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Clement (?), a. [L. clemens; -entis; cf. F. cl�ment.] Mild in temper and disposition; merciful; compassionate. Shak.

-- Clemently, adv.
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Clementine (?), a. Of or pertaining to Clement, esp. to St. Clement of Rome and the spurious homilies attributed to him, or to Pope Clement V. and his compilations of canon law.
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Cleopatra n. a queen of Egypt; b. 69 b. c., d. 30 b. c.
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Cleopatra's needle (?). [So named after Cleopatra, queen of Egypt.] Either of two obelisks which were moved in ancient times from Heliopolis to Alexandria, one of which is now on the Thames Embankment in London, and the other in Central Park, in the City of New York.

☞ Some writers consider that only the obelisk now in Central Park is properly called Cleopatra's needle.
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Clench (?), n. & v. t. See .
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Clepe (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cleped (?) or (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Cleping. Cf. Ycleped.] [AS. clepan, cleopian, clipian, clypian, to cry, call.] To call, or name. [Obs.]
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That other son was cleped Cambalo. Chaucer.
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Clepe, v. i. To make appeal; to cry out. [Obs.]
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Wandering in woe, and to the heavens on high
Cleping for vengeance of this treachery. Mir. for Mag.
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Clepsine (?), n. (Zoöl.) A genus of fresh-water leeches, furnished with a proboscis. They feed upon mollusks and worms.
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Clepsydra (?; 277), n. [L. from Gr. �; � to steal, conceal + � water.] A water clock; a contrivance for measuring time by the graduated flow of a liquid, as of water, through a small aperture. See Illust. in .
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