Part 143

||Ce*ras"tes (?), n. [L., a horned serpent, fr. Gr. kera`sths horned, fr. ke`ras horn.] (Zo÷l.) A genus of poisonous African serpents, with a horny scale over each eye; the horned viper.

Ce"rate (?), n. [L. ceratum, ceratm, fr. cera wax.] (Med.) An unctuous preparation for external application, of a consistence intermediate between that of an ointment and a plaster, so that it can be spread upon cloth without the use of heat, but does not melt when applied to the skin.

&fist; Cerate consists essentially of wax (for which resin or spermaceti is sometimes substituted) mixed with oil, lard, and various medicinal ingredients. The cerate (formerly called simple cerate) of the United States Pharmacopoeia is a mixture of three parts of white wax and seven parts of lard.

Ce"ra*ted (?), p. a. [L. ceratus, p. p. of cerare to wax, fr. cera wax.] Covered with wax.

Cer"a*tine (?), a. [Gr. &?; the fallacy called "the horns." fr. ke`ras a horn.] (Logic.) Sophistical.

||Cer`a*to*bran"chi*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. ke`ras, ke`ratos, horn + bra`gchia, n. pl., gills.] (Zo÷l.) A group of nudibranchiate Mollusca having on the back papilliform or branched organs serving as gills.

Cer`a*to*bran"chi*al (?), a. (Anat.) Pertaining to the bone, or cartilage, below the epibranchial in a branchial arch. -- n. A ceratobranchial bone, or cartilage.

||Ce*rat"o*dus (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. ke`ras, ke`ratos horn + &?; tooth.] (Zo÷l.) A genus of ganoid fishes, of the order Dipnoi, first known as Mesozoic fossil fishes; but recently two living species have been discovered in Australian rivers. They have lungs so well developed that they can leave the water and breathe in air. In Australia they are called salmon and baramunda. See Dipnoi, and Archipterygium.

Cer`a*to*hy"al (?), a. [Gr. ke`ras horn + the letter Υ.] (Anat.) Pertaining to the bone, or cartilage, below the epihyal in the hyoid arch. -- n. A ceratohyal bone, or cartilage, which, in man, forms one of the small horns of the hyoid.

||Cer`a*to*sau"rus (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. ke`ras a horn + &?; lizard.] (Paleon.) A carnivorous American Jurassic dinosaur allied to the European Megalosaurus. The animal was nearly twenty feet in length, and the skull bears a bony horn core on the united nasal bones. See Illustration in Appendix.

||Cer`a*to*spon"gi*Š (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. ke`ras, ke`ratos horn + &?; sponge.] (Zo÷l.) An order of sponges in which the skeleton consists of horny fibers. It includes all the commercial sponges.

Ce*rau"nics (?), n. [Gr. &?; thunder and lightning.] That branch of physics which treats of heat and electricity. R. Park.

Ce*rau"no*scope (?), n. [Gr. &?; thunder and lightning + -scope.] An instrument or apparatus employed in the ancient mysteries to imitate thunder and lightning. T. Moore.

Cer*be"re*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to, or resembling, Cerberus. [Written also Cerberian.]

With wide Cerberean mouth. Milton.

Cer"be*rus (?), n. [L. Cerberus (in sense 1), gr. &?;.]

1. (Class. Myth.) A monster, in the shape of a three-headed dog, guarding the entrance into the infernal regions, Hence: Any vigilant custodian or guardian, esp. if surly.

2. (Zo÷l.) A genus of East Indian serpents, allied to the pythons; the bokadam.

Cer"cal (?), a. [Gr. &?; tail.] (Zo÷l.) Of or pertaining to the tail.

||Cer*ca"ri*a (?), n.; pl. Cercarle (&?;) [NL., fr. Gr. &?; tail.] (Zo÷l.) The larval form of a trematode worm having the shape of a tadpole, with its body terminated by a tail-like appendage.

Cer*ca"ri*an (?), a. (Zo÷l.) Of, like, or pertaining to, the CercariŠ. -- n. One of the CercariŠ.

Cer"co*pod (?), n. [Gr. &?; tail + -pod.] (Zo÷l.) One of the jointed antenniform appendages of the posterior somites of certain insects. Packard.

||Cer"cus (?), n.; pl. Cerci (&?;). [NL., fr. Gr. &?; tail.] (Zo÷l.) See Cercopod.

Cere (?), n. [L. cera wax: cf. F. cire.] (Zo÷l.) The soft naked sheath at the base of the beak of birds of prey, parrots, and some other birds. See Beak.

Cere, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Cering.] [L. cerare, fr. cera wax: cf. F. cirer.] To wax; to cover or close with wax. Wiseman.

Ce"re*al (?), a. [L. Cerealis pert. to Ceres, and hence, to agriculture. See Ceres.] Of or pertaining to the grasses which are cultivated for their edible seeds (as wheat, maize, rice, etc.), or to their seeds or grain.

Ce"re*al n. Any grass cultivated for its edible grain, or the grain itself; -- usually in the plural.

||Ce`re*a"li*a (?), n. pl. [L. See Cereal.]