Part 558

2. (Arch.) An ornament in a building; a corbel.

Cor"ban (k˘r"băn), n. [Heb. qorbān, akin to Ar. qurbān.] 1. (Jewish Antiq.) An offering of any kind, devoted to God and therefore not to be appropriated to any other use; esp., an offering in fulfillment of a vow.

&fist; In the old Testament the hebrew word is usually translated "oblation" as in Numb. xviii. 9, xxxi. 50.

&fist; The traditionists laid down that a man might interdict himself by vow, not only from using for himself, but from giving to another, or receiving from him, some particular object, whether of food or any other kind. A person might thus exempt himself from assisting parents in distress, under plea of corban. Dr. W. Smith.

2. An alms basket; a vessel to receive gifts of charity; a treasury of the church, where offerings are deposited.

Corbe (k˘rb), a. [OF. corbe, fr. L. curvus. See Cuve.] Crooked. [Obs.] "Corbe shoulder." Spenser.

Cor"beil (k˘r"b&ebreve;l), n. [F. corbeille, fr. L. corbicula a little basket, dim. of corbis basket. Cf. Corbel, Corb, Corvette.] 1. (Arch.) A sculptured basket of flowers; a corbel. [Obs.]

2. pl. (Fort.) Small gabions. Brande & C.

Cor"bel (k˘r"b&ebreve;l), n. [F. corbeau, for older corbel, dim. of L. corbis basket. (Corbels were often in the form of a basket.) See Corbeil.] (Arch.) A bracket supporting a superincumbent object, or receiving the spring of an arch. Corbels were employed largely in Gothic architecture.

&fist; A common form of corbel consists of courses of stones or bricks, each projecting slightly beyond the next below it.

Cor"bel, v. t. To furnish with a corbel or corbels; to support by a corbel; to make in the form of a corbel.

To corbel out, to furnish with a corbel of courses, each projecting beyond the one next below it.

Cor"bel-ta`ble (?), n. (Arch.) A horizontal row of corbels, with the panels or filling between them; also, less properly used to include the stringcourse on them.

{ Cor"bie or Cor"by } (k˘r"b&ybreve;), n.; pl. Corbies (-b&ibreve;z). [F. corbeau, OF. corbel, dim. fr. L. corvus raven.] 1. (Zo÷l.) The raven. [Scot.]

2. (her.) A raven, crow, or chough, used as a charge.

Corbie crow, the carrion crow. [Scot.]

Cor"bie*step` (?), n. (Arch.) One of the steps in which a gable wall is often finished in place of a continuous slope; -- also called crowstep.

Cor"cho*rus (k˘r"k&oal;*rŭs), n. [Nl., fr. L. corchorus a poor kind of pulse, Gr. ko`rchoros a wild plant of bitter taste.] (Bot.) The common name of the Kerria Japonica or Japan globeflower, a yellow-flowered, perennial, rosaceous plant, seen in old-fashioned gardens.

{ Cor"cle (k˘r"k'l), Cor"cule (- k&usl;l) }, n. [L. corculum a little heart, dim. of cor heart.] (Bot.) The heart of the seed; the embryo or germ. [Obs.]

Cord (k˘rd), n. [F. corde, L. chorda catgut, chord, cord, fr. Gr. chordh`; cf. chola`des intestines, L. haruspex soothsayer (inspector of entrails), Icel. g÷rn, pl. garnir gut, and E. yarn. Cf. Chord, Yarn.] 1. A string, or small rope, composed of several strands twisted together.

2. A solid measure, equivalent to 128 cubic feet; a pile of wood, or other coarse material, eight feet long, four feet high, and four feet broad; -- originally measured with a cord or line.

3. Fig.: Any moral influence by which persons are caught, held, or drawn, as if by a cord; an enticement; as, the cords of the wicked; the cords of sin; the cords of vanity.

The knots that tangle human creeds, The wounding cords that bind and strain The heart until it bleeds. Tennyson.

4. (Anat.) Any structure having the appearance of a cord, esp. a tendon or a nerve. See under Spermatic, Spinal, Umbilical, Vocal.

5. (Mus.) See Chord. [Obs.]

Cord wood, wood for fuel cut to the length of four feet (when of full measure).

Cord (k˘rd), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Corded; p. pr. & vb. n. Cording.] 1. To bind with a cord; to fasten with cords; to connect with cords; to ornament or finish with a cord or cords, as a garment.

2. To arrange (wood, etc.) in a pile for measurement by the cord.