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3. (Mech.) The part of an instrument by which an effect is indicated, as an index or pointer.

4. (Zoöl.) Any bird of the genus Indicator and allied genera. See Honey guide, under Honey.

5. (Chem.) That which indicates the condition of acidity, alkalinity, or the deficiency, excess, or sufficiency of a standard reagent, by causing an appearance, disappearance, or change of color, as in titration or volumetric analysis.

The common indicators are litmus, tropæolin, phenol phthalein, potassic permanganate, etc.

Indicator card, the figure drawn by an engine indicator, by means of which the working of the engine can be investigated and its power calculated. The Illustration shows one form of indicator card, from a steam engine, together with scales by which the pressure of the steam above or below that of the atmosphere, corresponding to any position of the engine piston in its stroke, can be measured. Called also indicator diagram. - - Indicator telegraph, a telegraph in which the signals are the deflections of a magnetic needle, as in the trans- Atlantic system.

In"di*ca*to*ry (n"d*k*t*r; 277), a. Serving to show or make known; showing; indicative; signifying; implying.

In`di*ca"trix (?), n. [NL.] (Geom. of Three Dimensions) A certain conic section supposed to be drawn in the tangent plane to any surface, and used to determine the accidents of curvature of the surface at the point of contact. The curve is similar to the intersection of the surface with a parallel to the tangent plane and indefinitely near it. It is an ellipse when the curvature is synclastic, and an hyperbola when the curvature is anticlastic.

||In`di*ca"vit (?), n. [L., he has indicated.] (Eng. Law) A writ of ||prohibition against proceeding in the spiritual court in certain ||cases, when the suit belongs to the common-law courts. Wharton (Law ||Dict. ). || In"dice (?), n. [F. indice indication, index. See Index.] Index; indication. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

In"di*ces (?), n. pl. See Index.

||In*di"ci*a (?), n. pl. [L., pl. of indicium, fr. index an index.] ||(Law) Discriminating marks; signs; tokens; indications; appearances. ||Burrill. || In*dic"i*ble (?), a. [F.] Unspeakable. [Obs.]

In*dic"o*lite (?), n. [L. indicum indigo + -lite: cf. F. indicolithe.] (Min.) A variety of tourmaline of an indigo-blue color.

In*dict" (-dt"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Indicted (- dt"d); p. pr. & vb. n. Indicting.] [OE. enditen. See Indite.]

1. To write; to compose; to dictate; to indite. [Obs.]

2. To appoint publicly or by authority; to proclaim or announce. [Obs.]

I am told shall have no Lent indicted this year.

Evelyn.

3. (Law) To charge with a crime, in due form of law, by the finding or presentment of a grand jury; to find an indictment against; as, to indict a man for arson. It is the peculiar province of a grand jury to indict, as it is of a house of representatives to impeach.

In*dict"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being, or liable to be, indicted; subject to indictment; as, an indictable offender or offense.

In`dict*ee" (?), n. (Law) A person indicted.

In*dict"er (?), n. One who indicts.

In*dic"tion (?), n. [L. indictio: cf. F. indiction. See Indict, Indite.]

1. Declaration; proclamation; public notice or appointment. [Obs.] "Indiction of a war." Bacon.

Secular princes did use to indict, or permit the indiction of, synods of bishops.

Jer. Taylor.

2. A cycle of fifteen years.

This mode of reckoning time is said to have been introduced by Constantine the Great, in connection with the payment of tribute. It was adopted at various times by the Greek emperors of Constantinople, the popes, and the parliaments of France. Through the influence of the popes, it was extensively used in the ecclesiastical chronology of the Middle Ages. The number of indictions was reckoned at first from 312 a. d., but since the twelfth century it has been reckoned from the birth of Christ. The papal indiction is the only one ever used at the present day. To find the indiction and year of the indiction by the first method, subtract 312 from the given year a. d., and divide by 15; by the second method, add 3 to the given year a. d., and the divide by 15. In either case, the quotient is the number of the current indiction, and the remainder the year of the indiction. See Cycle of indiction, under Cycle.

In*dic"tive (?), a. [L. indictivus. See Indict.] Proclaimed; declared; public. Kennet.