Part 116

The entourage and mode of life of the mikados were not such as to make of them able rulers.

B. H. Chamberlain.

Ep"worth League (?). A religious organization of Methodist young people, founded in 1889 at Cleveland, Ohio, and taking its name from John Wesley's birthplace, Epworth, Lincolnshire, England.

E"qual*iz`er (?), n. 1. = Equalizing bar.

2. A device, as a bar, for operating two brakes, esp. a pair of hub brakes for an automobile, with equal force.

3. (Elec.) Any device for equalizing the pull of electromagnets; also, a conductor of low resistance joining the armature ends of the series field coils of dynamos connected in parallel.

4. (Aëronautics) A sliding panel to preserve the lateral stability of an aëroplane.

E*ra"sure (?), n. An instance of erasing; also, the place where something has been erased.

Er"bi*um (?), n. [NL. Named from Ytterby, in Sweden, where gadolinite is found. Cf. Terbium, Yttrium, Ytterbium.] (Chem.) A metallic element of the rare earth group, found in gadolinite and some other minerals. Symbol, Er; at. wt. 167.4. Its salts are rose-colored and give characteristic spectra.

Er"gal (?), n. [G., fr. Gr. &?; work.] (Physics) Potential energy; negative value of the force function.

Erg"me`ter (?), n. [Erg + - meter.] (Physics) An instrument for measuring energy in ergs.

Er"go*graph (?), n. [Gr. &?; work + - graph.] An instrument for measuring and recording the work done by a single muscle or set of muscles, the rate of fatigue, etc. -- Er`go*graph"ic (#), a.

Er*gom"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. &?; work + -meter.] (Physics) A device for measuring, or an instrument for indicating, energy expended or work done; a dynamometer. -- Er`go*met"ric (#), a.

Er"gon (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; work.] (Physics) (a) Work, measured in terms of the quantity of heat to which it is equivalent. (b) = Erg.

E*rode", v. t. (Geol. & Phys. Geog.) (a) To wear away; as, streams and glaciers erode the land. (b) To produce by erosion, or wearing away; as, glaciers erode U-shaped valleys.

E*ro"sion, n. The wearing away of the earth's surface by any natural process. The chief agent of erosion is running water; minor agents are glaciers, the wind, and waves breaking against the coast.

E*rupt" (?), v. i. [See Eruption.] 1. To eject something, esp. lava, water, etc., as a volcano or geyser.

2. To burst forth; to break out, as ashes from a volcano, teeth through the gums, etc.

When the amount and power of the steam is equal to the demand, it erupts with violence through the lava flood and gives us a small volcano.

H. J. W. Dam.

Es"ca*la`tor (?), n. [NL. Cf. Escalade.] A stairway or incline arranged like an endless belt so that the steps or treads ascend or descend continuously, and one stepping upon it is carried up or down; -- a trade term.

Es*cape", n. (Bot.) A plant which has escaped from cultivation.

Es`o*ter"ic (?), a. Marked by secrecy or privacy; private; select; confidential; as, an esoteric purpose; an esoteric meeting.

Es`o*ter"ic, n. (Philos.) (a) An esoteric doctrine or treatise; esoteric philosophy; esoterics. (b) One who believes, or is an initiate, in esoteric doctrines or rites.

Es`pe*ran"to (?), n. An artificial language, intended to be universal, devised by Dr. Zamenhof, a Russian, who adopted the pseudonym "Dr. Esperanto" in publishing his first pamphlet regarding it in 1887. The vocabulary is very largely based upon words common to the chief European languages, and sounds peculiar to any one language are eliminated. The spelling is phonetic, and the accent (stress) is always on the penult. -- Es`pe*ran"tist (#), n.

Es*tab"lished suit. (Whist) A plain suit in which a player (or side) could, except for trumping, take tricks with all his remaining cards.

||Es`ta`mi`net" (?), n. [F.] A café, or room in a café, in which smoking is allowed.

Et"a*mine (?), n. [F. élamine.] A light textile fabric, like a fine bunting.