Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary

ONEMENT — OPINIONATIVELY

ONEMENT, n. wun’ment. State of being one. [Not in use.]

ONENESS, n. wun’ness. [from one.] Singleness in number; individuality; unity; the quality of being one.

Our God is one, or rather very oneness.

ONERARY, a. [L. onerarius, from onus, a load; onero, to load.]

Fitted or intended for the carriage of burdens; comprising a burden.

ONERATE, v.t. [L. onero, from onus, a burden.] To load; to burden.

ONERATION, n. The act of loading.

ONEROUS, a. [L. onerosus, from onus, a load.]

1. Burdensome; oppressive.

2. In Scots law, being for the advantage of both parties; as an onerous contract; opposed to gratuitous.

ONION, n. un’yun.

A plant of the genus Allium; and particularly, its bulbous root, much used as an article of food.

ONKOTOMY, n. [Gr. tumor, and to cut.]

In surgery, the opening of a tumor or abscess.

ONLY, a.

1. Single; one along; as, John was the only man present.

2. This and no other. This is an only child.

3. This above all others. He is the only man for music.

ONLY, adv.

1. Singly; merely; barely; in one manner or for one purpose along.

I purpose my thoughts only as conjectures.

And to be loved himself, needs only to be known.

2. This and no other wise.

Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5.

3. Singly; without more; as only-begotten.

ONOMANCY, n. [Gr. name, and divination.] Divination by the letters of a name.

Destinies were superstitiously, by onomancy, deciphered out of names.

ONOMANTIC, ONOMANTICAL, a. Predicting by names, or the letters composing names.

ONOMATOPE, ONOMATOPY, n. [Gr. name, and to make.]

1. In grammar and rhetoric, a figure in which words are formed to resemble the sound made by the thing signified; as, to buzz, as bees; to crackle, as burning thorns or brush.

2. A word whose sound corresponds to the sound of the thing signified.

ONSET, n. [on and set.]

1. A rushing or setting upon; a violent attack; assault; a storming; appropriately, the assault of an army or body of troops upon an enemy or a fort.

The shout of battle now began and rushing sound of onset.

2. An attack of any kind; as the impetuous onset of grief.

ONSET, v.t. To assault; to begin. [Not used.]

ONSLAUGHT, n. on’slaut. [on and slay.] Attack; storm; onset. [Not used.]

ONTOLOGIC, ONTOLOGICAL, a. [See Ontology.] Pertaining to the science of being in general and its affections.

ONTOLOGIST, n. One who treats of or considers the nature and qualities of being in general.

ONTOLOGY, n. [Gr. from and discourse.]

That part of the science of metaphysics which investigates and explains the nature and essence of all beings, their qualities and attributes.

ONWARD, adv. [L. versus.]

1. Toward the point before or in front; forward; progressively; in advance; as, to move onward.

Not one looks backward, onward still he goes.

2. In a state of advanced progression.

3. A little further or forward.

ONWARD, a.

1. Advanced or advancing; as an onward course.

2. Increased; improved.

3. Conducting; leading forward to perfection.

ONYCHA, n. [from Gr.] Supposed to be the odoriferous shell of the onyxfish, or the onyx. Exodus 30:34.

ONYX, n. [Gr. a nail. L. onyx.] A semi-pellucid gem with variously colored zones or veins, a variety of chalcedony.

OOLITE, n. [Gr. an egg, and stone, from its resemblance to the roes of fish.]

Egg-stone, a variety of concreted carbonate of lime; oviform limestone.

OOZE, v.i. ooz. [The origin of this word is not easily ascertained. Heb. See Issue.]

To flow gently; to percolate, as a liquid through the pores of a substance, or through small openings. Water oozes from the earth and through a filter.

The latent rill, scaree oozing through the grass.

OOZE, n.

1. Soft mud or slime; earth so wet as to flow gently or easily yield to pressure.

2. Soft flow; spring.

3. The liquor of a tan-vat.

OOZING, ppr. Flowing gently; percolating.

OOZY, a. Miry; containing soft mud; resembling ooze; as the oozy bed of a river.

OPACATE, v.t. [L. opaco.] To shade; to darken; to obscure; to cloud. [Not used.]

OPACITY, n. [L. opacitas.]

1. Opakeness; the quality of a body which renders it impervious to the rays of light; want of transparency. Opacity may exist in bodies of any color.

2. Darkness; obscurity.

OPACOUS, a. [L. opacus.]

1. Not pervious to the rays of light; not transparent.

2. Dark; obscure. [See Opake.]

OPACOUSNESS, n. Imperviousness to light.

OPAH, n. A fish of a large kind with a smooth skin found on the coast of Guinea.

OPAKE, a. [L. opacus.]

1. Impervious to the rays of light; not transparent. [This is the word now generally used.] Chalk is an opake substance.

2. Dark; obscure.

OPAKENESS, n. The quality of being impervious to light; want of transparency; opacity.

OPAL, n. [L. opalus or opalum.] A stone of the silicious genus, and of several varieties. It is one of the most beautiful of this genus, by reason of its changeableness of color by reflection and refraction. Kirwan distributes opals into four families, opal, semi-opal, pitch stone [pechstein,] and ligniform. Jameson divides opal into seven kinds.

Opal is a subspecies of indivisible quartz.

OPALESCENCE, n. A colored shining luster reflected from a single spot in a mineral. It is sometimes simple and sometimes stellar.

OPALESCENT, a. Resembling opal; reflecting a colored luster from a single spot.

OPALINE, a. Pertaining to or like opal.

OPALIZE, v.t. To make to resemble opal; as opalized wood.

OPE, a. Open. Obs.

OPE, v.t. To open; used only in poetry, and probably a contracted word.

OPEN, a. o’pn.

1. Unclosed; not shut; as, the gate is open; an open door or window; an open book; open eyes.

2. Spread; expanded. He received his son with open arms.

3. Unsealed; as an open letter.

4. Not shut or fast; as an open hand.

5. Not covered; as the open air; an open vessel.

6. Not covered with trees; clear; as an open country or field.

7. Not stopped; as an open bottle.

8. Not fenced or obstructed; as an open road.

9. Not frosty; warmer than usual; not freezing severely; as an open winter.

An open and warm winter portendeth a hot and dry summer.

Johnson interprets open, in this passage, by not cloudy, not gloomy. I think the definition wrong. In America, an open winter is one in which the earth is not bound with frost and covered with snow.

10. Public; before a court and its suitors. His testimony was given in open court.

11. Admitting all persons without restraint; free to all comers. He keeps open house at the election.

12. Clear of ice; as, the river or the harbor is open.

13. Plain; apparent; evident; public; not secret or concealed; as an open declaration; open avowal; open shame; open defiance. The nations contend to open war or in open arms.

14. Not wearing disguise; frank; sincere; unreserved; candid; artless.

He was held a man open and of good faith.

His generous, open undesigning heart.

15. Not clouded; not contracted or frowning; having an air of frankness and sincerity; as an open look.

With aspect open shall erect his head.

16. Not hidden; exposed to view.

We are to exercise our thoughts and lay open the treasures of divine truth.

17. Ready to hear or receive what is offered.

His ears are open to their cry. Psalm 34:15.

18. Free to be employed for redress; not restrained or denied; not precluding any person.

The law is open. Acts 19:38.

19. Exposed; not protected; without defense. The country is open to the invaders.

- Hath left me open to all injuries.

20. Attentive; employed in inspection.

Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men - Jeremiah 32:19.

21. Clear; unobstructed; as an open view.

22. Unsettled; not balanced or closed; as an open account.

Open accounts between merchants.

23. Not closed; free to be debated; as a question open for discussion.

24. In music, an open note is that which a string is tuned to produce.

OPEN, v.t. o’pn.

1. To unclose; to unbar; to unlock; to remove any fastening or cover and set open; as, to open a door or gate; to open a desk.

2. To break the seal of a letter and unfold it.

3. To separate parts that are close; as, to open the lips; to open the mouth or eyes or eyelids; to open a book.

4. To remove a covering from; as, to open a pit.

5. To cut through; to perforate; to lance; as, to open the skin; to open an abscess.

6. To break; to divide; to split or rend; as, the earth was opened in many places by an earthquake; a rock is opened by blasting.

7. To clear; to make by removing obstructions; as, to open a road; to open a passage; the heat of spring opens rivers bound with ice.

8. To spread; to expand; as, to open the hand.

9. To unstop; as, to open a bottle.

10. To begin; to make the first exhibition. The attorney general opens the cause on the part of the king or the state. Homer opens his poem with the utmost simplicity and modesty.

11. To show; to bring to view or knowledge.

The English did adventure far to open the north parts of America.

12. To interpret; to explain.

- While he opened to us the Scriptures. Luke 24:32.

13. To reveal; to disclose. He opened his mind very freely.

14. To make liberal; as, to open the heart.

15. To make the first discharge of artillery; as, to open a heavy fire on the enemy.

16. To enter on or begin; as to open a negotiation or correspondence; to open a trade with the Indies.

17. To begin to see by the removal of something intercepted the view; as, we sailed round the point and opened the harbor.

OPEN, v.i. o’pn.

1. To unclose itself; to be unclosed; to be parted.

The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. Psalm 106:17.

2. To begin to appear. As we sailed round the point, the harbor opened to our view.

3. To commence; to begin. sales of stock open at par.

4. To bark; a term in hunting.

OPENED, pp. o’pned. Unclosed; unbarred; unsealed; uncovered; revealed; disclosed; made plain; freed from obstruction.

OPENER, n. o’pner.

1. One that opens or removed any fastening or covering.

2. One that explains; an interpreter.

3. That which separates; that which rends.

4. An aperient in medicine.

OPENEYED, a. o’pneyed. Watchful; vigilant.

OPENHANDED, a. o’pnhanded. Generous; liberal; munificent.

OPENHEARTED, a. o’pnharted. Candid; frank; generous.

OPENHEARTEDLY, adv. With frankness; without reserve.

OPENHEARTEDNESS, n. Frankness; candor; sincerity; munificence; generosity.

OPENING, ppr. o’pning. Unclosing; unsealing; uncovering; revealing; interpreting.

OPENING, n. o’pning.

1. A breach; an aperture; a hole or perforation.

2. A place admitting entrance; as a bay or creek.

3. Dawn; first appearance or visibleness; beginning of exhibition or discovery.

The opening of your glory was like that of light.

OPENLY, adv. o’pnly.

1. Publicly; not in private; without secrecy; as, to avow our sins and follies openly.

How grossly and openly do many of us contradict the precepts of the gospel by our ungodliness and worldly lusts!

2. Plainly; evidently; without reserve or disguise.

OPENMOUTHED, a. o’pnmouthed. Greedy; ravenous; clamorous; as an open-mouthed lion.

OPENNESS, n. o’pnness.

1. Freedom from covering or obstruction; as the openness of a country.

2. Plainness; clearness; freedom from obscurity or ambiguity; as, deliver your answers with more openness.

3. Freedom from disguise; unreservedness; plainness.

4. Expression of frankness or candor; as openness of countenance.

5. Unusual mildness; freedom from snow and frost; as the openness of a winter.

OPERA, n. [L. opera, work, labor.]

A dramatic composition set to music and sung on the stage, accompanied with musical instruments and enriched with magnificent dresses, machines, dancing, etc.

OPERABLE, a. Practicable. [Not used.]

OPERANT, a. [See Operate.] Having power to produce an effect. [Not used. We now use operative.]

OPERATE, v.i. [L. operor; Heb. signifies to be strong, to prevail.]

1. To act; to exert power or strength, physical or mechanical. External bodies operate on animals by means of perception. Sound operates upon the auditory nerves through the medium of air. Medicines operate on the body by increasing or diminishing organic action.

2. To act or produce effect on the mind; to exert moral power or influence. Motives operate on the mind in determining the judgment. Examples operate in producing imitation.

The virtues of private persons operate but on a few -

A plain convincing reason operates on the mind both of a learned and an ignorant hearer as long as he lives.

3. In surgery, to perform some manual act in a methodical manner upon a human body, and usually with instruments, with a view to restore soundness or health; as in amputation, lithotomy and the like.

4. To act; to have agency; to produce any effect.

OPERATE, v.t. To effect; to produce by agency.

The same cause would operate a diminution of the value of stock -

[This use is not frequent, and can hardly be said to be well authorized.]

OPERATICAL, a. Pertaining to the opera; a word used by musicians.

OPERATING, ppr. Acting; exerting agency or power; performing some manual act in surgery.

OPERATION, n. [L. operatio.]

1. The act or process of operating; agency; the exertion of power, physical, mechanical or moral.

Speculative painting without the assistance of manual operation, can never attain to perfection.

The pain and sickness caused by manna are the effects of its operation on the stomach.

So we speak of the operation of motives, reasons or arguments on the mind, the operation of causes, etc.

2. Action; effect.

Many medicinal drugs of rare operation.

3. Process; manipulation; series of acts in experiments; as in chimistry or metallurgy.

4. In surgery, any methodical action of the hand, or of the hand with instruments, on the human body, with a view to heal a part diseased, fractured or dislocated, as in amputation, etc.

5. Action or movements of an army or fleet; as military or naval operations.

6. Movements of machinery.

7. Movements of any physical body.

OPERATIVE, a.

1. Having the power of acting; exerting force, physical or moral; having or exerting agency; active in the production of effects.

In actions of religion we should be zealous, active and operative, so far as prudence will permit.

It holds in all operative principles, especially in morality.

2. Efficacious; producing the effect.

OPERATOR, n.

1. He or that which operates; he or that which produces an effect.

2. In surgery, the person who performs some act upon the human body by means of the hand, or with instruments; as a skillful operator.

OPERCULATE, OPERCULATED, a. [L. operculatur, from operio, to cover.] In botany, having a lid or cover, as a capsule.

OPERCULIFORM, a. [L. operculum, a lid, and form.] Having the form of a lid or cover.

OPEROSE, a. [L. operosus, from opera, operor.]

Laborious; attended with labor; tedious.

OPEROSENESS, n. the state of being laborious.

OPETIDE, n. [ope and tide.] The ancient time of marriage, from Epiphany to Ash Wednesday.

OPHIDIAN, a. [Gr. a serpent.] Pertaining to serpents; designating an order of vertebral animals destitute of feet or fins.

OPHIDION, n. [Gr. a serpent.] a fish of the anguilliform kind, resembling the common eel, but shorter, more depressed and of a paler color; found in the mediterranean.

OPHIOLOGIC, OPHIOLOGICAL, a. Pertaining to ophiology.

OPHIOLOGIST, n. One versed in the natural history of serpents.

OPHIOLOGY, n. [Gr. serpent, and discourse.]

That part of natural history which treats of serpents, or which arranges and describes the several kinds.

OPHIOMANCY, n. [Gr. a serpent, and divination.]

In antiquity, the art of divining or predicting events by serpents, as by their manner of eating or by their coils.

OPHIOMORPHOUS, a. [Gr. form.] Having the form of a serpent.

OPHIOPHAGOUS, a. [Gr. a serpent, to eat.] Eating or feeding on serpents.

OPHITE, n. [Gr. a serpent.] Pertaining to a serpent.

OPHITE, a. [Gr. a serpent, whence a stone spotted like a serpent.]

Green porphyry, or serpentine; a variety of greenstone of a dusky green color of different shades, sprinkled with spots of a lighter green; in other words, containing greenish white crystals of feldspar.

OPHIUCHUS, n. [Gr. a serpent, and to have.]

A constellation in the northern hemisphere.

OPHITHALMIC, a. [See Ophthalmy.] Pertaining to the eye.

OPHTHALMOSCOPY, n. [Gr. the eye, and to view.]

A branch of physiognomy which deduces the knowledge of a man’s temper and manner from the appearance of the eyes.

OPHTHALMY, n. [Gr. from the eye.]

A disease of the eyes; an inflammation of the membranes which invest the eye.

Inflammation of the eye or its appendages.

OPIATE, n. [from opium.]

1. Primarily, a medicine of a thicker consistence than syrup, prepared with opium.

A soft electuary.

Electuaries when soft are call opiata.

But in modern usage generally,

2. Any medicine that has the quality of inducing sleep or repose; a narcotic.

3. That which induces rest or inaction; that which quiets uneasiness.

They chose atheism as an opiate.

OPIATE, a.

1. Inducing sleep; soporiferous; somniferous; narcotic.

2. Causing rest or inaction.

OPIFCICER, n. [L. opifex; opus, work, and facio, to do.]

One who performs any work. [Not used.]

OPINABLE, a. [L. opinor.] That may be thought. [Not used.]

OPINATION, n. Act of thinking; opinion. [Not used.]

OPINATIVE, a. Stiff in opinion. [Not used.]

OPINATOR, n. One fond of his own opinions; one who holds an opinion. [Not in use.]

OPINE, v.i. [L. opinor.] To think; to suppose. Obs.

OPINED, pp. Thought; conceived. Obs.

OPINER, n. One who thinks or holds an opinion. Obs.

OPINIASTER, OPINIASTROUS, OPINIATRE, a. Unduly attached to one’s own opinion, or stiff in adhering to it. Obs.

OPINIATE, v.t. To maintain one’s opinion with obstinacy. Obs.

OPINIATED, a. Unduly attached to one’s own opinions.

OPINIATER, a. Stiff in opinion; obstinate. Obs.

OPINIATIVE, a.

1. Very stiff in adherence to preconceived notions.

2. Imagined; not proved.

OPINIATIVENESS, n. Undue stiffness in opinion.

OPINIATOR, n. One unduly attached to his own opinion. Obs.

OPINIATRY, n. Unreasonable attachment to one’s own notions; obstinacy in opinions. Obs.

OPINING, ppr. Thinking. Obs.

OPINING, n. Opinion; notion. Obs.

OPINION, n. opin’yon. [L. opinio, from opinor, to thing, Gr., L. suppono.]

1. The judgment which the mind forms of any proposition, statement, theory or event, the truth or falsehood of which is supported by a degree of evidence that renders it probably, but does not produce absolute knowledge or certainty. It has been a received opinion that all matter is comprised in four elements. This opinion is proved by many discoveries to be false. From circumstances we form opinions respecting future events.

Opinion is when the assent of the understanding is so far gained by evidence of probability, that it rather inclines to one persuasion than to another, yet not without a mixture of uncertainty or doubting.

2. The judgment or sentiments which the mind forms of persons or their qualities. We speak of a good opinion, a favorable opinion, a bad opinion, a private opinion, and public or general opinion, etc.

Friendship gives a man a peculiar right and claim to the good opinion of his friend.

3. Settled judgment or persuasion; as religious opinions; political opinion.

4. Favorable judgment; estimation.

In actions of arms, small matters are of great moment, especially when they serve to raise an opinion of commanders.

However, I have no opinion of these things -