| giraffe | <zoology> An African ruminant (Camelopardalis giraffa) related to the deers and antelopes, but placed in a family by itself; the camelopard. It is the tallest of animals, being sometimes twenty feet from the hoofs to the top of the head. Its neck is very long, and its fore legs are much longer than its hind legs. Origin: F. Girafe, Sp. Girafa, from Ar. Zurafa, zarafa. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| girandole | 1. An ornamental branched candlestick. 2. A flower stand, fountain, or the like, of branching form. 3. <chemistry> A kind of revolving firework. 4. A series of chambers in defensive mines. Origin: F. See Gyrate. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| Girard | A., Swiss-born U.S. Surgeon, 1841-1914. See: Girard's reagent. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Girard's reagent | The hydrazine of betaine chloride, used to extract ketonic steroids by forming water-soluble hydrazones with them. (05 Mar 2000) |
| girasole girasol | 1. <botany> See Heliotrope. 2. <chemical> A variety of opal which is usually milk white, bluish white, or sky blue; but in a bright light it reflects a reddish colour. Origin: It. Girasole, or F. Girasol, fr. L. Gyrare to turn around + sol sun. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| girder | 1. One who, or that which, girds. 2. A main beam; a stright, horizontal beam to span an opening or carry weight, such as ends of floor beams, etc.; hence, a framed or built-up member discharging the same office, technically called a compound girder. Bowstring girder, Box girder, etc. See Bowstring, Box, etc. Girder bridge. See Bridge. Lattice girder, a girder consisting of longitudinal bars united by diagonal crossing bars. Half-lattice girder, a girder consisting of horizontal upper and lower bars connected by a series of diagonal bars sloping alternately in opposite directions so as to divide the space between the bars into a series of triangles. Sandwich girder, a girder consisting of two parallel wooden beams, between which is an iron plate, the whole clamped together by iron bolts. Origin: From Gird to encircle. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| girding | That with which one is girded; a girdle. "Instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth." (Is. Iii. 24) Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| girdle | To kill a tree by severing or removing the living layer of the tree (the phloem) in a ring around its trunk. (09 Oct 1997) |
| girdle anaesthesia | Anaesthesia distributed as a band encircling the trunk. (05 Mar 2000) |
| girdle pain | A painful sensation encircling the body like a belt, occurring in tabes dorsalis or other spinal cord disease. (05 Mar 2000) |
| girdle sensation | A sensation as if a cord were drawn around the body, constricting it. Synonym: cincture sensation, girdle sensation, strangalesthesia. Origin: G. Zone, girdle, + aisthesis, sensation (05 Mar 2000) |
| girdler | 1. One who girdles. 2. A maker of girdles. 3. <zoology> An American longicorn beetle (Oncideres cingulatus) which lays its eggs in the twigs of the hickory, and then girdles each branch by gnawing a groove around it, thus killing it to provide suitable food for the larvae. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| Girdlestone | Gathorne Robert, British orthopedist, *1881. See: Girdlestone procedure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Girdlestone procedure | Complete resection or excision of the head and neck of the femur. (05 Mar 2000) |
| girdling | Killing a tree by removing a strip of bark from around its trunk. (05 Dec 1998) |