| oar | 1. An implement for impelling a boat, being a slender piece of timber, usually ash or spruce, with a grip or handle at one end and a broad blade at the other. The part which rests in the rowlock is called the loom. An oar is a kind of long paddle, which swings about a kind of fulcrum, called a rowlock, fixed to the side of the boat. 2. An oarsman; a rower; as, he is a good car. 3. <zoology> An oarlike swimming organ of various invertebrates. Oar cock (Zool), the water rail. Spoon oar, an oar having the blade so curved as to afford a better hold upon the water in rowing. To boat the oars, to cease rowing, and lay the oars in the boat. To feather the oars. See Feather, To lie on the oars, to cease pulling, raising the oars out of water, but not boating them; to cease from work of any kind; to be idle; to rest. To muffle the oars, to put something round that part which rests in the rowlock, to prevent noise in rowing. To put in one's oar, to give aid or advice; commonly used of a person who obtrudes aid or counsel not invited. To ship the oars, to place them in the rowlocks. To toss the oars, To peak the oars, to lift them from the rowlocks and hold them perpendicularly, the handle resting on the bottom of the boat. To trail oars, to allow them to trail in the water alongside of the boat. To unship the oars, to take them out of the rowlocks. Origin: AS. Ar; akin to Icel. Ar, Dan. Aare, Sw. Ara; perh. Akin to E. Row, v. Cf. Rowlock. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| oared | 1. Furnished with oars; chiefly used in composition; as, a four-oared boat. 2. <ornithology> Having feet adapted for swimming. Totipalmate; said of the feet of certain birds. 3. <zoology> Oared shrew, an aquatic European shrew (Crossopus ciliatus). Synonym: black water shrew. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| oari- | Oario- An obsolete term for an ovary. See: oo-, oophor-, ovario-. Origin: G. Oarion, a small egg, dim. Of oon, egg (05 Mar 2000) |
| oasthouse urine disease | An inherited metabolic defect in the absorption of methionine which is converted by intestinal bacteria to alpha-hydroxybutyric acid; characterised by diarrhoea, tachypnea, and marked urinary excretion of alpha-hydroxybutyric acid (causing an odour like that of an oasthouse). Origin: oast, kiln for drying hops, malt, or tobacco (05 Mar 2000) |
| oat cell | A short, bluntly spindle-shaped cell that contains a relatively large, hyperchromatic nucleus, frequently observed in some forms of undifferentiated bronchogenic carcinoma. (05 Mar 2000) |
| oat cell cancer | A type of lung cancer in which the cells look like oats. Also called small cell lung cancer. (12 Dec 1998) |
| oat cell carcinoma | <tumour> An anaplastic, highly malignant, and usually bronchogenic carcinoma composed of small ovoid cells with very scanty cytoplasm; this carcinoma and small round cell carcinoma's comprise over one-third of carcinoma's of the lung. Synonym: small cell carcinoma. (05 Mar 2000) |
| oath | Origin: OE. Othe, oth, ath, AS. A; akin to D. Eed, OS. E, G. Eid, Icel. Eir, Sw. Ed, Dan. Eed, Goth. Ais; cf. OIr. Oeth. 1. A solemn affirmation or declaration, made with a reverent appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed. "I have an oath in heaven" "An oath of secrecy for the concealing of those [inventions] which we think fit to keep secret." (Bacon) 2. A solemn affirmation, connected with a sacred object, or one regarded as sacred, as the temple, the altar, the blood of Abel, the Bible, the Koran, etc. 3. An appeal (in verification of a statement made) to a superior sanction, in such a form as exposes the party making the appeal to an indictment for perjury if the statement be false. 4. A careless and blasphemous use of the name of the divine Being, or anything divine or sacred, by way of appeal or as a profane exclamation or ejaculation; an expression of profane swearing. "A terrible oath" (01 Mar 1998) |
| oatmeal | 1. Meal made of oats. 2. <botany> A plant of the genus Panicum; panic grass. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| oatmeal-tomato paste agar | A special culture medium for the production of ascospore formation in the dermatophytes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| oats | A grass of the genus avena, especially a. Sativa, widely cultivated for its edible seeds and also the seeds of the oat, used as food and fodder. (12 Dec 1998) |
| OAV syndrome | A syndrome characterised by epibulbar dermoids, preauricular appendages, micrognathia, and vertebral and other anomalies. Synonym: Goldenhar's syndrome, OAV syndrome. (05 Mar 2000) |
| OB | Short for obstetrics (or an obstetrician). (12 Dec 1998) |
| OB/GYN | A commonly used abbreviation. GYN is short for gynecology (or a gynecologist). (12 Dec 1998) |
| obcompressed | Compressed or flattened antero-posteriorly, or in a way opposite to the usual one. Origin: Pref. Ob- + compressed. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |