| indiction | 1. Declaration; proclamation; public notice or appointment. "Indiction of a war." "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. Origin: L. Indictio: cf. F. Indiction. See Indict, Indite. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
|---|---|
| Indiella | Old name for Madurella. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indifference to pain syndrome | <syndrome> Congenital insensitivity to pain, possibly due to an absence of organised nerve endings in the skin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indifferent | 1. Not maling a difference; having no influence or preponderating weight; involving no preference, concern, or attention; of no account; without significance or importance. "Dangers are to me indifferent." (Shak) "Everything in the world is indifferent but sin." (Jer. Taylor) "His slightest and most indifferent acts . . . Were odious in the clergyman's sight." (Hawthorne) 2. Neither particularly good, not very bad; of a middle state or quality; passable; mediocre. "The staterooms are in indifferent order." (Sir W. Scott) 3. Not inclined to one side, party, or choice more than to another; neutral; impartial. "Indifferent in his choice to sleep or die." (Addison) 4. Feeling no interest, anxiety, or care, respecting anything; unconcerned; inattentive; apathetic; heedless; as, to be indifferent to the welfare of one's family. "It was a law of Solon, that any person who, in the civil commotions of the republic, remained neuter, or an indifferent spectator of the contending parties, should be condemned to perpetual banishment." (Addison) 5. Free from bias or prejudice; impartial; unbiased; disinterested. "In choice of committees for ripening business for the counsel, it is better indifferent persons than to make an indifferency by putting in those that are strong on both sides. <anatomy>" (Bacon) Indifferent tissue, the primitive, embryonic, undifferentiated tissue, before conversion into connective, muscular, nervous, or other definite tissue. Origin: F. Indifferent, L. Indifferens. See In- not, and Different. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| indifferent cell | An undifferentiated, nonspecialised cell. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indifferent electrode | In unipolar electrocardiography, a remote electrode placed either upon a single limb or connected with the central terminal and paired with an exploring electrode; the indifferent electrode is supposed to contribute little or nothing to the resulting record. Synonym: dispersing electrode, silent electrode. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indifferent genitalia | Reproductive organs of the embryo prior to the definitive sex formation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indifferent gonad | The primordial organ in an embryo before its differentiation into testis or ovary. See: indifferent genitalia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indifferent oxide | An oxide that is neither an acid nor a base; e.g., water (hydrogen oxide, H2O). Synonym: indifferent oxide. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indifferent tissue | Undifferentiated, nonspecialised, embryonic tissue. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indifferent water | A mineral water containing only a small quantity of saline matter. (05 Mar 2000) |
| indifferentism | 1. State of indifference; want of interest or earnestness; especially, a systematic apathy regarding what is true or false in religion or philosophy; agnosticism. "The indifferentism which equalizes all religions and gives equal rights to truth and error." (Cardinal Manning) 2. <psychology> Same as Identism. 3. A heresy consisting in an unconcern for any particular creed, provided the morals be right and good. Origin: Cf. F. Indifferentisme. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| indifulvin | <chemistry> A reddish resinous substance, obtained from indican. Origin: Indican + L. Fulvus reddish yellow. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| indifuscin | <chemistry> A brown amorphous powder, obtained from indican. Origin: Indican + L. Fuscus dusky. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| indigene | One born in a country; an aboriginal animal or plant; an autochthon. Origin: L. Indigena: cf. F. Indigene. See Indigenous. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |