| jag | 1. A notch; a cleft; a barb; a ragged or sharp protuberance; a denticulation. "Arethuss arose . . . From rock and from jag." (Shelley) "Garments thus beset with long jags." (Holland) 2. A part broken off; a fragment. 3. <botany> A cleft or division. Jag bolt, a bolt with a nicked or barbed shank which resists retraction, as when leaded into stone. Origin: Prob. Of Celtic origin; cf. W. Gag aperture, cleft, chink; akin to Ir. & Gael. Gag Alternative forms: jagg. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| jager | 1. A sharpshooter. See Yager. 2. <zoology> Any species of gull of the genus Stercorarius. Three species occur on the Atlantic coast. The jagers pursue other species of gulls and force them to disgorge their prey. The two middle tail feathers are usually decidedly longer than the rest. Called also boatswain, and marline-spike bird. The name is also applied to the skua, or Arctic gull (Megalestris skua). Origin: G. Jager a hunter, a sportsman. Cf. Yager Alternative forms: jaeger. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| jaggery | Raw palm sugar, made in the East Indies by evaporating the fresh juice of several kinds of palm trees, but specifically that of the palmyra (Borassus flabelliformis). Alternative forms: jagghery. Origin: Hind jagri. Cf. Sugar. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| jagua palm | <botany> A great Brazilian palm (Maximiliana regia), having immense spathes which are used for baskets and tubs. Origin: Sp. Jagua the fruit of the jagua palm. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| jaguar | <zoology> A large and powerful feline animal (Felis onca), ranging from Texas and Mexico to Patagonia. It is usually brownish yellow, with large, dark, somewhat angular rings, each generally inclosing one or two dark spots. It is chiefly arboreal in its habits. Synonym: the American tiger. Origin: Braz. Yagoara: cf. & Pg. Jaguar. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| jaguarondi | <zoology> A South American wild cat (Felis jaguarondi), having a long, slim body and very short legs. Its colour is grayish brown, varied with a blackish hue. It is arboreal in its habits and feeds mostly on birds. Origin: Native name. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| Jahnke's syndrome | <syndrome> Sturge-Weber syndrome without glaucoma. (05 Mar 2000) |
| jail | A kind of prison; a building for the confinement of persons held in lawful custody, especially for minor offenses or with reference to some future judicial proceeding. Alternative forms: gaol] "This jail I count the house of liberty." (Milton) Jail bird, a prisoner; one who has been confined in prison. Jail delivery, the release of prisoners from jail, either legally or by violence. Jail delivery commission. See Gaol. <medicine> Jail fever, typhus fever, or a disease resembling it, generated in jails and other places crowded with people; called also hospital fever, and ship fever. Jail liberties, or Jail limits, a space or district around a jail within which an imprisoned debtor was, on certain conditions, allowed to go at large. Jail lock, a peculiar form of padlock; called also Scandinavian lock. Origin: OE. Jaile, gail, gayhol, OF. Gaole, gaiole, jaiole, F. Geole, LL. Gabiola, dim. Of gabia cage, for L. Cavea cavity, cage. See Cage. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| jail fever | Epidemic typhus, a severe acute (sudden-onset) infectious disease with prolonged high fever up to 40 |
| jairou | <zoology> The ahu or Asiatic gazelle. Origin: Native name. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| jak | <botany> See Ils Jack. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| jake paralysis | Neuropathy produced by drinking synthetic Jamaican ginger (or "jake" in the vernacular) containing triorthocresylphosphate. Synonym: ginger paralysis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| jakie | <zoology> A South American striped frog (Pseudis paradoxa), remarkable for having a tadpole larger than the adult, and hence Synonym: paradoxical frog. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| jako | <zoology> An African parrot (Psittacus erithacus), very commonly kept as a cage bird. Synonym: gray parrot. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| jakob's disease | Better known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (cjd), a dementing disease of the brain. It is believed due to an unconventional, transmissible agent (a prion). Symptoms of cjd include forgetfulness, nervousness, jerky trembling hand movements, unsteady gait, muscle spasms, chronic dementia, balance disorder, and loss of facial expression. Cjd is classified as a spongiform encephalopathy. most cases occur randomly (sporadically), but inherited forms exist. There is neither treatment nor cure for cjd. Other names for cjd include creutzfeldt-jakob syndrome, jakob-creutzfeldt disease, and spastic pseuodoparalysis. (12 Dec 1998) |