3. The son of a brother or a sister, or of a brother-in-law or
sister-in-law. Chaucer.
||Neph"i*lim (?), n. pl. [Heb. nphlm.] Giants. Gen. vi. 4. Num. xiii.
||33.
Neph"o*scope (?), n. [Gr. &?; a cloud + -scope.] (Meteorol.) An
instrument for observing the clouds and their velocity.
{ ||Ne*phral"gi*a (?), Ne*phral"gy (?) }, n. [NL. nephralgia, fr. Gr.
&?; a kidney + &?; pain: cf. F. néphralgie.] (Med.) Neuralgia of the
kidneys; a disease characterized by pain in the region of the kidneys
without any structural lesion of the latter. Quain.
Ne*phrid"i*al (?), a. (Zoöl. & Anat.) Of or pertaining to a nephridium.
||Ne*phrid"i*um (?), n.; pl. Nephridia (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?; of the
||kidneys.] (Zoöl. & Anat.) A segmental tubule; one of the tubules of
||the primitive urinogenital organs; a segmental organ. See Illust.
||under Loeven's larva.
Neph"rite (?; 277), n. [Cf. F. néphrite. See Nephritis.] (Min.) A hard
compact mineral, of a dark green color, formerly worn as a remedy for
diseases of the kidneys, whence its name; kidney stone; a kind of jade.
See Jade.
{ Ne*phrit"ic (?), Ne*phrit"ic*al (?) }, a. [L. nephriticus, Gr. &?;:
cf. F. néphrétique. See Nephritis.] 1. Of or pertaining to the kidneys
or urinary organs; renal; as, a nephritic disease.
2. (Med.) (a) Affected with a disease of the kidneys; as, a nephritic
patient. (b) Relieving disorders of the kidneys; affecting the kidneys;
as, a nephritic medicine.
Nephritic stone (Min.), nephrite; jade. See Nephrite.
Ne*phrit"ic, n. (Med.) A medicine adapted to relieve or cure disease of
the kidneys.
Ne*phri"tis (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?; (sc. &?;), fr. &?; a kidney.]
(Med.) An inflammation of the kidneys.
neph`ro*lith"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?; a kidney + -lith + ic.] (Med.) Of or
pertaining to gravel, or renal calculi. Dunglison.
Ne*phrol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?; a kidney + -logy.] A treatise on, or the
science which treats of, the kidneys, and their structure and
functions.
Neph"ro*stome (?), n. [Gr. &?; a kidney + mouth.] (Zoöl. & Anat.) The
funnel-shaped opening of a nephridium into the body cavity.
Ne*phrot"o*my (?), n. [Gr. &?; a kidney + &?; to cut: cf. F.
néphrotomie.] (Surg.) Extraction of stone from the kidney by cutting.
Nep"o*tal (?), a. Of or relating to a nephew.
Ne*pot"ic (?), a. [See nepotism.] Of or pertaining to nepotism.
The nepotic ambition of the ruling pontiff.
Milman.
Nep"o*tism (?; 277), n. [L. nepus, nepotus, nephew: cf. F. népotisme.
See Nephew.] Undue attachment to relations; favoritism shown to members
of one's family; bestowal of patronage in consideration of
relationship, rather than of merit or of legal claim.
From nepotism Alexander V. was safe; for he was without kindred or
relatives. But there was another perhaps more fatal nepotism, which
turned the tide of popularity against him -- the nepotism of his
order.
Milman.
Nep"o*tist (?), n. One who practices nepotism.
Nep"tune (?), n. [L. Neptunus.] 1. (Rom. Myth.) The son of Saturn and
Ops, the god of the waters, especially of the sea. He is represented as
bearing a trident for a scepter.
2. (Astron.) The remotest known planet of our system, discovered -- as
a result of the computations of Leverrier, of Paris -- by Galle, of
Berlin, September 23, 1846. Its mean distance from the sun is about
2,775,000,000 miles, and its period of revolution is about 164,78
years.
Neptune powder, an explosive containing nitroglycerin, -- used in
blasting. -- Neptune's cup (Zoöl.), a very large, cup-shaped, marine
sponge (Thalassema Neptuni).
Nep*tu"ni*an (?), a. [L. Neptunius belonging to Neptune: cf. F.
neptunien.] 1. Of or pertaining to the ocean or sea.