Her breast all naked as net ivory.
Spenser.
2. Free from extraneous substances; pure; unadulterated; neat; as, net
wine, etc. [R.]
3. Not including superfluous, incidental, or foreign matter, as boxes,
coverings, wraps, etc.; free from charges, deductions, etc; as, net
profit; net income; net weight, etc. [Less properly written nett.]
Net tonnage (Naut.), the tonnage of a vessel after a deduction from the
gross tonnage has been made, to allow space for crew, machinery, etc.
Net, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Netted; p. pr. & vb. n. Netting.] To produce
or gain as clear profit; as, he netted a thousand dollars by the
operation.
Net"fish` (?), n. (Zoöl.) An astrophyton.
Neth"er (n"r), a. [OE. nethere, neithere, AS. niðera, fr. the adv.
niðer downward; akin to neoðan below, beneath, D. neder down, G.
nieder, Sw. nedre below, nether, a. & adv., and also to Skr. ni down.
√201. Cf. Beneath.] Situated down or below; lying beneath, or in
the lower part; having a lower position; belonging to the region below;
lower; under; -- opposed to upper.
'Twixt upper, nether, and surrounding fires.
Milton.
This darksome nether world her light Doth dim with horror and
deformity.
Spenser.
All my nether shape thus grew transformed.
Milton.
Neth"er*more` (n"r*mr`), a. Lower, nether. [Obs.] Holland.
Neth"er*most` (-mst`), a. [AS. niðemest. See Nether, and cf.
Aftermost.] Lowest; as, the nethermost abyss. Milton.
||Neth"i*nim (?), n. pl. [Heb., pl. of nthn given, granted, a slave of
||the temple, fr. nthan to give.] (jewish Antiq.) Servants of the
||priests and Levites in the menial services about the tabernacle and
||temple.
Net"i*fy (?), v. t. [Net, a. + -fy.] To render neat; to clean; to put
in order. [R.] Chapman.
Net"ting (?), n. [From Net, n.] 1. The act or process of making nets or
network, or of forming meshes, as for fancywork, fishing nets, etc.
2. A piece of network; any fabric, made of cords, threads, wires, or
the like, crossing one another with open spaces between.
3. (Naut.) A network of ropes used for various purposes, as for holding
the hammocks when not in use, also for stowing sails, and for hoisting
from the gunwale to the rigging to hinder an enemy from boarding.
Totten.
Netting needle, a kind of slender shuttle used in netting. See Needle,
n., 3.
Net"ting, n. Urine. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Net"tle (?), n. [AS. netele; akin to D. netel, G. nessel, OHG. nezzïla,
nazza, Dan. nelde, nälde, Sw. nässla; cf, Lith. notere.] (Bot.) A plant
of the genus Urtica, covered with minute sharp hairs containing a
poison that produces a stinging sensation. Urtica gracitis is common in
the Northern, and U. chamædryoides in the Southern, United States. the
common European species, U. urens and U. dioica, are also found in the
Eastern united States. U. pilulifera is the Roman nettle of England.
The term nettle has been given to many plants related to, or to some
way resembling, the true nettle; as: Australian nettle, a stinging tree
or shrub of the genus Laportea (as L. gigas and L. moroides); -- also
called nettle tree. -- Bee nettle, Hemp nettle, a species of Galeopsis.
See under Hemp. -- Blind nettle, Dead nettle, a harmless species of
Lamium. -- False nettle (Bæhmeria cylindrica), a plant common in the
United States, and related to the true nettles. -- Hedge nettle, a
species of Stachys. See under Hedge. -- Horse nettle (Solanum
Carolinense). See under Horse. -- nettle tree. (a) Same as Hackberry.
(b) See Australian nettle (above). -- Spurge nettle, a stinging
American herb of the Spurge family (Jatropha urens). -- Wood nettle, a
plant (Laportea Canadensis) which stings severely, and is related to
the true nettles.
Nettle cloth, a kind of thick cotton stuff, japanned, and used as a
substitute for leather for various purposes. -- Nettle rash (Med.), an
eruptive disease resembling the effects of whipping with nettles. --
Sea nettle (Zoöl.), a medusa.
Net"tle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Nettled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Nettling
(?).] To fret or sting; to irritate or vex; to cause to experience
sensations of displeasure or uneasiness not amounting to violent anger.
The princes were so nettled at the scandal of this affront, that
every man took it to himself.
L'Estrange.