Op`er*ta"ne*ous (?), a. [L. opertaneus; operire to hide.] Concealed;
private. [R.]
Ope"tide` (?), n. [Ope + tide.] Open time; -- applied to different
things: (a) The early spring, or the time when flowers begin opening.
[Archaic] Nares. (b) The time between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday
wherein marriages were formerly solemnized publicly in churches. [Eng.]
(c) The time after harvest when the common fields are open to all kinds
of stock. [Prov.Eng.] Halliwell. [Written also opentide.]
O*phel"ic (?), a. (Chem.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, a
substance (called ophelic acid) extracted from a plant (Ophelia) of the
Gentian family as a bitter yellowish sirup, used in India as a
febrifuge and tonic.
Oph"i*cleide (?), n. [F. ophicléide, fr. Gr. 'o`fis a serpent + &?;,
gen. &?;, a key. So named because it was in effect the serpent, an old
musical instrument, with keys added.] (Mus.) A large brass wind
instrument, formerly used in the orchestra and in military bands,
having a loud tone, deep pitch, and a compass of three octaves; -- now
generally supplanted by bass and contrabass tubas. Moore (Encyc. of
Music).
||O*phid"i*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, dim. of 'o`fis a snake.]
||(Zoöl.) The order of reptiles which includes the serpents.
The most important divisions are: the Solenoglypha, having erectile
perforated fangs, as the rattlesnake; the Proteroglypha, or elapine
serpents, having permanently erect fang, as the cobra; the Asinea, or
colubrine serpents, which are destitute of fangs; and the Opoterodonta,
or Epanodonta, blindworms, in which the mouth is not dilatable.
O*phid"i*an (?), n. [Cf. F. ophidien.] (Zoöl.) One of the Ophidia; a
snake or serpent.
O*phid"i*an, a. [Cf. F. ophidien.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the
Ophidia; belonging to serpents.
O*phid"i*oid (?), a. [Ophidion + -oid.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the
Ophidiidæ, a family of fishes which includes many slender species. --
n. One of the Ophidiidæ.
||O*phid"i*on (?), n.; pl. Ophidia (#). [L., fr. Gr. &?; little snake,
||fr. 'o`fis a serpent.] (Zoöl.) The typical genus of ophidioid fishes.
||[Written also Ophidium.] See Illust. under Ophidioid.
O*phid"i*ous (?), a. Ophidian.
O`phi*ol"a*try (?), n. [Gr. 'o`fis serpent + &?; worship.] The worship
of serpents.
{ O`phi*o*log"ic (?), O`phi*o*log"ic*al (?), } a. Of or pertaining to
ophiology.
O`phi*ol"o*gist (?), n. One versed in the natural history of serpents.
O`phi*ol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. 'o`fis a serpent + -logy: cf.F. ophioloqie.]
That part of natural history which treats of the ophidians, or
serpents.
O"phi*o*man`cy (?), n. [Gr. 'o`fis a serpent + -mancy: cf. F.
ophiomantie.] Divination by serpents, as by their manner of eating, or
by their coils.
||O`phi*o*mor"pha (?), n. pl. [NL. See Ophiomorphous.] (Zoöl.) An order
||of tailless amphibians having a slender, wormlike body with regular
||annulations, and usually with minute scales imbedded in the skin. The
||limbs are rudimentary or wanting. It includes the cæcilians. Called
||also Gymnophiona and Ophidobatrachia.
O`phi*o*mor"phite (?), n. [Gr. 'o`fis a serpent + &?; form.] (Paleon.)
An ammonite.
O`phi*o*mor"phous (?), a. [Gr. 'o`fis a serpent + -morphous.] Having
the form of a serpent.
O`phi*oph"a*gous (?), a. [Gr. 'o`fis a serpent + fagei^n to eat: cf. F.
ophiophage.] (Zoöl.) Feeding on serpents; -- said of certain birds and
reptiles.
||O`phi*oph"a*gus, n. [NL. See Ophiophagous.] (Zoöl.) A genus of
||venomous East Indian snakes, which feed on other snakes. Ophiophagus
||elaps is said to be the largest and most deadly of poisonous snakes.
O"phite (?), a. [Gr. 'ofi`ths, fr. 'o`fis a serpent.] Of or pertaining
to a serpent. [Obs.]
O"phite, n. [L. ophites, Gr. 'ofi`ths (sc. &?;), a kind of marble
spotted like a serpent: cf. F. ophite.] (Min.) A greenish spotted
porphyry, being a diabase whose pyroxene has been altered to uralite;
-- first found in the Pyreness. So called from the colored spots which
give it a mottled appearance. -- O*phi"ic (#), a.
O"phite, n. [L. Ophitae, pl. See Ophite, a.] (Eccl.Hist.) A mamber of a
Gnostic serpent-worshiping sect of the second century.
||O`phi*u"chus (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;, lit., holding a serpent;
||'o`fis a serpent + &?; to hold.] (Astron.) A constellation in the
||Northern Hemisphere, delineated as a man holding a serpent in his
||hands; -- called also Serpentarius.
||O`phi*u"ra (?), n. [NL., from Gr. &?; snake + &?; a tail.] (Zoöl.) A
||genus of ophiurioid starfishes.
O`phi*u"ran (?), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Ophiurioidea. -- n.
One of the Ophiurioidea.
O`phi*u"rid (?), n. (Zoöl.) Same as Ophiurioid.
||O`phi*u"ri*da (?), n. pl. [NL.] (Zoöl.) Same as Ophiurioidea.
O`phi*u"ri*oid (?), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Ophiurioidea. --
n. One of the Ophiurioidea. [Written also ophiuroid.]
{ ||O`phi*u`ri*oi"de*a (?), ||O`phi*u*roi"de*a (?), } n. pl. [NL., fr.
Gr. &?; serpent + &?; tail + &?; form.] (Zoöl.) A class of star-shaped
echinoderms having a disklike body, with slender, articulated arms,
which are not grooved beneath and are often very fragile; -- called
also Ophiuroida and Ophiuridea. See Illust. under Brittle star.
||Oph"ry*on (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, &?;, the brow.] (Anat.) The
||supraorbital point.
Oph*thal"mi*a (f*thl"m*), n. [F. ophthalmie, L. ophthalmia, fr. Gr.
'ofqalmi`a, fr. 'ofqalmo`s the eye, akin to E. optic. See Optic.]
(Med.) An inflammation of the membranes or coats of the eye or of the
eyeball.
Oph*thal"mic (f*thl"mk; 277), a. [Gr. 'ofqalmiko`s: cf. F.
ophthalmique. See Ophthalmia.] (Anat.) Of, pertaining to, or in the
region of, the eye; ocular; as the ophthalmic, or orbitonasal, nerve, a
division of the trigeminal, which gives branches to the lachrymal
gland, eyelids, nose, and forehead.
Ophthalmic region (Zoöl.), the space around the eyes.
Oph*thal"mite (?), n. [Gr. 'ofqalmo`s the eye.] (Zoöl.) An eyestalk;
the organ which bears the compound eyes of decapod Crustacea.
Oph*thal`mo*log"ic*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to ophthalmology.
Oph`thal*mol"o*gist (?), n. One skilled in ophthalmology; an oculist.
Oph`thal*mol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. 'ofqalmo`s the eye + -logy: cf. F.
ophthalmologie.] The science which treats of the structure, functions,
and diseases of the eye.
Oph`thal*mom"e*ter, n. [Gr. 'ofqalmo`s eye + -meter.] (Physiol.) An
instrument devised by Helmholtz for measuring the size of a reflected
image on the convex surface of the cornea and lens of the eye, by which
their curvature can be ascertained.
Oph*thal"mo*scope (?), n. [From Gr. 'ofqalmo`s the eye + -scope.]
(Physiol.) An instrument for viewing the interior of the eye,
particularly the retina. Light is thrown into the eye by a mirror
(usually concave) and the interior is then examined with or without the
aid of a lens. -- Oph*thal`mo*scop"ic (#), a.
Oph`thal*mos"co*py (?), n. [Cf. F. ophthalmoscopie.] 1. A branch of
physiognomy which deduces the knowledge of a person's temper and
character from the appearance of the eyes.