Or"chard*ist, n. One who cultivates an orchard.
Or"chel (?), n. Archil.
Or`che*sog"ra*phy (?), n. [Gr. &?; dance + -graphy.] A treatise upon
dancing. [R.]
Or"ches*ter (?), n. See Orchestra.
Or*ches"tian (?), n. [From Gr. &?; a dancer. See Orchestra.] (Zoöl.)
Any species of amphipod crustacean of the genus Orchestia, or family
Orchestidæ. See Beach flea, under Beach.
Or"ches*tra (?), n. [L. orchestra, Gr. &?;, orig., the place for the
chorus of dancers, from &?; to dance: cf. F. orchestre.] 1. The space
in a theater between the stage and the audience; -- originally
appropriated by the Greeks to the chorus and its evolutions, afterward
by the Romans to persons of distinction, and by the moderns to a band
of instrumental musicians.
2. The place in any public hall appropriated to a band of instrumental
musicians.
3. (Mus.) (a) Loosely: A band of instrumental musicians performing in a
theater, concert hall, or other place of public amusement. (b)
Strictly: A band suitable for the performance of symphonies, overtures,
etc., as well as for the accompaniment of operas, oratorios, cantatas,
masses, and the like, or of vocal and instrumental solos. (c) A band
composed, for the largest part, of players of the various viol
instruments, many of each kind, together with a proper complement of
wind instruments of wood and brass; -- as distinguished from a military
or street band of players on wind instruments, and from an assemblage
of solo players for the rendering of concerted pieces, such as septets,
octets, and the like.
4. (Mus.) The instruments employed by a full band, collectively; as, an
orchestra of forty stringed instruments, with proper complement of wind
instruments.
Or"ches*tral (?), a. Of or pertaining to an orchestra; suitable for, or
performed in or by, an orchestra.
Or`ches*tra"tion (?), n. (Mus.) The arrangement of music for an
orchestra; orchestral treatment of a composition; -- called also
instrumentation.
Or"ches*tre (?), n. [F.] See Orchestra.
Or*ches"tric (?), a. Orchestral.
Or*ches"tri*on (?), n. A large music box imitating a variety of
orchestral instruments.
Or"chid (?), n. [See Orchis.] (Bot.) Any plant of the order Orchidaceæ.
See Orchidaceous.
Or`chi*da"ceous (?), a. (Bot.) Pertaining to, or resembling, a natural
order (Orchidaceæ) of endogenous plants of which the genus Orchis is
the type. They are mostly perennial herbs having the stamens and
pistils united in a single column, and normally three petals and three
sepals, all adherent to the ovary. The flowers are curiously shaped,
often resembling insects, the odd or lower petal (called the lip) being
unlike the others, and sometimes of a strange and unexpected
appearance. About one hundred species occur in the United States, but
several thousand in the tropics.
Over three hundred genera are recognized.
Or*chid"e*an (?), a. (Bot.) Orchidaceous.
Or*chid"e*ous (?), a. (Bot.) Same as Orchidaceous.
Or`chid*ol"o*gist (?), n. One versed in orchidology.
Or`chid*ol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?; the orchis + -logy.] The branch of
botany which treats of orchids.
Or"chil (?), n. See Archil.
Or*chil"la weed` (?). (Bot.) The lichen from which archil is obtained.
See Archil.
Or"chis (?), n.; pl. Orchises (#). [L., fr. Gr. &?; a testicle, the
orchis; -- so called from its tubers.]
1. (Bot.) A genus of endogenous plants growing in the North Temperate
zone, and consisting of about eighty species. They are perennial herbs
growing from a tuber (beside which is usually found the last year's
tuber also), and are valued for their showy flowers. See Orchidaceous.