A vessel or tube is hermetically sealed when it is closed completely
against the passage of air or other fluid by fusing the extremity; --
sometimes less properly applied to any air-tight closure.
Her"mit (?), n. [OE. ermite, eremite, heremit, heremite, F. hermite,
ermite, L. eremita, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; lonely, solitary. Cf. Eremite.] 1.
A person who retires from society and lives in solitude; a recluse; an
anchoret; especially, one who so lives from religious motives.
He had been Duke of Savoy, and after a very glorious reign, took on
him the habit of a hermit, and retired into this solitary spot.
Addison.
2. A beadsman; one bound to pray for another. [Obs.] "We rest your
hermits." Shak.
Hermit crab (Zoˆl.), a marine decapod crustacean of the family
PaguridÊ. The species are numerous, and belong to many genera. Called
also soldier crab. The hermit crabs usually occupy the dead shells of
various univalve mollusks. See Illust. of Commensal. -- Hermit thrush
(Zoˆl.), an American thrush (Turdus Pallasii), with retiring habits,
but having a sweet song. -- Hermit warbler (Zoˆl.), a California wood
warbler (Dendroica occidentalis), having the head yellow, the throat
black, and the back gray, with black streaks.
Her"mit*age (?; 48), n. [OE. hermitage, ermitage, F. hermitage,
ermitage. See Hermit.] 1. The habitation of a hermit; a secluded
residence.
Some forlorn and naked hermitage, Remote from all the pleasures of
the world.
Shak.
2. [F. Vin de l'Hermitage.] A celebrated French wine, both white and
red, of the Department of DrÙme.
Her"mit*a*ry (?), n. [Cf. LL. hermitorium, eremitorium.] A cell annexed
to an abbey, for the use of a hermit. Howell.
Her"mit*ess, n. A female hermit. Coleridge.
Her*mit"i*cal (?), a. Pertaining to, or suited for, a hermit. Coventry.
Her`mo*dac"tyl (?), n. [NL. hermodactylus, lit., Hermes' finger; fr.
Gr. &?; Hermes + &?; finger.] (med.) A heart-shaped bulbous root, about
the size of a finger, brought from Turkey, formerly used as a
cathartic.
Her`mo*ge"ni*an (?), n. (Eccl. Hist.) A disciple of Hermogenes, an
heretical teacher who lived in Africa near the close of the second
century. He held matter to be the fountain of all evil, and that souls
and spirits are formed of corrupt matter.
Hern (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A heron; esp., the common European heron. "A
stately hern." Trench.
Her*na"ni (?), n. A thin silk or woolen goods, for women's dresses,
woven in various styles and colors.