<B>ecumenical, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>general; universal. <DD><B> 2. </B>of or representing the whole Christian Church. <BR> <I>Ex. How should he divide his responsibility to the local church and the ecumenical or world-wide church? (Time).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>promoting unity among all Christians or Christian, especially Protestant, denominations. Also, <B>oecumenical.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="ecumenicalcouncil">
<B>ecumenical council,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a general church council supposed to represent the worldwide Christian Church. An ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church is one that is called by the Pope for a special purpose. </DL>
<A NAME="ecumenicalism">
<B>ecumenicalism, </B>noun. =ecumenicity.</DL>
<A NAME="ecumenicalist">
<B>ecumenicalist, </B>noun. =ecumenist.</DL>
<A NAME="ecumenically">
<B>ecumenically, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a general or ecumenical manner. </DL>
<A NAME="ecumenicalpatriarch">
<B>Ecumenical Patriarch,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the title of the patriarch of Constantinople, who occupies the highest position of honor in the Eastern Orthodox Churches. </DL>
<A NAME="ecumenicism">
<B>ecumenicism, </B>noun. =ecumenicity.</DL>
<A NAME="ecumenicist">
<B>ecumenicist, </B>noun. =ecumenist.</DL>
<A NAME="ecumenicity">
<B>ecumenicity, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the championing of world-wide Christian harmony and unity, especially in the Protestant Church. <BR> <I>Ex. Other Protestants seek an authority in a revived church and a spate of books on ecumenicity shows eager and hopeful minds looking for union beyond denominational differences (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ecumenics">
<B>ecumenics, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the study of the ecumenical character, history, and principles of the Christian Church. </DL>
<A NAME="ecumenism">
<B>ecumenism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the principle of worldwide Christian harmony and unity. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=ecumenicity.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="ecumenist">
<B>ecumenist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a supporter or champion of ecumenism. </DL>
<A NAME="ecumenopolis">
<B>ecumenopolis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the world considered as one continuous city. <BR> <I>Ex. Are we going to succeed in making the inevitable ecumenopolis a tolerable habitat for human beings? (Arnold Toynbee).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="eczema">
<B>eczema, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an inflammation of the skin with itching and the formation of patches of scales and pimples. </DL>
<A NAME="eczematosis">
<B>eczematosis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any eczematous inflammation. </DL>
<A NAME="eczematous">
<B>eczematous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having to do with or caused by eczema. <DD><B> 2. </B>having eczema. </DL>
<A NAME="ed">
<B>-ed</B> (1),<DL COMPACT><DD> a suffix that forms the past tense of many verbs, as in <BR> <I>Ex. wanted, edged, tried, dropped.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ed">
<B>-ed</B> (2),<DL COMPACT><DD> (suffix.) <DD><B> 1. </B>forming the past participle of many verbs, as in <I>has echoed.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>forming adjectives from nouns with various meanings: <DD><B> a. </B>having ______. <BR> <I>Ex. Long-legged = having long legs.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>having the characteristics of ______. <BR> <I>Ex. Bigoted = having the characteristics of a bigot. Honeyed = having the characteristics of honey.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="ed">
<B>ed.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>edited. <DD><B> b. </B>edition. <DD><B> c. </B>editor. <DD><B> 2. </B>educated. </DL>
<A NAME="ed">
<B>ED</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>Education Department (the U.S. Department of Education). <BR> <I>Ex. Some 60 percent of ED's assistant secretaries and other top officials are women and minorities (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>effective dose (of a drug or medicine). </DL>
<A NAME="edacious">
<B>edacious, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>eating much; greedy in eating; voracious. (SYN) ravenous. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative:) <BR> <I>Ex. Concord Bridge has long since yielded to the edacious tooth of time (James Russell Lowell).</I> </DL>
<B>Edam cheese,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a round, mild-flavored, yellow cheese, originally made in the Netherlands, usually having red wax on the outside. </DL>
<A NAME="edaphic">
<B>edaphic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with or influenced by the soil, rather than by the climate. <BR> <I>Ex. A high ratio of potassium to magnesium in the area designated as edaphic desert may be one of the reasons for lower plant growth there (Science News).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="edaphicclimax">
<B>edaphic climax,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Ecology.) a climax that is determined mainly by the conditions of the soil, for example whether it is moist, dry, or alkaline. </DL>
<A NAME="edb">
<B>Ed.B.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> Bachelor of Education. </DL>
<A NAME="edc">
<B>EDC</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> European Defense Community (France, Italy, Germany, and the Benelux nations united for mutual defense). </DL>
<A NAME="edd">
<B>Ed.D.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> Doctor of Education. </DL>
<A NAME="edda">
<B>Edda, </B>noun, pl. <B>-das.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> either of two Icelandic collections of the old Norse myths and legends, collected during the 1100's and 1200's. The Younger Edda is written in prose; the Elder Edda is written in poetry. </DL>
<A NAME="eddaic">
<B>Eddaic, </B>adjective. =Eddic.</DL>
<A NAME="eddic">
<B>Eddic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with either Edda; in the style of either Edda. </DL>
<A NAME="eddingtonlimit">
<B>Eddington limit,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Astronomy.) the maximum brightness attainable by a celestial object of a given mass. </DL>
<A NAME="eddish">
<B>eddish, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British Dialect.) <DD><B> 1. </B>grass or the like that grows after mowing; aftermath. <DD><B> 2. </B>stubble. </DL>
<A NAME="eddo">
<B>eddo, </B>noun, pl. <B>-does.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the edible root of the taro or of any of various related plants. </DL>
<A NAME="eddy">
<B>eddy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-dies,</B> verb, <B>-died,</B> <B>-dying.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a small whirlpool or whirlwind; water, air, or smoke moving against the main current, especially when having a whirling motion. <BR> <I>Ex. The wind moved in an eddy near the sails. Cyclonic circulations can exist on widely varying scales, from eddies of minute size up to stable lows covering millions of square miles (R. W. James).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>any similar current of fog or dust. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Figurative.) anything thought to resemble this. <BR> <I>Ex. Eddies of controversy grew around the new theory.</I> <DD><I>v.i., v.t. </I> to whirl; move in circles. <BR> <I>Ex. The water eddied out of the sink. (Figurative.) Union stragglers crossing Rappahannock, ... caught the mood of confusion that eddied in rear of countless battles (Time).</I> (SYN) swirl. </DL>
<A NAME="eddycurrent">
<B>eddy current,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an electric current induced in a conductor by a varying magnetic field. It causes loss of power in electrical equipment. <BR> <I>Ex. An all-metal construction was out because of eddy currents (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="eddywind">
<B>eddy wind,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the wind moving in an eddy near a sail, mountain, or other object. </DL>
<A NAME="edelfaule">
<B>Edelfaule, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (German.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a mold that forms on the skins of ripening grapes, and through a biochemical process concentrates the sugar and the flavor within. <DD><B> 2. </B>(literally) noble rot. </DL>
<A NAME="edelweiss">
<B>edelweiss, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small alpine plant of the composite family of Europe, Asia, and South America, with very small, white flowers in the center of star-shaped clusters of leaves that are covered with a white fuzz. </DL>
<A NAME="edema">
<B>edema, </B>noun, pl. <B>-mas,</B> <B>-mata.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an abnormal accumulation of watery fluid in the tissues or cavities of the body, often causing visible swelling; dropsy. </DL>
<A NAME="edematose">
<B>edematose, </B>adjective. =edematous.</DL>
<A NAME="edematous">
<B>edematous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having to do with or like edema. <DD><B> 2. </B>having edema. </DL>
<A NAME="eden">
<B>Eden, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the garden where Adam and Eve first lived (in the Bible, Genesis 2:8, 3:24). <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a delightful place; paradise. <BR> <I>Ex. Who loves a garden still his Eden keeps (Bronson Alcott).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a state of perfect happiness. </DL>
<A NAME="edenic">
<B>Edenic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or like Eden or an Eden. </DL>
<A NAME="edenite">
<B>edenite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an aluminous variety of hornblende. </DL>
<A NAME="edental">
<B>edental, </B>adjective. =toothless.</DL>
<A NAME="edentate">
<B>edentate, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> any one of an order of mammals that are toothless or have incomplete sets of teeth. Armadillos, sloths, and anteaters are edentates. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B><B>=toothless.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>of or having to do with the edentates. </DL>
<B>edentulate, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> without teeth or toothlike processes, as the mandibles of some insects. </DL>
<A NAME="edentulous">
<B>edentulous, </B>adjective. =toothless.</DL>
<A NAME="edes">
<B>EDES</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> Hellenic National Democratic Party (Greek, <I>Ellinikos Dimokratikos Ethnikos Stratos</I>). </DL>
<A NAME="edestin">
<B>edestin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a vegetable globulin found in the seed of the hemp and certain other plants, used to test for the presence of pepsin. </DL>
<A NAME="edgar">
<B>Edgar, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a bust of Edgar Allan Poe, awarded annually to a writer for the best current mystery fiction. </DL>
