<B>heretofore, </B>adverb, adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adv. </I> before this time; until now. <BR> <I>Ex. Heretofore, doctors have tried low fat diets ... to reduce the cholesterol in the blood (Science News Letter).</I> (SYN) hitherto. <DD><I>adj. </I> former. <BR> <I>Ex. Considering the heretofore reluctance of our film folk to move into this realm ... this coincidental emergence of two films ... is something to hum about (New York Times).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> time past. </DL>
<B>hereunto, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to this place, thing, document, etc.; hereto. </DL>
<A NAME="hereupon">
<B>hereupon, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>upon this thing, point, subject, or matter. <BR> <I>Ex. Hereupon we disagree.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>immediately after this. <BR> <I>Ex. We had an argument; hereupon she left.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="herewith">
<B>herewith, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>with this. <BR> <I>Ex. I am sending ten cents in stamps herewith.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>by this means; in this way. </DL>
<A NAME="heriot">
<B>heriot, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (in English law) a feudal payment due a lord at the death of a tenant. </DL>
<A NAME="heritability">
<B>heritability, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> heritable quality or condition. </DL>
<A NAME="heritable">
<B>heritable, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>that can be inherited; inheritable. <BR> <I>Ex. heritable diseases, heritable tendencies. In Mendel's experiments one could discern the constant heritable characters which might disappear for a time in hybrids only to reappear again unchanged (Atlantic).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>capable of inheriting. <DD><I>noun </I> (in Scottish law) a possession or right that can be inherited. </DL>
<A NAME="heritably">
<B>heritably, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> by way of inheritance. </DL>
<A NAME="heritage">
<B>heritage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>what is or may be handed on to a person from his ancestors, such as land, a trait, beliefs, or customs; inheritance. <BR> <I>Ex. a great cultural heritage. The heritage of freedom is precious to Americans. It was ... part of my heritage, which my dead father did bequeath to me (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) what comes to a person from the circumstances of his birth. <BR> <I>Ex. Poverty was his heritage.</I> <DD><B> c. </B>(Figurative.) inherited portion; lot; fate. <BR> <I>Ex. Let us hope that the heritage of old age is not despair (Benjamin Disraeli).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the Israelites, God's chosen people (in the Bible, Joel 3:2). <DD><B> 3. </B>the Christian church (in the Bible, I Peter 5:3). </DL>
<A NAME="heritance">
<B>heritance, </B>noun. =inheritance.</DL>
<A NAME="heritor">
<B>heritor, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an inheritor. <BR> <I>Ex. He resembled a squatter rather than an heritor (James Purdy).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(in Scottish law) the owner of heritable, taxable property in a parish. </DL>
<A NAME="heritress">
<B>heritress, </B>noun. =heiress.</DL>
<A NAME="herl">
<B>herl, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a fiber or barb of a feather, especially of a peacock, used in trimming artificial fishing flies. <DD><B> 2. </B>a fishing fly trimmed with herls. </DL>
<A NAME="herm">
<B>herm, </B>noun. =herma.</DL>
<A NAME="herma">
<B>herma, </B>noun, pl. <B>-mae,</B> <B>-mai.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an ancient Greek monument, consisting of a head of Hermes placed ontop of a square pillar. It was used especially as a boundary mark or milepost. Also, <B>hermes.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="hermaic">
<B>hermaic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having to do with a herma. </DL>
<A NAME="hermaic">
<B>Hermaic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>having to do with Hermes or Mercury. <DD><B> 2. </B>having to do with Hermes Trismegistus or the writings and beliefs attributed to him. </DL>
<A NAME="hermaphrodite">
<B>hermaphrodite, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1a. </B>an animal or plant having both male and female reproductive organs. <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) a person or thing having two opposite qualities. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=hermaphrodite brig.</B> <DD><I>adj. </I> of or like a hermaphrodite. </DL>
<A NAME="hermaphroditebrig">
<B>hermaphrodite brig,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a ship with two masts, square-rigged forward and schooner-rigged aft; brigantine. </DL>
<A NAME="hermaphroditic">
<B>hermaphroditic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or like a hermaphrodite; bisexual. adv. <B>hermaphroditically.</B> </DL>
<B>hermaphroditism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Biology.) the condition of a hermaphrodite; union of the two sexes in the same individual. </DL>
<A NAME="hermaphroditus">
<B>Hermaphroditus, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Greek Mythology.) the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, who became united in body with the nymph Salmacis. </DL>
<B>hermeneutics, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the science of interpretation, especially the branch of theology that deals with the principles of Scriptural interpretation. </DL>
<A NAME="hermes">
<B>Hermes, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Greek Mythology.) a god who was the messenger of Zeus and the other gods. He was portrayed wearing winged cap and shoes and carrying a caduceus. He was the god of boundaries, roads, and commerce; of science and invention; of eloquence, luck, and cunning; and the patron of thieves and gamblers. The Romans called him Mercury. <DD><B> 2. </B>a small asteroid that at times approaches closer to the earth than any other heavenly body does. </DL>
<A NAME="hermes">
<B>hermes, </B>noun. =herma.</DL>
<A NAME="hermestrismegistus">
<B>Hermes Trismegistus,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the Greek name given to the Egyptian god Thoth. He was more or less identified with the Greek god Hermes, and regarded as the author of all mystical, astrological, and alchemical doctrines. </DL>
<A NAME="hermetic">
<B>hermetic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>closed tightly so that air cannot get in or out; airtight. <BR> <I>Ex. The bottle has a hermetic seal.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) tightly sealed; confined. <BR> <I>Ex. None of man's works are so hermetic that a little of truth does not seep out (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> <DD><B> 2a. </B>magical; alchemical. <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) abstruse; obscure. <BR> <I>Ex. His two volumes are not hermetic, but they are not easy, either (Joseph Alsop).</I> adv. <B>hermetically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="hermetic">
<B>Hermetic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with Hermes Trismegistus or the writings and beliefs attributed to him. <BR> <I>Ex. The Hermetic philosopher Robert Fludd ... aimed, like Giulio Camillo, at a universal memory (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="hermetical">
<B>hermetical, </B>adjective. =hermetic.</DL>
<A NAME="hermeticism">
<B>Hermeticism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> hermetic quality or condition. </DL>
<A NAME="hermeticschool">
<B>hermetic school,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a group of Italian poets of the 1930's who wrote in an obscure, personal style that seemed sealed off from everyday life. </DL>
<A NAME="hermetism">
<B>Hermetism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> Hermetic teaching or philosophy. </DL>
<A NAME="hermetologist">
<B>Hermetologist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a Hermetic philosopher. </DL>
<A NAME="hermione">
<B>Hermione, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Greek Legend.) the daughter of Menelaus and Helen of Troy. </DL>
<A NAME="hermit">
<B>hermit, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who goes away from other people, and lives by himself; recluse. A hermit often lives a religious life. <BR> <I>Ex. Hermit hoar in solemn cell (Samuel Johnson).</I> (SYN) eremite, anchorite. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of various animals of solitary habits, such as the hermit crab. <DD><B> 3. </B>a spiced, brown sugar, drop cookie, usually containing raisins and nuts. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Obsolete.) a beadsman. adj. <B>hermitlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="hermitage">
<B>hermitage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the home of a hermit. <BR> <I>Ex. The peaceful hermitage, The hairy gown and mossy cell (Milton).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a solitary and secluded dwelling place. <BR> <I>Ex. Stone walls do not a prison make Nor iron bars a cage; Minds innocent and quiet take that for an hermitage (Richard Lovelace).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="hermitage">
<B>Hermitage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a French table wine made on the left bank of the Rhone, near Tain. The greater part of it is red wine, but some is white. </DL>
<A NAME="hermitcrab">
<B>hermit crab,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a crab with a soft body that lives in the empty shells of snails, whelks, and like animals, as a means of protection. </DL>
<A NAME="hermitian">
<B>Hermitian, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the theories of the French mathematician Charles Hermite, 1822-1901, especially his theories of algebraic forms and elliptic functions. </DL>
<A NAME="hermitic">
<B>hermitic, </B>adjective. =hermitical.</DL>
<A NAME="hermitical">
<B>hermitical, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with a hermit. adv. <B>hermitically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="hermitkingdom">
<B>Hermit Kingdom,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a name applied to Korea from 1637 to 1876 because it refused any contact with foreigners except the Chinese. </DL>
<A NAME="hermitry">
<B>hermitry, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a hermit's condition or way of life. <BR> <I>Ex. [He] lives in near hermitry (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="hermitthrush">
<B>hermit thrush,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a brown thrush of North America with spotted breast and reddish tail. It is noted for its song. </DL>
<A NAME="hern">
<B>hern</B> or <B>herne, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Dialect.) heron. </DL>
<A NAME="hernia">
<B>hernia, </B>noun, pl. <B>-nias,</B> <B>-niae.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the protrusion of some tissue or organ of the body, especially a part of the intestine, through the wall of the cavity which should hold it in; rupture. </DL>
<A NAME="hernial">
<B>hernial, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with hernia. </DL>
