Viper [ VI'PER, n. [L. vipera.]1. A serpent, a species of coluber, whose ... ] :: Search the 1828 Noah Webster's Dictionary of the English Language (FREE)

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VI'PER, n. [L. vipera.]

1. A serpent, a species of coluber, whose bite is remarkably venomous.

A viper came out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. Acts 29.

2. A person or thing mischievous or malignant.

VI'PER, n. [L. vipera; Fr. vipere; W. gwiber, from gwib, a quick course, a driving, flying or serpentine motion, a wandering.]

A European serpent, the Vipera Berus, whose bite is venomous. Two harmless snakes are, in this country, called improperly by this name. A viper came out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. – Acts xxix.
A person or thing mischievous or malignant. – Shak.

Vi"per

Any one of numerous species of Old World venomous makes belonging to Vipera, Clotho, Daboia, and other genera of the family Viperidæ.

There came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. Acts xxviii. 3.
* Among the best-known species are the European adder (Pelias berus), the European asp (Vipera aspis), the African horned viper (V. cerastes), and the Indian viper (Daboia Russellii).
A dangerous, treacherous, or malignant person.

Who committed
To such a viper his most sacred trust
Of secrecy. Milton.
Horned viper. (Zoöl.) See Cerastes. -- Red viper (Zoöl.), the copperhead. -- Viper fish (Zoöl.), a small, slender, phosphorescent deep-sea fish (Chauliodus Sloanii). It has long ventral and dorsal fins, a large mouth, and very long, sharp teeth. -- Viper's bugloss (Bot.), a rough-leaved biennial herb (Echium vulgare) having showy purplish blue flowers. It is sometimes cultivated, but has become a pestilent weed in fields from New York to Virginia. Also called blue weed. -- Viper's grass (Bot.), a perennial composite herb (Scorzonera Hispanica) with narrow, entire leaves, and solitary heads of yellow flowers. The long, white, carrot-shaped roots are used for food in Spain and some other countries. Called also viper grass.

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importance

IMPORT'ANCE, n.

1. Weight; consequence; a bearing on some interest; that quality of any thing by which it may affect a measure, interest or result. The education of youth is of great importance to a free government. A religious education is of infinite importance to every human being.

2. Weight or consequence in the scale of being.

Thy own importance know.

Nor bound thy narrow views to things below.

3. Weight or consequence in self-estimation.

He believes himself a man of importance.

4. Thing implied; matter; subject; importunity. [In these senses, obsolete.]

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I is the ninth letter,and the third vowel of the English Alphabet. We receive it through the Latin and Greek from the Shemitic jod,je, or ye, in Greek iwra,whence our English word jot. The vowel in French, and in most European languages, has the long fine sound which we express by e in me, or ee in seen, meek. This sound we retain in some foreign words which are naturalized in our language, as in machine, intrigue. But in most English words this long sound is shortened, as in holiness, pity, gift; in which words the sound of i coincides with that of y in hypocrite,cycle,and at the end of words, in unaccented syllables, as in holy, glory. It is this short sound of the French and Italian i, which we hear in the pronunciation of been, which we pronounce bin. After l, this letter has sometimes the liquid sound of y, as in million, pronounced milyon. This sound corresponds with that of the Hebrews, as in Joseph, which in Syria is pronounced Yoseph,and with the sound of the German j, as in ja, jahr, that is ya, yahr.

The sound of i long, as in fine, kind, arise, is diphthongal; it begins with a sound approaching that of broad a, but it is not exactly the same, as the organs are not opened to the same extent, and therefore the sound begins a little above that of aw. The sound, if continued,closes with one that nearly approaches to that of e long. This sound can be learned only by the ear. This letter enters into several digraphs, as in fail, field,seize, feign, vein, friend; and with o in oil,join, coin,it helps to form a proper diphthong.

No English word ends with i, but when the sound of the letter occurs at the end of a word,it is expressed by y.

As a numeral I signifies one, and stands for as many units as it is repeated in times, as II, two, III, three, &c. When it stands before V or X, it subtracts itself,and the numerals denote one less than the V or the X. Thus IV expresses four, one less than V, five; IX stands for nine, one less than X, ten. But when it is placed after V or X, it denotes the addition of an unit, or as many units as the letter is repeated in times. Thus VI is five and one, or six, and XI is ten and one, or eleven; VIII stands for five and three, or eight, &c.

I, formerly prefixed to some English words, as in ibuilt, is a contraction of the Saxon prefix ge; and more generally this was written y.

I, pron. [L. ego.] The pronoun of the first person; the word which expresses one's self, or that by which a speaker or writer denotes himself. It is only the nominative case of the pronoun; in the other cases we use me. I am attached to study; study delights me. We often hear in popular language the phrase it is me, which is now considered to be ungrammatical, for it is I. But the phrase may have come down to us from the use of the Welsh mi, or from the French use of the phrase, c'est moi.

In the plural, we use we, and us, which appear to be words radically distinct from I.

Johnson observes that Shakespeare uses I for ay or yes. In this he is not followed, and the use is incorrect.

Noah's 1828 Dictionary

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Noah Webster, the Father of American Christian education, wrote the first American dictionary and established a system of rules to govern spelling, grammar, and reading. This master linguist understood the power of words, their definitions, and the need for precise word usage in communication to maintain independence. Webster used the Bible as the foundation for his definitions.

This standard reference tool will greatly assist students of all ages in their studies.

No other dictionary compares with the Webster's 1828 dictionary. The English language has changed again and again and in many instances has become corrupt. The American Dictionary of the English Language is based upon God's written word, for Noah Webster used the Bible as the foundation for his definitions. This standard reference tool will greatly assist students of all ages in their studies. From American History to literature, from science to the Word of God, this dictionary is a necessity. For homeschoolers as well as avid Bible students it is easy, fast, and sophisticated.

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