Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Milk \Milk\, n. [AS. meoluc, meoloc, meolc, milc; akin to
OFries. meloc, D. melk, G. milch, OHG. miluh, Icel. mj?ok,
Sw. mj["o]lk, Dan. melk, Goth. miluks, G. melken to milk,
OHG. melchan, Lith. milszti, L. mulgere, Gr. ?. ????. Cf.
{Milch}, {Emulsion}, {Milt} soft roe of fishes.]
1. (Physiol.) A white fluid secreted by the mammary glands of
female mammals for the nourishment of their young,
consisting of minute globules of fat suspended in a
solution of casein, albumin, milk sugar, and inorganic
salts. ``White as morne milk.'' --Chaucer.
2. (Bot.) A kind of juice or sap, usually white in color,
found in certain plants; latex. See {Latex}.
3. An emulsion made by bruising seeds; as, the milk of
almonds, produced by pounding almonds with sugar and
water.
4. (Zo["o]l.) The ripe, undischarged spat of an oyster.
{Condensed milk}. See under {Condense}, v. t.
{Milk crust} (Med.), vesicular eczema occurring on the face
and scalp of nursing infants. See {Eczema}.
{Milk fever}.
(a) (Med.) A fever which accompanies or precedes the first
lactation. It is usually transitory.
(b) (Vet. Surg.) A form puerperal peritonitis in cattle;
also, a variety of meningitis occurring in cows after
calving.
{Milk glass}, glass having a milky appearance.
{Milk knot} (Med.), a hard lump forming in the breast of a
nursing woman, due to obstruction to the flow of milk and
congestion of the mammary glands.
{Milk leg} (Med.), a swollen condition of the leg, usually in
puerperal women, caused by an inflammation of veins, and
characterized by a white appearance occasioned by an
accumulation of serum and sometimes of pus in the cellular
tissue.
{Milk meats}, food made from milk, as butter and cheese.
[Obs.] --Bailey.
{Milk mirror}. Same as {Escutcheon}, 2.
{Milk molar} (Anat.), one of the deciduous molar teeth which
are shed and replaced by the premolars.
{Milk of lime} (Chem.), a watery emulsion of calcium hydrate,
produced by macerating quicklime in water.
{Milk parsley} (Bot.), an umbelliferous plant ({Peucedanum
palustre}) of Europe and Asia, having a milky juice.
{Milk pea} (Bot.), a genus ({Galactia}) of leguminous and,
usually, twining plants.
{Milk sickness} (Med.), a peculiar malignant disease,
occurring in some parts of the Western United States, and
affecting certain kinds of farm stock (esp. cows), and
persons who make use of the meat or dairy products of
infected cattle. Its chief symptoms in man are
uncontrollable vomiting, obstinate constipation, pain, and
muscular tremors. Its origin in cattle has been variously
ascribed to the presence of certain plants in their food,
and to polluted drinking water.
{Milk snake} (Zo["o]l.), a harmless American snake
({Ophibolus triangulus}, or {O. eximius}). It is variously
marked with white, gray, and red. Called also {milk
adder}, {chicken snake}, {house snake}, etc.
{Milk sugar}. (Physiol. Chem.) See {Lactose}, and {Sugar of
milk} (below).
{Milk thistle} (Bot.), an esculent European thistle ({Silybum
marianum}), having the veins of its leaves of a milky
whiteness.
{Milk thrush}. (Med.) See {Thrush}.
{Milk tooth} (Anat.), one of the temporary first set of teeth
in young mammals; in man there are twenty.
{Milk tree} (Bot.), a tree yielding a milky juice, as the cow
tree of South America ({Brosimum Galactodendron}), and the
{Euphorbia balsamifera} of the Canaries, the milk of both
of which is wholesome food.
{Milk vessel} (Bot.), a special cell in the inner bark of a
plant, or a series of cells, in which the milky juice is
contained. See {Latex}.
{Rock milk}. See {Agaric mineral}, under {Agaric}.
{Sugar of milk}. The sugar characteristic of milk; a hard
white crystalline slightly sweet substance obtained by
evaporation of the whey of milk. It is used in pellets and
powder as a vehicle for homeopathic medicines, and as an
article of diet. See {Lactose}.
Pea \Pea\, n.; pl. {Peas}or {Pease}. [OE. pese, fr. AS. pisa, or
OF. peis, F. pois; both fr. L. pisum; cf. Gr. ?, ?. The final
s was misunderstood in English as a plural ending. Cf.
{Pease}.]
1. (Bot.) A plant, and its fruit, of the genus {Pisum}, of
many varieties, much cultivated for food. It has a
papilionaceous flower, and the pericarp is a legume,
popularly called a pod.
Note: When a definite number, more than one, is spoken of,
the plural form peas is used; as, the pod contained
nine peas; but, in a collective sense, the form pease
is preferred; as, a bushel of pease; they had pease at
dinner. This distinction is not always preserved, the
form peas being used in both senses.
2. A name given, especially in the Southern States, to the
seed of several leguminous plants (species of {Dolichos},
{Cicer}, {Abrus}, etc.) esp. those having a scar (hilum)
of a different color from the rest of the seed.
Note: The name pea is given to many leguminous plants more or
less closely related to the common pea. See the
Phrases, below.
{Beach pea} (Bot.), a seashore plant, {Lathyrus maritimus}.
{Black-eyed pea}, a West Indian name for {Dolichos
sph[ae]rospermus} and its seed.
{Butterfly pea}, the American plant {Clitoria Mariana},
having showy blossoms.
{Chick pea}. See {Chick-pea}.
{Egyptian pea}. Same as {Chick-pea}.
{Everlasting pea}. See under {Everlasting}.
{Glory pea}. See under {Glory}, n.
{Hoary pea}, any plant of the genus {Tephrosia}; goat's rue.
{Issue pea}, {Orris pea}. (Med.) See under {Issue}, and
{Orris}.
{Milk pea}. (Bot.) See under {Milk}.
{Pea berry}, a kind of a coffee bean or grain which grows
single, and is round or pea-shaped; often used
adjectively; as, pea-berry coffee.
{Pea bug}. (Zo["o]l.) Same as {Pea weevil}.
{Pea coal}, a size of coal smaller than nut coal.
{Pea crab} (Zo["o]l.), any small crab of the genus
{Pinnotheres}, living as a commensal in bivalves; esp.,
the European species ({P. pisum}) which lives in the
common mussel and the cockle.
{Pea dove} (Zo["o]l.), the American ground dove.
{Pea-flower tribe} (Bot.), a suborder ({Papilionace[ae]}) of
leguminous plants having blossoms essentially like that of
the pea. --G. Bentham.
{Pea maggot} (Zo["o]l.), the larva of a European moth
({Tortrix pisi}), which is very destructive to peas.
{Pea ore} (Min.), argillaceous oxide of iron, occurring in
round grains of a size of a pea; pisolitic ore.
{Pea starch}, the starch or flour of the common pea, which is
sometimes used in adulterating wheat flour, pepper, etc.
{Pea tree} (Bot.), the name of several leguminous shrubs of
the genus {Caragana}, natives of Siberia and China.
{Pea vine}. (Bot.)
(a) Any plant which bears peas.
(b) A kind of vetch or tare, common in the United States
({Lathyrus Americana}, and other similar species).
{Pea weevil} (Zo["o]l.), a small weevil ({Bruchus pisi})
which destroys peas by eating out the interior.
{Pigeon pea}. (Bot.) See {Pigeon pea}.
{Sweet pea} (Bot.), the annual plant {Lathyrus odoratus};
also, its many-colored, sweet-scented blossoms.