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Precipitation   Listen
noun
Precipitation  n.  
1.
The act of precipitating, or the state of being precipitated, or thrown headlong. "In peril of precipitation From off rock Tarpeian."
2.
A falling, flowing, or rushing downward with violence and rapidity. "The hurry, precipitation, and rapid motion of the water, returning... towards the sea."
3.
Great hurry; rash, tumultuous haste; impetuosity. "The precipitation of inexperience."
4.
(Chem.) The act or process of precipitating from a solution.
5.
(Meteorology) A deposit on the earth of hail, mist, rain, sleet, or snow; also, the quantity of water deposited. Note: Deposits of dew, fog, and frost are not regarded by the United States Weather Bureau as precipitation. Sleet and snow are melted, and the record of precipitation shows the depth of the horizontal layers of water in hundredths of an inch or in millimeters.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Precipitation" Quotes from Famous Books



... his desire, no doubt, that you might both survive him: why therefore do you delay your escape a moment?' We could never think of our own safety, we said, while we were uncertain of his. Hereupon our friend left us, and withdrew with the utmost precipitation. Soon afterward, the cloud seemed to descend, and cover the whole ocean; as it certainly did the island of Capreae, and the promontory of Misenum. My mother strongly conjured me to make my escape at any rate, ...
— The San Francisco Calamity • Various

... have we noted the occurrence of strange falls in storms. So then that the turtle and the piece of alabaster may have had far different origins—from different worlds, perhaps—have entered a region of suspension over this earth—wafting near each other—long duration—final precipitation by atmospheric disturbance—with hail—or that hailstones, too, when large, are phenomena of suspension of long duration: that it is highly unacceptable that the very large ones could become so great only ...
— The Book of the Damned • Charles Fort

... the thunders of the church against heresy and rebellion, he could assume, in the bosom of his own party, the flexible and indulgent temper of a prudent leader. The election of Athanasius has not escaped the reproach of irregularity and precipitation; [99] but the propriety of his behavior conciliated the affections both of the clergy and of the people. The Alexandrians were impatient to rise in arms for the defence of an eloquent and liberal pastor. In his distress ...
— The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Volume 2 • Edward Gibbon

... learned something of the laws which control the precipitation of the moisture suspended in the atmosphere, we discovered a way to produce rain by mechanical means. As this discovery was gradually developed we found we had really solved the problem. For, as there was only a certain amount of moisture ...
— Daybreak: A Romance of an Old World • James Cowan

... which usually come about the middle of April, there is as a rule a month of beautiful weather with very little precipitation. Then the rains begin to come steadily again, and keep it up until the end of the wet season, falling in the manner already described so that one can get one's outdoor exercise in the morning, while the afternoon showers are conducive ...
— The Philippines: Past and Present (vol. 1 of 2) • Dean C. Worcester

... Canyon would also have extended a similar distance. It is plain then that the cutting of these canyons depends on the amount of water (snow is included) which may fall in the high mountains, the canyons themselves being in the drier districts. It is also clear that if, by some chance, the precipitation of the high sources should increase, the corrasion of the stream-beds in the canyons would likewise increase and outrun with still greater ease the erosion of their immediate surroundings. On the other ...
— The Romance of the Colorado River • Frederick S. Dellenbaugh

... special mandate from the King; who would procure this? Who would cut short those odious delays which the law can introduce at will into the very cases that it has previously hurried on with blind precipitation? Who would prevent my enemies from injuring me and paralyzing all my efforts? In a word, who would fight for me? The abbe alone could have taken up my cause; but he was already in prison on my account. His generous behaviour in the trial had proved that he was still my friend, ...
— Mauprat • George Sand

... decided that I would come there again with a line and catch fish; I begged for and obtained a morsel of bread from our luncheon basket; and threw into the Vivonne pellets which had the power, it seemed, to bring about a chemical precipitation, for the water at once grew solid round about them in oval clusters of emaciated tadpoles, which until then it had, no doubt, been holding in solution, invisible, but ready and alert to enter the stage ...
— Swann's Way - (vol. 1 of Remembrance of Things Past) • Marcel Proust

... persecution; and while he directed the thunders of the church against heresy and rebellion, he could assume, in the bosom of his own party, the flexible and indulgent temper of a prudent leader. The election of Athanasius has not escaped the reproach of irregularity and precipitation; but the propriety of his behavior conciliated the affections both of the clergy and of the people. The Alexandrians were impatient to rise in arms for the defence of an eloquent and liberal pastor. In his distress he always derived support, ...
— The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Volume 2 • Edward Gibbon

... Siner checked his precipitation, annoyed at himself. He began again, deliberately, with an attempt to keep his mind on the savor of his food. He even thought of abandoning his little design of going for the books; or he would go at a different hour, or to-morrow, or not at all. He told himself he would far better allow Cissie ...
— Birthright - A Novel • T.S. Stribling

... urged against this measure, no one can say that the Government have acted with precipitation in bringing it before the House and the country. It has been debated for twenty years. Parliaments, Tory and Liberal, have affirmed the principle, and I do not suppose there ever was a similar reform put forward in this House upon a greater volume of ...
— Liberalism and the Social Problem • Winston Spencer Churchill

... His Son a. Of the Uselessness of Endeavour Against Persistent Ill Fortune i. Story of the Unlucky Merchant b. Of Looking to the Issues of Affairs i. Story of the Merchant and His Sons c. Of the Advantages of Patience i. Story of Abou Sabir d. Of the Ill Effects of Precipitation i. Story of Prince Bihzad e. Of the Issues of Good and Evil Actions i. Story of King Dadbin and His Viziers f. Of Trust in God i. Story of King Bexhtzeman g. Of Clemency i. Story of King Bihkerd h. Of Envy and Malice i. Story of Ilan Shah and Abou ...
— Tales from the Arabic Volumes 1-3 • John Payne

... place, we are led to infer, from all the cases brought into notice, that every kind of external force, or precipitation in education, is abhorrent to Nature. In each of the cases supposed, we have a remarkable exhibition of the calm serenity of Nature's operations in the education of the young. For instance, in the last case supposed, the children all listened,—they ...
— A Practical Enquiry into the Philosophy of Education • James Gall

... they compared with Astral Bodies? Of Useless Knowledge I have almost had enough, I really envy uninquiring noddies, I would not be a Chela if I could. I have a horror of the Esoterical. BESANT and OLCOTT may be wise and good, They seem to me pursuing the chimerical. Maddened by mysteries of "Precipitation," The Occult Dream and the Bacillus-Dance; We need Societies for ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 101, September 26, 1891 • Various

... further for instances to exemplify the ill-luck that constantly attended Don Rodrigo. We see him at present a prey to his evil genius. He left the Zaguan of Monteblanco's dwelling with the utmost precipitation. Impressed with the idea that he had killed his rival; and, fully sensible of the necessity of speedy flight, he hurried to the inn for his horse and valet, anxious to put in practice his prudential resolution, ...
— Gomez Arias - The Moors of the Alpujarras, A Spanish Historical Romance. • Joaquin Telesforo de Trueba y Cosio

... geese become asphyxiated by torsion of their cervical vertebrae, in anticipation of Michaelmas-day; no sooner do the pheasants feel premonitory warnings, that some chemical combinations between charcoal, nitre, and sulphur, are about to take place, ending in a precipitation of lead; no sooner do the columns of the newspapers teem with advertisements of the ensuing courses at the various schools, each one cheaper, and offering more advantages than any of the others; the large ...
— Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 1, October 9, 1841 • Various

... supersaturated when it has dissolved a substance at a temperature favorable to its solubility and its temperature has been allowed to change, the liquid being kept free from agitation or access of air, provided crystallization or precipitation has not taken place. It expresses the state of a liquid when it holds in solution more than the normal quantity of ...
— The Standard Electrical Dictionary - A Popular Dictionary of Words and Terms Used in the Practice - of Electrical Engineering • T. O'Conor Slone

... and their causes we have the general outline of our subject, within which we must now sketch the weather. The causes of atmospheric movement, which we have thus far considered, are the unequal distribution of the sun's heat, the absorption and precipitation of moisture, the direct and the inductive action of the earth's rotation and friction. If to these we should add the tidal action of the sun's and moon's attractions, we should perhaps complete the list of vera ...
— The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. I., No. 3, January 1858 - A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics • Various

... with which I had ejected my new acquaintance, and the precipitation with which I had followed him, the least I could do was to propose luncheon. I have forgot the name of the place to which I led him, nothing loath; it was on the far side of the Luxembourg at least, with a garden behind, where we were speedily set face to face at table, and began to dig ...
— The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 13 (of 25) • Robert Louis Stevenson

... smooth face. Scarcely an angle of drift or debris marred the perpendicular; the burial of all ruin was deep and compact; the erasure had been swift and sure—the obliteration complete. It might have been the precipitation of ages, and not of a single night. At that remote distance it even seemed as if grass were already growing ever this enormous sepulchre, but it was only the tops of the buried pines. The absolute silence, ...
— In a Hollow of the Hills • Bret Harte

... terribly frightened; insomuch, that it was with difficulty we could prevail upon them to keep together to see the end of the shew. A table-rocket was the last. It flew off the table, and dispersed the whole crowd in a moment; even the most resolute among them fled with precipitation. ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16 • Robert Kerr

... station, the lower, and with the greater precipitation, was his overthrow; and therefore, those words, tho' taken in another sense, may very well be apply'd to him: How art thou fallen, O Lucifer! Son ...
— The History of the Devil - As Well Ancient as Modern: In Two Parts • Daniel Defoe

... their own bankers as good as that of the Bank of England, besides the advantage of being less exposed to the losses arising from forgery. This is the argument of the opponents of Robinson's Bill. It is generally thought that the Ministers have disgraced themselves by their precipitation and by the crudeness of their measures. Hitherto they have done nothing towards removing the present distress, or satisfying the minds of men, but the contrary. Robinson is obviously unequal to the present crisis. ...
— The Greville Memoirs - A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William - IV, Volume 1 (of 3) • Charles C. F. Greville

... precipitation, and retiring to her own apartment, threw herself on the bed, and gave vent to an agony of grief which it is ...
— Charlotte Temple • Susanna Rowson

... equality of the sexes among the woodpeckers, wrens, and swallows; while the contrast is greatest, perhaps, in the bobolink family, where the courting is done in the Arab fashion, the female fleeing with all her speed and the male pursuing with equal precipitation; and were it not for the broods of young birds that appear, it would be hard to believe that the intercourse ever ripened into anything ...
— Wake-Robin • John Burroughs

... of the same elements, and elected in the same manner. The consequence was that the passions and inclinations of the populace were as rapidly and as energetically represented in one chamber as in the other, and that laws were made with all the characteristics of violence and precipitation. By the Federal Constitution the two houses originate in like manner in the choice of the people; but the conditions of eligibility and the mode of election were changed, to the end that, if, as is the case in certain nations, ...
— Democracy In America, Volume 1 (of 2) • Alexis de Tocqueville

... concluding words with sudden precipitation; and on the instant the strange light which had filled the hall faded away. Joe Toddyhigh glanced involuntarily at the eastern window, and saw the first pale gleam of morning. He turned his head again towards the ...
— Master Humphrey's Clock • Charles Dickens

... in Spanish. Taken by surprise, they replied in English, and, before they could turn their animals, were stunned with the glare and crash of a musket-volley, a few feet ahead of them. They recoiled, and fled with such precipitation that one of the riders was tossed over his horse's head;—however, scrambling to his feet, he found sense and good-luck to remount; and the whole party made good their flight to Rivas, with no further damage than two slight flesh-wounds,—one on the ...
— Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 27, January, 1860 • Various

... impatient for an entire change, and to see all their adversaries laid at once as low as the dust, began to be apprehensive that the work would be done by halves. But the juncture of affairs at that time, both at home and abroad, would by no means admit of the least precipitation, although the Queen and her first minister had been disposed to it, which certainly they were not. Neither did the court seem at all uneasy at this league, formed in appearance against it, but composed ...
— The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, Vol. X. • Jonathan Swift

... which was defended with great gallantry by the two officers above mentioned, until the approach of General Arnold, with a body of troops, occasioned the enemy to raise the siege of that fortress and retreat with great precipitation, leaving their baggage, ammunition, provisions, and some of their artillery, which fell into our hands. Another body of troops was detached by General Burgoyne, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Baum, to the eastward, for the purpose of collecting ...
— The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. I • Various

... namely, in inserting such an advertisement in the newspapers, and, above all, going so far in their disclosures to Titmouse. Their prudence in the latter step, however, was very questionable to themselves even; and they immediately afterwards deplored together the precipitation with which Mr. Quirk had communicated to Titmouse the nature and extent of his possible good fortune. It was Mr. Quirk's own doing, however, and done after as much expostulation as the cautious Gammon could venture to use. ...
— Ten Thousand a-Year. Volume 1. • Samuel Warren

... this movement, and hoping to recall Lincoln by alarming him for the safety of Charleston, General Prevost suddenly crossed the Savannah with three thousand men; and, advancing rapidly on General Moultrie, obliged him to retreat with precipitation. The militia could not be prevailed on to defend the passes with any degree of firmness; and Moultrie, instead of drawing aid from the surrounding country, sustained an alarming ...
— The Life of George Washington, Vol. 3 (of 5) • John Marshall

... that Fairfax should follow with the remainder of the army. But the Scottish leaders, anxious to avoid a rupture, and yet unwilling to surrender the royal prize, broke up their camp before Newark, and retired with precipitation to Newcastle. Thence by dint of protestations and denials they gradually succeeded in allaying the ferment.[1] Charles contributed his share, by repeating his desire of an accommodation, and requesting the two houses to send to him the propositions of peace; and, as ...
— The History of England from the First Invasion by the Romans - to the Accession of King George the Fifth - Volume 8 • John Lingard and Hilaire Belloc

... and she made out that it was ten o'clock, but also that Mrs. Wix had not yet breakfasted. The day before, at nine, they had had together a cafe complet in their sitting-room. Mrs. Wix on her side had evidently also a refuge to seek. She sought it in checking the precipitation of some of her pupil's present steps, in recalling to her with an approach to sternness that of such preliminaries those embodied in a thorough use of soap should be the most thorough, and in throwing even a certain reprobation on the idea of hurrying into clothes for the sake of a mere stepfather. ...
— What Maisie Knew • Henry James

... James was so dispirited by the success of this enterprise that they abandoned the siege in the night, and retired with precipitation, after having lost about nine thousand men before the place. Kirke no sooner took possession of the town than Walker was prevailed upon to embark for England, with an address of thanks from the inhabitants to their majesties for the seasonable ...
— The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 12 • Editor-In-Chief Rossiter Johnson

... his Memoirs, the phrase Jedburgh justice took its rise in 1574, on the occasion of the Regent Morton there and then trying and condemning, with cruel precipitation, a vast number of people who had offended against the laws, or against the supreme cause of his lordship's faction. A different origin is assigned by the people. Upon the occasion, say they, of nearly twenty criminals being tried for ...
— The Proverbs of Scotland • Alexander Hislop

... chilly—not to say the raw. Also, it seemed to be raining. I say it seemed to be raining, because no true Southern Californian would admit any actual defects in the climatic arrangements. If pressed he might concede that ostensibly an infinitesimal percentage of precipitation was descending, and that apparently the mercury had descended a notch or two in the tube. Further than that, in the absence of the official reports, he would not care ...
— Roughing it De Luxe • Irvin S. Cobb

... said he. "Precipitation is directly opposed to the spirit of my theories. I should have said you were already qualified to become an active worker, but you are the best judge: and, as you have mentioned, you will be able to become familiar with the ...
— A Romantic Young Lady • Robert Grant

... punishments to which state criminals were sentenced, were usually, in capital cases, precipitation from the Tarpeian rock, beheading, or strangulation in prison; when life was spared, the penalties were either exile or fine. Under the emperors severer punishments were introduced, such as exposure ...
— Pinnock's Improved Edition of Dr. Goldsmith's History of Rome • Oliver Goldsmith

... But, with equal precipitation, Fleda had cast her bonnet out of sight behind the table, and the next moment turned, with the utmost possible quietness, to shake hands with Mr. Olmney. Aunt Miriam had presence of mind enough to make no remark, ...
— Queechy, Volume II • Elizabeth Wetherell

... gratification of Farnese, however, no sooner did the advancing Spaniards come in sight, than the Earl, supposing himself invaded by the whole of the Duke's army, under their famous general, and not feeling himself strong enough for such an encounter, retired, with great precipitation, to his boats, re-embarked his troops with the utmost celerity, and set sail ...
— The Rise of the Dutch Republic, 1555-1566 • John Lothrop Motley

... alarmed his Prussian Majesty. He contrived his measures so artfully, as to appear before the place when he was least expected. Vanquished as he was, the terror of his arms raised the siege. The French army, though greatly superior in number, rose and retreated with precipitation. ...
— A Museum for Young Gentlemen and Ladies - A Private Tutor for Little Masters and Misses • Unknown

... continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; summers are warm across the greater part of the country, hot in ...
— The 1995 CIA World Factbook • United States Central Intelligence Agency

... humanity which may serve to counterbalance the curse of reflectiveness. That she is growing, is evident from her own Introduction, written only the other day, with its touches of humor and more complex manipulation of groups of facts. But I have ventured to counsel delay rather than precipitation in production—for she is not yet sixteen—and the completion of her education, physical no less than intellectual; and it is to this purpose that such profits as may accrue from this publication will be devoted. Let us hope this premature recognition of her potentialities will not injure their ...
— From Plotzk to Boston • Mary Antin

... with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers ...
— The 1990 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency

... dilatation of the ascending air. This air augments its capacity for heat in proportion as it rarefies. With the formation and collection of the vesicular vapours, electricity accumulates in the higher regions of the atmosphere. The precipitation of the vapours is continual during the day; but it generally ceases at night, and frequently even before sunset. The showers are regularly more violent, and accompanied with electric explosions, a short time after the maximum of the diurnal heat. ...
— Equinoctial Regions of America V2 • Alexander von Humboldt

... Andy fled with precipitation to his neglected duties, while the red men laughed their low quiet laugh, knowing that the waggon they heard could not reach Cedar Creek in less ...
— Cedar Creek - From the Shanty to the Settlement • Elizabeth Hely Walshe

... by the Column, effectually concealed him from the Stranger, who continued to advance with caution. At length He drew a letter from beneath his cloak, and hastily placed it beneath a Colossal Statue of St. Francis. Then retiring with precipitation, He concealed himself in a part of the Church at a considerable distance from that in which the ...
— The Monk; a romance • M. G. Lewis

... from the rest of the United States in having a rainy and a dry season—that is, the rainfall is wholly seasonal. In the northern part the rainfall is sixty inches or more, and rain may be expected daily from the middle of October to May. In central California the precipitation is about half as much, the rainy season beginning later and ending earlier. In southern California there are occasional showers during the winter months, aggregating ten ...
— Commercial Geography - A Book for High Schools, Commercial Courses, and Business Colleges • Jacques W. Redway

... never have taken place. This fact has led a French biologist to say that life is only a surface accident in the history of the thermic evolution of the globe. Without the disintegration of the rocks and the formation of the soil and the precipitation of watery vapor, which was indirectly the work of heat, the vegetable and the animal could not have developed. If we succeed in proving that all these things are of chemico-mechanical origin, we still want to know who or what instituted these chemical and mechanical powers and the ...
— Time and Change • John Burroughs

... Mollahs shuffled back to their college with profane precipitation; the sun set, and the astounded Muezzin stood with their mouths open, and quite forgot to announce the power of their Deity, and the validity of their Prophet. The people all called out for the venerable Lord Bostenay and the gentle Lady Miriam, and ran in crowds to ...
— Alroy - The Prince Of The Captivity • Benjamin Disraeli

... of the time more clearly displayed than in the disputes over Convocation. To William's advisers, perhaps, more than to the Church itself their precipitation is due; for had they not, at the outset of the reign, suggested large changes in the liturgy suspicions then aroused might well have slumbered. As it was, the question of the royal supremacy immediately came into view and the clergy ...
— Political Thought in England from Locke to Bentham • Harold J. Laski

... The moist precipitation of the storm Revives, refreshes and invigorates The various vegetation, and bedews Each blade of grass and floweret with a tear; As nature, weeping o'er ...
— Mountain idylls, and Other Poems • Alfred Castner King

... precipitate is not redissolved by any acid, for the most part neither one nor the other of these saline substances ought to be used, but the neutral salts will be greatly preferable. In all these observations that are made with respect to the precipitation effected by means of different saline substances, attention must be paid at the same time to the change of colour which ensues, in order to discover whether the colour ...
— The Botanist's Companion, Vol. II • William Salisbury

... Timothy had imagined. He started on his feet with his pistol still in his hand; and presenting it to the squire, swore with dreadful imprecations, that he would blow his brains out in an instant. Crabshaw, unwilling to hazard the trial of this experiment, turned his back, and fled with great precipitation; while the robber, whose horse had run away, mounted Gilbert, and rode off across the country. It was at this period, that two footmen, belonging to the coach, who had stayed behind to take their morning's whet at the inn where they lodged, came up to the assistance ...
— The Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves • Tobias Smollett

... of national income in 1989; regularly produces less than 50% of food needs; the foothills of northern Bosnia support orchards, vineyards, livestock, and some wheat and corn; long winters and heavy precipitation leach soil fertility reducing agricultural output in the mountains; farms are mostly privately held, small, and not very productive Illicit drugs: NA Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $NA billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF ...
— The 1992 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency.

... was a great error to take the name of reason from that of love," says Pascal, "and we have no good cause to think them opposed, for love and reason are in truth the same. Love is a precipitation of thought to one side without considering everything; but ...
— Clerambault - The Story Of An Independent Spirit During The War • Rolland, Romain

... succeeded each other with precipitation; the parliamentary families, decimated, pursued, hunted down, were dispersed. M. Charles Myriel emigrated to Italy at the very beginning of the Revolution. There his wife died of a malady of the chest, from which she had long suffered. He had no children. What took place ...
— Les Miserables - Complete in Five Volumes • Victor Hugo

... I, folding her to my bosom; my voice stifled in sobs of convulsive joy. She lay in my arms without sense or motion. Alarmed at the effects of my own precipitation, I scarce knew what to do. I tried by a thousand endearing words to call her back to consciousness. She slowly recovered, and half opening her eyes—"where am I?" murmured she faintly. "Here," exclaimed I, pressing her to my bosom. "Here! close to the heart that adores ...
— Tales of a Traveller • Washington Irving

... of (1) isosaccharinic and (2) dioxybutyric acid from the products of digestion of the oxycelluloses with lime-milk at 100 deg. was effected by the separation of their respective calcium salts, (1) by direct crystallisation, (2) by precipitation alcohol after separation of ...
— Researches on Cellulose - 1895-1900 • C. F. Cross

... at the conduct of the Natchez, imagining they had forwarded the term agreed on, in order to make them ridiculous, and proposed to take vengeance the first opportunity, not knowing the true cause of the precipitation of ...
— History of Louisisana • Le Page Du Pratz

... emotion. "It is I who am to be sent away!" cried Nettie, yielding for a moment to the natural bitterness. Then she bethought herself of certain thoughts of comfort which had not failed to interject themselves into her heart, and withdrew with a little precipitation, alarmed by the inconsistency—the insincerity of her feelings. "Get up, Freddy; you are not going away, except home to the colony, where you want to go," she said. "Be good, all the same; for you know you must not trouble mamma. And make haste, and don't be always calling ...
— The Doctor's Family • Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant

... in killed, drowned, and captured was one hundred and eighty-nine; or, in the words of Pepperrell, "nearly half our party." [Footnote: Douglas makes it a little less. "We lost in this mad frolic sixty men killed and drowned, and one hundred and sixteen prisoners." Summary, i. 353.] Disorder, precipitation, and weak leadership ruined what hopes the attempt ...
— A Half-Century of Conflict, Volume II • Francis Parkman

... part of Charles's character, which unquestionably rendered him personally popular, and postponed to a subsequent reign the precipitation of his family from the throne, that he banished from his Court many of the formal restrictions with which it was in other reigns surrounded. He was conscious of the good-natured grace of his manners, and trusted to it, often not in vain, to remove evil impressions arising from actions, ...
— Peveril of the Peak • Sir Walter Scott

... modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers; rainy year-round ...
— The 2002 CIA World Factbook • US Government

... whom he sought, who came, with a velocity equal to his own, in an opposite direction. The consequence was a concussion between the two meeting masses, by which Mrs. Melmoth was seated securely on the stairs; while the doctor was only preserved from precipitation to the bottom by clinging desperately to the balustrade. As soon as the pair discovered that they had sustained no material injury by their contact, they began eagerly to explain the cause of their mutual haste, without those reproaches, ...
— Fanshawe • Nathaniel Hawthorne

... very fast; and the soldiers were crowded together in a huddle, having or hearing no orders, and standing to be shot at till two-thirds of them were killed; and then, being seized with a panic, the whole fled with precipitation. ...
— Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 5 • Charles Sylvester

... had horses took the road to Truxillo; and all the rest endeavoured to reach the ships of Aldana, concealing themselves as well as they could in retired places till they might ascertain that Gonzalo had proceeded farther on his march, which indeed he continued to do with much precipitation. When he had proceeded to a considerable distance from Lima, all those who had abandoned him flocked to that city, and every day some fresh deserters came there, by which means Aldana got accurate intelligence of the proceedings of Gonzalo, ...
— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 5 • Robert Kerr

... westerly winds throughout the year, interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls ...
— The 1990 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency

... through. Stirling's example was inspiring. "He encouraged and animated our young soldiers," writes Gist, "with almost invincible resolution." But his handful of brave men had done all that was possible, and in their last charge they were met by great numbers and forced to retire again, "with much precipitation and confusion."[153] They broke up into small parties and sought escape. Nine only, among whom was Major Gist, succeeded in crossing the creek, the rest having retreated into the woods.[154] Stirling endeavored to get into the lines between ...
— The Campaign of 1776 around New York and Brooklyn • Henry P. Johnston

... purity of the soap. Dissolved in water in which lime is held in solution, the soap is precipitated in hard white flakes. If the quantity of soap put in the lime water be noted, it will be found that the smaller the quantity producing precipitation, the purer the soap. The Journal de Pharmacie et de Chemie (of Paris) reports some experiments, on this ...
— Scientific American, Volume XXIV., No. 12, March 18, 1871 • Various

... be taxed with undue precipitation or with attacking in insufficient force. He had begun, as already noticed, with securing the co-operation of the Armenian king, Artavasdes, who promised him a contingent of 7000 foot and 6000 horse. His Roman infantry is estimated at 60,000; ...
— The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 6. (of 7): Parthia • George Rawlinson

... the woods reddening over like crimson with the long extended lines of the British army, which soon, with rattling drums and thundering cannon, came rushing on to the charge. The militia, scarcely waiting to give them a distant fire, broke and fled in the utmost precipitation. Whereupon Gates clapped spurs to his horse, and pushed hard after them, as he said, "to bring the rascals back." But he took care never to bring himself back, nor indeed to stop until he had fairly ...
— The Life of General Francis Marion • Mason Locke Weems

... fury lasted; vividly as a man in a different kind of passion sees the folly of all he did, said, or thought, when he was possessed by the past madness; so clearly, so vividly, did Ormond now see and feel—and vehemently execrate, his jealous folly and mad precipitation; and then he came to the question, could his folly be repaired?—would his madness ever be forgiven? Ormond, in love affairs, never had any presumption—any tinge of the Connal coxcombry in his nature: he was not apt to flatter himself that he had made ...
— Tales & Novels, Vol. IX - [Contents: Harrington; Thoughts on Bores; Ormond] • Maria Edgeworth

... called simply the desert. The whole tract is marked, however, throughout, with one all-pervading character: the absence of vegetable, and, consequently, of animal life, on account of the absence of rain. The rising of a range of lofty mountains in the center of it, to produce a precipitation of moisture from the air, would probably transform the whole of the vast waste into as verdant, and fertile, and populous a region as any ...
— Cleopatra • Jacob Abbott

... the edge of the sword." When Maraiu saw the carnage, "he was afraid, his heart failed him; he betook himself to flight as fast as his feet could bear him to save his life, so successfully that his bow and arrows remained behind him in his precipitation, as well as everything else he had upon him." His treasure, his arms, his wife, together with the cattle which he had brought with him for his use, became the prey of the conqueror; "he tore out the feathers ...
— History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, Volume 5 (of 12) • G. Maspero

... for chloride of gold was pointed out by Mr. Newbery some twenty years ago; four or five years since the idea was patented in the United States, but as this was given gratis to the world years before, the patent did not hold good. The form of precipitation generally adopted was to add sulphate of iron to the liquid drawn from the filter. This not only threw down the gold it contained, but also the lime and magnesia. Then very great care was necessary, and a tedious process had to be gone through to divide the gold from these. Now, ...
— Scientific American Supplement, No. 620, November 19,1887 • Various

... Captain's hands, with uncommon fervour, as he said it, the old man turned to Florence, folded hers in his own, and put them to his lips; then hurried her out to the coach with very singular precipitation. Altogether, he made such an effect on Captain Cuttle that the Captain lingered behind, and instructed Rob to be particularly gentle and attentive to his master until the morning: which injunction he ...
— Dombey and Son • Charles Dickens

... with zealous precipitation approached the principal entrance to the hall, the portieres of which had just been drawn aside, and behind was seen Natalie at the hand ...
— The Daughter of an Empress • Louise Muhlbach

... innocent of all use, lay a perfect floor for evening pacing with one's eyes upon the stars. It was the death mask of an ancient lake, done in purest alkali silt, and needing only the shadows cast by a low moon to make the illusion almost unbelievable. Slow precipitation, season after season, as the water dried, had left the lake bed smooth as a cast in plaster. Subsequent warpings had lifted the alkali crust into thin-lipped wavelets. But once upon the floor itself the resemblance to water vanished. The warpings and Grumblings took the shape ...
— The Desert and The Sown • Mary Hallock Foote

... though it were some new amusement invented to heighten the merriment of carnival. Among other things, I earned the reputation of being a most impatient lover, for now I would consent to no delays. I hurried all the preparations on with feverish precipitation. I had very little difficulty in persuading Nina that the sooner our wedding took place the better; she was to the full as eager as myself, as ready to rush on her own destruction as Guido had been. Her chief passion was avarice, ...
— Vendetta - A Story of One Forgotten • Marie Corelli

... said Gomez Arias, sarcastically, "not such precipitation, or you may perchance fall before ...
— Gomez Arias - The Moors of the Alpujarras, A Spanish Historical Romance. • Joaquin Telesforo de Trueba y Cosio

... enamoured of his goodness.' Rasselas, chap. ix. Wraxall (Memoirs, edit. of 1884, i. 283) says that Johnson was no judge of a fine gentleman. 'George III,' he adds, 'was altogether destitute of these ornamental and adventitious endowments.' He mentions 'the oscillations of his body, the precipitation of his questions, none of which, it was said, would wait for an answer, and the hurry of his articulation.' Mr. Wheatley, in a note on this passage, quotes the opinion of 'Adams, the American Envoy, who said, the "King is, I really think, the most ...
— Life Of Johnson, Vol. 2 • Boswell, Edited by Birkbeck Hill

... thought that the injustice might be hers or his own; and he quarrelled with Lady Lucretia, himself, and the whole world. In this temper he hastened to the hotel of the English cavalier. The season of expostulation was now over, and he found himself irresistibly impelled to justify his precipitation with the lady, by taking for granted that the subject of his suspicion was beyond the ...
— Caleb Williams - Things As They Are • William Godwin

... old books and prints—since she was sure this was what he had in his head. Julia would be flattered should she know it, but of course she mustn't know it. Lady Agnes was already thinking of the least injurious account she could give of the young man's want of precipitation. She would have liked to represent him as tremendously occupied, in his room at their own hotel, in getting off political letters to every one it should concern, and particularly in drawing up his address to the ...
— The Tragic Muse • Henry James

... altitudes, where moisture is abundant either through natural precipitation or from irrigation, the number of species which are adapted to woodlot planting is largely increased. Black walnut, black cherry and hardy catalpa are probably the most valuable of these. The latter, however, is sensitive ...
— Practical Forestry in the Pacific Northwest • Edward Tyson Allen

... in the streets in their clerical costume, but even to discontinue the use of the church-bells, with which they had been in the habit of calling their congregations to the mass and other religious exercises. This advice was followed with as much eagerness and precipitation by the clergy, as though they wished to hide themselves from public notice, or as though they had been guilty of some illicit and ...
— Roman Catholicism in Spain • Anonymous

... speaking one word, but keepe a very deep silence, for, said they, it is like the Goslings to confound one another with words. As soon as they are arrived they must have a time to come to themselves, to think well upon what they are to speak without any precipitation, but with Judgement, so that they are come where all manner of company with drumms & dryd bumpkins, full of stones and other such instruments. The elders that have brought her there cover her with a very large white skin, and colour her ...
— Voyages of Peter Esprit Radisson • Peter Esprit Radisson

... fascinating description, was he, what Bright and the Peace Party proclaimed him to be, the cause of the Crimean War? The Czar's personal dislike to him—a caprice which has never been explained {20}—exasperated no doubt to the mind of Nicholas the repulse of Menschikoff's demands; but that the precipitation of the prince and his master had put the Russian Court absolutely in the wrong is universally admitted. It has been urged against him that his recommendation of the famous Vienna Note to the Porte was ...
— Biographical Study of A. W. Kinglake • Rev. W. Tuckwell

... console myself, that my error is not owing to wicked precipitation, I should be the most miserable of all creatures. As it is, I am enough punished in the loss of my character, more valuable to me than my life; and in the cruel doubts and perplexities which, conflicting with my hopes, and ...
— Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9) • Samuel Richardson

... misadventures had brought her to this terrible pass. The moment Rinaldo beheld her, he leaped on his horse, and dashed among the villains. The sight of such an onset was enough for their cowardly hearts. The whole posse fled before him with precipitation, all except the leader, who was a villain of gigantic strength; and him the Paladin, at one blow, clove through the middle. Iroldo could not speak for joy, as he hastened to release Prasildo. He was forced to give him tears instead of words. But when speech at length became ...
— Stories from the Italian Poets: With Lives of the Writers, Vol. 2 • Leigh Hunt

... what is now called Fairville, Studholme encountered about 40 men under Captain West and a sharp conflict ensued in which several were killed on both sides. The American invaders were soon put to flight and retired with great precipitation. It is said that one poor fellow climbed into a tree and might have escaped, but the cracking of a branch betrayed his hiding place, and a soldier "dropped him like a little carrier pigeon." The next day Colonel Francklin ...
— Glimpses of the Past - History of the River St. John, A.D. 1604-1784 • W. O. Raymond

... treated by men I knew to be—to use a political term—"vile democrats." Unfortunately a bad temper, precipitation, stubbornness, and like qualities, all due to non-education, are too often attributes of colored men and women. These characteristics lower the race in the estimation of the whites, and produce, I think, what we call prejudice. In fact I believe prejudice is due solely to non-education and its ...
— Henry Ossian Flipper, The Colored Cadet at West Point • Henry Ossian Flipper

... an incipient crystalline metamorphosis: hence these latter specimens, both in external appearance and in microscopical structure, closely resemble those of the Pampas. Dr. Carpenter informs me that it is well known that chemical precipitation throws down carbonate of lime in the opaque amorphous state; and he is inclined to believe that the long-continued attrition of a calcareous body in a state of crystalline or semi-crystalline aggregation (as, for instance, ...
— South American Geology - also: - Title: Geological Observations On South America • Charles Darwin

... Companies F and K of the Sixth, while the remainder of the regiment was held in reserve. The action lasted about two hours, at the end of which time, the Indians being unable to withstand the murderous fire of shot and shell rained upon them, fled with great precipitation, and thus ended the battle of Wood Lake. The whole plan of battle seems to have been of defense, fought on the old lines of chivalry—man for man, instead of bringing all the troops in line of action and dealing the enemy a crushing blow at the beginning. ...
— History of Company E of the Sixth Minnesota Regiment of Volunteer Infantry • Alfred J. Hill

... with portly stare from the bag with a lively prospect of the perjured witnesses and the specialist having to "scoot" for parts unknown, or run the risk of dignifying the inside of the State prison. Many readers of this page will no doubt remember with what precipitation the notorious Monro Adams made himself "scarce" in January, 1882, upon the discovery of the irregular Chase divorce, and others of the same kind fraudulently ...
— Danger! A True History of a Great City's Wiles and Temptations • William Howe

... the Philosophers and Moralists have run too much into Extreams, in praising entirely either Solitude or publick Life; in the former Men generally grow useless by too much Rest, and in the latter are destroyed by too much Precipitation: As Waters lying still, putrifie and are good for nothing; and running violently on, do but the more Mischief in their Passage to others, and are swallowed up and lost the sooner themselves. Those who, like you, can make themselves useful to all States, ...
— The Spectator, Volume 2. • Addison and Steele

... leaning out with a rapid motion. I rushed to the spot where she might fall; and mechanically, without attaching any great importance to the impulse, I concentrated all my will in one great desire to oppose her precipitation. ...
— The Arena - Volume 4, No. 20, July, 1891 • Various

... This precipitation is owing, I suppose, to the cooling of the atmosphere, which prevents its retaining so great a quantity of watery vapour in solution as during the ...
— Conversations on Chemistry, V. 1-2 • Jane Marcet

... just come from Melbourne with a dray full of goods. He went to Gregory's store to dispose of them. Octavius had heard them in conversation together, and had mistaken his uncle's for his father's voice. Hence the precipitation of his exit. The uncle was a tall sunburnt man, who looked well-inured to hardship and fatigue. He stayed and took breakfast with us, and then having satisfactorily arranged his business with Gregory, ...
— A Lady's Visit to the Gold Diggings of Australia in 1852-53. • Mrs. Charles (Ellen) Clacey

... the grand vizier, "patience brings many things about that before seemed impracticable; but it may be this affair is of a nature not likely to succeed that way. Your majesty will have no cause to reproach yourself for precipitation, if you would give the prince another year to consider your proposal. If in this interval he return to his duty, you will have the greater satisfaction, as you will have employed only paternal love to induce him; and if he still continue averse when this is expired, ...
— The Arabian Nights Entertainments vol. 2 • Anon.

... or three rods of your position, rise slowly upon your feet to your full height, and the alligator of the southern states — the A. Mississippiensis - will, in nine cases out of ten, retire with precipitation. ...
— Voyage of The Paper Canoe • N. H. Bishop

... into his counsel! She must understand the girl! Things would at once show themselves to her on the one side or the other, which might reveal the path he ought to take. But did he know mistress Brookes well enough? Would she be prudent, or spoil everything by precipitation? She might ruin the girl if she acted without sympathy, caring only to get the appearance of evil out of ...
— Donal Grant • George MacDonald

... Lord Nelson, with regard to the Bashaw of Tripoli, on this occasion, was a master-stroke of policy. In order not to commit the country, with too much precipitation, though resolved to act with all requisite energy at the moment, his lordship employed a Portuguese ship in the business, and selected that of Commodore Campbell for this confidential service. His knowledge of mankind taught him, that ...
— The Life of the Right Honourable Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson, Vol. II (of 2) • James Harrison

... Out-o'the-ways, the Crickets, and the Kickshaws — Let 'em have plenty of blankets, and stinkubus, and wampum; and your excellency won't fail to scour the kettle, and boil the chain, and bury the tree, and plant the hatchet — Ha, ha, ha!' When he had uttered this rhapsody, with his usual precipitation, Mr Barton gave him to understand, that I was neither Sir Francis, nor St Francis, but simply Mr Melford, nephew to Mr Bramble; who, stepping forward, made his bow at the same time. 'Odso! no more it is Sir Francis — (said this wise statesman) Mr Melford, ...
— The Expedition of Humphry Clinker • Tobias Smollett

... and despair into a premature grave; and when this has been confirmed by the evidence of their careworn looks, their excited feelings, and their desolate homes—can I wonder that many of them, in such times of misery and destitution, spoke and acted with ferocious precipitation? ...
— Mary Barton • Elizabeth Gaskell

... chief detective and head of the Uitlander police, quitted Johannesburg the night of the arrest with much precipitation; unfortunately, before indeed he had filed away his most important private papers. Following his hasty flight his office was carefully guarded by Zarps; no one was allowed to enter—'Oh yes, the ...
— A Woman's Part in a Revolution • Natalie Harris Hammond

... which lack of drainage provisions affect the serviceability of the road surface varies with the amount of precipitation in the locality and the manner in which it is distributed throughout the year. In the humid areas of the United States, which are, roughly, those portions east of a north and south line passing through Omaha and Kansas City, together with the northern part of the Pacific slope, precipitation ...
— American Rural Highways • T. R. Agg

... permit the gunner to take aim—and boom! at almost the same instant went one of her broadside guns, the enthusiastic captain of which could not contain himself until the order to fire was given, but must needs bring down upon himself a reprimand from the authorities of the quarter-deck for his precipitation. Fortunately, however, this irregular shot did no harm—not improbably, perhaps, from the very fact of its having been launched so totally without consideration. The first, however, did its errand most effectively, and the shower of white splinters that flew from the chase's foremast ...
— The Cruise of the Alabama and the Sumter • Raphael Semmes

... place, and every circumstance; this is an important contract." Mrs. Mellicent, to whom this remark was particularly addressed, unbent her stiff features from that aspect of disapprobation with which she had silently condemned her brother's precipitation, and saluted the bride with great cordiality, telling her, that dames of quality, like the wives of the Patriarchs, always called their husbands lords. She added, that even those of the younger brothers of peers ...
— The Loyalists, Vol. 1-3 - An Historical Novel • Jane West

... still sound, so that it requires some effort of strength to loosen a stone from the wall and remove it. But this adobe mortar is adapted only to the dry climate of Southern Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, where the precipitation is less than five inches per annum. The rains and frosts of a northern climate would speedily destroy it. To the presence of this adobe soil, found in such abundance in the regions named, and to the sandstone of the bluffs, where masses ...
— Houses and House-Life of the American Aborigines • Lewis H. Morgan

... now supply home demand and export to the islands of the Caribbean Sea and to other rice-growing countries. Wheat and other grains have been imported from light-rainfall countries to our lands in the West and Southwest that have not grown crops because of light precipitation, resulting in an extensive addition to our cropping area and our home-making territory that can not be irrigated. Ten million bushels of first-class macaroni wheat were grown from these experimental importations last year. Fruits suitable to our soils and climates are ...
— Complete State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to the Present • Various

... establishing themselves in that post which was evacuated as untenable. The British loss on this occasion was considerable, and General Vincent, who commanded the army of the centre, retreated with much precipitation towards Burlington Heights, withdrawing at the same time ...
— The Canadian Brothers - or The Prophecy Fulfilled • John Richardson

... was displeased, began in the same instant to be frightened; he hurried on as fast as he could, without understanding one word more of what he was reading; his precipitation was worse than his slowness: he stumbled over the words, missed syllables, missed lines, made the most incomprehensible nonsense of the whole; till, at length, Mrs. Harcourt shut the book in despair, and ...
— Tales And Novels, Volume 1 • Maria Edgeworth

... if he had been too sudden. She was quite the youngest person he had ever met—he realized that, and perhaps he had acted with too much precipitation. He would ...
— Beyond The Rocks - A Love Story • Elinor Glyn

... hear that any prejudices should take place in any Southern colony, with respect to the troops raised in this. I am certain the insinuations you mention are injurious, if we consider with what precipitation we were obliged to collect an army. In the regiments at Roxbury, the privates are equal to any that I served with in the last war; very few old men, and in the ranks very few boys. Our fifers are many of them boys. We have some negroes; but I look on them, in general, equally serviceable with other ...
— History of the Negro Race in America From 1619 to 1880. Vol 1 - Negroes as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens • George W. Williams



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