‖n. [ L., cuttle fish. ] (Zool.) A genus of cephalopods, including numerous species of squids, common on the coasts of America and Europe. They are much used for fish bait. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Oligo- + Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, man, male. ] (Bot.) Having few stamens. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Oligo- + Gr. 'a`nqos flower. ] (Bot.) Having few flowers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A member of an oligarchy; one of the rulers in an oligarchical government. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Oligarchic. Glover. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Gr. &unr_;: cf. F. oligarchique. See Oligarchy. ] Of or pertaining to oligarchy, or government by a few. “Oligarchical exiles.” Jowett (Thucyd.). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An advocate or supporter of oligarchy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Oligarchies [ Gr. &unr_;; 'oli`gos few, little + 'a`rchein to rule, govern: cf. F. oligarchie. ] A form of government in which the supreme power is placed in the hands of a few persons; also, those who form the ruling few. [ 1913 Webster ]

All oligarchies, wherein a few men domineer, do what they list. Burton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Oligist, a. ] (Min.) Hematite or specular iron ore; -- prob. so called in allusion to its feeble magnetism, as compared with magnetite. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Gr. &unr_;, superl. of 'oli`gos few, little: cf. F. oligiste. ] (Min.) Of or pertaining to hematite. [ 1913 Webster ]

A combining form from Gr. 'oli`gos, few, little, small. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Oligo- + Gr. &unr_; new, recent. ] (Geol.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, certain strata which occupy an intermediate position between the Eocene and Miocene periods. -- n. The Oligocene period. See the Chart of Geology. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. 'oli`gos little, pl., few + &unr_; hair. ] (Zool.) An order of Annelida which includes the earthworms and related species, including some small freshwater species. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

n. Any of an order of hermaphroditic terrestrial and aquatic annelids (including the earthworms) having bristles borne singly along the length of the body; a member of the Oligochaeta.
Syn. -- oligochaete worm. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Of or pertaining to the Oligochaeta. [ archaic ]
Syn. -- Oligochete. [ PJC ]

a. (Zool.) Of or pertaining to the Oligochaeta. [ archaic ]
Syn. -- oligochaetous. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Oligo- + Gr. &unr_; fracture, fr. &unr_; to break. ] (Min.) A triclinic soda-lime feldspar. See Feldspar. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) A molecule composed of a small number of linked monomer units; a short polymer; -- compounds called oligomers have less than one hundred monomer units and usually less than thirty. Oligomers of increasing length are called dimer, trimer, tetramer, pentamer, hexamer, heptamer, octamer, nonamer, decamer, etc. In colloquial laboratory jargon, they may also be referred to as nine-mer, ten-mer, eleven-mer, twelve-mer, etc., especially for oligomers of greater than eight units. [ PJC ]

a. [ Oligo- + Gr. me`ros part. ] (Bot.) Having few members in each set of organs; as, an oligomerous flower. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Oligo- + Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, a muscle + -oid. ] (Anat.) Having few or imperfect syringeal muscles; -- said of some passerine birds (Oligomyodi). [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Oligo- + petal. ] (Bot.) Having few petals. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Oligo- + sepal. ] (Bot.) Having few sepals. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Oligo- + siderite. ] (Min.) A meteorite characterized by the presence of but a small amount of metallic iron. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Oligo- + Gr. spe`rma a seed. ] (Bot.) Having few seeds. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Oligo- + Gr. &unr_; offspring. ] (Zool.) Producing few young. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ Pyro-+ L. lignum wood: cf. F. pyroligneux. ] (Old Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, the acid liquid obtained in the distillation of wood, consisting essentially of impure acetic acid. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A crude acetate produced by treating pyroligneous acid with a metal or basic compound; as, pyrolignite of iron (iron liquor). [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Same as Pyroligneous. [ 1913 Webster ]