Hoarfrost

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Frost \Frost\ (fr[o^]st; 115), n. [OE. frost, forst, AS. forst,
     frost. fr. fre['o]san to freeze; akin to D. varst, G., OHG.,
     Icel., Dan., & Sw. frost. [root]18. See {Freeze}, v. i.]
     1. The act of freezing; -- applied chiefly to the congelation
        of water; congelation of fluids.
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     2. The state or temperature of the air which occasions
        congelation, or the freezing of water; severe cold or
        freezing weather.
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              The third bay comes a frost, a killing frost.
                                                    --Shak.
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     3. Frozen dew; -- called also {hoarfrost} or {white frost}.
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              He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. --Ps.
                                                    cxlvii. 16.
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     4. Coldness or insensibility; severity or rigidity of
        character. [R.]
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              It was of those moments of intense feeling when the
              frost of the Scottish people melts like a snow
              wreath.                               --Sir W.
                                                    Scott.
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     {Black frost}, cold so intense as to freeze vegetation and
        cause it to turn black, without the formation of
        hoarfrost.
  
     {Frost bearer} (Physics), a philosophical instrument
        illustrating the freezing of water in a vacuum; a
        cryophorus.
  
     {Frost grape} (Bot.), an American grape, with very small,
        acid berries.
  
     {Frost lamp}, a lamp placed below the oil tube of an Argand
        lamp to keep the oil limpid on cold nights; -- used
        especially in lighthouses. --Knight.
  
     {Frost nail}, a nail with a sharp head driven into a horse's
        shoe to keep him from slipping.
  
     {Frost smoke}, an appearance resembling smoke, caused by
        congelation of vapor in the atmosphere in time of severe
        cold.
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              The brig and the ice round her are covered by a
              strange black
              obscurity: it is the frost smoke of arctic winters.
                                                    --Kane.
  
     {Frost valve}, a valve to drain the portion of a pipe,
        hydrant, pump, etc., where water would be liable to
        freeze.
  
     {Jack Frost}, a popular personification of frost.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Hoarfrost \Hoar"frost`\, n.
     The white particles formed by the congelation of dew; white
     frost. [Written also {horefrost}. See {Hoar}, a.]
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           He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.  --Ps. cxlvii.
                                                    16.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  hoarfrost
       n : ice crystals forming a white deposit (especially on objects
           outside) [syn: {frost}, {hoar}, {rime}]