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V — Vetoist to Vice (Part 2 of 8)

Vexatious suit (Law), a suit commenced for the purpose of giving trouble, or without cause.

Vex*a"tious*ly, adv.Vex*a"tious*ness, n.

Vexed
(Vexed) a.

1. Annoyed; harassed; troubled.

2. Much debated or contested; causing discussion; as, a vexed question.

Vexer
(Vex"er) n. One who vexes or troubles.

Vexil
(Vex"il) n. A vexillum.

Vexillar
(Vex"il*lar Vex"il*la*ry) [Cf. F. vexillaire, L. vexillarius a standard bearer.]

1. Of or pertaining to an ensign or standard.

2. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to the vexillum, or upper petal of papilionaceous flowers.

Vexilary æstivation (Bot.), a mode of æstivation in which one large upper petal folds over, and covers, the other smaller petals, as in most papilionaceous plants.

Vexillary
(Vex"il*la*ry) n. [L. vexillarius: cf. F. vexillaire.] A standard bearer. Tennyson.

Vexillation
(Vex`il*la"tion) n. [L. vexillatio.] (Rom. Antiq.) A company of troops under one vexillum.

Vexillum
(||Vex*il"lum) n.; pl. Vexilla [L., a standard, a flag.]

1. (Rom. Antiq.) (a) A flag or standard. (b) A company of troops serving under one standard.

2. (Eccl.) (a) A banner. (b) The sign of the cross.

3. (Bot.) The upper petal of a papilionaceous flower; the standard.

4. (Zoöl.) The rhachis and web of a feather taken together; the vane.

Vexingly
(Vex"ing*ly) adv. In a vexing manner; so as to vex, tease, or irritate. Tatler.

V hook
(V" hook`) (Steam Engine) A gab at the end of an eccentric rod, with long jaws, shaped like the letter V.

Via
(||Vi"a) n. [L. See Way.] A road way.

Via Lactea [L.] (Anat.), the Milky Way, or Galaxy. See Galaxy, 1.Via media [L.] (Theol.), the middle way; — a name applied to their own position by the Anglican high-churchmen, as being between the Roman Catholic Church and what they term extreme Protestantism.

Via
(Vi"a), prep. [L., ablative of via way. See Way.] By the way of; as, to send a letter via Queenstown to London.

Viability
(Vi`a*bil"i*ty) n. The quality or state of being viable. Specifically: —

(a) (Law) The capacity of living after birth. Bouvier.

(b) The capacity of living, or being distributed, over wide geographical limits; as, the viability of a species.