Liv"er (l&ibreve;v"&etilde;r), n. (Zoöl.) The glossy ibis (Ibis falcinellus); -
- said to have given its name to the city of
Liverpool.
Liv"er , n. [AS. lifer; akin to D. liver, G. leber, OHG.
lebara, Icel. lifr, Sw. lefver, and perh. to Gr. &?; fat, E. live, v.]
(Anat.)
A very large glandular and vascular organ in the
visceral cavity of all vertebrates.
&fist; Most of
the venous blood from the alimentary canal passes through it on its way back to the heart; and it secretes the bile, produces glycogen, and in other ways
changes the blood which passes through it. In man it is situated immediately beneath the diaphragm and mainly on
the right side. See Bile, Digestive,
and Glycogen. The liver of
invertebrate animals is
usually made up of cæcal tubes, and differs materially, in form and function, from that of vertebrates.
Floating liver. See Wandering liver, under Wandering. -- Liver of antimony, Liver of sulphur. (Old Chem.) See Hepar. -- Liver brown, Liver color, the color of liver, a dark,
reddish brown. --
Liver shark
(Zoöl.), a very large shark (Cetorhinus maximus), inhabiting the northern coasts both of Europe and North America. It sometimes becomes forty feet in
length, being one of the
largest sharks known; but it has small
simple teeth, and is not dangerous. It is captured for the sake of its liver, which often yields several barrels of oil. It has gill rakers, resembling whalebone, by means of which it
separates small animals from
the sea water. Called also
basking shark, bone
shark, hoemother, homer,
and sailfish. --
Liver spots, yellowish brown patches or spots of chloasma.
Liv"er (?), n.
1. One who,
or that which, lives.
And try if life be worth the liver's care.
Prior. 2. A resident; a
dweller; as, a liver in Brooklyn.
3. One whose course of life has some
marked characteristic (expressed by an adjective); as, a free liver.
Fast
liver, one who lives in
an extravagant and dissipated way. -- Free liver, Good liver, one given to the
pleasures of the table. -- Loose liver, a person who lives a somewhat dissolute life.
Hear it pronounced