ən1830–40; presumably named after maker or handler
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
cavendish (ˈkævəndɪʃ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| tobacco that has been sweetened and pressed into moulds to form bars | |
| [C19: perhaps from the name of the first maker] | |
| Cavendish (ˈkævəndɪʃ) | |
| —n | |
| Henry. 1731--1810, British physicist and chemist: recognized hydrogen, determined the composition of water, and calculated the density of the earth by an experiment named after him | |
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Cavendish  (kāv'ən-dĭsh) Pronunciation Key
British chemist and physicist who in 1766 discovered hydrogen, which he called "inflammable air." He also demonstrated that it is the lightest of all the gases and established that water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen. In 1798, Cavendish estimated with great accuracy the mean density of the Earth. |
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
cavendish
unincorporated rural community, Queens county, on the central northern coast of Prince Edward Island, Canada, 24 miles (39 km) northwest of Charlottetown. It lies near a sandy beach (called Penamkeak by the Micmac Indians and now a popular bathing place) at the western end of Prince Edward Island National Park (q.v.). Probably named about 1772 for Field Marshal Lord Frederick Cavendish, the place was used by Lucy Maud Montgomery as the setting (Avonlea) for her novel Anne of Green Gables (1908) and its sequels. The Green Gables farmhouse (her girlhood home) is a tourist attraction, and Montgomery is buried nearby. Summer tourism is the basic economic activity. Pop. (2006) 272.
Learn more about Cavendish with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Cite This Source
