severe labor; as, wearisome employment. Tedious is applied to something which tires us out by the
length of time occupied in its performance; as, a tedious speech.
Wearisome nights are appointed to me.
Job vii. 3.
Pity only on fresh objects stays,
But with the tedious sight of woes decays.
Dryden. — Irk"some*ly, adv. — Irk"some*ness, n.
Iron
(I"ron) n. [OE. iren, AS. iren, isen, isern; akin to D. ijzer, OS. isarn, OHG. isarn, isan, G. eisen,
Icel. isarn, jarn, Sw. & Dan. jern, and perh. to E. ice; cf. Ir. iarann, W. haiarn, Armor. houarn.]
1. (Chem.) The most common and most useful metallic element, being of almost universal occurrence,
usually in the form of an oxide (as hematite, magnetite, etc.), or a hydrous oxide (as limonite, turgite,
etc.). It is reduced on an enormous scale in three principal forms; viz., cast iron, steel, and wrought
iron. Iron usually appears dark brown, from oxidation or impurity, but when pure, or on a fresh surface,
is a gray or white metal. It is easily oxidized (rusted) by moisture, and is attacked by many corrosive
agents. Symbol Fe Atomic weight 55.9. Specific gravity, pure iron, 7.86; cast iron, 7.1. In magnetic properties,
it is superior to all other substances.
The value of iron is largely due to the facility with which it can be worked. Thus, when heated it is malleable
and ductile, and can be easily welded and forged at a high temperature. As cast iron, it is easily fusible; as
steel, is very tough, and (when tempered) very hard and elastic. Chemically, iron is grouped with cobalt
and nickel. Steel is a variety of iron containing more carbon than wrought iron, but less that cast iron.
It is made either from wrought iron, by roasting in a packing of carbon (cementation) or from cast iron,
by burning off the impurities in a Bessemer converter or directly from the iron ore (as in the Siemens
rotatory and generating furnace).
2. An instrument or utensil made of iron; — chiefly in composition; as, a flatiron, a smoothing iron, etc.
My young soldier, put up your iron.
Shak. 3. pl. Fetters; chains; handcuffs; manacles.
Four of the sufferers were left to rot in irons.
Macaulay. 4. Strength; power; firmness; inflexibility; as, to rule with a rod of iron.
Bar iron. See Wrought iron — Bog iron, bog ore; limonite. See Bog ore, under Bog. — Cast
iron (Metal.), an impure variety of iron, containing from three to six percent of carbon, part of which
is united with a part of the iron, as a carbide, and the rest is uncombined, as graphite. It there is little
free carbon, the product is white iron; if much of the carbon has separated as graphite, it is called gray
iron. See also Cast iron, in the Vocabulary. — Fire irons. See under Fire, n. — Gray irons. See
under Fire, n. — Gray iron. See Cast iron — It irons (Naut.), said of a sailing vessel, when, in
tacking, she comes up head to the wind and will not fill away on either tack. — Magnetic iron. See
Magnetite. — Malleable iron (Metal.), iron sufficiently pure or soft to be capable of extension under
the hammer; also, specif., a kind of iron produced by removing a portion of the carbon or other impurities
from cast iron, rendering it less brittle, and to some extent malleable. — Meteoric iron (Chem.), iron
forming a large, and often the chief, ingredient of meteorites. It invariably contains a small amount of
nickel and cobalt. Cf. Meteorite. — Pig iron, the form in which cast iron is made at the blast furnace,
being run into molds, called pigs. — Reduced iron. See under Reduced. — Specular iron. See
Hematite. — Too many irons in the fire, too many objects requiring the attention at once. — White
iron. See Cast iron — Wrought iron (Metal.), the purest form of iron commonly known in the arts,
containing only about half of one per cent of carbon. It is made either directly from the ore, as in the
