Liv·er, n.  Anat. A very large glandular and vascular organ in the visceral cavity of all vertebrates.
 Note: ☞ 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 Zool., 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; it is sometimes referred to as whale shark, but that name is more commonly used for the Rhincodon typus, which grows even larger.
 Liver spots, yellowish brown patches on the skin, or spots of chloasma.
 Wan·der·ing, a. & n. from Wander, v.
 Wandering albatross Zool., the great white albatross.  See Illust. of Albatross.
 Wandering cell Physiol., an animal cell which possesses the power of spontaneous movement, as one of the white corpuscles of the blood.
 Wandering Jew Bot., any one of several creeping species of Tradescantia, which have alternate, pointed leaves, and a soft, herbaceous stem which roots freely at the joints.  They are commonly cultivated in hanging baskets, window boxes, etc.
 Wandering kidney Med., a morbid condition in which one kidney, or, rarely, both kidneys, can be moved in certain directions; -- called also floating kidney, movable kidney.
 Wandering liver Med., a morbid condition of the liver, similar to wandering kidney.
 Wandering mouse Zool., the whitefooted, or deer, mouse.  See Illust. of Mouse.
 Wandering spider Zool., any one of a tribe of spiders that wander about in search of their prey.
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 Float·ing, a.
 1. Buoyed upon or in a fluid; a, the floating timbers of a wreck; floating motes in the air.
 2. Free or lose from the usual attachment; as, the floating ribs in man and some other animals.
 3. Not funded; not fixed, invested, or determined; as, floating capital; a floating debt.
    Trade was at an end. Floating capital had been withdrawn in great masses from the island.   --Macaulay.
 Floating anchor Naut., a drag or sea anchor; drag sail.
 Floating battery Mil., a battery erected on rafts or the hulls of ships, chiefly for the defense of a coast or the bombardment of a place.
 Floating bridge. (a) A bridge consisting of rafts or timber, with a floor of plank, supported wholly by the water; a bateau bridge. See Bateau. (b) Mil. A kind of double bridge, the upper one projecting beyond the lower one, and capable of being moved forward by pulleys; -- used for carrying troops over narrow moats in attacking the outworks of a fort. (c) A kind of ferryboat which is guided and impelled by means of chains which are anchored on each side of a stream, and pass over wheels on the vessel, the wheels being driven by stream power. (d) The landing platform of a ferry dock.
 Floating cartilage Med., a cartilage which moves freely in the cavity of a joint, and often interferes with the functions of the latter.
 Floating dam. (a) An anchored dam. (b) A caisson used as a gate for a dry dock.
 Floating derrick, a derrick on a float for river and harbor use, in raising vessels, moving stone for harbor improvements, etc.
 Floating dock. Naut. See under Dock.
 Floating harbor, a breakwater of cages or booms, anchored and fastened together, and used as a protection to ships riding at anchor to leeward. --Knight.
 Floating heart Bot., a small aquatic plant (Limnanthemum lacunosum) whose heart-shaped leaves float on the water of American ponds.
 Floating island, a dish for dessert, consisting of custard with floating masses of whipped cream or white of eggs.
 Floating kidney. Med. See Wandering kidney, under Wandering.
 Floating light, a light shown at the masthead of a vessel moored over sunken rocks, shoals, etc., to warn mariners of danger; a light-ship; also, a light erected on a buoy or floating stage.
 Floating liver. Med. See Wandering liver, under Wandering.
 Floating pier, a landing stage or pier which rises and falls with the tide.
 Floating ribs Anat., the lower or posterior ribs which are not connected with the others in front; in man they are the last two pairs.
 Floating screed Plastering, a strip of plastering first laid on, to serve as a guide for the thickness of the coat.
 Floating threads Weaving, threads which span several other threads without being interwoven with them, in a woven fabric.