Ep´iphyte (Gr. epi, on, phyton, a plant), a plant which grows and flourishes on the trunks and branches of trees, adhering to the bark, as a moss, lichen, fern, &c., but which does not, like a parasite, derive any nourishment from the plant on which it grows. Most orchids are epiphytes, and so are many Bromeliaceæ and Cactaceæ. Epiphytic Angiosperms are characteristic of humid tropical regions. Depending as they do entirely on atmospheric moisture, they show many curious adaptations, and are nearly always more or less xerophytic in structure.
Epi´rus (Gr. Epeiros), a country of ancient Greece corresponding to Southern Albania and the north-western division of modern Greece. The most interesting locality in it was Dodona. The inhabitants were only in part Greeks. The Molossians at last acquired the ascendancy, and the kings of this tribe took the name of kings of Epirus. The most celebrated King of Epirus was Pyrrhus, who made war upon the Romans. Epirus became a Roman province in 168 B.C., and shared the fortunes of Rome till it was conquered by the Turks. The population is about 250,000. In Nov., 1914, Greece, with the consent of the Great Powers, occupied North Epirus, and formally took possession of it in March, 1916. By the end of 1920, however, the occupation had not yet been recognized.—Epirus is also the name of an administrative province of Greece, formed after the Balkan campaigns (1912-3) out of the territory acquired by the country.
Epistemol´ogy (Gr. epistēmē, knowledge), that department of metaphysics which investigates and explains the doctrine or theory of knowing. It deals with the validity of knowledge rather than with the analysis of the knowing mind, and is thus distinguished from psychology. It is also distinguished from ontology, which investigates real existence or the theory of being.
Epis´tolæ Obscuro´rum Viro´rum (Letters of Obscure Men), the title of a collection of satirical letters which appeared in Germany in 1515, and professed to be the composition of certain ecclesiastics and professors in Cologne and other places. It is considered as one of the most masterly pieces of sarcasm in the history of literature, and its importance is enhanced by the effect it had in promoting the cause of the Reformation. The authorship of this satire has been a fertile subject of controversy, and is yet apparently far from being settled. It was ascribed to Reuchlin, and afterwards to Reuchlin, Erasmus, and Hutten. By a Papal bull the work was placed on the Index of forbidden books.
Ep´itaph (Gr. epi, upon, and taphos, tomb), an inscription upon a tomb or monument in honour or memory of the dead. Epitaphs were in use both among the Greeks and Romans. The Greeks distinguished by epitaphs only their illustrious men. Among the Romans they became a family institution, and private names were regularly recorded upon tombstones. The same practice has generally prevailed in Christian countries. On Christian tombstones epitaphs usually give brief facts of the deceased's life, sometimes also the pious hopes of survivors in reference to the resurrection or other doctrines of the Christian faith, &c. Many so-called epitaphs are mere witty jeux d'esprit, which might be described as epigrams, and which were never intended seriously for monumental inscriptions. Dr. Johnson and William Wordsworth wrote essays on epitaphs.—Cf. Andrews, Curious Epitaphs.
Epithalamium (Gr. epi, on, and thalamos, a chamber), a nuptial song or poem in praise of a bride and bridegroom. Among the Greeks and Romans it was sung by young men and maids at the door of the bridal chamber of a newly-married couple. Epithalamia have been written by Spenser, Ben Jonson, and Donne.
Epithe´lium, in anatomy, the cellular layer which lines the internal cavities and canals of the body, both closed and open, as the mouth, nose, respiratory organs, blood-vessels, &c., and which is analogous to the cuticle of the outer surface. There are several varieties of epithelium. The epithelium lining the blood-vessels is called sometimes endothelium.
Epizo´a, a term applied to those parasitic animals which live upon the bodies of other animals, as lice, the itch-mite, &c.
Epizoöt´ic, or Epizoötic Disease, a disease that at some particular time and place attacks great numbers of the lower animals just as an epidemic attacks man. Pleuro-pneumonia is often an epizoötic, as is also the rinderpest.
Epoch, or Era, is a fixed point of time, commonly selected on account of some remarkable event by which it has been distinguished, and which is made the beginning or determining point of a particular year from which all other years, whether preceding or ensuing, are computed. The creation and the birth of Christ