Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (part 4 of 60)

Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (part 4 of 60)

Defn: The taking or apprehending of a person by authority of law; legal restraint; custody. Also, a decree, mandate, or warrant. William . . . ordered him to be put under arrest. Macaulay. [Our brother Norway] sends out arrests On Fortinbras; which he, in brief, obeys. Shak.

Note: An arrest may be made by seizing or touching the body; but it is sufficient in the party be within the power of the officer and submit to the arrest. In Admiralty law, and in old English practice, the term is applied to the seizure of property.

3. Any seizure by power, physical or moral. The sad stories of fire from heaven, the burning of his sheep, etc., . . . were sad arrests to his troubled spirit. Jer. Taylor.

4. (Far.)

Defn: A scurfiness of the back part of the hind leg of a horse; -- also named rat-tails. White. Arrest of judgment (Law), the staying or stopping of a judgment, after verdict, for legal cause. The motion for this purpose is called a motion in arrest of judgment.

ARRESTATION Ar`res*ta"tion, n. Etym: [F. arrestation, LL. arrestatio.]

Defn: Arrest. [R.] The arrestation of the English resident in France was decreed by the National Convention. H. M. Williams.

ARRESTEE Ar`res*tee", n. Etym: [See Arrest, v.] (Scots Law)

Defn: The person in whose hands is the property attached by arrestment.

ARRESTER Ar*rest"er, n.

1. One who arrests.

2. (Scots Law)

Defn: The person at whose suit an arrestment is made. [Also written arrestor.]

ARRESTING Ar*rest"ing, a.

Defn: Striking; attracting attention; impressive. This most solemn and arresting occurrence. J. H. Newman.

ARRESTIVE Ar*rest"ive, a.

Defn: Tending to arrest. McCosh.

ARRESTMENT Ar*rest"ment, n. Etym: [OF. arrestement.]

1. (Scots Law)

Defn: The arrest of a person, or the seizure of his effects; esp., a process by which money or movables in the possession of a third party are attached.

2. A stoppage or check. Darwin.

ARRET Ar*rêt, n. Etym: [F. See Arrest, n.] (F. Law) (a) A judgment, decision, or decree of a court or high tribunal; also, a decree of a sovereign. (b) An arrest; a legal seizure.

ARRET Ar*ret", v. t.

Defn: Same as Aret. [Obs.] Spenser.

ARRHA Ar"rha, n.; pl. Arrhæ (#). [L. Cf. Earnest.] (Law)

Defn: Money or other valuable thing given to evidence a contract; a pledge or earnest.

ARRHAPHOSTIC Ar`rha*phos"tic, a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Seamless. [R.]

ARRHIZAL; ARRHIZOUS Ar*rhi"zal, Ar*rhi"zous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Destitute of a true root, as a parasitical plant.

ARRHYTHMIC; ARRHYTHMOUS Ar*rhyth"mic, Ar*rhyth"mous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Med.)

Defn: Being without rhythm or regularity, as the pulse.

ARRHYTMY Ar"rhyt*my, n. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Want of rhythm. [R.]

ARRIDE Ar*ride", v. t. Etym: [L. arridere; ad + ridere to laugh.]

Defn: To please; to gratify. [Archaic] B. Jonson. Above all thy rarities, old Oxenford, what do most arride and solace me are thy repositories of moldering learning. Lamb.

ARRIERE Ar*riere", n. Etym: [F. arrière. See Arrear.]

Defn: "That which is behind"; the rear; -- chiefly used as an adjective in the sense of behind, rear, subordinate. Arriere fee, Arriere fief, a fee or fief dependent on a superior fee, or a fee held of a feudatory. -- Arriere vassal, the vassal of a vassal.

ARRIERE-BAN Ar*riere"-ban`, n. Etym: [F., fr. OE. arban, heriban, fr. OHG. hariban, heriban, G. heerbann, the calling together of an army; OHG. heri an army + ban a public call or order. The French have misunderstood their old word, and have changed it into arrière-ban, though arrière has no connection with its proper meaning. See Ban, Abandon.]

Defn: A proclamation, as of the French kings, calling not only their immediate feudatories, but the vassals of these feudatories, to take the field for war; also, the body of vassals called or liable to be called to arms, as in ancient France.

ARRIS Ar"ris, n. Etym: [OF. areste, F. arête, fr. L. arista the top or beard of an ear of grain, the bone of a fish.] (Arch.)

Defn: The sharp edge or salient angle formed by two surfaces meeting each other, whether plane or curved; -- applied particularly to the edges in moldings, and to the raised edges which separate the flutings in a Doric column. P. Cyc. Arris fillet, a triangular piece of wood used to raise the slates of a roof against a chimney or wall, to throw off the rain. Gwilt. -- Arris gutter, a gutter of a V form fixed to the eaves of a building. Gwilt.

ARRISH Ar"rish, n. Etym: [See Eddish.]

Defn: The stubble of wheat or grass; a stubble field; eddish. [Eng.] [Written also arish, ersh, etc.] The moment we entered the stubble or arrish. Blackw. Mag.

ARRISWISE Ar"ris*wise`, adv.

Defn: Diagonally laid, as tiles; ridgewise.

ARRIVAL Ar*riv"al, n. Etym: [From Arrive.]

1. The act of arriving, or coming; the act of reaching a place from a distance, whether by water (as in its original sense) or by land. Our watchmen from the towers, with longing eyes, Expect his swift arrival. Dryden.

2. The attainment or reaching of any object, by effort, or in natural course; as, our arrival at this conclusion was wholly unexpected.

3. The person or thing arriving or which has arrived; as, news brought by the last arrival. Another arrival still more important was speedily announced. Macaulay.

4. An approach. [Obs.] The house has a corner arrival. H. Walpole.

ARRIVANCE Ar*riv"ance, n.

Defn: Arrival. [Obs.] Shak.

ARRIVE Ar*rive", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Arrived; p. pr. & vb. n. Arriving.] Etym: [OE. ariven to arrive, land, OF. ariver, F. arriver, fr. LL. arripare, adripare, to come to shore; L. ad + ripa the shore or sloping bank of a river. Cf. Riparian.]

1. To come to the shore or bank. In present usage: To come in progress by water, or by traveling on land; to reach by water or by land; -- followed by at (formerly sometimes by to), also by in and from. "Arrived in Padua." Shak. [Æneas] sailing with a fleet from Sicily, arrived . . . and landed in the country of Laurentum. Holland. There was no outbreak till the regiment arrived at Ipswich. Macaulay.

2. To reach a point by progressive motion; to gain or compass an object by effort, practice, study, inquiry, reasoning, or experiment. To arrive at, or attain to. When he arrived at manhood. Rogers. We arrive at knowledge of a law of nature by the generalization of facts. McCosh. If at great things thou wouldst arrive. Milton.

3. To come; said of time; as, the time arrived.

4. To happen or occur. [Archaic] Happy! to whom this glorious death arrives. Waller.

ARRIVE Ar*rive", v. t.

1. To bring to shore. [Obs.] And made the sea-trod ship arrive them. Chapman.

2. To reach; to come to. [Archaic] Ere he arrive the happy isle. Milton. Ere we could arrive the point proposed. Shak. Arrive at last the blessed goal. Tennyson.

ARRIVE Ar*rive", n.

Defn: Arrival. [Obs.] Chaucer. How should I joy of thy arrive to hear! Drayton.

ARRIVER Ar*riv"er, n.

Defn: One who arrives.

ARROBA Ar*ro"ba, n. Etym: [Sp. and Pg., from Ar. arrub, ar-rubu, a fourth part.]

1. A Spanish weight used in Mexico and South America = 25.36 lbs. avoir.; also, an old Portuguese weight, used in Brazil = 32.38 lbs. avoir.

2. A Spanish liquid measure for wine = 3.54 imp. gallons, and for oil = 2.78 imp. gallons.

ARROGANCE Ar"ro*gance, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. arrogantia, fr. arrogans. See Arrogant.]

Defn: The act or habit of arrogating, or making undue claims in an overbearing manner; that species of pride which consists in exorbitant claims of rank, dignity, estimation, or power, or which exalts the worth or importance of the person to an undue degree; proud contempt of others; lordliness; haughtiness; self-assumption; presumption. I hate not you for her proud arrogance. Shak.

Syn. -- Haughtiness; hauteur; assumption; lordliness; presumption; pride; disdain; insolence; conceit; conceitedness. See Haughtiness.

ARROGANCY Ar"ro*gan*cy, n.

Defn: Arrogance. Shak.

ARROGANT Ar"ro*gant, a. Etym: [F. arrogant, L. arrogans, p. pr. of arrogare. See Arrogate.]

1. Making, or having the disposition to make, exorbitant claims of rank or estimation; giving one's self an undue degree of importance; assuming; haughty; -- applied to persons. Arrogant Winchester, that haughty prelate. Shak.

2. Containing arrogance; marked with arrogance; proceeding from undue claims or self-importance; -- applied to things; as, arrogant pretensions or behavior.

Syn. -- Magisterial; lordly; proud; assuming; overbearing; presumptuous; haughty. See Magisterial.

ARROGANTLY Ar"ro*gant*ly, adv.

Defn: In an arrogant manner; with undue pride or self-importance.

ARROGANTNESS Ar"ro*gant*ness, n.

Defn: Arrogance. [R.]

ARROGATE Ar"ro*gate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Arrogated; p. pr. & vb. n. Arrogating.] Etym: [L. arrogatus, p. p. of adrogare, arrogare, to ask, appropriate to one's self; ad + rogare to ask. See Rogation.]

Defn: To assume, or claim as one's own, unduly, proudly, or presumptuously; to make undue claims to, from vanity or baseless pretensions to right or merit; as, the pope arrogated dominion over kings. He arrogated to himself the right of deciding dogmatically what was orthodox doctrine. Macaulay.

ARROGATION Ar`ro*ga"tion, n. Etym: [L. arrogatio, fr. arrogare. Cf. Adrogation.]

1. The act of arrogating, or making exorbitant claims; the act of taking more than one is justly entitled to. Hall.

2. (Civ. Law)

Defn: Adoption of a person of full age.

ARROGATIVE Ar"ro*ga*tive, a.

Defn: Making undue claims and pretension; prone to arrogance. [R.] Dr. H. More.

ARRONDISSEMENT Ar`ron`disse`ment", n. Etym: [F., fr. arrondir to make round; ad + rond round, L. rotundus.]

Defn: A subdivision of a department. [France]

Note: The territory of France, since the revolution, has been divided into departments, those into arrondissements, those into cantons, and the latter into communes.

ARROSE Ar*rose", v. t. Etym: [F. arroser.]

Defn: To drench; to besprinkle; to moisten. [Obs.] The blissful dew of heaven does arrose you. Two N. Kins.

ARROSION Ar*ro"sion, n. Etym: [L. arrodere, arrosum, to gnaw: cf. F. arrosion.]

Defn: A gnawing. [Obs.] Bailey.

ARROW Ar"row, n. Etym: [OE. arewe, AS. arewe, earh; akin to Icel. ör, örvar, Goth. arhwazna, and perh. L. arcus bow. Cf. Arc.]

Defn: A missile weapon of offense, slender, pointed, and usually feathered and barbed, to be shot from a bow. Broad arrow. (a) An arrow with a broad head. (b) A mark placed upon British ordnance and government stores, which bears a rude resemblance to a broad arrowhead.

ARROW GRASS Ar"row grass`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: An herbaceous grasslike plant (Triglochin palustre, and other species) with pods opening so as to suggest barbed arrowheads.

ARROWHEAD Ar"row*head`, n.

1. The head of an arrow.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: An aquatic plant of the genus Sagittaria, esp. S. sagittifolia, -- named from the shape of the leaves.

ARROWHEADED Ar"row*head`ed, a.

Defn: Shaped like the head of an arow; cuneiform. Arrowheaded characters, characters the elements of which consist of strokes resembling arrowheads, nailheads, or wedges; -- hence called also nail-headed, wedge-formed, cuneiform, or cuneatic characters; the oldest written characters used in the country about the Tigris and Euphrates, and subsequently in Persia, and abounding among the ruins of Persepolis, Nineveh, and Babylon. See Cuneiform.

ARROWROOT Ar"row*root`, n.

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A west Indian plant of the genus Maranta, esp. M. arundinacea, now cultivated in many hot countries. It said that the Indians used the roots to neutralize the venom in wounds made by poisoned arrows.

2. A nutritive starch obtained from the rootstocks of Maranta arundinacea, and used as food, esp. for children an invalids; also, a similar starch obtained from other plants, as various species of Maranta and Curcuma.

ARROWWOOD Ar"row*wood`, n.

Defn: A shrub (Viburnum dentatum) growing in damp woods and thickets; -- so called from the long, straight, slender shoots.

ARROWWORM Ar"row*worm`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A peculiar transparent worm of the genus Sagitta, living at the surface of the sea. See Sagitta.

ARROWY Ar"row*y, a.

1. Consisting of arrows. How quick they wheeled, and flying, behind them shot Sharp sleet of arrowy showers. Milton.

2. Formed or moving like, or in any respect resembling, an arrow; swift; darting; piercing. "His arrowy tongue." Cowper. By the blue rushing of the arrowy Rhone. Byron. With arrowy vitalities, vivacities, and ingenuities. Carlyle.

ARROYO Ar*roy"o, n.; pl Arroyos. Etym: [Sp., fr. LL. arrogium; cf. Gr.

1. A water course; a rivulet.

2. The dry bed of a small stream. [Western U. S.]

ARSCHIN Ar"schin, n.

Defn: See Arshine.

ARSE Arse, n. Etym: [AS. ears; ærs; akin to OHG. ars. G. arsch, D. aars, Sw. ars, Dan. arts, Gr.

Defn: The buttocks, or hind part of an animal; the posteriors; the fundament; the bottom.

ARSENAL Ar"se*nal, n. Etym: [Sp. & F. arsenal arsenal, dockyard, or It. arzanale, arsenale (cf. It. & darsena dock); all fr. Ar. dar house of industry or fabrication; dar house + art, industry.]

Defn: A public establishment for the storage, or for the manufacture and storage, of arms and all military equipments, whether for land or naval service.

ARSENATE Ar"se*nate, n. (Chem.)

Defn: A salt of arsenic acid.

ARSENIATE Ar*se"ni*ate, n.

Defn: See Arsenate. [R.]

ARSENIC Ar"se*nic, n. Etym: [L. arsenicum, Gr. zernikh: cf. F. arsenic.]

1. (Chem.)

Defn: One of the elements, a solid substance resembling a metal in its physical properties, but in its chemical relations ranking with the nonmetals. It is of a steel-gray color and brilliant luster, though usually dull from tarnish. It is very brittle, and sublimes at 356º Fahrenheit. It is sometimes found native, but usually combined with silver, cobalt, nickel, iron, antimony, or sulphur. Orpiment and realgar are two of its sulphur compounds, the first of which is the true arsenticum of the ancients. The element and its compounds are active poisons. Specific gravity from 5.7 to 5.9. Atomic weight. Symbol As.

2. (Com.)

Defn: Arsenious oxide or arsenious anhydride; -- called also arsenious acid, white arsenic, and ratsbane.

ARSENIC Ar*sen"ic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or derived from, arsenic; -- said of those compounds of arsenic in which this element has its highest equivalence; as, arsenic acid.

ARSENICAL Ar*sen"ic*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to, or containing, arsenic; as, arsenical vapor; arsenical wall papers. Arsenical silver, an ore of silver containing arsenic.

ARSENICATE Ar*sen"i*cate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Arsenicated; p. pr. & vb. n. Arsenicating.]

Defn: To combine with arsenic; to treat or impregnate with arsenic.

ARSENICISM Ar*sen"i*cism, n. (Med.)

Defn: A diseased condition produced by slow poisoning with arsenic.

ARSENIDE Ar"sen*ide, n. (Chem.)

Defn: A compound of arsenic with a metal, or positive element or radical; -- formerly called arseniuret.

ARSENIFEROUS Ar`sen*if"er*ous, a. Etym: [Arsenic + -ferous.]

Defn: Containing or producing arsenic.

ARSENIOUS Ar*se"ni*ous, a. Etym: [Cf. F. arsénieux.]

1. Pertaining to, consisting of, or containing, arsenic; as, arsenious powder or glass.

2. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or derived from, arsenic, when having an equivalence next lower than the highest; as, arsenious acid.

ARSENITE Ar"sen*ite, n. Etym: [Cf. F. arsénite.] (Chem.)

Defn: A salt formed by the union of arsenious acid with a base.

ARSENIURET Ar`se*ni"u*ret, n. (Chem.)

Defn: See Arsenide.

ARSENIURETED Ar`se*ni"u*ret`ed, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Combined with arsenic; -- said some elementary substances or radicals; as, arseniureted hydrogen. [Also spelt arseniuretted.]

ARSENOPYRITE Ar`sen*o*pyr"ite, n. Etym: [Arsenic + pyrite.] (Min.)

Defn: A mineral of a tin-white color and metallic luster, containing arsenic, sulphur, and iron; -- also called arsenical pyrites and mispickel.

ARSESMART Arse"smart, n.

Defn: Smartweed; water pepper. Dr. Prior.

ARSHINE Ar"shine, n. Etym: [Russ. arshin, of Turkish-Tartar origin; Turk. arshin, arshun, ell, yard.]

Defn: A Russian measure of length = 2 ft. 4.246 inches.

ARSINE Ar"sine, n. Etym: [From Arsenic.] (Chem.)

Defn: A compound of arsenic and hydrogen, AsH3, a colorless and exceedingly poisonous gas, having and odor like garlic; arseniureted hydrogen.

ARSIS Ar"sis, n. Etym: [L. arsis, Gr. lifting of the hand in beating time, and hence the unaccented part of the rhythm.]

1. (Pros.) (a) That part of a foot where the ictus is put, or which is distinguished from the rest (known as the thesis) of the foot by a greater stress of voice. Hermann. (b) That elevation of voice now called metrical accentuation, or the rhythmic accent.

Note: It is uncertain whether the arsis originally consisted in a higher musical tone, greater volume, or longer duration of sound, or in all combined.

2. (Mus.)

Defn: The elevation of the hand, or that part of the bar at which it is raised, in beating time; the weak or unaccented part of the bar; - - opposed to thesis. Moore.

ARSMETRIKE Ars`met"rike, n. Etym: [An erroneous form of arithmetic, as if from L. ars metrica the measuring art.]

Defn: Arithmetic. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ARSON Ar"son, n. Etym: [OF. arson, arsun, fr. L. ardere, arsum, to burn.] (Law)

Defn: The malicious burning of a dwelling house or outhouse of another man, which by the common law is felony; the malicious and voluntary firing of a building or ship. Wharton.

Note: The definition of this crime is varied by statues in different countries and states. The English law of arson has been considerably modified in the United States; in some of the States it has been materially enlarged, while in others, various degrees of arson have been established, with corresponding punishment. Burrill.

ART Art.

Defn: The second person singular, indicative mode, present tense, of the substantive verb Be; but formed after the analogy of the plural are, with the ending -t, as in thou shalt, wilt, orig. an ending of the second person sing. pret. Cf. Be. Now used only in solemn or poetical style.

ART Art, n. Etym: [F. art, L. ars, artis, orig., skill in joining or fitting; prob. akin to E. arm, aristocrat, article.]

1. The employment of means to accomplish some desired end; the adaptation of things in the natural world to the uses of life; the application of knowledge or power to practical purposes. Blest with each grace of nature and of art. Pope.

2. A system of rules serving to facilitate the performance of certain actions; a system of principles and rules for attaining a desired end; method of doing well some special work; -- often contradistinguished from science or speculative principles; as, the art of building or engraving; the art of war; the art of navigation. Science is systematized knowledge . . . Art is knowledge made efficient by skill. J. F. Genung.

3. The systematic application of knowledge or skill in effecting a desired result. Also, an occupation or business requiring such knowledge or skill. The fishermen can't employ their art with so much success in so troubled a sea. Addison.

4. The application of skill to the production of the beautiful by imitation or design, or an occupation in which skill is so employed, as in painting and sculpture; one of the fine arts; as, he prefers art to literature.

5. pl.

Defn: Those branches of learning which are taught in the academical course of colleges; as, master of arts. In fearless youth we tempt the heights of arts. Pope. Four years spent in the arts (as they are called in colleges) is, perhaps, laying too laborious a foundation. Goldsmith.

6. Learning; study; applied knowledge, science, or letters. [Archaic] So vast is art, so narrow human wit. Pope.

7. Skill, dexterity, or the power of performing certain actions, asquired by experience, study, or observation; knack; a, a man has the art of managing his business to advantage.

8. Skillful plan; device. They employed every art to soothe . . . the discontented warriors. Macaulay.

9. Cunning; artifice; craft. Madam, I swear I use no art at all. Shak. Animals practice art when opposed to their superiors in strength. Crabb.

10 10

Defn: To black art; magic. [Obs.] Shak. Art and part (Scots Law), share or concern by aiding and abetting a criminal in the perpetration of a crime, whether by advice or by assistance in the execution; complicity.

Note: The arts are divided into various classes. The useful, mechanical, or industrial arts are those in which the hands and body are concerned than the mind; as in making clothes and utensils. These are called trades. The fine arts are those which have primarily to do with imagination taste, and are applied to the production of what is beautiful. They include poetry, music, painting, engraving, sculpture, and architecture; but the term is often confined to painting, sculpture, and architecture. The liberal arts (artes liberales, the higher arts, which, among the Romans, only freemen were permitted to pursue) were, in the Middle Ages, these seven branches of learning, -- grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. In modern times the liberal arts include the sciences, philosophy, history, etc., which compose the course of academical or collegiate education. Hence, degrees in the arts; master and bachelor of arts. In America, literature and the elegant arts must grow up side by side with the coarser plants of daily necessity. Irving.

Syn. -- Science; literature; aptitude; readiness; skill; dexterity; adroitness; contrivance; profession; business; trade; calling; cunning; artifice; duplicity. See Science.

ARTEMIA Ar*te"mi*a, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of phyllopod Crustacea found in salt lakes and brines; the brine shrimp. See Brine shrimp.

ARTEMISIA Ar`te*mi"si*a, n. Etym: [L. Artemisia, Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of plants including the plants called mugwort, southernwood, and wormwood. Of these A. absinthium, or common wormwood, is well known, and A. tridentata is the sage brush of the Rocky Mountain region.

ARTERIAC Ar*te"ri*ac, a. Etym: [L. arteriacus, Gr. Artery.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the windpipe.

ARTERIAL Ar*te"ri*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. artériel.]

1. Of or pertaining to an artery, or the arteries; as, arterial action; the arterial system.

2. Of or pertaining to a main channel (resembling an artery), as a river, canal, or railroad. Arterial blood, blood which has been changed and vitalized (arterialized) during passage through the lungs.

ARTERIALIZATION Ar*te`ri*al*i*za"tion, n. (Physiol.)

Defn: The process of converting venous blood into arterial blood during its passage through the lungs, oxygen being absorbed and carbonic acid evolved; -- called also aëration and hematosis.

ARTERIALIZE Ar*te"ri*al*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Arterialized; p. pr. & vb. n. Arterializing.]

Defn: To transform, as the venous blood, into arterial blood by exposure to oxygen in the lungs; to make arterial.

ARTERIOGRAPHY Ar*te`ri*og"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Gr. -graphy.]

Defn: A systematic description of the arteries.

ARTERIOLE Ar*te"ri*ole, n. Etym: [NL. arteriola, dim. of L. arteria: cf. F. artériole.]

Defn: A small artery.

ARTERIOLOGY Ar*te`ri*ol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Gr. -logy.]

Defn: That part of anatomy which treats of arteries.

ARTERIOSCLEROSIS Ar*te`ri*o*scle*ro"sis (är*te`ri*o*skle*ro"sis), n. [Gr. 'arthri`a artery + sclerosis.] (Med.)

Defn: Abnormal thickening and hardening of the walls of the arteries, esp. of the intima, occurring mostly in old age. -- Ar*te`ri*o*scle*rot"ic (#), a.

ARTERIOTOMY Ar*te`ri*ot"o*my, n. Etym: [L. arteriotomia, Gr.

1. (Med.)

Defn: The opening of an artery, esp. for bloodletting.

2. That part of anatomy which treats of the dissection of the arteries.

ARTERITIS Ar`te*ri"tis, n. Etym: [Artery + -etis.]

Defn: Inflammation of an artery or arteries. Dunglison.

ARTERY Ar"ter*y, n.; pl. Artplwies. Etym: [L. arteria windpipe, artery, Gr.

1. The trachea or windpipe. [Obs.] "Under the artery, or windpipe, is the mouth of the stomach." Holland.

2. (Anat.)

Defn: One of the vessels or tubes which carry either venous or arterial blood from the heart. They have tricker and more muscular walls than veins, and are connected with them by capillaries.

Note: In man and other mammals, the arteries which contain arterialized blood receive it from the left ventricle of the heart through the aorta. See Aorta. The pulmonary artery conveys the venous blood from the right ventricle to the lungs, whence the arterialized blood is returned through the pulmonary veins.

3. Hence: Any continuous or ramified channel of communication; as, arteries of trade or commerce.

ARTESIAN Ar*te"sian, a. Etym: [F. artésien, fr. Artois in France, where many such wells have been made since the middle of the last century.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to Artois (anciently called Artesium), in France. Artesian wells, wells made by boring into the earth till the instrument reaches water, which, from internal pressure, flows spontaneously like a fountain. They are usually of small diameter and often of great depth.

ARTFUL Art"ful, a. Etym: [From Art.]

1. Performed with, or characterized by, art or skill. [Archaic] "Artful strains." "Artful terms." Milton.

2. Artificial; imitative. Addison.

3. Using or exhibiting much art, skill, or contrivance; dexterous; skillful. He [was] too artful a writer to set down events in exact historical order. Dryden.

4. Cunning; disposed to cunning indirectness of dealing; crafty; as, an artful boy. [The usual sense.] Artful in speech, in action, and in mind. Pope. The artful revenge of various animals. Darwin.

Syn. -- Cunning; skillful; adroit; dexterous; crafty; tricky; deceitful; designing. See Cunning.

ARTFULLY Art"ful*ly, adv.

Defn: In an artful manner; with art or cunning; skillfully; dexterously; craftily.

ARTFULNESS Art"ful*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being artful; art; cunning; craft.

ARTHEN Ar"then, a.

Defn: Same as Earthen. [Obs.] "An arthen pot." Holland.

ARTHRITIC; ARTHRITICAL Ar*thrit"ic, Ar*thrit"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. arthriticus, Gr. Arthritis.]

1. Pertaining to the joints. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

2. Of or pertaining to arthritis; gouty. Cowper.

ARTHRITIS Ar*thri"tis, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: Any inflammation of the joints, particularly the gout.

ARTHROCHONDRITIS Ar`thro*chon*dri"tis, n. [NL.] (Med.)

Defn: Chondritis of a joint.

ARTHRODERM Ar"thro*derm, n. Etym: [Gr. 'derm.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The external covering of an Arthropod.

ARTHRODESIS Ar*throd"e*sis, n. [NL., fr. Gr. joint + a binding together.] (Surg.)

Defn: Surgical fixation of joints.

ARTHRODIA Ar*thro"di*a, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Anat.)

Defn: A form of diarthrodial articulation in which the articular surfaces are nearly flat, so that they form only an imperfect ball and socket.

ARTHRODIAL; ARTHRODIC Ar*thro"di*al, Ar*throd"ic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to arthrodia.

ARTHRODYNIA Ar`thro*dyn"i*a, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: An affection characterized by pain in or about a joint, not dependent upon structural disease.

ARTHRODYNIC Ar`thro*dyn"ic, a.

Defn: Pertaining to arthrodynia, or pain in the joints; rheumatic.

ARTHROGASTRA Ar`thro*gas"tra, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of the Arachnida, having the abdomen annulated, including the scorpions, harvestmen, etc.; pedipalpi.

ARTHROGRAPHY Ar*throg"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Gr. -graphy.]

Defn: The description of joints.

ARTHROLOGY Ar*throl"o*gy, n. Etym: [Gr. -logy.]

Defn: That part of anatomy which treats of joints.

ARTHROMERE Ar"thro*mere, n. Etym: [Gr. -mere.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the body segments of Arthropods. See Arthrostraca. Packard.

ARTHROPATHY Ar*throp"a*thy, n. [Gr. joint + , , to suffer.] (Med.)

Defn: Any disease of the joints.

ARTHROPLEURA Ar`thro*pleu"ra, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The side or limb-bearing portion of an arthromere.

ARTHROPOD Ar"thro*pod, n (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Arthropoda.

ARTHROPODA Ar*throp"o*da, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. -poda.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large division of Articulata, embracing all those that have jointed legs. It includes Insects, Arachnida, Pychnogonida, and Crustacea. -- Ar*throp"o*dal, a.

ARTHROPOMATA Ar`thro*pom"a*ta, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the orders of Branchiopoda. See Branchiopoda.

ARTHROSIS Ar*thro"sis, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Anat.)

Defn: Articulation.

ARTHROSPORE Ar"thro*spore, n. [Gr. joint + E. spore.] (Bacteriol.)

Defn: A bacterial resting cell, -- formerly considered a spore, but now known to occur even in endosporous bacteria. -- Ar`thro*spor"ic (#), Ar*thros"po*rous (#), a.

ARTHROSTRACA Ar*thros"tra*ca, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the larger divisions of Crustacea, so called because the thorax and abdomen are both segmented; Tetradecapoda. It includes the Amphipoda and Isopoda.

ARTHROTOME Ar"thro*tome, n. [Gr. joint + to cut.] (Surg.)

Defn: A strong scalpel used in the dissection of joints.

ARTHROZOIC Ar`thro*zo"ic, a. Etym: [Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Articulata; articulate.

ARTHURIAN Ar*thu"ri*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to King Arthur or his knights. J. R. Symonds.

In magnitude, in interest, and as a literary origin, the Arthurian invention dwarfs all other things in the book. Saintsbury.

ARTIAD Ar"ti*ad, a. Etym: [Gr. (Chem.)

Defn: Even; not odd; -- said of elementary substances and of radicals the valence of which is divisible by two without a remainder.

ARTICHOKE Ar"ti*choke, n. Etym: [It. articioc, perh. corrupted fr. the same word as carciofo; cf. older spellings archiciocco, archicioffo, carciocco, and Sp. alcachofa, Pg. alcachofra; prob. fr. Ar. al- harshaf, al-kharsh.] (Bot.)

1. The Cynara scolymus, a plant somewhat resembling a thistle, with a dilated, imbricated, and prickly involucre. The head (to which the name is also applied) is composed of numerous oval scales, inclosing the florets, sitting on a broad receptacle, which, with the fleshy base of the scales, is much esteemed as an article of food.

2. See Jerusalem artichoke.

ARTICLE Ar"ti*cle, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. articulus, dim. of artus joint, akin to Gr. ar to join, fit. See Art, n.]

1. A distinct portion of an instrument, discourse, literary work, or any other writing, consisting of two or more particulars, or treating of various topics; as, an article in the Constitution. Hence: A clause in a contract, system of regulations, treaty, or the like; a term, condition, or stipulation in a contract; a concise statement; as, articles of agreement.

2. A literary composition, forming an independent portion of a magazine, newspaper, or cyclopedia.

3. Subject; matter; concern; distinct. [Obs.] A very great revolution that happened in this article of good breeding. Addison. This last article will hardly be believed. De Foe.

4. A distinct part. "Upon each article of human duty." Paley. "Each article of time." Habington. The articles which compose the blood. E. Darwin.

5. A particular one of various things; as, an article of merchandise; salt is a necessary article. They would fight not for articles of faith, but for articles of food. Landor.

6. Precise point of time; moment. [Obs. or Archaic] This fatal news coming to Hick's Hall upon the article of my Lord Russell's trial, was said to have had no little influence on the jury and all the bench to his prejudice. Evelyn.

7. (Gram.)

Defn: One of the three words, a, an, the, used before nouns to limit or define their application. A (or an) is called the indefinite article, the the definite article.

8. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the segments of an articulated appendage. Articles of Confederation, the compact which was first made by the original thirteen States of the United States. They were adopted March 1, 1781, and remained the supreme law until March, 1789. -- Articles of impeachment, an instrument which, in cases of impeachment, performs the same office which an indictment does in a common criminal case. -- Articles of war, rules and regulations, fixed by law, for the better government of the army. -- In the article of death Etym: [L. in articulo mortis], at the moment of death; in the dying struggle. -- Lords of the articles (Scot. Hist.), a standing committee of the Scottish Parliament to whom was intrusted the drafting and preparation of the acts, or bills for laws. -- The Thirty-nine Articles, statements (thirty-nine in number) of the tenets held by the Church of England.

ARTICLE Ar"ti*cle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Articled; p. pr. & vb. n. Articling.] Etym: [Cf. F. articuler, fr. L. articulare. See Article, n., Articulate.]

1. To formulate in articles; to set forth in distinct particulars. If all his errors and follies were articled against him, the man would seem vicious and miserable. Jer. Taylor.

2. To accuse or charge by an exhibition of articles. He shall be articled against in the high court of admiralty. Stat. 33 Geo. III.

3. To bind by articles of covenant or stipulation; as, to article an apprentice to a mechanic.

ARTICLE Ar"ti*cle, v. i.

Defn: To agree by articles; to stipulate; to bargain; to covenant. [R.] Then he articled with her that he should go away when he pleased. Selden.

ARTICLED Ar"ti*cled, a.

Defn: Bound by articles; apprenticed; as, an articled clerk.

ARTICULAR Ar*tic"u*lar, a. Etym: [L. articularis: cf. F. articulaire. See Article, n.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the joints; as, an articular disease; an articular process.

ARTICULAR; ARTICULARY Ar*tic"u*lar, Ar*tic"u*la*ry, n. (Anat.)

Defn: A bone in the base of the lower jaw of many birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes.

ARTICULARLY Ar*tic"u*lar*ly, adv.

Defn: In an articular or an articulate manner.

ARTICULATA Ar*tic`u*la"ta, n. pl. Etym: [Neut. pl. from L. articulatus furnished with joints, distinct, p. p. of articulare. See Article, v.] (Zoöl.)

1. One of the four subkingdoms in the classification of Cuvier. It has been much modified by later writers.

Note: It includes those Invertebrata having the body composed of ringlike segments (arthromeres). By some writers, the unsegmented worms (helminths) have also been included; by others it is restricted to the Arthropoda. It corresponds nearly with the Annulosa of some authors. The chief subdivisions are Arthropoda (Insects, Myriapoda, Arachnida, Pycnogonida, Crustacea); and Anarthropoda, including the Annelida and allied forms.

2. One of the subdivisions of the Brachiopoda, including those that have the shells united by a hinge.

3. A subdivision of the Crinoidea.

ARTICULATE Ar*tic"u*late, a. Etym: [L. articulatus. See Articulata.]

1. Expressed in articles or in separate items or particulars. [Archaic] Bacon.

2. Jointed; formed with joints; consisting of segments united by joints; as, articulate animals or plants.

3. Distinctly uttered; spoken so as to be intelligible; characterized by division into words and syllables; as, articulate speech, sounds, words. Total changes of party and articulate opinion. Carlyle.

ARTICULATE Ar*tic"u*late, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An animal of the subkingdom Articulata.

ARTICULATE Ar*tic"u*late, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Articulated; p. pr. & vb. n. Articulating].

1. To utter articulate sounds; to utter the elementary sounds of a language; to enunciate; to speak distinctly.

2. To treat or make terms. [Obs.] Shak.

3. To join or be connected by articulation.

ARTICULATE Ar*tic"u*late, v. t.

1. To joint; to unite by means of a joint; to put together with joints or at the joints.

2. To draw up or write in separate articles; to particularize; to specify. [Obs.]

3. To form, as the elementary sounds; to utter in distinct syllables or words; to enunciate; as, to articulate letters or language. "To articulate a word." Ray.

4. To express distinctly; to give utterance to. Luther articulated himself upon a process that hand already begun in the Christian church. Bibliotheca Sacra. To . . . articulate the dumb, deep want of the people. Carlyle.

ARTICULATED Ar*tic"u*la`ted, a.

1. United by, or provided with, articulations; jointed; as, an articulated skeleton.

2. Produced, as a letter, syllable, or word, by the organs of speech; pronounced.

ARTICULATELY Ar*tic"u*late*ly, adv.

1. After the manner, or in the form, of a joint.

2. Article by article; in distinct particulars; in detail; definitely. Paley. I had articulately set down in writing our points. Fuller.

3. With distinct utterance of the separate sounds.

ARTICULATENESS Ar*tic"u*late*ness, n.

Defn: Quality of being articulate.

ARTICULATION Ar*tic`u*la"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. articulation, fr. L. articulatio.]

1. (Anat.)

Defn: A joint or juncture between bones in the skeleton.

Note: Articulations may be immovable, when the bones are directly united (synarthrosis), or slightly movable, when they are united intervening substance (amphiarthrosis), or they may be more or less freely movable, when the articular surfaces are covered with synovial membranes, as in complete joints (diarthrosis). The last (diarthrosis) includes hinge joints, admitting motion in one plane only (ginglymus), ball and socket joints (enarthrosis), pivot and rotation joints, etc.

2. (Bot.) (a) The connection of the parts of a plant by joints, as in pods. (b) One of the nodes or joints, as in cane and maize. (c) One of the parts intercepted between the joints; also, a subdivision into parts at regular or irregular intervals as a result of serial intermission in growth, as in the cane, grasses, etc. Lindley.

3. The act of putting together with a joint or joints; any meeting of parts in a joint.

4. The state of being jointed; connection of parts. [R.] That definiteness and articulation of imagery. Coleridge.

5. The utterance of the elementary sounds of a language by the appropriate movements of the organs, as in pronunciation; as, a distinct articulation.

6. A sound made by the vocal organs; an articulate utterance or an elementary sound, esp. a consonant.

ARTICULATIVE Ar*tic"u*la*tive, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to articulation. Bush.

ARTICULATOR Ar*tic"u*la`tor, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, articulates; as: (a) One who enunciates distinctly. (b) One who prepares and mounts skeletons. (c) An instrument to cure stammering.

ARTICULUS Ar*tic"u*lus n.; pl. Articuli. Etym: [L. See Article.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A joint of the cirri of the Crinoidea; a joint or segment of an arthropod appendage.

ARTIFACT Ar"ti*fact, n. [L. ars, artis, art + facere, factum, to make.]

1. (Archæol.)

Defn: A product of human workmanship; -- applied esp. to the simpler products of aboriginal art as distinguished from natural objects.

2. (Biol.) A structure or appearance in protoplasm due to death or the use of reagents and not present during life.

ARTIFICE Ar"ti*fice, n. Etym: [L. artificium, fr. artifex artificer; ars, artis, art + facere to make: cf. F. artifice.]

1. A handicraft; a trade; art of making. [Obs.]

2. Workmanship; a skillfully contrived work. The material universe.. in the artifice of God, the artifice of the best Mechanist. Cudworth.

3. Artful or skillful contrivance. His [Congreve's] plots were constructed without much artifice. Craik.

4. Crafty device; an artful, ingenious, or elaborate trick.

Note: [Now the usual meaning.] Those who were conscious of guilt employed numerous artifices for the purpose of averting inquiry. Macaulay.

ARTIFICER Ar*tif"i*cer, n. Etym: [Cf. F. artificier, fr. LL. artificiarius.]

1. An artistic worker; a mechanic or manufacturer; one whose occupation requires skill or knowledge of a particular kind, as a silversmith.

2. One who makes or contrives; a deviser, inventor, or framer. "Artificer of fraud." Milton. The great Artificer of all that moves. Cowper.

3. A cunning or artful fellow. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

4. (Mil.)

Defn: A military mechanic, as a blacksmith, carpenter, etc.; also, one who prepares the shells, fuses, grenades, etc., in a military laboratory.

Syn. -- Artisan; artist. See Artisan.

ARTIFICIAL Ar`ti*fi"cial, a. Etym: [L. artificialis, fr. artificium: cf. F. artificiel. See Artifice.]

1. Made or contrived by art; produced or modified by human skill and labor, in opposition to natural; as, artificial heat or light, gems, salts, minerals, fountains, flowers. Artificial strife Lives in these touches, livelier than life. Shak.

2. Feigned; fictitious; assumed; affected; not genuine. "Artificial tears." Shak.

3. Artful; cunning; crafty. [Obs.] Shak.

4. Cultivated; not indigenous; not of spontaneous growth; as, artificial grasses. Gibbon. Artificial arguments (Rhet.), arguments invented by the speaker, in distinction from laws, authorities, and the like, which are called inartificial arguments or proofs. Johnson. -- Artificial classification (Science), an arrangement based on superficial characters, and not expressing the true natural relations species; as, "the artificial system" in botany, which is the same as the Linnæan system. -- Artificial horizon. See under Horizon. Artificial light, any light other than that which proceeds from the heavenly bodies. -- Artificial lines, lines on a sector or scale, so contrived as to represent the logarithmic sines and tangents, which, by the help of the line of numbers, solve, with tolerable exactness, questions in trigonometry, navigation, etc. -- Artificial numbers, logarithms. -- Artificial person (Law). See under Person. -- Artificial sines, tangents, etc., the same as logarithms of the natural, tangents, etc. Hutton.

ARTIFICIALITY Ar`ti*fi`ci*al"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or appearance of being artificial; that which is artificial.

ARTIFICIALIZE Ar`ti*fi"cial*ize, v. t.

Defn: To render artificial.

ARTIFICIALLY Ar`ti*fi"cial*ly, adv.

1. In an artificial manner; by art, or skill and contrivance, not by nature.

2. Ingeniously; skillfully. [Obs.] The spider's web, finely and artificially wrought. Tillotson.

3. Craftily; artfully. [Obs.] Sharp dissembled so artificially. Bp. Burnet.

ARTIFICIALNESS Ar`ti*fi"cial*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being artificial.

ARTIFICIOUS Ar`ti*fi"cious, a. Etym: [L. artificiosus.]

Defn: Artificial. [Obs.] Johnson.

ARTILIZE Art"i*lize, v. t.

Defn: To make resemble. [Obs.] If I was a philosopher, says Montaigne, I would naturalize art instead of artilizing nature. Bolingbroke.

ARTILLERIST Ar*til"ler*ist, n.

Defn: A person skilled in artillery or gunnery; a gunner; an artilleryman.

ARTILLERY Ar*til"ler*y, n. Etym: [OE. artilrie, OF. artillerie, arteillerie, fr. LL. artillaria, artilleria, machines and apparatus of all kinds used in war, vans laden with arms of any kind which follow camps; F. artillerie great guns, ordnance; OF. artillier to work artifice, to fortify, to arm, prob. from L. ars, artis, skill in joining something, art. See Art.]

1. Munitions of war; implements for warfare, as slings, bows, and arrows. [Obs.] And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad. 1 Sam. xx. 40.

2. Cannon; great guns; ordnance, including guns, mortars, howitzers, etc., with their equipment of carriages, balls, bombs, and shot of all kinds.

Note: The word is sometimes used in a more extended sense, including the powder, cartridges, matches, utensils, machines of all kinds, and horses, that belong to a train of artillery.

3. The men and officers of that branch of the army to which the care and management of artillery are confided.

4. The science of artillery or gunnery. Campbell. Artillery park, or Park of artillery. (a) A collective body of siege or field artillery, including the guns, and the carriages, ammunition, appurtenances, equipments, and persons necessary for working them. (b) The place where the artillery is encamped or collected. -- Artillery train, or Train of artillery, a number of pieces of ordnance mounted on carriages, with all their furniture, ready for marching.

ARTILLERYMAN Ar*til"ler*y*man, n.

Defn: A man who manages, or assists in managing, a large gun in firing.

ARTILLERY WHEEL Ar*til"ler*y wheel.

Defn: A kind of heavily built dished wheel with a long axle box, used on gun carriages, usually having 14 spokes and 7 felloes; hence, a wheel of similar construction for use on automobiles, etc.

ARTIODACTYLA Ar`ti*o*dac"ty*la, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the divisions of the ungulate animals. The functional toes of the hind foot are even in number, and the third digit of each foot (corresponding to the middle finger in man) is asymmetrical and paired with the fourth digit, as in the hog, the sheep, and the ox; - - opposed to Perissodactyla.

ARTIODACTYLE Ar`ti*o*dac"tyle, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Artiodactyla.

ARTIODACTYLOUS Ar`ti*o*dac"ty*lous, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Even-toed.

ARTISAN Ar"ti*san, n. Etym: [F. artisan, fr. L. artitus skilled in arts, fr. ars, artis, art: cf. It. artigiano. See Art, n.]

1. One who professes and practices some liberal art; an artist. [Obs.]

2. One trained to manual dexterity in some mechanic art or trade; and handicraftsman; a mechanic. This is willingly submitted to by the artisan, who can . . . compensate his additional toil and fatigue. Hume.

Syn. -- Artificer; artist. -- Artisan, Artist, Artificer. An artist is one who is skilled in some one of the fine arts; an artisan is one who exercises any mechanical employment. A portrait painter is an artist; a sign painter is an artisan, although he may have the taste and skill of an artist. The occupation of the former requires a fine taste and delicate manipulation; that of the latter demands only an ordinary degree of contrivance and imitative power. An artificer is one who requires power of contrivance and adaptation in the exercise of his profession. The word suggest neither the idea of mechanical conformity to rule which attaches to the term artisan, nor the ideas of refinement and of peculiar skill which belong to the term artist.

ARTIST Art"ist, n. Etym: [F. artiste, LL. artista, fr. L. ars. See Art, n., and cf. Artiste.]

1. One who practices some mechanic art or craft; an artisan. [Obs.] How to build ships, and dreadful ordnance cast, Instruct the articles and reward their. Waller.

2. One who professes and practices an art in which science and taste preside over the manual execution.

Note: The term is particularly applied to painters, sculptors, musicians, engravers, and architects. Elmes.

3. One who shows trained skill or rare taste in any manual art or occupation. Pope.

4. An artful person; a schemer. [Obs.]

Syn. -- Artisan. See Artisan.

ARTISTE Ar*tiste", n. Etym: [F. See Artist.]

Defn: One peculiarly dexterous and tasteful in almost any employment, as an opera dancer, a hairdresser, a cook.

Note: This term should not be confounded with the English word artist.

ARTISTIC; ARTISTICAL Ar*tis"tic, Ar*tis"tic*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. artistique, fr. artiste.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to art or to artists; made in the manner of an artist; conformable to art; characterized by art; showing taste or skill. -- Ar*tis"tic*al*ly, adv.

ARTISTRY Art"ist*ry, n.

1. Works of art collectively.

2. Artistic effect or quality. Southey.

3. Artistic pursuits; artistic ability. The Academy.

ARTLESS Art"less, a.

1. Wanting art, knowledge, or skill; ignorant; unskillful. Artless of stars and of the moving sand. Dryden.

2. Contrived without skill or art; inartistic. [R.] Artless and massy pillars. T. Warton.

3. Free from guile, art, craft, or stratagem; characterized by simplicity and sincerity; sincere; guileless; ingenuous; honest; as, an artless mind; an artless tale. They were plain, artless men, without the least appearance of enthusiasm or credulity about them. Porteus. O, how unlike the complex works of man, Heaven's easy, artless, unencumbered plan! Cowper.

Syn. -- Simple; unaffected; sincere; undesigning; guileless; unsophisticated; open; frank; candid.

ARTLESSLY Art"less*ly, adv.

Defn: In an artless manner; without art, skill, or guile; unaffectedly. Pope.

ARTLESSNESS Art"less*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being artless, or void of art or guile; simplicity; sincerity.

ARTLY Art"ly, adv.

Defn: With art or skill. [Obs.]

ARTOCARPEOUS; ARTOCARPOUS Ar`to*car"pe*ous, Ar`to*car"pous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the breadfruit, or to the genus Artocarpus.

ARTOTYPE Ar"to*type, n. Etym: [Art + type.]

Defn: A kind of autotype.

ARTOTYRITE Ar`to*ty"rite, n. Etym: [LL. Artotyritae, pl., fr. Gr. (Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: One of a sect in the primitive church, who celebrated the Lord's Supper with bread and cheese, alleging that the first oblations of men not only of the fruit of the earth, but of their flocks. [Gen. iv. 3, 4.]

ARTOW Ar"tow.

Defn: A contraction of art thou. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ARTSMAN Arts"man, n.

Defn: A man skilled in an art or in arts. [Obs.] Bacon.

ART UNION Art` un"ion.

Defn: An association for promoting art (esp. the arts of design), and giving encouragement to artists.

ARUM A"rum, n. Etym: [L. arum, aros, Gr.

Defn: A genus of plants found in central Europe and about the Mediterranean, having flowers on a spadix inclosed in a spathe. The cuckoopint of the English is an example. Our common arums the lords and ladies of village children. Lubbock.

Note: The American "Jack in the pulpit" is now separated from the genus Arum.

ARUNDELIAN Ar`un*del"ian, a.

Defn: Pertaining to an Earl of Arundel; as, Arundel or Arundelian marbles, marbles from ancient Greece, bought by the Earl of Arundel in 1624.

ARUNDIFEROUS Ar`un*dif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. arundifer; arundo reed + ferre to bear.]

Defn: Producing reeds or canes.

ARUNDINACEOUS A*run`di*na"ceous, a. Etym: [L. arundinaceus, fr. arundo reed.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a reed; resembling the reed or cane.

ARUNDINEOUS Ar`un*din"e*ous, a. Etym: [L. arundineus, fr. arundo reed.]

Defn: Abounding with reeds; reedy.

ARUSPEX A*rus"pex, n.; pl. Aruspices. Etym: [L. aruspex or haruspex.]

Defn: One of the class of diviners among the Etruscans and Romans, who foretold events by the inspection of the entrails of victims offered on the altars of the gods.

ARUSPICE A*rus"pice, n. Etym: [L. aruspex: cf. F. aruspice. Cf. Aruspex, Haruspice.]

Defn: A soothsayer of ancient Rome. Same as Aruspex. [Written also haruspice.]

ARUSPICY A*rus"pi*cy, n. Etym: [L. aruspicium, haruspicium.]

Defn: Prognostication by inspection of the entrails of victims slain sacrifice.

ARVAL Ar"val, n. Etym: [W. arwyl funeral; ar over + wylo to weep, or cf. arföl; Icel. arfr inheritance + Sw. öl ale. Cf. Bridal.]

Defn: A funeral feast. [North of Eng.] Grose.

ARVICOLE Ar"vi*cole, n. Etym: [L. arvum field + colere to inhabit.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A mouse of the genus Arvicola; the meadow mouse. There are many species.

ARYAN Ar"yan, n. Etym: [Skr. arya excellent, honorable; akin to the name of the country Iran, and perh. to Erin, Ireland, and the early name of this people, at least in Asia.]

1. One of a primitive people supposed to have lived in prehistoric times, in Central Asia, east of the Caspian Sea, and north of the Hindoo

2. The language of the original Aryans. [Written also Arian.]

ARYAN Ar"yan, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the people called Aryans; Indo-European; Indo-Germanic; as, the Aryan stock, the Aryan languages.

ARYANIZE Ar"yan*ize, v. t.

Defn: To make Aryan (a language, or in language). K. Johnston.

ARYTENOID A*ryt"e*noid, a. Etym: [Gr. (Anat.)

Defn: Ladle-shaped; -- applied to two small cartilages of the larynx, and also to the glands, muscles, etc., connected with them. The cartilages are attached to the cricoid cartilage and connected with the vocal cords.

AS As, adv. & conj. Etym: [OE. as, als, alse, also, al swa, AS. eal swa, lit. all so; hence, quite so, quite as: cf. G. als as, than, also so, then. See Also.]

1. Denoting equality or likeness in kind, degree, or manner; like; similar to; in the same manner with or in which; in accordance with; in proportion to; to the extent or degree in which or to which; equally; no less than; as, ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil; you will reap as you sow; do as you are bidden. His spiritual attendants adjured him, as he loved his soul, to emancipate his brethren. Macaulay.

Note: As is often preceded by one of the antecedent or correlative words such, same, so, or as, in expressing an equality or comparison; as, give us such things as you please, and so long as you please, or as long as you please; he is not so brave as Cato; she is as amiable as she is handsome; come as quickly as possible. "Bees appear fortunately to prefer the same colors as we do." Lubbock. As, in a preceding part of a sentence, has such or so to answer correlatively to it; as with the people, so with the priest.

2. In the idea, character, or condition of, -- limiting the view to certain attributes or relations; as, virtue considered as virtue; this actor will appear as Hamlet. The beggar is greater as a man, than is the man merely as a king. Dewey.

3. While; during or at the same time that; when; as, he trembled as he spoke. As I return I will fetch off these justices. Shak.

4. Because; since; it being the case that. As the population of Scotland had been generally trained to arms . . . they were not indifferently prepared. Sir W. Scott. [See Synonym under Because.]

5. Expressing concession. (Often approaching though in meaning). We wish, however, to avail ourselves of the interest, transient as it may be, which this work has excited. Macaulay.

6. That, introducing or expressing a result or consequence, after the correlatives so and such. [Obs.] I can place thee in such abject state, as help shall never find thee. Rowe. So as, so that. [Obs.] The relations are so uncertain as they require a great deal of examination. Bacon.

7. As if; as though. [Obs. or Poetic] He lies, as he his bliss did know. Waller.

8. For instance; by way of example; thus; -- used to introduce illustrative phrases, sentences, or citations.

9. Than. [Obs. & R.] The king was not more forward to bestow favors on them as they free to deal affronts to others their superiors. Fuller.

10. Expressing a wish. [Obs.] "As have," i. e., may he have. Chaucer. As . . . as. See So . . . as, under So. -- As far as, to the extent or degree. "As far as can be ascertained." Macaulay. -- As far forth as, as far as. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- As for, or As to, in regard to; with respect to. -- As good as, not less than; not falling short of. -- As good as one's word, faithful to a promise. -- As if, or As though, of the same kind, or in the same condition or manner, that it would be if. -- As it were (as if it were), a qualifying phrase used to apologize for or to relieve some expression which might be regarded as inappropriate or incongruous; in a manner. -- As now, just now. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- As swythe, as quickly as possible. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- As well, also; too; besides. Addison. -- As well as, equally with, no less than. "I have understanding as well as you." Job xii. 3. -- As yet, until now; up to or at the present time; still; now.

AS As, n. Etym: [See Ace.]

Defn: An ace. [Obs.] Chaucer. Ambes-as, double aces.

AS As, n.; pl. Asses. Etym: [L. as. See Ace.]

1. A Roman weight, answering to the libra or pound, equal to nearly eleven ounces Troy weight. It was divided into twelve ounces.

2. A Roman copper coin, originally of a pound weight (12 oz.); but reduced, after the first Punic war, to two ounces; in the second Punic war, to one ounce; and afterwards to half an ounce.

ASA As"a, n. Etym: [NL. asa, of oriental origin; cf. Per. aza mastic, Ar. asa healing, isa remedy.]

Defn: An ancient name of a gum.

ASAFETIDA; ASAFOETIDA As`a*fet"i*da, As`a*foet"i*da, n. Etym: [Asa + L. foetidus fetid.]

Defn: The fetid gum resin or inspissated juice of a large umbelliferous plant (Ferula asafoetida) of Persia and the East India. It is used in medicine as an antispasmodic. [Written also assafoetida.]

ASAPHUS As"a*phus, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Paleon.)

Defn: A genus of trilobites found in the Lower Silurian formation. See Illust. in Append.

ASARABACCA As`a*ra*bac"ca, n. Etym: [L. asarum + bacca a berry. See Asarone.] (Bot.)

Defn: An acrid herbaceous plant (Asarum Europæum), the leaves and roots of which are emetic and cathartic. It is principally used in cephalic snuffs.

ASARONE As"a*rone, n. Etym: [L. asarum hazelwort, wild spikenard, Gr. (Chem.)

Defn: A crystallized substance, resembling camphor, obtained from the Asarum Europæum; -- called also camphor of asarum.

ASBESTIC As*bes"tic, a.

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or resembling asbestus; inconsumable; asbestine.

ASBESTIFORM As*bes"ti*form, a. Etym: [L. asbestus + -form.]

Defn: Having the form or structure of asbestus.

ASBESTINE As*bes"tine, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to asbestus, or partaking of its nature; incombustible; asbestic.

ASBESTOUS As*bes"tous, a.

Defn: Asbestic.

ASBESTUS; ASBESTOS As*bes"tus, As*bes"tos, n. Etym: [L. asbestos (NL. asbestus) a kind of mineral unaffected by fire, Gr. (Min.)

Defn: A variety of amphibole or of pyroxene, occurring in long and delicate fibers, or in fibrous masses or seams, usually of a white, gray, or green-gray color. The name is also given to a similar variety of serpentine.

Note: The finer varieties have been wrought into gloves and cloth which are incombustible. The cloth was formerly used as a shroud for dead bodies, and has been recommended for firemen's clothes. Asbestus in also employed in the manufacture of iron safes, for fireproof roofing, and for lampwicks. Some varieties are called amianthus. Dana.

ASBOLIN As"bo*lin, n. Etym: [Gr. (Chem.)

Defn: A peculiar acrid and bitter oil, obtained from wood soot.

ASCARIASIS As`ca*ri"a*sis, n. [NL., fr. Gr. an intestinal worm.] (Med.)

Defn: A disease, usually accompanied by colicky pains and diarrhea, caused by the presence of ascarids in the gastrointestinal canal.

ASCARID As"ca*rid, n.; pl. Ascarides or Ascarids. Etym: [NL. ascaris, fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A parasitic nematoid worm, espec. the roundworm, Ascaris lumbricoides, often occurring in the human intestine and allied species found in domestic animals; also commonly applied to the pinworm (Oxyuris), often troublesome to children and aged persons.

ASCEND As*cend", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Ascended; p. pr. & vb. n. Ascending.] Etym: [L. ascendere; ad + scandere to climb, mount. See Scan.]

1. To move upward; to mount; to go up; to rise; -- opposed to Ant: descend. Higher yet that star ascends. Bowring. I ascend unto my father and your father. John xx. 17.

Note: Formerly used with up. The smoke of it ascended up to heaven. Addison.

2. To rise, in a figurative sense; to proceed from an inferior to a superior degree, from mean to noble objects, from particulars to generals, from modern to ancient times, from one note to another more acute, etc.; as, our inquiries ascend to the remotest antiquity; to ascend to our first progenitor.

Syn. -- To rise; mount; climb; scale; soar; tower.

ASCEND As*cend", v. t.

Defn: To go or move upward upon or along; to climb; to mount; to go up the top of; as, to ascend a hill, a ladder, a tree, a river, a throne.

ASCENDABLE As*cend"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being ascended.

ASCENDANCY; ASCENDANCE As*cend"an*cy, As*cend"ance, n.

Defn: Same as Ascendency.

ASCENDANT As*cend"ant, n. Etym: [F. ascendant, L. ascendens; p. pr. of ascendere.]

1. Ascent; height; elevation. [R.] Sciences that were then in their highest ascendant. Temple.

2. (Astrol.)

Defn: The horoscope, or that degree of the ecliptic which rises above the horizon at the moment of one's birth; supposed to have a commanding influence on a person's life and fortune.

Note: Hence the phrases To be in the ascendant, to have commanding power or influence, and Lord of the ascendant, one who has possession of such power or influence; as, to rule, for a while, lord of the ascendant. Burke.

3. Superiority, or commanding influence; ascendency; as, one man has the ascendant over another. Chievres had acquired over the mind of the young monarch the ascendant not only of a tutor, but of a parent. Robertson.

4. An ancestor, or one who precedes in genealogy or degrees of kindred; a relative in the ascending line; a progenitor; -- opposed to descendant. Ayliffe.

ASCENDANT; ASCENDENT As*cend"ant, As*cend"ent, a.

1. Rising toward the zenith; above the horizon. The constellation . . . about that time ascendant. Browne.

2. Rising; ascending. Ruskin.

3. Superior; surpassing; ruling. An ascendant spirit over him. South. The ascendant community obtained a surplus of wealth. J. S. Mill. Without some power of persuading or confuting, of defending himself against accusations, . . . no man could possibly hold an ascendent position. Grote.

ASCENDENCY As*cend"en*cy, n.

Defn: Governing or controlling influence; domination; power. An undisputed ascendency. Macaulay. Custom has an ascendency over the understanding. Watts.

Syn. -- Control; authority; influence; sway; dominion; prevalence; domination.

ASCENDIBLE As*cend"i*ble, a. Etym: [L. ascendibilis.]

Defn: Capable of being ascended; climbable.

ASCENDING As*cend"ing, a.

Defn: Rising; moving upward; as, an ascending kite. -- As*cend"ing*ly, adv. Ascending latitude (Astron.), the increasing latitude of a planet. Ferguson. -- Ascending line (Geneol.), the line of relationship traced backward or through one's ancestors. One's father and mother, grandfather and grandmother, etc., are in the line direct ascending. -- Ascending node having, that node of the moon or a planet wherein it passes the ecliptic to proceed northward. It is also called the northern node. Herschel. -- Ascending series. (Math.) (a) A series arranged according to the ascending powers of a quantity. (b) A series in which each term is greater than the preceding. -- Ascending signs, signs east of the meridian.

ASCENSION As*cen"sion, n. Etym: [F. ascension, L. ascensio, fr. ascendere. See Ascend.]

1. The act of ascending; a rising; ascent.

2. Specifically: The visible ascent of our Savior on the fortieth day after his resurrection. (Acts i. 9.) Also, Ascension Day.

3. An ascending or arising, as in distillation; also that which arises, as from distillation. Vaporous ascensions from the stomach. Sir T. Browne. Ascension Day, the Thursday but one before Whitsuntide, the day on which commemorated our Savior's ascension into heaven after his resurrection; -- called also Holy Thursday. -- Right ascension (Astron.), that degree of the equinoctial, counted from the beginning of Aries, which rises with a star, or other celestial body, in a right sphere; or the arc of the equator intercepted between the first point of Aries and that point of the equator that comes to the meridian with the star; -- expressed either in degrees or in time. -- Oblique ascension (Astron.), an arc of the equator, intercepted between the first point of Aries and that point of the equator which rises together with a star, in an oblique sphere; or the arc of the equator intercepted between the first point of Aries and that point of the equator that comes to the horizon with a star. It is little used in modern astronomy.

ASCENSIONAL As*cen"sion*al, a.

Defn: Relating to ascension; connected with ascent; ascensive; tending upward; as, the ascensional power of a balloon. Ascensional difference (Astron.), the difference between oblique and right ascension; -- used chiefly as expressing the difference between the time of the rising or setting of a body and six o'clock, or six hours from its meridian passage.

ASCENSIVE As*cen"sive, a. Etym: [See Ascend.]

1. Rising; tending to rise, or causing to rise. Owen.

2. (Gram.)

Defn: Augmentative; intensive. Ellicott.

ASCENT As*cent". Etym: [Formed like descent, as if from a F. ascente, fr. a verb ascendre, fr. L. ascendere. See Ascend, Descent.]

1. The act of rising; motion upward; rise; a mounting upward; as, he made a tedious ascent; the ascent of vapors from the earth. To him with swift ascent he up returned. Milton.

2. The way or means by which one ascends.

3. An eminence, hill, or high place. Addison.

4. The degree of elevation of an object, or the angle it makes with a horizontal line; inclination; rising grade; as, a road has an ascent of five degrees.

ASCERTAIN As`cer*tain", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ascertained; p. pr. & vb. n. Ascertaining.] Etym: [OF. acertener; a (L. ad) + certain. See Certain.]

1. To render (a person) certain; to cause to feel certain; to make confident; to assure; to apprise. [Obs.] When the blessed Virgin was so ascertained. Jer. Taylor. Muncer assured them that the design was approved of by Heaven, and that the Almighty had in a dream ascertained him of its effects. Robertson.

2. To make (a thing) certain to the mind; to free from obscurity, doubt, or change; to make sure of; to fix; to determine. [Archaic] The divine law . . . ascertaineth the truth. Hooker. The very deferring [of his execution] shall increase and ascertain the condemnation. Jer. Taylor. The ministry, in order to ascertain a majority . . . persuaded the queen to create twelve new peers. Smollett. The mildness and precision of their laws ascertained the rule and measure of taxation. Gibbon.

3. To find out or learn for a certainty, by trial, examination, or experiment; to get to know; as, to ascertain the weight of a commodity, or the purity of a metal. He was there only for the purpose of ascertaining whether a descent on England was practicable. Macaulay.

ASCERTAINABLE As`cer*tain"a*ble, a.

Defn: That may be ascertained. -- As`cer*tain"a*ble*ness, n. -- As`cer*tain"a*bly, adv.

ASCERTAINER As`cer*tain"er, n.

Defn: One who ascertains.

ASCERTAINMENT As`cer*tain"ment, n.

Defn: The act of ascertaining; a reducing to certainty; a finding out by investigation; discovery. The positive ascertainment of its limits. Burke.

ASCESSANCY; ASCESSANT As*ces"san*cy, n. As*ces"sant, a.

Defn: See Acescency, Acescent. [Obs.]

ASCETIC As*cet"ic a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Extremely rigid in self-denial and devotions; austere; severe. The stern ascetic rigor of the Temple discipline. Sir W. Scott.

ASCETIC As*cet"ic, n.

Defn: In the early church, one who devoted himself to a solitary and contemplative life, characterized by devotion, extreme self-denial, and self-mortification; a hermit; a recluse; hence, one who practices extreme rigor and self-denial in religious things. I am far from commending those ascetics that take up their quarters in deserts. Norris. Ascetic theology, the science which treats of the practice of the theological and moral virtues, and the counsels of perfection. Am. Cyc.

ASCETICISM As*cet"i*cism, n.

Defn: The condition, practice, or mode of life, of ascetics.

ASCHAM As"cham, n. Etym: [From Roger Ascham, who was a great lover of archery.]

Defn: A sort of cupboard, or case, to contain bows and other implements of archery.

ASCI As"ci, n. pl.

Defn: See Ascus.

ASCIAN As"cian, n.

Defn: One of the Ascii.

ASCIDIAN As*cid"i*an, n. Etym: [Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Ascidioidea, or in a more general sense, one of the Tunicata. Also as an adj.

ASCIDIARIUM As*cid`i*a"ri*um, n. Etym: [NL. See Ascidium.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The structure which unites together the ascidiozooids in a compound ascidian.

ASCIDIFORM As*cid"i*form, a. Etym: [Gr. -form.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Shaped like an ascidian.

ASCIDIOIDEA As*cid`i*oid"e*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. ascidium + -oid. See Ascidium.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A group of Tunicata, often shaped like a two-necked bottle. The group includes, social, and compound species. The gill is a netlike structure within the oral aperture. The integument is usually leathery in texture. See Illustration in Appendix.

ASCIDIOZOOID As*cid`i*o*zo"oid, n. Etym: [Ascidium + zooid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the individual members of a compound ascidian. See Ascidioidea.

ASCIDIUM As*cid"i*um, n.; pl. Ascidia. Etym: [NL., fr. ascus. See Ascus.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A pitcher-shaped, or flask-shaped, organ or appendage of a plant, as the leaves of the pitcher plant, or the little bladderlike traps of the bladderwort (Utricularia).

2. pl. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of simple ascidians, which formerly included most of the known species. It is sometimes used as a name for the Ascidioidea, or for all the Tunicata.

ASCIGEROUS As*cig"er*ous, a. Etym: [Ascus + -gerous.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having asci. Loudon.

ASCII; ASCIANS As"ci*i, As"cians, n. pl. Etym: [L. ascii, pl. of ascius, Gr.

Defn: Persons who, at certain times of the year, have no shadow at noon; -- applied to the inhabitants of the torrid zone, who have, twice a year, a vertical sun.

ASCITES As*ci"tes, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: A collection of serous fluid in the cavity of the abdomen; dropsy of the peritoneum. Dunglison.

ASCITIC; ASCITICAL As*cit"ic, As*cit"ic*al, a.

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or affected by, ascites; dropsical.

ASCITITIOUS As`ci*ti"tious, a. Etym: [See Adscititious.]

Defn: Supplemental; not inherent or original; adscititious; additional; assumed. Homer has been reckoned an ascititious name. Pope.

ASCLEPIAD As*cle"pi*ad, n. (Gr. & L. Pros.)

Defn: A choriambic verse, first used by the Greek poet Asclepias, consisting of four feet, viz., a spondee, two choriambi, and an iambus.

ASCLEPIADACEOUS As*cle`pi*a*da"ceous, a. Etym: [See Asclepias.] (Bot.)

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or resembling, plants of the Milkweed family.

ASCLEPIAS As*cle"pi*as, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. Asclepios or Aesculapius.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of plants including the milkweed, swallowwort, and some other species having medicinal properties. Asclepias butterfly (Zoöl.), a large, handsome, red and black butterfly (Danais Archippus), found in both hemispheres. It feeds on plants of the genus Asclepias.

ASCOCARP As"co*carp, n. [Gr. 'asko`s a bladder + karpo`s fruit.] (Bot.)

Defn: In ascomycetous fungi, the spherical, discoid, or cup-shaped body within which the asci are collected, and which constitutes the mature fructification. The different forms are known in mycology under distinct names. Called also spore fruit.

ASCOCOCCUS As`co*coc"cus, n.; pl. Ascococci. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Biol.)

Defn: A form of micrococcus, found in putrid meat infusions, occurring in peculiar masses, each of which is inclosed in a hyaline capsule and contains a large number of spherical micrococci.

ASCOMYCETES As`co*my*ce"tes, n. pl. [NL.; ascus + Gr. , , fungus.] (Bot.)

Defn: A large class of higher fungi distinguished by septate hyphæ, and by having their spores formed in asci, or spore sacs. It comprises many orders, among which are the yeasts, molds, mildews, truffles, morels, etc. -- As`co*my*ce"tous (#), a.

ASCOSPORE As"co*spore, n. Etym: [Ascus + spore.] (Bot.)

Defn: One of the spores contained in the asci of lichens and fungi. [See Illust. of Ascus.]

ASCRIBABLE As*crib"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being ascribed; attributable.

ASCRIBE As*cribe", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ascribed; p. pr. & vb. n. Ascribing.] Etym: [L. ascribere, adscribere, to ascribe; ad + scribere to write: cf. OF. ascrire. See Scribe.]

1. To attribute, impute, or refer, as to a cause; as, his death was ascribed to a poison; to ascribe an effect to the right cause; to ascribe such a book to such an author. The finest [speech] that is ascribed to Satan in the whole poem. Addison.

2. To attribute, as a quality, or an appurtenance; to consider or allege to belong.

Syn. -- To Ascribe, Attribute, Impute. Attribute denotes, 1. To refer some quality or attribute to a being; as, to attribute power to God. 2. To refer something to its cause or source; as, to attribute a backward spring to icebergs off the coast. Ascribe is used equally in both these senses, but involves a different image. To impute usually denotes to ascribe something doubtful or wrong, and hence, in general literature, has commonly a bad sense; as, to impute unworthy motives. The theological sense of impute is not here taken into view. More than good-will to me attribute naught. Spenser. Ascribes his gettings to his parts and merit. Pope. And fairly quit him of the imputed blame. Spenser.

ASCRIPT As"cript, a.

Defn: See Adscript. [Obs.]

ASCRIPTION As*crip"tion, n. Etym: [L. ascriptio, fr. ascribere. See Ascribe.]

Defn: The act of ascribing, imputing, or affirming to belong; also, that which is ascribed.

ASCRIPTITIOUS As`crip*ti"tious, a. Etym: [L. ascriptitius, fr. ascribere.]

1. Ascribed.

2. Added; additional. [Obs.] An ascriptitious and supernumerary God. Farindon.

ASCUS As"cus, n.; pl. Asci. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A small membranous bladder or tube in which are inclosed the seedlike reproductive particles or sporules of lichens and certain fungi.

A-SEA A-sea, adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + sea.]

Defn: On the sea; at sea; toward the sea.

ASEMIA A*se"mi*a, n. [NL., fr. Gr. priv. + sign.] (Med.)

Defn: Loss of power to express, or to understand, symbols or signs of thought.

ASEPSIS A*sep"sis, n. [NL., fr. Gr. priv. + sepsis.]

Defn: State of being aseptic; the methods or processes of asepticizing.

ASEPTIC A*sep"tic, a. Etym: [Pref. a- not + septic.]

Defn: Not liable to putrefaction; nonputrescent. -- n.

Defn: An aseptic substance.

ASEXUAL A*sex"u*al, a. Etym: [Pref. a- not + sexual.] (Biol.)

Defn: Having no distinct; without sexual action; as, asexual reproduction. See Fission and Gemmation.

ASEXUALIZATION A*sex`u*al*i*za"tion, n. [Asexual + -ize + -ation.]

Defn: The act or process of sterilizing an animal or human being, as by vasectomy.

ASEXUALLY A*sex"u*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In an asexual manner; without sexual agency.

ASH Ash, n. Etym: [OE. asch, esh, AS. æsc; akin to OHG. asc, Sw. & Dan. ask, Icel. askr, D. esch, G. esche.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of trees of the Olive family, having opposite pinnate leaves, many of the species furnishing valuable timber, as the European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and the white ash (F. Americana). Prickly ash (Zanthoxylum Americanum) and Poison ash (Rhus venenata) are shrubs of different families, somewhat resembling the true ashes in their foliage. -- Mountain ash. See Roman tree, and under Mountain.

2. The tough, elastic wood of the ash tree.

Note: Ash is used adjectively, or as the first part of a compound term; as, ash bud, ash wood, ash tree, etc.

ASH Ash, n.,

Defn: sing. of Ashes.

Note: Ash is rarely used in the singular except in connection with chemical or geological products; as, soda ash, coal which yields a red ash, etc., or as a qualifying or combining word; as, ash bin, ash heap, ash hole, ash pan, ash pit, ash-grey, ash-colored, pearlash, potash. Bone ash, burnt powered; bone earth. -- Volcanic ash. See under Ashes.

ASH Ash, v. t.

Defn: To strew or sprinkle with ashes. Howell.

ASHAME A*shame, v. t. Etym: [Pref. a- + shame: cf. AS. ascamian to shame (where a- is the same as Goth. us-, G. er-, and orig. meant out), gescamian, gesceamian, to shame.]

Defn: To shame. [R.] Barrow.

ASHAMED A*shamed", a. Etym: [Orig. a p. p. of ashame, v. t.]

Defn: Affected by shame; abashed or confused by guilt, or a conviction or consciousness of some wrong action or impropriety. "I am ashamed to beg." Wyclif. All that forsake thee shall be ashamed. Jer. xvii. 13. I began to be ashamed of sitting idle. Johnson. Enough to make us ashamed of our species. Macaulay. An ashamed person can hardly endure to meet the gaze of those present. Darwin.

Note: Ashamed seldom precedes the noun or pronoun it qualifies. By a Hebraism, it is sometimes used in the Bible to mean disappointed, or defeated.

ASHAMEDLY A*sham"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: Bashfully. [R.]

ASHANTEE Ash`an*tee", n.; pl. Ashantees.

Defn: A native or an inhabitant of Ashantee in Western Africa.

ASHANTEE Ash`an*tee", a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Ashantee.

ASH-COLORED Ash"-col`ored, a.

Defn: Of the color of ashes; a whitish gray or brownish gray.

ASHEN Ash"en, a. Etym: [See Ash, the tree.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the ash tree. "Ashen poles." Dryden.

ASHEN Ash"en, a.

Defn: Consisting of, or resembling, ashes; of a color between brown and gray, or white and gray. The ashen hue of age. Sir W. Scott.

ASHEN Ash"en, n.,

Defn: obs. pl. for Ashes. Chaucer.

ASHERY Ash"er*y, n.

1. A depository for ashes.

2. A place where potash is made.

ASHES Ash"es, n. pl. Etym: [OE. asche, aske, AS. asce, æsce, axe; akin to OHG. asca, G. asche, D. asch, Icel. & Sw. aska, Dan. aske, Goth. azgo.]

1. The earthy or mineral particles of combustible substances remaining after combustion, as of wood or coal.

2. Specifically: The remains of the human body when burnt, or when "returned to dust" by natural decay. Their martyred blood and ashes sow. Milton. The coffins were broken open. The ashes were scattered to the winds. Macaulay.

3. The color of ashes; deathlike paleness. The lip of ashes, and the cheek of flame. Byron. In dust and ashes, In sackcloth and ashes, with humble expression of grief or repentance; -- from the method of mourning in Eastern lands. -- Volcanic ashes, or Volcanic ash, the loose, earthy matter, or small fragments of stone or lava, ejected by volcanoes.

ASH-FIRE Ash"-fire, n.

Defn: A low fire used in chemical operations.

ASH-FURNACE; ASH-OVEN Ash"-fur`nace, Ash"-ov`en, n.

Defn: A furnace or oven for fritting materials for glass making.

ASHINE A*shine", a.

Defn: Shining; radiant.

ASHLAR; ASHLER Ash"lar, Ash"ler, n. Etym: [OE. ascheler, achiler, OF. aiseler, fr. aiselle, dim. of ais plank, fr. L. axis, assis, plank, axle. See Axle.]

1. (Masonry) (a) Hewn or squared stone; also, masonry made of squared or hewn stone. Rough ashlar, a block of freestone as brought from the quarry. When hammer-dressed it is known as common ashlar. Knight.

(b) In the United States especially, a thin facing of squared and dressed stone upon a wall of rubble or brick. Knight.

ASHLARING; ASHLERING Ash"lar*ing, Ash"ler*ing, n.

1. The act of bedding ashlar in mortar.

2. Ashlar when in thin slabs and made to serve merely as a case to the body of the wall. Brande & C.

3. (Carp.)

Defn: The short upright pieces between the floor beams and rafters in garrets. See Ashlar, 2.

ASHORE A*shore", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + shore.]

Defn: On shore or on land; on the land adjacent to water; to the shore; to the land; aground (when applied to a ship); -- sometimes opposed to aboard or afloat. Here shall I die ashore. Shak. I must fetch his necessaries ashore. Shak.

ASHTORETH Ash"to*reth, n.; pl. Ashtaroth.

Defn: The principal female divinity of the Phoenicians, as Baal was the principal male divinity. W. Smith.

ASH WEDNESDAY Ash` Wednes"day.

Defn: The first day of Lent; -- so called from a custom in the Roman Catholic church of putting ashes, on that day, upon the foreheads of penitents.

ASHWEED Ash"weed`, n. (Bot.) Etym: [A corruption of ache-weed; F. ache. So named from the likeness of its leaves to those of ache (celery).]

Defn: Goutweed.

ASHY Ash"y, a.

1. Pertaining to, or composed of, ashes; filled, or strewed with, ashes.

2. Ash-colored; whitish gray; deadly pale. Shak. Ashy pale, pale as ashes. Shak.

ASIAN A"sian, a. Etym: [L. Asianus, Gr. Asia.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to Asia; Asiatic. "Asian princes." Jer. Taylor. -- n.

Defn: An Asiatic.

ASIARCH A"si*arch, n. Etym: [L. Asiarcha, Gr.

Defn: One of the chiefs or pontiffs of the Roman province of Asia, who had the superintendence of the public games and religious rites. Milner.

ASIATIC A`si*at"ic, a. Etym: [L. Asiaticus, Gr.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Asia or to its inhabitants. -- n.

Defn: A native, or one of the people, of Asia.

ASIATICISM A`si*at"i*cism, n.

Defn: Something peculiar to Asia or the Asiatics.

ASIDE A*side", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + side.]

1. On, or to, one side; out of a straight line, course, or direction; at a little distance from the rest; out of the way; apart. Thou shalt set aside that which is full. 2 Kings iv. 4. But soft! but soft! aside: here comes the king. Shak. The flames were blown aside. Dryden.

2. Out of one's thoughts; off; away; as, to put aside gloomy thoughts. "Lay aside every weight." Heb. xii. 1.

3. So as to be heard by others; privately. Then lords and ladies spake aside. Sir W. Scott. To set aside (Law), to annul or defeat the effect or operation of, by a subsequent decision of the same or of a superior tribunal; to declare of no authority; as, to set aside a verdict or a judgment.

ASIDE A*side", n.

Defn: Something spoken aside; as, a remark made by a stageplayer which the other players are not supposed to hear.

ASILUS A*si"lus, n. Etym: [L., a gadfly.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of large and voracious two-winged flies, including the bee killer and robber fly.

ASINEGO; ASSINEGO As`i*ne"go, As`si*ne"go, n. Etym: [Sp. asnico, dim. of asno an ass.]

Defn: A stupid fellow. [Obs.] Shak.

ASININE As"i*nine, a. Etym: [L. asininus, fr. asinus ass. See Ass.]

Defn: Of or belonging to, or having the qualities of, the ass, as stupidity and obstinacy. "Asinine nature." B. Jonson. "Asinine feast." Milton.

ASININITY As`i*nin"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality of being asinine; stupidity combined with obstinacy.

ASIPHONATE A*si"phon*ate, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Destitute of a siphon or breathing tube; -- said of many bivalve shells. -- n.

Defn: An asiphonate mollusk.

ASIPHONEA; ASIPHONATA; ASIPHONIDA As`i*pho"ne*a, A*si`pho*na"ta, As`i*phon"i*da, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A group of bivalve mollusks destitute of siphons, as the oyster; the asiphonate mollusks.

ASITIA A*si"ti*a, n. Etym: [Gr. (Med.)

Defn: Want of appetite; loathing of food.

ASK Ask, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Asked; p. pr. & vb. n. Asking.] Etym: [OE. asken, ashen, axien, AS. ascian, acsian; akin to OS. escon, OHG. eiscon, Sw. aska, Dan. æske, D. eischen, G. heischen, Lith. jëskóti, OSlav. iskati to seek, Skr. ish to desire. *5.]

1. To request; to seek to obtain by words; to petition; to solicit; - - often with of, in the sense of from, before the person addressed. Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God. Judg. xviii. 5. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. John xv. 7.

2. To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity; as, what price do you ask Ask me never so much dowry. Gen. xxxiv. 12. To whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke xii. 48. An exigence of state asks a much longer time to conduct a design to maturity. Addison.

3. To interrogate or inquire of or concerning; to put a question to or about; to question. He is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. John ix. 21. He asked the way to Chester. Shak.

4. To invite; as, to ask one to an entertainment.

5. To publish in church for marriage; -- said of both the banns and the persons. Fuller.

Syn. -- To beg; request; seek; petition; solicit; entreat; beseech; implore; crave; require; demand; claim; exhibit; inquire; interrogate. See Beg.

ASK Ask, v. i.

1. To request or petition; -- usually folllowed by for; as, to ask for bread. Ask, and it shall be given you. Matt. vii. 7.

2. To make inquiry, or seek by request; -- sometimes followed by after. Wherefore . . . dost ask after my name Gen. xxxii. 29.

ASK Ask, n. Etym: [See 2d Asker.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A water newt. [Scot. & North of Eng.]

ASKANCE; ASKANT A*skance", A*skant", adv. Etym: [Cf. D. schuin, schuins, sideways, schuiven to shove, schuinte slope. Cf. Asquint.]

Defn: Sideways; obliquely; with a side glance; with disdain, envy, or suspicion. They dart away; they wheel askance. Beattie. My palfrey eyed them askance. Landor. Both . . . were viewed askance by authority. Gladstone.

ASKANCE A*skance", v. t.

Defn: To turn aside. [Poet.] O, how are they wrapped in with infamies That from their own misdeeds askance their eyes! Shak.

ASKER Ask"er, n.

Defn: One who asks; a petitioner; an inquirer. Shak.

ASKER Ask"er, n. Etym: [A corruption of AS. a lizard, newt.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An ask; a water newt. [Local Eng.]

ASKEW A*skew", adv. & a. Etym: [Pref. a- + skew.]

Defn: Awry; askance; asquint; oblique or obliquely; -- sometimes indicating scorn, or contempt, or entry. Spenser.

ASKING Ask"ing, n.

1. The act of inquiring or requesting; a petition; solicitation. Longfellow.

2. The publishing of banns.

ASLAKE A*slake", v. t. & i. Etym: [AS. aslacian, slacian, to slacken. Cf. Slake.]

Defn: To mitigate; to moderate; to appease; to abate; to diminish. [Archaic] Chaucer.

ASLANT A*slant", adv. & a. Etym: [Pref. a- + slant.]

Defn: Toward one side; in a slanting direction; obliquely. [The shaft] drove through his neck aslant. Dryden.

ASLANT A*slant", prep.

Defn: In a slanting direction over; athwart. There is a willow grows aslant a brook. Shak.

ASLEEP A*sleep", a. & adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + sleep.]

1. In a state of sleep; in sleep; dormant. Fast asleep the giant lay supine. Dryden. By whispering winds soon lulled asleep. Milton.

2. In the sleep of the grave; dead. Concerning them which are asleep . . . sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 1 Thess. iv. 13.

3. Numbed, and, usually, tingling. Udall. Leaning long upon any part maketh it numb, and, as we call it, asleep. Bacon.

ASLOPE A*slope", adv. & a. Etym: [Pref. a- + slope.]

Defn: Slopingly; aslant; declining from an upright direction; sloping. "Set them not upright, but aslope." Bacon.

ASLUG A*slug", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + slug to move slowly.]

Defn: Sluggishly. [Obs.] Fotherby.

ASMEAR A*smear", a. Etym: [Pref. a- + smear.]

Defn: Smeared over. Dickens.

ASMONEAN As`mo*ne"an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the patriotic Jewish family to which the Maccabees belonged; Maccabean; as, the Asmonean dynasty. [Written also Asmonæan.]

ASMONEAN As`mo*ne"an, n.

Defn: One of the Asmonean family. The Asmoneans were leaders and rulers of the Jews from 168 to 35 b. c.

ASOAK A*soak", a. Etym: [Pref. a- + soak.]

Defn: Soaking.

ASOMATOUS A*so"ma*tous, a. Etym: [L. asomatus, Gr.

Defn: Without a material body; incorporeal. Todd.

ASONANT As"o*nant, a. Etym: [Pref. a- not + sonant.]

Defn: Not sounding or sounded. [R.] C. C. Felton.

ASP Asp, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Same as Aspen. "Trembling poplar or asp." Martyn.

ASP Asp, n. Etym: [L. aspis, fr. Gr. aspe, F. aspic.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small, hooded, poisonous serpent of Egypt and adjacent countries, whose bite is often fatal. It is the Naja haje. The name is also applied to other poisonous serpents, esp. to Vipera aspis of southern Europe. See Haje.

ASPALATHUS As*pal"a*thus, n. Etym: [L. aspalathus, Gr. (Bot.) (a) A thorny shrub yielding a fragrant oil. Ecclus. xxiv. 15. (b) A genus of plants of the natural order Leguminosæ. The species are chiefly natives of the Cape of Good Hope.

ASPARAGINE As*par"a*gine, n. Etym: [Cf. F. asparagine.] (Chem.)

Defn: A white, nitrogenous, crystallizable substance, C4H8N2O3+H2O, found in many plants, and first obtained from asparagus. It is believed to aid in the disposition of nitrogenous matter throughout the plant; -- called also altheine.

ASPARAGINOUS As`pa*rag"i*nous, a.

Defn: Pertaining or allied to, or resembling, asparagus; having shoots which are eaten like asparagus; as, asparaginous vegetables.

ASPARAGUS As*par"a*gus, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. prong, sprout, Pers. asparag, Lith. spurgas sprout, Skr. sphurj to swell. Perh. the Greek borrowed from the Persian. Cf. Sparrowgrass.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of perennial plants belonging to the natural order Liliaceæ, and having erect much branched stems, and very slender branchlets which are sometimes mistaken for leaves. Asparagus racemosus is a shrubby climbing plant with fragrant flowers. Specifically: The Asparagus officinalis, a species cultivated in gardens.

2. The young and tender shoots of A. officinalis, which form a valuable and well-known article of food.

Note: This word was formerly pronounced sparrowgrass; but this pronunciation is now confined exclusively to uneducated people. Asparagus beetle (Zoöl.), a small beetle (Crioceris asparagi) injurious to asparagus.

ASPARTIC As*par"tic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or derived, asparagine; as, aspartic acid.

ASPECT As"pect, n. Etym: [L. aspectus, fr. aspicere, aspectum, to look at; ad + spicere, specere, to look, akin to E. spy.]

1. The act of looking; vision; gaze; glance. [R.] "The basilisk killeth by aspect." Bacon. His aspect was bent on the ground. Sir W. Scott.

2. Look, or particular appearance of the face; countenance; mien; air. "Serious in aspect." Dryden. [Craggs] with aspect open shall erect his head. Pope.

3. Appearance to the eye or the mind; look; view. "The aspect of affairs." Macaulay. The true aspect of a world lying in its rubbish. T. Burnet.

4. Position or situation with regard to seeing; that position which enables one to look in a particular direction; position in relation to the points of the compass; as, a house has a southern aspect, that is, a position which faces the south.

5. Prospect; outlook. [Obs.] This town affords a good aspect toward the hill from whence we descended. Evelyn.

6. (Astrol.)

Defn: The situation of planets or stars with respect to one another, or the angle formed by the rays of light proceeding from them and meeting at the eye; the joint look of planets or stars upon each other or upon the earth. Milton.

Note: The aspects which two planets can assume are five; sextile,

7. (Astrol.)

Defn: The influence of the stars for good or evil; as, an ill aspect. Shak. The astrologers call the evil influences of the stars evil aspects. Bacon. Aspect of a plane (Geom.), the direction of the plane.

ASPECT As*pect", v. t. Etym: [L. aspectare, v. intens. of aspicere. See Aspect, n.]

Defn: To behold; to look at. [Obs.]

ASPECTABLE As*pect"a*ble, a. Etym: [L. aspectabilis.]

Defn: Capable of being; visible. "The aspectable world." Ray. "Aspectable stars." Mrs. Browning.

ASPECTANT As*pect"ant, a. (Her.)

Defn: Facing each other.

ASPECTED As*pect"ed, a.

Defn: Having an aspect. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

ASPECTION As*pec"tion, n. Etym: [L. aspectio, fr. aspicere to look at.]

Defn: The act of viewing; a look. [Obs.]

ASPECT RATIO Aspect ratio. (Aëronautics)

Defn: The ratio of the long to the short side of an aëroplane, aërocurve, or wing.

ASPEN; ASP Asp"en, Asp, n. Etym: [AS. æsp, æps; akin to OHG. aspa, Icel. ösp, Dan. æsp, Sw. asp, D. esp, G. espe, äspe, aspe; cf. Lettish apsa, Lith. apuszis.] (Bot.)

Defn: One of several species of poplar bearing this name, especially the Populus tremula, so called from the trembling of its leaves, which move with the slightest impulse of the air.

ASPEN Asp"en, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the aspen, or resembling it; made of aspen wood. Nor aspen leaves confess the gentlest breeze. Gay.

ASPER As"per, a. Etym: [OE. aspre, OF. aspre, F. âpre, fr. L. asper rough.]

Defn: Rough; rugged; harsh; bitter; stern; fierce. [Archaic] "An asper sound." Bacon.

ASPER As"per, n. Etym: [L. spiritus asper rough breathing.] (Greek Gram.)

Defn: The rough breathing; a mark placed over an initial vowel sound or over h before it; thus hws, pronounced h, hrj'twr, pronounced hra\'b6t.

ASPER As"per, n. Etym: [F. aspre or It. aspro, fr. MGr.

Defn: A Turkish money of account (formerly a coin), of little value; the 120th part of a piaster.

ASPERATE As"per*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Asperated; p. pr. & vb. n. Asperating.] Etym: [L. asperatus, p. p. of asperare, fr. asper rough.]

Defn: To make rough or uneven. The asperated part of its surface. Boyle.

ASPERATION As`per*a"tion, n.

Defn: The act of asperating; a making or becoming rough. Bailey.

ASPERGES As*per"ges, n. Etym: [L., Thou shalt sprinkle.] (R. C. Ch.) (a) The service or ceremony of sprinkling with holy water. (b) The brush or instrument used in sprinkling holy water; an aspergill.

ASPERGILL; ASPERGILLUM As"per*gill, As`per*gil"lum, n. Etym: [LL. aspergillum, fr. L. aspergere. See Asperse, v. t.]

1. The brush used in the Roman Catholic church for sprinkling holy water on the people. [Also written aspergillus.]

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Wateringpot shell.

ASPERGILLIFORM As`per*gil"li*form, a. Etym: [Aspergillum + -form.] (Bot.)

Defn: Resembling the aspergillum in form; as, an aspergilliform stigma. Gray.

ASPERIFOLIATE; ASPERIFOLIOUS As`per*i*fo"li*ate, As`per*i*fo"li*ous, a. Etym: [L. asper rough + folium leaf.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having rough leaves.

Note: By some applied to the natural order now called Boraginaceæ or borageworts.

ASPERITY As*per"i*ty, n.; pl. Asperities. Etym: [L. asperitas, fr. asper rough: cf. F. aspérité.]

1. Roughness of surface; unevenness; -- opposed to smoothness. "The asperities of dry bodies." Boyle.

2. Roughness or harshness of sound; that quality which grates upon the ear; raucity.

3. Roughness to the taste; sourness; tartness.

4. Moral roughness; roughness of manner; severity; crabbedness; harshness; -- opposed to mildness. "Asperity of character." Landor. It is no very cynical asperity not to confess obligations where no benefit has been received. Johnson.

5. Sharpness; disagreeableness; difficulty. The acclivities and asperities of duty. Barrow.

Syn. -- Acrimony; moroseness; crabbedness; harshness; sourness; tartness. See Acrimony.

ASPERMATOUS A*sper"ma*tous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Aspermous.

ASPERMOUS A*sper"mous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Destitute of seeds; aspermatous.

ASPERNE A*sperne", v. t. Etym: [L. aspernari; a (ab) + spernari.]

Defn: To spurn; to despise. [Obs.] Sir T. More.

ASPEROUS As"per*ous, a. Etym: [See Asper, a.]

Defn: Rough; uneven. Boyle.

ASPERSE As*perse", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Aspersed; p. pr. & vb. n. Aspersing.] Etym: [L. aspersus, p. p. of aspergere to scatter, sprinkle; ad + spargere to strew. See Sparse.]

1. To sprinkle, as water or dust, upon anybody or anything, or to besprinkle any one with a liquid or with dust. Heywood.

2. To bespatter with foul reports or false and injurious charges; to tarnish in point of reputation or good name; to slander or calumniate; as, to asperse a poet or his writings; to asperse a man's character. With blackest crimes aspersed. Cowper.

Syn. -- To slander; defame; detract from; calumniate; vilify. -- To Asperse, Defame, Slander, Calumniate. These words have in common the idea of falsely assailing the character of another. To asperse is figuratively to cast upon a character hitherto unsullied the imputation of blemishes or faults which render it offensive or loathsome. To defame is to detract from a man's honor and reputation by charges calculated to load him with infamy. Slander (etymologically the same as scandal) and calumniate, from the Latin, have in common the sense of circulating reports to a man's injury from unworthy or malicious motives. Men asperse their neighbors by malignant insinuations; they defame by advancing charges to blacken or sully their fair fame; they slander or calumniate by spreading injurious reports which are false, or by magnifying slight faults into serious errors or crimes.

ASPERSED As*persed", a.

1. (Her.)

Defn: Having an indefinite number of small charges scattered or strewed over the surface. Cussans.

2. Bespattered; slandered; calumniated. Motley.

ASPERSER As*pers"er, n.

Defn: One who asperses; especially, one who vilifies another.

ASPERSION As*per"sion, n. Etym: [L. aspersio, fr. aspergere: cf. F. aspersion.]

1. A sprinkling, as with water or dust, in a literal sense. Behold an immersion, not and aspersion. Jer. Taylor.

2. The spreading of calumniations reports or charges which tarnish reputation, like the bespattering of a body with foul water; calumny. Every candid critic would be ashamed to cast wholesale aspersions on the entire body of professional teachers. Grote. Who would by base aspersions blot thy virtue. Dryden.

ASPERSIVE As*pers"ive, a.

Defn: Tending to asperse; defamatory; slanderous. -- As*pers"ive*ly, adv.

ASPERSOIR As`per`soir", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: An aspergill.

ASPERSORIUM As`per*so"ri*um, n.; pl. Aspplwsoria. Etym: [LL. See Asperse.]

1. The stoup, basin, or other vessel for holy water in Roman Catholic churches.

2. A brush for sprinkling holy water; an aspergill.

ASPHALT; ASPHALTUM As"phalt, As*phal"tum, n. Etym: [Gr. asphalte.]

1. Mineral pitch, Jews' pitch, or compact native bitumen. It is brittle, of a black or brown color and high luster on a surface of fracture; it melts and burns when heated, leaving no residue. It occurs on the surface and shores of the Dead Sea, which is therefore called Asphaltites, or the Asphaltic Lake. It is found also in many parts of Asia, Europe, and America. See Bitumen.

2. A composition of bitumen, pitch, lime, and gravel, used for forming pavements, and as a water-proof cement for bridges, roofs, etc.; asphaltic cement. Artificial asphalt is prepared from coal tar, lime, sand, etc. Asphalt stone, Asphalt rock, a limestone found impregnated with asphalt.

ASPHALT As"phalt, v. t.

Defn: To cover with asphalt; as, to asphalt a roof; asphalted streets.

ASPHALTE As`phalte", n. Etym: [F. See Asphalt.]

Defn: Asphaltic mastic or cement. See Asphalt, 2.

ASPHALTIC As*phal"tic, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, of the nature of, or containing, asphalt; bituminous. "Asphaltic pool." "Asphaltic slime." Milton.

ASPHALTITE As*phal"tite, a.

Defn: Asphaltic.

ASPHALTITE As*phal"tite, a.

Defn: Asphaltic. Bryant.

ASPHALTUS As*phal"tus, n.

Defn: See Asphalt.

ASPHODEL As"pho*del, n. Etym: [L. asphodelus, Gr. Daffodil.] (Bot.)

Defn: A general name for a plant of the genus Asphodelus. The asphodels are hardy perennial plants, several species of which are cultivated for the beauty of their flowers.

Note: The name is also popularly given to species of other genera. The asphodel of the early English and French poets was the daffodil. The asphodel of the Greek poets is supposed to be the Narcissus poeticus. Dr. Prior. Pansies, and violets, and asphodel. Milton.

ASPHYCTIC As*phyc"tic, a.

Defn: Pertaining to asphyxia.

ASPHYXIA; ASPHYXY As*phyx"i*a, As*phyx"y, n. Etym: [NL. asphyxia, fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: Apparent death, or suspended animation; the condition which results from interruption of respiration, as in suffocation or drowning, or the inhalation of irrespirable gases.

ASPHYXIAL As*phyx"i*al, a.

Defn: Of or relating to asphyxia; as, asphyxial phenomena.

ASPHYXIATE As*phyx"i*ate, v. t.

Defn: To bring to a state of asphyxia; to suffocate.

Note: [Used commonly in the past pple.]

ASPHYXIATED; ASPHYXIED As*phyx"i*a`ted, As*phyx"ied, p. p.

Defn: In a state of asphyxia; suffocated.

ASPHYXIATION As*phyx`i*a"tion, n.

Defn: The act of causing asphyxia; a state of asphyxia.

ASPIC As"pic, n. Etym: [F. See Asp.]

1. The venomous asp. [Chiefly poetic] Shak. Tennyson.

2. A piece of ordnance carrying a 12 pound shot. [Obs.]

ASPIC As"pic, n. Etym: [F., a corrupt. of spic (OF. espi, F. épi), L. spica (spicum, spicus), ear, spike. See Spike.]

Defn: A European species of lavender (Lavandula spica), which produces a volatile oil. See Spike.

ASPIC As"pic, n. Etym: [F., prob. fr. aspic an asp.]

Defn: A savory meat jelly containing portions of fowl, game, fish, hard boiled eggs, etc. Thackeray.

ASPIDOBRANCHIA As`pi*do*bran"chi*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A group of Gastropoda, with limpetlike shells, including the abalone shells and keyhole limpets.

ASPIRANT As*pir"ant, a. Etym: [Cf. F. aspirant, p. pr. of aspirer. See Aspire.]

Defn: Aspiring.

ASPIRANT As*pir"ant, n. Etym: [Cf. F. aspirant.]

Defn: One who aspires; one who eagerly seeks some high position or object of attainment. In consequence of the resignations . . . the way to greatness was left clear to a new set of aspirants. Macaulay.

ASPIRATE As"pi*rate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Aspirated; p. pr. & vb. n. Aspirating.] Etym: [L. aspiratus, p. p. of aspirare to breathe toward or upon, to add the breathing h; ad + spirare to breathe, blow. Cf. Aspire.]

Defn: To pronounce with a breathing, an aspirate, or an h sound; as, we aspirate the words horse and house; to aspirate a vowel or a liquid consonant.

ASPIRATE As"pi*rate, n.

1. A sound consisting of, or characterized by, a breath like the sound of h; the breathing h or a character representing such a sound; an aspirated sound.

2. A mark of aspiration used in Greek; the asper, or rough breathing. Bentley.

3. An elementary sound produced by the breath alone; a surd, or nonvocal consonant; as, f, th in thin, etc.

ASPIRATE; ASPIRATED As"pi*rate, As"pi*ra"ted, a. Etym: [L. aspiratus, p. p.]

Defn: Pronounced with the h sound or with audible breath. But yet they are not aspirate, i. e., with such an aspiration as h. Holder.

ASPIRATION As`pi*ra"tion, n. Etym: [L. aspiratio, fr. aspirare: cf. F. aspiration.]

1. The act of aspirating; the pronunciation of a letter with a full or strong emission of breath; an aspirated sound. If aspiration be defined to be an impetus of breathing. Wilkins.

2. The act of breathing; a breath; an inspiration.

3. The act of aspiring of a ardently desiring; strong wish; high desire. "Aspirations after virtue." Johnson. Vague aspiration after military renown. Prescott.

ASPIRATOR As"pi*ra`tor, n.

1. (Chem.)

Defn: An apparatus for passing air or gases through or over certain liquids or solids, or for exhausting a closed vessel, by means of suction.

2. (Med.)

Defn: An instrument for the evacuation of the fluid contents of tumors or collections of blood.

ASPIRATORY As*pir"a*to*ry, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to breathing; suited to the inhaling of air

ASPIRE As*pire", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Aspired; p. pr. & vb. n. Aspiring.] Etym: [F. aspirer, L. aspirare. See Aspirate, v. t.]

1. To desire with eagerness; to seek to attain something high or great; to pant; to long; -- followed by to or after, and rarely by at; as, to aspire to a crown; to aspire after immorality. Aspiring to be gods, if angels fell; Aspiring to be angels, men rebel. Pope.

2. To rise; to ascend; to tower; to soar. My own breath still foments the fire, Which flames as high as fancy can aspire. Waller.

ASPIRE As*pire", v. t.

Defn: To aspire to; to long for; to try to reach; to mount to. [Obs.] That gallant spirit hath aspired the clouds. Shak.

ASPIRE As*pire", n.

Defn: Aspiration. [Obs.] Chapman.

ASPIREMENT As*pire"ment, n.

Defn: Aspiration. [Obs.]

ASPIRER As*pir"er, n.

Defn: One who aspires.

ASPIRIN As"pi*rin, n. (Pharm.)

Defn: A white crystalline compound of acetyl and salicylic acid used as a drug for the salicylic acid liberated from it in the intestines.

ASPIRING As*pir"ing, a.

Defn: That aspires; as, an Aspiring mind. -- As*pir"ing*ly, adv. -- As*pir"ing*ness, n.

ASPISH Asp"ish, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or like, an asp.

ASPORTATION As`por*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. asportatio, fr. asportare to carry away; abs = ab + portare to bear, carry.] (Law)

Defn: The felonious removal of goods from the place where they were deposited.

Note: It is adjudged to be larceny, though the goods are not carried from the house or apartment. Blackstone.

ASPRAWL A*sprawl", adv. & a.

Defn: Sprawling.

ASQUAT A*squat", adv. & a.

Defn: Squatting.

ASQUINT A*squint", adv. Etym: [Cf. Askant, Squint.]

Defn: With the eye directed to one side; not in the straight line of vision; obliquely; awry, so as to see distortedly; as, to look asquint.

ASS Ass, n. Etym: [OE. asse, AS. assa; akin to Icel. asni, W. asen, asyn, L. asinus, dim. aselus, Gr. esol, OHG. esil, G. esel, Goth. asilus, Dan. æsel, Lith. asilas, Bohem. osel, Pol. osiel. The word is prob. of Semitic origin; cf. Heb. ath she ass. Cf. Ease.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A quadruped of the genus Equus (E. asinus), smaller than the horse, and having a peculiarly harsh bray and long ears. The tame or domestic ass is patient, slow, and sure-footed, and has become the type of obstinacy and stupidity. There are several species of wild asses which are swift-footed.

2. A dull, heavy, stupid fellow; a dolt. Shak. Asses' Bridge. Etym: [L. pons asinorum.] The fifth proposition of the first book of Euclid, "The angles at the base of an isosceles triangle are equal to one another." [Sportive] "A schoolboy, stammering out his Asses' Bridge." F. Harrison. -- To make an ass of one's self, to do or say something very foolish or absurd.

ASSAFOETIDA As`sa*foet"i*da, n.

Defn: Same as Asafetida.

ASSAGAI; ASSEGAI As"sa*gai, As"se*gai, n. Etym: [Pg. azagaia, Sp. azagaya, fr. a Berber word. Cf. Lancegay.]

Defn: A spear used by tribes in South Africa as a missile and for stabbing, a kind of light javelin.

ASSAI As*sa"i. Etym: [It., fr. L. ad + satis enough. See Assets.] (Mus.)

Defn: A direction equivalent to very; as, adagio assai, very slow.

ASSAIL As*sail", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assailed; p. pr. & vb. n. Assailing.] Etym: [OE. assailen, asailen, OF. asaillir, assailler, F. assaillir; (L. ad) + saillir to burst out, project, fr. L. salire to leap, spring; cf. L. assilire to leap or spring upon. See Sally.]

1. To attack with violence, or in a vehement and hostile manner; to assault; to molest; as, to assail a man with blows; to assail a city with artillery. No rude noise mine ears assailing. Cowper. No storm can now assail The charm he wears within. Keble.

2. To encounter or meet purposely with the view of mastering, as an obstacle, difficulty, or the like. The thorny wilds the woodmen fierce assail. Pope.

3. To attack morally, or with a view to produce changes in the feelings, character, conduct, existing usages, institutions; to attack by words, hostile influence, etc.; as, to assail one with appeals, arguments, abuse, ridicule, and the like. The papal authority . . . assailed. Hallam. They assailed him with keen invective; they assailed him with still keener irony. Macaulay.

Syn. -- To attack; assault; invade; encounter; fall upon. See Attack.

ASSAILABLE As*sail"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being assailed.

ASSAILANT As*sail"ant, a. Etym: [F. assaillant, p. pr. of assaillir.]

Defn: Assailing; attacking. Milton.

ASSAILANT As*sail"ant, n. Etym: [F. assaillant.]

Defn: One who, or that which, assails, attacks, or assaults; an assailer. An assailant of the church. Macaulay.

ASSAILER As*sail"er, n.

Defn: One who assails.

ASSAILMENT As*sail"ment, n.

Defn: The act or power of assailing; attack; assault. [R.] His most frequent assailment was the headache. Johnson.

ASSAMAR As"sa*mar, n. Etym: [L. assare to roast + amarus, bitter.] (Chem.)

Defn: The peculiar bitter substance, soft or liquid, and of a yellow color, produced when meat, bread, gum, sugar, starch, and the like, are roasted till they turn brown.

ASSAMESE As`sam*ese", a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Assam, a province of British India, or to its inhabitants. -- n. sing. & pl.

Defn: A native or natives of Assam.

ASSAPAN; ASSAPANIC As`sa*pan", As`sa*pan"ic, n. Etym: [Prob. Indian name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The American flying squirrel (Pteromys volucella).

ASSART As*sart", n. Etym: [OF. essart the grubbing up of trees, fr. essarter to grub up or clear ground of bushes, shrubs, trees, etc., fr. LL. exartum, exartare, for exsaritare; L. ex + sarire, sarrire, saritum, to hoe, weed.]

1. (Old Law)

Defn: The act or offense of grubbing up trees and bushes, and thus destroying the tickets or coverts of a forest. Spelman. Cowell.

2. A piece of land cleared of trees and bushes, and fitted for cultivation; a clearing. Ash. Assart land, forest land cleared of woods and brush.

ASSART As*sart", v. t.

Defn: To grub up, as trees; to commit an assart upon; as, to assart land or trees. Ashmole.

ASSASSIN As*sas"sin, n. Etym: [F. (cf. It. assassino), fr. Ar. one who has drunk of the hashish. Under its influence the Assassins of the East, followers of the Shaikh al-Jabal (Old Man of the Mountain), were said to commit the murders required by their chief.]

Defn: One who kills, or attempts to kill, by surprise or secret assault; one who treacherously murders any one unprepared for defense.

ASSASSIN As*sas"sin, v. t.

Defn: To assassinate. [Obs.] Stillingfleet.

ASSASSINATE As*sas"sin*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assassinated; p. pr. & vb. n. Assassinating.] Etym: [LL. assassinatus, p. p. of assassinare.]

1. To kill by surprise or secret assault; to murder by treacherous violence. Help, neighbors, my house is broken open by force, and I am ravished, and like to be assassinated. Dryden.

2. To assail with murderous intent; hence, by extended meaning, to maltreat exceedingly. [Archaic] Your rhymes assassinate our fame. Dryden. Such usage as your honorable lords Afford me, assassinated and betrayed. Milton.

Syn. -- To kill; murder; slay. See Kill.

ASSASSINATE As*sas"sin*ate, n. Etym: [F. assassinat.]

1. An assassination, murder, or murderous assault. [Obs.] If I had made an assassinate upon your father. B. Jonson.

2. An assassin. [Obs.] Dryden.

ASSASSINATION As*sas`si*na"tion, n.

Defn: The act of assassinating; a killing by treacherous violence.

ASSASSINATOR As*sas"si*na`tor, n.

Defn: An assassin.

ASSASSINOUS As*sas"sin*ous, a.

Defn: Murderous. Milton.

ASSASTION As*sas"tion, n. Etym: [F., fr. LL. assatio, fr. L. assare to roast.]

Defn: Roasting. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

ASSAULT As*sault", n. Etym: [OE. asaut, assaut, OF. assaut, asalt, F. assaut, LL. assaltus; L. ad + saltus a leaping, a springing, salire to leap. See Assail.]

1. A violent onset or attack with physical means, as blows, weapons, etc.; an onslaught; the rush or charge of an attacking force; onset; as, to make assault upon a man, a house, or a town. The Spanish general prepared to renew the assault. Prescott. Unshaken bears the assault Of their most dreaded foe, the strong southwest. Wordsworth.

2. A violent onset or attack with moral weapons, as words, arguments, appeals, and the like; as, to make an assault on the prerogatives of a prince, or on the constitution of a government. Clarendon.

3. (Law)

Defn: An apparently violent attempt, or willful offer with force or violence, to do hurt to another; an attempt or offer to beat another, accompanied by a degree of violence, but without touching his person, as by lifting the fist, or a cane, in a threatening manner, or by striking at him, and missing him. If the blow aimed takes effect, it is a battery. Blackstone. Wharton. Practically, however, the word assault is used to include the battery. Mozley & W.

Syn. -- Attack; invasion; incursion; descent; onset; onslaught; charge; storm.

ASSAULT As*sault", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assaulted; p. pr. & vb. n. Assaulting.] Etym: [From Assault, n.: cf. OF. assaulter, LL. assaltare.]

1. To make an assault upon, as by a sudden rush of armed men; to attack with unlawful or insulting physical violence or menaces. Insnared, assaulted, overcome, led bound. Milton.

2. To attack with moral means, or with a view of producing moral effects; to attack by words, arguments, or unfriendly measures; to assail; as, to assault a reputation or an administration. Before the gates, the cries of babes newborn, . . . Assault his ears. Dryden.

Note: In the latter sense, assail is more common.

Syn. -- To attack; assail; invade; encounter; storm; charge. See Attack.

ASSAULTABLE As*sault"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being assaulted.

ASSAULTER As*sault"er, n.

Defn: One who assaults, or violently attacks; an assailant. E. Hall.

ASSAY As*say", n. Etym: [OF. asai, essai, trial, F. essa. See Essay, n.]

1. Trial; attempt; essay. [Obs.] Chaucer. I am withal persuaded that it may prove much more easy in the assay than it now seems at distance. Milton.

2. Examination and determination; test; as, an assay of bread or wine. [Obs.] This can not be, by no assay of reason. Shak.

3. Trial by danger or by affliction; adventure; risk; hardship; state of being tried. [Obs.] Through many hard assays which did betide. Spenser.

4. Tested purity or value. [Obs.] With gold and pearl of rich assay. Spenser.

5. (Metallurgy)

Defn: The act or process of ascertaining the proportion of a particular metal in an ore or alloy; especially, the determination of the proportion of gold or silver in bullion or coin.

6. The alloy or metal to be assayed. Ure. Assay and essay are radically the same word; but modern usage has appropriated assay chiefly to experiments in metallurgy, and essay to intellectual and bodily efforts. See Essay.]

Note: Assay is used adjectively or as the first part of a compound; as, assay balance, assay furnace. Assay master, an officer who assays or tests gold or silver coin or bullion. -- Assay ton, a weight of 29.1662/3 grams.

ASSAY As*say", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Assaying.] Etym: [OF. asaier, essaier, F. essayer, fr. essai. See Assay, n., Essay, v.]

1. To try; to attempt; to apply. [Obs. or Archaic] To-night let us assay our plot. Shak. Soft words to his fierce passion she assayed. Milton.

2. To affect. [Obs.] When the heart is ill assayed. Spenser.

3. To try tasting, as food or drink. [Obs.]

4. To subject, as an ore, alloy, or other metallic compound, to chemical or metallurgical examination, in order to determine the amount of a particular metal contained in it, or to ascertain its composition.

ASSAY As*say", v. i.

Defn: To attempt, try, or endeavor. [Archaic. In this sense essay is now commonly used.] She thrice assayed to speak. Dryden.

ASSAYABLE As*say"a*ble, a.

Defn: That may be assayed.

ASSAYER As*say"er, n.

Defn: One who assays. Specifically: One who examines metallic ores or compounds, for the purpose of determining the amount of any particular metal in the same, especially of gold or silver.

ASSAYING As*say"ing, n.

Defn: The act or process of testing, esp. of analyzing or examining metals and ores, to determine the proportion of pure metal.

ASSAY POUND As"say pound.

Defn: A small standard weight used in assaying bullion, etc., sometimes equaling 0.5 gram, but varying with the assayer.

ASSAY TON Assay ton.

Defn: A weight of 29.166 + grams used in assaying, for convenience. Since it bears the same relation to the milligram that a ton of 2000 avoirdupois pounds does to the troy ounce, the weight in milligrams of precious metal obtained from an assay ton of ore gives directly the number of ounces to the ton.

ASSE Asse, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small foxlike animal (Vulpes cama) of South Africa, valued for its fur.

ASSECURATION As`se*cu*ra"tion, n. Etym: [LL. assecuratio, fr. assecurare.]

Defn: Assurance; certainty. [Obs.]

ASSECURE As`se*cure", v. t. Etym: [LL. assecurare.]

Defn: To make sure or safe; to assure. [Obs.] Hooker.

ASSECUTION As`se*cu"tion, n. Etym: [F. assécution, fr. L. assequi to obtain; ad + sequi to follow.]

Defn: An obtaining or acquiring. [Obs.] Ayliffe.

ASSEGAI As"se*gai, n.

Defn: Same as Assagai.

ASSEMBLAGE As*sem"blage, n. Etym: [Cf. F. assemblage. See Assemble.]

1. The act of assembling, or the state o In sweet assemblage every blooming grace. Fenton.

2. A collection of individuals, or of individuals, or of particular things; as, a political assemblage; an assemblage of ideas.

Syn. -- Company; group; collection; concourse; gathering; meeting; convention. Assemblage, Assembly. An assembly consists only of persons; an assemblage may be composed of things as well as persons, as, an assemblage of incoherent objects. Nor is every assemblage of persons an assembly; since the latter term denotes a body who have met, and are acting, in concert for some common end, such as to hear, to deliberate, to unite in music, dancing, etc. An assemblage of skaters on a lake, or of horse jockeys at a race course, is not an assembly, but might be turned into one by collecting into a body with a view to discuss and decide as to some object of common interest.

ASSEMBLANCE As*sem"blance, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. assemblance.]

1. Resemblance; likeness; appearance. [Obs.] Care I for the . . . stature, bulk, and big assemblance of a man Shak.

2. An assembling; assemblage. [Obs.] To weete [know] the cause of their assemblance. Spenser.

ASSEMBLE As*sem"ble, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assembled; p. pr. & vb. n. Assembling.] Etym: [F. assembler, fr. LL. assimulare to bring together to collect; L. ad + simul together; akin to similis like, Gr. same. Cf. Assimilate, Same.]

Defn: To collect into one place or body; to bring or call together; to convene; to congregate. Thither he assembled all his train. Milton. All the men of Israel assembled themselves. 1 Kings viii. 2.

ASSEMBLE As*sem"ble, v. i.

Defn: To meet or come together, as a number of individuals; to convene; to congregate. Dryden. The Parliament assembled in November. W. Massey.

ASSEMBLE As*sem"ble, v. i.

Defn: To liken; to compare. [Obs.] Bribes may be assembled to pitch. Latimer.

ASSEMBLER As*sem"bler, n.

Defn: One who assembles a number of individuals; also, one of a number assembled.

ASSEMBLY As*sem"bly, n.; pl. Assemblies. Etym: [F. assemblée, fr. assembler. See Assemble.]

1. A company of persons collected together in one place, and usually for some common purpose, esp. for deliberation and legislation, for worship, or for social entertainment.

2. A collection of inanimate objects. [Obs.] Howell.

3. (Mil.)

Defn: A beat of the drum or sound of the bugle as a signal to troops to assemble.

Note: In some of the United States, the legislature, or the popular branch of it, is called the Assembly, or the General Assembly. In the Presbyterian Church, the General Assembly is the highest ecclesiastical tribunal, composed of ministers and ruling elders delegated from each presbytery; as, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, or of Scotland. Assembly room, a room in which persons assemble, especially for dancing. -- Unlawful assembly (Law), a meeting of three or more persons on a common plan, in such a way as to cause a reasonable apprehension that they will disturb the peace tumultuously. -- Westminster Assembly, a convocation, consisting chiefly of divines, which, by act of Parliament, assembled July 1, 1643, and remained in session some years. It framed the "Confession of Faith," the "Larger Catechism," and the "Shorter Catechism," which are still received as authority by Presbyterians, and are substantially accepted by Congregationalists.

Syn. -- See Assemblage.

ASSEMBLYMAN As*sem"bly*man, n.; pl. Assemblymen.

Defn: A member of an assembly, especially of the lower branch of a state legislature.

ASSENT As*sent", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assented; p. pr. & vb. n. Assenting.] Etym: [F. assentir, L. assentire, assentiri; ad + sentire to feel, think. See Sense.]

Defn: To admit a thing as true; to express one's agreement, acquiescence, concurrence, or concession. Who informed the governor . . . And the Jews also assented, saying that these things were so. Acts xxiv. 9. The princess assented to all that was suggested. Macaulay.

Syn. -- To yield; agree; acquiesce; concede; concur.

ASSENT As*sent", n. Etym: [OE. assent, fr. assentir. See Assent, v.]

Defn: The act of assenting; the act of the mind in admitting or agreeing to anything; concurrence with approval; consent; agreement; acquiescence. Faith is the assent to any proposition, on the credit of the proposer. Locke. The assent, if not the approbation, of the prince. Prescott. Too many people read this ribaldry with assent and admiration. Macaulay. Royal assent, in England, the assent of the sovereign to a bill which has passed both houses of Parliament, after which it becomes law.

Syn. -- Concurrence; acquiescence; approval; accord. -- Assent, Consent. Assent is an act of the understanding, consent of the will or feelings. We assent to the views of others when our minds come to the same conclusion with theirs as to what is true, right, or admissible. We consent when there is such a concurrence of our will with their desires and wishes that we decide to comply with their requests. The king of England gives his assent, not his consent, to acts of Parliament, because, in theory at least, he is not governed by personal feelings or choice, but by a deliberate, judgment as to the common good. We also use assent in cases where a proposal is made which involves but little interest or feeling. A lady may assent to a gentleman's opening the window; but if he offers himself in marriage, he must wait for her consent.

ASSENTATION As`sen*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. assentatio. See Assent, v.]

Defn: Insincere, flattering, or obsequious assent; hypocritical or pretended concurrence. Abject flattery and indiscriminate assentation degrade as much as indiscriminate contradiction and noisy debate disgust. Ld. Chesterfield.

ASSENTATOR As`sen*ta"tor, n. Etym: [L., fr. assentari to assent constantly.]

Defn: An obsequious; a flatterer. [R.]

ASSENTATORY As*sent"a*to*ry, a.

Defn: Flattering; obsequious. [Obs.] -- As*sent"a*to*ri*ly, adv. [Obs.]

ASSENTER As*sent"er, n.

Defn: One who assents.

ASSENTIENT As*sen"tient, a.

Defn: Assenting.

ASSENTING As*sent"ing, a.

Defn: Giving or implying assent. -- As*sent"ing*ly, adv.

ASSENTIVE As*sent"ive, a.

Defn: Giving assent; of the nature of assent; complying. -- As*sent"ive*ness, n.

ASSENTMENT As*sent"ment, n.

Defn: Assent; agreement. [Obs.]

ASSERT As*sert", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Asserted; p. pr. & vb. n. Asserting.] Etym: [L. assertus, p. p. of asserere to join or fasten to one's self, claim, maintain; ad + serere to join or bind together. See Series.]

1. To affirm; to declare with assurance, or plainly and strongly; to state positively; to aver; to asseverate. Nothing is more shameful . . . than to assert anything to be done without a cause. Ray.

2. To maintain; to defend. [Obs. or Archaic] That . . . I may assert Eternal Providence, And justify the ways of God to men. Milton. I will assert it from the scandal. Jer. Taylor.

3. To maintain or defend, as a cause or a claim, by words or measures; to vindicate a claim or title to; as, to assert our rights and liberties. To assert one's self, to claim or vindicate one's rights or position; to demand recognition.

Syn. -- To affirm; aver; asseverate; maintain; protest; pronounce; declare; vindicate. -- To Assert, Affirm, Maintain, Vindicate. To assert is to fasten to one's self, and hence to claim. It is, therefore, adversative in its nature. We assert our rights and privileges, or the cause of tree institutions, as against opposition or denial. To affirm is to declare as true. We assert boldly; we affirm positively. To maintain is to uphold, and insist upon with earnestness, whatever we have once asserted; as, to maintain one's cause, to maintain an argument, to maintain the ground we have taken. To vindicate is to use language and measures of the strongest kind, in defense of ourselves and those for whom we act. We maintain our assertions by adducing proofs, facts, or arguments; we are ready to vindicate our rights or interests by the utmost exertion of our powers.

ASSERTER As*sert"er, n.

Defn: One who asserts; one who avers pr maintains; an assertor. The inflexible asserter of the rights of the church. Milman.

ASSERTION As*ser"tion, n. Etym: [L. assertio, fr. asserere.]

1. The act of asserting, or that which is asserted; positive declaration or averment; affirmation; statement asserted; position advanced. There is a difference between assertion and demonstration. Macaulay.

2. Maintenance; vindication; as, the assertion of one's rights or prerogatives.

ASSERTIVE As*sert"ive, a.

Defn: Positive; affirming confidently; affirmative; peremptory. In a confident and assertive form. Glanvill. As*sert"ive*ly, adv. -- As*sert"ive*ness, n.

ASSERTOR As*sert"or, n. Etym: [L., fr. asserere.]

Defn: One who asserts or avers; one who maintains or vindicates a claim or a right; an affirmer, supporter, or vindicator; a defender; an asserter. The assertors of liberty said not a word. Macaulay. Faithful assertor of thy country's cause. Prior.

ASSERTORIAL As`ser*to"ri*al, a.

Defn: Asserting that a thing is; -- opposed to problematical and apodeictical.

ASSERTORY As*sert"o*ry, a. Etym: [L. assertorius, fr. asserere.]

Defn: Affirming; maintaining. Arguments . . . assertory, not probatory. Jer. Taylor. An assertory, not a promissory, declaration. Bentham. A proposition is assertory, when it enounces what is known as actual. Sir W. Hamilton.

ASSESS As*sess", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assessed; p. pr. & vb. n. Assessing.] Etym: [OF. assesser to regulate, settle, LL. assessare to value for taxation, fr. L. assidere, supine as if assessum, to sit by, esp. of judges in a court, in LL. to assess, tax. Cf. Assize, v., Cess.]

1. To value; to make a valuation or official estimate of for the purpose of taxation.

2. To apportion a sum to be paid by (a person, a community, or an estate), in the nature of a tax, fine, etc.; to impose a tax upon (a person, an estate, or an income) according to a rate or apportionment.

3. To determine and impose a tax or fine upon (a person, community, estate, or income); to tax; as, the club assessed each member twenty- five cents.

4. To fix or determine the rate or amount of. This sum is assessed and raised upon individuals by commissioners in the act. Blackstone.

ASSESSABLE As*sess"a*ble, a.

Defn: Liable to be assessed or taxed; as, assessable property.

ASSESSEE As`sess*ee", n.

Defn: One who is assessed.

ASSESSION As*ses"sion, n. Etym: [L. assessio, fr. assid to sit by or near; ad + sed to sit. See Sit.]

Defn: A sitting beside or near.

ASSESSMENT As*sess"ment, n. Etym: [LL. assessamentum.]

1. The act of assessing; the act of determining an amount to be paid; as, an assessment of damages, or of taxes; an assessment of the members of a club.

2. A valuation of property or profits of business, for the purpose of taxation; such valuation and an adjudging of the proper sum to be levied on the property; as, an assessment of property or an assessment on property.

Note: An assessment is a valuation made by authorized persons according to their discretion, as opposed to a sum certain or determined by law. It is a valuation of the property of those who are to pay the tax, for the purpose of fixing the proportion which each man shall pay. Blackstone. Burrill.

3. The specific sum levied or assessed.

4. An apportionment of a subscription for stock into successive installments; also, one of these installments (in England termed a "call"). [U. S.]

ASSESSOR As*sess"or, n. Etym: [L., one who sits beside, the assistant of a judge, fr. assid. See Assession. LL., one who arranges of determines the taxes, fr. assid. See Assess, v., and cf. Cessor.]

1. One appointed or elected to assist a judge or magistrate with his special knowledge of the subject to be decided; as legal assessors, nautical assessors. Mozley & W.

2. One who sits by another, as next in dignity, or as an assistant and adviser; an associate in office. Whence to his Son, The assessor of his throne, he thus began. Milton. With his ignorance, his inclinations, and his fancy, as his assessors in judgment. I. Taylor.

3. One appointed to assess persons or property for the purpose of taxation. Bouvier.

ASSESSORIAL As`ses*so"ri*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. assessorial, fr. L. assessor.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to an assessor, or to a court of assessors. Coxe.

ASSESSORSHIP As*sess"or*ship, n.

Defn: The office or function of an assessor.

ASSET As"set, n.

Defn: Any article or separable part of one's assets.

ASSETS As"sets, n. pl. Etym: [OF. asez enough, F. assez, fr. L. ad + satis, akin to Gr. saps full. Cf. Assai, Satisfy.]

1. (Law) (a) Property of a deceased person, subject by law to the payment of his debts and legacies; -- called assets because sufficient to render the executor or administrator liable to the creditors and legatees, so far as such goods or estate may extend. Story. Blackstone. (b) Effects of an insolvent debtor or bankrupt, applicable to the payment of debts.

2. The entire property of all sorts, belonging to a person, a corporation, or an estate; as, the assets of a merchant or a trading association; -- opposed to liabilities.

Note: In balancing accounts the assets are put on the Cr. side and the debts on the Dr. side.

ASSEVER As*sev"er, v. t. Etym: [Cf. OF. asseverer, fr. L. asseverare.]

Defn: See Asseverate. [Archaic]

ASSEVERATE As*sev"er*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Asseverated; p. pr. & vb. n. Asseverating.] Etym: [L. asseveratus, p. p. of asseverare to assert seriously or earnestly; ad + severus. See Severe.]

Defn: To affirm or aver positively, or with solemnity.

Syn. -- To affirm; aver; protest; declare. See Affirm.

ASSEVERATION As*sev`er*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. asseveratio.]

Defn: The act of asseverating, or that which is asseverated; positive affirmation or assertion; solemn declaration. Another abuse of the tongue I might add, -- vehement asseverations upon slight and trivial occasions. Ray.

ASSEVERATIVE As*sev"er*a*tive, a.

Defn: Characterized by asseveration; asserting positively.

ASSEVERATORY As*sev"er*a*to*ry, a.

Defn: Asseverative.

ASSIBILATE As*sib"i*late, v. t. Etym: [L. assibilatus, p. p. of assibilare to hiss out; ad + sibilare to hiss.]

Defn: To make sibilant; to change to a sibilant. J. Peile.

ASSIBILATION As*sib`i*la"tion, n.

Defn: Change of a non-sibilant letter to a sibilant, as of -tion to - shun, duke to ditch.

ASSIDEAN As`si*de"an, n. Etym: [Heb. khasad to be pious.]

Defn: One of a body of devoted Jews who opposed the Hellenistic Jews, and supported the Asmoneans.

ASSIDENT As"si*dent, a. Etym: [L. assidens, p. pr. of assid to sit by: cf. F. assident. See Assession.] (Med.)

Defn: Usually attending a disease, but not always; as, assident signs, or symptoms.

ASSIDUATE As*sid"u*ate, a. Etym: [L. assiduatus, p. p. of assiduare to use assiduously.]

Defn: Unremitting; assiduous. [Obs.] "Assiduate labor." Fabyan.

ASSIDUITY As`si*du"i*ty, n.; pl. Assiduities. Etym: [L. assiduitas: cf. F. assiduite. See Assiduous.]

1. Constant or close application or attention, particularly to some business or enterprise; diligence. I have, with much pains and assiduity, qualified myself for a nomenclator. Addison.

2. Studied and persevering attention to a person; -- usually in the plural.

ASSIDUOUS As*sid"u*ous, a. Etym: [L. assiduus, fr. assid to sit near or close; ad + sed to sit. See Sit.]

1. Constant in application or attention; devoted; attentive; unremitting. She grows more assiduous in her attendance. Addison.

2. Performed with constant diligence or attention; unremitting; persistent; as, assiduous labor. To weary him with my assiduous cries. Milton.

Syn. -- Diligent; attentive; sedulous; unwearied; unintermitted; persevering; laborious; indefatigable. As*sid"u*ous*ly, adv. -- As*sid"u*ous*ness, n.

ASSIEGE As*siege", v. t. Etym: [OE. asegen, OF. asegier, F. assiéger, fr. LL. assediare, assidiare, to besiege. See Siege.]

Defn: To besiege. [Obs.] "Assieged castles." Spenser.

ASSIEGE As*siege", n.

Defn: A siege. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ASSIENTIST As`si*en"tist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. assientiste, Sp. asentista.]

Defn: A shareholder of the Assiento company; one of the parties to the Assiento contract. Bancroft.

ASSIENTO As`si*en"to, n. Etym: [Sp. asiento seat, contract or agreement, fr. asentar to place on a chair, to adjust, to make an agreement; a (L. ad) + sentar, a participial verb; as if there were a L. sedentare to cause to sit, fr. sedens, sedentis, p. pr. of sed to sit.]

Defn: A contract or convention between Spain and other powers for furnishing negro slaves for the Spanish dominions in America, esp. the contract made with Great Britain in 1713.

ASSIGN As*sign", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assigned; p. pr. & vb. n. Assigning.] Etym: [OE. assignen, asignen, F. assigner, fr. L. assignare; ad + signare to mark, mark out, designate, signum mark, sign. See Sign.]

1. To appoint; to allot; to apportion; to make over. In the order I assign to them. Loudon. The man who could feel thus was worthy of a better station than that in which his lot had been assigned. Southey. He assigned to his men their several posts. Prescott.

2. To fix, specify, select, or designate; to point out authoritatively or exactly; as, to assign a limit; to assign counsel for a prisoner; to assign a day for trial. All as the dwarf the way to her assigned. Spenser. It is not easy to assign a period more eventful. De Quincey.

3. (Law)

Defn: To transfer, or make over to another, esp. to transfer to, and vest in, certain persons, called assignees, for the benefit of creditors. To assign dower, to set out by metes and bounds the widow's share or portion in an estate. Kent.

ASSIGN As*sign", n. Etym: [From Assign, v.]

Defn: A thing pertaining or belonging to something else; an appurtenance. [Obs.] Six French rapiers and poniards, with their assigns, as girdles, hangers, and so. Shak.

ASSIGN As*sign", n. Etym: [See Assignee.] (Law)

Defn: A person to whom property or an interest is transferred; as, a deed to a man and his heirs and assigns.

ASSIGNABILITY As*sign`a*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality of being assignable.

ASSIGNABLE As*sign"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being assigned, allotted, specified, or designated; as, an assignable note or bill; an assignable reason; an assignable quantity.

ASSIGNAT As`si`gnat", n. Etym: [F. assignat, fr. L. assignatus, p. p. of assignare.]

Defn: One of the notes, bills, or bonds, issued as currency by the revolutionary government of France (1790-1796), and based on the security of the lands of the church and of nobles which had been appropriated by the state.

ASSIGNATION As`sig*na"tion, n. Etym: [L. assignatio, fr. assignare: cf. F. assignation.]

1. The act of assigning or allotting; apportionment. This order being taken in the senate, as touching the appointment and assignation of those provinces. Holland.

2. An appointment of time and place for meeting or interview; -- used chiefly of love interviews, and now commonly in a bad sense. While nymphs take treats, or assignations give. Pope.

3. A making over by transfer of title; assignment. House of assignation, a house in which appointments for sexual intercourse are fulfilled.

ASSIGNEE As`sign*ee", n. Etym: [F. assigné, p. p. of assigner. See Assign, v., and cf. Assign an assignee.] (Law) (a) A person to whom an assignment is made; a person appointed or deputed by another to do some act, perform some business, or enjoy some right, privilege, or property; as, an assignee of a bankrupt. See Assignment (c). An assignee may be by special appointment or deed, or be created by jaw; as an executor. Cowell. Blount. (b) pl.

Defn: In England, the persons appointed, under a commission of bankruptcy, to manage the estate of a bankrupt for the benefit of his creditors.

ASSIGNER As*sign"er, n.

Defn: One who assigns, appoints, allots, or apportions.

ASSIGNMENT As*sign"ment, n. Etym: [LL. assignamentum: cf. OF. assenement.]

1. An allotting or an appointment to a particular person or use; or for a particular time, as of a cause or causes in court.

2. (Law) (a) A transfer of title or interest by writing, as of lease, bond, note, or bill of exchange; a transfer of the whole of some particular estate or interest in lands. (b) The writing by which an interest is transferred. (c) The transfer of the property of a bankrupt to certain persons called assignees, in whom it is vested for the benefit of creditors. Assignment of dower, the setting out by metes and bounds of the widow's thirds or portion in the deceased husband's estate, and allotting it to her.

Note: Assignment is also used in law as convertible with specification; assignment of error in proceedings for review being specification of error; and assignment of perjury or fraud in indictment being specifications of perjury or fraud.

ASSIGNOR As`sign*or", n. Etym: [L. assignator. Cf. Assigner.] (Law)

Defn: An assigner; a person who assigns or transfers an interest; as, the assignor of a debt or other chose in action.

ASSIMILABILITY As*sim`i*la*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality of being assimilable. [R.] Coleridge.

ASSIMILABLE As*sim"i*la*ble, a.

Defn: That may be assimilated; that may be likened, or appropriated and incorporated.

ASSIMILATE As*sim"i*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assimilated; p. pr. & vb. n. Assimilating.] Etym: [L. assimilatus, p. p. of assimilare; ad + similare to make like, similis like. See Similar, Assemble, Assimilate.]

1. To bring to a likeness or to conformity; to cause a resemblance between. Sir M. Hale. To assimilate our law to the law of Scotland. John Bright. Fast falls a fleecy; the downy flakes Assimilate all objects. Cowper.

2. To liken; to compa [R.]

3. To appropriate and transform or incorporate into the substance of the assimilating body; to absorb or appropriate, as nourishment; as, food is assimilated and converted into organic tissue. Hence also animals and vegetables may assimilate their nourishment. Sir I. Newton. His mind had no power to assimilate the lessons. Merivale.

ASSIMILATE As*sim"i*late, v. i.

1. To become similar or like something else. [R.]

2. To change and appropriate nourishment so as to make it a part of the substance of the assimilating body. Aliment easily assimilated or turned into blood. Arbuthnot.

3. To be converted into the substance of the assimilating body; to become incorporated; as, some kinds of food assimilate more readily than others. I am a foreign material, and cannot assimilate with the church of England. J. H. Newman.

ASSIMILATION As*sim`i*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. assimilatio: cf. F. assimilation.]

1. The act or process of assimilating or bringing to a resemblance, likeness, or identity; also, the state of being so assimilated; as, the assimilation of one sound to another. To aspire to an assimilation with God. Dr. H. More. The assimilation of gases and vapors. Sir J. Herschel.

2. (Physiol.)

Defn: The conversion of nutriment into the fluid or solid substance of the body, by the processes of digestion and absorption, whether in plants or animals. Not conversing the body, not repairing it by assimilation, but preserving it by ventilation. Sir T. Browne.

Note: The term assimilation has been limited by some to the final process by which the nutritive matter of the blood is converted into the substance of the tissues and organs.

ASSIMILATIVE As*sim"i*la*tive, a. Etym: [Cf. LL. assimilativus, F. assimilatif.]

Defn: Tending to, or characterized by, assimilation; that assimilates or causes assimilation; as, an assimilative process or substance.

ASSIMILATORY As*sim"i*la*to*ry, a.

Defn: Tending to assimilate, or produce assimilation; as, assimilatory organs.

ASSIMULATE As*sim"u*late, v. t. Etym: [L. assimulatus, p. p. of assimulare, equiv. to assimilare. See Assimilate, v. t.]

1. To feign; to counterfeit; to simulate; to resemble. [Obs.] Blount.

2. To assimilate. [Obs.] Sir M. Hale.

ASSIMULATION As*sim`u*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. assimulatio, equiv. to assimilatio.]

Defn: Assimilation. [Obs.] Bacon.

ASSINEGO As`si*ne"go, n.

Defn: See Asinego.

ASSISH Ass"ish, a.

Defn: Resembling an ass; asinine; stupid or obstinate. Such . . . appear to be of the assich kind . . . Udall.

ASSIST As*sist", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Assisting.] Etym: [L. assistere; ad + sistere to cause to stand, to stand, from stare to stand: cf. F. assister. See Stand.]

Defn: To give support to in some undertaking or effort, or in time of distress; to help; to aid; to succor. Assist me, knight. I am undone! Shak.

Syn. -- To help; aid; second; back; support; relieve; succor; befriend; sustain; favor. See Help.

ASSIST As*sist", v. i.

1. To lend aid; to help. With God not parted from him, as was feared, But favoring and assisting to the end. Milton.

2. To be present as a spectator; as, to assist at a public meeting. [A Gallicism] Gibbon. Prescott.

ASSISTANCE As*sist"ance, n. Etym: [Cf. F. assistance.]

1. The act of assisting; help; aid; furtherance; succor; support. Without the assistance of a mortal hand. Shak.

2. An assistant or helper; a body of helpers. [Obs.] Wat Tyler [was] killed by valiant Walworth, the lord mayor of London, and his assistance, . . . John Cavendish. Fuller.

3. Persons present. [Obs. or a Gallicism]

ASSISTANT As*sist"ant, a. Etym: [Cf. F. assistant, p. pr. of assister.]

1. Helping; lending aid or support; auxiliary. Genius and learning . . . are mutually and greatly assistant to each other. Beattie.

2. (Mil.)

Defn: Of the second grade in the staff of the army; as, an assistant surgeon. [U.S.]

Note: In the English army it designates the third grade in any particular branch of the staff. Farrow.

ASSISTANT As*sist"ant, n.

1. One who, or that which, assists; a helper; an auxiliary; a means of help. Four assistants who his labor share. Pope. Rhymes merely as assistants to memory. Mrs. Chapone.

2. An attendant; one who is present. Dryden.

ASSISTANTLY As*sist"ant*ly, adv.

Defn: In a manner to give aid. [R.]

ASSISTER As*sist"er, n.

Defn: An assistant; a helper.

ASSISTFUL As*sist"ful, a.

Defn: Helpful.

ASSISTIVE As*sist"ive, a.

Defn: Lending aid, helping.

ASSISTLESS As*sist"less, a.

Defn: Without aid or help. [R.] Pope.

ASSISTOR As*sist"or, n. (Law)

Defn: A assister.

ASSITHMENT As*sith"ment, n.

Defn: See Assythment. [Obs.]

ASSIZE As*size", n. Etym: [OE. assise, asise, OF. assise, F. assises, assembly of judges, the decree pronounced by them, tax, impost, fr. assis, assise, p. p. of asseoir, fr. L. assid to sit by; ad + sed to sit. See Sit, Size, and cf. Excise, Assess.]

1. An assembly of knights and other substantial men, with a bailiff or justice, in a certain place and at a certain time, for public business. [Obs.]

2. (Law) (a) A special kind of jury or inquest. (b) A kind of writ or real action. (c) A verdict or finding of a jury upon such writ. (d) A statute or ordinance in general. Specifically: (1) A statute regulating the weight, measure, and proportions of ingredients and the price of articles sold in the market; as, the assize of bread and other provisions; (2) A statute fixing the standard of weights and measures. (e) Anything fixed or reduced to a certainty in point of time, number, quantity, quality, weight, measure, etc.; as, rent of assize. Glanvill. Spelman. Cowell. Blackstone. Tomlins. Burrill.

Note: [This term is not now used in England in the sense of a writ or real action, and seldom of a jury of any kind, but in Scotch practice it is still technically applied to the jury in criminal cases. Stephen. Burrill. Erskine.] (f) A court, the sitting or session of a court, for the trial of processes, whether civil or criminal, by a judge and jury. Blackstone. Wharton. Encyc. Brit. (g) The periodical sessions of the judges of the superior courts in every county of England for the purpose of administering justice in the trial and determination of civil and criminal cases; -- usually in the plural. Brande. Wharton. Craig. Burrill. (h) The time or place of holding the court of assize; -- generally in the plural, assizes.

3. Measure; dimension; size. [In this sense now corrupted into size.] An hundred cubits high by just assize. Spenser. [Formerly written, as in French, assise.]

ASSIZE As*size", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assized; p. pr. & vb. n. Assizing.] Etym: [From Assize, n.: cf. LL. assisare to decree in assize. Cf. Asses, v.]

1. To assess; to value; to rate. [Obs.] Gower.

2. To fix the weight, measure, or price of, by an ordinance or regulation of authority. [Obs.]

ASSIZER As*siz"er, n.

Defn: An officer who has the care or inspection of weights and measures, etc.

ASSIZOR As*siz"or, n. (Scots Law)

Defn: A juror.

ASSOBER As*so"ber, v. t. Etym: [Pref. ad- + sober. Cf. Ensober.]

Defn: To make or keep sober. [Obs.] Gower.

ASSOCIABILITY As*so`cia*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality of being associable, or capable of association; associableness. "The associability of feelings." H. Spencer.

ASSOCIABLE As*so"cia*ble, a. Etym: [See Associate.]

1. Capable of being associated or joined. We know feelings to be associable only by the proved ability of one to revive another. H. Spencer.

2. Sociable; companionable. [Obs.]

3. (Med.)

Defn: Liable to be affected by sympathy with other parts; -- said of organs, nerves, muscles, etc. The stomach, the most associable of all the organs of the animal body. Med. Rep.

ASSOCIABLENESS As*so"cia*ble*ness, n.

Defn: Associability.

ASSOCIATE As*so"ci*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Associated; p. pr. & vb. n. Associating.] Etym: [L. associatus, p. p. of associare; ad + sociare to join or unite, socius companion. See Social.]

1. To join with one, as a friend, companion, partner, or confederate; as, to associate others with .

2. To join or connect; to combine in acting; as, particles of gold associated with other substances.

3. To connect or place together in thought. He succeeded in associating his name inseparably with some names which will last an long as our language. Macaulay.

4. To accompany; to keep company with. [Obs.] Friends should associate friends in grief and woe. Shak.

ASSOCIATE As*so"ci*ate, v. i.

1. To unite in company; to keep company, implying intimacy; as, congenial minds are disposed to associate.

2. To unite in action, or to be affected by the action of a different part of the body. E. Darwin.

ASSOCIATE As*so"ci*ate, a. Etym: [L. associatus, p. p.]

1. Closely connected or joined with some other, as in interest, purpose, employment, or office; sharing responsibility or authority; as, an associate judge. While I descend . . . to my associate powers. Milton.

2. Admitted to some, but not to all, rights and privileges; as, an associate member.

3. (Physiol.)

Defn: Connected by habit or sympathy; as, associate motions, such as occur sympathetically, in consequence of preceding motions. E. Darwin.

ASSOCIATE As*so"ci*ate, n.

1. A companion; one frequently in company with another, implying intimacy or equality; a mate; a fellow.

2. A partner in interest, as in business; or a confederate in a league.

3. One connected with an association or institution without the full rights or privileges of a regular member; as, an associate of the Royal Academy.

4. Anything closely or usually connected with another; an concomitant. The one [idea] no sooner comes into the understanding, than its associate appears with it. Locke.

Syn. -- Companion; mate; fellow; friend; ally; partner; coadjutor; comrade; accomplice.

ASSOCIATED As*so"ci*a`ted, a.

Defn: Joined as a companion; brought into association; accompanying; combined. Associated movements (Physiol.), consensual movements which accompany voluntary efforts without our consciousness. Dunglison.

ASSOCIATESHIP As*so"ci*ate*ship, n.

Defn: The state of an associate, as in Academy or an office.

ASSOCIATION As*so`ci*a"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. association, LL. associatio, fr. L. associare.]

1. The act of associating, or state of being associated; union; connection, whether of persons of things. "Some . . . bond of association." Hooker. Self-denial is a kind of holy association with God. Boyle.

2. Mental connection, or that which is mentally linked or associated with a thing. Words . . . must owe their powers association. Johnson. Why should . . . the holiest words, with all their venerable associations, be profaned Coleridge.

3. Union of persons in a company or society for some particular purpose; as, the American Association for the Advancement of Science; a benevolent association. Specifically, as among the Congregationalists, a society, consisting of a number of ministers, generally the pastors of neighboring churches, united for promoting the interests of religion and the harmony of the churches. Association of ideas (Physiol.), the combination or connection of states of mind or their objects with one another, as the result of which one is said to be revived or represented by means of the other. The relations according to which they are thus connected or revived are called the law of association. Prominent among them are reckoned the relations of time and place, and of cause and effect. Porter.

ASSOCIATIONAL As*so`ci*a"tion*al, a.

1. Of or pertaining to association, or to an association.

2. Pertaining to the theory held by the associationists.

ASSOCIATIONISM As*so`ci*a"tion*ism, n. (Philos.)

Defn: The doctrine or theory held by associationists.

ASSOCIATIONIST As*so`ci*a"tion*ist, n. (Philos.)

Defn: One who explains the higher functions and relations of the soul by the association of ideas; e. g., Hartley, J. C. Mill.

ASSOCIATIVE As*so"ci*a*tive, a.

Defn: Having the quality of associating; tending or leading to association; as, the associative faculty. Hugh Miller.

ASSOCIATOR As*so"ci*a`tor, n.

Defn: An associate; a confederate or partner in any scheme. How Pennsylvania's air agrees with Quakers, And Carolina's with associators. Dryden.

ASSOIL As*soil", v. t. Etym: [OF. assoiler, absoiler, assoldre, F. absoudre, L. absolvere. See Absolve.]

1. To set free; to release. [Archaic] Till from her hands the spright assoiled is. Spenser.

2. To solve; to clear up. [Obs.] Any child might soon be able to assoil this riddle. Bp. Jewel.

3. To set free from guilt; to absolve. [Archaic] Acquitted and assoiled from the guilt. Dr. H. More. Many persons think themselves fairly assoiled, because they are . . . not of scandalous lives. Jer. Taylor.

4. To expiate; to atone for. [Archaic] Spenser. Let each act assoil a fault. E. Arnold.

5. To remove; to put off. [Obs.] She soundly slept, and careful thoughts did quite assoil. Spenser.

ASSOIL As*soil", v. t. Etym: [Pref. ad- + soil.]

Defn: To soil; to stain. [Obs. or Poet.] Beau. & Fl. Ne'er assoil my cobwebbed shield. Wordsworth.

ASSOILMENT As*soil"ment, n.

Defn: Act of assoiling, or state of being assoiled; absolution; acquittal.

ASSOILMENT As*soil"ment, n.

Defn: A soiling; defilement.

ASSOILZIE; ASSOILYIE As*soil"zie, As*soil"yie, v. t. Etym: [Old form assoil. See Assoil.] (Scots Law)

Defn: To absolve; to acquit by sentence of court. God assoilzie him for the sin of bloodshed. Sir W. Scott.

ASSONANCE As"so*nance, n. Etym: [Cf. F. assonance. See Assonant.]

1. Resemblance of sound. "The disagreeable assonance of Steevens.

2. (Pros.)

Defn: A peculiar species of rhyme, in which the last accented vowel and those which follow it in one word correspond in sound with the vowels of another word, while the consonants of the two words are unlike in sound; as, calamo and platano, baby and chary. The assonance is peculiar to the Spaniard. Hallam.

3. Incomplete correspondence. Assonance between facts seemingly remote. Lowell.

ASSONANT As"so*nant, a. Etym: [L. assonans, p. pr. of assonare to sound to, to correspond to in sound; ad + sonare to sound, sonus sound: cf. F. assonant. See Sound.]

1. Having a resemblance of sounds.

2. (Pros.)

Defn: Pertaining to the peculiar species of rhyme called assonance; not consonant.

ASSONANTAL As`so*nan"tal, a.

Defn: Assonant.

ASSONATE As"so*nate, v. i. Etym: [L. assonare, assonatum, to respond to.]

Defn: To correspond in sound.

ASSORT As*sort", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assorted; p. pr. & vb. n. Assorting.] Etym: [F. assortir; (L. ad) + sortir to cast or draw lots, to obtain by lot, L. sortiri, fr. sors, sortis, lot. See Sort.]

1. To separate and distribute into classes, as things of a like kind, nature, or quality, or which are suited to a like purpose; to classify; as, to assort goods.

Note: [Rarely applied to persons.] They appear . . . no ways assorted to those with whom they must associate. Burke.

2. To furnish with, or make up of, various sorts or a variety of goods; as, to assort a cargo.

ASSORT As*sort", v. i.

Defn: To agree; to be in accordance; to be adapted; to suit; to fall into a class or place. Mitford.

ASSORTED As*sort"ed, a.

Defn: Selected; culled.

ASSORTMENT As*sort"ment, n. Etym: [Cf. F. assortiment.]

1. Act of assorting, or distributing into sorts, kinds, or classes.

2. A collection or quantity of things distributed into kinds or sorts; a number of things assorted.

3. A collection containing a variety of sorts or kinds adapted to various wants, demands, or purposes; as, an assortment of goods.

ASSOT As*sot", v. t. Etym: [OF. asoter, F. assoter; ad) + sot stupid. See Sot.]

Defn: To besot; to befool; to beguile; to infatuate. [Obs.] Some ecstasy assotted had his sense. Spenser.

ASSOT As*sot", a.

Defn: Dazed; foolish; infatuated. [Obs.] Willie, I ween thou be assot. Spenser.

ASSUAGE As*suage", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assuaged; p. pr. & vb. n. Assuaging.] Etym: [OE. asuagen, aswagen, OF. asoagier, asuagier, fr. assouagier, fr. L. ad + suavis sweet. See Sweet.]

Defn: To soften, in a figurative sense; to allay, mitigate, ease, or lessen, as heat, pain, or grief; to appease or pacify, as passion or tumult; to satisfy, as appetite or desire. Refreshing winds the summer's heat assuage. Addison. To assuage the sorrows of a desolate old man Burke. The fount at which the panting mind assuages Her thirst of knowledge. Byron.

Syn. -- To alleviate; mitigate; appease; soothe; calm; tranquilize; relieve. See Alleviate.

ASSUAGE As*suage", v. i.

Defn: To abate or subside. [Archaic] "The waters assuaged." Gen. vii. 1. The plague being come to a crisis, its fury began to assuage. De Foe.

ASSUAGEMENT As*suage"ment, n. Etym: [OF. assouagement, asuagement.]

Defn: Mitigation; abatement.

ASSUAGER As*sua"ger, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, assuages.

ASSUASIVE As*sua"sive, a. Etym: [From assuage, as if this were fr. a supposed L. assuadere to persuade to; or from E. pref. ad + -suasive as in persuasive.]

Defn: Mitigating; tranquilizing; soothing. [R.] Music her soft assuasive voice applies. Pope.

ASSUBJUGATE As*sub"ju*gate, v. t. Etym: [Pref. ad- + subjugate.]

Defn: To bring into subjection. [Obs.] Shak.

ASSUEFACTION As`sue*fac"tion, n. Etym: [L. assuefacere to accustom to; assuetus (p. p. of assuescere to accustom to) + facere to make; cf. OF. assuefaction.]

Defn: The act of accustoming, or the state of being accustomed; habituation. [Obs.] Custom and studies efform the soul like wax, and by assuefaction introduce a nature. Jer. Taylor.

ASSUETUDE As"sue*tude, n. Etym: [L. assuetudo, fr. assuetus accustomed.]

Defn: Accustomedness; habit; habitual use. Assuetude of things hurtful doth make them lose their force to hurt. Bacon.

ASSUMABLE As*sum"a*ble, a.

Defn: That may be assumed.

ASSUMABLY As*sum"a*bly, adv.

Defn: By way of assumption.

ASSUME As*sume", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assumed; p. pr. & vb. n. Assuming.] Etym: [L. assumere; ad + sumere to take; sub + emere to take, buy: cf. F. assumer. See Redeem.]

1. To take to or upon one's self; to take formally and demonstratively; sometimes, to appropriate or take unjustly. Trembling they stand while Jove assumes the throne. Pope. The god assumed his native form again. Pope.

2. To take for granted, or without proof; to suppose as a fact; to suppose or take arbitrarily or tentatively. The consequences of assumed principles. Whewell.

3. To pretend to possess; to take in appearance. Ambition assuming the mask of religion. Porteus. Assume a virtue, if you have it not. Shak.

4. To receive or adopt. The sixth was a young knight of lesser renown and lower rank, assumed into that honorable company. Sir W. Scott.

Syn. -- To arrogate; usurp; appropriate.

ASSUME As*sume", v. i.

1. To be arrogant or pretentious; to claim more than is due. Bp. Burnet.

2. (Law)

Defn: To undertake, as by a promise. Burrill.

ASSUMED As*sumed", a.

1. Supposed.

2. Pretended; hypocritical; make-believe; as, an assumed character.

ASSUMEDLY As*sum"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: By assumption.

ASSUMENT As*sum"ent, n. Etym: [L. assumentum, fr. ad + suere to sew.]

Defn: A patch; an addition; a piece put on. [Obs.] John Lewis (1731).

ASSUMER As*sum"er, n.

Defn: One who assumes, arrogates, pretends, or supposes. W. D. Whitney.

ASSUMING As*sum"ing, a.

Defn: Pretentious; taking much upon one's self; presumptuous. Burke.

ASSUMPSIT As*sump"sit, n. Etym: [L., he undertook, pret. of L. assumere. See Assume.] (Law) (a) A promise or undertaking, founded on a consideration. This promise may be oral or in writing not under seal. It may be express or implied. (b) An action to recover damages for a breach or nonperformance of a contract or promise, express or implied, oral or in writing not under seal. Common or indebitatus assumpsit is brought for the most part on an implied promise. Special assumpsit is founded on an express promise or undertaking. Wharton.

ASSUMPT As*sumpt", v. t. Etym: [L. assumptus, p. p. of assumere. See Assume.]

Defn: To take up; to elevate; to assume. [Obs.] Sheldon.

ASSUMPT As*sumpt", n. Etym: [L. assumptum, p. p. neut. of assumere.]

Defn: That which is assumed; an assumption. [Obs.] The sun of all your assumpts is this. Chillingworth.

ASSUMPTION As*sump"tion, n. Etym: [OE. assumpcioun a taking up into heaven, L. assumptio a taking, fr. assumere: cf. F. assomption. See Assume.]

1. The act of assuming, or taking to or upon one's self; the act of taking up or adopting. The assumption of authority. Whewell.

2. The act of taking for granted, or supposing a thing without proof; supposition; unwarrantable claim. This gives no sanction to the unwarrantable assumption that the soul sleeps from the period of death to the resurrection of the body. Thodey. That calm assumption of the virtues. W. Black.

3. The thing supposed; a postulate, or proposition assumed; a supposition. Hold! says the Stoic; your assumption's wrong. Dryden.

4. (Logic)

Defn: The minor or second proposition in a categorical syllogism.

5. The taking of a person up into heaven. Hence: (Rom. Cath. & Greek Churches)

Defn: A festival in honor of the ascent of the Virgin Mary into heaven.

ASSUMPTIVE As*sump"tive, a. Etym: [L. assumptivus, fr. assumptus, fr. assumere.]

Defn: Assumed, or capable of being assumed; characterized by assumption; making unwarranted claims. -- As*sump"tive*ly, adv. Assumptive arms (Her.), originally, arms which a person had a right to assume, in consequence of an exploit; now, those assumed without sanction of the Heralds' College. Percy Smith.

ASSURANCE As*sur"ance, n. Etym: [OE. assuraunce, F. assurance, fr. assurer. See Assure.]

1. The act of assuring; a declaration tending to inspire full confidence; that which is designed to give confidence. Whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. Acts xvii. 31. Assurances of support came pouring in daily. Macaulay.

2. The state of being assured; firm persuasion; full confidence or trust; freedom from doubt; certainty. Let us draw with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. Heb. x. 22.

3. Firmness of mind; undoubting, steadiness; intrepidity; courage; confidence; self-reliance. Brave men meet danger with assurance. Knolles. Conversation with the world will give them knowledge and assurance. Locke.

4. Excess of boldness; impudence; audacity; as, his assurance is intolerable.

5. Betrothal; affiance. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.

6. Insurance; a contract for the payment of a sum on occasion of a certain event, as loss or death.

Note: Recently, assurance has been used, in England, in relation to life contingencies, and insurance in relation to other contingencies. It is called temporary assurance, in the time within which the contingent event must happen is limited. See Insurance.

7. (Law)

Defn: Any written or other legal evidence of the conveyance of property; a conveyance; a deed.

Note: In England, the legal evidences of the conveyance of property are called the common assurances of the kingdom. Blackstone.

ASSURE As*sure, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assured; p. pr. & vb. n. Assuring.] Etym: [OF. aseürer, F. assurer, LL. assecurare; L. ad + securus secure, sure, certain. See Secure, Sure, and cf. Insure.]

1. To make sure or certain; to render confident by a promise, declaration, or other evidence. His promise that thy seed shall bruise our foe . . . Assures me that the bitterness of death Is past, and we shall live. Milton.

2. To declare to, solemnly; to assert to (any one) with the design of inspiring belief or confidence. I dare assure thee that no enemy Shall ever take alive the noble Brutus. Shak.

3. To confirm; to make certain or secure. And it shall be assured to him. Lev. xxvii. 19. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 1 John iii. 19.

4. To affiance; to betroth. [Obs.] Shak.

5. (Law)

Defn: To insure; to covenant to indemnify for loss, or to pay a specified sum at death. See Insure.

Syn. -- To declare; aver; avouch; vouch; assert; asseverate; protest; persuade; convince.

ASSURED As*sured", a.

Defn: Made sure; safe; insured; certain; indubitable; not doubting; bold to excess.

ASSURED As*sured", n.

Defn: One whose life or property is insured.

ASSUREDLY As*sur"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: Certainly; indubitably. "The siege assuredly I'll raise." Shak.

ASSUREDNESS As*sur"ed*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being assured; certainty; full confidence.

ASSURER As*sur"er, n.

1. One who assures. Specifically: One who insures against loss; an insurer or underwriter.

2. One who takes out a life assurance policy.

ASSURGENCY As*sur"gen*cy, n.

Defn: Act of rising. The . . . assurgency of the spirit through the body. Coleridge.

ASSURGENT As*sur"gent, a. Etym: [L. assurgens, p. pr. of assurgere; ad + surgere to rise.]

Defn: Ascending; (Bot.)

Defn: rising obliquely; curving upward. Gray.

ASSURING As*sur"ing, a.

Defn: That assures; tending to assure; giving confidence. -- As*sur"ing*ly, adv.

ASSWAGE As*swage", v.

Defn: See Assuage.

ASSYRIAN As*syr"i*an, a. Etym: [L. Assyrius.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to Assyria, or to its inhabitants. -- n. A native or an inhabitant of Assyria; the language of Assyria.

ASSYRIOLOGICAL As*syr`i*o*log"ic*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Assyriology; as, Assyriological studies.

ASSYRIOLOGIST As*syr`i*ol"o*gist, n.

Defn: One versed in Assyriology; a student of Assyrian archæology.

ASSYRIOLOGY As*syr`i*ol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Assyria + -logy.]

Defn: The science or study of the antiquities, language, etc., of ancient Assyria.

ASSYTHMENT As*syth"ment, n. Etym: [From OF. aset, asez, orig. meaning enough. See Assets.]

Defn: Indemnification for injury; satisfaction. [Chiefly in Scots law]

ASTACUS As"ta*cus, n. Etym: [L. astacus a crab, Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of crustaceans, containing the crawfish of fresh-water lobster of Europe, and allied species of western North America. See Crawfish.

ASTARBOARD A*star"board, adv. (Naut.)

Defn: Over to the starboard side; -- said of the tiller.

ASTART A*start", v. t. & i.

Defn: Same as Astert. [Obs.]

ASTARTE As*tar"te, n. Etym: [Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of bivalve mollusks, common on the coasts of America and Europe.

ASTATE A*state", n.

Defn: Estate; state. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ASTATIC A*stat"ic, a. Etym: [Pref. a- not + static.] (Magnetism)

Defn: Having little or no tendency to take a fixed or definite position or direction: thus, a suspended magnetic needle, when rendered astatic, loses its polarity, or tendency to point in a given direction. Astatic pair (Magnetism), a pair of magnetic needles so mounted as to be nearly or quite astatic, as in some galvanometers.

ASTATICALLY A*stat"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In an astatic manner.

ASTATICISM A*stat"i*cism, n.

Defn: The state of being astatic.

ASTATIZE As"ta*tize, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Astatized; p. pr. & vb. n. Astatizing.] (Magnetism)

Defn: To render astatic.

ASTATKI As*tat"ki, n. [From Russ. ostatki remnants, pl. of ostatok.]

Defn: A thick liquid residuum obtained in the distillation of Russian petroleum, much used as fuel.

ASTAY A*stay", adv. (Naut.)

Defn: An anchor is said to be astay, in heaving it, an acute angle is formed between the cable and the surface of the water.

ASTEISM As"te*ism, n. Etym: [Gr. astéisme.] (Rhet.)

Defn: Genteel irony; a polite and ingenious manner of deriding another.

ASTEL As"tel, n. Etym: [OE. astelle piece of wood, OF. astele splinter, shaving, F. attelle, astelle: cf. L. astula, dim. of assis board.] (Mining)

Defn: An arch, or ceiling, of boards, placed over the men's heads in a mine.

ASTER As"ter, n. Etym: [L. aster aster, star, Gr. Star.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of herbs with compound white or bluish flowers; starwort; Michaelmas daisy.

2. (Floriculture)

Defn: A plant of the genus Callistephus. Many varieties (called China asters, German asters, etc.) are cultivated for their handsome compound flowers.

ASTERIAS As*te"ri*as, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of echinoderms.

Note: Formerly the group of this name included nearly all starfishes and ophiurans. Now it is restricted to a genus including the commonest shore starfishes.

ASTERIATED As*te"ri*a`ted, a. Etym: [See Asterias.]

Defn: Radiated, with diverging rays; as, asteriated sapphire.

ASTERIDIAN As`ter*id"i*an, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Asterioidea. -- n.

Defn: A starfish; one of the Asterioidea.

ASTERIOIDEA; ASTERIDEA As*te`ri*oid"e*a, As`ter*id"e*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. -oid. See Asterias.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A class of Echinodermata including the true starfishes. The rays vary in number and always have ambulacral grooves below. The body is starshaped or pentagonal.

ASTERION As*te"ri*on, n. Etym: [Gr. (Anat.)

Defn: The point on the side of the skull where the lambdoid, parieto- mastoid and occipito-mastoid sutures.

ASTERISCUS As`ter*is"cus, n. Etym: [L., an asterisk. See Asterisk.] (Anat.)

Defn: The smaller of the two otoliths found in the inner ear of many fishes.

ASTERISK As"ter*isk, n. Etym: [L. asteriscus, Gr. Aster.]

Defn: The figure of a star, thus,

ASTERISM As`ter*ism, n. Etym: [Gr. astérisme.]

1. (Astron.) (a) A constellation. [Obs.] (b) A small cluster of stars.

2. (Printing) (a) An asterisk, or mark of reference. [R.] (b) Three asterisks placed in this manner, *, to direct attention to a particular passage.

3. (Crystallog.)

Defn: An optical property of some crystals which exhibit a star- shaped by reflected light, as star sapphire, or by transmitted light, as some mica.

ASTERN A*stern", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + stern.] (Naut.)

1. In or at the hinder part of a ship; toward the hinder part, or stern; backward; as, to go astern.

2. Behind a ship; in the rear. "A gale of wind right astern." De Foe. "Left this strait astern." Drake. To bake astern, to go stern foremost. -- To be astern of the reckoning, to be behind the position given by the reckoning. -- To drop astern, to fall or be left behind. -- To go astern, to go backward, as from the action of currents or winds.

ASTERNAL A*ster"nal, a. Etym: [Pref. a- not + sternal.] (Anat.)

Defn: Not sternal; -- said of ribs which do not join the sternum.

ASTEROID As"ter*oid, n. Etym: [Gr. astéroïde. See Aster.]

Defn: A starlike body; esp. one of the numerous small planets whose orbits lie between those of Mars and Jupiter; -- called also planetoids and minor planets.

ASTEROIDAL As`ter*oid"al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to an asteroid, or to the asteroids.

ASTEROLEPIS As`te*rol"e*pis, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Paleon.)

Defn: A genus of fishes, some of which were eighteen or twenty feet long, found in a fossil state in the Old Red Sandstone. Hugh Miller.

ASTEROPE As*ter"o*pe, n. [Gr. , lit., lightning.]

1. (Myth.)

Defn: One of the Pleiades; -- called also Sterope.

2. (Astron.) A double star in the Pleiades (21 k and 22 l Pleiadum, of the 5.8 and 6.4 magnitude respectively), appearing as a single star of the 5.3 magnitude to the naked eye.

ASTEROPHYLLITE As`ter*oph"yl*lite, n. Etym: [Gr. (Paleon.)

Defn: A fossil plant from the coal formations of Europe and America, now regarded as the branchlets and foliage of calamites.

ASTERT A*stert, v. t. Etym: [Pref. a- + start; OE. asterten, asturten.]

Defn: To start up; to befall; to escape; to shun. [Obs.] Spenser.

ASTERT A*stert", v. i.

Defn: To escape. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ASTHENIA; ASTHENY As`the*ni"a, As"the*ny, n. Etym: [NL. asthenia, Gr. (Med.)

Defn: Want or loss of strength; debility; diminution of the vital forces.

ASTHENIC As*then"ic, a. Etym: [Gr. (Med.)

Defn: Characterized by, or pertaining to, debility; weak; debilitating.

ASTHENOPIA As`the*no"pi*a, n. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Weakness of sight. Quain. -- As`the*nop"ic, a.

ASTHMA Asth"ma, n. Etym: [Gr. va, Goth. waian, to blow, E. wind.] (Med.)

Defn: A disease, characterized by difficulty of breathing (due to a spasmodic contraction of the bronchi), recurring at intervals, accompanied with a wheezing sound, a sense of constriction in the chest, a cough, and expectoration.

ASTHMA PAPER Asth"ma pa"per.

Defn: Paper impregnated with saltpeter. The fumes from the burning paper are often inhaled as an alleviative by asthmatics.

ASTHMATIC; ASTHMATICAL Asth*mat"ic, Asth*mat"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. asthmaticus, Gr.

Defn: Of or pertaining to asthma; as, an asthmatic cough; liable to, or suffering from, asthma; as, an asthmatic patient. -- Asth*mat"ic*al*ly, adv.

ASTHMATIC Asth*mat"ic, n.

Defn: A person affected with asthma.

ASTIGMATIC As`tig*mat"ic, a. (Med. & Opt.)

Defn: Affected with, or pertaining to, astigmatism; as, astigmatic eyes; also, remedying astigmatism; as, astigmatic lenses.

ASTIGMATISM A*stig"ma*tism, n. Etym: [Gr. astigmatisme.] (Med. & Opt.)

Defn: A defect of the eye or of a lens, in consequence of which the rays derived from one point are not brought to a single focal point, thus causing imperfect images or indistictness of vision.

Note: The term is applied especially to the defect causing images of lines having a certain direction to be indistinct, or imperfectly seen, while those of lines transverse to the former are distinct, or clearly seen.

ASTIPULATE As*tip"u*late, v. i. Etym: [L. astipulari; ad + stipulari to stipulate.]

Defn: To assent. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

ASTIPULATION As*tip`u*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. astipulatio.]

Defn: Stipulation; agreement. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

ASTIR A*stir", adv. & a. Etym: [Pref. a- + stir.]

Defn: Stirring; in a state of activity or motion; out of bed.

ASTOMATOUS; ASTOMOUS A*stom"a*tous, As"to*mous, a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Not possessing a mouth.

ASTON; ASTONE As*ton", As*tone", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Astoned, Astond, or Astound.] Etym: [See Astonish.]

Defn: To stun; to astonish; to stupefy. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ASTONIED As*ton"ied, p. p.

Defn: Stunned; astonished. See Astony. [Archaic] And I astonied fell and could not pray. Mrs. Browning.

ASTONISH As*ton"ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Astonished; p. pr. & vb. n. Astonishing.] Etym: [OE. astonien, astunian, astonen, OF. estoner, F. étonner, fr. L. ex out + tonare to thunder, but perhaps influenced by E. stun. See Thunder, Astound, Astony.]

1. To stun; to render senseless, as by a blow. [Obs.] Enough, captain; you have astonished him. [Fluellen had struck Pistol]. Shak. The very cramp-fish [i. e., torpedo] . . . being herself not benumbed, is able to astonish others. Holland.

2. To strike with sudden fear, terror, or wonder; to amaze; to surprise greatly, as with something unaccountable; to confound with some sudden emotion or passion. Musidorus . . . had his wits astonished with sorrow. Sidney. I, Daniel . . . was astonished at the vision. Dan. viii. 27.

Syn. -- To amaze; astound; overwhelm; surprise. -- Astonished, Surprised. We are surprised at what is unexpected. We are astonished at what is above or beyond our comprehension. We are taken by surprise. We are struck with astonishment. C. J. Smith. See Amaze.

ASTONISHEDLY As*ton"ish*ed*ly, adv.

Defn: In an astonished manner. [R.] Bp. Hall.

ASTONISHING As*ton"ish*ing, a.

Defn: Very wonderful; of a nature to excite astonishment; as, an astonishing event.

Syn. -- Amazing; surprising; wonderful; marvelous. As*ton"ish*ing*ly, adv. -- As*ton"ish*ing*ness, n.

ASTONISHMENT As*ton"ish*ment, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. est, F. étonnement.]

1. The condition of one who is stunned. Hence: Numbness; loss of sensation; stupor; loss of sense. [Obs.] A coldness and astonishment in his loins, as folk say. Holland.

2. Dismay; consternation. [Archaic] Spenser.

3. The overpowering emotion excited when something unaccountable, wonderful, or dreadful is presented to the mind; an intense degree of surprise; amazement. Lest the place And my quaint habits breed astonishment. Milton.

4. The object causing such an emotion. Thou shalt become an astonishment. Deut. xxviii. 37.

Syn. -- Amazement; wonder; surprise.

ASTONY As*ton"y, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Astonied; p. pr. & vb. n. Astonying. See Astone.]

Defn: To stun; to bewilder; to astonish; to dismay. [Archaic] The captain of the Helots . . . strake Palladius upon the side of his head, that he reeled astonied. Sir P. Sidney. This sodeyn cas this man astonied so, That reed he wex, abayst, and al quaking. Chaucer.

ASTOOP A*stoop", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + stoop.]

Defn: In a stooping or inclined position. Gay.

ASTOUND As*tound", a. Etym: [OE. astouned, astound, astoned, p. p. of astone. See Astone.]

Defn: Stunned; astounded; astonished. [Archaic] Spenser. Thus Ellen, dizzy and astound. As sudden ruin yawned around. Sir W. Scott.

ASTOUND As*tound", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Astounded, [Obs.] Astound; p. pr. & vb. n. Astounding.] Etym: [See Astound, a.]

1. To stun; to stupefy. No puissant stroke his senses once astound. Fairfax.

2. To astonish; to strike with amazement; to confound with wonder, surprise, or fear. These thoughts may startle well, but not astound The virtuous mind. Milton.

ASTOUNDING As*tound"ing, a.

Defn: Of a nature to astound; astonishing; amazing; as, an astounding force, statement, or fact. -- As*tound"ing*ly, adv.

ASTOUNDMENT As*tound"ment, n.

Defn: Amazement. Coleridge.

ASTRACHAN As`tra*chan", a. & n.

Defn: See Astrakhan.

ASTRADDLE A*strad"dle, adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + straddle.]

Defn: In a straddling position; astride; bestriding; as, to sit astraddle a horse.

ASTRAEAN As*træ"an, a. Etym: [Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Pertaining to the genus Astræa or the family Astræidæ. -- n.

Defn: A coral of the family Astræidæ; a star coral.

ASTRAGAL As"tra*gal, n. Etym: [L. astragalus, Gr.

1. (Arch.)

Defn: A convex molding of rounded surface, generally from half to three quarters of a circle.

2. (Gun.)

Defn: A round molding encircling a cannon near the mouth.

ASTRAGALAR As*trag"a*lar, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the astragalus.

ASTRAGALOID As*trag"a*loid, a. Etym: [Astragalus + -oid.] (Anat.)

Defn: Resembling the astragalus in form.

ASTRAGALOMANCY As*trag"a*lo*man`cy, n. Etym: [Gr. -mancy.]

Defn: Divination by means of small bones or dice.

ASTRAGALUS As*trag"a*lus, n. Etym: [L. See Astragal.]

1. (Anat.)

Defn: The ankle bone, or hock bone; the bone of the tarsus which articulates with the tibia at the ankle.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of papilionaceous plants, of the tribe Galegeæ, containing numerous species, two of which are called, in English, milk vetch and licorice vetch. Gum tragacanth is obtained from different oriental species, particularly the A. gummifer and A. verus.

3. (Arch.)

Defn: See Astragal, 1.

ASTRAKHAN As`tra*khan", a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Astrakhan in Russia or its products; made of an Astrakhan skin. -- n.

Defn: The skin of stillborn or young lambs of that region, the curled wool of which resembles fur.

ASTRAL As"tral, a. Etym: [L. astralis, fr. astrum star, Gr. astral. See Star.]

Defn: Pertaining to, coming from, or resembling, the stars; starry; starlike. Shines only with an astral luster. I. Taylor. Some astral forms I must invoke by prayer. Dryden. Astral lamp, an Argand lamp so constructed that no shadow is cast upon the table by the flattened ring-shaped reservoir in which the oil is contained. -- Astral spirits, spirits formerly supposed to live in the heavenly bodies or the aërial regions, and represented in the Middle Ages as fallen angels, spirits of the dead, or spirits originating in fire.

ASTRAND A*strand", adv. & a. Etym: [Pref. a- + strand.]

Defn: Stranded. Sir W. Scott.

ASTRAY A*stray", adv. & a. Etym: [See Estray, Stray.]

Defn: Out of the right, either in a literal or in a figurative sense; wandering; as, to lead one astray. Ye were as sheep going astray. 1 Pet. ii. 25.

ASTRICT As*trict", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Astricted; p. pr. & vb. n. Astricting.] Etym: [L. astrictus, p. p. of astringere. See Astringe.]

1. To bind up; to confine; to constrict; to contract. The solid parts were to be relaxed or astricted. Arbuthnot.

2. To bind; to constrain; to restrict; to limit. [R.] The mind is astricted to certain necessary modes or forms of thought. Sir W. Hamilton.

3. (Scots Law)

Defn: To restrict the tenure of; as, to astrict lands. See Astriction, 4. Burrill.

ASTRICT As*trict", a.

Defn: Concise; contracted. [Obs.] Weever.

ASTRICTION As*tric"tion, n. Etym: [L. astrictio.]

1. The act of binding; restriction; also, obligation. Milton.

2. (Med.) (a) A contraction of parts by applications; the action of an astringent substance on the animal economy. Dunglison. (b) Constipation. Arbuthnot.

3. Astringency. [Obs.] Bacon.

4. (Scots Law)

Defn: An obligation to have the grain growing on certain lands ground at a certain mill, the owner paying a toll. Bell.

Note: The lands were said to be astricted to the mill.

ASTRICTIVE As*tric"tive, a.

Defn: Binding; astringent. -- n.

Defn: An astringent. -- As*tric"tive*ly, adv.

ASTRICTORY As*tric"to*ry, a.

Defn: Astrictive. [R.]

ASTRIDE A*stride", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + stride.]

Defn: With one leg on each side, as a man when on horseback; with the legs stretched wide apart; astraddle. Placed astride upon the bars of the palisade. Sir W. Scott. Glasses with horn bows sat astride on his nose. Longfellow.

ASTRIFEROUS As*trif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. astrifer; astrum star + ferre to bear.]

Defn: Bearing stars. [R.] Blount.

ASTRINGE As*tringe", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Astringed; p. pr. & vb. n. Astringing.] Etym: [L. astringere; ad + stringere to draw tight. Cf. Astrict, and see Strain, v. t.]

1. To bind fast; to constrict; to contract; to cause parts to draw together; to compress. Which contraction . . . astringeth the moistuBacon.

2. To bind by moral or legal obligation. Wolsey.

ASTRINGENCY As*trin"gen*cy, n.

Defn: The quality of being astringent; the power of contracting the parts of the body; that quality in medicines or other substances which causes contraction of the organic textures; as, the astringency of tannin.

ASTRINGENT As*trin"gent, a. Etym: [L. astringens, p. pr. of astringere: cf. F. astringent. See Astringe.]

1. Drawing together the tissues; binding; contracting; -- opposed to laxative; as, astringent medicines; a butter and astringent taste; astringent fruit.

2. Stern; austere; as, an astringent type of virtue.

ASTRINGENT As*trin"gent, n.

Defn: A medicine or other substance that produces contraction in the soft organic textures, and checks discharges of blood, mucus, etc. External astringents are called styptics. Dunglison.

ASTRINGENTLY As*trin"gent*ly, adv.

Defn: In an astringent manner.

ASTRINGER As*trin"ger, n. Etym: [OE. ostreger, OF. ostrucier, F. autoursier, fr. OF. austour, ostor, hawk, F. autour; cf. L. acceptor, for accipiter, hawk.]

Defn: A falconer who keeps a goschawk. [Obs.] Shak. Cowell. [Written also austringer.]

ASTRO- As"tro-.

Defn: The combining form of the Greek word 'a`stron, meaning star.

ASTROFEL; ASTROFELL As"tro*fel, As"tro*fell, n.

Defn: A bitter herb, probably the same as aster, or starwort. Spenser.

ASTROGENY As*trog"e*ny, n. Etym: [Astro- + Gr.

Defn: The creation or evolution of the stars or the heavens. H. Spencer.

ASTROGNOSY As*trog"no*sy, n. Etym: [Astro- + Gr.

Defn: The science or knowledge of the stars, esp. the fixed stars. Bouvier.

ASTROGONY As*trog"o*ny, n.

Defn: Same as Astrogeny. -- As`*tro*gon"ic, a.

ASTROGRAPHY As*trog"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Astro'cf + -graphy.]

Defn: The art of describing or delineating the stars; a description or mapping of the heavens.

ASTROITE As"tro*ite, n. Etym: [L. astroites: cf. F. astroite.]

Defn: A radiated stone or fossil; star-stone. [Obs.] [Written also astrite and astrion.]

ASTROLABE As"tro*labe, n. Etym: [OE. astrolabie, astrilabe, OF. astrelabe, F. astrolabe, LL. astrolabium, fr. Gr.

1. (Astron.)

Defn: An instrument for observing or showing the positions of the stars. It is now disused.

Note: Among the ancients, it was essentially the armillary sphere. A graduated circle with sights, for taking altitudes at sea, was called an astrolabe in the 18th century. It is now superseded by the quadrant and sextant.

2. A stereographic projection of the sphere on the plane of a great circle, as the equator, or a meridian; a planisphere. Whewell.

ASTROLATER As*trol"a*ter, n.

Defn: A worshiper of the stars. Morley.

ASTROLATRY As*trol"a*try, n. Etym: [Astro- + Gr. astrolâtrie.]

Defn: The worship of the stars.

ASTROLITHOLOGY As`tro*li*thol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Astro- + lithology.]

Defn: The science of aërolites.

ASTROLOGER As*trol"o*ger, n. Etym: [See Astrology.]

1. One who studies the stars; an astronomer. [Obs.]

2. One who practices astrology; one who professes to foretell events by the aspects and situation of the stars.

ASTROLOGIAN As`tro*lo"gi*an, n. Etym: [OF. astrologien.]

Defn: An astrologer. [Obs.]

ASTROLOGIC; ASTROLOGICAL As`tro*log"ic, As`tro*log"ic*al, a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Of or pertaining to astrology; professing or practicing astrology. "Astrologi learning." Hudibras. "Astrological prognostication." Cudworth. -- As`tro*log"ic*al*ly, adv.

ASTROLOGIZE As*trol"o*gize, v. t. & i.

Defn: To apply astrology to; to study or practice astrology.

ASTROLOGY As*trol"o*gy, n. Etym: [F. astrologie, L. astrologia, fr. Gr. Star.]

Defn: In its etymological signification, the science of the stars; among the ancients, synonymous with astronomy; subsequently, the art of judging of the influences of the stars upon human affairs, and of foretelling events by their position and aspects.

Note: Astrology was much in vogue during the Middle Ages, and became the parent of modern astronomy, as alchemy did of chemistry. It was divided into two kinds: judicial astrology, which assumed to foretell the fate and acts of nations and individuals, and natural astrology, which undertook to predict events of inanimate nature, such as changes of the weather, etc.

ASTROMANTIC As`tro*man"tic, a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Of or pertaining to divination by means of the stars; astrologic. [R.] Dr. H. More.

ASTROMETEOROLOGY As`tro*me`te*or*ol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Astro- + meteorology.]

Defn: The investigation of the relation between the sun, moon, and stars, and the weather. -- As`*tro*me`te*or`o*log"ic*al, a. -- As`tro*me`te*or*ol"o*gist, n.

ASTROMETER As*trom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Astro- + meter.]

Defn: An instrument for comparing the relative amount of the light of stars.

ASTROMETRY As*trom"e*try, n. Etym: [Astro- + metry.]

Defn: The art of making measurements among the stars, or of determining their relative magnitudes.

ASTRONOMER As*tron"o*mer, n. Etym: [See Astronomy.]

1. An astrologer. [Obs.] Shak.

2. One who is versed in astronomy; one who has a knowledge of the laws of the heavenly orbs, or the principles by which their motions are regulated, with their various phenomena. An undevout astronomer is mad. Young.

ASTRONOMIAN As`tro*no"mi*an, n. Etym: [OE. & OF. astronomien. See Astronomy.]

Defn: An astrologer. [Obs.]

ASTRONOMIC As`tro*nom"ic, a.

Defn: Astronomical.

ASTRONOMICAL As`tro*nom"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. astronomicus, Gr. astronomique.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to astronomy; in accordance with the methods or principles of astronomy. -- As`tro*nom"ic*al*ly, adv. Astronomical clock. See under Clock. -- Astronomical day. See under Day. -- Astronomical fractions, Astronomical numbers. See under Sexagesimal.

ASTRONOMIZE As*tron"o*mize, v. i. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: To study or to talk astronomy. [R.] They astronomized in caves. Sir T. Browne.

ASTRONOMY As*tron"o*my, n. Etym: [OE. astronomie, F. astronomie, L. astronomia, fr. Gr. Star, and Nomad.]

1. Astrology. [Obs.] Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck; And yet methinks I have astronomy. Shak.

2. The science which treats of the celestial bodies, of their magnitudes, motions, distances, periods of revolution, eclipses, constitution, physical condition, and of the causes of their various phenomena.

3. A treatise on, or text-book of, the science. Physical astronomy. See under Physical.

ASTROPHEL As"tro*phel, n.

Defn: See Astrofel. [Obs.]

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY As`tro*pho*tog"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Astro- + photography.]

Defn: The application of photography to the delineation of the sun, moon, and stars.

ASTROPHOTOMETER As`tro*pho*tom"e*ter, n. [Pref. astro- + photometer.] (Astron.)

Defn: A photometer for measuring the brightness of stars.

ASTROPHOTOMETRY As`tro*pho*tom"e*try, n. (Astron.)

Defn: The determination of the brightness of stars, and also of the sun, moon, and planets. --As`tro*pho`to*met"ric*al (#), a.

ASTROPHYSICAL As`tro*phys"ic*al, a.

Defn: Pertaining to the physics of astronomical science.

ASTROPHYSICS As`tro*phys"ics, n. [Astro-+ physics.] (Astron.)

Defn: The science treating of the physical characteristics of the stars and other heavenly bodies, their chemical constitution, light, heat, atmospheres, etc.

Its observations are made with the spectroscope, bolometer, etc., usually in connection with the telescope.

ASTROPHYTON As*troph"y*ton, n. Etym: [Astro- + Gr. fyton a plant.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of ophiurans having the arms much branched.

ASTROSCOPE As"tro*scope, n. Etym: [Astro- + scope.]

Defn: An old astronomical instrument, formed of two cones, on whose surface the constellations were delineated.

ASTROSCOPY As*tros"co*py, n.

Defn: Observation of the stars. [Obs.]

ASTROTHEOLOGY As`tro*the*ol"*o*gy, n. Etym: [Astro- + theology.]

Defn: Theology founded on observation or knowledge of the celestial bodies. Derham.

ASTRUCTIVE A*struc"tive, a. Etym: [L. astructus, p. p. of astruere to build up; ad + struere to build.]

Defn: Building up; constructive; -- opposed to destructive. [Obs.]

ASTRUT A*strut", a. & adv.

1. Sticking out, or puffed out; swelling; in a swelling manner. [Archaic] Inflated and astrut with self-conceit. Cowper.

2. In a strutting manner; with a strutting gait.

ASTUCIOUS As*tu"cious, a. Etym: [F. astucieux. See Astute.]

Defn: Subtle; cunning; astute. [R.] Sir W. Scott. -- As*tu"cious*ly, adv. [R.]

ASTUCITY As*tu"ci*ty, n. Etym: [See Astucious.]

Defn: Craftiness; astuteness. [R.] Carlyle.

ASTUN A*stun", v. t. Etym: [See Astony, Stun.]

Defn: To stun. [Obs.] "Breathless and astunned." Somerville.

ASTURIAN As*tu"ri*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Asturias in Spain. -- n.

Defn: A native of Asturias.

ASTUTE As*tute", a. Etym: [L. astutus, fr. astus craft, cunning; perh. cognate with E. acute.]

Defn: Critically discerning; sagacious; shrewd; subtle; crafty.

Syn. -- Keen; eagle-eyed; penetrating; skilled; discriminating; cunning; sagacious; subtle; wily; crafty. As*tute"ly, adv. -- As*tute"ness, n.

ASTYLAR A*sty"lar, a. Etym: [Gr. (arch.)

Defn: Without columns or pilasters. Weale.

ASTYLLEN A*styl"len, n. (Mining)

Defn: A small dam to prevent free passage of water in an adit or level.

ASUNDER A*sun"der, adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + sunder.]

Defn: Apart; separate from each other; into parts; in two; separately; into or in different pieces or places. I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder. Zech. xi. 10. As wide asunder as pole and pole. Froude.

ASURA A*su"ra, n. (Hind. Myth.)

Defn: An enemy of the gods, esp. one of a race of demons and giants.

ASWAIL As"wail, n. Etym: [Native name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The sloth bear (Melursus labiatus) of India.

ASWEVE A*sweve", v. t. Etym: [AS. aswebban; a + swebban. See Sweven.]

Defn: To stupefy. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ASWING A*swing", adv.

Defn: In a state of swinging.

ASWOON A*swoon", adv.

Defn: In a swoon. Chaucer.

ASWOONED A*swooned", adv.

Defn: In a swoon.

ASYLUM A*sy"lum, n.; pl. E. Asylums, L. Asyla. Etym: [L. asylum, Gr.

1. A sanctuary or place of refuge and protection, where criminals and debtors found shelter, and from which they could not be forcibly taken without sacrilege. So sacred was the church to some, that it had the right of an asylum or sanctuary. Ayliffe.

Note: The name was anciently given to temples, altars, statues of the gods, and the like. In later times Christian churches were regarded as asylums in the same sense.

2. Any place of retreat and security. Earth has no other asylum for them than its own cold bosom. Southey.

3. An institution for the protection or relief of some class of destitute, unfortunate, or afflicted persons; as, an asylum for the aged, for the blind, or for the insane; a lunatic asylum; an orphan asylum.

ASYMMETRAL A*sym"me*tral, a.

Defn: Incommensurable; also, unsymmetrical. [Obs.] D. H. More.

ASYMMETRIC; ASYMMETRICAL As`ym*met"ric, As`ym*met"ri*cal, a. Etym: [See Asymmetrous.]

1. Incommensurable. [Obs.]

2. Not symmetrical; wanting proportion; esp., not bilaterally symmetrical. Huxley.

ASYMMETROUS A*sym"me*trous, a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Asymmetrical. [Obs.] Barrow.

ASYMMETRY A*sym"me*try, n. Etym: [Gr.

1. Want of symmetry, or proportion between the parts of a thing, esp. want of bilateral symmetry.

2. (Math.)

Defn: Incommensurability. [Obs.] Barrow.

ASYMPTOTE As"ymp*tote, n. Etym: [Gr. Symptom.] (Math.)

Defn: A line which approaches nearer to some curve than assignable distance, but, though infinitely extended, would never meet it. Asymptotes may be straight lines or curves. A rectilinear asymptote may be conceived as a tangent to the curve at an infinite distance.

ASYNARTETE A*syn"ar*tete`, a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Disconnected; not fitted or adjusted. -- A*syn"ar*tet"ic, a. Asynartete verse (Pros.), a verse of two members, having different rhythms; as when the first consists of iambuses and the second of trochees.

ASYNCHRONOUS A*syn"chro*nous, a. [Gr. not + synchronous.]

Defn: Not simultaneous; not concurrent in time; --opposed to synchronous.

ASYNDETIC As`yn*det"ic, a. Etym: [See Asyndeton.]

Defn: Characterized by the use of asyndeton; not connected by conjunctions. -- As`yn*det"ic*al*ly, adv.

ASYNDETON A*syn"de*ton, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Rhet.)

Defn: A figure which omits the connective; as, I came, I saw, I conquered. It stands opposed to polysyndeton.

ASYSTOLE A*sys"to*le, n. Etym: [Pref. a- not + systole.] (Physiol.)

Defn: A weakening or cessation of the contractile power of the heart.

ASYSTOLISM A*sys"to*lism, n.

Defn: The state or symptoms characteristic of asystole.

AT At, prep. Etym: [AS. æt; akin to OHG. az, Goth., OS., & Icel. at, Sw. åt, Dan. & L. ad.]

Defn: Primarily, this word expresses the relations of presence, nearness in place or time, or direction toward; as, at the ninth hour; at the house; to aim at a mark. It is less definite than in or on; at the house may be in or near the house. From this original import are derived all the various uses of at. It expresses: -

1. A relation of proximity to, or of presence in or on, something; as, at the door; at your shop; at home; at school; at hand; at sea and on land.

2. The relation of some state or condition; as, at war; at peace; at ease; at your service; at fault; at liberty; at risk; at disadvantage.

3. The relation of some employment or action; occupied with; as, at engraving; at husbandry; at play; at work; at meat (eating); except at puns.

4. The relation of a point or position in a series, or of degree, rate, or value; as, with the thermometer at 80º; goods sold at a cheap price; a country estimated at 10,000 square miles; life is short at the longest.

5. The relations of time, age, or order; as, at ten o'clock; at twenty-one; at once; at first.

6. The relations of source, occasion, reason, consequence, or effect; as, at the sight; at this news; merry at anything; at this declaration; at his command; to demand, require, receive, deserve, endure at your hands.

7. Relation of direction toward an object or end; as, look at it; to point at one; to aim at a mark; to throw, strike, shoot, wink, mock, laugh at any one. At all, At home, At large, At last, At length, At once, etc. See under All, Home, Large, Last (phrase and syn.), Length, Once, etc. -- At it, busily or actively engaged. -- At least. See Least and However. -- At one. See At one, in the Vocabulary.

Syn. -- In, At. When reference to the interior of any place is made prominent in is used. It is used before the names of countries and cities (esp. large cities); as, we live in America, in New York, in the South. At is commonly employed before names of houses, institutions, villages, and small places; as, Milton was educated at Christ's College; money taken in at the Customhouse; I saw him at the jeweler's; we live at Beachville. At may be used before the name of a city when it is regarded as a mere point of locality. "An English king was crowned at Paris." Macaulay. "Jean Jacques Rousseau was born at Geneva, June, 28, 1712." J. Morley. In regard to time, we say at the hour, on the day, in the year; as, at 9 o'clock, on the morning of July 5th, in the year 1775.

ATABAL At"a*bal, n. Etym: [Sp. atabal, fr. Ar. at-tabl the drum, tabala to beat the drum. Cf. Tymbal.]

Defn: A kettledrum; a kind of tabor, used by the Moors. Croly.

ATACAMITE A*tac"a*mite, n. Etym: [From the desert of Atacama, where found.] (Min.)

Defn: An oxychloride of copper, usually in emerald-green prismatic crystals.

ATAFTER At`aft"er, prep.

Defn: After. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ATAGHAN At"a*ghan, n.

Defn: See Yataghan.

ATAKE A*take", v. t.

Defn: To overtake. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ATAMAN At"a*man, n. Etym: [Russ. ataman': cf. Pol. hetman, G. hauptmann headman, chieftain. Cf. Hetman.]

Defn: A hetman, or chief of the Cossacks.

ATAMASCO LILY At`a*mas"co lil"y. [Atamasco is fr. North American Indian.] (Bot.)

Defn: See under Lily.

ATARAXIA; ATARAXY At`a*rax"i*a, At"a*rax`y, n. Etym: [NL. ataraxia, Gr.

Defn: Perfect peace of mind, or calmness.

ATAUNT; ATAUNTO A*taunt", A*taunt"o, adv. Etym: [F. autant as much (as possible).] (Naut.)

Defn: Fully rigged, as a vessel; with all sails set; set on end or set right.

ATAVIC A*tav"ic, a. Etym: [Cf. F. atavique.]

Defn: Pertaining to a remote ancestor, or to atavism.

ATAVISM At"a*vism, n. Etym: [L. atavus an ancestor, fr. avus a grandfather.] (a) The recurrence, or a tendency to a recurrence, of the original type of a species in the progeny of its varieties; resemblance to remote rather than to near ancestors; reversion to the original form. (b) (Biol.) The recurrence of any peculiarity or disease of an ancestor in a subsequent generation, after an intermission for a generation or two. Now and then there occur cases of what physiologists call atavism, or reversion to an ancestral type of character. J. Fiske

ATAXIA; ATAXY A*tax"i*a, At"ax*y, n. Etym: [NL. ataxia, Gr. ataxie.]

1. Disorder; irregularity. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

2. (Med.) (a) Irregularity in disease, or in the functions. (b) The state of disorder that characterizes nervous fevers and the nervous condition. Locomotor ataxia. See Locomotor.

ATAXIC A*tax"ic, a. Etym: [Cf. F. ataxique. See Ataxia.] (Med.)

Defn: Characterized by ataxy, that is, (a) by great irregularity of functions or symptoms, or (b) by a want of coordinating power in movements. Ataxic fever, malignant typhus fever. Pinel.

ATAZIR At`a*zir", n. Etym: [OF., fr. Ar. al-tasir influence.] (Astron.)

Defn: The influence of a star upon other stars or upon men. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ATE Ate,

Defn: the preterit of Eat.

ATE A"te, n. Etym: [Gr. (Greek. Myth.)

Defn: The goddess of mischievous folly; also, in later poets, the goddess of vengeance.

-ATE -ate. Etym: [From the L. suffix -atus, the past participle ending of verbs of the 1st conj.]

1. As an ending of participles or participial adjectives it is equivalent to -ed; as, situate or situated; animate or animated.

2. As the ending of a verb, it means to make, to cause, to act, etc.; as, to propitiate (to make propitious); to animate (to give life to).

3. As a noun suffix, it marks the agent; as, curate, delegate. It also sometimes marks the office or dignity; as, tribunate.

4. In chemistry it is used to denote the salts formed from those acids whose names end -ic (excepting binary or halogen acids); as, sulphate from sulphuric acid, nitrate from nitric acid, etc. It is also used in the case of certain basic salts.

ATECHNIC A*tech"nic, a. Etym: [Pref. a- not + technic.]

Defn: Without technical or artistic knowledge. Difficult to convey to the atechnic reader. Etching & Engr.

ATELES At"e*les, n. Etym: [Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of American monkeys with prehensile tails, and having the thumb wanting or rudimentary. See Spider monkey, and Coaita.

ATELETS SAUCE; SAUCE AUX HATELETS A`te*lets" sauce or Sauce` aux ha`te*lets". [F. hâtelet skewer.]

Defn: A sauce (such as egg and bread crumbs) used for covering bits of meat, small birds, or fish, strung on skewers for frying.

ATELIER A`te*lier" n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A workshop; a studio.

ATELLAN A*tel"lan, a. Etym: [L. Atellanus, fr. Atella, an ancient town of the Osci, in Campania.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to Atella, in ancient Italy; as, Atellan plays; farcical; ribald. -- n.

Defn: A farcical drama performed at Atella.

ATHALAMOUS A*thal"a*mous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Not furnished with shields or beds for the spores, as the thallus of certain lichens.

ATHAMAUNT Ath"a*maunt, n.

Defn: Adamant. [Obs.] Written in the table of athamaunt. Chaucer.

ATHANASIA; ATHANASY Ath`a*na"si*a, A*than"a*sy, n. [NL. athanasia, fr. Gr. ; priv. + death.]

Defn: The quality of being deathless; immortality.

Is not a scholiastic athanasy better than none Lowell.

ATHANASIAN Ath`a*na"sian, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria in the 4th century. Athanasian creed, a formulary, confession, or exposition of faith, formerly supposed to have been drawn up by Athanasius; but this opinion is now rejected, and the composition is ascribed by some to Hilary, bishop of Arles (5th century). It is a summary of what was called the orthodox faith.

ATHANOR Ath"a*nor, n. Etym: [F., fr. Ar. at-tannur, fr. Heb. tannur an oven or furnace.]

Defn: A digesting furnace, formerly used by alchemists. It was so constructed as to maintain uniform and durable heat. Chambers.

ATHECATA Ath`e*ca"ta, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of Hydroidea in which the zooids are naked, or not inclosed in a capsule. See Tubularian.

ATHEISM A"the*ism, n. Etym: [Cf. F. athéisme. See Atheist.]

1. The disbelief or denial of the existence of a God, or supreme intelligent Being. Atheism is a ferocious system, that leaves nothing above us to excite awe, nor around us to awaken tenderness. R. Hall. Atheism and pantheism are often wrongly confounded. Shipley.

2. Godlessness.

ATHEIST A"the*ist, n. Etym: [Gr. athéiste.]

1. One who disbelieves or denies the existence of a God, or supreme intelligent Being.

2. A godless person. [Obs.]

Syn. -- Infidel; unbeliever.

Note: See Infidel.

ATHEISTIC; ATHEISTICAL A`the*is"tic, A`the*is"tic*al, a.

1. Pertaining to, implying, or containing, atheism; -- applied to things; as, atheistic doctrines, opinions, or books. Atheistical explications of natural effects. Barrow.

2. Disbelieving the existence of a God; impious; godless; -- applied to persons; as, an atheistic writer. -- A`the*is"tic*al*ly, adv. -- A`the*is"tic*al*ness, n.

ATHEIZE A"the*ize, v. t.

Defn: To render atheistic or godless. [R.] They endeavored to atheize one another. Berkeley.

ATHEIZE A"the*ize, v. i.

Defn: To discourse, argue, or act as an atheist. [R.] -- A"the*i`zer, n. Cudworth.

ATHELING Ath"el*ing, n. Etym: [AS. æ noble, fr. æ noble, akin to G. adel nobility, edel noble. The word æ, E. ethel, is in many AS. proper names, as Ethelwolf, noble wolf; Ethelbald, noble bold; Ethelbert, noble bright.]

Defn: An Anglo-Saxon prince or nobleman; esp., the heir apparent or a prince of the royal family. [Written also Adeling and Ætheling.]

ATHENEUM; ATHENAEUM Ath`e*ne"um, Ath`e*næ"um, n.; pl. E. Atheneums, L. Athenæa. Etym: [L. Athenaemum, Gr. Minerva by the Romans), the tutelary goddess of Athens.]

1 (Gr. Antiq.)

Defn: A temple of Athene, at Athens, in which scholars and poets were accustomed to read their works and instruct students.

2. A school founded at Rome by Hadrian.

3. A literary or scientific association or club.

4. A building or an apartment where a library, periodicals, and newspapers are kept for use.

ATHENIAN A*the"ni*an, a. Etym: [Cf. F. Athénien.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to Athens, the metropolis of Greece. -- n. A native or citizen of Athens.

ATHEOLOGICAL A`the*o*log"ic*al, a.

Defn: Opposed to theology; atheistic. Bp. Montagu.

ATHEOLOGY A`the*ol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Pref. a- not + theology.]

Defn: Antagonism to theology. Swift.

ATHEOUS A"the*ous, a. Etym: [Gr. Atheist.]

1. Atheistic; impious. [Obs.] Milton.

2. Without God, neither accepting nor denying him. I should say science was atheous, and therefore could not be atheistic. Bp. of Carlisle.

ATHERINE Ath"er*ine, n. Etym: [NL. atherina, fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small marine fish of the family Atherinidæ, having a silvery stripe along the sides. The European species (Atherina presbyter) is used as food. The American species (Menidia notata) is called silversides and sand smelt. See Silversides.

ATHERMANCY A*ther"man*cy, n. Etym: [See Athermanous.]

Defn: Inability to transmit radiant; impermeability to heat. Tyndall.

ATHERMANOUS A*ther"ma*nous, a. Etym: [Gr. athermane.] (Chem.)

Defn: Not transmitting heat; -- opposed to diathermanous.

ATHERMOUS A*ther"mous, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Athermanous.

ATHEROID Ath"er*oid, a. Etym: [Gr. -oid.]

Defn: Shaped like an ear of grain.

ATHEROMA Ath`e*ro"ma, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Med.) (a) An encysted tumor containing curdy matter. (b) A disease characterized by thickening and fatty degeneration of the inner coat of the arteries.

ATHEROMATOUS Ath`e*rom"a*tous, a. (Med.)

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or having the nature of, atheroma. Wiseman.

ATHETIZE Ath"e*tize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Athetized; p. pr. & vb. n. Athetizing.] [Gr. , fr. set aside, not fixed; not + to place.]

Defn: To set aside or reject as spurious, as by marking with an obelus.

ATHETOSIS Ath`e*to"sis, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: A variety of chorea, marked by peculiar tremors of the fingers and toes.

ATHINK A*think", v. t.

Defn: To repent; to displease; to disgust. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ATHIRST A*thirst", a. Etym: [OE. ofthurst, AS. ofpyrsted, p. p. of ofpyrstan; pref. of-, intensive + pyrstan to thirst. See Thirst.]

1. Wanting drink; thirsty.

2. Having a keen appetite or desire; eager; longing. "Athirst for battle." Cowper.

ATHLETE Ath"lete, n. Etym: [L. athleta, Gr. wed: cf. F. athlète.]

1. (Antiq.)

Defn: One who contended for a prize in the public games of ancient Greece or Rome.

2. Any one trained to contend in exercises requiring great physical agility and strength; one who has great activity and strength; a champion.

3. One fitted for, or skilled in, intellectual contests; as, athletes of debate.

ATHLETIC Ath`let"ic, a. Etym: [L. athleticus, Gr. Athlete.]

1. Of or pertaining to athletes or to the exercises practiced by them; as, athletic games or sports.

2. Befitting an athlete; strong; muscular; robust; vigorous; as, athletic Celts. "Athletic soundness." South. -- Ath*let"ic*al*ly, adv.

ATHLETICISM Ath*let"i*cism, n.

Defn: The practice of engaging in athletic games; athletism.

ATHLETICS Ath*let"ics, n.

Defn: The art of training by athletic exercises; the games and sports of athletes.

ATHLETISM Ath"le*tism, n.

Defn: The state or practice of an athlete; the characteristics of an athlete.

ATHREPSIA A*threp"si*a, n. [NL., fr. Gr. priv. + nourishment.] (Med.)

Defn: Profound debility of children due to lack of food and to unhygienic surroundings. --A*threp"tic (#), a.

ATHWART A*thwart", prep. Etym: [Pref. a- + thwart.]

1. Across; from side to side of. Athwart the thicket lone. Tennyson.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: Across the direction or course of; as, a fleet standing athwart our course. Athwart hawse, across the stem of another vessel, whether in contact or at a small distance. -- Athwart ships, across the ship from side to side, or in that direction; -- opposed to fore and aft.

ATHWART A*thwart", adv.

Defn: 1. Across, especially in an oblique direction; sidewise; obliquely. Sometimes athwart, sometimes he strook him straight. Spenser.

2. Across the course; so as to thwart; perversely. All athwart there came A post from Wales loaden with heavy news. Shak.

ATILT A*tilt", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + tilt.]

1. In the manner of a tilter; in the position, or with the action, of one making a thrust. "To run atilt at men." Hudibras.

2. In the position of a cask tilted, or with one end raised.

Note: [In this sense sometimes used as an adjective.] Abroach, atilt, and run Even to the lees of honor. Beau. & Fl.

ATIMY At"i*my, n. Etym: [Gr. (Gr. Antiq.)

Defn: Public disgrace or stigma; infamy; loss of civil rights. Mitford.

-ATION -a"tion. Etym: [L. -ationem. See -tion.]

Defn: A suffix forming nouns of action, and often equivalent to the verbal substantive in -ing. It sometimes has the further meanings of state, and that which results from the action. Many of these nouns have verbs in -ate; as, alliterate -ation, narrate -ation; many are derived through the French; as, alteration, visitation; and many are formed on verbs ending in the Greek formative -ize (Fr. -ise); as, civilization, demoralization.

A-TIPTOE A-tip"toe, adv.

Defn: On tiptoe; eagerly expecting. We all feel a-tiptoe with hope and confidence. F. Harrison.

ATLANTA At*lan"ta, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of small glassy heteropod mollusks found swimming at the surface in mid ocean. See Heteropod.

ATLANTAL At*lan"tal, a. (Anat.) (a) Relating to the atlas. (b) Anterior; cephalic. Barclay.

ATLANTEAN At`lan*te"an, a. Etym: [L. Atlant.]

1. Of or pertaining to the isle Atlantis, which the ancients allege was sunk, and overwhelmed by the ocean.

2. Pertaining to, or resembling, Atlas; strong. With Atlantean shoulders, fit to bear The weight of mightiest monarchies. Milton.

ATLANTES At*lan"tes, n. pl. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. Atlas.] (Arch.)

Defn: Figures or half figures of men, used as columns to support an entablature; -- called also telamones. See Caryatides. Oxf. Gloss.

ATLANTIC At*lan"tic, a. Etym: [L. Atlanticus, fr. Atlas. See Atlas and Atlantes.]

1. Of or pertaining to Mt. Atlas in Libya, and hence applied to the ocean which lies between Europe and Africa on the east and America on the west; as, the Atlantic Ocean (called also the Atlantic); the Atlantic basin; the Atlantic telegraph.

2. Of or pertaining to the isle of Atlantis.

3. Descended from Atlas. The seven Atlantic sisters. Milton.

ATLANTIDES At*lan"ti*des, n. pl. Etym: [L. See Atlantes.]

Defn: The Pleiades or seven stars, fabled to have been the daughters of Atlas.

ATLAS At"las, n.; pl. Atlases. Etym: [L. Atlas, -antis, Gr. Atlas, in W. Africa, regarded as the pillar of heaven. It is from the root of Tolerate.]

1. One who sustains a great burden.

2. (Anat.)

Defn: The first vertebra of the neck, articulating immediately with the skull, thus sustaining the globe of the head, whence the name.

3. A collection of maps in a volume; --

Note: supposed to be so called from a picture of Atlas supporting the world, prefixed to some collections. This name is said to have been first used by Mercator, the celebrated geographer, in the 16th century.

Note:

4. A volume of plates illustrating any subject.

5. A work in which subjects are exhibited in a tabular from or arrangement; as, an historical atlas.

6. A large, square folio, resembling a volume of maps; -- called also atlas folio.

7. A drawing paper of large size. See under Paper, n. Atlas powder, a nitroglycerin blasting compound of pasty consistency and great explosive power.

ATLAS At"las, n. Etym: [Ar., smooth.]

Defn: A rich kind of satin manufactured in India. Brande & C.

ATLAS POWDER At"las pow"der.

Defn: A blasting powder or dynamite composed of nitroglycerin, wood fiber, sodium nitrate, and magnesium carbonate.

ATMAN At"man, n. [Skr. atman.] (Hinduism) (a) The life principle, soul, or individual essence. (b) The universal ego from whom all individual atmans arise. This sense is a European excrescence on the East Indian thought.

ATMIATRY At*mi"a*try, n. [Gr. vapor + medical treatment, healing.]

Defn: Treatment of disease by vapors or gases, as by inhalation.

ATMIDOMETER At`mi*dom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Gr. -meter; cf. F. atmidomètre.]

Defn: An instrument for measuring the evaporation from water, ice, or snow. Brande & C.

ATMO At"mo, n. Etym: [Contr. fr. atmosphere.] (Physics)

Defn: The standard atmospheric pressure used in certain physical measurements calculations; conventionally, that pressure under which the barometer stands at 760 millimeters, at a temperature of 0º Centigrade, at the level of the sea, and in the latitude of Paris. Sir W. Thomson.

ATMOLOGIC; ATMOLOGICAL At`mo*log"ic, At`mo*log"ic*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to atmology. "Atmological laws of heat." Whewell.

ATMOLOGIST At*mol"o*gist, n.

Defn: One who is versed in atmology.

ATMOLOGY At*mol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Gr. -logy.] (Physics)

Defn: That branch of science which treats of the laws and phenomena of aqueous vapor. Whewell.

ATMOLYSIS At*mol"y*sis, n. Etym: [Gr. (Chem.)

Defn: The act or process of separating mingled gases of unequal diffusibility by transmission through porous substances.

ATMOLYZATION At`mol*y*za"tion, n. (Chem.)

Defn: Separation by atmolysis.

ATMOLYZE At"mo*lyze, v. t. (Chem.)

Defn: To subject to atmolysis; to separate by atmolysis.

ATMOLYZER At"mo*ly`zer, n. (Chem.)

Defn: An apparatus for effecting atmolysis.

ATMOMETER At*mom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Gr. -meter: cf. F. atmomètre.]

Defn: An instrument for measuring the rate of evaporation from a moist surface; an evaporometer. Huxley.

ATMOSPHERE At"mos*phere, n. Etym: [Gr. atman breath, soul, G. athem breath) + atmosphère. See Sphere.]

1. (Physics) (a) The whole mass of aëriform fluid surrounding the earth; -- applied also to the gaseous envelope of any celestial orb, or other body; as, the atmosphere of Mars. (b) Any gaseous envelope or medium. An atmosphere of cold oxygen. Miller.

2. A supposed medium around various bodies; as, electrical atmosphere, a medium formerly supposed to surround electrical bodies. Franklin.

3. The pressure or weight of the air at the sea level, on a unit of surface, or about 14.7 Ibs. to the sq. inch. Hydrogen was liquefied under a pressure of 650 atmospheres. Lubbock.

4. Any surrounding or pervading influence or condition. The chillest of social atmospheres. Hawthorne.

5. The portion of air in any locality, or affected by a special physical or sanitary condition; as, the atmosphere of the room; a moist or noxious atmosphere.

ATMOSPHERIC; ATMOSPHERICAL At`mos*pher"ic, At`mos*pher"ic*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. atmosphérique.]

1. Of or pertaining to the atmosphere; of the nature of, or resembling, the atmosphere; as, atmospheric air; the atmospheric envelope of the earth.

2. Existing in the atmosphere. The lower atmospheric current. Darwin.

3. Caused, or operated on, by the atmosphere; as, an atmospheric effect; an atmospheric engine.

4. Dependent on the atmosphere. [R.] In am so atmospherical a creature. Pope. Atmospheric engine, a steam engine whose piston descends by the pressure of the atmosphere, when the steam which raised it is condensed within the cylinder. Tomlinson. -- Atmospheric line (Steam Engin.), the equilibrium line of an indicator card. Steam is expanded "down to the atmosphere" when its pressure is equal to that of the atmosphere. (See Indicator card.) -- Atmospheric pressure, the pressure exerted by the atmosphere, not merely downwards, but in every direction. In amounts to about 14.7 Ibs. on each square inch. -- Atmospheric railway, one in which pneumatic power, obtained from compressed air or the creation of a vacuum, is the propelling force. -- Atmospheric tides. See under Tide.

ATMOSPHERICALLY At`mos*pher"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In relation to the atmosphere.

ATMOSPHEROLOGY At`mos*phe*rol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Atmosphere + -logy.]

Defn: The science or a treatise on the atmosphere.

ATOKOUS At"o*kous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Producing only asexual individuals, as the eggs of certain annelids.

ATOLE A*to"le, n. [Mex. Sp.]

Defn: A porridge or gruel of maize meal and water, milk, or the like. [Sp. Amer.]

ATOLL A*toll", n. Etym: [The native name in the Indian Ocean.]

Defn: A coral island or islands, consisting of a belt of coral reef, partly submerged, surrounding a central lagoon or depression; a lagoon island.

ATOM At"om, n. Etym: [L. atomus, Gr. atome. See Tome.]

1. (Physics) (a) An ultimate indivisible particle of matter. (b) An ultimate particle of matter not necessarily indivisible; a molecule. (c) A constituent particle of matter, or a molecule supposed to be made up of subordinate particles.

Note: These three definitions correspond to different views of the nature of the ultimate particles of matter. In the case of the last two, the particles are more correctly called molecules. Dana.

2. (Chem.)

Defn: The smallest particle of matter that can enter into combination; one of the elementary constituents of a molecule.

3. Anything extremely small; a particle; a whit. There was not an atom of water. Sir J. Ross.

ATOM At"om, v. t.

Defn: To reduce to atoms. [Obs.] Feltham.

ATOMIC; ATOMICAL A*tom"ic, A*tom"ic*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. atomique.]

1. Of or pertaining to atoms.

2. Extremely minute; tiny. Atomic philosophy, or Doctrine of atoms, a system which assuming that atoms are endued with gravity and motion accounted thus for the origin and formation of all things. This philosophy was first broached by Leucippus, was developed by Democritus, and afterward improved by Epicurus, and hence is sometimes denominated the Epicurean philosophy. -- Atomic theory, or the Doctrine of definite proportions (Chem.), teaches that chemical combinations take place between the supposed ultimate particles or atoms of bodies, in some simple ratio, as of one to one, two to three, or some other, always expressible in whole numbers. -- Atomic weight (Chem.), the weight of the atom of an element as compared with the weight of the atom of hydrogen, taken as a standard.

ATOMICALLY A*tom"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In an atomic manner; in accordance with the atomic philosophy.

ATOMICIAN At`o*mi"cian, n.

Defn: An atomist. [R.]

ATOMICISM A*tom"i*cism, n.

Defn: Atomism. [Obs.]

ATOMICITY At`o*mic"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. atomicité.] (Chem.)

Defn: Degree of atomic attraction; equivalence; valence; also (a later use) the number of atoms in an elementary molecule. See Valence.

ATOMISM At"om*ism, n. Etym: [Cf. F. atomisme.]

Defn: The doctrine of atoms. See Atomic philosophy, under Atomic.

ATOMIST At"om*ist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. atomiste.]

Defn: One who holds to the atomic philosophy or theory. Locke.

ATOMISTIC At`om*is"tic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to atoms; relating to atomism. [R.] It is the object of the mechanical atomistic philosophy to confound synthesis with synartesis. Coleridge.

ATOMIZATION At`om*i*za"tion, n.

1. The act of reducing to atoms, or very minute particles; or the state of being so reduced.

2. (Med.)

Defn: The reduction of fluids into fine spray.

ATOMIZE At"om*ize, v. t.

Defn: To reduce to atoms, or to fine spray. The liquids in the form of spray are said to be pulverized, nebulized, or atomized. Dunglison.

ATOMIZER At"om*i`zer, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, atomizes; esp., an instrument for reducing a liquid to spray for disinfecting, cooling, or perfuming.

ATOMOLOGY At`om*ol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Atom + -logy.]

Defn: The doctrine of atoms. Cudworth.

ATOMY At"om*y, n.

Defn: An atom; a mite; a pigmy.

ATOMY At"o*my, n. Etym: [For anatomy, taken as an atomy.]

Defn: A skeleton. [Ludicrous] Shak.

ATONABLE A*ton"a*ble, a.

Defn: Admitting an atonement; capable of being atoned for; expiable.

AT ONE At one". Etym: [OE. at on, atone, atoon, attone.]

1. In concord or friendship; in agreement (with each other); as, to be, bring, make, or set, at one, i. e., to be or bring in or to a state of agreement or reconciliation. If gentil men, or othere of hir contree Were wrothe, she wolde bringen hem atoon. Chaucer.

2. Of the same opinion; agreed; as, on these points we are at one.

3. Together. [Obs.] Spenser. He and Aufidius can no more atone Than violentest contrariety. Shak.

2. To stand as an equivalent; to make reparation, compensation, or amends, for an offense or a crime. The murderer fell, and blood atoned for blood. Pope. The ministry not atoning for their former conduct by any wise or popular measure. Junius.

ATONE A*tone", v. t.

1. To set at one; to reduce to concord; to reconcile, as parties at variance; to appease. [Obs.] I would do much To atone them, for the love I bear to Cassio. Shak.

2. To unite in making. [Obs. & R.] The four elements . . . have atoned A noble league. Ford.

3. To make satisfaction for; to expiate. Or each atone his guilty love with life. Pope.

ATONEMENT A*tone"ment, n.

1. (Literally, a setting at one.) Reconciliation; restoration of friendly relations; agreement; concord. [Archaic] By whom we have now received the atonement. Rom. v. 11. He desires to make atonement Betwixt the Duke of Gloucester and your brothers. Shak.

2. Satisfaction or reparation made by giving an equivalent for an injury, or by doing of suffering that which will be received in satisfaction for an offense or injury; expiation; amends; -- with for. Specifically, in theology: The expiation of sin made by the obedience, personal suffering, and death of Christ. When a man has been guilty of any vice, the best atonement be can make for it is, to warn others. Spectator. The Phocians behaved with, so much gallantry, that they were thought to have made a sufficient atonement for their former offense. Potter.

ATONER A*ton"er, n.

Defn: One who makes atonement.

ATONES At*ones, adv.

Defn: Etym: [See At one.] [Obs.] Down he fell atones as a stone. Chaucer.

ATONIC A*ton"ic, a. Etym: [Cf. F. atonique. See Atony.]

1. (Med.)

Defn: Characterized by atony, or want of vital energy; as, an atonic disease.

2. (Gram.)

Defn: Unaccented; as, an atonic syllable.

3. Destitute of tone vocality; surd. Rush.

ATONIC A*ton"ic, n.

1. (Gram.)

Defn: A word that has no accent.

2. An element of speech entirely destitute of vocality, or produced by the breath alone; a nonvocal or surd consonant; a breathing. Rush.

3. (Med.)

Defn: A remedy capable of allaying organic excitement or irritation. Dunglison.

ATONY At"o*ny, n. Etym: [Gr. atonie.] (Med.)

Defn: Want of tone; weakness of the system, or of any organ, especially of such as are contractile.

ATOP A*top", adv.

Defn: On or at the top. Milton.

ATRABILARIAN; ATRABILARIOUS At`ra*bi*la"ri*an, At`ra*bi*la"ri*ous, a. Etym: [LL. atrabilarius, fr. L. atra bilis black bile: cf. F. atrabilaire, fr. atrabile.]

Defn: Affected with melancholy; atrabilious. Arbuthnot.

ATRABILARIAN At`ra*bi*la"ri*an, n.

Defn: A person much given to melancholy; a hypochondriac. I. Disraeli.

ATRABILIAR At`ra*bil"iar, a.

Defn: Melancholy; atrabilious.

ATRABILIARY At`ra*bil"ia*ry, a.

1. Of or pertaining to atra bilis or black bile, a fluid formerly supposed to be produced by the kidneys.

2. Melancholic or hypohondriac; atrabilious; -- from the supposed predominance of black bile, to the influence of which the ancients attributed hypochondria, melancholy, and mania. Atrabiliary arteries, capsules, and veins (Anat.), those pertaining to the kidney; -- called also renal arteries, capsules, and veins.

ATRABILIOUS At`ra*bil"ious, a.

Defn: Melancholic or hypochondriac; atrabiliary. Dunglision. A hard-faced, atrabilious, earnest-eyed race. Lowell. He was constitutionally atrabilious and scornful. Froude.

ATRAMENTACEOUS At`ra*men*ta"ceous, a. Etym: [L. atramentum ink, fr. ater black.]

Defn: Black, like ink; inky; atramental. [Obs.] Derham.

ATRAMENTAL; ATRAMENTOUS At`ra*men"tal, At`ra*men"tous, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to ink; inky; black, like ink; as, atramental galls; atramentous spots.

ATRAMENTARIOUS At`ra*men*ta"ri*ous, a. Etym: [Cf. F. atramentaire. See Atramentaceous.]

Defn: Like ink; suitable for making ink. Sulphate of iron (copperas, green vitriol) is called atramentarious, as being used in making ink.

ATREDE At*rede, v. t. Etym: [OE. at (AS. æt) out + rede.]

Defn: To surpass in council. [Obs.] Men may the olde atrenne, but hat atrede. Chaucer.

ATRENNE At*renne", v. t. Etym: [OE. at + renne to run.]

Defn: To outrun. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ATRESIA A*tre"si*a, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: Absence or closure of a natural passage or channel of the body; imperforation.

ATRIAL A"tri*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to an atrium.

ATRIP A*trip", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + trip.] (Naut.) (a) Just hove clear of the ground; -said of the anchor. (b) Sheeted home, hoisted taut up and ready for trimming; -- said of sails. (c) Hoisted up and ready to be swayed across; -- said of yards.

ATRIUM A"tri*um, n.; pl. Atria. Etym: [L., the fore court of a Roman house.]

1. (Arch.) (a) A square hall lighted from above, into which rooms open at one or more levels. (b) An open court with a porch or gallery around three or more sides; especially at the entrance of a basilica or other church. The name was extended in the Middle Ages to the open churchyard or cemetery.

2. (Anat.)

Defn: The main part of either auricle of the heart as distinct from the auricular appendix. Also, the whole articular portion of the heart.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A cavity in ascidians into which the intestine and generative ducts open, and which also receives the water from the gills. See Ascidioidea.

ATROCHA At`ro*cha, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A kind of chætopod larva in which no circles of cilia are developed.

ATROCIOUS A*tro"cious, a. Etym: [L. atrox, atrocis, cruel, fierce: cf. F. atroce.]

1. Extremely heinous; full of enormous wickedness; as, atrocious quilt or deeds.

2. Characterized by, or expressing, great atrocity, great atrocity. Revelations . . . so atrocious that nothing in history approaches them. De Quincey.

3. Very grievous or violent; terrible; as, atrocious distempers. [Obs.] Cheyne.

Syn. -- Atrocious, Flagitious, Flagrant. Flagitious points to an act as grossly wicked and vile; as, a flagitious proposal. Flagrant marks the vivid impression made upon the mind by something strikingly wrong or erroneous; as, a flagrant misrepresentation; a flagrant violation of duty. Atrocious represents the act as springing from a violent and savage spirit. If Lord Chatham, instead of saying "the atrocious crime of being a young man," had used either of the other two words, his irony would have lost all its point, in his celebrated reply to Sir Robert Walpole, as reported by Dr. Johnson. -- A*tro"cious*ly, adv. -- A*tro"cious*ness, n.

ATROCITY A*troc"i*ty, n.; pl. Atrocities. Etym: [F. atrocité, L. atrocitas, fr. atrox, atrocis, cruel.]

1. Enormous wickedness; extreme heinousness or cruelty.

2. An atrocious or extremely cruel deed. The atrocities which attend a victory. Macaulay.

ATROPHIC A*troph"ic, a.

Defn: Relating to atrophy.

ATROPHIED At"ro*phied, p. a.

Defn: Affected with atrophy, as a tissue or organ; arrested in development at a very early stage; rudimentary.

ATROPHY At"ro*phy, n. Etym: [L. atrophia, Gr. atrophie.]

Defn: A wasting away from want of nourishment; diminution in bulk or slow emaciation of the body or of any part. Milton.

ATROPHY At"ro*phy, v. t. [p. p. Atrophied.]

Defn: To cause to waste away or become abortive; to starve or weaken.

ATROPHY At"ro*phy, v. i.

Defn: To waste away; to dwindle.

ATROPIA A*tro"pi*a, n.

Defn: Same as Atropine.

ATROPINE At"ro*pine, n. Etym: [Gr. (Chem.)

Defn: A poisonous, white, crystallizable alkaloid, extracted from the Atropa belladonna, or deadly nightshade, and the Datura Stramonium, or thorn apple. It is remarkable for its power in dilating the pupil of the eye. Called also daturine.

ATROPISM At"ro*pism, n. (Med.)

Defn: A condition of the system produced by long use of belladonna.

ATROPOUS At"ro*pous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Not inverted; orthotropous.

ATROUS A"trous, a. Etym: [L. ater.]

Defn: Coal-black; very black.

ATRYPA A*try"pa, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Paleon.)

Defn: A extinct genus of Branchiopoda, very common in Silurian limestones.

ATTABAL At"ta*bal, n.

Defn: See Atabal.

ATTACCA At*tac"ca. Etym: [It., fr. attaccare to tie, bind. See Attach.] (Mus.)

Defn: Attack at once; -- a direction at the end of a movement to show that the next is to follow immediately, without any pause.

ATTACH At*tach", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attached; p. pr. & vb. n. Attaching.] Etym: [OF. atachier, F. attacher, to tie or fasten: cf. Celt. tac, tach, nail, E. tack a small nail, tack to fasten. Cf. Attack, and see Tack.]

1. To bind, fasten, tie, or connect; to make fast or join; as, to attach one thing to another by a string, by glue, or the like. The shoulder blade is . . . attached only to the muscles. Paley. A huge stone to which the cable was attached. Macaulay.

2. To connect; to place so as to belong; to assign by authority; to appoint; as, an officer is attached to a certain regiment, company, or ship.

3. To win the heart of; to connect by ties of love or self-interest; to attract; to fasten or bind by moral influence; -- with to; as, attached to a friend; attaching others to us by wealth or flattery. Incapable of attaching a sensible man. Miss Austen. God . . . by various ties attaches man to man. Cowper.

4. To connect, in a figurative sense; to ascribe or attribute; to affix; -- with to; as, to attach great importance to a particular circumstance. Top this treasure a curse is attached. Bayard Taylor.

5. To take, seize, or lay hold of. [Obs.] Shak.

6. To take by legal authority: (a) To arrest by writ, and bring before a court, as to answer for a debt, or a contempt; -- applied to a taking of the person by a civil process; being now rarely used for the arrest of a criminal. (b) To seize or take (goods or real estate) by virtue of a writ or precept to hold the same to satisfy a judgment which may be rendered in the suit. See Attachment, 4. The earl marshal attached Gloucester for high treason. Miss Yonge. Attached column (Arch.), a column engaged in a wall, so that only a part of its circumference projects from it.

Syn. -- To affix; bind; tie; fasten; connect; conjoin; subjoin; annex; append; win; gain over; conciliate.

ATTACH At*tach", v. i.

1. To adhere; to be attached. The great interest which attaches to the mere knowledge of these facts cannot be doubted. Brougham.

2. To come into legal operation in connection with anything; to vest; as, dower will attach. Cooley.

ATTACH At*tach", n.

Defn: An attachment. [Obs.] Pope.

ATTACHABLE At*tach"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being attached; esp., liable to be taken by writ or precept.

ATTACHE At`ta*ché", n. Etym: [F., p. p. of attacher. See Attach, v. t.]

Defn: One attached to another person or thing, as a part of a suite or staff. Specifically: One attached to an embassy.

ATTACHMENT At*tach"ment, n. Etym: [F. attachment.]

1. The act attaching, or state of being attached; close adherence or affection; fidelity; regard; anas, an attachment to a friend, or to a party.

2. That by which one thing is attached to another; connection; as, to cut the attachments of a muscle. The human mind . . . has exhausted its forces in the endeavor to rend the supernatural from its attachment to this history. I. Taylor.

3. Something attached; some adjunct attached to an instrument, machine, or other object; as, a sewing machine attachment (i. e., a device attached to a sewing machine to enable it to do special work, as tucking, etc.).

4. (Giv. Law) (a) A seizure or taking into custody by virtue of a legal process. (b) The writ or percept commanding such seizure or taking.

Note: The term is applied to a seizure or taking either of persons or property. In the serving of process in a civil suit, it is most generally applied to the taking of property, whether at common law, as a species of distress, to compel defendant's appearance, or under local statutes, to satisfy the judgment the plaintiff may recover in the action. The terms attachment and arrest are both applied to the taking or apprehension of a defendant to compel an appearance in a civil action. Attachments are issued at common law and in chancery, against persons for contempt of court. In England, attachment is employed in some cases where capias is with us, as against a witness who fails to appear on summons. In some of the New England States a writ of attachment is a species of mesne process upon which the property of a defendant may be seized at the commencement of a suit and before summons to him, and may be held to satisfy the judgment the plaintiff may recover. In other States this writ can issue only against absconding debtors and those who conceal themselves. See Foreign, Garnishment, Trustee process. Bouvier. Burrill. Blackstone.

Syn. -- Attachment, Affection. The leading idea of affection is that of warmth and tenderness; the leading idea of attachment is that of being bound to some object by strong and lasting ties. There is more of sentiment (and sometimes of romance) in affection, and more of principle in preserving attachment. We speak of the ardor of the one, and the fidelity of the other. There is another distinction in the use and application of these words. The term attachment is applied to a wider range of objects than affection. A man may have a strong attachment to his country, to his profession, to his principles, and even to favorite places; in respect to none of these could we use the word affection.

ATTACK At*tack", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attacked; p. pr. & vb. n. Attacking.] Etym: [F. attaquer, orig. another form of attacher to attack: cf. It. attacare to fasten, attack. See Attach, Tack a small nail.]

1. To fall upon with force; to assail, as with force and arms; to assault. "Attack their lines." Dryden.

2. To assail with unfriendly speech or writing; to begin a controversy with; to attempt to overthrow or bring into disrepute, by criticism or satire; to censure; as, to attack a man, or his opinions, in a pamphlet.

3. To set to work upon, as upon a task or problem, or some object of labor or investigation.

4. To begin to affect; to begin to act upon, injuriously or destructively; to begin to decompose or waste. On the fourth of March he was attacked by fever. Macaulay. Hydrofluoric acid . . . attacks the glass. B. Stewart.

Syn. -- To Attack, Assail, Assault, Invade. These words all denote a violent onset; attack being the generic term, and the others specific forms of attack. To attack is to commence the onset; to assail is to make a sudden and violent attack, or to make repeated attacks; to assault (literally, to leap upon) is to attack physically by a had- to-hand approach or by unlawful and insulting violence; to invade is to enter by force on what belongs to another. Thus, a person may attack by offering violence of any kind; he may assail by means of missile weapons; he may assault by direct personal violence; a king may invade by marching an army into a country. Figuratively, we may say, men attack with argument or satire; they assail with abuse or reproaches; they may be assaulted by severe temptations; the rights of the people may be invaded by the encroachments of the crown.

ATTACK At*tack", v. i.

Defn: To make an onset or attack.

ATTACK At*tack", n. Etym: [Cf. F. attaque.]

1. The act of attacking, or falling on with force or violence; an onset; an assault; -- opposed to defense.

2. An assault upon one's feelings or reputation with unfriendly or bitter words.

3. A setting to work upon some task, etc.

4. An access of disease; a fit of sickness.

5. The beginning of corrosive, decomposing, or destructive action, by a chemical agent.

ATTACKABLE At*tack"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being attacked.

ATTACKER At*tack"er, n.

Defn: One who attacks.

ATTAGAS; ATTAGEN At"ta*gas, At"ta*gen, n. Etym: [L. attagen a kind of bird, Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A species of sand grouse (Syrrghaptes Pallasii) found in Asia and rarely in southern Europe.

ATTAGHAN At"ta*ghan, n.

Defn: See Yataghan.

ATTAIN At*tain", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attained; p. pr. & vb. n. Attaining.] Etym: [Of. atteinen, atteignen, , OF. ateindre, ataindre, F. atteindre, fr. L. attingere; ad + tangere to touch, reach. See Tangent, and cf. Attinge, Attaint.]

1. To achieve or accomplish, that is, to reach by efforts; to gain; to compass; as, to attain rest. Is he wise who hopes to attain the end without the means Abp. Tillotson.

2. To gain or obtain possession of; to acquire. [Obs. with a material object.] Chaucer.

3. To get at the knowledge of; to ascertain. [Obs.] Not well attaining his meaning. Fuller.

4. To reach or come to, by progression or motion; to arrive at. "Canaan he now attains." Milton.

5. To overtake. [Obs.] Bacon.

6. To reach in excellence or degree; to equal.

Syn. -- To Attain, Obtain, Procure. Attain always implies an effort toward an object. Hence it is not synonymous with obtain and procure, which do not necessarily imply such effort or motion. We procure or obtain a thing by purchase or loan, and we obtain by inheritance, but we do not attain it by such means.

ATTAIN At*tain", v. i.

1. To come or arrive, by motion, growth, bodily exertion, or efforts toward a place, object, state, etc.; to reach. If by any means they might attain to Phenice. Acts xxvii. 12. Nor nearer might the dogs attain. Sir W. Scott. To see your trees attain to the dignity of timber. Cowper. Few boroughs had as yet attained to power such as this. J. R. Green.

2. To come or arrive, by an effort of mind. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I can not attain unto it. Ps. cxxxix. 6.

ATTAIN At*tain", n.

Defn: Attainment. [Obs.]

ATTAINABILITY At*tain`a*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality of being attainable; attainbleness.

ATTAINABLE At*tain"a*ble, a.

1. Capable of being attained or reached by efforts of the mind or body; capable of being compassed or accomplished by efforts directed to the object. The highest pitch of perfection attainable in this life. Addison.

2. Obtainable. [Obs.] General Howe would not permit the purchase of those articles [clothes and blankets] in Philadelphia, and they were not attainable in the country. Marshall.

ATTAINABLENESS At*tain"a*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being attainable; attainability.

ATTAINDER At*tain"der, n. Etym: [OF. ataindre, ateindre, to accuse, convict. Attainder is often erroneously referred to F. teindre tie stain. See Attaint, Attain.]

1. The act of attainting, or the state of being attainted; the extinction of the civil rights and capacities of a person, consequent upon sentence of death or outlawry; as, an act of attainder. Abbott.

Note: Formerly attainder was the inseparable consequence of a judicial or legislative sentence for treason or felony, and involved the forfeiture of all the real and personal property of the condemned person, and such "corruption of blood" that he could neither receive nor transmit by inheritance, nor could he sue or testify in any court, or claim any legal protection or rights. In England attainders are now abolished, and in the United States the Constitution provides that no bill of attainder shall be passed; and no attainder of treason (in consequence of a judicial sentence) shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted.

2. A stain or staining; state of being in dishonor or condemnation. [Obs.] He lived from all attainder of suspect. Shak. Bill of attainder, a bill brought into, or passed by, a legislative body, condemning a person to death or outlawry, and attainder, without judicial sentence.

ATTAINMENT At*tain"ment, n.

1. The act of attaining; the act of arriving at or reaching; hence, the act of obtaining by efforts. The attainment of every desired object. Sir W. Jones.

2. That which is attained to, or obtained by exertion; acquirement; acquisition; (pl.), mental acquirements; knowledge; as, literary and scientific attainments.

ATTAINT At*taint", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attainted; p. pr. & vb. n. Attainting.] Etym: [OE. atteynten to convict, fr. atteynt, OF. ateint, p. p. of ateindre, ataindre. The meanings 3, 4, 5, and 6 were influenced by a supposed connection with taint. See Attain, Attainder.]

1. To attain; to get act; to hit. [Obs.]

2. (Old Law)

Defn: To find guilty; to convict; -- said esp. of a jury on trial for giving a false verdict. [Obs.] Upon sufficient proof attainted of some open act by men of his own condition. Blackstone.

3. (Law)

Defn: To subject (a person) to the legal condition formerly resulting from a sentence of death or outlawry, pronounced in respect of treason or felony; to affect by attainder. No person shall be attainted of high treason where corruption of blood is incurred, but by the oath of two witnesses. Stat. 7 & 8 Wm. III.

4. To accuse; to charge with a crime or a dishonorable act. [Archaic]

5. To affect or infect, as with physical or mental disease or with moral contagion; to taint or corrupt. My tender youth was never yet attaint With any passion of inflaming love. Shak.

6. To stain; to obscure; to sully; to disgrace; to cloud with infamy. For so exceeding shone his glistring ray, That Phattaint. Spenser. Lest she with blame her honor should attaint. Spenser.

ATTAINT At*taint", p. p.

Defn: Attainted; corrupted. [Obs.] Shak.

ATTAINT At*taint", n. Etym: [OF. attainte. See Attaint, v.]

1. A touch or hit. Sir W. Scott.

2. (Far.)

Defn: A blow or wound on the leg of a horse, made by overreaching. White.

3. (Law)

Defn: A writ which lies after judgment, to inquire whether a jury has given a false verdict in any court of record; also, the convicting of the jury so tried. Bouvier.

4. A stain or taint; disgrace. See Taint. Shak.

5. An infecting influence. [R.] Shak.

ATTAINTMENT At*taint"ment, n.

Defn: Attainder; attainture; conviction.

ATTAINTURE At*tain"ture, n.

Defn: Attainder; disgrace.

ATTAL At"tal, n.

Defn: Same as Attle.

ATTAME At*tame", v. t. Etym: [OF. atamer, from Latin. See Attaminate.]

1. To pierce; to attack. [Obs.]

2. To broach; to begin. And right anon his tale he hath attamed. Chaucer.

ATTAMINATE At*tam"i*nate, v. t. Etym: [L. attaminare; ad + root of tangere. See Contaminate.]

Defn: To corrupt; to defile; to contaminate. [Obs.] Blount.

ATTAR At"tar, n. Etym: [Per. 'atar perfume, essence, Ar. 'itr, fr. 'atara to smell sweet. Cf. Otto.]

Defn: A fragrant essential oil; esp., a volatile and highly fragrant essential oil obtained from the petals of roses. [Also written otto and ottar.]

ATTASK At*task", v. t. Etym: [Pref. a- + task.]

Defn: To take to task; to blame. Shak.

ATTASTE At*taste, v. t. Etym: [Pref. a- + taste.]

Defn: To taste or cause to taste. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ATTE At"te.

Defn: At the. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ATTEMPER At*tem"per, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attempered; p. pr. & vb. n. Attempering.] Etym: [OF. atemprer, fr. L. attemperare; ad + temperare to soften, temper. See Temper, and cf. Attemperate.]

1. To reduce, modify, or moderate, by mixture; to temper; to regulate, as temperature. If sweet with bitter . . . were not attempered still. Trench.

2. To soften, mollify, or moderate; to soothe; to temper; as, to attemper rigid justice with clemency.

3. To mix in just proportion; to regulate; as, a mind well attempered with kindness and justice.

4. To accommodate; to make suitable; to adapt. Arts . . . attempered to the lyre. Pope.

Note: This word is now not much used, the verb temper taking its place.

ATTEMPERAMENT At*tem"per*a*ment, n. Etym: [OF. attemprement.]

Defn: A tempering, or mixing in due proportion.

ATTEMPERANCE At*tem"per*ance, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. atemprance.]

Defn: Temperance; attemperament. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ATTEMPERATE At*tem"per*ate, a. Etym: [L. attemperatus, p. p. of attemperare. See Attemper.]

Defn: Tempered; proportioned; properly adapted. Hope must be . . . attemperate to the promise. Hammond.

ATTEMPERATE At*tem"per*ate, v. t.

Defn: To attemper. [Archaic]

ATTEMPERATION At*tem`per*a"tion, n.

Defn: The act of attempering or regulating. [Archaic] Bacon.

ATTEMPERLY At*tem"per*ly, adv.

Defn: Temperately. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ATTEMPERMENT At*tem"per*ment, n.

Defn: Attemperament.

ATTEMPT At*tempt", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attempted; p. pr. & vb. n. Attempting.] Etym: [OF. atenter, also spelt atempter, F. attenter, fr. L. attentare to attempt; ad + tentare, temptare, to touch, try, v. intens. of tendere to stretch. See Tempt, and cf. Attend.]

1. To make trial or experiment of; to try; to endeavor to do or perform (some action); to assay; as, to attempt to sing; to attempt a bold flight. Something attempted, something done, Has earned a night's repose. Longfellow.

2. To try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to tempt. [Obs. or Archaic] It made the laughter of an afternoon That Vivien should attempt the blameless king. Thackeray.

3. To try to win, subdue, or overcome; as, one who attempts the virtue of a woman. Dear sir, of force I must attempt you further: Take some remembrance of us, as a tribute. Shak.

4. To attack; to make an effort or attack upon; to try to take by force; as, to attempt the enemy's camp. Without attempting his adversary's life. Motley.

Syn. -- See Try.

ATTEMPT At*tempt", v. i.

Defn: To make an attempt; -- with upon. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

ATTEMPT At*tempt", n.

Defn: A essay, trial, or endeavor; an undertaking; an attack, or an effort to gain a point; esp. an unsuccessful, as contrasted with a successful, effort. By his blindness maimed for high attempts. Milton. Attempt to commit a crime (Law), such an intentional preparatory act as will apparently result, if not extrinsically hindered, in a crime which it was designed to effect. Wharton.

Syn. -- Attempt, Endeavor, Effort, Exertion, Trial. These words agree in the idea of calling forth our powers into action. Trial is the generic term; it denotes a putting forth of one's powers with a view to determine what they can accomplish; as, to make trial of one's strength. An attempt is always directed to some definite and specific object; as, "The attempt, and not the deed, confounds us." Shak. An endeavor is a continued attempt; as, "His high endeavor and his glad success." Cowper. Effort is a specific putting forth of strength in order to carry out an attempt. Exertion is the putting forth or active exercise of any faculty or power. "It admits of all degrees of effort and even natural action without effort." C. J. Smith. See Try.

ATTEMPTABLE At*tempt"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being attempted, tried, or attacked. Shak.

ATTEMPTER At*tempt"er, n.

1. One who attempts; one who essays anything.

2. An assailant; also, a temper. [Obs.]

ATTEMPTIVE At*tempt"ive, a.

Defn: Disposed to attempt; adventurous. [Obs.] Daniel.

ATTEND At*tend", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attended; p. pr. & vb. n. Attending.] Etym: [OE. atenden, OF. atendre, F. attendre, to expect, to wait, fr. L. attendre to stretch, (sc. animum), to apply the mind to; ad + tendere to stretch. See Tend.]

1. To direct the attention to; to fix the mind upon; to give heed to; to regard. [Obs.] The diligent pilot in a dangerous tempest doth not attend the unskillful words of the passenger. Sir P. Sidney.

2. To care for; to look after; to take charge of; to watch over.

3. To go or stay with, as a companion, nurse, or servant; to visit professionally, as a physician; to accompany or follow in order to do service; to escort; to wait on; to serve. The fifth had charge sick persons to attend. Spenser. Attends the emperor in his royal court. Shak. With a sore heart and a gloomy brow, he prepared to attend William thither. Macaulay.

4. To be present with; to accompany; to be united or consequent to; as, a measure attended with ill effects. What cares must then attend the toiling swain. Dryden.

5. To be present at; as, to attend church, school, a concert, a business meeting.

6. To wait for; to await; to remain, abide, or be in store for. [Obs.] The state that attends all men after this. Locke. Three days I promised to attend my doom. Dryden.

Syn. -- To Attend, Mind, Regard, Heed, Notice. Attend is generic, the rest are specific terms. To mind is to attend so that it may not be forgotten; to regard is to look on a thing as of importance; to heed is to ~ to a thing from a principle of caution; to notice is to think on that which strikes the senses. Crabb. See Accompany.

ATTEND At*tend", v. i.

1. To apply the mind, or pay attention, with a view to perceive, understand, or comply; to pay regard; to heed; to listen; -- usually followed by to. Attend to the voice of my supplications. Ps. lxxxvi. 6. Man can not at the same time attend to two objects. Jer. Taylor.

2. To accompany or be present or near at hand, in pursuance of duty; to be ready for service; to wait or be in waiting; -- often followed by on or upon. He was required to attend upon the committee. Clarendon.

3. (with to) To take charge of; to look after; as, to attend to a matter of business.

4. To wait; to stay; to delay. [Obs.] For this perfection she must yet attend, Till to her Maker she espoused be. Sir J. Davies.

Syn. -- To Attend, Listen, Hearken. We attend with a view to hear and learn; we listen with fixed attention, in order to hear correctly, or to consider what has been said; we hearken when we listen with a willing mind, and in reference to obeying.

ATTENDANCE At*tend"ance, n. Etym: [OE. attendance, OF. atendance, fr. atendre, F. attendre. See Attend, v. t.]

1. Attention; regard; careful application. [Obs.] Till I come, give attendance to reading. 1 Tim. iv. 13.

2. The act of attending; state of being in waiting; service; ministry; the fact of being present; presence. Constant attendance at church three times a day. Fielding.

3. Waiting for; expectation. [Obs.] Languishing attendance and expectation of death. Hooker.

4. The persons attending; a retinue; attendants. If your stray attendance by yet lodged. Milton.

ATTENDANCY At*tend"an*cy, n.

Defn: The quality of attending or accompanying; attendance; an attendant. [Obs.]

ATTENDANT At*tend"ant, a. Etym: [F. attendant, p. pr. of attendre. See Attend, v. t.]

1. Being present, or in the train; accompanying; in waiting. From the attendant flotilla rang notes triumph. Sir W. Scott. Cherub and Seraph . . . attendant on their Lord. Milton.

2. Accompanying, connected with, or immediately following, as consequential; consequent; as, intemperance with all its attendant evils. The natural melancholy attendant upon his situation added to the gloom of the owner of the mansion. Sir W. Scott.

3. (Law)

Defn: Depending on, or owing duty or service to; as, the widow attendant to the heir. Cowell. Attendant keys (Mus.), the keys or scales most nearly related to, or having most in common with, the principal key; those, namely, of its fifth above, or dominant, its fifth below (fourth above), or subdominant, and its relative minor or major.

ATTENDANT At*tend"ant, n.

1. One who attends or accompanies in any character whatever, as a friend, companion, servant, agent, or suitor. "A train of attendants." Hallam.

2. One who is present and takes part in the proceedings; as, an attendant at a meeting.

3. That which accompanies; a concomitant. [A] sense of fame, the attendant of noble spirits. Pope.

4. (Law)

Defn: One who owes duty or service to, or depends on, another. Cowell.

ATTENDEMENT At*tend"e*ment, n.

Defn: Intent. [Obs.] Spenser.

ATTENDER At*tend"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, attends.

ATTENDMENT At*tend"ment, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. atendement.]

Defn: An attendant circumstance. [Obs.] The uncomfortable attendments of hell. Sir T. Browne.

ATTENT At*tent", a. Etym: [L. attentus, p. p. of attendere. See Attend, v. t.]

Defn: Attentive; heedful. [Archaic] Let thine ears be attent unto the prayer. 2 Chron. vi. 40.

ATTENT At*tent", n.

Defn: Attention; heed. [Obs.] Spenser.

ATTENTATE; ATTENTAT At*ten"tate, At*ten"tat, n. Etym: [L. attentatum, pl. attentata, fr. attentare to attempt: cf. F. attentat criminal attempt. See Attempt.]

1. An attempt; an assault. [Obs.] Bacon.

2. (Law) (a) A proceeding in a court of judicature, after an inhibition is decreed. (b) Any step wrongly innovated or attempted in a suit by an inferior judge.

ATTENTION At*ten"tion, n. Etym: [L. attentio: cf. F. attention.]

1. The act or state of attending or heeding; the application of the mind to any object of sense, representation, or thought; notice; exclusive or special consideration; earnest consideration, thought, or regard; obedient or affectionate heed; the supposed power or faculty of attending. They say the tongues of dying men Enforce attention like deep harmony. Shak.

Note: Attention is consciousness and something more. It is consciousness voluntarily applied, under its law of limitations, to some determinate object; it is consciousness concentrated. Sir W. Hamilton.

2. An act of civility or courtesy; care for the comfort and pleasure of others; as, attentions paid to a stranger. To pay attention to, To pay one's attentions to, to be courteous or attentive to; to wait upon as a lover; to court.

Syn. -- Care; heed; study; consideration; application; advertence; respect; regard.

ATTENTIVE At*ten"tive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. attentif.]

1. Heedful; intent; observant; regarding with care or attention.

Note: Attentive is applied to the senses of hearing and seeing, as, an attentive ear or eye; to the application of the mind, as in contemplation; or to the application of the mind, in every possible sense, as when a person is attentive to the words, and to the manner and matter, of a speaker at the same time.

2. Heedful of the comfort of others; courteous.

Syn. -- Heedful; intent; observant; mindful; regardful; circumspect; watchful. -- At*ten"tive*ly, adv. -- At*ten"tive*ness, n.

ATTENTLY At*tent"ly, adv.

Defn: Attentively. [Obs.] Barrow.

ATTENUANT At*ten"u*ant, a. Etym: [L. attenuans, p. pr. of attenuare: cf. F. atténuant. See Attenuate.]

Defn: Making thin, as fluids; diluting; rendering less dense and viscid; diluent. -- n. (Med.)

Defn: A medicine that thins or dilutes the fluids; a diluent.

ATTENUATE At*ten"u*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attenuated; p. pr. & vb. n. Attenuating.] Etym: [L. attenuatus, p. p. of attenuare; ad + tenuare to make thin, tenuis thin. See Thin.]

1. To make thin or slender, as by mechanical or chemical action upon inanimate objects, or by the effects of starvation, disease, etc., upon living bodies.

2. To make thin or less consistent; to render less viscid or dense; to rarefy. Specifically: To subtilize, as the humors of the body, or to break them into finer parts.

3. To lessen the amount, force, or value of; to make less complex; to weaken. To undersell our rivals . . . has led the manufacturer to . . . attenuate his processes, in the allotment of tasks, to an extreme point. I. Taylor. We may reject and reject till we attenuate history into sapless meagerness. Sir F. Palgrave.

ATTENUATE At*ten"u*ate, v. i.

Defn: To become thin, slender, or fine; to grow less; to lessen. The attention attenuates as its sphere contracts. Coleridge.

ATTENUATE; ATTENUATED At*ten"u*ate, At*ten"u*a`ted, a. Etym: [L. attenuatus, p. p.]

1. Made thin or slender.

2. Made thin or less viscid; rarefied. Bacon.

ATTENUATION At*ten`u*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. attenuatio: cf. F. atténuation.]

1. The act or process of making slender, or the state of being slender; emaciation.

2. The act of attenuating; the act of making thin or less dense, or of rarefying, as fluids or gases.

3. The process of weakening in intensity; diminution of virulence; as, the attenuation of virus.

ATTER At"ter, n. Etym: [AS. ætter.]

Defn: Poison; venom; corrupt matter from a sore. [Obs.] Holland.

ATTERCOP At"ter*cop, n. Etym: [AS. attercoppa a spider; ætter poison + coppa head, cup.]

1. A spider. [Obs.]

2. A peevish, ill-natured person. [North of Eng.]

ATTERRATE At*ter*rate, v. t. Etym: [It. atterrare (cf. LL. atterrare to cast to earth); L. ad + terra earth, land.]

Defn: To fill up with alluvial earth. [Obs.] Ray.

ATTERRATION At`ter*ra"tion, n.

Defn: The act of filling up with earth, or of forming land with alluvial earth. [Obs.]

ATTEST At"test", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attested; p. pr. & vb. n. Attesting.] Etym: [L. attestari; ad + testari to bear witness: cf. F. attester.]

1. To bear witness to; to certify; to affirm to be true or genuine; as, to attest the truth of a writing, a copy of record. Facts . . . attested by particular pagan authors. Addison.

2. To give proof of; to manifest; as, the ruins of Palmyra attest its ancient magnificence.

3. To call to witness; to invoke. [Archaic] The sacred streams which Heaven's imperial state Attests in oaths, and fears to violate. Dryden.

ATTEST At*test", n.

Defn: Witness; testimony; attestation. [R.] The attest of eyes and ears. Shak.

ATTESTATION At`tes*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. attestatio: cf. F. attestation.]

Defn: The act of attesting; testimony; witness; a solemn or official declaration, verbal or written, in support of a fact; evidence. The truth appears from the attestation of witnesses, or of the proper officer. The subscription of a name to a writing as a witness, is an attestation.

ATTESTATIVE At*test"a*tive, a.

Defn: Of the nature of attestation.

ATTESTER; ATTESTOR At*test"er, At*test"or, n.

Defn: One who attests.

ATTESTIVE At*test"ive, a.

Defn: Attesting; furnishing evidence.

ATTIC At"tic, a. Etym: [L. Atticus, Gr.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Attica, in Greece, or to Athens, its principal city; marked by such qualities as were characteristic of the Athenians; classical; refined. Attic base (Arch.), a peculiar form of molded base for a column or pilaster, described by Vitruvius, applied under the Roman Empire to the Ionic and Corinthian and "Roman Doric" orders, and imitated by the architects of the Renaissance. -- Attic faith, inviolable faith. -- Attic purity, special purity of language. -- Attic salt, Attic wit, a poignant, delicate wit, peculiar to the Athenians. -- Attic story. See Attic, n. -- Attic style, a style pure and elegant.

ATTIC At"tic, n. Etym: [In sense (a) from F. attique, orig. meaning Attic. See Attic, a.]

1. (Arch.) (a) A low story above the main order or orders of a facade, in the classical styles; -- a term introduced in the 17th century. Hence: (b) A room or rooms behind that part of the exterior; all the rooms immediately below the roof.

2. An Athenian; an Athenian author.

ATTICAL At"tic*al, a.

Defn: Attic. [Obs.] Hammond.

ATTICISM At"ti*cism, n. Etym: [Gr.

1. A favoring of, or attachment to, the Athenians.

2. The style and idiom of the Greek language, used by the Athenians; a concise and elegant expression.

ATTICIZE At"ti*cize, v. t. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: To conform or make conformable to the language, customs, etc., of Attica.

ATTICIZE At"ti*cize, v. i.

1. To side with the Athenians.

2. To use the Attic idiom or style; to conform to the customs or modes of thought of the Athenians.

ATTIGUOUS At*tig"u*ous, a. Etym: [L. attiguus, fr. attingere to touch. See Attain.]

Defn: Touching; bordering; contiguous. [Obs.] -- At*tig"u*ous*ness, n. [Obs.]

ATTINGE At*tinge", v. t. Etym: [L. attingere to touch. See Attain.]

Defn: To touch lightly. [Obs.] Coles.

ATTIRE At*tire", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attired; p. pr. & vb. n. Attiring.] Etym: [OE. atiren to array, dispose, arrange, OF. atirier; à (L. ad) + F. tire rank, order, row; of Ger. origin: cf. As. tier row, OHG. ziari, G. zier, ornament, zieren to adorn. Cf. Tire a headdress.]

Defn: To dress; to array; to adorn; esp., to clothe with elegant or splendid garments. Finely attired in a robe of white. Shak. With the linen miter shall he be attired. Lev. xvi. 4.

ATTIRE At*tire", n.

1. Dress; clothes; headdress; anything which dresses or adorns; esp., ornamental clothing. Earth in her rich attire. Milton. I 'll put myself in poor and mean attire. Shak. Can a maid forget her ornament, or a bride her attire Jer. ii. 32.

2. The antlers, or antlers and scalp, of a stag or buck.

3. (Bot.)

Defn: The internal parts of a flower, included within the calyx and the corolla. [Obs.] Johnson.

ATTIRED At*tired", p. p. (Her.)

Defn: Provided with antlers, as a stag.

ATTIREMENT At*tire"ment, n.

Defn: Attire; adornment.

ATTIRER At*tir"er, n.

Defn: One who attires.

ATTITUDE At"ti*tude, n. Etym: [It. attitudine, LL. aptitudo, fr. L. aptus suited, fitted: cf. F. attitude. Cf. Aptitude.]

1. (Paint. & Sculp.)

Defn: The posture, action, or disposition of a figure or a statue.

2. The posture or position of a person or an animal, or the manner in which the parts of his body are disposed; position assumed or studied to serve a purpose; as, a threatening attitude; an attitude of entreaty.

3. Fig.: Position as indicating action, feeling, or mood; as, in times of trouble let a nation preserve a firm attitude; one's mental attitude in respect to religion. The attitude of the country was rapidly changing. J. R. Green. To strike an attitude, to take an attitude for mere effect.

Syn. -- Attitude, Posture. Both of these words describe the visible disposition of the limbs. Posture relates to their position merely; attitude refers to their fitness for some specific object. The object of an attitude is to set forth exhibit some internal feeling; as, attitude of wonder, of admiration, of grief, etc. It is, therefore, essentially and designedly expressive. Its object is the same with that of gesture; viz., to hold forth and represent. Posture has no such design. If we speak of posture in prayer, or the posture of devotion, it is only the natural disposition of the limbs, without any intention to show forth or exhibit. 'T is business of a painter in his choice of attitudes (posituræ) to foresee the effect and harmony of the lights and shadows. Dryden. Never to keep the body in the same posture half an hour at a time. Bacon.

ATTITUDINAL At`ti*tu"di*nal, a.

Defn: Relating to attitude.

ATTITUDINARIAN At`ti*tu`di*na"ri*an, n.

Defn: One who attitudinizes; a posture maker.

ATTITUDINARIANISM At`ti*tu`di*na"ri*an*ism, n.

Defn: A practicing of attitudes; posture making.

ATTITUDINIZE At`ti*tu"di*nize, v. i.

Defn: To assume affected attitudes; to strike an attitude; to pose. Maria, who is the most picturesque figure, was put to attitudinize at the harp. Hannah More.

ATTITUDINIZER At`ti*tu"di*ni`zer, n

Defn: One who practices attitudes.

ATTLE At"tle, n. Etym: [Cf. Addle mire.] (Mining)

Defn: Rubbish or refuse consisting of broken rock containing little or no ore. Weale.

ATTOLLENT At*tol"lent, a. Etym: [L. attollens, p. pr. of attollere; ad + tollere to lift.]

Defn: Lifting up; raising; as, an attollent muscle. Derham.

ATTONCE At*tonce", adv. Etym: [At + once.]

Defn: At once; together. [Obs.] Spenser.

ATTONE At*tone", adv.

Defn: See At one. [Obs.]

ATTORN At*torn", v. i. Etym: [OF. atorner, aturner, atourner, to direct, prepare, dispose, attorn (cf. OE. atornen to return, adorn); à (L. ad) + torner to turn; cf. LL. attornare to commit business to another, to attorn; ad + tornare to turn, L. tornare to turn in a lathe, to round off. See Turn, v. t.]

1. (Feudal Law)

Defn: To turn, or transfer homage and service, from one lord to another. This is the act of feudatories, vassals, or tenants, upon the alienation of the estate. Blackstone.

2. (Modern Law)

Defn: To agree to become tenant to one to whom reversion has been granted.

ATTORNEY At*tor"ney, n.; pl. Attorneys. Etym: [OE. aturneye, OF. atorné, p. p. of atorner: cf. LL. atturnatus, attornatus, fr. attornare. See Attorn.]

1. A substitute; a proxy; an agent. [Obs.] And will have no attorney but myself. Shak.

2. (Law) (a) One who is legally appointed by another to transact any business for him; an attorney in fact. (b) A legal agent qualified to act for suitors and defendants in legal proceedings; an attorney at law.

Note: An attorney is either public or private. A private attorney, or an attorney in fact, is a person appointed by another, by a letter or power of attorney, to transact any business for him out of court; but in a more extended sense, this class includes any agent employed in any business, or to do any act in pais, for another. A public attorney, or attorney at law, is a practitioner in a court of law, legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court, on the retainer of clients. Bouvier. -- The attorney at law answers to the procurator of the civilians, to the solicitor in chancery, and to the proctor in the ecclesiastical and admiralty courts, and all of these are comprehended under the more general term lawyer. In Great Britain and in some states of the United States, attorneys are distinguished from counselors in that the business of the former is to carry on the practical and formal parts of the suit. In many states of the United States however, no such distinction exists. In England, since 1873, attorneys at law are by statute called solicitors. A power, letter, or warrant, of attorney, a written authority from one person empowering another to transact business for him.

ATTORNEY At*tor"ney, v. t.

Defn: To perform by proxy; to employ as a proxy. [Obs.] Shak.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL At*tor"ney-gen"er*al, n.; (pl. Attorney-generals or Attorneys- general). (Law)

Defn: The chief law officer of the state, empowered to act in all litigation in which the law-executing power is a party, and to advise this supreme executive whenever required. Wharton.

ATTORNEYISM At*tor"ney*ism, n.

Defn: The practice or peculiar cleverness of attorneys.

ATTORNEYSHIP At*tor"ney*ship, n.

Defn: The office or profession of an attorney; agency for another. Shak.

ATTORNMENT At*torn"ment, n. Etym: [OF. attornement, LL. attornamentum. See Attorn.] (Law)

Defn: The act of a feudatory, vassal, or tenant, by which he consents, upon the alienation of an estate, to receive a new lord or superior, and transfers to him his homage and service; the agreement of a tenant to acknowledge the purchaser of the estate as his landlord. Burrill. Blackstone.

ATTRACT At*tract", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attracted; p. pr. & vb. n. Attracting.] Etym: [L. attractus, p. p. of attrahere; ad + trahere to draw. See Trace, v. t.]

1. To draw to, or cause to tend to; esp. to cause to approach, adhere, or combine; or to cause to resist divulsion, separation, or decomposition. All bodies and all parts of bodies mutually attract themselves and one another. Derham.

2. To draw by influence of a moral or emotional kind; to engage or fix, as the mind, attention, etc.; to invite or allure; as, to attract admirers. Attracted by thy beauty still to gaze. Milton.

Syn. -- To draw; allure; invite; entice; influence.

ATTRACT At*tract", n.

Defn: Attraction. [Obs.] Hudibras.

ATTRACTABILITY At*tract`a*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or fact of being attractable. Sir W. Jones.

ATTRACTABLE At*tract"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being attracted; subject to attraction. -- At*tract"a*ble*ness, n.

ATTRACTER At*tract"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, attracts.

ATTRACTILE At*tract"ile, a.

Defn: Having power to attract.

ATTRACTING At*tract"ing, a.

Defn: That attracts. -- At*tract"ing*ly, adv.

ATTRACTION At*trac"tion, n. Etym: [L. attractio: cf. F. attraction.]

1. (Physics)

Defn: An invisible power in a body by which it draws anything to itself; the power in nature acting mutually between bodies or ultimate particles, tending to draw them together, or to produce their cohesion or combination, and conversely resisting separation.

Note: Attraction is exerted at both sensible and insensible distances, and is variously denominated according to its qualities or phenomena. Under attraction at sensible distances, there are, --(1.) Attraction of gravitation, which acts at all distances throughout the universe, with a force proportional directly to the product of the masses of the bodies and inversely to the square of their distances apart. (2.) Magnetic, diamagnetic, and electrical attraction, each of which is limited in its sensible range and is polar in its action, a property dependent on the quality or condition of matter, and not on its quantity. Under attraction at insensible distances, there are, -- (1.) Adhesive attraction, attraction between surfaces of sensible extent, or by the medium of an intervening substance. (2.) Cohesive attraction, attraction between ultimate particles, whether like or unlike, and causing simply an aggregation or a union of those particles, as in the absorption of gases by charcoal, or of oxygen by spongy platinum, or the process of solidification or crystallization. The power in adhesive attraction is strictly the same as that of cohesion. (3.) Capillary attraction, attraction causing a liquid to rise, in capillary tubes or interstices, above its level outside, as in very small glass tubes, or a sponge, or any porous substance, when one end is inserted in the liquid. It is a special case of cohesive attraction. (4.) Chemical attraction, or affinity, that peculiar force which causes elementary atoms, or groups of atoms, to unite to form molecules.

2. The act or property of attracting; the effect of the power or operation of attraction. Newton.

3. The power or act of alluring, drawing to, inviting, or engaging; an attractive quality; as, the attraction of beauty or eloquence.

4. That which attracts; an attractive object or feature.

Syn. -- Allurement; enticement; charm.

ATTRACTION SPHERE At*trac"tion sphere.

1. (Zoöl.) (a) The central mass of the aster in mitotic cell division; centrosphere. (b) Less often, the mass of archoplasm left by the aster in the resting cell.

2. (Bot.) A small body situated on or near the nucleus in the cells of some of the lower plants, consisting of two centrospheres containing centrosomes. It exercises an important function in mitosis.

ATTRACTIVE At*tract"ive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. attractif.]

1. Having the power or quality of attracting or drawing; as, the attractive force of bodies. Sir I. Newton.

2. Attracting or drawing by moral influence or pleasurable emotion; alluring; inviting; pleasing. "Attractive graces." Milton. "Attractive eyes." Thackeray. Flowers of a livid yellow, or fleshy color, are most attractive to flies. Lubbock. -- At*tract"ive*ly, adv. -- At*tract"ive*ness, n.

ATTRACTIVE At*tract"ive, n.

Defn: That which attracts or draws; an attraction; an allurement. Speaks nothing but attractives and invitation. South.

ATTRACTIVITY At`trac*tiv"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or degree of attractive power.

ATTRACTOR At*tract"or, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, attracts. Sir T. Browne

ATTRAHENT At"tra*hent, a. Etym: [L. attrahens, p. pr. of attrahere. See Attract, v. t.]

Defn: Attracting; drawing; attractive.

ATTRAHENT At"tra*hent, n.

1. That which attracts, as a magnet. The motion of the steel to its attrahent. Glanvill.

2. (Med.)

Defn: A substance which, by irritating the surface, excites action in the part to which it is applied, as a blister, an epispastic, a sinapism.

ATTRAP At*trap", v. t. Etym: [F. attraper to catch; à (L. ad) + trappe trap. See Trap (for taking game).]

Defn: To entrap; to insnare. [Obs.] Grafton.

ATTRAP At*trap", v. t. Etym: [Pref. ad + trap to adorn.]

Defn: To adorn with trapping; to array. [Obs.] Shall your horse be attrapped . . . more richly Holland.

ATTRECTATION At`trec*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. attrectatio; ad + tractare to handle.]

Defn: Frequent handling or touching. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor.

ATTRIBUTABLE At*trib"u*ta*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being attributed; ascribable; imputable. Errors . . . attributable to carelessness. J. D. Hooker.

ATTRIBUTE At*trib"ute, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attributed; p. pr. & vb. n. Attributing.] Etym: [L. attributus, p. p. of attribuere; ad + tribuere to bestow. See Tribute.]

Defn: To ascribe; to consider (something) as due or appropriate (to); to refer, as an effect to a cause; to impute; to assign; to consider as belonging (to). We attribute nothing to God that hath any repugnancy or contradiction in it. Abp. Tillotson. The merit of service is seldom attributed to the true and exact performer. Shak.

Syn. -- See Ascribe.

ATTRIBUTE At"tri*bute, n. Etym: [L. attributum.]

1. That which is attributed; a quality which is considered as belonging to, or inherent in, a person or thing; an essential or necessary property or characteristic. But mercy is above this sceptered away; . . . It is an attribute to God himself. Shak.

2. Reputation. [Poetic] Shak.

3. (Paint. & Sculp.)

Defn: A conventional symbol of office, character, or identity, added to any particular figure; as, a club is the attribute of Hercules.

4. (Gram.)

Defn: Quality, etc., denoted by an attributive; an attributive adjunct or adjective.

ATTRIBUTION At`tri*bu"tion, n. Etym: [L. attributio: cf. F. attribution.]

1. The act of attributing or ascribing, as a quality, character, or function, to a thing or person, an effect to a cause.

2. That which is ascribed or attributed.

ATTRIBUTIVE At*trib"u*tive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. attributif.]

Defn: Attributing; pertaining to, expressing, or assigning an attribute; of the nature of an attribute.

ATTRIBUTIVE At*trib"u*tive, n., (Gram.)

Defn: A word that denotes an attribute; esp. a modifying word joined to a noun; an adjective or adjective phrase.

ATTRIBUTIVELY At*trib"u*tive*ly, adv.

Defn: In an attributive manner.

ATTRITE At*trite", a. Etym: [L. attritus, p. p. of atterere; ad + terere to rub. See Trite.]

1. Rubbed; worn by friction. Milton.

2. (Theol.)

Defn: Repentant from fear of punishment; having attrition of grief for sin; -- opposed to contrite.

ATTRITION At*tri"tion, n. Etym: [L. attritio: cf. F. attrition.]

1. The act of rubbing together; friction; the act of wearing by friction, or by rubbing substances together; abrasion. Effected by attrition of the inward stomach. Arbuthnot.

2. The state of being worn. Johnson.

3. (Theol.)

Defn: Grief for sin arising only from fear of punishment or feelings of shame. See Contrition. Wallis.

ATTRITUS At*tri"tus, n. [L. attritus, p. p. of atterere; ad + terere to rub.]

Defn: Matter pulverized by attrition.

ATTRY At"try, a. Etym: [See Atter.]

Defn: Poisonous; malignant; malicious. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ATTUNE At*tune", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attuned (; p. pr. & vb. n. Attuning.] Etym: [Pref. ad- + tune.]

1. To tune or put in tune; to make melodious; to adjust, as one sound or musical instrument to another; as, to attune the voice to a harp.

2. To arrange fitly; to make accordant. Wake to energy each social aim, Attuned spontaneous to the will of Jove. Beattie.

ATWAIN A*twain", adv. Etym: [OE. atwaine, atwinne; pref. a- + twain.]

Defn: In twain; asunder. [Obs. or Poetic] "Cuts atwain the knots." Tennyson.

ATWEEN A*tween", adv. or prep. Etym: [See Atwain, and cf. Between.]

Defn: Between. [Archaic] Spenser. Tennyson.

ATWIRL A*twirl", a. & adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + twist.]

Defn: Twisted; distorted; awry. [R.] Halliwell.

ATWITE A*twite", v. t. Etym: [OE. attwyten, AS. ætwitan. See Twit.]

Defn: To speak reproachfully of; to twit; to upbraid. [Obs.]

ATWIXT A*twixt", adv.

Defn: Betwixt. [Obs.] Spenser.

ATWO A*two", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + two.]

Defn: In two; in twain; asunder. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ATYPIC; ATYPICAL A*typ"ic, A*typ"ic*al, a. Etym: [Pref. a- not + typic, typical.]

Defn: That has no type; devoid of typical character; irregular; unlike the type.

AUBADE Au`bade", n. Etym: [F., fr. aube the dawn, fr. L. albus white.]

Defn: An open air concert in the morning, as distinguished from an evening serenade; also, a pianoforte composition suggestive of morning. Grove. The crowing cock . . . Sang his aubade with lusty voice and clear. Longfellow.

AUBAINE Au`baine", n. Etym: [F., fr. aubain an alien, fr. L. alibi elsewhere.]

Defn: Succession to the goods of a stranger not naturalized. Littré. Droit d'aubaine (, the right, formerly possessed by the king of France, to all the personal property of which an alien died possessed. It was abolished in 1819. Bouvier.

AUBE Aube, n. Etym: [See Ale.]

Defn: An alb. [Obs.] Fuller.

AUBERGE Au`berge", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: An inn. Beau. & Fl.

AUBIN Au"bin, n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A broken gait of a horse, between an amble and a gallop; -- commonly called a Canterbury gallop.

AUBURN Au"burn, a. Etym: [OE. auburne blonde, OF. alborne, auborne, fr. LL. alburnus whitish, fr. L. albus white. Cf. Alburn.]

1. Flaxen-colored. [Obs.] Florio.

2. Reddish brown. His auburn locks on either shoulder flowed. Dryden.

AUCHENIUM Au*che"ni*um, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The part of the neck nearest the back.

AUCTARY Auc"ta*ry, n. Etym: [L. auctarium.]

Defn: That which is superadded; augmentation. [Obs.] Baxter.

AUCTION Auc"tion, n. Etym: [L. auctio an increasing, a public sale, where the price was called out, and the article to be sold was adjudged to the last increaser of the price, or the highest bidder, fr. L. augere, auctum, to increase. See Augment.]

1. A public sale of property to the highest bidder, esp. by a person licensed and authorized for the purpose; a vendue.

2. The things sold by auction or put up to auction. Ask you why Phryne the whole auction buys Pope.

Note: In the United States, the more prevalent expression has been "sales at auction," that is, by an increase of bids (Lat. auctione). This latter form is preferable. Dutch auction, the public offer of property at a price beyond its value, then gradually lowering the price, till some one accepts it as purchaser. P. Cyc.

AUCTION Auc"tion, v. t.

Defn: To sell by auction.

AUCTIONARY Auc"tion*a*ry, a. Etym: [L. auctionarius.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to an auction or an auctioneer. [R.] With auctionary hammer in thy hand. Dryden.

AUCTION BRIDGE Auc"tion bridge.

Defn: A variety of the game of bridge in which the players, beginning with the dealer, bid for the privilege of naming the trump and playing with the dummy for that deal, there being heavy penalties for a player's failure to make good his bid. The score value of each trick more than six taken by the successful bidder is as follows: when the trump is spades, 2; clubs, 6; diamonds, 7; hearts, 8; royal spades (lilies), 9; and when the deal is played with no trump, 10.

AUCTIONEER Auc`tion*eer", n.

Defn: A person who sells by auction; a person whose business it is to dispose of goods or lands by public sale to the highest or best bidder.

AUCTIONEER Auc`tion*eer", v. t.

Defn: To sell by auction; to auction. Estates . . . advertised and auctioneered away. Cowper.

AUCTION PITCH Auction pitch.

Defn: A game of cards in which the players bid for the privilege of determining or "pitching" the trump suit. R. F. Foster.

AUCUPATION Au`cu*pa"tion, n. Etym: [L. aucupatio, fr. auceps, contr. for aviceps; avis bird + capere to take.]

Defn: Birdcatching; fowling. [Obs.] Blount.

AUDACIOUS Au*da"cious, a. Etym: [F. audacieux, as if fr. LL. audaciosus (not found), fr. L. audacia audacity, fr. audax, -acis, bold, fr. audere to dare.]

1. Daring; spirited; adventurous. As in a cloudy chair, ascending rides Audacious. Milton.

2. Contemning the restraints of law, religion, or decorum; bold in wickedness; presumptuous; impudent; insolent. " Audacious traitor." Shak. " Such audacious neighborhood." Milton.

3. Committed with, or proceedings from, daring effrontery or contempt of law, morality, or decorum. "Audacious cruelty." "Audacious prate." Shak.

AUDACIOUSLY Au*da"cious*ly, adv.

Defn: In an audacious manner; with excess of boldness; impudently.

AUDACIOUSNESS Au*da"cious*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being audacious; impudence; audacity.

AUDACITY Au*dac"i*ty, n.

1. Daring spirit, resolution, or confidence; venturesomeness. The freedom and audacity necessary in the commerce of men. Tatler.

2. Reckless daring; presumptuous impudence; -- implying a contempt of law or moral restraints. With the most arrogant audacity. Joye.

AUDIBILITY Au`di*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality of being audible; power of being heard; audible capacity.

AUDIBLE Au"di*ble, a. Etym: [LL. audibilis, fr. L. audire, auditum, to hear: cf. Gr. auris, and E. ear.]

Defn: Capable of being heard; loud enough to be heard; actually heard; as, an audible voice or whisper.

AUDIBLE Au"di*ble, n.

Defn: That which may be heard. [Obs.] Visibles are swiftlier carried to the sense than audibles. Bacon.

AUDIBLENESS Au"di*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being audible.

AUDIBLY Au"di*bly, adv.

Defn: So as to be heard.

AUDIENCE Au"di*ence, n. Etym: [F. audience, L. audientia, fr. audire to hear. See Audible, a.]

1. The act of hearing; attention to sounds. Thou, therefore, give due audience, and attend. Milton.

2. Admittance to a hearing; a formal interview, esp. with a sovereign or the head of a government, for conference or the transaction of business. According to the fair play of the world, Let me have audience: I am sent to speak. Shak.

3. An auditory; an assembly of hearers. Also applied by authors to their readers. Fit audience find, though few. Milton. He drew his audience upward to the sky. Dryden. Court of audience, or Audience court (Eng.), a court long since disused, belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury; also, one belonging to the Archbishop of York. Mozley & W. -- In general (or open) audience, publicly. -- To give audience, to listen; to admit to an interview.

AUDIENT Au"di*ent, a. Etym: [L. audiens, p. pr. of audire. See Audible, a.]

Defn: Listening; paying attention; as, audient souls. Mrs. Browning.

AUDIENT Au"di*ent, n.

Defn: A hearer; especially a catechumen in the early church. [Obs.] Shelton.

AUDILE Au"dile, n. [L. audire to hear.] (Psychol.)

Defn: One whose thoughts take the form of mental sounds or of internal discourse rather than of visual or motor images.

AUDIOMETER Au`di*om"e*ter, n. Etym: [L. audire to hear + -meter.] (Acous.)

Defn: An instrument by which the power of hearing can be gauged and recorded on a scale.

AUDIPHONE Au"di*phone, n. Etym: [L. audire to hear + Gr.

Defn: An instrument which, placed against the teeth, conveys sound to the auditory nerve and enables the deaf to hear more or less distinctly; a dentiphone.

AUDIT Au"dit, n. Etym: [L. auditus a hearing, fr. audire. See Audible, a.]

1. An audience; a hearing. [Obs.] He appeals to a high audit. Milton.

2. An examination in general; a judicial examination.

Note: Specifically: An examination of an account or of accounts, with the hearing of the parties concerned, by proper officers, or persons appointed for that purpose, who compare the charges with the vouchers, examine witnesses, and state the result.

3. The result of such an examination, or an account as adjusted by auditors; final account. Yet I can make my audit up. Shak.

4. A general receptacle or receiver. [Obs.] It [a little brook] paid to its common audit no more than the revenues of a little cloud. Jer. Taylor. Audit ale, a kind of ale, brewed at the English universities, orig. for the day of audit. -- Audit house, Audit room, an appendage to a cathedral, for the transaction of its business.

AUDIT Au"dit, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Audited; p. pr. & vb. n. Auditing.]

Defn: To examine and adjust, as an account or accounts; as, to audit the accounts of a treasure, or of parties who have a suit depending in court.

AUDIT Au"dit, v. i.

Defn: To settle or adjust an account. Let Hocus audit; he knows how the money was disbursed. Arbuthnot.

AUDITA QUERELA Au*di"ta que*re"la. Etym: [L., the complaint having been heard.] (Law)

Defn: A writ which lies for a party against whom judgment is recovered, but to whom good matter of discharge has subsequently accrued which could not have been availed of to prevent such judgment. Wharton.

AUDITION Au*di"tion, n. Etym: [L. auditio.]

Defn: The act of hearing or listening; hearing. Audition may be active or passive; hence the difference between listening and simple hearing. Dunglison.

AUDITIVE Au"di*tive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. auditif.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to hearing; auditory. [R.] Cotgrave.

AUDITOR Au"di*tor, n. Etym: [L. auditor, fr. audire. See Audible, a.]

1. A hearer or listener. Macaulay.

2. A person appointed and authorized to audit or examine an account or accounts, compare the charges with the vouchers, examine the parties and witnesses, allow or reject charges, and state the balance.

3. One who hears judicially, as in an audience court.

Note: In the United States government, and in the State governments, there are auditors of the treasury and of the public accounts. The name is also applied to persons employed to check the accounts of courts, corporations, companies, societies, and partnerships.

AUDITORIAL Au`di*to"ri*al, a.

Defn: Auditory. [R.]

AUDITORIUM Au`di*to"ri*um, n. Etym: [L. See Auditory, n.]

Defn: The part of a church, theater, or other public building, assigned to the audience.

Note: In ancient churches the auditorium was the nave, where hearers stood to be instructed; in monasteries it was an apartment for the reception of strangers.

AUDITORSHIP Au"di*tor*ship, n.

Defn: The office or function of auditor.

AUDITORY Au"di*to*ry, a. Etym: [L. auditorius.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to hearing, or to the sense or organs of hearing; as, the auditory nerve. See Ear. Auditory canal (Anat.), the tube from the auditory meatus or opening of the ear to the tympanic membrane.

AUDITORY Au"di*to*ry, n. Etym: [L. auditorium.]

1. An assembly of hearers; an audience.

2. An auditorium. Udall.

AUDITRESS Au"di*tress, n.

Defn: A female hearer. Milton.

AUDITUAL Au*dit"u*al, a.

Defn: Auditory. [R.] Coleridge.

AUF Auf, n. Etym: [OE. auph, aulf, fr. Icel. alfr elf. See Elf.] [Also spelt oaf, ouphe.]

Defn: A changeling or elf child, -- that is, one left by fairies; a deformed or foolish child; a simpleton; an oaf. [Obs.] Drayton.

AU FAIT Au` fait". Etym: [F. Lit., to the deed, act, or point. Fait is fr. L. factum. See Fact.]

Defn: Expert; skillful; well instructed.

AUFKLARUNG Auf"klä*rung, n. [G., enlightenment.]

Defn: A philosophic movement of the 18th century characterized by a lively questioning of authority, keen interest in matters of politics and general culture, and an emphasis on empirical method in science. It received its impetus from the unsystematic but vigorous skepticism of Pierre Bayle, the physical doctrines of Newton, and the epistemological theories of Locke, in the preceding century. Its chief center was in France, where it gave rise to the skepticism of Voltaire , the naturalism of Rousseau, the sensationalism of Condillac, and the publication of the "Encyclopedia" by D'Alembert and Diderot. In Germany, Lessing, Mendelssohn, and Herder were representative thinkers, while the political doctrines of the leaders of the American Revolution and the speculations of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine represented the movement in America.

AU FOND Au` fond". [F., lit., at the bottom.]

Defn: At bottom; fundamentally; essentially.

AUGEAN Au*ge"an, a.

1. (Class. Myth.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to Augeus, king of Elis, whose stable contained 3000 oxen, and had not been cleaned for 30 years. Hercules cleansed it in a single day.

2. Hence: Exceedingly filthy or corrupt. Augean stable (Fig.), an accumulation of corruption or filth almost beyond the power of man to remedy.

AUGER Au"ger, n. Etym: [OE. augoure, nauger, AS. nafegar, fr. nafu, nafa, nave of a wheel + gar spear, and therefore meaning properly and originally a nave-bore. See Nave (of a wheel) and 2d Gore, n.]

1. A carpenter's tool for boring holes larger than those bored by a gimlet. It has a handle placed crosswise by which it is turned with both hands. A pod auger is one with a straight channel or groove, like the half of a bean pod. A screw auger has a twisted blade, by the spiral groove of which the chips are discharge.

2. An instrument for boring or perforating soils or rocks, for determining the quality of soils, or the nature of the rocks or strata upon which they lie, and for obtaining water. Auger bit, a bit with a cutting edge or blade like that of an anger.

AUGET Au*get", n. Etym: [F., dim. of auge trough, fr. L. alveus hollow, fr. alvus belly.] (Mining)

Defn: A priming tube connecting the charge chamber with the gallery, or place where the slow match is applied. Knight.

AUGHT; AUCHT Aught, Aucht, n. Etym: [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]

Defn: Property; possession. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

AUGHT Aught, n. Etym: [OE. aught, ought, awiht, AS. awiht, a ever + wiht. *136. See Aye ever, and Whit, Wight.]

Defn: Anything; any part. [Also written ought.] There failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord has spoken. Josh. xxi. 45 But go, my son, and see if aught be wanting. Addison.

AUGHT Aught, adv.

Defn: At all; in any degree. Chaucer.

AUGITE Au"gite, n. Etym: [L. augites, Gr. augite.]

Defn: A variety of pyroxene, usually of a black or dark green color, occurring in igneous rocks, such as basalt; -- also used instead of the general term pyroxene.

AUGITIC Au*git"ic, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or like, augite; containing augite as a principal constituent; as, augitic rocks.

AUGMENT Aug*ment", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Augmented; p. pr. & vb. n. Augmenting.] Etym: [L. augmentare, fr. augmentum an increase, fr. augere to increase; perh. akin to Gr. wax, v., and eke, v.: cf. F. augmenter.]

1. To enlarge or increase in size, amount, or degree; to swell; to make bigger; as, to augment an army by reëforcements; rain augments a stream; impatience augments an evil. But their spite still serves His glory to augment. Milton.

2. (Gram.)

Defn: To add an augment to.

AUGMENT Aug*ment", v. i.

Defn: To increase; to grow larger, stronger, or more intense; as, a stream augments by rain.

AUGMENT Aug"ment, n. Etym: [L. augmentum: cf. F. augment.]

1. Enlargement by addition; increase.

2. (Gram.)

Defn: A vowel prefixed, or a lengthening of the initial vowel, to mark past time, as in Greek and Sanskrit verbs.

Note: In Greek, the syllabic augment is a prefixed temporal augment is an increase of the quantity (time) of an initial vowel, as by changing

AUGMENTABLE Aug*ment"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of augmentation. Walsh.

AUGMENTATION Aug`men*ta"tion, n. Etym: [LL. augmentatio: cf. F. augmentation.]

1. The act or process of augmenting, or making larger, by addition, expansion, or dilation; increase.

2. The state of being augmented; enlargement.

3. The thing added by way of enlargement.

4. (Her.)

Defn: A additional charge to a coat of arms, given as a mark of honor. Cussans.

5. (Med.)

Defn: The stage of a disease in which the symptoms go on increasing. Dunglison.

6. (Mus.)

Defn: In counterpoint and fugue, a repetition of the subject in tones of twice the original length. Augmentation court (Eng. Hist.), a court erected by Stat. 27 Hen. VIII., to augment to revenues of the crown by the suppression of monasteries. It was long ago dissolved. Encyc. Brit.

Syn. -- Increase; enlargement; growth; extension; accession; addition.

AUGMENTATIVE Aug*ment"a*tive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. augmentatif.]

Defn: Having the quality or power of augmenting; expressing augmentation. -- Aug*ment"a*tive*ly, adv.

AUGMENTATIVE Aug*ment"a*tive, n. (Gram.)

Defn: A word which expresses with augmented force the idea or the properties of the term from which it is derived; as, dullard, one very dull. Opposed to diminutive. Gibbs.

AUGMENTER Aug*ment"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, augments or increases anything.

AU GRATIN Au` gra`tin". [F.] (Cookery)

Defn: With a crust made by browning in the oven; as, spaghetti may be served au gratin.

AUGRIM Au"grim, n.

Defn: See Algorism. [Obs.] Chaucer. Augrim stones, pebbles formerly used in numeration. -- Noumbres of Augrim, Arabic numerals. Chaucer.

AUGUR Au"gur, n. Etym: [L. Of uncertain origin: the first part of the word is perh. fr. L. avis bird, and the last syllable, gur, equiv. to the Skr. gar to call, akin to L. garrulus garrulous.]

1. (Rom. Antiq.)

Defn: An official diviner who foretold events by the singing, chattering, flight, and feeding of birds, or by signs or omens derived from celestial phenomena, certain appearances of quadrupeds, or unusual occurrences.

2. One who foretells events by omens; a soothsayer; a diviner; a prophet. Augur of ill, whose tongue was never found Without a priestly curse or boding sound. Dryden.

AUGUR Au"gur, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Augured (; p. pr. & vb. n. Auguring.]

1. To conjecture from signs or omens; to prognosticate; to foreshow. My auguring mind assures the same success. Dryden.

2. To anticipate, to foretell, or to indicate a favorable or an unfavorable issue; as, to augur well or ill.

AUGUR Au"gur, v. t.

Defn: To predict or foretell, as from signs or omens; to betoken; to presage; to infer. It seems to augur genius. Sir W. Scott. I augur everything from the approbation the proposal has met with. J. F. W. Herschel.

Syn. -- To predict; forebode; betoken; portend; presage; prognosticate; prophesy; forewarn.

AUGURAL Au"gu*ral, a. Etym: [L. auguralis.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to augurs or to augury; betokening; ominous; significant; as, an augural staff; augural books. "Portents augural." Cowper.

AUGURATE Au"gu*rate, v. t. & i. Etym: [L. auguratus, p. p. of augurari to augur.]

Defn: To make or take auguries; to augur; to predict. [Obs.] C. Middleton.

AUGURATE Au"gu*rate, n.

Defn: The office of an augur. Merivale.

AUGURATION Au`gu*ra"tion, n. Etym: [L. auguratio.]

Defn: The practice of augury.

AUGURER Au"gur*er, n.

Defn: An augur. [Obs.] Shak.

AUGURIAL Au*gu"ri*al, a. Etym: [L. augurialis.]

Defn: Relating to augurs or to augury. Sir T. Browne.

AUGURIST Au"gu*rist, n.

Defn: An augur. [R.]

AUGURIZE Au"gur*ize, v. t.

Defn: To augur. [Obs.] Blount.

AUGURIZE Au"gur*ize, v. t.

Defn: To augur. [Obs.] Blount.

AUGUROUS Au"gu*rous, a.

Defn: Full of augury; foreboding. [Obs.] "Augurous hearts." Chapman.

AUGURSHIP Au"gur*ship, n.

Defn: The office, or period of office, of an augur. Bacon.

AUGURY Au"gu*ry, n.; pl. Auguries (. Etym: [L. aucurium.]

1. The art or practice of foretelling events by observing the actions of birds, etc.; divination.

2. An omen; prediction; prognostication; indication of the future; presage. From their flight strange auguries she drew. Drayton. He resigned himself . . . with a docility that gave little augury of his future greatness. Prescott.

3. A rite, ceremony, or observation of an augur.

AUGUST Au*gust", a. Etym: [L. augustus; cf. augere to increase; in the language of religion, to honor by offerings: cf. F. auguste. See Augment.]

Defn: Of a quality inspiring mingled admiration and reverence; having an aspect of solemn dignity or grandeur; sublime; majestic; having exalted birth, character, state, or authority. "Forms august." Pope. "August in visage." Dryden. "To shed that august blood." Macaulay. So beautiful and so august a spectacle. Burke. To mingle with a body so august. Byron.

Syn. -- Grand; magnificent; majestic; solemn; awful; noble; stately; dignified; imposing.

AUGUST Au"gust, n. Etym: [L. Augustus. See note below, and August, a.]

Defn: The eighth month of the year, containing thirty-one days.

Note: The old Roman name was Sextilis, the sixth month from March, the month in which the primitive Romans, as well as Jews, began the year. The name was changed to August in honor of Augustus Cæsar, the first emperor of Rome, on account of his victories, and his entering on his first consulate in that month.

AUGUSTAN Au*gus"tan, a. Etym: [L. Augustanus, fr. Augustus. See August, n.]

1. Of or pertaining to Augustus Cæsar or to his times.

2. Of or pertaining to the town of Augsburg. Augustan age of any national literature, the period of its highest state of purity and refinement; -- so called because the reign of Augustus Cæsar was the golden age of Roman literature. Thus the reign of Louis XIV. (b. 1638) has been called the Augustan age of French literature, and that of Queen Anne (b. 1664) the Augustan age of English literature. -- Augustan confession (Eccl. Hist.), or confession of Augsburg, drawn up at Augusta Vindelicorum, or Augsburg, by Luther and Melanchthon, in 1530, contains the principles of the Protestants, and their reasons for separating from the Roman Catholic church.

AUGUSTINE; AUGUSTINIAN Au*gus"tine, Au`gus*tin"i*an, n. (Eccl.)

Defn: A member of one of the religious orders called after St. Augustine; an Austin friar.

AUGUSTINIAN Au`gus*tin"i*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo in Northern Africa (b. 354 -- d. 430), or to his doctrines. Augustinian canons, an order of monks once popular in England and Ireland; -- called also regular canons of St. Austin, and black canons. -- Augustinian hermits or Austin friars, an order of friars established in 1265 by Pope Alexander IV. It was introduced into the United States from Ireland in 1790. -- Augustinian nuns, an order of nuns following the rule of St. Augustine. -- Augustinian rule, a rule for religious communities based upon the 109th letter of St. Augustine, and adopted by the Augustinian orders.

AUGUSTINIAN Au`gus*tin"i*an, n.

Defn: One of a class of divines, who, following St. Augustine, maintain that grace by its nature is effectual absolutely and creatively, not relatively and conditionally.

AUGUSTINIANISM; AUGUSTINISM Au`gus*tin"i*an*ism, Au*gus"tin*ism, n.

Defn: The doctrines held by Augustine or by the Augustinians.

AUGUSTLY Au*gust"ly, adv.

Defn: In an august manner.

AUGUSTNESS Au*gust"ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being august; dignity of mien; grandeur; magnificence.

AUK Auk, n. Etym: [Prov. E. alk; akin to Dan. alke, Icel. & Sw. alka.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A name given to various species of arctic sea birds of the family Alcidæ. The great auk, now extinct, is Alca (or Plautus) impennis. The razor-billed auk is A. torda. See Puffin, Guillemot, and Murre.

AUKWARD Auk"ward, a.

Defn: See Awkward. [Obs.]

AULARIAN Au*la"ri*an, a. Etym: [L. aula hall. Cf. LL. aularis of a court.]

Defn: Relating to a hall.

AULARIAN Au*la"ri*an, n.

Defn: At Oxford, England, a member of a hall, distinguished from a collegian. Chalmers.

AULD Auld, a. Etym: [See Old.]

Defn: Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

AULD LANG SYNE Auld` lang syne".

Defn: A Scottish phrase used in recalling recollections of times long since past. "The days of auld lang syne."

AULD LICHT; AULD LIGHT Auld licht, Auld light . (Eccl. Hist.) (a) A member of the conservative party in the Church of Scotland in the latter part of the 18th century. (b) Same as Burgher, n., 2.

AULETIC Au*let"ic, a. Etym: [L. auleticus, Gr.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a pipe (flute) or piper. [R.] Ash.

AULIC Au"lic, a. Etym: [L. aulicus, Gr.

Defn: Pertaining to a royal court. Ecclesiastical wealth and aulic dignities. Landor. Aulic council (Hist.), a supreme court of the old German empire; properly the supreme court of the emperor. It ceased at the death of each emperor, and was renewed by his successor. It became extinct when the German empire was dissolved, in 1806. The term is now applied to a council of the war department of the Austrian empire, and the members of different provincial chanceries of that empire are called aulic councilors. P. Cyc.

AULIC Au"lic, n.

Defn: The ceremony observed in conferring the degree of doctor of divinity in some European universities. It begins by a harangue of the chancellor addressed to the young doctor, who then receives the cap, and presides at the disputation (also called the aulic).

AULN Auln, n.

Defn: An ell. [Obs.] See Aune.

AULNAGE; AULNAGER Aul"nage, Aul"na*ger, n.

Defn: See Alnage and Alnager.

AUM Aum, n.

Defn: Same as Aam.

AUMAIL Au*mail", v. t. Etym: [OE. for amel, enamel.]

Defn: To figure or variegate. [Obs.] Spenser.

AUMBRY Aum"bry, n.

Defn: Same as Ambry.

AUMERY Au"me*ry, n.

Defn: A form of Ambry, a closet; but confused with Almonry, as if a place for alms.

AUNCEL Aun"cel, n.

Defn: A rude balance for weighing, and a kind of weight, formerly used in England. Halliwell.

AUNCETRY Aun"cet*ry, n.

Defn: Ancestry. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AUNE Aune, n. Etym: [F. See Alnage.]

Defn: A French cloth measure, of different parts of the country (at Paris, 0.95 of an English ell); -- now superseded by the meter.

AUNT Aunt, n. Etym: [OF. ante, F. tante, L. amita father's sister. Cf. Amma.]

1. The sister of one's father or mother; -- correlative to nephew or niece. Also applied to an uncle's wife.

Note: Aunt is sometimes applied as a title or term of endearment to a kind elderly woman not thus related.

2. An old woman; and old gossip. [Obs.] Shak.

3. A bawd, or a prostitute. [Obs.] Shak. Aunt Sally, a puppet head placed on a pole and having a pipe in its mouth; also a game, which consists in trying to hit the pipe by throwing short bludgeons at it.

AUNTER Aun"ter, n.

Defn: Adventure; hap. [Obs.] In aunters, perchance.

AUNTER; AUNTRE Aun"ter, Aun"tre, v. t. Etym: [See Adventure.]

Defn: To venture; to dare. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AUNTIE; AUNTY Aunt"ie, Aunt"y, n.

Defn: A familiar name for an aunt. In the southern United States a familiar term applied to aged negro women.

AUNTROUS Aun"trous, a.

Defn: Adventurous. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AURA Au"ra, n.; pl. Auræ (. Etym: [L. aura air, akin to Gr.

1. Any subtile, invisible emanation, effluvium, or exhalation from a substance, as the aroma of flowers, the odor of the blood, a supposed fertilizing emanation from the pollen of flowers, etc.

2. (Med.)

Defn: The peculiar sensation, as of a light vapor, or cold air, rising from the trunk or limbs towards the head, a premonitory symptom of epilepsy or hysterics. Electric ~, a supposed electric fluid, emanating from an electrified body, and forming a mass surrounding it, called the electric atmosphere. See Atmosphere, 2.

AURAL Au"ral, a. Etym: [L. aura air.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the air, or to an aura.

AURAL Au"ral, a. Etym: [L. auris ear.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the ear; as, aural medicine and surgery.

AURANTIACEOUS Au*ran`ti*a"ceous, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or resembling, the Aurantiaceæ, an order of plants (formerly considered natural), of which the orange is the type.

AURATE Au"rate, n. Etym: [L. auratus, p. p. of aurare to gild, fr. aurum gold: cf. F. aurate.] (Chem.)

Defn: A combination of auric acid with a base; as, aurate or potassium.

AURATED Au"ra*ted, a. Etym: [See Aurate.]

1. Resembling or containing gold; gold-colored; gilded.

2. (Chem.)

Defn: Combined with auric acid.

AURATED Au"ra*ted, a.

Defn: Having ears. See Aurited.

AUREATE Au"re*ate, a. Etym: [L. aureatus, fr. aureus golden, fr. aurum gold.]

Defn: Golden; gilded. Skelton.

AURELIA Au*re"li*a, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. aurum gold: cf. F. aurélie. Cf. Chrysalis.] (Zoöl.) (a) The chrysalis, or pupa of an insect, esp. when reflecting a brilliant golden color, as that of some of the butterflies. (b) A genus of jellyfishes. See Discophora.

AURELIAN Au*re"li*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the aurelia.

AURELIAN Au*re"li*an, n.

Defn: An amateur collector and breeder of insects, esp. of butterflies and moths; a lepidopterist.

AUREOLA; AUREOLE Au*re"o*la, Au"re*ole, n. Etym: [F. auréole, fr. L. aureola, (fem adj.) of gold (sc. corona crown), dim. of aureus. See Aureate, Oriole.]

1. (R. C. Theol.)

Defn: A celestial crown or accidental glory added to the bliss of heaven, as a reward to those (as virgins, martyrs, preachers, etc.) who have overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil.

2. The circle of rays, or halo of light, with which painters surround the figure and represent the glory of Christ, saints, and others held in special reverence.

Note: Limited to the head, it is strictly termed a nimbus; when it envelops the whole body, an aureola. Fairholt.

3. A halo, actual or figurative. The glorious aureole of light seen around the sun during total eclipses. Proctor. The aureole of young womanhood. O. W. Holmes.

4. (Anat.)

Defn: See Areola, 2.

AU REVOIR Au` re*voir". [F., lit., to the seeing again.]

Defn: Good-by until we meet again.

AURIC Au"ric, a. Etym: [L. aurum gold.]

1. Of or pertaining to gold.

2. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or derived from, gold; -- said of those compounds of gold in which this element has its higher valence; as, auric oxide; auric chloride.

AURICHALCEOUS Au`ri*chal"ce*ous, a. Etym: [L. aurichalcum, for orichalcum brass.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Brass-colored.

AURICHALCITE Au`ri*chal"cite, n. Etym: [See Aurichalceous.] (Min.)

Defn: A hydrous carbonate of copper and zinc, found in pale green or blue crystalline aggregations. It yields a kind of brass on reduction.

AURICLE Au"ri*cle, n. Etym: [L. auricula, dim. of auris ear. See Ear.]

1. (Anat.) (a) The external ear, or that part of the ear which is prominent from the head. (b) The chamber, or one of the two chambers, of the heart, by which the blood is received and transmitted to the ventricle or ventricles; -- so called from its resemblance to the auricle or external ear of some quadrupeds. See Heart.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An angular or ear-shaped lobe.

3. An instrument applied to the ears to give aid in hearing; a kind of ear trumpet. Mansfield.

AURICLED Au"ri*cled, a.

Defn: Having ear-shaped appendages or lobes; auriculate; as, auricled leaves.

AURICULA Au*ric"u*la, n.; pl. L. Auriculæ (, E. Auriculas (. Etym: [L. auricula. See Auricle.]

1. (Bot.) (a) A species of Primula, or primrose, called also, from the shape of its leaves, bear's-ear. (b) (b) A species of Hirneola (H. auricula), a membranaceous fungus, called also auricula Judæ, or Jew's-ear. P. Cyc.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) A genus of air-breathing mollusks mostly found near the sea, where the water is brackish (b) One of the five arched processes of the shell around the jaws of a sea urchin.

AURICULAR Au*ric"u*lar, a. Etym: [LL. auricularis: cf. F. auriculaire. See Auricle.]

1. Of or pertaining to the ear, or to the sense of hearing; as, auricular nerves.

2. Told in the ear, i. e., told privately; as, auricular confession to the priest. This next chapter is a penitent confession of the king, and the strangest . . . that ever was auricular. Milton.

3. Recognized by the ear; known by the sense of hearing; as, auricular evidence. "Auricular assurance." Shak.

4. Received by the ear; known by report. "Auricular traditions." Bacon.

5. (Anat.)

Defn: Pertaining to the auricles of the heart. Auricular finger, the little finger; so called because it can be readily introduced into the ear passage.

AURICULARIA Au*ric`u*la"ri*a, n. pl. Etym: [Neut. pl., fr. LL. auricularis.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A kind of holothurian larva, with soft, blunt appendages. See Illustration in Appendix.

AURICULARLY Au*ric"u*lar*ly, adv.

Defn: In an auricular manner.

AURICULARS Au*ric"u*lars, n. pl. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A circle of feathers surrounding the opening of the ear of birds.

AURICULATE; AURICULATED Au*ric"u*late, Au*ric"u*la`ted, a. Etym: [See Auricle.] (Biol.)

Defn: Having ears or appendages like ears; eared. Esp.: (a) (Bot.) Having lobes or appendages like the ear; shaped like the ear; auricled. (b) (Zoöl.) Having an angular projection on one or both sides, as in certain bivalve shells, the foot of some gastropods, etc. Auriculate leaf, one having small appended leaves or lobes on each side of its petiole or base.

AURIFEROUS Au*rif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. aurifer; aurum gold + ferre to bear: cf. F. aurifère.]

Defn: Gold-bearing; containing or producing gold. Whence many a bursting stream auriferous plays. Thomson. ~= pyrites, iron pyrites (iron disulphide), containing some gold disseminated through it.

AURIFLAMME Au"ri*flamme, n.

Defn: See Oriflamme.

AURIFORM Au"ri*form, a. Etym: [L. auris ear + -form.]

Defn: Having the form of the human ear; ear-shaped.

AURIGA Au*ri"ga, n. Etym: [L., charioteer.] (Anat.)

Defn: The Charioteer, or Wagoner, a constellation in the northern hemisphere, situated between Perseus and Gemini. It contains the bright star Capella.

AURIGAL Au*ri"gal, a. Etym: [L. aurigalis.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a chariot. [R.]

AURIGATION Au`ri*ga"tion, n. Etym: [L. aurigatio, fr. aurigare to be a charioteer, fr. auriga.]

Defn: The act of driving a chariot or a carriage. [R.] De Quincey.

AURIGRAPHY Au*rig"ra*phy, n. Etym: [L. aurum gold + -graphy.]

Defn: The art of writing with or in gold.

AURILAVE Au`ri*lave, n. [L. auris ear + lavare to wash.]

Defn: An instrument for cleansing the ear, consisting of a small piece of sponge on an ivory or bone handle.

AURIN Au"rin, n. Etym: [L. aurum gold.] (Chem.)

Defn: A red coloring matter derived from phenol; -- called also, in commerce, yellow coralin.

AURIPHRYGIATE Au`ri*phryg"i*ate, a. Etym: [LL. auriphrigiatus; L. aurum gold + LL. phrygiare to adorn with Phrygian needlework, or with embroidery; perhaps corrupted from some other word. Cf. Orfrays.]

Defn: Embroidered or decorated with gold. [R.] Southey.

AURIPIGMENT Au`ri*pig"ment, n.

Defn: See Orpiment. [Obs.]

AURISCALP Au"ri*scalp, n. Etym: [L. auris ear + scalpere to scrape.]

Defn: An earpick.

AURISCOPE Au"ri*scope, n. Etym: [L. auris + -scope.] (Med.)

Defn: An instrument for examining the condition of the ear.

AURISCOPY Au*ris"co*py, n.

Defn: Examination of the ear by the aid of the auriscope.

AURIST Au"rist, n. Etym: [L. auris ear.]

Defn: One skilled in treating and curing disorders of the ear.

AURITED Au"ri*ted, a. Etym: [L. auritus, fr. auris ear.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having lobes like the ear; auriculate.

AURIVOROUS Au*riv"o*rous, a. Etym: [L. aurum gold + vorare to devour.]

Defn: Gold-devouring. [R.] H. Walpole.

AUROCEPHALOUS Au`ro*ceph"a*lous, a. Etym: [Aurum + cephalous.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having a gold-colored head.

AUROCHLORIDE Au`ro*chlo"ride, n. Etym: [Aurum + chloride.] (Chem.)

Defn: The trichloride of gold combination with the chloride of another metal, forming a double chloride; -- called also chloraurate.

AUROCHS Au"rochs, n. Etym: [G. auerochs, OHG. ; (cf. AS. ) + ohso ox, G. ochs. Cf. Owre, Ox.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European bison (Bison bonasus, or Europæus), once widely distributed, but now nearly extinct, except where protected in the Lithuanian forests, and perhaps in the Caucasus. It is distinct from the Urus of Cæsar, with which it has often been confused.

AUROCYANIDE Au`ro*cy"a*nide, n. Etym: [Aurum + cyanide.] (Chem.)

Defn: A double cyanide of gold and some other metal or radical; -- called also cyanaurate.

AURORA Au*ro"ra, n.; pl. E. Auroras (, L. (rarely used) Auroræ (. Etym: [L. aurora, for ausosa, akin to Gr. ushas, and E. east.]

1. The rising light of the morning; the dawn of day; the redness of the sky just before the sun rises.

2. The rise, dawn, or beginning. Hawthorne.

3. (Class. Myth.)

Defn: The Roman personification of the dawn of day; the goddess of the morning. The poets represented her a rising out of the ocean, in a chariot, with rosy fingers dropping gentle dew.

4. (Bot.)

Defn: A species of crowfoot. Johnson.

5. The aurora borealis or aurora australis (northern or southern lights). Aurora borealis (, i. e., northern daybreak; popularly called northern lights. A luminous meteoric phenomenon, visible only at night, and supposed to be of electrical origin. This species of light usually appears in streams, ascending toward the zenith from a dusky line or bank, a few degrees above the northern horizon; when reaching south beyond the zenith, it forms what is called the corona, about a spot in the heavens toward which the dipping needle points. Occasionally the aurora appears as an arch of light across the heavens from east to west. Sometimes it assumes a wavy appearance, and the streams of light are then called merry dancers. They assume a variety of colors, from a pale red or yellow to a deep red or blood color. The Aurora australis (is a corresponding phenomenon in the southern hemisphere, the streams of light ascending in the same manner from near the southern horizon.

AURORAL Au*ro"ral, a.

Defn: Belonging to, or resembling, the aurora (the dawn or the northern lights); rosy. Her cheeks suffused with an auroral blush. Longfellow.

AUROUS Au"rous, a.

1. Containing gold.

2. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or derived from, gold; -- said of those compounds of gold in which this element has its lower valence; as, aurous oxide.

AURUM Au"rum, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: Gold. Aurum fulminans (See Fulminate. -- Aurum mosaicum (See Mosaic.

AUSCULT Aus*cult", v. i. & t.

Defn: To auscultate.

AUSCULTATE Aus"cul*tate, v. i. & t.

Defn: To practice auscultation; to examine by auscultation.

AUSCULTATION Aus`cul*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. ausculcatio, fr. auscultare to listen, fr. a dim. of auris, orig. ausis, ear. See Auricle, and cf. Scout, n.]

1. The act of listening or hearkening to. Hickes.

2. (Med.)

Defn: An examination by listening either directly with the ear (immediate auscultation) applied to parts of the body, as the abdomen; or with the stethoscope (mediate ~), in order to distinguish sounds recognized as a sign of health or of disease.

AUSCULTATOR Aus"cul*ta`tor, n.

Defn: One who practices auscultation.

AUSCULTATORY Aus*cul"ta*to*ry, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to auscultation. Dunglison.

AUSONIAN Au*so"ni*an, a. Etym: [L. Ausonia, poetic name for Italy.]

Defn: Italian. Milton.

AUSPICATE Aus"pi*cate, a. Etym: [L. auspicatus, p. p. of auspicari to take auspices, fr. auspex a bird seer, an augur, a contr. of avispex; avis bird + specere, spicere, to view. See Aviary, Spy.]

Defn: Auspicious. [Obs.] Holland.

AUSPICATE Aus"pi*cate, v. t.

1. To foreshow; to foretoken. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

2. To give a favorable turn to in commencing; to inaugurate; -- a sense derived from the Roman practice of taking the auspicium, or inspection of birds, before undertaking any important business. They auspicate all their proceedings. Burke.

AUSPICE Aus"pice, n.; pl. Auspices (. Etym: [L. auspicium, fr. auspex: cf. F. auspice. See Auspicate, a.]

1. A divining or taking of omens by observing birds; an omen as to an undertaking, drawn from birds; an augury; an omen or sign in general; an indication as to the future.

2. Protection; patronage and care; guidance. Which by his auspice they will nobler make. Dryden.

Note: In this sense the word is generally plural, auspices; as, under the auspices of the king.

AUSPICIAL Aus*pi"cial, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to auspices; auspicious. [R.]

AUSPICIOUS Aus*pi"cious, a. Etym: [See Auspice.]

1. Having omens or tokens of a favorable issue; giving promise of success, prosperity, or happiness; predicting good; as, an auspicious beginning. Auspicious union of order and freedom. Macaulay.

2. Prosperous; fortunate; as, auspicious years. "Auspicious chief." Dryden.

3. Favoring; favorable; propitious; -- applied to persons or things. "Thy auspicious mistress." Shak. "Auspicious gales." Pope.

Syn. -- See Propitious. -- Aus*pi"cious*ly, adv. -- Aus*pi"cious*ness, n.

AUSTER Aus"ter, n. Etym: [L. auster a dry, hot, south wind; the south.]

Defn: The south wind. Pope.

AUSTERE Aus*tere", Etym: [F. austère, L. austerus, fr. Gr. Sear.]

1. Sour and astringent; rough to the state; having acerbity; as, an austere crab apple; austere wine.

2. Severe in modes of judging, or living, or acting; rigid; rigorous; stern; as, an austere man, look, life. From whom the austere Etrurian virtue rose. Dryden.

3. Unadorned; unembellished; severely simple.

Syn. -- Harsh; sour; rough; rigid; stern; severe; rigorous; strict.

AUSTERELY Aus*tere"ly, adv.

Defn: Severely; rigidly; sternly. A doctrine austerely logical. Macaulay.

AUSTERENESS Aus*tere"ness, n.

1. Harshness or astringent sourness to the taste; acerbity. Johnson.

2. Severity; strictness; austerity. Shak.

AUSTERITY Aus*ter"i*ty, n.; pl. Austplwies (. Etym: [F. austérité, L. austerias, fr. austerus. See Austere.]

1. Sourness and harshness to the taste. [Obs.] Horsley.

2. Severity of manners or life; extreme rigor or strictness; harsh discipline. The austerity of John the Baptist. Milton.

3. Plainness; freedom from adornment; severe simplicity. Partly owing to the studied austerity of her dress, and partly to the lack of demonstration in her manners. Hawthorne.

AUSTIN Aus"tin, a.

Defn: Augustinian; as, Austin friars.

AUSTRAL Aus"tral, a. Etym: [L. australis, fr. auster: cf. F. austral.]

Defn: Southern; lying or being in the south; as, austral land; austral ocean. Austral signs (Astron.), the last six signs of the zodiac, or those south of the equator.

AUSTRALASIAN Aus`tral*a"sian, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Australasia; as, Australasian regions. -- n.

Defn: A native or an inhabitant of Australasia.

AUSTRALIAN Aus*tra"li*an, a. Etym: [From L. Terra Australis southern land.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to Australia. -- n.

Defn: A native or an inhabitant of Australia.

AUSTRALIAN BALLOT Aus*tra"li*an bal"lot. (Law)

Defn: A system of balloting or voting in public elections, originally used in South Australia, in which there is such an arrangement for polling votes that secrecy is compulsorily maintained, and the ballot used is an official ballot printed and distributed by the government.

AUSTRALIZE Aus"tral*ize, v. i. Etym: [See Austral.]

Defn: To tend toward the south pole, as a magnet. [Obs.] They [magnets] do septentrionate at one extreme, and australize at another. Sir T. Browne.

AUSTRIAN Aus"tri*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Austria, or to its inhabitants. -- n.

Defn: A native or an inhabitant of Austria.

AUSTRINE Aus"trine, n. Etym: [L. austrinus, from auster south.]

Defn: Southern; southerly; austral. [Obs.] Bailey.

AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN Aus"tro-Hun*ga"ri*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the monarchy composed of Austria and Hungary.

AUSTROMANCY Aus"tro*man`cy, n. Etym: [L. auster south wind + -mancy.]

Defn: Soothsaying, or prediction of events, from observation of the winds.

AUSZUG Aus"zug` (ous"tsook), n.; Ger. pl. -zÜge (-tsü`ge). [G.]

Defn: See Army organization, Switzerland.

AUTARCHY Au"tar*chy, n. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Self-sufficiency. [Obs.] Milton.

AUTHENTIC Au*then"tic, a. Etym: [OE. autentik, OF. autentique, F. authentique, L. authenticus coming from the real author, of original or firsthand authority, from Gr. sons and perh. orig. from the p. pr. of to be, root as, and meaning the one it really is. See Am, Sin, n., and cf. Effendi.]

1. Having a genuine original or authority, in opposition to that which is false, fictitious, counterfeit, or apocryphal; being what it purports to be; genuine; not of doubtful origin; real; as, an authentic paper or register. To be avenged On him who had stole Jove's authentic fire. Milton.

2. Authoritative. [Obs.] Milton.

3. Of approved authority; true; trustworthy; credible; as, an authentic writer; an authentic portrait; authentic information.

4. (Law)

Defn: Vested with all due formalities, and legally attested.

5. (Mus.)

Defn: Having as immediate relation to the tonic, in distinction from plagal, which has a correspondent relation to the dominant in the octave below the tonic.

Syn. -- Authentic, Genuine. These words, as here compared, have reference to historical documents. We call a document genuine when it can be traced back ultimately to the author or authors from whom it professes to emanate. Hence, the word has the meaning, "not changed from the original, uncorrupted, unadulterated:" as, a genuine text. We call a document authentic when, on the ground of its being thus traced back, it may be relied on as true and authoritative (from the primary sense of "having an author, vouched for"); hence its extended signification, in general literature, of trustworthy, as resting on unquestionable authority or evidence; as, an authentic history; an authentic report of facts. A genuine book is that which was written by the person whose name it bears, as the author of it. An authentic book is that which relates matters of fact as they really happened. A book may be genuine without being, authentic, and a book may be authentic without being genuine. Bp. Watson.

Note: It may be said, however, that some writers use authentic (as, an authentic document) in the sense of "produced by its professed author, not counterfeit."

AUTHENTIC Au*then"tic, n.

Defn: An original (book or document). [Obs.] "Authentics and transcripts." Fuller.

AUTHENTICAL Au*then"tic*al, a.

Defn: Authentic. [Archaic]

AUTHENTICALLY Au*then"tic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In an authentic manner; with the requisite or genuine authority.

AUTHENTICALNESS Au*then*tic*al*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being authentic; authenticity. [R.] Barrow.

AUTHENTICATE Au*then"ti*cate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Authenticated (; p. pr. & vb. n. Authenticating ( Etym: [Cf. LL. authenticare.]

1. To render authentic; to give authority to, by the proof, attestation, or formalities required by law, or sufficient to entitle to credit. The king serves only as a notary to authenticate the choice of judges. Burke.

2. To prove authentic; to determine as real and true; as, to authenticate a portrait. Walpole.

AUTHENTICITY Au`then*tic"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. authenticité.]

1. The quality of being authentic or of established authority for truth and correctness.

2. Genuineness; the quality of being genuine or not corrupted from the original.

Note: In later writers, especially those on the evidences of Christianity, authenticity is often restricted in its use to the first of the above meanings, and distinguished from qenuineness.

AUTHENTICLY Au*then"tic*ly, adv.

Defn: Authentically.

AUTHENTICNESS Au*then"tic*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being authentic; authenticity. [R.] Hammond.

AUTHENTICS Au*then"tics, n. (Ciwil Law)

Defn: A collection of the Novels or New Constitutions of Justinian, by an anonymous author; -- so called on account of its authencity. Bouvier.

AUTHOR Au"thor, n. Etym: [OE. authour, autour, OF. autor, F. auteur, fr. L. auctor, sometimes, but erroneously, written autor or author, fr. augere to increase, to produce. See Auction, n.]

1. The beginner, former, or first mover of anything; hence, the efficient cause of a thing; a creator; an originator. Eternal King; thee, Author of all being. Milton.

2. One who composes or writers a book; a composer, as distinguished from an editor, translator, or compiler. The chief glory every people arises from its authors. Johnson.

3. The editor of a periodical. [Obs.]

4. An informant. [Archaic] Chaucer.

AUTHOR Au"thor, v. t.

1. To occasion; to originate. [Obs.] Such an overthrow . . . I have authored. Chapman.

2. To tell; to say; to declare. [Obs.] More of him I dare not author. Massinger.

AUTHORESS Au"thor*ess, n.

Defn: A female author. Glover.

Note: The word is not very much used, author being commonly applied to a female writer as well as to a male.

AUTHORIAL Au*tho"ri*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to an author. "The authorial Hare.

AUTHORISM Au"thor*ism, n.

Defn: Authoriship. [R.]

AUTHORITATIVE Au*thor"i*ta*tive, a.

1. Having, or proceeding from, due authority; entitled to obedience, credit, or acceptance; determinate; commanding. The sacred functions of authoritative teaching. Barrow.

2. Having an air of authority; positive; dictatorial; peremptory; as, an authoritative tone. The mock authoritative manner of the one, and the insipid mirth of the other. Swift. -- Au*thor"i*ta*tive*ly, adv -- Au*thor"i*ta*tive*ness, n.

AUTHORITY Au*thor"i*ty, n.; pl. Authorities (. Etym: [OE. autorite, auctorite, F. autorité, fr. L. auctoritas, fr. auctor. See Author, n.]

1. Legal or rightful power; a right to command or to act; power exercised buy a person in virtue of his office or trust; dominion; jurisdiction; authorization; as, the authority of a prince over subjects, and of parents over children; the authority of a court. Thus can the demigod, Authority, Make us pay down for our offense. Shak. By what authority doest thou these things Matt. xxi. 23.

2. Government; the persons or the body exercising power or command; as, the local authorities of the States; the military authorities. [Chiefly in the plural.]

3. The power derived from opinion, respect, or esteem; influence of character, office, or station, or mental or moral superiority, and the like; claim to be believed or obeyed; as, an historian of no authority; a magistrate of great authority.

4. That which, or one who, is claimed or appealed to in support of opinions, actions, measures, etc. Hence: (a) Testimony; witness. "And on that high authority had believed." Milton. (b) A precedent; a decision of a court, an official declaration, or an opinion, saying, or statement worthy to be taken as a precedent. (c) A book containing such a statement or opinion, or the author of the book. (d) Justification; warrant. Wilt thou be glass wherein it shall discern Authority for sin, warrant for blame. Shak.

AUTHORIZABLE Au"thor*i`za*ble, a. Etym: [LL. authorisabilis.]

Defn: Capable of being authorized. Hammond.

AUTHORIZATION Au`thor*i*za"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. autorisation.]

Defn: The act of giving authority or legal power; establishment by authority; sanction or warrant. The authorization of laws. Motley. A special authorization from the chief. Merivale.

AUTHORIZE Au"thor*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Authorized (; p. pr. & vb. n. Authorizing.] Etym: [OE. autorize, F. autoriser, fr. LL. auctorizare, authorisare. See Author.]

1. To clothe with authority, warrant, or legal power; to give a right to act; to empower; as, to authorize commissioners to settle a boundary.

2. To make legal; to give legal sanction to; to legalize; as, to authorize a marriage.

3. To establish by authority, as by usage or public opinion; to sanction; as, idioms authorized by usage.

4. To sanction or confirm by the authority of some one; to warrant; as, to authorize a report. A woman's story at a winter's fire, Authorized by her grandam. Shak.

5. To justify; to furnish a ground for. Locke.

AUTHORIZED Au"thor*ized, a.

1. Possessed of or endowed with authority; as, an authorized agent.

2. Sanctioned by authority. The Authorized Version of the Bible is the English translation of the Bible published in 1611 under sanction of King James I. It was "appointed to be read in churches," and has been the accepted English Bible. The Revised Version was published in a complete form in 1855.

AUTHORIZE ONE'S SELF To authorize one's self

Defn: , to rely for authority. [Obs.] Authorizing himself, for the most part, upon other histories. Sir P. Sidney.

AUTHORIZER Au"thor*i`zer, n.

Defn: One who authorizes.

AUTHORLESS Au"thor*less, a.

Defn: Without an author; without authority; anonymous.

AUTHORLY Au"thor*ly, a.

Defn: Authorial. [R.] Cowper.

AUTHORSHIP Au"thor*ship, n.

1. The quality or state of being an author; function or dignity of an author.

2. Source; origin; origination; as, the authorship of a book or review, or of an act, or state of affairs.

AUTHOTYPE Au"tho*type, n.

Defn: A type or block containing a facsimile of an autograph. Knight.

AUTO- Au"to- (. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: A combining form, with the meaning of self, one's self, one's own, itself, its own.

AUTOBIOGRAPHER Au`to*bi*og"ra*pher, n. Etym: [Auto- + biographer.]

Defn: One who writers his own life or biography.

AUTOBIOGRAPHIC; AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL Au`to*bi`o*graph"ic, Au`to*bi`o*graph"ic*al, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or containing, autobiography; as, an autobiographical sketch. "Such traits of the autobiographic sort." Carlyle. -- Au`to*bi`o*graph"ic*al*ly, adv.

AUTOBIOGRAPHIST Au`to*bi*og"ra*phist, n.

Defn: One who writes his own life; an autobiographer. [R.]

AUTOBIOGRAPHY Au`to*bi*og"ra*phy, n.; pl. Autobiographies (. Etym: [Auto- + biography.]

Defn: A biography written by the subject of it; memoirs of one's life written by one's self.

AUTOCARPOUS; AUTOCARPIAN Au`to*car"pous, Au`to*car"pi*an, a. Etym: [Auto- + Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Consisting of the pericarp of the ripened pericarp with no other parts adnate to it, as a peach, a poppy capsule, or a grape.

AUTOCATALYSIS Au`to*ca*tal"y*sis, n. [Auto-+ catalysis.] (Chem.)

Defn: Self-catalysis; catalysis of a substance by one of its own products, as of silver oxide by the silver formed by reduction of a small portion of it. -- Au`to*cat`a*lyt"ic (#), a.

AUTOCEPHALOUS Au`to*ceph"a*lous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: Having its own head; independent of episcopal or patriarchal jurisdiction, as certain Greek churches.

AUTOCHRONOGRAPH Au`to*chron"o*graph, n. Etym: [Auto- + chronograph.]

Defn: An instrument for the instantaneous self-recording or printing of time. Knight.

AUTOCHTHON Au*toch"thon, n.; pl. E. Authochthons (, L. Autochthones (. Etym: [L., fr. Gr.

1. One who is supposed to rise or spring from the ground or the soil he inhabits; one of the original inhabitants or aborigines; a native; -- commonly in the plural. This title was assumed by the ancient Greeks, particularly the Athenians.

2. That which is original to a particular country, or which had there its origin.

AUTOCHTHONAL; AUTHOCHTHONIC; AUTOCHTHONOUS Au*toch"tho*nal, Au`thoch*thon"ic, Au*toch"tho*nous, a.

Defn: Aboriginal; indigenous; native.

AUTOCHTHONISM Au*toch"tho*nism, n.

Defn: The state of being autochthonal.

AUTOCHTHONY Au*toch"tho*ny, n.

Defn: An aboriginal or autochthonous condition.

AUTOCLASTIC Au`to*clas"tic, a. [See Auto-; Clastic.] (Geol.)

Defn: Broken in place; -- said of rocks having a broken or brecciated structure due to crushing, in contrast to those of brecciated materials brought from a distance.

AUTOCLAVE Au"to*clave, n. Etym: [F., fr. Gr. clavis key.]

Defn: A kind of French stewpan with a steamtight lid. Knight.

AUTOCOHERER Au`to*co*her"er, n. [Auto- + coherer.] (Wireless Teleg.)

Defn: A self-restoring coherer, as a microphonic detector.

AUTOCRACY Au*toc"ra*cy, n.; pl. Autocracies. Etym: [Gr. autocratie. See Autocrat.]

1. Independent or self-derived power; absolute or controlling authority; supremacy. The divine will moves, not by the external impulse or inclination of objects, but determines itself by an absolute autocracy. South.

2. Supreme, uncontrolled, unlimited authority, or right of governing in a single person, as of an autocrat.

3. Political independence or absolute sovereignty (of a state); autonomy. Barlow.

4. (Med.)

Defn: The action of the vital principle, or of the instinctive powers, toward the preservation of the individual; also, the vital principle. [In this sense, written also autocrasy.] Dunglison.

AUTOCRAT Au"to*crat, n. Etym: [Gr. autocrate. See Hard, a.]

1. An absolute sovereign; a monarch who holds and exercises the powers of government by claim of absolute right, not subject to restriction; as, Autocrat of all the Russias (a title of the Czar).

2. One who rules with undisputed sway in any company or relation; a despot. The autocrat of the breakfast table. Holmes.

AUTOCRATIC; AUTOCRATICAL Au`to*crat"ic, Au`to*crat"ic*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to autocracy or to an autocrat; absolute; holding independent and arbitrary powers of government. -- Au`to*crat"ic*al*ly, adv.

AUTOCRATOR Au*toc"ra*tor, n. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: An autocrat. [Archaic]

AUTOCRATORICAL Au`to*cra*tor"ic*al, a.

Defn: Pertaining to an autocrator; absolute. [Obs.] Bp. Pearson.

AUTOCRATRIX Au*toc"ra*trix, n. Etym: [NL.]

Defn: A female sovereign who is independent and absolute; -- a title given to the empresses of Russia.

AUTOCRATSHIP Au"to*crat*ship, n.

Defn: The office or dignity of an autocrat.

AUTO-DA-FE Au"to-da-fé", n.; pl. Autos-da-fé (. Etym: [Pg., act of the faith; auto act, fr. L. actus + da of the + fé faith, fr. L. fides.]

1. A judgment of the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal condemning or acquitting persons accused of religious offenses.

2. An execution of such sentence, by the civil power, esp. the burning of a heretic. It was usually held on Sunday, and was made a great public solemnity by impressive forms and ceremonies.

3. A session of the court of Inquisition.

AUTO-DE-FE Au"to-de-fe", n.; pl. Autos-de-fe. Etym: [Sp., act of faith.]

Defn: Same as Auto-da-fé.

AUTODIDACT Au"to*di*dact`, n. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: One who is self-taught; an automath.

AUTODYNAMIC Au`to*dy*nam"ic, a. Etym: [Auto- + dynamic.]

Defn: Supplying its own power; -- applied to an instrument of the nature of a water-ram.

AUTOECIOUS Au*to"cious, a. [Auto-+ Gr. house.] (Biol.)

Defn: Passing through all its stages on one host, as certain parasitic fungi; -- contrasted with heterocious.

AUTOECISM Au*to"cism, n.

Defn: Quality of being autocious.

AUTOFECUNDATION Au`to*fec`un*da"tion, n. Etym: [Auto- + fecundation.] (Biol.)

Defn: Self-impregnation. Darwin.

AUTOGAMOUS Au*tog"a*mous, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Characterized by autogamy; self-fertilized.

AUTOGAMY Au*tog"a*my, n. Etym: [Auto- + Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Self-fertilization, the fertilizing pollen being derived from the same blossom as the pistil acted upon.

AUTOGENEAL Au`to*ge"ne*al, a.

Defn: Self-produced; autogenous.

AUTOGENESIS Au`to*gen"e*sis, n. Etym: [Auto- + genesis.] (Biol.)

Defn: Spontaneous generation.

AUTOGENETIC Au`to*ge*net"ic, a. (Biol.)

Defn: Relating to autogenesis; self-generated.

AUTOGENETIC DRAINAGE Autogenetic drainage. (Phys. Geog.)

Defn: A system of natural drainage developed by the constituent streams through headwater erosion.

AUTOGENETIC TOPOGRAPHY Autogenetic topography. (Phys. Geog.)

Defn: A system of land forms produced by the free action of rain and streams on rocks of uniform texture.

AUTOGENOUS Au*tog"e*nous, a. Etym: [Gr.

1. (Biol.)

Defn: Self-generated; produced independently.

2. (Anat.)

Defn: Developed from an independent center of ossification. Owen. Autogenous soldering, the junction by fusion of the joining edges of metals without the intervention of solder.

AUTOGENOUSLY Au*tog"e*nous*ly, adv.

Defn: In an autogenous manner; spontaneously.

AUTOGRAPH Au"to*graph, n. Etym: [F. autographe, fr. Gr.

Defn: That which is written with one's own hand; an original manuscript; a person's own signature or handwriting.

AUTOGRAPH Au"to*graph, a.

Defn: In one's own handwriting; as, an autograph letter; an autograph will.

AUTOGRAPHAL Au*tog"ra*phal, a.

Defn: Autographic. [Obs.]

AUTOGRAPHIC; AUTOGRAPHICAL Au`to*graph"ic, Au`to*graph"ic*al, a.

1. Pertaining to an autograph, or one's own handwriting; of the nature of an autograph.

2. Pertaining to, or used in, the process of autography; as, autographic ink, paper, or press.

AUTOGRAPHY Au*tog"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Cf. F. autographie.]

1. The science of autographs; a person's own handwriting; an autograph.

2. A process in lithography by which a writing or drawing is transferred from paper to stone. Ure.

AUTOHARP Au"to*harp, n. [Auto- + harp.]

Defn: A zitherlike musical instrument, provided with dampers which, when depressed, deaden some strings, leaving free others that form a chord.

AUTOHYPNOTIC Au`to*hyp*not"ic, a.

Defn: Pert. to autohypnotism; self-hypnotizing. -- n.

Defn: An autohypnotic person.

AUTOHYPNOTISM Au`to*hyp"no*tism, n. [Auto-+ hypnotism.]

Defn: Hypnotism of one's self by concentration of the attention on some object or idea.

AUTO-INFECTION Au`to-in*fec"tion, n. [Auto- + infection.] (Med.)

Defn: Poisoning caused by a virus that originates and develops in the organism itself.

AUTO-INOCULATION Au`to-in*oc`u*la"tion, n. [Auto-+ inoculation.] (Med.)

Defn: Inoculation of a person with virus from his own body.

AUTO-INTOXICATION Au`to-in*tox`i*ca"tion, n. [Auto-+ intoxication.] (Med.)

Defn: Poisoning, or the state of being poisoned, from toxic substances produced within the body; autotoxæmia.

AUTOKINESIS Au`to*ki*ne"sis, n. [NL.; auto-+ Gr. motion.] (Physiol.)

Defn: Spontaneous or voluntary movement; movement due to an internal cause.

AUTOKINETIC Au`to*ki*net"ic, a. [Auto- + kinetic.]

Defn: Self-moving; moving automatically.

AUTOKINETIC SYSTEM Autokinetic system.

Defn: In fire-alarm telegraphy, a system so arranged that when one alarm is being transmitted, no other alarm, sent in from another point, will be transmitted until after the first alarm has been disposed of.

AUTOLATRY Au*tol"a*try, n. Etym: [Auto- + Gr.

Defn: Self-worship. Farrar.

AUTOMATH Au"to*math, n. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: One who is self-taught. [R.] Young.

AUTOMATIC; AUTOMATICAL Au`to*mat"ic, Au`to*mat"ic*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. automatique. See Automaton.]

1. Having an inherent power of action or motion. Nothing can be said to be automatic. Sir H. Davy.

2. Pertaining to, or produced by, an automaton; of the nature of an automaton; self-acting or self-regulating under fixed conditions; -- esp. applied to machinery or devices in which certain things formerly or usually done by hand are done by the machine or device itself; as, the automatic feed of a lathe; automatic gas lighting; an automatic engine or switch; an automatic mouse.

3. Not voluntary; not depending on the will; mechanical; as, automatic movements or functions. Unconscious or automatic reasoning. H. Spenser. Automatic arts, such economic arts or manufacture as are carried on by self-acting machinery. Ure.

AUTOMATICALLY Au`to*mat"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In an automatic manner.

AUTOMATISM Au*tom"a*tism, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being automatic; the power of self- moving; automatic, mechanical, or involuntary action. (Metaph.) A theory as to the activity of matter.

AUTOMATON Au*tom"a*ton, n.; pl. L. Automata (, E. Automatons (. Etym: [L. fr. Gr. ma, man, to strive, think, cf. Mean, v. i.]

1. Any thing or being regarded as having the power of spontaneous motion or action. Huxley. So great and admirable an automaton as the world. Boyle. These living automata, human bodies. Boyle.

2. A self-moving machine, or one which has its motive power within itself; -- applied chiefly to machines which appear to imitate spontaneously the motions of living beings, such as men, birds, etc.

AUTOMATOUS Au*tom"a*tous, a. Etym: [L. automatus, Gr. Automaton.]

Defn: Automatic. [Obs.] "Automatous organs." Sir T. Browne.

AUTOMIXTE SYSTEM Au`to*mixte" system. (Mach.)

Defn: A system (devised by Henri Pieper, a Belgian) of driving automobiles employing a gasoline engine and an auxiliary reversible dynamo. When there is an excess of power the dynamo is driven by the engine so as to charge a small storage battery; when there is a deficiency of power the dynamo reverses and acts as an auxiliary motor. Sometimes called Pieper system. -- Automixte car, etc.

AUTOMOBILE Au`to*mo"bile, n. [F.]

Defn: An automobile vehicle or mechanism; esp., a self-propelled vehicle suitable for use on a street or roadway. Automobiles are usually propelled by internal combustion engines (using volatile inflammable liquids, as gasoline or petrol, alcohol, naphtha, etc.), steam engines, or electric motors. The power of the driving motor varies from about 4 to 50 H. P. for ordinary vehicles, ranging from the run-about to the touring car, up to as high as 200 H. P. for specially built racing cars. Automobiles are also commonly, and generally in British usage, called motor cars.

AUTOMOBILISM Au`to*mo"bil*ism, n.

Defn: The use of automobiles, or the practices, methods, or the like, of those who use them. -- Au`to*mo"bil*ist, n.

AUTOMORPHIC Au`to*mor"phic, a. Etym: [Auto- + Gr.

Defn: Patterned after one's self. The conception which any one frames of another's mind is more or less after the pattern of his own mind, -- is automorphic. H. Spenser.

AUTOMORPHISM Au`to*mor"phism, n.

Defn: Automorphic characterization. H. Spenser.

AUTONOMASY Au`to*nom"a*sy, n. Etym: [Auto- + Gr. antonomasia.] (Rhet.)

Defn: The use of a word of common or general signification for the name of a particular thing; as, "He has gone to town," for, "He has gone to London."

AUTONOMIC Au`to*nom"ic, a.

Defn: Having the power of self-government; autonomous. Hickok.

AUTONOMIST Au"to"no*mist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. automiste. See Autonomy.]

Defn: One who advocates autonomy.

AUTONOMOUS Au*ton"o*mous, a. Etym: [Gr.

1. Independent in government; having the right or power of self- government.

2. (Biol.)

Defn: Having independent existence or laws.

AUTONOMY Au*ton"o*my, n. Etym: [Gr. autonomie. See Autonomous.]

1. The power or right of self-government; self-government, or political independence, of a city or a state.

2. (Metaph.)

Defn: The sovereignty of reason in the sphere of morals; or man's power, as possessed of reason, to give law to himself. In this, according to Kant, consist the true nature and only possible proof of liberty. Fleming.

AUTOPATHIC Au`to*path"ic, a. [See Auto-, and Pathic, a.] (Med.)

Defn: Dependent upon, or due or relating to, the structure and characteristics of the diseased organism; endopathic; as, an autopathic disease; an autopathic theory of diseases.

AUTOPHAGI Au*toph"a*gi, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Birds which are able to run about and obtain their own food as soon as hatched.

AUTOPHAGY Au*toph"a*gy, n. [Gr. self + to eat.] (Med.)

Defn: The feeding of the body upon itself, as in fasting; nutrition by consumption of one's own tissues.

AUTOPHOBY Au*toph"o*by, n. Etym: [Auto- + Gr.

Defn: Fear of one's self; fear of being egotistical. [R.] Hare.

AUTOPHONY Au*toph"o*ny, n. Etym: [Auto- + Gr. (Med.)

Defn: An auscultatory process, which consists in noting the tone of the observer's own voice, while he speaks, holding his head close to the patient's chest. Dunglison.

AUTOPLASTIC Au`to*plas"tic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to autoplasty.

AUTOPLASTY Au"to*plas`ty, n. Etym: [Auto- + -plasty.] (Surg.)

Defn: The process of artificially repairing lesions by taking a piece of healthy tissue, as from a neighboring part, to supply the deficiency caused by disease or wounds.

AUTOPNEUMATIC Au`to*pneu*mat"ic, a. [Auto-+ pneumatic.]

Defn: Acting or moving automatically by means of compressed air.

AUTOPSIC; AUTOPSICAL Au*top"sic, Au*top"sic*al, a.

Defn: Pertaining to autopsy; autoptical. [Obs.]

AUTOPSORIN Au*top"so*rin, n. Etym: [Auto- + Gr. (Med.)

Defn: That which is given under the doctrine of administering a patient's own virus.

AUTOPSY Au"top*sy, n. Etym: [Gr. autopsie. See Optic, a.]

1. Personal observation or examination; seeing with one's own eyes; ocular view. By autopsy and experiment. Cudworth.

2. (Med.)

Defn: Dissection of a dead body, for the purpose of ascertaining the cause, seat, or nature of a disease; a post-mortem examination.

AUTOPTIC; AUTOPTICAL Au*top"tic, Au*top"tic*al, a. Etym: [Gr. autoptique.]

Defn: Seen with one's own eyes; belonging to, or connected with, personal observation; as, autoptic testimony or experience.

AUTOPTICALLY Au*top"tic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: By means of ocular view, or one's own observation. Sir T. Browne.

AUTOSCHEDIASTIC; AUTOSCHEDIASTICAL Au`to*sche`di*as"tic, Au`to*sche`di*as"tic*al, a. Etym: [Auto- + Gr. Schediasm.]

Defn: Extemporary; offhand. [R.] Dean Martin.

AUTOSTABILITY Au`to*sta*bil"i*ty, n. [Auto-+ stability.] (Mechanics)

Defn: Automatic stability; also, inherent stability. An aëroplane is inherently stable if it keeps in steady poise by virtue of its shape and proportions alone; it is automatically stable if it keeps in steady poise by means of self-operative mechanism.

AUTOSTYLIC Au`to*styl"ic, a. Etym: [Auto- + Gr. (Anat.)

Defn: Having the mandibular arch articulated directly to the cranium, as in the skulls of the Amphibia.

AUTOSUGGESTION Au`to*sug*ges"tion, n. [Auto-+ suggestion.] (Med.)

Defn: Self-suggestion as distinguished from suggestion coming from another, esp. in hypnotism. Autosuggestion is characteristic of certain mental conditions in which expectant belief tends to produce disturbance of function of one or more organs.

AUTOTHEISM Au"to*the`ism, n. Etym: [Auto- + theism.]

1. The doctrine of God's self-existence. [R.]

2. Deification of one's self; self-worship. [R.]

AUTOTHEIST Au"to*the`ist, n.

Defn: One given to self-worship. [R.]

AUTOTOXAEMIA; AUTOTOXEMIA Au`to*tox*æ"mi*a, Au`to*tox*e"mi*a, n. [NL. See Auto-, and Toxæmia.] (Physiol.)

Defn: Self-intoxication. See Auto-intoxication.

AUTOTOXIC Au`to*tox"ic, a. [Auto- + toxic.] (Med.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or causing, autotoxæmia.

AUTOTOXICATION Au`to*tox`i*ca"tion, n. [Auto-+ toxication.] (Physiol.)

Defn: Same as Auto-intoxication.

AUTOTRANSFORMER Au`to*trans*form"er, n. [Auto-+ transformer.] (Elec.)

Defn: A transformer in which part of the primary winding is used as a secondary winding, or vice versa; -- called also a compensator or balancing coil.

AUTOTROPHIC Au`to*troph"ic, a. [Auto- + trophic.] (Plant Physiol.)

Defn: Capable of self-nourishment; -- said of all plants in which photosynthetic activity takes place, as opposed to parasitism or saprophytism.

AUTOTROPISM Au*tot"ro*pism, n. [Auto- + Gr. to turn.] (Plant Physiol.)

Defn: The tendency of plant organs to grow in a straight line when uninfluenced by external stimuli.

AUTOTYPE Au"to*type, n. Etym: [Auto- + -type: cf. F. autotype.]

1. A facsimile.

2. A photographic picture produced in sensitized pigmented gelatin by exposure to light under a negative; and subsequent washing out of the soluble parts; a kind of picture in ink from a gelatin plate.

AUTOTYPOGRAPHY Au`to*ty*pog"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Auto- + typography.]

Defn: A process resembling "nature printing," by which drawings executed on gelatin are impressed into a soft metal plate, from which the printing is done as from copperplate.

AUTOTYPY Au*tot"y*py, n.

Defn: The art or process of making autotypes.

AUTUMN Au"tumn, n. Etym: [L. auctumnus, autumnus, perh. fr. a root av to satisfy one's self: cf. F. automne. See Avarice.]

1. The third season of the year, or the season between summer and winter, often called "the fall." Astronomically, it begins in the northern temperate zone at the autumnal equinox, about September 23, and ends at the winter solstice, about December 23; but in popular language, autumn, in America, comprises September, October, and November.

Note: In England, according to Johnson, autumn popularly comprises August, September, and October. In the southern hemisphere, the autumn corresponds to our spring.

2. The harvest or fruits of autumn. Milton.

3. The time of maturity or decline; latter portion; third stage. Dr. Preston was now entering into the autumn of the duke's favor. Fuller. Life's autumn past, I stand on winter's verge. Wordsworth.

AUTUMNAL Au*tum"nal, a. Etym: [L. auctumnalis, autumnalis: cf. F. automnal.]

1. Of, belonging to, or peculiar to, autumn; as, an autumnal tint; produced or gathered in autumn; as, autumnal fruits; flowering in autumn; as, an autumnal plant. Thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks In Vallombrosa. Milton.

2. Past the middle of life; in the third stage. An autumnal matron. Hawthorne. Autumnal equinox, the time when the sun crosses the equator, as it proceeds southward, or when it passes the ~ point. -- ~= point, the point of the equator intersected by the ecliptic, as the sun proceeds southward; the first point of Libra. -- ~= signs, the signs Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius, through which the sun passes between the ~ equinox and winter solstice.

AUTUNITE Au"tun*ite, n. [From Autun, France, its locality.] (Min.)

Defn: A lemon-yellow phosphate of uranium and calcium occurring in tabular crystals with basal cleavage, and in micalike scales. H., 2- 2.5. Sp. gr., 3.05-3.19.

AUXANOMETER Aux`a*nom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Gr. -meter.]

Defn: An instrument to measure the growth of plants. Goodale.

AUXESIS Aux*e"sis, n. Etym: [NL., Gr. (Rhet.)

Defn: A figure by which a grave and magnificent word is put for the proper word; amplification; hyperbole.

AUXETIC Aux*et"ic, a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Pertaining to, or containing, auxesis; amplifying.

AUXETOPHONE Aux*e"to*phone, n. [Gr. that may be increased + sound, voice.]

Defn: A pneumatic reproducer for a phonograph, controlled by the recording stylus on the principle of the relay. It produces much clearer and louder tones than does the ordinary vibrating disk reproducer.

AUXILIAR Aux*il"iar, a. Etym: [L. auxiliaris: cf. F. auxiliaire. See Auxiliary.]

Defn: Auxiliary. [Archaic] The auxiliar troops and Trojan hosts appear. Pope.

AUXILIAR Aux*il"iar, n.

Defn: An auxiliary. [Archaic] Milton.

AUXILIARLY Aux*il"iar*ly, adv.

Defn: By way of help. Harris.

AUXILIARY Aux*il"ia*ry, a. Etym: [L. auxiliarius, fr. auxilium help, aid, fr. augere to increase.]

Defn: Conferring aid or help; helping; aiding; assisting; subsidiary; as auxiliary troops. Auxiliary scales (Mus.), the scales of relative or attendant keys. See under Attendant, a. -- Auxiliary verbs (Gram.). See Auxiliary, n., 3.

AUXILIARY Aux*il"ia*ry, n.; pl. Auxiliaries (.

1. A helper; an assistant; a confederate in some action or enterprise.

2. (Mil.) pl.

Defn: Foreign troops in the service of a nation at war; (rarely in sing.), a member of the allied or subsidiary force.

3. (Gram.)

Defn: A verb which helps to form the voices, modes, and tenses of other verbs; -- called, also, an auxiliary verb; as, have, be, may, can, do, must, shall, and will, in English; être and avoir, in French; avere and essere, in Italian; estar and haber, in Spanish.

4. (Math.)

Defn: A quantity introduced for the purpose of simplifying or facilitating some operation, as in equations or trigonometrical formulæ. Math. Dict.

AUXILIATORY Aux*il"ia*to*ry, a.

Defn: Auxiliary; helping. [Obs.]

AUXOMETER Aux*om"e*ter, n. [Gr. to increase + -meter.] (Optics)

Defn: An instrument for measuring the magnifying power of a lens or system of lenses.

AVA A"va, n.

Defn: Same as Kava. Johnston.

AVADAVAT Av`a*da*vat", n.

Defn: Same as Amadavat.

AVAIL A*vail", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Availed (p. pr. & vb. n. Availing.] Etym: [OE. availen, fr. F. ad) + valoir to be worth, fr. L. valere to be strong, to be worth. See Valiant.]

1. To turn to the advantage of; to be of service to; to profit; to benefit; to help; as, artifices will not avail the sinner in the day of judgment. O, what avails me now that honor high ! Milton.

2. To promote; to assist. [Obs.] Pope. To avail one's self of, to make use of; take advantage of. Then shall they seek to avail themselves of names. Milton. I have availed myself of the very first opportunity. Dickens.

AVAIL A*vail", v. i.

Defn: To be of use or advantage; to answer the purpose; to have strength, force, or efficacy sufficient to accomplish the object; as, the plea in bar must avail, that is, be sufficient to defeat the suit; this scheme will not avail; medicines will not avail to check the disease. "What signs avail " Milton. Words avail very little with me, young man. Sir W. Scott.

AVAIL A*vail", n.

1. Profit; advantage toward success; benefit; value; as, labor, without economy, is of little avail. The avail of a deathbed repentance. Jer. Taylor.

2. pl.

Defn: Proceeds; as, the avails of a sale by auction. The avails of their own industry. Stoddard.

Syn. -- Use; benefit; utility; profit; service.

AVAIL A*vail", v. t. & i.

Defn: See Avale, v. [Obs.] Spenser.

AVAILABILITY A*vail`a*bil"i*ty, n.; pl. Availabilities (.

1. The quality of being available; availableness.

Note: The word is sometimes used derogatively in the sense of "mere availableness," or capability of success without regard to worthiness. He was . . . nominated for his availability. Lowell.

2. That which is available.

AVAILABLE A*vail"a*ble, a.

1. Having sufficient power, force, or efficacy, for the object; effectual; valid; as, an available plea. [Obs.] Laws human are available by consent. Hooker.

2. Such as one may avail one's self of; capable of being used for the accomplishment of a purpose; usable; profitable; advantageous; convertible into a resource; as, an available measure; an available candidate. Struggling to redeem, as he did, the available months and days out of so many that were unavailable. Carlyle. Having no available funds with which to pay the calls on new shares. H. Spenser.

AVAILABLENESS A*vail"a*ble*ness, n.

1. Competent power; validity; efficacy; as, the availableness of a title. [Obs.]

2. Quality of being available; capability of being used for the purpose intended. Sir M. Hale.

AVAILABLY A*vail"a*bly, adv.

Defn: In an available manner; profitably; advantageously; efficaciously.

AVAILMENT A*vail"ment, n.

Defn: Profit; advantage. [Obs.]

AVALANCHE Av"a*lanche`, n. Etym: [F. avalanche, fr. avaler to descend, to let down, from aval down, downward; ad) + val, L. vallis, valley. See Valley.]

1. A large mass or body of snow and ice sliding swiftly down a mountain side, or falling down a precipice.

2. A fall of earth, rocks, etc., similar to that of an avalanche of snow or ice.

3. A sudden, great, or irresistible descent or influx of anything.

AVALE A*vale", v. t. & i. Etym: [F. avaler to descend, to let down. See Avalanche.]

1. To cause to descend; to lower; to let fall; to doff. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. To bring low; to abase. [Obs.] Sir H. Wotton.

3. (v. i.)

Defn: To descend; to fall; to dismount. [Obs.] And from their sweaty courses did avale. Spenser.

AVANT A*vant", n. Etym: [For avant-guard. Cf. Avaunt, Van.]

Defn: The front of an army. [Obs.] See Van.

AVANT-COURIER A*vant"-cou`ri*er, n. Etym: [F., fr. avant before + courrier. See Avaunt, and Courier.]

Defn: A person dispatched before another person or company, to give notice of his or their approach.

AVANT-GUARD A*vant"-guard` (; sq. root277), n. Etym: [F. avant before + E. guard, F. avant-garde. See Avaunt.]

Defn: The van or advanced body of an army. See Vanguard.

AVARICE Av"a*rice, n. Etym: [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.]

1. An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity. To desire money for its own sake, and in order to hoard it up, is avarice. Beattie.

2. An inordinate desire for some supposed good. All are taught an avarice of praise. Goldsmith.

AVARICIOUS Av`a*ri"cious, a. Etym: [Cf. F. avaricieux.]

Defn: Actuated by avarice; greedy of gain; immoderately desirous of accumulating property.

Syn. -- Greedy; stingy; rapacious; griping; sordid; close. -- Avaricious, Covetous, Parsimonious, Penurious, Miserly, Niggardly. The avaricious eagerly grasp after it at the expense of others, though not of necessity with a design to save, since a man may be covetous and yet a spendthrift. The penurious, parsimonious, and miserly save money by disgraceful self-denial, and the niggardly by meanness in their dealing with others. We speak of persons as covetous in getting, avaricious in retaining, parsimonious in expending, penurious or miserly in modes of living, niggardly in dispensing. -- Av`a*ri"cious*ly, adv -- Av`a*ri"cious*ness, n.

AVAROUS Av"a*rous, a. Etym: [L. avarus.]

Defn: Avaricious. [Obs.]

AVAST A*vast", interj. Etym: [Corrupted from D. houd vast hold fast. See Hold, v. t., and Fast, a.] (Naut.)

Defn: Cease; stop; stay. "Avast heaving." Totten.

AVATAR Av`a*tar", n. Etym: [Skr. avatâra descent; ava from + root t to cross, pass over.]

1. (Hindoo Myth.)

Defn: The descent of a deity to earth, and his incarnation as a man or an animal; -- chiefly associated with the incarnations of Vishnu.

2. Incarnation; manifestation as an object of worship or admiration.

AVAUNCE A*vaunce", v. t. & i. Etym: [See Advance.]

Defn: To advance; to profit. Chaucer.

AVAUNT A*vaunt", interj. Etym: [F. avant forward, fr. L. ab + ante before. Cf. Avant, Advance.]

Defn: Begone; depart; -- a word of contempt or abhorrence, equivalent to the phrase "Get thee gone."

AVAUNT A*vaunt", v. t. & i.

1. To advance; to move forward; to elevate. [Obs.] Spenser.

2. To depart; to move away. [Obs.] Coverdale.

AVAUNT A*vaunt", v. t. & i. Etym: [OF. avanter; (L. ad) + vanter. See Vaunt.]

Defn: To vaunt; to boast. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AVAUNT A*vaunt", n.

Defn: A vaunt; to boast. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AVAUNTOUR A*vaunt"our, n. Etym: [OF. avanteur.]

Defn: A boaster. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AVE A"ve, n. Etym: [L., hail.]

1. An ave Maria. He repeated Aves and Credos. Macaulay.

2. A reverential salutation. Their loud applause and aves vehement. Shak.

AVEL A*vel, v. t. Etym: [L. avellere.]

Defn: To pull away. [Obs.] Yet are not these parts avelled. Sir T. Browne.

AVELLANE A*vel"lane, a. Etym: [Cf. It. avellana a filbert, fr. L. Avella or Abella a city of Campania.] (Her.)

Defn: In the form of four unhusked filberts; as, an avellane cross.

AVE MARIA; AVE MARY A"ve Ma*ri"a, A"ve Ma"ry.Etym: [From the first words of the Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary; L. ave hail, Maria Mary.]

1. A salutation and prayer to the Virgin Mary, as mother of God; -- used in the Roman Catholic church. To number Ave Maries on his beads. Shak.

2. A particular time (as in Italy, at the ringing of the bells about half an hour after sunset, and also at early dawn), when the people repeat the Ave Maria. Ave Maria ! blessed be the hour ! Byron.

AVENA A*ve"na, n. Etym: [L.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of grasses, including the common oat (Avena sativa); the oat grasses.

AVENACEOUS Av`e*na"ceous, a. Etym: [L. avenaceus, fr. avena oats.]

Defn: Belonging to, or resembling, oats or the oat grasses.

AVENAGE Av"e*nage, n. Etym: [F. avenage, fr. L. avena oats.] (Old Law)

Defn: A quantity of oats paid by a tenant to a landlord in lieu of rent. Jacob.

AVENALIN A*ven"a*lin, n. [L. avena eats.] (Chem.)

Defn: A crystalline globulin, contained in oat kernels, very similar in composition to excelsin, but different in reactions and crystalline form.

AVENER Av"e*ner, n. Etym: [OF. avenier, fr. aveine, avaine, avoine, oats, F. avoine, L. avena.] (Feud. Law)

Defn: An officer of the king's stables whose duty it was to provide oats for the horses. [Obs.]

AVENGE A*venge", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Avenged (p. pr. & vb. n. Avenging ( Etym: [OF. avengier; L. ad + vindicare to lay claim to, to avenge, revenge. See Vengeance.]

1. To take vengeance for; to exact satisfaction for by punishing the injuring party; to vindicate by inflicting pain or evil on a wrongdoer. He will avenge the blood of his servants. Deut. xxxii. 43. Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold. Milton. He had avenged himself on them by havoc such as England had never before seen. Macaulay.

2. To treat revengefully; to wreak vengeance on. [Obs.] Thy judgment in avenging thine enemies. Bp. Hall.

Syn. -- To Avenge, Revenge. To avenge is to inflict punishment upon evil doers in behalf of ourselves, or others for whom we act; as, to avenge one's wrongs; to avenge the injuries of the suffering and innocent. It is to inflict pain for the sake of vindication, or retributive justice. To revenge is to inflict pain or injury for the indulgence of resentful and malicious feelings. The former may at times be a duty; the latter is one of the worst exhibitions of human character. I avenge myself upon another, or I avenge another, or I avenge a wrong. I revenge only myself, and that upon another. C. J. Smith.

AVENGE A*venge", v. i.

Defn: To take vengeance. Levit. xix. 18.

AVENGE A*venge", n.

Defn: Vengeance; revenge. [Obs.] Spenser.

AVENGEANCE A*venge"ance, n.

Defn: Vengeance. [Obs.]

AVENGEFUL A*venge"ful, a.

Defn: Vengeful. [Obs.] Spenser.

AVENGEMENT A*venge"ment, n.

Defn: The inflicting of retributive punishment; satisfaction taken. [R.] Milton.

AVENGER A*ven"ger, n.

1. One who avenges or vindicates; as, an avenger of blood.

2. One who takes vengeance. [Obs.] Milton.

AVENGERESS A*ven"ger*ess, n.

Defn: A female avenger. [Obs.] Spenser.

AVENIOUS A*ve"ni*ous, a. Etym: [Pref. a- + L. vena a vein.] (Bot.)

Defn: Being without veins or nerves, as the leaves of certain plants.

AVENOR Av"e*nor, n.

Defn: See Avener. [Obs.]

AVENS Av"ens, n. Etym: [OF. avence.] (Bot.)

Defn: A plant of the genus Geum, esp. Geum urbanum, or herb bennet.

AVENTAIL Av"en*tail, n. Etym: [OF. esventail. Cf. Ventail.]

Defn: The movable front to a helmet; the ventail.

AVENTINE Av"en*tine, a.

Defn: Pertaining to Mons Aventinus, one of the seven hills on which Rome stood. Bryant.

AVENTINE Av"en*tine, n.

Defn: A post of security or defense. [Poetic] Into the castle's tower, The only Aventine that now is left him. Beau. & Fl.

AVENTRE A*ven"tre, v. t.

Defn: To thrust forward (at a venture), as a spear. [Obs.] Spenser.

AVENTURE A*ven"ture, n. Etym: [See Adventure, n.]

1. Accident; chance; adventure. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. (Old Law)

Defn: A mischance causing a person's death without felony, as by drowning, or falling into the fire.

AVENTURINE A*ven"tu*rine, n. Etym: [F. aventurine: cf. It. avventurino.]

1. A kind of glass, containing gold-colored spangles. It was produced in the first place by the accidental (par aventure) dropping of some brass filings into a pot of melted glass.

2. (Min.)

Defn: A variety of translucent quartz, spangled throughout with scales of yellow mica. ~= feldspar, a variety of oligoclase with internal firelike reflections due to the presence of minute crystals, probably of hematite; sunstone.

AVENUE Av"e*nue, n. Etym: [F. avenue, fr. avenir to come to, L. advenire. See Advene.]

1. A way or opening for entrance into a place; a passage by which a place may by reached; a way of approach or of exit. "The avenues leading to the city by land." Macaulay. On every side were expanding new avenues of inquiry. Milman.

2. The principal walk or approach to a house which is withdrawn from the road, especially, such approach bordered on each side by trees; any broad passageway thus bordered. An avenue of tall elms and branching chestnuts. W. Black.

3. A broad street; as, the Fifth Avenue in New York.

AVER A"ver, n. Etym: [OF. aver domestic animal, whence LL. averia, pl. cattle. See Habit, and cf. Average.]

Defn: A work horse, or working ox. [Obs. or Dial. Eng.]

AVER A*ver", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Averred (p. pr. & vb. n. Averring.] Etym: [F. avérer, LL. adverare, averare; L. ad + versus true. See Verity.]

1. To assert, or prove, the truth of. [Obs.]

2. (Law)

Defn: To avouch or verify; to offer to verify; to prove or justify. See Averment.

3. To affirm with confidence; to declare in a positive manner, as in confidence of asserting the truth. It is sufficient that the very fact hath its foundation in truth, as I do seriously aver is the case. Fielding. Then all averred I had killed the bird. Coleridge.

Syn. -- To assert; affirm; asseverate. See Affirm.

AVERAGE Av"er*age, n. Etym: [OF. average, LL. averagium, prob. fr. OF. aver, F. avoir, property, horses, cattle, etc.; prop. infin., to have, from L. habere to have. Cf. F. avérage small cattle, and avarie (perh. of different origin) damage to ship or cargo, port dues. The first meaning was peAver, n., Avercorn, Averpenny.]

1. (OLd Eng. Law)

Defn: That service which a tenant owed his lord, to be done by the work beasts of the tenant, as the carriage of wheat, turf, etc.

2. Etym: [Cf. F. avarie damage to ship or cargo.] (Com.) (a) A tariff or duty on goods, etc. [Obs.] (b) Any charge in addition to the regular charge for freight of goods shipped. (c) A contribution to a loss or charge which has been imposed upon one of several for the general benefit; damage done by sea perils. (d) The equitable and proportionate distribution of loss or expense among all interested. General average, a contribution made, by all parties concerned in a sea adventure, toward a loss occasioned by the voluntary sacrifice of the property of some of the parties in interest for the benefit of all. It is called general average, because it falls upon the gross amount of ship, cargo, and freight at risk and saved by the sacrifice. Kent. -- Particular average signifies the damage or partial loss happening to the ship, or cargo, or freight, in consequence of some fortuitous or unavoidable accident; and it is borne by the individual owners of the articles damaged, or by their insurers. -- Petty averages are sundry small charges, which occur regularly, and are necessarily defrayed by the master in the usual course of a voyage; such as port charges, common pilotage, and the like, which formerly were, and in some cases still are, borne partly by the ship and partly by the cargo. In the clause commonly found in bills of lading, "primage and average accustomed," average means a kind of composition established by usage for such charges, which were formerly assessed by way of average. Arnould. Abbott. Phillips.

3. A mean proportion, medial sum or quantity, made out of unequal sums or quantities; an arithmetical mean. Thus, if A loses 5 dollars, B 9, and C 16, the sum is 30, and the average 10.

4. Any medial estimate or general statement derived from a comparison of diverse specific cases; a medium or usual size, quantity, quality, rate, etc. "The average of sensations." Paley.

5. pl.

Defn: In the English corn trade, the medial price of the several kinds of grain in the principal corn markets. On an average, taking the mean of unequal numbers or quantities.

AVERAGE Av"er*age, a.

1. Pertaining to an average or mean; medial; containing a mean proportion; of a mean size, quality, ability, etc.; ordinary; usual; as, an average rate of profit; an average amount of rain; the average Englishman; beings of the average stamp.

2. According to the laws of averages; as, the loss must be made good by average contribution.

AVERAGE Av"er*age, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Averaged (p. pr. & vb. n. Averaging.]

1. To find the mean of, when sums or quantities are unequal; to reduce to a mean.

2. To divide among a number, according to a given proportion; as, to average a loss.

3. To do, accomplish, get, etc., on an average.

AVERAGE Av"er*age, v. i.

Defn: To form, or exist in, a mean or medial sum or quantity; to amount to, or to be, on an ~; as, the losses of the owners will average twenty five dollars each; these spars average ten feet in length.

AVERCORN A"ver*corn`, n. Etym: [Aver,n.+ corn.] (Old Eng. Law)

Defn: A reserved rent in corn, formerly paid to religious houses by their tenants or farmers. Kennet.

AVERMENT A*ver"ment, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. averement, LL. averamentum. See Aver, v. t.]

1. The act of averring, or that which is averred; affirmation; positive assertion. Signally has this averment received illustration in the course of recent events. I. Taylor.

2. Verification; establishment by evidence. Bacon.

3. (Law)

Defn: A positive statement of facts; an allegation; an offer to justify or prove what is alleged.

Note: In any stage of pleadings, when either party advances new matter, he avers it to be true, by using this form of words: "and this he is ready to verify." This was formerly called an averment. It modern pleading, it is termed a verification. Blackstone.

AVERNAL; AVERNIAN A*ver"nal, A*ver"ni*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Avernus, a lake of Campania, in Italy, famous for its poisonous vapors, which ancient writers fancied were so malignant as to kill birds flying over it. It was represented by the poets to be connected with the infernal regions.

AVERPENNY Av"er*pen`ny, n. Etym: [Aver,n.+ penny.] (Old Eng. Law)

Defn: Money paid by a tenant in lieu of the service of average.

AVERROISM A*ver"ro*ism, n.

Defn: The tenets of the Averroists.

AVERROIST A*ver"ro*ist, n.

Defn: One of a sect of peripatetic philosophers, who appeared in Italy before the restoration of learning; so denominated from Averroes, or Averrhoes, a celebrated Arabian philosopher. He held the doctrine of monopsychism.

AVERRUNCATE Av`er*run"cate, v. t. Etym: [L. averruncare to avert; a, ab, off + verruncare to turn; formerly derived from ab and eruncare to root out. Cf. Aberuncate.]

1. To avert; to ward off. [Obs.] Hudibras.

2. To root up. [Obs.] Johnson.

AVERRUNCATION Av`er*run*ca"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. averroncation.]

1. The act of averting. [Obs.]

2. Eradication. [R.] De Quincey.

AVERRUNCATOR Av`er*run*ca"tor, n. Etym: [Cf. Aberuncator.]

Defn: An instrument for pruning trees, consisting of two blades, or a blade and a hook, fixed on the end of a long rod.

AVERSATION Av`er*sa"tion, n. Etym: [L. aversatio, fr. aversari to turn away, v. intens. of avertere. See Avert.]

Defn: A turning from with dislike; aversion. [Obs.or Archaic] Some men have a natural aversation to some vices or virtues, and a natural affection to others. Jer. Taylor.

AVERSE A*verse", a. Etym: [L. aversus, p. p. of avertere. See Avert.]

1. Turned away or backward. [Obs.] The tracks averse a lying notice gave, And led the searcher backward from the cave. Dryden.

2. Having a repugnance or opposition of mind; disliking; disinclined; unwilling; reluctant. Averse alike to flatter, or offend. Pope. Men who were averse to the life of camps. Macaulay. Pass by securely as men averse from war. Micah ii. 8.

Note: The prevailing usage now is to employ to after averse and its derivatives rather than from, as was formerly the usage. In this the word is in agreement with its kindred terms, hatred, dislike, dissimilar, contrary, repugnant, etc., expressing a relation or an affection of the mind to an object.

Syn. -- Averse, Reluctant, Adverse. Averse expresses an habitual, though not of necessity a very strong, dislike; as, averse to active pursuits; averse to study. Reluctant, a term of the of the will, implies an internal struggle as to making some sacrifice of interest or feeling; as, reluctant to yield; reluctant to make the necessary arrangements; a reluctant will or consent. Adverse denotes active opposition or hostility; as, adverse interests; adverse feelings, plans, or movements; the adverse party.

AVERSE A*verse", v. t. & i.

Defn: To turn away. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

AVERSELY A*verse"ly, adv.

1. Backward; in a backward direction; as, emitted aversely.

2. With repugnance or aversion; unwillingly.

AVERSENESS A*verse"ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being averse; opposition of mind; unwillingness.

AVERSION A*ver"sion, n. Etym: [L. aversio: cf. F. aversion. See Avert.]

1. A turning away. [Obs.] Adhesion to vice and aversion from goodness. Bp. Atterbury.

2. Opposition or repugnance of mind; fixed dislike; antipathy; disinclination; reluctance. Mutual aversion of races. Prescott. His rapacity had made him an object of general aversion. Macaulay.

Note: It is now generally followed by to before the object. [See Averse.] Sometimes towards and for are found; from is obsolete. A freeholder is bred with an aversion to subjection. Addison. His aversion towards the house of York. Bacon. It is not difficult for a man to see that a person has conceived an aversion for him. Spectator. The Khasias . . . have an aversion to milk. J. D. Hooker.

3. The object of dislike or repugnance. Pain their aversion, pleasure their desire. Pope.

Syn. -- Antipathy; dislike; repugnance; disgust. See Dislike.

AVERT A*vert", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Averted; p. pr. & vb. n. Averting.] Etym: [L. avertere; a, ab + vertere to turn: cf. OF. avertir. See Verse, n.]

Defn: To turn aside, or away; as, to avert the eyes from an object; to ward off, or prevent, the occurrence or effects of; as, how can the danger be averted "To avert his ire." Milton. When atheists and profane persons do hear of so many discordant and contrary opinions in religion, it doth avert them from the church. Bacon. Till ardent prayer averts the public woe. Prior.

AVERT A*vert", v. i.

Defn: To turn away. [Archaic] Cold and averting from our neighbor's good. Thomson.

AVERTED A*vert"ed, a.

Defn: Turned away, esp. as an expression of feeling; also, offended; unpropitious. Who scornful pass it with averted eye. Keble.

AVERTER A*vert"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, averts.

AVERTIBLE A*vert"i*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being averted; preventable.

AVERTIMENT A*ver"ti*ment, n.

Defn: Advertisement. [Obs.]

AVES A"ves, n. pl. Etym: [L., pl. of avis bird.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The class of Vertebrata that includes the birds.

Note: Aves, or birds, have a complete double circulation, oviparous, reproduction, front limbs peculiarly modified as wings; and they bear feathers. All existing birds have a horny beak, without teeth; but some Mesozoic fossil birds (Odontornithes) had conical teeth inserted in both jaws. The principal groups are: Carinatæ, including all existing flying birds; Ratitæ, including the ostrich and allies, the apteryx, and the extinct moas; Odontornithes, or fossil birds with teeth.

Note: The ordinary birds are classified largely by the structure of the beak and feet, which are in direct relating to their habits. See Beak, Bird, Odontonithes.

AVESTA A*ves"ta, n.

Defn: The Zoroastrian scriptures. See Zend-Avesta.

AVESTAN A*ves"tan, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Avesta or the language of the Avesta. - -n.

Defn: The language of the Avesta; -- less properly called Zend.

AVIADO A`vi*a"do, n. [Sp.]

Defn: One who works a mine with means provided by another. [Sp. Amer. & Southwestern U. S.]

AVIAN A"vi*an, a.

Defn: Of or instrument to birds.

AVIARY A"vi*a*ry, n.; pl. Aviaries. Etym: [L. aviarium, fr. aviarius pertaining to birds, fr. avis bird, akin to Gr, vi.]

Defn: A house, inclosure, large cage, or other place, for keeping birds confined; a bird house. Lincolnshire may be termed the aviary of England. Fuller.

AVIATE A"vi*ate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Aviated; p. pr. & vb. n. Aviating.]

Defn: To fly, or navigate the air, in an aëroplane or heavier-than- air flying machine. [Colloq.]

AVIATION A`vi*a"tion, n.

Defn: The art or science of flying.

AVIATOR A"vi*a`tor, n. (a) An experimenter in aviation. (b) A flying machine.

AVIATRESS; AVIATRIX A"vi*a`tress, A`vi*a"trix, n.

Defn: A woman aviator.

AVICULA A*vic"u*la, n. Etym: [L., small bird.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of marine bivalves, having a pearly interior, allied to the pearl oyster; -- so called from a supposed resemblance of the typical species to a bird.

AVICULAR A*vic"u*lar, a. Etym: [L. avicula a small bird, dim. of avis bird.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a bird or to birds.

AVICULARIA A*vic`u*la"ri*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Avicular.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: See prehensile processes on the cells of some Bryozoa, often having the shape of a bird's bill.

AVICULTURE A"vi*cul`ture, n. Etym: [L. avis bird + cultura culture.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Rearing and care of birds.

AVID Av"id, a. Etym: [L. avidus, fr. av to long: cf. F. avide. See Avarice.]

Defn: Longing eagerly for; eager; greedy. "Avid of gold, yet greedier of renown." Southey.

AVIDIOUS A*vid"i*ous, a.

Defn: Avid.

AVIDIOUSLY A*vid"i*ous*ly, adv.

Defn: Eagerly; greedily.

AVIDITY A*vid"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. aviditas, fr. avidus: cf. F. avidité. See Avid.]

Defn: Greediness; strong appetite; eagerness; intenseness of desire; as, to eat with avidity. His books were received and read with avidity. Milward.

AVIE A*vie", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + vie.]

Defn: Emulously. [Obs.]

AVIETTE A`vi*ette", n.

Defn: A heavier-than-air flying machine in which the motive power is furnished solely by the aviator.

AVIFAUNA A`vi*fau"na, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. avis bird + E. fauna.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The birds, or all the kinds of birds, inhabiting a region.

AVIGATO Av`i*ga"to, n.

Defn: See Avocado.

AVIGNON BERRY A`vignon" ber"ry. (Bot.)

Defn: The fruit of the Rhamnus infectorius, eand of other species of the same genus; -- so called from the city of Avignon, in France. It is used by dyers and painters for coloring yellow. Called also French berry.

AVILE A*vile", v. t. Etym: [OF. aviler, F. avilir; a (L. ad) + vil vile. See Vile.]

Defn: To abase or debase; to vilify; to depreciate. [Obs.] Want makes us know the price of what we avile. B. Jonson.

AVIS A*vis", n. Etym: [F. avis. See Advice.]

Defn: Advice; opinion; deliberation. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AVISE A*vise", v. t. Etym: [F. aviser. See Advise, v. t.]

1. To look at; to view; to think of. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. To advise; to counsel. [Obs.] Shak. To avise one's self, to consider with one's self, to reflect, to deliberate. [Obs.] Chaucer. Now therefore, if thou wilt enriched be, Avise thee well, and change thy willful mood. Spenser.

AVISE A*vise", v. i.

Defn: To consider; to reflect. [Obs.]

AVISEFUL A*vise"ful, a.

Defn: Watchful; circumspect. [Obs.] With sharp, aviseful eye. Spenser.

AVISELY A*vise"ly, adv.

Defn: Advisedly. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AVISEMENT A*vise"ment, n.

Defn: Advisement; observation; deliberation. [Obs.]

AVISION A*vi"sion, n.

Defn: Vision. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AVISO A*vi"so, n. Etym: [Sp.]

1. Information; advice.

2. An advice boat, or dispatch boat.

AVOCADO Av`o*ca"do, n. Etym: [Corrupted from the Mexican ahuacatl: cf. Sp. aguacate, F. aguacaté, avocat, G. avogadobaum.]

Defn: The pulpy fruit of Persea gratissima, a tree of tropical America. It is about the size and shape of a large pear; -- called also avocado pear, alligator pear, midshipman's butter.

AVOCAT Av`o*cat, n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: An advocate.

AVOCATE Av"o*cate, v. t. Etym: [L. avocatus, p. p. of avocare; a, ab + vocare to call. Cf. Avoke, and see Vocal, a.]

Defn: To call off or away; to withdraw; to transfer to another tribunal. [Obs. or Archaic] One who avocateth his mind from other occupations. Barrow. He, at last, . . . avocated the cause to Rome. Robertson.

AVOCATION Av`o*ca"tion, n. Etym: [L. avocatio.]

1. A calling away; a diversion. [Obs. or Archaic] Impulses to duty, and powerful avocations from sin. South.

2. That which calls one away from one's regular employment or vocation. Heaven is his vocation, and therefore he counts earthly employments avocations. Fuller. By the secular cares and avocations which accompany marriage the clergy have been furnished with skill in common life. Atterbury.

Note: In this sense the word is applied to the smaller affairs of life, or occasional calls which summon a person to leave his ordinary or principal business. Avocation (in the singular) for vocation is usually avoided by good writers.

3. pl.

Defn: Pursuits; duties; affairs which occupy one's time; usual employment; vocation. There are professions, among the men, no more favorable to these studies than the common avocations of women. Richardson. In a few hours, above thirty thousand men left his standard, and returned to their ordinary avocations. Macaulay. An irregularity and instability of purpose, which makes them choose the wandering avocations of a shepherd, rather than the more fixed pursuits of agriculture. Buckle.

AVOCATIVE A*vo"ca*tive, a.

Defn: Calling off. [Obs.]

AVOCATIVE A*vo"ca*tive, n.

Defn: That which calls aside; a dissuasive.

AVOCET; AVOSET Av"o*cet, Av"o*set, n. Etym: [F. avocette: cf. It. avosetta, Sp. avoceta.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A grallatorial bird, of the genus Recurvirostra; the scooper. The bill is long and bend upward toward the tip. The American species is R. Americana. [Written also avocette.]

AVOID A*void" (, v. t. [p. & p. p. Avoided; p. pr. & vb. n. Avoiding.] Etym: [OF. esvuidier, es (L. ex) + vuidier, voidier, to empty. See Void, a.]

1. To empty. [Obs.] Wyclif.

2. To emit or throw out; to void; as, to avoid excretions. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

3. To quit or evacuate; to withdraw from. [Obs.] Six of us only stayed, and the rest avoided the room. Bacon.

4. To make void; to annul or vacate; to refute. How can these grants of the king's be avoided Spenser.

5. To keep away from; to keep clear of; to endeavor no to meet; to shun; to abstain from; as, to avoid the company of gamesters. What need a man forestall his date of grief. And run to meet what he would most avoid Milton. He carefully avoided every act which could goad them into open hostility. Macaulay.

6. To get rid of. [Obs.] Shak.

7. (Pleading)

Defn: To defeat or evade; to invalidate. Thus, in a replication, the plaintiff may deny the defendant's plea, or confess it, and avoid it by stating new matter. Blackstone.

Syn. -- To escape; elude; evade; eschew. -- To Avoid, Shun. Avoid in its commonest sense means, to keep clear of, an extension of the meaning, to withdraw one's self from. It denotes care taken not to come near or in contact; as, to avoid certain persons or places. Shun is a stronger term, implying more prominently the idea of intention. The words may, however, in many cases be interchanged. No man can pray from his heart to be kept from temptation, if the take no care of himself to avoid it. Mason. So Chanticleer, who never saw a fox, Yet shunned him as a sailor shuns the rocks. Dryden.

AVOID A*void", v. i.

1. To retire; to withdraw. [Obs.] David avoided out of his presence. 1 Sam. xviii. 11.

2. (Law)

Defn: To become void or vacant. [Obs.] Ayliffe.

AVOIDABLE A*void"a*ble, a.

1. Capable of being vacated; liable to be annulled or made invalid; voidable. The charters were not avoidable for the king's nonage. Hale.

2. Capable of being avoided, shunned, or escaped.

AVOIDANCE A*void"ance, n.

1. The act of annulling; annulment.

2. The act of becoming vacant, or the state of being vacant; -- specifically used for the state of a benefice becoming void by the death, deprivation, or resignation of the incumbent. Wolsey, . . . on every avoidance of St. Peter's chair, was sitting down therein, when suddenly some one or other clapped in before him. Fuller.

3. A dismissing or a quitting; removal; withdrawal.

4. The act of avoiding or shunning; keeping clear of. "The avoidance of pain." Beattie.

5. The courts by which anything is carried off. Avoidances and drainings of water. Bacon.

AVOIDER A*void"er, n.

1. The person who carries anything away, or the vessel in which things are carried away. Johnson.

2. One who avoids, shuns, or escapes.

AVOIDLESS A*void"less, a.

Defn: Unavoidable; inevitable.

AVOIRDUPOIS Av`oir*du*pois", n. & a. Etym: [OE. aver de peis, goods of weight, where peis is fr. OF. peis weight, F. poids, L. pensum. See Aver, n., and Poise, n.]

1. Goods sold by weight. [Obs.]

2. Avoirdupois weight.

3. Weight; heaviness; as, a woman of much avoirdupois. [Colloq.] Avoirdupois weight, a system of weights by which coarser commodities are weighed, such as hay, grain, butter, sugar, tea.

Note: The standard Avoirdupois pound of the United States is equivalent to the weight of 27.7015 cubic inches of distilled water at 62º Fahrenheit, the barometer being at 30 inches, and the water weighed in the air with brass weights. In this system of weights 16 drams make 1 ounce, 16 ounces 1 pound, 25 pounds 1 quarter, 4 quarters 1 hundred weight, and 20 hundred weight 1 ton. The above pound contains 7,000 grains, or 453.54 grams, so that 1 pound avoirdupois is equivalent to 1 31-144 pounds troy. (See Troy weight.) Formerly, a hundred weight was reckoned at 112 pounds, the ton being 2,240 pounds (sometimes called a long ton).

AVOKE A*voke", v. t. Etym: [Cf. Avocate.]

Defn: To call from or back again. [Obs.] Bp. Burnet.

AVOLATE Av"o*late, v. i. Etym: [L. avolare; a (ab) + volare to fly.]

Defn: To fly away; to escape; to exhale. [Obs.]

AVOLATION Av`o*la"tion, n. Etym: [LL. avolatio.]

Defn: The act of flying; flight; evaporation. [Obs.]

AVOSET Av"o*set, n.

Defn: Same as Avocet.

AVOUCH A*vouch", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Avouched (p. pr. & vb. n. Avouching.] Etym: [OF. avochier, LL. advocare to recognize the existence of a thing, to advocate, fr. L. advocare to call to; ad + vocare to call. Cf. Avow to declare, Advocate, and see Vouch, v. t.]

1. To appeal to; to cite or claim as authority. [Obs.] They avouch many successions of authorities. Coke.

2. To maintain a just or true; to vouch for. We might be disposed to question its authencity, it if were not avouched by the full evidence. Milman.

3. To declare or assert positively and as matter of fact; to affirm openly. If this which he avouches does appear. Shak. Such antiquities could have been avouched for the Irish. Spenser.

4. To acknowledge deliberately; to admit; to confess; to sanction. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God. Deut. xxvi. 17.

AVOUCH A*vouch", n.

Defn: Evidence; declaration. [Obs.] The sensible and true avouch Of mine own eyes. Shak.

AVOUCHABLE A*vouch"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being avouched.

AVOUCHER A*vouch"er, n.

Defn: One who avouches.

AVOUCHMENT A*vouch"ment, n.

Defn: The act of avouching; positive declaration. [Obs.] Milton.

AVOUTRER A*vou"trer, n.

Defn: See Advoutrer. [Obs.]

AVOUTRIE A*vou"trie, n. Etym: [OF.]

Defn: Adultery. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AVOW A*vow", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Avowed (p. pr. & vb. n. Avowing.] Etym: [F. avouver, fr. L. advocare to call to (whence the meanings, to call upon as superior; recognize as lord, own, confess); ad + vocare to call. See Advocate, Avouch.]

1. To declare openly, as something believed to be right; to own or acknowledge frankly; as, a man avows his principles or his crimes. Which I to be the of Israel's God Avow, and challenge Dagon to the test. Milton.

2. (Law)

Defn: To acknowledge and justify, as an act done. See Avowry. Blackstone.

Syn. -- To acknowledge; own; confess. See Confess.

AVOW A*vow", n, Etym: [Cf. F. aveu.]

Defn: Avowal. [Obs.] Dryden.

AVOW A*vow", v. t. & i. Etym: [OF. avouer, fr. LL. votare to vow, fr. L. votun. See Vote, n.]

Defn: To bind, or to devote, by a vow. [Obs.] Wyclif.

AVOW A*vow", n.

Defn: A vow or determination. [Archaic]

AVOWABLE A*vow"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being avowed, or openly acknowledged, with confidence. Donne.

AVOWAL A*vow"al, n.

Defn: An open declaration; frank acknowledgment; as, an avowal of such principles. Hume.

AVOWANCE A*vow"ance, n.

1. Act of avowing; avowal.

2. Upholding; defense; vindication. [Obs.] Can my avowance of king-murdering be collected from anything here written by me Fuller.

AVOWANT A*vow"ant, n. (Law)

Defn: The defendant in replevin, who avows the distress of the goods, and justifies the taking. Cowell.

AVOWED A*vowed", a.

Defn: Openly acknowledged or declared; admitted. -- A*vow"ed*ly (, adv.

AVOWEE A*vow`ee", n. Etym: [F. avoué. Cf. Advowee, Advocate, n.]

Defn: The person who has a right to present to a benefice; the patron; an advowee. See Advowson.

AVOWER A*vow"er, n.

Defn: One who avows or asserts.

AVOWRY A*vow"ry, n. Etym: [OE. avouerie protection, authority, OF. avouerie. See Avow to declare.]

1. An advocate; a patron; a patron saint. [Obs.] Let God alone be our avowry. Latimer.

2. The act of the distrainer of goods, who, in an action of replevin, avows and justifies the taking in his own right. Blackstone.

Note: When an action of replevin is brought, the distrainer either makes avowry, that is, avours taking the distress in his own right, or the right of his wife, and states the reason if it, as for arrears of rent, damage done, or the like; or makes cognizance, that is, acknowledges the taking, but justifies in an another's right, as his bailiff or servant.

AVOWTRY A*vow"try, v. t.

Defn: Adultery. See Advoutry.

AVOYER A*voy"er, n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A chief magistrate of a free imperial city or canton of Switzerland. [Obs.]

AVULSE A*vulse", v. t. Etym: [L. avulsus, p. p. of avellere to tear off; a (ab) + vellere to pluck.]

Defn: To pluck or pull off. Shenstone.

AVULSION A*vul"sion, n. Etym: [L. avulsio.]

1. A tearing asunder; a forcible separation. The avulsion of two polished superficies. Locke.

2. A fragment torn off. J. Barlow.

3. (Law)

Defn: The sudden removal of lands or soil from the estate of one man to that of another by an inundation or a current, or by a sudden change in the course of a river by which a part of the estate of one man is cut off and joined to the estate of another. The property in the part thus separated, or cut off, continues in the original owner. Wharton. Burrill.

AVUNCULAR A*vun"cu*lar, a. Etym: [L. avunculus uncle.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to an uncle. In these rare instances, the law of pedigree, whether direct or avuncular, gives way. I. Taylor.

AWAIT A*wait", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Awaited; p. pr. & vb. n. Awaiting.] Etym: [OF. awaitier, agaitier; (L. ad) + waitier, gaitier to watch, F. guetter. See Wait.]

1. To watch for; to look out for. [Obs.]

2. To wait on, serve, or attend. [Obs.]

3. To wait for; to stay for; to expect. See Expect. Betwixt these rocky pillars Gabriel sat, Chief of the angelic guards, awaiting night. Milton.

4. To be in store for; to be ready or in waiting for; as, a glorious reward awaits the good. O Eve, some farther change awaits us night. Milton.

AWAIT A*wait", v. i.

1. To watch. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. To wait (on or upon). [Obs.]

3. To wait; to stay in waiting. Darwin.

AWAIT A*wait", n.

Defn: A waiting for; ambush; watch; watching; heed. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AWAKE A*wake", v. t. [imp. Awoke, Awaked (; p. p. Awaked; (Obs.) Awaken, Awoken; p. pr. & vb. n. Awaking. The form Awoke is sometimes used as a p. p.] Etym: [AS. awæcnan, v. i. (imp. aw), and awacian, v. i. (imp. awacode). See Awaken, Wake.]

1. To rouse from sleep.; to wake; to awaken. Where morning's earliest ray . . . awake her. Tennyson. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us; we perish. Matt. viii. 25.

2. To rouse from a state resembling sleep, as from death, stupidity., or inaction; to put into action; to give new life to; to stir up; as, to awake the dead; to awake the dormant faculties. I was soon awaked from this disagreeable reverie. Goldsmith. It way awake my bounty further. Shak. No sunny gleam awakes the trees. Keble.

AWAKE A*wake", v. i.

Defn: To cease to sleep; to come out of a state of natural sleep; and, figuratively, out of a state resembling sleep, as inaction or death. The national spirit again awoke. Freeman. Awake to righteousness, and sin not. 1 Cor. xv. 34.

AWAKE A*wake", a. Etym: [From awaken, old p. p. of awake.]

Defn: Not sleeping or lethargic; roused from sleep; in a state of vigilance or action. Before whom awake I stood. Milton. She still beheld, Now wide awake, the vision of her sleep. Keats. He was awake to the danger. Froude.

AWAKEN A*wak"en, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Awakened (; p. pr. & vb. n. Awakening.] Etym: [OE. awakenen, awaknen, AS. awæcnan, awæcnian, v. i.; pref. on- + wæcnan to wake. Cf. Awake, v. t.]

Defn: To rouse from sleep or torpor; to awake; to wake. [He] is dispatched Already to awaken whom thou nam'st. Cowper. Their consciences are thoroughly awakened. Tillotson.

Syn. -- To arouse; excite; stir up; call forth.

AWAKENER A*wak"en*er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, awakens.

AWAKENING A*wak"en*ing, a.

Defn: Rousing from sleep, in a natural or a figurative sense; rousing into activity; exciting; as, the awakening city; an awakening discourse; the awakening dawn. -- A*wak"en*ing*ly, adv.

AWAKENING A*wak"en*ing, n.

Defn: The act of awaking, or ceasing to sleep. Specifically: A revival of religion, or more general attention to religious matters than usual.

AWAKENMENT A*wak"en*ment, n.

Defn: An awakening. [R.]

AWANTING A*want"ing, a. Etym: [Pref. a- + wanting.]

Defn: Missing; wanting. [Prov. Scot. & Eng.] Sir W. Hamilton.

AWARD A*ward", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Awarded; p. pr. & vb. n. Awarding.] Etym: [OF. eswarder to look at, consider, decide, judge; es (L. ex) + warder, garder, to observe, take heed, keep, fr. OHG. wart to watch, guard. See Ward.]

Defn: To give by sentence or judicial determination; to assign or apportion, after careful regard to the nature of the case; to adjudge; as, the arbitrators awarded damages to the complainant. To review The wrongful sentence, and award a new. Dryden.

AWARD A*ward", v. i.

Defn: To determine; to make an ~.

AWARD A*ward", n. Etym: [Cf. OF. award, awart, esgart. See Award, v. t.]

1. A judgment, sentence, or final decision. Specifically: The decision of arbitrators in a case submitted."Impatient for the award." Cowper. An award had been given against. Gilpin.

2. The paper containing the decision of arbitrators; that which is warded. Bouvier.

AWARDER A*ward"er, n.

Defn: One who awards, or assigns by sentence or judicial determination; a judge.

AWARE A*ware", a. Etym: [OE. iwar, AS. gewær, fr. wær wary. The pref. ge- orig. meant together, completely. Wary.]

1. Watchful; vigilant or on one's guard against danger or difficulty.

2. Apprised; informed; cognizant; conscious; as, he was aware of the enemy's designs. Aware of nothing arduous in a task They never undertook. Cowper.

AWARN A*warn", v. t. Etym: [Pref. a- + warn, AS. gewarnian. See Warn, v. t.]

Defn: To warn. [Obs.] Spenser.

AWASH A*wash", a. Etym: [Pref. a- + wash.]

Defn: Washed by the waves or tide; -- said of a rock or strip of shore, or (Naut.) of an anchor, etc., when flush with the surface of the water, so that the waves break over it.

AWAY A*way", adv. Etym: [AS. aweg, anweg, onweg; on on + weg way.]

1. From a place; hence. The sound is going away. Shak. Have me away, for I am sore wounded. 2 Chron. xxxv. 23.

2. Absent; gone; at a distance; as, the master is away from home.

3. Aside; off; in another direction. The axis of rotation is inclined away from the sun. Lockyer.

4. From a state or condition of being; out of existence. Be near me when I fade away. Tennyson.

5. By ellipsis of the verb, equivalent to an imperative: Go or come ~; begone; take ~. And the Lord said . . . Away, get thee down. Exod. xix. 24.

6. On; in continuance; without intermission or delay; as, sing away. [Colloq.]

Note: It is much used in phrases signifying moving or going from; as, go away, run away, etc.; all signifying departure, or separation to a distance. Sometimes without the verb; as, whither away so fast "Love hath wings, and will away." Waller. It serves to modify the sense of certain verbs by adding that of removal, loss, parting with, etc.; as, to throw away; to trifle away; to squander away, etc. Sometimes it has merely an intensive force; as, to blaze away. Away with, bear, abide. [Obs. or Archaic] "The calling of assemblies, I can not away with." (Isa. i. 13 ), i. e., "I can not bear or endure [it]." -- Away with one, signifies, take him away. "Away with, crucify him." John xix. 15. -- To make away with. (a) To kill or destroy. (b) To carry off.

AWAY-GOING A*way"-go"ing, a. (Law)

Defn: Sown during the last years of a tenancy, but not ripe until after its expiration; -- said of crops. Wharton.

AWAYWARD A*way"ward, adv.

Defn: Turned away; away. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AWE Awe, n. Etym: [OE. a, aghe, fr. Icel. agi; akin to AS. ege, , Goth. agis, Dan. ave chastisement, fear, Gr. ail. Ugly.]

1. Dread; great fear mingled with respect. [Obs. or Obsolescent] His frown was full of terror, and his voice Shook the delinquent with such fits of awe. Cowper.

2. The emotion inspired by something dreadful and sublime; an undefined sense of the dreadful and the sublime; reverential fear, or solemn wonder; profound reverence. There is an awe in mortals' joy, A deep mysterious fear. Keble. To tame the pride of that power which held the Continent in awe. Macaulay. The solitude of the desert, or the loftiness of the mountain, may fill the mind with awe -- the sense of our own littleness in some greater presence or power. C. J. Smith. To stand in awe of, to fear greatly; to reverence profoundly.

Syn. -- See Reverence.

AWE Awe, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Awed (p. pr. & vb. n. Awing.]

Defn: To strike with fear and reverence; to inspire with awe; to control by inspiring dread. That same eye whose bend doth awe the world. Shak. His solemn and pathetic exhortation awed and melted the bystanders. Macaulay.

AWEARIED A*wea"ried, p. p.

Defn: Wearied. [Poetic]

AWEARY A*wea"ry, a. Etym: [Pref. a- + weary.]

Defn: Weary. [Poetic] "I begin to be aweary of thee." Shak.

AWEATHER A*weath"er, adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + weather.] (Naut.)

Defn: On the weather side, or toward the wind; in the direction from which the wind blows; -- opposed to alee; as, helm aweather ! Totten.

AWEIGH A*weigh", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + weigh.] (Naut.)

Defn: Just drawn out of the ground, and hanging perpendicularly; atrip; -- said of the anchor. Totten.

AWELESS Awe"less, a.

Defn: See Awless.

AWESOME Awe"some, a.

1. Causing awe; appalling; awful; as, an awesome sight. Wright.

2. Expressive of awe or terror. An awesome glance up at the auld castle. Sir W. Scott.

AWESOMENESS Awe"some*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being awesome.

AWE-STRICKEN Awe"-strick`en, a.

Defn: Awe-struck.

AWE-STRUCK Awe"-struck`, a.

Defn: Struck with awe. Milton.

AWFUL Aw"ful, a.

1. Oppressing with fear or horror; appalling; terrible; as, an awful scene. "The hour of Nature's awful throes." Hemans.

2. Inspiring awe; filling with profound reverence, or with fear and admiration; fitted to inspire reverential fear; profoundly impressive. Heaven's awful Monarch. Milton.

3. Struck or filled with awe; terror-stricken. [Obs.] A weak and awful reverence for antiquity. I. Watts.

4. Worshipful; reverential; law-abiding. [Obs.] Thrust from the company of awful men. Shak.

5. Frightful; exceedingly bad; great; -- applied intensively; as, an awful bonnet; an awful boaster. [Slang]

Syn. -- See Frightful.

AWFULLY Aw"ful*ly, adv.

1. In an awful manner; in a manner to fill with terror or awe; fearfully; reverently.

2. Very; excessively. [Slang]

AWFULNESS Aw"ful*ness, n.

1. The quality of striking with awe, or with reverence; dreadfulness; solemnity; as, the awfulness of this sacred place. The awfulness of grandeur. Johnson.

2. The state of being struck with awe; a spirit of solemnity; profound reverence. [Obs.] Producing in us reverence and awfulness. Jer. Taylor.

AWHAPE A*whape", v. t. Etym: [Cf. whap blow.]

Defn: To confound; to terrify; to amaze. [Obs.] Spenser.

AWHILE A*while", adv. Etym: [Adj. a + while time, interval.]

Defn: For a while; for some time; for a short time.

AWING A*wing", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + wing.]

Defn: On the wing; flying; fluttering. Wallace.

AWK Awk, a. Etym: [OE. auk, awk (properly) turned away; (hence) contrary, wrong, from Icel. öfigr, öfugr, afigr, turning the wrong way, fr. af off, away; cf. OHG. abuh, Skr. apac turned away, fr. apa off, away + a root ak, ak, to bend, from which come also E. angle, anchor.]

1. Odd; out of order; perverse. [Obs.]

2. Wrong, or not commonly used; clumsy; sinister; as, the awk end of a rod (the but end). [Obs.] Golding.

3. Clumsy in performance or manners; unhandy; not dexterous; awkward. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

AWK Awk, adv.

Defn: Perversely; in the wrong way. L'Estrange.

AWKLY Awk"ly, adv.

1. In an unlucky (left-handed) or perverse manner. [Obs.] Holland.

2. Awkwardly. [Obs.] Fuller.

AWKWARD Awk"ward, a. Etym: [Awk + -ward.]

1. Wanting dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments; not dexterous; without skill; clumsy; wanting ease, grace, or effectiveness in movement; ungraceful; as, he was awkward at a trick; an awkward boy. And dropped an awkward courtesy. Dryden.

2. Not easily managed or effected; embarrassing. A long and awkward process. Macaulay. An awkward affair is one that has gone wrong, and is difficult to adjust. C. J. Smith.

3. Perverse; adverse; untoward. [Obs.] "Awkward casualties." "Awkward wind." Shak. O blind guides, which being of an awkward religion, do strain out a gnat, and swallow up a cancel. Udall.

Syn. -- Ungainly; unhandy; clownish; lubberly; gawky; maladroit; bungling; inelegant; ungraceful; unbecoming. -- Awkward, Clumsy, Uncouth. Awkward has a special reference to outward deportment. A man is clumsy in his whole person, he is awkward in his gait and the movement of his limbs. Clumsiness is seen at the first view. Awkwardness is discovered only when a person begins to move. Hence the expressions, a clumsy appearance, and an awkward manner. When we speak figuratively of an awkward excuse, we think of a want of ease and grace in making it; when we speak of a clumsy excuse, we think of the whole thing as coarse and stupid. We apply the term uncouth most frequently to that which results from the want of instruction or training; as, uncouth manners; uncouth language. -- Awk"ward*ly (, adv. -- Awk"ward*ness, n.

AWKWARD SQUAD Awk"ward squad. (Mil.)

Defn: A squad of inapt recruits assembled for special drill.

AWL Awl, n. Etym: [OE. aul, awel, al, AS. , awel; akin to Icel. alr, OHG. ala, G. ahle, Lith. yla, Skr. ara.]

Defn: A pointed instrument for piercing small holes, as in leather or wood; used by shoemakers, saddlers, cabinetmakers, etc. The blade is differently shaped and pointed for different uses, as in the brad awl, saddler's awl, shoemaker's awl, etc.

AWLESS Aw"less, a.

1. Wanting reverence; void of respectful fear. "Awless insolence." Dryden.

2. Inspiring no awe. [Obs.] "The awless throne." Shak. [Written also aweless]

AWLESSNESS Aw"less*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being awless.

AWL-SHAPED Awl"-shaped`, a.

1. Shaped like an awl.

2. (Nat. Hist.)

Defn: Subulate. See Subulate. Gray.

AWLWORT Awl"wort`, n. Etym: [Awl + wort.] (Bot.)

Defn: A plant (Subularia aquatica), with awl-shaped leaves.

AWM Awm (m), n.

Defn: See Aam.

AWN Awn, n. Etym: [OE. awn, agune, from Icel. ögn, pl. agnir; akin to Sw. agn, Dan. avne, Goth. ahana, OHG. agana, G. agen, ahne, chaff, Gr. egla; prob. from same root as E. acute. See 3d Ear. (Bot.)

Defn: The bristle or beard of barley, oats, grasses, etc., or any similar bristlelike appendage; arista. Gray.

AWNED Awned, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Furnished with an awn, or long bristle-shaped tip; bearded. Gray.

AWNING Awn"ing, n. Etym: [Origin uncertain: cf. F. auvent awing, or Pers. awan, awang, anything suspended, or LG. havening a place sheltered from wind and weather, E. haven.]

1. A rooflike cover, usually of canvas, extended over or before any place as a shelter from the sun, rain, or wind.

2. (Naut.) That part of the poop deck which is continued forward beyond the bulkhead of the cabin.

AWNINGED Awn"inged, a.

Defn: Furnished with an awning.

AWNLESS Awn"less, a.

Defn: Without awns or beard.

AWNY Awn"y, a.

Defn: Having awns; bearded.

AWORK A*work", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + work.]

Defn: At work; in action. "Set awork." Shak.

AWORKING A*work"ing, adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + working.]

Defn: At work; in action. [Archaic or Colloq.] Spenser.

AWREAK; AWREKE A*wreak", A*wreke",, v. t. & i.

Defn: To avenge. [Obs.] See Wreak.

AWRONG A*wrong", adv. Etym: [Pref. a- + wrong.]

Defn: Wrongly. Ford.

AWRY A*wry", adv. & a. Etym: [Pref. a- + wry.]

1. Turned or twisted toward one side; not in a straight or true direction, or position; out of the right course; distorted; obliquely; asquint; with oblique vision; as, to glance awry. "Your crown's awry." Shak. Blows them transverse, ten thousand leagues awry. Into the devious air. Milton.

2. Aside from the line of truth, or right reason; unreasonable or unreasonably; perverse or perversely. Or by her charms Draws him awry, enslaved. Milton. Nothing more awry from the law of God and nature than that a woman should give laws to men. Milton.

AWSOME Aw"some, a.

Defn: Same as Awesome.

AX; AXE Ax, Axe,, n. Etym: [OE. ax, axe, AS. eax, æx, acas; akin to D. akse, OS. accus, OHG. acchus, G. axt, Icel. öx, öxi, Sw. yxe, Dan. ökse, Goth. aqizi, Gr. , L. ascia; not akin to E. acute.]

Defn: A tool or instrument of steel, or of iron with a steel edge or blade, for felling trees, chopping and splitting wood, hewing timber, etc. It is wielded by a wooden helve or handle, so fixed in a socket or eye as to be in the same plane with the blade. The broadax, or carpenter's ax, is an ax for hewing timber, made heavier than the chopping ax, and with a broader and thinner blade and a shorter handle.

Note: The ancient battle-ax had sometimes a double edge.

Note: The word is used adjectively or in combination; as, axhead or ax head; ax helve; ax handle; ax shaft; ax-shaped; axlike.

Note: This word was originally spelt with e, axe; and so also was nearly every corresponding word of one syllable: as, flaxe, taxe, waxe, sixe, mixe, pixe, oxe, fluxe, etc. This superfluous e is not dropped; so that, in more than a hundred words ending in x, no one thinks of retaining the e except in axe. Analogy requires its exclusion here.

Note: "The spelling ax is better on every ground, of etymology, phonology, and analogy, than axe, which has of late become prevalent." New English Dict. (Murray).

AX Ax, v. t. & i. Etym: [OE. axien and asken. See Ask.]

Defn: To ask; to inquire or inquire of.

Note: This word is from Saxon, and is as old as the English language. Formerly it was in good use, but now is regarded as a vulgarism. It is still dialectic in England, and is sometimes heard among the uneducated in the United States. "And Pilate axide him, Art thou king of Jewis" "Or if he axea fish." Wyclif. 'bdThe king axed after your Grace's welfare." Pegge.

AXAL Ax"al, a.

Defn: [See Axial.] [R.]

AXE; AXEMAN Axe, Axe"man, etc.

Defn: See Ax, Axman.

AXIAL Ax"i*al, a.

1. Of or pertaining to an axis; of the nature of, or resembling, an axis; around an axis. To take on an axial, and not an equatorial, direction. Nichol.

2. (Anat.)

Defn: Belonging to the axis of the body; as, the axial skeleton; or to the axis of any appendage or organ; as, the axial bones. Axial line (Magnetism), the line taken by the magnetic force in passing from one pole of a horseshoe magnet to the other. Faraday.

AXIALLY Ax"i*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In relation to, or in a line with, an axis; in the axial (magnetic) line.

AXIL Ax"il, n. Etym: [L. axilla. Cf. Axle.] (Bot.)

Defn: The angle or point of divergence between the upper side of a branch, leaf, or petiole, and the stem or branch from which it springs. Gray.

AXILE Ax"ile, a.

Defn: Situated in the axis of anything; as an embryo which lies in the axis of a seed. Gray.

AXILLA Ax*il"la, n.; pl. Axillae. Etym: [L.] (Anat.)

Defn: The armpit, or the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: An axil.

AXILLAR Ax"il*lar, a.

Defn: Axillary.

AXILLARIES; AXILLARS Ax"il*la*ries, Ax"il*lars, n. pl. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Feathers connecting the under surface of the wing and the body, and concealed by the closed wing.

AXILLARY Ax"il*la*ry, a. Etym: [See Axil.]

1. (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the axilla or armpit; as, axillary gland, artery, nerve.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Situated in, or rising from, an axil; of or pertaining to an axil. "Axillary buds." Gray.

AXINITE Ax"i*nite, n. Etym: [Named in allusion to the form of the crystals, fr. Gr. (Min.)

Defn: A borosilicate of alumina, iron, and lime, commonly found in glassy, brown crystals with acute edges.

AXINOMANCY Ax*in"o*man`cy, n. Etym: [L. axinomantia, Gr. -mancy.]

Defn: A species of divination, by means of an ax or hatchet.

AXIOM Ax"i*om, n. Etym: [L. axioma, Gr. that which is thought worthy, that which is assumed, a basis of demonstration, a principle, fr. to think worthy, fr. worthy, weighing as much as; cf. to lead, drive, also to weigh so much: cf F. axiome. See Agent, a.]

1. (Logic & Math.)

Defn: A self-evident and necessary truth, or a proposition whose truth is so evident as first sight that no reasoning or demonstration can make it plainer; a proposition which it is necessary to take for granted; as, "The whole is greater than a part;" "A thing can not, at the same time, be and not be."

2. An established principle in some art or science, which, though not a necessary truth, is universally received; as, the axioms of political economy.

Syn. -- Axiom, Maxim, Aphorism, Adage. An axiom is a self-evident truth which is taken for granted as the basis of reasoning. A maxim is a guiding principle sanctioned by experience, and relating especially to the practical concerns of life. An aphorism is a short sentence pithily expressing some valuable and general truth or sentiment. An adage is a saying of long-established authority and of universal application.

AXIOMATIC; AXIOMATICAL Ax`i*o*mat"ic, Ax`i*o*mat"ic*al, a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Of or pertaining to an axiom; having the nature of an axiom; self-evident; characterized by axioms. "Axiomatical truth." Johnson. The stores of axiomatic wisdom. I. Taylor.

AXIOMATICALLY Ax`i*o*mat"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: By the use of axioms; in the form of an axiom.

AXIS Ax"is, n. Etym: [L.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The spotted deer (Cervus axis or Axis maculata) of India, where it is called hog deer and parrah (Moorish name).

AXIS Ax"is, n.; pl. Axes. Etym: [L. axis axis, axle. See Axle.]

Defn: A straight line, real or imaginary, passing through a body, on which it revolves, or may be supposed to revolve; a line passing through a body or system around which the parts are symmetrically arranged.

2. (Math.)

Defn: A straight line with respect to which the different parts of a magnitude are symmetrically arranged; as, the axis of a cylinder, i. e., the axis of a cone, that is, the straight line joining the vertex and the center of the base; the axis of a circle, any straight line passing through the center.

3. (Bot.)

Defn: The stem; the central part, or longitudinal support, on which organs or parts are arranged; the central line of any body. Gray.

4. (Anat.) (a) The second vertebra of the neck, or vertebra dentata. (b) Also used of the body only of the vertebra, which is prolonged anteriorly within the foramen of the first vertebra or atlas, so as to form the odontoid process or peg which serves as a pivot for the atlas and head to turn upon.

5. (Crystallog.)

Defn: One of several imaginary lines, assumed in describing the position of the planes by which a crystal is bounded.

6. (Fine Arts)

Defn: The primary of secondary central line of any design. Anticlinal axis (Geol.), a line or ridge from which the strata slope downward on the two opposite sides. -- Synclinal axis, a line from which the strata slope upward in opposite directions, so as to form a valley. -- Axis cylinder (Anat.), the neuraxis or essential, central substance of a nerve fiber; -- called also axis band, axial fiber, and cylinder axis. -- Axis in peritrochio, the wheel and axle, one of the mechanical powers. -- Axis of a curve (Geom.), a straight line which bisects a system of parallel chords of a curve; called a principal axis, when cutting them at right angles, in which case it divides the curve into two symmetrical portions, as in the parabola, which has one such axis, the ellipse, which has two, or the circle, which has an infinite number. The two axes of the ellipse are the major axis and the minor axis, and the two axes of the hyperbola are the transverse axis and the conjugate axis. -- Axis of a lens, the straight line passing through its center and perpendicular to its surfaces. -- Axis of a telescope or microscope, the straight line with which coincide the axes of the several lenses which compose it. -- Axes of coördinates in a plane, to straight lines intersecting each other, to which points are referred for the purpose of determining their relative position: they are either rectangular or oblique. -- Axes of coördinates in space, the three straight lines in which the coördinate planes intersect each other. -- Axis of a balance, that line about which it turns. -- Axis of oscillation, of a pendulum, a right line passing through the center about which it vibrates, and perpendicular to the plane of vibration. -- Axis of polarization, the central line around which the prismatic rings or curves are arranged. Brewster. -- Axis of revolution (Descriptive Geom.), a straight line about which some line or plane is revolved, so that the several points of the line or plane shall describe circles with their centers in the fixed line, and their planes perpendicular to it, the line describing a surface of revolution, and the plane a solid of revolution. -- Axis of symmetry (Geom.), any line in a plane figure which divides the figure into two such parts that one part, when folded over along the axis, shall coincide with the other part. -- Axis of the equator, ecliptic, horizon (or other circle considered with reference to the sphere on which it lies), the diameter of the sphere which is perpendicular to the plane of the circle. Hutton. -- Axis of the Ionic capital (Arch.), a line passing perpendicularly through the middle of the eye of the volute. -- Neutral axis (Mech.), the line of demarcation between the horizontal elastic forces of tension and compression, exerted by the fibers in any cross section of a girder. -- Optic axis of a crystal, the direction in which a ray of transmitted light suffers no double refraction. All crystals, not of the isometric system, are either uniaxial or biaxial. -- Optic axis, Visual axis (Opt.), the straight line passing through the center of the pupil, and perpendicular to the surface of the eye. -- Radical axis of two circles (Geom.), the straight line perpendicular to the line joining their centers and such that the tangents from any point of it to the two circles shall be equal to each other. -- Spiral axis (Arch.), the axis of a twisted column drawn spirally in order to trace the circumvolutions without. -- Axis of abscissas and Axis of ordinates. See Abscissa.

AXLE Ax"le, n. Etym: [OE. axel, exel, shoulder, AS. ; akin to AS. eax axle, Sw. & Dan. axel shoulder, ~, G. achse axle, achsel shoulder, L. axis axle, Gr. aksha, L. axilla shoulder joint: cf. F. essieu, axle, OF. aissel, fr. dim. of L. axis. Axis.]

1. The pin or spindle on which a wheel revolves, or which revolves with a wheel.

2. A transverse bar or shaft connecting the opposite wheels of a car or carriage; an axletree.

3. An axis; as, the sun's axle. Had from her axle torn The steadfast earth. Milton.

Note: Railway axles are called leading and trailing from their position in the front or in the rear of a car or truck respectively.

AXLE BOX Ax"le box`.

1. A bushing in the hub of a wheel, through which the axle passes.

2. The journal box of a rotating axle, especially a railway axle.

Note: In railway construction, the axle guard, or pedestal, with the superincumbent weight, rests on the top of the box (usually with a spring intervening), and holds it in place by flanges. The box rests upon the journal bearing and key, which intervene between the inner top of the box and the axle.

AXLED Ax"led, a.

Defn: Having an axle; -- used in composition. Merlin's agate-axled car. T. Warton.

AXLE GUARD Ax"le guard`.

Defn: The part of the framing of a railway car or truck, by which an axle box is held laterally, and in which it may move vertically; -- also called a jaw in the United States, and a housing in England.

AXLETREE Ax"le*tree`, n. Etym: [Cf. Icel. öxultr.]

1. A bar or beam of wood or iron, connecting the opposite wheels of a carriage, on the ends of which the wheels revolve.

2. A spindle or axle of a wheel. [Obs.]

AXMAN Ax"man, n.; pl. Axmen (.

Defn: One who wields an ax.

AXMINSTER Ax"min`ster, n.

Defn: An Axminster carpet, an imitation Turkey carpet, noted for its thick and soft pile; -- so called from Axminster, Eng.

AXMINSTER; AXMINSTER CARPET Ax"min*ster, n., or Axminster carpet . (a) [More fully chenille Axminster.] A variety of Turkey carpet, woven by machine or, when more than 27 inches wide, on a hand loom, and consisting of strips of worsted chenille so colored as to produce a pattern on a stout jute backing. It has a fine soft pile. So called from Axminster, England, where it was formerly (1755 -- 1835) made. (b) A similar but cheaper machine-made carpet, resembling moquette in construction and appearance, but finer and of better material.

AXOLOTL Ax"o*lotl, n. Etym: [The native name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An amphibian of the salamander tribe found in the elevated lakes of Mexico; the siredon.

Note: When it breeds in captivity the young develop into true salamanders of the genus Amblystoma. This also occurs naturally under favorable conditions, in its native localities; although it commonly lives and breeds in a larval state, with persistent external gills. See Siredon.

AXSTONE Ax"stone`, n. (Min.)

Defn: A variety of jade. It is used by some savages, particularly the natives of the South Sea Islands, for making axes or hatchets.

AXTREE Ax"tree, n.

Defn: Axle or axletree. [Obs.] Drayton.

AXUNGE Ax"unge, n. Etym: [F. axonge, L. axungia; axis wheel + ungere to grease.]

Defn: Fat; grease; esp. the fat of pigs or geese; usually (Pharm.), lard prepared for medical use.

AY Ay, interj.

Defn: Ah! alas! "Ay me! I fondly dream `Had ye been there.'" Milton.

AY Ay, adv.

Defn: Same as Aye.

AYAH A"yah, n. Etym: [Pg. aia, akin to Sp. aya a governess, ayo a tutor.]

Defn: A native nurse for children; also, a lady's maid. [India]

AYE; AY Aye, Ay, adv. Etym: [Perh. a modification of yea, or from the interjection of admiration or astonishment, OE. ei, ey, why, hey, ay, well, ah, ha. Cf. MHG. & G. ei, Dan. ej. Or perh. akin to aye ever.]

Defn: Yes; yea; -- a word expressing assent, or an affirmative answer to a question. It is much used in viva voce voting in legislative bodies, etc.

Note: This word is written I in the early editions of Shakespeare and other old writers.

AYE Aye, n.

Defn: An affirmative vote; one who votes in the affirmative; as, "To call for the ayes and noes;" "The ayes have it."

AYE; AY Aye, Ay, adv. Etym: [Icel. ei, ey; akin to AS. a, awa, always, Goth. aiws an age, Icel. æfi, OHG, , L. aevum, Gr. je, Skr. course. Age, v., Either, a., Or, conj.]

Defn: Always; ever; continually; for an indefinite time. For his mercies aye endure. Milton. For aye, always; forever; eternally.

AYE-AYE Aye"-aye`, n. Etym: [From the native name, prob. from its cry.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A singular nocturnal quadruped, allied to the lemurs, found in Madagascar (Cheiromys Madagascariensis), remarkable for its long fingers, sharp nails, and rodent-like incisor teeth.

AYEGREEN Aye"green`, n. Etym: [Aye ever + green.] (Bot.)

Defn: The houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum). Halliwell.

AYEN; AYEIN; AYEINS A*yen", A*yein", A*yeins", adv. & prep. Etym: [OE. Again.]

Defn: Again; back against. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AYENWARD A*yen"ward, adv.

Defn: Backward. [Obs.] Chaucer.

AYLE Ayle, n. Etym: [OE. ayel, aiel, OF. aiol, aiel, F. aïeul, a dim. of L. avus grandfather.]

Defn: A grandfather. [Obs.] Writ of Ayle, an ancient English writ which lay against a stranger who had dispossessed the demandant of land of which his grandfather died seized.

AYME Ay"me`, n. Etym: [Cf. F. ahi interj.]

Defn: The utterance of the ejaculation "Ay me !" [Obs.] See Ay, interj. "Aymees and hearty heigh-hoes." J. Fletcher.

AYOND A*yond", prep. & adv.

Defn: Beyond. [North of Eng.]

AYONT A*yont", prep. & adv.

Defn: Beyond. [Scot.]

AYRIE; AYRY A"y*rie, A"y*ry, n.

Defn: See Aerie. Drayton.

AYRSHIRE Ayr"shire, n. (Agric.)

Defn: One of a superior breed of cattle from Ayrshire, Scotland. Ayrshires are notable for the quantity and quality of their milk.

AYUNTAMIENTO A*yun`ta*mi*en"to, n. Etym: [Sp., fr. OSp. ayuntar to join.]

Defn: In Spain and Spanish America, a corporation or body of magistrates in cities and towns, corresponding to mayor and aldermen.

AZALEA A*za"le*a, n.; pl. Azaleas. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of showy flowering shrubs, mostly natives of China or of North America; false honeysuckle. The genus is scarcely distinct from Rhododendron.

AZAROLE Az"a*role, n. Etym: [F. azerole, the name of the fruit, fr. Ar. az- zo'r: cf. It. azzeruolo, Sp. acerolo.] (Bot.)

Defn: The Neapolitan medlar (Cratægus azarolus), a shrub of southern Europe; also, its fruit.

AZEDARACH A*zed"a*rach, n. Etym: [F. azédarac, Sp. acederaque, Pers. azaddirakht noble tree.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A handsome Asiatic tree (Melia azedarach), common in the southern United States; -- called also, Pride of India, Pride of China, and Bead tree.

2. (Med.)

Defn: The bark of the roots of the azedarach, used as a cathartic and emetic.

AZIMUTH Az"i*muth, n. Etym: [OE. azimut, F. azimut, fr. Ar. as-sum, pl. of as-samt a way, or perh., a point of the horizon and a circle extending to it from the zenith, as being the Arabic article: cf. It. azzimutto, Pg. azimuth, and Ar. samt-al-ra's the vertex of the heaven. Cf. Zenith.] (Astron. & Geodesy) (a) The quadrant of an azimuth circle. (b) An arc of the horizon intercepted between the meridian of the place and a vertical circle passing through the center of any object; as, the azimuth of a star; the azimuth or bearing of a line surveying.

Note: In trigonometrical surveying, it is customary to reckon the azimuth of a line from the south point of the horizon around by the west from 0º to 360º. Azimuth circle, or Vertical circle, one of the great circles of the sphere intersecting each other in the zenith and nadir, and cutting the horizon at right angles. Hutton. -- Azimuth compass, a compass resembling the mariner's compass, but having the card divided into degrees instead of rhumbs, and having vertical sights; used for taking the magnetic azimuth of a heavenly body, in order to find, by comparison with the true azimuth, the variation of the needle. -- Azimuth dial, a dial whose stile or gnomon is at right angles to the plane of the horizon. Hutton. -- Magnetic azimuth, an arc of the horizon, intercepted between the vertical circle passing through any object and the magnetic meridian. This is found by observing the object with an azimuth compass.

AZIMUTHAL Az"i*muth`al, a.