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At·tracÏtiv¶iÏty (?), n. The quality or degree of attractive
power.
AtÏtract¶or (?), n. One who, or that which, attracts.
Sir T. Browne.
At¶traÏhent (?), a. [L. attrahens, p. pr. of attrahere. See
Attract, v. t.] Attracting; drawing; attractive.
At¶traÏhent, n. 1. That which attracts, as a magnet.
The motion of the steel to its attrahent.
Glanvill.
2. (Med.) A substance which, by irritating the surface,
excites action in the part to which it is applied, as a
blister, an epispastic, a sinapism.
AtÏtrap¶ (?), v. t. [F. attraper to catch; … (L. ad + trappe
trap. See Trap (for taking game).] To entrap; to insnare.
[Obs.]
Grafton.
AtÏtrap¶ , v. t. [Pref. ad + trap to adorn.] To adorn with
trapping; to array. [Obs.]
Shall your horse be attrapped . . . more richly?
Holland.
At·trecÏta¶tion (?), n. [L. attrectatio; ad + tractare to
handle.] Frequent handling or touching. [Obs.]
Jer. Taylor.
AtÏtrib¶uÏtaÏble (?), a. Capable of being attributed; ascribable; imputable.
Errors . . . attributable to carelessness.
J.D. Hooker.
AtÏtrib¶ute (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attributed; p. pr. & vb. n. Attributing.] [L. attributus, p. p. of attribuere; ad + tribuere to bestow. See Tribute.] 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. Ð See Ascribe.
At¶triÏbute (?), n. [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.) A conventional symbol of office, character, or identity, added to any particular figure; as, a club is the attribute of Hercules.
4. (Gram.) Quality, etc., denoted by an attributive; an attributive adjunct or adjective.
At·triÏbu¶tion (?), n. [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.
AtÏtrib¶uÏtive (?), a. [Cf. F. attributif.] Attributing; pertaining to, expressing, or assigning an attribute; of the nature of an attribute.
AtÏtrib¶uÏtive, n, (Gram.) A word that denotes an attribute; esp. a modifying word joined to a noun; an adjective or adjective phrase.
AtÏtrib¶uÏtiveÏly, adv. In an attributive manner.
AtÏtrite¶ (?), a. [L. attritus, p. p. of atterere; ad + terere to rub. See Trite.] 1. Rubbed; worn by friction.
Milton.
2. (Theol.) Repentant from fear of punishment; having attrition of grief for sin; Ð opposed to contrite.
AtÏtri¶tion (?), n. [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.) Grief for sin arising only from fear of punishment or feelings of shame. See Contrition.
Wallis.
At¶try (?), a. [See Atter.] Poisonous; malignant; malicious. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
AtÏtune¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attuned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Attuning.] [Pref. adÐ + 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.
AÏtwain¶ (?), adv. [OE. atwaine, atwinne; pref. aÐ + twain.] In twain; asunder. [Obs. or Poetic] ½Cuts atwain the knots.¸
Tennyson.
AÏtween¶ (?), adv. or prep. [See Atwain, and cf. Between.] Between. [Archaic]
Spenser. Tennyson.
AÏtwirl¶ (?), a. & adv. [Pref. aÐ + twist.] Twisted; distorted; awry. [R.]
Halliwell.
AÏtwite¶ (?), v. t. [OE. attwyten, AS. ‘twÆtan. See Twit.] To speak reproachfully of; to twit; to upbraid. [Obs.]
AÏtwixt¶ (?), adv. Betwixt. [Obs.] Spenser.
AÏtwo¶ (?), adv. [Pref. aÐ + two.] In two; in twain; asunder. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
AÏtyp¶ic (?), AÏtyp¶icÏal,} a. [Pref. aÐ not + typic, typical.] That has no type; devoid of typical character; irregular; unlike the type.
Ø Au·bade¶ (?), n. [F., fr. aube the dawn, fr. L. albus white.] 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.
Ø Au·baine¶ (?), n. [F., fr. aubain an alien, fr. L. alibi elsewhere.] Succession to the goods of a stranger not naturalized.
Littr‚.
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 (?), n. [See Ale.] An alb. [Obs.]
Fuller.
Ø Au·berge¶ (?), n. [F.] An inn.
Beau. & Fl.
Ø Au¶bin (?), n. [F.] A broken gait of a horse, between an amble and a gallop; Ð commonly called a Canterbury gallop.
Au¶burn (?), a. [OE. auburne blonde, OF. alborne, auborne, fr. LL. alburnus whitish, fr. L. albus white. Cf. Alburn.] 1. FlaxenÐcolored. [Obs.]
Florio.
2. Reddish brown.
His auburn locks on either shoulder flowed.
Dryden.
Ø AuÏche¶niÏum (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? the neck.] (Zo”l.) The part of the neck nearest the back.
Auc¶taÏry (?), n. [L. auctarium.] That which is superadded; augmentation. [Obs.]
Baxter.
Auc¶tion (?), n. [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.
µ In the United States, the more prevalent expression has been ½sales 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.
Auc¶tion, v. t. To sell by auction.
Auc¶tionÏaÏry (?), a. [L. auctionarius.] Of or pertaining to an auction or an auctioneer. [R.]
With auctionary hammer in thy hand.
Dryden.
Auc·tionÏeer¶ (?), n. 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.
Auc·tionÏeer¶, v. t. To sell by auction; to auction.
Estates . . . advertised and auctioneered away.
Cowper.
Au·cuÏpa¶tion (?), n. [L. aucupatio, fr. auceps, contr. for aviceps; avis bird + capere to take.] Birdcatching; fowling. [Obs.]
Blount.
AuÏda¶cious (?), a. [F. audacieux, as if fr. LL. audaciosus (not found), fr. L. audacia audacity, fr. audax, Ðacis, 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. ½ Audacious traitor.¸ Shak.

½ Such audacious neighborhood.¸
Milton.
3. Committed with, or proceedings from, daring effrontery or contempt of law, morality, or decorum. ½Audacious cruelty.¸ ½Audacious prate.¸
Shak.
AuÏda¶ciousÏly, adv. In an audacious manner; with excess of boldness; impudently.
AuÏda¶ciousÏness, n. The quality of being audacious; impudence; audacity.
AuÏdac¶iÏty (?), n. 1. Daring spirit, resolution, or confidence; venturesomeness.
The freedom and audacity necessary in the commerce of men.
Tatler.
2. Reckless daring; presumptuous impudence; Ð implying a contempt of law or moral restraints.
With the most arrogant audacity.
Joye.
Au·diÏbil¶iÏty (?), n. The quality of being audible; power of being heard; audible capacity.
Au¶diÏble (?), a. [LL. audibilis, fr. L. audire, auditum, to hear: cf. Gr. ? ear, L. auris, and E. ear.] Capable of being heard; loud enough to be heard; actually heard; as, an audible voice or whisper.
Au¶diÏble, n. That which may be heard. [Obs.]
Visibles are swiftlier carried to the sense than audibles.
Bacon.
Au¶diÏbleÏness, n. The quality of being audible.
Au¶diÏbly, adv. So as to be heard.
Au¶diÏence (?), n. [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. Ð In general (or open) audience, publicly. Ð To give audience, to listen; to admit to an interview.
Au¶diÏent (?), a. [L. audiens, p. pr. of audire. See Audible, a.] Listening; paying attention; as, audient souls.
Mrs. Browning.
Au¶diÏent, n. A hearer; especially a catechumen in the early church. [Obs.]
Shelton.
Au·diÏom¶eÏter (?), n. [L. audire to hear + Ðmeter.] (Acous.) An instrument by which the power of hearing can be gauged and recorded on a scale.
Au¶diÏphone (?), n. [L. audire to hear + Gr. ? sound.] 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.
Au¶dit (?), n. [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.
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. Ð Audit house, Audit room, an appendage to a cathedral, for the transaction of its business.
Au¶dit (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Audited; p. pr. & vb. n. Auditing.] 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.
Au¶dit, v. i. To settle or adjust an account.
Let Hocus audit; he knows how the money was disbursed.
Arbuthnot.
Ø AuÏdi¶ta queÏre¶la (?). [L., the complaint having been heard.] (Law) 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.
AuÏdi¶tion (?), n. [L. auditio.] The act of hearing or listening; hearing.
Audition may be active or passive; hence the difference between listening and simple hearing.
Dunglison.
Au¶diÏtive (?), a. [Cf. F. auditif.] Of or pertaining to hearing; auditory. [R.]
Cotgrave.
Au¶diÏtor (?), n. [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.
µ 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.
Au·diÏto¶riÏal (?), a. Auditory. [R.]
Au·diÏto¶riÏum (?), n. [L. See Auditory, n.] The part of a church, theater, or other public building, assigned to the audience.
µ 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.
Au¶diÏtorÏship (?), n. The office or function of auditor.
Au¶diÏtoÏry (?), a. [L. auditorius.] 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.
Au¶diÏtoÏry, n. [L. auditorium.] 1. An assembly of hearers; an audience.
2. An auditorium.
Udall.
Au¶diÏtress (?), n. A female hearer.
Milton.
AuÏdit¶uÏal (?), a. Auditory. [R.]
Coleridge.
Auf (?), n. [OE. auph, aulf, fr. Icel. ¾lfr elf. See Elf.] [Also spelt oaf, ouphe.] A changeling or elf child, Ð that is, one left by fairies; a deformed or foolish child; a simpleton; an oaf. [Obs.]
Drayton.
Ø Au· fait¶ (?). [F. Lit., to the deed, act, or point. Fait is fr. L. factum. See Fact.] Expert; skillful; well instructed.
AuÏge¶an (?), a. 1. (Class. Myth.) 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.
Au¶ger (?), n. [OE. augoure, nauger, AS. nafeg¾r, fr. nafu, nafa, nave of a wheel + g¾r spear, and therefore meaning properly and originally a naveÐbore. 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.
Ø AuÏget¶ (?), n. [F., dim. of auge trough, fr. L. alveus hollow, fr. alvus belly.] (Mining) A priming tube connecting the charge chamber with the gallery, or place where the slow match is applied.
Knight.
Aught (?), Aucht (?), n. [AS. ?ht, fr. ¾gan to own, p. p. ¾hte.] Property; possession. [Scot.]
Sir W. Scott.
Aught (?), n. [OE. aught, ought, awiht, AS. ¾wiht, ¾ ever + wiht. ?136. See Aye ever, and Whit, Wight.] 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.

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Aught (?), adv. At all; in any degree.
Chaucer.
Au¶gite (?), n. [L. augites, Gr. ?, fr. ? brightness: cf. F. augite.] A variety of pyroxene, usually of a black or dark green color, occurring in igneous rocks, such as basalt; Ð also used instead of the general term pyroxene.
AuÏgit¶ic (?), a. Pertaining to, or like, augite; containing augite as a principal constituent; as, augitic rocks.
AugÏment¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Augmented; p. pr. & vb. n. Augmenting.] [L. augmentare, fr. augmentum an increase, fr. augere to increase; perh. akin to Gr. ?, ?, E. 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 re‰forcements; rain augments a stream; impatience augments an evil.
But their spite still serves
His glory to augment.
Milton.
2. (Gram.) To add an ~ to.
AugÏment¶, v. i. To increase; to grow larger, stronger, or more intense; as, a stream augments by rain.
Aug¶ment (?), n. [L. augmentum: cf. F. augment.] 1. Enlargement by addition; increase.
2. (Gram.) A vowel prefixed, or a lengthening of the initial vowel, to mark past time, as in Greek and Sanskrit verbs.
µ In Greek, the syllabic augment is a prefixed ?, forming an intial syllable; the temporal augment is an increase of the quantity (time) of an initial vowel, as by changing ? to ?.
AugÏment¶aÏble (?), a. Capable of augmentation.
Walsh.
Aug·menÏta¶tion (?), n. [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.) A additional charge to a coat of arms, given as a mark of honor.
Cussans.
5. (Med.) The stage of a disease in which the symptoms go on increasing.
Dunglison.
6. (Mus.) 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.
AugÏment¶aÏtive (?), a. [Cf. F. augmentatif.] Having the quality or power of augmenting; expressing augmentation. Ð AugÏment¶aÏtiveÏly, adv.
AugÏment¶aÏtive, n. (Gram.) 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.
AugÏment¶er (?), n. One who, or that which, augments or increases anything.
Au¶grim (?), n. See Algorism. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
÷ stones, pebbles formerly used in numeration. Ð Noumbres of ~, Arabic numerals.
Chaucer.
Au¶gur (?), n. [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.) 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.
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.
Au¶gur, v. t. 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.
Au¶guÏral (?), a. [L. auguralis.] Of or pertaining to augurs or to augury; betokening; ominous; significant; as, an augural staff; augural books. ½Portents augural.¸
Cowper.
Au¶guÏrate (?), v. t. & i. [L. auguratus, p. p. of augurari to augur.] To make or take auguries; to augur; to predict. [Obs.]
C. Middleton.
Au¶guÏrate (?), n. The office of an augur.
Merivale.
Au·guÏra¶tion (?), n. [L. auguratio.] The practice of augury.
Au¶gurÏer (?), n. An augur. [Obs.]
Shak.
AuÏgu¶riÏal (?), a. [L. augurialis.] Relating to augurs or to augury.
Sir T. Browne.
Au¶guÏrist (?), n. An augur. [R.]
An¶gurÏize (?), v. t. To augur. [Obs.]
Blount.
Au¶guÏrous (?), a. Full of augury; foreboding. [Obs.] ½Augurous hearts.¸
Chapman.
Au¶gurÏship (?), n. The office, or period of office, of an augur.
Bacon.
Au¶guÏry (?), n.; pl. Auguries (?). [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.
AuÏgust¶ (?), a. [L. augustus; cf. augere to increase; in the language of religion, to honor by offerings: cf. F. auguste. See Augment.] 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. ½Forms august.¸ Pope. ½August in visage.¸ Dryden. ½To 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.
Au¶gust (?), n. [L. Augustus. See note below, and August, a.] The eighth month of the year, containing thirtyÐone days.
µ 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 C‘sar, the first emperor of Rome, on account of his victories, and his entering on his first consulate in that month.
AuÏgus¶tan (?), a. [L. Augustanus, fr. Augustus. See August, n.] 1. Of or pertaining to Augustus C‘sar 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; Ð so called because the reign of Augustus C‘sar 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. Ð 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.
AuÏgus¶tine (?), Au·gusÏtin¶iÏan (?), } n. (Eccl.) A member of one of the religious orders called after St. Augustine; an Austin friar.
Au·gusÏtin¶iÏan, a. Of or pertaining to St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo in Northern Africa (b. 354 Ð d. 430), or to his doctrines.
÷ canons, an order of monks once popular in England and Ireland; Ð called also regular canons of. Austin, and black canons. Ð ÷ 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. Ð ÷ nuns, an order of nuns following the rule of St. Augustine. Ð ÷ rule, a rule for religious communities based upon the 109th letter of St. Augustine, and adopted by the ÷ orders.
Au·gusÏtin¶iÏan, n. 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.
Au·gusÏtin¶iÏanÏism (?), AuÏgus¶tinÏism, n. The doctrines held by Augustine or by the Augustinians.
AuÏgust¶ly , adv. In an august manner.
AuÏgust¶ness, n. The quality of being august; dignity of mien; grandeur; magnificence.
Auk (?), n. [Prov. E. alk; akin to Dan. alke, Icel. & Sw. alka.] (Zo”l.) A name given to various species of arctic sea birds of the family Alcid‘. The great ~, now extinct, is Alca (or Plautus) impennis. The razorÐbilled auk is A. torda. See Puffin, Guillemot, and Murre.
Auk¶ward (?), a. See Awkward. [Obs.]
AuÏla¶riÏan (?), a. [L. aula hall. Cf. LL. aularis of a court.] Relating to a hall.
AuÏla¶riÏan, n. At Oxford, England, a member of a hall, distinguished from a collegian.
Chalmers.
Auld (?), a. [See Old.] Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]
Auld· lang syne¶ (?). A Scottish phrase used in recalling recollections of times long since past. ½The days of auld lang syne.¸
AuÏlet¶ic (?), a. [L. auleticus, Gr. ?, fr. ? flute.] Of or pertaining to a pipe (flute) or piper. [R.]
Ash.
Au¶lic , a. [L. aulicus, Gr. ?, fr. ? hall, court, royal court.] 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.
Au¶lic, n. 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 (?), n. An ell. [Obs.] See Aune.
Aul¶nage (?), Aul¶naÏger (?), } n. See Alnage and Alnager.
Aum (?), n. Same as Aam.
AuÏmail¶ (?), v. t. [OE. for amel, enamel.] To figure or variegate. [Obs.]
Spenser.
Aum¶bry (?), n. Same as Ambry.
Au¶meÏry (?), n. A form of Ambry, a closet; but confused with Almonry, as if a place for alms.
Aun¶cel (?), n. A rude balance for weighing, and a kind of weight, formerly used in England.
Halliwell.
Aun¶cetÏry (?), n. Ancestry. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Ø Aune (?), n. [F. See Alnage.] A French cloth measure, of different parts of the country (at Paris, 0.95 of an English ell); Ð now superseded by the meter.
Aunt (?), n. [OF. ante, F. tante, L. amita father's sister. Cf. Amma.] 1. The sister of one's father or mother; Ð correlative to nephew or niece. Also applied to an uncle's wife.
µ 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.
Aunt¶ter (?), n. Adventure; hap. [Obs.]
In aunters, perchance.
Aun¶ter, Aun¶tre } (?), v. t. [See Adventure.] To venture; to dare. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Aunt¶ie, Aunt¶y } (?), n. A familiar name for an aunt. In the southern United States a familiar term applied to aged negro women.
Aun¶trous (?), a. Adventurous. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Ø Au¶ra (?), n.; pl. Aur‘ (?). [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.) 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.
Au¶ral (?), a. [L. aura air.] Of or pertaining to the air, or to an aura.
Au¶ral, a. [L. auris ear.] Of or pertaining to the ear; as, aural medicine and surgery.
AuÏran·tiÏa¶ceous (?), a. Pertaining to, or resembling, the Aurantiace‘, an order of plants (formerly considered natural), of which the orange is the type.
Au¶rate (?), n. [L. auratus, p. p. of aurare to gild, fr. aurum gold: cf. F. aurate.] (Chem.) A combination of auric acid with a base; as, aurate or potassium.
Au¶raÏted (?), a. [See Aurate.] 1. Resembling or containing gold; goldÐcolored; gilded.
2.ÿ(Chem.) Combined with auric acid.
Au¶raÏted (?), a. Having ears. See Aurited.
Au¶reÏate (?), a. [L. aureatus, fr. aureus golden, fr. aurum gold.] Golden; gilded.
Skelton.
Ø AuÏre¶liÏa (?; 106), n. [NL., fr. L. aurum gold: cf. F. aur‚lie. Cf. Chrysalis.] (Zo”l.) (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.
AuÏre¶liÏan (?), a. Of or pertaining to the aurelia.
AuÏre¶liÏan, n. An amateur collector and breeder of insects, esp. of butterflies and moths; a lepidopterist.
Ø AuÏre¶oÏla (?), Au¶reÏole (?), } n. [F. aur‚ole, fr. L. aureola, (fem adj.) of gold (sc. corona crown), dim. of aureus. See Aureate, Oriole.] 1. (R. C. Theol.) 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.
µ 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.ÿ(Anat.) See Areola, 2.
Au¶ric (?), a. [L. aurum gold.] 1. Of or pertaining to gold.
2. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, gold; Ð said of those compounds of gold in which this element has its higher valence; as, auric oxide; auric chloride.
Au·riÏchal¶ceÏous (?), a. [L. aurichalcum, for orichalcum brass.] (Zo”l.) BrassÐcolored.
Au·riÏchal¶cite (?), n. [See Aurichalceous.] (Min.) A hydrous carbonate of copper and zinc, found in pale green or blue crystalline aggregations. It yields a kind of brass on reduction.
Au¶riÏcle (?), n. [L. auricula, dim. of auris ear. See Ear.] 1.ÿ(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; Ð so called from its resemblance to the auricle or external ear of some quadrupeds. See Heart.
2.ÿ(Zo”l.) An angular or earÐshaped lobe.
3. An instrument applied to the ears to give aid in hearing; a kind of ear trumpet.
Mansfield.
Au¶riÏcled (?), a.ÿHaving earÐshaped appendages or lobes; auriculate; as, auricled leaves.
Ø AuÏric¶uÏla (?), n.; pl. L. Auricul‘ (?), E. Auriculas (?). [L. auricula. See Auricle.] 1. (Bot.) (a) A species of Primula, or primrose, called also, from the shape of its leaves, bear'sÐear. (b) (b) A species of Hirneola (H. auricula), a membranaceous fungus, called also auricula Jud‘, or Jew'sÐear.
P. Cyc.
2.ÿ(Zo”l.) (a) A genus of airÐbreathing mollusks mostly found near the sea, where the water is brackish


<-- p. 102 -->

AuÏric¶uÏlar (?), a. [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. ½Auricular assurance.¸
Shak.
4. Received by the ear; known by report. ½Auricular traditions.¸
Bacon.
5. (Anat.) Pertaining to the auricles of the heart.
Auricular finger, the little finger; so called because it can be readily introduced into the ear passage.
Ø AuÏric·uÏla¶riÏa (?), n. pl. [Neut. pl., fr. LL. auricularis.] (Zo”l.) A kind of holothurian larva, with soft, blunt appendages. See Illustration in Appendix.
AuÏric¶uÏlarÏly, adv. In an auricular manner.
AuÏric¶uÏlars (?), n. pl. (Zo”l.) A circle of feathers surrounding the opening of the ear of birds.
AuÏric¶uÏlate (?), AuÏric¶uÏla·ted (?), } a. [See Auricle.] (Biol.) Having ears or appendages like ears; eared. Esp.: (a) (Bot.) Having lobes or appendages like the ear; shaped like the ear; auricled. (b) (Zo”l.) 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.
AuÏrif¶erÏous (?), a. [L. aurifer; aurum gold + ferre to bear: cf. F. aurifŠre.] GoldÐbearing; containing or producing gold.
Whence many a bursting stream auriferous plays.
Thomson.
÷ pyrites, iron pyrites (iron disulphide), containing some gold disseminated through it.
Au¶riÏflamme (?), n. See Oriflamme.
Au¶riÏform (?), a. [L. auris ear + Ïform.] Having the form of the human ear; earÐshaped.
Ø AuÏri¶ga (?), n. [L., charioteer.] (Anat.) The Charioteer, or Wagoner, a constellation in the northern hemisphere, situated between Perseus and Gemini. It contains the bright star Capella.
AuÏri¶gal (?), a. [L. aurigalis.] Of or pertaining to a chariot. [R.]
Au·riÏga¶tion (?), n. [L. aurigatio, fr. aurigare to be a charioteer, fr. auriga.] The act of driving a chariot or a carriage. [R.]
De Quincey.
AuÏrig¶raÏphy (?), n. [L. aurum gold + Ïgraphy.] The art of writing with or in gold.
Au¶rin (?), n. [L. aurum gold.] (Chem.) A red coloring matter derived from phenol; Ð called also, in commerce, yellow coralin.
Au·riÏphryg¶iÏate (?), a. [LL. auriphrigiatus; L. aurum gold + LL. phrygiare to adorn with Phrygian needlework, or with embroidery; perhaps corrupted from some other word. Cf. Orfrays.] Embroidered or decorated with gold. [R.]
Southey.
Au·riÏpig¶ment (?), n. See Orpiment. [Obs.]
Au¶riÏscalp (?), n. [L. auris ear + scalpere to scrape.] An earpick.
Au¶riÏscope (?), n. [L. auris + Ïscope.] (Med.) An instrument for examining the condition of the ear.
AuÏris¶coÏpy (?), n. Examination of the ear by the aid of the auriscope.
Au¶rist (?), n. [L. auris ear.] One skilled in treating and curing disorders of the ear.
Au¶riÏted (?), a. [L. auritus, fr. auris ear.] (Zo”l.) Having lobes like the ear; auriculate.
AuÏriv¶oÏrous (?), a. [L. aurum gold + vorare to devour.] GoldÐdevouring. [R.]
H. Walpole.
Au·roÏceph¶aÏlous (?), a. [Aurum + cephalous.] (Zo”l.) Having a goldÐcolored head.
Au·roÏchlo¶ride (?), n. [Aurum + chloride.] (Chem.) The trichloride of gold combination with the chloride of another metal, forming a double chloride; Ð called also chloraurate.
Au¶rochs (?), n. [G. auerochs, OHG. ?rohso; ?r (cf. AS. ?r) + ohso ox, G. ochs. Cf. Owre, Ox.] (Zo”l.) The European bison (Bison bonasus, or Europ‘us), 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 C‘sar, with which it has often been confused.
Au·roÏcy¶aÏnide (?), n. [Aurum + cyanide.] (Chem.) A double cyanide of gold and some other metal or radical; Ð called also cyanaurate.
AuÏro¶ra (?), n.; pl. E. Auroras (?), L. (rarely used) Auror‘ (?). [L. aurora, for ausosa, akin to Gr. ?, ?, dawn, Skr. 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.) 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.) A species of crowfoot.
Johnson.
5. The aurora borealis or ~ 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 ~ 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.
AuÏro¶ral (?). a. Belonging to, or resembling, the aurora (the drawn or the northern lights); rosy.
Her cheeks suffused with an auroral blush.
Longfellow.
Au¶rous (?), a. 1. Containing gold.
2. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, gold; Ð said of those compounds of gold in which this element has its lower valence; as, aurous oxide.
Ø Au¶rum (?), n. [L.] Gold.
÷ fulminans (?). See Fulminate. Ð ÷ mosaicum (?). See Mosaic.
AusÏcult¶ (?), v. i. & t. To auscultate.
Aus¶culÏtate (?), v. i. & t. To practice auscultation; to examine by auscultation.
Aus·culÏta¶tion (?), n. [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.) 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.
Aus¶culÏta·tor (?), n. One who practices auscultation.
AusÏcul¶taÏtoÏry (?), a. Of or pertaining to auscultation.
Dunglison.
AuÏso¶niÏan (?), a. [L. Ausonia, poetic name for Italy.] Italian.
Milton.
Aus¶piÏcate (?), a. [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.] Auspicious. [Obs.]
Holland.
Aus¶piÏcate (?), v. t. 1. To foreshow; to foretoken. [Obs.]
B. Jonson.
2. To give a favorable turn to in commencing; to inaugurate; Ð 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.
Aus¶pice (?), n.; pl. Auspices (?). [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.
µ In this sense the word is generally plural, auspices; as, under the auspices of the king.
AusÏpi¶cial (?), a. Of or pertaining to auspices; auspicious. [R.]
AusÏpi¶cious (?), a. [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. ½Auspicious chief.¸
Dryden.
3. Favoring; favorable; propitious; Ð applied to persons or things. ½Thy auspicious mistress.¸ Shak. ½Auspicious gales.¸
Pope.
Syn. - See Propitious.
Ð AusÏpi¶ciousÏly, adv. Ð AusÏpi¶ciousÏness, n.
Ø Aus¶ter (?), n. [L. auster a dry, hot, south wind; the south.] The south wind.
Pope.
AusÏtere¶ (?), [F. austŠre, L. austerus, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? to parch, dry. Cf. 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.
AusÏtere¶ly, adv. Severely; rigidly; sternly.
A doctrine austerely logical.
Macaulay.
AusÏtere¶ness, n. 1. Harshness or astringent sourness to the taste; acerbity.
Johnson.
2. Severity; strictness; austerity.
Shak.
AusÏter¶iÏty (?), n.; pl. Austeries (?). [F. aust‚rit‚, 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.
Aus¶tin (?), a. Augustinian; as, Austin friars.
Aus¶tral (?), a. [L. australis, fr. auster: cf. F. austral.] 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.
Aus·tralÏa¶sian (?), a. Of or pertaining to Australasia; as, Australasian regions. Ð n. A native or an inhabitant of Australasia.
AusÏtra¶liÏan (?), a. [From L. Terra Australis southern land.] Of or pertaining to Australia. Ð n. A native or an inhabitant of Australia.
Aus¶tralÏize (?), v. i. [See Austral.] To tend toward the south pole, as a magnet. [Obs.]
They [magnets] do septentrionate at one extreme, and australize at another.
Sir T. Browne.
Aus¶triÏan (?), a. Of or pertaining to Austria, or to its inhabitants. Ð n. A native or an inhabitant of Austria.
Aus¶trine (?), n. [L. austrinus, from auster south.] Southern; southerly; austral. [Obs.]
Bailey.
Aus¶troÐHunÏga¶riÏan (?), a. Of or pertaining to the monarchy composed of Austria and Hungary.
Aus¶troÏman·cy (?), n. [L. auster south wind + Ïmancy.] Soothsaying, or prediction of events, from observation of the winds.
Au¶tarÏchy (?), n. [Gr. ? independence; ? self + ? to sufficient.] SelfÐsufficiency. [Obs.]
Milton.
AuÏthen¶tic (?), a. [OE. autentik, OF. autentique, F. authentique, L. authenticus coming from the real another, of original or firsthand authority, from Gr. ?, fr. ? suicide, a perpetrator or real author of any act, an absolute master; ? self + a form ? (not found), akin to L. 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) Vested with all due formalities, and legally attested.
5. (Mus.) 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, ½not 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 ½having 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 ?eally happened. A book may be genuine without being, authentic, and a book may be authentic without being genuine.
Bp. Watson.
It may be said, however, that some writers use authentic (as, an authentic document) in the sense of ½produced by its professed author, not counterfeit.¸
AuÏthen¶tic, n. An original (book or document). [Obs.] ½Authentics and transcripts.¸
Fuller.
AuÏthen¶ticÏal (?), a. Authentic. [Archaic]
AuÏthen¶ticÏalÏly, adv. In an authentic manner; with the requisite or genuine authority.
AuÏthenÏticÏalÏness, n. The quality of being authentic; authenticity. [R.]
Barrow.
AuÏthen¶tiÏcate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Authenticated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Authenticating (?).] [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.
Au·thenÏtic¶iÏty (?), n. [Cf. F. authenticit‚.] 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.
µ 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.
AuÏthen¶ticÏly (?), adv. Authentically.
AuÏthen¶ticÏness, n The quality of being authentic; authenticity. [R.]
Hammond.
AuÏthen¶tics (?), n. (Ciwil Law) A collection of the Novels or New Constitutions of Justinian, by an anonymous author; Ð so called on account of its authencity.
Bouvier.
Au¶thor (?), n. [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 ???er of anything; hence, the efficient cause of a thing; a creator; an originator.


<-- p. 103 -->

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.
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.
Au¶thorÏess, n. A female author.
Glover.
µ The word is not very much used, author being commonly applied to a female writer as well as to a male.
AuÏtho¶riÏal (?), a. Of or pertaining to an author. ½The authorial ?we.'¸
Hare.
Au¶thorÏism (?), n. Authoriship. [R.]
AuÏthor¶iÏtaÏtive (?), 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.
Ð AuÏthor¶iÏtaÏtiveÏly, adv. Ð AuÏthor¶iÏtaÏtiveÏness, n.
AuÏthor¶iÏty (?), n.; pl. Authorities (?). [OE. autorite, auctorite, F. autorit‚, 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. ½And 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.
Au¶thorÏi·zaÏble (?), a. [LL. authorisabilis.] Capable of being authorized.
Hammond.
Au·thorÏiÏza¶tion (?), n. [Cf. F. autorisation.] 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.
Au¶thorÏize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Authorized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Authorizing.] [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.
To ~ one's self, to rely for authority. [Obs.]
Authorizing himself, for the most part, upon other histories.
Sir P. Sidney.
Au¶thorÏized (?), 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 ½appointed to be read in churches,¸ and has been the accepted English Bible. The Revised Version was published in a complete form in 1855.
Au¶thorÏi·zer (?), n. One who authorizes.
Au¶thorÏless, a. Without an author; without authority; anonymous.
Au¶thorÏly, a. Authorial. [R.]
Cowper.
Au¶thorÏship, 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.
Au¶thoÏtype (?), n. A type or block containing a facsimile of an autograph.
Knight.
Au¶toÐ (?). [Gr. ? self.] A combining form, with the meaning of self, one's self, one's own, itself, its own.
Au·toÏbiÏog¶raÏpher (?), n. [AutoÏ + biographer.] One who writers his own life or biography.
Au·toÏbi·oÏgraph¶ic (?), Au·toÏbi·oÏgraph¶icÏal (?), } a. Pertaining to, or containing, autobiography; as, an autobiographical sketch. ½Such traits of the autobiographic sort.¸ Carlyle. Ð Au·toÏbi·oÏgraph¶icÏalÏly, adv.
Au·toÏbiÏog¶raÏphist (?), n. One who writes his own life; an autobiographer. [R.]
Au·toÏbiÏog¶raÏphy (?), n. pl. Autobiographies (?). [AutoÏ + biography.] A biography written by the subject of it; memoirs of one's life written by one's self.
Au·toÏcar¶pous (?), Au·toÏcar¶piÏan (?), } a. [AutoÏ + Gr. ? fruit.] (Bot.) Consisting of the pericarp of the ripened pericarp with no other parts adnate to it, as a peach, a poppy capsule, or a grape.
Au·toÏceph¶aÏlous (?), a. [Gr. ? independent; ? self + ? head.] (Eccl. Hist.) Having its own head; independent of episcopal or patriarchal jurisdiction, as certain Greek churches.
Au·toÏchron¶oÏgraph (?), n. [AutoÏ + chronograph.] An instrument for the instantaneous selfÐrecording or printing of time.
Knight.
AuÏtoch¶thon (?), n.; pl. E. Authochthons (?), L. Autochthones (?). [L., fr. Gr. ?, pl. ?, from the land itself; ? self + ? earth, land.] 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; Ð 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.
AuÏtoch¶thoÏnal (?), Au·thochÏthon¶ic (?), AuÏtoch¶thoÏnous (?), } a. Aboriginal; indigenous; native.
AuÏtoch¶thoÏnism (?), n. The state of being autochthonal.
AuÏtoch¶thoÏny, n. An aboriginal or autochthonous condition.
Au¶toÏclave (?), n. [F., fr. Gr. ? self + L. clavis key.] A kind of French stewpan with a steamtight lid.
Knight.
AuÏtoc¶raÏcy (?), n.; pl. Autocracies. [Gr. ?: cf. F. autocratie. See Autocrat.] 1. Independent or selfÐderived 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.) 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.
Au¶toÏcrat (?), n. [Gr. ?; ? self + ? strength, ? strong: cf. F. 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.
Au·toÏcrat¶ic (?), Au·toÏcrat¶icÏal (?), } a. Of or pertaining to autocracy or to an autocrat; absolute; holding independent and arbitrary powers of government. Ð Au·toÏcrat¶icÏalÏly, adv.
AuÏtoc¶raÏtor (?), n. [Gr. ?.] An autocrat. [Archaic]
Au·toÏcraÏtor¶icÏal (?), a. Pertaining to an autocrator; absolute. [Obs.]
Bp. Pearson.
Ø AuÏtoc¶raÏtrix (?), n. [NL.] A female sovereign who is independent and absolute; Ð a title given to the empresses of Russia.
Au¶toÏcratÏship (?), n. The office or dignity of an autocrat.
Ø Au¶toÐdaÐf‚¶ (?), n.; pl. AutosÐdaÐf? (?). [Pg., act of the faith; auto act, fr. L. actus + da of the + f‚ 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.
Ø Au¶toÐdeÐfe¶ (?), n.; pl. AutosÐdeÐfe. [Sp., act of faith.] Same as AutoÐdaÐf?.
Au¶toÏdiÏdact· (?), n. [Gr. ? selfÐtaught.] One who is selfÐtaught; an automath.
Au·toÏdyÏnam¶ic (?), a. [AutoÏ + dynamic.] Supplying its own power; Ð applied to an instrument of the nature of a waterÐram.
Au·toÏfec·unÏda¶tion (?), n. [AutoÏ + fecundation.] (Biol.) SelfÐimpregnation.
Darwin.
AuÏtog¶aÏmous (?), a. (Bot.) Characterized by autogamy; selfÐfertilized.
AuÏtog¶aÏmy (?), n. [AutoÏ + Gr. ? marriage.] (Bot.) SelfÐfertilization, the fertilizing pollen being derived from the same blossom as the pistil acted upon.
Au·toÏge¶neÏal (?), a. SelfÐproduced; autogenous.
Ø Au·toÏgen¶eÏsis (?), n. [AutoÏ + genesis.] (Biol.) Spontaneous generation.
Au·toÏgeÏnet¶ic (?), a. (Biol.) Relating to autogenesis; selfÐgenerated.
AuÏtog¶eÏnous (?), a. [Gr. ?; ? self + root of ? to be born.] 1. (Biol.) SelfÐgenerated; produced independently.
2. (Anat.) 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.
AuÏtog¶eÏnousÏly (?), adv. In an autogenous manner; spontaneously.
Au¶toÏgraph (?), n. [F. autographe, fr. Gr. ? autographic; ? self + ? to write.] That which is written with one's own hand; an original manuscript; a person's own signature or handwriting.
Au¶toÏgraph (?), a. In one's own handwriting; as, an autograph letter; an autograph will.
AuÏtog¶raÏphal (?), a. Autographic. [Obs.]
Au·toÏgraph¶ic (?), Au·toÏgraph¶icÏal (?), } 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.
AuÏtog¶raÏphy (?), n. [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.
AuÏtol¶aÏtry (?), n. [AutoÏ + Gr. ? worship.] SelfÐworship.
Farrar.
Au¶toÏmath (?), n. [Gr. ?; ? self + ?, ?, to learn.] One who is selfÐtaught. [R.]
Young.
Au·toÏmat¶ic (?), Au·toÏmat¶icÏal (?), } a. [Cf. F. automatique. See Automaton.] 1.ÿHaving 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; selfÐacting or selfÐregulating under fixed conditions; Ð 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 selfÐacting machinery.
Ure.
Au·toÏmat¶icÏalÏly, adv. In an automatic manner.
AuÏtom¶aÏtism (?), n. The state or quality of being automatic; the power of selfÐmoving; automatic, mechanical, or involuntary action. (Metaph.) A theory as to the activity of matter.
AuÏtom¶aÏton (?), n.; pl. L. Automata (?), E. Automatons (?). [L. fr. Gr. ?, neut. of ? selfÐmoving; ? self + a root ma, man, to strive, think, cf. ? to strive. See 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 selfÐmoving machine, or one which has its motive power within itself; Ð applied chiefly to machines which appear to imitate spontaneously the motions of living beings, such as men, birds, etc.
AuÏtom¶aÏtous (?), a. {l. automatus, Gr. ?. See Automaton.] Automatic. [Obs.] ½Automatous organs.¸
Sir T. Browne.
Au·toÏmor¶phic (?), a. [AutoÏ + Gr. ? for, shape.] 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, Ð is automorphic.
H. Spenser.
Au·toÏmor¶phism (?), n. Automorphic characterization.
H. Spenser.
Au·toÏnom¶aÏsy (?), n. [AutoÏ + Gr. ? a name, fr. ? a name; or for E. antonomasia.] (Rhet.) The use of a word of common or general signification for the name of a particular thing; as, ½He has gone to town,¸ for, ½He has gone to London.¸
Au·toÏnom¶ic (?), a.ÿHaving the power of selfÐgovernment; autonomous.
Hickok.
Au¶to¶oÏmist (?), n. [Cf. F. automiste. See Autonomy.] One who advocates autonomy.
AuÏton¶oÏmous (?), a. [Gr. ?; ? self + ? to assign, hold, sway.] 1. Independent in government; having the right or power of selfÐgovernment.
2. (Biol.) Having independent existence or laws.
AuÏton¶oÏmy (?), n. [Gr. ?: cf. F. autonomie. See Autonomous.] 1. The power or right of selfÐgovernment; selfÐgovernment, or political independence, of a city or a state.
2. (Metaph.) 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.
Ø AuÏtoph¶aÏgi (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. ? self + ? to eat.] (Zo”l.) Birds which are able to run about and obtain their own food as soon as hatched.
AuÏtoph¶oÏby (?), n. [AutoÏ + Gr. ? fear.] Fear of one's self; fear of being egotistical. [R.]
Hare.
AuÏtoph¶oÏny (?), n. [AutoÏ + Gr. ? a sound.] (Med.) 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.
Au·toÏplas¶tic (?), a. Of or pertaining to autoplasty.
Au¶toÏplas·ty (?), n. [AutoÏ + Ïplasty.] (Surg.) 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.
AuÏtop¶sic (?), AuÏtop¶sicÏal (?), } a.ÿPertaining to autopsy; autoptical. [Obs.]
AuÏtop¶soÏrin (?), n. [AutoÏ + Gr. ? the itch.] (Med.) That which is given under the doctrine of administering a patient's own virus.
Au¶topÏsy (?), n. [Gr. ?, fr. ? seen by one's self; ? self + ? seen: cf. F. autopsie. See Optic, a.] 1. Personal observation or examination; seeing with one's own eyes; ocular view.
By autopsy and experiment.
Cudworth.
2. (Med.) Dissection of a dead body, for the purpose of ascertaining the cause, seat, or nature of a disease; a postÐmortem examination.
AuÏtop¶tic (?), AuÏtop¶ticÏal (?), } a. [Gr. ?: cf. F. autoptique.] Seen with one's own eyes; belonging to, or connected with, personal observation; as, autoptic testimony or experience.


<-- p. 104 -->

AuÏtop¶ticÏalÏly (?), adv. By means of ocular view, or one's own observation.
Sir T. Browne.
Au·toÏsche·diÏas¶tic (?), Au·toÏsche·diÏas¶ticÏal (?), } a. [AutoÏ + Gr. ? to do hastily. See Schediasm.] Extemporary; offhand. [R.]
Dean Martin.
Au·toÏstyl¶ic (?), a. [AutoÏ + Gr. ? pillar.] (Anat.) Having the mandibular arch articulated directly to the cranium, as in the skulls of the Amphibia.
Au¶toÏthe·ism (?), n. [AutoÏ + theism.] 1. The doctrine of God's selfÐexistence. [R.]
2. Deification of one's self; selfÐworship. [R.]
Au¶toÏthe·ist, n. One given to selfÐworship. [R.]
Au¶toÏtype (?), n. [AutoÏ + Ïtype: 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.
Au·toÏtyÏpog¶raÏphy (?), n. [AutoÏ + typography.] A process resembling ½nature printing,¸ by which drawings executed on gelatin are impressed into a soft metal plate, from which the printing is done as from copperplate.
AuÏtot¶yÏpy (?), n. The art or process of making autotypes.
Au¶tumn (?), n. [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 ½the 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.
µ 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.
AuÏtum¶nal (?), a. [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. Ð ÷ point, the point of the equator intersected by the ecliptic, as the sun proceeds southward; the first point of Libra. Ð ÷ signs, the signs Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius, through which the sun passes between the ~ equinox and winter solstice.
Aux·aÏnom¶eÏter (?), n. [Gr. ? to cause to increase + Ïmeter.] An instrument to measure the growth of plants.
Goodale.
Ø AuxÏe¶sis (?), n. [NL., Gr. ? increase, fr. ?, ?, to increase.] (Rhet.) A figure by which a grave and magnificent word is put for the proper word; amplification; hyperbole.
AuxÏet¶ic (?), a. [Gr. ?.] Pertaining to, or containing, auxesis; amplifying.
AuxÏil¶iar (?; 106), a. [L. auxiliaris: cf. F. auxiliaire. See Auxiliary.] Auxiliary. [Archaic]
The auxiliar troops and Trojan hosts appear.
Pope.
AuxÏil¶iar, n. An auxiliary. [Archaic]
Milton.
AuxÏil¶iarÏly, adv. By way of help.
Harris.
AuxÏil¶iaÏry (?; 106), a. [L. auxiliarius, fr. auxilium help, aid, fr. augere to increase.] Conferring aid or help; helping; aiding; assisting; subsidiary; as auxiliary troops.
÷ scales (Mus.), the scales of relative or attendant keys. See under Attendant, a. Ð ÷ verbs (Gram.). See Auxiliary, n., 3.
AuxÏil¶iaÏry, n.; pl. Auxiliaries (?). 1. A helper; an assistant; a confederate in some action or enterprise.
2. (Mil.) pl. Foreign troops in the service of a nation at war; (rarely in sing.), a member of the allied or subsidiary force.
3. (Gram.) A verb which helps to form the voices, modes, and tenses of other verbs; Ð called, also, an auxiliary verb; as, have, be, may, can, do, must, shall, and will, in English; ˆtre and avoir, in French; avere and essere, in Italian; estar and haber, in Spanish.
4. (Math.) A quantity introduced for the purpose of simplifying or facilitating some operation, as in equations or trigonometrical formul‘.
Math. Dict.
AuxÏil¶iaÏtoÏry (?), a. Auxiliary; helping. [Obs.]
Ø A¶va (?), n. Same as Kava.
Johnston.
Av·aÏdaÏvat¶ (?), n. Same as Amadavat.
AÏvail¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Availed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Availing.] [OE. availen, fr. F. ? (L. 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.
AÏvail¶, v. i. 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. ½What signs avail ?¸
Milton.
Words avail very little with me, young man.
Sir W. Scott.
AÏvail¶ (?), 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. Proceeds; as, the avails of a sale by auction.
The avails of their own industry.
Stoddard.
Syn. - Use; benefit; utility; profit; service.
AÏvail¶, v. t. & i. See Avale, v. [Obs.]
Spenser.
AÏvail·aÏbil¶iÏty (?), n.; pl. Availabilities (?). 1. The quality of being available; availableness.
µ The word is sometimes used derogatively in the sense of ½mere availableness,¸ or capability of success without regard to worthiness.
He was... nominated for his availability.
Lowell.
2. That which is available.
AÏvail¶aÏble (?), 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.
AÏvail¶aÏbleÏness, 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.
AÏvai¶aÏbly, adv. In an available manner; profitably; advantageously; efficaciously.
AÏvail¶ment (?), n. Profit; advantage. [Obs.]
Av¶aÏlanche· (?; 277), n. [F. avalanche, fr. avaler to descend, to let down, from aval down, downward; ? (L. 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.
AÏvale¶ (?), v. t. & i. [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.) To descend; to fall; to dismount. [Obs.]
And from their sweaty courses did avale.
Spenser.
AÏvant¶ (?), n. [For avantÐguard. Cf. Avaunt, Van.] The front of an army. [Obs.] See Van.
AÏvant¶Ðcou·riÏer (?), n. [F., fr. avant before + courrier. See Avaunt, and Courier.] A person dispatched before another person or company, to give notice of his or their approach.
AÏvant¶Ðguard· (?; 277), n. [F. avant before + E. guard, F. avantÐgarde. See Avaunt.] The van or advanced body of an army. See Vanguard.
Av¶aÏrice (?), n. [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av?re to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. ?, ?, to satiate, Skr. 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.
Av·aÏri¶cious (?), a. [Cf. F. avaricieux.] Actuated by avarice; greedy of gain; immoderately desirous of accumulating property.
Syn. - Greedy; stingy; rapacious; griping; sordid; close. Ð 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 selfÐdenial, 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.
Ð Av·aÏri¶ciousÏly, adv. Ð Av·aÏri¶ciousÏness, n.
Av¶aÏrous (?), a. [L. avarus.] Avaricious. [Obs.]
AÏvast¶ (?), interj. [Corrupted from D. houd vast hold fast. See Hold, v. t., and Fast, a.] (Naut.) Cease; stop; stay. ½Avast heaving.¸
Totten.
Av·aÏtar¶ (?), n. [Skr. avatƒra descent; ava from + root t? to cross, pass over.] 1. (Hindoo Myth.) The descent of a deity to earth, and his incarnation as a man or an animal; Ð chiefly associated with the incarnations of Vishnu.
2. Incarnation; manifestation as an object of worship or admiration.
AÏvaunce¶ (?), v. t. & i. [See Advance.] To advance; to profit.
Chaucer.
AÏvaunt¶ (?), interj. [F. avant forward, fr. L. ab + ante before. Cf. Avant, Advance.] Begone; depart; Ð a word of contempt or abhorrence, equivalent to the phrase ½Get thee gone.¸
AÏvaunt¶, v. t. & i. 1. To advance; to move forward; to elevate. [Obs.]
Spenser.
2. To depart; to move away. [Obs.]
Coverdale.
AÏvaunt¶, v. t. & i. [OF. avanter; ? (L. ad) + vanter. See Vaunt.] To vaunt; to boast. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
AÏvaunt¶, n. A vaunt; to boast. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
AÏvaunt¶our (?), n. [OF. avanteur.] A boaster. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Ø A¶ve (?), n. [L., hail.] 1. An ave Maria.
He repeated Aves and Credos.
Macaulay.
2. A reverential salutation.
Their loud applause and aves vehement.
Shak.
AÏvel (?), v. t. [L. avellere.] To pull away. [Obs.]
Yet are not these parts avelled.
Sir T. Browne.
AÏvel¶lane (?), a. [Cf. It. avellana a filbert, fr. L. Avella or Abella a city of Campania.] (Her.) In the form of four unhusked filberts; as, an avellane cross.
Ø A¶ve MaÏri¶a (?), A¶ve Ma¶ry (?). } [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; Ð 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.
Ø AÏve¶na (?), n. [L.] (Bot.) A genus of grasses, including the common oat (Avena sativa); the oat grasses.
Av·eÏna¶ceous (?), a. [L. avenaceus, fr. avena oats.] Belonging to, or resembling, oats or the oat grasses.
Av¶eÏnage (?), n. [F. avenage, fr. L. avena oats.] (Old Law) A quantity of oats paid by a tenant to a landlord in lieu of rent.
Jacob.
Av¶eÏner (?), n. [OF. avenier, fr. aveine, avaine, avoine, oats, F. avoine, L. avena.] (Feud. Law) An officer of the king's stables whose duty it was to provide oats for the horses. [Obs.]
AÏvenge¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Avenged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Avenging (?).] [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.
AÏvenge¶, v. i. To take vengeance.
Levit. xix. 18.
AÏvenge¶, n. Vengeance; revenge. [Obs.]
Spenser.
AÏvenge¶ance (?), n. Vengeance. [Obs.]
AÏvenge¶ful (?), a. Vengeful. [Obs.]
Spenser.
AÏvenge¶ment (?), n. The inflicting of retributive punishment; satisfaction taken. [R.]
Milton.
AÏven¶ger (?), n. 1. One who avenges or vindicates; as, an avenger of blood.
2. One who takes vengeance. [Obs.]
Milton.

AÏven¶gerÏess, n. A female avenger. [Obs.]
Spenser.
AÏve¶niÏous (?), a. [Pref. aÏ + L. vena a vein.] (Bot.) Being without veins or nerves, as the leaves of certain plants.
Av¶eÏnor (?), n. See Avener. [Obs.]
Av¶ens (?), n. [OF. avence.] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Geum, esp. Geum urbanum, or herb bennet.
Av¶enÏtail (?), n. [OF. esventail. Cf. Ventail.] The movable front to a helmet; the ventail.
Av¶enÏtine (?), a. Pertaining to Mons Aventinus, one of the seven hills on which Rome stood.
Bryant.
Av¶enÏtine, n. A post of security or defense. [Poetic]
Into the castle's tower,
The only Aventine that now is left him.
Beau. & Fl.
AÏven¶tre (?), v. t. To thrust forward (at a venture), as a spear. [Obs.]
Spenser.
AÏven¶ture (?; 135), n. [See Adventure, n.] 1. Accident; chance; adventure. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
2. (Old Law) A mischance causing a person's death without felony, as by drowning, or falling into the fire.
AÏven¶tuÏrine (?), n. [F. aventurine: cf. It. avventurino.] 1. A kind of glass, containing goldÐcolored 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.) 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.
Av¶eÏnue (?), n. [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. ½The 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.
A¶ver (?), n. [OF. aver domestic animal, whence LL. averia, pl. cattle. See Habit, and cf. Average.] A work horse, or working ox. [Obs. or Dial. Eng.]


<-- p. 105 -->

AÏver¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Averred (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Averring.] [F. av‚rer, LL. adverare, averare; L. ad + versus true. See Verity.] 1. To assert, or prove, the truth of. [Obs.]
2. (Law) 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.
Av¶erÏage (?), n. [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. av‚rage small cattle, and avarie (perh. of different origin) damage to ship or cargo, port dues. The first meaning was pe??? the service of carting a feudal lord's wheat, then charge for carriage, the contribution towards loss of things carried, in proportion to the amount of each person's property. Cf. Aver, n., Avercorn, Averpenny.] 1. (OLd Eng. Law) 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. [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 ~, 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. Ð Particular ~ 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. Ð 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, ½primage 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. ½The average of sensations.¸
Paley.
5. pl. 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.
Av¶erÏage (?), a. 1. Pertaining to an ~ 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 ~; as, the loss must be made good by average contribution.
Av¶erÏage, 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 ~.
Av¶erÏage, v. i. 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.
A¶verÏcorn· (?), n. [Aver, n. + corn.] (Old Eng. Law) A reserved rent in corn, formerly paid to religious houses by their tenants or farmers.
Kennet.
AÏver¶ment (?), n. [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) A positive statement of facts; an allegation; an offer to justify or prove what is alleged.
µ In any stage of pleadings, when either party advances new matter, he avers it to be true, by using this form of words: ½and this he is ready to verify.¸ This was formerly called an averment. It modern pleading, it is termed a verification.
Blackstone.
AÏver¶nal (?), AÏver¶niÏan (?), } a. 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.
Av¶erÏpen·ny (?), n. [Aver, n. + penny.] (Old Eng. Law) Money paid by a tenant in lieu of the service of average.
AÏver¶roÏism (?), n. The tenets of the Averroists.
AÏver¶roÏist, n. 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.
Av·erÏrun¶cate (?), v. t. [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.
Av·erÏrunÏca¶tion (?), n. [Cf. OF. averroncation.] 1. The act of averting. [Obs.]
2. Eradication. [R.]
De Quincey.
Av·erÏrunÏca¶tor (?), n. [Cf. Aberuncator.] An instrument for pruning trees, consisting of two blades, or a blade and a hook, fixed on the end of a long rod.
Av·erÏsa¶tion (?), n. [L. aversatio, fr. aversari to turn away, v. intens. of avertere. See Avert.] 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.
AÏverse¶ (?), a. [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.
µ 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.
AÏverse¶, v. t. & i. To turn away. [Obs.]
B. Jonson.
AÏverse¶ly, adv. 1. Backward; in a backward direction; as, emitted aversely.
2. With repugnance or aversion; unwillingly.
AÏverse¶ness, n. The quality of being averse; opposition of mind; unwillingness.
AÏver¶sion (?), n. [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.
µ 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.
AÏvert¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Averted; p. pr. & vb. n. Averting.] [L. avertere; a, ab + vertere to turn: cf. OF. avertir. See Verse, n.] To turn aside, or away; as, to a???t the eyes from an object; to ward off, or prevent, the occurrence or effects of; as, how can the danger be averted? ½To 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.
AÏvert¶, v. i. To turn away. [Archaic]
Co?? and averting from our neighbor's good.
Thomson.
AÏvert¶ed, a. Turned away, esp. as an expression of feeling; also, offended; unpropitious.
Who scornful pass it with averted eye.
Keble.
AÏvert¶er (?), n. One who, or that which, averts.
AÏvert¶iÏble (?), a.ÿCapable of being averted; preventable.
AÏver¶tiÏment (?), n. Advertisement. [Obs.]
Ø A¶ves (?), n. pl. [L., pl. of avis bird.] (Zo”l.) The class of Vertebrata that includes the birds.
µ 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: Carinat‘, including all existing flying birds; Ratit‘, including the ostrich and allies, the apteryx, and the extinct moas; Odontornithes, or fossil birds with teeth.
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.
Ø AÏves¶ta (?), n. The Zoroastrian scriptures. See ZendÐAvesta.
A¶viÏan (?), a. Of or instrument to birds.
A¶viÏaÏry (?), n.; pl. Aviaries (?). [L. aviarium, fr. aviarius pertaining to birds, fr. avis bird, akin to Gr, ?, Skr. vi.] A house, inclosure, large cage, or other place, for keeping birds confined; a bird house.
Lincolnshire may be termed the aviary of England.
Fuller.
A·viÏa¶tion (?), n. The art or science of flying.
A¶viÏa·tor (?), n. (a) An experimenter in aviation. (b) A flying machine.
Ø AÏvic¶uÏla (?), n. [L., small bird.] (Zo”l.) A genus of marine bivalves, having a pearly interior, allied to the pearl oyster; Ð so called from a supposed resemblance of the typical species to a bird.
AÏvic¶uÏlar (?), a. [L. avicula a small bird, dim. of avis bird.] Of or pertaining to a bird or to birds.
Ø AÏvic·uÏla¶riÏa (?), n. pl. [NL. See Avicular.] (Zo”l.) See prehensile processes on the cells of some Bryozoa, often having the shape of a bird's bill.
A¶viÏcul·ture (?; 135), n. [L. avis bird + cultura culture.] (Zo”l.) Rearing and care of birds.
Av¶id (?), a. [L. avidus, fr. av?re to long: cf. F. avide. See Avarice.] Longing eagerly for; eager; greedy. ½Avid of gold, yet greedier of renown.¸
Southey.
AÏvid¶iÏous (?), a. Avid.
AÏvid¶iÏousÏly, adv. Eagerly; greedily.
AÏvid¶iÏty (?), n. [L. aviditas, fr. avidus: cf. F. avidit‚. See Avid.] Greediness; strong appetite; eagerness; intenseness of desire; as, to eat with avidity.
His books were received and read with avidity.
Milward.
AÏvie¶ (?), adv. [Pref. aÏ + vie.] Emulously. [Obs.]
Ø A·viÏfau¶na (?), n. [NL., fr. L. avis bird + E. fauna.] (Zo”l.) The birds, or all the kinds of birds, inhabiting a region.
Av·iÏga¶to (?), n. See Avocado.
A·vignon¶ ber¶ry (?). (Bot.) The fruit of the Rhamnus infectorius, eand of other species of the same genus; Ð so called from the city of Avignon, in France. It is used by dyers and painters for coloring yellow. Called also French berry.
AÏvile¶ (?), v. t. [OF. aviler, F. avilir; a (L. ad) + vil vile. See Vile.] To abase or debase; to vilify; to depreciate. [Obs.]
Want makes us know the price of what we avile.
B. Jonson.
AÏvis¶ (?), n. [F. avis. See Advice.] Advice; opinion; deliberation. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
AÏvise¶ (?), v. t. [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 ~ 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.
AÏvise¶, v. i. To consider; to reflect. [Obs.]
AÏvise¶ful (?), a. Watchful; circumspect. [Obs.]
With sharp, aviseful eye.
Spenser.
AÏvise¶ly, adv. Advisedly. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
AÏvise¶ment (?), n. Advisement; observation; deliberation. [Obs.]
AÏvi¶sion (?), n. Vision. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
AÏvi¶so (?), n. [Sp.] 1. Information; advice.
2. An advice boat, or dispatch boat.
Ø Av·oÏca¶do (?), n. [Corrupted from the Mexican ahuacatl: cf. Sp. aguacate, F. aguacat‚, avocat, G. avogadobaum.] The pulpy fruit of Persea gratissima, a tree of tropical America. It is about the size and shape of a large pear; Ð called also avocado pear, alligator pear, midshipman's butter.
Ø Av·oÏcat (?), n. [F.] An advocate.
Av¶oÏcate (?), v. t. [L. avocatus, p. p. of avocare; a, ab + vocare to call. Cf. Avoke, and see Vocal, a.] 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.
Av·oÏca¶tion (?), n. [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.
µ 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. 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.


<-- p. 106 -->

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.
AÏvo¶caÏtive (?), a. Calling off. [Obs.]
AÏvo¶caÏtive, n. That which calls aside; a dissuasive.
Av¶oÏcet, Av¶oÏset (?), n. [F. avocette: cf. It. avosetta, Sp. avoceta.] (Zo”l.) 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.] AÏvoid¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Avoided; p. pr. & vb. n. Avoiding.] [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) 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. Ð 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.

AÏvoid¶, v. i. 1. To retire; to withdraw. [Obs.]
David avoided out of his presence.
1 Sam. xviii. 11.
2. (Law) To become void or vacant. [Obs.]
Ayliffe.
AÏvoid¶aÏble (?), 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.
AÏvoid¶ance (?), n. 1. The act of annulling; annulment.
2. The act of becoming vacant, or the state of being vacant; Ð 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. ½The avoidance of pain.¸
Beattie.
5. The courts by which anything is carried off.
Avoidances and drainings of water.
Bacon.
AÏvoid¶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.
AÏvoid¶less, a. Unavoidable; inevitable.
Av·oirÏduÏpois¶ (?), n. & a. [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.ÿ[Colloq.]
÷ weight, a system of weights by which coarser commodities are weighed, such as hay, grain, butter, sugar, tea.
µ The standard ~ pound of the United States is equivalent to the weight of 27.7015 cubic inches of distilled water at 620 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 31Ð144 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).
AÏvoke¶ (?), v. t. [Cf. Avocate.] To call from or back again. [Obs.]
Bp. Burnet.
Av¶oÏlate (?), v. i. [L. avolare; a (ab) + volare to fly.] To fly away; to escape; to exhale. [Obs.]
Av·oÏla¶tion (?), n. [LL. avolatio.] The act of flying; flight; evaporation. [Obs.]
Av¶oÏset (?), n. Same as Avocet.
AÏvouch¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Avouched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Avouching.] [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.
AÏvouch¶ (?), n. Evidence; declaration. [Obs.]
The sensible and true avouch
Of mine own eyes.
Shak.
AÏvouch¶aÏble (?), a. Capable of being avouched.
AÏvouch¶er (?), n. One who avouches.
AÏvouch¶ment (?), n. The act of avouching; positive declaration. [Obs.]
Milton.
AÏvou¶trer (?), n. See Advoutrer. [Obs.]
AÏvou¶trie (?), n. [OF.] Adultery. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
AÏvow¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Avowed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Avowing.] [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) To acknowledge and justify, as an act done. See Avowry.
Blackstone.
Syn. - To acknowledge; own; confess. See Confess.
AÏvow¶, n, [Cf. F. aveu.] Avowal. [Obs.]
Dryden.
AÏvow¶, v. t. & i. [OF. avouer, fr. LL. votare to vow, fr. L. votun. See Vote, n.] To bind, or to devote, by a vow. [Obs.]
Wyclif.
AÏvow¶, n. A vow or determination. [Archaic]
AÏvow¶aÏble (?), a. Capable of being avowed, or openly acknowledged, with confidence.
Donne.
AÏvow¶al (?), n. An open declaration; frank acknowledgment; as, an avowal of such principles.
Hume.
AÏvow¶ance (?), n. 1. Act of avowing; avowal.
2. Upholding; defense; vindication. [Obs.]
Can my avowance of kingÐmurdering be collected from anything here written by me?
Fuller.
AÏvow¶ant (?), n. (Law) The defendant in replevin, who avows the distress of the goods, and justifies the taking.
Cowell.
AÏvowed¶ (?), a. Openly acknowledged or declared; admitted. Ð AÏvow¶edÏly (?), adv.
AÏvow·ee¶ (?), n. [F. avou‚. Cf. Advowee, Advocate, n.] The person who has a right to present to a benefice; the patron; an advowee. See Advowson.
AÏvow¶er (?), n. One who avows or asserts.
AÏvow¶ry (?), n. [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.
µ 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.
AÏvow¶try, v. t. Adultery. See Advoutry.
AÏvoy¶er (?), n. [F.] A chief magistrate of a free imperial city or canton of Switzerland. [Obs.]
AÏvulse¶ (?), v. t. [L. avulsus, p. p. of avellere to tear off; a (ab) + vellere to pluck.] To pluck or pull off.
Shenstone.
AÏvul¶sion (?), n. [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) 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.
AÏvun¶cuÏlar (?), a. [L. avunculus uncle.] Of or pertaining to an uncle.
In these rare instances, the law of pedigree, whether direct or avuncular, gives way.
I. Taylor.
AÏwait¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Awaited; p. pr. & vb. n. Awaiting.] [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.
AÏwait¶, v. i. 1. To watch. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
2. To wait (on or upon). [Obs.]
3. To wait; to stay in waiting.
Darwin.
AÏwait¶, n. A waiting for; ambush; watch; watching; heed. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
AÏwake¶ (?), 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.] [AS. ¾w‘cnan, v. i. (imp. aw?c), and ¾wacian, 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.
AÏwake¶ (?), v. i. 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.
AÏwake¶, a. [From awaken, old p. p. of awake.] 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.
AÏwak¶en (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Awakened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Awakening.] [OE. awakenen, awaknen, AS.
¾w‘cnan, ¾w‘cnian, v. i.; pref. onÏ + w‘cnan to wake. Cf. Awake, v. t.] 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.
AÏwak¶enÏer (?), n. One who, or that which, awakens.
AÏwak¶enÏing, a. Rousing from sleep, in a natural or a figurative sense; rousing into activity; exciting; as, the awakening city; an awakening discourse; the awakening dawn. Ð AÏwak¶enÏingÏly, adv.
AÏwak¶enÏing, n. The act of awaking, or ceasing to sleep. Specifically: A revival of religion, or more general attention to religious matters than usual.
AÏwak¶enÏment (?), n. An awakening. [R.]
AÏwant¶ing (?), a. [Pref. aÏ + wanting.] Missing; wanting. [Prov. Scot. & Eng.]
Sir W. Hamilton.
AÏward¶ (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Awarded; p. pr. & vb. n. Awarding.] [OF. eswarder to look at, consider, decide, judge; es (L. ex) + warder, garder, to observe, take heed, keep, fr. OHG. wart?n to watch, guard. See Ward.] 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.
AÏward¶, v. i. To determine; to make an ~.
AÏward¶, n. [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.½Impatient for the award.¸
Cowper.
An award had been given against.
Gilpin.
2. The paper containing the decision of arbitrators; that which is warded.
Bouvier.
AÏward¶er (?), n. One who awards, or assigns by sentence or judicial determination; a judge.
AÏware¶ (?), a. [OE. iwar, AS. gew‘r, fr. w‘r wary. The pref. geÏ orig. meant together, completely. ?. See 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.
AÏwarn¶ (?), v. t. [Pref. aÏ + warn, AS. gewarnian. See Warn, v. t.] To warn. [Obs.]
Spenser.
AÏwash¶ (?), a. [Pref. aÏ + wash.] Washed by the waves or tide; Ð 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.
AÏway¶ (?), adv. [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.]
µ 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 ? ½Love 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] ½The calling of assemblies, I can not away with.¸ (Isa. i. 13), i. e., ½I can not bear or endure [it].¸ Ð Away with one, signifies, take him away. ½Away with, crucify him.¸ John xix. 15. Ð To make away with. (a) To kill or destroy. (b) To carry off.

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AÏway¶Ðgo¶ing (?), a. (Law) Sown during the last years of a tenancy, but not ripe until after its expiration; Ð said of crops.
Wharton.
AÏway¶ward (?), adv. Turned away; away. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Awe (?), n. [OE. a?e, aghe, fr. Icel. agi; akin to AS. ege, ?ga, Goth. agis, Dan. ave chastisement, fear, Gr. ? pain, distress, from the same root as E. ail. ?3. Cf. 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 Ð 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. Ð See Reverence.
Awe (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Awed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Awing.] 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.
AÏwea¶ried (?), p. p. Wearied. [Poetic]
AÏwea¶ry (?), a. [Pref. aÏ + weary.] Weary. [Poetic] ½I begin to be aweary of thee.¸
Shak.
AÏweath¶er (?), adv. [Pref. aÏ + weather.] (Naut.) On the weather side, or toward the wind; in the direction from which the wind blows; Ð opposed to alee; as, helm aweather !
Totten.
AÏweigh¶ (?), adv. [Pref. aÏ + weigh.] (Naut.) Just drawn out of the ground, and hanging perpendicularly; atrip; Ð said of the anchor.
Totten.
Awe¶less (?), a. See Awless.
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.
Awe¶someÏness, n. The quality of being awesome.
Awe¶Ðstrick·en (?), a. AweÐstruck.
Awe¶Ðstruck· (?), a. Struck with awe.
Milton.
Aw¶ful (?), a. 1. Oppressing with fear or horror; appalling; terrible; as, an awful scene. ½The 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; terrorÐstricken. [Obs.]
A weak and awful reverence for antiquity.
I. Watts.
4. Worshipful; reverential; lawÐabiding. [Obs.]
Thrust from the company of awful men.
Shak.
5. Frightful; exceedingly bad; great; Ð applied intensively; as, an awful bonnet; an awful boaster. [Slang]
Syn. Ð See Frightful.
Aw¶fulÏly, adv. 1. In an awful manner; in a manner to fill with terror or awe; fearfully; reverently.
2. Very; excessively. [Slang]
Aw¶fulÏness, 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.
AÏwhape¶ (?), v. t. [Cf. whap blow.] To confound; to terrify; to amaze. [Obs.]
Spenser.
AÏwhile¶ (?), adv. [Adj. a + while time, interval.] For a while; for some time; for a short time.
AÏwing¶ (?), adv. [Pref. aÐ + wing.] On the wing; flying; fluttering.
Wallace.
Awk (?), a. [OE. auk, awk (properly) turned away; (hence) contrary, wrong, from Icel. ”figr, ”fugr, afigr, turning the wrong way, fr. af off, away; cf. OHG. abuh, Skr. ap¾c turned away, fr. apa off, away + a root ak, a?k, 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, adv. Perversely; in the wrong way.
L'Estrange.
Awk¶ly, adv. 1. In an unlucky (leftÐhanded) or perverse manner. [Obs.]
Holland.
2. Awkwardly. [Obs.]
Fuller.
Awk¶ward (?), a. [Awk + Ïward.] 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.] ½Awkward casualties.¸ ½Awkward wind.¸
Shak.
O blind guides, which being of an awkward religion, do strain out a gnat, and swallow up a cancel.
Udall.
Syn. Ð Ungainly; unhandy; clownish; lubberly; gawky; maladroit; bungling; ?nelegant; ungraceful; unbecoming. Ð 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.
Ð Awk¶wardÏly (?), adv. Ð Awk¶wardÏness, n.
Awl (?), n. [OE. aul, awel, al, AS. ?l, awel; akin to Icel. alr, OHG. ¾la, G. ahle, Lith. yla, Skr. ¾r¾.] 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.
Aw¶less (?), a. 1. Wanting reverence; void of respectful fear. ½Awless insolence.¸
Dryden.
2. Inspiring no awe. [Obs.] ½The awless throne.¸
Shak. [Written also aweless.]
Aw¶lessÏness, n. The quality of being awless.
Awl¶Ðshaped· (?), a. 1. Shaped like an awl.
2. (Nat. Hist.) Subulate. See Subulate.
Gray.
Awl¶wort· (?), n. [Awl + wort.] (Bot.) A plant (Subularia aquatica), with awlÐshaped leaves.
Awm (?m), n. See Aam.
Awn (?), n. [OE. awn, agune, from Icel. ”gn, pl. agnir; akin to Sw. agn, Dan. avne, Goth. ahana, OHG. agana, G. agen, ahne, chaff, Gr. ?, AS. egla; prob. from same root as E. acute. See 3d Ear. ?1.] (Bot.) The bristle or beard of barley, oats, grasses, etc., or any similar bristlelike appendage; arista.
Gray.
Awned (?), a. (Bot.) Furnished with an awn, or long bristleÐshaped tip; bearded.
Gray.
Awn¶ing (?), n. [Origin uncertain: cf. F. auvent awing, or Pers. ¾wan, ¾wang, 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.
Awn¶inged (?), a. Furnished with an awning.
Awn¶less, a. Without awns or beard.
Awn¶y (?), a. Having awns; bearded.
AÏwork¶ (?), adv. [Pref. aÏ + work.] At work; in action. ½Set awork.¸
Shak.
AÏwork¶ing, adv. [Pref. aÏ + working.] At work; in action. [Archaic or Colloq.]
Spenser.
AÏwreak¶, AÏwreke¶,} (?), v. t. & i. To avenge. [Obs.] See Wreak.
AÏwrong¶ (?), adv. [Pref. aÏ + wrong.] Wrongly.
Ford.
AÏwry¶ (?), adv. & a. [Pref. aÏ + 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. ½Your 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.
Aw¶some (?), a. Same as Awesome.
Ax, Axe,} (?), n. [OE. ax, axe, AS. eax, ‘x, acas; akin to D. akse, OS. accus, OHG. acchus, G. axt, Icel. ”x, ”xi, Sw. yxe, Dan. ”kse, Goth. aqizi, Gr. ?, L. ascia; not akin to E. acute.] 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.
The ancient battleÐax had sometimes a double edge.
µ The word is used adjectively or in combination; as, axhead or ax head; ax helve; ax handle; ax shaft; axÐshaped; axlike.
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.
½The 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 (?), v. t. & i. [OE. axien and asken. See Ask.] To ask; to inquire or inquire of.
µ 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. ½And Pilat axide him, Art thou kyng of Jewis?¸ ½Or if he axea fish.¸
Wyclif.
½The king axed after your Grace's welfare.¸
Pegge.
Ax¶al (?), a. [See Axial.] [R.]
Axe (?), Axe¶man (?), etc. See Ax, Axman.
Ax¶iÏal (?), 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.) 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.
Ax¶iÏalÏly (?), adv. In relation to, or in a line with, an axis; in the axial (magnetic) line.
Ax¶il (?), n. [L. axilla. Cf. Axle.] (Bot.) 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.
Ax¶ile (?), a. Situated in the axis of anything; as an embryo which lies in the axis of a seed.
Gray.
Ø AxÏil¶la (?), n.; pl. Axillae (?). [L.] (Anat.) The armpit, or the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder.
2. (Bot.) An axil.
Ax¶ilÏlar (?), a. Axillary.
Ax¶ilÏlaÏries (?), Ax¶ilÏlars (?),} n. pl. (Zo”l.) Feathers connecting the under surface of the wing and the body, and concealed by the closed wing.
Ax¶ilÏlaÏry (?), a. [See Axil.] 1. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the axilla or armpit; as, axillary gland, artery, nerve.
2. (Bot.) Situated in, or rising from, an axil; of or pertaining to an axil. ½Axillary buds.¸
Gray.
Ax¶iÏnite (?), n. [Named in allusion to the form of the crystals, fr. Gr. ? an ax.] (Min.) A borosilicate of alumina, iron, and lime, commonly found in glassy, brown crystals with acute edges.
AxÏin¶oÏman·cy (?), n. [L. axinomantia, Gr. ? ax + Ïmancy.] A species of divination, by means of an ax or hatchet.
Ax¶iÏom (?), n. [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.) A selfÐevident 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, ½The whole is greater than a part;¸ ½A 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. Ð Axiom, Maxim, Aphorism, Adage. An axiom is a selfÐevident 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 longÐestablished authority and of universal application.
Ax·iÏoÏmat¶ic (?), Ax·iÏoÏmat¶icÏal,} a. [Gr. ?.] Of or pertaining to an axiom; having the nature of an axiom; selfÐevident; characterized by axioms. ½Axiomatical truth.¸
Johnson.
The stores of axiomatic wisdom.
I. Taylor.
Ax·iÏoÏmat¶icÏalÏly, adv. By the use of axioms; in the form of an axiom.
Ø Ax¶is (?), n. [L.] (Zo”l.) The spotted deer (Cervus axis or Axis maculata) of India, where it is called hog deer and parrah (Moorish name).
Ax¶is (?), n.; pl. Axes (?). [L. axis axis, axle. See Axle.] 1. 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.) 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.) 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.) One of several imaginary lines, assumed in describing the position of the planes by which a crystal is bounded.
6. (Fine Arts) 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. Ð Synclinal axis, a line from which the strata slope upward in opposite directions, so as to form a valley. Ð Axis cylinder (Anat.), the neuraxis or essential, central substance of a nerve fiber; Ð called also axis band, axial fiber, and cylinder axis. Ð Axis in peritrochio, the wheel and axle, one of the mechanical powers. Ð 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


<-- p. 108 -->

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. Ð Axis of a lens, the straight line passing through its center and perpendicular to its surfaces. Ð Axis of a telescope or microscope, the straight line with which coincide the axes of the several lenses which compose it. Ð Axes of co”rdinates 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. Ð Axes of co”rdinates in space, the three straight lines in which the co”rdinate planes intersect each other. Ð Axis of a balance, that line about which it turns. Ð Axis of oscillation, of a pendulum, a right line passing through the center about which it vibrates, and perpendicular to the plane of vibration. Ð Axis of polarization, the central line around which the prismatic rings or curves are arranged. Brewster. Ð 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. Ð 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. Ð 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. Ð Axis of the Ionic capital (Arch.), a line passing perpendicularly through the middle of the eye of the volute. Ð 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. Ð Optic ~ 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. Ð Optic ~, Visual ~ (Opt.), the straight line passing through the center of the pupil, and perpendicular to the surface of the eye. Ð Radical ~ 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. Ð Spiral ~ (Arch.), the ~ of a twisted column drawn spirally in order to trace the circumvolutions without. Ð Axis of abscissas and Axis of ordinates. See Abscissa.
Ax¶le (?), n. [OE. axel, exel, shoulder, AS. ?axl; akin to AS. eax axle, Sw. & Dan. axel shoulder, ~, G. achse axle, achsel shoulder, L. axis axle, Gr. ?, Skr. aksha, L. axillaÿshoulder joint: cf. F. essieu, axle, OF. aissel, fr. dim. of L. axis. ?. Cf. 2d 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.
µ Railway axles are called leading and trailing from their position in the front or in the rear of a car or truck respectively.
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.
µ 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.
Ax¶led (?), a. Having an axle; Ð used in composition.
Merlin's agateÐaxled car.
T. Warton.
Ax¶le guard· (?). 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; Ð also called a jaw in the United States, and a housing in England.
Ax¶leÏtree· (?), n. [Cf. Icel. ”xultr?.] 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.]
Ax¶man (?), n.; pl. Axmen (?). One who wields an ax.
Ax¶min·ster (?), n. An ÷ carpet, ?n imitation Turkey carpet, noted for its thick and soft pile; Ð so called from Axminster, Eng.
Ø Ax¶oÏlotl (?), n. [The native name.] (Zo”l.) An amphibian of the salamander tribe found in the elevated lakes of Mexico; the siredon.
µ 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.
Ax¶stone· (?), n. (Min.) A variety of jade. It is used by some savages, particularly the natives of the South Sea Islands, for making axes or hatchets.
Ax¶tree (?), n. Axle or axletree. [Obs.]
Drayton.
Ax¶unge (?), n. [F. axonge, L. axungia; axis wheel + ungere to grease.] Fat; grease; esp. the fat of pigs or geese; usually (Pharm.), lard prepared for medical use.
Ay (?), interj. Ah! alas! ½Ay me! I fondly dream ? Had ye been there.'¸
Milton.
Ay (?), adv. Same as Aye.
Ø A¶yah (?), n. [Pg. aia, akin to Sp. aya a governess, ayo a tutor.] A native nurse for children; also, a lady's maid. [India]
Aye, Ay } (?), adv. [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.] Yes; yea; Ð a word expressing assent, or an affirmative answer to a question. It is much used in viva voce voting in legislative bodies, etc.
µ This word is written I in the early editions of Shakespeare and other old writers.
Aye (?), n. An affirmative vote; one who votes in the affirmative; as, ½To call for the ayes and noes;¸ ½The ayes have it.¸
Aye, Ay } (?), adv. [Icel. ei, ey; akin to AS. ¾, ¾wa, always, Goth. aiws an age, Icel. ‘fi, OHG, ?wa, L. aevum, Gr. ? an age, ?, ?, ever, always, G. je, Skr. ?va course. ?,?. Cf. Age, v., Either, a., Or, conj.] Always; ever; continually; for an indefinite time.
For his mercies aye endure.
Milton.
For aye, always; forever; eternally.
Aye¶Ðaye· (?), n. [From the native name, prob. from its cry.] (Zo”l.) A singular nocturnal quadruped, allied to the lemurs, found in Madagascar (Cheiromys Madagascariensis), remarkable for its long fingers, sharp nails, and rodentÐlike incisor teeth.
Aye¶green· (?), n. [Aye ever + green.] (Bot.) The houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum).
Halliwell.
AÏyen¶, AÏyein¶ (?), AÏyeins¶ (?), adv. & prep. [OE. ?, ?. See Again.] Again; back against. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
AÏyen¶ward (?), adv. Backward. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Ayle (?), n. [OE. ayel, aiel, OF. aiol, aiel, F. a‹eul, a dim. of L. avus grandfather.] 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.
Ay¶me· (?), n. [Cf. F. ahi interj.] The utterance of the ejaculation ½Ay me !¸ [Obs.] See Ay, interj. ½Aymees and hearty heighÐhoes.¸
J. Fletcher.
AÏyond¶ (?), prep. & adv. Beyond. [North of Eng.]
AÏyont¶ (?), prep. & adv. Beyond. [Scot.]
A¶yÏrie, A¶yÏry (?), n. See Aerie.
Drayton.
Ayr¶shire (?), n. (Agric.) One of a superior breed of cattle from Ayrshire, Scotland. Ayrshires are notable for the quantity and quality of their milk.
Ø AÏyun·taÏmiÏen¶to (?), n. [Sp., fr. OSp. ayuntar to join.] In Spain and Spanish America, a corporation or body of magistrates in cities and towns, corresponding to mayor and aldermen.
AÏza¶leÏa (?; 97), h.; pl. Azaleas (?). [NL., fr. Gr. ? dry, Ð so called because supposed to grow best in dry ground.] (Bot.) A genus of showy flowering shrubs, mostly natives of China or of North America; false honeysuckle. The genus is scarcely distinct from Rhododendron.
Az¶aÏrole (?), n. [F. azerole, the name of the fruit, fr. Ar. azÏzo'r?r: cf. It. azzeruolo, Sp. acerolo.] (Bot.) The Neapolitan medlar (Crat‘gus azarolus), a shrub of southern Europe; also, its fruit.
AÏzed¶aÏrach (?), n. [F. az‚darac, Sp. acederaque, Pers. ¾z¾ddirakht noble tree.] 1. (Bot.) A handsome Asiatic tree (Melia azedarach), common in the southern United States; Ð called also, Pride of India, Pride of China, and Bead tree.
2. (Med.) The bark of the roots of the azedarach, used as a cathartic and emetic.
Az¶iÏmuth (?), n. [OE. azimut, F. azimut, fr. Ar. asÐsum?t, pl. of asÐsamt 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. samtÐalÐr¾'s the vertex of the heaven. Cf. Zenith.] (Astron. & Geodesy) (a) The quadrant of an ~ 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.
µ 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 00 to 3600.
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. Ð 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 ~ of a heavenly body, in order to find, by comparison with the true ~, the variation of the needle. Ð Azimuth dial, a dial whose stile or gnomon is at right angles to the plane of the horizon. Hutton. Ð Magnetic ~, 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 ~ compass.
Az¶iÏmuth·al (?), a. Of or pertaining to the azimuth; in a horizontal circle.
÷ error of a transit instrument, its deviation in azimuth from the plane of the meridian.
Az¶oÏ (?). [See Azote.] (Chem.) A combining form of azote; (a) Applied loosely to compounds having nitrogen variously combined, as in cyanides, nitrates, etc. (b) Now especially applied to compounds containing a two atom nitrogen group uniting two hydrocarbon radicals, as in azobenzene, azobenzoic, etc. These compounds furnish many artificial dyes. See DiazoÏ.
Az·oÏben¶zene (?), n. [AzoÏ + benzene.] (Chem.) A substance (C6H5.H2.C6H5) derived from nitrobenzene, forming orange red crystals which are easily fusible.
AÏzo¶ic (?), a. [Gr. ? priv. + ? life, from ? to live.] Destitute of any vestige of organic life, or at least of animal life; anterior to the existence of animal life; formed when there was no animal life on the globe; as, the azoic. rocks.
÷ age (Geol.), the age preceding the existence of animal life, or anterior to the paleozoic tome. Azoic is also used as a noun, age being understood. See Arch‘an, and Eozoic.
Az·oÏle¶ic (?), a. [AzoÏ + oleic.] (Chem.) Pertaining to an acid produced by treating oleic with nitric acid. [R.]
AÏzon¶ic (?), a. [Gr. ?; ? priv. + ? zone, region.] Confined to no zone or region; not local.
AÏzo¶riÏan (?), a. Of or pertaining to the Azores. Ð n. A native of the Azores.
Az¶ote (?; 277), n. [F. azote, fr. Gr. ? priv. + ? life; Ð so named by Lavoisier because it is incapable of supporting life.] Same as Nitrogen. [R.]
Az¶oth (?), n. [LL. azoch, azoth, fr. Ar. azÐzauq mercury.] (Alchemy) (a) The first principle of metals, i. e., mercury, which was formerly supposed to exist in all metals, and to be extractable from them. (b) The universal remedy of Paracelsus.
AÏzot¶ic (?), a.ÿ(Chem.) Pertaining to azote, or nitrogen; formed or consisting of azote; nitric; as, azotic gas; azotic acid. [R.]
Carpenter.
Az¶oÏtite (?), n.ÿ(Chem.) A salt formed by the combination of azotous, or nitrous, acid with a base; a nitrite. [R.]
Az¶oÏtize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Azotized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Azotizing (?).] To impregnate with azote, or nitrogen; to nitrogenize.
Az·oÏtom¶eÏter (?), n. [Azote + Ïmeter.] (Chem.) An apparatus for measuring or determining the proportion of nitrogen; a nitrometer.
AÏzo¶tous (?), a: Nitrous; as, azotous acid. [R.]
Az¶tec (?), a. Of or relating to one of the early races in Mexico that inhabited the great plateau of that country at the time of the Spanish conquest in 1519. Ð n. One of the Aztec race or people.
Az¶ure (?; 277), a. [F. & OSp. azur, Sp. azul, through Ar. from Per. l¾jaward, or l¾juward, lapis lazuli, a blue color, l¾jawardÆ, l¾juwardÆ, azure, cerulean, the initial l having been dropped, perhaps by the influence of the Ar. azrÐaq azure, blue. Cf. G. lasur, lasurstein, azure color, azure stone, and NL. lapis lazuli.] SkyÐblue; resembling the clear blue color of the unclouded sky; cerulean; also, cloudless.
÷ stone (Min.), the lapis lazuli; also, the lazulite.
Az¶ure, n. 1. The lapis lazuli. [Obs.]
2. The clear blue color of the sky; also, a pigment or dye of this color. ½In robes of azure.¸
Wordsworth.
3. The blue vault above; the unclouded sky.
Not like those steps
On heaven's azure.
Milton.
4. (Her.) A blue color, represented in engraving by horizontal parallel lines.
Az¶ure, v. t. To color blue.
Az¶ured (?), a. Of an azure color; skyÐblue. ½The azured harebell.¸
Shak.
AÏzu¶reÏous (?), a. (Zo”l.) Of a fine blue color; azure.
Az¶uÏrine (?), a. [Cf. Azurn.] Azure.
Az¶uÏrine, n. (Zo”l.) The blue roach of Europe (Leuciscus c‘ruleus); Ð so called from its color.
Az¶uÏrite (?), n. (Min.) Blue carbonate of copper; blue malachite.
Az¶urn (?), a. [Cf. OF. azurin, asurin, LL. azurinus. See Azure, a.] Azure. [Obs.]
Thick set with agate, and the azurn sheen
Of turkis blue, and emerald green.
Milton.
Az¶yÏgous (?), a. [Gr. ?; ? priv. + ? yoke.] Odd; having no fellow; not one of a pair; single; as, the azygous muscle of the uvula.
Az¶ym, Az¶yme (?), n. [F. azyme unleavened, L. azymus, fr. Gr. ?; ? priv. + ? leaven.] Unleavened bread.
AÏzym¶ic (?), a. Azymous.
Az¶yÏmite (?), n. [Cf. F. azymite.] (Eccl. Hist.) One who administered the Eucharist with unleavened bread; Ð a name of reproach given by those of the Greek church to the Latins.
Az¶yÏmous (?), a. [See Azym.] Unleavened; unfermented. ½Azymous bread.¸
Dunglison.


<-- p. 109 -->

<-- p. 109 -->

B (?) is the second letter of the English alphabet. (See Guide to Pronunciation,  196,220.) It is etymologically related to ÿpÿ,ÿvÿ,ÿfÿ,ÿwÿ and ÿmÿ, letters representing sounds having a close organic affinity to its own sound; as in Eng. bursar andÿpurser;ÿEng. ÿbear and Lat. ÿpear; Eng. silver and Ger. ÿsilber; Lat. cubitum and It. gomito; Eng. seven, Anglo-Saxon seofon, Ger. sieben, Lat. septem, Gr.?, Sanskrit saptan. The form of letter B is Roman, from Greek B (Beta), of Semitic origin. The small ÿbÿ was formed by gradual change from the capital B.
In ÿMusic, B is the nominal of the sevens tone in the model major scale ÿ(the scale of C majorÿ), or of the second tone in it's relative minor scale (that of A minorÿ)ÿ. B? stands for B flat, the tone a half step , or semitone, lower than B. In German, B stands for our B?, while our B natural is called H (pronounced h„).
Ba (?), v.i. [Cf. OF. ÿbaer to open mouth, F. baer.] To kiss. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Baa (?), v.i. [Cf. G. b„en; an imitative word.] To cry baa, or bleat as a sheep.
He treble baas for help, but none can get.
Sir P.Sidney.
Baa (?), n.; pl.ÿBaas. [Cf. G. ÿb„.] The cry or bleating of a sheep; a bleat.
Baa¶ing, n. The bleating of a sheep.
Marryat.
Ba¶al (?), n.; Heb.pl. ÿBaalim (?). [Heb. ba'al lord.] 1. (Myth.) The supreme male divinity of the Ph?nitian and Canaanitish nations.
µ The name of this god occurs in the Old Testament and elsewhere with qualifying epithets subjoined, answering to the different ideas of his character; as, ÿBaal-berith (the Covenant Baal), Baal-zebub (Baal of the fly).
2. pl. The whole class of divinities to whom the name Baal was applied.
Judges x. 6.
Ba¶alÏism (?), n. Worship of Baal; idolatry.
Ba¶alÏist (?), Ba¶alÏite (?), } n. A worshiper of Baal; a devotee of any false religion; an idolater.
ØBa¶ba (?), n. [F.] A kind of plum cake.
Bab¶bitt (?), v.t. To line with Babbitt metal.
Bab¶bitt met·al (?). [From the inventor, Isaac Babbittÿ of Massachusetts.] A soft white alloy of variable composition (as a none parts of tin to one of copper, or of fifty parts of tin to five of antimony and one of copper) used in bearings to diminish friction.
Bab¶ble, v.i. [imp. & p.p. Babbled (?);p. pr. & vb. n. Babbling.] [Cf.LG. babbeln, D. babbelen, G. bappeln, bappern, F. babiller, It. babbolare; prob. orig., to keep saying baÿ0, imitative of a child learning to talk.]
1. To utter words indistinctly or unintelligibly; to utter inarticulate sounds; as a child babbles.
2. To talk incoherently; to utter unmeaning words.
3. To talk much; to chatter; to prate.
4. To make a continuous murmuring noise, as shallow water running over stones.
In every babbling he finds a friend.
Wordsworth.
µ Hounds are said to babble, or to be babbling, when they are too noisy after having found a good scent.
Syn. - To prate; prattle; chatter; gossip.
Bab¶ble, v.i. 1. To utter in an indistinct or incoherent way; to repeat,as words, in a childish way without understanding.
These [words] he used to babble in all companies.
Arbuthnot.
2. To disclose by too free talk, as a secret.
Bab¶ble, n. 1. Idle talk; senseless prattle; gabble;twaddle. ½This is mere moral babble.¸
Milton.
2. Inarticulate speech; constant or confused murmur.
The babble of our young children.
Darwin.
The babble of the stream.
Tennyson.
Bab¶bleÏment (?), n. Babble.
Hawthorne.
Bab¶bler (?), n. 1. An idle talker; an irrational prater;a teller of secrets.
Great babblers, or talkers, are not fit for trust.
L'Estrange.
2. A hound too noisy on finding a good scent.
3. (Zo”l.) A name given to any one of family (Timalin‘) of thrushlike birds, having a chattering note.
Bab¶bleÏry (?), n. Babble. [Obs.]
Sir T. More
Babe (?), n. [Cf. Ir. bab, baban, W. baban, maban.]
1. An infant; a young child of either sex; a baby.
2. A doll for children.
Spenser.
Babe¶hood (?), n. Babyhood. [R.]
Udall.
Ba¶bel (?), n. [Heb. B¾bel, the name of the capital of Babylonia; in Genesis associated with the idea of ½confusion¸] 1. The city and tower in the land of Shinar, where the confusion of languages took place.
Therefore is the name of it called Babel.
Gen.xi.9.
2. Hence: A place or scene of noise and confusion; a confused mixture of sounds, as of voices or languages.
That babel of strange heathen languages.
Hammond.
The grinding babel of the street.
R.L.Stevenson.
Bab¶erÏy (?), n. [Perh. orig. for baboonery. Cf. Baboon, and also Babe.] Finery of a kind to please a child. [Obs.] ½Painted ÿbabery.¸
Sir P.Sidney.
Ba¶biÏan (?), Ba¶biÏon (?), n. [ See Baboon] A baboon. [Obs.]
B.Jonson.
ØBab¶ilÏlard (?), n. [F., a babbler.] (Zo”l.) The lesser whitethroat of Europe; - called also ÿbabbling warbler.
Bab¶ingÏtonÏite (?), n. [From Dr. Babbington.] (Min.) A mineral occurring in triclinic crystals approaching pyroxene in angle, and of a greenish black color.It is a silicate of iron, manganese, and lime.
ØBab·iÏrous¶sa, ØBab·iÏrus¶sa (?), n. [F. babiroussa, fr.Malay ÿb¾bÆ hog + r?sa deer.] (Zo”l.) A large hoglike quadruped (Sus, or Porcus, babirussa) of the East Indies, sometimes domesticated; the Indian hog. Its upper canine
teeth or tusks are large and recurved.
Bab¶ish (?), a. Like a babe; a childish; babyish. [R.] ½Babish imbecility.¸ Drayton. - Bab¶ishÏly, adv. - Bab¶ishÏness, n. [R.]
Bab¶ism (?), n. [From Bab (Pers.ÿbab a gate), the title assumed by the founder, Mirza Ali Mohammed.] The doctrine of a modern religious sect, which originated in Persia in 1843, being a mixture of Mohammedan, Christian,Jewish and Parsee elements.
Bab¶ist, n. A believer in Babism.
ØBab¶lah (?), n. [Cf. Per. bab?l a species of mimosa yielding gum arabic.] The ring of the fruit of several East Indian species of acacia; neb-neb. It contains gallic acid and tannin, and is used for dyeing drab.
ØBa¶boo, ØBa¶bu (?), n. [Hind. b¾b?ÿ] A Hindoo gentleman; native clerk who writes English; also, a Hindoo title answering to Mr.ÿ or Esquire.
Whitworth.
BabÏoon¶ (?), n. [OE. babewin, baboin, fr.F. babouin, or LL.ÿbabewynus. Of unknown origin; cf. D. baviaan, G. pavian, baboon, F. babin lip of ape, dogs, etc., dial. G. b„ppe mouth.] (Zo”l.) One of the Old World Quadrumana, of the genera Cynocephalus and Papio; the dog-faced ape. Baboons have dog-like muzzles and large canine teeth, cheek pouches, a short tail, and naked callosities on the buttocks. They are mostly African. See Mandrill, and Chacma, and Drill an ape.
BabÏoon¶ery (?), n. Baboonish behavior.
Marryat.
BabÏoon¶ish, a. Like a baboon.
Ba¶by (?), n.; pl. Babies. [Dim. of babe] 1. An infant or young child of either sex; a babe.
2. A small image of an infant; a doll.
Babies in the eyes, the minute reflection which one sees of one's self in the eyes of another.
She clung about his neck, gave him ten kisses,
Toyed with his locks, looked babies in his eyes.
Heywood.
Ba¶by, a. Pertaining to, or resembling, an infant; young or little; as, ÿbaby swans. ½Baby figure¸
Shak.
Ba¶by, v.i. [imp. & p.p. Babied (?); p. pr. & vb. n.Babying.] To treat like a young child; to keep dependent; to humor; to fondle.
Young.
Ba¶by farm· (?). A place where the nourishment and care of babies are offered for hire.
Ba¶by farm·er (?). One who keeps a baby farm.
Ba¶by farm·ing. The business of keeping a baby farm.
Ba¶byÏhood (?), n. The state or period of infancy.
Ba¶byÏhouse· (?), a. A place for children's dolls and dolls' furniture.
Swift.
Ba¶byÏish, a. Like a baby; childish; puerile; simple. - Ba¶byÏishÏly, adv. - Ba¶byÏishÏness, n.
Ba¶byÏism (?), n. 1. The state of being a baby.
2. A babyish manner of acting or speaking.
Ba¶by jump·er (?). A hoop suspended by an elastic strap, in which a young child may be held secure while amusing itself by jumping on the floor.
Bab·yÏlo¶niÏan (?), a. Of or pertaining to the real or to the mystical Babylon, or to the ancient kingdom of Babylonia; Chaldean.
Bab·yÏlo¶niÏan, n. 1. An inhabitant of Babylonia (which included Chaldea); a Chaldean.
2. An astrologer; - so called because the Chaldeans were remarkable for the study of astrology.
Bab·yÏlon¶ic (?), Bab·yÏlon¶icÏal (?), } a. 1. Pertaining to Babylon, or made there; as Babylonic garments,carpets, or hangings.
2. Tumultuous; disorderly. [Obs.]
Sir J.Harrington.
Bab¶yÏlo·nish (?), n. 1. Of or pertaining to, or made in, Babylon or Babylonia. ½A Babylonishÿgarment.¸
Josh. vii.21.
2. Pertaining to the Babylon of Revelation xiv.8.
3. Pertaining to Rome and papal power. [Obs.]
The... injurious nickname of Babylonish.
Gape.
4.Confused; Babel-like.
ØBab·yÏrous¶sa, ØBab·yÏrus¶sa (?), n. (Zo”l.) See Babyroussa.
Ba¶byÏship (?), n. The quality of being a baby; the personality of an infant.
Bac (?), n. [F. See Back a vat]
1. A broad, flatbottomed ferryboat, usually worked by a rope.
2. A vat or cistern. See 1st Back.
Bac¶caÏlau¶reÏate (?), n. [NL. baccalaureatus, fr.LL. baccalaureus a bachelor of arts, fr. baccalarius, but as if fr L. bacca lauri bayberry, from the practice of the bachelor's wearing a garland of bayberries. See Bachelor.]
1. The degree of bachelor of arts. (B.A. or A.B.), the
first or lowest academical degree conferred by universities and colleges.
2. A baccalaureate sermon. [U.S.]
Bac·caÏlau¶reÏate, a. Pertaining to a bachelor of arts.
Baccalaureate sermon, in some American colleges, a sermon delivered as a farewell discourse graduating class.
ØBac·caÏra¶, Bac·caÏrat¶ (?), n. [F.] A French game of cards, played by a banker and punters.
BacÏca¶re, BacÏka¶re } (?), interj. Stand back! give place! - a cant word of the Elizabethan writers, probably in ridicule of some person who pretended to a knowledge of Latin which he did not possess.
Baccare! you are marvelous forward.
Shak.
Bac¶cate (?), a. [L. baccatus, fr. L. bacca berry.]
(Bot.) Pulpy throughout, like a berry; - said of fruits.
Gray.
Bac¶caÏted (?), a. 1. Having many berries.
2. Set or adorned with pearls. [Obs.]
Bac¶chaÏnal (?), a.ÿ[L. Bacchanalis. See Bacchanalia.]
1. Relating to Bacchus or his festival.
2. Engaged in drunken revels; drunken and riotous or noisy.
Bac¶chaÏnal (?), n. 1. A devotee of Bacchus; one who indulges in drunken revels; one who is noisy and riotous when intoxicated; a carouser. ½Tipsy bacchanals.¸
Shak.
2. pl. The festival of Bacchus; the bacchanalia.
3. Drunken revelry; an orgy.
4. A song or dance in honor of Bacchus.
ØBac·chaÏna¶liÏa (?), n. pl. [L. Bacchanalÿa place devoted to Bacchus; in the pl. Bacchanalia a feast of Bacchus, fr. Bacchusÿthe god of wine, Gr. ?]
1. (Myth.) A feast or an orgy in honor of Bacchus.
2. Hence: A drunken feast; drunken reveler.
Bac·chaÏna¶liÏan (?), a. Of or pertaining to the festival of Bacchus; relating to or given to reveling and drunkenness.
Even bacchanalian madness has its charms.
Cowper.
Bac·ahaÏna¶liÏan, n. A bacchanal; a drunken reveler.
Bac·chaÏna¶liÏanÏism (?), n. The practice of bacchanalians; bacchanals; drunken revelry.
Bac¶chant (?), n.; pl. E. Bacchants, L. Bacchantes. [L. bacchans, -antis, p. pr. of bacchariÿ to celebrate the festival of Bacchus.]
1. A priest of Bacchus.
2. A bacchanal; a reveler.
Croly.
Bac¶chant, a. Bacchanalian; fond of drunken revelry; wine-loving; reveling; carousing.
Byron.
Bac¶chante (?), n.; L. pl. Bacchantes 1. A priestess of Bacchus.
2. A female bacchanal.
BacÏchan¶tic (?), a. Bacchanalian.
Bac¶chic (?), Bac¶chicÏal (?) }, a. [L. Bacchicus, Gr. ?] Of or relating to Bacchus; hence, jovial, or riotous,with intoxication.
ØBacÏchi¶us (?), n.; pl. Bacchii. [L. Bacchiusÿpes, Gr. ? (sc. ? foot).] (Pros.) A metrical foot composed of a short syllable and two long ones; according to some, two long and a short.
Bac¶chus (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. ?] (Myth.) The god of wine, son of Jupiter and Semele.
BacÏcif¶erÏous (?), a. [L.ÿbaccifer;ÿbaccaÿberry + ferre to bear] Producing berries. ½ÿBacciferousÿtrees.¸
Ray.
Bac¶ciÏform (?), a. [L. bacca berry + -form. ] Having the form of a berry.
BacÏciv¶oÏrous (?), a. [L. bacca berry + varare to devour.] (Zo”l.) Eating, or subsisting on, berries; as,ÿbaccivorous birds.
Bace (?), n., a., &v. See Base. [Obs.]
Spenser.
Bach¶aÏrach, Back¶aÏrack } (?), n. A kind of wine made at Bacharach on the Rhine.
Bache¶eÏlor (?), n. [OF. bacheler young man, F. bachelierÿ (cf.Pr. bacalar, Sp.bachiller, Pg. bacharel, It. baccalare), LL. baccalarius the tenant of a kind of farm called baccalaria, a soldier not old or rich enough to lead his retainers into battle with a banner, person of an inferior academical degree aspiring to a doctorate. In the latter sense, it was afterward changed to baccalaureus. See Baccalaureate, n.]
1. A man of any age who has not been married.
As merry and mellow an old bachelor as ever followed a hound.
W.Irving.
2. An unmarried woman. [Obs.]
B.Jonson.

<-- p. 110 -->


3. A person who has taken the first or lowest degree in the liberal arts, or in some branch of science, at a college or university; as, a bachelorÿof arts.
4. A knight who had no standard of his own, but fought under the standard of another in the field; often, a young knight.
5. In the companies of London tradesmen, one not yet admitted to wear the livery; a junior member. [Obs.]
6. (Zo”l.) A kind of bass, an edible fresh-water fish (Pomoxys annularis) of the southern United States.
Bach¶eÏlorÏdom (?), n. The state of bachelorhood; the whole body of bachelors.
Bach¶eÏlorÏhood (?), n. The state or condition of being a bachelor; bachelorship.
Bach¶eÏlorÏism (?), n. Bachelorhood; also, a manner or peculiarity belonging to bachelors.
W.Irving.
Bach¶eÏlor's but¶ton (?), (Bot.) A plant with flowers shaped like buttons; especially, several species of Ranunculus, and the cornflower (ÿCentaures cyanus) and globe amaranth (Gomphrena).
µ Bachelor's buttons, a name given to several flowers ½from their similitude to the jagged cloathe buttons, anciently worne in this kingdom¸, according to Johnson's Gerarde, p.472(1633); but by other writers ascribed to " a habit of country fellows to carry them in their pockets to divine their success with their sweethearts.¸
Dr.Prior.
Bach¶eÏlorÏship , n. The state of being a bachelor.
Bach¶elÏry (?), n. [OF. bachelerie.] The body of young aspirants for knighthood. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
BaÏcil¶lar (?), a. [L. bacillum little staff.] (Biol.) Shaped like a rod or staff.
ØBac¶ilÏla·riÏ‘ (?), n. pl. [ NL., fr.L. bacillum, dim. of baculum stick.] (Biol.) See ÿDiatom.
Bac¶ilÏlaÏry (?), a. Of or pertaining to little rods; rod-shaped.
BaÏcil¶liÏform (?), a. [L. bacillum little staff + Ïform.] Rod-shaped.
BaÏcil¶lus (?), n.; pl. Bacilli (?). [NL., for L. bacillum. See Bacillarle.] (Biol.) A variety of bacterium; a microscopic, rod-shaped vegetable organism.
Back (?), n. [F. bac: cf. Arm. bak tray, bowl.] 1. A large shallow vat; a cistern, tub, or trough, used by brewers, distillers, dyers, picklers, gluemakers, and others, for mixing or cooling wort, holding water, hot glue, etc.
Hop back, Jack back, the cistern which receives the infusion of malt and hops from the copper.- Wash back, a vat in which distillers ferment the wort to form wash. - Water back, a cistern to hold a supply of water; esp. a small cistern at the back of a stove, or a group of pipes set in the fire box of a stove or furnace, through which water circulates and is heated.
2. A ferryboat. See Bac, 1
Back (?), n. [As b‘c, bac; akin to Icel., Sw., & LG. bak, Dan. bag; cf. OHG. bahho ham, Skr. bhaj to turn, OSlav. b?g? flight. Cf. Bacon.] 1. In human beings, the hinder part of the body, extending from the neck to the end o the spine; in other animals, that part of the body which corresponds most nearly to such part of a human being; as, the ÿback of a horse, fish, or lobster.
2. An extended upper part, as of a mountain or ridge.
[The mountains] their broad bare backs upheave
Into the clouds.
Milton.
3. The outward or upper part of a thing, as opposed to the inner or lower part; as, the back of the hand, the back of the foot, the back of a hand rail.
Methought Love pitying me, when he saw this,
Gave me your hands, the ÿbacksÿand palms to kiss.
Donne.
4. The part opposed to the front; the hinder or rear part of a thing; as, the back of a book; the back of an army; the ÿback of a chimney.
5. The part opposite to, or most remote from, that which fronts the speaker or actor; or the part out of sight, or not generally seen; as, the back of an island, of a hill, or of a village.
6. The part of a cutting tool on the opposite side from its edge; as, the back of a knife, or of a saw.
7. A support or resource in reserve.
This project
Should have a back or second, that might hold,
If this should blast in proof.
Shak.
8. (Naut.) The keel and keelson of a ship.
9. (Mining) The upper part of a lode, or the roof of a horizontal underground passage.
10. A garment for the back; hence, clothing.
A bak to walken inne by daylight.
Chaucer.
Behind one's back, when one is absent; without one's knowledge;as, to ridicule a person behind his back. - Full back, Half back, Quarter back (Football), players stationed behind those in the front line. - To be or lie on one's back, to be helpless. - To put, or get, one's back up, to assume an attitude of obstinate resistance (from the action of a cat when attacked.). [Colloq.] - To see the back of, to get rid of. - To turn the back, to go away; to flee. - To turn the back on one, to forsake or neglect him.
Back, a. 1. Being at the back or in the rear; distant; remote; as, the back door; back settlements.
2. Being in arrear; overdue; as, back rent.
3. Moving or operating backward; as, back action.
Back charges, charges brought forward after an account has been made up. - Back filling (Arch.), the mass of materials used in filling up the space between two walls, or between the inner and outer faces of a wall, or upon the haunches of an arch or vault. - Back pressure. (Steam Engine) See under Pressure.ÿ- Back rest, a guide attached to the slide rest of a lathe, and placed in contact with the work, to steady it in turning.- Back slang, a kind of slang in which every word is written or pronounced backwards; as, nam for ÿman. - Back stairs, stairs in the back part of a house; private stairs. Also used adjectively. See ÿBack stairs, Backstairs, and Backstair, in the Vocabulary. - Back step (Mil.), the retrograde movement of a man or body of men, without changing front. - Back stream, a current running against the main current of a stream; an eddy. - To take the back track, to retrace one's steps; to retreat. [Colloq.]
Back (?), v.i.ÿ[imp. & p.p. Backed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Backing.]
1. To get upon the back of; to mount.
I will back him [a horse] straight.
Shak.
2. To place or seat upon the back. [R.]
Great Jupiter, upon his eagle backed,
Appeared to me.
Shak.
3. To drive or force backward; to cause to retreat or recede; as, to back oxen.
4. To make a back for; to furnish with a back; as, to back books.
5. To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.
A garden ... with a vineyard backed.
Shak.
The chalk cliffs which back the beach.
Huxley.
6. To write upon the back of; as, to back a letter; to indorse; as, to back a note or legal document.
7. To support; to maintain; to second or strengthen by aid or influence; as, to backÿ a friend. ½Parliament would be backed by the people.¸
Macaulay.
Have still found it necessary to back and fortify their laws with rewards and punishments.
South.
The mate backed the captain manfully.
Blackw. Mag.
8. To bet on the success of; - as, to back a race horse.
To back an anchor (Naut.), to lay down a small anchor ahead of a large one, the cable of the small one being fastened to the crown of the large one. - To back the field, in horse racing, to bet against a particular horse or horses, that some one of all the other horses, collectively designated ½the field¸, will win. - To back the oars, to row backward with the oars. - To back a rope, to put on a preventer. - To back the sails, to arrange them so as to cause the ship to move astern. - To back up, to support; to sustain; as, to back up one's friends. - To back a warrant (Law), is for a justice of the peace, in the county where the warrant is to be executed, to sign or indorse a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend an offender. - To back water (Naut.), to reverse the action of the oars, paddles, or propeller, so as to force the boat or ship backward.}
Back, v.i. 1. To move or go backward; as, the horse refuses to back.
2. (Naut.) To change from one quarter to another by a course opposite to that of the sun; - used of the wind.
3. (Sporting) To stand still behind another dog which
has pomted; - said of a dog. [Eng.]
To back and fill, to manage the sails of a ship so that the wind strikes them alternately in front and behind, in order to keep the ship in the middle of a river or channel while the current or tide carries the vessel against the wind. Hence: (Fig.) To take opposite positions alternately; to assert and deny. [Colloq.] - To back out, To back down, to retreat or withdraw from a promise, engagement, or contest; to recede. [Colloq.]
Cleon at first ... was willing to go; but, finding that he [Nicias] was in earnest, he tried to ÿback out.
Jowett (Thucyd.)
Back, adv. [Shortened from aback.] 1. In, to, or toward, the rear; as, to stand back; to step ÿback.
2. To the place from which one came; to the place or person from which something is taken or derived; as, to go back for something left behind; to go ÿback to one's native place; to put a book back after reading it.
3. To a former state, condition, or station; as, to go back to private life; to go back to barbarism.
4. ( Of time) In times past; ago. ½Sixty or seventy years back.¸
Gladstone.
5. Away from contact; by reverse movement.
The angel of the Lord ... came, and rolled back the stone from the door.
Matt. xxvii.2.
6. In concealment or reserve; in one's own possession; as, to keep ÿback the truth; to keep back part of the money due to another.
7. In a state of restraint or hindrance.
The Lord hath kept thee back from honor.
Numb. xxiv.11.
8. In return, repayment, or requital.
What have I to give you ÿback!
Shak.
9. In withdrawal from a statement, promise, or undertaking; as, he took back0 the offensive words.
10. In arrear; as, to be back in one's rent. [Colloq.]
Back and forth, backwards and forwards; to and fro. - To go back on, to turn back from; to abandon; to betray;as, to go back on a friend; to go back on one's professions. [Colloq.]
Bac¶aÏrack (?), n. See Bacharach.
BacÏka¶re (?), interj. Same as Baccare.
Back¶band· (?),n. [2nd backÿ, n. + band.] (Saddlery) The band which passes over the back of a horse and holds up the shafts of a carriage.
Back¶bite·, v.i. [2nd back, n., + bite] To wound by clandestine detraction; to censure meanly or spitefully (as absent person); to slander or speak evil of (one absent).
Spenser.
Back¶bite·, v.i. To censure or revile the absent.
They are arrant knaves, and will ÿbackbite.
Shak.
Back¶bit·er (?), n. One who backbites; a secret calumniator or detractor.
Back¶bit·ing (?), n. Secret slander; detraction.
Backbiting, and bearing of false witness.
Piers Plowman.
Back¶board· (?), n. [2nd ÿbackÿ,n. + board.]
1. A board which supports the back wen one is sitting;
specifically, the board athwart the after part of a boat.
2. A board serving as the back part of anything, as of a wagon.
3. A thin stuff used for the backs of framed pictures, mirrors, etc.
4. A board attached to the rim of a water wheel to prevent the water from running off the floats or paddies into the interior of the wheel.
W.Nicholson.
5. A board worn across the back to give erectness to the figure.
Thackeray.
Back¶bond· (?), n. [Back, adv. + ÿbond.] (Scots Law) An instrument which, in conjunction with another making an absolute disposition, constitutes a trust.
Back¶bone¶, n. [2d back, n. + bone.ÿ]
1. The column of bones in the back which sustains and gives firmness to the frame; the spine; the vertebral or spinal column.
2. Anything like , or serving the purpose of, a backbone.
The lofty mountains on the north side compose the granitic axis, or backbone of the country.
Darwin.
We have now come to the backbone of our subject.
Earle.
3. Firmness; moral principle; steadfastness.
Shelley's thought never had any ÿbackbone.
Shairp.
To the backbone, through and through; thoroughly; entirely. ½Staunch to ÿthe backbone.¸
Lord Lytton.
Back¶boned¶ (?), a. Vertebrate.
Back¶cast· (?), n. [ Back, adv.+ ÿcast.] Anything which brings misfortune upon one, or causes failure in an effort or enterprise; a reverse. [Scot.]
Back¶ door¶ (?). A door in the back part of a building; hence, an indirect way.
Atterbury.
Back¶door¶, a. Acting from behind and in concealment; as backdoor intrigues.
Back¶down· (?), n. A receding or giving up; a complete surrender. [Colloq.]
Backed (?), a. Having a back; fitted with a back; as, a backed electrotype or stereotype plate. Used in composition; as, broad-ÿbacked; hump-backed.
Back¶er (?), n. One who, or that which, backs; especially one who backs a person or thing in a contest.
Back¶fall· (?), n. [2nd back ,n. + fall] A fall or throw on the back in wrestling.
Back¶friend· (?), n. [Back, n. or adv. + friend] A secret enemy. [Obs.]
South.
Back¶gam·mon (?), n. [ Origin unknown; perhaps fr.Dan. bakke tray + E.ÿgame; or very likely the first part is from E.back, adv., and the game is so called because the men are often set back.] A game of chance and skill, played by two persons on a ½board¸ marked off into twenty-four spaces called ½points¸. Each player has fifteen pieces, or ½men¸, the movements of which from point to point are determined by throwing dice. Formerly called ÿtables.
Backgammon board , a board for playing backgammon, often made in the form of two rectangular trays hinged together, each tray containing two ½tables¸.
Back¶gam·mon, v.i. In the game of backgammon, to beat by ending the game before the loser is clear of his first ½table¸.
Back¶ground· (?), n. [ÿBack, a. + ground.]
1. Ground in the rear or behind, or in the distance,
as opposed to the foreground, or the ground in front.
2. (Paint.) The space which is behind and subordinate to a portrait or group of figures.
µ The distance in a picture is usually divided into foreground, middle distance, and background.
Fairholt.
3. Anything behind, serving as a foil; as, the statue had a background of red hangings.
4. A place in obscurity or retirement, or out of sight.
I fancy there was a background of grinding and waiting before Miss Torry could produce this highly finished ... performance.
Mrs.Alexander.
A husband somewhere in the background.
Thackeray.
Back¶hand· (?), n. [Back, adv. + ÿhand.] A kind of handwriting in which the downward slope of the letters is from left to right.
Back¶hand·, a. 1. Sloping from left to right; - said of handwriting.
2. Backhanded; indirect; oblique. [R.]
Back¶hand·ed, a. 1. With the hand turned backward; as, a ÿbackhanded blow.
2. Indirect; awkward; insincere; sarcastic; as, a ÿbackhandedÿ compliment.


 


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