Chapter 2

Abactinal <Xpage=1>

Ab*ac"ti*nal (#) , a. [L. ab + E. actinal .] (Zo\'94l.) Pertaining to the surface or end opposite to the mouth in a radiate animal; -- opposed to actinal. "The aboral or abactinal area."

L. Agassiz.

Abaction <Xpage=1>

Ab*ac"tion (#) , n. Stealing cattle on a large scale. [Obs.]

Abactor <Xpage=1>

Ab*ac"tor (#) , n. [L., fr. abigere to drive away; ab+agere to drive.] (Law) One who steals and drives away cattle or beasts by herds or droves. [Obs.]

Abaculus <Xpage=1>

A*bac"u*lus (#) , n. ; pl. Abaculi (#) . [L., dim. of abacus .] (Arch.) A small tile of glass, marble, or other substance, of various colors, used in making ornamental patterns in mosaic pavements.

Fairholt.

Abacus <Xpage=1>

Ab"a*cus (#) , n. >; E. pl. Abacuses ; L. pl. Abaci (#) . [L. abacus , abax , Gr. <?/] 1. A table or tray strewn with sand, anciently used for drawing, calculating, etc. [Obs.]

2. A calculating table or frame; an instrument for performing arithmetical calculations by balls sliding on wires, or counters in grooves, the lowest line representing units, the second line, tens, etc. It is still employed in China.

3. (Arch.) (a) The uppermost member or division of the capital of a column, immediately under the architrave. See Column . (b) A tablet, panel, or compartment in ornamented or mosaic work.

4. A board, tray, or table, divided into perforated compartments, for holding cups, bottles, or the like; a kind of cupboard, buffet, or sideboard.

Abacus harmonicus (Mus.) , an ancient diagram showing the structure and disposition of the keys of an instrument.

Crabb.

Abada <Xpage=1>

Ab"a*da (#) , n. [Pg., the female rhinoceros.] The rhinoceros. [Obs.]

Purchas.

Abaddon <Xpage=1>

A*bad"don (#) , n. [Heb. \'bebadd\'d3n destruction, abyss, fr. \'bebad to be lost, to perish.] 1. The destroyer, or angel of the bottomless pit; -- the same as Apollyon and Asmodeus.

2. Hell; the bottomless pit. [Poetic]

In all her gates, Abaddon rues Thy bold attempt. Milton.

Abaft <Xpage=1>

A*baft" (#) , prep. [Pref. a -on + OE. baft , baften , biaften , AS. be\'91ftan ; be by + \'91ftan behind. See After , Aft , By .] (Naut.) Behind; toward the stern from; as, abaft the wheelhouse .

Abaft the beam . See under Beam .

Abaft <Xpage=1>

A*baft" , adv. (Naut.) Toward the stern; aft; as, to go abaft .

Abaisance <Xpage=1>

A*bai"sance (#) , n. [For obeisance ; confused with F. abaisser , E. abase] Obeisance. [Obs.]

Jonson.

Abaiser <Xpage=1>

A*bai"ser (#) , n. Ivory black or animal charcoal.

Weale.

<page="2"> Page 2

Abaist <Xpage=2>

A*baist" (#) , p.p. Abashed; confounded; discomfited. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Abalienate <Xpage=2>

Ab*al"ien*ate (#) , v.t. [L. abalienatus , p.p. of abalienare ; ab + alienus foreign, alien. See Alien .] 1. (Civil Law) To transfer the title of from one to another; to alienate.

2. To estrange; to withdraw. [Obs.]

3. To cause alienation of (mind).

Sandys.

Abalienation <Xpage=2>

Ab*al`ien*a"tion (#) , n. [L. abalienatio : cf. F. abalianation .] The act of abalienating; alienation; estrangement. [Obs.]

Abalone <Xpage=2>

Ab`a*lo"ne (#) , n. (Zo\'94l.) A univalve mollusk of the genus Haliotis . The shell is lined with mother-of-pearl, and used for ornamental purposes; the sea-ear. Several large species are found on the coast of California, clinging closely to the rocks.

Aband <Xpage=2>

A*band" (#) , v.t. [Contracted from abandon .]

1. To abandon. [Obs.]

Enforced the kingdom to aband . Spenser.

2. To banish; to expel. [Obs.]

Mir. for Mag.

Abandon <Xpage=2>

A*ban"don (#) , v.t. [ imp. & p.p. Abandoned (#) ; p.pr. & vb.n. Abandoning .] [OF. abandoner , F. abandonner ; a (L. ad )+ bandon permission, authority, LL. bandum , bannum , public proclamation, interdiction, bannire to proclaim, summon: of Germanic origin; cf. Goth. bandwjan to show by signs, to designate OHG. ban proclamation. The word meant to proclaim, put under a ban, put under control; hence, as in OE., to compel, subject, or to leave in the control of another, and hence, to give up. See Ban .] 1. To cast or drive out; to banish; to expel; to reject. [Obs.]

That he might . . . abandon them from him. Udall.

Being all this time abandoned from your bed. Shak.

2. To give up absolutely; to forsake entirely ; to renounce utterly; to relinquish all connection with or concern on; to desert, as a person to whom one owes allegiance or fidelity; to quit; to surrender.

Hope was overthrown, yet could not be abandoned . I. Taylor.

3. Reflexively : To give (one's self) up without attempt at self-control ; to yield (one's self) unrestrainedly ; -- often in a bad sense.

He abandoned himself . . . to his favorite vice. Macaulay.

4. (Mar. Law) To relinquish all claim to; -- used when an insured person gives up to underwriters all claim to the property covered by a policy, which may remain after loss or damage by a peril insured against.

Syn. -- To give up; yield; forego; cede; surrender; resign; abdicate; quit; relinquish; renounce; desert; forsake; leave; retire; withdraw from. -- To Abandon , Desert , Forsake . These words agree in representing a person as giving up or leaving some object, but differ as to the mode of doing it. The distinctive sense of abandon is that of giving up a thing absolutely and finally; as, to abandon one's friends, places, opinions, good or evil habits, a hopeless enterprise, a shipwrecked vessel. Abandon is more widely applicable than forsake or desert . The Latin original of desert appears to have been originally applied to the case of deserters from military service. Hence, the verb, when used of persons in the active voice, has usually or always a bad sense, implying some breach of fidelity, honor, etc., the leaving of something which the person should rightfully stand by and support; as, to desert one's colors, to desert one's post, to desert one's principles or duty. When used in the passive, the sense is not necessarily bad; as, the fields were deserted , a deserted village, deserted halls. Forsake implies the breaking off of previous habit, association, personal connection, or that the thing left had been familiar or frequented; as, to forsake old friends, to forsake the paths of rectitude, the blood forsook his cheeks. It may be used either in a good or in a bad sense.

Abandon <Xpage=2>

A*ban"don , n. [F. abandon . fr. abandonner . See Abandon , v .] Abandonment; relinquishment. [Obs.]

Abandon <Xpage=2>

A`ban`don" (#) , n. [F. See Abandon .] A complete giving up to natural impulses; freedom from artificial constraint; careless freedom or ease.

Abandoned <Xpage=2>

A*ban"doned (#) , a. 1. Forsaken, deserted. "Your abandoned streams."

Thomson.

2. Self-abandoned, or given up to vice; extremely wicked, or sinning without restraint; irreclaimably wicked ; as, an abandoned villain .

Syn. -- Profligate; dissolute; corrupt; vicious; depraved; reprobate; wicked; unprincipled; graceless; vile. -- Abandoned , Profligate , Reprobate . These adjectives agree in expressing the idea of great personal depravity. Profligate has reference to open and shameless immoralities, either in private life or political conduct; as, a profligate court, a profligate ministry. Abandoned is stronger, and has reference to the searing of conscience and hardening of heart produced by a man's giving himself wholly up to iniquity; as, a man of abandoned character. Reprobate describes the condition of one who has become insensible to reproof, and who is morally abandoned and lost beyond hope of recovery.

God gave them over to a reprobate mind. Rom. i. 28.

Abandonedly <Xpage=2>

A*ban"doned*ly , adv. Unrestrainedly.

Abandonee <Xpage=2>

A*ban`don*ee" (#) , n. (Law) One to whom anything is legally abandoned.

Abandoner <Xpage=2>

A*ban"don*er (#) , n. One who abandons.

Beau. & Fl.

Abandonment <Xpage=2>

A*ban"don*ment (#) , n. [Cf. F. abandonnement .]

1. The act of abandoning, or the state of being abandoned; total desertion; relinquishment.

The abandonment of the independence of Europe. Burke.

2. (Mar. Law) The relinquishment by the insured to the underwriters of what may remain of the property insured after a loss or damage by a peril insured against.

3. (Com. Law) (a) The relinquishment of a right, claim, or privilege, as to mill site, etc. (b) The voluntary leaving of a person to whom one is bound by a special relation, as a wife, husband, or child; desertion.

4. Careless freedom or ease; abandon. [R.]

Carlyle.

Abandum <Xpage=2>

A*ban"*dum (#) , n. [LL. See Abandon .] (Law) Anything forfeited or confiscated.

Abanet <Xpage=2>

Ab"a*net (#) , n. See Abnet .

Abanga <Xpage=2>

A*ban"ga (#) , n. [Name given by the negroes in the island of St. Thomas.] A West Indian palm; also the fruit of this palm, the seeds of which are used as a remedy for diseases of the chest.

Abannation, Abannition <Xpage=2>

Ab`an*na"tion (#) , Ab`an*nition (#) , n. [LL. abannatio ; ad + LL. bannire to banish.] (Old Law) Banishment. [Obs.]

Bailey.

Abarticulation <Xpage=2>

Ab`ar*tic`u*la"tion (#) , n. [L. ab + E. articulation : cf. F. abarticulation. See Article .] (Anat.) Articulation, usually that kind of articulation which admits of free motion in the joint; diarthrosis.

Coxe.

Abase <Xpage=2>

A*base" (#) , v.t. [ imp.&p.p. Abased (#) ; p.pr. & vb. n. Abasing .] [F. abaisser, LL. abassare , abbassare ; ad + bassare , fr. bassus low. See Base , a. ]

1. To lower or depress; to throw or cast down; as, to abase the eye . [Archaic]

Bacon.

Saying so, he abased his lance. Shelton.

2. To cast down or reduce low or lower, as in rank, office, condition in life, or estimation of worthiness; to depress; to humble; to degrade.

Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased . Luke xiv. ll.

Syn. -- To Abase , Debase , Degrade . These words agree in the idea of bringing down from a higher to a lower state. Abase has reference to a bringing down in condition or feelings; as to abase one's self before God. Debase has reference to the bringing down of a thing in purity, or making it base . It is, therefore, always used in a bad sense, as, to debase the coin of the kingdom, to debase the mind by vicious indulgence, to debase one's style by coarse or vulgar expressions. Degrade has reference to a bringing down from some higher grade or from some standard. Thus, a priest is degraded from the clerical office. When used in a moral sense, it denotes a bringing down in character and just estimation; as, degraded by intemperance, a degrading employment, etc. "Art is degraded when it is regarded only as a trade."

Abased <Xpage=2>

A*based" (#) , a. 1. Lowered; humbled.

2. (Her.) [F. abaiss\'82 .] Borne lower than usual, as a fess; also, having the ends of the wings turned downward towards the point of the shield.

Abasedly <Xpage=2>

A*bas"ed*ly (#) , adv. Abjectly; downcastly.

Abasement <Xpage=2>

A*base"ment (#) , n. [Cf. F. abaissement .] The act of abasing, humbling, or bringing low; the state of being abased or humbled; humiliation.

Abaser <Xpage=2>

A*bas"er (#) , n. He who, or that which, abases.

Abash <Xpage=2>

A*bash" (#) , v.t. [ imp. & p.p. Abashed (#) ; p.pr. & vb. n. Abashing .] [OE. abaissen , abaisshen , abashen , OF. esbahir , F. \'82bahir , to astonish, fr. L. ex + the interjection bah , expressing astonishment. In OE. somewhat confused with abase . Cf. Finish .] To destroy the self-possession of; to confuse or confound, as by exciting suddenly a consciousness of guilt, mistake, or inferiority; to put to shame; to disconcert; to discomfit.

Abashed , the devil stood, And felt how awful goodness is. Milton.

He was a man whom no check could abash . Macaulay.

Syn. -- To confuse; confound; disconcert; shame. -- To Abash , Confuse, Confound . Abash is a stronger word than confuse , but not so strong as confound . We are abashed when struck either with sudden shame or with a humbling sense of inferiority; as, Peter was abashed in the presence of those who are greatly his superiors. We are confused when, from some unexpected or startling occurrence, we lose clearness of thought and self-possession. Thus, a witness is often confused by a severe cross-examination; a timid person is apt to be confused in entering a room full of strangers. We are confounded when our minds are overwhelmed, as it were, by something wholly unexpected, amazing, dreadful, etc., so that we have nothing to say. Thus, a criminal is usually confounded at the discovery of his guilt.

Satan stood Awhile as mute, confounded what to say. Milton.

Abashedly <Xpage=2>

A*bash"ed*ly (#) , adv. In an abashed manner.

Abashment <Xpage=2>

A*bash"ment (#) , n. [Cf. F. \'82bahissement .] The state of being abashed; confusion from shame.

Abassi, Abassis <Xpage=2>

A*bas"si (#) , A*bas"sis (#) , n. [Ar.& Per. ab\'bes\'c6 , belonging to Abas (a king of Persia).] A silver coin of Persia, worth about twenty cents.

Abatable <Xpage=2>

A*bat"a*ble (#) , a. Capable of being abated; as, an abatable writ or nuisance .

Abate <Xpage=2>

A*bate" (#) , v.t. [ imp.& p.p. Abated , p.pr. & vb.n . Abating .] [OF. abatre to beat down, F. abattre , LL. abatere ; ab or ad + batere , battere (popular form for L. batuere to beat). Cf. Bate , Batter .]

1. To beat down; to overthrow. [Obs.]

The King of Scots . . . sore abated the walls. Edw. Hall.

2. To bring down or reduce from a higher to a lower state, number, or degree; to lessen; to diminish; to contract; to moderate; toto cut short; as, to abate a demand; to abate pride, zeal, hope.

His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated . Deut. xxxiv. 7.

3. To deduct; to omit; as, to abate something from a price .

Nine thousand parishes, abating the odd hundreds. Fuller.

4. To blunt. [Obs.]

To abate the edge of envy. Bacon.

5. To reduce in estimation; to deprive. [Obs.]

She hath abated me of half my train. Shak.

6. (Law) (a) To bring entirely down or put an end to; to do away with; as, to abate a nuisance, to abate a writ . (b) (Eng. Law ) To diminish; to reduce. Legacies are liable to be abated entirely or in proportion, upon a deficiency of assets.

To abate a tax , to remit it either wholly or in part.

Abate <Xpage=2>

A*bate" (#) , v.i. [See Abate , v . t .] 1. To decrease, or become less in strength or violence; as, pain abates , a storm abates .

The fury of Glengarry . . . rapidly abated . Macaulay.

2. To be defeated, or come to naught; to fall through; to fail; as, a writ abates .

To abate into a freehold , To abate in lands (Law) , to enter into a freehold after the death of the last possessor, and before the heir takes possession. See Abatement , 4.

Syn. -- To subside; decrease; intermit; decline; diminish; lessen. -- To Abate , Subside . These words, as here compared, imply a coming down from some previously raised or exited state. Abate expresses this in respect to degrees, and implies a diminution of force or of intensity; as, the storm abates , the cold abates , the force of the wind abates ; or, the wind abates , a fever abates . Subside (to settle down) has reference to a previous state of agitation or commotion; as, the waves subside after a storm, the wind subsides into a calm. When the words are used figuratively, the same distinction should be observed. If we conceive of a thing as having different degrees of intensity or strength, the word to be used is abate. Thus we say, a man's anger abates , the ardor of one's love abates, "Winter rage abates ". But if the image be that of a sinking down into quiet from preceding excitement or commotion, the word to be used is subside ; as, the tumult of the people subsides , the public mind subsided into a calm. The same is the case with those emotions which are tumultuous in their nature; as, his passion subsides , his joy quickly subsided , his grief subsided into a pleasing melancholy. Yet if, in such cases, we were thinking of the degree of violence of the emotion, we might use abate ; as, his joy will abate in the progress of time; and so in other instances.

Abate <Xpage=2>

A*bate (#) , n. Abatement. [Obs.]

Sir T. Browne.

Abatement <Xpage=2>

A*bate"ment (#) , n. [OF. abatement , F. abattement .] 1. The act of abating, or the state of being abated; a lessening, diminution, or reduction; removal or putting an end to; as, the abatement of a nuisance is the suppression thereof .

2. The amount abated; that which is taken away by way of reduction; deduction; decrease; a rebate or discount allowed.

3. (Her.) A mark of dishonor on an escutcheon.

4. (Law) The entry of a stranger, without right, into a freehold after the death of the last possessor, before the heir or devisee.

Blackstone.

Defense in abatement , Plea in abatement , (Law) , plea to the effect that from some formal defect (e.g. misnomer, want of jurisdiction) the proceedings should be abated.

Abater <Xpage=2>

A*bat"er (#) , n. One who, or that which, abates.

Abatis, Abattis <Xpage=2>

Ab"a*tis , Aba"t*tis , (#) n. [F. abatis , abattis , mass of things beaten or cut down, fr. abattre . See Abate .] (Fort.) A means of defense formed by felled trees, the ends of whose branches are sharpened and directed outwards, or against the enemy.

Abatised <Xpage=2>