Chapter 1

Begin file 1 of 11: A and B. (Version 0.50) of An electronic field-marked version of:

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary Version published 1913 by the C. & G. Merriam Co. Springfield, Mass. Under the direction of Noah Porter, D.D., LL.D.

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A (named in the English, and most commonly ä in other languages). The first letter of the English and of many other alphabets. The capital A of the alphabets of Middle and Western Europe, as also the small letter (a), besides the forms in Italic, black letter, etc., are all descended from the old Latin A, which was borrowed from the Greek Alpha, of the same form; and this was made from the first letter (&?;) of the Phœnician alphabet, the equivalent of the Hebrew Aleph, and itself from the Egyptian origin. The Aleph was a consonant letter, with a guttural breath sound that was not an element of Greek articulation; and the Greeks took it to represent their vowel Alpha with the ä sound, the Phœnician alphabet having no vowel symbols.

This letter, in English, is used for several different vowel sounds. See Guide to pronunciation, §§ 43-74. The regular long a, as in fate, etc., is a comparatively modern sound, and has taken the place of what, till about the early part of the 17th century, was a sound of the quality of ä (as in far).

2. (Mus.) The name of the sixth tone in the model major scale (that in C), or the first tone of the minor scale, which is named after it the scale in A minor. The second string of the violin is tuned to the A in the treble staff. -- A sharp (A) is the name of a musical tone intermediate between A and B. -- A flat (A) is the name of a tone intermediate between A and G.

A per se (L. per se by itself), one preëminent; a nonesuch. [Obs.]

O fair Creseide, the flower and A per se Of Troy and Greece. Chaucer.

A ( emph. ). 1. [Shortened form of an. AS. n one. See One.] An adjective, commonly called the indefinite article, and signifying one or any, but less emphatically. "At a birth"; "In a word"; "At a blow". Shak. It is placed before nouns of the singular number denoting an individual object, or a quality individualized, before collective nouns, and also before plural nouns when the adjective few or the phrase great many or good many is interposed; as, a dog, a house, a man; a color; a sweetness; a hundred, a fleet, a regiment; a few persons, a great many days. It is used for an, for the sake of euphony, before words beginning with a consonant sound [for exception of certain words beginning with h, see An]; as, a table, a woman, a year, a unit, a eulogy, a ewe, a oneness, such a one, etc. Formally an was used both before vowels and consonants.

2. [Originally the preposition a (an, on).] In each; to or for each; as, "twenty leagues a day", "a hundred pounds a year", "a dollar a yard", etc.

A (), prep. [Abbreviated form of an (AS. on). See On.] 1. In; on; at; by. [Obs.] "A God's name." "Torn a pieces." "Stand a tiptoe." "A Sundays" Shak. "Wit that men have now a days." Chaucer. "Set them a work." Robynson (More's Utopia).

2. In process of; in the act of; into; to; -- used with verbal substantives in -ing which begin with a consonant. This is a shortened form of the preposition an (which was used before the vowel sound); as in a hunting, a building, a begging. "Jacob, when he was a dying" Heb. xi. 21. "We'll a birding together." " It was a doing." Shak. "He burst out a laughing." Macaulay. The hyphen may be used to connect a with the verbal substantive (as, a-hunting, a-building) or the words may be written separately. This form of expression is now for the most part obsolete, the a being omitted and the verbal substantive treated as a participle.

A. [From AS. of off, from. See Of.] Of. [Obs.] "The name of John a Gaunt." "What time a day is it ?" Shak. "It's six a clock." B. Jonson.

A. A barbarous corruption of have, of he, and sometimes of it and of they. "So would I a done" "A brushes his hat." Shak.

A. An expletive, void of sense, to fill up the meter

A merry heart goes all the day, Your sad tires in a mile-a. Shak.

A-. A, as a prefix to English words, is derived from various sources. (1) It frequently signifies on or in (from an, a forms of AS. on), denoting a state, as in afoot, on foot, abed, amiss, asleep, aground, aloft, away (AS. onweg), and analogically, ablaze, atremble, etc. (2) AS. of off, from, as in adown (AS. ofdne off the dun or hill). (3) AS. - (Goth. us-, ur-, Ger. er-), usually giving an intensive force, and sometimes the sense of away, on, back, as in arise, abide, ago. (4) Old English y- or i- (corrupted from the AS. inseparable particle ge- , cognate with OHG. ga-, gi-, Goth. ga-), which, as a prefix, made no essential addition to the meaning, as in aware. (5) French à (L. ad to), as in abase, achieve. (6) L. a, ab, abs, from, as in avert. (7) Greek insep. prefix α without, or privative, not, as in abyss, atheist; akin to E. un-.

Besides these, there are other sources from which the prefix a takes its origin.

A 1 ( wn). A registry mark given by underwriters (as at Lloyd's) to ships in first-class condition. Inferior grades are indicated by A 2 and A 3.

A 1 is also applied colloquially to other things to imply superiority; prime; first-class; first-rate.

||Aam (m or äm), n. [D. aam, fr. LL. ama; cf. L. hama a water bucket, Gr. &?;] A Dutch and German measure of liquids, varying in different cities, being at Amsterdam about 41 wine gallons, at Antwerp 36½, at Hamburg 38¼. [Written also Aum and Awm.]

||Aard"-vark` (ärd"värk`), n. [D., earth-pig.] (Zoöl.) An edentate mammal, of the genus Orycteropus, somewhat resembling a pig, common in some parts of Southern Africa. It burrows in the ground, and feeds entirely on ants, which it catches with its long, slimy tongue.

||Aard"-wolf` (ärd"wlf), n. [D, earth-wolf] (Zoöl.) A carnivorous quadruped (Proteles Lalandii), of South Africa, resembling the fox and hyena. See Proteles.

{ Aa*ron"ic (*rn"k), Aa*ron"ic*al (-*kal), } a. Pertaining to Aaron, the first high priest of the Jews.

Aar"on's rod` (âr"nz rd`). [See Exodus vii. 9 and Numbers xvii. 8] 1. (Arch.) A rod with one serpent twined around it, thus differing from the caduceus of Mercury, which has two.

2. (Bot.) A plant with a tall flowering stem; esp. the great mullein, or hag-taper, and the golden-rod.

Ab- (b). [Latin prep., etymologically the same as E. of, off. See Of.] A prefix in many words of Latin origin. It signifies from, away , separating, or departure, as in abduct, abstract, abscond. See A-(6).

||Ab (b), n. [Of Syriac origin.] The fifth month of the Jewish year according to the ecclesiastical reckoning, the eleventh by the civil computation, coinciding nearly with August. W. Smith.

||Ab"a*ca (b"*k), n. [The native name.] The Manila-hemp plant (Musa textilis); also, its fiber. See Manila hemp under Manila.

A*bac"i*nate (*bs"*nt), v. t. [LL. abacinatus, p. p. of abacinare; ab off + bacinus a basin.] To blind by a red-hot metal plate held before the eyes. [R.]

A*bac`i*na"tion (*bs`*n"shn), n. The act of abacinating. [R.]

||Ab`a*cis"cus (b`*ss"ks), n. [Gr. 'abaki`skos, dim of 'a`bax. See Abacus.] (Arch.) One of the tiles or squares of a tessellated pavement; an abaculus.

Ab"a*cist (b"*sst), n. [LL abacista, fr. abacus.] One who uses an abacus in casting accounts; a calculator.

A*back" (*bk"), adv. [Pref. a- + back; AS. on bæc at, on, or toward the back. See Back.] 1. Toward the back or rear; backward. "Therewith aback she started." Chaucer.

2. Behind; in the rear. Knolles.

3. (Naut.) Backward against the mast; -- said of the sails when pressed by the wind. Totten.

To be taken aback. (a) To be driven backward against the mast; -- said of the sails, also of the ship when the sails are thus driven. (b) To be suddenly checked, baffled, or discomfited. Dickens.

Ab"ack (b"ak), n. An abacus. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

Ab*ac"ti*nal (b*k"t*nal), a. [L. ab + E. actinal.] (Zoöl.) Pertaining to the surface or end opposite to the mouth in a radiate animal; -- opposed to actinal. "The aboral or abactinal area." L. Agassiz.

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

Ab*ac"tor (-tr), 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.]

||A*bac"u*lus (b*k"*ls), n.; pl. Abaculi (-l). [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.

Ab"a*cus (b"*ks), n.; E. pl. Abacuses ; L. pl. Abaci (-s). [L. abacus, abax, Gr. 'a`bax] 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.

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

A*bad"don (*bd"dn), n. [Heb. baddn destruction, abyss, fr. bad 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.

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

Abaft the beam. See under Beam.

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

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

A*bai"ser (*b"sr), n. Ivory black or animal charcoal. Weale.

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

Ab*al"ien*ate (b*l"yen*t; 94, 106), 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.

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

||Ab`a*lo"ne (b`*l"n), n. (Zoöl.) 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.

A*band" (*bnd"), v. t. [Contracted from abandon.] 1. To abandon. [Obs.]

1. To abandon. [Obs.]

Enforced the kingdom to aband. Spenser.

2. To banish; to expel. [Obs.] Mir. for Mag.

A*ban"don (*bn"dn), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abandoned (- dnd); 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.

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

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

A*ban"doned (*bn"dnd), 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.

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

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

A*ban"don*er (*bn"dn*r), n. One who abandons. Beau. & Fl.

A*ban"don*ment (-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.

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

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

||A*ban"ga (*b"g), 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.

{ Ab`an*na"tion (b`n*n"shn), Ab`an*nition (b`n*nsh"n), } n. [LL. abannatio; ad + LL. bannire to banish.] (Old Law) Banishment. [Obs.] Bailey.

Ab`ar*tic`u*la"tion (acr/b`är*tk`*l"shn), 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.

A*base" (*bs"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abased (*bst"); 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 the proud, 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."

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

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

A*bas"ed*ly (*bs"d*l), adv. Abjectly; downcastly.

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

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

A*bash" (*bsh"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abashed (*bsht"); p. pr. & vb. n. Abashing.] [OE. abaissen, abaisshen, abashen, OF. esbahir, F. ébahir, 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 by the look of his Master. So a modest youth is 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.

A*bash"ed*ly (-d*l), adv. In an abashed manner.

A*bash"ment (-ment), n. [Cf. F. ébahissement.] The state of being abashed; confusion from shame.

{ ||A*bas"si (*bs"s), ||A*bas"sis (*bs"ss), } n. [Ar. & Per. abs, belonging to Abas (a king of Persia).] A silver coin of Persia, worth about twenty cents.

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

A*bate" (*bt"), 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; to 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.

A*bate" (*bt"), 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.