The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section X, Y, and Z
Chapter 10
||A`per`çu" (`pâr`s"), n.; pl. Aperçus (- s"). [F., prop. p. p. of apercevoir to perceive.] 1. A first view or glance, or the perception or estimation so obtained; an immediate apprehension or insight, appreciative rather than analytic.
The main object being to develop the several aperçus or insights which furnish the method of such psychology.
W. T. Harris.
A series of partial and more or less disparate aperçus or outlooks; each for itself a center of experience.
James Ward.
2. Hence, a brief or detached view; conspectus; sketch.
A*pho"tic (*f"tk), a. [Gr. 'a`fws, 'a`fwtos.] Without light.
Aphotic region. (Phytogeog.) A depth of water so great that only those organisms can exist that do not assimilate.
||A*phra"si*a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. 'a priv. + fra`sis speech.] (Med.) (a) = Dumbness. (b) A disorder of speech in which words can be uttered but not intelligibly joined together.
A`pi*ol"o*gy (?), n. [L. apis bee + -logy.] The scientific or systematic study of honey bees.
A*plan`o*ga*mete" (?), n. (Bot.) A nonmotile gamete, found in certain lower algæ.
||A*pla"si*a (?), n. [NL.; Gr. &?; priv. + &?; a molding.] (Med.) Incomplete or faulty development.
Ap`neu*mat"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?; not blown through.] (Med.) Devoid of air; free from air; as, an apneumatic lung; also, effected by or with exclusion of air; as, an apneumatic operation.
A*poc"a*lypse (?), n. (Eccl.) One of a numerous class of writings proceeding from Jewish authors between 250 b. c. and 150 a. d., and designed to propagate the Jewish faith or to cheer the hearts of the Jewish people with the promise of deliverance and glory; or proceeding from Christian authors of the opening centuries and designed to portray the future.
Ap`o*chro*mat"ic (?), a. [Pref. apo- + chromatic.] (Optics) Free from chromatic and spherical aberration; -- said esp. of a lens in which rays of three or more colors are brought to the same focus, the degree of achromatism thus obtained being more complete than where two rays only are thus focused, as in the ordinary achromatic objective. -- Ap`o*chro"ma*tism (#), n.
Ap`o*co*de"ine (?), n. [Pref. apo- + codeine.] (Chem.) An alkaloid, &?;, prepared from codeine. In its effects it resembles apomorphine.
Ap`o*se*mat"ic (?), a. [Pref. apo- + sematic.] (Zoöl.) Having or designating conspicuous or warning colors or structures indicative of special means of defense against enemies, as in the skunk.
Ap`os*tol"ic del"e*gate. (R. C. Ch.) The diplomatic agent of the pope highest in grade, superior to a nuncio.
||Ap`pel" (?), n. [F., prop., a call. See Appeal, n.] (Fencing) A tap or stamp of the foot as a warning of intent to attack; -- called also attack.
{ Ap`pen*dec"to*my (?), Ap*pend`i*cec"to*my (?) }, n.} [Appendix + Gr. &?;, fr. &?; excision.] (Surg.) Excision of the vermiform appendix.
Ap*pen"dix, n. The vermiform appendix.
||Ap*pen"dix ver`mi*for"mis (?). [NL.] (Anat.) The vermiform appendix.
Ap*pos"a*ble (?), a. (Anat.) Capable of being apposed, or applied one to another, as the thumb to the fingers of the hand.
Ap*proach", n. (Golf) A stroke whose object is to land the ball on the putting green. It is made with an iron club.
||Ap`pui" (?), n. (Man.) The mutual bearing or support of the hand of the rider and the mouth of the horse through the bit and bridle. -- Point d'appui (&?;), any point of support or basis of operations, as a rallying point.
||A*ra"ba (?), n. [Written also aroba and arba.] [Ar. or Turk. 'arabah: cf. Russ. arba.] A wagon or cart, usually heavy and without springs, and often covered. [Oriental]
The araba of the Turks has its sides of latticework to admit the air
Balfour (Cyc. of India).
||Ar`a*ro"ba (?), n. [Tupi.] 1. Goa powder.
2. A fabaceous tree of Brazil (Centrolobium robustum) having handsomely striped wood; -- called also zebrawood.
Arc (ärk), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Arcked (ärkt); p. pr. & vb. n. Arcking.] (Elec.) To form a voltaic arc, as an electrical current in a broken or disconnected circuit.
Ar"chi*bald wheel (?). A metal-hubbed wheel of great strength and elasticity, esp. adapted for artillery carriages and motor cars.
Ar"cho*plasm (?), n. [See Archon; Plasma.] (Biol.) The substance from which attraction spheres develop in mitotic cell division, and of which they consist.
Arc light. (Elec.) The light of an arc lamp.
Ar`dois" sys"tem (?). (Naut.) A widely used system of electric night signals in which a series of double electric lamps (white and red) is arranged vertically on a mast, and operated from a keyboard below.
{ A*re"co*line (?), n. Also - lin }. [From NL. Areca, a genus of palms bearing betel nut.] An oily liquid substance, C8H13O2N, the chief alkaloid of the betel nut, to which the latter owes its anthelmintic action.
||A`rête" (?), n. [F., lit., a sharp fish bone, ridge, sharp edge, fr. L. arista beard of grain.] (Geog.) An acute and rugged crest of a mountain range or a subsidiary ridge between two mountain gorges.
Ar`gen*ta"li*um (?), n. [NL.; L. argentum silver + E. aluminium.] A (patented) alloy of aluminium and silver, with a density of about 2.9.
{ Ar*gen"ta*mine (?), n. Also - min }. [L. argentum silver + E. amine.] (Med.) A solution of silver phosphate in an aqueous solution of ethylene diamine, used as an antiseptic astringent and as a disinfectant.
Ar"gon (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, neut. of &?; inactive; &?; priv. + &?; work.] (Chem.) A colorless, odorless gas occurring in the air (of which it constitutes 0.93 per cent by volume), in volcanic gases, etc.; -- so named on account of its inertness by Rayleigh and Ramsay, who prepared and examined it in 1894-95. Symbol, A; at. wt., 39.9. Argon is condensible to a colorless liquid boiling at -186.1° C. and to a solid melting at -189.6° C. It has a characteristic spectrum. No compounds of it are known, but there is physical evidence that its molecule is monatomic. Weight of one liter at 0° C. and 760 mm., 1.7828 g.
Ar"go*naut (?), n. One of those who went to California in search of gold shortly after it was discovered there in 1848. [U. S.] Bret Harte.
The "Argonauts of '49" were a strong, self- reliant, generous body of men.
D. S. Jordan.
A"ri*el (?), n. [Heb. ariël, perh. confused with E. aërial.] In the Cabala, a water spirit; in later folklore, a light and graceful spirit of the air.
In zoölogy, ariel is used adjectively of certain birds noted for their graceful flight; as, the ariel toucan; the ariel petrel.
Ar"il*lode (?), n. [Arillus + Gr. &?; form.] (Bot.) A false aril; an aril originating from the micropyle instead of from the funicle or chalaza of the ovule. The mace of the nutmeg is an arillode.
A*ris"to*type` (?), n. [Gr. &?; best + -type.] (Photog.) Orig., a printing-out process using paper coated with silver chloride in gelatin; now, any such process using silver salts in either collodion or gelatin; also, a print so made.
Ar*kose" (?), n. [F] (Petrog) A sandstone derived from the disintegration of granite or gneiss, and characterized by feldspar fragments. -- Ar*kos"ic (#), a.
Ar"ma*ture (?), n. (Elec.) That part of a dynamo or electric generator or of an electric motor in which a current is induced by a relatively moving magnetic field. The armature usually consists of a series of coils or groups of insulated conductors surrounding a core of iron.
Ar"mored cruis"er. (Nav.) A man-of-war carrying a large coal supply, and more or less protected from the enemy's shot by iron or steel armor. There is no distinct and accepted classification distinguishing armored and protected cruisers from each other, except that the first have more or heavier armor than the second.
Army organization. The system by which a country raises, classifies, arranges, and equips its armed land forces. The usual divisions are: (1) A regular or active army, in which soldiers serve continuously with the colors and live in barracks or cantonments when not in the field; (2) the reserves of this army, in which the soldiers, while remaining constantly subject to a call to the colors, live at their homes, being summoned more or less frequently to report for instruction, drill, or maneuvers; and (3) one or more classes of soldiers organized largely for territorial defense, living at home and having only occasional periods of drill and instraction, who are variously called home reserves (as in the table below), second, third, etc., line of defense (the regular army and its reserves ordinarily constituting the first line of defense), territorial forces, or the like. In countries where conscription prevails a soldier is supposed to serve a given number of years. He is usually enrolled first in the regular army, then passes to its reserve, then into the home reserves, to serve until he reaches the age limit. It for any reason he is not enrolled in the regular army, he may begin his service in the army reserves or even the home reserves, but then serves the full number of years or up to the age limit. In equipment the organization of the army is into the three great arms of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, together with more or less numerous other branches, such as engineers, medical corps, etc., besides the staff organizations such as those of the pay and subsistence departments.
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{ ||Ar*naut" ||Ar*naout" } (?), n. [Turk. Arnaut, fr. NGr. &?;, for &?;.] An inhabitant of Albania and neighboring mountainous regions, specif. one serving as a soldier in the Turkish army.
Ar"oid (?), n. [Arum + - oid.] (Bot.) Any plant of the Arum family (Araceæ).
A*rol"la (*rl"l), n. [F. arolle.] (Bot.) The stone pine (Pinus Cembra).
||Ar"rha (?), n.; pl. Arrhæ (#). [L. Cf. Earnest.] (Law) Money or other valuable thing given to evidence a contract; a pledge or earnest.
||Ar*te`ri*o*scle*ro"sis (är*t`r**skl*r"ss), n. [Gr. 'arthri`a artery + sclerosis.] (Med.) Abnormal thickening and hardening of the walls of the arteries, esp. of the intima, occurring mostly in old age. -- Ar*te`ri*o*scle*rot"ic (#), a.
||Ar`thro*chon*dri"tis (?), n. [NL.] (Med.) Chondritis of a joint.
||Ar*throd"e*sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; joint + &?; a binding together.] (Surg.) Surgical fixation of joints.
Ar*throp"a*thy (?), n. [Gr. &?; joint + &?;, &?;, to suffer.] (Med.) Any disease of the joints.
Ar"thro*spore (?), n. [Gr. &?; joint + E. spore.] (Bacteriol.) A bacterial resting cell, - - formerly considered a spore, but now known to occur even in endosporous bacteria. -- Ar`thro*spor"ic (#), Ar*thros"po*rous (#), a.
Ar"thro*tome (?), n. [Gr. &?; joint + &?; to cut.] (Surg.) A strong scalpel used in the dissection of joints.
Ar*thu"ri*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to King Arthur or his knights. J. R. Symonds.
In magnitude, in interest, and as a literary origin, the Arthurian invention dwarfs all other things in the book.
Saintsbury.
Ar"ti*fact (?), n. [L. ars, artis, art + facere, factum, to make.] 1. (Archæol.) A product of human workmanship; -- applied esp. to the simpler products of aboriginal art as distinguished from natural objects.
2. (Biol.) A structure or appearance in protoplasm due to death or the use of reagents and not present during life.
Ar*til"ler*y wheel. A kind of heavily built dished wheel with a long axle box, used on gun carriages, usually having 14 spokes and 7 felloes; hence, a wheel of similar construction for use on automobiles, etc.
||As`ca*ri"a*sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; an intestinal worm.] (Med.) A disease, usually accompanied by colicky pains and diarrhea, caused by the presence of ascarids in the gastrointestinal canal.
As"co*carp (?), n. [Gr. 'asko`s a bladder + karpo`s fruit.] (Bot.) In ascomycetous fungi, the spherical, discoid, or cup-shaped body within which the asci are collected, and which constitutes the mature fructification. The different forms are known in mycology under distinct names. Called also spore fruit.
||As`co*my*ce"tes (?), n. pl. [NL.; ascus + Gr. &?;, &?;, fungus.] (Bot.) A large class of higher fungi distinguished by septate hyphæ, and by having their spores formed in asci, or spore sacs. It comprises many orders, among which are the yeasts, molds, mildews, truffles, morels, etc. -- As`co*my*ce"tous (#), a.
||A*se"mi*a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; priv. + &?; sign.] (Med.) Loss of power to express, or to understand, symbols or signs of thought.
||A*sep"sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; priv. + sepsis.] State of being aseptic; the methods or processes of asepticizing.
A*sex`u*al*i*za"tion (?), n. [Asexual + -ize + -ation.] The act or process of sterilizing an animal or human being, as by vasectomy.
As"pect, n. (Aëronautics) A view of a plane from a given direction, usually from above; more exactly, the manner of presentation of a plane to a fluid through which it is moving or to a current. If an immersed plane meets a current of fluid long side foremost, or in broadside aspect, it sustains more pressure than when placed short side foremost. Hence, long narrow wings are more effective than short broad ones of the same area.
Aspect ratio. (Aëronautics) The ratio of the long to the short side of an aëroplane, aërocurve, or wing.
As"pi*rin (?), n. (Pharm.) A white crystalline compound of acetyl and salicylic acid used as a drug for the salicylic acid liberated from it in the intestines.
As"say pound. A small standard weight used in assaying bullion, etc., sometimes equaling 0.5 gram, but varying with the assayer.
Assay ton. A weight of 29.166 + grams used in assaying, for convenience. Since it bears the same relation to the milligram that a ton of 2000 avoirdupois pounds does to the troy ounce, the weight in milligrams of precious metal obtained from an assay ton of ore gives directly the number of ounces to the ton.
As*sem"ble, v. t. To collect and put together the parts of; as, to assemble a bicycle, watch, gun, or other manufactured article.
AS*sign" (?), v. i. (Law) To transfer or pass over property to another, whether for the benefit of the assignee or of the assignor's creditors, or in furtherance of some trust.
As"ta*tize (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Astatized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Astatizing.] (Magnetism) To render astatic.
As*tat"ki (?), n. [From Russ. ostatki remnants, pl. of ostatok.] A thick liquid residuum obtained in the distillation of Russian petroleum, much used as fuel.
As"ter, n. (Biol.) A star- shaped figure of achromatic substance found chiefly in cells dividing by mitosis.
As*ter"o*pe (?), n. [Gr. &?;, lit., lightning.] 1. (Myth.) One of the Pleiades; -- called also Sterope.
2. (Astron.) A double star in the Pleiades (21 k and 22 l Pleiadum, of the 5.8 and 6.4 magnitude respectively), appearing as a single star of the 5.3 magnitude to the naked eye.
Asth"ma pa"per. Paper impregnated with saltpeter. The fumes from the burning paper are often inhaled as an alleviative by asthmatics.
As"tral, a. 1. (Biol.) Of or pertaining to an aster; as, astral rays; astral sphere.
2. (Theosophy) Consisting of, belonging to, or designating, a kind of supersensible substance alleged to be next above the tangible world in refinement; as, astral spirits; astral bodies of persons; astral current.
As`tro*pho*tom"e*ter (?), n. [Pref. astro- + photometer.] (Astron.) A photometer for measuring the brightness of stars.
As`tro*pho*tom"e*try (?), n. (Astron.) The determination of the brightness of stars, and also of the sun, moon, and planets. -- As`tro*pho`to*met"ric*al (#), a.
As`tro*phys"ics (?), n. [Astro- + physics.] (Astron.) The science treating of the physical characteristics of the stars and other heavenly bodies, their chemical constitution, light, heat, atmospheres, etc.
Its observations are made with the spectroscope, bolometer, etc., usually in connection with the telescope.
A*syn"chro*nous (?), a. [Gr. &?; not + synchronous.] Not simultaneous; not concurrent in time; -- opposed to synchronous.
At`a*mas"co lil"y (?). [Atamasco is fr. North American Indian.] (Bot.) See under Lily.
{ A`te*lets" sauce (?) or ||Sauce` aux ha`te*lets" (?) }. [F. hâtelet skewer.] A sauce (such as egg and bread crumbs) used for covering bits of meat, small birds, or fish, strung on skewers for frying.
{ ||Ath`a*na"si*a (?), A*than"a*sy (?) }, n. [NL. athanasia, fr. Gr. &?;; &?; priv. + &?; death.] The quality of being deathless; immortality.
Is not a scholiastic athanasy better than none?
Lowell.
Ath"e*tize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Athetized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Athetizing (?).] [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; set aside, not fixed; &?; not + &?; to place.] To set aside or reject as spurious, as by marking with an obelus.
||A*threp"si*a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; priv. + &?; nourishment.] (Med.) Profound debility of children due to lack of food and to unhygienic surroundings. -- A*threp"tic (#), a.
At"las pow"der. A blasting powder or dynamite composed of nitroglycerin, wood fiber, sodium nitrate, and magnesium carbonate.
||At"man (?), n. [Skr. tman.] (Hinduism) (a) The life principle, soul, or individual essence. (b) The universal ego from whom all individual atmans arise. This sense is a European excrescence on the East Indian thought.
At*mi"a*try (?), n. [Gr. &?; vapor + &?; medical treatment, healing.] Treatment of disease by vapors or gases, as by inhalation.
||A*to"le (?), n. [Mex. Sp.] A porridge or gruel of maize meal and water, milk, or the like. [Sp. Amer.]
A*tone"ment, n. -- Day of Atonement (Jewish Antiq.), the only fast day of the Mosaic ritual, celebrated on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tisri), according to the rites described in Leviticus xvi.
||A"tri*um, n. (Anat.) A cavity, entrance, or passage; as, the atrium, or atrial cavity, in the body wall of the amphioxus; an atrium of the infundibula of the lungs, etc.
At*trac"tion sphere. 1. (Zoöl.) (a) The central mass of the aster in mitotic cell division; centrosphere. (b) Less often, the mass of archoplasm left by the aster in the resting cell.
2. (Bot.) A small body situated on or near the nucleus in the cells of some of the lower plants, consisting of two centrospheres containing centrosomes. It exercises an important function in mitosis.
At*tri"tus (?), n. [L. attritus, p. p. of atterere; ad + terere to rub.] Matter pulverized by attrition.
Auc"tion bridge. A variety of the game of bridge in which the players, beginning with the dealer, bid for the privilege of naming the trump and playing with the dummy for that deal, there being heavy penalties for a player's failure to make good his bid. The score value of each trick more than six taken by the successful bidder is as follows: when the trump is spades, 2; clubs, 6; diamonds, 7; hearts, 8; royal spades (lilies), 9; and when the deal is played with no trump, 10.
Auction pitch. A game of cards in which the players bid for the privilege of determining or "pitching" the trump suit. R. F. Foster.
Au"dile (?), n. [L. audire to hear.] (Psychol.) One whose thoughts take the form of mental sounds or of internal discourse rather than of visual or motor images.
||Auf"klä*rung (?), n. [G., enlightenment.] A philosophic movement of the 18th century characterized by a lively questioning of authority, keen interest in matters of politics and general culture, and an emphasis on empirical method in science. It received its impetus from the unsystematic but vigorous skepticism of Pierre Bayle, the physical doctrines of Newton, and the epistemological theories of Locke, in the preceding century. Its chief center was in France, where it gave rise to the skepticism of Voltaire , the naturalism of Rousseau, the sensationalism of Condillac, and the publication of the "Encyclopedia" by D'Alembert and Diderot. In Germany, Lessing, Mendelssohn, and Herder were representative thinkers, while the political doctrines of the leaders of the American Revolution and the speculations of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine represented the movement in America.
||Au` fond" (?). [F., lit., at the bottom.] At bottom; fundamentally; essentially.
||Au` gra`tin" (?). [F.] (Cookery) With a crust made by browning in the oven; as, spaghetti may be served au gratin.
{ Auld licht (?), Auld light }. (Eccl. Hist.) (a) A member of the conservative party in the Church of Scotland in the latter part of the 18th century. (b) Same as Burgher, n., 2.
||Au` re*voir" (?). [F., lit., to the seeing again.] Good-by until we meet again.
Au`ri*lave (?), n. [L. auris ear + lavare to wash.] An instrument for cleansing the ear, consisting of a small piece of sponge on an ivory or bone handle.
Aus"tral (?), a. (Biogeography) Designating, or pert. to, a zone extending across North America between the Transition and Tropical zones, and including most of the United States and central Mexico except the mountainous parts.
Aus*tra"li*an bal"lot. (Law) A system of balloting or voting in public elections, originally used in South Australia, in which there is such an arrangement for polling votes that secrecy is compulsorily maintained, and the ballot used is an official ballot printed and distributed by the government.
||Aus"zug` (ous"tsk), n.; Ger. pl. -zÜge (-tsü`g). [G.] See Army organization, Switzerland.
Au"to- (?). An abbrev. of automobile, used as a prefix with the meaning of self-moving, self- propelling; as, an autocar, an autocarriage, an autotruck, etc., an automobile car, carriage, truck, etc.
Au`to*ca*tal"y*sis (?), n. [Auto- + catalysis.] (Chem.) Self-catalysis; catalysis of a substance by one of its own products, as of silver oxide by the silver formed by reduction of a small portion of it. -- Au`to*cat`a*lyt"ic (#), a.
Au`to*clas"tic (?), a. [See Auto- ; Clastic.] (Geol.) Broken in place; -- said of rocks having a broken or brecciated structure due to crushing, in contrast to those of brecciated materials brought from a distance.
Au`to*co*her"er (?), n. [Auto- + coherer.] (Wireless Teleg.) A self-restoring coherer, as a microphonic detector.
Au`to*dy*nam"ic (?), a. [Auto- + dynamic.] Supplying its own power, as a hydraulic ram.
Au*tœ"cious (?), a. [Auto- + Gr. &?; house.] (Biol.) Passing through all its stages on one host, as certain parasitic fungi; -- contrasted with heterœcious.
Au*tœ"cism (?), n. Quality of being autœcious.
Au`to*ge*net"ic, a. (Phys. Geog.) Pertaining to, controlled by, or designating, a system of self- determined drainage.
Autogenetic drainage. (Phys. Geog.) A system of natural drainage developed by the constituent streams through headwater erosion.
Autogenetic topography. (Phys. Geog.) A system of land forms produced by the free action of rain and streams on rocks of uniform texture.
Au*tog"e*nous (?), a. Autogenetic.
Au"to*harp (?), n. [Auto- + harp.] A zitherlike musical instrument, provided with dampers which, when depressed, deaden some strings, leaving free others that form a chord.
Au`to*hyp*not"ic (?), a. Pert. to autohypnotism; self-hypnotizing. -- n. An autohypnotic person.
Au`to*hyp"no*tism (?), n. [Auto- + hypnotism.] Hypnotism of one's self by concentration of the attention on some object or idea.
Au`to-in*fec"tion, n. [Auto- + infection.] (Med.) Poisoning caused by a virus that originates and develops in the organism itself.
Au`to-in*oc`u*la"tion, n. [Auto- + inoculation.] (Med.) Inoculation of a person with virus from his own body.
Au`to-in*tox`i*ca"tion, n. [Auto- + intoxication.] (Med.) Poisoning, or the state of being poisoned, from toxic substances produced within the body; autotoxæmia.
||Au`to*ki*ne"sis (?), n. [NL.; auto- + Gr. &?; motion.] (Physiol.) Spontaneous or voluntary movement; movement due to an internal cause.
Au`to*ki*net"ic (?), a. [Auto- + kinetic.] Self-moving; moving automatically.
Autokinetic system. In fire-alarm telegraphy, a system so arranged that when one alarm is being transmitted, no other alarm, sent in from another point, will be transmitted until after the first alarm has been disposed of.