A A (named a in the English, and most commonly ä in other languages). (continued 15)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Syn. — Artisan. See Artisan.

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

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

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

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

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

ARTISTRY Art"ist*ry, n.

1. Works of art collectively.

2. Artistic effect or quality. Southey.

3. Artistic pursuits; artistic ability. The Academy.

ARTLESS Art"less, a.

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

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

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

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

ARTLESSLY Art"less*ly, adv.

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

ARTLESSNESS Art"less*ness, n.

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

ARTLY Art"ly, adv.

Defn: With art or skill. [Obs.]

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

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

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

Defn: A kind of autotype.

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

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

ARTOW Ar"tow.

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

ARTSMAN Arts"man, n.

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

ART UNION Art` un"ion.

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

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

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

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

ARUNDELIAN Ar`un*del"ian, a.

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

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

Defn: Producing reeds or canes.

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

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

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

Defn: Abounding with reeds; reedy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ARYAN Ar"yan, a.

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

ARYANIZE Ar"yan*ize, v. t.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: An ancient name of a gum.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASBESTIC As*bes"tic, a.

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

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

Defn: Having the form or structure of asbestus.

ASBESTINE As*bes"tine, a.

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

ASBESTOUS As*bes"tous, a.

Defn: Asbestic.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASCEND As*cend", v. t.

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

ASCENDABLE As*cend"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being ascended.

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

Defn: Same as Ascendency.

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

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

2. (Astrol.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Rising; ascending. Ruskin.

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

ASCENDENCY As*cend"en*cy, n.

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

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

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

Defn: Capable of being ascended; climbable.

ASCENDING As*cend"ing, a.

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

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

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

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

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

ASCENSIONAL As*cen"sion*al, a.

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

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

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

2. (Gram.)

Defn: Augmentative; intensive. Ellicott.

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

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

2. The way or means by which one ascends.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASCERTAINER As`cer*tain"er, n.

Defn: One who ascertains.

ASCERTAINMENT As`cer*tain"ment, n.

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

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

Defn: See Acescency, Acescent. [Obs.]

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

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

ASCETIC As*cet"ic, n.

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

ASCETICISM As*cet"i*cism, n.

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

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

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

ASCI As"ci, n. pl.

Defn: See Ascus.

ASCIAN As"cian, n.

Defn: One of the Ascii.

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: Shaped like an ascidian.

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

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

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

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

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

1. (Bot.)

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

2. pl. (Zoöl.)

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

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

Defn: Having asci. Loudon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASCRIBABLE As*crib"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being ascribed; attributable.

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

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

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

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

ASCRIPT As"cript, a.

Defn: See Adscript. [Obs.]

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

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

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

1. Ascribed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: An aseptic substance.

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: In an asexual manner; without sexual agency.

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

1. (Bot.)

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

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

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

ASH Ash, n.,

Defn: sing. of Ashes.

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

ASH Ash, v. t.

Defn: To strew or sprinkle with ashes. Howell.

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

Defn: To shame. [R.] Barrow.

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

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

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

ASHAMEDLY A*sham"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: Bashfully. [R.]

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

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

ASHANTEE Ash`an*tee", a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Ashantee.

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

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

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

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

ASHEN Ash"en, a.

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

ASHEN Ash"en, n.,

Defn: obs. pl. for Ashes. Chaucer.

ASHERY Ash"er*y, n.

1. A depository for ashes.

2. A place where potash is made.

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

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

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

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

ASH-FIRE Ash"-fire, n.

Defn: A low fire used in chemical operations.

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

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

ASHINE A*shine", a.

Defn: Shining; radiant.

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

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

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

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

1. The act of bedding ashlar in mortar.

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

3. (Carp.)

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

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

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

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

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

ASH WEDNESDAY Ash` Wednes"day.

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

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

Defn: Goutweed.

ASHY Ash"y, a.

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

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

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

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

Defn: An Asiatic.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: Something peculiar to Asia or the Asiatics.

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

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

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

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

ASIDE A*side", n.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASIPHONATE A*si"phon*ate, a. (Zoöl.)

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

Defn: An asiphonate mollusk.

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

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

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

Defn: Want of appetite; loathing of food.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASK Ask, v. i.

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASKANCE A*skance", v. t.

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

ASKER Ask"er, n.

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

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

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

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

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

ASKING Ask"ing, n.

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

2. The publishing of banns.

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

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

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

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

ASLANT A*slant", prep.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: Sluggishly. [Obs.] Fotherby.

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

Defn: Smeared over. Dickens.

ASMONEAN As`mo*ne"an, a.

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

ASMONEAN As`mo*ne"an, n.

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

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

Defn: Soaking.

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

Defn: Without a material body; incorporeal. Todd.

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

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

ASP Asp, n. (Bot.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. (Bot.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

6. (Astrol.)

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

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

7. (Astrol.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: Facing each other.

ASPECTED As*pect"ed, a.

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

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

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

ASPECT RATIO Aspect ratio. (Aëronautics)

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

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

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

ASPEN Asp"en, a.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASPERATION As`per*a"tion, n.

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

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

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

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

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Wateringpot shell.

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

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

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

Defn: Having rough leaves.

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

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

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

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

3. Roughness to the taste; sourness; tartness.

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

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

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

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

Defn: Aspermous.

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

Defn: Destitute of seeds; aspermatous.

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

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

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

Defn: Rough; uneven. Boyle.

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

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

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

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

ASPERSED As*persed", a.

1. (Her.)

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

2. Bespattered; slandered; calumniated. Motley.

ASPERSER As*pers"er, n.

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

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

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

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

ASPERSIVE As*pers"ive, a.

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

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

Defn: An aspergill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASPHALT As"phalt, v. t.

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

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

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

ASPHALTIC As*phal"tic, a.

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

ASPHALTITE As*phal"tite, a.

Defn: Asphaltic.

ASPHALTITE As*phal"tite, a.

Defn: Asphaltic. Bryant.

ASPHALTUS As*phal"tus, n.

Defn: See Asphalt.

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

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

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

ASPHYCTIC As*phyc"tic, a.

Defn: Pertaining to asphyxia.

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

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

ASPHYXIAL As*phyx"i*al, a.

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

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

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

Note: [Used commonly in the past pple.]

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

Defn: In a state of asphyxia; suffocated.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: Aspiring.

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

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

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

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

ASPIRATE As"pi*rate, n.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASPIRATOR As"pi*ra`tor, n.

1. (Chem.)

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

2. (Med.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASPIRE As*pire", v. t.

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

ASPIRE As*pire", n.

Defn: Aspiration. [Obs.] Chapman.

ASPIREMENT As*pire"ment, n.

Defn: Aspiration. [Obs.]

ASPIRER As*pir"er, n.

Defn: One who aspires.

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

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

ASPIRING As*pir"ing, a.

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

ASPISH Asp"ish, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or like, an asp.

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

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

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

ASPRAWL A*sprawl", adv. & a.

Defn: Sprawling.

ASQUAT A*squat", adv. & a.

Defn: Squatting.

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

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

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

1. (Zoöl.)

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

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

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

Defn: Same as Asafetida.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASSAILABLE As*sail"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being assailed.

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

Defn: Assailing; attacking. Milton.

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

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

ASSAILER As*sail"er, n.

Defn: One who assails.

ASSAILMENT As*sail"ment, n.

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

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

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

ASSAMESE As`sam*ese", a.

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

Defn: A native or natives of Assam.

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

Defn: The American flying squirrel (Pteromys volucella).

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

1. (Old Law)

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

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

ASSART As*sart", v. t.

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

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

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

ASSASSIN As*sas"sin, v. t.

Defn: To assassinate. [Obs.] Stillingfleet.

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. An assassin. [Obs.] Dryden.

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

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

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

Defn: An assassin.

ASSASSINOUS As*sas"sin*ous, a.

Defn: Murderous. Milton.

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

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

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

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

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

3. (Law)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASSAULTABLE As*sault"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being assaulted.

ASSAULTER As*sault"er, n.

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

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

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

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

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

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

5. (Metallurgy)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ASSAY As*say", v. i.

Defn: To attempt, try, or endeavor. [Archaic. In this sense essay is now commonly used.] She thrice assayed to speak. Dryden.

ASSAYABLE As*say"a*ble, a.

Defn: That may be assayed.

ASSAYER As*say"er, n.

Defn: One who assays. Specifically: One who examines metallic ores or compounds, for the purpose of determining the amount of any particular metal in the same, especially of gold or silver.

ASSAYING As*say"ing, n.

Defn: The act or process of testing, esp. of analyzing or examining metals and ores, to determine the proportion of pure metal.

ASSAY POUND As"say pound.

Defn: A small standard weight used in assaying bullion, etc., sometimes equaling 0.5 gram, but varying with the assayer.

ASSAY TON Assay ton.

Defn: A weight of 29.166 + grams used in assaying, for convenience. Since it bears the same relation to the milligram that a ton of 2000 avoirdupois pounds does to the troy ounce, the weight in milligrams of precious metal obtained from an assay ton of ore gives directly the number of ounces to the ton.

ASSE Asse, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small foxlike animal (Vulpes cama) of South Africa, valued for its fur.

ASSECURATION As`se*cu*ra"tion, n. Etym: [LL. assecuratio, fr. assecurare.]

Defn: Assurance; certainty. [Obs.]

ASSECURE As`se*cure", v. t. Etym: [LL. assecurare.]

Defn: To make sure or safe; to assure. [Obs.] Hooker.

ASSECUTION As`se*cu"tion, n. Etym: [F. assécution, fr. L. assequi to obtain; ad + sequi to follow.]

Defn: An obtaining or acquiring. [Obs.] Ayliffe.

ASSEGAI As"se*gai, n.

Defn: Same as Assagai.

ASSEMBLAGE As*sem"blage, n. Etym: [Cf. F. assemblage. See Assemble.]

1. The act of assembling, or the state o In sweet assemblage every blooming grace. Fenton.

2. A collection of individuals, or of individuals, or of particular things; as, a political assemblage; an assemblage of ideas.

Syn. — Company; group; collection; concourse; gathering; meeting; convention. Assemblage, Assembly. An assembly consists only of persons; an assemblage may be composed of things as well as persons, as, an assemblage of incoherent objects. Nor is every assemblage of persons an assembly; since the latter term denotes a body who have met, and are acting, in concert for some common end, such as to hear, to deliberate, to unite in music, dancing, etc. An assemblage of skaters on a lake, or of horse jockeys at a race course, is not an assembly, but might be turned into one by collecting into a body with a view to discuss and decide as to some object of common interest.

ASSEMBLANCE As*sem"blance, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. assemblance.]

1. Resemblance; likeness; appearance. [Obs.] Care I for the . . . stature, bulk, and big assemblance of a man Shak.

2. An assembling; assemblage. [Obs.] To weete [know] the cause of their assemblance. Spenser.

ASSEMBLE As*sem"ble, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assembled; p. pr. & vb. n. Assembling.] Etym: [F. assembler, fr. LL. assimulare to bring together to collect; L. ad + simul together; akin to similis like, Gr. same. Cf. Assimilate, Same.]

Defn: To collect into one place or body; to bring or call together; to convene; to congregate. Thither he assembled all his train. Milton. All the men of Israel assembled themselves. 1 Kings viii. 2.

ASSEMBLE As*sem"ble, v. i.

Defn: To meet or come together, as a number of individuals; to convene; to congregate. Dryden. The Parliament assembled in November. W. Massey.

ASSEMBLE As*sem"ble, v. i.

Defn: To liken; to compare. [Obs.] Bribes may be assembled to pitch. Latimer.

ASSEMBLER As*sem"bler, n.

Defn: One who assembles a number of individuals; also, one of a number assembled.

ASSEMBLY As*sem"bly, n.; pl. Assemblies. Etym: [F. assemblée, fr. assembler. See Assemble.]

1. A company of persons collected together in one place, and usually for some common purpose, esp. for deliberation and legislation, for worship, or for social entertainment.

2. A collection of inanimate objects. [Obs.] Howell.

3. (Mil.)

Defn: A beat of the drum or sound of the bugle as a signal to troops to assemble.

Note: In some of the United States, the legislature, or the popular branch of it, is called the Assembly, or the General Assembly. In the Presbyterian Church, the General Assembly is the highest ecclesiastical tribunal, composed of ministers and ruling elders delegated from each presbytery; as, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, or of Scotland. Assembly room, a room in which persons assemble, especially for dancing. — Unlawful assembly (Law), a meeting of three or more persons on a common plan, in such a way as to cause a reasonable apprehension that they will disturb the peace tumultuously. — Westminster Assembly, a convocation, consisting chiefly of divines, which, by act of Parliament, assembled July 1, 1643, and remained in session some years. It framed the "Confession of Faith," the "Larger Catechism," and the "Shorter Catechism," which are still received as authority by Presbyterians, and are substantially accepted by Congregationalists.

Syn. — See Assemblage.

ASSEMBLYMAN As*sem"bly*man, n.; pl. Assemblymen.

Defn: A member of an assembly, especially of the lower branch of a state legislature.

ASSENT As*sent", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assented; p. pr. & vb. n. Assenting.] Etym: [F. assentir, L. assentire, assentiri; ad + sentire to feel, think. See Sense.]

Defn: To admit a thing as true; to express one's agreement, acquiescence, concurrence, or concession. Who informed the governor . . . And the Jews also assented, saying that these things were so. Acts xxiv. 9. The princess assented to all that was suggested. Macaulay.

Syn. — To yield; agree; acquiesce; concede; concur.

ASSENT As*sent", n. Etym: [OE. assent, fr. assentir. See Assent, v.]

Defn: The act of assenting; the act of the mind in admitting or agreeing to anything; concurrence with approval; consent; agreement; acquiescence. Faith is the assent to any proposition, on the credit of the proposer. Locke. The assent, if not the approbation, of the prince. Prescott. Too many people read this ribaldry with assent and admiration. Macaulay. Royal assent, in England, the assent of the sovereign to a bill which has passed both houses of Parliament, after which it becomes law.

Syn. — Concurrence; acquiescence; approval; accord. — Assent, Consent. Assent is an act of the understanding, consent of the will or feelings. We assent to the views of others when our minds come to the same conclusion with theirs as to what is true, right, or admissible. We consent when there is such a concurrence of our will with their desires and wishes that we decide to comply with their requests. The king of England gives his assent, not his consent, to acts of Parliament, because, in theory at least, he is not governed by personal feelings or choice, but by a deliberate, judgment as to the common good. We also use assent in cases where a proposal is made which involves but little interest or feeling. A lady may assent to a gentleman's opening the window; but if he offers himself in marriage, he must wait for her consent.

ASSENTATION As`sen*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. assentatio. See Assent, v.]

Defn: Insincere, flattering, or obsequious assent; hypocritical or pretended concurrence. Abject flattery and indiscriminate assentation degrade as much as indiscriminate contradiction and noisy debate disgust. Ld. Chesterfield.

ASSENTATOR As`sen*ta"tor, n. Etym: [L., fr. assentari to assent constantly.]

Defn: An obsequious; a flatterer. [R.]

ASSENTATORY As*sent"a*to*ry, a.

Defn: Flattering; obsequious. [Obs.] — As*sent"a*to*ri*ly, adv. [Obs.]

ASSENTER As*sent"er, n.

Defn: One who assents.

ASSENTIENT As*sen"tient, a.

Defn: Assenting.

ASSENTING As*sent"ing, a.

Defn: Giving or implying assent. — As*sent"ing*ly, adv.

ASSENTIVE As*sent"ive, a.

Defn: Giving assent; of the nature of assent; complying. — As*sent"ive*ness, n.

ASSENTMENT As*sent"ment, n.

Defn: Assent; agreement. [Obs.]

ASSERT As*sert", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Asserted; p. pr. & vb. n. Asserting.] Etym: [L. assertus, p. p. of asserere to join or fasten to one's self, claim, maintain; ad + serere to join or bind together. See Series.]

1. To affirm; to declare with assurance, or plainly and strongly; to state positively; to aver; to asseverate. Nothing is more shameful . . . than to assert anything to be done without a cause. Ray.

2. To maintain; to defend. [Obs. or Archaic] That . . . I may assert Eternal Providence, And justify the ways of God to men. Milton. I will assert it from the scandal. Jer. Taylor.

3. To maintain or defend, as a cause or a claim, by words or measures; to vindicate a claim or title to; as, to assert our rights and liberties. To assert one's self, to claim or vindicate one's rights or position; to demand recognition.

Syn. — To affirm; aver; asseverate; maintain; protest; pronounce; declare; vindicate. — To Assert, Affirm, Maintain, Vindicate. To assert is to fasten to one's self, and hence to claim. It is, therefore, adversative in its nature. We assert our rights and privileges, or the cause of tree institutions, as against opposition or denial. To affirm is to declare as true. We assert boldly; we affirm positively. To maintain is to uphold, and insist upon with earnestness, whatever we have once asserted; as, to maintain one's cause, to maintain an argument, to maintain the ground we have taken. To vindicate is to use language and measures of the strongest kind, in defense of ourselves and those for whom we act. We maintain our assertions by adducing proofs, facts, or arguments; we are ready to vindicate our rights or interests by the utmost exertion of our powers.

ASSERTER As*sert"er, n.

Defn: One who asserts; one who avers pr maintains; an assertor. The inflexible asserter of the rights of the church. Milman.

ASSERTION As*ser"tion, n. Etym: [L. assertio, fr. asserere.]

1. The act of asserting, or that which is asserted; positive declaration or averment; affirmation; statement asserted; position advanced. There is a difference between assertion and demonstration. Macaulay.

2. Maintenance; vindication; as, the assertion of one's rights or prerogatives.

ASSERTIVE As*sert"ive, a.

Defn: Positive; affirming confidently; affirmative; peremptory. In a confident and assertive form. Glanvill. As*sert"ive*ly, adv. — As*sert"ive*ness, n.

ASSERTOR As*sert"or, n. Etym: [L., fr. asserere.]

Defn: One who asserts or avers; one who maintains or vindicates a claim or a right; an affirmer, supporter, or vindicator; a defender; an asserter. The assertors of liberty said not a word. Macaulay. Faithful assertor of thy country's cause. Prior.

ASSERTORIAL As`ser*to"ri*al, a.

Defn: Asserting that a thing is; — opposed to problematical and apodeictical.

ASSERTORY As*sert"o*ry, a. Etym: [L. assertorius, fr. asserere.]

Defn: Affirming; maintaining. Arguments . . . assertory, not probatory. Jer. Taylor. An assertory, not a promissory, declaration. Bentham. A proposition is assertory, when it enounces what is known as actual. Sir W. Hamilton.

ASSESS As*sess", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assessed; p. pr. & vb. n. Assessing.] Etym: [OF. assesser to regulate, settle, LL. assessare to value for taxation, fr. L. assidere, supine as if assessum, to sit by, esp. of judges in a court, in LL. to assess, tax. Cf. Assize, v., Cess.]

1. To value; to make a valuation or official estimate of for the purpose of taxation.

2. To apportion a sum to be paid by (a person, a community, or an estate), in the nature of a tax, fine, etc.; to impose a tax upon (a person, an estate, or an income) according to a rate or apportionment.

3. To determine and impose a tax or fine upon (a person, community, estate, or income); to tax; as, the club assessed each member twenty- five cents.

4. To fix or determine the rate or amount of. This sum is assessed and raised upon individuals by commissioners in the act. Blackstone.

ASSESSABLE As*sess"a*ble, a.

Defn: Liable to be assessed or taxed; as, assessable property.

ASSESSEE As`sess*ee", n.

Defn: One who is assessed.

ASSESSION As*ses"sion, n. Etym: [L. assessio, fr. assid to sit by or near; ad + sed to sit. See Sit.]

Defn: A sitting beside or near.

ASSESSMENT As*sess"ment, n. Etym: [LL. assessamentum.]

1. The act of assessing; the act of determining an amount to be paid; as, an assessment of damages, or of taxes; an assessment of the members of a club.

2. A valuation of property or profits of business, for the purpose of taxation; such valuation and an adjudging of the proper sum to be levied on the property; as, an assessment of property or an assessment on property.

Note: An assessment is a valuation made by authorized persons according to their discretion, as opposed to a sum certain or determined by law. It is a valuation of the property of those who are to pay the tax, for the purpose of fixing the proportion which each man shall pay. Blackstone. Burrill.

3. The specific sum levied or assessed.

4. An apportionment of a subscription for stock into successive installments; also, one of these installments (in England termed a "call"). [U. S.]

ASSESSOR As*sess"or, n. Etym: [L., one who sits beside, the assistant of a judge, fr. assid. See Assession. LL., one who arranges of determines the taxes, fr. assid. See Assess, v., and cf. Cessor.]

1. One appointed or elected to assist a judge or magistrate with his special knowledge of the subject to be decided; as legal assessors, nautical assessors. Mozley & W.

2. One who sits by another, as next in dignity, or as an assistant and adviser; an associate in office. Whence to his Son, The assessor of his throne, he thus began. Milton. With his ignorance, his inclinations, and his fancy, as his assessors in judgment. I. Taylor.

3. One appointed to assess persons or property for the purpose of taxation. Bouvier.

ASSESSORIAL As`ses*so"ri*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. assessorial, fr. L. assessor.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to an assessor, or to a court of assessors. Coxe.

ASSESSORSHIP As*sess"or*ship, n.

Defn: The office or function of an assessor.

ASSET As"set, n.

Defn: Any article or separable part of one's assets.

ASSETS As"sets, n. pl. Etym: [OF. asez enough, F. assez, fr. L. ad + satis, akin to Gr. saps full. Cf. Assai, Satisfy.]

1. (Law) (a) Property of a deceased person, subject by law to the payment of his debts and legacies; — called assets because sufficient to render the executor or administrator liable to the creditors and legatees, so far as such goods or estate may extend. Story. Blackstone. (b) Effects of an insolvent debtor or bankrupt, applicable to the payment of debts.

2. The entire property of all sorts, belonging to a person, a corporation, or an estate; as, the assets of a merchant or a trading association; — opposed to liabilities.

Note: In balancing accounts the assets are put on the Cr. side and the debts on the Dr. side.

ASSEVER As*sev"er, v. t. Etym: [Cf. OF. asseverer, fr. L. asseverare.]

Defn: See Asseverate. [Archaic]

ASSEVERATE As*sev"er*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Asseverated; p. pr. & vb. n. Asseverating.] Etym: [L. asseveratus, p. p. of asseverare to assert seriously or earnestly; ad + severus. See Severe.]

Defn: To affirm or aver positively, or with solemnity.

Syn. — To affirm; aver; protest; declare. See Affirm.

ASSEVERATION As*sev`er*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. asseveratio.]

Defn: The act of asseverating, or that which is asseverated; positive affirmation or assertion; solemn declaration. Another abuse of the tongue I might add, — vehement asseverations upon slight and trivial occasions. Ray.

ASSEVERATIVE As*sev"er*a*tive, a.

Defn: Characterized by asseveration; asserting positively.

ASSEVERATORY As*sev"er*a*to*ry, a.

Defn: Asseverative.

ASSIBILATE As*sib"i*late, v. t. Etym: [L. assibilatus, p. p. of assibilare to hiss out; ad + sibilare to hiss.]

Defn: To make sibilant; to change to a sibilant. J. Peile.

ASSIBILATION As*sib`i*la"tion, n.

Defn: Change of a non-sibilant letter to a sibilant, as of -tion to - shun, duke to ditch.

ASSIDEAN As`si*de"an, n. Etym: [Heb. khasad to be pious.]

Defn: One of a body of devoted Jews who opposed the Hellenistic Jews, and supported the Asmoneans.

ASSIDENT As"si*dent, a. Etym: [L. assidens, p. pr. of assid to sit by: cf. F. assident. See Assession.] (Med.)

Defn: Usually attending a disease, but not always; as, assident signs, or symptoms.

ASSIDUATE As*sid"u*ate, a. Etym: [L. assiduatus, p. p. of assiduare to use assiduously.]

Defn: Unremitting; assiduous. [Obs.] "Assiduate labor." Fabyan.

ASSIDUITY As`si*du"i*ty, n.; pl. Assiduities. Etym: [L. assiduitas: cf. F. assiduite. See Assiduous.]

1. Constant or close application or attention, particularly to some business or enterprise; diligence. I have, with much pains and assiduity, qualified myself for a nomenclator. Addison.

2. Studied and persevering attention to a person; — usually in the plural.

ASSIDUOUS As*sid"u*ous, a. Etym: [L. assiduus, fr. assid to sit near or close; ad + sed to sit. See Sit.]

1. Constant in application or attention; devoted; attentive; unremitting. She grows more assiduous in her attendance. Addison.

2. Performed with constant diligence or attention; unremitting; persistent; as, assiduous labor. To weary him with my assiduous cries. Milton.

Syn. — Diligent; attentive; sedulous; unwearied; unintermitted; persevering; laborious; indefatigable. As*sid"u*ous*ly, adv. — As*sid"u*ous*ness, n.

ASSIEGE As*siege", v. t. Etym: [OE. asegen, OF. asegier, F. assiéger, fr. LL. assediare, assidiare, to besiege. See Siege.]

Defn: To besiege. [Obs.] "Assieged castles." Spenser.

ASSIEGE As*siege", n.

Defn: A siege. [Obs.] Chaucer.

ASSIENTIST As`si*en"tist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. assientiste, Sp. asentista.]

Defn: A shareholder of the Assiento company; one of the parties to the Assiento contract. Bancroft.

ASSIENTO As`si*en"to, n. Etym: [Sp. asiento seat, contract or agreement, fr. asentar to place on a chair, to adjust, to make an agreement; a (L. ad) + sentar, a participial verb; as if there were a L. sedentare to cause to sit, fr. sedens, sedentis, p. pr. of sed to sit.]

Defn: A contract or convention between Spain and other powers for furnishing negro slaves for the Spanish dominions in America, esp. the contract made with Great Britain in 1713.

ASSIGN As*sign", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assigned; p. pr. & vb. n. Assigning.] Etym: [OE. assignen, asignen, F. assigner, fr. L. assignare; ad + signare to mark, mark out, designate, signum mark, sign. See Sign.]

1. To appoint; to allot; to apportion; to make over. In the order I assign to them. Loudon. The man who could feel thus was worthy of a better station than that in which his lot had been assigned. Southey. He assigned to his men their several posts. Prescott.

2. To fix, specify, select, or designate; to point out authoritatively or exactly; as, to assign a limit; to assign counsel for a prisoner; to assign a day for trial. All as the dwarf the way to her assigned. Spenser. It is not easy to assign a period more eventful. De Quincey.

3. (Law)

Defn: To transfer, or make over to another, esp. to transfer to, and vest in, certain persons, called assignees, for the benefit of creditors. To assign dower, to set out by metes and bounds the widow's share or portion in an estate. Kent.

ASSIGN As*sign", n. Etym: [From Assign, v.]

Defn: A thing pertaining or belonging to something else; an appurtenance. [Obs.] Six French rapiers and poniards, with their assigns, as girdles, hangers, and so. Shak.

ASSIGN As*sign", n. Etym: [See Assignee.] (Law)

Defn: A person to whom property or an interest is transferred; as, a deed to a man and his heirs and assigns.

ASSIGNABILITY As*sign`a*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality of being assignable.

ASSIGNABLE As*sign"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being assigned, allotted, specified, or designated; as, an assignable note or bill; an assignable reason; an assignable quantity.

ASSIGNAT As`si`gnat", n. Etym: [F. assignat, fr. L. assignatus, p. p. of assignare.]

Defn: One of the notes, bills, or bonds, issued as currency by the revolutionary government of France (1790-1796), and based on the security of the lands of the church and of nobles which had been appropriated by the state.

ASSIGNATION As`sig*na"tion, n. Etym: [L. assignatio, fr. assignare: cf. F. assignation.]

1. The act of assigning or allotting; apportionment. This order being taken in the senate, as touching the appointment and assignation of those provinces. Holland.

2. An appointment of time and place for meeting or interview; — used chiefly of love interviews, and now commonly in a bad sense. While nymphs take treats, or assignations give. Pope.

3. A making over by transfer of title; assignment. House of assignation, a house in which appointments for sexual intercourse are fulfilled.

ASSIGNEE As`sign*ee", n. Etym: [F. assigné, p. p. of assigner. See Assign, v., and cf. Assign an assignee.] (Law) (a) A person to whom an assignment is made; a person appointed or deputed by another to do some act, perform some business, or enjoy some right, privilege, or property; as, an assignee of a bankrupt. See Assignment (c). An assignee may be by special appointment or deed, or be created by jaw; as an executor. Cowell. Blount. (b) pl.

Defn: In England, the persons appointed, under a commission of bankruptcy, to manage the estate of a bankrupt for the benefit of his creditors.

ASSIGNER As*sign"er, n.

Defn: One who assigns, appoints, allots, or apportions.

ASSIGNMENT As*sign"ment, n. Etym: [LL. assignamentum: cf. OF. assenement.]

1. An allotting or an appointment to a particular person or use; or for a particular time, as of a cause or causes in court.

2. (Law) (a) A transfer of title or interest by writing, as of lease, bond, note, or bill of exchange; a transfer of the whole of some particular estate or interest in lands. (b) The writing by which an interest is transferred. (c) The transfer of the property of a bankrupt to certain persons called assignees, in whom it is vested for the benefit of creditors. Assignment of dower, the setting out by metes and bounds of the widow's thirds or portion in the deceased husband's estate, and allotting it to her.

Note: Assignment is also used in law as convertible with specification; assignment of error in proceedings for review being specification of error; and assignment of perjury or fraud in indictment being specifications of perjury or fraud.

ASSIGNOR As`sign*or", n. Etym: [L. assignator. Cf. Assigner.] (Law)

Defn: An assigner; a person who assigns or transfers an interest; as, the assignor of a debt or other chose in action.

ASSIMILABILITY As*sim`i*la*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality of being assimilable. [R.] Coleridge.

ASSIMILABLE As*sim"i*la*ble, a.

Defn: That may be assimilated; that may be likened, or appropriated and incorporated.

ASSIMILATE As*sim"i*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assimilated; p. pr. & vb. n. Assimilating.] Etym: [L. assimilatus, p. p. of assimilare; ad + similare to make like, similis like. See Similar, Assemble, Assimilate.]

1. To bring to a likeness or to conformity; to cause a resemblance between. Sir M. Hale. To assimilate our law to the law of Scotland. John Bright. Fast falls a fleecy; the downy flakes Assimilate all objects. Cowper.

2. To liken; to compa [R.]

3. To appropriate and transform or incorporate into the substance of the assimilating body; to absorb or appropriate, as nourishment; as, food is assimilated and converted into organic tissue. Hence also animals and vegetables may assimilate their nourishment. Sir I. Newton. His mind had no power to assimilate the lessons. Merivale.

ASSIMILATE As*sim"i*late, v. i.

1. To become similar or like something else. [R.]

2. To change and appropriate nourishment so as to make it a part of the substance of the assimilating body. Aliment easily assimilated or turned into blood. Arbuthnot.

3. To be converted into the substance of the assimilating body; to become incorporated; as, some kinds of food assimilate more readily than others. I am a foreign material, and cannot assimilate with the church of England. J. H. Newman.

ASSIMILATION As*sim`i*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. assimilatio: cf. F. assimilation.]

1. The act or process of assimilating or bringing to a resemblance, likeness, or identity; also, the state of being so assimilated; as, the assimilation of one sound to another. To aspire to an assimilation with God. Dr. H. More. The assimilation of gases and vapors. Sir J. Herschel.

2. (Physiol.)

Defn: The conversion of nutriment into the fluid or solid substance of the body, by the processes of digestion and absorption, whether in plants or animals. Not conversing the body, not repairing it by assimilation, but preserving it by ventilation. Sir T. Browne.

Note: The term assimilation has been limited by some to the final process by which the nutritive matter of the blood is converted into the substance of the tissues and organs.

ASSIMILATIVE As*sim"i*la*tive, a. Etym: [Cf. LL. assimilativus, F. assimilatif.]

Defn: Tending to, or characterized by, assimilation; that assimilates or causes assimilation; as, an assimilative process or substance.

ASSIMILATORY As*sim"i*la*to*ry, a.

Defn: Tending to assimilate, or produce assimilation; as, assimilatory organs.

ASSIMULATE As*sim"u*late, v. t. Etym: [L. assimulatus, p. p. of assimulare, equiv. to assimilare. See Assimilate, v. t.]

1. To feign; to counterfeit; to simulate; to resemble. [Obs.] Blount.

2. To assimilate. [Obs.] Sir M. Hale.

ASSIMULATION As*sim`u*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. assimulatio, equiv. to assimilatio.]

Defn: Assimilation. [Obs.] Bacon.

ASSINEGO As`si*ne"go, n.

Defn: See Asinego.

ASSISH Ass"ish, a.

Defn: Resembling an ass; asinine; stupid or obstinate. Such . . . appear to be of the assich kind . . . Udall.

ASSIST As*sist", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Assisting.] Etym: [L. assistere; ad + sistere to cause to stand, to stand, from stare to stand: cf. F. assister. See Stand.]

Defn: To give support to in some undertaking or effort, or in time of distress; to help; to aid; to succor. Assist me, knight. I am undone! Shak.

Syn. — To help; aid; second; back; support; relieve; succor; befriend; sustain; favor. See Help.

ASSIST As*sist", v. i.

1. To lend aid; to help. With God not parted from him, as was feared, But favoring and assisting to the end. Milton.

2. To be present as a spectator; as, to assist at a public meeting. [A Gallicism] Gibbon. Prescott.

ASSISTANCE As*sist"ance, n. Etym: [Cf. F. assistance.]

1. The act of assisting; help; aid; furtherance; succor; support. Without the assistance of a mortal hand. Shak.

2. An assistant or helper; a body of helpers. [Obs.] Wat Tyler [was] killed by valiant Walworth, the lord mayor of London, and his assistance, . . . John Cavendish. Fuller.

3. Persons present. [Obs. or a Gallicism]

ASSISTANT As*sist"ant, a. Etym: [Cf. F. assistant, p. pr. of assister.]

1. Helping; lending aid or support; auxiliary. Genius and learning . . . are mutually and greatly assistant to each other. Beattie.

2. (Mil.)

Defn: Of the second grade in the staff of the army; as, an assistant surgeon. [U.S.]

Note: In the English army it designates the third grade in any particular branch of the staff. Farrow.

ASSISTANT As*sist"ant, n.

1. One who, or that which, assists; a helper; an auxiliary; a means of help. Four assistants who his labor share. Pope. Rhymes merely as assistants to memory. Mrs. Chapone.

2. An attendant; one who is present. Dryden.

ASSISTANTLY As*sist"ant*ly, adv.

Defn: In a manner to give aid. [R.]

ASSISTER As*sist"er, n.

Defn: An assistant; a helper.

ASSISTFUL As*sist"ful, a.

Defn: Helpful.

ASSISTIVE As*sist"ive, a.

Defn: Lending aid, helping.

ASSISTLESS As*sist"less, a.

Defn: Without aid or help. [R.] Pope.

ASSISTOR As*sist"or, n. (Law)

Defn: A assister.

ASSITHMENT As*sith"ment, n.

Defn: See Assythment. [Obs.]

ASSIZE As*size", n. Etym: [OE. assise, asise, OF. assise, F. assises, assembly of judges, the decree pronounced by them, tax, impost, fr. assis, assise, p. p. of asseoir, fr. L. assid to sit by; ad + sed to sit. See Sit, Size, and cf. Excise, Assess.]

1. An assembly of knights and other substantial men, with a bailiff or justice, in a certain place and at a certain time, for public business. [Obs.]

2. (Law) (a) A special kind of jury or inquest. (b) A kind of writ or real action. (c) A verdict or finding of a jury upon such writ. (d) A statute or ordinance in general. Specifically: (1) A statute regulating the weight, measure, and proportions of ingredients and the price of articles sold in the market; as, the assize of bread and other provisions; (2) A statute fixing the standard of weights and measures. (e) Anything fixed or reduced to a certainty in point of time, number, quantity, quality, weight, measure, etc.; as, rent of assize. Glanvill. Spelman. Cowell. Blackstone. Tomlins. Burrill.

Note: [This term is not now used in England in the sense of a writ or real action, and seldom of a jury of any kind, but in Scotch practice it is still technically applied to the jury in criminal cases. Stephen. Burrill. Erskine.] (f) A court, the sitting or session of a court, for the trial of processes, whether civil or criminal, by a judge and jury. Blackstone. Wharton. Encyc. Brit. (g) The periodical sessions of the judges of the superior courts in every county of England for the purpose of administering justice in the trial and determination of civil and criminal cases; — usually in the plural. Brande. Wharton. Craig. Burrill. (h) The time or place of holding the court of assize; — generally in the plural, assizes.

3. Measure; dimension; size. [In this sense now corrupted into size.] An hundred cubits high by just assize. Spenser. [Formerly written, as in French, assise.]

ASSIZE As*size", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assized; p. pr. & vb. n. Assizing.] Etym: [From Assize, n.: cf. LL. assisare to decree in assize. Cf. Asses, v.]

1. To assess; to value; to rate. [Obs.] Gower.

2. To fix the weight, measure, or price of, by an ordinance or regulation of authority. [Obs.]

ASSIZER As*siz"er, n.

Defn: An officer who has the care or inspection of weights and measures, etc.

ASSIZOR As*siz"or, n. (Scots Law)

Defn: A juror.

ASSOBER As*so"ber, v. t. Etym: [Pref. ad- + sober. Cf. Ensober.]

Defn: To make or keep sober. [Obs.] Gower.

ASSOCIABILITY As*so`cia*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality of being associable, or capable of association; associableness. "The associability of feelings." H. Spencer.

ASSOCIABLE As*so"cia*ble, a. Etym: [See Associate.]

1. Capable of being associated or joined. We know feelings to be associable only by the proved ability of one to revive another. H. Spencer.

2. Sociable; companionable. [Obs.]

3. (Med.)

Defn: Liable to be affected by sympathy with other parts; — said of organs, nerves, muscles, etc. The stomach, the most associable of all the organs of the animal body. Med. Rep.

ASSOCIABLENESS As*so"cia*ble*ness, n.

Defn: Associability.

ASSOCIATE As*so"ci*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Associated; p. pr. & vb. n. Associating.] Etym: [L. associatus, p. p. of associare; ad + sociare to join or unite, socius companion. See Social.]