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Amaranth (known in the USA as Red no 2) is a red dye used to dye wool and silk and in photography. Although banned for use in food, drugs and cosmetics by the FDA amaranth is used to colour food in other parts of the world.
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Amaurophilia is sexual arousal by a partner who is unable to see one due to artificial means, such as being blindfolded or having sex in total darkness.
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An ambage is an indirect proceeding. A roundabout, winding or circuitous way.
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Ambaree is a fibre similar to jute and largely used in India. It is obtained from Hibiscus cannabinus.
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In mediaeval Europe, an amber was a liquid measure of 48 sesters.
In mediaeval England, an amber was a dry measure, being one penny worth of salt.
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Ambidextrous is having the facility to use the left hand as effectively as the right.
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Ambient means surrounding or inclosing.
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Ambiguity means vagueness, uncertainty. The term is frequently applied to an expression whose meaning can be taken in two or more ways. Hence, ambiguous which describes an expression as being vague, doubtful, not clear, or can be understood to have two or more meanings.
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Ambiguous is an adjective which describes an expression as vague, doubtful, not clear, or can be understood to have two or more meanings. The opposite of ambiguous are the terms explicit and specific.
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An ambit is a precinct or encompassing space. The term is particularly applied to the space about a house.
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In psychology, ambivalent means having two impulses or tendencies usually opposed to each other, such as in a love-hate relationship. In the classic story 'The Lord of the Rings' the familiar character of Gollum is tortured by his ambivalent feelings towards the ring of power, which he both loves and hates at the same time.
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Generally the word amble mean to walk at an easy pace. However, in horse riding, amble describes a peculiar gait in which the horse lifts the two feet on the same side at the same time.
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Amboyna Wood is a beautiful curled orange or brownish coloured wood brought from the Moluccas, and yielded by Pterospermum indicum.
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The Ambrosian Library is a famous library in Milan, founded in 1602 by Carlos Borromeo, and named in honour of St Ambrose, the patron saint of the city.
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An ambry or aumbry or almery (so named from the Latin armarium) was a cupboard or chest designed to contain the tools of one's profession. In a church, the ambry was a niche or cupboard near the altar designed to hold the utensils requisite for conducting worship - sacred vessels, the Host, holy oil etc. In monasteries an ambry was a pantry or linen press.
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An ambulance is a wagon, litter or other means of transport used for the conveyance of the sick and disabled. Originally, the term ambulance was applied to a fast-moving mobile hospital so organised as to follow an army in its movements, and intended to succour the wounded as soon as possible. The ambulances of the 1870's were a two-wheeled, horse-drawn covered wagon.
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The word ambulatory refers to walking. Thus in medicine the term ambulatory distinguishes a patient able to walk, as distinct from one who is bed-ridden, and in architecture the word describes a place for walking..
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Amedei of Tuscany, Italy is probably the world's finest chocolate manufacturer. The small company was founded by a brother and sister, Alessio and Cecilia Tessieri in 1990, and manufactures chocolate from the start to finish, selecting the finest cocoa beans primarily from Venezuela and the Caribbean (Jamaica, Trinidad, Grenada), Ecuador and Madagascar and turning them into chocolate - in contrast to large chocolate companies which buy blocks of chocolate from large commercial factories which use low grade cocoa beans from large plantations and refined sugar to make the chocolate they then sell on.
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Amenable is an adjective describing an animal or person that is accountable, easy to lead, ready to accept advice, submissive.
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The Amende Honorable was a degrading punishment formerly inflicted on traitors, parricides and sacrilegious persons in France . The pinishment consisted of the person being brought into court with a rope around their neck, and made to beg the pardon of God, the king and the court.
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An amendment is a proposal brought forward in a meeting of some public or other body, either in order to get an alteration introduced on some proposal already before the meeting, or entirely to overturn such proposal. In parliament an amendment denotes an alteration made in the original draught of a bill whilst it is passing through the houses. Amendments may be made so as totally to alter the nature of the proposition; and this is a way of getting rid of a proposition, by making it bear a sense different from what was intended by the movers, who are thus compelled to abandon it.
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American is a term referring to someone or something that comes from, or is found in, America.
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The American Arbitration Association is a non-profit organization that provides arbitrators for the arbitration of disputes.
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The American Association was an association formed among the American colonists in 1774 to enforce their claim of rights against the British government. Fourteen articles were agreed to, pledging the associates to an entire commercial non-intercourse with Great Britain, Ireland and the West Indies, denouncing the slave trade and appointing committees to detect and publish the names of violators of the articles. The association was formed against such acts as the Sugar, Stamp, Tea and Quartering Acts and the Boston Port Bill.
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In wig-making, American cloth was a glazed cloth used for covering work benches in the board-work room. The smooth surface prevented the hair catching in table splinters. It has now been largely superseded by formica and other plastic substances.
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The American Legion is an organisation of demobilised American soldiers and sailors, that was set up in 1919 for those who had served during the Great War.
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The first elected representative legislature in America was that which met at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. The colonies of Southern New England started with primary assemblies, from which representative assemblies were soon developed. In New York the first true legislature was assembled in 1683. In general the colonial legislatures were modelled on the British Parliament, the procedure of which they followed closely. To king, lords and commons corresponded the governor, the council appointed by him, and the representatives of the people, variously called house of burgesses, house of delegates, assembly, or house of representatives. These last were elected by voters having a property qualification, two members or more for each county in the Middle and Southern States, one or two from each town in New England.
The American Revolution broke up the upper houses or councils, and the new constitutions substituted what in Virginia (1776) and then in the other States was called a senate. Pennsylvania and Georgia had at first legislatures of but one house. The legislatures of the Southern States were generally given the power to choose the governor. The Constitution of 1787 gave the State Legislatures the right to choose US Senators. All the amendments to the Federal Constitution have been ratified by them. During the later half of the 19th century it was generally felt that State Legislatures had been declining in excellence during the last two generations, state constitutions having imposed more and more restrictions upon their action.
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An American shaving chair is a comfortably upholstered and adjustable chair on a cast iron frame designed to swing the client for shaving into that position most convenient for the barber to perform his task.
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An Americanism is defined as a term, phrase, or idiom peculiar to the English language as spoken in America, and not yet forming part of the language spoken in England. Americanisms often become absorbed into proper English. Thus the word 'stampede' which originated from Mexican Spanish in the USA during the mid-19th century was considered an Americanism around 1900, but by the late 20th century was absorbed into the English language proper.
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Amiable is an adjective meaning friendly.
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Amicus curiae is a legal term for a barrister advising the court in a legal case as a neutral person, not representing either side. In England and Wales, for example, where the public interest is concerned, the Attorney General (or his or her representative) may be asked to express an opinion. Professional bodies such as the Law Society may be represented to give an opinion on matters affecting their members. In the USA, a person with a strong interest in or views on the subject matter of an action, but who is not a party to it, may be given the court's permission to act as amicus curiae, usually only in matters of broad public interest.
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Amidst means in the middle of something, or among something.
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Amiss is an adjective which means wrong, faulty, out of order. As an adverb, amiss means wrongly or out of the way.
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Amity (derived from the old French amitie meaning friendship) is a term for friendly or peaceful relations.
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The ammoniaphone was an instrument of the 19th and early 20th centuries, consisting of a metallic tube containing some substance saturated with ammonia, peroxide of hydrogen, and a few flavouring compounds, fitted with a mouthpiece to breathe through, which was said to render the voice strong, clear, rich, and ringing by the inhalation of the ammoniacal vapour. It was invented by Dr. Carter Moffat, and was suggested by the presence of ammonia in some quantity in the atmosphere of Italy - the country of fine singers.
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Amnesty is an act granting forgiveness (literally, forgetfulness) to political and other offenders.
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Amoebean poetry is poetry in which persons are represented as speaking alternately, as in some of Virgil's eclogues.
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Amok (also spelled amuck) is a Malay term denoting a sudden frenzy that seizes an individual, sometimes because of intoxicants, but often unaccountably. The term thus evolved to describe a murderous frenzy, and is popularly encountered in the expression 'run amok'.
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Amomaxia is the practice of having sex in a parked car.
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Amorous properly means fond of the opposite sex, loving, in love or ardent. The term evolved to mean fond of and habitually inclined to sexual love.
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Amorphism is the state of being formless, irregularly shaped, etc.
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Amort is a rather poetic term meaning lifeless, without spirit.
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Amour is a poetic term for a love affair, especially a secret love affair.
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An amourette is a petty love affair, a flirtation.
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Amphibology (amphiboly) is a phrase or proposition capable of two interpretations. The term is also used to describe the ambiguity resulting from such a phrase.
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The Amphictyonic League or council, was in ancient Greece, a confederation of tribes for the protection of religious worship, but which also discussed questions of international law, and matters affecting their political union. The most important was that of the twelve northern tribes which met alternately at Delphi and Thermopylae. The tribes sent two deputies each, who assembled with great solemnity; composed the public dissensions, and the quarrels of individual cities, by force or persuasion; punished civil and criminal offences, and particularly transgressions of the law of nations, and violations of the temple of Delphi. Its calling on the states to punish the Phocians for plundering Delphi caused the Sacred Wars, of 595 to 586, 448 to 447 and 357 to 346 BC.
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In Ancient Greece, an amphictyony was a league of the various states which sent representatives to meet in council and plan for the common good.
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Amphigons are words strung together without any real connection.
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Amphigouri is nonsense verse. Later it was adopted for use in burlesque theatre and the term also applies to a nonsensical burlesque composition.
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An amphitheatre is a circular or ovular arena surrounded by tiers of seats designed for various shows. The seats were tiered either by utilising a natural slope, or constructed. The first known amphitheatres date from the first century BC, and become common throughout the Roman Empire especially in the Latin west.
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An amphora was a Roman two-handled vessel, generally made of clay, used for holding, wine, oil, honey and the bones or ashes of the dead. The amphora was a Roman unit of liquid measure containing 48 sectari, equivalent to about six gallons, the Greek amphora holding about nine gallons.
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The amphoreus was an ancient Greek unit of liquid measure equivalent to about nine gallons.
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Ample is an adjective meaning spacious, extensive, large, copious, abundant, sufficient for needs, adequate.
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In antiquity an ampulla was a vessel bellying out like a jug, that contained unguents for the bath. The term was also used for a vessel for drinking at table. The ampulla has also been employed for ceremonial purposes, such as holding the oil or chrism used in various church rites and for anointing monarchs at their coronation. The ampulla of the English sovereigns now in use is an eagle, weighing about 10 oz, of the purest chased gold, which passed through various hands to the Black Prince.
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In Denmark and Norway, an amt is an administrative territorial division.
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Ana is the neuter plural termination of Latin adjectives in -anus, often forming an affix with the names of eminent men to denote a collection of their memorable sayings - thus Scaligericanca, Johnsoniana, the sayings of Scaliger, of Johnson; or to denote a collection of anecdotes, or gossipy matter, as in boxiana. Hence, as an independent noun, books recording such sayings; the sayings themselves.
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Anabaptists (from the Greek anabaptisein, to rebaptize) was a name given to a Christian sect by their adversaries, because, as they objected to infant baptism, they re-baptized those who joined their body. The founder of the sect appears to have been Nicolas Storch, a disciple of Luther's, who seems to have aimed also at the reorganization of society based on civil and political equality. Gathering round him a number of fiery spirits, among whom was Thomas Munzer, he incited the peasantry of Suabia and Franconia to insurrection - the doctrine of a community of goods being now added to their creed. This insurrection was quelled in 1525, when Munzer was put to the torture and beheaded. After the death of Munzer the sectaries dispersed in all directions, spreading their doctrines wherever they went. In 1534 the town of Miinster in Westphalia became their centre of action. Under the leadership of Bockhold and Matthias their numbers increased daily, and being joined by the restless spirits of the adjoining towns, they soon made themselves masters of the town and expelled their adversaries. Matthias became their prophet, but he fell in a sally against the Bishop of Munster, Count Waldeck, who had laid siege to the city. Bockhold then became leader, assuming the name of John of Leyden, king of the New Jerusalem, and Munster became a theatre of all the excesses of fanaticism, lust, and cruelty. The town was eventually taken in June, 1535, and Bockhold and a great many of his partisans suffered death. This was the last time that the movement assumed anything like political importance.
In the meantime some of the apostles, who were sent out by Bockhold to extend the limits of his kingdom, had been successful in various places, and many independent teachers, who preached the same doctrines, continued active in the work of founding a new empire of pure Christians. It is true that they rejected the practice of polygamy, community of goods, and intolerance towards those of different opinions which had prevailed in Munster; but they enjoined upon their adherents the other doctrines of the early Anabaptists, and certain heretical opinions in regard to the humanity of Christ, occasioned by the controversies of that day about the sacrament. The most celebrated of those Anabaptist prophets were Melchior Hoffmann, the founder of the Hoffmannists or Millenarians; Galenus Abrahamssohn, from whom the sect of the Galenists were called; and Simon Menno, founder of various sects known as Mennonites.
Menno's principles are contained in his Principles of the True Christian Faith, 1556, a work which is held as authoritative on points of doctrine and worship among the Baptist communities of Germany and the Netherlands. The application of the term Anabaptist to the general body of Baptists throughout the world is unwarranted, because these sects have nothing in common with the bodies which sprung up in various countries of Europe during the Reformation, except the practice of adult baptism. The Baptists themselves repudiate the name Anabaptist, as they claim to baptize according to the original institution of the rite, and never repeat baptism in the case of those who in their opinion have been so baptized.
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Anabasis is the Greek title of Xenophon's celebrated account of the expedition of Cyrus the Younger against his brother Artaxerxes, king of Persia. The title is also given to Arrian's work which records the campaigns of Alexander the Great.
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Anabolism is the process by which matter is transformed into the tissues of a living organism, as in the assimilation of food by the tissues of the body.
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An anachronism is an error of chronology by which things are represented as coexisting which did not coexist. The term is also applied also to anything foreign to or out of keeping with a specified time. Thus it is an anachronism when Shakespeare, in Troilus and Cressida, makes Hector quote Aristotle.
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Anacoluthon is a want of grammatical and logical sequence in the structure of a sentence. Anacoluthons are frequently used for special effect, such as to express strong emotion.
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Anacreontic is an adjective describing something, usually poetry, to be in the style of the ancient Greek poet Anakreon who wrote lyrics in a light, convivial, graceful, amatory verses particularly extolling the virtues of love and wine.
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An anaglyph is an ornamental carving embossed with figures in low relief, such as a cameo.
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An anagnost was a domestic servant employed by wealthy Romans to read to them at meals.
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An anagram is a word or sentence obtained by changing the order of the letters in another word or sentence.
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Anal sex is penetration of the anus. In heterosexual relationships it has been traditionally used in some cultures as a form of contraception, and of preserving vaginal virginity prior to marriage.
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Analects are a collection of literary fragments, such as the contents of a scrap book.
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Analogous is an adjective meaning something which resembles something else, similar, corresponding in certain ways (an analogy). Thus, if one was to try and describe colour to someone who has been blind since birth, one could say that colour is analogous to flavour. That is, while flavour is a sensation experienced by the mouth, colour is a sensation experienced by the eye. Flavours result in different reactions with the person experiencing them, some make the person feel pleasant, others repulse, so it is with colour. Some colours cause a pleasant reaction, others a repulsed reaction. As flavours are often a complex mixture and vary almost infinitely in subtlety, so also do colours, their subtle differences being known as hues and tones. While salt may intensify a flavour, so brightness may intensify a colour. While water may be bland as without much flavour, so a transparent grey may be described as analogous to flavourless, in that it is a colour which generates relatively little sensation.
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In comparative anatomy, analogue refers to an organ in one species or group having the same function as an organ of different structure in another species or group, as the wing of a bird and that of an insect, both serving for flight. Organs in different animals having a similar anatomical structure, development, and relative position, independent of function or form, such as the arm of a man and the wing of a bird. are termed homologues.
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Analogy is the mode of reasoning from resemblance to resemblance. When we find on attentive examination resemblances in objects apparently diverse, and in which at first no such resemblances were discovered, a presumption arises that other resemblances may be found by further examination in these or other objects likewise apparently diverse. It is on the belief in a unity in nature that all inferences from analogy rest. The general inference from analogy is always perfectly valid. Wherever there is resemblance, similarity or identity of cause somewhere may be justly inferred; but to infer the particular cause without particular proof is always to reason falsely. Analogy is of great use and constant application in science, in philosophy, and in the common business of life.
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Analysis is the resolution of an object whether of the senses or the intellect, into its component elements. In philosophy it is the mode of resolving a compound idea into its simple parts, in order to consider them more distinctly, and arrive at a more precise knowledge of the whole. Analysis is opposed to synthesis, by which we combine and class our perceptions, and contrive expressions for our thoughts, so as to represent their several divisions, classes, and relations.
In mathematics, analysis is, in the widest sense, the expression and development of the functions of quantities by calculation;
in a narrower sense the resolving of problems by algebraic equations. The analysis of the ancients was exhibited only in geometry, and made use only of geometrical assistance, whereby it is distinguished from the analysis of the moderns, which extends to all measurable objects, and expresses in equations the mutual dependence of magnitudes. Analysis is divided into lower and higher, the lower comprising, besides arithmetic and algebra, the doctrines of functions, of series, combinations, logarithms, and curves, the higher comprising the differential and integral calculus, and the calculus of variations.
In chemistry, analysis is the process of decomposing a compound substance with a view to determine either (a) what elements it contains (known as qualitative analysis), or (b) how much of each element is present (known as quantitative analysis). Thus by the first process we learn that water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen, and by the second that it consists of one part of hydrogen by weight to eight parts of oxygen.
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Anamnesis is a recollection, especially of a past existence. In medicine, the term anamnesis refers to a patients memory of the past history of their case.
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Anamorphosis is a term denoting a drawing executed in such a manner as to present a distorted image of the object represented, but which, when viewed from a certain point, or reflected by a curved mirror or through a polyhedron, shows the object in its true proportions.
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An anapest is a poetic foot or measure consisting of two short or unaccented syllables followed by a long or accented syllable with the accent on the last.
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Anarchists (from the Greek word anarchia, meaning non-rule) believe that every form of government is evil. Towards the end of the last century anarchists assassinated Czar Alexander of Russia and other political leaders to draw attention to their theories. There was a strong anarchist movement in Spain during the 1930s.
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Anarchists are a revolutionary sect or body setting forth as the social ideal the extreme form of individual freedom, and holding that all government is injurious and immoral, that the destruction of every social form now existing must be the first step to the creation of a new world (Anarchy). Their recognition as an independent sect may be dated from the secession of Bakunin and his followers from the Social Democrats at the congress of the Hague in 1872, since which they have maintained an active propaganda. Their principal journals have been La Revolte published in Paris, the Freiheit published in New York, Liberty published in Boston, and the Anarchist published in London. The Anarchist congress held at London in 1881 decided that all means were justifiable as against the organized forces of modern society.
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Anarchy is the lack or absence of a government. The term is extended to describe any lawless condition of society, but properly anarchy is a political philosophy that organised government is unnecessary and evil, and that in a truly compassionate and co-operative society formal government serves only to suppress the majority for the unfair benefit of the few. Anarchy is found existing in many tribes of aboriginal people around the world and has been very successful and environmentally friendly for thousands of years, with members of the society each altruistically contributing without the need for duress. Anarchy is naturally the enemy of industrialised capitalism which depends upon the suppression of the many to work the means of production to produce profit for the few. Similarly, anarchy is the enemy of Communism which relies upon enforced communal labour to generate the needs of society.
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Anastatic printing is a mode of obtaining facsimile impressions of any printed page or engraving by transferring it to a plate of zinc, which, on being subjected to the action of an acid, is etched or eaten away with the exception of the parts covered with the ink, which parts, being thus protected from the action of the acid, are left in relief so that they can readily be printed from.
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Anasteemaphilia is the preference for sexual partners of a different height to oneself.
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In geography, anastomose is a term used to describe two or more rivers which meet and run together. Hence the term anastomosis which describes rivers or streams running together in union.
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In rhetoric and grammar, an anastrophe is an inversion or alteration of the natural running order of words such as in the sentence 'came a runner from the battle.'
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Originally an anathema was a gift hung up in a temple (the word comes from the Greek anatithemi, to lay up and evolved to a devoted thing and later an accursed thing), and dedicated to some god, a votive offering; but it gradually came to be used for expulsion, curse. The Roman Catholic Church pronounces the sentence of anathema against heretics, schismatics, and all who wilfully pursue a course of conduct condemned by the church. The subject of the anathema is declared an outcast from the church, all the faithful are forbidden to associate with him, and utter destruction is denounced against him, both body and soul. In common parlance an anathema is a person or thing thought to be accursed or devoted to evil and destruction, someone or something detested. Confusingly, in older writings the term anathema is met upon meaning something devoted or consecrated to divine use.
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Anathematize means to curse.
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An ancestor is someone from whom one is descended in a direct line (such as for example the father of the father of your father, or your great-grand-father).
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Ancestry is a line of descent traced from a period a long time ago. The term also includes the people of such a line, or a lineage.
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Ancient lights is a legal term for light enjoyed for 20 years or more through a defined aperture (such as a window) in a building. Under the Prescription Act (1832) the owner of the building has a right to such light, which may not thereafter be obstructed. Before the passing of this Act it was very difficult to obtain rights to any light, as the common law recognises no natural right to light.
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The Ancient Mariner is a poem by Coleridge, published in 'Lyrical Ballads' in 1798. The idea appears to have been taken from Captain Shelvocke's ' Voyage Round the World' published in 1757.
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Ancipital means double-faced, double in formation or two-edged.
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An andiron (fire-dog) is a metal utensil consisting of two upright and generally ornamental pillars set at some distance from each other with a horizontal bar connecting them. They were originally designed to prop up the extremities of logs of wood while they were being burnt. Later they were used to support the ends of a spit.
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Androgynous means having characteristics both of the male and the female, hermaphroditic. In botany the term is applied to a plant which bears both anthers and ovaries at the same time.
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An anecdote is a brief story of an entertaining character or a tense and pithy account of some incident, usually about some well known person. An anecdote differs from a story or tale in that while all three are alike in using incident as the base of the narrative, an anecdote is the relation of a detached incident, short, often characteristic and sometimes witty. A story, however, weaves a series of incidents into a narrative which moves to a definite climax through a well organised plot. A tale is a narrative in which the incidents that form its main source of interest are loosely held together; there is practically no plot; digression and speculation are admitted into its leisurely development, and it leaves an impression as a whole, rather than through any one acute point of interest.
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Angelology is a discourse or a body of doctrines about angels.
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The angelus is a Roman Catholic devotion in honour of the Incarnation, instituted by Urban II. It consists of three texts, each said as versicle and response, and followed by the salutation of Gabriel.
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Anger is an excessive emotion or passion aroused by a sense of injury or wrong. Properly, anger is distinguished as being a sudden, brief, violent displeasure. Anger differs from wrath in that wrath is anger on a larger scale, and is especially applied to that felt by those in a superior position. Similarly, indignation is righteous anger, often impersonal and unselfish and fury is extreme anger, often rendering the sufferer temporarily insane, or completely out of self-control.
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Angle was an old term for a fishing hook or fishing tackle in general.
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Anglican simply means English. The term is particularly encountered in relation to the Established Church of England, where Anglican means pertaining to the Established Church of England.
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Anglicanism is a family of Christian churches. The family includes the Church of England, the US Episcopal Church, and those holding the same essential doctrines. Anglicanism holds the Lambeth Quadrilateral 1888 Holy Scripture as the basis of all doctrine, the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, and the historic episcopate.
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Anglicise means to make English. The term is usually used to reflect the adoption of English manners, costume and customs by other peoples and immigrants.
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An anglicism is a word, phrase or idiom which is peculiar to the English and not used in other English-speaking languages such as American. The term is also extended to include traits which are peculiarly English or British.
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Properly, angling is the art of catching fish with a baited hook or angle. The basic equipment for angling is a rod, a line and a hook. But many anglers supplement the basics with other equiment such as reels, weights, floats and nets etc.
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The Anglo-Japanese Treaty was a treaty signed by Great Britain and Japan on January 30th 1902, by which the two powers agreed to safeguard their common interests in China and Korea. In the event of one of them being at war with a foreign power, the other would maintain a strict neutrality, but would assist her ally if a second foreign power joined the first. The treaty also stated that neither party would enter into agreements without the consent of the other and would confide fully in the other if common interests were endangered. The treaty was agreed for five years.
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Anglomania is an excessive or undue respect or love for all things English.
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An anglophile is someone who admires the English people.
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Angnail is skin torn at the root of a fingernail.
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Angostura Bark is the aromatic bitter medicinal bark obtained chiefly from Galipea officindlis, a tree of between three and six metres high, growing in the northern regions of South America, of the natural order Rutaceae. The bark is valuable as a tonic and febrifuge, and is also used for a kind of bitters (Angostura bitters). From this bark being adulterated, indeed sometimes entirely replaced, by the poisonous bark of Strychnos Nux Vomica, its use as a medicine had been almost given up by around 1900.
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Anguish is intense mental or physical suffering.
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ANGUISH
Anguish is severe pain, whether mental or physical, intense suffering. Anguish is frequently used to describe mental torture or pain, while its synonym agony is more often used for severe physical pain.
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Anile means like an old woman; an imbecile.
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Anima Mundi was a term applied by some of the older philosophers to the ethereal essence or spirit supposed to be diffused through the universe, organizing and acting throughout the whole and in all its different parts; a theory closely allied to Pantheism.
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Animadvert is a verb meaning to pass unfavourable comments or to criticise. Hence, animadversion which is censure, blame or a criticising or disparaging remark.
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Animal training are sex games in which one or more partners, take on the role of an animal, such as a horse (pony girl) or dog. The 'animal' may imitate animal behaviour, wearing items such as collars, leads, bridles and so on, or carry out tasks associated with the animal, such as pulling a vehicle.
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Animal worship is a practice found to prevail, or to have prevailed, in the most widely distant parts of the world, both the Old and the New, but nowhere to such an amazing extent as in ancient Egypt, notwithstanding its high civilization. Nearly all the more important animals found in the country were regarded as sacred in some part of Egypt, and the degree of reverence paid to them was such that throughout Egypt the killing of a hawk or an ibis, whether voluntary or not, was punished with death. The worship, however, was not, except in a few instances, paid to them as actual deities. The animals were merely regarded as sacred to the deities, and the worship paid to them was symbolical.
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Animalism is the state or activity of animals, particularly referring to animals 'lower' than humans. Thus in humans the term animalism refers to being influenced by sensual instincts or appetites. The word animalism is also the name of the theory which argues that humans are merely animals, rules by animal instincts and not by spiritual impulses.
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Animism is the system of medicine propounded by Stahl, and based on the idea that the soul (anima) is the seat of life. In modern usage the term is applied to express the general doctrine of souls and other spiritual beings, and especially to the tendency, common among primitive races, to attribute souls or spirits to inanimate things, and to explain phenomena not due to obvious natural causes by attributing them to spiritual agency. Amongst the beliefs of animism is that of a human apparitional soul, bearing the form and appearance of the body, and living after death a sort of semi-human life.
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Animosity is a term for mutual hostility, hatred, enmity.
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The anker was a measurement used in Britain and Germany for beer, spirits and the like. It was equivalent to 8.5 gallons. The Scottish anker contained 20 Scottish pints.
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Annals are a history of events in chronological order, each event being recorded under the year in which it occurred. The name is derived from the first annual records of the Romans, which were called annales pontificum or annales maximi, drawn up by the pontifex maximus (chief pontiff). The practice of keeping such annals was afterwards adopted also by various private individuals, as by Fabius Pictor, Calpurnius Piso, and others. The name hence came to be applied in later times to historical works in which the matter was treated with special reference to chronological arrangement, as to the Annals of Tacitus.
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Annatto (also known as anatta) is an orange-red colouring matter, obtained from the pulp surrounding the seeds of Bixa Orellana, a shrub native to tropical America, and cultivated in Guiana, St Domingo, and the East Indies. It was sometimes used as a dye for silk and cotton goods though it does not produce a very durable colour, but it is much used in medicine for tinging plasters and ointments, and to a considerable extent by farmers for giving a rich colour to cheese, and by the food industry as a food colouring.
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Queen Anne's fan is a popular gesticulation of contempt involving placing the thumb on the nose and spreading the fingers.
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Annihilate means to destroy utterly and completely.
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In general parlance. annihilation means total destruction.
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To annotate is to make notes upon or about by way of explanation or criticism. The term is used to describe the adding of notes to an existing written work or text.
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Annual means of or pertaining to a year.
In literature, annual is the name given to a class of publications which at one time enjoyed an immense yearly circulation, and were distinguished by great magnificence both of binding and illustration, which rendered them much sought after as Christmas and New Year presents. Their contents were chiefly prose tales and ballads, lyrics, and other poetry. The earliest was the Forget-me-not, started in 1822, and followed next year by the Friendship's Offering. The Literary Souvenir was commenced in 1824, and the Keepsake in 1827. Among the names of the editors occur those of Alaric A. Watts, Mrs. S. C. Hall, Harrison Ainsworth, Lady Blessington, Mary Howitt, etc. The popularity of the annuals reached its zenith about 1829, when no less than seventeen made their appearance; in 1856 the Keepsake, the last of the series, leased to exist. During the 20th century following the Second World War annuals aimed at children started to be produced, based upon existing childrens' magazines and television programmes and are still very popular.
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Annul means to make void, to abolish or to do away with. The term is usually applied to laws, decrees and contracts.
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Annular means pertaining to a ring or rings. Thus the term also means ring-shaped or marked with rings.
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Annulation is the act of making rings or ring-like formations. The name is also sometimes applied to a ring-like formation.
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To annunciate is to publicly announce or to officially make something known.
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Annunciation Day or Lady Day is a feast of the Christian church in honour of the annunciation. It is celebrated on the 25th of March.
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An annunciator is someone or something which announces. The term is especially applied to a mechanical or electrical signalling device as used in hotels, elevators etc.
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Annus luctus was the period formerly during which a widow was morally supposed to remain chaste. The reasoning went that should the woman remarry within nine months of the death of her husband, and a child was born, then the paternity of the child could be questionable.
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Anodyne is an adjective which describes something that relieves pain. Hence the word is used for a drug which relieves pain.
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Anointing is the rubbing the body or some part of it with oil, often perfumed. From time immemorial the nations of the East have been in the habit of anointing themselves for the sake of health and beauty. The Greeks and Romans anointed themselves after the bath. Wrestlers anointed themselves in order to render it more difficult for their antagonists to get hold of them. In Egypt it seems to have been common to anoint the head of guests when they entered the house where they were to be entertained. In the Mosaic law a sacred character was attached to the anointing of the garments of the priests and things belonging to the ceremonial of worship. The Jewish priests and kings were anointed when inducted into office, and were called the anointed of the Lord, to show that their persons were sacred and their office from God. In the Old Testament also the prophecies respecting the Redeemer style him Messias, that is, the Anointed, which is also the meaning of his Greek name Christ. The custom of anointing still exists in the Roman Catholic Church in the ordination of priests and the confirmation of believers and the sacrament of extreme unction. The ceremony is also frequently a part of the coronation of kings.
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Anolinctus is the sex act of stimulating the anus with the tongue.
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Anolingus is the sex act of inserting the tongue into the anus.
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Anomalous means differing from the normal, abnormal, irregular, peculiar or strange.
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An anomaly is a deviation or turning from the natural order, hence anything which is abnormal, irregular or peculiar.
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Anon means at another time, again. In old writings, anon meant straight away or without delay, but over time its meaning changed to mean soon and finally just at another time.
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An anonym is some one who does not give their name, an anonymous person. The term is especially applied to an author who does not give their name or who gives a pseudonym.
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Anonymous means having no name, or, in the case of a text being of unknown authorship.
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Something which is described as ansate is something which has a handle. For example, the term is sometimes used for an ansate cross, which is a tau cross with a loop as a handle.
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Anserine means goose-like or pertaining to a goose, and hence also means silly or stupid.
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ANSI is the American National Standards Institute. The official repository of standards for the USA.
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Antagonism is the active opposition, hostility, antipathy or animosity of two opponents or opposing forces.
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An antagonist is someone who contends with another in combat or an argument. The term is also applied to a competitor or a rival.
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Antares is a red star of the first magnitude, and the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpio. Antares is so called from its resemblance in colour to the planet Mars - Antares being Greek for 'like Ares', Ares being the Greek name for the planet Mars.
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Ante bellum is Latin for 'before the war' and is a term applied most usually in the USA to describe a time before the American Civil War.
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Antecede means to precede, to go before in time or space. The term also means to excel, or to outdo.
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In grammar, an antecedent is the noun to which a relative or other pronoun refers; as, Solomon was the prince who built the temple, where the word prince is the antecedent of who.
In logic, an antecedent is that member of a hypothetical or conditional proposition which contains the condition, and which is introduced by if or some equivalent word or words; as, if the sun is fixed, the earth must move. Here the first and conditional proposition is the antecedent, the second the consequent.
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To antedate means to occur at an earlier time than. To be or have a date earlier than the date of something else.
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The term antediluvian refers to before the flood or deluge of Noah's time; relating to what happened before the deluge. In geology the term has been applied to organisms, traces of which are found in a fossil state in formations preceding the Diluvial, particularly to extinct animals such as the paleotherium, the mastodon, etc.
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Antemundane refers to living or occuring before the craetion of the world.
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Antenatal refers to occurring before birth. The word is most commonly encountered in the context of antenatal care with regards to a pregnant woman.
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Antenuptial refers to before marriage.
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An antependium is a veil hung in front of an altar.
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An antepenult is the last syllable but two in a word. For example the syllable -te- in the word antepenult.
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Antepenultimate refers to the last element but two in a series, that is the element which immediately precedes the penultimate element.
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Anterior means situated before at the front. Thus, the word is also used to describe something that occurs before something else.
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An antetype is a form which has been previously developed before another; a prototype or a forerunner.
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An anthelion is a luminous ring, or rings, seen by an observer, especially in alpine and polar regions, around the shadow of his head projected on a cloud or fog-bank, or on grass covered with dew, fifteen or twenty metres distant, and opposite the sun
when rising or setting. It is due to the diffraction of light.
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Anthemion is the name given to a conventional floral design common in Greek art.
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An anthology is a collection of choice literary extracts from different authors.
Research Anthology
In September 2001 the USA was attacked by letters containing the phrases 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel' infected with anthrax being sent through the post. Five people died, 18 more were injured, and 35000 were forced to take precautionary antibiotics. Official reports suggested that the anthrax was released by the Muslim al-Qaeda terrorist movement, but investigations by forensic scientists at the FBI revealed that the sender of the poisoned letters was most likely a member of the American CIA, probably trying to encourage support for President Bush's 'war on terrorism' by spreading terror and paranoia throughout the western world directed at the more fundamental Islamic countries.
The FBI's conclusion was further proved when on the 17th of June, 2003 the head of the British intelligence service, MI5 Ms Manningham-Buller, warned that an attack on a Western city was 'only a matter of time', and went on to say 'We are faced with a realistic possibility of a form of unconventional attack that could include chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN)'. 'It is only a matter of time before a crude version of a CBRN is launched on a Western city.' Clearly indicating that to date no such terrorist attack had taken place, and that the FBI were correct in their finding that the Anthrax attack had been carried out by a member of the CIA, though suggesting that he was not a rogue criminal at all.
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Anthropolite is a petrifaction of the human body or skeleton, or of parts of the body, by the incrusting action of calcareous waters, and hence hardly to be considered fossil or sub-fossil.
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Anthropometry (also known as the Bertillon System in the USA) is a system of recording body measurements for the purpose of confirming the identities of convicted criminals. Anthropometry was invented by Alphonse Bertillon in 1880 as Bertillonage and adopted by Scotland Yard in 1894 - under the name anthropometry - under the recommendation of the Troup Committee. Anthropometry was replaced by fingerprinting following the Belper Committee in 1900.
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Anthropomorphic refers to something possessing human form or properties.
Research Anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the representation or conception of a deity under a human form, or with human attributes and affections. Anthropomorphism is founded in the natural inaptitude of the human mind for conceiving spiritual things except through sensuous images, and in its consequent tendency to accept such expressions as those of Scripture when it speaks of the eye, the ear, and the hand of God, of his seeing and hearing, of his remembering and forgetting, of his making man in his own image, etc, in a too literal sense. The term is also applied to that doctrine which attributes to animals mental faculties of the same nature as those of man, though much lower in degree: strictly called biological anthropomorphism, to distinguish it from anthropomorphism proper, or theological anthropomorphism.
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Anthropophagy is the scientific term for man-eaters, cannibalism Little is known of the history of cannibalism, but there is no doubt that it was practised in very ancient times, and claims of its practice have long been a popular propaganda tool in effecting public opinion against a race of people. Superstitious ideas are often associated with cannibalism among those who practise it. The Caribs were cannibals at the time of the Spanish conquest, and the word 'cannibal' is derived from their name.
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Anthroposcopy is divination by observing facial features.
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The Anti-Corn Law League was an organisation formed in 1838 with its headquarters at Manchester, to effect the repeal of the corn laws in Britain. It was led by Cobden, Bright, Villiers, Joseph Hume and Roebuck. The league held meetings, oratories and published a paper (the League) and was an organised, aggressive and effective body. With its objectives achieved by the royal assent given to repeal the corn laws in 1846 to 1849 the league was dissolved.
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The Anti-Jac'obin was a famous magazine published from 1797 until 1818, the original object of which was to satirize the Jacobin principles of the Fox section of Whigs. Its principal contributors were Gifford, Canning, Frere, and Ellis.
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The Anti-Monopoly Party was an American political party formed on May the 14th 1884 at Chicago, demanding economical government, equitable laws, including an Interstate Commerce law, laws establishing labour bureaus and providing industrial arbitration, direct vote for senators, graduated income tax, payment of the national debt as it matures, and 'fostering-care' for agriculture, and denouncing the tariff and the granting of land to corporations. The Anti-Monopoly Party later joined with the Green-Back Labour party to form the 'People's Party'.
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The Anti-Nebraska Men was a name given to the American Northern Whigs to distinguish them from the Southern Whigs in respect of the Kansas-Nebraska bill. The Anti-Nebraska Men were joined by Anti-Slavery Democrats and gained control of the House in the Thirty-Fourth Congress before becoming the Republican Party.
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Anti-rentism was a movement among the leaseholders of certain counties in New York State, USA during 1839 to 1847 to resist the feudal dues appertaining to the Dutch manorial and patronship rights still remaining, though virtually abolished in 1775. In 1839 the heirs of one of the largest landowners in Albany county tried to evict those tenants who had not paid the feudal rents. The tenants resisted, the movement spread, ant-rent associations were formed and disturbances occurred. Repressive measures were adopted, and the resistance was put down. In 1846 feudal tenures of all kinds were abolished, and agricultural leases were limited to a maximum period of twelve years.
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Anti-Semitism, hostility to the Jews (Semites), has long been actively exhibited in severities and attacks of various kinds. A movement of the late 19th century manifested in various countries, especially Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Romania, and France. It may have been attributed to different motives in different countries, but on the whole owed its origin less to the fact of the Jews being a 'peculiar people' by race and religion, than to the comparatively high position won by them in the financial and political worlds.
In Western Russia there was a great outburst against the Jews in 1881, in which men, women, and children were slaughtered. The Russian government, by its anti-Jewish policy, may be said to have sanctioned this murderous outbreak, which was followed by harsh laws and actual persecutions, though afterwards there was a mitigation of the severity shown towards the Jews. Yet in 1903 the world was startled by a terrible massacre of Jews at Kishinef, in Bessarabia, connived at by the authorities on the spot; and towards the end of 1905, in connection with the Russian revolutionary movement, there were dreadful massacres of Jews in Odessa, Kishinef, and other towns, the authorities being similarly involved. In Russia, hatred of the Jews was party due to the position they occupied throughout the country as money-lenders.
In Rumania their position resembled what it was elsewhere in mediaeval times, and was less favourable than it was even under the Turks. In Germany, even before Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party the movement was worked chiefly by politicians for their own ends, though the racial and religious question also had some influence; and among the ignorant the .belief that the Jews murder Christian children for ritual purposes was revived, as also in Austria-Hungary. In Austria-Hungary the movement was partly political, partly social and economic, partly religious.
In France anti-Semitism was employed chiefly as a weapon by monarchists and clericals as against republicanism, and by the socialists as against capitalism, racial antipathy having also its influence in the movements. In Britain, anti-Semitism was much less severe, owing to there having been a very large influx of Jews from the Continent, forming part of Britian's immigration policy.
Anti-Semitism hit a climax in the 1930's with Adolf Hitler and the German Nazi Party with the wholesale slaughter of Jews throughout Europe, which provided an excuse for other world powers to oppose Germany's expansion through war - though economic reasons seem much more likely - and culminated in the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, subsequently named Israel, following the end of the Second World War.
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The Anti-Vivisection Society was formed in London in 1876 to oppose vivisection.
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an antic is a grotesque or comic action, a funny trick or practical joke. Originally Antics were a type of fool or clown.
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An anticlimax is a falling-off in the importance of a tone of ideas or statements, The term is also applied to a sudden, unexpected or ridiculous drop in thought and expression.
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Antimacassar was a former covering for chairs, sofas, couches, etc, made of open cotton or worsted work, to preserve them from being soiled, as by the oil applied to the hair.
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ANTIMACASSAR
An antimacassar was formerly a covering to decorate or protect the backs or arms of chairs from the effects of macassar oil which was popularly used as a hairdressing.
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Antimonarchic means opposed to government by a monarch or sovereign.
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Antinomian refers to the belief that faith renders Christians free from any obligation to morale laws, and that faith alone is sufficient for salvation.
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The Antinomians were a Christian religious sect founded in Germany by John Agricola. Antinomians believed that the law was of no use or obligation under the dispensation of the Gospel, and that good works availed nothing toward salvation. Antinomianism arrived in the USA with Anne Hutchinson, an English Antinomian who arrived in 1634 and supported the preachings of John Cotton and John Wheelwright. She was tried in 1637, and banished along with John Wheelwright and others. A number of her followers were fined or otherwise punished and the rule of the Puritan hierarchy was firmly established at the expense of freedom of thought and speech.
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Antipathy is an opposition in nature, disposition or temperament. The word is also used for a strong aversion or dislike for something or someone and also a chemical incompatibility. Antipathy, as one of the negative emotion which include hatred and dislike, is distinguished by being instinctive, irrational and ingrained.
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In rhetoric, antiphrasis is the use of a word or phrase in a sense opposite to its real meaning. A form of irony.
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In geography, antipodes are two places precisely opposite one another on the earth, such as Barfleur in Normandy and Antipodes Island, south-east of New Zealand. At antipodes the hours and seasons are reversed, so that when it is midnight in summer in Barfleur it is noon in winter on Antipodes.
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Antipope is the name applied to those who at different periods have produced a schism in the Roman Catholic Church by opposing the authority of the pope, under the pretence that they were themselves popes. The Roman Church cannot admit that there ever existed two popes; but the fact is, that in several cases both competitors for the papal chair (sometimes there were three or even four) were equally popes; that is to say, the claims of all were equally good. Each was frequently supported by whole nations, and the schism was nothing but the struggle of political interests.
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Antiquaries are those devoted to the study of ancient times through their relics, as old places of sepulchre, remains of ancient habitations, early monuments, implements or weapons, statues, coins, medals, paintings, inscriptions, books, and manuscripts, with the view of arriving at a knowledge of the relations, modes of living, habits, and general condition of the people who created or employed them. Societies or associations of antiquaries have been formed in all countries of European civilization. In Britain the Society of Antiquaries of London was founded in 1572, revived in 1717, and incorporated in 1751. The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland was founded in 1780, incorporated in 1783, and has the management of a large national antiquarian museum in Edinburgh.
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An antique is something very old. In British collecting circles the term 'antique' is generally applied to something 100 or more years old.
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Antiquity means ancient times, or of great age, very old.
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Antithesis (opposition) is a figure of speech consisting in a contrast or opposition of words or sentiments; as, 'When our vices leave us, we flatter ourselves we leave them'', 'The prodigal robs his heir, the miser robs himself'.
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Antitype is that which is correlative to a type; by theological writers the term is employed to denote the reality of which a type is the prophetic symbol.
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An Anton Piller order is a court injunction ordering the defendant to allow the plaintiff to enter named premises to search for and take copies of specified articles and documents. These orders are obtained by the plaintiff 'ex parte' (without the other party being present in court) to allow him to preserve evidence in cases in which he has grounds to think it will be destroyed. It is especially useful in 'pirating' cases. The order is not a search warrant, so entry cannot be forced, but the defendant will be in contempt of court if entry is refused. A solicitor must serve the order. It is named after an order made in the High Court in 1976 against Anton Piller KG.
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In rhetoric, antonomasia is the use of the name of some office, dignity, profession, science, or trade instead of the true name of the person, as when his majesty is used for a king, his lordship for a nobleman; or when, instead of Aristotle, we say, the philosopher; or, conversely, the use of a proper noun instead of a common noun; as, a Solomon for a wise man.
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An antonym is a word which has the opposite meaning to another word in the same language.
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An anvil is an instrument on which pieces of metal are laid for the purpose of being hammered. The common smith's anvil is generally made of seven pieces, namely, the core or body; the four corners for the purpose of enlarging its base; the projecting end, which contains a square hole for the reception of a set or chisel to cut off pieces of iron; and the beak or conical end, used for turning pieces of iron into a circular form, etc. These pieces are each separately welded to the core and hammered so as to form a regular surface with the whole. When the anvil has received its due form, it is faced with steel, and is then tempered .in cold water. The smith's anvil is generally placed loose upon a wooden block. The anvil for heavy operations, such as the forging of ordnance and shafting, consists of a huge iron block deeply embedded, and resting on piles of masonry.
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Anxious is an adjective describing someone deeply concerned or toubled about something.
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Aorist is the name given to one of the tenses of the verb in some languages (as the Greek), which expresses indefinite past time.
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Ap is a Welsh prefix indicating 'son', as ApRobert, son of Robert, now often reduced to simply Probert.
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An aparador is a Spanish sideboard, cupvoard, wardrobe, chest or the like.
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An aparejo is a kind of American packsaddle made of stuffed leather cushions.
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Apartheid is the policy of racial segregation of people. It was first established in South Africa in 1948 restricting the rights of non-whites and establishing blacks only homelands.
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Apathy is a state of indifference. A lack of passion or emotion.
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Aperient is an adjective describing something as gently laxative, that is something that opens the bowels.
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An apex is the point, tip or summit of something. Hence in mathematics the apex of a triangle is the vertex (point) opposite the base, or the vertex of a cone, pyramid etc.
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Aphaeresis is the taking or dropping of a letter or syllable from the beginning of a word, such as for example forming 'scape' from 'escape'
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The aphelion is the point at which an object travelling around the sun in an elliptical orbit is at its furthest from the sun.
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Aphesis is a form of aphaeresis,. It is the gradual loss of an unaccented vowel at the beginning of a word such as the evolution of the word 'adown' into 'down'.
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An aphorism is a brief, sententious saying, in which a comprehensive meaning is involved, as 'Familiarity breeds contempt'; 'Necessity has no law.'
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An aphrodisiac is a medicine or food believed to be capable of exciting sexual desire.
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Apiculture is a name for bee-keeping.
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Aplomb is a French word, adopted into English, meaning self-possession, self assurance or self confidence.
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Apocalypse means revelation or discovery, hence Apocalypse is the name frequently given to the last book of the New Testament, in the English version called The Revelation of St John the Divine. It is generally believed that the Apocalypse was written by the apostle John in his old age around 95 to 97 A.D. in the Isle of Patnios, whither he had been banished by the Roman Emperor Domitian. Anciently its genuineness was maintained by Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and many others; while it was doubted by Dionysius of Alexandria, Cyril of Jerusalem, Chrysostorn, and, nearer our own times, by Luther and a majority of the eminent German commentators. The Apocalypse has been explained differently by almost every writer who has ventured to interpret it, and has furnished all sorts of sects and fanatics with quotations to support their creeds or pretensions. The modern interpreters may be divided into three schools - namely, the historical school who hold that the prophecy embraces the whole history of the church and its foes from the time of its writing to the end of the world; the Praeterists, who hold that the whole or nearly the whole of the prophecy has been already fulfilled, and that it refers chiefly to the triumph of Christianity over Paganism and Judaism; and the Futurists, who throw the whole prophecy, except the first three chapters, forward upon a time not yet reached by the church - a period of no very long duration, which is immediately to precede Christ's second coming.
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In Christianity, the apocalyptic number is the mystic number 666 found in Revelations XIII verse 18. As early as the second century ecclesiastical writers found that the name Antichrist was indicated by the Greek characters expressive of this number. By Irenasus the word Lateinos was found in the letters of the number, and the Roman empire was therefore considered to be Antichrist. Protestants generally believe it has reference to the Papacy, and, on the other hand, Catholics connected it with Protestantism.
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In grammar, apocope is the omission or cutting off of the last letter or syllable of a word.
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Apocrypha (from the Greek, 'things concealed or spurious') means writings or statements of doubtful authorship. The term was applied in the earliest churches to various sacred or professedly inspired writings, sometimes given to those whose authors were unknown, sometimes to those with a hidden meaning, and sometimes to those considered objectionable. The term is specially applied to the fourteen undermentioned books which were written during the two centuries preceding the birth of Christ. They were written, not in Hebrew, but in Greek, and the Jews never allowed them a place in their sacred canon. They were incorporated into the Septuagint, and thence passed to the Vulgate. The Greek Church excluded them from the canon in 360 at the Council of Laodicea. The Latin Church treated them with more favour, but it was not until 1546 that they were formally admitted into the canon of the Church of Rome by a decree of the Council of Trent. The Anglican Church says they may be read for example of life and instruction of manners, but that the church does not apply them to establish any doctrine. All other Protestant churches in Britain and America ignore them. The following fourteen books form the Apocrypha of the English Bible: - The first and second Books of Esdras, Tobit, Judith, the rest of the Book of Esther, the Wisdom of Solomon, the Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus, Baruch the Prophet, the Song of the Three Children, Susanna and the Elders, Bel and the Dragon, the Prayer of Manasses, and the first and second Books of Maccabees.
Besides the Apocryphal books of the Old Testament there are many other books composed in the earlier ages of Christianity, and published under the names of Christ and his apostles, or of such immediate followers as from their character or means of intimate knowledge might give an apparent plausibility for such forgeries. These writings comprise: 1st, the Apocryphal Gospels, which treat of the history of Joseph and the Virgin before the birth of Christ, of the infancy of Jesus, and of the acts of Pilate; 2d, the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles; and 3d, the Apocryphal Apocalypses, none of which have obtained canonical recognition by any of the churches.
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In grammar, the apodosis is the latter member of a conditional sentence (or one beginning with if, though, etc) dependent on the condition or protasis; as, if it rain (protasis) I shall not go (apodosis).
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The apollo asteroids are a group of small asteroids whose orbits cross that of the earth. They were first discovered in 1932 and then lost until 1973.
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The Apollo Project was the US space project to land a person on the moon in order to prove to the world the ideological superiority of the American system over that of Communist Russia. It was reportedly achieved by Apollo 11 in July 1969. The three-stage vehicle to carry the astronauts to the moon was code named Saturn, and the contract to develop the Apollo three-man spacecraft was awarded to North American Aviation Incorporated in 1961 by NASA. The first launch into orbit of an Apollo command module was made by Saturn SA-6 on May the 28th 1964, and the first manned flight was made after a fire during ground tests killed the three astronauts - Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee - on January the 27th 1967.
Controversy surrounds the supposed moon landing, with theories abounding that in 1969 it was technically impossible to land on the moon, and as a result NASA faked the moon landing, filming the 'landing' at the top secret military base, Area 51, in the Nevada desert while the astronauts actually orbited the earth for eight days before returning. This theory was later illustrated in the film 'Capricorn One' which told the fictional story of a faked landing on the planet Mars.
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Apollonius of Tyre was the hero of a tale which had an immense popularity in the middle ages and which furnished the plot of Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre. The story, originally in Greek, first appeared in the third century after Christ.
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Apologetics is the branch of theology that deals with the defence and proof of Christian doctrine and belief.
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An apologue is a story or relation of fictitious events intended to convey some useful truths. It differs from a parable in that the latter is drawn from events that pass among mankind, whereas the apologue may be founded on supposed actions of brutes or inanimate things. Aesop's fables are good examples of apologues.
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An apophthegm or apothegm is a short pithy instructive saying, sentence or maxim. Julius Caesar wrote a collection of them, and we have a collection by Lord Bacon.
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Aposiopesis is an abrupt breaking away from a sentence and leaving it unfinished for the sake of greater effect. For example 'his character is such - but it is better I should not speak of that.'
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Apostasy is a renunciation of opinions or practices and the adoption of contrary ones, usually applied to renunciation of religious opinions. It is always an expression of reproach. What one party calls apostasy is termed by the other conversion. Catholics, also, call those persons apostates who forsake a religious order or renounce their religious vows without a lawful dispensation.
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An Apostle jug is an old fashioned kind of jug the outer surface of which is divided into twelve panels, each decorated in more or less high relief with a representation of one of the apostles.
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Apostle spoons were spoons with figures of the apostles crowning the handles. They were given as baptismal presents during the 16th and 17th centuries.
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The apostrophe is a rhetorical figure by which the orator changes the course of his speech, and makes a short impassioned address to one absent as if he were present, or to things without life and sense as if they had life and sense. The same term is also applied to a comma when used to contract a word, or to mark the possessive case, as in 'John's book.'
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To apostrophise means to break off in a speech to address directly a person or persons who may or may not be present, for rhetorical effect.
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Apotemnophilia is sexual arousal by the thought of losing a limb, or having a body part surgically removed.
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In a general sense, an apothecary was one who kept a shop or laboratory for preparing, compounding, and vending medicines, and for the making up of medical prescriptions. In England the term was long applied to a regularly licensed class of medical practitioners, being such persons as were members of, or licensed by, the Apothecaries Company in London. The apothecaries of London were at one time ranked with the grocers, with whom they were incorporated by James I in 1606. In 1617, however, the apothecaries received a new charter as a distinct company. They were not yet regarded as having the right to prescribe, but only to dispense, medicines; but in 1703 the House of Lords conferred that right on them, and they latterly became a well-established branch of the medical profession. In 1815 an act was passed providing that no person should practise as an apothecary in any part of England or Wales unless after serving an apprenticeship of five years with a member of the society, and receiving a certificate from the society's examiners. As in country places every practitioner had to be to some extent an apothecary, this act gave the society an undue influence over the medical profession. Dissatisfaction therefore long prevailed, but nothing of importance was done until the Medical Act of 1858, which brought the desired reform. The Apothecaries' Society later prescribed a course of medical instruction and practice which candidates for the license of the society had to pass through. After 1874 apprenticeship was not necessary. Apothecaries were replaced by pharmacists and pharmacies in the 20th century.
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Apotheosis (deification) was a solemnity among the ancients by which a mortal was raised to the rank of the gods. The custom of placing mortals, who had rendered their countrymen important services, among the gods was very ancient among the Greeks. The Romans, for several centuries, deified none but Romulus, and first imitated the Greeks in the fashion of frequent apotheosis after the time of Caesar. From this period apotheosis was regulated by the decrees of the senate, and accompanied with great solemnities. The greater part of the Roman emperors were deified.
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Appal (appall) means to firghten, depress, horrify or discourage by fear; to shock or terrify. The term later extended to include meaning to scandalise.
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Appalling is an adjective describing someone or something as inspiring horror; frightful; dismaying, shocking; unpleasant.
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In common language, the word apparent means visible, obvious, easily understood, palpable.
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An apparition is a ghost, phantom, spectre or the appearance of something not real or tangible.
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Appease means to quiet, satisfy, or pacify.
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An appellant is a person or organisation that appeals against the decision of a court. The party resisting the appeal is called the respondent.
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In law, appellate relates to dealing with appeals.
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Appellation is the act of naming, designating or calling and thus also means the name, title or designation by which a person or thing is known..
In law, appellation is the act of appealing from a lower to a higher court.
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Appellative is an adjective which in grammar designates a class of things, people, etc, in general; a common noun rather than a proper noun. Appellative also means a name or title.
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In law, an appellee is one against whom an appeal is made to a higher court.
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In law, an appellor is one who makes an appeal to a higher court. Historically, in England an appellor was one who made an accusation of having committed a crime against another.
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Append means to attach or add something extra. The term is frequently used to describe the adding of a supplement or annex to something.
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An appendage is something added or attached which is a proper part of a greater thing. The term is also used for something added that is not a necessary part, such as the porch of a house for example.
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An appendix is a supplement added to the end of a book.
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In philosophy, apperception is the acto of the mind by which it becomes concious of the ideas as its own; awareness of self as perceiving.
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Appertain means to belong by right, nature and custom.; be connected with or associated with.
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Appetency is a craving or strong desire; an instinct or tendency, such as for example with ducks to swim.
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Applaud means to express approval, especially by clapping the hands together or making other emphatic expressions of praise or approval. Hence applause is the public expression of approval, especially by clapping.
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The apple of Sodom is a fruit described by old writers as externally of fair appearance, but turning to ashes when plucked. It was probably the fruit of Solanum sodomeum.
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An appliance is an apparatus for accomplishing certain work.
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Applique is a type of embroidery used to create pictures or patterns by applying pieces of material to a background fabric.
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To apportion is to share out, divide or distribute, proportionally.
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Appose means to place opposite or near.
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Apposite is an adjective describing something as appropriate, suitable or adapted.
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In grammar, an apposition is the relation in which one or more nouns or substantive phrases or clauses stand to a noun or pronoun, which they explain or characterize without being predicated of it, and with which they agree in case; as Cicero, the orator, lived in the first century before Christ; the opinion, that a severe winter is generally followed by a good summer, is a vulgar error.
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In grammar, appositive describes a word or expression set beside another in apposition with it.
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Appreciable properly means capable of being valued or estimated; perceptible; and hence also considerable or not inconsiderable.
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Apprehend means to take hold of, to lay hold of. The word is sued to describe both the physical grasping of something, and the mental grasping or understanding of an expression. Apprehend also means to anticipate with anxiety or fear. Thus from apprehend we also get the word apprehensible describing something which is capable of being conceived or understood.
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Apprehension is the act of apprehending, that is laying hold of, seizing, and particularly arresting. Apprehension is also mental understanding, perception and the word is used to describe the state of being anxious or fearful of some anticipated ill fortune or evil.
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Apprehensive is the state of being fearful of evil, anxious about some future event. The word also describes someone who is a quick learner, capable of learning.
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An apprenticeship is a state of being bound by an agreement to serve someone for a certain length of time in order to learn a craft or trade.
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Apprise means to warn, to advise, to inform or to give notice to.
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Approbate means to commend, to formally sanction, To pronounce something as good.
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Appurtenance is a title given to anything which belongs or relates to something else as an accessory. The title is applied to the trees and shrubbery of an estate, for example.
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Appurtenant is an adjectives describing something as pertaining to a more important thing, thus referring to an accessory. The word is sometimes also used as a title for an adjunct or appendage.
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April is a month of the year. It is known as the opening month, and derives its name from the Latin aperire - to open. April is so named on account that during April the trees open their new buds and lambs are born.
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Apt is an adjective which means suitable, pertinent, appropriate, all due to an inherent tendency
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Aptitude is a capacity for something, an ability and readiness to learn, suitableness.
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Aqua Destillata is a term for distilled water.
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Aqua vitae is a name for brandy or other ardent spirits of the first distillation. The name was formerly also given to alcohol.
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Aquamarine is a bluish-green colour.
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N aquarelle is a painting done in water colours.
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Aquila (the eagle) is one of the constellations.
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Aquiline is an adjective meaning eagle-like or resembling an eagle. The word is especially used to mean curved or hooked like the beak of an eagle.
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The Arab League (properly the League of Arab States) is a group of Arab states formed in 1945 to promote economic and cultural links and to minimise conflicts between Arab states. It has its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, and official language of Arabic.
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The Arabian Nights or The Thousand and One Nights is a celebrated collection of Eastern tales, long current in the East, and supposed to have been derived by the Arabians from India, through the medium of Persia. They were first introduced into Europe in the beginning of the eighteenth century by means of the French translation of Antoine Galland. Of some of them no original manuscript is known to exist; they were taken down by Galland from the oral communication of a Syrian friend. The story which connects the tales of the Thousand and One Nights is as follows: The Sultan Shahriyar, exasperated by the faithlessness
of his bride, made a law that every one of his future wives should he put to death the morning after marriage. At length one of them, Shahrazad, the generous daughter of the grand-vizier, succeeded in abolishing the cruel custom. By the charm of her stories the fair narrator induced the sultan to defer her execution every day until the dawn of another, by breaking off in the middle of an interesting tale which she had begun to relate. In the form we possess them these tales belong to a comparatively late period, though the exact date of their composition is not known. Lane, who published a translation of a number of the tales, with valuable notes, is of opinion that they took their present form some time between 1475 and 1525. Two complete English translations were printed around 1900, giving many passages that previous translators had omitted on the score of morality or decency.
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Arabic figures are the characters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0. They are of Indian origin, and were introduced into Europe by the Moors. They did not come into general use until after the invention of printing.
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Th term arable means 'fir fpr the plough' or for agricultural development. Thus 'arable land' which is land ploughed.
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Arable land is land which is wholly or chiefly cultivated by the plough, as distinguished from grass-land, wood-land, common pasture, and waste.
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In general terms, the word arachnoid means delicate, lacy, like a cobweb.
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Araf is the Muslim purgatory, a raised wall of separation between heaven and hell.
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Aramaean or Aramean refers to ancient Syria and Mesopotamia.
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Arbitrary means independent of rule,; based upon one's own will or caprice. The term is also used to mean unreasonable or despotic. In law, the term arbitrary means not fixed by statute; subject to discretion.
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Arbitrate means to decide by judging in a dispute or to settle a dispute by discussion and agreement.
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Arbitration is the determination of a dispute by an arbitrator or arbitrators rather than by a court of law. Any civil (i.e. non-criminal) matter may be settled in this way; commercial contracts often contain arbitration clauses providing for this to be done in a specified way. If each side appoints its own arbitrator, as is usual, and the arbitrators fail to agree, the arbitrators are often empowered to appoint an umpire, whose decision is final. Arbitration is made binding on the parties by the Arbitration Acts (1950 and 1975). Various industries and chambers of commerce set up tribunals for dealing with disputes in their particular trade or business.
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Arbor Day was a day set apart by most of the States and Territories of the USA for the planting of trees. Arbor Day was inaugurated by the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture in 1874. Arbor Day was held on the second Wednesday of April.
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Arboreal refers to trees, such as things living in trees or things which resemble trees etc. Thus a species of animal may be described as arboreal if it lives in trees.
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Arborescent means tree-like, resembling a tree. The term is often met with in botany describing plants which resemble trees but which are not trees, such as bamboo.
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An arboretum is a place in which a collection of different trees and shrubs is cultivated for scientific or educational purposes.
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Arboriculture includes the culture of trees and shrubs, as well as all that pertains to the preparation of the soil, the sowing of the seeds, and the treatment of the plants in their young state, the preparation of the land previous to their final transplantation, their just adaptation to soil and situation, their relative growth and progress to maturity, their management during growth, and the proper season and period for felling them.
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Arborous means wooded, of or pertaining to trees.
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Arcanum is a term used for a mystery. Usually the word is encountered in the plural, describing mysteries. In mediaeval alchemy, the word arcanum meant a secret remedy or the vital secret of something in nature.
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Arch, from the Greek word meaning 'chief'', is an adjective describing something as chief or outstanding, such as an arch villain for example.
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The term archaic generally means something old, ancient or antiquated. The term is disparagingly used to describe things which are out of date, and in language to describe words that were part of an older vocabulary, and are no longer in common use.
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An archaism is an old fashioned, antiquated word or idiom no longer in common use.
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An archbishop is a chief bishop.
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An archbishopric is the office, district or province of an archbishop. The district over which an archbishop has authority.
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An archdiocese is the church province under the jurisdiction of an archbishop.
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Arches-court is an English ecclesiastical court of appeal.
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An archetype is the original pattern upon or after which a thing is made, thus a prototype.
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Archidiaconal refers to something pertaining to an archdeacon.
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Archiepiscopal refers to something pertaining to an archbishop or his office.
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Archil or orchil is a red, violet, or purple colouring matter obtained from various kinds of lichens, the most important of which are the Roccella tinctoria and the Roccella fuciformis, natives of the rocks of the Canary and Cape Verde islands, Mozambique and Zanzibar, South America, etc, and popularly called dyer's-moss. The dye was used for improving the tints of other dyes, as from its want of permanence it could not be employed alone. The aniline colours largely superseded it. Cudbear and litmus are of similar origin.
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Archimedean means pertaining to the Greek mathematician Archimedes or to his teachings.
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An archipelago is a group of islands.
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An archive is a collection of records or information about some subject. The term archive is also applied to the location where such records are stored.
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Arciform means having the shape of an arc or a bow, thus arched or curved.
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ARCOS (All Russian Cooperative Society) was a Soviet spy-front posing as the Soviet Trade Mission in London during the 1920s.
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The ARCOS Raid was a three-day search of the All Russian Cooperative Society's premises in Moorgate, London by 200 police officers in 1927, forming the climax of an attempt by Assistant Commissioner Wyndham Child of Scotland Yard to outlaw the Communist Party of Great Britain. The raid was intended to prove the Trade Mission was involved in espionage by finding marked secret papers which were 'allowed' to go missing from the War Office. The search failed to find the missing War Office papers.
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Arcturus is the brightest star in the constellation Bootes.
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Arcuate is an adjective describing something as being arched or bow-shaped.
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Ardency is heat, passion, enthusiasm, vehemence, zeal.
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Ardent is an adjective meaning having ardency. That is passionate, eager, zealous, burning, hot, fiery, warm, glowing, vehement. Thus ardent spirits are alcoholic spirits such as whisky and brandy which were originally so termed from their ability to burn, but are now known as ardent from the warming or burning sensation encountered when drinking them.
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An ardent spirit is an inflammable alcoholic liquor. The name is now given to alcoholic spirits such as whisky and brandy which produce a warming or burning sensation when drunk.
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Ardor is intense heat. The term is also used for warmth, affection and passion, eager desire and zeal.
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Arduous is an adjective meaning steep and hard to climb. The word is also used to describe something difficult which requires a great exertion of effort to achieve (like climbing a steep hill for example).
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The are is a French measurement of 100 square metres.
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An areola is a small space, as between the lines of a network. The term is also given to an aureole or halo.
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Areopagus was the oldest of the Athenian courts of justice, an assembly having a position indeed more august than an ordinary court, and in its best days exercising a general supervision over public morals. It obtained its name from its place of meeting, on the Hill of Ares, near the Acropolis or citadel of Athens. It existed from very remote times, and the crimes tried before it were wilful murder, poisoning, robbery, and arson, while it had under its control also dissoluteness of morals, and innovations in the state and in religion. Its meetings were held in the open air, and its members were selected from those who had held the office of archon. The tribunal latterly lost much of its powers, but it continued to exist in name at least as late as the time of Cicero or later, having had an existence of seven or eight hundred years.
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An arete is a steep angular mountain ridge.
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Argal is an archaic term for a clumsy piece of reasoning. The word was also formerly used to mean 'therefore'.
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Argent (from the Latin argentum meaning silver) is a word meaning made of silver, or resembling silver - including a bright silvery white colour
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Argentiferous means producing or containing silver. Hence the term is applied to ores from which silver is extracted.
Research Argentiferous.
Argentine is an adjective meaning silvery or resembling silver. The word is also used for an inhabitant of the country Argentina and for anything pertaining to the country of Argentina.
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Argive referred to an inhabitant and to things pertaining or originating from the ancient Greek city of Argos and its surrounding countryside.
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Argo-Navis is the southern constellation of the Ship, containing nine clusters, three nebulae, thirteen double and 540 single stars, of which about sixty-four are visible.
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Argosy is an archaic word, still encountered in poetry, meaning a large merchant vessel filled with costly goods.
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Argue means to offer reasons in support of, or in opposition to, a proposition, opinion or measure. The word is extended also to mean to reason or to contend in debate, to prove or to persuade by reasoning. Thus to argue is not simply to contradict.
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Strictly, the word argument means to present proofs or reasons for or against something. The word is also used for a discussion or a debate, in which the parties argue - that is offer reasons or proofs for or against a topic.
Argument is a term sometimes used as synonymous with the subject of a discourse, but more frequently the word argument is appropriated to any kind of method employed for the purpose of confuting or at least silencing an opponent. Logicians have reduced arguments to a number of distinct heads, such as the argumentum ad judicium, which founds on solid proofs and addresses to the judgment; the argumentum ad verecundiam, which appeals to the modesty or bashfulness of an opponent by reminding him of the great names or authorities by whom the view disputed by him is supported; the argumentum ad ignorantiam, the employment of some logical fallacy towards persons likely to be deceived by it; and the argumentum ad hominem, an argument which presses a man with consequences drawn from his own principles and concessions, or his own conduct.
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Argute means shrewd, sharp, keen. Formerly argute described a sharp, shrill sound.
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Arid means receiving practically no rainfall and therefore dry, parched and barren,
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Aries is a sign of the zodiac. Represented by the ram. It is a northern constellation of 156 stars, of which fifty are visible. It is the first of the twelve signs in the zodiac, which the sun enters at the vernal equinox, about the 21st of March. The first point in Aries is that where the equator cuts the ecliptic in the ascending node, and from which the right ascensions of heavenly bodies are reckoned on the equator, and their longitudes upon the ecliptic. Owing to the precession of the equinoxes the sign Aries no longer corresponds with the constellation Aries, which it did 2000 years ago.
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Arise means get up; to mount or ascend. Arise also means to come into existence or action, to originate.
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Aristocracy (from the Greek meaning best rule) is a form of government in which the sovereign power is vested in a small number of citizens who are theoretically the best qualified to rule, as opposed to monarchy, in which the supreme authority is vested in one person, and to democracy, in which the ultimate authority is exercised by the entire body of citizens or their representatives. In an aristocracy, although the power of government is wielded by a few, theoretically the administration of government is carried on for the welfare of the many. Whenever the interests of the people as a whole are made subservient to the selfish interests of the rulers, aristocracy becomes a form of government known as oligarchy. Athens, before the period of the Persian wars of the 5th century BC, and Sparta, during practically its entire history, were aristocracies. The same was true of Rome during the period of the Republic, lasting from the 6th to the 1st century BC.
During the Middle Ages no true aristocracy existed, for although political power reposed in the hands of a few, each feudal lord was sole master in his own domain. In England, the government from the accession of the house of Hanover in 1714 through the 19th century, although parliamentary in form, was in fact an aristocracy, since king and Parliament alike were under the control of a few great Whig families.
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Arithmancy is divination by numbers.
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An ark is a box or chest. The box used by the Jews to store the Covenant or the Tables of the Law was known as 'the ark' or sometimes the Ark of the Covenant.
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The Arkansas Gazette was the first newspaper published in Arkansas. The first edition, with less than 100 copies printed, was issued at the then territorial capital of Arkansas Post on November 20 1819 by William E Woodruff. The Arkansas Gazette ceased publication in 1991, when it was sold to the rival Democrat-Gazette newspaper and became the 'Arkansas Democrat-Gazette'.
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Armageddon is any great conflict between 'good' and 'evil'.
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In general terms, armature is defensive armour, and hence the term is extended to any protective covering.
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The Armed Neutrality was an alliance, suggested by Russia, and formed in 1780 by almost all maritime powers of Europe and also the USA for protection against continued British attacks upon their shipping.
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Armenian bole is a red earth powder dusted on to the thin tissue pages, which separate the leaves of gold in a book of gold leaf, so that the gold leaf doesn't stick to the tissue.
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Armillary means bracelet-like or pertaining to a bracelet, hence something consisting of rings or circles.
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Arminianism is a doctrine in Christianity, formulated in the 17th century and named after the Dutch Calvinist Jacobus Arminius, which declares that human free will can exist without limiting God's power or contradicting the Bible. Arminius believed predestination was biblical and true - that God had intended some persons for heaven and others for hell, as indicated by Jesus' reference to ' sheep and goats.' But he focused on God's love more than on God's power in speaking of election, the process by which God chose those intended for heaven. After Arminius died, a group of ministers who sympathised with his views developed a systematic and rational theology based on his teachings. In their declaration, a remonstrance issued in 1610, the Arminians argued that election was conditioned by faith, that grace could be rejected, that the work of Christ was intended for all persons, and that it was possible for believers to fall from grace. At the Synod of Dort, or Dordrecht, the High Calvinists prevailed over the Arminian party and condemned the Remonstrants.
The Synod of Dort declared that Christ's work was meant only for those elect to salvation, that people believing could not fall from grace, and that God's election depended on no conditions. Remonstrants were not tolerated at all in Holland until 1630, and then not fully until 1795. They have, however, continued an Arminian tradition in the Netherlands into the late 20th century. The British theologian John Wesley studied and affirmed the work of Arminius in his Methodist movement during the 18th century in England. American Methodists for the most part have leaned toward the theology of the Remonstrants. In popular expression Arminianism has come to mean that no predestination exists and people are free to follow or reject the gospel.
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An armistice is a temporary suspension of hostilities between two belligerent powers or two armies by mutual agreement, often concluded for only a few hours to bury the slain, remove the wounded, and exchange prisoners, as also sometimes to allow of a parley between the opposing generals. A general armistice is usually the preliminary of a peace.
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In geography, armlet is the term used for a small creek or inlet of the sea.
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The Armory Show was an art exhibition in New York City in 1913 that was the first major showing of avant-garde works in the USA.
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The Army Act was an act of Parliament passed first in 1881, in lieu of an act of 1879 that superseded the old Mutiny Act, investing the crown with large powers to make regulations for the good government of the army, and to frame the Articles of War, which formed the military code. It was brought into force each year by a special act, which also could introduce new provisions in regard to matters of discipline, etc.
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Arn-monat (meaning barn month) was the Anglos-Saxon name for the month we call August. The month was so called on account that it was the month when the corn was harvested and gathered in.
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An aroma is a pleasant odour. Usually an aroma is a spicy or perfumed odour.
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Aromatic means releasing or producing an aroma, that is a pleasant fragrant or spicy odour.
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The aroura or arura was an ancient Greek measure of surface, equal to 21,904 English square feet, or 9 poles 106.3 feet.
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Arouse means to strimulate, to excite or stir to action, to waken, to make active.
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An arpent was a measure equal to 100 square perches.
The arpent was formerly a French measure for land, equal to five-sixths of an English acre; but it varied in different parts of France.
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In law, arraign is to summon a prisoner into court to answer a charge. The term is also used in more general language to mean to accuse, or to call to account.
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Arrange means to put into order or sequence, to classify. Thus also to adjust or settle and to come to an agreement.
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Arrant is a negative term applied to thieves and wrong doers meaning openly criminal, notorious, blatant. Thus an arrant coward is someone who is blatantly cowardly.
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An arras is a form of rich tapestry or wall hanging, so called from being first made at Arras in France.
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In mathematics, an array is a collection of numbers (or letters representing numbers) arranged in rows and columns. A matrix is an array shown inside a pair of brackets; it indicates that the array should be treated as a single entity.
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Arrest means to stop, to stay, to check, to hinder the motion of something. Thus a moving wheel stopped by a brake is arrested. The term is also applied to the seizure, the taking or apprehending by a legal authority, as in the police apprehending a suspect.
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Arride means to smile at, to please, to gratify.
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Arroba was a Spanish unit of weight equal to about 25 lbs. It was also used in South and Central America, where it was equivalent to about 32 lbs.
The arroba was also a measure for wine, spirits, and oil, ranging from 2.75 gallons to about 10 gallons.
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Arrogant is an adjective meaning overestimating one's own importance; haughty, contemptuous.
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Arrogate means to take, or to demand unduly. To claim with presumptuous pride.
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Arrowy is an adjective meaning arrow-like, or consisting of arrows, and thus by extension possessing the characteristics of an arrow, hence sharp and direct.
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In geography, an arroyo is a small stream, or its dry bed, A deep, dry channel.
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The arschin was an old Chinese unit of measurement roughly equal to one metre (in the 18th century four arschin equalled three English yards).
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Arshin is a Russian unit of measurement equivalent to 28 inches.
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Arsis is a term applied in prosody to that syllable in a measure where the emphasis is put; in elocution, the elevation of the voice, in distinction from thesis, or its depression.
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In law, arson is the malicious or intentional setting fire to, or burning of any building.
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In poetry, the word 'art' is often used for the second person singular indicative present of 'be' or 'is', thus 'who art in heaven' is a poetic way of phrasing that which in common language would be written 'who is in heaven'.
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Art Deco is the name given to a 1920s and 1930s style of design characterised by geometrical shapes, stylised natural forms and symmetrical designs. The style was used for furniture, ornaments, crockery and also architecture.
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Art Nouveau is a name given to a style of design from the 1880s to early 1900s characterised by the application of sinuous natural forms to objet d'art, costume, book bindings and architecture.
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An Art Union is an association for encouraging art, an object which it mainly pursues by disposing of pictures, sculptures, etc, by lottery among subscribers. They seem to have originated in France during the time of Napoleon I. They soon afterwards took root in Germany, where they have been very successful. The first art union established in Britain was that at Edinburgh in 1834.
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Properly, arterial means pertaining to the arteries, and has thus been extended into general use to describe major channels of trade, particularly main roads or shipping routes which are described as 'arterial'.
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Artesian Wells, so called from the French province of Artois, where they appear to have been first used on an extensive scale, are perpendicular borings into the ground through which water rises to the surface of the soil, producing a constant flow or stream, the ultimate sources of supply being higher than the mouth of the boring, and the water thus rising by the well-known law. They are generally sunk in valley plains and districts where the lower pervious strata are bent into basin-shaped curves.
The rain falling on the outcrops of these saturates the whole porous bed, so that when the bore reaches it the water by hydraulic pressure rushes up towards the level of the highest portion of the strata. The supply is sometimes so abundant as to be used extensively as a moving power, and in arid regions for fertilizing the ground, to which purpose artesian springs have been applied from a very remote period. Thus many artesian wells have been sunk in the Algerian Sahara which have proved an immense boon to the district.
The water of most of these is potable, but a few are a little saline, though not to such an extent as to influence vegetation. The hollows in which London and Paris lie are both perforated in many places by borings of this nature. At London they were first sunk only to the sand B B, but latterly into the chalk c o. One of the most celebrated artesian wells is that of Crenelle near Paris, 1798 feet deep, completed in 1841, after eight years' work. Artesian wells are now common in many countries, and have been sunk to the depth of a mile or more. As the temperature of water from great depths is invariably higher than that at the surface, artesian wells have been made to supply warm water for heating manufactories, greenhouses, hospitals, fish-ponds, etc. Petroleum wells are generally of the same technical description. Artesian wells were later made with larger diameters than formerly, and altogether their construction was rendered much more easy after the industrial revolution.
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Artful is an adjective meaning cunning, crafty. The word is also used, though less commonly, in a more complimentary form to mean skilled.
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In Charles Dickens' classic tale, Oliver Twist, the Artful Dodger is a young thief, most perfectly adept in villainy who encounters young Oliver upon his arrival in London and recruits him into the band of thieves.
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In grammar, an article is a part of speech used before nouns to limit or define their application. In English a or an is usually called the indefinite article (the latter form being used before a vowel sound), and the, the definite article, but they are also described as adjectives. An was originally the same as one, and the as that. In Latin there were no articles, and Greek has only the definite article.
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Articled clerk is the name given to a trainee solicitor. The Law Society lays down provisions regulating the training of solicitors. All trainees are now graduates and will have taken professional examinations. They are then required to be articled to (i.e. to sign an agreement to learn from) a qualified solicitor for two years before being admitted as solicitors themselves.
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In English law, articles are summaries in writing of matters as are to be inquired of or presented before justices in eyre, or justices of assize, or of the peace, in their sessions.
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The Articles of Schwabach was a confession of faith drawn up by Luther for the princes and cities assembled in 1529 at Schwabach. The cities of South Germany, inclining to the Swiss doctrine, refused to subscribe, and these articles, adopted by the Schmalkaldic League, became thus a chief obstacle to a union between the party of Luther and Zuinglius.
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Articular refers to a joint or to joints.
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Strictly, articulate means divided into joints. Hence when applied to speech, the term articulate means to utter with distinctness, pronouncing each syllable, speaking clearly and eloquently; able to speak well. The term articulate also means made up of interrelated parts, and thus articulated with means jointed, as in an articulated lorry which has a moveable joint between the cab and the trailer.
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Articulation is the act of forming of spoken sounds, speaking.
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Artifice is a skill in contrivance. The word also means a ruse, trick, wile or stratagem.
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Originally the word artificial meant made or contrived by art. The word now means not natural, not genuine, imitation or substitute.
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Artificial flowers are imitations of real flowers, made of various materials. These are not a modern invention. The Romans excelled in the art of imitating flowers in wax, and in this branch of the art attained a high degree of perfection. The Egyptian artificial flowers were made of thin plates of horn stained in different colours, sometimes also of leaves of copper gilt or silvered over. In modern times the Italians were the first to acquire celebrity for the skill and taste they displayed in this manufacture, but they are now far surpassed by English and French manufacturers, but more especially by the latter. During the Victorian period cambric, muslin, satin, velvet, and other woven fabrics, feathers, india-rubber, blown glass, mother of pearl, brass, etc were all employed in making artificial flowers, later silk and plastic were more commonly used, and good results may be had from dyed wood.
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An artificial person is a person whose identity is recognised by the law but who is not an individual. For example, a company is a person in the sense that it can sue and be sued, hold property, etc. in its own name. It is not, however, an individual or real person.
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The Artisans and Labourers' Dwellings Act was an English act of parliament passed in 1868 to empower town-councils and other local authorities to demolish or improve dwellings unfit for human habitation, and to build and maintain better dwellings in lieu therof. Other acts for the same object were passed in 1875, 1879 and 1882.
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Artless means lacking in skill and training, clumsy. The word is also used in a more positive fashion to describe some one as honest, sincere and natural.
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Arts was the name given to certain branches of study in the middle ages, originally called the 'liberal arts' to distinguish them from the 'servile arts' or mechanical occupations. These arts were usually given as grammar, dialectics, rhetoric, music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. Hence originated the terms 'art classes,' 'degrees in arts,' 'Master of Arts,' etc, still in common use in universities, the faculty of arts being distinguished from those of divinity, law, medicine, or science.
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Arts and Crafts is a name given to a 19th century style of design inspired by and applied to everyday objects. The style stressed mediaeval styles and skilled craftsmanship in a reaction against industrialisation.
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The Arundel Society was a society instituted in London in 1848 for promoting the knowledge of art by the publication of facsimiles and photographs.
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The Arundelian Marbles are a series of ancient sculptured marbles discovered by William Petty, who explored the ruins of Greece at the expense of and for Thomas Howard, earl of Arundel, who lived in the time of James I and Charles I, and was a liberal patron of scholarship and art. After the Restoration they were presented by the grandson of the collector to the University of Oxford. Among them is the Parian Chronicle, a chronological account of the principal events in Grecian, and particularly in Athenian history, during a period of 1318 years, from the reign of Cecrops (1450 BC) to the archonship of Diognetus (264 BC).
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The As was a Roman weight of 12 ounces, answering to the libra or pound, and equal to 237.5 grains avoirdupois, or 327-1873 grammes, French measure. In the most ancient times of Rome the copper or bronze coin which was called as actually weighed an as, or a pound, but in 264 BC it was reduced to 2 oz., in 217 to 1 oz., and in 191 to 0.5 oz.
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Asafetida is a fetid inspissated sap from Central Asia, the solidified juice of the Narthex Asafetida, a large umbelliferous plant. It was formerly used in medicine as an anti-spasmodic, and in cases of flatulency, in hysteric paroxysms, and other nervous affections. Notwithstanding its very disagreeable odour it is used as a seasoning in the East, and sometimes in Europe. An inferior sort is the product of certain species of Ferula.
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Ascend means to take an upward direction, to rise or go up, to rise from an inferior position to a superior position, or to slope upwards. In geography, to ascend a river means to travel towards the source of the river (which is always at a higher elevation than the mouth of the river).
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As an adjective, ascendant describes something as rising, superior or predominant, As a noun, the word means superiority, someone commanding influence.
In astrology, the ascendant is the sign of the zodiac which is rising at a given time, for example at the time of one's birth.
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In the Christian calendar, Ascension Day is the day on which the ascension of Jesus is commemorated, often called Holy Thursday: it is a movable feast, always falling on the Thursday but one before Whitsuntide.
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To ascertain means to make certain, to find out, to determine definitely by tests or examinations. The distinguishing feature of the verb 'ascertain' is the certainty involved. While simply 'finding out' may involving collecting information, to ascertain is to make certain, rather than relying upon unsubstantiated information or facts.
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Ascetic is an adjective describing someone as severely self-denying. The word is particularly applied to those who renounce world affairs for the purposes of self-discipline, religious salvation etc, and hence the word is often used to describe someone who is exceedingly rigid in their religious duties - such a person frequently being known as an ascetic.
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Asceticism is a severely self-denying way of life in which the participant renounces worldly pleasures, affairs, and particularly carnal pleasures for religious salvation.
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Ascribe means to attribute, impute or refer, or to assign to a cause. For example, it may be said that a company ascribes its losses to imprudence.
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Ash Wednesday is the first day of lent, the seventh Wednesday before Easter. Ash Wednesday is so named from the ancient custom in the Roman Catholic church of sprinkling ashes upon the heads of those condemned to do penance on this day.
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Ashamed means affected by contempt or disgrace. Feeling dejected by one's own unacceptable behaviour or a sense of guilt.
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The Ashburton Treaty was a treaty negotiated between Great Britain and the USA by Alexander Baring (Lord Ashburton) and Daniel Webster at Washington in 1842. The Ashburton Treaty adjusted the boundary between the USA and the British possessions on the Northeast, the USA securing just over half of the disputed territory. The mutual extradition of criminals and arrangements for the suppression of the slave trade were stipulated by the treaty.
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Ashen is the pale grey colour typical of ashes.
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Aside means on one side or to one side., apart, away. The word is frequently used to describe a comment or remark made in a lower volume than the rest of the conversation not intended to be generally heard (usually a snide comment or complaint made about the audience).
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Asinine means having the qualities of an ass (donkey), and thus means obstinate and stupid or silly - as the ass is popularly perceived to be.
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Askance means sideways. The word is typically used to describe seeing something from the corner of the eye or of doing something disdainfully or distrustfully.
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Askew means awry, obliquely; out of position; crooked.
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Aslant means obliquely, not at right angles, sloping, in a slanting direction.
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Aslope means in an inclined position, in a sloping direction.
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Aspect is another word for appearance. The word aspect derives from the Latin word aspectus, which translates as appearance. The word aspect is also used to describe the way someone or something looks, the expression conveyed in the appearance.
Aspect is a name given to a side or part facing in any given direction.
In astrology, the aspect is the relative position of the planets at any given time.
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In the Roman Catholic church, an aspergillum is a brush used for sprinkling (hence the name, which derives from the Latin aspergere, meaning to sprinkle) holy water.
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An aspergillus is the brush used in Roman Catholic churches for sprinkling holy water on the people. It is said to have been originally made of hyssop.
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Asperity is another word for roughness, harshness, severity, sourness, bad temper, moroseness. The term is especially used to describe bitterness or acrimony in one's manner, or the harshness of an environment, such as winter for example.
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Originally, asperse meant to sprinkle. Later the word asperse came to mean to maliciously spread false reports against someone with a view to injuring their reputation, to slander someone.
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In the Roman Catholic church, an aspersorium is a font for holy water. Aspersorium is also used as a name for a brush used for sprinkling the holy water.
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Aspirate is a name given to any sound like our h, to the letter h itself, or to any mark of aspiration, as the Greek spiritus asper, or rough breathing. Such characters or sounds as the Sanskrit kh, gh, bh, and the Greek ch, th, ph, are called aspirates.
The term aspirate is also applied to pronouncing with full breathing, or the prefixing or adding of the 'h' sound to the start of words when pronouncing them.
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To aspire means to seek, desire or long for that which is better or nobler. Generally one aspires to a better job, or a position of perceived increased importance.
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Asquint means out of the corner of one's eye, furtively.
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Assail means to fall upon or attack violently, either physically or verbally. The word derives from the Latin for to leap, and infers suddenness and violence of an attack.
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Assassinate means to kill by secret or treacherous means. The word assassinate is usually applied to the killing of a political, social or religious leader in order to silence them, as distinct from a casual killing, a killing done as part of a robbery or inspired by a personal argument. Hence, a political leader may be assassinated by an assassin hired by a rival political group for political ends, while an ordinary person killed so that their wallet may be stolen is murdered by a murderer or robber, and not assassinated.
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In British law, assault is an attempt or offer, with force and violence, to do a corporal hurt to another, as by striking at him with or without a weapon. If a person lift up or stretch forth his arm and offer to strike another, or menace any one with any staff or weapon, it is an assault in law. Assault, therefore, does not necessarily imply a hitting or blow, because in trespass for assault and battery a man may be found guilty of the assault and acquitted of the battery. But every battery includes an assault.
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Assaying is the estimation of the amount of pure metal, and especially of the precious metals, in an ore or alloy. In the case of silver the assay is either by the dry or by the wet process. The dry process is called eupellation from the use of a small and very porous cup, called a cupel, which is usually made of well-burned and finely-ground bone-ash or of magnesia. The cupel, being thoroughly dried, is placed in a fire-clay oven about the size of a drain-tile, with a flat sole and arched roof, and with slits at the sides to admit air. This oven, called a muffle, is set in a furnace, and when it is at a red heat the assay, consisting of a small weighed portion of the alloy wrapped in sheet-lead, is laid upon the cupel. The heat causes the lead to volatilize or combine with the other metals, and to sink with them into the cupel, leaving a bright globule of pure metallic silver, which gives the amount of silver in the alloy operated on. In the wet process the alloy is dissolved in nitric acid, and to the solution are added measured quantities of a solution of common salt of known strength, which precipitates chloride of silver. The operation is concluded when no further precipitate is obtained on the addition of the salt solution, and the quantity of silver is calculated from the amount of salt solution used.
An alloy of gold is first cupelled with lead as above, with the addition of three parts of silver for every one of gold. After the cupellation is finished the alloy of gold and silver is beaten and rolled out into a thin plate, which is curled up by the fingers into a little spiral or cornet. This is put into a flask with nitric acid, which dissolves away the silver and leaves the cornet dark and brittle. After washing with water the cornet is boiled with stronger nitric acid to remove the last traces of silver, well washed, and then allowed to drop into a small crucible, in which it is heated, and then it is weighed. The assay of gold, therefore, consists of two parts: cupellation, by which inferior metals (except silver) are removed; and quartation, by which the added silver and any silver originally present are got rid of. The quantity of silver added has to be regulated to about three times that of the gold. If it be more the cornet breaks up, if it be less the gold protects small quantities of the silver from the action of the acid. Where, as in some gold manufactured articles, these methods of assay cannot be applied, a streak is drawn With the article upon a touchstone consisting of coarse-grained Lydian quartz saturated with bituminous matter, or of black basalt. The practised assayer will detect approximately the richness of the gold from the colour of the streak, which may be further subjected to an acid test. The Goldsmith's Company of London is the statutory assay-master of all England.
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An assemblage is the act of gathering together; of being collected in one place. An assemblage is thus a group or collection of people or particular things.
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To assemble means to get together, to collect, to gather togther into one place or fit together, to congregate. A piece of furniture or machinery supplied in components may be assembled or put together.
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An assembly is a collection or company of people brought together in one place for a common object, often a religious or political meeting, in schools an assembly often takes place for religious worship and to distribute news of relevance to all the pupils.
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To assent is to consent, to agree or concede.
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Assentation is obsequious or hypocritical assent or concurrence.
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To assert is to declare, positively or with assurance. Assert is always firm, and positive, never unsure or vague or reluctant.
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An assertion is something which is affirmed, or declared in a positive manner.
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Assertive is an adjective describing someone as positive, confident and firm in their statements, not vague or reluctant.
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To assess is to fix or determine an amount, such as damages, or tax liability; to rate or set a charge upon something such as property for the purpose of taxation. Thus one may have one's house assessed (valued) for tax purposes. The word is also used to describe the testing of an individual's skill or suitability. Thus pupils at school may be assessed, their ability being determined.
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An assessment is a valuation or determination of ability. Thus a property valuation for the purposes of taxation is known as an assessment, and a test carried out to assess a person's knowledge and understanding of a subject is an assessment.
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To asseverate is to declare or aver positively or with solemnity.
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An asseveration is a solemn affirmation or declaration, such as made under oath. An emphatic assertion.
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Assiduous is an adjective describing someone as devoted, attentive and perseveringly diligent. Assiduous implies a sense of unremitting perseverance, of someone doing something come what may.
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Assiento was the permission of the Spanish government to a foreign nation to import negro slaves from Africa into the Spanish colonies in America, for a limited time, on payment of certain duties. It was accorded to the Netherlands about 1552, to the Genoese in 1580, and to the French Guinea Company (afterwards the Assiento Company) in 1702. In 1713 the celebrated assiento treaty with Britain for thirty years was concluded at Utrecht. By this contract the British obtained the right to send yearly a ship of 500 tons, with all sorts of merchandise, to the Spanish colonies. This led to frequent abuses and contraband trade; acts of violence followed, and in 1739 a war broke out between the two powers. At the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, four years more were granted to the British; but in the Treaty of Madrid, two years later, 100,000 pounds sterling were promised for the relinquishment of the two remaining years, and the contract was annulled.
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Assign means to mark out, to set apart, hence to allot or appoint. In law, to assign means to transfer or to make over to another person.
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An assignation is an appointment for a meeting. The word is mainly used in the context of illicit romantic meetings.
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To assimilate means to absorb or take in. For example, for a body to absorb nourishment from food.
In phonetics, assimilate means to bring a sound, usually a consonant, into conformity with a neighbouring sound.
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To assist is to give help, to act as a helper, to aid, to give support to. Of the three most similar synonyms, hep, aid and assist, assist is the weakest implying causal help or subordinate service to another.
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Assize of Battle was by the old law of England, a means whereby a man charged with murder might fight with the appellant, thereby to make proof of his guilt or innocence. The law was struck off the statute book in 1819.
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Assizes is a term chiefly used in England to signify the sessions of the courts held at Westminster prior to Magna Carta, but thereafter appointed by successive enactments to be held annually in every county. Twelve judges, who are members of the highest courts in England, twice in every year perform a circuit into all the counties into which the kingdom is divided (the counties being grouped into seven circuits), to hold these assizes, at which both civil and criminal cases are decided. Occasionally this circuit is performed a third time for the purpose of jail-delivery. In London and Middlesex, instead of circuits, courts of nisi prius are held. At the assizes all the justices of the peace of the county are bound to attend. Special commissions of assize are granted for inquest into certain causes.
Among the more important historic uses of the term assize are its application to any sitting or deliberative council, and its transference thence to their ordinances, decrees, or assessments. In the latter sense we have the Assizes of Jerusalem, a code of feudal laws formulated in 1099 under Godfrey of Bouillon; the Assizes of Clarendon (1166), of Northampton (1176), and of Woodstock (1184) ; also the assisoe venalium (1203), for regulating the prices of articles of common consumption; the Assize of Arms (1181), an ordinance for organizing the national militia, etc.
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An association is a body of people organized for a common object or purpose, a society.
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The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a political and economic grouping of the capitalist nations of South East Asia, formed in 1967 and comprising: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, and Brunei. The countries are very diverse. For example the per capita income of Singapore in 1986 was some 12 times that of Indonesia; interests often diverge accordingly. While committed to strengthening economic ties, progress has been limited. There has also been political co-operation, for example over policy towards Indochina. There are regular consultations between ASEAN and the major industrialised countries.
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Assoil was an old term meaning to set free from sin or penalty; to atone for,
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In poetry, assonance is a term used when the terminating words of lines have the same vowel-sound but make no proper rhyme. Such verses, having what we should consider false rhymes, are regularly employed in Spanish poetry; but cases are not wanting in leading British poets. Mrs. Browning not only used them frequently, but justified the use of them.
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Assonant is an adjective describing things which have a similarity in sound, and hence the name is given to words which rhyme by assonance.
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An assortment is a collection of articles of a varied character.
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Assuage means to soften or soothe; to lessen or allay something, such as grief or pain; to appease or pacify something.
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Assume means to take something for granted; take something as being true, for the sake of argument or action; to suppose.
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In law, an assumpsit is a promise or simple contract, not under seal, which may be a cause of a suit for damages if broken.
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Assurance is trust reinforced by a feeling of certainty based upon evidence or inner persuasion.
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Assyriology is the study of ancient Assyria.
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In writing and printing, an asterisk is the figure of a star. Asterisks are typically used as reference marks , or to indicate omitted words or letters.
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In writing and printing, an asterism is a group of asterisks used to call attention to a particular passage.
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An asteroid is a minor planetary body.
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ASTEROID
Asteroid means star-like.
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Astir means in motion, in activity, disturbed.
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The Aston Martin DB2 was a classic British car first produced in 1950, and then produced in modified forms until 1959. The Aston Martin DB2 was powered by a 2580 to 2922 cc DOHC straight six engine providing from 107 to 196 bhp and a top speed of between 185 and 209 kmh, depending upon the variant.
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The Aston Martin DB5 was a British sports car of the 1960s produced from 1963 to 1965. The DB5 evolved from the earlier touring DB4, and was immortalised in the James Bond film 'Goldfinger'. The DB5 was powered by a 3955 cc straight six engine providing 282 bhp and a top speed of 225 kmh.
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The Aston Martin DB7 was a classic and exclusive (only 700 were made each year) British car first produced in 1994 and produced until 2003. The original Aston Martin DB7 was powered by a 3239 cc six-cylinder engine providing 335 bhp and a top speed of 249 kmh. In 1999 a six-litre V12 engine version was produced Although the Aston Martin DB7 is fitted with four seats, in reality it is a two-seater sports car. The rear seats being totally impracticable. The Aston Martin DB7 was produced in a standard coupe edition and in a convertible model known as the Volante.
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The Aston Martin Lagonda was a British, hand-built, four-door car hailed as the 'space age car' when it was introduced in 1976. It was a variant of the Aston Martin V8 and featured touch sensitive switches, including the gear change, and electronically controlled instruments with graphic digital displays controlled by a micro-processor. The speedometer could be changed from mph to kmh by the touch of a switch. The 5340 CC engine had eight-cylinders in a V-configuration.
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The Aston Martin V8 was a family of British cars produced by the Aston Martin company between 1969 and 1990. The Aston Martin V8 was powered by a 5340 cc V-eight engine providing between 340 and 436 bhp and a top speed of 257 kmh. Models were produced with either a 5-speed manual or a 3-speed automatic transmission.
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The Aston Martin V8 Vantage is a British hand-crafted two-seater sports car produced in a coupe and a soft-top convertible roadster model, both powered by a 4.7-litre V8 engine delivering 420 bhp providing a top speed of 180 mph and acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in just under five seconds. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage has a six-speed manual gear box and is rear-wheel drive.
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Astonish means to strike with sudden wonder; to surprise; to amaze.
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Astonishing means very wonderful; surprising.
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Astonishment is extreme surprise; amazement.
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The Astor Library was a public library founded in New York City by John Jacob Astor, and opened in 1853 following a bequest of $400,000 left by John Jacob Astor, followed by bequests of $200,000 and $450,0000 by his son and grandson.
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Astound means to shock, to strike with amazement, to alarm.
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Astraddle means astride, with one leg either side of something.
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Astraea is one of the asteroids, discovered in 1845. It revolves round the sun in 1511.10 solar days, and is about 2.5 times the distance of the earth from the sun.
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Astragalomancy is divination using dice or knuckle bones. It seems to have developed around the 17th century.
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The word astral refers to something proceeding from, or relating to the stars.
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Astray means out of the right way, on a path to error, straying, wandering, lost. Hence the expression to lead someone astray is to encourage them into immoral practices or illegal practices.
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Astride means with the legs wide apart, one each side of something. Hence one sits astride a bicycle with one leg each side of the frame, and when riding a horse men always sit astride, with one leg each side in contrast to a lady perhaps riding side saddle with both legs on one side of the horse.
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Astrolatry is the worship of celestial objects.
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The word astronomical means relating to, or according to, heavenly bodies. Hence an astronomical price is one which is very high, like the stars are very high in the sky.
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Astute means crafty, shrewd, keen of mind, cunning.
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Asunder means apart, into pieces. The word is usually encountered in a violent sense, such as striking a wall asunder meaning to violently and powerfully smash it to pieces.
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Asylum was a sanctuary or place of refuge, where criminals and debtors sheltered themselves from justice, and from which they could not be taken without sacrilege. Temples were anciently asylums, as were Christian churches in later times. The term in the 19th century was usually applied to an institution for receiving, maintaining, and, so far as possible, ameliorating the condition of persons labouring under certain bodily defects or mental maladies. Later the term was applied to a refuge for the unfortunate, such as those suffering persecution in their own country.
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Asymmetry means without symmetry or proportion.
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In rhetoric, an asyndeton is a figure of speech by which connecting words are omitted; as for example 'I came, saw, conquered.'
In grammar, asyndeton means in want of coherence.
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An atelier is a workshop, especially a studio of a painter or sculptor.
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The Ateliers Nationaux or national workshops, were established by the French provisional government in 1848. They interfered much with private trade as about 100,000 workmen threw themselves on the government for work. The breaking up of the system led to disorders, but it was abolished in July, 1848.
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The Atellanae or Atellan gables were interludes in the Roman theatre introduced from Atella in Campania. They were performed not by the regular actors, but by freeborn young Romans. The characters of Macchus and Bucco are thought to be the foundations of the modern Punch and Clown.
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Atenism was a form of sun-worship practised in ancient Egypt around 14 BC.
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Athanasia is another word for immortality, deathlessness.
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The Athanasian Creed is a creed or exposition of Christian faith, supposed formerly to have been drawn up by St Athanasius, though this opinion is now generally rejected, and the composition often ascribed to Hilary, bishop of Aries about 430. It is an explicit avowal of the doctrines of the Trinity (as opposed to Arianism, of which Athanasius was a great opponent) and of the incarnation, and contains what are known as the damnatory clauses, in which it declares that damnation must be the lot of those who do not believe the true and catholic faith. It is contained in the Book of Common Prayer, to be read on certain occasions.
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Atheism is the disbelief or denial of a god or gods. Throughout history the Christian church persecuted those who refuted the existence of a god, making such disbelief a crime punishable by death. Islam similarly punishes Muslims who disbelieve or question the teachings of it's prophet Mohammed, with death and non-Muslims with life imprisonment.
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The Atheism And Blasphemy Act, passed in England in 1606, made it a crime punishable by death without recourse to appeal for any person over the age of sixteen years, excepting those who were insane or obviously incapable, not to openly demonstrate a belief in God. In brief, atheism was a crime punishable by death.
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The Athenaeum was the temple of Athena or Minerva, at Athens. It was frequented by poets, learned men, and orators. The same name was given at Rome to the school which Hadrian established on the Capitoline Mount for the promotion of literary and scientific studies. In modern times the same name is given to literary clubs and establishments connected with the sciences.
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Athirst is an old and poetic word meaning very thirsty, and by extension eagerly desirous.
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In the story of the Volsungs, Atli was the king of the Huns. He treacherously murdered his wife's brothers in order to get the treasure left to them by Sigurd, and was in revenge killed by Gudrun.
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An Atmospheric Railway is a railway so called in consequence of the motive power being derived from the pressure of the atmosphere, or from compressed air. The idea of thus obtaining motion was first suggested by the French engineer Papin, about 1700. In 1810, and again in 1827, a Mr. Medhurst published a scheme for 'propelling carriages through a close-fitting air-tight tunnel by forcing in air behind them' and in 1825 a similar project was patented by a Mr. Yallance of Brighton. About 1835 a Mr. H. Pinkus, an American residing in England, patented a pneumatic railway. The carriages were to travel on an open line of rails, along which a cast-iron tube of between 3 and 4 feet diameter was to be laid, having a longitudinal slit from 1 to 2 inches wide and closed by a flexible valve along its upper side, through which a connection could be formed between the leading carriage and a piston working within the tube. This method was improved by Messrs. Clegg and Samuda, who in 1840 tried some experiments on a portion of the West London Railway with sufficient success to induce the government to advance a loan to the Dublin and Kingstown Railway Company, for the construction of a pneumatic line from Kingstown to Dalkey. It was opened for passenger traffic at the end of 1843, and was worked for many months. The London and Croydon Company subsequently obtained powers for laying down an atmospheric railway by the side of their other line from London to Croydon, and in experimental trips in 1845 a speed of 30 miles an hour was obtained with sixteen carriages, and of 70 miles an hour with six carriages. But during the intense heat of the summer of 1846 the iron tube frequently became so hot as to melt the composition which sealed the valve, and the line had to be worked by locomotives. The mechanical difficulty of commanding a sufficient amount of rarefaction led to the abandonment of the system for railway purposes. It was revived, however, for the conveyance of letters and
arcels in towns by means of tubes of moderate diameter laid beneath the streets, but not proceeded with. Within offices, however, atmospheric railways or rather pneumatic despatch systems are used notably within the supermarket chain Sainsburys where cash from tills is put into a cylindrical container which is closed and inserted into a pressurised pipe system for conveyance to the cash office.
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An atoll is a circular, or horseshoe-shaped coral island surrounding a lagoon with one or more openings to the sea.
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Atomism is the philosophical theory that all things consist of minute, indivisible particles (atoms).
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Atomize means to reduce to very small particles, to spray in a fine mist.
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An atomizer or atomiser is an instrument for spraying a liquid as a very fine mist.
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Atone means to make amends or reparation, to make up for doing something wrong or bad. The term is chiefly encountered in religious and moral contexts such as atoning for one's sins, that is making up for one's moral misdemeanours.
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In Christian theology, atonement is the special work of Christ effected by his life, sufferings, and death. The first explicit exposition of the evangelical doctrine of the atonement is ascribed to Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1093.
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Atrabilious describes someone as morbidly melancholy, depressed, peevish, ill humoured.
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Properly, atrocious means cruel and extremely wicked. The term is properly applied in contexts to someone who is violently wicked or brutal.
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An atrocity is an outrageous, cruel, vile or wicked deed.
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Originally, attach meant to nail or tack something. Over time the word came to mean to fasten, to fix to or on, to connect, to join.
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In common terms, attachment is the state of being unified or joined to something. Attachment as a synonym of love implies a strong form of inclination approaching devotion, but weaker than affection. Hence one can feel an attachment for an inanimate object, such as an old pair of socks.
In English law, attachment is a taking of the person, goods, or estate by virtue of a writ or precept. It is distinguished from an arrest by proceeding out of a higher court by precept or writ, whereas the latter proceeds out of an inferior court by precept only. An arrest lies only against the body of a man, whereas an attachment lies often against the goods only, and sometimes against the body and goods. It differs from a distress in that an attachment does not extend to lands, while a distress cannot touch the body. Foreign attachment answers to what in Scotland is termed arrestment, by means of which a creditor may obtain the security of the goods or other personal property of his debtor in the hands of a third person for the purpose of enforcing the appearance of the debtor to answer to an action, and afterwards, upon his continued default of obtaining the property absolutely in satisfaction of the demand.
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Attain means to accomplish, to achieve an end or purpose; to reach or gain a state, rank, or quality. Thus a soldier might be said to 'attain the rank of corporal' when he is promoted to that rank, or a tree may 'attain a certain size' meaning when it has grown to a certain size.
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Attainder is the legal consequences of a sentence of death or outlawry pronounced against a person for treason or felony, the person being said to be attainted. It resulted in forfeiture of estate and 'corruption of blood,' rendering the party incapable of inheriting property or transmitting it to heirs; but these results now no longer follow. Formerly persons were often subjected to attainder by a special bill or act passed in parliament.
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Attainment is the act of arriving at, of reaching a goal or position as a result of effort or exertion. Something which is reached or accomplished. The word also describes such a position which has been reached.
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In chivalry, the term attaint meant to strike the helmet and shield of an opponent so firmly with the lance held in a direct line, as either to break the lance or knock over the person struck.
In law, an attaint was formerly a writ at common law against a jury for a false verdict. It is now obsolete in England.
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In the East Indies, attar is a general term for a perfume made from flowers. In Europe the term is generally used only of the attar or otto of roses, an essential oil made from Rosa centifolia, the hundred-leaved or cabbage-rose, Rosa damascena or damask-rose, Rosa moschdta or musk-rose, etc, 100,000 roses yielding only 180 grains of attar. Cashmere, Shiraz, and Damascus are celebrated for its manufacture, and there are extensive rose farms in the valley of Kezanlik in Roumelia and at Ghazipur in Benares. The oil is at first greenish, but afterwards it presents various tints of green, yellow, and red. It is concrete at all ordinary temperatures, but becomes liquid about 84 degrees Fahrenheit. It consists of two substances, a hydrocarbon and an oxygenated oil, and is frequently adulterated with the oils of rhodium, sandal-wood, and geranium, with the addition of camphor or spermaceti.
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Attask was an old term for to take to task, to blame or to censure.
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Attemper (from the Latin meaning to control) means to qualify or modify by mixture ; to moderate; to reduce. To soothe, to appease. To adapt. The word is also used to mean to harden (temper) a metal.
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Attempt (from the Latin for to try) means to make an effort to do something or achieve some goal. To endeavour or try to do something.
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Attend means to look after someone or something, to care for them or it, or to wait upon them. Thus one may attend to a matter which requires attention, or a servant may attend to their master or attend to his wishes.
Attend also means to accompany, to escort, to go with someone or something.
Attend means to visit or to be present, as one may attend a meeting meaning one is present at the meeting, or one goes to the meeting.
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Attendance is the act of being present. Thus a school child's attendance refers to their being at school and not absent.
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An attendant key is a key which when inserted in the appropriate lock of a slot-machine, displays much information about the slot-machine, including the target level of percentage pay-out which has been set, the current level of pay-out and how full the machine is. This information is invaluable to a professional gambler who can use it to locate slot-machines which are ready to pay out.
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Attentive is an adjective describing someone as heedful, intent, observant, polite and courteous, paying attention. Thus a man might be attentive to a woman he is courting. Someone might be described as being attentive when they are listening to something or concentrating on something.
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Properly, attenuate means to make thing. The term has been extended to mean to reduce, to thin out by dilution, to weaken. Thus in electronics the word is encountered where an electric current is reduced in force.
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Attest means to bear witness to, to certify as being genuine or true, to give proof of.
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Atticism means unusual grace or elegance of expression. Thus an Atticism is an unusually well-turned phrase.
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Attire is a term for costume, dress, clothing, fine apparel.
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In feudal law, attorn meant to transfer homage from one lord to another and also to render homage to a lord.
In law, attorn means to acknowledge a new landlord and agree to pay rents to him.
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Attract means to draw towards oneself. The word is frequently encountered in respect of a magnetic which may be said to attract iron objects, and also with regard to people who may attract others by way of their good looks or charm.
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Attractive is an adjective describing something as being charming, engaging, alluring or inviting.
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In philosophy, an attribute is a quality or property of a substance, as whiteness or hardness. A substance is known to us only as a congeries of attributes.
In the fine arts an attribute is a symbol regularly accompanying and marking out some personage. Thus the caduceus, purse, winged hat, and sandals are attributes of Mercury, the trampled dragon of St George
In everyday-terms, attribute means to ascribe as due, appropriate or belonging. To imputer, assign or refer..
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Attribution is the act of imputing a quality to something. The word also means an ascribed quality or character and authority or function granted to a government or ruler.
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In a general sense, the word attrition means rubbing away, or wearing down by friction. In the Roman Catholic Church, attrition is a regret or grief for sin through fear of a punishment. Attrition falls short of true repentance or contrition.
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Attune means to put in tune. The word is also used to mean to bring into accordance or harmony with somebody else.
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Atypical means not typical. That is, not having the usual characteristics of the group to which the item, animal, plant or person etc belongs.
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Au fait is a French term meaning 'to the point', which has been adopted into English meaning conversant, skilled, well-informed, instructed, etc.
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Au naturel is a French phrase meaning natural, life like, in the simplest manner. The term has been adopted into English and is often used to mean nude, or without adulteration or in the case of food without additional flavouring or colouring agents.
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Auburn is a reddish brown colour. The term auburn is chiefly used to describe hair.
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The Auburn system (also known as the silent system) was a strict system of penal discipline named after the prison at Auburn, New York where it originated around 1820, involving keeping the prisoners in solitary confinement over night, shop work and complete silence except at meal times.
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Aucassin et Nicolette is a celebrated French romance of the 12th century, written in alternate prose and assonant verse of seven syllables. It recounts the love of Aucassin, son of the Count of Beaucaire, for Nicolette, the captive daughter of the king of Carthage.
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Audacious means bold and spirited, daring and intrepid. Thus one speaks of audacious military operations or describes actions as being audacious. The word audacious also means insolent, impudent and presumptuousness, disregarding morality and decorum.
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Audacity has two popular meanings. It can mean boldness, reckless daring, and spirit. Or it can mean effrontery; impudence or insolence. Hence one might be shocked by the audacity of an insolent child.
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The Audi A2 is the world's first mass produced motor-car constructed from aluminium available in a five door hatchback design with either a 1.4 litre petrol model offering 60 mpg and a 1.4 litre diesel model offering 80 mpg.
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Audible (from the Latin word audire meaning to hear) means capable of being heard, or perceptible by the ear.
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An audience is an assembly of people gathered to listen to, or within range to hear an event, to or watch someone or something, such as a group of people gathered at a concert or in a theatre to watch a play. Properly the word means an assembly of hearers, but it has been extended in popular language to describe a group of spectators and also the readership of a book or newspaper etc.
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Audient is an adjective meaning listening.
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An audition is trial hearing or viewing of an applicant for employment as a singer, actor, etc.
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Auditory is an adjective referring to the sense of hearing or the organs of hearing.
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Augean means pertaining to Augeas, the king in Greek mythology whose stables containing 3000 oxen had not been cleaned in thirty years. Thus the word is used as a poetic form for filthy dirty.
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An auger is an instrument used for boring holes in wood, or other soft substances. It consists of a wooden or plastic handle and a steel shank terminated in a steel bit at the bottom.
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Aught means anything, something.
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Augment means to increase or enlarge in size or extent.
In grammar, an augment is a vowel or syllable prefixed to a verb, or a lengthening of the initial vowel, to indicate past time, as in Sanskrit and Greek.
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The augmentation court was a court erected by a statute of Henry VIII, to augment the revenues of the crown by the suppression of monasteries.
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The Augsburg Confession was a document which was presented by the Protestants at the Diet of Augsburg, 1530, to the Emperor Charles V and the diet, and being signed by the Protestant states was adopted as their creed. Luther made the original draught;
but as its style appeared too violent it was given to Melanchthon for amendment. The original is to be found in the imperial Austrian archives. Afterwards Melanchthon arbitrarily altered some of the articles, and there arose a division between those who held the original and those who held the altered Augsburg Confession. The former is received by the Lutherans, the latter by the German Reformed.
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Augury is divination from signs and omens, such as the behaviour of birds.
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The month of august was the sixth month of the Roman calendar and was originally called Sextilis, by a decree of the senate it received its present name in honour of Augustus Caesar in 8 BC.
August is an adjective meaning venerable, imposing, having grandeur, dignity and majesty.
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An auguste is a species of circus clown, characterised by dressing in ill-fitting or dishevelled clothes.
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Auld is an old word meaning old. Hence, 'auld lang syne' means long since, or days gone by, and is used especially to refer to those past times which have happy memories.
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Aulic is an adjective describing something as pertaining to a court (the word derives from the Greek word aule meaning a court).
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Aulnage was formerly the official inspection and measurement of cloth. The term was also applied to the fee payable for the inspection.
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An aura is an influence or emanation supposedly issuing from the human body, surrounding it like an atmosphere, but invisible to normal human sight. Hence the word is also used poetically to describe an invisible, but perceptible atmosphere generated by a person's presence, such as an aura of menace surrounding a gangster. The word is also used in medicine to describe a premonitory sensation experienced before an epileptic fit.
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Aural is an adhective describing some as pertaining to the ear or to the sense of hearing.
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Aureate is an adjective describing something as being of a golden colour or gilded.
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In paintings an aureola or aureole, is an illumination surrounding a holy person, as Christ, a saint, or a martyr, intended to represent a luminous cloud or haze emanating from him. It is generally of an oval shape, or may be nearly or quite circular, and is of similar character with the nimbus surrounding the heads of sacred personages.
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Auriculas Confession, in the strictest sense, is the disclosure of sins to the priest at the confessional, with a view to obtain absolution for them. The person confessing is allowed to conceal no sin of consequence which he remembers to have committed, and the father confessor is bound to perpetual secrecy. The practice of a public acknowledgment of great sins was altered by Pope Leo the Great, in 450, into a secret one before the priest, and the fourth general Lateran council in 1215 ordained that every one of the faithful, of both sexes, come to years of discretion, should privately confess all their sins at least once a year to their own pastor, an ordination still binding on members of the Roman Catholic Church. Confession is a part of the sacrament of penance. Some Anglican clergymen uphold it.
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Auriculate is an adjective used to describe something as having ears or ear-shaped appendages.
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Auriferous is an adjective used to describe something as containing gold, such as a gold-bearing vein or rock.
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The auriflamme was the ancient royal standard of France.. The word became to be used for any symbol of glory.
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Auriform means ear-shaped, shaped like a human ear.
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In astronomy, auriga, the Waggoner (properly the charioteer), is a constellation of the northern hemisphere, containing sixty-eight stars, including Capella of the first magnitude.
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Aurora Borealis is a luminous meteoric phenomenon appearing in the north, most frequently in high latitudes, the corresponding phenomenon in the southern hemisphere being called Aurora Australia, and both being also called Polar Light, Streamers, etc. The northern aurora has been far the most observed and studied. It usually manifests itself by streams of light ascending towards the zenith from a dusky line of cloud or haze a few degrees above the horizon, and stretching from the north towards the west and east, so as to form an arc with its ends on the horizon, and its different parts and rays are constantly in motion. Sometimes it appears in detached places; at other times it almost covers the whole sky. It assumes many shapes and a variety of colours, from a pale red or yellow to a deep red or blood colour; and in the northern latitudes serves to illuminate the earth and cheer the gloom of the long winter nights.
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Auspicate means to initiate or to inaugurate, especially under promising conditions.
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Among the ancient Romans, auspices, were strictly omens or auguries derived from birds, though the term was also used in a wider sense. Nothing of importance was done without taking the auspices, which, however, simply showed whether the enterprise was likely to result successfully or not, without supplying any further information. Magistrates possessed the right of taking the auspices, in which they were usually assisted by an augur. Before a war or campaign a Roman general always took the auspices, and hence the operations were said to be carried out 'under his auspices.' Hence the word auspice now means an omen , a sign or indication, and auspices ain popular language refer to promising or favourable circumstances.
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Auspicious is an adjective describing something as being a good omen, promising, favourable or fortunate.
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Austere means harsh, strict, severe, grace, very stern. The word can also mean stripped of adornment and embellishment so as to leave just the bare essentials. When applied to a person, the word austere implies someone who is coldly aloof from the pleasures of life, such as a monk for example.
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Austerity is a harshness of attitude or judgement towards other people or towards pleasure. Thus the term also implies a rigid morality. In other contexts, austerity means simplicity, with just the bare essentials, such as a literary style.
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The Austin A90 Atlantic was the first British car designed specifically for the American market. The Austin A90 Atlantic was produced as a convertible with a power-operated hood and as a saloon model, from 1948 to 1952. It was powered by a 2660 cc OHV in-line four engine providing 88 bhp and a top speed of 145 kmh. The Austin A90 Atlantic could accelerate from 0-60 mph in 16.6 seconds and could achieve a fuel consumption of 25 mpg.
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The Austin Healey 3000 was a British motor car produced between 1959 and 1967. The Austin Healey 3000 was powered by a 6-cylinder 2912 cc engine providing between 124 and 150 bhp and a top speed of between 183 and 193 kmh, depending upon the type, later types being faster.
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The Austin Healey Sprite (known as the 'frogete') was a British sports car produced from 1958 to 1961. The Austin Healey Sprite was powered by a 948 cc in-line four engine providing 43 bhp and a top speed of 135 kmh, with a fuel consumption of 45 mpg attainable.
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Austral, from the Latin word australis meaning southern, describes something as being southern or characteristic of the south.
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Autagonistophilia is the sexual arousal of being on stage or of performing in front of a camera.
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Authentic, derived from the Greek word authentikos meaning original, means genuine, real, or deriving from an authoritative source which can be relied upon. Something which is authentic is trustworthy, van be relied upon to be true or reliable.
In law, authentic describes something as being duly executed, such as a document for example.
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To authenticate something is to give validity to it or to prove its ownership, or that it is genuine.
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In politics, authoritarian is a term denoting a dictatorial system of government.
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Authoritative means having the power to demand or command. Having a reputation which insures belief, obedience, sanction, respect or confidence. Hence an authoritative source of information is one which can be relied upon or trusted to be believed that the information is competent and correct.
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Auto da fe (Act of Faith) was the ritual execution of heretics by the Inquisition after a confession had been extracted. The ceremony always took place on a Sunday, but not at regular intervals, maybe once every two, three or four years. The victims were walked in procession wearing the san benito, the coroza, the rope around the neck, and carrying a yellow wax candle in their hand. The san benito was a penitential tunic of yellow cloth reaching to the knees and painted on it was a picture of the person who wore it, burning in flames with figures of dragons and devils in the act of fanning the flames. The costume indicated to the watching crowds the wearer was to be burned alive as an incorrigible heretic. If the person was only to do penance, then the san benito had on it a cross, and no painting or flames. If the victim was converted just before being led out, then the san benito was painted with the flames downward (known as fuego resuelto) and indicated that the wearer was not to be burned alive, but to be first strangled before burning.
At one time the san benito were hung up in the churches as monuments to the Inquisition. The coroza was a pasteboard cap, one metre high, ending in a point. On it were likewise painted crosses, flames and devils. Gags were kept on hand in case a victim insulted the tribunal or revealed what had occurred to them as they were led along to the place of execution where a large scaffold was erected.
The stake where the victim was to be burned varied in form, and was either a simple stake mounted in the ground, or was about three metres tall, with a small board near the top where the victim sat and was chained to the stake. Following prayers and attempts to convert the victim to the Roman Catholic faith, burning furzes were thrust into the face until the victim's face was burned before furzes around the base of the stake were ignited and the victim burned to death.
Victims were burned, because the inquisitors were forbidden to 'shed blood', the Roman Catholic church in typical self delusion maintaining the line that it is untainted with blood.
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Auto-suggestion is suggestion to a person arising from their own mental states or processes, rather than from someone else's words or actions.
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An autobiography is the story of one's life written by oneself, as distinct from a biography which is written by someone other than the subject.
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Autochthon is a technical term for an original inhabitant (an aboriginal person) or an indigenous animal or plant.
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Autocracy is absolute rule by one man.
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AUTOCRACY
An autocracy is an absolute government, a government having absolute controlling authority or influence.
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An autocrat is someone who rules without restriction, or who insists on the absolute obedience of others to his or her will. Thus an autocrat is a despotic or dictatorial person.
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Autocratic is an adjective describing something as having absolute power of government, such as a despot or a dictator.
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Autoerotic asphyxia is the practice of partial strangulation during sex or masturbation.
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Autograph is the proper term for one's signature written in one's own hand.
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Autohypnosis is self-induced hypnosis or a hypnosis-like trance state.
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An automat is a self-adjusting or self-operating mechanism. The word is especially applied in the USA to machinery in which food or drinks are mechanically delivered from compartments when coins are inserted into appropriate slots, eg a vending machine. The word is also used for a cafeteria in the USA where customers obtain their orders from such coin-operated machines.
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Automatic means having the power of self-motion, self-regulation or self-action. The word is usually applied to machines which carry out some action without the operator's intervention, such as an automatic vehicle which changes gear itself as distinct from a manual vehicle where the driver changes gears. The word automatic is also used for an action which is done without thinking or as a matter of course, sub-consciously, such as breathing, or blind obedience or balancing on a bicycle.
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Automatism is the state of performing actions without thinking, without conscious will. In psychology, the term automatism is used for an action that is, unusually, performed subconsciously or unconsciously and also the mental state accompanying such an action.
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An automaton is a self-acting mechanism, the word being especially applied to a machine which is designed to resemble a living thing, eg a robot or mechanical doll. The word is also used for a living being whose actions are unthinking and mechanical.
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Autonomous means self-governing or independent in government. Thus a country which is independent and sets its own laws etc is autonomous.
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Autonomy is a word of Greek origin meaning 'self-government', and is thus the power of a state, institution, etc, to legislate for itself.
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An autonym is a real name, as opposite from a pseudonym which is a false or assumed name. The term autonym is also given to describe a name given to itself by a tribe or people, thus Inuit is an autonym while the offensive name Eskimo is not.
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Autopsy literally means a personal observation or inspection, but the term is commonly restricted to a postmortem examination to examine a dead body to determine the cause of death.
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Autumn is the season between summer and winter, in the northern hemisphere traditionally regarded as embracing August, September, and October, or three months about that time. The beginning of the astronomical autumn is September the 22nd, the autumnal equinox; and the end is December the 21st, the shortest day. The autumn of the southern hemisphere takes place at the time of the northern spring.
In poetic terms, the word autumn is often used to describe a period of decline or decay, such as old age in a person who may be described as being in the 'autumn of their years'.
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Autumnal is an adjective describing something as pertaining to the season of autumn.
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Auxiliary (from the Latin word auxilium meaning help) is an adjective describing something as helping, giving aid, subsidiary or assisting. Hence, an auxiliary is an assistant, and aid or a helper such as an auxiliary nurse.
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Avail (from the Latin word valere meaning to be of value) means to be of use, value or service, to serve a purpose. Thus to 'avail oneself of the facilities' is to make use of or take advantage of the facilities.
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Available means usable, suitable for one's purpose, at hand, at one's disposal. Hence, a vacant toilet is available - one is able to make use of it.
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An avalanche is a large mass of snow or ice precipitated from the mountains, and distinguished as wind or dust avalanches, when they consist of fresh-fallen snow whirled like a dust storm into the valleys; as sliding avalanches, when they consist of great masses of snow sliding down a slope by their own weight; and as glacier or summer avalanches, when ice-masses are detached by heat from the high glaciers.
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Avarice (derived from the Latin word avarus meaning greedy) is an insatiable desire for wealth, greed, for wealth, an inordinate desire to appropriate another person's wealth or possessions. Avarice differs from cupidity in that avarice is more miserly, hoarding the wealth and possessions, and is less coveting of other people's wealth than cupidity.
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Avaricious is an adjective describing someone as greedy for wealth. Someone who is avaricious might indulge themselves, while someone who is miserly will not.
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Avaunt is an interjection expressing contempt or abhorrence and meaning go away, be gone.
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Ave Maria ('Hail, Mary'), are the first two words of the angel Gabriel's salutation according to Luke I 28, and the beginning of the very common Latin prayer to the Virgin in the Roman Catholic Church. Its lay use was sanctioned at the end of the twelfth century, and a papal edict of 1326 ordains the repetition of the prayer thrice each morning, noon, and evening, the hour being indicated by sound of bells called the Ave Maria or Angelus Domini. The prayers are counted upon the small beads of the rosary, as the Paternosters are upon the large ones.
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Avenge means to take vengeance. To take justifiable revenge for something, to inflict injury, hurt or punishment on someone or something in return for something. Avenge differs from revenge in that avenge implies justice from motives free from malice, often from motives of duty and thus nobility. While revenge is to act from a motive of personal malice and resentment.
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Aventurine is a variety of brownish glass flecked with shiny specks of brass or gilt throughout.
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An avenue is an approach to a place, such as a path, walkway ior road. The word is also used for a wide roadway or drive bordered with trees, and this is now its more common understanding.
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Aver means to positively affirm.
In law, aver means to prove to be true.
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In popular language, the word average means a generally accepted standard or rate. Something thought of as of a usual or ordinary character, midway between too much and too little, too good and too bad, not extreme but half-way between two extremes.
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Averse means unwilling, reluctant, having a repugnance to.
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Aversion is a dislike, opposition, repugnance or antipathy for something. Aversion is similar to antipathy, but is constitutional or rational. For example, some people are born with an aversion to snakes or spiders. Some people, following bad experiences may have an aversion to situations such as crowds. Aversion is not so strong an emotion as hatred.
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Avert means to turn away, to turn aside. To turn or ward off, to prevent. Thus one may avert an accident by being careful or having foresight.
Research Avert
An aviary is a building, or a portion of a building, netted off, or a large cage designed for keeping, breeding and rearing birds. Aviaries appear to have been used by the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, and are highly prized in China. In England they were in use at least as early as 1577, when William Harrison refers to 'our costlie and curious aviaries.' An aviary may be simply a kind of very large cage; but the term usually has a wider scope than this.
Research Aviary
Aviate means to operate a flying machine, to fly an aeroplane.
Research Aviate
Aviation is the art of science of flying especially connected with aircraft and includes the design and manufacture.
Research Aviation
Aviculture is the rearing of birds.
Research Aviculture
Avid (derived from the Latin word avidus meaning greedy) is an adjective meaning eager or greedy.
Research Avid
Avidity is extreme eagerness, an intense desire, or greediness for something.
Research Avidity
Aviz was a Portuguese order of knighthood founded by Sancho I with the object of the subjugation of the Moors.
Research Aviz
An avocation is an occasional occupation secondary to one's occupation. The word also means a diversion or distraction.
Research Avocation
Avoid means to stay away from, to shun, to abstain from.
Research Avoid
Avoidance is the act of shunning or evading something. Thus tax avoidance is evading the payment of tax, not paying tax.
Research Avoidance
The avoirdupois scale is a measurement of weight using the pound of sixteen ounces. The name comes from the French meaning 'goods having weight' or 'weight of goods'. Avoirdupois was formerly used in Britain for weighing all commodities except precious metals, gems and drugs.
Research Avoirdupois
Avouch means to affirm or to openly acknowledge. To admit, to guarantee or to maintain.
Research Avouch
Avow means to publicly declare, to acknowledge frankly, to admit.
Research Avow
An avowal is an open declaration, a frank acknowledgement or a confession.
Research Avowal
An avulsion is a forcible tearing away or a pulling off.
In law, an avulsion is the bearing away of a land deposit from one estate to another by the sudden action of water.
Research Avulsion
Avuncular is an adjective describing something as being of or like an uncle.
Research Avuncular
To await is to expect, to wait for, to be ready for.
Research Await
To awake is to arouse from sleep or a sleep-like state, that is to wake up. The word is also extended to mean to put life into something, to become alert.
Research Awake
To awaken is to awake, that is to rouse from sleep.
Research Awaken
An awakening is an act of waking up, of rousing from sleep, and by extension the word is also used for a revival as though something had been dormant and is now awoken.
Research Awakening
To award is to bestow, to grant after due consideration. Only someone who is a judge may award. So, for example, after a contest the judges award prizes to the winners after due consideration and marking. As distinct from someone who simply bestows a gift on another.
Research Award
Aware is an adjective describing something as conscious, vigilant, watchful, possessing knowledge of facts etc.
Research Aware
Awash is an adjective describing something as being level with, or just above the surface of the water.
Research Awash
Awe is solemn fear; a sense of deep admiration and respect. Awe is a very powerful word. It conveys a sense of respect tinged with fear and solemnity.
Research Awe
Aweather means towards the wind, on the windward side.
Research Aweather
Properly, the adjective awesome describes something as inspiring awe. In popular colloquial language the word came to mean outstanding or remarkable
Research Awesome
Properly, the adjective awful describes something as inspiring awe, and hence in older writings one encounters such phrases as the awful majesty of God. In more recent and common language awful describes something as appalling, dreadful, solemn.
Research Awful
Awhile means a short, but undefined, period of time.
Research Awhile
Awkward (derived from a combination of Norse and Anglo-Saxon words meaning turned wrong) when applied to a living thing means lacking dexterity, clumsy, bungling; ungainly, uncouth, inelegant. While when applied to a situation, awkward means embarrassing, inconvenient, difficult to deal with.
Research Awkward
An awl is a small, pointed tool used for piercing holes in leather, wood and other materials. Awls are particularly associated with shoemakers.
Research Awl
An awning is a roof-like covering, often made of canvas and stretch on a frame, and used as a shelter from the sun or rain.
Research Awning
Awry means twisted, not straight, crooked, distorted. When applied to a situation, awry means wrong, improper, amiss, distorted, as though the situation has become distorted or twisted.
Research Awry
Axillism is the use of the armpit for sex.
Research Axillism
Axinomancy is divination by means of an axe-head. Axinomancy was practised by the ancient Greeks with a view to discovering crime. An agate was placed on a red hot axe, and indicated the guilt or innocence of the accused by its motion - the names of suspected persons being uttered, the movements at a particular name indicated the criminal.
Research Axinomancy
An axiom is a self-evident truth. That is, something so obviously true that no proof is needed.
Research Axiom
Axiomatic is an adjective describing something as being self-evident, or proverbial.
Research Axiomatic
An axis is a striaght line about which a body rotates, or is considered as rotating. Hence in geography an axis is the imaginary line running from pole to pole through the centre of the earth.
Axis is the name given to the line about which all the parts of a body or thing are symetrically placed.
Research Axis
Aye is an old British alternative word for yes. It is now mostly used in local dialects from the north of the British Isles, but is also used in the plural (ayes) in Parliament for votes.
Research Aye
Ayin is the 16th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and also the Hebrew numeric symbol for the value 70.
Research Ayin
Azilian describes a Palaeolithic culture of Spain and south-west France that can be dated to the 10th millennium BC. It is characterised by flat bone harpoons and schematically painted pebbles.
Research Azilian
Azuline or azurine is the blue dyes belonging to the coal-tar class.
Research Azuline
Azure is a deep blue colour reminiscent of the sky. Properly, it is the colour of the lapis lazuli stone, having derived from the French name for that stone.
Research Azure
Azygous is an adjective describing something as being unpaired, that is not occurring as one of a pair, for example certain muscles are azygous.
Research Azygous
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Abbreviations
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