Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Ab-ăl'ien-āte, v. t. p. 1(Law.) To transfer the title of from one to another;—a term of the civil law, rarely or never used in common law proceedings. 2. To estrange or wholly withdraw from. [Obs.]Ab-āl'ien-ā'tion, n. p. 1(Cir. Law.) The act of transferring or making over the title of property from one to another; act of abalienating; transfer; estrangement. See ALIENATION.A-bănd', v. t. p. 1To abandon. [Obs.] Enforced the kingdom to aband. Spenser. 2. To banish. [Obs.] 'Tis better far the enemies to aband / Quite from thy borders. Mir. for Mag.A-băn'don, v. t. p. 2To outlaw; to banish; to exile; to drive out or away. [Obs.] That he might . . . abandon them from him. Udal. Being all this time abandoned from your bed. Shak. 2. To give up absolutely; to forsake…A-băn'don, n. p. 2The act of abandoning or deserting; relinquishment. [Obs.] 2. One who abandons, or who is abandoned; one forsaken. [Obs.]A-ban-don', n. p. 2A complete giving up; hence, an utter disregard of self, arising from absorption in some favorite object or emotion, and sometimes a disregard of appearances, producing either careless negligence or…A-băn'doned, p. a. p. 2Given up, as to a vice; hence, extremely wicked, or sinning without restraint; irreclaimably wicked; as, an abandoned youth; an abandoned villain. Syn.—Forsaken; deserted; destitute; abject; forlorn…A-băn'don-ee', n. p. 2(Law.) One to whom any thing is abandoned.A-băn'don-er, n. p. 2One who abandons.A-băn'don-ment, n. p. 2The act of abandoning, or the state of being abandoned; total desertion; absolute relinquishment. The abandonment of the independence of Europe. Burke. 2. (Mar. Law.) The relinquishment by the…A-băn'dum, n. p. 2(Law.) Any thing forfeited or confiscated. Jacobs.Ăb'a-net, n. p. 2See ABNET.A-bāṅ'gā, n. p. 2The fruit of a kind of palm-tree whose seeds have been thought useful in diseases of the chest; — so named by the inhabitants of St. Thomas. Dunglison.Ab'an-nā'tion or Ab'an-nī'tion, n. p. 2A banishment for one or two years for manslaughter. [Rare.] Bailey.Ab'ap-tis'ta or Ab'ap-tis'ton, n. p. 2(Surg.) The old trephine or trepan, a saw whose conical shape prevented it from plunging into the brain. Dunglison.A-bāre', v. t. p. 2To make bare; to uncover. [Obs.]Ab'ar-tĭc-ū-lā'tion, n. p. 2(Anat.) That species of articulation or structure of joints which admits of free motion; diarthrosis; dearticulation. Coxe.A-bās', n. p. 2A weight in Persia used in weighing pearls, one eighth less than the European carat, or three grains and a half Troy. Heyse.A-bāse', v. t. p. 2[Fr. abaisser, Pr. abaissar, It. abbassare, Sp. abajar, Pg. abaxar, abaixar, L. Lat. abassare and abbassare: Fr. baisser, Pr. baissar, It. bassare, Sp. bajar, Pg. baxar, baixar; Fr., Pr. bas, It.…A-bāsed', p. a. p. 2(Her.) Turned downward; — used of certain armorial bearings, when turned downward toward the point of the shield. Chambers.A-bāse'ment, n. p. 2The act of abasing, humbling, or bringing low; the state of depression, degradation, or humiliation.A-băsh',, v. t. p. 2To destroy the self-possession of; to cast down the countenance of; to make ashamed; to confuse or confound, as by exciting suddenly a consciousness of guilt, error, inferiority, and the like.…A-bāsh'ment, n. p. 2Confusion from shame. Which manner of abashment became her not ill. Skelton.A-băs'si or A-băs'sis, n. p. 2A silver coin of Persia, of the value of twenty cents.A-bāt'a-ble, a. p. 2Capable of being abated; as, an abatable writ or nuisance.A-bāte', v. t. p. 2To beat or batter down. [Obs.] The King of Scots . . . sore abated the walls [of the Castle of Norham.] Hall. 2. To bring down or reduce from a higher to a lower state, number, degree, &c.; to…A-bāte', v. i. p. 2To decrease, or become less in strength or violence; as, pain abates; a storm abates. 2. To be defeated, or come to naught; to fail; as, a writ abates. 3. (Man.) To perform well a downward motion. A…A-bāte', n. p. 2Abatement. [Obs.] Browne.A-bāte'ment, n. p. 2The act of abating, or the state of being abated; removal; diminution; reduction. 2. The sum, quantity, or amount by which any thing is abated; that which is taken away by way of reduction…A-bāt'er, n. p. 2One who, or that which, abates, destroys, or diminishes.A-bā'tor, n. p. 2A person who, without right, enters into a freehold on the death of the last possessor, before the heir or devisee; one who prostrates or removes a nuisance. Blackstone.Ăb'a-tĭs or Ăb'at-tĭs, n. p. 2(Fort.) A row of the large branches of trees, sharpened and laid with the points outward, in front of a fortification or any other position, to obstruct the approach of assailants. The larger ends of…Ab'a-ti'sed, a. p. 3Provided with an abatis.Abat-jour', n. p. 3(Arch.) A skylight.A-bat-toir', n. p. 3A public slaughter-house in a city.Ab'a-tūde, n. p. 3Any thing abated or diminished. Bailey.Ăb'a-tūre, n. p. 3Grass beaten or trampled down by a stag in passing. Bailey.Ab-a'wed', p. & a. p. 3Abashed. [Obs.] Chaucer.Abb, n. p. 3Among weavers, yarn for the warp. Hence, abb-wool is wool for the abb.Ab'ba, n. p. 3Father; religious superior;— in the Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopic churches, a title given to the bishops, and by the bishops to the bishop of Alexandria.Ab'ba-cy, n. p. 3The dignity, rights, and privileges of an abbot. A. Smith.Ab-bā'tial, a. p. 3Belonging to an abbey; as, abbatial rights.Ab-băt'ic-al, a. p. 3Pertaining to an abbey; abbatial. [Rare.]Ab'bé, n. p. 3An abbot; but more generally one of a class of persons, especially in France and Italy, who had studied divinity to some extent, and who hoped for preferment to abbeys. Brande.Ab'bess, n. p. 3A female superior or governess of a nunnery, or convent of nuns, having the same authority over the nuns which the abbots have over the monks. See ABBEY.Ab'bey, n. p. 3A monastery or society of persons of either sex, secluded from the world and devoted to religion and celibacy. ☞ The males are called monks, and governed by an abbot; the females are called nuns, and…Ab'bot, n. p. 3The superior or governor of an abbey. ☞ Abbots are regular, or such as take the vow and wear the habit of the order; and commendatory, such as are seculars, but obliged, when of suitable age, to take…Ăb'bot-ship, n. p. 3The state or office of an abbot.Ab-brē'vi-āte, v. t. p. 3To make briefer; to shorten; to abridge; to reduce by contraction or omission. It is one thing to abbreviate by contracting, another by cutting off. Bacon. 2. (Math.) To reduce to lower terms, as a…Ab-brĕ′vi-ate, n. p. 3An abridgment. [Obs.] Elyot.Aᵇ-brē'vi-ate, a. p. 3(Bot.) Having one part relatively shorter than another. London.Ab-brē'vi-ā'tion, n. p. 3The act of abbreviating, shortening, or reducing. 2. The form to which a word or phrase is reduced by contraction and omission; a letter or a combination of letters, standing for a word or phrase of…Ab-brē'vi-ā'tor, n. p. 3One who abbreviates or reduces to a smaller compass. Grafton. 2. One of a college of seventy-two persons in the chancery of Rome, whose duty is to draw up the pope's briefs, and reduce petitions…Ab-brē′vi-a-to-ry, a. p. 3Abbreviating; shortening; contracting. Todd.Ab-brē′vi-ā-tūre, n. p. 3An abbreviation. [Obs.] Written with characters and abbreviatures. Bp. Taylor. 2. An abridgment or compend. An excellent abbreviature of the whole duty of a Christian. Bp. Taylor.Abb'-wool, n. p. 3Wool for the abb or warp;—a term in use among weavers and clothiers.A, B, C p. 3The first three letters of the alphabet, used for the whole alphabet. A-B-C book, a little book for teaching the elements of reading. Shak.Ăb'dal, n. p. 3One of a class of religious devotees in Persia, corresponding to a dervise in Turkey.Ab-dē'ri-an, a. p. 3Given to laughter; inclined to foolish or incessant merriment.Ab'de-rīte, n. p. 3An inhabitant of Abdera, a maritime town in Thrace. The Abderite, Democritus, the laughing philosopher, a native of Abdera.