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.
Ac-qui's'i-tive, a. p. 15Acquired. [Rare.] He died not in his acquisitive, but in his native soil. Wotton. 2. Disposed to make acquisitions; as, an acquisitive person or disposition.Ac-qui's'i-tive-ly, adv. p. 15In the way of acquisition.Ac-qui's'i-tive-ness, n. p. 15The state or quality of being acquisitive; desire of possession; propensity to acquire property. 2. (Phren.) The organ which is supposed to give rise to this desire. Combe.Ac-quis'i-tor, n. p. 16One who acquires, or makes acquisitions. C. Richardson.Ac-quist', n. p. 16Acquisition. [Obs.] “The acquist of virtues.” Bp. Taylor.Ae-quit′, v. t. p. 16To set free; to release or discharge, especially from an obligation, accusation, guilt, censure, suspicion, or whatever lies upon a person as a charge or duty; as, the jury acquitted the prisoner; we…Ae-quit'ment, n. p. 16The act of acquitting, or state of being acquitted; acquittal. [Obs.] Milton.Ae-quit'tal, n. p. 16(Law.) A setting free, or deliverance from the charge of an offense, by verdict of a jury or sentence of a court. Bouvier.Aē-quit'tance, n. p. 16The act of acquitting or discharging from a debt, or other engagement or obligation. Milton. 2. A writing, which is evidence of a discharge; a receipt in full, which bars a further demand. You can…A-crāse' or A-crāze', v. t. p. 16To craze. [Obs.] Grafton.A'cre, n. p. 16A piece of land, containing 160 square rods or perches, or 4840 square yards, or 43,560 square feet. This is the English statute acre. That of the United States is the same. The acre of Scotland…Acre-fight p. 16a sort of duel in the open field, formerly fought by English and Scotch combatants on their frontiers.A'cre-age, n. p. 16Acres taken collectively, or amount of acres; as, the acreage of Great Britain. Wade.Ā'cred, a. p. 16Possessing acres or landed property; — used in composition; as, large-acred men.A'cre-dāle, n. p. 16Land in a common field, in which different proprietors hold portions of greater or less quantities. [Prov., Eng.] Halliwell.Ă'crid, a. p. 16Sharp and harsh, or biting, to the taste; pungent; corroding; acrimonious; as, acrid salts; an acrid temper.A-crĭd'i-ty, n. p. 16The quality of being acrid, or of leaving a painful heat upon the organs of taste; pungency; acrimony. Lindley.Ăc'rid-ness, n. p. 16A sharp, bitter, pungent quality.Ăc'ri-mō'ni-oŭs, a. p. 16Abounding with acrimony; sharp; bitter; corrosive. Harvey. 2. Severe; caustic; sarcastic. “Acrimonious contempt.” Johnson.Ăc'ri-mō'ni-oŭs-ly, adv. p. 16In an acrimonious manner.Ăc'ri-mō'ni-oŭs-ness, n. p. 16The state or quality of being acrimonious; acridness; asperity; tartness.Ăc'ri-mo-ny, n. p. 16A quality of bodies which corrodes, dissolves, or destroys others; a harsh or biting sharpness; as, the acrimony of the juices of certain plants. Bacon. 2. Sharpness or severity, as of language or…Ăc'ri-sy, n. p. 16A state or condition of which no right judgment can be formed; that of which no choice is made; matter in dispute; injudiciousness. [Obs.]A'cri-tā or A'cri-tan, n. p. 16(Zoöl.) That division of radiate animals and the Protozoa, in which there is no distinct nervous system, as the sponges, polyps, &c. Dana.A-crĭt'ic-al, a. p. 16Having no crisis; giving no indications of a crisis; as, acritical symptoms; an acritical abscess.Ăc'ri-tūde, n. p. 16An acrid quality; bitterness to the taste; biting heat; acrimony. Grew.Ăc'ri-ty, n. p. 16Sharpness; eagerness. [Obs.] Bacon.Ăc'ro-a-măt'ic or Ăc'ro-a-măt'ic-al, a. p. 16Designed only to be heard; oral;—applied to the esoteric teachings of Aristotle, which were confined to his immediate hearers or disciples, in distinction from his exoteric doctrines, which were…Ăc'ro-ăt'ic, a. p. 16The same as ACROAMATIC.Ăc'ro-băt, n. p. 16One who practices rope-dancing, high vaulting, &c. Mayhew.Ăc'ro-băt'ic, a. p. 16Pertaining to an acrobat or rope-dancer.Ăc'ro-çe-ra̤u'ni-an, a. p. 16An epithet applied to certain mountains between Epirus and Macedonia. They project into the Ionian Sea, and are so termed from being often struck with lightning. Shelley.Ăc'ro-chôrd or Ăc'ro-chôr'dus, n. p. 16A genus of serpents, found in Java, covered entirely with small scales, which resemble granulated warts when the body is inflated. P. Cyc.Ăc'ro-ġen, n. p. 16(Bot.) A plant of the highest tribe of Cryptogams, including the ferns, &c. See CRYPTOGAMA. The age of acrogens (Geol.), the age of coal-plants, or the carboniferous era, when the Sigillaria…A-crŏġ'e-noŭs, a. p. 16(Bot.) Increasing in growth from the extremity; as, an acrogenous plant. Gray.A-crō'le-ĭne, n. p. 16(Chem.) A limpid, colorless liquid, obtained by the dehydration of glycerine. Its vapors are intolerably hot and suffocating.Ăc'ro-lĭth, n. p. 16(Arch. & Sculp.) A statue whose extremities only were of stone, the remainder being of wood. Elmes.A-crŏl'i-than, a. p. 16Pertaining to, or formed like, an acrolith; as, an acrolithan statue. Brande.A-crō'mi-al, a. p. 16(Anat.) Pertaining to the acromion. Dunglison.A-crō'mi-on, n. p. 16(Anat.) The outer extremity of the shoulder-blade.A-crŏn'yc or A-crŏn'yc-al, a. p. 16(Astron.) Rising at sunset and setting at sunrise, as a star;—opposed to cosmical. Hutton. ☞ The word is sometimes incorrectly written acronychal, achronycal, and acronichal.A-crŏn'yc-al-ly, adv. p. 16In an acronycal manner, as rising at the setting of the sun, and vice versâ.A-crŏp'o-lĭs, n. p. 16The upper or higher part of a Grecian city; hence, the citadel or castle, and especially the citadel of Athens.Ăc'ro-spīre, n. p. 16(Bot.) The sprout at the end of seeds when they begin to germinate; the plume, or plumule;—so called from its spiral form. Mortimer.Ăc'ro-spīred, a. p. 16Having a sprout, or having sprouted at both ends. Mortimer.A-crŏss', prep. p. 16From side to side; athwart; quite over; crosswise, or in a direction opposed to the length; as, a bridge is laid across a river. Dryden.A-crŏss', adv. p. 16From side to side; crosswise. “With . . . folded arms across.” Shak. ☞ The word was formerly used as a kind of exclamation when a sally of wit had miscarried. “Good faith, across!” [i. e., athwart…A-crŏs'tic, n. p. 16A composition, usually in verse, in which the first or the last letters of the lines, in their order, or of words, one in each line, form a name or sentence. 2. (Poetry.) A Hebrew poem in which the…A-crŏs'tic-al-ly, adv. p. 16In the manner of an acrostic.Ăc'ro-te-leū'tic, n. p. 16(Eccl.) Added to the end of a psalm or hymn, as a doxology.Ăc'ro-ter, n. p. 16(Arch.) Same as ACROTERIUM.Ăc'ro-tē'ri-al, a. p. 16Pertaining to the acroter; as, acroterial ornaments. P. Cyc.Ăc'ro-tē'ri-ŭm, n. p. 16(Arch.) (a.) A small pedestal, usually without a base, anciently placed at the two extremes, or in the middle of pediments or frontispieces, serving to support the statues, &c. (b.) A figure placed…A-crŏt'ic, a. p. 16Pertaining to, or affecting, the surface; as, acrotic diseases. Wright.A-crŏt'o-moŭs, a. p. 16(Min.) Having a cleavage parallel with the base. Dana.Act, v. i. p. 16To exert power; as, the stomach acts upon food. 2. To be in action or motion; to perform an action or actions; to carry into effect a determination of the will. He hangs between, in doubt to act or…Act, v. t. p. 16To perform, especially upon the stage. Act well your part; there all the honor lies. Pope. That we act our temporal affairs with a desire no greater than our necessity. Bp. Taylor. Industry doth…Act, n. p. 16That which is done or doing; the exercise of power, or the effect, of which power exerted is the cause; performance; deed. That best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered…Ăc'ti-an, a. p. 16Relating to Actium, a town and promontory of Epirus; as, Actian games, which were instituted by Augustus, to celebrate his naval victory over Antony, near that town, and were celebrated every five…Ac-tĭn'i-ă, n. p. 16(Zoöl.) (a.) An animal of the class of Polyps, and family Actinida. From a resemblance to flowers in form and appearance, they are often called animal-flowers and sea-anemones. [See POLYP.] (b.) A…