Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
- 1,538
- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
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…Ac-tĭn'ic, a. p. 16Pertaining to actinism.Ac-tĭn'i-fôrm, a. p. 16Having a radiated form.Ac'tin-ism, n. p. 17(Opt.) That power in the sun's rays by which chemical changes are produced, as in photography.Ae-tĭn'o-chem'is-try, n. p. 17Chemistry in its relations to actinism. Draper.Ac-tĭn'o-grāph, n. p. 17(Opt.) An instrument for measuring and recording the variations in the actinic or chemical force of the solar rays. Nichol.Ăc'tin-oid, a. p. 17Having the form of rays; radiated.Ae-tin'o-lite, n. p. 17(Min.) The bright green variety of hornblende, occurring usually in glassy prismatic crystals, and also fibrous. Dana.Ae-tin'/o-lit'ic, a. p. 17Pertaining to, resembling, or containing, actinolite. Dana.Ăc'ti-nōm'e-ter, n. p. 17(Opt.) An instrument for measuring the intensity of the sun's actinic rays. Nichol.Ac-tin'o-mét'rie, a. p. 17Belonging to the measurement of actinic force or influence.Ac'ti-nŏph'o-roūs, a. p. 17Having straight projecting spines. Dana.Ac'tion, n. p. 17A process or condition of acting or moving, as opposed to rest; exertion of power or force, as when one body acts on another; or the effect of power exerted on one body by another; motion produced…Ac'tion-a-ble, a. p. 17Admitting a suit, or the bringing of an action at law which will lie; as, to call a man a thief is actionable.Ăc'tion-a-bly, adv. p. 17In an actionable manner; in a manner that may subject to legal process.Ac'tion-a-ry or Ac'tion-ist, n. p. 17(Com.) A proprietor of stock in a joint-stock company; one who owns actions or shares of stock.