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.
A-hūll', adv. p. 32(Naut.) With the sails furled, and the helm lashed;—applied to ships in a storm. Totten.Ä'i, n. p. 32(Zoöl.) The common three-toed sloth; a species of Bradypus. Baird.Aid, v. t. p. 32To support, either by furnishing strength or means to effect a purpose, or to prevent or remove evil; to help; to assist; as, Heaven aids those who aid themselves. Syn.—To help; assist; support…Aid, n. p. 32Help; succor; support; assistance; relief. “An unconstitutional mode of obtaining aid.” Hallam. 2. The person or thing that aids or yields support; a helper; an auxiliary. Dryden. Let us make unto…Aid'ance, n. p. 32Aid. [Rare.] The means and aidances supplied by the Supreme Reason. Coleridge.Aid’ant, a. p. 32Helping; helpful; supplying aid. [Rare.] Shak.Aid'-de-camp, n. p. 32(Mil.) An officer selected by a general to carry orders, also to represent him in correspondence and in directing movements.Āid'er, n. p. 32One who helps; an assistant or auxiliary.Āid'less, a. p. 32Helpless; without aid. Tennyson.Āid'-mā'jor, n. p. 32The adjutant of a regiment. [Obs.]Āi'gre, n. p. 32See EAGRE.Āi'gret or Āi-grĕtte', n. p. 32(Ornith.) The small white heron;—commonly called egret. 2. (Bot.) A feathery crown of seed. See EGRET. 3. A plume or an ornament for the head composed of feathers, or of precious stones, in the form…Aig'uil lĕtte', n. p. 32A point or tag at the end of a fringe or lace. 2. (Mil.) (a.) A tagged point hanging from the shoulder upon the breast, in some military uniforms in Europe. (b.) A braid or cord worn from one…Aig'u-let or Aig'let, n. p. 32A tag or point. “Golden aigulets.” Spenser.Aik'raw, n. p. 32A species of lichen, or moss.Ail, v. t. p. 32To affect with pain or uneasiness, either physical or mental; to trouble; to be the matter with; to affect in any way;—used to express some uneasiness or affection, whose cause is unknown; as, what…Ail, v. i. p. 32To be affected with pain or uneasiness of any sort; to be indisposed or in trouble; as, a person is ailing.Ai-lān’tus, n. p. 32(Bot.) A genus of beautiful trees, natives of the East. There are two kinds, one having an offensive odor, the other not. Loudon. ☞ Commonly, but improperly, spelt ailanthus.Ail-lĕtte', n. p. 32A small square shield on the shoulders of knights, being the prototype of the modern epaulet. Fairholt.Ail’ment, n. p. 32Indisposition; morbid affection of the body; — not applied ordinarily to acute diseases.Ăim, v. i. p. 32To point with a missive weapon; as, to aim at an enemy. 2. To direct the intention or purpose; to attempt the accomplishment of a purpose; — followed by at; as, to aim at distinction. “Aim’st thou at…Ăim, v. t. p. 32To direct or point, as a weapon; to direct to a particular object; as, to aim a musket or an arrow, the fist or a blow; to aim a satire or a reflection at some person or vice.Aim, n. p. 32The pointing or direction of a missile weapon; the direction of any thing to a particular point or object, with a view to strike or affect it, as of a spear, a blow, a discourse, or remark. “Each at…Āim’er, n. p. 32One who aims, directs, or points.Āim'less, a. p. 32Without aim; as, an aimless life.Aim'less-ly, adv. p. 32Without aim, or purpose.Air (4), n. p. 32The fluid which we breathe, and which surrounds the earth; the atmosphere. It is invisible, inodorous, insipid, transparent, compressible, elastic, and ponderable. ☞ By the ancient philosophers, air…Air, v. t. p. 32To expose to the air for the purpose of cooling, refreshing, exhibiting, or purifying; to ventilate; as, to air a room. “It were good wisdom . . . that the jail were aired.” Bacon. Were you but…Air'a, n. p. 32(Bot.) A genus of grasses; hair-grass.Air'-bal-lōon, n. p. 32See BALLOON.Air'-bāth, n. p. 32An arrangement for drying substances in air of any desired temperature.Air'-bĕd, n. p. 32A case of india-rubber cloth, or other material, made air-tight, and inflated through tubes closed by stop-cocks. Simmonds.Air'-blād'der, n. p. 32A peculiar organ in some kinds of fishes, containing air, by which they are enabled to maintain their equilibrium in the water. Baird.Air'-built, a. p. 32Erected in the air; having no solid foundation; chimerical; as, an air-built castle.Air'-cās'ing, n. p. 32An air-tight casing around a pipe, &c., at a little distance from it, intended to secure the interposition of air as a non-conductor of heat or cold.Air'-cĕll, n. p. 32A cavity containing air. 2. (Bot.) A cavity in the cellular tissue of plants, containing air only. 3. (Physiol.) A receptacle of air in various parts of the system, as a cavity in the cellular tissue…Air'-chām'ber, n. p. 32A cavity containing air to act as a spring for equalizing the flow of a liquid in hydraulic machines. The cut is a section of a locomotive pump. The water is drawn by the action of the plunger in the…Air'-cush'ion, n. p. 32An air-tight cushion which can be inflated. Francis.Âir'-drāin, n. p. 32(Arch.) A cavity between the external walls of a building, to prevent dampness. Wade.Air'-drawn, a. p. 32Drawn or painted in air; imaginary. “This is the air-drawn dagger.”Air'-ēn'gīne, n. p. 32An engine put in motion by hot air instead of steam; a caloric engine. Nichol.Air'er, n. p. 32One who exposes to the air. 2. A frame on which clothes are aired or dried.Air'-es-cāpe', n. p. 32A contrivance for letting off air from water-pipes. Francis.Air'-foun'tain, n. p. 32A contrivance for producing a jet of water by means of compressed air.Āir'-gŭn, n. p. 32An instrument resembling a musket, to discharge bullets by the elastic force of the air, compressed into a metallic globe by means of a condenser. Air-gun.Air'-hōld'er, n. p. 32An instrument for holding air, for the purpose of counteracting the pressure of a decreasing column of mercury. Davy. 2. A gasometer.Aĭr'-hōle, n. p. 32A hole to admit or discharge air. 2. (Founding.) A hole or cavity in a casting, produced by bubbles of air in the liquid metal.Air'i·ly, adv. p. 32In an airy manner.Air'i-ness, n. p. 32The state or quality of being airy; openness or exposure to the air; as, the airiness of a country-seat. 2. Lightness of spirits; gayety; levity; as, the airiness of young persons.Āir'ing, n. p. 32A walk or ride in the open air; a short excursion. 2. An exposure to air, or to a fire, for warming or drying, &c.; as, the airing of linen, or of a room.Air'-jăck'et, n. p. 32A jacket having air-tight cells, or cavities which can be filled with air, to render persons buoyant in swimming.Air'less, a. p. 32Not open to a free current of air; wanting fresh air, or communication with open air.Air'ling, n. p. 32A thoughtless, gay person. [Obs. and rare.] “Slight airlings.” B. Jonson.Air'-ma-chîne', n. p. 32An apparatus for ventilating mines.Âir'-pipe, n. p. 32A pipe used to draw foul air from a ship's hold, mines, and other close places. Grier.Âir'-plănt, n. p. 32(Bot.) A plant which lives and grows for a considerable time without being rooted in earth, or in any other substance.Âir'-poise, n. p. 32An instrument to measure the weight of the air.Air'-pŭmp, n. p. 32A pump or machine, variously constructed, for exhausting the air from a closed vessel. 2. (Steam-engines.) A pump used to exhaust from a condenser the condensed steam, the water used for condensing…Air'-săc, n. p. 33A receptacle or vesicle of air in birds. Carpenter.Air'-shäft, n. p. 33A passage for air into a mine, usually opened in a perpendicular direction, and meeting the adits or horizontal passages, to cause a free circulation of fresh air through the mine.