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An American Dictionary of the English Language

by Noah Webster

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.

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  1. Ăl'e-ġer, a.p. 35Gay; cheerful; sprightly. [Obs.] Bacon.
  2. A-lēg'ge', v. t.p. 35To lighten; to lessen; to assuage. [Obs.] “That shall alege this bitter blast.” Spenser.
  3. Ale'-hoof, n.p. 35Ground ivy; — so called as being once a chief ingredient in making ale.
  4. Āle'-house, n.p. 35A house where ale is retailed; and hence, a tippling-house. Macaulay.
  5. Āle'-knight, n.p. 35A pot companion. Camden.
  6. Ăl'e-măn'nic, a.p. 35Belonging to the Alemanni, an ancient people of Germany.
  7. Ăl'e-măn'nic, n.p. 35The language of the Alemanni, or ancient Germans. P. Cyc.
  8. A-lēm'bic, n.p. 35A chemical vessel used in distillation, usually made of glass or metal. The bottom part, containing the liquor to be distilled, is called the cu-curbit: the upper part, which receives and condenses…
  9. A-lēm’broth, n.p. 35Among the old chemists, a preparation made by dissolving equal parts of corrosive sublimate and sal-ammoniac in water, and adding carbonate of soda as long as any precipitate was formed; — formerly…
  10. A-lĕngth′, adv.p. 35At full length; along; stretched at full length. Chaucer.
  11. Ä-lep-pīne', n.p. 35(Geog.) A native or an inhabitant of Aleppo, a city of Asiatic Turkey.
  12. Ä·lep-pīne', a.p. 35(Geog.) Pertaining to Aleppo, or to its inhabitants.
  13. A-lĕrt’, a.p. 35Watchful; vigilant; active in vigilance. Hence the military phrase, upon the alert, upon the watch, guarding against surprise or danger. 2. Brisk; nimble; moving with celerity. “An alert young…
  14. A-lĕrt'ness, n.p. 35The state or quality of being alert; briskness; nimbleness; sprightliness; levity.
  15. Ale'-sĭl'ver, n.p. 35A duty paid to the lord mayor of London by the sellers of ale within the city.
  16. Ale'-stāke, n.p. 35A stake set as a sign before an ale-house. Chaucer.
  17. Ale'-tast'er, n.p. 35An officer, in former times, appointed in every court leet, and sworn, to inspect ale, beer, and bread, and examine the quality and quantity within the precincts of the lordship. Covell.
  18. A-lĕtte', n.p. 35The face of the pier of an arch, extending from the arris of the reveal; especially that portion betwixt the arris of the reveal and the pillar or pilaster which is used to decorate the arch.
  19. A·leu'ro-mān'cy, n.p. 35A kind of divination by meal, used by the ancients. Encyc. Brit.
  20. A'leu-rōm'e-ter, n.p. 35An instrument invented for determining the quantity of gluten in flour. Eng. Cyc.
  21. A-leü'tian or A-leü'tie, a.p. 35(Geog.) Designating certain isles in the Pacific Ocean, eastward of Kamtschatka, extending north-eastward toward America. Tooke.
  22. A-lew’, n.p. 35Shouting. See HALLOO. [Obs.] Spenser.
  23. Āle'-wife, n.p. 35A woman who keeps an ale-house. (Gay.)
  24. Ale’wife, n.p. 35(Ichth.) An American fish, resembling the herring; Clupea serrata.
  25. Ăl'ex-ăn'der, n.p. 35(Bot.) A name given to two species of the genus Smyrnium, formerly cultivated and used as celery now is.
  26. Ăl'ex-ān'dri-an, a.p. 35Belonging to Alexandria or to Alexander; as, the Alexandrian library.
  27. Al'ex-ăn'drine, n.p. 35A kind of verse consisting of twelve syllables;—so called from a poem written in French on the life of Alexander. A needless Alexandrine ends the song, That like a wounded snake drags its slow length…
  28. A-lĕx′i-phăr′mie or A-lĕx′i-phăr′mie-al, a.p. 35(Med.) Expelling or resisting poison, antidotal.
  29. A-lĕx′/ĭ-phär′/mĭe, n.p. 35A medicine that is intended to obviate the effects of poison or infection. — This would more properly be written Alexipharmac, in accordance with its etymology.
  30. A-lĕx/ĭ-tĕr'ie or A-lĕx/ĭ-tĕr'ie-al, a.p. 35Resisting poison; obviating the effects of venom.
  31. A-lĕx/ĭ-tĕr'ĭe, n.p. 35A medicine to resist the effects of poison, or the bite of venomous animals;—nearly synonymous with alexipharmic.
  32. Āl'fet, n.p. 35A vessel of boiling water into which an accused person plunged his arm by way of trial or purgation. Ducange.
  33. Al'gæ, n.p. 35(Bot.) The grand division of cryptogamic plants, embracing sea-weeds or water-plants, as the Fucus, Ulva, and Conferveæ. Loudon.
  34. Ăl'gal, a.p. 35Belonging to the Algæ.
  35. Al’ga-rot or Al’ga-roth, n.p. 35(Med.) A powder obtained from the terchloride of antimony, formerly much used in medicine as an emetic, purgative, and diaphoretic. Dunglison.
  36. Al'gates, adv.p. 35Always; forever; entirely. “Una now he al-gates must forego.” Spenser. Still used in the north of England. 2. By all means; at all events. [Obs.] And therefore would I should be algates slain; For…
  37. Ăl'ge-brā, n.p. 35(Math.) That branch of analysis whose object is to investigate the relations and properties of numbers by means of letters and other symbols. Davies & Peck.
  38. Al'ge-brā'ic or Al'ge-brā'ic-al, a.p. 35Pertaining to algebra; containing an operation of algebra, or deduced from such operation; as, algebraic solutions; algebraic characters. Algebraic curve, a curve such that the relation between the…
  39. Ăl'ge-brā'ic-al-ly, adv.p. 35By algebraic process.
  40. Al'ge-brā'ist, n.p. 35One who is versed in the science of algebra.
  41. Āl'ge-bra-ize, v. t.p. 35To perform by algebra, or reduce to algebraic form.
  42. Al-gĕ'ri-an, n.p. 35(Geog.) An inhabitant of the French colonial province of Algeria.
  43. Al-gē'ri-an, a.p. 35(Geog.) Pertaining to Algeria, or to its inhabitants.
  44. Al'ge-rine', n.p. 35(Geog.) A native or an inhabitant of Algiers. 2. (Fig.) A pirate.
  45. Al'ge-rīne', a.p. 35(Geog.) Pertaining to Algiers, or to its inhabitants.
  46. Ăl'gid, a.p. 35Very cold. [Obs.] Bailey.
  47. Al·gid'i-ty or Al'gid-ness, n.p. 35Chilliness; coldness. [Obs.]
  48. Al-gĭf'ic, a.p. 35Producing cold.
  49. Al'gol, n.p. 35(Astron.) A fixed star, in Medusa's head, in the constellation Perseus, remarkable for its periodic variation in brightness.
  50. Al-gōl'o-gy, n.p. 35[Lat. algæ, sea-weed, and Gr. λόγος, discourse. (Bot.) An account of Algæ, or sea-weeds.
  51. Al'gor, n.p. 35(Med.) A chilled or cold state of the human system; rigor. Dunglison.
  52. Al'go-rism or Al'go-rithm, n.p. 35(Math.) The art of computing in any particular way; as, the algorithm of numbers, surds, &c. Davies & Peck.
  53. Ăl'gōse, a.p. 35Cold in a high degree. [Obs.] Bailey.
  54. Al'gōus, a.p. 35Pertaining to the algæ, or sea-weeds; abounding with, or like, sea-weed.
  55. Al'gua-zīl', n.p. 35An inferior officer of justice in Spain; a constable. Prescott.
  56. Al-hăm'bresque, a.p. 35After the fanciful manner of the ornaments in the Alhambra, a palace of the Moorish kings at Granada, affording an unusually fine exhibition of Saracenic architecture. Art Journal.
  57. Al-hēn'na, n.p. 35See HENNA.
  58. A'li-as, adv.p. 35Otherwise; otherwise called; — a term used in legal proceedings to connect the different names of a party who has gone by two or several, and whose true name is for any cause doubtful; as, Smith…
  59. A'li-as, n.p. 35(Law.) (a.) A second or further writ which is issued after a first writ has expired without effect. (b.) Another name; an assumed name.
  60. Ăl'i-bi, n.p. 35(Law.) When a person, on trial for a crime, shows that he was in another place at the time when the act was committed, he is said to prove an alibi; hence, the plea, allegation, or defense under…