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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.

  1. Ănch'ored, p. a.p. 50(Her.) Having the extremities turned back, like the flukes of an anchor; as, an anchored cross. [Sometimes spelt ancred.]
  2. An'cho-ress, n.p. 50A female anchoret. Fairfax. And there, a saintly anchoress, she dwelt. Wordsworth.
  3. An'eh'o-ret or An'eh'o-rite, n.p. 50One who retires from society into a desert or solitary place, to avoid the temptations of the world, and devote himself to religious duties; a hermit; a recluse. Our Savior himself . . . did not…
  4. An'cho-rĕt'ic or An'cho-rĕt'ic-al, a.p. 50Pertaining to an anchoret or hermit, or to his mode of life.
  5. An'chor-hōld, n.p. 50The hold or gripe of an anchor; security.
  6. Ănch'or-ice, n.p. 50Ice formed at the bottom of running streams, and thus attached or anchored to the ground; ground-ice. Denny.
  7. An'chor-it'ess, n.p. 50A female anchorite. [Obs.] Pega, his sister, an anchoritess, led a solitary life not far from him. Fuller.
  8. An-chō'vy, n.p. 50A small fish, about three inches in length, of the Herring family (species Engraulis encrasicolus), caught in vast numbers in the Mediterranean, and pickled for exportation.
  9. An-chō'vy-peār, n.p. 50(Bot.) A plant and its fruit found in the West Indies; the Grias cauliflora. The fruit resembles the mango in taste, and, like it, is sometimes pickled when green. Encyc. of Dom. Econ.
  10. An'chu-sīne, n.p. 50(Chem.) A resinoid coloring matter obtained from alkanet root.
  11. An'chy-lōse, v. t.p. 50To unite or fix immovably; to stiffen; to make fast. Owen.
  12. Anchy-lō'sis, n.p. 50(Med.) Stiffness of a joint; immobility of a joint naturally movable. Dunglison.
  13. An'cient, a.p. 50Old; that happened or existed in former times, usually at a great distance of time; as, ancient authors; ancient days. Witness those ancient empires of the earth. Milton. Gildas Albanius . . . much…
  14. An'cient, n.p. 51pl. Those who lived in former ages, as opposed to the moderns. 2. pl. Very old men. Hence, (a.) Governors; rulers. “The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people.” Isa. iii. 13.…
  15. An'cient-ly, adv.p. 51In ancient times; in times long since past.
  16. Ăn'cient-ness, n.p. 51The state of being ancient; antiquity; existence from old times.
  17. An'cient-ry, n.p. 51Dignity of birth; the honor of ancient lineage. “His father being a gentleman of more ancientry than estate.” Fuller.
  18. An'cient-y, n.p. 51Age; antiquity. [Obs.] Martin. 2. In some old English statutes and authors, eldership or seniority. 14 Henry III.
  19. An-cī'le, n.p. 51(Rom. Antiq.) The sacred shield of Mars, said to have fallen from heaven in the reign of Numa. Adams.
  20. Ăn'cil-la-ry, a.p. 51Subservient or subordinate, like a handmaid. The Convocation of York seems to have been always considered as inferior, and even ancillary, to the greater province. Hallam. Ancillary administration…
  21. An-cip’i-tal, a.p. 51(Bot.) Two-edged; compressed, and forming two opposite angles, as a stem of blue-grass. Gray.
  22. An-cĭp'i-tous, a.p. 51See ANCIPITAL.
  23. An'cle, n.p. 51See ANKLE.
  24. Ăn'cōme, n.p. 51A small ulcerous swelling, coming suddenly. Boucher.
  25. An'con, n.p. 51(Anat.) The olecranon, or elbow; the larger posterior process at the upper end of the ulna.
  26. An'con or An'cône, n.p. 51(Arch.) (a.) An elbow, or angle, or corner stone; one of the corners or quoins of walls, cross-beams, or rafters. Gwilt. (b.) A bracket supporting a cornice, as of doorways; frequently used merely as…
  27. An'co-ne'us, n.p. 51(Anat.) A muscle which assists in extending the arm. Ogilvie.
  28. An'co-noid, a.p. 51Elbow-like;—applied to a process of the cubit. Ogilvie.
  29. An'co-ny, n.p. 51(Iron Works.) A piece of half-wrought iron, in the shape of a bar in the middle, but rude and unwrought at the ends.
  30. And, conj.p. 51A particle which expresses the relation of addition. It may connect words merely; as, three and four are seven; or full sentences, as, the sun shines, and the air is mild.
  31. An'da-ba-tĭsm, n.p. 51Doubt; uncertainty. [Obs.] Sheffield.
  32. An'da-lu'site, n.p. 51(Min.) A mineral, occurring usually in thick rhombic prisms, nearly square, of a grayish or pale reddish tint, composed of silica and alumina. Its name is derived from Andalusia, in Spain, where it…
  33. An-dān’te, a.p. 51[It. andante, p. pr. of andare, to go. Andare is derived from Lat. ambulare, but under the influence of Ger. wenden, wandern, Eng. to wend, to wander, A-S. wenden, wandelen, (goth. wandjan.) [Mus.]…
  34. An-dān’te, n.p. 51(Mus.) A movement or piece in andante time; as, the andante in Beethoven’s fifth symphony.
  35. An'dan-tī'no, adv.p. 51(Mus.) Less slow than andante; between that and allegretto.
  36. Ăn'da-rae, n.p. 51Red orpiment. Coxe.
  37. An-dē'an, a.p. 51(Geog.) Pertaining to the Andes.
  38. And'iron, n.p. 51In England, an iron at the end of a fire-grate in which the spit turns. Johnson. 2. A utensil for supporting wood in a fireplace; a fire-dog.
  39. An'dor-rēse', n. sing. & pl.p. 51(Geog.) A native inhabitant of the valley of Andorra.
  40. An'dor-rēse', a.p. 51(Geog.) Per-
  41. An'dra-năt'o-my, n.p. 51The dissection of a human body, especially of a male; androtomy. Coxe.
  42. An-drŏg'y-nal or An-drŏg'y-noûs, a.p. 51Having two sexes; being male and female; hermaphroditical. Browne. 2. Hence, having the mental characteristics of both sexes. The truth is, a great mind must be androgynous. Coleridge. 3. (Bot.)…
  43. An-drŏg'y-nal-ly, adv.p. 51With the parts of both sexes. Browne.
  44. An-drŏg'y-nē or An-drŏg'y-nēs, n.p. 51An hermaphrodite. [Obs.] Johnson.
  45. An'droid or An-droid'des, n.p. 51A machine or automaton in the human form, which, by certain contrivances, as springs, weights, &c., performs some of the natural motions of a living man.
  46. An-drŏm'e-dā, n.p. 51(Astron.) A northern constellation, behind Pegasus, Cassiopeia, and Perseus, representing the figure of a woman chained. 2. (Bot.) A genus of ericaceous or heath plants.
  47. An'dron, n.p. 51(Gr. & Rom. Arch.) The apartment appropriated for the males. This was in the lower part of the house. Brande.
  48. Ăn'dro-pĕt'al-ōŭs, a.p. 51(Bot.) Produced by the conversion of the stamens into petals, as double flowers, like the garden ranunculus. Brande.
  49. An-drŏph'a-gi, n. pl.p. 51Man-eaters; anthropophagi. [Rare.] Beloe.
  50. An-drōph'a-goŭs, a.p. 51Inclined to cannibalism.
  51. Ăn'dro-phōre, n.p. 51(Bot.) The stalk or united stalks of a stamen. Gray.
  52. Ăn'dro-sphĭnx, n. pl.p. 51[Gr. ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός, man, and σφίγξ, sphinx. (Egypt. Art.) A lion with a human head.
  53. An'dro-spōre, n.p. 51(Nat. Hist.) A spore of the algæ which has male functions. Dana.
  54. An-drŏt'o-my, n.p. 51Dissection of the human body, as distinguished from zoötomy.
  55. Ăn'droŭs, a.p. 51(Bot.) Producing stamens only, without pistils; staminate; male. Ogilvie.
  56. A-nēar', prep.p. 51Near. [Rare.] Much more is needed, so that at last the measure of misery anear us may be correctly taken. L. Taylor.
  57. An'ec-dō'tage, n.p. 51Communication by means of anecdotes, or a collection of anecdotes. [Rare.] All history, therefore, being built partly, and some of it altogether, upon anecdotage, must be a tissue of lies. De Quincey.
  58. Ăn'ec-dō'tal, a.p. 51Pertaining to anecdotes. “Conversation, argumentative or declamatory, narrative or anecdotal.” Prof. Wilson.
  59. Ăn'ec-dōte, n.p. 51A particular or detached incident or fact of an interesting nature; a biographical incident or fragment; a single passage of private life.
  60. Ăn'ec-dōt'ic-al, a.p. 51Pertaining to anecdotes. “Anecdotical traditions.” Bolingbroke.