Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Ăn'swer, v. t. p. 56To speak or write in return to, as in return to a call or question, or to a speech, declaration, argument, or the like; to respond to. She answers him as if she knew his mind. Shak. So spake the…An'swer, v. i. p. 56To speak or write by way of return, or in reply; to make response. There was no voice, nor any that answered. I Kings xviii. 26. 2. To make a satisfactory response or return; hence, to render…Ăn'swer, n. p. 56Something said or written in return to a call, a question, an argument, an allegation, an address, or the like. A soft answer turneth away wrath. Prov. xv. 1. I called him, but he gave me no answer.…An'swer-a-ble, a. p. 56Capable of being answered; admitting an answer; — usually implying that the answer may be satisfactory. The argument, though subtle, is yet answerable. Johnson. 2. Obliged to answer; liable to be…An'swer-a-ble-ness, n. p. 56The quality of being answerable, liable, responsible, or correspondent.An'swer-a-bly, adv. p. 56In an answerable manner; in due proportion, correspondence, or conformity; suitably.An'swer-er, n. p. 56One who answers.An'swer-less, a. p. 56Having no answer, or impossible to be answered. Byron.Ăn’t p. 56A contraction of an it, that is, if it. See An. [Obs.]An't p. 56A colloquial contraction of am not or are not; as in the phrases I an't, we an't, you an't, &c. He an't follows either the analogy of the others, or is a corruption of he is not.Ant- or An'ti- p. 56A prefix in many words, meaning against, or opposed to.Ant, n. p. 56(Entom.) An emmet; a pismire; a species of hymenopterous insects of the Linnæan genus Formica, which is now made a family of several genera. ☞ Among ants, as among bees, there are neuter or working…An'tā, n. p. 56(Arch.) A species of pilaster used by the Greeks and Romans to terminate the side walls of temples. Ox. Gloss. In antis, having columns between antae, as in certain porticos.Ant-ăc'id (-ăs'id), n. p. 56(Med.) A remedy for acidity of the stomach, as an alkali or absorbent.Ant-ăç'id, a. p. 56Counteractive of acidity.Ant-ăc'rid, n. p. 56That which corrects acrimony.An-tăg'o-nīsm, n. p. 56Opposition of action; counteraction or contrariety of things or principles. Good.An-tăg'ō-nīst, n. p. 56One who contends with another, especially in combat; an adversary; an opponent; a competitor. “Our antagonists in these controversies.” Hooker. Antagonist of heaven’s Almighty King. Milton. 2.…An-tăg'o-nīst, a. p. 56Counteracting; opposing; combating; as, an antagonist muscle.An-tăg'o-nīst'ic or An-tăg'o-nīst'ic-al, a. p. 56Opposing in combat; contending or acting against; as, antagonistic forces; an antagonistic screw in a theodolite. They were distinct, adverse, even antagonistic. Milman.An-tăg'o-nīze, v. i. p. 56To contend; to act in opposition.An-tăg'o-ny, n. p. 56Contest; opposition. [Obs.] The incommunicable antagony that is between Christ and Belial. Milton.An-tăl'gie, a. p. 56Alleviating pain; anodyne. [Rare.] Johnson.Ant-ăl'ka-li, n. p. 56(Med.) A remedy for the purpose of neutralizing alkali, or of counteracting an alkaline tendency in the system. Hooper.Ant-äl'ka-line, a. p. 56Of power to counteract alkalis.Ant'an-a-clā'sis, n. p. 56(Rhet.) (a.) A figure which consists in the designed use of one and the same word in two different senses in the same connection, so as to produce a pleasant effect upon the mind; a play upon words…Antĭ-an-a-gō'je, n. p. 56(Rhet.) A figure which consists in replying to an adversary, by way of recrimination; as, when the accusation of one party is unanswerable, the accused person charges him with the same or other…Ănt'aph-ro-dīs'i-ae, a. p. 56(Med.) Having the quality of extinguishing or lessening venereal desire; antivenereal.Ant'aph-ro-dīs'i-ae, n. p. 56A medicine that lessens or extinguishes the venereal appetite.Ant'aph-ro-dīt'ic, a. p. 56Abating the venereal appetite, or efficacious against the venereal disease; anti-venereal.Ant'aph-ro-dīt'ic, n. p. 56A medicine which abates the venereal appetite, or is good against the venereal disease. Case. Quincy.Ant-ärc'tic, a. p. 56Opposite to the northern or arctic pole; relating to the southern pole or to the region near it, and applied especially to a circle, distant from the pole 23° 28'. Thus we say the antarctic pole…An-tā'rēs, n. p. 57A double star in Scorpio;—called also the Scorpion's Heart.Ănt'ar-thrĭt'ic, a. p. 57Counteracting the gout.Ănt'ar-thrĭt'ic, n. p. 57A remedy against the gout.Ănt'asth-măt'ic, a. p. 57Opposing or counteracting the asthma.Ănt'asth-măt'ic, n. p. 57A remedy for the asthma.Ănt'a-trŏph'ic, n. p. 57A medicine to cure atrophy or consumption. Dunglison.Ȧnt'-beâr or Ȧnt'-ēat'er, n. p. 57(Zoöl.) An edentate animal of tropical America, living on ants. It belongs to the genus Myrmecophaga. ☞ The name ant-bear is applied to the larger species of the genus; that of ant-eater is common to…Ănt'-cătch'er, n. p. 57A kind of bird which lives mainly on ants. Ogilvie.Ăn'te p. 57A Latin preposition, the Gr. ἀντί; A-S. & Goth. and (cf. ANSWER); much used in the composition of English words, especially in words from the Latin and Greek languages. It signifies before in place…Ăn'te-ăct, n. p. 57A preceding act.Ăn'te-al, a. p. 57Being before or in front. Fleming.Ăn'te-çe-dā'ne-oŭs, a. p. 57Antecedent; preceding in time. [Obs.] “Capable of antecedaneous proof.” Barrow.Ăn'te-çēde', v. t. p. 57To go before in time; to precede. [Obs.] Hale.Ăn'te-çēd'ençe, n. p. 57The act or state of going before in time; precedence. Hale. 2. (Astron.) An apparent motion of a planet toward the west, or contrary to the order of the signs.Ăn'te-çēd'en-çy, n. p. 57The act or state of going before; antecedence. Fotherby.Ăn'te-çēd'ent, a. p. 57Going before in time; prior; anterior; preceding; as, an event antecedent to the deluge. Syn.—Prior; anterior; preceding; previous; foregoing.Ăn'te-çēd'ent, n. p. 57That which goes before in time; that which precedes. South. 2. pl. The earlier events of one’s life; previous principles, conduct, course, history. Thackeray. If the troops . . . prove worthy of…Ăn'te-çēd'ent-ly, adv. p. 57Previously; at a time preceding; as, antecedently to conversion. Barrow.Ăn'te-çĕs'sor, n. p. 57One who goes before; a leader; a predecessor. A venerable regard not inferior to any of his antecessors. Wood. Much higher than any of its antecessors. Carlyle. ☞ It was formerly a title given to…Ăn'te-chām'ber, n. p. 57A chamber or apartment before the chief apartment and leading into it, and in which persons wait for audience; an outer chamber.Ăn'te-chăp'el, n. p. 57The part of the chapel through which is the passage to the choir or body of it. Warton.An-tē'cian, n. p. 57See ANTISCIAN.An'te-cour, n. p. 57See AVANT-COURIER.An'te-cŭr'sor, n. p. 57One who runs before; a forerunner; a precursor.An'te-dāte, n. p. 57Prior date; a date antecedent to another. Good. 2. Anticipation. Donne.An'te-dāte, v. t. p. 57To date before the true time; thus, to antedate a deed or a bond, is to give it a date anterior to the true time of its execution. 2. To anticipate; to take before the true time. “ And antedate the…An'te-di-lü'vi-al or An'te-di-lü'vi-an, a. p. 57Before the flood, or deluge, in Noah's time; existing, happening, or relating to what happened, before the deluge; as, the antediluvian world.An'te-di-lū'vi-an, n. p. 57One who lived before the deluge, or flood.