Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
As′i-nē′go, n. p. 81A foolish, stupid fellow. Mason.Ăs'i-nine, a. p. 81Belonging to, or having the qualities of, the ass, as stupidity and obstinacy. “Asinine nature.” B. Jonson. “Asinine feast.” Milton.A-sĭ'ti-a, n. p. 81(Med.) Want of appetite; loathing of food. Dunglison.Ask, v. t. p. 81To request; to seek to obtain by words; to petition; — with of, in the sense of from, before the person addressed, or for before the thing desired. Ask counsel of God. Judg. xviii. 5. 2. To require…Ask, v. i. p. 81To request or petition;—usually followed by for; as, ask for bread. Ask, and it shall be given you. Matt. vii. 7. 2. To inquire, or seek by request;—sometimes followed by after. Wherefore dost thou…A-skănce' or A-skānt', adv. p. 81Sideways; obliquely. “They dart away, they wheel askance.” Beattie. My palfrey eyed them askance. Landor.Ask'er, n. p. 81[From ask.] One who asks; a petitioner; an inquirer. 2. [A corruption of A-S. athece, lizard, newt.] A water newt. [Also written ask.] Johnson.A-skew’, adv. p. 81With a wry look; aside; askant; sometimes indicating scorn, or contempt, or envy. Spencer.A-skīle', adv. p. 81Same as ASKEW. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.A-slāke′, v. t. p. 81To slacken; to mitigate. [Obs.] Spenser.As-lā'ni, n. p. 81A Turkish silver coin worth from 115 to 120 aspers. The name is given to the Dutch dollar in some parts of the Levant. Buchanan.A-slānt', a. or adv. p. 81Toward one side; in a slanting direction; obliquely. The shaft drove through his neck aslant. Dryden.A-sleep', a. p. 81In a state of sleep; at rest. “Fast asleep the giant lay supine.” Dryden. Hence, 2. (Fig.) In the sleep of the grave; in a state of death. Concerning them which are asleep . . . sorrow not, even as…A-sleep', adv. p. 81Into a state of sleep, or of death. By whispering winds soon lulled asleep. Milton. For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning. 2 Pet. iii. 4.A-slōpe', adv. p. 81With leaning or inclination; obliquely; with declivity or descent, as a hill; declining from an upright direction. Set them not upright, but aslope. Bacon.A-slŭg', adv. p. 81In a sluggish manner. [Obs.] Fotherby.As'ma-tōg'ra-phy, n. p. 81The art of writing songs; composition of lyric poems. [Rare.]Ăs/mo-nē'an, a. p. 81Pertaining to Asmoneus, the father of Simon, and chief of the Asmoneans, a family that reigned over the Jews 126 years; as, the Asmonean dynasty. [Written also Asmonæan.]As'mo-nē'an, n. p. 81One of the family of Asmoneus.A-sō'ma-toŭs, a. p. 81Without a material body; incorporeal. Todd.A-sōak', a. p. 81In a state of soaking in water.Asp, n. p. 81(Zöol.) A small, hooded, and poisonous serpent of Egypt and Libya, whose bite is fatal. It is the Coluber haje, first figured by Savigny in his work on Egypt.As-păl'a-thŭs, n. p. 81(Bot.) A genus of plants of the natural order Leguminosae. The species are chiefly natives of the Cape of Good Hope.As-păr'a-gĭne, n. p. 81(Chem.) A crystallized substance, first discovered in the juice of asparagus, and identical with Malamide.Ăs-pa-rāg'i-noŭs, a. p. 81Pertaining or allied to, or resembling, the asparagus. Brande.As-păr'a-gŭs, n. p. 81(Bot.) A genus of perennial plants belonging to the nat. ord. Liliaceæ; specifically, the Asparagus officinalis, a species cultivated in gardens for the sake of the young and tender shoots, which…Ăs'pect, n. p. 81Act of seeing; vision; gaze; glance. [Obs. or rare.] His aspect was bent on the ground. W. Scott. 2. Look, or particular appearance of the face; countenance; mien; air. “To glad your aspects once…As-pēct', v. t. p. 81To behold; to view. [Obs.] Temple.As-pēct'a-ble, a. p. 81Capable of being seen or looked at; visible. Ray. And surging seas, and aspectable stars. E. B. Browning.As-pēct'ant, a. p. 81(Her.) Borne face to face, or opposite to each other, as two beasts or birds. Ogilvie.As-pēct'ed, a. p. 81Having an aspect. [Obs.] B. Jonson.As-pēc'tion, n. p. 81The act of viewing. [Obs.] Brown.Asp'en or Asp, n. p. 81(Bot.) One of several species of poplar bearing this name, especially the Populus tremula, so called from the trembling of its leaves, which move with the slightest impulse of the air.Ăsp'en, a. p. 81Pertaining to the aspen, or resembling it; made of aspen wood. Nor aspen leaves confess the gentlest breeze. Gay.As'per, a. p. 81Rough; rugged. [Obs.] “An asper sound.” Bacon.As'per, n. p. 81(Greek Gram.) The rough breathing; a mark (') placed over an initial vowel-sound or over ῾, to show that it is aspirated; i. e., pronounced with h before it; thus ὡς, pronounced hōs, ῥήτωρ…Ăs'per, n. p. 81A Turkish coin, of which three make a medine. Its value is a little over one cent.Ăs'per-āte, v. t. p. 81To make rough or uneven. [Obs.] “The asperated part of its surface.” Boyle.Ăs/per-ā'tion, n. p. 81A making rough. [Obs.] Bailey.As'per-geoire', n. p. 81A sprinkling with holy water.As'per-gill or As'per-gil'lus, n. p. 81The brush used in the Roman Catholic church for sprinkling holy water on the people. 2. (Bot.) A genus of cryptogamous plants resembling the aspergill in form. Loudon.Ăs/per-gil'li-form, a. p. 82(Bot.) Resembling the aspergillus, a brush used to sprinkle holy water in Roman Catholic churches; as, an aspergilliform stigma. Gray.As'per-i-fō'li-ate, a. p. 82(Bot.) Having rough leaves. The term asperifoliate has been applied, by different botanists, to a natural family of plants which now form the natural order Borragineæ.Ăs'per-i-fō'li-ōŭs, a. p. 82(Bot.) Having leaves rough to the touch; asperifoliate.As-pĕr'i-ty, n. p. 82Roughness of surface; unevenness; — opposed to smoothness. “The asperities of dry bodies.” Boyle. 2. Roughness or harshness of sound; that quality which grates upon the ear; raucity. Warton. 3.…A-spĕr'moŭs, a. p. 82(Bot.) Destitute of seeds.As'per-nā'tion, n. p. 82Disregard; contempt. (Obs.) Bailey.As'per-oŭs, a. p. 82Rough; uneven. [Obs.] Black and white are the most asperous and unequal of colors. Boyle.As-pẽrse', v. t. p. 82To sprinkle on or over. [Obs.] Heywood. 2. To bespatter with foul reports or false and injurious charges; to tarnish in point of reputation or good name; to slander or calumniate; as, to asperse a…As-pẽrs'er, n. p. 82One who asperses or vilifies another.As-pẽr'sion, n. p. 82A sprinkling, as of water or dust, in a literal sense. Behold an immersion, not an aspersion. Bp. Taylor. 2. The spreading of calumnious reports or charges which tarnish reputation, like the…As-pẽrs'ive or As-pẽrs'o-ry, a. p. 82Tending to asperse; defamatory.As-pĕrs'ive-ly, adv. p. 82By way of aspersion. “Detractions which the ignorant may aspersively cast thereon.” Drake.As'per-sō'ri-ŭm, n. p. 82The stoop or basin for holy water in Roman Catholic churches.As-phālt' or As-phālt'um, n. p. 82Mineral pitch, Jew's pitch, or compact native bitumen. It is brittle, of a black or brown color and high luster on a surface of fracture; it melts and burns when heated, leaving no residue. It occurs…As-phālt', v. t. p. 82To cover with asphalt; as, to asphalt a roof.As-phălt'e', n. p. 82Asphaltic mastic. See ASPHALT, def. 2.As-phält'ic, a. p. 82Pertaining to asphaltum, or containing it; bituminous. “Asphaltic pool.” “Asphaltic slime.” Milton.As-phālt'ite, a. p. 82Pertaining to, or containing, asphaltum. Bryant.As'pho-del, n. p. 82(Bot.) A perennial plant of the genus Asphodelus, cultivated for the beauty of its flowers. Pansies, and violets, and asphodel. Milton.