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.
Ăv/i-gā'to, n. p. 97See ALLIGATOR PEAR.A-vĭgn'on Bĕr'ry p. 97The fruit of the Rhamnus Infectorius, and of other species of the same genus; — so called from the city of Avignon, in France. The berry is smaller than a pea, of a yellowish-green color, and bitter…A-vīle', v. t. p. 97To depreciate. [Obs.] Want makes us know the price of what we avile. B. Jonson.Ā'vis, n. p. 97A class of warm-blooded vertebrated animals, covered with feathers; birds.A-vīse′ or A-vī′so, n. p. 97Advice; intelligence. [Obs.] Howell.A·vise′, v. i. p. 97To consider; to observe; to examine. [Obs.] 2. To recognize. [Obs.] Spenser. 3. To advise; to counsel; to observe. [Obs.] “Are you avised o’ that?” Shak.A-vīse'ful, a. p. 97Watchful; circumspect. [Obs.] “With sharp, aviseful eye.” Spenser.A-vīse'ment, n. p. 97Advisement. [Obs.]A-vĭs'ion, n. p. 97A vision. [Obs.] Chaucer.Ăv'i-toŭs, a. p. 97Pertaining to, or coming from, a grandfather; ancestral. Bailey.Ăv'o·cāt, n. p. 97An advocate;—a term applied to the higher class of French lawyers, corresponding to the English counselor at law, and the Scotch advocate.Ăv'o-cāte, v. t. p. 97To call off or away; to withdraw. [Obs. or rare.] One who . . . avocateth his mind from other occupations. Barrow. He, at last, . . . avocated the cause to Rome. Robertson.Av'o-cā'tion, n. p. 97The act of calling aside, or diverting from some employment. “Blessed impulses to duty, and powerful avocations from sin.” South. 2. The business which calls aside. Visits, business, cards, and I…A-vō'ca-tĭve, a. p. 97Calling off. [Obs.]A-vō'ca-tĭve or Ăv'o-cā'tĭve, n. p. 97That which calls aside; dehortation; dissuasion. Todd.Ăv'o-cā'to, n. p. 97See ALLIGATOR PEAR.Ăv'o-çet or Ăv'o-çette, n. p. 97An aquatic bird, of the genus Recurvirostra and order Grallæ, or waders. The bill of these birds is long, slender, flexible, and bent upward toward the tip. They have very long legs and palmated…A-void', v. t. p. 97To shun; to keep at a distance from or away from; as, to avoid the company of gamesters. What need a man forestall his date of grief, And run to meet what he would most avoid? Milton. 2. To quit or…A-void', v. i. p. 97To retire; to withdraw. [Obs.] David avoided out of his presence. 1 Sam. xviii. 11. 2. (Law.) To become void, vacant, or empty, as a benefice. Ayliffe.A-void'a-ble, a. p. 97Capable of being avoided, shunned, or escaped. Boyle. 2. Capable of being vacated; liable to be annulled. The charters were not avoidable for the king's nonage. Hale.A-void'ance, n. p. 97The act of avoiding or shunning. “The avoidance of pain.” Beattie. 2. The act of becoming vacant, or the state of being vacant; — specifically used for the state of a benefice becoming void by the…A-void'er, n. p. 97One who avoids, shuns, or escapes. 2. The person who carries any thing away, or the vessel in which things are carried away. Johnson.A-void'less, a. p. 97Incapable of being avoided; inevitable; unavoidable. Congreve.Āv'oir-du-pois', a. p. 97A system of weights by which coarser commodities are weighed, such as hay, grain, &c. The standard avoirdupois pound of the United States is equivalent to the weight of 27.7015 cubic inches of…A-vōke', v. t. p. 97To call from or back again. [Obs.] Burnet.Ăv'o-lāte, v. i. p. 97To fly away; to escape; to exhale. [Obs.] Boyle.Ăv'o-lā'tion, n. p. 97The act of flying away; flight; escape. [Rare.] Boyle.Ăv'o-set, n. p. 97See ĂVOCET.A-vouch', v. t. p. 97To declare or assert with positiveness; to affirm in favor of; to maintain or support. “As he there . . . often avouches and professes.” Barrow. Such antiquities could have been avouched for the…A-vouch', n. p. 97Evidence; testimony; declaration. [Obs.] “The sensible and true avouch Of mine own eyes.” Shak.A-vouch'a-ble, a. p. 97Capable of being avouched.A-vouch'er, n. p. 97One who avouches.A-vouch'ment, n. p. 97The act of avouching; declaration. [Obs.] Milton.A-vou'ter-er, n. p. 97An adulterer. [Obs.] Latimer.A-vow', v. t. p. 97To declare openly; to own, acknowledge, or confess frankly; as, a man avows his principles or his crimes. Which I to be the power of Israel's God Avow, and challenge Dagon to the test. Milton. 2.…A-vow', n. p. 97A vow or determination. [Obs.] Gower. 2. Avowal; bold declaration. [Obs.] Dryden.A-vow'a-ble, a. p. 97Capable of being avowed, or openly acknowledged with confidence. Donne.A-vow'a-bly, adv. p. 97In an avowable manner.A-vow'al, n. p. 97An open declaration; frank acknowledgment. “The avowal of such principles.” Hume.A·vow'ance, n. p. 97The act of avowing; avowal. 2. Upholding; defense; vindication. [Obs.] Can my avowance of king-murdering be collected from any thing here written by me? Fuller.A-vow'ant, n. p. 97(Law.) The defendant in replevin, who avows the distress of the goods, and justifies the taking. Cowell.A-vow'ed-ly, adv. p. 97In an open manner; with frank acknowledgment. Clarendon.A-vow-ee', n. p. 97The person who has a right to present to a benefice; the patron; an advowee. See ADVOWSON. Cowell.A-vow'er, n. p. 97One who avows.A-vow'ry, n. p. 97(Law.) The act of the distrainer of goods, who, in an action of replevin, avows and justifies the taking in his own right. Blackstone. When an action of replevin is brought, the distrainer either…A-vow'try, n. p. 97See ADVOWTRY.A-voy'er, n. p. 97The chief magistrate of imperial towns, and of the Swiss cities. [Obs.]A-vŭlsed', a. p. 97Plucked or pulled off. Shenstone.A-vŭl'sion, n. p. 97A tearing asunder; a forcible separation. “The avulsion of two polished superficies.” Locke. 2. A fragment torn off. Barrow. 3. (Law.) The sudden removal of lands or soil from the estate of one man…A-vŭn'cu-lar, a. p. 97Of or pertaining to an uncle. Thackeray. “In these rare instances, the law of pedigree, whether direct or avuncular, gives way.” I. Taylor.A-wāit', v. t. p. 97To wait or look out for; to expect. Betwixt the rocky pillars Gabriel sat, Chief of th' angelic guards, awaiting night. Milton. 2. To be in store for; to attend; to be ready for; as, a glorious…A-wâit', n. p. 97A waiting for; ambush. [Obs.] Spenser.A-wâit', adv. p. 97In wait. [Obs.] Tyndale.A-wāke', v. t. p. 97To rouse from sleep; to wake; to awaken. I go that I may awake him out of sleep. John xi. 11. 2. To arouse from a state resembling sleep, as from death, stupidity, or inaction; to put into action, or…A-wāke′, v. i. p. 97To cease to sleep; to come out of a state of natural sleep; and, figuratively, out of a state resembling sleep, as out of inaction or death. Awake to righteousness. 1 Cor. xv. 34.A-wāke', a. p. 97Not sleeping; in a state of vigilance or action. Before whom awake I stood. Milton.A-wäk'en, v. t. & i. p. 97To rouse from sleep or torpor; to awake; to wake. Already to awaken whom thou nam'st. Cooper. Their consciences are thoroughly awakened. Tillotson. Syn.—To arouse; excite; stir up; call forth.A-wäk'en-er, n. p. 98He who, or that which, awakens.A-wāk'en-ing, p. a. p. 98Rousing from sleep, in a natural or figurative sense; exciting; as, an awakening discourse; the awakening dawn.A-wăk'en-ing, n. p. 98The act of awaking, or ceasing to sleep; specifically, a revival of religion, or more general attention to religion than usual. Tracy.