AB'ACIST, noun One that casts accounts; a calculator.

ABACK, adverb [At, on or towards the back. See Back]

Towards the back; on the back part; backward. In seamen's language it signifies the situation of the sails, when pressed back against the mast by the wind.

Taken aback is when the sails are carried back suddenly by the wind.

Laid aback is when the sails are purposely placed in that situation to give the ship sternway.

AB'ACOT, noun The cap of State, formerly used by English Kings, wrought into the figure of two crowns.

ABAC'TOR, noun [Latin from abigo, ab and ago, to drive.]

In law, one that feloniously drives away or steals a herd or numbers of cattle at once, in distinction from one that steals a sheep or two.

AB'ACUS, noun [Latin anything flat, as a cupboard, a bench, a slate, a table or board for games; Gr. Usually deduced from the Oriental, abak, dust, because the ancients used tables covered with dust for making figures and diagrams.]

1. Among the Romans, a cupboard or buffet.

2. An instrument to facilitate operations in arithmetic; on this are drawn lines; a counter on the lowest line, is one; on the next, ten; on the third, a hundred, _e. On the spaces, counters denote half the number of the line above. Other schemes are called by the same name. The name is also given to a table of numbers, cast up as an abacus of addition; and by analogy, to the art of numbering, as in Knighton's Chronicon.

3. In architecture, a table constituting the upper member or crowning of a column and its capital. It is usually square, but sometimes its sides are arched inwards. The name is also given to a concave molding on the capital of the Tuscan pedestal; and to the plinth above the boultin in the Tuscan and Doric orders.

AB'ACUS PYTHAGORICUS, The multiplication table, invented by Pythagoras.

ABACUS HARMONICUS, The structure and disposition of the keys of a musical instrument.

ABACUS MAJOR, A trough used in mines, to wash ore in.

AB'ADA, noun A wild animal of Africa, of the size of a steer, or half grown colt, having two horns on its forehead and a third on the nape of the neck. Its head and tail resemble those of an ox, but it has cloven feet, like the stag.

ABAD'DON, noun [Heb. Ch. Syr. Sam. to be lost, or destroyed, to perish.]

1. The destroyer, or angel of the bottomless pit. Revelation 9:11.

2. The bottomless pit.

AB'AFT, adverb or preposition [Sax. eft or aeft, again. Hence efter or aefter, after, subsequent; Sax. aeftan, behind in place; to which word be is prefixed - beaeftan, behind, and this word is corrupted into abaft ]

A sea-term signifying in or at the hinder part of a ship, or the parts which lie towards the stern; opposed to afore. Relatively it denotes further aft or towards the stern; as abaft the mainmast. abaft the beam, is in that arch of the horizon which is between a line drawn at right angles with the keel, and the point to which the stern is directed. It is often contracted into aft.

AB'AGUN, noun The name of a fowl in Ethiopia, remarkable for its beauty and for a sort of horn, growing on its head. The word signifies stately Abbot.

ABAISANCE, [See Obeisance.]

ABALIENA'TION, noun The transferring of title to property. [See Alienation.]

ABAN'DON, verb transitive [Fr. abandonner; Sp. and Port. abandonar; It. abbandonare; said to be from ban, and donner, to give over to the ban or proscription; or from a or ab and bandum, a flag or ensign.]

1. To forsake entirely; as to abandon a hopeless enterprize.

Wo to that generation by which the testimony of God shall be abandoned.

2. To renounce and forsake; to leave with a view never to return; to desert as lost or desperate; as to abandon a country; to abandon a cause or party.

3. To give up or resign without control, as when a person yields himself, without restraint, to a propensity; as to abandon one's self to intemperance. Abandoned over and abandoned of are obsolete.

4. To resign; to yield, relinquish, or give over entirely.

Verus abandoned the cares of empire to his wiser colleague.

5. In commerce, to relinquish to insurers all claim to a ship or goods insured, as a preliminary towards recovering for a total loss.

ABAN'DON, noun One who totally forsakes or deserts.

2. A relinquishment. [not used.]

ABAN'DONED, participle passive Wholly forsaken or deserted.

2. Given up, as to a vice; hence, extremely wicked, or sinning without restraint; irreclaimably wicked.

ABAN'DONER, noun One who abandons.

ABAN'DONING, participle present tense Forsaking or deserting wholly; renouncing; yielding one's self without restraint.

ABAN'DONING, noun A forsaking; total desertion

He hoped his past meritorious actions might outweigh his present abandoning the thought of future actions.

ABAN'DONMENT, noun

1. A total desertion; a state of being forsaken.

2. In commerce, the relinquishing to underwriters all the property saved from loss by shipwreck, capture or other peril stated in the policy. This abandonment must be made before the insured can demand indemnification for a total loss.

ABAN'GA, noun The ady; a species of Palmtree. [See Ady.]

ABANNI'TION, noun [Low Lat.]

A banishment for one or two years for manslaughter. [Not used.]

ABAPTIS'TON, noun The perforating part of the trephine, an instrument used in trepanning.

ABA'RE, verb transitive [Sax abarian. See Bare.]

To make bare; to uncover. [Not in use.]

ABARTICULA'TION, noun [See Articulate.]

In anatomy, that species of articulation or structure of joints, which admits of manifest or extensive motion; called also diarthrosis and dearticulation

ABAS', noun A weight in Persia used in weighing pearls, one eighth less than the European carat.

ABA'SE, verb transitive [Fr abaisser, from bas, low, or the bottom; W. bais; Latin and Gr. basis; Eng. base; It. Abbassare; Sp. bare, low. See Abash.]

1. The literal sense of abase is to lower or depress, to throw or cast down, as used by Bacon, 'to abase the eye.' But the word is seldom used in reference to material things.

2. To cast down; to reduce low; to depress; to humble; to degrade; applied to the passions, rank, office, and condition in life.

Those that walk in pride he is able to abase Daniel 4:37.

Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, Matthew 23:12. Job 40:11. 2 Corinthians 11:7.

ABA'SED, participle passive Reduced to a low state, humbled, degraded.

In heraldry, it is used of the wings of eagles, when the tops are turned downwards towards the point of the shield; or when the wings are shut, the natural way of bearing them being spread, with the top pointing to the chief of the angle.

ABA'SEMENT, noun The act of humbling or bringing low; also a state of depression, degradation, or humiliation.

ABASH', verb transitive [Heb. and Ch. bosh, to be confounded, or ashamed.]

To make the spirits to fall; to cast down the countenance; to make ashamed; to confuse or confound, as by exciting suddenly a consciousness of guilt, error, inferiority, _e.

They heard and were abashed.

ABASH'ED, participle passive Confused with shame; confounded; put to silence; followed by at.

ABASH'ING, participle present tense Putting to shame or confusion.

ABASH'MENT, noun Confusion from shame. [Little used.]

ABA'SING, participle present tense Humbling, depressing, bringing low.

ABAS'SI, or ABAS'SIS, noun A silver coin of Persia, of the value of twenty cents, about ten pence sterling.

ABAS'SI, or ABAS'SIS, noun A silver coin of Persia, of the value of twenty cents, about ten pence sterling.

ABA'TABLE, adjective That may or can be abated; as an abatable writ or nuisance.

ABA'TE, verb transitive [Heb. Ch., to beat. The Saxon has the participle gebatod, abated. The prefix is sunk to a in abate and lost in beat. See Class Bd. No. 23, 33.]

1. To beat down; to pull down; to destroy in any manner; as to abate a nuisance.

2. To lessen; to diminish; to moderate; as to abate zeal; to abate pride; to abate a demand; to abate courage.

3. To lessen; to mitigate; as to abate pain or sorrow.

4. To overthrow; to cause to fail; to frustrate by judicial sentence; as to abate a writ.

5. To deject; to depress; as to abate the soul. obsolete

6. To deduct;

Nothing to add and nothing to abate

7. To cause to fail; to annul. By the English law, a legacy to a charity is abated by a deficiency of assets.

8. In Conneticut, to remit, as to abate a tax.

ABA'TE, verb intransitive To decrease, or become less in strength or violence; as pain abates; a storm abates.

2. To fail; to be defeated, or come to naught; as a writ abates. By the civil law a legacy to a charity does not abate by deficiency of assets.

3. In law, to enter into a freehold after the death of the last occupant, and before the heir or devisee takes possession.

4. In horsemanship, to perform well a downward motion. A horse is said to abate or take down his curvets, when, working upon curvets, he puts both his hind legs to the ground at once, and observes the same exactness in all the times.

ABA'TED, participle passive Lessened; decreased; destroyed; mitigated; defeated; remitted; overthrown.

ABA'TEMENT, noun

1. The act of abating; the state of being abated.

2. A reduction, removing, or pulling down as of a nuisance.

3. Diminution, decrease, or mitigation, as of grief or pain.

4. Deduction, sum withdraw, as from an account.

5. Overthrow, failure or defeat, as of a writ.

6. The entry of a stranger into a freehold after the death of the tenant, before the heir or devisee.

7. In heraldry, a mark of dishonor in a coat of arms, by which its dignity is debased for some stain on the character of the wearer.

ABA'TER, noun The person or thing that abates.

ABA'TING, participle present tense Pulling down, diminishing, defeating, remitting.

AB'ATIS,

Rubbish. In fortification, piles of trees, or branches of trees sharpened, and laid with the points outward, in front of ramparts, to prevent assailants from mounting the walls.

ABA'TOR, noun A person who enters into a freehold on the death of the last possessor, before the heir or devisee

AB'ATTIS, noun [from beating or pulling down.]

AB'ATURE, noun [from abate.] Grass beaten or trampled down by a stag in passing.

ABB, noun Among weavers, yarn for the warp. Hence abb-wool is wool for the abb

AB'BA, noun In the Chaldee and Syriac, a father, and figuratively a superior. appen.

In the Syriac, Coptic and Ethiopic churches, it is a title given to the Bishops, and the Bishops bestow the title, by way of distinction, on the Bishop of Alexandria. Hence the title Baba, or Papa, Pope or great father, which the Bishop of Alexandria bore, before the Bishop of Rome.

AB'BACY, noun [from abba, Low Lat, abbatia.] The dignity, rights and privileges of an abbot. It comprehends the government and revenues.

ABBA'TIAL, adjective Belonging to an abbey.

ABBAT'ICAL, adjective Belonging to an abbey.

AB'BE, noun Ab'by, [from abba.]

In a monastic sense, the same as an abbot; but more generally, a title, in Catholic countries, without any determinate rang, office or rights. The abbes are numerous, and generally have some literary attainments; they dress as academics or scholars, and act as instructors, in colleges and private families; or as tutors to young gentlemen on their travels; and many of them become authors.

AB'BESS, noun [from abba.]

A female superior or governess of a nunnery, or convent of nuns, having the authority over the nuns which the abbots have over the Monks. [See Abbey.]

AB'BEY, noun plural abbeys, [from abba.]

A monastery or society of persons of either sex, secluded from the world and devoted to religion. The males are called monks, and governed by an abbot; the females are called nuns, and governed by an abbess. These institutions were suppressed in England by Henry VIII.; but they still exist in Catholic countries.

AB'BOT, noun [formerly abbat, from abba, latinized abbas, or from Heb. plural.]

The superior or governor of an abbey or monastery. Originally monasteries were founded in retired places, and the religious had no concern with secular affairs, being entirely subject to the prelates. But the abbots possessing most of the learning, in ages of ignorance, were called from their seclusion to aid the churches in opposing heresies; monasteries were founded in the vicinity of cities; the abbots became ambitious and set themselves to acquire wealth and honors; some of them assumed the miter, threw off their dependence on the bishops, and obtained seats in parliament. For many centuries, princes and noblemen bore the title of abbots. At present, in catholic countries, abbots are regular, or such as take the vow, and wear the habit of the order; and commendatory, such as are seculars, but obliged, when of suitable age, to take orders. The title is borne also by some persons, who have not the government of a monastery; as bishops, whose sees were formerly abbeys.

AB'BOTSHIP, noun The state of an abbot.

ABBREUVOIR, noun [Fr. from abreuver, to water.]

Among masons, the joint between stones in a wall, to be filled with mortar. [I know not whether it is now used.]

ABBRE'VIATE, verb transitive [from Latin abbrevio, brevio, from brevis, short]

1. To shorten; to make shorter by contracting the parts. [In this sense, not much used, nor often applied to material substances.]

2. To shorten; to abridge by the omission or defalcation of a part; to reduce to a smaller compass; as to abbreviate a writing.

3. In mathematics, to reduce fractions to the lowest terms.

ABBRE'VIATED, participle passive

1. Shortened; reduced in length; abridged.

2. In botany an abbreviated perianth is shorter than the rube of the corol.

ABBRE'VIATING, participle present tense Shortening; contracting in length or into a smaller compass.

ABBREVIA'TION, noun

1. The act of shortening or contracting.

2. A letter or a few letters used for a word; as Gen. for Genesis; U.S.A. for United States of America.

3. The reduction of fractions to the lowest terms.

ABBRE'VIATOR, noun One who abridges or reduces to a smaller compass.

ABBRE'VIATORS, a college of seventy-two persons in the chancery of Rome, whose duty is to draw up the Pope's briefs, and reduce petitions, when granted, to a due form for bulls.

ABBRE'VIATORY, noun Shortening, contracting.

ABBRE'VIATURE, noun A letter or character for shortening; an abridgment, a compend.

AB'DALS, noun The name of certain fanatics in Persia, who, in excess of zeal, sometimes run into the streets, and attempt to kill all they meet who are of a different religion; and if they are slain for their madness, they think it meritorious to die, and by the vulgar are deemed martyrs.

AB'DERITE, noun An inhabitant of Abdera, a maritime town in Thrace. Democritus is so called, from being a native of the place. As he was given to laughter, foolish or incessant laughter, is call abderian.

AB'DICANT, adjective [See Abdicate.] Abdicating; renouncing.

AB'DICATE, verb transitive [Latin abdica; ab and dico, to dedicate, to bestow, but the literal primary sense of dico is to send or thrust.]

1. In a general sense, to relinquish, renounce, or abandon.

2. To abandon an office or trust, without a formal resignation to those who conferred it, or without their consent; also to abandon a throne, without a formal surrender of the crown.

3. To relinquish an office before the expiration of the time of service.

4. To reject; to renounce; to abandon as a right.

5. To cast away; to renounce; as to abdicate our mental faculties [Unusual.]

6. In the civil law, to disclaim a son and expel him from the family, as a father; to disinherit during the life of the father.

AB'DICATE, verb intransitive To renounce; to abandon; to cast off; to relinquish, as a right, power, or trust.

Though a King may abdicate for his own person, he cannot abdicate for the monarchy.

AB'DICATED, participle passive Renounced; relinquished without a formal resignation; abandoned.

AB'DICATING, participle present tense Relinquishing without a formal resignation; abandoning.

ABDICA'TION, noun

1. The act of abdicating; the abandoning of an office or trust, without a formal surrender, or before the usual or stated time of expiration.

2. A casting off; rejection.

AB'DICATIVE, adjective Causing or implying abdication. [Little used.]

AB'DITIVE, adjective [Latin abdo, to hide; ab and do.] Having the power or quality of hiding. [Little used.]

AB'DITORY, noun A place for secreting or preserving goods.

AB'DOMEN, or ABDO'MEN, noun [Latin perhaps abdo and omentum.]

1. The lower belly or that part of the body which lies between the thorax and the bottom of the pelvis. It is lined with a membrane called peritoneum, and contains the stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, bladder and guts. It is separated from the breast internally by the diaphragm, and externally, by the extremities of the ribs. On its outer surface it is divided into four regions - the epigastric, the umbilical, the hypogastric and lumbar.

2. In insects, the lower part of the animal, united to the corslet by a thread. In some species, it is covered with wings, and a case. It is divided into segments and rings, on the sides of which are small spiracles by which the insect respires.

ABDOM'INAL, adjective Pertaining to the lower belly.

ABDOM'INAL, noun plural abdominals. In ichthyology the abdominals are a class of fish whose ventral fins are placed behind the pectoral, and which belong to the division of bony fish. The class contains nine genera - the loche, salmon, pike, argentine, atherine, mullet, flying fish, herring and carp.

ABDOM'INAL RING, or INGUINAL RING, an oblong tendinous ring in both groins through which pass the spermatic cord in men, and the round ligaments of the uterus in women.

ABDOM'INOUS, adjective Pertaining to the abdomen; having a large belly.

ABDU'CE, verb transitive [Latin adduco, to lead away, of ab and duco, to lead. See Duke.]

To draw from; to withdraw, or draw to a different part; used chiefly in anatomy.

ABDU'CENT, adjective Drawing from, pulling back; used of those muscles which pull back certain parts of the body, for separating, opening, or bending them. The abducent muscles, called abductors, are opposed to the adducent muscles or adductors.

ABDUC'TION, noun

1. In a general sense, the act of drawing apart, or carrying away.

2. In surgery, a species of fracture, in which the broken parts recede from each other.

3. In logic, a kind of argumentation, called by the Greeks apagoge, in which the major is evident, but the minor is not so clear, as not to require farther proof. As in this syllogism, 'all whom God absolves are free from sin; God absolves all who are in Christ; therefore all who are in Christ are free from sin.'

4. In law, the taking and carrying away of a child, a ward, a wife, etc. either by fraud, persuasion, or open violence.

ABDUC'TOR, noun In anatomy, a muscle which serves to withdraw, or pull back a certain part of the body; as the abductor oculi, which pulls the eye outwards.

ABEA'R, verb transitive abare, To bear; to behave. obsolete

ABEA'RANCE, noun [from abear, now disused from bear, to carry.] Behavior, demeanor. [Little used.]

ABECEDA'RIAN, noun [a word formed from the first four letters of the alphabet.] One who teaches the letters of the alphabet, or a learner of the letters.

ABECE'DARY, adjective Pertaining to, or formed by the letters of the alphabet.

ABED', adverb [See Bed.] On or in bed.

ABE'LE or ABEL-TREE, noun An obsolete name of the while poplar. [See Poplar.]

ABE'LIANS, ABELO'NIANS or A'BELITES, in Church history, a sect in Africa which arose in the reign of Areadius; they married, but lived in continence after the manner, as they pretended, of Abel, and attempted to maintain the sect by adopting the children of others.

ABE'LIANS, ABELO'NIANS or A'BELITES, in Church history, a sect in Africa which arose in the reign of Areadius; they married, but lived in continence after the manner, as they pretended, of Abel, and attempted to maintain the sect by adopting the children of others.

A'BELMOSK, noun A trivial name of a species of hibiscus, or Syrian mallow. The plant rises on a herbacceous stalk, three or four feet, sending out two or three side branches. The seeds have a musky odor, for which reason the Arabians mix them with coffee.

ABE'LIANS, ABELO'NIANS or A'BELITES, in Church history, a sect in Africa which arose in the reign of Areadius; they married, but lived in continence after the manner, as they pretended, of Abel, and attempted to maintain the sect by adopting the children of others.

ABER'RANCE, [Latin aberrans, aberro, to wander from; of ab and ABER'RANCY, erro, to wander.]

A wandering or deviating from the right way, but rarely used in a literal sense. In a figurative sense, a deviation from truth, error, mistake; and in morals, a fault, a deviation from rectitude.

ABER'RANT, adjective Wandering, straying from the right way. [Rarely used.]

ABERRA'TION, noun [Latin aberratio.]

1. The act of wandering from the right way; deviation from truth or moral rectitude; deviation from a strait line.

2. In astronomy, a small apparent motion of the fixed stars, occasioned by the progressive motion of light and the earth's annual motion in its orbit. By this, they sometimes appear twenty seconds distant from their true situation.

3. In optics, a deviation in the rays of light when inflected by a lens or speculum, by which they are prevented from uniting in the same point. It is occasioned by the figure of the glass, or by the unequal refrangibility of the rays of light.

Crown of aberration a luminous circle surrounding the disk of the sun, depending on the aberration of its rays, by which its apparent diameter is enlarged.

ABER'RING, part, adjective Wandering; going astray.

ABERRUN'CATE, verb transitive [Latin averrunco.] To pull up by the roots; to extirpate utterly. [Not used.]

ABET' verb transitive [Sax. betan, gebatan; properly to push forward, to advance; hence to amend, to revive, to restore, to make better; and applied to fire, to increase the flame, to excite, to promote. Hence to aid by encouraging or instigating. Hence in Saxon, 'Na bete nan man that fyr.' Let no man bet, [better, excite] the fire, LL. Ina. 78.]

1. To encourage by aid or countenance, but now used chiefly in a bad sense. 'To abet an opinion, ' in the sense of support, is used by Bishop Cumberland; but this use is hardly allowable.

2. In law, to encourage, counsel, incite or assist in a criminal act.

ABET', noun The act of aiding or encouraging in a crime. [Not used.]

ABET'MENT, noun The act of abetting.

ABETTED, participle passive Incited, aided, encouraged to a crime.

ABETTING, participle present tense Counselling, aiding or encouraging to a crime.

ABETTOR, noun One who abets, or incites, aids or encourages another to commit a crime. In treason, there are no abettors; all persons concerned being principals.

ABEVACUA'TION, noun [ab and evacuation.]

In medicine, a partial evacuation of morbid humors of the body, either by nature or art.

ABEY'ANCE, noun pronoun abayance. [Norm. abbaiaunce, or abaizance, in expectation; boyance, expectation. Qu. Fr. bayer, to gape, to look a long time with the mouth open; to stand looking in a silly manner. [See Bay]

In expectation or contemplation of law. The fee simple or inheritance of lands and tenements is in abeyance when there is no person in being in whom it can vest; so that it is in a state of expectancy or waiting until a proper person shall appear. Thus if land is leased to a man for life, remainder to another for years, the remainder for years is in abeyance till the death of the lessee, for life.

ABHOR', verb transitive [L abhorreo, of ab and horreo, to set up bristles, shiver or shake; to look terrible.]

1. To hate extremely, or with contempt; to lothe, detest or abominate.

2. To despise or neglect. Psalms 22:24. Amos 6:8.

3. To cast off or reject. Ps. lxxix. 38.

ABHOR'RED, participle passive Hated extremely, detested.

ABHOR'RENCE, noun Extreme hatred, detestation, great aversion.

ABHOR'RENCY, noun Extreme hatred, detestation, great aversion.

ABHOR'RENT, adjective

1. Hating, detesting, struck with abhorrence.

2. Contrary, odious, inconsistent with, expressive of extreme opposition, as, 'Slander is abhorrent to all ideas of justice.' In this sense, it should be always followed by to - abhorrent from is not agreeable to the English idiom.

ABHOR'RENTLY, adverb With abhorrence.

ABHOR'RER, noun One who abhors.

ABHOR'RING, participle present tense Having great aversion, detesting. As a noun, it is used in Isaiah lxvi, for the object of hatred - 'An abhorring to all flesh.'

A'BIB, noun [Heb. swelling, protuberant. To produce the first or early fruit; a full grown ear of corn.]

The first month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year, called also Nisan. It begins at the spring equinox, and answers to the latter part of March and beginning of April. Its name is derived from the full growth of wheat in Egypt, which took place anciently, as it does now, at that season.

ABI'DE, verb intransitive pert. and part. abode.

abada, to be, or exist, to continue; W. bod, to be; to dwell, rest, continue, stand firm, or be stationary for anytime indefinitely. Class Bd. No 7.]

1. To rest, or dwell. Genesis 29:19.

2. To tarry or stay for a short time. Genesis 24:55.

3. To continue permanently or in the same state; to be firm and immovable. Psalms 119:90.

4. To remain, to continue. Acts 27:31. Ecclesiastes 8:15.

ABI'DE, verb transitive

1. To wait for; to be prepared for; to await.

Bonds and afflictions abide me. Acts 20:23.

[For is here understood.]

2. To endure or sustain.

To abide the indignation of the Lord. Joel 2:11.

3. To bear or endure; to bear patiently. 'I cannot abide his impertinence.'

This verb when intransitive, is followed by in or at before the place, and with before the person. 'Abide with me - at Jerusalem or in this land.' Sometimes by on, the sword shall abide on his cities; and in the sense of wait, by far, abide for me. Hosea 3:3. Sometimes by by, abide by the crib. Job 39:9.

In general, abide by signifies to adhere to, maintain defend, or stand to, as to abide by a promise, or by a friend; or to suffer the consequences, as to abide by the event, that is, to be fixed or permanent in a particular condition.

ABI'DER, noun One who dwells or continues.

ABI'DING, participle present tense Dwelling; remaining; continuing; enduring; awaiting.

ABI'DING, noun Continuance; fixed state; residence; an enduring.

ABI'DINGLY, adverb In a manner to continue; permanently.

ABIL'ITY, noun [Latin habilitas, ableness, fitness, from habeo, to have or hold.]

1. Physical power, whether bodily or mental; natural or acquired; force of understanding; skill in arts or science. ability is active power, or power to perform; as opposed to capacity, or power to receive. In the plural, abilities is much used in a like sense; and also for faculties of the mind, and acquired qualifications.

2. Riches, wealth, substance, which are the means, or which furnish the power, of doing certain acts.

They gave after their ability to the work. Ezra 2:69.

3. Moral power, depending on the will - a metaphysical and theological sense.

4. Civil or legal power, the power or right to do certain things, as an ability to transfer property or dispose of effects - ability to inherit. It is opposed to disability.

ABINTEST'ATE, adjective [Latin ab and intestatus - dying without a will, from in and tester, to bear witness; W. tyst; Arm. test, witness. See Test and Testify.]

In the civil law, inheriting the estate of one dying without a will.

ABJECT', verb transitive To throw away; to cast out. obsolete

AB'JECT, adjective [Latin abjectus, from abjicio, to throw away, from ab and jacio, to throw.]

1. Sunk to a low condition; applied to persons or things. Hence.

2. Worthless, mean, despicable, low in estimation, without hope or regard.

AB'JECT, noun A person in the lowest condition and despicable. Psalms 35:15.

ABJECT'EDNESS, noun A very low or despicable condition. [Little used.]

ABJEC'TION, noun A state of being cast away, hence a low state; meanness of spirit; baseness.

AB'JECTLY, adverb In a contemptible manner; meanly; servilely.

AB'JECTNESS, noun the state of being abject; meanness; servility.

ABJURA'TION, noun [See Abjure.]

1. The act of abjuring; a renunciation upon oath; as 'an abjuration of the realm, ' by which a person swears to leave the country, and never to return. It is used also for the oath of renunciation. Formerly in England, felons, taking refuge in a church, and confessing their guilt, could not be arrested and tried, but might save their lives by abjuring the realm; that is by taking an oath to quit the kingdom forever.

2. A rejection or denial with solemnity; a total abandonment; as 'an abjuration of heresy.'

ABJU'RE, verb transitive [Latin abjuro, to deny upon oath, from ab and juro, to swear.]

1. To renounce upon oath; to abandon; as to abjure allegiance to a prince.

2. To renounce or reject with solemnity; to reject; as to abjure errors; abjure reason.

3. To recant or retract.

4. To banish. [Not used.]

ABJU'RED, participle passive Renounced upon oath; solemnly recanted.

ABJU'RER, noun One who abjures.

ABJU'RING, participle present tense Renouncing upon oath; disclaiming with solemnity.

ABJUR'RATORY, adjective Containing abjuration

ABLAC'TATE, verb transitive [Latin ablacto; from ab and lac, milk.] to wean from the breast. [Little used.]

ABLACTA'TION, noun [Latin ab and lae, milk. Lacto, to suckle.]

1. In medical authors, the weaning of a child from the breast.

2. Among ancient gardeners, a method of grafting in which the cion was not separated from the parent stock, till it was firmly united to that in which it was inserted. This is now called grafting by approach or inarching. [See Graft.]

ABLAQUEA'TION, [Latin ablaqueatio, from ab and laquear, a roof or covering.]

A laying bare the roots of trees to expose them to the air and water - a practice among gardeners.

ABLA'TION, noun [Latin ab and latio, a carrying.]

A carrying away. In medicine, the taking from the body whatever is hurtful; evacuations in general. In chimistry, the removal of whatever is finished or no longer necessary.

AB'LATIVE, adjective [Latin ablativus; Latin ablatus, from aufero, to carry away, of ab and fero.]

A word applied to the sixth case of nouns in the Latin language, in which case are used words when the actions of carrying away, or taking from, are signified.

Ablative absolute, is when a word in that case, is independent, in construction, of the rest of the sentence.

ABLE, adjective a'bl. [Latin habitis]

1. Having physical power sufficient; having competent power or strength, bodily or mental; as a man able to perform military service - a child is not able to reason on abstract subjects.

2. Having strong or unusual powers of mind, or intellectual qualifications; as an able minister.

Provide out of all Israel able men. Exodus 18:18.

3. Having large or competent property; or simply have property, or means.

Every man shall give as he is able Deuteronomy 16:17.

4. Having competent strength or fortitude.

He is not able to sustain such pain or affliction.

5. Having sufficient knowledge or skill.

He is able to speak French.

She is not able to play on the piano.

6. Having competent moral power or qualifications.

An illegitimate son is not able to take by inheritance.

AB'LEN, or AB'LET, noun A small fresh water fish, the bleak.

A'BLENESS, noun Ability of body or mind; force; vigor; capability.

AB'LEPSY, noun Want of sight; blindness.

A'BLER, and A'BLEST, comparative and superlative of able.

A'BLER, and A'BLEST, comparative and superlative of able.

AB'LEN, or AB'LET, noun A small fresh water fish, the bleak.

AB'LOCATE, verb transitive [Latin abloco, ab and loco, to let our.] To let out; to lease.

ABLOCA'TION, noun A letter to hire.

ABLU'DE, verb transitive [Latin abludo, ab and ludo, to play.]

To be unlike; to differ. [Not used.]

AB'LUENT, adjective [Latin abluo, to wash away; ab and luo, or lavo, to wash.]

Washing clean; cleansing by water or liquids. [Little used except as a noun.]

AB'LUENT, noun In medicine, that which thins, purifies or sweetens the blood. [See diluent and Abstergent.]

ABLU'TION, noun [Latin ablutio, from ab and luo or lavo to wash.]

1. In a general sense, the act of washing; a cleansing or purification by water.

2. Appropriately, the washing of the body as a preparation for religious duties, enjoined by Moses and still practiced in many countries.

3. In chimistry, the purification of bodies by the affusion of a proper liquor, as water to dissolve salts.

4. In medicine, the washing of the body externally as by baths; or internally, by diluting fluids.

5. Pope has used ablution for the water used in cleansing.

6. The cup given to the laity without consecration, in popish churches.

A'BLY, adverb In an able manner; with great ability.

AB'NEGATE, verb transitive To deny. [Not used.]

ABNEGA'TION, noun [Latin abnego, to deny, from ab and nego; Eng. nay; Latin nee, not.] A denial; a renunciation; self-denial.

AB'NEGATOR, noun One who denies, renounces, or opposes any thing.

ABNODA'TION, noun [Latin abnodo; ab and nodus, a knot.] The act of cutting away the knots of trees.

ABNORM'ITY, noun [Latin abnormis, irregular; ab and norma, a rule.] Irregularity; deformity. [Little used.]

ABNORM'OUS, adjective [Latin abnormis, supra.] Irregular; deformed. [Little used.]

ABOARD, adverb [a and board. See Board.] Within a ship, vessel, or boat.

To go aboard to enter a ship, to embark.

To fall aboard to strike a ship's side.

ABOARD main tack, an order to draw a corner of the main-sail down to the chess-tree.

ABO'DANCE, noun [from bode.] An omen. [Not used.]

ABO'DE, preterit tense of abide

ABO'DE, noun [See Abide.]

1. Stay; continuance in a place; residence for a longer or shorter time.

2. A place of continuance; a dwelling; a habitation.

3. To make abode to dwell or reside.

ABO'DE, verb transitive [See Bode.] To foreshow.

ABO'DE, verb intransitive To be an omen

ABO'DEMENT, noun [from body.] A secret anticipation of something future.

ABO'DING, noun Presentiment; prognostication.

ABOL'ISH, verb transitive [Latin abolco; from ab and oleo, olesco, to grow.]

1. To make void; to annul; to abrogate; applied chiefly and appropriately to established laws, contracts, rites, customs and institutions - as to abolish laws by a repeal, actual or virtual.

2. To destroy, or put an end to; as to abolish idols. Isaiah 2:18. To abolish death 2 Timothy 1:10. This sense is not common. To abolish posterity, in the translation of Pausanias, Lib. 3. Ca 6, is hardly allowable.

ABOL'ISHABLE, adjective That may be annulled, abrogated, or destroyed, as a law, rite, custom, etc.

ABOL'ISHED, participle passive annulled; repealed; abrogated, or destroyed.

ABOL'ISHER, noun One who abolishes.

ABOL'ISHING, participle present tense Making void; annulling; destroying.

ABOL'ISHMENT, noun The act of annulling; abrogation; destruction.

ABOLI'TION, noun abolishun. The act of abolishing; or the state of being abolished; an annulling; abrogation; utter destruction; as the abolition of laws, decrees, ordinances, rites, customs, debts, etc.

The application of this word to persons and things, is now unusual or obsolete. To abolish persons, canals and senses, the language of good writers formerly, is no longer legitimate.

ABOM'INABLE, adjective [See Abominate.]

1. Very hateful; detestable; lothesome.

2. This word is applicable to whatever is odious to the mind or offensive to the senses.

3. Unclean. Levit. vli.

ABOM'INABLENESS, noun The quality or state of being very odious; hatefulness.

ABOM'INABLY, adverb

1. Very odiously; detestably; sinfully. 1 Kings 21:26.

2. In vulgar language, extremely, excessively.

ABOM'INATE, verb transitive [Latin abomino, supposed to be formed by ab and omen; to deprecate as ominous; may the Gods avert the evil.]

To hate extremely; to abhor; to detest

ABOM'INATED, participle passive Hated utterly, detested; abhorred.

ABOM'INATING, participle present tense Abhorring; hating extremely.

ABOMINA'TION, noun

1. Extreme hatred; detestation.

2. The object of detestation, a common signification in scripture.

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. Proverbs 15:8.

3. Hence, defilement, pollution, in a physical sense, or evil doctrines and practices, which are moral defilements, idols and idolatry, are called abominations. The Jews were an abomination to the Egyptians; and the sacred animals of the Egyptians were an abomination to the Jews. The Roman army is called the abomination of desolation. Matthew 24:15. In short, whatever is an object of extreme hatred, is called an abomination

ABO'RD, noun [Fr. See Border.] Literally, arrival, but used for first appearance, manner of accosting, or address, but not an English word.

ABO'RD, verb transitive To accost. [Not in use.]

ABO'REA, noun A species of duck, called by Edwards, the black-bellied whistling duck. This fowl is of a reddish brown color, with a sort of crest on its head; the belly is spotted with black and white. It belongs to the genus, anas.

ABORIG'INAL, adjective [Latin ab and origo, origin. See Origin.]

First; original; primitive; aboriginal people are the first inhabitants of a country.

Aboriginal tribes of America.

ABORIG'INAL, adjective an original, or primitive inhabitant. The first settlers in a country are called aboriginals; as the Celts in Europe, and Indians in America.

ABORIN'INES, noun plur. Aboriginals - but not an English word.

It may be well to let it pass into disuse. [See Aboriginal.]

ABORSEMENT, noun abors'ment. [See Abort.]

Abortion. [Not in use.]

ABORT', verb intransitive [Latin aborto; ab and ortus, orior.]

To miscarry in birth. [Not in use.]

ABORT', noun an abortion. [Not in use.]

ABOR'TION, noun [Latin abortio, a miscarriage; usually deduced from ab and orior.]

1. The act of miscarrying, or producing young before the natural time, or before the fetus is perfectly formed.

2. In a figurative sense, any fruit or produce that does not come to maturity, or any thing which fails in its progress, before it is matured or perfect, as a design or project.

3. The fetus brought forth before it is perfectly formed.

ABOR'TIVE, adjective

1. Brought forth in an immature state; failing, or coming to naught, before it is complete.

2. Failing in its effect; miscarrying; producing nothing; as an abortive scheme.

3. Rendering abortive; as abortive gulf, in Milton, but not legitimate.

4. Pertaining to abortion; as abortive vellum, made of the skin of an abortive calf.

5. In botany, an abortive flower is one which falls without producing fruit.

ABOR'TIVE, noun That which is brought forth or born prematurely. [Little used.]

ABOR'TIVELY, adverb Immaturely; in an untimely manner.

ABOR'TIVENESS, noun The state of being abortive; a failing in the progress to perfection or maturity; a failure of producing the intended effect.

ABORT'MENT, noun An untimely birth.

ABOUND', verb intransitive. [Latin abundo. If this word is from Latin unda, a wave, the latter has probably lost its first consonant. abound may naturally be deduced from the Celtic. Latin fons, a fountain.]

1. To have or possess in great quantity; to be copiously supplied; followed by with or in; as to abound with provisions; to abound in good things.

2. To be in great plenty; to be very prevalent.

Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound Romans 5:20.

ABOUND'ING, participle present tense Having in great plenty; being in great plenty, being very prevalent; generally prevailing.

ABOUND'ING, noun Increase.

ABOUT', preposition [Gr. butan, without, [see but, ] literally, around, on the outside.]

1. Around; on the exterior part or surface.

Bind them about thy neck. Proverbs 3:3. Isa. Latin Hence,

2. Near to in place, with the sense of circularity.

Get you up from about the tabernacle. Numbers 16:24.

3. Near to in time.

He went out about the third hour. Matthew 21:3.

4. Near to, in action, or near to the performance of some act.

Paul was about to open his mouth.

They were about to flee out of the ship. Acts 28:14 - 28:30.

5. Near to the person; appended to the clothes. Every thing about him is in order. Is your snuff box about you? From nearness on all sides, the transition is easy to a concern with. Hence,

6. Concerned in, engaged in, relating to, respecting.

I must be about my father's business. Luke 2:49. The painter is not to take so much pains about the drapery as about the face

What is he about?

7. In compass or circumference; two yards about the trunk.

ABOUT', adverb

1. Near to in number or quantity.

There fell that day about three thousand men. Exodus 32:28.

2. Near to in quality or degree; as about as high, or as cold.

3. Here and there; around; in one place and another.

Wandering about from house to house. 1 Timothy 5:13.

4. round, or the longest way, opposed to across, or the shortest way. A mile about and half a mile across.

To bring about to bring to the end; to effect or accomplish a purpose.

To come about to change or turn; to come to the desired point. In a like sense, seamen say go about when a ship changes her course and goes on the other tack.

Ready about about ship, are orders for tacking.

To go about signifies to enter upon; also to prepare; to seek the means.

Why go ye about to kill me. John 7:14.

ABOVE', preposition

1. Literally, higher in place.

The fowls that fly above the earth. Genesis 1:20.

2. Figuratively, superior in any respect.

I saw a light above the brightness of the Sun, Acts 26:13.

The price of a virtuous woman is above rubies, Proverbs 31:10.

3. More in number or quantity.

He was seen by above five hundred brethren at once, 1 Corinthians 15:6.

The weight is above a tun.

4. More in degree; in a greater degree.

Hannaniah feared God above many. Nehemiah 7:2.

The serpent is cursed above all cattle. Genesis 3:14.

5. Beyond; in excess.

In stripes above measure. 2 Corinthians 11:23.

God will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able, 1 Corinthians 10:13.

6. Beyond; in a state to be unattainable; as things above comprehension.

7. Too proud for.

This man is above his business.

8. Too elevated in mind or rank; having too much dignity for; as

This man is above mean actions.

9. It is often used elliptically, for heaven, or the celestial regions.

Let not God regard it from above Job 3:4.

The powers above

10. In a book or writing, it denotes before or in a former place, as what has been said above; supra. This mode of speaking originated in the ancient manner of writing, on a strip of parchment, beginning at one end and proceeding to the other. The beginning was the upper end.

ABOVE', adverb

1. Overhead; in a higher place.

2. Before.

3. Chief in rank or power. Deuteronomy 28:1.

ABOVE all is elliptical; above all considerations; chiefly; in preference to other things.

ABOVE board; above the board or table; in open sight; without trick, concealment or deception. This expression is said by Johnson to be borrowed from gamesters, who, when they change their cards, put their hands under the table.

ABRACADAB'RA, The name of a deity worshipped by the Syrians: a cabalistic word. The letters of his name, written on paper, in the form of an inverted cone, were recommended by Samonicus as an antidote against certain diseases.

ABRA'DE, verb transitive [Latin abrado, to scrape, from rado.]

To rub or wear off; to waste by friction; used especially to express the action of sharp, corrosive medicines, in wearing away or removing the mucus of the membranes.

ABRA'DED, participle passive Rubbed or worn off; worn; scraped.

ABRA'DING, participle present tense Rubbing off; wearing.

ABRAHAM'IC, adjective Pertaining to Abraham, the patriarch, as abrahamic Covenant.

ABRA'SION, noun abra'zhun. The act of wearing or rubbing off; also substance worn off by attrition.

ABREAST', adverb abrest', [from a and breast.]

1. Side by side; with the breasts in a line.

Two men rode abreast

2. In marine language, ships are abreast when their heads are equally advanced; and they are abreast of objects when the objects are on a line with the beam. - Hence,

Opposite; against; on a line with - as a ship was abreast of Montauk point - A seaman's phrase.

ABRIDGE', verb transitive abridj', [G. short, or its root, from the root of break or a verb of that family.]

1. To make shorter; to epitomize; to contract by using fewer words, yet retaining the sense in substance - used of writings.

Justin abridged the history of Trogus Pompeius.

2. To lessen; to diminish; as to abridge labor; to abridge power of rights.

3. To deprive; to cut off from; followed by of; as to abridge one of his rights, or enjoyments. to abridge from, is now obsolete or improper.

4. In algebra, to reduce a compound quantity or equation to its more simple expression. The equation thus abridged is called a formula.

ABRIDG'ED, participle passive Made shorter; epitomized; reduced to a smaller compass; lessened; deprived.

ABRIDG'ER, noun One who abridges; one who makes a compend.

ABRIDG'ING, participle present tense shortening; lessening; depriving; debarring.

ABRIDG'MENT, noun

1. An epitome; a compend, or summary of a book.

2. Diminution; contraction; reduction - as an abridgment of expenses.

3. Deprivation; a debarring or restraint - as an abridgment of pleasures.

ABROACH, adverb [See Broach.]

Broached; letter out or yielding liquor, or in a posture for letting out; as a cask is abroach Figuratively used by Shakespeare for setting loose, or in a state of being diffused, 'Set mischief abroach; ' but this sense is unusual.

ABROAD, adverb abrawd'. [See Broad]

In a general sense, at large; widely; not confined to narrow limits. Hence,

1. In the open air.

2. Beyond or out of the walls of a house, as to walk abroad

3. Beyond the limits of a camp. Deuteronomy 23:10

4. Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries - as to go abroad for an education. We have broils at home and enemies abroad

5. Extensively; before the public at large.

He began to blaze abroad the matter. Mark 1:45.

Esther 1:17.

6. Widely; with expansion; as a tree spreads its branches abroad

AB'ROGATE, verb transitive [L abrago, to repeal. from ab and rogo, to ask or propose. See the English reach. Class Rg.]

To repeal; to annul by an authoritative act; to abolish by the authority of the maker or his successor; applied to the repeal of laws, decrees, ordinances, the abolition of established customs etc.

AB'ROGATED, participle passive Repealed; annulled by an act of authority.

AB'ROGATING, participle present tense Repealing by authority; making void.

ABROGA'TION, noun the act of abrogating; a repeal of authority of the legislative power.

ABROOD', adverb [See Brood.] In the action of brooding. [Not in use.]

ABROOD'ING, noun A sitting abrood. [Not in use.]

ABROOK', verb transitive To brook, to endure. [Not in use. See Brook.]

ABRO'TANUM, noun A species of plant arranged under the Genus, Artemisia; called also southern wood.

ABRUPT', adjective [Latin abruptus, from abrumpo, to break off, of ab and rumpo. See Rupture.]

1. Literally, broken off, or broken short.

Hence,

2. Steep, craggy; applied to rocks, precipices and the like.

3. Figuratively, sudden; without notice to prepare the mind for the event; as an abrupt entrance and address.

4. Unconnected; having sudden transitions from one subject to another; as an abrupt style.

5. In botany, an abrupt pinnate leaf is one which has neither leaflet, nor entril at the end.

ABRUPT', noun A chasm or gulf with steep sides. 'Over the vast abrupt ' [This use of the word is infrequent.]

ABRUP'TION, noun A sudden breaking off; a violent separation of bodies.

ABRUPT'LY, adverb suddenly; without giving notice, or without the usual forms; as, the Minister left France abruptly

ABRUPT'NESS, noun

1. A state of being broken; craggedness; steepness.

2. Figuratively, suddenness; unceremonious haste or vehemence.

AB'SCESS, noun [Latin abscessus, from ab and cedo, to go from.]

An imposthume. A collection of morbid matter, or pus in the cellular or adipose membrane; matter generated by the suppuration of an inflammatory tumor.

ABSCIND', verb transitive [Latin abscindo.] To cut off. [Little used.]

AB'SCISS, noun [Latin abscissus, from ab and scindere, to cut; See Scissors.]

In conics, a part of the diameter, or transverse axis of a conic section, intercepted between the vertex or some other fixed point, and a semiordinate.

ABSCIS'SION, noun [See Absciss.]

1. A cutting off, or a begin cut off. In surgery, the separation of any corrupted or useless part of the body, by a sharp instrument; applied to the soft parts, as amputation is to the bones and flesh of a limb.

2. In rhetoric, a figure of speech, when having begun to say a thing, a speaker stops abruptly, as supposing the matter sufficiently understood. Thus, He is a man of so much honor and candor, and such generosity--but I need say no more.

ABSCOND', verb intransitive [Latin abscondo, to hide, of abs and condo, to hide, i.e. to withdraw, or to thrust aside or into a corner or secret place.]

1. To retire from public view, or from the place in which one resides or is ordinarily to be found; to withdraw, or absent one's self in a private manner; to be concealed; appropriately, used of persons who secrete themselves to avoid a legal process.

2. To hide, withdraw or be concealed; as 'the marmot absconds in winter.' [Little used.]

ABSCOND'ER, noun One who withdraws from public notice, or conceals himself from public view.

ABSCOND'ING, participle present tense Withdrawing privately from public view; as, an absconding debtor, who confines himself to his apartments, or absents himself to avoid the ministers of justice. In the latter sense, it is properly an adjective.

AB'SENCE, noun [Latin absens, from absum, abesse, to be away; ab and sum.]

1. A state of being at a distance in place, or not in company. It is used to denote any distance indefinitely, either in the same town, or country, or in a foreign country; and primarily supposes a prior presence. 'Speak well of one in his absence '

2. Want; destitution; implying no previous presence. 'In the absence of conventional law.'

3. In law, non-appearance; a not being in court to answer.

4. Heedlessness; inattention to things present. absence of mind is the attention of the mind to a subject which does not occupy the rest of the company, and which draws the mind from things or objects which are present, to others distant or foreign.

AB'SENT, adjective

1. Not present; not in company; at such a distance as to prevent communication. It is used also for being in a foreign country.

A gentleman is absent on his travels.

Absent from one another. Genesis 31:49.

2. Heedless; inattentive to persons present, or to subjects of conversation in company.

An absent man is uncivil to the company.

3. In familiar language, not at home; as, the master of the house is absent In other words, he does not wish to be disturbed by company.

ABSENT', verb transitive To depart to such a distance as to prevent intercourse; to retire or withdraw; to forbear to appear in presence; used with the reciprocal pronoun.

Let a man absent himself from the company.

ABSENTEE', noun One who withdraws from his country, office or estate; one who removed to a distant place or to another counter.

ABSENT'ER, noun One who absents himself.

ABSENT'MENT, noun A state of being absent.

ABSINTH'IAN, adjective [from absinthium.] Of the nature of wormwood.

ABSINTH'IATED, adjective Impregnated with wormwood.

ABSINTH'IUM, noun Budaeus in his commentaries on Theophrast, supposes the word composed of a priv. delight, so named from its bitterness. But it may be an Oriental word.

The common wormwood; a bitter plant, used as a tonic. A species of Artemisia.

AB'SIS, In astronomy. [See Apsis.]

AB'SOLUTE, adjective [Latin absolutus. See Absolve.]

1. Literally, in a general sense, free, independent of any thing extraneous. Hence,

2. Complete in itself; positive; as an absolute declaration.

3. Unconditional, as an absolute promise.

4. Existing independent of any other cause, as God is absolute

5. Unlimited by extraneous power or control, as an absolute government or prince.

6. Not relative, as absolute space.

In grammar, the case absolute is when a word or member of a sentence is not immediately dependent on the other parts of the sentence in government.

Absolute equation, in astronomy, is the aggregate of the

optic and eccentric equations. The apparent inequality of a planet's motion in its orbit, arising from is unequal distances from the earth at different times, is called its optic equation; the eccentric inequality is caused by the uniformity of the planet's motion, in an elliptical orbit, which, for that reason, appears not to be uniform.

Absolute numbers, in algebra, are such as have no letters annexed, as 2a+36=48. the two latter numbers are absolute or pure.

Absolute space, in physics, is space considered without relation to any other object.

Absolute gravity, in philosophy, is that property in bodies by which they are said to weigh so much, without regard to circumstances of modification, and this is always as the quantity of matter they contain.

AB'SOLUTELY, adverb

1. Completely, wholly, as a thing is absolutely unintelligible.

2. Without dependence or relation; in a state unconnected

Absolutely we cannot discommend, we cannot absolutely approve, either willingness to live, or forwardness to die.

3. Without restriction or limitation; as God reigns absolutely

4. Without condition, as God does not forgive absolutely but upon condition of faith and repentance.

5. Positively, peremptorily, as command me absolutely not to go.

AB'SOLUTENESS, noun Independence, completeness in itself.

2. Despotic authority, or that which is subject to no extraneous restriction, or control.

ABSOLU'TION, noun In the civil law, an acquittal or sentence of a judge declaring an accused person innocent. In the canon law, a remission of sins pronounced by a priest in favor of a penitent. Among protestants, a sentence by which an excommunicated person is released from his liability to punishment.

AB'SOLUTORY, adjective Absolving; that absolves.

ABSOLV'ATORY, adjective [from absolve.] Containing absolution, pardon, or release; having power to absolve.

ABSOLVE', verb transitive abzolv', [Latin absolvo, from ab and solvo, to loose or release; to absolve to finish; Heb. to loose or loosen. See Solve.]

To set free or release from some obligation, debt or responsibility; or from that which subjects a person to a burden or penalty; as to absolve a person from a promise; to absolve an offender, which amounts to an acquittal and remission of his punishment. Hence, in the civil law, the word was used for acquit; and in the canon law, for forgive, or a sentence of

remission. In ordinary language, its sense is to set free or release from an engagement. Formerly, good writers used the word in the sense of finish, accomplish; as to absolve work, in Milton; but in this sense, it seems to be obsolete.

ABSOLV'ED, participle passive Released; acquitted; remitted; declared innocent.

ABSOLV'ER, noun One who absolves; also one that pronounces sin to be remit.

ABSOLV'ING, participle present tense Setting free from a debt, or charge; acquitting; remitting.

AB'SONANT, adjective [See absonous.] Wide from the purpose; contrary to reason.

AB'SONOUS, adjective [Latin absonus; ab and sonus, sound.] Unmusical or untunable

ABSORB', verb transitive [Latin absorbeo, ab and sorbeo, to drink in; to draw or drink in; whence sirup, sherbet, shrub.]

1. To drink in; to suck up; to imbibe; as a spunge, or as the lacteals of the body.

2. To drink in, swallow up, or overwhelm with water, as a body in a whirlpool.

3. To waste wholly or sink in expenses; to exhaust, ; as, to absorb an estate in luxury.

4. To engross or engage wholly, as absorbed in study or the pursuit of wealth.

ABSORBABIL'ITY, noun a state or quality of being absorbable.

ABSORB'ABLE, adjective That may be imbibed or swallowed.

ABSORB'ED, or ABSORPT', participle passive Imbibed; swallowed; wasted; engaged; lost in study; wholly engrossed.

ABSORB'ENT, adjective Imbibing; swallowing.

ABSORB'ENT, noun In anatomy, a vessel which imbibes, as the lacteals, lymphatics, and inhaling arteries. In medicine, a testaceous powder, or other substance, which imbibes the humors of the body, as chalk or magnesia.

ABSORB'ING, participle present tense Imbibing; engrossing; wasting.

ABSORB'ED, or ABSORPT', participle passive Imbibed; swallowed; wasted; engaged; lost in study; wholly engrossed.

ABSORP'TION, noun

1. The act or process of imbibing or swallowing; either by water which overwhelms, or by substances, which drink in and retain liquids; as the absorption of a body in a whirlpool, or of water by the earth, or of the humors of the body by dry powders. It is used also to express the swallowing up of substances by the earth in chasms made by earthquakes, and the sinking of large tracts in violent commotions of the earth.

2. In chimistry, the conversion of a gaseous fluid into a liquid or solid, by union with another substance.

ABSORP'TIVE, adjective Having power to imbibe.

ABSTA'IN, verb intransitive [Latin abstineo, to keep from; abs and teneo, to hold. See Tenant.]

In a general sense, to forbear, or refrain from, voluntarily; but used chiefly to denote a restraint upon the passions or appetites; to refrain from indulgence.

Abstain from meats offered to idols. Acts 15:29.

To abstain from the use of ardent spirits; to abstain from luxuries.

ABSTE'MIOUS, adjective [Latin abstemium, from abs and temetum, an ancient name of strong wine, according to Fabius and Gellius. But Vossius supposes it to be from abstineo, by a change of n to m. It may be from the root of timeo, to fear, that is, to withdraw.]

1. Sparing in diet; refraining from a free use of food and strong drinks.

Instances of longevity are chiefly among the abstemious

2. Sparing in the enjoyment of animal pleasures of any kind. [This sense is less common, and perhaps not legitimate.]

3. Sparingly used, or used with temperance; belonging to abstinence; as an abstemious diet; an abstemious life.

ABSTE'MIOUSLY, adverb Temperately; with a sparing use of meat or drink.

ABSTE'MIOUSNESS, noun The quality of being temperate or sparing in the use of food and strong drinks.

This word expresses a greater degree of abstinence than temperance.

ABSTERGE', verb transitive abstery'. [Latin abstergeo, of abs and tergeo, to wipe. Tergeo may have a common origin with the Sw. torcka, G. trocknen, D. droogen, Sax. drygan, to dry; for these Teutonic verbs signify to wipe, as well as to dry.]

To wipe or make clean by wiping; to cleanse by resolving obstructions in the body. [Used chiefly as a medical term.]

ABSTERG'ENT, adjective Wiping; cleansing.

ABSTERG'ENT, noun a medicine which frees the body from obstructions, as soap; but the use of the word is nearly superseded by detergent, which see.

ABSTER'SION, noun [from Latin abstergeo, abstersus.] The act of wiping clean; or a cleansing by medicines which resolve obstructions. [See Deterge, Detersion.]

ABSTER'SIVE, adjective Cleansing; having the quality of removing obstructions. [See Detersive.]

AB'STINENCE, noun [Latin abstinentia. See Abstain.]

1. In general, the act or practice of voluntarily refraining from, or forbearing any action. 'Abstinence from every thing which can be deemed labor.

More appropriately,

2. The refraining from an indulgence of appetite, or from customary gratifications of animal propensities. It denotes a total forbearance, as in fasting, or a forbearance of the usual quantity. In the latter sense, it may coincide with temperance, but in general, it denotes a more sparing use of enjoyments than temperance. Besides, abstinence implies previous free indulgence; temperance does not.

AB'STINENT, adjective Refraining from indulgence, especially in the use of food and drink.

AB'STINENTLY, adverb With abstinence.

AB'STINENTS, a sect which appeared in France and Spain in the third century, who opposed marriage, condemned the use of flesh meat, and placed the Holy Spirit in the class of created beings.

ABSTRACT', verb transitive [Latin abstraho, to draw from or separate; from abs and traho, which is the Eng. draw. See Draw.]

1. To draw from, or to separate; as to abstract an action from its evil effects; to abstract spirit from any substance by distillation; but in this sense extract is now more generally used.

2. To separate ideas by the operation of the mind; to consider one part of a complex object, or to have a partial idea of it in the mind.

3. To select or separate the substance of a book or writing; to epitomize or reduce to a summary.

4. In chimistry, to separate, as the more volatile parts of a substance by repeated distillation, or at least by distillation.

AB'STRACT, adjective [Latin abstractus.]

1. separate; distinct from something else. An abstract idea, in metaphysics, is an idea separated from a complex object, or from other ideas which naturally accompany it, as the solidity of marble contemplated apart from its color or figure.

ABSTRACT terms are those which express abstract ideas, as beauty, whiteness, roundness, without regarding any subject in which they exist; or abstract terms are the names of orders, genera, or species of things, in which there is a combination of similar qualities.

ABSTRACT numbers are numbers used without application to things, as, 6, 8, 10: but when applied to anything, as 6 feet, 10 men, they become concrete.

ABSTRACT or pure mathematics, is that which treats of magnitude or quantity, without restriction to any species of particular magnitude, as arithmetic and geometry; opposed to

which is mixed mathematics, which treats of simple properties,

and the relations of quantity, as applied to sensible objects, as hydrostatics, navigation, optics, etc.

2. Separate, existing in the mind only; as an abstract subject; an abstract question: and hence difficult, abstruse.

AB'STRACT, noun

1. A summary, or epitome, containing the substance, a general view, or the principal heads of a treatise or writing.

2. Formerly, an extract, or a smaller quantity, containing the essence of a larger.

In the abstract in a state of separation, as a subject considered in the abstract i. e. without reference to particular persons or things.

ABSTRACT'ED, participle passive Separated; refined; exalted; abstruse; absent in mind.

ABSTRACT'EDLY, adverb In a separate state, or in contemplation only.

ABSTRACT'EDNESS, noun the state of being abstracted.

ABSTRACT'ER, noun One who makes an abstract, or summary.

ABSTRACT'ING, participle present tense Separating, making a summary.

ABSTRAC'TION, noun

1. The act of separating, or state of being separated.

2. The operation of the mind when occupied by abstract ideas; as when we contemplate some particular part, or property of a complex object, as separate from the rest. Thus, when the mind considers the branch of a tree by itself, or the color of the leaves, as separate from their size or figure, the act is abstraction so also, when it considers whiteness, softness, virtue, existence, as separate from any particular objects.

The power which the understanding has of separating the combinations which are presented to it, is distinguished by logicians, by the name of abstraction

Abstraction is the ground-work of classification, by which things are arranged in orders, genera, and species. We separate in idea the qualities of certain objects which are of the same kind, from others which are different in each, and arrange the objects having the same properties in a class, or collected body.

3. A separation from worldly objects, a recluse life; as a hermit's abstraction

4. Absence of mind; inattention to present objects.

5. In the process of distillation, the term is used to denote the separation of the volatile parts, which rise, come over, and are condensed in a receiver, from those which are fixed. It is chiefly used, when a fluid is repeatedly poured upon any substance in a retort, and distilled off, to change its state, or the nature of its composition.

ABSTRACTI'TIOUS particularly from vegetables, without fermentation.

ABSTRACT'IVE, adjective Having the power or quality of abstracting.

ABSTRACT'IVE, adjective Abstracted, or drawn from other substances.

AB'STRACTLY, adverb separately; absolutely; in a state or manner unconnected with any thing else; as, matter abstractly considered.

AB'STRACTNESS, noun A separate state; a state of being in contemplation only, or not connected with any object.

ABSTRU'DE, verb transitive [Infra.] To thrust or pull away. [Not used.]

ABSTRU'SE, adjective [Latin abstrusus, from abstrudo, to thrust away, to conceal; abs and trudo; Eng. to thrust.] Hid; concealed; hence, remote from apprehension; difficult to be comprehended or understood; opposed to what is obvious. [Not used of material objects.]

Metaphysics is an abstruse science.

ABSTRU'SELY, adverb In a concealed; hence, remote from apprehension; difficult to be comprehended or understood; opposed to what is obvious. [Not used of material objects.]

ABSURD', adjective [Latin absurdus, from ab and surdus, deaf, insensible.] Opposed to manifest truth; inconsistent with reason or the plain dictates of common sense. An absurd man acts contrary to the clear dictates of reason or sound judgement. An absurd proposition contradicts obvious truth. An absurd practice or opinion is repugnant to the reason or common apprehension of men. It is absurd to say six and six make ten, or that plants will take root in stone.

ABSURD'ITY, noun

1. The quality of being inconsistent with obvious truth, reason, or sound judgment. Want of judgment, applied to men; want of propriety, applied to things.

2. That which is absurd; in this sense it has a plural; the absurdities of men.

ABSURD'LY, adverb In a manner inconsistent with reason or obvious propriety.

ABSURD'NESS, noun The same as absurdity, and less used.

ABTRU'SENESS, noun Obscurity of meaning; the state of quality of being difficult to be understood.

ABUND'ANCE, noun Great plenty; an overflowing quantity; ample sufficiency; in strictness applicable to quantity only; but customarily used of number, as an abundance of peasants.

In scripture, the abundance of the rich is great wealth. Ecclesiastes 5:10. Mark 12:44. Luke 21:4.

The abundance of the seas is great plenty of fish.

Deuteronomy 33:19.

It denotes also fullness, overflowing, as the abundance of the heart. Matthew 12:34. Luke 6:45.

ABUND'ANT, adjective Plentiful; in great quantity; fully sufficient; as an abundant supply. In scripture, abounding; having in great quantity; overflowing with.

The Lord God is abundant in goodness and truth. Exodus 34:6.

Abundant number, in arithmetic, is one, the sum of whose aliquot parts exceeds the number itself. Thus 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, the aliquot parts of 12, make the sum of 16. This is opposed to a deficient number, as 14, whose aliquot parts are 1, 2, 7, the sum of which is 10; and to a perfect number, which is equal to the sum of its aliquot parts, as 6, whose aliquot parts are 1, 2, 3.

ABUND'ANTLY, adverb Fully; amply; plentifully; in a sufficient degree.

ABU'SAGE, noun Abuse. [Not used.]

ABU'SE, verb transitive s as z. [Latin abutor, abusus of ab and utor, to use; Gr. to accustom. See Use.]

1. To use ill; to maltreat; to misuse; to use with bad motives or to wrong purposes; as, to abuse rights or privileges.

They that use this world as not abusing it. 1 Corinthians 7:31 .

2. To violate; to defile by improper sexual intercourse.

3. To deceive; to impose on.

Nor be with all these tempting words abused.

4. To treat rudely, or with reproachful language; to revile.

He mocked and abused them shamefully.

5. To pervert the meaning of; to misapply; as to abuse words.

ABU'SE, noun Ill use; improper treatment or employment; application to a wrong purpose; as an abuse of our natural powers; an abuse of civil rights, or of religious privileges; abuse of advantages, etc.

Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty, as well as by the abuses of power.

2. A corrupt practice or custom, as the abuses of government.

3. Rude speech; reproachful language addressed to a person; contumely; reviling words.

4. Seduction.

After the abuse he forsook me.

5. Perversion of meaning; improper use or application; as an abuse of words.

ABU'SED, participle passive s as z. Ill-used; used to a bad purpose; treated with rude language; misemployed; perverted to bad or wrong ends; deceived; defiled; violated.

ABU'SEFUL, adjective Using or practicing abuse; abusive. [Not used.]

ABU'SER, noun s as z. One who abuses, in speech or behavior; one that deceives; a ravisher; a sodomite. 1 Corinthians 6:9.

ABU'SING, participle present tense s as z. Using ill; employing to bad purposes; deceiving; violating the person; perverting.

ABU'SION, noun abu'zhon. Abuse; evil or corrupt usage; reproach. [Little used.]

ABU'SIVE, adjective

1. Practicing abuse; offering harsh words, or ill treatment; as an abusive author; an abusive fellow.

2. Containing abuse, or that is the instrument of abuse, as abusive words; rude; reproachful. In the sense of deceitful, as an abusive treaty. [Little used.]

ABU'SIVELY, adverb In an abusive manner; rudely; reproachfully.

ABU'SIVENESS, noun Ill-usage; the quality of being abusive; rudeness of language, or violence to the person.

ABUT', verb intransitive To border upon; to be contiguous to; to meet; in strictness, to adjoin to at the end; but this distinction has not always been observed. The word is chiefly used in describing the bounds or situation of land, and in popular language, is contracted into but, as butted and bounded.

ABUT'MENT, noun

1. The head or end; that which unites one end of a thing to another; chiefly used to denote the solid pier or mound of earth, stone or timber, which is erected on the bank of a river to support the end of a bridge and connect it with the land.

2. That which abuts or borders on another.

ABUT'TAL, noun The butting or boundary of land at the end; a head-land.

ABY', verb transitive or i. [Probably contracted from abide.] To endure; to pay dearly; to remain. obsolete

ABYSM', noun abyzm'. [See Abyss.] A gulf.

ABYSS', noun [Gr. bottomless, from a priv. and bottom, Ion. See Bottom.]

1. A bottomless gulf; used also for a deep mass of waters, supposed by some to have encompassed the earth before the flood.

Darkness was upon the face of the deep, or abyss as it is in the Septuagint. Genesis 1:2.

The word is also used for an immense cavern in the earth, in which God is supposed to have collected all the waters on the third day of the creation. It is used also for hell, Erebus.

2. That which is immeasurable; that in which any thing is lost.

Thy throne is darkness, in the abyss of light.

The abyss of time.

3. In antiquity, the temple of Proserpine, so called from the immense treasures it was supposed to contain.

4. In heraldry, the center of an escutcheon.

He bears azure, a fleur de lis, in abyss

ABYSSIN'IAN, adjective A name denoting a mixed multitude or a black race.

ABYSSIN'IANS, noun A sect of christians in Abyssinia, who admit but one nature in Jesus Christ, and reject the council of Chalcedon. They are governed by a bishop, or metropolitan, call Abuna, who is appointed by the Coptic patriarch of Cairo.