AICU'RUS, noun A large and beautiful species of parrot, found in Brazil; its head beautifully variegated with yellow, red and violet colors; its body green; the tips of its wings red, and its tail long and yellow.

AID, verb transitive [Latin adjuto.

To help; to assist; to support, either by furnishing strength or means to effect a purpose, or to prevent or remove evil.

AID, noun

1. Help; succor; support; assistance.

2. The person who aids or yields support; a helper; an auxiliary; also the thing that aids or yields succor.

3. In English law, a subsidy or tax granted by parliament, and making a part of the king's revenue.

In France, aids are equivalent to customs, or duties on imports and exports.

4. In England, a tax paid by a tenant to his lord; originally a mere gift, which afterwards became a right demandable by the lord. the aids of this king were chiefly three.

1. To ransom the lord when a prisoner.

2. To make the lord's eldest son a knight.

3. To marry the lord's eldest daughter.

5. An aiddecamp, so called by abbreviation.

6. To pray in aid in law, is to call in a person interested in a title, to assist in defending it. Thus a tenant for life may pray in the aid of him in remainder or reversion; that is, he may pray or petition that he may be joined in the suit to aid or help maintain the title. This act or petition is called aid-prayer.

Court of aids, in France, is a court which has cognizance of causes respecting duties or customs.

A'IDANCE, noun Aid; help; assistance. [little used.]

A'IDANT, adjective Helping; helpful; supplying aid. [Not used.]

A'IDDECAMP, noun plur. Aiddecamps.]

In military affairs, an officer whose duty is to receive and communicate the orders of a general officer. [The pronunciation should be English, according to the orthography, not aid de cong.]

A'IDED, participle passive Assisted; supported; furnished with succor.

A'IDER, noun One who helps; an assistant, or auxiliary.

A'IDING, participle present tense Helping; assisting.

A'IDLESS, adjective Helpless; without aid; unsupported; undefended.

A'IGLET, noun

1. A tag of a point curved into the representation of an animal, generally of a man; a small plate of metal.

2. In botany, a pendant at the ends of the chives of flowers, as in the rose and tulip.

A'IGRET, AIGRETTE, n.

A'IGRET, AIGRETTE noun

1. In zoology, a name of the small white heron.

2. In botany. [See Egret.]

A'IGULET, noun [Fr. Usually contracted into aiglet, which see.]

A'IKRAW, noun A popular name of a species of lichen, or moss.

AIL, verb transitive

To trouble; to affect with uneasiness, either of body or mind; used to express some uneasiness or affection, whose cause is unknown; as, what ails the man? I know not what ails him.

What aileth thee, Hagar? Genesis 21:17.

It is never used to express a specific disease. We never say, he ails a pleurisy; but it is unusual to say, he ails something; he ails nothing; nothing ails him.

AIL, noun Indisposition, or morbid affection.

AISLE, or AILE noun Pronounced Ile. [Latin ala.]

A'ILING, participle present tense Diseased; indisposed; full of complaints.

A'ILMENT, noun Disease; indisposition; morbid affection of the body; but the word is not applied ordinarily to acute diseases.

AIM, verb intransitive

To point at, with a missive weapon; to direct the intention or purpose; to attempt to reach, or accomplish; to tend towards; to endeavor; followed by at before the object; as, a man aims at distinction; or aims to be rich.

AIM, verb transitive To direct or point as a weapon; to direct to a particular object; as, to aim a musket or an arrow, the first or a blow; to aim a satire or a reflection at some person or vice.

AIM, noun

1. The pointing or direction of a missile weapon; the direction of any thing to a particular point or object, with a view to strike or affect it; as a spear, a blow, a discourse or remark.

2. The point intended to be hit, or object intended to be affected; as, a man missed his aim

3. Figuratively, a purpose; intention; design; scheme; as, men are often disappointed of their aim

4. Conjecture; guess.

It is impossible, by aim to tell it. [Not used.]

A'IMED, participle passive Pointed; directed; intended to strike or affect.

A'IMER, noun One that aims.

A'IMING, participle present tense Pointing a weapon at an object; directing any thing to an object; intending; purposing.

A'IMLESS, adjective Without aim.

AIR, noun [Latin aer; Heb. to shine. The radical sense is to open, expand; whence clear; or to flow, to shoot, to radiate.]

1. The fluid which we breathe. air is inodorous, invisible, insipid, colorless, elastic, possessed of gravity, easily moved, rarefied, and condensed.

Atmospheric air is a compound fluid, consisting of oxygen gas, and nitrogen or azote; the proportion of each is stated by chimists differently; some experiments making the oxygen a twenty-eighth part of a hundred; others, not more than a twenty-third, or something less. The latter is probably the true proportion.

Oxygen gas is called vital air The body of air surrounding the earth is called the atmosphere. The specific gravity of air is to that of water, nearly as 1 to 828. air is necessary to life; being inhaled into the lungs, the oxygenous part is separated from the azotic, and it is supposed to furnish the body with heat and animation. It is the medium of sounds and necessary to combustion.

2. air in motion; a light breeze.

Let vernal airs through trembling osiers play.

3. Vent; utterance abroad; publication; publicity; as, a story has taken air

You gave it air before me.

Wind is used in like manner.

4. A tune; a short song or piece of music adapted to words; also, the peculiar modulation of the notes, which gives music its character; as, a soft air A song or piece of poetry for singing; also, the leading part of a tune, or that which is intended to exhibit the greatest variety of melody.

5. The peculiar look, appearance, manner or mien of a person; as, a heavy air; the air of youth; a graceful air; a lofty air It is applied to manners or gestures, as well as to features.

6. Airs, in the plural, is used to denote an affected manner, show of pride, haughtiness; as, when it is said of a person, he puts on airs. The word is used also to express the artificial motions or carriage of a horse.

7. In painting, that which expresses the life of action; manner; gesture; attitude.

8. Any thing light or uncertain; that is light as air

Who builds his hope in air of your fair looks. obsolete

9. Advice; intelligence; information. obsolete

10. Different states of air are characterized by different epithets; as, good air foul air morning air evening air; and sometimes airs may have been used for ill-scent or vapor, but the use is not legitimate.

To take the air is to go abroad; to walk or ride a little distance.

To take air is to be divulged; to be made public.

AIR, verb transitive

1. To expose to the air; to give access to the open air; to ventilate; as, to air clothes; to air a room.

2. To expose to heat; to warm; as, to air liquors.

3. To dry by a fire; to expel dampness; as, to air linen.

A'IRA, noun Hair grass, a genus of plants.

A'IRED, participle passive Exposed to air; cleansed by air; heated or dried by exposure to a fire; ventilated.

A'IRER, noun One who exposes to the air.

A'IRINESS, noun

1. Exposure to a free current of air; openness to the air; as, the airiness of a country seat.

2. Gaiety; levity; as, the airiness of young persons.

A'IRING, participle present tense Exposing to the air; warming; drying.

A'IRING, noun An exposure to the air, or to a fire, for warming or drying; also, a walk or ride in the open air; a short excursion. The exercise of horses in the open air.

A'IRLESS, adjective Not open to a free current of air; wanting fresh air, or communication with open air.

A'IRLING, noun A thoughtless, gay person.

A'IRY, adjective

1. Consisting of air; as, an airy substance.

2. Relating or belonging to air; high in air; as, an airy flight; airy region.

3. Open to a free current of air; as, an airy situation.

4. Light as air; resembling air; thin; unsubstantial; without solidity; as, airy ghosts. An airy dress is one which admits air, and is cool.

5. Without reality; having no solid foundation; vain; trifling; as, an airy scheme; airy notions.

6. Gay; sprightly; full of vivacity and levity; light of heart; lively; as an airy girl.

A'IRY, or A'ery, noun [See Aery-light.] Among sportsmen, the nest of the hawk or eagle.

AISLE, or AILE, noun Pronounced Ile. [Latin ala.]

The wing of a quire; a walk in a church.

AIZO'ON, noun [Latin aizoon ] it seems to be composed of Gr. always, and Eng. aye, and living.]

A genus of plants, called by Miller sempervive. The name has, by some writers, been applied to the house leek and to the aloes.