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To contract by omitting a letter or letters; also, to mark with an apostrophe (') or apostrophes.

A deposit formed in a liquid extract of a vegetable substance by exposure to the air.

Natural tendency; affinity; attraction; -- used of inanimate objects.

Made from, or by means of, water. An aqueous deposit. Dana. Aqueous extract, an extract obtained from a vegetable substance by steeping it in water. -- Aqueous humor (Anat.), one the humors of the eye; a limpid fluid, occupying the space between the crystalline lens and the cornea. (See Eye.) -- Aqueous rocks (Geol.),…

A carbohydrate, isomeric with cane sugar, contained in gum arabic, from which it is extracted as a white, amorphous substance.

In an arch manner; with attractive slyness or roguishness; slyly; waggishly. Archly the maiden smiled. Longfellow.

The substance from which attraction spheres develop in mitotic cell division, and of which they consist.

Constriction or contraction of some natural passage, as in constipation from inflammation.

An extent of surface; a tract of the earth's surface; a region; as, vast uncultivated areas.

t matter of a discourse, writing, or artistic representation; theme or topic; also, an abstract or summary, as of the contents of a book, chapter, poem. You and love are still my argument. Shak. The abstract or argument of the piece. Jeffrey. [Shields] with boastful argument portrayed. Milton.

or territorial defense, living at home and having only occasional periods of drill and instraction, who are variously called home reserves (as in the table below), second, third, etc., line of defense (the regular army and its reserves ordinarily constituting the first line of defense), territorial forces, or the like.…

Striking; attracting attention; impressive. This most solemn and arresting occurrence. J. H. Newman.

Money or other valuable thing given to evidence a contract; a pledge or earnest.

r treating of various topics; as, an article in the Constitution. Hence: A clause in a contract, system of regulations, treaty, or the like; a term, condition, or stipulation in a contract; a concise statement; as, articles of agreement.

A contraction of art thou. [Obs.] Chaucer.

A shareholder of the Assiento company; one of the parties to the Assiento contract. Bancroft.

A contract or convention between Spain and other powers for furnishing negro slaves for the Spanish dominions in America, esp. the contract made with Great Britain in 1713.

An action to recover damages for a breach or nonperformance of a contract or promise, express or implied, oral or in writing not under seal. Common or indebitatus assumpsit is brought for the most part on an implied promise. Special assumpsit is founded on an express promise or undertaking. Wharton.…

Insurance; a contract for the payment of a sum on occasion of a certain event, as loss or death.

A disease, characterized by difficulty of breathing (due to a spasmodic contraction of the bronchi), recurring at intervals, accompanied with a wheezing sound, a sense of constriction in the chest, a cough, and expectoration.