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An arch, or ceiling, of boards, placed over the men's heads in a mine.

Three asterisks placed in this manner, *, to direct attention to a particular passage.

or dreadful is presented to the mind; an intense degree of surprise; amazement. Lest the place And my quaint habits breed astonishment. Milton.

on each side, as a man when on horseback; with the legs stretched wide apart; astraddle. Placed astride upon the bars of the palisade. Sir W. Scott. Glasses with horn bows sat astride on his nose. Longfellow.

separate from each other; into parts; in two; separately; into or in different pieces or places. I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder. Zech. xi. 10. As wide asunder as pole and pole. Froude.

A sanctuary or place of refuge and protection, where criminals and debtors found shelter, and from which they could not be forcibly taken without sacrilege. So sacred was the church to some, that it had the right of an asylum or sanctuary. Ayliffe.

Primarily, this word expresses the relations of presence, nearness in place or time, or direction toward; as, at the ninth hour; at the house; to aim at a mark. It is less definite than in or on; at the house may be in or near the house. From this original import are derived all the various uses of at. It expresses: -…

or the Doctrine of definite proportions (Chem.), teaches that chemical combinations take place between the supposed ultimate particles or atoms of bodies, in some simple ratio, as of one to one, two to three, or some other, always expressible in whole numbers. -- Atomic weight (Chem.), the weight of the atom of an el…

To connect; to place so as to belong; to assign by authority; to appoint; as, an officer is attached to a certain regiment, company, or ship.

To come or arrive, by motion, growth, bodily exertion, or efforts toward a place, object, state, etc.; to reach. If by any means they might attain to Phenice. Acts xxvii. 12. Nor nearer might the dogs attain. Sir W. Scott. To see your trees attain to the dignity of timber. Cowper. Few boroughs had as yet attained to po…

An instrument which, placed against the teeth, conveys sound to the auditory nerve and enables the deaf to hear more or less distinctly; a dentiphone.

A carpenter's tool for boring holes larger than those bored by a gimlet. It has a handle placed crosswise by which it is turned with both hands. A pod auger is one with a straight channel or groove, like the half of a bean pod. A screw auger has a twisted blade, by the spiral groove of which the chips are discharge.…

A priming tube connecting the charge chamber with the gallery, or place where the slow match is applied. Knight.

A form of Ambry, a closet; but confused with Almonry, as if a place for alms.

A bawd, or a prostitute. [Obs.] Shak. Aunt Sally, a puppet head placed on a pole and having a pipe in its mouth; also a game, which consists in trying to hit the pipe by throwing short bludgeons at it.

Broken in place; -- said of rocks having a broken or brecciated structure due to crushing, in contrast to those of brecciated materials brought from a distance.

Capable of self-nourishment; -- said of all plants in which photosynthetic activity takes place, as opposed to parasitism or saprophytism.

A kind of glass, containing gold-colored spangles. It was produced in the first place by the accidental (par aventure) dropping of some brass filings into a pot of melted glass.

A way or opening for entrance into a place; a passage by which a place may by reached; a way of approach or of exit. "The avenues leading to the city by land." Macaulay. On every side were expanding new avenues of inquiry. Milman.

A house, inclosure, large cage, or other place, for keeping birds confined; a bird house. Lincolnshire may be termed the aviary of England. Fuller.