Search the Dictionary

title formerly given to one of the chief magistrates in Genoa. -- Abbot of Misrule (or Lord of Misrule), in mediæval times, the master of revels, as at Christmas; in Scotland called the Abbot of Unreason. Encyc. Brit.

ake briefer; to shorten; to abridge; to reduce by contraction or omission, especially of words written or spoken. It is one thing to abbreviate by contracting, another by cutting off. Bacon.

The form to which a word or phrase is reduced by contraction and omission; a letter or letters, standing for a word or phrase of which they are a part; as, Gen. for Genesis; U.S.A. for United States of America.

Abdicating; renouncing; -- followed by of. Monks abdicant of their orders. Whitlock.

To draw away, as a limb or other part, from its ordinary position.

Deviating from the ordinary or natural type; exceptional; abnormal. The more aberrant any form is, the greater must have been the number of connecting forms which, on my theory, have been exterminated. Darwin.

To fill with horror or disgust. [Obs.] It doth abhor me now I speak the word. Shak.

Contrary or repugnant; discordant; inconsistent; -- followed by to. "Injudicious profanation, so abhorrent to our stricter principles." Gibbon.

repared for; to await; to watch for; as, I abide my time. "I will abide the coming of my lord." Tennyson.

ill, resources, etc.; -- in the plural, faculty, talent. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren. Acts xi. 29. Natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study. Bacon. The public men of England, with much of a peculiar kind of ability. Mac…

iciple (either expressed or implied), agreeing with it in gender, number, and case, both words forming a clause by themselves and being unconnected, grammatically, with the rest of the sentence; as, Tarquinio regnante, Pythagoras venit, i. e., Tarquinius reigning, Pythagoras came.

Departure from the ordinary type; irregularity; monstrosity. "An abnormity . . . like a calf born with two heads." Mrs. Whitney.

ing place; residence; a dwelling; a habitation. Come, let me lead you to our poor abode. Wordsworth.

ruction; as, the abolition of slavery or the slave trade; the abolition of laws, decrees, ordinances, customs, taxes, debts, etc.

tive; native; as, the aboriginal tribes of America. "Mantled o'er with aboriginal turf." Wordsworth.

Earlier in order; higher in the same page; hence, in a foregoing page. "That was said above." Dryden.

A mystical word or collocation of letters written as in the figure. Worn on an amulet it was supposed to ward off fever. At present the word is used chiefly in jest to denote something without meaning; jargon.

A mystical word used as a charm and engraved on gems among the ancients; also, a gem stone thus engraved.

To shorten or contract by using fewer words, yet retaining the sense; to epitomize; to condense; as, to abridge a history or dictionary.

rity of the maker or his successor; to repeal; -- applied to the repeal of laws, decrees, ordinances, the abolition of customs, etc. Let us see whether the New Testament abrogates what we so frequently see in the Old. South. Whose laws, like those of the Medes and Persian, they can not alter or abrogate. Burke.…