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A spongy, combustible substance, prepared from fungus (Boletus and Polyporus) which grows on old trees; German tinder; punk. It has been employed as a styptic by surgeons, but its common use is as tinder, for which purpose it is prepared by soaking it in a strong solution of niter. Ure.

With might; with full force; vigorously; violently; exceedingly. They on the hill, which were not yet come to blows, perceiving the fewness of their enemies, came down amain. Milton. That striping giant, ill-bred and scoffing, shouts amain. T. Parker.

One who, or that which, amalgamates. Specifically: A machine for separating precious metals from earthy particles by bringing them in contact with a body of mercury with which they form an amalgam.

Of, pertaining to, or resembling, the family of plants of which the amaranth is the type.

A valuable East Indian fiber plant (Hibiscus cannabinus), or its fiber, which is used throughout India for making ropes, cordage, and a coarse canvas and sackcloth; --called also brown Indian hemp.

A room formerly in the Czar's Summer Palace in Russia, which was richly decorated with walls and fixtures made from amber. The amber was removed by occupying German troops during the Second World War and has, as of 1997, never been recovered. The room is being recreated from old photographs by Russian artisans. PJC…

A species of Anthospermum, a shrub with evergreen leaves, which, when bruised, emit a fragrant odor.

also as a morbid secretion in the intestines of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), which is believed to be in all cases its true origin. In color it is white, ash-gray, yellow, or black, and often variegated like marble. The floating masses are sometimes from sixty to two hundred and twenty-five pounds in weight…

An entertainment at which a medley of dishes is set on at the same time.

A peculiar gait of a horse, in which both legs on the same side are moved at the same time, alternating with the legs on the other side. "A fine easy amble." B. Jonson.

A fragrant substance which is the chief constituent of ambergris.

The fabled food of the gods (as nectar was their drink), which conferred immortality upon those who partook of it.

A picture taken on a place of prepared glass, in which the lights are represented in silver, and the shades are produced by a dark background visible through the unsilvered portions of the glass.

One of the radical zones of echinoderms, along which run the principal nerves, blood vessels, and water tubes. These zones usually bear rows of locomotive suckers or tentacles, which protrude from regular pores. In star fishes they occupy the grooves along the under side of the rays.

Accustomed to move from place to place; not stationary; movable; as, an ambulatory court, which exercises its jurisdiction in different places. The priesthood . . . before was very ambulatory, and dispersed into all families. Jer. Taylor.

A place in which troops lie hid, to attack an enemy unexpectedly. [R.] Dryden.

A variety of wheat from which starch is produced; -- called also French rice.

or recantation. Amende honorable(#). (Old French Law) A species of infamous punishment in which the offender, being led into court with a rope about his neck, and a lighted torch in his hand, begged pardon of his God, the court, etc. In popular language, the phrase now denotes a public apology or recantation, and repar…

To punish by a pecuniary penalty, the amount of which is not fixed by law, but left to the discretion of the court; as, the amerced the criminal in the sum on the hundred dollars.

ican ivy. See Virginia creeper. -- American Party (U. S. Politics), a party, about 1854, which opposed the influence of foreign-born citizens, and those supposed to owe allegiance to a foreign power. -- Native american Party (U. S. Politics), a party of principles similar to those of the American party. It arose abou…