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only proper criterion of the point in dispute; as, when the issue is whether a person was absent in the army, this is tried by the certificate of the proper officer in writing, under his seal. Blackstone.

of mackerel (Scomber colias) in some years found in abundance on the Atlantic coast, but absent in others; -- called also bull mackerel, thimble-eye, and big-eye mackerel. -- Chub sucker (Zoöl.), a fresh-water fish of the United States (Erimyzon sucetta); -- called also creekfish.

to act as guardian of the estate of a person not legally competent to manage it, or of an absentee; a trustee; a guardian.

To absent one's self from; as, to cut an appointment, a recitation. etc. [Colloq.] An English tradesman is always solicitous to cut the shop whenever he can do so with impunity. Thomas Hamilton. To cut a caper. See under Caper. -- To cut the cards, to divide a pack of cards into portions, in order to determine the dea…

ld; to guard; as, to defend a town; to defend a cause; to defend character; to defend the absent; -- sometimes followed by from or against; as, to defend one's self from, or against, one's enemies. The lord mayor craves aid . . . to defend the city. Shak. God defend the right! Shak. A village near it was defended by th…

One who discontinues, or breaks off or away from; an absentee. He was no gadder abroad, not discontinuer from his convent for a long time. Fuller.

Absent-minded; lost in thought; abstracted.

eep; to experience sleeping visions; -- often with of; as, to dream of a battle, or of an absent friend.

Pertaining to elves; implike; mischievous; weird; also, vacant; absent in demeanor. See Elfish. He seemeth elvish by his countenance. Chaucer.

they enter. Spenser. I, . . . with the multitude of my redeemed, Shall enter heaven, long absent. Milton.

and died. Shak. Foreign attachment (Law), a process by which the property of a foreign or absent debtor is attached for the satisfaction of a debt due from him to the plaintiff; an attachment of the goods, effects, or credits of a debtor in the hands of a third person; -- called in some States trustee, in others factor…

Leave of abserice; especially, leave given to an offcer or soldier to be absent from service for a certain time; also, the document granting leave of absence.

Expression of kindness or joy; salutation at meeting; a compliment from one absent. Write to him . . . gentle adieus and greetings. Shak.

p mental imagines. Our simple apprehension of corporeal objects, if present, is sense; if absent, is imagination. Glanvill. Imagination is of three kinds: joined with belief of that which is to come; joined with memory of that which is past; and of things present, or as if they were present. Bacon.

e Each grace appropriate. Mason. Have we had instinctive intimations of the death of some absent friends Bp. Hall.

A hint; an innuendo. [Obs.] A secret item was given to some of the bishops . . . to absent themselves. Fuller.

ve cost, I suppose, fifty pounds. F. Harrison. The sun has set, and Vesper, to supply His absent beams, has lighted up the sky. Dryden.

, At intervals of definite and often uniform duration, in which these symptoms are wholly absent (intermittent fever), or only partially so (remittent fever); fever and ague; chills and fever.

ting factors behaving as units. In any given germ cell each of these is either present or absent. The following example (using letters as symbols of the determining factors and hence also of the individuals possessing them) shows the operation of the law: Tallness being due to a factor T, a tall plant, arising by the u…

To be absent, deficient, or wanting. [Obs.] See Missing, a. What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. Shak.