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Orig., an officer appointed to look to the goodness of ale and beer; also, one of the officers chosen by the liverymen of London to inspect the measures used in public houses. But the office is a sinecure. [Also called aletaster.] [Eng.]

A kind of wine, formerly much esteemed; -- said to have been made near Alicant, in Spain. J. Fletcher.

a series of compounds that may be regarded as ammonia in which a part of the hydrogen has been replaced by basic, and another part by acid, atoms or radicals.

c., which are of frequent occurrence in our old authors, the all and the to have commonly been regarded as forming a compound adverb, equivalent in meaning to entirely, completely, altogether. But the sense of entireness lies wholly in the word all (as it does in "all forlorn," and similar expressions), and the to prop…

spice of a mildly pungent taste, and agreeably aromatic; Jamaica pepper; pimento. It has been supposed to combine the flavor of cinnamon, nutmegs, and cloves; and hence the name. The name is also given to other aromatic shrubs; as, the Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus); wild allspice (Lindera benzoin), called a…

lteration in me. Milton. Appius Claudius admitted to the senate the sons of those who had been slaves; by which, and succeeding alterations, that council degenerated into a most corrupt. Swift.

A beehive, or something resembling a beehive. Barret.

Formed or vaulted like a beehive.

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.

late; as, to amass a treasure or a fortune; to amass words or phrases. The life Homer has been written by amassing all the traditions and hints the writers could meet with. Pope.

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

e possible senses; equivocal; as, an ambiguous course; an ambiguous expression. What have been thy answers What but dark, Ambiguous, and with double sense deluding Milton.

A beetle of the genus Lamia.

t or radical. It may also be regarded as ammonia in which one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by an acid atom or radical. Acid amide, a neutral compound formed by the substitution of the amido group for hydroxyl in an acid.

erived from, amidogen. Amido acid, an acid in which a portion of the nonacid hydrogen has been replaced by the amido group. The amido acids are both basic and acid. -- Amido group, amidogen, NH2.

which may be regarded as ammonia from the molecule of which one of its hydrogen atoms has been removed; -- called also the amido group, and in composition represented by the form amido.

C. I shall summarily, without any amplification at all, show in what manner defects have been supplied. Sir J. Davies.

Old; that has been of long duration; of long standing; of great age; as, an ancient forest; an ancient castle. "Our ancient bickerings." Shak. Remove not the ancient landmarks, which thy fathers have set. Prov. xxii. 28. An ancient man, strangely habited, asked for quarters. Scott.

ervient or subordinate, like a handmaid; auxiliary. The Convocation of York seems to have been always considered as inferior, and even ancillary, to the greater province. Hallam.

e principal subgenus is Sorghum, including A. sorghum and A. halepensis, from which have been derived the Chinese sugar cane, the Johnson grass, the Aleppo grass, the broom corn, and the durra, or Indian millet. Several East Indian species, as A. nardus and A. schonanthus, yield fragrant oils, used in perfumery.…