Search the Dictionary

reath sound that was not an element of Greek articulation; and the Greeks took it to represent their vowel Alpha with the ä sound, the Phoenician alphabet having no vowel symbols. This letter, in English, is used for several different vowel sounds. See Guide to pronunciation, §§ 43-74. The regular long a, as in fate, e…

rable particle ge-, cognate with OHG. ga-, gi-, Goth. ga-), which, as a prefix, made no essential addition to the meaning, as in aware. (5) French à (L. ad to), as in abase, achieve. (6) L. a, ab, abs, from, as in avert. (7) Greek insep. prefix a without, or privative, not, as in abyss, atheist; akin to E. un-.…

ical calculations by balls sliding on wires, or counters in grooves, the lowest line representing units, the second line, tens, etc. It is still employed in China.

To reject by judicial sentence; also, to abjudge. [Obs.] Ash.

Rejection by judicial sentence. [R.] Knowles.

n; as, an abjuration of heresy. Oath of abjuration, an oath asserting the right of the present royal family to the crown of England, and expressly abjuring allegiance to the descendants of the Pretender. Brande & C.

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.

A representative of the pope charged with important commissions in foreign countries, one of his duties being to bring to a newly named cardinal his insignia of office.

More than; as, above five hundred were present.

ters 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.

Up to a certain level or line; equally advanced; as, to keep abreast of [or with] the present state of science.

A state of being absent or withdrawn from a place or from companionship; -- opposed to presence. Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Phil. ii. 12.

Not immediately dependent on the other parts of the sentence in government; as, the case absolute. See Ablative absolute, under Ablative. Absolute curvature (Geom.), that curvature of a curve of double curvature, which is measured in the osculating plane of the curve. -- Absolute equation (Astron.), the sum of the opt…

An acquittal, or sentence of a judge declaring and accused person innocent. [Obs.]

Serving to absolve; absolving. "An absolutory sentence." Ayliffe.

ng from intoxicating beverages, -- called also total abstinence. The abstinence from a present pleasure that offers itself is a pain, nay, oftentimes, a very great one. Locke.

Abstracted; absent in mind. "Abstract, as in a trance." Milton. An abstract idea (Metaph.), an idea separated from a complex object, or from other ideas which naturally accompany it; as the solidity of marble when contemplated apart from its color or figure. -- Abstract terms, those which express abstract ideas, as be…

Inattentive to surrounding objects; absent in mind. "An abstracted scholar." Johnson.

Absence or absorption of mind; inattention to present objects.

bag, filled with dust, borne by Byzantine emperors, as a memento of mortality. It is represented on medals.