Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter A - Page 57

Anabas (n.) A genus of fishes, remarkable for their power of living long out of water, and of making their way on land for considerable distances, and for climbing trees; the climbing fishes.

Anabasis (n.) A journey or expedition up from the coast, like that of the younger Cyrus into Central Asia, described by Xenophon in his work called "The Anabasis."

Anabasis (n.) The first period, or increase, of a disease; augmentation.

Anabatic (a.) Pertaining to anabasis; as, an anabatic fever.

Anabolic (a.) Pertaining to anabolism; an anabolic changes, or processes, more or less constructive in their nature.

Anabolism (n.) The constructive metabolism of the body, as distinguished from katabolism.

Anacamptic (a.) Reflecting of reflected; as, an anacamptic sound (and echo).

Anacamptically (adv.) By reflection; as, echoes are sound produced anacamptically.

Anacamptics (n.) The science of reflected light, now called catoptrics.

Anacamptics (n.) The science of reflected sounds.

Anacanthini (n. pl.) Alt. of Anacanths

Anacanths (n. pl.) A group of teleostean fishes destitute of spiny fin-rays, as the cod.

Anacanthous (a.) Spineless, as certain fishes.

Anacardiaceous (a.) Belonging to, or resembling, a family, or order, of plants of which the cashew tree is the type, and the species of sumac are well known examples.

Anacardic (a.) Pertaining to, or derived from, the cashew nut; as, anacardic acid.

Anacardium (n.) A genus of plants including the cashew tree. See Cashew.

Anacathartic (a.) Producing vomiting or expectoration.

Anacathartic (n.) An anacathartic medicine; an expectorant or an emetic.

Anacharis (n.) A fresh-water weed of the frog's-bit family (Hydrocharidaceae), native to America. Transferred to England it became an obstruction to navigation. Called also waterweed and water thyme.

Anachoret (a.) Alt. of Anachoretical

Anachoretical (a.) See Anchoret, Anchoretic.

Anachorism (n.) An error in regard to the place of an event or a thing; a referring something to a wrong place.

Anachronic (a.) Alt. of Anachronical

Anachronical (a.) Characterized by, or involving, anachronism; anachronistic.

Anachronism (n.) A misplacing or error in the order of time; an error in chronology by which events are misplaced in regard to each other, esp. one by which an event is placed too early; falsification of chronological relation.

Anachronistic (a.) Erroneous in date; containing an anachronism.

Anachronize (v. t.) To refer to, or put into, a wrong time.

Anachronous (a.) Containing an anachronism; anachronistic.

Anaclastic (a.) Produced by the refraction of light, as seen through water; as, anaclastic curves.

Anaclastic (a.) Springing back, as the bottom of an anaclastic glass.

Anaclastics (n.) That part of optics which treats of the refraction of light; -- commonly called dioptrics.

Anacoenosis (n.) A figure by which a speaker appeals to his hearers or opponents for their opinion on the point in debate.

Anacoluthic (a.) Lacking grammatical sequence.

Anacoluthon (n.) A want of grammatical sequence or coherence in a sentence; an instance of a change of construction in a sentence so that the latter part does not syntactically correspond with the first part.

Anaconda (n.) A large South American snake of the Boa family (Eunectes murinus), which lives near rivers, and preys on birds and small mammals. The name is also applied to a similar large serpent (Python tigris) of Ceylon.

Anacreontic (a.) Pertaining to, after the manner of, or in the meter of, the Greek poet Anacreon; amatory and convivial.

Anacreontic (n.) A poem after the manner of Anacreon; a sprightly little poem in praise of love and wine.

Anacrotic (a.) Pertaining to anachronism.

Anacrotism (n.) A secondary notch in the pulse curve, obtained in a sphygmographic tracing.

Anacrusis (n.) A prefix of one or two unaccented syllables to a verse properly beginning with an accented syllable.

Anadem (n.) A garland or fillet; a chaplet or wreath.

Anadiplosis (n.) A repetition of the last word or any prominent word in a sentence or clause, at the beginning of the next, with an adjunct idea; as, "He retained his virtues amidst all his misfortunes -- misfortunes which no prudence could foresee or prevent."

Anadrom (n.) A fish that leaves the sea and ascends rivers.

Anadromous (a.) Ascending rivers from the sea, at certain seasons, for breeding, as the salmon, shad, etc.

Anadromous (a.) Tending upwards; -- said of terns in which the lowest secondary segments are on the upper side of the branch of the central stem.

Anaemia (a.) A morbid condition in which the blood is deficient in quality or in quantity.

Anaemic (a.) Of or pertaining to anaemia.

Anaerobic (a.) Relating to, or like, anaerobies; anaerobiotic.

Anaerobies (n. pl.) Microorganisms which do not require oxygen, but are killed by it.

Anaerobiotic (a.) Related to, or of the nature of, anaerobies.

Anaesthesia (n.) Entire or partial loss or absence of feeling or sensation; a state of general or local insensibility produced by disease or by the inhalation or application of an anaesthetic.

Anaesthesis (n.) See Anaesthesia.

Anaesthetic (a.) Capable of rendering insensible; as, anaesthetic agents.

Anaesthetic (a.) Characterized by, or connected with, insensibility; as, an anaesthetic effect or operation.

Anaesthetic (n.) That which produces insensibility to pain, as chloroform, ether, etc.

Anaesthetization (n.) The process of anaesthetizing; also, the condition of the nervous system induced by anaesthetics.

Anaesthetize (v. t.) To render insensible by an anaesthetic.

Anaglyph (n.) Any sculptured, chased, or embossed ornament worked in low relief, as a cameo.

Anaglyphic (a.) Alt. of Anaglyphical

Anaglyphical (a.) Pertaining to the art of chasing or embossing in relief; anaglyptic; -- opposed to diaglyptic or sunk work.

Anaglyphic (n.) Work chased or embossed relief.

Anaglyptic (a.) Relating to the art of carving, enchasing, or embossing in low relief.

Anaglyptics (n.) The art of carving in low relief, embossing, etc.

Anaglyptograph (n.) An instrument by which a correct engraving of any embossed object, such as a medal or cameo, can be executed.

Anaglyptographic (a.) Of or pertaining to anaglyptography; as, anaglyptographic engraving.

Anaglyptography (n.) The art of copying works in relief, or of engraving as to give the subject an embossed or raised appearance; -- used in representing coins, bas-reliefs, etc.

Anagnorisis (n.) The unfolding or denouement.

Anagoge (n.) An elevation of mind to things celestial.

Anagoge (n.) The spiritual meaning or application; esp. the application of the types and allegories of the Old Testament to subjects of the New.

Anagogic (a.) Alt. of Anagogical

Anagogical (a.) Mystical; having a secondary spiritual meaning; as, the rest of the Sabbath, in an anagogical sense, signifies the repose of the saints in heaven; an anagogical explication.

Anagogics (n. pl.) Mystical interpretations or studies, esp. of the Scriptures.

Anagogy (n.) Same as Anagoge.

Anagram (n.) Literally, the letters of a word read backwards, but in its usual wider sense, the change or one word or phrase into another by the transposition of its letters. Thus Galenus becomes angelus; William Noy (attorney-general to Charles I., and a laborious man) may be turned into I moyl in law.

Anagram (v. t.) To anagrammatize.

Anagrammatic (a.) Alt. of Anagrammatical

Anagrammatical (a.) Pertaining to, containing, or making, an anagram.

Anagrammatism (n.) The act or practice of making anagrams.

Anagrammatist (n.) A maker anagrams.

Anagrammatize (v. t.) To transpose, as the letters of a word, so as to form an anagram.

Anagraph (n.) An inventory; a record.

Anakim (n. pl.) Alt. of Anaks

Anaks (n. pl.) A race of giants living in Palestine.

Anal (a.) Pertaining to, or situated near, the anus; as, the anal fin or glands.

Analcime (n.) A white or flesh-red mineral, of the zeolite family, occurring in isometric crystals. By friction, it acquires a weak electricity; hence its name.

Analcite (n.) Analcime.

Analectic (a.) Relating to analects; made up of selections; as, an analectic magazine.

Analects (n. pl.) Alt. of Analecta

Analecta (n. pl.) A collection of literary fragments.

Analemma (n.) An orthographic projection of the sphere on the plane of the meridian, the eye being supposed at an infinite distance, and in the east or west point of the horizon.

Analemma (n.) An instrument of wood or brass, on which this projection of the sphere is made, having a movable horizon or cursor; -- formerly much used in solving some common astronomical problems.

Analemma (n.) A scale of the sun's declination for each day of the year, drawn across the torrid zone on an artificial terrestrial globe.

Analepsis () Alt. of Analepsy

Analepsy () Recovery of strength after sickness.

Analepsy () A species of epileptic attack, originating from gastric disorder.

Analeptic (a.) Restorative; giving strength after disease.

Analeptic (n.) A restorative.

Analgesia (n.) Absence of sensibility to pain.

Anallagmatic (a.) Not changed in form by inversion.

Anallantoic (a.) Without, or not developing, an allantois.

[previous page] [Index] [next page]