Acephalous

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Acephalous \A*ceph"a*lous\, a. [See {Acephal}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. Headless.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Zool.) Without a distinct head; -- a term applied to


        bivalve mollusks.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Bot.) Having the style spring from the base, instead of
        from the apex, as is the case in certain ovaries.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. Without a leader or chief.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. Wanting the beginning.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              A false or acephalous structure of sentence. --De
                                                    Quincey.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. (Pros.) Deficient at the beginning, as a line of poetry.
        --Brande.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  acephalous
       adj : lacking a head or a clearly defined head; "acephalous worms"

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  ACEPHALOUS, adj.  In the surprising condition of the Crusader who
  absently pulled at his forelock some hours after a Saracen scimitar
  had, unconsciously to him, passed through his neck, as related by de
  Joinville.