A

20 definitions found

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

  Gastropoda \Gas*trop"o*da\, n. pl., [NL., fr. Gr. ?, ?, stomach
     + -poda.] (Zool.)
     One of the classes of Mollusca, of great extent. It includes
     most of the marine spiral shells, and the land and
     fresh-water snails. They generally creep by means of a flat,
     muscular disk, or foot, on the ventral side of the body. The


     head usually bears one or two pairs of tentacles. See
     {Mollusca}. [Written also {Gasteropoda}.]
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     Note: The Gastropoda are divided into three subclasses; viz.:
           ({a}) The Streptoneura or Dioecia, including the
           Pectinibranchiata, Rhipidoglossa, Docoglossa, and
           Heteropoda. ({b}) The Euthyneura, including the
           Pulmonata and Opisthobranchia. ({c}) The Amphineura,
           including the Polyplacophora and Aplacophora.
           [1913 Webster]

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

  Gripe \Gripe\, n.
     1. Grasp; seizure; fast hold; clutch.
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              A barren scepter in my gripe.         --Shak.
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     2. That on which the grasp is put; a handle; a grip; as, the
        gripe of a sword.
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     3. (Mech.) A device for grasping or holding anything; a brake
        to stop a wheel.
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     4. Oppression; cruel exaction; affiction; pinching distress;
        as, the gripe of poverty.
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     5. Pinching and spasmodic pain in the intestines; -- chiefly
        used in the plural.
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     6. (Naut.)
        (a) The piece of timber which terminates the keel at the
            fore end; the forefoot.
        (b) The compass or sharpness of a ship's stern under the
            water, having a tendency to make her keep a good wind.
        (c) pl. An assemblage of ropes, dead-eyes, and hocks,
            fastened to ringbolts in the deck, to secure the boats
            when hoisted; also, broad bands passed around a boat
            to secure it at the davits and prevent swinging.
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     {Gripe penny}, {a} miser; a niggard. --D. L. Mackenzie.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Infinitive \In*fin"i*tive\, n. [L. infinitivus: cf. F.
     infinitif. See {Infinite}.]
     Unlimited; not bounded or restricted; undefined.
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     {Infinitive mood} (Gram.), that form of the verb which merely
        names the action, and performs the office of a verbal
        noun. Some grammarians make two forms in English: ({a})
        The simple form, as, speak, go, hear, before which to is
        commonly placed, as, to speak; to go; to hear. ({b}) The
        form of the imperfect participle, called the infinitive in
        -ing; as, going is as easy as standing.
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     Note: With the auxiliary verbs may, can, must, might, could,
           would, and should, the simple infinitive is expressed
           without to; as, you may speak; they must hear, etc. The
           infinitive usually omits to with the verbs let, dare,
           do, bid, make, see, hear, need, etc.; as, let me go;
           you dare not tell; make him work; hear him talk, etc.
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     Note: In Anglo-Saxon, the simple infinitive was not preceded
           by to (the sign of modern simple infinitive), but it
           had a dative form (sometimes called the gerundial
           infinitive) which was preceded by to, and was chiefly
           employed in expressing purpose. See {Gerund}, 2.
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     Note: The gerundial ending (-anne) not only took the same
           form as the simple infinitive (-an), but it was
           confounded with the present participle in -ende, or
           -inde (later -inge).
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Legate \Leg"ate\ (l[e^]g"[asl]t), n. [OE. legat, L. legatus, fr.
     legare to send with a commission or charge, to depute, fr.
     lex, legis, law: cf. F. l['e]gat, It. legato. See {Legal}.]
     1. An ambassador or envoy.
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     2. An ecclesiastic representing the pope and invested with
        the authority of the Holy See.
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     Note: Legates are of three kinds: ({a}) Legates a latere, now
           always cardinals. They are called ordinary or
           extraordinary legates, the former governing provinces,
           and the latter class being sent to foreign countries on
           extraordinary occasions. ({b}) Legati missi, who
           correspond to the ambassadors of temporal governments.
           ({c}) Legati nati, or legates by virtue of their
           office, as the archbishops of Salzburg and Prague.
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     3. (Rom. Hist.)
        (a) An official assistant given to a general or to the
            governor of a province.
        (b) Under the emperors, a governor sent to a province.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Libration \Li*bra"tion\ (l[-i]*br[=a]"sh[u^]n), n. [L. libratio:
     cf. F. libration.]
     1. The act or state of librating. --Jer. Taylor.
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     2. (Astron.) A real or apparent libratory motion, like that
        of a balance before coming to rest.
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     {Libration of the moon}, any one of those small periodical
        changes in the position of the moon's surface relatively
        to the earth, in consequence of which narrow portions at
        opposite limbs become visible or invisible alternately. It
        receives different names according to the manner in which
        it takes place; as: {(a)} Libration in longitude, that
        which, depending on the place of the moon in its elliptic
        orbit, causes small portions near the eastern and western
        borders alternately to appear and disappear each month.
        ({b}) Libration in latitude, that which depends on the
        varying position of the moon's axis in respect to the
        spectator, causing the alternate appearance and
        disappearance of either pole. ({c}) Diurnal or parallactic
        libration, that which brings into view on the upper limb,
        at rising and setting, some parts not in the average
        visible hemisphere.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Monkey \Mon"key\, n.; pl. {Monkeys}. [Cf. OIt. monicchio, It.
     monnino, dim. of monna an ape, also dame, mistress, contr.
     fr. madonna. See {Madonna}.]
     1. (Zool.)
        (a) In the most general sense, any one of the Quadrumana,
            including apes, baboons, and lemurs.
        (b) Any species of Quadrumana, except the lemurs.
        (c) Any one of numerous species of Quadrumana (esp. such
            as have a long tail and prehensile feet) exclusive of
            apes and baboons.
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     Note: The monkeys are often divided into three groups: ({a})
           {Catarrhines}, or {Simidae}. These have an oblong head,
           with the oblique flat nostrils near together. Some have
           no tail, as the apes. All these are natives of the Old
           World. ({b}) {Platyrhines}, or {Cebidae}. These have a
           round head, with a broad nasal septum, so that the
           nostrils are wide apart and directed downward. The tail
           is often prehensile, and the thumb is short and not
           opposable. These are natives of the New World. ({c})
           {Strepsorhines}, or {Lemuroidea}. These have a pointed
           head with curved nostrils. They are natives of Southern
           Asia, Africa, and Madagascar.
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     2. A term of disapproval, ridicule, or contempt, as for a
        mischievous child.
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              This is the monkey's own giving out; she is
              persuaded I will marry her.           --Shak.
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     3. The weight or hammer of a pile driver, that is, a very
        heavy mass of iron, which, being raised on high, falls on
        the head of the pile, and drives it into the earth; the
        falling weight of a drop hammer used in forging.
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     4. A small trading vessel of the sixteenth century.
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     {Monkey boat}. (Naut.)
        (a) A small boat used in docks.
        (b) A half-decked boat used on the River Thames.
  
     {Monkey block} (Naut.), a small single block strapped with a
        swivel. --R. H. Dana, Jr.
  
     {Monkey flower} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Mimulus}; -- so
        called from the appearance of its gaping corolla. --Gray.
  
     {Monkey gaff} (Naut.), a light gaff attached to the topmast
        for the better display of signals at sea.
  
     {Monkey jacket}, a short closely fitting jacket, worn by
        sailors.
  
     {Monkey rail} (Naut.), a second and lighter rail raised about
        six inches above the quarter rail of a ship.
  
     {Monkey shine}, monkey trick. [Slang, U.S.]
  
     {Monkey trick}, a mischievous prank. --Saintsbury.
  
     {Monkey wheel}. See {Gin block}, under 5th {Gin}.
        [1913 Webster]

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

  Motion \Mo"tion\, n. [F., fr. L. motio, fr. movere, motum, to
     move. See {Move}.]
     1. The act, process, or state of changing place or position;
        movement; the passing of a body from one place or position
        to another, whether voluntary or involuntary; -- opposed
        to {rest}.
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              Speaking or mute, all comeliness and grace
              attends thee, and each word, each motion, forms.
                                                    --Milton.
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     2. Power of, or capacity for, motion.
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              Devoid of sense and motion.           --Milton.
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     3. Direction of movement; course; tendency; as, the motion of
        the planets is from west to east.
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              In our proper motion we ascend.       --Milton.
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     4. Change in the relative position of the parts of anything;
        action of a machine with respect to the relative movement
        of its parts.
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              This is the great wheel to which the clock owes its
              motion.                               --Dr. H. More.
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     5. Movement of the mind, desires, or passions; mental act, or
        impulse to any action; internal activity.
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              Let a good man obey every good motion rising in his
              heart, knowing that every such motion proceeds from
              God.                                  --South.
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     6. A proposal or suggestion looking to action or progress;
        esp., a formal proposal made in a deliberative assembly;
        as, a motion to adjourn.
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              Yes, I agree, and thank you for your motion. --Shak.
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     7. (Law) An application made to a court or judge orally in
        open court. Its object is to obtain an order or rule
        directing some act to be done in favor of the applicant.
        --Mozley & W.
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     8. (Mus.) Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in
        the same part or in groups of parts.
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              The independent motions of different parts sounding
              together constitute counterpoint.     --Grove.
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     Note: Conjunct motion is that by single degrees of the scale.
           Contrary motion is that when parts move in opposite
           directions. Disjunct motion is motion by skips. Oblique
           motion is that when one part is stationary while
           another moves. Similar or direct motion is that when
           parts move in the same direction.
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     9. A puppet show or puppet. [Obs.]
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              What motion's this? the model of Nineveh? --Beau. &
                                                    Fl.
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     Note: Motion, in mechanics, may be simple or compound.
  
     {Simple motions} are: ({a}) straight translation, which, if
        of indefinite duration, must be reciprocating. ({b})
        Simple rotation, which may be either continuous or
        reciprocating, and when reciprocating is called
        oscillating. ({c}) Helical, which, if of indefinite
        duration, must be reciprocating.
  
     {Compound motion} consists of combinations of any of the
        simple motions.
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     {Center of motion}, {Harmonic motion}, etc. See under
        {Center}, {Harmonic}, etc.
  
     {Motion block} (Steam Engine), a crosshead.
  
     {Perpetual motion} (Mech.), an incessant motion conceived to
        be attainable by a machine supplying its own motive forces
        independently of any action from without. According to the
        law of conservation of energy, such perpetual motion is
        impossible, and no device has yet been built that is
        capable of perpetual motion.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     Syn: See {Movement}.
          [1913 Webster]

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

  Respiration \Res`pi*ra"tion\ (r?s`p?*r?"sh?n), n. [L.
     respiratio: cf. F. respiration. See {Respire}.]
     1. The act of respiring or breathing again, or catching one's
        breath.
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     2. Relief from toil or suffering: rest. [Obs.]
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              Till the day
              Appear of respiration to the just
              And vengeance to the wicked.          --Milton.
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     3. Interval; intermission. [Obs.] --Bp. Hall.
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     4. (Physiol.) The act of resping or breathing; the act of
        taking in and giving out air; the aggregate of those
        processes bu which oxygen is introduced into the system,
        and carbon dioxide, or carbonic acid, removed.
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     Note: Respiration in the higher animals is divided into:
           ({a}) Internal respiration, or the interchange of
           oxygen and carbonic acid between the cells of the body
           and the bathing them, which in one sense is a process
           of nutrition. ({b}) External respiration, or the
           gaseous interchange taking place in the special
           respiratory organs, the lungs. This constitutes
           respiration proper. --Gamgee.
           [1913 Webster] In the respiration of plants oxygen is
           likewise absorbed and carbonic acid exhaled, but in the
           light this process is obscured by another process which
           goes on with more vigor, in which the plant inhales and
           absorbs carbonic acid and exhales free oxygen.
           [1913 Webster]

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

  A \A\ ([.a]), prep. [Abbreviated form of an (AS. on). See {On}.]
     1. In; on; at; by. [Obs.] "A God's name." "Torn a pieces."
        "Stand a tiptoe." "A Sundays" --Shak. "Wit that men have
        now a days." --Chaucer. "Set them a work." --Robynson
        (More's Utopia).
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     2. In process of; in the act of; into; to; -- used with
        verbal substantives in -ing which begin with a consonant.
        This is a shortened form of the preposition an (which was
        used before the vowel sound); as in a hunting, a building,
        a begging. "Jacob, when he was a dying" --Heb. xi. 21.
        "We'll a birding together." " It was a doing." --Shak. "He
        burst out a laughing." --Macaulay.
  
     Note: The hyphen may be used to connect a with the verbal
           substantive (as, a-hunting, a-building) or the words
           may be written separately. This form of expression is
           now for the most part obsolete, the a being omitted and
           the verbal substantive treated as a participle.
           [1913 Webster]

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

  A \A\ (named [=a] in the English, and most commonly [aum] in
     other languages).
     The first letter of the English and of many other alphabets.
     The capital A of the alphabets of Middle and Western Europe,
     as also the small letter (a), besides the forms in Italic,
     black letter, etc., are all descended from the old Latin A,
     which was borrowed from the Greek {Alpha}, of the same form;
     and this was made from the first letter (?) of the
     Ph[oe]nician alphabet, the equivalent of the Hebrew Aleph,
     and itself from the Egyptian origin. The Aleph was a
     consonant letter, with a guttural breath sound that was not
     an element of Greek articulation; and the Greeks took it to
     represent their vowel Alpha with the [aum] sound, the
     Ph[oe]nician alphabet having no vowel symbols.
     [1913 Webster] This letter, in English, is used for several
     different vowel sounds. See Guide to pronunciation,
     [sect][sect] 43-74. The regular long a, as in fate, etc., is
     a comparatively modern sound, and has taken the place of
     what, till about the early part of the 17th century, was a
     sound of the quality of [aum] (as in far).
     [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Mus.) The name of the sixth tone in the model major scale
        (that in C), or the first tone of the minor scale, which
        is named after it the scale in A minor. The second string
        of the violin is tuned to the A in the treble staff. -- A
        sharp (A[sharp]) is the name of a musical tone
        intermediate between A and B. -- A flat (A[flat]) is the
        name of a tone intermediate between A and G.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {A per se} (L. per se by itself), one pre["e]minent; a
        nonesuch. [Obs.]
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              O fair Creseide, the flower and A per se
              Of Troy and Greece.                   --Chaucer.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  A \A\ ([.a] emph. [=a]).
     1. [Shortened form of an. AS. [=a]n one. See {One}.] An
        adjective, commonly called the indefinite article, and
        signifying one or any, but less emphatically. "At a
        birth"; "In a word"; "At a blow". --Shak.
  
     Note: It is placed before nouns of the singular number
           denoting an individual object, or a quality
           individualized, before collective nouns, and also
           before plural nouns when the adjective few or the
           phrase great many or good many is interposed; as, a
           dog, a house, a man; a color; a sweetness; a hundred, a
           fleet, a regiment; a few persons, a great many days. It
           is used for an, for the sake of euphony, before words
           beginning with a consonant sound [for exception of
           certain words beginning with h, see {An}]; as, a table,
           a woman, a year, a unit, a eulogy, a ewe, a oneness,
           such a one, etc. Formally an was used both before
           vowels and consonants.
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     2. [Originally the preposition a (an, on).] In each; to or
        for each; as, "twenty leagues a day", "a hundred pounds a
        year", "a dollar a yard", etc.
        [1913 Webster]

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

  A \A\ [From AS. of off, from. See {Of}.]
     Of. [Obs.] "The name of John a Gaunt." "What time a day is it
     ?" --Shak. "It's six a clock." --B. Jonson.
     [1913 Webster]

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

  A \A\
     A barbarous corruption of have, of he, and sometimes of it
     and of they. "So would I a done" "A brushes his hat." --Shak.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  A \A\
     An expletive, void of sense, to fill up the meter
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           A merry heart goes all the day,
           Your sad tires in a mile-a.              --Shak.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  A- \A-\
     A, as a prefix to English words, is derived from various
     sources. (1) It frequently signifies on or in (from an, a
     forms of AS. on), denoting a state, as in afoot, on foot,
     abed, amiss, asleep, aground, aloft, away (AS. onweg), and
     analogically, ablaze, atremble, etc. (2) AS. of off, from, as
     in adown (AS. ofd[=u]ne off the dun or hill). (3) AS. [=a]-
     (Goth. us-, ur-, Ger. er-), usually giving an intensive
     force, and sometimes the sense of away, on, back, as in
     arise, abide, ago. (4) Old English y- or i- (corrupted from
     the AS. inseparable 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 [`a] (L. ad to), as in
     abase, achieve. (6) L. a, ab, abs, from, as in avert. (7)
     Greek insep. prefix [alpha] without, or privative, not, as in
     abyss, atheist; akin to E. un-.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Besides these, there are other sources from which the
           prefix a takes its origin.
           [1913 Webster]

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

  Ferment \Fer"ment\, n. [L. fermentum ferment (in senses 1 & 2),
     perh. for fervimentum, fr. fervere to be boiling hot, boil,
     ferment: cf. F. ferment. Cf. 1st {Barm}, {Fervent}.]
     1. That which causes fermentation, as yeast, barm, or
        fermenting beer.
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     Note: Ferments are of two kinds: ({a}) Formed or organized
           ferments. ({b}) Unorganized or structureless ferments.
           The latter are now called {enzymes} and were formerly
           called {soluble ferments} or {chemical ferments}.
           Ferments of the first class are as a rule simple
           microscopic vegetable organisms, and the fermentations
           which they engender are due to their growth and
           development; as, the {acetic ferment}, the {butyric
           ferment}, etc. See {Fermentation}. Ferments of the
           second class, on the other hand, are chemical
           substances; as a rule they are proteins soluble in
           glycerin and precipitated by alcohol. In action they
           are catalytic and, mainly, hydrolytic. Good examples
           are pepsin of the dastric juice, ptyalin of the salvia,
           and disease of malt. Before 1960 the term "ferment" to
           mean "enzyme" fell out of use. Enzymes are now known to
           be {globular protein}s, capable of catalyzing a wide
           variety of chemical reactions, not merely hydrolytic.
           The full set of enzymes causing production of ethyl
           alcohol from sugar has been identified and individually
           purified and studied. See {enzyme}.
           [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     2. Intestine motion; heat; tumult; agitation.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Subdue and cool the ferment of desire. --Rogers.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              the nation is in a ferment.           --Walpole.
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     3. A gentle internal motion of the constituent parts of a
        fluid; fermentation. [R.]
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              Down to the lowest lees the ferment ran. --Thomson.
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     {ferment oils}, volatile oils produced by the fermentation of
        plants, and not originally contained in them. These were
        the quintessences of the alchemists. --Ure.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  A
       n 1: the blood group whose red cells carry the A antigen [syn: {type
            A}, {group A}]
       2: a metric unit of length equal to one ten billionth of a
          meter (or 0.0001 micron); used to specify wavelengths of
          electromagnetic radiation [syn: {angstrom}, {angstrom unit}]
       3: any of several fat-soluble vitamins essential for normal
          vision; prevents night blindness or inflammation or
          dryness of the eyes [syn: {vitamin A}, {antiophthalmic
          factor}, {axerophthol}]
       4: one of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four
          nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar
          (ribose) [syn: {deoxyadenosine monophosphate}]
       5: (biochemistry) purine base found in DNA and RNA; pairs with
          thymine in DNA and with uracil in RNA [syn: {adenine}]
       6: the basic unit of electric current adopted under the Systeme
          International d'Unites; "a typical household circuit
          carries 15 to 50 amps" [syn: {ampere}, {amp}]
       7: the 1st letter of the Roman alphabet

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  A#
       
           /A sharp/ A separable component of Version 2 of the
          {AXIOM*} computer algebra system.  It provides a programming
          language with an {optimising compiler}, an {intermediate code}
          {interpreter}, and a library of data structures and
          mathematical {abstraction}s.  The compiler produces
          {stand-alone executable} programs, {object} libraries in
          {native} {operating system} formats, {portable} {bytecode}
          libraries, {C} and {Lisp} {source code}.
       
          The A# programming language has support for {object-oriented}
          and {functional programming} styles.  Both types and functions
          are {first class} values that can be manipulated with a range
          of flexible and composable {primitive}s and user programs.
          The A# language design places particular emphasis on
          compilation for efficient {machine code} and portability.
       
          Ports have been made to various 16, 32, and 64 bit
          architectures: {RS/6000}, {SPARC}, {DEC Alpha}, {i386},
          {i286}, {Motorola 680x0}, {S 370}; several {operating
          system}s: {Linux}, {AIX}, {SunOS}, {HP/UX}, {Next}, {Mach} and
          other {Unix} systems, {OS/2}, {DOS}, {Microsoft Windows},
          {VMS} and {CMS}; {C} compilers: {Xlc}, {gcc}, {Sun},
          {Borland}, {Metaware} and {MIPS} C.
       
          (1995-02-07)
       
       

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  A
     Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, as Omega is the
     last. These letters occur in the text of Rev. 1:8,11; 21:6;
     22:13, and are represented by "Alpha" and "Omega" respectively
     (omitted in R.V., 1:11). They mean "the first and last." (Comp.
     Heb. 12:2; Isa. 41:4; 44:6; Rev. 1:11,17; 2:8.) In the symbols
     of the early Christian Church these two letters are frequently
     combined with the cross or with Christ's monogram to denote his
     divinity.
     

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  A, the first letter of the English and most other alphabets, is frequently
  used as an abbreviation, (q.v.) and also in the marks of schedules or
  papers, as schedule A, B, C, &c.  Among the Romans this letter was used in
  criminal trials.  The judges were furnished with small tables covered with
  wax, and each one inscribed on it the initial letter of his vote; A, when he
  voted to absolve the party on trial; C, when he was for condemnation; and N
  L, (non liquet) when the matter did not appear clearly, and be desired a new
  argument.