[syn: A, type A, group A]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
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Syn: See Movement.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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).
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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.
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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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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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-.
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Note: Besides these, there are other sources from which the
prefix a takes its origin.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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 proteins, 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.
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2. Intestine motion; heat; tumult; agitation.
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Subdue and cool the ferment of desire. --Rogers.
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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.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
A
n 1: 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, A]
2: 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, A]
3: one of the four nucleotides used in building DNA; all four
nucleotides have a common phosphate group and a sugar
(ribose) [syn: deoxyadenosine monophosphate, A]
4: (biochemistry) purine base found in DNA and RNA; pairs with
thymine in DNA and with uracil in RNA [syn: adenine, A]
5: 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, A]
6: the 1st letter of the Roman alphabet [syn: A, a]
7: the blood group whose red cells carry the A antigen [syn:
A, type A, group A]
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary:
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.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
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.