n. pl. (Anat.) The abductor muscles of the stomach; -- a contraction used by body-building and health enthusiasts. Used similarly to pecs and delts. [ PJC ]

n.; pl. Abscesses [ L. abscessus a going away, gathering of humors, abscess, fr. abscessus, p. p. of absedere to go away; ab, abs + cedere to go off, retire. See Cede. ] (Med.) A collection of pus or purulent matter in any tissue or organ of the body caused by infection. [ 1913 Webster + AS ]

Cold abscess, (a) an abscess of slow formation, unattended with the pain and heat characteristic of ordinary abscesses, and lasting for years without exhibiting any tendency towards healing; a chronic abscess. AS (b) an abscess produced by tubercle bacilli, called also tuberculous abscess. AS [ 1913 Webster + AS ]

n. [ L. abscessio a separation; fr. absedere. See Abscess. ] A separating; removal; also, an abscess. [ Obs. ] Gauden. Barrough. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. absindere; ab + scindere to rend, cut. See Schism. ] To cut off. [ R. ] “Two syllables . . . abscinded from the rest.” Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. abscisio. ] See Abscission. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Abscisses See Abscissa. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; E. pl. Abscissas, L. pl. Abscissæ. [ L., fem. of abscissus, p. p. of absindere to cut of. See Abscind. ] (Geom.) One of the elements of reference by which a point, as of a curve, is referred to a system of fixed rectilineal coördinate axes. When referred to two intersecting axes, one of them called the axis of abscissas, or of X, and the other the axis of ordinates, or of Y, the abscissa of the point is the distance cut off from the axis of X by a line drawn through it and parallel to the axis of Y. When a point in space is referred to three axes having a common intersection, the abscissa may be the distance measured parallel to either of them, from the point to the plane of the other two axes. Abscissas and ordinates taken together are called coördinates. -- OX or PY is the abscissa of the point P of the curve, OY or PX its ordinate, the intersecting lines OX and OY being the axes of abscissas and ordinates respectively, and the point O their origin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. abscissio. See Abscind. ] 1. The act or process of cutting off. “Not to be cured without the abscission of a member.” Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state of being cut off. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Rhet.) A figure of speech employed when a speaker having begun to say a thing stops abruptly: thus, “He is a man of so much honor and candor, and of such generosity -- but I need say no more.” [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Absconded; p. pr. & vb. n. Absconding. ] [ L. abscondere to hide; ab, abs + condere to lay up; con + dăre (only in comp.) to put. Cf. Do. ] 1. To hide, withdraw, or be concealed. [ 1913 Webster ]

The marmot absconds all winter. Ray. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To depart clandestinely; to steal off and secrete one's self; -- used especially of persons who withdraw to avoid a legal process; as, an absconding debtor. [ 1913 Webster ]

That very homesickness which, in regular armies, drives so many recruits to abscond. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To hide; to conceal. [ Obs. ] Bentley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Fugitive concealment; secret retirement; hiding. [ R. ] Phillips. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who absconds. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. 1 the act of running away sectretly (as to avoid arrest).
Syn. -- decampment [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F., fr. L. absentia. See Absent. ] 1. A state of being absent or withdrawn from a place or from companionship; -- opposed to presence. [ 1913 Webster ]

Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Phil. ii. 12. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Want; destitution; withdrawal. “In the absence of conventional law.” Kent. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Inattention to things present; abstraction (of mind); as, absence of mind. “Reflecting on the little absences and distractions of mankind.” Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

To conquer that abstraction which is called absence. Landor. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F., fr. absens, absentis, p. pr. of abesse to be away from; ab + esse to be. Cf. Sooth. ] 1. Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; not present. “Expecting absent friends.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Not existing; lacking; as, the part was rudimental or absent. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Inattentive to what is passing; absent-minded; preoccupied; as, an absent air. [ 1913 Webster ]

What is commonly called an absent man is commonly either a very weak or a very affected man. Chesterfield. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Absent, Abstracted. These words both imply a lack of attention to surrounding objects. We speak of a man as absent when his thoughts wander unconsciously from present scenes or topics of discourse; we speak of him as abstracted when his mind (usually for a brief period) is drawn off from present things by some weighty matter for reflection. Absence of mind is usually the result of loose habits of thought; abstraction commonly arises either from engrossing interests and cares, or from unfortunate habits of association. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Absented; p. pr. & vb. n. Absenting. ] [ Cf. F. absenter. ] 1. To take or withdraw (one's self) to such a distance as to prevent intercourse; -- used with the reflexive pronoun. [ 1913 Webster ]

If after due summons any member absents himself, he is to be fined. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To withhold from being present. [ Obs. ] “Go; for thy stay, not free, absents thee more.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ LL. absentaneus. See absent ] Pertaining to absence. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of absenting one's self. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who absents himself from his country, office, post, or duty; especially, a landholder who lives in another country or district than that where his estate is situated; as, an Irish absentee. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or practice of an absentee; esp. the practice of absenting one's self from the country or district where one's estate is situated. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who absents one's self. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an absent or abstracted manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being absent; withdrawal. [ R. ] Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Absent in mind; abstracted; preoccupied. -- Ab`sent-mind"ed*ness, n. -- Ab`sent-mind"ed*ly, adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being absent-minded. H. Miller. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An A-B-C book; a primer. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Physics) A unit of conductance equal to 109 mhos; -- the inverse of the abohm.
Syn. -- abmho [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Chem.) A combination of absinthic acid with a base or positive radical. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ F. absinthe. See Absinthium. ] 1. The plant absinthium or common wormwood. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A strong spirituous liqueur made from wormwood and brandy or alcohol. [ 1913 Webster ]

Absinthe makes the tart grow fonder. Ernest Dowson [ PJC ]

An article on absinthe was prepared by Matthew Baggott (bagg@ellis.uchicago.edu) for distribution on the newsgroup alt.drugs. [ PJC ]

a. Of or pertaining to wormwood; absinthian. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Of the nature of wormwood. “Absinthian bitterness.” T. Randolph. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ From L. absinthium: cf. L. absinthiatus, a. ] To impregnate with wormwood. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Impregnated with wormwood; as, absinthiated wine. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Chem.) Relating to the common wormwood or to an acid obtained from it. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) The bitter principle of wormwood (Artemisia absinthium). Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The condition of being poisoned by the excessive use of absinth. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L., from Gr. &unr_;. ] (Bot.) The common wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), an intensely bitter plant, used as a tonic and for making the oil of wormwood. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Apsis. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ L. absistere, p. pr. absistens; ab + sistere to stand, causal of stare. ] To stand apart from; top leave off; to desist. [ Obs. ] Raleigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A standing aloof. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. absolutus, p. p. of absolvere: cf. F. absolu. See Absolve. ] 1. Loosed from any limitation or condition; uncontrolled; unrestricted; unconditional; as, absolute authority, monarchy, sovereignty, an absolute promise or command; absolute power; an absolute monarch. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Complete in itself; perfect; consummate; faultless; as, absolute perfection; absolute beauty. [ 1913 Webster ]

So absolute she seems,
And in herself complete. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Viewed apart from modifying influences or without comparison with other objects; actual; real; -- opposed to relative and comparative; as, absolute motion; absolute time or space. [ 1913 Webster ]

Absolute rights and duties are such as pertain to man in a state of nature as contradistinguished from relative rights and duties, or such as pertain to him in his social relations. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Loosed from, or unconnected by, dependence on any other being; self-existent; self-sufficing. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In this sense God is called the Absolute by the Theist. The term is also applied by the Pantheist to the universe, or the total of all existence, as only capable of relations in its parts to each other and to the whole, and as dependent for its existence and its phenomena on its mutually depending forces and their laws. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Capable of being thought or conceived by itself alone; unconditioned; non-relative. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ It is in dispute among philosopher whether the term, in this sense, is not applied to a mere logical fiction or abstraction, or whether the absolute, as thus defined, can be known, as a reality, by the human intellect. [ 1913 Webster ]

To Cusa we can indeed articulately trace, word and thing, the recent philosophy of the absolute. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Positive; clear; certain; not doubtful. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I am absolute 't was very Cloten. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Authoritative; peremptory. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The peddler stopped, and tapped her on the head,
With absolute forefinger, brown and ringed. Mrs. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Chem.) Pure; unmixed; as, absolute alcohol. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Gram.) Not immediately dependent on the other parts of the sentence in government; as, the case absolute. See Ablative absolute, under Ablative. [ 1913 Webster ]

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 optic and eccentric equations. --
Absolute space (Physics), space considered without relation to material limits or objects. --
Absolute terms. (Alg.), such as are known, or which do not contain the unknown quantity. Davies & Peck. --
Absolute temperature (Physics), the temperature as measured on a scale determined by certain general thermo-dynamic principles, and reckoned from the absolute zero. --
Absolute zero (Physics), the be ginning, or zero point, in the scale of absolute temperature. It is equivalent to -273° centigrade or -459.4° Fahrenheit. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Positive; peremptory; certain; unconditional; unlimited; unrestricted; unqualified; arbitrary; despotic; autocratic. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Geom.) In a plane, the two imaginary circular points at infinity; in space of three dimensions, the imaginary circle at infinity. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an absolute, independent, or unconditional manner; wholly; positively. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being absolute; independence of everything extraneous; unlimitedness; absolute power; independent reality; positiveness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. absolution, L. absolutio, fr. absolvere to absolve. See Absolve. ] 1. An absolving, or setting free from guilt, sin, or penalty; forgiveness of an offense. “Government . . . granting absolution to the nation.” Froude. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Civil Law) An acquittal, or sentence of a judge declaring and accused person innocent. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (R. C. Ch.) The exercise of priestly jurisdiction in the sacrament of penance, by which Catholics believe the sins of the truly penitent are forgiven. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In the English and other Protestant churches, this act regarded as simply declaratory, not as imparting forgiveness. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Eccl.) An absolving from ecclesiastical penalties, -- for example, excommunication. P. Cyc. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The form of words by which a penitent is absolved. Shipley. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Delivery, in speech. [ Obs. ] B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

Absolution day (R. C. Ch.), Tuesday before Easter. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The state of being absolute; the system or doctrine of the absolute; the principles or practice of absolute or arbitrary government; despotism. [ 1913 Webster ]

The element of absolutism and prelacy was controlling. Palfrey. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Theol.) Doctrine of absolute decrees. Ash. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who is in favor of an absolute or autocratic government. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Metaph.) One who believes that it is possible to realize a cognition or concept of the absolute. Sir. W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to absolutism; arbitrary; despotic; as, absolutist principles. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to absolutism; absolutist. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. absolutorius, fr. absolvere to absolve. ] Serving to absolve; absolving. “An absolutory sentence.” Ayliffe. [ 1913 Webster ]