n. [ For obeisance; confused with F. abaisser, E. abase. ] Obeisance. [ Obs. ] Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Abduced p. pr. & vb. n. Abducing. ] [ L. abducere to lead away; ab + ducere to lead. See Duke, and cf. Abduct. ] To draw or conduct away; to withdraw; to draw to a different part. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

If we abduce the eye unto either corner, the object will not duplicate. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a small motor nerve supplying the lateral rectus muscle of the eye.
Syn. -- abducent, abducent nerve, nervus abducens, sixth cranial nerve [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. 1 a small motor nerve supplying the lateral rectus muscle of the eye.
Syn. -- abducent nerve, abducens, nervus abducens, sixth cranial nerve [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. 1. 1 (physiol) drawing away from the midline of the body or from an adjacent part; -- especially of muscles adducent
Syn. -- abducting [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Behavior. [ Obs. ] Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. abecedarius. A word from the first four letters of the alphabet. ] 1. One who is learning the alphabet; hence, a tyro. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One engaged in teaching the alphabet. Wood. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Pertaining to, or formed by, the letters of the alphabet; alphabetic; hence, rudimentary. [ 1913 Webster ]

Abecedarian psalms,
hymns, etc., compositions in which (like the 119th psalm in Hebrew) distinct portions or verses commence with successive letters of the alphabet. Hook. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A primer; the first principle or rudiment of anything. [ R. ] Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. the state or condition of being aberrant; a wandering from the right way; deviation from truth, rectitude, etc.
Syn. -- aberrance, aberration, deviance [ 1913 Webster WordNet 1.5 ]

Aberrancy of curvature (Geom.), the deviation of a curve from a circular form. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. abeance expectation, longing; a (L. ad) + baer, beer, to gape, to look with open mouth, to expect, F. bayer, LL. badare to gape. ] 1. (Law) Expectancy; condition of being undetermined. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ When there is no person in existence in whom an inheritance (or a dignity) can vest, it is said to be in abeyance, that is, in expectation; the law considering it as always potentially existing, and ready to vest whenever a proper owner appears. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Suspension; temporary suppression. [ 1913 Webster ]

Keeping the sympathies of love and admiration in a dormant state, or state of abeyance. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Extreme hatred or detestation; the feeling of utter dislike. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of abiding; abode; continuance; compliance (with). [ 1913 Webster ]

The Christians had no longer abidance in the holy hill of Palestine. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

A judicious abidance by rules. Helps. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Bode. ] An omen; a portending. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. abrenuntiare; ab + renuntiare. See Renounce. ] To renounce. [ Obs. ] “They abrenounce and cast them off.” Latimer. [ 1913 Webster ]

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 ]

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

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 ]

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

n. [ F. abstinence, L. abstinentia, fr. abstinere. See Abstain. ] 1. The act or practice of abstaining; voluntary forbearance of any action, especially the refraining from an indulgence of appetite, or from customary gratifications of animal or sensual propensities. Specifically, the practice of abstaining from intoxicating beverages, -- called also total abstinence. [ 1913 Webster ]

The abstinence from a present pleasure that offers itself is a pain, nay, oftentimes, a very great one. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The practice of self-denial by depriving one's self of certain kinds of food or drink, especially of meat. [ 1913 Webster ]

Penance, fasts, and abstinence,
To punish bodies for the soul's offense. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. (h)abundaunce, abundance, F. abondance, L. abundantia, fr. abundare. See Abound. ] An overflowing fullness; ample sufficiency; great plenty; profusion; copious supply; superfluity; wealth: -- strictly applicable to quantity only, but sometimes used of number. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is lamentable to remember what abundance of noble blood hath been shed with small benefit to the Christian state. Raleigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Exuberance; plenteousness; plenty; copiousness; overflow; riches; affluence; wealth. -- Abundance, Plenty, Exuberance. These words rise upon each other in expressing the idea of fullness. Plenty denotes a sufficiency to supply every want; as, plenty of food, plenty of money, etc. Abundance express more, and gives the idea of superfluity or excess; as, abundance of riches, an abundance of wit and humor; often, however, it only denotes plenty in a high degree. Exuberance rises still higher, and implies a bursting forth on every side, producing great superfluity or redundance; as, an exuberance of mirth, an exuberance of animal spirits, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Armed with prickles, as a plant. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, the family of plants of which the acanthus is the type. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., from Gr. &unr_; a spine, thorn + &unr_; head. ] (Zool.) A group of intestinal worms, having the proboscis armed with recurved spines. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Having a spiny head, as one of the Acanthocephala. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. a- not + caulescent. ] (Bot.) Having no stem or caulis, or only a very short one concealed in the ground. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Acceded; p. pr. & vb. n. Acceding. ] [ L. accedere to approach, accede; ad + cedere to move, yield: cf. F. accédere. See Cede. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To approach; to come forward; -- opposed to recede. [ Obs. ] T. Gale. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To enter upon an office or dignity; to attain. [ 1913 Webster ]

Edward IV., who had acceded to the throne in the year 1461. T. Warton. [ 1913 Webster ]

If Frederick had acceded to the supreme power. Morley. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To become a party by associating one's self with others; to give one's adhesion. Hence, to agree or assent to a proposal or a view; as, he acceded to my request. [ 1913 Webster ]

The treaty of Hanover in 1725 . . . to which the Dutch afterwards acceded. Chesterfield. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To agree; assent; consent; comply; acquiesce; concur. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of acceding. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who accedes. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ It. ] (Mus.) Gradually accelerating the movement. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Accelerated p. pr. & vb. n. Accelerating. ] [ L. acceleratus, p. p. of accelerare; ad + celerare to hasten; celer quick. See Celerity. ] 1. To cause to move faster; to quicken the motion of; to add to the speed of; -- opposed to retard. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To quicken the natural or ordinary progression or process of; as, to accelerate the growth of a plant, the increase of wealth, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To hasten, as the occurence of an event; as, to accelerate our departure. [ 1913 Webster ]

Accelerated motion (Mech.), motion with a continually increasing velocity. --
Accelerating force, the force which causes accelerated motion. Nichol. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To hasten; expedite; quicken; dispatch; forward; advance; further. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. 1 caused to move faster
Syn. -- speeded up [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

2. 1 caused to be completed in a shorter than normal time period; speeded up, as of an academic course; He took an accelerated curriculum, and graduated in three years. Opposite of delayed.
Syn. -- expedited [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. [ L. acceleratio: cf. F. accélération. ] The act of accelerating, or the state of being accelerated; increase of motion or action; as, a falling body moves toward the earth with an acceleration of velocity; -- opposed to retardation. [ 1913 Webster ]

A period of social improvement, or of intellectual advancement, contains within itself a principle of acceleration. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Astr. & Physics.)
Acceleration of the moon, the increase of the moon's mean motion in its orbit, in consequence of which its period of revolution is now shorter than in ancient times. --
Acceleration and
retardation of the tides. See Priming of the tides, under Priming. --
Diurnal acceleration of the fixed stars, the amount by which their apparent diurnal motion exceeds that of the sun, in consequence of which they daily come to the meridian of any place about three minutes fifty-six seconds of solar time earlier than on the day preceding. --
Acceleration of the planets, the increasing velocity of their motion, in proceeding from the apogee to the perigee of their orbits. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Relating to acceleration; adding to velocity; quickening. Reid. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, accelerates. Also as an adj.; as, accelerator nerves. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Accelerative. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Accelerate + -graph. ] (Mil.) An apparatus for studying the combustion of powder in guns, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Accelerate + -meter. ] An apparatus for measuring the velocity imparted by gunpowder. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. accendere, accensum, to kindle; ad + cand&ebreve_;re to kindle (only in compounds); rel. to candēre to be white, to gleam. See Candle. ] To set on fire; to kindle. [ Obs. ] Fotherby. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Capacity of being kindled, or of becoming inflamed; inflammability. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being inflamed or kindled; combustible; inflammable. Ure. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of kindling or the state of being kindled; ignition. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ LL., from p. p. accensus. See Accend. ] (R. C. Ch.) One of the functionaries who light and trim the tapers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. accent, L. accentus; ad + cantus a singing, canere to sing. See Cant. ] 1. A superior force of voice or of articulative effort upon some particular syllable of a word or a phrase, distinguishing it from the others. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Many English words have two accents, the primary and the secondary; the primary being uttered with a greater stress of voice than the secondary; as in as′pira&bprime_;tion, where the chief stress is on the third syllable, and a slighter stress on the first. Some words, as an′tiap′o-plec&bprime_;tic, in-com′pre-hen′si-bil&bprime_;i-ty, have two secondary accents. See Guide to Pron., §§ 30-46. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A mark or character used in writing, and serving to regulate the pronunciation; esp.: (a) a mark to indicate the nature and place of the spoken accent; (b) a mark to indicate the quality of sound of the vowel marked; as, the French accents. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In the ancient Greek the acute accent (′) meant a raised tone or pitch, the grave (`), the level tone or simply the negation of accent, the circumflex ( ~ or ^) a tone raised and then depressed. In works on elocution, the first is often used to denote the rising inflection of the voice; the second, the falling inflection; and the third (^), the compound or waving inflection. In dictionaries, spelling books, and the like, the acute accent is used to designate the syllable which receives the chief stress of voice. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Modulation of the voice in speaking; manner of speaking or pronouncing; peculiar or characteristic modification of the voice; tone; as, a foreign accent; a French or a German accent. “Beguiled you in a plain accent.” Shak. “A perfect accent.” Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

The tender accent of a woman's cry. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A word; a significant tone; (pl.) expressions in general; speech. [ 1913 Webster ]

Winds! on your wings to Heaven her accents bear,
Such words as Heaven alone is fit to hear. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Pros.) Stress laid on certain syllables of a verse. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Mus.) (a) A regularly recurring stress upon the tone to mark the beginning, and, more feebly, the third part of the measure. (b) A special emphasis of a tone, even in the weaker part of the measure. (c) The rhythmical accent, which marks phrases and sections of a period. (d) The expressive emphasis and shading of a passage. J. S. Dwight. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Math.) (a) A mark placed at the right hand of a letter, and a little above it, to distinguish magnitudes of a similar kind expressed by the same letter, but differing in value, as y′, y″. (b) (Trigon.) A mark at the right hand of a number, indicating minutes of a degree, seconds, etc.; as, 12′27″, i. e., twelve minutes twenty seven seconds. (c) (Engin.) A mark used to denote feet and inches; as, 6′ 10″ is six feet ten inches. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Accented; p. pr. & vb. n. Accenting. ] [ OF. accenter, F. accentuer. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To express the accent of (either by the voice or by a mark); to utter or to mark with accent. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To mark emphatically; to emphasize. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. (Phonology) having the main stress of a word; -- used of syllables
Syn. -- tonic (vs. atonic) [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. 1 being pronounced with sterss; -- used of syllables
Syn. -- heavy, strong [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. the act of giving special importance or significance to something.
Syn. -- emphasizing [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Without accent. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ad. + cantor singer, canere to sing. ] 1. (Mus.) One who sings the leading part; the director or leader. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) A genus of European birds (so named from their sweet notes), including the hedge warbler. In America sometimes applied to the water thrushes. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being accented. [ 1913 Webster ]