Abbot - Abettal

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Abbot (�), n. [AS. abbod, abbad, L. abbas, abbatis, Gr. 'abba^s, fr. Syriac abbā father. Cf. , .] 1. The superior or head of an abbey.
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2. One of a class of bishops whose sees were formerly abbeys. Encyc. Brit.
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Coloq. Abbot of the people . a title formerly given to one of the chief magistrates in Genoa. -- Coloq. Abbot of Misrule (or Coloq. Lord of Misrule ), in mediæval times, the master of revels, as at Christmas; in Scotland called the . Encyc. Brit.
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Abbotship (�), n. [Abbot + -ship.] The state or office of an abbot.
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Abbreviate (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abbreviated (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Abbreviating.] [L. abbreviatus, p. p. of abbreviare; ad + breviare to shorten, fr. brevis short. See .] 1. To make briefer; to shorten; to abridge; to reduce by contraction or omission, especially of words written or spoken.
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It is one thing to abbreviate by contracting, another by cutting off. Bacon.
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2. (Math.) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.
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Abbreviate (�), a. [L. abbreviatus, p. p.] 1. Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. [R.] “The abbreviate form.” Earle.
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2. (Biol.) Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type.
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Abbreviate, n. An abridgment. [Obs.] Elyot.
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Abbreviated (�), a. Shortened; relatively short; abbreviate.
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Abbreviation (�), n. [LL. abbreviatio: cf. F. abbréviation.] 1. The act of shortening, or reducing.
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2. The result of abbreviating; an abridgment. Tylor.
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3. The form to which a word or phrase is reduced by contraction and omission; a letter or letters, standing for a word or phrase of which they are a part; as, Gen. for Genesis; U.S.A. for United States of America.
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4. (Mus.) One dash, or more, through the stem of a note, dividing it respectively into quavers, semiquavers, or demi-semiquavers. Moore.
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Abbreviator (�), n. [LL.: cf. F. abbréviateur.] 1. One who abbreviates or shortens.
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2. One of a college of seventy-two officers of the papal court whose duty is to make a short minute of a decision on a petition, or reply of the pope to a letter, and afterwards expand the minute into official form.
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Abbreviatory (�), a. Serving or tending to abbreviate; shortening; abridging.
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Abbreviature (�), n. 1. An abbreviation; an abbreviated state or form. [Obs.]
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2. An abridgment; a compendium or abstract.
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This is an excellent abbreviature of the whole duty of a Christian. Jer. Taylor.
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Abb wool (ăb w�l). See .
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A B C (ā bē sē). 1. The first three letters of the alphabet, used for the whole alphabet.
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2. A primer for teaching the alphabet and first elements of reading. [Obs.]
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3. The simplest rudiments of any subject; as, the A B C of finance.
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Coloq. A B C book , a primer. Shak.
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Abdal (�), n. [Ar. badīl, pl. abdāl, a substitute, a good, religious man, saint, fr. badala to change, substitute.] A religious devotee or dervish in Persia.
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Abderian (�), a. [From Abdera, a town in Thrace, of which place Democritus, the Laughing Philosopher, was a native.] Given to laughter; inclined to foolish or incessant merriment.
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Abderite (�), n. [L. Abderita, Abderites, fr. Gr. 'Abdhriths.] An inhabitant of Abdera, in Thrace.
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Coloq. The Abderite , Democritus, the Laughing Philosopher.
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Abdest (�), n. [Per. ābdast; ab water + dast hand.] Purification by washing the hands before prayer; -- a Mohammedan rite. Heyse.
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Abdicable (�), a. Capable of being abdicated.
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Abdicant (�), a. [L. abdicans, p. pr. of abdicare.] Abdicating; renouncing; -- followed by of.
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Monks abdicant of their orders. Whitlock.
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Abdicant, n. One who abdicates. Smart.
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Abdicate (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abdicated (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Abdicating.] [L. abdicatus, p. p. of abdicare; ab + dicare to proclaim, akin to dicere to say. See .] 1. To surrender or relinquish, as sovereign power; to withdraw definitely from filling or exercising, as a high office, station, dignity; as, to abdicate the throne, the crown, the papacy.
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☞ The word abdicate was held to mean, in the case of James II., to abandon without a formal surrender.
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The cross-bearers abdicated their service. Gibbon.
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2. To renounce; to relinquish; -- said of authority, a trust, duty, right, etc.
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He abdicates all right to be his own governor. Burke.
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The understanding abdicates its functions. Froude.
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3. To reject; to cast off. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.
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4. (Civil Law) To disclaim and expel from the family, as a father his child; to disown; to disinherit.
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Syn. -- To give up; quit; vacate; relinquish; forsake; abandon; resign; renounce; desert. -- To , . Abdicate commonly expresses the act of a monarch in voluntary and formally yielding up sovereign authority; as, to abdicate the government. Resign is applied to the act of any person, high or low, who gives back an office or trust into the hands of him who conferred it. Thus, a minister resigns, a military officer resigns, a clerk resigns. The expression, “The king resigned his crown,” sometimes occurs in our later literature, implying that he held it from his people. -- There are other senses of resign which are not here brought into view.
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Abdicate (�), v. i. To relinquish or renounce a throne, or other high office or dignity.
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Though a king may abdicate for his own person, he cannot abdicate for the monarchy. Burke.
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Abdication (�), n. [L. abdicatio: cf. F. abdication.] The act of abdicating; the renunciation of a high office, dignity, or trust, by its holder; commonly the voluntary renunciation of sovereign power; as, abdication of the throne, government, power, authority.
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Abdicative (�), a. [L. abdicativus.] Causing, or implying, abdication. [R.] Bailey.
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Abdicator (�), n. One who abdicates.
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Abditive (�), a. [L. abditivus, fr. abdere to hide.] Having the quality of hiding. [R.] Bailey.
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Abditory (�), n. [L. abditorium.] A place for hiding or preserving articles of value. Cowell.
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Abdomen (�), n. [L. abdomen (a word of uncertain etymol.): cf. F. abdomen.] 1. (Anat.) The belly, or that part of the body between the thorax and the pelvis. Also, the cavity of the belly, which is lined by the peritoneum, and contains the stomach, bowels, and other viscera. In man, often restricted to the part between the diaphragm and the commencement of the pelvis, the remainder being called the pelvic cavity.
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2. (Zoöl.) The posterior section of the body, behind the thorax, in insects, crustaceans, and other Arthropoda.
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Abdominal (�), a. [Cf. F. abdominal.] 1. Of or pertaining to the abdomen; ventral; as, the abdominal regions, muscles, cavity.
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2. (Zoöl.) Having abdominal fins; belonging to the Abdominales; as, abdominal fishes.
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Coloq. Abdominal ring (Anat.), a fancied ringlike opening on each side of the abdomen, external and superior to the pubes; -- called also inguinal ring.
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Abdominal, n.; E. pl. Abdominals, L. pl. Abdominales. A fish of the group Abdominales.
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Abdominales (�), n. pl. [NL., masc. pl.] (Zoöl.) A group including the greater part of fresh-water fishes, and many marine ones, having the ventral fins under the abdomen behind the pectorals.
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Abdominalia (�), n. pl. [NL., neut. pl.] (Zoöl.) A group of cirripeds having abdominal appendages.
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Abdominoscopy (�), n. [L. abdomen + Gr. � to examine.] (Med.) Examination of the abdomen to detect abdominal disease.
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Abdominothoracic (�), a. Relating to the abdomen and the thorax, or chest.
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Abdominous (�), a. Having a protuberant belly; pot-bellied.
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Gorgonius sits, abdominous and wan,
Like a fat squab upon a Chinese fan. Cowper.
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abdominousness n. 1. 1 distension of the stomach area due to overweight.
Syn. -- paunchiness
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Abduce (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abduced (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Abducing.] [L. abducere to lead away; ab + ducere to lead. See , and cf. .] To draw or conduct away; to withdraw; to draw to a different part. [Obs.]
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If we abduce the eye unto either corner, the object will not duplicate. Sir T. Browne.
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abducens n. 1. a small motor nerve supplying the lateral rectus muscle of the eye.
Syn. -- abducent, abducent nerve, nervus abducens, sixth cranial nerve
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abducent n. 1. 1 a small motor nerve supplying the lateral rectus muscle of the eye.
Syn. -- abducent nerve, abducens, nervus abducens, sixth cranial nerve
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abducent adj. 1. 1 (physiol) drawing away from the midline of the body or from an adjacent part; -- especially of muscles adducent
Syn. -- abducting
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Abduct (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abducted (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Abducting.] [L. abductus, p. p. of abducere. See .] 1. To take away surreptitiously by force; to carry away (a human being) wrongfully and usually by violence; to kidnap.
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2. To draw away, as a limb or other part, from its ordinary position.
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abducting adj. 1. (Physiol.) drawing away from the midline of the body or from an adjacent part; -- used especially of muscles adducent
Syn. -- abducent
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Abduction (�), n. [L. abductio: cf. F. abduction.] 1. The act of abducing or abducting; a drawing apart; a carrying away. Roget.
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2. (Physiol.) The movement which separates a limb or other part from the axis, or middle line, of the body.
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3. (Law) The wrongful, and usually the forcible, carrying off of a human being; as, the abduction of a child, the abduction of an heiress.
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4. (Logic) A syllogism or form of argument in which the major is evident, but the minor is only probable.
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Abductor (�), n. [NL.] 1. One who abducts.
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2. (Anat.) A muscle which serves to draw a part out, or form the median line of the body; as, the abductor oculi, which draws the eye outward.
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Abeam (�), adv. [Pref. a- + beam.] (Naut.) On the beam, that is, on a line which forms a right angle with the ship's keel; opposite to the center of the ship's side.
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Abear (�), v. t. [AS. āberan; pref. ā- + beran to bear.] 1. To bear; to behave. [Obs.]
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So did the faery knight himself abear. Spenser.
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2. To put up with; to endure. [Prov.] Dickens.
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Abearance (�), n. Behavior. [Obs.] Blackstone.
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Abearing, n. Behavior. [Obs.] Sir. T. More.
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Abecedarian (�), n. [L. abecedarius. A word from the first four letters of the alphabet.] 1. One who is learning the alphabet; hence, a tyro.
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2. One engaged in teaching the alphabet. Wood.
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{ Abecedarian, Abecedary (�), } a. Pertaining to, or formed by, the letters of the alphabet; alphabetic; hence, rudimentary.
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Coloq. Abecedarian psalms , Coloq. hymns , etc., compositions in which (like the 119th psalm in Hebrew) distinct portions or verses commence with successive letters of the alphabet. Hook.
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Abecedary (�), n. A primer; the first principle or rudiment of anything. [R.] Fuller.
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Abed (�), adv. [Pref. a- in, on + bed.] 1. In bed, or on the bed.
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Not to be abed after midnight. Shak.
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2. To childbed (in the phrase “brought abed,” that is, delivered of a child). Shak.
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Abegge (�). Same as . [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Abele (�), n. [D. abeel (abeel-boom), OF. abel, aubel, fr. a dim. of L. albus white.] The white poplar (Populus alba).
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Six abeles i' the churchyard grow. Mrs. Browning.
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{ Abelian (�), Abelite (�), Abelonian (�), } n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect in Africa (4th century), mentioned by St. Augustine, who states that they married, but lived in continence, after the manner, as they pretended, of Abel.
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Abelmoschus n. 1. 1 genus of tropical coarse herbs having large lobed leaves and often yellow flowers.
Syn. -- genus Abelmoschus
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Abelmosk (�), n. [NL. abelmoschus, fr. Ar. abu-l-misk father of musk, i. e., producing musk. See . (or Ar. ḥabb-al-mosk, musk seed RHUD 1.3] (Bot.) An evergreen shrub (Abelmoschus moschatus -- formerly Hibiscus moschatus), of the East and West Indies and Northern Africa, whose musky seeds are used in perfumery and to flavor coffee; -- sometimes called musk mallow. The seeds produce ambrette-seed oil.
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Aber-de-vine (#), n. (Zoöl.) The European siskin (Carduelis spinus), a small green and yellow finch, related to the goldfinch.
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Aberr (�), v. i. [L. aberrare. See .] To wander; to stray. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
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{ Aberrance (�), Aberrancy (�), } n. the state or condition of being aberrant; a wandering from the right way; deviation from truth, rectitude, etc.
Syn. -- aberrance, aberration, deviance
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Coloq. Aberrancy of curvature (Geom.), the deviation of a curve from a circular form.
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aberrancy n. 1. an aberrant state or condition.
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Aberrant (�), a. [L. aberrans, -rantis, p. pr. of aberrare. See .] 1. Wandering; straying from the right way.
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2. (Biol.) Deviating from the ordinary or natural type; exceptional; abnormal.
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The more aberrant any form is, the greater must have been the number of connecting forms which, on my theory, have been exterminated. Darwin.
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Aberrate (�), v. i. [L. aberratus, p. pr. of aberrare; ab + errare to wander. See .] To go astray; to diverge. [R.]
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Their own defective and aberrating vision. De Quincey.
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Aberration (�), n. [L. aberratio: cf. F. aberration. See .] 1. The act of wandering; deviation, especially from truth or moral rectitude, from the natural state, or from a type. “The aberration of youth.” Hall. “Aberrations from theory.” Burke.
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2. A partial alienation of reason. “Occasional aberrations of intellect.” Lingard.
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Whims, which at first are the aberrations of a single brain, pass with heat into epidemic form. I. Taylor.
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3. (Astron.) A small periodical change of position in the stars and other heavenly bodies, due to the combined effect of the motion of light and the motion of the observer; called annual aberration, when the observer's motion is that of the earth in its orbit, and daily or diurnal aberration, when of the earth on its axis; amounting when greatest, in the former case, to 20.4'', and in the latter, to 0.3''. Planetary aberration is that due to the motion of light and the motion of the planet relative to the earth.
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4. (Opt.) The convergence to different foci, by a lens or mirror, of rays of light emanating from one and the same point, or the deviation of such rays from a single focus; called spherical aberration, when due to the spherical form of the lens or mirror, such form giving different foci for central and marginal rays; and chromatic aberration, when due to different refrangibilities of the colored rays of the spectrum, those of each color having a distinct focus.
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5. (Physiol.) The passage of blood or other fluid into parts not appropriate for it.
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6. (Law) The producing of an unintended effect by the glancing of an instrument, as when a shot intended for A glances and strikes B.
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Syn. -- Insanity; lunacy; madness; derangement; alienation; mania; dementia; hallucination; illusion; delusion. See .
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Aberrational (�), a. Characterized by aberration.
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Aberuncate (�), v. t. [L. aberuncare, for aberruncare. See .] To weed out. [Obs.] Bailey.
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Aberuncator (�), n. A weeding machine.
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Abet (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abetted (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Abetting.] [OF. abeter; a (L. ad) + beter to bait (as a bear), fr. Icel. beita to set dogs on, to feed, originally, to cause to bite, fr. Icel. bīta to bite, hence to bait, to incite. See , .] 1. To instigate or encourage by aid or countenance; -- used in a bad sense of persons and acts; as, to abet an ill-doer; to abet one in his wicked courses; to abet vice; to abet an insurrection. “The whole tribe abets the villany.” South.
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Would not the fool abet the stealth,
Who rashly thus exposed his wealth? Gay.
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2. To support, uphold, or aid; to maintain; -- in a good sense. [Obs.].

Our duty is urged, and our confidence abetted. Jer. Taylor.
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3. (Law) To contribute, as an assistant or instigator, to the commission of an offense.
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Syn. -- To incite; instigate; set on; egg on; foment; advocate; countenance; encourage; second; uphold; aid; assist; support; sustain; back; connive at.
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Abet (�), n. [OF. abet, fr. abeter.] Act of abetting; aid. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Abetment (-m�nt), n. The act of abetting; as, an abetment of treason, crime, etc.
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Abettal (�), n. Abetment. [R.]
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