Alarm - Alcarraza

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Alarm (ȧlärm), n. [F. alarme, It. all' arme to arms ! fr. L. arma, pl., arms. See , and cf. .] 1. A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy.
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Arming to answer in a night alarm. Shak.
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2. Any sound or information intended to give notice of approaching danger; a warning sound to arouse attention; a warning of danger.
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Sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Joel ii. 1.
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3. A sudden attack; disturbance; broil. [R.] “These home alarms.” Shak.
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Thy palace fill with insults and alarms. Pope.
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4. Sudden surprise with fear or terror excited by apprehension of danger; in the military use, commonly, sudden apprehension of being attacked by surprise.
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Alarm and resentment spread throughout the camp. Macaulay.
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5. A mechanical contrivance for awaking persons from sleep, or rousing their attention; an alarum.
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Coloq. Alarm bell , a bell that gives notice on danger. -- Coloq. Alarm clock or Coloq. watch , a clock or watch which can be so set as to ring or strike loudly at a prearranged hour, to wake from sleep, or excite attention. -- Coloq. Alarm gauge , a contrivance attached to a steam boiler for showing when the pressure of steam is too high, or the water in the boiler too low. -- Coloq. Alarm post , a place to which troops are to repair in case of an alarm.
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Syn. -- Fright; affright; terror; trepidation; apprehension; consternation; dismay; agitation; disquiet; disquietude. -- , , , . These words express different degrees of fear at the approach of danger. Fright is fear suddenly excited, producing confusion of the senses, and hence it is unreflecting. Alarm is the hurried agitation of feeling which springs from a sense of immediate and extreme exposure. Terror is agitating and excessive fear, which usually benumbs the faculties. Consternation is overwhelming fear, and carries a notion of powerlessness and amazement. Alarm agitates the feelings; terror disorders the understanding and affects the will; fright seizes on and confuses the sense; consternation takes possession of the soul, and subdues its faculties. See .
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Alarm, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Alarmed (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Alarming.] [Alarm, n. Cf. F. alarmer.] 1. To call to arms for defense; to give notice to (any one) of approaching danger; to rouse to vigilance and action; to put on the alert.
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2. To keep in excitement; to disturb.
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3. To surprise with apprehension of danger; to fill with anxiety in regard to threatening evil; to excite with sudden fear.
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Alarmed by rumors of military preparation. Macaulay.
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Alarmable (�), a. Easily alarmed or disturbed.
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Alarmed (�), a. Aroused to vigilance; excited by fear of approaching danger; agitated; disturbed; as, an alarmed neighborhood; an alarmed modesty.
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The white pavilions rose and fell
On the alarmed air. Longfellow.
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Alarmedly (�), adv. In an alarmed manner.
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Alarming, a. Exciting, or calculated to excite, alarm; causing apprehension of danger; as, an alarming crisis or report. -- Alarmingly, adv.
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alarmism n. 1. the act of giving, or tendency to give, needless warnings.
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Alarmist, n. [Cf. F. alarmiste.] One prone to sound or excite alarms, especially, needless alarms. Macaulay.
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Alarum (?; 277), n. [OE. alarom, the same word as alarm, n.] See . [Now Poetic]
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☞ The variant form alarum is now commonly restricted to an alarm signal or the mechanism to sound an alarm (as in an alarm clock.)
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Alary (�), a. [L. alarius, fr. ala wing.] Of or pertaining to wings; also, wing-shaped.
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The alary system of insects. Wollaston.
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Alas (�), interj. [OE. alas, allas, OF. alas, F. hélas; a interj. (L. ah.) + las wretched (that I am), L. lassus weary, akin to E. late. See .] An exclamation expressive of sorrow, pity, or apprehension of evil; -- in old writers, sometimes followed by day or white; alas the day, like alack a day, or alas the white.
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Alaskan n. 1. a resident of Alaska.
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Alate (�), adv. [Pref. a- + late.] Lately; of late. [Archaic]
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There hath been alate such tales spread abroad. Latimer.
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{ Alate (�), Alated (�), } a. [L. alatus, from ala wing.] Winged; having wings, or side appendages like wings.
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{ Alatern (�), Alaternus (�), } n. [L. ala wing + terni three each.] (Bot.) An ornamental evergreen shrub (Rhamnus alaternus) belonging to the buckthorns.
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Alation (�), n. [F., fr. L. alatus winged.] The state of being winged.
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Alaunt (�), n. See . [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Alb (�), n. [OE. albe, LL. alba, fr. L. albus white. Cf. and .] A vestment of white linen, reaching to the feet, an enveloping the person; -- in the Roman Catholic church, worn by those in holy orders when officiating at mass. It was formerly worn, at least by clerics, in daily life.
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Albacore (�), n. (Zoöl.) A name applied to several large fishes of the Mackerel family (Scombridae), esp. Thunnus alalunga (formerly Orcynus alalonga); it is a type of tuna or tunny. The name has been also applied to a larger related species, Thunnus thynnus (formerly Orcynus thynnus), common in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, which is called in New England the horse mackerel. [formerly spelled albicore.]
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Alban (�), n. [L. albus white.] (Chem.) A white crystalline resinous substance extracted from gutta-percha by the action of alcohol or ether.
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Albanian (�), a. Of or pertaining to Albania, a province of Turkey. -- n. A native of Albania.
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Albata (�), n. [L. albatus, p. p. of albare to make white, fr. albus white.] A white metallic alloy; which is made into spoons, forks, teapots, etc. British plate or German silver. See German silver, under .
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Albatross (�), n. [Corrupt. fr. Pg. alcatraz cormorant, albatross, or Sp. alcatraz a pelican: cf. Pg. alcatruz, Sp. arcaduz, a bucket, fr. Ar. al-qādus the bucket, fr. Gr. kados, a water vessel. So an Arabic term for pelican is water-carrier, as a bird carrying water in its pouch.] (Zoöl.) A web-footed bird, of the genus Diomedea, of which there are several species. They are the largest of sea birds, capable of long-continued flight, and are often seen at great distances from the land. They are found chiefly in the southern hemisphere.
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{ Albe, Albee } (�), conj. [See .] Although; albeit. [Obs.]
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Albe Clarissa were their chiefest founderess. Spenser.
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Albedo (�), n. [L., fr. albus white.] Whiteness. Specifically: (Astron.) The ratio which the light reflected from an unpolished surface bears to the total light falling upon that surface.
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Albeit (�), conj. [OE. al be although it be, where al is our all. Cf. .] Even though; although; notwithstanding. Chaucer.
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Albeit so masked, Madam, I love the truth. Tennyson.
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Albertite (ălbẽrtīt), n. (Min.) A bituminous mineral resembling asphaltum, found in the county of Albert, New Brunswick.
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Albert ware. A soft ornamental terra-cotta pottery, sold in the biscuit state for decorating.
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Albertype (ălbẽrtīp), n. [From the name of the inventor, Albert, of Munich.] A picture printed from a kind of gelatine plate produced by means of a photographic negative.
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Albescence (�), n. The act of becoming white; whitishness.
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Albescent (�), a. [L. albescens, p. pr. of albescere to grow white, fr. albus white.] Becoming white or whitish; moderately white.
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Albicant (�), a. [L. albicans, p. pr. of albicare, albicatum, to be white, fr. albus white.] Growing or becoming white.
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Albication (�), n. The process of becoming white, or developing white patches, or streaks.
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Albicore (�), n. [F. albicore (cf. Sp. albacora, Pg. albacor, albacora, albecora), fr. Ar. bakr, bekr, a young camel, young cow, heifer, and the article al: cf. Pg. bacoro a little pig.] (Zoöl.) same as .
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Albification (�), n. [Cf. F. albification: L. albus white + ficare (only in comp.), facere, to make.] The act or process of making white. [Obs.]
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{ Albigenses (�), Albigeois (�), } n. pl. [From Albi and Albigeois, a town and its district in the south of France, in which the sect abounded.] (Eccl. Hist.) A sect of reformers opposed to the church of Rome in the 12th centuries.
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The Albigenses were a branch of the Catharists (the pure). They were exterminated by crusades and the Inquisition. They were distinct from the Waldenses.
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Albigensian (�), a. Of or pertaining to the Albigenses.
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Albiness (�), n. A female albino. Holmes.
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Albinism (�), n. The state or condition of being an albino: abinoism; leucopathy.
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Albinistic (�), a. Affected with albinism.
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Albino (?; 277), n.; pl. Albinos (�). [Sp. or Pg. albino, orig. whitish, fr. albo white, L. albus.] A person, whether negro, Indian, or white, in whom by some defect of organization the substance which gives color to the skin, hair, and eyes is deficient or in a morbid state. An albino has a skin of a milky hue, with hair of the same color, and eyes with deep red pupil and pink or blue iris. The term is also used of the lower animals, as white mice, elephants, etc.; and of plants in a whitish condition from the absence of chlorophyll. Amer. Cyc.
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☞ The term was originally applied by the Portuguese to negroes met with on the coast of Africa, who were mottled with white spots.
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Albinoism (�), n. The state or condition of being an albino; albinism.
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Albinotic (�), a. Affected with albinism.
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Albion (�), n. [Prob. from the same root as Gael. alp a height or hill. “It may have been bestowed on the land lying behind the white cliffs visible from the coast of Gaul. Albany, the old name of Scotland, means probably the “hilly land.” I. Taylor.] An ancient name of England, still retained in poetry.
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In that nook-shotten isle of Albion. Shak.
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Albite (�), n. [L. albus white.] (Min.) A mineral of the feldspar family, triclinic in crystallization, and in composition a silicate of alumina and soda. It is a common constituent of granite and of various igneous rocks. See .
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albizzia n. 1. 1 [Named after Filipo Delgi Albizzi, a Tuscan nobleman of the mid-18th century.] any of numerous trees or shrubs of the genus Albizia, of the legume family. [RHUD]
Syn. -- albizia
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Albolith (�), n. [L. albus white + -lith.] A kind of plastic cement, or artificial stone, consisting chiefly of magnesia and silica; -- called also albolite.
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Alborak (?; 277), n. [Ar. al-burāq, fr. baraqa to flash, shine.] The imaginary milk-white animal on which Mohammed was said to have been carried up to heaven; a white mule.
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Alb Sunday. (Eccl.) The first Sunday after Easter Sunday, properly Albless Sunday, because in the early church those who had been baptized on Easter eve laid aside on the following Saturday their white albs which had been put on after baptism.
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albuca n. 1. any of various plants of the genus Albuca having large clusters of pale yellow flowers; native to South Africa.
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Albuginaceae n. 1. 1 a family of fungi that produce white blisterlike sori on certain flowering plants.
Syn. -- family Albuginaceae.
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Albugineous (�), a. [See .] Of the nature of, or resembling, the white of the eye, or of an egg; albuminous; -- a term applied to textures, humors, etc., which are perfectly white.
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Albugo (�), n.; pl. Albugines (�). [L., whiteness, fr. albus white.] (Med.) Same as .
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Albula n. 1. 1 a genus of fish, the type and sole genus of the family Albulidae.
Syn. -- genus Albula.
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Albulidae n. a family comprising the bonefish.
Syn. -- family Albulidae.
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Album (�), n. [L., neut. of albus white: cf. F. album. Cf. .] 1. (Rom. Antiq.) A white tablet on which anything was inscribed, as a list of names, etc.
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2. A register for visitors' names; a visitors' book.
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3. A blank book, in which to insert autographs, sketches, memorial writing of friends, photographs, etc.
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Albumen (�), n. [L., fr. albus white.] 1. The white of an egg.
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2. (Bot.) Nourishing matter stored up within the integuments of the seed in many plants, but not incorporated in the embryo. It is the floury part in corn, wheat, and like grains, the oily part in poppy seeds, the fleshy part in the cocoanut, etc.
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3. (Chem.) Same as .
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Albumenize (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Albumenized (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Albumenizing.] To cover or saturate with albumen; to coat or treat with an albuminous solution; as, to albumenize paper.
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Album Græcum (�). [L., Greek white.] Dung of dogs or hyenas, which becomes white by exposure to air. It is used in dressing leather, and was formerly used in medicine.
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Albumin (�), n. (Chem.) A thick, viscous nitrogenous substance, which is the chief and characteristic constituent of white of eggs and of the serum of blood, and is found in other animal substances, both fluid and solid, also in many plants. It is soluble in water and is coagulated by heat and by certain chemical reagents.
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Coloq. Acid albumin , a modification of albumin produced by the action of dilute acids. It is not coagulated by heat. -- Coloq. Alkali albumin , albumin as modified by the action of alkaline substances; -- called also albuminate.
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Albuminate (�), n. (Chem.) A substance produced by the action of an alkali upon albumin, and resembling casein in its properties; also, a compound formed by the union of albumin with another substance.
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Albuminiferous (�), a. [L. albumen + -ferous.] Supplying albumen.
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Albuminimeter (�), n. [L. albumen, albuminis + -meter: cf. F. albuminimètre.] An instrument for ascertaining the quantity of albumen in a liquid.
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Albuminin (�), n. (Chem.) The substance of the cells which inclose the white of birds' eggs.
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Albuminiparous (�), a. [L. albumen + parere to bear, bring forth.] Producing albumin.
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Albuminoid (�), a. [L. albumen + -oid.] (Chem.) Resembling albumin. -- n. One of a class of organic principles (called also proteids) which form the main part of organized tissues. Brunton.
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Albuminoidal (�), a. (Chem.) Of the nature of an albuminoid.
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Albuminose (�), n. (Chem.) A diffusible substance formed from albumin by the action of natural or artificial gastric juice. See .
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Albuminosis (?), n. [NL., fr. E. albumin.] (Med.) A morbid condition due to excessive increase of albuminous elements in the blood.
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{ Albuminous (�), Albuminose (�), } a. [Cf. F. albumineux.] 1. Pertaining to, or containing, albumen; having the properties of, or resembling, albumen or albumin.
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2. proteinaceous; containing or composed of protein. -- Albuminousness, n.
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Albuminuria (�), n. [NL., fr. L. albumen + Gr. � urine.] (Med.) A morbid condition in which albumin is present in the urine.
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Albumose (�), n. [From albumin.] (Chem.) A compound or class of compounds formed from albumin by dilute acids or by an acid solution of pepsin. Used also in combination, as antialbumose, hemialbumose.
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Alburn (�), n. [L. alburnus, fr. L. albus white. Cf. Auburn.] (Zoöl.) The bleak, a small European fish having scales of a peculiarly silvery color which are used in making artificial pearls.
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Alburnous (�), a. Of or pertaining to alburnum; of the alburnum; as, alburnous substances.
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Alburnum (�), n. [L., fr. albus white.] (Bot.) The white and softer part of wood, between the inner bark and the hard wood or duramen; sapwood.
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Albyn (�), n. [See .] Scotland; esp. the Highlands of Scotland. T. Cambell.
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Alcade (ăkkād), n. Same as .
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Alcahest (�), n. Same as .
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Alcaic (�), a. [L. Alcaïcus, Gr. �.] Pertaining to Alcæus, a lyric poet of Mitylene, about 6000 b. c. -- n. A kind of verse, so called from Alcæus. One variety consists of five feet, a spondee or iambic, an iambic, a long syllable, and two dactyls.
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Alcaid, Alcayde (�), n. [Sp. alcaide, fr. Ar. al-qāīd governor, fr. qāda to lead, govern.] 1. A commander of a castle or fortress among the Spaniards, Portuguese, and Moors.
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2. The warden, or keeper of a jail.
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Alcalde (�), n. [Sp. alcalde, fr. Ar. al-qādī judge, fr. qada to decide, judge. Hence, the cadi of the Turks. Cf. .] A magistrate or judge in Spain and in Spanish America, etc. Prescott.
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☞ Sometimes confounded with .
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Alcaldia (?), n. [Sp. Alcaldía.] The jurisdiction or office of an alcalde; also, the building or chamber in which he conducts the business of his office.
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Alcalimeter, n. See .
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Alcanna (�), n. [Sp. alcana, alhe�a, fr. Ar. al-hinnā. See , and cf. .] (Bot.) An oriental shrub (Lawsonia inermis) from which henna is obtained.
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Alcarraza (�), n.; pl. Alcarrazas. (�) [Sp., from Ar. al-kurrāz earthen vessel.] A vessel of porous earthenware, used for cooling liquids by evaporation from the exterior surface.
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