Approve - Aptness

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Approve (ăppr�v), v. t. [OF. aprouer; a (L. ad) + a form apparently derived fr. the pro, prod, in L. prodest it is useful or profitable, properly the preposition pro for. Cf. .] (Eng. Law) To make profit of; to convert to one's own profit; -- said esp. of waste or common land appropriated by the lord of the manor.
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Approvedly (�), adv. So as to secure approbation; in an approved manner.
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Approvement (�), n. [Obs.] 1. Approbation.
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I did nothing without your approvement. Hayward.
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2. (Eng. Law) a confession of guilt by a prisoner charged with treason or felony, together with an accusation of his accomplish and a giving evidence against them in order to obtain his own pardon. The term is no longer in use; it corresponded to what is now known as turning king's (or queen's) evidence in England, and state's evidence in the United States. Burrill. Bouvier.
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Approvement, n. (Old Eng. Law) Improvement of common lands, by inclosing and converting them to the uses of husbandry for the advantage of the lord of the manor. Blackstone.
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Approver (�), n. 1. One who approves. Formerly, one who made proof or trial.
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2. An informer; an accuser. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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3. (Eng. Law) One who confesses a crime and accuses another. See 1st , 2.
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Approver, n. [See 2d , v. t.] (Eng. Law) A bailiff or steward; an agent. [Obs.] Jacobs.
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Approving, a. Expressing approbation; commending; as, an approving smile. -- Approvingly, adv.
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Approximate (�), a. [L. approximatus, p. p. of approximare to approach; ad + proximare to come near. See .] 1. Approaching; proximate; nearly resembling.
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2. Near correctness; nearly exact; not perfectly accurate; as, approximate results or values.
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Coloq. Approximate quantities (Math.), those which are nearly, but not, equal.
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Approximate (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Approximated (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Approximating.] 1. To carry or advance near; to cause to approach.
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To approximate the inequality of riches to the level of nature. Burke.
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2. To come near to; to approach.
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The telescope approximates perfection. J. Morse.
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Approximate, v. i. To draw; to approach.
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Approximately (�), adv. With approximation; so as to approximate; nearly.
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Approximation (�). n. [Cf. F. approximation, LL. approximatio.] 1. The act of approximating; a drawing, advancing or being near; approach; also, the result of approximating.
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The largest capacity and the most noble dispositions are but an approximation to the proper standard and true symmetry of human nature. I. Taylor.
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2. An approach to a correct estimate, calculation, or conception, or to a given quantity, quality, etc.
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3. (Math.) (a) A continual approach or coming nearer to a result; as, to solve an equation by approximation. (b) A value that is nearly but not exactly correct.
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Approximative (�), a. [Cf. F. approximatif.] Approaching; approximate. -- Approximatively, adv. -- Approximativeness, n.
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Approximator (�), n. One who, or that which, approximates.
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Appui (�), n. [F., fr. L. ad + podium foothold, Gr. �, dim. of �, �, foot.] 1. A support or supporter; a stay; a prop. [Obs.]
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If a vine be to climb trees that are of any great height, there would be stays and appuies set to it. Holland.
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2. (Man.) The mutual bearing or support of the hand of the rider and the mouth of the horse through the bit and bridle.
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Coloq. Point d'appui (�). [F., a point of support.] (Mil.) (a) A given point or body, upon which troops are formed, or by which are marched in line or column. (b) An advantageous defensive support, as a castle, morass, wood, declivity, etc. (c) any point of support or basis of operations, as a rallying point.
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Appulse (?; 277), n. [L. appulsus, fr. appellere, appulsum, to drive to; ad + pellere to drive: cf. F. appulse.] 1. A driving or running towards; approach; impulse; also, the act of striking against.
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In all consonants there is an appulse of the organs. Holder.
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2. (Astron.) The near approach of one heavenly body to another, or to the meridian; a coming into conjunction; as, the appulse of the moon to a star, or of a star to the meridian.
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Appulsion (�), n. A driving or striking against; an appulse.
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Appulsive (�), a. Striking against; impinging; as, the appulsive influence of the planets. P. Cyc.
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Appulsively, adv. By appulsion.
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Appurtenance (�), n. [OF. apurtenaunce, apartenance, F. appartenance, LL. appartenentia, from L. appertinere. See .] That which belongs to something else; an adjunct; an appendage; an accessory; something annexed to another thing more worthy; in common parlance and legal acceptation, something belonging to another thing as principal, and which passes as incident to it, as a right of way, or other easement to land; a right of common to pasture, an outhouse, barn, garden, or orchard, to a house or messuage. In a strict legal sense, land can never pass as an appurtenance to land. Tomlins. Bouvier. Burrill.
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Globes . . . provided as appurtenances to astronomy. Bacon.
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The structure of the eye, and of its appurtenances. Reid.
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appurtenances n. 1. miscellaneous articles needed for a particular operation or sport etc.
Syn. -- gear, paraphernalia.
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Appurtenant (�), a. [F. appartenant, p. pr. of appartenir. See .] Annexed or pertaining to some more important thing; accessory; incident; as, a right of way appurtenant to land or buildings. Blackstone.
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Coloq. Common appurtenant . (Law) See under
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Appurtenant, n. Something which belongs or appertains to another thing; an appurtenance.
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Mysterious appurtenants and symbols of redemption. Coleridge.
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apractic adj. 1. having uncoordinated muscular movements, symptomatic of a CNS disorder; suffering from .
Syn. -- apraxic.
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apraxia n. 1. inability to make purposeful movements, but without paralysis or loss of sensory function.
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apraxic adj. 1. having uncoordinated muscular movements, symptomatic of a CNS disorder.
Syn. -- apractic.
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apres-ski, après-ski (ȧprāskē), adj. 1. concerned with or designed for use after skiing; occurring after a day of skiing; as, apres-ski wear; an apres-ski party.
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apres-ski (ȧprāskē), n. 1. the time after skiing.
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Apricate (�), v. t. & i. [L. apricatus, p. p. of apricare, fr. apricus exposed to the sun, fr. aperire to uncover, open.] To bask in the sun. Boyle.
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Aprication, n. Basking in the sun. [R.]
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Apricot, n. [OE. apricock, abricot, F. abricot, fr. Sp. albaricoque or Pg. albricoque, fr. Ar. albirqūq, al-burqūq. Though the E. and F. form abricot is derived from the Arabic through the Spanish, yet the Arabic word itself was formed from the Gr. praikokia, pl. (Diosc. c. 100) fr. L. praecoquus, praecox, early ripe. The older E. form apricock was prob. taken direct from Pg. See , .] (Bot.) A fruit allied to the plum, of an orange color, oval shape, and delicious taste; also, the tree (Prunus Armeniaca of Linnæus) which bears this fruit. By cultivation it has been introduced throughout the temperate zone.
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April (�), n. [L. Aprilis. OE. also Averil, F. Avril, fr. L. Aprilis.] 1. The fourth month of the year.
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2. Fig.: With reference to April being the month in which vegetation begins to put forth, the variableness of its weather, etc.
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The April's her eyes; it is love's spring. Shak.
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Coloq. April fool , one who is sportively imposed upon by others on the first day of April.
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A priori (�). [L. a (ab) + prior former.] 1. (Logic) Characterizing that kind of reasoning which deduces consequences from definitions formed, or principles assumed, or which infers effects from causes previously known; deductive or deductively. The reverse of a posteriori.
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3. (Philos.) Applied to knowledge and conceptions assumed, or presupposed, as prior to experience, in order to make experience rational or possible.
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A priori, that is, form these necessities of the mind or forms of thinking, which, though first revealed to us by experience, must yet have preëxisted in order to make experience possible. Coleridge.
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Apriorism (�), n. [Cf. F. apriorisme.] An a priori principle.
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Apriority (�), n. The quality of being innate in the mind, or prior to experience; a priori reasoning.
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Aprocta (ȧprŏktȧ), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. 'a priv. + prwktos anus.] (Zoöl.) A group of Turbellaria in which there is no anal aperture.
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Aproctous (ȧprŏktŭs), a. (Zoöl.) Without an anal orifice.
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Apron (āpŭrn or āprŭn; 277), n. [OE. napron, OF. naperon, F. napperon, dim. of OF. nape, F. nappe, cloth, tablecloth, LL. napa, fr. L. mappa, napkin, table napkin. See .] 1. An article of dress, of cloth, leather, or other stuff, worn on the fore part of the body, to keep the clothes clean, to defend them from injury, or as a covering. It is commonly tied at the waist by strings.
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2. Something which by its shape or use suggests an apron; as, (a) The fat skin covering the belly of a goose or duck. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell. (b) A piece of leather, or other material, to be spread before a person riding on an outside seat of a vehicle, to defend him from the rain, snow, or dust; a boot. “The weather being too hot for the apron.” Hughes. (c) (Gun.) A leaden plate that covers the vent of a cannon. (d) (Shipbuilding) A piece of carved timber, just above the foremost end of the keel. Totten. (e) A platform, or flooring of plank, at the entrance of a dock, against which the dock gates are shut. (f) A flooring of plank before a dam to cause the water to make a gradual descent. (g) (Mech.) The piece that holds the cutting tool of a planer. (h) (Plumbing) A strip of lead which leads the drip of a wall into a gutter; a flashing. (i) (Zoöl.) The infolded abdomen of a crab.
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Aproned (�), a. Wearing an apron.
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A cobbler aproned, and a parson gowned. Pope.
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Apronful (�), n.; pl. Apronfuls (�). The quantity an apron can hold.
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Apronless, a. Without an apron.
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Apron man (�). A man who wears an apron; a laboring man; a mechanic. [Obs.] Shak.
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Apron string (�). The string of an apron.
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Coloq. To be tied to a wife's apron strings or Coloq. To be tied to a mother's apron strings , to be unduly controlled by a wife or mother.
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He was so made that he could not submit to be tied to the apron strings even of the best of wives. Macaulay.
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Apropos (ăpr�pō), a. & adv. [F. à propos; à (L. ad) + propos purpose, L. proposium plan, purpose, fr. proponere to propose. See .] 1. Opportunely or opportune; seasonably or seasonable.
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A tale extremely apropos. Pope.
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2. By the way; to the purpose; suitably to the place or subject; -- a word used to introduce an incidental observation, suited to the occasion, though not strictly belonging to the narration.
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Apse (ăps), n.; pl. Apses (ăpsĕz). [See .] 1. (Arch.) (a) A projecting part of a building, esp. of a church, having in the plan a polygonal or semicircular termination, and, most often, projecting from the east end. In early churches the Eastern apse was occupied by seats for the bishop and clergy. Hence: (b) The bishop's seat or throne, in ancient churches.
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2. A reliquary, or case in which the relics of saints were kept.
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☞ This word is also written apsis and absis.
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Apsidal (ăpsĭd�l), a. 1. (Astron.) Of or pertaining to the apsides of an orbit.
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2. (Arch.) Of or pertaining to the apse of a church; as, the apsidal termination of the chancel.
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Apsides (ăpsĭdēz), n. pl. See .
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Apsis (ăpsĭs), n.; pl. Apsides (ăpsĭdēz). See . [L. apsis, absis, Gr. apsis, apsi^dos, a tying, fastening, the hoop of a wheel, the wheel, a bow, arch, vault, fr. aptein to fasten.] 1. (Astron.) One of the two points of an orbit, as of a planet or satellite, which are at the greatest and least distance from the central body, corresponding to the aphelion and perihelion of a planet, or to the apogee and perigee of the moon. The more distant is called the higher apsis; the other, the lower apsis; and the line joining them, the line of apsides.
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2. (Math.) In a curve referred to polar coördinates, any point for which the radius vector is a maximum or minimum.
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3. (Arch.) Same as .
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Apsu n. (Akkadian mythology) father of the gods and consort of Tiamat.
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Apterygiformes n. 1. 1 a ratite bird order: flightless ground birds having vestigial wings and long bills and small eyes: kiwis.
Syn. -- order Apterygiformes
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Apt (ăpt), a. [F. apte, L. aptus, fr. obsolete apere to fasten, to join, to fit, akin to apisci to reach, attain: cf. Gr. � to fasten, Skr. āpta fit, fr. āp to reach attain.] 1. Fit or fitted; suited; suitable; appropriate.
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They have always apt instruments. Burke.
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A river . . . apt to be forded by a lamb. Jer. Taylor.
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2. Having an habitual tendency; habitually liable or likely; -- used of things.
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My vines and peaches . . . were apt to have a soot or smuttiness upon their leaves and fruit. Temple.
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This tree, if unprotected, is apt to be stripped of the leaves by a leaf-cutting ant. Lubbock.
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3. Inclined; disposed customarily; given; ready; -- used of persons.
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Apter to give than thou wit be to ask. Beau. & Fl.
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That lofty pity with which prosperous folk are apt to remember their grandfathers. F. Harrison.
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4. Ready; especially fitted or qualified (to do something); quick to learn; prompt; expert; as, a pupil apt to learn; an apt scholar. “An apt wit.” Johnson.
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Live a thousand years,
I shall not find myself so apt to die. Shak.
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I find thee apt . . . Now, Hamlet, hear. Shak.
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Syn. -- Fit; meet; suitable; qualified; inclined; disposed; liable; ready; quick; prompt.
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Apt, v. t. [L. aptare. See .] To fit; to suit; to adapt. [Obs.] “ To apt their places.” B. Jonson.
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That our speech be apted to edification. Jer. Taylor.
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Aptable (�), a. [LL. aptabilis, fr. L. aptare.] Capable of being adapted. [Obs.] Sherwood.
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Aptate (�), v. t. [L. aptatus, p. p. of aptare. See .] To make fit. [Obs.] Bailey
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Aptera (�), n. pl. [NL. aptera, fr. Gr. � without wings; 'a priv. + � wing, � to fly.] (Zoöl.) Insects without wings, constituting the seventh Linnæn order of insects, an artificial group, which included Crustacea, spiders, centipeds, and even worms. These animals are now placed in several distinct classes and orders.
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Apteral (�), a. 1. (Zoöl.) Apterous.
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2. (Arch.) Without lateral columns; -- applied to buildings which have no series of columns along their sides, but are either prostyle or amphiprostyle, and opposed to peripteral. R. Cyc.
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Apteran (�), n. (Zoöl.) One of the Aptera.
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Apteria (�), n. pl. [NL. See .] (Zoöl.) Naked spaces between the feathered areas of birds. See .
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Apterous (�), a. 1. (Zoöl.) Destitute of wings; apteral; as, apterous insects.
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2. (Bot.) Destitute of winglike membranous expansions, as a stem or petiole; -- opposed to alate.
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Apteryges (�), n. pl. [NL. See .] (Zoöl.) An order of birds, including the genus Apteryx.
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Apteryx (�), n. [Gr. 'a priv. + pteryx wing. Cf. .] (Zoöl.) A genus of New Zealand birds about the size of a hen, with only short rudiments of wings, armed with a claw and without a tail; the kiwi. It is allied to the gigantic extinct moas of the same country. Five species are known.
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Aptitude (�), n. [F. aptitude, LL. aptitudo, fr. L. aptus. See , and cf. .] 1. A natural or acquired disposition or capacity for a particular purpose, or tendency to a particular action or effect; as, oil has an aptitude to burn.
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He seems to have had a peculiar aptitude for the management of irregular troops. Macaulay.
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2. A general fitness or suitableness; adaptation.
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That sociable and helpful aptitude which God implanted between man and woman. Milton.
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3. Readiness in learning; docility; aptness.
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He was a boy of remarkable aptitude. Macaulay.
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Aptitudinal (�), a. Suitable; fit. [Obs.]
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Aptly (�), adv. In an apt or suitable manner; fitly; properly; pertinently; appropriately; readily.
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Aptness, n. 1. Fitness; suitableness; appropriateness; as, the aptness of things to their end.
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The aptness of his quotations. J. R. Green.
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