Apepsy A·pep"sy noun [ New Latin
apepsia , from Greek ..., from ... uncooked, undigested;
'a priv. + ... cooked, ... to cook, digest.]
(Medicine) Defective digestion, indigestion. Coxe.
Aper Ap"er noun One who apes.
Aperçu A`per`çu" (ȧ`pâr`su")
noun ; plural
Aperçus (- su"). [ French, propast participle p. of
apercevoir to perceive.]
1. A first view or glance, or the perception or estimation so obtained; an immediate apprehension or insight, appreciative rather than analytic. The main object being to develop the several aperçus or insights which furnish the method of such psychology.
W. T. Harris. A series of partial and more or less disparate aperçus or outlooks; each for itself a center of experience.
James Ward. 2. Hence, a brief or detached view; conspectus; sketch.
Aperea A·pe"re·a noun [ Native name.]
(Zoology) The wild Guinea pig of Brazil ( Cavia aperea ).
Aperient A·pe"ri·ent adjective [ Latin
aperiens , present participle of
aperire to uncover, open;
ab +
parire ,
parere , to bring forth, produce. Confer
Cover ,
Overt .]
(Medicine) Gently opening the bowels; laxative. --
noun An aperient medicine or food. Arbuthnot.
Aperitive A·per"i·tive adjective [ Confer French
apéritif , from Latin
aperire .]
Serving to open; aperient. Harvey.
Apert A·pert" adjective [ Old French
apert , Latin
apertus , past participle of
aperire . See
Aperient , and confer
Pert ,
adjective ]
Open; evident; undisguised. [ Archaic]
Fotherby.
Apert A·pert" adverb Openly. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Apertion A·per"tion noun [ Latin
apertio .]
The act of opening; an opening; an aperture. [ Archaic]
Wiseman.
Apertly A·pert"ly adverb Openly; clearly. [ Archaic]
Apertness A·pert"ness noun Openness; frankness. [ Archaic]
Aperture Ap"er·ture noun [ Latin
apertura , from
aperire . See
Aperient .]
1. The act of opening. [ Obsolete]
2. An opening; an open space; a gap, cleft, or chasm; a passage perforated; a hole; as, an aperture in a wall. An aperture between the mountains.
Gilpin.
The back aperture of the nostrils.
Owen.
3. (Opt.) The diameter of the exposed part of the object glass of a telescope or other optical instrument; as, a telescope of four-inch aperture . » The
aperture of microscopes is often expressed in degrees, called also the
angular aperture , which signifies the angular breadth of the pencil of light which the instrument transmits from the object or point viewed; as, a microscope of 100°
aperture .
Apery Ap"er·y noun ;
plural Aperies .
1. A place where apes are kept. [ R.]
Kingsley. 2. The practice of aping; an apish action. Coleridge.
Apetalous A·pet"al·ous (ȧ*pĕt"
a l*ŭs)
adjective [ Prefix
a- not +
petal .]
(Botany) Having no petals, or flower leaves. [ See Illust. under Anther ].
Apetalousness A·pet"al·ous·ness noun The state of being apetalous.
Apex A"pex noun ;
plural English
Apexes ; Latin
Apices [ Latin ]
1. The tip, top, point, or angular summit of anything; as, the apex of a mountain, spire, or cone; the apex , or tip, of a leaf. 2. (Mining) The end or edge of a vein nearest the surface. [ U.S.]
Apex of the earth's motion (Astron.) ,
that point of the heavens toward which the earth is moving in its orbit.
Aphakia A·pha"ki·a noun [ New Latin ; Greek
'a priv. + ... seed of a lentil.]
(Medicine) An anomalous state of refraction caused by the absence of the crystalline lens, as after operations for cataract. The remedy is the use of powerful convex lenses. Dunglison.
Aphakial A·pha"ki·al adjective (Medicine) Pertaining to aphakia; as, aphakial eyes.
Aphaniptera Aph`a·nip"te·ra noun plural [ New Latin , from Greek ... invisible (
'a priv. + ... to appear) + ... a wing.]
(Zoology) A group of wingless insects, of which the flea in the type. See Flea .
Aphanipterous Aph`a·nip"ter·ous adjective (Zoology) Of or pertaining to the Aphaniptera.
Aphanite Aph"a·nite noun [ Greek ... invisible;
'a priv. + ... to appear.]
(Min.) A very compact, dark-colored ...ock, consisting of hornblende, or pyroxene, and feldspar, but neither of them in perceptible grains.
Aphanitic Aph`a·nit"ic adjective (Min.) Resembling aphanite; having a very fine-grained structure.
Aphasia, Aphasy A·pha"si·a, Aph"a·sy noun [ New Latin
aphasia , Greek ..., from ... not spoken;
'a priv. + ... to speak: confer French
aphasie .]
(Medicine) Loss of the power of speech, or of the appropriate use of words, the vocal organs remaining intact, and the intelligence being preserved. It is dependent on injury or disease of the brain.
Aphasic A·pha"sic adjective Pertaining to, or affected by, aphasia; speechless.
Aphelion A·phel"ion noun ;
plural Aphelia [ Greek ... + ... sun.]
(Astron.) That point of a planet's or comet's orbit which is most distant from the sun, the opposite point being the perihelion .
Apheliotropic A·phe`li·o·trop"ic adjective [ Greek ... + ... sun + ... belonging to a turning.]
Turning away from the sun; -- said of leaves, etc. Darwin.
Apheliotropism A·phe`li·ot"ro·pism noun The habit of bending from the sunlight; -- said of certain plants.
Aphemia A·phe"mi·a noun [ New Latin , from Greek
'a priv. + ... voice.]
(Medicine) Loss of the power of speaking, while retaining the power of writing; -- a disorder of cerebral origin.
Apheresis A·pher"e·sis noun [ Latin
aphaeresis , Greek ..., from ... to take away; ... + ... to take.]
1. (Gram.) The dropping of a letter or syllable from the beginning of a word; e. g ., cute for a cute. 2. (Surg.) An operation by which any part is separated from the rest. [ Obsolete]
Dunglison.
Aphesis Aph"e·sis noun [ Greek ... a letting go; ... + ... to let go.]
The loss of a short unaccented vowel at the beginning of a word; -- the result of a phonetic process; as, squire for esquire . New Eng. Dict.
Aphetic A·phet"ic adjective [ Greek ... letting go, from ... to let go.]
Shortened by dropping a letter or a syllable from the beginning of a word; as, an aphetic word or form. --
A*phet"ic*al*ly ,
adverb New Eng. Dict.
Aphetism Aph"e·tism noun An aphetized form of a word. New Eng. Dict.
Aphetize Aph"e·tize transitive verb To shorten by aphesis. These words . . . have been aphetized .
New Eng. Dict.
Aphid A"phid noun (Zoology) One of the genus Aphis; an aphidian.
Aphides Aph"i·des noun plural (Zoology) See Aphis .
Aphidian A·phid"i·an adjective (Zoology) Of or pertaining to the family Aphidæ . --
noun One of the aphides; an aphid.
Aphidivorous Aph`i·div"o·rous [ Aphis + Latin vorare to devour.] (Zoology) Devouring aphides; aphidophagous.
Aphidophagous Aph`i·doph"a·gous adjective [
Aphis + Greek ... to eat.]
(Zoology) Feeding upon aphides, or plant lice, as do beetles of the family Coccinellidæ .
Aphilanthropy Aph`i·lan"thro·py noun [ Greek ... not loving man;
'a priv. + ... to love + ... man.]
Want of love to mankind; -- the opposite of philanthropy . Coxe.
Aphis A"phis noun ;
plural Aphides [ New Latin ]
(Zoology) A genus of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera and family Aphidæ , including numerous species known as plant lice and green flies. » Besides the true males and females, there is a race of wingless asexual individuals which have the power of producing living young in rapid succession, and these in turn may produce others of the same kind for several generations, before sexual individuals appear. They suck the sap of plants by means of a tubular proboscis, and owing to the wonderful rapidity of their reproduction become very destructive to vegetation. Many of the
Aphidæ excrete honeydew from two tubes near the end of the body.
Aphis lion A"phis li"on (Zoology) The larva of the lacewinged flies ( Chrysopa ), which feeds voraciously upon aphids. The name is also applied to the larvæ of the ladybugs ( Coccinella ).
Aphlogistic Aph`lo·gis"tic adjective [ Greek ... not inflammable;
'a priv. + ... set on fire. See
Phlogiston .]
Flameless; as, an aphlogistic lamp, in which a coil of wire is kept in a state of continued ignition by alcohol, without flame.
Aphonia, Aphony A·pho"ni·a, Aph"o·ny noun [ New Latin
aphonia , Greek ..., from ... voiceless;
'a priv. + ... voice: confer French
aphonie .]
(Medicine) Loss of voice or vocal utterance.
Aphonic, Aphonous A·phon"ic, Aph"o·nous adjective Without voice; voiceless; nonvocal.
Aphorism Aph"o·rism noun [ French
aphorisme , from Greek ... definition, a short, pithy sentence, from ... to mark off by boundaries, to define; ... from + ... to separate, part. See
Horizon .]
A comprehensive maxim or principle expressed in a few words; a sharply defined sentence relating to abstract truth rather than to practical matters. The first aphorism of Hippocrates is, "Life is short, and the art is long."
Fleming.
Syn. -- Axiom; maxim; adage; proverb; apothegm; saying; saw; truism; dictum. See
Axiom .
Aphorismatic, Aphorismic Aph`o·ris·mat"ic, Aph`o·ris"mic adjective Pertaining to aphorisms, or having the form of an aphorism.
Aphorismer Aph`o·ris"mer noun A dealer in aphorisms. [ Used in derogation or contempt.]
Milton.
Aphorist Aph"o·rist noun A writer or utterer of aphorisms.
Aphoristic, Aphoristical Aph`o·ris"tic, Aph`o·ris"tic·al adjective [ Greek ....]
In the form of, or of the nature of, an aphorism; in the form of short, unconnected sentences; as, an aphoristic style. The method of the book is aphoristic .
De Quincey.
Aphoristically Aph`o·ris"tic·al·ly adverb In the form or manner of aphorisms; pithily.
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