Aswoon A·swoon" adverb In a swoon. Chaucer.

Aswooned A·swooned" adverb In a swoon.

Asylum A·sy"lum noun ; plural English Asylums Latin Asyla [ Latin asylum , Greek ..., from ... exempt from spoliation, inviolable; 'a priv. + ... right of seizure.] 1. A sanctuary or place of refuge and protection, where criminals and debtors found shelter, and from which they could not be forcibly taken without sacrilege.

So sacred was the church to some, that it had the right of an asylum or sanctuary.
Ayliffe.

» The name was anciently given to temples, altars, statues of the gods, and the like. In later times Christian churches were regarded as asylums in the same sense.

2. Any place of retreat and security.

Earth has no other asylum for them than its own cold bosom.
Southey.

3. An institution for the protection or relief of some class of destitute, unfortunate, or afflicted persons; as, an asylum for the aged, for the blind, or for the insane; a lunatic asylum ; an orphan asylum .

Asymmetral A·sym"me·tral adjective Incommensurable; also, unsymmetrical. [ Obsolete] D. H. More.

Asymmetric, Asymmetrical As`ym·met"ric, As`ym·met"ri·cal adjective [ See Asymmetrous .] 1. Incommensurable. [ Obsolete]

2. Not symmetrical; wanting proportion; esp., not bilaterally symmetrical. Huxley.

Asymmetrous A·sym"me·trous adjective [ Greek ....] Asymmetrical. [ Obsolete] Barrow.

Asymmetry A·sym"me·try noun [ Greek ...; 'a priv. + ... symmetry.] 1. Want of symmetry, or proportion between the parts of a thing, esp. want of bilateral symmetry.

2. (Math.) Incommensurability. [ Obsolete] Barrow.

Asymptote As"ymp·tote noun [ Greek ... not falling together; 'a priv. + ... to fall together; ... with + ... to fall. Confer Symptom .] (Math.) A line which approaches nearer to some curve than assignable distance, but, though infinitely extended, would never meet it. Asymptotes may be straight lines or curves. A rectilinear asymptote may be conceived as a tangent to the curve at an infinite distance.

Asynartete A·syn"ar·tete` adjective [ Greek ... not united, disconnected; 'a priv. + ... with + ... to fasten to.] Disconnected; not fitted or adjusted. -- A*syn"ar*tet"ic adjective

Asynartete verse (Pros.) , a verse of two members, having different rhythms; as when the first consists of iambuses and the second of trochees.

Asynchronous A·syn"chro·nous adjective [ Greek ... not + synchronous .] Not simultaneous; not concurrent in time; -- opposed to synchronous .

Asyndetic As`yn·det"ic adjective [ See Asyndeton .] Characterized by the use of asyndeton; not connected by conjunctions. -- As`yn*det"ic*al*ly , adverb

Asyndeton A·syn"de·ton noun [ Latin , from Greek ..., from ... unconnected; 'a priv. + ... bound together, from ...; ... with + ... to bind.] (Rhet.) A figure which omits the connective; as, I came, I saw, I conquered . It stands opposed to polysyndeton .

Asystole A·sys"to·le noun [ Prefix a- not + systole .] (Physiol.) A weakening or cessation of the contractile power of the heart.

Asystolism A·sys"to·lism noun The state or symptoms characteristic of asystole.

At At preposition [ Anglo-Saxon æt ; akin to Old High German az , Goth., Old Saxon , & Icelandic at , Swedish åt , Dan. & Latin ad .] Primarily, this word expresses the relations of presence , nearness in place or time , or direction toward ; as, at the ninth hour; at the house; to aim at a mark. It is less definite than in or on ; at the house may be in or near the house. From this original import are derived all the various uses of at . It expresses: -

1. A relation of proximity to, or of presence in or on, something; as, at the door; at your shop; at home; at school; at hand; at sea and on land.

2. The relation of some state or condition; as, at war; at peace; at ease; at your service; at fault; at liberty; at risk; at disadvantage.

3. The relation of some employment or action; occupied with; as, at engraving; at husbandry; at play; at work; at meat (eating); except at puns.

4. The relation of a point or position in a series, or of degree, rate, or value; as, with the thermometer at 80°; goods sold at a cheap price; a country estimated at 10,000 square miles; life is short at the longest.

5. The relations of time, age, or order; as, at ten o'clock; at twenty-one; at once; at first.

6. The relations of source, occasion, reason, consequence, or effect; as, at the sight; at this news; merry at anything; at this declaration; at his command; to demand, require, receive, deserve, endure at your hands.

7. Relation of direction toward an object or end; as, look at it; to point at one; to aim at a mark; to throw, strike, shoot, wink, mock, laugh at any one.

At all , At home , At large , At last , At length , At once , etc. See under All , Home , Large , Last (phrase and syn.), Length , Once , etc. -- At it , busily or actively engaged. -- At least . See Least and However . -- At one . See At one , in the Vocabulary.

Syn. -- In , At . When reference to the interior of any place is made prominent in is used. It is used before the names of countries and cities (esp. large cities); as, we live in America, in New York, in the South. At is commonly employed before names of houses, institutions, villages, and small places; as, Milton was educated at Christ's College; money taken in at the Customhouse; I saw him at the jeweler's; we live at Beachville. At may be used before the name of a city when it is regarded as a mere point of locality. "An English king was crowned at Paris." Macaulay. "Jean Jacques Rousseau was born at Geneva, June, 28, 1712." J. Morley. In regard to time, we say at the hour, on the day, in the year; as, at 9 o'clock, on the morning of July 5th, in the year 1775.

At one At one" [ Middle English at on , atone , atoon , attone .] 1. In concord or friendship; in agreement (with each other); as, to be, bring, make, or set, at one , i. e., to be or bring in or to a state of agreement or reconciliation.

If gentil men, or othere of hir contree
Were wrothe, she wolde bringen hem atoon .
Chaucer.

2. Of the same opinion; agreed; as, on these points we are at one .

3. Together. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Atabal At"a·bal noun [ Spanish atabal , from Arabic at-tabl the drum, tabala to beat the drum. Confer Tymbal .] A kettledrum; a kind of tabor, used by the Moors. Croly.

Atacamite A·tac"a·mite noun [ From the desert of Atacama , where found.] (Min.) An oxychloride of copper, usually in emerald-green prismatic crystals.

Atafter At`aft"er preposition After. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Ataghan At"a·ghan noun See Yataghan .

Atake A·take" transitive verb To overtake. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Ataman At"a·man noun [ Russian ataman' : confer Pol. hetman , German hauptmann headman, chieftain. Confer Hetman .] A hetman, or chief of the Cossacks.

Atamasco lily At`a·mas"co lil"y [ Atamasco is from North American Indian.] (Botany) See under Lily .

Ataraxia, Ataraxy At`a·rax"i·a, At"a·rax`y noun [ New Latin ataraxia , Greek 'ataraxi`a ; 'a priv. + tarakto`s disturbed, tara`ssein to disturb.] Perfect peace of mind, or calmness.

Ataunt, Ataunto A·taunt", A·taunt"o adverb [ French autant as much (as possible).] (Nautical) Fully rigged, as a vessel; with all sails set; set on end or set right.

Atavic A·tav"ic adjective [ Confer French atavique .] Pertaining to a remote ancestor, or to atavism.

Atavism At"a·vism noun [ Latin atavus an ancestor, from avus a grandfather.] (a) The recurrence, or a tendency to a recurrence, of the original type of a species in the progeny of its varieties; resemblance to remote rather than to near ancestors; reversion to the original form. (b) (Biol.) The recurrence of any peculiarity or disease of an ancestor in a subsequent generation, after an intermission for a generation or two.

Now and then there occur cases of what physiologists call atavism , or reversion to an ancestral type of character.
J. Fiske

Ataxia, Ataxy A·tax"i·a, At"ax·y noun [ New Latin ataxia , Greek ..., from ... out of order; 'a priv. + ... ordered, arranged, ... to put in order: confer French ataxie .] 1. Disorder; irregularity. [ Obsolete] Bp. Hall.

2. (Medicine) (a) Irregularity in disease, or in the functions. (b) The state of disorder that characterizes nervous fevers and the nervous condition.

Locomotor ataxia . See Locomotor .

Ataxic A·tax"ic adjective [ Confer French ataxique . See Ataxia .] (Medicine) Characterized by ataxy, that is, (a) by great irregularity of functions or symptoms, or (b) by a want of coordinating power in movements.

Ataxic fever , malignant typhus fever. Pinel.

Atazir At`a·zir" noun [ Old French , from Arabic al- tasīr influence.] (Astron.) The influence of a star upon other stars or upon men. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Ate Ate (?; 277), the preterit of Eat .

Ate A"te noun [ Greek ....] (Greek. Myth.) The goddess of mischievous folly; also, in later poets, the goddess of vengeance.

Atechnic A·tech"nic adjective [ Prefix a- not + technic .] Without technical or artistic knowledge.

Difficult to convey to the atechnic reader.
Etching & Engr.

Ateles At"e·les noun [ Greek ... incomplete; 'a priv. + ... completion.] (Zoology) A genus of American monkeys with prehensile tails, and having the thumb wanting or rudimentary. See Spider monkey , and Coaita .

Atelets sauce A`te·lets" sauce or Sauce` aux ha`te*lets" [ French hâtelet skewer.] A sauce (such as egg and bread crumbs) used for covering bits of meat, small birds, or fish, strung on skewers for frying.

Atelier A`te·lier" noun [ French] A workshop; a studio.

Atellan A·tel"lan adjective [ Latin Atellanus , from Atella , an ancient town of the Osci, in Campania.] Of or pertaining to Atella, in ancient Italy; as, Atellan plays; farcical; ribald. -- noun A farcical drama performed at Atella.

Athalamous A·thal"a·mous adjective [ Greek 'a priv. + ... nuptial bed.] (Botany) Not furnished with shields or beds for the spores, as the thallus of certain lichens.

Athamaunt Ath"a·maunt noun Adamant. [ Obsolete]

Written in the table of athamaunt .
Chaucer.

Athanasia, Athanasy Ath`a·na"si·a, A·than"a·sy noun [ New Latin athanasia , from Greek ...; ... priv. + ... death.] The quality of being deathless; immortality.

Is not a scholiastic athanasy better than none?

Lowell.

Athanasian Ath`a·na"sian adjective Of or pertaining to Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria in the 4th century.

Athanasian creed , a formulary, confession, or exposition of faith, formerly supposed to have been drawn up by Athanasius; but this opinion is now rejected, and the composition is ascribed by some to Hilary, bishop of Arles (5th century). It is a summary of what was called the orthodox faith.

Athanor Ath"a·nor noun [ French, from Arabic at- tannūr , from Hebrew tannūr an oven or furnace.] A digesting furnace, formerly used by alchemists. It was so constructed as to maintain uniform and durable heat. Chambers.

Athecata Ath`e·ca"ta noun plural [ New Latin , from Greek 'a priv. + ... chest, box.] (Zoology) A division of Hydroidea in which the zooids are naked, or not inclosed in a capsule. See Tubularian .

Atheism A"the·ism noun [ Confer French athéisme . See Atheist .] 1. The disbelief or denial of the existence of a God, or supreme intelligent Being.

Atheism is a ferocious system, that leaves nothing above us to excite awe, nor around us to awaken tenderness.
R. Hall.

Atheism and pantheism are often wrongly confounded.
Shipley.

2. Godlessness.

Atheist A"the·ist noun [ Greek ... without god; 'a priv. + ... god: confer French athéiste .] 1. One who disbelieves or denies the existence of a God, or supreme intelligent Being.

2. A godless person. [ Obsolete]

Syn. -- Infidel; unbeliever.

See Infidel .

Atheistic, Atheistical A`the·is"tic, A`the·is"tic·al adjective 1. Pertaining to, implying, or containing, atheism; -- applied to things; as, atheistic doctrines, opinions, or books.

Atheistical explications of natural effects.
Barrow.

2. Disbelieving the existence of a God; impious; godless; -- applied to persons; as, an atheistic writer. -- A`the*is"tic*al*ly , adverb -- A`the*is"tic*al*ness , noun

Atheize A"the·ize transitive verb To render atheistic or godless. [ R.]

They endeavored to atheize one another.
Berkeley.

Atheize A"the·ize intransitive verb To discourse, argue, or act as an atheist. [ R.] -- A"the*i`zer noun Cudworth.

Atheling Ath"el·ing (ăth"ĕl*ĭng) noun [ Anglo-Saxon æðeling noble, from æðele noble, akin to German adel nobility, edel noble. The word æðel , English ethel , is in many Anglo-Saxon proper names, as Ethel wolf, noble wolf; Ethel bald, noble bold; Ethel bert, noble bright.] An Anglo-Saxon prince or nobleman; esp., the heir apparent or a prince of the royal family. [ Written also Adeling and Ætheling .]

Atheneum, Athenæum Ath`e·ne"um, Ath`e·næ"um noun ; plural English Atheneums Latin Athenæa [ Latin Athenaeum , Greek 'Aqhn`aion a temple of Minerva at Athens, from 'Aqhna^ , contr. from 'Aqhna`a , 'Aqhnai`a , in Homer 'Aqh`nh , 'Aqhnai`n , Athene (called Minerva by the Romans), the tutelary goddess of Athens.] 1. (Gr. Antiq.) A temple of Athene, at Athens, in which scholars and poets were accustomed to read their works and instruct students.

2. A school founded at Rome by Hadrian.

3. A literary or scientific association or club.

4. A building or an apartment where a library, periodicals, and newspapers are kept for use.

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