Athenian A·the"ni·an adjective [ Confer French
Athénien .]
Of or pertaining to Athens, the metropolis of Greece. --
noun A native or citizen of Athens.
Atheological A`the·o·log"ic·al adjective Opposed to theology; atheistic. Bp. Montagu.
Atheology A`the·ol"o·gy noun [ Prefix
a- not +
theology .]
Antagonism to theology. Swift.
Atheous A"the·ous adjective [ Greek ... without God. See
Atheist .]
1. Atheistic; impious. [ Obsolete]
Milton. 2. Without God, neither accepting nor denying him. I should say science was atheous , and therefore could not be atheistic.
Bp. of Carlisle.
Atherine Ath"er·ine noun [ New Latin
atherina , from Greek ... a kind of smelt.]
(Zoology) A small marine fish of the family Atherinidæ , having a silvery stripe along the sides. The European species ( Atherina presbyter ) is used as food. The American species ( Menidia notata ) is called silversides and sand smelt . See Silversides .
Athermancy A·ther"man·cy (ȧ*thẽr"măn*sȳ)
noun [ See
Athermanous .]
Inability to transmit radiant heat; impermeability to heat. Tyndall.
Athermanous A·ther"ma·nous adjective [ Greek
'a priv. +
qermai`nein to heat,
qe`rma heat: confer French
athermane .]
(Chemistry) Not transmitting heat; -- opposed to diathermanous .
Athermous A·ther"mous adjective (Chemistry) Athermanous.
Atheroid Ath"er·oid adjective [ Greek ..., ..., a beard, or an ear, of grain +
-oid .]
Shaped like an ear of grain.
Atheroma Ath`e·ro"ma noun [ Latin , from Greek ..., ..., from ... gr...ats, meal.]
(Medicine) (a) An encysted tumor containing curdy matter. (b) A disease characterized by thickening and fatty degeneration of the inner coat of the arteries.
Atheromatous Ath`e·rom"a·tous adjective (Medicine) Of, pertaining to, or having the nature of, atheroma. Wiseman.
Athetize Ath"e·tize transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Athetized ;
present participle & verbal noun Athetizing .] [ Greek ..., from ... set aside, not fixed; ... not + ... to place.]
To set aside or reject as spurious, as by marking with an obelus.
Athetosis Ath`e·to"sis noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... not fixed;
'a priv. + ... to set.]
(Medicine) A variety of chorea, marked by peculiar tremors of the fingers and toes.
Athink A·think" transitive verb To repent; to displease; to disgust. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Athirst A·thirst" adjective [ Middle English
ofthurst , Anglo-Saxon
ofpyrsted , past participle of
ofpyrstan ; prefix
of- , intensive +
pyrstan to thirst. See
Thirst .]
1. Wanting drink; thirsty. 2. Having a keen appetite or desire; eager; longing. "
Athirst for battle."
Cowper.
Athlete Ath"lete noun [ Latin
athleta , Greek ... prizefighter, from ... to contend for a prize, ..., Hom. ..., contest, ... prize; from the same root as English
wed : confer French
athlète .]
1. (Antiq.) One who contended for a prize in the public games of ancient Greece or Rome. 2. Any one trained to contend in exercises requiring great physical agility and strength; one who has great activity and strength; a champion. 3. One fitted for, or skilled in, intellectual contests; as, athletes of debate.
Athletic Ath`let"ic adjective [ Latin
athleticus , Greek .... See
Athlete .]
1. Of or pertaining to athletes or to the exercises practiced by them; as, athletic games or sports. 2. Befitting an athlete; strong; muscular; robust; vigorous; as, athletic Celts. "
Athletic soundness."
South. --
Ath*let"ic*al*ly adverb
Athleticism Ath·let"i·cism noun The practice of engaging in athletic games; athletism.
Athletics Ath·let"ics noun The art of training by athletic exercises; the games and sports of athletes.
Athletism Ath"le·tism noun The state or practice of an athlete; the characteristics of an athlete.
Athrepsia A·threp"si·a noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... priv. + ... nourishment.]
(Medicine) Profound debility of children due to lack of food and to unhygienic surroundings. --
A*threp"tic adjective
Athwart A·thwart" preposition [ Prefix
a- +
thwart .]
1. Across; from side to side of. Athwart the thicket lone.
Tennyson.
2. (Nautical) Across the direction or course of; as, a fleet standing athwart our course. Athwart hawse ,
across the stem of another vessel, whether in contact or at a small distance. --
Athwart ships ,
across the ship from side to side, or in that direction; -- opposed to fore and aft .
Athwart A·thwart" adverb 1. Across, especially in an oblique direction; sidewise; obliquely. Sometimes athwart , sometimes he strook him straight.
Spenser.
2. Across the course; so as to thwart; perversely. All athwart there came
A post from Wales loaden with heavy news.
Shak.
Atilt A·tilt" adverb [ Prefix
a- +
tilt .]
1. In the manner of a tilter; in the position, or with the action, of one making a thrust. "To run
atilt at men."
Hudibras. 2. In the position of a cask tilted, or with one end raised. [ In this sense sometimes used as an adjective.] Abroach, atilt , and run
Even to the lees of honor.
Beau. & Fl.
Atimy At"i·my noun [ Greek ...;
'a priv. + ... honor.]
(Gr. Antiq.) Public disgrace or stigma; infamy; loss of civil rights. Mitford.
Atlanta At·lan"ta noun [ New Latin , from Greek ....]
(Zoology) A genus of small glassy heteropod mollusks found swimming at the surface in mid ocean. See Heteropod .
Atlantal At·lan"tal adjective (Anat.) (a) Relating to the atlas. (b) Anterior; cephalic. Barclay.
Atlantean At`lan·te"an adjective [ Latin
Atlant...us .]
1. Of or pertaining to the isle Atlantis, which the ancients allege was sunk, and overwhelmed by the ocean. 2. Pertaining to, or resembling, Atlas; strong. With Atlantean shoulders, fit to bear
The weight of mightiest monarchies.
Milton.
Atlantes At·lan"tes noun plural [ Latin , from Greek ..., plural of .... See
Atlas .]
(Architecture) Figures or half figures of men, used as columns to support an entablature; -- called also telamones . See Caryatides . Oxf. Gloss.
Atlantic At·lan"tic adjective [ Latin
Atlanticus , from
Atlas . See
Atlas and
Atlantes .]
1. Of or pertaining to Mt. Atlas in Libya, and hence applied to the ocean which lies between Europe and Africa on the east and America on the west; as, the Atlantic Ocean (called also the Atlantic ); the Atlantic basin; the Atlantic telegraph. 2. Of or pertaining to the isle of Atlantis. 3. Descended from Atlas. The seven Atlantic sisters.
Milton.
Atlantides At·lan"ti·des noun plural [ Latin See
Atlantes .]
The Pleiades or seven stars, fabled to have been the daughters of Atlas.
Atlas At"las noun ;
plural Atlases [ Latin
Atlas , -
antis , Greek ..., ..., one of the older family of gods, who bears up the pillars of heaven; also Mt.
Atlas , in W. Africa, regarded as the pillar of heaven. It is from the root of ... to bear. See
Tolerate .]
1. One who sustains a great burden. 2. (Anat.) The first vertebra of the neck, articulating immediately with the skull, thus sustaining the globe of the head, whence the name. 3. A collection of maps in a volume ; -- supposed to be so called from a picture of Atlas supporting the world, prefixed to some collections. This name is said to have been first used by Mercator, the celebrated geographer, in the 16th century.
4. A volume of plates illustrating any subject. 5. A work in which subjects are exhibited in a tabular from or arrangement; as, an historical atlas . 6. A large, square folio, resembling a volume of maps; -- called also atlas folio . 7. A drawing paper of large size. See under Paper , noun Atlas powder ,
a nitroglycerin blasting compound of pasty consistency and great explosive power.
Atlas At"las noun [ Arabic , smooth.]
A rich kind of satin manufactured in India. Brande & C.
Atlas powder At"las pow"der A blasting powder or dynamite composed of nitroglycerin, wood fiber, sodium nitrate, and magnesium carbonate.
Atman At"man noun [ Sanskrit
ātman .]
(Hinduism) (a) The life principle, soul, or individual essence. (b) The universal ego from whom all individual atmans arise. This sense is a European excrescence on the East Indian thought.
Atmiatry At·mi"a·try noun [ Greek ... vapor +
... medical treatment, healing.]
Treatment of disease by vapors or gases, as by inhalation.
Atmidometer At`mi·dom"e·ter noun [ Greek ..., ..., smoke, vapor +
-meter ; confer French
atmidomètre .]
An instrument for measuring the evaporation from water, ice, or snow. Brande & C.
Atmo At"mo noun [ Contr. from
atmosphere .]
(Physics) The standard atmospheric pressure used in certain physical measurements calculations; conventionally, that pressure under which the barometer stands at 760 millimeters, at a temperature of 0° Centigrade, at the level of the sea, and in the latitude of Paris. Sir W. Thomson.
Atmologic, Atmological At`mo·log"ic, At`mo·log"ic·al adjective Of or pertaining to atmology. "
Atmological laws of heat."
Whewell.
Atmologist At·mol"o·gist noun One who is versed in atmology.
Atmology At·mol"o·gy noun [ Greek ... vapor +
- logy .]
(Physics) That branch of science which treats of the laws and phenomena of aqueous vapor. Whewell.
Atmolysis At·mol"y·sis noun [ Greek ... vapor + ... a loosing, ... to loose.]
(Chemistry) The act or process of separating mingled gases of unequal diffusibility by transmission through porous substances.
Atmolyzation At`mol·y·za"tion noun (Chemistry) Separation by atmolysis.
Atmolyze At"mo·lyze transitive verb (Chemistry) To subject to atmolysis; to separate by atmolysis.
Atmolyzer At"mo·ly`zer noun (Chemistry) An apparatus for effecting atmolysis.
Atmometer At·mom"e·ter noun [ Greek ... smoke, vapor +
-meter : confer French
atmomètre .]
An instrument for measuring the rate of evaporation from a moist surface; an evaporometer. Huxley.
Atmosphere At"mos·phere noun [ Greek ... vapor (akin to Sanskrit
ātman breath, soul, German
athem breath) + ... sphere: confer French
atmosphère . See
Sphere .]
1. (Physics) (a) The whole mass of aëriform fluid surrounding the earth; -- applied also to the gaseous envelope of any celestial orb, or other body; as, the atmosphere of Mars. (b) Any gaseous envelope or medium. An atmosphere of cold oxygen.
Miller.
2. A supposed medium around various bodies; as, electrical atmosphere , a medium formerly supposed to surround electrical bodies. Franklin. 3. The pressure or weight of the air at the sea level, on a unit of surface, or about 14.7 Ibs. to the sq. inch. Hydrogen was liquefied under a pressure of 650 atmospheres .
Lubbock.
4. Any surrounding or pervading influence or condition. The chillest of social atmospheres .
Hawthorne.
5. The portion of air in any locality, or affected by a special physical or sanitary condition; as, the atmosphere of the room; a moist or noxious atmosphere .
Atmospheric, Atmospherical At`mos·pher"ic, At`mos·pher"ic·al adjective [ Confer French
atmosphérique .]
1. Of or pertaining to the atmosphere; of the nature of, or resembling, the atmosphere; as, atmospheric air; the atmospheric envelope of the earth. 2. Existing in the atmosphere. The lower atmospheric current.
Darwin.
3. Caused, or operated on, by the atmosphere; as, an atmospheric effect; an atmospheric engine. 4. Dependent on the atmosphere. [ R.]
In am so atmospherical a creature.
Pope.
Atmospheric engine ,
a steam engine whose piston descends by the pressure of the atmosphere, when the steam which raised it is condensed within the cylinder. Tomlinson. --
Atmospheric line (Steam Engin.) ,
the equilibrium line of an indicator card. Steam is expanded "down to the atmosphere" when its pressure is equal to that of the atmosphere. (See Indicator card .) --
Atmospheric pressure ,
the pressure exerted by the atmosphere, not merely downwards, but in every direction. In amounts to about 14.7 Ibs. on each square inch. --
Atmospheric railway ,
one in which pneumatic power, obtained from compressed air or the creation of a vacuum, is the propelling force. --
Atmospheric tides .
See under Tide .
Atmospherically At`mos·pher"ic·al·ly adverb In relation to the atmosphere.
Atmospherology At`mos·phe·rol"o·gy noun [
Atmosphere +
-logy .]
The science or a treatise on the atmosphere.