Atrium noun ; plural Atria [ Latin , the fore court of a Roman house.]
1. (Architecture) (a) A square hall lighted from above, into which rooms open at one or more levels. (b) An open court with a porch or gallery around three or more sides; especially at the entrance of a basilica or other church. The name was extended in the Middle Ages to the open churchyard or cemetery.

2. (Anat.) The main part of either auricle of the heart as distinct from the auricular appendix. Also, the whole articular portion of the heart.

3. (Zoology) A cavity in ascidians into which the intestine and generative ducts open, and which also receives the water from the gills. See Ascidioidea .

Atrium noun (Anat.) A cavity, entrance, or passage; as, the atrium , or atrial cavity, in the body wall of the amphioxus; an atrium of the infundibula of the lungs, etc.

Atrocha noun [ New Latin , from Greek 'a priv. + ... a circle.] (Zoology) A kind of chætopod larva in which no circles of cilia are developed.

Atrocious adjective [ Latin atrox , atrocis , cruel, fierce: confer French atroce .]
1. Extremely heinous; full of enormous wickedness; as, atrocious quilt or deeds.

2. Characterized by, or expressing, great atrocity.

Revelations . . . so atrocious that nothing in history approaches them.
De Quincey.

3. Very grievous or violent; terrible; as, atrocious distempers. [ Obsolete] Cheyne.

Syn. -- Atrocious , Flagitious , Flagrant . Flagitious points to an act as grossly wicked and vile; as, a flagitious proposal. Flagrant marks the vivid impression made upon the mind by something strikingly wrong or erroneous; as, a flagrant misrepresentation; a flagrant violation of duty. Atrocious represents the act as springing from a violent and savage spirit. If Lord Chatham, instead of saying "the atrocious crime of being a young man," had used either of the other two words, his irony would have lost all its point, in his celebrated reply to Sir Robert Walpole, as reported by Dr. Johnson.

-- A*tro"cious*ly , adverb -- A*tro"cious*ness , noun

Atrocity noun ; plural Atrocities [ French atrocité , Latin atrocitas , from atrox , atrocis , cruel.]
1. Enormous wickedness; extreme heinousness or cruelty.

2. An atrocious or extremely cruel deed.

The atrocities which attend a victory.
Macaulay.

Atrophic adjective Relating to atrophy.

Atrophied p. adjective Affected with atrophy, as a tissue or organ; arrested in development at a very early stage; rudimentary.

Atrophy noun [ Latin atrophia , Greek ...; 'a priv. + ... to nourish: confer French atrophie .] A wasting away from want of nourishment; diminution in bulk or slow emaciation of the body or of any part. Milton.

Atrophy transitive verb [ past participle Atrophied ] To cause to waste away or become abortive; to starve or weaken.

Atrophy intransitive verb To waste away; to dwindle.

Atropia noun Same as Atropine .

Atropine noun [ Greek ... inflexible; hence ... ..., one of the three Parcæ; 'a priv. + ... to turn.] (Chemistry) A poisonous, white, crystallizable alkaloid, extracted from the Atropa belladonna , or deadly nightshade, and the Datura Stramonium , or thorn apple. It is remarkable for its power in dilating the pupil of the eye. Called also daturine .

Atropism noun (Medicine) A condition of the system produced by long use of belladonna.

Atropous adjective [ Greek ...; 'a priv. + ... to turn.] (Botany) Not inverted; orthotropous.

Atrous adjective [ Latin ater .] Coal-black; very black.

Atrypa noun [ New Latin , from Greek 'a priv. + ... a hole.] (Paleon.) A extinct genus of Branchiopoda, very common in Silurian limestones.

Attabal noun See Atabal .

Attacca [ Italian , from attaccare to tie, bind. See Attach .] (Mus.) Attack at once; -- a direction at the end of a movement to show that the next is to follow immediately, without any pause.

Attach transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Attached ; present participle & verbal noun Attaching .] [ Old French atachier , French attacher , to tie or fasten: confer Celt. tac , tach , nail, English tack a small nail, tack to fasten. Confer Attack , and see Tack .]
1. To bind, fasten, tie, or connect; to make fast or join; as, to attach one thing to another by a string, by glue, or the like.

The shoulder blade is . . . attached only to the muscles.
Paley.

A huge stone to which the cable was attached .
Macaulay.

2. To connect; to place so as to belong; to assign by authority; to appoint; as, an officer is attached to a certain regiment, company, or ship.

3. To win the heart of; to connect by ties of love or self-interest; to attract; to fasten or bind by moral influence; -- with to ; as, attached to a friend; attaching others to us by wealth or flattery.

Incapable of attaching a sensible man.
Miss Austen.

God . . . by various ties attaches man to man.
Cowper.

4. To connect, in a figurative sense; to ascribe or attribute; to affix; -- with to ; as, to attach great importance to a particular circumstance.

Top this treasure a curse is attached .
Bayard Taylor.

5. To take, seize, or lay hold of. [ Obsolete] Shak.

6. To take by legal authority: (a) To arrest by writ, and bring before a court, as to answer for a debt, or a contempt; -- applied to a taking of the person by a civil process; being now rarely used for the arrest of a criminal. (b) To seize or take (goods or real estate) by virtue of a writ or precept to hold the same to satisfy a judgment which may be rendered in the suit. See Attachment , 4.

The earl marshal attached Gloucester for high treason.
Miss Yonge.

Attached column (Architecture) , a column engaged in a wall, so that only a part of its circumference projects from it.

Syn. -- To affix; bind; tie; fasten; connect; conjoin; subjoin; annex; append; win; gain over; conciliate.

Attach intransitive verb
1. To adhere; to be attached.

The great interest which attaches to the mere knowledge of these facts cannot be doubted.
Brougham.

2. To come into legal operation in connection with anything; to vest; as, dower will attach . Cooley.

Attach noun An attachment. [ Obsolete] Pope.

Attachable adjective Capable of being attached; esp., liable to be taken by writ or precept.

Attaché noun [ French, past participle of attacher . See Attach , transitive verb ] One attached to another person or thing, as a part of a suite or staff. Specifically: One attached to an embassy.

Attachment noun [ French attachment .]
1. The act attaching, or state of being attached; close adherence or affection; fidelity; regard; an... passion of affection that binds a person; as, an attachment to a friend, or to a party.

2. That by which one thing is attached to another; connection; as, to cut the attachments of a muscle.

The human mind . . . has exhausted its forces in the endeavor to rend the supernatural from its attachment to this history.
I. Taylor.

3. Something attached; some adjunct attached to an instrument, machine, or other object; as, a sewing machine attachment ( i. e. , a device attached to a sewing machine to enable it to do special work, as tucking, etc.).

4. (Giv. Law) (a) A seizure or taking into custody by virtue of a legal process. (b) The writ or percept commanding such seizure or taking.

» The term is applied to a seizure or taking either of persons or property. In the serving of process in a civil suit, it is most generally applied to the taking of property, whether at common law, as a species of distress, to compel defendant's appearance, or under local statutes, to satisfy the judgment the plaintiff may recover in the action. The terms attachment and arrest are both applied to the taking or apprehension of a defendant to compel an appearance in a civil action. Attachments are issued at common law and in chancery, against persons for contempt of court. In England, attachment is employed in some cases where capias is with us, as against a witness who fails to appear on summons. In some of the New England States a writ of attachment is a species of mesne process upon which the property of a defendant may be seized at the commencement of a suit and before summons to him, and may be held to satisfy the judgment the plaintiff may recover. In other States this writ can issue only against absconding debtors and those who conceal themselves. See Foreign , Garnishment , Trustee process . Bouvier. Burrill. Blackstone.

Syn. -- Attachment , Affection . The leading idea of affection is that of warmth and tenderness; the leading idea of attachment is that of being bound to some object by strong and lasting ties. There is more of sentiment (and sometimes of romance) in affection , and more of principle in preserving attachment . We speak of the ardor of the one, and the fidelity of the other. There is another distinction in the use and application of these words. The term attachment is applied to a wider range of objects than affection . A man may have a strong attachment to his country, to his profession, to his principles, and even to favorite places; in respect to none of these could we use the word affection .

Attack transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Attacked ; present participle & verbal noun Attacking .] [ French attaquer , orig. another form of attacher to attack: confer Italian attacare to fasten, attack. See Attach , Tack a small nail.]
1. To fall upon with force; to assail, as with force and arms; to assault. " Attack their lines." Dryden.

2. To assail with unfriendly speech or writing; to begin a controversy with; to attempt to overthrow or bring into disrepute, by criticism or satire; to censure; as, to attack a man, or his opinions, in a pamphlet.

3. To set to work upon, as upon a task or problem, or some object of labor or investigation.

4. To begin to affect; to begin to act upon, injuriously or destructively; to begin to decompose or waste.

On the fourth of March he was attacked by fever.
Macaulay.

Hydrofluoric acid . . . attacks the glass.
B. Stewart.

Syn. -- To Attack , Assail , Assault , Invade . These words all denote a violent onset; attack being the generic term, and the others specific forms of attack. To attack is to commence the onset; to assail is to make a sudden and violent attack, or to make repeated attacks; to assault (literally, to leap upon) is to attack physically by a had-to-hand approach or by unlawful and insulting violence; to invade is to enter by force on what belongs to another. Thus, a person may attack by offering violence of any kind; he may assail by means of missile weapons; he may assault by direct personal violence; a king may invade by marching an army into a country. Figuratively, we may say, men attack with argument or satire; they assail with abuse or reproaches; they may be assaulted by severe temptations; the rights of the people may be invaded by the encroachments of the crown.

Attack intransitive verb To make an onset or attack.

Attack noun [ Confer French attaque .]
1. The act of attacking, or falling on with force or violence; an onset; an assault; -- opposed to defense .

2. An assault upon one's feelings or reputation with unfriendly or bitter words.

3. A setting to work upon some task, etc.

4. An access of disease; a fit of sickness.

5. The beginning of corrosive, decomposing, or destructive action, by a chemical agent.

Attackable adjective Capable of being attacked.

Attacker noun One who attacks.

Attagas, Attagen noun [ Latin attagen a kind of bird, Greek ..., ....] (Zoology) A species of sand grouse ( Syrrghaptes Pallasii ) found in Asia and rarely in southern Europe.

Attaghan (ăt"tȧ*găn) noun See Yataghan .

Attain (ăt*tān") transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Attained (-tānd"); present participle & verbal noun Attaining .] [ Of. atteinen , atteignen , atainen , Old French ateindre , ataindre , French atteindre , from Latin attingere ; ad + tangere to touch, reach. See Tangent , and confer Attinge , Attaint .]
1. To achieve or accomplish, that is, to reach by efforts; to gain; to compass; as, to attain rest.

Is he wise who hopes to attain the end without the means?
Abp. Tillotson.

2. To gain or obtain possession of; to acquire. [ Obsolete with a material object.] Chaucer.

3. To get at the knowledge of; to ascertain. [ Obsolete]

Not well attaining his meaning.
Fuller.

4. To reach or come to, by progression or motion; to arrive at. "Canaan he now attains ." Milton.

5. To overtake. [ Obsolete] Bacon.

6. To reach in excellence or degree; to equal.

Syn. -- To Attain , Obtain , Procure . Attain always implies an effort toward an object. Hence it is not synonymous with obtain and procure , which do not necessarily imply such effort or motion. We procure or obtain a thing by purchase or loan , and we obtain by inheritance, but we do not attain it by such means.

Attain intransitive verb
1. To come or arrive, by motion, growth, bodily exertion, or efforts toward a place, object, state, etc.; to reach.

If by any means they might attain to Phenice.
Acts xxvii. 12.

Nor nearer might the dogs attain .
Sir W. Scott.

To see your trees attain to the dignity of timber.
Cowper.

Few boroughs had as yet attained to power such as this.
J. R. Green.

2. To come or arrive, by an effort of mind.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I can not attain unto it.
Ps. cxxxix. 6.

Attain noun Attainment. [ Obsolete]

Attainability noun The quality of being attainable; attainableness.

Attainable adjective
1. Capable of being attained or reached by efforts of the mind or body; capable of being compassed or accomplished by efforts directed to the object.

The highest pitch of perfection attainable in this life.
Addison.

2. Obtainable. [ Obsolete]

General Howe would not permit the purchase of those articles [ clothes and blankets] in Philadelphia, and they were not attainable in the country.
Marshall.

Attainableness noun The quality of being attainable; attainability.

Attainder noun [ Old French ataindre , ateindre , to accuse, convict. Attainder is often erroneously referred to French teindre tie stain. See Attaint , Attain .]
1. The act of attainting, or the state of being attainted; the extinction of the civil rights and capacities of a person, consequent upon sentence of death or outlawry; as, an act of attainder . Abbott.

» Formerly attainder was the inseparable consequence of a judicial or legislative sentence for treason or felony, and involved the forfeiture of all the real and personal property of the condemned person, and such "corruption of blood" that he could neither receive nor transmit by inheritance, nor could he sue or testify in any court, or claim any legal protection or rights. In England attainders are now abolished, and in the United States the Constitution provides that no bill of attainder shall be passed; and no attainder of treason (in consequence of a judicial sentence) shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted.

2. A stain or staining; state of being in dishonor or condemnation. [ Obsolete]

He lived from all attainder of suspect.
Shak.

Bill of attainder , a bill brought into, or passed by, a legislative body, condemning a person to death or outlawry, and attainder, without judicial sentence.

Attainment noun
1. The act of attaining; the act of arriving at or reaching; hence, the act of obtaining by efforts.

The attainment of every desired object.
Sir W. Jones.

2. That which is attained to, or obtained by exertion; acquirement; acquisition; (pl.), mental acquirements; knowledge; as, literary and scientific attainments .

Attaint transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Attainted ; present participle & verbal noun Attainting .] [ Middle English atteynten to convict, from atteynt , Old French ateint , past participle of ateindre , ataindre . The meanings 3, 4, 5, and 6 were influenced by a supposed connection with taint . See Attain , Attainder .]
1. To attain; to get act; to hit. [ Obsolete]

2. (Old Law) To find guilty; to convict; -- said esp. of a jury on trial for giving a false verdict. [ Obsolete]

Upon sufficient proof attainted of some open act by men of his own condition.
Blackstone.

3. (Law) To subject (a person) to the legal condition formerly resulting from a sentence of death or outlawry, pronounced in respect of treason or felony; to affect by attainder.

No person shall be attainted of high treason where corruption of blood is incurred, but by the oath of two witnesses.
Stat. 7 & 8 Wm. III.

4. To accuse; to charge with a crime or a dishonorable act. [ Archaic]

5. To affect or infect, as with physical or mental disease or with moral contagion; to taint or corrupt.

My tender youth was never yet attaint
With any passion of inflaming love.
Shak.

6. To stain; to obscure; to sully; to disgrace; to cloud with infamy.

For so exceeding shone his glistring ray,
That Ph...bus' golden face it did attaint .
Spenser.

Lest she with blame her honor should attaint .
Spenser.

Attaint past participle Attainted; corrupted. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Attaint noun [ Old French attainte . See Attaint , v. ]
1. A touch or hit. Sir W. Scott.

2. (Far.) A blow or wound on the leg of a horse, made by overreaching. White.

3. (Law) A writ which lies after judgment, to inquire whether a jury has given a false verdict in any court of record; also, the convicting of the jury so tried. Bouvier.

4. A stain or taint; disgrace. See Taint . Shak.

5. An infecting influence. [ R.] Shak.

Attaintment noun Attainder; attainture; conviction.

Attainture noun Attainder; disgrace.

Attal noun Same as Attle .

Attame transitive verb [ Old French atamer , from Latin. See Attaminate .]
1. To pierce; to attack. [ Obsolete]

2. To broach; to begin.

And right anon his tale he hath attamed .
Chaucer.

Attaminate transitive verb [ Latin attaminare ; ad + root of tangere . See Contaminate .] To corrupt; to defile; to contaminate. [ Obsolete] Blount.

Attar noun [ Persian 'atar perfume, essence, Arabic 'itr , from 'atara to smell sweet. Confer Otto .] A fragrant essential oil; esp., a volatile and highly fragrant essential oil obtained from the petals of roses. [ Also written otto and ottar .]

Attask transitive verb [ Prefix a- + task .] To take to task; to blame. Shak.

Attaste transitive verb [ Prefix a- + taste .] To taste or cause to taste. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Atte At the. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.