Attirer At·tir"er noun One who attires.

Attitude At"ti·tude noun [ Italian attitudine , Late Latin aptitudo , from Latin aptus suited, fitted: confer French attitude . Confer Aptitude .] 1. (Paint. & Sculp.) The posture, action, or disposition of a figure or a statue.

2. The posture or position of a person or an animal, or the manner in which the parts of his body are disposed; position assumed or studied to serve a purpose; as, a threatening attitude ; an attitude of entreaty.

3. Fig.: Position as indicating action, feeling, or mood; as, in times of trouble let a nation preserve a firm attitude ; one's mental attitude in respect to religion.

The attitude of the country was rapidly changing.
J. R. Green.

To strike an attitude , to take an attitude for mere effect.

Syn. -- Attitude , Posture . Both of these words describe the visible disposition of the limbs. Posture relates to their position merely; attitude refers to their fitness for some specific object. The object of an attitude is to set forth exhibit some internal feeling; as, attitude of wonder, of admiration, of grief, etc. It is, therefore, essentially and designedly expressive . Its object is the same with that of gesture; viz., to hold forth and represent. Posture has no such design. If we speak of posture in prayer, or the posture of devotion, it is only the natural disposition of the limbs, without any intention to show forth or exhibit.

'T is business of a painter in his choice of attitudes ( posituræ ) to foresee the effect and harmony of the lights and shadows.
Dryden.

Never to keep the body in the same posture half an hour at a time.
Bacon.

Attitudinal At`ti·tu"di·nal adjective Relating to attitude.

Attitudinarian At`ti·tu`di·na"ri·an noun One who attitudinizes; a posture maker.

Attitudinarianism At`ti·tu`di·na"ri·an·ism noun A practicing of attitudes; posture making.

Attitudinize At`ti·tu"di·nize intransitive verb To assume affected attitudes; to strike an attitude; to pose.

Maria, who is the most picturesque figure, was put to attitudinize at the harp.
Hannah More.

Attitudinizer At`ti·tu"di·ni`zer noun One who practices attitudes.

Attle At"tle noun [ Confer Addle mire.] (Mining) Rubbish or refuse consisting of broken rock containing little or no ore. Weale.

Attollent At·tol"lent adjective [ Latin attollens , present participle of attollere ; ad + tollere to lift.] Lifting up; raising; as, an attollent muscle. Derham.

Attonce At·tonce" adverb [ At + once .] At once; together. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Attone At·tone" adverb See At one . [ Obsolete]

Attorn At·torn" intransitive verb [ Old French atorner , aturner , atourner , to direct, prepare, dispose, attorn (cf. Middle English atornen to return, adorn); à (L. ad ) + torner to turn; confer Late Latin attornare to commit business to another, to attorn; ad + tornare to turn, Latin tornare to turn in a lathe, to round off. See Turn , transitive verb ] 1. (Feudal Law) To turn, or transfer homage and service, from one lord to another. This is the act of feudatories, vassals, or tenants, upon the alienation of the estate. Blackstone.

2. (Modern Law) To agree to become tenant to one to whom reversion has been granted.

Attorney At·tor"ney noun ; plural Attorneys [ Middle English aturneye , Old French atorné , past participle of atorner : confer Late Latin atturnatus , attornatus , from attornare . See Attorn .] 1. A substitute; a proxy; an agent. [ Obsolete]

And will have no attorney but myself.
Shak.

2. (Law) (a) One who is legally appointed by another to transact any business for him; an attorney in fact . (b) A legal agent qualified to act for suitors and defendants in legal proceedings; an attorney at law .

» An attorney is either public or private . A private attorney , or an attorney in fact , is a person appointed by another, by a letter or power of attorney, to transact any business for him out of court; but in a more extended sense, this class includes any agent employed in any business, or to do any act in pais , for another. A public attorney , or attorney at law , is a practitioner in a court of law, legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions in such court, on the retainer of clients. Bouvier. - - The attorney at law answers to the procurator of the civilians, to the solicitor in chancery, and to the proctor in the ecclesiastical and admiralty courts, and all of these are comprehended under the more general term lawyer . In Great Britain and in some states of the United States, attorneys are distinguished from counselors in that the business of the former is to carry on the practical and formal parts of the suit. In many states of the United States however, no such distinction exists. In England, since 1873, attorneys at law are by statute called solicitors .

A power , letter , or warrant , of attorney , a written authority from one person empowering another to transact business for him.

Attorney At·tor"ney transitive verb To perform by proxy; to employ as a proxy. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Attorney-general At·tor"ney-gen"er·al noun ; (pl. Attorney-generals or Attorneys-general). (Law) The chief law officer of the state, empowered to act in all litigation in which the law- executing power is a party, and to advise this supreme executive whenever required. Wharton.

Attorneyism At·tor"ney·ism noun The practice or peculiar cleverness of attorneys.

Attorneyship At·tor"ney·ship noun The office or profession of an attorney; agency for another. Shak.

Attornment At·torn"ment noun [ Old French attornement , Late Latin attornamentum . See Attorn .] (Law) The act of a feudatory, vassal, or tenant, by which he consents, upon the alienation of an estate, to receive a new lord or superior, and transfers to him his homage and service; the agreement of a tenant to acknowledge the purchaser of the estate as his landlord. Burrill. Blackstone.

Attract At·tract" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Attracted ; present participle & verbal noun Attracting .] [ Latin attractus , past participle of attrahere ; ad + trahere to draw. See Trace , transitive verb ] 1. To draw to, or cause to tend to; esp. to cause to approach, adhere, or combine; or to cause to resist divulsion, separation, or decomposition.

All bodies and all parts of bodies mutually attract themselves and one another.
Derham.

2. To draw by influence of a moral or emotional kind; to engage or fix, as the mind, attention, etc.; to invite or allure; as, to attract admirers.

Attracted by thy beauty still to gaze.
Milton.

Syn. -- To draw; allure; invite; entice; influence.

Attract At·tract" noun Attraction. [ Obsolete] Hudibras.

Attractability At·tract`a·bil"i·ty noun The quality or fact of being attractable. Sir W. Jones.

Attractable At·tract"a·ble adjective Capable of being attracted; subject to attraction. -- At*tract"a*ble*ness , noun

Attracter At·tract"er noun One who, or that which, attracts.

Attractile At·tract"ile adjective Having power to attract.

Attracting At·tract"ing adjective That attracts. - - At*tract"ing*ly , adverb

Attraction At·trac"tion noun [ Latin attractio : confer French attraction .] 1. (Physics) An invisible power in a body by which it draws anything to itself; the power in nature acting mutually between bodies or ultimate particles, tending to draw them together, or to produce their cohesion or combination, and conversely resisting separation.

» Attraction is exerted at both sensible and insensible distances, and is variously denominated according to its qualities or phenomena. Under attraction at sensible distances, there are, --

(1.) Attraction of gravitation , which acts at all distances throughout the universe, with a force proportional directly to the product of the masses of the bodies and inversely to the square of their distances apart.

(2.) Magnetic , diamagnetic , and electrical attraction , each of which is limited in its sensible range and is polar in its action, a property dependent on the quality or condition of matter, and not on its quantity.

Under attraction at insensible distances, there are, --

(1.) Adhesive attraction , attraction between surfaces of sensible extent, or by the medium of an intervening substance.

(2.) Cohesive attraction , attraction between ultimate particles, whether like or unlike, and causing simply an aggregation or a union of those particles, as in the absorption of gases by charcoal, or of oxygen by spongy platinum, or the process of solidification or crystallization. The power in adhesive attraction is strictly the same as that of cohesion.

(3.) Capillary attraction , attraction causing a liquid to rise, in capillary tubes or interstices, above its level outside, as in very small glass tubes, or a sponge, or any porous substance, when one end is inserted in the liquid. It is a special case of cohesive attraction.

(4.) Chemical attraction , or affinity , that peculiar force which causes elementary atoms, or groups of atoms, to unite to form molecules.

2. The act or property of attracting; the effect of the power or operation of attraction. Newton.

3. The power or act of alluring, drawing to, inviting, or engaging; an attractive quality; as, the attraction of beauty or eloquence.

4. That which attracts; an attractive object or feature.

Syn. -- Allurement; enticement; charm.

Attraction sphere At·trac"tion sphere 1. (Zoology) (a) The central mass of the aster in mitotic cell division; centrosphere. (b) Less often, the mass of archoplasm left by the aster in the resting cell.

2. (Botany) A small body situated on or near the nucleus in the cells of some of the lower plants, consisting of two centrospheres containing centrosomes. It exercises an important function in mitosis.

Attractive At·tract"ive adjective [ Confer French attractif .] 1. Having the power or quality of attracting or drawing; as, the attractive force of bodies. Sir I. Newton.

2. Attracting or drawing by moral influence or pleasurable emotion; alluring; inviting; pleasing. " Attractive graces." Milton. " Attractive eyes." Thackeray.

Flowers of a livid yellow, or fleshy color, are most attractive to flies.
Lubbock.

-- At*tract"ive*ly , adverb -- At*tract"ive*ness , noun

Attractive At·tract"ive noun That which attracts or draws; an attraction; an allurement.

Speaks nothing but attractives and invitation.
South.

Attractivity At`trac·tiv"i·ty (ăt`trăk*tĭv"ĭ*tȳ) noun The quality or degree of attractive power.

Attractor At·tract"or (ăt*trăkt"ẽr) noun One who, or that which, attracts. Sir T. Browne

Attrahent At"tra·hent adjective [ Latin attrahens , present participle of attrahere . See Attract , transitive verb ] Attracting; drawing; attractive.

Attrahent At"tra·hent noun 1. That which attracts, as a magnet.

The motion of the steel to its attrahent

. Glanvill.

2. (Medicine) A substance which, by irritating the surface, excites action in the part to which it is applied, as a blister, an epispastic, a sinapism.

Attrap At·trap" transitive verb [ French attraper to catch; à (L. ad ) + trappe trap. See Trap (for taking game).] To entrap; to insnare. [ Obsolete] Grafton.

Attrap At·trap" transitive verb [ Prefix ad + trap to adorn.] To adorn with trapping; to array. [ Obsolete]

Shall your horse be attrapped . . . more richly?
Holland.

Attrectation At`trec·ta"tion noun [ Latin attrectatio ; ad + tractare to handle.] Frequent handling or touching. [ Obsolete] Jer. Taylor.

Attributable At·trib"u·ta·ble adjective Capable of being attributed; ascribable; imputable.

Errors . . . attributable to carelessness.
J. D. Hooker.

Attribute At·trib"ute (ăt"trĭ*būt) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Attributed ; present participle & verbal noun Attributing .] [ Latin attributus , past participle of attribuere ; ad + tribuere to bestow. See Tribute .] To ascribe; to consider (something) as due or appropriate ( to ); to refer, as an effect to a cause; to impute; to assign; to consider as belonging ( to ).

We attribute nothing to God that hath any repugnancy or contradiction in it.
Abp. Tillotson.

The merit of service is seldom attributed to the true and exact performer.
Shak.

Syn. -- See Ascribe .

Attribute At"tri·bute noun [ Latin attributum .] 1. That which is attributed; a quality which is considered as belonging to, or inherent in, a person or thing; an essential or necessary property or characteristic.

But mercy is above this sceptered away; . . .
It is an attribute to God himself.
Shak.

2. Reputation. [ Poetic] Shak.

3. (Paint. & Sculp.) A conventional symbol of office, character, or identity, added to any particular figure; as, a club is the attribute of Hercules.

4. (Gram.) Quality, etc., denoted by an attributive; an attributive adjunct or adjective.

Attribution At`tri·bu"tion noun [ Latin attributio : confer French attribution .] 1. The act of attributing or ascribing, as a quality, character, or function, to a thing or person, an effect to a cause.

2. That which is ascribed or attributed.

Attributive At·trib"u·tive adjective [ Confer French attributif .] Attributing; pertaining to, expressing, or assigning an attribute; of the nature of an attribute.

Attributive At·trib"u·tive noun , (Gram.) A word that denotes an attribute; esp. a modifying word joined to a noun; an adjective or adjective phrase.

Attributively At·trib"u·tive·ly adverb In an attributive manner.

Attrite At·trite" adjective [ Latin attritus , past participle of atterere ; ad + terere to rub. See Trite .] 1. Rubbed; worn by friction. Milton.

2. (Theol.) Repentant from fear of punishment; having attrition of grief for sin; -- opposed to contrite .

Attrition At·tri"tion noun [ Latin attritio : confer French attrition .] 1. The act of rubbing together; friction; the act of wearing by friction, or by rubbing substances together; abrasion.

Effected by attrition of the inward stomach.
Arbuthnot.

2. The state of being worn. Johnson.

3. (Theol.) Grief for sin arising only from fear of punishment or feelings of shame. See Contrition . Wallis.

Attritus At·tri"tus noun [ Latin attritus , past participle of atterere ; ad + terere to rub.] Matter pulverized by attrition.

Attry At"try adjective [ See Atter .] Poisonous; malignant; malicious. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Attune At·tune" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Attuned ; present participle & verbal noun Attuning .] [ Prefix ad- + tune .]

1. To tune or put in tune; to make melodious; to adjust, as one sound or musical instrument to another; as, to attune the voice to a harp.

2. To arrange fitly; to make accordant.

Wake to energy each social aim,
Attuned spontaneous to the will of Jove.
Beattie.

Atwain A·twain" adverb [ Middle English atwaine , atwinne ; prefix a- + twain .] In twain; asunder. [ Obsolete or Poetic] "Cuts atwain the knots." Tennyson.

Atween A·tween" adverb or preposition [ See Atwain , and confer Between .] Between. [ Archaic] Spenser. Tennyson.

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