Aculeus A·cu"le·us noun ; plural Aculei [ Latin , dim. of acus needle.] 1. (Botany) A prickle growing on the bark, as in some brambles and roses. Lindley. 2. (Zoology) A sting.

Acumen A·cu"men noun [ Latin acumen , from acuere to sharpen. Confer Acute .] Quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination. Selden. Syn. -- Sharpness; sagacity; keenness; shrewdness; acuteness.

Acuminate A·cu"mi·nate adjective [ Latin acuminatus , past participle of acuminare to sharpen, from acumen . See Acumen .] Tapering to a point; pointed; as, acuminate leaves, teeth, etc.

Acuminate A·cu"mi·nate transitive verb To render sharp or keen. [ R.] "To acuminate even despair." Cowper.

Acuminate A·cu"mi·nate intransitive verb To end in, or come to, a sharp point. " Acuminating in a cone of prelacy." Milton.

Acumination A·cu`mi·na"tion noun A sharpening; termination in a sharp point; a tapering point. Bp. Pearson.

Acuminose A·cu"mi·nose` adjective Terminating in a flat, narrow end. Lindley.

Acuminous A·cu"mi·nous adjective Characterized by acumen; keen. Highmore.

Acupressure Ac`u·pres"sure noun [ Latin acus needle + premere , pressum , to press.] (Surg.) A mode of arresting hemorrhage resulting from wounds or surgical operations, by passing under the divided vessel a needle, the ends of which are left exposed externally on the cutaneous surface. Simpson.

Acupuncturation Ac`u·punc`tu·ra"tion noun See Acupuncture .

Acupuncture Ac`u·punc"ture noun [ Latin acus needle + punctura a pricking, from pungere to prick: confer French acuponcture .] Pricking with a needle; a needle prick. Specifically (Medicine) : The insertion of needles into the living tissues for remedial purposes.

Acupuncture Ac`u·punc"ture transitive verb To treat with acupuncture.

Acustumaunce A·cus"tum·aunce noun See Accustomance . [ Obsolete]

Acutangular A·cut"an`gu·lar adjective Acute- angled.

Acute A·cute" adjective [ Latin acutus , past participle of acuere to sharpen, from a root ak to be sharp. Confer Ague , Cute , Edge .] 1. Sharp at the end; ending in a sharp point; pointed; -- opposed to blunt or obtuse ; as, an acute angle; an acute leaf. 2. Having nice discernment; perceiving or using minute distinctions; penetrating; clever; shrewd; -- opposed to dull or stupid ; as, an acute observer; acute remarks, or reasoning. 3. Having nice or quick sensibility; susceptible to slight impressions; acting keenly on the senses; sharp; keen; intense; as, a man of acute eyesight, hearing, or feeling; acute pain or pleasure. 4. High, or shrill, in respect to some other sound; -- opposed to grave or low ; as, an acute tone or accent. 5. (Medicine) Attended with symptoms of some degree of severity, and coming speedily to a crisis; -- opposed to chronic ; as, an acute disease. Acute angle (Geom.) , an angle less than a right angle. Syn. -- Subtile; ingenious; sharp; keen; penetrating; sagacious; sharp-witted; shrewd; discerning; discriminating. See Subtile .

Acute A·cute" transitive verb To give an acute sound to; as, he acutes his rising inflection too much. [ R.] Walker.

Acute-angled A·cute"-an`gled (-ăn"g'ld) adjective Having acute angles; as, an acute-angled triangle, a triangle with every one of its angles less than a right angle.

Acutely A·cute"ly adverb In an acute manner; sharply; keenly; with nice discrimination.

Acuteness A·cute"ness noun 1. The quality of being acute or pointed; sharpness; as, the acuteness of an angle. 2. The faculty of nice discernment or perception; acumen; keenness; sharpness; sensitiveness; -- applied to the senses, or the understanding. By acuteness of feeling, we perceive small objects or slight impressions: by acuteness of intellect, we discern nice distinctions.

Perhaps, also, he felt his professional acuteness interested in bringing it to a successful close.
Sir W. Scott.

3. Shrillness; high pitch; -- said of sounds. 4. (Medicine) Violence of a disease, which brings it speedily to a crisis. Syn. -- Penetration; sagacity; keenness; ingenuity; shrewdness; subtlety; sharp-wittedness.

Acutifoliate A·cu`ti·fo"li·ate adjective [ Latin acutus sharp + folium leaf.] (Botany) Having sharp-pointed leaves.

Acutilobate A·cu`ti·lo"bate adjective [ Latin acutus sharp + English lobe .] (Botany) Having acute lobes, as some leaves.

Acutorsion Ac`u·tor"sion noun [ Latin acus needle + torsion .] (Medicine) The twisting of an artery with a needle to arrest hemorrhage.

Acyclic A·cyc"lic adjective [ Prefix a- not + cyclic .] Not cyclic; not disposed in cycles or whorls ; as: (a) (Botany) Of a flower, having its parts inserted spirally on the receptacle. (b) (Org. Chem.) Having an open-chain structure; aliphatic.

Acyl Ac"yl noun [ Ac id + - yl .] (Org. Chem.) An acid radical, as acetyl, malonyl, or benzoyl.

Ad captandum Ad cap·tan"dum [ Latin , for catching.] A phrase used adjectively sometimes of meretricious attempts to catch or win popular favor.

Ad hominem Ad hom"i·nem [ Latin , to the man.] A phrase applied to an appeal or argument addressed to the principles, interests, or passions of a man.

Ad infinitum Ad in`fi·ni"tum [ Latin , to infinity.] Without limit; endlessly.

Ad interim Ad in"ter·im [ Latin ] Meanwhile; temporary.

Ad libitum Ad lib"i·tum At one's pleasure; as one wishes.

Ad valorem Ad va·lo"rem [ Latin , according to the value.] (Com.) A term used to denote a duty or charge laid upon goods, at a certain rate per cent upon their value, as stated in their invoice, -- in opposition to a specific sum upon a given quantity or number; as, an ad valorem duty of twenty per cent.

Ad- Ad- [ A Latin preposition, signifying to . See At .] As a prefix ad- assumes the forms ac- , af- , ag- , al- , an- , ap- , ar- , as- , at- , assimilating the d with the first letter of the word to which ad- is prefixed. It remains unchanged before vowels, and before d , h , j , m , v . Examples: ad duce, ad here, ad jacent, ad mit, ad vent, ac cord, af fect, ag gregate, al lude, an nex, ap pear, etc. It becomes ac- before qu , as in ac quiesce.

Adact Ad·act" transitive verb [ Latin adactus , past participle of adigere .] To compel; to drive. [ Obsolete] Fotherby.

Adactyl, Adactylous A·dac"tyl, A·dac"tyl·ous adjective [ Greek 'a priv. + ... finger.] (Zoology) (a) Without fingers or without toes. (b) Without claws on the feet (of crustaceous animals).

Adage Ad"age noun [ French adage , from Latin adagium ; ad + the root of Latin aio I say.] An old saying, which has obtained credit by long use; a proverb.

Letting "I dare not" wait upon "I would,"
Like the poor cat i' the adage .
Shak.

Syn. -- Axiom; maxim; aphorism; proverb; saying; saw; apothegm. See Axiom .

Adagial A·da"gi·al adjective Pertaining to an adage; proverbial. " Adagial verse." Barrow.

Adagio A·da"gio adjective & adverb [ Italian adagio ; ad (L. ad ) at + agio convenience, leisure, ease. See Agio .] (Mus.) Slow; slowly, leisurely, and gracefully. When repeated, adagio , adagio , it directs the movement to be very slow.

Adagio A·da"gio noun A piece of music in adagio time; a slow movement; as, an adagio of Haydn.

Adam Ad"am noun 1. The name given in the Bible to the first man, the progenitor of the human race. 2. (As a symbol) "Original sin;" human frailty.

And whipped the offending Adam out of him.
Shak.

Adam's ale , water. [ Coll.] -- Adam's apple . 1. (Botany) (a) A species of banana ( Musa paradisiaca ). It attains a height of twenty feet or more. Paxton. (b) A species of lime ( Citris limetta ). 2. The projection formed by the thyroid cartilage in the neck. It is particularly prominent in males, and is so called from a notion that it was caused by the forbidden fruit (an apple) sticking in the throat of our first parent. -- Adam's flannel (Botany) , the mullein ( Verbascum thapsus ). -- Adam's needle (Botany) , the popular name of a genus ( Yucca ) of liliaceous plants.

Adam's apple Ad"am's ap"ple See under Adam .

Adamant Ad"a·mant (ăd"ȧ*mănt) noun [ Middle English adamaunt , adamant , diamond, magnet, Old French adamant , Latin adamas , adamantis , the hardest metal, from Greek 'ada`mas , -antos ; 'a priv. + dama^,n to tame, subdue. In Middle English , from confusion with Latin adamare to love, be attached to, the word meant also magnet , as in Old French and Late Latin See Diamond , Tame .] 1. A stone imagined by some to be of impenetrable hardness; a name given to the diamond and other substances of extreme hardness; but in modern mineralogy it has no technical signification. It is now a rhetorical or poetical name for the embodiment of impenetrable hardness.

Opposed the rocky orb
Of tenfold adamant , his ample shield.
Milton.

2. Lodestone; magnet. [ Obsolete] "A great adamant of acquaintance." Bacon.

As true to thee as steel to adamant .
Greene.

Adamantean Ad`a·man·te"an adjective [ Latin adamantēus .] Of adamant; hard as adamant. Milton.

Adamantine Ad`a·man"tine adjective [ Latin adamantinus , Greek ....] 1. Made of adamant, or having the qualities of adamant; incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated; as, adamantine bonds or chains. 2. (Min.) Like the diamond in hardness or luster.

Adambulacral Ad`am·bu·la"cral adjective [ Latin ad + English ambulacral .] (Zoology) Next to the ambulacra; as, the adambulacral ossicles of the starfish.

Adamic, Adamical A·dam"ic, A·dam"ic·al adjective Of or pertaining to Adam, or resembling him. Adamic earth , a name given to common red clay, from a notion that Adam means red earth .

Adamite Ad"am·ite noun [ From Adam .] 1. A descendant of Adam; a human being. 2. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect of visionaries, who, professing to imitate the state of Adam, discarded the use of dress in their assemblies.

Adance A·dance" adverb Dancing. Lowell.

Adangle A·dan"gle adverb Dangling. Browning.

Adansonia Ad`an·so"ni·a noun [ From Adanson , a French botanist.] (Botany) A genus of great trees related to the Bombax. There are two species, A. digitata , the baobab or monkey-bread of Africa and India, and A. Gregorii , the sour gourd or cream-of-tartar tree of Australia. Both have a trunk of moderate height, but of enormous diameter, and a wide-spreading head. The fruit is oblong, and filled with pleasantly acid pulp. The wood is very soft, and the bark is used by the natives for making ropes and cloth. D. C. Eaton.

Adapt A·dapt" adjective Fitted; suited. [ Obsolete] Swift.

Adapt A·dapt" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Adapted ; present participle & verbal noun Adapting .] [ Latin adaptare ; ad + aptare to fit; confer French adapter . See Apt , Adept .] To make suitable; to fit, or suit; to adjust; to alter so as to fit for a new use; -- sometimes followed by to or for .

For nature, always in the right,
To your decays adapts my sight.
Swift.

Appeals adapted to his [ man's] whole nature.
Angus.

Streets ill adapted for the residence of wealthy persons.
Macaulay.