Agnosticism Ag·nos"ti·cism noun That doctrine which, professing ignorance, neither asserts nor denies. Specifically: (Theol.) The doctrine that the existence of a personal Deity, an unseen world, etc., can be neither proved nor disproved, because of the necessary limits of the human mind (as sometimes charged upon Hamilton and Mansel), or because of the insufficiency of the evidence furnished by physical and physical data, to warrant a positive conclusion (as taught by the school of Herbert Spencer); -- opposed alike dogmatic skepticism and to dogmatic theism.

Agnus Ag"nus noun ; plural English Agnuses ; Latin Agni [ Latin , a lamb.] Agnus Dei.

Agnus castus Ag"nus cas"tus [ Greek ... a willowlike tree, used at a religious festival; confused with ... holy, chaste.] (Botany) A species of Vitex ( V. agnus castus ); the chaste tree. Loudon.

And wreaths of agnus castus others bore.
Dryden.

Agnus Dei Ag"nus De"i [ Latin , lamb of God.] (R. C. Ch.) (a) A figure of a lamb bearing a cross or flag. (b) A cake of wax stamped with such a figure. It is made from the remains of the paschal candles and blessed by the Pope. (c) A triple prayer in the sacrifice of the Mass, beginning with the words " Agnus Dei ."

Agnus Scythicus Ag"nus Scyth"i·cus [ Latin , Scythian lamb.] (Botany) The Scythian lamb, a kind of woolly-skinned rootstock. See Barometz .

Ago A·go" adjective & adverb [ Middle English ago , agon , past participle of agon to go away, pass by, Anglo-Saxon āgān to pass away; ā- (cf. Goth. us- , German er- , orig. meaning out ) + gān to go. See Go .] Past; gone by; since; as, ten years ago ; gone long ago .

Agog A·gog" adjective & adverb [ Confer French gogue fun, perhaps of Celtic origin.] In eager desire; eager; astir.

All agog to dash through thick and thin.
Cowper.

Agoing A·go"ing adverb [ Prefix a- + present participle of go .] In motion; in the act of going; as, to set a mill agoing .

Agon Ag"on noun ; plural Agones [ Greek ..., from ... to lead.] (Gr. Antiq.) A contest for a prize at the public games.

Agone A·gone" adjective & adverb Ago. [ Archaic> & Poet.]

Three days agone I fell sick.
1 Sam. xxx. 13.

Agone A"gone noun [ See Agonic .] Agonic line.

Agonic A·gon"ic adjective [ Greek ... without angles; 'a priv. + ... an angle.] Not forming an angle.

Agonic line (Physics) , an imaginary line on the earth's surface passing through those places where the magnetic needle points to the true north; the line of no magnetic variation. There is one such line in the Western hemisphere, and another in the Eastern hemisphere.

Agonism Ag"o·nism noun [ Greek ..., from ... to contend for a prize, from .... See Agon .] Contention for a prize; a contest. [ Obsolete] Blount.

Agonist Ag"o·nist noun [ Greek ....] One who contends for the prize in public games. [ R.]

Agonistic, Agonistical Ag`o·nis"tic, Ag`o·nis"tic·al adjective [ Greek .... See Agonism .] Pertaining to violent contests, bodily or mental; pertaining to athletic or polemic feats; athletic; combative; hence, strained; unnatural.

As a scholar, he [ Dr. Parr] was brilliant, but he consumed his power in agonistic displays.
De Quincey.

Agonistically Ag`o·nis"tic·al·ly adverb In an agonistic manner.

Agonistics Ag`o·nis"tics noun The science of athletic combats, or contests in public games.

Agonize Ag"o·nize intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Agonized ; present participle & verbal noun Agonizing ] [ French agoniser , Late Latin agonizare , from Greek .... See Agony .] 1. To writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish.

To smart and agonize at every pore.
Pope.

2. To struggle; to wrestle; to strive desperately.

Agonize Ag"o·nize transitive verb To cause to suffer agony; to subject to extreme pain; to torture.

He agonized his mother by his behavior.
Thackeray.

Agonizingly Ag"o·ni`zing·ly adverb With extreme anguish or desperate struggles.

Agonothete Ag"o·no·thete` noun [ Greek ...; ... + ... to set. appoint.] [ Antiq.] An officer who presided over the great public games in Greece.

Agonothetic Ag`o·no·thet"ic adjective [ Greek ....] Pertaining to the office of an agonothete.

Agony Ag"o·ny noun ; plural Agonies [ Latin agonia , Greek ..., orig. a contest, from ...: confer French agonie . See Agon .] 1. Violent contest or striving.

The world is convulsed by the agonies of great nations.
Macaulay.

2. Pain so extreme as to cause writhing or contortions of the body, similar to those made in the athletic contests in Greece; and hence, extreme pain of mind or body; anguish; paroxysm of grief; specifically, the sufferings of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane.

Being in an agony he prayed more earnestly.
Luke xxii. 44.

3. Paroxysm of joy; keen emotion.

With cries and agonies of wild delight.
Pope.

4. The last struggle of life; death struggle.

Syn. -- Anguish; torment; throe; distress; pangs; suffering. -- Agony , Anguish , Pang . These words agree in expressing extreme pain of body or mind. Agony denotes acute and permanent pain, usually of the whole system., and often producing contortions. Anguish denotes severe pressure, and, considered as bodily suffering, is more commonly local (as anguish of a wound), thus differing from agony . A pang is a paroxysm of excruciating pain. It is severe and transient. The agonies or pangs of remorse; the anguish of a wounded conscience. "Oh, sharp convulsive pangs of agonizing pride!" Dryden.

Agood A·good (ȧ*god") adverb [ Prefix a- + good .] In earnest; heartily. [ Obsolete] "I made her weep agood ." Shak.

Agora Ag"o·ra (ăg"o*rȧ) noun [ Greek 'agora` .] An assembly; hence, the place of assembly, especially the market place, in an ancient Greek city.

Agouara A·gou"a·ra noun [ Native name.] (Zoology) The crab-eating raccoon ( Procyon cancrivorus ), found in the tropical parts of America.

Agouta A·gou"ta noun [ Native name.] (Zoology) A small insectivorous mammal ( Solenodon paradoxus ), allied to the moles, found only in Hayti.

Agouti, Agouty A·gou"ti, A·gou"ty (ȧ*gō"tĭ) noun [ French agouti , acouti , Spanish aguti , from native name.] (Zoology) A rodent of the genus Dasyprocta , about the size of a rabbit, peculiar to South America and the West Indies. The most common species is the Dasyprocta agouti .

Agrace A·grace" noun & v. See Aggrace . [ Obsolete]

Agraffe A·graffe" noun [ French agrafe , formerly agraffe , Old French agrappe . See Agrappes .] 1. A hook or clasp.

The feather of an ostrich, fastened in her turban by an agraffe set with brilliants.
Sir W. Scott.

2. A hook, eyelet, or other device by which a piano wire is so held as to limit the vibration.

Agrammatist A·gram"ma·tist noun [ Greek ... illiterate; 'a priv. + ... letters, from ... to write.] A illiterate person. [ Obsolete] Bailey.

Agraphia A·graph"i·a noun [ Greek 'a priv. + ... to write.] The absence or loss of the power of expressing ideas by written signs. It is one form of aphasia.

Agraphic A·graph"ic adjective Characterized by agraphia.

Agrappes A·grappes" noun plural [ Old French agrappe , French agrafe ; a + grappe (see Grape ) from Old High German krāpfo hook.] Hooks and eyes for armor, etc. Fairholt.

Agrarian A·gra"ri·an adjective [ Latin agrarius , from ager field.] 1. Pertaining to fields, or lands, or their tenure; esp., relating to an equal or equitable division of lands; as, the agrarian laws of Rome, which distributed the conquered and other public lands among citizens.

His Grace's landed possessions are irresistibly inviting to an agrarian experiment.
Burke.

2. (Botany) Wild; -- said of plants growing in the fields.

Agrarian A·gra"ri·an noun 1. One in favor of an equal division of landed property.

2. An agrarian law. [ R.]

An equal agrarian is perpetual law.
Harrington.

Agrarianism A·gra"ri·an·ism noun An equal or equitable division of landed property; the principles or acts of those who favor a redistribution of land.

Agrarianize A·gra"ri·an·ize transitive verb To distribute according to, or to imbue with, the principles of agrarianism.

Agre, Agree A·gre", A·gree" adverb [ French à gré . See Agree .] In good part; kindly. [ Obsolete] Rom. of R.

Agree A·gree" intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Agreed ; present participle & verbal noun Agreeing .] [ French agréer to accept or receive kindly, from à gré ; à (L. ad ) + gré good will, consent, liking, from Latin gratus pleasing, agreeable. See Grateful .] 1. To harmonize in opinion, statement, or action; to be in unison or concord; to be or become united or consistent; to concur; as, all parties agree in the expediency of the law.

If music and sweet poetry agree .
Shak.

Their witness agreed not together.
Mark xiv. 56.

The more you agree together, the less hurt can your enemies do you.
Sir T. Browne.

2. To yield assent; to accede; -- followed by to ; as, to agree to an offer, or to opinion.

3. To make a stipulation by way of settling differences or determining a price; to exchange promises; to come to terms or to a common resolve; to promise.

Agree with thine adversary quickly.
Matt. v. 25.

Didst not thou agree with me for a penny ?
Matt. xx. 13.

4. To be conformable; to resemble; to coincide; to correspond; as, the picture does not agree with the original; the two scales agree exactly.

5. To suit or be adapted in its effects; to do well; as, the same food does not agree with every constitution.

6. (Gram.) To correspond in gender, number, case, or person.

» The auxiliary forms of to be are often employed with the participle agreed . "The jury were agreed ." Macaulay. "Can two walk together, except they be agreed ?" Amos iii. 3. The principal intransitive uses were probably derived from the transitive verb used reflexively. "I agree me well to your desire." Ld. Berners.

Syn. -- To assent; concur; consent; acquiesce; accede; engage; promise; stipulate; contract; bargain; correspond; harmonize; fit; tally; coincide; comport.

Agree A·gree" transitive verb 1. To make harmonious; to reconcile or make friends. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

2. To admit, or come to one mind concerning; to settle; to arrange; as, to agree the fact; to agree differences. [ Obsolete]

Agreeability A·gree`a·bil"i·ty noun [ Old French agreablete .] 1. Easiness of disposition. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

2. The quality of being, or making one's self, agreeable; agreeableness. Thackeray.

Agreeable A·gree"a·ble adjective [ French agréable .] 1. Pleasing, either to the mind or senses; pleasant; grateful; as, agreeable manners or remarks; an agreeable person; fruit agreeable to the taste.

A train of agreeable reveries.
Goldsmith.

2. Willing; ready to agree or consent. [ Colloq.]

These Frenchmen give unto the said captain of Calais a great sum of money, so that he will be but content and agreeable that they may enter into the said town.
Latimer.

3. Agreeing or suitable; conformable; correspondent; concordant; adapted; -- followed by to , rarely by with .

That which is agreeable to the nature of one thing, is many times contrary to the nature of another.
L'Estrange.

4. In pursuance, conformity, or accordance; -- in this sense used adverbially for agreeably ; as, agreeable to the order of the day, the House took up the report.

Syn. -- Pleasing; pleasant; welcome; charming; acceptable; amiable. See Pleasant .

Agreeableness A·gree"a·ble·ness noun 1. The quality of being agreeable or pleasing; that quality which gives satisfaction or moderate pleasure to the mind or senses.

That author . . . has an agreeableness that charms us.
Pope.

2. The quality of being agreeable or suitable; suitableness or conformity; consistency.

The agreeableness of virtuous actions to human nature.
Pearce.

3. Resemblance; concordance; harmony; -- with to or between . [ Obsolete]

The agreeableness between man and the other parts of the universe.
Grew.

Agreeably A·gree"a·bly adverb 1. In an agreeably manner; in a manner to give pleasure; pleasingly. " Agreeably entertained." Goldsmith.

2. In accordance; suitably; consistently; conformably; -- followed by to and rarely by with . See Agreeable , 4.

The effect of which is, that marriages grow less frequent, agreeably to the maxim above laid down.
Paley.

3. Alike; similarly. [ Obsolete]

Both clad in shepherds' weeds agreeably .
Spenser.

Agreeingly A·gree"ing·ly adverb In an agreeing manner ( to ); correspondingly; agreeably. [ Obsolete]

Agreement A·gree"ment noun [ Confer French agrément .] 1. State of agreeing; harmony of opinion, statement, action, or character; concurrence; concord; conformity; as, a good agreement subsists among the members of the council.

What agreement hath the temple of God with idols ?
2 Cor. vi. 16.

Expansion and duration have this further agreement .
Locke.

2. (Gram.) Concord or correspondence of one word with another in gender, number, case, or person.

3. (Law) (a) A concurrence in an engagement that something shall be done or omitted; an exchange of promises; mutual understanding, arrangement, or stipulation; a contract. (b) The language, oral or written, embodying reciprocal promises. Abbott. Brande & C.

Syn. -- Bargain; contract; compact; stipulation.

Agreer A·gre"er noun One who agrees.

Agrestic A·gres"tic adjective [ Latin agrestis , from ager field.] Pertaining to fields or the country, in opposition to the city; rural; rustic; unpolished; uncouth. " Agrestic behavior." Gregory.

Agrestical A·gres"tic·al adjective Agrestic. [ Obsolete]

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