Almain Al"main (ăl"mān), Al"mayne (- mān), Al"man (-m a n) noun [ Old French Aleman , French Allemand , from Latin Alemanni , ancient German tribes.] [ Obsolete] 1. A German. Also adj. , German. Shak.

2. The German language. J. Foxe.

3. A kind of dance. See Allemande .

Almain rivets , Almayne rivets , or Alman rivets , a sort of light armor from Germany, characterized by overlapping plates, arranged to slide on rivets, and thus afford great flexibility.

Almanac Al"ma·nac noun [ Late Latin almanac , almanach : confer French almanach , Spanish almanaque , Italian almanacco , all of uncertain origin.] A book or table, containing a calendar of days, and months, to which astronomical data and various statistics are often added, such as the times of the rising and setting of the sun and moon, eclipses, hours of full tide, stated festivals of churches, terms of courts, etc.

Nautical almanac , an almanac, or year book, containing astronomical calculations (lunar, stellar, etc.), and other information useful to mariners.

Almandine Al"man·dine noun [ Late Latin almandina , alamandina , for Latin alabandina a precious stone, named after Alabanda , a town in Caria, where it was first and chiefly found: confer French almandine .] (Min.) The common red variety of garnet.

Alme Al"me Al"meh noun [ Arabic ' almah (fem.) learned, from 'alama to know: confer French almée .] An Egyptian dancing girl; an Alma.

The Almehs lift their arms in dance.
Bayard Taylor.

Almendron Al`men·dron" noun [ Spanish , from almendra almond.] The lofty Brazil-nut tree.

Almery Al"mer·y noun See Ambry . [ Obsolete]

Almesse Alm"esse noun See Alms . [ Obsolete]

Almightful, Almightiful Al·might"ful, Al·might"i·ful adjective All-powerful; almighty. [ Obsolete] Udall.

Almightily Al·might"i·ly adverb With almighty power.

Almightiness Al·might"i·ness noun Omnipotence; infinite or boundless power; unlimited might. Jer. Taylor.

Almighty Al·might"y (al*mīt"ȳ) adjective [ Anglo-Saxon ealmihtig , ælmihtig ; eal (OE. al ) all + mihtig mighty.] 1. Unlimited in might; omnipotent; all-powerful; irresistible.

I am the Almighty God.
Gen. xvii. 1.

2. Great; extreme; terrible. [ Slang]

Poor Aroar can not live, and can not die, -- so that he is in an almighty fix.
De Quincey.

The Almighty , the omnipotent God. Reintransitive verb 8.

Almner Alm"ner noun An almoner. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Almond Alm"ond (ä"mŭnd) noun [ Middle English almande , almaunde , alemaunde , French amande , Latin amygdala , from Greek 'amygda`lh : confer Spanish almendra . Confer Amygdalate .] 1. The fruit of the almond tree.

» The different kinds, as bitter, sweet, thin-shelled, thick- shelled almonds, and Jordan almonds, are the products of different varieties of the one species, Amygdalus communis , a native of the Mediterranean region and western Asia.

2. The tree that bears the fruit; almond tree.

3. Anything shaped like an almond. Specifically: (Anat.) One of the tonsils.

Almond oil , fixed oil expressed from sweet or bitter almonds. -- Oil of bitter almonds , a poisonous volatile oil obtained from bitter almonds by maceration and distillation; benzoic aldehyde. -- Imitation oil of bitter almonds , nitrobenzene. -- Almond tree (Botany) , the tree bearing the almond. -- Almond willow (Botany) , a willow which has leaves that are of a light green on both sides; almond-leaved willow ( Salix amygdalina ). Shenstone.

Almond furnace Al"mond fur`nace [ Prob. a corruption of Almain furnace , i. e. , German furnace. See Almain .] A kind of furnace used in refining, to separate the metal from cinders and other foreign matter. Chambers.

Almondine Al"mon·dine noun See Almandine

Almoner Al"mon·er noun [ Middle English aumener , aulmener , Old French almosnier , aumosnier , French aumônier , from Old French almosne , alms, Latin eleemosyna . See Alms .] One who distributes alms, esp. the doles and alms of religious houses, almshouses, etc.; also, one who dispenses alms for another, as the almoner of a prince, bishop, etc.

Almonership Al"mon·er·ship noun The office of an almoner.

Almonry Al"mon·ry noun ; plural Almonries [ Old French aumosnerie , French aumônerie , from Old French aumosnier . See Almoner .] The place where an almoner resides, or where alms are distributed.

Almose Al"mose noun Alms. [ Obsolete] Cheke.

Almost Al"most adverb [ Anglo-Saxon ealmæst , ælmæst , quite the most, almost all; eal (OE. al ) all + m...st most.] Nearly; well nigh; all but; for the greatest part.

Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
Acts xxvi. 28.

Almost never , scarcely ever. -- Almost nothing , scarcely anything.

Almry Alm"ry noun See Almonry . [ Obsolete]

Alms Alms noun sing. & plural [ Middle English almes , almesse , Anglo-Saxon ælmysse , from Latin eleemosyna , Greek ... mercy, charity, alms, from ... to pity. Confer Almonry , Eleemosynary .] Anything given gratuitously to relieve the poor, as money, food, or clothing; a gift of charity.

A devout man . . . which gave much alms to the people.
Acts x. 2.

Alms are but the vehicles of prayer.
Dryden.

Tenure by free alms . See Frankalmoign . Blackstone.

» This word alms is singular in its form ( almesse ), and is sometimes so used; as, "asked an alms ." Acts iii. 3. "Received an alms ." Shak. It is now, however, commonly a collective or plural noun. It is much used in composition, as alms giver, alms giving, alms bag, alms chest, etc.

Almsdeed Alms"deed` noun An act of charity. Acts ix. 36.

Almsfolk Alms"folk` noun Persons supported by alms; almsmen. [ Archaic] Holinshed.

Almsgiver Alms"giv`er noun A giver of alms.

Almsgiving Alms"giv`ing noun The giving of alms.

Almshouse Alms"house` noun A house appropriated for the use of the poor; a poorhouse.

Almsman Alms"man noun ; fem. Almswoman . 1. A recipient of alms. Shak.

2. A giver of alms. [ R.] Halliwell.

Almucantar Al`mu·can"tar noun [ French almucantarat , almicantarat , ultimately from Arabic al- muqantarāt , plural, from qantara to bend, arch.] (Astron.) A small circle of the sphere parallel to the horizon; a circle or parallel of altitude. Two stars which have the same almucantar have the same altitude. See Almacantar . [ Archaic]

Almucanter staff , an ancient instrument, having an arc of fifteen degrees, formerly used at sea to take observations of the sun's amplitude at the time of its rising or setting, to find the variation of the compass.

Almuce Al"muce noun Same as Amice , a hood or cape.

Almude Al·mude" noun [ Portuguese almude , or Spanish almud , a measure of grain or dry fruit, from Arabic al-mudd a dry measure.] A measure for liquids in several countries. In Portugal the Lisbon almude is about 4.4, and the Oporto almude about 6.6, gallons U. S. measure. In Turkey the "almud" is about 1.4 gallons.

Almug, Algum Al"mug, Al"gum noun [ Hebrew , perhaps borrowed from Sanskrit valguka sandalwood.] (Script.) A tree or wood of the Bible (2 Chron. ii. 8; 1 K. x. 11).

» Most writers at the present day follow Celsius, who takes it to be the red sandalwood of China and the Indian Archipelago. W. Smith.

Alnage Al"nage (ăl"naj) noun , [ Old French alnage , aulnage , French aunage , from Old French alne ell, of German origin: confer Old High German elina , Goth. aleina , cubit. See Ell .] (O. Eng. Law) Measurement (of cloth) by the ell; also, a duty for such measurement.

Alnager Al"na·ger noun [ See Alnage .] A measure by the ell; formerly a sworn officer in England, whose duty was to inspect and measure woolen cloth, and fix upon it a seal.

Aloe Al"oe (ăl"no) noun ; plural Aloes (-ōz). [ Latin aloë , Greek 'alo`h , aloe: confer Old French aloe , French aloès .] 1. plural The wood of the agalloch. [ Obsolete] Wyclif.

2. (Botany) A genus of succulent plants, some classed as trees, others as shrubs, but the greater number having the habit and appearance of evergreen herbaceous plants; from some of which are prepared articles for medicine and the arts. They are natives of warm countries.

3. plural (Medicine) The inspissated juice of several species of aloe, used as a purgative. [ Plural in form but syntactically singular.]

American aloe , Century aloe , the agave. See Agave .

Aloes wood Al"oes wood` See Agalloch .

Aloetic Al`o·et"ic adjective [ Confer French aloétique .] Consisting chiefly of aloes; of the nature of aloes.

Aloetic Al`o·et"ic noun A medicine containing chiefly aloes.

Aloft A·loft" adverb [ Prefix a- + loft , which properly meant air . See Loft .] 1. On high; in the air; high above the ground. "He steers his flight aloft ." Milton.

2. (Nautical) In the top; at the mast head, or on the higher yards or rigging; overhead; hence (Fig. and Colloq.), in or to heaven.

Aloft A·loft" preposition Above; on top of. [ Obsolete]

Fresh waters run aloft the sea.
Holland.

Alogian A·lo"gi·an noun [ Late Latin Alogiani , Alogii , from Greek ...; 'a priv. + ... word.] (Eccl.) One of an ancient sect who rejected St. John's Gospel and the Apocalypse, which speak of Christ as the Logos. Shipley.

Alogy Al"o·gy noun [ Latin alogia , Greek ..., from 'a priv. + ... reason.] Unreasonableness; absurdity. [ Obsolete]

Aloin Al"o·in noun (Chemistry) A bitter purgative principle in aloes.

Alomancy Al"o·man`cy noun [ Greek ..., salt + - mancy : confer French alomancie , halomancie .] Divination by means of salt. [ Spelt also halomancy .] Morin.

Alone A·lone" adjective [ All + one . Middle English al one all allone, Anglo-Saxon ān one , alone. See All , One , Lone .] 1. Quite by one's self; apart from, or exclusive of, others; single; solitary; -- applied to a person or thing.

Alone on a wide, wide sea.
Coleridge.

It is not good that the man should be alone .
Gen. ii. 18.

2. Of or by itself; by themselves; without any thing more or any one else; without a sharer; only.

Man shall not live by bread alone .
Luke iv. 4.

The citizens alone should be at the expense.
Franklin.

3. Sole; only; exclusive. [ R.]

God, by whose alone power and conversation we all live, and move, and have our being.
Bentley.

4. Hence; Unique; rare; matchless. Shak.

» The adjective alone commonly follows its noun.

To let or leave alone , to abstain from interfering with or molesting; to suffer to remain in its present state.

Alone A·lone" adverb Solely; simply; exclusively.

Alonely A·lone"ly adverb Only; merely; singly. [ Obsolete]

This said spirit was not given alonely unto him, but unto all his heirs and posterity.
Latimer.

Alonely A·lone"ly adjective Exclusive. [ Obsolete] Fabyan.

Aloneness A·lone"ness noun A state of being alone, or without company; solitariness. [ R.] Bp. Montagu.

Along A·long" adverb [ Middle English along , anlong , Anglo-Saxon andlang , along ; prefix and- (akin to Old Frisian ond- , Old High German ant- , German ent- , Goth. and- , anda- , Latin ante , Greek ..., Sanskrit anti , over against) + lang long. See Long .] 1. By the length; in a line with the length; lengthwise.

Some laid along . . . on spokes of wheels are hung.
Dryden.

2. In a line, or with a progressive motion; onward; forward.

We will go along by the king's highway.
Numb. xxi. 22.

He struck with his o'ertaking wings,
And chased us south along .
Coleridge.

3. In company; together.

He to England shall along with you.
Shak.

All along , all through the course of; during the whole time; throughout. "I have all along declared this to be a neutral paper." Addison. -- To get along , to get on; to make progress, as in business. "She 'll get along in heaven better than you or I." Mrs. Stowe.

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