Al-phitomancy noun [ Greek ... barley meal + - mancy : confer French alphitomancie .] Divination by means of barley meal. Knowles.

Alongshore adverb Along the shore or coast.

Alongshoreman noun See Longshoreman .

Alongside adverb Along or by the side; side by side with; -- often with of ; as, bring the boat alongside ; alongside of him; alongside of the tree.

Alongst preposition & adverb [ Formed from along, like amongst from among .] Along. [ Obsolete]

Aloof noun (Zoology) Same as Alewife .

Aloof adverb [ Prefix a- + loof , from Dutch loef luff, and so meaning, as a nautical word, to the windward. See Loof , Luff .]
1. At or from a distance, but within view, or at a small distance; apart; away.

Our palace stood aloof from streets.
Dryden.

2. Without sympathy; unfavorably.

To make the Bible as from the hand of God, and then to look at it aloof and with caution, is the worst of all impieties.
I. Taylor.

Aloof preposition Away from; clear from. [ Obsolete]

Rivetus . . . would fain work himself aloof these rocks and quicksands.
Milton.

Aloofness noun State of being aloof. Rogers (1642).

The . . . aloofness of his dim forest life.
Thoreau.

Alopecia (ăl`o*pē"shĭ*ȧ), A*lop"e*cy (ȧ*lŏp"e*sȳ) noun [ Latin alopecia , Greek 'alwpeki`a , from 'alw`phx fox, because loss of the hair is common among foxes.] (Medicine) Loss of the hair; baldness.

Alopecist noun A practitioner who tries to prevent or cure baldness.

Alose transitive verb [ Middle English aloser .] To praise. [ Obsolete]

Alose noun [ French, from Latin alosa or alausa .] (Zoology) The European shad ( Clupea alosa ); -- called also allice shad or allis shad . The name is sometimes applied to the American shad ( Clupea sapidissima ). See Shad .

Alouatte noun [ Of uncertain origin.] (Zoology) One of the several species of howling monkeys of South America. See Howler, 2 .

Aloud adverb [ Prefix a- + loud .] With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly.

Cry aloud , spare not, lift up thy voice.
Isa. lviii. 1.

Alow adverb [ Prefix a- + low .] Below; in a lower part. "Aloft, and then alow ." Dryden.

Alp noun [ Latin Alpes the Alps, said to be of Celtic origin; confer Gael. alp a high mountain, Ir. ailp any huge mass or lump: confer French Alpes .]
1. A very high mountain. Specifically, in the plural, the highest chain of mountains in Europe, containing the lofty mountains of Switzerland, etc.

Nor breath of vernal air from snowy alp .
Milton.

Hills peep o'er hills, and alps on alps arise.
Pope.

2. Fig.: Something lofty, or massive, or very hard to be surmounted.

» The plural form Alps is sometimes used as a singular. "The Alps doth spit." Shak.

Alp noun A bullfinch. Rom. of R.

Alpaca noun [ Spanish alpaca , from the original Peruvian name of the animal. Confer Paco .]
1. (Zoology) An animal of Peru ( Lama paco ), having long, fine, wooly hair, supposed by some to be a domesticated variety of the llama.

2. Wool of the alpaca.

3. A thin kind of cloth made of the wooly hair of the alpaca, often mixed with silk or with cotton.

Alpen adjective Of or pertaining to the Alps. [ R.] "The Alpen snow." J. Fletcher.

Alpenglow noun A reddish glow seen near sunset or sunrise on the summits of mountains; specif., a reillumination sometimes observed after the summits have passed into shadow, supposed to be due to a curving downward (refraction) of the light rays from the west resulting from the cooling of the air.

Alpenhorn, Alphorn noun [ German Alpenhorn .] A curved wooden horn about three feet long, with a cupped mouthpiece and a bell, used by the Swiss to sound the ranz des vaches and other melodies. Its notes are open harmonics of the tube.

Alpenstock noun [ G.; Alp , gen. plural Alpen + stock stick.] A long staff, pointed with iron, used in climbing the Alps. Cheever.

Alpestrine adjective [ Latin Alpestris .] Pertaining to the Alps, or other high mountains; as, Alpestrine diseases, etc.

Alpestrine adjective (Botany) Growing on the elevated parts of mountains, but not above the timbe... line; subalpine.

Alpha noun [ Latin alpha , Greek 'a`lfa , from Hebrew āleph , name of the first letter in the alphabet, also meaning ox .] The first letter in the Greek alphabet, answering to A, and hence used to denote the beginning .

In am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Rev. xxii. 13.

Formerly used also denote the chief ; as, Plato was the alpha of the wits.

» In cataloguing stars, the brightest star of a constellation in designated by Alpha (α); as, α Lyræ.

Alpha paper (Photog.) A sensitized paper for obtaining positives by artificial light. It is coated with gelatin containing silver bromide and chloride. [ Eng.]

Alpha rays (Physics & Chem.) Rays of relatively low penetrating power emitted by radium and other radioactive substances, and shown to consist of positively charged particles (perhaps particles of helium) having enormous velocities but small masses. They are slightly deflected by a strong magnetic or electric field.

Alphabet noun [ Latin alphabetum , from Greek ... + ..., the first two Greek letters; Hebrew āleph and beth : confer French alphabet .]
1. The letters of a language arranged in the customary order; the series of letters or signs which form the elements of written language.

2. The simplest rudiments; elements.

The very alphabet of our law.
Macaulay.

Deaf and dumb alphabet . See Dactylology .

Alphabet transitive verb To designate by the letters of the alphabet; to arrange alphabetically. [ R.]

Alphabetarian noun A learner of the alphabet; an abecedarian. Abp. Sancroft.

Alphabetic, Alphabetical adjective [ Confer French alphabétique .]
1. Pertaining to, furnished with, expressed by, or in the order of, the letters of the alphabet; as, alphabetic characters, writing, languages, arrangement.

2. Literal. [ Obsolete] " Alphabetical servility." Milton.

Alphabetically adverb In an alphabetic manner; in the customary order of the letters.

Alphabetics noun The science of representing spoken sounds by letters.

Alphabetism noun The expression of spoken sounds by an alphabet. Encyc. Brit.

Alphabetize transitive verb
1. To arrange alphabetically; as, to alphabetize a list of words.

2. To furnish with an alphabet.

Alphol noun [ Alpha- + - ol as in alcohol .] (Pharm.) A crystalline derivative of salicylic acid, used as an antiseptic and antirheumatic.

Alphonsine (ăl*fŏn"sĭn) adjective Of or relating to Alphonso X., the Wise, King of Castile (1252-1284).

Alphonsine tables , astronomical tables prepared under the patronage of Alphonso the Wise. Whewell.

Alpigene (ăl"pĭ*jēn) adjective [ Latin Alpes Alps + -gen .] Growing in Alpine regions.

Alpine adjective [ Latin Alpinus , from Alpes the Alps: confer French Alpin .]
1. Of or pertaining to the Alps, or to any lofty mountain; as, Alpine snows; Alpine plants.

2. Like the Alps; lofty. "Gazing up an Alpine height." Tennyson.

Alpinist noun A climber of the Alps.

Alpist, Alpia noun [ F.: confer Spanish & Portuguese alpiste .] The seed of canary grass ( Phalaris Canariensis ), used for feeding cage birds.

Alquifou noun [ Equiv. to arquifoux , French alquifoux , Spanish alquifól , from the same Arabic word as alcohol . See Alcohol .] A lead ore found in Cornwall, England, and used by potters to give a green glaze to their wares; potter's ore.

Already adverb [ All (OE. al ) + ready .] Prior to some specified time, either past, present, or future; by this time; previously. "Joseph was in Egypt already ." Exod. i. 5.

I say unto you, that Elias is come already .
Matt. xvii. 12.

» It has reference to past time, but may be used for a future past; as, when you shall arrive, the business will be already completed, or will have been already completed.

Als adverb
1. Also. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

2. As. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Alsatian adjective Pertaining to Alsatia.

Alsatian noun An inhabitant of Alsatia or Alsace in Germany, or of Alsatia or White Friars (a resort of debtors and criminals) in London.

Alsike noun [ From Alsike , in Sweden.] A species of clover with pinkish or white flowers; Trifolium hybridum .

Also adverb & conj. [ All + so . Middle English al so , Anglo-Saxon ealswā , alsw... , ælswæ ; eal , al , æl , all + swā so. See All , So , As .]
1. In like manner; likewise. [ Obsolete]

2. In addition; besides; as well; further; too.

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also .
Matt. vi. 20.

3. Even as; as; so. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Syn. -- Also , Likewise , Too . These words are used by way of transition , in leaving one thought and passing to another. Also is the widest term. It denotes that what follows is all so , or entirely like that which preceded, or may be affirmed with the same truth; as, "If you were there, I was there also ;" "If our situation has some discomforts, it has also many sources of enjoyment." Too is simply less formal and pointed than also ; it marks the transition with a lighter touch; as, "I was there too ;" "a courtier yet a patriot too ." Pope. Likewise denotes literally "in like manner," and hence has been thought by some to be more specific than also . "It implies," says Whately, "some connection or agreement between the words it unites. We may say, ‘ He is a poet, and likewise a musician; ' but we should not say, ‘ He is a prince , and likewise a musician,' because there is no natural connection between these qualities." This distinction, however, is often disregarded.

Alt adjective & noun [ See Alto .] (Mus.) The higher part of the scale. See Alto .

To be in alt , to be in an exalted state of mind.