Ametropia noun [ Greek ... irregular + ..., ..., eye.] (Medicine) Any abnormal condition of the refracting powers of the eye. -- Am`e*trop"ic adjective

Amharic adjective Of or pertaining to Amhara, a division of Abyssinia; as, the Amharic language is closely allied to the Ethiopic. -- noun The Amharic language (now the chief language of Abyssinia).

Amia noun [ Latin , from Greek ... a kind of tunny.] (Zoology) A genus of fresh-water ganoid fishes, exclusively confined to North America; called bowfin in Lake Champlain, dogfish in Lake Erie, and mudfish in South Carolina, etc. See Bowfin .

Amiability noun The quality of being amiable; amiableness; sweetness of disposition.

Every excellency is a degree of amiability .
Jer. Taylor.

Amiable adjective [ French amiable , Latin amicabilis friendly, from amicus friend, from amare to love. The meaning has been influenced by French aimable , Latin amabilis lovable, from amare to love. Confer Amicable , Amorous , Amability .]
1. Lovable; lovely; pleasing. [ Obsolete or R.]

So amiable a prospect.
Sir T. Herbert.

2. Friendly; kindly; sweet; gracious; as, an amiable temper or mood; amiable ideas.

3. Possessing sweetness of disposition; having sweetness of temper, kind-heartedness, etc., which causes one to be liked; as, an amiable woman.

4. Done out of love. [ Obsolete]

Lay an amiable siege to the honesty of this Ford's wife.
Shak.

Amiableness noun The quality of being amiable; amiability.

Amiably adverb In an amiable manner.

Amianth noun See Amianthus . [ Poetic]

Amianthiform adjective [ Amianth us + -form .] Resembling amianthus in form.

Amianthoid adjective [ Amianth us + -oid : confer French amiantoïde .] Resembling amianthus.

Amianthus noun [ Latin amiantus , Greek ... ... (lit., unsoiled stone) a greenish stone, like asbestus; 'a priv. + ... to stain, to defile; so called from its incombustibility.] (Min.) Earth flax, or mountain flax; a soft silky variety of asbestus.

Amic adjective [ Latin am monia + - ic .] (Chemistry) Related to, or derived, ammonia; -- used chiefly as a suffix; as, amic acid; phosph amic acid.

Amic acid (Chemistry) , one of a class of nitrogenized acids somewhat resembling amides.

Amicability noun The quality of being amicable; friendliness; amicableness. Ash.

Amicable adjective [ Latin amicabilis , from amicus friend, from amare to love. See Amiable .] Friendly; proceeding from, or exhibiting, friendliness; after the manner of friends; peaceable; as, an amicable disposition, or arrangement.

That which was most remarkable in this contest was . . . the amicable manner in which it was managed.
Prideoux.

Amicable action (Law.) , an action commenced and prosecuted by amicable consent of the parties, for the purpose of obtaining a decision of the court on some matter of law involved in it. Bouvier. Burrill. -- Amicable numbers (Math.) , two numbers, each of which is equal to the sum of all the aliquot parts of the other.

Syn. -- Friendly; peaceable; kind; harmonious. -- Amicable , Friendly . Neither of these words denotes any great warmth of affection, since friendly has by no means the same strength as its noun friendship . It does, however, imply something of real cordiality; while amicable supposes very little more than that the parties referred to are not disposed to quarrel. Hence, we speak of amicable relations between two countries, an amicable adjustment of difficulties. "Those who entertain friendly feelings toward each other can live amicably together."

Amicableness noun The quality of being amicable; amicability.

Amicably adverb In an amicable manner.

Amice noun [ Middle English amyse , probably for amyt , Old French amit , ameit , from Latin amictus cloak, the word being confused with amice , almuce , a hood or cape. See next word.] A square of white linen worn at first on the head, but now about the neck and shoulders, by priests of the Roman Catholic Church while saying Mass.

Amice noun [ Middle English amuce , amisse , Old French almuce , aumuce , French aumusse , Late Latin almucium , almucia , aumucia : of unknown origin; confer German mütze cap, probably of the same origin. Confer Mozetta .] (Eccl.) A hood, or cape with a hood, made of lined with gray fur, formerly worn by the clergy; -- written also amess , amyss , and almuce .

Amid preposition See Amidst .

Amide noun [ Am monia + - ide .] (Chemistry) A compound formed by the union of amidogen with an acid element or radical. It may also be regarded as ammonia in which one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by an acid atom or radical.

Acid amide , a neutral compound formed by the substitution of the amido group for hydroxyl in an acid.

Amidin noun [ Confer French amidine , from amido... starch, from Latin amylum , Greek ... fine meal, neut. of ... not ground at the mill, -- hence, of the finest meal; 'a priv. + ..., ..., mill. See Meal .] (Chemistry) Start modified by heat so as to become a transparent mass, like horn. It is soluble in cold water.

Amido adjective [ From Amide .] (Chemistry) Containing, or derived from, amidogen.

Amido acid , an acid in which a portion of the nonacid hydrogen has been replaced by the amido group. The amido acids are both basic and acid. -- Amido group , amidogen, NH ₂ .

Amidogen noun [ Amide + - gen .] (Chemistry) A compound radical, NH ₂ , not yet obtained in a separate state, which may be regarded as ammonia from the molecule of which one of its hydrogen atoms has been removed; -- called also the amido group , and in composition represented by the form amido .

Amidol noun [ Amide + - ol as in alcohol .] (Photog. & Chem.) A salt of a diamino phenol, C ₆ H ₃ (OH)(NH ₂ ) ₂ , used as a developer.

Amidships adverb (Nautical) In the middle of a ship, with regard to her length, and sometimes also her breadth. Totten.

Amidst, Amid preposition [ Middle English amidde , amiddes , on midden , Anglo-Saxon on middan , in the middle, from midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a later addition, as in whilst , amongst , alongst . See Mid .] In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. "This fair tree amidst the garden." "Unseen amid the throng." " Amidst thick clouds." Milton. " Amidst acclamations." " Amidst the splendor and festivity of a court." Macaulay.

But rather famish them amid their plenty.
Shak.

Syn. -- Amidst , Among . These words differ to some extent from each other, as will be seen from their etymology. Amidst denotes in the midst or middle of, and hence surrounded by; as, this work was written amidst many interruptions. Among denotes a mingling or intermixing with distinct or separable objects; as, "He fell among thieves." "Blessed art thou among women." Hence, we say, among the moderns, among the ancients, among the thickest of trees, among these considerations, among the reasons I have to offer. Amid and amidst are commonly used when the idea of separate or distinguishable objects is not prominent. Hence, we say, they kept on amidst the storm, amidst the gloom, he was sinking amidst the waves, he persevered amidst many difficulties; in none of which cases could among be used. In like manner, Milton speaks of Abdiel, --

The seraph Abdiel, faithful found;
Among the faithless faithful only he,

because he was then considered as one of the angels. But when the poet adds, --

From amidst them forth he passed,

we have rather the idea of the angels as a collective body.

Those squalid cabins and uncleared woods amidst which he was born.
Macaulay.

Amigo noun ; plural Amigos . [ Spanish , from Latin amicus .] A friend; -- a Spanish term applied in the Philippine Islands to friendly natives.

Amine noun [ Am monia + - ine .] (Chemistry) One of a class of strongly basic substances derived from ammonia by replacement of one or more hydrogen atoms by a basic atom or radical.

Aminol noun [ From amine .] (Pharm.) A colorless liquid prepared from herring brine and containing amines, used as a local antiseptic.

Amioid adjective (Zoology) Like or pertaining to the Amioidei. -- noun One of the Amioidei.

Amioidei noun plural [ New Latin , from Amia + -oid .] (Zoology) An order of ganoid fishes of which Amia is the type. See Bowfin and Ganoidei .

Amir noun Same as Ameer .

Amish noun plural [ Written also Omish .] (Eccl. Hist.) The Amish Mennonites.

Amish adjective [ Written also Omish .] (Eccl. Hist.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, the followers of Jacob Amman , a strict Mennonite of the 17th century, who even proscribed the use of buttons and shaving as "worldly conformity". There are several branches of Amish Mennonites in the United States.

Amiss adverb [ Prefix a- + miss .] Astray; faultily; improperly; wrongly; ill.

What error drives our eyes and ears amiss ?
Shak.

Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss .
James iv. 3.

To take (an act, thing) amiss , to impute a wrong motive to (an act or thing); to take offense at; to take unkindly; as, you must not take these questions amiss .

Amiss (ȧ*mĭs") adjective Wrong; faulty; out of order; improper; as, it may not be amiss to ask advice. [ Used only in the predicate.] Dryden.

His wisdom and virtue can not always rectify that which is amiss in himself or his circumstances.
Wollaston.

Amiss noun A fault, wrong, or mistake. [ Obsolete]

Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss .
Shak.

Amissibility [ Confer French amissibilité . See Amit .] The quality of being amissible; possibility of being lost. [ R.]

Notions of popular rights and the amissibility of sovereign power for misconduct were alternately broached by the two great religious parties of Europe.
Hallam.

Amissible adjective [ Latin amissibilis : confer French amissible .] Liable to be lost. [ R.]

Amission noun [ Latin amissio : confer French amission .] Deprivation; loss. [ Obsolete] Sir T. Browne.

Amit transitive verb [ Latin amittere , amissum , to lose; a ( ab ) + mittere to send. See Missile .] To lose. [ Obsolete]

A lodestone fired doth presently amit its proper virtue.
Sir T. Browne.

Amitosis noun [ New Latin See A- not, and Mitosis .] (Biol.) Cell division in which there is first a simple cleavage of the nucleus without change in its structure (such as the formation of chromosomes), followed by the division of the cytoplasm; direct cell division; -- opposed to mitosis . It is not the usual mode of division, and is believed by many to occur chiefly in highly specialized cells which are incapable of long-continued multiplication, in transitory structures, and in those in early stages of degeneration.

Amitotic adjective (Biol.) Of or pertaining to amitosis; karyostenotic; -- opposed to mitotic .

Amity noun ; plural Amities [ French amitié , Old French amistié , amisté , from an assumed Late Latin amisitas , from Latin amicus friendly, from amare to love. See Amiable .] Friendship, in a general sense, between individuals, societies, or nations; friendly relations; good understanding; as, a treaty of amity and commerce; the amity of the Whigs and Tories.

To live on terms of amity with vice.
Cowper.

Syn. -- Harmony; friendliness; friendship; affection; good will; peace.

Amma noun [ Late Latin amma , probably of interjectional or imitative origin: confer Spanish ama , German amme , nurse, Basque ama mother, Hebrew ...m , Arabic immun , ummun .] An abbes or spiritual mother.

Ammeter noun (Physics) A contraction of amperometer or ampèremeter .

Ammiral noun An obsolete form of admiral . "The mast of some great ammiral ." Milton.

Ammite (ăm"mīt) noun [ Greek 'ammi`ths , 'ammi`tis , sandstone, from 'a`mmos or "a`mmos sand.] (Geol.) Oölite or roestone; -- written also hammite . [ Obsolete]

Ammodyte noun [ Latin ammodytes , Greek ... sand burrower, a kind of serpent; 'a`mmos sand + ... diver, ... to dive.] (Zoology) (a) One of a genus of fishes; the sand eel. (b) A kind of viper in southern Europe. [ Obsolete]

Ammonal noun [ Ammon ium + al uminium.] An explosive consisting of a mixture of powdered aluminium and nitrate of ammonium.