Agnōmen. [L.] All Romans of good family bore three names : Prænōmen, of the individual; Nomen, of the class, gens; Cognomen, of the house, or familia; e.g. Publius Cornelius Scipio. A fourth, Agnomen, was sometimes added on account of some personal distinction, e.g. Africānus. Some even had a second A. [Cf. Fr. prénom, a Christian name.]

Agnosticism. [Gr. å neg., yvwσTIKós, professing knowledge (yvwois).] The theory that man has insufficient evidence or insufficient power for judgment concerning Divine truth.

Agnus castus. [L.] A shrub, the Vitex agnus castus of botanists, the branches of which were strewed by matrons on their beds at the Thesmophoria, a festival of Demeter (Ceres).

Agnus Dei.

[L., Lamb of God.] In the Roman Church, cakes of wax are so called, which are stamped with the figure of a lamb bearing the banner of the cross.

Agog a-going, i.e. on-going; on the alert. Agōnic line. [Gr. à neg., ywvía, an angle.] The line joining all those places on the earth where the magnetic needle has no declination, or variation, i.e. deviation from the true N.

Agony column of an advertisement sheet, generally the second, headed by notices of disappearances and losses, mysterious appeals and correspondence.

Agora. [Gr., from yelpw, I bring together.] The market-place, and so the "forum," of a Greek town.

Agouti. Gen. of rodent, ranging in size between the hare and the rabbit; speckled brown fur, long hind legs. Trop. America and Islands. Dasyprōcta, fam. Cavĭidæ, ord. Rōdentia.

Agrarian laws. [L. leges agrāriæ.] (Rom. Hist.) Laws proposed or carried by the plebeians against the patricians, with reference to the distribution of public lands acquired by conquest.

Agreement. (Naut.) The master of a vessel exceeding eighty tons must enter into an A. in a special form with each of his crew carried from a British port.

Agricultural Holdings Act, of 38 and 39 Vict., has for its object the securing to tenants compensation for unexhausted improvements.

Agricultural Returns. A yearly return of the acreage in Great Britain under cultivation, and of the nature of the crops, distinguishing meadowland, orchards, gardens, and woods, supplying also the number of horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs.

Agrimony. [L. agrimōnia, properly argěmonia.] (Bot.) A. Eupătoria, ord. Rosacea, is a common wild plant, with long spikes of small yellow-scented flowers, and unequally pinnate leaves; it is much used in " herb teas."

Agrostemma. [Gr. hypós, a field, oτéμua, a crown.] A gen. of Caryophyllaceae; Lychnis A. Githago being the well-known corn-cockle.

Agrostis. [L., Gr. byрwσris.] A gen. of grasses, known by the name of Bent grasses, having numerous spec.

Agrypnotics. [Ġr. ǎypuπvos, sleepless.] Tending to prevent sleep, e.g. strong tea.

Ague-cake. A tumour arising from enlarged spleen, sometimes following protracted ague. Ague-cheek, Sir Andrew. A meek docile

simpleton in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Ahead. (Naut.) Abeam. Ahold. (Naut.) An old term for bringing a ship close to a wind and holding it.

Ahriman. In the Zend-Avesta, or sacred books of the Persians, the evil god or principle is called Angrô-Mainyus (spirit of darkness), a word of which Arimanes and Ahriman are the Latin and English forms. This evil god was opposed to Spento-Mainyus (spirit of light), a name for Ahuro-mazdao, or Ormuzd, in Skt. Asuromedhas [Gr. μntis, wisdom], the wise spirit, or Supreme and good God; the strife between these two principles being the dualism which characterizes the theology of Zoroaster.

Ahull. (Naut.) 1. The condition of a vessel with bare poles, and helm a-lee (q.v.). 2. Abandoned and drifting.

Ai. 1. (Aye-aye.) 2. The three-toed sloth (Bradypus tridactylus); S. America; ord. Edentata. 3. Spec. of wild dog (Dăsicyon Silvestris); Guiana, occasionally domesticated by Arecuna Indians.

Aid. [Fr. aide, L.L. adiuda, L. adjŭvo, I help.] Originally a benevolence; afterwards an exaction from a tenant to his lord, in cases of emergency.

Aide-de-Camp. [Fr.] An officer on the personal staff of a general; in the field carrying orders, at other times acting as secretary. 2. The sovereign also appoints A. to herself, who rank as colonels, from amongst distinguished

officers.

Aide-toi et le ciel t'aidera. [Fr.] Help thyself and Heaven will help thee. The motto of a French political society, whose influence with the middle classes helped to bring about the Revolution of 1830.

Aiery, Aire, Airy. (Eyry.)

Aigrette, Egret. [O.H.G. hiegro, L. aigrōnem, heron, Fr. aigre, aigrette.] 1. Gen. of lesser white heron. 2. (Bot.) 1.q. pappus (q.v.). 3. Head-dress of feathers, or plume-like

ornament.

Aiguilles. [Fr., L. ăcĭcŭla, a needle.] Sharp, lofty, serrated peaks ; e.g. A. Vertes, A. Rouges, Mont Blanc.

Aiguillette. [Fr. dim. of aiguille, L. ăcĭcŭla, a needle.] Shoulder-knot composed of long gold cords with tags, formerly worn on the right shoulder by generals and some staff and cavalry officers, now only by Queen's aides-de-camp.

Ailantus. A tree, native of China, with very long pinnate leaves, naturalized in S. Europe, upon the leaves of which some silkworms feed (A. glandulosa). Ord. Simarabaceæ.

Ailettes. [Fr., little wings.] Small leathern armour worn by knights, thirteenth century, behind or at the side of the shoulders, probably both as protection and a mark for followers; seen in brasses, stained windows, etc.

Ailārus. [Gr. alλoupos, the wavy-tailed one.] Chitwa, Panda, Wali, a cat-like animal, with rich chestnut and black fur, allied to the

stances of the animal body, represented by white of egg, serum in the blood, etc.; others are fibrin, represented by muscular tissue; casein is the basis of cheese [L. caseus]; legumin is in the seeds of all leguminous plants. 2. In Plants, Perisperm, or Endosperm [Gr. Tepí, around, evdov, within, oñéρμa, seed]. A substance found in some seeds between the coat and the embryo which it is to nourish; e.g. flour of corn.

Alburnum. [L.] Sap-wood, immediately below the bark; opposed to heart-wood, or dūrāmen [L., hardness].

Albus liber. [L.] Title of an old compilation of the laws and customs of the city of London.

Albyn, Albin. [Alp, or alb, which seems to be Celtic for high; ynys, Cymric for island.] The Highlands of Scotland, or Scotland generally. Albany is an old name for Scotland.

Alcoran. [Ar., the book.] The Mohammedan scriptures, which are said to have been dictated to Mohammed by the angel Gabriel.

Alcornoque bark. An astringent bark, generally cork, used in tanning.

Alcove. [Ar. el kauf, a tent, Sp. alcoba.] A recess, in a bedroom, for the bed; and so, any recess, for books, etc.; a covered garden

seat.

Alcyonidæ. [Gr. åλkvóvelov, a zoophyte, like the nest of the kingfisher, åλкřív, -óvos.] Fam. of Alcyonāria, or Asteroid Polypes, as Alcyonium, "Dead men's fingers."

Áldehyde, i.e. alcohol dehydrogenatus, deprived of its hydrogen, partly. A pungent volatile liquid, consisting of two atoms of carbon, four of hydrogen, and one of oxygen; ¿.e. alcohol minus two atoms of hydrogen.-Brande and Cox, Dictionary of Art and Science.

Alcabala. (Hist.) A heavy tax on sales of property, imposed in Spain and the Spanish colonies, and payable as often as the land was sold.

Alcaic verse.

A metre, consisting of a stanza of four lines attributed to the Greek poet Alcæus. Alcaide, Alcalde. [Sp., Ar. káda, head.] Military governor of a fortress or gaol. (Alguazil.)

Alcarraza. [Sp., from Ar. alcurrâr, an earthen jar.] A porous earthenware vessel, used for cooling water by evaporation.

Alcēdinidæ. (Alcedo.) Kingfishers. Fam. of birds universally distributed, having only one American gen. Ceryle, ord. Picariæ.

Alcedo. [L., kingfisher.] Alcyon, Halcyon; gen. of Alcedinidæ (q.v.).

Alces. [From O.G. elch, elhe; cf. Gr. dakh, an elk, and perhaps dakh, strength.] Elk, moose; largest of deer kind, dark brown. N. of Europe, Africa, and America. Gen. and spec. Alces, fam. Cervidæ, ord. Ungŭlāta.

Alceste. Hero of Molière's Le Misanthrope; type of stern unconventional uprightness.

Alchemy. [A word compounded of the Ar. defin. art. al, and Gr. xnueía.] The supposed art of the land of Chemi, or Ham, its object being the production of the precious metals, into which it was thought that the lower metals might be converted.

Alcinous. [Gr. 'AλKióos.] In the Odyssey, the King of the Phæacians. Alcluyd. Old name of Dumbarton. [(?) Alt, steep place, cluyd Clyde; cf. clith, Gaelic, strong.]

=

Alemanian metres. Those introduced by Alcman of Sparta, lyrist, the earliest Greek poet of love-song, seventh century B.C.; especially the iambic trimeter brachycatalectic, or iambic of five feet.

Alco. A name for some varieties of shepherd's dog. Peru and Mexico.

districts; now applied to the municipal officers in a borough next in order to the mayor.

Aldine editions. Editions of the classics published by the three Manutii, the eldest of whom, Aldo-Manuzio, set up a press at Venice in 1490. (Elzevirs.)

Ale. A rustic merry meeting; as Churchale, Whitsun-ale. (Church-ales.)

Alea belli. [L.] Lit. the hazard of war. Ale-conner, or -kenner, -taster, -founder. Gustator cervisiæ, taster of beer; one who "kens "good ale; in very ancient times chosen in each manor, and sworn to examine the purity and price of ale, and to present defaulters.

Alectryomancy. Divination [Gr. μavreía] by means of a cock [aλEKTρuάv]. Grains of corn being placed upon letters of the alphabet, prophetic words were formed out of the letters underlying the grains which he picked up.

A-lee. (Naut.) The position of the helm, when the tiller is put down to leeward, i.e. away from the wind.

Alegar. Vinegar made from sour beer. (A catachrestic word; cf. Peterloo, q.v.)

Alemanni. (?) All men. Germans, probably a confederacy of different tribes, within the limits of the Rhine, Main, and Danube; first heard of A. D. 214, in Caracalla's treacherous massacre.

Alembic. [Ar. al, and ambeeg, a corrupt form of Gr. ǎußit, a cup.] A form of still, now obsolete.

Alexandrian Codex. (Codex.)

Alexandrian School. A school for learning of all kinds, instituted at Alexandria by Ptolemy, son of Lagos. It became especially celebrated for its grammarians and mathematicians.

Alexandrine. An Eng. iambic of twelve syll., e.g. the last line of the Spenserian stanza, in imitation of the French heroic verse, first employed in a French translation of a Latin poem, The Alexandriad; or (?) in an original work on A. the Great.-English Cyclopædia, i. 195.

Alexipharmic = antidote. [Gr. åλežipápμakos, from axétw, I keep off, pápμakov, poison.]

Alexitérics, properly Alexeterics. [Gr. ¿λežnThpios, able to keep off.] Preservatives against poison.

Al fresco. [It.] In the open air.

Alge. [L. alga, seaweed.] (Bot.) A tribe of Cryptogams, comprehending seaweeds and fresh-water submersed spec. of similar habits, besides some terrestrial spec.

Algaroba. [Sp., Ar. kharoób.] The bean tree of the Mediterranean, with sweet pods (Cérătōnia siliqua); called also St. John's Bread, as if it were the "locust" of Matt. iii. The pods are also used in tanning.

Algaroth, Powder of. An oxychloride of antimony, discovered by Algarotti of Verona.

Algebra. [Ar. al jebr'e al mokābalah, restoration and reduction.] The science of general numerical operations and results; a generalized arithmetic; whereas in arithmetic the operations are performed on, and the results are expressed in, specific numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.); in A. the operations are performed on, and the results are expressed in, general numbers (a, b, c, etc.) connected by the symbols (+, -, etc.) of elementary operations (addition, subtraction, etc.). Algor. [L., coldness.] (Med.) A sudden chill; Rigor, if attended with shivering.

Algorithm. [Corr. from Ar. al khowārezmi; originally the tables used in trigonometry, which, in the thirteenth century, came to mean Arithmetic in Arabic numerals: see Littré, Supplement.] The Arabic notation of numbers; the science of calculation by nine figures and zero.

Alguazil. A Spanish officer answering to the English bailiff. The name is Arabic, as is that of Alcalde, or the Kadi, the magistrate or judge. Alhambra. [Ar. al hamra, the red castle.] The palace of the Moorish kings in Granada, begun 1248, completed 1313. Resigned to Ferdinand and Isabella by Boabdil, 1492.

Alias. [L.] Otherwise.

Ali Baba. In the Arabian Nights' Tales, a man who enters the cave of the Forty Thieves by means of the magic word Sesame. safras; Saxifrage.)

(Sas

Alimony. [L. ǎlimōnium, sustenance, from ǎlo, I nourish.] Allowance made to a wife out of her husband's estate during or after a matrimonial suit.

Aliped. [L. āla, wing, pes, pedis, foot.] Wingfooted, as the bat.

Aliquando bonus dormitǎt Hõmērus. [L.] Lit. now and then our friend Homer goes to sleep; i.e. there are dull passages in the best works.Horace.

Aliquot part. [L. ǎliquot, some, several.] A part of a whole, expressible by a fraction having unity for its numerator; thus Is. 8d. is an aliquot part of £1, viz. .

Alisma plantago. [Gr. &λioua.] (Bot.) Waterplantain; once thought a cure for hydrophobia; the gen. A. being typical of ord. Alismaceæ. Alizarine. The chief colouring agent in madder [Sp. alizari]; now obtained from coal-tar. Alkahest. An imaginary universal solvent of the alchemists.

Alkali. [Ar. al qali, kelp.] Any caustic base which changes red litmus to blue. Fixed A., potash and soda; volatile A., ammonia. (Caustic.)

Alkalimetry. [Alkali, and Gr. μeтpéw, I measure.] The art of measuring the amount of pure alkali contained in commercial potash or soda.

Alkaloids. So called from their power of forming definite salts with the acids; substances remarkably affecting the human system; having alkaline properties in a low degree; mostly vegetable, as morphia, strychnine, nicotine, caffeine; but there are animal A. also, as urea, kreatine.

Alkanet [Fr. arcanète], or Bugloss. (Anchūsa.) Dyer's A., the root of which yields the fine red dye for colouring oils, wax, etc.

Alkanna, or Al-henna. (Henna.)

Alkermes. A cordial distilled from bay leaves and various spices, and flavoured with syrup of kermes and orange-flower water.

Alicant, or Vino tinto, from its colour. Wine of Alicante, in Spain.

Alidad. [L. L. alidada, Ar. al, the, hadât, rule.] The index of an instrument which is capable of an angular motion; rarely used, except of the line of sights of an azimuth compass. Alienâ optimum frui insaniâ. [L.] It is an excellent thing to profit by another's error.

Alienation in mortmain. The making over of lands, tenements, etc., to a religious or other corporate body. (Mortmain.)

Aliēnā vivěrě quadrā. [L.] To live from another's table; i.e. as a parasite, sponge.-Juvenal.

Alien priories. (Hist.) Inferior monasteries in England, belonging to foreign religious houses. Alignment. [Fr. aligner, to dress in line, L. linea.] (Mil.) Manoeuvre by which the same relative parts of any body of troops are brought into the same line.

time marked used in church music, each bar being a breve 2 semibreves = 4 minims, but the minims being played as if they were crotchets. The division of the bar into two parts each two minims is called alla cappella time. But the use of the term is not always

clear. Allah. [Ar.] God: as Allah Akbar, God is great; akin to Heb. El.

Alla prima. A method of painting in which the colours are applied all at once [It.] to the canvas, without retouching.

Allegory. [Gr. åλλnyopía, from λos, other, dyopebw, I speak.] Expansion into narrative of a sense-representation of some moral or spiritual truth, of which the leading idea would be a Metaphor; as Pilgrim's Progress; Parable being a kind of A., but more concise and didactic; Fable, again, differing as admitting the nonnatural, e.g. trees and animals talking.

Allegro. [It., gay, cheerful.] (Mus.) A

quick movement.

Allegretto, dim. of A., not quite so quick. A. assai, fast enough, quicker than A. A. con brio, with spirit; con fuoco, with fire.

Allemande, i.e. German dance. Introduced from Alsace, temp. Louis XIV. ; a kind of slow, graceful waltz, the arms entwined and detached in the different steps.

Allerion. [L. L. ālārio, -nem, from āla, a wing.] (Her.) An eagle displayed, without beak or feet.

All-fours. In cards, a game of chance in which four points may be made : (1) by highest trump; (2) by lowest; (3) by knave of trumps; (4) by majority of pips from tricks taken.

All-hallows, All-hallowmas, Hallowmas. Old English names for All Saints' Day, November 1. Allice. [Ger. alose, else, ils; cf. L. ǎlausa, ǎlōsa, a fish found in the Moselle (?); probably a Gallic word.] The larger (two feet long) of the shads, the other being the twaite. Like herring, but larger. British waters. Gen. Clupea, fam. Clupěĭdæ, ord. Physostomi, subclass Tělĕostěi.

Alliciency. [L. allicio, I allure.] The power of attraction, e.g. in a magnet.

Alligation. [L. alligatio, -nem, a bending or tying to.] (Arith.) A rule by which the value of mixtures is found from the known values and quantities of the component parts.

Alligator apple.

(Custard apple.)

Alligator pear. (Avocado.) Alligator water. The brackish, white, and muddy water at the mouths of tropical rivers. Alliteration. [L. ad, to, litěra, a letter.] The recurrence of the same letter, generally at the beginning of words, for rhetorical effect; e.g. in Ancient Mariner, "The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew." Labōrāre est ōrāre = Work is worship. (Assonance.)

Alliterative poems. Poems in metres, the rhythm of which depends on the recurrence of sounds in the initial letters of words. To this class belong the old English poems, such as Piers Floughman's Vision. The practice was maintained as late as the sixteenth century.

Allium. [L.] (Bot.) A gen. of bulbous plants, ord. Liliaceæ, to which belong onion, leek, shallot, garlic, chive.

Allocate. To set apart, as if to a particular place [L. ad locum]. Generally applied to sums of money, fees, "allowances.

Allocatur [L., it is allowed] = the amount of an attorney's claim, after the costs have been taxed. (Taxing-masters.)

Allochroite. [Gr. &λλos, other, Xpoid, colour.] A variety of garnet, with iron, exhibiting a variety of colours. (Garnet.)

Allocution. [L. allocūtio, -nem.] 1. An address, especially of a Roman imperator to his army, or of the pope to the Sacred College. 2. Bidding Prayer (q.v.).

Allodium, Allodial tenure. Land held by a man in his own right, and free from all feudal burden: opposed to fee, fief, feud. Some connect with O.N. odal, Dan. Sw. odel, an estate, and Gothic alldha, odhol, ancient inheritance.

Others with A. S. leod, the people. Blackstone gives all, whole, and odh. Ger. od, property. Wollaston, that of which a man has the all, or all-hood. (Frank-aleu.)

Allonge. [Fr. allonger, to lengthen.] 1. (Leg.) Slip attached to a bill of exchange for supernumerary endorsements, if there is no more room on the bill. 2. To make a "lunge," in fencing.

Allopathy. [Gr. &λλos, other, wálos, suffering, affection.] A name given to the ordinary practice by homoeopathists. (Homœopathy.)

Allophane. [Gr. ăλλos, other, paivoμai, I appear.] A mineral, one of the aluminous silicates, of which clay is another; the proportion of water large; pale blue, green, brown; changed in appearance before the blowpipe.

Allotment. (Naut.) That portion of the pay of a sailor, or marine, on foreign service, allotted monthly to his wife and family.

Allotropy. [Gr. ¿λλorρоnéw, I am changeable.] (Chem.) The same element sometimes exists, no extraneous substance being added, in various forms, which exhibit different properties. So, ozone is an allotropic form of oxygen. Phosphorus is a remarkable example; sulphur also.

Alloy. A combination of two or more metals, except when one of them is mercury. Originally such debasement of metal as is according to law [Fr. à loi].

Allspice, or Jamaica pepper. The berry of a handsome tree, Pimenta officinalis; S. America and W. Indies; ord. Myrtaceæ.

All the Talents. The Fox and Grenville Coalition Ministry, formed on the death of Mr. Pitt, January, 1806.

All-to brake. Judg. ix. (To-brake.)

Allumette. [Fr. allumer, to kindle.] A match. Alluvion. [L. adlŭvio, -nem, flood, from ad, to, luo, lavo, I wash.] Land added to an estate by alluvial deposit from sea or stream.

Alluvium. [Neut. of L. alluvius, alluvial.] Earth, etc., brought down by rivers and floods, and deposited upon land not permanently submerged; e.g. many river-plains, meadow-lands. Allux, Allex. (Hallux.)

Allworthy, Mr. In Fielding's Tom Jones; type of modest worth and benevolence.

Allyl. A hypothetical substance, supposed to exist in oil of garlic [L. allium].

Almack's. A suite of rooms, in King Street, St. James's, London; so called as having been built by a Scotchman named Macall, who transposed his name. Balls of a very exclusive character were held in these rooms, which are now known as Willis's.

Almagest. [Ar. form of Gr. μéyioros, greatest.] The Arabic name for Ptolemy's work, The Mathematical Construction of the Heavens, which contains a complete account of the state of astronomy in his time-the first half of the second century-and from which is drawn a large part of our knowledge of ancient astronomy.

Alma Mater. [L.] Fostering mother; generally applied to one's university or school.

Almanac. [Ar. al manack, the diary.] A