Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828)

Page 19

Actual

Ac"tu*al (#), n. (Finance) Something actually received; real, as distinct from estimated, receipts. [Cant]

The accounts of revenues supplied . . . were not real receipts: not, in financial language, actuals," but only Egyptian budget estimates. Fortnightly Review.

Actualist

Ac"tu*al*ist, n. One who deals with or considers actually existing facts and conditions, rather than fancies or theories; -- opposed to idealist. J. Grote.

Actuality

Ac`tu*al"i*ty (#), n.; pl. Actualities (#). The state of being actual; reality; as, the actuality of God's nature. South.

Actualization

Ac`tu*al*i*za"tion (#), n. A making actual or really existent. [R.] Emerson.

Actualize

Ac"tu*al*ize (#), v. t. To make actual; to realize in action. [R.] Coleridge.

Actually

Ac"tu*al*ly, adv.

1. Actively. [Obs.] Neither actually . . . nor passively." Fuller.

2. In act or in fact; really; in truth; positively.

Actualness

Ac"tu*al*ness, n. Quality of being actual; actuality.

Actuarial

Ac`tu*a"ri*al (#), a. Of or pertaining to actuaries; as, the actuarial value of an annuity.

Actuary

Ac"tu*a*ry (#), n.; pl. Actuaries (#). [L. actuarius copyist, clerk, fr. actus, p. p. of agere to do, act.]

1. (Law) A registar or clerk; -- used originally in courts of civil law jurisdiction, but in Europe used for a clerk or registar generally.

2. The computing official of an insurance company; one whose profession it is to calculate for insurance companies the risks and premiums for life, fire, and other insurances.

Actuate

Ac"tu*ate (#), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Actuated (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Actuating (#).] [LL. actuatus, p. p. of actuare, fr. L. actus act.]

1. To put into action or motion; to move or incite to action; to influence actively; to move as motives do; -- more commonly used of persons.

Wings, which others were contriving to actuate by the perpetual motion. Johnson.

Men of the greatest abilities are most fired with ambition; and, on the contrary, mean and narrow minds are the least actuated by it. Addison.

2. To carry out in practice; to perform. [Obs.] To actuate what you command." Jer. Taylor. Syn. -- To move; impel; incite; rouse; instigate; animate.

Actuate

Ac"tu*ate (#), a. [LL. actuatus, p. p. of actuare.] Put in action; actuated. [Obs.] South.

Actuation

Ac`tu*a"tion (#), n. [Cf. LL. actuatio.] A bringing into action; movement. Bp. Pearson.

Actuator

Ac"tu*a`tor (#), n. One who actuates, or puts into action. [R.] Melville.

Actuose

Ac"tu*ose` (#), a. [L. actuosus.] Very active. [Obs.]

Actuosity

Ac`tu*os"i*ty (#), n. Abundant activity. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

Acture

Ac"ture (#), n. Action. [Obs.] Shak.

Acturience

Ac*tu"ri*ence (#), n. [A desid. of L. agere, actum, to act.] Tendency or impulse to act. [R.]

Acturience, or desire of action, in one form or another, whether as restlessness, ennui, dissatisfaction, or the imagination of something desirable. J. Grote.

Acuate

Ac"u*ate (#), v. t. [L. acus needle.] To sharpen; to make pungent; to quicken. [Obs.] [To] acuate the blood." Harvey.

Acuate

Ac"u*ate (#), a. Sharpened; sharp-pointed.

Acuation

Ac`u*a"tion (#), n. Act of sharpening. [R.]

Acuition

Ac`u*i"tion (#), n. [L. acutus, as if acuitus, p. p. of acuere to sharpen.] The act of sharpening. [Obs.]

Acuity

A*cu"i*ty (#), n. [LL. acuitas: cf. F. acuité.] Sharpness or acuteness, as of a needle, wit, etc.

Aculeate

A*cu"le*ate (#), a. [L. aculeatus, fr. aculeus, dim. of acus needle.]

1. (Zoöl.) Having a sting; covered with prickles; sharp like a prickle.

2. (Bot.) Having prickles, or sharp points; beset with prickles.

3. Severe or stinging; incisive. [R.] Bacon.

Aculeated

A*cu"le*a`ted (#), a. Having a sharp point; armed with prickles; prickly; aculeate.

Aculeiform

A*cu"le*i*form (#), a. Like a prickle.

Aculeolate

A*cu"le*o*late (#), a. [L. aculeolus little needle.] (Bot.) Having small prickles or sharp points. Gray.

Aculeous

A*cu"le*ous (#), a. Aculeate. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

Aculeus

A*cu"le*us (#), n.; pl. Aculei (#). [L., dim. of acus needle.]

1. (Bot.) A prickle growing on the bark, as in some brambles and roses. Lindley.

2. (Zoöl.) A sting.

Acumen

A*cu"men (#), n. [L. acumen, fr. acuere to sharpen. Cf. Acute.] Quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind; the faculty of nice discrimination. Selden. Syn. -- Sharpness; sagacity; keenness; shrewdness; acuteness.

Acuminate

A*cu"mi*nate (#), a. [L. acuminatus, p. p. of acuminare to sharpen, fr. acumen. See Acumen.] Tapering to a point; pointed; as, acuminate leaves, teeth, etc.

Acuminate

A*cu"mi*nate (#), v. t. To render sharp or keen. [R.] To acuminate even despair." Cowper.

Acuminate

A*cu"mi*nate, v. i. To end in, or come to, a sharp point. Acuminating in a cone of prelacy." Milton.

Acumination

A*cu`mi*na"tion (#), n. A sharpening; termination in a sharp point; a tapering point. Bp. Pearson.

Acuminose

A*cu"mi*nose` (#), a. Terminating in a flat, narrow end. Lindley.

Acuminous

A*cu"mi*nous (#), a. Characterized by acumen; keen. Highmore.

Acupressure

Ac`u*pres"sure (#), n. [L. acus needle + premere, pressum, to press.] (Surg.) A mode of arresting hemorrhage resulting from wounds or surgical operations, by passing under the divided vessel a needle, the ends of which are left exposed externally on the cutaneous surface. Simpson.

Acupuncturation

Ac`u*punc`tu*ra"tion (#), n. See Acupuncture.

Acupuncture

Ac`u*punc"ture (#), n. [L. acus needle + punctura a pricking, fr. pungere to prick: cf. F. acuponcture.] Pricking with a needle; a needle prick. Specifically (Med.): The insertion of needles into the living tissues for remedial purposes.

Acupuncture

Ac`u*punc"ture (#), v. t. To treat with acupuncture.

Acustumaunce

A*cus"tum*aunce (#), n. See Accustomance. [Obs.]

Acutangular

A*cut"an`gu*lar (#), a. Acute-angled.

Acute

A*cute" (#), a. [L. acutus, p. p. of acuere to sharpen, fr. a root ak to be sharp. Cf. Ague, Cute, Edge.]

1. Sharp at the end; ending in a sharp point; pointed; -- opposed to blunt or obtuse; as, an acute angle; an acute leaf.

2. Having nice discernment; perceiving or using minute distinctions; penetrating; clever; shrewd; -- opposed to dull or stupid; as, an acute observer; acute remarks, or reasoning.

3. Having nice or quick sensibility; susceptible to slight impressions; acting keenly on the senses; sharp; keen; intense; as, a man of acute eyesight, hearing, or feeling; acute pain or pleasure.

4. High, or shrill, in respect to some other sound; -- opposed to grave or low; as, an acute tone or accent.

5. (Med.) Attended with symptoms of some degree of severity, and coming speedily to a crisis; -- opposed to chronic; as, an acute disease. Acute angle (Geom.), an angle less than a right angle. Syn. -- Subtile; ingenious; sharp; keen; penetrating; sagacious; sharp-witted; shrewd; discerning; discriminating. See Subtile.

Acute

A*cute", v. t. To give an acute sound to; as, he acutes his rising inflection too much. [R.] Walker.

Acuteangled

A*cute"*an`gled (#), a. Having acute angles; as, an acute-angled triangle, a triangle with every one of its angles less than a right angle.

Acutely

A*cute"ly, adv. In an acute manner; sharply; keenly; with nice discrimination.

Acuteness

A*cute"ness, n.

1. The quality of being acute or pointed; sharpness; as, the acuteness of an angle.

2. The faculty of nice discernment or perception; acumen; keenness; sharpness; sensitiveness; -- applied to the senses, or the understanding. By acuteness of feeling, we perceive small objects or slight impressions: by acuteness of intellect, we discern nice distinctions.

Perhaps, also, he felt his professional acuteness interested in bringing it to a successful close. Sir W. Scott.

3. Shrillness; high pitch; -- said of sounds.

4. (Med.) Violence of a disease, which brings it speedily to a crisis. Syn. -- Penetration; sagacity; keenness; ingenuity; shrewdness; subtlety; sharp-wittedness.

Acutifoliate

A*cu`ti*fo"li*ate (#), a. [L. acutus sharp + folium leaf.] (Bot.) Having sharp-pointed leaves.

Acutilobate

A*cu`ti*lo"bate (#), a. [L. acutus sharp + E. lobe.] (Bot.) Having acute lobes, as some leaves.

Ad-

Ad- (#). [A Latin preposition, signifying to. See At.] As a prefix ad- assumes the forms ac-, af-, ag-, al-, an-, ap-, ar-, as-, at-, assimilating the d with the first letter of the word to which ad- is prefixed. It remains unchanged before vowels, and before d, h, j, m, v. Examples: adduce, adhere, adjacent, admit, advent, accord, affect, aggregate, allude, annex, appear, etc. It becomes ac- before qu, as in acquiesce.

Adact

Ad*act" (#), v. t. [L. adactus, p. p. of adigere.] To compel; to drive. [Obs.] Fotherby.

Adactyl, Adactylous

A*dac"tyl (#), A*dac"tyl*ous (#), a. [Gr. priv. + finger.] (Zoöl.) (a) Without fingers or without toes. (b) Without claws on the feet (of crustaceous animals).
Adage
Ad"age (#), n. [F. adage, fr. L. adagium; ad + the root of L. aio I say.] An old saying, which has obtained credit by long use; a proverb.
Letting I dare not" wait upon I would," Like the poor cat i' the adage. Shak.
Syn. -- Axiom; maxim; aphorism; proverb; saying; saw; apothegm. See Axiom.
Adagial
A*da"gi*al (#), a. Pertaining to an adage; proverbial. Adagial verse." Barrow.
Adagio
A*da"gio (#), a. & adv. [It. adagio; ad (L. ad) at + agio convenience, leisure, ease. See Agio.] (Mus.) Slow; slowly, leisurely, and gracefully. When repeated, adagio, adagio, it directs the movement to be very slow.
Adagio
A*da"gio, n. A piece of music in adagio time; a slow movement; as, an adagio of Haydn.
Adam
Ad"am (#), n.
1. The name given in the Bible to the first man, the progenitor of the human race.
2. (As a symbol) Original sin;" human frailty.
And whipped the offending Adam out of him. Shak.
Adam's ale, water. [Coll.] -- Adam's apple.
1. (Bot.) (a) A species of banana (Musa paradisiaca). It attains a height of twenty feet or more. Paxton]. (b) A species of lime (Citris limetta).
2. The projection formed by the thyroid cartilage in the neck. It is particularly prominent in males, and is so called from a notion that it was caused by the forbidden fruit (an apple) sticking in the throat of our first parent. -- Adam's flannel (Bot.), the mullein (Verbascum thapsus). -- Adam's needle (Bot.), the popular name of a genus (Yucca) of liliaceous plants.
Adamant
Ad"a*mant (#), n. [OE. adamaunt, adamant, diamond, magnet, OF. adamant, L. adamas, adamantis, the hardest metal, fr. Gr. , ; priv. + to tame, subdue. In OE., from confusion with L. adamare to love, be attached to, the word meant also magnet, as in OF. and LL. See Diamond, Tame.]
1. A stone imagined by some to be of impenetrable hardness; a name given to the diamond and other substance of extreme hardness; but in modern minerology it has no technical signification. It is now a rhetorical or poetical name for the embodiment of impenetrable hardness.
Opposed the rocky orb Of tenfold adamant, his ample shield. Milton.

2. Lodestone; magnet. [Obs.] A great adamant of acquaintance." Bacon.
As true to thee as steel to adamant. Greene.

Adamantean
Ad`a*man*te"an (#), a. [L. adamantēus.] Of adamant; hard as adamant. Milton.
Adamantine
Ad`a*man"tine (#), a. [L. adamantinus, Gr. .]
1. Made of adamant, or having the qualities of adamant; incapable of being broken, dissolved, or penetrated; as, adamantine bonds or chains.
2. (Min.) Like the diamond in hardness or luster.
Adambulacral
Ad`am*bu*la"cral (#), a. [L. ad + E. ambulacral.] (Zoöl.) Next to the ambulacra; as, the adambulacral ossicles of the starfish.
Adamic, Adamical
A*dam"ic (#), A*dam"ic*al (#), a. Of or pertaining to Adam, or resembling him. Adamic earth, a name given to common red clay, from a notion that Adam means red earth.
Adamite
Ad"am*ite (#), n. [From Adam.]
1. A descendant of Adam; a human being.
2. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect of visionaries, who, professing to imitate the state of Adam, discarded the use of dress in their assemblies.
Adam's apple
Ad"am's ap"ple (#). See under Adam.
Adance
A*dance" (#), adv. Dancing. Lowell.
Adangle
A*dan"gle (#), adv. Dangling. Browning.
Adansonia
Ad`an*so"ni*a (#), n. [From Adanson, a French botanist.] (Bot.) A genus of great trees related to the Bombax. There are two species, A. digitata, the baobab or monkey-bread of Africa and India, and A. Gregorii, the sour gourd or cream-of-tartar tree of Australia. Both have a trunk of moderate height, but of enormous diameter, and a wide-spreading head. The fruit is oblong, and filled with pleasantly acid pulp. The wood is very soft, and the bark is used by the natives for making ropes and cloth. D. C. Eaton.
Adapt
A*dapt" (#), a. Fitted; suited. [Obs.] Swift.
Adapt
A*dapt", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Adapted; p. pr. & vb. n. Adapting.] [L. adaptare; ad + aptare to fit; cf. F. adapter. See Apt, Adept.] To make suitable; to fit, or suit; to adjust; to alter so as to fit for a new use; -- sometimes followed by to or for.
For nature, always in the right, To your decays adapts my sight. Swift.

Appeals adapted to his [man's] whole nature. Angus.

Streets ill adapted for the residence of wealthy persons. Macaulay.

Adaptability, Adaptableness
A*dapt`a*bil"i*ty (#), A*dapt"a*ble*ness (#), n. The quality of being adaptable; suitableness. General adaptability for every purpose." Farrar.
Adaptable
A*dapt"a*ble (#), a. Capable of being adapted.
Adaptation
Ad`ap*ta"tion (#), n. [Cf. F. adaptation, LL. adaptatio.]
1. The act or process of adapting, or fitting; or the state of being adapted or fitted; fitness. Adaptation of the means to the end." Erskine.
2. The result of adapting; an adapted form.
Adaptative
A*dapt"a*tive (#), a. Adaptive. Stubbs.
Adaptedness
A*dapt"ed*ness (#), n. The state or quality of being adapted; suitableness; special fitness.
Adapter
A*dapt"er (#), n.
1. One who adapts.
2. (Chem.) A connecting tube; an adopter. <-- 2. any device connecting two parts of an apparatus (e.g. tubes of different diameters, or electric cords with different plug types); a device allowing an apparatus to be used for purposes other than originally intended -->
Adaption
A*dap"tion (#), n. Adaptation. Cheyne.
Adaptive
A*dapt"ive (#), a. Suited, given, or tending, to adaptation; characterized by adaptation; capable of adapting. Coleridge. -- A*dapt"ive*ly, adv.
Adaptiveness
A*dapt"ive*ness, n. The quality of being adaptive; capacity to adapt.
Adaptly
A*dapt"ly, adv. In a suitable manner. [R.] Prior.
Adaptness
A*dapt"ness, n. Adaptedness. [R.]
Adaptorial
Ad`ap*to"ri*al (#), a. Adaptive. [R.]
Adar
A"dar (#), n. [Heb. adär.] The twelfth month of the Hebrew ecclesiastical year, and the sixth of the civil. It corresponded nearly with March.
Adarce
A*dar"ce (#), n. [L. adarce, adarca, Gr. .] A saltish concretion on reeds and grass in marshy grounds in Galatia. It is soft and porous, and was formerly used for cleansing the skin from freckles and tetters, and also in leprosy. Dana.
Adatis
Ad"a*tis (#), n. A fine cotton cloth of India.
Adaunt
A*daunt" (#), v. t. [OE. adaunten to overpower, OF. adonter; à (L. ad) + donter, F. dompter. See Daunt.] To daunt; to subdue; to mitigate. [Obs.] Skelton.
Adaw
A*daw" (#), v. t. [Cf. OE. adawe of dawe, AS. of dagum from days, i. e., from life, out of life.] To subdue; to daunt. [Obs.]
The sight whereof did greatly him adaw. Spenser.

Adaw
A*daw", v. t. & i. [OE. adawen to wake; pref. a- (cf. Goth. us-, Ger. er-) + dawen, dagon, to dawn. See Daw.] To awaken; to arouse. [Obs.]
A man that waketh of his sleep He may not suddenly well taken keep Upon a thing, ne seen it parfitly Till that he be adawed verily. Chaucer.

Adays
A*days" (#), adv. [Pref. a- (for on) + day; the final s was orig. a genitive ending, afterwards forming adverbs.] By day, or every day; in the daytime. [Obs.] Fielding.
Ad captandum
Ad cap*tan"dum (#). [L., for catching.] A phrase used adjectively sometimes of meretricious attempts to catch or win popular favor.
Add
Add (#), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Added; p. pr. & vb. n. Adding.] [L. addere; ad + dare to give, put. Cf. Date, Do.]
1. To give by way of increased possession (to any one); to bestow (on).
The Lord shall add to me another son. Gen. xxx. 24.