{ A`be*ce*da"ri*an, A`be*ce"da*ry (&?;), } a. Pertaining to, or formed by, the letters of the alphabet; alphabetic; hence, rudimentary.
Abecedarian psalms, hymns, etc., compositions in which (like the 119th psalm in Hebrew) distinct portions or verses commence with successive letters of the alphabet. Hook.
A`be*ce"da*ry (&?;), n. A primer; the first principle or rudiment of anything. [R.] Fuller.
A*bed" (&?;), adv. [Pref. a- in, on + bed.] 1. In bed, or on the bed.
Not to be abed after midnight.
Shak.
2. To childbed (in the phrase "brought abed," that is, delivered of a child). Shak.
A*beg"ge (&?;). Same as Aby. [Obs.] Chaucer.
A*bele" (&?;), n. [D. abeel (abeel- boom), OF. abel, aubel, fr. a dim. of L. albus white.] The white poplar (Populus alba).
Six abeles i' the churchyard grow.
Mrs. Browning.
{ A*bel"i*an (&?;), A"bel*ite (&?;), A`bel*o"ni*an (&?;), } n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect in Africa (4th century), mentioned by St. Augustine, who states that they married, but lived in continence, after the manner, as they pretended, of Abel.
A"bel*mosk` (&?;), n. [NL. abelmoschus, fr. Ar. abu-l-misk father of musk, i. e., producing musk. See Musk.] (Bot.) An evergreen shrub (Hibiscus -- formerly Abelmoschus -- moschatus), of the East and West Indies and Northern Africa, whose musky seeds are used in perfumery and to flavor coffee; -- sometimes called musk mallow.
Ab`er-de-vine" (#), n. (Zoöl.) The European siskin (Carduelis spinus), a small green and yellow finch, related to the goldfinch.
Ab*err" (&?;), v. i. [L. aberrare. See Aberrate.] To wander; to stray. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
{ Ab*er"rance (&?;), Ab*er"ran*cy (&?;), } n. State of being aberrant; a wandering from the right way; deviation from truth, rectitude, etc.
Aberrancy of curvature (Geom.), the deviation of a curve from a circular form.
Ab*er"rant (&?;), a. [L. aberrans, -rantis, p. pr. of aberrare. See Aberr.] 1. Wandering; straying from the right way.