Syn. -- Penetration; sagacity; keenness; ingenuity; shrewdness; subtlety; sharp-wittedness.
A*cu`ti*fo"li*ate (&?;), a. [L. acutus sharp + folium leaf.] (Bot.) Having sharp-pointed leaves.
A*cu`ti*lo"bate (&?;), a. [L. acutus sharp + E. lobe.] (Bot.) Having acute lobes, as some leaves.
||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.
Ad*act" (&?;), v. t. [L. adactus, p. p. of adigere.] To compel; to drive. [Obs.] Fotherby.
{ A*dac"tyl (&?;), A*dac"tyl*ous (&?;), } a. [Gr. 'a priv. + &?; finger.] (Zoöl.) (a) Without fingers or without toes. (b) Without claws on the feet (of crustaceous animals).
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.
A*da"gi*al (&?;), a. Pertaining to an adage; proverbial. "Adagial verse." Barrow.
||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.
||A*da"gio, n. A piece of music in adagio time; a slow movement; as, an adagio of Haydn.
Ad"am (&?;), n. 1. The name given in the Bible to the first man, the progenitor of the human race.