Al"der*man*ship, n. The condition, position, or office of an alderman. Fabyan.
Al"dern (&?;), a. Made of alder.
Al"der*ney (&?;), n. One of a breed of cattle raised in Alderney, one of the Channel Islands. Alderneys are of a dun or tawny color and are often called Jersey cattle. See Jersey, 3.
Al"dine (?; 277), a. (Bibliog.) An epithet applied to editions (chiefly of the classics) which proceeded from the press of Aldus Manitius, and his family, of Venice, for the most part in the 16th century and known by the sign of the anchor and the dolphin. The term has also been applied to certain elegant editions of English works.
Ale (l), n. [AS. ealu, akin to Icel., Sw., and Dan. öl, Lith. alus a kind of beer, OSlav. ol beer. Cf. Ir. ol drink, drinking.] 1. An intoxicating liquor made from an infusion of malt by fermentation and the addition of a bitter, usually hops.
The word ale, in England and the United States, usually designates a heavier kind of fermented liquor, and the word beer a lighter kind. The word beer is also in common use as the generic name for all malt liquors.
2. A festival in English country places, so called from the liquor drunk. "At wakes and ales." B. Jonson."On ember eves and holy ales." Shak.
A*leak" (&?;), adv. & a. [Pref. a- + leak.] In a leaking condition.
A"le*a*to*ry (&?;), a. [L. aleatorius, fr. alea chance, die.] (Law) Depending on some uncertain contingency; as, an aleatory contract. Bouvier.
Ale"bench` (&?;), n. A bench in or before an alehouse. Bunyan.
Ale"ber`ry (&?;), n. [OE. alebery, alebrey; ale + bre broth, fr. AS. brw pottage.] A beverage, formerly made by boiling ale with spice, sugar, and sops of bread.
Their aleberries, caudles, possets.
Beau. & Fl.
A*lec"i*thal (&?;), a. [Gr. 'a priv. + &?; yelk.] (Biol.) Applied to those ova which segment uniformly, and which have little or no food yelk embedded in their protoplasm. Balfour.
Ale"con`ner (&?;), n. [/Ale + con, OE. cunnen to test, AS. cunnian to test. See Con.] Orig., an officer appointed to look to the goodness of ale and beer; also, one of the officers chosen by the liverymen of London to inspect the measures used in public houses. But the office is a sinecure. [Also called aletaster.] [Eng.]
Ale"cost` (&?;), n. [Ale + L. costus an aromatic plant: cf. Costmary.] (Bot.) The plant costmary, which was formerly much used for flavoring ale.
||Al`ec*tor"i*des (&?;), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a cock.] (Zoöl.) A group of birds including the common fowl and the pheasants.
A*lec`to*rom"a*chy (&?;), n. [Gr. &?; cock + &?; fight.] Cockfighting.
A*lec"to*ro*man`cy (&?;), n. See Alectryomancy.
A*lec`try*om'a*chy (&?;), n. [Gr. &?; cock + &?; fight.] Cockfighting.
A*lec"try*o*man`cy (&?;), n. [Gr. &?; cock + -mancy.] Divination by means of a cock and grains of corn placed on the letters of the alphabet, the letters being put together in the order in which the grains were eaten. Amer. Cyc.
A*lee" (&?;), adv. [Pref. a- + lee.] (Naut.) On or toward the lee, or the side away from the wind; the opposite of aweather. The helm of a ship is alee when pressed close to the lee side.
Hard alee, or Luff alee, an order to put the helm to the lee side.
Al"e*gar (&?;), n. [Ale + eager sour, F. aigre. Cf. Vinegar.] Sour ale; vinegar made of ale. Cecil.
Al"e*ger (&?;), a. [F. allègre, earlier alègre, fr. L. alacer.] Gay; cheerful; sprightly. [Obs.] Bacon.
A*legge" (&?;), v. t. [OE. aleggen, alegen, OF. alegier, F. alléger, fr. LL. alleviare, for L. allevare to lighten; ad + levis light. Cf. Alleviate, Allay, Allege.] To allay or alleviate; to lighten. [Obs.]
That shall alegge this bitter blast.
Spenser.
Ale"hoof` (l"hf`), n. [AS. hfe ground ivy; the first part is perh. a corruption: cf. OE. heyhowe hedgehove, ground ivy, "in old MSS. heyhowe, heyoue, haihoue, halehoue." Prior.] Ground ivy (Nepeta Glechoma).
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Ale"house` (&?;), n. A house where ale is retailed; hence, a tippling house. Macaulay.