Al`mu*can"tar (&?;), n. [F. almucantarat, almicantarat, ultimately fr. Ar. al- muqantart, pl., fr. qantara to bend, arch.] (Astron.) A small circle of the sphere parallel to the horizon; a circle or parallel of altitude. Two stars which have the same almucantar have the same altitude. See Almacantar. [Archaic]
Almucanter staff, an ancient instrument, having an arc of fifteen degrees, formerly used at sea to take observations of the sun's amplitude at the time of its rising or setting, to find the variation of the compass.
Al"muce (&?;), n. Same as Amice, a hood or cape.
||Al*mude" (&?;), n. [Pg. almude, or Sp. almud, a measure of grain or dry fruit, fr. Ar. al-mudd a dry measure.] A measure for liquids in several countries. In Portugal the Lisbon almude is about 4.4, and the Oporto almude about 6.6, gallons U. S. measure. In Turkey the "almud" is about 1.4 gallons.
{ Al"mug (&?;), Al"gum (&?;), } n. [Heb., perh. borrowed fr. Skr. valguka sandalwood.] (Script.) A tree or wood of the Bible (2 Chron. ii. 8; 1 K. x. 11).
Most writers at the present day follow Celsius, who takes it to be the red sandalwood of China and the Indian Archipelago. W. Smith.
Al"nage (l"nj), n., [OF. alnage, aulnage, F. aunage, fr. OF. alne ell, of Ger. origin: cf. OHG. elina, Goth. aleina, cubit. See Ell.] (O. Eng. Law) Measurement (of cloth) by the ell; also, a duty for such measurement.
Al"na*ger (&?;), n. [See Alnage.] A measure by the ell; formerly a sworn officer in England, whose duty was to inspect and measure woolen cloth, and fix upon it a seal.
Al"oe (l"n), n.; pl. Aloes (-z). [L. aloë, Gr. 'alo`h, aloe: cf. OF. aloe, F. aloès.] 1. pl. The wood of the agalloch. [Obs.] Wyclif.
2. (Bot.) A genus of succulent plants, some classed as trees, others as shrubs, but the greater number having the habit and appearance of evergreen herbaceous plants; from some of which are prepared articles for medicine and the arts. They are natives of warm countries.
3. pl. (Med.) The inspissated juice of several species of aloe, used as a purgative. [Plural in form but syntactically singular.]
American aloe, Century aloe, the agave. See Agave.
Al"oes wood` (&?;). See Agalloch.
Al`o*et"ic (&?;), a. [Cf. F. aloétique.] Consisting chiefly of aloes; of the nature of aloes.
Al`o*et"ic, n. A medicine containing chiefly aloes.
A*loft" (?; 115), adv. [Pref. a- + loft, which properly meant air. See Loft.] 1. On high; in the air; high above the ground. "He steers his flight aloft." Milton.
2. (Naut.) In the top; at the mast head, or on the higher yards or rigging; overhead; hence (Fig. and Colloq.), in or to heaven.