{ Am`a*ran"thus (m`*rn"ths), ||Am`a*ran"tus (m`*rn"ts), } n. Same as Amaranth.
Am"a*rine (&?;), n. [L. amarus bitter.] (Chem.) A characteristic crystalline substance, obtained from oil of bitter almonds.
A*mar"i*tude (&?;), n. [L. amaritudo, fr. amarus bitter: cf. OF. amaritude.] Bitterness. [R.]
{ Am`a*ryl`li*da"ceous (&?;), Am`a*ryl*lid"e*ous (&?;), } a. (Bot.) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, an order of plants differing from the lily family chiefly in having the ovary below the petals. The narcissus and daffodil are members of this family.
||Am`a*ryl"lis (&?;), n. [L. Amaryllis, Gr. &?;, &?;, the name of a country girl in Theocritus and Virgil.] 1. A pastoral sweetheart.
To sport with Amaryllis in the shade.
Milton.
2. (bot.) (a) A family of plants much esteemed for their beauty, including the narcissus, jonquil, daffodil, agave, and others. (b) A genus of the same family, including the Belladonna lily.
A*mass" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Amassed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Amassing.] [F. ambusher, LL. amassare; L. ad + massa lump, mass. See Mass.] To collect into a mass or heap; to gather a great quantity of; to accumulate; as, to amass a treasure or a fortune; to amass words or phrases.
The life of Homer has been written by amassing all the traditions and hints the writers could meet with.
Pope.
Syn. -- To accumulate; heap up; pile.
A*mass", n. [OF. amasse, fr. ambusher.] A mass; a heap. [Obs.] Sir H. Wotton.
A*mass"a*ble (&?;), a. Capable of being amassed.
A*mass"er (&?;), n. One who amasses.
||A`mas`sette" (&?;), n. [F. See Amass.] An instrument of horn used for collecting painters' colors on the stone in the process of grinding.
A*mass"ment (&?;), n. [Cf. OF. amassement.] An amassing; a heap collected; a large quantity or number brought together; an accumulation.
An amassment of imaginary conceptions.
Glanvill.
Am`as*then"ic (&?;), a. [Gr. &?; together + &?; force.] (Photog.) Uniting the chemical rays of light into one focus, as a certain kind of lens; amacratic.
A*mate" (&?;), v. t. [OF. amater, amatir.] To dismay; to dishearten; to daunt. [Obs. or Archaic]
The Silures, to amate the new general, rumored the overthrow greater than was true.
Milton.
A*mate", v. t. [Pref. a- + mate.] To be a mate to; to match. [Obs.] Spenser.
Am`a*teur" (&?;), n. [F., fr. L. amator lover, fr. amare to love.] A person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science as to music or painting; esp. one who cultivates any study or art, from taste or attachment, without pursuing it professionally.
Am`a*teur"ish, a. In the style of an amateur; superficial or defective like the work of an amateur. -- Am`a*teur"ish*ly, adv. -- Am`a*teur"ish*ness, n.
Am"a*teur*ism (&?;), n. The practice, habit, or work of an amateur.
Am"a*teur`ship, n. The quality or character of an amateur.
Am"a*tive (&?;), a. [L. amatus, p. p. of amare to love.] Full of love; amatory.
Am"a*tive*ness, n. (Phren.) The faculty supposed to influence sexual desire; propensity to love. Combe.
Am`a*to"ri*al (&?;), a. [See Amatorious.] Of or pertaining to a lover or to love making; amatory; as, amatorial verses.
Am`a*to"ri*al*ly, adv. In an amatorial manner.
Am`a*to"ri*an (&?;), a. Amatory. [R.] Johnson.
Am`a*to"ri*ous (&?;), a. [L. amatorius, fr. amare to love.] Amatory. [Obs.] "Amatorious poem." Milton.
Am"a*to*ry (&?;), a. Pertaining to, producing, or expressing, sexual love; as, amatory potions.
||Am`au*ro"sis (&?;), n. [Gr. &?;, fr. &?; dark, dim.] (Med.) A loss or decay of sight, from loss of power in the optic nerve, without any perceptible external change in the eye; -- called also gutta serena, the "drop serene" of Milton.
Am`au*rot"ic (&?;), a. Affected with amaurosis; having the characteristics of amaurosis.
A*maze" (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Amazed (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Amazing.] [Pref. a- + maze.] 1. To bewilder; to stupefy; to bring into a maze. [Obs.]
A labyrinth to amaze his foes.
Shak.
2. To confound, as by fear, wonder, extreme surprise; to overwhelm with wonder; to astound; to astonish greatly. "Amazing Europe with her wit." Goldsmith.
And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
Matt. xii. 23.
Syn. -- To astonish; astound; confound; bewilder; perplex; surprise. -- Amaze, Astonish. Amazement includes the notion of bewilderment of difficulty accompanied by surprise. It expresses a state in which one does not know what to do, or to say, or to think. Hence we are amazed at what we can not in the least account for. Astonishment also implies surprise. It expresses a state in which one is stunned by the vastness or greatness of something, or struck with some degree of horror, as when one is overpowered by the &?;normity of an act, etc.
A*maze", v. i. To be astounded. [Archaic] B. Taylor.
A*maze", v. t. Bewilderment, arising from fear, surprise, or wonder; amazement. [Chiefly poetic]
The wild, bewildered
Of one to stone converted by amaze.
Byron.
A*maz"ed*ly (&?;), adv. In amazement; with confusion or astonishment. Shak.
A*maz"ed*ness, n. The state of being amazed, or confounded with fear, surprise, or wonder. Bp. Hall.