Blackstone.
µ This word alms is singular in its form (almesse), and is sometimes so used; as, ½asked am alms.¸ Acts iii. 3.½Received an alms.¸ Shak. It is now, however, commonly a collective or plural noun. It is much used in composition, as almsgiver, almsgiving, alms bag, alms chest, etc.
Alms¶deed· (?), n. An act of charity.
Acts ix. 36.
Alms¶folk· (?), n. Persons supported by alms; almsmen. [Archaic]
Holinshed.
Alms¶giv·er (?), n. A giver of alms.
Alms¶giv·ing (?), n. The giving of alms.
Alms¶house· (?), n. A house appropriated for the use of the poor; a poorhouse.
Alms¶man (?), n.; fem. Almswoman. 1. A recipient of alms.
Shak.
2. A giver of alms. [R.]
Halliwell.
Al·muÏcan¶tar (?), n. [F. almucantarat, almicantarat, ultimately fr. Ar. alÐmuqantar¾t, 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.
Ø AlÏmude¶ (?), n. [Pg. almude, or Sp. almud, a measure of grain or dry fruit, fr. Ar. alÐmudd 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 ½almud¸ 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. ??).
µ 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 (?), 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¶naÏger (?), n. [See Alnage.] A measure by the ell; formerly a sworn officer in England, whose duty was to inspect act measure woolen cloth, and fix upon it a seal.
Al¶oe (?), n.; pl. Aloes (?). [L. alo‰, Gr. ?, aloe: cf. OF. aloe, F. aloŠs.] 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·oÏet¶ic (?), a. [Cf. F. alo‚tique.] Consisting chiefly of aloes; of the nature of aloes.
Al·oÏet¶ic, n. A medicine containing chiefly aloes.
AÏloft¶ (?; 115), adv. [Pref. aÏ + loft, which properly meant air. See Loft.] 1. On high; in the air; high above the ground. ½He 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.
AÏloft¶, prep. Above; on top of. [Obs.]
Fresh waters run aloft the sea.
Holland.
AÏlo¶giÏan (?), n. [LL. Alogiani, Alogii, fr. Gr. ?; ? priv. + ? word.] (Eccl.) One of an ancient sect who rejected St. John's Gospel and the Apocalypse, which speak of Christ as the Logos.
Shipley.
Al¶oÏgy (?), n. [L. alogia, Gr. ?, fr. ? priv. + ? reason.] Unreasonableness; absurdity. [Obs.]
Al¶oÏin (?), n. (Chem.) A bitter purgative principle in aloes.
Al¶oÏman·cy (?), n. [Gr. ?, salt + Ïmancy: cf. F. alomancie, halomancie.] Divination by means of salt. [Spelt also halomancy.]
Morin.
AÏlone¶ (?), a. [All + one. OE. al one all allone, AS. ¾n one, alone. See All, One, Lone.] 1. Quite by one's self; apart from, or exclusive of, others; single; solitary; Ï applied to a person or thing.
Alone on a wide, wide sea.
Coleridge.
It is not good that the man should be alone.
Gen. ii. 18.
2. Of or by itself; by themselves; without any thing more or any one else; without a sharer; only.
Man shall not live by bread alone.
Luke iv. 4.
The citizens alone should be at the expense.
Franklin.
3. Sole; only; exclusive. [R.]
God, by whose alone power and conversation we all live, and move, and have our being.
Bentley.
4. Hence; Unique; rare; matchless.
Shak.
µ The adjective alone commonly follows its noun.
To let or leave alone, to abstain from interfering with or molesting; to suffer to remain in its present state.
AÏlone¶, adv. Solely; simply; exclusively.
AÏlone¶ly, adv. Only; merely; singly. [Obs.]
This said spirit was not given alonely unto him, but unto all his heirs and posterity.
Latimer.
AÏlone¶ly, a. Exclusive. [Obs.]
Fabyan.
AÏlone¶ness, n. A state of being alone, or without company; solitariness. [R.]
Bp. Montagu.
AÏlong¶ (?; 115), adv. [OE. along, anlong, AS. andlang, along; pref. andÏ (akin to OFris. ondÏ, OHG. antÏ, Ger. entÏ, Goth. andÏ, andaÏ, L. ante, Gr. ?, Skr. anti, over against) + lang long. See Long.] 1. By the length; in a line with the length; lengthwise.
Some laid along... on spokes of wheels are hung.
Dryden.
2. In a line, or with a progressive motion; onward; forward.
We will go along by the king's highway.
Numb. xxi. 22.
He struck with his o'ertaking wings,
And chased us south along.
Coleridge.
3. In company; together.
He to England shall along with you.
Shak.
All along, all trough the course of; during the whole time; throughout. ½I have all along declared this to be a neutral paper.¸ Addison. Ð To get along, to get on; to make progress, as in business. ½She 'll get along in heaven better than you or I.¸
Mrs. Stowe.
AÏlong¶, prep. By the length of, as distinguished from across. ½Along the lowly lands.¸
Dryden.
The kine... went along the highway.
1 Sam. vi. 12.
AÏlong¶. [AS. gelang owing to.] (Now heard only in the prep. phrase along of.)
Along of, Along on, often shortened to Long of, prep. phr., owing to; on account of. [Obs. or Low. Eng.] ½On me is not along thin evil fare.¸ Chaucer. ½And all this is long of you.¸ Shak. ½This increase of price is all along of the foreigners.¸ London Punch.
AÏlong¶shore· (?), adv. Along the shore or coast.
AÏlong¶shore·man (?), n. See Longshoreman.
AÏlong¶side· (?), adv. Along or by the side; side by side with; Ð often with of; as, bring the boat alongside; alongside of him; alongside of the tree.
AÏlongst¶ (?; 115), prep. & adv. [Formed fr. along, like amongst fr. among.] Along. [Obs.]
AÏloof¶ (?), n. (Zo”l.) Same as Alewife.
AÏloof¶, adv. [Pref. aÏ + loof, fr. D. loef luff, and so meaning, as a nautical word, to the windward. See Loof, Luff.] 1. At or from a distance, but within view, or at a small distance; apart; away.
Our palace stood aloof from streets.
Dryden.
2. Without sympathy; unfavorably.
To make the Bible as from the hand of God, and then to look at it aloof and with caution, is the worst of all impieties.
I. Taylor.
AÏloof¶ (?), prep. Away from; clear from. [Obs.]
Rivetus... would fain work himself aloof these rocks and quicksands.
Milton.
AÏloof¶ness, n. State of being aloof.
Rogers (1642).
The... aloofness of his dim forest life.
Thoreau.
{ Ø Al·oÏpe¶ciÏa (?), AÏlop¶eÏcy (?), } n. [L. alopecia, Gr. ?, fr. ? fox, because loss of the hair is common among foxes.] (med.) Loss of the hair; baldness.
AÏlop¶eÏcist (?), n. A practitioner who tries to prevent or cure baldness.
AÏlose¶ (?), v. t. [OE. aloser.] To praise. [Obs.]
A¶lose (?), n. [F., fr. L. alosa or alausa.] (Zo”l.) The European shad (Clupea alosa); Ð called also allice shad or allis shad. The name is sometimes applied to the American shad (Clupea sapidissima). See Shad.
Ø Al·ouÏatte¶ (?), n. [Of uncertain origin.] (Zo”l.) One of the several species of howling monkeys of South America. See Howler, 2.
AÏloud¶ (?), adv. [Pref. aÏ + loud.] With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly.
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice.
Isa. lviii. 1.
AÏlow¶ (?), adv. [Pref. aÏ + low.] Below; in a lower part. ½Aloft, and then alow.¸
Dryden.
Alp (?), n. [L. Alpes the Alps, said to be of Celtic origin; cf. Gael. alp a high mountain, Ir. ailp any huge mass or lump: cf. F. Alpes.] 1. A very high mountain. Specifically, in the plural, the highest chain of mountains in Europe, containing the lofty mountains of Switzerland, etc.
Nor breath of vernal air from snowy alp.
Milton.
Hills peep o'er hills, and alps on alps arise.
Pope.
2. Fig.: Something lofty, or massive, or very hard to be surmounted.
µ The plural form Alps is sometimes used as a singular. ½The Alps doth spit.¸
Shak.
Alp, n. A bullfinch.
Rom. of R.
AlÏpac¶a (?), n. [Sp. alpaca, fr. the original Peruvian name of the animal. Cf. Paco.] 1. (Zo”l.) An animal of Peru (Lama paco), having long, fine, wooly hair, supposed by some to be a domesticated variety of the llama.
2. Wool of the alpaca.
3. A thin kind of cloth made of the wooly hair of the alpaca, often mixed with silk or with cotton.
Al¶pen (?), a. Of or pertaining to the Alps. [R.] ½The Alpen snow.¸
J. Fletcher.
Ø Al¶penÏstock· (?), n. [G.; Alp, gen. pl. Alpen + stock stick.] A long staff, pointed with iron, used in climbing the Alps.
Cheever.
AlÏpes¶trine (?), a. [L. Alpestris.] Pertaining to the Alps, or other high mountains; as, Alpestrine diseases, etc.
Al¶pha (?), n. [L. alpha, Gr. ?, from Heb. ¾leph, name of the first letter in the alphabet, also meaning ox.] The first letter in the Greek alphabet, answering to A, and hence used to denote the beginning.
In am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Rev. xxii. 13.
Formerly used also denote the chief; as, Plato was the alpha of the wits.
µ In cataloguing stars, the brightest star of a constellation in designated by Alpha (?); as, ? Lyr‘.
Al¶phaÏbet (?), n. [L. alphabetum, fr. Gr. ? + ?, the first two Greek letters; Heb. ¾leph and beth: cf. F. alphabet.] 1. The letters of a language arranged in the customary order; the series of letters or signs which form the elements of written language.
2. The simplest rudiments; elements.
The very alphabet of our law.
Macaulay.
Deaf and dumb alphabet. See Dactylology.
Al¶phaÏbet, v. t. To designate by the letters of the alphabet; to arrange alphabetically. [R.]
Al·phaÏbetÏa¶riÏan (?), n. A learner of the alphabet; an abecedarian.
Abp. Sancroft.
{ Al·phaÏbet¶ic (?), Al·phaÏbet¶icÏal (?), } a. [Cf. F. alphab‚tique.] 1. Pertaining to, furnished with, expressed by, or in the order of, the letters of the alphabet; as, alphabetic characters, writing, languages, arrangement.
2. Literal. [Obs.] ½Alphabetical servility.¸
Milton.
Al·phaÏbet¶icÏalÏly, adv. In an alphabetic manner; in the customary order of the letters.
Al·phaÏbet¶ics (?), n. The science of representing spoken sounds by letters.
Al¶phaÏbetÏism (?), n. The expression of spoken sounds by an alphabet.
Encyc. Brit.
Al¶phaÏbetÏize (?), v. t. 1. To arrange alphabetically; as, to alphabetize a list of words.
2. To furnish with an alphabet.
AlÏphen¶ic (?), n. [F. alf‚nic, alph‚nic, Sp. alfe?ique, Ar. alÐf¾nÆd sweetness, sugar, fr. Per. f¾nÆd, p¾nÆd, sugar, cheese preserved in sugar.] (Med.) The crystallized juice of the sugarcane; sugar candy.
AlÐphit¶oÏman·cy (?), n. [Gr. ? barley meal + Ïmancy: cf. F. alphitomancie.] Divination by means of barley meal.
Knowles.
<-- p. 44 -->
AlÏphon¶sine (?), a. Of or relating to Alphonso X., the Wise, King of Castile (1252Ð1284).
Alphonsine tables, astronomical tables prepared under the patronage of Alphonso the Wise.
Whewell.
Al¶piÏgene (?), a. [L. Alpes Alps + Ïgen.] Growing in Alpine regions.
Al¶pine (?), a. [L. Alpinus, fr. Alpes the Alps: cf. F. Alpin.] 1. Of or pertaining to the Alps, or to any lofty mountain; as, Alpine snows; Alpine plants.
2. Like the Alps; lofty. ½Gazing up an Alpine height.¸
Tennyson.
Al¶pinÏist (?), n. A climber of the Alps.
{ Al¶pist (?), Al¶piÏa (?), } n. [F.: cf. Sp. & Pg. alpiste.] The seed of canary grass (Phalaris Canariensis), used for feeding cage birds.
Ø Al¶quiÏfou (?), n. [Equiv. to arquifoux, F. alquifoux, Sp. alquif¢l, fr. the same Arabic word as alcohol. See Alcohol.] A lead ore found in Cornwall, England, and used by potters to give a green glaze to their wares; potter's ore.
AlÏread¶y (?), adv. [All (OE. al) + ready.] Prior to some specified time, either past, present, or future; by this time; previously. ½Joseph was in Egypt already.¸
Exod. i. 5.
I say unto you, that Elias is come already.
Matt. xvii. 12.
µ It has reference to past time, but may be used for a future past; as, when you shall arrive, the business will be already completed, or will have been already completed.
Als (?), adv. 1. Also. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
2. As. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
AlÏsa¶tian (?), a. Pertaining to Alsatia.
AlÏsa¶tian, n. An inhabitant of Alsatia or Alsace in Germany, or of Alsatia or White Friars (a resort of debtors and criminals) in London.
Ø Al· se¶gno (?). [It., to the mark or sign.] (Mus.) A direction for the performer to return and recommence from the sign ?.
Al¶sike (?), n. [From Alsike, in Sweden.] A species of clover with pinkish or white flowers; Trifolium hybridum.
Al¶so (?), adv. & conj. [All + so. OE. al so, AS. ealsw¾, alsw?, ‘lsw‘; eal, al, ‘l, all + sw¾ so. See All, So, As.] 1. In like manner; likewise. [Obs.]
2. In addition; besides; as well; further; too.
Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven... for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Matt. vi. 20.
3. Even as; as; so. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Syn. - Also, Likewise, Too. These words are used by way of transition, in leaving one thought and passing to another. Also is the widest term. It denotes that what follows is all so, or entirely like that which preceded, or may be affirmed with the same truth; as, ½If you were there, I was there also;¸ ¸If our situation has some discomforts, it has also many sources of enjoyment.¸ Too is simply less formal and pointed than also; it marks the transition with a lighter touch; as, ½I was there too;¸ ¸a courtier yet a patriot too.¸ Pope. Likewise denotes literally ½in like manner,¸ and hence has been thought by some to be more specific than also. ½It implies,¸ says Whately, ½some connection or agreement between the words it unites. We may say, ? He is a poet, and likewise a musician; 'but we should not say, ? He is a prince, and likewise a musician, because there is no natural connection between these qualities.¸ This distinction, however, is often disregarded.
Alt (?), a. & n. [See Alto.] (Mus.) The higher part of the scale. See Alto.
To be in ~, to be in an exalted state of mind.
AlÏta¶ian (?), AlÏta¶ic (?), a. [Cf. F. alta‹que.] Of or pertaining to the Altai, a mountain chain in Central Asia.
Al¶tar (?), n. [OE. alter, auter, autier, fr. L. altare, pl. altaria, ~, prob. fr. altus high: cf. OF. alter, autier, F. autel. Cf. Altitude.] 1. A raised structure (as a square or oblong erection of stone or wood) on which sacrifices are offered or incense burned to a deity.
Noah builded an altar unto the Lord.
Gen. viii. 20.
2. In the Christian church, a construction of stone, wood, or other material for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist; the communion table.
µ Altar is much used adjectively, or as the first part of a compound; as, altar bread or altarÐbread.
÷ cloth or ÷Ðcloth, the cover for an ~ in a Christian church, usually richly embroidered. Ð ÷ cushion, a cushion laid upon the ~ in a Christian church to support the service book. Ð ÷ frontal. See Frontal. Ð ÷ rail, the railing in front of the ~ or communion table. Ð ÷ screen, a wall or partition built behind an ~ to protect it from approach in the rear. Ð ÷ tomb, a tomb resembling an ~ in shape, etc. Ð Family ~, place of family devotions. Ð To ?ead (as a bride) to the ~, to marry; Ð said of a woman.
Al¶tarÏage (?), n. [Cf. OF. auterage, autelage.] 1. The offerings made upon the altar, or to a church.
2. The profit which accrues to the priest, by reason of the altar, from the small tithes.
Shipley.
Al¶tarÏist (?), n. [Cf. LL. altarista, F. altariste.] (Old Law) (a) A chaplain. (b) A vicar of a church.
Al¶tarÏpiece· (?), n. The painting or piece of sculpture above and behind the altar; reredos.
Al¶tarÏwise· (?), adv. In the proper position of an altar, that is, at the east of a church with its ends towards the north and south.
Shipley.
AltÏaz¶iÏmuth (?), n. [Alltude + azimuth.] (Astron.) An instrument for taking azimuths and altitudes simultaneously.
Al¶ter (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Altered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Altering.] [F. alt‚rer, LL. alterare, fr. L. alter other, alius other. Cf. Else, Other.] 1. To make otherwise; to change in some respect, either partially or wholly; to vary; to modify. ½To alter the king's course.¸ ½To alter the condition of a man.¸ ½No power in Venice can alter a decree.¸
Shak.
It gilds all objects, but it alters none.
Pope.
My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
Ps. lxxxix. 34.
2. To agitate; to affect mentally. [Obs.]
Milton.
3. To geld. [Colloq.]
Syn. - Change, Alter. Change is generic and the stronger term. It may express a loss of identity, or the substitution of one thing in place of another; alter commonly expresses a partial change, or a change in form or details without destroying identity.
Al¶ter, v. i. To become, in some respects, different; to vary; to change; as, the weather alters almost daily; rocks or minerals alter by exposure. ½The law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.¸
Dan. vi. 8.
Al·terÏaÏbil¶iÏty (?), n. [Cf. F. alt‚rabilit‚.] The quality of being alterable; alterableness.
Al¶terÏaÏble (?), a. [Cf. F. alt‚rable.] Capable of being altered.
Our condition in this world is mutable and uncertain, alterable by a thousand accidents.
Rogers.
Al¶terÏaÏbleÏness, n. The quality of being alterable; variableness; alterability.
Al¶terÏaÏbly, adv. In an alterable manner.
Al¶terÏant (?), a. [LL. alterans, p. pr.: cf. F. alt‚rant.] Altering; gradually changing.
Bacon.
Al¶terÏant, n. An alterative. [R.]
Chambers.
Al·terÏa¶tion (?), n. [Cf. F. alt‚ration.] 1. The act of altering or making different.
Alteration, though it be from worse to better, hath in it incoveniences.
Hooker.
2. The state of being altered; a change made in the form or nature of a thing; changed condition.
Ere long might perceive
Strange alteration in me.
Milton.
Appius Claudius admitted to the senate the sons of those who had been slaves; by which, and succeeding alterations, that council degenerated into a most corrupt.
Swift.
Al¶terÏaÏtive (?), a. [L. alterativus: cf. F. alt‚ratif.] Causing alteration. Specifically: (Med.) Gradually changing, or tending to change, a morbid state of the functions into one of health.
Burton.
Al¶terÏaÏtive, n. A medicine or treatment which gradually induces a change, and restores healthy functions without sensible evacuations.
Al¶terÏcate (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Altercated; p. pr. & vb. n. Altercating.] [L. altercatus, p. p. of altercare, altercari, fr. alter another. See Alter.] The contend in words; to dispute with zeal, heat, or anger; to wrangle.
Al·terÏca¶tion (?; 277), n. [F. altercation, fr. L. altercatio.] Warm contention in words; dispute carried on with heat or anger; controversy; wrangle; wordy contest. ½Stormy altercations.¸
Macaulay.
Syn. - Altercation, Dispute, Wrangle. The term dispute is in most cases, but not necessarily, applied to a verbal contest; as, a dispute on the lawfulness of war. An altercation is an angry dispute between two parties, involving an interchange of severe language. A wrangle is a confused and noisy altercation.
Their whole life was little else than a perpetual wrangling and altercation.
Hakewill.
Al¶terÏcaÏtive (?), a. Characterized by wrangling; scolding. [R.]
Fielding.
AlÏter¶iÏty (?), n. [F. alt‚rit‚.] The state or quality of being other; a being otherwise. [R.]
For outness is but the feeling of otherness (alterity) rendered intuitive, or alterity visually represented.
Coleridge.
Al¶tern (?), a. [L. alternus, fr. alter another: cf. F. alterne.] Acting by turns; alternate.
Milton.
÷ base (Trig.), a second side made base, in distinction a side previously regarded as base.
AlÏter¶naÏcy (?), n. Alternateness; alternation. [R.]
Mitford.
AlÏter¶nant (?), a. [L. alternans, p. pr.: cf. F. alternant. See Alternate, v. t.] (Geol.) Composed of alternate layers, as some rocks.
AlÏter¶nate (?; 277), a. [L. alternatus, p. p. of alternate, fr. alternus. See Altern, Alter.] 1. Being or succeeding by turns; one following the other in succession of time or place; by turns first one and then the other; hence, reciprocal.
And bid alternate passions fall and rise.
Pope.
2. Designating the members in a series, which regularly intervene between the members of another series, as the odd or even numbers of the numerals; every other; every second; as, the alternate members 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.; read every alternate line.
3. (Bot.) Distributed, as leaves, singly at different heights of the stem, and at equal intervals as respects angular divergence.
Gray.
÷ alligation. See Alligation. Ð ÷ angles (Geom.), the internal and angles made by two lines with a third, on opposite sides of it. It the parallels AB, CD, are cut by the line EF, the angles AGH, GHD, as also the angles BGH and GHC, are called alternate angles. Ð ÷ generation. (Biol.) See under Generation.
AlÏter¶nate (?; 277), n. 1. That which alternates with something else; vicissitude. [R.]
Grateful alternates of substantial.
Prior.
2. A substitute; one designated to take the place of another, if necessary, in performing some duty.
3. (Math.) A proportion derived from another proportion by interchanging the means.
Al¶terÏnate (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Alternated; p. pr. & vb. n. Alternating.] [L. alternatus, p. p. of alternare. See Altern.] To perform by turns, or in succession; to cause to succeed by turns; to interchange regularly.
The most high God, in all things appertaining unto this life, for sundry wise ends alternates the disposition of good and evil.
Grew.
Al¶terÏnate, v. i. 1. To happen, succeed, or act by turns; to follow reciprocally in place or time; Ð followed by with; as, the flood and ebb tides alternate with each other.
Rage, shame, and grief alternate in his breast.
J. Philips.
Different species alternating with each other.
Kirwan.
2. To vary by turns; as, the land alternates between rocky hills and sandy plains.
AlÏter¶nateÏly (?), adv. 1. In reciprocal succession; succeeding by turns; in alternate order.
2. (Math.) By alternation; when, in a proportion, the antecedent term is compared with antecedent, and consequent.
AlÏter¶nateÏness, n. The quality of being alternate, or of following by turns.
Al·terÏna¶tion (?), n. [L. alternatio: cf. F. alternation.] 1. The reciprocal succession of things in time or place; the act of following and being followed by turns; alternate succession, performance, or occurrence; as, the alternation of day and night, cold and heat, summer and winter, hope and fear.
2. (Math.) Permutation.
3. The response of the congregation speaking alternately with the minister.
Mason.
÷ of generation. See under Generation.
AlÏter¶naÏtive (?), a. [Cf. F. alternatif.] 1. Offering a choice of two things.
2. Disjunctive; as, an alternative conjunction.
3. Alternate; reciprocal. [Obs.]
Holland.
AlÏter¶naÏtive, n. [Cf. F. alternative, LL. alternativa.] 1. An offer of two things, one of which may be chosen, but not both; a choice between two things, so that if one is taken, the other must be left.
There is something else than the mere alternative of absolute destruction or unreformed existence.
Burke.
2. Either of two things or propositions offered to one's choice. Thus when two things offer a choice of one only, the two things are called alternatives.
Having to choose between two alternatives, safety and war, you obstinately prefer the worse.
Jowett (Thucyd.).
3. The course of action or the thing offered in place of another.
If this demand is refused the alternative is war.
Lewis.
With no alternative but death.
Longfellow.
4. A choice between more than two things; one of several things offered to choose among.
My decided preference is for the fourth and last of th?? alternatives.
Gladstone.
AlÏter¶naÏtiveÏly, adv. In the manner of alternatives, or that admits the choice of one out of two things.
AlÐter¶naÏtiveÏness, n. The quality of being alternative, or of offering a choice between two.
AlÏter¶niÏty (?), n. [LL. alternitas.] Succession by turns; alternation. [R.]
Sir T. Browne.
{ Ø AlÏth‘¶a , Ø AlÏthe¶a } (?), n. [L. althaea, Gr. ?.] (Bot.) (a) A genus of plants of the Mallow family. It includes the officinal marsh mallow, and the garden hollyhocks. (b) An ornamental shrub (Hibiscus Syriacus) of the Mallow family.
AlÏthe¶ine (?), n.ÿ(Chem.) Asparagine.
AlÏtho¶ (?), conj. Altough. [Reformed spelling.]
Alt¶horn· (?), n. [Alt + horn.] (Mus.) An instrument of the saxhorn family, used exclusively in military music, often replacing the French horn.
Grove.
AlÏthough¶ (?), conj. [All + though; OE. al thagh.] Grant all this; be it that; supposing that; notwithstanding; though.
Although all shall be offended, yet will no I.
Mark xiv. 29.
Syn. - Although, Though. Although, which originally was perhaps more emphatic than though, is now interchangeable with it in the sense given above. Euphonic consideration determines the choice.
AlÏtil¶oÏquence (?), n. Lofty speech; pompous language. [R.]
Bailey.
AlÏtil¶oÏquent (?), a. [L. altus (adv. alte) high + loquens, p. pr. of loqui to speak.] HighÐsounding; pompous in speech. [R.]
Bailey.
AlÏtim¶eÏter (?), n. [LL. altimeter; altus high + metrum, Gr. ?, measure: cf. F. altimŠtre.] An instrument for taking altitudes, as a quadrant, sextant, etc.
Knight.
AlÏtim¶eÏtry (?), n. [Cf. F. altim‚trie.] The art of measuring altitudes, or heights.
AlÏtin¶car (?), n. See Tincal.
Al¶tiÏscope (?), n. [L. altus high + Gr. ? to view.] An arrangement of lenses and mirrors.