eye Rania eae
ed =i
aoee ere
teas Li Cae
FS ae: Ses
Sansa, Sis
Library of Concordia
Collegiate Institute Bronxville, New York
In Memory Of
>I Sa
Adolph F. Konther, M.D. Pres ented by Ae Margaret Konther of Ste Peter's Ev. Luth. Church, Hale Ave. Brooklyn, N.Ye
ALTEMUS’ EDITION
DICTIONARY
PHRASE AND FABLE
GIVING THE
Derivation, Source, or Origin of Common Phrases, Allusions, and Words that have a Tale to Tell
BY THE REV.
Pee CORHAM,.. BREWER, LE.D.
NEW EDITION REVISED, CORRECTED, AND ENLARGED
TO WHICH IS ADDED
. A CONCISE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
PHILADELPHIA Henry Attemus Company
¢
VOVTVAA 25 AX MR a
YAANOITIIG
oe : 4O “ : 7s,
ME oo, d he Alan ay“ Fem se SOF wt 4 1 * See id yan ae ft: a Nae ¥ tte Gamei\ “homeo Ao aig ty oa Mt shiv > suEh An tod |
~
V9 3HT va vi d,1 G1 Aaa
AOVAGA, WARK, GAYKAIAe GAA ATOMAROT
DICTIONARY
, ' OF if . i ’ Wea Mae i Lie Mik 6 4 +B 6 wetiec! ones od fiftion .. a \ % fad i waty q Fah Se + ’ ‘ ow Wee oe Ide oct 7 Nisrteecul? Paacy Ace LOR Poe rate tou Aitus
atten gears od eit Reaaebes id Teqink pulology. Mere cicthine'fo Cer omy gag sitny, bens Dichavisee bats heer jobviehed di Vas Cotedy the in any pte g pore by of Br« acheiaes 2 Creoet, Daitala gpeernanghe> aE.
feve Pwic rudcter (20. aca 2 Kotiphaes of ne ai.
, OS
Mn ove ; tie ; ‘ey Sty OER aes wpm ia
Thr; v
VAAVOTT DIG
%
FO
hers
+
\
a.
¢ c
{J
r * ¥
ee.
PREFACE To THE NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION OF
‘PHRASE AND FABLE,’ 1894.
It is now about a quarter of a century since the first Edition of ‘‘ Phrase and Fable’’ was published, and the continuous sale of the book is a proof that it supplies a want very largely felt.
In the interval much new information has been unearthed on the subjects reated of in the Dictionary, many errors of philology have been exposed, and an exactitude has been reached which was almost impossible when the book was first undertaken more than fifty years ago, During this length of time the book or its manuscript has been always at the author’s elbow, that new matter might be laid in store, errors corrected, and suggestions utilized, to render the work more generally useful, and more thoroughly to be depended on.
It has been thought by those concerned, that, as the author is now in the 85th year of his age, it would be desirable for him finally to overhaul the entire book— a revision not compatible with such clipping and verbal changes as can be made in stereotyped plates; this ‘“‘ New and Enlarged Edition’’ has, accordingly, been thoroughly recast, and every item has been printed in a freshtype. This has enabled the author to make additions and corrections, and to substitute new articles for less useful ones ad /ibitum ; so that this ‘‘ New and Enlarged Edition”’ is virtually a new work on the old lines.
The last ten years of this Nineteenth Century has been pre-eminently distin- guished for researches in English philology. More dictionaries on our gigantic and magnificent language have been published in this decade than in any preceding one, and thousands of ripe scholars in Great Britain and America have “ con- tributed to improve their character; so that now, no dictionary of any other language can touch even the fringe of our best English exponents of a tongue spoken by more than a hundred million of the earth’s inhabitants. “The research, the accuracy, the precision now demanded are quite unprecedented, and the great public interest taken in the matter might justify our calling the period ‘‘ Tke Era of English Philology.”
In this present “‘ New and Enlarged Edition’’ of this “ Dictionary of Phrase and Fable’’ advantage has been taken of this great literary movement from every
i
iv PREFACE.
available source. More than one-third of the book consists of entire new matter. Some 350 extra pages have been added, and all that has been retained of previous editions have been subjected to the severest scrutiny.
Thanks are most deservedly due, and are here most gratefully tendered to the many hundreds of correspondents who have written to the author on the subjects contained in his book. Some have been specialists; some have suggested new articles, some have sent apt quotations ; and others have gone diligently through the edition in their possession’ from beginning to end, and have sent their observa- tions to the author, with permission to use them according to his judgment.
Of these last, especial mention should be made of the Rev. Arthur M. Rendell, M. A., of Coston Rectory, Melton Mowbray, of Dr. Huxley of Bath, Mr. J. Edward Cooper, Stapleford, (a most judicious and painstaking critic), of Geo. Martin, Esq., Principal of Wirral Academy, Birkenhead, F, Tolhausen, Esq., a well-known author, and of a Barrister at law whose name I have not obtained permission to publish.
To set down the names of others whose correspondence fills'a box of no incon- siderable size, would serve no useful purpose, and would not interest the general reader ; but it may, without vanity, be hoped, with all this help, and all the pains of the author for more than half a century, that this Treasury of Literary bric-a- brac will become a standard book of reference, and a guide to be relied on.
E. CoBHAM BREWER, Lidwinslowe, Newark.
Autumn, 1894.
aye
THE
DICTIONARY
OF
PHRASE anp FABLE.
Re
A. This letter is modified from the Hebrew x» (aleph = an ox), which was meant to indicate the outline of an ox’s head.
A among the Egyptians is denoted by the hieroglyphic which represents the ibis. . Among the Greeks it was the symbol of a bad augury in the sacrifices.
_A in logic is the symbol of a universal affirmative. Ad asserts, Z denies, Thus, syllogisms in Javdara contain three uni- versal affirmative propositions.
' Al means first-rate—the very best. InLloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping, the character of the ship’s hull is designated by letters, and that of the anchors, cables, and stores by figures, Al means hull first-rate, and also an- chors, cables, and stores; A2, hull first-rate, but furniture second-rate. Vessels of an inferior character are clas- sified under the letters m, E, and 1.
Blic _ is a prime girl, she is ; she is Al."—Sam
A.B. (See ABLE.) A.B.C. = Aerated Bread Company. ABC Book. A primer, a book in
which articles are set in alphabetical.
order, as the 4 BC Railway Guide. The old Primers contained the Cates chism, as is evident from the lines :—- . “Thac is question now; .
And then comes answer like an Absey book.” - Shukespeare: King John, i. 1. _ A.B.C. Process (The) of making artificial manure. An acrostic of Alum, Blood, Clay, the three chief ingredients.
_ _ A.E.1.0.U. The device adopted
by Frederick V., Archduke of Austria
ihe Emperor Frederick III. — 1440- 493).
Austria Est Impeérare Orbi Universo,
Alles Erdreich Ist Oesterreich Untertban, Austria’s Empire Is Overall Universal.
To which wags added after the war of 1866,
Austria’s Emperor Is Ousted Utterly. Frederick IJ, of Prussia is said to have translated the motto thus :—
“Austria Erit In Orbe Ultima” (Austria wilk one day be lowest in the world)
A.U.C. Anno urbis condite (Latin), ‘¢ from the foundation of the city ”’—i.¢., Rome.
Aaron. An Aaron’s serpent. Some- thing so powerful as to swallow up minor powers.—Exodus vii. 10-12,
Ab. Ad ovo. From the very beginning. Stasinos, in the epic punt eatied the Little liad, does not rush iz medias res, but begins with the eggs of Leda, from one of which Helen was born. If Leda had not laid this egg, Helen would
| never havebeenborn. If Helen had not
been born, Paris could not have eloped with her. If Paris had not eloped with Helen, there would have been no Trojan War, eto.
Ab ovo usque ad mala, From the first dish to the last. A Roman cena (dinner) consisted of three parts. The first course was the ah ir and consisted chiefly of eggs, with stimulants ; the second wus the ‘dinner proper ;”? and the third the dessert, at which ada (i.¢., all sorts o: apples, pears, quinces, pomegrarmtes, 4h 80 on) formed the most conspicuous, —Hor, Sat. I, iii. &
*
Aback
2 Abd
Aback. J was taken aback—I was greatly astonished—taken by surprise— startled. It is a sea term. A ship is ‘taken aback’? when the sails are sud- denly carried by the wind back against the mast, instantly staying the ship’s Progress ory dangerous in a strong gale. ;
Ab‘acus., A small frame with wires stretched across it. Each wire contains ten movable balls, which can be shifted backwards or for- wards, so as to vary ad libitum the num- ber in two or more blocks. It is used to teach children addi- tion and subtraction.
The ancient Greeks and Romans em-
lv it for calculations, and so do the
hinese. The word is derived from the
Phen. abak (dust); the Orientals used
,tables covered with dust for ciphering ‘and diagrams. In Turkish schools this method is still used for teaching writing. \The multiplication table invented b ‘Pythagoras is called Ab’acus Pythagor’s- ‘cus. (atin: abacus ; Greek, éBa£.)
Abaddon. The angel of the bottom- less pit (Rev.ix.11). The Hebrew abad means ‘‘ he perished.”’
* “The angell of the bottomlesse pytt, whose
sname in the hebrew tonge is Abadon.’”—Tindale.
Abam‘bou. The evil spirit of the Camma tribes in Africa. <A fire is kept always burning in his house. He is supposed to have the power of causing pace and death,
—00 ——00000000— —0000——000000— —0——000000000—
—0000000——000— —00000 —— 00000— —000000000——0—
Abandon means put at anyone’s
orders; hence, to give up. (Latin, ad, to; dann-um, late Latin for ‘‘a decree.)
Abandon fait larron, As oppor- tunity makes the thief, the person who negiects to take proper care of his goods, leads into temptation, hence the proverb, ‘* Neglect leads to theft.”
Ab‘aris. The dart of Abaris. Abaris, the Scythian, was a priest of Apollo; and the god gave him a golden arrow on which to ride through the air. This
. dart rendered him. invisible; it also cured diseases, and gave oracles, Abaris gave it to Pythag oras,
“The dart of Abaris carried the philosopher wheresdever he desired it,"—Willmott. * Abate (2 syl.) means properly to knock down. (French, abattre, whence a batiue, i.¢., wholesale destruction of game; O.E. a-bedtan.)
Abate, in horsemanship, is to per- form well the downward motion. <A “horse is said to abate when, working upon curvets, he puts or beats down béth his hind legs to the ground at once, and keeps exact time.
Abatement, in heraldry, is a mark of dishonour annexed to coat armour whereby the honour of it is abated.
Abiaton. (Greek a, not; Baive, T go.) As inaceessible as Abdton. Artemisia, to commemorate her conquest of Rhodes, erected two statues in the island, one representing herself, and the other em-’ blematical of Rhodes. When the. Rhodians recovered their liberty they looked upon this monument as a kind of palladium, and to prevent its destruction surrounded it with a fortified enclosure which they called Abaton, or the inac- cessible place. (Lucan speaks of an island difficult of access in the fens of Memphis, called Abiton.)
Abb’assides (3 syl.). A dynasty of caliphs who reigned from 750-1258. The name is derived from Abbas, uncle. of Mahomet. The most celebrated of them was Haroun-al-Raschid (born 765,' reigned 786-808).
Abbey” Laird (47). An insolvent debtor sheltered by the precincts of Holyrood Abbey.
“As diligence cannot be proceeded with on Sunday, the Abbey Lairds (as they were jocularly called) were enabled to come forth on that day | to mingle in our society.”—R. Chambers.
Abbey-lubber (47). An idle, well-
>
' fed dependent or loafer.
“It came into a common proverbe to call him an Abbay-lubber, that was idle, wel fed, a lon lewd, lither loiterer, that might workeand wou not.”—The Burnynge of Paules Church, 1663.
It is used also of religions in con- tempt; see Dryden’s Spanish Friar.
Abbot of Misrule, or Lord of Misrule. A person who used to superintend the Christmas diversions. In France the “‘ Abbot of Misrule’’ was called L’abbé de Liesse (jollity). In Scotlund the master of revels was called the ‘‘ Master of Unreason.”’
Abbotsford. A name et “by Sir Walter Scott to Clarty Hole, on the south bank of the Tweed, after it be- came his residence. Sir Walter devised the name from a fancy he loved to in- dulge in, that the abbots of Melrose Abbey, in ancient times, passed over the fords of the Tweed. _ val) boolt!
Abd in Arabic = slave or pervent as Abd-Allah (servant God), A’ el-
Cot : | Kader (servant of the Highty Ondy, Abdo
Abdael
Abhor
‘al-Latif (servant: of the Gracious One), etc.
Abdael (2 syl.). George Monk, third Duke of Albemarle. “Brave Abdael o'er the prophets’ school was
placed ; — with all his father’s virtues ced. ,
ithout one Hebrew’s blood, restored the crown.” Dryden and Tait: Absalom and Achitophel, Part if,
2 Tate’s blunder for Abdiel (7.v.).
Abdallah, the father of Mahomet, ‘was so beautiful, that when he married Amina, 200 virgins broke their hearts from disappointed love.— Washington Irving: Life of Mahomet.
Abdallah. Brother and predecessor
of Giaffir, pacha of Aby’dos. He was murdered by Giaffir (2 syl.).— Byron: | Bride of Abydos. _ Ab’‘dals. Persian fanatics, who think it a merit to kill anyone of a different religion; and if slain in the attempt, are accounted martyrs.
Abde’ra. A maritime town of Thrace, said in fable to have been founded by Abdéra, sister of Diomede. It was so overrun with rats that it was abandoned, and the Abderitans migrated to Mace- donia.
Abderi’tan, A native of Abdéra, a maritime city of Thrace. The Abderi- tans were proverbial for stupidity, hence the phrase, ‘‘ You have no more mind than an Abderite.’’ Yet the city gave birth to some of the wisest men of
' Greece: as_Democritos (the laughing philosopher), Protagéras (the great so- phist), Anaxarchos (the philosopher and friend of Alexander), Hecatzos (the historian), etc.
Abderitan Laughter. Scoffin laughter, incessant laughter. So calle
from Abdéra, the birthplace of Democ- .
ritos, the laughing philosopher.
Ab‘derite (3syl.). A scoffer, so called ‘from Democ’sitos.
Abde'rus. One of Herakles’s friends,
devoured by the horses of Diomede.
' Diomede gave him his horses to hold, and they devoured him.
Ab‘diel. The faithful seraph who withstood Satan when he urged the angels to revolt. (See Paradise Lost, Bk. v., lines 896, etc.)
see adheres, with the faith of Abdiel, to the an W.
ent form of adoratiun.”—Sir W. Scott.
' Abeceda’‘rian. One who teaches or is learning his AB C. : Abecedarian hymns. Hymns which
began with the letter A, and each verse
or clause following took up the letters of the alphabet in regular succession. (See Acrostic PorTRY.)
AbeI and Cain. The Mahometan fradition of the death of Abel is this: Cain was born with a twin sister who was named Aclima, and Abel with a twin sister named Jumella. Adam wished Cain to marry Abel’s twin sister, and Abel to marry Cain’s. Cain would not consent to this arrangement, and Adam proposed to refer the question to God by means of a sacrifice. God ze- jected Cain’s sacrifice to signify his dis- approval of his marriage with Aclima, his twin sister, and Cain slew his brother in a fit of jealousy.
Abel Keene. A village schoolmaster, afterwards a merchant’s clerk. He was led astray, lost his place, and hanged himself.— Crabbe: Borough, Letter xxi.
A’‘belites (3 syl.), Abel/ians, or Abe- lonians, A Christian sect of the fourth century, chiefly found in Hippo (N. Africa). They married, but lived in continence, as they affirm Abel did, The sect was maintained by adopting the children of others. No children of Abel being mentioned in Scripture, the Abelites assume that he had none.
Abes’sa, The “impersonation of Abbeys and Convents, represented by Spenser as a damsel, When Una asked if she had seen the Red Cross Knight, Abessa, frightened at the lion, ran to the cottage of blind Superstition, and shut the door. Una arrived, and the hon burst the door open. The meaning is, that at the Reformation, when Truth came, the abbeys and convents got alarmed, and would not let Truth enter, but England (the lion) broke down the door.—Faérie Queen, i. 3,
Abesta. <A book said to have been written by Abraham as a commentary on the Zend and the Pazend, It is furthermore said that Abraham read these three books in the midst of the furnace into which he was cast by Nimrod.— Persian Mythology,
Abey’ance pally means something gaped after (French, bayer, to gape). The allusion is to men s ing with their mouths open, in expectation of some sight about to appear.
Abhigit. The propitiatory sacrifice
. made by an Indian rajah who has slain a priest without premeditation.
Abhor’ (Latin, ab, away from, and horreo, to shrink ; originally, to shudder,
Abiala
Above
have the hair on end). To abhor is to have a natural antipathy, and to show it by shuddering with disgust.
Abiala. Wife of Makambi; African deities. She holds a pistol in her hand, and is greatly feared, Her aid is im- plored in sickness.
Abida. A god of the Kalmucks, who receives the souls of the dead at the moment of decease, and gives them petmniesion to. enter a new body, either
uman or not, and have another spell of life on earth. If the spirit is spotless it may, if it likes, rise and live in the air,
Abidhar’ma. The book of meta- physics in the Tripit'aka (q.v.).
Abigail, <A lady’s maid, or lady- maid. Abigail, wife of Nabal, wh introduced herself to David and after- wards married him, is a well-known Scripture heroine (1 Sam. xxv. 3). Abi- gail was a popular middle class Christian name in the seventeenth century. Beau- mont and Fletcher, in Zhe Scornful Lady, call the ‘‘waiting gentlewoman” Abigail, a name employed by Swift, Fielding, and others, in their novels. Probably ‘Abigail Hill,’’ the original name of Mrs. Masham, waiting-woman to Queen Anne, popularised the name.
Abim’elech is no proper name, but a regal title of the Philistines, meaning Father-king.
Able, An able seaman is a skilled seaman. Such a man is termed an A,B. (Able-Bodied) ; wnskilled seamen are called ‘‘ boys” without regard to age.
Able-bodied Seaman. A sailor of the first class. A crew is divided into three classes:—(l) able seamen, or skilled sailors, termed A.B. ; (2) ordin- ary seamen; and (3) boys, which in- clude green- hands, or inexperienced men, without regard to age or size.
Aboard. He fell aboard of me—met me; abused me. A ship is said to fall aboard another when, being in motion, it runs against the other,
To go aboard is to embark, to go on the board or deck.
Aboard main tack is to draw one of the lower corners of the main-sail down to the chess-tree. Figuratively, it means “to keep to the point,”
Aboll'a. An ancient military garment worn bythe Greeks and Romans, opposed to the’ toga or robe'of peace. The abolla being worn by the lower orders, was
affected by philosophers in the vanity of humility.
Abom'inate (abominor, I pray that the omen may be averted ; used on men- tioning anything unlucky), As ill-omened things are disliked, so, by a simple figure of speech, what we dislike we consider ill-omened.
Abomina'tion of Desolation (77c). The Roman standard is so called (Matt. xxiv. 15). As it was set up in the a temple, it was an abomination ;\ and, as it brought destruction, it was the ‘* abomination of desolation.’’
Abon Hassan, A rich merchant transferred during sleep to the bed and palace of the Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid. Next morning he was treated as the caliph, and every effort was made to make him forget his identity. Arabian Nights (‘‘The Sleeper Awakened’’). The same trick was played on Christo- pher Sly, in the Induction of Shake- speare’s comedy of Taming of the Shrew ; and, according to Burton (Anatomy of Melancholy, ii. 2, 4), by Philippe the Good, Duke of Burgundy, on his mar- riage with Eleono'ra.
“Were I caliph for a day, as honest Abon Hassan, I would scourge me these jugglers out of the Commonwealth.”—Sir Walter Scott.
Abonde (Dame). The French Santa Claus, the good fairy who comes at night to bring toys to children while they sleep, especially on New Year's Day.
Abortive Flowers are those which have stamens but no pistils.
Abou ebn Sina, commonly called Avicenna. A great Persian physician, born at Shiraz, whose canons of medi- cine were those adopted by Hippoc rates and Aristotle. Died 1037.
_Abou-Bekr, called Father of the Virgin, i.e., Mahomet’s favourite wife. He was the first caliph, and was founder of se sect called the Sunnites. .(571- 634, z
Abou Jahi'a. The angel of death in. Mohammedan mythology. Called Azrael by the Arabs, and Mordad by the Persians. .
Aboulomri (in Mohammedan mytho- logy). A fabulous bird of the vulture sort which lives 1,000 years. Called by the Persians Kerkés, and by the Turks Ak-Baba.—Herbelot. s+ cetyl
Above properly applies only tomatter _
_ on the same page, but has been extended -
Above-board
to any previous part of the book, as See above, p. *.
Above-board. In a straightforward manner. Conjurers place their hands under the table when they are preparing their tricks, but wove when they show them. “Let all be above-board” means ‘‘let there be no wnder-hand work, but let us see everything.”
Above par. Acommercial term mean- ing that the article referred to is more than its nominal value. Thus, if. you must give more than £100 for a £100 share in a bank company, a railway share, or other stock, we say the stock is above par.’? .
If, on the other hand, a nominal £100 worth can be bought for less than £100, we say the stock 1s ‘‘ below par.’’
Figuratively, a person in low spirits or ill health says he is ‘below par,”’
Above your hook—i.¢., beyond your comprehension; beyond your mark. ‘The allusion is to hat-pegs placed in rows; the higher rows are above the reach of sinall statures.
Abracada’bra. A charm. It is said that Abracadabra was the supreme deity of the Assyrians, Q. Sevérus Sammon icus recommended the use of the word as a powerful antidote against ague, flux, and toothache, The word was to be written on aaa and suspended round the neck by a linen thread, in the form given below :—~
ABRACADABRA ABRACADABR ABRACADAB ABRACADA ABRACAD ABRACGA ABRAG AURA ABR AB
A
Abrac’ax, also written Adrax'as or
Abras‘ax, in Persian mythology denotes the Supreme Being. In Greek votation it stands for 365. In Persian mythology Abracax presides over 365 impersonated virtues, one of which is supposed to pre- vail on each day of the year. In the second century the word was employed by the Basilid’ians for the deity ; it was
the pele of the Gnostic hier- archy, and that from which sprang their ‘numerous /Hons. (See ABRAXAS STONES.)
“ AbRoB ie. Saiahnersar is parents. According to Moham- wedun mythology, the parents of Abra- ; hemian deists, so ca
Abrahamites
ham were Prince Azar and his wife, Adna.
His infuney. As King Nimrod had been told that one shortly to be born would dethrone him, he commanded the death of all such; so Adna retired toa cave where Abraham was born. He was nourished by sucking two of her fingers, one of which supplied milk and the other honey.
ITis boyhood. At the age of fifteen months he was equal in size to a lad of fifteen, and very wise; so his father introduced him to the court of King ergs eri : Dibliothéque Orien- tale.
ITis offering. According to Moham- medan tradition, the mountain. on which Abraham offered up his son was Arfaday ; but is more generally thought to have been Moriah.
His death. The Ghebers say that Abraham was thrown into the tire by Nimrod’s order, but the flame turned into a bed of roses, on which the child Abraham went to sleep.—- Tavernier.
“Sweet and welcome as the bed
For their own infant prophet spread,
When nitying Heaven to roses turned
The death-flames that beneath him burned.” 7. Moore ; Fire Worshippers,
To Sham Abraham, To pretend illness or distress, in order’to get off work. (See ABRAM-MAN.)
“T have heard people say Sham Abram you may, But must not sham Abraham Newland,” 1, Dibdin ov Upton,
Abraham Newland was cashier of the Bank of England, and signed the notes,
Abraham’s Bosom. The repose of the happy in death (Luke xvi. 22). Tho figure is taken from the ancient custom of allowing a dear friend to recline at dinner on your bosom. Thus the beloved John reclined on the bosom of Jesus.
There is no leaping from Deli'lal’s lay trto Abrahan’s bosom—i.e., those who live and die in notorious sin must uot expect to go to heaven at death,—Dos- ton; Crook in the Lot,
Abraham Newland. (42), -A bauuk- note. Socalled because, in theearly part of the nineteenth century, none were genuine but those signed by this name.
Abraham‘ic Covenant. The cove- nant made by God with Abraham, that Messiah should spring from his seed. This promise was given to Abraham, because he left his country and father’s house to live in a strange land, as God
‘told him,
Abrahamites (4 yl). Certain Bo- led because they
Abram-colour
Absquatulate
professed to believe what Abraham be- lieved: before he was circumcised. The sect was forbidden by the Emperor Joseph II. in 1783.
Abram-colour. Probably a_cor- ruption of Abron, meaning auburn. Halliwell quotes the following from Coriolanus, i. 3: ‘Our heads are some brown, some black, some Abram, some bald.’? And again, ‘‘Where is the eldest son of Priam, the Abram-ecoloured Trojan?’’ ‘A goodly, long, thick Abram- coloured beard.” —Bhut, Master Constable.
Hall, in his Satires, iii. 5, uses abron for auburn. “A lusty courtier . . . with abren locks was fairly furnishéd.”
Abram-Man, or Abraham Cove, A Tom-o’ Bedlam; a naked vagabond; a begging impostor.
The Abraham Ward, in Bedlam, had for its inmates begging lunatics, who used to array themselves ‘‘ with party- coloured ribbons, tape in their hats, a fox-tail hanging down, a long stick with streamers,”’ and beg alms; but “for all their seeming madness, they had wit - enough to steal as they went along.”’ —Canting Academy,
See King Lear, ii. 3.
In Beaumont and Fletcher we have several synonyms :—
“And these, what name or title e’er they bear, Jackman or Pat‘rico, Cranke or pins ta mst lh Fraier or Abram-mean, I speak to all.
Beggar's Bush, ii. 1.
Abraxas Stones. Stones with the word Abraxas engraved on them, and used as talismans. They were cut into symbolic forms combining a fowl’s head, a serpent’s body, and human limbs. (See ABRACAX.)
Abreast. Side by side, the breasts being all in a line.
The ships were all abreast—i.e., their heads were all equally advanced, as soldiers marching abreast.
Abridge is not formed from the word bridge ; but comes from the Latin abbrevidre, to shorten, from brevis (short), through the French abreger (to shorten).
Abroach, To set mischief abroach is to set it afoot. The figure is from a cask of liquor, which is broached that the liqubr may be drawn from it. (Fr., brocher, to prick, abrocher.)
Abroad. You are all abroad. Wide of the mark; not at home with the sub- ject. Abroad; in all directions. .
“An elm displays her dusky arms abroad.” Dryden,
Abrogate. When the Roman senate wanted a law to be passed, they asked the people to give their votes in its fa- vour, ‘The Latin for this is rogare legem (to solicit or propose a law). If they wanted a law repealed, they asked the people to vote against it; this was ab- rogare legem (to solicit against the law).
Absalom. James, Duke of Mon- mouth, the handsome but rebellious son of Charles II. in Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel (1649-1685).
Absalom and Achitophel. A poli- tical satire by Dryden (1649-1685). David is meant for Charles II,; Absalom for his natural son James, Duke of Mon- mouth, handsome like Absalom, and, like him, rebellious. Achitophel is meant for Lord Shaftesbury, Zimri for the Duke of Buckingham, and Abdael for Monk. The selections are so skilfully made that the history of David seems repeated. Of Absalom, Dryden says (Part i.) :-—
“ Whate’er he did was done with sd much ease,
In him alone 'twas natural to please ;
His motions al] accompanied with grace,
And paradise was opened in his face.”
Abscond’ means properly to hide; but we generally use the word in the ~ sense of stealing off secretly from an
employer. (Latin, abscondo.) Absent. ‘Out of mind as soon as
out of sight.” Generally misquoted
“Out of sight, out of mind,’’—Lord
Brooke. d
The absent are always wrong. The translation of the French proverb, Les absents ont toujours tort.
Absent Man (The). The character of Bruyére’s Adsent Man, translated in: the Spectator and exhibited: on the stage, is a caricature of Comte de Brancas.
Absolute. 4 Captain Absolute, a bold, despotic man, determined to have his own way. The character is in Sheri- dan’s play called The Rivals.
Sir Anthony Absolute, a warm-hearted, testy, overbearing country squire, in the same play. William Dowton (1764-1851) Nine snick-named “Sir Anthony Abso- ute. 2
Absquat'ulate. To run ‘away or ab- scond, A comic American word, from ab and sguat (to go away from your squatting). A squatting is a tenement taken in some unclaimed part, without purchase or permission, The persons who take up'their squatting are termed
| squatters,
Abstemious
Acadia
Abste’mious, according to Fabius and Aulus Gellius, is compounded of abs and teme'tum. ‘* Teme'tum” wasa strong, intoxicating drink, allied to the Greek methu (strong drink).
“Vinum prisca lingua temétum appeUabant.”— Aulus Gellius, x. 23.
Abstract Numbers are numbers considered abstractly—l, 2, 3; but if we say | year, 2 feet, 3 men, etc., the numbers are no longer abstract, but con- erete. ;
Taken in the abstract. Thingsare said to be taken in the abstract when they are considered absolutely, that is, with- out reference to other matters or per- sons. Thus, in the abstract, one man is
as — as another, but not so socially
politically.
Abstrac'tion. An enpty Abstraction, a@ mere ideality, of no practical use. Every noun is an abstraction, but the narrower geuera may be raised to higher ones, till the common thread is so fine that hardly anything is left. These high abstractious, from which everything but one common cord is taken, are called empty abstractions,
‘or example, man is a genus, but may be raised to the genus animal, thence to organised being, thence to created being, thence to matter in the abstract, and so pe everything but one is emptied ou’
Absurd means strictly, quite deaf.
(Latin, ad, intensive, and surdus, deaf.) Reductio ad absurdum, Proving a proposition to be right by showing that
every supposable deviation fromit would |
involve an absurdity.
Abu'dah. A merchant of Bagdad, haunted srery night by an old hag; he finds at last that the way to rid himself ‘of this torment is to ‘‘fear God, and
keep his commandments.”’— Tales of the, |
Genii.
! “« Like Abudah, he is always looking out for the
Fury, and knows that the night will come with the inevitable hag with it.”—Thackeray. Abundant Number Saal A num- ber such that the sum of all its divis- ors (except itself) is greater than the _ number itself. Thus 12 is an abundant
number, because its divisors, 1, 2, 3, 4,6 |
= 16, which is greater than 12, A-Deficient number is one of ‘which
the sum of all its divisors is less than
itself, as. 10, the divisors of which are 1,
2, 5 = 8, which is less than 10,
A Perfect number is one of which the
sum of all its divisors exactly measures
itself, as 6, the divisors of which are 1, 2,3=6. Abus, the river Humber.
“For by the river that whylome was hight The ancien Abus . . . {was from Their chieftain, Humber, named aright,”
And Drayton, in his Polyolbion, 28,
says :— / ; _‘For my princely name From Ramipers king of Huns, as anciently it came.”
See Geofirey’s Chronicles, Bk. ii. 2,
Ab’yla. A mountain in Africa, op- posite Gibraltar. This, with Calpé in Spain, 16 m, distant, forms the pillars of
ercules. :
“ Heaves up huge Abyla on Afric’s sand,
Crowns with high Calpé Europe’s salient strand.” Darwin: Economy of Vegetation.
_ Abyssin‘ians. A sect of Christians in Abyssinia, who admit only one nature in Jesus Christ, and reject the Council of Chalce'don.
Acace'tus, One who does nothing badly, If was a name given to Mercury or Hermés for his eloquence. (Greek, a, not; kakos, bad.) ©
Academiics The followers of Plato were so called, because they attended his lectures -in the Acad’emy, a garden planted by Acade’mos.
** See there the olive grove of Académus, Plato’s retreat.” Dilton: Puradise Lost, Book iv.
Academy. Divided into—Old, the philosophic teaching of Plato and his immediate followers; Middle, a modifi- cation of the Platonic system, taught by Arcesila‘os ; New, the half - sceptical school of Car’neadés.
Plato taught that matter is eternal and infinite, but without form or order; and that there is an intelligent cause, the author of everything. He maintained
_ that we could grasp truth only so far
as we had elevated our mind by thought to its divine essence, Arcesila‘os was the great antagonist of
the Stoics, and wholly denied man’s ca- | pacity for grasping truth.
Car’neadés maintained that neither our senses nor our understanding could sup- ply us. with a sure criterion of truth.
The talent of the Academy, so Plato called Aristotle (B.c. 384-322).
Academy Figures, Drawings in black and white chalk, on tinted paper, from living models, used by artists. So calledfrom the Royal Academy of Artists,
Aca‘dia—i.e., Nova Scotia, so called by the French from the river Shuben- acadie. The name was changed in 1621,
Acadine
Yn 1755 the ol French inhabitants were driven into exile by order of George IT.
“Thus dwelt together in Jove those simple Acadian farmers.” Longfellow : Evungeline.
Acadine. A fountain of Sicily which revealed if writings were@uthentic and genuine or not. The writings to be tested were thrown into the fountain, and if spurious they sank to the bottom. Oaths and promises were tried in the same way, after being written down.— Diodorus Siculus.
Acan'thus, Theleafy ornament used
in the capitals of Corinthian and com- posite columns. It is said that Callim’- achos lost his daughter, and set a basket of flowers on her grave, with a tile to keep the wind from blowing ‘it away. The next time he went to visit the grave an acanthus had sprung up around the basket, which so struck the fancy of the architect that he introduced the design in his buildings, _ Accep'tance. A billor note accepted. This is dove by the drawee writing on it ‘accepted,’’ and signing his name. The person who accepts it is called the *‘acceptor.’””
Ac‘cessory. Accessory before the fact ~
is one who is aware that another intends to commit an offence, but is himself ab- sent when the offence is perpetrated.
Accessory after the fact is one who screens a felon, aids him in ‘eluding justice, or helps him in any way to profit by his crime. of stolen goods, knowing or even sus-’ pecting them to be stolen, isan accessory ex post facto.
Ac’cident. A logical accident is some property or quality which a thing pos- 8eSses, but which does not essentially belong’to it, as the tint of our skin, the height of our body, the redness of a brick, or the whiteness of paper. If any of these were changed, the sub- stance would remain intact.
Accidental or Subjective Colours, Those which depend on the state of our eye, and not those. which the object really possesses. Thus, after looking at the bright sun, all objects appear dark; that dark colour is the accidental colour of the bright sun. When, again, we come from a dark room, all objects at first have a yellow tinge, This is es-
ecially the case if we wear blue glasses, :-
‘or a minute or two after we have taken them off. ‘ Thé accidental colour of red is bluish
Thus, the receiver .
Jecting.
Accost
reen, of orange dark blue, of violet yel- ow, of black white ; and the converse.
Acciden'tals in music are those sharps and flats, etc., which do not propérly belong to the key in which the music 1s set, but which the composer arbitrarily introduces.
Accidente! (4syl.) An Italian curse or oath: ‘*Ce qui veut dire en bon fran- cais, ‘Puisses-tu mourir d’accident, sans confession,’ damné,"—L, About : Tolla,
Ac‘cidents, in theology. After con- secration, we the Catholics, the substance of the bread and wine is changed into that of the body and blood of Christ, but their accidents (flavour, appearance, aud so on) remain the same as before.
Ac'cius Na‘vius. A Roman augur in the reign of Tarquin the Elder, When he forbade the king to increase the num- ber of the tribes without consulting the augurs, Tarquin asked him if the thought then in his mind was feasible. “ Un- doubtedly,”” said Accius. ‘Then cut through this whetstone with the razor in your hand.’’ The priest gave a bold cut, and the block fell in two. This story (from Livy, Bk. i., chap. 36) is humorously retold in Bon Gaultier’s Ballads.
Accolade (3 syl.). The touch of a sword on the shoulder in the ceremony of conferring knighthood; originally an _ embrace or touch by the hand on the neck. (Latin, ad col/um, on the neck.)
Accommoda'tion. A loan of money, which accommodates us, or fits a want. Accommodation Note or Bill, An
acceptance given on a Bill of Exchange
for which value has not been received by
- the acceptor from the drawer, and which,
not representing a commercial transac- tion, is so far fictitious.
Accommodation Ladder. The light ladder hung over the side of a ship at the gangway.
Accord’ means ‘‘heart to heart.’ (Latin, ad corda.) Tf two persons like and dislike the same things, they are heart to heart with each other.
Similarly, ‘‘con-cord’’ means_ heart
with heart ; ‘‘dis-cord,’’ heart divided
from heart; ‘‘re-cord ’’ properly means to recollect—i.e., re-cordare, to bring again to the mind or heart; then to set down in writing for the purpose of recol-
Accost! means to “come to the side” _ of a person for the purpose of speaking ©
tohim. (Latin, ad costam, to the side.)
‘ ¥ 7s * «
‘
Account
Account’. Zo open an account, to euter a customer’s name on your ledger for the first time. (Latin, accomputdare, to reckon with.)
To keep open accountis when merchants agree to honour each other’s bills of ex-
unge,
A current account or ‘account cur- rent, a/e, A commercial term, meaning that the customer is entered by name in the creditor’s ledger for goods purchased but not paid for at the time. The account runs on for a month or more, according to agreement.
To cust accounts. To give the results of the debits and credits entered, bal- ancing the two, and carrying over the
lus.* « sale for the account in the Stock ange means : the sale of stock not for immediate payment, but for the fortnightly settlement. Generally this is speculative, and the broker or cus- tomer pays the difference of price be- tween the time of purchase-and time of settlement. We will give a good account of them— i.e. we will give them a thorough good drubbing.
Ac’curate means well and carefully done. (Latin, ad-curdre, accurdtus.)
Accu’'sative he. Calvin was so called by his college companions, We speak of an ‘‘ accusative age,’’ meaning searching, one eliminating error by ac- cusing it.
“This hath been a very accusative ‘age.”— Sir B. Dering. -
Ace (1 syl.). The unit of cards or dice, from as, the Latin unit of weight. (Italian, asso; French and Spanish, as.)
Within an ace. Withinashave. An ace is the lowest numeral, and he who wins within an ace, wins within a single mark. (See AMBES-AS.)
Toa bate an ace is to make an abate- ment, or to give a competitor some
gtart or other advantage, in order to
jyender the combatants more equal. It jis said that the expression originated in ‘the reign of Henry VIII., when one of the courtiers named Bolton, in order to
flatter the king, used to say at cards, .
“ Your ia jesty must bate me an ace, - I shall have no chance at all.’’
Taylor, the water poet (1580-1654),
speaking of certain women, says—
“Though had they be, they will not bate an ace _ To or tage Prudence, Temp'rance, Faith, and
_ Aceldama. A battle-field, a place where much blood ias been shed. To
‘the All-in- All.
Achemon
the south of Jerusulem there was a field so called ; it was purchased by the priests with the blood-money thrown down by Judas, and appropriated as a cemetery for strangers (Matt. xxvii. 8; Acts.1. 19). (Aramaic, 6kél-damd.,)
Aceph’alites (4 syl.) properly means men without a head, (1) A faction among the Eutych'ians in the fifth cen- tury after the submission of Mongus their chief, by which they were “deprived of their head.’’- .(2) Certain bishops exempt from the jurisdiction and disci- pine of their patriarch. (3) A sect of evellers in the reign of enry I., who acknowledged no leader. (4) The fabu- lous Blemmyés of Africa, who are de- scribed as having no head, their eyes and mouth being placed elsewhere,
(Greek, a-keph'alé, without a head.)
Acesites (3 syl.). The Arrow of Acestes. Ina trial of skill Acestes, the
Sicilian, discharged his arrow with such
force that it took fire. (Zn. 5, line 523.) “ Like Acestes’ shaft of old, The swift thought kinwes as it flies.” Longfellow. Achsx‘an League.» A confederacy of the twelve towns of Achea. It was broken up by Alexander the Great, but was again reorganised 8.0. 280, and dissolved by the Romans in 147 B.o.
Achar in Indian -philosophy means The world is spun out of Achar as a web from a spider, and will ultimately return to him, as a spider sometimes takes back into itself its own thread. Phenomena are not independ- ent realities, but merely partial and in- dividual manifestations of the All-in-All,
Acha'tes (3 syl.). A jidus Achatés. A faithful companion, a bosom friend.
_Achates de 4Aineid is the chosen
companion of all kinds, chutes! sir Waller See 010% FOF. ‘s,s
Ache’mon, or Achmon, and | his brother Bastlas were two Cercépés for ever quarrelling. .One day they saw Hercules asleep under a tree and insulted him, but Hercules tied them by their feet to his club and walked off with them, heads downwards, like a brace of hares, Everyone laughed at the sight, and it became a proverbial cry among the Greeks, when two men were seen quar- relling—‘‘ Look out for Melampy’gos!”’ (i.e, Hercules). ;
4 Ne insidas in Melampygumn.” % According to Greek fable, momkeys
e hero in adventures of
Acheron .
Achitophel
are degraded men. The Cercdpés were changed into monkeys for attempting to deceive Zeus,
Acheron. The ‘ River of Sorrows” (Greek, achos rods) ; one of the five rivers of the infernal regions.
“Sad Acheron of sorrow, black and deep.” Milton: Paradise Lost, ti. 578,
Pabulum Acherontis. Food for the
churchyard ; said of a dead body,
Acheron'tian Books. The most cele- brated books of augury in the world. They are the books which the Etruscans received from Tagés, grandson of Jupiter.
Acheruw’sia. A cavern: on the bor-. ders of Pontus, said to lead down. to the infernal regions. It was through this cavern that. Hercules dragged Cerberus to earth.
Achillea, The Yarrow, called by the French the herbe aux charpentiers— 4.e., carpenter’s wort, because it was supposed to heal wounds made by car- penters’ tools. Called Achilléa from Achillés, who was taught the uses and virtues of plants by Chiron the centaur: The tale is, that when the Greeks in- vaded Troy, Teléphus, a son-in-law of King Priam, attempted to stop their landing; but Bacchus caused him to stumble over a, vine, and, when he had fallen, Achillés wounded him with his spear. The young Trojan was told by an oracle that ‘‘Achillés (meaning mil- foil or yarrow) would cure the wound ;” but, instead of seeking the plant, he applied’ to the Grecian chief, and pro- mised to conduct the host to Troy if he would cure the wound, Achillés con- sented to do so, scraped some rust from his spear, and from the filings rose the plant milfoil,. which, being appuad to the wound, had the desired effect.
~ Achilles (3 syl.). King of the.Myr’- midons (in Thessaly), the hero of Homer’s epic poem called the. Zviad. He is re- presented as brave and relentless. * The poem begins with ‘a quarrel between
im and Agamemnon, the commander- in-chief of the allied Greeks ; in conse- quence of which Achilles refused to go to battle. The Trojans prevail, and Achilles sends forth his friend Patroc'los to oppose them. Patroc’los fell; and Achilles, in anger, rushing into the battle, killed Hector, the commander of the Trojans. poems, fell in battle a few days after- wards, before Troy was taken.
He himself, according to later |
| traitorous counsellor, who de
Achilles,
Army : The Myrmidons followed him to Troy. _ Death of; It was Paris who wounded Achilles in the heel with an arrow (a post-Homeric story).
Father: Peleus (2 syl.), King of Thessaly.
Friend: Patroclos, c
Horses: Balios (= swift-footed) and Xanthos ( = chestnut-coloured), endowed with, humap speech.
Mistress in Troy: Briseis (2 sy].). _
Mother: Thetis, a sea goddess.
Son: Pyrrhos, surnamed Neoptolémos ¢ = the new warrior),
Lomb: In Sigceeum, over which no digg ever flies. —Pliny, x, 29, , i
Tutors: First, Phoenix, who taught him the elements ; then Chiron the centaur,
Wife: Deidamia, (5 syl.) De-i-da-my’-ab.
Achilles (pronounce A-kil’-leez). The
English, John Talbot, first Earl of Shrewsbury (1373-1453). ;
_ Achilles of England, the Duke of Wellington (1769-1852). ‘ |
Of Germany, Albert, Elector of Bran- denburg (1414-1486).
Of Lombardy, brother of Sforza and Palamédés. All the three brothers were in the allied.army of Godfrey (Jerusalem Delivered). Achilles of Lombardy was slain by Corinna, This was not a com- plimentary title, but a proper name.
Rome, Lucius Sicinius Dentatus, the Roman tribune; also called the Second Achilles, Put to death B.c. 450.
Achilles of the West. Roland the Paladin; also called ‘*‘The Christian Theseus ”’ (2 syl.).
Achilles’ Spear. (See ACHILLEA.)
Achilles’ Tendon. <A strong sinew running along the heel to the calf of the leg. The tale is that Thetis took her son Achilles by the heel, and dipped him in the river Styx to make him invulner- able. The water washed every part, except the heel covered with his mother’s Hane It was on this vulnerable point the hero was slain; and the sinew of the heel is called, in consequence, tendo Achillis. A post-Homeric story
The Heel of Achilles, The vulnerable or weak point in a man’s, character: or ofanation. (See above.) :
Aching Void (An), That desolation of heart which arises from the recollec- tion of some cherished endearment no longer possessed. tev felt :
_ “What peacefy) hours:I once enjoyed!
_ _ How sweet their memory still ! yas ma rena ietanogh as vt ore Cowper Walking with God.»
Sone ee ie Reg ety AcHiToPHEL.) Achitophel was David’s ‘] we to
aa} aaW o
Hippodamia, surnamed
a
pas
i of adamant ;
Achor
Acrostic
Absalom; but his advice being disre-
éd, he hanged himself (2 Sam. xv.).
he Achitophel of Dryden’s satire was the Earl of Shaftesbury :—
“Of Passe itihe rebels) the false Achitophel was
7 ¢
A name to all succeeding ages curst ;
For close designs and crooked counsels fit ;
Sagacious, bold, and turbulent of wit ;
Restless, unfixed in principles and place ;
In power unpleased, impatient in disgrace.”
Part i. 150-5.
A'chor. God of flies, worshipped by the Cyre‘neans, that they might not be in elas these tiny tormentors. (See Fires, God of.) ,
Acis. The son of Fauaus, in love with Galate’a. Polyphe’mos, his rival, erushed him under a huge rock.
Acme. The crisis of a disease. Old medical writers used to divide the pro- gress of a disease into four periods: the ar-che, or beginning; the anab‘asis, or increase, the ae'me, or term of its utmost violence , and the pa-rac’-me, or decline. rae weal the highest point of any-
ing
Acmon'ian Wood (The). The tryst- place of unlawful Jove. It was here that Mars had his assignation with Harmonia, who became the mother of the Amazons.
“Clest 14 que. . Mars eut les faveurs de la nymphe Harmonie, commerce dont naquirent les Amazones "—Etienne; Géographie.
Acoimets. An order of monks in the fifth century who watched day and night. (Greek, watchers.)
Ac'olyte (3 syl.). A subordinate officer in the Catholic Church, whose duty is to light the lamps, prepare the sacred elements, attend the officiating priests, ete. (Greek, @ follower.)
Aconite. The herb Monkshood or Wolfsbane. Classic fabulists ascribe its isonous qualities to the foam which opped from the mouths of the three- headed Cerb&rus, when Hercules, at the command of Eurystheus, dragged the monster from the infernal regions.
(Greek, axdvirov, Latin, aconitwm.)
“ Lurida terribiles miscent Aconita noverce.”
: Ovid : Metamorphoses, i, 147. Acra'sia (Self-indulgence). An en- chantress who lived in the ‘‘ Bower of Bliss,” situate in ‘‘ Wandering Island "’ She transformed her lovers into mon-
strous shapes, and kept them captives. Sir Guyon having crept up softly, threw
a net over her, and bound her in chains then broke down her
bower and burnt it to ashes,—Spenser : Faéry Queen, ii. 12,
Acra'tes (3 syl.), t.¢., incontinence ; called by Spenser the father of Cymoch’- lés and Pyroch’lés.—Faéry Queen, ii. 4.
Acre. ‘‘God's acre,’’ a cemetery or churchyard. The word ‘‘acre,” Old English, @cer, is akin to the Latin ager and German acker (a field).
A‘cre-fight. A duel in the open field. The-combats of the Scotch and English Borderers were so called.
_ Acre-shot. A land tax. ‘‘Acre"’ is Old English, ecer (land), and ‘‘shot ” is scot or sceat (a tax).
Acres. A Bob Acres—i.e., acoward, From Sheridan’s comedy called The Rivals, His courage always ‘‘ oozed out at his fingers’ ends.”
Acroamatics. Esoter‘ical lectures ; the lectures of Aristotle, which none but his chosen disciples were allowed to attend. Those given to the public gene- rally were called exoter1e. (Acroamatic is a Greek word, meaning delivered to an audience, axpodouar, to attend lectures.)
Acroatiic. Same as esoteric. (See ACROAMATICS.)
Acrobat means one who goes on his extremities, or uses only the tips of his fingers and toes in moving about. (It is from the two Greek words, akros batno, to go on the extremities of one’s limbs.)
Acrop‘olis. The citadel of ancient Athens.
Of course, the word is compounded of akros and polis = the city on the beight, ¢.e,, the bigh rock
Acros'tic (Greek, akros stichos). The term was first applied to the verses of the Erythrean sibyl, written on leaves. These prophecies were excessively ob- scure, but were so contrived that when the leaves were sorted and laid in order, their initial letters always made a word,
_ —Dionys., iv. 62.
Acrostic poetry among the Hebrews consisted of twenty-two lines or stanzas beginning with the letters of the alphabet in succession, as Psalm cxix., etc.
Acrostics. Puzzles, generally in verse, consisting of two words of equal length The initial letters of the several lines constitute one of the secret words, and the final letters constitute the other word,
Also words re-arranged so as to make other words of similar significance, as ‘‘ Horatio Nelson ’’ re-arranged into
Act
12
Ad valorem
Honor est a Nilo. Another form of acrostic is to find a sentence which reads the same backwards and forwards, as E.T.L.N.L.T.E., the initial letters of ‘* Bat To Live, Neyer LiveToEat;”’ which in’ Latin would be, E.U.V.N.V.U.B. (Ede Ut Vivas, Ne Vivas Ut Edas).
Act-and Opponency. An ‘‘ Act,” in our University language, consists of a thesis and ‘disputation’ ‘thereon, covering continuous parts of three hours, The person ‘‘ disputing ’’ with the ‘‘keeper of the Act’’ is called the ‘‘ op- ponent,’’ and his function is called an PR es In some degrees the stu
carried to and fro in our own ships. Passive commerce is when they are carried in foreign vessels, “The commerce of England is active, of China passive.
Activity. Zhe sphere of activity, the whole field through which the influence
_of an object or person extends,
Acton. A taffeta, or leathor-quilted dress, worn under the habergeon to kee the body from being chatod or bruised.
_ (French, hoegueton.)
ent is required to keep his Act, and
then to be the opponent of ‘another disputant. Much alteration in these matters has been introduced of late, with other college reforms.
Act of Faith (auto da fé), iw Spain, is a day set apart by the Inquisition for the punishmert of heretics, and the - absolution of those who renounce their heretical doctrines. The sentence of the Inquisition is also so called; and so is the ceremony of burning, or otherwise torturing the condemned.
Act of God (47). ‘‘Damnum fatile,”’ such as loss by lightning, shipwreck, fire, etc. ; loss arising from fatality, and not from one’s own fault, theft, and so on. A Devonshire jury once found a verdict—‘*That deceased died by the act of God, brought about by the flooded condition of the river.”
Actzon. <A hunter, In Grecian mythology Actzon was ahuntsman, who surprised Diana bathing, was changed by her into a stag, and torn to pieces by his own hounds. Hence, a man whose wife is unfaithful. (See Horns.) “Go thou, like Sir Actwon, with Ringwood at thy
heel.” Shakespeare: Merry Wives, ii. 1.
“Divulge Page bimself for a secure and wilful Actzon,” Ibid, iii. 2.
Acttian Years. Years in which the Actian games were celebrated. Au- gustus instituted games at Actium to celebrate his naval victory over Antony. They were held every five years,
Action Sermon. A sacramental sermon (in the Scots Presbyterian Church).
“} returned home about. seven, and addressed myself towards my Action Sermon, Mrs, Olivant,” —E. Irving. :
Ac'tive. Active verbs, verbs which act on the noun governed.
Active capital. Property in actual employment in a given concern,
* Active commerce. Exports and imports
Actresses, Female characters used to be played by boys. Coryat, in his Crudities (1611),-says, ‘‘When I went to a theatre (in Venice) I observed certain things that I never saw before ; for I saw women acte. . . . I have
‘heard that it hath sometimes been used
| some complaint.
in London’? (Vol. ii.),
“Whereas, women’s parts in plays have hitherto been acted by men in the habits of women .. . we do permit and give leave for the time to come that all women’s parts be acted by women, 1662,’ —Charles If, :
The first female actress on the English aad was Mrs, Coleman (1656), who played Tanthe in the Siege of Rhodes. ‘
The last male actor that took the part of a woman on the English stage, in serious drama, was Edward Kynaston, noted for his beauty (1619-1687),
Acu tetigisti. You have hit the nailon the head. (Lit., you have touched it with a needle.) Plautus (Rudens, v 2, 19) says, ‘‘ Rem acu tetigisti;’’ and Cicero (Pro Miléne, 24) has ‘* Vulnus acu punctum,’’ evidently referring to a sur- geon’s probe,
Acutia'tor. A person in the Middle Ages who attended armies and knights
to sharpen their instruments of war. (Latin, acuo, to sharpen.)
Ad Grecas Calerdas. (Deferred) to the Greek Calends—i.c,, for ever. (It shall be done) on the Greek Calends —i.e., never. There were no Calends in the Greek notation of the months, (See NEVER.)
Ad inquirendum, commanding an inquiry to
A judicial writ made into
Ad libitum. Without restraint.
Ad rem (Latin). To the point in hand; to_the purpose. (Acu rem tety- gisti.) (See above, Acv.) ° ;
Ad unum omnes. All to a man (Latin), :
Ad valo'rem. According to the pricé charged. Some custom- duties vary according to the different values of the goods imported, Thus, at one time teas
Ad vitam
Adamant
paid duty ad valorem, the high-priced tea paying more duty than that of a lower ‘Price.
Ad vitam aut culpam. A Latin hrase, used in Scotch law, to indicate the: legal permanency of an appoint- ment, unless forfeited by misconduct.
Adam. The Talmudists say that Adam lived in Paradise only twelve hours, and account for the time thus :—
The first hour, God collected the dust and animated it.
‘The second hour, Adam stood on his feets
The fourth hour, he named the animals.
_ The sixth hour, he slept and Eve was created,
The seventh hour, he married the ‘woman.
The tenth hour, he fell.
‘The twelfth hour, he was thrust out of Paradise.
The Mohamniedans tell us he fell on Mount-Serendib, in Ceylon, where there is a curious impression in the granite resembling a human foot, above 5 feet
Jong and 24 feet broad. They tell usitwas ‘athe by Adam, who stood -there on one foot for 200 gers to expiate his crime ; ‘when Gabriel took him to Mount Ara- siren where he found Eve, (See ADau’s
‘Adam was buried, according to Arabian tradition, on Aboucais, a mountain of Arabia.
Adam. The old Adam; beat the offending Adam out of thee; the first Adam. Adam, as the head of unre- Mleemed man, stands for ‘original sin,”’ or “man without regenerating grace.’’
The second Adam; the new Sadie ete; L will give you the new Adam. Jesus Christ, as the covenant head, is so called ; also the ‘‘ new birth unto righteousness.”’
When Adam delved and Eve span. “¢ Au temps passé, Berthe filait.”” This Bertha was the wife of King Pepin.
“When Adam delved and Eve span, Who was then the gentleman?”
Adam. A sergeant, bailiff, or any one clad in buff, or a skin-coat, like Adam.
Py Not that dam that kent Faradize, bat that ae be te RS prison.” — Shakespeare:
A. Leh. Adam, A faithful old servant, e character is taken from Shakespeare’s comedy of As You Like it, where a retainer of that name, who had served the family sixty-three years, effers to accompany Orlando in his flight,
and to share with him his thrifty savings of 500 crowns.
Adam BelL A northern outlaw, whose name has become a synonym for a good archer. (See CLYM OF THE CLOUGH.)
Adam Cupid—i.e., Archer Cupid, perhaps with allusion to Adam Bell, the celebrated archer. (See -Percy’s Reliques, vol. i., p. 7.)
Adam’s Ale. Water as a beverage ; from the supposition that Adam had nothing but water te drink. In Scotland wee or a beverage is called Adam's
Vine,
Adam’s Apple. The protuberance in the fore-part of a. man’s throat; so called from the superstition that a piece of the forbidden fruit which Adam ate stuck in his throat, and occasioned the swelling.
Adam’s Needle, The yucca, so called because it is sharp-pointed like a needle.
Adam’s Peak, in Ceylon, is where the Arabs say Adam pewalea his expulsion from Paradise, and stood on one foot till God forgave him. It was the Portuguese who first called it ** Pico de’ Adam.” (See KaaBa,)
in the granite is the mark of a human foot, above 5 feet long by 24 broad, said to have been made by Adain, who, we are told, stood there on one foot for 200 years, to expiate his crime. After his penance he was restored to Eve, The Hindis assert that the footprint is that made by Buddha, when he ascended to heaven,
Adam’s Profession. Gardening, agriculture. Adam was teeta by God to dress the garden of Eden, and to keep it (Gen. ii. 15) ; and after the fall he was sent out of the garden ‘to till the ground’’ (Gen. iii. 23).
“There is no ancient gentlemen, but gardeners, ditcbers, and grave-makers ; they hold up Adam’s profession.”—The Clown in “ Hamlet,” v. }.
Adams. Payson Adams, the ideal of a benevolent, simple-minded, eccentric country clergyman; ignorant of the world, bold as a lion for the truth, and modest as a girl. The character is in Fielding’s novel of Joseph Andrews,
Adamant is really the mineral cor- undum; but the word is indifferently used for rock crystal, diamond, or any hard substance, and also for the magnet orloadstone. It is often used by poeta for no specific substance, but as hardness or firmness in the abstract. Thus, Virgil, in his neid vi, 552, speaks of ‘‘adamantine pillars ’’ merely to express solid and strong ones; and Milton free quently uses the word in the same way,
Adamastor
Adept
Thus, in Paradise Lost, ii. 436, he says
the gates of hell were made of burning adamant: “This huge convex of fire Outrageous to devour, immures us round Ninefold, and gates of burning adamant Barred over us prohibit all egress.” Satan, he tells us, wore adamantine armour (Book vi. 110): “Satan, with vast and haughty strides ad- vanced, | i Came towering, armed in adamant and gold.” And a little further on he tells us his shield was made of adamant (vi 255):
“ He (Satan) hasted, and opposed the rocky orb Of ten-fold adamant, his ample shield A vast circumference.”
Tasso (canto vii. 82) speaks of seudo di lucidissimo diamante (a shield of clearest diamond).
Other poets make adamant to mean
the magnet; Thus, in Troilus and Cres-
sida, iil. 2: “ As true as steel, as plantage to the moon,, As sun to day, as turtle to ber mate, = As iron to adamant.” ; (“* Plantage to the moon,” from the notion that plants grew best with the increasing moon.) And Green says: _ “ As true to thee as steel to adamant.” So, in the Arabian Nights, the “ Third Calendar,”’ we read:
“To-morrow about noon we shall be near the black mountain, or mine of adamant, which at this very minute draws all your fleet towards it,
by virtue of the iron in your ships.”
Adamant is @ (negative) and damao (to conquer). Pliny tells us there are six unbreakable stones (xxxvii. 15), but the classical adamas (gen. adamant-is) is generally supposed to mean the diamond. Diamond and adamant are originally the game word
Adamastor. The spirit of the stormy Cape (Good Hope), described by Camoéns in the Lusiad as a hideous phantom. According to Barre'to, he was one of the giants who invaded heaven.
Adamiic Covenant. The covenant made with God to Adam, that “the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head’? (Gen. iii. 15).
Ad’amites (3 syl.). A sect of fanatics who spread themselves over Bohemia pnd Moravia in the fifteenth and six- teenth centuries. One Picard, of Bo- hemia, was the founder in 1400, and
led himself ‘‘ Adam, son of God.”’
e professed to recall his followers to the state of primitive innocence. No clothes were worn, wives were in com-
and there was no such thing as goed and evi but all actions were in- ifferent.
Adaran’, according to the Parsee superstition, is a sacred fire less holy than that called Behram (g.r-). 3
_Adays. Nowadays, at the present time (or day). So in Latin, Nun dizgrum and Wune tempsris. The prefix “a” = at, a; or on. Simularly, anights, of late, on Sundays, All used adverbially.
Ad'dison of the North—i.c,, Henry Mackenzie, the author of the Man of Feeling (1745-1831).
Addixit, or <Addixerunt (Latin). All right. The word uttered by the rig when the “‘ birds” were favour- able.
Ad'dle is the Old English adela (filth), hence rotten, putrid, worthless,
Addled egg, better ‘‘addle-ege,” a worthless egg. An egg which tas not the vital principle.
Addle-headed, addle- pate, empty- headed. -As an addle-cfe sense no tiving bird,. so an addle-pate lacks rains
‘Addie Parliament (The)—5th April to 7th June, 1614. So called because it
did not pass one single measure. (Sze. PARLIAMENT.)
Adelantado. A big-wig, the great boss of the place. ItisaS anish word for “his excellency” (adelantar, to
-excel), and is given to the governor.
of a province.
“Open no door. If the adelantado of Spain Were. bere be should not enter."—Zen Jonson: Every Mgn out of his Humour, v. 4,
Fokerel,, Artec aaa ivered). ishop o: ‘gio, an ecclesiastical wari, who with hed <4 liam, Archbishop of Orange, t Pope Urban on his knees ate. might be sent on the crusade, He took 400 armed men from Poggio, but
sneaked off during a drought, and le: the crusadé (Book xiii.). .Ademar was not alive at the time, he had been slain at the attack on Antioch by Clorinda Gow xi.); but in the attack on erusalem, his spirit came with three uadrons of angels to aid the besiegers
Kk XvViil.). : Adept’ properly means one who has attained (from-the Latin, adepius, parti- ciple of adipiscor). The a.
applied the term vere ‘tus to
who professed to have “‘ attamed
tb the knowledge of” the elixir of li or of the philosopher’s stone, ;
iex¥¥ tell us there are ‘Sie
chemists always éliber wore wor less. Like the sacred
Adessenarians
Adonai
of Compostella, of which there are only 2 and always 2—a cock and a hen,
“In Rosicrucian lore as learn’d As be that vereadeptus earn'd.” S. Butler : Hudibras.
Ades'sena'rians. A term applied to those who hold the real presence of Christ’s body in the eucharist, but do not maintain that the bread and wine lose. any of their original properties. (The word is from the Latin adesse, to be present.)
Adeste Fidelés. Composed by John Reading, who wrote ‘‘Dulcé Domum.”’ - It is called the “ Portuguese /Hymn,” from being heard at the Portu- guese Chapel by the Duke of Leeds, who supposed it to be a part of the usual Portuguese service.
Adfiliate, Adfilia'tion. The ancient Goths adopted the children of a former marriage, and put them on the same footing -as those of the new family. (Latin, ad-filius, equal to a real son.)
Adha, al (the slit-eared). The swiftest of Mahomet’s camels,
_Adhab-al-Cabr. The first purgatory of the Mahometans,
Adiaph'‘orists. Followers of Me- Janchthon ; moderate Lutherans, who hold that some of the dogmas of Luther ‘are matters of indifference. " (Greek, gidaaph'oros, indifferent.)
Macaulay : Essay, Burleigh.
Adieu, good-b’ye. A: Dieu, an ellip- tical form for J commend you to God. Good-b’ye is God be with ye.
Adis'sechen. The serpent with a thousand heads which sustains the uni- verse. (Indian mythology.)
Adjective Colours are those which require a mordant before they can be used as dyes.
Adjourn’. Oncewritten ajorz. French, f-journer, to put off to another day.
“He ajorned tham to relie in the North of Gavrlele."—Longtoft : Chronicle, p. 309.
Adjournment of the House. (See MovInc THE ADJOURNMENT.)
Admirable (Zhe). Aben-Ezra, a Spanish rabbi, born at Tolédo (1119- 1174). L -Admirable Crichton (Z/ic). James Crichton (kry-ton), (1551-1573.)
_Admirable Doctor (Docior admira- biks), Roger Bacon (1214-1292),
Admiral, corruption of <Amir-al, Milton, speaking of Satan, says :— “ His spear (to equal which the tallest pine Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the mast Of some tal! amiral, were but a wand) He walked witb.”—Paradise Lost, i, 292.
The word was introduced by the Turks or Genoese in the twelfth century, and is the Arabic Amir with the article al (lord or commander); as Amir-al-ma (commander of the water), -Amir-al- Omra (commander of the forces), Amir pl grit | (commander of the faith- ful). English admirals used to be of three Pre according to the colour of their
ac—
dnitiel of the Red, used to hold the centre in an engagement.
Admiral of the White, used to hold the van.
Admiral of the Blue, used to hold the rear.
The distinction was abolished in 1864 ; now all admirals carry the white flag.
Admirals are called Flag Officers.
Admiral of the Blue. A butcher who dresses in blue to conceal blood-stains. A tapster also is so called, from his blue apron. A play on the rear-admiral of the British navy, called ‘‘ Admiral of the Blue (Flag).’’
“ As soon a8 customers begin to stir The Admiral of the Blue cries, ‘ Coming, Sir.’” Poor Robin, 1731
Admiral of the Red. A punning term applied to a wine-bibber whose face and nose are very red.
Admittance. Licence. Shakespeare says. ‘Sir John, you are a gentleman of excellent breeding, of great admittance” —1.¢., to whom great freedom is allowed (Merry Wives, ii. 2). The allusion is to an obsolete custom called admission, by which a prince avowed another prince to be under his protection. Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, was the“ admittant”’ of the Emperor Napoleon III.
Admonitionists or Admonition- ers. Certain Puritans who in 1571 sent an admonition to the Parliament con- demning everything in the Church of England which was not in accordanee with the doctrines and practices of Gene’va.
Adolpha. Daughter of General Kleiner, governor of Prague and wife of Idenstein. Her only fault was “excess of too sweet nature, which ever made another’s grief her own.””— Knowles: Maid of Mariendorpt. (1838).
Adonai. Son of the star-beam, and god of light among the Rosicru cians,
Adonais
Adrastus
One of the names given by the Jews to Jehovah, for fear of breaking the com- mand, ‘‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord [Jehovah] thy God in vain.”’
Adonais (4 syl.). The song about Ado'’nis; Shelley’s elegy on Keats is so called. Sce Bion’s Lament for Adonis.
Ado‘nies, Feasts of Adonis, cele- brated in Assyria, Alexandria, Egypt, Judea, Persia, Cyprus, and all Greece, for eight days, ucian gives a long description of them. In these feasts wheat, flowers, herbs, fruits, and branches of trees were carried in pro- cession, and thrown into the sea or some fountain.
Ado’nis, A beautiful boy. The allu- sion is to Ado’nis, who was beloved by Venus, and was killed by a boar while hunting.
“ Rose-chéeked Adonis hied him to the chase ;
Hunting he loved; but love he laughed, to
Bick-thoughted Venus makes amain unto him,
And, like a bold-faced suitor, gins to woo him,” Shakespeare: Venus and Adonis,
_ Adonis of 50. Leigh Hunt was sent to prison for applying this term to George IV. when Regent..
Adonis Flower (7c), according to Bion, is the rose; Pliny (i. 28) says it is the anemone; others say it is the field
oppy, certainly the prince of weeds ;
ut what we now generally méan by the Ad$nis flower is pheasant’s eye, called in French goute-de-sang, because in fable it sprang fromthe blood of the gored hunter. , “Asa podoy Tike, Ta Se Saxpva tay avepwvav.”
Blood brings forth roses, tears anemone.)—Bion : hlegy on Adonis. See also Ovid; Metamorphoses, Bk. x., Fable 15.)
Adonis Garden, or A garden of Adonis (Greek). A worthless toy; a very perishable good. The allusion is to the fennel and lettuce jars of the ancient Greeks, ‘called ‘‘ Adonis gar- dens,’’ because these herbs were planted in them for the annual festival of the young huntsman, and thrown away the next morning. (1 Henry VJ., i. 6)
Adonis River. A river in Pheenicia, which always runs red at the season of the year when the feast of Adonis is held. The legend ascribes this redness to sympathy with the young hunter; others ascribé it to a sort of minium, or red earth, which mixes with the water.
“Thammuz came next beblind,
Whose annual wound in Lebanon allure
The Syrian damsels to lament his fate
Jn amorous ditties all a summer's day,
While smooth Adonis from bis native rock
Ran purple to the sea, supposed with blood
Of Thammuz yearly wounded.” | Milton: Paradise Lost, Book 1, line 445, ete,
Ado'nists, Those Jews who maintain that the proper vowels of the word Je- hovah are unknown, and that the word is never to be pronounced Ado‘nai. (Hebrew, adon, lord.)
Adop'tion. Adoption by arms. An
. ancient custom of giving arms to a
person of merit, which laid him under the obligation of being your champion and defender.
Adoption by baptism. Being god- father or godmother to a child. Tha child by baptism is your god-child,
Adoption by hair. Cutting off your hair, and giving it to a person in proof that you receive him as your adopted father. Thus Bo’son, King of Arles, cut
off his hair and gave it to Pope John VIII., who adopted him.
Adoption Controversy. Elipand, Archbishop of Tole’do, and Felix, Bishop of Urgel, maintained that Jesus Christ in his Auman nature was the son of God by adoption only (Rom. viii. 29), though in his pre-existing state he was the ‘‘ be- gotten Son of God’ in the ordinary catholic acceptation. Duns Scotus, Du- randus, Calixtus, and others supported this view.
Adop'tionist. A Keer of Elipand, Archbishop of Tole’do, and Felix, Bishop of Urgel (in Spain), is so called.
Adore (2 syl.) means to “carry to one’s mouth” “to kiss”? (ad-os, ad-~ ordre). The Romans performed adora- tion by placing their mee hand on their mouth and Peet he Greeks paid adoration to kings y putting the royal robe to their lips. The Jews kissed in homage: thus God said to Elijah he had 7,000 in Israel who had not bowed unto Baal, ‘‘every mouth which hath not kissed him.” (1 Kings xix. 18; see also Hos, xiii. 2). ‘Kiss the Son lest He be angry ’’ (Psalm ii, 12), means worship, reverence the Son, Even in England we do homage by kissing the hand of the sovereign.
Adram‘melech. God of the people of Sepharva'im,*to whom infants were burnt in sacrifice (Kings xvii. 31), Prob- ably the sun,
Adrastus. An Indian prince from the banks of the Ganges, who aided the King of Egypt against the crusaders. He wore a serpent’s skin, and rode on an elephant. Adrastus was slain Rinaldo.—Zasso . Jerusalem Deliv Book xx,
Adrian
Advowson
Adrian (St¢.), represented, in Chris- tian art, with an anvil, and a sword or axe close by it. He had his limbs cut off on a smith’s anvil, and was after- wards beheaded. St. Adrian is the patron saint of the Flemish brewers,
Adriel, in Dryden’s <Abdsalom and Achitophel, is meant for the Earl of Mulgrave.
“Sharp-judging Adriel, the muses’ friend, Himself a muse: in Sanhedrim's debate True to bis prince, but not a slave of state ; Whom Dayid’s love with honours did adorh, That from his disobedient son were torn.”
Part I.
Adrift. Jam alladrift. He is quite adrift. To turn one adrift, Sea phrases. A ship is said to be adrift when it has broken from its moorings, and is driven at random by the winds. To be adrift is to be wide of the mark, or not in the right course. To turn one adrift is to turn him from house and home to go his own way.
Adroit’ properly means ‘‘to the right’ (French, @ droite). The French call a person who is not adroit gauche Creede), meaning awkward, boor- ish,
Adsidel'te. The table at which the flamens sat during sacrifice.
Adullamites (4 syl.). The adherents of Lowe and Horsman, seceders in 1866 from the Reform Party. John Bright said of these members that they retired to the cave of Adullam, and tried to
ther round them all the disconténted.
e allusion is to David in his flight from Saul, who “escaped to the cave Adullam; and every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt,
and every one that was discontented, .
gathered themselves unto him”’ (1 Sam, xxii. 1, 2).
The second branches of @ stag’s horn.
“Ina hart the main horne itself they call the beame. The lowest antlicr is called the brow- antler; the next, rojal ; the next that, surroial ; and then the fom
“In a buck, they say bur, beame, braunch, ad- tara, palme, and speilers.'—Marwood : Forest
Advent. Four weeks to comme- morate the first and second coming of Christ; the first to redeem, and the second to judge the world. The season begins on Bt. drew’s Day, cr the Sun- day nearest to it. (Latin, ad-tentus, the coming to.) . hs alan (The). Satan. (1 Pet. vy (x ,
_ Advocate (4) means one called to
assist clients in a court of law. (Latin, advocdre.)
The Devil’s Advocate. One who brings forward malicious accusations. When any name is proposed for canonisation in the Roman Catholic Church, two advocates are appointed, one to oppose the motion and one to defend it. The former, called Advoca'tus Diab'oli (the Devil’s Advocate), advances all he can against the person in question; the latter, called Advoca'tus Dei (God's Advocate), says all he can in support of the proposal,
Advocates’ Library, in Edinburgh, founded 1682, is one of the five libraries to which copyright books are sent. (See CopyRIGHT.
Advow’son means the right of ap- pointing the incumbent of a church or ecclesiastical benefice. In medieval times the ‘‘advocacy’’ or patronage of bishoprics and abbeys was frequently in the hands of powerful nobles, who often claimed the right to appoimt in the event of a vacancy; hence the word (from Latin, adcocatio, the office of a patron).
A presentative advowson is when the patron presents to the bishop a person to whom he is willing to give the place of preferment. om
A colla'tive advowson is when the bishop himself is patron, and collates his client without any intermediate person.
A don‘ative advowson is where the Crown gives a living to a clergyman without presentation, institution, or in- duction. This is done when a church or chapel has been founded by the Crown, and is not subject to the ordinary.
Advowson in gross is an advowson separated from the manor, and belong- ing wholly to the owner. While at- tached to the manor it is an advowson appendant. ‘*Gross’’ (French) means absolute, entire ; thus gross weight is
| the entire weight without deductions,
A villain in gross was a villain the entire property of his master, and not attached to the land. A common in gross is one which is entirely your own, and
which belongs to the manor. Sale o dvowsons. When lords of manors built churches upon their own
demesnes, and endowed them, they he- came private property, which the lord might give away or even sell, under certain limitations. These livings are called Advowsons appen'dant, being ap-
mded to the manor. After atime they ae regular ‘‘ commercial property,”
nm Adytum
Aion
and we still see the sale of some of them —
in the public journals.
Ad'ytum; The Holy of Holies in the Greek and Roman temples, into which the general public were not admitted. (Greek, a-duton = not to be entered; duo, to go.)
Avdiies (2 syl.). Those who, in ancient Rome, had charge of the public buildings (@des), such as the temples, theatres, baths, aqueducts, sewers, in- cluding roads and streets also,
J&geus (2 syl.). A fabulous king of Athens who gave name to the Agéan Sea. His son, Theseus, went to Crete to deliver Athens from the tribute ex- acted by Minos. Theseus said, if he succeeded he would hoist a white sail on his home-voyage, as a signal of his safety. This he neglected to do; and Z£geus, who watched the ship from a rock, thinking his son had perished, threw himself into the sea,
This incident has been copied in the tale of Sir Tristram and Ysolde. Sir Tristram being severely wounded in Brittany, sent for Ysolde to come and see him before he died. He told his messenger, if Ysolde consented to come to hoist a white flag. Sir Tristram’s wife told him the ship was in sight with a black flag at the helm, whereupon Sir Tristram bowed his head and died. (TRistRaM.}
ZEgine'tan Sculptures. Sculptures excavated by a company of Germans, Danes, and English (1811), in the little island of Agina. They were purchased by Ludwig, Crown Prince of Bavaria, and are now the most remarkable orna- ments of the Glyptothek, at Miinich.
fEgir’. God of the ocean, whose wife is Rana. They had nine daughters, who wore white robes and veils (Scandin- avian mythology). 'These daughters are fhe billows, etc. The word means “to ow.
#'gis. The shield of Jupiter made by Vulcan was so called, and symbolised “Divine protection.”? The shield of Minerva was called an @gis also. The shield of Jupiter was covered with the skin of the goat Amalthea, and the Greek for goat is, in the genitive case, aigos. The wegis made by Vulcan was of brass.
I throw my egis over you, I give you my protection.
figro’tat.. To sport an @grotat. In university parlance, an xgrotat is a
medical certificate of indisposition to exempt the bearer from attending chapel and college lectures.
AETI (4—7), a common motto on jewellery, means *‘ for ever and for aye.” (Greek.)
#®lu/rus. The cat. An Egyptian deity held in the greatest veneration. Heroddtus (ii. 66) tells us that Diana, to avoid being molested by the giants, changed herself into a cat. The deity used to be represented with a cat’s head on ‘sete body. (Greek, ailous‘os, a cat,
Jimilian Law. Made by milius Mamercus the pretor. It enjoined that the oldest priest should drive a nail every year into the capitol on the ides of Sep- tember (September 5).
4imonia Aimo’nian (Hzmonta Hemontay),
ine'as. The hero of Virgil’s epic. He carried his father Anchi’sés on his shoulders from the flames of Troy. After roaming about for many years, he came to Italy, where he founded a colony which the Romans claim as their origin, The epithet applied to him is piws=pious, dutiful.
#Ene'id. The epic poem of Virgi (in twelve ole & called “ied Ene'as and the suffix -is, plur. idés (belonging to).
“The story of Sinon,” says Macrdbius, “and the
taking of Troy is borrowed from Pisander
“The loves of Dido and Ainéas are taken from those of Medéa and Jason, in Apollénius of Rhodes. » :
“The story of the Wooden Horse and burning of Troy is from Arctinus of Milétus,.”
folic Digamma. An ancient Greek letter (F), sounded like our w. Thus oinos with the digamma was sounded woinos; whence the Latin vinum, our wine, Gamma, or g, was shaped thus [, hence digamma = double 7.
Zolic Mode, in music, noted for its simplicity, fit for ballads and songs. The Phrygian Mode was for religious
‘music, as hymns and anthems,
#olus, in Roman mythology, was “¢ god of the winds.”’ r
vlianharp. The wind-harp. A box on which strings are stretched. Being placed. where a draught gets to the strings, they utter musical sounds, be
f&on. (Greek, aion), eternity, an im- measurable length of time; any be that is eternal. Basilidés reckons there
| have been 365 such mons, or gods; but
Aira
19
Aetites
t Valentinius restricts the number to 30. Sometimes written “éon.’’
Tn geology each series of rocks covers an zon S an indefinite and immeasurable period of me.
JEra, [ERA.]
Aérated Bread. Bread made light by means of carbonic acid gas instead of leaven.
Aérated Water. Water impregnated with carbonic acid gas, called jixed air,
Ae’rians. Followers of Ae'rius, who maintained that there is no_ difference between bishops and priests.
JEs’chylus (Greek, Aicyvios), the most sublime of the Greek tragic poets. He wrote 90 plays, only 7 of which are now extant. /ischylus was killed by a tortoise thrown by an eagle (to break the shell) against his bald head, which it mistook for a stone (8.0. 535- 456). See Horace, Ars Poetica, 278.
Pronounce Ees’-ke-lus.
Zfs'chylus of France. Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, (1674-1762.)
ZEscula‘pius. The Latin form of the Greek word Asklépios, the god of medicine and of healing. Now used for ‘*a medical practitioner.’’
JEsir, plural of As or Asa, the celestial gods of Scandinavia, who lived in As- (god’s ward), situate on the hea- -venly hills between.earth and the rain- bow. The chief wasOdin. Wearetold that there were twelve, but it would be hard to determine who the twelve are, for, like Arthur’s dpaleblsy the number seems variable. The evan fey, be mentioned :—(1) Odin; (2) or (his eldest son, the god of thunder) ; (3) Tyr another son, the god of wisdom) ; (4) aldur (another son, the Scandinavian ‘Apollo) ; (5) Bragi (the god of elo- uence); (6) Vidar (god of silence) ;. (7) Tsdur the blind (Baldur’s twin brother) ; 48) Hermod (Odin’s son and messenger) ; 9) Heenir (divine intelligence); (10) ur (husband of Freyja, the Scandin- avian Venus); (11) Loki (the god of mischief, though not an asa, lived in Asgard); (12) Vali (Odin’s youngest son) ; another of Odin’s sons was Kvasir the keen-sighted. Then there were the Vanir, or gods of air, ocean, and water ; the gods of fire; the gods of the Lower World ; and the Mysterious Three, who sat on three thrones above the rainbow. Their names were Har ae perfect), the Like-perfect, and the Third person. _ Wives of the Asir: Odin'’s wife was
Frigga; Thor's wife was Sif (beauty) ;
Baldur’s wife was Nanna (daring) ; Bragi’s wife was Idina; Oduvr’s wife was Freyja (the Scandinavian Venus) ; Loki’s wife was Sigiina.
The Atsir built Asgard themselves, but each god had his own private man- sion. That of Odin was Gladsheim ; but his wife Frigga had also her private abode, named Fensalir; the mansion of Thor was Bilskirnir; that of Baldur was Broadblink; that of Odur’s wife was Folkbang; of Vidar was Landvidi (wide land); the private abode of the goddesses generally was Vingolf.
The refectory or banquet hall of the Z&sir was called Valhalla,
Niord, the water-god, was not one of the Aisir, but chief of the Vanir; his son was Frey; his daughter, Freyja (the Scandinavian Venus); his wite was Skadi; and his home, Noatun.
fison’s Bath, Sir Thomas Browne (Religio Medici, p. 67) rationalises this into ‘‘hair-dye.’’ The reference is to Medea renovating ison, father of Jason, with the juices of a concoction made of sundry articles. After son had imbibed these juices, Ovid says :~
“Barba comeque, Canitie posita, nigrum rapuére, colorem.” Metamorphoses, Vii, 288,
#Zsonian Hero (Zhe). Jason, who
was the son of Aéson.
Zx'sop’s Fables were compiled by Bab’rios, a Greek, who lived in the Alex- andrian age. .
<isop, a Phrygian slave, very de- formed, and the writer of fables. He was contemporary with Pythagéras, about B.c. 570.
= g . Almost all Greek and Latin fables are ascribed tg sop, as all our Psalms are ascribed to David. The Latin fables of Phidrus are supposed to be translations of AZsopian fables,
sop of Arabia, Lokman (?). Nasser, who lived in the fifth century, is gencr- ally called the ‘‘ Arabian AXsop,”’ wee of England. John Gay. (1688-
sop of France, Jean dela Fontaine, (1621-1695.)
LE sop of Cermany: Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. (1729-1781.)
Atisop of India, Bidpay or Pilpay. (About three centuries before the Chris- tian era.)
A‘etites (3 syl.). Eagle - stones. (Greek, a&tos, an eagle.) Hollow stones composed of several crusts, one within another. Supposed at one time to form part of an eagle’s nest. Pliny mentions them. Kirwan applies the name to
«
4itolian Hero
clay ironstones having a globular crust of oxide investing an ochreous, kernel. Mythically, they are supposed to have the property of detecting theft. JEtolian Hero (The). Diomede, who was king of Astolia, Ovid. Affable means ‘ one easy to be spoken
to.” (Latin, ad fari, to speak to.) Affect’. To love, to desire. (Latin, afficto.)
“Some affect the light, and some the shade.” Blair: Grave.
lAffection aveugle raison (French). Cassius says to Brutus, ‘‘ A friendly eye could never see such faults.”’ “ L’esprit est presque toujours la dupe du coeur.” (La Rochefoucauld : Maximes.)
Again, ‘‘a mother thinks all her geese are swans,’’
Italian: A ogni suol grollatini, A nido € bello.
French; A chaque oiseau son .nid parait beau,
Latin: Asinus asino, sus sui, pulcher. Sua cuique res est car’ssizna.
- Affront’ properly means to stand front to front, savage nations oppos- ing armies draw up front to front before they begin hostilities, and by grimaces, sounds, words, and all conceivable means, try to provoke and terrify their vis-d-vis, When this “affronting”’ is over, the adversaries rush against each other, and the fight begins in earnest.
Affront,. A salute; a coming in front of another to salute,
“Only, sir, this I must caution you of, in your affrout, or salute, never to move your hat.”— Green; Tu Quoque, Vii. 95.
Afraid. He who trembles to hear a leaf fall should keep out of the wood. This is a French proverb: ‘‘ Qui a peur de feuilles, ne doit aller au bois.’? Our corresponding English proverb is, ‘‘ He who fears scars shouldn’t go the wars.’’ The timid should not voluntarily expose themselves to danger.
“Little boats shou)d keep near shore, Larger ones may venture more.”
Africa. Teneo te, Africa (I take possession of thee, O Africa), When Cesar landed at Adrumétum, in Africa, he tripped and fell—a bad omen; but, with wonderful presence of mind, he pretended that he had done so intea- tionally, and kissing the soil, exclaimed, ‘Thus do I take possession of thee, O Africa,’ Told also of Scipio. (See Don Quixote, Pt. II. Bk. vi. ch. 6.) .
Africa semper aliquid novi affert. “Africa is always producing some novelty,” A Greek proverb quoted
eels paion belli i ogni uccello, suo
20
\
Agag
(in Latin) by Pliny, in allusion to the ancient belicf that Africa abounded in strange monsters.
African Sisters (Zhe). The Hes- perides (4 syl.) who lived in Africa. ‘They were the daughters of Atlas.
Afriet, or ‘‘ Afrit.”?> The beau ideal of what is terrible and monstrous in Arabian superstition. A sort of ghoul or demon. Solomon, we are told, once tamed an Afrit, and made it submissive to his will.
Aft. The hinder part of a ship. Fore and Aft. The entire length (of a ship), from stem to stern, :
After-cast. A throw of dice after the game is ended ; anything done too
late. “Ever he playeth an atter-cast Of all that be shall say or do,"—Gower.
After-clap. Beware of after-claps, An after-clap is a catastrophe or threat after an affair is supposed to be over. It is very common in thunderstorms to hear a “‘clap’’ after the rain subsides, and the clouds break.
“What plaguy mischief and mishaps Do dog him still with after-claps,” . Butler: Hudibras, Pt. i. 3. After Meat, Mustard. In Latin, ‘Post bellum, auxilium.’? We have also, ‘‘ After death, the doctor,”” which is the German, ‘‘ Wann der kranke ist todt, so kommt der arztnei’’ (when the patient’s dead, comes the PAYS To the same effect is ‘‘ When the steed is stolen, lock the stable door,’’ Meaning, doing a thing, or offering service when it is too late, or when there is no longer need thereof..
After us, the Deluge. ‘I care not what happens when I am_dead and gone.’ So said Mdme. de pies noe | the mistress of Louis XV. (1722-1764). Metternich, the Austrian statesman (1773-1859), is credited with the same; but probably he simply quoted the words of the French marchioness,
Aft-meal. An extra meal; a meal taken after and in addition to the ordin- ary meals,
At aft-meals who shall pay a rs ain ny 4
A’gag, in Dryden’s satire of Adsa- lon and Achitiophel, is meant for Sir Edmondbury Godfrey, the magistrate before whom Titus Oates made his de- claration, and was afterwards foun barbarously murdered in a ditch near
Agamarshana
Primrose Hill. Agag was hewed to pieces by Samuel (1 Sam. xv.). ‘“And Corall (Titus Oates) might for Agag’s
mu der call In terms as coarse as Samuel used to Saul.” 1, 675-6.
Agamarshana. A passage of the Veda, the repetition of which will purify the soul like absolution after confession.
Agamemnon, King of Argos, in Greece, and commander-in-chief of the allied Greeks who went to the siege of Troy. The fleet being delayed by ad- verse winds at Aulis, Agamemnon sacri- ficed his daughter Iph'igeni’a to Diana, and the winds became at once favourable. —Homer’s Iliad.
"Till Agamemnon’s daugbter’s blood
Appeased the gods that them withstood.”
2 - £arl of Surrey.
His brother was Menelaos. ‘
His daughters were Iphigenia, Electra, Ipbian- assa, and Chrysotbemis neat.
He was grandson of Pe oe pee
He was killed in a bath by his wife Clytem- nestra, after his return from Troy. |
His son was Orestés, who slew his mother for murdering his father, and was called Agamem-
ast. : ,
is wife was Clytemnestra, who lived in adult- ery with Egistheus. At Troy he fell in love with Cassandra, a daughter of King Priam.
Vixére fortes anté Agamemnona (‘there are hills beyond Pentland, and fields beyond Forth’’), 7.e., we are not to suppose that our own age or localit monopolises all that is good.—Hor. Od. iv. 9,25. We might add, et post Aga- memnona vivent.
“Great men there lived ere Agamemnon came. And after him will others rise to fame.”—E. C. B,
Aganice (4 syl.), or Aglaonicé, the Thessalian, ing able to calculate eclipses, she pretended to have the moon under her command, and to be able when she chose. to draw it from heaven. Her secret being found out, her vaunting became a laughing-stock, and gave birth to the Greek proverb cast at braggarts, ** Yes, as the Moon obeys Aganice.”’
Aganippe (4 syl.). A fountain of
Beeotia at the foot of Mount Helicon dedicated to the Muses, because it had the virtue of imparting poetic inspira- tion. From this fountain the Muses are called Aganippedés (5 syl.) or Aganip- pidés (5 syl.).. _ Ag’ape (3 syl.). A love-feast. The early Christians held a love-feast before or after communion, when contributions were made for the poor. These feasts became a scandal, and were condemned at-the Council of Carthage, 397. (Greek, agapé, love.)
- Agapem’one (5 syl.). A somewhat disreputable association of .men and
21
Agdistes
women living promiscuously on a com- mon fund, which existed for a time at Charlynch, near Bridgewater, in Somer- setshire. (Greek, agapé, love.)
Agapetsx. Women under vows of virginity, who undertook to attend the monks. (The word is Greek, and means beloved.)
Ag’ate (2syl.). So called, says Pliny (xxxvii. 10), from Acha’tés or Gaga‘tis, a river in Sicily, near which it is found in abundance.
“ These, these are they, if we consider well, That sapbirs and the diamonds doe excell, stg anda the emerauld, and the turkesse
eu The sanguine corrall, amber’s golden hiew, The cbristall, jacinth, achate, ruby red.” Taylor: The Waterspout (1630),
Agate is supposed to render a person
invisible, and to turn the sword of foes
against themselves.
Agate.. A very diminutive person. Shakespeare speaks of Queen Mab as no bigger than an agate-stone on the fore finger of an alderman.
“J was never manned with an agate till now.”
Shakespeare: 2 Hen. 1V.i. 2,
Agatha. Daughter of Cuno, the ranger, in love with Max, to whom she is to be married, provided he carries off the prize in the annual trial-shot. She is in danger of being shot by Max m- wittingly, but is rescued by a hermit, and becomes the bride of the young huntsman.—/Weber’s Opera of Der Freischitz,
Agatha (St.). Represented in Chris- tian art with a pair of shears, and
-holding in her hand a salver, on which
her breasts are placed. The reference is to her martyrdom, when her breasts
- were cut off by a pair of shears.
_against wild beasts.
Agave (3 syl.) or ‘American aloe,”’ from the Greek, agauos, admirable. The Mexicans plant fences of Agavé round their wigwams, as a defence The Mahometans
of Egypt regard it ds a charm and
religious symbol ; and pilgrims to Mecca indicate their exploit by hanging over the door of their dwelling a leaf of Agavé, which has the further charm of warding off evil spirits. The Jews in Cairo attribute a similar virtue to the plant, every part of which is utilised. Agdistes (self-indulgence). The- god who keyt the porch of the ‘‘ Bower of Bliss.’ He united in his own person the two sexes, and sprang from the stone Agdus, parts of which were taken b Doeucalion and Pyrrha to cast over their
Age as accords shoulders, after the Hood, for re-peopling the world. book ii. 12.) Ag-dis’-tes in 3 syl.
Age as accords (Jo). To do what
ry
is fit and right (Scotch law term). Here
**Age’’ is from the Latin agére, to do. “To set about the matter in a regular manner, or,ashetermedit . . . to‘*ageas accords,’ "— Sir W. Scott: Redgauntlet, chap. 2. Age of Animals. An oid Celtic rhyme,.put into modern English, says :— “Thrice the age of a dog is that of a horse ; Thrice tue age of a horse is that of a man ;
Thrice the age of a man is that ofa deer ; Thrice the age of a deer is that of an eagle.”
Age of Women (Ze). Though many women are mentioned in the Bible, the age of only one (Sarah, Abraham’s wife) is recorded, and that to show at her advanced age she would become the mother of Isaac.
“Elizabeth, the mother of the Baptist,” we ate told by St. Luke, “ was well-stricken in age.”
Age of the Bishops (The). The ninth century. (Hallam: Middle Ages.)
Age of the Popes (Zhe). The twelfth century. (Hallam: MiddleAges.)
Agé hoc. “Attend to this.”” In sacrifice the Roman crier perpetually repeated these words to arouse attention. In the ‘Common Prayer Book’? the attention of the congregation is fre- quently aroused by the exhortation, “* Let us pray,’’ though nearly the whole service is that of prayer.
Ages. Varro (Fragments, p. 219, Scaliger’s edition, 1623) recognises three ages :—
(1) From the beginning of mankind to the Deluge, a time wholly unknown.
(2) From the Deluge to the First Olympiad, called the mythical period. ~ (3) From the first Olympiad to the present time, called the historic period.
Titian symbolised the three ages of man thus :— :
1) An infant in a cradle.
2) A shepherd playing a flute. 6 An old man meditating on two skulls.
According to Lucre'tius also, there are three. ages, distinguished by the materials employed in implements (v, 1282), viz. :
(1) The age of stone, when celts or im- plements of stane were employed.
(2) The age of bronze, when implements were made of copper or brass.
(3) The age of iron, when implements were made of iron, as at present,
(Spenser: Fatrie Queene,
Agist
Hesiod names five ages, viz. -—
4 ahs Golden or patriarchal, under the care of aturn. .
The Silver or voluptuous, under the care ef Jupiter. 2
The Brazen or warlike, under the care of Neptune. _ 5
ae Heroic or_renaissant, under the care of
ars,
The Iron or present, under the care of Pluto.
¢@ The present is sometimes called the wire age, from its telegraphs, by means of which well-nigh the whole earth is in intercommunication.
Fichte names five ages also: the ante- diluvian, post-diluvian, Christian, satanic, and millennian.
Ag’elasta. The stone on which Ce’rés rested when worn down by fatigue in searching for her daughter. (Greek, joyless.)
Agenoriides (5syl.). Cadmos, who was the son of Agénor,
Agent. Fs man a free agent? This is a question of theology, which has lon been mooted. The point is this: God fore-ordains all our actions, they must take place as he fore-ordains them, and man acts.as a watch or clock; but if, on the other hand, man is responsible- for his actions, he must be free to act as his inclination leads him. Those who hold the former view are called necessita- rians ; those who hold the latter, libertae rians.
Aggluitinate Languages. The Tura‘nian family of languages are so called because every syllable is a word, and these are glued together to form other words, cat may be unglued so as to leave the roots distinct, as‘*‘inkstand,’”
Aghast’. Frightened, as by a ghost; from Anglo-Saxon gast, a ghost.
Agi'o. The percentage of. charge’ made for the exchange of paper money into cash. (Italian).
“The profit is called by the Italians aggio.”"— Scarlett. ,
Agis. King of Sparta, who tried to deliver Greece from the Macedonian yoke, and was slain in the attempt.
“To save a rotten state, Agis, who saw.
E’en Sparta’s self to servile avarice sink.”
Thomsen : Winter, 488-9,
Agist’. To take the cattle of another to graze at acertain sum. The feeding of these. beasts is called agistment. The words are from the Norman agiser (to be levant and couchant, rise wp and lie down), because, says Coke, beasts are levant and couchaut whilst they are on the land, ib
Agila
Agrimony
Agia. A cabalistic name of God, formed from the initial letters of Attah, Gibbor, Leholam, Adonai (Zhou art strong for ever, O Lords). (See Nort- ARICA.)
Aglaos. The poorest man in Arcadia, ronounced by Apollo to be far happier han Gyges, because he was ‘‘ contented
with his lot?”
“Poor and content is rich and rich enough ;
But riches endless are as poor as winter To him who ever fears he shall be poor.” Shakespeare: Othello iii. 3.
Agnes. She is.an Agnes (elle fat ? Agnés)—t.e., she is a sort of female “‘ Verdant Green,’’ who is so unsophistic- ated that she does not even know what love means. It is a character in Mo- litre’s L’ Ecole des Femmes.
Agnes (St.) is represented by Dom- enichino as kneeling on a pile of fagots, the fire-extinguished, and the executioner about to slay her with the sword. The introduction of a lamb (agnus) is a modern innovation, and play on the name. St. Agnes is the patron of young virgins.
“St. Agnes was first tied to a stake, but the fire of the stakes went out; whereupon Aspasius, set to watch the martyrdom, drew his sword, and cut off her head,’’
Agnes’ Day (S¢.), 21st January. Upon St. Agnes’ night, you take a row of pins, and pull out every one, one after another. Saying a pater-noster, stick a pin in your sleeve, and you will dream of him or her you shall marry.— Autrey; Mis- cellany, p. 136.
Agnoites (3 syl.). Ag'-no-ites, or Ag-no’-i-tz (4 syl.).
(1) Certain heretics in_the fourth century who said ‘‘God did not know everything.”
(2) Another sect, in the sixth century, who maintained that Christ ‘did not know the time of the day of judgment,’* (Greek, a, not; yyvionw, to know.) -
Agnostic (47). A term invented by Prof. Huxley in 1885 to indicate the mental attitude of those who withhold their assent to whatever is incapable of proof, such as the absolute. In regard to miracles and revelation, agnostics neither dogmatically accept nor reject such matters, but simply say Agnosco—I do not know—they are not capable of proof,
.Agnus-castus, A shrub of the Vitex fue. called agnos (chaste) by the
eeks, because the Athenian ladies, at
——4
the feast of Cerés, used to strew their couches with vitex leaves, as a palladium of chastity. The monks, mistaking agnos (chaste) for egnus (a lamb), but knowing the use made of the plant, added castus to explain its character, making it chaste-lamb. (For another similar blunder, see 1.H.S.)
Agnus- Dei. A cake of wax or dough stamped with the figure of a lamb supporting the banner of the Cross, and distributed by the Pope on the Sunday after Easter as an amulet. Our Lord is called Agnus Dei (the Lamb of God). There is also a prayer so called, because it begins with the words, Agnus Der, qui tollis pecca'ta mundi (O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the
-world).
Agog’. He is all agog, in nervous anxiety ; on the gui vive, ike a horse in clover. (French, @ gogo, or vivre d gogo, to live in clover.)
Agonis'tes (4syl.). Samson Agonistes (the title of Multon’s drama) means Samson wrestling with adversity—Sam- son combating with trouble. (Greek, agonv'zomaz, to combat, to struggle.)
' Agonis'tics. A bratich of the Dona-
‘tists of Africa who roamed from town to
town affirming they were ministers of justice. The Greek adn (an assembly) =the Latin nundine, days when the . law-courts were opened, that country people might go and get their law-suits settled.
Ag’ony properly means contention in the athletic games ; and to agonise is the act of contending. (Greek, agor, a game of contest, as well as a ‘‘place of assembly ’’). ;
Agony, meaning ‘‘ great pain,”’ is the wrestle with pain or struggle with suffer- ing..
Agony Column of a newspaper. A column containing advertisements of missing relatives and friends ; indicating great distress of mind in the advertiser.
Agrarian Law, from the Latin ager (and), is a law for making land the common property of a nation, and not. the particular property of individuals. In a modified form, it means a re- distribution of land, giving to each citizen a portion.
Agrimony. The older spelling was Argemony, and Pliny calls it agemonia, from the Greek agemos, a white speck on the eye, which this plant was supposed to cure. :
Ague
Ague (4 cure for). (See Homer.)
Ague-cheek. Sir Andrew Ague- cheek, a straight-haired country squire, stupid even to silliness, self-conceited, living to eat, and wholly unacquainted with the world of fashion. Thecharacter is in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
A’gur’s Wish (Prov. xxx. 8), ‘‘Give me neither riches nor poverty.”’
Ahasue rus, or Ahashverosh. - A title common to several Persian kings. The three mentioned in the Bible are sup- posed to be Cyaxarés (Dan. xi. 1); Xerxes (Esther); and Cambyses (Ezra iv. 6).
An alabaster vase found at Halicarnassus gives four renderings of the name Xerxes, viz., Persian, dthsha@yarsha; Assyrian, Khisiharsaha; Egyptian, Khshyarsha, and the Greek, Xerres; the Sans- krit root Kshi means “to rule,” Kshathra (Zend Ksathra), a king.
Ahead. The wind’s ahead—i.e., blows in the direction towards which the ship’s head points; in front. If the wind blows in the opposite direction (i.¢.,
-towards the stern) it is said to be astern. When one ship is ahead of another, it is re it, or further advanced. ‘‘ Ahead of his class,’? meansatthe head. Ahead in arace, means before the rest of the runners.
To go ahead is to go on without hesi- tation, as a ship runs ahead of another.
Ahith’ophel, or Achitophel. A treacherous friend and adviser. Ahitho- phel was David’s counsellor, but joined Absalom in revolt, and advised him ‘*‘ like the oracle of God” (2 Sam. xvi. 20-23). In Dryden’s political satire, Achitophel stands for the Earl of Shaftes- bury. (See ACHITOPHEL.)
Ahmed (Prince). Noted for the tent given him by the fairy Pari-ban’ou, which would cover a whole army, but might be carried in one’s pocket; and for the apple of Samarcand’, which would cure all diseases, — Arabian Nights, Prince Ahmed, ete.
This tent coincides in a marvellous manner with the Norse ship called Skid- bladnir (g.v.). (See SoLomon’s CaRPert.)
Aholibah (Ezek. xxiii. 4, 11, etc.). The personification of prostitution. Used by the prophet to signify religious adult- ery or harlotry. (See HaRwor.)
_ “The great difficulty in exposing the immoral- itios of this Aholibab is that ber [acts] are so revolting.”"—Papers on the Social Evil, 1885. ;
Aholibamah. A granddaughter of Cain, loved by the seraph Samia’sa, She isa proud, ambitious, queen-like beauty, a female type of Cain, When the flood
24
Air one's opinions
came, her angel-lover carried her under his wings to some other planet.— Byron : Heaven and Earth.
Ahriman, or Ahrim'anés. Theprin- ciple or angel of darkness and evil in the Magian system. (See ORMUSD.)
“T recognise the evil spirit, sir, and do honour to Ahrimanes in this young nian,"—Thackeray.
Aide toi et le Ciel t’aidera (God will help those who help themselves). The party-motto of a political society of France, established in 1824. The object of the society was, by agitation and the press, to induee the middle classes to resist the Government. Guizot was at one time its president, and Le Globe and Le National its organs. This society, which doubtless aided in bringing about ihe poroluuice of 1830, was dissolved in
Algrette (2 syl.). A lady’s head- dress, consisting of feathers or flowers. The French call the down of thistles and dandelions, as well as the tuft of birds, aigrette,
Aim. To give aim, to stand aloof. A term in archery, meaning to stand within a convenient distance from the butts, to give the archers information how near their arrows fall to the mark aimed at.
“But, gentle people, give me aim awhile,
For nature puts me toa heavy task; —
Stand all aloof.”
Shakespeare: Titus Andronicus, V. 3,
To cry aim, To applaud, encourage, In archery it was aay to appoint certain persons to cry aim, for the sake of encouraging those who were about to shoot.
“ All my neighbours shall cry aim.*- Shakespeare: Merry Wives of Windsor, iii, 2.
Aim-crier. An abettor, one who encourages. In archery, the on em- ployed ta ‘‘cry aim.” (See above,)
“Thou siniling aim-crier at princes’ fall.” nglish Arcadia. .
Air, an element, Anaxagoras held air to be the primary form of matter.
Aristotle gives Fire, Air, Earth, and
Water as fhe four elements. =~
Air, a manner, as “the air of the
“eourt,” the ‘‘air of gentility ;’’ **a good
air’? (manner, deportment pervading habit. . Air, in music, is that melody which predominates and gives its character to the piece. Aoory Air one’s opinions (7v) To state emly based
opinions without having
means the
Air-brained
them on proper data. To let them fly loose, like a caged bird.
To ventilate an opinion means to suggest for the Purpose of having it duly tested. A conceited ™man airs his opinions, a discreet one ventilates them, as corn when it is winnowed; and the chaff, is blown off.
Air-brained. “Giddy, heedless. This word is now generally spelt ‘‘ hare- brained ;’’ but, by ancient authors, Aazr- brained. In ©. Thomson’s <Autobio- graphy it is a “« Air-brained,’’ which seems plausible.
Air-line signifies (in the United States) the most direct and shortest possible route between two given places, as the Eastern and Western Air-line Railway.
Air-ship (47). A balloon.
“Presently a north-easterly curtent of wind struck the air-ship, and it began to move with great velocity upon a horizontal line.” — Max Adeler: The Captain's MS.
Air-throne. Odin’s throne in Glads- heim. His palace was in Asgard. Airs. To givé oneself mighty airs:
25
to assume, in manner, appearance, and.
tone, a superiority to which you have noclaim, The same as dir, manner (q..).
The plural is essential in this case to take it out of the category of mere eccentricity, or to dis- tinguish it from “‘air’ in the sense of deport- ment, as “ be had a fine, manly air,” “bis air was that of agentleman.” Air, in the singular, being generally complimentary, but “ airs "in tbe plural always conveying censure. In Italian, we find tbe phrase, Si da dell avie.
Airap'adam. The white elephant, one of the eight which, according to Indian mythology, sustain the earth.
Aisle (pronounce i/e). The northand
south wings ofa church. Latin, ala (axilla, ascella), through the French, ai/e, a wing. In German the nave of a
church is schiff, and the aisle flugel (a wing). In some church documents the aisles are called alleys (walks), and hence the nave is still sometimes called the ‘‘ middle aisle”’ or alley. The choir of Lincoln Cathedral used to be called the ‘‘ Chanters’ alley ;’’ and Olden tells us that when he came to be church- warden, in 1638, he made the Puritans ‘come up the middle alley on their knees to the raile.”’
Aitch-bone of beef. Corruption of “ Naitch-bone,”’ i.e. the haunch-bone (Latin, nates, a haunch or buttock).
Similarly, “an apron” is a corruption of a by 9 i nl ; “an adder” is a corruption of a nadder ld Eng., neddre). In other words, we have reversed the order ; thus ‘ta newt" is an ewt; “a nag” is an 6g\ Danish). Latin, eg{wus], a horse.
Ajax, the Greater, King of Sal’amis, @ man of giant stature, arta h and self- confident, Generally called Tel’amon
Aladdin's Window
Ajax, because he was the son of Tel’a- mon. When the armour of Hector was awarded to Ulysses instead of to himself, he turned mad from vexation and stabbed himself.—Homer’s Jad, and later poets.
Ajax, the Less. Son of Oileus (3 syl.), King of Locris, in Greece. The night Troy was taken, he offered violence to Cas- sandra, the prophetic daughter of Priam ; in consequence of which his ship was driven on a rock, and he perished at sea. —Homer's Iliad, and later poets.
“Ipsa (Juno), Jovis rapiduin jaculata e nubibus
_ ignem, ; Disjecitque rates, evertitque equora yentis ; Ilium (Ajax) expirantem transfixo pectore flammas i Turbine corripuit, scopuloque infixit acuto.” Virgil: £ncid, i. 42, ete.
Akbar. An Arabic word, meaning ‘*Very Great.’’ Akbar-Khan, the ‘very great Khan,”’ is applied especially to the Khan of Hindistan who reigned 1556+ 1605.
Ak'uan, the giant whom Rustan slew. (Lersian mythology.)
Ak'uman, The most malevolent of all the Persian gods.
Alabama, U.S. America. The name of an Indian tribe of the Mississippi Valley, meaning ‘‘ here we rest.”
Alabaster. <A stone-of great purity and whiteness, used for ornaments. So called from ‘‘ Alabastron,’”? in Upper Egypt, where it abounds.
Alad'din, in the Arabian Nights’
. Tales, obtains a magic lamp, and has a ’ splendid palace built by the genius of the
lamp. He marries the daughter of the sultan of China, loses his lamp, and his palace is transported to Africa. Sir Walter Scott says, somewhat incor- rectly :-—
“Vanished into air like the palace of Aladdin.”
The palace did not vanish into air, but was transported to another place.
Aladdin’s Lamp. The source 01 wealth and good fortune, “After Aladdin came to his wealth and was married, he suffered his lamp to hang up and get rusty.
“It was impossible that a family, bolding a document which gave them access to the most powerful noblemen in Scotland, should have suffered it to remain unemployed, like Aladdin's rusty lamp.”—Senior {
Aladdin’s Ring, given him by the African magician, was a ‘‘ preservative against every evil.’—Arabian Nights; Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp.
Aladdin’s Window. 70 finsh Alad-
din'’s Window—i.e. to attempt to com-
Aladine
Albatross
pels something begun by a great genius, ut left imperfect. The genius of the lamp built a palace with twenty-four windows, all but one being set in frames of precious stones; the last was left for the sultan to finish ; but after exhausting his treasures, the sultan was obliged to abandon the task as hopeless.
Tait’s second part of Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophelis an Aladdin’s Window.
AYadine (3 syl.). The sagacious but
cruel old king of Jerusalem in Tasso’s:
Jerusalem Delivered, book xx. This is a fictitious character, inasmuch as the Holy Land was at the time under the dominion of the caliph of Egypt. Alad- ine was slain by Raymond.
AlYako. Son of Baro-De'vel, the great god of the gipsies, The gipsies
say that he will ultimately restore them,
to Assas in Assyria, their native country.
The image of Alako has a pen in his left.
hand and a sword in his right.
Alans. Large dogs, of various species, - used for hunting deer.
“Skins of animals slain in the chase were stretched on the ground . . . and upon a heap of these lay 3 alans, as they were called, i.e., wolf greyhounds of the largest size."—Sir W. Scott: The Talisman, chap. vi.
Alar'con. King of Barca, who joined the armament of Egypt against the Crusaders. His men were only half armed.—Jerusalem Delivered.
Alarm, An outcry made to give notice of danger. (Italian, all’? arme, ‘to arms;’’ French, alarme.)
Alar‘um Bell. In feudal times a *Jarum bell was rung in the castle in times of danger to summon the retainers toarms, A variant of alarm (¢.v.),
“ Awake! awake! Ring the alarum bell! Murder and treason '” Shakespeare: Macbeth, ii. 3.
Alasnam. Alasnam’s lady. In the |
Arabian Nights’ Tales Alasnam has eight diamond statues, but had to go in quest of a ninth more precious still, to fill the vacant pedestal. The prize was found in the lady who became his wife, at once the most beautiful and the most perfect of her race.
“There is wanting one pure and perfect model, and that one, wherever it is to be found, is like Alasnam's lady, worth them all.°—Sir Walter
Scolt. -
Alasnam’s Mirror, The “touch- stone of virtue,” given to Alasnam by one of the Genii. If he looked in this mirror it informed him whether a damsel would remain to him faithful or not. If the mirror remained unsullied so would the maiden; if it clouded, the maiden
would prove faithless.—Arabian Nights:
Prince Zeyn Alasnam.
Alas'tor, The evil-genius of a house: a Nemesis. Cicero says: ** Who medi- tated Killing himself that he might become the .A/astor of Augustus, whom he hated.’’ Shelley has a poem entitled ‘* Alastor, or The Spirit of Solitude. The word is Greek (alastér, the aveng ing god, a title applied to Zeus); the Romans had their Jupiter Vindex ; and we read in the Bible, ‘‘ Vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord ’’ (Rom, xii, 19).
Alauda. A Roman Iegion raised by Julius Cesar in Gaul, and so called because they carried a lark’s tuft on the top of their helmets, ~
Alawy. The Nile is so called by the Abyssinians. The word means * the giant.’’
Alb. The Jong white tunic (Latin, albus, white) bound round the waist with a girdle. The dress is emblematical of purity and continence, and worn by priests when saying Mass,
Albadara. A boné which the Arabs
say defies destruction, and which, at the
resurrection, will be the germ of the new body. The Jews called it Luz (q.v.); and the ‘‘ Os sacrum ”’ (7.0.) refers prob- ably to the same superstition.
Alban (S¢.), like St. Denis, is re- presented as carrying his head between his hands. His attributes are @ sword anda crown.
- St. Aphrodisius, St. Aventine, St. Desiderius. St, Clrysolius, St. Hilarian, St. Leo, St Lucanus. St. Lucian, St, Proba, St. Solangia. and several other martyrs, are represented as carrying their heads in their hands. An artist's bungling way of identifying a beadless trunk.
Albania, Turkey, or rather the region about the Caucasus, The word means the ‘‘ mountainous region.”
Albanian Hat (4x), ‘‘Un chapeau a l’Albanaise,’’? A sugar-loaf hat, such as was worn by the Albanians in the sixteenth century.
Alba'no Stone or Peperi’no, used by the Romans in building ;-a volcanic tufa quarried at Alba‘no. Fe
Albany. Scotland. (See ALBIN.)
Alba'ti. The white brethren. Certain Christian fanatics of the fourteenth century, so called because they. Bansed in white, Also the recently baptised. (Latin.) 3
Albatross. The largest of web- footed birds, called by sailors the Cape Sheep, from its frequenting the Cape of
Albert
Album
Good Hope. It gorges itself, and then sits motionless upon the waves. Itissaid to sleep in the air, because its flight is a gliding without any apparent motion of its long wings. Sailors say it is fatal to shoot an albatross, Coleridge’s -A- cient Mariner is founded on this super- stition.
Albert (47). A chain from the waistcoat pocket fo a button in front of the waistcoat. So called from Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria. When he went to Birmingham, in 1849, he was presented by the jewellers of the town with such a chain, and the fashion took the public fancy.
Albertaz'zo (in Orlando Furioso) married Alda, daughter of Otho, Duke of Saxony. His sons were Hugh or Ugo, and Fulke or Fulco. From this family springs the Royal Family of England.
Albia‘zar (in Jerusalem Delivered). One of the leaders of the Arab host which joined the Egyptian armament agahst
the Crusaders. ‘‘ A chief in rapine, not in knighthood bred.’’ (Book xvii.)
Athigen’ses (4 syl.). A common name for heretics prior to the Reformation ; so called from the Albigeois, inhabitants of the district which now is the department of the Tarn, the capital of which was Albi. It was here the persecution of the Re- formers began, under the direction of Pope Innocent IIT., in 1209. The Wal- den‘ses rose after them, but are not unfrequently confounded with them.
Albin. A name at qne time applied to the northern part of Scotland, called by the Romans “Caledonia.’? This was the part inhabited by the Picts. The Scots migrated from Scotia in the North of Ireland, and acquired mastery under Kenneth M’Alpin in 843. In poetry Scotland is called Albin.
Gaelic, ailp; Keltic, alp, our Alps. Alpin is either Ailp-ben son of the hills, ze, the hill- country, or <Alp-inn (hilly island), Albania means the “ hilly country.” " “Woe to his kindred, and woe to his cause,
When Albin her claymore indignantly draws.”
Campbell: Lochiel’s Warning.
Albi‘no. A term originally applied by the Portuguese to those negroes who were mottled with white spots; but now applied to those who are born with red eyes and white hair. Albinos are found among white people as well as among negroes. The term is also applied to beasts and plants. (Latin, albus, white.)
Albino-poets. Oliver Wendell Holmes, in the Autocrat of the eae Table (chap. viii.), speaks of ke
White as one of the ‘sweet Albino poets,’? whose ‘‘ plaintive song’’ he admires, It implies some deficiency of virility, as albinism suggests weakness, and possibly is meant as a play upon the name in this particular instance.
AVbion. England, so named from the ancient inhabitants called Albio‘nés. The usual etymology of a/lus (white), said to have been given by Julius Cesar in allusion to the ‘* white cliffs,’’ is quite untenable, as an old Greek treatise, the De Mundo, formerly ascribed. to Aris- totle, mentions the islands of Albion and Jérné three hundred years before the invasion of Caesar. Probably ** AYbion’’ or Albany was the Celtic name of all Great Britain, subsequently restricted to Scotland, and then to the Highlands of Scotland. Certainly the inhabitants of the whole island are im- plied in the word <Albdiongs in Festus Avienus’s account ofthe voyage of Hamilcar in the fifth century B.c. (See ALBIN.)
“ Beyond the Pillars of Herculés is the ocean which flows round the earth, and in it are 2 very large islands called Britannia, viz., Albion and Jérné.”"—De Mundo, Sec. iii.
Albion. Son of the king of this island when Oberon held his court in what we call Kensington-Gardens, He was stolen by the elfin Milkah, and brought up in fairyland. When nine- teen years of age, he fell in love with Kenna, daughter of King O’beron, but was driven from the empire by the in- dignant monarch, Albion invaded the territory, but was slain in the battle. When Kenna knew this, she poured the juice of moly over the dead body, and it changed into a snow-drop.—T. Tickell.
Albion the Giant. Fourth son of Neptune, sixth son of Osiris, and brother of Herculés, his mother being Amphi- trita. Albion the Giant was put by his father in possession of the isle of Britain,
‘where he speedily subdued the Samo-
theans, the first’ inhabitants. His brother Bergion ruled over Ireland and the Orkneys. Another of his brothers was Lestrigo, who subjected iol, (See W. Harrison’s Introduction to Holinshed's Clhironicle.)
Albrac’ca’s Damsel (in Orlando Furioso) is Angelica, Albracca is the capital of Cathay (¢.v,).
Album. A blank book for scraps. The Romans applied the word to certain tables overlaid with gypsum, on which were inscribed the annals of the chief priests, the edicts of the prators, and
Aicade
Aiderman
rules relating to civil matters. In the Middle Ages, ‘‘album’’ was the general name of a register or list; so called from being kept either on a white (a/bus) board with black letters, or on a black board with white letters, For the same reason the boards in churches for notices, and the boards in universities containing the names of the college men, are called albums.
Alca‘de (3 syl.). A magistrate is so called iu Spain and Portugal. The word is the Arabic al cadi (the judge).
Alcaic Verse or Aleaics. A Greek and Latin metre, so called from Alcéos, a lyric poet, who invented it. Each line is divided into two parts, thus:
Saya pe US
The first two lines of each stanza of the ninth ode of Horace are in Alcaics. The first two lines of the ode run thus, and in the same metre:
“See how Soracté groans with its wintry snow, And weary woodlands bend with the toilsome
weight.”
Alcan'tara (Order of). A military and religious order instituted in 1214 by Altonso IX., King of Castile, to com- memorate the taking of Alcantara from the Moors. The sovereign of Spain is, ex-officio, head of the Order. A resusci- tation of the order of St, Julian of the Pear-tree, instituted by Fernando Gomez in 1176, better known by the French title St. Julien du Poirier. The badge of the order was a pear-tree,
Alcastus (in Jerusalem Delivered). The Cap‘aneus of the Crusaders, leader of 6,000 foot soldiers from Helvetia.
Alce (2 syl.).. One of the dogs of Acte’on. The word means ‘strength.’’
Alces'te (2.syl.). The hero of Mo- litre’s Misanthrope. Not unlike Shake- speare’s character of Timon.
Alchemilla or Lady’s Mantle. The alchemist’s plant; so called because al- chemists collected the dew of its leaves for their operations. Lady means the Virgin Mary, to whom the plant was dedicated,
Alchemy (Al’-ki-m%) is the Arabic al kiméa (the secret art); so called not only because it was carried on in secret, but because its main objects: were the three great secrets of science.—the transmutation of baser metals into gold, ae universal solvent, and the elixir of
Ce pe
Alcim’edon. A generic name for a first-rate carver in wood. ; “Pocula ponam Fagina, ccelatum divini opus Alcimedentis,” ‘ Virgil: Eclogue, tii. 36, Alci‘na. The personification of car- nal pleasure in Orlando Furioso; the Circé of glassic fable, and Laté of the Arabians. She enjoyed her lovers for a time, and then changed them into trees, stones, fountains, or beasts, as her fancy dictated.
Alcinoo poma dare (to give apples to Alcindus). To carry coals to New- castle ; sending cider to Herefordshire. The orchards of Alcindus, King of paneyts (Corfu), were famous for their Tuits.
Alcofribas, The pseudonym of Rabelais in his Gargantua and Panta- gruel. Alcofribas Nasier is an anagram of ‘‘ Francois Rabelais.”” The introe duction runs thus: ‘‘The inestimable life of the great Gargantua, father of Pantagruel, heretofore composed by M. Alcofribas, abstractor of the quint- essence, a book full of pantagruelism.’’
Alcuith, mentioned by the Venerable Bede, is Dumbarton.
Aldabella or <Aldabelle (in Orlando Furioso), Sister of Oliviero and Brandimarte, daughter of Monodantés, and wife of Orlando.
Aldabella. A marchioness of Florence, who gave entertainment to the mag- nates of the city. She was very haud- some, heartless, and arrogant. When Fazio became rich with Bartoldo’s money, Aldabella inveigled him from his wite, and his wife, out of jealousy, accused her husband of being privy to Bartoldo’s death. Fazio being con- demned for murder and robbery, his wife Bianca accused Aldabella of in- veigling him, and the marchioness was condemned by the Duke of Florence to spend the rest of her life in a nunnery. —Dean Milman; Fazio.
Aldeb’aran, The sun in Arabian mythology. In astronomy, the star called the Bull’s eye in the constellation Taurus. (Arabic al the, debaran.)
Alderman. One of the seniors or elders. Now applied to a class of magistrates in corporate towns. - In London an alderman is the chief magis- trate in a ward appointed by election. There are also aldermen of the County Council. rid?
A turkey is called anu alderman, both from its presence in aldermanic feasts,
Alderman
and also because of its red and purple colours about the head and neck, which make if a sort of poultry alderman,
An alderman in chains, by a similar effort of wit, is a turkey hung with sausages,
Alderman (4). a crowbar for forcin from the high ran burglars.
Alderman (47). A cant term for half-a-crown. An alderman as chief magistrate is~half a king in his own ward ; and half a crown is half a king.
Aldgate Pump. A draught on Aldgate Pump. A cheque with- no effects. A worthless bill.: The pun is on the word draught, which means either an order on a bank for money or a sup of liquor.
Al dibo-ron'te-phos'co-phor'nio. A courtier in Henry Carey’s farce called Chro‘non-ho'ton-thol'ogos.
Aldiger (in Orlando Furioso), Buo’vo’s son, of the house of Clarmont, who lived in Ag’rismont Castle. He was brother of Malagi’gi and Vivian; all Christians,
Aldine (2 syl.). Leader of the second squadron of Arabs who joined the Egyp- tian armament against the Crusaders, — Tasso: Jerusalem Delivered. (See SypHax,)
Aldine Editions. Editions of the Greek and Latin classics, published and printed under the superintendence of Aldo Manuz'o, his father-in-law Andrea of Asolo, and his son Paolo (1490-1597) 3. most of them in small octavo, and all noted for their accuracy. The father invented the type called itadics, once called Aldine, and first used in printing Virgil, 1501.
Aldingar (Sir). Steward of Queen Eleanor, are of Henry II. He im- peached her fidelity, and submitted to a combat to substantiate his charge ; but an angel, in the shape of a child, established the queen’s innocence, — Perey’s Reliques,
Ale is the Scandinavian 67, called ealo inourisland. Beer, written dere, even in the reign of James I., is the Anglo-Saxon beor, from bere (barley). A beverage made from barley is mentioned by Tacitus and even Herodotus, Hops were introduced from Holland and used for brewing in 1524, but their use was pro- hibited by Act of Parliament in 1523—a
A burglar’s tool; safes. So called it holds with
Alectromancy
prohibition which soon fell into disuse. Ale is made from pale malt, whence its light colour; porter and stout from malt more highly dried. Beer is the general word, and in many parts of England includes ale, porter, and stout. The word ade was introduced by the Danes, and the word deer by the Teutons. Among London brewers dees meaus the dark form, called also stout or porter.
“Called ale among men; but by the gods called beer.”—The Alvismal.
Aleberry, a corruption of ale-bree, A drink made of hot ale, spice, sugar, and toast. Burns speaks of the barley- bree (Anglo-Saxon drin, broth).
_ “Cause an aleberry to be made for ber, and put into it powder of camphor.” —The Pathway to Health.
_ Ale-dagger (dn). <A dagger used in self-defeace in ale-house brawls.
“He that drinkes with cutlers must not he without his ale-dagger.” (1589), (See N, BE. D.)
Pierce Pennilesse says :—“ All that will not... weare ale-house daggers at your backes (should abstain from taverns)."—See Shakespeare Society, p. 55. -
Ale-draper, a tapster. Ale-drapery, the selling of ale, ete.
“No other occupation have. T but to bean ale- draper.”—H. Chettle: Kind-harts' Dreame, 1592,
Ale Knight (47). -A knight of the ale-tub, a tippler, a sot.
Ale-silver. A yearly tribute paid to the corporation of London, as a licence for selling dle.
Ale-stake. The pole set up before ale-houses by way of ‘‘sign.’? A bush was very often fixed to its top. <A tavern.
“A garland had he set upon his head
As great as it werein for an ale-stake.” Chaucer, “T know many an ale-stake.” Hawkins; English Drama, i, 100, Ale-wife, The landlady of an ale-
house or ale-stand.
Alec'te. One of the Furies, whose head was covered with snakes, “Then like Alecto, terrible to view, Or like Medusa, the Circassian grew.” Hoole; Jerusalem Delivered, b, vi, Alectorian Stone (47). A stone said to be of talismanic power, foun in the stomach of cocks, Those who ossess it are strong, brave, aud wealthy. Tilo of Croténa owed his strength to this talisman. As a philtre it has the ower of preventing thirst or of assuag- ing it. (Greek, alectér, a cock.)
Alectromancy. Divination by a cock. Draw a circle, and write i succession round it the letters of the
Aleria
Alexandrian School
alphabet, on each of which lay a grain of corn. Then puta cock in the centre of the circle, and watch what grains he eats. The letters will prognosticate the answer, Libanius Ae Jamblicus thus discovered who was to succeed the emperor Valens. The cock ate the grains over the letters t, h, e, 0, d= Theod forus]. Greek alector, cock; manteia, divination.
Ale‘ria (in Orlando Furioso). One of the Amazons, and the best beloved of the ten wives of Guido the Savage.
Alert. To be on the watch. From the Latin erectus, part. of erigére, to set upright ; Italian, erto ; French, erte, a watch-tower. Hence the Italian staré all’ erta, the Spanish estar alerta, and the French éire ad Verte, to be on the watch.
Alessio. The lover of Liza, in Bel- Wni’s opera of La Sonnambula (Scribe’s libretto).
Ale'thes (3 syl.). An ambassador from Egypt to King Al‘adine. He is represented as a man of low birth raised to the highest rank, subtle, false, de- ceitful, and wily.—TZasso: Jerusalem Delivered.
Alexander and the Robber. The robber’s name was Diomedés.—Gesta Romanorum, cxlvi.
You are thinking of Parmenio, and I of Alexander—i.e., you are thinking what you ought.to receive, and I what I ought to give; you are thinking of those castigated, rewarded, or gifted; but I of my own position, and what punishment, reward, or gift is con- sistent with my rank. The allusion is to the taleabout Parmen'‘io and Alex- ander, when the king said, ‘‘ I consider not what Parmenio should receive, but what Alexander should give.”’
Only two Alexanders. Alexander said, “There are but two Alexanders—the invincible son of. Philip, and the inimit- able painting of the hero by Apellés.’’
The continence of Alexander, Having ary the battle of Issus (B.c. 333) the
amily of King Darius fell into his hand; but he treated the ladies as queens, and observed the greatest de- corum towards them. A eunuch, having escaped, told Darius of this noble con- tinence, and Darius could not but admire such nobility in a rival.—Arrian Ana- basis of Alexander, iv. 20. (See Con- TINENCE.)
Alexander, so Paris, son of Priam,
was called by the shepherds who brought him up.
Alexander of the North. Charles XII. of Sweden, so called from his mili- tary achievements, He was conquered at Pultowa, in Russia (1709), by Czar Peter the Great (1682-1718).
- “ Repressing here The frantic Alexander of the North.” Thomson: Winter.
The Persian Alexander. Sandjar (1117. 1158).
Alexander the Corrector. Alex- ander Cruden, author of the ‘“‘ Concord- ance to the Bible,’ who petitioned Parliament to constitute him “ Corrector of the People,’? and went about con- stantly with a sponge to wipe out the licentious, coarse, and profane chalk
scrawls which met his eye, (1701+ 1770.) Alexander’s Beard, <A smooth
chin, no beard at all. An Amazonian chin. “ Disgracéd yet with Alexander’s bearde.” Gascoigne: The Steele Glas. Alexandra (in Orlando Furioso). Oronthea’s daughter; the Amazon queen.
Alexandra, so Cassandra, daughter of Priam, is called. The two names are mere variants of each other.
Alexan’drian, Anything from the East was so called by the old chroniclers and romancers, because Alexandria was the depét from which Eastern stores reached Europe,
“Reclined on Alexandrian carpets (i.¢., Persian), Rose: Orlando Furioso, x. 37.
Alexandrian Codex. A manuscript of the Scriptures in Greek, which be- longed to the library of the patriarchs of Alexandria, in Africa, A.D. 1098. In 1628 it was sent as a present to Charles I., and (in 1753) was placed in the British Museum. It is on parchment, in uncial letters, and contains the Sep- tuagint version (except the Psalms), a
art of the New Testament, and the pistles of Clemens Romanus.
Alexandrian Library. Founded by Ptolemy So’'ter, in Alexandria, in Egypt. The tale is that it was burnt and partly consumed in 391; but when the city fell into the hands of the calif Omar, in 642, the Arabs found books sufficient to ‘‘ heat the baths of the city for six months,” It is said that it con- tained 700,000 volumes.
‘Alexandrian School. An academy of literature by Ptolemy, son of La‘gos,
Alexandrine Age
Alhambra
especially famous for its grammarians and mathematicians. Of its gram- marians the most noted are Aristarchos, Harpocra‘tion, and Eratos‘thenés; and of its mathematicians, Ptolemy and Euclid, the former an astronomer, .and the latter the geometer whose Elements are still very generally used.
Alexandrine Age. From 4.pD. 323 to 640, when Alexandria, in Egypt, was the centre of science and literature,
Alexandrine Philosophy. The system of the Gnostics, or Platonised form of Christianity.
Alexan’drines (4 syl.), Iambic verses of 12 or 13 syllables, divided into
two parts between the sixth and seventh ©
syllable; so called because they were rst employed in a metrical romance of Alexander the Great, commenced by Lambert-li-Cors, and continued by Alexandre de Bernay, also called Alex- andre de Paris. The final line of the Spenserian stanza is an Alexandrine, “ A needless Alexandrine ends the song, Which, like a wounded snake, | dragsits slow lengtb along.” Pope: Essay-yn Criticism, Part ti., lines 356-7. Alexandrite @ syl.). A variety of chrysobery found in the mica-slate of the Urals. So named from Czar Alex- ander II. (1818, 1855-1881), because it show? the Russian colours, green and red.
Alexis (Si.). Patron saint of hermits and beggars. The story goes that he lived on his father’s estate as a hermit till death, but was never recognised,
He is represented, in Christian art, with a pilgrim’s habit and staff. Some- times he is drawn as if extended on a mat, with a letter in his hand, dying.
Alfa'der (father of all). The most ancient and chief of the Scandina'vian ~ gods. Odin, father of the “sir, or gods.
Alfana. (See Horse.)
Alfar’, The good and bad genii of the Scandina‘vians.
Alfheim (home of the good genii). A celestial city inhabited by the elves and fairies. (Scandinavian mythology.)
Alfonsin. An instrument for ex- tracting balls. So called from Alfonse Ferri, a surgeon of Naples, who in- vented it. (1552.)
_ Alfonsine Tables. Astronomical tables constructed in 1252, by Isaac Hazan, a Jewish rabbi, who named
them in honour of his patron, Alfonso X., King of Castile, surnamed ‘‘The Wise.”’ 7
Alfonso, to whom Tasso dedicated his Jerusalem Delivered, was Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara.
Alfonso XI., of Castile, whose ‘favourite’? was Leonora de Guzman. Being threatened with excommunication unless he put her away (as Leonora was in love with Ferdinando, a brave officer), the king created Ferdinando Marquis of Montreal, and gave him the hand of his mistress in marriage. As soon as Ferdinando discovered who Leonora was, he restored her to the king, and retired to a monastery. — Donizetti's Opera, La Favorita,
Alfred’s Scholars. Werfrith, Bisho of Worcester; Ethelstan and Werwulf, two Mercian priests; Plegmund (a Mercian), afterwards Archbishop of Can- terbury; Assera Welshman; Grimbald, a great French scholar, etc., invited over to England by King Alfred.
Al garsife (3 syl.). Son of Cambus- can, and brother of Cam’balo, who ‘¢won Theod’ora to wife.’ It was in the ‘¢ Squire’s Tale,’’ by Chaucer, but was never finished. (See Canacz.)
“Call him up that left half told
The story of Cambuscan bold,
Of Camball, and of Algarsife,
And who bad Canace to wife.” Milton ; It Penseroso,
Algebra 1s the Arabic al gebr (the equalisation), ‘‘the supplementing and equalising (process) ;’’ so called because the problems are solved by equations, and the equations are made by supple- mentary terms. Fancifully identified with the Arabian chemist Gebir. ;
Algrind, of Spenser, is meant for Grindal, Bishop of London in the be- ginning of Elizabeth’s reign. He was a Marian exile, and not a very cordial co-operator with Bishop Parker.
“The bills where dwelléd holy saints
I reverence and adore ;
Not for themselves, but for the saints, Which had been dead of yore.
And now they been to heaven for went, Their good is with them go ;
Their sample to us only lent, That als we mought do so,
“ Shepherds they weren of the best,
And lived in lowly Jeas,
And sith their souls be now at rest, Why done we them disease ?
Such one he was (as I have beard) Old Algrind often saine,
That whilome was the first shepherd, And lived With little gain.” !
Eclogue vii.
Alham’bra.. The palace of the ancient Moors in Grana‘da. The word
Ali
32
All cannot do all
is the Arabic al-hamra, or at full length kal’-at al hamra (the red castle).
Ali. Cousin and son-in-law of Ma- homet, the beauty of whose eyes is with the Persians proverbial; insomuch that the highest term hey employ to express beauty is Ayn Halt (eyes of Ali).— Chardin.
Alias. ‘You have as many aliases as Robin of Bagshot,’? one of Mac- heath’s gang: he was Robin of Bag- shot, akas Gordon, aXas Bluff Bob, ahas Carbuncle, alias Bob Booty.—Gay: The Beggm’s Opera.
Alibi Colspwrhere)s A plea of having been at another place at the time that an offence is alleged to have been com- mitted.
“Never mind the character, and stick to the
alley bi, Nothing like an alley bi, Sammy, no- thing.”—Dickens:; Pickwick Papera, A clock
Alibi Clock (4n), 1887.
which strikes one hour, while the hands int to a different time, the real time ing neither one nor the other.
Aliboron. Maitre Aliboron, Mr. Jackass. Aliboron is the name of a jackass in La Fontaine’s Fadles. (See Gonrn.)
Alice. The foster-sister of Robert le Diable, and bride of Rambaldo, the Norman troubadour, She came to Pa- lermo to place in the duke’s hand her mother’s will, which he was enjoined not to read till he was a virtuous man. When Bertram, his fiend-father, tempted his son to evil, Alice proved his good genius; and when, at last, Bertram claimed his soul as the price of his ill deeds, Alice’read the ‘ will,’? and won him from the evil one. ~— Meyerbeer’s Opera, Roberto it Diavoto,
Alice Brand. Wife of Lord Richard, cursed with the ‘‘ sleepless eye.’? Alice signed Urgan the dwarf thrice with the sign of the cross, and he became ‘the fairest knight in all Scotland; ’? when Alice recognised in him her own brother. —Sir Walter Scott: The Lady of the Lake, iv. 12,
Alichi’no (wing-drooped). A devil, in The Inferno of Dente,
Aliok and Sandie. Contractions of Alexander; the one being Alex” and the other ’xander.
Alicon. The seventh heaven, to which Azrael conveys the spirits of the just. (Mahometan mythology.)
_ Alien Priory (An). A priory which owes allegiance to another priory, A
sub-priory, like Rufford Abbey, Notts, which was under the prior of Rievaulx
-in Yorkshire.
Alifan’‘faron, the giant. Don Quixote attacked a flock of sheep, which he declared to be the army of the giant Alifanfaron, Similarly Ajax, in a fit of madness, fell upon a flock of sheep, which he mistook for Grecian princes.
Alilat. The name by which the Arabs adore nature, which they repre- sent by a crescent moon.
Aliprando (in Jerusalem Delivered). One of the Christian knights, Having discovered the armour of Rinaldo cast ‘on one side, he took it to Godfrey, who very naturally inferred that Rinaldo had been slain, (See Gén, xxxvii, 31-35.)
.Aliris, Sultan of Lower Bucharia. Under the disguised name of Fer‘amorz, he accompanied Lalla Rookh, his be- trothed, from Delhi, and won her heart by his ways, and the tales he told on the journey. The lady fell in love with the poet, and was delighted to find, on the morning of the wedding, that Feramorz was, in fact, the sultan, her intended husband.—7Z, Moore. Lalla Rookh,
Al Kader (the Divine decree). A particular night in the month Ramad- han, when the Arabs say that angels descend to earth, and.Gabriel reveals to man the decrees of God.—Al Koran, ch. xcviii.
Alkahest. ‘The hypothetical uni- versal solvent. The word was invented by Paracelsus,
Al Rakim. (pronouncé Rah-keem’). The dog in the legend of the Seven. Sleepers of Ephesus, ;
Al-Sirat (Arabian, the path). The bridge over hell, no wider than the edge of a sword, across which every one who enters heaven must pass, (a- hometan theology.)
All. Everything, ‘ Our all,” every- thing we possess.
“Our allis at stake.” y } Addison’: State of War,
All and Some. ‘One and all.” (Old English, eadle @¢ somme, all at once, altogether.)
“Now stop your noses, readers, all and some.” Dryden; Absalom and Achitophel.
All and Sundry. All without ex- ception.
“He invited all and sundry to pirtake freely of tl e oaten cake and ale,”—Hall Cuine,
All cannot do all. Horace says, “Non omnia possumus omnes.’’ Ger- man proverb, ‘‘Hin jeder kann nicht.
All Fools’ Day
33 All Souls’ Day
alles.” All are not equally clever, Or rather, ‘‘Be not surprised that I cannot do what you can do,-for we are not all exactly alike,’’
All Fools’ Day (April Ist). APRIL Foot.) oF )
All Fours. A game of cards; so called from the four points that are at stake, viz. High, Low, Jack, and Game.
To go on all fours is to craw! about on knees and hands like a little child.
It does not go on all fours means it does not suit in every minute particular ; it does not fully satisfy the demand. It limps as a quadruped which does not go on all its four legs. Omnis comparatio claudicat (all similes limp).
“No simile can go on all-fours.” Macaulay.
All-hallown Summer. The second summer, or the summerly time which sets in about All-Hallows-tide. Called by the French, L’été de St. Martin (trom October 9th to November.11th). Also called St. Luke’s Summer (St. Luke's Day is October 18th). The Indian summer. Shakespeare uses the term—
“Farewell, thou latter spring ; farewell, All- hallown Summer !” 1 Henry IV. i. 2.
All Hallow’s Day (November Ist). The French call it -Zoussaint, which we have translated All Saints’ Day. Hallow- mas is All-Saints’ festival. (Anglo- Saxon, Adlig, but Halig-ménath was September, and Halig-deg was simply a Holy-day.)
All Hallows’ Eve. The Scotch tradi- tion is, that those born on All Hallows’ Eve have the gift of double sight, and commanding powers over spirits... Mary Avenel, on this supposition, is made to sce the White Lady, invisible. to less gifted visions,
“Being born on All-hallows’ Eve, she (Mary Avenel) was supposed to be invested with power over the invisible world.” (See Sir Walter Scott: The Monastery, clap. xiv.)
All in all. He is all in ail to me, that is, the dearest object of my affec- tion. God shall be all in all means all creation shall be absorbed or gathered into God, The phrase is also used ad- verbially, meaning altogether, as :—
*Take him for allin all,
_ I shall not lock upon his likeagain.” — Shakespeare: Humiet, ii. 2.
_All in the Wrong. A drama, by
(See
Murphy, borrowed from Destouches, the |
_ French dramatist. 3
. [grant] me, Blessed Martin).
All is lost that is put in a riven dish, In Latin, ‘‘Pertisum quiequid infun- ditur in dolium, perit.’”’ (It is no use helping the insolvent.)
All is not gold that glitters or glisters. Trust not toappearances. In Latin, ‘t Nulla fides fronti.”
“Not all that tempts your wandering eyes And heedless hearts is lawful prize, . , Nor all that glisters gold.” Gray : The Cat and the Gold Fish.
All my Eye (and) Betty Martin. All nonsense. Joe Miller says that a Jack Tar went into a foreign church, where he heard some one uttering these words—Ah ! mihi, bea'te Martine (Ah! On givin an‘account of his adventure, Jack sai
{ he could not make much out of it, but it
seemed to him very like ‘f All my eye and Betty Martin.’”’ Grose has ‘‘ Mihi beat Martinis”’ [sic]. The shortened phrase, ‘‘ All my eye,’’ is very common.
All one, ‘The same in effect. An- swers the same purpose.
All-overish. A familiar expression meaning allover ill at ease. ‘I feel all- overish,’’ not exactly ill, but uncom. fortable all over. The precursor of & fever, influeuza, ague, ete.
All Saints or Al Hallows. Yn 610 the Pope of Rome ordered that the heathen Pantheon should be converted into a Christian church, and dedicated to the honour of all martyrs. The festival of All Saints was first held on May Ist, but in the year 834 it was changed to November Ist. ‘‘ Hallows”?’ is from the Anglo-Saxon halig (holy).
All Serene, clerived from the Spanish word seréna. In Cuba the word is used as a countersign by sentinels, and is about equivalent to our ‘All right,” or ** All’s well.””
All Souls’ Day. The 2nd of No- vember, so called becayse the Roman Catholics on that day scek by prayer and almsgiving to‘alleviate the sufferings of souls in purgatory. It was first insti- tuted in the monastery of Clugny, in 993.
According to tradition, a pilgrim, re- turning from the Hol Lan , Was com- pelled by a storm to land on a rocky island, where he found a hermit, who told him that among the cliffs of the island was an opening into the infernal regions through which huge flames as- ecended, and where the groans of the tormented were distinctly audible. The’ pilgrim told Odilo, abbot of Clugny, of this; and the abbot appointed the day following, which was November 2nd, to
All the go
34
Alliteration
be set apart for the benefit of souls in purgatory. ?
All the go. Allthe fashion. Drapers will tell you that certain goods ‘‘go off well.’”’? They are in great demand, all the mode, quite in vogue,
“Her carte is hung in the West-end shops, With her name in full on the white below ; And all day long there’sa big crowd stops To look at the lady who's “all the go.” Binns: Lallads of Babylon (“‘ Beauty and the Beast”).
Ai there. Said of a sharp-witted person. Not all théve, said of one of weak intellect. The one has all his wits about-him, the other has not.
All this fora Song! The exclama- tion of Burleigh, when Queen Elizabeth ordered him to give £100 to Spenser for @ royal gratuity.
All to break (Judges ix. 53). ‘A certain woman cast a piece of millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull’’ does not mean for the sake of breaking his skull, but that she wholly smashed his skull. A spurious
' form, owing its existence to a typo- phical mistake. The to really be- ongs to the verb; and in the last passage quoted it should be read “all to-brake.”” The fo is a Teutonic par- ticle, meaning asunder, in pieces. It is very common in Old English, where we
have ‘‘ To-bite,”’ i.e. bite in pieces, to- cleave, to-rend, to-tear. Wi is the adverb = entirely, wholly. So ‘‘all to
bebattered’’=wholly battered to pieces, All-to-frozen. Here to-frozen is in- tensitive. So in Latin dis-crucior = valdecrucior. Plautus (in his Menechini, ji. line 24) uses the phrase “ dis-caveas malo,’’ i.e, be fully on your guard, etc., be very much beware of.
Gothic, dis; O. N., tor; Old High German, zar; Latin, dis ; Greek, de.
“Mercutio’s icy hand had all-to-frozen mine” (fe, wholly frozen up mine).—Romeo and Juliet 562).
“Her wings | .. were al-to-ruffled and sometimes impaired."—Miltun ; Comus,
All waters (J am for). Iam a Jack of all trades, can turn my hand to any- thing, a good all-reund man. Like a fish which can live in salt or fresh
water, “Tam for all waters.” Shakespeare: Twelfth Night, iv. 2
All-work. 4 nid of dll work, A general servant who does all the work of a house; at once nurse-maid, house- maid, and cook.
Alla or Allah (that is, a/-ilah). ‘**The adorable.” The Arabic name of the Supreme Being.
"Poe city won fo~ Allah from the Giaour,” { Byron: wrod,
* .
ee
“when on the
Alla Akbar’. Allah is most inighty. The cry of the Arabs.—Ockley.
Allan-a-Dale. The minstrel of Robin Hood’s yeomen. He was assisted by Robin Hood in carrying off his bride, 2 oint of being married against her will to a rich old knight.
Allemand. ‘Une querelle d’ Alle- mand,’’ a quarrel about nothing. We call pot valour ‘* Dutch courage.”
Allen. (See ALLWORTHY.)
Allestree. Richard Allestree, of Derby, was a noted almanac maker im Ben Jonson’s time.
_ “A tittle more Would fetch all his astronomy from Allestree.” Ben Jonson; Magnetic La , lY. 3 (1633).
Alley (The). The Stock Exchange Alley.
“John Riye, after many active years in the Alley, retired to the Continent, and died at the age of 118.”—Old and New London, p. 476,
Alliensis (Dies) (June 16th, B.c. 390), when the Romans were cut to pieces by the Gauls near the banks of the river Allia; and ever after held to be a des nefastus, or unlucky day. -
Alligator. When the Spaniards first saw this reptile in the New World, the called it el dagarto (the lizard). Sir Wal- ter Raleigh called these creatures /agartos, and Ben Jonson alligartas,
“To the present day the Europeans in Ceylon apply the term alligator to what are in reality crocodiles.”"—J. E, Tennent: Ceylon (vol, I. part 2, chap. iii. p, 186+,
Alligator Pears (the fruit of Persea gratissuma) is a curious corruption. The aboriginal Carib word for the tree ia ‘‘aouacate,’? which the Spanish dis-. coverers pronounced ‘avocado,” and English sailors called ‘‘alligator,’’ as the nearest approach which occurred to them,
Alliteration,
Dr. BETHEL OF ETON. “ Didactic, dry, declamatory, dull, Big, burly Bethel bellows like a bull.” Eton College. CaRDINAL WOLSEY. " Begot by butchers, but by hishops bred, How high his Honour holds bis haughty head.” { Hucbald composed an alliterative poem on Charles the Bald, every word of which ees with c, a Henry Harder composed a poem of 100 lines, in Latin hexameters, on cats, every word ef which begins with ¢. The title is Canwn cum Catis certamen carmine compositum currente calamo C Catudh Canmii. The first line is— “Cattorum canimus certawina clare canumque.”
Allodials
=r)
Alman
Hamonicus wrote the Certamen cathb- licum cum Calvinistis, every word of which begins with ¢, 1
It is a curious coincidence that the names of these three men all begin with
(In the Materia more Magistralis every word begins with m._
4 Placentius, the Dominican, who died .
1548, wrote a poem of 258 Latin hexa- meters, called -Pugna Porcorum, every word of which begins with p. It begins thus :—
“ Plaudite, Porcelli, porcorum pigra propago.” Which may be translated—
“ Praise, Paul, prize pig's prolific progeny.”
@ Tusser, who died 1580, has a rhym- ing poem of twelve lines, every word of which begins with ¢.
{| The Rev. B. Poulter, prebendary of Winchester, composed in 1828 the famous alliterative alphabetic poem in rhymes. Each word of each line begins with the letter of the alphabet which it represents. It begins thus :—
“An Austrian army awfully arrayed
Boldly by battery besieged Belgrade ; Cossack commanders, cannonading come, Dealing destruction’s devastating doom;.. . =~ Some ascribe this alliterative poem to Alaric A. Watts (1820). (See H. SourneaTe, Many Thoughts on Many Things. :
Another attempt of the same kind begins thus :—
“About an 5 ago, as all agree,
Beauteous Belinda, brewing best Bohea Carelessly chattered, controverting clean, Dublin's derisive, disputatious dean . . .”
Allo’dials. Lands which are held by an absolute right, without even the bur- den of homage or fidelity ; opposed to
feudal. The word is Teutonic—all-od
(all property).
Allop’athy is in opposition to Ho- meopathy. The latter word is from the Greek, homeon pathos, similar disease ; and the former is allo pathos, a different disease. In one case, ‘like is to cure like”; and in: the latter, the disease is cured by its ‘‘ antidote.”
Alls. The five Alls, A public-house
sign. It has five human figures, with a
motto to each :—
(DA king in bis regalia... motto J governall.
(2) A bishop, in his pontificals , J pray for all. (3) A lawyer, in bis gown .. an P for all, (4) A soldier in regimentals nw Tfght for alt, (5) A labourer, with his tools ,, I pay for all. Several of these signs still exist.
Alls, ‘bl afeod ig . The refuse of all sorts of spirits drained from the
glasses, or spilt in drawing. The mixture is sold in gin-houses at a cheap Tate.
Allworth. In 4 New Way to Pay Old Debts, by Massinger.
Allworthy, in Fielding’s Tom Jones, is designed for fhe author's friend, Ralph Allen, of Bristol.
“Let humble Allen, with an awkward shame,
Do good by stealth, and blusl to find it fame.”
Pope: Epilogue to Sat. i. 135, 136.
Alma (the human soul), queer of ‘Body Castle,’? beset by enemies for seven years (the Seven Ages of Man). The besiegers are a rabble rout of evil desires, foul imaginations, and- silly conceits. Alma conducted Arthur and Sir Guyon over her castle. ‘The divine part of a man,’’ says Spenser, ‘is circular, a circle being the emblem of eternity; but the mortal part. ¢ri- angular, as it consists of three things— blood, flesh, and bones.’’—Prior’s Poem.
Alma Mater. A collegian so calls the university of which he is a member. The words are Latin for ‘fostering mother.’’
“Expulsion from bis Alma Mater.”—The Cot legian and the Porter.
Almack’s. A suite of assembly rooms in King Street, St. James’s (London) built in 1765 by a Scotchman named Macall, who inverted his name to obviate all prejudice and hide his origin. Balls, presided over by a committee of ladies of the highest rank, used to be given at these rooms; and to be admitted to them was as great a distinction as to be presented at Court. The rooms were afterwards known as Willis’s, from the name of the next proprietor, and used chiefly for large dinners, They were closed in 1890
Almagest. The Synfaris-megisté of Ptolemy, translated by the Arabians in 800, by order of the calif Al Maimon, and then called Al-maghesti, i.e. ** the megisté.’’ It contains numerous obser- vations and problems of geometry and astronomy: It is very rare, and more precious than gold. ° .
a German. The French Allemand, a German, which, of course, is the classic Alamanit or -Alamannt. Similarly, Almany = Germany, French, Allemagne. : ty “ Chonodomariusand Vestralpus, Aleman kings » « « Sat them downe neere unto Argentoratum, Holland: Ammianus Marcellius. “Now. Fulko co And dwelt in
Amany.”—Harrington: Orlando Furiogo, iii. 30.
;
‘distributed.
Almanac
36
Aloe
Almanac is the Arabic al manac (the diary). Verstegen says it is the Saxon al-mon-aght (all moon heed), and that it refers to the tallies of the full
and new moons kept by our Saxon an-
cestors. One of these tallies may still be seen at St. John’s College, Cam- bridge.
Before printing, or before it was common: By Solomon Jarchi.. ..in and after 1150
» Peter de Dacia .. ee «+ about 1300 » Walter de Elvendene .. on Se 4327 n dobn Somers, Oxford... +. ++ 138011 » Nicholas de Lynna ee es ++ 1386 y Purbach «- es ee et 1150-1461 First printéd by Gutenberg, at Mentz 1457 By Regiomontanus, at Nuremberg .-. 1472-3 « Zainer,at Ulm .. te Bs et ASTS » Richard Pynson (Shkeapeheard's : Qlendar) +» «2 «+ «+ 149713 » Stiéffler, in Venice oe 5d «+ 1499 » Poor Robin's Almanack his -- 1652 « Francis Moore’s Almanack_be-
tween.» +s 1698 and 1713 Stamp duty imposed 1710, repealed 1834.
The Man i? the Almanac stuck with pins (Nat. Lee), is a man marked with points referrmg to signs of the zodiac, and intended to indicate the favourable and unfavourable times of letting blood.
I shan't consult your almanac (French), I shall not come to you to know what weather to expect. The reference is to the prognostications of weather in al- manacs.
Almesbury. It was in a sanctuary at Almesbury that Queen Guenever took refuge, after her adulterous passion for Lancelot was revealed to the king (Arthur). Here she died ; but her body ‘was buried at Glastonbury.
Almighty Dollar.
Washington
Irving first made use of this expression, .
in his sketch of a ‘‘ Creole Village ”’ (1837).
“The almigbty dollar, that great object of uni- versal devotion throughout our land. . "— W, Irving: Wolfert's Roost, Creole Village, p.
i Ben ‘Jonson speaks of ‘almighty gold.
. Almond Tree. adh hairs. Preacher thus describes old age :—
“Tn the day when the keepers of the house (the hands) shall tremble, and the strong men (thc legs) bow themselves, and the grinders (the teeth) cease because they are few,and those that look out of the windows ithe eyes) be darkened |. . and tbe almond-tree shall flourish (grey hairs ov a bald pate), and the grasshopper be a burden, and de- Bire sliatl fail... when the silver cord (the spinal marrow) shall be loosed, the golden bowl Gintellect) broken, and the pitcber broken at the gen (the pulse of the heart stopped)."—Ecceles.
i. 3-6,
40,
The
-_Almonry. ‘The place where the almoner resides, or where alms are An almoner is a person whose “duty it is to distribute alms,
r
which, in ancient times, consisted of one-tenth of the entire income of a monastery. (See AMBRY.)
Alms. Gifts to the poor.
Dr. Johnson says the word has no singular; whereas Todd says it bas no plural. Like riches, it is wholly singular in construction, but is used both as a noun singular and noun plural. Of course.it isAlmos-ine, almos-ie, Almose, almessc, almes, alms, the s is not the plural suffix. Riches is the French richesse, Both words are singular, but, as nouns of multitude, prefer the plural con- struction. (Latin alimosina, Greek eleemosyné, from the verb eleéo, 1 pity.)
“Alms Basket. To live on the alms basket. To live on charity.
Alms-drink. Another's leavings; for alms consists of broken bread and the residue of drink. It is also applied to the liquor which a dnnker finds too much, and therefore hands to another.
Alms-fee. Peter’s pence, or Rome scot. Abolished in England by Henry VIL
Alms-house. A house where paupers are supported at the poe expense; a poor-house. Also a house set apart for the aged poor free of rent.
“Only, alas ! the poor who had neither friends nor attendants, Crept away to die in the alms-house, home
of. the homeless, ri Longfellow: Evangeline, part ii. 5, 2.
Alms-man. One who lives on alms.
Alnaschar Dream (47). Counting your chickens before they ate hatched? Alnaschar, the barber’s fifth brother, invested all his money in a basket of glass-ware, on which he was to make a certain profit. The profit, being in- vested, was to make more, and this was to go on till he grew rich enough to marry the vizier’s daughter. eing angry with his imaginary wife he gave a kick, overturned his basket, and broke all his wares. I
“To indulge in Alnagchar-like dreams of com- pound interest ad infinitum."—The Times,
Alnaschar of Modern Literature, Coleridge has been .so called because he “dreamt” his Kubla Khan, and wrote it out nextmorning. (1772-1834.) _
% Probably he. had been reading
‘Purchas’s Pilgrimage, for none can
doubt the resemblance of the two pieces, f , .
Aloe. A Hebrew word, Greek aloé. A very bitter plant; hence the proverb, Plus aloes quam mellis habet, “ (Life) has more bitters than sweets,” The French say, ‘‘La odte d'Adam contient plus
Along-shore Men
d’aloés que de miel,”” where céte d’ Adam, of course, means woman or one’s wife.
Socotrine Aloes came originally from the island called Socotra, in the Indian Ocean.
Along-shore Men or Longshoremen, that is stevedores (2 syl.), or men em- ployed to load and unload vessels.
Alonzo of A’guilar’, When Fer-_ nando, King of Aragon, was laying siege-
to Grana’da, after chasing Za‘gal from the gates, he asked who would under- take to plant his banner on the heights, Alonzo, ‘‘ the lowmost of the dons,’ un- dertook the task, but was ‘cut down by the Moors. His body was exposed in the wood of Oxije'ra, and the Moorish damsels, struck with its beauty, buried it near the brook of Alpuxarra,
Aloof. Stand aloof, away. <A sea term, meaning originally to bear to windward, or duff. (Norwegian, Ger- man, etc., /uft, wind, breeze.)
Alorus, so the Chaldeans called their first king, who, they say, camé from Babylon.
A Youtrance. | (Anglo-French for d outrance.) *A champion has started up to maintain
4 Voutrance er innocence of the great offence.” —Standard,
Alp. The Adrian renegade, a Vene- tian by extraction, who forswore the Christian faith to become a commander in the Turkish army. He led the host to the siege of Corinth, while that country was under the dominion of the Doge. He loved Francesca, daughter of Minotti, governor of Corinth, but she died of a broken heart because he de- serted his country and was an apostate. The renegade was shot in the siege.— Byron: Siege of Corinth.
Aliph. A mythical “sacred river in Xanadu,” which ran ‘“ through caverns
maeasureless to man.”’—Coleridge : Kubla
Khan,
Alpha, ‘J am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last”? (Rev. i. 8). “Alpha”? is the first, and ‘‘O-meg’a”’ the last, letter of the Greek alphabet. AQ.
Alphabet. | This is the only word .
compounded of letters only. The Greek alpha, (a) beta (b); our ABC (book),
“3 ‘The number of letters in an
To the uttermost.
Alphonso
alphabet varies in different languages. Thus there are
21 letters in the Italian alphabet. Hebrew & Syriac alphabet
» Latin of 24 ra Greek An 25 ” French a 26 » English, German, Dutch ,, 27 le Spanish * 28 ” Arabic 3 32 ” Coptic rs 33 i Russian ‘. 38 » Armenian » 39 n Georgian " 40 n Slavonic + y) 45 * Persian (Zend), ” 49 ” Sanskrit ”
< The Chinese have no alphabet, but about 20,000 syllabic characters,
Ezra vii. 21 contains all the letters of the En- glish language, presuming JandJ to be identical. Even the Italian alpbahet is capable of more than seventeen trillion combinations ; that is, 17 followed by eighteen other figures, as— 17,000,000,000,000,000,000 ; while the English alphabet will combine into more than twenty-nine thousand quatrillion com- binations ; that is, 29 followed by twenty-sevea other figures, as— 29,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
Yet we have no means of marking the several sounds of our different vowels ; nor can we show how to pronounce such simple words as. fovt, (pull and dull), sugar (father and rather), (gin'and be-gin), calm, Bourges, Beuf in “ Beuf-gras,” eufs, and thousands of other words.
*~ We want the restoration of th to distinguish between this and thin; a Greek ch to distinguish between Church and Christ, two g’s (one soft and one hard), two ¢’s, two o’s, half a dozen a’s, and so on.
~ Take a, we have fate, fat, Thames (e), war (0), salt (au), etc. So with e, we have prey (a), met Ae), England (i), sew (0), herb (u), etc. The other vowels are equally indefinite,
Alphe’os and Arethusa. | The
Greek fable says that Alphe’os, the
river-god, fell in love with the nyntph Arethu’sa, who fled from him in affright. The god pursued under the sea, but the nymph was changed into a spring, which. comes up in the harbour of Syracuse; “We have seen a moustachioed Alpleos, at Ramsgate, pursue an affrighted Arethusa.” — London Review, ‘ Alphe’us (in Orlando Furioso). A magician and ha Ying in the army of Charlemagne, slain in sleep by Clorida‘no.
Alphesibe’a or ‘‘ Arsinée,’”’ wife of Aleméon, She gave her spouse the ttt collar, the source of numberless evils. oe
So was the necklace. of Harmonia, and 30 were the collar and’ veil of Eriphylé, wife of Amphbiaraos, ; KTiF
Alphonso, ete. (See ALFONSO, etc.)
Aipleich
Alvina Weeps
Alpleich or “‘ Elfenreigen’’ (the weird spirit-song), that music which some hear before death. Faber refers to it in his Pilgrims of the Night,
“ Hark, hark, my.soul! Angelic songs are swelling.”
Pope also says, in the Dying Chris- tian— x
“Hark ! they whisper ; angels say, Sister spirit, come away."
Alpue, Alpieu (4/pu), in the game of Basset, doubling the stake on a winning card.
WWhieh ail the world subdue Should, while the lover gazing dies, Be only on alpue.” Etherege: Basset.
Alquife (al-ké-fy). A famous en- chanter, introduced into the romances of ancient times, 2 Began those re- lating to Am‘adis of Gaul
Alrinach, The demon who presides over floods and earthquakes, rain and hail. It is this demon who causes ship- wrecks. When visible, it isin a female . form.~ (Eastern mythology.)
Alrtina-wife (An). The Alrunes were the larés or penatés of the ancient Germans, An Alruna-wife was the household goddess of a German family. An Alruna-maiden is a household maiden goddess.
“She (Hypatia) looked as fair as the sun, and ot ain an Alrupa-wife."—Kingsley : Hypatia,
Alsa'tia. The Whitefriars sanctuary for debtors and law-breakers. Cunning- ham thinks the name is borrowed from Alsace, in France, which being a frontier of the Rhine, was everlastingly the seat of war and the refuge of the disaffected. Sir Walter Scott, in his Fortunes of Nigel, has described the life and state of this rookery. He has borrowed largely from Shadwell’s comedy, Ze Squire of Alsatia. (See PETAND.)
- Alsvidur. (Sce Horsz.)
Altamo'rus (in Jerusalem Delivered). King of Samarcand’, who joined the Egyptian armament against the Crusa- ders. ‘‘He was supreme in courage as in might.” (Book xvii.) He sur- roan ah himself to Godfrey. (Book xXx,
Altan Kol or Gold River (Thibet). So called from the gold which abounds in its sands.
Altar (4n), in Christian art. St. Stephen (the Pope), and Thomas Becket are represented as immolated before an altar. St. Canute is represented as tying before an altar. St. Charles
_by
Borromeo is represented as kneeling before an altar. St. Gregory (the Pope) is represented as offering sacrifice before an altar. And the attribute of Victor is an altar overthrown, in allusion to his throwing down a Roman altar in the presence of the Emperor Maximian. . Led to the altar, i,e. married. Said of a lady. The altar is the communion- table railed off from the body of the church, where marriages are solemnised. The bride is led up the aisle to the rail.
Alter eg’o. My double or counter- part. In The Corsican Brothers, the same actor performs the two brothers, the one being the alter ego of the other. (Latin, ‘‘a second I”). One who has full powers to act for another.
Altheea’s Brand, a fatal contin- gency. Althsa’sson was to live so long as a log of wood, then on the fire, re- mained unconsumed. She contrived to keep the log unconsumed for man
ears, but being angry one day wit
eleager, she pushed it into the midst of the fire, and it was consumed in a few minutes. Meleager died at the same time.—Ovid: Metamorphoses, viii. 4.
“Tobe fatal brand Althza burned.” Shakespeare: 2 Henry VI., Act i. 1.
Althe’a (Divine). The divine Althea of Richard Lovelace was Lucy Sachev-
_ erell, called by the poet, ‘‘ Lucretia.”
“When love with unconfinéd wings Hovers within any gates, And my divine Althea brings To whisper at my grates,”
The ‘‘grates’’ referred to were the
rison grates. Lovelace was thrown into prison by the Long Parliament for his petition from Kent in favour of the king.
Altisido’ra (in the ‘‘ Curious Imper- tinent ’’), an episode in Don Quixote.
Altis. The Piet of ground on which the Greeks held their public games.
Alto relie’vo. Italian for ‘‘ high relief.”” A term used in sculpture for figures in wood, stone, marble, etc., so cut as to project at least one-half from the tablet. It should be rilievo.(3 syl.).
Alumbra‘do, a perfectionist; so called from d@ Spanish sect which arose in 1575, and claimed special iumination. (Spanjsh, meaning ‘‘ illuminated,” ‘* en- lightened ”’). 3
Alvina Weeps, or ‘‘ Hark! Alvina weeps,” i.e. the wind howls loudly, a Flemish saying. Alvina was the daughter of & king, who was cursed.
her parents because she_ married
«
Alyface
Amasis
unsuitably. From that day she roamed about the air invisible to the eye of man, but her moans are audible. }
Alyface (Annot), servant of Dame Christian Custance, the gay widow, in Udall's comedy Ralph Rorster Doister.
Alzir‘do (in Orlando Furioso). King of Trem’izen, in Africa. He was over- thrown by Orlando on his way to join the allied army of Ag’ramant.
A.M. or M.A. When the Latin form is intended the A comes first, as Artiwm Magister ; but where the English form * meant the M precedes, as Master of
rts.
Am/’adis of Gaul. The hero of a romance in prose of the same title, originally written in Portuguese in four books. ese four were translated into Spanish by Montalvo, who added a fifth. Subsequent romancers added the ex- ploits and adventures of other knights, so as to swell the romance to fourteen books. The French version is much larger still, one containing twenty-four books, and another running through seven volumes, The original author was Vasco de Lobeira, of Oporto, who died 1403.
The hero, called the ‘ Lion-knight,”’ from the device on his shield, and ‘‘ Bel- tenebros ” (darkly beautiful), from his personal appearance, was a love-child of Per‘ion, King of Gaul, and Eliz’ena. Princess of Brittany. He is represented as a poet and musician, a linguist and a gallant, a knight-errant and a king, the very model of chivalry. a
Other names by which Am‘adis was called were the Lovely Obscure, the Knight of the Burning Sword, the Knight of the Dwarf, etc. Bernardo, in 1560, wrote ‘‘ Amadigi di Gaula.”’
Am’‘adis of Greece. A _ supple- mental part of the romance called Amadis of Gaul, added by Felicia‘no de Silva.
Amai‘mon (3 syl.). One of the chief devils whose dominion is on the north side of the infernal gulf. He might be bound or restrained from ae eerie the third hour till noon, and from the uinth hour till evening.
“ An aimon sounds well ; Lucifer well.” Shakespeare: Merry Wives of Windsor, ii. 2.
‘Amalfitan Code. A compilation of maritime laws, compiled in the eleventh century at Ainalfi,, then an important trading town.
‘Amalivaca, An American spirit,
who had seven daughters. He broke
their legs to prevent their running away,
and left them to people the forests. Amalthea, (See SIBYLLINE Boos.)
Amalthe‘a’s Horn. The cornucopia or horn of plenty. The infant Zeus was fed with goats’ milk by Amalthéa, one of the daughters of Riles King of Crete. Zeus, in gratitude, broke off one of the goat’s horns, and gave it to Amalthéa, promising that the possessor should ae have in abundance every- thing desired. (Sce AXats.)
_ Aman‘da, the impersonation of love in Thomson's Spring, is Miss Young, esa oa married to Admiral Camp- ell.
Am‘arant, A cruel giant slain by Guy of Warwick.—Guy and Amarant, Percy's Reliques.
Am’aranth. Clement of Alexandria says—Amarantus flos, sym'bolum est im- mortalita'tis. The word is from the Greek amaran’tos (everlasting). So called because its flowers never fade like other flowers, but retain to the last much of their deep blood-red colour.
“Tmmortal amarant—a flower which once In Paradise, fast by the tree of life, Began to bloom ; but soon, for man’s offence, To heaven removed, where “first it grew, thero
grows And tlowers aloft, shading the fount of life. ... With these, that never fade, the spirits elect Bind their resplendent locks.”
Milton: Paradise Lost tii. 353-61.
In 1653 Christina, Queen of Sweden, instituted the Order of the ‘‘ Knights of the Amaranth,’’ but it ceased to exist at the death of the Queen. Among the ancients it was the symbol of immor- tality.
The best known species are ‘‘ Love lies bleeding”’ (amarantus cauddtus), and ‘ Prince’s feather ”’ (amarantus hy- pochondriacus). . ‘‘Cock’s comb” is now ranked under the genus Ce/osia.
Amaryllis. A pastoral sweetheart. The name is borrowed from the pastorals of Theoc’ritos and Virgil.
“To sport with Amaryllis in the shade.” Milter: Lycidas, 08.
Amasis (Ring of), same as Polyerittés’ Ring. Polycratés, tyrant of Samos, was 80 Sonne in eve ing foes Amasis, King of Egypt, advised him to part with something which he highly vieed. Polycratés accordingly threw into the sea an engraved ring of exizsondinary value. A few days afterwards, a fis was presented to the tyrant, in which the ring was found. Amasis now re- nounced all friendship-with Polycratés,
Amati
Ambi-dexter
as aman doomed by the gods; and not long afterwards, a satrap, having en- trapped the too fortunate despot, put him to death by crucifixion.— Herodotus, iii, 40.
Amati, A first-rate violin; properly, one made by Ama'ti of Cremona (¢, 1600). (See CREMONA.)
Amaurot (Greek, the shadowy or unknown place), the chief city in Utopia no-place), a political novel by Sir Thomas Moré, Rabelais, in his Fanta- gruel, had previously introduced the word, and tells us that the Amaurots conquered the Dipsodes (or Duplicians).
Amaurote, a bridge in Utopia. Sir Thomas More says he could not recollect whether Raphael Hyghloday told him it was 500 paces or 300 paces long; and he requested his friend Peter Giles, of Antwerp, to put the question to the adventurer.
“T cannot recollect whether the reception room of the Spaniard’s Castle in the Air is 200 ur 300 feet long. I will get the next aeronaut who ~ journeys to the moon to take the exact diimen-
sions for me, and will memorialise the learued society of Laputa."—Dean Swift: Gulliver'sTravels.
Amazement. Not afraid with any amazement (1 Peter iii. 6), introduced at the close of the marriage service in the Book of Common Prayer. The mean- ing is, you will be God’s children so long as you do his bidding, and are not drawn aside by any distraction (mrénss),
No doubt St. Peter meant ‘‘by any -
terror of persecution.’”’? Cranmer, being so afraid, was drawn aside from the path of duty.
Amazia, meant for Charles II., in Pordage’s poem of Azaria and Hushai. We are told by the poet, ‘‘ his father’s murtherers he destroyed ;’’ and then he preposterously adds—
“ Beloved of all, for merciful was he, Like God, in the superlative degree.”
To say that such a selfish, promise- breaking, impious libertine was ‘like God, in the superlative degree,’’ is an outrage against even poetical licence and court flattery.
Am/‘azon. A horsewoman, a fighting ‘or masculine woman. The word means without breast, or rather, ‘‘ deprived of a pap.’’ According to Grecian story, there was a nation of women in Africa of a very warlike character. There were no men in the nation; and if a boy was born, it was either killed or sent to his father, who lived in some ueighbouring state. The girls had their
right breasts burnt off, that they might the better draw the bow.
“These dreadful Amazons, gallant viragoes who
+. Carried victorious arms... into Syria and Asia Minor."—J. E. Chambliss: David Livingstone (introduction, p. 24).
Amazo’nia. In South America, ori- ginally called Maranon’. The Spaniards first called it Orellana; but after the women joined their husbands in at- tacking the invaders, the Spaniards called the people Am’azons and the country Amazo‘nia.
Amazonian Chin (Az). A beardless chin, like that of a woman warrior.
“When with his Amazonian chin be drove
The bristled lips before bim. Shakezpeare: Coriolanus, ii, 2.
Ambassador, a practical joke played on greenhorns aboard ship. A tub full of water is placed between two stools, and the whole being.covered with a green cloth, a sailor sits on each stool, to keep the cloth tight. The two sailors represent Neptune and Amphi- trité, and the greenhorn, as am or, is introduced to their majesties. He is
iven the seat of honour between them;
ut no sooner does he take his seat than the two sailors rise, and the greenhorn falls into the tub, amidst the laughter of the whole crew.
Amber. This fossilised vegetable Tesin is, according to legend, a con- cretion of birds’ tears. The birds were the sisters of Meleaiger, who never ceased peepee the death of their brother.— Ovid : Metamorphoses, viii. line 270, ete.
“ Around thee shall glisten the loveliest amber That ever the sorrowing sea-bird hath wept.” T. Moore: Fire Worshippers.
Amber, a repository. So called be- cause insects and small leaves are pre- served in amber.
“You may be disposed to bee it in your amber.”—Notes and Queries.—W. Dowe. 7 “ Pretty ! in amber, to observe the forms Of hairs, or straws, or dirt, or grubs, or worms, The things, we know, are neither rich nor rare, But wonder now the deyil they got there.” Pope: £p. to Arbuthnot, 169-72,
Ambérabad’. Amber-city, one of
the towns of Jinnistan, or Fairy Land.
per ote Me i ep ehaetieeay: e lowest throw in dice; figurative’ bad luck. (Latin, anbo-asses, both or two aces.) ‘ “T had rather be in this choice than thro ames-ace for my life.”"—All’s Well, ete. 11.3. * Ambi-dexter properly means: both hands right hands; a double dealer; a juror who takes money from both parties or -his verdict; one who can use his
left hand as deftly as his right,
Ambition
Amenthes
Ambition, strictly speaking, means “the going from house to house” (Latin, ambitio, going about canvassing),. In Rome it was customary, some time before an election came on, for the can- didates to go round tothe different dw to solicit votes, and those who did so were ambitious of office.
Ambree (Mary). An English heroine, who has immortalised her name by her valour at the siege of Ghent, in 1584, Mer name is a proverbial one for a woman of heroic spirit.
“ My daughter wiH be valiant, _ And provea i dears Ambry i’ the business.” Jonson; Tale of a Tub, i. 4.
Ambrose (S?.), represented in Chris- tian art in the costume of a bishop. His attributes are (1) a bee-hive, m allusion to the legend that a swarm of bees settled on his mouth when lying in his cradle; (2) a scourge, by which he expelled the Arians from Italy.
The penance he inflicted on the Emperor Theo- dosius has represented by Rubens, a copy of which, by Vandyck, is in the National Gallery
Ambro’sia. The food of the gods (@ @ privative, drotos,- mortal; so called suse if made them not mortal, i.e. it made them immortal. Anything delicious to the taste or fragrant in
e is so called from the notion that whatever is used by the celestials znust be excellent.
“ Husband and wife met goin conjugal life; but they must both taste the same smbrosia, or the same gall."—R. C. Houghton: Women of the Orient, part lii.
Ambrosian Chant. The. choral music introduced from the Eastern to the Western Church by St. Ambrose, the Bishop of Mil‘an, in the fourth century. It was used till Gregéiry the Great changed it for the Gregorian.
Ambro’sian Library. A lib in Milan, so called in compliment oi St. Ambrose, the patron sain’
Ambrosig, the hero of Lewis’s ro- mance, called The Monk. Abbot of the Capuchins at Madrid. The temptations of 1 overcome his virtue, and he
from crime to crime, till at last
e sells his soul to the devil. Ambrosio, being condemned to death by the In- quisition, is released by Lucifer; but no sooner is he out of prison than he is dashed te pieces on a
alms, ete., were deposited. Now used for holding the sacramental plate, con- secrated oil, and so on. e secret drawers of an escritoire are called am- bries. (Archaic English almary, Latin
armarium, French armoire.) “ Ther avarice bath al Ties,
And yren-bounden Tes.”
Piers Ploughman, p. 238.
Almonry is from the Latin eleemosyn- arium, a place for alms.
“The place wherein this Chapel or Almshouse stands was called the ‘ Elemosinary’ or Almonry now corrupted into Ambrey, for that the alms of the Abbey are there distributed to the poor.”— Stow: Survey.
Ambusca'de (3 syl.) is the: Italian imbosca'ta (oonoealed Ta a wood), Ame damnée (French), a scape-goat.
“He is the ame damnée of everyone about the court—the scapegoat, whois to carry away all their iniquiies."—Siz Walter Scott; Peveril of the Peak, chap. 48,
Amedieu (3 syl.). ‘Friends of God;”’ a religious body in the Church of Rome, founded in 1400. They wore no breeches, but a grey cloak girded with a cord, and were shod with wooden shoes.
Amelia. A model of conjugal affec- tion, in Fielding’s novel so called. It ic said that the character is. intended foi his own wife. 3
Amelon. A Chaldean hero, who reigned thirteen sares, A sare = 3,600 years.—_Banier ; Mythology, vol. i.
Amenon is another hero of Chaldea, who reigned 12 sares. Amphis reigned 6 sares.
Amen Corner, London, the end of Paternoster Row, where the monks finished their Pater Noster, on Corpus Christi Day, as they went in procession to St. Paul’s Cath They began in Paternoster Row with the Lord’s prayer in Latin, which was continued to the end of the street; then said Amen, at the corner or bottom of the Kow; then
ing down Ave-Maria Lane, com- menced chanting the ‘“ Hail, Mary!” then crossing Ludgate, they chanted the Credo. Amen Lane no longer exists.
Now the public acknowledgment of
the offence is all that is required. ‘Amen‘thes (3 syl.). The tian
Ha‘dés. The word meaus hiding place.
American Flag
43
Amina
aaa a a EG
American Flag. The American Congress resolyed (June 14, 1777), that the flag of the United States should have thirteen stripes, alternately red and white, to represent the thirteen States of the Union, together _ with thirteen white sfars, on a blue ground. General Washington’s escutcheon con- tained two stripes, each alternated with red and white, aud, like the American stars, those of the General had only five points instead of six. A new star is now added for each new State, but the stripes remain the same.
Howeyer, before the separation the fag con- tained thirtcen stripes of alternate rea and white to indicate the thirteen colonies; and tbe East India Company flag, as far back a8 1704, had thir- teen stripes.. The Company flag was cantoned with St. George’s Cross, the British American fiag with the Union Jack, j
American Peculiarities :—
Natives of New England .. .. gay Guess. “5 N.York & MiddleStates ,, Eapect, 7 Sputbern States... 4, JReckon.
we, Western States -» _ ttn Caleulate, American States, The Americans
ere rich in nicknames: phate state has, or has had, its sobriquet.. The. people of Alabama «+ gre lizards. Arkansas «sy, toothpicks California «.« ,, gold-bunters, Colorado ++ 4) Tovers. Connecticut +. 4, wooden nutmegs, Delaware ++ 4 musk rats. Florida .. ++ 4, fly-up-the-creeks. Georyia .. e+ gs buzzards, Illinois .. +» 9, Buckers, Indiana.- +e 5, hoosiers, lowa e ++ g hawk-eyes. ENSUE «+ ee oy Jay-hawkers, Centucky +s 4) Corn-crackers, Lonisiana@ «» °,, creoles, Maine -: aie Fann, TOXEB., Maryland se 4, Craw-thumpers. Michigan ++ 4 Wolverines. Minnesota «+ 4, gophers. Mississippi -. ,, tadpoles. Missourt «+ 45 pukes. Nebraska «+ 4, bug-eaters, Nevudu «-« » sage-hens.
granite-boy3.
New Hampshire 4 s Blues or clam-catchers,
New Jersey ++ 4;
New Fork +s y knickerbockers. North Carolina ,, tar-boilers 9r Tuckees, hio oe se gy buck-eyes,
Oregon .» | «+ 4 Wweb-feet or hard cases. Pennsylvania... ,, Pennamites er Leather- ; heads..
Rhode Tsland.. , gun-fiints, South Carolina ,, weasels. Tennessee +s 9 Whelps.
bdeef-heads.
Texas 10, 0s . green-inountain boys.
Vermont oe Ks Virginie ++ 4 beadies, Wisconsin .. ,, badgers.
American States. The cight states which retain the Indian names of the chief rivers, as: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Qhio, and Wisconsin. :
Ameth’ea. (Sce Horse.)
Amethyst. A species of rock-crystal
to prevent intoxication
supposed ”
(Greek, a-methusta, the antidote of in- ‘toxication). Drinking-cups made of amethyst were supposed to be a charm against inebriety. . -.: If was the most cherished of all recious stones by Roman matrons rom the superstition that ‘it would preserve inviolate the- affection of their
husbands.
pales Nambers, (See AMICABLE, etc.
Amicable Numbers. - Numbers which are mutually equal to the sum of all their aliquot parts: as 220, 284. The aliquot parts of 220 are 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, li, 20, 22, 44, 55, 110, the sum of, which is 284. Again, the aliquot parts of 284 are I, 2, 4, 71, 142, the sum of which is 220.
Amicus curiz (Latin, « friend to the court), One in the court who in- forms the judge of some error he has detected, or makes ‘some suggestion to assist the court,
A mi'cus Plato, sed magis ami‘ca Ver'itas jee I love, but I love Truth more).
noble dictum attributed to Aristotle, but ‘certainly a very free translation of a phrase in, the Nicomache'an Ethics (‘‘ Where both are friends, it is right to prefer Truth ’’)
Amiel (3 syl.). A form of the name Eliam (friend of God). In Dryden’s satire of Absalon and Achitophel it is meant. for Sir Edward Seymour,. Speaker of the House of Commons. (2 Sam. xxii. 34.)
“ Who can Amiel’s praise refuse ?
Of ancient race by birth, but nobler yet
In bis own worth, and without title great.
The Sanhedrim long time as chief he ruled,
Their reason guided and their passion cooled.”
“Dryden; Absalom and Achitopnel, i. 899-903.
Amiens (3 syl.). The Peace C4 Amiens, March 27, 1802, a treaty sign by Joseph Bonaparte, the Marquis of
ornwallis, Azara, and Schimmelpen-~ ninck, to settle the disputed points between France, England, Spain, and Holland. It was dissolved in 1803,
Ami'na. An orphan adopted by a miller, and beloved by Elvi’no, a rich farmer. The night before her espousals she is found in the bed of Count Ro- dolpho, and is renounced by’ her be- trothed husband. ‘The’ count explains to the young farmer and his friends that Ami‘na is innocent, and has wandered in her sleep, While he is still talking, the orphan is seen getting out of the window of the mill, and walking in her sleep along the edge of the roof undep
Aminadab
Ampersand
which the mill-wheel is rapidly revolving.
She crosses a crazy bridge, and comes
among the spectators. In afew minutes
she awakes, flies to Elvi‘no, and is
elaimed by him as his beloved and inno-
cent bride.—Belli'ni’s dest opera, La nambula,
Amin‘adab. A Quaker. The Scrip- fure name has a double m, but in old comedies, where the character represents a Quaker, the name has generally only one. Obadiah is used, also, to signify a Quaker, and Rachel a Quakeress,
Am‘ine (8 syl.). Wife of Sidi Nou- man, who ate her rice with a bodkin, and was in fact a ghoul. ‘‘She was so hard-hearted that she led about her three sisters like aleash of greyhounds.” —Arabian Nights.
Aminte (2 syl.), The name assumed by Cathos as more aristocratic than her own. She is courted by a gentleman, but discards him because his manners are too simple and easy for “bon ton ;”’ he then sends his valet, who pretends to be a marquis, and Aminte is charmed with his “ distinguished style of manners and talk.’? When the game has gone far enough, the trick is exposed, and
inte is saved from a meésalliance,— Moliére: Les Précieuses Ridicules, It was a prevailing fashion in the Middle
Ages to change names ; Voltaire’s proper name.
was Arouet (1694-1778) ; Melancthon’s was Schwar- werde (1497-1560). The real names of Desiderius Erasmus were Gheraerd Gheraerd (1467-1536) ; Anacharsis Clootz was Jean Baptiste Clootz, etc. Amiiral or Ammiral. An early form of the word “‘admiral.’’ (French, amiral ; Italian, wmimiraglio.) (See Ap- ~ Amiet (Richard). The gamester in Vanbrugh’s drama called Zhe Con-
ederacy.
Ammon, The Libyan Jupiter; so called from the Greek ammos (sand), because his temple was in the desert. co calls it an Egyptian word
ii, 42).
Son of Jupiter Ammon. Alexander the Great.” His father, Philip, claimed to be a descendant of Hercules, and there- fore of Jupiter ; and the son was saluted by the priests of the Libyan temple as son of Ammon. Hence was he called the son or descendant both of Jupiter aud of Ammon.
‘Ammonian Horn (Th2), the cornu- copia. It wasin reality a tract of very fertile land, in the shape of a ram’s horn, given by Ammon, King of Libya, to his
mistress, Amalthéa (q:v.) (the mothet of Bacchus).
Am'monites (3 syl.). Fossil molluscs allied to the nautilus and cuttlefish. So called because they resemble the horn upon the ancient statues of Jupiter’ Ammon. (See above.)
A’mon’s Son (in Orlando Furioso) is Rinaldo, He was the. eldest son of Amon or Aymon, Marquis d’Este, and nephew of Charlemagne,
Am’oret, brought up by Venus in the courts of love. Sheis the type of female loveliness—young, handsome, gay, witty, and good; soft as a rose, sweet as @ violet, chaste as a lily, gentle as a dove, loving everybody and by all beloved.
’ She is no Diana to make “‘ gods and men
fear her stern frown’’; no Minerva to ‘freeze her foes into congealed stone with rigid looks of chaste austerity ”’ ; but a living, breathing virgin, with a warm heart, and beaming eye, and pas- sions strong, and all that man can wish and woman want. She becomes the loving, tender wife of Sir Scu’damore, Tim‘ias finds her in the arms of Cor- flambo (sensual passion); combats the monster unsuccessfully, but wounds the lady.—Sypenser ; Faery. Queen, book iii.
Amoret, a love 200g. love-knot, love. affair, love personified. A Eeptty word, which might be reintroduced.
“ He will be in bis amorets, and his canzoneta, his pastorals, and bis madrigals.”—Heywood ?
“For not icladde in silke was he, Pani in gone and Searetion PRPS SO pominee of the Rose, 892. Amorous (The), Philippe I. of France; so called because he divorced his wife Berthe to espouse Bertrade, who was already married to Foulques, count of Anjou. (1061-1108.)
Amour propre, One’s _self-love, vanity, or opinion of what is due to self, ‘To make an appeal to one’s amour propre, is to put a person on his metal. To wound one’s amour propre, is to gall his good opinion of himself--to wound his vanity, (French.) -
Amparo. de Pobres. A book ex- posing the begging impostors of Madrid, written by Herrera, physician to Felipe Ampersand, the character made thus, *““&’*=and. In the old Hormn=: books, after giving the twenty-six letters, the character & was added, and was called ‘Ampersand,’ a corruption of,
Amphialus
Amundeville
“and roe &’? (and by itself, and), ASB GoDi Gases 3 AY 208 “ Any odd shape folks understand To mean my Protean amperzand.” Punch (17 April, 1869, p. 153, col. 2).
The martyr Bradford, says Lord Russell, waa “A per se A” with etc.—Z.e, stood alone in their defence,
Amphi‘alus, son of Cecropia, in love with Philoclea, but he ultimately married Queen Helen of Corinth.—Sir Philip Sidney? The Countess of Pem- broke’s Arcadia.
Amphictyon'ie Council. A council of confederate Greeks from twelve of their tribes, each of which had two deputies. The council met twice a year —in the spring at Delphi, and in the autumn at Thermop'’yle, According to fable, it was so called from Amphic'tyon, son of Deuca'lion, its. supposed founder. (Greek, amphictionés, dwellers round about.)
Amphig’ons. Words strung together without any real connection, The two pleaders in Pantagruel by Rabelais (book ii. c. 11-13) give an excellent example.
papRIe gure nonsense verse, rigma- frole.
“A kind of overgtown amphigouri, a hetero- pais combination,.”—Quarterly Review, i. 50,
¥ Porson’s ‘Three Children slidin on the Ice’’ is.a good specimen o amphigouri,
Amphi'on is said to have built Thebes by the music of his lute, which was so melodious that the stones danced into walls and houses of their own accord. Tennyson has a rhyming jeu @’ esprit.
Amphitri’te (either 3 or 4 syl.), The sea. In classic mythology, the wife of Neptune (Greek, amphi-trio for trido, rubbing or wearing away [the shore] on all sides).
“His weary chariot sought the bowers
Of Awphbitrité and her tending nympbs.” Thomson: Summer. (1625-6),
Amphitryon. Le véritable Amphi- tryon est 0 Amphitryon owl 6n dine (Mo- jigre), That is, the person who provides
the feast (whether master of the house’ or not) is the real host, The tale is that | Jupiter assumed the likeness of Am- .
phit'ryon, and gave a banquet; but Amphitryon himself came home, and
claimed the honour of being the master.
of