TECHNICAL DICTIONARY. 



ABA 



\ i* the first letter of nil known alpha- 

 " bets, except the Ethiopic, in which it 

 U the thirteenth, and the Bunic, in which 

 it is the tenth. 



A is naturally the first letter, because 

 it represents the first vocal sound na- 

 turally formed by the human organs ; 

 being the sound uttered by merely 

 opening of the mouth, and without 

 effort to alter the natural position of 

 the lips. Hence this letter is found in 

 many words first uttered by infants : 

 which words are the names of objects 

 with which infants are first concerned, 

 as the breast and the parents. Hence 

 in Hebrew, am is mother, and ab is 

 father. In Chaldee and Syriac. abba is 

 father : in Arabic, aba. ; in Ethiopic, 

 abi : in Malayan and Bengalese, bappa. ; 

 in Welsh, tad, whence Scotch, daddy ; 

 in old Greek and Gothic, atta ; in Irish, 

 aithair ; in Cantabrian, aita : in Lap- 

 ponic, atki ; in Abyssinian, abba ; in 

 Amharic, aba : in Shilhic and Melin- 

 dane (African dialects), baba -, and papa 

 is found in many languages. Hence j 

 the Latin mamma, the breast, which is, 

 in popular use, the name of mother : in 

 Swedish, amma is a nurse. 

 A, was used by the Romans as a nume- 

 ral to denote 500, and with a dash over it, 

 A, to mean 5000. Th Romans also em- 

 ployed A, the initial letter of antiquo, I j 

 oppose, to signify dissent in Toting. The | 

 letters V.R, (for vti rogat, be it as you | 

 desire), were the form of assent. [These 

 letters were marked on two woeden bal- 

 lots, and given to each voter, who gave 

 one of them as his rote.] In criminal 

 trials, A. stood for abtolvo, I acquit; C. for 



liquet, it is not evident; and the judges 

 Toted by ballots so marked. In Roman 

 ascriptions, A stands for Auguttut, argen- 



um, aururn, &c. 



A, in music, is the nominal of the sixth 

 note in the natural diatonic scale, and 

 the natural key in the minor mood. It is 

 the open note of the second string of the 

 violin, by which the other strings arc 

 tuned and regulated. 



A, in commerce, stands for " accepted ; " 

 a for " to ; " and @ for " at" Merchant* 

 and public officers also number their 

 books and documents by the letters A, B, 

 C, instead of figures. 



A, in logic, denotes a universal affirma- 

 tive proposition. A asserts, and E denies. 

 In BARBARA, the a thrice repeated mean* 

 that so many of the propositions are uni- 

 versal. 



A, A, or AA, In pharmacy, are abbre- 

 viations of the Greek word ava, ana, which 

 signifies of each, or that equal quantities 

 of each thing are to be taken. 



AAA, in old chemiftry, stands for amal- 

 gam, or amalgamation. 



AAM, a Dutch measure for liquids. At 

 Amsterdam it is equal to about thirty-five 

 imperial gallons. 



AARON'S ROD, in architecture, a rod with 

 a serpent twined round it. It is some- 

 times confounded with Caduceus, (q v.) 



A. B. an abbreviation of artium bacca- 

 laureut, bachelor of arts. 



AB, in the Jewish Calendar, the llth 

 mouth of the civil year, and the 5th month 

 of the ecclesiastical year, answering to a 

 part of July and of August. In the Syriac 

 calendar, Ab is the last summer month of 

 the year. As a prefix to English names, Ab 

 is usually an abbreviation of abbot, or abbey. 



ABACR', from Saxon, o, on, and bate, 

 hack. A nautical term, signifying the 

 situation of the sails when flattened by the 

 wind against the masts. Taken aback, is 

 when they are carried back suddenly by 

 the wisd ; laid aback, k when they are 

 purposely placed so to give the ship lUrn- 

 way. 



