ABO 



AB 



for father. In the Coptic, Syriac, and 

 Ethiopia churches, it is the title of bishops, 

 and the bishops bestow it by way of dis- 

 tinction on the bishop of Alexandria. 

 Heuce the. titles of baba, papa, pope. 



AB'HKCY, from abba (low Lat. abbatia), 

 the dignity, rights, and privileges of sn 

 abbot. , 



AHBK, (abby), from abba. Originally, an 

 abbot ; subsequently, a common title iu 

 Catholic countries, implying no deter- | 

 minate rank, office, or rights ; and latterly, 

 an academic, but not properly a church- 

 man. 



AD'BESS, from abba, the female superior 

 of a nunnery. 



AH'BKY, from abtxi, a monastery or re'i- ' 

 gious society of persons of either sex. 

 The males, called monks, are governed by 

 an abbot; the females, called nunt, are 

 governed by an abbess. Abbeys were sup- 

 pressed in England by Henry VIII. 



A tfBOT (formerly abbot, from a66a, Latin- 

 ised abbat), the superior of an abbey or 

 monastery. Abbots are regular and com- 

 mendatory. The regular abbots are such 

 as take the vow ; the commendatory are 

 seculars, but obliged, when of suitable 

 ag, to take orders. The title is also i 

 borne by bishops whose sees were formerly 

 abbeys. The A. of unreason was a sort of 

 histrionic character peculiar to Scotland, 

 similar to the lord of misrule in England. 



ABBREUVOIR, from abbreitver, to water. 

 A watering place. In masonry, the joint 

 between two stones, to be filled up with 

 mortar. 



ABBREVIATE, from abbrevio, to shorten, j 

 In mathematics, to reduce fractions to theii [ 

 lowest terms. A . of adjudications, in Scotch i 

 law, is an abstract of a decree of adjudioa | 

 tion, which Is recorded in a register kept j 

 for that purpose. 



ABBREVIATED, Lat. abbrtviatus, short- i 

 ened. In botany, an abbreviated perianth 

 Is shorter than the tube of the corolla, as i 

 In the pulmonaria mfiritima. 



ABBREVIATION, from abbreviate, the ; 

 contraction of a word or a passage, by 

 omitting some letters or words, as i. e. id 

 fit, that is ; e. g. exempli yratia, for ex- ; 

 ample ; A.M. antemeriditm, before noon ; 

 P.M. post meridiem, afternoon; A. of \ 

 fractions, the reduction ot them to their ; 

 lowest terms. 



ABBRK'VIATOR, one who abbreviates. \ 

 Abbreviatores are officers in the Chancery 

 of Rome, who draw uiythe pope's briefs, 

 and reduce petitions, when granted, to due 

 forms for bulls or mandates. 



ABBRE'VIATUKE, Lat. abbreviatura, an '. 

 abridgment. A mark or character used in 

 abbreviation, e. g. A B C used for the 

 whole alphabet. 



ABBUTTALS, the butting or boundary of 

 Und towards any point. 



ABCEIMRT, belonging to the alphabet 



(a, b, c.) A . psalms, are those whose part* 

 are arranged according to the letter* of 

 the Hebrew alphabet, e. g. psalms 25, 34, 

 119. 



AB'DALS, a sect of fanatics in Persia, 

 who sometimes run out into the streets, 

 and attempt to kill all they meet who are 

 of a different religion ; and if they are 

 themselves killed, they are considered 

 martyrs. 



ABDERITE, an inhabitant of Abdera, in 

 Thrace ; Democritus was so called because 

 he was a native of it, and as he was given 

 to laughter, foolish laughter is called 

 abderian. 



ABDICATE, in a general wnse, to relin- 

 quish, from Lat. ab-dico, to send away. 

 To relinquish an office before the expiry 

 of the time of service. In the civil law, to 

 disinherit, e. g. a son during the lifetime 

 of the father. 



ABDICA'TlOJf, from abdicate, the act 

 whereby a person in office gives it np 

 before the time of service is expired. The 

 term is chiefly used with reference to the 

 supreme magistrate ; we say of the mon- 

 arch that he abdicated the throne, and of 

 a minister that he resigned his office. 



ABDO'MEX, in anatomy; the lower belly, 

 or that part of the body between the 

 thorax and the pelvis. It is lined by the 

 peritoneum, and contains the stomach, 

 liver, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, 

 and intestines. It is separated from the 

 chest internally by the diaphragm, and 

 externally by the extremities of the ribs. 

 It is divided into four regions. the epigas- 

 tric, umbilical, hypogastric, and lumbar. 

 The term is usually derived from Lat. 

 abdo, to hide, and omentum, the caul, be- 

 cause it conceals the viscera ; but some 

 maintain that men is merely a gramma- 

 tical augmentation, and that abdomen is 

 lonned from abdo in the same way ai 

 legumen is formed from lego. 



ABDOMINAL, belonging to the abdomen, 

 e. g. A. aorta, that portion of the aorta 

 which is below the diaphragm : A ring, 

 the inguinal ring, an oblique tendinous 

 ring in both groins, through which pass 

 the spermatic cord in men, and the round 

 ligaments of the uterus in women. 



ABDOMINALS, Latinized abdominu7.fi, a 

 class of fishes whose ventral fins are placed 

 behind the pectoral. The class contains 

 nine genera, the loche, salmon, pike, 

 argentine, atherine, mullet, tiring-fish, 

 herring, and carp. They chiefly inhabit 

 fresh water. 



ABDOMINOUS, belonging to the s&'omen. 



ABDUCKNT, Lat. abducrns. In anatomy, 

 muscles which pull back the parts into 

 which they are inserted are called abducent 

 muscles, or abductors : muscles which have 

 an opposite action are called .> 

 muscles, or adductors. The sixth pair of 

 nerves are abo called abducent (nervi *- 

 B 2 



