ACE ] 



ACFRI'N.E, a natural oraer of dicotyle- 

 donous plants; mostly trees of the tem- 

 perate parts of the northern hemisphere. 

 The iaves are generally simple and lobed ; 

 flowers often polygamous; fruit a double 

 samara, each 1-celled, with one or two 

 erect seeds ; style 1 , stigmas 2 ; petals about 

 8, inserted in thedisk; calyx 4-5-9-partite. 

 Typical genus acer. 



ACERO'SE, or ACEROUS, Lat. acerosus, 

 chaffy lacus, chaff;. In botany, leaves 

 which are linear, needle-shaped, every- 

 whene of an equal breadth, mostly acute 

 and rield, p. g. the leaves of the fir-tree 

 (pinus sylvestris). 



ACER'RA, in architecture, vases repre- 

 senting those in which the ancients burned 

 incense before a dead body until the 

 period of its inhumation. The term is 

 corrupted from arcerra, a private altar 

 (arce and ara}. 



ACES'CEST, Lat. acescens, turning sour. 

 That has a tendency to become sour by 

 spontaneous decomposition. It sometimes 

 means " slightly sour," but this is more 

 correctly expressed by acidulous. 



A'CESIS, a cure or remedy, from etxitrig. 

 A name of the herb water- sage. 



ACES'TA, from a.itrros, diseases which 

 are easily cured. 



ACESTE, a species of papilio or butterfly, 

 with subdentated wings, found in India. 



ACES'TIS, a factitious chrysocolla made 

 of Cyprian verdigris, urine, and nitre. 



ACETAB'CLUM, Lat. from acetum, vinegar. 

 (Among the Romans the acetabulum was 

 a cruse or saucer in which vinegar was 

 held for table use. 1. In anatomy, a 

 cavity of a bone formed for receiving the 

 head of another bone, and thus named 

 from its cup-like shape. It is used espe- 

 cially for the os innominatum, which 

 receives the head of the thigh bone. 2. In 

 botany, (1.) used in the sense of cotyledon, 

 (q. v.) (2.) " The trivial name of a species 

 of peziza, the cup pziza. (3.) A species of 

 lichen." 3. The lobes or cotyledons of 

 the placenta in ruminating animals, have 



been called acetabida. 1. The name has 



been given to the mouths of the uterine 

 veins terminating in the placenta. 



A'.CETART, Lrit. acetaria, from acetum, 



vinegar. 1. A ?alnd. 2. An acid pulp, 



found in some fruits, especially the pear, 

 round the core. 



A'CETATE, Lat. afeias, any salt formed 

 by the union of acetic acid with a sali- 

 fiable base. e. ?. neftate of potash (calipd 

 also regenerated tartar, essential salt of wine, 

 &c.) The acetates are all characterised 

 jy their solubility in water; by the pun- 

 gent smell of vinegar which they exhale 

 on the affusion of sulphuric acid ; by their 

 yielding, on distillation, pyroacetic spirit. 



AcE'Tir, from acer, sour. The acetic 

 acid is vinegar (acetum), in a Tery dilute 

 and impure state. It is the product of 



5 ACH 



the acetous fermentation, and exists, with 

 potash, in the juices of a great many 

 plants, and is generated during the de- 

 structive distillation of most vegetable 

 substances. It consists of three equi- 

 valents of water, and four equivalents ol 

 carbon. 



ACETIFICA'TIOS, from acetum, vinegar, 

 and /<7fio, to make. The operation of 

 making vinegar. 



ACETIMETErt, Or AcETOMKTER, from aCt- 



tum, vinegar, and /JUT^I, a measure. An 

 instrument to ascertain the strength of 

 vinegar. 



A'CETITE, a neutral salt formed by the 

 acetous acid, with a salifiable base, e. g. 

 acetite of copper, &c. See ACETOUS ACID. 



ACETONE, the new chemical name of 

 pyroacetic spirit. 



ACF.TO'SA, the trivial name of the herb 

 garden sorrel (rwnex acetosa). It is a 

 hardy native perennial. Name from aceto, 

 to be sour. 



ACETOSEL'LA, the trivial name of the 

 herb sheep's sorrel (ncmer. acetoseUa). It 

 is a hardy native perennial. Name from 

 acetosa. 



ACETOUS, of or pertaining to vinegar 

 (acetum). 



ACETOUS ACID, chemists formerly sup 

 posed that there was a difference between 

 the acetic and the acetous acids ; the salts 

 of the former were therefore called ace- 

 tates,&nd. those of the latter acetites. The 

 distinction is without foundation ; the 

 acids are one and the same. 



AcHAN,from a,%,a.vr,s, large. In medi- 

 cine, a species of herpes. 



ACHA'NIA, a genus of "West Indian 

 shrubs, containing three species. Class 

 mrmadelphia, order polyandria. Name 

 from n (from at, priv. and %<x,itu) t 

 as the corolla does not open. 



ACHARIS'TOX, from oc,%oc.%nrTo; , invalu- 

 able. A name of various antidotes and 

 collyria. 



ACHATES, the agate, so called from the 

 river Achates, in which it was first found 

 The word agate is a corruption of achale 



ACHATINA, a genus of land shells, chiefly 

 found in Africa, where the animals which 

 inhabit them are used as food. They are 

 the largest of land shells, and constitute 

 the first and typical genus of achatina. 

 The subgenera are the achatina (proper), 

 cochlicopn, chacrospira, leucostoma, and 

 achatinella. 



ACHATIXS, a subtypical group of heli- 

 cidtf, or snails, representing in their own 

 family the zoophagus tr.be. Besides the 

 achatina, which is the fiist and typical 

 genus, there are other four genera of this 

 group the bulimus, clausuia, ActTw,and 



ACHATINELLA, a submenus of achatina. 



