ACR 



SI 



ACKOM'PHAI.ON (ux^e/Mfat^.a). Inana- 

 touty, the centre of the umbilicus, to 

 which the umbilical cord is attached in 

 the foetus. 



ACHO'NIC, or ACRONICAL, from ocxfo;, 

 extreme, and ,$, night; applied to the 

 rising of a star at sun-set, or its setting 

 at sun-rise. The word is opposed to cos- 

 ntical. 



ACROPA'THY, (tutftfuitm), disease of 

 the extremities. 



A'CROFS {otxeoffi*-') , imperfect articu- 

 lation. 



ACROSPIRE, the shoot or sprout of a 

 seed, especially of the barley, developed 

 by germination: called also the plunta, 

 )>luiintle, or plutmtla. In malting, when 

 the barley has sprouted at both ends, it is 

 said to be acrospired. 



This word is usually derived from 



ttzeos and <TTE f <*, a spiral line, but the 



more obvious etymology appears to be 



arherspyre, an old word of the same 



meaning, compounded of eechir, an ear 



of corn, and spy re, a point. 



ACROS'TIC, from otxf and ffri%o;, 

 order or verse. A composition in verse 

 in which the first letters of the lines, 

 taken in order, make a word, name, or 

 phrase, or some title or motto, which is 

 the subject of the poem. 



ACROS'TICHUM (oc.xfoarri-^ov'] , a genus of 

 perennial plants of the class cryptogamia, 

 and order Juices. There are eleven spe- 

 cies, mostly natives of warm climates. 



ACROTEI.EUTIC, from axgtf, extreme, 

 and TiA.iT7, end. A term applied to 

 something added to the end of a psalm, 

 e. g. the gloria patri, or doxology. 



A'CROTEB, from ac.xgorr^, a summit. In 

 architecture, a small pedestal, usually 

 without a base, placed in the middle of 

 pediments or frontispieces, to support 

 globes, statues, &c. Acroteria also de- 

 notes figures placed as ornaments or 

 crownings on the tops of churches, and 

 the sharp pinnacles that stand in ranges 

 about flat buildings with rails and ba- 

 lusters. 



ACROTERIA, the Latinised plural of 

 Acroter (q. v.). Anciently this word sig- 

 nified the extremities of the body, emi- 

 nences or bones, &c. 



ACROTUYM'ION, from xxfoj. extreme, 

 and S-uLtot thyme. A species of conical 

 wart, resembling the flower of thyme. 



ACROTIC, Lat. acroticus, pertaining to 

 the surface. 



ACROT'ISM, Lat. acrotismu*, defect of 

 pulse. 



ACRIDIOM, in entomology, a genus of 

 orthoptera of the sanatoria family. This 

 unus contains the noted insects called 

 fccvrt*. the scourge of Africa. 



A CT 



Mr. Barrow records, that, in tht 

 southern districts which he visited, 

 the surface of an area of nearly 2000 

 square miles might literally be said to 

 be covered by locusts. The water of a 

 wide river was scarcely visible in con- 

 sequence of the innumerable dead 

 which floated on it, apparently drowned 

 in their attempts to reach the reeds 

 along its shores ; except these reeds 

 they had devoured every other green 

 thimr. Their destruction on a former 

 occasion was sudden and singular. All 

 the full-grown insects wen; driven into 

 the sea by a tempest, and were after- 

 wards cast upon the beach, where they 

 formed a bank of three or four feet high, 

 extending nearly fifty English miles. 

 The Arabs, except those of Sinai, are in 

 the habit of eating these insects. They 

 are sold by measure in shops in almost 

 every town. They are first boiled, and 

 afterwards dried in the sun. Ency. Brit. 

 ACT, Lat. acttts, from ago, to do. The 

 exertion of power; the effect of which 

 power exerted is the cause. 1. In logic, 

 any operation of the human mind, e. g. to 

 discover is an act of the understanding ; 



to judge is an act of the will. 2. In 



law, an instrument or deed in writing, 

 serving to prove the truth of some trans- 

 action, e. g. records, certificates, &c. 

 3. The final resolution, or the result of a 

 public declaration of a legislative body, 

 council, court of justice, or magistrate; 

 or the book, record, or writing containing 

 the same. 



Acts of parliament are called statutes, 

 of the Royal Society, &c. transactions , 

 of the French Academy, memoirs; of 

 the Academy of Sciences of Petersburgh, 

 commentaries; at Leipsig, ncta enidito- 

 rum; those of the lords of session at 

 Edinburgh are called acts of sederunt. 

 The same name is given to those of the 

 general assembly of the kirk of Scotland. 

 4. In theatrical*, a part or division of a 

 play to be performed without interrup- 

 tion, after which the action is suspended 

 to give respite to the actors. Acts again 

 are subdivided into smaller portions called 



scenes. 5. In the Enylidi universities, a 



thesis maintained in public by a candi- 

 date for a degree, to show proficiency. 



ACT OF FAITH (auto daft), in Catholic 

 countries a day set apart by the inquisi- 

 tion for burning heretics, and absolving 

 persons found innocent of heresy ; or it is 

 the sentence of the inquisition. 



ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, the title of a 



book of the New Testament, containing a 



history of the transactions of the A post lei. 



ACTA DIURNA, among the Romans, a sort 



of gazette resembling our newspapers. 



ACTA POPULI, Or ACTA PCBLICA, th 



Roman registers of assemblies, trials, exe 

 cutions, births, marriages, and deatki k*i. 



