A G N 



over its concerns, called agitator*." The 

 word is Latin for charioteer, that is, one 

 who drives, from ago, to drive. 



AGLA'OI-E, a genus of "hawk-moths" 

 (crepuscular). 



AGLET, 1 FT. aiguillette, a point, from 



AIGLET, ( aiguille, a needle. Qu. from 



*;yX*i, bright. 1. A tag, or knob, on a 



point, usually made to represent some 



animal, often a man. 2. In botany, a 



pendant at the ends of the chives of 

 flowers ; e. g. in the rose and tulip. 



Aoi.ET-BA.By, a small image on the top 

 of a lace. 



AGI.IA, the generic name given by 

 Ochsenheimer to the Sombyxtan of La- 

 treille. 



AOLOSSA, a genus of nocturnal Lepi- 

 doptera belonging to the sub-family of 

 Z incites. 



A'GMEX, a part of the Roman army, 



which, drawn up in the form of an oblong 



parallelogram, answers to what moderns 



call a column. From ago. 



The Roman army consisted of three 



mjmina, the van (primum agmen), main 



body (medium agmen}, and rear (pastre- 



mum agmen); but the square (agmen 



qnadratum), and the column (agmen 



pilatum), were the forms in which the 



armies were usually brought to the 



combat. 



AGNATA, the same with adnata (q.v.) 

 AGNATE, from Lat. ad and nascor, to be 

 >orn. Any male relation by the father's 

 side, in contradistinction to cognate, (q.v.) 

 AGNATION, relation by the father's side, 

 or descent in the male line, distinct from 

 cognation, (q. v.) 



AONEL, from Lat. a?nns, a lamb. An 

 ancient French coin ,value 1 2 sols 6 deniers : 

 it had the figure of a lamb struck on it, 

 and was therefore indifferently called 

 mouton d'or and agntl d'or. 



AONO'MEN, Lat. from ad and nomen. 

 Among the Romans, a kind of fourth or 

 honorary name bestowed on a person on 

 account of some noble action, or extraor- 

 dinary virtue or accomplishment ; e. g. 

 ihe agnomen Africanus was conferred 

 upon Publius Cornelius Scipio, on ac- 

 count of his great achievements in 

 Africa. 



AG'NON, a name given by Fabricinsto a 

 genus of dragon-flies. 



AoNOTHER'irM.an extinct animal of the 

 miocene period; order mammalia, allied 

 to the dog : but of very large size. Named 

 from oiytoi* and ,9-^/cv. Epplesheim, in 

 Germany, has furnished the only species 

 as yet recognised. 



AGNI-S CASTCS, a species of vitex ; so 

 called from ayvot, chaste, from its sup- 

 posed power of preserving chastity. The 

 Athenian ladies reposed on the leaves of 

 this plant at the theunophoria or feasts 



' A GR 



of Ceres. The Lat. cattns, chaste, now 

 added to the name, forms u duplication of 

 the sense 



AGNUS DEI (Lamb of God). In the Ro- 

 mish church, a cake of wax stamped with 

 the figure of a lamb supporting the banner 

 of the cross. It is consecrated by the 

 pope, and distributed to the fai'thful. 

 Also a prayer, which begins " Agnus Dei 

 qui tollis peccata mundi." 



AGNUS SCYTHICUS (Scythian lamb) A 

 name given to the roots of a species of fern 

 (polyiwdium Sarontes). It is covered with 

 brown woolly scales, and in shape re- 

 sembles a lamb : it is found in Russia and 

 Tartary. 



AGOMPHIA, AGOMPHI ANS, the name given 

 by Ehrenberg to those rotifers in which 

 the jaws are deprived of teeth : from a, 

 without, and -ye/Mfios, a tooth. 



A'GON, a,-/uv- In Roman antiquity, 1. 

 The place where agonistic games were 



celebrated. 2. The day on which the 



rex sacrontm sacrificed a victim. 



AGONA'LIA, Roman festivals in honour 

 of the god AgoHins. 



AGONISTICS. In church history, such of 

 the disciples of Donatus as he sent to 

 fairs, markets, &c., to propagate his doc- 

 trines : from ayeMHTTr.f , a champion. 



Aoo'xirs, 1 from aryetvitu, to strive. 



AGo'xirM, f The Roman god of business 

 and gymnastics. 



AOONOTH'ETA. (ayaiyaflsVr?)- In archeo- 

 logy, the superintendent of the gymnastic 

 games : he inspected the discipline of the 

 athletae.and adjudged the prizes. 



A'GORA, the market-place of a Greek 

 town. It was in the agora that the as- 

 semblies of the people met ; hence the 

 name from the verb cfyot^iv, to assemble. 

 The Agoranomi were certain magistrates, 

 who had charge of the markets, and col- 

 lected the customs imposed upon certain 

 articles. 



AGODTI, 1 the popular name of the 



AGOUTY, { Chloromys of Cuvier. The 

 agouties very much resemble hares and 

 rabbits in disposition and the nature of 

 their flesh, and, indeed, may be said to 

 hold the place of those animals in the 

 Antilles and hot parts of America. 



AGRZGARIAN, Lat. agregariut, from 

 ager, a field. Pertaining to lands. The 

 agregarian laws of the Romans were thoie 

 which related to the division and distri- 

 bution of public lands, accruing to the 

 state by conquest. These lands wore 

 leased out by the state to the patricians 

 at a nominal rent , and the plebeians gained 

 nothing by them. This abuse was at- 

 tempted to be reformed by the agregariaa 

 laws, the object of which was to restrict 

 the quantity occupied by individuals, and 

 to cause a real mt to be paid from them 



