A. LI 



which moves about the centre of an as- 

 trolabe or quadrant, carrying the sights 

 of the telescope, and showing the number 

 of degrees and minutes of altitude on the 

 quadrated limb of the instrument. 



A'LIF.N, from Lat. aliin, another. In 

 law, a foreigner : one not within the alle- 

 giance of the sovereign; opposed to 



In France, a child born of residents 

 who are not citi/ens is an alien. In 

 Britain, the children of aliens born in 

 that country are natural-born subjects ; 

 and the children of British-born sub- 

 jects, owing allegiance to the crown 

 of England, though born in other coun- 

 tries, are naturalised subjects, and 

 entitled to the privileges of resident 

 citizens. 



ALIEXA'TE, Lat. alienatm. Applied to 

 leaves of plants, when the first leaves give 

 way to others totally different from them. 

 ALIEN A'TION, in law, denotes the act of 

 making over a man's property in lands, 

 tenements, &c. to another person. 



To alien or alienate in fee, is to sell or 

 convey the fee-simple of lands, &c. 



ALIEN-DUTY, a tax upon goods imported 

 by aliens, beyond the duty upon like 

 goods imported by citizens ; a discrimi- 

 nating duty on the tonnage of ships be- 

 longing to aliens ; or any extra duties 

 Imposed by law on aliens. 



ALIENATION-O/FICE, an office to which 

 all writs of covenant and entry, on which 

 lines are levied and recoveries suffered, 

 are carried, to have fines for alienation 

 set and paid thereon. 



AL'IMENT, from Lat. alimentum, nou- 

 rishment. In Scotch law, the natural ob- 

 ligation of parents to provide for children, 

 la termed the obligation of aliment. 

 ALIMENTARI-C ANAL, j a name given to 

 ALIMENTAHY-DUCT, ] the whole con- 

 duit through which the food passes from 

 the mouth to the anus. The presence of 

 this duct may be said to form the true 

 Characteristic of the animal. The tho- 

 racic duct is sometimes so called. 



ALIMENTARY -LAW, among the Romans, 

 a law that obliged children to support 

 their parents, when they were unable to 

 provide for their own sustenance. 



ALIMONY, Lat. alimonia, from alo, to 

 feed. An allowance made to a woman 

 legally separated from her husband, when 

 she is neither charged with elopement nor 

 adultery. The sum is fixed by the pro- 

 per judge, and granted out of the hus- 

 band's estate. 



ALIPED, wing-footed, from ala, a wing, 

 and p*s, a foot. Sitbstantively, an animal 

 whose toes are connected by a membrane, 

 and which serve for wings, e. g. the bat 

 is an aliped. 



ALIQUANT, from Lat. aliquantum, a 

 little. In arithmetic, au aliquant number 



> ALK 



is one which does not me:iure anntLei 

 exac-iiy, e.g. 6 is an aliquant part of 20, 

 for 6 does not divide 20 without leaving 

 a remainder. 



ALIQUOT, from Lat. aliquotiei, some- 

 times. In arithmetic, an aliquot part of 

 a number is one which measures it a 

 certain number of times ; e.g. 7 measures 

 21 , and is therefore called an aliquot part 

 of 21. See MEASURE. 



ALIS'MA, the water-plantain ; a genus of 

 plants of the class herandria-, and order 

 polygynia. There are five British species, 

 all hardy perennials, inhabiting the mar- 

 gins of lakes, rivers, ditches, &c., whence 

 the name, from Celtic alis, water. 



ALISMA'CEJE, an order of aquatic plants 

 in the natural system; typical genus 

 MMM. 



ALI-TRUNCK, ) in entomology, the pos- 



ALITRUNCUS, ) terior segment of the 



thorax to which the abdomen of the in- 



sect is affixed, and which carries the legs, 



properly so called, and the wings. 



ALIZA'RINE, a substance extracted from 

 madder, and believed by some to be the 

 dyeing principle of the root. It is, how- 

 ever, to be observed, that the richer 

 madders of Avignon afford little or no 

 alizarine ; and that the purpurine, from 

 which the alizarine is immediately pro- 

 cured, is a richer dye than the pure sub- 

 stance itself. The term is derived from 

 ali-zari, the commercial name of madder 

 in the Levant. 



ALKAHEST, a term nsed by Paracelsus 

 to signify a liquid capable of removing 

 every kind of obstruction ; and by Van, 

 Helmont, to designate a universal solvent, 

 capable of reducing every substance in 

 nature to a state of purity. The prepa- 

 ration of this wonderful fluid was one of 

 the chief objects of alchemy. . Query. If 

 it dissolves all substances, in what vessels 

 could it be contained ? 



The term is usually derived from the 

 Arabic, but others maintain that Para- 

 celsus compounded it cf the Germaa 

 words all and geitt, spirit ; others, again, 

 assert, that it is nothing more than & 

 corruption of alkali est, so that the ety- 

 mology appears as difficult as the pre- 

 paration of the wonderful fluid of 

 which it is the name. 

 ALKALI, j from Arabic kali, with th* 

 ALCALI, } common prefix al, the plant 

 called glass wort (from its use in the ma- 

 nufacture cf glass), or rather the salt ob- 

 tained from the ashes of the plant. A 

 general name in chemistry for all bodies 

 which combine with acid, so as to neu- 

 tralise or impair the activity of the 

 latter, and produce certain saline sub- 

 stances, differing in their properties from 

 either. The name was formerly confined 

 to the three substances potash, soda, aod 

 ammonia, but it U now extended to nu 



