A M B 5< 



at the proper season (the en.l of May' , and ' 

 n brewing invoked of the jjoatti.-si on Hie 

 ooming harvest. 



AMBAS'SADOR, a minister of the highest 

 rank, employed by one sovereign or state, 

 t the court of another, to manage the 

 puhlic concerns of his own government, 

 and representing the power and dignity 

 of Ms sovereign. Ambassadors are ordi- 

 iary when they reside permanently at a 

 foreign court, and extraordinary when 

 sent on a special mission. Ambassadors 

 are also called ministers ; but envoys are of 

 lower rank, and only employed on spe- 

 cial occasions. Webster pleads the au- 

 thority of good authors for spelling the 

 word ambassador, more especially as the 

 orthography of embassy is established. 

 The etymology of the word is doubtful. 

 We have Jn Sax. ambyhcfec^a, a mes- 

 tage-tayer ; from Goth, andbahts, a servant ; 

 but in the laws of Burgundy we find 

 antbaxcia, service, and ambasciator, a ser- 

 vant, whence probably Ital. ambasciadore, 

 I'r. ambaszadeiir, and Ang. ambassador. 

 Spelman derives the word from Germ. 

 nmbact, which Cesar calls ambactus, a re- 

 tainer, whence Norm, ambareiir. 



AMBE, ) from aiu-ftr,, the rim or margin 



AMBI, ) of anything. A surgical in- 

 strument for reducing dislocations of the 

 shoulders ; so called, because its extre- 

 mity is rounded to tit into the axilla. It 

 is not now used. 



AM'BER, a mineral solid of a yellow 

 colour of various shades ; usually nearly 

 transparent; brittle and inodorous except 

 when pounded or heated ; it then emits a 

 fragrant odour. It has considerable lustre ; 

 becomes negatively and powerfully elec- 

 trical by friction ; is found in nodules 

 varying from the size of coarse sand to 

 halls of several pounds weight. Sp. gr. 

 1'07 to 1'08. Constituents, carbon 70'68, 

 oxygen 7 77, and hydrogen 1T62, which is 

 so nearly the composition of vegetable 

 resin, that it is now regarded as fossil 

 f.'-in by chemists generally. It often 

 contains the remains of certain families 

 of insects, as hymenoptera, diptera, co- 

 leoptera, and sometimes, though rarely, 

 I'-pidoptera. "When distilled, it yields an 

 finpyreumatic oil and an acid sublimate, 

 which has received the name of succinic 

 acid. The name is from Sp. ambar, from 

 Ar. ambaron. Most of the amber imported 

 into this country is brought from the 

 "Baltic. Amber is chiefly used for orna- 

 mental purposes; it is cut, for instance, 

 into beads for necklaces ; it is also used 

 in the manufacture of varnish. The sub- 

 stance called fo-sil copal, which closely 

 resembles amber, contains no succinic 

 acid, ard is much less soluble in alcohol. 



AJC'BBRGRIS. Yr.ambr' and yrt*, that Is, 

 gt-uy umber. &. solid opaque ash- coloured I 



A MB 



fatty inflammable substance, 

 like marble ; remarkably lisht, rugged *& 

 its surface, and when heated, it has * 

 fragrant odour. It breaks easily, but 

 cannot be reduced to powder ; mel'ts line 

 wax, does not effervesce with acids, is 

 soluble in ether and the volatile oils, and. 

 assisted by heat, in alcohol, ammonia, 

 and the fixed oils. It is found generally 

 in small, but sometimes in large masses or 

 250 Ib. floating on the sea, near the coast* 

 of India, Africa, and Kni/il. There ha* 

 been much diversity of opinion regarding 

 its origin some supposing it to be a 

 vegetable, others a mineral production, 

 but it is now known to be a concretion. 

 discharged from the intestines of the 

 spermaceti whale (physeter macrncephaltu) , 

 in which it is found abundantly on open- 

 ing the animal. It is probably a pro- 

 duct of disease. It is chiefly used in 

 perfumery, the odour being exceedingly 

 diffusive. The name is sometimes cor- 

 ruptly written ambcrgrease. 



AMBIDEX'TER, Lat. from ambo, both, and 

 dexter, the right hand. In law, a juror 

 who takes money from both parties for 

 giving his verdict. 



AMBI'GENAL, from Lat. mnbi, about, and 

 geno, a produce. In geometry, a term ap- 

 plied to one of the triple hyperbolas of 

 the second order, having one of its infinite 

 legs falling within an angle formed by tho 

 asymptotes, and the other without. 



AMBI'GU, FT., from Lat. ambignns, 

 doubtful. A feast or entertainment con- 

 sisting of a medley of dishes. 



AMBIT, Lat. ambitus, a circuit. In geo- 

 metry, the perimeter of a figure ; the pe- 

 riphery or circumference of a circular 

 body. 



AM'BITCS, Lat. from anibio, to encompass. 

 1. In conchology, the outline of the valves 

 of a shell. - 2. In politics, a term used 

 by the ancient Romans to designate can- 

 vassing for office, by soliciting the suf- 

 frages of electors. 



AM'BLE, Fr. from ambler, to walk. In 

 the manege, the pace of a horse when his 

 two legs on one side move at the same 

 time. 



AMBLI'GOX, i from u.xvs, obtuse, and 



AMBLY'GOX, I yatnx,, an angle. An ob- 

 tuse angled triangle ; a triangle with one 

 angle more than 90. 



AMBLIO'ONITE, I a massive, crystallised, 



AMBLTG'ONITE, | greenish coloured mi- 

 neral, which frequently occurs in granite 

 alone, with green topaz and tourmaline, 

 near Penig, in Saxony. Name from 

 otfA&wyuHOf, obtuse-angled, in reference 

 to the form of its crystals, which atf 

 oblique, four-sided prisms. 



AMBLO'TIC, Gr. au.Z\!i><rif, abortive. 

 Having the power to cause abort'.on. 



AMfiiiu'pv. Lat. amblyopia, from x-t 



