ANC 



AND 



with the anchor : as, the anchor comet 

 home, when it comes from its bed ; it is 

 foul, when entangled with another ; a- 

 peak, when drawn in so tight as to bring 

 the vessel immediately over it ; a-trip, 

 or a-weigh, when just drawn out of the 

 ground in a perpendicular direction. 

 To back an anchor, is to lay down a 

 small anchor a-head of that by which 

 the ship rides, with the cable fastened 

 to the crown of the latter, to prevent 

 its coming home. At anchor, to lie at 

 anchor, to ride at anchor, to cast anchor, 

 to weigh anchor, are well-known phrases. 

 2. In architecture, a carving some- 

 what resembling an anchor, commonly 

 placed as part of the enrichment of boul- 



tins. 3. In heraldry, anchors are em 



blerns of hope. 



AN'CHOUAGE, ground suited for holding 

 an anchor, that is, neither too deep, shal- 

 low, nor rocky. The best anchorage is 



land-locked and out of the tide. 2. 'The 



duty charged to ships for the use of a 



harbour where they cast anchor 3. The 



anchor and necessary tackle for anchoring 

 are also sometimes called the ship's an- 

 chorage. 



AK'CHORET, \ Gr. *i;rif , from 

 AJJ'CHORITE, J xgia, to retire. A 

 recluse : one who retires into a solitary 

 place to devote himself to religious duties. 

 Also a monk, who with the leave of the 

 abbot retires to live in solitude with an 

 allowance from the monastery. A hermit. 

 Many of the early Christians became 

 anchorets to escape persecution; but this 

 kind of life afterwards became fashionable 

 among religious enthusiasts. 



ANCHOR-GROUND, ground suited for an- 

 choring. See ANCHORAGE. 



ANCHOVT, a small fish (clupea encrasi- 

 9ohn , I.in.) , common in the Mediterranean. 

 !?J closely resembles the sprat, and is 

 lefly used as a sauce. About 120,000 

 z. are consumed in Britain annually. 

 Aw name is Span, anchova, of uncertain 

 origin. See ENGHAULIS. 



ANCHOVY-PEAR, a large esculent fruit of 

 Jamaica : also the tree which bears it, the 

 grias caul(flora. 



ANCHC'SA, the buglos or alkanet. The 

 popular name of a genus of which there 

 are two British species, class pentandria, 

 order monogynia. Named from ofy^owra,, 

 a paint, in reference to the dye obtained 

 from the roots of one species of it. See 

 ALKANET. 



ANCHYLO'SIS, from ayxt/Xaai, tobend. A 

 stiff and bent joint. 



ANCIENT, Fr. ancien, old. 1. Substan- 

 tively in the plural, ancients: those who 

 lived in former ages, opposed to moderns. 

 The term is now commonly applied to the 

 Creeks and Romans. 2. In French his- 

 tory, the council of a-icients was one of the 



two assemblies which composed the legis- 

 lative body in 1795. It consisted of 250 

 members, and derived its name from each 



of them being at least 40 years of age. 



3. A flag or streamer in a ship of war, 

 probaWy a corruption Of end-sheet, a flag 

 at the stern. 



ANCIENT-DOMAIN, 1 In English law, a 



ANTIENT-DEMESNE. } tenure by which 

 all manors belonging to the crown were 

 held in the reign of "William the Con- 

 queror. The numbers, names, &c., of 

 these lands were all entered in the record 

 called the domesday -book , as terra regis. 

 The tenure resembles copyhold in some 

 respects. 



ANCIENTLY, in old statutes, eldership or 

 seniority. 



AN c i LLA'RI A , a volute shell , of an oblong 

 subcylindrical form. It belongs to the 

 genus buccinum of Lin., and the family 

 buccinoida of Cuv. The shell is highlj 

 polished. Named from ancilla, a maid. 



ANCIP'ITAL, Lat. ancipitas. Compressed 

 so as to form two opposite angles or 

 edges : applied to leaves in the same sense 

 as anceps (q.v.). 



ANCIPITOCS, from anceps, two-edged. 

 See ANCIPITAL. 



AN'coN,Gr. a-yxcav, the elbow. Some- 

 times applied to the olecranon or pro- 

 tecting part of the elbow on which we 

 lean. In architecture, the ornaments or 

 consoles cut on the keystones of arches, 

 &c., are termed ancdnes. The term is also 

 applied to the comers of walls, cross- 

 beams and rafters, and to other projecting 

 parts. 



ANCOKO'SE, ) Lat. anconetis, angular. 



ANCO'NOI-S, } The anconose muscle (an- 

 conetis minor of Winslow), is a small 

 triangular muscle situated in the back 

 part of the elbow, and which assists in 

 extending the forearm. 



AN'CONV, probably from ancon (q.v.). 

 In iron works, a piece of half-wrought 

 iron ; the middle is of the shape of a bar, 

 but the ends are unwrought. 



ANCY'LE. In antiquity, a shield, which 

 it was pretended fell from heaven in the 

 reign of Numa Pompilius, at which time 

 likewise a voice was heard to declare that 

 Rome should be mistress of the world, so 

 long as she preserved this holy buckler ; 

 it was kept with great care in the Temple 

 of Mars, under the protection of twelve 

 priests. Among surgeons, a contraction 

 or stiffness of a joint ; from a"/xuX&; , 

 crooked, or contracted. 



ANCYLOME'LE, a curved probe used by 

 surgeons ; uyxvXof, crooked, and ur,'/.r,, 

 a probe. 



ANCYLUS, the fresh-water limpet ; a 

 genus of river snails. See LIMNACIAN.E 



AN'DA, a Brazilian tree, the fruit of 

 which is an oval-shaped nut, containing 

 two seeds, which are strongly cathartic. 



