ATT 



109 



ATT 



prsrrLB. Component atomi, are those 

 atoms which, being different in their na- 

 ture, united form a third or compound 

 atom. Thus the atoms of sulphur and 

 oxygen arc the component atoms of sul- 

 phuric acid. Organic atoms arc the atoms 

 of substances found only in organic 

 bodies. 



ATOM'IC PHILOSOPHY. See CoRprscuLE. 



ATOM'IC THEORY. See EQUIVALENTS. 



ATRAC'TYLES, the distaff-thistle, a genus 

 of European plants of five species. 

 Syngmesia Poly, trqualis. Name from 

 aToaxTog, a distaff. A species, called the 

 pine-thistle, is used for diseases of the 

 gums. 



ATRIP, a nautical term applicable to 

 the anchor when it is drawn perpendi- 

 cularly out of the ground, and to the sails 

 when hoisted to the top of the mast. 



ATRIP'LEX, the orache. A. genus of plants 

 of which there are seven British species, 

 mostly inhabiting muddy sea-shores and 

 salt-marshes. Polygamia Moncecia. 

 Name from , not, and T^afuv, to nou- 

 rish, and written by the Greeks 



A'TRIUM, aiO'io?, exposed. In ancient 

 architecture considered the same as the 

 vestibule. 



ATBO'PA, a genus of plants of which 

 the deadly nightshade or dwall (A. bel- 

 ladonna), is a species. Pentandria 3Io- 

 nogynia. Named from Ar^ot , the eld- 

 est of the Pare* or Fates, in allusion to 

 its deadly quality. 



AT'ROPHY, from , not, and r%t$a, to 

 nourish. A wasting of the body or any 

 particular part of it, in consequence of 

 some derangements of the functions of as- 

 similation and absorption. 



AT'ROPIA, ) a peculiar vegetable salt, 



AT'ROFINE, j obtained from the Atropa 

 belladonna. It is tasteless, alkaline, and 

 highly poisonous, and is soluble in boiling 

 alcohol. 



AT'TA, a subgenus of formica (q.v.), in- 

 cluding some of the largest species of 

 ants (some an inch in length of body). 

 The visiting ant (formica cephalotes, Lin.), 

 of South America, is the type of the 

 genus, and receives its name trom its 

 habit of visiting in troops the houses of 

 the residents, who open their doors and 

 receive it gladly, as it consumes or drives 

 away not only the cockroaches and spi- 

 ders. but even mice and rats. 



ATTAC'L-A, an Italian word meaning 

 attach, and used in music to signify that 

 a passage is to follow another imme- 

 diately ; e.g., attacca allegro. 



ATTACH', ATTACHMENT. (Fr. attacher, to 

 fasten.) In English late, to attach, means 

 to take or apprehend a person by virtue 

 of a writ or precept. Attachment dif- 

 fers from arrett by proceeding out of a 



higher court, by precept or writ, whereas 

 the latter proceeds out of an inferior 

 court by precept only ; and further, an 

 arrest lies only against the body of a 

 man, whereas the attachment often lies 

 only against the goods, and may lie 

 against both body and goods. Attach- 

 ment is also a mode of punishing con- 

 tempts. (See CONTEMPT.) The first no- 

 tice to appear in a Court of Equity is by 

 summons. If the defendant disobeys this 

 monition, a writ of attachment issues, 

 commanding the sheriff to attach him, by 

 taking gage or security of goods, which 

 he forfeits by non-appearance, or by 

 making him find securities for his ap- 

 pearance. Attachment for this cause is 

 not made in courts of law, for should the 

 defendant not appear when summoned, 

 his default is noted and judgment is given 

 against him. Attachments are issued by 

 courts of law for various kinds of con- 

 tempts, but in all the use is to bring the 



offender into court. Foreign Attachment 



is the attachment, by a creditor, of a debt 

 due to his debtor from a third party ; it 

 is so called from its being one of the 

 modes of securing debts due by foreigners. 

 In Scotland, it is called assisting the debt. 

 In London the process is called garniih- 

 ment or warning, the person summoned 

 being the garmshee. 



ATTAIN'DER, (Nor. Fr. attrindre, to cor- 

 rupt;. In law, the corruption of blood 

 consequent upon a person's being ad- 

 judged guilty of a capital offence ; the 

 law thereby sets a mark of infamy upon 

 him, and takes no further concern about 

 him than to have him executed. A sta- 

 tute attainting a person is called an act 

 of attainder. 



ATTAINT', a writ at the common law 

 which lies to inquire whether a jury have 

 given a false verdict : it is so called be- 

 cause the party who obtains it endeavours 

 to taint the character of the jury. 



ATTMJD'ANT, accompanying. In law, 

 depending on or owing service to. In 

 music, applied to the keys on the fifth 

 above, and the fifth (or fourth) above any 

 given key. 



ATTENUATED, Lat. attenttatut, tapering : 

 applied to parts of plants &c. : dispropor- 

 tionably slender ; thinned. 



ATTENCA'TI-S. When the thickness of a 

 part diminishes in some direction, it is 

 often used in the sense of narrowed or 

 angustate. 



ATTIC, Lat. Atticu*,of ATTIXO;- Pertain- 

 ing to Attica, or its capital Athens. 



AT'TIC SALT, a delicate, poignant kind 

 of wit peculiar to the old Athenians. In 

 architecture, an at tie denotes a low story 

 erected over an order of architecture by 

 way of crowning. An Attic bast consist* 

 of an upper and lower torsus, a scoti* 



