ABS M 



side of a central rib without a 

 terminal or odd leaflet. 

 abscess, n., db'ses(L. abscessus, an 

 abscess from abs, from or away ; 

 cessum, to depart), a gathering of 

 humour or pus in some part of 

 the body. 



abscission, n., ab>sish'un (L. ab, 

 from ; scissum, to cut, scissus, 

 cut), in surg. , a cutting off or re- 

 moval of a part ; the premature 

 ending of a malady ; in bot., a 

 cutting off; the separation of seg- 

 ments or frustules : abscissa, n. , 

 ab-sis'-sa, a part of the diameter 

 of a conic section the plurals are 

 abscissas, db - sis'sdz, and abscissae, 

 db-si/'Se. 



absinthe, n., ab'-sinih (L. absin- 

 thium, Gr. absinthion, worm- 

 wood), a strong alcoholic liqueur, 

 highly flavoured with a tincture 

 of wormwood : absinthian, a., 

 db'smth'i'dn, of the nature of 

 wormwood, or pert, to it: ab- 

 sinthiated, a., impregnated with 

 wormwood : absinthate, n., db' 

 smth'-at, combination of absinthic 

 acid with a base : absinthic, a., 

 belonging to absinthium ; denot- 

 ing an acid obtained from it : 

 absinthin, n. , the bitter principle 

 discovered in absinthium : absin- 

 thium, n. , db sinth'4- urn, the name, 

 in the pharmacopoeia, of the artem- 

 is'ia absinthium : absinthism, 

 n., the symptoms produced by 

 the excessive use of the liqueur 

 absinthe. 



abstergent, a., n., db-sterf-ent (L. 

 abstergens, wiping dry from abs, 

 from or away ; tergeo, I rub off), 

 cleansing; a medicine that cleanses 

 from foulness or sores. 

 abyssic, a., a-bis'-ik (Gr. abussos, 

 without a bottom from a, with- 

 out, not ; bussos, a bottom), appliec 

 to the earths which form the 

 bottoms of ancient seas. 

 Acacia, n., ok a'-shi-d (L. acacia, 

 a thorn), a genus of Oriental trees , 

 the Egyptian thorn ; gum arabic, 

 Ord. Leguminosae, Sub-ord. Mini' 



ACA 



osse : Acacia tortilis, tdrttilis (L. 

 tprtllis, twined, twisted) : A. Arab- 

 ica, ar-ab'-ik'd (from Arabia) ; A. 

 vera, ver'd (L. verus, real, genu- 

 ine) ; A. gummifera, gum-if-Zr-a 

 (L. gummi, gum ; fero, I bear) ; 

 A. albida, dl'-bid'd (L. albidus, 

 whitish), and other species, yield 

 the gums or gummy substances 

 known as gum Arabic, gum Sene- 

 gal, East Indian gum, etc. : A. cate- 

 chu, ktit'e-ku, or M^g-sAoo(saidto 

 be from Japanese kate, a tree ; chu, 

 juice), an Indian shrub, which 

 furnishes a kind of catechu, is 

 used for tanning, and a powerful 

 astringent : A. formosus, f6rm- 

 6z'-us (L. formosus, finely formed, 

 handsome from forma, shape), 

 a species supplying the Cuban 

 timber called sabicu. 

 Acalephse, n. plu., dttdl-ef'-Z (Gr. 

 akalephe, a nettle), a name ap- 

 plied to thejelly-fishes, sea-nettles, 

 and other radiate animals, from 

 their power of stinging : acaleph- 

 oid, n., atf-dl-ef'-dyd (Gr. eidos, 

 resemblance), an animal resem- 

 bling a jelly-fish or sea-nettle, etc. : 

 acalephous, a., dk-dl-ef'-us, be- 

 longing to a nettle ; belonging to 

 the Acalephre. 



Acanthaceae, n. plu., dk'dnth>d'- 

 se-e (Gr. akantha, a spine), the 

 Acanthus family, an order of her- 

 baceous plants, chiefly tropical : 

 Acanthus, n., dk-dnth'us, a genus 

 of plants ; bear's breech: Acanthus 

 mollis, mol'-lis (L. mollis, pliant, 

 supple), a species the leaves of 

 which, with their sinuated lobes, 

 are said to have given origin to the 

 capital of the Corinthian pillar : 

 acanthaceous, ok '-antii-a'- shus, 

 also acanthine, a., armed with 

 prickles : Acanthocephala,n. plu. , 

 dk'dnth'.o-sef.dl-d (Gr. kephale, 

 the head), a class of parasitic 

 worms in which the head is armed 

 with spines : Acanthometrina, n. 

 plu., dk-dnth'.o>met''rin'a (Gr. 

 metra, a womb), a family of pro- 

 tozoa characterized by having rad- 



