AWN 



»s neither aifigncd by law, nor appointed by the judge, 

 for ending a iratter in controvcrlV ; but is chofen by 

 the parties themfelvts tiiut are at varuuice. See Arsitra- 

 riov. 



AWATChlA, in Ormdoh^, a fprcics of ^Iotacilla, 

 that inhabits Kan-.tlchatka. It is of a brown colour ; chin 

 and broaft wliite, fpotted with black ; middle of the belly 

 and lores wlatc ; primary quill-fcathers bordered with white; 

 tail-feathers jrange at the bafe. Arft. Zool. — 'Gmehn. 



AW.ATSKA, in Gccgropljy. See Avatscha. 



AWCHAll, a town of Perfia, in the prevince of Adir- 

 b;it/an, 50 leagues S. W. of Tauris. 



AWE, a river of Scotland, in the Highlands. See 



LOCII-AWE.. 



A-WEIGH, in Sea- Language, the fame as A-trip, when 

 applied to the anchor. 



AWENYDHION, in Br'u'i/Ij Jnllquliy, a name that 

 was given to certain perfons in Wales, and derived from 

 jliueii, was, of conrfe, exprcffivc of poetical raptures. Thtfe 

 perfons, when coi.fulted about any thing doubtful, appeared 

 iu be inflamed with a high degree of enthufiafm, and even 

 to be pofTcfrcd by an invifibic fpirit. They were neither 

 hafty, nor very direft and explicit in their anfvvers, or in the 

 folution of the difficulties that were propofed to them ; but 

 in the courfe of a long and wild circumlocution, the required 

 anfwer or folution would be obtained by means of iome 

 turn or digrefiion in the fpcech, which was thought to 

 imply or exprefs it. Thefe perfons were at length ri)ufed 

 from their feeming extacy as from a deep deep, and they 

 were compelled as it were, by violence, to return to their 

 natural condition. When perfons of this defcription reco- 

 vered their reafon, after an apparent and temporary aliena- 

 tion of mind, they did not recollect any of thofe circumltances 

 that had occurred, or of the words which ihey had uttered 

 during their extacy. If they were, therefore, again con- 

 fiilted about the fame fubjed, they would exprefs them- 

 felves in very different words. The gift, v.hich tiicy pof- 

 fefied, was conferred upon them, as th^y imagined, in their 

 fleep, and the mode of communication teemed, fays Giral- 

 dus, as if new milk or honey was poured into their mouths ; 

 to others, as if a written fcroU had been put into their 

 mouths ; and when they awoke, they knew and declared 

 that they had been endowed with this extraordinary fpirit 

 of divination. Some gift, refembling that to which the 

 Awenydhion of Wales pretended, has been long known in 

 Scotland, imdtr tlie denomination of Shcond Sighi. War- 

 rington's Hift. Wales, p. 102, &c. 



AWERRI, in Geography, a town of Africa, and capital 

 of a kingdom of the fame uame, about 23 leagues irom 

 Benin to the fouth. 



AWIN-EA, a river of Ireland, which rifts in lake 

 Ea, in the province of Donegal, and runs into the fea, fevcn 

 miles north of Killcbcgs. 



AWK. See Auk. 



AWL, or AuL, a fhoemaker's implement, wherewith 

 holes are bored in leather, to faciiitife the Hitching or few- 

 ing the fame. — The blade of the awl is ufually a little 

 £at, and bending; and the point ground to an acute angle. 



AWME, or AuME, a Dutch mcafure of capacity 

 for liquids ; containing eighty?crZ..nj, or twenty -jerges, or 

 verteeh : anfwering to what in England is called a tierce, 

 or one-fixth of a ton of France, or one-fcventh of an Englilh 

 ton. Arbuth. Tab. 33. 



AWN, Arista, i 1 So.'any, the needle-like briftles which 

 form beards of different forts cf grafs or grain, as wheat, 

 ii^tlcy, kc. The word is, in fomc diftricls, pronounced 



A X A 



Aih. It is fometimej ufed to fignify a (harp point termi- 

 nating a leaf. See Arista. 



AWNING, on board a fiiip, is when a fail, a tarpaulin, 

 or the like, is hung over any part of the :hip, above the 

 decks, to keep off the fun, rain, or wind. 



Awnings are made of canvas. The length of the main 

 deck awrii'.g is from the centre of the fore-maft to the cen- 

 tre of the main -mail ; the width corrcfponds to the breadthi 

 of the (hip, taken at the main-mail, foremaft, and at the mid- 

 way between. The length of the quarter deck awning is from 

 the Centre of the main-niafl to the centre of the roizcn-maii ; 

 and the width anfwers to the breadths of tiie fnip, at the 

 main-maft, miitn-maft, and at the midwi.y between. Tlie 

 length of the poop, or after-awning, is from the centre of 

 the mizen-mall to the cnfign-ltaff, about feven feet above 

 the deck; and the width is formed agreeably to the breadths 

 of the (hip, taken at the tnizen-maft, the tailarel, and at 

 the midway between. Tlie canvas is cut to the given breadthj 

 of the awning, allowing about nine inches to hang down 

 on each iide, which is fomctimes fcoUoped and bound with 

 green baize, and is fewed together with an inch feam, and 

 tabled all round with a two or three inch tabling. Half 

 the diameter of the malls is cut out in the middle at each 

 end, and lacing-holes are made acrofs the ends to conneft 

 one awning to another. On the upper part, along the 

 middle and fides, is fewed a one inch and half or two inch 

 rope, to which the trucks are fewed at about three Quar- 

 ters of a yard afunder. A thimble is fpliced ii. each end of 

 the rope. Sometimes curtains are made to hang to the 

 fides of the awnings, of the fame length as the awnings. 

 Their depth is taken from the fides of the awning to the 

 gun-wale, fuppofing the awning to be in its place. The 

 feams and tablings are the fame as thofe of the awnings, 

 and lacing-holes are made along the upper tabling of the 

 curtain, and the fide tabling of the awning. Gierke's Elem. 

 and Praftice of Rigging, vol. i. p. 140. 230. 



In the long-boat they make an awning, by bringing the 

 fail over the yard and Hay, and booming it out with the 

 boat-hook. 



AX, a carpenter's inflrumcnt, ferving to hew wood 



The ax differs from the joiner's hatchet, in that it is much 

 larger, and heavier, as lerving to hew large ftuff ; audits 

 edge tapering into the middle of its blade. — It is furnilhtd 

 with a long handle or helve, as being to be ufed with both 

 hands. 



Ax, in GtOgraphv, a town of France, in the department 

 of the Arriege, and ciiief place of a canton in the diftrift 

 of Tarafcon, on the Arriege ; 9 leagues weft of Pradts, 

 and 41 S. E. of Tarafcon. 



Ax. See Axbruige, and A.xmisstef,. 



Ax, Baltic. See Celt. 



AXAMENTA, in ulntiquity, a denomination given to the 

 verfes, or fongs, of the /alii, which they fung in honour of 

 all men. 



The word is formed according to fome, from axare q. d. 

 nominarc. Others will have the carmina faliaria to have 

 been denominated axamenia, on account of their being writ- 

 ten in jixibvs, or on wooden tables. 



The itxametitd were not ccmpofed, as fome have afferttd, 

 but only fung by the falii. The author of them was 

 Kuma Pompilius ; and, as the ftyle might not be altered, 

 they grew in time fo obfcure, that the falU themfelves did 

 not underftand thtm. Varro fays they were feven hun- 

 dred years old. Qjiiint. Inft. Or. lib. i. c. 1 1. 



AxAMENTA, or AJJamcnta, in Ancient J^IuJic, hymns or 

 fongs performed wholly with human \oices. 



AXAS, 



