Asarum 
Asamm (as'a-rum), . 
[L., < Gr. aaapm: asa- Ascalaphldae 
Ascalafihus + -i 
ascending 
Syn Infliii'iif', A nthin-itif, Axcenilftncy, etc. (see author- 
' mastery, dominion, superiority, advantage, upper 
brownish flowers and 
aromatic root-stock. The 
few species are natives of the 
northern temperate zone. The 
asarahacca, A. Europanim, 
was formerly used as a purga- 
tive and an emetic. The com- 
mon American species, A. 
Canadense, is known as wild 
ginger or snakeroot. Five 
other species are found in the 
Alleghanies and Sierra Ne- 
vada, and four or five in Asia. 
asbestic (as-bes'tik), a. 
[< asbestos + -ic.~[ Ee- 
lating to or containing 
asbestos. Also asbestous. 
asbestiform (as-bes'ti-forni), . 
body. It corresponds to the genus Ascalaphus 
of Fabricius. 
[NL.,< Gr. (WKd- 
a horned owl, Bubo ascalaphus, of Europe and 
Ascalopax (as-kal'o-paks), . [NL. Cf. Gr. 
amas.unaf (sic), a bird, supposed to be the same 
as ovcoAomjf : see Seolopax.'] In ornith. : (a) An 
old form of Seolopax. (b) A synonym of Gal- 
linago. 
ascan (as'kan), a. [< ascus + -an.'] Of or per- 
taining to an ascus. N. E. D. 
C< L - asbestos ascanceH, adv. See askance^. 
+ forma, shape.] Having the form or appear- a scance' 2 t, ascancest, conj. See askance*. 
aiice of asbestos. ascantt, ode. See askant. 
asbestine (as-bes'tin), a. [< Gr. tafttora/ot, < ascarid (as'ka-rid), n. One of the Ascarida?. 
anpso-Toc,, asbestos.] Pertaining to asbestos, Ascarid* (as"-kar'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < Ascaris 
or partaking of its nature and qualities ; in- + .j^a,.] A family of worms, of the order Ne- 
matoda and class Nemathelmintha, containing 
several genera of round-worms, or thread- 
worms, which are intestinal parasites of man 
and other animals. They have a cylindrical elastic 
body, tapering toward each end, and a trivalved ' 
The leading genera are Ascaris and Oxyuris. ' 
< L. ascenden(t-)s, ppr. of ascendere, go up, rise, 
ascend: see ascend.] I. a. 1. Proceeding up- 
^v-c^r . , * _ ward; rising; mounting. 2. Superior; pre- 
>.a(iwf, an unknown bird, supposed to be a kind d om inant; surpassing: as, "an ascendant s^mt 
of owl.] 1. The typical genus of the family over him," .Sow//;. 3. In astro!., rising over the 
Ascalaphidte. 2. [. c.] The specific name of 
Ascalaphus (as-kal'a-fus), . 
combustible. 
asbestinite (as-bes'tin-it), n. [< asbestine + 
-ite <2 .~] Actinolite or strahlstein.- Calciferous 
asbestinite, a variety of steatite. 
asbestoid (as-bes'toid), a. [< asbestos + -oid.~] 
Resembling asbestos. 
asbestos, asbestus (as-bes'tos, -tus), n. [Also 
asbest (< F. asbeste), abbest, abest (< OF. abeste), 
also, and in ME., asbeston, abeston, abiston, al- 
beston, etc., and in other corrupt forms (in 
earlier use only in sense 1), < L. asbestos, used 
by Pliny in ref. to the mineral asbestos, which 
he believed to be vegetable (see def. 2), < Gr. 
aajiearof, applied by Dioscorides to unslaked 
lime, lit. inextinguishable, unquenchable, < a- 
priv. + apeardf, verbal adj. of oflevvvva/, extin- 
guish, quench.] If. A fabulous stone, which, 
once set on fire, could not be quenched : a notion 
due to observation of the effect of cold water 
in heating quicklime. 
My mind is like to the Asbeston stone, 
Which, if it once be heat in names of flre, 
Denieth to becommen cold again. 
Oreene, Alphonsus, ii. 
2. A supposed kind of flax, alleged to be in- 
combustible. [An erroneous notion of the 
mineral. See 3.] 3. A fibrous variety of am- 
phibole or hornblende, composed of separable 
filaments, with a silky luster; also, in popu- 
lar use, a similar variety of serpentine called 
chrysotile. Its fibers are sometimes delicate, flexible, 
and elastic, sometimes stiff and brittle, and when reduced 
to a powder are soft to the touch. Its colors are various 
shades of white, gray, or green, passing into brown, red, 
or black. It is incombustible, and is therefore used for 
making lamp-wicks, paper, firemen's clothing, building 
materials, twine, and rope for packing steam-joints and 
pistons; it is also prepared as a cement for protecting 
heated surfaces, roofs, and floors, and for various fire- 
proofing purposes. It is mined in Canada, Vermont, Vir- 
ginia, South Carolina, and in Staten Island, New York. 
Some varieties are compact, and take a flue polish ; others 
liead. 
See cut 
under Oxyuris. 
worms, typical of the family Ascaridw, infesting 
the small intestines. The best-known species, A. 
liimbrimides, is so called from its resemblance to an earth- 
worm in size, shape, and general appearance. It has a 
cylindrical body, with ends of equal size, a somewhat 
conoidal head, with trilabiate terminal mouth, and a fili- 
form penis ; the genital pore of the female is in the an- 
terior part of the body. The female attains a length of 
from 12 to 14 inches ; the male is less than half as long. 
2. [I. c. ; pi. oscarirfe*(as-kar'i-dez).] A thread- 
worm or pinworm of the rectum, formerly 
placed in this genus, now referred to a differ- 
ent genus, Oxi/uris (which see). 
ascaunceH, ". See askance 1 . 
ascaunce'-t, ascauncest, conj. See askance?. 
ascend (a-send'), v. [< ME. ascenden, assenden, 
< L. ascendere, adscendere, go up, climb up to, 
< ad, to, + scandere, climb: see scan, and cf. 
descend, transcend."] I. intrans. 1. To move up- 
ward ; mount ; go up ; rise, whether in air or 
water, or upon a material object. 
In our proper motion we ascend 
Up to our native seat : descent and fall 
To us is adverse. Milton, P. L., ii. 75. 
2. To rise, in a figurative sense ; proceed from 
an inferior to a superior degree, from mean 
to noble objects, from particulars to generals, 
etc. 
horizon, or nearly so. 
The constellation of Pegasus ... is about that time <u- 
,.,.,;(. Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err. 
4. In bot., same as ascending. 5. In her., 
rising or issuing upward (the reverse of issu- 
ant): as, rays of the sun ascendant from the 
bottom of the shield, from a fesse, etc. 
II. n. 1. In astral., the point of the ecliptic 
or the sign of the zodiac that is situated on the 
eastern horizon at any particular moment, as 
at the moment of birth or of the propounding 
of any question ; the horoscope. The house of the 
ascendant includes that part of the zodiac which extends 
from 5 above the horizon to 25 below it. The lord of the 
ascendant is the planet that rules the ascendant. This 
planet is generally the significator of the querent, and the 
decision of the question depends upon its aspects. Hence, 
to be in the antr.iulant signifies to have commanding power 
or influence, to occupy a ruling position; and lord of the 
ti*:-<<ndant, one who has possession of such power or in- 
fluence : as, to rule, for a while, lord of the ascendant. 
The assendent sothly, as wel in alle natiuitez as in ques- 
tiouiis and elecciouns of tymes, is a thing which that thise 
Astrologiens gretly obseruen ; wher-fore me semeth con- 
uenient sin that I speke of the assendent. to make of it 
special declaration!!. The assendent sothly, to take it at 
the largest, is thilke degree that assendeth at any of thise 
forseide tymes upon the est Orisonte ; and there-fore, gif 
that any planet assende at that same tyme in thilke for- 
seide degre of his longitude, Men seyn thilke planete is in 
horoscope. Chaucer. 
Sciences that were then in their highest ascendant. 
Sir W. Temple. 
Marlborough had not, when Popery was in the ascen- 
dant, crossed himself, shrived himself, done penance, 
taken the communion in one kind, and, as soon as a turn 
of fortune came, apostatized back again. 
Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xx. 
2. Superiority or commanding influence; pre- 
dominance : especially in the phrase to gain the 
ascendant over one. 
What star I know not, but some star, I find, 
Has given thee an ascendant o'er my mind. 
Dryden, tr. of Persius, Satires, v. 68. 
She had art enough to gain an entire ascendant over the 
king. Goldsmith, Voltaire. 
The secular authority, long unduly depressed, regained 
the ascemlant with startling rapidity. 
Macaulay, Von Ranke. 
3. An ancestor, or one who precedes in geneal- 
ogy or degrees of kindred : opposed to descen- 
dant. 
The succession of ascendants of the deceased, of his male 
paternal ancestors, if any survived him. 
Maine, Early Law and Custom, p. 111. 
4. In arch., one of the two sides or vertical mem- 
bers of the chambranle of a door or window. 
See as- 
mentous structure, like wood. 
blende asbestos are rock-cork, mountain-leather, fossil 
paper, and fossil flax. A fine variety is called amiantus 
(which see). Blue asbestos, the mineral crocidolitc 
(which see). 
asbestos-stove (as-bes'tos-stov), n. A gas- 
stove with asbestos spread over the burners, 
so as to form an incandescent radiator. 
asbestOUS (as-bes'tus), a. [< asbestos + -ous.'] 
Same as asbestic. 
asbestus, . See asbestos. 
asbolan, asbolane (as'bo-lan, -Ian), n. [< Gr. 
dff/jo/lof, also aa[}6'/Ji, soot (cf. i/><Wof, soot, 
smoke), + -an.'] Earthy cobalt; wad contain- 
ing oxid of cobalt. It is used in the manufac- 
ture of smalt. Also called asbolite. 
asbolin, asboline (as'bo-lin), n. [As asbol-an 
By these steps we shall ascend to more just ideas of the 
glory of Jesus Christ. Watts, Improvement of .Mind. 
Tis sometimes questioned whether morals have not de- ascendence, ascendency, ascendent. 
dined as the arts have anceiuled. cendancc, etc. 
Emerson, Works and Days. agcen) | er (a-sen'der), n. 1. One who ascends. 
3. To slope upward. 4. To go backward in 3. An ascending letter. See ascending. 
the order of time; proceed from modern to ascendible (a-sen'di-bl), a. [< L. ascendibilis 
ancient times: as, our inquiries ascend to the ( a l so , from pp. ascensvs, LL. ascensibilis), < 
ascendere, ascend : see ascend and -4ble, and cf . 
ascendable.'] Same as ascendable. 
ascending (a-sen'ding), p. a. 1. Proceeding 
from a lower position to a higher; rising; mov- 
ing upward; figuratively, proceeding from the 
less to the greater ; proceeding from a later to 
an earlier time; rising from grave to acute. 
2. In bot., growing upward, as the stem of a 
plant, which is called the ascending axis. Com- 
monly restricted to the sense of growing up obliquely or in 
a curve from the base, in distinction from erect, and from 
decumbent or horizontal.- Acute ascending paralysis. 
See paralysis. Ascending latitude, the latitude of a 
are loose, like flax or silky wool. Ligniform asbestos, or _. - --. . o 
mountain-wood, is a variety presenting an irregular flla- the order of time ; proceed from modern to ascendible (a-sen'di-bl), a. 
Other varieties of horn : ano i e nt times: as, our inquiries ascend to the ( a i so> f rom - p p . ascensus, 
remotest antiquity. 5. To rise, as a star; ap- 
pear above the horizon. 
Higher yet that star ascends. 
Sir J. Boimny, Watchman, Tell us of the Night. 
6. In music, to rise in pitch; pass from any 
tone to one more acute. =Syn. To mount, soar, climb. 
II. trans. 1. To go or move upward upon; 
climb: as, to ascend a hill or ladder; to ascend 
a tree. 
We returned to the great tower, and ascended the steep 
flight of steps which led to its door of entrance. 
R. Curzon, Monast. in the Levant, p. 77. 
2. To move upward along; go toward the 
source of: as, to ascend a river. = Syn. To mount, 
climb, seal 
+ -i2.'] An oil-like, nitrogenous matter, ac- ascendable (a-sen'da-bl), a. [< ascend + -able.'] 
rid and bitter, obtained from the soot of wood. Capable of being ascended. Also written as- 
asbolite (as'bo-lit), n. [As asbol-an + -ite%.~] 
Same as asbolan. 
Ascalabota (as"ka-la-bo'ta), n. ^ 
Ascalabotes.] One of the major groups of the 
cendible. 
ascendance, ascendence (a-sen'dans, -dens), 
[NL. : see . Same as ascendancy. [Rare.] 
Fear had too much ascendance on the mind. 
Fielding, Joseph Andrews, ix. 
Lacertilia, consisting of the geckos alone. See 
Gecco and Gecconidat. Also called Nyctisauria. ascendancy, ascendency (a-sen'dan-si, -den- 
Ascalabotes (as'ka-la-bo'tez), n. [NL., < Gr. 
aaKafaflaTric,, the spotted lizard, prob. Lacerta 
gecko.'] A genus of nyctisaurian lizards, of the 
family Geccotida; or Gecconidce. A.fasticularis is 
sometimes known by the name tarentola. The genus was 
originally, as used by Cuvier, coextensive with the family, 
or with the modern superfamily Ascalabota. 
si), n. [< ascendant, -ent, + -ancy, -encyJ\ Tb.e 
state of being in the ascendant; governing or 
controlling influence ; domination. 
The great Latin war, the war in which the first Decius 
gave himself for Rome, marks the last struggle of Rome's 
immediate kinsfolk against her ascendency. 
E. A. Freeman, Anier. Lects., p. 317. 
planet when moving toward the north pole. Ascending 
letter, in type-t minding, a letter which reaches to the 
extreme upper part of the body of the type. In Koman 
types of the minuscule or " lower-case "form the ascend- 
ing letters are h, d, f, h, i, j, k, 1, t. All capitals are 
ascending letters. Ascending node, that point of a 
planet's orbit at which it passes the ecliptic to proceed 
northward. It is also called the northern node. Ascend- 
ing ovule, in bnt. , an ovule that is attached above the base 
of the ovary and directed upward. Ascending rhythm, 
in pros., a rhythm or movement composed of feet in 
which the metrically accented part (commonly called 
the arsis) follows the metrically unaccented part (com- 
monly called the thesis), as an iambic oranapestic rhythm : 
opposed to descending rhythm, such as the trochaic or 
dactylic. Ascending signs, the signs Capricorn us, Aqua- 
rius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, and Gemini: so called because 
the sun, while in them, is approaching the north celestial 
pole, which is to our view elevated. Ascending ves- 
sels, in anat., those vessels which carry the blood upward 
or toward the superior parts of the body. 
