ascension 
ascension (a-son'shon), . [< ME. </X<T.S-/OH, 
assensioun, ( L. asoenio{n-), u rising, ascen- 
sion, < aseeitilere, pp. awnmoi, rise, ascend : sec 
ascenrf.] 1. The act of ascending; a rising; 
specifically, the bodily pas.sing from earth to 
heaven of Christ, in the presence of his disci- 
ples (Mark xvi. 19; Luke, xxiv. 50, 51; Acts i. 
1-11). 2. [cap.] The day on which the ascen- 
sion of Christ is commemorated in the church : 
Ascension day. 3f. That which rises or as- 
cends; a fume. 
Men err in the theory of inebriation, conceiving tin 
liniin doth "lily suffer from vapourons IWU.IMX from 
111,- stomach. ' >''' '/'. /.<"<"'. \ulv. bT. 
4. In astron., the rising of a star or point above 
the horizon on the celestial sphere. 5. A go- 
ing back in time, or in the order of genealogi- 
cal succession ; ascent Apparent right ascen- 
sion. See aiiiiamit. Ascension day, the lortteth <tay 
lifter KasU-r, on which the ascension of Christ is com 
nicniorateil ; sometimes called llolii '/'liiir.idiiii. Oblique 
ascension*, of a star, in ttxtmn., an arc of the equator in- 
tercepted lM-t\veen the venial equinox or first point of 
Arirs and that point of the equator which conies to tin- 
horizon at the same time with the star.- Right ascen- 
sion, (ft) In old outrun., vertical rising. 
The signes of riht a*xt'ii<'ii>"n IM-M fro the heuecl of can- 
cer to ye emle of sagittare, and thise signer arisen more 
uiiriht. fhfiiirn: 
(h) In mini, astron., the rirjht ascension of a. star or point of 
the sphere is the arc of tile equator intercepted bet wren il> 
circle of declination and the vernal equinox ortlrst point of 
Aries, reckont-d toward the east. This meaning is drri\ c.l 
from the conception of an observer at a point on the earth's 
equator where all the stars rise vertically. 
ascensional (a-sen'shon-al), a. [< ascrimun + 
-nl.] Relating to ascension or ascent ; ascend- 
ing or rising up. 
That idea [of the gun-cotton rocket] was to place a disk 
or short cylinder of the gun-cotton in the head of a rocket. 
the ascensional force of which should be employed to carry 
the disk to an elevation of 1,000 feet or thereabouts. 
Tyndall, Pop. Sci. Mo., XIII. 281. 
Ascensional differencet, in astron., the difference be- 
tween the right and the oblique ascension of the same 
point on the surface of the sphere : used chiefly as ex- 
pressing the difference between the time of the rising or 
setting of a body and six o'clock, or six hours from its me- 
ridian passage. 
ascensive (a-sen'siv), a. [< L. ascetisus (pp. of 
ascendere : see ascend) + -ive.] 1. Character- 
ized by an ascending movement ; tending to 
ascend; rising; tending to rise, or causing 
to rise. -Sir T. Browne. 2. In gram., increas- 
ing force ; intensive ; augmentative. [Bare.] 
ascent (a-senf), n. [< ascend ; formed like de- 
scent, F. descents, < descend, F. descend.] 1. 
The act of rising or ascending; upward move- 
ment : as, the ascent of vapors, or of a balloon. 
To him with swift ascent he up return'd. 
Milton, P. L., x. 224. 
Hence 2. A rising from a lower to a higher 
state, degree, or grade ; advancement. 
As to the genesis of man and the universe, the less cul- 
tured tribes claimed to be an ascent from birds, fishes, 
snakes. Faiths of the World, p. 252. 
3. The act of climbing or traveling up ; the act 
of advancing from a lower to a higher position; 
a going up, as up a mountain, river, stairway, 
etc. 4. An eminence ; a hill or high place. 
Depressed valleys and swelling accents. Bentleii. 
5. The way by which one ascends ; the means 
of ascending ; acclivity ; upward slope. 
It was a rock . . . 
Conspicuous far ; winding with one ascent. 
Milton, P. L., iv. 545. 
Next the proud palace of Salerno stood 
A mount of rough ascent, and thick with wood. 
Dryden, Sig. and Guis., 1. 102. 
Clambering up the very steep ascent, I took my place 
upon the ramparts to watch the sunrise over the plain. 
O'Donovan, Merv, xxiv. 
6. The angle made by an ascending line or sur- 
face with the horizontal line or plane : as, the 
road has an ascent of five degrees. 7. A pro- 
ceeding upward or backward in time or in logi- 
cal order of succession. 
The accents from particular to general arc all successive, 
and each step of this ascent requires time and labour. 
J. S. Mill, System of Logic. 
Line Of ascent, in ge nealogy, ancestry. 
They [ancient Hindu law-teachers] say hardly anything 
of Inheritance as now understood, save in the direct line 
of descent or ascent. 
Maine, Early Law and Custom, p. 112. 
ascertain (as-er-tan'), v. t. [Early mod. E. and 
late ME. ascertaine, assertaint, assartaine, -tayne, 
etc., with (isser-, ascer-, in erroneous simulation 
of words like assent, ascend, etc., earlier ME. 
twrtainen, acerteinen, < OF. ucertainrr, acer- 
tciner, make certain, < a, to, + certain, certain : 
see fl-U and certain. The word is thus etymo- 
logically fl- 11 + certain, and was so pronounced 
in early mod. E.] 1. To make certain; deter- 
Ascidia 
of virtue anil perfectinn and the means Ity which they 
arc t't In- allallu il. full,. l>t<-l. 
ascetically (a-set'i-kal-i), adr. In an ascetical 
manner; by (lie ptMtiee of asceticism; as an 
ascetic; to' or toward asceticism: as, persons 
nxntictillij inclined. 
asceticism (a-sot'i-si/.m), H. [< auntie, + -ism. | 
1. The life or practice of an ascetic; the prin- 
ciples and historic course of the ascetics. In an 
ci< nt I i reel 'e n>-> I i >;*!, i ('i.rio|iTiO meant the discipline un- 
dergone liy athletes while training. In the schools of tile 
Stuics the same wont wa- apjilieii to the controlling of the 
appetites and passions and the practice ol \irtm-. Among 
Christians, through contact with the Alexandrian school 
of philosophy, the wuiii early came into use with a simi- 
lar meaning, namely, tin- habitual use of self-discipline, 
such as had been practised by individuals and even by 
communities among the- .lent. 'II bject of this disci- 
pline was to control and subdue the bodily nature witli 
its passions and desires as the stronghold of evil in- 
herent in man since the- fall of Adam, the means used 
being fasting, celibacy, poverty, penance, and solitude, 
a mode .,f life which MYBtopM in the course of a few 
centuries into nionasticisni. Similar and even greater 
austerities have been practised from very early times by 
many among various pagan nations and in connection 
with various religious systems, such as Hinduism. Ituddh 
ism, etc., under the influence of the idea that matter is 
essentially evil, and that an approach to ideal good or an 
escape from the evils of existence can be effected only by 
sulxiuing or torturing the body. 
Asceticism again including under this term ... all 
cllorts tu w ithdraw from the world in order to cultivate a 
higher degree of sanctity belongs naturally to a society 
w hicb is somewhat rude, and in which isolation is frequent 
and easy. /.</.//. Europ. Morals, I. 136. 
2. In theol., the theory or systematic exposition 
of the means, whether negative, as self-denial 
and abstinence, or positive, as the exercise of 
natural and Christian virtues, by which a com- 
plete conformity with the divine will may be at- 
tained. See tiwtiral theolomi, under ascetical. 
ascertamable (as-er-ta'ua-bl), a. [< ascerbun = a s <,.,,,.,.,.,,, A , tll , pri ; v , e tc See *ei/-dcial. 
+ -able.] If. Capable of being determined or ascham (a's'kam), H. [After Roger Ascham, who 
made certain. 2. Capable of being ascertained in 1545 published "Toxophilus," a celebrated 
or found out by trial, experiment, investigation, 
333 
mine ; define or reduce to precision by remov- 
ing doubt, obscurity, or ambiguity ; establish; 
prove. [Archaic.] 
The' two tirst lines of tin- following book seem to oncer- 
inn, tin- n in- meaning of tin- conclusion of this. OnqMT. 
In Hi!).", hi- | \Ioyli-] was chosen to represent the borough 
nf Saltash in parliament ; a cii-ciinistanee which 
tun i* the piece heforc us to have been written subsequent 
to that period. Mii["ii<', note in llryden's Life of Lneiau. 
We must look somewhat deeper, would we learn why a 
book uhich nnw tri< > <mr patience was Hut unilcscr\ in- 
of those multiplied editions which have rii'.'rfitui"l its 
popularity. /. l>'lr<fli. Amen, of Lit.. 1. .'7. 
2. To find out by trial, examination, or experi- 
ment, si) as t<i know :is certain; acquire an M 
curate knowledge- <>f: as, to ascertain the weight 
of a commodity or the purity of a metal. 
To pass to iisi'i-rtiiiiiril facts, there actually are words 
which were ventured many generations ago, hut, for some 
reason nr other, were not taken up, . . . and yet are now 
familiar to everybody. /'. //"/'. Moil. Kng., p. l:il, Mote. 
3. To make sure of ; insure. [Archaic.] 
The ministry, in order to ascertain a majority in the 
Mi, use ,if Lords, persuade.! the queen to create twelve 
new peers. Smollett. 
4f. To make certain or sure ; certify ; assure ; 
inform. [Bare.] 
I am desirous of arranging with you such just and prac- 
ticable conditions as will ascertain to you the terms at 
which you will receive my part of your debts. 
Jefferson, in Morse, p. 334. 
Muncer assured them that the design was approved of 
by Heaven, and that the Almighty had in a dream ftetr- 
r<iin>'il him of its effects. JMvfllPA. 
5. To establish with certainty ; render invari- 
able, or not subject to caprice ; fix. [Bare.] 
The mildness and precision of their laws ascertained the 
rule and measure of taxation. ' 
inquiry, etc. 
ascertainer (as-er-ta'ner), . One who ascer- 
tains. 
ascertainment (as-er-tan'ment), . [< ascer- 
tain + -inent.] 1. The act of fixing or deter- 
mining ; a reducing to certainty. [Archaic .] 
2. The act of attaining certainty ; the acquire- 
ment of certain knowledge concerning some- 
thing; a finding out. 
Our ancestors guided their course by the stars, without 
knowing much about the stars; the ascertainment of a 
few relative positions sufficed. 
G. H. Lewes, Probs. of Life and Mind, I. i. 8 2. 
We can proceed in the ascertainment of internal truths 
as we proceed in the ascertainment of external ones. 
//. S]>encer. 
ascetery (a-set'e-ri), n. ; pi. asceteries (-riz). [< 
LGr. aaKtfTy()ifn>, (. aaKirrijc,, a monk : see ascetic. ] 
Originally, a dwelling-place of ascetics ; a mon- 
astery ; now, in certain religious houses, a com- 
mon meeting-place for spiritual exercises and 
reading. 
ascetic (a-set'ik), a. and n. [< Gr. aoyo/rcof, as- 
cetic, laborious ; as noun, a hermit, an ascetic ; 
< artKr/rtK, one who exercises, an athlete, eccles. a 
monk or hermit, < ameiv, work, exercise, eccles. 
mortify the body.] I. a. 1. Practising special 
acts of self-denial as a religious exercise ; seek- 
ing holiness through self -mortification ; hence, 
rigidly abstinent and self -restrained as to ap- 
petites and passions. 
He was for his life so exact and temperate that I haue 
heard he had never been surprised by excesse, being ascetic 
and sparing. Evelyn, Diary. 
Genius is always ascetic; and piety and love. Appetite 
shows to the finer souls as a disease. 
Emerson, Essays, 1st ser., p. 210. 
Hence 2. Unduly strict or rigid in religious 
exercises or mortifications ; severe; austere. 
A constant ascetic course of the severest abstinence and 
devotion. South, Sermons (ed. 1737), II. 31. 
A dominant religion is never ascetic. 
Macaulay, Dryden. 
3. Pertaining to or resembling the ascetics. 
II. n. 1. In the early Christian church, one 
who practised unusual self-denial and devotion ; 
in modern usage, also one who retires from the 
customary business of life and engages in pious 
exercises ; a hermit ; a recluse. 
He that preaches to man should understand what is in 
man ; and that skill can scarce be attained by an ascetic in 
his solitudes. Atteriwrii. 
2. pi. [cap.] The title of certain books on de- 
vout exercises : as, the Ascetics of St. Basil. 
ascetical (a-set'i-kal), a. [< ascetic + -aL] 
Pertaining to the practice of rigid self-denial 
and the mortification of the body as a means of 
attaining virtue and holiness; ascetic Asceti- 
cal theology, a name given to the science which treats 
treatise on archery.] A cupboard or case to 
contain bows and sometimes arrows and other 
implements of archery. Encyc. Brit. 
Aschiza (as-kl'za), n. pi. [NL., < Or. a- priv. 
+ o-^-i'fa, a cleft : see schism.] In Brauer's sys- 
tem of classification, a division of cyclorna- 
phous dipterous insects or flies, of the suborder 
Cyclorltapha, containing the families Syrpliidce, 
Platypezida; Phorid<z, and Pipunculidte, thus 
collectively contrasted with Schizophora (which 
see). 
Aschizopoda (as-ki-zop'o-da), n. pi. [NL., < 
Gr. a- priv. + T^/fa, a cleft, + iroif (rrorf-) = E. 
foot.] A division of macrurous decapodous 
crustaceans, embracing most of the group, as 
distinguished from the Schizopoda or opossum- 
shrimps. 
asci, H. Plural of ascus. 
ascian (as'ian), n. [< L. ascias, < Gr. aamoc,, 
without shadow, < a- priv. + mia, shadow.] 
A person who casts no shadow at noon. The 
inhabitants of the torrid zone alone fulfil this condition, 
having the sun twice a year in their zenith at noon. 
Ascidia (a-sid'i-a), . pi. [NL., pi. of Ascidium, 
q. v.] 1. A class of animals connecting the 
molluscoid invertebrates with the Fertebrata; 
the tunicates, tunicaries, or sea-squirts, other- 
wise called Tunicata, Ascosoa, Urochorda, or 
Protovertebrata (in part); the ascidians. They 
are asymmetrical marine animals, 
simple or compound, fixed or free, 
with a monoganglionic nervous 
system, tubular heart, and no foot. 
The integument is a leathery sac, 
with two orifices, oral and anal. 
The young are free-swimming and 
t ad pole. like, and in this larval con- 
dition show traces of vertebrate 
affinities in the possession of a uro- 
chord, or notocnord of the tail, a 
condition retained permanently in 
one family, the Appendiculari- 
idtf. They are found at low-water 
mark on the sea-beach, and, at- 
tached to stones, shells, and fixed 
objects, are dredged from deep 
water. An ascidian presents ex- 
ternally the appearance of a wine- 
Jar or double-necked bottle, the 
one aperture of the bottle cor- 
responding to the mouth and the 
other to the vent or excretory 
aperture. A feature in the or- 
ganization of these animals is 
that a large proportion of the 
tough outer case or test is com- 
posed of cellulose, a starchy sub- 
stance highly characteristic of 
plants. The mouth-opening leads 
into a large branchial sac or breath- 
ing-sac ; and from the bottom of 
this sac the digestive system, con- 
sisting of stomach and intestine, is continued, the in- 
testine opening into a second sac, the atrial chamber. 
Tills latter cavity opens externally by the second aper- 
ture of the body, and also emits the effete water which 
Ascidia mentula. 
a, termination of intes- 
tine ; b, branchial sac ; 
ex, excurrent or anal ori- 
fice ; g, ganglion ; i", in- 
testine ; <>', mouth ; o, 
tentacular fringe ; r, re- 
productive organ ; s, 
stomach; /'.test, orouter 
tunic ; /, inner tunic ; v, 
ventral sinus; v', dorsal 
sinus. 
