argosy 
laden ships passing within or by any of the sea-limits of 
Her M.'s royalty. 
Dr. John Dee, Petty Navy Royal, in Arber's English 
[Garner, II. 7. 
There, where your argosies with portly sail, 
Like signiors and rich burghers on the flood, . . . 
Do ovcrpeer the petty traffickers. Sliak., M. of V., i. 1. 
By the Venetian law, no slave might enter a Venetian 
ship, and to tread the deck of an argon Gl Venice became 
the privilege and the evidence of freedom. 
Bancroft, Hist. U. 8., I. 129. 
argot (ar'go or iir'got), n. [P.; origin obscure.] 
The conventional slang of a class, originally 
that of thieves and vagabonds, devised for 
purposes of disguise and concealment; cant; 
slang. 
An/at is formed ... by the adoption of foreign words, 
by the absolute suppression of grammar, by grotesque 
tropes, wild catachresis, and allegorical metonymy. 
Farrar. 
Words or expressions in an ancient language, if they 
happen to coincide with some modern argot or vulgarism, 
take on a grotesque association which is not due at all to 
the phrase itself, but which makes the phrase seem much 
bolder than it really is. Quarterly Rer., CLXII. 177. 
argoulett, . See argolct. 
Argozoum (ar-go-zo'um), . [NL., appar. < Gr. 
apyrjs, Doric a/iyaf, a kind of serpent (cf. apyfe, 
bright, etc., < apyos, white), + (,<MV, animal.] A 
genus of gigantic animals, formerly supposed 
to be birds, now believed to be dinosaurian rep- 
tiles, known by their footprints in the Triassic 
formation of the Connecticut valley. Hitchcock, 
1848. 
arguable (ar'gu-a-bl), a. [< argue + -able.'} 
Capable of being argued; admitting argument. 
When men say ' ' mere philosophy, " they mean something 
arguable, something deniable. 
J. R. Set-fey, Natural Religion, p. 184. 
argue (ar'gu), v. ; pret. and pp. argued, ppr. 
arguing. [< ME. arguen, arguwen, < OF. (and 
mod. P.) aryucr, < L. arguere, declare, show, 
prove, make clear, reprove, accuse ; prob. con- 
nected with Gr. dpyof , white, bright, etc. : see 
argent, and cf. declare, lit. make clear.] I. in- 
trans. 1. To bring forward reasons to support 
or to overthrow a proposition, an opinion, or a 
measure ; use arguments ; reason : as, A argues 
in favor of a measure, B argues against it. 
With what cunning 
This woman argues for her own damnation ! 
Beau, and Fl., Knight of Malta, iii. 3. 
Yet I argue not 
Against Heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot 
Of heart or hope. Milton, Sonnets, xvii. 
Paul argues that human reason so seeking for God can 
discover hia power and his divinity, and holds that the 
true God is not far from every one of us. 
Dawson, Nature and the Bible, p. 206. 
2. To contend in argument; dispute: as, you 
may argue with your friend a week without 
convincing him. 
For e'en though vanquished, he could argue still. 
Goldsmith, Des. Vil., 1. 212. 
How finely we argue upon mistaken facts ! 
Sterne, Tristram Shandy, iv. 27. 
II. trans. 1. To debate or discuss ; treat by 
reasoning; state the reasons for or against : as, 
the counselari7MecJthe cause before the Supreme 
Court ; the cause was well argued. 
I must submit 
To the divine decree, not argue it ; 
And cheerfully I welcome it. 
Fletcher (and Massingerl), Lover's Progress, iv. 2. 
2. To evince; render inferable or deducible; 
show ; imply: as, the order visible in the uni- 
verse argues a divine cause. 
Not to know me argues yourselves unknown. 
Milton, P. L., iv. 830. 
These were words, 
As meted by his measure of himself, 
Arguing boundless forbearance. 
Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
3. To affect in any way by argument; induce 
a change in the mind of, or in regard to, by 
persuasion or reasoning: as, to argue one out 
of his purpose ; to argue away a false impres- 
sion. 
It is a sort of poetical logic which I would make use of 
to arjTMe you into a protection of this play. 
Congreve, Ded. of Old Batchelor. 
4f. To accuse or charge ; impeach or convict: 
used with of. 
He doth implore, 
You would not argue him of arrogance. 
B. Jonson, Ind. to Poetaster. 
1 have pleaded guilty to all ... expressions of mine 
which can be truly argued of obscenity, . . . and retract 
them. Dryaen, Pref. to Fables. 
= Syn. Argue, Dispute, Debate, Discuss, plead, expostu- 
late, remonstrate. To argue is to defend one's opinion, or 
to exhibit reasons or proofs in favor of some assertion 
or principle ; it implies a process of detailed proof by one 
or more persons. To dispute may be to call in question 
the statements or arguments of an opposing party : as, to 
306 
dispute, about an award. It often means the alternate giv- 
ing of reasons, especially by two persons. It is often ap- 
plied to mere bickering, and is in general less dignified 
than the other words. To debate is to interchange argu- 
ments in a somewhat formal manner, as in debating soci- 
eties and legislative bodies. To discuss is, by derivation, 
to shake or knock a subject to pieces in order to find the 
truth, or the best tiling to be done. A debate, therefore, 
may be viewed as a discussion, or a discussion as a debati*. 
Strictly, a disruxniini is an amicable presentation of opin- 
ions, not limited, like the others, to affirmative and nega- 
tive sides of a proposition, and with the expectation on the 
part of all that the conclusion will be the adoption of no one 
person's opinion or plan unmodified. To argue a point, to 
di*imtr a position, in dispute with a neighbor, to debate a 
motion, to discuss a subject or a plan. 
Stubbornly he did repugn the truth 
About a certain question in the law, 
Arqu'd betwixt the duke of York and him. 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI., iv. 1. 
We might discuss the Northern sin 
Which made a selfish war begin ; 
Dispute the claims, arrange the chances ; 
Emperor, Ottoman, which shall win. 
Tennyson, To Maurice. 
They (lawyers] found time to debate fully all the points 
of interest raised by a case, whether the solution of them 
was necessary for the actual decision or not. 
F. Pollock, Land Laws, p. 106. 
The archbishop was on his way to a synod where the 
great question was to he discussed whether gas might be 
used at the altar instead of candles. 
Froude. Sketches, p. 43. 
arguel, . Same as argel. 
arguer (ilr'gu-er), n. [ME. arguere; < argue + 
-erl.] One who argues; a reasoner; a dis- 
puter. 
argufler (ar'gu-fi-er), n. One who argues or 
argufies. [Colloq.] 
I have noticed that your people who are pretty well 
agreed are always the fiercest argujiers. 
W. C. Russell, Sailor's Sweetheart, i. 
argufy (ar'gu-fi), v. ; pret. and pp. argufied, 
ppr. argufying. [Improp. < argue + -fy.] I. 
intraws. 1. To argue, commonly in a pertina- 
cious manner, or for the sake of controversy ; 
wrangle. 
It ain't no use to argerfy ner try to cut up frisky. 
Lowell, Biglow Papers, 2d ser., p. 15. 
2. To have weight as an argument; import; 
signify. 
II. trans. 1. To contend about ; worry with 
argument. 2. To signify; mean. 
But what argufies all this festivity? "Tis all vanity and 
vexation of spirit. Mine. D'Arblay, Diary, vi. 41. 
[In all uses colloquial or dialectal.] 
arguitive (iir-gu'i-tiv), a. [< L. *arguitus, pp. 
of arguere, argue (see argue), + 4M.J Having 
the character or form of an argument. [Bare.] 
Argultive descent. See descent, 13. 
argulid (iir'gu-lid), n. A fish-louse of the fami- 
ly Argulidce. ' 
Arguiidae (ar-gu'li-de), n. pi. [NL., < Argulus 
+ -id<e.] A family of siphonostomous entomos- 
tracan crustaceans, typified by the genus Argu- 
lus. These fish-lice have a flat shield-like body, the ce- 
phalothorax coalesced with the abdomen, and the post- 
abdomen rudimentary and bearing two tail-fins. They are 
parasitic on various fishes, especially fresh-water species, 
and sometimes attack young fishes in such numbers as to 
cause their death. The family with some authors consti- 
tutes a suborder Branchiura. 
Argulina (ar-gu-li'na), . pi. [NL., < Argulus 
+ -ia.] The Arguiidcc, rated as a subfamily. 
arguline (iir'gu-lin), a. Of or pertaining to the 
Argulina. 
Argulus (ar'gu-lus), n. [NL., dim. of Gr. 
apyof, contr. of aepyut;, living without labor, < 
a- priv. + tpyov = E. work.] A genus of fish- 
lice, or epizoic entomostracans, the type of the 
family Argulidai. It is one of the most singular modi- 
fications of these parasitic entomostracous crustaceans, 
and is a common parasite upon the stickleback and vari- 
ous other fishes. 
argument (ar'gu-ment), n. [< ME. argument, 
< OF. argument (F. argument), < L. argumentum, 
proof, evidence, token, subject, contents, < ar- 
guere, prove, argue: see argue.] 1. A state- 
ment or fact tending to produce belief con- 
cerning a matter in doubt ; a premise or prem- 
ises set forth in order to prove an assumption 
or conclusion. 
It is an argument the times are sore, 
When virtue cannot safely be advanced. 
B. Jonson, Sejanus, iii. 1. 
Thicker than arguments, temptations throng. 
Pope, Essay on Man, ii. 75. 
The only argument available with an east wind is to put 
on your overcoat. Lowell, Democracy. 
(This, the familiar meaning of the word, probably origi- 
nated in Roman law-courts. The usual definition given by 
Cicero and almost all authorities is ratio reidubicefaciens 
Jide-ni, a reason causing belief of a doubtful matter. Boe- 
ttus in one place defines it as a medium proving a con- 
clusion. The word medium here means a premise, or 
premises, according to all the commentators. (Petrut 
Jlisp., tr. v. ad init.) But since medium usually means the 
middle term of a syllogism, some logicians have been led 
to give argument this signification.] 
argumentable 
2. The middle term of a syllogism. [See pre- 
ceding note.] 
Argument is the bare proof or mean term which is in- 
vented by him that disputeth, to prove the truth of the 
question ; but argumentation is the whole reasoning itself, 
of what form soever it be, comprehending both the ques- 
tion and also the proof thereof. Blundeville, 1019. 
Argument again, argumentum, what is assumed in 
order to argue something, is properly the middle notion 
in a reasoning that through which the conclusion is es- 
tablished. Sir W. Hamilton. 
3. A reasoning ; the process by which the con- 
nection between that which is or is supposed 
to be admitted and that which is doubted or 
supposed to need confirmation is traced or 
tested. 
In matters of wrong arguments do confound sense, when 
in explanation of right they do sensibly approve it. 
Ford, Honour Triumphant, ii. 
The probability which she easily perceives in things 
thus in their native state would be quite lost if this argu- 
ment were managed learnedly and proposed in mood and 
figure. Locke. 
We do not know God by argument, by reading books of 
evidences or books of theology : we know him just as we 
know the external world, by experience. 
J. F. Clarke, Self-Culture, p. 162. 
4. An address or composition made for the pur- 
pose of producing belief or conviction by rea- 
soning or persuasion. 5. A series of argumen- 
tations for and against a proposition ; a debate. 
6. The subject-matter or groundwork of a 
discourse or writing; specifically, an abstract 
or summary of the chief points in a book or 
section of a book: as, the arguments prefixed 
to the several books of "Paradise Lost" were 
an afterthought. 
That the whole argument fall within compass of a day's 
business. 
B. Jonson, Ind. to Every Man out of his Humour. 
The abstract or argument of the piece is shortly as fol- 
lows. Jeffrey. 
7t. Matter of contention, controversy, or con- 
versation. 
And sheath'd their swords for lack of argument. 
Shah., Hen. V., iii. 1. 
It would be argument for a week, laughter for a month, 
and a good jest forever. Shak., 1 Hen. IV., ii. 2. 
The remembrance of this small vexation 
Will be an argument of mirth for ever. 
Fletcher, Rule a Wife, lit. 2. 
8. In math. : (a) Of an imaginary quantity, 
the coefficient of the imaginary unit in its log- 
arithm. (6) The angle or quantity on which, 
a series of numbers in a numerical table de- 
pends and with which the table is entered, if 
for example, a table of the sun's declination were formed 
corresponding to every degree, etc. ; of longitude, so that, 
the longitude being known, the declination might be found 
opposite to it, then the longitude would be called the 
argument of the table. Tables of double entry have two 
arguments. In the Ptolemaic astronomy, the argument, 
without qualification, is the angular distance on the epi- 
cycle of a planet from the true apogee of the epicycle ; and 
the equation of the argument is the angular distance, as 
seen from the earth, of a planet from the center of the epi- 
cycle, the correction to the second inequality. See equa- 
(ton. Argument from enumeration, a rude kind of 
induction in which the inference is made that something 
is true of a whole class, because it is true of certain mem- 
bers of that class. Argument from example. See ex- 
ample. Argument from exclusion, an argument in 
which, after showing that all causes but one are insuffi- 
cient to account for a phenomenon, it is urged that the 
one remaining cause must be the true one. Argument 
Of the latitude, the arc of the orbit reckoned from the 
ascending node. Artificial argument, contentious 
argument, cumulative argument. See the adjec- 
tives. DUemmatlc argument, one which purports to 
show that a whole class has a certain character by dividing 
it into parts, and showing that every part has that char- 
acter. Disjunctive argument, a reasoning of the form : 
8 is either P or Q; it is notP; hence it must be Q. Dissen- 
taneous argument, extrinsic argument, etc. See 
the adjectives. HyDothetical argument, an argument 
one of whose premises is a hypothetical or conditional 
proposition. It is not identical with hypothetic inference. 
See hypothetic. Inductive argument, an argument 
founded on an induction. Negative argument, an ar- 
gument which concludes the non-existence of a phenome- 
non from its not having been observed. (For other phrases, 
see argumentum, place, proof.) Syn. 3. Plea, Argument. 
"Plea should be used of the pleadings or of the arraign- 
ment before the trial, not of the argument at the trial. 
A plea is always addressed to the court ; an argument may 
be addressed either to the court or to the jury." A. S. 
Hill, Rhetoric, p. 53. 
argument! (ar'gu-ment), v. [< ME. argumen- 
ten, < L. argumeritari, adduce proof, < argumen- 
tum: see argument, n.] I. intrans. To argue; 
debate ; bring forward reasons. Chaucer. 
II. trans. To make the subject of an argu- 
ment or debate. N. E. D. 
argumenta. . Plural of argumentum. 
argumentablet (ar-gu-men'ta-bl), a. [< LL. 
argumentabilis, that may be proved, < L. argu 
mentari, adduce as proof: see argument, v., and 
-able.] Admitting of argument ; capable of be- 
ing argued. 
