asystaton 
Assistation [a,s?/rfaf(m] is a kind of caviling not consist- 
ing of any sure ground, as if a man should say that he doth 
hold his peace or lyeth or knoweth nothing, another by 
and by might cavil thereof in this sort, Ergo, He that 
holdeth his peace speaketh, he that lyeth saith truth he 
that knoweth nothing knoweth something. BtuadfeiUt. 
asystole (a-sis'to-le), re. [NL., < Gr. d- priv. + 
m'tjTo'r.r/, systole.] In patliol., that condition 
in which a dilated and enfeebled heart remains 
continuously filled with blood on account of the 
inability of the left ventricle to discharge more 
than a small part of its contents. Also called 
asystoUsm. 
asystolic (as-is-tol'ik), a. [< asystole + -ic.] 
Pertaining to asystole ; characterized by or af- 
fected with asystole. 
asystolism (a-sis'to-lizm), n. [< asystole + 
-ism.'] Same as asystole. 
asyzygetic (a-siz-i-jet'ik), a. [< Gr. a- priv. 
(rt-18) + syzygetic.] Not connected by a syzy- 
getic relation. 
at (at), prep. [<ME. at, sometimes att, atte,et, 
< AS. (ct = OS. at = OFries. et (in combination 
also at, it) = OHG. a: = Icel. at, mod. atli = Sw. 
At = Dan. ad = Goth, at = L. ad (> It. a = Sp. d 
= Pg. a = F. a), to, at, = Skt. ddhi, unto, on. 
This prep, is most nearly equiv. to to, without 
the orig. implication of motion. In many con- 
structions the two prepositions interchange. 
In many E. dialects at has partly, and in Scand. 
has wholly, displaced to, while on the other 
hand in G. to (^) has wholly displaced at. In 
L. and Rom. the form cognate with at covers 
all the uses of to as well as of at, and extends 
partly over the field of with.'] A preposition 
of extremely various use, primarily meaning 
to, without implication, in itself, of motion. 
It expresses position attained by motion to, and hence 
contact, contiguity, or coincidence, actual or approxi- 
mate, in space or time. Being less restricted as to rela- 
tive position than other prepositions, it may in different 
constructions assume their office, and so become equiva- 
lent, according to the context, to in, on, near, by, about, 
under, over, through, from, to, toward, etc. 
1. Of simple local position : (a) With verbs of 
rest (be, live, etc.): In, on, near, by, etc., ac- 
cording to the context: denoting usually a 
place conceived of as a mere point: as, at the 
center, at the top, at the corner, at the end, 
at the next station, at the bend of the river, at 
the north pole, at No. 48 Main street, etc. So 
with names of towns, etc. : as, at Stratford, at Lexington, 
etc. ; but if the city is of great size in is commonly used : 
as, i London, in Paris, in New York ; unless, again, the city 
is conceived of as a mere geographical point : as, our finan- 
cial interests center at New York. The place implied by at 
may be left indeterminate, with a reference rather to con- 
dition than to mere location : as, at school, at college, at 
court, at sea, etc. At may also express personal proxim- 
ity : as, at one's side, at one's heels, at one's elbow, etc. 
At hand, near by, has lost its personal reference. 
I don't believe there's a circulating library in Bath I 
ha'n't been at. Sheridan, The Rivals, i. 2. 
Muley Abul Hassan, at the head of a powerful force, 
had hurried from Granada. Irving, Granada, p. 20. 
He [Don Juan de Veral was armed at all points, gal- 
lantly mounted, and followed by a moderate but well-ap- 
pointed retinue. Irving, Granada, p. 10. 
(6) With verbs of motion : (1) Through, by (im- 
plying a starting-point or a point where a thing 
enters or departs): as, to enter at the window, 
to go out at the back door. (2) From (imply- 
ing a source from which a thing comes or where 
it is sought): as, to receive ill treatment at 
their hands. (3) To, toward (implying a stop- 
ping-point, a position attained or aimed at): 
as, to come at, to get at, to aim at, fire at, shoot 
at, drive at, point at, look at, shout at, reach 
at, snatch at, clutch at, etc. ; also be at when 
it implies effort directed toward a thing. 
No doubt hut they will soone answer that all these 
things they seeke at God's hands. 
Milton, Def. of Humb. Remonstrants. 
360 
ataxia 
Really, sir, you have the advantage of me : I don't re- ataman (at'a-man), . [Russ. ataincmu = Pol. 
member ever to have had the honour my name is Saun- ataman, also hetman: see hetman.'] Same as 
del-son, at your service. Sheridan, The Rivals, v. 2. ^i man- 
Success would place a rich town at their mercy. A member could he chosen chief of his kuren, and 
Irving, Granada, p. 3:.. any t f hjef of a kur( i n coul(] t)e t .i losell Atamihi. 
The ship in which he [Goldsmith] had taken his passage, D. M. Wallace, Russia, p. 356. 
having got a fair wind while he was at a party of pleasure, a t amasc n (at-a-mas'ko), . [Amer. Illd.] All 
had sailed without him. Macaulay, Goldsmith. amal . yllida v ceO u S bulbous plant, Zephyrantiies 
3. Of relative position : implying a point in an Atamasco, of the southern United States, with a 
actual or possible series, and hence used of de- i ow scape bearing a single white, lily-like flower, 
gree, price, time, order, occasion, etc. : as, at atamaSCO-lily (at-a-mas'ko-lil"i), . Same as 
the beginning, at the third house from the cor- atamasco. 
ner, a t nine years of age, at seventy degrees in ataraxia (at-a-rak'si-a), . [< Gr. arapajia, 
the shade, at four dollars a yard, at ten cents a calmness, < drapa/cTof, calm, impassive, < d-priv. 
pound, at half past six, at midnight, at first, at + ra paKTof, verbal adj. of rapdaamv, disturb.] 
last, etc. Freedom from the passions ; calmness of mind ; 
stoical indifference : a term used by the Stoics 
and Skeptics. 
Their ataraxia and freedom from passionate disturb- 
ances, (flanville, Seep. Sci. 
Gotama's Ataraxia is supreme and utter immobility. 
The mystic quietism which determines nothing, denies 
nothing. J. Owen, Evenings with Skeptics, I. 416. 
ataraxy (at'a-rak-si), n. Same as ataraxia. 
atastet, >'. t. " [ME., < OF. ataster, < a- + taster, 
taste : see a- and ta-ste.~] To taste. 
But now is tyme that thou drynkc and atast[e] some softe 
and delitable thinges. Chaucer, Boethius, ii. prose 1. 
I'll take them at your own price. 
Sheridan, School for Scandal, iv. 1. 
At present, if you please, we'll drop the subject. 
Sheridan, The Duenna, i. 3. 
In passing through the gate of Elvira, however, he ac- 
cidentally broke his lance against the arch. At this, cer- 
tain of his nobles turned pale, for they regarded it as an 
evil omen. Irving, Granada, p. 108. 
[In all uses, especially in those last mentioned, at is very 
frequent in idiomatical phrases ; as, at all, at moxt, at 
least, at last, at length, at any rate, at stake, at one, at 
SI, til last, III IKflglll, Wt Ully Vltle, 1*1. l*lve, i*t ,., v 
once, at large, at present, etc., for which see the principal 
words, all, most, least, etc.) 
4f. With the infinitive : To. 
Faire gan him pray 
At ride thurgh Ingland. 
Minot, Poems (ed. Ritson), p. 40. 
[Now only dialectal, but common in Middle English, and 
the regular use in Scandinavian, to which the English use 
is due. A relic of this use remains in ado, originally at 
do. See ado.] 
'at (at), pron. and con/. An obsolete and dia- 
lectal form of that. 
ataunt (a-tanf), adr. [< ME. ataunt, atoinit, < 
OF. autant, altant (mod. F. autant), as much, 
so much, < al, another (thing) (< L. aliud, neut. 
of alias, other), + tant, so much, < L. tantum, 
neut. of tantus, so much.] If. As much as 
possible. 
A dronglew [var. dronken] fole that sparythe for no dis- 
pence 
To drynk a-taunte til he slepe at tabille. 
[ME. at-, < AS. (et-, being the prep, (et, 
in comp.' with a verb (with the accent on 8. _ Atf., with .all sails set ,;_ fully^ rigged.-. ^ 
fcWSK3^ggS= M'ti-p^^an^^' 
properly a p'reflx'.'but Is the i preposition merged with its characterized by or exhibiting atavism; 
object. versionary. 
at- 2 . [L. at-, assimilated form of ad- before t; atavism (at'a-vizm), n. [= F. atai-isme, < L. 
in OF. and ME. reg. reduced to a-, later re- atavus, a great-grandfather's grandfather, an 
stored to at-, as in attain, attainder, etc.] An ancestor (< at-, an element of undetermined 
assimilated form of ad- before t, as in attract, origin, + amis, a grandfather), + -tsm.] 1. In 
attend, etc. biol., reversion, through the influence of hered- 
-ata 1 . [L. -ata, fern. sing, of -afa.s = E.-e<Z 2 : see ity, to ancestral characters; resemblance ex- 
-ate 1 , andef. -ade l .~\ A suffix in New Latin (and hibited by a given organism to some remote 
Italian) nouns, some of which are found in Eng- ancestor; the return to an early or original 
lish. as armata. type by its modified descendants; restoration 
-ata 2 . [L. -ata, neut. pi. of -atus = E. -ed 2 : see of structural characters which have been lost or 
-ate 1 .] A suffix in New Latin names of zoo- obscured. Atavism, to some slight exteVt, is witnessed 
logical divisions, properly adjectives, agreeing In the human race, when children exhibit some peculiarity 
with animate understood: as Articulata joint- ^^^Z^' mion '^ 
ed animals ; Annulata, ringed animals, etc rf ^^ ^ wWi rf other than 
atabal (at a-bal), . [Formerly also attaoall, the parental colm< a part mllst be attributed to atavism, 
ataballe = F. attabak = It. ataballo, < Sp. ata- that is, to intermittent heredity. Science, IV. 367. 
bal, = Pg. atabale, < Ar. at-tabl, < al, the, + 2 . In pathol., the recurrence of any peculiarity 
tabl, drum: see tabor, tambour, and tunbal] A or ,jj s e ag e of an ancestor in remote generations. 
Moorish tambour. atavistic (at-a-vis'tik), a. [As atav-ism + -ist- 
Don John gave orders for trumpet and ntniail to sound j'c.] Pertaining to or characterized by atavism ; 
the signal for action. 
Prescott. 
atacamite (a-tak'a-mit), n. [< Atacama + -ite 2 ; 
having been first found in Atacama, a province 
of Chili. ] A mineral consisting of the hydrated 
ata vie. 
Theoretically we may decompose that force which de- 
termines human actions and, through them, social phe- 
nomena, into its two component forces, the social and the 
atavistic influence. N. A. Ret., CXX. 275. 
oxyonlorid ol copper. It exists abundantly in some . . . -. . , . ... , . ... , T 
parts of South America, as Atacama, in Australia, near ataVlStlCally (at-a-vis'ti-kal-l), adv. In an 
Ambriz on the west coast of Africa, and in Arizona in the atavistic manner ; in atavistic examples, 
western United States. It occurs massive, or in small 
prismatic crystals of a bright emerald-green or blackish- 
green color. A granular form from Chili is called art" 
nillo. It also appears on copper long exposed to the air 
But, after the lapse of thousands of years, the fusions 
are incomplete, and the ancient types crop out atavisti- 
cally everywhere. N. A. Rev., CXXXIX. 263. 
or sea-water. ataxaphasia (a-tak-sa-fa'zia), . [NLi., irreg. 
atactic (a-tak'tik), a. [< Gr. oraxrof, without < Gr. drafi'a, disorder (see ataxia), + a^aaia, 
~ 
There is no way of coming at a true theory of society 
but by inquiring into the nature of its component indi- 
viduals. //. Spem-er, Social Statics, p. 28. 
What you can drive at, unless you mean to quarrel with 
me, I cannot conceive ! Sheridan, The Rivals, iv. 3. 
In spite of his former submissions and promises, Lati- 
mer was at it again. 
K. W. Dixon, Hist. Church of Eng., iii. 
Who but Henry could have been aware of what his father 
was at? Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey, p. 172. 
2. Of circumstantial position, state, condition, 
manner, environment, etc., in a great variety 
of relations developed from the local sense: 
as, at dinner, at play, at work, at service, at 
right angles, at full length, at odds, at ease, at 
war, at peace, at will, at pleasure, at discretion, 
etc. 
They let her goe at will, and wander waies unknowne. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. viii. 49. 
I have brought you a new song will make you laugh, 
Though you were at your prayers. 
Fletcher (and another), False One, i. 1. 
order, < d- priv. + raxrof, verbal adj. of raaaeiv speechlessness : see apliasia.~\ Same as atoxic 
[Rare.] 
Porcelain images of "Josh" will find niches in Protes- 
tant meeting-houses ; New England ancestral tablets will 
be inscribed in perpendicular columns of atactic charac- 
ters. //. C. Truvibull, Ancestral Worship. 
at-aftert, prep. [ME., < at + after.'] After. 
At-after soper fllle they in tretee. 
Chaucer, Franklin's Tale, 1. 492. 
atagas, n. 
atagen, 
[See attagas.'] 
See attagen. 
Same as attagen. 
(at'a-gan), n. Same as yataghan. 
atak (at'ak),"n. [Native name.] The harp- 
seal of Greenland, Pagophilus grcenlandicus. 
ataket, v. t. [ME., < a- 1 + take.'] To overtake. 
At Boughton under Blee us gan atake 
A man, that clothed was in clothes blake. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Canon's Yeoman's Tale, 1. 3. 
verbal adj. of raaaetv, order, arrange: see toe- 
tic.] In pa thai., irregularity in the functions 
of the body or in the course of a disease; 
specifically, inability to coordinate voluntary 
movements. Also ataxy Frtedrich's ataxia, a 
form of ataxia usually affecting several members of a fam- 
ily and developing at an early age. Usually it begins in 
the legs and extends to the arms, is accompanied with 
jerky movements of the head, disturbance of articulation, 
loss of knee-jerk, and is characterized anatomically by 
sclerosis of the posterior and lateral columns of the cord. 
Also called hereditary ataxia. Locomotor ataxia, a 
disease characterized clinically by want of power to coor- 
dinate voluntary movements, by violent shooting pains, 
especially in the legs, absence of knee-jerk, atrophy of the 
optic nerve, parrcsthesia and anaesthesia in certain parts, 
dysuria, and functional sexual disorders; anatomically, 
by a sclerosis of the postero-external columns of the 
spinal cord. Also called progressive locomotor ataxia and 
tabes dorsalis. 
