attendance 
That which causeth bitterness in death is the languish- 
ing attendance anil expectation thereof ere it come. 
Hooker. 
2. The body of persons attending for any pur- 
pose: as, a large attendance is requested. 
The attendance of the Tories was scanty, as no impor- 
tant discussion was expected, ilaatulaij. Hist. Lug., xv. 
3f. Attendants.collectively ; persons waiting on 
one to render him service; a train; a retinue. 
To dance attandance. See dance. 
attendancyt (a-ten' dan-si), n. 1. Attendance ; 
a train or retinue. Puller. 
Of honour another part is attendancy; and therefore, 
in the visions of the glory of Ciod, angels are spoken of as 
his attendants. ... It sheweth what honour is fit for pre- 
lates, and what attendancy. 
Hooker, Eccles. Pol., vn. 20 (Ord MS.). 
2. Relation ; relative position. 
To name lands by the attendancy they have to other 
lands more notorious. Bacon, Maxims of the Law, xxiv. 
attendant (a-ten'dant), a. and n. [< F. atten- 
dant (= It. "attendente), ppr. of attendre, wait: 
see attend and -*!.] I. a. 1. Accompanying; 
being present or in attendance. 
Other suns perhaps, 
With their attendant moons, thou wilt descry. 
Milton, P. L., viii. 149. 
2. Accompanying, connected, or immediately 
following as consequential : as, intemperance, 
with all its attendant evils. 
Those bodily pains and sufferings which ... are but 
too frequently attendant upon any disorder of the fancy. 
Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, I. 183. 
3f. In law, depending on or connected with 
something or some person ; owing duty or ser- 
vice Attendant keys, in music, same as relative keys. 
See relative. 
II. n. 1. One who attends or accompanies 
another, in any character; especially, one who 
belongs to a train or retinue ; a follower. 
Brave attendants near him. Skak., T. of the 3., Ind., i. 
The Furies, they said, are attendants on justice, and if 
the sun in heaven should transgress his path, they would 
punish him. Emerson, Compensation. 
2. One who attends on or waits the pleasure 
of another, as a suitor or the like. 
To give an attendant quick despatch is a civility. 
T. Burnet, Theory of the Earth. 
Specifically 3. In law, one who owes a duty 
or service to, or depends on, another. 4. One 
who is present, as at a public meeting, for any 
purpose. 
He was a constant attendant at all meetings relating to 
charity. Sunft. 
5. That which accompanies or is consequent 
on anything. 
He that early arriveth unto the parts and prudence of 
age, is happily old without the uncomfortable attendants 
of it. Sir T. Browne, Letter to a Friend. 
An extreme jealousy of power is the attendant on all 
popular revolutions, and has seldom been without its 
evils. A. Hamilton, Continentalist, No. 1. 
Master attendant, an officer of an English dockyard, 
generally a staff commander, whose duty it is to inspect 
moorings, move and secure vessels, care for ships in ordi- 
nary, and generally to assist the superintendent. =Syn. 1. 
Associate, escort, retainer. 5. Accompaniment, concomi- 
tant. 
attender (a-ten'der), it. 1. One who attends 
or gives heed. 
Attending to conduct, to judgment, makes the attemler 
feel that it is joy to do it. 
M. Arnold, Literature and Dogma, i. 
2. An attendant; a companion. 
attendingly (a-ten'ding-li), adv. With atten- 
tion; attentively. 
attendmentt (a-tend'ment), 11. [< attend + 
-ment.~\ An accompanying circumstance : as, 
"uncomfortable attendments of hell," Sir T. 
Browne, Vulg. Err., vii. 16. 
attendresst (a-ten'dres), n. [< attender + -ess.] 
A female attendant. Fuller. 
attentt (a-tenf), c. t. [A later form of at- 
tempt, after the orig. L. attentare : see attempt.] 
To attempt. Quarles. 
attentt (a-tenf), a. and n. [< L. attentus, pp. 
of atteiidere, attend : see attend.'] I. a. Atten- 
tive ; intent: as, " an attent ear," Sliak., Ham- 
let, i. 2. 
Let thine ears be attent. 2 Chron. vi. 40. 
Whylest thus he talkt, the knight with greedy eare 
Hong still upon his melting mouth attent. 
Spenser, F. Q., VI. ix. 26. 
II. . [< ME. attente, atente, < OF. atente, 
mod. F. attente = Pr. atenta, prop, pp., < L. 
attenta, fern, of attentus, pp. of attendere: see 
attend.'] Attention. 
So being clad unto the fields he went 
With the faire Pastorella every day, 
And kept her sheepe with dilligent attent. 
Spenser, F. Q., VI. ix. 37. 
372 
attentatet, attentatt (a-ten'tat, -tat), . [< F. 
nt/i-iitat, crime, < ML. uttetttiitum, crime, at- 
tempt, neut. of L. attentatus, pp. of attenta- 
re, attempt: see attempt.'] 1. A criminal at- 
tempt. 
Affrighted at so damnable an attcntate. 
Time's Storelwune, p. 154 (Ord MS.). 
2. In law : (a) A proceeding in a court of ju- 
dicature after an inhibition is decreed. (l>) A 
thing done after an extra-judicial appeal, (c) 
A matter improperly innovated or attempted 
by an inferior judge. 
attention (a-ten'snon), n. [< ME. attencioun 
(F. attention), < L. attentio(n-), < attendere, pp. 
attentus, attend, give heed to : see attend.] 1. 
Active direction of the mind upon an object of 
sense or of thought, giving it relative or abso- 
lute prominence : it may be either voluntary or 
involuntary. 
When the ideas that offer themselves are taken notice 
of, and, as it were, registered in the memory, it is atten- 
tion. Locke, Human Understanding, ii. 19. 
In the relation of events, and the delineation of char- 
acters, they have paid little attention to facts, to the cos- 
tume of the times of which they pretend to treat, or to 
the general principles of human nature. 
Macaulay, On History. 
A trained pianist will play a new piece of music at 
sight, and perhaps have so much attention to spare that 
he can talk with you at the same time. 
J. Fiske, Evolutionist, p. 308. 
2. The power or faculty of mental concentra- 
tion. 
In the childhood of our race and of each one of us, the 
attention was called forth by the actions upon us of exter- 
nal nature. Mivart, Nature and Thought, p. 18. 
3. Consideration; observant care ; notice: as, 
your letter has just arrived, and will receive 
early attention. 4. Civility or courtesy, or an 
act of civility or courtesy: as, attention to a 
stranger; in the plural, acts of courtesy indi- 
cating regard: as, his attentions to the lady 
were most marked. 5. In milit. tactics, a cau- 
tionary word used as a preparative to a com- 
mand to execute some manoeuver: as, atten- 
tion, company ! right face ! = gyn. l. Notice, heed, 
mindfulness, observance; study. t Politeness, defer- 
ence. 
attentive (a-ten'tiv), a. [< F. attentif, < L. as 
if *attentivus, < attendere, pp. attentus, attend: 
see attend, attent, and -ire.] 1. Characterized 
by or of the nature of attention; heedful: in- 
tent ; observant ; regarding with care ; mindful : 
as, an attentive ear or eye ; an attentive listener ; 
an attentive act. 
Like Cato, give his little senate laws, 
And sit attentive to his own applause. 
Pope, Prol. to Satires, 1. 210. 
They know the King to have been always their most at- 
tentive scholar and imitator. Milton, Eikonoklastes, xxiv. 
2. Characterized by consideration or obser- 
vant care ; assiduous in ministering to the com- 
fort or pleasure of others ; polite ; courteous : 
as, attentive to the ladies. 
Herbert proved one of the most attentive guards on the 
line. 0- A. Sala. 
= Syn. Regardful, watchful, circumspect, wary, careful, 
thoughtful, alert. 
attentively (a-ten'tiv-li), adv. [< attentive + 
-lyt; ME. attentifly (Wyclif).] In an attentive 
manner; needfully; carefully; with fixed at- 
tention. 
attentiveness (a-ten'tiv-nes), . The state of 
being attentive ; heedf ulness ; attention. 
attentlyt (a-tenf li), adv. Attentively. Barrow. 
attentort (a-ten'tor), n. [< L. as if "attentor 
(cf. ML. aiiensor, an observer), < attendere, pp. 
attentus, attend.] A listener. 
Let ballad-rhymers tire their galled wits, 
Scorns to their patrons, making juiceless mirth 
To gross attentors by their hired writs. 
Ford, Fame's Memorial. 
attenuant (a-ten'u-ant), a. and n. [= F. at- 
tenuant, < L. attenuan(t-)s, ppr. of attenuare, 
make thin: see attenuate."] I. a. Attenuating; 
making thin, as fluids; diluting; rendering less 
dense and viscid. 
Things that be attenuant. 
Holland, tr. of Plutarch, p. 642. 
II. H. A medicine which increases the fluid- 
ity of the humors ; a diluent, 
attenuate (a-ten'u-at), t>. ; pret. and pp. atten- 
uated, ppr. attenuating. [< L. attenuates, pp. 
of attenuare (> It. attenuare = Pg. attenutir 
= Sp. Pr. atenuar = F. attenuer), make thin, 
weaken, lessen, < ad, to, + tenuare, make thin, 
< tenuis, thin, = E. thin, q. v.] I. trans. 1. 
To make thin or slender; reduce in thickness; 
wear or draw down: as, an attenuated thread 
or wire. 
atter 
He pities his long, clammy, attenuated fingers. 
Lamb, The Convalescent. 
2. To reduce by comminution or attrition; 
make small or fine: as, extremely attenuated 
particles of dust or flour. 
This uninterrupted motion must attenuate and wear 
away the hardest rocks. Chaptal (trans.), 1791. 
3. To make thin or rare; reduce in density; 
increase the fluidity or rarity of. 
The earliest conception of a soul is that of an attenuated 
duplicate of the body, capable of detachment from the 
body, yet generally resident in it. 
Trans. Amer. Philol. Am., XV. 37. 
The finer part belonging to the juice of grapes, being 
attenuated and subtilized, was changed into an ardent 
spirit. Boyle. 
4. To lessen in complexity or intensity; re- 
duce in strength or energy ; simplify ; weaken : 
as, the attenuated remedies of the homeopa- 
thists. 
To undersell our rivals . . . has led the manufacturer 
to attenuate his processes, in the allotment of tasks, to 
an extreme point. Is. Taylor. 
If correctly reported, Pasteur is convinced that he has 
discovered means by which the virus of hydrophobia can 
be attenuated, and that, by the inoculation of the attenu- 
ated virus, individuals may be rendered, for the time be- 
ing, insusceptible to the disease. Science, VI. 399. 
5. Figuratively, to weaken or reduce in force, 
effect, or value ; render meager or jejune ; fine 
down. 
We may reject and reject till we attenuate history into 
sapless meagreness. 
Sir F. Palgrave, Eng. and Normandy, I. 533. 
Men of taste are so often attenuated by their refine- 
ments, and dwarfed by the overgrown accuracy and pol- 
ish of their attainments. 
Bushnell, Sermons for New Life, p. 181. 
Mentechikof tried to attenuate the extent and effect of 
his demands. Kinglake. 
6t. To lessen; diminish: said of number. 
Howell, 
II. intrans. 1. To become thin, slender, or 
fine ; diminish ; lessen. 
The attention attenuates as its sphere contracts. 
Coleridge. 
2. In brewing and distilling, to undergo the pro- 
cess of attenuation. See attenuation, 4. 
attenuate (a-ten'u-at), a. [< L. attenuatus, 
pp.: see the verb.] 1. Slender; thin. 2. In 
hot., tapering gradually to a narrow extremity. 
3. Of thin consistency ; dilute; rarefied. 
Spirits attenuate, which the cold doth congeal and co- 
agulate. Bacon. 
A series of captivating bubbles, each more airy and 
evanescent, each more attenuate and fantastic, than its 
glittering brother. H. James, Subs, and Shad., p. 345. 
attenuation (a-ten-u-a'shon), n. [< L. attenu- 
atio(n-), < attenuare ': see attenuate, v."] 1. The 
act or process of making slender, thin, or lean ; 
the state of being thin; emaciation; reduced 
thickness or proportions. 
Age had worn to the extreme of attemmtion a face that 
must always have been hard-featured. 
R. T. Cooke, Somebody's Neighbors, p. 26. 
2. The act of making fine by comminution or 
attrition. 
The action of the air facilitates the attenuation of these 
rocks. Cnaptal (trans.), 1791. 
3. The act or process of lessening in complex- 
ity or intensity; reduction of force, strength, 
or energy; specifically, in homeopathy, the 
reduction of the active principle of medicines 
to minute or infinitesimal doses. 4. The act 
of making thin or thinner, as a fluid, or the 
state of being thin or thinned ; diminution of 
density or viscidity: as, the attenuation of the 
humors ; specifically, in brewing and distilling, 
the thinning or clarifying of saccharine worts 
by the conversion of the sugar into alcohol and 
carbonic acid. 
The decrease in density (of the beer-worts] is called at- 
tenuation. Thausing, Beer (trans.), p. 707. 
atterH (at'er), . [< ME. atter, < AS. attor, 
(Bttor, more correctly ator, dter, poison, = OS. 
Star, ettar = V. etter = OHG. eitar, eitter, MHG. 
G. eiter, poison, pus, = Icel. eitr = Sw. etter = 
Dan. edder, adder, poison, connected with OHG. 
MHG. eiz, a boil, sore ; cf . Gr. olfoc, , nlfiua, a tu- 
mor, swelling: see oedema.] Poison; venom; 
pus. Holland. 
atter 2 t (a-ter'), v. t. [< F. atterrer, < ML. otter- 
rare, prostrate, cast down, carry earth from 
one place to another, < L. ad, to, + terra, earth. 
Cf. inter.'} To place upon or in the earth; cast 
down to the earth; humble; subdue. Also 
written atterr. 
Atterrs the stubborn and attracts the prone. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du lianas. 
