abannition 
mr, banish: see abttn.] In old law, banishment 
for a year, as a penalty for manslaughter, 
abaptiston(a-bap-tis'ton), .; pl.abaptista(-t&). 
[ML., < Gr. afJairrun-ov, neut. of afldirTiarof, tnat 
will not sink, < a- priv. + /fanrifttv, dip, sink : 
see baptize. ] In sury. , an old form of trepan, the 
crown of which was made conical, or provided 
with a ring, collar, or other contrivance, to pre- 
vent it from penetrating the cranium too far. 
abarthrosis (ab-ar-thro'sis), n. [NL., < L. ab, 
away, from, + NL. arthrosis, q. v.] Same as 
iliartltrosis. 
abarticulation (ab-ar-tik-ii-la'shon), . [<L. 
ab, from,+ articulatio(n-) , a jointing.] In anat., 
a term sometimes used for diarthrosis, and also 
for synarthrosis. Also called dearticulation. 
abas, . See abbas, 1. 
a bas (a ba'). [F., down : a (< L. ad), to ; Ms, 
low: see base*. ] A French phrase, down! down 
with! as, a bas les aristocrates! down with the 
aristocrats : opposed to vive, live, in vive le roi .' 
long live the king, and similar phrases. 
abase (a-bas'), v. t.; pret. and pp. abased, ppr. 
abasing. [< ME. abesse (Gower), < OF. abais- 
sier, etc. (F. abaisser) , < ML. abassare, < L. ad 
+ ML. bassare, lower, < LL. ba,tsus, low : see 
base 1 and bass 1 . The ME. aba^en, abaisen, with 
its many variants, appears always to have the 
sense of abash, q. v.] 1. To lower or depress, 
as a thing; bringdown. [Bare.] 
When suddeinly that Warriour gan abace 
His threatned speare. Spenser, F. Q., II. i. 26. 
And will she yet abase her eyes on me? 
Shak., Rich. III., i. 2. 
2. To reduce or lower, as in rank, estimation, 
office, and the like; depress; humble; degrade. 
= Syn. 2. Abase, Debase, Degrade, Humiliate, Humble, 
Disgrace, depress, bring low, dishonor, cast down. Abase, 
to bring down in feelings or condition ; it is less often 
used than humiliate or humble. Debase, to lower morally 
or in quality : as, a debased nature ; debased coinage. De- 
grade, literally, to bring down a step, to lower in rank, 
often used as an official or military term, but figuratively 
used of lowering morally : as, intemperance degrades its 
victims ; a degrading employment. Humiliate, to reduce 
in the estimation of one's self or of others ; it includes abase- 
ment of feeling or loss of self-respect. Humble, to abase, 
generally without ignominy ; Induce humility in ; reflex- 
ively, to become humble, restrain one's pride, act humbly. 
Disgrace, literally, to put out of favor, but always witli 
ignominy ; bring shame upon. 
Those that walk in pride he is able to abase. Dan. iv. 37. 
It is a kind of taking of God's name in vain to debase 
religion with such frivolous disputes. Hooker. 
Every one is degraded, whether aware of it or not, when 
other people, without consulting him, take upon them- 
selves unlimited power to regulate his destiny. 
J. S. Mill, Rep. Govt., viii. 
Me they seized and me they tortured, me they lash'd and 
humiliated. Tennyson, Boadicea. 
He that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke xiv. 11. 
Do not disgrace the throne of thy glory. Jer. xiv. 21. 
abased (a-basf), p. a. In her., the same as 
abaisse'. 
abasement (a-bas'ment), n. [(abase + -ment, 
after F. abaissem&nt, lowering, depression, hu- 
miliation.] The act of abasing, humbling, or 
bringing low ; a state of depression, degrada- 
tion, or humiliation. 
abash (a-bash' ), . [< ME. abashen, abassett, aba- 
sen, abaisen, etc., < AF. abaiss-, OF. eba(h)iss-, 
extended stem of aba(h)ir, eba(h)ir, earlier 
esbahir (>F. s'cbaliir), be astonished (= Wal- 
loon esbawi = It. sbaire, be astonished), < es- 
(< L. ex, out : see ex-) + bahir, bair, express 
astonishment, prob. < bah, interjection express- 
ing astonishment. The D. verbazen, astonish, 
may be a derivative of OF. esbahir.] I. trans. 
To confuse or confound, as by suddenly ex- 
citing a consciousness of guilt, error, inferi- 
ority, etc. ; destroy the self-possession of ; 
make ashamed or dispirited; put to confu- 
sion. = Syn. Abash, Confuse, Confound, discompose, dis- 
concert, put out of countenance, daunt, overawe, (See 
list under confuse.) Abash is a stronger word than con- 
fuse, but not so strong as confound. We are abashed in 
the presence of superiors or when detected in vice or 
misconduct. When v ;uv fnnfiixed we lose in some 
degree the control of our faculties, the speech falters, 
and the thoughts lose their coherence. When we are 
confounded the reason is overpowered a condition 
produced by the force of argument, testimony, or detec- 
tion, or by disastrous or awe-inspiring events. 
Abashed the devil stood, 
And felt how awful goodness is. Milton, P. L., iv. 846. 
Sudden he view'd, in spite of all her art, 
An earthly lover lurking at her heart. 
Amazed, confused, he found his power expired. 
Pope, R. of L, iii. 145. 
Confounded, that her Maker's eyes 
Should look so near upon her foul deformities. 
Milton, Nativity, ii. 43. 
Il.t reflex, and intrans. To stand or be con- 
founded ; lose self-possession. 
5 
Abashe you not for thys derkenes. 
Caxton, Paris and Vienne, p. B2. 
For she . . . never abashed. 
Holinshed, Chron., III. 1098. 
abashment (a-bash'ment), . [<ME. abashe- 
ment, after OF. abaissement : see abash.] 
The act of abashing, or the state of being 
abashed ; confusion from shame ; consterna- 
tion; fear. 
Whieh manner of abashment became her not ill. 
Skelton, (Win,. 
And all her senses with abashment quite were quayld 
Spenser, F. Q., III. viii. :. 
abasset, ' !. Obsolete form of abash. Chaucer. 
abassi, abassis (a-bas'i, -is), n. See abbasi. 
abastardizet (a-bas'tar-diz), v. t. [<OF. abas- 
tardir (> F. abdtard'ir), < a- (< L. ad, to) + 
bastard: see bastard and bastardize.] To bas- 
tardize ; render illegitimate or base. 
Being ourselves 
Corrupted and abastardized thus. 
Daniel, Queen's Arcadia. 
Abastor (a-bas'tor), n. [NL. (Gray, 1849).] A 
North American genus of ordinary harmless 
serpents of the family Colubrida. A. erythm- 
abatis 
"th bis hind feet to the ground at once, anil observes 
the same exactness of time in all the ini>tii.n~. 
N'O iHiti-i. .gyp. 1. To Mau, .<'..,./.. fefcraft, d,- 
i Tease, dei -line, diminish, lessen, wane, ebb, fall away mod 
n ale, calm. Abate, to diminish in force or intensity: as the 
-i.irm abated; "my wonder abated," Addi, , 
ment of the people subsided. Abate is not 'so complete 
in its effect as subside. Intermit, to abate, subside or 
cease for a time. 
Nor will the raging fever's Ore abate. 
With golden canopies and beds of state. 
Dryden, tr. of Lucretius, ii. 38. 
A slight temporary fermentation allowed to subside, we 
should see crystallizations more pure and of more various 
beauty. Mary. Fuller, Woman in 19th Cent., p. 37. 
A spring which intermits as often as every three min- 
ute 8 - Nichols, Fireside Science, p. 11. 
abatet (a-baf), n. [< abate, v.] Abatement or 
decrease. 
The abate of scruples or dragmes. Sir T. Browne. 
abate (a-ba'te), n. See abbate. 
abated (a-ba'ted), p. a. [< abate, v.] In 
decorative art, lowered, beaten down, or cut 
abatable (a-ba'ta-bl), a. [< abate + -able. ] Ca- 
pable of being abated : as, an abatable writ or 
nuisance. 
abatamentumt (ab"a-ta-men'tum), n. [ML., 
after abatement, q. v.J In old Eng. law, the 
ouster or disseizin of an heir, effected by the 
wrongful entry of a stranger after the ances- 
tor's death and before the heir had taken pos- 
session. 
abate (a-baf), v. ; pret. and pp. abated, ppr. 
abating. [< ME. abaten, < OF. abatre (F. abat- 
tre), < ML. abbatere, < L. ab + batere, popular 
form of batuere, beat. In the legal sense, abate 
had orig. a diff. prefix, en-, OF. enbatre, thrust 
(one's self) into, < en, in, + batre, beat. See 
batter^, v., and bate 1 .] I. trans. If. To beat 
down ; pull or batter down. 
The king of Scots . . . sore abated the walls [of the 
castle of Norham]. Hall, Chronicles, Hen. VIII., an. 5. 
2. To deduct ; subtract ; withdraw from con- 
sideration. 
Nine thousand parishes, abating the odd hundreds. 
Fuller. 
3. To lessen ; diminish ; moderate : as, to 
abate a demand or a tax. 
Tully was the first who observed that friendship im- 
proves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of 
our joy and dividing of our grief. 
Addison, Spectator, No. 68. 
4f. To deject ; depress. 
For miserie doth bravest mindes abate. 
Spenter, Mother Hub. Tale, 1. 266. 
5. To deprive ; curtail. 
She hath abated me of half my train. Shak., Lear, ii. 4. 
6f. To deprive of ; take away from. 
I would abate her nothing. Shak., Cymbeline, i. 5. 
7. In law : (a) To cause to fail ; extinguish : 
as, a cause of action for damages for a per- 
sonal tort is abated by the death of either 
party, (b) To suspend or stop the progress 
of : as, where the cause of action survives the 
death of a party, the action may be abated until 
an executor or administrator can be appointed 
and substituted, (c) To reduce : as, a legacy is 
abated if the assets, after satisfying the debts, 
are not sufficient to pay it in full, (d) To de- 
stroy or remove ; put an end to (a nuisance). 
A nuisance may be abated either by a public officer pursu- 
ant to the judgment of a court, or by an aggrieved person 
exercising his common-law right. 
8. In metal., to reduce to a lower temper. 
9. To steep in an alkaline solution : usually 
shortened to bate. See bate 5 . Abated arms, 
weapons whose edge or point is blunted for the tourna- 
ment. Abating process, a process by which skins 
are rendered soft and porous by putting them into a weak 
solution of ammoniacal salt. 
II. intrttns. 1. To decrease or become less 
the 
on dark, and the ground is therefore worked out with the 
graving-tool and left rough or hatched in lines 
abatement (a-bat'ment), n. [< OF. abatement, 
< abatre, beat down: see abate, v.] 1. The 
act of abating, or the state of being abated ; 
diminution, decrease, reduction, or mitigation : 
as, abatement of grief or pain. 
The spirit of accumulation . . . requires abatement 
rather than increase. J. S. Mill, Pol. Econ., I. xiii. $ 2. 
Such sad abatement in the goal attained. 
Lowell, Voyage to V inland. 
2. The amount, quantity, or sum by which any- 
thing is abated or reduced; deduction; de- 
crease. Specifically, a discount allowed for the prompt 
payment of a debt, for damage, for overcharge, or for any 
similar reason ; rebate. 
Would the Council of Regency consent to an abate- 
ment of three thousand pounds ? 
Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xxii. 
3. In her., a mark annexed to coat-armor, in 
order to denote some dishonorable act of the 
person bearing the coat of arms, or his illegiti- 
mate descent. Nine marks for the former purpose 
are mentioned by heralds, but no instance of their actual 
use is on record. The bendletorbaton sinister (which see), 
a mark of illegitimacy, is of the nature of an abatement 
but the paternal shield, although charged with the baton 
sinister, would generally be the most honorable bearing 
within reach of the illegitimate gon. Abatements gener- 
ally must be regarded as false heraldry, and are very 
modern in their origin. The word is also used to denote 
the turning upside down of the whole shield, which was 
common in the degrading of a knight. Also called rebate- 
inent. 
Throwing down the stars [the nobles and senators] to 
the ground ; putting dishonourable abatements into the 
fairest coats of arms. J. Spencer, Righteous Ruler. 
4. In law : (a) Bemoval or destruction, as of 
a nuisance. (6) Failure ; premature end ; sus- 
pension or diminution, as of an action or of a 
legacy. See abate, (c) The act of intruding 
on a freehold vacated by the death of its for- 
mer owner, and not yet entered on by the heir 
or devisee, (d) In revenue laic : (1) A deduction 
from or refunding of duties on goods damaged 
during importation or in store. (2) A deduc- 
tion from the amount of a tax. The mode of 
abatement is prescribed by statute. 5f. In 
carp., the waste of a piece of stuff caused by 
working it into shape.- pi ea m abatement, in 
law, a defense on some ground that serves to suspend 
or defeat the particular action, and thus distinguished 
from a plea in bar, which goes to the merits of the 
claim. Tims, a plea that the defendant is now insane 
would be only &plea in abatement, because, if sustained, 
it would at most only suspend the action while hia 
insanity continued ; but a plea that he was insane at the 
time of the transactions alleged would be a plea in bar, 
as showing that he never incurred any liability what- 
ever. = Syn. 1. Decrease, decline, diminution, subsidence, 
intermission, waning, ebb. 2. Rebate, allowance, deduc- 
The very mind which admits your evidence to be unan- 
swerable will swing back to its old position the instant 
that the pressure of evidence abates. 
O. H. Lewes, Probs. of Life and Mind, I. 6. 
2. In law : (a) To fail ; come to a premature 
end ; stop progress or diminish : as, an ac- 
tion or cause of action may abate by the death 
or marriage of a party. (6) To enter into a free- 
hold after the death of the last possessor, and 
before the heir or devisee takes possession, 
lackstone.3. In the manege, to perform well 
a downward motion. A horse is said to abate, or 
tukf down his curvets, when, working upon curvets, he 
or that which abates. See abator. 
n -L n 4.i~-t< / rt v/_ *,,> mrr v* * AL 
abatlS 1 ! (ab a-tlS), n. [ML. ; lit., of. the mea- 
sures : Li. d, fin, from, of ; LL. batus, < Gr. parac, 
< Heb. bath, a liquid measure : see bath?.] In 
the middle ages, an officer of the stables who 
had the care of measuring out the provender ; 
an avenor. 
abatis 2 , abattis (a-ba-te' or ab'a-tis), n. [ < F. 
abatis, demolition, felling, < OF. abateis, <ML. 
"abbaticius, < abbatere, beat down, fell : see 
abate. t\] 1. In fort., a barricade made of 
felled trees denuded of their smaller branches, 
with the butt-ends of the trunks embedded 
