acatalectic 
the complete number of syllables in the last 
foot : as, an acatalectic verse. 
II. A verse which has the complete num- 
ber of syllables in the last foot. 
acatalepsy (a-kiit'a-lep-si), . [<Gr. aKarafyijiia, 
incomprehensibility, < anaTafaiirrot, incompre- 
hensible, < <i- priv. 4- KarahfiTTOf, comprehensi- 
ble, comprehended, seized: see catalepsy.] 1. 
Incomprehensibility. A word much used (in its 
Greek form) by the later Academics and Skeptics (Camea- 
des, Arcesilaus, etc.), who held that human knowledge 
never amounts to certainty, but only to probability, and 
who advocated a suspension of judgment upon all ques- 
tions, even upon the doctrine of acatalepsy itself. 
2. In med., uncertainty in the diagnosis or 
prognosis of diseases. 
acataleptic (a-kat-a-lep'tik), a. and n, [<Gr. 
n/caTril^TrTof , incomprehensible : see acatalepsy.] 
1. a. Incomprehensible ; not to be known with 
certainty. 
II. . One who believes that we can know 
nothing with certainty. See acatalepsy. 
All Skeptics and Pyrrhonians were called Acataleptict. 
Fleming. 
apataphasia (a-kat-a-fa'zi-a), n. [NL., < Gr. 
<i- priv. + narfujidvai',' say yes, < Kara, here in- 
tensive, + <t>a-vai = L. fa-ri, say, speak.] In 
pathol., faultiness of syntax resulting from dis- 
ease, as contrasted with the faulty use of indi- 
vidual words. See apJtasia. 
acataposis (a-ka-tap'o-sis), n. [NL., < Gr. a- 
priv. + Kardvoaif, a gulping down, deglutition, 
< naTcnriveiv, gulp down, < Kara, down, + iriveiv, 
drink, n-oo-ff , a drink.] In pathol., difficulty of 
swallowing; dysphagia. 
acatet (a-kaf), n. [< ME. acate, acat, achate, 
achat, < OF. acat, assibilated achat, purchase, 
mod. F. achat (ML. acaptum, *accaptum), < OF. 
acater, achater, mod. F. acheter, buy, purchase, 
< ML. accaptare, buy, acquire, < L. ad, to, + 
capture, take, seize. Cf. accept, of the same 
origin. Later shortened to cafe, cates.] 1. A 
buying, purchasing, or purchase. Chaucer. 
2. [Usually in pi.] Things purchased ; espe- 
cially, purchased viands or provisions, as op- 
posed to those of home production ; hence, 
especially, dainties, delicacies. Later, cates. 
Tout entat eat viande aux oers, all states are wormes 
acatex. Cotyrave (under Ver). 
Setting before him variety of acates, and those excel- 
lently dressed. Shelton, tr. of Don Quixote, I. Iv. 23. 
acatert (a-ka'ter), n. [< ME. acatour, achatour, 
-or, < OF. acateor, later achatour, mod. F. ache- 
teur, buyer, < ML. accaptator, buyer, < accaptare, 
buy : see acate. Later shortened to cater : see 
cater, n.] A purveyor; a caterer: as, "Robin 
Hood's bailiff or acattr," B. Jonson, Sad Shep- 
herd (dram. pers.). Also written acator, ac- 
cator, achator, achatour, etc. 
A manciple there was of the temple 
Of which achatars might take ensample. Chaucer. 
[The keeper] dressed for him [a prisoner in the Tower 
of London], from time to time, such pigeons as his accator 
the cat provided. U. Dixon, Her Majesty's Tower. 
acateryt, acatryt (a-ka'ter-i, -tri), . [<ME. 
'acatri/, (tcluitry ; < acater + -y; later, eatery.'] 
1. Acates in general; provisions purchased. 
2. The room or place allotted to the keep- 
ing of all such provision as the purveyors pur- 
chased for the king. 
acatharsiat (ak-a-thar'si-a), n. [NL., < Gr. 
aKa.9a.paia, uncleanness, < aKaoaprof, uncleansed, 
unpurged, < a- priv. + *Ka6apr6r, cleansed. Cf . 
Ka&apTiKof, fit for cleansing : see cathartic.] In 
mcd. : (a) The filth or sordes proceeding from 
a wound; impurity of blood. (6) Failure to 
use a purgative ; lack of purging. 
acatharsyt (ak'a-thar-si),. Same as acatharsia. 
acathistus (ak-a-this'tus), n. [ML., < Gr. d- 
priv. + Ka0('Ci>, 'sit down, < Kara, down, + I&LV 
= E. sit.] In the Gr. Ch., an office in honor of 
the Virgin, consisting in a long canon or hymn 
sung by all standing (whence the name) on the 
Saturday of the fifth week in Lent, in com- 
memoration of the repulse of the Avars and 
other barbarians who attacked Constantinople 
under Heraclius, A. D. 625. 
acatort. . See acater. 
acaudal (a-ka'dal), a. [< Gr. d- priv., a- 18 , + 
I'lindal.] Tailless; anurous. Hi/d. Soc. Lex. 
acaudate (a-ka'dat), a. [< Gr. a- priv., a-18, + 
emulate.] Tailless; acaudal; ecaudate. 
acaules (a-ka'lez), n. pi. [NL., < Gr. a- priv. 
+ L. caulis, a stem: see caulis] Plants which 
have either a very indistinct stalk or none at 
all, as lichens, fungi, algse, etc. 
acaulescence (ak-a-les'ens), n. [< acaulescent.] 
In hot., an arrested growth of the main axis, 
the internodes being so slightly developed that 
31 
the leaves are crowded into a radial tuft or 
rosette, as in the dandelion. Also called aran- 
luxiil. 
acaulescent (ak-a-les'ent), a. [< Gr. d- priv., 
a- 18 , + caulescent.] In bot., stemless. Applied 
to a plant in which the stem is apparently absent. Other 
forms are oaattttM. acauloge, and acaulouts. 
acauline (a-ka'lin), a. [<NL. acaulis (see 
acaules) + -te j .] Same as acaulescent. 
acaulosia (ak-a-16'zi-a), n. [NL., < aeaulosc : 
see acaulous.] Same as acaulescence. 
acaulous, acaulose (a-ka'lus, -16s), a. [< NL. 
acaulis (\ Gr. axati/lflf, without stalk, < d- priv. 
+ KavUf = L. caulis : see caulis, and cf . 
acaules) + -ous, -ose] Same as acaulescent. 
acc. An abbreviation (a) of according and ac- 
cordiiii/ to; (b) of accusative. 
acca (ak'a), n. [Perhaps from Akka (Acre) in 
Syria, as the seaport whence it was obtained.] 
A rich figured silk stuff, decorated with gold, 
used in the fourteenth century. 
accablet (a-ka'bl), v. t. [< F. accabler, over- 
whelm, crush; earlier, in pass, sense, be 
crushed; <OF. a-, ac- (< L. ad), to, + caable, 
cadable, < ML. cadabula, a catapult, < Gr. KO.TO.- 
/)o2.r/, a throwing down, < KaraftcM^m, throw 
down, < /card, down, + /3dAtev, to throw : see 
cablish and catapult.] To overwhelm; oppress; 
overburden. 
Honours have no burden but thankfulness, which doth 
rather raise men's spirits than taxable them or press them 
down. Bacon, vi. 272. {Latham.) 
Accad (ak'ad), n. 1. A member of one of the 
primitive races of Babylonia. The Accads are be- 
lieved to have been of non-Semitic origin, and to have 
been the dominant race at the earliest time of which there 
are contemporaneous records. 
The Accadai, or Accads, were " the Highlanders," who 
had descended from the mountainous region of Elam on 
the east, and it was to them that the Assyrians ascribed 
the origin of Chaldean civilization and writing. 
A. H. Sayce. 
2. The language of this race ; Accadian. 
Also spelled AkJcad. 
Accadian (a-ka'di-an), a. and n. I. a. Belong- 
ing to the Accads, the primitive inhabitants of 
Babylonia. 
II. n. 1. An Accad. 2. The language of the 
Accads, anon-Semitic and perhaps Ural-Altaic 
language spoken in ancient Babylonia previ- 
ously to the later and better-known Semitic 
dialect of the cuneiform inscriptions. A kindred 
dialect, the Sumerian, seems to have been in use at the 
same time in Babylonia. 
Also spelled Akkadian. 
accapitum (a-kap'i-tum), n. [ML., < L. ad, 
to, T caput, head.] In feudal law, money paid 
by a vassal upon his admission to a feud ; the 
relief due to the chief lord. 
accatort, n. See acater. 
accedas ad curiam (ak-se'das ad ku'ri-am). 
[L., go thou to the court: see accede, ad-, 
curia.] In law, a writ directed to the sheriff 
for the purpose of removing a cause from a 
lower to a higher court. 
accede (ak-sed'), r. j. ; pret. and pp. acceded, 
ppr. acceding. [=F. acceder = Sp. Pg. acceder 
= It. accedere, < L. accedere, earlier adcedere, 
move toward, < ad, to, + cedere, go, move : see 
cede] 1 . To come, as into union or possession ; 
become adjoined or entitled ; attain by approach 
or succession : now used chiefly of attainment 
to a possession, office, or dignity : as, he acceded 
to the estate on his majority; the house of 
Hanover acceded to the English throne in 1714. 
And vaill were courage, learning ; all, 
Till power accede. Shenstone, Ruined Abbey. 
2. To come by assent or agreement ; give ad- 
hesion; yield; give in: as, to accede to one's 
terms or request. 
This obvious reflection convinced me of the absurdity 
of the treaty of Hanover, in 1725, between France and 
England, to which the Dutch afterwards acceded. 
Chesterfield, Letters, 1B2. 
There are many who would accede without the faintest 
reluctance to a barbarous custom, but would be quite in- 
capable of an equally barbarous aet which custom had not 
consecrated. Lecky, Europ. Morals, I. 305. 
= Syn. 1. To succeed, come (to), attain. 2. To agree, 
assent, yield, consent, comply. 
accedence (ak-se'dens), n. [< F. accedence, 
< acceder : see accede and -encc.] The aet or ac- 
tion of acceding ; the act of assenting or agree- 
ing. [Bare.] 
accedencet, n. An error for accidence 1 . Milton. 
acceder (ak-se'der), n. One who accedes; one 
who attains to a possession, an office, or a dig- 
nity ; one who yields or assents. 
accelerando (at-cha-le-ran'do), adv. [It., ppr. 
of accelcrare, < L. accelerare, hasten : see accele- 
rate.] With gradual increase of speed: a di- 
accelerator 
rection in music, indicating that a passage is 
to be played with increasing rapidity, 
accelerate (ak-sel'e-rat), v. ; pret. and pp. ac- 
i'i/,'i-(iti(l, ppr. accelerating. [< L. awli-ratux, 
pp. of accelerare, hasten, make haste, < ad, to, 
+ celerare, hasten, < eeler, quick.] I. trans. 
1. To make quicker; cause to move or advance 
faster ; hasten ; add to the velocity of ; give a 
higher rate of progress to: as, to accelerate 
motion or the rate of motion ; to accelerate the 
transmission of intelligence ; to accelerate the 
growth of a plant, or the progress of know- 
ledge. 
Leave to the diamond its ayes to grow, nor expect to 
accelerate the births of the eternal. 
Kiii>-i-wn, Essays, Istser., p. 191. 
2. To bring nearer in time; bring about, or 
help to bring about, more speedily than would 
otherwise have been the case : as, to accelrrati: 
the ruin of a government; to accelerate death. 
Accelerated motion, in meeh., that motion which con- 
tinually receives fresh accessions of velocity. See accelera- 
(ion. Accelerating force, the force which produces 
an accelerated motion, as gravity. Accelerating gun, 
a cannon having supplementary powder-chambers, de- 
signed to be fired in turn, immediately after the main ex- 
plosion, to accelerate the speed of the shot ; an accelerator. 
- Syn. See list under quicken, 3. 
II. intrans. To become faster; increase in 
speed. 
acceleratedly (ak-sel'e-ra-ted-li), adv. In an 
accelerated or accelerating manner; with ac- 
celeration or gradual increase of speed. 
acceleration (ak-sel-e-ra'shpn), n. [< L. accele- 
ratio(n-), a hastening, < accelerare, hasten : see 
accelerate.] The act of accelerating, or the state 
of being accelerated: as (a) A gradual increase 
of velocity. 
At the present time, and for several thousand years in 
the future, the variation in the moon's motion has been 
and will be an acceleration. 
Thommn and Tail, Nat. Phil., I. II 830. 
(6) In mech., the rate of change of the velocity of a moving 
body ; that is, the increment of velocity (in any direction) 
in the unit of time which would result were the rate of 
change to continue uniform for that length of time. The 
acceleration is said to be uniform if the body gains the 
same velocity in any constant direction in equal successive 
portions of time, no matter how small these portions may 
be taken. A constant force produces uniform acceleration 
in Jill cases ; hut it is sometimes convenient to substitute 
for some of the forces fictitious "constraints." Thus, 
gravity (which near the earth's surface is sensibly a con- 
stant force) gives a falling body uniformly accelerated 
motion when the effect of the atmospheric resistance is 
eliminated ; in this case the incitement of velocity in each 
second, which is a little more than 32 feet, is called the 
acceleration of gravity, and in mechanical formulas is de- 
noted by the letter <j. When the velocity of a moving body 
continually diminishes, the acceleration is termed minus 
or negative, and the motion is said to be retarded ; this 
is illustrated by the case of a ball thrown upward, the 
upward component of the velocity of which diminishes at 
the rate of 32 feet a second. Similarly, the force of friction 
which resists the motion of a sliding body is said to give 
it minwi or negative acceleration. 
Acceleration, like position and velocity, is a relative term, 
and cannot be interpreted absolutely. 
Clerk Maxwell, Matter and Motion, art. xxxv. 
(e) The shortening of the time between the present and 
the happening of any future event ; specifically, in taw, 
the shortening of the time before the vesting of a person 
with the possession of an expected interest, (d) In phytriol. 
and pathol. , increased activity of the functions of the body, 
particularly of the circulation of the fluids. Acceleration 
Of tile moon, the increase of the moon's mean angular 
velocity about the earth, the moon now moving rather 
faster than in ancient times. This phenomenon has not 
been fully explained, but it is known to be partly owing to 
the slow diminution of the eccentricity of the earth's orbit, 
from which there results a slight diminution of the sun's 
influence on the moon's motions. Acceleration and 
retardation of the tides, certain deviations between the 
time of the actual occurrence of high water at any place 
and what its time would be if it occurred after the lapse of 
a uniform mean interval. In spring and neap tides the 
sun's action does not alter the time of high water, as in 
the former case the solar and lunar tides are synchronous, 
while in the latter the time of actual or lunar low water 
and that of solar high water are the same. But in the first 
and third quarters of the moon there is acceleration or prim- 
ing of high water, as the solar wave is to the west of the 
lunar ; and in the second and fourth quarters there is 
retardations lagging, for an analogous reason. Diurnal 
acceleration of the nxed stars, the excess of the appa- 
rent diurnal motion of the stars over that of the sun, aris- 
ing from the fact that the sun's apparent yearly motion 
takes place in a direction contrary to that of its apparent 
daily motion. The stars thus seem each day to anticipate 
the sun by nearly 3 minutes and 56 seconds of mean time. 
accelerative (ak-sel'e-ra-tiv), a. [< accelerate 
+ -ive] Tending to accelerate ; adding to ve- 
locity; quickening progression. 
accelerator (ak-sel'e-ra-tor), n. [NL., etc., 
< accelerate] One wno or that which accele- 
rates; a hastener. Hence (a) In England, a post- 
office van. (b) In anat., a muscle, the accelerator urinte, 
which expedites the discharge of urine, (c) In photag. : 
(1) Any substance or device which shortens the time of 
exposure of a sensitized plate or paper to the light, in 
either the camera or the printing-frame. (2) Any chem- 
ical which may lie added to the developing solution to 
shorten the time necessary for development, or, byincreas- 
